They say that Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan cannot speak good English. Yes, we agree but she is loved by a Phd Holder, the former Deputy Governor, the former Vice President and now the President of a powerful nation. Who have you attracted with your Queen’s English? You can speak flawless grammar but you cannot stand by your man through tough times. Dame Patience was a tailor in Warri with little or no education, but today she is the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. (There’s God O°˚˚ )! Wise ones will learn from her. Interestingly, this is a woman that stood by Goodluck Jonathan when he was living with all his brothers in one room apartment. This is the woman that took Goodluck Jonathan to her Uncle in Zoology Dept. of University of Port Hercourt in order to help him get admission which he got. This is the woman that stood by Goodluck Jonathan when he had no food to eat and will bring food stuffs for him in school every weekend. This is the woman that used her money from her business to help Goodluck Jonathan to pay for handouts and textbooks when he was an Undergraduate. This is the woman that stood by Goodluck Jonathan till he became the President of Nigeria. Now, answer these questions… How many of you ladies here can do this for the Love of a Man? How many of you guys can boast that your girl can stand by you like Patience did? How many of you guys prefer a lady that speaks good English but will be the worst wife ever? How many of you guys will prefer a wife that speaks good English but will be the source of your downfall tomorrow? A wife that speaks good English but who will make your life miserable like hell on earth – Is that what you prefer? Many of you have left your boyfriends because he doesn’t have money. Men are in a big race to marry a big girl – then you stand and say: “There is GOD oooo!!! Of course, there’s God who doesn’t judge by outward appearances or the fluency of anybody’s spoken English. Not so? [myad]
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar III has cautioned President Goodluck Jonathan against using heavy military action on Boko Haram as it has its own negative effect of aggravating the already volatile situation in the North Eastern part of the country.
He asked the President to re-consider his position on the use of maximum force to curb insurgency in the country, calling on him to embrace the dialogue option with leaders of the Boko Haram sect through the implementation of the reports of the Committee on negotiations with Boko Haram. The Sultan who spoke today in Abuja at the 7th Annual National Conference of the Muslims Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria, with the theme, ” Rule of Law & Social Justice: A Panacea for Unity & National Development”remarked: “when people say you don’t dialogue with criminals, who said you don’t dialogue with criminals? You cannot fight criminals because you don’t even know where they are. “About two weeks ago, the American government exchanged one prisoner who was even a deserter for very senior five al-Qaeda leaders who have been in Guantanamo prison for years. “They kept dialoguing with them for five years. For them to exchange him they must have been talking. There is need for dialogue. You cannot win any insurgency by way of force. Nowhere in the world that work.” Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar ruled out the possibility of any group or individuals making Nigeria an Islamic nation and therefore urged non Muslims not to be afraid of the inclusion of Sharia in the country’s constitution. The monarch maintained that the Muslims in Nigeria are not the problem with the country and that they were not out to force everybody under the Islamic legal code, the sharia, adding: “I have said it one million and one times, as far as in America, when I delivered a lecture at Harvard University. The problems of Nigeria are not caused by Muslims. “I want to assure you that we have been doing our best to educate people on what Islam and Muslims stand for and want to do in Nigeria. “I have said it one million times, Muslims in Nigeria are not out to Islamise Nigeria because it is not possible. “We all know what is said in the Holy Quran. So why should anybody be afraid of the strength of Muslims in this country? “When we come together and we are doing positive things or rightly it is got the development of that community and when a community is developed Muslims, non-Muslims and whoever within that community will be a beneficiary of that development. “Why are the non Muslims opposed to the inclusion of the Islamic laws in the constitution? There is no country in the World where the interests of the citizens especially their religious views are not protected in the constitution “At the same time, muslims should not be against the inclusion of certain aspects that will serve the interests of the non muslims in the constitution. Having Shariah