-
2019 elections: Church supports upright youths
News & Trends •
it said that no political party would be allowed to misbehave in 2019 and that anyone which misbehaved would face the consequences1 according to uche the church has a political evolution monitoring group to support the progressive political developments in nigeria1 it commended the federal government for signing into law the not too young to run bill to enable young people be involved in leadership1 it called for an enabling environment to make the law effective1 the church said financial autonomy for local governments would enhance grassroots development1 we therefore appeal to those at the local governments not to divert funds accruing to them to white elephant projects1 on maintaining a vibrant polity methodist church nigeria urges every citizen above 18 years old to process permanent voters card which is the main tool for determining who governs us1 we equally urge citizens to come out and vote not sell their votes but vote according to their conscience1 stakeholders in the electoral process should ensure that rigging elections is resisted the church stated1 also a communique signed by uche and the conference secretary rev. michael akinwade revealed that church announced its support for the young in politics1 the church said that politics with bitterness which had become rampant in nigeria was overheating the polity and urged politicians to play by the rules1 it urged governments to pay sustainable wages to workers pointing out that owing them had often led to the untimely death of many1 the church called on the government to handle the welfare of workers with care to discourage financial corruption in private and public sectors of national life1 it further called on the government to do everything possible to ensure the release of miss leah sharibu who was abducted by boko haram insurgents in february1 it further called for the creation of state police under the command of governors as well as an overhaul of nigerias security apparatus to check incessant loss of lives1 on the issue of ranches the church said that to ensure peace and equity cattle farmers should create ranches in their home states1 it stated that cattle colonies or grazing fields should not be used as a means of colonisation religious proselytising and forcible acquisition of the ancestral lands of others1 it restated the need for peace and unity in nigeria. nan1 -
Reps probe rots in NPA, Inland waterways
News & Trends •
this explains why there is so much congestion at the lagos port. if we must make the expected progress in our maritime sector all available resources must be accountably and prudently managed to meet the various demands for improved infrastructure he said2 in this regard it has been observed that over the years the nigerian maritime industry has failed to attract the required local and foreign investment inflow that is proportionate to its contribution to both the nigerian and west african economy despite its great potential and enormous investment opportunities2 this is really not acceptable2 the investigative hearing was necessitated by seven maritime related motions on issues relating to guaranteed minimum tonnage at the nigeria ports extra budgetary spending and other financial improprieties by terminal operators and service providers engaged by the nigerian ports authority2 the factors he said include alleged arbitrary increases in charges by terminal operators inefficient collection and accounting procedures and contract repetitions and payment of huge commissions to service providers compared to remittances to the federation account among others2 others are abandonment of dredging projects by companies so contracted even after allegedly receiving payments and alleged illegal disposal of lands and properties belonging to the nigerian ports authority and the national inland waterways authority of nigeria. nan2 reports have it that the lagos water channel is about 14.5 meters deep while the port harcourt and calabar channels are less than 10 meters deep which limits their capacity to receive big cargo ships1 interestingly major competitors in the west african region such as the port of lome in togo port of dakar in senegal and the port of cotonou in benin republic all deliver better efficient services than the nigerian ports1 the speaker further highlighted other factors militating against the development of the maritime sector1 for instance if we have cargoes going up north to places such as kaduna kano and maiduguri such cargoes would not need to go through lagos which is already so congested1 according to him if these allegations are anything to go by we can understand why the sector has recorded persistent decline in performance and economic growth over the years1 the speaker pointed out that these are serious allegations which need to be looked into1 some of the problems that have been identified as the reasons the nigerian ports are performing so poorly he said include bad infrastructure high cost of doing business and low draught at a lot of our major waterways1 -
Nigerias ports drop in global rating
News & Trends •
this explains why there is so much congestion at the lagos port. if we must make the expected progress in our maritime sector all available resources must be accountably and prudently managed to meet the various demands for improved infrastructure he said2 the factors he said include alleged arbitrary increases in charges by terminal operators inefficient collection and accounting procedures and contract repetitions and payment of huge commissions to service providers compared to remittances to the federation account among others2 the investigative hearing was necessitated by seven maritime related motions on issues relating to guaranteed minimum tonnage at the nigeria ports extra budgetary spending and other financial improprieties by terminal operators and service providers engaged by the nigerian ports authority2 in this regard it has been observed that over the years the nigerian maritime industry has failed to attract the required local and foreign investment inflow that is proportionate to its contribution to both the nigerian and west african economy despite its great potential and enormous investment opportunities2 this is really not acceptable2 others are abandonment of dredging projects by companies so contracted even after allegedly receiving payments and alleged illegal disposal of lands and properties belonging to the nigerian ports authority and the national inland waterways authority of nigeria. nan2 others are abandonment of dredging projects by companies so contracted even after allegedly receiving payments and alleged illegal disposal of lands and properties belonging to the nigerian ports authority and the national inland waterways authority of nigeria1 dogara also commended the executive arm and particularly the managements in the maritime industry for their efforts to reposition the nigerian maritime industry for improved service delivery and enhanced contribution to economic growth1 according to him i must say that the maritime industry in nigeria is yet to attain the desired and expected status of becoming the hub for international freight and trade in west africa1 -
