₦airaland Forum

The National Assembly has passed a resolution to amend the 1999 Constitution to create state and community police to tackle insecurity in the country.

The resolution to amend the Constitution followed debate on the recent killings in Plateau State at the both chambers of the National Assembly.

At the Senate, the motion on Plateau killings was sponsored by Senator Jonah Jang (PDP, Plateau).

While passing the resolution, the Senate mandated its committee on Constitution review chaired by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to within two weeks submit a bill for the amendment of the country’s Constitution to create state and community police.

The passage of the bill, according to the unanimous resolution would be done before the end of this month when the lawmakers would be proceeding on annual recess.

The Senate also resolved to accelerate the passage of the bill on the establishment of peace and reconciliation commission and police reform bill. The passage is expected to be done within two weeks.

Senate President Bukola Saraki who condemned the killings, said “this is act of criminality and we should not allow any other colouration to it.”

At the House, Reps also advocated for the creation of State Police as part of a holistic review of the country’s security architecture to curb the “barbaric, gruesome and senseless killings” currently ravaging the country.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/n-assembly-begins-process-to-create-state-police-259290.html

Allow person to hear word please!

Founder of Baze University and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed has said President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in governance.

He made the assertion at the PDP National Secretariat ‎Friday, in Abuja, where he notified the national leadership of the party of his interest ‎to run for presidency in the 2019 general elections.

The ‎ex-lawmaker said Buhari's anti-graft war is a ruse and called on the President to prove to the world that corruption is not going on in his government.

"This anti-corruption war is a lie and I know it. I'm not a risk taker; I love my life but I also love Nigeria. How can you collect corrupt monies from peoples' salaries to come to power and you say you are fighting corruption? Two corrupt governors were rewarded with juicy ministries.

"Let him (Buhari) address an international press conference and deny that contracts are not inflated; that family members are not stupendously rich while people are being daily murdered.

"The 2007 contest has questionable funding, the 2011 elections had more questionable funding but the 2015 most questionable funding.

"Nigeria is practically worth forty percent of what it was before APC took over. Terror and sophisticated crimes have abated; Nigeria is in a very sorry state.

"If APC comes back in 2019, the exchange rate for a dollar will be N700. If the APC wins in 2019, it is our fault. This country is not going to be rescued by people who have been lamenting, the world is going to be destroyed by those who see evil and do nothing about it.

"The APC is accidental concoction. Shame to APC because they don't have structure in all the wards across Nigeria," he said.

Dr Baba-Ahmed said he would remain a card-carrying member of the ‎PDP and cooperate with the party even if he did not get the ticket but expressed confidence that he would defeat the other contenders for the ticket.

He urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to conduct free, fair and transparent primaries, saying he would fix the security, economic and other challenges bedevilling the nation if given the mandate.

The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus asked President Buhari to end the killings in the country and asked the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu and Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed to stop politicising deaths.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/baba-ahmed-to-buhari-you-have-failed-in-governance-258667.html

Without any reason that is reasonable enough to warrant any reasonable intervention from the country’s reasonable President, members of a fading group within the APC that call themselves the New PDP (nPDP) have recently resorted to blackmailing and intimidating both the APC leadership and the Presidency that they would pull out of the APC if certain unreasonable demands of theirs were not met!

And what are the unreasonable demands? One, that the APC has been marginalizing them in the party; that the party and the Presidency should address it or they will leave the party! Two, that the federal government should drop all charges of corruption and criminal allegations against Senate President Bukola Saraki and other colleagues of theirs!

Senator Saraki actually became President of the Senate against the wishes of the APC. But the party has already moved on by accepting it as fait accompli. In other words, if the APC had chosen to behave like the PDP has been ruling between 1999 and 2015, the APC would have raided both the CBN and the NNPC to pull out billions of naira to remove Saraki from that office!

Even at that, Senator Saraki, being a PDP man with all of the party’s DNA well enshrined in his personality, actively sabotaged the APC by making sure that the seat of the Deputy President of the Senate was retained by the PDP in a Senate with APC in the majority, which is akin to the PDP occupying both the top leadership positions of the Chamber! Besides that, he also divided committee chairmanships equally between APC and PDP senators, something that the PDP has never ever done, and will never ever do, for any party! In other words, Senator Saraki chose to empower his (former?) party the PDP at the expense of the APC! So, who is marginalizing whom in this context and how has he been of help to the APC?

We are not even talking of the fact that since Saraki connived with his PDP to shortchange the APC in the Senate, they converted the Senate into a tool for sabotaging the war against corruption, crime and economic waste. So, of what benefit has Saraki and his nPDP gang been to the APC and the administration of President Buhari? Absolutely nothing!

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara lended himself to be the leader of the delegation constituted by the so called nPDP to meet with the Presidency over the unreasonable demands their unreasonable group made (as listed above), which simply means he also agrees that the nPDP which he belongs to has been marginalized by the APC. And I wonder what kind of marginalization is it when the nPDP alone has both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives while at the same time conceding the office of Deputy President of the Senate to their (former?) party?

In any case, when Hon. Yakubu Dogara became Speaker of the House that is made up of about 240 APC members and about 120 PDP members, he shared committee chairmanships equally between APC and PDP members exactly as his nPDP partner Bukola Saraki did in the Senate, which was something the PDP has never ever done, and will never ever do! In other words, while almost every PDP member of the House is either a Chairman or Deputy Chairman of a committee, so many APC members in the House are mere committee members.

So, both Saraki and Dogara merely rode on the wings of the APC to get into power in order to clandestinely empower their party, the PDP, and having done so to their satisfaction for three years, they now decided to come out openly to blackmail the APC administration with flimsy and unreasonable demands. Or better still, they must have been enjoying the marginalization they did against APC members in the National Assembly and the sabotage they have waged on every noble programme of the Buhari administration so much that they now want to occupy the positions of President and Vice President, otherwise how on earth could they now claim they are being marginalized when they have been the ones marginalizing and sabotaging the APC?

In fact, if you are a fair minded person, the more you go through their unreasonable demands the angrier you get, especially when you see that almost all of them who were chased out of the PDP by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his gang are now either state governors or senators or House of Reps members or even ministers on the tickets of the APC. So, what else do they want if not sabotage, blackmail and the desire to force this administration to run Nigeria like the PDP has done, a method through which they robbed, plundered and destroyed Nigeria for 16 solid years?

