Former Nigeria’s Vice president Atiku Abubakar has asked President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government to seek for  international support in its war against Boko Haram and other form of terrorism, even as the United States of America has offered to assist in retrieving abducted female students in Borno state from Boko Haram.
Reacting to the May 1st second bomb blast at Nyanya, the former Vice President said that time has come for Nigeria to solicited international support to tackle the seemingly intractable security challenges.
Atiku however commended the nation’s security forces for their sacrifices and patriotism in dealing with the threats of terrorist violence, advising that the most cogent way to confront the insurgents head-on now is for Nigeria to urgently seek international support and should do so urgently.
According to him, terrorism is relatively new to Nigeria and our security men and women are up against a deadly unconventional enemy that doesn’t bother about the rules of engagement.
Atiku said that Nigeria, like any other nation, should not be an island on itself in what he called an interconnected world today.
The global dimension of terrorism has made it imperative that developing country like Nigeria should not go it alone, adding: “we need to learn from the professional experiences and ideas of other countries confronted by terrorist threats.”
Atiku, who is a chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) expressed his condolences to families of the dead even as he wished the injured ones speedy recovery.
The United States, in its request to help
Nigeria in its search for over 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram from a school in Borno state said: “We have been engaged with the Nigerian government in discussions on what we might do to help support their efforts to find and free these young women.”
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harftold added in her daily briefing: “We will continue to have those discussions and help in any way we can.
“The US and the international community must work with the Nigerian government to ensure these girls are reunited with their families and deepen efforts to combat the growing threat posed by Boko Haram,” said Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the chairman of the Senate’s African Affairs subcommittee, and one of the resolution’s six sponsors.
In fiscal year 2012, the United States provided over $20 million in security assistance to
Nigeria, part of that to build the country’s military, boost its capacity to investigate terrorist attacks and enhance the government’s forensic capabilities, she said.

A Northern organization, Arewa Consultative Forum has implicated security agents of aiding and abbeting the deadly Boko Haram in the North East where it’s adherents are  tormenting the residents, even as it asks the federal government to investigate the activities of such security agents.
The Forum insisted that the activities of the insurgents are being boosted by cooperation and support from within the military and those in security circles insisting that government should carry out an in-house search of its security apparatus and put in place measures that will boost the morale of the troops deployed to fight the insurgents and instill confidence in the people.
In a communiqué at the end of its National Executive Council meeting today, signed by the Secretary General, Colonel John Paul Ubah, ACF asked the military to constantly update Nigerians on efforts to rescue the abducted female students of Government Girls Secondary schools, Chibok to reduce fear and concern of parents.
The communiqué reads in part:
“The forum expressed serious concern over the spate of killings of innocent people and wanton destruction of property by unknown gunmen and Boko Haram insurgents in most parts of the northern region. The forum therefore resolved to issue the following statement.
“The forum deliberated extensively on the current National security challenges and in particular, the abduction of over 200 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state and other issues of National interest.
“Government should make concerted efforts to secure the release of the abducted female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state that were abducted by persons suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents since the 14th April, 2014.
“The military authorities should as a matter of urgent duty keep the nation abreast of efforts being made to rescue the kidnapped students in order to reduce the fears and concern of parents, relations and the entire citizenry.
“The security agencies should also open themselves to the intelligence being provided by the community on the alleged movement of the abducted students across our borders and seek support and cooperation of our neigbours to track down the abductors and their victims.
“It is strongly believed that without the support and cooperation from within the military and security circles, the insurgents would not have been succeeding so easily in their dastardly acts.
“ACF notes the concern of all Nigerians on this unfortunate incident of the abduction of Chibok female students and commends the various women organization that troop out in Maiduguri, Abuja and Kaduna and other places to express their anger and displeasure over the abduction of school girls.
“The ACF urges the Federal Government to do an in-house search of its security apparatus and put in place measure that will boost the morale of the troops and inspire confidence of the people in the government.”

