Police Protest Security Alert To Foreign Nationals In Nigeria

June 19, 2019

Nigeria Police Force has protested over the security alert to foreigners in Nigeria by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) against all travel to some States and border areas in Nigeria.

A statement today, June 19, by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, admitted that Nigeria has some security challenges, “just like other nations of the World, including the advanced democracies,” saying: “we wish to restate that Nigeria remains one of the most beautiful places to live in the World. It is a safe country with its own peculiar socio-economic and security challenges.”

The police reassured Nigerians and the International Community of their safety and the commitment of the police and other security agencies to continue to provide effective security services to the nation.

You Can Regulate Religious Activities, But Can’t License It, Court Tells Kaduna Govt

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

A Kaduna State High Court has ruled that the state government has no right to screen and issue licenses to religious preachers in the state but that it has the right to regulate religious activities in the state.

The court, presided over by Justice Hajaratu Gwadah made the ruling today, June 19, in a suit filed by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), challenging the constitutionality of the bill on the regulation of religious preaching in the state.

In her judgment, Justice Hajaratu Gwadah said that the bill does not seek to abolish the rights of applicants as fundamental human rights is not absolute, adding that sections 6 and 9 of the bill which seeks to screen and license preachers, violates the constitutional rights of the applicant.

Counsel to the PFN, Sunny Akanni expressed satisfaction with the judgment saying: “in Christianity, not only ordained pastors preach. Every Christian is commanded to go ye into the world and preach the gospel.

“Section 38, (1) of the Nigeria constitution allows everybody to propagate his religion in teaching, in observance and in action. So when you now say pastors should be licensed, you have infringed on their right.

“That is why the court agreed with us that section 6 of the bill is against the constitutional right of PFN.”

However, Counsel to the state governor, who is one of the respondents in the case, Sanusi Usman, however expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment.

Sanusi Usman, who is the Director of Civil Litigation in the state ministry of justice, said he will appeal the judgment.

The bill which was introduced by the State Governor, Nasiru Ahmed El Rufai in the early part of his first tenure, attracted controversy with both Muslims and Christians opposing it. Despite being challenged by the PFN, the state House of Assembly went ahead and passed the bill, few hours to the expiration of its tenure.

The PFN had argued that subjecting preachers to screening by government agency was an infringement on fundamental human right and asked the court to declare that setting up a committee for the screening and licensing of preachers, as provided in the bill, is a violation of their rights.

Source: Vanguard

Borno State Will Soon Be Freed Of Boko Haram – Governor Zulum

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

President Buhari and Borno State Governor, Prof. Zulum

The governor of Borno State, the flashpoint of Boko Haram insurgency,Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has said that he is optimistic that with new security measures being put in place by both the federal and state governments, the issue of Boko Haram will soon be over.

He told news men after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari today, June 19 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja that the federal and state governments have concluded arrangement to strengthen the current security situation as well as strengthen the means of livelihood to the entire people of Borno state.

According to him, the two governments are looking critically into the root causes of the insurgency, “especially the issue of access roads, access to farm lands and the issue of strengthening civilian JTF and the military to do their jobs better than before.”

Governor Zulum, who warned that it is not right and safe to discuss the issue of security publicly, said that the state government is collaborating with the military and other security agencies to ensure that the citizens are well protected.

“On my part, I am also trying to strengthen the locals to be resilient enough, especially by providing them with logistics like vehicles and others so that they can undertake some surveillance to support the military.

“By and large we are optimistic that Borno state will bounce back again.”

International Eggheads Interact With Osinbajo In Lagos

Greenbarge Reporters

June 19, 2019

36 Harvard Professors, including Professor Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Global Investor, Adebayo Ogunlesi, pose with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Lagos.

Presidency Asks Obasanjo To Query His Secretary Over Letter Inviting Him To Democracy Day

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

The Presidency has asked ex President Olusegun Obasanjo to query his secretary over the letter officially inviting him to the June 12 Democracy Day which he said was not delivered to him.

A statement by the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that Obasanjo owed an answer to Nigerians on his absence from the 2019 Presidential inauguration and Democracy Day celebration because the claim that he was not invited or he did not receive an invitation cannot be sustained.

“Since the claim was first made, elements in the polity that have deliberately and consistently been trying to lead the country toward polarization have cashed in on it, throwing all manner of rubbish at the Buhari Presidency.

“The fact remains that the Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha wrote on May 16th, 2019 to:

“His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Agbe L’Oba House, Quarry Road, Ibara, P.O.Box 2286, Abeokuta, Ogun State.”

