The Ekiti State workers have asked Governor Ayodele Fayose to pay them their salaries and entitlements instead of his declared solidarity strike.
“What we want is our money to alleviate our poverty.”
The workers have been on industrial action for about two weeks over non-payment of five months outstanding salaries.
The organized labour said that what the workers needed was at least payment of three months salaries to actually authenticate the sincerity of the self-imposed strike declared by Fayose. The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Odunayo Adesoye, who spoke to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, said that the level of poverty among the civil servants had become burdensome and unbearable to the extent that they had become beggars. “We appreciate the governor for sharing from our pains and anguish. But the workers will appreciate and commend him the more if he can pay at least two or three months salaries out of five months owed.
“Our situation has gone beyond the governor declaring mere solidarity strike. We need more of actions now than talks because our situation is gradually becoming hopeless.
“Some of us have the intention of going to work, but no money to pay for transport fare. Some of us could not take two square meal a day. Some could not cook soup with ordinary fish, so our situation has gone beyond what anyone could trivialize.
“But I want to say that we are resolute to fight on, because it is an issue that borders on our welfare, careers and prosperity.
“We are hearing that the federal government want to give grants to states, so if Mr Governor could pay three months now, it will be easy to use the grant to pay the remaining two months and still help in paying for the subsequent months. “We appeal to the workers to be law abiding. We want them to be civil even in the face of provocation. By the grace of God, we shall all rejoice in the end.” [myad]
“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right” …
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
“A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
“Don’t count the days; make the days count.”
“Hating people because of their colour is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which colour does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.”
“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”
“Bragging’ is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.”
“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
“A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“I’ve wrestled with alligators. I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning. And throw thunder in jail.” [myad]
Immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has made it clear that he “has no intention of turning his back on Nigeria, a homeland he served diligently as President, to the best of his abilities.”
A statement signed by his aide, Ikechukwu Eze, said that report in a national newspaper that he had gone on exile in Cote d’Ivoire was unfortunate, disappointing and careless.
“We are disappointed that a serious newspaper like This Day could carelessly wager its reputation and encouraging perception, by submitting itself to such recklessness and needless sensationalism”.
“We are inclined to proclaim straightaway that this claim or any insinuation to Dr. Jonathan’s contemplation of exile is not only false, tendentious but inciting. Isn’t it reprehensible that the only truth in the This Day publication is that former President Jonathan paid a visit to President Buhari, while the rest of the content are bogus insinuations and fabrications.”
“It is surprising that, rather than apologize to the former president and the nation for an obvious gaffe, This Day continues to pursue this illusory line of thought, which achieves nothing but mislead its readers, even after the former President had clearly stated that he never, at any point in time, considered going into exile.
“We are persuaded to believe that the newspaper is pursuing a yet-to-be-declared agenda, especially after a call earlier made, out of respect, to the newspaper by the former president, to offer a clarification, was deliberately misrepresented, to agree with this premeditated conclusion.”
Dr. Jonathan’s spokesman said: “as a former President, Dr. Jonathan should be obliged the freedom to visit President Buhari, anytime he likes, to brief him on his international engagements and other commitments.
“Media houses to desist from this fruitless predilection of Jonathan bashing, just because it is convenient, and in tune with the disposition in some quarters.” [myad]
Muhammad Ali, who died late Friday evening aged 74, was one of the greatest icons of the 20th century, one of the world’s greatest boxers of all time, and certainly in his time, and during the era that he dominated the ring, the greatest among his contemporaries, the inimitable master of his game. The polyvalent nature of his talent: athlete, poet, civil rights campaigner, radical, gadfly, celebrity, philosopher, motivator and role model has ensured that there can never be anyone else like him. Muhammad Ali was special in his art, in his grace, and in his combination of wit and uncommon talent.
No other athlete has done as much to raise the level and quality of boxing, converting it into a mainstream spectacle that captured the imagination of the world. He enriched boxing with his talent, but it may also be said that his personality enriched our collective humanity. He lived between two astonishing polarities: good health and sickness, for almost the same length of time.
