Corruption Not Nigeria’s Primary Problem – Nwabueze

The Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities, led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, on Thursday said corruption was not Nigeria’s primary problem.
The Igbo leaders stressed that while President Muhammadu Buhari engages in the fight against corruption, he should equally address other critical problems, particularly what they described as the ‘Nigerian question’ – the dysfunctional federal system practiced in the country.
Nwabueze made the group’s feelings known after an extensive meeting in Enugu, which lasted several hours.

War Would Have Happened If Herdsmen Killed Me – Falae

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, has said if he had been killed by the Fulani herdsmen, who kidnapped him, there would have been an outbreak of ethnic war between the Fulani and the Yoruba people.
The elder stateman, who was kidnapped on his farm in Ilado village, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday, September 21 and freed on September 24, 2015, noted that he survived the abduction through the grace of God as the abductors attempted to take his life during the captivity.

Nigeria ‘Hires Mercenaries’ Against Boko Haram To Meet December Deadline

Nigeria has hired about 250 mercenaries from South Africa to help in its war against Boko Haram insurgents, a Turkish news agency has reported, quoting military sources.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently gave a December deadline to the military to end the insurgency in the north-east.

APC Gets 48, PDP, 45 Chairmanship Seats As House Of Reps Speaker Named 96 Committees

After months of politicking and horse trading, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday, announced the names of chairmen of the 96 standing committees which are to carry out the part of the fundamental work of the House.

The sharing of the committees was done by the selection committee chaired by the Speaker, body of principal officers and appointed members each from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The sharing showed that 48 chairmen and 55 deputy chairmen of the standing committees were alloted to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 45 chairmen position, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had one and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had two.

The committee chairmen, as announced by the Speaker included: Abdulmumin Jibrin who will chair the House Committee on Appropriation; Bashir Baballe Ila will chair the House Services Committee; Babangida Ibrahim will head Finance Committee; Zakari Mohammed will chair Basic Education and Services Committee; and Jagaba Adams Jagaba will head Committee on Interior.

Some lawmakers, however, retained the headship of the committees they chaired in the seventh assembly and they are: Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Agricultural Production and Services; Aminu Suleiman, Tertiary Education; Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Aviation; Nnenna Ukeje, Foreign Affairs; Jones Onyereri, Banking and Currency; Shehu Shagari, Judiciary and Nicholas Mutu, NDDC.

Also on the list are Rima Shawulu, Army; FCT Area Council & Ancillary Matters – Zephaniah Jisalo and Gas Resources, Agbedi Frederick.

Others are: Health Institution, Betty Apiafi; National Planning & Economic Development, Jephter Foingha; Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Victor Nwokolo; Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Akinlaja Joseph; Ports, Harbour & Waterways, Patrick Asadu; Power, Daniel Effiong; Public Procurement, Wole Oke; Science & Technology, Beni Lar and Works, Toby Okechukwu.

New members were not left out in charing the committees and those named as chairmen are: Oladele Kayode, Financial Crimes; Samuel Okon Ikon, Inter-parliamentary Relations; Timothy Golu, Legislative Budget and Research, among others

Seven new committees were named and they are Agricultural Colleges and Institutions; Basic Education and Services; Delegated Legislation; FCT Judiciary; Health Institutions; IDPs, Refugees and Initiatives on North East; Insurance and Actuarial Matters; Tertiary Education and Services.

Tribune.

#NewFromNigeria

Video: Boko Haram Suspects Tortured By Civilian JTF In Borno State, Nigeria

After the Political “higi haga”, Senate finally Screens Amaechi As Minister

 

The Senate on Thursday screened previous Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, after his assignment as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari. Amaechi was the first of six candidates slated for screening on Thursday. He spent around 50 minutes simply answering question verging on different issues, including his claimed prosecution by a board by the Rivers State Government for corruption, demanding that he was never arraigned.

The Chairman of the Senate Ethics board of trustees, Mr Chris Anyanwu, presented the report that postponed Amaechi’s screening on three events. Likewise screened on Thursday was Heineken Lokpobiri, who is a previous member from the upper administrative chamber and Claudius Omoyele Daramola, an academic. Additionally screened by the Senate is Baba Shehuri Mustapha, who was in the House of Representatives, speaking to the Maiduguri Metropolitan Constituency. Mr Mustapha answered questions on enhancing local government administration in the Country..