in the constitution is purely for the muslims. Non muslims should not entertain any fear about that at all. “What the muslims in Nigeria are demanding through the inclusion if Shariah is justice. They want justice in accordance with their religious beliefs and faith in the Almighty Allah. The sultan urged Muslim lawyers to make their presence felt through positive activities, especially by being united for the purpose of getting out innocent Muslims, arrested for being members of Boko Haram and kept in various prisons across the country. “You have to come out, visit prisons, visit mosques where there are less privileged Muslims, offer free services to them as an organization and I believe a lot of people will start knowing who Muslim lawyers are. “In Islam you all know why it means to be a leader. So I am challenging you to wake up and do what you are supposed to do. Go found the prisons, there are so many Muslims locked up in prisons as suspects of insurgency. “People don’t even know what is insurgency in their lives. Thousands of them! Why don’t you take up such issues to the courts? “If saying the truth now a negative thing in a country that hurts? We must say the truth. When you challenge people and say something is wrong it does not mean you are fighting somebody. “You are saying it so that the authorities will look at it and mend their ways for the betterment of the society. Not that somebody will be labeled an extremist or a supporter of this and that or somebody who has a small compassion for a criminal. “Of course, we have compassion for criminals because we believe when you are thrown into prison you come out a better person. Sometimes when we speak as Muslim leaders, somebody will say ‘look, His Eminence should not speak because he is not a politician. “We are the fathers of the politicians, we are the leaders, so we must tell them what is right and what is wrong. If they accept our advice, alhamdudilahi! If they don’t accept, alhamdudilahi.” He asked the federal government to carry out relevant checks and investigation on the people suspected to be Boko Haram members locked up in prisons because some of them could innocent. “When somebody tells you that he is not a Boko Haram, please take it that he is not because if he is Boko Haram he will never denounce it. “So if you have 100 and one of them says I am not Boko Haram please release him. They other 99 will say ‘yes we are, what can you do to us? It is important for us as leaders, especially as Muslims to look at these issues in a broader perspective. Let us not just be opinionated because we must reach out to everybody.” Sultan urged the federal government and Nigerians to take the issue of insurgence with utmost care and caution to avoid another civil war in the country, saying: “it is interesting to hear an eaglet lawyer saying that when the Civil War took place he was not born. I am happy to hear that and also to make a statement that it behooves on all of us – those who were not there during the Civil War, and those who were there and actually took part directly or indirectly. “Muslim lawyers should do whatever it takes to ensure no Civil War ever takes place in Nigeria again because we know the adverse effects of civil war in any country.” “As leaders at all levels, as Muslim leaders, we must keep on telling the government what they are doing rightly or wrongly because we need a society that will meet the challenges of the present day insecurity in our country. “Somebody who doesn’t want to say I am speaking to Boko Haram, therefore somebody will say I am a sympathiser of Boko Haram. No. If you don’t speak for people that are deranged, wayward, who will do so? How will they ever change? “Also Muslim lawyers in the Judiciary particularly the judges should refrain from polititics in the discharge of their duties. You are working for the people and not to serve the interest of a politician or a political party. “As Muslim lawyers, dont be biased. Be very proactive and rise up to defend the truth and the truth shall set you free.” [myad]
Finally, after a great buildup, the 2014 World Cup of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, hosted by Brazil, begins today with the first game to be played be between Brazil and Croatia, at a stadium in São Paulo. This is just as the Brazilian police and protesters clashed in Sao Paulo today hours before the opening game of the World Cup.
Reports say that police fired tear gas and noise bombs to disperse more than 100 demonstrators angry about heavy government spending on the event, a spokesman for Sao Paulo state’s military police said.
Demonstrators regrouped about two hours later and clashed with police again three blocks away, hurling rocks and setting fire to trash.
The protesters were trying to cut off a key avenue leading to the Corinthians arena on the eastern edge of the city where Brazil played Croatia at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).