For 27 years, he dominated the boxing world, he could talk like the gift of speech was made specially for him, he could punch with his fists as if they were made of reflexes, he could dance around the ring like he was on a picnic, lean on the rope like he was on dope, fell his opponents with confidence, taunt them like they knew nothing, and in it all, he emerged as the “greatest”, the very best, the people’s champion. But for another 32 years, Ali lived with Parkinson’s disease which robbed him of the same tools that stood him out: he could no longer talk, his muscles became stiff, and his face stiffened…he thus reminded us of our own mortality and humanness. But even in that state, he was a symbol of human capacity and achievement. And till he breathed his last, he was one of the most beloved human beings that ever lived.
Muhammad Ali was first and foremost an American patriot. He is one of America’s most remarkable products and exports of the last century. He once boasted: “To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the USA won the medal of gold. The Greeks said you’re better than the Cassius of old.” This was after he had won the Olympic light heavyweight gold medal in boxing at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Muhammad Ali projected America talent and dream. He was one of those who put America effectively on the map as the land of possibilities, and it is a sign of who he was that he became better known than Coca cola, Microsoft and Mickey Mouse.
America can boast of many accomplished persons in various fields of human endeavor, but in boxing, and the art of sportsmanship on and off the field of play, Muhammad Ali will be remembered for all times as America’s most impactful ambassador. As true as professionals can be, he was the best in his chosen field. He fought a total of 61 professional bouts, won 56, 37 of these by technical knock out, many of them within a few minutes, and lost only 5 matches in a career that was marked by colour, extraordinary drama and controversy. Ali’s fiercest critics have remarked upon his special talent, and his relevance not just to boxing but also the global community. The forthrightness with which those tributes have been paid is a measure of the man’s distinction and humanity.
Boxing is a contact sport. Muhammad Ali not only fought his opponents in the ring, he outboxed and outsized them mentally before and after the match. He engaged the world on his own terms. He called himself the greatest and he went on to prove it. He talked down on his potential opponents and he went on to beat them. Before taking the world heavyweight championship title in 1964, Muhammad Ali harassed Sonny Liston throughout the fight saying “Liston smells like a bear” and “After I beat him, I am going to donate him to a zoo…Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight.” Liston was beaten but he didn’t end up in a zoo, but it was the beginning of Ali’s romance with greatness. After the fight, Ali told the press: “I am the greatest…I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived.” He was 22 at the time. He spent the rest of his career proving this. A year later, he further knocked out Floyd Patterson. Five years earlier at the height of Patterson’s fame, Ali had told him: “Hey Floyd- I seen you! Someday, I’m gonna whup you. Don’t you forget. I’m the greatest.”
Boxing aficionados will forever classify as evergreen, Muhammad Ali’s encounter with Joe Frazier (“Fight of the Century”) at the Madison Square Garden in 1971, a fight that Ali lost, his first professional defeat, only to return to beat Frazier in 1974. Joe Frazier was one of the few men to beat Ali (Larry Holmes, Trevor Berbick, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton) but Ali never spared him with his silvery tongue: “Frazier is so ugly, he should donate his face to the Bureau of Wildlife”. Later that year, there was the encounter with George Foreman in Zaire, which Ali himself called “the Rumble in the Jungle”. Ali was of course his usual boastful self: “I have done something new for this fight, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick.” He added: “I have seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won.” It was also in Zaire that he produced the famous quote: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee- his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.” There was also the “Thrilla in Manila”, Ali’s third encounter with Joe Frazier, which he won. He said: “It will also be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila.” And it was: Ali never failed to entertain with his mouth fists and shuffle.
His boastfulness, which may have been interpreted as sheer arrogance, was however part of a persona that he cultivated strictly for the game. He may have said that “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am,” or “Will they ever have another fighter who writes poems, predicts rounds, beats everybody, makes people laugh, makes people cry and is as tall and as pretty as me?” but the truth is that he was a humble, kindhearted sportsman who was afraid to show that part of him in the field. Why? He himself explains a talent driven by fear: “At home, I am a nice guy but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.” He also realized that boxing was just a job and so, he enthused: “It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” Ironically, it was Muhammad Ali’s humility which took him in his later years far beyond the foundations that boxing had given him, as the world related with him in his twilight years, with awe and pity, and turned him into a celebrity whose very presence lit up the room.
