Arewa Forum inaugurates committees to “rewire” North’s political agenda vanguardngr.com
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Tuesday inaugurated four standing committees to “rewire” politics in the region and rekindle hope and justice among the populace.
Mr. Anthony Sani, the ACF Secretary-General, who inaugurated the committees in Kaduna, said the aim was to institute a new political culture of electing political leaders who would be accountable to the people.
“There is the need to rewire the politics, re-engineer our sense of justice, make mercy smarter and hope more strategic,’’ he said.
Sani added that the youth who should be avatar of change must be guided “to make judicious use of their democratic right and vote only credible leaders who are accountable.
“This would help supplant both plutocracy and kleptocracy with democracy premised on triple foundation of justice, liberty and common decency.”
The scribe recalled that the ACF had earlier formed a Think Tank, to “harmonise all existing documents on Northern challenges– into a `Northern Agenda’,” and another committee on restructuring.
He said the overall aim was to produce documents that would guide policy makers and implementers to discharge their responsibilities in the best interest of the people.
The committees include: Research, Strategy and Planning; Political; Education, and Agriculture.
The ACF secretary general, particularly challenged the political committee, “to promote only issues which most northerners hold dear, devoid of partisanship,” so that the region would rewire its politics, ensure justice and rekindle hope in its youth.
Prof. Ango Abdullahi heads the political committee; Prof. Iya Abubakar, Education; Murtala Nyako, agriculture; retired Gen. Halliru Akilu, research, strategy and planning.
A member of the committee, Sen. Usman Umar, who responded on behalf of the members, pledged to deliver on their mandate and ensure that their contributions add value to the development of the region and Nigeria
Most people do the best deal only when they are monitored. Serve with a sincerely heart and with the hope that you shall be judged by the Almighty God through Christ Jesus wether great or small matter..
Stop the eyes services you have created, do good and goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life and you shall dwell in the house of the lord God Almighty for ever..
Don't be amused by the splendors of the world riches and Glamour's, for they are fading away, don't you believe that you will inherit Everything your heavenly father promised you in CHRIST JESUS?
Your faith is the substance of those things you hope for and the evidence of the world you haven't experienced with your optical eyes....win the fight
Query: Head of Service Beats Deadline, Submits Maina Report To Abba Kyari newsdiaryonline.com
Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, has confirmed that the report of the circumstances of Abdulrasheed Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior had been submitted to the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, in a memo to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, directed the immediate disengagement from service of Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.
The President equally demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior, saying the report must be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, before the end of work today.
NAN reports that Adesina, in a television interview on Monday night, confirmed that Oyo-Ita had submitted the report to the office of the Chief of Staff as demanded by the President.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Monday, dismissed media report that she approved the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, and his subsequent posting to the Ministry of Interior.
Oyo-Ita’s refutal was contained in a statement by her Assistant Director, Media Relations, Mohammed Manga.
The Head of Service maintained that Maina’s restatement and posting did not emanate from her office.
The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau who had earlier exonerated himself from complicity in the matter, said Maina was posted to his ministry by the Head of Service.
The Minister, on Oct. 22, had confirmed the resumption of duty by Abdulrasheed Maina, as an Acting Director in his ministry.
The confirmation came in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the minister, Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo.
Maina was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as Chairman of the task force in 2010 to check the corruption in the country’s pension system.
In 2012, the Nigeria Police accused him of misappropriating N100 billion pension funds in connivance with others.
The Civil Service Commission reportedly dismissed him for “absconding from duty’’.
Maina was arraigned in absentia by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which declared him wanted in 2015.
Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesman of the anti-graft agency in a statement on Saturday, said Maina remained on the commission’s wanted list.(NAN)
Your Ambassadorial Nominee Too Old, U.S Tells Buhari thewhistler.ng
**Urges President to Nominate Dynamic, Energetic Diplomat
President Muhammadu Buhari’s 82-year-old Ambassadorial nominee to the United States may be rejected for not being a “dynamic and energetic person”, Matthew Page, a former U.S intelligence community expert, has said.