Many Brazilians are furious over the $11.3 billion spent on hosting the World Cup when basic social services are poorly financed. Their pessimism has so far overshadowed a brighter mood among the some 800,000 foreign tourists expected to come to Brazil for the event.
Much of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city and business capital, resembled a ghost town early on Thursday after a partial holiday was declared to ensure traffic to the stadium would be light.
But excitement began to spread by mid-morning. Fans waving Brazil flags boarded trains heading to the stadium and Croatian fans drank beer on Avenida Paulista, the city’s best-known thoroughfare.
Outside city hall, Tuany Ramos sang along with about 50 other fans setting off firecrackers and blowing airhorns. “It finally arrived and we are very excited to cheer for Brazil,” Ramos said.
Melisa da Silva, who was wearing Brazil’s green and yellow colors as she headed to work on the subway, said the country might finally cheer up once play gets under way.
“Well, it’s here, and I think now it’s time to cheer the team,” she said. “I don’t see why people should still be sad.”
Brazil’s team, led by exciting 22-year-old star striker, Neymar, was widely fancied to beat Croatia later today and go on to win a record sixth World Cup title.
The stakes are high not just on the soccer field. Whether the tournament goes smoothly may also have an effect on President Dilma Rousseff’s chances for re-election in October, as well as Brazil’s flagging reputation among investors.
Rousseff has dismissed complaints about overspending and delays in preparing stadiums and airports, and is betting Brazil will put on a show on and off the field.
SPIRITUAL HOME OF SOCCER
Brazil is widely considered the spiritual home of global soccer, and in recent days more of the flags and street parties that usually characterize World Cups here have begun to show up.
Yet the list of possible problems is long. In fact, hosting a successful tournament may ultimately prove harder for Brazil than winning it.
The main risk, for both fans and the government, appears to be violent street demonstrations.
Protests and labor strikes are planned in the 12 host cities, including a 24-hour slowdown by some airport workers in Rio de Janeiro, although the threat of a long subway strike in Sao Paulo has eased.
About a dozen disgruntled airport workers blocked a road outside Rio’s international airport on Thursday morning, causing heavy traffic.
Some businesses in Rio, the venue for seven Cup games, including the final, had boarded up windows and doors by late on Wednesday in case protests erupted.
The Sao Paulo stadium itself has been a source of anxiety.
Not only was it delivered six months late at a cost of $525 million, about $150 million over budget, but because of the delays Thursday’s game will be the facility’s first at full capacity. That’s a big no-no in the field of logistics and a violation of FIFA’s normal protocol for World Cup games.
“I’m praying that nothing goes wrong,” said Lizbeth Silva, a clerical worker at a Sao Paulo school. “You hear about all these problems, but you still want to root for Brazil.”
A rough tournament would likely cause Rousseff’s popularity, already under pressure, to fall further. Polls show she now holds a lead of about 10 percentage points over her likely rival if the election goes to a second round, as most expect.
Any major logistical problems and unrest could also further dent Brazil’s reputation among investors, which has suffered since a decade-long economic boom fizzled under Rousseff.
Brazil’s performance in hosting the World Cup will also give clues as to how well it will do in two years, when it plays host to the Olympics.
At least one element is expected to cooperate on Thursday: the weather. Forecasters expect clear skies and a high of 75 degrees (24 C) – warm for the Southern Hemisphere winter. [myad]
The weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) was held today specifically to pay tribute to the late Nigerian minister of information and communications, Professor Dora Akunyili, who died in an Indian hospital on June 7 while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Professor Akunyili was also a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), At today’s solemn meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, council members took turns to pay glowing tributes to the late NAFDAC boss.They condoled with the president, family of the deceased and the entire Nigerian women over the loss. In his tribute, President Jonathan described Akunyili as “very upright, courageous and a role model per excellence to young Nigerians and the women folk in general.” He said “the first impression I had of Akunyili was the way she dressed as a typical Nigerian. I first met her when I was Deputy Governor in Bayelsa.
