I married Atiku for his integrity, I know him Titi Abubakar
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 egbara said that the group would embark on voters mobilisation and education adding that the group would also mobilise all registered voters to collect their permanent voters cards pvcs1 mrs abubakar disclosed while receiving a campaign group women for atiku that no one knew atiku better than she does having been married to him for 47 years1 she stressed that contrary to unverified and vague allegation of corruption by political detractors atiku was actually a man whose integrity honesty and sincerity earned him her love1 i usually got confuse whenever i read the false allegations of corruption being spread by mischief makers against my husband in the media1 most times i ask myself if they were referring to my husband whom i have been married to for 47 years or a different person1 their descriptions only befits the opposite of atiku abubakar because he is not corrupt as alleged titi said1 she further stressed that sice she married atiku 47 years ago she had never found him wanting in honesty sincerity integrity and patriotism to his fatherland1 she narrated how they were brought together by divine destiny1 hajiya titi atiku abubakar wife of the presidential candidate of the pdp atiku abubakar has said that her husband is a man of integrity stressing that she married him for his honesty and patriotism1 they had demanded that i pay duty for a pair of brocade material which was a gift from my aunt an argument ensued between us and i told them to have the brocade material for a keep because i couldnt comprehend why i should pay duty for a pair of brocade1 suddenly an officer by name atiku abubakar who heard our argument summoned the officers to come along with me to his office1 he was the head of the command at the time. after listening to both sides atiku demanded for the duty charge dipped his hand into his pocket and paid the duty and handed me the receipt smiling and saying that i will pay him back1 as the head of the command he could have simply commanded them to let me go if he chose to but his patriotism to fatherland would never allow him do so and that singular act swept me off my feet and i eventually fell in love she said1 the national coordinator of women for atiku mrs blessing egbara thanked mrs titi abubakar for the warm reception accorded to her group1 she pledged that the group would continue to mobilise women across every ward to vote for atiku abubakar in 20191 egbara said that the national leadership and the 36 state coordinators of the group visited to inform her that with the commencement of the campaign the group is set to penetrate the nook and crannies of nigeria to mobilise the desired support toward 2019 atiku victory1 i was on my way back to nigeria from benin republic wher i went to visit my aunt at the idioroko boarder and was accosted by ofifcers of the customs service1

FGs school feeding: Farmers, cooks, others earn N651m daily
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 for some of them their wives are cooks in the programme preparing the meals for the school kids he said1 according to statistics made available during a joint press briefing on the progress of the scheme a total of n651million is being earned on a daily basis by farmers and cooks1 the sip is an initiative of the buhari led administration supervised by the office of the vice president prof. yemi osinbajo1 briefing newsmen on the successes of the scheme mr ismaeel ahmed senior special assistant to the president on sip said that a total of 9.3 million children were currently being fed in over 49000 schools in 26 states1 ahmed added that the government was currently engaging over 150000 farmers across nigeria and over 100000 cooks in the 26 states at the cost of n70 per child every school day1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that at n70 every school day for 9.3 million children the federal government pays the farmers and the cooks n651 million1 the home grown school feeding programme one of the packages under the federal governments social intervention programme sip has created wealth for over 250000 farmers cooks and others involved in the scheme1 ahmed explained that the money paid to farmers in the school feeding programme had gone a long way to change the lot of thousands of farmers cooks and others involved in the value chain for the school feeding1 the home-grown school feeding programme is helping to create wealth in the rural areas. the school feeding programme requires about 6.8 million eggs 594 cattle and 83 metric tons of fish to be supplied to the cooks every week for the purpose of feeding 9300892 children in 49837 government schools in 26 states1 try to imagine the impact of this demand among the rural farmers in the communities hosting these schools1 people who normally focused on subsistence agriculture for the sole purpose of feeding their families have expanded into commercialized farming to meet the needs of the school feeding programme1 these same farmers have their kids in these schools so that serves as added motivation to meet our demands of foodstuff because they know it is no gimmick1 the social investment programme consists primarily of 4 units the n-power programme which is targeted at unemployed young graduates the home grown school feeding programme which seeks to feed all nigerian children in public primary schools the conditional cash transfer which gives out 5000 naira monthly in cash to the poorest of the poor nigerians in our innermost rural communities and the geep comprising of market moni and trader moni which is giving loans of n50000 to n 100000 naira to artisan1