For example, if Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is having a political feud with his successor Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who then is marginalizing whom in their own case since both of them are of the same nPDP stock? Is it an APC governor marginalizing an nPDP senator, or is it not a feud between two nPDP gladiators with one attempting to dominate and control his successor in the Kano State Government House on the flimsy and untenable basis that he helped his successor become governor?

If these so called nPDP “activists” are not drunk or foolish or both, who among them has any reasonable reason to claim or play the warped song of marginalization when in actual sense they have gotten much more than they deserve and have even used what they got to sabotage both the APC and its administration in spite of the fact that it is the APC that gave them the lifeline to revive their dying political career?

When the Goodluck Jonathan camorra hounded them out of the PDP through all manner of threats and intimidations, their political capital was very down. And it coincided with the moment the whole nation was ripe and ready for CHANGE on the wings of General Muhammadu Buhari, which became very convenient for them to ride on his coattails to seek elective offices, and which they got. But these charlatans are now strutting themselves like some political heavyweights without which the APC and General Buhari couldn’t have gotten power whereas even when they were in the PDP with all their so called political clout and usual “PDP machineries”, Buhari has always won the places or areas they consider as their primary places of power and influence!

In fact, as a matter of national duty and patriotism, President Buhari should not balk at the duty of ordering the arrest and prosecution of anyone found colluding with armed robbers or cultists or any other criminal gang, or anyone overtly or covertly sabotaging the war against corruption and other noble programmes of government. They cannot ride back to power on the wings of CHANGE in 2015 and then be openly clipping the wings of that same CHANGE in preference for the ways and methods they used to destroy Nigeria from May 1999 to May 2015!

And by the way, for any person or group to ask the President to direct the withdrawal of criminal charges against any person or persons is tantamount to urging the President to commit the crime of obstruction of justice, which is equally an impeachable offence! And it also amounts to undue interference in the legitimate functions and duties of another arm of government, or do they think we are operating a monarchical system of governance instead of democracy?



Faliya Cham is National Coordinator, Vanguards for the Protection of Democracy in Nigeria


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-apc-should-expel-npdp-faction-258534.html

For discerning Nigerians, the name Abdulmumin Jibrin is not new to controversy. He is also not new to suspension as far as the Eighth National Assembly is concerned. In fact, the 41-year-old lawmaker representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State who was recently re-admitted into the house may likely face another suspension over his recent position on happenings in the green chamber.

After serving out his suspension period, with an extra-time, Jibrin was recalled to the House on Wednesday, March 14, 2018.

Only about a fortnight ago, a court judgment voided his suspension and ordered that all his entitlements for the period be given.

Sources claimed that the House lifted the suspension after the APC lawmaker had “apologised” to his colleagues over his conduct in the N40bn "budget padding" allegation which Jibrin has not denied.

Brandishing what was said to be Jibrin's letter of apology to the House, the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, recalled that the "apology" was one of the conditions which Jibrin had fulfilled for the pardon.

Dogara said, "By this (letter of apology) he has fulfilled all the conditions of the resolution of the House. He is free to resume his legislative duties whenever he wants; if he so wishes.”

However, since resuming legislative duties in March, nothing has been heard of Jibrin in the form of briefings, plenary contributions or committee assignments.

In fact, he literally shunned publicity until Tuesday, June 5, 2018, when a statement he signed as a member of the Parliamentary Support Group (PSG), a pro-President Muhammadu Buhari group, stirred the hornet's nest, is very likely to send him back to another suspension.

In the statement, Jibrin claimed that the joint session behind closed doors by both the Senate and the House was a “PDP affair” as members of the ruling APC refused to make any comment.

Although members of the PSG include notable names like Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Ovie Omo-Agege, the statement was signed by Jibrin alone. But so far, none of them has come out to dissociate himself from the statement.

Given the new turn of events at the green chamber this week, observers are concerned that Jibrin may be headed for new, perhaps stiffer, legislative sanctions.

Following a point of order based on privileges raised on Wednesday, the House mandated its ethics and privileges committee once again to investigate Jibrin's statements to the press, which his colleagues deem to be in bad taste.

This was the outcome of a point of order on breach of privilege raised by Mr. Sunday Karimi (PDP, Kogi) during Wednesday's plenary, with particular reference to Jibrin's press statements. Karimi said there was need to call Mr. Jibrin to order because he had turned the House “upside down.”

The lawmakers had risen from Tuesday's joint session to issue President Buhari with a 12-point resolution to, among other things, take responsibility for actions of his appointees and desist from being selective in his anti-corruption war.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who read out the resolutions, added that the legislature would exercise its constitutional power if Buhari failed to act.

But Jibrin had, in a statement on behalf of the PSG, distanced the group from the National Assembly's resolution.

In referring the matter to the Ethics and Privileges Committee, Speaker Dogara condemned Jibrin's action in strong terms.

“My ruling is simple. I have a problem with members who don’t come for sitting but will be the first to approach the press when a decision is taken," Dogara said.

Apparently referring to another lawmaker, Muhammad Gudaji Kazaure (APC, Jigawa), who had earlier said the lawmakers were secretly collecting signatures to impeach Buhari, Dogara added that, "For Kazaure, that is up to the executive; but for Jibrin, we are going to investigate the matter critically. We must always reflect the truth so as not to mislead the public."

Insiders are of the strong view that even if Kazaure escapes suspension at the end of the investigation, it will be difficult to say same for Jibrin.

The exponents of this school of thought are convinced that given the current power alignments in the green chamber and the fact that there is no love lost between Ossai and Jibrin, it will be very difficult for the latter to emerge from the investigation unscathed.

However, a contrasting school of thought believes that Jibrin, in his usual manner, may not even appear before the panel. In this case, he may be relying on the judiciary as his saving grace.

Whether or not Jibrin is heading for another suspension depends on the outcome of the investigation.

Jibrin was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2011 under the PDP). In 2014, he defected to the then new APC and was subsequently re-elected in 2015.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/is-abdulmumin-jibrin-heading-for-another-suspension-258595.html

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) looted public treasury for last Saturday’s national convention of the party.

The party specifically claimed that the 24 governors diverted the sum of N150 million each from their states, amounting to N3.6 billion to fund the convention.

When contacted, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi said the party would carefully study the allegation and respond.

“We are going to respond tomorrow (today). We will study it and respond appropriately to whatever thrash they have,” he said.

The opposition PDP in a statement yesterday in Abuja from its National Publicity Unit, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to commence investigation into the matter.

