The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties has rejected some suggestions made by a former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on how the incoming All Progressives Congress federal government should fix Nigeria. The former PM, who was the guest speaker at the APC two-day Policy Dialogue on the Implementation of the Agenda for Change in Abuja on Wednesday, had called on President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, to “take advantage of that goodwill that comes with being elected to take difficult decisions that may inflict immediate pain, but in the long-term interest the country and government”. Mr. Blair, who was represented by Lord Mendelson,…
Author: Wale Adebayo
President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday revealed that his major preoccupation after leaving office on May 29 will be to engage religious and ethnic leaders across the country on the need to allow peace to reign. He said he took the decision because of his strong belief that Nigerians can only practise their different religions in an atmosphere of peace. He made this known shortly after he was presented with the 2015 Epitome of Peace Award by the Field Superintendent of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory Field, Apostle John Buzu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Jonathan said the award,…
Nigerian youths today shut down crude oil production at two flow stations of the OML 29 (oil mining licence) near Nembe in Bayelsa state. The protest was to show they were against the sale of the oil block. Royal Dutch Shell Plc sold its 30 percent stake in OML 29 along with the 60-mile Nembe Creek trunk line to Aiteo Eastern E&P Co, late March, for about $1.7 billion. French oil giant Total SA and Italian firm Eni SPA have also agreed to sell their 10 and 5 percent stakes respectively, to give Aiteo, owned by Nigerian billionaire Ben Peters,…
The chairman of Christian youths in Kaduna State, Diji Obadiah, has faulted a statement credited to outgoing Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is a part of the APC and has a mob mentality. Reacting to the statement yesterday in Kaduna, Obadiah said such remark coming from a governor was aimed at ridiculing Christians in northern Nigeria, adding that it was uncalled for, since CAN is not a political party and had never been involved in partisan politics. According to the youth leader, linking CAN to a political party is unacceptable. Obadiah,…
The Federal High Court, Yola, has dismissed a case brought before it by former Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, challenging his impeachment by the State House of Assembly. Nyako, who was one of the governors that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress, APC, was impeached in July 2014 by members of the State Assembly for alleged gross misconduct. Delivering judgment yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Bilkisu Bello Aliyu, noted that there were three other cases before competent courts on the same issue. “The case is hereby dismissed because any action on the suit will be tantamount to abuse…
Fears that GSM operators’ masts and towers can cause cancer and are harmful to human health were dismissed yesterday by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of the NCC, Mrs. Maryam Bayi, who made this known at the 77th edition of a consumer outreach programme in Kano themed; “Telecom masts and towers, effects on human health”, said it had been scientifically proven that the masts are not harmful. “It has become imperative to correct the misinformation being propagated about the effects of masts and towers on human health. Research conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO)…
Ahead of the May 29 hand over date, the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has ordered Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Command Commissioners of Police to beef up security around all key and vulnerable installations nationwide. The IG directed that critical infrastructures like petrol refilling stations, major hotels, National and State Houses of Assembly complexes, Eagle Square, Abuja, and other public places should be protected ahead of the inauguration of new administrations in the country in about a week time from now. Arase, in a statement on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, explained that the move was necessary to ward…
The Kwara State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday dismissed allegations that the state government was planning to victimise civil servants on account of political difference. Debunking the allegation, the Kwara APC said those who are perceived as loyalists of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not be persecuted. The party’s position was contained in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari. According to Mr. Buhari, the allegation was the handiwork of PDP, which was out to cause confusion and tension in the civil service. “We warn the PDP to desist from its new ploy…
The Primate of Anglican Church, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, has pleaded with Nigerians to exercise patience with the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), saying it is “very difficult” to fix the country within four years. Okoh said this while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday. While advising Nigerians to be patient with the incoming administration, the cleric said President-elect Buhari should be given at least a year to study the situation and set the agenda properly. He said, “Nigerians should be patient with Buhari, otherwise, he will worsen things if Nigerians push him to the wall and…
The 8th National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers began in Abuja yesterday with those in attendance commending President Goodluck Jonathan for his maturity in conceding defeat to Muhammadu Buhari even before the final tally of results was announced. They also praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a successful 2015 general elections. Chairman of the governing council of Traditional ruler’s summit, HRM Emmanuel Ekemejewa Siseso Abe I, said that this is the first time general elections ended without bloodshed in the country. He commended President Jonathan for introducing a new political culture in Nigeria, whereby an incumbent could organize…
The Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, on Thursday defected to the All Progressives Congress on the floor of the House of Representatives. He wrote a formal letter to the House, which was read to members by the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, soon after the session started. Mr. Bamidele was elected on the platform of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to represent Ado Ekiti/Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency of Ekiti State, but dumped the party for the Labour Party, where he clinched the ticket to contest the last governorship election in Ekiti. He came a…
A two-day retreat for all Senators-elect on the platform of the All Progressives Congress will commence today, May 22, 2015 in Abuja. In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the retreat would take place at the Ibeto Hotel in Apo area of the nation’s capital. The statement urged the Senators-elect to arrive at the venue where accommodation arrangement has been made for them, by 6 p.m. on Friday, May 22, as there will be a closed door meeting between all senators-elect and party leaders at 8 p.m. of…
The Governor-elect of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has promised to establish ranches in order to prevent the incessant bloodshed occasioned by clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state. Ortom was of the view that the frequent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers, which had claimed many lives and led to destruction of property and cash crops across the country, would be averted with the establishment of ranches nationwide. Benue has been a flash point of deadly clashes between herdsmen and indigenes of the state especially those in the rural areas, who are mostly farmers. In March, one of such…
The Anambra State Government on Thursday described the story of a purported restaurant in the state, which serves human flesh as meat to unsuspected customers, as the handiwork of anti-democratic elements. The State Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Dr. Mary Nwogu, in a statement, made available to journalists in Awka, the state capital, described the story as a “wider smear campaign” by enemies of the state. The statement read, “The attention of the Anambra State Government has been drawn to a false and malicious report circulating on social media over the purported closure by the Nigerian Police of a…
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has counseled electricity utility companies to invest in surveillance equipment to reduce to the barest minimum frequent damage to critical public infrastructure by vandals. The Commandant-General of NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, who made the call at a meeting with officials of power distribution and generation firms in Abuja on Thursday, specifically admonished them to install Close Circuit Camera Television along their facility corridors to curb vandalism and theft. Abolurin noted that in as much as NSCDC officials on their own part are working hard to combat vandals in different parts of the…
President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday commended President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in the March 28 presidential election. Speaking in Abuja, when he received the President of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou, Buhari said Jonathan’s action turned around Nigeria’s nervous political process. “The Nigerien president purposely came to congratulate me on my victory and President Jonathan for the maturity and statesmanship that he exhibited by accepting that he had lost the election,” Buhari told journalists after a closed door meeting with the Nigerien president. “His action actually doused tensions and averted crisis in Nigeria. “Not only Africa but the world has commended the…
The President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday expressed regret that the federal government did not seem to appreciate his intention of setting up the Transition Committee and the terms of reference given to it. According to him, this is because of the refusal of the government to provide the committee with the needed information to carry out its duty. Speaking at the Defence House, while receiving the interim report of the APC Transition Committee led by Ahmed Joda, Buhari said he was disappointed that “the incoming government was being misunderstood”. “It is not that we are preparing for indictment. We are trying…
The Osun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) have suspended mobile courts due to the ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in the state, which has been on since January. Sector Commander, Mr Muhammad Husaini told the News Agency in Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo, on Thursday, that the strike was a challenge to all security agencies in the state. According to him, the commission had to diversify its operations to ensure that it did not bring offenders up to the level where they would have to face the courts. “We have suspended our…
Borno State government is seeking both local and international support to enable it cater adequately for persons displaced by Boko Haram insurgency in the state. This is because each of the 21 internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp records about six child births daily. This makes a total of 126 babies daily from the 21 camps. Alhaji Grema Terab, the executive chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) disclosed this in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Thursday. “We record an average of between five and six births in each of the 21 camps daily,” said Terab. “The IDPs are…
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South leader, Chief Edwin Clark has announced the loss of his grandson Obaro Okorodudu. Clark made his loss public in a statement released yesterday. He said his 27-year-old grandson was a final year medical student in the United States of America, reports Vanguard. The statement explained that Obaro is the son of Dr. Godwin Okorodudu and Mrs Rebecca Okorodudu, the eldest daughter of Chief Edwin Clark. The young man’s remains have been brought back to Nigeria. He will be buried at Ovu, his father’s home town, in Delta State.