FOR THE RECORD: President Buhari’s speech at the UN (2017)

The president of the United Nation’s General Assembly, Your Excellencies, Heads of States and governments, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the 72nd session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. I also wish to express my country’s appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his steady leadership and this body’s dedication to the search for a peaceful and equitable world through the charter of the United Nations.

Every year we gather here to deliberate on the affairs of the world. Sometimes we implement what we talked about and move humanity an inch closer to that ideal relationship as members of the world community. At other times, we have our talks and end up not implementing anything to the disappointment of millions and millions of people around the world who look up to this body to provide leadership in a world that is constantly oscillating between advancement and doom. In all of these, we often forget that what we have accomplished in the last 72 years is unprecedented in the annals of human history. The world may be badly governed, but the fact that there is a form of governance agreed upon by all is an accomplishment in and of itself. So, I congratulate us all.

Mr. President, as we say in Nigeria, he who does not look ahead remains behind. Our charge now is to aspire to make this world better for the next generation. We, the generation that knows how the world was before the United Nations was formed, must bequeath to those coming behind us a better United Nations that would be in a position to deal with the challenges of tomorrow. To accomplish that, we need to fast forward the reformation long proposed in this chamber.

To restructure or not to restructure is no longer the question – the United Nations must be restructured for it to remain relevant in years to come. How to restructure the United Nations should be our priority number one. Several ideas are out there. All that we need is to get them together and agree on what works for majority of the people of this world. As a leader of one of the leading African nations, I want to see a United Nation’s Security Council that is expanded to have one or two African permanent members with veto powers. It is a fair thing to do – one that will benefit the world by giving it a chance for a more balanced outlook to matters of importance to us all. As we have learned in Nigeria, sometimes you need to change in order to remain the same. It is the first principle of renewal.

In the continent of Africa, the post-colonial era is going into a new phase. In another generation, there would not be any African alive who could remember when European powers once governed Africa. That emerging generation is creating new challenges for the African order left behind by the colonial powers. My generation is managing that challenge with the hope of leaving behind nation states that are less prone to crisis. We cannot continue to pretend that conflicts that emerged as a result of our colonial heritage have been resolved. Across our continent, they are still there. In some cases, bad governance is exacerbating these conflict points.

Here are some of the things we are doing to make sure that we bequeath to the upcoming generations of Africans a continent that is healthy, wealthy and well grounded in law and order. We are close to enshrining in the African Union’s creed the fundamental principle of democracy, which says that a credible people’s mandate should determine who governs any nation across Africa. We are taking it a step further by pushing to make that mandate limited. We believe that Africa has numerous talents and no man or woman should be in the leadership saddle for an inordinate time. We are also working hard to expand the African market and open it up for our people to benefit from the free flow of goods, services and knowledge across the continent. It is the only path to prosperity for over one billion people in Africa yearning for opportunities to show the world the potentials they have.

As Africans, we will continue to build partnerships across the world. As we stretch our hands out for friendship, we do so with the expectation that our hands would be met not with pity and charity but with respect and dignity. Africans have a lot to offer the world, not just its minerals and human potentials. We are committed to resetting that old perception with a new one that proclaims Africa as a land ready for business. Those who have taken the steps to invest in Africa can attest to the mutual benefit that comes with it.

In areas of infrastructural developments, research and security, we urgently need a respectable and mutually beneficial partnership with the world. Integration of the continent and expansion of prosperity can only come when there are good roads, constant electricity, clean water and descent healthcare for our people. The United States government, The European Union, private investors and non-governmental organizations are getting involved in these ventures. Africa will continue to welcome the world in every enterprise that will uplift our people.

It is only when we add value and build capital that we will reduce the grim statistics of Africa’s child mortality rate from preventable deaths. It is only then that we can reduce deaths on the Mediterranean Sea of African youths running away from conflicts and poverty. The challenge is ours. We accept the responsibility. As in the past, we know that we do well when we share skills and expertise. That was how we were able to work together with partners around the world to reduce the AIDS epidemic. That was how, in the last two decades, we were able to defeat diseases like polio, tuberculosis and ringworm in several parts of Africa. Africans have always been appreciative of the assistance we receive. We have also paid back to the international community with our involvement in Peace Keeping missions across the world.

