Removal of petrol subsidy painful but necessary-Tinubu
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President Bola Tinubu has noted that though the removal of the petrol subsidy was painful, it was necessary to remove it since it had become a noose on the nation.
He stated this in his national broadcast on Sunday morning amid the ongoing nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.
He said: “I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate.
These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.
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Buhari hails Olufunmilayo, Boss Mustapha’s wife at 60
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Former President Muhammadu Buhari has sent warm birthday greetings to Olufunmilayo Mustapha, wife of the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, as she clocks 60 years and retires as a director in the Federal Civil Service.
Buhari described her as a strong pillar of strength for her husband, Mustapha, “who is a friend committed to building the future and proud history of our great nation”.
In a statement by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari said: “With Olufunmilayo and the rest of the family on his side, Boss Mustapha had all the support he needed in playing a crucial role in ensuring the success of our administration.
”He commended the contribution of the former SGF’s wife to the country’s public service, from which she retires today as a substantive director, saying that without the contribution of the civil service, the numerous achievements of the administration were just not possible.
“Civil servants like Olufunmilayo Mustapha will continue to inspire generations to come,” he said.
CSOs score security forces low: Hungry Nigerians, protesting peacefully, brutalised, some killed
Photo credit: Vanguard News
Four days into the nationwide demonstration that would last for 10-day, the protesters have told the Federal Government that if it fails to accede to their demands, they will continue to display their displeasure.
They vowed not to be intimidated by the hostile gestures expressed towards them by security agents, saying their demands were legitimate.
On Thursday, demonstrators, with placards and banners with different inscriptions hit the streets of Abuja, including the Eagle Square, Federal Secretariat, National Stadium, and suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as well as other cities across the country chanting: ‘We dey hungry, end bad governance,’ kick-starting the mass action.
In a show of force, security forces clashed with the peaceful protesters, leading to the loss of several lives; similarly, properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed in some states, including Borno, Kano, Kaduna and Kebbi.
Worried by the development, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, and activists expressed dismay over how the protesters were attacked and some killed by security forces.
In separate conversations with Sunday Vanguard, security operatives were scored low for unprofessionalism.
Hardship Protest: Police accused of mass killings
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On Day Three of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest called by some Nigerians, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, pointedly accused the police of mass killing of protesters, relying on reports that about 40 people may have been killed by the security agency in two days of the protest.
The NLC warned that it might be forced to declare an industrial action if what it called the wanton destruction of human lives by the police continued.
This development came on a day the police, in defiance of a court order, clamped down on protesters who had gathered at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja in continuation of their protest.
At the instance of the government, a court had ordered that the protest in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) be restricted to the stadium to prevent it from being hijacked by hoodlums were it to be held in the streets.
The protest took place peacefully on Day One of the action on Thursday.
But the Force Headquarters, yesterday, fought back on the claim of mass killings, saying only seven persons had been confirmed dead in the two days of protest nationwide.
It added that 681 arrests were also made.