Others set to be screened are  Ocholi Onojo James and Adewole Isaac Folorunsho.

#BokoHaram, #GovernorRotimiAmaechi

Amaechi Is Our Member, The Senate Belongs To APC Not PDP – Ndume

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

ABUJA — AHEAD of today’s screening of former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, yesterday, lampooned senators elected on the platform of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, saying that the 8th Senate belongs to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to him, the PDP should note that it has become a minority, a situation where the majority would always have its way, warning that PDP cannot disqualify Amaechi based on what he described as triviality instead of the constitution. He added that Amaechi  has not been convicted by any court of law.

Lawyer Begs Saraki To Enter Dock At The Tribunal

There was drama at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) yesterday when Senate President Bukola Saraki refused to move into the dock when his case was called.

The dock is where those standing trial stay during proceedings.

Saraki’s refusal to leave his seat for the dock led to an argument between his lead counsel, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), and the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).

Objecting to Saraki’s action, Jacobs said it was the practice for an accused “irrespective” of his status to enter the dock during his trial.

Akure Monarch Bans Eze Ndi Igbo Title-the Punch

The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, has banned the title of ‘Eze Ndi Igbo’ in Akureland and ordered it to be reviewed and replaced with a non-controversial honorary title.

This is one of the conditions given by the monarch to end the crisis between him and the leader of the Igbo community in the town, Mr. Gregory Iloehike. The monarch said the condition must be met before Igbo traders in the area would be allowed to continue operating their businesses in the community.

Political Moves To Save Saraki’s Job Crumble - Punch

THESE may not be good times for the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, as a complex negotiation to save his job through a political solution to his false asset declaration trial appeared to have failed.

The last-minute attempt to save Saraki was said to have been spearheaded by some leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress but the efforts crumbled because of the conditions which Saraki had found impossible to satisfy.

If the efforts had not failed, a source said Saraki would not have appeared before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Wednesday and be in the dock for the second time within one month.

Nigerian Banks Owe Foreign Lenders $4bn

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s ban on importers of some items from accessing foreign exchange from the official forex market has made it difficult for a number of Nigerian companies to pay their overseas vendors, it has been gathered.

The development has made banks in the country, which are the guarantors of those payments, to owe their counterparts abroad between $3bn and $4bn, several top bank executives disclosed to our correspondent on Wednesday.

Jega Deserves GCON, Babalola Says

The national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OFR) is too small for the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Prof Attahiru Jega who deserves a Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) for organizing and conducting the 2015 elections, proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Akiti Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), said yesterday.
He also credited Jega with encouraging him to establish the university. He spoke at the university’s third convocation ceremony in Ado Ekiti.
Continue..

Fayose Killing Ekiti Economy With Taxes – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has accused the state governor, Ayodele Fayose, of killing the state economy through imposition of what it called outrageous taxes and forceful closure of business premises.  The party said the “forced’’ closure of businesses over alleged refusal to pay taxes would further compound the state’s economic woes.  Some traders, mostly Igbos, had on Tuesday taken to the streets in Ado Ekiti to protest what they called closure of over 100 shops belonging to them by officials of the state Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) over non-payment of taxes.

Why #Nigeria should be rearranged along Ethnolinguistic lines

By Ifa Dare

NGR youths often ask me why I think NGR should be rearranged along ethnolinguistic lines. But what I’ve come to realize is that those who consistently ask me this question do not understand the nature of reality.

Fundamentally, the nature of reality is the nature of observation. In other words, if you cannot define what you observe, you cannot define and process reality. For example, let’s assume you just saw a red dot on the wall, but the words “red” and “dot” are not defined in your language; so, how do you define and process what you just saw? How do you even describe what you just saw?

Anyway, the only tool that’s adapted for defining and processing reality is a language. This is why in a programming language, every function or object is defined; and similarly, in the language of Ifa, every Odu is defined.

