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AT 2ND CHRONICLE ROUNDTABLE:
AT 2ND CHRONICLE ROUNDTABLE:
- President Tinubu Taking Wise, Statesmanly Decisions – Assures VP Shettima
- Lists subsidy removal, other policies as options taken to save Nigeria
- Says nation’s economy will witness positive changes after the sacrifices
By: Our Reporter
Again, Vice President Kashim Shettima has implored Nigerians to be patient with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he steers the ship of state through the economic turbulence and storm he met on ground on assumption of office.
“Soon, Nigeria’s economy will experience significant growth once we’ve overcome these sacrifices. Positive changes will soon be evident across all economic indicators – inflation, per capita income, GDP numbers, poverty reduction, food security, and all aspects close to the hearts of our people,” he declared.
Senator Shettima made the appeal on Thursday during the 2nd Chronicle Roundtable organized by 21st Century Media Services, publishers of 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE, as part of its public service enlightenment series, at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja.
The Vice President who was the Guest Speaker at the roundtable explained some key policy decisions taken by the Tinubu administration as well as its Economic and Social Agenda, including the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, which he described as the ‘biggest elephant in the room’ before President Tinubu took charge.
Appealing for patience and time to address the serious challenges he said they met on ground, especially the nation’s ailing economy which was already tottering towards an eclipse, Shettima said, “We look forward to the positive impact on the economy that will be brought by some of our new initiatives in the oil and gas sector, creative arts sector, the newly rejigged steel and solid minerals sectors, our housing sector, the blue economy, and the digital sectors, to mention but a few.
“There is no doubt that there’s a time to plant and a time to reap. In between those times, we appeal for patience and seek collective sacrifice from all, especially from us. We wish there were a way to treat this ailment without surgery”.
While delivering his speech titled, “Because These Shortcuts Are Not The Right Ways,” the VP noted that though the decision to remove fuel subsidy was quite tough considering its negative impact on the lives of the citizens, it became an inevitable option when it was discovered that the immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari did not make provision for it in the 2023 budget.
He explained: “His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, chose the option that would save the life of the nation, instead of one that would merely prolong its imminent and predicted economic death. Before we took charge, the biggest elephant in the room was the question of fuel subsidy removal.
“We understood why our predecessor made the decision to remove it and refused to budget for it in their final fiscal year. The year before we took office, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio had grown to 111.8%. The anticipated debt crisis may sound like fancy economic jargon to the man on the street, but you and I are in a better position to understand how such miscalculations have played out in other countries. It’s an economic death sentence.
“In plain terms, our debt servicing was such that if you earned, say, N100,000, the entirety of the money wasn’t only paid to your debtor; you were forced to borrow an additional N11,800 to pay the debtor. How do you intend to survive this, and how many more loans before you become a pariah?
“We are not even discussing the nation’s budget deficits, diversions of resources from critical sectors of the economy, and corruption masterminded in the subsidy regime.”
Acknowledging that government is a continuum, the VP said whoever had “succeeded the previous government would have either chosen to steer the ship through the storm as President Tinubu is doing or jumped ship and let the country implode.”
He observed that those who contested the presidency with President Tinubu did not feel morally justified to question the decision to remove fuel subsidy because it was part of the solutions they also tabled before Nigerians.
“This was because, whether in handling the subsidy matter or the forex crisis, they had also promised the solutions we had adopted. Those who attempted to eat their words were instantly proven wrong by data, history, and their antecedents—those emotionless reality checkers,” he pointed out.
Senator Shettima regretted that for long Nigeria had endured economic sabotage, leading to the resolve by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, and the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, “to take matters into their hands to neutralise the overpowering influence of currency manipulators who had conspired to frustrate our reforms.
“Today, I stand proud to say that their interventions have translated into desired results, and Naira’s pushback against all odds is an inspiring journey that doesn’t have to be learned in Buenos Aires, as some would want us to do,” he added.
Earlier in his opening remarks, chairman of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and former Finance Minister, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, praised the content of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, describing it as one of the most detailed and carefully crafted policy document in the history of the country.
He stressed the need for the Renewed Hope Agenda document to be reviewed and integrated into the medium and long-term development framework of the country, noting that policy consistency with a long-term vision to transform critical sectors of the economy, is the way to go.
Dr Usman also commended the administration’s establishment of a central coordination delivery unit to track the performance of programmes, policies and key interventions of the Federal Government, insisting that the monitoring of key performance indicators in the policy document was critical to the success of the government.
On his part, the CEO of 2nd Chronicle Newspaper, Malam Mahmud Jega had while welcoming guests to the event, said the need to critically analyse government policies and programmes was not just an expectation from the media but indeed borne out of the necessity to collectively contribute in shaping the nation’s development trajectory.
Also present at the event were the Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed; Chairman of 21st Century Chronicle, Amb. Gbara Awanen; notable leaders in the media industry, Dr Ishaq Moddibo Kawu; Mallam Garba Shehu; Mr Segun Adeniyi, and Malam Mahmud Jega, among others.
AT 2ND CHRONICLE ROUNDTABLE:
Former CP David Danjuma Auta dies at Air Force Military Hospital, Jos
By: Zagazola Makama
A retired Commissioner of Police, CP David Danjuma Auta (Rtd), JP, KSM, KSS, has died.
He passed away on Feb. 19, 2026, at the Air Force Military Hospital, Jos, after a brief illness.
Born on June 11, 1941, CP Auta enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on Feb. 26, 1962, and served in several capacities, culminating as Commissioner of Police in Ogun State before retiring on Feb. 26, 1997.
