₦airaland Forum

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, reportedly to perfect the lawmaker’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former governor of Akwa Ibom State arrived the State House Villa by 3.06pm with the Presidential Aide on National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

The duo went straight into the Vice President’s wing at the State House Villa. The two Akwa Ibom politicians came an hour after President Muhammadu Buhari departed for Bauchi State on an official engagement.

The meeting, which lasted till around 5.20pm, came on the heels of Akpabio’s defection plot. Akpabio is said to be mulling defection over his rift with the current governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel.

Our correspondent reports that while Akpabio was with the vice president, the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of his party, the PDP, was also going on, with Senate President Bukola Saraki and other defectors from the APC in attendance.

A ranking senator told Daily Trust that Akpabio had since perfected his plans to dump the PDP.

“If not for the impunity of Saraki, he (Akpabio) would have announced his defection penultimate Tuesday when we proceeded on recess. He was to announce it that day but Saraki stopped him,” the senator, who did not want be named, said.

Our correspondent reports that if Akpabio decamps, he would be the second senator from the oil rich Akwa Ibom to join the APC. In January last year, Senator Nelson Effiong (PDP, Akwa-Ibom South) joined the APC.

A text message sent to Enang to confirm whether the vice president’s meeting with Akpabio was in connection with the defection was not responded to.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/defection-osinbajo-meets-akpabio-at.html

Lalasticlala mynd44

Irate youths in Kaba­yi village of Mararaba, Karu Local Government of Nasarawa State, near Abuja have lynched a young man suspected to be robber terrorising residents of the area.

Though details about the de­ceased could not be gathered by our reporter at the time of filing this story, some observ­ers claimed that the victim was a well-known robber in the neighbourhood.

Our correspondent gath­ered that the incident hap­pened Saturday about 4.15am. Though the action has gener­ated mixed reactions from res­idents, very few people were willing to talk to the press on the matter. While some residents said that the action would serve as a deterrent to other intending robbers and criminal gangs who may be contemplating terrorising the neighbourhood, others condemn the action, saying it is unlawful to take laws into their hands.

A passerby, who gave his name as Mathew Pada, con­demned the extra judicial killing of the alleged robber, stressing that the action por­trays Nigeria as a nation with­out laws.

“No matter the level of prov­ocation, we should be civil in carrying out certain actions. I am not in any way trying to justify criminality, but every action must take due process of the law. To me, this is simply barbaric, and I must add that Nigeria is truly a country with­out law,” he stated.

Another resident, who re­fused to volunteer his name, hailed the action, threatening that the youths will continue with such killings until rob­bers vacate the area.

According to him, “this is just the beginning because these bad boys are not allow­ing us to sleep in this Kabayi and they will not sleep too. We will continue to kill them until they relocate to another area like Masaka or inside the bush”. When asked whether he wit­nessed the gruesome murder of the alleged robber, he simply declared: “I am done with you sir”.

However, when our corre­spondent contacted Kabayi Police Post, the officer on duty who do not want his name in print because he was not au­thorised to speak to the press confirmed the incident, adding that the case is beyond the po­lice post.

“This case is above us here and we have sent signals to our zonal head office in Mar­araba,” he added.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/jungle-justice-mob-burns-robber-to.html

THE Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has said that broadband access is an important feature in communication infrastructure policy and should be treated as a key economic indicator.

Danbatta stated this during the ICT Watch Network Award Ceremony, which took place in Lagos over the weekend, with the theme: ‘Broadband Access: National Scorecards and Roadmap to 2020’.

According to him, broadband deployment has a strong impact on GDP, employment and productivity in all economic sectors.

“It can be seen all over the world that there is a higher economic growth in countries with more broadband penetration than countries with less broadband penetration.

“Hence, governments and regulators worldwide are strongly in support and make every effort in promoting broadband deployment, in order to stimulate the development of the economy and the society.

“The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) advocates that Broadband should be treated as an essential service like electricity and water, it is difficult to imagine life without water or electricity,” he said.


Danbatta assured that the commission would continue to drive and support high speed broadband connectivity to end users through various initiatives.

He said that initiatives such as licensing of InfraCos, on a regional basis, provide metropolitan fibre and wholesale transmission services on a non-discriminatory, open access and price regulated basis.

The Executive Vice Chairman said the roadmap was to have fibre point of access in every Local Government Area in in the country within four years of the commencement of deployments in each geopolitical zone.

