The Nation Newspaper

Tag: meets

  • Fayemi meets heads of MDAs on development plans

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday began a two-day briefing with heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) aimed at fine-tuning the strategic development plans of his administration.

    The briefing, involved presentations and defence of work plans by heads of MDAs, is a follow up to the retreat organised for top government functionaries earlier in the month.

    Speaking at the meeting held in Governor’s office Ado -Ekiti, Fayemi said the meeting would enable the heads of the MDAs to finalise those priorities which were agreed on at the retreat held in Iloko-Ijesa and realign them with the budget; adding that each ministry would sign a performance bond afterwards.

    The Governor said the meeting which involved office of Transformation, Strategy and Service Delivery (OTSD) and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would decide what the real priorities are for the ministries and allocate resources to them accordingly.

    He added that OTSD and Ministry of Budget will however embark on monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the MDAs viz a viz their priorities and the resources allocated to them.

    “We had a retreat at Iloko and we came out with very clear plans for each of our MDAs. They were meant to go back and hold step down retreat with their own agencies, departments and staff so they can come up with a realigned budget for the places of priorities that we have

  • Saraki meets Obasanjo in Abeokuta

    Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday held a 90-minute meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    Saraki arrived the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) at about 5.27 p.m and left at about 7.12pm.

    He declined to respond to political questions posed by reporters, saying the Obasanjo Library was a beautiful edifice that should make all Nigerians proud.

    “You know I missed the official opening of the library and that is why I have decided to come and see the place and honestly it is beautiful.  We are very proud of what he has done here,” he said.

    Last week he visited former military President Ibrahim Babangida at his Hilltop Mansion, in Minna, Niger State.

  • 2016 CHAN campaign: Niger meets Eagles Jan. 18

    2016 CHAN campaign: Niger meets Eagles Jan. 18

    Nigeria’s Home Eagles will kick off their campaign at the 2016 African Nations Championship  on January 18 against the Menas of Niger at the Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali.

    CAF conducted the draws for the fourth edition of the competition last  weekend in Kigali; pitching the Eagles against Tunisia’s Les Aigles de Carthage as well as Niger and the Syli nationale.

    The next set of games for Sunday Oliseh’s men comes up on January 22 and 26 against Tunisia and Guinea.

    The last game will be at a different venue; Umuganda Stadium, from the first and second.

     

  • ECOWAS team meets INEC

    ECOWAS team meets INEC

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) election monitoring team yesterday met with the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the forthcoming elections.

    The team, led by Mr. Francis Oke, was at the INEC Headquarters Abuja to clarify some issues on the preparation for the polls.

    The team, which has been in the country in the last ten days, demanded for some clarifications over the report it gathered from stakeholders across the nation.

    Oke pointed out that the team had some worries, which INEC chair, Prof. Prof Attahiru Jega, obliged to attend to during a closed-door discussion.

    It was gathered some of these concerns were not unconnected with the introduction of card readers.

    The ICT unit of the commission was invited to the closed- door meeting ostensibly to confirm effectiveness of the card readers, which the electoral body is deploying for the elections.

    Jega assured the team the body was fully prepared for the election despite the many challenges.

    He stressed that the commission was on top of the situation.

    Speaking to newsmen at the end of the closed- door meeting, which lasted for about 35 minutes, ECOWAS Head of Democracy and Good Governance, Eyesan Okorodudu, said the team was able to extract concrete clarifications on matters it raised concerns on.

    Though he refused to disclose the issues, Okorodudu noted the team’s concerns had been addressed by INEC.

  • NNPC boss meets army, police chiefs over oil theft

    NNPC boss meets army, police chiefs over oil theft

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha yesterday visited the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen Kenneth Minimah and the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba,  to seek support against the fight against oil theft.

    According to a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, Dawha said oil theft has had a negative impact on the nation’s resources.

    Dawha expressed the desire to enhance existing cordial relationship between it and the Nigerian Army as well as the Nigeria Police Force to acheive effective protection of oil and gas assets.

    The GMD’s visit, the statement added, was to express  gratitude to the Security Chiefs for their role in providing cover for smooth operations of the NNPC despite mounting security challenges.

    At the Army Headquarters,  Dawha said his visit was meant to renew existing cordial relationship between the two organisations, stressing that NNPC would continue to collaborate with the Army which he said has been providing security support for NNPC’s assets in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.

