The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian news

  • The justice court Reality TV show to debut

    The Justice Court, a new reality television show patterned after the popular daytime Emmy award winning arbitration-based court series, Judge Judy, produced by CBS Television, created to be the wheel of justice in the country, is set to hit television screen.

    Produced by Avonix Nigeria Limited and shot at the ultra-modern Hotsports Studios in Lagos, The Justice Court is basically an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) model aimed at delivering fair and speedy judgment in a courtroom setting.

    According to the producer, Neil Oyenekan, unlike other reality TV shows, The Justice Court is real both in concept and execution, dealing with real life judicial matters.

    “The judiciary is one of the oldest institutions in the world and an economy, state or community cannot run without law and order. Beyond what happens at the federal high courts, there are lots of issues that need to be dealt with at the grassroots. So, when you have a show like this, which addresses people who are in the middle and lower classes, it educates them more – through a medium, which reaches every corner of the country and possibly the continent,” he said.

    Explaining further, Oyenekan said that the ultimate objective of The Justice Court is to help decongest the regular courts, which are currently overwhelmed with huge number of cases, with litigants frustrated with long adjournments and judicial delays.

    “Typically, The Justice Court would resolve small claims, civil and family disputes within the ambit of the law, and within the shortest possible period. The litigants duly consent to the process and the judgment or mediation agreement reached by the parties is enforceable as a contract by both parties,” he stated.

    A sneak preview of The Justice Court reveals that it is highly educative and entertaining. The show will air on both satellite and television networks across the country.

  • Blue chip fraudsters behind P&ID judgment fund — BMO chief Akinsiju

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) is one of the support groups who worked for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election in the recent presidential poll. It is the body that handles the media aspect of the support groups for the President. In this interview with TONY AKOWE, the Chairman of BMO, Niyi Akinsiju, speaks on the efforts of the President to leave behind a good legacy with regard to the nation’s development, among other issues of national interest.

    What are your expectations from Buhari’s second term?

    One of them is consolidation on the gains of the past four years. I appreciate how the President has steadied the ship of state which ran into a debilitating economic storm when oil price sharply dropped in 2014 and there was a vast reduction in oil production to as low as 600,000 barrels a day. Of course, we landed in a recession but we survived and came back in a timely manner. Not many economies in other jurisdictions survived that easily and took to growth the way the Nigerian economy had recorded. I give kudos to the administration for that.

    What is certain is that we crashed into that recession because we are a mono product and external-dependent economy. Despite much mouthing on the need to diversify our economy by different administrations over the years, not much was achieved before 2015. However, it must be established here that we made it out of that recession because of the creative engineering of the federal government’s fiscal relationship with the sub-nationals; something we had never witnessed before now, and the first real efforts at diversifying our economy.

    We have seen the federal government intervention in providing budget support to states and enhancing fiscal capabilities of the states through the Paris Club refunds. It takes a thinking government to adopt this option. Previous administrations had ignored all the advocacy for the refunds.

    The first indicators of an economy in diversification started manifesting with the streaming of the anchor borrowers’ programme and the CBN restriction to accessing foreign exchange for the importation of items that can be produced in the country. Since then, we have seen increase in our foreign reserves, falling inflation rate, increasing gross domestic product by percentages, and a record consistent 28-month increase in the purchasing managers’ index. All these in spite of low crude oil price and production figures.

    To a large extent, the economy has been steadied, though certain forces that were major beneficiaries of the old order have continued to heckle the system through organised and syndicated smuggling and refusal to pay back loans collected from deposit money banks. Thankfully, President Buhari has attended to that with the amendment to the AMCON Act. I understand there’s a stampede in the elite camp of loan defaulters who collectively owe us more than N5 trillion. As a nation, we are still on a journey and expect much momentum to be given our economy growth with emphasis on inclusiveness over the next four years.

