Pass All Requests For Meetings With Me Through Abba Kyari, Buhari Tells Ministers

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday told incoming ministers
that all requests for meetings with him should pass through his
chief of staff, Abba Kyari.

Mr Buhari said this in his closing remark at a presidential
retreat for minister’s designate in Abuja.

“In terms of coordination, kindly ensure that all submissions
for my attention or meeting requests be channelled through the
Chief of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters be
coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation,” Mr Buharisaid,

The president’s speech at the event was sent by the
presidency.

Mr Kyari has been criticised by some Nigerians including members
of the ruling party, APC, for his influence over the president.

The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, is one of those who have
complained about the powers Mr Kyari wields in the presidency.

After Mr Buhari’s re-election in February, some APC members
protested against the re-appointment of Mr Kyari, a longtime ally
of the president.

The president, however, reappointed him to the position.

Read Mr Buhari’s full speech to the ministers-designate
below.

Protocols

After two days, we have come to the end of a successful retreat.
However, you will agree that our work is just beginning.

2. These last two days have been very instructive for me
personally, because I have had the opportunity to know many of you
new Ministers-Designate better. I was also pleased to see that you
have all equally enjoyed debating and deliberating on the various
challenges before us over the next 4 years.

3. Ladies & Gentlemen, majority of our people are poor and
are anxiously hoping for a better life. A Nigeria in which they do
not have to worry about what they will eat, where they will live or
if they can afford to pay for their children’s education or
healthcare.

4. Our responsibility as leaders of this great country is to
meet these basic needs for our people. As I mentioned yesterday,
this Administration inherited many challenges from our predecessors
to mention a few:

· A country in which 18 local governments in the Northeast
were under the control of Boko Haram;

· Decayed infrastructure in which our rail lines and roads
had severely deteriorated;

· A rent seeking economy that depended largely on oil
revenues and imports;

· Significant unpaid pensions, subsidy debts, legacy contractor
debts. I can go on and on.

5. In our first term, we laid the foundation to rebuild our
country. We recaptured those 18 Local Governments previously held
by Boko Haram, whose activities are now limited to sporadic attacks
against soft targets. Our investments in road and rail
infrastructure are without precedent, and many of you can attest to
this. We also focused on diversifying the economy from oil towards
agriculture and industrialization. Despite reduced revenues from
oil and gas compared to past governments, we have broadly addressed
many of the legacy debts they left behind.

6. Whilst we have obvious successes to celebrate, the challenges
ahead are significant as you would have observed in detail over
these two days. Nevertheless, from the quality of the
deliberations, it is clear that solutions to our problems are well
researched and have been well articulated.

7. We have discussed solutions relating to addressing
Insecurity; Macroeconomic Stability; Agriculture and Food Security;
Energy Security for Petroleum products and Electricity;
Transportation and Critical Infrastructure; Industrialization and
SME Development; Human Capital Development; Social Inclusion;
Anti-Corruption; Housing Financing and Consumer Credit.

8. Public service is not easy work, and at times it can be
thankless. I am therefore charging you all to see this opportunity
to serve as an honour, to give your best to deliver on this
mandate, for a more prosperous Nigeria, not for some, but for all
Nigerians.

9. You will find that working collaboratively and purposefully
will enable us to achieve quicker results, recognizing that four
years is not a very long time. For the new Ministers, make sure you
engage and benefit from the experience of the older Ministers and
former Governors in the cabinet.

10. In terms of coordination, kindly ensure that all submissions
for my attention or meeting requests be channeled through the Chief
of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters be
coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation.

11. I would like to thank the Office of the SGF for coordinating
this successful Presidential Retreat. I would also like to thank
the National Assembly leadership, the Party Chairman, Chairman of
the Governors Forum, and resource firms, for the active engagements
and contributions.

12. Once again, the challenges that lie ahead of us as a country
are significant. But I have no doubt in your individual capacities
and our collective patriotic commitment to deliver a better Nigeria
for us, our children and a brighter future for all.

Thank you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Naval Chief Calls for Military Cooperation Between
Nigeria, Bangladesh

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has
called for closer military cooperation between Nigeria and
Bangladesh. He made this call today while receiving the Bangladesh
High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Shameem Ahsan in his office
today.

Admiral Ibas stressed that Nigeria valued its relationship with
friendly countries like Bangladesh and underscored the fact that
many Nigerian officers have trained in Bangladesh. He further
informed Mr Ahsan of the establishment of the Naval War College
Nigeria and the proposed International Maritime Conference to be
hosted by the Nigerian Navy in 2020. Admiral Ibas therefore invited
Bangladesh to consider sending their officers to the Naval War
College Nigeria in the near future and the Bangladeshi CNS to
attend the Conference.

While stressing the readiness of the Nigerian Armed Forces to
singing an MoU with Bangladesh on military cooperation, the CNS
canvassed for more visits and information sharing between the 2
nations for mutual benefit. He similarly stressed the need for
international cooperation through avenues such as the Indian Ocean
Naval Symposium for a common approach to containing maritime
threats. Earlier, Mr Ahsan had underscored the giant strides made
by Bangladesh in peace keeping operations, agriculture and the
garment industry, stressing that Nigeria and Bangladesh had a lot
in common and areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.

SULEMAN DAHUN
Commodore
for Chief of the Naval Staff