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  • Lift visa ban on Nigerians, Saraki begs Qatar

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has urged the Government of Qatar to end its visa restriction on Nigerians.

    Saraki, according to a statement by his Media Office, made the request during a meeting with the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in Doha.

    The Senate President, who led a National Assembly delegation to the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) taking place in Doha, was quoted to have lamented that the visa ban is negatively affecting Nigerians as it prevents them from visiting the Middle East nation.

    Saraki was said to have noted that lifting the ban would help Qatar in showcasing its vast investment opportunities, technological advancement and other achievements to the rest of the world.

    While calling for more collaboration between the two countries, especially its parliament, Saraki was said to have lauded the leadership resilience of the Qatari government

    He said there was the need to set up a legal framework to enable skilled workers and professionals in Nigerians to legally gain employment in Qatar.

    Saraki said: “I want to commend your fighting spirit in standing up for your rights. You have demonstrated that you mean well for your people and what you have done is worth emulating.

    “That said, I think both countries (Nigeria and Qatar) need to strengthen their ties, especially our parliaments.  We need to collaborate to achieve many things together. The collaboration will be good for the two countries and for our people.

    Read Also: Umahi, Saraki greet Wike on re-election

    “I want to make an appeal that the visa restrictions placed on Nigerians be lifted. Nigerians are good people and we travel a lot.

    “This restriction is not good for both countries and I urge you to reconsider your position on that. The world needs to see the good things you are doing here and lifting your visa ban on Nigerians will encourage more people to come here and enjoy your beautiful country.

    “In the area of sports, we need to do more together. Nigeria is a sport loving country. We have talented people in various parts of the world, including Qatar, doing great things in sports. If we collaborate, we will be able to develop that sector too.”

    On his part, the Qatari Prime Minister, Al-Thani, promised to look into the visa restriction and ensure that it is resolved within the shortest time possible.

    The statement said that Saraki also had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Kenneth Lusaka, Speaker of the Parliament of Kenya where both leaders called for more collaboration between the parliaments of the two countries.

    The Senate President also met with the President of the IPU, Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron – who is expected to visit Nigeria before the expiration of the 8th National Assembly in June.

  • Abdulrazaq to rehabilitate ‘good boys’

    Kwara State Governor-Elect, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq at the weekend said he would use his first 100 days in office to rehabilitate and empower street urchins otherwise known as ‘good boys’ in the state.

    He promised to help continue their education and give them vocational training if they voluntarily renounce their antisocial behaviour.

    The governor-elect also revealed his plan to give amnesty to youths engaging in illicit activities popularly known as ‘good boys’.

    Abdulrazaq said this in Ilorin, the state capital at dinner Organized by Liberation Movement O2 (Otoge! Otope) to celebrate the victory of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates at the polls.

    Dignitaries at the Dinner include Barr Kunle Sulyman, Alhaji LAK Jimoh, Senator Makanjuola Ajadi, Barr Iyiola Oyedepo, Comrade Musbau Esinrogunjo, among others.

    He noted that his administration would not tolerate youth restiveness, cultism and other social vices, saying ‘it’s no longer business as usual. You must work to earning a living’.

    Abdulrazaq stated that bad governance, poverty, poor education system, nepotism and lack of political will for genuine Youth development led to youth restiveness.

    Read Also: I’ll run people-centred govt, says AbdulRazaq

    He however promised to introduce sustainable youth empowerment and development programmes after his swearing-in.

    Abdulrazaq reiterated his commitment to run all inclusive government where youths, women and every stratum of the society will play key role.

    Earlier, the Coordinator of Liberation Movement, Alhaji Hassan Owoyale said the Dinner was organized to appreciate stakeholders for their contributions to APC victory during 2019 general elections in Kwara State.

    Alhaji Hassan Owoyale urged the incoming administration to prioritize youth development and give them significant role in government.

    Earlier, leader of Kwara North Elders, Senator Ahmed Mohammed implored Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to involve youths in his administration because they contributed immensely to the liberation of the state from old political order.

     

  • Breaking: Five dead, 45 injured in Maiduguri bomb blast

    The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Sunday said five persons were killed and 30 others injured in a suicide bomb attack in the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    Mr Kachalla Usman, the Head of Emergency Response Operations of SEMA, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

    Usman said that two female suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosives Device (IEDs) vests strapped to their bodies in a crowded place at Muna-Dalti area of Maiduguri on Saturday night.