According to Danbatta, there are ongoing discussions with various levels of government to facilitate speed in processing permits, harmonisation of tax regimes and to ease the deployment of infrastructure, including streamlining right of way charges.

He said that there were also limitations and access gaps in metro fibre deployment to nodes, neighbourhoods and last mile connection to homes and businesses, which the government needed to address.

“Since spectrum is a critical mobile infrastructure, the commission will strive to provide the required frequency spectrum capacity.

“The commission will facilitate the re-farming of existing spectrum held by operators to provide broadband services without impacting their quality of service delivery.

“We will open up and assign other spectrum bands in an open and transparent manner,” he said.

According to Danbatta, the availability of broadband infrastructure will unlock new opportunities and drive a second wave of growth in the telecoms industry and the economy.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/broadband-access-critical-for.html?m=1

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has urged Nigerians in respective of ethnicity, region or religion to emulate a septuagenarian Imam Abdullahi Abubakar who saved about 300 Christians from attackers in Nghar Yelwa village of Barkin Ladi local government of the Plateau state.

The embassy made the call on Tuesday through its Charge de Affaires, Mr. David Young during a three-day Peace & Security Conference organized by the Plateau State Peace Building Agency holding at Crest Hotel in Jos.

Mr. Young explained that he has seen people who worked for peace, but didn’t see somebody who have put his life on the line to protect others in their communities like what Imam did by protecting the 300 Christians.

He said, “Let’s what the Imam did to be a challenge for us, let’s us risk our lives for the peace.”

Mr. Young added that the US Embassy in Nigeria and US Government condemned in the strong terms the killings in Plateau state, middle belt and across Nigeria.

“The killing of innocent people is simply not acceptable, whether in Plateau, Zamfara, Benue or Barno or Taraba, we as a people of faith should submit ourselves to God,” he said.

While calling on Nigerians to speak out for peace, not to take arms and condemned violence, Mr. Young charged the law enforcement agencies to arrest and to prosecute perpetrators of the attacks
http://surecontents..com/2018/07/us-embassy-urges-nigerians-to-emulate.html

Mynd44 lalasticlala

TRADING opened for the week on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on a positive note with 0.84 per cent growth following gains by some blue chips.

Seplat emerged investors delight with a gain of N62.50 to close at N687.50 to lead the gainers’ table.

Flour Mills followed with a growth of N2.20 to close at N29.40, while Stanbic IBTC gained N1.25 to close at N49.90 per share.

Forte Oil appreciated by N1.05 to close at N25.05, while Nestle added N1 to close at N1,502 per share.

Consequently, the All-Share Index rose by 309.08 points or 0.84 per cent to close at 36,946.05 as against 36,636.97 achieved on Friday.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation which opened at N13.271 trillion grew by N112 billion or 0.84 per cent to close at N13.383 trillion.

On the other hand, Total topped the losers’ chart, dropping by N16.80 to close at N183 per share.

Conoil trailed with a loss of N2.70 to close at N24.30, while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria was down by N1.35 to close at N30 per share.

Transcorp dropped by 70k to close at N6.50, while Redstar Express declined by 60k to close at N5.60 per share.

An analysis of the activity chart shows that Medview Air was the most active, trading 100.01 million shares worth N193.02 million.

Sterling Bank followed with an account of 34.03 million shares valued at N47.17 million, while United Bank for Africa traded 32.51 million shares worth N316.05 million.

Transcorp sold 29.26 million shares valued at N37.64 million, while FBN Holdings transacted 12.53 million shares worth N124.85 million.

In all, the volume of shares traded closed higher as investors bought and sold 319.40 million shares valued at N3.05 billion in 4,091 deals.

This was in contrast with a turnover of 311.36 million shares worth N3.49 billion achieved in 3,735 deals on Friday.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/nse-transactions-reopen-on-positive.html?m=1

In the past, Nigeria was the leading oil palm producing country in the world but today it can’t measure up to Malaysia which, incidentally, obtained the palm kernel with which to begin production from it.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that palm oil production is on the decline due to lack of government’s support in terms of farm inputs such as seedlings, machines, land and loans among others.

But the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) said it is boosting oil palm production in the country with improved seedlings of two and a half years gestation period as well as other extension services to farmers.

Some of the oil palm farmers who spoke to our reporter lamented that they are not supported the same way government is supporting rice farmers across the country.

