Factsheet: Federal Government’s Efforts to Ensure the Safe Return of the Dapchi Girls

Background:

On February 19, 2018, 110 girls were abducted by suspected Boko Haram militants from the Government Girls’ Technical School, Dapchi in Bursari Local Government of Yobe State.

By February 21, 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari reacted to the abduction of the school girls, by directing the military and police to mobilize immediately and begin rescue efforts.

On February 22, 2018, a Federal Government delegation led by Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, visited Dapchi, Yobe State to fully support and collaborate with the Yobe State Government, on rescue plans.

In response to the recent incident, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) deployed air assets, including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, to the Northeast in a renewed effort at locating the missing Dapchi girls.

On February 26, 2018, a Federal Government delegation, led by Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, visited Yobe State for the second time to meet with state government stakeholders and get update on the search for the 110 missing girls.

At the meeting, the Minister announced that the Federal Government has directed all security agencies in Yobe State to deploy their personnel to schools in the state to ensure students and staffers’ safety. He also added that security agencies are working on many leads on the location of the girls.

On February 26, 2018, following the need for more in-dept search operations, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) deployed additional air assets, to conduct day and night searches for the missing girls. By 6pm, the Nigerian Air Force had flown a total of 200 hours conducting searches for the missing girls.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar relocated to Yobe state on February 27, 2018, to personally superintend the search for the missing Dapchi girls. 

On February 28, 2018, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Lt General (Rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, directed the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris and the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC), Abdullahi Mohammad Gana to relocate to the northeast and liaise with the theater commander of operation Lafiya Dole, the Governors of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states to ensure the deployment of their personnel to all schools in the liberated areas in the three states.

On March 2, 2018, the search for the missing girls was extended to the neigbouring countries. A statement to this effect was released by the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed.

The Federal Goverment has officially released the names and details of the 110 missing girls to the general public as it continues its search efforts.

As of March 21, 2018, 107 out of the 110 missing Dapchi girls (105 Dapchi school girls and 2 others) were officially documented to have been released by the Boko Haram insurgents. The girls were promptly put under medical care while the remaining number of girls were being accounted for. Full press release to this effect can be sourced HERE 

On March 23, 2018, the President officially received the released Dapchi schoolgirls at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He made his address at the meeting which can be sourced HERE

The Nigerian Air Force has urged the locals and anyone who might have useful information on the location of the girls to contact the NAF authorities using the following tip lines:

08035733438

08172843484

08058419128

The Federal Government urges everyone to remain calm as they step up efforts to locate the missing girls. A detailed press statement on Federal Government’s response is HERE

President Buhari’s Address on his Official Visit to Yobe State

I am here in Yobe State today, to express my sincere sympathies with the parents, families, the Government and the entire people of Yobe State whose daughters were callously abducted by unrepentant terrorists.

On 19th February, 2018, we woke up to the painful news of the abduction of One Hundred and Ten (110) students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi. Since this ugly incident happened, I have not left any stone unturned in making sure that the girls are rescued.

I have ordered the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take direct charge and brief me on a daily basis on the efforts to bring back the girls. Within four (4) days of the incident, the Minister of Information visited Dapchi and the next day, the Minister of Interior who was accompanied by the Minister of Information re-visited the school for on the spot assessment.

I have ordered the re-strengthening of a Joint Operational Base involving relevant agencies and Services to coordinate the rescue mission. Consequently, the Service Commanders have not only established a unified Command Centre in Maiduguri, the Military has raised several rescue teams to comb the forests in the North East Theatre of Operation.

In addition, the Nigerian Airforce has maintained aerial surveillance of the area. The Federal Government had earlier sent a delegation of senior officials to visit the Governor and the parents of the girls to re-assure them of the measures the government is taking as well as have an on-the-spot-assessment of the incident.

Similarly, the Federal Government has set up a 12-member Committee to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the students. The membership of the Committee was drawn from among security agencies and local residents. It is my hope that any agency, person or group found to have been negligent or culpable in the abduction of the girls will be punished in accordance with the law.

Furthermore, the government is partnering with the International Community and organizations including our neighbours to ensure that these girls are safely returned. Just recently, I reiterated our resolve to negotiate for the unconditional release of the girls. This is borne out of this administration’s conviction that, doing so is safer devoid of risks and will not endanger the lives of our young girls who are in harm’s way.

