The Senate Thursday commenced the consideration of its Legislative Agenda.
The Senate had on Wednesday received the report from its ad-hoc committee on the 9th Senate’s Legislative Agenda.
Senator Adamu Aliero representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District, chaired the ad-hoc committee.
Details later..
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday applauded the contributions of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Aliko Dangote Foundation to humanitarian and developmental activities in Nigeria.
Meeting with the duo at the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President said they have touched humanity in many positive ways, and congratulated them “for achieving what you had set out to do.”
According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, the President added “Thanks for deriving pleasure in helping people. Congratulations to you for returning part of your wealth to the people in diverse ways. Whatever we save in areas in which you have intervened, we can deploy to other areas like building of infrastructure,”
On agriculture, in which Alhaji Dangote makes huge investments, the President noted that farmers were very happy in Nigeria now, “as we have made fertilizer available, cut the price by half, and given many other incentives. They have no regret going back to the lands. The more we invest in agriculture, the better for us.”
Mr Gates congratulated President Buhari “for assembling a cabinet that excites us,” saying he was pleased that one of the priorities of the administration was human capital development, of which health, nutrition and education are key components.
Noting that Bill and Melinda Gates and Aliko Dangote Foundations keep track of Nigeria’s attainments on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as enunciated by the United Nations, he submitted that they were encouraged that there was improvement in reduction of child mortality.
“Every local government area has better health/education situation today than in year 2000. We are delighted about that. Nigeria is our biggest commitment in Africa. It’s only in India we do more in the world,” Mr Gates said.
On polio eradication, he said Nigeria reached a zero wild polio virus free milestone for three years in August, noting that the next six months were critical, so that the country could finally be declared polio free.
Alhaji Dangote appreciated the Nigerian military for helping with vaccination in the theatres of war while fighting insurgency, thus adding to the advances in the country’s polio status.
President Muhammadu Buhari has warmly congratulated national leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Ayorinde Fasanmi, who turns 94 on September 27, 2019.
He commended him for consistently projecting the noble and progressive ideas of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
President Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, also joined family, friends, professional and political associates of the pharmacist, who joined politics to serve the nation at a young age.
The President noted that he has demonstrated his love for the country by working for the welfare of the poor and underprivileged, and holding leaders to account on their promise of good governance.
As a legislator, who served in the House of Representatives and Senate, the President believed Pa Fasanmi’s focus on people has shaped his life philosophy and politics, noting that government can only remain relevant when it caters for the needs of the vulnerable and voiceless.
President Buhari extolled Pa Fasanmi’s courage in standing for democratic governance and fighting for democratic ideals and values, praying that the Almighty God will grant him longer life, good heath and strength to keep serving the nation.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock and grief over the death of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Ufot Ekaette, describing him as “a consummate administrator and bridge builder”.
Buhari in a condolence message issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday, noted that the deceased ”dedicated himself to duty in the course of his distinguished public service.”
Buhari said Ekaette was ”a gentleman” who gave “his best in the service of his country”.
He condoled with the Ekaette family, the government and people of Akwa Ibom over the death, and assured them that the deceased would always be remembered for his remarkable public service record and immense contributions towards bringing peace in the once troubled Niger Delta region.
The president expressed regret that “his demise comes at a time when voices like his own are needed to move Nigeria forward in the face of daunting challenges.”
He, however, gave assurance that Ekaette’s contributions would never be in vain as ”the country would always appreciate and remember his great contributions.”
The president prayed God to comfort the Ekaette family, friends and relations and grant the soul of the departed eternal rest.
(NAN)
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has destroyed a major Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) Logistics Base and Training Camp at Kusuma on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Daramola said the operation was executed on Wednesday by the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.
”The air strike was executed after credible intelligence reports had established that a section of the settlement was serving as a training camp for the terrorists.
”While, some buildings within the camp were being used to store their fuel, arms and ammunition as well as other logistics supplies.
”The pre-attack surveillance showed scores of fighters attempting to flee the location upon hearing the sound of the attack aircraft.
”They were engaged by the attack aircraft in successive passes, neutralising many of them.
”The terrorists’ logistics supply store, which was also hit, was seen engulfed in flames due to the raid,” he said.
The spokesman said the NAF, operating in concert with surface forces, would sustain its efforts to completely destroy all remnants of the terrorists in the North East. (NAN)
Gracious David-West, a serial killer arrested in Rivers State, has confessed to killing 15 women in seven states. He earlier confessed seven.
Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed this to the Nation in a telephone interview, said the suspect confessed to killing one person each in Abia, Edo, Ibadan (Oyo State), Owerri (Imo State), Ikeja (Lagos State) and nine in Rivers State.
Over 10 women were killed in different hotels in Rivers in the last two months.
David-West was on his way to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, when he was arrested.
He confessed to the crime, saying he killed seven women before his arrest.
The suspect hails from Buguma, Akuku-Toru Local Government of Rivers State.
David-West, an alleged Confraternity), said he takes joy in strangling young women in hotels whenever the urge to kill comes.
He claimed he did not cut his victim’s vital parts.
Omoni said the suspect is being quizzed to confess more of his deeds.
