Headlines
Southern Governors ‘Attempt’ to Ban Open Grazing Mere Demonstration of Power – Presidency
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By Eric Elezuo
The Presidency has again berated the 17 southern governors for the blanket ban on open grazing in their states, saying that the governors’ action was just an attempt in demonstration of power.
In a statement signed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s media assistant, Garba Shehu, the Presidency dismissed the efforts of the southern governors in finding a solution to the perennial deadly herdsmen attacks as ‘acts of politicking’, saying that Buhari has finally approved ‘deep rooted solutions to the herdsmen attacks’.
Garba Shehu’s statement berated the governors, saying they did not proffer any solution but washed their hands off hard choices.
It would be recalled that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami also attacked the governors’ decision, comparing the ban to open grazing in the south to ban on sales of spare parts in the north. The comment however, drew drew pungent reactions and condemnations from well meaning Nigerians across board.
Below is Garba Shehu’s detailed statement:
PRESIDENT BUHARI OKAYS DEEP ROOTED SOLUTIONS TO HERDSMEN ATTACKS, CLEARS WAY FOR RANCHING AND REVIVAL OF FOREST RESERVES
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed a strong resolve to address the conflicts of herders and farmers in a sustained and lasting manner that should lead to the emergence of a permanent solution to the frequent clashes between them, as well as the associated problem of the gun-wielding “killer herdsmen.”
The President had approved a number of specific measures to bring a permanent end to the frequent skirmishes as recommended by Alhaji Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture in a report he submitted and the President signed off on it back in April, well before the actions of the Southern Governors Forum which attempts to place a ban on open grazing and other acts of politicking intended by its signatories to demonstrate their power.
It is very clear that there was no solution offered from their resolutions to the herder-farmer clashes that have been continuing in our country for generations.
But the citizens of the southern states – indeed citizens of all states of Nigeria – have a right to expect their elected leaders and representatives to find answers to challenges of governance and rights, and not to wash their hands off hard choices by, instead, issuing bans that say: “not in my state.”
It is equally true that their announcement is of questionable legality, given the Constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 states (and FCT) -regardless of the state of their birth or residence.
Fortunately, this declaration has been preempted, for whatever it is intended to achieve and Mr. President, who has rightly been worried about these problems more than any other citizen in consultation with farmers and herders alike, commissioned and approved an actionable plan of rehabilitating grazing reserves in the states, starting with those that are truly committed to the solution and compliant with stated requirements.
With veterinary clinics, water points for animals, and facilities for herders and their families including schooling – through these rehabilitated reserves, the Federal Government is making far-reaching and practical changes allowing for different communities to co-exist side-by-side: supporting farmers to till their fields, herders to rear their livestock and Nigerians everywhere to be safe.
The entire country is acutely aware of the strain the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on public finances, for both Federal and States. Still, given the pressing urgency of addressing the perennial challenges, the federal funding for the project that has been delayed is now being partly unlocked. Actual work for the full actualization of the modern reserve system in a few of the consenting states should take off in June.
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
May 24, 2021
Headlines
Trump Claims US Now in Total Control of Strait of Hormuz
United States President, Donald Trump, says his country is now in “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing tensions with Iran over the reopening of the strategic waterway.
Trump made the claim while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, saying the situation with Iran was progressing well despite continued disagreements between both countries.
“Iran is going fine – going just absolutely fine. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it; nobody else, only us. Our navy is unbelievable, and things going great for our country,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“I don’t trust Iran. I’m the last person to trust Iran; they’ve lied to me constantly. We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now; they don’t have control,” he added.
The claim comes as the United States and Iran continue to exchange demands over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, casting further uncertainty over negotiations aimed at ending their five-month conflict.
Although the US has confirmed its involvement in the talks, Iran maintains that it is negotiating directly only with Oman. Tehran has also proposed that the future management of the strategic waterway be shared with Oman.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy route, with about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passing through it before the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February.
On Monday, Trump said he would seek compensation from Iran for deaths and injuries associated with conflicts and attacks spanning several decades.
His position followed Iran’s demands for reparations over the war last week, as Tehran said it would not reopen the strait until Washington addresses its political and economic conditions.
Headlines
ADC Rejects ICPC Report on PFIPC, Queries N1.3bn Budget Allocation to Fake Agency
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that the findings leave some of the biggest questions surrounding the scandal unanswered.
The opposition party said the report appeared to focus more on limiting political fallout than establishing how a purported government agency allegedly gained access to official institutions, occupied government office space and received other forms of state recognition despite questions over its legal status.
The ADC’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has intensified in recent weeks following allegations that the organisation operated as a government agency despite questions over its establishment, with its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, facing scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and lawmakers.
The party said the ICPC’s interim findings had failed to provide satisfactory explanations for how the organisation allegedly secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, attracted civil servants, obtained official recognition and appeared in the 2026 federal budget with a reported allocation of N1.3 billion.
The ADC recalled that it had previously opposed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to assign the investigation to the ICPC, insisting that an independent panel would have been better positioned to investigate the matter without questions about institutional proximity.
