The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Why 100% fruit juice is good in diet, by experts

    Experts have recommended the regular consumption of fruits as a key ingredient to providing important nutrients for overall health and wellness. They have also advised that people drink 100% fruit juice to balance their diet and improve their wellness.

    Achieving the recommended goals of five fruit portion per day can be challenging and become hindered by availability, convenience, and affordability. This is what makes fruit juice a smart choice since it is a delicious and nutritious way to consume a range of exciting variants of whole fruits every day.

    100% fruit juice has no added sugar, but contains only the naturally occurring sugars found in the fruit from which the juice is squeezed. When included as part of your healthy diet, 100% fruit juice can help meet recommended daily goals for fruit intake because it is a nutrient-dense drink that provides vitamins, minerals (folic acid, thiamine and magnesium) and beneficial plant nutrients like polyphenols.

    Read Also: Benefits of eating fruits in season

    It is also vital to educate yourself on facts that will help you select a healthy product made from real fruit and not some concocted chemicals mixture. The first place to start is to go with time tested and trusted brands and whilst also paying attention to the nutrition facts on the label. Be careful to check that ‘100% fruit juice’ is clearly written on the packaging.

    In the Nigeria market, one well-known 100% fruit juice time tested and trusted brand is Chivita 100%. It is recommended for its supreme quality, purity and taste. In order to get real value for your money, always ensure that your fruit juice contains no preservatives or artificial colours.

    According to Folakemi Adeyemi, a nutritionist with Healthyliving International, consuming 100% fruit juices with no added sugar can reduce calories associated with added sugar without compromising quality nutrition.

    “Globally, products with added sugars have come under severe scrutiny because they are believed to provide what is mostly referred to as empty calories without adding nutritional benefits. The natural sugar in fruit juices come with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant. They are a convenient way to reach your daily fruit intake recommendations,” she stated.

    Fruits is a must have for an everyday balanced diet, and 100% fruit juice is a convenient way to enjoy a portion of fruit when one fails to eat enough whole fruit and vegetables for healthy living. So, whether your favourite fruit is out of season or not readily available, you can reach out for convenience and healthy choice of your favourite fruit in 100% fruit juice.

  • Ogun Customs Command 1 rakes N6.7b revenue

    OGUN State Operational Command Headquarters 1, Idiroko has declared N6,735, 215, 877.45 as the revenue it collected from January to June 30, this year.

    Comptroller Ogbara Ojobo Michael, who gave the figure in an interview, said the revenue was above the command’s target of N3,860,830, 583.90 for the period under review.

    He added that the command revenue generated in the period under review was in excess of N2,874,385, 293.50 – about 174.45 per cent performance.

    In the area of anti-smuggling during the period under review, Ogbara said smuggle items confiscated include 29,905(50kg each) and 15 (25kg each)of bags of foreign rice;  1,466 kegs of vegetable oil (25 litres each); 17units of motorcycles; 9,407 new and 1,042 pairs used, three jumbo 69 sacks and one small sack of footwear.

    Others are 427 cartons of frozen poultry products; 25 bales,29 sacks of second hand clothing, 12 sacks of Ankara rapper; four sacks of yards materials and five wraps of lining materials; 51 pieces of used handbags; 583Pcs of used tyres; 1,181kegs of PMS(Petrol) of 25 litres each; 3 bags of sugar(50kg each); 40×142, 60×200 & 40×41 android cartons of Itel Phone 3;  897 pieces of used tyres and others with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of  N1,235,923,760.00

    Read Also: Court fixes Oct 7 for ex-basketball stars N51m extortion suit against Customs

    Ogbara added: “The seizure of over 29,905 bags of rice in the first half-year of 2019 is indeed a landmark among numerous successes recorded as compared to 15,976 bags of rice seized during the corresponding period of the year 2018. The aforementioned was achieved due to strategic enforcement measures put in place in line with the Federal Government Policy targeted at boosting agricultural development within the country.

