Righthussle:


They didn't lose their seats because it's only a speaker that can declare their seats vacant.

The court can also declare their seats vacant due to their unconditional decision

Kogi State government has announced that some of the kidnapped students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology CUSTECH, in Osara, Adavi council area of the state has been rescued by security operatives in the state.


The stage government made this known in a statement on Sunday signed by the state commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo.


Fanwo who did not stated the actual numbers of the rescued students said a DSS officers and a vigikante were however shot at by the adbuctirs during a cross fire.


The statement read apart, ” This is to inform the general public that some of the students abducted by gun men
at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara have been rescued safely by local hunters and other security agents, hours after the Executive Governor of the State, His Excellency Alh Ahmed Usman Ododo visited the institution to assure parents of his commitment to rescuing the students.

“The vigilante men and security agents engaged the kidnappers in a fierce shootout and the kidnappers succumbed to superior firepower and escaped with gun wounds, leaving the kidnapped students who also ran in different directions to avoid being caught up in the fire exchange.


“Many of the students kidnapped and even other people in captivity have been rescued and taken to medical facilities for proper attention, while many others were also rescued in the early hours of today.

“Security agents are currently combing the forests to ensure all the kidnapped students are found and brought home safely.

“In the sporadic gun battle to rescue our dear students, a local hunter and a DSS operative sustained injuries and they are currently receiving medical attention.

“We commend our local hunters and all the conventional security agents for their bravery and gallantry.


“Of special commendation is the DSS for acting on credible intelligence to coordinate a fearless confrontation on the outlaws. The security agencies have once again demonstrated why Kogi State will remain an uncomfortable place for bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements.

“The success recorded so far is a clear testament of the readiness of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to ensure adequate and uncompromising security for the people of Kogi State.

“We urge residents to report anyone with gun wounds found in their communities to law enforcement agents”.

Gunmen had on Thursday night stormed the school and kidnalled some of the students who were reading for their exams expected to commence on Monday.


The state government had said 9 of the students were abducted.


© 2024 Vanguard Media Limited, Nigeria

‌

Rivers State has 32 state constituencies. This means that the state has 32 House of Assembly members. Currently, there are two factions of the House. One led by Martin Amaewhule and the other led by the new speaker, Oko Jumbo.

All the House of Assembly members were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election. However, about 27 of them had long defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). One of them had died last year and the independent national electoral commission (INEC) is yet to conduct a by-election to fill the vacancy several months later.


That the defected lawmakers have a greater number on their side does not confer legitimacy on them. Their defection to the APC is still a subject of litigation by a group of civil society organization. The minority faction even with just three members including the speaker has legitimacy on their side. The greater number or greater amount of illegality can never make it legal.

The minority faction which had last year passed the current fiscal budget for the state has all legitimacy and constitutionality on its side. In this case, numbers do not matter. For instance, assuming in a state assembly that comprises 50 lawmakers, 47 of them unfortunately have a fatal accident like a plane crash (God forbid), will the surviving three lawmakers not carry out their duties as lawmakers until the 47 vacancies are filled? Will the remaining three lawmakers not elect a speaker among themselves to continue with the business of legislation or will the state be grounded until the 47 vacancies are filled?

Since Rivers State has two factions of the state assembly now, the activities of the other faction even with greater majority will remain null, void and of no effect until the courts of the land interpret their defection. All their activities so far including the purported intention to impeach the governor will remain invalid until perhaps the supreme court finally confers legitimacy on them by upholding their defection to the APC. Unfortunately for them, they can not return to the PDP now even if they so wish. They shot themselves on the foot by hurriedly defecting to the APC even when their godfather is still claiming to still be a member of the PDP. They would have had every authority and legality to frustrate the governor as they are currently doing if they had remained in the PDP with their overwhelming majority. But God put confusion in their midst and they made a costly mistake of defection. Nigerians are waiting to see how the courts of the land will interpret their defection since there’s no crisis in their former party.

Just like the governor recently said, they are floating on air. It’s just a matter of time before they know their fate on the issue of defection. It behoves on the Nigerian courts to give this matter speedy or accelerated hearings and conclusion since the matter of interpreting defection does not require a load of exhibits and calling of witnesses. This matter can be thrashed out within a year even if it goes up to the supreme court. The interpretations of the courts will also help to deepen democracy in the country. The final interpretation of this vexatious issue of defection will set a precedent in the country even though there seems to be a precedent already on the matter.

Ifeanyi Maduako, Owerri via ifeanyimaduako2017@gmail.com

Nazgul:

The problem here is that most Nigerians believe that seatbelt was created for only those at the front seat.

I don't think I've ever seen anybody using the seatbelt at the back seat.

Sadly they're the ones who suffer the most whenever there's an accident cos they're not on seatbelt.

Road safety corps are not doing enough sensitization

Iceberg3:

It's obvious you gat a big problem with comprehension

It's you that lacks understanding

helinues:
That accident must be fatal

Too bad

yes it is a fatal accident

enci:
So these people has taken this to high institution

nowhere is safe in Nigeria right now, since the government refuse in tackling the security challenges head on

Paraman:
All this service chiefs need to go

Nigeria security architecture is faulty

Selecting a PIN code takes only a moment, but it is worth putting effort into it and choosing a combination that will be difficult to guess. Unfortunately, many people ignore security considerations and set just any PIN.

The most at-risk PIN codes also include the following combinations:


1234
1111
0000
1212
7777
1004
2000
4444
2222
6969
2580
They are easy to remember, but also easy to break such "security." We might as well have none at all.

If you have such a PIN, be sure to change it. Codes consisting of four of the same numbers will be weak security, even if they are not on this list. 3333, 5555 or 6666 is also a bad idea.

