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  • NASS: APC governors endorses Lawan, Gbajabiamila – Shettima

    Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno says former governors in the ninth National Assembly have endorsed the candidature of Sen. Ahmed Lawan for the seat of Senate President.

    Shettima, who confirmed this development when he fielded questions from newsmen in N’Djamena, Chad, said the affected senators-elect had also endorsed Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila for the position of Speaker of the House Representatives.

    The governor also revealed that all the Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect from Borno state have endorsed candidature of Lawan and Gbajabiamila.

    He, therefore, dismissed the insinuation in some quarters that former governors in the national assembly were against the election of Lawan and Gbajabiamila as leaders of the two chambers of the national assembly.

    According to Shettima, the only way APC governors can show appreciation to President Buhari is for them to support his programmes and political decisions.

    “All our governors including those coming to the senate are 100 per cent in support of our party’s stance as far as election of new leadership for the national assembly is concerned.

    “As far as Borno is concern, we are in alignment with the aspirations of Mr President and that of our party.

    “Whoever the party endorses for any position, we will solely stand behind such a person because party discipline is absolutely essential for the sustainability of our democratic experiment.

    “If everyone is to vote according to his own free will surely that would be a recipe for disaster or confusion.

    “So, we have to align ourselves with the aspirations of the president,’’ he said.

    The governor, who was part of President Buhari’s entourage to meeting of member nations of the the Community of Sahel – Saharan States (CEN SAD) in N’Djamena, expressed the hope that the body would come out with lasting solutions to the challenges of insecurity in the affected areas.

    While commending President Buhari for his role in promoting peace and stability in the region, the governor enjoined member nations of the CEN SAD to intensify efforts in addressing the problems of terrorism and banditry along the Lake Chad basin and beyond(NAN)

  • Falana seeks information on $60b oil revenue loss from Kachukwu

    Activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has requested the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja to furnish him with information on $60 billion oil revenue loss.

    He said the amount represented what the federal government refused to collect from International Oil companies as at August 2017.

    He claimed that in a letter dated November 5, 2015, he drew the attention of the minister, in his capacity as Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to the refusal of the regulatory agencies in the ministry of Petroleum Resources to enforce the production Sharing Contracts signed with the International Oil Companies by the federal government.

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    He further recalled that the minister in a public statement sometime in August 2017, disclosed to the media that the country lost not less than $60 billion due to the refusal of some public officials to implement the agreement.

    He also recalled that the acting Chairman of the Revenue, Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mr Shetima Bana on January 19, this year confirmed the loss of oil revenue arising from the non-implementation of the said production sharing contract.

    Falana requested the minister to furnish him with the information within seven days of receipt of his request failure of which he threatened legal action against the federal government at a federal high court.

    He said the request for the information on the oil revenue loss was made pursuant to section of the provision of the Freedom of Information Act.

     

  • FG approves commencement of work on Nigeria-Seme-Benin road project

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the Federal Government has approved commencement of work on Nigeria-Seme-Benin Republic road project.

    Mr Hakeem Bello, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Communication, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

    Fashola was quoted as disclosing this at the 12th Ministerial Steering Committee and Experts Meeting for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme in Lome.

    The minister, who is also the chairman of the committee, said that the project would be executed in a flexible manner to improve commuter service.

    He said that work on the project would be done in a manner that would make it adaptable to the results of the feasibility and technical studies.

    Fashola expressed delight that, while the personnel of Presidents and Ministers who launched the initiative had changed, the commitment to the project had remained unchanged.

    He said that the committee had put in place, a system where meetings would now be held Quarterly.

    Read also: Road projects: NEC approves N535.5b reimbursement to states

    “Between 2013 and 2016, no meeting was held because of changes in government and personnel, but we have now put in place a system where we will be holding meetings quarterly,” Fashola said.

    He said this has enabled the committee to overcome the problems of signing treaties and loan agreements that has lingered for a while although now completed.

    The minister said that the feasibility, technical, financial and related contracts had been signed by the stakeholders.

    Fashola paid glowing tribute to the founding presidents of the committee for their vision of choosing “to go far as a team rather than going fast as individuals.

    “Going together, therefore, means working as partners, recognising and respecting each other’s sovereignty and governmental processes as well as diversity of languages,” he added. (NAN)

  • Zamfara Killings: Group urges FG to arrest, prosecute culprits

    ASIS International, a group of Security Professionals has called on the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute any traditional ruler involved in the killings in Zamfara and other parts of the country.

