UN: Nigeria Lost $2.8bn to Oil-related Crimes in 2018
Wednesday, January 09, 2019  BUSINESS

                            
A new report released in New York by the United Nations Secretary-General on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has revealed that Nigeria lost an estimated $2.8 billion in revenues in 2018, mainly due to crude oil-related crimes.


This is coming as Analysts at Agusto & Co, a credit rating and research company, have said that despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) which the National Assembly passed in 2018, the reform bill still gave a lot of powers or influence to the President of Nigeria.

The UN report, which covered from July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, said “Maritime crime and piracy off the coast of West Africa continued to pose a threat to peace, security and development in the region.

“Oil-related crimes resulted in the loss of nearly 2.8 billion dollars in revenues last year in Nigeria, according to government figures.
“Between January 1 and November 23, there were 82 reported incidents of maritime crime and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.’’

The report also noted that compared to the situation reflected in the previous report, there was an increase in drug trafficking throughout West Africa and the Sahel.
“In Benin, the Gambia and Nigeria, more than 50 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized between July and October by joint airport interdiction task forces.

“During the same period, joint airport interdiction task forces seized more than six kilogrammes of methamphetamines, eight kilogramme of heroin (double the amount in the first half of 2018) and 2.6 tonnes of cannabis.

“Drug production across the region was also reportedly on the rise, with more than 100 kilogrammes of ephedrine and phenacetin seized by competent authorities,’’ the report said.

During the reporting period, it said that conflicts between farmers and herders resulted in loss of lives, destruction of livelihoods and property, population displacements and human rights violations and abuses.

The report said outbreaks of violence were recorded in many states across Nigeria, although with more frequency in the Middle Belt region, as well as Adamawa and Taraba States.

It said the spike in conflict between farmers and herders was closely linked with demographic pressures, desertification and the attendant loss of grazing reserves and transhumance routes, which had been exacerbated by climate change.

Others were challenges in the implementation of effective land management and climate change adaptation policies, and limited enforcement of existing pastoral laws.

Political and economic interests, the erosion of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, and weapons proliferation, were other factors attributed to the increased cases of herders-farmers conflict.

No Way for Tinubu in Kwara Politics, Saraki Tells APC
Wednesday, January 09, 2019  politics

                            
Senate President and National Leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday said the purported move by the national leader of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, and his cohorts in the party in the state to annex Kwara State as their next political abode in the 2019 elections would be an exercise in futility.

According to Saraki, “Kwara is a state in the northern region of the country and not in the South-west where Tinubu has been allegedly tormenting the people of the zone.”


The Senate president disclosed this at Bode-Saadu in Moro Local Government Area of the state during the flag-off of the PDP governorship campaign rally in the state.

He however said: “The members of the PDP in state and the people of the state have resolved to frustrate the Tinubu’s threat to wrest power in Kwara State for APC by all means.

“Those who are against us are not from Kwara State but they are from outside North where we belong, and by the grace of God they will not have their way in the state in the 2019 elections.”

Saraki further stated that “these opposition groups are not known in Kwara State. They are just impostors, deceptive people and propagandists. I want you to reject them during the polls I order to move the state forward.

“I want to tell you that the forthcoming general election in the state is not about me or about our governorship candidate, Hon. Razak Atunwa, and other candidates in the election, but it is about Kwara State and our tradition.

We must all come out with our permanent voters cards enmass during the polls to vote for all the PDP candidates and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and Peter Obi as presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate respectively.

He said the election is between the tenants and landlord, “and we must all resist the move by the tenants to cause any disharmony in the state.”

The party leader said PDP is everywhere in the state, “and with this unprecedented crowd that you see today, it shows that we are on ground and we will demonstrate this with our votes for PDP during the polls.”

Saraki, who decried the level of poverty, sufferings, kidnappings, general insecurity in the country, enjoined Nigerians to rally support for the PDP during the polls so as to bring new lease of life to the people of the country.

He therefore urged PDP members to move to various households in the state and mobilised for the party as well as assist the party to win the forthcoming general election in the state.

In his remarks, the Director General of Mandate 2019 of PDP and former Minister of National Planning, Professor Suleiman Abubakar, said: “The election in Kwara State is going to be development between tenants and landlord.”

“The PDP will not allow these tenants to change the developmental gestures that the government had put on ground in the last 16 years in the state.”

He said members of the party must be determined not to allow the tenants in the state so as to ensure the continuity of good governance in the state.

Abubakar, who described the leaders of APC as deceitful personalities, urged Kwarans to reject them during the polls.

Also speaking, the outgoing state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, said the past administrations have brought a new lease of life to the people of the state in the last 16 years.

According to him, “It is on this premise that the people of the state should continue to support the Saraki’s leadership in order to move the state forward.”

In his remark, the PDP governorship candidate, Atunwa, said his administration would address values to the socioeconomic growth of the state if voted into office on March 2.

He also promised to continue with the good work of the previous administrations in the state so as to continue to advance the needs of the rural populace.

AfDB offers Nigeria $14m facility to smoothen ATI membership
Wednesday, January 09, 2019  BUSINESS

                        
Nigeria has been given a $14.12 million facility by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to facilitate its membership of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).

AfDB said the membership is a critical and mandatory step to enable ATI commence its operations in Nigeria, while despite being Africa’s largest economy, will be joining 14 others that have already signed up.

Once the membership formalities in ATI are finalised, Nigeria stands to benefit from gross political and commercial risks insurance cover on total investments and trade amounting to over $5 billion by 2020.


According to a statement from the bank, the catalytic effect of using limited financial resources in this way is undoubtedly massive and complements ongoing and planned interventions geared at building institutional capacity and improving the resilience of the Nigerian economy.

The bank said that joining ATI will enable the country to leverage its position to mobilise additional resources to finance trade, especially importation of essential goods like medicines and communications equipment, to rehabilitate basic infrastructure and strengthen the productive sector.

The Director of the Financial Sector Department, Stefan Nalletamby, said: “The Bank seeks to achieve its ambitious development mandate by working with and through other strategic partners, and where possible, by supporting the development of strong and viable African institutions such as ATI.“This financing scales up the work of ATI by supporting the beneficiary RMCs to become members.”

ATI’s mandate is to provide medium to long term credit and political risk insurance, as well as other risk mitigation products to its member countries and related public and private sector actors.

These products directly encourage and facilitate foreign direct investment, as well as local private sector investment in regional member countries and intra- and extra-African trade.ATI also catalyses private sector investments in infrastructure projects, thereby promoting economic integration of participating countries into regional markets.

“This financing aligns with four of the bank’s High 5 priorities, namely: Light Up and Power Africa; Industrialise Africa; Feed Africa; and Integrate Africa.“As a trade finance facilitation initiative, this financing will support operations that are crosscutting and multi-sectoral in nature and will have an impact on agribusiness, infrastructure development, electricity generation, telecommunications and manufacturing,” the statement noted.

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

WEDNESDAY, 9TH JANUARY.

VICTORY BY THE SPIRIT.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:37).
In Exodus Chapter 17, we read something very inspiring about how Joshua defeated Amalek. Moses had gone with Aaron and Hur to the top of the mountain with the rod of God in his hand, as Joshua battled the Amalekites.

As the battle progressed, Aaron and Hur noticed that every time Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed in the battle against Amalek. However, when his hand went down, Amalek prevailed. They decided therefore to support Moses by lifting his hands on either side, while Moses sat on a stone. Then, the Bible says, “…Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Exodus 17:13).
What could have been the connection between a man’s hands and an ongoing battle? This was a spiritual law at work. It wasn’t enough to have the rod in his hand; he needed to lift his hand. Something was happening in the spirit as those hands were lifted towards heaven.

There’s victory and power through our hands. Paul said, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands…” (1 Timothy 2:8). Practise this, and you’ll see more successes and victories in your life this year. Learn to lift your hands to the Lord as you set your mind on Him in prayer and worship; it’s a strategy of the Spirit for your continual victory and life of ever-increasing glory.

It doesn’t matter what comes against you; you can win by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your hands aren’t empty. When you lift your hands, they’re God’s hands. At the Red Sea, God said to Moses, “…stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it...” (Exodus 14:16). When you lift your hands, God responds. Oh, blessed be God!

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” Your victory has been settled; all you have to do is walk in the light of it. Study the Word to know and play your role in the divine experience.

PRAYER

Thanks be unto God who always leads me in perpetual victory parade. I’m strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. I win every day by the power of the Holy Spirit, for my steps are ordered by His wisdom, and every challenge crumbles before me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:

1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.

Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks [be] unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 7:7-29 & Genesis 23-24

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 5:1-10 & Genesis 9



#TALKINGSESSION

9TH JANUARY.

KINDLY SAY THIS WORDS OUT LOUD.
Dear Father, I thank you for being my strength and my glory; I am stirred and ready for anything, and competent to excellently accomplish any task in 2019, through your Spirit that infuses inner strength into me! I am sufficient in your sufficiency! My faith is producing undeniable results;

prevail over every challenging situation because the true light shines in my heart. I am living in the morning of my life! I have eternal life now; therefore, nothing in me produces death. I live in absolute victory and mastery over Satan, the world and its systems because the greater One lives in me. Halleluiah.


God bless you

Former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose; and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi on Tuesday continued their hostility by inaugurating parallel campaign councils for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ex-governor, in his capacity as the South West Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party campaign, inaugurated the council members in Ado Ekiti, in line with list of names reportedly approved by the national secretariat of the party.

However, Olujimi, representing Ekiti South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, at a different location in Ado Ekiti, inaugurated a parallel council.

In a petition to Uche Secondus, the party chairman, she accused Fayose of hijacking the council and injecting his cronies in all strategic positions with a view to sidelining other members of the party from participating in mobilising for the PDP presidential candidate during the election.

This, she said, was contrary to the list agreed to by party stakeholders and therefore, urged the National Working Committee to disband and reconstitute the council in the interest of all in the forthcoming elections.

Olujimi asked Secondus to compel Fayose to adhere strictly to the resolution reached by stakeholders on the composition of the council at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ado-Ekiti on December 28, 2018 to forestall crisis in the party ahead of the polls.

NAN reports that while the Olujimi inauguration took place at the Ajilosun area of the state capital and was attended by members of the party loyal to her, Fayose’s inauguration, on the other hand, took place at his former campaign office in Adebayo area of the state capital, now renamed Atiku/Obi campaign office.

The former governor, while inaugurating his version of the campaign council, described Olujimi’s effort a nullity.

He warned that he might use his position to mobilise the people to vote out those he described as ‘traitors’ in the coming election.

Olujimi is seeking re-election to the Senate in the election slated for March.

“They need me more than I need them, because in my own case, I have got nothing to lose as I am not contesting any elective position. We will ask our people to vote against these betrayers,” he said.

According to the former governor, the campaign council was carefully selected in agreement with the National Secretariat of the party to represent all shades of opinion in the state PDP.

In his remarks, the chairman of the campaign council for Fayose’s camp and former Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, also distanced himself from the Olujimi campaign group.

Olusola said that the Olujimi council was illegitimate.

“There is no alternative campaign council except this one. Any other campaign council where my name appears outside the one inaugurated by our leader, the (ex-)governor, is illegal.”

The state PDP chairman, Mr. Gboyega Oguntuase, said the Fayose-led Council is the only legitimate body recognised by Abuja.

“This is the only legitimate gathering where authority resides. Any other gathering is illegal and illegitimate but we shall not be provoked,” Oguntuase said.

NAN reports that Olujimi, at the inauguration of her campaign council, said that injustice breeds impunity; adding that if the party stakeholders met and selected people, no individual, including Fayose, has the right to void same.

She said though she was not a party to the selection of the campaign council, she has the right to continue with the assignment.

NAN reports that the two inaugurations were well attended by chieftains of the party from the Senate, state House of Assembly, House of Representatives and former Local Government chairmen.

(NAN)

https://punchng.com/fayose-olujimi-inaugurate-parallel-campaign-councils-for-atiku-obi/

Revealed: Real Reason Behind Ayogu Eze's Visit to Tinubu
Wednesday, January 09, 2019  politics


As the race to 2019 general elections hits up, political actors are resulting to last minute moves to raise funds to support their various campaign projects.

The Presidential and National Assembly elections are slated for February 16 while the governorship and states assembly elections are to hold on March 2.

President Muhammadu Buhari has remained adamant to various overtures by party leaders to use government resources to fund his re-election campaign and that of other candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Realisation of this fact is however pitching party members against one another thereby creating discontentment within the party hierarchy especially among the APC governorship candidates in states governed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was reliably gathered that APC governors are going to contribute money for President Buhari's re-election campaign while other candidates especially the governorship candidates of the party are to source for campaign funds through their own means.

This development it was learnt has left many governorship candidates of the party stranded. Despite INEC lifting the ban on political activities, some APC campaign offices at state levels are still inactive with docility as there is no money to fund their political activities.

The situation is so tense in Enugu that the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ayogu Eze have to agree to mortgage Enugu State to APC National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in exchange for election campaign funds.

According to sources familiar with the deal, Tinubu did not reject Eze's request to fund his election but told him the terms and asked if he could keep them to earn his support?

The source however said, he was suprised that Senator Eze could agree to all the terms without opting to negotiate any of them with Asiwaju.
He said "When candidates come here to ask for election money, Asiwaju normally tell them the condition before accepting to fund their election but sometimes candidates are also given the option to object any terms not favourable to them as was the fact in the case of the former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu who requested for money to fund his election in 2015." The source said the former governor bargained with the national leader and at the end, Mr. James Faleke was given to him as running mate before he died in the cause of the election. But this time, it is a different kettle of fish in the case of that man from Enugu, he never objected any of the terms even when Asiwaju expected him to do so."
Asked to comment on some of the terms, the source said Senator Ayogu Eze will have to increase tax in Enugu if he wins and that Tinubu's tax collecting company, Alpha Beta Company Limited will be the sole tax collecting firm in the state and that 40 percent of the total revenue collected which will be known as Internally Generated Revenue will go to Tinubu while the state retains the remaining 60 percent.
Another condition according to the source is that, Mr. Eze will have to give all the construction works in the state to construction companies owned by Tinubu as it's been done in the Southwest states where Tinubu-installed governors are calling the short.
The term also include that Mr. Eze will have to use the state resources to support Tinubu's 2023 Presidential ambition under APC platform and that he will also help him to mobilize Southeast leaders against Rochas Okorocha who has also declared interest to run for president in 2023.
The agreement it was learnt is different from the initial Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) earlier signed with Tinubu and other leaders of the party before the ticket of APC was given to him upon defection from the PDP as against the interest of the long standing members of the party in the state who had worked very hard to introduce the party to electorates in the state.
According to an informed source, part of the (ISPO) agreement is that 35 percent of the Federal Allocation to Enugu State will be paid to Tinubu and other party leaders in Abuja for three years.
Where the money is not available, Mr. Eze will have to take loans from banks using the state as collateral security to fulfill this obligation.
It was later learnt that Mr. Eze signed the agreement to surrender the state's treasury to Tinubu on December 23rd, 2018 when he went to Lagos under the guise of meeting with Enugu State indigenes in the state.
Several efforts to get confirmation from the national secretariat of the APC about the secret deal proved abortive as several calls and texts messages sent to the phone number of the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Yekini Nabena did not get reply before press time. 
However, the question on the lips of many stakeholders who are aware of the deal is whether the state will survive such capital flight because Enugu State is just number three on the list of states in Nigeria with megre federal allocations from Abuja.
Since 1999, Enugu has never had a political godfather outside the state, but whether this new political experiment with the imperial majesty of Lagos State will stand depends on who the electorates choose to vote for on March 2nd.
Mr. Brown Justice, an Investigative Journalist files this report from Lagos.

Who knew that Atiku Abubakar's beautiful wife, Amina Titi Abubakar, can speak Igbo language fluently. 



Titi Abubakar is a Yoruba woman from Osun.



Mr Stanley Nwabia shared the video with the caption:



"VIDEO: If @atiku wins, we might get be in for a multi-lingual First Lady...�

Watch & Listen to Mrs Titi Abubakar's message to Ndigbo �"


She is seen campaigning for her husband and addressing people from the South East in Igbo language.

Watch the video here and see reactions... 


Source: http://www.thefamousnaija.com/2019/01/atikus-wife-titi-abubakar-speaks-igbo.html?m=1

PDP loses top-notch members to APC
Wednesday, January 09, 2019  politics

                         
The suspended Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Sen. Babayo Gamawa and a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Kaulaha Aliyu, have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Two defecting top members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were received at the presidential villa by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defection of the PDP bigwigs from Bauchi State came barely 24 hours after the president received various members of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Support Groups from the North East, who defected to the ruling APC.

