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72nd UNGA: Presidency Says Fake Buhari Speech in Circulation

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By Dipo Olowookere

The presidency alerted Nigerians of a speech purportedly delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in the United States of Amercia (USA).

In a tweet early Tuesday, the presidency said on Twitter that Nigerians should disregard the said post advising the UN on the need to restructure the global body.

“There’s a fake speech circulating online as the text of President @MBuhari’s #UNGA Address, to be delivered Tuesday. Please DISREGARD it,” the post from the verified Twitter account @NGRPresident (Presidency Nigeria‏), said.

President Buhari is among the leaders to speak at the UN General Assembly today.

This year’s debate theme is ‘Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.’

Below is the fake Mr Buhari’s speech:

The president of the United Nation’s General Assembly,

Your Excellencies,

Heads of States and governments,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate you, Mr President, on your election to preside over the 72nd session of the United Nations’ General Assembly.

I also wish to express my country’s appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres, for his steady leadership and this body’s dedication to the search for a peaceful and equitable world through the charter of the United Nations.

Every year, we gather here to deliberate on the affairs of the world. Sometimes we implement what we talked about and move humanity an inch closer to that ideal relationship as members of the world community.

At other times, we have our talks and end up not implementing anything to the disappointment of millions and millions of people around the world who look up to this body to provide leadership in a world that is constantly oscillating between advancement and doom.

In all of these, we often forget that what we have accomplished in the last 72 years is unprecedented in the annals of human history.

The world may be badly governed, but the fact that there is a form of governance agreed upon by all is an accomplishment in and of itself.

So, I congratulate us all. Mr President, as we say in Nigeria, he who does not look ahead remains behind. Our charge now is to aspire to make this world better for the next generation. We, the generation that knows how the world was before the United Nations was formed, must bequeath to those coming behind us a better United Nations that would be in a position to deal with the challenges of tomorrow.

To accomplish that, we need to fast forward the reformation long proposed in this chamber. To restructure or not to restructure is no longer the question – the United Nations must be restructured for it to remain relevant in years to come. How to restructure the United Nations should be our priority number one.

Several ideas are out there. All that we need is to get them together and agree on what works for majority of the people of this world.

As a leader of one of the leading African nations, I want to see a United Nation’s Security Council that is expanded to have one or two African permanent members with veto powers. It is a fair thing to do – one that will benefit the world by giving it a chance for a more balanced outlook to matters of importance to us all.

As we have learned in Nigeria, sometimes you need to change in order to remain the same. It is the first principle of renewal. In the continent of Africa, the post-colonial era is going into a new phase. In another generation, there would not be any African alive who could remember when European powers once governed Africa.

That emerging generation is creating new challenges for the African order left behind by the colonial powers. My generation is managing that challenge with the hope of leaving behind nation states that are less prone to crisis. We cannot continue to pretend that conflicts that emerged as a result of our colonial heritage have been resolved.

Across our continent, they are still there. In some cases, bad governance is exacerbating these conflict points. Here are some of the things we are doing to make sure that we bequeath to the upcoming generations of Africans a continent that is healthy, wealthy and well-grounded in law and order.

We are close to enshrining in the African Union’s creed the fundamental principle of democracy, which says that a credible people’s mandate should determine who governs any nation across Africa. We are taking it a step further by pushing to make that mandate limited.

We believe that Africa has numerous talents and no man or woman should be in the leadership saddle for an inordinate time. We are also working hard to expand the African market and open it up for our people to benefit from the free flow of goods, services and knowledge across the continent. It is the only path to prosperity for over one billion people in Africa yearning for opportunities to show the world the potentials they have.

As Africans, we will continue to build partnerships across the world. As we stretch our hands out for friendship, we do so with the expectation that our hands would be met not with pity and charity but with respect and dignity. Africans have a lot to offer the world, not just its minerals and human potentials. We are committed to resetting that old perception with a new one that proclaims Africa as a land ready for business.

