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  • 2019 World Junior Circuit: Nigeria youngster dazzles in Ghana

    Nigeria’s Mustapha Mustapha was listed among the youngest players in the tournament but his performance received applause from the fans at the Sports Emporium in Accra, venue of the 2019 World Junior Circuit tagged Ghana Open.

    Despite losing to his much older opponent, the 10-year-old was hailed by the fans for his dexterity coupled with the way and manner he mesmerized his opponent during the encounter.

    His tactic touch coupled with his flawless service became the undoing of his Ghanaian opponent but his inability to cover the table was what worked against him in the tie.

    The fans were well entertained while some of them described him as a player for the future if well nurtured.

    And not to be carried away by the accolades, a not-too-satisfied Mustapha told NationSport that he has learnt a lot competing in his first international junior tournament.

    “I think I will cherish every moment I am playing in this competition because I have played against different players with various style and this for me is another eye-opener. Also I noticed that every player is blessed with different talent but I just need to continue to work hard and improve on my game,” he said.

    The youngster alongside his sibling – Musa made headlines at the 2018 ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open believes with what he has been able to pick up from Ghana, he is confident he can rub shoulders with most of his European counterparts.

    “From the Nigeria Open I think I had improved in my speed and control of the ball and this has helped to play well in the tournament. Although I lost mos of my matches, but I am so happy that I was not beaten black and blue by any opponent. Even against a more senior opponent, I held my own and this for me has boosted my confident going into more competitions,” he added.

  • Gunmen kidnap four women in Nasarawa

    Gunmen on Wednesday attacked vehicles along the busy Akwanga-Akwanga-Keffi expressway kidnapping four women in the process.

    Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists in Nasarawa State, Suleiman Abubakar’s wife, Yahanasu Abubakar, was among those kidnapped.

    Suleiman told newsmen that the incident happened around 7:00 p.m. along Gudi-Garaku road in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.

    According to him, the gunmen shot at the union bus they were travelling in from Keffi, where his wife had gone to register at the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp.

    He said the bus ran into a ditch after it was shot at which gave the gunmen the opportunity to abduct his wife, the wife of a former state assembly member, who was on the bus as well as two other women from another vehicle.

    Meanwhile, ASP Samaila Usman, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, said the command had mobilised officers to the area to search and rescue the abducted women.

  • Tinubu icon of Nigeria’s contemporary politics, says Lalong

    Plateau Governor Simon Lalong has described former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Bola Tinubu, as ‘the architect and icon of Nigeria’s contemporary politics.”

    Lalong said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mark Longyen, on Thursday in Jos, to felicitate with Tinubu on his 67th birthday.

    He further described Tinubu as “a dogged and uncompromising fighter for democracy.”

    “You had over the years carved a niche for himself as a dogged and uncompromising fighter for democracy, justice, honesty, fairness, equity and equality.

    “You have become the indisputable, indefatigable architect and icon of contemporary Nigerian politics and a mentor to countless politicians today,” he said.

    “Your 67th birthday anniversary presents an opportunity for me to join your numerous admirers nationwide and globally to felicitate with you.

    “We thank God for the six decades plus seven years of an impactful, fulfilled and fruitful life that you have lived to date,” he said.

    Lalong added that the former Lagos governor’s service to the nation is a source of pride to those who know him and even those who do not.

    He emphasised that Tinubu’s political partnership particularly with President Muhammadu Buhari, is bringing Nigeria out of the economic woods.

    According to him, the partnership is steadily restoring Nigeria’s image as a respectable country of preferred destination in the international community.

    “On behalf of the government, the good people of Plateau State and the APC Family in the state, I congratulate you on this auspicious occasion of your birthday anniversary.

    “I wish you many more years in good health, strength and wisdom and may the Almighty God expand your coast like never before.”

  • Three more parties dispute Buhari’s victory

    The number of political parties, challenging the outcome of the last presidential election has risen to four, with three more depositing their petitions before the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja.