Which PINs are best to choose and which ones to avoid?
You should not share your PIN with anyone and should change it regularly


It is also not recommended to set your date of birth as your PIN. Many people do this, but it is poor security because it is not secret information. After all, no one hides when their birthday is. Sometimes you just need to go to someone's Facebook to find out. Thieves are aware of this.

It is best to choose a combination of numbers that has nothing to do with us. These should be completely random numbers that have no connection with each other in any way. The harder it is to remember the PIN, the better.

Avoid these 3 mistakes whenever you pay with your ATM card

Forgetting your PIN is a problem, but it can be solved in a few minutes by calling your bank's hotline. And if someone robs us, recovering the money is much more difficult and takes much longer. It will not always be possible. Therefore, it is better to choose difficult PIN codes.

Security experts also warn against writing down your PIN. The worst thing you can do is carry a card with this number stuck to your ATM card. Never do that.

Soldiers of the Nigerian Army who have been laying siege on the Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State since March 14, 2024, following the killing of 17 army officers and soldiers on a peace mission, have been pulled out from the community.

Local sources from Akugbene and Okoloba communities in Bomadi Local Government Area told newsmen on Wednesday that “the military troops were sighted suddenly pulling out of Okuama community on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.”

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, while confirming the troops withdrawal from Okuama community, lauded President Bola Tinubu and the military high command for their interventions.

Oborevwori, at a media briefing, said that with the withdrawal of the troops, the people of Okuama could now safely return to their homes and begin the process of reintegration and rebuilding their homes and community.


The governor said, “My dear good people of Delta State, I have the pleasure to announce to you that, upon many deliberations and collaborations between the state government and the military leadership, the Nigerian Army has agreed to withdraw its officers and men from Okuama.

“I spoke with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, on Monday, 6th of May, and as of today, 8th of May, 2024, the military has withdrawn from Okuama.

“With this development, the people of Okuama can now safely return to their homes and begin the process of reintegration and rebuilding their homes.”

Although Oberevwori had earlier appealed to indigenes and farmers to move into a rehabilitation camp being set up for Internally Displaced Persons by the state government “for proper welfare as a first step towards their resettlement to their community,” Okuama leaders had reportedly expressed reluctance to yield to the governor’s call regarding IDPs.

The Chairman of the State Government Committee to manage the Ewu IDP Camp, Mr. Abraham Ogbodo, who affirmed that the governor had already released N10 million to the Committee to ease the take-off of the Camp site at Ewu Grammar School lamented the noticeable lack of willingness by the Okuama indigenes to move into the IDP camp despite the efforts being put in place.
punchng.com © 1971- 2024 Punch Nigeria Limited

The bank earlier directed all banks to charge a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country starting two weeks from 6 May.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’,” it said.

The directive and the exemption list were contained in a circular signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa.


Below is the list of the exempted banking transactions:

Loan disbursements and repayments
Salary payments

Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer

Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank

Other Financial Institutions instructions to their correspondent banks
Interbank placements

Banks’ transfers to CBN and vice-versa

Inter-branch transfers within a bank

Cheque clearing and settlements
Letters of Credits

Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts

Savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.

Government Social Welfare Programmes transactions e.g. Pension payments

Non-profit and charitable transactions, including donations to registered non-profit organisations or charities

Educational institutions’ transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions

Transactions involving bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.



© 2024 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Nightwolf1:
Thièfnubu is anywhere belle face. He is a very big otondo.

This is a good move

BRICS member India finalized a major trade partnership with Nigeria on Friday switching away from the US dollar. Both countries will use local currencies in the bilateral trade agreement for energy, pharmaceuticals, and transport sectors. India and Nigeria have agreed to cooperate and settle trade in local currencies and not the US dollar.

However, the local currency in question is yet to be finalized and could be either the Indian rupee or the Nigerian naira. The agreement comes at a time when BRICS is looking to uproot the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS ditches the dollar for trade.

India and Nigeria’s latest trade agreement extends cooperation in the sectors of energy, pharmaceuticals, and transport. The delegation from India to Nigeria included officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), EXIM Bank of India, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).


“Both sides agreed to the early conclusion of the Local Currency Settlement System Agreement to further strengthen bilateral economic ties,” the ministry said. The move shows that BRICS nation India is keen on ending reliance on the US dollar to boost the rupee’s prospects.

Nigeria is India’s second-largest trading partner in Africa and has expressed interest in joining BRICS. Trade between the two countries stood at $11.8 billion in FY 2022-23. In 2023-24, the bilateral trade between India and Nigeria stood at $7.89 billion. BRICS is advancing to put local currencies ahead of the US dollar in most of their trade and transactions.


If the development continues on a larger scale, the US dollar will remain in jeopardy. Also, the BRICS alliance revealed that the de-dollarization agenda is a long-term plan, therefore the next decade will be challenging for the US dollar

© Copyright 2024 Watcher.Guru

The CBN issued a circular to that effect on Monday, May 6 and stipulated that the new levy comes into force two weeks from that date, which is Monday May 20.

The circular was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.


The circular read in part, “Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act’, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.

“Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular added.


Exempted from the levy include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

Also exempted from the levy are inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

The apex bank recently stopped fintechs firms like Opay and Palmpay from onboarding new customers and directed banks to deduct 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.



Copyright © 2024 Blueprint Newspapers Limited.

Betanaija42moro:
This is a confirmation that Reno is just a jobless man. He is just looking for an appointment and he can't get it because even Tinubu knows that he is a serial betrayer and can not be taken serious.

Reno is where belly face
He is so bitter because Obi didn't allow him to manage his social media handles again.

Reno has no job or business, so I can't take him serious.