Mr. President, on matters of security, there is no gainsaying that when one part of the globe is insecure, all parts of the globe become potential victims of that insecurity. The activities of several extreme groups jeopardize not just the nation where they emanated but everyone far and in-between. The free movement of fighters and weapons has all but made the issue of security a global problem. As we have learned in Nigeria, you compromise the security of the whole when components of the sum are not fully valued, appreciated and integrated with the whole.

We in Africa have been partners in the quest for a secure world. We will continue to be committed to the mission until all threats to peace across the world are eliminated. In Nigeria, we have degraded the capability of the Boko Haram terrorist group. We are on the path to eliminating the last of their safe heavens. We have also secured the release of some of our abducted Chibok Girls. We are working hard to secure the release of the rest and to finish the job of closing the Boko Haram chapter and get the North East of Nigeria back to a peaceful region that it used to be.

Along this line, Mr. President, we at the United Nations need to do more to bring about a more equitable world where a large group of people does not feel suppressed, undervalued and alienated. Last year, I talked about the need for Palestinians to have their own state. Progress has not been made on that matter in the past one year. It is one of those problems that we must not punt to another generation. Any glaring unfairness, like the Palestinian case, diminishes our moral authority to preach and lecture the world on other cases. As we have learned in Nigeria, our stubborn self-righteousness blocks our ears from hearing the cry of those that we left on the fringe of society and blocks our eyes from seeing and reading the handwriting on the wall.

In the urgent matter of the nuclear stand off with North Korea, we hope that calm heads prevail. And as our ancestors say, that the disobedient fowl does not wait to be put into a pot of soup before it obeys. We in Africa hope that North Korea and, indeed, all the nations with nuclear weapons will hasten to eliminate them all. We don’t aspire to have nuclear weapons in the continent of Africa, the cradle of mankind. We will preserve Africa in case the nuclear-armed nations of the world decide to destroy themselves in their so-called mutual assured destruction. Should that happen, be assured that there will be a place in Africa for those of you who will be lucky enough to survive your self-inflicted annihilation. While we do not wish for that, we have this saying in Nigeria that, “na when soldier slap you, you go sabi say police na your friend.”

Mr. President, Nigeria is always willing to work with the United Nations and other international organizations to advance human progress. May the United Nations continue on its challenging task of being an instrument for peace, and may the goals that this General Assembly “for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet” be accomplished in our time.

Thank you all for listening.

Muhammadu Buhari,

President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
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Buhari and the state of the Nation

And The Truth Shall Make President Buhari Free

By Reno Omokri

President M. Buhari

Having worked twice at the Nigerian Presidential villa and once at the British Parliament, if there is anything I have learned, it is that it is impossible to over inform a leader. You can under inform him, but no matter how much information you give a leader, you cannot give him too much information.

In today's world, strength and weakness are gauged differently than they were, say in 1984. In the millennial age in which we live in, information is power and lack of information is weakness.

My concern is that there are a lot of weaknesses in Nigeria's seat of power because not enough information is being given to President Muhammadu Buhari.

I, like other Nigerians, have heard or read reports of ministers in President Buhari's cabinet being afraid to challenge him or disagree with him. Perhaps unawares, the minister of state for petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, corroborated these reports in a recorded YouTube video now circulating where he revealed that the President ignores his ministers when they bring up issues that he does not want to discuss.

Having such anodyne personalities around you just means that you are living in a bubble, seeing things as you want them to be and not as they are.

On Friday, May 20th, 2016, Dr. Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation and head of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria's economy had not grown in the first quarter of the year but had rather shrunk by 0.36%, the worst contraction in 25 years!

Since the announcement was made, there has been various reactions with pundits pointing at this or the other as being the cause of this setback.

But I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubts that this negative trend owes more to President Muhammadu Buhari's utterances on our economy and polity than to any other single causative factor.

The bigger problem is that even though I suspect that his ministers know that what I have just said is true, they would rather pander to the President and like Dr. Chris Ngige, say that Nigerians are lucky to have President Buhari (obvious Ngige does not know the meaning of luck).

In the last eleven months, the President had traversed the globe and has spoken about Nigeria's economy as if he was the chief undertaker of our polity rather than the chief marketer that he is meant to be.

Of what benefit is it to the President's agenda or to Nigeria's economic well-being for him to go to foreign nations and instead of highlighting the positive things that are happening in Nigeria, he begins to regale his hosts with the most unsavory stories about Nigeria.

