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Tag: Nigerian news

Hillary Clinton says U.S. threats of war with North Korea ‘dangerous, short-sighted

Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said “cavalier” threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were “dangerous and short-sighted”.

Clinton, however, urged the U.S. to get all parties to the negotiation table.

Clinton also called on China to take a “more out-front role” in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

“There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive over North Korea,” Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension between Pyongyang and Washington has soared following series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face,” Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump’s social media comments on North Korea, saying, “the insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don’t think they’ve benefited the United States”.

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader “little rocket man” on a suicide mission, and vow to destroy the country if it threatens the U.S. or its allies.

In turn, the North called Trump “mentally deranged” and a “mad dog”.

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally, Japan have been reluctant while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile to hit the U.S.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State, John J. Sullivan, said the U.S. did not rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

The situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment”, North Korea’s Deputy UN Amb. Kim In Ryong had told a UN General Assembly committee on Monday.

In Seoul, the vice foreign minister said South Korea was considering levying its own sanctions on the North, although no decision had yet been made.

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October 18, 2017
Amaechi inaugurates transport committee

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, inaugurated an 11-man Committee, Short Code *735# and social media App to curtail the menace of road transport related crimes.

Amaechi, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, said that the initiative would subsequently aid the creation of a long overdue database for the sector.

The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Sabiu Zakari, said that the Road Crime Control System (RCCS) project was conceptualised as a social service delivery programme in 2010.

He said that the programme, which was created by Messrs 2TOC Solution Limited, was forwarded to the ministry by the Nigeria Police having realised that it would thrive best in the ministry.

“The company has secured a code from the Nigerian Communication Commission ( NCC ), which is *735# for passengers to derive the driver’s Electronic Number(EN) to ascertain the authenticity of the genuine transport unions and their membership.

“Having realised the importance of the solution, the Minister moved further and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs 2TOC Solution and sought the collaboration of the critical and relevant stakeholders for effective implementation of the RCCS project.

“The decision to set up the committee was reached as a result of the advice sought from the Federal Ministry of Justice.

“Membership of the committee was draw from the relevant stakeholders with the mandate to map out a strategy for effective flag-off of the project,” he said.

The minister urged the committee members to ensure that they come up with strategic recommendations towards a successful flag-off of the project due to the immense benefits it will bring to bear in the sector.

Also speaking, Mr Benson Olatunji, Chief Executive Officer of Messrs 2TOC Solution Limited , said that the RCCS was targeted at providing platform through which the public can prevent themselves from falling victim of kidnapping.

Olatunji said that every motor park approved and documented by the Road Safety Corps would be coded for the public to verify designated motor parks from illegal motor park operators.

He said that the transport code was a policy tool to verify transport union and prevent passengers from entering unregistered vehicles.

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October 18, 2017
Qatar emir says open to dialogue to resolve Gulf crisis

Qatar is “open to dialogue” in resolving a dispute that has seen the Gulf state isolated from its Arab neighbours, its emir said during a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival Iran.

Doha denies the charges.

Qatari Emir Tamim Thani said he discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which has the world’s largest population of Muslims and has close ties to the Arab world.

“We conveyed…that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win,” Thani told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital of Jakarta.

“We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis,” he added.

President Widodo did not publicly address the dispute.

The leader of the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas also visited Malaysia, another Muslim-majority nation, and Singapore.

Saudi and other Arab nations have made a list of 13 wide-ranging demands of Qatar, including closing down the Al Jazeera television network and curbing ties with Iran.

Kuwait and top United States officials have attempted to mediate between the parties, but there is little sign that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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October 18, 2017
Police nab 10 suspects over various crimes in Enugu

The Police Command in Enugu State said it had arrested 10 suspected criminals who had been terrorising the people of Udenu Local Government Area of the state.

The Command’s Spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said this in a statement issued in Enugu on Wednesday.

Amaraizu said that police operatives arrested the suspects when they raided some suspected black spots in the area on Monday.