NAN reports that the defectors who were accompanied by Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi state, met behind closed doors with President Buhari for about 35 minutes.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting with the president, the governor expressed delight over the new political development, saying the defectors were in the presidential villa to pay political homage and pledge their support to the president.

Abubakar, who expressed delight over the decision of Gamawa and Kaulaha Aliyu to decamp to the APC, said: “You can see I’m very delighted because with these gentlemen I can go to sleep with my two eyes closed, so to speak.’’

On his part, Gamawa told the correspondents that his decision to defect to the ruling APC had nothing to do with his suspension from the PDP but his love for the country.

He, however, stated that the PDP would regret its action for suspending him from office.

“As a Nigerian, I want what is good for the country; I want good image for my country and I want to see development and progress of the country.

“And I have been saying it, as a politician, I play my politics not blindly. Whenever thing goes right or wrong I will say it the way it is. As Journalists, you are aware of what PDP did today – just because of an allegation they said they have suspended me.

“I want to call on them to check their secretariat. If they are in politics they should know what is happening on daily basis at the secretariat – what comes in and what goes out. They should check their mails and they will know the position of Sen. Babayo Gamawa before their action of today.

“I have no regret for defecting from the PDP and they (PDP) would regret their action, by God grace,’’ he said

He, therefore, described his suspension from the PDP as undemocratic and unconstitutional.

In his contribution, Kaulaha Aliyu, said he joined the APC to ensure electoral victory for President Buhari in the forthcoming general elections.

He said: “It’s a matter of principles – I believe among all the candidates no body can come near the integrity and honesty of President Buhari and with what he has done to the North East in particular, I feel I should support him and do the best I can for him to emerge victorious come Feb. 16, 2019.”

President Buhari had on Monday received delegation of the North East political stakeholders including the defectors led by Umar Bukar Bolori, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The defectors included the former governor of old Borno state, Alhaji Mohammed Goni and a onetime deputy governor of Adamawa, Alhaji saad Tahir.

Quote:Senate President Bukola Saraki says the people of Kwara will resist plans to “annex’’ the state to the South West Zone using the All Progressives Congress and its candidates in the forthcoming general elections.

Saraki spoke on Tuesday at Bode Saadu, headquarters of Moro Local Government Area, at the official flag off of the campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party.



“This election is not about me or our governorship candidate, Razak Atunwa. It’s about this state, our tradition. Time will tell about whatever we do today.

“We went back to PDP because we need a government that will care for our people, give jobs to our people,’’ he said.
He appealed to the people of the state, particularly the electorate, to ignore any differences they may have with all the candidates of the party and vote massively for PDP during the general elections.
Speaking in the same vein, the Director-General of the PDP Campaign Council in Kwara, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, urged the party faithful to vote for PDP.

According to him, the coming general elections would be between the indigenes of Kwara and non-indigenes.
“Kwara belongs to the North, we will not allow Kwara to be taken away from us to the West.
“Our leader is Dr Bukola Saraki, our president is Abubakar Atiku, our incoming governor is Atunwa,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Gov. Abdufatah Ahmed of Kwara said the flag-off campaign would usher in another PDP government in the state and Nigeria.
“You can all see hunger, poverty in the last three years of APC government. We want to bring in PDP to change the narrative. We shall usher in PDP government in Nigeria and Kwara,” he said.

The state chairman of the PDP, Hon. Kola Shittu, said only a PDP government would be beneficial to the people of the state and Nigerians in general.
” A PDP government will provide jobs for our youths. Many people have decamped to PDP because of our leader’s sincerity and people-oriented programmes,” he said.
In his remarks, the PDP governorship candidate, Abdulrazak Atunwa, promised to run a government that would focus on the welfare of the people.

“ Our government shall provide jobs for the people. Women will also be empowered,’’ he said.



https://punchng.com/well-resist-plans-to-annex-kwara-to-south-west-zone-saraki-vows/

MC Oluomo was reportedly stabbed in the neck at the Lagos APC Governorship rally, which held today at Skypower Ground Ikeja.

The NURTW Boss and alleged Oshodi street lord, had shared photos of himself preparing for the rally before the incident. He wrote on Instagram;

Am back for action.

LAGOS APC flags off rally Kick start.

LONGLIVE ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU
LONGLIVE APC
LONG SANWOOLU/HAMZAT.

APC NEXT LEVEL.
EKO A SANWA SO WO , A SANWA SOMO

However few hours after the post, MC Oluomo was stabbed in the neck and reportedly rushed to the hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition. While the identity of the hoodlums who stabbed him is yet to be ascertained, however his camp claims Oluomo’s attackers could be men of the Kunle Poly’s faction of the NURTW.

The stabbed NURTW boss who was beside Sego and another prominent member of the union when the incident occurred, was rushed to the hospital by the National chairman of the union, Tajudeen Agbede and others.

Source: https://www.gistkit.com/naija-news/mc-oluomo-stabbed-in-the-neck-at-lagos-apc-governorship-rally/

APC Campaign Flag-off In Lagos have reportedly turned bloody as thugs disrupt activities. Two feared dead and a said MC Oluomo reportedly stabbed.

Ovation boss, Dele Momodu who shared a clip of the attack via his official handle, wrote:

Quote:What manner of politics is this? This happened just now in Lagos... 

Quote:

Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto

The Legal Adviser of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State, Alhaji Nasiru Sahabi Tambuwal, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His defection was announced in Dange town, headquarters of Dange/Shuni local government during the flag off of the campaigns for the 2019 general elections.

Other defectors included a former special assistant to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Alhaji Yaro Illelar-Gajara; PDP Women Leader in Tambuwal local government, Hajiya A’in Sokoto; former chairman, Matawalle G-23 and another top notcher of the party, Alhaji Hamza Yeriman Shuni, among others.

The former PDP chieftains said thousands of their supporters across their respective wards had also moved along with them to their new party.

Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Sahabi Tambuwal and Alhaji Illelar-Gajara said they left their former party because it lacked justice and fairness.

They also stated that they joined APC because of it had focus and fairness and the patriotic spirit and trustworthiness of its leaders.

Quote:Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has stated why Atiku Abubakar, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should not be elected president.

Mr Abubakar popularly known as Atiku, is the major challenger of President Muhammadu Buhari, who seeks a second term in office.

For Tinubu, the PDP flag-bearer should not be elected president because he abused earlier opportunity given to him by Nigerians.

He also said the former vice president could not be trusted unlike the president.

The former Lagos State governor stated this in a statement wherein he accepted the assignment given to him by Buhari to take full charge of his re-election campaign.

“The character of the two candidates cannot be more distinct. President Buhari is a straight and honest man. Leave a naira on the table with Buhari in the room. You will find the naira on the table when you return,” Tinubu said.

“When Buhari says “yes” or “no,” you know where he stands. He means what he says, no more, no less. With Atiku things are more nuanced. When Atiku speaks, he may mean “yes,” “no,” “maybe,” I don’t know,” “come back tomorrow,” “all the above,” or “none of the above.”

“His compass has four needles pointing in different directions as the same time. He knows of no direction to take. President Buhari’s word is his bond. When Atiku speaks, it is to give you the slip.

“We cannot afford a President whose ways and mind is a maze of contradicting urges and colliding desires. This shows he has no vision for the nation and no guiding principles except the Unclad pursuit of power for the Unclad use of that power.

“Atiku had his chance to shine as VP when he controlled the privatization program of the Obasanjo government. He abused this assignment. He helped squander billions of dollars on power generation that did nothing but extend our national the darkness.

“That government had so much money at its disposal and that is exactly what it did. It disposed of the money yet failed to treat the poor or build for the future. Atiku laid waste to the national treasury for eight long years. That is enough for one lifetime.

“We should not reward him by giving him another eight years because the more he feeds, the stronger his hunger grows,” the top official of the APC said.

Tinubu also accepted the assignment to head the president’s campaign team.

“Consequently, the members of the APC presidential campaign council accept our respective assignments as both high honor and heavy responsibility. We will work diligently to reelect President Buhari.

“We do this not for personal accolades. We do this not merely to reelect a party member. We do this because it is the best thing for Nigeria,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari during the presentation of 2019 Budget in Abuja. Twitter image

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has denied insinuations that he asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to stop the probe of a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, after the latter joined the All Progressives Congress last year.

Buhari said this during an interview aired on Arise TV which was monitored by our correspondent.

The President described as unfair allegations that he was protecting some corrupt persons in his government while those in the opposition were being hounded.

When asked why Akpabio, who was under probe for allegedly diverting N100bn was left untouched, Buhari said he did not know but he did not instruct the EFCC to do so.

The President said he had formed the habit of following due process since his ouster as head of state in 1985 when he was fighting corruption through rash methods.

He said, “I don’t think Akpabio, when he moved to the APC, that I said he should be left alone. I cannot remember asking the EFCC, the ICPC, the police or anybody to spare any corrupt person or incompetent person.

“I haven’t done it and I challenge you to expose any.”

When asked if the anti-graft agencies were acting in line with his body language, he said, “Why should they fear my body language?”

https://punchng.com/i-never-told-efcc-to-stop-akpabio-probe-buhari/

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday came down hard on some motorists who drove against traffic along the Muritala Mohammed Airport Road in Ikeja.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Habib Aruna on Tuesday, the governor decried the flagrant abuse of the State Traffic Laws.

Ambode who was returning from Abuja where he had attended an event apprehended a Nigerian Army personnel who drove a space bus with registration number JJJ 290 AC.

On sighting the vehicle, he alighted from his car and reprimanded the officer for “showing a bad example” contrary to what the Nigeria Army is known for.

The governor reprimanded another offender who drove a saloon car with registration number LSR 445 ER, for breaking the law regardless of the dangers involved in driving against traffic.

He condemned the manner at which some motorists drive ‘one way’ to beat the traffic along the Nigerian Air force Base inward International Airport Road in the Ikeja axis.

Governor Ambode, thereafter, ordered the immediate seizure of the vehicles and directed that the offenders be prosecuted in line with the provisions of the traffic laws on the state.

This is Fatayi Yakubu. He was stabbed 5 days ago on the 3rd January 2019 by APC thugs when he installed Natasha Akpoti’s SDP Senatorial campaign banner in front of his house at Eyika Oziyeni, Okehi LGA, Kogi State. 

The APC thugs are: 

1.Yakubu Adamu a.k.a Gwancy (08055423312) who stabbed with a knife. 

In the company of ... 

2. Muhammed Shaibu a.k.a Nido (07030999157) 

3. Sadiku Alaba a.k.a Hazzle (08072425556) 

4. Jimoh Saka (08168815775) 

5. Isah Ananyi a.k.a D'man (08130456157) 

6 . Shehu David (07062589112) 

A report was made at the Eyika police station but now, 5 days afterwards , no arrests have been made. 

The Area Commander of Okehi LGA Mr. Adegoke Rufus is aware of the case but has failed to act for reasons best known to him. The perpetrators walk around freely terrorizing the peace loving communities. 

It is on record that Natasha Akpoti and her SDP supporters have in the past months till date suffered series of violent attacks in the hands of the Kogi APC thugs under the instructions of the Okehi Sole Administrator Mr. Abdulraheem Ohiare by the full knowledge of the governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello in furtherance of his support for his anointed senatorial Candidate Alhaji Yakubu Oseni. 

I humbly ask the good public to please call the Area Commander Mr. Adegoke on 08033282161 and demand that he exercises the functions of his office in protecting the lives of citizens and property by treating the complaint judiciously and arresting those criminals responsible for the attempted murder. 

As usual, I believe true power resides in the  people ... so I call on you. 

Thank you  and God bless 
Natasha H Akpoti
Senatorial Candidate 
Kogi Central District 
SDP


Source: http://www.trezzyhelm.com/2019/01/apc-thugs-stab-man-while-installing-sdp.html

By Temidayo Akinsuyi

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is a fallacy that the governors of the South East are not campaigning for its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking with Daily Independent, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s National Publicity Secretary who described PDP governors in the South East as committed stakeholders to the Atiku presidency said any governor campaigning against Atiku is campaigning against himself.

“There is no South- East governor that is not committed to the Atiku presidential project. These governors are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and they are working for our party. For those claiming these governors are not committed to Atiku’s presidential election, is there anywhere the governors have said ‘go and vote for Buhari or APC?” 

“Has any governor in the South East publicly come out to tell the people ‘don’t vote for Atiku, vote for Buhari? I also know that there is no South East governor that will publicly come out and say ‘don’t vote for Atiku, vote for Buhari’.

“None of our PDP governors will do that because it is clear that injury to one is injury to all. If any governor says don’t vote for Atiku, such a governor is already campaigning against himself” he said.
https://www.independent.ng/any-governor-not-supporting-atiku-campaigning-against-himself-pdp/

A lady took to Facebook to call out her sister's husband who according to her, married another lady after visiting Ghana for just 4 weeks. The lady who is looking for a means to reach out to the new bride, disclosed that her sister's husband who just married another lady had his master's degree sponsored by her sister and and also got his resident permit from her. 

Betty Pretty Naadu Lartey further revealed that the man identified as Daniel has been married to her sister since 2011, and they have a daughter who just turned one together. She added that the United States Immigration services have been duly informed. 


https://lailasnews.com/lady-calls-out-si...r-4-weeks/

A man has been reportedly stabbed to death in a community in Rivers state just for posting some campaign posters. 



Chimezie Dike
 
A young man in his late 20s, identified as Chimezie Dike, was on Saturday stabbed to death during a fight with one Henry Ekeozor over the pasting of campaign posters on the wall of a building, Punch Metro reports.
 
The incident was said to have happened around 8.20pm at 40B Azikiwe Street, Mile 2, Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
 
The deceased, according to sources, was not a member of the All Progressives Congress, but was contracted to paste the campaign posters of Collyns Owondah, a House of Representatives candidate of the party in the area.
 
It was gathered that Henry and his mother, Ifeoma Ekeozor, a woman leader of the APC in the area, had expressed dissatisfaction over the pasting of campaign posters of the House of Representatives candidate on the wall of their residence.
 
The disapproval by the duo reportedly caused a fierce argument with Dike, a development that degenerated into a fight before the victim was stabbed in the chest.
 
A source said Dike bled to death before he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was confirmed dead by doctors.
 
The source, who identified himself as Dengi, said, “The woman (Ifeoma Ekeozor) is a woman leader in the APC, while the man, whose campaign posters were being posted, is also of the same political party, but they belong to different factions of the party.

“The young man pasting the campaign poster was Chimezie Dike from the Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State. The boy came to the street to paste the posters of a politician running for an election.

“In the process, the son of the woman leader began to quarrel with him and within a short time, the son of the woman stabbed Chimezie. He (Chimezie) died before he got to the hospital.”
 
Another eyewitness, who preferred not to be mentioned, alleged that a dagger belonging to Henry’s brother, who is a soldier, was used to stab Dike in the chest.
 
The eyewitness stated, “The woman (Ifeoma Ekeozor) even broke a bottle during the argument. Everybody parked out of the house because a group of youths, who were not happy about the killing of the boy, went ahead to ransack people’s houses.

“A journalist staying in the building lost some of her property, including a laptop, after she left the place in a hurry to avoid being injured. The house is a three-storey building and the shop operated by the woman (Ifeoma) is on the ground floor.

“The young man pasting the poster, the woman and her son are all APC supporters, but they belong to different factions. He (Chimezie) was rushed to the hospital that night, while the mother of the attacker was arrested the same day by policemen from the Azikiwe Police Station.”
 
The eyewitness added that a group of policemen was currently at the hospital, where Henry Ekeozor, who was also injured during the fight, was admitted for treatment.
 
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident.
 
“I am aware of the incident that someone was stabbed to death at the Diobu area. But I have not been fully briefed by the Divisional Police Officer of that area,”Omoni said.

Quote:Just In: Boko Haram fighters currently burning down houses in Ajilari, at the outskirts of Maiduguri, not far from Gomari. Burning of houses or a whole community is a signature attack of Shekau’s faction. Important to note that Ajilari is in Maiduguri.

Update on Ajilari: The attackers left the suburb around 1:am after they were chased out by the CJTF and Civil Defence. Apparently the attackers were in the area to loot. The fact that Boko Haram choose Maiduguri to loot calls for serious concern.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians not to re-elect governors who failed in their first terms, especially those who failed to pay civil servants salaries even after collecting bailouts from the federal government.

Mr Buhari, who is also seeking reelection on the platform of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), said Nigerians’ votes should go for competence.

