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  • Southwest contributed to Nigeria’s problems by voting APC in 2015 – Ahmed Bakare

    Southwest contributed to Nigeria’s problems by voting APC in 2015 – Ahmed Bakare

    Alhaji Ahmed Bakare, a public commentator in Zamfara State, believes the Southwest is to blame for Nigeria’s current security and economic crisis.

    Bakare said on Tuesday in Gusau, the state capital, that Nigeria had never seen such levels of insecurity and economic downturn as the country is currently experiencing. The All Progressives Congress, APC, he said, had failed Nigerians.

    “The South-Western region of Nigeria is to blame for the country’s current security and economic problems, as the South-Western states voted for the APC in the 2015 presidential election.”

    “The same South-Westerners are yearning for a southern presidency because one of their own, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has emerged as the APC presidential candidate,” Bakare explained.
    He lamented that those troubling the country are in the same clique, and they will never allow the country to have peace because of their selfish interest.

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    “Nigeria can regain her political problem if all these old brigades are pushed out of the system.

    “Atiku and Tinubu have assumed positions in the country, and they are still stubborn political grasshoppers and do not want to relinquish power to the youths.

    “Nigerians will never forgive themselves in 2023 if they make the costly mistake of retaining these old brigades,” he added.

    Speaking on the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, Bakare noted that tribalism, not religion, has been Nigeria’s problem.*

    According to him, no progress can be achieved in Nigeria until Nigerians do away with tribal and religious sentiments, stressing that tribe and religion do not form good governance.

  • ASCSN condemns appointment of non-career civil servants as perm secs

    ASCSN condemns appointment of non-career civil servants as perm secs

    The Nasarawa State Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has condemned the appointment of non-career civil servants as permanent secretaries.

    Haruna Ewa, the chairman, complained on Tuesday at an ASCSN seminar for affiliate members.

    Ewa emphasised that appointing people without the necessary experience as permanent secretaries results in low productivity.

    The union also opposed extending civil servants’ tenure beyond the mandatory 35 years of service or 60 years of age.

    “This will result in permanent stagnation of civil servants who are working hard to reach the pinnacle of their careers,” he said, according to NAN.
    Mohammed Doma, Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Nasarawa hailed Governor Abdullahi Sule for approving outstanding promotions of workers.

    Read Also: 2023: Muslim-Muslim ticket is suicide mission, APC group tells Buhari

    Doma, however, urged his administration to withdraw the circular ordering them to write and pass an examination before being elevated.

    “Implement all the outstanding promotions first, then we can be on the same page to obey whatever the government wants us to do,” he said.

    The ASCSN symposium informed workers on labour movements activities and how to relate with the government regarding better welfare.

  • Senate clears CBN non-executive director nominees

    Senate clears CBN non-executive director nominees

    The Senate has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for Non-Executive Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who were sent to the Red Chamber for confirmation (CBN).

    Senator Uba Sani, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions, announced this in a statement.

    The four reappointed Non-Executive Directors, including Prof. Mike Idiahi Obadan, Prof. Justitia Odinakachukwu Nnabuko, Prof. Ummu Ahmed Jalingo, and Mr Adeola Adetunji, were screened by the Committee, according to the lawmaker.

    Read Also: 2023: Muslim-Muslim ticket is suicide mission, APC group tells Buhari

    Explaining the screening process, the senator said the nominees were asked a wide range of questions on the mandate of the CBN, the challenges it is facing, the current situation in the banking and financial sectors, how to build strong synergy between the monetary and fiscal authorities, and how to get Nigeria out of its present economic difficulties.

    He noted that “the screening session was robust and interactive”, adding that “the nominees exhibited high levels of understanding of the Nigerian economy, as well as the challenges, intricacies and opportunities of the Nigerian financial sector.

    “No petition was received in respect of any of the nominees.”

  • 23 Nigerian startups to benefit from Google’s $4 million fund for 60 African businesses

    23 Nigerian startups to benefit from Google’s $4 million fund for 60 African businesses

    Google on Tuesday announced the selection of 60 eligible startups across Africa with $4 million funding to enable them to scale up their ongoing work.
    The programme, called Google Black Founders Fund (BFF) for African startups, is the second phase of the global tech giant’s funding.

    Folarin Aiyegbusi, Google’s Head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub-Sahara Africa, said in a statement that the startups joining the programme would receive a total of $4 million in funding.

    He listed the top five countries with the most startups selected for the programme: Nigeria with 23 grantees, Kenya with 12, and Rwanda with six grantees.

    Mr Aiyegbusi said South Africa had five grantees and Uganda had four grantees.

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    According to him, Botswana and Senegal have one selected startup each, Cameroon and Ghana both have three grantees each, while Ethiopia has two selected grantees.

    ‘’Each of the selected startups would receive support in the form of a six-month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges,’’ Mr Aiyegbusi said.

    According to him, the startups will also be part of tailored workshops, support networks and community-building sessions.

    Mr Aiyegbusi said the 60 grantees would also get non-dilutive awards of between $50,000 and $100,000 and up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credit.