The party also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognize the newly elected National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, arguing that “his emergence by affirmation is in violation of democratic requirements of direct voting by delegates.”

According to the statement, “It is unimaginable that while Nigerians are suffering untold economic hardship, including unpaid salaries due to the misrule of the APC, governors elected on the platform of the APC diverted N150 million each, amounting to a humongous N3.6 billion to fund their wasteful national convention in Abuja.

“Everybody knows that APC is a party of corruption; that is why their choice of a national chairman is an individual overburdened by allegations of humongous corruption and alleged stealing of public funds, yet enjoying presidential cover, even when the petitions against him at the EFCC are in the public domain,” the statement said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-accuses-apc-govs-of-looting-n3-6bn-for-convention-258419.html

Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr Ibarakumo Otobo, said he quit the cabinet of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and defected from the PDP to the APC to save his conscience.

Otobo defected yesterday alongside former Special Adviser to Governor Dickson on Grassroots Development, Mr Asari Mangite.

“I have resigned my appointment today as a commissioner in Dickson’s government. I have a right as a patriotic citizen of this country to choose the political party I want to belong to, I am leaving the Dickson government and the PDP with all my supporters for good. I am not afraid of anybody, I am for APC, goodbye to PDP, I don’t associate with failure and I am coming to APC with the spirit of winning,” he said.

Otobo, 33, was appointed as commissioner in February and deployed to the ministry of youths development, becoming the youngest commissioner to have served in the state executive council in the state.

Receiving the defectors into the party, the leader of APC in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, represented by the House of Assembly member representing Brass constituency 1, Mr Israel Sunny Goli, said the coming of a serving commissioner and others in Dickson’s government was is the beginning of APC victory in the state.


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-i-quit-dickson-s-cabinet-pdp-for-apc--bayelsa-commissioner-257515.html

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Rafiu Ibrahim (APC, Kwara) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that over 6,403 projects were introduced into the budget at the National Assembly.

Reacting in a phone interview, Ibrahim said: “Why did he sign it? If he has so much reservations, he shouldn’t have signed it. He cannot continue to disparage the integrity of the National Assembly.

“We will not agree with our leadership to continue to bend backward for the President. Now he is talking as if it was our doing which is very dishonest of the President. In fact, I’m very disappointed in the President who we so much hold in high esteem. “All the amendments done to the budget were in consonance with the executive. The adjustment was based on benchmark and the details are available.”

On the president’s plans to send supplementary budget to National Assembly, he said, “ He has to bring it with all honesty by saying that he wants additional projects but if he puts it on our necks that, it is our faults, we will not allow our leadership to bend the way they used to.”

Contacted, the spokesperson of the Senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger) said: “My colleague’s response suffices and the Appropriation Committee Chairmen (Senate and House) will give more detailed response by Friday Insha Allah”.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/senator-president-is-being-dishonest-257339.html

Good one

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has denied endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari, or any contender for the 2019 elections.

President of the association, Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, who said this yesterday, also urged President Buhari to call his Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, to order over her vulgar abuse and other anti-social acts against Nigerians.

Ayokunle said in a statement by his spokesman, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, that a report title, ‘CAN says no vacancy in Aso Rock, endorses Buhari, Oshiomhole’ as published on some online media platforms is not from the Christian body but another organisation.

“After reading the report, we have come to realize that the statement was issued by a political movement, Change Advocates of Nigeria, with the same acronym, CAN. We wish to reiterate here that the Christian body has not endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari or any other presidential aspirant for election. We wish to urge the general public to discountenance the claim because it did not emanate from Christian Association of Nigeria at all.

“CAN recognize the right of political groups to perform their activities and also endorse whoever they deem fit in support of their political aspirations. We wish to therefore disassociate ourselves from the political group making this claim using our acronym ‘CAN’,” he said.

The National Christians leader in another statement condemned Onochie’s description of CAN as ‘CAN of worms’ on her Twitter account.

He lamented that Onochie specialises in the use of vulgar abuse and unprintable names against others with absolute recklessness.

“Onochie had twitted, ‘Prime Minister Theresa May, a Christian, is in a mosque doing what humans go to do in a place of worship. She knows that her God is the same one also called Allah. Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN of worms, Here's a great lesson in love and godliness, not hatred & anger!’ CAN at first decided not to dignify her recklessness with a response, thinking she may not be speaking for President Muhammadu Buhari, but the failure of the Presidency to call her to order is capable of making us to believe that she is expressing the mind of the Presidency, her employer,” Ayokunle said.

According to him, instead of asking CAN leadership to borrow a leaf from the British Prime Minister, Onochie should have directed her advice to her principal to emulate his British counterpart who gives all the citizens under her watch a sense of belonging and adequate security, irrespective of their religious, ethnic and political persuasions.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/can-protest-buhari-s-aide-abuse-denies-endorsing-president-for-2018-257258.html

The Federal Government is making final preparation to disburse $322 million fund repatriated from the accounts of former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha in Switzerland to Nigerians.

The National Coordinator of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), Nigeria and Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reforms, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu disclosed this recently in an interactive session with newsmen.

Ibekeaku-Nwagwu said under MoU with Switzerland the funds would be paid directly into the accounts of the poorest Nigerians through their various accounts for two years and identification numbers to be made available on the website being developed by the National Social Investment office and the World Bank.

She solicited the patience of Nigerians, explaining that the agencies working on the modalities would brief the public on June 28, adding that the process for the payment will be transparent for civil society and the media to monitor.

She said despite oppositions against the MoU from within and outside government, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) and his team have pursued President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of ensuring that the $322m was returned for deployment in the social safety nets project, which would make targeted transfers to the poor and vulnerable households.

“The poorest members of the community will be registered online, and before you make any payment, they must have an ID number so that every payment would be tracked. No amount will be paid out without a joint signature between Nigeria and the World Bank and without identification of individuals,” she said.

Ibekeaku-Nwagwu said President Buhari’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership during the London Summit in 2016 has enhanced transparency and accountability in government budgeting and contracting, adding that “If there is anything we have achieved its about getting Nigerian citizens to become conscious about what is happening with their money.”

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fg-to-disburse-322m-abacha-loot-to-nigerians-257150.html

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship mega rally held at the Olufemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday as a dramatic display of the failures embodied in the party.

The opposition party argued that the speakers at the rally did not disclose any significant plan which the APC has for the people of the state, saying it is an indication it has nothing except deceit and lies to offer the people.

The PDP in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said APC leaders only threw tantrums at the state governor, Ayo Fayose.

