By Chidiebere Ugwu
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said President Bola Tinubu has remained profoundly distressed by the tragic mistaken drone attack, which resulted in the loss of innocent Muslim lives in Tudun Birni, Kaduna State.
The Minister, who stated this in his address at the Central Council Meeting of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) on Monday in Minna, Niger State, appreciated the collective efforts of traditional and religious leaders in helping to calm frayed nerves in the aftermath of the unfortunate Tudun Biri incident.
“Your Excellency and Your Highnesses, it is with a deep sense of empathy that I convey the heartfelt condolences of the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the death of scores of Muslim faithful in Tudun Biri, Kaduna state through a mistaken drone attack by the Nigerian military. May Allah Subhanahu Waata’ala give us all the fortitude to bear this unfortunate tragedy. May Allah grant the departed Aljannah Firdaus, and comfort the living, towards their physical, spiritual, and psychological healing, Ameen.
“President Tinubu has earnestly expressed how the “bombing mishap” was worrying and “painful” to him and has as a result directed a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and has called for calm, while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” he said.
Rabiu Ibrahim, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, in a statement, said the Minister recalled that the President sent a high-powered Federal Government delegation led by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima to commiserate, sympathise, and empathise with the people and government of Kaduna state, especially the inhabitants of Tudun Biri who were affected by the unfortunate incident.
Idris said the President had since approved the commencement of the FULAKO Initiative in which the Federal Government will build houses, clinics, schools, veterinary hospitals, empowerment initiatives and solar energy as part of a non-kinetic response to the problems of banditry and kidnapping in the North.
“The Fulako Initiative is President Tinubu’s unique humanitarian response to the effects of banditry in our communities and will be implemented in Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Benue states,” he said.
The Minister also enjoined the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Traditional Rulers, Islamic Scholars, and all stakeholders to align with President Tinubu in birthing a new charter for national values and attitudes tagged “Values Charter for Nigeria.”
“Last week, also, I had the honour to announce a Committee of renowned experts to work on and finalize a Values Charter for Nigeria, in line with President Tinubu’s desire for a true and sustained reorientation of national values and attitudes. This new Charter, unveiled by the President early next year, will consist of a Nigerian Promise, and Citizen Codes, defining our core values as Nigerians while taking into full account our ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversities. It will seek to entrench in all Nigerians a balanced understanding of our rights and responsibilities as citizens of the greatest black nation on earth,” he said.
The Minister told the religious gathering that President Tinubu’s vision for Nigeria is all-encompassing and encapsulated in his Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to reform the economy, guarantee national security, achieve food security, unlock our natural resources potential, build infrastructure, with focus on health, and social investment, as well as accelerate diversification and innovation, and improve governance delivery.
Idris said the 2024 Renewed Hope Budget tacitly captures the scale of the national transformation that the Tinubu administration is pursuing, which includes fiscal, foreign exchange, and tax reforms, expansion of the national social register, among other things.
“It is therefore important for our various communities to be fully abreast of the N75 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme and Palliative Programs, which targets One Million Nano Businesses across Nigeria, with grants of up to N50,000 targeting traders, artisans, transporters, etc.
“The good news, also, is that the planned rollout of the CNG-powered buses for deployment by the state governments is at an advanced state, and is meant to help alleviate the impact of the petrol subsidy removal,” the minister said.