Those who have taken the steps to invest in Africa can attest to the mutual benefit that comes with it. In areas of infrastructural developments, research and security, we urgently need a respectable and mutually beneficial partnership with the world. Integration of the continent and expansion of prosperity can only come when there are good roads, constant electricity, clean water and descent healthcare for our people.

The United States government, The European Union, private investors and non-governmental organizations are getting involved in these ventures.

Africa will continue to welcome the world in every enterprise that will uplift our people. It is only when we add value and build capital that we will reduce the grim statistics of Africa’s child mortality rate from preventable deaths.

It is only then that we can reduce deaths on the Mediterranean Sea of African youths running away from conflicts and poverty. The challenge is ours. We accept the responsibility. As in the past, we know that we do well when we share skills and expertise. That was how we were able to work together with partners around the world to reduce the AIDS epidemic. That was how, in the last two decades, we were able to defeat diseases like polio, tuberculosis and ringworm in several parts of Africa. Africans have always been appreciative of the assistance we receive.

We have also paid back to the international community with our involvement in Peace Keeping missions across the world. Mr President, on matters of security, there is no gainsaying that when one part of the globe is insecure, all parts of the globe become potential victims of that insecurity. The activities of several extreme groups jeopardize not just the nation where they emanated but everyone far and in-between.

The free movement of fighters and weapons has all but made the issue of security a global problem. As we have learned in Nigeria, you compromise the security of the whole when components of the sum are not fully valued, appreciated and integrated with the whole.

We in Africa have been partners in the quest for a secure world. We will continue to be committed to the mission until all threats to peace across the world are eliminated. In Nigeria, we have degraded the capability of the Boko Haram terrorist group. We are on the path to eliminating the last of their safe heavens.

We have also secured the release of some of our abducted Chibok Girls. We are working hard to secure the release of the rest and to finish the job of closing the Boko Haram chapter and get the North East of Nigeria back to a peaceful region that it used to be.

Along this line, Mr President, we at the United Nations need to do more to bring about a more equitable world where a large group of people does not feel suppressed, undervalued and alienated. Last year, I talked about the need for Palestinians to have their own state. Progress has not been made on that matter in the past one year. It is one of those problems that we must not punt to another generation. Any glaring unfairness, like the Palestinian case, diminishes our moral authority to preach and lecture the world on other cases.

As we have learned in Nigeria, our stubborn self-righteousness blocks our ears from hearing the cry of those that we left on the fringe of society and blocks our eyes from seeing and reading the handwriting on the wall. In the urgent matter of the nuclear stand-off with North Korea, we hope that calm heads prevail. And as our ancestors say, that the disobedient fowl does not wait to be put into a pot of soup before it obeys.

We in Africa hope that North Korea and, indeed, all the nations with nuclear weapons will hasten to eliminate them all. We don’t aspire to have nuclear weapons in the continent of Africa, the cradle of mankind. We will preserve Africa in case the nuclear-armed nations of the world decide to destroy themselves in their so-called mutual assured destruction.

Should that happen, be assured that there will be a place in Africa for those of you who will be lucky enough to survive your self-inflicted annihilation. While we do not wish for that, we have this saying in Nigeria that, “na when soldier slap you, you go sabi say police na your friend.”

Mr President, Nigeria is always willing to work with the United Nations and other international organizations to advance human progress.

May the United Nations continue on its challenging task of being an instrument for peace, and may the goals that this General Assembly “for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet” be accomplished in our time.

Thank you all for listening. Muhammadu Buhari, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

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Nigeria Moves to Revive Textile Sector With Development Board

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textile park kano

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the establishment of Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Board as part of efforts to drive non-oil revenues.

This was disclosed by the Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodinma, while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the 149th NEC meeting chaired by the Vice-President, Mr Kashim Shettima, on Thursday at Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He explained that in order to make the board function effectively, the council approved a proposal for Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

Mr Uzodinma stated that the chairman of the board would be selected from the private sector, adding that the body would be funded from import levies on textiles.

“The National Economic Council, among others things, received a representation from the members and leadership of Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Forum.