    Read also: 11 killed, 15 injured in suicide bombing at Maiduguri mosque

    He said that three persons and two suicide bombers were killed, while 45 others sustained injuries in the blast.

    Usman added that two of the deceased died while on admission in the hospital.

    According to him, the injured persons have been taken to the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri for treatment. (NAN)

  • Kogi governor cuts water, electricity supply to CJ’s residence, group alleges

    •Allegations against gov based on mere mischief – govt

    A civil society group –the Federation of Lawyers in Active Democracy (FLAD) – has accused   Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State of ordering the severance of water and electricity supply to the official residence of the state’s embattled Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajana as part of the pressure to force him out of office.

    The governor’s action, according to the group, is aimed at intimidating and overawing Ajana because he is not in the good books of the state government.

    Reacting to last Monday’s resolution of the State House of Assembly demanding the removal of the Chief Judge from office, FLAD President Arome Husseini said the motion defied logic.

    The statement dismissed as  “null and void and of no effect whatsoever” what it described as yet another instance of Governor Bello’s intolerance of democratic institutions, the separation of power and the checks and balances guaranteed by the constitution.

    The group  said the 1999 Constitution as amended Section 271 ( 1) 292 (1) (ii) (a) and the third Schedule paragraph 21 part 1 of the constitution which provide for the removal of a Chief Judge of a state were totally ignored by the House.

    It suspected that the Chief Judge’s travails may have begun on the day he resisted the governor’s alleged interference in a criminal case involving a ‘controversial federal legislator’ who was granted bail.

    It recalled how the state government punished two former Speakers of the state’s legislature by denying them access to utilities, the same punishment now being visited on Justice Ajana.

    It said: “a Speaker that was illegally installed was equally forced to resign within one year after he complained during public sitting that Governor Bello was harassing and intimidating him!

    “In both cases, utilities like water, electricity and communications were severed from the official residences of these Speakers.

    “Today the utilities of the learned Chief Judge and the Deputy Governor of the State have equally been disconnected – all in an effort to intimidate and overawe these state functionaries into becoming puppets and stooges like has been achieved in the State House of Assembly.”

    It asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call the governor to order.

    The group vowed to use legitimate means including   petitions, demonstrations and litigations to protect the sacred institution of the judiciary from the governor.

    However, responding to The Nation on Sunday’s questions, Mr. Muhammad Galacticus Onogwu who is the Chief Press Secretary to the governor said Bello’s political successes had inspired endless mischievous reactions from embittered political opponents.

    Read also: Unease in Kogi over lawmakers’ stand on CJ Ajanah

    His words:”generally, the water system in Lokoja is under maintenance so, the shortage of water is across board and as I am talking to you, I am running a generator like any other person here in Lokoja.

    “The talk about us owing the state’s judiciary staff about 10 months’ salary because of the Chief Judge’s travails is a big lie; when the Federal Government gave us the Paris Club refund of about N13 billion in November last year, labour leaders and the state government agreed on collection of four months’ outstanding salary by every worker in person.

    “The judiciary workers refused to participate in the pay parade exercise for reasons best known to them and their salaries are lying there in the bank but they went on strike and even sued the state government.

    “We do not have any issue with the Chief Judge because the Kogi State government under Governor Yahaya Bello does not interfere with either the Judiciary or the legislature.

    “We are approaching the period of another gubernatorial election in Kogi State and those who are afraid of what the government has achieved thus far are already afraid of a big loss in the November election so, they are resorting t mischief because we have kept winning.”

     

  • 112 Chibok girls now five years in Boko Haram captivity

    The 112 Chibok girls still being held by Boko Haram will   have spent five years in captivity if they are not released by next Sunday.

    Over 200 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State were abducted by the terrorists on the night of April 14, 2014.

    Over a hundred of them were released following pressure from the federal government, and the intervention of well meaning Nigerians and the International Red Cross.

    The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement said yesterday that the girls have already spent 1, 819 days in Boko Haram captivity.

    Read also: Buhari: It will take decades to repair Boko Haram damage

    It said the anniversary of their abduction next Sunday would only bring sadness.