Let him keep waiting for government appointment

All well meaning Nigerians knew that Reno and FFK are not to be trusted,their stock in trade is betrayal

Nigeria is now among the dangerous countries to live in

This is one of the surviving and thriving SME that contribute enomously to nations economic growth

The government now want to frustrate them like they did to other SME's

harvenghor:
Fake News, ceasefire didn't fall short. The Jewish killers refused it deliberately so they can invade and kill more people.

Hamas accepted the deal way earlier already, Israel is killer State

on the contrary Hamas are the killers, Israel have to act strong to live in their midst

Israeli airstrikes killed multiple people in Rafah early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, after Israel reiterated its commitment to an offensive in southern Gaza, saying ceasefire terms responded to by Hamas were "far from" meeting its demands.
Israel said its war cabinet had "unanimously decided" to continue with the Rafah operation "to exert military pressure on Hamas." However, Israel will send a delegation for further talks, which Qatar said would resume Tuesday.
Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled to the city during seven months of war.
The White House said the US remains opposed to an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, while the UN chief said such a move would be "intolerable."


Palestinians flee from Rafah, Gaza Strip, on May 6. Ramadan Abed/Reuters
Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city.

“We left because they distributed leaflets,” Mohammed Ghanem, a resident in eastern Rafah told a CNN stringer in the area on Monday. “(They) are striking everywhere without differentiating between children, adults, militants or non-militants. I left my house that I have been building for 17 years.”
Ghanem and his wife were pushing strollers piled high with belongings. “We no longer have a home. We are heading to Mawasi because there is no safety with the Israelis. They are killing women and children,” he said.

Another woman from eastern Rafah said, “The Israelis sent us messages ordering us to leave. We cannot stay.”

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military called on an estimated 100,000 Palestinians living in parts of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately,” telling them to move to Al-Mawasi, a coastal town near the city of Khan Younis that aid groups say is not appropriate for habitation.

In a statement, the office of Israel’s prime minister said the country’s war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue with the Rafah operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas.”



Israeli airstrikes killed multiple people in Rafah early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, after Israel reiterated its commitment to an offensive in southern Gaza.

Israel has vowed to "exert military pressure on Hamas" in Rafah after saying the ceasefire terms the Palestinian militant group responded to Monday were "far from" meeting its demands.

International leaders, including the United Nations chief, have urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal as tensions escalate on the ground after the Israeli military called on Palestinians in eastern Rafah to "evacuate immediately."


Negotiations stall: Hamas on Monday said it responded a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said the terms Hamas accepted were still far from meeting its "requirements." However, Israel said it will send a delegation to Cairo for further talks, which mediator Qatar said would resume Tuesday.
Deadly strikes: Palestinian officials reported multiple fatalities in Rafah following Israeli airstrikes early Tuesday. It comes after at least 26 people were killed by strikes from late Sunday into the early hours of Monday, the Civil Defense said. Separately, video and images showed multiple explosions in Rafah on Monday night, which US officials said they did not believe to be the beginning of Israel's operation.
Mass evacuations: Palestinians evacuating eastern Rafah described their fear and despair, after Israel's evacuation order raised fears that its long-threatened assault on the city could be imminent. Throughout the war, more than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel’s destruction of much of northern Gaza.
International response: Qatar and Jordan expressed hope for a ceasefire deal, while the White House said the US remains opposed to an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah and that President Joe Biden had been briefed about where things stand on negotiations. Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general warned that a Rafah ground invasion would be "intolerable" and the UN human rights chief called Israel's evacuation order "inhumane."



US President Joe Biden and King Abdullah II of Jordan “discussed the latest developments in Gaza and affirmed their commitment to work together towards an enduring end to the crisis” during their lunch at the White House Monday, the White House said.

“They further underscored the need for an immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas and a sustainable ceasefire that allows for a surge of the urgently needed humanitarian assistance to be delivered safely through Gaza,” a readout of the meeting released by the White House said.
“Both remain committed to achieving a durable, lasting peace to include a pathway to a Palestinian state, with security guarantees for Israel."
Both Biden and Abdullah “reiterated their shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” the White House said. Biden also thanked the king for his “critical leadership and partnership in this effort.”

Abdullah warned Biden in their meeting that an Israeli attack on Rafah, where about 1.4 million Palestinians are internally displaced "threatens to lead to a new massacre," according to a post on X from Jordan's Royal Hashemite Court.



Civil defense teams transport several injured people following Israeli attacks in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Civil defense teams transport several injured people following Israeli attacks in Rafah, southern Gaza. Palestinian Civil Defence
Israeli airstrikes killed a number of Palestinians and injured others early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said.

In a statement published alongside photos of at least two bodies inside body bags, the Palestinian Civil Defense said it had rescued "several injured individuals from under the rubble of several homes which were bombed by Israeli warplanes tonight in various places" in Rafah.
Eight Palestinians were killed in two attacks on Rafah, although the exact timeframe remains unclear, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Rafah's Kuwait hospital said it received 11 dead, according to a post on its Facebook account in the early hours of Tuesday.

The reports come after Israel reiterated its commitment to an offensive in southern Gaza, saying ceasefire terms accepted by Hamas were "far from" meeting its demands.

An Israeli ground invasion of Rafah would be "intolerable," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.

"A ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences and because of its destabilizing impact in the region," the UN chief warned.
Guterres said he had made a "very strong appeal" to both the Israeli government and the leadership of Hamas to "go an extra mile" to reach a ceasefire agreement.

"This is an opportunity that cannot be missed," he added.



Israel says Rafah operations will go ahead as Hamas deal remains "far" from meeting its demands
From CNN's Abeer Salman, Christian Edwards, Becky Anderson and Jeremy Diamond

Israel said the terms of a ceasefire proposal Hamas accepted on Monday remained “far from” meeting its demands and warned its military operations in Rafah would continue, even as it sent negotiators to talk to mediators.