    “Also, within the period of June 1 to 30, the command generated revenue of N1, 196, 146, 835.60. While in the area of anti-smuggling the command made 83 seizures with the DPV of N310,555,588.00. The items seized include: 30 units of vehicles,  7,095 bags of foreign rice (50kg each), 258 kegs of vegetable oil (25 litres each), 10 units of motorcycles, 7,572 pairs of new, used and rubber footwear, three bales of secondhand clothing, 28 pieces of used handbags and 392 cartons of frozen poultry products and others.

    The command’s boss noted that the seizures were made after clashes between his officers and some daredevil smugglers and accomplices, leading to loss of lives and properties.

    “The command will continue to dialogue, engage, sensitise and educate the public on social, security, health and economic implication of smuggling, while on the other hand, the statutory functions of enforcing compliance with strict adherence to the law will be rigorously sustained.

    “I wish to commend the sister agencies, opinion leaders, head of traditional institutions, eminent personalities, the media and other law-abiding members of the public on the cooperation and support we are receiving in properly implementing Federal Government’s policies,” Ogbara said.

    He explained that the revenue and the seizures were made before two area commands – Ogun Area 1 and Ogun Area 2 – were created out of the old command with different responsibilities within the state.

    He explained that Ogun Area 1 will oversee the regulation and enforcement of all import, export and anti-smuggling related activities in the state with its headquarters at Idiroko.

    He, however, refused to speak on the tighter border surveillance nationwide.

    At the Idiroko border in Ogun State security operatives were seen strictly enforcing the presidential order on cross-border movement.

    The Federal Government inaugurated the joint exercise by the security agencies to further secure the land borders across the country.

    The operation, which is being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), affects the four geopolitical zones, including Southsouth, Southwest, Northcentral and Northwest.

  • IBB hails Niger lawmakers on performance

    A Former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida on Thursday told members of the Niger State House of Assembly that their performance meets the people’s expectations.

    He said the lawmakers have been up and doing and have taken their duties seriously.

    Babangida spoke when the legislators visited him at his Uphill home in Minna.

    He said: “I have been looking forward to meeting with you. I am proud to say that you have been doing well. You are meeting our expectations.”

    The elder statesman urged the lawmakers to maintain a good working relationship with the other two arms of the government, saying it would be beneficial to the state.

    Read Also: Gumi decries 2019 general election

    “We have heard of states lacking synergy among the arms of the government, but in Niger State that should not be your lot. Keep a good working relationship between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. You have been doing this and I want you to keep it up,” he said.

    Babangida urged the lawmakers to initiate people-oriented programmes and projects and carry the people along.

    Said he: “You are closer to the people. It is your responsibility to know what the people need and carry them along all the time. Do not leave them outside your projects and programmes.”

    Speaker Abdullahi Bawa Wuse said they visited the former President to get the blessings required to run the legislature effectively.

    He acknowledged the leadership role Babangida has played in and out of office, noting that his fatherly role has ensured the country remains indivisible.

    “We are here to get the blessing of our father; this is because we know your concern and commitment to the development of this state and Nigeria.

    “Outside office, you have done more than you did while in office. Your role as a father in the nation has ensured that Nigeria remains indivisible.”

  • Ekiti SIEC chairman unfit to conduct council polls, PDP alleges

    Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has declared the Chairman of the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Jide Aladejana, unfit to conduct elections into the 16 local government area councils.

    The PDP also berated Governor Kayode Fayemi for appointing Aladejana as the head of the electoral body despite his alleged “tainted integrity,” saying the appointment had placed a constitutional burden on the commission.

    In a statement signed yesterday in Ado Ekiti by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jackson Adebayo, the party questioned how a dismissed judge in the state’s judiciary could be appointed to preside over a sensitive body that should be headed by persons of “unquestionable character.”

    The opposition party alleged that all attempts by Aladejena to overturn his dismissal was overruled by courts at different levels, stressing that he lacked the requisite qualification to occupy such a position.

