The new governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Obiano, has asked members of the cabinet he inherited from Peter Obi who handed over power to him last week to continue in their respective offices pending when he will reconstitute his cabinet. Governor Obiano was said to have broken the news to the cabinet members at the end of the maiden Executive Council (EXCO) meeting held last week Tuesday –a day after his assumption of office. The elated commissioners were said to have praised the governor for retaining them, saying that is a good step. They described Obiano’s action as un-Nigerian but that it is a good thing as it would enable him to stabilise and douse tension before making any changes.
The new governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Obiano, has asked members of the cabinet he inherited from Peter Obi who handed over power to him last week to continue in their respective offices pending when he will reconstitute his cabinet. Governor Obiano was said to have broken the news to the cabinet members at the end of the maiden Executive Council (EXCO) meeting held last week Tuesday –a day after his assumption of office. The elated commissioners were said to have praised the governor for retaining them, saying that is a good step. They described Obiano’s action as un-Nigerian but that it is a good thing as it would enable him to stabilise and douse tension before making any changes.
Many delegates to the National Conference currently sitting in the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have risen against the rule of business handed down to the delegates by President Goodluck Jonathan. The delegates opposed the clause stipulating that all decisions to be reached must be done through consensus or a vote of 75 percent majority. Chairman of the Confab, Justice Idris Kutigi had, at yesterday’s sitting, attempted to overrule a delegate, Chief Mike Ozekomhe, who had called for the amendment of the provision to make it possible for any decision to be arrived at through two thirds majority, as provided for in the Nigeria’s constitution and as it applies in the global best practices. Ozekomhe had argued that it would be against the interest of natural justice and the nation for major decisions to be decided by only a few persons at the confab, since the meaning of 75 percent was such that even if the delegates had up to 74.99 percent, they could not change anything, while a minority of 25 percent of the members could easily win over anything they decide on under the rule of consensus. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria pointed out that if the rule is allowed to stand, it would be impossible for delegates representing local interests to influence the outcome of any issue at the end of the confab, thereby defeating the purpose for which they were nominated by their sponsors. “My Lord, I want to point out for your attention and that of the delegates that a lot of very controversial and emotive issues will come up at the conference since many of the delegates here represent local and community interests. “Under the provision for 75 percent for any dissenting voice to get anything done here, it would be very difficult for anything to be achieved. We should therefore go back to the normal practice of two third majority when it comes to voting on any matter. “What this means is that for any decision to be taken no fewer than 369 of the 492 delegates must concur before such can be done. This is behemoth and extremely difficult given our situation in this country.” Ozekomhe had hardly finished when the Chairman, Kutigi, reminded him that the issue of consensus or 75 percent voting by the dissenting party had already been decided by Presidency and that the matter had been closed. “We cannot change the rule of voting which had already been decided by the President, who set the tone for this conference; the issue has been closed,” the chairman countered. But, many delegates, among them, Oodua Peoples Congress, Chief Ganiyu Adams, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, Dr. Ahmadu Alli and elder statesman, Ayo Adebanjo rose against Kutigi, saying that the rule should be amended to comply with the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates two third majority for voting on any serious matter before it becomes law. “Where in the world have you heard of 75 percent voting majority in any matter?” Adebanjo queried, adding: “We should not isolate Nigeria when it comes to issues of very serious international and national importance like this. We should go with the world and not play into the hands of those who do not want Nigeria to work. “Mr. Chairman, I plead with you to go back to Mr. President and plead with him that the 75 percent or three quarter majority should be changed to two thirds majority as is the case all over the world. We should not be given any condition that is unattainable.” Also, Auwalu Yadudu, a professor of law, said that the insertion of the clause for 75 percent voting majority is quite strange and at variance with the Nigerian constitution, which stipulates two thirds majority. “This is the first time we are hearing of 75 percent voting majority. If the provision of the constitution is ignored, we can as well ignore the directive by the President that the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria should not be discussed at the conference.” However former Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Hassam Adamu and the former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Gambo Jimeta both from Adamawa State, countered the protagonists of two thirds voting majority, saying that Jonathan was right in insisting on consensus or 75 percent voting majority. Despite the attempt by Kutigi to rule that the matter had been closed, more dissenting voices rented the air and he had to defer discussion on the issue as the members went on break. The confab tactically deferred further discussion on the matter when the resumed later. It rather deliberated on other items listed on the order papers for adoption.
