₦airaland Forum

The All Progressives Congress(APC) now has 15.6million members nationwide, according to party chairman Mr Adams Oshiomhole.

He disclosed this on Wednesday when he presented President Muhammadu Buhari with a new party membership card.


Oshiomhole told the president that the APC under his leadership, took advantage of modern technology to come up with a new membership data base, saying that the party currently has 15.6 million registered members.

“Today to talk about the size of our party, the largest party in the world and in Africa, we need to have evidence that can be verified by a third party or by members.

“We have taken advantage of technology to produce what I believed is the best or the first in Nigeria.

“We now have as at last week when they started printing of membership register, about 15.6 million registered APC members across the country,” he said.

Fact checking however showed that while APC may have registered 15.6m members, it is not the world’s largest. The Chinese Communist Party has 89million registered members, while India’s ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a membership of 110 million as at 2015. In Africa, South Africa’s African National Congress had 769,000 members as at 2015. The PDP membership strength is unknown.

The APC national chairman added that the party membership data base was designed to ensure that the membership status of anyone could easily be verified at the touch of a bottom.

Oshiomhole further added that with the development, the party had credible and verifiable persons to conduct direct primaries on the basis of its membership register.

However, he said the party would not in any way nullify or change the decisions of its National Executive Committee (NEC) at its sixth meeting, which allowed for indirect primaries, for logistics reasons

He said the APC will strive to give practical expression to its decision as transparently as possible.

This, he added, would ensure that the APC would not only be the largest, but the smartest, most democratic and most cohesive party in the country.

Mr Omoyele Sowore, a presidential aspirant of African Action Congress (AAC), says he will ensure civil servants in the country receive N100,000 as minimum wage from 2019 if he is elected Nigeria’s president.

Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by the party in Badagry, Sowore said Nigerians were indirectly going into slavery by traveling to different countries in search of jobs.


He noted that over 43 million black Africans were sold into slavery in the coastal city about 400 years ago, a development he said was still happening indirectly because of lack of job.

“I am in politics to stop this by providing 500,000 jobs yearly.


“The minimum wage for civil servant will be N100,000 from 2019,” he said.

Sowore regretted the poor state of roads in the country and describing the Lagos-Badagry expressway as the worst in Nigeria.

The presidential aspirants said the historic town had been cut off from the rest of the country due to deplorable state of the expressway.

“I have traveled all over Nigeria, but I have not seen any international expressway like Lagos-Badagry.

“We spent almost five hours coming here instead of one and half hours.

“Badagry town has been cut-off from Nigeria due to deplorable state of the road.

“This is very shameful,” the presidential aspirant said.

He promised to construct two expressways from Badagry to Lagos, and another one linking Badagry and Ogun State if elected into power in the 2019 general elections.

Sowore urged the residents of Badagry to vote wisely for candidates of their choice.

“I heard now that politicians are buying Permanent Voters Card (PVC) for N10,000. Please don’t sell your PVC; the PVC is your future.



“Can you do any business with N10,000? They will buy your card; your future is your PVC; keep it,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by a large number of youths in the coastal town.(NAN)

bamikole002:
Can anything GOOD comes from Buhari that I know, forget about him, Buhari can never, I mean never increase Salary

deri4luv1:
Panadol after death, Oga Buhari you are going back to the village in 2019

The Presidency has reassured workers of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to an increase in the minimum wage.
Sen. Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), gave the assurance on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

Enang spoke at the backdrop of alleged lack of commitment by the Federal Government to an upward review of the minimum wage, which has been N18, 000 for over eight years.

“I want to assure you that the Buhari-led administration is very honest and committed to reviewing the salaries of workers.

“If he did not, he would not have set up a committee on minimum wage headed by a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

“This is a sign of commitment, and this retired HoS is not an off-the-mill retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; the Minister of Labour is part of it.

“So, it shows the level of commitment, and it is not a committee of the Federal Executive Council; it is a presidential committee set up and inaugurated by the president.”

The tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee, made up of 29 members drawn from organised labour, the federal and state governments, was inaugurated in May, 2017.

Although the committee was given until Sept. 1 to submit its report, it could not meet the deadline due to disagreement over the minimum wage figure.

On Aug. 21, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, blamed the delay on the inability of state governors to come up with an agreed figure.

Ngige, however, stated that the Federal Government through its Economic Management Team, was working with the governors to find a common ground.

HIGHESTPOPORI:
According to zombies abi? Nigerians are wiser

HIGHESTPOPORI:
Typical BMC reasoning

The federal government has said that states must clear backlog of salaries and other related staff arrears before they would be able to access the remaining $2.69 billion Paris Club Refunds.

The Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Hassan Dodo, on Tuesday, said the federal government would commence phased payments of the refund to the states once the condition and several others were met.