In a statement Monday, Hamas said the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian intelligence minister that the militant group had accepted their proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Palestinians celebrated that statement in the streets of Gaza, while in Tel Aviv, hostage families and their supporters implored Israel’s leaders to accept the deal.

However, shortly afterwards, Israel said the terms Hamas had accepted were still far from meeting its “requirements,” and reiterated its commitment to an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying its war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue with the operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas.” It did agree, though, to send a delegation to the mediators for further talks.
Later on Monday evening, the Israel Defense Forces said it was “conducting targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.” Video and images obtained by CNN showed multiple explosions in the Rafah area on Monday night.

CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid said Israeli forces were going to take over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the next few hours, citing two sources with direct knowledge.

The news comes just hours after Israel ordered Palestinians living in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, to “evacuate immediately.”

The order raised fears that Israel’s long-threatened assault on the city could be imminent. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel’s destruction of much of the north of Gaza.


Sounds of apparent gunfire at the Rafah border crossing were heard from the Egyptian side early Tuesday, in footage from Egyptian state broadcaster Al Qahera News





A view of lighting flare fired by the Israeli army in Rafah, Gaza on May 6. Hani Alshaer/Anadolu/Getty Images
Video and images obtained by CNN showed multiple explosions in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Monday night.

Local social media accounts reported the explosions were to the east of Rafah, an area where the Israel Defense Forces had ordered an evacuation of civilians earlier Monday.

The United States is closely monitoring reports of the explosions and has “real concerns” about the situation that is unfolding, but does not believe this is the beginning of a major Israel military operation into southern Gaza, US officials told CNN.

The Biden administration remains opposed to Israel going into Rafah, as White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters repeatedly on Monday. And while the current situation is concerning, these US officials stressed that for now, they believe the reports of strikes in Rafah are limited in scope.



Indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas will continue on Tuesday, with a Qatari delegation heading to Cairo, according to the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spokesperson Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari said in a statement early Tuesday that the continued negotiations come after Hamas sent a response about a possible proposal, which "can be described as positive."

Al-Ansari expressed Qatar's "hope that the talks will culminate in reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of prisoners and detainees, and the sustainable flow of humanitarian aid into all areas of the Strip."

There have been international calls for an agreement to be reached on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called on the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal after Hamas said it accepted a deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar.

The Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi also expressed his hope for a deal to be met on X.

Hamas has said it responded to a deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, but a senior Israeli and a US official said Hamas' response was to a different proposal than one Israel helped craft.

Israel said the proposal Hamas accepted was far from the "necessary requirements," while Hamas has said it would not back down from its demands in the proposal it agreed to.



© 2024 Cable News Network.

The US-Africa Business Summit aims to foster economic cooperation and explore investment opportunities between the United States and African countries.
Besides the summit plenary, the Foreign Minister is expected to speak at the Roundtable on African Infrastructure Investment with a focus on impact and returns.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, will now represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, not Vice President Kashim Shettima, as announced earlier.

“Vice President Kashim Shettima who was originally scheduled to represent the President was unable to make the trip following a technical fault with his aircraft, forcing him to make a detour on the advice of the Presidential Air Fleet,” the Presidency revealed in a statement signed Monday evening by the Shettima’s Spokesperson, Mr. Stanley Nkwocha.


The statement is titled ‘Minister of Foreign Affairs To Now Represent President Tinubu at US-Africa Summit.’

Nkwocha said the Vice President who has since returned to Abuja “will carry on with other national duties.”

The high-profile summit, taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, will bring together political and business leaders from across Africa, the United States, and other regions.


Hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, it features high-level dialogues, networking sessions, and plenaries.

African leaders expected at the summit are Presidents Joseph Boakai of Liberia; Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi; Joao Lourenço Angola; Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi of the Republic of Botswana; José Maria Neves of Cabo Verde and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Nthomeng Majara.

The US-Africa Business Summit aims to foster economic cooperation and explore investment opportunities between the United States and African countries.

Besides the summit plenary, the Foreign Minister is expected to speak at the Roundtable on African Infrastructure Investment with a focus on impact and returns.

He is also scheduled to speak on a high-level panel on agribusiness, focusing on transiting “from food insecurity to thriving agribusinesses”.


Additionally, Tuggar will speak at a plenary session on Navigating Africa’s Energy Future as well as chair a session dedicated to promoting the ‘invest in Nigeria’ initiative.

He is also expected to attend other meetings and engagements on the sideline of the summit, the statement read.

Tuggar is expected back in the country at the end of his engagements in the US.



© 2022 WITHIN NIGERIA MEDIA LTD.

The Israeli military on Monday said it was asking tens of thousands of Gazans sheltering in eastern Rafah to temporarily evacuate to what it described as a humanitarian zone, a sign that Israel was inching closer to invading the city in defiance of international pressure.

By 9 a.m. local time, the military had begun dropping leaflets in eastern Rafah ordering people to evacuate. The Israeli military said it would also use text messages, phone calls and broadcasts in Arabic to warn residents of Rafah to leave.

Since the start of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza last year, about a million people have fled to Rafah, the southernmost city in the enclave, where they have been living in dire conditions. Israel has told civilians to evacuate from their homes for safety repeatedly since the start of the war. But in many instances the places Israel said would be safe for Gazans were also targeted by Israeli airstrikes.



Israel’s closest allies, including the United States, have been urging it to not send troops into Rafah, saying such an operation would take a heavy toll on civilians. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected those calls, saying Israel needs to defend itself and eliminate Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Mr. Netanyahu’s stance on Rafah has complicated cease-fire talks and raised concerns about the hostages Hamas is still holding. An agreement has remained elusive, as Mr. Netanyahu has suggested openness to only a temporary halt in fighting while Hamas has sought a permanent one. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu repeated his promises to destroy Hamas.