Since the inception of this administration, we have remained resolute in our fight against Terrorism and Boko Haram insurgents. Nigerians will readily recall that prior to our coming in 2015, the situation was chaotic with violent terrorist attacks being the order of the day.

Terrorists had made life very unbearable for the people in Yobe, Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Niger, and even the FCT, Abuja. Our Mosques and Churches witnessed daily suicide bomb attacks. Parts of Adamawa and Borno States were helplessly ceded to the terrorists.

But today, we have so far shown clear determination in tackling terrorism which is a world -wide phenomenon. We have not only degraded the power and dominance of the criminal elements, our security forces have patriotically exhibited an uncommon zeal in executing their assignment.

We explored various strategies including regional and international collaborations to exterminate terror. We have re-equipped our armed forces, security and intelligence Services. They are empowered with improved welfare and better equipment. The outcomes have been good. Our achievement in maintaining security is such that the international community and even our critics commend our modest efforts in this regards.

The Federal Government’s response to the unfortunate abduction of the school girls is a clear departure from the insensitivity of the past administration which looked the other way while the Chibok girls were taken away in 2014 and held in captivity for over 3 years. Due to our commitment, over 100 Chibok girls have been rescued and reunited with their families, sent back to school and empowered with requisite skills.

You may recall that recently, our negotiation efforts led to the release of abducted University of Maiduguri lecturers, some women Police personnel, students and even an NYSC member. We, therefore, have no doubt that the Dapchi girls will be rescued or released. I can reassure parents, Nigerians and the International Community that we will do all that is within our power to make sure that the girls are brought back safely to their families.

I have ordered a 24 hour brief to me by security agencies on its successes or challenges. While expecting the report of the Committee set up to investigate the abduction for implementation, I have asked that appropriate Federal Government authorities be in constant touch with the Yobe State Government and other neighbouring States to ensure a common strategy and line of action.

There will be no rest till the last girl, whether from Chibok and Dapchi, is released. The girls, like all our citizens, must enjoy unhindered freedom and pursue their legitimate aspirations.

The Dapchi and Chibok students are our girls and must enjoy our protection. They must live to achieve their individual ambitions, to be great women of tomorrow. It is our duty to protect them. We are determined to restore peace to all part of the country – from the West to the East; North to the South. While calling for calm, I implore affected parents and families to restrain from making statements that may jeopardize the success of the rescue mission.

We are aware of orchestrations by some evil elements to take advantage of the development to score cheap political points. I call on law abiding citizens to shun activities and statements that may cause a breakdown of law and order.

The Government, under my watch, will continue to maintain normalcy and ensure that incidents of this nature are stopped. Be assured that measures are being put in place to achieve these objectives.

Thank you and may Almighty Allah bless our country.

Press Release: In Dapchi, President Buhari Pledges Safe Return of Abducted Schoolgirls

After meeting with stakeholders in Damaturu, Yobe State, President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday proceeded to Dapchi where he reassured parents of the abducted schoolgirls that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars, until their wards are safely brought back home.

The President, who was accompanied by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, said he had directed full scale aerial surveillance and investigation to ensure that the girls were returned safely.

“I have read the full report of what happened in Dapchi. As I received the report, I was saddened and I am praying that God will continue to console you,” he said.

President Buhari also said that government will ensure that the Boko Haram menace is totally brought to an end.

“Boko Haram was in control of many local councils in Borno and some parts of Yobe State before we came. Now it has resorted to using young girls for suicide missions in mosques, churches and motor parks.

“We will not spare their members. We will ensure that Boko Haram meets its waterloo. By the will of God, I have directed the police and reinforced them, and the army and air force to keep searching until the children are returned alive,” he said.

Governor Gaidam had promised that the state government would continue to provide all the necessary support to security agencies to enable them embark on a successful search and rescue of the girls.

In her remarks, the Principal of the Government Girls’ Science/Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, Mrs Adama Abdulkarim, said some gunmen stormed the school premises and started shooting at about 7.00pm on February 20, 2018.

“We had a roll call and realised 110 girls were missing; out of 906 girls, we had 796,” she explained.