And some of the stories the President tells are just that tales. They are not factual. At best they can be argued.

You go to India for a summit where other world leaders are competing with you for the attention of venture capitalists and foreign investors and while your counterparts are talking about how great their countries are, you tell the audience how everybody in your country is corrupt except you and oh, can they come and invest in your country?

Only a foolish investor would go and invest in a country whose President thinks his citizens are 'criminals' (as the President said to the Telegraph of UK in February) and whose officials are 'fantastically corrupt' (as the President said in agreement with British PM David Cameron when questioned by Sky News, BBC News and CNN Amanpour).

The President speaks on the Nigerian economy and polity without any filters and his comments are causing his chickens to roost with devastating consequences for all of us.

Never in the history of Nigeria has there been such a divestment of investment as we have seen in the past year.

Truworths has pulled out of Nigeria, Virgin Atlantic has closed up shop, Iberia is pulling out, RenCap is pulling funds from Nigeria, both Alquity Investment Management Ltd. and, Duet Asset Management Ltd. are divesting their Nigeria holding.

Zenith Bank laid off 1,200 staff, FCMB sacks 700 employees, Ecobank sacked 50% of its top management staff. The President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye revealed that in just two months 50,000 staff were laid off in Abuja alone.

The results are telling. A little over a year ago, Nigeria was projected by CNNMoney to be the third fastest growing economy in the world behind China and Qatar yet just two weeks ago the International Monetary Fund released its World Economic Outlook and Nigeria is not even among the top 15 fastest growing economies in Africa let alone the world!

And when you try to raise the alarm, the refrain from the government and its horde of unofficial spokesmen is that the downturn is caused by the fall in crude prices.

Yet this logic is flawed. The government's own economic monitoring agency, the National Bureau of Statistics itself reported that the exponential growth Nigeria enjoyed especially from 2012 to its 2014 climax (when our economy overtook South Africa to be Africa's largest economy) was spurred not by the oil sector, but "this growth was largely driven by improved activities in the telecommunications, building and construction, hotel and restaurant and business services" to quote the NBS.

Yes, oil accounts for something like 90-95 percent of our foreign exchange revenues but it only accounts for a mere 15% of our GDP.

The service sector and the commercial and real sector are the engine or used to be the engine of our economic growth. But these sectors are heavily capital and technology intensive and require cooperation with foreign investors and when you consistently bad mouth your economy and its regulator's investor confidence tanks and the result is what we are seeing today.

I support President Buhari's anti-corruption war but it should not be a substitute for sound economic ideas or policies.

And the way the President has carried out his anti-corruption crusade is in itself self-sabotaging and feeds the narrative of those who say that Nigeria is far too complex and dynamic a country to be run by someone who should be quietly collecting his pension.

And President Buhari's behavior is flowing down the pyramid. There is a contagious effect in the utterances of major figures in his administration.

For instance, when Vice President Osinbajo tells the world that the Jonathan administration looted $15 Billion in security contracts, many people in the West who like to read such stories to justify their hidden opinion that the Black man cannot govern himself, will clap for him.

Coming from the nation's own Vice President, the Western press will report the news as a fact. At that level, such a statement carries the weight of an admission.

But then ask yourself, what was the entire security budget for the five years that Jonathan was President of Nigeria?

In 2011, defense and security had a budget of ₦348 billion or just over $2 billion. In 2012, it skyrocketed to ₦921 billion or $5.7 billion. It grew to ₦1.055 trillion in 2013 or $6 billion. In 2014, ₦968 billion was budgeted for defense and security or $5.8 billion. The 2015 budget was passed in April and President Jonathan handed over to President Buhari a month later so I cannot see how the previous administration could have 'chopped' that money.

So of the $19 billion budgeted for defense and security while former President Jonathan was in office, how could $15 billion have been looted when more than half that amount went to paying salaries?

Did Vice President Osinbajo think this accusation through?

The President and his vice with their cabinet and their political appointees are not a court. They cannot convict anybody. As such when they speak this way, what it amounts to is propagandized activity.

In an anti-corruption war, one must separate activity from results. Results are convictions from a court after due and diligent prosecution. And when you look at it from that perspective, this administration has been delivering activity and not results.

For instance, then candidate Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressive Congress, had called the subsidy payments made by the Jonathan administration a fraud!

They claimed that the amount was too high at ₦1.1 trillion in 2014.