According to the opposition party, the interim nature of the ICPC report made it even more difficult to understand why the commission appeared to be pointing responsibility towards Adeyemi while simultaneously maintaining that its investigation was still ongoing.
“The report is not only predictable, it appears more concerned with exonerating government officials rather than providing clear answers to the serious questions that the scandal has raised,” the party said.
The ADC argued that the controversy could not simply be dismissed as an administrative failure.
It maintained that if the PFIPC was indeed established through fraudulent representations, there were still important questions about how those representations allegedly passed through several layers of government without being detected.
“A forgery may explain the first door that was opened. It cannot explain why every subsequent door appears to have opened as well,” the party said.
For the ADC, the central issue is not simply whether Adeyemi allegedly forged documents or misrepresented himself.
The party wants investigators to establish how an organisation whose legitimacy is now being questioned could allegedly secure office accommodation, civil servants, official vehicles and other institutional support.
It argued that such developments would ordinarily require interaction with multiple government departments and officials.
The party therefore questioned whether the alleged activities were facilitated by negligence, institutional failure or possible complicity within government.
The ADC also raised concerns over reports that the ICPC had identified two other allegedly fictitious organisations linked to Adeyemi.
Rather than viewing that development as evidence of an isolated individual operation, the party said it should prompt investigators to widen the scope of their inquiry.
One of the most significant issues raised by the opposition party was the reported N1.3 billion allocation to the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The ADC argued that a provision of that magnitude should have generated a clear paper trail involving budget submissions, reviews, approvals and verification.
“Budgetary provisions do not materialise by accident,” the party said.
It consequently demanded to know who proposed the allocation, which government officials processed it and who verified the existence and legitimacy of the purported agency before the provision was included in the federal budget.
The party noted that the House of Representatives had already begun its own investigation into how the PFIPC allegedly found its way into the federal budget.
According to the ADC, the legislative inquiry could provide an opportunity to establish whether the budget allocation resulted from deliberate manipulation, administrative negligence or failures within the government’s budgetary verification system.
The opposition party also criticised the reported recommendation that Adeyemi be prosecuted.
It argued that the ICPC’s decision to single out the purported PFIPC director-general appeared premature if, as the commission itself indicated, its investigation remained ongoing.
“If all that the commission had to present was a preliminary report, why not simply present it as a confidential brief to the President instead of making a public drama of it?” the ADC asked.
The party said the investigation should not be structured around finding a convenient individual to blame but should instead establish everyone who may have played a role in allowing the alleged operation to continue.
The ADC described the controversy as a national embarrassment and called on the ICPC to release the full interim report rather than only selected findings.
It also demanded that any public officials whose actions or negligence enabled the purported agency to operate be identified and investigated.
The party stressed that anyone found culpable should face appropriate sanctions after due process.
“What has happened is a national disgrace in the full glare of the entire world. No serious government should be satisfied with identifying one culprit for prosecution,” the party said.
The ADC maintained that Nigerians were not asking investigators to manufacture suspects or reach predetermined conclusions.
Rather, it said, the investigation should follow the evidence wherever it leads — including into government offices if necessary.
At the heart of the controversy, according to the opposition party, is a simple question: if the PFIPC is not a legitimate government agency, how did it allegedly get so far inside the machinery of government without multiple officials noticing?
That, the ADC argued, is the question the ongoing investigations must ultimately answer.
Headlines
Atiku Raises Alarm over ‘Mysterious’ Credit into Private Bank Account
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over what he described as a suspicious and unauthorised payment into one of his private bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the transfer originated from an individual or entity unknown to him and carried the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
According to the statement, neither Atiku nor his campaign solicited, authorised or had any knowledge of the payment.
The former Vice President said the account was strictly private and its details were not in the public domain, raising concerns about how the information could have been obtained.
“How did unknown persons obtain the confidential banking details of a private citizen?”
Atiku said the incident raised broader concerns about the security of Nigerians’ financial information, particularly if the private banking details of a former Vice President and presidential candidate could allegedly be accessed without his consent.
“If the private banking information of a former Vice President and a leading presidential candidate can be accessed and deployed for reasons yet unknown, then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe.”
He further expressed concern that the alleged disclosure could have involved individuals with privileged access to confidential information.
According to him, if such access is established, it could expose account holders to criminal elements, including kidnappers, terrorists, bandits and fraudsters.
The former Vice President also called the attention of Nigerians and security agencies to the incident, describing it as part of what he termed a series of “suspicious activities” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore put the Nigerian public and the security agencies on notice about this latest incident in a litany of suspicious activities leading up to next year’s general elections.”
Atiku also alleged that the incident could be part of an attempt to damage his reputation as political activities intensify ahead of the elections.
He urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what he described as “tired tactics” aimed at character assassination.
“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again.”
The ADC presidential candidate said he remained focused on his political agenda and his stated commitment to providing solutions to the country’s challenges.
“The Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges.”