He noted that the arrest followed intelligence information given by some members of the public.

“The command through the combined efforts of its operatives of Udenu Police Division, Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) and Anti Kidnapping, raided some suspected black spots in the council area and its environs.

“During the raids, six suspects, who were suspected to have link with armed robbery and other related criminal activities were nabbed,’’ he said.

According to him, they are currently helping police operatives in their investigations in relation to their nefarious activities.

The spokesman also disclosed that the police operatives arrested additional four suspects who had in their possession, suspected Customs Service uniforms.

“They are currently being investigated by operatives in connection with their nefarious activities with the Customs uniforms and other crimes,’’ he said.

Amaraizu assured members of the public of the command’s readiness, in conjunction with sister security agencies in the state and relevant stakeholders, of their continued security and safety in the state.

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October 18, 2017
Senate summons Fayemi over Zamfara lead poisoning

The Senate on Tuesday, summoned the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to appear before it and brief on the ministry’s mining roadmap and implementation framework.

The minister is also expected to brief the upper chamber on how the ministry intended to ensure protection of the residents of mining host communities against lead poisoning and other hazards.

This followed the resolution of the Senate sequel to a motion by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (APC-Lagos) and four other senators.

The motion is on the “Update on Lead Poisoning in Zamfara and the need to prevent further propagation of the resources theory”.

She said that the senate received with great distress, updates on lead poisoning which occurred in 36 villages and communities in Zamfara.

“It was observed that besides Zamfara, mining host communities in states like Kogi, Niger and others have also been affected by the negative effects of mining practices.

While noting that Nigeria did not qualify as a mining state, she said that the 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) breakdown showed the mining sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP as abysmal.

“It revealed that the nation’s mining sector is almost redundant, that the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Fayemi, is working to resuscitate the sector, and that the ministry has approved a mining roadmap.”

In his contribution, Sen. Magnus Abe (APC-Rivers) urged the senate to make use of the opportunity to address the situation before what happened in the Niger Delta repeated itself.

“This is how the situation in the Niger Delta started and the communities paid for it, because there are no laws in the country governing mining of minerals.

“The institutions are weak and ineffective and sometimes, we have the institutions running over themselves doing the same thing and the communities suffering for it.

“We have to use this opportunity to set it right before it gets out of hand and before we have another Niger Delta situation in this country,” Abe said.

In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at plenary, said that the senate must pursue its mandate by putting things right.

“We are aware that a lot of illegal mining is going on and we must set things right,” he said.

After the debate, the lawmakers mandated its Committee on Environment and Solid Minerals to visit the affected communities to ascertain the level of damage done and report back.

The senate further directed committee to investigate the activities of the Ministry of Environment as it affected the mining sector.

The upper chamber equally urged the minister to ensure adoption of safer mining methods by mining concerns.

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October 18, 2017
Alleged fraudulent bishop ends up in Enugu prison

The Police Command in Enugu says a cleric, Bishop Ginika Obi, recently arrested over his alleged advance fee fraud involving over N500 million, has been remanded in Enugu Maximum Prison.

The spokesman of the command, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed this in a statement issued in Enugu on Tuesday.

The bishop whose church/office is at Km 111, Enugu-Port Harcourt highway, Enugu, had been alleged to have tricked many people to pay huge amounts of money to him.

He was said to have claimed that he would help his victims reap bumper financial dividends in return.

Amarizu said Obi was arraigned on Oct. 11 in an Enugu Federal High Court presided over by Justice A. Liman.

He said the suspect had been in prison custody since Oct. 12 and that further hearing on his case had been scheduled for Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

“His offences ranging from conspiracy and advance fee fraud were committed in conjunction with others now at large.

“On Oct. 11, he took his plea after his 82 count charges of conspiracy and advance fee fraud was read to him.

“He was later remanded in police custody based on the plea of his defence counsel to be brought to court on Oct. 12 for further hearing.

“He was later remanded in prison custody as he could not meet his bail conditions,’’ the command’s spokesperson said.