“The DMO led the reconciliation process under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The final approval of $2.69 billion is subject to some conditions.

“Salary and staff related arrears must be paid as a priority. Also commitment to the commencement of the repayment of Budget Support Loans granted in 2016 must be made by all states.

“Furthermore, they must clear amounts due to the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative and make commitment to clear matching grants from UBEC.

“This is in cases where some states have available funds which could be used to improve primary education and learning outcomes,” Dodo said in a statement.


The issue of Paris Club loan over-deduction had been a long standing dispute between the federal government and the state governments, dating back to 1995.

In response to the dispute, President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the claims of over-deduction should be formally and individually reconciled by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

This reconciliation commenced in November 2016.

As an interim measure to alleviate the financial challenges of the states during the 2016 recession, the president had approved that 50 per cent of the amounts claimed by states be paid to enable them clear salary and pension arrears.

This approved sum was released to the states between December 1, 2016 and September 29, 2017.(NAN)

mekaw:
why won't he commend them, the elephant are his distant relation.

LifeIsGuhd:
Commendable!

Not my people in the south that would have turned the elephants to suya

Before you quote me, I am from the south too

BiafranBushBoy:
Intelligent BMC's will drop this controversial post and wait for neutrals to do the dirty job...

Super "INTELLIGENT" BMCs like you will show the whole world that you were paid to post by occupying the First to comment and Second to comment... Yet nothing tangible from it...

I hate to say this, you are doing a poor job and will soon get fired like Omenka (you've seen the dude for a while?)

Bizibi:
everyday, everyshit

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday collect Presidential Nomination form and the Expression of Interest.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event will hold at the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, at 11.30a.m.

NAN reliably learnt that a socio-political group, the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN), who bought the form for the president, would be presenting the Nomination Form and Expression of Interest to him.

NCAN had on Wednesday purchased the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the President.
The National Coordinator of the group, Sanusi Musa, had earlier told newsmen in Abuja that the group could not handover the documents to the president immediately after purchase as the president was in China on official engagements.

He said: “The president is just back, so we have not yet presented the form to the president. We are in the process of sending it. We will send it to him.’’
Musa dismissed the insinuation that the group was being financed by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, saying that the N45 million expended on the purchase of the Expression of Interest and Presidential Nomination Form was generated through contributions made by the supporters and admirers of President Buhari.

As the usual nature of village communities, any strange animal that comes to the community or is spotted close to the community, is chased and killed by hunters or people of that particular community, not minding if the animal is an endangered specie or not. However, the reverse was the case in Kebbi. Recently, communities in Kebbi, especially that of Zaria Kala Kala, played host to three stray elephants.

The community demonstrated quite an unusual gesture towards three endangered species of elephants that were allegedly carried by River Niger currents to the area, all the way from Benin or Niger Republic.

Most striking point of the character exhibited by the host community, was how the members helped the stray elephants by safe-guarding their lives so that no danger could come to them even with their strange looks and the destruction of their crops by the wandering animals. Initially, there was intense fear in Zaria Kala Kala village community of Koko Besse local government area of Kebbi State, as the three stray Elephants on Tuesday invaded the area.

According to the residents of the village, the elephants were brought to the area by river currents, which pass through the area. Another source told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the animals were suspected to have migrated from the neighbouring jungles of Niger or Benin Republic from the territories of the River Niger banks, when they strayed from their group and entered Kebbi community.

The village head of Ganten Fadama, one of the communities that hosted the stray elephants, Alhaji Muhammad Bello, said that when the news came of the elephants that strayed into their community, fear of what would happen gripped the community. “We first heard that three elephants were seen in Zariyar Kala Kala in Koko-Besse local govt. So, after two days again, some of my village people went to their farm lands and came back with the information that those three elephants earlier seen in Zariyar Kala Kala, were now in their farm lands.

“After I received the information, I went by myself to confirm what they said. After verifying the information, I immediately informed my local govt chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Kaura Danhakimi Zagga, for necessary action. I equally mobilised my subjects including the hunters and told them not to harm or provoke the animals even when they ate their crops.

“I ensured that we provided protection to the wild animals from hunters and also that the wild animals were not to be killed.

Another traditional leader in the area, the district head of Borgu in Bagudo local government area, Alhaji Usman Adamu (Sarkin Bargu ) narrated how the endangered animals found their way into their communities and how they made efforts to safe guard them from any harm.

“Well, as you might have heard, the elephants are with us unharmed. They have been with us for two weeks now, nobody touched them. It is our belief that they lost their way and came all the way from Benin Republic. We have been advised by authorities not to harm them. So, I called my people and told them so and thank God, the community people cooperated with me.

“People only follow the elephants to watch them. Our prayer is that the owners of the elephants from benin republic will come and take them away because of the damage the elephants are causing out farmers.