Senate passes new Electoral Act Amendment Bill
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speaking on the development the president of the senate bukola saraki said he hoped the president would now assent to the proposed law3 the senate on tuesday passed a new and fourth version of the electoral act 2010 amendment bill 20183 during the just-ended annual recess of the national assembly its joint committee on inec met to work on the document based on the issues raised by the president3 tuesdays passage of the bill followed the adoption of the report of the committee presented by its chairman sen. suleiman nazif3 nazif had said that the committee addressed all the issues raised by the president in withdrawing assent to the bill3 president muhammadu buhari had declined assent to the bill three times citing some constitutional and drafting issues3 let me congratulate all of us particularly the committee on electoral matters for the hard work they put in3 we were able to achieve this that looked almost impossible at a time and i want to commend everybody for making this happen3 this will go a long way in improving our electoral process and further strengthen our governance3 i am sure with this now mr president will of course give his assent and we can now finally have an electoral act that we would all be proud of saraki said3 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the amendment seeks to provide the use of card readers and any other similar technological devices for the election among others according to nazif3

Money laundering: Capital One Bank fined $100 million in U.S.
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reutersnan a leading bank regulator on tuesday fined capital one bank 100 million dollars for failing to enforce anti-money laundering controls that have been in place for years3 capital one failed to satisfy a 2015 consent order that demanded the bank improve its anti-money laundering policies the office of the comptroller of the currency occ said in a statement3 the bank failed to timely achieve compliance with the 2015 consent order the occ said in a new consent order that outlined the fine3 capital one said it disclosed the issue to the occ in july 20153 the consent order emanates primarily from prior banking relationships with certain cheque cashing service providers a business we made the decision to exit in 2014 the bank said3 since that time we have worked diligently with our bank regulators to strengthen our processes and internal controls to ensure we address any concerns regarding our compliance processes3

Shonekan not dead Ogun Govt. dispels rumour
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ogun state government has described as a lie from the pit of hell the reports thaternest shonekan former head of interim national government is dead3 taiwo adeoluwa secretary to the state government dispelled the rumour on tuesday3 he said ibikunle amosun governor of the state has spoken with shonekan who reportedly told the governor that he is hale and hearty3 tributes have been pouring in for shonekan on social media based on the reports3 born onmay 9 1936 shonekan is a british-trained lawyer and an industrialist3 he was appointed interim head of the country after ex-military president ibrahim babangida stepped down on august 26 19933 babangida had refused to hand over power to mko abiola acclaimed winner of the june 12 1993 election but relinquished power after intense pressure3 shonekans administration only lasted three months as sani abacha forcefully took power through a coup3 the elder statesman hails from abeokuta ogun state. he attended c.m.s grammar school and igbobi college lagos and was obtained a law degree from the university of london3

US cancels visas of Khashoggi killers, slams cover-up
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vice president mike pence in an appearance at the washington post where khashoggi was a contributing opinion writer denounced the brutal murder2 the united states said tuesday it was revoking visas of saudis involved in the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi as president donald trump ridiculed the kingdoms response as one of the worst cover-ups in history2 saudi leaders have denied involvement in the killing pushing responsibility down the chain of command2 crown prince mohammed bin salman strongly said that he had nothing to do with this this was at a lower level us president donald trump said adding he had spoken monday to the prince and his father king salman2 trump said the saudis had a very bad original concept in killing the 59-year-old saudi insider-turned-critic2 it was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups trump said2 it was a total fiasco he later added. im saying they should have never thought about it. once they thought about it everything else they did was bad too it should have never happened2 faced with mounting calls for tough measures by us lawmakers across the political spectrum the state department said it had identified 21 saudis whose visas would either be revoked or who would be ineligible for future visas2 these penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the united states secretary of state mike pompeo told reporters2 we are making very clear that the united states does not tolerate this kind of action to silence mr. khashoggi a journalist through violence he said2 the top us diplomat said the saudi suspects came from the intelligence services the royal court the foreign ministry and other saudi ministries2 pompeo added the united states was also looking into whether to take action under a law named after sergei magnitsky the anti-corruption accountant who died in russian custody that would impose financial sanctions on individuals behind khashoggis death2 the initial us action against the saudis came three weeks after khashoggi self-exiled to suburban washington vanished in the consulate and following contradictory statements by trump who has ruled out major steps such as cutting arms sales to the major defense partner2 the move came as turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said khashoggis killing inside the saudis istanbul consulate had been meticulously planned in a speech that overshadowed a long-planned investment forum in riyadh2 he added erdogans account the most substantive remarks on the case by the turkish leader flies in the face of the saudis earlier assertions2 saudi arabia whose ambitious crown prince has been amassing power initially claimed khashoggi left freely after visiting the consulate where he was completing paperwork for his upcoming marriage2 but as pressure grew saudi state media changed the story and said khashoggi died when an argument descended into a fistfight an account that was swiftly denounced overseas even if trump initially said he found it credible2 erdogan said that a 15-person team came from riyadh to kill khashoggi carrying out reconnaissance outside istanbul and deactivating security cameras at the consulate2 he said 18 suspects detained by saudi arabia should be extradited to istanbul to face trial and called for an investigation into those with even the slightest link to the case2 the turkish leader did not mention some of the most striking claims that appeared in the turkish press in recent days notably that khashoggis body was cut up into multiple pieces and that there is an audio recording of the murder2 the whereabouts of khashoggis corpse remain unknown. turkish police were searching an abandoned car belonging to the saudi consulate in an underground car park in the sultangazi district of istanbul2 the group of seven industrial nations said in a joint statement that the killing left many questions unanswered. denmark also summoned the saudi ambassador over the case2 the murder has shone the spotlight on the mohammed bin salman who was credited with a reform drive in the kingdom but is now accused of ordering khashoggis killing2 a key investment summit dubbed davos in the desert was overshadowed by big-name cancellations as it kicked off in riyadh2 dozens of executives including from banks goldman sachs and jp morgan and ride-hailing app uber pulled out of the three-day future investment initiative2 saudi organizers sought to portray it was business as usual announcing 12 mega deals worth more than 50 billion in oil gas infrastructure and other sectors2 but energy minister khalid al-falih acknowledged we are going through a crisis2

