The Federal Government has declared Monday, December 12 , as public holiday to mark the Muslim festival of Eid-El-Maulud, to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad. The Minister of Interior, Retired Lt.- General Abdulrahman Dambazau, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja.
In a statement, signed by the acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, Dambazau enjoined all Muslim faithful and Nigerians in general to join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari to build a strong, united and peaceful Nation. He advised Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for peace across the nation. He called on Nigerians to be patient and supportive of the present administration for the successful implementation of its laudable programmes. He wished all Nigerians a happy and peaceful Eid-El-Maulud celebration. [myad]
Mrs. Patience Jonathan, wife of the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been harassing her.
In a petition which was presented to the House of Representatives, from Representative Lovette Idisi (PDP-Delta), Mrs. Jonathan alleged that she was being “incessantly harassed” by the anti-graft agency.
The petitioner insisted that wife of the former President is presumed innocent until proven guilty as enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“This petition is in line with Section 36 of the 199 Constitution, where every citizen of the country is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“Mr. Speaker, the constant harassment of the former first lady is a petition emanating from her which was sent to my office. With the leave of the House, I seek your permission to lay the petition before the house.”
After Idisi laid the petition, the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, referred it to the Committee on Public Petitions.
Kano state government, through State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, has began the probe of serving commissioners even as it announced the recovery over N150m from corrupt public officials this year, 2016.
The Chairman of the Commission,, Alhaji Muhyi Magaji, who briefed news men today, Wednesday, after he appeared before the Kano State House of Assembly’s Committee on Security to defend the commission’s 2017 budget, said: “for the first time in this country, we are fully ready to investigate a serving commissioner on corruption case.”
He said that over 2,000 arrests were made by the commission, with those nabbed taken to court for trial. He added that the complaints presented before the commission were mostly corruption-related.
He said that the commission would not relent in its efforts toward ensuring that all cases brought to it were handled fairly.
“Wearing army camouflage to the parliament to present the budget has confirmed our earlier claim that Fayose has army uniforms stocked at home with which he unleashed terror on the opposition during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.”
These were the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State against the background of Governor Ayodele Fayose’s wearing military uniform to the State House of Assembly on Tuesday to present the 2017 budget proposal.
The party said, which insisted that such attitude represents conduct unbecoming of the Governor’s high position in a constitutional democracy, said: “Fayose keeps his own army in the Government House that he regularly unleashes on his opponents, including using same armed thugs to prevent EFCC from doing its job when the governor stormed Access Bank with thugs to shield Mrs. Fani-Kayode from EFCC scrutiny on her husband’s frozen account.”
In a statement in Ado Ekiti today, Wednesday, by the publicity secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party frowned at what it called the governor’s contempt for separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria even as it asked the National Assembly to save Nigerian Constitution from the governor’s executive lawlessness and recklessness.
APC said that governor Fayose’s conduct was an affront on the constitution and a brazen conduct suggesting that democracy was dead in Ekiti State.
“We have always insisted that Fayose is a law unto himself and a threat to democracy in Nigeria, showing contempt for the law and would do anything to undermine the integrity of the supremacy of the constitution.
“As a man who has constituted himself as the law, Fayose has demonstrated several times that he has no respect for the nation’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
“He sacked the House of Assembly for six months and ran 19 APC members out of the town with thugs and used seven PDP members to impeach APC Speaker in the House of Assembly of 26 members after he led thugs to invade the court to beat a judge and tore court records in the Chief Judge’s office.” [myad]
The House of Representatives has since commenced work on a bill seeking to introduce independent candidacy in the country’s electoral process.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Edward Pwajok (PDP-Plateau), scaled through second reading today. The sponsor said that the objective is to open the country’s political space.
“In order to deepen our democracy and open the political space, it has become imperative to allow for the right of individuals to contest for any elective office, not necessarily on the platform of political parties but even as independents.
“Political parties had been run in very undemocratic manner leading to frequent amendments of the electoral act and judicial interpretations on vexed issue of substitution of candidates by parties.
“Till date, illegal substitutions and imposition of candidates is still the norm among political parties. Ideally, parties are supposed to be made up of like-minded members, but the reality is that it is usually a marriage of convenience by members for the sole aim of acquiring power and not based on any shared ideology.
“Individuals who do not share the same idea with the leaders are usually shut out.”
