Reacting to Mustapha’s comments, Farouk on Channel TV said the former SGF was not part of the inner circle or political process that led to Buhari’s historic win and therefore lacked the authority or context to speak on Tinubu’s contribution.

“Boss Mustapha was nowhere to be found when we were building the political alliance that made President Buhari’s victory possible. He cannot tell the story because he was not there,” Farouk stated.

He defended Tinubu’s efforts, saying the former Lagos State Governor played a critical role in galvanizing support, resources, and political strategy that helped Buhari cross the threshold from perennial candidate to elected president in 2015.

“Those of us who were involved know how much Tinubu sacrificed — from mobilizing the South-West to forging the APC alliance. Without that support, Buhari may not have made it,” he added.

Farouk also warned that such statements by Mustapha could further deepen divisions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at a time when unity is needed the most.

“This is not the division that we need right now. The country is facing serious challenges, and instead of stirring controversy, we should be focused on building trust, not breaking it.”

The comments come amid growing political tension within the APC, as several northern figures and former Buhari loyalists have expressed dissatisfaction with the current administration.

Boss Mustapha had earlier dismissed Tinubu’s claim of “making Buhari president,” at a book launch insisting that Buhari had already built a massive 12 million  political following long before the APC merger.

The post Buhari’s Ally Condemns Boss Mustapha’s Comments on Tinubu’s Role in 2015 appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

Mustapha, who served in Buhari’s administration, said the former president had already built a formidable and loyal support base long before the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking at the book launch by Garba Shehu, a former aide to Buhari, he noted that Buhari commanded a consistent voter base of nearly 12 million people, mainly from the North, which existed independently of Tinubu’s political structure.

“President Buhari was a political force on his own. His supporters were deeply rooted and consistent even before the APC came into existence,” Mustapha stated, dismissing Tinubu’s repeated claims—made prominently during his 2022 campaign—that he “made Buhari president.”

Interestingly, Boss Mustapha is among the northern political figures reportedly listed as a potential vice presidential candidate by Tinubu before he eventually settled for Kashim Shettima. His growing criticism of the current administration has therefore sparked speculation about deeper fractures within the ruling party.

Buhari’s allies and appointees are said to be aligning with a new opposition front, which has reportedly adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the 2027 general elections.

The post Boss Mustapha Denies Tinubu’s Role in Buhari’s 2015 Victory appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

In his condolence message, Sen. Akume said the death of Charity Wesley Mustapha came as a rude shock.

He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family in this moment of grief adding that death is no respecter of persons and the demise of such a loving and amiable woman is touching.

He commiserates with the former SGF, his family, people of Adamawa State, and prays to God to grant the soul of the departed eternal repose.

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SGF describes Prof Obiozor as a diplomat extraodinaire having served as Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America, Israel

and Cyprus, distinguished academic, quintessential statesman and a remarkable lover of his people who believed in the unity of the country as well as harmonous coexistence among the people.

He said that Prof Obiozor died at a time the country was in dire need of his contributions toward the strengthening of all ethnic nationalities for a cohesive national growth and development.

SGF condoles with the Government and people of Imo State, Obiozor’s family, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and friends, and prays to God to grant eternal repose to the soul of the departed.

The post Obiozor Died When He’s Needed The Most – SGF appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

FG had on July 1st, inaugurated the White Paper Drafting Committee to examine and evaluate the findings and recommendations contained in the Report of the Committee on the Review of New Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions (PACs).

The committee was saddled with the responsibility to also develop an implementation plan and key performance indicators.

On Thursday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, received the reports from the committee headed by Ebele Okeke, a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

Mustapha assured the Committee and Nigerians that the Draft White Paper will be given all the necessary attention. He also commended the Committee for being able to complete the assignment within the 6-week timeline given to them, which according to him, demonstrate the seriousness and passion members conducted the work.

Okeke, while presenting the report, said the Committee, while carrying out the assignment, “considered the current economic challenges and the requirement for and the requirement for Government to utilize resources more efficiently in order to reduce cost of governance; the need to develop diverse sources of revenue for Government as well as encourage some Agencies of Government to be self-funding; the principle of building strong institutions to guarantee service delivery to the populace and the imperative to grow the economy, create employment and stay on the critical path to achieve development objectives.