One of the farmers, Tony Ekhigiator, said one of the major challenges facing oil palm farmers is finance because the farmers need fund to buy seedlings, control pest and maintained the farm for high yield.

“I am into large scale oil palm farming but I have not gotten any assistance or incentive from both the state and federal governments. I have been sustaining the farm on my own,” he said.

He said the Federal Government can help oil palm farmers by giving them loans so that they can acquire land to expand their plantations.

“Government can help us through loans so that we can acquire land and plant more oil palm trees. As a result of lack of fund, we find it difficult to maintain our farms, thereby incurring poor yield.

“We need money for maintenance, without it the farm will not do well. With good maintenance, a palm tree can produce 10 bunches of palm kernel,” he said.

He appealed to the government to insist on seeing the farms of farmers before giving out loans because most of those who were given such facility in the past did not even have any farm.

“There is market for oil palm in Nigeria and we get good seedlings from NIFOR and individuals but due to lack of encouragement and support from the government, we can’t expand. We need other inputs, especially fertiliser because many farmers are not using fertilizers due to lack of fund,” he said.

Also speaking, Solomon Okoduwa said getting good seedlings for good harvest is one of the challenges facing oil palm farmers in the country.

“Most farmers are still battling with the old seedlings which are not too viable and productive like the new improved varieties.

“We have the tenera seedlings from NIFOR that have three to four years gestation period but we have the most recent one from Malaysia which has 16 months gestation period as against Nigeria’s three to four years variety,” Okoduwa said.

He said: “The one from Malaysia cost N2,000 per seedling while that of NIFOR and others cost between N250 and N300. The difference is that in the next 16 months, you can harvest that of Malaysia while you have to wait between two to three years before harvesting that of Nigeria.”

Okoduwa said getting milling machine for processing was another challenge affecting the oil palm farmers as they have to harvest and arrange for a vehicle that will convey the produce to a milling centre for processing in another faraway place.

“The government can help with utility vehicle that will help to convey the produce from one point to another.

“Also, the government can provide a standard milling machine and motorized harvester in one of the communities that will serve many farmers,” he suggested.

On how government can help the farmers, he said it can provide good seedlings to oil palm farmers to enable them have bumper harvest. “What we need is government support like the Anchor Borrower from CBN programme to help us embark on proper angro business,” he said.

Another farmer, Peter Aguele, identified lack of access to fund and land as the major challenges facing oil palm farmers.

He noted however the federal and some state governments are now responsive in terms of land as the Edo State government has made land acquisition easy for palm oil farmers.

“Part of the reason we are not doing well in agriculture is the issue of access to land because the Land Use Act has made access to land difficult for farmers except you have to go to your locality.

“Aside funding and access to land, research and development in the oil palm sector has been a problem. NIFOR has been doing well for many years. No business that has no research can do well. Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and others are doing well because of their research institutions,” Aguele said.

He said, in 1963 Malaysia came here to pick palm seedlings but today they are exporting $20 billion worth of palm oil and Nigeria is still regrettably a net importer of palm oil.

“We hope that the government will be responsive by trying to find the real farmers who are interested in oil palm farming because we have many portfolio farmers who always approach government as farmers and whatever that is coming in terms of funding will get to them and not the real farmers.

“Government should try to visit the farm of anybody who claims to be an oil farmer so as to ascertain the truth. And once this is done, a situation where money is not given to the real farmers would be addressed.

“We have to join cooperatives to be able to access funds but once it is time to support us, it is the big players in the industry like Okomu and Presco oil companies that will first be the beneficiaries, he lamented.

He said NIFOR has come up with improved seedlings that government was making sure they get to farmers.

Speaking with Daily Trust, a source at NIFOR said the institute is boosting oil palm production by coming up with improved seedlings that will give better yield for the oil palm farmers.

He said aside provision of improved seedlings, the institute has come up with numerous training programmes for small and medium scale farmers through various extension methods.

“We have also developed a simple processing machine for farmers to process their produce,” the source said.

He said the institute has ensured availability of improved materials for farmers in Nigeria through the supply of oil palm sprouted seedlings and various training sessions for farmers and extension agents.

The source stated: “NIFOR has transferred the technology of raising oil palm nursery to seedlings to small and medium scale farmers.

“Through research, we have made improvement of yield potential of oil palm through breeding and selection and developed a high yield breed called Tenera hybrid with fruit to bunch ration of over 75 percent.

