Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola
Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi
A pan-African finance company, Shelter
Afrique, has spent over N22.51bn on housing initiatives in Nigeria, the
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. BabatundeFashola has said.
In a statement made available to our
correspondent, the minister said that between 2005 and 2010, Shelter
Afrique in Nigeria had financed 23 initiatives with a total sum of
N10.435bn ($52,175,000) and another N12.08bn ($60,400,000) over the last
three years on 10 interventions.
“Of these initiatives, 15 represented
lending for construction of housing projects, out of which the largest
was for $7m for 376 houses of different types; and 251 service plots,
followed by 287 mixed housing units for a cooperative society; 55
housing units and 100 service plots and the least was for 16
maisonettes. This is the intervention on the supply side of housing to
provide houses,” he said.
He added that the remaining eight
interventions were for mortgage financing to building societies, credit
line for individual mortgages and related financing, on the demand side
of housing, to provide finance.
The World Bank says it has so far spent
about N7.78bn ($39m) on the third National Fadama Development Project
Additional Financing as part of efforts to support Nigeria’s agriculture
and economic diversification drive of the Federal Government.
The bank also said in a statement signed
by its Task Team Leader, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe, that it would commence
its Fadama Implementation Support Mission from the 10th to 27th of
June across eight states of the country in conjunction with the federal
ministries of Finance and Agriculture.
“The board of the bank had approved
additional IDA credit of $200m on June 28, 2014 to assist the Federal
Government of Nigeria to scale up the impact on the ground and
strengthen the development effectiveness of the Third National Fadama
Development Project by aligning it more closely with the government’s
agricultural programmes,” the bank noted in a statement.
A civil rights organisation, One
Environment, has called on President MuhammaduBuhari, to re-enact the
popular ‘War Against Indiscipline’, to protect the environment and
enhance its sustainability.
The organisation also warned that except
stringent measures were taken to protect the environment, Nigeria
risked serious disasters in about 2040.
The Executive Director, Art Collective
Foundation, Mr. Comedy Nwanyanwu, stated this in an interview with our
correspondent on the sidelines of a press briefing held in Abuja to
herald the inauguration of One Environment scheduled for July 2016.
He also informed that the OE intended to plant 5,000 trees within the next 12 months in Abuja and its satellite communities.
The essence of the OE, he said, was to
bring together environmental experts to discuss the challenges and
articulate ideas that would promote sustainability organic contents.
Nwanyanwu said, “If the government can
enforce some of the policies that we have on ground like sanctions and
environmental sanitation and disposals, there will be sanity. If you go
to the market a lot of people are more concentrated on the goods that
they sell but less interested in the environment through which they
generate money. That is why you see people dumping refuse everywhere
even when they are in taxis and nobody is arresting them.
The Council for the Regulation of
Engineering in Nigeria has carried on with its investigation into the
circumstances that warranted the collapse of a section of the Synagogue
Church of All Nations’ building in Lagos, despite stiff resistance by a
legal practitioner.
At the headquarters of the agency last
week, COREN’s Council of Registered Engineers Investigating Panel met on
the matter but the action was opposed by Mr. Donald Ayibiowu, the
counsel to the two engineers currently facing criminal charges before a
Lagos State High Court for their involvement in the construction of the
building.
The panel was convened to investigate
the professional conduct of the two engineers involved in the
construction of the Synagogue church building, which collapsed on
September 14, 2014.
The two engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, were represented at the hearing by their counsel, Ayibiowu.
RESIDENTS of Miniorlu in Obio/Akpor
Local Government Area of Rivers State have appealed to Governor Nyesom
Wike to repair the road linking their community.
The road, which had been in bad shape for the past three years, was graded late last year by Winners’ Chapel Church in Mgbuoba.
Most shops and businesses located along
the dilapidated road have continued to record poor patronage, and some
owners have either relocated or locked up their shops. It was gathered
that only few vehicles plied the road.
A driver, Mr. Joseph Tamuno, said, “The
road was very bad last year until the Winners Chapel Church came and
graded it towards the end of 2015. We were enjoying it until the rainy
season came.
“You can see how the rains have taken
the road back to its bad condition. As it is, only few motorists ply
this road and this is because it leads to their residence.”