    The PDP added that Governor Fayemi’s action had shown that he had no interest in consolidating democracy, but only preoccupied with casting a pall on the electoral process in the state.

    Read Also: OYSIEC members sue Makinde over dissolution

    The party also accused the governor of appointing card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state as members of the SIEC.

    The PDP alleged: “It’s unfortunately ridiculous that the Governor could assemble people who are constitutionally barred to conduct elections in the state. It was on this basis that Governor Fayemi was stopped from conducting local government elections in his first term, when Oloketuyi’s membership of SIEC then was proved to be inappropriate because he was a card-carrying member of the ruling party, which he is till today and also a member of the electoral body.

    “It is evident he’s deliberately erecting wall of disruption in the way of the elections so that he could continue to pocket the allocations to the council in the absence of democratically elected officers.

    “However, we want to assure him that PDP will go into the election with all seriousness, unlike the coward party that decided to boycott the previous local government elections in the state.”

    But the SIEC’s Commissioner in charge of Media and Publicity, Chief Soji Oloketuyi, debunked the opposition party’s allegations.

    He described the claims and allegations by the PDP as not only spurious but also baseless.

    Oloketuyi said the allegation by the opposition party that Justice Aladejana was dismissed from the bench, at a time when elections were just few months away, was only aimed at distracting the commission and derail the electoral process.

    He, however, said he was eminently qualified to be a member of the SIEC, contrary to the claims by the PDP.

    He also insisted that he was never a card-carrying member of any of the political parties.

    The SEIC commissioner said: “To the best of my knowledge, Justice Aladejana was never dismissed from the bench. He remains one of the most credible Ekiti men with dignity; so, to us, we consider this a distraction.

    “If those making the allegations are sure of themselves, let them show the proof of their accusations. I was appointed as an electoral commissioner during the first term of ex-governor Ayodele Fayose and now reappointed by Governor Kayode Fayemi. This was an eloquent testimony to my integrity as a former public servant.

    “I worked in the civil service and retired as the immediate past public relations officer at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti. So, I never carried the card of any political party.”

  • How Nigeria can survive, by Akande

    Former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, on Thursday shocked guests at a book presentation in his honour when he declared that Nigeria may never celebrate 100 years of independence.

    The guests, who were earlier mesmerised by speeches from the Osun State Governor, Adeboyega Oyetola; his Ondo State counterpart,  Rotimi Akeredolu and the University of Lagos Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, were left dumbstruck.

    But Akande suggested ways to avoid doom.

    The mild drama played out at the public presentation of the book entitled: “The Bisi Akande Phenomenon: Governance, Economics and Politics,” held at the University of Lagos, Akoka.

    Akande identified three factors sabotaging the progress of the nation. These are education, military decree-based laws and religion.

    According to him, until all these three are looked into and addressed, Nigeria may not live to celebrate her centenary independence anniversary.

    He recalled how Nigeria was the place to be over five decades ago.

    The former governor of Osun State said: “Fifty years ago, Nigeria was most enjoyable; we had freedom of what a true democracy was supposed to be, at least individually. I don’t know about the government then. But today, it appears everybody lives in fear.

    Read Also: How Nigeria can survive, by group

    “I think the phenomenon of the country must be examined around three things. First, our education – It seems to me that Nigeria’s education is colonial. It ended only literacy without numeracy.

    “Education of a community that is not science-based can never be technologically based. And a community without technology cannot be industrial and when you are not industrial, you may end up in poverty.

    “Secondly, I think our laws are military decree-based and military decree-based laws cannot be used to sustain democracy. As long as we remain or we use these military decree based laws, our democracy will never prosper.

    “Thirdly, our religions are mostly imported and because of that, we seem neither to be good Christians, nor good Muslims or good atheists. We merely live in fear and when there are problems, we have no laboratories to go, we all retire to churches and mosques for vigils.