Amarizu said that the suspect’s arrest and arraignment followed several petitions against him and others now at large for allegedly swindling unsuspecting members of the public.

He said that the bishop and his alleged cohorts disappeared without traces until the command, through intelligence, closed up on him in a hotel in Enugu.

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October 17, 2017
NUC staff suit: Court fixes Nov.13 for hearing

The National Industrial Court, Abuja, has fixed Nov.13 for hearing of the suit instituted by one Victor Uyo, against the National Universities Commission, seeking the lifting of an interdiction placed on him.

Uyo, treasurer of the NUC Multipurpose Cooperative Society, had sued the cooperative challenging an alleged interdiction placed on him in 2007.

He joined the NUC Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society as co- respondent in the suit.

The claimant is asking the court to lift the interdiction allegedly placed on him in 2007 by the cooperative.

The claimant also prayed the court to order the respondents to pay him all his salaries and entitlements as well as withdraw the publication of the said interdiction in the cooperative’s bulletin.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Mr Isaac Ebikwo, claimant’s counsel told the court that he had an application, seeking leave of court to regularise his processes.

The court granted Ebikwo the leave, since the application was not opposed by the respondent’s counsel, Mr M.Ofeoshi.

The judge, Justice Edith Agbakoba, by consent of parties adjourned the suit until Nov.13 for hearing.

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October 17, 2017
‘INEC is working to achieve credible election in Cross River’

The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) is working towards achieving 100 per cent free, fair and credible election in Cross River in 2019.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in the state, Dr Frankland Biriyai, made the statement on Tuesday in Calabar at a one-day workshop on voter Education and Publicity.

The workshop was orgnised by INEC for Assistant Electoral Officers from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

“This training will ensure that we achieve a record 100 per cent success in Cross River in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

“We are ready to achieve that; that is why you are being trained to go to your local government areas and educate the voters that we are in a new era.

“I am sure that between now and 2019 if you do your work very well, voters will have faith in us and believe that we can conduct free, fair and credible election come 2019.

“I urge you to maintain discipline and to keep working hard so that together we can do it, ‘’ Frankland said.

The REC said the training was designed to take voter education to the grassroots through sensitisation and publicity.

He insisted that INEC was capable of conducting credible elections that could be adjudged the best in the world.

The Head of Department, Voter Education, Mrs Anthonia Nwobi, said the workshop would afford the officers the opportunity to learn new rules and guidelines that would assist them in their duties.

She described voter education and publicity as key and paramount to the success of any election.

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October 17, 2017
Plateau CAN urges Christians to unite to tackle challenges

The Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN ), Plateau chapter, has decried the lack of unity among Christians, and declared that the travails of the faithful would only worsen if the Church remained divided.

“The Church today is faced with a lot of problems, but the major one is lack of unity. The challenges are massive; we can only tackle them if we are united and speak with one voice,” Dr. Soja Bewarang, its Chairman, said on Tuesday.

Bewarang spoke at the 2017 Unity Service and Prayer, organised for Christians in the Central Senatorial Zone of the state, and held in Bokkos.

The service, an annual event held in the three senatorial zones of Plateau, is targeted at bringing all Christians together to encourage them to pray for peace, progress and tranquility.

The CAN chairman emphasised the need for a united Church, stressing that such unity would please the Lord and make Him open the windows of blessings to the faithful.

He said that Christians, as the body of Christ, must be united and focused so as to collectively achieve the principal goal of serving their creator.

“If Christians are not united, it means that they cannot approach one another in love and can never be good witnesses for Christ.

“We may belong to different denominations and Churches, but we all belong to the Lord and
must love one another to form a perfect bond of unity so that the enemy will not take advantage of our disunity and cause more havoc.

“We must put aside our biases, prejudices and differences and dwell more on the things
that unite us for the common mission. This is a bold step we must take collectively, because it is indeed a step in the right direction.”