“It is worth mentioning that the Committee co-opted Dr. Ochi C. Achinivu, a retired Federal Permanent Secretary, to assist in its assignment of the White Paper Drafting Committee sought and received the counsel of subject matter Experts including retired Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation, serving and retired Permanent Secretaries during its deliberations.

“Also, carried out content analysis of the legal framework setting up the PAS under review, analysis of the budgetary provisions of the PACs for the period under consideration. The potential for the PACS to be self-funding Over a reasonable period of time as well as access to International sources of funding technology to build up capacity and technical expertise to be self-sustaining were also considered.”

Okeke said “the legal framework/enabling Act of some of the PACs did not clearly define structure, management and oversight. Most of the laws used Agency, Commission and Board inter-changeably. For instance, where the organization is defined as a Commission, the provisions of the law did not support the structure of a Commission. In this regard, where the Committee recommended change in status/name, amendment of the Act/Law also recommended, accordingly.

“The Committee also observed that most of the agencies created (especially under Education and Health) were Bills that emanated from the National Assembly. It is therefore, important to engage and dialogue with the NASS to generate an understanding to streamline the creation of new PACs.

“The Draft White Paper is made up of three parts: Part I has Introduction and Purpose, Part II shows the PACs, the Recommendations and Remarks of the Review Committee, Comments and Recommendations by this Committee for consideration of the Federal Government. Part III is the Implementation Plan and Key Performance Indicators.”

The post FG Receives Orosanye Draft White Paper Reports appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

Speaking while inaugurating the  Committee, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, emphasized the importance of the commemoration of Democracy Day as a period of reflection on the gains of democracy in the country.

He stated that the annual Democracy Day would provide a platform through which the heroes of the nation’s democracy would be celebrated and the scorecard of this administration clearly enunciated. In his words:

“The celebration of the Democracy Day provides an opportunity to remember the contribution of the heroes of Democracy in Nigeria, some of whom paid the supreme price to restore Democracy in the country. It also affords the Government an opportunity to showcase its achievements in dealing with myriads of challenges in the social and economic sectors confronting the nation”.

In order to ensure the successful execution of the celebration, the SGF inaugurated the following nine Sub-Committees: Church Service Sub-Committee; Juma’at Sub-Committee; Protocol Sub-Committee; Venue and Entertainment Sub-Committee; Medical Sub-Committee, Security Sub-Committee, Parade Sub-Committee, Media and Publicity Sub-Committee; and Secretariat Sub-Committee.

Some members of the Sub-Committees who attended the inauguration included: The Honourable Minister of FCT, Mohammed Musa Bello; Honourable Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd); Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Inspector- General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba; Commandant, Brigade of Guards,Brigadier General Muhammed Takuti Usman, among others.

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Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi made the announcement in Alausa on Wednesday.

Prof. Akin Abayomi said that the names of the defaulters who failed to appear before a mobile court have been submitted and their passports will be deactivated for a period of one year.

“We have submitted the first 200 names of individuals who have failed to present themselves at the mobile courts to the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) and their passports have been deactivated for a period of one year”.

He disclosed that confirmed defaulters would be subject to fines or community service as the acts are criminal in nature.

“These will be published in the dailies in the coming week and the next set of names will follow in the coming month.

“We encourage all those who have received a text message to present themselves at the mobile court to avoid these sanctions the Commissioner stated.

He noted that the committee frowned at the dubious actions of some inbound passengers who presented fake PCR tests and COVID vaccination cards and fill in false travel information in an attempt to bypass the national COVID guidelines.

“It has come to the notice of the State Government that certain returning passengers present themselves at the airport either with fake COVID-9 PCR tests or fake vaccination cards or registering as children under 10 years to bypass the National guidelines or providing false COVID related information.

“These acts will not be tolerated as they represent the main catalyst of all the four waves which have had a major impact on the State public health systems and the economy.

“Whilst we understand that it may not have been the fault of passengers but facilitated by unscrupulous individuals assisting them, we have taken a decision not to submit their passports for deactivation by the Presidential Steering Committee, in the first instance, but give them an opportunity to present themselves at our mobile court to defend themselves and help identify where they are obtaining the fake documents if applicable”, the statement read in parts.

The commissioner has announced that while the fourth wave of COVID-19 has tapered out, it will continue to ensure heightened public surveillance for COVID and ensure access to free PCR testing at all its public health facilities.

He also reiterated that testing at the designated public health facilities remains free of charge.

He further announced a reduction in the cost of the COVID-19 PCR test at its accredited private laboratories from N50,400 to N45,250 per PCR test commencing on the 28th of January 2022.