Infantino: Qatar 2022 World Cup poised to be FIFA best
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the stadium is very impressive. when you enter here you immediately feel how imposing it is2 fifa president gianni infantino hailed qatars progress on infrastructure ahead of its 2022 world cup and said the tournament is poised to be the best one yet2 but the desert state has since launched huge construction projects and promised to complete seven new stadiums by 20202 you can see the progress which is being made here four years before kickoff infantino who spoke during a visit to the next host nation on tuesday said2 this was via a statement from qatars local world cup organising committee after the fifa head toured the 40000-seater al wakrah stadium2 qatars tiny size high temperatures and lack of ready stadium infrastructure have prompted some to question fifas decision to make it host2 the russian world cup has been the best ever but the world cup in 2022 in qatar i am sure will be even better infantino added2 the next tournaments logistics were further complicated last year when saudi arabia bahrain the united arab emirates uae and egypt cut diplomatic transport and trade ties with qatar2 they had accused their regional neighbour of financing terrorism a charge qatar denies2 qatar has nonetheless said it was pushing ahead with ambitious infrastructure plans to host the world cup which was the centrepiece of dohas strategy to project itself on the global stage2 it has since inaugurated a 7.4 billion 5.7 billion port and expects to open its first metro by the end of this year2

Atiku gets yellow card over Peter Obi
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read more in7 the peoples democratic party presidential candidate atiku abubakar was yellow-carded tuesday by the northern youth leaders forum over his choice of former governor peter obi as running mate2 the youths tabled their demand at a meeting on monday with former president olusegun obasanjo now atikus godfather2 they asked atiku to review the choice of obi if he hopes to earn the norths support2 the group which prides itself as the apex body of 46 youth organisations in the north threatened to mobilise its over six million members against the pdp and its presidential candidate if atiku failed to take its advice2 the national chairman of the group comrade elliot afiyo who spoke on tuesday in abeokuta the ogun state capital after a meeting with former president olusegun obasanjo on monday night claimed that the body had been instrumental to the electoral victories of successive presidents since 1999. it claimed to have played a major role in incumbent president muhammadu buharis victory and it also played a critical role in the reconciliation between atiku and obasanjo2 according to afiyo the group had equally intimated the former president of their position on atikus running mate2 the group sent atiku a dire message drop obi or lose2 afiyo said obis choice was causing friction in the southeast which is largely responsible for the impending defection of the deputy senate president ike ekweremandu from the pdp2 he added that obi is strongly viewed as anti-north and a major sponsor of the indigenous people of biafra ipob2 according to him over 70 percent of emirs and other traditional rulers in the north will not support atikus choice of running mate and maintained that pdp will fail to produce the next president if the party eventually flies the atikuobi ticket2 afiyo advised pdp to pick atikus running mate from south south. he suggested that either rivers state governor nyesom wike or his bayelsa state counterpart seriake dickson should be considered2 afiyo said atiku is an experienced politician and he knows what happened and as a northern nigerian he cannot ignore that group. i have spoken to almost all the southeast governors and they told me that they remained in pdp because of their governorship elections and after their governorship elections they will vote somewhere not pdp2 and for us to ignore the stakeholders it is political suicide so we must agree with that fact. that was what we told obasanjo yesterday that as far as we want atiku to succeed he has no alternative than to drop peter obi and with the contention between peter obis group and ike ekweremadus group it is not politically convenient again to pick a running mate from the southeast2 it was not immediately clear yesterday what obasanjo who has just ended a long feud with atiku and endorsed him told the youths2