    The GMD praised the role of the Army in the Joint Task Force (JTF), extolling the performance of the outfit in protecting NNPC’s assets in Port Harcourt, Benin and Auchi and also in the Chad Basin where one of its Strategic Business Units, Integrated Data Services Limited, is currently engaged in seismic data acquisition activities.

    The GMD also noted the role of the Nigerian Army Engineering Corps in clearing and providing security for NNPC Right of Way across the country.

  • NFF Executive C’ttee meets today

    The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) will meet at the NFF Secretariat in Abuja today.

    The 13-member committee is set to review Nigeria’s participation in the recently –concluded 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, appraise the preparation of the U-20 Women National Team, Falconets, for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals in Canada next month and also deliberate on Nigeria’s participation in the qualifying series for the 2015 African U-17 and African U-20 Championships.

    The body will also discuss the issue of the technical crew for the Senior National Team, Super Eagles, as the qualifying series for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations is around the corner, as well as deliberate on the preparation of the Senior Women National Team, Super Falcons, for the ninth African Women Championship in Namibia in October.

    There will also be a talk on the 2014 Annual General Assembly of the Federation, which is the elective Congress, set for next month as well as the grand finale of this year’s Men and Women Federation Cup competitions, tentatively slated for the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on August 16.

  • Ibadan ‘forest of horror’: Ajimobi meets with security chiefs tomorrow

    Ibadan ‘forest of horror’: Ajimobi meets with security chiefs tomorrow

    The Oyo State government will hold a Security Council meeting tomorrow to deliberate on the discovery of the Soka “forest of horror” in Ibadan.

    According to a statement by Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s media aide, Dr. Festus Adedayo, the meeting would review the state of security.

    The statement said the government was bothered about the attack on mentally-sick persons in Ibadan and the resort to jungle justice.

    Residents have been attacking mentally-ill people found with suspicious items since the discovery of the Soka “forest of horror”.

    Since the discovery penultimate Saturday, about four mentally-sick men and women have been killed by a mob.

    They were linked to the Soka forest, following the discovery of suspicious items, such as “human tongues and bones”, on them.

    The statement said the Security Council meeting would discuss insinuations that some politicians were behind the attacks on the mentally-sick.

    Members of the State Security Council are heads of security agencies.

    Ibadan Southeast Local Government Chairman Abass Najimdeen has urged residents to stop killing mentally-ill people.

    He said anyone suspected of any crime should be handed over to the police.

    Najimdeen spoke at the weekend at Mapo Hall at a monthly programme of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), tagged Guest Platform.

    Two mentally-sick women were mobbed in the council last week.

    Najimdeen warned residents to stop taking the law into their hands, adding it would be wrong to kill suspects without allowing the police to investigate their claims.

    He debunked allegations by the Accord that the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration contributed to the survival of the Soka forest, saying: “There is no iota of truth in the allegation because investigations showed the Soka saga has been on long before the administration of Governor Ajimobi.”

    Najimdeen described Ajimobi as a God-fearing man, who cherishes the sanctity of human life.

    Acknowledging that there was tension and suspicion across Ibadan due to the shocking discovery, he said two mentally-sick women were rescued from a mob about to set them ablaze at Musiliu and Orita-Aperin.

    According to the council chairman, one of the women was in possession of handsets and a cutlass, and N56,000 was found on the other.

  • Mu’azu meets Obasanjo in Abeokuta

    Mu’azu meets Obasanjo in Abeokuta

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday in Abeokuta.

    He did not disclose his mission.

    Efforts to get the ex-president or his media minders to speak on the meeting failed last night.

    But, according to sources, it is not unconnected with the crisis in the PDP and Obasanjo’s recent withdrawal from the party’s activities because of the involvement of Mr. Buruji Kashamu in the leadership of the party in the Southwest.

    He described Kashamu as “a habitual criminal” who is wanted in the United States. But Kashamu insists he is innocent.

    Mu’azu arrived at the former president’s mansion at 3:30pm in a convoy of four vehicles. He met with Obasanjo for over an hour.

    It was not clear whether Mu’azu came in the company of Senator Andy Uba, who was also at Obasanjo’s home. Uba left the premises few minutes before the PDP Chairman’s arrival.

    Mu’azu left around 5:40pm, speeding off in a convoy of Lexus SUVs.

    But former House of Representives member Kayode Amusan, who was at the house when Mu’azu visited, said the PDP chairman was “working to rectify all that is wrong within the party”.