    A major aspect of our national life that has sustained headlines is security. It is as if our past just suddenly caught up with us at a time. The malaise of social miscreants across the country have become an affliction, providing a near unending recruits for criminality in the north while the depressing ratio of policemen to population made the country desperately under-policed. We are talking of a near one million square kilometre land mass. Again, thankfully, we are witnessing constructive engagements with the criminal elements. Records show that more than 3000 criminals were arrested in the first half of this year. This is even as we have continued to witness frontal attacks against the remnants of the Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents by the Nigerian armed forces.

    Going forward, I like to witness the total extirpation of the North East insurgents. I am confident that we will have a better secured environment in a short while because of measures the government is putting in place to enhance the capacity of the men and women responsible for securing our lives and properties.

    A lot of Nigerians speak of the need for electoral reform, believing that what we have presently is below what it should be. What is your take on this?

    The 2019 election has become a reference point in the anal of elections in Nigeria. The ruling party lost a number of states to the main opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) while the opposition also lost a number to the ruling party. These were achieved through the electoral process and election related court processes. Unlike under other administrations, the ruling party refused to intervene in the processes. So far, rulings by states election tribunals have shown that more of opposition candidates were in breach of electoral rules and processes. This then is a good reason for the overhaul of the electoral process through appropriate electoral reform. The President has already given his word on the digitalization of the electoral process by an amendment of the Electoral Act. But, as noted by the President, this will be done in consideration of safeguarding the electoral digitalisation process from becoming a challenge resulting from undermining the digital architecture of the process.

    Beyond this, I believe Nigerians should be reoriented on the need to treat the electoral process as sacred. In a democracy, election is like the Holy Grail. It defines our being and aspirations. If we don’t get it right, we won’t get the developmental nexus of our nation right. So, as we talk of the digital process, we must also start talking to ourselves to eschew the seeming merchandising characterisation with which we play our politics.

    What is your take on the P&ID controversy?

    I won’t describe the Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) purported contract breach as a controversy, not at all. In my consideration, it is a well-orchestrated scam perpetrated by individuals who simply exploited the irresponsible culture of corruption and material acquisition by people in government. It is clear that the metropolitan capitals of capitalism with their local collaborators have seen a way to make Nigeria part with billions of dollars and they have mobilised themselves, from Wall Street based hedge fund managers to big time lawyers and lobbyists and close friends of America’s President Donald Trump, inclusive of big budget public and media relations firms, all are in a frenzy to eat out of the criminality perpetrated through the P&ID scam.

    The Federal Government should resist this gathering of blue chip ‘419ners’ it is as simple as that. No cent should be given to these frauds. It is times like this that the nation must stand against the use of neo-colonial instrumentations to strip us of our resources. It is equivalent to the first set of adventurer Buccaneers that came looting the African continent by subterfuge.

    The anti-corruption fight of the government has attracted criticism and allegations of selective prosecution. How would you rate the process so far?

    The anti-corruption war is gaining momentum. It is expected that those that are being investigated or charged to courts will allege selective prosecution. That, to me, is an expression of deficit in morality. If you had not tainted your record in service, nobody will witch-hunt you. Besides, we have seen how former governors on the platform of the ruling APC and other state actors are also being arraigned before courts of law for corruption. What is obvious is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and ICPC have shown capacity for independent actions. I believe this is what we as a people should encourage: the independence of institutions of state to act for and on behalf of the state.

    The FBI recently released a list of Nigerians involved in internet fraud. What is your opinion on this?

    Though the news of Nigerians on the FBI list is discomforting, like the President noted in a statement, the heists those Nigerians were arrested for do not represent the values the generality of Nigerians hold dear to heart. I like to affirmatively assert that this does not make a prevalent criminal jurisdiction. The extant statistics in the United States of America does not even count Nigeria or Nigerians in the top 20 criminal prevalent countries in the world. We still hold dear our socially conservative culture with emphasis on dignity, good neighbourliness and modesty.