Ecuador abandons WikiLeaks Assange to UK authorities
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this position marks a departure from ecuadors previous practice of maintaining dialogue with british authorities over assanges situation since granting him asylum in 2012 when he took refuge in ecuadors london embassy after british courts ordered his extradition to sweden to face questioning in a sexual molestation case2 ecuador no longer plans to intervene with the british government on behalf of wikileaks founder julian assange in talks over his situation as an asylee in the countrys london embassy2 ecuador has no responsibility to take any further steps valencia said2 we are not mr. assanges lawyers nor are we representatives of the british government. this is a matter to be resolved between assange and great britain2 the uks foreign and commonwealth office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment after normal business hours2 greg barns an australian lawyer advising assange said in an email that developments in the case in recent times showed the need for australias government to intervene to assist one of its citizens who faces real danger2 foreign minister jos valencia said in an interview with reuters that ecuadors only responsibility was looking after assanges wellbeing after the australian national sued the country over new conditions placed on his asylum in the london embassy2 that case has since been dropped but friends and supporters have said that assange now fears he could be arrested and eventually extradited to the united states if he leaves the embassy2 valencia said he was frustrated by assanges decision to file suit in an ecuadorean court last week over new terms of his asylum which required him to pay for medical bills and telephone calls and to clean up after his pet cat2 there is no obligation in international agreements for ecuador to pay for things like mr. assanges laundry he said2 ecuadorean president lenin moreno has said that asylum is not meant to be eternal but he has expressed concern about the possibility that assange may be extradited to the united states. valencia said on tuesday that he has not discussed assanges situation with the united states government2 last december ecuador granted assange ecuadorean citizenship and sought to name him as a member of the countrys diplomatic mission in britain and russia which could have assured him safe passage to leave the embassy. britain denied the request2

2019: Okowa challenges opponents to debate
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even their congresses they are deceiving themselves the pdp had a free and fair primary elections2 ahead of the 2019 general elections and governorship election in delta state delta governor dr. ifeanyi okowa has challenged his opponents to a debate2 at the event which held at kwale township stadium some of the notable persons welcomed to the pdp were former member of house of representatives hon. mercy almona-isei a running mate to a former governorship candidate chief v.o.t. abanum chief gabriel mordi chief emma ogude hon. henry onianwa and others2 these notable politicians in the state led thousands of other members of their party to be received into the fold of the peoples democratic party pdp2 okowas who received the decampees stressed that all the other contenders in the 2019 governorship election could not challenge his in a debate neither can they defeat the pdp in the elections2 we are praying for debate they will have nothing to talk about i am in delta state i only left when i went to ibadan to study medicine my opponents will have nothing to say so they will run away from debate2 we cannot deceive ourselves when you contest election today and after three years and half a month to election you are back to delta state to ask for votes who do you want to deceive2 okowa who gave this challenge at a mega rally at the delta north senatorial district to welcome new defectors said that most of the opponents only visit the state when it was time for elections2 in port harcourt 12 persons contested in the presidential primary election one person emerged and no one left after the primaries because we live in love and we believe in god2 when you have god you are not afraid we are on a solid rock but those who could not conduct elections are on sinking sand no matter what they do we are not afraid governor okowa stated2 he assured that the pdp will win elections in all the elections stressing that the oppositions were already in disarray with myraids of litigations even before the commencement of campaigns2 i must thank all of you for coming to this rally i must thank all our brothers and sisters who are returning to our party you are welcome back home2 okowas deputy barr. kingsley otuaro chairman of the pdp in the state barr. kingsley esiso hon. solomon funkekeme prof. sam oyovbaire among others in their separate goodwill message stated that the pdp will get 100 per cent votes in the state2 a high point of the event was when hon. gabriel mordi publicly tore his apc membership card. he said that the achievements of governor okowa had attracted him and others to the pdp2 coordinator of atikulated agenda 2019 chief greg onah and pdp chieftain dr. tabs ogaranya-tabowe described the success of the rally as good signal that governor okowa has endeared himself to deltans through his people-oriented projects2