America was proud of him. But proud of America as he himself was, he was nevertheless a radical citizen who refused the prison of political correctness. He railed against the heritage of slavery by changing his slave name of Cassius Clay Jr, to Muhammad Ali, an outgrowth of his membership of the Nation of Islam, his association with Malcolm X, and his conversion to Islam. When he was drafted to go and fight in Vietnam, Muhammad Ali openly dodged the draft and was defiant in the face of prosecution, and persecution, which included conviction and his losing his heavyweight championship title. “I’m not going 10, 000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters over the darker people of the world.” He added: “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me nigger.”
Muhammad Ali was an apostle of the counter-culture brigade. As a Muslim he preached peace. As a black man, he was a symbol of black pride. He gave black people all over the world a voice and extra bounce. He was opposed to cant, no matter how well deodorized. As recently as December 2015, he had a word for Donald Trump who has been running an anti-Muslim campaign in the US Presidential nomination process: “Speaking as someone who has never been accused of political correctness, I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.” For sure, these words will be echoed afresh in the lead up to the US Presidential elections.
Muhammad Ali, the legend and hero, lived in a world beyond sports and he was a model of influence in both arenas. As a civil rights campaigner, the Louisville Lip as he was also known, lent his lips to worthy causes as he travelled around the world defending our humanity. He met with some of the most important men of the century, and became a model for persons across professions and callings in every part of the world. He was a serial womanizer and he would have loved to spend more time with his children in their growing up years, but whatever he lost in that regard, he more than made up for in his later years. His aspiration for the world beyond is that his good deeds should surpass his bad deeds: he has nothing to fear, if only on the basis of what has been known and said about him.
In 1978, Muhammad Ali reportedly said: “When I’m gone, boxing will be nothing again”. That may well be an exaggeration. HIs legacy lies in making boxing into something and it is a legacy that will endure, boxing will always be something. He it was who also said: “I won’t miss fighting- fighting will miss me.” Now that he is dead, he will certainly no longer miss fighting, but he is right on one score: fighting will miss him, and we all will miss him too. He was till the end, the people’s champion who shook up the world. [myad]
The Niger Delta Avengers that have been blowing up oil installation in the region have made it clear to all those taking part in what they called ‘liberation of the region from Nigeria’ that they need God more than anything now to be able to succeed.
The Avengers who referred toa new threat by another militant group, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), to begin launching missiles against the Nigerian military said:“the high command of the Avengers is calling on you not to attack any soldier and those claiming to have anti-aircraft missiles should desist from targeting any aircraft.”
“Let us be careful not offend God in the process of trying to liberate our people from the shackles of the Nigerian government because we need God more than anything right now. We also need the international communities as well.
“Hence, we must desist from any life threatening actions that will derail our genuine struggle for our people,” he advised.”
The Avengers in a statement, titled: “Message to Our Brothers In the Struggle“on its website, Saturday, June 4, denounced threats to use anti-aircraft missiles against Nigerian fighter jets in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
The statement signed by the group’s spokesman, Brigadier General Mudoch Agbinibo encourages all groups fighting for the liberation of the region be resolute and strong because God is on their side. They also said that anybody who finds a soldier in distress should help him.
“The avengers are calling on all groups in the region to be strong and resolute as it is obvious that God is on our side.”
The Avengers had earlier this week refuted reports that it attacked a military houseboat and killed some soldiers. The group said that “killing sleeping soldiers is not our style”. It promised to bring the culprits to book as it condoled the families of the victims.
The Niger Delta Avengers also called on all groups to desist from harassing oil workers, kidnapping and attacking soldiers saying that if the need arises to defend against the Nigerian military, the group would let its strike forces know.
“All groups are hereby discouraged from indulging in harassing oil workers and soldiers. We urge you all to help any oil workers or soldiers you see in distress,” the Avengers said.
It re-emphasized that the Niger Delta Avengers has not engaged any soldier in combat since its campaign began earlier in the year. This dispels rumours of the Avengers killing eight soldiers earlier this week in Onitsha.