    “A country that remains like this may celebrate 60th anniversary of Independence, but may never celebrate 100th anniversary. I think until all these three are looked into and addressed, or let me use the word; restructured. All these ethnic restructuring, political restructuring and so on, I believe in them, but they are not difficult to restructure like the three I told you.”

    The Chairman on the occasion, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the political class had a lot to learn from the elder statesman, noting that Akande’s canny insight was remarkable for to the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre.

    Boss, who was represented by the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, said Akande and his political ally, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, fought hard to ensure that APC, an opposition party, won the 2015 elections and went ahead to retain power in 2019.

    He said: “I saw very closely strength in these two men and how their impact took us to where we are today. For the first time, an opposition party became the ruling party in the country. Imagine Nigeria having Bisi Akande in every single state, this country would have gone far and it would have been a different country.

    “This book is a testimony that is unprecedented and will be explored many years to come. Your courage particularly, and how you withstood the 46 years jail sentence passed on you on corruption charges, which could not stand. You came out undaunted, and inspired the enthronement of democracy.

    “Your political stewardship remain a remarkable one. We are happy you are alive today. The political class has a lot to learn from your wisdom. He is very firm, fair and one that loves justice; his contribution to the cohesion of our party is quite great.”

    Oyetola described Akande, as an encyclopaedia of governance and statesmanship, whose virtues are worthy of emulation.

    He said Osun was proud to donate his politics, economics and governance dynamics to a nation striving to emplace visionary and dynamic leadership, adding that it was Akande who birthed the legacy of prudent and transparent management of men and resources in the state.

    He hailed Akande for his immense contributions to nation building and national integration.

    Describing the book as a collection of the illustrious contributions of Akande to the building of the political edifice called Nigeria, Governor Oyetola described Akande as a model for contemporary politicians, youths, and school children, who the nation looks up to as its hope.

    The governor added: “His life, politics, philosophy, leadership dynamics and lifestyle accurately exemplify him as an outstanding Omoluabi and a phenomenon in the nation’s budding democracy.

    “Akande represents everything Osun stands for, and radiates the honour and statesmanship our nation exudes. Baba Awon Omo Kekeke (father of small children), as he is fondly called, is a metaphor for the future of Osun and Nigeria.

    “He radiates vision, discipline, dynamism, industry and honour, which we require to overcome the raging rot to become a great player in the competitive world. This Octogenarian was a compendium of wisdom during the opposition days of the progressives and even now, a formidable guide while in power.

    Oyetola added: “Since his tutelage under the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Akande has remained a potent voice in politics, governance and the economy. He is also widely known as a bridge between the North and the South in a nation immersed in ethnic and rotational politics.

    “These rare attributes make him a phenomenon, a quintessential politician and a unifying force in a country where centrifugal forces are always gnawing at its political and economic soul. A visionary and dynamic leader, Chief Akande remains the architect of our beloved state, having laid a solid foundation, which his successors have built on in all the sectors to announce the state to the world.

    ”Chief Akande birthed the legacy of prudent and transparent management of men and resources. Despite Osun’s status as one of the resource-challenged states in the country, Chief Akande employed his skills as a creative manager to build structures and institutions in a manner that dwarfed the achievements of resource-studded states in the nation.

    ”As students of Chief Akande’s politico-economics, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the author of the book for codifying the activities and milestones of our principal into a compendium for us and the generations yet unborn to appropriately build bricks on the foundation that will take our fatherland to the Promised Land.”

    The chief presenter of the book and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said Akande took hard decisions as long as they were in public interest. He noted that such decisions were not only worthwhile but advanced performance, prudence in public spending and eliminated wastage.

    Akeredolu added that most politicians were not courageous, urging them to follow the examples of Akande.

    He said some of the decisions taken were exemplified at Abere, where the Osun State Secretariat is located.

    The host, University of Lagos Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, described Akande as an upright man and a personality that could be trusted.