Washington Governor, Jay Inslee has proclaimed a state of emergency after a devastating mudslide occured in a rural part of Washington state, leaving eight people dead and about 100 others missing. The governor, who described the scene as “a square mile of total devastation” after flying over the disaster area midday, assured families that everything was being done to find their missing loved ones. Officials described the mudslide as “a big wall of mud and debris.” It blocked about a mile of State Route 530 near the town of Oso, about 55 miles north of Seattle. It was reported to be about 15 feet deep in some areas. Authorities believe the slide was caused by ground made unstable by recent heavy rainfall. The slide wiped through what neighbors described as a former fishing village of small homes — some nearly 100 years old. The search for the missing ones is continuing even as authorities said some may have been able to get out on their own. The number unaccounted for could change because some people may have been in cars and on roads when the slide hit just before 11 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. A 1-square-mile mudslide struck Saturday morning in Snohomish County, critically injuring several people and destroying about 30 several homes. Eight bodies have been pulled from the scene and authorities described the search for additional survivors to be “grim.” John Pennington, emergency response managing director, said there are reports of up to 108 people missing in the mudslide but noted that number is unconfirmed. “This is a large scale disaster event,” Pennington said, adding: “we have 108 individual names, or likeness … It’s a soft 108. “It was Saturday and probably a higher number than what you would see on a week day,” he said of the victims during a press conference today. Pennington said it remains unclear how many structures were impacted at the time. Crews were able to get to the muddy, tree-strewn area after geologists flew over in a helicopter and determined it was safe enough for emergency responders and technical rescue personnel to search for possible survivors, Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots said Sunday evening. “We didn’t see or hear any signs of life out there today,” he said, adding that they did not search the entire debris field, only drier areas safe to traverse. “It’s very disappointing to all emergency responders on scene.” Hospital spokeswoman, Susan Gregg said two men, ages 37 and 58, were in serious condition, while a 25-year-old woman was upgraded to satisfactory condition. Bruce Blacker, who lives just west of the slide, doesn’t know the whereabouts of six neighbors. “It’s a very close knit community,” Blacker said as he waited at an Arlington roadblock before troopers let him through. There were almost 20 homes in the neighborhood that was destroyed, he said. Search-and-rescue help came from around the region, including the Washington State Patrol and the Army Corps of Engineers. More than 100 were at the scene. Evacuation shelters were set up at Post Middle School in Arlington and the Darrington Community Center. Dane Williams, 30, who lives a few miles from the mudslide, spent Saturday night at a Red Cross shelter at the Arlington school. He said he saw a few “pretty distraught” people at the shelter who didn’t know the fate of love.
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has called on the world, especially the advanced nations, to respect the right of countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes.
“As a developing country, Nigeria needs to harness nuclear technology for socio-economic development. It is for this reason we subscribe to the view that international and regional cooperation efforts should be based on the principle of maintaining a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the inalienable right of States to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy for development purposes.”
President who addressed
“While this is important, we would also like to draw attention to the need to maintain the highest standards of nuclear safety and security in establishing peaceful nuclear facilities,” the President said.
In his statement to the third global security summit which opened today in the city of Hague, the Netherlands, President Jonathan reaffirmed Nigeria’s full commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism, but said that Nigeria, under his leadership will continue to pursue efforts to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development.
He re-emphasised the commitment of Nigeria towards supporting all efforts against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, even as he said that in keeping with Nigeria’s commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear technology, the Federal Government has submitted an executive bill to the National Assembly to accommodate the country’s obligations under international treaties on nuclear safety and security.
“Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts towards ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons. To this end, Nigeria has since the last Summit in Seoul, strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption in 2013, of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act, thus ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country.
“Nigeria’s ratification of some international treaties and conventions in the realm of nuclear safety, security and safeguards has necessitated the review of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority Act resulting in the recent decision of the Government to submit a new Bill to Parliament for consideration and passage into law in order to accommodate our obligations under these instruments.
“The instruments include the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and its amended version of 2005, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The intention of the bill is to ensure the fulfilment of Nigeria’s international and national Nuclear Safety, Security, Safeguards and radiation protection obligations, by domesticating the international treaties. The bill is presently awaiting passage by the National Assembly.
“Furthermore, as part of the outcome of the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit held in Seoul, South Korea in 2010, States Parties were urged on voluntary basis, to embark on the process of converting their reactors from the use of Highly Enriched Uranium to Lowly Enriched Uranium. Consequently, Nigeria is working in collaboration with the United States of America and China for the conversion of Nigeria’s limited stock of Highly Enriched Uranium used in its research reactor to Lowly Enriched Uranium,” President Jonathan said.
He said that one of the main objectives of the Nuclear Security Summit is to reduce the amount of dangerous nuclear materials in the world by preventing materials that can be used to produce nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and unauthorized non-state actors, adding that Nigeria supports the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations on a “non-discriminatory, multi-lateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons”.
He commended the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon for establishing a Group of Governmental Experts which will begin work in Geneva next week on the proposal.
“Nigeria shares the view that fewer nuclear weapons translate into more nuclear security while at the same time reducing the risk of proliferation.
“But it is even more important that States as represented at this Summit demonstrate the necessary political will to embark on the path towards the ultimate goal of total and complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control,” President Jonathan concluded.
Other world leaders participating in the summit include President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, the President of South Korea, Ms. Park Geun-hye and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon.
The FBI was reported to be pressing Malaysian investigators to interrogate Faizah, who is the estranged wife of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah who was the pilot of the Malaysian aircraft that disappeared into thin are about three weeks ago, with no fewer than 239 passengers aboard, including the crew members. Faizah was said to have lived with Ahmad Shah in the same house along with their children, but the pair were said to be separated. So far, local authorities have spoken with her, but have not pressed the issue of her husband’s frame of mind. This is even as investigators in Kuala Lumpur are said to be trying to ascertain the identity of a caller who spoke with the pilot on his mobile phone not long before the ill-fated plane took off. The phone call, according to investigation, lasted for two minutes and was placed to Captain Ahmad Shah’s mobile phone from a cell phone with a pay-as-you-go SIM card. Authorities traced the card to a shop in Kuala Lumpur. Investigators say that the ID provided for the purchase, as required by law, turned out to be bogus. All that is known is that the purchaser gave a woman’s name. While the development raises the possibility of a terrorist connection, such clandestine methods are also habitually used by political opponents of the government who don’t want their conversations traced. Meanwhile, The Times of London has reported that the plane’s cargo bay contained a consignment of phone and computer lithium-ion batteries. According to the newspaper, such batteries have been known on rare occasions to ignite on aircraft. In 2010, a UPS cargo plane crashed in Dubai after the batteries caught fire. Another UPS plane had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia in 2006 after a fire later traced to the batteries, according to the Times. Production of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft was delayed due to problems with lithium batteries that caused electrical fires. The batteries are not considered hazardous cargo, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Malaysian officials told the Times. On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there was “increasing hope” of a breakthrough in the hunt for the plane on the strength of Chinese and Australian satellite images of possible large debris from the plane in the southern search area. Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens early on March 8, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a scheduled flight to Beijing. An international force resumed its search efforts on Sunday, zeroing in on two areas some 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth in an effort to find the object identified by China and other small debris, including a wooden pallet spotted by a search plane on Saturday. “The weather in the southern Indian Ocean is much clearer today than the past couple days, allowing for the full spectrum electronic and visual of search capability,” Commander William J. Marks, spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet, said in an email. The Chinese discovery was dramatically announced by Malaysia’s acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein on Saturday, after he was handed a note with details during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur. China said the object was 22 meters long (74ft) and 13 meters (43ft) wide, and spotted around 120 km (75 miles) “south by west” of potential debris reported by Australia off its west coast. It could not easily be determined from the blurred images whether the objects were the same as those detected by Australia, but the Chinese photograph could depict a cluster of smaller objects, said a senior military officer from one of the 26 nations involved in the search for the plane. The wing of a Boeing 777-200ER is approximately 27 meters long and 14 meters wide at its base, according to estimates derived from publicly available scale drawings. Its fuselage is 63.7 meters long by 6.2 meters wide. Investigators believe someone on the flight shut off the plane’s communications systems, and partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and re-crossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot. That has led them to focus on hijacking or sabotage, but they have not ruled out technical problems. Faint electronic “pings” detected by a commercial satellite suggested it flew for another six hours or so, but could do no better than place its final signal on one of two vast arcs. While the southern arc is now the main focus of the search, Malaysia says the search will continue in both corridors until confirmed debris is found. “Hopefully, we will eventually provide some sort of closure or at least understanding of what happened on board Malaysian Airlines Flight MA370,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said. “The search will continue and will continue as long as there’s hope.” The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said eight aircraft scoured two areas covering 59,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) on Sunday, following news of the Chinese discovery. Also of interest was a wooden pallet with various strapping belts that was seen by a civilian jet on Saturday.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is gradually making the infamous administration of late General Sani Abacha a saint, going by what it called the looting spree that is currently going on. The party cautioned that unless immediate measures are taken to halt the rising tide of corruption under the Jonathan administration and the government takes concrete measures to reverse the trend, the nation is facing serious financial crisis of large magnitude. In a statement in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, the party said: “Going by the rate of looting currently going on at the centre, Nigerians should not be surprised if the present administration completely runs the economy aground before leaving office after the 2015 elections. “With no trace of the whopping sum of $29B which the NNPC–which has become a conduit pipe and the ATM Card of key actors of this administration–as it has not been remitted to the Federation Account; with no trace of the N24B Police Pension Fund and the inability of the Head of Service of the Federation to count for N340M, the fuel subsidy scam revealed by the defunct Farouk Lawan’s Committee, the non-remittance of billions of Naira that accrued to NLNG Bonny to the Federation account from 2004 till date that has badly affected all critical sectors of the Nigerian economy and constitute an economic crime; N10b allegedly wasted by Minister of Petroleum Resources, Deziani Allison-Madueke for maintenance of an aircraft, a Challenger 850 Aircraft and its crew in the last two years while millions of Nigerians go about without employment or means of livelihood, the nation is doomed. “These looting sprees continued while we are inundated on daily basis of scarce national resources, and public finance is shrinking in the face of ever increasing national needs such as roads, health, education and power. In recent times, most states of the federation have been facing acute shortage of allocations due to the dwindling national revenue which has reduced the quality of governance and deprived Nigerians of dividends of democracy.” The party asked Nigerians to rise and fight corruption, adding that they should not continue to watch while their common patrimony is being looted with impunity on daily basis. APC Rivers however commended the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for the strong position it took against the country’s worsening corruption situation during its Third Retreat held last week in Lagos. It described the retreat as an eye opener and that it demonstrated how a visionary and patriotic pressure group should conduct itself. “The issues of corruption, the menace of insecurity and unemployment ravaging our nation were put in the front burner by the NGF and solutions proffered to them. Unfortunately, we have an inept administration at the centre which will not likely to consider these revolutionary strategies advocated during the retreat.”