    Beside the one filed on March 18 this year by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar, three other parties have also filed.

    There is the one filed by Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and Ambrose Owuru, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate. The petition, marked: CA/PEPC/001/2019 was filedonMarch7 this year, before that of the PDP and Atiku, marked: CA/PEPC/002/2019.

    The third, marked: CA/PEPC/003/2019was filed by the Coalition for Change (C4C) and Geff Ojinika, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate.

    The core contention of the authors of the third petition is that the election, held on February 23 this year, “was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with mandatory statutory provisions, which irregularity substantially affected the election, such that the 1st respondent (Buhari) was not entitled to be returned as the winner of the presidential election.”

    The fourth petition, marked: CA/PEPC/004/2019, was filed on March 19 this year by the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pastor Aminchi Habu, listed as the party’s presidential candidate.

    At a pre-hearing session conducted on Wednesday, the tribunal acceded to the request by the People’s Democratic Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar for permission to serve their petition of President Muhammadu Buhari through his party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Read Also: Buhari, APC chiefs endorse Lawan for Senate President

    PDP and Atiku, who, by their petition, are challenging Buhari’s victory at the election, applied for leave to effect service of the petition on the President on the grounds that they were having difficulty serving him.

    The three-man tribunal, after listening to Chris Uche (SAN), who moved the ex-parte filed by the PDP and Atiku, granted them permission to serve through substituted means.

    Justice Abdul Aboki, who led the panel, ordered that Buhari, who is listed as the second respondent to the petition, be served through any senior official or an officer of the APC at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

    Justice Aboki, in his lead ruling, said “it is in the interest of justice” to grant the prayers in the petitioners’ motion.rant the prayers in the petitioners’ motion.

  • Corruption still high despite Buhari’s efforts – SERAP

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Tuesday said that the level of corruption in Nigeria was still high in spite of the efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    SERAP made the claim at the launch of the results of a report of a national survey entitled “Nigeria Anti-Corruption Performance Assessment Survey”.

    The event took place in Lagos.

    SERAP came up with the 57-page report in collaboration with UKaid.

    It said that corruption was prevalent in the country in spite of some significant measures by the president toward addressing it.

    According to SERAP, some of the measures are the establishment of the Treasury Single Account, Whistle-Blowing Policy and constitution of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.

    NAN reports that the national survey conducted in November 2018 and December 2018, targeted a total of 2,655 respondents selected from seven states spread across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and Abuja.

    The survey also covered five sectors – Police, Judiciary, Power, Education and Health – in order to assess the state of corruption in public law enforcement and service provision.

    It said: “There was a 63.7 per cent probability that an average Nigerian would be asked to pay a bribe each time he or she interacted with the police.

    “There was a 49.1 per cent probability in the power sector, 27.7 per cent in judiciary, 25.6 per cent in education and 20.5 per cent in the health sector.

    “The police and the judiciary had the largest proportion of total bribes paid at 33 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.

    “The average amount of bribe paid by the respondents was highest among those who paid to the judiciary at about N108, 000. All the other institutions ranked lower on this variable.”

    SERAP recommended establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to conduct a transparent, comprehensive and impartial investigation into corruption in the five sectors.

    It also suggested legislative and constitutional reforms including amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act to ensure public access to the asset declarations of public officials.

    It equally urged prosecution of liable individuals without delay and according to international fair trial standards, adding that there should be improvement in financial oversight of the five sectors.

    SERAP also urged publication of quarterly budget execution reports by the sectors.

    The Chairman of the occasion, Akin Oyebode, a Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence, lauded the report.

    “We now have a reference point to assess how much we have done in the fight against corruption. The consciousness of corruption cannot be erased.

    “We have accepted corruption as the way of conducting business via kickbacks, bribes or dash. The police who are to sanitise the system are complicit.

    “SERAP is putting Nigeria on the stand as regards what needs to be done as it is not very often you see organisations coming up with a scorecard,” Oyebode said.