A representative of the parents, Alhaji Bashir Manzo, appealed to the Federal Government to do all within its means for the safe return of the girls.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
March 14, 2018.

President Buhari’s Speech at a Meeting with Stakeholders in the Rice Value Chain

I am very pleased to receive you today. Firstly, let me congratulate the farmers, the processors and the rice dealers for all the successes you have achieved to date.

Specifically, I want to thank you for believing in this Administration and our commitment to economic diversification and inclusive growth.

Your investments of over Three Hundred Billion Naira are located in some of the most remote, and indeed, most forgotten parts of the country. And a significant percentage of these investments were made during the recession. This shows you have great confidence in our policies and programs.

Our vision, as a Government, has always been to promote and support programs that will bring investments to these rural areas.

Not too long ago, our nation was predominantly driven by the rural economy. Indeed, Nigeria’s backbone was built by the farmers.

Somehow, we as a society abandoned the Agriculture sector of our economy. Agriculture became an afterthought and we forced our farmers into poverty.

Thankfully, Nigerians have now woken up to the fact that it is an embarrassment for us, as a nation, to import most of what we eat, given the great natural gifts of our country.

We have the fertile land, we have water and the manpower to feed ourselves. Therefore, we have no reason to import essential foodstuffs.

When we came in 2015, there were thirteen rice mills in Nigeria. Twelve of these were built between 2009 and 2015. This was an average of two mills per annum.

But my team and I felt more could be done. And we put in place measures and policies to unlock the potential of this sector and thus, increase the rate of investments.

You will all recall that in November 2015, I was in Birnin Kebbi to launch the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers program and also kick off the dry season rice farming. Since then, the Vice President and I have commissioned a record number of agricultural projects and programs. From rice, to wheat, to cashew, to animal feed, to fertiliser, to drinks processing and many more.

And very soon, I will also be commissioning a sugar estate. These projects are all over the country and worth billions of Naira. Clearly, our policies are working.

From your presentation today, you have shown that between 2016 and 2018, eight new rice mills have come on stream. This is equivalent to four new mills per annum. Our paddy production and productivity has also doubled compared to 2014 levels.

This achievement just confirms what we all know. That when Nigerians are committed to execute a task, it gets done.

I am particularly proud of how the narrative has changed. Agriculture is now seen as a financially viable sector. Many Nigerians, especially the youth, are choosing agriculture, as a profession.

We have former Governors, Ministers, legislators and major entrepreneurs moving into agriculture. Not as a hobby. But as a viable business that will generate income.

So when we have the youth, the enabling environment and the entrepreneurs, all coming together with the same vision, Nigeria certainly cannot lose.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding today between the farmers, millers and rice dealers is the natural next step.

The coming together of these three stakeholders is a major step forward. Specially, I want to recognise the wholesalers and distributors who today, by agreeing to promote Nigerian products over imports, have demonstrated a welcome patriotism.

Your commitment has guaranteed that the 11 million Nigerian farmers will remain employed. And I want to assure all of you that this Government will not let you down. We will also do our bit to ensure you are able to sell quality Nigerian rice at an affordable price.

We are committed to providing quality inputs at affordable prices. Some weeks ago, I met with the Fertiliser Producers Association, during which I urged the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Commercial Banks to support agro dealers with affordable funding that will enable them to provide quality inputs to the farmers at affordable prices, hoping to continue lowering the farmer’s production costs.

This Administration has been providing enabling environment, which led to the successes achieved to date. We shall continue to fight the smugglers at the borders and in the markets. We will also continue to invest in infrastructure to further lower the cost of operations.

Therefore, I want you to meet with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor to discuss your proposal further. I am confident we can work together to develop an implementable program that will bring down the price of Nigerian rice to the consumers.

I am impressed by the tremendous, but understated contributions of the small scale millers. These entrepreneurs must be supported. I am hereby directing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to engage with the State Governments, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Agriculture to develop a support mechanism for these small scale millers.

I want to thank the Governor of Kebbi State for his unwavering commitment to the rice value chain and indeed, Agriculture as a whole. He has become a true ambassador for rural economic development.

