Kogi 2019: PDP Sells Governorship Ticket For N21 Million

July 28, 2019

Ahead of the forthcoming elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has fixed N21 Million for the purchase of its governorship ticket.

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the party fixed the price today, July 29, at the end of its meeting at the party’s headquarters in Abuja. It said that the nomination fee is N20 Million while expression of interest form goes for N1 Million.

Speaking after the meeting, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that the party decided to increase the price of forms because the cost of conducting primary election is very high.

He assured that the party would conduct a free, fair and credible primary in Bayelsa and Kogi states to produce credible candidates in the coming months.

“The return of expression of interest/nomination forms would commence on Monday, June 24 and close on Wednesday, July 24 at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.”

Also, a document signed by PDP National Organizing Secretary, retired Colonel Austin Akobundu said that sales and return of expression of interest/nomination forms commenced on June 24 and closed on July 24 at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

PDP had sold its presidential nomination and expression of interest form for the 2019 presidential election at N2 million and N10 million respectively making a total of N12 million, while that of governorship was sold for N1 million and N5 million, making a total of N6 million.

Buhari Angry Over Boko Haram Attack In Maiduguri, Vows To End Terrorism

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his anger over, and strongly condemned the attack by members of the proscribed Boko Haram, on a funeral procession in Maiduguri, Borno State, causing the death of tens of mourners.

A statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu said that the President has directed Air Force and ground operation army to move swiftly to hunt down the attackers with air patrols.

“The President has received assurances from the armed forces that the terrorists who committed these killings will pay a big price for their action.

“The Federal Government is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to safeguard the nation’s security. This administration is determined to end the menace of terrorism.”

The President assured the residents of Maiduguri and the citizens who settled in IDP camps that they will receive increased protection against further attacks.

Shiites Vow To Appeal Proscription, Admit They Are Not Registered

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

Supporters of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky have vowed to appeal the order of the Federal Court that handed down the proscription of the Islamic movement in Nigeria, as soon as their lawyers are ready, even as they admitted that being a religious minority group, they in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) are not registered.

They described the proscription of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria as the plan of a foreign Arab government which works very closely with some dubious and unpatriotic Nigerians, adding that the court’s order sponsored by the Nigerian government is alien to Nigeria which is a country with different religions, cultures, and ethnic groups.

Supporters of El-Zakzaky were reacting to the order issued by a Federal High in Abuja banning the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and designating it as a terrorist group.

El-Zakzaky supporters called on the Nigerian President to uphold the Nigerian constitution even as they vowed to continue their normal religious activities.

Meanwhile, a Kaduna State High Court is due to sit tomorrow, July 29, to decide on the application for medical bail filed by El-Zakzaky’s lawyers. If granted, the Islamic Cleric will travel abroad for medical treatment.

Buhari Sets Up National Action Committee On African Continental Free Trade Implementation

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved establishment of a National Action Committee (NAC) for implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which he signed on behalf of Nigeria at the 12th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State on July 7 in Niamey, Republic of Niger.

A statement today, July 28 by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that the Action Committee will be made up of representatives of Ministries and Agencies with competent and relevant jurisdiction, and selected stakeholder groups from the private sector and the civil society to coordinate the implementation of all the AfCFTA readiness interventions.

The statement said that the Committee (NAC) will upon inauguration, undertake a process of engagement with stakeholders to sensitize them on the opportunities and challenges of the AfCFTA, with preparedness plans for Nigerian economy.

The statement reads:

Upon ratification, Nigeria will domesticate the Agreement by incorporating it into existing laws or enacting new laws, as appropriate. Engagement shall shortly start with the Ninth National Assembly.

President Buhari had approved recommendations of the Committee on Impact and Readiness Assessment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. The Committee, which was inaugurated by the President in October 2018, submitted its report on 27 June 2019.

The Report of the Presidential Committee was comprehensive, analytic with the full engagement of Stakeholders in the Nigerian economy. The work of the AfCFTA Presidential Committee was preceded by a nation-wide sensitization process directed by Mr. President.

The Report and consultative process raised the bar in engagement by Government with Stakeholders and set a standard for building support for strategic areas of public policy with clarity on concrete parameters for implementation action.

The AfCFTA Agreement, which creates a single market for goods and services and movement of persons to increase intra-African trade and deepen African economic integration, has Phase I and Phase II negotiations.