Nigerians drinking less of Heinekens 62 billion litres of beer
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sales of heineken lager the companys premium global brand on which margins are greater rose by 9.2 percent with strong growth in brazil south africa france and russia2 nigerians are now drinking less of heineken beer with the second largest brewer in the world recording less sales in nigeria and congo amid significant rise in sales in other regions2 heineken increased beer sales in all four of its global regions in the third quarter and said it stuck to its full-year outlook2 the dutch maker of heineken europes top-selling lager as well as tiger sol and strongbow cider said on wednesday its consolidated beer volumes rose by 4.6 percent year-on-year to 62.6 million hectoliters 6.2 billion litres2 volume growth continued in the third quarter benefiting from good weather in europe and strong growth in brazil mexico vietnam and south africa chief executive officer jean-francois van boxmeer said in a statement2 nigeria is said to be a major heineken market comparable to russia brazil south africa and france were sales of the beer were said to have increased by 9 per cent2 the only negative spots were declines of beer sales in nigeria a major heineken market as well as the democratic republic of congo cambodia poland and spain. heineken lager sales also fell in the asia-pacific region2 the company said its expectations for the full year were unchanged2 heineken cut its full-year margin forecast in july due to currency weakness in some more profitable markets such as mexico and vietnam and expansion in brazil2 it said its operating profit margin would decline by 20 basis points this year compared with an earlier forecast of a 25 basis point increase2 heineken acquired the loss-making brazilian operations of japans kirin in 2017 to become the number two player in the south america country and had previously warned of a dilutive impact on its margins2

Turkey opens Khashoggi dossier to CIA
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erdogan said that a 15-person team came from riyadh to kill khashoggi including by carrying out reconnaissance outside istanbul and deactivating security cameras at the consulate2 cia director gina haspel visited the turkish capital ankara on tuesday for talks with officials about the killing of washington post contributor khashoggi inside saudi arabias istanbul consulate2 turkish president recep tayyip erdogan has stopped short of pointing the blame at the saudi leadership for the death of the saudi insider-turned-critic2 but he said in a keynote speech on tuesday that the murder was meticulously planned demanding that all those involved brought to justice2 the whereabouts of khashoggis corpse still remains unknown2 the 59-year-old vanished on october 2 after entering the saudi mission to obtain documents for his wedding2 video images and audio tapes as well as evidence gathered from the consulate and the consuls residence were shared with haspel during the briefing at the turkish intelligence organisation mit sabah newspaper reported2 turkish police searched the kingdoms istanbul consulate and the consul generals residence as well as hunting for evidence in an istanbul forest2 on tuesday the police searched an abandoned car belonging to the saudi consulate in an underground car park in the sultangazi district of istanbul2 the saudi leadership has denied involvement in the murder and instead blamed the chain of command2 crown prince mohammed bin salman strongly said that he had nothing to do with this this was at a lower level us president donald trump said on tuesday adding he had spoken on monday to the prince and his father king salman2 turkish pro-government media has claimed that ankara has audio tapes of the killing2 last week the turkish government denied giving any kind of audio tape from the investigation to any us official2

International bikers tour Nigeria
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by sheila offiong3 nieves said his team had experienced the good manners and respectful nature of nigerians noting that they would share the good memories when they return to their respective countries2 the minister of information and culture alhaji lai mohammed while officially welcoming the team on monday in abuja assured the bikers of a wonderful time during their tour2 the minister noted that the quest to promote the cultural heritage of nigeria to the outside world was yielding fruit2 as you tour nigeria under the rediscover heritage bikers tour of nigeria and visit historical heritage sites you beam a satellite on those sites for the world to see2 nigeria is truly a blessed nation with world class heritage sites and we have also gone the extra mile to preserve them2 you will see these heritage sites as you travel through our country which is rich culturally and diverse as a nation2 after this tour i urge you all to become nigerian heritage ambassadors by spreading news of the hidden treasures2 sites to be visited by the bikers include museums monuments and homes of national heroes amongst others2 a group of international and local bikers under the auspices of latin american motorcycle association lama is on a tour of nigerias heritage sites2 according to kadir the group will tour 11 states of the federation to highlight the heritage sites cultural assets and museums as well as the osun oshogbo world heritage site2 the aim of the tour is to rediscover nigeria and its very rich cultural heritage2 this expedition is intended to project the various heritage sites in nigeria in a bid to draw attention to them to attract tourists and visitors2 the bikers embarking on the road trip are drawn from nigeria usa mexico brazil portugal spain uruguay paraguay germany and holland amongst other countries2 president of the lama bikers mr mario nieves said that they were in the country to explore the culture of nigeria learn about nigeria and then tell the world about nigeria2 we believe it is more important to be human than different people from various races at the end of the day we are all one people2 we are just a humble group of motorcyclists that decided to organise and create some type of impact in our society he said2 in his remarks the acting director-general national commission for museums and monuments mr abdulkarim kadir assured the bikers of a peaceful and hospitable stay in the country2