“We have developed seedlings that have two and half years’ gestation period. We have developed Tenera hybrid variety such as Dura, Piisifa and Tenera. The dura is thick-shelled with a thin layer of scanning mesocarp and large kernel.

“The pisfa has no shell, with fruit comprising mainly of the oil bearing mesocarp while tenera is thin-shelled with a large proportion of oil bearing mesocarp and a small, medium-sized kernel,” he said.

He explained that the problem with the farmers in trying to boost oil production is that instead of patronising NIFOR seedlings, they buy from people who sold wrong seedlings that will not give good yield. “We have developed seedlings that take two and half years to produce,” he assured.

He called on the oil palm farmers to always patronise NIFOR for their seedlings as well as get advice on how to get better yield instead of patronising people who do not have the requisite knowledge.

Meanwhile, Daily Trust has gathered that a 25-litre jerrycan of palm oil cost between N13,500 and N14,000; 20 litres N10,500; http://surecontents..com/2018/07/oil-palm-farmers-making-progress-with.html

TEN persons have been arrested for hawking and selling new naira notes in a joint operation by the Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The suspects paraded at the NSCDC Oyo Command headquarters, Ibadan, on Friday, included Olanrewaju Adepoju, Obisesan Olalekan, Eniola Waheed, Kunle Oladipupo, Tijani Abiodun, Dotun Wahab, Gbenga Omawaye, Samson Ojewola, Akintola Gboyega and Anifat Abiodun.
Addressing newsmen on the arrest, Commandant, Oyo NSCDC, Mr John Adewoye, said the suspects were caught in the act during a two-day sting exercise across various hotspots in Ibadan.

He further disclosed that a total of N1,010,040, consisting of various denominations, was recovered from the suspects, adding that three of the sponsors of the suspects had also been arrested.

The operation, he said, was in line with the provisions of Sections 20 and 21 (1) of the CBN Act 2007 which made hawking, selling and abuse of naira a punishable offence, such that those convicted were liable to a jail term of six months or fine of N50,000 or both.

Adewoye who was flanked by Assistant Commandant General, NSCDC, Mr Waheed Bamidele, gave an assurance that the arrested persons would be charged to court.

while investigations were on to track the chain of godfathers behind the act of hawking of new naira notes.

He said NSCDC would be embarking on other sting operations to stop abuse of the naira, ranging from spraying at parties to soiling, writing on it, squeezing, handling and counterfeiting the notes.

One of those arrested, Wahab Dotun, said he had been in the business for eight years, operating at the Agodi Gate area of Ibadan, while he got the funds from a supplier at Iwo Road.

Dotun added that for every N1,000, which he bought at N1,100, he made a gain of N100 by selling at N1,200.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/nscdc-cbn-nab-10-for-hawking-naira-notes.html

A 19-year-old girl, Dorcas Adilewa and one other person have been arrested by the police in Lagos State for allegedly feigning her kidnap in order to extort money from her family.

The teenager claimed that she feigned her kidnap to get money from his uncle for her to further her education and to help her mother repay a loan that she obtained.

Dorcas and her accomplice, 20-year-old Ifeoluwa Ogunbanjo had reportedly planned the fake kidnap, after she lied to her mother that she was going to see a friend in Ogun State, only to call her father later that she had been kidnapped.

The state police boss, Imohimi Edgal, while parading the suspect before newsmen on Monday afternoon said “On the 12/07/2018 at about 1700hrs, one Adilewa Taiwo of No.3, Kosumi Lane, Bello-Ketu, Lagos reported at Ketu police station that on the same date at about 1500hrs, he was at Odogbolu in Ogun State attending a burial rite when he received a call from phone number 09057432362 telling him that, his daughter, Dorcas Adilewa ‘f’ 19 years was being held hostage by them and that if he does not want her killed, he should pay a ransom of the sum of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N600,000.00) to secure her release. The case was immediately transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Section, SCIID, Panti for discreet investigation.

The police boss added that “Investigation into the case was immediately commenced and the above phone number that was used by the suspects was geo-located to Ijebu-Igbo area of Ogun State. The O/C Anti-Kidnapping led his operatives to Ijebu-Igbo on 12/07/2018 at about 2200hrs and combed the area in search of the supposed victim till the following morning of 13/07/2018. While the search was ongoing at Ijebu-Igbo, the location of the supposed kidnappers changed on the morning of 13/07/2018 to Ikotun in Lagos and the search party had to move from Ijebu-Igbo to Ikotun in Lagos to rescue the victim.”