    He said that grantees, made up of 50 per cent women-led businesses, hailed from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

    According to Mr Aiyegbusi, the startups specialised in sectors such as fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, agtech, education, hospitality and smart cities.

    Mr Aiyegbusi said the Google for startups programme, launched in April 2012, had created over 4,600 jobs and raised more than $290 million in funding.

    Read Also: Ondo: Kidnappers demand N90m ransom for abducted burial guests

    He added that the programme would introduce the grantees in Africa to Google’s products, connections, and best practices.

    According to him, funding for the programme will be distributed through Google’s implementation partner, CcHUB.

    Mr Aiyegbusi said the equity-free cash assistance would enable the startups to take care of immediate needs such as paying staff, funding inventory, and maintaining software licences.

    He explained that this was to help the grantees buffer the cost of taking on debt in the early stages of their businesses, as many of them had no steady revenue streams yet.

  • PDP crisis: I have what it takes to flog, crush ‘small boys’ – Wike

    PDP crisis: I have what it takes to flog, crush ‘small boys’ – Wike

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State says he has what it takes to flog and crush his opponents, whom he described as “small boys.”

    Wike made the remark while stressing that he would not leave his political opponents to God but deal with them himself.

    The governor spoke while inaugurating the Okezuo Abia Flyover along the Aba -Enugu Expressway in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area and the rehabilitated Aba- Owerri Road in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State on Monday.

    He said: “God has given me what it takes to crush these people, for me to crush my enemies.

    Read Also: Strike: FG, not ASUU, proposed revitalisation fund – Union

    “No relationship can be bought with money. When I read some newspapers, they say some people are making attempts to break ranks. I said do you understand the modus operandi of what we are doing? If they understand the modus operandi, they will not waste their time.

    “I have the capacity to flog these small boys.”

    Wike has been aggrieved with leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, since the party’s presidential election.

    The governor is aggrieved that the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar ignored him and picked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.

    Atiku’s decision led to Wike calling for the resignation of PDP’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

  • Strike: FG, not ASUU, proposed revitalisation fund – Union

    Strike: FG, not ASUU, proposed revitalisation fund – Union

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities has clarified that the N1.1 trillion fund for the revitalisation of public universities was a commitment made by the Federal Government and not the union’s idea.

    The chairman of ASUU, Niger Delta University chapter, Kingdom Tonbara, made the clarification during a phone-in programme on Rhythm 94.7FM, Yenagoa, on which he appeared alongside his secretary, Ebi Baraka, on Saturday.

    This is as they insisted that ASUU-NDU would not pull out of the ongoing national strike, adding that the chapter’s involvement in the union’s previous struggles had resulted in the transformation of the Bayelsa State-owned university, which was hitherto described in some quarters as “a glorified secondary school”.

    The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, had in August declared that the Federal Government would not borrow N1.1trn to end the ongoing nationwide industrial action embarked on by the national body of ASUU since February 2022 over the government’s failures to implement the 2009 agreement, among other issues.

    Read Also: Flood kills 372 Nigerians in eight months, 508,000 persons affected – NEMA DG says

    Keyamo, who spoke on a national television, claimed that the union was trying to blackmail the government into borrowing the money while other sectors also need attention.

    Tonbara said the N1.1trn revitalisation fund for public universities was proposed by the Federal Government in 2013 when the university teachers downed tools for six months to drive home the need for the government to save the institutions from infrastructure decay.

    He noted that the government came up with the figure following a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by a committee inaugurated by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to visit all public universities to ascertain the level of decay in response to an earlier complaint by the union in 2012.
    Tonbara said, “That report was presented to the Federal Executive Council where they looked at it and they shouted, from what we are told; that, that means Nigerian universities have completely decayed and that they needed to pump in massive funds into public universities to revitalise our universities.

    “And they (Federal Government), not ASUU, came up with N1.1trn to be pumped into public universities; not ASUU. And they said they don’t have the money even though they have realised that from the assessment, they needed N1.1trn.

    “It was ASUU that recommended to them that you can spread this (money) into six years and the payment is not going to be made to ASUU but it will be given to the administrators of the universities to develop the universities, both state and federal universities.”

    The ASUU-NDU leader continued: “So, the then President, after agreeing, was unable to release this money. That’s why we went on strike in 2013 for six months. At the end of that six months’ strike, the President graciously released N200bn instead of the normal N220bn that we had agreed. He released N200bn.

    Read Also: Gunmen kill driver, abduct 8 passengers in Rivers

    “And you won’t believe it, for the first time, Niger Delta University got N3bn (from the money). Before 2013, Niger Delta University had not seen N1bn, and that was the era people were describing the NDU as a glorified secondary school.”

    Tonbara explained that the N3bn was very useful to the management of the NDU as it was able to build brand new faculties of agriculture and arts, auditorium and two hostels while a library abandoned since 2004 was also completed and equipped.

    He added: “From that N3bn, we were able to equip most of our laboratories. From that N3bn, we were able to send some of our colleagues abroad to do Masters and Ph.Ds. We agreed in that 2009 agreement (with Federal Government) that in three years’ time we will renegotiate the agreement. From 2009 till date, various governments have been deceiving us.”