“These are private sector operatives who are into the cotton business, garment and textiles and the presentation highlighted their proposal on how to revitalise the cotton industry in Nigeria.

“The council endorsed the presentation and approved the establishment of a National and regional Offices for the board in each of the six geopolitical zones for proper coordination,” said Mr Uzodinma.

On his part, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa said the council also received proposal from the Minister of Livestock Development on acceleration strategy for the livestock industry.

He said the presentation was on on a plan to transformation the livestock industry between 2025 and 2030, stating that the strategy was built on the national livestock growth acceleration plan, which is expected to transform the sector to create jobs, export products and serve as an engine room for internally generated revenue.

“The projection is that the strategy will generate between $74 billion down and $90 billion in that sector by the year 2035.

“It will be a direct partnership with the state governors, the private sector and foreign investors under a very sound federal regulatory umbrella,” said Mr Diri.

He added that the investment would be prioritised into five key pillars between 2025 and 2026, saying the pillars are: animal health and zones control, feed and further development, water resources management, statistics and information and livestock value chain development.

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NIMASA to Disburse $700m Cabotage Fund Within Four Months

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NIMASA revenue

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has announced plans to commence the disbursement of the $700 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) within the next four months.

Last week, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, instructed the maritime regulator to initiate the long-awaited disbursement process for the fund.

This directive marked a significant shift from over two decades of administrative stagnation and ushers in a new era of strategic repositioning of Nigeria’s indigenous shipping.

Speaking on Wednesday, NIMASA’s Director General, Mr Dayo Mobereola, providing a timeline for the disbursement said this will happen within the next four months, which by calculation, is August 2025.

He made the announcement during an oversight visit by the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education, and Administration in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“We are acting in accordance with the directive of the Minister to ensure indigenous shipowners finally have access to this critical funding. The guidelines have been streamlined based on the Minister’s approval, so beneficiaries can access the funds within three to four months,” he said.

“To effectively manage the $700 million intervention fund, the number of Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) has been expanded from five to twelve.”

The CVFF, established under the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, was designed to empower Nigerian shipping companies through access to structured financing for vessel acquisition. However, successive administrations failed to operationalize the fund—until now.

According to Minister Oyetola, the disbursement of the CVFF will represent not just the release of funds, but a profound commitment to empowering Nigerian maritime operators, bolstering national competitiveness, and fostering sustainable economic development.

“This is not just about disbursing funds. It’s about rewriting a chapter in our maritime history. For over 20 years, the CVFF remained a dormant promise. Today, we are bringing it to life—deliberately, transparently, and strategically,” he stated.

NIMASA, in alignment with the Minister’s directive, has already issued a Marine Notice inviting eligible Nigerian shipping companies to apply.

Qualified applicants can access up to $25 million each at competitive interest rates to acquire vessels that meet international safety and performance standards.

The fund will be administered in partnership with carefully selected and approved Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs), ensuring professional and efficient disbursement.

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Ogun Seals Fortune Height Farms, Three Others Over Environmental Infractions

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Fortune Height Farms

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Ogun State Government, through its Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA,) has sealed four industries for environmental infractions.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the agency, Mr Luke Adebesin, the affected organisations are Fortune Height Farms Limited and Sanda Wood Industry Limited, both in Odogbolu Local Government, Shengceramic Material Limited in Ogere axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Nehemiah Grace Developer Limited at Ijako in Ado-Odo, Ota Local Government.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on OGEPA, Mr Farouk Akintunde, reiterated that all companies must comply with operating and environmental standards laid by the state.

The agency alleged that Fortune Height Farms Limited, which is into production of eggs and catfish, was sealed after a petition was received from its host community for discharging  untreated  influence into the environment.

Sanda Wood Industry Limited was sealed for allegedly denying government officials access into its facility while engaging in open burning, while Nehemiah Grace Developer Limited was sealed for encroaching on the waterways and constructing drainage without the state government permit.

“Ogun State government will not fold its hand and allow these industries to violate our Environmental laws,” the agency said, adding that it will continue to ensure that the South Western state is safe and secure.

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