[PRESS RELEASE] #EndBagGovernanceProtest: Tinubu’s speech is hollow, fails to address the hardship of Nigerians
Admin![[PRESS RELEASE] #EndBagGovernanceProtest: Tinubu’s speech is hollow, fails to address the hardship of Nigerians](/media/k2/items/cache/9e5d006f473c3a5d4f6d3a289a6fcbe5_L.jpg)
President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast this morning, intended to quell the fervour of public protests against his administration's poor governance, utterly misses the mark. His speech neglects the pressing economic hardships that have besieged Nigerian families since the very beginning of his tenure.
This address lacks credibility and fails to offer any immediate, tangible solutions to the Nigerian people. Given the extensive publicity surrounding the protests and the threats issued by government officials against demonstrators, one would have expected President Tinubu to present groundbreaking reforms, particularly those aimed at reducing the exorbitant costs of governance.
But alas, no such announcements were made. The President ignored the protesters' demands, such as suspending the purchase of aircraft for the President, downsizing his bloated cabinet, or even eliminating the costly and burdensome office of the First Lady, who has been indulging in extravagant trips at the nation's expense.
In his lacklustre recorded speech, President Tinubu offered a superficial account of his so-called reforms, revealing his own tenuous grasp of policy as he failed to convince his audience. While the President has spoken, it is unfortunate that his words lack substance and respect for the protesters’ sentiments, leaving Nigerians with little faith in his reform agenda - if one exists at all.
We urge the President and his team to own up to their failures over the past 14 months and abandon the absurd theory that the protests are orchestrated by the opposition. This administration has failed on all fronts, even in the simple task of keeping a presidential speech confidential.
Typically, presidential addresses are shared under embargo with media houses. However, the premature leak of this speech, allowing Nigerians to read along with the President in real-time, starkly illustrates the media nay Nigerians dwindling confidence in this administration.
The opposition did not create the economic quagmire we find ourselves in; this disaster is solely the result of the Tinubu administration's trial-and-error policies. It is high time they stopped the blame game and faced the reality of their failures.
Signed:
Paul Ibe
Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic (2023)
4th August, 2024.
#EndBadGovernance: Soyinka Slams Tinubu’s Speech For Ignoring Police Brutality Against Protesters
AFOLABI
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent national broadcast for not addressing the violent crackdown by security forces on #EndBadGovernance protesters.
In a statement issued on Sunday after Tinubu’s address, Soyinka expressed concern over the president’s omission of this critical issue.
#EndBadGovernance protests continued for the fourth day, with citizens expressing dissatisfaction with worsening economic conditions and ineffective governance.
Soyinka stated, “I set my alarm clock for this morning to ensure that I did not miss President Bola Tinubu’s impatiently awaited address to the nation on the current unrest across the nation.
“His outline of government’s remedial action since inception, aimed at warding off just such an outbreak, will undoubtedly receive expert and sustained attention both for effectiveness and in content analysis. My primary concern, quite predictably, is the continuing deterioration of the state’s seizure of protest management, an area in which the presidential address fell conspicuously short.”
He argued that the government’s approach only encourages impunity among security forces and perpetuates a cycle of resentment and reprisals.
Soyinka highlighted the use of live ammunition as a response to peaceful protests as a critical issue, noting that even tear gas is often misused in such situations.
He remarked that hunger marches are a universal plea for help, signaling a breaking point that demands government attention.
The violent response to these protests, he warned, represents a regression even more severe than the deadly aftermath of the ENDSARS protests.
“Such short-changing of civic deserving, regrettably, goes to arm the security forces in the exercise of impunity and condemns the nation to a seemingly unbreakable cycle of resentment and reprisals.
“Live bullets as state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest. Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation. They belong indeed in a class of their own, never mind the collateral claims emblazoned on posters.
“They serve as summons to governance that a breaking point has been reached and thus, a testing ground for governance awareness of public desperation. The tragic response to the ongoing hunger marches in parts of the nation, and for which notice was served, constitutes a retrogression that takes the nation even further back than the deadly culmination of the watershed ENDSARS protests.