"This was evident as Dr Fayemi could not even itemise his last achievements in office, if any, upon which he wanted to be re-elected.

"The Ekiti rally therefore ended as a political comic relief for the PDP as many of the APC gladiators at the rally attested to the fact that Ekiti had been transformed from her poorly developed status in 2014 when Fayemi ruled.

"Dr Fayemi as 'Ekiti Kete' ought to have listened to the drumbeats of his invited guests as they spoke poorly of his tenure," the PDP said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/ekiti-apc-rally-a-dramatic-display-of-failure-257092.html

Over the years, the nation’s budget cycle has been inconsistent without a definite pattern, giving room for speculations and poor implementation.

According to data obtained from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) 2016 Annual Report and Audited Accounts, from 2011 to 2017, the time of approvals of the budgets is well into the New Year.

The earliest was that of 2013 which was submitted to the National Assembly on Oct. 10, 2012 and assented to by President Goodluck Jonathan on Feb. 26, 2013, indicating a five month time lag.

All others were presented to the National Assembly in December and assented to in April, May or June.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), experts said that the inconsistency does not bode well for the economy.

Mr Atiku Samuel, Head of Research, BudgIT, said the economy depends on fiscal, monetary and trade policies to power it.

“Monetary authorities look closely at the budget for direction and that is why the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was reluctant at its first meeting in 2018 to take action.

“Trade policy formulators sometimes bury decisions inside the budget.

“As such, the budget is an important planning tool within any functional economy’’, he said.

He added that inconsistency in the budget cycle meant that both monetary and trade policy formulators could not act or take informed actions at the appropriate time.

“That typically cascades across the economy, making decisions irrational and sometimes irrelevant.

“The organised private sector also suffers. For instance, government spending accounts for about 50 per cent of construction related spending.

“If the budget is not presented and passed at the right time, an inconsistent pattern follows as we have in Nigeria and players in that sector will also have to restructure.

“They cannot recruit in anticipation of an increase in spending and that inevitably kills jobs.

“Some even sack workers because revenue is inconsistent, as we have seen in the construction sector.’’

Samuel said that inconsistency in the budget cycle also renders fiscal stimulus ineffective and makes the pattern of spending difficult to trace and follow through.

He added that no investor likes volatility because it creates huge unmanageable risks.

Mr Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), said the fact that the nation no longer had a fixed budget calendar had introduced inconsistency and uncertainty into the economy.

He said this trend had influenced poor economic performance in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), growth and ability to meet sectoral objectives.

“This has also led to haphazard budgetary and economic policy implementation. Capital budget implementation has suffered under this budgeting scenario.’’

He, however, said that the executive and legislative arms of government had specific roles to play in rectifying and addressing the budget calendar and implementation challenge.

“First, the executive have to start the budget preparation process early through the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

“The MTEF should be ready for the endorsement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on or before the end of the second quarter (June).

“It should be submitted to the legislature which should vet and approve of same before proceeding on their legislative break in July.

“Thereafter, the executive budget should be ready by the first week of September and submitted to the National Assembly which will then have four months to approve same before the end of the year.’’

According to Onyekpere, there should be a commitment on the part of the legislature to approve the budget before proceeding on Christmas and New Year vacation.

This, he said, would enable implementation begin on Jan. 1 of the New Year.

Mr Victor Muruako, the Acting Chairman FRC, also said the trend reduces predictability and affects planning even within the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and with those doing business.

“It is also not very encouraging to investors because government being the highest spender, it is good that there should be a level of predictability’’, he said.

Muruako, however, said that though the inconsistency was not a good precedent, the commission was working closely with other MDAs, particularly the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Budget Office of the Federation and Ministry of Finance to improve on it.

This, he said was to ensure stricter compliance with timelines so that the right thing would be done at the right time.

“It is an evolving thing and we are not there yet but I believe that with the level of commitment of the Federal Government, particularly the financial team, I see a silver lining in the horizon and we will definitely get there.

“We are hoping that we will soon see a January to December financial year, but there is need to improve the relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government, because that is another thing that affects it.’’

He recalled that the budget was submitted to the National Assembly in the first week of Nov. 2017, but was only passed by the legislature in May, adding that the legislature had a greater role to play.

Muruako said there was the need for better relationship between the executive and legislature so that there would be synergy.

He also said that if the legislative arm was involved from the point of formation or articulation of the estimates, there would not be need for too much scrutiny.

“The theory of separation of powers is there, but they are supposed to work as one.

“Anytime they are not working together, it is evident and this is affecting the nation, but I believe that democracy is still evolving here and we will get there soon,’’ he said.

The FRC report also said that a strict budget timetable should be incorporated into the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.

It said that through that, relevant agencies would be committed to specific tasks, timelines and deadlines, which if enforced would help solve the perennial problem of late preparation and passage.

NAN reports that the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N8.61 trillion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari was presented to the National Assembly in Nov. 2017.

It was, however, raised to N9.12 trillion and passed by the National Assembly on May 16, and is still awaiting assent by the President.

(NAN)

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/budget-cycle-inconsistency-hindering-economic-development-experts-256806.html

okachie1:
Oga don worry u go soon beg to return the money! Ndi oshii

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of frustrating execution of projects in Taraba, Rivers and other states under the control of the party.

Secondus in a statement yesterday by his Media Aide, Mr Ike Abonyi alleged that contractors were being harassed by officials of the commission in order to thwart execution of projects.

“The recent harassment of contractors handling projects in only PDP states has clearly exposed the anti-graft agency as doing the bidding of the ruling party ahead of 2019.

“Intelligence is available to the party that the ruling party and the Federal Government have resolved to ensure that PDP states are permanently put on their toes so as not to get their bearing ahead of 2019.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/efcc-frustrating-projects-execution-in-pdp-states-secondus-256515.html

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has felicitated with Muslim Ummah on the celebration of Eid el-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

“With all the love, blessings and peace of this joyous occasion, we wish Muslims and indeed all Nigerians a happy Eid, and may all our good deeds be accepted by Almighty Allah (SWT),” the APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said today in a statement issued in Abuja.

The APC, which enjoined Muslims to sustain the lessons from Ramadan by remembering and catering for the less-privileged and downtrodden, also urged them to continue to pray and live together in peace, tolerance and service to humanity.