    Among the dignitaries who graced the event were the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; former Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Muinat Salako-Oyedele; Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi; Lagos APC Chairman, Babatunde Balogun; Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye; Gen Alani Akinrinade (retd); Prof Lai Olurode, Dhikrullah Yagboyaju, Dr. Adebisi Obawale, Chief Lanre Rasaq, Chief Ayo Afolabi, Prof. Olu Aina; former Ogun State deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun; Prof. Tunde Babawale, lawmakers, traditional rulers, students and others.

  • Insecurity: Experts urge tech-based policing for Nigeria

    Inspector General of India Police Service, Roopa Moudgil, on Thurday said the use of technology is the most efficient way for effective modern policing in the face of emerging global threats and mounting criminalities.

    The Indian police boss said Nigeria and India have similar security challenges.

    She noted that the evolution from manual policing to technology-based policing in India, which included the use of modern gadgets in crime fighting and prevention, helped the country to effectively fight crime.

    Moudgil, the keynote speaker at a conference with the theme: Effective Policing Strategies for Nigeria, organised by the Gusau Institute in Abuja, said the police could do much better if motivated with the right tools.

    “We have gadgets, like facial recognition software, tracking devices and street cameras. These have helped a great deal in proactive policing. Why Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has not been able to use mobile phones to track criminals is what I can’t understand, because mobile phones are the same everywhere,” Moudgil said.

    The Indian police chief noted that the NPF needed public approval to succeed.

    She said the police are regarded as oppressive and not on the right side of public judgment.

    “Nigeria and India have many commonalities. Both countries have great youth population and great economy and both inherited European police formation. For the police to succeed, they need public approval and the right atmosphere. The police are regarded as oppressive and are never on the right side of judgement and this is the luggage we have to carry. Police are for the people.”

    Read Also: Adopt multi-level policing to address insecurity in Nigeria, Educationist urges FG

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, who was represented by Karma Hosea Hassan, an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), identified sentiments and political interests as some of the challenges mitigating against effective policing in the country.

    He said: “Policing is as old as mankind. Societies, from traditional to modern times, have always adopted measures in ensuring adequate security of lives and property and these measures have evolved over time. But today, we believe that self-policing remains a panacea for crime fighting.”

    “Today, I still believe that the Nigeria Police Force, as presently structured, remains the best option for our dear country. Crimes have become more daring and we need to shift from reactive policing to proactive policing.”

    Highlighting the importance of technology-based policing, former Vice-President Namadi Sambo said conscious efforts should be made to digitalise the NPF to meet modern challenges in crime fighting and prevention.

    Prof. Kemi Rotimi of the Department of History of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, presented a paper, titled: Towards Effective Policing Strategies for Nigeria.

    The expert noted that there is substantial ignorance among Nigerians of the history of policing in Nigeria.

    He said: “What the ignorance leads to is the assumption that many of the challenges inhibiting the provision of desired service by officers of the NPF are of recent origin. They are not. The long years of military rule, 1966-1999 (minus the four isolated years of the Second Republic from 1979 to 1983) and the appropriation of policing duties (and consequently, resources) witnessed severe neglect of the NPF.

    “The two main challenges are: under-resourcing, in quantum of personnel and equipment; and the inadequate welfare provisions for the personnel. It needs be stressed that there is a huge, chronic disparity in the welfare provisions for the officer class and the con-commissioned ranks.

    “I dare say that until the gulf is substantially bridged between these two groups, not much may be achieved in desired service delivery, especially bearing in mind that the policing that touches the lives of the generality of citizens is done by members of the non-commissioned ranks.

    “On deregulating ownership of the police, Nigerians who clamour for allowing states to own police organisations know that effecting the necessary amendments to the Constitution to bring their wish to reality would be a challenge.

    “There is also the added problem of the ability of most states to pay personnel and equip the forces. There is also the worry about the high probability of the governing elite in the states to restrain themselves from misusing the police.

    “Nigerians who favour the retention of the one police organisation, the NPF, would want a substantial increase in the number of personnel to reflect the population size, and they advocate a more meaningful devolution of administrative control from the force headquarters using the zonal command structures.