“It evokes pre-independence – that is, colonial – acts of disdain, a passage that induced the late stage pioneer Hubert Ogunde’s folk opera BREAD AND BULLETS, earning that nationalist serial persecution and proscription by the colonial government.”
Soyinka noted that the “nation’s security agencies cannot pretend unawareness of alternative models for emulation, civilized advances in security intervention.”
He said, “Need we recall the nationwide 2022/23 editions of what is generally known as the YELLOW VEST movement in France? Perhaps it is time to make such scenarios compulsory viewing in policing curriculum. In all of the coverage that I watched, I did not catch one single instance of a gun leveled at protesters, much less fired at them even during direct physical confrontations.
“The serving of bullets where bread is pleaded is ominous retrogression, and we know what that eventually proves – a prelude to far more desperate upheavals, not excluding revolutions.
“The time is long overdue, surely, to abandon, permanently, the anachronistic resort to lethal means by the security agencies of governance. No nation is so under-developed, materially impoverished, or simply internally insecure as to lack the will to set an example. All it takes is to recall its own history, then exercise the will to commence a lasting transformation, inserting a break in the chain of lethal responses against civic society.
“Today’s marchers may wish to consider adopting the key songs of Hubert Ogunde’s BREAD AND BULLETS, if only to inculcate a sense of shame in the continuing failure to transcend the lure of colonial inheritance where we all were at the receiving end. One way or the other, this vicious cycle must be broken.”
#EndBadGovernance: He Held Lagos With An Iron Grip For 25 Years – Momodu Laments, Says Tinubu Won’t Change Formula
AFOLABI
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dele Momodu has reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s speech on the EndBadGovernance protest.
Momodu stated that Tinubu failed to address the demands of the helpless Nigerians.
Speaking via his social media account, the Ovation publisher said he was stupefied by the broadcast.
He opined that it would be difficult for Tinubu to change his ways, considering that he has held Lagos with an iron grip in the last 25 years.
Momodu lamented that he has little hope that the president would grant concessions to the aggrieved Nigerians.
He insisted that most of Tinubu advisers are fanatical cronies who have failed to challenge his method of governance.
Momodu wrote, “Fellow Nigerians, good morning. After the long awaited speech of PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU eventually came this morning, I’m sure most of you would be as stupefied as me. I must confess that I had little hope of Tinubu granting some concessions to the aggrieved Nigerians. As a man who has held iron grip on Lagos State in the last 25 years, it would be difficult for him to change a winning formula that has worked for him ever since. Also, what did we expect his advisers to be telling him when most of them have been his most fanatical cronies from Lagos who have learnt never to challenge the Master.
“So it was mere wishful thinking on the part of incurable optimists like me to think he was going to have mercy on hapless and seemingly helpless Nigerians. Just for academic purposes, let’s reel out what a sensitive leader, who craves the rightful position in posterity, would have done and said:
“1. In view of the unprecedented suffering being experienced by Nigerians, we have decided to cut the cost of governance drastically… Some Ministries will be scrapped and some Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and all redundant personnel would be eased out…No official cars would be procured anytime soon.
“2. The number of aircrafts on our Presidential fleet will be reduced to maximum two. I offer sincere apologies that we went ahead to invest in luxury items at this bad times. We shall place immediate embargo on subsequent purchases.
“3. Subsidy of petroleum products will be reviewed thoroughly to ascertain the genuine costs and true billing of the controversial payments. While we hope to achieve this in maximum of three months, we shall revert to old prices within this period in order to reduce the heavy burden on our people. We shall also escalate work on our existing refineries without which we shall be throwing away loads of resources. Nothing has stalled our refineries other than reckless corruption. This we are blocking immediately.
“4. Instead of tasking civil servants and politicians to handle students loans and vocational grants, we shall engage reputable accounting firms and banks to set up modalities for credits and activate the disbursements…- CHIEF DELE MOMODU”
A small group of #EndBadGovernance protesters assembled at Gani Fawehinmi Park on Sunday morning, singing solidarity songs shortly after President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation.
