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Finance Minister: We Have Failed Our Children

By
Akintomide Aroso
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Finance Minister: We Have Failed Our Children
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has urged parents to instill family values in their children as a way to save the country from degeneration.

The minister made the call on Saturday in Kaduna during a stakeholders’ engagement with 77 district heads, religious and community leaders from the 23 Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

“We are calling the attention of parents that we have failed our children in the sense that the kind of values we use to have is no more.

“We need to remind ourselves that our children need to be upright and that this criminality going on, on daily basis, is not for their benefits and the benefit of the state and country.”

The minister appreciated efforts by the Kaduna state government in managing security issues in the state.

Ahmed told the stakeholders that the Federal Government has created a N75 billion entrepreneurship support fund, to enable youths in the country grow their businesses and be economically independent.

The minister explained that the fund would support the youth to actualize their innovative and enterprenueral ideas, be productive and employers of labour.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Mahmud, called for collective efforts to tackle the security challenges in the country.

He urged the stakeholders to support government in addressing the security challenges and unemployment in the country.

The minister advised the youths to be self reliant, by focusing on skills acquisition and not depending on government.

Mahmud urged the leaders to be advocates of peace in their respective communities in order to bring about meaningful development.

Earlier, the Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, appealed to the stakeholders to sensitise their communities on the need to always uphold the law in all their conducts.

According to her, the state government will remain resolute in dealing with any lawlessness and criminal acts.

She also condemned the recent spate of looting and destruction of public and private properties.

“These mob actions are unreasonable and intolerable,” the deputy governor said.

She expressed the hope that the interactions would lead to understanding and collective efforts to develop the state.

“As good citizens, it is part of our civic duty to support government in the development of the state.

“So, we need this interactions between the government, traditional and religious institutions that allow us to reason together.

“It is agreed that there are problems, but government is doing all it can to address them. I urge all on the need to join forces to save the society from those seeking to destroy it.

“This is a responsive government and we have listened to the demands of our people and are doing our best to address them,” the deputy governor added.

The stakeholders tasked the government to do more in securing the lives and property of the people.

They appreciated the government for its efforts so far in managing the security situation across the state, and requested that such interface be held quarterly, to address emerging challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Dr Fayemi Kayode, and Governors of Sokoto and Jigawa, Aminu Tambuwal and Badaru Abubakar, respectively, attended the event.

LPPC Calls For 2021 SAN Rank Applications, Charges Applicants N600K

By
Akintomide Aroso
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LPPC Calls For 2021 SAN Rank Applications, Charges Applicants N600K

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee has called for applications for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the year 2021.

Each applicant, according to a notice for the call for applications signed by the Secretary of the LPPC and Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Hadiza Mustapha, is to part with a non-refundable processing fee of N600,000.

The notice seen by our correspondent on Saturday comes just as the LPPC is rounding off the process of selecting the successful lawyers for the conferment of the rank for the year 2020.

The LPPC had on September 23 released the first shortlist of 137 candidates who applied for the SAN rank in 2020.

The final list is to emerge after the interview of the candidates comprising 116 advocate and 21 academic applicants, among other selection procedures.

The LPPC made “a formal call for SAN applications preparatory to the award of the rank for the year 2021” in a fresh notice which it stated was issued in line with “the combined provisions of Section 5 (2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Laws of the Federation 2004 and Regulation 9, Guidelines of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee 2018.”

According to the notice all completed application forms together  with mandatory supporting documents (bound together) must be submitted to the  LPPC secretariat on or before January 31, 2021 at 4pm.

“As a corollary to the above, any submission after the deadline of January 31, 2021 at 4pm, shall be treated as a non-submission,” the notice added.

ARMY: Why We Won’t Reveal Soldiers Deployed In Lekki Toll Gate

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
ARMY: Why We Won’t Reveal Soldiers Deployed In Lekki Toll Gate

The acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations and 81 Division’s spokesperson, Major Osoba Olaniyi, has said the military will not disclose the number of its personnel deployed in the Lekki toll gate.

It was reported that soldiers shot peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate on the night of October 20, 2020.

Though the army initially denied involvement in the Lekki shootings, it later disclosed that its officers were invited by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to enforce a curfew imposed on the state last Tuesday.

But a lawyer, Nurudeen Yusuf, had sued the Lagos State Government and others, arguing that “death is not a penalty for violating curfew.