Governors of Delta and Niger States, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Dr. Babangida Aliyu have made it clear that the dark days of the party are gone forever, even as they reaffirmed their faith and confidence in it.
The duo, who spoke in Asaba, the Delta state capital, conceded that there was crisis in the party but that it has since been resolved.
Governor Uduaghan who played host to his Niger state counterpart, said that PDP has now re-positioned to win convincingly in the 2015 general elections.
The Delta state strongman was happy that PDP is now stabilized and more united, adding: “people are happier and we are more united in the PDP.”
He praised Governor Babangida Aliyu for taking what he called a wise decision of not abandoning the party during the crisis.
“You kept saying and reassuring us that you are a PDP man for life. Some people do not believe in running away from challenges and you are one of them.” Dr. Uduaghan insisted that the answer to challenges should ordinarily be for someone to run away but for him to “remain inside, tackle the challenges and effect the changes he desires.”
He advised leaders and politicians to always take grassroot development with all the seriousness it deserved, saying that lives of the people at the grassroots need to be transformed.
“Politics is about getting to the people at the grassroots. We must transform their lives because, the little things we take for granted, like provision of water, means a lot to the ordinary Nigerian in the rural communities.”
Governor Babangida Aliyu responded by foreseeing a peaceful election in 2015 and PDP winning all the elections.
“2015 will come and pass peacefully and it will be to the success of the PDP.”
Governor Babangida stressed that PDP is at the grassroots and the people at the grassroots are fully in support of the party.
He expressed satisfaction with the way Governor Uduaghan has been saving PDP from crises, adding that his wisdom has been an asset to the party.
“I am impressed with what you are doing in Delta State, especially with your infrastructural development. Despite the state’s oil revenue and oil wells, Governor Uduaghan is diversifying the state economy through the Delta Beyond Oil initiative and this is very proactive for the state and the country.”

Delta state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan raised the hope of workers in the state on May-Day, which was workers’ day on Thursday, with a promise of extra pay package for them at the end of this year.
He said that the extra pay package will be the first of its kind since the state was created and will be aimed at encouraging them to put in their best.
“Let me assure the workers that at the end of the year, we will work out something extra, definitely, there will be extra payment for the workers.”
Governor Uduaghan assured workers of improved welfare and better working conditions to enable them meet the financial difficulties at the Christman and new year festivities.
The Governor emphasized that workers deserved to be motivated and appreciated for the roles they are playing in ensuring increased productivity, stable government and virile economy.
He acknowledged that unemployment has become a global phenomenon and that leaders of countries have been forced to resign because of their inability to tackle unemployment.
“The biggest challenge today is unemployment. It is a worldwide phenomenon and as a state, we are working hard to reduce the number of unemployed citizens. “Under the Delta Beyond Oil, we have been able to create opportunities for our women and youths to be engaged and become employers of labour.”
The Governor promised that his administration will employ more teachers and health workers within the next few weeks in addition to the ongoing employment into the Delta State Civil Service, even as he lamented that some unscrupulous persons are trying to thwart   government’s good intention to conduct fresh recruitment into the state’s civil service. He said that such people are going about collecting money from prospective job seekers before the exercise even begins.
He warned that anybody caught collecting money from job seekers would be made to face the full wrath of the law and that his administration will continue to employ qualified Deltans “based on availability of fund and declared vacancies.”
The Governor commended the organised labour for choosing ‘Peace and Unity: Panacea For Sustainable National Development’ as the theme for this year’s celebration, advising workers in particular and all Deltans in general to be security conscious.
He said that a security committee has been set up to deal with the menace of cattle rearers and strangers who do not have genuine reason to be in the state.
“Be mindful of who you take as labourers, house helps, security men, those you collect money from to live in your uncompleted buildings and those we admit into our communities because, they may be dangerous to us.”
The Governor called on Deltans to report all strange movements and faces to security operatives.
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Delta State, Comrade Williams Akporeha in his address, commended the Uduaghan’s administration for converting a large number of casual workers into the state’s main workforce among other gestures.
Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Comrade Mike Arinze, assured Governor Uduaghan of the continual support of organised labour in his administration’s quest to develop the state.

“Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigerians are the most travelled people. There is no country you go that you will not see Nigerians. The GDP of Nigeria is over half a trillion dollars and the economy is growing at close to 7 per cent. Aliko Dangote was recently classified among the 25 richest people in the World.”

These were the President Goodluck Jonathan’s perception of the country over which he presided in his May-Day message to the country’s workers.

President Jonathan insisted that the realities on ground do not portray the country as a poor nation, but a nation which abundant wealth needed to be evenly redistributed, adding that his administration is putting policies in place to ensure that Nigerians have access to financial resources to create wealth for themselves.

The President gave a narration of how he visited Kenya recently on a state visit and that the number of private jets that landed from Nigeria in Nairobi that day was a subject of discussion in Kenyan media for over a week.

“If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries.

“Some of you will experience that there is an amount of money you will give to a Nigerian who needs help and will not even regard it and thank you but if you travel to other countries and give such an amount, the person will celebrate.

“But the World Bank statistics shows that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries. Our problem is not poverty, our problem is redistribution of wealth.’’

The President added: “probably, wealth is concentrated in very few hands and a number of people do not have access to it and that is why my administration is committed in terms of financial inclusiveness and we are working very hard to achieve this.’’

Jonathan specifically noted that in the agriculture sector, government introduced the electronic wallet for farmers in rural areas so they could access income through bank facilities.

He said government was also moving agriculture from just a rural development programme to wealth creation and major business programme, adding that government had taken pro-active steps and policies to stabilise power “so that small and medium-scale enterprises will thrive.