The group also stressed that its target are the oil installations in the region and it has succeeded in attacking the pipelines in the region despite heavy military presence without attacking any soldier. It also threatened to deal with any group that ignores its warning and attacks soldiers, “The Avengers will deal with any group that refuses and attacks the military,” the militant group warns.
The militants said they are waging a war for a free Niger Delta Republic in what it tags, Operation Red Economy, with a view of halting crude oil production in Nigeria to force the government to grant the group’s demands.
The Niger Delta Avengers has presented an 11-point demand to President Muhammadu Buhari and the first is the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.
Full Text Of The Niger Delta Avengers
Good Afternoon Niger Deltans. The liberation of the Niger Delta people has taken a new swing with the daily emergence of new groups all over the region. The avengers are calling on all groups in the region to be strong and resolute as it is obvious that God is on our side.
The groups are much now both real and unreal but if you really fighting for the liberation of the Niger delta people. The high command of the Avengers is calling on you not to attack any soldier and those claiming to have anti aircraft missiles should desist from targeting any aircraft.
Let us be careful not offend God in the process of trying to liberate our people from the shackles of the Nigerian government because we need God more than anything right now. We also need the international communities as well. Hence, we must desist from any life threatening actions that will derail our genuine struggle for our people.
All groups are hereby discouraged from indulging in harassing oil workers and soldiers. We urge you all to help any oil workers or soldiers you see in distress.
The military warplanes hovering round our towns and villages have not strike a soul or destroy any property, so those groups with anti-aircraft missiles should dry their gunpowder.
When it is time to engage the military in combat the whole world will know they started the war not the Avengers. The Niger Delta Avengers high command will pass the message round that its time to engage on gun battle when the time comes. So far, we have not engaged the Nigeria military in combat; despite the heavy presence of military on the pipelines. We still find way to carry out our actions without attacking soldiers. The avengers will deal with any group that refuses and attack military.
The high command is calling on all groups in Rivers, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom to not indulge in any act of kidnapping and attacking of soldiers. The war is on oil installations; “Operation On Flow of Oil”
God is our strength; he is going to see the people of Niger delta through.
A suspected member of a notorious gang operating across the south-south and south-east of the country, One Gogo Daniel Ume alias Full Payment, has confessed that he used to give substantial part of what he got from robbery to his church.
Ume who pleaded for mercy, said that he used to also donate food items and gifts to his church after every successful operation.
He claimed also that he uses his monetary proceeds to help the poor and ‘sew seeds.’
Ume, 30, who said he and his syndicate were responsible for the numerous kidnappings and bank robbery in the last three years, said that students on industrial attachments in banks usually gave them info before they carried out an operation.
Ume and two others, Ikadoi Michael Isere (aka White Witch) and Ifeanyi Kalu, were arrested after the Inspector-General of Police (IGP’s) Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), in Rivers and Bayelsa states, launched a manhunt on criminals in its efforts to curb crime.
Three AK47 rifles, one automatic rifle, 12 magazines, 310 rounds of live ammunitions, dynamite, a Toyota Highlander SUV, Toyota Venza and a Ford Edge SUV, were recovered from them upon their arrest.
The suspects admitted that they carried out the two bullion van robberies which took place between 2014 and 2015 at a Diamond Bank branch at Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, where they stole N360m.
The suspects also admitted to carrying out the 2014 bullion van robbery at Igrita Roundabout, Airport Road, Port-Harcourt; robbery of a UBA branch on Azikiwe Road in Port-Harcourt in the same year and a 2015 bullion van robbery at another branch of the bank at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt, where they made away with N80m and killed a student in the process. [myad]
“We are also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while, for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.”
