₦airaland Forum

Unidentified gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have killed driver of the Speaker, Plateau state House of Assembly, Joshua Izang Madaki at Gate 4 of Jos University Teaching Hospital in Jos North local government area of the state.

During the incident the robbers also killed a security guard working with University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH) while two other security guards were injured.

Peter Azi an Aide to the speaker told Daily Trust that the driver was driving Speaker's back up car when the robbers killed him.

He said, the deceased drove the other Speaker's driver home in Fobor Village in Jos East local government of the state and while coming back the robbers shot him in front of Jos University Teaching Hospital's Gate 4.

"The robbers were robbing Mai Shayi (Tea Vendor) and they saw the speaker's back up Hilux that has siren, they taught it was security and they started shooting. They were four in the Hilux but it was only the driver that was killed." He said.

The Police in the state have confirmed that the incident occurred in front of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) at 9pm Saturday.

The Police Public Relation Officer in the state, DSP Terna Tyopev gave the names of the deceased as Azi Magaji - driver of the Speaker, Plateau state House of Assembly and Edward Ankpa - a security guard at JUTH.

He said, "Yesterday August 25th at about 9pm a distress call was received to the effect that there were sporadic gun shots at Zarazong area of Jos which houses Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Gate 4.

"Immediately the information was received, the Police mobilised to the area. On arrival Azi Magaji the driver of the Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly and Edward Ankpa Titus a security guard working with JUTH were found motionless.

Tyopev added that they were immediately rushed to JUTH but were confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.

"While Kopdi Monday and Nenman Popdak who were on duty at JUTH Gate 4 were also found with gun shot injuries and were rushed to JUTH for treatment."

He said that investigation has already been lunched into the case to arrest the culprits." He said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/gunmen-kill-plateau-speaker-s-driver-267552.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged military personnel deployed to Katsina State, saddled with the task of fighting bandits in Zamfara, to be `as ruthless as humanly possible’ in carrying out their assignment.

The president gave the challenge when he addressed the 1000-strong military force assembled to check the menace of the bandits and other criminal elements at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport Katsina, on Saturday.

The Federal Government had, on July 29, assembled military personnel, comprising the army, air force, police and the civil defence to help in tackling the activities of the bandits.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed fighter aircrafts to Katsina, the airport with the closest proximity to Zamfara, to allow for immediate and effective response to the menace of the bandits.

He had also authorised the engagement by NAF, of advanced satellite surveillance technology to help in accurate detection of movement and locations of the bandits.

The bandits had been terrorising innocent rural dwellers, razing down several villages and towns across the local government areas of Zamfara, and also kidnapping for ransom.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/be-ruthless-in-fighting-bandits-buhari-tells-military-267475.html

No fewer than 5,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state on Friday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that the defectors were received into the APC at an elaborate ceremony at the ACME Road secretariat of the party.

NAN reports that some 500 members of PDP had on July 3 also defected to APC in the state.

The defectors, who are members of the United Niger Delta Forum, were led into their new party by Mr Gabriel Ese, the group’s leader.

They were received by the Lagos state Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, with some other party officials.

Speaking at the occasion, Balogun said the party was excited to receive the new members into the fold of the party.

He said the decision of the former PDP members to join the party reflected the growing confidence in the party.

Balogun commended the new members for their decision to join what he called the progressive train, assuring them that the party would do its best to give them a sense of belonging.

“We are happy that you have made the decision to join the progressive train today and we assure you that we will do our best to make you feel at home.

“Even as you are just joining us, we have accepted you as part and parcel of the APC and we will not discriminate against you.

“I assure you, you will not regret joining the APC. We shall work together like brothers and sisters to ensure that APC is greater than what it is in the state,” he said.

Balogun implored the new members to show commitment and give their best in order to ensure victory for the party in 2019 general elections.

The party chairman also advised them to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in order to participate in the elections.

Balogun said the party had commenced registration of members nationwide and urged the new members to register to be fully integrated.

Also speaking, Ese said he and other members of the group were delighted to leave the PDP to join “the progressive party”.

He said the decision of the group to leave the PDP was because of the strides of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos state.

Ese said they were also motivated by the charismatic leadership of the national leader of the party, Chief Bola Tinubu and the achievements of the APC at the national level.

