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Buhari Breaks Covenant, Wastes 100 Days in Office – Nigerians

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Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president
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It is just days to the 100-day deadline the Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign set for itself to accomplish a raft of promises made before the March polls.

Naij.com reported that there are noteworthy indications of progress, but the new government must try to achieve more for the millions of Nigerians who put their hopes on new leader.

Buharimeter, the initiative that monitoring and holding how the president is implementing his promises, in their fresh report said that no promise is either achieved or not achieved.

According to naij.com, the ruling party has set up a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the execution of the APC’s manifesto and other vows made by Buhari during the presidential campaign.

It would be recalled that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently, urged Nigerians who have been accusing President Buhari of being too slow to allow the President at least 100 days of honeymoon.

He said change, which was at the centre of the party’s campaign ahead of the presidential election, would not be achieved with a magic wand.

Tinubu spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting behind closed-door with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“May 29 was when this President was sworn in. It is an international norm, there is an honeymoon period, at least a minimum of 100 days’ honeymoon. And you won’t allow honeymoon at all? You said change is not coming. Change is not by magic. It is driven by the people, the spirit and the character and the planning,” he said.

But the president himself made the promises he will achieve in his first 100 days below;
“I pledge to:

    Publicly declaration of my assets and liabilities
    Encourage all my appointees to publicly declare their assets and liabilities as a pre-condition for appointment. All political appointees will only earn the salaries and allowances determined by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC).
    Personal leadership in the war against corruption
    Inaugurate the National Council on Procurement as stipulated in the Procurement Act. The Federal Executive Council, which has been turned to a weekly session of contract bazaar, will concentrate on its principal function of policy making.
    Review and implement audit recommendations by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative including those on remittances and remediation.
    Work with the National Assembly towards the immediate enactment of a Whistle Blower Act
    Work with the National Assembly to strengthen ICPC and EFCC by guaranteeing institutional autonomy including financial and prosecutorial independence and security of tenure of officials. Make the Financial Intelligence Unit of the EFCC autonomous and operational.
    Encourage proactive disclosure of information by government institutions in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.
    Ensure all MDAs and parastatals regularly comply with their accountability responsibilities to Nigerians through the National Assembly.
    All political officer holdersearn only the salaries and emoluments determined and approved by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission RMFAC.
    Work with the leadership of the National Assembly and the Judiciary to cut down the cost of governance.
    I will present a National Anti corruption Strategy.

Insurgency and Insecurity

I have had the rare privilege of serving my country in the military in various capacities and rose to become a Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. I defended the territorial integrity of our nation.

I pledge to:

    As Commander-in-Chief, lead from the front and not behind in the comfort and security of Aso Rock to boost the morale of fighting forces and the generality of all Nigerians.
    Give especial attention to the welfare of our armed forces and their families; lost heroes and their families and the victims of insurgency.
    Boost the morale of the men and women in the field by public recognition of their efforts through memorabilia, stamps, statues, regular rotation, regular payment of allowances, regular communication between the men and officers of security agencies, provision of best health care and housing for families of deceased comrades.
    I will present a marshal plan to the nation that will combat insurgency, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry.
    Provideof the best and appropriate military and other materials the country needs to combat insurgency, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry.
    Establish personal relationship with governors of the affected states by insurgency, with leaders of the countries in the region and with leaders around the world to coordinate efforts to combat insurgency, oil theft, piracy and criminality.
    Restore confidence in the bilateral and multilateral partnerships in addressing insurgency including procurements.
    Activate regular meetings of the National Police Council to ensure the discharge of its true constitutional role in a transparent and accountable way.
    As a father, I feel the pain of the victims of insurgency, kidnapping and violence whether they are the widows and orphans of military, paramilitary, civilians and parents or the Chibok girls. My government shall act decisively on any actionable intelligence to #BringBackOurGirls.

Niger Delta

I pledge to:

    Restore the integrity of the Niger Delta by implementing relevant sections of the Ledum Technical Committee on human capital development, resource management and distribution, governance and rule of law, reclamation and environmental and sustainable development.
    Commit myself and my administration to the phased implementation of the United Nations Environment Program’s(UNEP) recommendations on Ogoniland.
    Unveil a marshal plan for the regenerative development of the Niger Delta.

