Tag: President asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

During the presentation of the 2024 budget by President Bola Tinubu before the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 29, Nigerians observed with astonishment as the lawmakers collectively performed an allegiance song to the President.

Their action is generating diverse reactions, with many lamenting that it was only aimed at impressing and massaging the ego of President Tinubu, a development that has been described as the height of sycophancy on the part of the lawmakers

Tinubu met with the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, in company with his vice president, Kashim Shettima; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and other top government officials, to present the 2024 budget.

But, Nigerians were taken aback when the lawmakers, rather than concentrate on the important business of the day, turned the whole exercise to what some people have referred to as comic relief of a sort.

Soon after the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, finished presenting his speech, and said: “Distinguished colleagues, at this point, let us welcome the president; a man with track records and an alumnus of the National Assembly, to present his budget estimate,” members of the Red and Green legislative chambers relapsed into a singing mode.

They all stood up, sang and chorused: “On your mandate we shall stand; on your mandate we shall stand; on your mandate Bola, on your mandate Bola, on your mandate, we shall stand,” to the amazement and consternation of many, but also to the admiration of Mr. President and his supporters.

The president’s gladness over the development was immediately made known when he thanked Akpabio for his outstanding speech and admitted that he felt at home receiving the applause and praises.

Prior to the orchestra, the Senate President had, in a manner many have also described as an attempt to trivialise the serious business of the day, made reference to the fact that in 24 years of democracy, Nigeria was able to achieve what the United States of America, with its 247 years of democracy achieved in 185 years.

Expounding the puzzle, he noted that it was in the 185th year of democratic practice in America that the country was able to produce two former senators as president and vice president, in the persons of John F Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, a feat Nigeria achieved in 24 years of its democratic experience by producing two former senators, Tinubu and Shettima as president and vice president, respectively.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the rehabilitation of dilapidated federal roads across the country.

In a statement on Monday in Abuja, the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, said the President is aware of the state of the Nigerian road infrastructure, which he inherited from the Muhammadu Buhari government,

Umahi said the President has directed that rehabilitation work commence immediately on the roads for more accessible and smoother movement of men and goods to save quality man-hours lost due to the poor state.

He stated that despite inheriting an N6 trillion deficit in road infrastructure, President Tinubu is not complaining but is determined to confront the challenge headlong.

Umahi said President Tinubu has approved a 2023 Supplementary budget of ₦300b for the Ministry of Works comprising ₦100b for immediate palliative works in 36 States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and ₦200b for continuation of most of the inherited ongoing projects and very few critical road projects.

Some of the roads include the Makurdi-Nsukka 9th Mile Road, East-West Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Benin bypass road, collapsed bridges of Enugu- Port Harcourt road, collapsed bridges of Shandam-Plateau State, Abuja-Kaduna- Zaria-Kano road and Gombe- Bauchi among several others.

He said the President has not only given specific directives to the Ministry on how to accomplish the execution of the project within the given time frame, but he has also encouraged the public to perform their civic responsibility by following their money through supervision of the projects with appropriate feedback to the government.

He said: “Without prejudice to all the good efforts of the past administration on road infrastructure development, which they tackled within the limit of their resources, the work to be done to change the ugly state of our roads is quite enormous.

“Mr. President is not complaining of the challenges he inherited in nearly all sectors of the economy, especially as it concerns our road infrastructure, but he is quite courageous as he had promised to tackle the problems head-on, which he has started to do not minding the debt burden inherited especially the funding gap of over ₦6 trillion from most of the inherited ongoing road projects.

“Mr. President has since reeled out plans of commitment, consistency, and innovations towards actualizing a sustainable road infrastructure development throughout the country.

“He has just approved a 2023 Supplementary budget of ₦300B for the Ministry of Works comprising of ₦100B for immediate palliative works in 36 States and FCT and ₦200B for the continuation of most of the inherited ongoing projects and very few new but critical road projects.

“Mr. President has directed that work in those palliative projects must commence before 1st December 2023 while observing all due process.

“On the sections being frequently complained of by the public in all regions of the North and South of the country, Mr President has equally isolated them and directed immediate actions on them and indeed, work has started on all such roads”.

Umahi, therefore, called on Nigerians to actively participate in supervising projects and providing constructive feedback to the government.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has explained why the president can’t walk properly.

Onanuga disclosed that his principal still nurses a knee injury.

He made the disclosure while stressing that Tinubu was not nursing any other ailment.

In 2021, Tinubu had knee surgery in London, which was before he commenced his presidential campaign.

However, Onanuga said the surgery was responsible for the president’s inability to walk properly.

Responding to questions from Tribune, the presidential aide said Tinubu is not sick.

According to Onanuga: “No, he was not sick. We made this clear to Nigerians. Tinubu was as fit as the fiddle in the run-up to that election.

“Before that campaign began, I think a year before, he went for knee surgery, which was not a secret as President Buhari even went to see him in London when he was recuperating.

“So, that was what he went to do – knee surgery. That was why he could not walk properly.

“When you do knee surgery, you cannot walk like a 25-year-old man. He is still nursing it up till now because it was a major surgery. It is not that he has any other ailment.”

Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu met with German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Tuesday, at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin.

In a post via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, Tinubu said he looked forward to a more prosperous partnership between the two countries.

He wrote: “Thank you, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for hosting me at the Bellevue Palace today. I look forward to a more prosperous partnership between our countries.”

The President also said he witnessed the signing of two agreements between Nigeria and Germany at the German-Nigeria Business Forum on Tuesday in Berlin.

The president said a major gas export deal and a $500 million investment in renewable energy represent a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards sustainable development and Nigeria-Germany relations.

Tinubu stated that he looked forward to the positive impacts these projects will bring to both our nations.

He wrote: “Delighted to witness the signing of two agreements today that represent a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards sustainable development and Nigeria-Germany relations – a major gas export deal and a $500 million investment in renewable energy.

“These partnerships which underscore our commitment to our energy goals and economic growth, also signify the strength of Nigeria’s economic partnerships on the global stage”.

See photos below;

Tinubu

Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to depart Nigeria for Berlin, Germany, on Saturday, November 18.

In a statement on Friday by the Presidency, Tinubu will attend the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference on November 20, 2023, hosted by German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.