Offa robbery suspects: Police lied, says Ajibade Kwara Attorney-general
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i am surprised particularly the statement coming from the police spokesperson jimoh moshood. jimoh moshood without being personal is from ilorin here. he has contacts and i am sure he follows up with events in the kwara command and he knows too well that all the suspects are still with him at the police headquarters1 the attorney general and commissioner for justice in kwara state kamaldeen ajibade san has shifted back to the police the blame for the delay in prosecuting offa robbery suspects1 ajibade a senior advocate of nigeria fired back today accusing the police of lying and engaging in cheap blackmail1 here is ajibades statement1 i see this as a cheap blackmail from the police and at this instance they have something to hide which they are yet to tell nigerians about this case. i am sure at the end of the day nigerians will know what has transpired in this matter1 that is why the police are now passing the buck. they can now see that nigerians have started asking questions that if you arrested suspects since april this year and they are yet to be charged to court then there must be something about it. i urge nigerians to ask questions about this matter. what the police said1 the police claimed on sunday that they had concluded investigations and passed since august the file for prosecution of the suspects to the attorney-general of kwara state based on the advice of the attorney-general of the federation1 why will he now come to mislead the public that we are yet to prosecute how can you prosecute people kept in abuja in kwara state high courts it is not possible. i want to confirm to you that a letter was written from the office of the director of the public prosecution of the federation under the office of the attorney general of the federation. my office received the letter on august 27th this year1 the content of the letter had to do with the investigation report on the offa robbery and directing my office to take up the prosecution of the matter1 immediately we received this letter on the 6th of september this year we wrote a letter through the office of the state director of the public prosecution to the office of the attorney general requesting from them to provide for us the original case diary in the offa robbery and also to transfer the suspects to the kwara state police command1 we waited for about three weeks and did not hear anything from them. i then took it upon myself to personally meet with the aig legal one david ogbodo and i requested that the original case diary be sent to kwara to enable us start prosecution of the matter. i also requested him to send all the suspects to kwara state and he told me that he had directed the man in charge. that is one abba kyari.1 we waited for another week we could not get anything from them. so i directed my dpp to liaise with the police this time around. he liaised with the police both in the state and also with abba kyari. they promised every day that they would send the suspects to kwara and the original case diary to no avail. you cannot prosecute under the law without having the original case diary. you cannot even file a charge without the case diary and in filing a charge you have to exhibit what we call proof of1 this proof of evidence entails the statements of witnesses. statements of witnesses in this sense we are talking of the people that investigated offa robber. we dont have all these with us. we dont have the suspects on ground we dont have the witnesses on ground. how do you file a charge how do you prosecute people you c an not see1

Buhari inaugurates committee on AfCFTA
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your task as members of the impact and readiness assessment of the african continental free trade area committee is to address the issues raised during the stakeholders consultations on the africa continental free trade agreement1 president muhammadu buhari on monday inaugurated the presidential committee for impact and readiness assessment of the african continental free trade area afcfta1 the president said nigeria would henceforth take its time to breakaway from the past practice where treaties were signed without making the needed positive gains for the country1 the committee has the minister of industry as its chairman with the chief of staff to the president as co-chairman1 buhari said we are determined to breakaway from the past practice of committing nigeria to treaties without a definite implementation plan to actualise the expected benefit while mitigating the risks1 we cannot go back to the days of signing agreements without understanding and planning for the consequences of such actions and our country being the worst for it1 few months ago i directed a nationwide stakeholders engagement on the africa free trade continental area agreement to understand the true impact of this agreement on nigeria and nigerians considering the existing domestic and regional policies as it relates to trade1 the president observed that from the consultation the key issues raised by stakeholders were abuse of rules of origin smuggling arising from difficulties in border controls and unqualified impact of legacy preferential trade agreements1 according to him other issues raised include low capacity and capability of local businesses to conduct international trade costly finance and insufficient energy and transport logistics infrastructure1 he however revealed that the nations economic recovery and growth plan would address these issues1 buhari therefore charged the committee to concentrate on the issues raised during the nationwide consultations in order to find lasting solutions to them1 at the event at the presidential villa abuja buhari said that nigeria would not sign any treaty without assessing its impact on the lives of its citizens1 you are expected to develop short medium and long term measures that will address any challenges arising therefrom he added1 the president further stated that nigerias vision for intra-african trade was for a free movement of made in africa goods noting that nigeria was the largest economy in africa1 he regretted that for too long the countrys domestic productive capabilities were neglected in favour of imports1 according to him the economic recovery and growth plan introduced by the current administration will help revive key job creating and import substitution sectors like agriculture mining and manufacturing1 speaking earlier minister of industry trade and investment dr okechukwu enelamah gave the terms of reference of the committee1 he said these included assessing the potential cost and impact of the afcta for nigeria in relation to the benefits identify the short medium and long term measure to prepare nigerian businesses for the take-off of afcta trading group1 he said the terms of reference also included a backup plan that covers selected scenarios and view the trade remedy options to safeguard the nigerian economy from predatory and failed trade practices1 according to the minister an updated trade policy is being prepared for nigeria and the draft will be ready for review by the end of the year1 other members of the committee include ministers of budget and national planning foreign affairs finance and the attorney-general and minister of justice1 the economic adviser to the president nigerian governors forum president nigerian association of chambers of commerce and industry and president nigeria labour congress among others are also members of the committee1

