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2023: Nigeria Needs A Leader Who Can Bring People Together – Atiku

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The presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the 2023 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said what Nigeria needed after seven years of ineptitude in the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was a leader who could bring together diversity in unity and encourage the people to respect and accept each other, despite their differences. Atiku said Nigeria needed a “unifier, not a pacifier.”

The former vice president further reacted to the issue of zoning, saying the South-east should focus on what cannot lie, that is his record, “My attitude towards them. My history with them.”

He did not miss an opportunity to sell his candidacy and vision but dismissed tales about marabouts predicting he would be president someday as the reason he had held on to the dream tenaciously. He said the story remained a surprise to him, too.

Speaking directly about some of the issues defining the state of the nation on the journey to 2023, Atiku said, “I think after seven years of incompetence, Nigerians just want competence. Where it comes from, they do not mind.

“The challenges that we face today have so focused us on the need to elect leaders based on their competence, instead of their region or religion. Nigeria needs a unifier, not a pacifier. We will be pacified by unity. We will not be united by pacification.”

On insinuations about a groundswell of opinion against his recurrent presidential bids, especially suggestions that the people might be tired of seeing his face on the ballot, Atiku said, “That is a fallacy. There is no groundswell, to use your word. Yes, some people have large megaphones, but they do not constitute a groundswell.

“Some of these people have emotional and historic reasons for making their appeals, and one must be sensitive to them. That is why I have gone round and keep going round this country to consult. I believe in the politics of addition. I am not a subtracting politician.”

On the mounting sentiments in favor of a Nigerian president of Southeast origin in 2023, he stated, “Of course, it is in order. Have you forgotten how passionate I have been in advocating for the Southeast? Look at my record.

“What the South-east has to understand is that people’s records matter more than people’s rhetoric. I ask my beloved people of the Southeast to focus on what cannot lie; my record. My attitude towards them. My history with them.”

Dismissing speculations that marabouts played a role in his presidential aspiration, Atiku said, “Even me, I am surprised when people bandy about these types of beer parlor myths. I am a devout Muslim. My principles do not allow for anything other than total submission to the will of God.

“That is a myth put together by my political opponents to achieve whatever ends they wanted to achieve. That is just like saying Reagan and Churchill kept trying multiple times because they were powered by soothsayers. It may interest you to know that I became governor after four attempts. Tenacity is a virtue. It is not a vice. It should be celebrated.”

Talking about moves for a consensus approach in selecting the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku contended, “I just believe that no man should be a judge in his case. Let’s go down memory lane.

“In 2010-2011, the North chose to go that route. However, it was not the aspirants who elected on their own to come up with a consensus candidate. It was the region. Specifically, the Northern Political Leaders’ Forum was led by the late Malam Adamu Ciroma.

“If the North as a region wants that option, then, it should be driven by our natural leaders and elders. It should not be promoted by partisans. Once it

becomes like that, then, it may become a poisoned chalice.”
While addressing the issue of zoning, Atiku said, “I will add this: the Peoples Democratic Party, of which I am a founding member, should focus on winning, not on zoning!”

On why he still wanted to be president of Nigeria after five “failed attempts”, he said, “Please, allow me the liberty of rephrasing your question. I would rather say, after several attempts. They were not failed attempts, as I have already explained above.

“In the year 2022, Nigeria is the world headquarters for extreme poverty and the third most insecure nation in the world. Our economy is not growing, while our population is expanding.

“If you now look at my record in government, were under the leadership of President Obasanjo, I was the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, and a coordinator of our economic management team, you can see my achievements.

“Those achievements need to be replicated if we are to turn the tide. It is almost as if providence thrust me out this time to do again what God had enabled me to do before.

“We provided jobs. Nigerians are now unemployed in record numbers. We paid off Nigeria’s foreign debt. Nigeria is now more indebted than at any time in our history. Through our policies and inclusiveness, we had relative peace.

“Now, Nigeria is in crisis due to insecurity. It would look to me that my

curriculum vitae or my resume appears tailor-made to address the challenges we now face as a nation.”

Atiku spoke on the corruption allegations against him, saying, “Thank God you said allegations. Anybody can allege. You know the history of this country and what specifically I went through. All that is now in the past. What I will say, however, is that I am the most investigated politician in Nigeria; yet, nothing has been established against me. I have received a clean bill of health about the allegations raised against me.