    “Sadly, we are coming up to five years in captivity for 112 of our Chibok Girls,” the BBOG said on its Whatsapp platform yesterday.

    “This is not a date we ever imagined we would come to.

    “However, should it come without their return, we intend to organize a few activities to ensure that the Chibok Girls are not forgotten.”

  • Power-shift to Southern Nigeria in 2023, non-negotiable – APC chieftain

    Alhaji Ahmed Lawal, Organising Secretary of APC in Adamawa on Sunday insisted that power must shift to the southern part of Nigeria in 2023.

    Lawal made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola.

    He stressed the need to demonstrate fairness in the polity, adding that the southern part of Nigeria supported the Northern part to retain power for eight years.

    He advised the APC to ensure power rotation in 2023 to enhance national cohesion.

    He rejected comments from those he called “some selfish northern politicians” intent on shortchanging the south in the scheme of power play.

    The organising secretary said that the proponents of power retention in the north are selfish as they cannot claim to be speaking for the entire north.

    Read also: Osinbajo, Oshiomhole, others for APC summit in Anambra

    “We must rotate power to southern Nigeria for the spirit of equity, fairness and harmony.

    ” As far as Nigerian unity is concerned, power shift must become a stabilising principle so that no region will feel relegated and oppressed politically.

    “It was instructive that our political leaders sought support from southerners while APC was mobilising during 2015 election.

    ” It is glaring that they cooperated well as no southern APC politician contested the primary election during 2015 and even in 2019.

    ” If we want to be fair to them, let’s allow them to have a feel of power come 2023.

    “It is also instructive that those singing northern power retention cannot speak for the north because they are not authorized.

    “As you can see some of them who claim to be members of the APC, worked against the party in the just concluded governorship election to build up PDP to be able to achieve their sinister agenda’, Lawal said.

    He advised APC members at all levels to ensure they addressed internal squabbles emanating from the just concluded elections with the view to repositioning the party for future elections.

    He also advised the party to reorganise itself to be able to manage its victory well, saying that victory can be more difficult to manage than failure.

    NAN recalled that Mr Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Dr. Junaid Mohammed, another politician from Kano at different interviews said that rotation of presidency in 2023 to the southern Nigeria is not automatic. (NAN)

  • Buhari: It will take decades to repair Boko Haram damage

    President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that it would take decades for Nigeria and Nigerians to repair the damage done to  the country by the terror sect, Boko Haram.

    Buhari told the World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa at Dead Sea, Jordan that although the insurgents have been significantly pushed back and no longer control any territory of the country, government has been left with a big task of rebuilding what has been destroyed.

    “The deaths, damages and destruction caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram over the last 10 years will take decades to repair,” he said.

    He urged world leaders to work towards narrowing gaps in social and economic opportunities for citizens as panacea to rising conflicts across the globe.

    He said: “we must ask ourselves how we, as a region, got to this point. The answer, at least in the case of Nigeria, is the lack of social and economic inclusion.

    “As Nigeria celebrated being the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Nigerians were migrating in droves through harsh desert conditions and across treacherous seas to seek what they believe would be a better life in Europe.

    “I strongly believe that lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges we are experiencing.”

    Buhari said the changes taking place across the world in technology, population, migration, trade and geo-politics had been yielding both positive and negative results in different parts of the world.

    He called for more collaboration across borders to alter tides of frustrations that fuel conflict.

    “It is my view, that no region of the world has felt the full impact of these dramatic shifts and shocks like the Middle East and Africa–North and Sub-Sahara.

    “On one hand, our region is blessed with a very young, vibrant, enterprising and dynamic population. We also have valuable natural resources that are the envy of many nations.

    “These assets and endowments contributed to our region experiencing some of the highest economic growth rates in the world.

    “In this digital age where physical borders no longer exist to protect even the most secured nations, the only way to overcome predatory and divisionary forces is for all well-meaning nations to work together for the greater good of mankind.

    “Simply put, cooperation amongst sovereign nations is no longer a choice. It is an absolute necessity.”

    He told the gathering of leaders, entrepreneurs and economic experts that “Nigeria’s population is 190 million, and by 2050, it is estimated to hit 390 million, making it the third most populous country in the world.’’

    According to him, he spent the last four years tackling security issues in the country and implementing policies that make the economy more inclusive.