    Earlier in his address of welcome, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, the Executive Director of SERAP, thanked the Government of the United Kingdom for supporting SERAP in conducting the Survey.

    “I will like to point out importantly that the view expressed in the SERAP report does not reflect the views of the UK Government,” Mumuni said.

  • Two injured in Agege inferno

    A woman and a young boy on Tuesday sustained injuries after electricity surge sparked inferno at Orile-Agege in Lagos.

    The fire, which started at about 6am, was said to have raged for several hours destroying shops, houses and wares.

    It was gathered a high tension cable fell on a residential building where cooking gas was on and it escalated the fire.

    Lamenting their losses, victims said fire service officials told them they did not have water when they called them to contain the inferno.

    A woman, Iya Mariam, who said she visited her mother, told The Nation said a lot would have been salvaged if the agency responded in good time.

    She said: “My mum grinds pepper in that compound where fire broke out. I came to visit my mum there.

    “I woke up in the morning to get my child set for school and the next thing I heard people screaming that a room was on fire.

    “In no time, it escalated to other rooms. They went to call fire service but those ones said they do not have water, how can that happen?

    “Majority of our things are gone. Few people sustained injuries. We do not want the compound to be taken from us, the government should help us by building a better one.”

    Mrs. Sherifat Aderigbigbe, a pepper grinder, blamed fire service for not doing their job well, saying they have been made to suffer and rendered homeless.

    A trader, Bolanle Babatunde, said he ensured he evacuated his children while they kept calling and waiting on the fire service.

    Mallam Abdullahi, an Imam, said he was praying when the fire started, adding that he lost most of his goods.

    According to the President, President Arewa United (Consultative Forum), Alhaji Shuaibu Ado, said the fire spread from room to room as soon as the cable fell, adding that people fled abandoning their valuables.

    Read Also: Fire razes building in Kano

    “People started shouting fire, fire and they ran leaving their goods and properties inside. No life was lost but we are pained now because we have lost millions of properties and money to the fire outbreak.

    “We are appealing to the government to come to our aid and give the Hausa boys shelter. They are now stranded. Everything they worked for has gone down the drain.

    “Now that there is no alternative for them tonight, they would all sleep on the road.

    “Those who live here are those who are financially not upright, so they cannot even go out to rent an apartment.”

    Seriki Hausa Alhaji Aminu confirmed no life was lost in the incident, blaming the outbreak on electrical surge.

    “I received a distress call early this morning that when light came on, it sparked and affected a shop. In the process of putting out the fire, the whole thing escalated and affected other areas.

    “Two persons sustained injury, a woman and a young boy and have been rushed to the General Hospital Agege. No life was lost.

    “Due to the damage caused already, we are considering giving the place to a developer to develop. We allowed the Hausa boys to sleep here, we built rooms for the Hausa boys so the ‘omo onile’ people will not tamper with the land.

    “Most of the Hausa boys are workers here. A lot of agencies came to our rescue, the police, fire service, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) and Civil Defence. They all collaborated to ensure the situation was brought down to a minimal level,” he said.

     

  • Buhari to APC senators-elect: Shun erroneous path of 8th Senate

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday night advised senators-elect on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to avoid the erroneous path of 8th Senate.

    He gave the advice while hosting the APC senators-elect and some state governors to a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The President regretted some wrong actions and decisions of the 8th National Assembly.

    He specifically recalled the deliberate and persistent delay in passing the nation’s annual budget by the National Assembly.

    Urging the in-coming 9th National Assembly to do things differently from the outgoing 8th Senate, he said that it will enable his administration achieve its target of transforming the nation.

    He said “This is my fifth and last time of standing for an election – for that reason I’ll like to leave something behind.

    “And what I want to leave cannot be successfully done without your support.

    “So, that is why I’m appealing for your support. What happened in the last senate and so on is regrettable because I still feel it shouldn’t take seven months to pass a budget. You have a very, very serious job ahead of you.

