₦airaland Forum

bettercreature:
They have no idea how good Liverpool is at the moment
They can even defend unlike in the past

bettercreature:
You are right about English managers but forget it Juvy can not beat Liverpool

pussywounder:
uefa fixed it this way. they want madrid and barca out. all na planned joor. rubbish. we cant take it

The Presidency has uncovered plans by those described as “Nigerian looters” to disrupt the ongoing official visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to London.

Sources in the presidency told State House correspondents on Tuesday night that the alleged looters and corrupt elements had rented motley crowd of professional demonstrators to protest against President Buhari on his arrival to London.

The sources said: “Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to contest for another term in office as President of Nigeria, the camps of alleged looters and corrupt elements within and outside the country have been jolted.

“This has forced them to push panic buttons including renting a motley crowd of professional demonstrators to protest against the President on his arrival into the United Kingdom.”

According to the impeccable sources in Aso Villa and Britain, extremely corrupt Nigerians who are custodians of slush funds stolen from Nigeria, and hiding in UK or are resident cronies of such elements, have colluded to form a league of protesters.

The sources maintained that the protesters’ singular aim was to distract and disorganise the scheduled state visit of the President to England,.

President Buhari is billed to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and other dignitaries.

“Esteemed Nigerians home and abroad, friends and business investors in Nigeria, should please see through the veil of the motive behind the Abuja House, Kensington London demonstration.

“It was an orchestrated act of desperation and a ploy to blackmail and hoodwink the President from concentrating on his anti corruption campaign , which is fast gaining grounds locally and internationally,” our source stated authoritatively.

The source added that, “this unpatriotic act is not unconnected to the Federal government policies to name and shame corrupt citizens and looters; to collate database of Nigerians with homes in UK who are not paying the right taxes, and the hot drive to prosecute all financial defaulters through bilateral and multilateral means.”

A public affairs analyst who preferred anonymity also said “the protest was benchmarked on an assemblage of local grievances and national challenges which the government is already tackling head on.

”Such as the herdsmen versus agrarian farmers clashes, fuel scarcity which no longer exists and trumped up charge of hunger in the land at a time when prices of food items are beginning to drop and inflation on the decrease.”

His view was buttressed by our Presidency sources who further repeated the position of the President who famously said that “corruption is endemic and Nigerians need to kill it before it kills Nigerians.”

According to the source, it is obvious that this is a clear cut incident of corruption fighting back.

The source believed that many of the beneficiaries of corruption and slush funds could not withstand another devastating blow of Buhari’s anti corruption sledge hammer.

”Hence, they are resolute to derail the apple cart in order to save their ugly faces and sit back to enjoy the loot in their personal banks.

”Some of the protesters are not even Nigerians but hired hatchet men paid to do the dirty job.

”According to security sources, the protesters are said to be bent on embarrassing and humiliating the President throughout his stay in the UK.

”An insider vowed that they will take their demonstrations to the venue of CHOGM holding later in the month in Britain, which President Buhari is attending as a Commonwealth Head of State.,” the further source revealed.

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said while reacting to the London protest that the President would not be distracted from his mission in the UK.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

deji17:
This Lawyer to looters has no shame

Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari made his intention to seek re-election in 2019 known, a constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has said that President Buhari has failed Nigeria having performed abysmally and disastrously between 2015 and 2018.

Ozekhome, also a human rights activist, thus asked Nigerians to reject him at the polls, saying Buhari had failed to deliver his electoral promises to restore economy, fight corruption and ensure security.

He made the call Tuesday in a statement he issued in response to Buhari’s declaration to seek re-election in 2019, noting that the speculation that the ruling APC “is banking on massive rigging of the 2019 election to win is merely illusory”.

According to him, “The plan to rig cannot work. Nigerians are more enlightened today than ever before. They will use their PVCs to vote wisely, notwithstanding any acts of intimidation or coercion. 2019 is just 10 months away. I will keep my fingers crossed to see how it all plays out.”

Ozekhome lamented that the economy “is in an all time low,” noting that from an over $500 billion rebased economy he inherited, Buhari led Nigeria into recession and now claimed to have taken it out.

Sadly enough, Ozekhome wondered that the president could call for celebration “to take Nigeria back from recession. But the figures do not tally, nor does the story jell. Nigerians are hungrier today than they were three years ago. They have been rendered destitute and impecunious”.