  • Flood kills 372 Nigerians in eight months, 508,000 persons affected – NEMA DG says

    Flood kills 372 Nigerians in eight months, 508,000 persons affected – NEMA DG says

    Director-General of, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, Monday disclosed that flash floods has killed about 372 Nigerians in the last eight months.

    Ahmed who disclosed this in Abuja while launching various sets of operational vehicles as well as specialised equipment for effective search and rescue operations during disasters added that the menace has affected a total of 508,000 persons, injured 277 persons, destroyed about 37,633 houses and loss of huge numbers of livestock.

    According to the DG, flash floods, have inundated 33 out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), maintaining that several farmlands has been submerged by the ugly development mostly in Adamawa, Jigawa, Taraba, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Anambra and Ebonyi states.

    “These have been accompanied by other derivative disasters. The agency has begun to venture into realms of proactive and predictive disaster risk management in line with best practices,” he added.

    Read Also: Gunmen kill driver, abduct 8 passengers in Rivers

    Ahmed said that the new equipment would be deployed across the Zonal, Territorial and Operational offices of the agency.

    He said that the equipment, would close existing gaps and meet the current challenges faced by actors responding to emergencies in the field.

    The equipment include: Three Mobile Intensive Care Unit Ambulances, Three Incident Response Vehicle (IRVs), Two Motorised Boats, Two Inflatable Boats, Nine Flood Lights, 15 Probe Cameras and Three Life Locators.

    Others are 15 Breaching Systems, Nine Chain Saws, Six Concrete Cutters, Nine Full Body Harness, Nine Hose Pump Units, Nine Hydraulic Cutter, Nine Hydraulic Hose, Nine Hydraulic Rescue Ram and Nine Hydraulic Spreader.

    Among the equipment also include; Nine Manual Cutter/Spreaders, Three Concrete Cutting saws and Two additional water purifier trucks donated by the Government of Japan.

  • Enugu APC: Nnamani, Okechukwu, others manufacturing crisis – Ada Ogbu

    Enugu APC: Nnamani, Okechukwu, others manufacturing crisis – Ada Ogbu

    The Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu East, Princess Ada Ogbu has blamed the current crisis rocking the party on some of the stakeholders.

    Ogbu, who spoke to journalists in Enugu on Sunday, said the party chieftains who visited the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu were actually the ones manufacturing a non-existent crisis in the party.

    It was reported that the party chieftains, led by a former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani were in Abuja last week where they demanded the removal of the State Chairman, Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah.

    But Ogbu, a chieftain of the party, came hard on them, declaring that they were on a fruitless voyage.

    “Enugu State APC has been in the news for the wrong reasons, but I don’t think it is a crisis. A lot of people classify what is happening now as a crisis but I really don’t think there is one.

    “Some people are trying very hard to manufacture a crisis which does not exist. Enugu State APC since our congress last year has been very strong, very focused, has been working very hard to make sure that it wins all the elective positions in Enugu State and they have gone a long way. Compare Enugu State APC now to Enugu APC of a few years ago, there is no comparison. So, some people are just trying very hard to manufacture a crisis.

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    “The only issue Osita Okechukwu said he has with the State chairman of the party is that he is dictatorial, but that is not enough reason to remove the chairman of a party six months to the election, unless you are actually trying to manufacture a crisis.

    “The fact that he is doing this six months to the election means he is trying to manufacture a crisis. What are the impeachable offenses the chairman can commit- anti-party activities, embezzlement; he did not accuse Ugo Agballah of anti-party activity or embezzlement, so what is his reason, just dictatorial, so it seems to me that these people have self-sense of importance in the scheme of things.”

    Asked whether the development would not affect her chances in the election, as well as that of other APC candidates in the election, she replied: “I will say they have one vote, thanks to Mr. President for signing the amended electoral act; somebody who refuses to be reconciled for whatever reason, with the party leadership, I cannot help him or her, some people are irreconcilable; even in divorce case, there is what is called irreconcilable differences, there is really not much anyone can do about it, you move on and appeal to the voters directly.”

    She equally played down the request for Agballah’s removal.

    “I am not worried about the petition because I know it holds no water whatsoever, there are rules, systems to these things. There are processes to remove a party chairman and anyone who goes ahead to attempt to remove a State party chairman six months to election does not mean well for that party, does not mean well for the candidates.

    “What these people are doing is to make sure that the opposition is killed. You don;’t impeach someone because of being dictatorial.

    “I repeat, this crisis is being stage-managed from somewhere. But I have words for these people, whoever you are, wherever you are coming from, and you actually have a hand or you are sponsoring the so-called manufactured crisis in the Enugu State APC, you just lost your investment, because it will not work.

    Read Also: Enugu PDP guber candidate, Mbah names campaign Director-General

    “We are not going to be deterred in any way, we are going to campaign vigorously, talk to the voters directly, and offer them an alternative.

    “I will tell the National Chairman to ignore people who are trying to manufacture a crisis in Enugu State APC, there is no crisis. We are going to shame the naysayers,” she declared.

