Terrorists, bandits neutralise as Buhari joins prayer for peace, justice

President Muhammadu Buhari commenced the week under review on Monday by joining Muslim faithful at the State House Mosque to mark the commencement of the Ramadan Tafsir, the interpretation and explanation of the Qur’an.

The exercise is in line with Islam’s guiding principles and the intense devotional activities marking the Ramadan period.

The president joined the Muslim Ummah to pray for justice, peace, prosperity and enhanced welfare of the whole humanity, stressing the need for deepening of forgiveness, mercy and kindness to the poor.

The Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwahab Sulaiman, who presided over the Tafsir, condemned terrorists who had taken the religion of Islam as a cover to kill and loot the property of fellow citizens.

He prayed to Allah to avert the activities of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers as well as the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unforeseen hardships it brought to the country and global community.

Our correspondent reports that the prayers offered against the terrorists and bandits by the Muslim Ummah led by Suleiman had started yielding ‘fruitful results’ as many of the terrorists were neutralised by security agencies.

It was reported that different video clips in which affected terrorists, bandits and kidnappers were apprehended by soldiers in Niger and Kaduna States, went viral òn the social media space on April 9.

One of the clips showed some of the terrorists/kidnappers that were repelled on Saturday night at Kakura village in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The president hosted the Executive Committee of Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) at the State House, Abuja on April 5.

Speaking at the event, Buhari attributed Nigeria’s rising prominence as Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse to the implementation of the right policies by the present administration.

“With our over 70 blending plants operating, Nigeria is on its way to becoming Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse. And with our mega Urea production facilities, Nigeria is definitely a global player in the Urea space,” he said.

Buhari on April 6 presided over the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where the council approved the issuance of provisional licences for the establishment of 12 private universities across the country.

The affected universities would be located in Kano, Niger, Gombe, Sokoto, Delta, Abia and Anambra States as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The council also approved N35 billion for various projects in the aviation sector.

The president also signed into law Executive Order 11 on national public buildings maintenance on Wednesday.

Buhari directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to set up maintenance departments in line with the provisions of the new Executive Order.

According to him, the order gives legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy, following its earlier approval by the FEC.

On April 7, Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and immediate past interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) formally presented the new National Chairman of the party, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, to the president.

Adamu, who emerged as the new chairman of the APC at the 2022 National Convention of the party, was officially introduced to the president since his election on March 26.

He emerged as the consensus candidate of the party after six other aspirants stepped down.

Buhari also received the report on New Revenue Formula from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.

The report was presented to the president by the leadership of RMAFC, led by Mr Elias Mbam.

Receiving the report, Buhari said he would await the final outcome of the constitutional review process before presenting the report of the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula to the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment.

The president on April 8, commiserated with former President Goodluck Jonathan on the demise of his two personal staff in a road accident.

He urged the families of the victims to see their demise as a sacrifice for the nation.

Buhari expressed gratitude to God for having Jonathan escape unhurt from the accident.

Also on Friday, the president assented to six Bills recently passed by the National Assembly, including Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.

Others are Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, 2022; National Biotechnology Development Agency Act, 2022; Federal Medical Centre, Hong (Establishment) Act, 2022; Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021; and Animal Diseases (Control) Act, 2022.

The Bills were recently passed by the National Assembly.

The Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act provides for the retirement age of teachers in Nigeria.

”Section 1 of the Act clearly states that Teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.

”While the provision of Section 3 of the Act provides that the Public Service Rule or any Legislation that requires a person to retire from the Public Service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of Service shall not apply to Teachers in Nigeria.”

Buhari concluded the week under review when he received a delegation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), led by its President, Mrs Comfort Eyitayo, at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.

The president noted the contributions of the institute in ensuring probity, accountability and transparency, urging more diligence and professionalism.

On Saturday, merchants of fake news were at it again as Buhari was speculated to have embarked on another trip to London.

It was reported that some online media outfits, including Saharareporters and summitpostnews, on Saturday reported that the president departed Abuja on April 9, 2022, for another three weeks vacation in London.

Summitpostnews even quoted a statement allegedly issued by one of the president’s spokesmen, saying that the Nigerian leader will return to in Abuja on May 10.

However, the Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, Mr Bashir Ahmed, dismissed the reports as fake.

Ahmed, on his verified Twitter account, said: ”The news going round that President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on a 20-day vacation trip to London is fake.

”The president is in Abuja and he is not planning to embark on any trip to London.”