    Read also: Senate Presidency: Lawan steps up campaign in states

    “We are extremely grateful to the many countries that stood with Nigeria to confront this global scourge and in particular, the Kingdom of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty, the King.

    “Furthermore, our economic diversification and social inclusion policies are also yielding positive results.

    “Our country has now returned to the path of growth. We are making gains in the ease of doing business indices,’’ he added.

    The President said the agriculture sector was driving government’s efforts to diversify the economy.

    He added that “in the spirit of “Building New Platforms of Cooperation’, we partnered with the Kingdom of Morocco to domesticate fertilizer production in Nigeria and revive over two million tons of abandoned fertilizer blending plant capacity.

    “The outcome is we created tens of thousands of jobs in agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and retail sectors.’’

  • NAF destroys bandits’ logistics Base in Zamfara

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says the Air Task Force (ATF) for Operation DIRAN MIKIYA has successfully destroyed a bandits’ logistics base at Ajia in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara.

    Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja.

    He said the ATF also neutralised dozens of the bandits at Ajia and Wonaka in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara.

    Daramola explained that the operation was executed sequel to Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports indicating that the bandits were using a compound within Ajia as a logistics store to support their operations.

    “Consequently, the ATF dispatched a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet, supported by an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform, to attack the compound scoring accurate strikes on the target and causing it to erupt into flames, which engulfed the structures and resulted in the neutralisation of some of the bandits,” he said.

    Read also: End killings, kidnapping in Zamfara now, protesters urge Buhari

    The spokesman said few survivors, seen fleeing the vicinity of the target area, were taken out in follow-on attacks while others, who managed to escape the area, were tracked to Wonaka and equally neutralised.

    “Independent HUMINT sources subsequently confirmed that more than 25  bandits were neutralised in the attacks on the two locations.

    “The NAF, working in close coordination with sister Services and other security agencies, will sustain its operations to neutralise the bandits and deny them freedom of action in the North West,” he said. (NAN)

  • Osinbajo attends 25th National commemoration of Rwandan genocide

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,, has departed Nigeria to join other world leaders and top dignitaries to participate as a Special Guest in the ceremonies marking 25th National Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi holding Sunday in Kigali, Rwanda.
    This was contained in a statement issued by 2.43am on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande.
    He said some of the activities lined up for the event include the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the Wreaths laying ceremony and Lighting of the Flame by the President of the Republic of Rwanda and Special Guests.
    Read also: Africa gathers for elearning in Rwanda

    “April 7, 1994, marked the beginning of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda perpetrated by the Hutu extremist-led government.

    “In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly officially proclaimed 7 April the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.”

    The Vice President is expected back to Nigeria on Sunday.

  • FG building N’ Delta not defined by oil and gas – Osinbajo

    Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the federal government is building a Niger Delta that will not just defined by oil and gas, but other human capital resources.

    Speaking through his Special Assistant, Mr. Edobor Iyamu, at the first matriculation ceremony of the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Warri South-West council area of Delta state, Saturday, the VP noted that this is part of the development plan mapped out in the New Vision of the Niger Delta (NVND).

    Professor Osinbajo stressed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is “serious” about the happenings in the oil-rich region, hence its embarking on several infrastructural development such as the flagship of the Ogoniland cleanup exercise in Rivers state, the construction of modular refineries, four of which are at varying levels of completion across the region, as well as the gas flare commercialization programme aimed at seeing to the end of gas flaring in the Niger Delta.

    Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA), Mr. Dakuku Peterside emphasized the need for more funds to facilitate infrastructural development for the school. He said: “Work is going on at the permanent site in Okerenkoko. In addition, we are going to hold a number of engagements with the office of the vice president. All of us must work collaboratively to support the success of NMU. Again we need to inject more funds if we want this university to stand and take off on a solid note.”

    Read also: Osinbajo, Oshiomhole, others for APC summit in Anambra

    Acting Governor of Delta state, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro while commending all stakeholders for ensuring the establishment of NMU, noted its fruition is a collective aspiration of the Gbaramatu kingdom and people of the Niger Delta. Vice Chancellor, Engr. Professor Maureen Etebu urged the students to strive for excellence.

    She recalled the efforts made by various entities, including the Vice president and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to ensure the establishment of the learning citadel.