BUHARI SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER 007 of 2019, ON FRIDAY 25 JANUARY, 2019

The signing of this order on Friday (January 25, 2019) is another milestone recorded by Buhari led Federal Government to rapidly close the infrastructure gap left by previous administrations. Participating investors will use their funds to build infrastructure and return get incentives in the form of tax credits to reduce their corporate taxes payable to government until they recoup the value of their investments in roads and bridges.

The policy is an alternative source to fund infrastructure, including road and electricity projects.

For the records, Nigeria ranks 11th on the list of countries with the world’s worst road quality and network, according to the Global Competitive Index of 2018.

Between 2017 and 2018 Nigeria scored 2.5, worse than neighboring Cameroon which scored 2.6.

PILOT PHASE

The policy will take-off with six companies. In this pilot phase, the following six private sector companies have chosen to participate in the Scheme to construct 19 federal roads covering 794.4km under the new Executive Order 007

a) Dangote Industries Limited;

b) Lafarge Africa Plc;

c) Unilever Nigeria Plc;

d) Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc;

e) Nigeria LNG Limited; and

f) China Road and Bridge Corporation Nigeria Limited.

“The above companies (to be referred to as investors under the scheme) will be investing in the following 19 eligible road projects, totalling 794.4km which have been prioritised in 11 states across each of the six geo-political zones:

a) Construction of Ashaka-Bajoga Highway in Gombe State;

b) Reconstruction of Dikwa-GambaruNgala Road in Borno State;

c) Reconstruction of Bama-Banki Road in Borno State;

d) Rehabilitation of Sharada Road in Kano State

e) Rehabilitation of Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway / Bypass, in Kaduna State;

f) Reconstruction of Birnin Gwari Expressway – Road in Kaduna State;

g) Reconstruction of Birnin Gwari – Dansadau Road in Kaduna State;

h) Reconstruction of Makurdi-Yandev-Gboko Road in Benue State;

i) Reconstruction of Zone Roundabout-House of Assembly Road in Benue State;

j) Reconstruction of Obajana-Kabba Road in Kogi State;

k) Reconstruction of Ekuku-Idoma-Obehira Road in Kogi State;

l) Construction of AdaviEba-Ikuehi-Obeiba-Obokore Road in Kogi State;

m) Rehabilitation of Lokoja-Ganaja Road in Kogi State;

n) Ofeme Community Road Network and Bridges in Abia State;

o) Rehabilitation of Obele-Ilaro-Papalanto-Shagamu Road in Ogun State;

p) Reconstruction of Sokoto Road in Ogun State;

q) Reconstruction of Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki-Ojota Road in Lagos State;

r) Construction of Bodo-Bonny Road & Bridges across Opobo Channel in Rivers State; and

s) Rehabilitation of Benin City – Asaba Road in Edo State”.

METHOD OF APPLICATION

Any investors that is interested to participate in the scheme or take advantage of the scheme shall submit proposals (to include prospective road projects) to the government via the scheme’s management committee.

After carefully considering submissions by investors, the management committee will forward the proposals, through the chairman of the committee, to the president.

The president will then, based on the new Executive Order, select eligible road projects which will be published in an official gazette.

MEMBERS OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Minister of Finance, The chairman

Minister of Power, Works and Housing as its Deputy Chairman, and

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance as its Secretary.

Other members of the Management Committee are drawn from a number of relevant federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (‘MDAs’),”

The other Representations from the MDAs are to include:

a) The Federal Ministry of Finance;

b) The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing;

c) The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment;

d) The Federal Ministry of Justice;

e) The Bureau of Public Procurement;

f) The Federal Inland Revenue Service;

g) The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission;

h) The Securities and Exchange Commission;

i) The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission;

j) The Budget Office of the Federation;

k) The National Bureau of Statistics;

l) The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority; and

m) The Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

SARAKI AUDIO (Sorry for non Yoruba speaking, I will run the interpretations here below) ☝️

When I told you in my previous campaign that this rouges treat Nigeria as a a PLC, some of us think it’s an understatement.