The Phase I negotiations culminated in the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA, the Protocol on Trade in Goods; Protocol on Trade in Services; and, the Protocol on the Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes. These were adopted by the African Union Heads of State in Kigali on 21st March 2018. The Phase II negotiations are expected to commence in January 2020 and will cover competition, investment and intellectual property rights.

The recommendations approved by President Buhari include: signature and ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement; engaging in the ongoing negotiations of the annexures of the Agreement to incorporate safeguards for the economy, such as: a longer period to achieve AfCFTA’s trade liberalization ambition; common exclusive and sensitive lists for ECOWAS; import quotas for exclusive and sensitive products; security and customs cooperation and other measures to tackle smuggling, non-tariff barriers to trade and predatory trade practices.

The President approved sustaining the trade reforms at ECOWAS including the establishment of a common trade policy, improving the operation and welfare gains from the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) and establishment of an ECOWAS peer review and audit mechanism; and establishing and championing programmes at AU/AfCFTA to resolve the critical continental level challenges to the success of the AfCFTA including smuggling, abuse of rules of origin, low production and service capacities, poor infrastructure and revenue loss.

On the list of the President’s approval are: fast-tracking domestic work, for the implementation of AfCFTA readiness interventions to enhance productivity, competitiveness and facilitate trade which include policies to grow local capacity to produce and export goods and services; infrastructure projects, trade facilitation, ease of doing business and trade rules enforcement initiatives. And support, actively, Micro- Small and Medium Enterprises.

Following the signing of the Agreement, Nigeria plans to participate in the ongoing negotiations on the annexures of Phase I agreement and protocols to incorporate the above safeguards approved by the President. For Trade-in-Goods Protocol, the annexures will include schedule of tariff concessions; rules of origin; customs cooperation and mutual administrative assistance; trade facilitation; transit trade and transit facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, non-tariff barriers and trade remedies, for the protocol on trade in goods.

For Trade-in-Services Protocol, the annexures will include schedules of specific commitments, Most Favoured Nation (MFN) exemption and the annex on air transport.

Overall, the implementation of the AfCFTA is going to be a long journey. The Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to ensuring that Africa achieves a free and fair trade environment governed by rules that are predictable, enforceable, and in line with the intent and objectives of our continent which are growth, through increased intra-African trade, job creation and improved terms of trade in a rapidly changing global economy.

Group Rises To Defend Ministerial Nominee Against Malicious Media Reports, Asks Senate To Ignore Them

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

A group calling itself Grassroots Youth for Change in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Senate to ignore what it described as “malicious media reports” against former Group General Manager (GGM), Crude Oil Marketing Division (OMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and minister-nominee, Goddy Jeddy-Agba, saying he was a victim of unsubstantiated allegations.

National Coordinator of the group, Orlu Henry Manuchimso said, in a statement in Abuja today, July 28, that the allegation that Jeddy-Agba aided Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in shady deals, including the multi-billion dollar oil-for fuel swap deal, was a calculated campaign of calumny aimed at discounting Jeddy-Agba’s chances of scaling Senate’s screening and confirmation hearing.

“The allegations of corruption and the claim that Mr. Goddy Jeddy-Agba is not medically fit are idle narratives and unnecessary distractions for which the Senate should not fall. Whereas they are aimed at discounting his chances of scaling the screening and confirmation hearing by the Senate, the allegations represent unconscionable attempts to tar a solid reputation built over several years of committed service to the fatherland with a brush of malfeasance.

“The masterminds of the reports should have known that the Presidency and the security agencies must have taken the nomination of Mr. Goddy Jeddy-Agba through due diligence checks before forwarding his name as President Muhammadu Buhari’s minister-nominee to the Senate for screening and confirmation hearing. If anything untoward had been uncovered in the process, he would not have been nominated.

“Mr. Jeddy-Agba’s nomination is, thus, the clearest indication yet that no security reports and outcomes of any quiet investigations, whether now or in the past, have indicted him of being complicit in any shady deal while he worked for the NNPC.

“Besides, the media reports have created the erroneous impression that the anti-graft agencies were probably not up and doing in their job for purportedly failing to establish Mr. Jeddy-Agab’s links with their (media reports’) alleged large-scale corruption on Diezani’s watch as Minister of Petroleum.

“As a group that is committed to the promotion of equity and fairness within the APC, we are concerned that one of our illustrious party leaders in Cross River State, whose nomination enjoys the approbation and commendation of the entire State, including members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, is being unjustifiably and maliciously clobbered in the media by some vested interests whose objective is parochial and primordial.

“It is a matter of judicial records that in all the corruption cases filed by the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, there is none in which Mr. Goddy Jeddy-Agba has been listed as a party whether separately or jointly with her.