Former President of the United States of America, Mr. Jimmy Carter has said that President Barack Obama is the first president that has never solicited advice from him since he left office. Carter told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that President Bill Clinton consulted him, the same way President George W. Bush and H.W. Bush and even Ronald Reagan did, adding that they used to call on him to when they wanted to go into sensitive areas. Carter told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that it is difficult to explain with “complete candor” why he and Obama do not have a closer relationship, but thinks it has something to do with his center at Emory University. He believes the Carter Center’s views of equal treatment when it comes to the Middle East’s countries may have caused tension between him and Obama. “I think the problem was that—in dealing with the issue of peace in between Israel and Egypt—the Carter Center has taken a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. “And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn’t want to be involved.” Carter also said that he left the Southern Baptist Convention last year after it passed rules at its annual meeting “to require that women be subservient to their husbands, and women could no longer serve as a pastoral priest or as a deacon.” The former president had been part of the SBC for years before he left the church, serving as a deacon and Sunday School teacher for six decades, reports The Huffington Post. Carter also commented on the problem of sexual abuse in the military and on the nation’s college and university campuses. “Presidents of universities and colleges and commanding officers don’t want to admit that under their leadership, sexual abuse is taking place, so rapists prevail,” Carter said. Carter also commented on the situation in Ukraine. In 1980, he banned U.S. athletes from participating in the Moscow Olympics after the then-Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, and said where the Ukraine is concerned, “there has to be a concerted international prohibition against Putin going any further than Crimea.” Carter also discussed, shortly, the scandal concerning the National Security Agency and its surveillance practices. “I have felt that my own communications were probably monitored,” said Carter, adding: “when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the mailbox and mail it… I believe if I send an email it will be monitored.” Carter’s interview was done just days before the release of his new book, “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.”
Family of the embattled minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has blamed unnamed consultants for the tragedy that defined the recently conducted nation-wide aptitude test for over 500,000 Nigerians who were diserious of taking jobs with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). About 19 people died and many others sustained various degrees of injury at different centres across the country. In a statement today, signed by Major Agbo (Abba Moro’e nephew), the minister’s family said that while it is not in a hurry to indict the consultancy firm that handled the exercise in order not to preempt the investigative panel already in place, in interim it would condemn the shoddy and clumsy fashion with which the exercise was conducted. The famy insisted that if the consultancy firm had done its job properly, it would have carried proper online screening of the applicants with the aim of pruning down the size that would have been invited for the screening exercise, having in mind the existing vacancies. It admitted however that as the head of the ministry, the task of overseeing the conduct of the exercise rested strictly with the Minister through the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, but what happened at the field did not reflect the numerous assurances received by the minister from the consultants that all was going on smoothly. The statement is reproduced full here: “The family of the Honourable Minister of Interior have watched the events that followed the stampede occasioned by the recent screening exercise into the NIS which led to the death of about 19 applicants across the federation and hereby makes the following comments: 1. That we strongly share this moment of grief and pains with the immediate families of all those who lost their lives during the ill-fated recruitment exercise and beg Almighty God to comfort all parents, brothers, uncles and siblings of the the deceased applicants while asking Him to give them eternal test in His bossom. 2. That the Honourable Minister has gone down in history as one of the best local government chairmen Benue state in particular and the country in general has had, having served as ALGON chairman in Benue and having received numerous awards as best serving local government chairman in the federation in the past. 3. That the Honourable Minister has over time, been known as a man of integrity, honesty, dedication to duty, thoroughness, commitment and we are still at a loss as to what probably may have gone wrong with this exercise. 4. That we urge all Nigerians to please exercise patience to enable the investigation panel come out with findings as to what really went wrong, the findings will be useful to us as country to avert reoccurrence in future. 5. We know that no words, no matter how solemn, coming from the family will be enough to atone for these loss suffered by the immediate families of the deceased applicants but will still beg for the understanding of Nigerians to enable the ministry carry out proper investigation into this tragedy and tell Nigerians what really went wrong. 