Pwajok said that the issue is not about the viability of the candidacy but about the rights of the individual to contest and also the rights of the electorate to vote for any individual of their choice.
“Freedom of choice should be the main ingredient in a democracy. If this alteration is allowed, it may bring some sanity to our political parties, which are currently y bedeviled with ignorance, impunity and imposition of favoured candidates against popular will of members.”
Pwajok said that the bill will significantly reduce the number of political parties contesting elections in the country, saying: “currently Nigeria has more than 50 political parties, but there are not more than five parties that have seats in the National Assembly and less than 10 are politically present or viable in the country.
“Many of them exist to either project the interests of some individuals because the constitution does not allow for independent candidates.”
Over 15 million Ghanaians, today, Wednesday, went to about 29,000 polling stations to elect a president and 275 parliamentarians who will rule the country in the next four years. Reports reaching us said that the turnout of voters was impressive and that voting was conducted in most polling units in orderly and peaceful manner. The voting would have been completed at about 5.00pm local time and counting of votes commenced immediately.
Results are expected within 72 hours after voting ended.
The incumbent President, John Mahama is running for a second four-year term with six other candidates. His fiercest rival is Nana Akufo-Addo, the leader of the largest opposition, New Patriotic Party. Mahama remains popular in the nation of 26 million people, which was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence in colonial Africa, in 1957. The 58-year-old Mahama made major progress in improving Ghana’s infrastructure by building schools, health facilities and roads. However, many voters held Mahama and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) responsible for a debilitating three-year energy crisis that led to a 10 per cent drop in economic growth between 2011 and 2015. They also held him responsible for sharp rise in electricity, water and petrol prices. Akufo-Addo, 72, promises to use Ghana’s new-found oil to create jobs and push industrialization in all economic sectors, including agriculture. If no presidential candidate gains 51 per cent or more of the vote, the election will go into a second round. [myad]
In continuation of the Muhammadu Buhri’s government sourcing for funds to execute its projects, the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun today, Wednesday, presented a memorandum seeking approval for the issuance of the $1 Billion Eurobond in the International Capital Market (ICM).
The minister, who presented the memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, also included the appointment of Transaction Parties responsible for the execution of the Programme.
Adeosun said that the $1 Billion Eurobond issuance was appropriated in the 2016 budget and the funds will support the implementation of capital projects in the 2016 budget.
The appointed Transaction Parties responsible for execution of the transaction include: Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, White & Case LLP, Banwo & Ighodalo and AfricaPractice.
She said that the selection was based on an open and competitive bid process in line with the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and a certificate of “No Objection” was received from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to award contracts to the recommended Parties.
“We have so far, received strong commitment from the international community. Investors believe in the long-term economic outlook for Nigeria as we continue with our structural reforms and increased focus on infrastructure development to diversify the economy and grow the non-oil sector.
“Stable oil prices and steadying foreign reserves will support our plans and we expect high demand for this issue to further push down yields. We are confident that this will be a successful outing in January, 2017.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has lost out a defamation suit he instituted against DAAR Communications, operators of the African Independent Television. Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who struck out the case, held that the suit was struck out because it appeared abandoned. According to him, no representations from the parties have been entered since the matter was assigned to the court. “This is against the rules of court. All opportunities given for the plaintiff and the respondents to put life in the suit have failed. The suit is hereby struck out.” Buahari had filed the suit in 2015 challenging the alleged documentary transmitted by the station aimed at defaming his character in the eyes of the public. The President averred that the video documentary aired by the television station was aim at giving him away as a dictator and religious bigot. He also averred that the documentary was also shown on the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority. Before the action, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leadership had written to the two stations describing the video as fabricated and defamatory. Subsequently, Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC, as he was then, approached the court with the suit. DARR Communication is owned by a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Raymond Dokpesi. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has described Boko Haram insurgents as both ignorance of the Islamic religion under which they claim to be killing and maiming innocent people and cowards for now resorting to attacking soft targets.
The President, who spoke today, Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, at a Panel of Heads of State at the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, stressed that the days of the insurgents are now numbered as they would soon be wiped out of existence.
“I think Boko Haram shot themselves in the foot when they gave their ideology a religious connotation by killing children in their schools, people in the mosques and churches and shouting Allahu Akbar.