Recall that Sylvanus Nsofor’s nomination as Ambassador to the U.S had sparked controversy when President Buhari sent his name to the Nigerian Senate.
The Senate had rejected Nsofor’s nomination after a report by the Department of State Service (DSS) advised that the ambassadorial nominee “will not be able to perform the duty of an officer due to his advanced age.”
Regardless, the Presidency sent the 82-year-old’s name back to upper legislative chamber for reconsideration, after which he was confirmed on June 7 for the job.
But Page, in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show, said the United States is uncomfortable with posting Nsofor to resume at its Washington DC office.
“This chap made headlines when he was nominated as an ambassador by Buhari. He is a very well respected Nigerian but his disadvantage is that he is 82-year-old,” Page said.
“What I am hearing is that the US government is very uneasy about agreeing to have this ambassador posted to Washington because that is an extremely arduous drop.
“You have a growing schedule and its one of Nigeria’s largest overseas embassies to manage. This is something that needs a very dynamic and energetic person with an enormous constitution.
“So, there is uneasiness but there is also the desire to respect when a country sends you an ambassador. You can’t just say no, send me another one.
“The Nigerian government may sort of reconsider and realise that that person may not be best suited and that there are obviously a lot of talented Nigerian diplomats.
“So I don’t think there is a shortage for choice. PMB for whatever reason in his mind just wants this particular guy for this particular post and it’s probably not the best fit.”
The intelligence expert further spoke on whether President Donald Trump will be actively involved in Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election as seen with the Barack Obama government in 2015.
Page said, “I think trump is disinterested in most things but especially Africa and it may not be a bad thing sometime.
“I think he views Africa as a place for his country club to go off and do business deals and get rich and I think that has echoes of colonialism.
“We all know that Trump is a white nationalist prefundamentaly racist person and the people around him are as well.
“Those individuals at the top don’t really care what’s happening in Nigeria or in Africa. But I think you will see some of the usual contribution from Americans and other international partners about the importance of voting and a good process.
“But I don’t think by any means will you see any sort of favouring one particular candidate over another because they go through great pains to avoid that even though the perception is not always the case from the Nigerian side,” he said.
Trump reveals what won him US presidency dailypost.ng
United States President Donald Trump has declared that his tweets won him the White House.
In an interview on Sunday on Fox Business Network, Trump explained that with his use of twitter, he could bypass “unfair media coverage” and speak directly.
“Tweeting is like a typewriter-when I put it out, you put it immediately on your show,” he said.
“I doubt I would be here if weren’t for social media, to be honest with you.
“When somebody, says something about me, I am able to go bing, bing, bing and I take care of it.
“The other way, I would never have got the word out,” he said.
Trump acknowledged that even friends have approached him to slow down on his use of the social media platform.
The US president often sends out missive tweets in the early morning or late evening hours.
Last week, White House chief of staff John Kelly, said some have criticized him for failing to control Trump’s tweeting.
“I was not brought to this job to control anything but the flow of information to our president,” Kelly stated.
- The chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to regain power at the federal level in 2019 are slim
- This is the opinion of the Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson
- Governor Dickson said some forces within the PDP are working against the party
Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, has said that the chances of the PDP regaining power at the federal level in 2019 is not feasible.
According to the governor, forces within the PDP are hell-bent on frustrating the party not to make any progress in the forth coming election.
He stated that the anti-democratic forces within the PDP are against a cohesive and a strong party that would take over power at the centre.
PDP can’t win presidential election in 2019 – Governor Dickson Governor Dickson says there are anti-democratic forces within the PDP hell-bent on frustrating the party The governor made the statement during a media chat at the Government House, Yenagoa, on Sunday, October 22.
He said the major problem of the forces within the party is selfishness and egoism, adding that if nothing is done to address the problems, the party would not bounce back.