“If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” Mr. Netanyahu said in English, in a speech marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. “But we know we are not alone because countless decent people around the world support our just cause. And I say to you, we will defeat our genocidal enemies. Never again is now!”

About two weeks ago, the Israeli authorities said that before they moved on Rafah, they would expand a humanitarian zone in nearby Al-Mawasi where civilians could shelter. On Monday, the Israeli military said that it had done so, and that the zone had field hospitals, tents and larger supplies of food, water and medicines.

The military is not calling for a “wide-scale evacuation of Rafah,” Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman, said on Monday. “This is a very specific scoped operation at the moment to move people out of harm’s way.”

On Monday, the Israeli military, known formally as the Israel Defense Forces, seemed to foreshadow its next move in Rafah.

“The I.D.F. will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home,” it said in a statement.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday rejected international pressure to rein in its military campaign in Gaza and, speaking at a Holocaust memorial, asserted Israel’s right to fight its “genocidal enemies.”

Nearly seven months into the war, Mr. Netanyahu has been steadfast in his goal of destroying Hamas. This, and Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence on sending troops into Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, has complicated efforts to end the fighting and raised concerns about the future of the hostages held by Hamas.


On Sunday, he spoke at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, to mark the national Holocaust remembrance day. Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, he said, was not a “Holocaust” — not because Hamas did not have the intention to destroy Israel but because of its inability to do so. About 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage that day, Israeli authorities say. Hamas’s intention, Mr. Netanyahu said, was the same as that of the Nazis.

In his speech, which lasted for about 15 minutes and was largely in Hebrew, Mr. Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the war, Gazan authorities say Israeli troops have killed more than 34,000 people, many of them women and children, though the statistics do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel’s military does everything it can to avoid harming civilians and that it has allowed aid to flow through to Gaza to avoid a humanitarian crisis. A United Nations official recently said that parts of Gaza are experiencing “full-blown famine.”

Mr. Netanyahu made a point to say a few words in English that were aimed at the international community. He invoked the Holocaust in asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, with or without international support.

“If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” he said. “But we know we are not alone because countless decent people around the world support our just cause. And I say to you, we will defeat our genocidal enemies. Never again is now!”

On Monday morning after his speech, the Israeli military gave the strongest signal yet that it was going to invade Rafah as it asked tens of thousands of Gazans to evacuate from the city.


The failure to strike a deal meant Palestinians in Gaza would not experience an imminent reprieve and the families of hostages would have to wait longer for the freedom of their loved ones.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The latest round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit an impasse on Sunday as mediators struggled to bridge remaining gaps and a Hamas delegation departed the talks in Cairo, according to two senior Hamas officials and two other officials familiar with the talks. An Israeli official also confirmed the negotiations had stalled and described them as being in “crisis.”

For months, the negotiations aimed at achieving a cease-fire and a release of hostages have made little progress, but signs the two sides were coming closer to an agreement appeared over the last week. Israel backed off some of its long-held demands and a top Hamas official said the group was studying the latest Israeli offer with a “positive spirit.”

But the setback over the weekend meant Palestinians living in miserable conditions in Gaza would not experience an imminent reprieve and the families of hostages held by militants would have to wait longer for the freedom of their loved ones.

The main obstacle in the talks was the duration of a cease-fire, with Hamas demanding it be permanent and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressing openness to only a temporary halt in the fighting.

Hamas blamed the lack of progress on Mr. Netanyahu, who vowed again in recent days that the Israeli army will invade Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip, with or without an agreement.

“We were very close, but Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness aborted an agreement,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said in a phone interview.

Mr. Netanyahu has for weeks declared his intention to stage a ground offensive aimed at Rafah, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering. The Biden administration has been pressing Israel to refrain from undertaking a major operation in the city.

On Sunday, Hamas fired roughly 10 rockets from the area of the Rafah border crossing, killing three soldiers near the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to Israel’s military. Rocket attacks by Hamas have been relatively rare in recent months, and Israel said it had responded with airstrikes targeting the site of the launches.

The Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Israel and Hamas were closer to a deal a couple of days ago, but that Mr. Netanyahu’s statements about Rafah had compelled Hamas to harden its demands in an attempt to ensure that Israeli forces won’t enter the city. Hamas, the official said, was now seeking further guarantees that Israel would not implement only part of an agreement, and then resume fighting.

The official lamented that Hamas and Israel had shifted gears to playing a “blame game.”

Two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, pushed back on the notion the talks were at an impasse, suggesting that parties were still reviewing details of the most recent proposals.

Mr. Netanyahu and the United States have been contending that Hamas was holding up an agreement. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said he would not agree to the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an end to the war. Countenancing such demands, he said, would allow Hamas to re-establish control over Gaza, rebuild their military capabilities, and threaten communities throughout Israel.

“It is Hamas that is holding up the release of our hostages,” he said. “We are working in every possible way to free the hostages; this is our top priority.”

An Israeli delegation never made it to Cairo for the latest round of talks. The Israeli official said that Israel had sought a written response to its latest proposal from Hamas before dispatching a delegation, but that the group never conveyed one.

Mr. Abu Marzouk said Hamas had wanted Israel to be present at the talks in Cairo, where they could have worked through mediators to clarify “vague” points in the latest Israeli offer, including on the duration of a cease-fire.

Mr. Abu Marzouk was the only one of the officials who spoke about the talks to allow the use of his name. The others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Hamas, Mr. Abu Marzouk said, thought that Mr. Netanyahu wanted an agreement that would permit Israel to invade Rafah after its hostages are released.


A technical team from the Qatari foreign ministry also left the Egyptian capital on Sunday, two officials briefed on the talks said. Bill Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Sunday to discuss getting the talks back on track, one of the officials said.