Mr Buhari, who spoke with the Hausa service of the Voice of America, which was aired Tuesday morning, said he saw no justification in governors collecting bailout funds from the federal government and still failing to pay wages.

The president was quoted as saying, “I wonder how these governors are able to sleep knowing that they have refused to pay workers their wages.

“These workers have families to cater for, they pay rent, pay school fees, Hospital bills and food for their families.”

Mr Buhari said the Nigerian Constitution gives governors the independence to spend their funds without interference and that is why some are abusing that privilege by refusing to work for the people.

The president advised Nigerians to use their voting rights to make sure that they only vote for people who would deliver.

On the fight against corruption being undertaken by his administration, the president said unlike before, he now uses democratic means.

He said being democratic in fighting corruption is slow but assured that the objectives will eventually be achieved.

https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/dont-re-elect-governors-who-failed-to-pay-salaries-buhari-warns-nigerian.html

Quote:Atiku Abubakar, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said he made a mistake by voting for the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 general election.

Mr Abubakar stated this on Monday at the presidential rally of the PDP in Kogi State.

The former vice president popularly known as Atiku said he did not made the mistake alone as Bukola Saraki, Senate President also committed same blunder.

Messrs Atiku and Saraki were former members of the ruling party. They had defected to the APC prior to the 2015 general election.

While in APC, Atiku contested for the 2015 presidential ticket but lost to Muhammadu Buhari, who is now seeking a second term in office. The former vice president is the major challenger of the president in the February 16 presidential election.

“I have always advocated for the restructuring of this country,” Atiku said.

“If there is one state that is going to be a beacon of progress, a beacon of hope after restructuring, it’s Kogi State. Because Kogi State has what it takes to be one of the most promising states in this country, therefore don’t be deceived by APC.

“You have seen them, you have voted for them, what have they done in this four years? What have they done here in Kogi State?

“They can’t even pay salaries, they can’t pay pensions, schools are not working, this is a failed government and we have the opportunity to correct the mistakes we have made.

“He (Saraki) made the mistake, I made the mistake, today we have retraced our steps and we are determined to correct the mistakes that has been made,” he said.

The former vice president also criticised the detention of Senator Dino Melaye who is said to have allegedly committed homicide in July.

“Kogi state has one of the most prominent young politician in the country. Today he is under detention and unlawful detention for that matter,” the PDP flag-bearer said while calling on the APC-led government to free the lawmaker.

Atiku called on the people to ensure they elect candidates of the PDP in the coming elections.

On his part, Mr Saraki, while addressing the mammoth crowd that graced the rally, celebrated Mr Melaye on his 45th birthday while the lawmaker was been detained by the police.

Source: https://politicstimesng.com/atiku-saraki-made-mistake-voting-apc-2015/

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim resigns. He announced that he would step down next month, more than three years before his current term was due to expire.

The decision ends Kim’s six-year tenure and may give US President Donald Trump decisive influence over the future leadership of the 189-member global development lender.

“It has been a great honor to serve as president of this remarkable institution, full of passionate individuals dedicated to the mission of ending extreme poverty in our lifetime,” Kim, 59, said in a statement.

Kim, who became the bank’s president in 2012, is to join an unnamed firm focusing on investments in developing countries, the bank said in a statement, and will return to the board of Partners-in-Health, which he co-founded.

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva will serve as interim president upon Kim’s February 1 departure, the bank said in a statement.

Under Kim’s leadership, the bank set the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and ramped up financing. Last year, it also won approval for a sharp $13 billion capital increase after acceding to requests from the Trump administration to curb loans to high-income countries like China.

Gist via :- https://nairatrend.com.ng/world-bank-president-jim-yong-kim-resigns/

From Gistvic.com

A twitter user shares photos of man who stole 3 units of his dell laptop in his store at computer village and is on the run.

He wrote:

Quote:"The guy in the picture walked into my store in Computer Village Ikeja and stole three units of Dell Laptop. The incident occured on Monday 7th January at about 11.33am. "

A UFC fighter Polyana Viana waiting for an Uber in Rio de Janeiro may have appeared an easy target to a would-be thief, but he obviously miscalculated.

The only problem for the perpetrator was his target was a strawweight UFC fighter, who turned the tables on the thief with punches, a kick and a "rear-Unclad choke" before forcing him to sit and wait for the police.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Polyana Viana, nicknamed "the Iron Lady", told website MMA Junkie the thief used a fake gun to try and steal her mobile phone while she waited outside her apartment block on Saturday night.

"When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me," Viana said.

"He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn't going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist.

"And then he said, 'Give me the phone. Don't try to react, because I'm armed.' Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realised it was too soft.

"He was really close to me. So I thought 'if it's a gun, he won't have time to draw it.' So I stood up. I threw two punches and a kick. He fell, then I caught him in a rear-Unclad choke.

"Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said 'now we'll wait for the police'."

With her assailant subdued, Viana found the gun was in fact just a cardboard cut-out of a pistol.

She said she asked passers-by to call the police while she kept the man pinned.

"I was fine because he didn't even react after. Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. So he didn't react anymore," she said.

"He told me to let him go, like 'I just asked for the time.' I said, 'Asked for the time my ass,' because he saw I was very angry.

"I said I wouldn't let go and that I was going to call the police. He said 'call the police, then', because he was scared I was going to beat him up more."

Viana said police took the man to a medical facility to treat his wounds and then to the police station, where she filed a report.

UFC president Dana White applauded Viana, tweeting an image of the fighter alongside the mugger.

"On the left is @Polyana_VianaDF, one of our @UFC fighters and on the right is the guy who tried to rob her #badf***ingidea," White tweeted.

Viana said she simply went home and made dinner after leaving the police station, adding her hands hurt a little the day after, but it was nothing serious.

https://lailasnews.com/female-ufc-fighter-polyana-viana-brutally-beats-thief

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has called on Amina Zakari, the embattled National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to resign from her position.

Sowore stated this on Monday in Abuja during the INEC quarterly consultative meeting with political parties.

There had been speculations on the relationship between the Oresident and Zakari, with the presidency issuing a statement that the duo aren't related by blood but for an inter-marriage between their families.

Zakari had also said Buhari is neither her cousin nor her uncle as claimed.

Sowore has, however, said Zakari's sense of judgement in the line of duty would be compromised, no matter the nature of her relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari.

"It is not about the blood relationship. If there is any form of relationship at all, that could influence her sense of judgement. I expected her to do the right thing by stepping aside. It doesn't have to be blood relationship. There are people who don't have blood relationship in this world that are closer than people with blood relationship," he said.

Maintaining that there is enough evidence to prove that Zakari would be biased in the discharge of her duties, Sowore advised her to follow the path of honour and resign from the position.

He said people are not comfortable with her decision to remain in her position in the commission; he also urged the commission to reverse the decision.

On the draft guidelines, he stressed that all political parties must be included in drawing up the guidelines for the regulation of the conduct of the elections.

Speaking at the event, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, explained that where the biometric authentication fails, the voter will be required to thumbprint a box next to his/her picture on the register and would be made to enter his/her mobile telephone number before proceeding to vote.

"The commission has modified the register of voters for the 2019 general election accordingly," Yakubu stated. "Consequently, the separate incident form used in previous elections which is only completed by the presiding officer without the involvement of the voter, is now abolished. Similarly the claim that the card reader has been enhanced ro recapture voters' fingerprints at polling units and automatically overwrite the biometric record on our database is untrue and should be disregarded."

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2019/01/07/sowore-tells-amina-zakari-do-right-thing-and-resign-her-inec-appointment

Buhari, fight Boko Haram, leave the press alone – Ben Bruce
Monday, January 07, 2019  politics
                        
Senator Ben Murray-Bruce representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to fight Boko Haram and leave the press alone.

The common sense advocate was reacting to invasion of Daily Trust office in Abuja by the Nigerian Army. He asked why heavily armed soldiers are sent to invade Daily Trust, Abuja when soldiers are complaining of lack of reinforcements and weapons in fight against Boko Haram.

The 62-year old said the Boko Haram are the enemies who need to be invaded not the press who he described as friends.

He tweeter: How come we have so many heavily armed soldiers invading @daily_trust in Abuja, yet soldiers in the frontlines of the war on terror are complaining of lack of reinforcements and weapons? President @MBuhari, fight Boko Haram, they are our enemies. Leave the press. They are friends

Police arrest man accused of attempting to kidnap boy
Tuesday, January 08, 2019  NEW

                        
Undercover operatives have arrested one Sikiru Tanimowo over an alleged attempt to abduct a four-year-old boy at Okokomaiko area of Lagos State. The operative also rescued the boy identified as Abu Yusuf, from his abductor.

The suspect was said to have lured the victim from his parent’s house at Ajangbadi and was on his way to an unknown destination when he was intercepted by the police. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, who confirmed the report said the incident occurred on Sunday, January 6, 2019.

Edgal said at about 9:55p.m. information was received from a credible source that a man was seen moving around Otun Market Square in a suspicious manner, holding a little boy in his hand. He said based on the information, operatives of the command attached to Okokomaiko Division, moved swiftly to the location and arrested the suspect who gave his name as Sikiru Tanimowo, aged 37.


“The suspect later led detectives to the location where he picked the child, thus, the police were able to locate his parents who said that they have been looking for the child and have never met the suspect before. The case is currently under investigation with a view to prosecuting the suspect in court, while the child has been reunited with his parents,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State police command has also arrested six suspects for allegedly dispossessing motorists of valuables at gunpoint. Giving details of the arrest, Edgal said: ‘‘On January 2, information was received from a reliable source that some hoodlums, armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, were dispossessing motorists of their valuables around Ajegunle area of Alakuko.

‘‘On receipt of the information, operatives from Alakuko Police Station mobilised to the scene. However, on sighting the policemen, the armed robbers ran in different directions to avoid being arrested but were chased, leading to the arrest of one, who led police to arrest others. Exhibits recovered from them include cutlasses and daggers.”

Quote:Suspicion as Buhari Declines Airing Live Interview


Nigerians who read news from This Day newspaper and other sources, publicising the Presidential interview, were happy that they could finally see their president on live TV. However, the joys of Nigerians were cut short, when Buhari declined the live interview. Instead, the president opted for a recorded interview after which he will give the tape to Channels TV to air it. This comes at a time the president’s health is being questioned; whether he is mentally and physically fit enough to continue as president. As at yesterday being 7th of January 2019, the president had handed his campaign over to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an APC chieftain and leader. This act raised questions on the health and stability of the president in the minds of people who were aware that the president had been sick and spent up to 106 days in the hospital, abroad. 

In the interview, the president was asked several questions on the economy, agriculture and security of the nation, which in fact are the burning issues in the upcoming presidential election. The president stated that the nation no longer imported rice. However, this is not in line with a Vanguard publication that Nigeria, following the activities of 2018, will become the second largest rice importer in the world in 2019. On security, the President insisted that Boko Haram is not holding any territory in Nigeria. This is coming at a time the Nigeria Army attacked Daily Trust Newspaper for publishing their strategy to reclaim Baga; a town that fell to the dominance of Boko haram last week. On deaths, he stated that the number of people killed in Zamfara and Benue supersedes the number of people killed in Taraba. This seemed like the president was comparing lives and deaths, without knowing that even a single person that lost his or her life in the country is his responsibility. On the reason why he has not sacked the security chiefs even when they have performed badly, the president admitted he was afraid of the unknown and did not know the intentions of the new people that will be appointed. 

The decline of a live interview by the president put a dent on the whole interview, because it is assumed he has even enough time to prepare politically correct answers in line with the questions being asked. This did not stop the president from making some irregular assertions concerning security, agriculture and the economy, as exemplified above.

President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his commitment to ensuring that the general elections are free and fair. 

The president affirmed his commitment in a statement made on Monday, January 7, at the inauguration of 2019 APC Presidential Campaign Council which held ate the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

In his speech the president said he has given strict directives to INEC and security agencies to ensure that citizens vote for candidates of their choice without intimidation in any form.

He also said that the legacy he wants to leave is the “Enthronement of democracy as a system of government”. Adding that, “For democracy to be enthroned, elections must be free and fair”.

Below is the presidents full speech at the inauguration.

“Protocols:

I would like to welcome you all, the leaders of our party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the formal inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the purpose of managing our campaigns for the 2019 general elections.

This is a historical moment and I consider it a great privilege to have been unanimously nominated by our party to run as its candidate, unopposed, for a second term of office as the president of our country Nigeria.

I thank God Almighty, and our hard working, long suffering, yet resolutely committed fellow citizens, for the continued investment of their trust in our own commitment and competence to redirect our country and its governance towards sustainable and wholesome development.

I congratulate all our party men and women across the country, who are seeking election alongside me, as well as those who have found it necessary to run on other political platforms.

I congratulate all the participants in the party primary process, who may not have gotten all they wanted, but who have accepted to continue the work of ensuring a healthy political process.

I urge all those with any remaining reservations, to recommit themselves to the central task of our victory in the elections and to the greater goal of uplifting this nation towards its manifest destiny.

Having waited for all the dust raised by the nomination exercise, and the carefully worked out reconciliation processes to ensure some measure of healing, we are better placed to put together an all inclusive campaign council, that will effectively engage the entire voting public throughout the length and breadth of our federation, and deliver a resounding victory for us at the general elections.

This Presidential Campaign Council was constituted with a conscious determination to ensure inclusiveness and excellence, and is expected to conduct a campaign based on our modest achievements to turn around our beleaguered nation from insecurity, stagnation and massive abuse of scarce public resources.

Nigerians voted us into power in 2015 because they put trust and confidence that we will make a great difference. We are now building on the experience of our successful outing in the 2015 elections. It is my hope that this wonderful team put together will anchor our campaigns to lead our party and its candidates to victory in the general elections in a few weeks’ time.

A victory for us as a party is a victory for all well meaning Nigerians, who are committed to CHANGE from an inglorious past; where those in positions of public trust willfully took for themselves what belongs to us all; where the security of our citizens was second place to their acquisition of unwholesome wealth; where our economic growth was sacrificed for the fleeting ease of import dependency.

We have in the last 3 years and 6 months reversed this downward slide that the PDP took us in its 16 years of misrule. We have restored the territorial integrity of our nation, thanks to our gallant men and women of our armed forces. We are systematically engaged in all the remaining corridors of insurgency, kidnappings, robberies, herdsmen and farmers clashes.

We have reset our national values: corruption is no longer condoned and is no longer seen as normal for public office holders. The agencies of government are no longer equivocal in dealing with anyone who flouts our laws.

The high and low are receiving jail terms, loots are being recovered, and Nigerians are increasingly displaying the timeless values of honesty, honour and decency. I congratulate us all for making these changes possible.

Our economy has become a prudently managed enterprise. Our resources are now working for us, as we ensure the delivery of key national infrastructure, which were left unattended over these past years.

The direct impact of our policies on improvements in roads, railways, and power supply are evident. There is greater evidence of economic diversification seen in growing local production of agricultural produce and solid minerals.

Our government has succeeded in the last four years in halting national drift, removing the shadow of insecurity and fear dominating our life and reviving our economy from decline to stability and growth. The macroeconomic health of our economy, indicated by several measurable factors such as a stable exchange rate, lower inflation, growing foreign reserves, has been applauded by independent local and international rating agencies.

In addition, the quality of elections since 2015 has continued to improve with declining levels of problems that have defined elections in the past. Free, fair and credible elections are the foundation of political stability and peace in any nation.

We have insisted that votes must count and have maintained a policy of non-interference in elections. INEC has so far since 2015, conducted fair and credible elections in 195 constituencies nationwide, which have been attested nationwide to be qualitatively better than previous elections.

Let me reiterate my commitment to free and fair elections. If there is one legacy I want to leave is the enthronement of democracy as a system of government. And for democracy to be enthroned, elections must be free and fair. That means citizens have a right to vote for candidates of their choice without intimidation in any form. I have warned INEC and security agencies to that effect.

We will keep insisting that votes must count. Our campaigns will be anchored on our performance in the last four years. There is no doubt that our party has succeeded in taking Nigeria to a new level of enduring peace, economic growth political stability, justice and progress. This is the new level we are promising Nigerians, the details of which we will take to Nigerians as we embark on our campaigns.

As we begin campaign in earnest, I implore our leaders to resist being provoked, remain focused and civil in our campaigns. Let us engage our citizens on issues and ask for reflection on the comparative difference between 2015 and 2019 on security, economy and corruption and abuse by those entrusted with leadership in Nigeria.

As we embark on the campaign to secure mandate for the next level, I want to acknowledge the sacrifices and contributions of all stakeholders who have endeavored to keep our party united, and our governance successful.