    NAN reports that the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu recently alleged that some traditional rulers were involved in mining activities that was contributing to the killings in Zamfara.

    Mr Kabir Adamu, Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Chapter of ASIS, made the call while addressing newsmen on the security challenges in the North West and North Central on Sunday in Abuja.

    “As security professionals from diverse expertise, it is our view that there are ominous indicators that attest to the emergence of new security threat factor,“he said.

    He said these armed bandits have engaged in wanton kidnap for ransom incidences at rates that portend grave danger for the country.

    “The entire country risks been engulfed in crisis of immense proportions if urgent and deliberate measures are not taken,“he said.

    He said that the Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency had stated that 227 persons were kidnapped between December 2018 and March 2019.

    He said that the bandits had taken the full advantage of the country`s vulnerability to strike at will without been apprehended.

    Adamu attributed the successes of the bandits to the porous nature of the country`s borders and the ungoverned spaces that pervaded the region.

    He said that the bandits were also taking advantage of the gaps in our national security architecture to thrive in their heinous actvities.

    The chairman said that the bandits were also succeeding because of the high return on investment for kidnapping and the seeming lack of political will to address the menace.

    He said the seeming lack of capacity by the security forces and the quasi-official sanctioning of payment of ransom has acted as catalysts to escalate the crime.

    Adamu said that has been estimated that approximately one N1 billion been paid in ransom within the last few months.

    “With these kinds of funds, more weapons will be procured and more youngsters will be lured into the “trade” due to its lucrativeness and perceived “high social status” of those that have made their bones.

    “We appreciate and commend the efforts of the security agencies, some of whom have paid the supreme price.

    “ However, to contend with these emerging threats in the North West and North Central regions in combination with other existing crisis could be quite challenging

    “Therefore, there is an urgent need for the federal government to take an all-inclusive view of these threats and vulnerabilities with the aim of quickly outlining immediate, medium and long-term initiatives to curb these security risks and threats,“he said.

    He called on the Executive and Legislative arms to adopt measures to check banditry and kidnap for ransom in the country.

    Adamu said government should make its position on payment of ransom very clear, which should be in line with global best practice.

    He said that government should roll out the practice and adherence to the principles and tenets of community policing nationwide for the Nigeria Police Force.

    He said that government should mandate and empower the military to conduct decisive, surgical and comprehensive operations in all vulnerable areas in line with the dictates of human rights.

  • Benue Police confirms assassination of son of PDP chieftain

    Benue Police Command on Sunday confirmed the assassination of one Orkuma Amaabai, son of PDP’S national ex-officio member, Prince Yandev Amaabai.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP. Ms Catherine Anene, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Makurdi that the deceased was shot by unknown gunmen in Gboko at about 10 p.m. on Saturday.

    She said that the incident was reported on Sunday.

    Read also: Two students drown in River Benue found

    According to Anene, investigation into the matter is ongoing and urged the public with useful information that would lead to the arrest of the criminals to volunteer it

    The late Torkuma was the first son of his father.

    Reacting to the killing, the Benue PDP in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Bemgba Iortyom, condemned the act and called on the police to fish out the perpetrators.

    (NAN)

  • Atiku: Cameroonian citizenship claims reckless, says PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed as diversionary, claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that Alhaji Atiku Abubabar is a Cameroonian and not a Nigerian.

    Describing the claims as reckless and groundless, the PDP accused the APC of calculated attempt to trivialise and divert attention from the compelling issue of governing party’s alleged criminal rigging of the 2019 presidential election.

    Atiku, who was the candidate of the PDP in the February 23 presidential election, had dragged President Muhammadu Buhari who won the election to the tribunal seeking to upturn the poll verdict, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a statement Sunday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said the Cameroonian tag on Atiku was a disingenuous and woeful design by the APC to overburden, distract and bog down the presidential election petition tribunal with trivialities, lies and falsehood, so as to derail the course of justice.

    The statement said, “Such diversionary tactic has however only helped in further exposing the fact that the APC has no answers to the plethora of overwhelming evidence before the tribunal that the election was won by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP.

    “Whereas Atiku Abubakar’s citizenship by birth, even under our constitution, cannot be contested, it is indeed the biggest irony of the year, that Atiku’s citizenship is being disputed by individuals whose ancestry has always been a subject of debate.

    Read also: INEC: Atiku spreading fake election results

    “These individuals include those who, being not sure of their origins; have no love for Nigeria and even refused to be on the side of our nation at the 1985 summit of the defunct Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa.