“She was a very upright woman. When she was Minister of Information, she was very courageous. I believe so many young ladies would emulate her exemplary life.” The President added that Akunyili made a huge impact as director-general of NAFDAC and her re-brand Nigeria programme as Minister of Information remained a national reference point. Vice-President Namadi Sambo described Akunyili’s death as a great loss to the country, describing her as “a patriotic and dedicated Nigerian. NAFDAC is a sanitised institution because of Akunyili, who developed a system for the re-branding of the the country.” The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said Akunyili was a woman of strength and conviction who fought hard to ensure drug counterfeiting became a thing of the past. “NAFDAC was consistently voted as the best agency of government during her time. She was a committed mother and a devoted wife, an excellent Nigerian woman whom many looked up to”.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Musa Sada, in his tribute, described her demise as a great loss to the country, adding: “Akunyili was a patriot from whom one always wanted to learn. Even at the expense of her life, she fought hard to rid Nigeria of fake drugs as NAFDAC director-general.” The Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, said he first met Akunyili before he became the Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, where she later became a professor.
“The late NAFDAC boss was a woman of courage; she was courageous enough to speak up at a trying moment of our national history. Akunyili was a religious and prayerful woman. She was very conversational. As a country, we have lost a gem and we pray that God gives us such a woman of honour and respect.” The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, the Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu Obanikoro and the Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, who also spoke at the event, described her as a woman with uncommon courage.
The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who worked with Akunyili as Minister of State for Information and Communications, described her as an outstanding public servant. Maku said “she put her life on the line. She took the war to her home state, Anambra, to battle producers and importers of fake drugs because she wanted the best for her nation. “She treated me like her brother and we worked together. She permitted me to jointly address the press after FEC meetings and that was a huge honour to me.’’
Maku said the rebrand Nigeria project was still ongoing as the department was still being funded in the ministry with the “Good People, Great Nation” jingle still running in the media. He urged public servants to emulate the exemplary service rendered by Akunyili to the nation. He said the late minister used her visibility as a public servant to showcase Nigerian fashion because she always wore traditional dresses.
Maku moved a motion for special condolences to the President, Nigerian women, the country’s fashion industry, the Ibo nation and the Akunyili family. The motion was seconded by the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochepe, and a minute silence was observed in her honour, followed by special prayers for the repose of her soul. [myad]
Chairman of the national convention committee of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamako has made it clear that the party is being positioned to upstage the ruling Peoples Democratic Party PDP) in the 2015 general elections, especially at the centre.
He said that members of his committee are committed to ensuring that the party gets the kind of convention it truly deserves, adding: “We will not disappoint you.” wammako who was addressing newsmen today emphasized that the convention will properly position the party to upstage PDP come 2015.
He expressed appreciation to the party’s elders and all other members of the party for their cooperation throughout the committee’s deliberations. Meanwhile, a joint meeting of the APC’S caucus and the National Convention Committee of the party are said to have agreed on a zoning arrangement.
The meeting which ended in the ealy hours of today was said to have zoned the position of chairman to the South-South. Other positions zoned to the South-South are: Deputy National Secretary, Deputy National Legal Adviser.
The South West is to produce the National Legal Adviser, Deputy National Chairman and National Financial Secretary. For the South East, the positions of National Organising Secretary, National Auditor, Deputy Finance Secretary and Deputy Women Leader were zoned to it. The positions of National Publicity Secretary, National Women Leader, Deputy Treasurer and Deputy Welfare Secretary were zoned to the North Central. The North East is to produce the National Secretary, National Youth Leader and Deputy National Auditor.
Against earlier projections, the North West was given positions of Welfare Secretary, Deputy National Chairman, National Treasurer and Deputy National Organising Secretary.
Each of the six geo-political zones will also produce the following; One Zonal National Vice Chairman, one zonal Women Leader, one zonal Youth Leader and one Ex-Officio each. [myad]
Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), has raised alarm that if the Federal Government failed to take urgent proactive actions, Nigeria could lose most of its tourists sites and eight out of the 18 local government areas in Cross Rivers State to Cameroon.