“That alone should tell you something. It speaks volumes. In the attempt to stop me, knowing that my plans are sound, my ideology is solid and stable, and my connection to Nigerians is enduring, the only thing that my political opponents could use against me are false allegations.  My only answer to that is that I have judicially been exonerated and vindicated of all of them.”

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Federal Government To Grant Mining Licenses To Only Companies That Process Locally

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Nigeria will only grant new mining licences to companies that present a plan on how minerals would be processed locally, under new guidelines being developed, a government spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.

This is a departure from Nigeria’s long-standing practice of exporting raw commodities, as governments around Africa work to increase the value derived from their substantial mineral reserves.

To spur investment, Nigeria will offer investors incentives including tax waivers for importing mining equipment, make it easier to secure electricity generation licences, allow full repatriation of profits and boost security, Segun Tomori, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development said.

“In exchange, we have to review their plans for setting up a plant and how they would add value to the Nigerian economy,” Tomori said. He did not say when the guidelines would be finalised or come into effect.

However, last week the minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, said it was now government policy to make value addition a condition for obtaining licences so as to create jobs and help local communities.

Alake, who also chairs an African mining strategy group comprising mining ministers from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia, is pushing for a continent-wide effort to get maximum local benefit from mineral exploration.

Nigeria, Africa’s top energy producer, has struggled to extract value from its vast mineral resources due to poor incentives and neglect. The underdeveloped mining sector contributes less than 1% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Last year Nigeria exported mostly tin ore and concentrates worth about 137.59 billion naira ($108.34 million), mainly to China and Malaysia, according to the country’s statistics bureau.

The government aims to drive more investment into the sector by issuing more licenses. It has set up a state-owned solid minerals corporation offering investors a 75% stake and established a special security unit tasked with fighting illegal miners.

The government is also trying to regulate artisanal miners, who dominate the sector, by grouping them into cooperatives.

Foreign mining companies operating in Nigeria include Canada-based Thor Explorations which is involved in gold exploration, Chinese-owned Xiang Hui International Mining which partnered with a local company to process gold, and Indian-owned African Natural Resources and Mines, which is building a $600m iron ore processing plant in northern Nigeria.

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu Felicitates President Tinubu At 72

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his 72nd birthday, describing him as a brave, bold, and passionate leader who is dedicated to the advancement, growth, and development of Nigeria.

He said that President Tinubu’s contribution to the nation’s growth is cause for celebration, citing the President’s unparalleled bravery, integrity, honesty, and patriotism in his efforts to steer Nigeria’s ship in the correct path since he into office on May 29, 2023.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said President Tinubu has provided honest and transparent leadership in Nigeria by taking bold decisions to address challenges militating against the prosperity of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Sanwo-Olu further described the President as a visionary and master strategist whose democratic credentials are scholarly materials for study in political economy.

He said: “On behalf of my family, the government, the people of Lagos State,  members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), leaders, and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, I congratulate our leader, President Bola Tinubu, on the occasion of his 72nd birthday.

“President Tinubu has sacrificed the greater part of his life in the service of our dear State and Nigeria. He contributed to the enthronement of democracy and good governance, serving first as a Senator in the aborted third republic and later as a pro-democracy activist, working tirelessly as a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) to struggle for the de-annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

“President Tinubu’s financial wizardry and economic intellect, which he put to good use as the Governor of Lagos State, have taken our dear state to a greater height. Today, Lagos is the pride of Nigeria, occupying an enviable position as the fifth largest economy in Africa.

“President Tinubu has made positive impacts in the country through the Renewed Hope agenda of his administration. His unblemished service and track record of impressive achievements in public office have made him a role model for many Nigerians.

“As President Tinubu celebrates his 72nd birthday, it is our prayer that God will grant him more prosperous years in good health and wisdom as he continues to serve our dear nation.”

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JUST IN: CBN Increases Banks Capital Base To N500bn, N200bn For National Commercial Banks

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The capital basis for commercial banks with international permission has been raised to N500 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The policy change was confirmed by Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications. in a declaration.

She added that commercial banks with regional authorization are expected to reach a capital floor of N50 billion, while those with national authority must meet a ceiling of N200 billion.

Announced on Thursday, March 28, 2024, this comprehensive financial reform requires significant increases in banks’ minimum capital bases, which vary depending on the size of the bank.

The latest policy directive specifies that commercial banks with international authorization are now required to shore up their capital base to N500 billion.

In a bid to tighten the financial fabric, the CBN has not overlooked merchant banks, which are now subject to a N50 billion minimum capital requirement.

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