Presidential Villa roundup from Oct. 7 to Oct. 13, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari commenced his weekly presidential villa activities on Sunday, Oct. 7, at the Eagle Square, venue for the All Progressives Congress (APC) convention,  where he was endorsed as the presidential candidate for the 2019 elections by 14.8 million members of his party.

In his remarks, the President assured Nigerians that he would be re-elected in 2019, saying his track record since assumption of office in 2015 spoke volumes.

According to him, his achievements were enough reasons for Nigerians with discerning minds to re-elect him as president.

Later on Sunday, the Presidency issued a statement dissociating President Muhammadu Buhari from a letter currently in circulation, which alleges that the President had instructed Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to deal with Senator Shehu Sani.

The letter has alleged that Buhari asked el-Rufai to punish Sani who represents Kaduna Central in the Senate for disloyalty.

But Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement, absolved the President of the allegation.

Shehu said the President neither authorized the governor or anyone else to “deal with traitors and disloyal members of APC, especially Senator Shehu Sani,” as claimed by the letter.

President Buhari on Tuesday, Oct. 9 urged religious leaders in the country to assist government to overcome forces of destruction by enlightening their followers to guard against religious extremism and terrorism.

The President, according his SSA on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the appeal while receiving the leadership of Qadiriyya Islamic Movement in Africa in the State House.

According to the statement, the President noted that Muslim leaders had a duty to promote the principles and tenets of Islam as a religion of peace and justice.

The President also received a delegation of Ugep Kingdom, Cross River State, led by His Royal Highness, Obol Ofem Ubana, Obol Lopon of Ugep.

The President was reported to have said in the meeting that no part of Nigeria will be ignored under his watch.

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President to have given the assurance while responding to a request by the royal father for the Federal Government to intervene and resolve inter-ethnic conflicts affecting several communities in the area.

The communities are Nko, Nyima, Oyadama, Edibe, Usumtong, Adadama and Ekureku.

Buhari told the delegation: “I assure you that under my watch, no part of Nigeria will be ignored.

“I am very pleased that you (the traditional ruler) have shared some professional background as a former military officer.

“My experience of being in the military afforded me the opportunity to work with all Nigerians and this is a lifetime experience.”

Meanwhile as the National Assembly reconvened following their recess since July 24, the Senate was reported to have received an Executive communication from President Buhari asking the National Assembly to approve a request for the issuance of $2.786 billion Eurobond for partial financing of the 2018 budget’s fiscal deficit.

On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, President Buhari presided over the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

After the meeting, the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Chris Ngige, denied reports that the Federal Government had acceded to N30, 000 as the national minimum wage.

Ngige told State House Correspondents that the Federal Government and the organised labour had yet to reach an agreement on the new National Minimum Wage as being reported in the media.

He said the government was still consulting and negotiation was still ongoing.

Before the commencement of FEC, the President received a 1042-page compendium on the achievement of his government from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

The SGF said the compendium was a summary of policies and programmes implemented between 2015 and 2017 as approved by FEC.

Also on Wednesday, the Presidency issued a statement, saying President Buhari has signed Executive Order 8 (EO8), Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS), mandating Nigerian taxpayers who hold offshore assets and incomes to, within a period of 12 months, voluntarily declare those assets and pay required taxes on them.

Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the Executive Order 008, which was signed by Buhari on Oct. 8, 2018, took effect same day it was signed.

Meanwhile, some APC governors met with the President at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.

Speaking to State House Correspondents, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo and Chairman of the Progressives’ Governors Fourm said they are confident that President Buhari will defeat former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in next year’s election.

On Thursday, Oct. 11, the Presidency described the endorsement of the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by former president Olusegun Obasanjo as a predictable somersault, saying the endorsement did not take it by surprise.

The President’s SSA on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the President would not be distracted by the move.

Earlier on Thursday, the President while receiving a delegation led by Abdulfatah Emetumah, the Offor of Umuofor Kingdom, Oguta LGA, said the Federal Government will contend with anyone who is against the peace and unity of Nigeria.

President Buhari was quoted in a statament issued by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, as saying: “Anybody that tries to joke with the unity of this country has a problem as long as we are alive,”

On Friday, Oct. 12, President Buhari received executives of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria led by Alhaji Shehu Ladan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

In his remarks, the President said his administration remained committed to accountability in the country, noting that the enforcement of the Treasury Single Account was no longer optional.

President Buhari attended the Interfaith Conference on Religious Harmony in Nigeria, organized by the Interfaith Initiative for Peace on Saturday, Oct. 13.

In his remarks, the President urged religious leaders to desist from partisan politics in order not to lose their value in the society.

He said those of them engaging in partisan politics or political controversies risked losing public respect.

The President advised the religious leaders and traditional rulers to encourage their adherents and subjects to read every political party’s manifesto carefully and vote wisely in the 2019 general elections.

The theme of the Conference was “Religious harmony in Nigeria: Toward the 2019 general election”.

The Presidency also issued a statement on Saturday announcing that President Buhari has mandated the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to implement the Executive Order 6 (EO6) in full force, following the judicial affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of the Order.

To this end, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said that “the Federal Government has put about 50 prominent Nigerians on watch-list.

“A number of enforcement procedures are currently in place by which the Nigeria Immigration Service and other security agencies have now placed no fewer than 50 high profile persons directly affected by EO6 on watch and restricted them from leaving the country pending the determination of their cases.

“Also, the financial transactions of these persons of interest are being monitored by the relevant agencies to ensure that the assets are not dissipated and such persons do not interfere with, nor howsoever corrupt the investigation and litigation processes.”

Read also: Presidential Villa roundup from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15, 2018