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  • Lead other monarchs to support Ogun govt, Obasanjo tells Alake

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday advised the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo lead other Obas in Egbaland to support the state government to ensure more developments in the zone.

    Obasanjo also advised Oba Adedotun not to listen to bad counsel and intrigues that could tear the monarchs in Egbaland apart, saying it is high time all traditional rulers in the land work in unity for the socio-economic development of Ogun state.

    Egbaland consists of Abeokuta, the state capital and Ogun central Senatorial district and  four major Obas in the city, namely, Alake, Osile, Agura and Owu sections of the city

    The elder statesman who is High Chief – Ekerin in Egba and Oluwo in  Gbagura respectively urged all monarchs in the state capital to steer clear of the aged-long bickering and rivalry among the Obas as prolong bickering would neither bring peace nor development to Egbaland and Ogun state.

    The former president gave the advice at the Coronation ceremony of Oba Saburee Babajide Bakre, Jamolu II, the 9th Agura of Gbaguraland at Oke-Iddo in Abeokuta.

    He said: “Alake, I am happy that you are here because when you ascended the throne, the first speech you gave then was encouraging and appealing, but, you later listened to (bad) advisers.

    “Don’t listen to bad advisers on Agura, ensure that everyone comes together so that they can be development in Egbaland. All of you should work together to achieve development. You all need to support government for socio-economic development. You must all join hands together to ensure community development because your support will help government to develop the state,” Obasanjo said.

    He also cautioned the new monarch against joining old issues with Alake and other Obas in Egbaland, saying he should leverage on his quality exposure as retired senior officer of Nigeria Customs Service  to further unite Obas in the land as peace and unity are needed in the country today.

    Read Also: How Oyegun earned my confidence, by Obasanjo

    He said: “Kabiyesi, you have a lot of work to do in Gbaguraland and Abeokuta as a whole. Our traditional rulers are not united and you do not have bad baggage because as you are coming, your hands are pure, you must ensure that everything about you is pure.

    “Kabiyesi, don’t let anybody tell you that they don’t do it this way, if you want to ensure that your reign brings peace and development to Gbagura, you may have to act out of the box.

    “When I and Muritala were doing it then, we told Queen of England that she could not come to Nigeria. My father cannot confront Queen, but, because the world has changed that is why I was able to tell her not to come and she did not come.

    “You will be the king in the day and night and follow all the customs that surround the throne.”

    However, the new Agura of Gbagura, pledged to support  the State government and other monarchs to move  Egbaland and Ogun state forward.

    In attendance at the coronation ceremony included the Deputy Governor of Ogun state; Engr.  Noimot Salako-Oyedele,

    Speaker and former Speaker of Ogun state House of Assembly  respectively, Hon. Olukunle Oluomo and Tunji Egbetokun, former Governor of Lagos state; Sinatu Ojikutu among others.

     

  • Attack on Ekweremadu taboo- Ohanaeze UK

     Ohanaeze Ndigbo UK has described the attack on former Deputy President of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany, by members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as a taboo.

    Some IPOB members attacked Ekweremadu on Saturday where he was a special guest at the second annual Igbo Cultural Festival in Nuremberg, Germany.

    Dr Nnanna Igwe , the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, UK, condemned the attack in a statement issued in London on Sunday.

    The group described the attack as shocking and sordid and added that it was disappointing that the group claimed responsibility for the act.

    “This act is totally and wholesomely condemnable and has no place in a democratic and civilised society.

    “Sen. Ekweremadu has been a responsible leader and strong voice for Ndigbo in Nigeria; he helped negotiate the bail of Nnamdi Kanu and secured his freedom.

    “The Cultural Festival in Germany by Ndigbo was an opportunity to showcase Igbo greatness via our noble culture and tradition worthy of emulation.

    “The disruption of the cultural fiesta, the altercation and associated pandemonium are taboo to Ndigbo and presented Ndigbo in bad light and damaging blow to Igbo image across the world.

    ”This uncivilised action portrayed us as miscreants, barbaric and violent people,” Igwe said.

    Read Also: Why we attacked Ekweremadu-IPOB

    He called on Igbo worldwide to always use dialogue in resolving disputes or differences, noting that further threat on Igbo Leaders by IPOB was unacceptable and should be abandoned forthwith.

    Igwe further urged Ndigbo to embrace peace, unity, love, dialogue, diplomacy and respect for one another, especially at this time the Igbo faced unusual collective challenges as a people

    He called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the attack to serve as deterrent to others who might wish to indulge in such act in the future.

    The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nnia Nwodo, had criticised IPOB over the attack saying “the attack strengthens the case of those who describe them as terrorists.”

    He described the assault on Ekweremadu as disappointing, grotesque and dangerous for Igbo solidarity.