I urge members of this formidable team to always keep their eyes on the ball, which is the success of our party at the polls. I wish to appeal to all members to be guided by the enduring vision behind the formation and sustenance of our party, which is anchored, on sacrifice and imperative to salvage and stabilize our great and promising nation.

I appeal to all our members, and especially those who are in the campaign council, to unite and cooperate and ensure a smooth operation. Needless to add, Directorates could co-opt on full or part-time basic persons who could add value to our campaign and help us to attain success.

To my mind, the division of responsibility is clear enough. The Leadership that has formulated the campaign policy will supervise its execution; the Director-General will have overall responsibility for all aspects of the campaign, including field operations; while the Secretary will be responsible for all administrative and treasury-related activities of the council.

Even though we have only 40 days, this campaign is going to tax us all, because we intend to touch all corners of our great and vast country. But I must also add that, though we will all be deeply involved, I would like to assure the nation that I will do my part without making governance or my work suffer. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my co-chairman, will be fully in charge, and is going to be on 24-hour vigil.

That is to say, the operational buck of this campaign stops at his table, and I therefore urge all of us in the leadership of this campaign, in the field operations on the campaign trail and in the secretariat to consult with Asiwaju whenever guidance is needed.

It is on this note, and in the name of God, that I now have the pleasure of inaugurating the APC Presidential Campaign Council 2019.

Thank you all very much. God bless our country”.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/01/08/2019-polls-warned-inec-free-fair-buhari/

The former aide and popular PDP ranting machine, Reno Omokri review and expose lies President Buhari said at the inauguration of his campaign council.
He wrote: 
I am going to be tweeting the lies from President @MBuhari’s speech at the inauguration of his @OfficialAPCNg campaign council. Join me as I review

Quote:1. Buhari said he was unanimously nominated unopposed. That is a lie. There are several court cases, from multiple @OfficialAPCNg candidates, challenging and opposing his nomination because they were unconstitutional shut out of the process #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

2--Buhari lied that he regained all territories, whereas our soldiers are falling, due to lack of weapons and ineptitude from the commanders that are appointed based on nepotism. Boko Haram are still capturing towns. Bags and 5 other towns in Borno #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

3-@MBuhari said “corruption is no longer condoned and is no longer seen as normal for public office holders.” Big LIE. Buhari went to Paris and praised @GovUmarGanduje, AFTER he was caught on camera receiving bribes. He received Babachir at @AsoRock #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

4-President @MBuhari said “Our economy has become a prudently managed enterprise. Our resources are now working for us”. LIES. We had our worst economic crisis ever under PMB. Foreign debt doubled from 11 trillion to 23 trillion. Naira devalued 100% #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

5-@MBuhari said “There is greater evidence of economic diversification seen in growing local production of agricultural produce”. LIES. Our economy is now LESS diversified. Contrary to APC lies, @USDA says our rice imports increased by 60%. @google it #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

6-@MBuhari Said “Our govt has succeeded in the last 4 years in halting national drift” Lies. Ever since PMB said in USA that “those who gave me 5% cant expect to be treated like those who gave 97%”, we‘ve been more divided than anytime after civil war #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

7-@MBuhari said “The macroeconomic health of our economy, indicated by measurable factors such as a stable exchange rate, lower inflation... has been applauded”. This is such an obvious lie from a pathological liar, I won’t even bother to debunk it #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

8-@MBuhari said “In addition, the quality of elections since 2015 has continued to improve with declining levels of problems”. What a liar we have for a President. APC introduced the concept of “inconclusive elections” into our political lexicon #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

9-@MBuhari said “In addition, the quality of elections since 2015 has continued to improve with declining levels of problems”. In Osun, the @PoliceNG charged the PDP candidate for exam malpractice. 30k police cordoned the state and threatened Adeleke #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

10-@MBuhari said “the comparative difference between 2015 and 2019 on security, economy and corruption”. Another big LIE. According to Transparency International, Nigeria is more corrupt today than it was in 2015. Ganduje, Babachir, NNPC $25billion, #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

11-@MBuhari said “We have... reversed this downward slide that the PDP took us in its 16 years of misrule”. Big LIE. @OfficialPDPNig made Nigeria the 3rd fastest growing economy in the world APC made Nigeria the world headquarters for extreme poverty #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

12-@MBuhari said “We have restored the territorial integrity of our nation, thanks to our gallant men and women of our armed forces.” As you read, Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa towns are all under Boko Haram/ISWAP control #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies


13-@MBuhari said “Agencies of govt are no longer equivocal in dealing with anyone who flouts our laws.” LIE. @officialEFCC has not charged Ganduje, Babachir, Aisha Buhari’s ADC, NNPC $25 billion contracts without due process. But charged @GovAyoFayose #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

14-@MBuhari said he reduced inflation. Why does the President do this to himself? At 76 (allegedly) he still tells such infantile lies. The inflation on May 29, 2015 was 8.9%. Today the inflation rate is 12%. Why would such an old man lie so blatantly #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

15-@MBuhari criticises @OfficialPDPNig for “abuse by those entrusted with leadership in Nigeria.” Under Buhari the entire 10 intelligence agencies Nigeria has are headed by Northerner. Not even 1 is headed by a Southerner. Is there a greater abuse? #PMBCampaignInaugurationLies

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Source: https://www.mediahelm.com.ng/2019/01/reno-omokri-review-buharis-speech-at.html

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Popular nigerian musician Burna Boy who won several awards at the just concluded Soundcity mvp awards which is picked up by her mum because he is not in the country recently.

However mother and son was pictured together in a video shared my Tunde Ednut as burna boy hug him to welcome him back to Nigeria but his fans has being wondering why he will be smoking infront of her mother and the mother didn't even bother.

What do you think ? See more photos and video below

Gist From Praizenews ; http://www.praizenews.com/burna-boy-smokes-infront-of-her-mum-as-she-welcome-him-back-see-reaction/

BUA Cement capacity in Sokoto to hit 4.5 million tonnes
Tuesday, January 08, 2019  BUSINESS

                           
BUA Group has announced that it has signed another contract with cement manufacturing company, CBMI, for the construction of a new three million metric tonnes per annum Kalambaina Cement Line 2 in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria.

This comes barely 90 days after the completion of another 3million MTPA BUA Obu Cement Line 2 in Okpella, Edo State, Southern Nigeria, and seven months after the inauguration of its 1.5million MTPA Kalambaina Cement Plant Line 1 in Sokoto State, thus bringing BUA Cement’s total installed capacity to 11million MTPA by the time the new project is completed.

Similarly, the move is coming less than one week after the listing of shares from the almost $1 billion merger between BUA Kalambaina Cement Company, and Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), where it also assumed majority stakes in the enlarged company.


Speaking at the contract signing ceremony for the plant in Sokoto State, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Executive Chairman/CEO, BUA Group and Chairman of CCNN in a statement, disclosed that the construction of the new 3million mtpa kalambaina line was in line with BUA Cement’s strategic midterm expansion programme.

According to Abdul Samad, the Nigerian market is still greatly underserved, and with the projected growth in major infrastructure projects and spending over the next few years, it is important that local manufacturers are able to scale effectively to meet current and projected demand.

Rabiu also added that this partnership between BUA and Sinoma CBMI is not the first, as they were responsible for constructing the first BUA Kalambaina plant in Sokoto State.

“We are very confident that Sinoma CBMI possesses the necessary technical expertise given their track record in deploying cement plants across the world,” Tong Laigou, Chairman of CBMI, signed on behalf of CBMI construction.

On becoming Nigeria’s second largest cement producer by volume, Rabiu said the BUA’s strategic cement expansion programme, which focused on key regional and export markets has seen it become the second largest producer of cement by volume in Nigeria this year, whilst solidifying its leadership positions in the North West, South South and South East markets of Nigeria.

“We will continue to deliver quality products, which have earned us the ‘King of Strength and King of Cement’ moniker amongst block makers who form the largest users of cement in Nigeria,” he added.

Recall that the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), had recently approved the merger of the CCNN Plc with BUA’s Kalambaina Cement Company Limited of Nigeria that saw the enlarged CCNN become Nigeria’s 12th largest company by market capitalisation.

BUA Group’s current cement assets include the 6million MTPA Obu Cement I & II plants in Okpella, Edo State, the 500,000mtpa Edo Cement Plant, the 1.5million MTPA Kalambaina Cement Plant, and the 500,000 Sokoto Cement Plant.

The Group also owns over 90% stake in the publicly-listed CCNN Plc, and is widely acclaimed for its high capacity utilisation, efficiency, and quality of its products.

Market capitalisation drops further by N89b in bearish trading
Tuesday, January 08, 2019  BUSINESS

                         
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday commenced the second trading week of the year, on a downward note, occasioned by price losses in highly capitalised stocks, causing market capitalisation to depreciate further by N89 billion.

Yesterday, the All share index (ASI) shed 238.62 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.78 per cent to close at 30,400.28 points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation shed N89 billion at N11.337 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, Nestle Nigeria, Total Nigeria, MRS Oil Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria and Okomu Oil.


Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said market performance is expected to pick up mid-week due to bargain hunting in bellwethers while maintaining a bearish outlook for the month as election uncertainties heighten.

Also, analysts at Apel Research said the market is would maintain existing trend laced with bargain hunting in the next trading session.

Market breadth closed negative with 14 gainers against 34 losers. Diamond Bank and Wapic Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, each to close at N1.98 and 44 kobo, respectively, while A.G. Leventis Nigeria followed with a gain of 7.41per cent, to close at 29 kobo, per share.

Aiico Insurance appreciated by 6.25 per cent to close at 68 kobo, while Regency Alliance Insurance went up by five per cent to close at 21 kobo, per share. On the other hand, NEM Insurance and Resort Savings and Loans led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, each to close at N2.34 and 45 kobo, respectively, while MRS Oil Nigeria followed with a decline 9.92 per cent to close at N23.15, per share.

UAC of Nigeria (UACN) declined by 9.90 per cent to close at N8.65, while Flour Mills Nigeria down by 9.84 per cent to close at N19.70, per share.
Total volume of trades declined by 33.42 per cent to 222.58 million units, valued at N3.34 billion, and exchanged in 3,746 deals. Diamond Bank traded with 77.68 million shares valued at N153.11 million. Zenith Bank followed with 19.75 million shares worth N430.1 million, while FBN Holding traded 10.82 million shares valued at N80.6 million.

Guaranty Trust Bank traded 8.46 million shares valued at N286.04 million, while Access Bank transacted 7.33 million shares worth N42.94 million.

OPEC Cuts, Stable Equity Markets Push Oil Price to $58
Tuesday, January 08, 2019  BUSINESS

                             
Crude oil prices climbed for a fifth session in a row to hit $58 yesterday, rallying from last December 2018’s 18-month low, thanks to the production cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and more stable equity markets.

Oil has gained nearly 12 per cent since last Monday, its biggest week-on-week rally since early December 2016.
While the global benchmark, Brent crude oil was up $1 at $58.06 per barrel, having touched a session high of $58.90, the United States crude was up 88 cents at $48.84 a barrel.
The oil prices are drawing support from an agreed supply cut by OPEC, as well as some non-member countries such as Russia and Oman.


OPEC oil supply fell in December 2018 by 460,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 32.68 million bpd, a Reuters survey found last week, led by cuts from top exporter Saudi Arabia.
Before the current swing in oil prices, President Donald Trump had taken the credit for driving down oil prices, saying the drop amounted to a tax cut for Americans.

“People see that gasoline (petrol) is way down and the reason it’s way down is because I called up some of the OPEC people,” Trump had reportedly told reporters.
“I made calls, I said you better let that oil, that gasoline flow, and they did,” he added
However, despite Trump’s intervention, oil has gained nearly 12 per cent since last Monday, its biggest week-on-week rally since early December 2016.

OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, alongside other producers led by Russia, agreed last year to rein in supplies starting from January after oil tumbled from above $86 on worries about surging output.

Before OPEC and other producers took a decision to lower output, Trump had made it clear that he did not want oil prices to rise.
Many analysts had thought Saudi Arabia was coming under US pressure to resist calls from other OPEC members for lower crude output.

Trump had praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices as pressure intensified to impose tougher sanctions on the Middle East ally, following the murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump had in a tweet thanked Riyadh for the drop and called for prices to go even lower, likening it to “a big tax cut” that could boost the United States and global economies. The aim of the OPEC cuts is to rein in a surge in global supply, driven mostly by the United States, where daily oil production grew by nearly a fifth to over 11 million bpd in 2018.

Record high crude oil production has also pushed up United States inventories, which rose by nearly 17 per cent in 2018 to their highest in well over a year, according to weekly data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Friday.

According to agency reports, more upbeat equity markets also offered support. Shares have risen on expectations that trade talks this week between the United States and China will ease a trade dispute.

Disruptions to trade undermine prospects for economic growth and oil demand.
Goldman Sachs said in a note it had downgraded its average Brent crude oil forecast for 2019 to $62.50 a barrel from $70 due to “the strongest macro headwinds since 2015”.
Societe Generale cut its 2019 oil price forecast for Brent by $9 to $64 a barrel and reduced its forecast for U.S. light crude by $9 to $57 a barrel.

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

TUESDAY, 8TH JANUARY.

SAINTS OF GOD.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to THE SAINTS WHICH ARE AT EPHESUS, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:1).

Judging from the underlined portion of our theme verse, it’s clear that saints aren’t only “holy” Christians who have died and gone to heaven. There were saints at Ephesus, and that tells us something: if there were saints at that time, there must be saints today.

There are some, who, because of their limited understanding of God’s Word, affirm that there’s no one on earth who’s qualified to be called a saint. Sometimes, some Christians, in their discussions, would say, “I’m not trying to say I’m a saint”; but you are!

The question to ask is, who are saints? Saints are those that have been purified in Christ by virtue of the New Birth, and have been consecrated to God; they’ve been made holy unto God; they’ve been separated from the world, unto Christ. That separation took place the instant you were born again, and it was done by the Holy Ghost.

Therefore, as a child of God, you’ve become a saint. You were born that way, because you’re in Christ. Someone says, “But saints are holy people”; yes! And that’s who the Christian is! In Hebrews 3:1, we’re called “holy brethren”: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling….” Notice the expression, “Partakers of the heavenly calling.” The Hebrew recipients of this epistle were living on earth when it was written to them. They were addressed as holy, and partakers of the heavenly calling.

Your being a saint has nothing to do with man’s description of you or even your personal opinion of you. It’s about what God says. He calls us names according to His vision and perception of us. Your responsibility, therefore, is to answer the name He has called you.

For that reason, the next time someone queries you and says, “Are you saying you’re a saint?” you ought to say, “Yes, I am, because God said so.” In your mind, you may not think that you are, but once you align your thoughts with God’s thoughts, you’ll start living accordingly.

You have to learn to agree with God, for the Christian life is walking in agreement with God, and two can’t walk together, except they’re in agreement (Amos 3:3). So, call yourself what God has called you. Hallelujah!

CONFESSION

I’m of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy, sanctified, peculiar treasure unto God. I’ve been granted the gift of righteousness, and ordained to be holy, unblameable and irreproveable in His sight, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Ephesians 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 6:19-7:1-6 & Genesis 20-22

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 4:12-25 & Genesis 8


#TALKINGSESSION

8TH JANUARY.

KINDLY SAY THIS WORDS OUT LOUD.

Dear Father, thank you for the special privilege to be a blessing to my world, a light in a dark world, bringing blessings, illumination, and meaning to the lives of many with the Gospel. My light shines so brightly, causing your glory to be revealed in, and through

me. Hallelujah! I thank you for filling my heart with the revelation of your Word, and the wisdom to do your will. As I apply my heart to your Word, Christ is formed in me, and His character of love and nature of righteousness are revealed through me day by day, in Jesus Name. Amen!



God bless you

A Nigerian man who went on rampage and attacked public officials on Sunday, January 6 (yesterday) in Italy, has been arrested. According to Italian media reports, the 25-year-old Nigerian man was trying to empty a garbage can in the street at Ferrara train station before allegedly going out of control. 

The young man is alleged to have thrown bottles on the ground and also damaged a bus in the area close to where a woman was seated with her baby in the course of his rampage.

Passersby who witnessed the incident and tried to calm him down all to no avail - raised an alarm and called the police who arrived almost immediately. It was gathered that the Nigerian man on sighting the police officers, escalated and became more violent towards the public officials. 

The suspect was said to have insulted the officers and kicked them while resisting to be subdued. It took the arrival of another set of police officers to arrest the man. He has been charged for resisting arrest, aggravated damage as well as interruption of public service.