Diversity

Diversity refers to the inherent complexities of the variations in the social fabric of a people. Elements of poorly managed diversities include absence of cohesion, low capacity or political will to address resulting tensions, weak institutions of the state, in-equalities in every facet, impunity, breakdown of mutual trust, rising incidences of violence and total breakdown of law and order. To quickly reverse this observable trend in our society:

I pledge to:

    Continually acknowledge and consciously equality and equity in all government businesses and activities.
    Implement the National Gender Policy including 35% of appointive positions for women.
    Work with National Assembly to pass a National Disability Bill, which I shall immediately assent, into Law.
    Immediately charge relevant MDAs to implement new building codes to ensure that people with disability have easier access.
    I will lead the campaign for restoration of mutual trust and cohesion for nation building, while also working with the National Assembly to make appropriation to strengthen institutions and platforms promoting dialogue and inclusion.
    I will promote amendment to the provisions of section 14:3 of the Constitution to give effect to the expansion of the scope of representation to include women and persons with disabilities.
    Work with National Assembly to pass the National Disability Act and the Equal Opportunities Bill.

 

Health

I pledge to:

    Implement the National Health Act 2014,which guarantees financial sustainability to the health sector and minimum basic health care for all and ban medical tourism by government officials.
    Launch special programme to improve availability of water and sanitation.
    Review occupational health laws and immediately commence enforcement of the provisions to reduce hazards in the work place.
    Unveil a health sector review policy to ensure the efficient and effective management of our health systems.
    Mobilize the health workforce needed for the all-round implementation of our primary health programmes for rural communities.

 

Agriculture

I pledge to:

    Make pronouncement to make agriculture a major focus of the government and lay the institutional foundation to attract large-scale investments and capital into the agricultural infrastructural sector
    Launch a massive agricultural infrastructural investments plan that will focus on production, transportation infrastructure and marketing logistics across Nigeria
    Launched a massive, well-coordinated and innovatively funded Youth in Commercial Agribusiness Programme.
    Establish agricultural produce pricing and marketing mechanism and institutions
    Work with State and Local Governments to launch Agricultural Support Programmes that will drive state level massive agricultural land development and mechanization agenda
    Revamp, revitalize and continuous improvement on the national agricultural extension and rural support service system
    Initiated a holistic project aimed at promoting and securing access of standardized agricultural products to both local and international markets
    Lay the groundwork for a standardized market uptake and aggregation outlets for specific agricultural produce
    Initiated a comprehensive revamp of key development banks (Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Import & Export Bank) operations to fund inclusive agricultural value chain operations
    Lay the groundwork for an ambitious, massive, seamless, accessible single-digit agricultural value-chain finance programme
    Initiated the process to appropriately liberalise and expand agricultural and rural insurance system with premium subventions support to farmers
    Revamp the agricultural cooperative system to drive rural agriculture and improves stakes for smallholder farmers
    Launch appropriate tariff rectification instrument to support import-export anomalies

Management of the Economy for prosperity

Every Nigerian deserves to benefit from the running of our collective resources. We promise not to leave any Nigerian behind in our determination to create, expand and ensure equitable and effective allocation of economic opportunities. No matter the amount of funds we generate, unless there is an efficient and effective utilization, it will only create few billionaires.  Unless we fight corruption, the economy will only benefit the greedy in our society.

I pledge to:

    Work with the legislature to strengthen constitutional provisions to make the meetings of the National Economic Council more periodic and predictable and its decisions more binding.
    Present annual report on the state of the economy to the National Assembly and the Nigerian People.
    The Preparation of Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual Budget will be guided by job creation projections.
    Negotiate rule-based oil revenue management process, and adopt a rule based excess crude account management process, which will entail a fixed percentage (e.g. 10% or 20%) of oil revenue each year, and also set clear rules about where the proceeds will be domiciled, when the savings can be used, by whom, and what the savings can be used for.
    Work with the National Assembly to adopt a rule based, realistic and predictable oil benchmark as a basis for a more transparent management of federation account revenue and excess crude account.
    Launch a Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme in partnership with Commercial Lenders to improve access to finance for SMEs.
    Automate the business registration process to ensure sole proprietorships can be opened within 24 hours and incorporated business within 5 days.
    Reduce the cost of company registration to a maximum of N10, 000 for sole proprietorships to encourage formalization.
    Review and regulate import duty waivers to promote transparency and accountability;
    Forge partnerships with state and local governments and private sectors to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and cottage industries;
    Work with the National Assembly to review and finalize work on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB);
    Boost community and local participation in downstream through expansion and promotion of local content development;
    Commence organizational reforms to curb corruption in NNPC and its subsidiaries

Industrial Relations

I pledge to:

    Give political force to collective bargaining in all sectors of the economy, revive Tripartite Committee of Government, employers and workers organisations, whose task would be to constantly review matters of labour relations and the practice of industrial relations.
    Undertake to institute an annual statutory tripartite body contribute towards formulation and implementation of broad macro-economic policies.
    Reposition Ministry of Employment, Labour and Productivity and all relevant agencies mandated to manage labour dispute and grievance handling process to ensure pre-emptive strategies to halt the current frequent incessant strikes phenomenon.

Power

The power sector has become a monstrous demonstration of corruption. Despite investment of more than X there is nothing to show but few fat cats.