FRCN staff who committed suicide not Journalist
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 a staff of the federal radio corporation of nigeria frcn lagos has committed suicide. the staff whose name is withheld jumped off the third mainland bridge in lagos into the lagoon1 however contrary to reports in various media saying that the victim was a journalist an frcn staff confirmed to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that the late victim was a driver1 our correspondent reports that the deceased was a driver who recently retired but was re-absorbed on a contract basis pending when he gets his retirement benefits1 he was said to be attached to the director of it lagos operations of the frcn1 he late driver had pretended that he wanted to ease himself but after alighting from the commercial bus which he was riding in along with some of his colleagues he immediately dived into the lagoon1 operatives of the rapid response squad of the lagos state police command responded immediately to the incident but could not rescue the reporter1 after a joint effort by marine police and local divers his corpse was eventually recovered and has been taken to the ebute ero police division1 kehinde adebayo spokesman lasema confirmed that efforts were being made to transfer the deceaseds corpse to the mortuary1

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

2019: Okowa presents N367bn Budget proposal
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 delta state governor dr. ifeanyi okowa on wednesday presented a budget proposal of n367 095083451 to the state house of assembly for the 2019 fiscal year1 the budget projected n209 999054198 57.21 for capital expenditure while n157 096029253 42.79 per cent was earmarked for recurrent expenditure1 the 2019 proposal had an increment of n59 billion from the 2018 budget which was n308888558898 three hundred and eight billion eight hundred and eighty-eight million five hundred and fifty-eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight naira1 presenting the budget to the delta state house of assembly presided by speaker hon. sheriff oborevwori okowa disclosed that the projected 2019 budget titled budget of sustainable growth would enable his administration consolidate on the successes and achievements1 itemsing some of the achievements okowa said despite the fluctuating fortunes of the economy in the last three-and-half years i humbly note that our state has continued to forge ahead1 workers are paid regularly thousands of previously unemployed youths are gainfully employed and many of our people now enjoy better facilities in terms of roads water education and health1 agriculture has received a strong boost with many cluster farms springing up in different parts of the state and even more importantly our people remain committed to peace and harmonious living he said1 we shall build on this stable growth to position delta state as a dynamic economy for the future indeed a stronger delta beckons1 the news agency of nigeria nan report that road construction and education are to gulp 29 per cent of the budget with roads getting n79.6 billion while the education sector would gulp the sum of n26.8 billion1

Benue South Senate: Ojobo leads PDP Primary, thanks delegates, Mark
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 he stressed that the neutrality and sincerity of heart in having a democratically elected successor is already in the public knowledge and commendable1 ojobo a two-term member of the benue house of assembly who was clearly in the lead ahead of former minister of interior comrade abba moro former permanent secretary ministry of defence chief mike okibe onoja disclosed this while addressing newsmen in benue1 he attributed his success at the poll to the grace of god upon his life and the love from his people1 the aspirant saluted the courage dedication and resilience of the delegates who defied rainfall and other inconveniences to ensure he emerged promising he would not let the people down1 frontline contestant of the peoples democratic party pdp senatorial primaries for benue south hon. joseph ojobo has appreciated the leadership of the party and the delegates for their wonderful support during the senatorial convention1 i am very much on ground i am a grassroots person i have spent over 30 years of my life in okpokwu so i hold okpokwu as much as i hold my local government of origin1 otukpo local government area is like a municipal area which is populated with young people these young people will always stand with one of their own1 my victory so far is absolutely an act of god and unflinching love from the people. the least i shall do is to work hard to justify the confidence reposed on me he said1 hon. ojobo while expressing confidence in the electoral process specifically thanked the immediate past president of the senate senator david mark for playing an exceptional leadership role in the whole process1 though the congress was declared inconclusive as elections into 3 out of the 9 local government areas of the senatorial district had not been held ojobo who had won six local governments said he was optimistic he would clear the entire election1