A butcher by the road, who identified
himself as Alhaji Omiosetankoko, observed that roads in neighbouring
communities had been rehabilitated by Wike.
Flowers
and boxing gloves dropped by people to pay their respects to boxing
legend Muhammad Ali at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky,
U.S ... on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Muhammad Ali’s brother has taken centre
stage at a Sunday worship service at the church where their father was a
longtime member in Louisville, Kentucky.
An emotional Rahaman Ali clapped and
swayed to hymns and hugged members of King Solomon Missionary Baptist
Church in Louisville’s west end. The church features a painting by Ali’s
father, Cassius Clay Sr., and isn’t far from the pink house where the
boxing champion grew up.
Ali’s younger brother put his hand to
his face, overcome with emotion, as church members paid tribute to his
brother, who died late Friday in an Arizona hospital.
During the two-hour service, assistant
pastor Charles Elliott III asked the congregation to stand to honour
Muhammad Ali. In his tribute, Elliott said “there is no great man that
has done more for this city than Muhammad Ali.’’
Next Thursday, June 9 will be the first
anniversary of the 8th Senate. This is therefore a good period to
critically examine the performance of the Upper Chamber of the federal
legislature. There have been attempts by some people to define the
narrative of the performance based on the initial controversy arising
from the politics of the emergence of its leadership. However, it is
clear that this Senate has more going for it beyond politics.
Early enough, members had settled down
to business of defining how the law making chamber can be relevant and
serve the interests of the constituents. Led by an experienced and
brilliant public officer, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, it was clear to
the lawmakers since their inauguration that the major challenges facing
the country are youth unemployment, security problems, particularly
insurgency in the North-east zone and pervading corruption which has
eroded the confidence of the international community in Nigeria.
The senators were quick to realise that
their relevance would be determined by the ability of the institution
to contribute to the resolution of the identified problems. Also, they
understood that they could only make themselves relevant by tackling
issues that had to do with people’s general welfare. Knowing that the
economy is the sub-structure of the polity and in fact a key to solving
some of the other challenges facing the country, they decided that
legislations, oversights and advocacy that have to do with economic
revival, revitalising businesses and creating employment should be given
priority.
To achieve this, they engaged a team
of experts from the World Bank Group, Department for International
Development, the private sector, professional bodies like the Nigeria
Bar Association (NBA), the academia and others. The task assigned to the
experts was to identify existing laws that needed to be reviewed and
amended to bring them up to global standards, old laws that should be
repealed and new legislations that required enactment, all in a bid to
help the economy grow.
The main concern here is the poor rating
Nigeria continues to get annually in the World Bank Ease of Doing
Business Assessment Report. At least, it is a fact that investors will
not go to a place where they cannot easily establish and operate their
businesses at a profit. Also, the prevailing condition will kill big and
small scale local entrepreneurs. And without these investments,
employment cannot be created, the economy cannot grow and government
will not get money from other sources beyond oil whose price had
continued to be on a downward slope.
The experts in their reports have
identified 54 laws which need immediate attention to achieve the aim of
making it easy for investors to establish and operate businesses in
Nigeria. Their recommendations were later subjected to further debate
and analysis through a business roundtable dialogue with stakeholders in
public and private sectors.
The senate has started acting on the
168-page report. First, the recommendations formed the core of the
Legislative Agenda which, though yet to be publicly launched, is already
being implemented. Second, the legislations recommended for review are
now in various stages of law making process.
As at today, the Senate has passed the
Electronic Transaction Law 2015 and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law 2015.
The new Railways Act which will enable the private sector invest and
participate in running a vibrant railways sector is in the last stage
before being passed. It is gladdening that the 8th Senate is the one
reviewing the almost a century old Railway Act. In fact, if not for the
decision to constitute a committee of experts to review the work of the
Senate committee on Land Transportation and help straighten the
technical aspects, the Railway Act would have been passed.
Oyetunji Abioye
The Central Bank of Nigeria says the modalities for the planned
flexible exchange rate policy is being worked out and will be released
in due course.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac
Okoroafor, said the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to adopt a
flexible forex policy was made in the interest of the country, adding
that the proposed policy would help to stabilise the economy.
He spoke in Lagos at a one-day interactive session between the CBN and industry stakeholders including the organised labour.