“To suggest or insinuate him into corrupt acts or shady deals in the manner in which some media reports have done because of his nomination for the position of minister and because he was privileged to work at the time he did for the NNPC, without substantiation beyond reasonable doubt before a court of competent jurisdiction, is malicious and ungodly.

“Nigerians, including the Senate, are interested in facts and not fictions. As long as the allegations remain unsubstantiated, we urge the Senate to discountenance them and proceed to screen and confirm Mr. Goddy Jeddy-Agba as a fit and proper person to step into the position of minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The APC youth group also described the reference to Jeddy-Agba’s health as an extreme malice, pointing out that while the issue of medical status of public officers in Nigeria enjoys the confidentiality of doctor-patient’s relationship, it is not appropriate, in that context, for anyone to make a magisterial declaration that borders on the fitness or otherwise of any potential or serving public officer.

“While we are not competent to pronounce on his health issues, as everybody has one health issue or another, we declare that Mr. Jeddy-Agba’s dispositions indicate he is medically and mentally fit.

“We hereby call on the Senate to observe very closely Mr. Jeddy-Agba’s gait, composure, response time and coherence of answers to questions during his screening as we believe this will assist it in confirming his mental alertness which will countervail claims of any health issues that have not, in fact, incapacitated him.”

Shiites: We’re Fighting Lawlessness, Criminality, Not Freedom Of Religion – Presidency

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

“We are fighting lawlessness and criminality and not pursuing a policy of discrimination against any group.”

The Nigerian Presidency, in a statement today, July 28, explaining the proscription of Elzakzaky’s Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites, insisted that their leader cannot be facing charges in the court of law and his supporters are constantly engaged in violent protests, molesting people and inflicting pains on others, which includes taking innocent lives.

“You cannot be in court while at the same time engaging in violent protests, molesting people and inflicting pains on others, which includes taking innocent lives.”

Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in the statement, said that the proscription of the IMN has nothing to do with banning the larger numbers of peaceful and law abiding Shiites in the country from practicing their religion, “instead, it was to discourage wanton violence, murder and willful destruction of public and private property.

Garba Shehu said that contrary to the claim by IMN that it had been banned from practicing its religion, President Buhari’s administration has not banned Shiites from observing their five daily prayers and going to Mecca to perform the Holy pilgrimage.

He described the position of the Shiites as blatantly false and deceptive, adding that they are deliberately changing the narrative in order to gain sympathy and divert the attention of the world from its terrorist activities, including attacking soldiers, killing policemen and a youth corps member, destroying government ambulances and public property, consistently defying authority of the state.

He said that the banned organization was taken over by extremists who didn’t believe in peaceful protests and instead employed violence and arson, driving fear and undermining the rights of others and constituted authority.

“The Presidency agrees that the constitution protects freedom of worship, but not to the detriment of the society, especially where such freedom harms others, and breaks law and order.

“The Presidency insists that such criminal behavior and disregard for rights of others and human life will not be tolerated by any responsible government, explaining that everywhere in the world protesters operate within legal boundaries and conduct themselves peacefully without molesting others, or engaging in murder and killing of security personnel or destroying public and private property.

“The Presidency regrets that despite all efforts by the government and other well-meaning Nigerians to make the IMN militants to see reason and abandon violence, such appeals fell on deaf ears as they killed, maimed and destroyed willfully, constituting daily nuisance to workers, commuters and other innocent citizens.

“Having defied appeals to operate peacefully, and given their seeming determination to destabilize the country, the government had to act before the situation goes out of control, after admonishing many times over that people should not use religion to perpetuate lawlessness.”

The Presidency, The Shi’ites And The Police, By Yushau A. Shuaib

Editorial staff

July 28, 2019

“Please, in the name of God, don’t fight or fire…” these were the last words of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Usman Umar, who was shot while attempting to rescue one of his officers, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sani Shehu, during a violent protest by members of the Islamic Movement In Nigeria (IMN), a Shi’ite group, in Abuja. Umar was later certified dead at the hospital.

As a Muslim and a Northerner, I am deeply concerned and worried about the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, armed banditry in the North-West and the seeming uncontained Shi’ite protest in Abuja, North-Central Nigeria.. The root causes of most crises in Nigeria are the disappearance of means of livelihoods, the lack of jobs and human insecurity, alongside the deepening incidence of poverty and immiseration. Also, ignorance, impunity, acts of lawlessness, the expressions of fanatical ideologies and sectional sentiments that are being exploited and manipulated by political elites.

