Economic survival: Sokoto must look beyond oil -Tambuwal
By; Alex Uangbaoje, Kaduna.
In view of the financial challenges being faced by Nigeria where states are finding it difficult to pay workers salaries and some getting financial bailout from the Federal Government in an economy solely depended on oil, the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal said it is time for Sokoto State to look beyond oil for survival.
Speaking at a two-day retreat organised for political office holders and senior government officials from the state in Kaduna Wednesday, Tambuwal said even though various states now face financial challenges, looking inwards and away from federation allocation guarantees future security.
He said as societies evolve, governments must evolve new ways to deliver quality service to the citizens.
According to him: “Public service today faces varied challenges which we may not have been taught while we were in school. With the advent of social media and citizen awareness, it has become imperative for us to run the affairs of government in the most transparent manner.
“So we envisage that, deliberations and brainstorming sessions at this retreat will have far-reaching impact in evolving policies and programmes that will guide us to address the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate who gave us their mandate with the hope that we will ensure good governance.”
Tambuwal urged the participants to reduce rancour and promote cooperation for the smooth running of government.
He said friction among functionaries of government, irrespective of whatever arms or tier they belong to, is only possible if they resort to personal or selfish indulgence as against genuine commitment to public interests.
“Roles and functions have been clearly streamlined and procedures sufficiently articulated and delineated.
“I strongly believe that ambiguities are only created if, and only if, public need is sacrificed on the altar of vested interest,” he added.
Economic survival: Sokoto must look beyond oil -Tambuwal By; Alex Uangbaoje, Kaduna.
Proliferation of illegal firearms, responsible for cattle herdsmen Menace …Security Expert By; Raymond Tedunjaye, Lagos.
Proliferation of illegal firearms, responsible for cattle herdsmen Menace …Security Expert
By; Raymond Tedunjaye, Lagos.
The proliferation of illegal firearms in the country has been attributed as factor responsible for cattle herdsmen menace in Nigeria.
A security expert, Dr Bone Efoziem, made the assertion friday while delivering a lecture during the Crime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (CRAN) 2015 Lecture/Award ceremony.
Efoziem, who spoke on the “Menace of Cattle Herdsmen: A Threat to National Security” noted that weapons used by the cattle herdsmen were too sophisticated and expensive to be bought by the itinerant cattle rearers.
According to him, there was an urgent need for the government to check the entry points of these illegal weapons going into the hands of civilians.
The security expert noted that before now, cattle herdsmen were only known to go about with knife and sticks, wondering where they got the current weapons from.
Instead of ranches, Efoziem advocated for grassing across the country, and adequate security to monitor the activities of the herdsmen. ”The cattle herdsmen are not educated enough, rich enough to import such firearms. So, who then is bringing these weapons to them. This is where the government has to look into. It is time the government knows who are cattle owners and rearers in Nigeria. The government should have a grassing centres were security agents can monitor herdsmen activities if the clashes must stop,” he said.
Efoziem, however, said that the notion that cattle rearers were Fulani cattle herdsmen was wrong, stressing that such connotations could only cause ethnic strife. He said before now, cattle rearers have been in all parts of the country without any problems.
The expert said that the security challenges in Nigeria should not be blame on the performance of security agents, rather, the government that failed to provide necessary equipment for their jobs.
Speaking at the occasion, the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase commended the media for partnering with the Police to fight crimes across the nation.
Arase said the media had made crime fighting easy with the stories exposing criminal elements in the society, calling for more of such publications.
The IG, who was represented by the Force PPRO, ACP Olabisi Kolawole called for cooperation by all to fight crimes in all parts of the federation.
In his remark at the occasion, the chief host and Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni pointed out that the enormity of human and economic loss suffered as a result of the menace of cattle herdsmen, is more than that survived as a result of insurgency.
Highlights of the event was the awards of honour bestowed on various persons in the private and public security, businesses, among them were the IGP Solomon Arase, Halogen Security Company, Commissioner of Police Oyo State Command, Leye Oyebade, DPO Sango Ota, SP.Yinka Egbeyemi, Commander Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Olatunji Disu, ACP. Usong Ekpo.
