Defence Ministry To Deepen Collaboration With Bulgaria

The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, CON, mni has said that the Ministry of Defence is willing and ready to deepen Defence cooperation with Bulgaria. Badaru disclosed this when he received the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Nigeria, Yanko Yordanov in Ship House, Abuja. He said that considering the level of Bulgarian Defence Industry, the Ministry of Defence will cooperate with Bulgaria in areas of information and intelligence sharing, equipment production as well as military training. Speaking on Military equipment, the Minister stated that Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) of Nigeria will partner with Bulgaria for effective technology transfer that will enable the Industry meet with international standard. Accordingly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and Bulgaria will be signed  to facilitate effective military cooperation between the two countries. On the forth coming Military Exhibition slated for June 2024, the Minister promised to send a delegation from the Ministry to attend the exhibition. “Our attendance will provide us opportunity to learn how Bulgarian Government produce their Military hardware. Yanko Yordanov, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria said Bulgaria and Nigeria have shared experiences and existing mutual military relationship that exceeded decades.  In furtherance to  strengthening the bilateral relations, the Ambassador said that the Military Exhibition would afford Nigeria the opportunity to gain more knowledge about Bulgarian Military equipment production.

Let’s Support Tinubu, NNPCL – Civil Rights Group

A conference of civil society groups for good governance (CSGGG) is calling for collective support for the progress and growth of NNPC Limited under the capable leadership of Mele Kyari. They have expressed concerns about the negative efforts to discredit Mallam Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, aimed at removing him from office to gain unrestricted access to state resources for personal gain. The group, represented by its President, Comrade Dominic Ogakwu, is responding to an unwarranted smear campaign against the remarkable achievements and ongoing progress of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) in certain sections of the media. He refuted the claim that there is a secret award of control of Nigeria’s pipelines to a Northern oil cabal, calling it not only baseless and a product of the imagination but also a cowardly assertion. According to Ogakwu, the spreading of gross misinformation and unsupported allegations regarding oil pipeline rehabilitation and surveillance contracts has become a weapon of choice for these unpatriotic elements. He emphasized that these recent attempts lack substance and are mere distractions. He issued a warning to those determined to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s transformative leadership, urging them to reconsider their actions and cease their meaningless agitations and threats. Ogakwu further explained, “To award such a contract, a transparent tendering process is required, involving public notices and invitations for qualified companies to bid. The contracts have been awarded following rigorous procedures consistent with industry norms, and each bidding company underwent a competitive tender selection process, overseen by regulatory institutions such as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, transaction advisors, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and the Ministry of Justice.”

Independence Day: Shelve Planned Strike, Nasarawa Speaker Begs NLC, TUC

The Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alh. Ibrahim Abdullahi, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to shelve their planned indefinite strike for the overall development of the country. The call is contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Jibrin Gwamna, in Lafia on Sunday. Abdullahi said that the strike would affect the socio-economic activities of the country negatively, hence the need for his appeal for more time and realistic dialogue. “I want to appeal to the leadership of the NlC and TUC to shelve their planned strike in the interest of peace and for the overall development of the country,” he said. The speaker appreciated Nigerians for their loyalty and support to the government since independence in the country. Abdullahi said that the progress and development achieved so far in the country was as a result of citizens loyalty and support to both the past and present governments in the country. The speaker congratulated all Nigerians at 63 and Nasarawa state at 27 on the successful Independence Day celebration and wished them more fruitful years ahead. “I want to appreciate our founding fathers for ensuring that we got independence in the country. “Since we got independence in the country, so far so good, the country is progressing and is moving forward despite our challenges, we are not stagnant as a nation and as a state,” he said. The speaker also urged Nigerians to use the Independence anniversary and reflect on the sacrifices of the nation’s founding fathers. He called on all and sundry to strive towards ensuring that the labour of the nation’s founding fathers were never in vain by contributing positively to the development of the country. Abdullahi also called on Nigerians to continue to pray for the nation’s unity, peace, progress and development. Besides, he urged the people of the state and Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu, Gov. Abdullahi Sule and other leaders to succeed. “I want to call on Nigerians to continue to pray and support President Bola Tinubu, His Excellency Gov. Abdullahi Sule and other leaders to succeed.” The speaker further appealed to Nigerians to continue to remain law abiding, respect constituted authorities and live peacefully with one another for development to thrive. 

A new Nigeria needs cooperation of all and sundry -Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has stated that to achieve a new Nigeria his administration promised there must be co-operation of all sundry. The president maintained that a new, secured, peaceful and prosperity Nigeria desired by all would remain elusive unless Nigerians consciously change their mindset about the past and their leaders. Tinubu who noted that a new Nigeria is possible with his renewed hope, said the bold steps his administration is taking to find lasting solutions to the myriads of challenges confronting the country call only yield desired results with the cooperation of all and sundry. He was speaking at the opening of the 63 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, which has as theme Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation Building. “I am not cynical, I am factual”, he said, “the critical and bold initiatives embarked upon collaboration and cooperation of the private sector. “We are so blessed and we are still lacking, change of mindset is what we need. “We accused our previous leaders, we complain too much about the past, it is not the solution, we must look forward, God has given us creative mind and will”, he said. Tinubu while noting that poverty ought not to be a shameful thing, stressed it must not be tolerated but banished, lamenting that with all the resources in the country millions of homes in the country do not have electricity. Calling for an interrogation of how the country arrived at its current deplorable state, the president stressed that the country cannot “continue to service external debt with about 90% of its revenue”, hence the hard decision his administration is making. “If we must achieve greatness as a nation, we must take bold decisions”, he said though painful in the interim, adding that he might make some mistakes in the process but Nigerians should correct him in such instances. While commending the NBA for the theme which he noted is timely, the president who wooed the bar to give his administration maximum support in order to succeed, told the lawyers, “I want to learn. “Remind me of what I’m doing right, I will continue, whatever I am doing wrong, tell me, and I will change. Earlier in his keynote address, the Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu remarked that at the heart of the gathering was the unity of one ambition and one duty which is nation building. “There is no one in this distinguished gathering, that does not want the best for Nigeria. Whether my learned friends of the Bar or our distinguished leaders present. We know the potential of Nigeria. “We know the resources, human and natural, that Nigeria has at her disposal. § We champion the successes of Nigerians globally – in international leadership positions at the WTO, at the UN, at the African Development Bank, at the Afreximbank, in technology, in music and entertainment, in business, in arts and in media, in film, in sports. Indeed, in virtually every human endeavour, Nigerians excel. “We live in a world, where the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade grew up in Lagos and the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Ibadan. “n business, the Nigerian private sector is showing globally our capability, our ingenuity, our institutionalisation. “We have global businesses with Nigerian origins: Let me name one – UBA, the United Bank for Africa, the only African Bank that operates in the USA as a deposit taking bank. We are now in Dubai, Paris, and London – and just as importantly 20 other countries in Africa – who would have thought 20 years ago, that Nigeria would be home to Africa’s global bank! “But these successes, these role models are too few, too rare. “We know too well the reality of Nigeria at home. “We know our energy deficits, we experience the disillusionment of our youth, manifest in the tragic loss of talent, as our young, at times, and at great risk to themselves, seek opportunities abroad. “Opportunities that our fertile, bountiful country should supply. “We see the plundering of our commonwealth through oil theft and pipeline destruction in broad daylight! “We experience every day the impact of climate change. “We see our loved ones kidnapped and killed. “Insecurity breeds disorder, feeds intolerance and destroys opportunity. “Our country has experienced division – unnecessary division and the squandering of heritage. “Nation building is a call to arms – a vital task – a necessity”, he said.