The party expressed confidence in its ability to deliver on promises to the electorate through on-going implementation of the policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

“With your continuous prayers, support and cooperation, the on-going task of building a new Nigeria for our progress, peace, unity and prosperity will be achieved,” the statement added.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/eid-el-fitr-apc-felicitates-with-muslims-256385.html

A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the September 22nd governorship election in Osun state, Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti has advised the former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida to apologize to Nigerians over the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Adeoti who is also the Secretary to Osun State Government lauded President Muhammad Buhari for declaring June 12 as Democracy Day and the honour for late Moshood Abiola (MKO).

In a Democracy Day message signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of Moshood Adeoti Campaign Organization (MACO), Mr Kayode Agbaje, Adeoti insisted that IBB must apologize over his role in the annulment of the election believed to have been won by MKO.

Adeoti said: "For those of us who participated in the electoral process on that day and later witnessed what followed, one would come to the conclusion that God indeed loves Nigeria that we all do love Him".

Adeoti said Nigerians deserve an unreserved apology from Babangida for the daylight robbery of the mandate. He charged the former military leader to summon the courage and put aside what some of his colleagues might say, apologize to Nigerians and find peace with his Maker.

"Chief Moshood Abiola, irrespective of the feelings of negligible few elites, remains the hero of democracy in Nigeria."

"He paid the supreme price for the nation's current democracy and therefore deserve the long overdue honour recently bestowed on him by the President Mohammadu Buhari's administration".

Adeoti called on the government at the centre not to stop at the national award alone but go a step further to name a national monument after him.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/june-12-ibb-must-apologise-to-nigerians-adeoti-255990.html

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, expressed confidence that he will defeat other aspirants, including a former governor of Edo State, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor who has also joined the race for the chairmanship position of the APC.

Oshiomhole who spoke with journalists after he was screened by Governor Aminu Bello Masari-led APC Screening Committee, voiced his satisfaction with the process leading to the June 23 national convention.

He said, “I am used to contestations and competition and I am a democrat. That was why I did not agree with those who said extend our tenure without election. I think democracy is problematic, but there is no better way to govern a people who are not children who should be spoon fed.

“In this business, it is not just what you do, not how it is done and who is involved in the doing. It is about participation. I am excited and the people are no strangers.

“At least, I know one and we have contested against each other before. He rigged me out, I pursued him and I won and retrieved the mandate from him. I went back to seek second term and I won. I defeated him even in his local government. I won 18 over 18, defeating him in his ward, his unit, his local government and senatorial district.

“If I was able to defeat him as an ordinary union leader when they dismissed me that I was not a politician while he was already a senator and I was able to defeat him; now as a man who has had the privilege to preside over the affairs of Nigeria Labour Congress nationwide, a two time-governor, if I have to compete with somebody who was governor for 18 months, I don’t have any problem,” he said.

“As for the others, let me say that in a boxing ring, heavy weights don’t engage feather weight. But serious speaking, I am happy that we are in a democracy and people are free to contest,” he added.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/i-ll-defeat-all-contenders-for-apc-chairmanship-oshiomhole-255953.html

Politics of bitterness

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The United Progressives Party (UPP) has ‎said it is on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari's declaration ‎of June 12 as Democracy Day.

The party in a statement on Monday by its National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie also commended the President for bestowing the posthumous award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on late Chief MKO Abiola, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Alhaji Babagana Kingibe respectively.

"The proclamation and the awards to the principal dramatis personae of the June 12 presidential election is an act of courage, justice and patriotism. The significance of the outcome of June 12 presidential election goes beyond the presumed winner of that election, Chief MKO Abiola.

"The positive implication of the result of that election includes the fact that if Nigerians could in a presidential election overwhelmingly vote for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as was the case of MKO Abiola and his running mate Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, the same people could have attained a greater national cohesion, unity, socio-cultural and religious tolerance and nationalism 25 years after such a historic and unprecedented mandate that was given to a man who in all considerations earned the mandate that he was given by his various earlier acts of statesmanship and philanthropy across religious and ethnic boundaries.

"It is unfortunate that Nigeria has retrogressed rather than build on the foundation laid on June 12,1993.‎ We do not agree with those who advance the argument that President Muhammadu Buhari was merely playing politics with such a monumental act of courage and patriotism," Okorie said.

Okorie also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to take further steps to also honour Prof. Humphrey Nwosu who ‎he said had many options including declaring the election inconclusive.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/we-stand-with-buhari-on-june-12-okorie-255861.html

Former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu said on Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari has addressed the injustices associated with the annulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, with the posthumous honour being conferred on Chief MKO Abiola as the winner of the freest and fairest election in the country.

Kalu, who spoke with Reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on his arrival from the United State, also declared that he was the first governor in the country that declared June 12 Public Holiday but he was challenged for doing so by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to him, the recognition of June 12 has proved wrong those doubting the commitment of Buhari to democracy.

He said the President has put Abiola in the map of the world. This, he stressed, was what past Presidents failed to do.

Kalu said the decision of Buhari to decorate late Abiola with the highest honours in the land shows that he is a democrat that the people can trust.

He however urged Buhari to go a step further by honouring the Chairman of the then National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, who superintended over the elections.

Kalu also wants Buhari to address injustices people of the South East experienced during the Biafran Civil War by declaring the region a special area.

Kalu said Buhari should be commended for giving financial autonomy to the state judiciary and houses of assembly.

He said the new bill signed by the president, which gives autonomy to the judiciary and legislature should be extended to the federal arm of government.

He said, "I was the first governor that declared June 12 public holiday and Obasanjo wrote me a letter to challenge it.

"Now that Buhari is working, he should also remember Humphrey Nwosu, the man that conducted the freest and fairest election in Nigeria. He should also be honoured.

"Buhari should go a step further and declare the south east a social area because people in the region were given ill treatment. They lost mines and property. He has already made a good step by paying the Biafran police their entitlements."

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/obasanjo-challenged-me-for-declaring-june-12-public-holiday-kalu-255878.html

The Presidency said those united by the annulment of the 1993 presidential election are angry with President Muahmmadu Buhari for righting the wrong that nourished them.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this yesterday in an article titled “June 12 Tsunami and the Ones Who Won’t Forgive Buhari.”

He said among those people were men and women in the temple of justice, who used one subterfuge or the other to keep June 12 buried and its biggest symbol, the presumed winner of the election, MKO Abiola, in detention until his end was induced.

Shehu said those people were after what would happen to them since Buhari declared June 12 a national public holiday and honoured the heroes of the 1993 presidential election.

