I Will Revive Groundnut Pyramid In Kano In My Second Coming, Says Jonathan

March 21, 2015

President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to revive Kano groudnut pyramid if he is re-elected in the March 28 election.
Groundnut pyramid made Kano famous in agricultural production upto the early 70’s.
Speaking while while commissioning the newly constructed N2.5 billion naira Kundila fly-over bridge on Zaria road, Kano today, President Jonathan said that Kano city is a significant part of Nigeria which cannot be ignored.
The President said that being the centre of commerce and trade, his administration is committed to uplifting the living standards of people in the state.
He made it clear that in his second tenure, he will put in place the necessary infrastructure to boost it’s processing and packaging, as part of measures to empower Kano people and boost trade and industry.
“Kano state is one of the important states in Nigeria. This is one of the most important roads that traverses this country. This is a critical infrastructure that will help to promote commerce and industry. Kano state is known for commercial activities, known for agriculture, known for trade beyond Nigeria, beyond west Africa. It is a state that needs to work with the federal government so that the federal government working with the state would improve the quality of the life of the people, to improve the productive capacity of the people and generate wealth for the people. We love Kano people and we will work with you so that we don’t just get the pyramid back but we are taking about processing.
“What you produce in your farms, what we produce in our forests, what we get from our soil have to be processed so that we add value to it so that we can create jobs and wealth for our people. That is why we are very happy that Kano people believe in the leading party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
“Though there were some movements recently, but the coming elections we will use it to correct those movements. We want to work with you. We are not going to exploit the people of Kano state but to work and add value to the people, the people that we love so much and want to work with.”
President Jonathan named the new bridge after late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, describing him as “one of our prominent traditional rulers who was not known for controversy. He never played with his stool. He applied his rule with extreme dignity, he added true colour, brought dignity and respect to that office. He has left us but we need to continue to remember and respect him.
“This bridge we are commissioning we are naming it after Ado Bayero, that is the little thing that the Federal Government can do to immortalise him and continue to promote his leadership style and encourage the people of this great state.”
Jonathan thanked the people of Kano for supporting the ruling PDP, adding that the recent loss of the state to the opposition will be corrected in the next round of elections.
Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen said the bridge is strategic and critical to the socio-economic life of the people even as he thanked the President for providing funds for the quick construction of the bridge.
It would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the construction of the bridge in December, 2012 in the sum of N2,499,924,850.50 to Messrs Road Construction Limited.
The Kundila roundabout is at the crossing of Zaria road with Hospital and Maiduguri roads. The bridge is strategically located at the intersection of two Trans- Saharan Highways, namely; Ndjamena- Dakar and Lagos- Algiers.
The scope of work comprises the construction of 120m long reinforced concrete (8 No spans of 15m each) dual carriage flyover bridge over Zaria road at Kundila roundabout. It also involves construction of 200m and 165m lenght of ramps with reinforced concrete cantilever walls on both Zaria and Kano approaches respectively.

[myad]

Atiku Insists He Should Be Invited To APC Presidential Campaign Rallies

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has insisted that as a prominent member and leader pf All Progressives Congress (APC), he should be invited or consulted by the Director General of the Campaign Organisation to rallies being held around the country.

Atiku, who has not been seen in any of the Presidential campaign rallies held so far by the party’s Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari said that the campaign secretariat has not been inviting or consulting with him in its programmes.

“They need to check the strategy they are adopting and I made that clear to the campaign DG, Rotimi Amaechi and I told him that if you don’t consult or invite me, you will not see me.”

In an interview with the Hausa service of the BBC today, the former VP said: “I am not a light weight politician, whoever needs my presence should contact and extend invitation to me.”
he said that he has paid his dues as far as politics is concerned in the country because he has participated in many presidential campaigns in the past.

“I campaigned for late Shehu Yar’Adua twice successfully,” he said. “We did that of Abiola, Obasanjo and for myself.

Atiku said however that the situation has not degenerated into any sort of crisis in APC, adding that though he had issues and reservations with the way the campaign is being run, it is not too late to make amends.

The former vice president said that he is confident APC will win the elections, stressing: “APC will win because everyone is tired with the current administration,” he said. “So, despite the challenges in APC, change will surely come.”

[myad]

I Am Not Desperate To Continue In Office, Says President Jonathan

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he is not desperate to be re-elected in the March 28 election to continue as President.

According to the President, politicians who are interested in occupying any elective position either at state or federal level should not to be desperate.

