The report that President Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed a strong resolve to address the conflicts of herders and farmers permanently and Buhari’s lamentation on the loss of military officers, especially at a time the country is facing a serious security crisis are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, expressed a strong resolve to address the conflicts of herders and farmers permanently, but not without chiding the Southern Governors’ Forum for their recent ban on open grazing, which he described as an act of questionable legality. The president further accused the governors of politicking with serious security issues and an attempt at a show of power.
The presidency’s position was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, insisting that the governors’ resolution during their meeting, which held on May 11 in Asaba, Delta State, is a violation of the constitutional right of Nigerians to live and do business in any part of the country, irrespective of such citizen’s state of origin.
An inkling into the president’s mindset came to light last week Wednesday when the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, compared selling of spare parts in the North to open grazing of cattle in Southern Nigeria, which drew the ire of Southern governors, senior lawyers and other socio-political organizations.
Weighing in on the matter for the first time yesterday since the resolution was made two weeks ago, President Buhari, however, assured that the associated problem of the gun-wielding “killer herdsmen” would be tackled.
Shehu, in the statement, recalled that Buhari approved measures to bring an end to the skirmishes as recommended by Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture, in April.
The newspaper says President Muhammadu Buhari has lamented the loss of military officers, especially at a time the country is facing a serious security crisis, stating that last Friday’s air crash had worsened the nation’s predicament.
Receiving yesterday at the State House, Abuja, a delegation from the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) that were on a condolence visit over the death of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others, the Nigerian leader resolved to work harder in tackling the country’s woes.
He told the team that included NGF Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Caretaker Committee/Yobe helmsman, Mai Mala Buni and his Niger counterpart, Sani Bello, that only God knew why the incident occurred.
Buhari said: “This is a situation that only God knows when it will happen and it happened at a time when the security situation in the country is a fundamental issue.
“And losing choice officers has increased our problems, but we know what we are in for and we will continue to work harder and pray harder so that God will give us the power to appreciate and apply ourselves to the problems.”
In his remarks, Fayemi commiserated with the current administration over the death of the officers, adding that the incident was deeply felt by Nigerians.
The Vanguard reports that no fewer than 116 persons were weekend killed by killer herders in communities in Benue and Plateau states.
While over 100 were killed in four wards in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State by a combination of killer herders, who acted in connivance with loyalists of late militia leader, Terwase Agwaza, alias Gana, 16 had their lives snuffed out in Jos North and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
These came as hundreds of angry youths yesterday blocked the Karina-Suleja-Abuja highway, following the attack of their communities by bandits who abducted 15 persons, mainly women and children.
In the Benue killing, Vanguard gathered from a reliable source in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, that the gangs had between Saturday and Sunday invaded and sacked several communities at Yooyo, Utange, Mbatura/Mberev and Mbayongo Council Wards in the LGA.
He said: ‘’Since Saturday, communities in four council Wards have come under severe attacks by armed herdsmen who are supported by a local militia gang made up of loyalists of late Terwase Agwaza, alias Gana.
“The villages and communities in the four council Wards have been like war zones since Saturday. The militia gangs moved from one community to another shooting sporadically, killing and looting the properties of the people.’’
The Punch says that the House of Representatives’ Committee on Customs and Excise, on Monday, grilled top officials of the Federal Government over the abandonment of 22 cargo scanners that cost taxpayers $120m at the seaports, airports and land borders.
The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, while declaring the hearing open, noted that the investigation was to unravel the circumstances surrounding the sudden failure of scanners after the private partners handed over the facilities to Nigerian government.
Gbajabiamila, who was represented by Chairman of the Committee on House Services, Mr Olawale Raji, recalled that in 2006, Nigeria acquired the scanners and retained the service providers on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer terms.
The scanners were handed over to the Customs on December 1, 2013. The Speaker further recalled that the contract also provided that the service providers would offer training and technical support services to the Nigeria Customs Service on risk management, valuation and classification.
ThisDay reports that the banking sector credit to the private sector increased year-on-year by N382 billion to N31.823 trillion as of April, up from the N31.440 trillion it was as at the end of March.
The data were compiled from the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) money and credit statistics for April 2021, posted on the regulator’s website.
The development could be attributed to the aggressive development finance interventions by the central bank since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, net credit to the government increased to N12.156 trillion year-on-year, as at the end of April, higher than the N11.994 trillion it was at the end of the previous month.
However, demand deposits, which are funds held in an account from which deposited funds can be withdrawn at any time, fell marginally from N13.834 trillion the previous month, to N13.690 trillion in the review month.
The Sun says that foreign exchange (forex) speculators will lose over N100 billion in the next one month as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sustains massive funding for Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.
The president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed this at the weekend in Lagos said the apex bank is committed to improving funding for over 5,000 BDCs nationwide in new move to deepen market liquidity and protect the Naira against speculators.
He called for return of normalcy to the market as the ongoing speculative behaviour is hampering the market operations and stability will come at huge loss to speculators.
The ABCON boss linked the continued fall of the Naira at the parallel market and Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Forex window to currency speculators hoarding dollars to profit from the currency crisis.
GIK/APA