Muhammadu Buhari - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

“Nation is on fire”: Nigerian lawmakers demand action on security crisis

CAMILLUS EBOH NIGERIA’S parliament has called on the presidency, armed forces and police to address the country's mounting security crisis on Tuesday, with the lower house urging President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency. The resolutions come as a wave of violence and lawlessness sweeps across Africa's largest economy. Security forces, including the military deployed across most of Nigeria's states, have shown little ability to stem the tide. "The president should immediately declare a state of emergency on security so as to fast track all measures to ensure the restoration of peace in the country," said a resolution…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Gunmen free more than 1 800 prisoners

NEWS

TIFE OWOLABI MORE than 1 800 prisoners are on the run in southeast Nigeria after escaping when heavily armed gunmen attacked their prison using explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, the authorities said. Nigerian police said it believed a banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was behind the attack in the city of Owerri, but a spokesman for the group denied involvement. The secessionist movement in the southeast is one of several serious security challenges facing President Muhammadu Buhari, including a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the northeast, a spate of school kidnappings in the northwest and piracy in the…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian union members protest over possible minimum wage change

NEWS

ABRAHAM ACHIRGA and CAMILLUS EBOH HUNDREDS of members of Nigeria's main labour unions marched to the parliament building in the capital on Wednesday in protest against a possible change to the minimum wage system. President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 signed into law a bill to increase Nigeria's monthly minimum wage to 30,000 naira ($79) from 18,000. Unions had gone on strike in late 2018 to push for the rise. A bill now under discussion in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, suggests a change whereby the country's 36 states would each set their own minimum wage rather…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Follow my vaccine lead – Buhari

COVID-19

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has had his first COVID-19 vaccine shot, part of a bid to boost public confidence as Nigeria attempts to inoculate 80 million people this year. Vaccinating Nigeria's 200 million people, and those in other developing countries, is seen as key to stemming the spread of the coronavirus, but getting doses across the vast nation, with its pot-holed roads and lawless areas, is a huge challenge. Not all Nigeria's states have functioning airports, rail networks are limited, and authorities also have to overcome public distrust around the vaccines. "As a demonstration of leadership and faith in the safety…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Violence and insecurity affecting Nigeria

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE GUNMEN have freed all 279 girls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria on Friday, officials have said. It was the second such abduction in just over a week and the third since December in Nigeria's north, where a surge in armed militancy has led to a widespread breakdown of security. There is growing public anger over the violence, prompting President Muhammadu Buhari to replace his military high command in late January. Following are details of the unrest affecting different regions. ARMED GANGS, NORTHWEST/NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA Armed gangs that rob and kidnap for ransom, commonly described…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s anti-corruption chief approved

NEWS

CAMILLUS EBOH NIGERIA’S senate has unanimously approved a new anti-corruption chief nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate approved Abdulrasheed Bawa, a regional head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a voice vote. The EFCC investigates and prosecutes corruption in Africa's largest oil exporter and its biggest economy. Bawa will now take charge of a string of high-profile investigations, including into alleged wrongdoing by P&ID, a gas firm with a $10 billion arbitration award that Nigeria is working to overturn. Bawa told senators that his 16 years at the EFCC had prepared him well for the top…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s president nominates new head of anti-graft agency

NEWS

NIGERIA's president nominated a career employee to head the country's anti-graft agency after the previous chief was ousted amid corruption allegations, his office has announced. Abdulrasheed Bawa President Muhammadu Buhari's nomination of Abdulrasheed Bawa, a regional head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comes seven months after he suspended previous chief Ibrahim Magu amid allegations that he had diverted funds recovered by the agency into private pockets. The EFCC is tasked with investigating and prosecuting graft in Africa's largest oil exporter and its biggest economy, which has grappled with endemic corruption for decades. If confirmed by the Senate,…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

African Union must reform to stay relevant – Nigeria’s Buhari

NEWS

FELI ONUAH THE African Union must conduct a comprehensive reform if it is to stay relevant, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said at the close of the bloc's two-day summit yesterday. Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and the largest economy on the continent, making it an influential member of the 55-nation bloc that was formed to promote international cooperation and harmonise member states' policies. The bloc decided in 2016 it needed to work on changes to make it more nimble, focused and accountable, putting Rwanda's President Paul Kagame in charge of the process. "Global realities demand that the AU be…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria names new military chiefs

NEWS

NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a new military high command, after years of mounting criticism over spreading violence by Islamist insurgents and armed gangs. "President Buhari thanks the outgoing Service Chiefs for what he calls their 'overwhelming achievements in our efforts at bringing enduring peace to our dear country'," the presidency spokesman said. He told Reuters later that some of the chiefs had resigned while others retired. Leo Irabor was named to the powerful Chief of Defence Staff post, which oversees the main military branches, the presidency spokesman said, while I. Attahiru, A.Z. Gambo and I.O. Amao would command…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria approves release of $16.9 mln to set up oxygen plants amid COVID-19 surge

BUSINESS

Nigeria's president has approved the release of 6.45 billion naira ($16.94 million) to set up oxygen production plants in 38 sites to help treat COVID-19 patients as authorities contend with a sharp rise in cases, the government said on Thursday. Africa's most-populous country, where officials recorded low coronavirus numbers through much of last year, is in the grip of a second wave of infections. The presidency said the release of funds to address the provision of oxygen was announced at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) advisory body. "President Muhammadu Buhari has approved 6.45 billion naira for the…