6. We do not want to be in a hurry to indict the consultancy firm that handled the exercise in order not to preempt the investigative panel already in place but will at the interim condemn the shoddy and clumsy fashion with which the exercise was conducted. 7. That if the consultancy firm had done its job properly, it would have carried proper online screening of the applicants with the aim to prune down the size that would be invited for the screening exercise having in mind the existing vacancies. 8. That as the Head of the ministry, the task of overseeing the conduct of the exercise rested strictly with the Minister through the CG of NIS, what happened at the field did not reflect the numerous assurances received by the Honourable Minister from the consultants that all was going on smoothly. 9. We thank the Federal Government for coming up with some form of palliatives ranging from employment opportunities for immediate family members of deceased people as well as automatic employment for all injured applicants across the federation even though we are aware that, that cannot bring back to life, all those who died in the tragedy. 10. That the Honourable Minister is a member of the family and known seriously for his respect for sanctity of lives of people and cannot in anyway, celebrate the death of any human being as being insinuated in some quarters, but will however show respect for the opinions of individuals who have painted him in different light other than what we know about him. 11. We are worried that this singular incidence, though unintended appears to be overwhelming the numerous positive achievements our son has recorded in the ministry since his assumption of duty as minister. 12. Once again we plead for the understanding of all those who lost their dear ones in this incidence to show understanding as God knows better what has happened; our heart, as a family is with you and we strongly believe that God Almighty will comfort you during this period of grief, we are with you in prayers now and always. God bless Nigeria. Signed: Major Agbo (Abba Moro’s Nephew) for the Family.”
How time flies! Today, your favourite online medium, Greenbarge Reporters, is a year old, having operated for full 12 months circle. It was hosted on Friday, 23 March 2013. The professional Journalists who floated the online, led by a veteran newspaper Journalist/Editor for over 30 years, outlined the principles guiding the medium right from the inception. Such principles are founded on Truth at all times and in all things; Fairness to all sides to an issue; Accuracy in judgment of news source; Precision in presentation and Hate Towards None. In running Greenbarge Reporters for 12 months, we have tried as we could, to religiously observe the tenets and principles guiding the noble profession of journalism one of which is “if you are not sure (of the facts) leave out.” We have even gone ahead to add a motto of building a hate-free-world. Of course, as human institution, we can’t claim perfection, but we have remained undaunted that when some of our colleagues are loosing their heads and hearts trying to beat one another to stories, we have kept ours slightly above the maddening crowd. In other words, we had, on many occasions, sacrificed prompt and hasty publication of news items in favour of Truth, so much that sometimes, our committed readers would ask, where were we when such things were happening? Yes, we agree that in keeping to Truth irrespective of who it affects or hurts, we may lose some readers; we may annoy others, but in the long run, we believe that ours would be defined by and honored with such Truth. And while we are not worried that the pursuit and sustenance of Truth is slowing the rapid growth of Greenbarge as we would have desired, we are not losing sleeps, knowing very well that when the chips are down and as we keep to the track, we would etch ourselves positively, in the minds of those who have always been confused with the news, presented as half truth or no truth, in form of breaking news. In other words, while others may be strong on breaking news because of their wide reach or spread; while yet others may be strong on prompt delivery of the published news because of their mastery of the technology just so that they would not be branded as being late in publishing, we aspire to be strong and be well-known for Truth because that is the beauty of life, bitter and slower as it may sometimes appear! Which is why a year after, we have changed our motto from Building A Hate-Free World to Truth Is Our Honour. That is to say that when in search of Truth on any emerging national and international issue, Greenbarge Reporters will continue to be your best bet to get it. You will notice that, from today and as a harbinger of the good things to come, we have changed Greenbarge Reporters Site’s platform to a more beautiful, professional and modern one. This is done in our desire to keep on satisfying our readers not just in the beautiful, well edited news presentation; not only in celebrating Truth and abhourring make-belief or half-truth in order to feel belong, but in eye-catching aesthetics, with international flavour. In observing our first anniversary, we must not fail to acknowledge the support and patronage of our faithful readers, most of who are young, agile, dynamic and futuristic, and the older ones that have refused to give in to the effect of age as they remain standing and competing with the dynamism of the youth. They are well spread across the world and mostly concentrated in most parts of Africa, America, Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland and many more. We are also indebted to some of our colleagues who have identified with us and are taking us along as we try to survive the challenges involved in this kind of business of news dissemination. We wish to seize this once-in-a-while opportunity to invite you to join us in raising up tumblers to toast to Greenbarge Reporters at one. We also invite you to subscribe to Greenbarge Reporters newsletter enmass, and to like it on Face Book as well as interact on other social network such as twitter, etc. Thank you all for being there for us.