“And that as of the time the shooting commenced, the curfew declared had not been in force. It was supposed to commence at 9:00 pm on that day, being 20th of October, 2020.”

While Amnesty International claimed that 10 persons allegedly died, an eyewitness, DJ Switch, said about 15 protesters died. But the authorities are yet to release any official figures of casualties.

In an interview with, he explained it would be unprofessional to release the number of personnel deployed.

Asked the number of personnel involved, Olaniyi said, “It is against operational security. We don’t give that. It is against the policy of operational security. There is no problem here. The picture some people paint, as if we are fighting with the state government, is wrong.”

He also explained that it was not the duty of the judicial panel to invite the Army to answer questions regarding the reported shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll plaza.

Olaniyi stressed that the army intervened in the Lekki tollgate incident based on a request from the Lagos State Government and that it would only appear before the panel based on same directive from the state government.

He said, “If we receive a letter from the state, we will go. Are we not under civil authorities? Are we not part of Nigerians? Have you forgotten that we did not go there (Lekki tollgate) on our own?

“It is not the duty of the members of the panel to tell us that. If the state wants the (81) Division to come, they will write and we will oblige. See, if they have written to the division, it is our duty to go. It is not for them to go through the media as if we are scared of coming.

“It is the state government that constituted that panel of inquiry. So if anybody needs to get in touch with us to come, it is still the state and not members of the panel.”

Teacher To Lagos Judicial Panel: I Lost 2 Pregnancies In SARS Custody

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
Teacher To Lagos Judicial Panel: I Lost 2 Pregnancies In SARS Custody

A teacher, Mrs Ndubisi Obiechina, has narrated how she lost two pregnancies while in custody of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) over a suspect to which she was distantly acquainted.

Narrating her ordeal before the Lagos State Judicial Panel on EndSARS protest, Ndubisi said that she was detained and tortured along with her husband, Okwuchukwu, for 22 days by SARS in 2017.

“They brutalised me in the name of interrogating me. As a pregnant woman, I did not eat or drink for one week and in the process I lost the baby.

“It was later after I left SARS that I went to the hospital that I found that the baby was gone, and I had to flush it out,” she said.

The teacher identified some of the SARS officers who allegedly tortured the couple as Phillip Rieninwa, Christian and Haruna Idowu.

She said she was pregnant again during her husband’s second arrest, adding that Okwuchukwu was released following an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

“Due to the emotional trauma, I lost my second pregnancy. We sued SARS at the Federal High Court and we were awarded N2 million damages for the torture and brutality.

“Since then they have not paid the money. The case was taken to the Appeal Court and it was dismissed and till now they (SARS) have not done anything,” she said.

Ndubisi alleged that SARS officers also collected N50,000 from her husband, while the duo had to bail themselves with a total of N400,000 from SARS custody.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a copy of the judgment the couple obtained against SARS was admitted into evidence by the nine-member Judicial Panel.

The Chairman of the panel, Retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, noted that hearing of Obiechinas’ petition had to be adjourned because names of some SARS officials had been mentioned.

“Those SARS officers have to be brought here so that we can hear their own side of the story. This petition is adjourned to Nov. 10,” she said.

US Special Forces Rescue Kidnapped American In Nigeria

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
US Special Forces Rescue Kidnapped American In Nigeria

US military forces rescued an American citizen in Nigeria, the Pentagon said on Saturday, days after he was kidnapped by gunmen in the south of neighbouring Niger and apparently taken across the border.

The hostage, Philip Walton, was abducted Monday night on the outskirts of Massalata, a village about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border with Nigeria.

Walton is safe and in the care of the US State Department, the Pentagon said in a statement. US forces did not suffer any casualties in the rescue operation, it added.

“The United States is committed to the safe return of all US citizens taken captive,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement.

“We delivered on that commitment late last night in Nigeria, where some of our bravest and most skilled warriors rescued a US citizen,” he said.

President Donald Trump hailed the rescue operation.

“Big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces today. Details to follow!,” he tweeted.

Niger’s Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe had earlier confirmed the hostage release to AFP without giving details about how he had been freed.

Local officials had said this week that the kidnappers had called the man’s father to demand a ransom, though the family did not confirm this.

Walton had been living in Massalata with his wife and child for two years, according to his father, who himself has been in Niger for nearly 30 years.

Niger lies in the heart of the vast Sahel region, which is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.

US forces have two drone bases in Agadez and Dirkou, in northern Niger. Their aircraft provide significant support to the French anti-jihadist Barkhane force.