“The key commitment of government is to make sure that so many Nigerians have access to finance so that they will be able to create wealth for themselves.’’

The President also read certain political undertones in the processes of ratings by international bodies and global rating agencies.

According to him, so many countries were downgraded economically in the few past months including some African countries, saying: “They looked at Nigeria and we gave explanations and they could not see any convincing reason but to downgrade our economy, they left us as BB minus.

“They said elections are coming, politicians are shouting at themselves, it may affect their economy. We will no longer give you stable outlook but give you negative outlook, which is same BB minus. When so many countries have been downgraded, they said Nigeria is one of the five poorest countries.’’

Jonathan assured that with the support of Nigerians and in particular, the organised labour, the nation would overcome its challenges and take its pride of palce in the globe.

“We must collectively move this country to where we want to go. Government is working with labour leaders and workers of this country to create wealth. We will sure move this country to where we want to go.’’

The President also reiterated that the on-going National Conference is not personal but meant to evolve a roadmap that would redefine Nigeria, stressing that he has no personal agenda for initiating the Conference, but for the common good and progress of the country.

“A number of people came to me that any President that set up this kind of conference must have a roadmap set for him. But I said to them that the roadmap is the roadmap for Nigeria.

“Jonathan has no personal roadmap for the conference. You can go and ask the over 500 people that are there whether I have sent any emissary to anybody to define anything for my own interest. I repeat, the issue is not Jonathan, I have spent three quarters of my life on earth.

“What we want is a Nigeria for our future generation. We will lead our country to where we want to go.’’

The President noted that the overall interest of the country informed the nomination of many representatives of organised labour, civil society organisations and youths to the conference, adding that this is the first time that the government is having a national conference and labour has such a number of representatives.

He said that the civil society was robustly represented at the conference and the first time that youths were well represented, saying: “there are 18 youth representatives at the conference which has never happen. We believe that as elders, we must prepare a country for the young generation and build a nation for our children and grandchildren.”

He said that the resolution of the conference would be sent to the National Assembly to be implemented for national good.

“I believe that at the end of the conference, if the resolutions are agreed by everybody, I will be able to work with my brothers, sisters and friends in the National Assembly to see that whatever they agreed on sailed through.

“All what we want is to agree on something that is common and useful for the country. ‘’

The Minister of Labour, Emeka Wogu, said that the theme of the 2014 Workers Day: “Building Enduring Peace and Unity’’ was impressive, apt and relevant, even as he asked labour unions to have faith in the Jonathan administration as it continued to implement policies and plans for national emancipation.

He said that the administration had ensured and would continue to ensure that the voices of labour was heard, adding that the Labour Bill drafted to improve the lots of workers pending before the National Assembly would soon be passed into law and urged the unions to be considerate in their demands.

The emergence of Binta Masi Garba as the first-ever female elected state party chairperson of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state has excited the former Nigeria Vice President and now the chieftain of the party, Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku, who reacted to what he called the peaceful conduct of the just-concluded congress in the state form where he comes, described the emergence of Binta as “historic and exemplary.”

He expressed confidence in the ability of the female chairperson to lead the party to total victory in all future elections in Adamawa state. He also congratulated  all those who emerged in the process, adding “the party is assured of my total support until we win all our elections.”

Atiku commended the Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako and other leaders of the party for the high level of accommodation and the spirit of give-and-take that characterized the horse-trading leading to the emergence of the new state executive.

Nigeria’s second Republic Deputy Senate President, John Wash Pam,  is dead. He died at the age of 73 from complications secondary to prostrate cancer at the National Hospital, Abuja at about 1.30 pm today.

The former senator is survived by two wives and 18 children. Wash Pam, a prominent Berom elder, hailed from Foron district of Barakin Ladi local Government Area of Plateau State.

His death was confirmed by his first son, Mr. Ganan Wash Pam and his Special Assistant, Mr. Williams Chieshe (Jnr).

“Baba died about one and half hours ago,” Chieshe said, adding “he has been battling with prostrate cancer for a while now.

Wash Pam was deputy senate president to senator Joseph Wayas from 1979 to 1983.

 Members of the all-powerful Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) boycotted have made it clear that they could not have been part of the May-Day jamboree at the time the nation is supposed to be in mourning mood over the abduction of over 200 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state.

They said that their boycott of the celebration at the Eagle Square today is to identify with the pains and trauma of parents of missing Chibok students. The union took the decision at a meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja.
The President of the union, Comrade Babatunde Ogun in his May Day Message said the failure of the Government and its security agencies to find the over 200 abducted girls should put the nation in a mournful state.

“We demand that all machinery, including collaborating with foreign countries that have sophisticated and hi-technology equipment for surveillance should be put in place to ensure the rescue and restoration of the school girls to their parents and guardians,” he said.

Ogun further called on the government to invest more in unemployment and poverty which have been identified as factors for the breeding of criminality.