BUHARI HAS CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY AND CANNOT REWARD EVIL DOERS, ENEMIES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE, TREASURY LOOTERS AND VIOLENCE ENGINEERS WHO USE PROPAGANDA AND BLACKMAIL TO BLACKLIST OUR FATHERLAND AND CUT-OFF INVESTMENTS AND INVITE FOREIGNERS TO KILL OUR PEACE.

ENGLISH INTERPRETATION OF SARAKI AUDIO?

“All that you have complained about tonight is on point, I can not find anything you have said that is not on point, you complained about empowerment”

“Let us agree that the last 3 and a half years, things have not been easy at all, I agree and accept things have not been easy at all, particularly in the area of empowerment”

“Before 2015 I have always tried to empower the youth and get you involved in appointments, but this time around as a result of what I call human factor, things have not been the same, I believe it is the will of God”

“When you all are complaining and you give example of Gegele and co and you compare it to what is happening now, I am sure you are asking yourself, what is happening? how come all of you struggling with me are not rewarded, it is unacceptable”

“What is the point of putting everything into the emergence of a government and we could not benefit anything from the government, you are asking yourself, what have you benefited”

“If you have not benefited personally in the last 3 and a half years, how do you go to market us, wont people ask you what you have benefited for yourself?

“It got to a stage that people will be making fund of you and asking you what you have benefited, but what is happening from Abuja, use me as an example, in 2015 I carried APC on my head around Nigeria”

“Hardly any state in Nigeria that I did not campaign for Buhari, up to the time of the election in 2015, out of 36 states I paid for the election of 30 states”

“Out of 36 states in Nigeria I funded Buhari campaign in 30 States, some states I paid 200 Million Naira, some 300 Million, some 400 Million, the only states I did not fund are South West States”

“Many times I will be calling my Banks to send money to fund elections across Nigeria for Buhari my thinking was that when we get elected, the next thing is that we will get majority of our people appointments”

“In fact I had already promised some of you here that you will either be MD of Federal agencies, either road maintenance, NIPDA (inaudible) even Nigerian Ports Authority, SUBEB and so on and so forth”

“I know if I put someone amongst you from Kwara even in the smallest Federal agencies, the contract you will sign out, 1Million, 2 Million, but for the first time that I have been in politics even speaker cant appoint a cleaner”

“I as President of the Senate I could not even appoint a cleaner not to talk of Board appointment, if you look at Executive positions I have nothing even after spending Billions for 3 and a half years, I am as angry as you are ”

“I am fighting Buhari because of you, if it because of me I wont fight, it is not easy to fight the federal government, the sufferings you are all going trough is because they did not fulfil our agenda”

“In 2018 I told you all I wont be going with APC but in the last one or 2 months that I left I have been doing a lot for you people, my politics is for all of you, I am just here to empower you all, dont mind the one who just bought form for 33M ”

“It was not my plan not to appoint you, when David Mark was Senate President, every confirmation he made for the President came with something, if they really love us now you will be empowered”

“In the past we they have a cut for Senate President and Speaker but not anymore, so we are no longer going with APC as soon as we joined PDP they called me National Leader when I lost election Atiku came to me immediately”

“Now we have seen the sign that if Atiku becomes President things will come to us, he told me I am the only one that can run his campaign, I know it is not easy for you all, but let me assure you things will be better”

“God see my “aniyan” (Arabic word) now in PDP they have brought us closer, how many people in Kwara did APC bring together in Kwara, now we will soon have power, today in APC they want us to go to Asiwaju Tinubu in Lagos”

“If I am the only one in PDP I will fight alone, my Father made Kwara and took Kwara to the top 10 in Nigeria and I also took Kwara to between number 1 to 3 in Nigerian politics and they now want us to bow to Lagos”

“In the coming election we will put Youth into power in Kwara, let us take Atunwa as he his, he will take care of you all, all those who contested against him are loyal but Atunwa will….. inaudible” (applause)

“When I was Governor I gave a lot of young people contract, they buy land etc and then empower others, I want to return you to the days of when I was Governor when you were all enjoying, Atiku will open things when we win election”

“You know as a leader I see things that followers dont see, when we followed Buhari we felt after spending money, we saw that he failed to reward us, so we said this Baba is not coming back, no money, no patronage all over Nigeria”

“Even with all the problem we have with Buhari the little cut I get I always send to Kwara but I can tell you that we had to design a method to make the little we have, they did not involve us in sharing”

“The only agenda APC have for Kwara is to fight Bukola Saraki , they favour Osun State with empowerment, for the remaining time of Buhari we will still get some things, we gave them list for FIIRS for 3 years they did not employ our list”

*The Choices That We Make*

Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, said there were two options for me :

*Either I get corrupted and I put my family in the Forbes list of the richest people in the world* and leave my people with nothing.

