Exposed: The high political scheming Buhari adopted in choosing his SGF, CoS

President Buhari

 The decision of the loyalists of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take complete hold of power in the current administration is the main reason behind the choice of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) and the Chief of Staff to the President (CoS) made by President Muhammadu Buhari, sources close to the administration have revealed.
Investigations by the Sunday Tribune confirmed that other reasons behind the decision include the fear of the influence of some notable members of the APC  as well as the need to weaken such influences ahead of the next election in 2019.
Sources in the polity have said that the president was wary of appointing anyone who could come under direct influence of powerful camps in the APC, including the camps of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the party’s national leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sources informed the Sunday Tribune that Buhari was actually looking for his own men as the SGF and CoS, such that he would be assured of having reduced the influence of powerful forces in his party.
A source said that the appointments were actually done with eyes on what happens between now and 2019, adding that the president was hopeful of leaving the government in the hands of “new breed of politicians” whom he would have groomed within the period of his presidency.
It was learnt that the appointment of David Lawal Babachir as the SGF was specifically targeted at Atiku, as it is believed that Babachir,  who hails from the same Adamawa State as the former vice-president, would corner the influence from that axis.
It was gathered that going by the influence some of the powerful forces in the APC displayed in the buildup to the 2015 election, the Presidency was clear that such persons have the capacity to rubbish whatever achievements it could place on the table for Nigerians in 2019.
A source said that the need to cut some powerful forces to size in the APC informed the decision to drop the likes of former Governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, who is considered to be close to Tinubu, while the same reason worked against Atiku in the choice of the SGF.
It was also gathered that the Villa is convinced that the camps of notable leaders including Atiku and Tinubu still have their eyes on the Presidency.
Said a source: “The whole appointments were done against the backdrop of what happens in 2019. There are fears that the camps of Atiku and Tinubu still hold enormous influence and that allowing them the control of the SGF may be counterproductive to the president.
“The truth is that the president may not be interested in a second term in office but he will certainly be interested in who succeeds him, looking at what his government is doing to tackle the [former President Goodluck] Jonathan administration currently.”
Sources said that the influence and ambition of such powerful individuals were taken into consideration in making the critical appointments.
It was further gathered that the political bloc of the CPC, which was formed by Buhari until the merger with other parties,  is already moving to take over the control of key appointments to ensure its control of the levers of power beyond 2019.
A source said that “some strong leaders of the CPC group in APC are convincing the president on the need to produce a relatively unknown candidate in the next election and shock the old breed politicians who have so much power and influence to neutralise him.”
Another source said that the CPC camp had argued that whatever legacy or achievements  the president records in four years could be rubbished by some of the powerful blocs in the party, going by the arsenal they deployed against Jonathan, adding that the president has been advised to reduce the influence of such forces.
Sources, however, further indicated that the shock that greeted the last appointment is not about to abate, as more shocks are said to await the political class.
According to sources, the president’s loyalists have convinced him on the need to continue to undercut the big-time politicians by bringing out relatively unknown persons.
“The shock that gripped the political class following the recent appointments is not about to abate. Minnows are to continue to emerge in order to continue to undercut the top flight politicians and also enhance the search for new breed politicians,” a source said.

Revealed: America and West deliberately frustrated Jonathan’s anti-Boko Haram war

Goodluck Jonathan

As President Muhammadu Buhari inquires into the Boko Haram war expenditures under the last administration, it has emerged that Nigeria’s traditional allies in the West deliberately frustrated former President Goodluck Jonathan’s efforts towards ending terrorists’ activities in the country.

A security source disclosed in Abuja that Nigeria, under the leadership of Jonathan, wrote 25 letters to the United States of America and other Western nations, seeking to acquire state of the art weapons to deal decisively with the terrorists.

However, they all turned down the requests, the source said.

“What was most painful was the fact that Nigeria was not begging to be given those weapons as gifts.    We were ready to pay for them but they turned their backs on us when we needed them most.

“The same people who made all the promises about assisting us to bring an end to the Boko Haram attacks and bring back the abducted Chibok girls did everything they could to frustrate our efforts”, he added.

According to him, the scandal that broke out over the botched South African arms deals was the culmination of the worst that a frustrated sovereign nation could face.

Two attempts by foreign contractors engaged by the nation’s highest security authorities to buy arms from South Africa and Israel were stopped and over $24 million of Nigeria’s hard earned foreign exchange seized by South African authorities in two separate instances in that country.

It was learnt that though the funds were eventually released to Nigeria, the harm had been done and the purpose stopped mid-stream.

It was learnt that when it became very clear that the nation’s long-standing traditional allies were not prepared to assist, Nigeria had to turn to Eastern Europe and Asia for weapons.

