Category Nigeria News

The Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday, said former President Muhammadu Buhari’s death is a major loss to the nation and the entire African continent.

Shettima stated this after a brief prayer for the repose of the soul of Buhari at the deceased’s residence in Daura, Katsina State.

According to him, people from far and wide have called to commiserate with President Tinubu over the sad demise of our elder statesman.

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“The President was personally pained by the loss. He sent me to London earlier on to go and visit the late President. I was there for two days, and when he answered the call of Allah, the President equally directed me and the Chief of Staff to go and accompany the family and the body of the late President back home,” Shettima said.

“And in consultation with President Tinubu, the family of the late President Buhari and the Government of Katsina State, it was unanimously resolved that tomorrow (Thursday), by God’s grace, by noon, we shall all gather here to offer our prayers for the repose of the soul of the late President.”

He stated that every soul shall test the torment of death, adding that while death is an inevitable destiny that hangs over everyone’s neck, everyone should consider themselves as travellers with their bags and baggage waiting for the train.

Shettima prayed to Allah to grant the soul of the late former President Buhari eternal rest and reward him with Al-Jannah Firdaus and protect the family he left behind.

The Vice President noted that the late former president was not an ordinary person, just as he said, Nigerians from all walks of life are still free to come and offer their condolences to the Government and people of Katsina State.

Shettima said the Katsina state governor, Dikko Radda, will be in the state, and members of the family of the late President will be in Daura to accept condolences.

“But the formal ceremony will come to an end tomorrow based on consultation between His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,  the family of the late President, and the governor of Katsina state,” he stated.

Earlier, the Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, said the demise of Buhari was a great loss to the people of Katsina, the nation, and Africa in general.

He urged leaders at all levels to sustain the legacies of the late President Buhari by ensuring transparency, honesty, and accountability in governance, adding that “Buhari lived and died for the people.”

The governor appealed to all Nigerians to continue to pray for the repose of the soul of the late former President Buhari.

Radda thanked President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima for honouring the late former President and the people of Katsina with their presence during the burial.

Also, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, extolled the virtues of the late former Nigerian leader.

“We are here to pray for the repose of the soul of our former leader, President Muhammadu Buhari. May Allah accept his soul. Yesterday, as we all know, the former President was buried here in his compound, and it was witnessed by people from all walks of life, including the President of Nigeria, President Tinubu, GCFR.

The EU executive proposed on Wednesday a long-term budget boosted to two trillion euros ($2.3 trillion) as Europe confronts complex challenges, from overseas competition to Russian aggression at its borders.

Presenting the 2028-2034 budget blueprint to reporters in Brussels, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said it “will be the most ambitious ever proposed. It is more strategic, more flexible, more transparent.”

In drawing up the plans, von der Leyen had to balance bolstering the bloc’s security, ramping up Europe’s competitiveness to keep up with US and Chinese rivals, countering climate change, and paying debts due from 2028.

And all of this was against a backdrop of soaring trade tensions with the European Union’s biggest commercial partner, the United States.

The European Commission announced a 451-billion-euro competitiveness fund to support the EU’s investment efforts in clean tech, digital, defence and food security, and innovation.

As Europe pushes to re-arm, the amounts dedicated to defence and space will increase fivefold—to 131 billion euros.

And the spending plan proposed earmarking up to 100 billion euros to support war-torn Ukraine over its seven-year period.

“This is a long-term commitment to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction,” budget chief Piotr Serafin said.

Hungary, Russia’s closest ally in Europe, slammed the money for Kyiv.

“Ukraine would get a massive funding boost, while European farmers lose out,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said before the official announcement by the commission.

The large farming subsidies that make up the biggest share of the budget, known as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), are a subject of fierce debate.

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Serafin, however, said that under the commission’s plans, 300 billion euros would be ring-fenced to support farmers, who have been worried about potential cuts to their slice of the pie.

In the current seven-year budget, the CAP accounted for almost a third of funding—around 387 billion euros, of which 270 billion euros are directly paid to farmers.

Battle Lines Drawn

The announcement sets the stage for two years of fraught negotiations between the European Parliament and 27 member states—with the largest and richest countries keen to avoid paying more.

Unlike in the previous budget, the EU has debts due from the Covid pandemic, when states teamed up to borrow 800 billion euros to support the bloc’s economy. These are estimated to cost 25-30 billion euros a year from 2028.

The previous 2021-2027 budget was worth around 1.2 trillion euros and made up of national contributions and money collected by the EU, such as customs duties.

National contributions will grow slightly from 1.13 percent of member states’ gross national income to 1.15 percent plus 0.11 percent devoted to repaying the Covid loan.

The commission will also seek to raise about 58 billion euros a year by collecting money directly through five instruments, including its carbon border tax and a levy on electronic waste.

Members of the EU parliament made it clear the budget was not enough.

“However you try to package this, what we have is a real-terms investment and spending freeze,” said a statement from the EU lawmakers tasked with steering the budget through parliament.

“It is the status quo, which the commission has always insisted is not an option,” said the lawmakers, who include Siegfried Muresan of the parliament’s biggest political group, the EPP, to which von der Leyen belongs.

Funding Farmers

Fearful of a spending overhaul that would cut their revenue, hundreds of European farmers kept up the pressure on the commission on Wednesday with a protest outside the building in Brussels organised by pan-European agriculture lobby group Copa-Cogeca.

French farmers are some of the biggest CAP beneficiaries.

“This proposal is a provocation,” said Arnaud Rousseau, head of France’s leading farmers’ union, the FNSEA, during the demonstration in Brussels. “If (our) message is not heard, we will return,” he said.

His warning raised the spectre of another confrontation after last year’s protests across Europe by farmers upset at cheap imports, low margins, and the burden of environmental rules.

The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun and military service chiefs on Tuesday paid their last respects to the former president Muhammadu Buhari as his body was received at the Umaru Musa Yaradua International Airport, Kastina State.

Buhari died at a London clinic on Sunday at the age of 82.

The military service chiefs include the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, alongside the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, and others.

A statement by the Nigerian Air Force said their presence at the solemn occasion reflected the Armed Forces’ deep reverence for leadership and unwavering commitment to national values and unity.

“For the Chief of the Air Staff, the occasion aligned with his command philosophy rooted in patriotism, values of duty, respect for national institutions, and honouring legacies of service. “This underscores the Nigerian Air Force’s firm belief in preserving democratic ideals and paying tribute to those who shaped the nation’s security architecture.

“It reflects on the life and legacy of the former President as ‘one of Nigeria’s most resilient patriots,’ whose unwavering dedication to discipline, national unity, and the Armed Forces left an indelible mark on the country’s history,” the statement read in part.

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As the Armed Forces bade farewell to the past leader, they also reaffirmed their unflinching loyalty to the administration of the current President, Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu.

“Under his leadership, the military remains fully committed to safeguarding Nigeria’s unity, democracy, and development,” NAF added.