Consequently, if you lose your language in your own land or if you adopt a foreign language in your own land, it’s absolutely impossible for you to define and process your reality, and it’s absolutely impossible to build a civilization. For example, in the Yoruba language, “Esu” (i.e. a Yoruba diety) is defined as a principal Orisa with many positive attributes. However, in the Anglo-Christian language, “Esu” is portrayed as the devil. In other words, “Esu” has been negatively transformed right before our eyes. And it’s this negative transformation that “Esu” has undergone that the Nigerian reality is currently undergoing.

Ladies and gentlemen, without English language, NGR cannot exist as a unitary entity. And with English language, Nigerians and their realities are being negatively transformed every day. Look around you!

The only way to punctuate this negative transformation is to rearrange NGR along ethnolinguistic lines so as to enable the people to use their respective indigenous languages to define and process their realities.

No people in the history of the world have ever built a civilization using a foreign language as their medium of communication.

#Nigeria

U.S's permanent Puppet, Qatar Threatens Military Intervention in Syria

Qatar who has been a major sponsor of jihadist groups fighting in Syria for years, now is actively considering a direct military intervention in the country, according to its officials.

Throughout Syria’s bloody civil war, the government of Qatar has been an active supporter of anti-government militants, providing arms and financial backing to so called "rebels." Many of these, like the al-Nusra Front, were directly linked to al-Qaeda. That strategy has, of course, done little to put a dent in terrorist organizations in the region.

Ghana Plans to Do away with colonial language as a medium of instruction in schools

The country’s Minister of Education, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, laid the blame mostly on the inability of the educated working class to develop the nation to the language used in teaching them in schools, GhanaWeb reported.

Prof. Agyeman, who was speaking at the Shared Prosperity on Forum on Friday said she was determined to push through the language policy at the highest level so that pupils can be taught in their mother tongue. She expressed confidence in that removing English as the medium of instruction would “change this country”.

World Photo Of The Day: Vladimir Putin & Bashar al-Assad meet in Moscow

Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

Let me wish you a warm welcome to Moscow. Despite the dramatic situation in your country, you have responded to our request and come here to Russia, and we thank you for this.

We took the decision upon your request to provide effective aid to the Syrian people in fighting the international terrorists who have unleashed a genuine war against Syria. The Syrian people has been practically alone in putting up resistance and fighting these international terrorists for several years now, and has suffered great losses. Lately though, there have been some major positive results in this fight.

The attempts by international terrorists to bring whole swathes of territory in the Middle East under their control and destabilise the situation in the region raise legitimate concerns in many countries around the world. This is a matter of concern for Russia too, given that sadly, people from the former Soviet Union, around 4,000 people at least, have taken up arms and are fighting on Syrian territory against the government forces. Of course, we cannot let these people gain combat experience and go through ideological indoctrination and then return to Russia.

On the question of a settlement in Syria, our position is that positive results in military operations will lay the base for then working out a long-term settlement based on a political process that involves all political forces, ethnic and religious groups. Ultimately, it is the Syrian people alone who must have the deciding voice here.

Syria is Russia’s friend and we are ready to make our contribution not only to the military operations and the fight against terrorism, but also to the political process. We would do this, of course, in close contact with the other global powers and with the countries in the region that want to see a peaceful settlement to this conflict.

Once again, I wish you welcome, Mr President.

President of Syria Bashar al-Assad (retranslated): Thank you very much, Mr President.

First of all, I want to express our tremendous gratitude to the Russian leadership and people for the help they are providing Syria. Thank you for supporting Syria’s unity and independence. Most important of all is that this is being done within the framework of international law.

I must say that the political steps the Russian Federation has been taking since the start of the crisis made it possible to prevent events in Syria from taking an even more tragic turn. If it were not for your actions and decisions, the terrorism that is spreading through the region now would have made even greater gains and spread to even wider territories. You have confirmed your course of action by joining in the military operations as part of a common front in the fight against terrorism.

Of course, we all know that any military action must be followed by political steps. Of course, our common goal is to bring about the vision the Syrian people have of their own country’s future.

We must be particularly aware that military strikes against the terrorists are essential above all because we must fight terrorism, and also because terrorism is a real obstacle on the road to reaching a political settlement. Of course, the entire nation wants to take part in deciding the country’s fate, and not just the government.