He said it was pretty obvious that the “unjust” annulment was a huge elite conspiracy, well beyond the schemes and machinations, for which the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, had established a formidable reputation.

The presidential spokesman said June 12 annulment was inspired and supported in spirit, cash and in kind by high-level citizens who saw an opportunity for themselves and cashed in upon it.

“Beyond the coterie of two dozen or so military officials whose names have been documented as literally having had a gun to the head of their Commander-in-Chief in trying to induce the annulment, there were tens, possibly hundreds of co-conspirators who either forced the annulment in one way or the other, or joined the sustenance of the injustice done to Abiola and Nigerian voters which, from then evolved into an industry of a kind, supplying incomes and conferring privileges of state upon those in the plot.

“Many have forgotten by now that an interim government was contemplated at that time and a number of retired army generals were on queue, having been invited to get ready to head it. There was the foremost social scientist of the Yoruba stock who prophesied to the then rulers, on the day the announcement of election results was suspended that “the Yoruba will not be angry with the Head of State if he will go ahead to annul the election,” Shehu said.

He said only Buhari could say whether or not there would be a probe of the annulment of the presidential election considered the fairest and freest in the nation’s history.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/presidency-those-behind-june-12-annulment-angry-with-buhari-255783.html

APC chairmanship hopeful, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari has settled the June 12 question by declaring it Democracy Day and honouring Chief MKO Abiola.

Oshiomhole said this in Abuja at the commissioning of his campaign office by the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i.
He said, “I think we should salute the president for his statesmanship. There are many things he has done over the past three years that are outstanding in terms of finding the political will and demonstrating statesmanship.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/oshiomhole-buhari-has-settled-june-12-question-255741.html

Too bad!

Rampant kidnappings in Nigeria used to be a Niger Delta affair, where indigenous militants abducted oil workers, mostly expatriates, as a form of protest or agitation for the region’s development. This tension has been there, between some of the people and foreign corporations since the 1990s and gradually became more confrontational.

No one imagined that Kaduna State and many other states across the country would begin to record such cases, and without any form of agitation, with the exception of Borno and Yobe states where the Chibok and Dapchi schoolgirls respectively, and numerous others, were forcefully taken by Boko Haram insurgents.

So, the abductions began as a means to force ransom out of prominent families, then it began to affect farmers, and women and children. Eventually, no one is now safe, particularly on some major highways across the nation. In 2017 alone, over 100 passengers have reportedly been abducted in seven different routes across the country. Some of the routes include the Obajana-Lokoja, Ajaokuta-Lokoja and Kabba-Obajana roads, all in Kogi State. Also, there is the Auchi-Abuja and Benin-Akure roads in Edo State, the Abuja-Kaduna road, Abuja-Kaduna expressway and Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.

On the Kaduna-Abuja route, the criminals’ conclusion may have been that Abuja, being the capital city, has some high-profile persons commuting the expressway. This may have appeared valid when people like Army Colonel Samaila Inusa, a director in the Dangote Group, Mansur Ahmed and three clerics, Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau, Rev. Yakubu Dzarma and Rev. Iliya Anto, and one Afolabi Alega. Out of these, four survived to tell the tale, while two, Colonel Inusa and Rev. Anto were not so lucky. But this soon changed when people were randomly taken on the highway.

But it is not always a Kaduna-Abuja highway affair. The danger seems to have shifted more recently to the Birnin-Gwari part of the state. Just on Friday, June 8, it was reported that armed bandits held hostage 23 travellers on the Birnin-Gwari to Kaduna route at Kwanar-tsauni, between Udawa and Labi.

A commercial driver named Mohammed Kebi, who managed to escape said five vehicles were intercepted during the incident. Among those kidnapped was a nursing mother. This is just an addition to the incidences already recorded in Birnin Gwari.

In April this year, the Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, Malam Audu Kano and six others were abducted by unknown gunmen on their way to Zamfara for a wedding. It gets worse.

It has been reported that armed bandits have conducted a steady operation along the Birnin-Gwari to Kaduna highways with about 42 passengers taken captive within 24 hours. Before then, three housewives had been forcefully abducted in Maganda village.

Unfortunately, the soldiers that massively conducted Operation Karamin Goro in Birnin-Gwari had since been withdrawn and residents have expressed fears over this development. They have pointed out that the activities of bandits on their roads have crippled their economy.

Mr. Collins Onyenwenu, Registrar of Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen along the Ugiliamai/Onitcha-Ukwani Road, Ndokwa West LGA of the state.

In the past year, out of the 36 states in Nigeria, Kaduna recorded the highest with 157 kidnapped persons, followed by Rivers, 61, Niger, 37, Ondo and Rivers states, 21, aside the Federal Capital Territory which has recorded 22 cases. This puts virtually the entire country in a hostage-taking dilemma.

In Rivers State medical doctors have been major targets. In 2015 it was reported that a medical doctor based at Elekahia part of the state was abducted by gunmen. Five days after his abduction, his body was found in the bush. This sparked off protests by medical doctors in the state as they matched to the Government House to lodge their complaint to Governor Nyesom Wike. This was not the only incident. Fast-forward to 2017, doctors became apprehensive after five of their colleagues were taken. These included Dr. Bob-Manuel Clark, a medical doctor based in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Dr. Alex Akani, a consultant physician with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and another consultant with UPTH, Dr. Borimari.

Omoku, an oil and gas-rich community, had been overrun by cultists and bandits on a killing spree. The rampant killings and abductions made residents of the community to desert the area until security agents moved in to restore peace.

Dr. Alex Akani was abducted twice. He was released six days after his colleagues at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital went on an indefinite strike.

Also, in Cross River State (in January this year), over 150 doctors from private, public and missionary hospitals and those in tertiary institutions protested in Calabar against the kidnap of their colleague, Dr Emem Udoh.

Earlier, their colleague, Dr Usang Ekanem, who was kidnapped on December 26, 2017 was set free. He worked in Cross River College of Education Medical Centre in Akamkpa LGA of the state.

In January 2018, a Sharia Court Judge, Abubakar Mohammed, was reported kidnapped near Jerimiya village in Rafi LGA of Niger State. A ransom of N20 million was said to have been given despite denials. Three days after, seven people were abducted and three others were killed along the same road. In November 2017, the police said they rescued Malam Haruna Gizo, the village head of Unguwan Gizo of Kagara Local Government Area of the state and three others from their abductors.