Well if fuel subsidy had been a fraud, the first thing that should have happened naturally when President Muhammadu Buhari took over was that the amount should have reduced, but it DID NOT reduce. As a matter of fact, Nigeria spent over $5 billion on fuel subsidy in 2015 and President Buhari was in power for most of that year!

The point I am making here is that the elections are over. President Buhari and his administration should stop tarnishing the image of Nigeria in the mistaken belief that they are rubbishing the person of former President Jonathan.

The President should take in the big picture and realize that you need to be underneath somebody in order to pull him down.

One year has come and gone and has seemingly been wasted pointing fingers in blame instead of at solutions. The time for blame games has gone.

Only last month, President Buhari complained that the Sahara desert was advancing southward. He should also realize that that is not the only thing going south. The Nigerian economy is going south at perhaps a faster rate and blaming others for it will never stem the tide.

The President should focus on marketing his plans and policies when he travels abroad instead of de marketing the plans and policies of former President Jonathan's administration.

It has been said that if you want a conversation with a habitual complainer to end abruptly, just ask him how he intends to fix the problem. That is the question Nigerians want answered by President Buhari.

Under former President Jonathan, Nigeria's economy exploded and became the largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the world. Let it not be said that under President Buhari that economy collapsed like a pack of clouds because the hand that should have steered the ship was too busy pointing an accusing finger.

Singapore's Economic Development ‘A model Nigeria should adopt’

Fifty years ago, the city-state of Singapore was an undeveloped country with a GDP per capita of less than US $320. Today, it is one of the world's fastest growing economies. Its GDP per capita has risen to an incredible US $60,000, making it the sixth highest in the world based on Central Intelligence Agency figures. For a country that lacks territory and natural resources, Singapore's economic ascension is nothing short of remarkable. By embracing globalization, free market capitalism, education, and strict pragmatic policies, the country has been able to overcome their geographic disadvantages and become a leader in global commerce.

Photos of the Old State of Singapore

Singapore Independence

For over a hundred years, Singapore was under British control. But when the British failed to protect the colony from the Japanese during World War II, it sparked a strong anti-colonial and nationalist sentiment that subsequently led to their independence.

On August 31, 1963, Singapore seceded from the British crown and merged with Malaysia to form the Federation of Malaysia.

Although no longer under English rule, the proceeding two years Singapore spent as part of Malaysia were filled with social strife, as the two sides struggled to assimilate with one another ethnically. Street riots and violence became very common. The Chinese in Singapore outnumbered the Malay three-to-one. The Malay politicians in Kuala Lumpur feared their heritage and political ideologies were being threatened by the growing Chinese population throughout the island and peninsula. Therefore, as a way of ensuring a Malay majority within Malaysia proper and to phase out communist sentiments within the country, the Malaysian parliament voted to expel Singapore from Malaysia. Singapore gained formal independence on August 9, 1965, with Yusof bin Ishak serving as its first president and the highly influential Lee Kuan Yew as its Prime Minister.

Upon independence, Singapore continued to experience problems. Much of the city-state's three million people were unemployed. More than two-thirds of its population was living in slums and squatter settlements on the city's fringe. The territory was sandwiched between two large and unfriendly states in Malaysia and Indonesia. It lacked natural resources, sanitation, proper infrastructure, and adequate water supply. In order to stimulate development, Lee sought international assistance, but his pleas went unanswered, leaving Singapore to fend for itself.

Globalization in Singapore

During colonial times, Singapore's economy was centered on entrepôt trade. But this economic activity offered little prospect for job expansion in the post-colonial period. The withdrawal of the British further aggravated the unemployment situation.

The most feasible solution to Sinagpore's economic and unemployment woes was to embark on a comprehensive program of industrialization, with a focus on labor-intensive industries. Unfortunately, Singapore had no industrial tradition. The majority of its working population was in trade and services. Therefore, they had no expertise or easily adaptable traits in the area. Moreover, without a hinterland and neighbors who would trade with it, Singapore was forced to look for opportunities well beyond its borders to spearhead its industrial development.

Pressured to find work for their people, the leaders of Singapore began to experiment with globalization. Influenced by Israel's ability to leap over its Arab neighbors who boycotted them and trade with Europe and America, Lee and his colleagues knew they had to connect with the developed world and to convince their multinational corporations to manufacture in Singapore.