I pledge to:

    War against corruption in the power sector
    Tackle the issue of gas availability for the proposed power plants
    Emphasis alternative sources of power such as small, medium and large hydro plants (Mambilla has capacity for 4,700 megawatts), wind, coal and solar. Efforts will be geared towards smaller and potable power supply.
    Start an accelerated training of human resources for the power sector.
    Work with PenCom to consider giving soft loans to power sector operators.

Youth and ICT Development

The youth are the salt of the nation. More than 60% of our population is categorized as being of youth age. The future of the nation depends on the brains of the youth and not on what is buried under the ground.

I pledge to:

    Declare support for the appointment of young people with requisite qualification into key political offices to begin the incubation and mentoring for a successor political generation.
    Unveil a policy that all federal contractors must employ at least 50% young people.
    Work with the private sector to establish innovation fund for young people.
    Encourage that girls’and boys’ education is prioritized in states where this is established to be a big problem.
    Review and make pronouncements, with attendant political will and commitment, on the full implementation of the national youth policy.
    Establish innovation centers in conjunction with proposed National Science Foundation and the private sector.
    Include vocational skills in the curriculum of Almajiri schools so that they become self-employed.
    Unveil a policy that will begin to multiply the efforts and effects of technology incubation centers to at least establish two of such centers in each of the geopolitical zone.
    Establish a free-tuition and scholarship scheme for pupils who have shown exceptional aptitude in science subjects at O/Levels to study ICT-related courses.
    Immediately establish linkages with friendly names to champion exchange programmes for the acquisition of IT related skills.
    Extend the local content policies to cover software and hardware developments in the youth-driven markets. Put in place a quality assurance mechanism to ensure that standards are met and adhered to and make it a policy for companies to procure a % of their ICT needs from the local market.
    Hold a summit of all ICT service providers, OEMs, etc both local and foreign that are doing business in Nigeria to device concrete skills transfer and capacity building models in a sustainable manner.

Conclusion: According to Chinua Achebe the problem of Nigeria is problem of leadership. You can only kill a snake from the head. Make the right decision; vote Buhari-Osinbajo on Valentine Day.


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EFInA Unveils Research Fellowship Programme to Deepen Financial Inclusion Impact

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Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA) has selected three fellows for its inaugural EFInA Research Fellowship Programme, an eight-month initiative aimed at strengthening evidence on how financial inclusion policies, products, and services translate into real improvements in people’s lives and livelihoods.

The Fellowship marks a strategic shift in Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda—from a longstanding focus on access and uptake to a deeper examination of impact and outcomes, including financial health, household resilience, livelihood sustainability, and women’s economic empowerment.

While Nigeria has recorded steady gains in expanding access to formal financial services, EFInA said questions remain about whether this access is delivering tangible benefits for households, small businesses, and underserved populations.

Launched under the theme “Evaluating the Impact of Financial Services on the Lives and Livelihoods of Nigerians,” the programme is designed to support applied, policy-relevant research examining how financial services function in practice across formal, informal, and digital channels, and the conditions under which they generate meaningful economic and social outcomes.

Speaking at the launch, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, EFInA’s chief executive officer, said Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey has reached a critical inflection point.

“Financial inclusion must deliver real outcomes—better financial health, resilience, livelihoods, and women’s economic empowerment—not just access,” she said. “The EFInA Research Fellowship will generate rigorous, Nigeria-specific evidence on what truly works, what needs to change, and what can be expanded to deliver outcomes at scale.”

She added that the programme is deliberately structured to bridge the persistent gap between research and decision-making in the financial sector.

“By examining how policies, programmes, and financial products work in practice, the fellowship will produce insights that directly inform better policy choices and product design,” Akinjayeju said.

Each Fellow will receive a N4 million research grant to support fieldwork, travel, and research tools, alongside structured monthly mentorship from senior researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals. Fellows will also gain access to EFInA’s data assets, including its Access to Finance (A2F) survey reports, one of Nigeria’s most comprehensive demand-side datasets on financial inclusion.

Beyond funding, the programme places strong emphasis on research quality, relevance, and uptake. Fellows will participate in monthly capacity-building workshops covering research design, impact evaluation, gender-responsive analysis, and policy engagement. These sessions will be delivered in collaboration with institutions including Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), J-PAL, Lagos Business School, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and international development partners.

According to Oluwatomi Eromosele, EFInA’s research lead, the fellowship responds to a long-standing evidence gap in Nigeria’s financial inclusion ecosystem.

“Access alone is no longer sufficient,” she said. “The critical question is whether financial inclusion is translating into better financial health, greater resilience to shocks, improved livelihoods, and meaningful economic opportunities for women and underserved groups.”