PDP Presidential Primary: Saraki leads Atiku, Tambuwal trails in twitter poll
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 more details after the poll1 the poll posted on the twitter handle @pdprivers called on nigerians to vote for the candidate whom they want to win the primary election and be the flag bearer of the pdp in the 2019 presidential election1 the poll read thus it is settled that the @officialpdpnig primarieswill hold in rivers state on saturday 6th october 2018. who do you think should be the best candidate to defeat president buhari of the apc in the 2019 presidential election1 the poll listed only four aspirants former vice president atiku abubakar president of the senate bukola saraki sokoto state governor aminu tambuwal and former kano governor and former apc presidential aspirant rabiu kwankwaso1 it is settled that the primaries will hold in rivers state on saturday 6th october 20181 who do you think should be the best candidate to defeat president buhari of the failed apc in the 2019 presidential election1 pdpriversstate @pdprivers1 as at the time of this report a total of 1788 people had voted and bukola saraki was in the lead with 41 per cent of the votes followed by atiku abubakar with 30 per cent of the votes then rabiu kwankwaso with 21 per cent votes while aminu tambuwal trailed with 8 per cent of the votes1 the poll however did not just end at voting as many of those who supposedly voted went on to argue their points in the comments session of the tweet1 while some berated saraki others supported him and while some didnt give atiku any chance others insisted that he is the only one that can effectively challenge buhari in 20191 some sought to know why only four aspirants were listed pointing out the all four of the aspirants betrayed pdp in 2015 when they defected to the apc to support buhari against then president goodluck jonathan1 however some of those who made comments used the opportunity to support president muhammadu buhari saying that none of the aforementioned can defeat him1 below are some of the comments1 saraki will shut out buhari in the north central south west south east1 wizz poll @wizzpoll1 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki is currently leading former vice president atiku abubakar in an online poll on twitter ahead of the presidential primaries of the peoples democratic party pdp1 saraki not muster enough vote in the north east and north west to defeat pmb1 majority of south east voters wont come out and vote1 comrade @emmauwanaka1 just pick one the rest will work for pmb1 kayode abegunde @kayodeabegunde11 i like atiku because i believe he can restructure nigeria and creates millions of jobs but my fear is that he is not strong in some northern strongholds1 divine @divine150975461 the triple a is game. atiku abubakar all the way for a better nigeria1 dooshima judith utser @judithutser1 none of the abovebeside nigerian has already understood what it take to govern with sympathy and love which is shown by our great1 sharif abdulrahman @sharifabdulra111 but how come tambuwal is on the poll and is not everyone on this poll left to support buhari aganist gej remained. .. not so fair what you guys are doing loyalty is keyits very important1 johnson efe @injusticeefe1 to read more on the comments session1 it is sad but true south west wont vote for saraki for sure because of his alleged role in a liquidated banks1

How I rebuffed Buharis invitation thinking it was 419 FEPSAN President
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 so what did we achieve with that we had 6 plants working at 10 per cent capacity. now with this initiative in the first phase we had 11 plants. and today there are 18 plants out of the 32 that are in this programme he said1 in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan etuh narrated the funny conversation that ensued between him and the chief of staff to the president alhaji abba kyari who had called him to come for a meeting1 etuh said that when the call came from kyari inviting him he thought it was fraudsters and he vehemently told him off1 he explained that he rebuffed the call many times and advised the caller to go and get a job not knowing that the call was genuine and was going to change the lot of farmers and fertiliser producers as well as suppliers1 one weekend i got a call from the chief of staff to the president alhaji abba kyari that they wanted to see me. i thought it was a joke. so i said i wasnt interested in looking for any appointment and i dropped the phone1 a couple of minutes later he called back and asked if i was thomas etuh i said yes i am1 well like to see you he said. i said please i have told you i am not looking for any appointment and i can hear your voice sounding like a very elderly person. so i think you should go and get a job to do and stop this 419 then i banged the phone1 so while sitting with friends we put the number on truecaller and behold his name came up but i never bothered1 about an hour or two later he put a call through again i picked it and naturally i apologized. he kept laughing on the phone and saying that he understands and if i can come because they want to have a meeting with me1 the president of fertiliser producers and suppliers association of nigeria fepsan mr thomas etuh has narrated how he rebuffed an invitation by president muhammadu buhari to discuss the advancement of fertiliser value chain in nigeria1 and that discussion translated into the president setting up this committee of presidential fertiliser initiative pfi which fepsan which i lead as a body was tasked to come back with a proposal and all hands were on deck he said1 he said that government had been a very dominant player in the fertiliser market and everybody was selling to the government1 etuh explained that upon taking over about 10 years ago he worked hard to create his own market away from government and sell to farmers directly1 when this government came in you all heard the problem of fertiliser all over the country and that was why i was called in for the meeting1 because this programme was in the heart of president buhari he domiciled it in his office which was coordinated by the chief of staff himself1 we had the governor of jigawa as chairman of the committee we had the nnpc md we had the central bank governor we have the nsa himself we had the sovereign wealth fund in that committee and we had fepsan all serving in the committee which we work to coordinate this programme1 now what did we do in fepsan. we spoke to our members and said this is a win-win thing. reduce your profit margin and work on volume. whatever you are losing here you gain it from the volume1 the cbn governor brought a cost saving in terms of low cost of funds in single digits. instead of us getting money at double digits here we have money at single digits1 that cost reduction in finance was also transferred to the farmer. so because our cost of running is low the farmer also benefits in that. so everybody plays their own role1 eventually i made the appointment for the meeting and the presidency was concerned about the price of fertiliser going up and what we can do to reduce the price1