On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the Nigerian Police announced restriction on all forms of protests in Abuja to the Unity Fountain area, to contain what had become the daily processions and protests of Shi’ite members. The Force spokesman, DCP Frank Mba said that by that directive, intending protesters were expected to steer clear of all critical national infrastructure, especially in the “Three Arms Zone.”

A few days later, precisely on July 19, the Presidency issued a statement seemingly indicating the likelihood that the Buhari administration would obey a decision of the courts to release the leader of the Shi’ites in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky.

A presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, in the statement, said: “Rallies and street dances (by Shi’ites) ostensibly to openly insult the president and other leaders, threatening bloodshed, will lead nowhere… The Buhari administration has absolutely no hand in the on-going court case and the courts are free to determine the bail request and the outcome.”

In its reaction, the Shi’ites wondered how the Presidency would make such a claim when the government has contemptuously refused to obey court orders in this regard. In its statement dated July 21, the Shiite spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, wrote that: “In December 2016, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court freed Sheikh Zakzaky from the illegal detention ordered that he, along with his wife, be compensated to the tune of N50m, a house be provided for him in any part of the country he desires and security be provided for his protection. The Buhari government deliberately acted in contempt of court and refused to respect the judiciary. So which court is the presidency talking about that will decide the fate of our leader?”

The following day, July 22, Shi’ite members stormed Abuja with a procession that commenced from Wuse and moved towards the Three Arms Zone, which accommodates the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.

When the procession was becoming rowdy and confrontational, DCP Umar, who had peacefully contained more than two-dozen Shi’ite protests in the last few months, thought he could re-enact his magic wand in pacifying and engaging the protesters to be peaceful.

As the Officer in Charge of Operations at the Abuja Police Command, Umar had saved many lives by defusing highly violent protests in the Federal Capital Territory in the past. A very religious, detribalised and patriotic Nigerian, DCP Umar had a golden rule, which he proudly announced to his team whenever they were on sensitive assignments. He often told members of his squad that: “Policing is not kill-and-go but a humane profession of saving humanity.”

In several instances whenever his team was provoked, he would always insist that live ammunition should not be fired. That was the same directive he had earlier issued on the day he was killed while on duty.

A few days after the death of the police officer, precisely on July 26, the judiciary designated the Shi’ite movement in Nigeria a terrorist group, after the Federal Government sought a court order to proscribe the group. Justice Nkeonye Maha who issued the order also restrained “any person or group of persons” from participating in any form of activity involving or concerning the IMN “under any name or platform” in Nigeria.

With this development, the Presidency should work with credible intelligence to ensure that the Shi’ite issue does not snowball into a major crisis that could worsen the current insecurity in the country, because radical ideologies are usually – rather, unfortunately – given further life through the use of coercive force on its subscribers or membership.

It is necessary to point out that Shi’ite members seem to be more sophisticated in their ideologies than similar groups, as they are scattered across diverse fields such as the academia, business, media, judiciary, military, security, civil service, and politics. Members of the movement don’t necessarily proclaim their affiliation but generally identify with the broader category of being Muslims and perform pilgrimage in Mecca without being stopped by their regional arch-rival, the Saudi-Arabia. Their foreign supporters, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran, have, to some extent, exercised restraint in the last four years of the Shi’ite issue in Nigeria, which simply indicates behind-the-scene workings of intelligence services and diplomatic efforts in keeping the matter from frothing to the surface.

Even the powerful Trump administration is struggling to counter Iran’s network of proxies across the globe, notably in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen. During the American war in Iraq, Iranian-linked Shi’ite militia hit foreign forces with lethal roadside bombs that penetrated even armoured vehicles. The Pentagon has officially disclosed that: “those attacks killed hundreds of U.S. troops between 2003-2010.” Several years after, the militia groups still wield significant influence in the country and elsewhere. Iran certainly knows how to exploit the chaos in some countries to promote its ideologies and interests in keeping its rivals off-balance.

In its efforts to address the challenges confronting our nation, the Presidency needs to deploy more sophisticated responses by thoughtfully engaging in diplomacy and negotiations for amicable solutions, rather than the utilisation of military or police force. When some Shi’ite members were killed in a similar altercation with the military in Zaria in 2014, not only did the Defence Headquarters tender an apology and set up a panel to look into the incident, President Goodluck Jonathan also personally reached out to and empathized with Sheikh El-Zakzaky for peace to reign. This is one approach that could be extended or built on.

