[font=oswald]No fewer than nine bandits were killed during gun battles with the troops and Special Forces of the Nigerian Army in some locations in Giwa local government area of Kaduna State.

The Kaduna State government, in a statement by the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, on Thursday, explained that the troops cleared a bandits’ camp at a river line around Rafin Sarki and neutralised five bandits in the vicinity, while many others fled.

Aruwan said in another leg of the fierce encounter, the troops and Special Forces cleared a hideout around Galadimawa forest, where four bandits were engaged and neutralised.

The statement said more than a dozen kidnapped women and children were rescued by the troops, having been abandoned by their captors.

“On clearing the camp, the combat-ready officers and men recovered five locally made firearms, five rounds of ammunition, four cartridges, a radio and charger, and one military issue jungle hat,” he added.

Meanwhile, Governor Nasir El-Rufai praised the consistent efforts of the officers and men of the Armed Forces and further thanked them for the feats and successful rescue of the victims.

The State government said offensives in the identified enclaves will continue across the State.

“The Kaduna State Government hereby appeals to citizens to continue to volunteer information on bandits, their hideouts as well as their informants and logisticians, via these phone lines: 09034000060, 08170189999,” the statement added.
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The Senate has threatened that it will not allocate funds to over 100 Federal Government’s Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the 2023 budget for not honouring the invitations of its Committee on Public Accounts investigating the funds released to them from the Service Wide Vote (SWV) from 2017 to 2021.

The releases from the SWV to the MDAs were put at N1.9 trillion by the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC), Matthew Urhoghide, at a media briefing after the zero budgetary allocation threat was made by Senate President Ahmad Lawan at plenary.

Lawan gave the warming after naming over 100 “recalcitrant MDAs” that have refused to honour the Upper Chamber’s summons.

Urhoghide (PDP Edo South) submitted the names to the Senate President during plenary yesterday.

The committee chairman had, through a Point of Order, drawn the Senate’s attention to the “vehement refusal” of the affected agencies to appear before his committee to respond to queries raised against them by the Auditor General of the Federation since 2015.

He said all efforts to get the accounting officers of the affected MDAs to defend the queries had proved abortive.

Urhoghide said: “The agencies that have vehemently refused to appear before our committee: this list of agencies and the amounts that are against their names are staggering.

“I crave your indulgence that we invite them through your order, either by way of warrant of arrest or anything else, so that these agencies can come, so that we can complete our report and submit to this Senate.”

Reacting, Lawan said: “I have some idea of what you are talking about. My worry is that when you write them to appear and they failed, there should be a correspondence. When they fail to appear, you give a new date. When they fail to appear, we won’t give them any money. We hold their budget until they come.


“Any public officer must be willing to give account before the National Assembly. If they feel too big, they should be willing to quit.

“Coming under Order 42, 95, which clearly explains the mandate of the Committee on Public Accounts of the Senate, your Point of Order is sustained fully and completely.

“You are right to bring to the plenary your grievances. Secondly, I once served as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee for eight years.

“Reading this list at plenary gives the agencies concerned the opportunity to know if they were not aware before, for those that may claim ignorance. I am taking the opportunity here to advise that in the next one week, if the name of any agency is here, that agency should reach out to the Committee on Public Accounts of the Senate to sort out when the agency would appear before the committee.

“If there is no communication whatsoever and no cogent and verifiable reasons are given, we will slash the 2023 budget of such MDAs.”

Some of the MDAs, according to Lawan, include: the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Interior, Budget Office of the Federation, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs.

Also affected are: the State House, Presidential Air Fleet, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Nigeria Police Force and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Others are: Ministry of Petroleum Resources, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Federal Ministry of Health, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Civil Service Commission, Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, National Health Insurance Scheme, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ministry of Environment, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC), National Security Adviser (NSA), among others.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Canada Chapter, has declared its readiness to counter false claims directed at the party and its presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The party revealed this in a statement by the chapter’s Chairman, Mr Omololu Apata, on Tuesday in Akure.

Omololu explained that, apart from contributing financially and materially to the party, the APC, Canada chapter, would confront issues of maligning the character of APC’s presidential candidate.

“There’s so much at stake in the forthcoming elections. It is not surprising therefore that in desperation, some people have turned social media to the harbinger of slander and blackmail.

“A committee will be set up to counter any lies or misinformation toward our principal candidate with facts that will invalidate their tissue of lies,” he said.

He said that the party would harness roles that technology would play in ensuring victory for the APC candidate.

“We know our candidate is very keen on the use of technology as a vehicle for economic and social transformation of society.

“We are very hopeful that he will be able to join us for this very important presentation,” he stated.

Omololu lauded the party’s members in Canada for their dedication and steadfastness over the years.

According to him, it is time to come together to support the party and its presidential candidate who has what it takes to take Nigeria to where it truly belongs in the comity of nations.

“Luckily, our chapter can boast of diverse but dedicated members who are also very resourceful.

“After the 2023 elections and with our principal as the president, APC Canada hopes to play a significant role in deepening the existing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Canada.

“Canada is a world powerhouse economically. It is a country to which nature has been so kind and generous.

“Canadians have also utilised those natural resources to an enviable global success,” he stated.

Omololu said that there were a lot that both countries could share in critical economic areas such as agriculture, extractive resources, engineering and technology.

vhykeeytor:


They should compel Tinubu to sign the peace accord. That man doesn't believe in free and fair election, and he's ready to fight dirty, unleash mayhem with his foot soldier MC Oluomo and NURTW urchins.

The Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC) has rejected claims by some prominent citizens and other Western nations that the 2023 elections may make or mar the…

The Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC) has rejected claims by some prominent citizens and other Western nations that the 2023 elections may make or mar the country.

The council is co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh.

The council took the position on Tuesday in Abuja at its 4th quarterly meeting with the theme, “Peaceful and Credible Elections for National Renaissance.”

It said with the collective action of critical stakeholders and the citizenry, a national rebirth for Nigeria could happen after next year’s election.


Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had said the 2023 elections may make or mar Nigeria when the CAN President visited him at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

However, in his address at the meeting, the Sultan dismissed fears of a brewing storm over the forthcoming polls, saying he did not believe in such negative testimonies coming from those he described as ‘enemies’ of the country.

“Those countries that keep on saying these things have their own very serious problems, but their systems work to some extent. So, if our systems work, we will be better off. I affirm my belief that Nigeria is much better than so many of these countries.

“The 2023 elections are just another exercise in which people will go out and vote for whom they want and at the end of it, INEC will announce who the winner is,” the Sultan said.

Earlier, the CAN president said that the ugly history of pre-or post-electoral violence would not be repeated in 2023 if all critical stakeholders decided to halt the trend through strategic conversation that appeals to the conscience of the political class.

In his keynote speech, the SGF, Boss Mustapha, said the forthcoming general elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair but rather a peaceful one.

Berrityga:
Rubbish. 0 star

ysth:
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Vipro:
Please between Hostel and Off Campus which is better for a new student?