She noted that EFInA is prioritising research that is both credible and usable. “We are investing in rigorous, Nigeria-specific evidence and translating findings into practical, decision-oriented outputs that directly inform policy, regulation, and product design,” Eromosele said.

The Fellows will explore research questions across priority themes, including financial health and household resilience amid economic and climate shocks; the role of financial tools in supporting MSME growth and informal livelihoods; women’s economic empowerment through digital and group-based savings mechanisms; and trust, service experience, and satisfaction across financial channels.

The 2025 EFInA Research Fellows are Sarah Edewor, an agricultural economist and development researcher; Abdulmumin Usman, a policy and political economy researcher; and Abdullahi Ibrahim, a measurement, evaluation, research, and learning practitioner.

A core objective of the Fellowship is to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on financial inclusion evidence drawn from other developing contexts such as India and Bangladesh, which EFInA says do not fully reflect Nigeria’s institutional, cultural, and market realities. By generating locally grounded evidence, the organisation aims to equip policymakers, regulators, financial service providers, and development partners with insights tailored to Nigeria’s context.

Fellows will present interim findings during the programme and showcase their final research outputs at EFInA’s Annual Research Symposium in May 2026. Final outputs will include peer-reviewed research papers, policy briefs, and practitioner-focused knowledge products disseminated to key stakeholders.

The EFInA Research Fellowship aligns with Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2024–2027, which places renewed emphasis on trust, innovation, consumer outcomes, and inclusive growth, and reflects EFInA’s broader mandate to strengthen evidence and support decision-making across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.


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Trump Says He Made no Mistake Sharing Video Depicting Obamas as Apes

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United States President Donald Trump has said he made no mistake for a video briefly shared on his official Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

Trump Says He Made no Mistake Sharing Video Depicting Obamas as Apes

Former President Barack Obama

Speaking late Friday to reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One, Trump insisted he made no mistake by sharing the video and does not need to apologise.

“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.

Trump explained that he did not watch the entire clip before it was posted.

“I didn’t see the whole thing. I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud in the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is.

“Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t,” he said.

When asked directly whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”

The video, which was posted late Thursday, pushed a conspiracy theory about voting machines used during the 2020 election and included a racist depiction of the Obamas.

It remained on Trump’s Truth Social account for about 12 hours before being deleted on Friday morning, following widespread bipartisan calls for its removal.

The White House initially defended the post in an emailed statement to reporters on Friday morning by Karoline Leavitt, Press Secretary,.

She said, “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”

Leavitt added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Hours after the statement was issued, the video was removed from Trump’s official Truth Social account.


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Orya, Ex-NEXIM MD Jailed 490 Years for N2.4Bn Fraud

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Roberts Orya, MD, NEXIM Bank
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Robert Orya, former managing director, Nigerian Export-Import Bank, (NEXIM), has been sentenced to a cumulative 490 years’ imprisonment over a N2.4 billion fraud, following his conviction by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

Orya, Ex-NEXIM MD Jailed 490 Years for N2.4Bn Fraud

The conviction was secured  by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Justice F. E. Messiri sentenced Orya to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 counts brought against him, with the sentences running cumulatively.

Orya, who headed NEXIM Bank between 2011 and 2016, was prosecuted by Samuel Ugwuegbulam, EFCC counsel.

The anti-graft agency accused him of fraudulently diverting funds belonging to the bank—charges the court held were proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Delivering judgment, Justice Messiri ruled that the prosecution successfully established its case, finding the former bank chief guilty on all 49 counts of fraud.

The conviction has been widely linked to the renewed momentum within the EFCC under Mr. Ola Olukoyede, its Chairman, whose leadership has seen a reinvigoration of the agency’s resolve to pursue high-profile corruption cases to their logical conclusion.

Since assuming office, Olukoyede has repeatedly vowed that no individual, regardless of status or past influence, would be shielded from accountability.

Under his stewardship, the EFCC has intensified the prosecution of complex financial crimes, particularly cases involving public institutions and large-scale diversion of funds.

Observers say the sentencing of a former chief executive of a government-owned bank underscores the EFCC’s determination to restore public confidence in the anti-corruption fight and sends a strong signal that financial misconduct will attract severe consequences.

The judgment is regarded as one of the most significant convictions secured against a former banking chief in recent years, reinforcing the agency’s resolve to clamp down on economic crimes within Nigeria’s financial sector.

During his tenure at NEXIM Bank, Orya was initially credited with efforts to reposition the institution to support non-oil exports and improve its financial standing after earlier setbacks.

However, his administration later became enmeshed in controversies, including allegations of loan disbursement irregularities and procedural abuses.

The case, which culminated in Thursday’s judgment, centred on findings that Orya diverted public funds estimated at N2.4 billion—offences that ultimately led to his conviction and lengthy prison sentence.


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