“We are pledging our full allegiance to the party because we have realised this is the party to be.

“We are so happy to be here and we will do our best to take the party to the next level, ” he said.

Ese said that there were about 500,000 registered members of the group in the state, saying that they would be mobilised them to obtain their PVCs in order to vote for APC in 2019.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/5-000-pdp-members-defect-to-apc-in-lagos-267389.html

The Kaduna State government yesterday imposed a 7:pm to 7:am curfew on two communities after two youths were killed in a communal clash in Kwaru and Ungwan Yero of Kaduna North Local Government Area.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai visited the families of the two youths and condemned the killings while expressing sympathy to the families.

He assured them that law enforcement agencies had been directed to thoroughly investigate the killings and prosecute those involved.

The governor appealed to residents of the communities to reject division in the name of religion or ethnicity and to uphold harmony in the area. El-Rufai was accompanied by the deputy governor, Barnabas Yusuf Bala and other senior government officials.

A statement signed by Samuel Aruwan, the senior special assistant to the governor, disclosed that more security agents had been deployed to the area, and appealed to residents to observe the curfew which would be strictly enforced.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/kaduna-declares-curfew-over-communal-clash-267397.html

Minister of Culture and Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday said 69 federal projects are currently ongoing in the South-East Geo-political Zone.

He was reacting to a statement credited to governors of the South-East region that the Federal Government has failed the zone in the provision of infrastructure, adding that no region was left out by the present administration.

The minister spoke yesterday in Ilorin during the Buhari/Osinbajo 2019 project lecture and inauguration of ward/local government canvassers. The lecture was organised by Mr. Festus Keyamo, spokesman for the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization.

“Suffice it to say that the South-East, just like other geo-political zones, got N16.6 billion worth of projects from the proceeds of the N100 billion Sukuk Bond, shared equally among the six zones. I have taken journalists on a tour of some of these projects in the South-East. They include the four roads being rehabilitated and reconstructed by the proceeds of the Sukuk Bond:

“Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section II (Umuahia Tower-Aba Township Rail/Road Bridge Crossing in Abia State, Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section I (Lokpanta - Umahia Tower) in Abia State, Outstanding section of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway (Amansea - Enugu State Border), Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway Section III (Enugu-Lokpanta) in Enugu State.

“In addition to these roads, we also inspected the N40 billion Aba-Port Harcourt section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, a strategic road linking Aba and other industrial heartland of the East with Port Harcourt, the nation’s oil hub.

“Let me say that these projects were awarded by the last Administration which, however, failed to provide funding. As a matter of fact, a section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt road, which cuts across many states, was turned to a refuse dump before this Administration came to the rescue,” he said.

The minister added that the South-east has never had it so good in the area of infrastructure.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/69-fg-projects-ongoing-in-s-east-minister-267252.html

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said the combined efforts of defectors and their backers in the opposition will not distract his administration from the good work it is doing for the benefit and development of Nigeria.

Senate President Bukola Saraki was among the top shots of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently.

The president spoke at a lunch with some APC governors accompanied by some members of the national and state assemblies and commissioners.

Buhari stressed that the ruling APC has the full understanding of Nigeria’s challenges and is encouraged by the support of Nigerians in addressing them.

“We are always encouraged when all our constituents are happy with the work we are doing and our genuine efforts to make sure that what we campaigned for in 2015 is still very much in our minds and we have not lost focus.

“In terms of security, economy and the fight against corruption we have maintained focus. Even the opposition with all their resources cannot fault our identification of Nigeria’s priorities and the efforts being made to better them,” he was quoted in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

He said: “We will continue to do what we ought to do in the leadership position God has placed us and we thank the constituents for the support.”

On the defections within the major political parties, the president reiterated his earlier message to them: “for those who have decided to change camp for whatever reason, we wish them good luck.”

In his remarks, the leader of the delegation and Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, commended the president for his efforts in keeping the nation together through visionary leadership.

He noted that President Buhari had remained focused and unshaken by situations and circumstances.

“It shows that your administration is approved by God. We are here to encourage you to keep doing what you are doing you as Nigerians are very, very pleased with you.

“We also want to inform you that we had wonderful and peaceful Sallah celebration across the country because of security of lives and property you have guaranteed in our nation,” he said.