Ndoma-Egba spoke against the backdrop of an ongoing boundary adjustment between Nigeria and Cameroon by the United Nations following the 2002 Judgment of the International Court of Justice judgment that ceded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
The Senator, who promised to move a formal motion on the issue on the floor of the Senate next week, noted that there is tension in the state last week over the presence of the United Nations Boundary Adjustment Team, led by Mr. Isaac Baya of Zimbabwe.
He said the team was in company of the Nigerian soldiers at Danari, a boundary community between Nigeria and Cameroon in the Boki local government area to implement the Green Tree Agreement based on the ICJ verdict.
“There are some boundary delineation exercise going on as a result of the Green Tree Agreement, which was the consequence of the judgment of the International Court of Justice on what we call Bakassi.
“The Green Tree Agreement necessitated some boundary adjustments and that exercise started somewhere from Lake Chad and it supposed to go right down to the Atlantic Ocean in the South, so the exercise is going on but in a place called Danari, in Boki Local Government in my constituency.
“The Anglo/German boundary of 1913 has been there and a particular beacon stone, beacon 113, we heard cannot be found; the rest has been found and that is the one they are trying to locate. The United Nations Team is insisting on taking a straight line, now the communities believe that beacon is somewhere furthering in the Cameroons.
“If they do a straight line as they want to do, then we will be losing some communities to the Cameroons including the famous Agbokim Water Falls, where Hon. John Enoh comes from. So, I am in touch with the Cross River State Government and the community. We are looking at it so that I will bring a formal motion to the floor; you know I came under Order 42 the last time just to give notice about my intention to bring a motion.
“We are going to lose some substantial territory that is what I can say. I am still getting brief on it.
“Now the good thing is, the boundary communities, we have Danari in Nigeria and we have Danari in Cameroon, Danari 1, Danari 2. They know their traditional boundaries, they know where their traditional boundaries are and they have had no problems with that.
“So, we want to make a case for the UN Team to just accept the traditional boundaries that the two communities agreed on and let the sleeping dogs lie.
“What is even more worrisome is that few days ago, the team was there (Danari) with soldiers and we have been wondering where did these soldiers come from, without the chairman of the local government knowing; without the state government knowing? What is actually going on?”
Ndoma-Egba ruled out the possibility of the country practising a part-time legislature based on the recent recommendation of a committee of the ongoing national conference.
“For Nigeria to practise part-time legislature, is not possible in a presidential system of government, because how do you oversight the executive arm.?
“The oversight will be part-time oversight. Now I am told that their reason for that recommendation is to save cost. Now the budget of the National Assembly has remained at N150bn in the last three years, the current budget of the federation is N4.6 trl. by the time the SURE-P component is added, it is N4.96trl.
“What per cent of that national budget is the budget of the National Assembly? It is under three per cent. So even if you are to scrap the National Assembly, you will only be saving three per cent of the budget or less. Is that the savings that you want to make?” [myad]
Chairman of the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN) Professor Olu Akinyanju has said that Nigeria has the highest burden of Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) in the world with 150,000 new births every year. Professor Akinyanju made this known today at a one-day workshop on Sickle Cell Reporting and Advocacy organized by the foundation in Lagos.
The workshop was organized to commemorate the World Sickle Cell Awareness Day which was held on June 19.
Akinyanju described sickle cell as a genetic disorder that posed a major public health in the country, saying: “SCD is the commonest inherited haemoglobin disorder in the world and three quarters of cases occur in Africa. Out of the 500,000 children born with a haemoglobin disorder, 70 per cent of them are born with SCD.
“Nigeria has the highest burden of SCD disorder worldwide with 150,000 babies born each year with the disorder.”