Citing the impact of the economic recession, Ozekhome said many resorted “to going to Libya and attempting to cross the seas to European countries to escape from hunger and squalor, thereby dying in the process. More Nigerians have taken to prostitution across European nations more than ever before”.

In their quest for greener pasture in Europe, the constitutional lawyer lamented that many of them “are gang-raped, sodomised, enslaved and bestialised. The youths have taken up arms, committing more heinous crimes, such as robberies and kidnap, more than ever in the history of this country”.

He pointed out that Buhari promised three million new jobs per annum. However, according to him, Buhari and the APC have caused Nigerians to, paradoxically, lose about 3.5 million jobs annually, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

He said the price of fuel alternates between N145 per litre and N400, whenever available, whereas the APC-led federal government met it at N87 per litre.

Ozekhome explained that a bag of rice “now sells for between N15,000 and N20,000. He met it at N7,500. Prices of goods and consumables have gone out of the reach of the common man, with Nigerians literally feeding from dust bins. So, on the economic front, one of his tripodal promises, he has failed Nigeria and Nigerians. Is this why they will vote for him again? I want to see”.

Under Buhari, Ozekhome said Boko Haram “is stronger today, more potent and more deadly than it ever was. We are regaled daily (check online, print and electronic media), with tales of Boko Haram’s blood-letting exploits, maiming, killing and burning houses across the North-east.

“With apparent government collusion, the military in Dapchi were hurriedly posted out. Chibok was re-enacted in Dapchi, where over 110 secondary school girls were viciously abducted. They were later released in a Hollywood style, in broad daylight, by the same Boko Haram after mind bungling sums were said to have been paid to them as ransom”.

Ozekhome said: “If Boko Haram regarded as one of the four leading terrorist groups in the world were considered deadly enough, the rampaging herdsmen has become more murderous.

“Day-in-day-out, they kill innocent Nigerians in their homes, their farms, burn others, lay siege to whole communities, rape their wives and daughters, and kidnap their males. Never has Nigeria witnessed more insecurity than it is today.”

He said although Boko Haram was limited to the North-east, Fulani herdsmen menace “spread across all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. Federal government does not even pretend to want to curb the insurgency. Not a single herdsman has been arrested or prosecuted by the government.

“Kidnappings, murders, suicides and rape cases have since increased geometrically, rather than arithmetically. Consequently on the insecurity front, Buhari has scored below average. Is this why Nigerians will vote for him?”

He noted that Buhari’s greatest failing “is perhaps in this anti-corruption context. He had promised to fight corruption. Three years down the line, he has not secured a single conviction of any high profile, politically exposed person. Rather, Nigerians have been treated to ludicrous media trial”.

In desperation, the constitutional lawyer added that the government “has now released names of opposition members whom they have charged to court, but cannot prove their cases against as ‘looters’, without any court conviction or judicial pronouncement to that effect”.

“This is in sync with the government’s now infamous disregard for due process, rule of law, independence of the judiciary and disobedience to court orders. Impunity reigns supreme. In appointments, cronyism, nepotism, tribalism, clannishness and favouritism triumph over merit and competence.

“Transparency International, in its recent corruption perception index, has rated Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, beaten to the second position in West African by only one country. Nigeria placed 148th globally, out of 180 countries freedom of speech, press freedom, NGO’s freedom, and sundry liberties are seriously curbed, leading to a reign of fear and terror,” he said.

According to him, “Where the government fights ‘corruption’ amongst opposition and critics with pesticides, herbicides and insecticides, it caresses and deodorizes its own corrupt officials, ministers, serving military generals and kitchen cabinet members with sweet smelling sasarabia cologne.

“Corruption reeks everywhere in the government, with many Pandora boxes of oozing gates: Mainagate, Babachirgate, health sectorgate and NNPC gate. The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, revealed to a shocked nation how $23 billion contracts, were irregularly awarded and signed by Buhari on his sick bed abroad, at a time Osibanjo was already the acting president.”

He, therefore, noted that the $2.1 billion Dasukigate, which the federal government “has pegged its anti–corruption fight is less than 10 per cent of the NNPCgate. Corruption now struts around and about proudly, unrestrained, walking on its fours, head and even buttocks”.

bettercreature:
They wont answer me they are mourning

DeadRat:



So You Are Joking with God. What You Dont Know Is That God Has A Very Low Sense Of Humor....