The suspect will be arraigned in court this morning. 

Municipal secretary of the Lega political party, Nicola Lodi shared the news on his Facebook page. 

See more; https://www.nationalhelm.co/2019/01/nigerian-man-goes-on-rampage-in-italy-assaults-police-officers-photos.html

The Nigeria Labour Congress says it will on Tuesday hold a nationwide protest to drive its demand for the upward review of the national minimum wage from N18,000 to N30,000.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said in a statement that there would be no strike for now.

Ozo-Eson, therefore, asked members of the public to disregard reports that the strike would begin tomorrow.

The statement read in part, “It has come to our attention that some sections of the news media have largely misrepresented our action plan in reaction to the delay in transmitting the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee on a new national minimum wage to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“It should be recalled that the National Executive Council of the NLC met on December 17 last year and directed that we hold nationwide mobilisation of workers and our allies if, by December 31, 2018, the bill on the national minimum wage has yet to be sent to the National Assembly to be passed as an Act of Parliament.

“We immediately announced then that on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, there will be a nationwide mass mobilisation and protests simultaneously across all states in Nigeria. This does not translate to a strike.”

https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/just-in-nlc-to-hold-nationwide-protest-tuesday-8th-jan-2019.html

Lagos-based M.C, Isaiah Ayomide Emmanuel aka Fenujawire, is lucky to be alive after a vicious attack on him by some suspected robbers.

Fenujawire was returning from a show, around 5a.m on Sunday, when the robbers attacked him with broken bottles, in a bid to snatch his iPhone along Abatti road in Akowonjo

However, they were unable to snatch the phone but left him with many gashes on the face.

Gist From Gistvic.com>>https://www.gistvic.com/2019/01/mc-fenujawire-left-with-gashes-after.html

The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, on Monday broke down in tears when a delegation from the state visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The governor was moved to tears because of what he described as the recent setback in the fight against insurgency.

He, however, noted that the leaders had not lost hope in the President’s ability to win the war and restore peace in the state.

Amidst the tears, he told the President that the delegation came to present a set of observations and specific requests from a security meeting held a week ago in the state, which will require urgent presidential intervention.

Others present include the National security Adviser, Chief of Staff, the DG of DSS and NIA, Chief of Defense Staff and members of the National Assembly.

The meeting is still ongoing behind closed doors.

https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/borno-gov-shettima-cry-at-meeting-with-buhari-over-recent-boko-haram-attacks.html

The Ogun State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has lost one of its officers to smugglers' hostility, even as another is currently hospitalized.

It was gathered that Anti-smuggling operatives of the Command, while on routine patrol, at about 2:30am on Sunday, January 6, 2018, stormed a hideout in Asero, Abeokuta, Southwest Nigeria, where eight vehicles, fully loaded with rice, were kept.

According to the Command's Public Relations Officer (PRO), Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, "In an attempt to lawfully secure the said items, the smugglers and their accomplices ambushed the officers in a deadly-like manner".

Maiwada, in a press release, stated that in the ensuing encounter, "one of the officers, a Customs Assistant I, Hamisu Sani, sustained grievous injuries and paid the supreme price (died) in active service. He has since been buried according Islamic rites. Also, an Inspector of Customs, Tijani John Michel, sustained serious machete cut but is responding to treatment in the hospital".

He said two suspects have been arrested by the police in connection with the incident, while the object of crisis, the eight rice-laden vehicles have been secured at the Customs House, Abeokuta, for further investigation.

See more;  https://www.nationalhelm.co/2019/01/ogun-customs-lose-officer-to-smugglers-hostility-another-hospitalized.html

Quote:Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has broken Nigeria’s all-time revenue generation record, after generating N5.3 trillion in 2018.

In Nigeria, FIRS highest revenue generation was previously recorded in 2012, when the agency generated N5.07 trillion.

Tunde Fowler, FIRS chairman, who announced the 2018 record said the cost of collection as a percentage of actual taxes collected has been reducing, as the government is generating more at a time when oil prices are low.

“While we have been steadily increasing revenue collection over the years, our cost of collection has actually been going down,” Fowler said.

“In 2016 we collected N3,307 trillion, in 2017 we collected N4,027 trillion and in 2018 we collected N5,320 trillion. Meanwhile, the cost of collection as a percentage of actual taxes collected has been reducing; in 2016 it was 2.6%, in 2017 it was 2.49% while in 2018 it was 2.14%.”

“The Service has been making tremendous efforts in also increasing the amount of non-oil revenue it collects. Non-oil collection has contributed 64.99% in 2016, in 2017 it contributed 62.25% and in 2018 it contributed 53.62%.

“This represents the government’s focus on increasing non-oil sources of revenue and the diversification of the Nigerian economy.”

TheCable had initially reported that the revenue collection agency was set to break Nigeria’s all-time record, after it generated N5 trillion in 50 weeks.

FIRS’ generation of N5.3 trillion is significant as it was at a period when oil prices averaged $70 per barrel. Oil price was at an average of $100 to $120 per barrel between 2010 and 2013.

Non-Oil component of the N5.320 trillion is N2.467 trillion (53.62 percent), while oil element of the collection is N2.852 trillion (46.38 percent).

From audit alone, FIRS collected N212,792 billion from 2278 cases with a huge reduction in audit circle.

Fowler said only companies that made a profit are obliged to pay taxes, adding that if a company is situated in Nigeria it is only fair that it pays its fair share of tax for the benefit of all Nigerians.

He said FIRS deployed ICT initiatives that enable a taxpayer to pay taxes from anywhere in the world, at any time, stating that the e-payment channel has ensured that Nigerians can pay taxes with the click of a button and also download their receipts.

Other e-Services are the e-Registration, e-Filing, -Stamp Duty and e-Tax Clearance Certificate.

“Taxpayers can now also choose the tax office where they would like to conduct their tax transactions. Before now, if one was registered with a particular tax office, one had to conduct all of their tax transactions in that office,” he adds.

“However, to make it more convenient for the taxpayer, they can now choose which ever office they wish to conduct their transactions with.

He noted that Nigerian taxpayers are embracing the modern way of tax collection, introduced by the FIRS through the six e-Solutions.

“We are automating the collection of Value Added Tax, VAT in key sectors which will facilitate reduction in compliance cost in the long term. We are doing System to system integration between banks and FIRS.

“And I am happy to announce to you that we had a 31% increase year on year in VAT collection in the banks that have gone live between Jan 2017- Dec 2018 and collected N25bn so far.

“Amongst others, there is also the Government Information Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), which links FIRS to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation OAGF for real-time exchange of information and data. 

“We are also automating the payment of VAT by states through the State Offices of Accountant General Platform (SAG). This will ensure that we aautomate and deduct at source and remittance of VAT and WHT from State governments contract payments directly to FIRS’s account and so far, collected 13bn.

He noted that taxpayers that requested for and processed their Tax Clearance Certificate, TCC through tcc.firs.gov.ng, from the comfort of their homes.

“Tax clearance on the platform grew from 9,574 – 59,350 within a year of introducing the platform. Auto VAT collection in key sectors has also facilitated in reducing the cost of compliance.

“Between January, 2017 and December, 2018 VAT collection increased by 31% which translates to a collection of N25 billion. Overall, in 2019 VAT crossed the N1 trillion mark.

“Indeed, VAT is the fastest growing tax type in the world and even rich countries that did not depend on taxation have now introduced VAT, like the United Arab Emirates. 

“In 2016 FIRS initiated a tax amnesty programme which attracted over 3000 applications for waiver of interest and penalties. The programme resulted in payment of over N68 billion out of about N96.2 billion liability established by the exercise.

VAIDS AIDS REVENUE GENERATION

The Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), which was initiated by the federal ministry of finance and the FIRS, received over 5,122 applications under the Scheme. 

The Scheme resulted in voluntary declarations of over N92 billion, with over N54 billion paid so far by companies.

Fowler also explained how FIRS ascertained whether those companies with banking turnover of N1 billion are tax compliant or not.

“FIRS wrote to all commercial banks in May 2018, requesting for a list of companies, partnerships and enterprises with a banking turnover of N1 billion and above,” he adds.

“This activity was aimed at ascertaining those companies that are compliant with the tax laws and those that are not compliant. So far, non-compliant organisations have paid about N21.75 billion.

“Companies that had a Tax Identification Number (TIN) and were paying were 45261, those that had a TIN but were not paying were 40611 and those without a TIN and who were not paying were 34504.”

The agency has set a target of N8 trillion for the 2019 fiscal year.

The police in Lagos on Monday arrested a 41-year-old commercial bus driver for allegedly raping a 78-year-old woman and causing her serious injury.

The commissioner of police in the state, Mr Imohimin Edgal, confirmed the arrest while briefing newsmen on the successes recorded by the command in the last one month.

Edgal said that the Septuagenarian had asked for directions to a place in Lagos from the suspect who instead lured her to a secluded place and raped her.

According to him, the woman was going to Ketu when the suspect picked her in his bus at the popular Maryland Area.

“Unknown to the woman, the commercial bus driver who had ulterior motive, drove her to Adeniyi Jones in Ikeja where he forcefully had sex with her in spite of her old age.

“A passer-by, who heard the woman’s shouts for help called the police and pointed them to the direction of the screams and he was caught in the act.

“The woman was bleeding while she was rescued from the scene.

The suspect is presently in custody and will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded,” the police boss said.

In a similar development, Edgal said that a 40-year-old man was also arrested by policemen attached to Alakuko Police Division for having carnal knowledge of a 12-year-old boy.

According to the CP, the suspect took his victim to an uncompleted building where he committed the act.

Edgal also said the suspect would also be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Source: https://www.gistkit.com/naija-news/bus-driver-arrested-alleged-rape-78-year-old-woman/

PREMIUM TIMES has obtained the third in a series of leaked audio recordings by Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s transport minister and the director general of President Mohammadu Buhari’s campaign team.

Mr Amaechi has been in the eye of a storm in the last 48 hours following the release of two earlier audio recordings where he expressed gloomy views about Nigeria and the administration of Mr Buhari.

In one of the recordings, which was shared with this newspaper by Phrank Shaibu, a spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar campaign, the minister was heard saying the president has failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians and that there was widespread suffering in the land.

Tolu Ogunlesi, a spokesperson of Mr Buhari, had dismissed the first leaked recording, saying Mr Amaechi was referring to immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan.

But after the release of the second audio, Mr Ogunlesi claimed the audio had been cleverly edited by a former aide of Mr Jonathan, Reno Omokri, to paint the minister and the current government in bad light.

However, on Monday evening, PREMIUM TIMES obtained another audio recording where the minister was heard badmouthing Lagos, the country’s commercial centre.

He described the nation’s former capital as a “glorified village”.
The minister said the city lacked basic infrastructure compared to Abuja, the country’s capital.
He added that the city has poor road network, no running water, and is infamous for vehicular traffic congestion.

“I live in Abuja, tell me where else we have infrastructure. Lagos is a glorified village. The only difference between Lagos and other cities is the fact that business is in Lagos, everybody is there doing business, so you can at least have food,” he said.
“If not tell me what else you have in Lagos? 1,000 plus megawatts. That’s all. That’s what you have. What else do you have? No water, there are no roads. When you hear traffic jams in Lagos or any part of Nigeria, where are there no traffic jams in Abuja? The reason why you meet traffic jams in Lagos is because there are no roads,” the former governor of Rivers State added.
Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, Lagos State has been exclusively governed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or parties, which formed the merger that birthed the APC.

Mr Amaechi’s comment is even made more ironical given the announcement earlier today by Mr Buhari’s announcement that a former governor of Lagos is in charge of his re-election campaign. Bola Tinubu is commonly seen as the man who decides whatever happens in Lagos.
Mr Tinubu is to supervise Mr Amaechi as he co-chairs the campaign organisation with Mr. Buhari.


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/304629-in-new-recording-amaechi-depicts-lagos-as-glorified-village.html

A Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has said the declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari making the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, leader of his campaign team is deceitful.

The spokesperson for the group, Yinka Odumakin, said the President should not use that as an excuse to avoid the Presidential debate, adding that it could spell doom for his re-election bid.


Buhari, while inaugurating the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja had said he was handing over the campaign to Tinubu so that governance would not suffer.

He said, “Even though we have only 40 days, this campaign is going to tax us all because we intend to touch all corners of our great and vast country. But I must also add that though we will all be deeply involved, I would like to assure the nation that I will do my part without making governance or my work suffer. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my co-chairman, will be fully in charge and is going to be on 24-hour vigil.


“That is to say the operational buck of this campaign stops at his table, and I, therefore, urge all of us in the leadership of this campaign, in the field operations on the campaign trail and in the secretariat to consult with Asiwaju whenever guidance is needed.”

Odumakin, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone on Monday, said the statement was deceitful.


He said, “I think the whole thing is just to make Tinubu feel good and think he is being reckoned with. But in any case, it is said that those who don’t learn from history will repeat it.

“This confirms that there are political forces that see some personalities at desperate times as people they can just toy with and once they dangle some carrots before them, there will be no problem.

“But if he tries to avoid the debate, it cannot work. Nigerians will not be wise to vote for anybody that is not ready to debate.”



https://punchng.com/presidential-campaign-buhari-deceiving-tinubu-says-afenifere/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s handover of the All Progressives Congress’ campaign to the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the President not to use this as “an excuse” to be absent from the presidential debate.

The presidential debate is organised by the Nigeria Election Debate Group and is slated for January 19, 2019.

President Buhari had, on Monday, handed over his party’s campaign for next month’s elections to Tinubu, saying he did not want to lead the campaign because he did not want governance to suffer because of the elections.

Ordinarily, the President, who is the chairman of the APC Campaign Council, ought to lead his party’s campaign – supported by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Tinubu, who are both the council’s co-chairmen.

However, in an interview, the spokesperson for the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Mr. Segun Sowunmi, said it was sad that whereas other presidential candidates were busy campaigning and wanting to be questioned by the people, President Buhari was boycotting campaign because he had nothing to campaign for.

Sowunmi said the development also showed that the President did not have the rigour it takes to campaign and govern the country.

He said, “President Buhari has only attended one campaign, which was the one held in Uyo (Akwa Ibom State capital). He is pushing people ahead to campaign for him because his chickens have come home to roost.

“It proves what we’ve been trying to say before that Buhari doesn’t have the energy and rigour to campaign.

“If he is giving someone else the task of leading his campaign, he could have as well given his presidential ticket to someone who has the energy.

“He should not use this as an excuse to be absent from the presidential debate.

“Nigerians want someone they can question and someone who is willing to listen to them. So, he (Buhari) should take charge of his own campaign.”

Sowunmi said boycotting campaign was the same thing as boycotting governance, asking President Buhari to take up his responsibility.

“His excuse that he doesn’t want governance to suffer is not tenable. In the United States, United Kingdom, France and other great countries, campaign is part of governance because it is an avenue to interact with your people. Hence, Buhari should not hand over his campaign to someone else.

“In the first place, if he had organised the system to be running smoothly, he would not have given this excuse,” Sowunmi added.

https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/tinubu-cant-represent-you-at-next-weeks-presidential-debate-atiku-warns-buhari.html

A former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and the Zonal Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign, Alhaji Umaru Nangwari Tambuwal, have declared the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, dead in the state.

The duo said they were already doing a final burial of the PDP in Sokoto State.

Wamakko and Tambuwal spoke in Denge Town, Headquarters of Denge-Shuni Local Government during the state during APC campaign flag off.

According to Wamakko, the APC was the only party that meant well for the state and Nigeria at large.

Presenting the APC flag to the governorship candidate of the party in the coming election, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto and Faruk Malami Yabo, his deputy, Wamakko said by God’s grace, the election is already won.

The former Governor said that APC tried to bring politicians who fear God, who love the state and who were ready to work for the state.

“This journey is for all of you. Come out en masse and ensure that PDP gets a final burial in the state. Cast all your votes for the APC.

“Cast all your votes for President Muhammadu Buhari in the coming general elections,” he stated.

Also speaking, Tambuwal said no politician in the state commands followership like Senator Aliyu Wamakko.

He said, “We are doing official burial ceremony of PDP in the state. We learnt former governor, Dalhatu Bafarawa petitioned EFCC that he left 13 billion in Sokoto’s coffers before leaving office.

“APC is challenging Bafarawa today to come out and state which bank and the amount number such money was saved.