In October 2017, four American Special Forces soldiers and five Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tongo Tongo, near Mali, in southwestern Niger.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

Several Westerners are currently being held hostage in the region, including American aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was kidnapped in the central town of Abalak in 2016 and is believed to be in neighbouring Mali now.

Three Europeans, including 75-year-old French charity worker Sophie Petronin, were released by their captors in Mali earlier this month under a prisoner swap arranged by the Malian government.

In August, six French aid workers and two Niger citizens were killed in the Koure wildlife reserve west of Niamey, in an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.

(AFP)

COVID-19 Second Wave: Africa CDC Warns South Africa, Nigeria, Others

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
COVID-19 Second Wave: Africa CDC Warns South Africa, Nigeria, Others

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections.

According to Africa CDC, the number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336 as of Friday afternoon.

A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the Africa CDC said.

The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths.

The Northern Africa region is the second most COVID-19-affected African region, according to the Africa CDC.

Africa CDC Director, John Nkengasong, said “the time for the continent to prepare for the second wave is now.’’

The director, speaking during a virtual press conference on Thursday, said the continent has to prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 infections, as the number of new cases in several African countries is showing a slight increase.

(Xinhua/NAN)

Wike To Editors: Stop Praising Leaders, Hold Us Accountable

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
Wike To Editors: Stop Praising Leaders, Hold Us Accountable
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has challenged the Nigerian Media to desist from praising public office holders and giving them awards for favoritism, but to hold them accountable.

Governor Wike gave the charge when the national leadership of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt yesterday.

The governor noted that in time past, the Nigerian Press was a strong voice and conscience of the society, but wondered what has whittled down its powers.

“What I have seen of you is that you praise us and give us award because of relationship or friendship. That’s not the way it should be. Challenge us; the people in authority and we will sit up to our responsibilities. We will have no choice than to perform and serve the people, as it should be.

“My support for you has to do with the fact that you are supposed to tell the truth of what is happening in Nigeria. There was a time you were exposing the ills of society. If not for you, certain things will not be known. Assume your role, grow strong again and speak out,” he said.

The governor stated that Nigeria is in a difficult period in its history and NGE cannot shy away from performing its duties without fear or favour.

He urged them to discharge their function and be sure that they are doing what is right always.

“If when I castigated the operations of SARS, you added your voice, who knows what good that would have achieved. Now look at what has happened. There was EndSARS protest across the country. Nobody knows how the youths were able to organise themselves without a leader.

“Up until now, intelligence can’t even know how they did it and who’s behind them. Without good intelligence, how can Nigeria even defeat Boko Haram?” he queried.

Governor Wike further said EndSARS protest was peaceful in Rivers State until the outlawed Indigenous People Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) took laws into their hands.

“I don’t support criminality. IPOB killed 6 army officers, 4 policemen, burnt police stations and court buildings. This is Rivers State. Go to Oyigbo and see the level of destruction. Now, the State Government will be rebuilding those facilities.

“Those who don’t understand our actions are saying we are fighting the Igbos. How will they allow criminals to speak for them when there are intelligent Igbo people to speak for them?”

“If they (IPOB) are aggrieved, instead of channeling it to the right quarters, they go and kill innocent people and destroy public places,” he stated.

In his speech, the National President of NGE, Mustapha Isha, said Governor Wike has remained consistent in his support for the Guild.

“You are the only government that has sponsored our annual conference back to back. Even if we have a new leadership, that will not affect the friendship we share with you.

“Anytime I come to Port Harcourt, there is always a new project on-going. Flyovers are being constructed; existing roads are being expanded, and new roads being built. Projects don’t hide; even your political opponents will see them. They may murmur, but they will use them. Your excellency, keep up with your good job,” he said.

The members of the guild later accompanied Governor Wike on a project tour of the Rebisi Flyover, Real Madrid Football Academy, and the Mother and Child Specialist Hospital.

Igbo Presidency: Ohanaeze, Church Leaders To Hold Rallies In Five States

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
Igbo Presidency: Ohanaeze, Church Leaders To Hold Rallies In Five States

Ohanaeze Ndigbo and some church leaders have fixed December 27 for street rallies to campaign for Igbo presidency in 2023.

They also said they had concluded arrangements to write President Muhammadu Buhari, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party to notify them of the need to zone the 2023 presidency to the region.