The demonstrators expressed dissatisfaction, stating that the President failed to address the core issues they raised, even though he mentioned efforts being made by his administration.
Police and other security personnel remained present at the park.
The police prevented the protesters from marching beyond the designated area at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota.
The protesters complied peacefully and returned to the designated location.
As of this report, there were more police officers than protesters in the Ojota area of Lagos.
In a broadcast earlier on Sunday, Tinubu urged the youths to halt the #EndBadGovernance protests and engage in dialogue.
He reassured them that his administration is committed to good governance despite the socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.
Tinubu stated that removing the fuel subsidy was a painful yet necessary decision for economic reforms.
Reinstating the petrol subsidy is one of the key demands of the young Nigerians who have been protesting since Thursday against the country’s economic hardships.
Among the protesters’ demands are the restoration of the fuel subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange regime. They also call for the government to address food shortages, unemployment, and excessive spending by those in power.
Other demands include reducing the President’s cabinet and overall government expenses, and immediate reforms of the electoral commission (INEC) and anti-corruption agency (EFCC), with renewed efforts to combat corrupt politicians.
Former Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, has said it’s time for northerners to look at themselves instead of blaming other regions.
Sani, who wrote on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, lamented that most public schools are free, yet our young ones still don’t want to go to school.
He said, “Many of us don’t want our spouses to work or use their skills or talents to earn a living or contribute to the family. When we die, we leave them as helpless widows at the mercy of a hostile society.
“Most young people don’t want to serve as apprentices in workshops or retail outlets because they lack the heart and patience to serve.
“Many parents in rural areas hand over their children to a religious teacher in the city, who depends on the children to beg or steal in order to feed himself and his family. For ethnic, religious, and sectional reasons, we have protected, defended, praised, and refused to hold accountable all our kinsmen who led the country at every wasted opportunity for five decades.
“The bandits and terrorists who kill and kidnap our people, deny our farmers access to their farms, and prevent our children from going to school are not from any foreign country or from the south; they come from our homes and families up north. We worship with them in the same mosque. We used to live together as one region in peace, brotherhood, and love, but then we divided and began to hate ourselves along religious lines.
“We don’t vote for people who will serve us; we vote for those who will provide us with spaghetti and grains. We concoct and spread all sorts of religiously inclined conspiracies to deny our children free health immunization against diseases, resulting in hundreds of thousands of blind, lame, crippled, and deaf children who grow up as victims of polio, glaucoma, or leprosy, begging in northern and southern cities. Many of our women and girls don’t have a business capital of 100k but own an iPhone worth N1.5m. They don’t have capital of 100k but can ‘struggle’ to meet up with a wedding asoebi of 500k.
“We deny most of our girls the right to go beyond secondary school due to negative perceptions about higher education. We don’t want our female children to wear uniforms. Whenever recruitment portals for the Army, Police, Customs, Immigration, and Civil Defence open, we don’t want our female wards to apply.
“When our children graduate from universities, especially public universities, most of the parents who attend to celebrate and appreciate their children are from the southern regions. Most of our industries and factories in Kano, Kaduna, and Jos have since closed down when our kinsmen were in power. Our farmers in rural areas are still farming with hoes throughout the period our kinsmen were in power. The groundnut and cotton pyramids disappeared long ago when our kinsmen were at the helm.
“All the spare parts, building materials, and pharmaceutical stores in the north are private businesses owned by people from other regions who were not backed, funded, or supported by any government. When our kinsmen were in power, we attributed our poverty and insecurity to God and to our sins; when our kinsmen are out of power, we attribute our sufferings to the King.
“The FCT is in the north. Can anyone explain why people from the region couldn’t dominate the private businesses in the FCT, Suleja, and Mararaba? Who should be blamed for this?