The commissioner stated that the COVID-19 PCR test cost was reviewed by Lagos State COVID-19 Incident Command Structure and approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

According to him, the reduction in cost was to cut the expenses to be incurred by citizens who needed the PCR tests for travel, work, or other purposes other than COVID symptoms or contact tracing.

“In line with the directive of Mr. Governor, the Lagos State Biobank has reviewed the processes involved in conducting a COVID-19 PCR test at the accredited private laboratories consortium and based on this, made a recommendation to the Governor for a reduction.

“For those that need to travel and require a private PCR test, the Lagos State Government has recommended a reduction in the cost of COVID-19 PCR test at the accredited private laboratories consortium from N50,400 to N45,250 per PCR test commencing on the 28th of January 2022.

“You will recall that N50,400 initial PCR test fee charged at the private laboratories was a fixed amount approved by the Governor during the expansion of our testing to include the private laboratories consortium in the first wave. This strategy was to expand testing outlets available to the public but more importantly to ensure price control standardization and avoid exploitation of the public, as there were huge cost variations in PCR testing in the private sector ranging from N70,000 to as high as N300,000 per PCR test.

“Mr. Governor has approved the reduction in the cost of the PCR test, bringing us to the new cost of N45,250 per PCR test. What this implies is that the Lagos State Government will enforce the new cost of PCR tests conducted at the private laboratories’ consortium”.

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He described Zannah Mustapha as a lawyer, educationist per excellence, Philanthropist of immense proportion and an unparalleled humanitarian of the century whose contributions to the educationally disadvantaged has resonated all over the world.

SGF commended Zannah Mustapha for burnishing the image of Nigeria in the international media through positive contributions in making education available to the vulnerable, particularly, those orphaned by insurgency in the North-East geopolitical zone of the country.

He noted that Zannah Mustapha’s example is worthy of emulation by Nigerians in view of the need to tackle and reduce the number of out-of- school children in the country.

Zannah Mustapha is the Proprietor of the Future Prowess Islamic Foundation in Maiduguri, Borno State, has since its establishment used the school to cater for the educational needs of those in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) camps and others ravaged by insurgency.

The post CNN Heroes: Zannah Mustapha Is Worthy Of Emulation – SGF appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

Joseph died on Tuesday 30th November, 2021, in a London hospital, Daily Dates Nigeria reports.

SGF recalled that Late Dr. Joseph Wayas was a Second Republic President of the Senate from 1979 – 1983. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly between 1977- 1978 as well as a member of the National Political Reform Conference from 2005 -2006.

SGF describes Dr. Wayas as an astute politician, a firm believer in federalism, who worked hard to ensure oneness and indivisibility of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.He laments that he died at a time his wise counsel would be needed at this point of the nation’s history.

The post SGF Mourns Former Senate President Joseph Wayas appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

SGF made the disclosure when he received in audience the members of the APC Youth Platform led by its National Youth Leader, Barr. Ismaeel Ahmed in his office.

He expressed his satisfaction on the efforts of the party in raising a successor generation of youths who have the capacity to contribute meaningfully in the governance process. In his words:

“It gives me satisfaction that we are truly in the process of raising a successor generation which is very important. And I have course to share with Mr. President on couples of occasions about it. In the remaining part of this administration what we would be concentrating on is to strategically and decisively begin to put in place an infrastructure that would churn out the successor generation for us. I believe that the future belongs through your membership and the future of the party can only be sustainable under what Mr. President stands for, which is, to invest in committing the leadership of the party and the leadership of governance to this successor generation we have raised.”

SGF commended the APC Youth Platform for organizing the Progressive Youth Conference which brought together progressive youths who brainstormed of the issues affecting the nation and also proffering solutions to them.

The National Youth Leader, All Progressives Party (APC), Barr. Ismaeel Buba Ahmed appreciated the SGF for his commitment to the party and the Youth Platform of the party. He used the opportunity to thank the President for his interest in the activities of youths in the party as shown in the full participation of the SGF at the just concluded Youth Conference.

He urged the party to pay more attention to the yearnings and aspirations of youths in the party.

In her remarks, Hon. Princess Miriam Onucha, Member of the House of Representatives, thanked the government for involving youths in the leadership positions in the country. She also appealed for move involvement of youths in politics so as to leave legacy that would stand the test of time.

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