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My administration must fix Nigeria, Tinubu vows
President Bola Tinubu has vowed that his administration must achieve its set goals of fixing Nigeria for the wellbeing of the citizens.
To this end, the President admonished ministers and other officials he appointed into offices to ensure they perform their statutory functions optimally, warning that failure to deliver would lead to a sack
Tinubu spoke yesterday at the opening of a three-day retreat organised for ministers, presidential aides, permanent secretaries, and top government officials at State House, Abuja. The theme of the retreat was, “Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Speaking at the retreat, Tinubu charged his ministers, advisers, aides, and other government officials to help in the realisation of the administration’s goals. He declared that he would spare no effort in achieving his bid to redeem Nigeria from its current state.
The president reminded participants at the event that everything needed to lift the country from its current condition was within the government’s disposal. And he vowed to deploy as much resources as were necessary to achieve this.
Tinubu told the gathering of cabinet members and friends of Nigeria, “It’s our country. We have no other one, let’s be proud that we’re Nigerians and we can do it, you can show leadership. We can fight to make democracy a lasting reference for the rest of Africa.
“Don’t be afraid to take decisions, but don’t be antagonistic of your supervisor. If they are wrong, debate it. I stand before you and I have claimed several occasions and I’m saying today again, as the president I can make mistakes, point it to me, I will resolve that conflict, that error. Perfection is only that of God Almighty.
“But you are there to help me succeed. Success, I must achieve, by all means necessary. We have great minds, great intellect and all that we need.”
The president also said he would not complain about the enormous task of piloting the country through economic and social recovery. He said he had accepted to inherit all the assets and liabilities of his predecessors.
According to him, “I accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessor. It is part of my professional background. You are in this ship, don’t wreck it. See the minister as part of a team that will navigate and take it out of troubled waters.”
The president mentioned the priority areas of his administration.
He stated, “Healthcare is priority, education is a must. No other weapon against poverty than education. You have the opportunity to change things.”
He alluded to some issues the German chancellor had complained about, saying, “Those obstacles are gone, never to come back, we are open for business.”
Tinubu stressed the need for all public servants to work for the interest of the millions of Nigerians who elected the government. He said ending corruption and pulling at least 50 million Nigerians out of poverty were key goals of his administration.
The president explained, “We are going through the reform, painfully, and we still have other challenges. Don’t be a clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s progress. Let us look forward. Let us be determined that corruption will go, progress will be achieved, better wages for our workers, and living wages.
“We will transform the economy to work for millions of our citizens. We must take 50 million people out of poverty. We must build healthcare that works for all. Look around.
“Don’t be wicked. Look at the standard of education, look at the classrooms, and look at the roads. We can only spend the money, we will find it, we cannot spend the people.
“No crime in borrowing. Thank you World Bank for being a lending friend, but let your achievement be home-grown. The determination that Nigeria can do it is here.”
The president told Nigerians, “Don’t be selfish about it. Poverty is not a shameful thing, it’s only unacceptable and we have to banish it because it’s unacceptable.”
The president emphasised the need for unity among Nigerians, and assured that he was a president of all, regardless of religious, ethnic, political or other affiliations.
He charged participants at the retreat to work towards a great Nigeria, reassuring them that a great Nigeria is possible and a greater Nigeria will come with their commitment, guidance and resolution to give the nation direction.
According to Tinubu, “A great Nigeria is possible and a greater Nigeria will come under our commitment, guidance and resolute determination to give the country a direction. I am with you and, please, be assured that this great country is one family in one house geographically located partitioned and living in different rooms but we are one family.
“And we are here to make allegiance and give direction to that one family, making sure that relationship can only be stronger if we give hope to our people and can only achieve our vision with boldness and strong determination with collaboration.”
He charged civil servants to positively contribute to the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda, cautioning that they must not see political appointees as opportunists.
He stated, “I am here to assure you that I will work with you, the best brains we can put together in civil service, the best brains that we can put together in our democratic parliament and have been chosen for us by the public.
Earlier in his welcome address, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, while delivering the context setting, said the retreat presented an opportunity to deepen participants’ understanding of best practices in conducting government business.
Akume noted that the retreat would specifically keep members abreast of essential government matters, procurement, budgeting, and the anti-corruption drive, while exposing the executives to the Federal Executive Council, role of ministers and the permanent secretaries in managing ministries.
News
“Why did soldiers bury my son’s brain after killing him,” mother of slain Abuja NYSC member questions
Madam Habitat Abubakar, the mother of a 24-year-old civil engineer, Abdulsamad Jamiu, who was allegedly shot dead by soldiers in the Kubwa area of Abuja, has demanded justice for her son.
Abdulsamad, popularly known as Kesh, was reportedly killed inside his bedroom in the early hours of Saturday, April 26, 2026.
His mother was in Okene, Kogi State, with her husband for a burial and firdau prayers when the incident occurred.
She was said to have been shielded from the full details of her son’s death until she arrived at the family compound in Abuja, where she fainted after learning the truth.