“When the fake kidnappers realized that the Police were closing in on them, the supposed victim decided to call the complainant to inform him that she has been released after he had deposited the sum of Eight thousand (N8,000.00) naira in her bank account number,” the police boss also stated.

CP Edgal added that, “When the said Dorcas Adilewa was being debriefed upon her release, she confessed by revealing that, she actually planned with her friend, one Ifeoluwa Ogunbanjo who provided her with accommodation at No. 174, Adeboye road, Okesopin, Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State to hide and the phone that they used in demanding for the ransom of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N600,000.00). Her reason was to extort money from her father.”

Dorcas told TribuneOnline that, “I went to Ifeoluwa’s place and I had borrowed money from my mum to transport myself there. It was because of the situation in my family that led me to plot my own kidnap. My father has a liver problem and My mum had collected a loan from corporative which she has been finding difficult to repay.”

The suspect also added that “My aunt who had always come to the rescue of my family had died recently. She was the person seeing me through school. I had written JAMB to enable me to further my education and also needed money to pursue my admission. Even where I was working with Bet Naija, I was owed a three-month salary.”

“I had called my uncle to seek for financial help which he turned down. This was why I devised the strategy to pretend I had been kidnapped to help raise money to help my mother repay her loan. I had called my friend that I was coming. The plan was to stay at her place, call my father that I was kidnapped and request for N600,000 as ransom to help mum repay her loan. “she also said

On how she expected the father to get the money, the suspect said, “I knew if my uncle heard I was kidnapped, he will definitely raise the money for the ransom. But unfortunately, I was arrested.”

The alleged accomplice, Ifeoluwa, however, denied being part of the fake kidnap operation, when she said, “Dorcas called me on Thursday, July 12th to say she was at my bus top at Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun State. I asked why she didn’t call me before coming and she then told me she was kidnapped and taken to Akure and that she had escaped and decided to come to my place to recuperate”.

She added that “When my mother heard her story, she insisted Dorcas passed the night and continued her journey the next day. That night, Dorcas requested for my phone which I gave her to make a call. She went outside to make the call and when she returned the phone, she had deleted all the dialled calls.”

“I didn’t know she had called her Father saying she was kidnapped and demanding for ransom. She used a day to carry out the whole act. I have only known her for six months from the church and didn’t know she was capable of such. She just implicated me.” she also claimed.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/i-feigned-my-kidnap-to-get-money-from.html?m=1

El-Rufai is a liar, loose cannon — Senator
This is the topic pls

Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim has described the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai as a "loose cannon and a liar" who is one of the people that got the All Progresives Congress (APC) into the current mess it found itself now.

Reacting to a statement by El-Rufai on a Hausa radio Programme where he described the present Senate under the leadership of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the worst, Senator Rafiu stated that the Kaduna Governor is known as a "flippant and loose talker" as the facts do not support his position.

"Maybe we need to educate this aggrieved Governor that this Senate in three years already has the highest number of bills with relevance to improving the economy, eliminating insecurity and corruption since 1999, even though we still have 10 months to the end of our tenure. Similarly, we have treated more petitions than the number that all the past Senate combined had done. Our interventions on key issues that affect the day to day living of Nigerians have remained unparalleled.

"El- Rufai is an aggrieved Governor. He is pained by the rejection of his request for foreign loans by the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debt which is headed by a Senator from Kaduna State, Shehu Sanni. The Governor has been speaking from both sides of the mouth.

" He had sent several persons to the Senate President on this loan. I am aware that when he sent the current Minister of Finance to Dr. Saraki, the latter made it known that he too was helpless on the issue as there was no personal reason that will make him stand against such a request. The Senate President advised the Governor to reach out to the three Senators from the State and get them to support the decision as he, the Senate President, would find it difficult to overrule the Senators, particularly since one of them is the chairman of the concerned committee. The three Senators from Kaduna State insisted that an approval for the loan would sentence Kaduna State to many years of indebtedness.

"I am aware of the text message that this same El-Rufai sent to Saraki few weeks ago,thanking him for the useful and supportive discussion the Senate President had with the Minister of Finance on the Kaduna loan issue and commending this same Saraki for the leadership he has provided on a number of issues.