I also must congratulate the CBN Governor for successfully managing the Anchor Borrowers Program. Your collaboration and commitment with other Agencies for the development of agriculture is a clear example of the alignment between the fiscal and monetary policies.

We must acknowledge the tremendous work done by the Nigerian Governors, as well as members of the National and State legislatures in pushing agriculture. I want to encourage you all to continue to push this agenda. This will be our legacy for generations to come.

I will be inaugurating a National Food Security Council that I will personally Chair. The council will include Governors, Ministers, Security Agencies and key stakeholders across the entire agricultural segments of farming, fisheries and livestock management.

Our experiences today of clashes between farmers and herdsmen or the challenges fishermen face due to global warming and other environmental factors clearly demonstrates that our quest for food security has a direct link to our national security objectives. The Food Security Council will ensure alignment and bring efficiencies.

I want to assure all Nigerians that this Administration is committed to Nigeria feeding itself. And from what I have heard today, this can happen in not too distant future.

As I look forward to receiving your joint proposal, I wish all Nigerian farmers, a very successful 2018 wet season.

Thank you.

FG Exploring Alternative Sources to Improve Healthcare Funding in Nigeria – VP Osinbajo

President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to finding lasting solutions to the challenges of healthcare delivery and funding in Nigeria, including exploring alternative sources, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this today at the Presidential Villa when he received a delegation from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), an international public-private partnership committed to increasing access to immunization.

He said government was considering several options including working on some of the recommendations by the alliance, to improve Nigeria’s healthcare system.

According to him, “the funding of our health care system especially for a country this size cannot depend on the budgetary allocation alone. There is clearly a need to look at alternative sources of funding, and clearly international donor funding cannot bridge that gap when you look at what is required for Nigeria.”

Speaking further on the challenges faced by Nigeria in the health sector and what the government is doing to address them, Prof. Osinbajo said, “There is no question at all that we realise the enormity of the problems and we are committed to working with partners and agencies like the GAVI alliance to solve them and ensuring that we are able to reverse some of the very depressing statistics about our healthcare system.”

He said: “Given some of the demographic details that we expect to see in next 10 to 15 years, I think there is certainly need for a much permanent way of funding the health system, that is why we are working on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and see what we can get from that.

“I think you can certainly rely on the commitment of the Federal Government and Mr President to this particular issue, we are looking at all the various options and we hope that we will be able to work with some of the recommendations made by the Minister of Health.”

He added that government was also working in partnership with state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC) to encourage the adoption of best practices endorsed by the Federal Government.

According to the Vice President, “we are going to call a special session of the National Economic Council, we have had a previous one where some of the information and statistics were shared.”

Earlier in his remarks, the CEO of GAVI and leader of the delegation, Mr Seth Berkley, called for increased funding for immunization activities and the general healthcare system in the country.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole had earlier said that the Ministry was holding talks with the visiting GAVI delegation to Nigeria on the country and GAVI could collaborate in matters of healthcare in Nigeria.

The GAVI delegation comprised representatives from the World Bank, DFID, and other organizations.

The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Villa by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
6th March, 2018.

Speech by President Buhari at the 61st Independence Day Anniversary of Ghana

Protocols:

On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I am honoured by the special invitation extended to me by His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on this auspicious occasion of the celebration of the 61st Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana. I am delighted at the warm reception accorded me and my entourage since our arrival in this beautiful city of Accra.

Your Excellency,

I would like to pay special tribute to all leaders of the Republic right from the era of the late first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to date. We must acknowledge their various contributions.

In the words of Kwame Nkrumah “those who would judge us merely by the heights we have achieved would do well to remember the depths from which we started”. No words can sum it up better as we are all familiar with our colonial era journey and its ups and downs. My tribute also goes to all those who have paid the supreme sacrifices in the cause of nation-building.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

May I extend my personal congratulations to President Akufo-Addo on your successful one year in office with special note on the strides recorded by your administration within a space of just 365 days.

From Nigeria, I have watched closely your achievements, ranging from your ingenious approach to creating jobs for the teeming youths through various initiatives, including the repositioning of agriculture for modern farming, ‘Farming for Jobs and Food’, Senior High School (SHS) free education, One-District-One-Factory, and One-Village-One-Dam as well as the improvement being recorded in the Republic’s macroeconomic indicators.