Okoroafor said, “The modalities have not been released. The CBN
governor has explained that we have to find a way of creating some
flexibility around the foreign exchange management as it is today and
details will be released in due course.”
He said the CBN would continue to take decisions aimed mitigating sharp practices in the forex market.
According to him, the regulator has also taken extra measures to
prevent Nigerian banks from failing despite the recent increase in
non-performing loans.
To grow the economy, Okoroafor said the CBN had injected intervention funds into the critical sectors of the economy.
The Lagos State Government has issued
retirement benefit bond certificates to the tune of N1.002bn to a set of
275 retirees from the Mainstream, Local Government, Lagos State
Universal Basic Education Board, Teachers Establishment and Pension
Office and parastatals of government, under the Contributory Pension
Scheme for the month of May.
A statement from the Lagos State Pension
Commission said the payment brought the number of retirees paid between
August 2015 and May, 2016 to 3,344.
It stated that the total accrued pension
rights under the Pay-as you-go pension scheme paid on behalf of
retirees by the state government from the period was N14.70bn.
The Director-General, LASPEC, Mrs.
Folashade Onanuga, disclosed this while speaking at the 27th retirement
benefit bond certificate presentation ceremony in Lagos.
Onanuga, who was represented by the Head
of Technical Directorate, LASPEC, Mr. Olawale Otun, advised the
retirees/beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money.
She informed the pensioners that the
activities of fraudsters who always called retirees to inform them of
alleged short payments in their entitlements had been reduced
drastically, due to the steps the commission took, including
sensitisation.
This seems not to be the best time for the organisers of Miss Nollywood and some of the queens the pageant has produced.
Shortly after the organisation dethroned a queen, Adaeze Grace, the successor, Blessing Ogar, also tendered her resignation.
Blessing, in a chat with Saturday Beats, said she resigned because her prize money of N1m wasn’t given to her.
“I resigned some days back from the
Miss Nollywood Beauty Pageant because I was tired of the whole drama and
I had a reputation to keep. It took me this long to resign because most
times, you do not just take drastic decisions in a hurry; you have to
think deeply about what you want to do and take your time. You should
not just resign like that till you are sure of what you want at the
particular time.
“The main reason I resigned was because I
was not given my N1m prize money. The only thing that was given to me
by the organisers of the pageant was my tiara. After the pageant in
December, I have not really had the time to communicate with the
organisers because I was busy with my final year exams. I haven’t had
the time to see them. I took the decision to resign because I saw that
there was no need asking for the money because I did not see it coming. I
felt instead of just sitting down doing nothing, no pet project or
anything, I should just resign. When we discussed about the pet project,
the organisers said I should do what I could and that meant I had to
use my own money. Before I took the decision, I discussed with my family
and friends; so it is no news to them because they gave me their
support,” the ex-beauty queen said.
The dethroned queen had claimed she and other contestants were sexually harassed by the organisers of the pageant.
Nigerians have poured encomiums on
iconic boxer Muhammad Ali, who died on Friday after over three decades
of battling with Parkinson’s disease, reports ’TANA AIYEJINA
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died on Friday, just days after suddenly being hospitalised with respiratory issues.
The 74-year-old Louisville, Kentucky
native passed away among family and friends in a Phoenix-area hospital
where he was being treated after having difficulty breathing last week.
He had also suffered Parkinson’s for three decades.
“After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s
disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time
World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening,” Bob Gunnell, a
family spokesman, told NBC News.
Born as Cassius Clay, he won an Olympic
gold medal as a light-heavyweight in 1960. Four years later, he became
the World Heavyweight Champion after knocking out Sonny Liston in the
match’s seventh round.
During the same year, he converted and joined the Nation of Islam, changing his name to Muhammad Ali.
Along with his boxing mastery, the
famous fighter was also a social activist who lost the esteemed
championship title after he defied the U.S. Army draft during the
Vietnam War in 1967.
Cross River State Police Commissioner, Mr. Henry Fadairo
Mudiaga Affe, Calabar
Bandits on Friday operated in Calabar
freely for over three hours, killing an unidentified Inspector of Police
that led a team to stop the robbery operations at a popular hotel
located behind the headquarters of the Zone 6 Police Command.
The robbers also shot another policeman
at the same hotel before making away with his gun to another part of
the Calabar metropolis where they attacked a security operative at a
bank, also snatching his weapon.
