₦airaland Forum

The Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has criticized a former governor of the state, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, over his recent comment that Nigeria may break up.

The APC also said Ezeife’s statement that it would not win the November 18 governorship poll in Anambra State unless by rigging was out of point.
Ezeife had claimed that unless Nigeria was properly restructured, the country may split in no distant time.
According to him, Muhammadu Buhari does not regard the Igbo people as part of Nigeria, hence the agitation for the Republic of Biafra.


“The summary of the situation is that Buhari’s administration has been pushing the South East, Ndigbo out of Nigeria that is why they ignited IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) MASSOB (Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra) with more zeal and more and more people are talking about being on their own,” the elder statesman had said.
Reacting, however, the party described the former governor as a prophet of doom and a paper tiger, adding that his comment was unbecoming of a statesman.
The state APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Okelo Madukaife, told newsmen that, “Ezeife is wishing destiny away. He is just a prophet of doom and paper tiger, who has never seen anything good in the unity of Nigeria.‎”

Madukaife insisted that the APC will win the November 18 election fairly.
“On the contrary, there is a concerted effort, intensive hard work and fine-tuned strategy by our great party to win the November 18, 2017 governorship election and redirect the derailing course of Anambra State,” Madukaife added.

https://mastercliphub..com.ng/2017/05/you-are-prophet-of-doom-apc-hits-ezeife.html

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Well-wishers of President Buhari have been delivering flowers and get well messages at the Nigerian House in the UK where the president is currently staying for his medical check up. The Nigerian president is currently battling an undisclosed ailment. He left Nigeria for the UK on May 7th.

https://mastercliphub..com.ng/2017/05/photo-well-wishers-deliver-flowers-to_82.html

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Amen

yellowbeauty:
May their souls rest in peace

Lols

decatalyst:
Can we do a swap of leadership? Presidency of Federal Republic of Nigeria for the Presidency of Federal Republic of Lagos?

The families of four police officers that died during the operation got N10 million each, while an officer who sustained injury during the attack and still recuperating in the hospital, Sgt. Alexandra Ugadu got N5million.

Also, a cheque of N10 million was presented to the family of a military officer, Capt. A Mohammed who lost his life during the attack.

The gallant officers were killed after successfully rescuing kidnapped victims kept in the riverine area by the militants.

The police officers’ whose families benefited from the death insurance scheme of the State Government are late Insp. Godwin Iroagbalahi, Insp. Francis Pemi, Sgt. Mamuda Dembo and Sgt. Idor Ekoro.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Governor Ambode said the move was in appreciation of the supreme sacrifices paid by the late officers in the course of ensuring the safety of residents of the State.

The Governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, said the donation was in line with the pledge to review insurance benefits to security operatives in the State.

Bello recalled that since coming on board, Governor Ambode immediately reviewed the insurance benefits for security operatives in the State with a pledge to pay N10million to any officer killed during operation, adding that the ceremony was in consonance with the earlier promise.

“This is to appreciate what the gallant officers have done; they sacrificed their lives in the course of protecting several of us and we have to appreciate them. As a matter of fact, if we don’t do this, who will? The Governor has always said that we must continue to appreciate those who paid the supreme sacrifice for our lives because they died for us.

“We must continue to appreciate them because if we don’t do this, who will be ready to pay the supreme sacrifice for our safety? The officers are sent out to protect us and when they are going, they are not even sure of coming back and having paid the supreme sacrifice, should we leave them just like that, definitely not and it is in appreciation of what they have done that we are doing this,” he said.

The Governor, while commiserating with the families of the late officers, assured that the State Government would continue to support security officers and their families in the State.

Responding on behalf of beneficiaries, the State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni commended Governor Ambode and the State Government for the donations, which he described as a moral booster, saying that the gesture would go a long way in motivating officers.

He said: “On behalf of the Inspector General of Police, I stand to appreciate Lagos State Government for this morale boosting gesture that you have showed to our colleagues who, in the course of discharging their statutory duties to this nation, demonstrated bravery, gallantry and courage but unfortunately lost their lives in an encounter with criminal elements.