On Monday, Hamas’s political leadership will convene in Doha to discuss what unfolded in Cairo over the past two days, but the group intended to continue participating in negotiations with “positivity,” said one of the senior Hamas officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A report in Al-Qahera News, an Egyptian state-owned television channel, said that a Hamas delegation would return to Cairo on Tuesday, but the senior Hamas official said that the group hadn’t made a decision yet.

Peter Baker and Michael Crowley contributed reporting to this article.

— Adam Rasgon reporting from Jerusalem
Show more
Media experts condemn Israel’s move against Al Jazeera.
Image
The Al Jazeera newsroom, with rows of desks and an array of video screens above.
Al-Jazeera’s newsroom in Doha, Qatar. The Israeli government cited national security concerns in shutting down the network’s operations in Israel.Credit...Karim Jaafar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The Israeli government’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in that country and block its reports there was condemned by American media and free speech experts as a troubling precedent and further evidence that Israel was engaging in a harsh wartime crackdown on democratic freedoms.

The experts noted that it was rare for a democratic government like Israel’s to close down a foreign news outlet. The government described its move as a national security necessity.

But invoking national security as the basis for barring a news organization from operating in a country is “incredibly vague” and “way outside the bounds of democratic norms,” said Joel Simon, director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said that closing off a country to information, news and ideas from abroad has long been a hallmark of repressive governments.

“The legitimacy of any democracy turns in part on its citizens having unrestricted access to foreign media,” Mr. Jaffer said.

Some free speech advocates acknowledged that the United States seems to be pulling back from its role as a champion of information freedom. Washington is moving to ban TikTok, the popular social media app with a Chinese parent company, unless it is sold to American investors.

But Israel, they said, is a different case. Shutting down Al Jazeera is the latest step in “a broad attack on press and speech freedom” by the Israeli government, said Genevieve Lakier, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who writes about freedom of speech. Israel’s actions, she added, are “inconsistent with a commitment to democratic values.”




© 2024 The New York Times Company

The extraordinary order includes seizing broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites.

Israel has ordered the local offices of Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday.




The extraordinary order includes seizing broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites.



This is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet, ABC News reports.



Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main cable and satellite providers following the order but its website and multiple online streaming links still operated Sunday.



The network has reported the Israeli-Hamas war nonstop since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 and the war that followed in Gaza.



While including on-the-ground reporting of the war's casualties, its Arabic arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region.



“Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “It’s time to remove the Hamas mouthpiece from our country.”



Al Jazeera issued a statement vowing it will “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions in its quest to protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information.”



“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” the network said. “Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera."



Israeli media said the order allows Israel to block the channel from operating in the country for 45 days.

Copyright © 2006–2024 Sahara Reporters, Inc.

The visit by Vice President Kashim Shettima to the United States of America, for the US-Africa Business Summit, has created leadership vacuum at the nation’s seat of power as President Bola Tinubu is yet to arrive Nigeria, six days after attending the Special World Economic Forum WEF meeting.

A statement by Stanley Nkwocha, the senior special assistant to The President on Media & Communications (office of the Vice President), said the Vice President was to depart Abuja on Sunday for Dallas, United States of America, to represent the President at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa.


The statement said the Vice President will join other political and business leaders across Africa, the United States of America and beyond for the summit featuring high-level dialogues, networking business sessions and the plenary, all scheduled for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.


Among African leaders expected at the summit include, Joseph Boakai, President, Republic of Liberia; Lazarus Chakwera, President, Republic of Malawi; Joao Lourenço, President, Republic of Angola;


Others are Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, President, Republic of Botswana; José Maria Neves, President, Republic of Cabo Verde, and Nthomeng Majara, Deputy Prime Minister, Kingdom of Lesotho.


Besides the summit plenary, Sen. Shettima is expected to speak at the Roundtable on African Infrastructure Investment with a focus on impact and returns. He is also scheduled to speak on a high-level panel on agribusiness, focusing on transiting “from food insecurity to thriving agribusinesses”.

Additionally, the Vice President is also expected to speak at a plenary session on Navigating Africa’s Energy Future as well as chair a session dedicated to promoting the ‘invest in Nigeria’ initiative.

He is also expected to attend other meetings and engagements on the sideline of the summit.

Vice President Shettima is expected back in the country at the end of his engagements in the US.


It will be recalled that the Vice President had also represented the President on April 28 at the International Development Association (IDA21) Heads of State Summit taking place tomorrow in Nairobi, Kenya, when the President went to Saudi Arabia


This visit to the US is coming even as President Bola Tinubu is yet to return to Nigeria, six days after the the conclusion of the World Economic Forum WEF, meeting in Saudi Arabia.

The President had left Nigeria on Tuesday, April 23, for a two leg foreign trips that took him first, to the Kingdom of the Netherlands on an official visit, from where he proceeded to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Special meeting of the World Economic Forum WEF, from April 28 to 29, 2024.

Ajuri Ngelale, the Presidential Spokesman, had in a statement, said the visit to the Netherlands, was at the invitation of Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

While in the Netherlands, the President had participated in the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum that will bring together heads of conglomerates and organizations in both countries to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, especially in agriculture and water management towards innovative solutions for sustainable farming practices.


At the World Economic Forum meeting, which focused on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development, President Tinubu and his entourage actively participated in the discussions, using the opportunity of the gathering to strike economic deals, with the like of Bill Gates, founder of the Microsoft

But while other government officials who accompanied the President have arrived, Nigeria, the President is yet to arrive.

Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Spokesman, could not be reached for his comments on the whereabout of the President

But a top Presidency source however told BusinessDay that the President proceeded to the United Kingdom for undisclosed reasons

The top Presidency official who does not want his name in print noted that it has been the usual practice for the “President to take time off, after such hectic meetings and engagements”


” According to him, ” the President’s absence has not affected government business, he was been working and the Vice President is also on ground.”

