Encomium
-Buhari, Osinbajo declare assets; President Buhari meets Niger and Chad leaders
President Muhammadu Buhari, sworn in on Friday, May 29, 2015, has spent one week in office already!
The 72-year-old’s first week as Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces can best be described as busy. ENCOMIUM Weekly takes a look at the president’s first week in office…
SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed claims that government officials who served under immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan were banned from travelling abroad. Buhari was responding to the reports of “VIP stoppages” at airports across the country.
According to a statement signed by Garba Shehu, head of Buhari’s media team, office-holders of all past administrations “are entitled to their full rights and privileges under the constitution and must not be subjected to any undue harassment and intimidation at the airports or at other points of entry and exit.”
It continued, “Unless otherwise directed by the courts, no law-abiding citizen should be barred from travelling abroad. We must treat fellow citizens with courtesy and respect. Officials at the borders and other points of entry and exit should conduct their affairs in strict compliance with due process. No one has my permission to bar anyone from travelling abroad,” the statement read.
PRESIDENT, VP DECLARE ASSETS
President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo have declared their assets, as required by the Constitution. The Code of Conduct Bureau on Friday, May 29 acknowledged the submission of the President and Vice President’s assets declaration forms submitted separately on May 28. The Constitution states in Chapter VI Section 140, that a person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in the Constitution.
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015: Buhari to appoint self petroleum minister- Report
President Muhammadu Buhari is likely to keep the oil portfolio for himself in the new Nigerian cabinet. And this is according to close associates of the president who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
The sources claim the president would fill the sensitive role, rather than trust anyone else with the source of most of Nigeria’s revenue. Nigeria’s oil sector is so dirty that nobody’s hands are clean enough to do the surgical changes needed, one associate told Reuters.
In the words of another political associate, “He will do it. It would be stupid to give that position to anyone else.”
The first source said Buhari has still not settled on his cabinet and has laughed off media speculation about figures he will appoint, joking with friends as he read out a newspaper article that mentioned possible names: “They have picked my ministers for me! Have I even told you who I want?”
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015: President Buhari meets with Niger and Chad presidents
President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Chad for a security meeting with President Idriss Déby. This followed a similar visit to Niger where he met with President Issoufou Mahamadou. The two leaders discussed the cross-border war on Boko Haram after Deby had lamented that there was not enough cooperation between Nigeria’s military and Chad’s in combating the terrorist sect.
SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015: Buhari gets invitation to G7 Summit; heads out with Fashola, others
President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday to attend the G7 Summit scheduled to take place in Bavaria, Germany, from June 7 to 8, 2015.
In a statement released in Abuja on Saturday, June 6, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the invitation was extended to the President by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, even before he was sworn into office on May 29.
In his words, “The invitation is a clear indication of the international community’s willingness to cooperate with the new government of Nigeria. He added that President Buhari would not be participating in the main meetings since Nigeria is not a member of the G7 group. “He is in a group of seven other heads of State who were called in as guests. He will equally be holding key side meetings with some of the seven heads of state who will be convened at the summit.
“The international community is obviously acknowledging Nigeria’s significant role in global affairs, especially with the recent change in government”.
The attendees at the 41st G7 summit will include the leaders of the seven G7 member states, as well as representatives of the European Union. The G7 member states are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States.
