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Presidency Insists Boko Haram Has Been defeated

Published

7 years ago

July 31, 2019

Eric

The Presidency on Tuesday night declared that the real Boko Haram has been defeated.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that what is in existence now is a mixture of remnants of the Boko Haram, fugitive criminals and the Islam in Maghreb

He said “The position of the Nigerian government is that the Boko Haram terrorism has been degraded and defeated. The real Boko Haram we know is defeated.

“What we have now is a mixture of remnants of the Boko Haram, fugitive criminals and the Islam in Maghreb together with West African terrorists bonding together. This is a fall out of the collapse of the Libyan State, and from farther away, of the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They are taking advantage of our porous Sahelian borders.

“As a consequence of these international gangs, we have seen an increase of trans-border crimes and the proliferation of small arms in the Lake Chad Basin area. Outrages are common in Niger, Mali, Chad and Cameroon.

“Nigeria is a large country covering nearly one million square kilometres. This is roughly equivalent to the size of France and Germany put together. In addition to our porous borders, in the neighbouring Sahel-Sahara region, a lot of ungoverned areas provide haven for terrorists’ occupation and training.”

He pointed out that without the tremendous efforts of armed forces and the joint operations by the Nigeria-led Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, he said that the single problem of illegal arms flow would have been much worse.

At the moment, he said that the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari has made the country safer than it met it.

He said “In 2015 when he took power, Boko Haram terrorism was active in nearly half the number of states in the country. They controlled a territory the size of Belgium, with a flag and systems of administration and taxation of their own.

“Emirs and Chiefs had fled their domains along with hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens. Such is no more; they have been taken from them.

“At present, terrorist activities have been confined to the remote, rural agrarian areas of Borno State and pockets of outrages in Adamawa and Yobe States.

“As the situation develops, our fantastic armed forces are changing their tactics. Just recently, they launched “Super Camps.” The essence of this is to act proactively and respond quickly to the changing nature of terrorism.

“In addition to the additional support the government of Nigeria is receiving from friendly countries across Europe, United States and the Middle East, the Nigerian government is spending large sums of money in weapons procurement to keep our military in good fighting shape.

“While the military arsenal is not something you pay for and get, requiring mostly long-time orders, weapons will come in accordance with the terms of contracts.

“This country is expecting the commencement of the delivery of Super Tucano fighter jets, very effective in this kind of warfare, beginning next year from the United States.”

According to him, the administration has embarked on an ambitious electronic/digital border monitoring scheme to curtail the porosity of the borders.

He said that the government is working with the UN agencies, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, donor agencies and friendly countries, providing solutions to backwardness in development and poverty in the sub-region.

He stressed that kat the very heart of recruitment schemes of the terrorists lies the issue of poverty.

“A few weeks ago, the administration inaugurated the Northeast Development Commission, to fast track development and poverty eradication in the affected areas.

“The Buhari administration is strongly encouraged by successes recorded so far by our armed forces and the MNJTF, and is optimistic that in the same way as our military defeated the Boko Haram, so would the ISWA terrorism be defeated,” he said

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

12 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

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Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

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DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.