All these efforts, I am aware, have made Ghana to become a good destination for foreign direct investment just like Nigeria. Accept my congratulations!

Your Excellency,

My tributes to you and the people of Ghana will not be complete without acknowledging your efforts at tackling corruption, which has eaten into the fabrics of our societies.

I congratulate both the government and the Parliament for the quick passage of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act and its signing into law. Your Excellency can be assured that you have a good partner in me as I look forward to any form of collaboration between Nigeria and Ghana in tackling the menace of endemic corruption. Given all these public policies, it becomes reassuring that with the right leadership, Africa’s drives to eradicate poverty and to entrench democracy is on course.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Nigeria and Ghana share close cultural and historic ties, which have continued to shape our bilateral relations. Once again, I note with pride that our common colonial experience, as well as parallel socio-economic and political development and the patriotic vision of our leaders have helped greatly in shaping this unique relationship not only in West Africa sub-region but in our collaborative actions internationally.

It is therefore my strong desire that we owe it as a duty to ensure that our good people continue to live in each other’s countries unhindered. Our newly rejuvenated Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation has already provided us with good platform in resolving any differences while focusing on our main developmental objectives.

Your Excellency,

Permit me to put on record, Ghana’s untiring efforts in brokering peace in Togo, by bringing all the warring parties to the negotiation table. I am appealing to the opposing parties in Togo to please come together and resolve their differences so that Togo will move forward.

In the same vein, I wish Nigeria and Ghana to continue to provide the impetus in realising the objectives and ideals of the founding fathers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to ensure security, peace and development of our region.

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Government and people of Nigeria, I join other well-wishers to congratulate the Government and the good people of Ghana on this momentous occasion of your celebration of freedom.

Long Live, the Republic of Ghana,

Long Live, the Federal Republic of Nigeria

I thank you all.

Part Two of the Transcript of a Media Interview Granted by the Vice President to a Group of Journalists & Social Media Practitioners in Lagos State on March 2, 2018

*Adds: Buhari administration is building a bright future for Nigeria’s youths

*On Dapchi & other security hotspots: We Are Working On Ensuring Effective Security

Q: Revamping Nigeria’s education system.

Vice President: If you will recall about a few months ago, I think it was in January, we had an education retreat; what needs to be done again is to unfold a whole direction in education. We came in with a manifesto on education, we had a few points that we were looking at and we also had some time to look at it. But many of us raised the issue that you don’t just pick the whole education; what about engineering because what we are seeing is such a dramatic change, not just in method of instruction in the requirement, job requirement, employment requirement, in technology and all of that, and that’s exactly what we are trying to do.

For example, we cannot have primary education the way it is, we’ve got to teach young people, we’ve got to introduce technology; you’ve got to have collaboration in education. We discovered, for instance, when we were doing the N-power – employment for young graduates, we discovered that it was also an opportunity to train the graduates. For the first time we were able to open a portal that has educational materials for graduates to just go in there. We also have devices for them to use.

But one important advantage of what we are doing is that all of a sudden, you can now train tens of thousands of people without sitting them in one place. So technology is going to play a role. We are in a very interesting place in terms of education today because you can leverage a great deal on technology. You can leverage a great deal on what is happening in other parts of the world. And we are trying to harness all of those resources and try to do something that will make a difference in our country. Here we are, in another 10 years we will be moving closer and closer to 2050 when we are going to be the 3rd largest population in the world. And there is almost a 70% youth population. We are not going to provide them with the number of classrooms that will be required, so we’ve got to really leverage on technology. We’ve got to leverage on verified trend that we see here and there.

Q: The delay in 2018 budget.

Vice President: We have a democracy that has, as you know, three arms. The two relevant arms for budget are the executive and legislature. If you recall when I was Acting President, I signed the 2017 budget and, at that time, I made the announcement with the full consensus of the National Assembly that, from 2018, we are going to have a budget that is going to apply in January and end in December the normal financial year. We agreed that we will submit our proposal in good time, and we did that first week of November. The President did so. We fulfilled that part of the agreement. The budget is with the National Assembly. There is very little we can do to control that. That’s the system that we have.

Q: Seeming rift between the Executive arm of Government and the Legislature.