He Forgave You First Time And You Went Back Again...


Right Now, God Will Be Telling The 24 Elders "This Boy Thinks I'm his Mate"...

bettercreature:
Madrid will win it again
Ronaldo and champions league are just like rat and fried fish

Presidency has confirmed that Nigerians in the United Kingdom on Monday protested against President Muhammadu Buhari's re-election bid on his arrival in London.

A presidential aide, who confirmed this to State House reporters on Tuesday, noted that the protest was staged barely 24 hours after President Buhari declared his intention to seek re-election in 2019.

He alleged that looters and corrupt elements within and outside Nigeria had been jolted to push "panic buttons including renting a motley crowd of professional demonstrators to protest against the president on his arrival in the United Kingdom."

He said extremely corrupt Nigerians who are custodians of slush funds stolen from Nigeria, and hiding in UK or are resident cronies of such elements had colluded to form a league of protesters with a singular aim of distracting and disorganising Buhari's scheduled state visit to England for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and other dignitaries.

He quoted security sources as revealing that the protesters were bent on embarrassing and humiliating Buhari throughout his stay in the UK.

According to him, the protesters have vowed to take their demonstrations to the venue of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting holding later in the month in Britain which Buhari is attending.

“Esteemed Nigerians home and abroad, friends and business investors in Nigeria, should please see through the veil of the motive behind the Abuja House, Kensington London demonstration. It was an orchestrated act of desperation and a ploy to blackmail and hoodwink the President from concentrating on his anti-corruption campaign, which is fast gaining grounds locally and internationally,” the source stated authoritatively.

“This unpatriotic act is not unconnected to the Federal government policies to name and shame corrupt citizens and looters; to collate database of Nigerians with homes in UK who are not paying the right taxes, and the hot drive to prosecute all financial defaulters through bilateral and multilateral means.”

“It is obvious that this is a clear cut incident of corruption fighting back. Many of the beneficiaries of corruption and slush funds cannot withstand another devastating blow of Buhari’s anti corruption sledge hammer.

“Hence, they are resolute to derail the apple cart in order to save their ugly faces and sit back to enjoy the loot in their personal banks. Some of the protesters are not even Nigerians but hired hatchet men paid to do the dirty job."

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari would not be distracted from his mission in London.

policy12:
Sometimes dream big, and remember that the impossible is the untry.

bettercreature:
They are out! Roma beat them 3-0

bettercreature:
It seems Barca is having serious problem at the moment

bettercreature:
And you think Liverpool won’t increase it to 26 goals

bettercreature:
Now City need to score like 13 goals to qualify

policy12:
You know dream come true.

policy12:
Master Pharaoh I greet o.

policy12:
3 zero is all Roma need.

Ibadan – The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), has cautioned former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida and General T.Y. Danjuma, to do eschew actions and statements capable of “setting Nigeria on fire.”

The religious body gave this warning in a press statement signed by its Executive Secretary and CEO, Professor Dawud Noibi; President-General, League of Imams and Alfas, South West, Edo and Delta States, Shaykh Jamiu Kewulere Bello; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Prince Judge Abdul Jabbaar Bola Ajibola, (SAN) and President, MUSWEN & Deputy President-General (South), (NSCIA) Alhaji (Dr) Sakariyau Babalola

MUSWEN in the statement, copies of which were made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Monday, also cautioned religious leaders and other elder statesmen against “undue politicisation of issues “.

The group appealed to the trio of Obasanjo, Babangida and Danjuma to thread with caution and not to “throw the country into further confusion.”

MUSWEN said “Against the background of recent political developments, we use this opportunity to call on past political leaders, especially Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Theophilus Danjuma to thread with caution as elder statesmen and not throw the nation into further confusion.

The religious body, however, expressed displeasure over the continued abduction of Leah Sharibu by members of the Book Haram group.

“We, therefore, call on members of the Boko Haram group to release the girl forthwith without any further delay. It is unimaginable how far the group could go in its acts of the mindless disservice to Islam and Muslims. Islam stands for humanity, not against it” MUSWEN appealed.

The religious body added that: “We want to reiterate the fact that Islam forbids forceful conversion of non-Muslims to Islam and enjoins respect for People of the Book – Jews and Christians. Indeed, Allah explicitly directs Muslims to provide refuge to even idol-worshippers who seek shelter in our abodes and grant them protection to safety!”