    “So, what I’m appealing is that any major decision you are going to take please reflect more on the country than yourself as a person – what effect will it have on the country,’’ he said.

    Promising to work and partner with the 9th national assembly in promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in the country, the president thanked the governors and senators-elect for their support and understanding.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the dinner, the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, said the whole purpose of the event was to bond the new and old senators, to establish a new relationship between the executive and the legislature.

    He said: “The system talks about the separation of powers between the executive and legislature and the two must handshake for things to happen.

    “And when you have a president that is determined to drive changes, fundamental changes that will affect our habits, our life style, review the economy, deal with the security situation, fight corruption as fiercely as he is trying to do, he will need a very supportive legislative arm of government.

    “And happily, the Nigerian people have given us the number in the legislative arm of government.

    “All we have agreed today is that we will use these numbers as a functioning whole to determine the leadership of the senate in a way that we are not going to go to the floor of the senate and allow the opposition dictate who becomes the senate president.

    “Because, we have comfortable majority to drive that, what we have to do is to manage that majority.’’

    Also speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong said: “What the president has done today, I think is the right step in the right direction.

    “The last time we did not have the opportunity of this politics but today, Mr. President invited us. Because, we are governors and we also dialogue with our senators.

    “Mr President said in order to avoid rancor, let me lay the way forward and we are very happy he has laid the way forward and because of that we are all going to work towards achieving the desire of Mr President for the good of this country.’’ he said

    On his part, Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari said “We all remembered what happened at the last assembly, and Mr. President through the national chairman said that we should work hand in hand to ensure that we come out as one party.

    “We are assured the President that we are going to give him full cooperation to ensure we boost the Nigerian economy, security and fight against corruption.”

  • Buildings collapse: Offenders’ll face full wrath of the law, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday warned that those who cut corners that resulted in building collapse in the country will face the full wrath of the law.

    He gave the warning while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the recent building collapse demands urgent adherence to quality standards.

    He said “However, the recent tragic incident in Lagos and many others across the country, reminds us of the need to strictly adhere to quality standards when it comes to construction projects.

    “Young innocent lives must never be lost due to incompetence and greed. Simply put, no corners must be cut.

    “l want to assure you that those responsible for such incidents of professional negligence will feel the full wrath of the law,” he said

    Stressing that his administration remain committed to the Change Agenda, he said that the dark days of impunity are gone for good.

    He said “As a Government, we remain focused and committed to ensuring we create an inclusive and diversified economy. This simply means National growth must impact the silent majority.

    “This is why in the past three years; we focused on key job creating sectors such as Agriculture and Infrastructure Development.

    “You will all recall that our Agriculture and Infrastructure programs contributed to our exit from the recession. This is a clear example of how, if we push “inclusive” job creating policies, growth will follow.

    “We will remain committed to these and other programs, to ensure the success of our nation is felt by the majority of Nigerians.

    “With our significant infrastructure deficit, your sector has the potential and the bandwidth to create impactful jobs across the country. Both urban and rural areas.”

    Towards commencing dialogue, he urged them to make formal submission to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing as soon as possible.

    “Like you mentioned in your remarks, many of your members are currently working in Government and I am confident we can commence these reforms within the shortest possible time.” he added

    The President of NIQS, Obafemi Onashile congratulated the President on his well-deserved re-election as the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “And pray that Allah will continue to grant you good health, the grace and the strength to achieve your good intensions and aspiration for the Nation and to deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizenry.

    “Your re-election is indeed a confirmation of the support for your policies on anti-corruption, rule of law, transparency which is magnified in your TSA (Treasury Single Account) Policy which all past administrations shied away from as well as your Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    “Your Excellency, you can count on the NIQS to further push these programmes and much more on your behalf as they are sincere and meaningful for our Country.”