Paramilitary kills 40 in Ethiopia
News & Trends •
the forces are seen as loyal to the regions leader abdi omer who has since resigned1 at least 40 people were killed by paramilitary forces in eastern ethiopia over the weekend a senior regional official said on monday in the latest spate of violence driven by ethnic divisions1 on monday the oromiya regional administrations spokesman negeri lencho said heavily armed members of a paramilitary force from the somali region had carried out cross-border attacks in oromiyas east hararghe district1 we still do not know why liyu forces raided the areas on saturday and sunday he said referring to the paramilitary soldiers1 but we know that all the victims were ethnic oromos. at least 40 were killed in the attacks1 a week earlier mobs looted properties owned by ethnic minorities in the somali regions capital jijiga1 the central government said the unrest had been stoked by regional officials who had fallen out with central authorities trying to address rights abuses in the region1 the spokesman said the officials had said the government was illegally forcing them to resign and that liyu forces had taken part in the attacks under their orders1 unrest first broke out along the border of the countrys somali and oromiya provinces in september displacing nearly a million people though the violence had subsided by april1 authorities in the somali region were not immediately available for comment1 ethnic violence has spread in the diverse country of 100 million people where anti-government protests broke out in the oromiya region over land rights in 20151 hundreds were killed by security forces over a two-year period1 the violence is the biggest domestic challenge facing reformist prime minister abiy ahmed who took office in april1 in a separate incident a stampede among thousands who attended a visit by a prominent political activist in the town of shashemene killed three people on sunday officials from the oromiya regional government said1 the event was held to mark the return to ethiopia of jawar mohammed an activist who had been in exile in the u.s. but played a key role in mobilising oromo youths through social media1 amid the chaos another person was beaten to death by a mob after rumours circulated he had carried a bomb residents said1 police did not take action while all that took place the witness told reuters. it is an example of the lawlessness that is taking root in the country. reutersnan1 -
Violate law, face justice APC warns
News & Trends •
the party therefore said the alleged plan to arrest or harass the mentioned leaders as claimed by the pdp was hogwash and baseless adding a clear conscience fears no accusation1 all progressives congress apc has accused opposition of lame excuses and warned that any nigerian who violates the law no matter how highly placed would be brought to justice1 he was reacting to the peoples democratic partys pdp recent allegation that the apc-led federal government planned to arrest saraki and his deputy sen. ike ekweremadu1 we had thought that by now the pdp would be tired of its lame opposition strategy of false alarms baseless and frivolous accusations1 it maintained that the buhari administration had repeatedly demonstrated its strict adherence to the rule of law1 the apc acting national publicity secretary mr yekini nabena said this in a statement on monday in abuja1 he wondered why pdp leaders were afraid of arrest if their conscience was clear1 he gave an assurance that all law-abiding citizens or residents of the country had nothing to fear about arrest1 however nobody no matter how highly placed will escape the full wrath of the law. if he or she runs fowl of our laws1 if the senate president and the tree-climbing senator are facing criminal charges in our law courts and his deputy have explanations to make to the economic and financial crimes commission efcc for acquisition of numerous properties in nigeria and abroad through questionable sources the buhari-led apc administration has nothing to do with them1 the laws of the country are only being applied and they should answer for their alleged acts of infamy nabena said. nan1 -
12 year-old boy sole survivor of plane crash
News & Trends •
according to news agency afp nearby villagers heard a loud roar followed by an explosion1 a 12-year-old boy has been found alive in the wreckage of a plane crash which killed eight people in indonesia1 he was found with the wreckage on a mountainside near the border with papua new guinea on sunday morning1 the swiss-made pilatus aircraft he had been travelling in lost contact with air traffic control on saturday afternoon shortly before it was due to land at oksibil airport1 the plane owned by private charter dimonim air had been travelling from tanah merah about 40 minutes flight south to oksibil in the province of papua when it went down1 it was carrying nine people including two crew members1 photos from the scene show the boy conscious and looking at the camera1 an investigation into the cause of the crash will be carried out officials said1 the straitstimes.com reported that indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands but has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered several fatal crashes in recent years1 papua is a particularly difficult area to reach1 five people died after a small plane crashed near wamena in papua province in july last year1 in august 2015 a commercial passenger aircraft operated by indonesian carrier trigana crashed in papua due to bad weather killing all 54 people on board1 -
Buhari is God-sent, says Nasarawa APC Chairman
News & Trends •