I want to thank the Russian people once more for the help you are giving Syria and express the hope that we will vanquish terrorism and continue working together to rebuild our country economically and politically and ensure peaceful life for everyone.

<…>

source: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50533

#Assad, #Putin, #Russia, #Syria

Amaechi Is The Lion Of Africa – Dele Momodu

The Publisher of the Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has taken to social media to canvass support for the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, describing him as the lion of Africa.

Momodu’s social media campaigns intensified on Tuesday morning as concern over the fate of the ex-governor’s ministerial slot continues to grow.  Momodu had earlier urged President Mohammadu Buhari to disregard Amaechi’s critics and “protect him with his last strength.”

Senator Ben Murray-Bruce Blasts Bloggers And Online News Sites

Senator Ben Murray Bruce, had something bitter for bloggers and media sites recently when he advised the President to be wary of news sites that have become a thorn in the flesh of governments at most levels. In his advice regarding the media regarding the media he blamed politicians who were greedy for leaking lies and half truths about themselves just to see the other outdone.

Ghana Agrees To Pay N33.8bn Gas Debt Owed Nigeria By Feb. 2016

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu (right), with President John Mahama (left) of Ghana at the meeting leading to the agreement on payment plan for gas supply debt by the Volta River Authority of Ghana. The Federal Government has reached an agreement with Ghana on the modalities to settle the outstanding N33.8bn owed by Ghana’s Volta River Authority (VRA) on gas it received from a Nigerian company, N-Gaz, for power generation.

We’ll Crush Pro-biafra Protesters In Rivers —governor Wike Warns

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has descended hard on protesters who disrupted social and economic activities in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Tuesday under the platform of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, warning against such insidious actions again by anybody or group in the state. Wike who was peeved by the protest by members of the IPOB in Port Harcourt, warned that such demonstrations will no longer be tolerated by his administration. Insisting on the indivisibility of Nigeria, which he swore to protect, the governor said the actions of the IPOB members are capable of causing chaos in the state.

Tribunal Affirms Gaidam’s Victory In Yobe Governorship Poll

The Yobe State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has upheld the victory of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of the All Progressives Congress in the April 11 governorship election in Yobe State. The Peoples Democratic Party has challenged the election of the APC candidate, alleging massive irregularities in the poll that brought in Gaidam for a second term in office.

NAFDAC Closes Illegal Chinese Factory Producing Mosquito Coil In Kano

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed up a Chinese company involved in the production of unregistered mosquito coils in Kano.
The coils are sold to the public under the brand name: “Wavetide: Plant Fiber Mosquito Coil” and are sold in most of the markets in the state.
Pharmacist Ake Ayodele Paul, NAFDAC’s Chief Regulation Officer, told reporters in Kano on Wednesday that the company was initially sealed on 28th of September, 2015, adding that its management had since declined to register the product with NAFDAC despite an invitation for them to regularize the production.
Ayodele, who heads the Enforcement and Investigation Unit of NAFDAC, said that NAFDAC has no way of knowing whether the chemicals used by the firm is harmful or not since the product has not been registered.

KWASU Students Fabricate Anti-terror Weapon

Three students of the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Kwara State University, Malete, have fabricated prototype equipment, which if developed, could be used to wage war against Boko Haram insurgents.

The prototype equipment are rocket, quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle, fabricated by Abdulwasiu Ahmed, Abdulkadir Habeebellah and Abdulrauf Sarafadeen..
Ahmed, in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the university’s 5thundergraduate research day on Wednesday, said the rocket and the fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle could be used for bombing and other military operations.

He stated that the quadcopter UAV could be used for aerial photography, surveillance, event recordings and examination.

Tribunal Orders Re-run In Akwa Ibom Gov. Election

The Akwa Ibom State governorship tribunal has ordered for a rerun of the governorship election in the state. The Tribunal ordered Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct re-run election in 18 local government areas of the state. There are 31 LGs in Akwa Ibom. Giving its verdict on Wednesday, the Tribunal said it was satisfied that there were discrepancies during the governorship election held on April 11. The Tribunal further asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct the re-run elections. DETAIL SOON