  • 2023: New NASS bill seeks to 20-year, N40m for politicians who campaign on basis of ethnicity, religion

    2023: New NASS bill seeks to 20-year, N40m for politicians who campaign on basis of ethnicity, religion

    Nigeria’s house of representatives is considering a bill that proposes 20-year jail term and N40 million fine for anyone who causes people to vote on the basis of religion, community, tribe, language or territorial region in the 2023 general elections.

    The bill also provides that any candidate who distills a piece of information that undermines the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, or unity of the federation and promotes feeling of hate during campaigns, will be jailed for 20 years.

    These are prescribed and contained in Electoral Offences Commission Bill currently undergoing consideration at the House of Representatives.

    The bill, which has already been passed by the Senate, is sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Dukku, Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House, Kingsley Chinda, John Dyegh and Francis Charles Uduyok.

    It is seen an attempt to appropriate stiffer penalties to bring about credibility in Nigeria’s electoral process.

    Read Also: Enugu PDP guber candidate, Mbah names campaign Director-General

    The bill also stipulates a fine of N40 million for anyone who shall loot, damage or destroy ballot boxes, papers or any material during voting.

    It reads: “No person shall propagate or cause to be propagated anything or information that (a) undermines or is capable of undermining the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, or unity of the Federation;(b) promotes or is capable of promoting feeling of enmity or hate on the basis of any religion, community, caste, tribe, language or territorial region; or (c) causes or is capable of causing people to vote on the basis of any religion, community, caste, tribe, language or territorial region.

    “Any person who commits an act in contravention of subclause (1) of this clause shall be guilty of a serious electoral offence and liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term of at least twenty (20) years without an option of a fine.

    “No candidate or agent of his or any other person shall grab, loot, damage or destroy in any manner ballot boxes or ballot papers or any other electoral document or material before, during or after an election, or take or attempt to take or cause to be taken ballot boxes or ballot papers or any other electoral document or material before, during or after an election without the permission of election official in charge of the election at a polling station or election official in charge of the electoral materials or abet to the commission of such act or cause obstruction of any kind in any manner to any other acts relating to an election.”

    “Contravening the provision of this section attracts a sanction of at least 20 years in prison with an option of N40 million fine”.

  • Fuel subsidy: NNPC ready for forensic audit, insists daily supply is 68 million litres

    Fuel subsidy: NNPC ready for forensic audit, insists daily supply is 68 million litres

    NNPC Ltd has reacted to allegations of Nigeria spending way too much on litres of subsidized fuel, stating that it will offer itself for a forensic audit of fuel supply and subsidy management, insisting that daily fuel supply is 68 million litres.

    This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by Malam Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC.

    The House of Reps has also started a probe into subsidy payments approved by the FG, coming as Nigeria expects to spend over N6 trillion on fuel subsidy next year.
    Garba Muhammad noted that between January and August 2022, the total volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which he says is an average supply of 68 million litres per day.

    He added that import in the year 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, which is an average supply of 61 million litres per day.

    Read Also: 2023: Steer clear of face off between Atiku, Wike – Bauchi Governor warns PDP members

    “The average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 stands at 67 million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

    “While daily evacuation (depot load outs) records of the NMDPRA carries daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day,” he said.

    NNPC added that rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above PPPRA (now NMDPRA) cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017, which NNPC had remained the supplier of last resort and continued to transparently report the monthly PMS cost under-recoveries to the relevant authorities.

    He noted that the average cost on the international market determined landing cost, citing that in Q2 2022, it rose to 1,283 dollars per metric tonnes and N46 per litre approved marketing and distribution cost.

    “The combination of these cost elements translates to retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre, and an annual estimate of N6.5 trillion on the assumption of 60 million litres daily PMS supply.

    NNPC says it will continue to work with Nigerian Ports Authority, NMDPRA, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, NIMASA in all PMS discharge operations as well as smuggling of PMS.

    Read Also: 2023: Tinubu’s money causing crisis, we don’t need it – Enugu APC

    It would be recalled that last week, the Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) faulted the daily consumption figures of petrol claimed by the NNPC Limited to justify the over N6.34 trillion subsidy payment on the product annually.
    It was also reported last week that the Nigerian House of Reps summoned the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Okolieaboh Sylvia over documentary evidence on the audit carried out on the monies spent on fuel subsidy.
    They requested that the auditor-general provide documentary evidence on the audit carried out on the monies spent on fuel subsidy by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd for the period.
    The Nigerian Government has estimated petrol subsidy payments up to N6.72 trillion for full-year 2023.

  • 2023: Tinubu’s money causing crisis, we don’t need it – Enugu APC

    2023: Tinubu’s money causing crisis, we don’t need it – Enugu APC

    Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, on Sunday, rejected any form of campaign fund from the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    It was reported that this formed part of the resolutions reached during a stakeholders’ meeting at the South-East Secretariat of the party.

    The governorship candidate of the party, Chief Uche Nnaji, who made the proposition before it was unanimously carried by members at the meeting, said the campaign fund was the cause of the current crisis rocking the Enugu State chapter of the APC.