    “There are impediments to implementing ‘Community Policing’ with the current NPF structure. They include, staff disposition from the IGP to the station officer. The rapid turn-over of staff since 1999 makes it difficult to watch any Community Policing programme mature in any location…”

  • Osinbajo to speak today at LCCI policy forum

    Vice-President Professor Yemi Osinbajo will on Friday deliver a keynote address at the 2019 edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue organised by the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    The event, which will hold at Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, will be chaired by LCCI President Babatunde Runwase.

    The dialogue was initiated by LCCI to create a platform for the organised private sector and the Federal Government to deliberate on the state of the nation, public policy initiatives of government and their effects on the economy.

    The forum brings together key government officials and major players in the organised private sector spanning across various sectors of the economy as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

    Read Also: Risk of infectious diseases on increase, says Osinbajo

    It would also explore collaboration possibilities between the private sector and the government.

    LCCI’s Director General Muda Yusuf said the initiative was in furtherance of its public policy advocacy.

    “The Chamber believes that through engagements, such as this, the government and the organised private sector can identify and address issues affecting the growth of our economy with a view to proffering long-lasting solutions to them,” he said.

    Muda added that the way out of the present economic and prevailing social crises for Nigeria was through collaborative engagements.

  • RTEAN crisis: Musa urges zonal leaders, others to embrace peace

    The leadership rift in the top echelon of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) worsened on Thursday.

    Its acting National President Mohammed Musa formally assumed office.

    Musa, who was accompanied by the newly appointed Acting National Secretary Henry Ejiofor and 27 of the 31 National Executive Council (NEC) members, said he accepted the assignment given to him by the NEC with the utmost sense of responsibility.

    The union leader promised to be guided by RTEAN’s constitution in the discharge of his responsibility.

    He urged RTEAN members and leaders to cooperate with him to reposition the union.

    Musa said he would work assiduously towards returning honesty and transparency, which the union was well known for, and return the union to members, who he called its rightful owners.

    Musa directed zonal officers across the states to return to work and continue to promote peace in their domains.

    The Acting RTEAN National President also said the Lagos State government, at a meeting with the faction against his leadership on Tuesday, affirmed that his tenure subsists till October 31.

    Read Also: Alleged corruption: RTEAN sacks President, Secretary

    “At the meeting, chaired by Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat, were both factions as well as the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Oluwatoyin Fasanya and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Olawale Musa. Dr Hamzat, having gone through his Certificate of Return, asked me to continue in office till October.

    “The union’s constitution is very clear: the position I presently occupy at the national office is in acting capacity, while the state office was validly won, for which there is a statutory term,” Musa said.

    The acting National President explained that contrary to his predecessor   Osakpanwan Eriyo’s assertions, the union’s constitution states that the NEC could sit in any state of the country.

    Also, Eriyo urged the union members in Lagos State to remain calm.

    He said the crisis rocking the state chapter had been handed over to law enforcement agents to handle.

    Eriyo, who addressed reporters at the national secretariat of the association in Abuja, alleged that Musa forced himself back into office after his tenure had expired and his executive council declared dissolved.

    The embattled National Secretary said he refused to ratify what he called an illegality.

    He described as illegal the announcement by a group of members of the association, including the embattled former chairman of the Lagos State chapter, claiming that the National President and General Secretary of the association had been expelled.

    According to him, the group lacks the authority to make such decision or pronouncement.

    Explaining the sequence of events that led to the faceoff, Eriyo said Musa’s executive council, which was inaugurated in June 2014, had exhausted its five-year tenure.

    Then embattled National President added that the Musa-led executive council was dissolved in Abuja at a NEC meeting with Musa himself.

    “The Lagos executive council was dissolved because their tenure has expired. Outside that, there are series of petitions from members of the association in Lagos; some of them alleging that the former state chairman, Alhaji Mohammad Musa, forged their signatures as well as trying to force them to support him for his second tenure. They wrote petitions on those allegations to this office as well as to the Ministry of Transportation.