Governor Okorocha was accompanied by the Governors Aminu Masari (Katsina), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano) and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger).

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/you-can-t-distract-me-buhari-tells-saraki-others-267249.html

Senate President Bukola Saraki, alongside fellow senators, Dino Melaye, Ben-Murray Bruce and others arrived at the venue of the Ojude-Oba amidst wild jubilation from guests.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the recently defected senator, Saraki arrived at the Oba Sikiru Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre, Ijebu-Ode, venue of the Ojude-Oba, as the special guest of honor for the event.

His entrance erased doubts over his presence, having raised controversy in some quarters over his choice for the 2018 edition of the festival.

Upon arrival, Saraki went round the pavilion to acknowledge cheers from the crowd before eventually making his way to the reserved area to pay homage to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona and other dignitaries.

In spite of the rain, guests were seen in their numbers to savour the occasion, which was majorly sponsored by telecommunications giant, Globacom.

The Ojude-Oba is held yearly two days after Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, as an age-old tradition of Ijebu indigenes in honour of the town’s monarch.

Different age-grade groups, known as the “Regberegbe”, attend in different colourful outfits, bearing gifts for the Awujale.

Other side attractions are the mock wars and horse display by various warlord families, as tourists from within and outside the country bask in the allure of the annual event

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/saraki-melaye-ben-murray-bruce-make-grand-entry-into-ojude-oba-267189.html

Up PDP!

Animals kingdom

The whole defection saga remains a burning issue in our political climate and there are still a number of unresolved issues as per the legitimacy or not, of the defections; and what their cumulative effect will be in the matter of who remains or becomes the Senate president and whether or not the House of Representatives will also witness a corresponding backlash, should the speaker defect. One thing is clear, both houses have leaders that have a rather strong followership amongst their colleagues without which they would have been history by now. In fact, they have a unique fellowship that binds them together and fosters loyalty. They emerged understandably on the merit of their colleagues’ support, even though a more curious case can be made of the senate president’s ascension to office.

Speaker Dogara does not appear to have any particular issues with the presidency, more so that all the attacks from loyalists of the presidency or the party hierarchy have not come the way of the speaker. He is more or less caught up in the ‘python dance’ or agitations against Saraki and has unwittingly had to soak up and endure the onslaught simply because of his camaraderie towards his leader in the national assembly. Mr. Speaker’s body language on several occasions has given that out; most recently was at the ‘world press conference’ at the assembly. He appeared timid and uninterested with the events of that portentous day as they unfolded. His demeanour has always been respectful towards President Buhari, occasionally stooping to exchange pleasantries as is traditional with most Nigerian cultures.

By fate, Dogara was batched along with the nPDP members that decried their seclusion or the like, from the centre of the APC-led government’s activities in governance and politiking. With himself as speaker, he categorically doesn’t fall into that group now does he? Again out of camaraderie at best, he’s had to endure the puzzling sojourn of the new found activism of the nPDP block as they tried to weave-out a new bargain for themselves as 2019 approached.

Dogara was quoted, either rightly or wrongly, to have said that, “Buhari is a father to me and no one can force me out of APC”. Whether he truly said that or not, that statement underlines the actual nature of his relationship from the get-go, lending credence to Buhari’s stance of accepting and having a cordial working relationship with whoever emerges as Speaker or Senate President accordingly.

The crux of the matter as it relates the Speaker is about the local politics; not in his constituency of Tafawa Balewa but in Bauchi State. I was Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Bauchi State Governor back in 2015 and I know for a fact that there was no rift between Dogara and Governor M A Abubakar then. Over time, a once mutually respectful relationship graduated into a psuedo-feud which was the creation of warlords that stood to gain it all, should a rift between the two be sustained. Foot soldiers from both sides funnelled and fuelled the conflict and so again, Dogara was caught in the fire between the legislators (national) from bauchi and his governor.

The ‘nail in the coffin’ was the demands from the legislators to the Governor who didn’t oblige them and consequently, all reconciliatory efforts collapsed. Today, some of these legislators are back in the fold of the governor while some are still at logger-heads with him and thus apparently in romance with Dogara. Chances are, some or most will not be in the house come 2019.

The APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, had recently said that Dogara’s matter is a minor issue and that he was working round the clock to arrive at a solution which is in sight. This unequivocally explains why Mr. Speaker hasn’t decamped just yet. He also quipped that Saraki shouldn’t be speaking on behalf of Dogara as the number 4 man in the country was more than capable of speaking for himself as speaker!

Mr. Speaker holds the highest office in the entire North East. He has allies and friends from both the APC and the PDP political divide. He wields quite an appreciable degree of influence and commands a lot of respect from different quarters in this country and is perhaps the youngest, even if politically, of all the persons in the centre of the present day political quagmire. Dogara is the luckiest too as he has; flung open, the result sheets along with the exam drills of the defection endeavor. He has seen all the moves; the deft and the daft, the real ones and the ride and die ones and is better equipped with lessons from the immediate history of the turn of events in the build up to 2019. The people from Tafawa Balewa to Bauchi through to Abuja will all come off the better for it if he stays put in APC and maintains his position as speaker till 2019. The road networks filled with bridges and other sub-structures he is championing from Tafawa Balewa through certain outskirts of Jos, connecting to Abuja is active evidence to that claim.

Undoubtedly, staying in the APC and concluding a term as speaker and possibly another, will make him one of the most formidable politicians from 2019 and beyond especially in the permutations and combinations that are to follow as per 2023 and beyond. Jumping ship to an uncertain and precarious other vessel is hardly the way to go. Staying put, slogging it out and reclaiming and consolidating on his successes is a clear bridge to a brighter political future.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/dogara-the-last-man-standing-267063.html

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Paucity of funds has crippled activities at the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Authority (JDA) resulting to non payment of staff salaries for months, investigations by Daily Trust have revealed.

This is despite raking in a total of $300 million in signature bonuses from exploration and exploitation of natural resources based on the 2001 JDA treaty between the two countries.

The bonuses were shared in the ratio of 60 percent for Nigeria and 40 percent for Sao Tome and Principe in line with the provisions of the treaty.

In addition to the signature bonuses, independent companies were said to have invested the sum of $415 million in six oil blocks through the signing of Production Sharing Agreement Contracts (PSUs).

The JDA treaty gave rise to the Joint Development Zone – an area in the region of Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe boundary – that is believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves. The two countries created the JDA to assist them in benefitting from the economic potentials of the zone because neither could explore the resources in the zone without interfering with the maritime territory of the other.

Negotiations were said to have commenced in December 1999 and completed on February 21, 2001 when the treaty (referred to as the Abuja Treaty) was signed by the then two heads of state President Obasanjo and President Miguel Trovoada of Sao Tome and Principe.

The JDA has a Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) at the apex, having the overall political responsibility and policy direction for the JDA and is made up of key ministers of both state parties. Its board is made up of four executive directors two from each state party appointed by the Presidents to serve for 6 years as contained in the Treaty and is saddled with the responsibility of running the authority.

Worsening financial challenges

Despite its economic potentials, the JDA started suffering funding challenges following the withdrawal in 2013 of TOTAL, SINOPEC and ADDAX from the JDZ (Joint Development Zone) because they considered the discoveries so far made in the various blocks they operate to be uneconomical for production by their ranking and standard.

The withdrawals affected JDA’s revenue generation capacity to run its activities with the attendant heavy reliance on the State Parties for funding in line with the provisions of the treaty.

Daily Trust findings reveal that the current financial situation in the JDA had resulted to alleged sacking of 35 workers, while some were sent on ‘administrative leave.’ The workers are currently owed salaries for five months.

It was also gathered that from January 2017, the board decided to stop payment of some allowances while the salaries of some categories of staff, especially from executive directors were said to have been reduced by half.

Similarly the dwindling financial fortunes of the JDA was said to have forced it to relocate from its initial luxury office located at No 117 Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II, Abuja in 2016 to a ‘more affordable building’ at No 13 Audu Ogbeh Street, Jabi Abuja. This is even as a multi-million naira contract for the construction of head office for the JDA in Abuja had been abandoned over alleged sharp practices.

‘Restructuring’ as partners fail commitments

Daily Trust gathered that the management of the JDA has proposed ‘restructuring’ as a way out of its current funding predicament, but there is apprehension among staff members who see the move as synonymous to further downsizing.

Investigation by Daily Trust reveals that over-staffing also accounted for the current financial hardship that has crippled activities at the JDA. A source confided in our reporter that the agency at a time was forced to recruit too many people leading to overstaffing.