Southern City News learnt on Sunday
that the armed bandits operated in the Cross River State capital from
9pm to 12 midnight and snatched seven cars before retreating to their
hideout.
An anonymous source said the armed
robbers took time to dispossess the hotel customers of their belongings
for over one hour before the arrival of the police team whose leader was
killed.
The source said that after leaving the
hotel, the bandits went to the Nelson Mandela Street end of the Watt
market in Calabar-South stabbed and dispossessed one security operative
of his gun.
He said, “The robbers operated at the
hotel for over one hour before the intervention of policemen from the
Federal Housing Police Station. The police team were ambushed by the
robbers some few metres to the gate of the hotel.
Some motorists in Enugu have expressed anger over dysfunctional traffic control lights in parts of the state capital.
Our correspondent observed that
motorists approaching from different directions were given the green
light to move at the same time, leading to accidents.
Such dysfunctional traffic lights are
found in various parts of Enugu metropolis, particularly on Presidential
Road in the New Layout area, as well as Ogui Road, Uwani, GRA,
Independence Layout and other parts of the Coal City.
Some motorists, who spoke with Southern
City News concerning the matter, blamed defective traffic lights for
most of the accidents and other inconveniences on roads within the Enugu
metropolis.
Our correspondent learnt that a major
car cra sh on Uwani Street during the weekend resulted from a
malfunctioning traffic light, which caused two vehicles from opposite
directions to collide.
A motorist, Mr. James Eke, expressed displeasure over the development.
Eke told our correspondent his car once
ran into another vehicle at the intersection between Presidential Road
and Rangers Avenue because of a dysfunctional traffic light.
He said, “I was coming from Presidential Road, heading for Rangers Avenue and the traffic light stopped me at the intersection.
“I waited for the green light, but,
surprisingly, whe
The Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi
has said the proposed stakeholders meeting on public-private
participatory management of some public secondary schools in the state
will still go ahead despite the opposition it has attracted from labour
unions.
The chairman of the state chapter of the
Nigeria Labour Congress, Waheed Olojede, and six members of the
congress are presently detained in Agodi prison after they were arrested
and arraigned for disrupting the meeting to discuss the return of
schools last week.
The union members were charged with seven counts and remanded in prison last week.
Ajimobi, who spoke while addressing
members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Oyo State
chapter, in his office, said those who disrupted the meeting had no
stake in the education sector in the state.
He added that the initiative would go ahead because of the advantages it would offer.
The governor stated that the state would not tolerate public disturbance and brigandage by any group of people.
The Federal Government has set up an account for the stolen funds it recovered in the last one year.
The Muhammadu Buhari-led government
revealed on Saturday that N78, 325,354,631.82; $185,119,584.61;
£3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 had been recovered from alleged looters, an
amount which adds up to over N115.7bn using the official exchange rate
of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The funds were said to have been
recovered separately by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation; Independent
Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission and the
Department of State Services.
Speaking with The PUNCH on
Sunday, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against
Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, said an account had been set up for the
funds.
“An account has been set up for it and
at an appropriate time, what is going to be done with the money will be
made public. The amount that is available in that account will be
announced and what will be done with the money will be publicly
announced,” he said.
The committee chairman, however, said
the N1.9tn in cash and assets, which had been frozen by the Federal
Government, were still under legal contention and thus could not be
touched.
He added, “Regarding the funds frozen
under the interim forfeiture, the Federal Government can’t touch it for
now because certain cases have not been concluded and the forfeiture is
interim because technically, the court can order the release to the
owners if the occasion demands it but if it goes the other way, there
will be a permanent forfeiture order and that is when the properties
would accrue to the government and would therefore be used for the
benefit of Nigerians.”
Regarding the naming of alleged looters, Sagay said there was no legal impediment in shaming alleged thieves.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says
President Muhammadu Buhari may not do well in economy and foreign
affairs, except in military matters.
“Buhari is not a very hot person on the economy and foreign affairs,” Obasanjo said.
The former President stated this on
Monday at the third International Conference on African Development
Issues — themed, “Driving inclusive and sustainable development in
Africa: Models, methods and policies” — organised by Covenant
University, Ota, Ogun State.