    Other members of the society, including the President of the Senate Sen. Ahmad Lawan, and South East Governors’ Forum, have condemned the attack.

    NAN

  • Joe, Enkay evicted from 2019 #BBNaija

    Joseph Abdallah known as Joe and Ede Nkechinyere known as  Enkay have been evicted from the 2019 Big Brother Naija.

    Both housemates were among those recently brought into the #PepperDem house by Big brother.

    During his time in the house, Joe was issued a strike by Big brother for engaging in a heated argument with fellow housemate Tacha. He was said to have provoked his fellow housemate into hitting him with her hands.

    Enkay is widely remembered for her refusal to play the ludo game with Cindy, her fellow housemate.

    Speaking with Ebuka on stage, Enkay said “I love Cindy. It had nothing to do with the ludo game”

    The game continues with sixteen housemates running for 60 million naira.

     

  • BudgIT, others, seek amendment of UBEC Act

    A civic technology organisation, BudgIT and three other civil society organisations have called on the National Assembly to amend the Universal Basic Education(UBEC) Act 2004 to cover from primary to secondary education, which will be 12 years of free compulsory education, as against the present nine years.

    The civil society organisations said this step would reduce the country’s number of out-of-school children which stands at 10.2 million and ensure efficiency and development in the education sector.

    The other CSOs included Connected Development (CODE), Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA) and Basic Rights Watch (BRW).

    They urged the ninth assembly to carry out the amendment and extend the free, safe and quality education clause from primary to secondary school.

    BudgIT Program Manager, Tolulope Agunloye, who read a statement jointly signed by the CSOs, at a briefing in Abuja, said that intervention fund from the Universal Basic Education Fund are not accessed by most state governments.

    He said: “We task the federal and state governments to adequately utilise the funds for education for the development of the sector. The budget performance is on a decline as funds targeted at the sector are under-utilised.

    “The number of out-of-school children as of April 2019 is 10.19million according to the Federal Ministry of Education. Funding plays an important role in the sector and it is necessary to end education tourism and develop our school system.

    Read Also: BudgIT seeks end to fuel subsidy

    “We urge the ninth National Assembly to amend the Universal Basic Education Act (2004) to extend its coverage to junior and senior secondary education. That is, from first nine to first 12 years, thereby guaranteeing free, safe and quality education with increased UBEC fund.”

    Agunloye explained that education budget performance was on the decline as funds targeted to the sector are either not accessed or under-utilised by state governments.

    Also CODE’s Programme Manager, Lucy Abagi, said that the percentage allocated to the sector has decreased over the years, with 7.9 percent allocated to the sector in 2016, 6.2 percent in 2017 and 7.1 percent in 2018.

    She said: “The budgetary allocation for education in the last four years (2015-2018) shows that a total of N2.07trilion was allocated which stands at 7.67 per cent of the total budget for four years. The percentage allocation has decreased over the years with 7.9, 6.2 and 7.1 per cents in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.

    “In 2018, the Presidency reeled out what the Muhammadu Buhari administration has done in office. But little achievements were recorded in education in terms of funding.”

     

  • Oyo Assembly to Fulani: anti-open grazing law will protect you

    The Oyo State House of Assembly has allayed the fears of the Fulani cattle rearers in the state that the anti-open grazing law being put in place will terminate their means of livelihood.

    The Assembly is currently working on the bill which has passed Second Reading.

    Moved by fear, a Fulani group, the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, on Friday appealed to the Assembly to consider an alternative grazing space for their members in the law being put in place. They described it as settled grazing.

    Addressing reporters in Ibadan, the state capital on Friday, the group led by its National President Alhaji Sale Bayari, called on the Assembly to give the law a human face by allowing an alternative grazing space for the Fulani in the state should the law become absolutely necessary.

    But the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Kazeem Olayanju, told The Nation on telephone on Sunday that the Fulani in Oyo State have nothing to fear about the law because it was aimed at regulating grazing in the state in a way that will protect them and other members of the society.

    Olayanju explained that the Assembly recognizes that the Fulani in the state have lived together peacefully with indigenes for several decades, adding that the lawmakers are aware that they have fully integrated into the various communities where they live and do their business.

    According to him, rather than ban open grazing totally, the bill is proposing registration of all Fulani in cattle rearing for issuance of permit.

    The lawmaker further explained that the Assembly believes that most of those involved in criminality are foreigners and Fulani who came from other parts of the country to infiltrate the resident Fulanis, thereby giving the entire stock a bad name.

    Read Also: Oyo gets $6 million World Bank education grant

    To resolve this, the lawmaker said the bill will make it compulsory for all involved in grazing to get a permit such that they can be traced as full residents with known addresses and antecedents.

