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I Don’t Fear Buhari, Says Amosun

Published

7 years ago

December 24, 2018

Eric

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Saturday said there was no truth in the media report that quoted him as saying he fears President Muhammadu.

“To put the record straight, I never said I fear President Muhammadu Buhari. I only said I fear God. I don’t fear President Buhari,” Amosun said during the 2018 Christmas Carol and Service of Nine Lessons organised by the state government in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The governor had earlier been quoted to have said that he fears God and Buhari while addressing leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta shortly after the National Working Committee inaugurated the state caretaker committee.

The NWC had on Friday inaugurated the caretaker committee for the state to replace the embattled state executive led by Chief Derin Adebiyi.

While reacting to the media report, Amosun said he was shocked to read on the pages of newspapers on Saturday that he fears God and Buhari.

He said, “You know this is our time as politicians, a time when politicians will call black, blue.

“Yesterday (Friday), I held a meeting with our people, and the way I started was that, I was brought up to fear God.

“But I saw newspapers this morning (Saturday) that Amosun says he fears God and Buhari.

“No! It is only God I fear, the one that is alive, the only one that will say a thing no one can change. That is the only God that I fear.

“Of course, I respect President Buhari. I love him and he loves me too. I know him, he fears God because he is from God. He doesn’t beg for respect, he commands and earns it. So, it is only God that I fear.”

In his message, the Secretary-General, Anglican Communion Worldwide, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, attributed Nigeria’s problems to what he described as scanty knowledge of both the Bible and the Quran.

He said politicians were using religion negatively to divide the country and he also enjoined citizens to refuse such act.

He said, “Our major problem in this country today is that so many people have scanty knowledge and understanding of the Quran and the Bible and they tend to propagate that little understanding of the word of God and anyone who does not agree with them will be seen as an enemy.

“For the Christians, the real problem is sin because it was sin that caused reincarnation and that is why Jesus came as sacrifice and as ransom for men.

“Jesus is a word that came in human flesh and as a result, he is a messenger and his mission is to save the people from their sins.

“Meanwhile, God expects us all to humble ourselves but our politicians are negatively using religion to divide us in this country and the time has come for all us to say no to them.”

The Punch

Featured

Senate Approves Tinubu’s N1.15tr Domestic Loan Request to Fund 2025 Budget Deficit

Published

20 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.

The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.

The committee noted that the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.

This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).

In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.

President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.

The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.

Featured

APC’s Joe Igbokwe Calls for Dismissal of Soldier Who Stood His Ground Against Wike

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has called for the dismissal of the soldier who resisted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The soldier had blocked Wike and officials of the FCTA from accessing a portion of land in the FCT.

The officer, claiming he was acting on instructions, told Wike that he would not be allowed into the property. Wike, however, questioned his authority, leading to a heated confrontation and name calling.

Reacting on Facebook, Igbokwe questioned who was behind the military officer in challenging the FCT Minister.

He wrote, “Who is this man in uniform? Of what meat is he fed? Who is beating the drum for him? This is unacceptable? His uniform has to be removed.”

Featured

Senates Rejects NNPCL’s Explanation, Orders Refund of N210trn to Govt

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

The Senate has rejected the explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the ₦210 trillion outstanding against the oil firm.

It came to the conclusion on Wednesday that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly.

The session was called to give the NNPCL the opportunity to make clarifications on the answers the company provided to the 19 questions the panel asked the firm about the ₦210 trillion.

Following a review of the operations of the NNPCL from 2017-2023, the committee sighted the unexplained transaction, totaling ₦103 trillion (accrued expenses) and ₦107 trillion (receivables) in the audited financial statements of the firm, prompting it to raise the queries.

After weeks of back-and-forth between the committee and the NNPCL, the NNPCL eventually responded to the 19 questions.

However, at a resumed session, Senator Wadada frowned at the absence of Ojulari, whom the committee said gave no reasons for staying away, consequently rejected the explanations.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, while speaking on the panel’s findings, said the responses were not only unsatisfactory, but were also contradictory.

“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables -amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he stated.

Wadada further questioned how the firm could pay ₦103 trillion in Cash Calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.

“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103trn in one year, when it only generated ₦24trn in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?

“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when the NNPCL appears before us,” he stated.

The committee said it would have been better for the current management of the NNPCL to admit that it encountered challenges in explaining what happened to the funds than giving contradictory answers to the questions.

“If the present management of NNPCL is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS,” Wadada added.