" For him to now be making this kind of nonsensical and reckless statements against the Senate President shows that he is a double-faced, reckless, immature and unstable liar. People should ignore him. He is one of the people who destroyed APC up to the point that it is and President Buhari had better realized that with a supporter like el-Rufai, he does not need an opponent again", Rafiu stated.
http://surecontents..com/2018/07/el-rufai-is-liar-loose-cannon-senator.html

File photo of President Muhammadu Buhari



President Muhammadu Buhari has urged his supporters currently campaigning for his re-election to exercise restraint.

The President made this appeal on Saturday in a statement titled ‘Political Campaigns: Easy Does It.’ The statement was signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

He noted that the enthusiasm of the supporters is appreciated but appealed for “patience, so that the game can be played according to the rules.”

“It has been observed that some fervent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari have begun what may be interpreted as political campaigns in their advocacies and advertisements in the mass media.

“We appreciate our massive supporters nationwide, and urge them to exercise restraint till the race commences officially as stipulated by law,” the statement read in part.

The President noted that campaigning for him at this period is like jumping the gun because according to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it is not yet the period for political campaigns.

“There will be ample time ahead to trumpet the good works of the Buhari administration, and solicit re-election, all for the good of our country and her people.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a timetable for political campaigns, and we urge committed supporters round the country (and beyond) to be mindful of such.”

According to INEC time-table, party primaries for the presidential, governorship, federal and state elections would begin on August 18 and end on October 7, 2018, while that of the FCT area council elections will commence on September 4 to end on October 27, 2018.

The campaigns by political parties for presidential election would begin November 18, while that for the national assembly elections would start December 1.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/buhari-asks-supporters

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, Chief Perekeme Richard Kpodo, was on Friday remanded in prison custody for alleged rape by the the magistrate court sitting in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Kpodo, a vocal critic of the government, was arraigned at the Magistrate Court 10 presided over by E.T. Empire-Ugwa on two counts of unlawful detention and rape of one Teke Blessing.

According to the charge sheet, Kpodo was alleged to have detained Blessing on June 20th, 2018 at Etegwe area of Yenagoa with an intent to defile her and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 155 of the Criminal Code.

On count two, Kpodo, a former Security Adviser in the state, was said to have on the same day he allegedly detained the girl raped her thereby committing an offence punishable under section 285 of the Criminal Code.

The accused person, who was in the dock, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His lawyer, Julius Iyekoroghe, who was represented by Funlayeifa Seibokuru, quickly applied for the bail of Kpodo on grounds of sickness and personal recognition.

Seibokuru told the magistrate that the bail application was predicated on the fact that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

He said Kpodo was hypertensive and suffered other sicknesses, appealing to the court to grant him bail.

Besides, he said the accused person was a known politician and businessman, who owned hotels and properties in the state.

“If granted bail, he won’t jump bail. We also have sureties that are also ready to take him on bail. The court should consider his ill health and his personality and grant him bail”, he said.

But the prosecution lawyer, Ayibatonye Jumbo, opposed the bail application, saying that being a politician and influential businessman, granting Kpodo bail could jeopardize the case.

“There is the likelihood of the accused person interfering with the witnesses of the prosecution. The court should also consider the prevalence of the offence on daily basis. Almost on a daily basis, crimes like rape occur. Some are not reported because of stigma of the victims”, Jumbo said.

Jumbo further deflated the argument of granting the accused person bail on the grounds of ill health insisting that the lawyer for the accused person failed to tender medical reports to prove his case.

He said: “The count one is misdemeanor, which is not a serious offence. But the second count is felony and a serious offence, which if he is convicted, he will be jailed for life. Based on this, we appeal to the court to reject the bail application”.

But his lawyer Iyekoroghe, who said the arrest of Kpodo and his arraignment were politically motivated, describing the rape allegation as a trump-up charge.

He said the politician was being persecuted for criticizing the government adding that the development was aimed at shutting him up.

“This is a democracy and the act of the police against some critical views by a politician is unacceptable and a violation of his right as a Nigerian. As at last night, he was still being detained without taking statement as the police are still desperately searching for case file” he said.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/bayelsa-apc-stalwart-remanded-in-prison.html

There is no end in sight to the evacuation of stranded Nigerian migrants in Libya as another batch of 162 youths under the Voluntary Returnees Scheme facilitated by the European Union / International Organization for Migration (IOM) arrived Nigeria in the late hours of Thursday.





The aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) at 9:56 pm with 162 returnees. Three of the returnees arrived with minor medical cases.