In order to attract investors, Singapore had to create an environment that was safe, corruption- free, low in taxation, and unimpeded by unions. To make this feasible, the citizens of the country had to suspend a large measure of their freedom in place of a more autocratic government. Anyone caught conducting narcotic trade or intensive corruption would be met with the death penalty. Lee's People Action Party (PAP) repressed all independent labor unions and consolidated what remained into a single umbrella group called the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), which it directly controlled. Individuals who threatened national, political, or corporate unity were quickly jailed without much due process. The country's draconian, but business-friendly laws became very appealing to international investors. In contrast to their neighbors, where political and economic climates were unpredictable, Singapore on the other hand, was very predictable and stable. Moreover, with its advantageous relative location and established port system, Singapore was an ideal place to manufacture out of.

By 1972, just seven years since independence, one-quarter of Singapore's manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both the U.S. and Japan were major investors. As a result of Singapore's steady climate, favorable investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965 to 1972, the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit growth.

APC holds rally in Abuja, says Nigeria democracy under threat

APC Chieftains

The All Progressives Congress, APC, led by its National Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun as well as some Chieftains like Muhammadu Buhari and few hand picked individuals have currently taken to some major streets in Abuja, in what is tagged, Salvation Rally, which the APC described as a warning rally.

Chief Oyegun, national chairman of the APC said the party is disturbed by the level of insecurity in Nigeria; manipulation of the Permanent Voters Card, PVC, issuance process in APC-controlled states as well as the current dwindling state of the nation’s economy.

Oyegun said the rally was organized because the leadership of the APC considered that it was time to give the government of Goodluck Jonathan a public warning and to call the attention of every Nigerian to the looming dangers ahead.

His words: “It is now clear that the PDP government of President Jonathan is exploiting the lives and shedding the blood of our children in the entire northeast of the country for purely simple political reasons. How can Boko Haram move into Mubi without one single shot of resistance? How did it happen?

“Our military men have proven themselves worldwide; they shed their blood for the survival of Liberia and Sudan. Why is it that all of a sudden in their own nation, they would be unable to fight these terrorists? This is not guerilla warfare, because these terrorists come in trucks and bikes. Have our armed forces so deteriorated into such a mess?  No.”

“The Nigerian government has virtually become the armorers of the insurgents.  Why would the army during retreat leave behind all its weapons and ammunitions? We have implicit confidence in our armed forces, but the PDP is sacrificing the lives of our brothers, sisters, mothers and children for selfish political gains.”

Meanwhile, the former head of state and APC presidential aspirant, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari said the PDP is corrupt, inefficient and indiscipline as such the party’s concern is the lack of concern of the federal government.

“The PDP cannot escape the blame of the position they have put Nigeria in terms of security and a failing economy.  Today, this country is going bankrupt. We will stabilize the system if we vote the PDP out,” Buhari said.

Report reaching Nigeria Politics Online explained that APC is being followed by hundreds of its supporters in the rally.

Courtesy; nigeriapoliticsonline

Is NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) Scheme still fulfilling her purposed of creation?

Is there any tangible proof that over the years, the NYSC scheme has been and still is fulfilling the purpose of its creation?

The NYSC scheme was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in our national history gave impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree No.24 of 22nd May 1973 which stated that the NYSC is being established "with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity".

Having lasted for about 38 years, many Nigerians opine that the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) program may have outlived its usefulness. Several corpers have died in the course of their service either as victims of violent outbreaks in the region where they served or due to the poor living conditions they face in the places they are posted to. Many families are still grieving the loss of their loved ones, mothers have buried the children they labored for, chest fed and invested so much time, care and money in.

The question is: is there any tangible proof that over the years, the NYSC scheme has been and still is fulfilling the purpose of its creation; that is to ensure national integration and co-existence? Are there any testimonies to this effect? Should the program continue simply because it provides employment for those in charge of supplying kits and other accessories for the NYSC programs while some of the NYSC members don’t live to see the end of the program? Is it actually even possible to secure the Youth corpers when it is on record that some NYSC members were murdered at a police station after a female corporal was beheaded and the police station itself was incinerated? Can the NYSC be a means of fostering national unity after all the grief it has already caused? Has any of one of those who think the program should remain ever lost a loved one in the course of the program? For how long will young vibrant Nigerians die senselessly at the hands of ignorant, illiterate brutes because the Government does not provide adequate security for its citizens? 