OPC raises alarm over Biafran agitators plan to shift campaign to Yorubaland By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
OPC raises alarm over Biafran agitators plan to shift campaign to Yorubaland
By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has raised the alarm of an alleged moves by the pro-Biafran agitators to shift their campaign to Yorubaland “for ulterior motives”.
OPC in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan and signed by the National Coordinating Council of the OPC, Comrade Akinpelu Adeshina asked security agencies and Yoruba leaders to guard against threat to peace in the South West zone.
It specifically advocated increased surveillance on the organizers of ‘The World Igbo Day 2015’ proposed to be hosted in Yorubaland this Saturday alleging “ulterior motives” behind the hurried arrangement.
“We see the attempt to bring the World Igbo Day celebration – in whatever guise – which is normally celebrated on the 29th September annually to the Yorubaland as a mischievous and diabolically crafted attempt to cause chaos in and destabilize Yorubaland; and this we will repulse and reject with everything at our disposal,” OPC stated.
Emphasizing that it was “compelled to make this call given the precarious and heightened security situation in the country and the world over”, OPC
added, “as much as we believe in the right of every person and group to self-determination, we are of the firm belief that this particular event is mischievously conceived and earmarked to be hosted in any part of Yorubaland.
“It is true that the Yoruba are a liberal, peaceful and accommodating people, yet we are no fools and should not be treated as fools. The South West part of Nigeria is the most secure and peaceful part of Nigeria today and should therefore not be turned into a theatre of war or avoidable crisis”.
OPC stressed in the statement that “for too long, the Yoruba have accommodated all other tribes and nationalities like good hosts. We have not minded the odium and other atrocities committed against our people, and on our ancestral land.
“During the last election campaigns, it was the height of all insults when the Igbos in Lagos derided and mudsling our highly revered traditional rulers, particularly the Oba of Lagos. Never in history has it been recorded that a Yoruba person or group crossed the Niger River into either the northern or eastern part of the country to go and vilify, desecrate or insult any of their paramount rulers for political or any other reasons. The leeway to do business and own properties which the Igbo and other nationalities enjoy in Yorubaland has not been reciprocated for the Yoruba elsewhere, thus it would only be fair to warn anyone or group that ‘if our relationship cannot be mutually beneficial, it should in no way be injurious to us as a people”.
It noted that “The recent infractions of the Fulani cattle-herders in Yorubaland are the last slap to the cheek that we are ready to accommodate as a people. We have also not forgotten the attempt to overrun Yorubaland and turn it into the theatre of war during the Biafran attempt to cede from Nigeria”.
OPC then charged all Yoruba elders, “leaders of thought and the commoners to wake up to the realities of the day and stand up to be counted in this effort to maintain the continued peaceful and harmonious existence that has always been the pride of the Yorubas.”
Over 800,000 Ondo residents test for for HIV By; Odeyemi Samuel, Akure.
Over 800,000 Ondo residents test for for HIV
By; Odeyemi Samuel, Akure.
Over 800,000 people across Ondo State have been screened and tested for the Human Immune Virus, Secretary to the State Government and Chairman, Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Aderotimi Adelola has said
He stated this while addressing journalists during a condom use and safer sex sensitisation exercise to hotels in Akure, as part of activities commemorating the 2015 World AIDS Day.
Adelola said the government is working towards ensuring there was zero HIV new infection, discrimination and stigmatization of people living with HIV, mother to child transmission and other AIDS related deaths.
According to him, the Agency has embarked on consistent HIV counselling and testing in all nooks and crannies of the state, expansion of HIV counselling and testing centres from three on assumption of office to about 230 centres spread across the state.
He maintained that ODSACA with the support of other stakeholders is implementing strategic action plans in order to promote behavioural change, ensure care and support for people living with the virus.
The Chairman opined that the state has over the years, successfully articulated policies and programmes to sustain the efforts of the agency in the fight against the scourge.
The Chief Scribe who encouraged the people to know their HIV status, observed that the law relating to HIV in the state empowers ODSACA to enforce HIV related laws. As such, it is a severe offence for hoteliers not to put condom packs in their rooms in order to promote safer sex, reduce the spread of the virus, while noting that the agency will not hesitate to prosecute defaulters.
He said Civil Society Organizations have also been contracted to increase HIV awareness at different strata of the society and this has been very productive as it amounts to very high behavioural change, adherence to preventive intervention mechanism among female sex workers and other most at risk groups.