     Nigerians talk of a cabal within the Presidency…

    Where is the cabal? That is the question I ask each time the issue of a cabal in the Presidency is raised. The truth is that President Buhari has shown character manifested in a strong will to deploy objective policies to address our national challenges pivoted on transparency, integrity and a declared proclivity to defend and advance the cause of the poor. These are some of the profound values that define the Buhari administration, and they are extension of what Nigerians had always known the President for. In essence, therefore, to have a cabal in place is to replace these values. So, the empirical reality does not lend credence to the conjecture of a cabal in government.

     What agenda would you set for the new ministers?

    The President has appropriately cut out the job schedule and expectations of Nigerians from the ministers, inclusive of clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). I am of the strong belief that the ministers will deliver on their briefs. Truth is that a strong foundation had been laid over the past four years when the country survived a recession through application of commendable homegrown solutions. This has gifted us an economic direction that will be powered by diversification, backward integration and human capital development within the ambience of a Nigerian first outlook.

     There is delay in the minimum wage implementation and this is causing tension in the civil service. How do you think the government should best address the issue to avoid unnecessary strike by workers?

    It is a process that has to address degrees of application of the new minimum wage across the salary ladder. So, where the quantum of salary for grade levels one to four is agreed, the applicable percentage of increment for those on levels 5 to 16 is yet outstanding. The government had offered to commence payment of those on grade levels one to four but labour is insisting on the new pay reflecting on all the grade levels. I am hopeful this will soon be resolved.

    The security situation in the country is giving many a cause for concern and the opposition is capitalising on this to accuse the government of inaction. What is your take on this?

    No matter the frequency of cases of insecurity, low or high, it is always a matter of concern to the government. Cases of kidnappings on our highways and other forms of criminalities are without doubt worrisome. But the Federal Government, through the police and the Nigerian armed forces, is on top of the situation in a sustainable manner. The Nigerian Police detective corps is being regenerated with the training of more than 200 officer level ranks personnel in China. This is also as Mr President has given a direct order to the effect that a minimum of 10,000 Nigerians should be recruited into the police service annually. Besides, the police are now adapting and deploying technology in crime fighting. Soon, we will witness the first manifestation of community policing with the recruitment of 40,000 police constables that will be recruited and posted to their local government areas of origin.

     Another controversial issue of public discourse in recent times is the Ruga settlement. Although the federal government has suspended it, Nigerians still believe the government is playing games with it…

    Ruga is a creative solution to the troublesome herders-farmers clashes. It also seeks to facilitate increased production capacity of the nation’s livestock industry with attendant positive impacts on the sector’s value chain. I observed out cries against its implementation from certain parts of the country, which by the letters of the Ruga implementation template are not even considered as part of the Ruga implementation states. Except by voluntary acquiescence, no state in the South-South, South-East or South-West is on the Ruga schedule of implementation. We are already seeing states in the northern part of the country expressing their readiness, while a number of these have actually commenced implementation.

     The issue of rotational presidency will definitely shape the 2023 elections. Many believe that after Buhari’s second term, the Presidency should return to the south. How practicable is this?

    Rotational presidency is an agreement of convenience emplaced to enable equity. I always remind myself that it is not an iron-clad caveat to the constitutional provision regarding presidential election. As a politician I think it is a most welcome arrangement. But I am practical minded enough to know that there are lots of dynamics at play in its realisation. The significant factor in the rotational arrangement is continuous dialogue, an unending conversation across the political and geographical spectrum with objective at consensus.

    There is crisis within the APC which seems to defile all solutions. Don’t you think this will affect the fortunes of the party ahead of 2023?

    I don’t think there is a crisis-related issue within the APC. Fact is that there had not been a time the party had been this stable. Yes, there were a number of grumblings in the aftermath of the general election, but members have since realised that the party actually came out stronger from the 2019 elections in terms of the states we won and the National Assembly seats. The outcome of the primary election to elect the party’s flag bearer in Kogi State has manifestly shown the quality of leadership tending the party. You can compare the Kogi primary election with PDP’s where chaos was unleashed on delegates.