“God gave us the largest land mass, the largest number of people, most of the rivers, and resources and livestock, and gave us power for the most part of our history. Which of the favours of our Lord can we deny? The North; eighty percent of our problems are ourselves and not anyone ‘outside of ourselves.’”
Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday address to Nigerians concerning the ongoing nationwide protests against bad governance in the country.
The ex-minister said the speech was terribly underwhelming to read.
Ezekwesili said Tinubu’s speech was a monumental missed opportunity to placate citizens with sound answers and an outline of convincing evidence-based actions that his government will take to address bad governance in the country.
The government critic claimed the speech was written from a mindset focused on “getting back at Tinubu’s imaginary enemies.
DAILY POST reported that Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday concerning the ongoing nationwide protests.
The President in his speech ruled out the return of fuel subsidy and asked organizers of the protest to withdraw from the street.
However, in a statement on her X handle on Sunday, the former Minister said it is unfortunate to see Nigerian public “Leaders” talk and behave like losers on matters of public governance.
She said: “@officialABAT , As one of millions of Nigerians who were at church when you delivered your late-in-coming Speech to Citizens on the #EndBadGovernancelnNigeria protests, let me loudly say it was terribly underwhelming to read.
‘Your Speech reads like a page from your party manifesto and terribly failed to connect to what our Citizens on the Streets are angry and protesting about.
‘Your speech is quite a monumental missed opportunity to placate citizens with sound answers and outline of convincing evidence-based actions that you and your @NigeriaGov will immediately take to address the priority #BadGovernance concerns.
“Your Speech was sadly again written out of a mindset that is focused on “getting back at our enemies”. Imaginary enemies at that! No true Leader has the luxury of having “enemies” among their Citizens. Not at all. A Public Leader becomes the Leader of ALL with a mind that does not think of any as their enemies.
“This is why it is ever unfortunate to see Nigerian public “Leaders” talk and behave like Losers on matters of public governance where they are expected to rally their ALL Citizens behind the common purpose of nation building.
“It is nauseating to observe this recurrent innate unwillingness of Nigerian public leaders to admit responsibility for the demands of the same public leadership that they kill and maim citizens to assume.
“@officialABAT, Citizens know when they are being badly governed and from what one can see, Nigerians have now realized that they must collectively speak up and take action otherwise their self-obsessed rulers (and not leaders) will not pay them any heed at all.
“As we remember and pray for families of all our citizens mauled down or maimed for demanding an End to Bad Governance, let me call on you @officialABAT to immediately instruct the IG @PoliceNG and his men to “STOP KILLING PEACEFUL PROTESTERS NOW!”
“Also fish out all law enforcement personnel that have killed and maimed citizens and ensure they are sanctioned as a deterrence to their colleagues.”
Political activist, Chris Nwaokobia has described the nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu as flaccid and an uneventful dance around the issues that brought about the EndBadGovernance protests.
Nwaokobia also claimed the president’s speech only sought to validate the policies that traumatised the people and also to decree an end to the protests without addressing the issues.
In a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, Nwaokobia alleged that President Tinubu’s speech did not make concrete promises, announce some far-reaching reforms or say a thing about cutting the cost of governance, cutting wastage, wanderlust and profligacy.
DAILY POST reported that President Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday where he revealed that he was aware of the pains of Nigerians and that he was speaking with a heavy heart.
The president addressed the nation after day 3 of the planned 10-day EndBadGovernance nationwide protest which started on Thursday, August 1.
Nwaokobia’s statement read, “Mr President’s speech this morning was a flaccid and uneventful dance around the issues that brought us to the nadir. He sought to validate the policies that traumatize the people. He sought to decree an end to the protests without addressing the issues.
“Without making concrete promises. Without announcing some far-reaching reforms. And without saying a thing about cutting the cost of governance, and cutting wastage, wanderlust and profligacy.”
Nwaokobia, who held that the speech was not the mind of the president, accused the writers of being utterly wicked, mischievous and treacherous.
“The person who wrote that speech may be utterly wicked, mischievous and treacherous because I do not believe that such is the mind of Mr. President. But what do I know?”