To continue...

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE

The National Council of State in Nigeria has asked security agents to ‘add more venom’ to the fight against terrorism, stressing the need to end the attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist group on villages and towns in the north-east.

The call was made by the National Council of State members on Tuesday after they were briefed of the security efforts of the agencies to end the over five year’s terrorism that has claimed thousands of lives in the north-east.

The Council of State meeting was held at the Presidential Villa and it was presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In attendance were four former Heads of State – Generel Yakubu Gowon, Mr Shehu Shagari, Mr Ernest  Shonekan and Mr Olusegun Obasanjo.

After a briefing by the National Security Adviser, the Council of State members observed that the government was doing everything possible to ensure that the schoolgirls abducted from their school’s dormitory by members of the Boko Haram sect in April were released safe and sound.

The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to securing the release of the girls.

It stressed the need for the security agents to add more venom to the fight against the Boko Haram sect that had continued to attack villages and towns in the north-east days after the Nigerian government said it had reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamic sect.

Less than 24 hours after the ceasefire agreement was announced, the terrorist group attacked two towns in Borno. The leader of the group in a video released on Friday denied any ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that the girls abducted from the school had been married off.  

The National Council of State is the highest policy making body in Nigeria and all past leaders are expected to attend the council meeting.

At the last count at the meeting venue, only four of them were in attendance.

The meeting was also briefed on Nigeria’s Ebola-free status by Governor Akpabio.

The council also reviewed the report by a committee set up to investigate reports of discriminations against persons that were infected but now free of the virus across the states and mandated the committee to beef up the recommendations of sanctions against anyone that is working against the unity of the country in any guise.

Courtesy: Channels Television 

Nigeria To Unveil Commemorative 100 Naira Note

President Goodluck Jonathan will unveil the specially designed commemorative 100 Naira banknote by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, November 5.

A statement on Monday by the CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications Department, Ibarahim Mu’azu, said the commemorative note was part of the apex bank’s contribution to the centenary celebration, which is in line with its mandate of issuing legal tender currency in Nigeria.

“The choice of the 100 Naira denomination is to mark the centenary celebration of Nigeria and is consistent with best global practices for Central Banks around the world during the celebration of national events,” the statement read.

Part of the features of the commemorative banknote is the inscription of the theme of the centenary celebration: “One Nigeria, Great Promise” as a micro-text.

According to the statement, the new note is also designed to incorporate additional security features for digital communication, protection against counterfeiting, tolerance to the tropics and ease of recognition of genuineness.

The Bank further emphasised that the commemorative note was for the purpose of the centenary celebration and would circulate alongside the existing 100 Naira note.

Wednesday’s unveiling ceremony will be preceded by a brief presentation by the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, detailing the aesthetic and security features of the note.

The CBN had in 2010, issued commemorative 50 Naira polymer note to mark Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebration.

The 100 Naira note bearing the portrait of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was first issued in December 1999.

The Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio has appointed Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel to replace Mr. Umana Okon Umana as the secretary to the state government

The Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON has approved the appointment of Mr Udom Gabriel Emmanuel as the new Secretary to the State Government with immediate effect. Mr. Udom Emmanuel hails from Onna Local Government Area of Eket Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State.

According to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information,  Aniekan Umanah, Emmanuel, who was described as a great Ibibio son was until his appointment an Executive Director on the board of Zenith Bank Plc. He has been on the bank’s board since December 2006. Mr. Emmanuel also doubled as Non-Executive Director, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) from 2008 to date and Director, Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBBS) from 2009, Non-Executive Director, Zenith Bank, United Kingdom; Zenith Bank – Gambia; Zenith Bank – Sierra Leone; Zenith Insurance; Zenith Pensions and Custodian; Zenith Securities; Zenith Trustees and Zenith Registrars.?

A corporate strategist and an experienced private sector player, Mr. Emmanuel has wide experience in various blue-chip organizations such as Price Water House and Diamond Bank plc.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio expressed appreciation of the Government and the good people of Akwa Ibom State to the erstwhile Secretary to Government, Obong Umana Okon Umana for his dedication and contributions to the uncommon transformation of Akwa Ibom State. The Governor further described Obong Umana Okon Umana as a brother and a friend who displayed exceptional competence in the discharge of his duties in the last six years. He wished Obong Umana Okon Umana success in his future endeavors whilst congratulating the new appointee, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.