According to him, over 40 million Nigerians are healthy carriers of the sickle cell haemoglobin AS trait while about 80 per cent of children with SCD are born in developing and low income countries, even as 50 to 80 per cent of children with SCD die each year in these countries.
Factors like ignorance, lack of access to good healthcare services, stigmatistion, poverty and superstitions have contributed to the mortality rate of this blood disorder,” he said.
Professor Akinyanju said that there was a need for national guidelines on sickle cell diagnosis and treatment to help improve the life expectancy of people with SCD.
He called on government at all levels, stakeholders and media to provide advocacy to help to reduce the burden of the disease.
“There is also a need for government to provide intensive funding for researches, equitable and efficient treatment. The role of the media in providing advocacy for enlightenment and awareness campaigns cannot be undermined.
“We want to get to a place whereby SCD disease will be regarded like other diseases such as anaemia, hypertension and diabetes. People with SCD can also live a normal life and have longevity with modern treatment.”
Also, Dr Annette Akinsete, the National Director of the foundation said that newborn screening and genetic counselling would ensure proper management of the disease.
SCD is one of the world’s foremost genetic diseases with severe physical, psychological and social consequences for those affected and their families.
There is need for advocacy to facilitate access to education, effective management and treatment of SCD.
Genetic counselling helps people with the disorder and their families to make informed decisions about reproduction, and is vital for effective management of the disease.” [myad]
Everyone has his/her story of the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero. He made me feel very special from the day he and his large entourage stormed the Class One, my class, at Dutse Primary School, now in Jigawa State. He wore all white, wearing the broadest smile I had ever seen. He asked the teacher to stop and took over the instruction. He asked a question I cannot now remember. I raised my hand. When he picked me, I told him the correct answer. He looked surprised for, he apparently thought it was an unexpected performance. The Emir strolled to my seat, put his hand on my head by the way of a blessing as our seniors do and said words to the effect that “you are the special one, greatness awaits you.” While I’am still waiting for that moment of greatness to present itself, two things always came to mind whenever Ado Bayero’s words rang in my head. It reminds me of a teaching story I encountered from an Indian about how God plays a joke on every new-born, whispering, ‘You are the special one!’ But the joke quickly wears thin when, as an adult, the once new-born starts running up against several billion others on this planet who all assume that they are ‘the special one’ Two, this was a great motivation for me to look beyond the small town in which I was raised. I’am a driver’s son whose ambition at the early period was no more than growing up to be like dad or any of those teachers. It was a spartan lifestyle over there, but one of contentment. Dad brought home everything we needed. He hadn’t had a formal education although he was literate, and he knew that education was the way to the future. Having himself originated from Kano city, he made the habit of taking us home once in a year to spend time with the larger family. These visits to the city used to be the highest moments of the children’s life. Unlike my dad, many of the kids and their parents saw the modern school as an unwelcome imposition. Nearly all the girls in school never made it to class seven before they were married off. Many of the boys too dropped out before making the transition to secondary school. In this type of environment at that time, there was hardly a motivation for anyone to be extraordinary in school. When the Emir moved to the next class, everyone came around to congratulate me for, first answering his tricky question and two, for the blessing I got from the revered leader. The endorsement had the immediate effect of raising my spirit, upward like a cloud. Thereafter, it often looked to me that this was my own gateway to success, and had actually served as a great inspiration for the success achieved, if any, so far on my part. My full conversion to republican thinking followed the contact I had in college with the radical ideas of the late Malam Aminu Kano, the liberator of the Talakawa. Aminu Kano helped many in my generation resolve their crises of identity, which led in turn, to career choices. For instance,it was this new thinking that enabled some of us to see journalism as a friend of the weak, poor, and the under-dog and for its crusading role, helping to comfort the discomforted, while at some,if not most of the times,inflicting those that are comfortable. But in truth and in all of my life, I never thought that Aminu Kano’s ruthless demonization of the traditional rulers applied or captured the humane ruler that Ado Bayero