He further disclosed that over 500 personnel have also been trained to further assist in the campaign against the spread of the virus at the urban and rural areas.
Corroborating his view, the Project manager, Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Adedayo Adegbulu, noted that HIV is not a death sentence, as such care and support must be given to people living with the virus, adding that the state has acquired sophisticated machines and put in hospitals across the state to get accurate analysis and screening of the virus, while the Centre for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission has also been expanded from three at the inception of this administration to 148 centres.
He said with HIV education now been inculcated in the Secondary School Curriculum, youth will be encouraged on abstinence, increase their awareness about HIV and advice them to further spread the campaign in the homes and among peers.
Adegbulu therefore appealed to the private sector to pick interest in assisting the Agency towards stemming the spread of the virus, while urging them to see it as a social responsibility to provide care and support for people living with the virus.
Fuel Scarcity: DPR Officials accuse of Complexity in Jos By; Buhari B. Bello, Jos.
Fuel Scarcity: DPR Officials accuse of Complexity in Jos
By; Buhari B. Bello, Jos.
Officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Jos, Plateau State have been accused of connivance with some dealers in the unending prolong fuel scarcity in the state.
Investigation by New Nigerian revealed that the staff hitherto collect bribe from the marketers who on their part sell the fuel at exorbitant prices by adjusting their Machines.
Findings at some filling stations in Jos and Bukuru Metropolis, showed some level of complexity in monitoring the distribution of the product in the city.
Investigations further showed that 10 kobo used to be collected by the DPR officials at the mega filling stations on each liter of Kerosene Supply to the station.
At majority of the filling stations in the state capital and environs, it was discovered that they still prefer to sell to black marketers against the government approved pump price, thereby worsening the situation in the state.
We also discovered that some of the filling stations now divert their allocations by discharging or selling to black marketers at ungodly hour in the night.
Apart from their desire to sell the products at higher prices to whoever can afford and without being monitored, finding indicated that most black marketer now device a means of decieving the DPR officials by collaborating with the station owners to construct additional fuel tanks that consume more products.
A cross section of consumers said unless the DPR officials desist from collecting “returns” and device a way of monitoring the distribution, fuel scarcity may not end in jos metropolis soon.
The new DPR Controller in Plateau State, Chief Caesar Douglas said the Department lacks the power to make arrest.
He decline to comment on all the allegations leveled against the DPR officials in the state.
Kaduna Portsmouth locks horns with Star Bombers as Fresh Soccer ends Saturday By; Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Kaduna.
Kaduna Portsmouth locks horns with Star Bombers as Fresh Soccer ends Saturday
By; Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Kaduna.
Portsmouth Fc would be filing out against Star Bombers of Kakuri as the curtain draws on the maiden Comrade Ahmed Yusuf Fresh open soccer championship, on Saturday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna.
The epic final match will be an interesting duel involving two local giants in grassroots club football in Kaduna State.
Earlier the loser’s final in the classification game for the third and fourth placed teams will witness battle between Stallions FC of Kabala Costain/Doki and Kakuri Academy.
The championship which was put together by the Mai Samari Youth Soccer Association was to honour the NFF Executive and CAF development committee member, Ahmed Yusuf Fresh for his youth soccer development commitments and show dedication in setting standards in line with international base practices.
“This is somebody who is passionate about youth and always ready to listen to any of their complaints or afford to move the game forward especially at the grassroots level,” said the President of Mai Samari Youth Soccer Association (MYSA), Hon. Babami Danlami Abdullahi.
“As part of the final ceremony some distinguish personalities in the industry will be presented with awards for their various contributions to the betterment and development of the game at grassroots level,” he added.
Honourable Babami further congratulated the awardees and the thirty-two teams that participated in the open championship.
Some of the awardees include the NFF Patron, immediate past NFF President Alhaji Aminu Maigari, Shehu Dikko, second Vice President NFF and Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau.
Others are Alhaji Ahmed Muazu Kawu and Suleiman Kwande, NFF Executive members.
World Climate Change Summit: Ayade to deliver a lecture in Paris By; Vitalis Ugoh, Calabar.
Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, is to deliver a lecture at the ongoing world Climate Change Summit in Paris as well as serve as leader of Governors from Africa according to United Nation Secretariat on Climate Change.
The African Governors will meet with their counterparts from
around the world and Mayors under the auspices of the Governors’ Climate and Forest (GCF) Task Force as sub-national leaders to share information about how to reduce Green House Gas emissions while creating economic opportunities at the same
time.
Other Governors listed to speak at the event are; Jerry Brown- California, Tiao Viana – Acre, Premier Christy Clark – British Columbia, Aristoteles Sandoval – Jalisco and Governor of Washington, Mr. Jay Inslee.
Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver, Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland and Governor Manuel Gambini of Ucayali, Peru are also expected to deliver papers at the summit.
The 3-Day event, starting from December 7, “brings together Governors and Mayors, who are adopting ambitions GCF reduction targets and creating economic opportunities by doing so,” a statement issued by the Climate Change secretariat stated.
Ayade is a professor of Environmental Science, whose doctoral research work on Climate Change won him about 6.5million Japanese Yen from the Japanese Government.
He also invented the sewage treatment system, which is being used off-shore by oil producing companies in Nigeria.
The Climate Change Secretariat describes Cross River as “The GCF pioneer member in Africa, with a rich history of working to preserve Nigeria’s tropical forest and an important platform for
further engagement of GCF in Africa.”
While disclosing that about 90 percent of Nigeria’s forest has already been cleared, the UN Climate Change Secretariat said more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s remaining forests are in Cross River. The state is considered one of the richest biodiversity hot spot in Africa.
It said, “The state serves as a model for reducing deforestation in other states in Nigeria and the region,” adding that the state’s
leadership in forest governance led its selection as the pilot state for UN-REDD programme in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that the Cross River Governor had similarly delivered a lecture at a climate change summit in Barcelona, Spain, few weeks after being sworn into office.
Appeal Court upheld Gov Dankwambo’s election By; Tina Phineas, Yol
Appeal Court upheld Gov Dankwambo’s election
By; Tina Phineas, Yola.
The Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital has upheld the election of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwanbo of Gombe State in the last general elections, in May 2015.
Delivering the judgement in Yola Thursday, Justice Helen M.Ogunwumiju ruled that the APC Governorship candidate and his party were unable to proof beyond reasonable doubt that the elections was marred with irregularities in the state.
Reacting to the judgement, Counsel to Governor Hassan Dankwambo, Barrister Zubairu M.Umar described the outcome of the appeal as justice given to the deserving people at the right time.
Umar said the success recorded is a positive development to democracy and in the event APC head for the Supreme Court, their legal team is equal to the task and waiting.
However, Counsel to the APC Governorship candidate, Barrister Aliyu Usman Barde declined to speak to the press on the matter.
It could be recall that APC Governorship candidate, Alhaji Umar Yahaya and his party in Gombe state felt unsatisfied with the result of the governorship polls that produced Governor Dankwambo as the winner of the May 2015 general elections.
APGA/APC Kaduna Guber case: Appeal Court to give fair hearing By; Amos Tauna, Kaduna.
APGA/APC Kaduna Guber case: Appeal Court to give fair hearing
By; Amos Tauna, Kaduna.
The Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has completed the documentation of all relevant evidences filed by all parties involved in the case filed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), challenging the election of Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai in the 2015 governorship election.
Speaking during the sitting of the court, the presiding judge, Justice I. M. Saulawa, leading other four judges said all the parties involved in the case would be given fair hearing of the case brought before the appeal court.
The appellant adopted his brief of arguments and replied to the respondents’ reply to the arguments.
There was preliminary objection filed by the respondents arguing the appeal court strike out the appellant ground of appeal on paragraphs 16, 17, 18 and 19 which judgment is reserved on the Day of Judgment.
The petitioner, Mr. Polycarp Danladi Gankon had petitioned Malam Nasir Ahmda El-rufai, APC and INEC as the first, second and third respondents respectively praying the first respondent; Malam Nasir Ahmad El-rufai was not duly elected in accordance with the provisions of the electoral act.
That the election of governor El-rufai was void by reason of non-compliance with the provision of the electoral act.
An order directing the 3rd respondent to conduct a fresh governorship election in Kaduna State in compliance with the provisions of the electoral act.