“This is a major contradiction as no religion advocates hurting the innocent. You can’t kill people and say Allahu Akbar. You either do not know what you are saying or you don’t believe it,” President Buhari said.
“Those who live in the North East know that Boko Haram is no longer holding a single territory in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. But they have a system of using IEDs and they indoctrinate mostly teenage girls and send them to soft targets to churches, mosques and market places. That too is becoming very rear.
President Buhari highlighted the gains of the cooperation among the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries comprising Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Nigeria, saying that Boko Haram is no longer holding any territory or Local Government Area (LGA) in Nigeria.
“About a month ago, I spoke with the President of Chad and I was pleased that a number of Chadians and Nigerians that were Boko Haram members are surrendering to him en-masse. The good news I have is that the end of the raining season has come in the North eastern region of Nigeria.
“Members of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) are in their respective positions and at an agreed time they will move simultaneously and spontaneously for us to see the end of Boko Haram. We are now operating in the Sambisa Forest and as far as Boko Haram is concerned in the Lake Chad Basin area, I think they are done for,’’ the President declared.
Buhari insisted that Nigeria is capable of surmounting its security challenges, even as he appealed to the international community to focus more attention on addressing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and unemployment in Nigeria.
“In the southern part of the country, stolen Nigerian crude is being illegally transported through the Gulf of Guinea and installations offshore are being subverted. We also have the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. With a population of 180 million people of which 65 per cent are under the age of 35, young Nigerians are looking for any kind of job to survive.
“We are addressing the situation (unemployment) by turning to agriculture and solid minerals because we are lucky to be blessed with arable land, water and resources,” the President noted. [myad]
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has declared itself broke as a result of which it cannot pay players and officials of the Super Falcons all their entitlements for winning the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON).
A statement by NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, quoted the Federation’s General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, as saying that the money for this was however not available at the moment.
“The Federation is not happy about owing players and coaches. But it can only continue to seek their understanding and those of hoteliers and travel agents, as well as its management and staff until the situation improves.
“There is no gainsaying in the fact that there is a severe economic challenge in the country now and all organizations, whether government or private, are feeling the pinch. But, it is not government’s doing.
“We know we have financial commitment to the players and officials of Super Falcons, and we have not at any time stated otherwise. But the money is not readily available at the moment.
“I appeal to them to understand the situation of the Federation, to understand the situation of the country at the present and exercise patience.
“We will pay them all monies they are being owed as soon as we receive same from government, just as we paid the national under-17 team’s players and officials who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile last year, after the tournament.
“Just as we paid coach Samson Siasia’s wages as soon as we had the funds after the Olympics.’’
Sanusi also recalled that the Super Eagles were owed monies for the match against Tanzania and were paid when funds for that match were made available by government.
“We still owe the Super Eagles for the matches against Zambia and Algeria, but the memos have gone to government and are being looked at.
“But we must commend the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, who has been energetically pushing the cases of the various national teams.
“We have sent the memo for the Women Africa Cup of Nations in October and it is being processed as we speak.”
Sanusi said that NFF has embarked on an aggressive drive to find a permanent solution to the issue of owing players and coaches.
He said that corporate players were now listening to the NFF’s leadership and the Federation’s finances would soon improve.
“We are also working to get monies outstanding from former sponsors of the national teams, to complement what we are expecting from government.
“In relation to all these, we are in the process of sorting out our TSA domiciliary accounts so that we can receive our due grants from FIFA and CAF, including the $80,000 prize money from the AWCON, once it is available.”
The NFF General Secretary also appealed to media representatives to understand the plight of the Federation, and temper their write-ups with some understanding.
“This morning, I was reading a report that the Federation is yet to pay the Super Falcons one kobo. That is not correct.
‘“While the team was in Cameroon, the NFF sourced for money from one of our sponsors and paid the players N500,000 each and also paid the technical crew and backroom staff.
“Our friends in the media should make the effort to clarify whatever information they have before going to press.’’
While applauding the Falcons for their tenacity and total dedication to duty in Cameroon in spite of low morale, Sanusi confirmed that a reception would soon be held for them.
“NFF is waiting for word from government to know when the African champions will be hosted to a state reception.
“The reception for the senior women national team is out of our hands. We are waiting on the Federal Government and as soon as we have confirmation of the date, we will inform the players and officials to regroup in Abuja.”
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