While reacting to a question posed to
him by a member of the audience: “Is there any hope for Nigeria under
the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari?”, Obasanjo replied,
“Is there any hope for Nigeria under this administration? I came back
from Geneva, Switzerland a few days ago to attend a conference titled,
‘Are elections giving democracy a bad name?’ We had an election, we
elected a leader and the good thing about democracy is that the power
you have to elect a leader is also the power you have to remove him. I
am saying this because I said earlier that if you don’t see any leader
that has done well in the 56 years of Nigeria’s independence, then let
us forget about Nigeria.
The emergency meeting of the National
Executive Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Friday took a
decision to embark on “total strike” on Wednesday to protest the
increase in the fuel pump price from N86 and N86.50k to N145 per litre
by the Federal Government.
The meeting, which was also attended by
all the major civil society organisations based in Abuja, was chaired by
the President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba.
The meeting, which was held at the Olaitan Oyerinde Hall of the Labour House, Abuja, started at about 4pm and ended by 5:25 pm.
The Peoples Democratic Party has
recently been plagued with one crisis after another and a major test
before it is tied to who emerges the party’s national chairman at its
next convention, GBENRO ADEOYE writes
From all indications, now is the time
for the Peoples Democratic Party to be united and strong, but
ironically, it seems to be the time the party is at its weakest point in
its 17-year history.
Since the party was relegated to the
main opposition status after losing the presidential seat to the ruling
All Progressives Congress in 2015, the tale has been about one
wrangling or the other- all internal. And there seems to be no immediate
end in sight to the ongoing crisis in the erstwhile biggest political
party in Africa.
Indeed, the party is at a crossroads and
some decisions made ahead of the 2019 general elections look set to
either make or mar the party’s chances to discover its lost relevance.
But there is one major decision to be
made first, which will decide the fate of the party’s current National
Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff beyond May 21, 2016- the date of the party’s
national convention.
By all standards, Sheriff is arguably
the most unpopular chairman in the party’s history, so the test before
him and his backers are quite stiff. Although, Sheriff has enjoyed
considerable support from PDP governors, he has largely failed to win
some other key caucuses of the party to his side.
Seventy three suspects who specialise in
cultivating and dealing in cannabis have been arrested by the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The suspects made up of 60 males and 13
females were apprehended in Edo State with 10,094.75kgs of cannabis
between January and March 2016.
A statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, released on Thursday, described how the cannabis hauls were seized.
He said, “A cannabis laden Toyota Hilux
and a J5 bus with cannabis disguised as pineapple shipment were
impounded, while a warehouse located at the Okpuje forest, Owan West
Local Government Area of Edo State, was detected and 2,590kgs of
cannabis were seized.
“Four notorious drug dealers at Ekpoma,
Auchi and Benin as well as five young farmers from Taraba and Plateau
States are among those being investigated for cannabis cultivation and
trafficking by narcotic undercover operatives in Benin City. The Edo
State Command exhibit room is already filled to capacity with over
80,000kgs of cannabis.”
A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule
Lamido, on Monday said he would contest the nation’s Presidency on the
platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019.
Lamido made this known to newsmen in his
village, Bamainain, which is located in the Birnin-Kudu Local
Government Area of the state.
He, however, said the party’s ticket
would not be given to anybody on the platter of gold, adding that a
candidate must earn it.
“If my party finds me worthy of its presidential ticket to serve Nigeria, I will thank God and oblige.
“Although there are issues in the party that we are all working to resolve; we hope to have success soon and come out united.
“As I’m talking to you now, we are
working silently to resolve our differences and bring back to our fold
those that left the party for the All Progressives Congress,” he said.
The former governor said that the internal crisis within the PDP was the reason for its defeat in the 2015 general election.
He said that the party had the capacity
to rule the country again, stressing, however, that the members must
work hard to achieve that.
Lamido denied any rift between him and his successor, Governor Muhammad Badaru of the AP
The Oyo State Police Command has arrested 21 robbery suspects in various parts of the state.
According to the state Commissioner of
Police, Leye Oyebade, some of the suspects were recently released from
prison. Among the suspects is a six-man gang, said to operate in Oyo,
Ogbomoso and Ilorin.