    Reffering to the meeting of some of the party leaders in the State with the APC national leadership, he said the demand for the removal of Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah as the State Chairman was an exercise in futility.

    The party leaders, led by former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani had told the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu to constitute a caretaker Committee for the party in the State.

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    Speaking on the development, Nnaji said, “We learnt of the mischief going on among our brothers, but the mischief will not go anywhere under our watch. About six months to election you want to remove the State exco of a party that is doing very well.

    “When we took over, there was no party, it was existing for another party, which was paying them. We asked those ones to leave and we are happy they have left.

    “Most of these gladiators don’t have presence in any ward. Some of them, their ward is owing rent for two years, they can’t pay N30,000.

    “Yet, they want to remove a capacity chairman. You can’t touch an exco that is doing super well.

    “Tinubu’s money is behind the APC crisis in Enugu State. They want to create confusion, after which they will say, there is faction, divide the campaign fund.

    “They did it in 2015, did it 2019. The same human beings that did it then are the ones repeating it now.

    “I will be meeting with our national chairman on Monday and then with Tinubu on Tuesday. I will tell Tinubu not to bring his money to Enugu.

    “Enugu State doesn’t need Tinubu’s money, let them not send it. We will use our money and work. When we finish election, we will go for refund. If they bring it now, they may start killing us.”

    “The issue of Tinubu money, I believe I have your support to tell them,” he asked, with the members chorusing ‘yes’.

    Nnaji equally declared that they were not a party to any 25 percent voting arrangement.

    “We reject in strongest term the 25 percent they want to ascribe to us. As it stands now, over 50 percent of the voters are with us.

    “Anything less than 70 percent, then we have failed. I challenge everyone to come and check after the election, there will be nothing less than 70 percent,” he boasted.

    Earlier in a remark, Agballah said he was on the move to reposition APC in the State and won’t be distracted.

    He said, “today, I’m happy that APC is not just ready to take part in this election, but poised to win.

    “We parade the best, our guber candidate is the best, we can trace the source of his resources. We shall investigate the source of the phantom wealth the other candidates are parading.

    Read Also: Missing Director found dead, head cut off in Ondo

    “Nobody contesting the governorship election in Enugu State is as clean as our candidate.

    “We rejected some candidates that are questionable, we also disqualified some surrogates.”

    Meanwhile, at the meeting, the party’s local government and ward chairmen said they remained behind the Agballah-led State Working Committee.

    They announced that they would be meeting the APC national chairman to make their position known.

  • Fashola to deliver keynote address at democracy lecture

    Fashola to deliver keynote address at democracy lecture

    Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, will deliver the keynote address on the 2023 elections at a democracy lecture organised by TheNiche, an online news platform, on Thursday.

    TheNiche Annual Lecture 2022 will be held at the Agip Recital Hall of the Musical Society of Nigeria Centre in Onikan, Lagos.

    This was revealed in a statement made public.

    Fashola, former governor of Lagos State, will speak on the theme, ‘2023 elections and the future of Nigeria’s democracy’ while Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, veteran First Republic politician, human rights activist, former Liaison Officer to late President Shehu Shagari and founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum will chair the event.

    Many high profile political and business leaders, including former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, as well as leading presidential candidates in the 2023 elections are expected to grace the occasion.
    A statement by Ikechukwu Amaechi, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of TheNiche, said this year’s lecture which holds exactly two weeks from the flag off of the campaigns for the 2023 elections was timed to sensitise Nigerians on the issues that should inform the leadership recruitment exercise next year.

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    Amaechi, who said the “choice of both the lecturer and chairman was a product of painstaking deliberations,” also added, “besides the two tested democracy giants, a panel of five discussants drawn from the academia, media, civil society, political class and the INEC will interrogate Fashola’s lecture in real time.”

    The panelists include, Prof. Victor Chukwuma, Fellow, Astronomical Society of Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute of Physics, and Mr. Martins Oloja, Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian newspaper.

    Others are Dr. Dakuku Peterside, former Director-General NIMASA; Mrs Ene Obi, Country Director ActionAid Nigeria, Convener Situation Room, and Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.

    The discussions would be moderated, Mr. Anthony Kila, experienced lecturer and public speaker, Jean Monnet professor of Strategy and Development, Director at the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies.

  • NEMA distributes relief materials to flood victims in 13 LGAs in Katsina

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has distributed relief items to flood victims in 13 local government areas of Katsina State as part of the federal government’s efforts aimed at assuaging the suffering of those affected by the natural disaster in the country.

    The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, handed over the items to the Katsina State Government Thursday evening at the State Emergency Management Agency’s warehouse in Katsina.
    She said the relief materials were 9,000 bags of rice, maize and beans, 1,000 bags of cement, 300 bundles of roofing sheets, 100 20litres of vegetable oil, 200 seasoning cubes, 300 bags of salt, 100 packets of zinc nails and 100kg bags of nails.