MUSWEN expressed surprise that some Christian leaders and elder have allegedly politicised the matter, insisting that “we declare for the umpteenth time that the Boko Haram group does not represent Islam and the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria”.

The group urged Nigerians to continue to live together in peace and harmony, irrespective of religious and political differences.

The statement reads in part: “Contest for political positions should not be a do-or-die affair. It should rather be a contest of ideas about building a better future for Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Our politicians must conduct themselves in a decent manner and not turn Nigeria into a battle zone. They must remember that only Allah can grant power and authority to whoever He wills. As such, we call on all politicians and the electorate to eschew violence in whatever form. The nation can only make progress in an atmosphere of peace.”

A resolution that was reportedly adopted unanimously by members of the All Progressives Congress National Executive Committee (APC-NEC) has given the current National Working Committee (NWC) an approval to continue overseeing the affairs of the party for another one year in the absence of a valid convention.

The resolution, adopted Monday afternoon at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, could see John Odigie-Oyegun remain the chairman of the party until after the 2019 elections.

“If for reasons of inability to fulfill constitutional and or legal conditions requisite for the conduct of a valid elective congress or convention, then the party may as a last resort leverage on the NEC resolution of February 27, 2018 which in our view is lawful in the circumstances,” according to item five of the resolution obtained by PREMIUM TIMES Monday night.

Davies Ibiamu-Ikanya, the chairman of APC in Rivers State, moved the five-item resolution. It was seconded by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and adopted by NEC members, PREMIUM TIMES understands.

It was not immediately clear why there were no dissenting voices prior to the adoption of the resolution, which appears to favour Mr Odigie-Oyegun.

Mr Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the current NWC had previously secured a nod to extend their tenure by one year due to a myriad of internal squabbles in some state chapters.
The members also said the extension would help the party minimise the crisis that holding elections in troubled states could throw up.

But the February 27 plan was scuttled after President Muhammadu Buhari withdrew his support and said it would be better if the party conducts congresses across the country. The president believes doing so would save the party legal troubles ahead of general elections.

The president’s turn-around was seen as a capitulation to Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and prominent party leader, who has been pushing hard to ease Mr Odigie-Oyegun out of office.

But with the latest decision by NEC, it seems the APC has returned the decision of holding the congress for elective positions to Mr Odigie-Oyegun.

Other items in the resolution include a “21 days statutory notice for the holding of elective congress and convention be given to INEC immediately,” it said.

“The current zoning formula for the party offices be retained,” item three of the resolution said.

Item four said “Requirements of the article 31(iii) be waived in line with the provisions of article 13.4 (xv) to avoid disruption in the management of party affairs at all levels.” This could allow Mr Odigie-Oyegun remain in office until the convention. Considering Mr Odigie-Oyegun’s alledged opposition to the convention, some commentators have said they won’t be surprised if he decided to use the power to his advantage.

An APC commentator, Ayo Akanji, said the resolutions may favour Mr Odigie-Oyegun, “in paper only”.

“No matter what, the convention would hold,” Mr Akanji said. “In fact, people are already paying ahead for paraphernalia.”

Abuja – Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said herdsmen in the country had voluntarily declared their readiness to pay appropriate taxes to support the establishment of grazing reserves.

Ogbeh took a swipe at past governments, saying animal husbandry which contributed nearly six percent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was neglected for almost 40 years.

He said the development may have contributed to the current clashes between farmers and herders.

He disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the National Food Security Council meeting which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently inaugurated the National Council on Food Security and gave the committee members the broad objectives of developing sustainable solutions to issues such as the farmers–herdsmen clashes, climate change, desertification and their impact on farmland.

The council was also charged to address issues of grazing areas and lakes, rivers, and other water bodies; oil spillage and its impact on Niger Delta fishing communities; piracy and banditry; agricultural research institutions and extension services, and the problem of smuggling.

Speaking on specific measures the committee had adopted to check the farmers-herdsmen clashes, Ogbeh said: “We have to move the cattle to the good old grazing reserves and we just have to create the environment for them, clusters of ranches where they have water, grass, and security against rustlers.

“For nearly 40 years we didn’t do much about cattle, we also forgot that cattle contribute six percent to GDP.