The spate of kidnappings sometimes shows a pattern, as in the case of Rivers and Cross River states and at other times, none, as is the case in Niger State where three girls were abducted at Janja village in Munya while three others were kidnapped in Shoho Kibla also in Munya and additional three in Erena in Shiroro LGA.

While kidnappings on highways appear random, many are not. A typical example is that of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Akito Rentals, Mr Sunday Ekanem, which took place in his residence, Atu Street in Calabar LGA of Cross River State in February 2018. According to reports, it was the second time Mr. Ekanem was abducted, and the last time was in 2014.

In January this year, some gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted two persons, a manager of a popular hotel and a guest in Supare-Akoko in Akoko South-West LGA of Ondo State.

Patterns to abductions seem visible where criminals target traders in Calabar. In February 2018 one Ifeanyi and Lazarus, both spare parts dealers, and another, an electrical parts dealer, were taken away from their shops at Victor Akan Street, Calabar South. The three were reported to have parted with millions before they were released.

However, not long after, a popular dealer in Japanese vehicles spare parts, Mr. Paulinus Obi and another business man, Emmanuel Ozokwu, a contractor, were abducted. This caused panic among the business community.

Recently, a kidnap kingpin, Barau Ibrahim aka Rambo, believed to be the leader of a criminal gang terrorizing people in Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, was apprehended.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Moshood Jimoh, the Force Public Relations Officer, said his arrest led to the capture of another gang member, Shehu Abdullahi aka Gashin Baki, 40.

“Serious efforts are in progress as IRT operatives deployed to Kaduna are on unrelenting follow up against the remaining killers and kidnappers on the run,” he said.

Also, in Ondo, the police command apprehended the leader of a notorious kidnap and robbery gang identified as Sunday Omojuba who was declared wanted by security agents since 2016.

A kidnap kingpin, Maitarari Isa Saidu, 63, was arrested in March this year by the police. He was reported to have been paraded alongside 48 other suspects, including two of his children. He confessed to have been behind several kidnap activities across Niger State, and neigbouring Zamfara, Kaduna, the FCT and Yobe.

Only two states, Jigawa and Osun states, have not recorded incidents of kidnapping within the last one year.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/kidnapping-kaduna-tops-worst-states-255566.html

‘Where is the Jagaban?’ This is the raging question of recent over the whereabouts of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) amidst suggestions that he has lost power and influence, evidenced in the way he seems to have abandoned the task given to him by President Buhari to reconcile aggrieved members of party. So, why the loud silence? Daily Trust on Saturday takes a look.

Many sensed danger the very day President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the APC’s Consultation, Reconciliation and Confidence Building efforts toward improving cohesion within the party. This was on February 6 this year.

A terse two-paragraph statement signed by Buhari’s Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said the assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership, and political office holders in some states.

Many had expected a more elaborate explanation on the terms of reference for the committee, the members Tinubu would work with, and the timeframe within which they would complete their assignments. But this was not to be.
Why Tinubu committee went silent

Till date, nobody knows who other members of the committee are, or what has been achieved. The only thing the public has heard is that Tinubu was in Sokoto on February 17 where he conferred with Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and ex-governor Aliyu Wamakko over crisis in the party.

Tinubu, who was accompanied by Alhaji Idi Farouk, held a two-hour closed-door meeting with his hosts at both the Government House in Sokoto, and at Wamakko’s residence in the metropolis.

The meeting was later expanded to include the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, and the National Vice Chairman of APC (North West), Malam Inuwa Abdulkadir. Nothing was heard about the outcome, beside Tinubu’s claim that “We had a family talk, on the future of our country, and our ruling APC.”

At the time of Tinubu’s appointment, the contentious issue in the party was the acrimony between some governors and members of the National Assembly from their states. These included, but not limited to Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Imo.

Another issue then, important but not potent enough to cripple the party, was complaints by members and Buhari support groups that they had been ‘used and dumped’ without recognition in form of appointments into boards and parastatals.

However, the situation is now different, as the APC is engulfed in many crises, including moves by nPDP members led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje, the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, ex-governors, and others all trying to move out of the party en bloc.

“The APC is now in complete chaos, and anarchy,” said Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, an activist who served as Deputy National Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its formative stage.

Hashim, who had since left the PDP, said there is the urgent need for an alternative, saying there is a lot of anger in the land because the APC which got massive support from Nigerians who collectively passed a referendum against ex- President Goodluck Jonathan could not fare any better.

“While the PDP battles absolute moral deficit till date, the APC is not yet a political party. It’s high time we have something else. If we don’t get it right in 2019, I assure you that more than 60 per cent of the voters would not turn out in 2013,” he said.

Sources told Daily Trust that current happenings within the APC have rendered the reconciliation assignment given to Tinubu “ineffectual.” The party, according to analysts, has never been more disunited and fragmented, with chieftains and leaders of the party working at cross purposes.

Presidency yet to see report

Sources in the Presidency revealed that the Tinubu-led committee has not submitted its report to President Buhari. One of the sources said such a report could not have been submitted to the president secretly. Another source, who also said there was no such report on Buhari’s table, however, added that the possibility that Tinubu had briefed the president on the activities of his committee could not be ruled out.

Daily Trust has observed that since Tinubu was assigned to lead the reconciliation committee, he was sighted only once at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The APC national leader met behind closed-doors with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa on February 13, accompanied by a former interim national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-tinubu-committee-went-silent-255595.html

The Federal Government said President Muhammadu Buhari is reviewing the 2018 Appropriation Bill recently passed by the national Assembly.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting with the President on Monday.

The National Assembly had last month passed the 2018 budget, increasing the proposal of N8.612 trillion presented by Buhari in December last year to N9.120 trillion.

The passed Appropriation Bill was transmitted to President Buhari penultimate Friday.

Asked why Buhari has not signed the budget, Udoma said, “The President is currently reviewing the budget, and as you know, we have a minimum window of 30 days.

“The president is currently reviewing it and as soon as he is through, he will sign it. That is what l can tell you for now.”

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-scrutinising-2018-budget-fg-254998.html

A reconciliatory meeting involving members of the aggrieved nPDP, the leadership of the APC and the presidency continues today.

APC Deputy National Chairman, North, Sen. Lawali Shuaibu, said today’s meeting would look into the specific demands of the nPDP as contained in their April 27, letter in which they accused the Federal Government of short-changing them in terms of appointments into boards of agencies and parastatals.

“The content of the letter, which is now public, is what the basis of their demands is…We will go into the specifics. That letter will be x-rayed point by point,” Shuaibu said.