Garba Shehu said that the invitation was sent to Chief Obasanjo’s known forwarding address, detailing out all the major events, and the invitation cards were delivered by a reputable courier company as confirmed.

“The receipt of the letter and invitation cards as delivered by the courier company was confirmed by Mr. Taiwo Ojo, the long standing Personal Secretary to the former President.

“If, in the circumstance, Chief Obasanjo did not see or receive the letter and invitation cards as published by Vanguard newspaper (Page 16, June 16, 2019) and several other news platforms, then the former President needs to find out what is happening with his own secretariat.

“The government office did its job diligently and should not be blemished for no reason.”

Buhari Deplores TY Danjuma, Others That Preach Hate, Set People Against One Another

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned former Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, retired General Theophelus Yakubu Danjuma and other leaders who are in the habit of preaching hate and setting people against one another.

The President described such leaders as those who publicly preach the virtues of peace, but privately promote hate and intolerance which ultimately culminate in violent destruction of life and property.

Speaking against the backdrop of the current attacks on the people of Kona in Taraba State, Buhari stressed that attacks on innocent people in the name of revenge or whatever motives would not be tolerated by the government.

The President who ordered security forces to end the violence immediately and decisively, warned: “no group of people has the right to surround innocent people and unleash murderous violence on them.”

According to him, for people to resort to self-help is an invitation to anarchy which in turn will make everyone unsafe.

President Buhari made it clear that in a cycle of violence characterized by revenge and counter-revenge, there can be no winners, adding that in a state of permanent hostilities, people undermine not only law and order, but also their own ability to conduct their everyday businesses in peace.

“I always wonder how people can conduct their businesses in the absence of peace and tranquillity because violence ruins everything and leaves the people worse off.

“It is difficult to build a virile nation where hate and intolerance dominate the people’s minds. It’s easier to destroy than to build. People should count the economic costs of this violence to their own lives.”

The President warned that a situation where community leaders abandon their responsibilities and allow thugs to set the agenda is dangerous for peace and security in the country.

Police Swoop On Criminals: Arrest 32 Kidnap Suspects, Recover 160 Rustled Cows, Others

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

Police operatives attached to Operation Puff Adder have arrested 32 kidnap suspects including four that were involved in the kidnap of UBEC Chairman, his daughter and the killing of his driver.

A statement today, June 19, by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba said that the operatives also recovered 11 AK47 rifles, two Pump action guns, three locally made pistols,12 dane guns, two revolver pistols,10 live cartridges, 77 live ammunition and two Volkswagen vehicles.

The statement said that the arrest of the four suspects is sequel to the massive manhunt launched to apprehend the fleeing members of the kidnap gang involved in the kidnap of UBEC Chairman.

The police recalled that some gang members had fled following the death of their gang leader/Kidnap Kingpin, one Sumaila Sule a.k.a Shaho, who died on May 18 as a result of bullet injuries sustained during a shoot-out with the operatives.

The Police Operatives also announced that following raids of criminal hideouts in Kainji, New Bussa, Mariga Bangi and Charagi in Niger and Kwara State respectively and Birnin Yero forest along Birnin Gwari, Garu Rahama, Gaidan Gaya in Kaduna State, have arrested 28 other notorious kidnappers/armed robbers, including one Abubakar Umar a.k.a Buba Dogo.

“Investigation reveals that Abubakar Umar is a specialist in the kidnap of foreign nationals whom he keeps hostage until substantial ransoms are paid.”

“The Operatives have intercepted trucks conveying 1,972 bags of grains and 208 bags of beans to bandits’ hideout in a forest in Zamfara State. This action, no doubt, will cut-off food supply and hopefully neutralize their stronghold in their camps.”

Osinbajo Dreams Of An Industrialized Nigeria In Next 10 Years

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

“I will like to see Nigeria become an industrialized nation in the next 10 years with a very strong middle class and most people living above poverty line.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who expressed such hope yesterday, June 18, at a Dinner and Interactive Session with some visiting Faculty Members from the Harvard Business School (HBS) in Lagos, said that the policies and programmes of the government of Muhammadu Buhari “are directed at achieving this objective.”

He emphasized that government has put in place, measures that will kick-start the industrialization drive of the country, citing the example of the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and small manufacturing clusters across the country as some of the steps taken by government.

“Practically, everything we are doing is to ensure that there is a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
“The Federal Government is looking at natural economic clusters. We have done a lot of work in five of them, we are looking at 23 others, and we have already set up shared facilities in designated locations to address some of the concerns in production.
“What we plan for the Special Economic Zones is also unique and geared towards that drive to industrialize our economy.”
On efforts to alleviate poverty, the Vice President said that it is being addressed by government, regretting that he has been having sleepless nights because of “extreme poverty in the country.