    Amusan, who has indicated interest in the Ogun State governorship on the platform of the PDP, told reporters that Obasanjo could not be ruled out in the scheme of things.

    Amusan said: “Baba is our leader, our mentor so, we can visit him any time. We are free to come to him. The new chairman has come and gone. All of us we are Baba’s sons. We can come here any time.

    “Of course, apart from coming from the same state with baba, baba ruled this nation for many years. You can’t rule him out in this country.

    “In a democratic dispensation, there must be regrouping, there must be alignment and there must be realignment and that is it. Let me tell you, the moment somebody comes on board, he has been brought to come and rectify and put in order all the anomalies in the party.”

    According to a source, Muazu has put reconciliation with Obasanjo on his agenda to restore peace to the party.

    The source said: “The new PDP chairman has the onerous task to restore peace to PDP. This is why he has decided to visit Obasanjo to lay all the cards on PDP crisis on the table and find a way forward.

    “Some of the issues on Muazu’s agenda are the defection of five governors to APC, state of PDP in the Southwest, especially the control of the structure by Kashamu, the sack of Oyinlola, Segun Oni, and Bode Mustapha from the National Working Committee, and relegation of Southwest PDP to the background.

    “But the most important is the face-off between the President and Obasanjo, which led to the exchange of letters by the two leaders.

    “Do not forget that the situation degenerated to the extent that Obasanjo withdrew his involvement in all the activities of PDP until further notice.”

    Another source said: “Many Nigerians, including ex-heads of state, have intervened in the bitter fight between the President and Obasanjo.

    “Muazu is expected to crystallise this mediation. The ultimate goal is to reconcile the two leaders in the interest of the nation.

    “If he succeeds, it might lead to the stoppage of the ongoing investigation of issues in Obasanjo’s recent letter to the President.”

    In a one-page letter dated January 7, to the former National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Obasanjo announced his withdrawal from the party’s activities at the local, state and federal levels.

     

  • Olu of Warri meets Itsekiri chiefs

    The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, yesterday met with members of the Itsekiri Council of Chiefs in the wake of his recant of the controversial edict, which pitted him against his subjects and the council.

    The monarch on Tuesday recanted the controversial “New Order in Iwere Kingdom”, prompting the end of a four-day siege to his palace (Aghofen) in Ugbori, Warri.

    The monarch’s edict wanted to ban the use of the title, Ogiame and stop the people from paying obeisance to him.

    He also outlawed the Itsekiri anthem, “Ara Lorire”.

    The monarch said the title connotes allegiance to a water god, Umalokun.

    However, the general outcry by his subjects from within and outside the country prompted the recant.

    There were reports yesterday that the monarch only changed his mind because of threat by youths to invade the palace and physically eject him.

    This could not be independently confirmed, although our reporter recalled that scores of women stormed the palace in red attires before the news of the monarch’s reversal was broken at about midday on Tuesday.

    It was gathered that the meeting was aimed at ironing out the details of Tuesday’s truce, which culminated in the monarch sanctioning a return to the old order.

    It was gathered that measures to maintain the peace and ensuring that the ‘no victor, no vanquished’ declared after the peace deal was maintained.

    It was learnt that some of the rebellious chiefs who joined the protest wanted to be assured that they would not be victimised because of their involvement.

    Our reporter’s visit to the scene of the protest yesterday revealed that normalcy had returned to the area.

    Business premises that were shut in compliance with the siege were opened.

  • Tukur meets state chairmen

    Tukur meets state chairmen

    As the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to fester, National Chairman Bmanga Tukur will today meet chairmen of the 36 state chapters, including their counterpart in the Federal Capital Territory.

    It was learnt yesterday that the national leadership of the party considered it expedient to win the state chairmen to the side of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Also, our correspondent gathered that the party had found the need to “arm” the chairmen, most of who are considered to be loyal to their various state governments, against what the leadership considered the governors’ undue influence over them.

    A party source hinted last night that of particular concern to the party’s leadership were the states under the control of the new PDP.

    The source added that of particular interest to Tukur and the Presidency were the states controlled by the seven governors in the Abubakar Baraje’s breakaway faction.

    The governors and the states are: Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara).

    “The party is worried by the prospects of the chairmen toeing the lines of the governors in those states. This could spell disaster for the PDP ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    “So, as a matter of urgency, it is imperative for the party to set the rules and spell out the codes that would guide them in their conduct henceforth”, the source stated.