She questioned the circumstances surrounding her son’s death and the alleged actions of the soldiers after the incident.
She said, “Why did they jump my fence? Why did they enter my son’s room? Why did they kill him? Why did they call the vigilance team to come and mop his blood? Why did they instruct them to go and bury my son’s brains?”
She described Abdulsamad as a responsible young man with a bright future.
“He was a responsible boy. He did not joke with his five daily prayers. He was straightforward. He had a bright future. He had plans for himself, for his siblings, for his mother. And just like that, his dream was cut off right in his room,” she said.
Abubakar appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the First Lady, Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, his wife, Sefiya, activists and Amnesty International to intervene and ensure justice for her son.
“This fight is too big for me. This pain is too big for me to bear,” she said.
River State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Tuesday, inspected the ongoing construction work at the Creek Road Market, Port Harcourt, declaring that the project will be completed by January 2027.
The new market, which is divided into three sections is designed to provide a decent and more conducive environment for traders who had for many years extended their buying and selling activities to the road due to congestion in the old market.
The governor was conducted round the project site by Architect Opiribo West, the site engineer for E.S.T Masters Construction, the firm handling the project, alongside Hon. Tonye Belgam, the State Commissioner for Special Projects.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the inspection tour, Governor Fubara explained that the reconstruction of the market was borne out of the need to provide adequate space for the traders and clear the surrounding roads of the spillover from the market.
He noted that the ongoing rehabilitation of the network of roads in the old Port Harcourt Township had been significantly hampered by the lack of a modern market, stressing that the new market will be a promise kept and part of the high-quality infrastructure and urban renewal programme of his administration.
“You are aware that we did promise our people that all the roads in town will be fixed. But we had a very serious issue because of the Creek Road section of the township roads . Because of not having adequate space to accommodate the traders in the market, they extended their activities into the road and that became a serious issue for our construction work.
“So we decided that for us to deliver a better project that would impress our people, we must, as a matter of fact, embark on building a better and more comfortable market for our people,” he said.
In a statement signed by Onwuka Nzechi, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Fubara explained that while construction work has begun in Section A of the market, Section B is being prepared for immediate commencement of construction while Section C will require a more rigorous engineering approach because of it’s location on a borrow pit.
“As you are aware, we’ve been here once to check the activities of the contractor. Today, I’m here to see for myself the extent of work that is ongoing. And I feel very happy that they are doing a very good job.
“They just informed me that the market is divided into three sections. The section A and the section B and the section C. The A is the one we just saw here that they’ve already started from the ground. This B section is the other side which they will start soon, while the C section is the one that they discovered that it was a borrow pit.
“And you know, you can’t build on top of a borrow pit. So we had to do evacuation and filling. So I believe that once those things are done, the other part of the section of the market will also commence. They even assured me that the timeline I gave to them for January that they are going to deliver the project fully for our people to use,” he said.
Governor Fubara emphasised that the investment in a modern market is an integral part of his administration’s agenda on good governance through the delivery of legacy projects.
By Bonaventure Melah
Although the federal government is currently working on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, one of the major interconnectivity roads in South East, concerns have continued to mount over the presence of over 32 checkpoints along the expressway which, observers say, are constitution serious barrier to smooth movement of persons and goods, thereby defeating the objective of reconstructing the road, in the first place.
Below is the list of the 32 security checkpoints along Onitsha- Enugu expressway:
1. Army Gate Onitsha
2. Nkwelle Junction
3. Awkuzu Junction Army
4. Awkuzu Junction FRSC
5. Dunukofia LG hqts Police
6. Enugwu-Ukwu Junction Police
7. Amawbia Junction Police
8. Unizik Junction Army
9. Mopol base Awka Junction Police
10. Prince and Princess hostel front army
11. Amansea boundary Police
12. Ugwuoba boundary Police
13. Ugwuoba bridge police team
14. Ugwuoba Junction Army
15. Ugwuoba Junction NDLEA
16. Ugwuoba Junction FRSC
17. Ugwuoba Central Army
18. Oji River Junction Army 1
19. Oji River Junction Army 2
20. Ezeagu express Army
21. Near Nkwo ezeagu Police
22. Near tiles factory Police
23. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 1
24. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 2
25. 9th Mile Checkpoint
26. Nude express (approach to ninth mile) Police
27. Ngwo express Army
28. Ngwo express anti terror squad
29. Onyeama Hill (near refuse dump) Army
30 Onyeama Hill (near coal mine) Army
31. Abakpa Interchange Police
32. Abakpa Junction FRSC.
Note: A traveller moving just 105 KM from Onitsha to Enugu will endure will have to endure this nightmare. A journey that should ordinarily take about 40 mins therefore ends within 3 hours.
Approximately, it stands at a ratio of one checkpoint after every 3.7 km. This is in addition to heavy extortion motorists face from the security operatives stationed at the checkpoints.
Source: Dr Amaka Oforbuike.
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