“The IG appreciates this kind gesture and on behalf of the respective families of the officers that lost their lives, in as much as we know that money will not bring their lives back, but you have given us that confidence that in our trial and sadness period, the State is standing solidly behind us. This will spur us to be more committed to the security of the State,” Owoseni said.

Earlier, Governor Ambode, on behalf of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) presented 20 brand new operational vehicles with modern communication gadgets to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the State Police Command.

Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr Abdulrazaq Balogun, in his remarks, said the donation of the operational vehicles was in furtherance of the commitment of the State Government to bequeath a robust security architecture to residents, just as he assured that the government would soon donate another round of vehicles to other security agencies in the State.

https://mastercliphub..com.ng/2017/05/ambode-donates-55-million-naira-to.html

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The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest people, Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola, Folorunsho Alakija and Theophilus Danjuma, estimated to be almost $30billion, can end extreme poverty in Nigeria, this is according to a report by Oxfam International. Read the report from NAN below...
The Inequality report released by Oxfam International on Wednesday, revealed that the combined wealth of five richest Nigerians, put at $29.9 billion, could end extreme poverty in the country. The report, entitled ‘Inequality in Nigeria, Exploring the Drivers’ and obtained in Abuja, exposed the large and growing gap between the rich and poor in Nigeria.
It revealed that the benefits of the nation’s economic growth had been captured by a few wealthy elite at the expense of the ordinary Nigerians.

According to the report, the economic inequality is a key factor in the conflict in the north-eastern states of the country. Oxfam International also disclosed that Nigeria’s richest man earned 8,000 times more in one day than a poor Nigerian would spend on basic needs in a year. It said that more than 112 million people were living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would need to spend one million dollars a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.

According to the report, Nigeria is one of the few countries where the number of people living in poverty is on the increase despite the growth of the economy. The report also indicated that 69 per cent of people now live below the poverty line in north-eastern states, compared to the 49 per cent in the south-west. It also showed that women were not being captured on the benefits of economic growth because they tended to be employed in low-skilled, low-paid informal jobs.

According to the organisation, women represent between 60 per cent and 79 per cent of Nigeria’s rural labour force but are five times less likely to own their own land than men. It further stated that women were also less likely to have had a decent education, noting that over three quarters of the poorest women in Nigeria had never been to school.

The report said that poor people did not benefit from Nigeria’s wealth because of high level of corruption and the excessive influence big business and some wealthy elite had over government and policy making. According to the report, public office holders stole estimated $20 trillion from the treasury between 1960 and 2005, while multinational companies receive tax incentives estimated at 2.9 billion dollars a year.

This development, it said, was three times more than Nigeria’s entire health budget. It further revealed that small and medium size businesses and workers in the informal sector, however, faced multiple taxes. “Despite being Africa’s biggest economy, the share of the national budget allocated to education, health and social protection is one of the lowest in the region.

“In 2012, Nigeria spent just 6.5 per cent of its national budget on education and just 3.5 per cent on health. “By comparison, Ghana spent 18.5 per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively in 2015. ‘’As a result, 57 million Nigerians lack safe water, over 130 million lack adequate sanitation and the country has more than 10 million children out of school,” it stated.

Commenting on the report, Celestine Odo, Good Governance Programme Coordinator for Oxfam in Nigeria, said extreme inequality was undermining the economy and fermenting social unrest. According to him, Nigerian leaders must be more determined to tackling this terrible problem.

Mr. Odo said that it was an irony that Nigerians were living in poverty in spite the abundance of wealth in the country. He said it was important to free millions of Nigerians from poverty by building a new political and economic system that would work for everyone and not just a fortunate few.

“The government can make a start by tackling corruption, ensuring big business and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of tax, investing in vital public services, and protecting the rights of women,” Mr. Odo said.

https://mastercliphub..com.ng/2017/05/combined-wealth-of-dangote-adenuga.html

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That's everyone's prayer

Many people are reportedly trapped under rubble after a three-storey building under construction, collapsed this afternoon at Richard Abimbola street in the Ilasa area of Lagos state. Officers of the state Emergency Management Authority are at the scene of the incident to rescue the trapped victims.

Meanwhile about 7 of the construction workers have been rescued.

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