“The point is that the largest number of those who voted for us are the very poor.
“The promises that government makes to them is that their lives will be better and obviously they are looking at their lives being better in the shortest possible time.”
He explained that a number of government policies and programmes were focused on people at the bottom of the pyramid, especially in agriculture and trade, and getting credit facilities to people in order to enable them improve in whatever they are doing.
He said that many farmers had been lifted out of poverty as a result of some of the initiatives, adding nonetheless that the scale needs to be improved.
“First, the focus of our government was on agriculture which has the potential to take many out of poverty. We are supporting farmers operating through the out-grower programme and our focus is to attain sufficiency in Rice, Sorghum and Millet production.
“A lot of attention has also been given to the Social Investment Programmes (SIPs) which factored the provision of cheap credit to petty traders—at the bottom of the pyramid. We have given out cheap credits through our TraderMoni and MarketMoni initiatives and this has also proven to be largely successful.”
On Power, Professor Osinbajo said that government is committed to finding lasting solutions to issues militating against the improvements that ought to have been witnessed in the sector.
“The issues are enormous but what we really need to do is to re-write regulations and encourage more people to invest in the sector.
“In the next few months, we will unveil a plan that deals with most of the critical issues in the power sector.”

CBN To Business Day: You Lied

Editorial staff

June 19, 2019

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has described as falsehood the BusinessDay newspaper story of June 17 with headline: “CBN’s life support to FG rises 780% to N8.12 trn in 4yrs.”

In a statement today, June 19, the apex bank emphasized that the story is not only false, but an attempt, through sheer mischief, to distort and misrepresent it’s financial operations and also to misinform the investing public on the financial health of our country.

“In order to arrive at their plot, the authors of the Business Day story had conveniently restricted their report only to CBN’s claims on the Federal Government while ignoring other numerous deposits of the Federal Government, including those of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), with the CBN,.

“As can be clearly deduced by any unbiased and informed analyst, when the claims of the FG on CBN are netted against the claims of the CBN on the FG, the resulting net positions indicate that the FG was actually the net creditor to CBN in 2014, 2015 and 2017 to the tune of N2.14 trillion, N1.65 trillion and N0.36 trillion, respectively. On the other hand, CBN was the net creditor to the FG in 2016 and 2018 to the tune of N0.11 trillion and N0.34 trillion, respectively.

“From the foregoing and the detailed database, it is clearly inappropriate to compare the position as at end-2018 with the position as at end-2014, ignoring the movements within the period.

“We wish therefore to reassure the investing community and the general public that the CBN remains faithful to its statutory mandate as banker and financial adviser to the Federal Government.”

Second Term: Kogi Traditional Rulers Storm Aso Rock To Beg Buhari To Support Yahaya Bello

Greenbarge Reporters

June 19, 2019

Traditional rulers from Kogi State, led by the Attah of Igala, Dr. Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni, have begged President Muhammadu Buhari to support Governor Yahaya Bello of the State in his bid for a second term of four more years in office.
The royal fathers who stormed the Presidential Villa, Abuja, today, June 19, told news men after a closed door meeting with the president: “we had to reintroduced our governor to the president. Some people in the social media are already saying we are playing politics: we are not playing politics. We are being realistic. When you are realistic you say things as they are.
“We came to reintroduced our governor to the president and demanded for normal support since they belong to the same party. The issue of endorsement is here. The people at home have already endorsed his excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for second term, so we don’t need to re-endorsed him in Abuja here. All we needed to do was to re-present him to the President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of Nigeria. So we are very happy that Mr.
President received us very well and the traditional rulers have reconfirmed their support for both the federal and state governments.
“And we are happy to announce too because our governor announced it here, that the last tranche of bailout of fund of about N30.8 billion has been approved. So the issue of salary arrears, allowances and pensions will be put to rest by His grace before the elections.
“So we are confident that we are going to have good deals with this federal government and by the grace of God, since we are supporting Mr. President, it is natural and normal for him to lay us back in the right coins. So we are happy to announce to our people at home that Mr. President has promised to treat us very well.”
Speaking to news men also, Governor Yahaya Bello swore that he was not the one that led the royal fathers to the President, but “the Attah Igala, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni, the President of Kogi State Council of Chiefs.
“I am just a messenger who took the message to Mr. President to secure this appointment and as their son, I just needed to accompany them on this visit. As earlier stated, Mr. President in his usual manner of receiving everybody, gave us very warm reception and appreciated what we are doing in Kogi State.”

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