“We have done our calculation and come to the conclusion that PMB is going to win in 26 states with the exclusion of Abuja.

https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-election-pdp-is-dead-collapse-tambuwal-wamakko-declare.html

No fewer than 2,800 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Madobi, Daura in Katsina State have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). News men report that the defectors were received into the APC fold in Madobi village on Monday by the Daura Local Government party Chairman, Alhaji Sani Altine-Daura. 

The chairman assured the new members of equal treatment and promised to carry everybody along in the party activities, devoid of any other considerations. Malam Iliyasu Shehu, former Chairman of the local government, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said that they took the decision in order to add value to electoral process as general elections got nearer. 

He said that they joined the party unconditionally adding that the ruling party under President Muhammadu Buhari had performed excellently especially in the provision of infrastructural facilities. Shehu said that Daura local council had provided portable water and renovated many schools in the electoral ward, noting that the resolve to join APC was for progress and development of communities. 

He assured that the defectors would be committed and dedicated to the manifestos of the APC and their loyalty to the party was unwavering. In his remarks, Daura Council Chairman, Alhaji Abba Mato, assured the new party members of unwavering attention of the council, especially in the provision of more welfare services to the area. The event was attended by party stalwarts, local government officials and other stakeholders. (NAN)

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/2800-pdp-members-defect-to-apc/?

The Federal Government has reached an agreement with members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Addressing journalists on Monday evening after the meeting with the striking lecturers in Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said the majority of their demands have been met including the release of N15.4 billion for payment of salary shortfalls.

According to him, the Federal Government is also in the process of releasing another N20 billion for payment of earned allowances for university lecturers.

Meanwhile, the ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said the National Executive Committee of the union will review their decisions based on the new commitment by the government.

According to him, it is only after that meeting of the ASUU leadership that the union will announce its position on the ongoing strike action.

Its been over two months since the union went on strike following the alleged inability of the government to respond to its demands.

READ MORE: https://www.inoutnaija.com/2019/01/chioma-finally-leaves-davido-kemi.html

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will now lead the party’s campaigns for the February general elections as against President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Chairman of the APC Campaign Council.

Buhari stated this on Monday while inaugurating the campaign council.

The President said the reason was that he didn’t want governance to suffer because of elections.

Tinubu and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo are Co-Chairmen of the Council and by original plan, were to deputise the President, who ordinarily should lead the campaigns.

But on Monday, Buhari handed over that responsibility to Tinubu and said he didn’t want governance to suffer.

Buhari inaugurated the council at the International Conference Centre Abuja, an event that had the National Chairman of the party, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, ministers and governors in attendance.

The campaign train will move to Bauchi State on Thursday. 

[url=<a href=https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/buhari-hands-over-campaign-to-tinubu-says-he-doesnt-want-governance-to-suffer.html color=#181855][/url]https://all-gists.blogspot.com/2019/01/buhari-hands-over-campaign-to-tinubu-says-he-doesnt-want-governance-to-suffer.html

BREAKING NEWS:
2019: Federal High Court restrains INEC from accepting any candidates from Rivers APC

▪Federal High Court nullifies direct and indirect primaries of Rivers State APC

▪declares that Rivers State APC cannot present any candidates for the Governorship , Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections 

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on Monday restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising any candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC ) for the 2019 General elections in Rivers State .

The court also nullified all nominations of the APC in Rivers State for the forthcoming elections in 2019.

The court ruled specifically that the APC cannot participate in the Governorship,Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections during the 2019 polls in Rivers State. 

Justice Kolawole Omotosho in his judgment in the suit filed by Senator Magnus Abe and others versus Rivers APC and others declared the APC for failing to respect the law must bear the consequences of her disobedience of the law.

Justice Omotosho stated that the Direct and indirect primaries of the Rivers State APC are illegal, null and void.

The court further declared that both the Direct and indirect primaries were held during the pendancy of the suit at the Rivers State High Court. 

According to the court, the APC conducted the indirect primaries in gross disrespect of the pending suit before Justice Chinwendu Nwogu of the Rivers State High Court. 

He noted that the judgment of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu nullifying the primaries of the APC in Rivers State is yet to be set aside by an appellate court, hence it remains valid.

The court, therefore held that the names sent by the Amaechi faction and the National Working Committee of the APC to INEC for the 2019 General elections were illegal and should be disregarded . 

He posited that the Direct primaries conducted by the Senator Magnus Abe faction were illegal because the National Working Committee of APC did not monitor or participate in the processes.

Justice Omotosho added that Justice Chinwendu Nwogu was clear when he nullified all primaries and congresses held during the pendancy of the suit, which included the Direct primaries conducted by the Abe faction.

He said that both the Senator Magnus Abe and the Amaechi factions have no leg to stand in view of the judgment, hence both factions are disqualified from participating in the elections. 

The court held that the APC in Rivers State has no power to nominate and sponsor any candidates for the 2019 General elections. 

Justice Omotosho condemned the invasion of the Rivers State High Court during the hearing of the suit, saying that actions must be taken to check the excesses of persons interested in destroying the rule of law.


https://www.dailypost.ng/2019/01/07/breaking-court-restrains-inec-recognizing-apc-candidate-rivers/amp/

Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos

Dr. Adegbola Dominic is the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State chapter. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he speaks on the chances of his party in winning the forthcoming governorship election and other issues. Excerpts:

Following the governorship primary of APC in Lagos State, many thought Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will move against his benefactor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and support the PDP. But now the governor has pledged his loyalty to APC, are you surprised by that development?

I was partly surprised because I expected Ambode an incumbent governor to have a will of his own, to know what he wants and go for it. Apparently, he wasn’t happy because he knew that Tinubu was overbearing and has cornered all the resources of the state. So, the governor wanted a change and that was what caused the problem between them. Now, Tinubu sensing that the governor is unhappy with him just came and howled at him like a bulldog and Ambode just cowered without even a fight. That is very surprising to me. He behaved like a man who does not have conviction. I expected that with the resources at his disposal and the power of incumbency he enjoys, he will be able to fight for what he believed is right. The fact that he cowered in the face of Tinubu’s howling is what surprises me. But he is also a product of Tinubu’s system. He connived with Tinubu and the others to put all the resources of Lagos state into Tinubu’s hand and himself. But I still expected that a man of his caliber who is an incumbent governor and who knows all the dubious activities of Tinubu can still cower just like that. It is very surprising to me. Tinubu’s Alpha Beta is being oiled by the state government; it depends absolutely on the government. All the funds of Alpha Beta are public funds which Ambode controls directly as governor and could use this to save this state and stop the bleeding of Lagos state economy into the pockets of Tinubu? Since he didn’t do that, we the PDP have to battle Tinubu to free Lagos from his grip.

Some lawmakers who got the ticket of your party into the Lagos House of Assembly have defected to the APC. Do you still see PDP retaining these seats in 2019?

As I always say, the PDP is going into this election to win. It is the party, which is PDP that the people voted for in the first place, not these people who defected to APC. It is the umbrella, which is the logo of the PDP that is on the paper. So, the people who voted for these lawmakers actually voted for the PDP, not them. I believe the PDP still enjoys the goodwill it had in 2015 which made it possible for these lawmakers to be elected. The party will still use the goodwill it enjoys to elect these candidates. We are floating new candidates now and I am confident that the people will again vote for them to defeat these ones who got APC tickets. The PDP lawmakers who defected can’t win on APC platform.

Do you see your party winning more seats compared to the votes you got in 2015?

Of course! In 2015, we had some resources more than we do now. But we didn’t have the goodwill of the people as we do now. I believe that the goodwill of the people is more important than these resources because if you rely on resources alone, the electorates will collect your money and then decide to vote for the candidates of their choice. That is what we are telling Lagosians now. APC will come with bribes because they are expert vote buyers. They have impoverished the people and make them hungry. So, we are telling them to collect the money if offered them by APC, but they should vote for the candidates of their choice. If they do that, I am sure that if they do, we will win more seats and even the governorship election. The major challenges we are having now are the security forces who will assist the APC to rig the election. But we are putting in all we can to prevent this from happening.

Are you not worried given the fact your predecessor, Moshood Salvador is now in APC?

We are not worried about Salvador at all. When he was Chairman, he was chairman of Mushin Local Government from Ward C1. When he was the state chairman of the party, we lost in his polling unit. PDP lost the election in the polling booth where he voted. So, what influence does he have that he is now taking to the APC? If he keeps telling them that he was former state chairman of PDP, it was just for propaganda purposes. We are not missing him. Now that he has left, his constituency is even better now for the PDP after his exit. A good number of the electorates did not vote PDP then because they don’t want him. I believe his exit to APC is an advantage to us. We are now more focused and united after his departure. It is good riddance.

Is the PDP thinking of forming an alignment with other smaller parties?

I have some experience with these smaller parties. A good number of these parties are just one-family party with just five or six members. In 2011, I brought together about 26 parties in Lagos state. We called it Coalition of Lagos State Opposition Political Parties (COLASOPP). We discovered that most of the parties, except for one or two are just on paper. Though there are one or two that can make really make an impact and we are already working on that. It is just like when the APC announced that 30 political parties have endorsed Sanwo-Olu. We are not worried about that because most of them are on paper.

What is your relationship with critical stakeholders in the state such as Traditional rulers, market leaders and so on, or do you want do without them?

We cannot do without anybody. We need the support of everybody, including market leaders, traditional rulers and so on. But the reality is that some of these traditional rulers are dependent on the state government for their daily needs. There is a case of a traditional ruler (Baale) here in Idimu. His son was contesting as a councillor on the platform of PDP but the Baale was campaigning publicly for the candidate of the APC against his son. He was telling the people to please vote against his son that if his son should win, the Lagos State Government will severely deal with him and punish him (Baale) . So, we are not dependent on them but we still reach out to them as a matter of courtesy. Look at the utterances of the Oba of Lagos. His actions have been so partisan, unbecoming and unexpected of a man in that position who should be neutral and see everybody as his children. We have to tell him that he is not doing what is expected of him but at the same time, we give him the respect due to him.
https://www.independent.ng/igbo-will-move-against-their-leaders-supporting-buhari-dominic/

Zakari: PDP reports Buhari to Abdulsalami Committee, UN

Quote:By Shola Oyeyipo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja



As the presidential election inches closer, former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday held a crucial meeting in Lagos to perfect strategies for the election.

The meeting came on the heels of the call by the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation on the General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd)-led National Peace Committee, the United Nations and all world leaders to call President Muhammadu Buhari to order, insisting that there is no way free and fair elections could be guaranteed when his niece, Mrs. Amina Zakari, is heading the collation of presidential election results.

The over three-hour meeting, which held behind closed-door at the Lekki Phase I Estate residence of renowned South-west leader and Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, had prominent politicians in attendance.

A source at the meeting told THISDAY, “It was a strategy meeting towards 2019 and how to give the country a fresh direction.”

According to him, “The discussion is not about South-west alone; it was a broad-based political arrangement that covers every part of Nigeria. It was a national thing. The basic concern is about how to give Nigeria a new lease of life by enthroning a leadership that will give the citizenry better lives.”

Obasanjo has been the arrowhead among those opposed to the second term ambition of Buhari and has maintained a cordial relationship with some leaders across the country to actualise his determination.

Apart from Obasanjo and Atiku, others present at the meeting were Chief Adebanjo, Saraki, Chief Olabode George, former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke; National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin; and former university teacher and Yoruba leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye.

The only person in Obasanjo entourage was former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

After similar meeting in Lagos on July 3, 2018, Akintoye had said Obasanjo’s visit was to look for ways to stop Buhari, insisting that if he does not go now on his own, the electorate would stop him this year.



Zakari: PDP Reports Buhari to Abdulsalami Committee, UN

Meanwhile, the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation has called on the Abdulsalami-led National Peace Committee, the United Nations and all world leaders to call Buhari to order, saying that there is no way free and fair elections could be guaranteed when his niece, Mrs. Amina Zakari, is heading the collation of presidential election results.

The PDP also warned that peaceful election cannot be guaranteed as long as the presidency continues to besiege, harass, intimidate and unleash violence and provocative acts of totalitarianism against opposition figures and persons perceived to be against Buhari’s self-succession bid.

The main opposition party accused the presidency of overheating the polity with its ‘’unending manipulations’’ of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), muzzling of free speech and escalated clampdown on opposition and civil society organisations, stressing that such must stop if the nation is to have peaceful elections this year.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Media and Publicity, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, noted that Buhari’s insistence on having his relation, a National Commissioner of INEC in charge of collation of presidential election results – as indicated in his press statement recently, is completely provocative.

He described Buhari’s action as a direct affront to the sensibilities of Nigerians and expressed invitation to crisis of epic proportion, which is capable of truncating the entire electoral process and derailing the nation’s hard-earned democracy.

“We want the whole world to know that Nigeria is in a perilous time. President Buhari’s desperation for self-succession has become the major threat to our national unity, stability and peaceful electoral process,” Ologbondiyan stated.

He added, “We want the National Peace Committee and the entire world to know that as long as Amina Zakari is in INEC, a peaceful election is not guaranteed because she has the mandate to abuse the process and this will not be accepted by Nigerians.

“The PPCO, therefore, calls on the National Peace Committee to immediately speak out on the impropriety of having Amina Zakari in INEC as well as insist on her removal so that we can have a credible and peaceful presidential election.”

The PDP said it was aware of plots by the presidency to use Zakari, who has been mentioned as part of those involved in the rigging of 2018 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, to plunge the 2019 general elections into controversies, truncate the flow of results and even render elections in some critical states inconclusive, to pave the way for allocation of fictitious votes to President Buhari and the APC.

Ologbondiyan stressed that having realised that Nigerians are rallying behind its candidate, Atiku, as their next president, the presidency is seeking ways to enmesh the electoral process in crisis.

The PDP spokesman said peaceful election cannot be guaranteed as long as the presidency continues to besiege, harass, intimidate, and unleash violence and provocative acts against opposition figures and persons perceived to be against Buhari’s self-succession bid, calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to take note of the extra-judicial acts of the ruling party and the presidency.

Ologbondiyan stressed, “Part of the plot is to charge such individuals before certain compromised judicial officers, in various states, who have been briefed to detain, silence and put such opposition figures and CSO members out of circulation until after elections are concluded.”

He said that particular cases at hand are those of its Presidential Campaign Director on Civil Societies, Senator Dino Melaye, who is being hounded for his outspokenness against the misrule of the Buhari presidency, as well as a civil rights activist, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, who is widely believed to have been held down in prison because of his scathing criticisms against the violations of the rights of Nigerians by the presidency.

The PDP said it was aware that the aim is to use the state apparatus of power to attempt to instil fear in Nigerians, stifle free speech, cow opposition and CSOs to silence so as to pave for Buhari’s self-succession.

Ologbondiyan noted, “This is a clear attempt to return our nation to the nightmares of the 1984 when draconian leaders forcibly subjugated innocent Nigerians under the grips of military Decree 2 and we urge the CJN to save our nation by insulating the judiciary from this ignoble scheme.

“However, the PPCO wants the Buhari Presidency to note that it is preposterous for anybody, no matter how highly placed, to think that our great party, the PDP and our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who enjoys the support of overwhelming majority of Nigerians, can be subdued out of the political space in our country.

“We therefore counsel President Buhari to tame his desperation for power. Our nation has had many presidents before President Buhari and there will be many more after him.”

Similarly, the Accord Women and Youth Initiative has condemned and rejected the appointment of Zakari as the Chairperson, National Collation Centre for presidential election result, saying that she is not only related to Buhari by blood but also married to APC senatorial candidate for Bauchi South senatorial district.

The women and youth group said its members aren’t against Zakari on the basis of her gender, but on the basis of her conduct.

It added that besides, she is not only related to the president Buhari by blood but also married to APC senatorial candidate in Bauchi South.

The Executive Director of the group, Ms. Esther Opaluwah, recalled that INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, had consistently maintained that he was committed to conducting a credible, free and fair election, saying the group expects nothing less than transparency and neutrality from INEC.

According to her, “Mrs. Amina Zakari who is not only a blood relative of the incumbent, President Buhari but also married to the senatorial candidate of Bauchi south. Therefore by consanguinity and affinity, her hands are tied.”

She said that the election is very important to them as Nigerians, hence, their refusal to fold their hands and watch a few individuals including Zakari to ruin the country’s democracy.

Tragedy was averted, today, as an #Airpeace plane suffered a blowout while taxiing for takeoff at the Abuja airport.


The incident allegedly happened, about 3 minutes after the plane started taxiing. According to a passenger, they heard a deafening sound, only to alight and discover that two tyres had burst.

https://hitng.info/1699/plane-suffers-a-blowout-during-takeoff-in-abuja/


Re: Plane Suffers A Blowout During Takeoff In Abuja by EbukaHades10(m): 2:18am
So no vulcanizer dey around to pump the tyre?