Balarabe bombs PDP, tells Nigerians to reject Atiku and co.
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things are not too good at the country at the moment but i think the country would be worse if the pdp is allowed to return. we saw what they did for 16years and they will definitely mess things up further1 a former governor of old kaduna state alhaji balarabe musa on monday urged nigerians not to gamble with the idea of returning the peoples democratic party pdp and its candidate atiku abubakar to power in 20191 he said the pdp had ruled the country for 16 years before 2015 and all they brought to nigerians was misery and underdevelopment1 musa said that the opposition party almost completely ruined the economy with massive corruption and plunder while in power1 the governor said though all is not well with the country under the present all progressives congress apc-led government nigerians should never risk having any hope in the pdp to make things better1 musa said that the pdp lacked the moral right to ask for a return to power and a credible alternative was needed to turn things around in the country1 i do not understand the hype about pdp returning to power. i just do not understand. return to do what the party that created many problems for 16 years while they were in power no way1 musa told the news agency of nigeria nan on telephone from kaduna that the country would be worse off if the main opposition party was allowed to come back1 nigerians should not trust the pdp with power. we will be disappointed.what we need in the country right now is a credible alternative that would deliver good governance and respond to our needs he said1 musa said that money had over the years influenced nigerian politics resulting in the emergence of unpopular leaders1 the former governor said nigerians must be prepared to change the narrative by voting according to their conscience in 2019 and beyond1 he said the country was currently faced with a number security and economic challenges among others calling for governments creative intervention to address1 musa suggested the economic restructuring of the country to bring back privatised public corporations to government control for provision of more efficient services to the people1 the former governor said the economy was being controlled by the private sector which was ripping off the people with poor service delivery1

N-Power graduates to receive stipends beyond Dec. 2018
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the n-power is a job employment and empowerment scheme for hitherto unemployed nigerian graduates under the buhari administrations national social investment programmes n-sip2 the federal government has decided to continue paying the stipends of the n-power 2016 batch 1 beneficiaries beyond the expiry month of december 2018 the presidency said2 however akande said that beyond the payments of stipends the federal government is also exploring further options to seamlessly move the beneficiariesfrom the government job programme to positions where they were able to earn a sustainable income2 he said that the transition would be through a plan designed to enable them become valuable all-rounded employees employers or entrepreneurs2 the plan is basically an extension of the exit date of december 2018 for the first batch of 200000 to enable them continue to offer their valuable services in their various communities while still earning their stipends2 they are also to partake in the enhancement programme that would seamlessly transition them into numerous economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the economy2 the statement issued by laolu akande senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity office of the vice president on monday in abuja said funding for the continued payments is contained in the 2018 budget2 the scheme is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in africa comprising n-power beneficiaries that are paid a monthly stipend of n30 000 and are deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space such as health agriculture education and public finance2 for the first time in nigeria the n-power beneficiaries applied and were selected for the programme in an objective efficient and transparent manner without the need for connections to anyone of influence he said2 he said that based on conservative projections the n-power scheme would provide jobs for at least 10 million nigerians by 20232 akande said that since it commenced in 2016 the n-power scheme which had beneficiaries in all the lgas of the 36 states of the federation and the fct had so far provided jobs for half a million young nigerian graduates nationwide2 he said that all the n-power beneficiaries were given the opportunity to select and own electronic devices for continuous learning as they grew depending on the selected vocations of entrepreneurship and to boost the knowledge economy2