Vice President: Well, I’m not so sure that the tensions are unknown. The democratic system anywhere as, for example, in the US where we borrow our bicameral legislature from, you find that despite the fact that the Republican Party controls major part of parliament, it still doesn’t mean that bills are necessary going to go through.

So one must assume that the responsibility of the National Assembly is to scrutinize what the executive is doing and not just to be a rubber stamp. But I also agree with you entirely that it’s important for us, for the sake of our country, our economy and for the sake of many young people who are relying on us to deliver. We ensured that we released our budget on time. I want to believe that the executive has done its part and we wait on the National Assembly.

Q: About N9 Trillion debt said to have been inherited by this administration now reportedly about N30 T. How come?

Vice President: No, No, I don’t think so. First let me explain that we have a government that is very prudent, a government that believes in financial prudence, a government that condemns impunity – the way that the thing was practiced before now, and a government that spends resources on the right thing. For the first time in the history of our country, we are spending about N1.3 trillion on capital; it means that we are investing in the right place. We are not just borrowing money anyhow; no, we are investing in the right place.

Every government or most governments anywhere probably look for some points to borrow, but the important thing is what are you borrowing for? And that’s why we building the Lagos-Kano rail, doing the Lagos-Calabar rail, the second Niger Bridge and the Mambilla hydro project that has been abandoned for almost 40 years.

We are improving capacities in power, we are investing in social investment, we are investing long-term in the things that will create an economy that can support a large number of young graduates, who are coming in the market every day. That’s a process that needs a lot of thinking; that needs a lot of investment.

I think the most important thing is to ask that when there was a N9 trillion debt, where is the infrastructure to account for that? I think that is the most important question to ask. It’s not whether you borrow, but what you spend that money on. I think we should be able to prove that the earning is 60% less than the earning in the past five six years. So we are spending far more on the right thing and we are able to ensure that we build a future that young people can truly look forward to.

Q: What about the 50% revenue reportedly being spent on settling debts?

Vice President: No, we are not spending 50% of our revenue servicing debt. Let me explain that, we have a deficit somehow in the region of about N2.6 trillion now, a lot of our revenue has to be spent on capital and recurrent, and recurrent is 70% of revenue. But for the first time we are spending 30% on capital. Before now when oil was a $115 a barrel, we were spending 11% or 15% on capital, and capital is the most important expenditure because that is where you do the infrastructure in order to be able to build the economy. So the reality is what we are spending is to provide the infrastructure that will last.

Q: Abduction of 110 Dapchi girls in Yobe and the killings in states like Benue and Zamfara. Why didn’t the President or you visit these places?

Vice President: Let me say it first that no amount of condolence can compensate for the loss of life, whether in Calabar, Mambilla or Benue or where people were killed in Adamawa or Zamfara, any of these states. There is no amount of condolence that can compensate for the loss of life. Benue killing is one set of killing far too much; there is no amount of condolence that can compensate for that. And I want to say that it’s a massive tragedy. But the question that you seem to ask I’ve been to Zamfara, I’ve been to Adamawa when this killing took place. There are those who said, ‘oh, why don’t you visit the Fulani settlement, why do visit only where Christians were?’ I even visited Benue in September where there have been killing before; then I’ve visited them when the flooding took place and we looked at all the issues and tried to address many of these. There have been several of these issues in different places, recently Dapchi. We have expressed condolences, but no amount of condolence would do.

The more important thing, and our focus has been, is first of all ensuring security in these places.

We have to address the security question in a much more robust way; that the police are able to do these effectively. We have deployed the military to Kaduna, two battalions to Kaduna. In Benue and Taraba axis, we have the 93 battalion, we have 72 Special Forces. We have full concentration in Taraba and all of that, and by the way, the military is fighting in most of the North East. So there is a situation where the military is overstretched. So I think the most important thing is first of all to ensure they actually address the security of the people.