    Others, she said, were 500 pieces of mattresses,1,000 pieces of blankets, 5,000 pieces of nylon mats, 2,000 pieces of mosquito treated nets, 4,000 pieces of guinea brocade, 500 pieces of wax prints and 1,000 pieces of children’s clothing.

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    She added that: “These items are being supplied by the National Emergency Management Agency and are for the affected victims of flood in 13 local government areas in Katsina State. We are handing over these items to you for onward delivery to the affected victims.”
    The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Tasiu Musa Maigari, who received the items on behalf of the government, assured that the relief materials would be distributed only to the flood victims in the affected local governments.

    He applauded the federal government for providing the relief materials to the victims, adding that the humanitarian gesture would go a long way in alleviating their suffering orchestrated by the flood in their respective communities.

    Speaking in an interview, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, urged the state government to inaugurate local emergency management committees in order to tackle disaster at the grassroots level.

    He further admonished residents of the state to desist from building on water channels, blockage of drainages and move from flood-proven communities to safer areas.

  • Bandits Abduct Two Pregnant Women, 13 Others In Katsina Communities

    Bandits Abduct Two Pregnant Women, 13 Others In Katsina Communities

    Bandits have invaded a low cost project quarters at Dutsen Reme, Bakori LGA of Katsina State and abducted four people.

    The development, according to the locals, happened at about 10:00 pm on Friday night while it was raining.
    According one Ahmed Ridwan, a resident of Dutsen Reme low cost housing estate, the assailants took advantage of the rainfall and executed their mission unchallenged.

    “We were informed through phone calls by villagers around Maska that bandits in large numbers were likely heading to our quarters and we immediately informed the police and military personnel. But when they arrived, the bandits had already abducted four people,” Ridwan said.

    Malam Lawal Hamisu Maska, who was absent when the bandits stormed their house, said his co-tenant, Bishir Shitu Sallau, a staff of High Court Funtua, was abducted along with one Safiyanu, a student of College of Education in Abuja.He said, “I was absent when the bandits came and forced their way into the main gate; Bishir and Safiyanu had already hidden their wives in a restroom, so when the bandits broke the door, they asked for the women but could not see them. Therefore, they went away with their husbands.”
    Due to the incident, Hamisu Maska said he will park from his house and the area to relocate forever.

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    “I am a medical practitioner and it was my job that brought me to Funtua from Maska. This incessant insecurity has left me with no option but to leave for my village,” he said.

    At the project quarters, they abducted one Lauratu Jibril and her stepdaughter, after her husband, Malam Jibril, narrowly escaped.

    Safarau Sanusi, the younger sister of the victim, said the bandits were at the quarters at 9:45 pm.

    “Lauratu is newly married to Jibril and she spent not more than thirty days in the house before her abduction. When the husband sensed danger, he quickly jumped the fence and escaped,” she said.

    According to the residents seven days ago the bandits abducted two people at the same low-cost housing estate. Similarly, last week, one Tajuddeen, a tyre repairer, and the wife of one Tanimu Mohammed of Unguwar Maitandama, were abducted.

    In a related development, bandits numbering over 20 invaded Kabomo village in Bakori LGA and abducted six people, including two pregnant women.

    Salima Lawal, a wife of one of the victims, said the bandits struck at about 12:15am on Tuesday and kidnapped six people in three different houses.

    “My co-wife that is nine months pregnant was abducted along with her son, but they later released her around Huguma of Kafur LGA at about 3:00 am after so many kilometres of trekking. They also kidnapped one Alhaji Sa’adu Gulafa, a metal scrap dealer, as well as another pregnant woman with her two children.”

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    Lawal added that their husband was in far away Lagos where he was eking out a living when the unfortunate incident happened.

    When contacted for confirmation, the police spokesman in Katsina, SP Gambo Isah, promised to contact the DPO of the area and revert. But at the time of filing this report, he was yet to confirm the incidents.

  • Gombe, FG, World Bank to Boost Water Supply to Communities

    Gombe, FG, World Bank to Boost Water Supply to Communities

    Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, Governor of Gombe State, has stated that his administration will continue to strengthen mutual cooperation and partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) and the World Bank in order to increase water supply to urban and rural communities in the state.

    Yahaya stated this yesterday when he received a delegation from the World Bank, led by the World Bank’s Task Team Lead, Mr. Gérard Soppe, and the National Coordinator of the SURWASH, Mr. Abdulhamid Gwaram, at the Gombe Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, as part of high level engagements to canvass for developments that benefit the people of the state.
    He described the relationship between Gombe State and the FMWR as a long standing one, which has seen the development of a clear link in the implementation of projects such as the PWASH, SURWASH and the regional water supply scheme among others.

    The governor said: ” I am very happy to say that with what we did in Gombe so far and what you found there base on the arrangements that we had, at least I can say that a framework has been built on which we can now expand and work hard to meet our target.”

    He said his administration, in conjunction with the FMWR, is working hard to link both the rural and the urban settlements in Gombe State with water, sanitation and hygiene.

    The governor added that his administration has approved the payment of its obligations to the project since a framework has been put in place.
    Yahaya disclosed that Gombe State has done credibly well on fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability, which have placed the state ahead of its equals.