Interesting times have refused to go in Nigeria so much that I wondered how and why some individuals that rose to prominence through the goodwill of the people have now constituted themselves as a nuisance to the same people that voted them into office. I must state that those that are elected as representatives of the people are most culpable in this regard.
The case of Hon. Ahmadu Usman Jaha, a member representing Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza federal constituency in the House of Representatives is indeed a pathetic one and a vivid example of how politicians play to the gallery and at the detriment of the people.
I say this after stumbling on a video during plenary where he stated that some wards in his federal constituency are still under the control of Boko Haram terrorists. I was a bit confused and wondered the areas he was indeed referring to given the fact that I am also conversant with the happenings in Chibok, Dambao and Gwoza federal constituency.
As the first line of action, I quickly made frantic calls to contacts in Borno state to verify the information that Hon Ahmadu Usman Jaha has just availed the country. But surprisingly my contacts in those areas wondered what I was trying to confirm because there was no such scenario in place. I was not satisfied.
I also reached out to more and more people, and in one instance I had to mobilize a friend who was resident in Maiduguri to visit these areas to get the first-hand information for me, and guess what? He returned with the same response as those I earlier contacted and this time around told me not to dissipate energy on issues that concern Hon. Ahmadu Usman Jaha, as he is a known hypocrite and one of those that have benefitted from the system and also one of those that does not want an end to the insurgency so that he can continue to smile to the bank.
It was then that it dawned on me that I was indeed confronted with a mediocre individual that had thrived on exploiting the people for his selfish gains right from when he was a member of the State House of Assembly. To put in succinct terms, Hon Ahmadu Usman Jaha is such a cantankerous individual that is far from intelligence and one that is given to political and emotional blackmail when he wants his bread to be buttered.
I recall in 2014 when he failed to clinch the APC ticket for the House of Representatives elections, he went to town badmouthing his political mentor, Senator Ali Ndume and threatening to work against the APC during the elections. An account stated that the disrespect so piqued senator Ali Ndume that he gave him some slaps for his despicable behaviour and utterances that did not contain an iota of truth. That is the Ahmadu Usman Jaha for you.
So in a way, I wasn’t surprised when he went to town spreading half-truths about the occupation of some wards in his constituency by Boko Haram terrorists. I only suspected he was up to something in his usual cantankerous manner of raising false alarms, especially when his interest is not met. I can bet that if we dig further, we would realize that there is more to why Hon. Ahmadu Usman Jaha indeed raised this false alarm.
As stated earlier, as one conversant with how politicians have been exploiting the insurgency situation in North-East Nigeria, I know for a fact that the likes of Ahmadu Usman Jaha would do anything and everything possible to throw clogs in the wheels of progress as far as the insurgency in Borno state is concerned. For them, the status quo must remain.
So in a way, some of us were not surprised when some months back, he gathered over 5,000 youths in Gwoza constituency and handed them shoe shining kits which came fully equipped with polish and brushes as a way of empowering the people.
Wait for this? The situation is so pathetic that in Government Secondary School Ngoshe, in Chibok constituency, students learn under terrible conditions. When it is raining, the classrooms are flooded. When the sun shines, students take cover. Yes, this is the situation of things in the constituency of the self-acclaimed and self-righteous member of the federal house of representatives.
The questions that require honest answers are: How many people in Jaha’s constituency have received scholarships in his name? How many schools in his constituency has Jaha renovated? How many books has Jaha bought for school kids? How many have learned trades like tailoring, mechanics, carpentry, or other better paying artisanal jobs? Your guess is as good as mine.
This is more worrisome when it is realized that the same Hon Ahmadu Usman Jaha is a former commissioner of Higher Education in Borno State until his recent political sojourn in the Federal House of Representatives to represent a people that he is part and parcel of their present predicament.
I am afraid that the likes of Hon Ahmadu Usman Jaha are nothing but misfits and merchants of fortunes. They can go any length to protect their evil interest. They don’t care whose ox is gored. They speak from both sides of the mouth. Also, they feast on the commonwealth of the people with recklessness.
I am not sure Hon Ahmadu Usman Jaha is such that should be taken seriously on the floor of the House of Representatives and by the generality of Nigerians given his antecedents. Mind you they have been in this business of spreading half-truths, and it has worked for them in Borno state. But whether it would work at the federal level remains to be seen given the level of political awareness and enlightenment at the centre.
This first shot by Hon Ahamdu Usman Jaha, in my opinion, is more like testing the waters to see if it would be business as usual. However, I dare say this is the wrong environment for him and his travellers. The politics of Borno should remain in Borno.
Ainoko is a public affairs commentator and wrote this piece from Kaduna.
Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday presented 20 brand new 2019 model Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs to the judges and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Oluwatoyin Akeredolu.
This is in fulfillment of his administration’s promise to create conducive atmosphere for the state’s work force.
The vehicles were received by the chief judge of the state on behalf of the other judges at the Government House, Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital
The chief judge, who thanked the governor for the gesture, said judges in the state, including herself, had been using 10-year-old official vehicles, which had become rickety, before the governor’s intervention.