     There is this allegation by the PDP that Buhari is killing the country with inaction…

    Killing? PDP is purposefully deceitful. They know that they were an affliction on this country and merely left Nigeria in the throes of death. We can only thank God for Buhari’s salvage mission. I never stopped imagining the vortex we would have found ourselves as a country if Nigerians had not kicked that party out of power in 2015. Venezuela would have been better. Even now that President Buhari is providing focused and creative leadership by addressing the numerous challenges inherited from the 16 years PDP administration, many elements in the party, still smarting from losing both the 2015 and 2019 elections and by extension denied access to the nation’s ‘feeding bottle,’ have become desperate and resorted to criminal subterfuge to create outlooks of instability around the country. Of course, they have failed and will continue to fail.

  • Ajeluorou, Akubuiro headline writing masterclass at UNIBEN

    TWO Lagos-based journalists and fiction writers – Anote Ajeluorou of The Guardian and Henry Akubuiro of The Sun – will be lead discussants in a creative writing masterclass to be held at the Department of English and Literature, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, on Friday, September 20, 2019 at 1000 Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Arts, Ugbowo Campus by 10.00am.

    The department is keen to give an early start to its students on the rudiments of creative writing and critical engagement.

    The choice of the two journalists and writers (sometimes referred to as ‘journartists’) comes on the heels of their respective performances in the creative arena with the publication of their works that continue to receive popular acclaim. Akubuiro has published two children’s books, Adventures of Bingo and Bomboi and Little Wizard of Okokomaiko, including a novel, Prodigals in Paradise. Akubuiro is Arts Editor at The Sun newspaper.

    Ajeluorou, on the other hand, who is the author of Igho Goes to Farm, longlisted for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, was former Arts Editor of The Guardian, but currently heads the politics desk.

    According to the coordinator of the workshop, poet, and professor of English and Literature at the department, Tony Afejuku, “The idea is to get the two writers to interface with our students in a conversation on the process of writing. It will be interactive and students will ask questions about their works. We believe our students will greatly benefit from the experience of talking to two practicing journalists and writers. So, it is a meeting of current practitioners of the craft of writing and students studying that craft.”

    Akubuiro, who studied English and Literature at Imo State University, Owerri, said, “The event enkindles a nostalgic feeling for me, because two of my published works, especially the novel, Prodigals in Paradise, was begun during my one year mandatory national youth service at the Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Benin City. I will also be talking about new trends in creative writing to the students of the English Department.”

    Ajeluorou is also excited at the masterclass idea, as it signals his return to his old department where he studied many years ago.

    According to him, “This is quite exciting and I look forward to it with eagerness. Having studied at the department and headed the department’s Creative Writing Workshop back in the 1990s as a student, which had aspiring student writers from other departments, it is a privilege to go back to the department again to share my creative and journalistic writing experiences with the current crop of trainee writers and critics of my beloved department. The idea alone already invokes nostalgic feelings in me and I hope the students are ready!”

  • Jahmil Qubeka’s ‘knuckle city’ for the oscars

    I saw ‘Knuckle City’ which is having its last screening today, in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and I can attest to the strength of the film and its choice for an Oscar..

    For Qubeka, this is his second time in a row for TIFF and the Oscars selections, as his previous film, ‘Sew the Winter to My Skin’, which screened to critical acclaim at TIFF last year, was also the 2019 submission from South Africa for the Foreign Language Film category of Oscars (which the Academy’s Board of Governors has renamed as International Feature Film).

    Qubeka’s ‘Knuckle City’ came through as the most relevant South African film. “Its ‘slice of life’ perspective reminded me of what Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie attempted to do with their earlier films. ‘Knuckle City’ is not a superficial exploration of familial binds nestled between high octane car chases. It is, in fact, a dark exploration of a family’s existence in a bleak world with some clever humour to make it palatable. Although this is not the obvious choice, I truly believe it’s the best choice we could have made to represent South Africa at the Academy Awards,” noted a jury member.