    He said: “By the situation we find ourselves, we have no option than to look for anyone that will partner with us so that we can improve on our general conditions and situations in Gombe State and I am sure for this one, we shall leave up to expectations and beat all the deadlines.”

    He expressed confidence that with the team of crack professionals working in his administration, especially in urban water supply, the collaboration to deliver on the projects for the benefit of the people of the state would be successful.

    “We have a challenge, especially with the rural water supply. I know the African Development Bank (AfDB) has some setbacks in this regard but I know that of the World Bank will be different and Gombe is ready to key in,” he said.
    He assured that his administration would not relent on its resolve to partner with any government or non-governmental organisations for the benefit of the people of the state.

    Earlier, the World Bank’s Task Team Lead, Soppe, has commended Governor Yahaya for mustering the political will to implement the SURWASH project in Gombe State, and assured that his institute would support Gombe and other pilot states to ensure efficient functioning of the results-based structure of the SURWASH programme.

    The national coordinator of SURWASH, Gwaram, had earlier explained that the $700 million project was initiated by the federal government in partnership with the World Bank to provide protection for human health, supporting economic growth in the short, mid and long-terms for sustainable, inclusive economic recovery that would improve livelihood of the poor and the vulnerable.

    He said that the programme, which would run for six years, became effective from January this year and is expected to usher reforms in governance and service provision through increased access to drinking water and sanitation services and construction and rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure.

    He added that the programme would operate in Gombe and six other states of the country.

    “SURWASH will provide six million people with basic drinking water services and 1.4 million people access to improved sanitation services. The programme will deliver improved water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to 2,000 schools and health care facilities and assist 500 communities to achieve open defecation free status,” he said.

    The meeting was attended by the Commissioner of Water Resources, Hon. Mijinyawa Yahaya; Special Adviser on Budget Planning and Development Partners Coordination, Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, and the Gombe State Project Coordinator of SURWASH, Mr. Usman Abubakar Aliyu.

  • Nasarawa SME group declares support for Peter Obi

    Nasarawa SME group declares support for Peter Obi

    Stakeholders in Nasarawa State’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises have declared their support for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2023 general election.

    The National Convener of the Coalition of North and South SME Owners for Obi, Itsabemho Nereus, stated in Lafia on Friday during the inauguration ceremony of the State Executives of the Coalition of North and South SME Owners for Obi, that they decided to support the former Anambra State governor because of his leadership qualities.

    He stated that Nigeria needed a man who could transform the country in 2023, and he urged the electorate to vote for Obi in the upcoming election in order to save the country from total collapse.

    Nereus accused the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party at the federal and state levels of failing to provide good governance for the people, saying they lied to Nigerians of bringing a positive change but ended up putting the citizens in difficult situations.
    While urging the newly inaugurated executives of the group to galvanize for more support across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state, he appealed that they should avoid all forms of trouble and be law-abiding while going about their duties.

    He said, “Nigeria is in need of a leader who can take us out of the challenges confronting us at the moment. The APC and the PDP have failed us, so in 2023, we are supporting the Labour Party because of Mr. Peter Obi.

    “We believe in his leadership qualities because he was able to transform Anambra State when he was a Governor. So, we are appealing to more small business owners in the state and Nigeria at large to join us in this struggle to rescue our nation from total collapse.”

    On his part, Chairman of Labour Party in the state, Alexander Emmanuel, commended the efforts of the group towards ensuring victory for Obi in 2023 and assured them that their efforts would not be in vain.

  • 2023 Budget Proposal: HURIWA Knocks FG over Non-provision for Capital Projects

    2023 Budget Proposal: HURIWA Knocks FG over Non-provision for Capital Projects

    The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) slammed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration yesterday for failing to include treasury-funded capital projects in the proposed 2023 appropriation.

    The association expressed regret that, despite the massive debts incurred by the APC-led government to fund expenditure in next year’s budget, no provision was made for capital projects.

    In criticising the government’s decision, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated that the government must not only increase the cost of governance at the expense of citizens’ social well-being and security, but also embark on projects that will improve people’s lives.
    “Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, this week, said the government may borrow about N11.3 trillion to fund expenditure in the 2023 budget as the deficit is projected to be at most, over 12.41 trillion next year or at least, N11.3trn which is over 100 per cent of the N7.35trn deficit for the 2022 fiscal year.

    “The minister spoke whilst presenting the draft 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper before the House Committee on Finance.

    “On government expenditure, the minister stated that given the constrained fiscal space, the deficit was projected to be N12.41trn in 2023, up from N7.35trn in 2022, representing 196 per cent of total federal government’s revenue of 5.50 per cent of the estimated GDP.

    “This is significantly above the three per cent threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007, and there will be no provision for treasury-funded MDAs capital projects in 2023.

    “Scenario two, the federal government’s 2023 aggregate expenditure is estimated at N19.76trn (inclusive of GOEs). In this scenario, the budget deficit is projected to be N11.30trn in 2023 up from N7.35trn in 2022.

    “This represents 5.01 per cent of the estimated GDP, above the three per cent threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007,” HURIWA said.