Q: Nigerians definitely appreciate all you are doing. But they want to see their leaders come to them to grieve with them in the face of national human tragedy…

Vice President: Let me say that I definitely agree with you, the more places that we can go to the better. But I made a point earlier that we also have to address the serious concern that people have. We have to address those concerns; we have to address the rehabilitation concern. I am going round and the President is also going round, there is no question at all and I agree that if we go to all these places it would be so much better.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
04 March, 2018

Transcript of a Media Interview Granted by the Vice President to a Group of Journalists & Social Media Practitioners in Lagos State on March 2, 2018

Q: On Nigeria’s rating by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

Vice President: I think that by even Transparency International’s own assessment, Transparency International uses nine different indexes to come to a conclusion. In four out of those indexes, Nigeria moved up, in another four Nigeria stabilized & dropped in only one index. So in aggregation, it (T.I) then decides that it has fallen in certain number of points below where we were.

I think the important thing to bear in mind about Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight is that the government has done what it ought to do by focusing on grand corruption. Grand corruption is the type we experienced years before when, for example, $15 billion was lost in defence contract. Two, three weeks to election, N100 billion in cash was taken out, and again $293 million in cash, two weeks, three weeks to election. That’s the kind of impunity. And of course you are also familiar with the scam that went on in the NNPC at the time; the so called statutory contracts, that’s grand corruption. That is the corruption that crippled the economy of the country.

Let me tell you very quickly how you can recognize that we have scaled a good deal on grand corruption today: despite the fact that we are earning 60 percent less in revenue, we are actually able to spend more than ever before in the history of this country on infrastructure. In 2017, we spent about N1.3 trillion on capital. That’s the highest in the history of the country. So we are able to do far more with far less because we have controlled the impunity that went on, the grand corruption, and all of that.

Now, how does that translate to perception; because grand corruption is a big aspect of corruption. It’s a big one because if you cannot control grand corruption, you can’t do what you want to do. But then you cannot address the corruption as you go through our airports, our ports or as you go through government offices, in many cases. That’s where the whole perception emerges.

We must have a deeper and much wider way of dealing with corruption. How are you going to do that? You must have an efficient way of doing that; like automation, removing discretion from individuals.

Q: What is the institutionalized process of fighting corruption?

Vice President: Institutionalization is not a one-off thing, it’s a process, and we are dealing with that, that’s exactly what we are doing. For example, the TSA and being able to look at government accounts and all of that is one way of institutionalizing a process by which you can be sure of what people are doing, how this things are happening. The process of allowing the EFCC to do its work without dictation, saying that “look, this what the EFCC is doing”, and giving them every support that you can. These are ways of institutionalizing. And it is that same process that we are taking in the public service – Automation.

For example, look at all that we have done in the ease of doing business. The whole point of doing that is institutionalizing processes, so that when you come into Nigeria you can get your visa after applying online; so that Customs don’t have to sit around the airport, that is why we are putting in the I-check and we are putting all sorts of other processes. That is to institutionalize; it’s not a one-off process.

Q: What’s the national strategy on anti-corruption?

Vice President: That’s a long conversation, but put simply, the national strategy is to ensure that public officers in particular are not able to privatize public finances. And how do we intend to achieve that? We intend to achieve that by ensuring that there is consequence for corruption and also by automating processes, removing discretion from individuals because if you don’t remove discretion from individuals the individuals can have discretion as whether or not they will grant certain approvals through certain processes; then you continue to encourage corruption at one level or the other.

Q: Asides from the EFCC, it seems the other anti-corruption agencies such as the ICPC are doing nothing…

Vice President: Well, I don’t agree. I think that you will find that alongside the work of the EFCC, in fact one of the critical things we do is, we try and re-direct the ICPC. We appointed the executive secretary of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, PACAC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, to head that body and we believe the ICPC is the important part of the whole fight against corruption. We revamped the leadership of the ICPC. Unfortunately we were stalled because it requires Senate confirmation, that hasn’t been done. That is the area of focus for us because the ICPC is supposed to be involved, not just in corruption, but in orientation and re-orientation of the public service. So, it’s an important part of our work.

Q: Nigerians in diaspora are one of the biggest foreign exchange contributors of about $20 billion. Aside from having a Special Adviser to the President on Diaspora Affairs, does Nigeria have a Diaspora partnership?

Vice President: I think we’ve also gone beyond the Office of the Adviser; we now have a Diaspora Commission by law, which I think is a policy step. That Commission will aggregate a lot of the records through data for diaspora in order to encourage the diaspora to interact more with government, with private sector and all that. But don’t forget that, with the whole diaspora experience and what is in tune with other nations of the world; the usual focus is on remittances; what are they able to remit as it is pointed out, it is a substantial amount of money. It is something in the region of $20 billion.

