News
Cash crunch affecting our soldiers, hampering operations. NSA cries out
Many soldiers in the battlefield of some trouble spots are having hard times over financial issues, Babagana Mongunu, National Security Adviser (NSA), has revealed, saying the situation posed a serious problem.
Hinging the situation on the economic crisis caused the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes, Mongunu, who was briefing members of the House of Representatives on Friday, said some military operations were being undermined in the areas affected.
Urging the House to find practicable solutions to the economic crisis caused by the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes, who appeared before the ad-hoc committee on the fiscal policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said his office was also working on measures to assist the House in tackling the problem.
Mongunu, a Major General, represented by Abubakar A. Mustapha, a Rear Admiral and Director in charge of the secretariat that conducts general security appraisal of the committee with a special focus on elections and other security situations exigencies in his office, Monguno said some soldiers are serving in areas where they do not have access to digital transactions.
The committee, headed by the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, invited the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed; the Managing Director, Nigerian Security, Minting and Printing Company, Ahmed Halilu; and the Chairman, of Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Professor Mamoud Yakubu as well as the Director of Currency Operations in the CBN to appear before it on Thursday, but the invitees took excuses for their absence.
He said some soldiers were affected by the naira redesign and cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which has resulted in the scarcity of the naira.
Ado-Doguwa, had asked the NSA to brief the lawmakers on how the CBN policies are affecting the security apparatus.
“It is the belief of this committee that the policy would have in one way or the other certain implications to the security apparatus or security architecture of the country, especially when we are facing elections,” Doguwa said.
“In this guise, we will expect you to let the committee know what you guys are into, the level of your preparedness in terms of being proactive as to how this policy could not be able to affect some of your statutory mandates,” he added.
The NSA said the policy has affected soldiers who are deployed in areas where they do not have access to “digital means of paying for their daily subsistence”.
“Globally, military operations, even in first world countries, such policies, if not properly well thought out will affect some certain—some of our soldiers are deployed in places where they cannot actually access digital means of paying for their daily subsistence,” he said.
“One of the main issues that NSA has been talking about—it is important that this committee sits down and articulates better ways of actually addressing these issues. He has directed a committee in his office to write out his position to assist the committee meet his mandate.”
After the NSA’s remarks, the committee got into a closed-door session, as it said most of the information was sensitive.
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023
See full statement:
For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.
We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.
In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.
This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO
Channels
James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.
Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.
Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”
Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.
Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”
He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”
It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”
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In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?
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