    However, Onwubiko in his reaction said, “It is perplexing that there is no break to the borrowing spree embarked upon by the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015.

    “It is more astonishing that the nation can go a whole year with no capital projects despite that this government keeps ballooning recurrent expenditures and increasing costs of governance at the detriment of the social wellbeing and security of the citizens which is the primary duty of government in the grundnorm.

    “The 2023 budget projection of the government is not acceptable. We call for amendments to reflect the popular will of the people, especially to reinforce the fight against insecurity, reduce costs of governance, increase social welfare for the disadvantaged, battle systemic corruption at its peak within government circles at all levels and build up the badly destroyed strategic sectors of roads, schools and hospitals.”

  • HYPPADEC trains 300 Plateau youth, urges due diligence

    HYPPADEC trains 300 Plateau youth, urges due diligence

    The managing director of Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Abubakar Yilwa, Thursday admonished youth in Plateau state to make good use of its youth transformation programme commission, geared at poverty eradication.

    He said at the opening of HYPPADEC, 3-day skills training in Jos, under its Directorate of Community and Rural Development, deemed it wise to embark on Youth Transformation Programme (YTP), aimed at poverty eradication.

    Represented by Mr. Pam Davo, the managing director said, “all hands must be on deck to ensure the success of the programme, aimed at poverty eradication amongst youth.”

    The representative of the Directorate of Community and Rural Development, Abduljalal Muhammad, said the aim of the programme was part of efforts at bringing to its barest minimum the menace of insecurity, banditry, insurgency and kidnappings.

    Also the Plateau state coordinator of NDE, Abdulazez Ardo, said the HYPPADEC was determined to transform the youth to better livelihood.

    He said the NDE will give its best in supporting HYPPADEC to attain the desired result.

    The HYPPADEC state coordinator, Salisu Tanko, said youth will continue to get the commission’s attention for better development.

    “It is meant not only to empower the youth but to transform them to becoming employers of labour,” Tanko said.

    More than 300 youth are being trained in different entrepreneurial skills.

  • Demand accountability from defence, security handlers – CISLAC charges Nigerians

    The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has identified gaps in Nigeria’s security architecture and urged citizens to begin actively demanding accountability from those in charge of security.

    The organisation, which stated at a media workshop in Adamawa State’s capital on Thursday that previously unimaginable crimes and anti-social acts have become the norm, blamed it on flaws in the country’s handling of security matters.Executive Director of the organisation, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), in an address at the ‘Media Workshop on Defence Anti-Corruption Reportage, Civil Space and Oversight’ which was held in Yola, spoke of wrong and prolonged deployment of personnel in battle field, lack of transparency and accountability in fund management, procurement and project implementation, personnel recruitment process, personnel welfare, sub standard kits and equipment, as among the gaps harming the fight against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, among other vices.
    Challenging Nigerians in their various callings to play their part in concerted efforts against insecurity, the CISLAC executive director said, “We must not sit and watch a corrupt few embezzle money meant for the welfare of security personnel, procurement of arms and ammunition.

    “Many people known and unknown to us have been killed, maimed, kidnapped, robbed of their loved ones, properties and sources of livelihood. Terrorist attacks and kidnappings for outrageous ransom has become a norm in Nigeria. The question is: who will be the next victim?

    “We must begin to question the actions and inactions of the government and to demand accountability for budgetary allocations meant for defence and security. It is time that the quest for reform in our defence and security institutions transcends from mere words to an all-inclusive participation in the formulation and effective implementation of policies.”

    The media workshop in Yola which attracted reporters mostly from Adamawa and some other North East states, was designed to enhance the knowledge of journalists on probable areas within the defence and security sector budgetary process and expenditures, for effective investigative journalism.

  • Nasarawa State University Set To Resume

    Nasarawa State University Set To Resume

    The Nasarawa State University Keffi, NSUK, is set to reopen after the state government agreed to pay the university’s employees’ salaries.

    This was stated by Governor Abdullahi Sule while briefing members of the state executive council at the Government House in Lafia, the state capital.

    While briefing the council on recent developments in the educational, health, and security sectors, Governor Sule announced his administration’s decision to agree to take over the payment of salaries at NSUK, meeting one of the taking over demands made by the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and paving the way for the possible resumption of academic activities.

    According to the Governor, based on the available finances to the state and especially because of the importance attached to education, his administration has agreed to take over the responsibility of paying salaries of staff at the NSUK, beginning from August 2022.

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    He pointed out that, so far, the management of the university, as well as the none teaching unions namely the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, NASU have all agreed to open the university.
    “One of the conditions they gave to us, the most important condition, is to ensure that we take over the full payment of salaries of all the staff so that they don’t have to use their Internalky Generated Revenue, IGR.

    “As far as we are concerned, we looked at our finances and we strongly believe that, based on the cash flow we have available to us and also because of the importance we attach to education, we should be able to start that from this month.

    “That is what we are looking forward to. We are also hoping they will compliment by the moment we start the payment hopefully by Thursday or Friday, then we are hoping to see them also returning to their classes,” he stated.