Lai Mohammed during the 2021 end of the year report of President Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos, Daily Dates Nigeria reports.

Lai Mohammed added that the biggest problem Nigeria faced in 2021 is insecurity. He further mentioned that Nigeria has partnered with China in policing by acquiring equipment worth 44 million dollars to help the Nigerian police force.

This is a developing story.

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Daily Dates Nigeria recalls that on June 4, the federal government announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operation in Nigeria following the tweets made by President Muhammadu Buhari. The President had threatened to treat members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the language they understand.

The suspension was, however, attributed to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

While the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed was responding to questions on the issue on Wednesday, he disclosed that progress has been made in resolving the impasse following a series of meetings.

Mohammed noted that most of the conditions given to the platform have been accepted.

The minister while disclosing that Twitter has also agreed to set up an office in Nigeria, added that the company maintained that the earliest it can happen is 2022.

He also expressed confidence that everything will be sorted out with Twitter within a few days or weeks while acknowledging the anxiety that has been shown by Nigerians.

According to him, the Federal Government’s committee negotiating with the microblogging site will meet to make recommendations soon.

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The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Council Chambers of the State House in Abuja, briefly before the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting commenced on Wednesday.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu will be the INEC Chairman for his second five-year term.

Yakubu while addressing journalists’ said preparations were already ongoing on how to ensure smooth elections in 2023.

He noted that INEC had, in collaboration with the National Assembly, commenced a process of delivering an amended electoral legal framework in record time.

“We have clearly demonstrated in recent elections that elections are getting better and they will continue to get better,” he said.

“The National Assembly is holding a public hearing on the amendment of the electoral legal framework. This is important and this time around, working with the National Assembly, we’ll ensure a speedy passage of the amendment bill and once it is assented to, it will help us enormously in confronting the challenges ahead.

“The preparations for 2023 general elections have proceeded in earnest, we need certainty and therefore the electoral legal framework is fundamental, without which we cannot formulate our regulations and guidelines. Without our regulations and guidelines, we cannot conclude work on the manual for the training of ad-hoc staff for the elections.

“So from here, I am going to proceed to the National Assembly, so work begins in earnest and we have already started.”

The INEC chairman also received his appointment letter from the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Maurice Nnamdi Mbaeri, on Wednesday.

Buhari renominated Yakubu for another five-year term on October 27.

He is the first chairman to be reappointed to head the commission.

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Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, said: “Buhari came into office at a time that a swathe of the country’s territory was under occupation, a period when many Nigerian towns and cities, including the capital city of Abuja, were a playground for insurgents and a moment that the nation’s wealth had been looted dry, with little or nothing to show for the nation’s huge earnings, especially
in the area of infrastructure.

Lai Mohammed said it is therefore a cruel irony that those who frittered away a great opportunity to put Nigeria on a sound socio-economic footing, at a time of financial buoyancy, and those who planted the seed of the insecurity in some parts of the country today, are the same ones pointing an accusing finger at a reformist government.

”Nigeria today faces a lot of challenges. But whatever situation the country has found itself in, things would have been much worse but for the deft management of resources, unprecedented fight against corruption, determined battle against insurgency and banditry as well as the abiding courage of Mr. President in piloting the ship of state,

”Nigeria today is not a failed state, but a nation that is courageously tackling its challenges and building a solid infrastructure that will serve as the basis for socio-economic development, a nation that is unrelenting in battling insecurity and working hard to ensure greatest prosperity for the greatest number of people,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

He said no government in the history of the country has done so much with so little, as the Buhari Administration is doing presently, adding that with 60% less national income, the Administration is making progress on all fronts and setting the country on the path of sustainable growth and development.

The Minister said while naysayers are hyping the instances of insecurity in the country, they have conveniently forgotten that the country could have been overrun by insurgents and bandits if President Buhari had not rallied regional and international allies to tackle, headlong, the Boko Haram insurgency that saw bombs going off like firecrackers before his assumption of office, and an estimated 20,000 square miles of the nation’s territory occupied by insurgents

Buhari came into office at a time that a swathe of the country’s territory was under occupation, a period when many Nigerian towns and cities, including the capital city of Abuja, were a playground for insurgents and a moment that the nation’s wealth had been looted dry, with little or nothing to show for the nation’s huge earnings, especially
in the area of infrastructure.