His words: ‘’I was very serious about rebuilding the party to take over power at the centre and everyone knows what I did. I did everything, built consensus but I think there are forces within the PDP that are against a cohesive and a strong PDP that will take power at the centre.
‘’I pray that the party overcomes or realises the need to overcome these forces within the PDP that are placing selfish ambition and ego above the need to build a strong party that can take power at the centre.
“I am very prayerful and let me say that at this point I am hopeful that these forces that are trying to tear the party have the capacity to take the party from one crisis to another and to generate another crisis.
“I have said that over and over again that we need a strong cohesive party in government, which incidentally, the All Progressives Congress is not. We should also pray for the APC to get their acts together.’’
Governor Dickson expressed hope that the proposed convention of the party coming up in November would be able to address the internal problems of the PDP.
He said: ’’We are proposing to have a convention. Let us see how it goes. I think basically the PDP is suffering from a preponderance of people who have never tasted opposition politics.
‘’All their politics have always been with the party at the centre using everything for their election. They should learn from what we did here. I am the only governor who has won a governorship reelection in this state on the platform of a party that is different from the party at the centre; the only one so far.
‘’Of all the governors, I am the only one that has won a reelection when the centre is a different party. Now, I think later in November we shall see what happens in Anambra state. A number of people take this background for granted. So, I pray that the PDP survives. Nigeria needs PDP; Nigeria needs a strong party in opposition. I wish my party and the Nigeria democracy the best.’’
Meanwhile, the caretaker committee chairman of the Lagos state chapter of the PDP, Chief Babatunde Osolanke, is dead.
According to media reports, the PDP chieftain slumped and died at a popular hotel in Ikeja, the state capital.
He was reportedly rushed to the Lagos State university Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, after he slumped, but was confirmed dead on arrival.
Sometimes when wisdom acts men would attributes his glory to the bravely and intelligency of mortal being. God rules in the affairs of men. Give him all the glory please..
Oh that men would praise the lord God Almighty for his goodness and his wonderful works to the children of men..
President Buhari averts diplomatic row with Turkey over extradition requests – Onyeama today.ng
Turkish authorities have requested for the extradition of over 1000 Turkish citizens in Nigeria for belonging to Fethullah Movement, “FETO,” which they have declared a terrorists organization over the roles it alleged the group played in the botched 2016 coup against the government of President Tayyip Edorgan, it has been gathered.
The extradition request, prior to the meeting between President Muhammad Buhari and his Turkish counterpart President Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday, in Ankara, had created tension between both countries as Nigeria refused to accede to the request of the Turkish authorities to have the affected persons extradited.
Speaking with journalists, on Saturday, in Istanbul, to wrap up President Buhari’s four-day visit to Ankara and the D8 meeting, in Istanbul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, said but for the “diplomatic skills” of President Buhari, the matter would have led to frosty diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Turkey.
Onyeama said “There was the request for the extradition of some of the Turks in Nigeria who have been given asylum to remain in Nigeria and recognized by the United Nations (UN) as political refugees and the Turkish government requested that we extradite some of them. There was also the request that the schools and hospitals established by Gülen Movement should be closed in Nigeria. They now labelled them Fethtulah (FETO) as a terrorists organization.”
The minister noted that “These were all issues that were lingering and complicating slightly, relationship between the two countries. So what this visit has been able to do I think is to put all those to rest and facilitated direct engagement and what I will call agreeing for a way forward between the two countries. Mr. President was very very good in that. He is a very good diplomat. Very, very skillful diplomat. He was able to really douse the tension between the two sides while not compromising on principles of Nigeria. He did it very, very well with a lot of diplomatic skills. The result has been that it has improved relationship between the two countries and government. The level of confidence between the two countries has also increased. It is a real diplomatic masterpiece”.
Onyeama said President Buhari assured President Erdogan that Nigeria would not allow its territory be used as a breeding ground for any terrorist or group of individuals with the aim of destabilizing Turkey.