They suspects are Aliyu Azeez, 28;
Olanrewaju Ajayi, 23; Kehinde Abiodun, 28; Adeleke ADeyemi, 26; Teslim
Muhammed, 26; and Adamu Muhammed, 23. Leader of the gang, Teslim
Muhammed, said they were arrested after taking delivery of guns in
Ilorin.
He said, “We had yet to make use of the
weapons when we were arrested. After the guys who brought the guns to us
were arrested, they implicated us and brought the police to our hideout
in Agbabiaka area of Ilorin. The guns were actually brought to me. We
all met at different occasions. I knew Azeez through a friend called
Tosin.”
The member of the All Progressives
Congress representing Awe-South state constituency at the Nasarawa State
House of Assembly, Mr. Yahaya Rilwanu, has been attacked by some youths
who alleged that he did not deliver the dividends of democracy to them.
The youths were said to be APC members from Ribi town.
It was gathered that a fight broke out
between the supporters of the lawmaker and the angry youths who demanded
the dividends of democracy from the lawmaker.
The crisis allegedly followed an altercation between one of the youths on the entourage of Rilwanu and one of the Ribi youths.
The Movement for the Actualisation of
the Sovereign State of Biafra on Monday replied the leaders of the
South-East chapter of the All Progressives Congress, who advised
pro-Biafra groups in the zone to forget the struggle for the secession
of Biafra.
MASSOB said it would not abandon the
struggle. It urged the Igbo and the members of the other ethnic
nationalities in the South-East to disregard the advice of the Igbo APC
chieftains.
In a communiqué issued after a meeting
in Enugu on Friday, the leaders of the South-East zone of the APC urged
MASSOB and other pro-Biafra groups to have a ‘rethink’ and give up the
struggle for the actualisation of an independent state of Biafra.
“We call on all the groups agitating for
separation from Nigeria, particularly the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra
and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra
to rethink and abandon the idea, and join other ethnic groups in
building a formidable Nigeria where all Nigerians will be equally
treated in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria,” the South-East APC leaders said in the communiqué.
Anti-riot policemen have blocked the BringBackOurGirls
members from accessing the presidential villa where they planned to hold
a press conference.
The DPO, Asokoro Police Station, CSP, Grace Longe said the
protesters cannot be allowed to access the villa for security reasons.
The BBOG is currently holding its world media conference to
commemorate the two years anniversary of the abduction of 219 Chibok
schoolgirls at the entrance road to the presidential villa.
OLUSOLA FABIYI
writes on the plan by the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic
Party, to poach from the ruling All Progressives Congress in its
build-up to 2019
Of all the 30 political parties in the
country, only the Peoples Democratic Party has a functional church built
within its premises. There is also a mosque, all within the compound of
the party’s national headquarters located at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5,
Abuja.
Activities within the church, which is
known as PDP National Chapel, picked up a few days to the conduct of the
last general elections, which the party lost to the All Progressives
Congress. The party, however, didn’t limit its prayers to the church
and the mosque alone.
On Tuesday, members of the party
gathered at the National Executive Hall. One of the agendas of the
meeting was to inaugurate the four committees set up by the party’s
National Working Committee.
The committees were those of the
National Convention, Reconciliation, Finance and Zoning. As usual, the
party would not start any business without appealing to God to be in
their business.
The lot of who to appeal to God in
prayer fell on a former Chief of Staff to former President Goodluck
Jonathan, Mr. Mike Ogiadome. Picking his words carefully, he said the
loss of the election was not that God was not ready to hear the prayers
of members of the party, but that the party and its members had offended
God.
It was with rapt attention that members
of the party including its National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff,
members of the NWC and governors listened when Ogiadome launched into
prayers.
He said, “We offended God. We had done
what we ought not to have done. We were to rule for 60 years, but we
offended you God. That was why we were defeated during the last
election. Father, forgive us and give us back the Presidency in 2019.”
The hall, which was filled to the brim, roared with a thunderous “amen.”
“Father, we have learnt our mistake.
Return our party to Aso Rock in 2019,” he further prayed, and with a
renewed vigour, the members of the party answered with a more vibrant
“amen”.
The leadership of the party, however,
seemed to have realised that prayer without action might amount to
nothing in the country’s political space. Hence, since the party lost
the general election to its challenger, the All Progressives Congress,
in 2015, it had begun moves to rally round its disgruntled members on
how to regain power.