Exposed: Saudi hit squad member wearing Khashoggis clothes
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after weeks of denying involvement in khashoggis disappearance saudi arabia said that he was killed in the istanbul consulate saying his death was the result of a fistfight1 more facts have emerged in ongoing investigation into the killing of jamal khashoggi a saudi journalist who was allegedly murdered in saudi arabias consulate in istanbul turkey on oct. 21 cnn has obtained exclusive law enforcement surveillance footage part of the turkish governments investigation that appears to show the man leaving the saudi consulate by the back door wearing khashoggis clothes a fake beard and glasses1 the same man was seen in khashoggis clothing according to the turkish case at the citys world-famous blue mosque just hours after the journalist was last seen alive entering the consulate on oct. 21 the man in the video identified by the official as mustafa al-madani was allegedly part of what investigators have said was a hit squad sent to kill the journalist during a scheduled appointment to get papers for his upcoming wedding1 saudi arabia has presented a shifting narrative of what happened to khashoggi1 the latest revelation showed a member of the 15-man saudi hit squad suspected in the death of khashoggi dressed up in his clothes and was captured on surveillance cameras around istanbul on the day the journalist was killed a senior turkish official has told cnn1 a saudi source close to the royal palace later told cnn that the washington post journalist died in a chokehold1 on sunday its foreign minister adel al-jubeir went further describing khashoggis death on fox news as a murder and a tremendous mistake1 he also said they dont know where the body is1 we are determined to uncover every stone. we are determined to find out all the facts. and we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder he said in the interview1 in the apparent cover-up that followed khashoggis death madani 57 who is of similar height age and build to khashoggi 59 was used as a decoy for the journalist according to the turkish official1 a senior turkish official told cnn that the video showed that madani was brought to istanbul to act as a body double1

NASS needs more funding Tambuwal at NILDS Convocation
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 mr omololu phillip ogunmade a journalist with thisday newspaper formerly assigned to cover the national assembly was awarded as the best graduating student for masters in legislative studies1 tambuwal disclosed this on monday while delivering a lecture at the second convocation and awards ceremony of the national institute of legislative and democratic studies nilds in collaboration with the university of benin1 the former speaker of the house of representatives said that even though it is an unpopular argument that so long as nigeria operates a presidential system of government the funding of the national assembly remained meager1 giving insights on how to boost the institutional capacity of the national assembly the sokoto governor stressed that for the committees of nass to work effectively more money must be allocated1 the constitutional responsibilities of the national assembly are enormous especially in the areas of law making and oversight. adequate financial resources are required for the assembly to be able to discharge these responsibilities effectively in line with public expectations1 a study by nilds observed funding gaps in critical areas of committee activities including meetings implementation of oversight visits and activities holding interactive sessions and conducting public and investigative1 am sure this may not go down well with a large percentage of the populace but we cannot run away from the fact that the national assembly requires more funding he said1 he said that the issue of funding and procurement of vehicles was strongly argued when president yaradua began the moneytisation policy and wanted to deprive the national assembly of project vehicles1 the former lawmaker said that building the institutional capacity of the legislature was very key to the development of the nation stressing that strong institutions define a nation1 he however decried that a major challenge facing the legislature was that of high turnover stressing that the way new lawmakers were elected into office does not give room for professionalism and expertise1 tambuwal added that interference of the executive in the activities of the legislature must cease so that the legislature can truly be free to carry out its functions1 he called on nass to legislate on budget cycle in a way that compels the executive to submit the budget on time while also advising them to review the recruitment process for legislative aids to ensure that only professional were employed and not friends or allies of the lawmakers1 legislators-constituency relations should emphasise constituency-wide benefits. nass should also invest in outreach programmes and strengthen linkages with non-governmental organizations ngos as they play key roles in civic education1 legislature must continue to cultivate public trust in the democratic system through high ethical standards. this underscores the need to strengthen the ethics and code of conduct regime at the national assembly in order to develop a culture of high etiquette for legislators and to rebuild public trust in the political system he said1 amid criticisms and call for slashing of its funds the governor of sokoto state aminu tambuwal has called for more funding for the national assembly to enable it perform its duties1 in an address prof peter lewis of johns hopkins university commended the 4republic legislature particularly the 8 national assembly for being the most independent legislature in the history of nigeria1 lewis director of african studies and a professor of advanced international studies at the university in washington dc usa said that the first and second legislatures were basically instruments of the executive1 he said that the second legislature for instance had only one member sponsored bill unlike the 8 national assembly were most of the over 200 bills that had been passed were sponsored by members of the legislature1 the national assembly in nigerias fourth republic now in its fifth session since the inauguration of democracy in 1999 is unlike any previous parliamentary institution since independence1 this is not because of the design of the assembly which has roots in the british parliamentary tradition rather it is the roles and functions of the nass that are distinctive. it is the first independent legislature in nigerian history1 in the first and second republics the legislature had little autonomy from the executive the assembly was largely a debating chamber and an instrument of the executive1 since 1999 both the senate and the house of representatives have asserted roles in legislation oversight and representation. more than 2100 bills have been shepherded through the assembly during the span of the fourth republic he said1 for the president of the senate dr bukola saraki who is the chairman governing council on nilds he said that the national assembly will continue focus on policies that would advance the people1 he said that the legislature would continue to be effective stressing that an effective legislature is essential to democracy the rule of law human rights and economic and social development1 the core legislative oversight and representative functions of the legislature provide an essential contribution to the quality our democracy and governance as a whole1 in the 8 assembly the legislature has played a greater role in policy formulation and has engaged more robustly with the executive at the various stages of policy formulation he said1 saraki who presented the certificates to all 78 graduates of the various programmes of nilds commended the graduands and the institution for the milestones recorded1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the post graduate courses for which the convocation was held were masters in legislative studies and masters in legislative drafting1 the governor congratulated the students who had graduated from the various courses of the institute1