”They tout the downturn in economic fortunes without putting things in context. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a global shutdown and a drastic fall in global oil demand, Nigeria lost 60% of its earnings, yet the Administration has ensured that not a single worker has been retrenched, has paid salaries as and when due and has continued to build infrastructures like roads, rails, bridges and power, among others, that will serve many generations.

”They aggravate the national fault lines with their angry and unguarded actions and rhetoric, forgetting that while national fissures are amplified at a time of dwindling economic fortunes, what is needed to foster peace and unity is not reckless elocution but responsible and responsive leadership, the kind being offered by President Buhari,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said Nigeria is on the road to greatness, despite the challenges confronting the nation, citing the hard push towards food sufficiency; the modernization of the rail system; the nationwide construction of roads and bridges; the reform in the oil and gas sector; the unprecedented anti-corruption battle, the diversification of the economy and the renewed effort to ensure a steady power supply, anchored on a three-phase project that is expected to deliver 25,000MW of electricity in the next few years.

The Minister thanked Nigerians for their perseverance and understanding, especially against the backdrop of the stifling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, and appealed to them to continue to support the Administration, as it seeks to lift 100 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.

”In one of the most difficult moments in the nation’s history, Nigeria is fortunate to have at the helm a leader who is not only dedicated, selfless and patriotic, but one who is globally acknowledged for his discipline, integrity and vision. Those who
genuinely love Nigeria will support, rather than subvert, this committed leadership,” he said.

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Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, made this announcement during a press conference on Thursday morning.

Recall that Nigeria recorded five new cases of coronavirus with cases in the country rising to 51 and Rivers State, south-south Nigeria recording its first case.

Lai in his speech said the FG is: “considering tougher measures to enforce compliance, stop the exportation of the disease to states that do not have it and minimize spread. Possible measures include:

– Stopping inter-state/inter-town travels, except for essential services– Closing all motor parks and inter-state rail stations. Already, all train movements nationwide have been stopped.

– Using fire fighting and other adaptable vehicles and personnel to fumigate
cities and towns.

We will be considering and announcing new measures from time to time, but rest assured that whatever decisions we take will be in the best interest of Nigerians.

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Lai during a Press Conference on Thursday said the reports are all fake news.

Buhari was declared negative for Coronavirus, but several media outlets had gone on to report that the President was still showing signs and symptoms of the virus.

He described such news as an “epidemic” fighting for dominance with the pandemic the country is battling with.

“This brings me to the rising instances of fake news associated with coronavirus. The epidemic of fake news is now competing with the pandemic of coronavirus, and this is not helping the fight against the disease. Instances of such fake news include

– That there are only two ventilators in Abuja, out of which one has been commandeered for a top government official

– That a British Airways Flight was due to land in Nigeria on Wednesday despite the closure of all international airports.

– That President Muhammadu Buhari has been coughing and is now on ventilator.

“Fake. Fake. Fake. It’s all fake news”, he said.

“A section of the traditional media has also been engaging in scaremongering and irresponsible reporting on the disease. It is wrong to speculate on those who are positive or negative for coronavirus without any empirical information.

“In any case, being positive to coronavirus is not a death sentence, as we can see around the world. There is no need for the kind of scaremongering we are seeing in a section of the media. The danger is that this scaremongering can even discourage some who may want to come forward for testing.

“We therefore wish to appeal to the media to be more circumspect in their reporting.

“Gentlemen, we have noted the decision of at least five domestic airlines – Air Peace, Aero and Azman, Dana and Arik  – to suspend their flight operations. The suspension is a boost for the efforts of the government to check the spread of the pandemic. Some of the airlines have also announced one form of support or another for the government’s efforts to tackle the pandemic.

“This is very commendable. We are aware of more private sector support to the FG and will be announcing this after full compilation. We seek the support and cooperation of more capable individuals and organizations in order to defeat this pandemic.

“Finally, we appeal to Nigerians not to panic. It is said that panic is our greatest enemy. The Federal Government is determined to work with the good people of Nigeria to defeat Covid-19. And defeat the disease we will.

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