The dialogue is in continuation of two previous meetings held with nPDP members that had earlier issued a seven-day ultimatum to see President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the impasse.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will lead the APC/presidency’s team that includes the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the party’s Sen. Shuaibu.

The five representatives of the former nPDP to the talks include Senators Barnabas Gemade, Danjuma Goje and Adamu Aliero from Benue, Gombe and Kebbi States respectively. The Chairman of the nPDP bloc in the APC, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, is also to serve as a member of the panel.

The nPDP team will be led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. Last Monday’s meeting which had in attendance 20 former nPDP members dwelt on “general discussions.”

It was agreed at the meeting held between the Osinbajo-led team and the nPDP members in Abuja that today’s dialogue be reconvened with a smaller group of eight.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/presidency-npdp-talks-continue-today-254803.html

During a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari recently, The Conference of Nigerian Female Parliamentarians (CONFEPA) requested that a woman be made Vice President of the country. Daily Trust sought the public’s opinion on this.

Rando Adamu Bargo, 35, Civil Servant, Kaduna

I don’t think we are ready for a female Vice President because women have not known what politics is and how to go about leading, for now, in Nigeria. Plus, Nigeria has not gotten to that place where a woman can lead her to growth or unity.

Mercy Shekari-Jafaru, 36, Civil Servant, Kaduna

No, we are not, because this is still a country with high gender parity. Many men are only willing to accept women as leaders of smaller groups rather than at the national level.
Lengshak Sati Gomwalk, 34, Businessman, Jos

The patriarchal system is a big obstacle against a female becoming Vice President. This is more worrisome for the females because they are too jealous of each other to support one of theirs. With the unbelievable figures alleged to have been stolen by two or three women in the past administration alone, it is difficult to sell a female vice-presidential candidate with the ‘women are not corrupt’ card they once rode on. That said, I still do not see a woman with the required experience and pedigree to be elected Vice President in this country, even though I believe it would have been refreshing to have one.

SyenNom Victoria Domi, 34, Journalist, Kaduna

Change is a process, so every gender should get involved. Now should be the time for women.

Chikezie Chiedu, 37, Publisher, Onitsha

I think generally Nigerians look forward to more women in political leadership. With the benefit of hindsight, they have proven to be better managers and of a higher moral standard to occupy public offices.

Abdullahi Sadiq Muhammed, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Kaduna

As far as I am concerned, there is no problem with having a female Vice President in Nigeria. We had powerful women in Nigeria who served at various capacities in this country. From the politicians to the technocrats. We had the likes of late Dora Akunyili, late Gambo Sawaba, Naja’atu Bala Muhammad, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Amina J Mohammed, the former Minister of Environment and many more. If Amina J Mohammed can be appointed as Deputy Secretary Gen. of United Nations, then why can’t she be Nigeria’s Vice President? Ngozi was the co-ordinating minister of the economy during Goodluck Jonathan’s era and she virtually controlled the economy and coordinated the activities of all other ministries. Which Job is more demanding? Deputy UN Secretary, co-ordinating a nation’s economy or being Nigeria’s Vice President? I think it is high time we allow women participate in active politics so that they can contribute their quota in our political space.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/are-nigerians-ready-for-a-female-vice-president-253529.html

The Head of Operations of Stockcrop Microfinance Bank Offa, Mr Jamiu Adekunle Alawode was of the victims of the recent Offa armed robbery attack which led to the death of over 20 people and left scores injured. On Thursday last week, armed robbers attacked banks along Olofa Way in Owode Offa, and carted away undisclosed amounts of money, killing many in the process.

The family of one of the victims, spoke to Daily Trust, and recalled their brother’s last moments.

The Chief Imam of Ijagbo in Kwara State, Alhaji Mufau Muhammed-Jamiu is the elder brother of late Alawode whose life was cut short by the robbers who angrily shot him when he could not find his car key when demanded for by the robbers.

Muhammed-Jamiu said his brother was killed less than 20 minutes when he left his office where he went to collect the money he helped him withdraw from Zenith Bank that day.

“Being a banker, my ATM card has always been with him and any time I need money, I will just call him and tell him the amount I wanted and he will withdraw and bring it to me. Same thing happened the day he was killed. When he finished withdrawing the money for me, he called me to come and collect it. I got there and left, but before I got home the news of the robbery attack reached me. I called him repeatedly but he did not pick his call but some minutes after that the news reached us that he has been killed.”

Late Alawode, 39, was the last of nine children, said to have always been the pride of the family and his hometown. He left behind four children, a wife, and an aged mother of about 100 years.

His wife, Mrs Alawode, told Daily Trust that her life will now be meaningless without him. “I don’t know what to say. How would I explain to my children what took away their pride?”

Even though the family are still in shock and still grieving over the death of their son, they appealed to government to help the wife and children, especially in the area of their education.

Late Alawode was buried a day after the incident, according to Islamic rites.

Also speaking to Daily Trust, the wife of one of the police officers killed in the attack, ASP Julius Martins Pelemo Ayesanmi, 57, her life will never be the same again. “The robbers will never know peace in their lives, as they took away my joy,” Mrs. Celina Ayesanmi wept. The day, according to her, was the darkest in her entire life, when her source of inspiration, a loving husband, and caring father of her children was murdered.

‘Pelemo’ as he is fondly called joined the Nigeria Police Force 34 years ago, and he has served in various capacities waiting for his retirement next year.

“My husband loves his job more than anything. I got married to him three years after he joined the police and since then, there has never been a day he complained of being tired of the job. He goes out at any time of the day whenever they called him for any assignment. Most times, he abandoned his food to answer a call to duty, and whenever I complained, he will tell me that is what he took an oath to do, to serve his fatherland,” the wife said.

To her, what happened to her husband is still like a nightmare, she told Daily Trust.

Late Pelemo who is from Ilaje in Ondo State served in Kwara for more than 15 years before his death. He served in Ilorin, Omun Arab and other parts of the state but he has always been in Offa because of his love for town, he settled his family there.

One of late Pelemo’s daughter, Miss Bukola Ayesanmi, said her father was one in million to all of his kids. “I know my father is gone, but I demand for justice for him. Government should avenge his death. That would console us a little. The monsters should not be allow to move freely in the society,” she said.

According to a family source, late Pelemo will be buried in Ilaje, in Ondo. The family solicited for the help of the Nigeria Police Force, so that the education of his children will not be affected.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-we-re-coping-by-families-of-offa-bloodbath-victims.html