Several meetings had been called while
strategists were asked to examine the remote and immediate causes of the
party’s monumental defeat; the first of its kind the party suffered
since 1999 when the country returned to democratic rule.
This was why it said it was abiding by
the suggestion made by its committee on Post Election Review headed by
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, by zoning the PDP
presidential ticket for the 2019 elections to the North.
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana
(SAN), has advised the Federal Government to shelve its plan to obtain
$2bn loan from China.
He said instead of “plunging the nation
into more indebtedness” the Federal Government should intensify efforts
to recover some funds totalling about $200bn which were either not
remitted to the Federation Account or stolen from the nation’s treasury.
Falana gave this advice in a letter
dated April 8, 2016, addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi
Adeosun, threatening to sue the Federal Government if his request was
not taken seriously.
He said, “In the light of the foregoing,
we are compelled to call on the Federal Government to muster the
political will and courage to recover the aforesaid withheld or stolen
wealth of not less than $200bn belonging to the Nigerian people.
The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the
Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, has alleged that the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission is laying a foundation for the arrest of
former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The IYC, however, advised the anti-graft
agency to shelve any plan to “persecute” the former President,
insisting that such a move would spell doom for the Muhammadu Buhari
administration.
Speaking at a news conference on
Saturday to mark the burial of a former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the IYC President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, said
most of the close allies of Jonathan had been arrested by the EFCC.
He particularly condemned the recent
arrest and detention of Jonathan’s cousin and contractor, Mr. Robert
Azibaola, over an alleged $40m contract fraud.
Eradiri said Ijaw youths would not allow
Azibaola, Jonathan or any rising Ijaw leader to be persecuted by the
EFCC, the way the Federal Government dealt with the late Alamieyeseigha.
The General Overseer, Latter Rain
Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has lampooned politicians and
political parties for using the abduction of 219 Chibok schoolgirls to
score cheap political points.
He noted that the nation had not given
the issue the necessary thoughtfulness and seriousness it deserved,
stressing that those who are in a position to act have not taken
sufficient action towards addressing it or even towards calming the
anxiety of the waiting Chibok parents.
The cleric said this in a sermon on
Sunday during the thanksgiving service to mark the global action week in
commemoration of the second anniversary of the abduction of the
schoolgirls organised by the BringBackOurGirls coalition at the Unity Fountain, Abuja.
Bakare stated that the girls would have
been rescued if they were children of the political and religious elite
and appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise their rescue
in the midst of the numerous challenges before him. He stressed that the
girls had become the symbols of the soul of the nation.
The country’s education sector is set to
receive a boost with the introduction of the 2016 version of Cinfores
BrainFriend, known as BrainFriend Platinum, an e-learning and exam
preparatory software.
The company said that software would
not only set the stage to revolutionise the ailing education sector in
e-learning, but was in line with meeting the Sustainable Development
Goals of giving access to and enhancing qualitative education.
The Managing Director and Co-Founder of
Cinfores Limited, Mr. Ibifuro Asawo, said that Cinfores had championed
change in the education sector through its products and services in
e-learning, schools/campus administration, scholarships management,
among others.
“Consequently, its various
stakeholders’ engagements with students, teachers, school
administrators, at both the federal and state levels as regards
BrainFriend, has been reassuring and impressive,” he said.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Water
Resources, Mr. Abdulrazaq Akorede, has said that the state government
will spend N1bn out of the proposed N20bn bond on the Ilorin water
reticulation project.
He stated that Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed
had declared a state of emergency on water supply in the state, adding
that presently, more than 25 communities were benefiting from water
supply from tankers on daily basis.
Akorede spoke to journalists in Ilorin on Friday after a tour of some water projects.
There has been acute water shortage, especially in the Ilorin metropolis for some time.
The commissioner also said the government would enact a law that would regulate borehole drilling in the state.
Akorede urged indigenous drillers to
maintain high standards and professionalism, adding that they must take
cognizance of avoidable hazards in borehole drilling.
He stated that the essence of the expected law was to reduce hazards and streamline borehole drilling in the state.
The Federal Government may use money set
aside for funding joint venture projects with foreign and local oil
firms to make up any shortfall in the 2016 budget if its revenue
projections are not met, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has
said.
