C M Y K 4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 — 5 POCKET CARTOON COURTESY VISIT—NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim (R) presenting a souvenir to the Chairman, Ned Nwoko Foundation, Prince Ned Nwoko, during the latter’s visit to the NYSC National Directorate headquarters in Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: NAN. Agitators for secession can't bully Buhari —PRESIDENCY •Says, no need for any National Confab•’No criminal or terrorist is bigger than Nigeria’•Agitation for separation never this loud in previous administrations, PFN tells Presidency•Secessionist groups only asking Buhari to change his ways of governance – MBF•Change tactics, Ohanaeze tells Presidency•History won’t be kind to present govt, if.... - CAN By Anayo Okoli, Ola Ajayi, Peter Duru, Omeiza Ajayi & Luminous Jannamike ABUJA — The Presidency yesterday reacted to the growing wave of secessionist agitations in some parts of the country, stating that President Muhammadu Buhari can neither be intimidated nor bullied into giving in to the threats of such agitators. But the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, in a swift reaction, said continued separatist agitations by various ethnic groups under Buhari’s administration had never been this loud, compared with previous administrations that had governed the country. Similarly, the Middle Belt Forum said secessionist agitations in the country were not intended to bully or intimidate President Muhammadu Buhari, but to ask him to change his ways and style of governance in order to keep the country united. However, describing the secessionists as mercantile agents who were only out for pecuniary gains, the Presidency said President Buhari will not open the vaults to share free money to anyone. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated government’s position yesterday in Abuja while giving a scorecard of the Buhari administration at an event organised by the All Progressives Congress, APC, Professional Forum at the national secretariat of the party. He also dismissed calls for the convocation of a national conference, saying with an elected parliament in place, having such a conference was a non-issue. Shehu added that the Boko Haram terrorists are currently fighting for survival as the Federal Government had cut their supply chain. ‘You can't intimidate Buhari’ “On the unity of this country and the calls for secession and the insinuation that the Presidency is not talking, the Presidency has been talking. And our position is that this country is one, is united, and by the grace of God will continue to be united. “Look, one thing with this President and the National Secretary of the party has said a bit of that, you cannot intimidate Buhari; you cannot bully him. A lot of these people who are calling for secession are the problem of this country and I am happy that reasonable opinion, reasonable voices are now rising. Is it not only yesterday we were reading Afenifere, the most credible faction of Afenifere saying they were not for secession? “Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said this over and over again. So this thing about secession is, they had used it in the past. You create secession and break up Nigeria and then you intimidate the sitting leader and then he opens the vaults and brings money to settle people. “President Buhari will pay no one. He is not going to pay and and now, it is clear that having ignored all of that, reasonable opinions are coming from those states and from those regions. “Now, the thing about the South-East is part of the earlier conversation we just had now. Criminals are fighting to gain the upper hand but I tell you that no criminal or terrorist is bigger than this country. None of them is mightier than our armed forces. “This structure has been there. They were certificated and praised for World War One, World War Two, they stabilized the entire West Africa region. Without Nigeria, would there be Liberia in its present form? Would there be Sierra Leone in its present form, even Gambia? So just give it time and support and pray, we will win against these forces. “The governors in the South-West, we have all heard them, they have denounced all of these things. So, it is a sham, Nigerians want to be one, they want to continue. Yes, there are problems and we are hoping that as people united and loving of one another, we will come together and solve our problems and that leads me to the next question, whether there should be national conference? ‘No need for Continues on Page 27 By Victoria Adibeli On expectations from acting Police IG My expectation of him is high though I have learnt not to expect too much from any political office holder. I expect him to first of all organise conferences that will enlighten the citizens and then establish a police-citizen relationship. I am not expecting him to make Nigeria corruption-free but there’s no harm in doing something about it and creating an atmosphere of peace. —Olawale Olalekan, Student The new IGP is a man that has served in different states and positions. He rose in the Force through hard work and diligence. I expect that since he has done well previously which earned him his promotion, I believe he will live up to expectation and do all it takes to move the country forward. —Okoye Ijeoma, Communicator Iexpect the new IGP to be the bridge between the police and the people. Right now, the Police have lost respect among the citizens. I expect him to be able to redeem their image and restore their former glory. So much has happened because the people have lost faith in the police who are supposed to be protecting them hence I expect him to correct that. —Blessing Adibeli , Nurse Since IGP Baba Usman did well in his previous assignments, I expect him to work even more towards curbing insecurity to achieve peace and to make sure the citizens have a safe place to dwell in. The country is our own and Nigeria and Nigerians need peace. —Sotonwa Olanike, Self-employed He has a great responsibility ahead of him because of the insecurity in Nigeria. He should try to boost the morale of police officers and equip them adequately with relevant trainings and arms to deal with insecurity in the land. I believe Nigeria police still have the capacity to deal with these crimes and criminals. —Christian Izu, Content writer T he new acting IGP has a great job ahead. The Police Force needs reformation to restore public confidence in the police. This means that the police will be made to respond as quickly as possible to emergencies and not to use their power to oppress citizens in any form. I love his recent activities which discourages the inefficiency of certain arms of the police. It’s the dawn of a new era. —Olaoluwa Joshua, Student
- Page 1 and 2: 26 Need for a review of justice sys
- Page 3: C M Y K Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL
- Page 7 and 8: Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 9 and 10: Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 11 and 12: Vanguard, , WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 20
- Page 13 and 14: Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 15 and 16: C M Y K Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL
- Page 17 and 18: Between a wailing Godwin Obaseki an
- Page 19 and 20: Manufacturing sector contracts furt
- Page 21 and 22: Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 23 and 24: Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 25 and 26: VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
- Page 27 and 28: Continues from Page 5 national conf
- Page 29 and 30: European Super League: City withdra
- Page 31 and 32: C M Y K Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL