The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers has called on members to adhere strictly to the principles of fairness and adequate consideration for national security as they set to cover the political campaigns and elections in the 2015 general elections.
The Guild, in a communiqué issued today, arising from its meeting in Abuja recently, called on journalists to step up the quality of their coverage of political activities as the 2015 elections draw nearer.
The communiqué which was signed by the Guild’s President, Mr. Malachy Agbo and the General Secretary, Mr. Dotun Oladipo, asked journalists not to forget the basic principles guiding journalism, especially in this electioneering campaign era.
The Guild, however decried the harassment of journalists in recent times by security agents, even as it called on the security agents to respect the rights of journalists as well as the constitutional guarantee for the unfettered discharge of their duties.
The Guild expressed the need to work in concert with the Nigerian Copyright Commission to properly articulate steps to take in protecting the intellectual property of writers.
“This stems from the flagrant abuse of the properties of writers, especially journalists. The Guild thus called for professionalism among journalists, top of which should be giving credit to source (s) of information.
“The Guild commiserates with the nation, the executive committee and members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, co-workers and family members of former presidential spokeswoman and for Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Dame Remi Oyo; the Vice Chairman of Sun Publishing Limited, Pastor Dimgba Igwe; and the Editor-in-Chief of Real News magazine, Mike Akpan, all of who died recently. While it wished the departed souls eternal and blissful rest. It also prayed to God to grant all those affected by their departure the fortitude to bear the loss.
Over 20 members of Guild attended the Abuja meeting. [myad]
Leaders of global and regional institutions today begin an historic trip to the Horn of Africa to pledge political support and major new financial assistance for countries in the region, totaling more than $8 billion over the coming years.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the World Bank Group (WBG) President, Jim Yong Kim, as well as the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group and high level representatives of the African Union Commission, the European Union, the African Development Bank, and Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD) are combining forces to promote stability and development in the Horn of Africa.
On the first day of the joint trip, the World Bank Group announced a major new financial pledge of $1.8 billion for cross-border activities in a Horn of Africa Initiative that will boost economic growth and opportunity, reduce poverty, and spur business activity.
The initiative covers the eight countries in the Horn of Africa — Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
“This new financing represents a major new opportunity for the people of the Horn of Africa to make sure they get access to clean water, nutritious food, health care, education, and jobs,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.
“There is greater opportunity now for the Horn of Africa to break free from its cycles of drought, food insecurity, water insecurity, and conflict by building up reg
Leading the trip to the Horn of Africa, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said: “The countries of the Horn of Africa are making important yet unheralded progress in economic growth and political stability. Now is a crucial moment to support those efforts, end the cycles of conflict and poverty, and move from fragility to sustainability. The United Nations is joining with other global and regional leaders to ensure a coherent and coordinated approach towards peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa.” The European Union also announced that it would support the countries in the region with a total of around $3.7 billion until 2020, of which about 10 percent would be for cross-border activities; the African Development Bank announced a pledge of $1.8 billion over the next three years for countries of the Horn of Africa region; while the Islamic Development Bank committed to deploy up to $1 billion in new financing in its four member countries in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda).
The Horn is diverse, with some of the fastest growing economies and huge untapped natural resources. However, it also has many extraordinarily poor people and populations that are now doubling every 23 years. Unemployment is widespread among growing numbers of young people. Women, in particular, face huge obstacles because of their gender, including limited land rights, limited education, and social customs that often thwart their ability to pursue economic opportunity, and improve living conditions for their families and communities.
Countries in the region are also vulnerable to corruption, piracy, arms and drug trafficking. Terrorism, and related money flows are significant and interconnected threats in the Horn of Africa. People-trafficking is also a growing problem in the region. However, there are commendable efforts being made through regional cooperation in parts of the Horn to tackle the root causes of these problems.
The new financing announcement will support those efforts and comes on the first day of the trip led by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to discuss peace, security, and resilience. In addition to the UN Secretary-General, other leaders making the trip are World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim; Islamic Development Bank Group President Ahmad Mohamed Ali; African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha; Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD) Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim; African Development Bank Group Special Advisor to the President, Youssouf Ouedraogo; Deputy Director General for Development and Cooperation, European Commission, Marcus Cornaro and European Union Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Alexander Rondos.
The World Bank Group said its new $1.8 billion packaging, which is in addition to its existing development programs for the eight countries, would create more economic opportunity throughout the region for some of the most vulnerable peoples, including refugees and internally displaced populations and their host communities. Wars and instability have generated more than 2.7 million refugees along with over 6 million internally displaced people. The Bank Group will also help the region build up its communicable disease surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment capacity.
Many of these diseases are associated with or exacerbated by poverty, displacement, malnutrition, illiteracy, and poor sanitation and housing. Increased cross-border trade and economic activity in the Horn of Africa will necessitate simultaneous investments in strengthening disease control efforts and outbreak preparedness.
The Bank Group will also support greater regional links between countries with regional transport routes, stronger ICT and broadband connectivity, more competitive private sector markets, increased cross-border trade, regional development of oil and gas through pipeline development, and the expansion of university and other tertiary education.
The Bank Group’s pledge includes $600 million from the IFC, its private sector arm, which will support economic development in the countries of the Horn. IFC investments under the new Horn Initiative will include a regional pipeline linking Uganda and Kenya; greater investment in agribusiness expansion in storage, processing, and seeds; possible public-private partnerships in pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and transport; and financial advice and support to government and companies to improve business confidence and investment, access to markets, and access to private finance. Another $200 million is for guarantees against political risks from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
A new World Bank Group paper forecasts that the Horn will undergo dramatic and lasting change when oil production starts in Kenya, Uganda, and possibly Somalia and Ethiopia.
For its part, the European Union’s Horn of Africa approach is based on a strategic framework adopted in 2011. Support programs for 2014-2020 will be guided by the same analysis that underpins the World Bank’s Horn of Africa Initiative and will focus on the development challenges that must be tackled to unlock the region’s considerable potential. EU support will mostly target the three pillars of the Horn of Africa Initiative: boosting growth, reducing poverty by promoting resilience, and creating economic opportunities.
“The EU stands ready to further deepen its long-standing partnership with the Horn of Africa – helping to build robust and accountable political structures, enhancing trade and economic cooperation, financing peace keeping activities and providing humanitarian assistance and development cooperation,” said European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs prior to the trip.
Other leaders on the trip said that the Horn of Africa region needs new development assistance in order to secure peace and opportunity to thrive and prevent future conflicts.
The Islamic Development Bank Group said its new financing for Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda over 2015-2017 would focus on critical infrastructure development, food security, human development, and trade. A further $2 billion could be provided by the Arab Coordination Group over the same period.
Commenting on this announcement, Islamic Development Bank Group President, Ahmad Mohamed Ali said: “The Horn of Africa is an important gateway to Africa and a bridge to Western Asia. Bringing stability and sustainable development to the Horn of Africa will undoubtedly significantly contribute to stability across the entire African continent. The Islamic Development Bank Group salutes this renewed focus on the Horn of Africa and stands ready to work with all partners, including the Arab Coordination Group, to support regional cooperation and the economic revival of the Horn of Africa, especially in its four member countries.”
“Given the complexity of the environment prevailing in the region, we must convince ourselves that it is not the financial means that will win in the Horn of Africa region, but our commitment and determination to act under the leadership of the countries in a united and coordinated manner,” said African Development Bank Group Representative, Youssouf Ouedraogo, Special Advisor to the President.
African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, Erastus Mwencha, added, “Our efforts to create peace and stability must be reinforced by investments in the peoples and countries of the Horn.”
A new WBG regional study on the Horn of Africa released today at the start of the trip found reasons for hope for the region: “Despite the challenges the Horn of Africa faces, there are encouraging signs of political momentum for enhanced regional economic interdependence. Increasingly, Horn of Africa countries are members of the East African Community, IGADin Eastern Africa, and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa. Some countries are showing strong political will to solve both security and development issues through increased cooperation—for example, many have sent troops to participate in peace-keeping efforts and have participated in diplomatic initiatives.”
“This mission is the apex of an ambitious partnership approach that will provide the necessary instruments to strengthen the resilience agenda in the IGAD region,” said IGAD Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim.
For the UN’s Ban and World Bank’s Kim, this is their third trip in 18 months together to Africa. In 2013, the two travelled to the Great Lakes and Sahel regions, drawing attention to the need to promote both peace and development. During the two previous trips, Kim pledged $2.7 billion for regional projects for programs to improve health, education, nutrition, access to energy, and job training. [myad]
Nigeria’s Presidency went wild with uncomplimentary words today against Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, whom it said has taken “his obnoxious willingness to denigrate the highest office in the land in a reckless bid to advance his selfish political interests to a new level of irresponsible and rascally behaviour yesterday in Port Harcourt with his totally false and baseless vituperations against President Jonathan, the First Lady and the Federal Government.” The Presidency added: “it appears from the Governor’s completely unfounded and off-the-mark allegations that he had totally lost all sense of propriety, decorum and responsible political behaviour and resorted to unacceptable demagoguery, libel, blackmail and incitement of public disorder.” In a statement by special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the Presidency imagined that governor Amaechi’s “unbridled ambition and desire for self- promotion have completely befuddled his mental faculties and caused him to totally lose touch with reality.” If not so, the statement stressed, the offending governor should have known that his claims and allegations are untrue. “We can only assume therefore that he is deliberately spewing malicious falsehood in a desperate effort to incite the people of Rivers State and Nigeria against his assumed political foes. “We warn him that there are legal, constitutional and moral limits to political rascality beyond which he will not be allowed to go without repercussions. “The immunity which he currently enjoys notwithstanding, Governor Amaechi should be under no illusions: A day of reckoning will surely come when he will answer for all his actions and false allegations against President Jonathan, the First Lady and the Federal Government. “He should also know that Nigerians are aware of the truth and will never be fooled or swayed by his arrant opportunism and anti-Jonathan rantings. “Nigerians know that while Mr. Amaechi falsely accuses others of corruption, he cannot show or explain to the people of Rivers State what he has done with the billions of Naira that has accrued to the state under his tenure. “They also know that while Amaechi continues to falsely accuse the Jonathan Administration of having done nothing for Rivers State, he has recklessly squandered huge state resources on dubious, vain-glorious projects or self aggrandizement. “Nigerians will know too that while he falsely alleges that Rivers and other states have not received funds due to them from the Federation account, the only outstanding allocation was for September, which was released to all states well over a week ago. “The Governor should stop trying to make President Jonathan the scapegoat for his woeful performance in Rivers State and look to his own very apparent failings and incompetencies. “He should also stop blackmailing the First Lady who has demanded nothing from him other than good governance, justice, equity, fairness, real development and progress in Rivers State.”
Six policemen who were kidnapped over the weekend by dare-devil pirates operating along the creeks and waterways of the Niger Delta have been killed. The policemen, who were among the 12 persons kidnapped in separate operations in Nembe area of Bayelsa, were stripped naked with their rifles and uniforms taken away along with their gunboat.
The bodies of the slain policemen, who were not immediately identified, have been recovered and deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, it was also learnt.
It was gathered that the pirates had made away with a gunboat belonging to the police, in an attack which occurred in broad daylight, at about 1.30pm on Friday. The gunboat was said to have been escorting a barge owned by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) when it came under attack.
It was gathered that the hoodlums, who operated on a speedboat, laid ambush for the gunboat and opened fire on the policemen. They were said to have overpowered the policemen and later took control of the gunboat along Santa Barbara and Nembe waterways caused panic among travelers.
The incident also caused a delay in the movement of persons travelling to Okpoama, Brass Local Government Area, for the funeral of former Governor Timipre Sylva’s uncle. Most of the guests for the burial were said to have waited at Ogbia jetty till the gunmen had finished their operation.
A security source who pleaded anonymity said the hoodlums were not interested in the Agip barge and its occupants.
“Policemen escorting Agip barge were attacked on Friday. The gunboat and the policemen were all taken away. The policemen were three including the driver of the boat making them four. “The barge and its occupants escaped because the gunboat was the target of the pirates. This incident happened along Santa Barbara and Nembe route at about 1.30pm. The pirates were after the gunboat and the police arms.”
In a separate incident, the source confirmed that six persons working for a company identified as Icon Xearex were abducted at Oluasiri in Nembe. He said the pirates attacked a boat owned by the company in the early hours of Friday and took the workers away. According to him, the company is suspected to be an oil-servicing firm.
“There was another incident at Oluasiri. As a matter of fact six persons were kidnapped. They were in a boat called Icon Xeareax. Six persons were abducted from the boat belonging to that company. The company is suspected to be an oil-servicing company”, he said.
All efforts to confirm the incident from the police proved abortive as the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said he was in Abuja for a programme. Also, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, sent a message, claiming to be in a meeting. [myad]
Bishop of Catholic Church of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah has classified Nigerian politicians into one single group: “they have a language of their own; they have a culture of their own and have a universe of their own that they live in.”
The Bishop, in an interview in Port Harcourt said: “Those of us who are not politicians should wake up to the reality that politicians have a language of their own; they have a culture of their own and have a universe of their own that they live in.
“Those of us who are so stupid as to surrender our lives for nothing, would appreciate the fact that with the politicians of Nigeria, they are in PDP today, they are in APC tomorrow, the next day they are in CPC and the next day are in another party.
“You have to understand the fact that the politicians live in a different universe. If you are going to make a choice, make a choice wisely, but that choice must not include wasting your own life, because, only the living can play politics. So, the choice is chiefly ours.”
Bishop Kukah advised politicians to be mindful of the repercussion of trading with the fortune of Nigerians, even as he advised them to live one day at a time and remember that they do not own their lives.
He cautioned the Federal Government against politicizing the release of the abducted Chibok girls after six months of their incarceration, saying that there are dangerous consequences of jungle justice in a democratic setting.
“This should not be a matter of politics, as somebody had said. We are prayerfully hoping that things would change. “This is not something that is within the power of one person. The issues are much more complicated than that.
“And I think we must trust the sense of judgement of the government, trust the sense of judgement of the security agencies and trust the goodwill of ordinary Nigerians and share in the agony of the parents of these children and just prayerfully hope that they come back to us alive.” [myad]
Rotary International has announced $ 8.4 million (over N1.4 Billion) grants to combat polio in Nigeria.
The funds, according to a statement released ahead of this year’s World Polio Day which was observed on Friday, is part of Rotary’s larger contribution of $44.7 million to end the disease worldwide.
Details of the funds, as given in the statement, shows that it will be used by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to support high quality polio immunisation campaigns in Nigeria.
The funding commitment comes as Nigeria celebrates a 90 per cent reduction in polio cases compared to this time last year, with only six cases recorded to date in 2014.
As recently as 2012, Nigeria reported the highest number of polio cases in the world.
Along with Pakistan and Afghanistan – Nigeria is one of only three countries where the wild poliovirus has never been stopped, but this new Rotary support may see the eradication of the disease in the country.
Rotary’s National PolioPlus Chairman for Nigeria, Tunji Funsho, who is full of praises for the strides achieved by Nigeria towards polio eradication, said, “Our country should be incredibly proud of the progress we have made towards ending polio in our borders.”
He, however, stated that even six cases are too many, adding, “We cannot and we will not stop fighting this disease until every child in Nigeria, and the world, is safe from this crippling disease.” [myad]
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will receive newly crowned African women’s champions Super Falcons in Abuja Wednesday. The nation’s sports minister, Tammy Danagogo announced this when he addressed the Falcons before they beat the Lionesses of Cameroon 2-0 in the final of the African Women’s Championship in Namibia on Saturday. According to the minister, a proposal has been sent to the President to receive the team at the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, noting that he is quite sure that the President will be looking forward to meet the Falcons on their return as he praised the girls for doing Nigeria proud in Namibia. “I know it is not just going to be a presidential hand shake alone because he likes to appreciate those who do the country proud in any sector of national endeavour. Just get the job done and leave the rest.” Meanwhile, the Super Falcons are expected to depart Windhoek for Johannesburg by 2pm today, Sunday and depart for Lagos by 11pm same day. The minister also divulged during the victory dinner at the Nigerian House Windhoek that the team will be hosted by the National Sports Commission (NSC) before the Presidential reception. [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has began full preparations for the 2015 general election, scheduling an extraordinary national convention for Wednesday, October 29 in Abuja. The convention is being expected to approve amendments to the constitution of the party and adopt its manifesto for the 2015 general elections.
In a statement today by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, it said that the proposed amendments, when approved at the convention, will align the party’s constitution better with the Electoral Act and also allow the APC to function more efficiently.
It said that the convention would adopt the six-point manifesto that has been extracted from the one submitted to INEC earlier for the purpose of the 2015 general elections.
”The manifesto to be adopted at the extraordinary convention of our party is specifically for the 2015 general elections.
“Because of shifting priorities, we do not believe that a party manifesto should be one for all time but a document that will adjust to the changing needs of the people.
”In this regard, we have conducted a survey to find out what Nigerians urgently need at the moment to raise their standard of living and ensure their security and welfare, which is the raison d’etre of any government.
“Based on the outcome of the survey, we have come up with a six-point manifesto, which we extracted from the one we submitted to INEC earlier.
”The six broad priority areas for the APC ahead of the 2015 general elections are National Security, Good Governance, Human Capital Development, Economic Development, Land and Natural Resources as well as Foreign Policy.
“The issue of job creation, fight against corruption, infrastructural development, health, qualitative education, regular power supply, etc are subsumed under these broad priorities.”
The party said that once the manifesto is adopted at the convention, it will be made massively available to all Nigerians, complete with the full details, in many languages. [myad]
President Goodluck Jonathan (2nd Left), listens as the Parish Priest of Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor, Rev. Fr. Bernard Barbaric (3rd Left) explains the Biblical event of Mount Tabor, during the visit of President Jonathan to the Church on his pilgrimage in Jerusalem on Saturday, October 25. With them are other Nigerian Pilgrims. [myad]
The Super Falcons have emerged champions again for the seventh time after beating Cameroon this evening in the African Women Championships cup.
The Falcons defeated Cameroon 2-0 in a match the Nigerians dominated all through.
The Falcons remained unbeaten in the tournament hosted by Namibia.
Desire Oparanozie and Asisat Oshoala, who were the players of the competition, were the goalscorers for the Super Falcons, with both goals coming in the first half.
Desire Oparanozie, put the Super Falcons ahead in the 13th minute scoring a beautiful free kick from outside the box as Nigeria edge towards their seventh African Women’s title.
The forward along with Ngozi Okobi had looked very dangerous for Nigeria in the opening exchanges of the match
Cameroon striker, Deborah Enganamouit, was unlucky not to have levelled matters a few minutes later as her strike bounced off the cross bar having placed a ball over the Nigerian goalkeeper.
The two teams continued to attack each other with Cameroon looking to get an equalizer while Nigeria wanted another goal to make it a comfortable lead within the first 45 minutes of the match.
Cameroon came close once again as a headed effort by Michele Madeleine from the corner kick went wide much to the relieve of Nigeria.
The goal scorer, Oparanozie, combined with her teammates once again as she nearly scored the second for Nigeria with four minute before the break, but his shot failed to find the target.
Nigeria increased the scored in the 43rd minute with Asisat Oshoala scoring her fourth goal of the competition to give the Super Falcons a comfortable 2-0 lead at half time break.
In the second half, Cameroon came out firing hoping to get back into the game, but were once again unlucky not to get a goal with another effort sailing over the bar.
Their dominance was not long however, with Super Falcons able to neutralise them to remain in control of the game.
Cameroon’s technical team was forced to look from their bench as the goals failed to come.
With the match heading towards the end, Cameroon came close with an effort from substitute, Iven Mihamle’s free kick hitting the crossbar to deny them a goal.
The Nigerians on the other hand were happy to sit back and defend their lead as they failed to create any goal scoring chances in the last 10 minutes of the match.
The dying minutes of the match saw the introduction of the Super Falcons legend, Perpetua Nkwocha, who scored a hat trick in the two teams 2004 final where Nigeria won 5-0.
Francisca Ordega was player of the game.
Cameroon can find solace that they will be at the World Cup, as well Cote d’Ivoire, who beat South Africa 1-0 in the third/fourth play off.
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Nigeria’s Presidency went wild with uncomplimentary words today against Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, whom it said has taken “his obnoxious willingness to denigrate the highest office in the land in a reckless bid to advance his selfish political interests to a new level of irresponsible and rascally behaviour yesterday in Port Harcourt with his totally false and baseless vituperations against President Jonathan, the First Lady and the Federal Government.”