“Shame on the handlers of this Presidency. Shame on Mr President. Shame on the All Progressive Congress APC. Shame on all those who have direct access to Mr. President but cannot tell him the Truth. And shame to all those who undermine the extent to which an aggrieved people can go.
“Unfortunately, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to have been ensconced and removed from all those who can tell him the Truth.
“Mr President has continued on the same trajectory as his aides who believe that threats and orders can attend and assuage the anger in the land. Mr President is apparently far from the truth and away from reality.
“Clearly, Mr President is badly surrounded by sycophants and hypocrites, and so cannot apprehend the enormity of the anger in the land. I pity Mr. President.”
While accusing the President of not being sensitive to the demands of the protesters and speaking without listening, Nwakobia said he hoped the speech would be followed by proactive and profound reforms.
The 33 council chairmen in Oyo State have dumped the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) over the Supreme Court’s judgment granting financial autonomy to local government across the country.
The chairmen, in a communique signed by all the chairmen, unanimously declared their unalloyed support for Governor Seyi Makinde.
ALGON’s Public Relation Officer in the state, Ibrahim Akintayo, described the chairmen’s stand as solidarity to Governor Makinde’s recent stand on local government autonomy as ruled by the apex court.
They attributed their unequivocal loyalty to Makinde for his exemplary leadership and unrivalled achievements since his assumption to office.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Oyo State’s governor had during a meeting with some stakeholders after the court ruling, constituted committees to review apex court’s ruling on local government autonomy.
“I called this meeting because I felt that even though we have not seen the Certified True Copy of the judgment of the Supreme Court, we have to be proactive and discuss the decision of the Supreme Court as it concerns financial autonomy of the local government councils because I believe a lacuna has been created between the decision and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that we all swore to uphold.
“The law is the law, and when there is a conflict, yes, we should go to the court. But it behooves on us to look for our own home-grown solutions that can ensure that we have transparency and that our people do not suffer. This is because when two elephants are fighting, it is the grass that will suffer,” the governor had stated.
Makinde’s stand on the Supreme Court ruling had however received mixed reactions from the public with some supporting his stance and others criticising the governor.
According to a communique, the decision to move to a new association was arrived at due to the need to protect and provide for the people in their various local government areas.
It also said that the intended association for local government executive chairmen will be registered under the relevant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Part of the communique read: “At the general meeting of ALL the Local Government Councils of Oyo State, held on Saturday 3rd August 2024 at Ibadan, it was voluntarily agreed and resolved as follows:
“That in order to inter alia protect the interest of our people, we should forthwith form an umbrella association. Such organisation will be registered under the relevant Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its membership shall be institutional-represented by the chairmen of respective local government councils.
“That the association shall remain committed to the democratic ideas of the system of Local Government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Furthermore, the association shall ensure the delivery of the real development in local councils in the overall interest of our people at the local level.”
Hoodlums on Sunday morning chased #EndBadGovernance protesters who gathered around the Gani Fawehinmi Park in the Ojota area of Lagos State.
At 10:30 am, a major disagreement played out amongst the organisers of the protest in Ojota.
A lawyer, who simply identified as JP, came to address the protesters to leave the protest grounds, on the basis that President Bola Tinubu has addressed the nation.
But another group led by 70-year-old Adegboyega Adeniji of Peace Action Transformation insisted on remaining on the protest ground until further notice.
The police stepped in to speak to the small group of protesters to leave.
Shortly after the police addressed the protesters, a group, the protesters claimed, was sponsored, came from the other side of the road to disperse them.
By 11:30 am, the hoodlums returned, chasing all the protesters in Ojota away. The police have since occupied the protest grounds.
Before they were chased away from the area, the protesters chanted solidarity songs, shortly after President Bola Tinubu’s address to the nation.
The protesters said the President has not addressed core issues raised by them despite touching on efforts by his administration.
Security agents had on Sunday morning barred the protesters from holding a procession beyond the designated ground at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota.
The protesters had complied without argument and returned to the designated point.