9 feared dead on Lagos/Ibadan road accident
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by abiodun lawal1 no fewer than nine persons were feared dead on tuesday in an accident involving a mercedes-benz marcopolo bus and an iveco truck at aseese area on the lagosibadan expressway1 mr clement oladele ogun sector commander federal road safety corps confirmed the figure to the news agency of nigeria nan in abeokuta1 oladele said that the accident was caused by speeding by the driver of the bus marked smk 867 xg1 he said that the bus lost control and collided with the parked truck with registration number aaa xp at 530am1 a total of 42 persons were involved in the accident they comprised 34 males and eight females1 three male and two female adults were injured while seven male and two female adults died he said1 the sector commander told nan that the injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital while the corpses were deposited at the olabisi onabanjo university teaching hospital mortuary sagamu ogun1

PIGB: How NASS plans to pressure Buhari for assent Saraki
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our intension is to go back to the executive and seat down with them in the interest of nigeria1 president of the senate bukola saraki says the national assembly will continue to mount necessary pressure to get presidential assent on the petroleum industry governance bill pigb1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the dinner which ended late in the night was attended by trade experts industrialists small and medium enterprises smes operators and financial experts among other dignitaries1 according to saraki the resolve by the legislature to mount pressure to ensure the bill gets presidential assent has become necessary given its importance to development of the oil and gas sector in nigeria1 nan reports that president muhammadu buhari had withheld assent on the pigb following its passage by the national assembly1 the president had also communicated its decline of assent to the pigb 2018 citing constitutional and legal reasons in the bill1 the senate president said that it was unfortunate that the bill had not been assented to adding we took it as a responsibility to drive that bill to a level it has never been in a decade1 that bill a lot of people when we started said we cannot do it but we demonstrated we have the political will and the commitment to do it1 we passed the governance bill and it went to the executive1 what i expected considering the kind of work that was done was for us both arms to seat down because the issues that were raised are not issues that are not surmountable1 unfortunately after so many months the bill has come back with query that can easily be trashed out in a day session1 those in the petroleum sector will agree with me that they have never seen the engagement we saw in the governance bill1 secondly we had the fiscal bill and we have taken it to the point that has never been archived but i believe a lot of the operators will want to ask what will happen to the fiscal bill if the governance bill was not assented to1 saraki spoke at a dinner as part of activities at the ongoing 24th nigerian economic summit in abuja on monday1 this is a very good bill as most operators and the technical people in the sector commended it1 he said the observation made on the bill was not enough reasons to stop its assent because of the huge positive impact it would make in investments in the sector1 because as you know there is no serious investment going in the oil and gas sector because people are not sure of what to expect1 on cost of governance saraki said it was huge but added that there were some wastages that could be reduced1 the senate president said the fight against corruption must be transparent and credible adding that effort should also be made to prevent it1 for example the main area where we produce our major revenue is mainly in the oil and gas sector1 but when you look at corruption cases i am not sure you will find many of the cases in that sector the fight is so selective1 but if it is transparent you should start from where you are producing your large source of revenue1 because if you can tackle corruption in the sector there will be less leakages down the line1 for example today we are back to spending close to 3.6 billion dollars petroleum subsidy so apart from the national assembly which anti-corruption agency is looking at that1 the point i am making is that there should be a transparent process and approach in fighting corruption1 if we can make the petroleum sector most efficient which accounts for large revenue government will be more efficient1

NSCDC intercepts 45,000 litres of illegally refined fuel
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by deborah coker1 the nigeria security and civil defence corps nscdc edo command has intercepted a truck laden with 45000 litres of suspected illegally-refined petroleum products1 mr makinde ayinla the state commandant of the nscdc made the disclosure to the news agency of nigeria nan in benin on tuesday1 ayinla said that the truck was intercepted at aduwawa area on beninauchi road1 he told nan that the truck which was laden with suspected illegally-refined diesel was loaded in delta and heading to abuja1 the nscdc boss said the driver of the truck had been arrested and would soon be prosecuted1 ayinla said that the command would continue to discharge its duties and ensure that the nations economic saboteurs desist from their unpatriotic trade1 the commandant advised petroleum marketers to shun acts inimical to the economic emancipation of the country and ensure that they got their products from the legal refineries1 he said this was imperative as any marketer that patronised illegal refinery would eventually suffer a loss as such products if intercepted would be destroyed1