    The film stars Bongile Mantsai (Knuckle City Best Actor Award/Durban Film Festival, SAFTA Golden Horn Award Inxeba, Sew the Winter to My Skin), Thembekile Komani (Jab), Faniswa Yisa (Stillborn Twisting Fate, Jab, Skin), Patrick Ndlovu (The Killing Floor, Everyman’s Taxi), Siv Ngesi (Black Sails, Finders Keepers, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), and Owen Sejake (iNumber, Number, Shake Hands with the Devil, Tsotsi, Beat the Drum). The film is based on a script by Qubeka and is produced by Layla Swart (Where Has Time Gone, Sew the Winter to My Skin).

    Knuckle City – a slice of life in South Africa’s Mdantsane township, long recognised as the boxing mecca of South Africa, in which we follow the journey of Dudu (Mantsai), a down-and-out boxer as he struggles to take part in the one fight that he believes will uplift his fractured family. Knowing that the boxing world is rife with criminality, he enlists the help of Duke (Komani), his reckless, but resourceful gangster brother. Haunted by the ghost of their father, Dudu soon finds that the fight at home is far more challenging than any opponent he could possibly face in the ring.

    The richly layered film which explores inherent toxic masculinity and the underbelly of the boxing world has received critical acclaim since its premiere at the 40th edition of Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and is currently making its international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the official Contemporary World Cinema programme. It will release theatrically in South African theatres on Boxing Day, 26 December 2019.

    Jahmil X.T. Qubeka is one of South Africa’s most acclaimed and prolific filmmakers. Jahmil has been internationally and locally acknowledged for his directorial work and has premiered feature films in almost every significant festival across the globe. Jahmil has directed a plethora of documentaries, television dramas, commercials and feature films, for which he has received the highest accolades for his work including a Peabody and a BAFTA and has persevered and triumphed in this testing industry despite coming of age in a turbulent period of this country’s past.

    Jahmil’s sophomore feature film Of Good Report(2013) went on to garner multiple awards and plaudits. It had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, and is also the first African film to be selected for official competition at the London BFI International Film Festival.

    The film went on to win a BAFTA, several SAFTAS and multiple African Movie Academy Awards. In 2016, Jahmil was selected alongside Walter Salles and Jia Zhangke to represent South Africa with his film Stillborn in a BRICS Anthology Collection which premiered in China (2017). Jahmil’s 2018 film, Sew the Winter to My Skin, was selected for the exclusive Cannes L’Atelier program (2017), awarded the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was chosen to represent South Africa at the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Category.

    The film has won numerous awards including Best Film at the SAFTAs and Best Director at AFRIFF, with critics hailing it as a brave departure from the norm of South African cinema. Jahmil is co-owner and Creative Director of the award-winning company Yellowbone Entertainment and is a visionary of South African cinema, striving always to create authentic, ground-breaking work of the highest standards.

  • Seyi Adura debuts with ‘Koma Gbon’

    LONDON-BASED Nigeria singer, Oluwaseyi Mercy Adurasanmi Omotayo, also known as Seyi Adura, has debuted with a Yoruba titled single Koma Gbon on Friday September 13 to register her presence in the Nigerian music scene.

    Seyi, who is a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, has also worked in the industry before opting to establish herself in the ever evolving Afro Beats industry.

    The promising artiste announced the release of Koma Gbon on her Instagram page.

    “Seeing this is when I realised that it’s all coming together; it’s finally happening. Growing up, I’d always look at single/album covers and imagine one day that would be me. On Friday, I released my first ever single.

    Produced by StGthaprodigy, Koma gbon is a blend of soothing vocals infused with the undeniably rhythmic Afro sounds.

    Adura’s love for music started at the age of 5 where she would regularly perform at school plays, choirs and festivals.

