Indian Defence minister leads delegation to Tinubu’s inauguration
The Defence Minister of India, Mr Rajinath Singh, will lead India’s delegation to the inauguration of the President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu on Monday in Abuja.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had detailed Singh as a special envoy to Nigeria for the ceremony in a letter obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The minister is expected to arrive in Abuja on Sunday, ahead of the inauguration.
The visit of Mr Rajnath Singh reflects the growing bilateral relations between India and Nigeria and signifies India’s commitment to strengthening ties with Nigeria.
“Mr Singh is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
“Mr Singh is a senior Minister in the Government of India, sending such a senior minister to Nigeria as a special envoy of the Prime Minister of India reflects India’s commitment to the deep-rooted bilateral relations with Nigeria,” the letter read in parts.
Kwankwaso not defecting to APC – NNPP
The New Nigeria Peoples Party on Saturday doused apprehension among its supporters, saying its Presidential candidate in the last election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, would not defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The party was reacting to the recent meeting between Kwankwaso and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, in Paris, France, which had fuelled speculation about his defection to the APC.
The National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Dr Major Agbo, at a press conference in Abuja, assured the party faithful that there was nothing wrong with the meeting and described Kwankwaso as a detribalised politician with friends across political and religious divides.
“I don’t want you to be afraid that he is going anywhere. He is not going anywhere. Like I said, he is one man whose relationship cuts across all political platforms. You will see more of that,” Agbo said.
He said the electoral victory of Kano State Governor-elect, Abba Kabir, and his Deputy, Aminu Gwarzo, would usher in a new dawn.
Meanwhile, the aides of Tinubu and Kwankwaso expressed optimism about the renewed alliance between their principals, saying it signposts what an inclusive government should look like.
Muhammadu Buhari and the tragedy of the long grudge
On December 31, 1983, Sani Abacha, then an unknown brigadier in the Nigerian Army, went on radio to announce the overthrow of the elected civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari, claiming that the military had done so “in the discharge of our national role as promoters and protectors of our national interest” because of “the great economic predicament and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation”.
The following day, Nigerians learnt that the new military regime was to be led by Muhammadu Buhari, a wiry major-general with a reputation for asceticism, serving as the general officer commanding (GOC) the Third Division of the Nigerian Army in Jos. Commissioned into the Nigerian Army in January 1963 following training at the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, Buhari was not just the most senior among the officers involved in the coup, he was also the most experienced. His contemporary and would-be nemesis, Ibrahim Babangida, who emerged as the chief of army staff, was commissioned eight months later, in September 1963.
Buhari served out his tour of duty in the Nigerian Civil War in the Third Marine Commando Division (3MCDO) under the command of Olusegun Obasanjo. Alani Akinrinade was Obasanjo’s second-in-command in the last twelve months of the war after head of state, Yakubu Gowon tapped Obasanjo to replace Benjamin Adekunle as the GOC 3MCDO in 1968.
Fashola tasks highway concessionaires on performance
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has urged the Highways Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) concessionaires to perform effectively to set the pace for the second phase of the project.
Fashola said this at the commercial close and contract execution ceremony of the Phase 1 of the Value-Added Concession (VAC) Road Corridors under the HDMI in Abuja.
One of the things that excites me about this programme was the prospects, challenges and learning associated with it. The private sector tool must be embraced as it is done in almost every part of the economy.
Between policy and result, there is a distance to track, and our democracy will be richer if we understand these things. Some people even fought the policy that it was favouring Dangote’s company.
“So, there is a lesson to learn here, hopefully, that your own performance at phase 1 will determine how the performance of those coming in phase 2 will behave,” Fashola said.
