Why Buhari Decided To Slash Foreign Missions

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, September 8, said his administration was set to review and cut down on unessential foreign missions.

He made a claim after having been briefed by Ambassador Bulus Lolo, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The country leader ordered the review in the nearest future.

Explaining why it was important to carry out one, President Buhari said there was no sense in Nigeria operating missions all over the world “with dilapidated facilities and demoralized staff”. Buhari added the country could not afford some things in the current situation.

According to Premium Times, he was further quoted as saying by his media aide Femi Adesina:

“Let’s keep only what we can manage. We can’t afford much for now. There’s no point in pretending.”

The move comes shortly after the president ordered the withdrawal of official and diplomatic passports from some former officials.

Commenting on the decision on Tuesday, Buhari once again explained:

“Something has to be done so that we can get back our respectability as a country. Some people carry official passports and get involved in all sorts of negative acts. We need to do something about it.”

In another development President Buhari yesterday held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s former leader, Olusegun Obasanjo at Aso Rock. Although the officials did not provide the details of the conversation, it is believed it might have been connected with Obasanjo’s mission in Guinea Bissau.

8 Year-old Boy Kidnapped And Used To Buy Crates Of Soft Drinks

Wonders shall never end. On Monday, an 8 year-old boy who was returning from a summer coaching class (lesson) from a school located by Lawrence road in Lagos was kidnapped by a man who then tried to use him as collateral to buy crates of soft drinks worth N51,000.

According to the story, the suspect, who was later identified as Jonathan Coker, reportedly kidnapped the primary school pupil (name withheld), took him to a provision store located on Cole Street, ordered the crates of soft drinks then told the shop owner that he didn’t have enough money to pay for the goods hence would leave his ‘younger brother’ behind, to get the full amount of money from his house.

A deal the unsuspecting shop owner agreed to, so he gave the crates of soft drinks to Coker.

However, as luck would have it, someone who knew the 8 year old boy saw him in the shop and asked him what he was doing in the shop. The little boy told him he was picked up by the stranger walking away (Cooker)

Cooker who was still within the vicinity of the shop reportedly increased his pace in a bid to escape from the scene.

Fortunately, Cooker was immediately apprehended and arrested and the little boy was reunited with his family.

200 Students Slump At UNIZIK

About 200 students who wrote the post-UTME of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra state, reportedly slumped due to exhaustion while writing the exam on Monday, September 7, The Nation reports.

Though nobody died, students who spoke with The Nation yesterday, September 8 said the school authorities did not make proper arrangements for the examination.

One of the students said the examination was not properly organised, adding that computers were not insufficient and that they were delayed from 8 a.m till 9 p.m.

She said: “Honestly, more than 200 students slumped due to exhaustion and the lecturers did not care, as they were busy pushing us from one place to another. Some who came from distant places without relations in Anambra slept in the open and the fear is that no one knows if any of the slumped students died.”

Emmanuel Ojukwu, the director of information and public relations of the institution, denied the allegations saying that only 2 students slumped and were revived at the school’s clinic.

Ojukwu said one of the victims was an asthmatic patient who did not come with her medication, the second victim was in an accident earlier while the third victim was hungry.

He said that the university had 500 computers, while the exams ended by 5 p.m, adding that the place was organised and that the school is equal to the task.

So Sad!! Female UNILAG Student Electrocuted To Death At Campus Hostel

A female University of Lagos student was electrocuted yesterday Sept. 8th after a high tension cable fell on her in front of the Sodeinde hall of residence in the campus.

According to reports, the young lady was immediately rushed to the Lagos state Teaching Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Sad! May her soul rest in peace, Amen!!

We'll Never Hang Buhari’s Portrait In Our Offices – PDP

After 100 days of President Buhari’s leadership in the country, it has been revealed that the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refused to put up the official portrait of Buhari at the party’s national secretariat.Olisah Metuh

Investigations made by The Punch revealed how the PDP is reluctant in the tradition of hanging the president’s portrait at any of their offices in its Wadata House national secretariat, located at Zone 5, Abuja. Collaborating the revelation yesterday, Tuesday, September 8, the party’s national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh said that although PDP has removed the official portrait of former president Goodluck Jonathan, it would never hang that of the present president on its walls.

“We will never hang his portrait in this office, because President Buhari is not known to our party. He is not a leader of our party and therefore we will never put his portrait here. We are a political party, very partisan and therefore, we are not going to hide that.”

Recall that President Buhari who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC)  beat the PDP candidate, former president Jonathan  hands down in the March 28 election. This is the first time PDP will be defeated since the return of democracy in 1999. Before now, the party has always been hanging the portraits of all the Presidents at the party’s reception area as well as the National Executive Committee and National Working Committee halls within the secretariat.

Metuh said the APC also did not hang the portrait of Jonthan in its offices before the former President was defeated in the March 28 election.

“Can you find out if the APC had the portrait of former President Jonathan in their office before he was defeated? That is just it,” he told The Punch correspondent. When asked whether the party was taking its own pound of flesh, Metuh said no but that since Buhari “is not a member of our party, we won’t put his portrait here.”

However, when the APC national publicity secretary, Mr. Lai Mohammed, was contacted over this issue, he was totally shocked. He said: “This is ridiculous and we have no comment. Let Nigerians judge the PDP on this matter.”