Daily Trust also gathered that the JMC, which is expected to meet regularly to approve JDA’s budget and deliberate on other matters relating to its objectives, last met in Abuja in April 2004.

Mr. Luis Prazeres, a Sao Tomean and foundation member who served as chairman of the JDA board for six years before resigning last year, told Daily Trust in exclusive interview before his departure that the body started having funding challenge in 2014 when the two countries stopped funding the JDA.

“In 2015 the situation became worse and we wrote to the two countries saying that the state parties should continue funding the JDA. We also stressed the need for the two countries to sit down and look at the JDA. We had an overstaffed organization and funding problem,” Mr. Prazeres said in July last year.

He also revealed that the expenditure on staff had gone up to 60 percent of its budget, including salaries and allowances, which the JDA could not cope with, hence the decision by the JMC to embark on restructuring.

Although the proposed restructuring was introduced in 2015 with the JDA management agreeing that it should be a continuous process, the Nigerian government at the time kicked against proceeding with it till both countries sat at the JMC meeting to decide on the matter.

JMC to meet in September

Daily Trust gathered that the tenure of the last board of the JDA lapsed last year and even though new members have been appointed into the board, it is yet to be inaugurated as the JMC has not met.

However, a member of the new board Dr. Almajiri Gaidam, who has assumed office as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, confirmed to Daily Trust that a meeting of the JMC had been proposed for Abuja in September this year.

Ahead of the September meeting, a government delegation from Nigeria earlier in August met in Sao Tome and commenced negotiations with the government of São Tomé and Príncipe to relaunch the agreement on the Joint Development Zone for oil exploration.

Urbino Botelho, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communities, reportedly said the meeting was to establish a bilateral commission that will meet in each country alternately and make decisions and supervise programmes and joint actions.

The head of JDA’s media unit, Mrs. Jeb Allagh, declined to speak on the matter.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/lack-of-funding-cripples-nigeria-sao-tome-agency-266865.html

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said it has secured $1.55 billion from multilateral agencies to revive some critical projects and expand the transmission grid.

Interim Managing Director of TCN, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed, disclosed this at the 18th Power Sector Stakeholders’ meeting in Kumboso, Kano State, on Monday.

He noted that the intervention came from the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Union and JAICA.

He said, “The strategy is that we have approached the multilateral donors and we have been able to raise some significant money. We have also resuscitated some projects that had not been doing well, like the Abuja Transmission Project, which is supposed to provide three sub-stations and provide another avenue for supply through Abuja from Lafia.

“We have also resuscitated the JICA project that had been on the drawing board for a long some time now. These two projects, plus other projects is about $1.55bn which is coming from the World Bank, the African Development Bank (ADB), the Islamic Development Bank, JICA of Japan and the European Union is also giving us a grant,” Mohammed said.

He also noted that, “We have a stranded load generation of about 2,000mw. This is not healthy for the development of the sector.

“On growing the load and avoid load rejection, we are working with DisCos to see how to improve their capacity and we have appointed interface focal officers to help them pick more load,” he noted.

The TCN boss who assumed office in January this year said the public firm was now working towards realising 20,000mw of transmission capacity in the next few years, a statement by the Principal Manager (Public Affairs), Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/fg-secures-1-5bn-fund-for-power-transmission/210170.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has faulted a report that he is against the use of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and card readers for the next year’s general election.

Buhari in a statement yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said allegations that he declined assent to a bill due to his objections to the use of card readers are ‘wild and baseless’.

“President Buhari did not and has never raised any objections to the use of Card Readers for elections in Nigeria.

“On the contrary he has always been a passionate advocate for the use of PVCs and card readers in elections in Nigeria, mindful of the role that card readers and PVCs played in the election that brought him into office. And he has repeatedly made this clear, and praised these,” he said.

He said the revised version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, with corrections by the National Assembly, and dated the 2nd of August, 2018, was received by the Presidency on the 3rd of August, 2018.

“The President has 30 days from the date of receipt, to assent to or decline the Bill. The Bill is therefore still under consideration by the Presidency,” he said.

The President also did not raise objections whatsoever to the use of card readers, contrary to the stories being maliciously peddled by sections of the media and on the internet.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/i-m-not-against-use-of-pvc-card-readers--buhari-265967.html

chai!