Bewarang said that there was noting as tragic as a Church divided, adding that the tragedy was even more disastrous if the cause of the division was self-inflicted.

He urged Christians to be alert to the devices of satan whose first step was usually to distract the Church from its profound mission by planting seeds of internal discord.

Bewarang traced the division in the Church to the “general workings of human corruption that had often distracted and broke the peace of societies”.

Quoting the scriptures, he pointed out that wars and fighting were products of human lust that spring from ignorance, error, unbelief, prejudice, pride, passion, selfishness and carnality.

He regretted that divisions had become entrenched in the Church with efforts to unite the folk getting more difficult by the day.

On Christians’ involvement in partisan politics, Bewarang rejected suggestions that politics was a dirty terrain that good Christians must avoid.

“Politics simply means the ‘science of government’’; government inevitably has profound consequences for those who are governed. It is unthinkable that the Christian voice should not be heard in the political arena.

“There are other people, who believe that Christians in responsible positions can do great good and that political power should not be allowed to be a monopoly of those who might abuse it. I agree with such people.

“A good Christian politician can persuade his fellow citizens to raise their standards. Wilberforce abolished slave trade; Shaftesbury and his friends prevented child labor. Both groups acted as Christian politicians on Christian principles.”

He said that CAN was motivating Plateau Christians to be agents of change by scrutinizing the activities of the various stakeholders in politics.

Bewarang, who regretted the endemic corruption permeating all sectors of the nation, lamented that the fear of God was no longer in the hearts of many Nigerians.

“The situation is bad, but we should be hopeful as Christians; we must trust God that things will take a positive shape. We must continue to condemn violence and encourage peaceful coexistence,” he said.

The CAN chairman commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts toward fighting corruption and reviving the agriculture and solid minerals sectors, but said that the efforts were being thwarted by persistent attacks on rural communities.

“Farming and mining are carried out in the fields. The fields have been dangerous with persistent attacks by gunmen. Government must strive to end the attacks to restore hope to the populace,” he said.

Bewarang also spoke on the Plateau Local Government elections slated for Feb. 17, 2018, and declared that the Church would not tolerate money politics, smear campaigns, denominational and tribal politics.

“Such vices have robbed us of credible leaders in the past and must be discarded. We shall encourage Plateau residents to choose leaders on merit regardless of party, tribe, religion and denomination,” he said.

Dignitaries at the service included Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, his deputy, Prof. Soni Tyoden, former Plateau Governor, Joshua Dariye, members of the national and state assemblies, religious and traditional leaders.

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October 17, 2017
Enugu Govt. to explore new ways of encouraging investors

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State says his administration will exploit new ways of encouraging investors, with a view to making the state the economic hub of the South-East.

Ugwuanyi said this on Tuesday in Enugu during a courtesy call on him by the management and staff of Aqua Rafa Investment Nigeria Ltd., led by the Managing Director, Mr Sunday Nwankwo.

He said that it was his aspiration to positively turn around the economic fortunes of the state through policies and programmes that would ease investment bottlenecks in the state.

“In line with our aspiration to make Enugu the economic hub of the South-East, we will continue to exploit new ways to make business encouraging,” he said.

Ugwuanyi said that the European Quality Award won by the company was not just an honour to the organisation but also to the country in general and the state in particular.

“This much coveted international recognition has brought glory to Nigeria and Enugu State and will come as a challenge to other local manufacturers to boost the quality of their products.”

The governor said that the company’s contribution to job creation is a clear testimony of the success of Public Private Partnership initiative in the state.

Earlier, Nwankwo said that they were at the Government House to present to the governor the award which the company won recently.

He said that by the products of the company would find their way into European markets.

He said that the company had also contributed to job creation by absorbing unemployed youths in the state.

Nwankwo, however, noted that their operations were not without fundamental challenges which they had grappled with.

He said that the economic situation of the country had come hard on the company and appealed for the governor’s intervention, especially in the area of taxation.

The company produces bottled and table water, yoghurt and mineral drinks.

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October 17, 2017