OR

*I serve my country, my people and let my country be in the list of the best ten economies in the world.*

I chose the second option.

*The ATIKULOOTERS said, “there were two options for us too, but the second option was already taken by the Singapore Prime Minister”*.

Very Unfortunate Indeed. ATIKULOOTED ?

In recent weeks the political train of deceit appeared to have regained some steam in a renewed ruse to make certificate of Mr President the bottom line of 2019 Presidential election. Permit me to admit that certification of classroom tutoring is the standard testimonial of its attendance but at the same time, it is only the mischievous political kindergartians that will think that political diatribe has anything to do with it. In her analysis of the critical attributes of leadership in the book: Not For The Faint of the Heart: A Lesson in Courage, Power and Persistence, Wendy Sherman has concluded that Courage and Integrity are critical attributes that you cannot acquire from the classroom because they are the inert fabrics of human conscience that dictates the power of the negative and power of the positive.

The truth is, I could not agree any better because at the end of the day, those critical attributes are the building blocks of the sincerity of purpose of political leadership. The tragedy of Nigeria as a Country is that for decades now our corrupt and inept electoral system and institutions of governance have only managed to produce certificate leaders rather than character leaders. I mean leaders whose exemplary leadership has been legendary in inspiring the next generation of leaders on ethos of governance and responsibility, I mean, leaders who are no longer celebrated as community treasures but rather revered as national assets, I mean leaders whose nationalism has conquered clan loyalties and ethnic patriotism.

It is sinically despicable that President Muhammadu Buhari, a Gen. of the Nigerian Army, a former Head of State whose honour, integrity and exceptional culture of universal humanity has become an international reference point could be slandered in a desperately dubious game of School Certificate ridicule. I even heard that the choreographed political racism by the PDP’s social media war machine has alleged that you cannot speak English, well, I am wondering when poetry of English-language and the arrogance of ethnic inheritance of it become the index for evaluating the quality and sincerity of political leadership? The truth is that, throughout history great empires that ruled the world at different stages of human civilisation did not have fraternity of English Language; the Mongols, the Othman, the Japanese, the Germans, the Russians and now the Chinese recolonizing the entire planet without English Language.

Dear Mr President, loose no sleep, speak no English, have no certificate, it doesn’t matter, that was not why we elected you, Nigerians elected you to liberate them from the colonialism of PDP whose pedigree in official corruption knew no bounds, we elected you to dismantle the architecture of stupendous State impunity, to restore hope from fatelism of absolute despair, in short, we elected you to pull the Country from the brinks and you did just that against all odds.

The truth is, the oil sheikhs of our criminal economy have regrouped for a political vengeance but be assured that the Nigerian electorates are wiser, sophisticated and ready. At the end of the day, the 2019 general election will not be decided on the gaffe of poetry of deception but rather on the strength of character and the integrity of example.

ONCE AGAIN, SPEAK NO ENGLISH, HAVE NO CERTIFICATE, IT DOESN’T MATTER.

By Professor Shehu A. Zuru

Pro Chancellor, Peroleum University

Section 131, of the 1999 Constitution provided that a person is qualified for election to the office of President if

He is a citizen of Nigeria;

He has attained the age of forty years;

He is a member of a political party and he is sponsored by that political party;

He has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

Clearly, Gen Buhari has met all the above requirements.

“Under and by virtue of section 318 (1) of the Constitution: “School Certificate or its equivalent” means-

(a) A Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or

(b) Education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and-

i. service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and

ii. attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and

iii. the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and

(d) Any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

Anybody who can read, write and communicate in English, who has attended military courses, who has served in the public service of the Federation or even in the Army, is eminently qualified to aspire to be elected as President of Nigeria.

With the rank of Maj-Gen, it clearly indicates that he’s educated and qualified

The debate is thus unnecessary. Let’s discuss serious issues