He however could not say when the President will be back to the country.

Another source also dismissed that there is leadership vacuum.

He asserted that the machinery of governance has remained in operation, thus, there can’t be vacuum

” The SGF is there, the Chief of Staff to the President is in his office working and ditto all the Minister’s.

” The President can work from anywhere. So, let me assure you that there is no vacuum anywhere”

The President had September last year, also proceeded to France, after attending the UN General Assembly in New York.

© 2023 - Businessday NG.

MyVILLAGEpeople:


Do the Nigerian police know this themselves?

majority of them are illiterates

Anyenmoney:
Obaseki used his first tenure to fight Oshiomhole and used is second tenure to fight shuaibu,.

Now he is bringing his "preferred candidate"

I am based in first Ugbor, GRA Benin city and we are patiently waiting for the coming election.

to collect stipends

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” – Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review.

From airports to roads, from hospitals to schools, we call it elephant projects, they are dead horses for me, national embarrassments. If you’ve ever worked in government or the private sector, you may be all too familiar with similar projects running on life support.

In Nigeria, it is not just about airports, after all, we were recently told that a whole airport in Abia state only existed in the figment of someone’s imagination, money gone, no airport anywhere, at least an airport is not something that just disappears or can be hidden.

Anyway, this admonition is nowhere near anything about airports, and talking about airports, how about the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill? It is not a mill, it is not rolling and there are no steel products anywhere near. You will be forgiven to think that this is about the steel rolling mill, but again it is not. It is also not about the Lagos – Ibadan expressway or the Abuja – Lokoja expressway. This episode of mine is not about the imaginary resuscitation of the Kaduna textiles.



The Dead Horse Theory states that “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” In the context of business and bureaucracy, the meme refers to a failed project which is nonetheless kept alive by wilfully ignorant management. Sage advice. But let’s start from the beginning.

The Tribal wisdom of the Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” However, in modern business, education and government, far more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Threatening the horse with termination.

4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

5. Arranging to visit other countries to see how others ride dead horses.

6. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

7. Re-classifying the dead horse as ‘living-impaired’.

8. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

9. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase the speed.

10. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse’s performance.

11. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance.

12. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and, therefore, contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

13. Re-writing the expected performance requirements for all horses.

14. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position of hiring another horse.

I have yet to meet someone with experience in business and government to whom this bizarre analogy doesn’t make perfect sense. Would I be wrong to assume that you have no problem recalling your own personal dead horse story?

A story told with frustration, passion and incredulity. It doesn’t have to be a colossal airport disaster or Ajaokuta. Any lost cause or pointless project that mainly serves as a black hole for resources will do. The chance to save the dead horse’s life by doing a premortem analysis was missed. So, to figure out what happened, let’s do a brief post-mortem on the dead horse.

The first underlying assumption of the Dead Horse Theory is that the horse has in fact met its maker. This makes it seem like pronouncing it dead was an objective and straightforward exercise. The implication is: Dismounting and abandoning the failed endeavour is not only possible but highly advisable. The list of “advanced strategies” reduces the seemingly simple solution to absurdity. It implies that the failed endeavour is an open secret. Yet, there’s no shortage of plans on how to solve the unsolvable.


It looks like we’re dealing with an exasperating mix of groupthink, wilful blindness and wishful thinking. Something is keeping people from doing the obvious, from dismounting the dead horse, from abandoning the lost cause. On top of that, there are no mechanisms such as institutionalised devil’s advocacy that brings these issues to light. Let’s brainstorm a few reasons why:

Know-How: The will to dismount is there. But nobody knows how and what mode of transportation to take instead.
Responsibility: It’s not anyone’s call to issue the death certificate and arrange the funeral of the poor horse. Instead, they might be engaged in an eternal game of buck-passing.
Vested Interest: Whoever could make the call profits from the horse being deemed alive and well.
Investment: Similarly, there may be too much financial or emotional investment at stake.
Ego: As a result, the reputational damage of abandoning the dead horse is too high. Withdrawing gracefully feels impossible.
Whatever it is, living an awkward lie seems to be preferable over admitting the nag should be buried six feet under. That puts the virtuous and principled employee in a bind. On the one hand, you don’t want to pour fuel into the fire of collective delusion. On the other hand, dismounting and abandoning your post might not be your preferred course of action either.

You see the Nigerian looks upon Nigeria as a theatre and the entire population representing and manifesting the full spectrum of acts and actors. In this revelry, life is the theatre; the nation is the stage upon which we perform. The politicians and a few of us are the actors, very often mediocre. When stars appear it is more often because a play must have a star rather than because the player is possessed of some dramatic genius. We falter and we muff our lines; sometimes our performance takes on an aspect of the grotesque-nobody takes this seriously because it is perceived as being the nature of the play. Our people become the audience.

The fact is that in the last 24 years I have averaged a one per year article on fuel or petroleum motor spirit palaver in Nigeria, from subsidies, to scarcity, to long queues to price increase, it is a story that is as old as the first car driven by fuel in Nigeria.

It is one of our many dead horses, just some stone throw few years ago, the federal government blamed the ongoing fuel scarcity on increased demand by nations in temperate regions. Addressing State House correspondents after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the then Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said: “This is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products from petroleum during winter in the colder countries. This is what we are experiencing now.”

Mohammed also insisted: “The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of petrol.”

Marketers meanwhile at same time blamed the NNPC for alleged favouritism in distribution of petrol. At the same time Kachikwu the then minister of state for petroleum at a press briefing in Abuja blamed the fuel crisis on the gap in supply of petroleum products. “There was obviously some level of gap in terms of volume. That gap arises from the fact that NNPC is the only one that is importing products currently.