They said the rallies would be held in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states simultaneously.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Chairman in the Diaspora, Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze, disclosed this in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

He said, “Those we are considering for the presidential seat from Igbo are present and past governors, senators and House of Representatives members from the zone who are performers.

“We envision a Nigeria where leadership is based on the ability to work hard, where fairness reigns with a sense of direction and accountability to the various groups and for the common good of the country.

“It’s now the turn of the South-East to provide good leadership for the good of all Nigerians to move Nigeria in a positive direction.”

Anakwenze noted that the Igbo would need the support of other regions to produce the next president.

“We believe in alignment. We cannot get the presidency by ourselves, even if all the Igbo vote. We are already working with people from other zones, and we are in talks with them already,” he said.

In a related manner, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, will lead a delegation of the pro-Biafra group, Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra, and other youth groups to meet with Buhari regarding the Igbo presidency in 2023.

MASSOB leader, Mr Uchenna Madu, disclosed this on Friday at the Government House, Enugu, after a joint meeting with the governors of the region, leaders of thought, ministers and National Assembly members as well as traditional and religious leaders from the region.

Madu, who read a 10-point demand of the Igbo youths, had earlier demanded that the Ndigbo should be allowed to produce a president in 2023.

“We demand that the South-East be allowed to produce the president of Nigeria in 2023,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okoroch, says South-East political leaders have resolved to shelve their party differences to work for the interest of the region ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Okorocha, who spoke on the sidelines of the South-East leaders meeting held in Enugu on Thursday night, disclosed that Igbo leaders had also decided to properly mentor and empower the youths in readiness to take over from them.

#EndSARS: FRSC Corps Marshal Orders Officers To Resume

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
#EndSARS: FRSC Corps Marshal Orders Officers To Resume
Dr Boboye Oyeyemi

Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has asked personnel of the agency in all formations across the country to return to their duty posts after the nationwide #ENDSARS protest.

In a statement on Friday by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, Oyeyemi ordered the commanding officers to keep the roads safe, enforce maximum compliance to road traffic regulations and safety guidelines.

While mourning the victims of the road traffic crash in Enugu State, the Corps Marshal confirmed that out of the 56 people involved in the accident, 21 persons lost their lives.

He revealed that the crash, which occurred at Nkwo/Mmaku Junction along Old Enugu/Okigwe Road at about 4:00pm on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, involved a Mercedes Benz Bus (ENU 811 KU) conveying school children and a Mark truck (KPP 247 XA).

He said, “Irrespective of the incessant attacks that led to the burning, looting, arson and damaging of FRSC properties in various locations occasioned by the #EndSARS protest, the Corps is still deeply committed to the full realisation of its corporate mandate; as such, will not be dissuaded from carrying out its humanitarian work of keeping the roads safe, even amidst the risks on lives and properties of personnel.”

President Buhari To Partnership International Group For Development

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
President Buhari To Partnership International Group For Development
President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his administration’s commitment to work with an international think-tank group and investment promoter, Horasis Global Visions Community, to find solutions to challenges facing the country.

Buhari disclosed this at a virtual meeting with members of the group led by its founder and chairman, Dr Frank-Jürgen Richter, cross-sectional representatives of State Governors and corporate organizations in Nigeria.

According to him, I am excited about the work that Horasis has been engaged in since it was founded in 2005.

”As a platform for frank discussions and generation of multidisciplinary ideas for the resolution of multi-faceted challenges facing mankind, the work of governments and corporate organisations are expected to be impacted more positively,” he said.

The president also accepted the request of the global think tank to create its African hub in Nigeria.

He commended their vision for an expanded manufacturing through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to make the country a major beneficiary of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (ACTFA) coming into effect next year.

”It is my hope that many corporate organizations in Nigeria will be drawn into the mainstream discussion around several challenges facing Nigeria and indeed the rest of Africa,” he said.

Buhari expressed the commitment of the government of Nigeria to the proposed annual Africa Summits of the organization, with Nigeria hosting, in the strong belief that Nigeria would fully benefit from the meetings.

The Chairman of the group, Frank-Jürgen Richter, commended Nigeria’s economic growth in the last few years and gave strong assurances that the Africa Summits with Nigeria as the hub would bring the benefits of increased FDI.

Other speakers at the meeting, included the Chairman of the Horasis Visions Community in Nigeria and a former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Shamsudeen Usman and the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.

They expressed excitement about the good prospects of increased manufacturing through FDI to give a competitive advantage to Nigeria in view of the ACFTA.

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