“The point was made and Mr. President with regard to the Gülen movement that under no circumstances would Nigeria allow itself to be a base for the destabilization of Turkey. And Mr. President came out very strongly in support of the democratic process and institutions of Turkey, condemning the coup attempt in Turkey and reassuring the Turkish government of Nigeria’s total support for the territorial integrity of Turkey, for the democratic governance in Turkey and the security of Turkey. Likewise the Turkish government made that reassurance to Nigeria. So once they got those different issues out of the way, it was much easier and they were more able to focus on what will transform the lives of Nigerians and the Turkish people,” Onyeama said.
He spoke on other areas that would have sparked off diplomatic crisis that President Buhari was able to amicably resolve with President Erdogan to include the refusal of visas to some Turkish security personnel, IPOB issue, and the delay in the issuance of Turkish visas to Nigerians and the request to increase the number of flights of Turkish Airlines into Nigeria.
“With all the outstanding issues, he was able to really skillfully navigate through but at the same time mending all the ruffled feathers and fences. We were able to void making it what I will call antagonistic. The part that he really charted was to look at those areas where we can cooperate and there would be win-win and would defuse tension. They looked at economic areas, educational areas, economic development, operational areas and agree to allow the normal legal international processes to run their course with regard to the more sensitive issues,” the minister said.
In a separate interview with journalist, on Saturday, Senior Special Assistant (SSA), Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the thrusts of Buhari’s visit for both occasions were “to focus on issues of security and anti-terrorism; agricultural cooperation; trade cooperation; education and health; transport and connectivity; energy sector cooperation and increased private sector participation”.
The SSA added that “the meetings have also helped to enhance momentum in ties between Nigeria and the rest of the “D8” members and the establishment of a positive working relationship especially between Buhari and Erdogan”.
Shehu stated further that the two governments agreed to support each other in the fight against terrorism, human trafficking, drugs trafficking and arms trafficking adding that “Turkey specifically mentioned the menace of the Fethullah organization “FETO” which they accused of terrorism and involvement in the abortive coup plot last year which the Turkish population gallantly resisted.There are more than 1,000 Turkish citizens in Nigeria, many of them accused of belonging to this organization and for which reason, their passports have been declared invalid by their country”.
He hinted that “on the issues of the suspected terrorists of Turkish origin in Nigeria, President Erdogan received the best assurances from our leader that Nigeria will not allow any person or organization to use her territory for any subversive activities. President Buhari used every given opportunity to denounce the failed coup attempt. The Turkish citizens who have sought and already obtained assistance from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNCHR, since they became stateless persons have been warned not to engage in any political activities while they are in Nigeria. Turkish authorities for their part gave all assurances that no subversive activities against Nigeria will be permitted of their citizens or on their territory”.
Don't ever follow dead body to the grave, meaning it's not every fool on Nairaland you quarrel with, be yourself and build a reputation, every heart bear the Mark of good or evil ministered to it...
I chose to do good and receive life and peace... and I rebuke all evil doers off the planet and I decree that evil is permanently defeated in the name that's above every other names.,....
I was arrested, detained for 2 days in Anambra - El-Rufai (Video) naij.com
Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai during the flag-off of APC campaign in Anambra state said he was arrested and detained for two days during his visit to the state to help Senator Chris Ngige become governor.
"One of the reasons why I was selected to speak on behalf of governors is not because of my height, it is because four years ago, when I came here to help senator Chris Ngige to be governor of this state, I was arrested and detained for two days, why? It is not because Onwa and myself are both short people, It is because they are afraid."
He said this in a video made available by Channels TV.
However, in a lighter mood, just as he was making his speech, Ngige rushed in to measure who is, perhaps, taller between them.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that the governor of Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai said that those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria are political opportunists and irresponsible.
While speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, El-Rufai said the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration in two years have done better than the past administration.
Politics › Re: Arewa Forum inaugurates committees to “rewire” North’s political agenda by lightblazingnow(op): 9:35pm On Oct 24, 2017
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