He hailed from Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.
He is survived by his wife and seven children. The corpse has been deposited at the hospital morgue, and burial arrangements will be communicated in due course.
Former CP David Danjuma Auta dies at Air Force Military Hospital, Jos
Five killed, house burnt in cross-border communal attack in Benue
By: Zagazola Makama
Five persons have been killed and a house razed following a late-night attack on Azoke village in Ado Local Government Area of Benue.
Sources said the incident occurred at about 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 19 when suspected assailants from Akparata community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi allegedly invaded the village.
The victims were identified as Nwefuru Elu, Nwefuru Agnes, Nwali Nworie Christianana, Obasi Nwode and Nwozo Nwode.
It was gathered that the attackers also set ablaze a house belonging to one Elumu Nwokwo during the assault, heightening tension in the area.
Security personnel who responded to a distress alert visited the scene and documented evidence as part of preliminary investigation.
Authorities said efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible, while further investigation had commenced to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Residents were urged to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies as measures were being intensified to prevent escalation of violence in the area.
Five killed, house burnt in cross-border communal attack in Benue
New Residential layouts will not distort master plan of greater Maiduguri…..Bababe
By:Bodunrin Kayode
The Executive Secretary (ES) Borno Geographic Information Service (BOGIS) Eng Adam Bababe has said that the new residential layouts being created by his agency will not distort the foundations of the existing master plan of the city.
Bababe said that the phased layout which is being built along the new Maiduguri ring road would naturally fall in line with the letters and spirit of the master plan which he said is currently in the online market being purchased by interested residents of Borno.
The ES agreed that full update of the master plan is long overdue adding that a gradual process is however on the way to ensure that residents enjoy the fruit of the reviewed master plan that would satisfy every resident.
Eng Bababe said this during a recent news conference in which he unveiled a digitalized method for the application of land by residents of the state who desire to own their own land for the building of new homes to reduce the current deficit which came about by the lingering insurgency.
Bababe revealed that the Borno government has spent over 1.68 billion naira compensating 732 original farm owners along the newly computerized plots that are now being allocated on phase one of the new allocated plots.
The ES further hinted that about eleven families refused the cash compensation because they felt the money the government was offering them for the land taken for the layout purpose was inadequate compared to the real value of land they possessed from their ancestors.
They rather opted for alternative amount of land acres in another area to continue with their original type of farming pastime before the government decided to create the layouts to deal with accommodation deficits in greater Maiduguri.
Eng Bababe also hinted that 16.5km of phase one of the proposed layout plan was well planned with effective arterial road connections linked to the old designs thereby making the road networks to be very effective in tandem with the original master plan of Maiduguri.
He maintained that his engineers have prepared five phases of the layout which is meant to be sold to the public but for now they are dealing mostly with the phase one which will stretch from now till November 2026.
“When you consider the fact that the original master plan of Maiduguri was first proposed and presented in 1976 and the fact that it was supposed to be reviewed in 1981 but it did not get its first review so you can imagine the chaotic situation we met on ground which I have been trying to fix since I assumed duty here.
“As a result, you can see that it is going to be very difficult to enforce 100% the original letters of the plan on ground because it is quite a long time reviews have not taken place in the State capital. But I assure you that we will soon get a comprehensive and workable one ready that would take into cognizance most of our challenges as a developing capital.” Said Bababe.
The ES however regretted that if the government decides to stick to all the letters of the original master plan in the creation of a greater Maiduguri, there would be heavy collision with many interest secular and religious and that would not be very good for the government in power.
On their step by step treatment of past mistakes, the ES said that over 1000 homes were given notice to leave certain areas before the 2024 flood in the capital but only few of them responded to the notice.
A large chunk of them refused to leave until the flood actually covered and almost took some of them along before they realized that it was the reality and they had to move on their own.
On the mistake of approving petrol filling stations in residential areas
Bababe noted that it is on this same premise that his agency when it came on board refused to allocate new filling stations to petrol dealers who built stations any where they wish without the approval of town planning authorities.
In response to this reporters questions, he said he does not envisage any legal challenge in court by residents who may so despise filing stations in their vicinity because of the obvious hazards they pose to their right to life.
The BOGIS boss posited that the drafters of the new constitution have been very careful not to indulge in such flagrant approvals that would endanger residents in the entire phase one to five in the new master plan.
“. For clarity, i can assure you that we stopped the approvals of any new filling stations in the state since 2021 so there is nothing new now in this new allocations.
“Any filling station you see now that looks new were renovated out of older once sold out to the new buyers. New ones are yet to get any form of approvals from this office.
“And for the records out of 211 filling stations inside the books only 78 are completed and out of that only eleven of them are actually functional you can check them out” Said Bababe.
The ES went further to reiterate that the town planning authorities have equally been approving filling stations so any new one seen are actually being controlled by town planning authorities who decide where to fix them accordingly.
The ES maintained that there must be at least 200 metres from one filling station to another and they are doing their best to adhere to it.
Meanwhile the sales of the lands in the phase one to medium, low and high classification purchasers are still ongoing because all payments and collections of documents and deeds will be done online as expected.
A demonstration was made on the spot in the BOGIS compound where a prospective buyer got his approval immediately.
New Residential layouts will not distort master plan of greater Maiduguri…..Bababe
Police arrest officer previously at large over missing firearms in Riyom Division in Plateau
Former CP David Danjuma Auta dies at Air Force Military Hospital, Jos
Five killed, house burnt in cross-border communal attack in Benue
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