    “Such persons prefer to deploy our national resources for infrastructural development in affiliated places outside the shores of Nigeria, when our country is in dire need of attention.

    “The apparent links were further manifested in the participation of aliens in the campaigns of a particular Presidential candidate in Kano.

    “Moreover, this claim by APC appears to contain explanations as to why its administration has remained insensitive to the challenge of insurgency, general insecurity and economic travails of Nigerians in the North East, particularly in Adamawa, Yobe, Borno and Taraba states.

    “In any case, Nigerians should not despair as the PDP and Atiku Abubakar will not be distracted in the pursuit of our mandate. The PDP has implicit confidence in the competence of our legal team to handle the diversionary antics and technicalities of the APC to unnecessarily overstrain the tribunal and derail the course of justice in the matter”.

  • Our NASS aspirants free to negotiate with PDP members, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday cleared the way for its members in the National Assembly to negotiate with members of the opposition in their bid to occupy principal positions in both chambers of the legislature.

    The party said it was democratic thing to do.

    APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa –Onilu, said in a statement the party was not averse to its members seeking cooperation with other legislators as it was confident in their ability not to betray the party.

    There has been reports of Senator Ahmed Lawan holding meetings with members of the opposition but Issa- Onilu said Lawan was adopted by the party for the position in the first place because of his ability to carry everyone along, which is needed for such position.

    He also disclosed that the party will announce its zoning arrangement for the National Assembly leadership in the coming days.

    The statement reads: “We are inundated with reports of our members in the National Assembly holding consultations with members of the opposition over the election of leaders into the 9th National Assembly. Let me state that our party has no objection to such consultations.

    Read also: 9th NASS: Our challenges have no party, tribe or religion, says Ekweremadu

    “It is a normal democratic practice world over to stretch hands across the divides.  And contrary to some media reports, the actions of our members do not contradict the party’s position. APC has comfortable majority in both chambers. Therefore; we have the number to produce the leadership.

    “But democracy recognises the importance of the opposition especially when you do not have two-third which would be required at some very critical situations.

    “For us as a ruling party, we understand that a stable and peaceful National Assembly would enhance our capacity to deliver more for the people of Nigeria.

    “So the party is not averse to negotiation by Senator Ahmed Lawan and our other Senators-elect working to fulfil the position taken by our party.

    “It is important to note that one of the key considerations for adopting him as the party’s candidate for the Senate Presidency is his ability to carry everyone along.

    “On top of that, the party has confidence in him not to compromise the progressive ideology of APC.

    “So clearly, Senator Ahmed Lawan is capable of conducting his negotiations within the prism of APC’s objectives.”

    On the issue of zoning and leadership of House of Representatives, Issa-Onilu assured the party will put to rest ongoing agitations and “will soon release the zoning arrangements for the principal positions of the incoming 9th National Assembly.

    “The party will also make its position clear in the coming days on the principal positions in the House of Representatives.”

  • Breaking: No plans to remove fuel subsidy – FG

    The federal government has declared it has no plans to remove fuel subsidy.

    Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed disclosed this on Sunday at a joint press briefing with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele at the end of the 2019 World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in United States.

    She said: “We are here to discuss with the global community on various policy issues. One of the issues that always come up, especially in the IMF Article IV is how we handle fuel subsidy.

    “So in principle, the IMF would say fuel subsidies are better removed so that you can use the resources for other important sectors, which is a good advice.

    Read also: We have sufficient fuel, Kachikwu assures Nigerians

    “But in Nigeria, we do not have any plans to remove fuel subsidies at this time because we have not yet designed buffers that will enable us remove the subsidy and provide cushions for our people.”

    She added: “So there is no plan to remove fuel subsidy. We will be working with various groups to find out the best approach, if we have to.

    “We discussed this very frequently at the Economic Management Team but what is the alternative?

    “We haven’t yet found viable alternatives, so we are not yet at the point of removing fuel subsidies.”

    Ahmed also stated there are plans by the Debt Management Office (DMO) to issue N15 billion Green Bond to fund agriculture, power, health and water amenities to make life better for the people, saying the Green Bond will be the second one and would be used to finance agriculture, power sector – mostly solar projects – as well as for some in the water sector.

    She pointed out that the projects for which the funds will be applied, “must be green. They must be projects that are not contributing to carbon dioxide emissions to the society.

    “The first green bond issuance was successful and all the projects that were scheduled to have been financed have been done and the projects are at various levels of completion.”