    He said the permit will make it easy to identify and arrest infiltrators, stressing that the bill will also protect peaceful cattle rearers residing in the state.

    His words: “Our people have been living together peacefully with the Fulani for ages. But the popular claim now is that Fulanis are criminals. It is also believed that the Fulanis that are committing crime are those coming from other countries. So the bill will make them register and get permits and identity cards. So if they are accosted anywhere in the state, their ID cards and permit will clear them as well known Fulanis who are free to practice their trade. This will help check influx of foreigners into their midst. It will also protect them. We just want to regulate them so that nobody will harass them. It will also enable them live peacefully with farmers. This law will also enhance peaceful relationship of all stakeholders in the farming system in the state.”

    The Fulani group had pleaded: “We are pleading with the Oyo State House of Assembly to ensure that as interested and affected citizens of the pending law, we deserve to be heard and listened to during the public hearing of the bill so that our views and opinions as Nigerians are heard and considered without bias against or favour.”

    The Chairman, Bayari noted that though members of the Assembly have a constitutional right to make laws for the good of the people of the state, who include the Fulanis, and for the good and peace of the state, he said the law needed a human face.

    He said: “We plead for an alternative grazing space for our means of livelihood, which is the cattle, which we are rearing as peasant traditional stock owners, not as commercial livestock or cattle business stakeholders, ours is the hereditary and traditional family life sustaining cattle rearing, not done on commercial basis.”

    ‘In the continuation of our national assignment as a Fulani ethnic association disturbed by our present and current security problem in the country especially as it affects a section of our members who have come under fire, hail and thunderstorm some Nigerians, especially the farming communities which has resulted in tensions of ethnic crises of various dimensions in the country.

    “These are allegations that should have been leveled against all criminal elements within our society but unfortunately they are allegations that have been made against an ethnic, religious and a sectional group that have led to the profiling, stigmatization and harassment of Fulani ethnic group as a whole.”

    Bayari pointed out that during the meeting that was held with former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta on the August 3 where eight states were in attendance, a lot of the problems between herders and farmers were discussed, particularly the criminality that was attributed to the Fulani ethnic group as a whole.

    He recalled: “At the end of the meeting, it was all agreed that there is a national problem that needed to be addressed by all well-meaning Nigerians interest in having a prosperous, peaceful and one country that is the home of all that must be secured and protected for yet unborn generations.”

    The Fulani leader noted that Fulani ethnic group had both the good and the bad like any other tribe, pointing out that the action of one bad Fulani should not be taken against other Fulanis.

    The group called on security agencies and other well-meaning Nigerians to cooperate to fish out all criminals in the country and ensure their prosecution to serve as deterrent to others. The group added that members of the public should watch out for suspicious behavior and report such to the law enforcement agencies and community leaders as may be applicable.

    “We pledge to continue to work with the security agencies to flush the criminals from our communities, and to ensure that our members are law abiding, obedient and respectful to constitute authorities while promising to go all out to ensure that criminal elements were flushed out of our communities and ethnic group which may even make the enactment of the anti-open grazing law no longer a necessary absolute.” The Fulani leader said.

    Hon. Olayanju said that a Publix hearing might hold on the bill before the Third Reading of the bill.

     

  • NiMet predicts thundery, rainy activities for Monday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thundery activities over Northern states with chances of rains over Central and Southern states on Monday.

    NiMet’s weather outlook on Sunday in Abuja predicted thunderstorms over Northern region throughout the forecast period with high prospects over Sokoto, Gusau, Katsina, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano and Yelwa in the morning hours.

    It forecast day and night temperatures of the region to be 29 to 33 degree Celsius and 20 to 24 degree Celsius, respectively.

    Read Also: NiMet predicts thunderstorms, rains for Friday

    “For Central States, thunderstorms and rains are anticipated over this region in the morning.

    “Cloudy conditions are expected with rain showers over Yola, Abuja, Jos, Bauchi, Gombe and Jalingo axis in the afternoon/evening period.

    “Day and night temperature values are expected to be 25 to 32 degree Celsius and 17 to 25 degree Celsius, respectively, except for Jos 17 to 23 degree Celsius,” NiMet said.

    The agency envisaged cloudy conditions with prospects of rains over Lagos, Calabar and Eket of Southern states in the morning.

    NiMet further forcast likely rains over the entire region later in the day with day and night temperatures of 26 to 32 degree Celsius and 20 to 25 degree Celsius.

  • Makinde pleads for tax compliance

    In order to be able to fulfill his promises on provision of social amenities, enduring infrastructure, regular payment of government obligations and other amenities, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has pleaded for the support of different stakeholders operating in the state on adequate deductions, prompt remittance of taxes and other levies.