President Jonathan who spoke at the public launching of a book, “The People’s Choice: The story of President Goodluck Jonathan written” by Rev. Fr. Charles Imokhai today in Lagos said: “my second message is to all of us, especially those of us who are politicians, that for all of us who want to serve, we should ‎be ready to serve but we should not be desperate to serve our people.

“Sometimes, people ask me that Mr. President, from what we read and what we see, we see you still smiling and unruffled.

“Yes, nothing will really ruffle me because I am willing and ready to serve but I am not desperate to serve. That is what keeps me going.

“All of us who want to hold offices from the least, a counselor of a ward or a chairman of a council, a member of the state House of Assembly or member of House of Representatives, Senate, Governor or the President, if all of us are always ready and willing to serve our people but we are not desperate in that our mission, then of course Nigeria will be a better place for all of us.”

The President said that while the book being presented provided an account that is close to being accurate, most of the things written about him were inaccurate.

He however promised that he would write the most accurate one after leaving office.

“My dream is that one day, a product of Almajiri school will stand here as a President of this country.”

[myad]

4 Suicide Bombers Kill 142 In Yemen Mosques

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

Four suicide bombers today in Yemen, capital of Sanaa, blew themselves up in two mosques during Friday prayers killing at least 142 people.

Both mosques are known to be used mainly by supporters of the Shiite Muslim Houthi group which has seized control of the government.

The Islamic State group, an al Qaeda offshoot of Sunni extremists, claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to an online statement by the group.

The four bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday Friday prayers, traditionally the most crowded time of the week, according to state news agency Saba.

The Shiite rebel-owned Al-Masirah TV channel said area hospitals were urging citizens to donate blood. It also reported that a fifth suicide bomb attack on another mosque was foiled in the northern city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold.

At the Badr mosque, militia guards caught the first bomber while searching worshippers at the entrance and he detonated his device there. Amid the ensuing panic, a second bomber entered the mosque and blew himself up in the crowd, Saba agency said.

[myad]

Netanyahu Wins, Peace Loses

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

Benjamin Netanyahu has probably retained power in Israel as his Likud party won 29 seats in Parliament while the center-left Zionist Union had 24 seats. The Likud Party is likely to form a coalition to put together a 61-seat majority.

Netanyahu said there would be no Palestinian state under his watch, a Palestinian must condition for any agreement. This hardline position is tacitly endorsed by the U.S. Congress. In short, Netanyahu has won and the possibility of a Israel-Palestine peace agreement has lost.

Under Netanyahu, we can expect more Israeli settlements. Consider that since 1967, settlements are now home to at least 541,000 Israelis, 341,000 in the West Bank and 200,000 in east Jerusalem. This represents about 4 percent of the Israeli electorate. Israel is slowly nibbling in small increments the territory claimed for a Palestinian state — death by a thousand cuts.

The slim hope for a Palestinian state lies with the United Nations. In addition, the International Criminal Court has opened a preliminary examination over alleged crimes committed “in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014.”

In the meantime, I would expect violence to escalate between the Palestinians and the Israelis. [myad]

Thank You Sir, For Supporting My Husband, Buhari’s Wife Greets Atiku

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

Wife of General Muhammadu Buhari, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hajiya A’isha Buhari took time off to pay respect to former Vice President and chieftain of APC, Atiku Atiku Abubakar when she ran into him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja today, Friday, 20. [myad]

UNICEF Challenges Online Publishers To Create Space For Children On Their Platforms

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

Members of Guild Of Corporate Online Publishers At the Event

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has challenged Online Publishers to create space in their platforms for issues concerning children.
Rising from a two-day dialogue with members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Enugu today, UNICEF emphasised that issues affecting children across Nigeria and the world are so crucial that they could not be kept in the dark for long.
Describing children as the vulnerable part of the society, the UNICEF’s Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku who coordinated the dialogue, regretted that voices of children have been shut out from media because they are seen as not important.
He said that the shutting out of the voices of the children has been one of the discrimination which the UN General Assembly’s Convention on the Right of the Child is out to correct.
Njoku was however happy that with the dialogue, things would change in favour of the children, even as the Online Publishers requested the UNICEF to participate by supplying relevant news materials on children for them.
The dialogue was addressed by among other academics, the Head of Department of Mass Communications of the University of Lagos, Associate Professor Abigail Ogwezzy Ndisika. She made it clear that the future development of any society is determined and shaped by the kind of children such society breed.
GOCOP was led to the dialogue by its President, Mr. Malachy Agbo who publishes The Citizen Online.