    Raised in a Nigerian household, Seyi developed her diverse taste in music through a combination of cultural and social influences. Her church based upbringing coupled with her parents’ vast musical collection allowed her to absorb an eclectic mix of musical styles and techniques.

    She,however, lists musical greats such as Sunny Ade, Fela, Ebenezer Obey and Shina Peters as her early musical influence.

    Koma Gbon is now available on all streaming and downloading platforms.

  • O’Jerry out with ‘GO PAY’

    Multi-Talented compere and vocalist O’Jerry debuts with a fresh hot single track, titled: ‘Go Pay,’ produced by Suplia Beats. Presented in an ingenious blend of vernacular and Yoruba, the warm-hearted Media Relations Ninja delivers a melodic Afro-pop rendition full of positivity, energy and goodwill.

    With Go Pay, O’Jerry fuses his astounding pop-fuji vocals with Afrobeat rhythms to convey a stimulating message of perseverance to Nigerians and the world at large.

    O’Jerry is inspired by Adekunle Gold, LKT, Barry Jhay, Reekado Banks, Ibejii, Praiz, Rayce, among other vocal authorities in the Nigerian music sphere.

    The refreshing new single is also available online on itunes, boomplay and all music download sites.

  • Semilore wins 6334Plus readers club

    Semilore Adeoye, a pupil of Springforth School, Lagos, emerged as Winner in the keenly contested Reading Competition held on Friday 6th, 2019 at the Eternal King School, Amje , Alagbado, Lagos, thereby making her the first Ambassador of 6334Plus.

    The winner won a school bag and Testerjay’s Scholarship for first Ambassador (Part Payment of school fee).

    6334Plus is the brainchild of Testerjay UK Enterprise, United Kingdom (UK) based firm owned by a Nigerian. The Readers’ Club is part of 6334plus’ educational intervention programmes and support services specifically focused on improving the quality of academic offerings in Nigeria.

    At the Summer Reader’s Competition which was the inaugural event of the club, the winner, Semilore scored 13 points , while  Okereke Delight from B-Gold School and Adebowale Nimota, from Ummul Khair School, both emerged as 1st Runner-Up. They all won a school bag and Testerjay’s prize for second.

    Olaiya Daniel,from Great Prestige School,  Master Newton  from Grand School and Master Orimadegun David from Komfex Group of School, all scored 10 points each , to emerge as 2nd Runner-Up, thereby making it three pupils in that position. They won an Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

    The twenty-seven club members selected from ten(10) schools were given  Amazon tablets installed with several literature books and novels.

    The pupils during the reading context, read an adventure book, titled “Summer of Spies” authored by Abigail Hornsea.

    Speaking about the initiative, Mr James Oyebode, Director of 6334Plus said, “The maiden edition of the club’s activity is the result of hard work, focus and careful planning, which is meant to evaluate and improve the reading skills of students in Nigeria.

    He said, “Our programme is meant to bring out the best in every member of the club and we are committed to achieving this irrespective of the cost implications on our part. Our objective, at the end of the every session,is to contribute in no small measure to the academic performance of our club members in Nigeria.

    “We are particularly encouraged by the schools that offered to present their children for the pilot scheme. We assure them of robust partnership that would yield optimal result in their offerings.

    ” I got I inspiration to launch this project in Nigeria having seen a similar project enjoyed by my children in the UK schools. I belief this project can also be fine tuned and introduced to Nigerian children. This is why we embarked on this project because we don’t want Nigerian children back at home to be denied of advancement in global education.

    ” I congratulate Semilore, our first Ambassador and I am sure she would be joined by other burgeoning Ambassors for the selection of the Royal Ambassador who would be treated with a trip Abroad later in the year.

    Mr Oyebode however promised to do all in his capacity to provide logistics needed to spread the project in all the state in Nigeria.

    The excited participants and the management of participating schools commended 6334Plus for the great initiative, charging the organisation to spread the programme to other students and schools.