This is a ministry that in the last 24 years the president has continued to oversee as senior minister, yet it remains a dead horse! Deceased horses are an opportunity to accept things as they are. As soon as you realise you’re riding a dead horse, feel free to dismount and find one with a better health record. Alternatively, you may want to stoically commit yourself to the horse’s resurrection. In order to show the futility of the whole effort, or on the off-chance that you were wrong and the horse was only in a state of apparent death. May Nigeria win…on a dead horse–Only time will tell

Copyright © 2024 Blueprint Newspapers Limited

The Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, weekend, launched a N1 billion monthly feeding initiative for poor residents.

Obaseki claimed that the exercise is not political, but for God and humanity.


He stated that government officials would not be involved in the utilisation of the fund and distribution of food items to residents.

The governor said the exercise would be implemented by Christian leaders in the state, because according to him, “when people are hungry, they don’t come to the government house, but go the Church.”

Obaseki also noted: “We are also doing something similar for the muslims because we want an all inclusive Edo where everyone who live here should feel they are part of the state.”


Continuing, he said: “I had a meeting with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Edo State and I said I will give them 1billion naira every month for the first three months.

“We looked at the poverty map in Edo, how many poor people we can feed. Do you have churches in this areas and how can we reach them.?

“So, I am here because I don’t like commissioning, but the chairman (CAN) said that we want you to come so the people can know that this programme exist.

“But What we are doing is a duty of government and the only difference here is the church that is procuring the items and you are not taken the money out of Edo state.”

In his remarks, Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) who is also Chairman, Organising Committee, Apostle Irekpono Omoike, thanked the governor for the initiative.

He said 10kg of 60,000 bags rice been purchased for onward distribution.



Copyright © 2024 Blueprint Newspapers Limited.

chiiraq802:
Nigeria has always been a failed state.

yes,he realizes it very late

softtorce:
Where is the link to this lie

digest the message, you are fond of looking for what is not lost,this attitude if yours will truncate your progress in life

Mr. Donald Duke, former governor of Cross River State, has noted that Nigeria is technically a failed state, as it cannot meet the basic expectations of its citizens, which according to him, is the hallmark of a failed nation.

Mr. Duke said this while delivering his opening remarks as chairman of the occasion during the Prince Emeka Obasi Inaugural Memorial Lecture held on Thursday at the Muson Centre Onikan Lagos, with the theme, ‘If This Giant Must Walk; Manifesto for a New Nigeria.’

He noted that Nigeria has been moving backwards since the 1970s, while remarking that the question is not whether the country will walk, but whether it’s walking backwards of forward.

“Between 1979 and 1983 when Shehu Shagari was president, Nigeria’s annual budget hovered around $25bn. Our population was about 80 million to 90 million at the time. That was over 40 years ago. Today, our population as they say is over 200 million, but our annual budget is $19bn,” he said.

“I said this to bring into context where we are as a people. It’s not not for Nigeria to walk, it’s how are you walking? Are you moonwalking or are you walking forward? Moonwalking is what we’ve been doing for the last 40 years. We’ve been moving backwards. So, you can now put into context the pressure if the annual budget of our nation is $19bn 40 years after it was $25bn and the population has more than doubled. Then you can understand the challenges we’re facing, whether it’s banditry, or farmers herders clashes and everything in-between. The fact is that there are more people sharing smaller resources. We have not grown.”

Mr. Duke argued that growth is not about adding zeros to the currency, and presenting budgets that run into trillions, which he said is mere deception. According to him, the country is simply living a lie.

“You can put all the zeros behind the currency, but we’re deceiving ourselves because we’re living a lie. Recently, treasury bills were sold at about 22 percent in dollars. Where in the world will you get 22 percent under 12 months? So, they now turned around to say it was oversubscribed by 245 percent. Of course, It would be oversubscribed, but at the end of the day, can you pay back? What are you doing with the money that will generate 22 percent to enable you pay back in 12 months? He wondered.

“So, you could see a nation that is walking itself into a trap with eyes wild open. What are the policies that would generate growth? You are fighting inflation, it’s good to fight inflation, but which is more important? Inflation or growth? You can’t get a loan from the bank for less than 35 percent. That’s enemical to growth to start with. Then, you are micromanaging the exchange rate, yet you are not producing. If you are going to import everything as we do, and there are those very sexy economists that would say, let’s have marked forces. For you to have marked forces, there must be some equity.

“You can’t have an open, competitive system with countries whose economies are much stronger than yours. It doesn’t work that way. In life, water finds its level. We have to manage what we have; we have to be productive. In the 70s and early 80s, we had some level of competition. We had industries that were trying to thrive, but today we are importing toothpick. So, it’s an economy that’s not productive, yet it wants to reign in on its foreign exchange. We’re still living as if everything is okay. We’re are sending our children at the age of nine to school abroad, then you go to London for medical check when your eye is hurting. It’s a tough one.”

The former governor noted that contrary to the popular belief, Nigeria has one of the smallest economies in Africa despite being the most populous on the continent.

“We turn around and say we’re the largest economy in Africa. That’s a lie. If you are 200 million people, and you are producing almost nothing, you can be big in absolute terms, but if you take it per capita, you are one of the least economies in Africa, and that’s the truth. So, we have to be real. We have the potential to be one of the greatest nations on earth, but it remains a potential if you don’t take it to actuality,” he said.

“We have to recaliberate our thinking. We can’t go on this way. We’re are a failed state, that’s the truth. Failed state doesn’t mean that you can’t exist any longer. Somalia is still existing, but when you fail to provide the basic expectations of your people, you are technically a failed state. Which sector have we not failed in? Is it education? Is it healthcare? Is it infrastructure?”


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