A 27-year-old Nigerian national who used to supply cocaine in Gurgaon, Noida and Delhi-NCR has been arrested by the south district police.

The police have seized 37.5-gram cocaine worth of Rs 20 lakh from the possession of the accused identified as Joseph Uzoma.

Uzoma was staying at Hauz Rani near Malviya Nagar in a rented house.

Quote:"Last Sunday, we had received a tip-off that drug trafficker Joseph would come in a private taxi to supply cocaine near Hauz Rani bus stop. A police team under the supervision of ACP Udaibir Singh and others was constituted to lay a trap at the bus stop. Following his arrival, he was arrested with 38 gram of fine quality cocaine valued at Rs 20 lakh in the international market,"

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said Vijay Kumar, DCPolice (South).

During interrogation, Uzoma disclosed that he had procured the contraband from a supplier in Noida. He also revealed that he used to hire a taxi driver to sell the cocaine in Delhi and NCR.

Uzoma had come to India on a student visa but indulged himself in illegal activities and finally started supplying cocaine. He was also found involved in the same nature of crime earlier.

See more: https://zenithnaija.com/nigerian-national-arrested-in-india-with-38-gram-cocaine-photo/

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Houses, shops razed as hoodlums attack Ibadan community
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW

                       
About 20 houses and shops were set ablaze by hoodlums suspected to be cultists in Idi-Arere/Sakapena area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in the early hours of yesterday.

The attack, which was believed to have been carried out by members of cult groups in a show of supremacy, led to huge financial losses to the victims.

The hoodlums reportedly reside within the community and its surrounding and were also said to have disagreements regularly.

Some of the razed buildings include fashion designers’ shops, electronics shops, frozen foods retail shops, cooking gas shops and clothing retail shops.

The attack, The Nation gathered, started around 2 a.m and lasted several minutes before the hoodlums were curtailed by policemen and members of a vigilance group.

The security agents shot sporadically into the air to announce their arrival to the suspected cultists but scared the residents.

The attackers were said to have looted some shops before razing them.

Shop owners received telephone calls about the attack at 5 a.m, making them to race to the scene.

The victims, who could not control their emotions, were said to have wailed uncontrollably on sighting the wrecks of their former shops.

The police command said it had arrested 11 suspects over the attack, adding that police had begun a 24-hour surveillance on the area.

Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said: “Normalcy has been restored in the affected area. Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude has directed the policemen drafted to the area to carry out intensive patrol as well as 24 hours of surveillance to avoid further breakdown of law and order.

“While directing that the 11 suspects, including their ring leaders arrested, be charged to court immediately after conclusion of investigation. The police commissioner warned hoodlums and other criminals against wanton destruction of lives and property.”

Ajisebutu said investigation to determine the cause and motive behind the incident had also begun.

Buhari will campaign only for APC candidates
Monday, January 07, 2019  politics

                              
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections, will campaign for the party and all its candidates.

A presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement while reacting to media enquiries over the hosting of Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Sunday.

Amosun was accompanied by the Ogun state governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Abdulkadir Adekunle Akinlade, during the visit.

The statement read: “Following repeated media enquiries on the matter, the Presidency wishes to state in clear and unmistakable terms that as a party leader and a candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections, President Muhammadu Buhari will campaign for the party and all its candidates.

“This, however, does not mean that he, as the nation’s leader, will decline courtesy calls or offers of support from citizens including candidates flying the flags of other parties.

“There is no doubt that the President has no competition here in terms of popularity in the coming elections. But the more support he gets, the wider the margin of victory there will be.

“So please let there be no confusion about this. President Buhari is APC. He will campaign for all APC candidates, but he welcomes support and endorsements.’’

NAN reports that prior to Sunday’s meeting with the president, Amosun, accompanied by the APM National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, had in Dec. 2018, met with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Amosun, at the meeting, presented a letter of adoption of the President by APM as the party’s presidential candidate in Feb. 16 general elections.

The governor said the endorsement letter was given to him by the party for onward presentation to the president, adding that with the endorsement, Buhari, whom he described as a man with good heart, would garner massive votes in the 2019 presidential elections.

NAN reports that the President and his visitors, at the end of today’s visit, had group photograph where they all demonstrated the “4 + 4’’ symbol with their fingers, meaning another four years for governing APC in Presidential Villa.

Amosun’s ‘consensus’ candidates for the governorship election (Akinlade) and state assembly elections are contesting under the banner of APM.

But, the governor is contesting for the Ogun central senatorial seat as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

2019: Kwara Braces For Landmark Elections As Saraki Fights For Political Life
Monday, January 07, 2019  politics

                           
Kola Shittu did not match the picture the reporter expected to see. It was the second day of the new year and the Kwara State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was calm and all smiles as he ushered party officials into and out of his office in his expansive home in the old GRA, Ilorin.
Could Mr Shittu be unaware of the higher-than-usual excitement in the state over the coming general elections, driven by the resurgence of the opposition in the state? At street junctions and on almost every wall in Ilorin, even around Mr Shittu’s house, bright billboards and posters screamed the message: Oto Ge! meaning “Enough is Enough” in Yoruba.
It is the battle cry of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and it is echoing even in the most unexpected places in Ilorin and other parts of Kwara. It refers to the long dominance of the politics of the 51-year-old state by the Saraki family.
“Place a table by the roadside anywhere in Ilorin, shout Oto Ge! and see the reaction of people,” Iyiola Oyedepo told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Oyedepo was the state chairman of the PDP until last July when he fled to the APC to avoid sharing the same camp with Bukola Saraki, the Senate president.
Mr Saraki, the current “leader” of the Saraki political family, had that month made a grand return to the PDP from the APC, followed by the state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and all the elected office holders from the state.
When Mr Saraki moved from the PDP in a similar fashion in 2014, he flipped the state to the APC, which went on to win every election there in 2015. But Mr Oyedepo said the tide has turned.
“The people are resolute that enough is enough and you can feel it in the air everywhere in Kwara,” he said.
Ilorin on knife’s edge

Two recent events in the state give an indication of a changing political canvass.
Usually on Christmas Day, the predominantly Muslim indigenes gathered under their umbrella, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union at the palace of their revered emir. At the gathering, they would raise fund for the development of the emirate and review public issues that affect the people within and outside Kwara. It was a key event in the socio-political calendar of the people and everyone turned up gaily dressed. In 2017, the Senate President as the chief donor announced a donation of N10 million.

At the event, however, last December, the unusual happened. As Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the APC governorship candidate, was called to the podium, a band of rednecks sprang to their feet chanting “Sai Bukky,” the slogan of supporters of the Senate President in the state. They were immediately countered with chants of “Oto Ge!”
The ensuing commotion overwhelmed the organisers who called an end to the event after the emir, Sulu-Gambari, hurried out of the scene in embarrassment. The next day, the president of the IEDPU announced his resignation.
The PDP supporters accused the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, of orchestrating the tumult at the event, alleging it was the reason he had the NTA broadcast the event live.

Mr Mohammed, an indigene of Oro about 100 kilometres away in the southern senatorial district of the state, denied the allegation. He said he had no foreknowledge of the event and could not have arranged its coverage by national television. Still, it was significant that a group would stand toe to toe against Mr Saraki’s supporters at such a grand event in the very heart of Ilorin, his hometown.
Political Fortress

The Sarakis control the politics of Kwara from their political fortress in Ilorin and buttress their hold by using it for negotiation at the federal level. This means that they not only control the resources of the state, but also those accruing from Abuja, including political and public service appointments.
The emirate, covering the entirety of Kwara Central Senatorial District and a small part of Kwara North, has about 55 per cent of the voting population of the state.
Because the Sarakis have always enjoyed solid support in Ilorin, other parts of the state consider it politically suicidal to stand against them in the Nigerian winner takes all politics where 50.01 percent is equal to 100 percent. Thus, any support the Sarakis draw from outside their home fortress has been based on the pragmatism of the giver. A substantial erosion of the support in Ilorin is thus nunc dimitis to the hegemony.
But in the last eight years, Mr Saraki has faced a rising opposition in Ilorin, indicated especially by the desertion of key allies. Some of these include Gani Cook-Olododo, Yinka Aluko and Moshood Mustapha who served him either as chief of staff, commissioner or special adviser when he was governor and were commanders of the foot soldiers at elections.
Abdulraheem Oba, a professor and former vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin, is also an influential indigene of Ilorin who has deserted the Saraki camp. Other young Turks never beholden to the Sarakis are also emerging and marking out turfs across the emirate. The fact is that Mr Saraki has not managed to win the adulation his father enjoyed among the Ilorin people.
In other parts of Kwara too, many old allies have jumped ship. Many of these are in Kwara South, but there are prominent cases like Ibrahim Bio, a former member of the House of Representatives, speaker of the State House of Assembly and minister; and Ahmed Ahmed, a former senator from Kwara North.

IG Must Go, CUPP Insists
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW

                         
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has declared that the continued stay of Ibrahim Idris as the Inspector General of Police (IG) after statutory retirement constitutes a threat to national security.

In a statement issued yesterday, the CUPP National spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere berated Idris,


saying it amounted to impersonation and illegality for him to be parading himself as the Inspector General of Police.

“The opposition coalition wishes to remind President Buhari of the sacred provision of Section 215(1)a of the 1999 Constitution which clearly holds that the president can only appoint a serving police officer as Inspector General of Police. This means that having reached the mandatory retirement age of 35 years of active service on January 3 2019, and the mandatory retirement age of 60 years while in service which comes up on January 15, 2019, the IG is constitutionally barred from being retained or reappointed as IG as he is no longer a serving police officer and his continued stay in office is illegal and an act of impersonation. There is no legal or documentary evidence to back up his stay as IG,” Ugochinyere insisted.

He called on President Buhari to be courageous by announcing a replacement and not bow to the pressure to cement illegality in the core of the country’s security architecture due to his desperation to rig himself back to power knowing he has been rejected by the Nigerian people.

He said: “The uncertainty in the leadership of the police in such auspicious moment emboldens persons with sinister motives and demoralises senior officers of the force due to this abrupt and unlawful halt to their career progression. The law is clear on who can be appointed as Inspector General of Police and who cannot be appointed as Inspector General of Police and Mr. Ibrahim Idris is now in the latter group.”

He further revealed that the coalition members would embark on a protest if the president fails to replace Idris.

“It is flowing from this and to save our dear country from further drift from a government that lacks capacity to provide leadership to our country that the secretariat of CUPP hereby directs all coalition members in the 36 states to begin preparation for nationwide protests from January 15 if the retired IG is seen dressed in police uniform around the Force Headquarters.

“The protests will be in front of the Police Command headquarters of every state and shall be continuous till the right thing is done. During the protests, there shall be a declaration that since Idris is no longer a police officer, he cannot be addressed as IG and a call to him to stay clear of the Force Headquarters, “ the statement said.

He called on the president to be prepared to be held responsible in the event of anarchy, loss of lives and property if he follows the path of noxious plots to rig himself into power.

See Viral Photo Of A Child Shoe Shiner Spotted In Gombe State
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW

                            
A Nigerian Facebook user, George Onmonya is concerned about the growing number of child labourers in Gombe State.


He shared a photo of one of the children supplied by a certain 'Doctor Bile Nuhu' from Gombe, adding that the children are mostly from neighbouring states.


Read his post below;

"Sometime last year I went to Gombe with Remi Adebayo and Joshua Matthew to track down Governor Dankwanbo for an interview. The one thing I noticed in Gombe was the influx of children shoe shiners like this one.


I called several of them to ask them where they were from and they said they were from Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, some from as far as Niger Republic and many just knew their village names and don’t know the states they are from.


I am sure they are still everywhere all over Gombe town, children, like this photo supplied by Doctor Bile Nuhu , carrying shoe shining box, roaming around the streets. Is this not child labor? I added this to the question I would ask Governor Dankwanbo anytime I see him. Is Gombe now the dumping ground of Almajiri or center for child labor? Allah ya kiyaye.


Even Chika Francis of AIT can testify I was in Gombe this period."

Amina Zakari’s Husband Is APC Senatorial Candidate For Bauchi South – Group
Monday, January 07, 2019  politics

                               
A new twist has been added to the controversy surrounding the appointment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged niece and INEC National Commissioner, Amina Zakari, as chairman of the National Collation Centre Committee, as a non-governmntal organisation on Sunday disclosed that the husband of the INEC official is the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate in Bauchi South Senatorial election.

In a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the NGO, Accord Women and Youth Initiative, therefore demanded the immediate resignation of Zakari due to what it termed as conflict of interest. 

“Mrs Amina Zakari who is not only a blood relative of the incumbent, President Mohammed Buhari but also married to the APC senatorial candidate of Bauchi South. Therefore by consanguinity and affinity her hands are tied,” Esther Opaluwah, Executive Director, Accord Women and Youth Initiative, said.

According to the group, the INEC official has failed the neutrality and impartial test, especially on her antecedents in the immediate past elections in the South West where she was in charge of electoral operations and logistics.

This comes as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alerted the National Peace Committee, the United Nations and all world leaders to immediately call President Buhari to order and ensure peaceful, free, fair and credible general elections in February.

Addressing journalists on Sunday in Abuja, Kola Ologbondiyan, Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO), accused the Presidency of overheating the polity with manipulations of INEC, muzzling of free speech and escalated clampdown on opposition and Civil Society Organizations.

According to him, there is no way peace can be guaranteed without a free and fair election with Zakari as head of the National Collation Centre Committee.

“President Buhari’s insistence on having his relation in charge of collation of Presidential election results is completely provocative, a direct affront to the sensibilities of Nigerians and express invitation to crisis of epic proportion, which is capable of truncating the entire electoral process and derailing our hard-earned democracy.

“The world is aware that majority of Nigerians have rejected Mrs. Amina Zakari. Over 90 percent of the political parties in the election, as well as major political and socio-cultural groups across the country have also called for her resignation from INEC, yet President Buhari is insisting on her stay in the commission.

“Our party is aware of plots by the Buhari Presidency to use Amina Zakari, who has been mentioned as part of those involved in the rigging of 2018 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, to plunge the 2019 general elections into controversies, truncate the flow of results and even render elections in some critical states inconclusive, to pave way for allocation of fictitious votes to President Buhari and the APC. 

“We want the National Peace Committee and the entire world to know that as long as Amina Zakari is in INEC, a peaceful election is not guaranteed because she has the mandate to abuse the process and this will not be accepted by Nigerians. 

“The PPCO therefore calls on the National Peace Committee to immediately speak out on the impropriety of having Amina Zakari in INEC as well as insist on her removal so that we can have a credible and peaceful Presidential election,” Ologbondiyan said. 

The party also alerted the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen of plot to use the police to clamp down on opposition figures on trumped-up criminal charges.

Why We Invade Daily Trust Newspaper Offices - Nigerian Army
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW
                           
The Nigerian Army wishes to clarify on alleged invasion of Media Trust Headquarters in Abuja and regional office in Maiduguri. We would like to state that soldiers of the Nigerian Army along with elements of Nigeria Police Force and other Security Agencies were indeed at Abuja and Maiduguri offices of the publishing company to invite the staff of the company over its lead story on Sunday Trust publication, which divulged classified military information, thus undermining national security.

In it, the newspaper made disclosed details of planned military operations against the Boko Haram terrorists. The disclosure of classified security information amounts to a breach of national security and run contrary to Sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act.

It afforded the Boko Haram terrorists prior notice of our plans and giving them early warning to prepare against the Nigerian military, thus sabotaging the planned operations and putting the lives of troops in imminent and clear danger.

We would like to state that the invitation of those responsible for divulging military plans was done with the best of intention in order to make them realise the import of such acts to our national security.

We therefore advice all, particularly journalists, not to worry but engage in their responsive reportage and to be professional as the Nigerian Army has no intention of muzzling the press or jeopardising press freedom.

We however, wish to enjoin further that they should eschew jeopardizing national security in their reportage. We would not tolerate situation where a publication would consistently side with terrorists and undermine our National institutions.

We wish to appeal to all, especially the media, to join hands with the Nigerian military and security forces to end terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria. We would like to further assure that the invitation is for further investigation and if need be, all those culpable of jeopardising operations security will be prosecuted by the relevant law enforcement agency.

You are please requested to disseminate this information to the public through your medium.

Thank you for your kind cooperation.

