Elections postponement: FG orders immediate payment of February salaries

The Federal government has ordered the immediate payment of February salaries to all federal workers to cushion the effect of elections postponement.

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed told State House reporters at the end of today’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by president Muhammadu Buhari.

Lai said, “the payment of salaries started yesterday as against the 25th of every month to ease the challenges caused by elections postponement.”

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, on Saturday, announced the postponement of the elections by a week, citing logistics challenges.

Asking Us To Disobey Buhari’s Directive On Ballot Box Snatching Unfortunate ― Buratai

.Says ex-VP’s statement not expected from somebody who wants to be president
.Asks PDP presidential candidate to withdraw statement, apologise
.Tasks Army personnel to fully obey president’s order

THE Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, Wednesday, picked hole in Tuesday’s statement attributed to the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, asking the Nigerian Army to disregard President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive they they deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers in the coming general elections.

Buratai, who said Atiku’s statement was most unfortunate given that he was in the highest level of government in the country before and knows fully that the Nigerian Army in particular and the military, in general, are meant to obey the orders of the Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces to the latter,said they will treat Buhari’s latest order with exception.

To this end, he asked the former Vice President not only to withdraw the statement but to also apologise for attempting to invite the army against what he termed as “constituted authority” it was meant to fully obey.

Speaking at a meeting he held with the Principal Staff Officers, General Officers Commanding and Brigade Commanders ahead of the polls billed to commence this Saturday, Buratai warned politicians and their supporters against testing the will of the army, insisting that those found to have violated the law, will be treated in line with President Buhari’s directive.

Although he did not categorically mention the former Vice President’s name, his description of his target pointed to the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate.

The army chief disclosed that personnel attached to retired Army Generals, especially those who have become politicians will be withdrawn just as he said no political actors will be allowed army escort.

He warned officers against playing partisan roles, saying those with such feelings had up to Friday, February 22 to resign.

Vanguard

Buhari: PDP Destroyed Checks And Balances In Civil Service

President Muhammadu Buhari says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruined the civil service in its sixteen years in power.

Speaking when he swore in new permanent secretaries in Abuja on Wednesday, the president said past administrations destroyed the systems of checks and balances within the civil service.

He lamented that this had undermined service delivery to the citizens in the past years, to the benefit of the elite.

“Past administrations abused, undermined and destroyed the systems of checks and balances within the civil service that were meant to protect and preserve the interest of our citizens,” Buhari said.

“This abuse of power significantly enriched a few privileged individuals while at the same time making majority of our fellow citizens poorer and underserved.

“As a result, many Nigerians lost confidence in government and its ability to deliver the required guidance and service to our people.”

‘WE HAVE DELIVERED’

The president, who is seeking reelection into office, insisted his government has delivered on its core mandates of fighting corruption, security and improving the nation’s economy.

According to him, in less than four years, “we have made progress on all fronts working very collaboratively with the civil service.”

Buhari charged the new appointees to key “into the administration’s programmes aimed at reforming Nigeria and restoring the confidence of Nigerians in government and the civil service.

He also urged the permanent secretaries to eschew partisanship in their decisions and actions while carrying out their duties.

“Therefore, l wish to take this opportunity to solicit your support and cooperation as we implement all the programmes of government in a result -oriented manner that will leave an indelible legacy,” he said.

“You must strive to achieve excellence at all times. Your motto should be civility and serviceability.”

The new permanent secretaries are: Abel Omuyiwa Enitan (Osun), Mohammed Dikwa (Borno), Ajank Olor (Delta) and Festus Daudu (Nasarawa).

Others are: Mbaeri Nnamdi (Imo), Bakari Wadinga (Adamawa), Babatunde Lawal (Lagos), and Umakhihe Afolabi (Edo).

The cable

European Officials Say The British Press Is Wrong About A Brexit Breakthrough Coming Soon

{content: “There’s no chance of a ‘deal in the desert’. It’s rather a ‘mirage’ or [an] ‘hallucination’,” an EU source told BuzzFeed News. View Entire Post › , title:BuzzFeed – Latest, url:https://ift.tt/2BEo05x, author:, feed_url: https://bzfd.it/1V7UNzh, }

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