    “Your Excellency Sir, we are here on a visit, not to only felicitate with you but to express our total confidence in your administration and leadership direction, which have brought hope, progress and stability to our Nation.”

    He said “It is obvious that your government is listening government that is committed to improving the plights of the Nigerian citizens. Your recently signed Executive Orders No.5 and No.7 aptly exhibit a government interested in professional handling of governance. Your open war on corruption is also a testimony of sincerity of purpose and transparency of your government.

    He said that construction projects are usually high capital intensive and could be readymade platforms for large scale corruption in any economy if not professionally managed with requisite discipline.

  • Ganduje: my victory down to hard work, not violence

    Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje of has reaffirmed his victory at the Kano supplementary elections was as a result of hard work by his team as against violence cited in many quarters.

    Ganduje, who contested under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke when chairmen of the 44 local government areas of the state paid him a congratulatory and solidarity at the Government House, Kano

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ganduje winner of the rerun polls against his opponent Abba K. Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “It was not breach of peace that gave (me) the victory but hard work and prayers. We prayed and we worked hard. Peace is paramount,” he said.

    Ganduje urged supporters of the APC not to engage in any form of violence or intimidation of the opposition in the course of their jubilation, saying his government and party are not in conflict with the opposition.

    “We want peace and peace must be given a chance to thrive. We will come up with new strategy in governance. All as an effort to consolidate this victory and continue with the good things we started.

    “We will continue to do what our people voted us for. That is to further develop all structures of the society.

    “This victory shows that Kano people repose confidence in us since from day one. We will, therefore, not let them down,” Ganduje added.

    He also said he would work with other opposition groups that supported him before the elections.

    “We have other opposition parties that came and worked with us before this election. For the development of our state, we are planning to work with them,” he stated.

  • Ninth Senate: Gumel laments depletion of ranking senators

    A member of the National Assembly, Sen. Abdullahi Gumel, has expressed concern over the decline in the number of Senators returning to the 9th Senate.

    Gumel (APC-Jigawa) told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview on Tuesday in Abuja that the continuous turnover of lawmakers to the National Assembly, particularly the senate had negative implications.

    He said the development had led to loss of experience in legislative activities and waste of the nation’s resources, among others.

    He stressed that the country often spent a lot of money training and retraining lawmakers to master the act of effective lawmaking, only to stay for four years or at most eight years.

    According to him, only few senators have been in the national assembly since the return of democracy in 1999.

    “In developed democracies you see someone spending 30 to 40 years in the parliament, gathering experience and not wasting the nation’s resources.

    “In every set of the legislature the lawmakers undergo capacity building in terms of training within and outside the country and the nation spend a lot to build their capacity.

    “Unfortunately, in every election we lose such talents and we have to start all over again,” he said.

    Gumel hoped that Nigeria would learn from other countries by ensuring that lawmakers won their re-election bids as many times as possible.

    He, however, urged lawmakers to live up to expectations in order to gain the support of their constituents to get re-elected to the national assembly as many times as they wanted.

    On beliefs in some quarters that former governors who are first timers in the national assembly are not novices in matters of legislation, Gumel argued that they might be experienced in governance but not lawmaking.

    The lawmaker pointed out that they still needed extensive training to carry out the mandate of the legislature, which is the second arm of government.

    “The experience they have is executive experience not legislative experience. The legislature is a world of its own and its rudiments must be learnt,” he said.

    Gumel, who lost his reelection bid to return to the senate for the second time, hinted that he was retiring from elective politics.

    “I have paid my dues. I have been in politics for the last 40 years. I am satisfied and proud to say I have been in politics for this length of time.

    “I have reached the pinnacle of my ambition which is to become a senator. I do not have the attraction of being a governor and I will be too old to start seeking to be president.

    So far, only 43 serving senators out of 109, have been cleared to return to the senate.

    With this, not less than 60 new lawmakers will make it to the 9th Senate and it would take them a while, in spite of their experience in various fields of endeavor, to adjust to the legislative environment.