SANI KUKASHEKA USMAN
Brigadier General
Director Army Public Relations

2019: Amaechi Under Fire Over ‘leaked Audio’, Told To Resign As Buhari’s DG
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW

                        
Mixed reactions have trailed the release of a full audio recording of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, allegedly referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as an ignoramus, who neither takes advice nor reads to acquire information.


Reno Omokri, an ex-presidential aide on New Media, made the full audio release available on Sunday in a post on his Twitter page, amid the controversies that trailed an earlier snippet he made public.

Recall that in the snippet, Amaechi was reportedly heard saying, “The President does not listen to anybody. Does he even read?”


But the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital, New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi, has claimed that the audio recording was from 2014 at the height of Amaechi’s fight with Omokri’s former principal, President Goodluck Jonathan.

In what appears as a counterattack against Ogunlesi’s defence, Omokri released the full clip, where Amaechi was put on record mentioning President Buhari’s name.

Amaechi has now been roundly accused of working for Buhari because of personal gains and urged to step down as Director-General of his campaign.


Here are some tweets as curated by DAILY POST:

@Demoore90210: #AmaechiTapes is a massive own goal by the APC team. If Amaechi, a serving Minister and DG of Buhari’s Presidential Campaign Organisation doesn’t rate Buhari, why do you? Amaechi knows Buhari is an empty barrel, but for personal monetary gains he remains loyal.

@rickieflamez: If after these tapes from Amaechi someone comes out to defend him and Buhari, that person is irredeemable and needs an urgent brain transplant.

@nicholasibekwe: In the light of the leaked audio, if it is authenticated, Amaechi should either resign as Buhari’s campaign DG or be excused from the role. There is nowhere in world anyone in his position caught making such a statement would be allowed to continue in the role.

@iamUncleMark: In a sane country Amaechi will tender his resignation. As I said “In a sane country”

@CaptViktor: Has Amaechi come out to deny these tapes yet? Or are we going to ignore all he said and continue shouting Sai Baba

@YarKafanchan: 1. Amaechi thinks Nigerians should all die before Nigeria can get better. (Perhaps why Buhari’s govt has been deliberate in wasting Nigerian lives since they got in)

2. Buhari asked “what is my business with goat seller in Onitsha”
HE DOES NOT REGARD THE COMMON MAN.

@Papadonkee: Part 3 of the #AmaechiTapes has the Rt. Hon. Minister admitting that people are dying, poverty is increasing, things have gotten worse since Buhari assumed office in 2015. The @MBuhari Campaign Council will be inaugurated tomorrow. Amaechi is the DG. If you were him would you

@_Samuelopara: I guess Amaechi can’t come out from this, How do you say this and still tell us Buhari is the right man to lead Nigeria. Politicians don’t Care about the Masses, He was laughing talking about suffering of the Masses.

PDP Alleges Plot To Attack Atiku In Kogi
Monday, January 07, 2019  politics

                            
The Kogi State Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday put “all Nigerians, especially the high commands of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as well as the general public on high alert as regards the discovery of a covert plan to truncate democracy and instigate total breakdown of order in Nigeria starting from Kogi State.”

“On the last count, four impeccable sources have confirmed that this plot has been bankrolled by the Kogi State Government, led by its accidental governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, and will start with a calculated attempt to harass the presidential candidate of our great party, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar GCON, who is scheduled to visit Kogi State in a few hours from now,” the council said in a statement signed by its Head, Media and Publicity, Usman Austin Okai.

The statement said: “The Council wishes to remind Nigerians that reports were initially made about a well-funded exercise carried out by agents of the Kogi State government which targeted a mass destruction of campaign banners and other publicity materials of the PDP in Kogi State less than a week ago.

“It is therefore for the records that it is considered highly important to notify all lovers of democracy that indeed, the campaign of bitterness of the APC and the Kogi State Government against the PDP is set to adopt a new dimension starting from tomorrow.

Not only is the Council concerned about the clear attempt by the APC to erode a strong legacy of democracy and freedom bequeathed to it by the PDP, it appears desperate to score a new low by going against the towering personality of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar GCON.

“Whereas we habour no fear of the unknown as regards tomorrow’s rally for which the Kogi Confluence Stadium, Lokoja has been approved for use, we sternly advise relevant security agencies to call the outgoing governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and his band of urchins to order immediately.

“The PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Kogi State sternly warns agents of destabilisation recruited by the APC to refrain from endangering themselves by swimming against the tide in an attempt to oppose the will of a tremendous number of Nigerians who are determined to end the vicious cycle of retrogression, failure and bloodshed which the APC has visited on Nigeria and Nigerians.

“The Council also urges all leaders, elders, stakeholders, affiliate groups and supporters of the PDP to turn out en-masse for tomorrow’s rally and entertain not, fear of any kind.

“The United Nations, the African Union, the American government and the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada are also invited to take note of this latest attempt by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State to abort democracy in Nigeria and urge an urgent intervention.

“The PDP on its part commits to abide by the laws of Nigeria and go about its mobilisation activities in line with the global standards which emphasis decorum, peace and constructive engagement of voters.”

Reports gathered from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), have revealed that Nigeria’s electronic payment (e-payment) services, recorded transactions worth N56.85 trillion from January to September, 2018.

The report which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, showed an increase of N16.4 trillion compared to the N40.45 trillion that was recorded in the same period of 2017.

The report also disclosed that most of the electronic transactions were carried out through the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP), Automated Transfer Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales, Mobile Money, Electronic Bills Payment (E-Bills) and Web payments.

A breakdown of the report showed that ATMs transactions grew from N4.61 trillion in 2017 to N4.76 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2018. Also, the number of transactions via ATMs under the period in review grew from N560.86 million to N650.06 million in year 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The report revealed an increase of about N635 billion in the use of POS machines to carry out payments by Nigerians. Under the period of review, 98.73 million transactions worth N975 billion were done using POS in 2017, while in 2018, the number grew to 196.83 million, valued at N1.61 trillion.

Similarly, the volume of transactions carried out by Nigerians, via mobile money increased from N795.18 billion in 2017, to N1.22 trillion as at Sept, 2018. Also, using the web payment means, the total value of transactions under the period in review increased from N129.24 billion in 2017, to N183.07 billion in 2018.

Futhermore, the value of transactions on e-bill payments, which made it possible for customers to pay utility bills such as power, cable and so on online, declined from N420.73 billion in 2017 to N370 billion in 2018.

Meanwhile, a Business and Financial analyst, Dr Patricia Auta, stated that the NIBSS report showed an increase in awareness and use of technology by businesses and individuals across Nigeria.

Dr Auta urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to increase efforts on cashless economy policies, especially in states, to grow the electronic payment space. She also advised commercial banks to stay competitive and drive growth by providing innovative alternate payment channels to their customers.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/01/nigerias-e-payment-transactions-hit.html

Buhari cuts N/Assembly budget by N14.5bn
Monday, January 07, 2019  NEW

                         
President Muhammadu Buhari has slashed the budget of the National Assembly by N14.5 billion, Daily Trust reports.

The federal legislature got N139.5bn in the 2018 budget, but under this year’s budget, the president proposed the sum of N125bn for the lawmakers, representing a reduction of N14.5bn.

A careful look at the proposed National Assembly’s budget showed that the entire N125bn was under recurrent expenditure, with ‎overhead and capital having zero allocation.

The proposal showed no further breakdown of the National Assembly budget.

For many years, there had been no details for the National Assembly budget, until in ‎2017 when the two chambers made details of their budget public following sustained public pressure.

Akelicious recalls that the president had initially proposed the same N125bn for the lawmakers in 2018, but the legislators jerked it up to N139.5bn, a development that did not go down well with the executive arm.

Our correspondent reports that from a budget of N19bn in the year 2000, the National Assembly’s budget ballooned to N150bn at some point.

For four years running, between 2010 and 2013, the National Assembly’s annual budget was N150bn each year, making a total of N600bn for the four years alone.

The lawmakers’ subsequent budgets hovered around N120bn, until Buhari’s ýcoming when he reduced it further to N115bn in 2016, which the lawmakers approved.

The president proposed the same N115bn for the lawmakers under the 2017 budget, but they jerked it up to N125bn, indicating an increase of N10bn.

In 2017, the first and only time the lawmakers made public details of their then N125bn budget, Senators and members of the House of Representatives spent N11.5bn on travel and transport; refreshment – N1.3bn; legislative activities – N21.4bn; vehicles – N6.6bn and consultancy – N5.88bn.

Other spending in their 2017 budget included publicity and advertisements – N3bn; fuel and lubricant – N2.1bn and security equipment – N1.5bn.

In all, the National Assembly spent N85.8bn on overhead, N14.9bn on capital, and N23.7bn for personnel costs in the 2017 budget.

The breakdown showed that the National Assembly management spent N6.7bn on personnel, N6.1bn on overhead and N2bn on capital, which totalled N14.9bn; Senate: personnel N1.8bn, overhead N25bn and capital N4.4bn, total N31.3bn; House: personnel N4. 9bn, overhead N39.6bn, and capital N4.4bn, total N49bn; National Assembly Service Commission: personnel N961m, overhead N1.1bn and capital N309m, total N2.4bn; and legislative aides: personnel N8.9bn, overhead N534m and capital N150m, total N9.6bn.

The federal government informed the press on Saturday, that the negotiation between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), will resume today, with the hope of putting an end to the presently going on industrial action by the striking lecturers.

The statement was issued on Saturday, in Abuja, by director of Press in the ministry, Mr Samuel Olowookere following the directive by Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.

With respect to the statement made by the Director of press in the ministry, the meeting is in advancement to efforts at having a solution to the on-going Strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).


"The Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Executive of ASUU. The conciliatory meeting is scheduled to hold on Jan. 7, at Minister’s Conference Room".He said.

ASUU Strike started on November 5 to agitate for the demands of the agreement made in 2009.

The federal government had her first meeting with the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on November 15, 2018, as part of efforts to end the Strike.

https://www.adekkatv.com/2019/01/ASUU-strike-fg-resume-negotiation-today.html

Military says it has seized power in oil-rich Gabon, where the ailing leader's family has ruled for 50 years

Soldiers in the west African country of Gabon say they launched a coup "to restore democracy".
They took control of the national radio station in the early hours of Monday to read a short statement announcing a "National Restoration Council".

Tanks and armed vehicles can be seen on the streets of the capital Libreville.
President Ali Bongo took over power in 2009. He reportedly suffered a stroke in October and received treatment in Morocco.

Mr Bongo sought to put an end to the rumours about his health with a New Year message in which he said he was feeling fine.
Soldiers said they had been disappointed by the message, calling it "a pitiful sight" and a "relentless attempt to cling onto power."


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46779854

Investors Count Gains in Spite of Volatile Stock Market
Monday, January 07, 2019  BUSINESS

                       
Despite a decline of 17.8 per cent recorded by the Nigerian stock market in 2018, some investors in the market still recorded gains, Akelicious’s investigation has revealed.

Apart from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) that fell by 17.8 per cent, all other indices also depreciated with many underperforming the NSE ASI.


But Akelicious gathered that amidst the rampaging bears, some stocks still delivered significant positive returns to investors last year. 

For instance, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) Plc, which is a member of BUA Group, led the stocks that put smiles on the faces of its investors.

The stock, it was learnt, appreciated by 104.2 per cent.

It was closely followed by Unity Bank Plc, which gained 101.8 per cent.

Sterling Bank Plc also appreciated by 75.9 per cent, while NEM Insurance Plc gained 62.6 per cent, just as Learn Africa Plc chalked up 54.5 per cent.

Caverton Offshore Services Group Plc closed the year at 48.8 per cent higher, while Vitafoam Nigeria Plc and Diamond Bank Plc fetched investors 46.6 per cent and 45.3 per cent, respectively.

In the same vein, Custodian Investment Plc gained 45.2 per cent while C & I Leasing Plc amassed 37.9 per cent gain.

Continental Reinsurance Plc garnered 36.4 per cent, while Fidson Healthcare Plc, Beta Glass Plc and Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc gained 33.7 per cent, 33.1 per cent and 32.7 per cent, respectively.

Market analysts said the jump in the share price of CCNN last year was justified given the high demand the stock enjoyed due partly to its merger with Kalambaina Cement Company.

The merger was said to be the largest deal in the market in 2018.

Speaking on the merger, Founder/Executive Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, who is also the Chairman of CCNN, said the expanded CCNN would remain the market leader in its regional market of North-west Nigeria, which is the third largest market for cement in Nigeria by consumption.

He added that CCNN would also continue to explore the huge opportunities that exist in the export markets of Niger, Burkina Faso and the West African region.

“Traditionally, the huge cost of transportation to CCNN’s home region from other cement plants in Nigeria – the nearest being about 900km away – has always given us a strategic advantage in that region over competing cement companies and brands. The expanded entity will leverage on the cost and energy efficiency of the newly commissioned Kalambaina Plant while providing additional value through its products in terms of better quality, higher yields and stronger cement than competing premium cement brands,” he said.

With this merger, the total installed capacity of the merged entity will be two million metric tonnes per annum, which is expected to bring the total capacity of BUA’s cement operations to eight million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as the group recently announced the completion of its three million MTPA-capacity Obu II Cement Plant in Okpella, Edo State.

The NSE last week listed additional 11.886,823,200 shares of CCNN arising from the merger with Kalambaina Cement Company.

With the listing of the shares, the total issued and fully paid up shares of the CCNN has now increased from 1,256,677,766 ordinary shares to 13,143,500,966 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Meanwhile, the stock market recorded a decline in the first week of 2019 despite the low prices of most stocks.

However, analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited had said they did not see an immediate bargain hunting despite the low prices.

“Although, we acknowledge that the broad sell off in the market has led to a significant moderation in the share prices of stocks providing opportunities for bargain hunting, we think that the argument for “Buying the dip” frequently advanced by money managers and traders is still too early to call for,” they stated.

*Rhapsody Of Realities

*THE WORD OF TRUE ESSENCE*

Monday, January 7th


_*Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures (James 1:18).*_

The expression, “word of truth” in the verse above means the word of reality, the word of true essence. This is wonderful, because it means your life isn’t a lie; you’re not living a meaningless life and your life isn’t a shadow, because you’re born of His true essence; of His Word of reality. Therefore, there’s a purpose for your life.

It reminds of the words of Jesus in John 18:37: _*“...To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth....”*_ Pilate had to ask Him, “What is truth?” The world doesn’t know truth. In the world, everything is a shadow; no one ever finds their true reason for being. Even the great Solomon, in all of his wisdom, couldn’t discover truth. He said, _*“…vanity of vanities...all is vanity”*_ (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

No wonder Jesus said, _*“…behold, a greater than Solomon is here”*_ (Luke 11:31), because He came to bear witness unto the truth. Moreover, He is Truth personified (John 14:6). For anyone to know truth, they’ve got to know Him, the incarnate Word of God, for whatever the Word says is truth.

So many are living a lie, because they’ve rejected the Word, the Word of truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10); but not you! You’re born of His truth. That’s why you’ve got true joy. Only those born of Truth experience the joy of truth; true and lasting joy! Even your prosperity is the prosperity of truth.

The prosperity of those who aren’t born again is the prosperity of numbers, because it’s according to what’s in their bank accounts; the material accumulation of wealth. That’s not true prosperity, because it’s fleeting; it’s not real.

However, living in and by the Word of truth translates you into the reality of eternity, where you only see and experience endless prosperity, opportunities, and possibilities. Hallelujah!

*CONFESSION*

*The Lord guides me continually, and satisfies my desire in scorched places, making my bones strong; and always, I’m like a well-watered garden; a spring of water, whose waters never dry. I’m born of the Word of truth, filled with the true essence of life, hope, joy, peace and prosperity. Hallelujah!*

*FURTHER STUDY:*

*||* *John 10:10 AMPC* The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

*||* *John 17:17* Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. *||*

*||* *Ephesians 1:13* In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

*DAILY SCRIPTURE READING*

*1-Year Bible Reading Plan=>* Matthew 6:1-18 & Genesis 18-19

*2-Year Bible Reading Plan=>* Matthew 4:1-11 & Genesis 7



#TALKINGSESSION

7TH JANUARY.

KINDLY SAY THIS WORDS OUT LOUD.

Dear Father, your Word is a light to my path and a lamp to my feet. Therefore, I will never walk in confusion or in the dark side of life. My steps in life are directed and ordered by you, through the Word and your Spirit. I am positioned in the right place and
at the right time for your purpose. I am full of might

and ability of the Spirit, who leads me in a perpetual victory parade. I am like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out her roots by the river. I don’t know when heat comes. I am prosperous and triumphant always in Christ Jesus! Hallelujah!


God bless you