“A conclusion was reached that the nation would suffer more devastation should she continue to beg those we regarded as our friends when things were going on well with us.    It was at that point that the nation had to look elsewhere, especially towards the East and Asia”, the source said.

Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US who died in Washington, last week, Prof Adebowale Adefuye,  captured the mood of the then government and most Nigerians when he addressed the American Council    on Foreign Relations, in November last year.

“The US government has up till today refused to grant Nigeria’s request to purchase lethal equipment that would have brought down the terrorists within a short time,’’ “We find it difficult to understand how and why, in spite of the US presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly.

“There is no use giving us the type of support that enables us to deliver light jabs to the terrorists when what we need to give them is the killer punch.    A friend in need is a friend indeed. The true test of friendship is in times of adversity,” he said.

America’s only excuse for refusing to sell the much-needed weapons to Nigeria was that Nigerian troops were reportedly not adhering to the fundamental human rights of the terrorists, in the prosecution of the Boko Haram war.

The security source who spoke with Vanguard said the alternative arms sources in Eastern Europe and Asia did not only receive Nigeria with open hands, “we also got other forms of ‘technical assistance’ as those who provided some of the equipment also entered into agreement with us to have some of their military personnel join our troops for the purposes of ensuring optimal performance of all the equipments.

“We didn’t want a situation where we would get to the war theatre and have any of the equipment breakdown without the expertise to promptly fix it”.

The source said that Some of the expatriates seen among the troops were with them to provide such    requisite technical assistance.    According to him, the successes recorded from the last months of Dr. Jonathan in office and the current onslaught against the terrorist were due mainly to the arrival of various equipments from countries other than Western nations that call themselves Nigeria’s traditional allies.

He observed that President Buhari’s panel would discover at the end of its sitting that it was not possible for the Jonathan administration to have reduced Boko Haram to the level it left it without having to bend backwards on several fronts to secure the right weapons and technical expertise.

Source: Vanguard

Boko Haram will soon be over: Zack Orji assures Northern Christians

Nollywood veteran and well talented actor, director, producer and filmmaker who is now actively involved in proclaiming the gospel of the Lord, Zack Orji has urged Christians to hold steadfast to the love of God despite diverse life challenges.

Orji made the call while delivering a sermon titled: “The Goodness of God” at the first thanksgiving service of The Stream of Grace Church, Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos.

Drawing inspiration from several Bible passages, Orji, whose first movie in 1991 was entitled Unforgiven Sin, said God sometimes allows challenges in the lives of Christians, not to punish them but to make them eternally dependent on Him.

He therefore advised that rather than being bitter towards God during trying periods, Christians should hold on to His promises from the Bible.

Lamenting the state of insecurity in the North East region of the country, the former chairman of Actors Guild of Nigeria urged Christians in the region not to loose hope but instead remain steadfast in God, adding that Boko Haram insurgency in the region and some other northern states would soon be over.

In his words: “Northern Christians should not lose faith in God, though trials and tribulations will come but the Bible says many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. Definitely the end of insurgency in Nigeria is fast approaching and whatever northern Christians are going through is just a phase that will not last forever. God will surely bring it to an end. They should keep on depending on God who is the ruler over affairs of men, governor of all nations and keeper of Nigeria”.

Orji admonished Nigerian political leaders to shun unnecessary politicking bickering and focus on sustainable development aimed at improving the lives standards of Nigerians.

According to him, leaders across the globe are elected into power to serve the people and not to enrich themselves, pointing out that Nigerians are praying for effective and efficient service delivery which will empower the populace to have better living standards.

Registration jamboree: PDP plans mass recruitment of youth, offers election tickets

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said Saturday that it would review its membership policy to allow more youth join the party.

The move would enhance the participation of youth in political activities, and would see more young Nigerians clinch tickets for senior political positions across the country, the party said.

A committee named by the PDP National Directorate of Youth Affairs is to examine the level of youth involvement in the party’s administration, and recommend ways of supporting more youth to aspire as the party’s candidates in future elections, a spokesperson said.

Members of the Youth Restructuring Committee are Tony Nwolu, Ibrahim Aboki, Adebayo Abayomi, Franklyn Umar, Babangida Maina, Ini Emabong, and Zulaihat Abdullahi, said a statement signed by the party’s national youth leader, Abdullahi Maibasira.

Other members are Malik Henry Obodozie-Awuzie, Ohimai Amaize, Abdulrahaman Muawuyya, Yusuf Kanoma, Inusa Mohammed, Chidiebere Egwu and Oche Otorkpa.

The committee would be inaugurated by the PDP acting national chairman, Uche Secondus, on Tuesday at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja, the statement added.