These were the words of President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, when he mourned the world boxing legend, Muhammad Ali on Saturday. Ali died on Friday in Phoenix‚ Arizona, United States of America following a respiratory ailment. A White House statement quoted Obama as saying: “Muhammad Ali was the Greatest, Period. “If you just asked him, he will tell you he was the double greatest, that he had handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail. “Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. “However, we are also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while, for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.” Obama said Ali shook up the world, and the world is better for it. He said: “Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family, and we pray that the greatest fighter of them all finally rests in peace. “In my private study, just off the Oval Office in the White House, I keep a pair of his gloves on display just under that iconic photograph of him, the young champ, just 22 years old, roaring like a lion over a fallen Sonny Liston. “I was too young when the photograph was taken to understand who he was. “Still Cassius Clay, already an Olympic Gold Medal winner, yet to set out on a spiritual journey that would lead him to his Muslim faith, exile him at the peak of his power, and set the stage for his return to greatness with a name as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden.” Obama quoted the legendary as once declared: “I am America, I am the part you won’t recognise, but get used to me black, confident, cocky, my name, not yours; my religion, not yours, my goals, my own, get used to me.” Obama said that was the Ali he knew as he came of age, “not just as skilled a poet on the mic as he was a fighter in the ring, but a man who fought for what was right. “A man who fought for us, he stood with King and Mandela, stood up when it was hard, spoke out when others wouldn’t. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. “It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, makes him reviled and nearly send him to jail. “But Ali stood his ground, and his victory helped us get used to the America we recognise today.” The reports quoted a famous boxing promoter, Bob Arum, who promoted 27 of Ali’s fights, as saying that “a true great has left us. “Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history for all time.” US basketball star, LeBron James, stated that the reason why he’s the GOAT (greatest of all time) is not because of what he did in the ring, which was unbelievable. “It’s what he did outside of the ring, what he believed in, what he stood for along with Jim Brown and Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor, who became Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson. “Those guys stood for something; he’s part of the reason why African-Americans today can do what we do in the sports world. We are free. “They allow us to have access to anything we want. It’s because of what they stood for, and Muhammad Ali was definitely the pioneer for that.” Ali, 74, was admitted to hospital on Thursday where he was being treated for respiratory complications. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Ali’s funeral will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, US on Saturday. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali converted to Islam with the name Muhammad Ali. He won the world heavyweight title three times (1964, 1974 and 1978). The first was in 1964 when, at only 22 years old, he stunned the world by beating American Sonny Liston. He retired in 1981 after winning 56 out of 61 fights, 37 by knockout. PANA/NAN. [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC), South South, has said that it has compelling reasons to strongly assert that the Niger Delta Avengers are sponsored and instigated by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to derail and frustrate the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. The APC in South South attributed such sponsored group to Buhari government’s determination to fight against corruption, stabilize and put the nation on the path of sustainable development. A communiqué emanating from a meeting of its Executive and leaders, held in the government House, Benin, Edo state on June 3, called on the government to meet and dialogue with the leaders, and stakeholders of the zone with a view to articulating the best way to address the gamut of issues affecting the area and fashioning out how to meaningfully intervene in order to decisively rein in the activities of the destructive gangs in the zone. The zonal meeting asked the Federal Government not to reward criminal, violent and bad behaviour in order to discourage the cancerous growth of these activities that wantonly destroys our commonwealth. The zone also resolved as follows:
“Commends President Muhammadu Buhari for the uncommon courage he has shown in waging an epic an war against the evil of corruption and its dark apostles in Nigeria. We totally support this fight and the determined effort to restructure the country’s dwindling economy with a view to building a new, respectable, progressive and viable economy and country. 2. The zone acknowledges the sterling and commendable performance of the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, in the delivery of infrastructure and other dividends of good governance to the people of Edo State. 3. The zone noted that elections are around the corner to elect a governor that will succeed the Comrade Governor. The zone urges the National Exco of our great Party to provide a level-playing field for all the gubernatorial aspirants to openly vie for the Party’s ticket. 