The nationwide protests against hunger and economic hardship entered Day 4 on Sunday. From the first till the third day, policemen dispersed protesters using tear gas, even as civil society organisations condemned the action of the police.
Media
Hoodlums on Sunday morning chased #EndBadGovernance protesters who gathered around the Gani Fawehinmi Park in the Ojota area of Lagos State. pic.twitter.com/kS75Ax9Evo
— Channels Television (@channelstv) August 4, 2024
Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar in a strongly worded response to the killings of unarmed protesters across the country has reported President Bola Tinubu to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court or ICC and asked them to immediately monitor the situation in order to step in.
This followed actions of armed policemen alongside operatives of the DSS, who on Saturday opened fire on innocent protesters in Abuja killing an innocent teenager, who was not partaking in the hunger strike in Kubwa while a police man was accused of pointing a gun at another teenage boy in the same place.
Also, security agencies stormed the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Saturday to force out unarmed protesters from the stadium shooting live bullets at them, shattering a car of one of the journalists from Premium Times.
Journalists were also shot at as were protesters, forcing them to run for cover.
Similarly, there were ugly scenes in Kano where police opened fire on unarmed protesters forcing them to scamper for safety.
All across the country, there have been tales of woes as the protest which began on Thursday entered the third day in a bloody fashion.
Journalists have been hounded, tear gassed, kicked and bundled into police vehicles to unknown locations in places like Calabar, Cross River State, Yobe, Delta, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Adamawa, Lagos, Rivers in what human rights groups such as Amnesty International, HURIWA, religious groups have condemned as amounting to use of excessive force.
Atiku “vehemently condemned” what he called “heinous act of using live ammunition” on citizens peacefully protesting against bad governance.
Eyewitnesses and video evidence showed police in full battle gear descending on unarmed protesters including women with babies in places like Plateau where a nursing mother was reportedly arrested.
Atiku described the situation as “utterly intolerable” which he said is “reminiscent of the dark days of military dictatorship.”
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party or PDP noted that it is crucial to remind the government and security agencies of their paramount duty to ensure a safe and secure environment where citizens can exercise their right to protest without fear.
“When security forces open fire on innocent protesters,” he said “they do nothing but exacerbate tensions, transforming peaceful demonstrations into chaos.
“I refuse to believe that inciting violence is the intention of our authorities,” Atiku stated.
He urged “the international community, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, to closely monitor the situation in Nigeria and hold its leadership and security apparatus accountable.”
He reaffirmed his “counsel to protesters to steadfastly exercise their right to peaceful protest and reject any form of violence.”
Those engaging in looting and the destruction of public and private property he said must be isolated and prosecuted according to the law.
By indulging in such acts, Atiku said they undermine the legitimate protests and play into the hands of those who oppose their right to protest.
President Tinubu, the former vice president said “must demonstrate true leadership by immediately addressing and implementing the demands of the Nigerian people.”
Amid the ongoing excessive use of force, the president has announced he would be making a national address on Sunday morning.
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…CNG Initiative To Save Nigeria N2tn Monthly Import Bill On Petrol, Diesel
The Executive Order signed by President Bola Tinubu to unlock the potentials of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is beginning to yield results as two Foreign Direct Investments worth over $500m have been signed.
The President revealed the figure on Sunday in his ‘State of Nation’ address after hunger led to a nationwide protest with a major theme: #Endbadgovernance.
The Presidential Executive Order on Oil and Gas Reforms is aimed largely at improving the investment climate and positioning Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the Oil and Gas sector in Africa.
The three Executive Orders, which became effective 28th February 2024, are the Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc.) Order, 2024; Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements, 2024; and Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines, 2024.
Nigeria is endowed with large oil and gas resources and Executive Order aligns with the transformational leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari who had conceived the idea of monetising Nigeria’s huge gas resources through various gas projects.
The target of the Executive Order is to unlock up to $10bn fresh investments in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
This is expected to come through fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream and deepwater oil and gas.