  • Judgement: I didn’t go into trauma because of FEC – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he was not traumatized during the delivering Presidential Election Petition Tribunal judgment on Wednesday.

    The judgement was delivered in favour of President Buhari as the winner of the February 2019 election and against the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    Speaking while receiving governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aso Rock, the President said that he was not traumatized as he was presiding over the Federal Executive Council meeting throughout the duration of the judgement at the Court of Appeal.

    He said “On this judgement, again it was a fabulous coincidence that it came almost the same time the first Federal Executive Council meeting of this government was taking place. It lasted about the same time with the judgement.

    “I thank God for that because I think would have gone into trauma or something. So I was busy trying to concentrate on the memo. The first memo was on the budget and it took more than five hours. So, while you were doing your thing for nine hours, we were doing our for about seven hours here.

    “It is a very interesting coincidence and I thank God for it because I would have been in trauma or something of that sort.

    Read Also: Tribunal Victory: Buhari’s supporter battling to survive multiple stabs by angry neighbour

    So thank very much for sharing the glory with us. What I will say to your congratulations the chairman of the party and the governors is that we make sure that we really institutionalized the party, so that when we leave the stage the party will continue to lead.” he said

    Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu said they were in the Villa to congratulate the President over the judgement.

    He said: “We are here to celebrate your victory and that of our party at the tribunal. I say big congrats to you.
    “We don’t know how it happened, but it was televised live for Nigerians to see for transparency. It silenced all doubts. We never doubted your positions and now the law has affirmed it too.

    “It was noteworthy that you were not even distracted as you chaired the FEC on day of judgement.”

    He commended Buhari’s Social investments programmes on rail, infrastructure, social investment all taking place under his administration

    On his part, the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole said,” On behalf of the National Working Committee congratulate you on the outcome of the judgement that was delivered two days ago (Wednesday) at the Court of Appeal.

    “We never had doubts that you won your votes. All the issues raised by our opponents were trashed out one after the other by the Justices that sat on the panel.

    “But of particular interest to us Mr. President as members of the Progressive family is that we are all aware that the only asset Mr. President has invested and continues to invest in your political journey and your political project is your integrity.”

    He pointed out that the PDP has no one in their midst that has the image and integrity of President Buhari.

    The Governors at the Villa were Simon Lalong of Plateau State who also is Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Mohammed Inuwa of Gombe, Abdulrazak Abdulrahman of Kwara State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State, among others.

    Also at the meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

  • Tribunal Victory: Buhari’s supporter battling to survive multiple stabs by angry neighbour

    A supporter of President Muhammad Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Elvis Omoiri, is currently battling for his life after an angry neighbour allegedly stabbed him multiple times with a broken bottle, in Effurun, Uvwie council area of Delta state.

    The Nation gathered that Omoiri was attacked after an ensuing argument between him and his neighbour, identified as Best Uduophori, over the President’s tribunal victory on Wednesday.

    According to reports, his attacker, believed to be a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) member, runs a bar around the Okoloba area of Effurun and is currently at large.

    The victim is said to be struggling to survive at an undisclosed hospital over injuries he sustained on his neck, head and other body parts.

    An APC supporter in the state, MC Paul, confirmed the incident in a social media post on Friday.

    He described the attack as inhumane and unwarranted.

    Paul said, “I have just received report of an attempted murder of one Elvis Omoiri by a neighbour, Best Uduophori who runs a beer parlor in Okoloba, Effurun, Uvwie LGA, Delta State, over a mere political argument. What are we turning politics into in this country? You want to kill someone over Buhari and Atiku tribunal matter? This is animalistic!

    “You break a bottle and stab a fellow countryman almost to the point of death over APC and PDP matters? So, someone doesn’t have right to personal opinion again in Nigeria?

    “Just few days ago, we were all against South Africans for Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians. Today, it is a Nigerian that seems not to value the life of a fellow Nigerian. This is very disgusting, cruel, callous, mean and most condemnable.”