The nation has been trying to boost tax
revenues and the non-oil income to fund a record N6.06tn 2016 budget
aimed at reviving Africa’s biggest economy hit by the slump in oil
prices.
“The Plan B is around the cash calls,” Adeosun told Reuters and the Financial Times in an interview in Lagos when asked how the budget would be funded if revenue projections fell short.
This year marks the 15th year that ace
gospel group, Midnight Crew, was formed. In a celebratory mood, the
group takes a trip down memory lane and remembers how they almost broke
up about four years after it was formed unknown to them that God had a
lot in stock for them.
The spokesperson for the group, Mike Abdul, shared the story of how the group was almost disbanded.
Idris Adesina
Ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, Nigeria have retained
their lead on the continent in the April Olympic rankings of the
International Table Tennis Federation released on Sunday.
Nigeria’s men’s team are ranked 26th in the world ahead of their
rivals, Egypt, who are ranked 32. The team which is ranked highest in
May will represent Africa in the team events of the Games.
The Nigeria team, led by veteran Segun Toriola, garnered 206 points
but dropped a spot from the 25th position, which they occupied in March.
Nigeria’s men team went ahead of the Egyptians after their performance
at the 2016 ITTF Perfect Team World Cup in February. The Egyptians
currently have 194 points.
Frozen fish and other seafood may soon
become scarce in markets across the country as a result of the Central
Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange restrictions for the importers of the
items.
Investigations by our correspondent
revealed that there had been no importation of the items since February
and over 80 per cent of cold rooms, especially in Lagos, had been shut,
while about 75 per cent of workers in the sector had been laid off.
It was also learnt that the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture had issued permits to importers to bring into
the country about 520, 000 metric tonnes of fish this year.
An importer, who spoke with our
correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the CBN listed fish and
other seafood among items not valid for forex from the official
interbank market, and requested that importers should raise funds from
alternative sources.
The source said the CBN was refusing to sign the ‘Form M’ that would enable the importation of the items.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission on Wednesday begged Nigerians to exercise patience with the
power generation and distribution companies with respect to the drop in
electricity supply and the attendant blackouts being experienced
nationwide.
According to NERC, the drop in power
supply is due to vandalism of critical installations and heavy downpour
witnessed in parts of the country recently, adding that the Federal
Government was working hard to repair the vandalised gas pipelines.
The commission was, however, not
specific as to when power generation
The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon
Arase, has said the Force will henceforth carry out urine tests on all
policemen for signs of drug abuse before they are issued lethal weapons
or posted to their operational points.
Apart from denying access to firearms or
retrieving guns from officers who failed such drug tests, Arase stated
that the police would provide appropriate help to wean them from drugs
or other emotional or psychological issues that may trigger fatal
outcomes in their line of duty.
The IG said this on Wednesday in Abuja
during the inauguration of drug testing and campaign against sudden
death among police officers organised in collaboration with Hypertension
and Diabetes Awareness Foundation.
Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar
Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja
The Defence authorities have said that
not less than 800 members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect had surrendered
to the military in the last three weeks.
The Acting Director, Defence
Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed to our correspondent in
Abuja on Wednesday that 800 of the insurgents surrendered to the troops
of the Nigerian Army in the last three weeks.
He said, “I can confirm that about 800 of the Boko Haram members have surrendered to the military.”
Abubakar spoke barely 24 hours after the
Defence Headquarters announced the establishment of a rehabilitation
camp for repentant Boko Haram members.
The Nigeria Labour Congress says it will
declare a one-day national warning strike over the refusal of the
Federal Government to reduce the electricity tariff.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba said this
while addressing newsmen during the Central Working Committee meeting of
the congress on Wednesday in Abuja.
On January 29, the NLC led the picketing
of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) nationwide, the Nigeria
Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the National Assembly.
The action, aimed at getting the Federal Government to reverse the 45 per cent tariff hike did not yield the desired result.
Wabba insisted that the tariff increase
was “illegal, unfair, unjustifiable and an exploitation of the already
exploited Nigerians.
The Federal Government on Thursday
banned its top officials from flying first class whenever they embark on
officials trips in a bid to reduce the amount being spent on overhead.
It said henceforth, all top officials
like ministers, permanent secretaries, chairmen of committees, as well
as chairmen and chief executive officers of its parastatals and agencies
would have to travel on business class.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Media Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi.