  • Shittu a serial betrayer, dictator, says Oyo APC

    The All Progressive Congress, Oyo state chapter has described the Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu as a serial betrayal, dictator and failed politician.

    The party in reaction to the Ministers remarks that the aggrieved members of the party under the aegis of Unity Forum that joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a fallout of the APC state congress and primaries ahead of the recently concluded general elections, were still members of the APC.

    In a statement signed by the state Publicity Secretary, Dr AbdulAzeez Olatunde, the party noted that the Unity Forum led by Shittu and those it described as his co-travellers could not win a mere state parliamentary seat despite leaving the APC with two senators, six federal House of representative members and eight states parliamentarians, an indication of their self over-bloated popularity.

    The statement reads “What an interesting ‘vomit’ coming out of a serial betrayal, who betrayed the then Ifedapo LG State Constituency and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) who gave him life time opportunity, freshly coming out of School, when his colleagues were thinking of National Service before beginning to apply for job, to go and represent them as Member of Oyo State House of Assembly in 1979 to 1983.

    “He thereafter ditched UPN in 1983 general election to work for the emergence of NPN Government of Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo in 1983, for lesser portfolio of state commissioner, a reminiscence of 2019 that he, Barr Adebayo Shittu boasted that he would lead his co-travellers in the Unity Forum to work against the Party, APC that he is benefitting as a serving Minister.

    “Of course, we are not surprised about Barr Shittu behaviour because he has only revised his 40 years old betrayal tactics or antics.

    “Barrister Adebayo Shittu’s Unity Forum which the whole world knew metamorphosed to Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) is again claiming that they never left APC, because with their four-fold figures of the APC as their membership strength, yet they found it difficult to win just one state parliamentary seat.

    Read Also: ICT mainstay of economy, says Shittu

    “They left APC with two Senators, Six federal house of representative members and eight state parliamentarians but after 2019 general elections, they ended up with nothing, Unity Forum indeed has four fold strength of Gov Ajimobi led APC.

    “Yoruba adage comes in handy, which translate thus that, a farmer who planted 100 heaps of yam but lied to have planted 200, after harvesting the real and authentic 100 will certainly suffer from the 100 unplanted lies of heaps as Barr Shittu and his co-travellers were brought down from their fantasy Island after the 2019 general elections.

    “That APC lost the gubernatorial election is an ill-wind that does not profit anyone but the whole world has known the ‘leper-like’ parasites pretentious characters who have overvalued their public image that were using APC to embellish themselves.

    “Who should have been referred to as a failed politician than Barr Shittu who had failed to win any election since 40 years ago that was used to sample-test his integrity.

    “Again, who is a dictator than Barr Shittu who find it difficult to maintain backroom staffs. Can Barr Shittu tell the whole world why he can’t pay the peanuts he promised Victor Oluwadamilare, Sikiru Olubodun, Sheikh and others?

    “It is hoped that Barr Shittu would be so honourable to behave like former Minister Kemi Adeosun and keep his peace but if he wouldn’t, we would be ready for him as long as he chooses not to behave as expected of his status.”

     

  • NAF destroys bandits logistics store in Zamfara

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says its Air Task Force (ATF) for Operation DIRAN MIKIYA has destroyed some logistics’ stores belonging to bandits at a location within Kagara Forest, in Zamfara.

    NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, who said this on Sunday in Abuja, added that the operation was conducted on Saturday.

    ” The operation was executed on Saturday April 13, following credible intelligence reports indicating that some of the bandits who had fled their camps as a result of NAF’s earlier air strikes had relocated some logistics items, including fuel, motorcycles and local arms making equipment, to another location within Kagara Forest.

    ” Accordingly, the ATF dispatched an Mi-35 helicopter gunship, supported by an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform, to attack the target.

    ” The target area initially appeared uninhabited.

    ” However, as the helicopter approached, some of the bandits were seen emerging from under the shrubbery and running away from the area,” he said.

    Read Also: Flogging of suspected bandits unacceptable – NAF

    Daramola said the helicopter engaged the target recording successful hits on the logistics facility, which was engulfed in flames with thick black smoke seen.

    He said some bandits, who fired at the aircraft, were taken out by the helicopter.

    ” Reports from independent sources, including local informants and village leaders around the general area, later confirmed that the logistics base was totally destroyed and four bandits killed as a result of the attack,” he said.

    The spokesman said the NAF, working in consonance with surface forces and other security agencies, would sustain its operations to flush the bandits out of the North West of the Country.

    NAN