was. Aminu Kano himself reserved a special place in his speeches for the later ruler and never did I hear or see on record, attacks that the late politician rendered on the Emir personally. And this was for a special reason. Ado Bayero was a chief, not a lord over his people. I think that he saw his major function as stitching up the divisions among his own people, the North and the entire federation. He was always bringing together those who were divided. He rallied the Muslim masses towards education and commerce as a means to economic independence, and tried very hard to manage the delicate relationship between Muslims and Christians and that between his Hausa and Fulani people with the other groups. As a leader, the difference he made was that he not only enjoyed the confidence of successive administrations but also of the rank-and-file. He worked very hard at the grassroots level to improve the conditions of ordinary people and those that are backward as illustrated by my own personal example. His death therefore is tragedy as many have said, not only for the people of Kano, but for the country. His leadership and experience will be sorely missed by Kano, the North and Nigeria, especially given the fact that 2015 lurks around the corner, and there is no denying that a bumpy road lies ahead of the country. Ado Bayero’s long years of reign over Kano are better captured by the words of Indra Nooyi: “Leadership is hard to define, and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the end of the earth, you are a great leader.” That’s how Ado Bayero did his own and it is for all to follow his examples. R.I.P Ado Bayero. We lost a good leader. Truly an irreparable loss to the country
Nine lawmakers including suspended Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea have suspended Speaker Uyi Igbe in what political observers say a gestapo style sitting.
They were reported to have stormed the assembly complex today in an unmarked bus and broke into the hallowed which was under lock and key. A mobile policeman assisted in the break in.
According to information, the Sergeant at arms took to his heels when the PDP lawmakers stormed the house.
In a sitting that lasted five minutes and presided over by Ebea,, Speaker Igbe and six others were suspended.
Speaker Igbe stormed the chamber with other lawmakers and a free for all broke out.
Tear gas was fired into the hallowed chamber and the lawmakers scampered for safety.
Thugs were at the assembly and police used teargas to chase them away.
The Minister of Sports Dr. Tammy Danagogo has waded into the crisis between the Super Eagles and the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the world football governing body’s $8 million allocation to the federation.
The players had protested to the NFF chairman, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, in the United States (US) demanding their own share of the money and threatening that should the federation refuse to pay them the money, they were not going to play in the opening match of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But the NFF, it was gathered, claimed that they have only received $1 million from FIFA out of the $8 million with which they have been organizing friendlies and pre-world cup preparations.
It was also gathered that in addition to the FIFA $1 million, the Federal Government has made available to the NFF, N850 million out of the N1.4 billion total budget for the tournament.
In a meeting held between Dr. Danagogo and Alhaji Maigari, at the Maksoud Plaza Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday evening, the minister charged the NNF boss to negotiate with the team to be able to reach an agreement so that the players’ moral would be boosted during the tournament.
The minister was of the view that the welfare of the team should be paramount during the tournament adding that ” if we do not treat them well and make them happy, they may just go into the tournament and perform badly and ensure that we pack our bags and return. So they are the reasons why Nigeria is participating in the tournament and we should do everything within our powers to ensure that we do our best for the team”.
He pledged to also personally appeal to the players to put the interests of the nation first during the tournament.
Meanwhile, Dr. Danagogo and Alhaji Maigari would be on ground to receive the Super Eagles team on arrival from Miami, United States (US), in Sao Paulo, on Tuesday by 8.30pm local time.
The team is expected to fly aboard an American Airline flight from the Miami International Airport and land at the Guarulhos International Airport, Sao Paulo.
On arrival, the team is expected to drive by road to their training ground in Campinas, about an hour from Sao Paulo.
The Super Eagles will play Iran in its World Cup opening match on June 16 before playing Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 21 and Argentina June 26.
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Nine lawmakers including suspended Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea have suspended Speaker Uyi Igbe in what political observers say a gestapo style sitting.