“The cheapest way of rearing cattle is by roaming around with them as you see now.

“If you go into a ranch, it’s not cheap and government cannot subsidize cattle rearing like they do in Europe where they subsidize every cow with €6 which is about N2,400. We cannot afford that.

“So, the thing is to create those ranches and the herdsmen are prepared to pay tax to support the programme. If we do not do it, next year will be worse than this year, I assure you.”

A member of the committee and Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, said the establishment of agro-rangers which the federal government had bought into remains a sacrosanct policy to end killings occasioned by herdsmen and farmers.

His words: “Part of the recommendation we have made, and we are working on, is the issue of Afro-rangers.

“And we noticed that if you are talking about farmers/herdsmen crisis, you have to train a specialized group of security outfit to handle those issues, it is not to concentrate on conventional security.

“So, there is a recommendation before Mr. President for the employment and training of Afro-rangers.

“What we are still appealing to Mr. President is to hasten the process so that it can help solve some of the problems that we have in various states on the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen.”

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 election, saying the country does not need him (Buhari) in 2019.

Mr Fayose, who gave his reaction on Monday while speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti, said if the president was given another term, he would “kill Nigeria”.

According to him, if Mr Buhari was unable to ”read the handwriting on the wall” and know when to call it quits, Nigerians would show him the exit door in 2019 by voting him out of office.

Mr Fayose noted that Mr Buhari was not only too old to lead the country well, but has ”bungled the opportunity given him by his woeful performance.”

“That ambition is dead on arrival. We don’t want grandpa as president anymore,” said Mr Fayose.

“Nigeria does not deserve a Buhari as president in 2019.

Buhari is old and tired. When people don’t know when to take their leave and say bye, Nigerians will show them the exit door.
“He has done more harm to this country. His ambition is a means by which Nigerians will tell him good riddance to bad rubbish when they boot him out of office. He is an easy candidate to defeat in the poll for he has failed woefully.

“He has failed in all fronts. He has failed in his so-called fight against corruption; he has failed in the economic front. He has not done well in terms of security. People are being killed in large number daily and Nigerians have no confidence in him.

“His declaration today is a slap on Nigerians in the face of what Nigerians are passing through. His government is not only clueless, but in a shambles. He should go home and rest.”

The president made his intentions known on Monday at a closed-door meeting of the National Executive Council meeting at the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja.

According to him, his intention to seek re-election was in response to the clamour by Nigerians for his return in 2019.

Shehu Sani, Senator representing Kaduna Central district in the National Assembly has raised concern over the state of Nigeria Police.

Sani, on Friday called on the federal government to stop sidelining the Nigeria police and accord same attention it gives the Nigerian Military.

He stated this in reaction to the approval of N1bn approved for military equipment.

Recall that Buhari had approved the fund during a meeting with the Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), and the service chiefs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Kaduna lawmaker in his tweets expressed concern on the force being left behind.

Speaking on the repercussion of sidelining police, Sani wrote: “If we use a Billion dollar to upgrade our military arsenals to the 21st century while leaving behind our police in the 20th century and other security agencies in the 19th century,we will be dancing with the Python & sleeping with the Cobra,Viper,Mamba & Anaconda.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

A former President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi-Okogie, has lambasted both the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on their accusations and counter-accusations over those who looted Nigeria’s treasury.

The retired Lagos Archbishop of the Catholic Church described the back and forth accusations between the two major parties as a show of shame.

Okogie stated this in a press statement, titled, ‘We Are Watching and Waiting 2.’

The statement was the second in the series that the cleric sent to The PUNCH on Thursday.

He said, “Nigerians are currently forced to watch a show of shame by the ruling party of today and the ruling party of yesterday. Such are accusations and counter-accusations of looting that Nigerians find it difficult to differentiate between the accuser and the accused.

“Huge sums of money belonging to the people of Nigeria obviously got into wrong hands and for the wrong reasons. There are good reasons to suspect that the looting that took place cut across party lines. Nigerians deserve to know how, for example, the two leading parties financed their campaigns in 2015.

“But instead of honest answers, we are treated by the two big parties to a theatrical display of politically-motivated compilation of lists of looters. We are forced to say what Jesus said to the accusers of the adulterous woman in the Gospel: whoever has not sinned let him cast the first stone.”