4. The zone commends President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC national government for the patriotic courage to commence the clean – up of Ogoni land as long recommended by UNEP. However, the zone also notes that despite the fact that most of the natural resources of our country comes from the zone, the Niger Delta region largely remains without adequate infrastructure, in addition to environmental degradation arising from the exploration and production of crude oil. Against this background, the zone calls on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, carry out a complete overhaul of developmental agencies charged with the responsibility for the reclamation and development of the area such as NDDC, NOSDRAE etc. 5. The zone observes that Party members in the South-South States like Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa and Cross River are being persecuted, maimed and cold-bloodedly murdered by agents of the PDP government in these States. The zonal leaders of our Party, therefore, kindly requests all the law enforcement agencies to be alert to their constitutional responsibilities and to take necessary steps to bring all those perpetrating these crimes to justice. 6. The zone notes the upsurge of renewed militancy in the area, especially the activities of a group that calls itself “Niger Delta Avengers.” The zone unequivocally condemns the destructive activities of this group in its entirety. The zone is cocksure that the nefarious and ruinous activities of the “Avengers” are not driven by any patriotic and altruistic impulse; rather, we have compelling reasons to strongly assert that these activities are sponsored and instigated by the opposition PDP to derail and frustrate the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari because of its determination to fight against corruption, stabilise and put our country on the path of sustainable development. The zone calls on the government to meet and dialogue with the leaders, and stakeholders of the zone with a view of articulating the best way to address the gamut of issues affecting the area and fashioning how to meaningfully intervene in order to decisively rein in the activities of the destructive gangs in the zone. The zonal meeting, however, warns that the Federal Government should resist the temptation to reward criminal, violent and bad behaviour in order to discourage the cancerous growth of these activities that wantonly destroys our commonwealth. 7. The zone respectfully appeals to the Federal Government to quickly address the issues of equitable appointments of qualified Party leaders and stakeholders and members into executive positions and Federal Boards. The zone is convinced that this will go a long way in reassuring our restive youths that the South-South States are being carried along as part and parcel of the Nigerian family and equal partner in the APC National Government. 8. The zone notes the present agitation for the independent “State of Biafra” and the dubious inclusion of the Niger Delta region in the map of the area constituting this imaginary State of Biafra. The zone states most unequivocally that Niger Delta is not, cannot and will never be part of Biafra. 9. Finally, the zone calls for the immediate reconstitution of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to reflect and accommodate all the constituent States of the region. Signed by the understated members of the executives and leaders of the zone: A) Prince Hilliard Eta, National Vice-Chairman South South B) Hon. Steven Ezekwem Zonal Secretary. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has described as sad and regrettable, the developments that led to the killing of Mrs Bridget Agbahime, an Igbo market woman in Kano. President Buhari who condoles with the husband of the deceased, Pastor Mike Agbahime, the family and relations, prayed that God would give them the fortitude to bear the loss. He also commended the law enforcement agents for apprehending the prime suspect behind the killing, as well as the Kano State government, which summoned a meeting of Christian and Islamic leaders, widower of the deceased, and security agencies, as soon as the sad event occurred. President Buhari said that justice would be done in the matter, even as he called on the people not to take the law into their hands.
He charged those who may want to use the development to fan the embers of religious or ethnic hatred to remember that two wrongs never make a right, and that when law and order breaks down, those who become victims are never distinguished on the basis of religion or ethnicity. “The incident at Kofar Wambai market, Kano city, is utterly condemnable, and the state government has been quite proactive. Let us ensure that we keep the peace, as justice will be done. Let us learn to respect each other’s faith, so that we can know each other and live together in peace.” [myad]
The army has alerted members of the public, especially Muslims of what it called a grand plan by Boko Haram terrorists to carry out wide spread bombings during the Ramadan period.
A statement by the acting director of defence, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, said that information available the army headquarters indicated plans by terrorists to use the Ramadan periods which usually attracts gathering of large number of persons during morning and evening worships and prayers to carry out large scale bombings.
Brigadier General Rabe said that against the background of such information, the Defence Headquarters advises the general public to be watchful of strange persons and objects in their localities particularly, around places of worships and to promptly report same to security agencies
“It is further to advice that adequate security and surveillance be evolved by respective places of worship to forestall any unwholesome acts by some unscrupulous elements.
“The DHQ wishes to reassure law abiding citizens to go about their normal businesses while efforts are being made to eliminate the remnants of the terrorists from their hideouts as well as addressing other security challenges in the country.” [myad]
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The Ekiti State workers have asked Governor Ayodele Fayose to pay them their salaries and entitlements instead of his declared solidarity strike.