The Executive Order streamlines contracting processes, procedures, and timelines from 36 months to six months and also ensured that local content requirements are implemented without impeding investments or the cost competitiveness of oil and gas projects
Speaking on Sunday on the impact of the initiative, Tinubu said the once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms he announced to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act.
Specifically, he sald the nation has seen an increase in oil production to 1.61million barrels per day, and the gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve.
He said, “Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve.
“Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.”
To address the challenge created by the removal of petrol subsidy, the president said his administration has launched the Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power transportation economy and bring costs down.
This, he added, will save Nigeria over N2tn a month spent to import PMS and AGO and free up resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
He said, ” To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80 per cent of the imported PMS and AGO.
“We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation.”
Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, has called for dialogue and an immediate end to the nationwide protests that have rocked the nation since Thursday.
Tinubu, who said his administration is ready to listen to and address the concerns of protesters, affirmed that he has heard their calls “loud and clear”.
“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” he affirmed in a nationwide broadcast on Sunday morning on the #EndBadGovernance protests.
He said the country requires all hands on deck and needs all citizens, regardless of age, party, tribe, religion or other divides, to work together in reshaping its common destiny.
The 10-day planned protest, which began on Thursday, primarily against the rising cost of living and hunger, deteriorated into violence, destruction of property and loss of lives in many parts of the nation.
At least 17 persons were reported dead in the “days of rage” protests.
Bennett Igweh, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, has said his men were not responsible for the death of a teenager in the Kubwa area of the FCT.
In a viral video, a man claimed that police, while dispersing protesters, shot dead a teenager in the Kubwa area.
However, the FCT command spokesperson , Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Saturday said police officers deployed to the area were not given lethal arms that could kill.
She said, “In response to the video footage making the rounds alleging the killing of a yet-to-be-identified teenager by police operatives in Kubwa by Zenith Bank while protesting on August 3, 2024, the FCT police command hereby debunks the allegations, stating that its operatives are not responsible for the killing of the teenager, as the operatives deployed to the axis were not issued lethal arms but only with anti-riot equipment not capable of occasioning the death of the teenager.”
Angered by the incident, she said the CP ordered an investigation into the matter to establish the cause of the teenager’s death.
Adeh said, “In light of the rather infuriated incident, the commissioner of police has ordered that an immediate investigation be conducted to ascertain the remote cause of death of the deceased, calling on well-meaning residents to provide the command with necessary information to aid the investigation.
“While expressing profound condolences to the family of the bereaved, he assures the family and public of swift justice, as effort is ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident.
“Also, the command is aware of the antics of mischief makers who may want to exploit the current situation in the country to spread false information with the aim at misleading and causing apprehension in the populace; it therefore calls on residents to shun such misinformation, as the command is committed to ensuring the security and safety of all and sundry.”
In a decisive move against ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests, President Bola Tinubu has firmly rejected calls to reinstate the fuel subsidy.
Addressing the nation in a broadcast on Sunday morning, President Tinubu acknowledged that removing the subsidy was a painful decision but deemed it necessary for the nation’s economic health. He stated that the subsidy had become a severe impediment to Nigeria’s economic development.
“The removal of the fuel subsidy was crucial because it was choking our economic growth and progress,” Tinubu said. He emphasized that the move was essential to eliminate economic distortions and improve national prosperity.
The President reassured the public that law enforcement agencies would continue to protect innocent lives and property responsibly. “Our democracy thrives when every Nigerian’s constitutional rights are upheld,” he added.
Tinubu outlined his vision for Nigeria as a just and prosperous nation where democratic governance ensures peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihoods. He criticized the long-standing economic issues that have hindered growth, explaining that temporary fixes were no longer viable.
The President described the subsidy and multiple foreign exchange systems as burdens on the economy, benefiting smugglers and foreign entities at the expense of Nigerian citizens. He justified the tough decisions as necessary to address decades of economic mismanagement.
“I take full responsibility for these decisions. However, my commitment remains steadfast towards delivering effective and transparent governance,” Tinubu affirmed.