The vocal cleric pointed out that the political class and the ruling elite were a threat to the country’s security. He said whoever loved Nigeria should be concerned about the security of life and property within its borders.

He noted that insecurity affects all, irrespective of party, ethnic, religious lines, social and economic status.

“Unfortunately, it can and it ought to be said that our political leaders constitute the greatest threat to security in this country, not armed robbers nor kidnappers, not Boko Haram nor herdsmen.

“Nigerians are impoverished by those who are put in charge of her enormous resources while our political leaders live in affluence. The standard of living continues to nosedive. And while politicians display ill-gotten wealth at birthday and wedding parties, there is widespread dilapidation of infrastructure.

“Our government got a friendly reminder recently. Counselled to invest resources in the people of Nigeria, its apologists, as usual, insulted the messenger. Has Bill Gates become a ‘wailer’ and a looter as critics of this government are often labelled?”

The cleric added, “Instead of indecently jostling for positions in 2019, the immoral electioneering propaganda that has replaced good governance, and the vicious fight over whose turn it is to capture the pot of honey that Nigeria’s wealth is, our politicians across party lines should stop and ponder: what type of Nigeria are we handing over to our children and to our children’s children?

“Whether our political leaders in all the parties will seek wise answers to that question is left to be seen. That is why we are still watching and waiting.”

Okogie pointed out that due to poverty, Nigerians, especially the nation’s youths, are easily recruited by all kinds of militia groups as another season of elections approaches. “So, we move from one unending season of insecurity to another,” he said.

The cleric added, “The fire of Boko Haram has yet to be extinguished. Government officials tell us Boko Haram is ‘degraded’ or ‘technically defeated’. The same officials tell us they are discussing ceasefire terms with a defeated army. What a contradiction!

“This same ‘degraded’ Boko Haram cruised in a convoy into Dapchi, abducted over 100 young schoolgirls without the Nigerian Army firing a shot; cruised back a few days later to return the girls; again, the Nigerian Army was nowhere to be found.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), Winifred Oyo-Ita, says the achievements recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration are not being given adequate publicity.

She made this known on Thursday in Abuja, during a peer review visit of Federal Permanent Secretaries to the Ministry of Information and Culture.

The peer review, an initiative of the HOSF is designed to acquaint permanent secretaries with the functions of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and to compare notes.

Mrs Oyo-Ita called for improved funding for the Ministry of Information and Culture and its parastatal agencies to enable it carry out its statutory duties of disseminating and propagating government activities, programmes and achievements.

“I want to emphasise that this administration is doing a marvelous job.

Though we are part of it, we can attest to that fact.

“I am from Cross River state and I know the number of roads that are being constructed including the Calabar to Umuahia road.

“However, we are not getting adequate report of what the administration is achieving.

“I don’t know if it is intentional by the private media not to give adequate reports on these or whether it has some political undertone,’’ she said.

Mrs Oyo-Ita said the Ministry of Information and Culture should be accorded a “grade A’’ status because of its crucial mandate of projecting the image of the country nationally and internationally.

The HOSF called for firm regulatory oversight by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in censoring children cartoons on pay television.

She decried the showing of children cartoon series with unwholesome theme and images depicting lesbianism and homosexuality.

She also underscored the need for a befitting national gallery for the nation.

She kicked against the proposed plan to give a space for a national gallery in the Millennium Tower under construction.
“It is the most inappropriate place to situate a National Gallery.

“In other climes, National galleries are located in beautiful and large location not inside a commercial complex that the Millennium Tower is going to be,’’ she said.

The HOSF commended the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Information and Culture, Grace Gekpe for her skillfulness and ability to get 94 per cent budgetary release to the ministry in 2017.

Earlier in a presentation, Mrs Gekpe said there was cordial relationship among the ministry, its 18 parastatal agencies, their leadership and members of staff.

She said no fewer than 269 officers were trained in 201, and the management was relating well with labour union bodies in the ministry.

For effective performance, Mrs Gekpe called for the placement of tourism sector on the concurrent list rather than the residual list where it was placed.

Items on residual list are those under the regulatory supervision of only the federal and state governments to the exclusion of the local government while all the three arms of governments regulate items in residual list.

The permanent secretary thanked the HOSF for the award of contract for the reactivation of elevators in Radio House, the Headquarters of the Ministry.