It was however a harvest of pregnancies as 15 of the returnees arrived heavily pregnant.



The breakdown shows that there were 83 female adults, six female children and six female infants. Others included 62 male adults, two male children and three male infants.



The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director General, Mustapha Maihajja who received the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government advised the youths to embrace regular migration.



Represented by the Lagos Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Alh. Yakubu Suleiman, the DG warned prospective migrants not to endanger their lives by embarking on irregular migration.



The NEMA boss was further quoted as pointing out that migration has been part of human life from time of creation for different reasons, though it is not mandatory of intended host country to accept the migration based on the country's national policies.



"Nigerian youths seeking greener pastures outside the shores of this country should know that they would become second citizens in their host countries except for those who entered such country through regular means that may possibly have limited rights", he said.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/blog-post_27.html?m=1

As part of efforts to stick to the Abuja Master Plan and sanitise the nation’s capital, the Department of Development Control has vowed that demolition would continue in the FCT as long as developers contravene the plan.

The Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Usman Galadima, stated this in a chat with some journalists in Abuja.

Galadima said: “So long as human activities constitute ille­galities and abnormalities, then we have to correct the mistakes. It is not a punitive measure, but a corrective measure. Demolition will come to end when there is no illegality.

“There is no human society without mistakes and corrections. So long as there are mistakes, ille­galities and deviations, demolition will remain”.

Galadima advised residents and developers to obtain approvals before proceeding to develop their property in any part of the FCT. He also advised unsuspecting Ni­gerians not to buy land anywhere or any property without confirma­tion, stressing that buyers should do a legal search in lands depart­ment as well as the Department of Development Control to ensure that all necessary requirements have been fulfilled and not to fall into the hands of fraud stars.

Explaining the procedure for change in land use, he said: “The applicant should put up an application with a fee, after which an inter departmental committee would assess the application followed by an Envi­ronmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the intended change of land use.”http://surecontents..com/2018/07/demolition-to-continue-in-fct.html

Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia says the National Youth Service Corps has grown to become an effective tool for national integration and unity.

He made the remark on Thursday during the swearing in of 2018 Batch ‘B’ corps members deployed to the state at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp at Umunna in Bende Local Government Area.

The governor, who was represented by Mr Ike Anyatomwu, the state’s Commissioner for Youth Development, said that the scheme had impacted positively on the psyche of the Nigerian youth.

He added that “it is therefore imperative that we not only continue to sustain the scheme, but also work out ways of repositioning it with a view to enhancing its efficiency.”

Ikpeazu said that the good people of Abia were happy about the noble roles corps members played toward the development of the state.

He urged corps members posted to the state to take advantage of the newly introduced Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development and the NYSC War Against Poverty programmes, among others.

The NYSC Coordinator in the state, Mrs Franscesca Ifon, said that a total of 1,900 corps members were registered for the 21-day orientation.

She disclosed that the number comprised 1,048 males and 852 females.

Ifon charged the corps members to take all they would learn during the orientation course seriously.

The oath of allegiance was administered on the corps members by the Chief Judge of Abia, Justice Onuoha Ogwe, who was represented by Justice Thomas Adiele.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/nysc-effective-tool-for-national-unity.html

Police said six Somali soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb explosion near Somali’s southern town of Wanlaweyn on Wednesday evening.

Police officer who did not want to be named told Xinhua on Thursday that the forces were on their way to Baledogle Airport in Lower Shabelle region in Southern Somalia.

“The soldiers died after their convoy hit by landmine explosion while en route to Baledogle Airport,” the officer said.

Balidogle airport is located about 110 km northwest of Mogadishu where U.S. marines offer specialized training to Somali National Army.

Residents said the landmine explosion targeted a military vehicle carrying Somali soldiers, who were escorting a convoy of food and other logistical supplies to Balidogle airport.

Muna Mohamed, a resident, told Xinhua the blast shook the nearby areas, noting they learned soldiers were targeted.

“We heard a heavy explosion and the shockwaves could be felt from a distance. Government forces were targeted in the attack,” Mohamed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the terror group al-Shabab fighters have conducted similar attacks in the past.

The latest attack came a few hours after another roadside blast injured four senior military officials in Elasha Biyaha village, located on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu.

The attacks took place despite increased joint military operations by SNA and the allied forces in the areas Mogadishu and its environs.