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has threatened that Christians would boycott the 2016 population census and subsequent exercises if there is no provision for religion in the questionnaire. In a statement today in Abuja, CAN General Secretary, Dr. Musa Asake said that the inclusion of religion in the census questionnaire is necessary to establish which religion has more adherents than the others in the country. He was reacting the claim by the umbrella body of Nigerian Muslims, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), that the process of selecting delegates to the National Conference was not done with fair representation and will affect the credibility of its outcome. Asake said: “the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), read with consternation the provocative and inciting statements by the Secretary General of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam, (JNI) Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu at a press conference in Kaduna recently. “At a press conference, the JNI Secretary General claimed that the process of selecting participants to the National Conference was not done with fair representation which will affect the credibility of its outcome. That Muslems were cheated in the process in spite of having the largest population as revealed by many international agencies. Democracy, he said, is a game of numbers but it has not being respected, because Muslems constitute the majority in the country, Christians, who by all acceptable records are not more than 40% of the country’s population ironically constitutes 62% of the total delegates.” According to him, they find it disrespectful to Muslems that of the twenty delegates of the Federal Government, only six are Muslems, no Muslem is deemed fit to make the delegates of the Nigerian economic summit.” CAN condemned what it called “the unprovoked defamation of Nigeria Christians by the Ja’amatu Nasril Islam (JNI) through its Secretary General. “To assume or suggest, as it were, that Muslims are more than Christians in Nigeria as the basis for his argument when no census anchored on religion has been carried out is logically faulty. When and how are these figures by the international agencies arrived at? Which of the international agencies have census figures that Nigerians do not have? Has there been any census by international agencies in Nigeria? To put forward a suggestion or theories like this one by Dr. Khalid, for others to consider should have been well thought out. “In this case, the JNI Secretary General goofed, having put out insensible arguments and thoughts. “The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is therefore challenging the Secretary General of the JNI to make it public the source of his population figures which shows that Christians in this country are 40%? “If JNI at this point does not respond to this population issue, and produce their claimed sources, CAN will use alternative means to ascertain the fact of their publication, for we cannot continue to allow people like the JNI be making reckless and false statements, bringing division among Christians and Muslims, when we are busy working hard to see we live together in peace and harmony. “The body of rules, ideas, principles and techniques that applies to subjects like census figures must be those matched by empirical evidences. Dr. Khalid’s ideas, thoughts and beliefs about the 40% Christian population and 62% of delegates being Christians are therefore mere speculation and conjectures to buy in the idea of a region’s reluctance to attend the conference. It is another way of using religion to shoot down the conference. “CAN may need to remind JNI of the argument and refusal of Muslims to include religion during the last census in Nigeria. We appeal to JNI not to use religion as a basis for their reservations about the National Conference. We believe the conference will do Nigeria a lot of good. “Meanwhile, the JNI Secretary General should come out with the figures that make the Muslim population to be more than that of Christians as we in CAN will boycott future census in Nigeria beginning with the 2016 exercise if they do not include religion. Enough is Enough!”
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The new governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Obiano, has asked members of the cabinet he inherited from Peter Obi who handed over power to him last week to continue in their respective offices pending when he will reconstitute his cabinet.
Many delegates to the National Conference currently sitting in the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have risen against the rule of business handed down to the delegates by President Goodluck Jonathan. The delegates opposed the clause stipulating that all decisions to be reached must be done through consensus or a vote of 75 percent majority.
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has called on the world, especially the advanced nations, to respect the right of countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is gradually making the infamous administration of late General Sani Abacha a saint, going by what it called the looting spree that is currently going on.