    “The former Lagos State chairman also invited me to Lagos to swear him in, based on the signatures he claimed his members had signed for his continuity. My own was to go ascertain if what he claimed was true; that the members were indeed the real owners of those signatures.”

    “I went to Lagos and found out there were serious issues on ground and I told him that there was no way I would swear him in because those he claimed to have given their signatures were the same people who said they were not in his support.

    “I called a NEC meeting to which I invited everybody to the Abuja office. He as well as his executive members were here. At the NEC meeting, we decided to dissolve the Lagos State chapter of RTEAN, to which Alhaji Musa was chairman, and set up a 23-man committee to run the Lagos affairs…”

  • Xenophobia: Let’s fix economy now, Senate tells Nigerians

    The Senate on Thursday urged Nigerians to repair the damage that has been done to the nation’s economy over the years.

    The lawmakers said the condition of the economy was not beyond redemption.

    Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Bulkachuwa, who spoke in Abuja, advised that the country should learn from the Ghanaian experience of economic downturn in the 1980s and how the country reinvigorated its economy.

    Bulkachuwa expressed confidence that the Nigerian economy would bounce back with the commitment of the citizens.

    The senator spoke at an interactive session with top officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    His concern came as the second batch of Nigerians returned from South Africa in the wake of xenophobic attacks on them and other Africans in the former Apartheid enclave.

    Bulkachuwa said: “If Ghana, whose economy was in shambles in the 1980s with over 100 Cedis exchanging for one U.S dollar can positively turn around its situation to what it is today with 4.2 Cedis exchanging for a dollar, Nigeria can also do same if the government and the governed can put their acts together in that respect.”

    Condemning the attack on Nigerians in South Africa, the senator said it is normal for people to move from their countries of origin to other lands in search of economic opportunities.

    Read Also: Senators, Reps may donate salaries to Air Peace crew, returnees

    “Not even developed or great countries of the world, like the United States of America (U.S.A), the Republic of China, among others, have all their citizens domiciled at home. But what must be addressed by us is to put things in proper shape so that those who will be traveling out will largely be for excursion or tourism reasons and not to seek greener pastures, as it is now.”

    In his submissions before the committee, the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mustapha Suleiman, said a wide range of issues would be tabled at the upcoming Nigeria-South Africa summit.

    “Specifically, during the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other key agreements between the two countries would be signed on means of preventing and mitigating such attacks in the future.”

    “Besides that, composite wise, during the visit, the required mechanisms will be put in place for the Nigerian Commission there to have information on Nigerians resident in South Africa.

    “As at Wednesday, about 821 Nigerians affected by the recent xenophobic attacks have either been evacuated back home or have indicated interest for that purpose,” Suleiman said.

    Also, the next session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) will hold in Pretoria in October to evolve documented solutions to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in that country.

    Suleiman stated this yesterday when he interfaced with the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs in Abuja.

    The permanent secretary noted that the BNC, which will be attended by Nigerian and South African officials, was part of government’s efforts at ending attacks of Nigerian nationals in South Africa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) was established in 1999 to promote trade and investment as well as enhance people-to-people cooperation and institution building between the two countries.

    According to its statute, the BNC, which was being headed by Vice-Presidents of both countries, was “borne out of a commitment by Nigeria and South Africa to effectively structure bilateral relations through the establishment of a Bi-National Commission”.

    The annual meeting of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission, which was being hosted by rotation between both countries, was last held in 2009.

    “Essentially, now we are trying to make sure that we have subsisting agreements that will address these issues now and in the future.

    “We are looking at other issues we feel should be part of the definition of the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa.

    “The essence of this is that it will help to determine our actions, if such issue happens, which I think in the last few years we had not had such agreements.

    “Because xenophobic attacks had been happening over time but, this is the climax and it has come to fore that South African government must protect Nigerian citizens.