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has just presented an appropriation of N155.8billion for 2019 fiscal to the state Assembly.

The budget is broken into N62.3billion recurrent and 93.5billion capital expenditure.

The education and health sectors are the most favoured with 27.5percent and 15.02percent respectively.

Details shortly...

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/just-in-el-rufai-presents-n155-8-budget-for-2019-to-kaduna-assembly-265924.html

Some youths under the auspices of Sokoto State Students and Youth Forum yesterday said Governor Aminu Tambual’s administration had performed woefully in the area of youth development.

Addressing journalists in Sokoto, the chairman of the group, Isa Usman, said youths and students in the state had no option than to support the All Progressives Congress and ensure its success in the 2019 general elections.

Usman said that payment of scholarship and students’ allowances were not consistent under Tambuwal.

He cited the recent threat by the Baze University to sack the students of the state brought from abroad to the university by the state government over non payment of school fees.

He recalled what he called “unprecedented” commitment of former Governor Aliyu Wamakko to youth development, saying that during his administration, students’ allowances and scholarship were consistently and promptly paid.

Usman further advised youths not to allow politicians to use them as thugs.

The group declared support for President Muhammadu Buhari and Wamakko.

In his reaction, Tambuwal, who dumped the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party last week, said the youth were only playing the script of their sponsored who, according to him, are enemies of his government.

Tambuwal, who spoke through his media aide, Abubakar Shekara, however described the group’s allegations as false.

The governor said his administration had spent N3bn on scholarship and students’ allowances in the last three years while attending to other aspects of the people’s needs.

“So, for somebody to say that this government is not consistent in paying scholarship and students allowance, he is not saying the truth,” he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sokoto-youths-tackle-tambuwal-on-devt-264863.html

Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday met behind closed doors with former Military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at his hill top mansion in Minna for over two hours.

It was learnt that the meeting was on the Tuesday’s invasion of the National Assembly by Department of State Service operatives.

The meeting was also said to have discussed the defection of some lawmakers, including the senate president from the All Progressives Congress to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki shunned journalists who sought to ask him about his mission to Babangida’s residence.

Babangida’s security aides had earlier told journalists that Saraki’s visit was private.


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/saraki-meets-ibb-264864.html

ok

hmmm

The men of the Department of State Security (DSS) that blocked the National Assembly gate on Tuesday to prevent lawmakers from entry had a list of APC senators that they planned to allow into the premises, Senate President Bukola Saraki has said.
Saraki said in Abuja on Wednesday that the APC senators were not around during the siege because they were meeting somewhere on how to storm the National Assembly to effect illegal change of leadership.

‎"The officers said they had a list of those to be allowed in. That was why when other members came they were not allowed to come in."

"The reason why they (APC senators) didn't come was because they were meeting somewhere. The meeting they had at night wasn't conclusive, that's why they went to meet again."

Saraki also said that it is not true that the sacked Director General of DSS, Lawal Daura, was working for him, saying it was the same DSS that withdrew his security some months ago.

"How is that possible? It is an afterthought to say so. This is the same state security that withdrew our security, so how can they be answerable to us?‎ We must protect this democracy and we must work with the constitution. You can't turn us to a Banana Republic," he said.‎

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/dss-men-were-handed-apc-senators-list-for-entry-into-n-assembly--saraki-264821.html

We hope FCTA will take action

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the presidency can’t compel the National Assembly to reconvene over the 2019 general elections.

Addressing newsmen, yesterday in Abuja, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, argued that Buhari was not ready to conduct the 2019 general polls and was capitalising on the recess by the lawmakers to frustrate the process.

“‎Was President Buhari not aware that the National Assembly would be on recess this time of the year? Was it in July, he realised the 2019 general elections would commence in February, 2019?” Ologbondiyan queried.

The party also described as fake news, the purported defection of former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, claiming it has not received any notice of his resignation.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-to-presidency-you-can-t-compel-n-assembly-to-reconvene-264547.html

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has inaugurated four committees to steer its affairs in the build up to the 2019 general elections.

The Blueprint and Manifesto Committee is headed by a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Tom Ikimi with 23 members, while the Strategy and Planning Committee is headed by Alhaji Kawu Baraje of the rAPC also with 23 members.