mr philip shekwo chairman of the nasarawa state chapter of the all progressives congress apc on sunday said that president muhammadu buhari was sent by god to save nigeria from total collapse1 shekwo stated this during a thanksgiving service held in his honour in toto local government area of the state1 if not because god in his infinite mercy decided to bring buhari to power at the time he did the country could have been in a serious mess by now1 the president is sincerely fighting corruption corruption is responsible for all other reasons why there is so much rot in the system1 boko haram was also defeated and no local government area in the country today is under the control of the group as was the case in the past1 immediately president buhari started fighting corruption and corrupt people every right-thinking nigerian knew that corruption would fight back he said1 he attributed the killings by suspected herdsmen and bandits in some parts of the country to corruption fighting back to discredit the president1 shekwo appealed to nigerians to believe in the president and the party as it would take time to rebuild the system which was destroyed by former leaders1 he assured all aspirants contesting for elections under the party of a level-playing ground saying the state chapter of the party would ensure justice and equity to all its members1 -
Tambuwals new party loses supporters
News & Trends •
less than three weeks after the defection of governor aminu tambuwal of sokoto state to opposition peoples democratic party pdp no fewer than 10000 have dumped his new party1 a former pdp chairman in sokoto state alhaji abubakar shehu-tambuwal led the 10000 supporters to defect to the all progressives congress apc in tambuwal local government area of the state1 addressing a crowd of supporters on sunday in tambuwal shehu-tambuwal said they made the decision freely based on their concern to participate in politics that would facilitate good development1 he said they were convinced to join the party because of the viable policies and projects of the apc-led government1 he stressed that leadership and democracy should be about enhancing infrastructure and ensuring development for the people1 shehu-tambuwal is also a former commissioner for education in the state1 alhaji umar maitafsir the chairman of apc in tambuwal local government area said no fewer than 100000 people from yabo kebbi tureta dangeshuni bodinga and shagari local government areas had also decamped from the pdp to the apc1 maitafsir described the defection as a landmark in the political history of sokoto south senatorial district attributing the move to shehu-tambuwals credibility and political contribution in the zone as well as the state1 speaking while presenting the apc membership card to each of the new members the chairman of the state chapter of the apc alhaji sadiq achida assured the defectors of a level-playing ground1 achida said president muhammadu buharis apc-led government would continue to address the challenges being faced by nigerians through various projects and policies and urged the people to support the party to succeed at all levels. nan1 -
APC defeats PDP in Kogi by-election
News & Trends •
inec had similarly declared apc candidate ahmed babba kaita winner of the katsina senatorial election.1 the independent national electoral commission inec has released the official result of the lokojakogi house of representatives by-election declaring alhaji haruna isah candidate of all progressives congress apc winner1 ajayi said that ahmed imam of the social democratic party sdp scored 2 916 votes while the candidates of the accord party and alternative democratic congress adc scored 149 votes and 2984 votes respectively1 the labour party scored 90 votes democratic alternative scored 159 votes while megga party of nigeria scored 50 votes ajayi stated1 he said that 19960 votes from 17 polling units were cancelled due to violence and other malpractices saying that 15 of the affected polling units were in lokoja local government area while two were from kogi local government area1 giving a further breakdown of the election results the returning officer said that 51 669 voters were accredited for the election while only 50036 actually cast their votes1 according to him valid votes are 48165 while rejected votes are 18711 the by-election was conducted by the independent national electoral commission inec to fill the vacancy created by the death of the former occupant of the seat umar buba jibrin on march 301 jibrin was also of the apc1 the returning officer prof. rotimi ajayi who announced the results on sunday in lokoja said isah polled 26 860 votes to defeat alhaji bashir abubakar of the peoples democratic party pdp who polled 14 845 votes1 kaita scored 224607 votes while his elder brother and a retired customs officer alhaji kabir babba-kaita of the peoples democratic party pdp scored 59724 votes1 of the 855092 registered voters 308500 were accredited at the 1825 voting points and 1577 polling units and 128 wards in the district a huge turnout considering the apathy that had greeted past bye-elections in the country1 the secretary to the katsina state government dr. mustapha inuwa has commended the people of katsina north senatorial district for coming out massively to vote in the bye-election on saturday1 he said the victory of the all progressives congress was a sign of success in the 2019 election1 inuwa said the voter turnout was encouraging especially considering the number of the accredited voters and the 294050 people who cast their votes. he described the keenly contested election as peaceful1 inuwa added that the result was a clear evidence that the all progressives congressapc was in full control of the state and added that the government appreciated the resilience and understanding exhibited by the electorate especially the party members1 the apc inuwa said would emerge victorious in future elections using the landslide victories recorded in bauchi and kogi states as proofs of the partys popularity among nigerians1 he said the apc led government under the leadership of president muhammadu buhari is committed to salvaging the nation from the socio-economic and political predicament which the moribund peoples democratic party pdp left as legacy in its sixteen years of misrule1 nan reports that the conduct of the bye election was sequel to the death in april this year of senator mustafa bukar who represented the district. nan1