    “And it requires some kind of documentation, some kind of understanding between the two countries as to how it can be remedied,” he said.

    The permanent secretary said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the ministry to use the conference to bring up all the issues that are challenging and irritating Nigeria’s relationship with South Africa.

    He said the Minster of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyema, had also convened an inter-ministerial meeting with various ministries in Nigeria to get inputs on other issues to be brought for discussion at the conference.

  • Senators, Reps may donate salaries to Air Peace crew, returnees

    If all goes well, members of the National Assembly may reciprocate the good gesture of Air Peace by donating from N100,000 upwards to crew members of the airline who partook in conveying Nigerians back from South Africa in the wake of the xenophobic attacks.

    The returnees may also benefit from the lawmakers’ good heartedness.

    This was the suggestion of Ajibola Muraina (PDP, Oyo) as he urged the National Assembly to do more in leading by example.

    The lawmaker, who represents Ibarapa Central/ North Federal Constituency of Oyo State, spoke on Thursday at a media briefing.

    The Air Peace Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Chief Allen Onyema, who appeared before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, said his crew members declined their allowances for the South African assignment.

    Muraino, who read from a prepared text, said: “I am moved to address this press conference to remind us as Nigerians that the events of the last few days, culminating in the evacuation of Nigerians from South African by Chief Onyema (through his Air Peace) with the full and active diplomatic support of the Federal Government, should re-kindle the milk of kindness, selflessness and the spirit of being our brother’s keepers, which were inherent in us as black men but which we have appeared to have lost.

    Read Also: Xenophobia: Nigeria, South Africa to hold conference next month

    “We all know that before this singular self-less act of Chief Onyeama in evacuating our compatriots back to Nigeria free of charge via his Air Peace, Nigerians all over the world hardly offered selfless assistance and help to their compatriots.

    “With his conduct, help, selflessness, willingness to be our brother’s keepers, as enshrined in various customs and traditions of our people, are back with us in Nigeria.

    “Let us see his conduct as a clarion call on all Nigerians of financial and other capacities all over the world to be selfless and be willing and ready at all times to assist our fellow countrymen and women on whatever is happening to them anywhere in the world.

    “As a people, from this moment onwards, let us erase from our minds the idea that whatever problems are facing Nigerians all over the world should be left for the government alone to solve.

    “Again, whenever problems arise as regards Nigerians anywhere in this world, Nigerians of means should rise up to the occasion and give full support to our fellow countrymen and not leave the problems to only the government to solve.

    “I am also using this occasion to congratulate and appreciate my noble colleagues in parliament (senators, House of Representatives and House of Assembly members and local government parliamentarians) for their exemplary demonstration of patriotism which culminated in the invitation of Chief Onyema to parliament to appreciate him at plenary.

    “They know what to do and they did it so well that they have even recommended Chief Onyema for a national award.

    “Since the National Assembly has given the lead in appreciating the return of the spirit of selfishness, being our brother’s keepers and exhibiting milk of kindness, I humbly suggest that the National Assembly should demonstrate a further lead by example.”

    “I suggest most humbly that my noble colleagues from the National Assembly should consider making token donations from their salaries (whatever amount they deem, starting from N100,000 upwards) for the cabin crew of Air Peace who worked and continue to work without taking any allowance, the Nigerians who have been evacuated back to Nigeria and those who may still further be evacuated.

    “This token may be useful for the evacuated Nigerians in whatever form. The cabin crew would also have been appreciated somehow.

    “This may signpost a new beginning of Nigerians demonstrating milk of kindness towards each other.

    “If my colleagues can further lead in this respect, most other Nigerians of means all over the world may join the trail and within the twinkle of an eye, what appears to be a very big problem may turn out as blessing not only for the evacuated Nigerians but for all Nigerians all over the world.

    “Of course, some well-meaning and well-to-do Nigerians all over the world may even offer more than money. They may offer employment and other opportunities to these our compatriots.”