    He however called on the Nigeria Police to thoroughly investigate the matter and see through to the prosecution of the attacker, further disclosing the Warri Area Command has been briefed.

    “I learnt the matter has been reported to the Area Commander in Warri and that the Police are on the lookout for the guy, who is said to be at large at the moment.

    “The Nigerian Police Force should do everything in its power to arrest the accused at once and properly investigate this matter. Justice needs to be served and fast. Until we get serious by taking strict measures against crimes like this, Nigeria will not be safe for anyone. The perpetrator of this heinous attack should be punished accordingly,” he added.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyinka Adeleke, who expressed shock at the development, could not confirm the report, as he had not been briefed of the incident.

    As at the time of filing this report, he was yet to call back as he promised.

  • FG gets report on community policing

    The Federal Government on Friday received the report of the committee on recommendations for the establishment of State Policing.

    It also promised speedy implementation of the recommendations which include alternative funding mechanism and deployment of technology for intelligence gathering.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, received the report from the 14-member committee, chaired by Permanent Secretary, Special Services Offices (SSO), Dr. Amina Shamaki.

    Mustapha said Nigerians and indeed the present administration prides itself as having the political will to tackle the issues of insecurity occasioned by the activities of terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, militants which have remained serious threats to good governance, effective service delivery and overall economic development and wellbeing of Nigerians.

    He added: “I am delighted to note that your work covered the issues of policy, institutional and legal frameworks as well as the underlying factors that impede the capacity of our security agencies to adequately contain the various manifestations of insecurity in our dear country.

    “I equally note that your work touched on the need to deploy appropriate technology in the fight against the various dimensions of criminality, the context of coordinating internal security architecture, capacity development and professionalism of security personnel, citizens’ involvement in internal security management as well as innovative funding mechanisms of security agencies and their operations and not the least, welfare of personnel.

    “I am highly delighted that you worked assiduously hard to exhaustively examine the Report of the Executive Course 40, 2018 and proposed some far-reaching recommendations, including implementation strategies aimed at reinvigorating the Internal Security framework and Community Policing in Nigeria within a short timeframe.

    “I have no doubt, therefore, that the outcome of your recommendations would enthrone a paradigm shift that will focus on Community Policing, re-orientation of citizens and building a sustainable conflict resolution process that would assist in solving the perennial security challenges in the country.

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    “Let me assure you that Government will critically, and without any delay whatsoever, study your Report and speedily give effect to the recommendations therein.” he said

    Speaking earlier, Shamaki said: “The Committee has proposed innovative alternative funding mechanism to ensure the provision of infrastructure, equipping agencies with modern gadgets and weapons and for the welfare and wellbeing of personnel.

    “The Committee emphasised the deployment of technology particularly, for intelligence gathering, pre-empting incidences of crime and for resolving complex investigations.

    “We highlighted the need for the Security Committees at the State and Local Government levels, to be made functional and the involvement of all strata of the society including the integration of the informal security outfits into the Community Policing Strategy.”

    The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, who witnessed the report presentation, said that the time has come for the community policing to be implemented.

    He said “We have been waiting for the report. Policing should be driven from community and not uniformed police.”

    The committee’s terms of reference were: To study and analyze the findings; Recommendations and implementation strategies of the Presidential Parley Report by NIPPS and come up with policy statement for the consideration of the President.

    Other members of the committee are: Mrs. Beatrice Jeddy-Agb, Mrs. Odunbanjo Adebisi, Sanusi Galadim, Brig Gen JO Ochai and Cdre J. N Mamman.

    Others are; Air Cdre AH Bakari, AIG David O.Folawiyo, Jimat Bakare, CP Olayinka Balogun, Dr. E.O. Adeoye, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, Prof. Sani Abubakar Lugga, Dr. Nasirudeen Usman, and Tukur Yahaya, who acted as Secretary of the committee.