    This was stated during a One Day Sensitization workshop on Computations, Deductions and Remittances for Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as Tertiary Institutions in the state held at the House of Chiefs, Secretariats, Ibada

    Speaking through the Executive Chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Aremo John Adeleke, Governor Makinde reiterated that the intention of the present administration was not going to over-burden any business enterprise either small or big but rather to ensure government get its fair and reasonable share of all its eligible tax revenue.

    Makinde said “Presently, the fluctuations and other complex gyrations of the international oil market and the global economy means unstable and often lower revenue from federal allocation. The need to look inward to generate enough internal revenue to cater for the much societal demand has never been this much.

    “We count on companies and other businesses to ensure they regularly deduct and remit their employees’ PAYE tax to coffers of our treasury. This will ensure mutual reciprocation of rights and duties on the part of all parties. I regard such complying institutions, business and contractors as friends of my government and corporate citizens of this State of enduring opportunities.

    Read Also: ADC hails Makinde for appointing members

    Welcoming the participants in his speech, Aremo Adeleke tasked professional bodies, tax professionals, consultants, taxpayers and agents to discharge their responsibilities as stipulated by the National Tax Policy of 2017.

    He also urged all MDAs, federal and state as well as tertiary Institutions to ensure they give patronage only to individuals and companies with a record of regular and up to date remittance of their employees’ Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

    In his remark, the head of the partnering firm, Mr Femi Adeniji explained that the workshop was about sensitizing various agencies about their responsibility that pertained to tax and other dues, adding that participants will be taught the right ways of making deductions so as not to shortchange the government.

    The workshop had in attendance officials of State and Federal Ministries, Directorates and Agencies (MDAs), private business sectors representatives and other stakeholders.

     

  • I’ll serve in earnest, says Ndem on NDDC appointment

    The newly appointed Executive Director,  Projects in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Rt Hon. Otobong Ndem has promised to justify the trust reposed in him by President Muhammadu Buhari.
    Ndem, who stated this immediately after  his nomination, said he is happy to be given the opportunity to
    serve under an NDDC board manned by seasoned professionals who are committed to repositioning the Niger Delta.
    “My professional experience and knowledge shall be hugely utilized in my capacity as Executive director, Projects. I am humbled by the privilege offered by Mr. President. I assure Niger Deltans of quality projects.
    “I will work in tandem with the leadership of the board which is made up of core professionals. We’ll work as team to ensure that the yearnings of Niger Deltans are met”, he explained.
    Speaking further, Rt Hon. Otobong Ndem, who is the
     immediate past member of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly congratulated Senator Godswill Akpabio on his new role as Niger Delta Minister.
    He said Akpabio’s track record of excellent service delivery is a good omen for the region.
    He also called on Akwa Ibom people to offer overwhelming support to the federal government because the interest of the state is now well protected at the federal level.

  • Ashley Cole retires from football

    Former England, Arsenal and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has announced his playing retirement from football.

    The 38-year old was out of contract at Derby County at the end of the 2018-19 season and says he is now focused on coaching.

    He made his professional debut for Arsenal in 1999 and went on to represent Crystal Palace on loan, Chelsea, Roma, LA Galaxy and Derby.

    “After hard thinking it was time to hang up my boots and look forward to my next chapter,” Cole told Sky Sports.

    Cole said he is currently taking qualifications with a view to move into a coaching role.

    The London-born defender earned 107 caps for England and is the most decorated footballer in FA Cup history, having lifted the trophy seven times.

    Read Also: I wasn’t useful at Chelsea —Cole

    He also won the Premier League twice with Arsenal – including the 2003-04 season in which the Gunners went unbeaten – and once with Chelsea after moving to Stamford Bridge in 2006.

    Cole won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2011-12 and the Europa League the following season.

    After joining Derby County in January, he worked under the management of his former Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard and helped the club to the Championship play-off final, where they were beaten by Aston Villa.

    BBCSports

  • Real Madrid push for Pogba again

    Real Madrid are ready to make one last approach for Paul Pogba this summer, with Manchester United facing a fight to keep him at the club in the long-term.

    The France international has been heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for some time and the player has hinted he would be keen to join the La Liga giants.

    Manchester United are adamant they will not sell this summer, particularly given they can’t replace him until January, and plan to reject any offer out of hand.

    But Real Madrid want to apply more pressure on the already strained relationship between Pogba and United by pushing to sign him again, according to The Times.

    Read Also: Pogba remains at Man. Utd – Solskjaer

    With Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera leaving in the past eight months, United are light on central midfield options and any sale seems unlikely.

    But with Pogba’s agent working on a deal for months and Real president Florentino Perez desperate to deliver Pogba for Zinedine Zidane – who had made the Frenchman and Eden Hazard his top summer targets – Madrid will make a last ditch attempt to land him this summer.

    (metro.co.uk)