Yushau A. Shuaib, Author of “An Encounter with the Spymaster” can be reached on www.YAShuaib.com

Ex Top Cop, Intelligence Specialist Advocates State, Community Policing To End Insecurity

Editorial staff

July 27, 2019

A former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP, and security intelligence specialist, Tunde Oginsakin has urged the Federal Government to urgently consider state policing alongside community policing to combat the security challenge the nation is facing, saying the twin policing systems are best measures to deal with the situation.

The ex-AIG, who scored President Muhammadu Buhari and Inspector General of Police, (IGP), high in tackling the security challenges in the country, assured that within a very short time and with FG’s adoption of state policing, insecurity would fizzle out.

Tunde Oginsakin, who spoke today, July 27 in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, said: “the Federal Government is doing its very best to ensure the safety of lives and property in the country. All the security apparatus are on their toes.

“The IGP (Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu) is equal to the task and doing his best to ensure safety of lives and property. Within a short period, the challenge of insecurity will be a thing of the past. I urge Nigerians to be rest assured that the security will soon be a thing of the past.

“We already are going to community policing in the country. I am happy that there will also soon be state police. State policing ought to have happened yesterday but I am sure the Federal Government would bring it. The best way to solve the guerrilla war posing security issue in the country is to use state police. So, community policing should come and state police should follow.”

Police Crack Down On Govt Opposition In Russia, Arrest Over 1,000

Editorial staff

July 27, 2019

Russian police rounded up more than 1,000 people in Moscow today, July 27 in one of the biggest crackdowns of recent times against an increasingly defiant opposition decrying President Vladimir Putin’s tight grip on power.

The arrest and detentions came following a protest to demand that opposition members be allowed to run in a local election. Authorities had declared it illegal and sought to block participation, but several thousand people turned up in one of the longest and most determined protests of recent years.

Chants of “Russia without Putin” and “Putin resign” echoed through central Moscow as guardsmen clad in riot gear beat back protesters with batons and roughly detained people.

At least one woman and a man appeared to have suffered serious head wounds.

Today’s events showed how activists and especially younger people remain intent on pressing to open Russia’s tightly-choreographed political system to competition.

Jailed opposition leader, Alexei Navalny had called the protest to persuade officials to allow opposition-minded candidates to run in a September 8 election. But authorities said that they were barred because they failed to collect sufficient genuine signatures in their support.

The opposition has no seats in parliament and is starved of air time on state TV where many Russians still get their news.

Opinion polls in the past have shown support for Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist, only in the single digits. But backers note he won almost a third of the vote in a 2013 Moscow mayoral race and say his movement could build momentum in the Russian capital if allowed to compete fairly.

Though Putin’s approval rating is still high at well over 60 percent, it is lower than it used to be due to discontent over years of falling incomes. Last year, the 66-year-old former KGB intelligence officer won a landslide re-election and a new six-year term until 2024.

Ireland Cautions New British PM Against Collision Course With EU Over Brexit

Editorial staff

July 27, 2019

Ireland has cautioned the new British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson against going on a collision course with the European Union over the issue of Brexit. It warned against preventing an orderly exit with a deal.

Such biting criticism from Ireland, just two days since Johnson took office with a pledge to strike a new divorce deal with the EU, indicates the perils of the Brexit gambit chosen by Britain’s new government.

On entering Downing Street on Wednesday, Johnson cautioned that if the EU refused to negotiate then he would take Britain out on October 31 without a deal, a step that would send shock waves through the world economy.

In an indication of business concerns about a disorderly exit from the EU, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that a no-deal Brexit was an existential threat to the British car industry and would risk output.

Johnson spiced his pitch to the EU on Thursday by bluntly stating that one of the most hotly contested elements of the Brexit divorce agreement – the Irish border backstop – would have to be struck out if there was to be an orderly exit.

However, Ireland’s second most powerful politician, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, said that Prime Minister Johnson’s comments were “very unhelpful” and warned that the new British leader is not going to get a deal with such an approach.

“He seems to have made a deliberate decision to set Britain on a collision course with the European Union and with Ireland in relation to the Brexit negotiations,” Coveney told reporters in Belfast after meeting Julian Smith, Britain’s Northern Ireland minister.

Smith later said he did not think a collision was looming.

“We need to find solutions particularly for the issue of the border, but the prime minister was very, very clear to his cabinet yesterday that he wants to get a deal done,” he said.

Further illustrating the delicate issues at stake, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that a British EU exit without a deal would raise the question of planning for a possible future unification of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Source: Reuters.

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