Similarly, the Media and Publicity Committee is headed by Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi of the rAPC with 24 members, while the Contact and Mobilisation Committee is headed by the National Chairman of the Democratic People’s Congress (DPC), Rev. Olusegun Peters, with 23 members.

‎The coalition consists of 39 political parties which came together recently and signed a pact with the aim of dislodging President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general elections.

The chairman of the coalition and a former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said Nigeria is now being rated as the poverty capital of the world because of the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The sub-committees must work in harmonious ways that will ensure the realization of the ultimate objective of the coalition. This cardinal objective is known to all of us. It is to wrest power from the APC in the 2019 elections and take Nigeria to prosperity. And by the grace of God, we won’t fail. We have all seen how our country has been, in the last three years, slipping progressively into socio-economic and political coma.

“We must not and will not abandon Nigeria in the hands of the current officials who have convinced everyone that they are incompetent and incapable of driving Nigeria to prosperity,” Oyinlola said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/2019-baraje-ikimi-bolaji-peters-head-cupp-c-ttees-264549.html

One of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirants, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, yesterday met with the leaders and stakeholders of the party from the North Central zone over his ambition.

At a consultative meeting in Abuja, Dankwambo solicited the support of the North Central PDP leaders, saying he has all it takes to take the country to greater heights if given the opportunity.

Responding on behalf of the North Central PDP leaders, a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, said the PDP is the party to beat.

Similarly, the Governor who addressed the PDP North West Zonal Statutory delegates yesterday in Kaduna, said his visit was to inform the delegates that he had joined other aspirants in the race to use the PDP platform to contest for the presidency in 2019. The governor, who said he was a candidate to beat in the race, sought the support of the delegates to enable him pick the PDP ticket.

Dankwambo said he chose to visit the North West Zone first to declare his presidential ambition because of its importance, stating over 18 million votes in the 2015 presidential poll came from the seven states that made up this zone.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/2019-dankwambo-seeks-n-west-n-central-pdp-support-264551.html

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has said that only the elite are ganging up against President Muhammadu Buhari.

Okorocha, who spoke at a meeting of South-East APC Women and Youth leaders for Buhari, at the government house, Owerri, said the president still enjoys the support of the masses who are “solidly behind him”.

He said the elite in the nation’s politics were not comfortable with Buhari’s anti-corruption stand and the fact that the president was poised to rescue the poor masses from being emasculated by them.

While stating that there is a selfish and calculated elitist conspiracy against the president, he said Ndigbo have every reason to support the president’s second term aspiration in 2019.

The governor, who said President Buhari believed in the masses, added that the president also believed that the wealth of the nation must be managed so that the masses could benefit from it.

He asked Nigerians to rise and support President Buhari because “he has done well and stands by the truth and does not believe in the primitive accumulation of wealth.”

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/only-elite-have-ganged-up-against-buhari-okorocha-264350.html

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the scenario which brought in Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the seventh National Assembly against the wish of the then ruling party is different from the way Dr. Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate president in 2015.

Tambuwal, who is now the Governor of Sokoto State, it would be recalled, emerged Speaker of the Lower House, against the zoning principle of the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which favoured the former House Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande as Speaker.

With the support of the then opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Tambuwal emerged as speaker. He later in 2014 dumped the PDP for the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC).

Following the defection of the Senate president to PDP alongside other senators, there have been calls for the resignation of Saraki having left the APC, on which platform he emerged senator and eventually Senate president.

Answering questions from newsmen in Lagos, at the weekend, on what is perceived as a re-enactment of the Tambuwal saga which the then ACN supported in 2011, Mohammed said the Saraki’s scenario is completely different from the 2011 saga.

The minister also insisted that unlike Saraki who offered the opposition party the deputy Senate president position with the election of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Tambuwal did not destroy his party by trading away the deputy speaker’s position.

What Saraki did, according to Lai Mohammed, was to put the APC leadership and the government in a difficult corner by ensuring that any attempt to impeach him would be tantamount to making an opposition senator in person of Ekweremadu the Senate president.

He reiterated that the problem of APC and the government started the day Saraki entered into an alliance with PDP senators to emerge Senate president.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/saraki-s-case-different-from-tambuwal-s-2011-saga-lai-mohammed-264349.html