President Muhammadu Buhari commenced the week under review on Monday by joining the Muslim faithful at the State House Mosque to mark the commencement of the Ramadan Tafsir, the interpretation and explanation of the Qur’an.

The exercise aligns with Islam’s guiding principles and the intense devotional activities marking the Ramadan period. The president joined the Muslim Ummah to pray for justice, peace, prosperity, and enhanced welfare of humanity stressing the need for deepening forgiveness, mercy, and kindness to the poor.

The chief imam of the State House Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwahab Sulaiman, who presided over the Tafsir, condemned terrorists who had taken the religion of Islam as a cover to kill and loot the property of fellow citizens.

He prayed to God to avert the activities of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unforeseen hardships it brought to the country and global community.

The prayers offered against the terrorists and bandits by the Muslim ummah led by Suleiman had started yielding ‘fruitful results’ as many of the terrorists were killed by security agencies.

Different video clips in which affected terrorists, bandits and kidnappers were apprehended by soldiers in Niger and Kaduna went viral òn the social media space on April 9. One of the clips showed some of the terrorists and kidnappers repelled on Saturday night at Kakura village in Kaduna’s Chikun local government area.

The president hosted the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN)’s executive committee at the State House, Abuja, on April 5.

Speaking at the event, Mr Buhari attributed Nigeria’s rising prominence as Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse to implementation of the right policies by the present administration.

‘‘With our over 70 blending plants operating, Nigeria is on its way to becoming Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse. And with our mega Urea production facilities, Nigeria is definitely a global player in the Urea space,’’ he said.

Mr Buhari, on April 6, presided over the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, where the council approved the issuance of provisional licences for the establishment of 12 private universities across the country.

The affected universities would be located in Kano, Niger, Gombe, Sokoto, Delta, Abia, Anambra, and Abuja. The council also approved N35 billion for various projects in the aviation sector.

The president also signed Executive Order 11 on national public buildings maintenance on Wednesday. Mr Buhari directed all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government to set up maintenance departments in line with the provisions of the new executive order.

According to him, the order gives legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy, following its earlier approval by the FEC.

On April 7, Governor Mai Mala Buni, ex-chairman of APC, formally presented the new national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, to the president.

Mr Adamu, who emerged as the new chairman of the APC at its 2022 national convention, was officially introduced to the president after his election on March 26. He emerged as the party’s consensus candidate after six other aspirants stepped down.

On Thursday, Mr Buhari also received the report on the new Revenue Formula from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in the State House, Abuja.

The report was presented to the president by the leadership of RMAFC, led by Elias Mbam.

Receiving the report, Buhari said he would await the outcome of the constitutional review process before presenting the report of the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula to the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment.

Mr Buhari, on April 8, commiserated with former President Goodluck Jonathan on the demise of his two personal staff in a road crash. He urged the victims’ families to see their demise as a sacrifice for the nation.

Also, on Friday, the president assented to six bills recently passed by the National Assembly, including Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022. Others are Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, 2022; National Biotechnology Development Agency Act, 2022; Federal Medical Centre, Hong (Establishment) Act, 2022; Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021; and Animal Diseases (Control) Act, 2022.

The National Assembly recently passed the bills. The Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act provides for the retirement age of teachers in Nigeria and recommends that “teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.”

On Friday, Mr Buhari concluded the week under review when he received a delegation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), led by its president, Comfort Eyitayo, at the State House.

The president noted the institute’s contributions to ensuring probity, accountability and transparency, urging more diligence and professionalism.

(NAN)