According to her, she and her colleagues have various experiences of disappointments arising from their use of the rickety vehicles for their official duties.
She said: “My colleagues and I have been riding 10-year-old vehicles, hitherto. We have had various experiences of disappointments in the use of our vehicles.
“I recall once I was on the way to Abuja, my vehicle broke down around Obajana. And you know the security situation in that axis. Before long, the boys were gathering. Fortunately for me, I had the pilot vehicle with me. I had to enter the pilot vehicle to get away from that environment.
“If you bring my colleagues here, they will tell you the various experiences they have had with their vehicles. I want to thank God for Mr. Governor. I want to appreciate this good gesture. We don’t have feelings of entitlement, though the regulation says give judges new vehicles every four years. By this regulation, it’s an entitlement. But at the same time, we want to appreciate Mr. Governor for not taking us for granted.”
Before the Permanent Secretary, General Administration in the Governor’s Office presented the vehicles to the judges, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, had said that the procurement of the vehicles further demonstrated the respect Governor Akeredolu had for the sacred institution.
Ojogo stressed that Akeredolu believed that nothing would be too much to invest in welfare of the Judiciary.
He said: “My Lords, I don’t need to inform you further that Mr. Governor holds the Judiciary in a very high esteem. He believes that no effort will be too much to be invested as far as the welfare of our sacred institution is concerned.
“And our judges, he believes strongly that you deserve not just a conducive environment, but that you must be secure in whatever form. It’s on this note that Mr. Governor decides that as part of the efforts towards enhancing a cordial relationship between the Executive and the Judiciary, these vehicles should be procured.”
The crisis at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) is far from been over as the institution’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to frustrate academic activities if the Osun State Government refuses to pay their two months’ outstanding salaries by the end of September.
The current Oyo and Osun state governments inherited unpaid salary arrears of eight months owed LAUTECH academic staff.
ASUU claimed that the Osun State Government, which had planned to pay subvention between July and December 2019, only paid in July and refused to pay for August and September, making payment of salaries impossible.
Rising from a Congress held on Wednesday, ASUU resolved to put the public on notice that it should not be blamed if academic activities at LAUTECH were disrupted again.
In a release captioned: “LAUTECH: Trouble Looming Again,” and jointly signed by the ASUU LAUTECH Chairman and Secretary, respectively, Dr. Biodun Olaniran and Dr. Toyin Abegunrin, the union accused the Osun State Government of failing to release subventions since August to pay salaries of workers and making life unbearable for them.
According to the union, all entreaties to ensure that Osun State Government pays outstanding salaries have not yielded any result.
The union said that members were being owed six years of unpaid Earned Academic Allowances, cooperative deductions and promotions arrears.
ASUU stated: “The problem of poor funding that brought LAUTECH to its knees in 2016/2017 is far from being over. The University, since it came out of that crisis, has been managing to survive with the new administrations in Oyo and Osun states struggling to release the substantial part of monthly subventions for the payment of salaries.
“This brought some relief as the management struggles to attend to backlog of arrears through internally generated revenue. As a consequence, the University’s calendar started witnessing some stability. However, the whole story started changing when, in August 2019, the government refused to send the subvention for the payment of our salaries. All entreaties to the government to pay our salaries have not yielded any result. As we speak, the University is already in arrears of two months, that is, August and September, 2019 with no hope in sight as to when the salaries will be paid.
“This is in addition to the existing eight months salaries previously owed our members! The public must also be aware of other forms of indebtedness to our members. These include years of promotion arrears, Earned Academic Allowances claims for 2013-2018, Cooperatives’ deductions, etc. These are in addition to other statutory obligations to the University, which have been left unattended to by the governments.
“At a special congress held today, 25th September, 2019, the situation was reviewed with members expressing hardship in transporting themselves to work, among other myriads of hardships occasioned by the non-payment of salary. It was, therefore, resolved to put the government, the public and our students on notice that the Union should not be blamed if the on-going examinations and other academic activities are affected when by end of the month, that is, 30th September, 2019, the congress meets again to review the situation.”
Ahead of the November Governorship election in Kogi, Mr Umar Bamaiyi of the All Blending Party (ABP) says he has no plan to step down for any candidates contesting the election.
Bamaiyi stated this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos State on Thursday.
According to Bamaiyi, he will not be intimidated by moneybag politicians to jettison his governorship ambition or support the PDP candidate as reported by some sections of the media.
Bamaiyi said the mandate he was pursuing was sacrosanct to the development of the state, as such reports of his adoption of a consensus candidate was untrue.
He said there was no plan or any arrangement for him to step down for any candidate, advising that such report should be disregarded.
“I have a passion to fix Kogi, which has been there since I was younger. I am working on how this state can achieve the desired greatness.
“I am propelled by the appalling situation of this state that in spite of its abundance, we are yet to achieve anything; the older generation has failed the state.
“I am aware of some governorship candidates stepping down or the coalition of political parties having a consensus candidate. I won’t step down for anybody, because we don’t have anything in common.
“We are in the injury time before the election, so no stepping down. I am not scared, my desire to fix Kogi was the driving point of my governorship ambition,’’ Bamaiyi stressed. (NAN)