But it obviously goes beyond that. In developing the economy we also need diaspora’s talent. So we need diaspora in technology, we need diaspora in education, medical practice and all that. The Ministry of Health, for example, actively engaged with the personnel in diaspora for specialists, setting equipment and all of that. But I believe that one of the most critical ways of doing so is through the diaspora commission, ordering it, measuring it; once that is constituted.

Q: Allegations of nepotism against the Buhari administration.

Vice President: Look at the cabinet, for example, from the point of view of the religion, it has an equal number – 18 Christians, 18 Muslims; but, we have the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as well as the Head of Service who are Christians. So we have 20 Christians to 18 Muslims; that’s the structure of the cabinet. So if you take that narrative you may argue that perhaps the Christian have the upper hand; that’s a possible narrative.

Let us look a little deeper into that, so there are those who may argue, for example, that the north has an upper hand or perhaps one section has an upper hand in the cabinet as one narrative. The South East, for example, has five states. Four of the South Eastern states have senior ministers; all of them, except one, who is Minister of State for Education.

Q: The President has no choice in that, it is a constitutional requirement.

Vice President: In assigning particular portfolios he does. In the north, seven northern states have no senior minister, including the President’s home state, Katsina. Now, there are those who will say, if you are nepotistic; surely seven northern states have no senior minister. It’s a narrative depending on how you want to run it.

I give you another example; I’m from the South West. There are people who will say “I am from the South West, the North has everything.” The South West, for the first time in the history of this country, has one Minister who is in charge of three ministries: Power, Works and Housing. The Ministers of Finance & Communications are also from the South West. These are critical ministries. You can run the narrative in whichever way that you choose. There are those who will say, for instance, look at the number of CEOs of agencies of government; the highest number of CEOs in our nation today comes from Ogun State, the state has the largest number. There are those who will say that’s his state (i.e VP’S State). So you can run the narrative depending on how you want to run it.

The President has admitted that, yes there are situations where you can find certain things as true and he intends to have a look at that. For example, you’ve given the example of security positions and he said he is going to take a look at look at it. I believe that is the way to go because you can run any narrative that will suit the figures you are showing. And that is where we have legal process. There are people who don’t know that the number of CEOs from Anambra State are more than the number of CEOs from Katsina State or anywhere else, except Ogun.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
04 March, 2018

Press Release: President Buhari To Visit Taraba, Benue, Yobe, Zamfara and Rivers States

In view of recent terrorist attacks, criminal activities and communal clashes in some States leading to tragic loss of lives and kidnapping of 110 schoolgirls, President Muhammadu Buhari immediately tasked the Armed Forces and other Security agencies to compile comprehensive reports on the various incidents.

Having received and studied the Reports, the President has decided to undertake an on the spot assessment of the various occurrences and to meet and console the communities affected.

From today, March 5, he will visit Taraba, and subsequently Benue, Yobe, Zamfara and Rivers States.

President Buhari has been receiving daily briefings, and has been in constant touch with the Governors, and has been updated with situation reports.

The President calls on all Nigerians especially those in the affected areas to cooperate fully with the Security Agencies to enable them curb the spate of crimes, bring those responsible to justice and prevent further occurrences.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
March 5, 2018.

Press Release: Dapchi Update: Search for Dapchi Girls Extended to Neighbouring Countries – FG

The ongoing search for the 110 girls who were abducted from the Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State, has been extended to the neighbouring countries, the Federal Government has announced.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said top military and security officials on Thursday travelled to the North-east to add more urgency to the search, which has now been extended beyond the North-east theatre.

The officials include the nation’s top military officer and Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; Chief of Army Staff; Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Alhaji Lawal Daura.

They joined the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who had earlier relocated to the North-east, as well as the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd), who has also visited the theatre.

The Federal Government had earlier released the names and other details of the 110 girls who have yet to be accounted for, following the attack on the GGSTC, Dapchi, Yobe State, on 19 Feb. 2018.

The panel set up by the Federal Government to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls was inaugurated on Thursday by the NSA.

Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
2 March 2018