The allied forces are also carrying out operations in Kismayo port city which was one of the strongholds of al-Shabab that served as its main revenue source before the insurgents were forced out by Kenyan forces in 2012.
http://surecontents..com/2018/07/six-soldiers-killed-in-roadside.html

Mustapha Boss

THE Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has lauded the contributions of Nigerians in Diaspora to national development.

Mustapha applauded them at the 2018 Diaspora Day titled, “Effective Engagement for National Development,’’ on Wednesday in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), in collaboration with Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO)

He said that the World Bank had recently declared that Nigerian living abroad remitted 22 billion dollars (over six trillion naira) in 2017, which was recorded as the highest remittance in the world.

“With this in mind, the Federal Government thought it wise to set a day aside yearly to assess opportunities and challenges to effective collaborations that would pave way for sustainable engagement with the Diaspora for national development.

“It is my sincere belief that the Diaspora community if well coordinated can lead to even better impact, not only on individual family units but also on the society at large.

“We are looking forward to not only fund remittances but also science and technology transfer, innovations, improvements in education, healthcare delivery among others,’’ he said.


He noted that this administration had taken giant strides to harness these contributions by establishing the Diaspora Commission Act, 2017.

Mustapha said that the commission would coordinate Nigerians in and from the Diaspora to contribute human capital and material resources for the development of Nigeria.

He added that the Draft National Policy on Diaspora Matters was currently undergoing a review by experts to create an enabling environment that would facilitate participation in national development.

In her address, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora matters, urged Nigerians in Diaspora to join President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against corruption.

According to her, Nigerians in Diaspora are doing well in the health sector and should endeavour to incorporate their expertise in Nigeria’s health sector.

She added that they should work together as one entity to move the country forward by discovering its full potentials.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President called on the Diasporas to always project Nigeria in a good light irrespective of the country they find themselves.

Miss Ivanka Spadina, representative of the Chief of Mission, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said that Diasporas play an important role in the economic development of their countries, long before the international community even noticed.

“To unlock the potential of Diasporas, it is highly imperative to put in place policies and other regulatory frameworks and programmes that will create the enabling environment for Diaspora investment to thrive.

“ Against this background, IOM within the framework of the ongoing European Union Trust Fund and IOM Initiative on Migrants Protection and Reintegration funded by the EU is supporting the Government of Nigeria to finalise the draft National Diaspora Policy.

“And facilitate its adoption by the Federal Executive Council, to achieve this, a Standing Committee on Diaspora Matters was inaugurated on 16th February 2018 to coordinate and oversee Diaspora activities in the country,’’ she said.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/sgf-lauds-nigerians-in-diaspora-over.html?m=1

Mynd44 lalasticlala

The National Vice-Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, South-South, Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi, said the Tuesday defection by some lawmakers to PDP was a good omen for the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Fifteen Senators and 32 House of Representatives members defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress to the PDP.

Four other members of the party, also in the lower chamber, announced their defection to the African Democratic Congress, while one member renounced membership of the APC but did not state his next move.

Ogidi said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the action of the lawmakers was in the interest of Nigeria, arguing that it would help to save the country’s democracy.

“The lawmakers defected from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP because they want good for the country and to save her democracy.

“They could no longer sit to watch the way things are going in this country, and that is why they are back in the PDP to join forces in the mission to rescue the nation. We are happy with that.

“This is a good signal for 2019 general elections and it also means that the PDP has been doing the right thing.

“Since we lost power at the federal level in 2015, we have not acted like opposition party but as a government-in-waiting.

“In spite of all the harassment and intimidation, we have never taken the laws into our hands; we keep doing the right thing and now you can see that it has paid off.”

Ogidi also attributed the defection of the lawmakers to the re-branding and re-positioning efforts going on in the PDP.

“People now see that PDP is real and is ready to give everybody the opportunity to aspire on his political ambition as we move on.”

He assured the defecting lawmakers that PDP would respect its promise of accommodating them in the party.

The national vice chairman also condemned Tuesday morning’s security siege on the Abuja residences of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, describing it as “a threat to the country’s democracy.”

He said it was part of the “desperation of the ruling party” to retain power, adding that such actions would not work in today’s democracy in Nigeria.

“This is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy and it is very unfortunate.

“They accused PDP of using impunity and power, but what are they doing? Is this part of the change that they promised us?”

He called on Nigerians and democracy lovers to condemn the act, saying that it was not a good precedent for democracy in the country.http://surecontents..com/2018/07/pdp-chieftain-hails-lawmakers-defection.html