[myad]

Japan Grants UNICEF N750 Million For Victims Of Boko Haram, Others In Nigeria’s North East

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

The Government of Japan has granted the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the sum of US $3.4 Million (N750 million) for Integrated Provision of Life-Saving Emergency Interventions for Vulnerable Populations in the north east of Nigeria.
The grant, according to UNICEF in a statement today, will be used for interventions focused on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and conflict affected populations in the north east of Nigeria in the sectors of Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Health, Nutrition, Child Protection and Education.
The conflict in the north east of Nigeria, especially in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa has caused large scale human suffering for the populations in the areas especially children and women.
The conflict has triggered major population movements and the number of IDPs in the north east has almost doubled in less than a year, from an estimated 647,000 in May 2014 to what International Office of Migration reports is now around 1.2 million. Children make up about 56 per cent of those who have been internally displaced, with over half of them being five-years or younger.
The Officer in charge UNICEF in Nigeria, Mr. Samuel Momanyi said: “this grant is timely and will further boost the work UNICEF is doing in the northeast. It will make a significant lifesaving contribution to alleviate the suffering of the affected populations in the northeast especially children and women.”
Since 2000, the Government of Japan has been a major donor to UNICEF supporting interventions in child survival, prevention of infectious diseases in children and emergency interventions in Nigeria, through the UNICEF/Federal Government of Nigeria Programme of Cooperation.

[myad]

Over 2 Billion People Have No Access To Toilets, 1 Billion Defecate In Open – UNICEF

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has come out with startling revelation that there are 2.5 billion people worldwide that still do not have adequate toilets and that among them one billion defecate in the open.
It said that about 70 million people are without access to safe water while over 110 million people are without access to improved sanitation.
In a statement from UNICEF, announced also that 2.3 billion people have gained access to improved sources of drinking water since 1990, adding that Nigeria is currently not on-track with regard to its attainment of Water and Sanitation targets.
“As a result, the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the percentage of the global population without access was met in 2010. In the case of Sanitation, nearly
“The poor bear the greatest brunt of this lack of access to water and sanitation. For women and girls, collecting water cuts into time they can spend caring for families and studying. In insecure areas, it also puts them at risk of violence and attack. UNICEF estimates that in Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking to collect water. For children, lack of access to safe water can be tragic. On average, nearly 1,000 of them die globally every day from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor hygiene.”
UNICEF said that this year’s theme on World Water Day, which falls on 22nd March, is “Water and Sustainable Development,” saying that the theme aptly encapsulates the overarching role of water in peoples lives, be it for human consumption, food production, for health, for power generation, for industry and for the sustenance of nature as a whole, without which life would not exist.
“This year’s theme highlights the importance of water to our existence and emphasizes the need to look at the holistic development of the water sector, reduce water wastage and prevent contamination of this increasingly scarce resources. “Everyone, be it the government, the civil society, international development partners and the citizens including children have a critical role to play in ensuring that water is sustainably used and is available for generations to come” said Kannan Nadar, Chief, Water and Sanitation, UNICEF.
“UNICEF has been working with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources as well as the state governments to promote use of sustainable approaches and technologies for water abstraction and use.
“In the last two years nearly 2.5 million people gained access to safe water in rural areas through UNICEF support that also included funding from EU and UKAid.
UNICEF- supported ‘WASH in Schools’ programming has also brought safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to thousands of school children in Nigeria.”

[myad]

Jonathan Congratulates Netanyahu For Electoral Victory In Israel

Greenbarge Reporters

March 20, 2015

File Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu and Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his electoral victory in Tuesday’s general elections in Israel.
In a statement by his special adviser on media and publicity today, President Jonathan
Reminded Netanyahu that strife and crisis in the Middle East remained matters of great concern to the international community, and called on him and his team as well as other countries in the Middle-East to rededicate themselves to achieving lasting peace in the region through peaceful negotiations.
The President assured Netanyahu that he will continue to count on the cooperation and support of the Israeli government under Netanyahu’s leadership as Nigeria strives to overcome the challenges of terrorism, violent extremism and sustainable development.
He said that he looked forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Netanyahu to further strengthen the existing cordial and mutually-beneficial relations between Nigeria and Israel.
Jonathan wished Netanyahu a very successful new term in office and prayed to God to grant him the wisdom, courage and strength he requires to lead the people of Israel into greater peace, security and prosperity.

[myad]

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