Okowa receives U.S. Ambassador, seeks partnership to train youths
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 he noted that for nigeria to remain the economic hub of africa youth development through skill acquisition must be fully harnessed so the youths can change their lives and make the country great1 governor okowa made this call on thursday while receiving the ambassador of the united states of america to nigeria mr stuart symington who paid him a courtesy visit in asaba1 the governor while welcoming the ambassador noted that it is very important to trains youths stressing that when trained youths will be off the streets to engage in an economic activity thereby making the country more developed1 it is important that the international community engage in the training of our youths in skill acquisition as it will go a long way to equip them to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country1 we thank you mr ambassador for contributing your quota in the training of some of our youths in agro-business the state will partner with you to train more youths in this business and we are looking for more partners he said1 governor ifeanyi okowa of delta state has called on the international community to engage in the sponsorship of training programmes for nigerian youths in the area of skill acquisition1 so far as a state government we have carried out three cycles of our job creation training we monitor and mentor our trainees and we are glad to say that we have over 62 per cent success rates in our wealth creation programmes the governor disclosed1 he commended the ambassador for visiting the state to find out the progress made in the training of beneficiaries of presidential amnesty programmes expressing delight that the facilities used for the training would be useful in training more youths in the wealth creation programmes by his administration1 responding the ambasador mr symington said they were in the state to visit the agricultural training programme going on through the presidential amnesty programme in partnership with some american investors1 while commending governor okowas administration for providing a conducive environment for the training to take place he observed that agricultural business would boost the economy of nigeria1 gov. okowa used the opportunity to express his gratitude to the world bank for contributing to the training of the youths through the seefor but stated that a lot more needed to be done in youths training1

Saraki joins PDPs presidential aspirants
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 i therefore ask you and all well-meaning nigerians to join hands with me in this noble cause.my brothers my sisters lets grow nigeria together he said1 saraki made the declaration on thursday while meeting with young nigerians who want to run for office in 2019 under the nottooyoungtorun act that was passed by the national assemly and assented to by president muhammadu buhari1 he said i hereby announce my intention to run for the office of president of the federal republic of nigeria in the coming general elections in 2019 on the platform of the peoples democratic party pdp. i do so with the firm conviction that i have what it takes to secure inclusive growth for nigeria and nigerians1 according to a tweet by a special assistant to saraki on new media mr olu onemola on twitter he wrote live video the president of the senate dr. abubakar bukola saraki has just declared his intention to seek the office of the president of the federal republic of nigeria1 while speaking with the youths saraki said that his decision to seek the highest office in the country was in view of the numerous challenges being faced by the country and by nigerians1 he said that it was unthinkable that nigeria with its young population with over 70 per cent of its people under the age of 40 still could not take advantage of the youthful population which is envied by the western world1 he lamented that all over the country nigerians were crying out for succour with many people going hungry while others die of avoidable and treatable diseases1 the harsh conditions of extreme poverty faced by the people fuels the state of insecurity all over the country. hunger lack of education and lack of opportunities push many nigerians into criminal activities including terrorism1 many of our communities are paralysed with fear due to incessant communal crises kidnappings and other social ills as well as the threat of terrorism. we are failing abysmally to tackle the problems of today and to prepare for the future he said1 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki has officially declared to run for president in the 2019 general elections1 he therefore stressed that something must be done about the situation of things in every sphere of the country stressing that it was for the sake of offering solutions that he was declaring to run1 it is with all these in mind and taking account of the challenges that i have outlined that i have decided to answer the call of teeming youth who have asked me to run for president1 accordingly i hereby announce my intention to run for the office of president of the federal republic of nigeria in the coming general elections in 2019 on the platform of the peoples democratic party pdp. i do so with the firm conviction that i have what it takes to secure inclusive growth for nigeria and nigerians1 my plan for nigeria has inclusion in all aspects of the countrys affairs as a central pillar. every citizen has the inalienable right to feel a sense of belonging no matter their background or creed or what part of the country they come from. no matter who you voted for or what your convictions are government must work for you1 your generation does not deserve to live in the poverty capital of the world. it is no longer an issue of how we got here but how do we get out of this situation i promise you that i will lead the fight and employ every god-given resource available to us in turning things around. i am determined to grow nigeria out of poverty. we will stimulate the growth of small and medium enterprises smes as one of the ways of energising the economy and to create wealth for our people especially the youth1 he pledged to secure nigeria by redesigning the security architecture and equipping security agencies address infrastructural deficits in power and transportation defend the constitutional rights of all nigerians and uphold the principle of the rule of law at all times1 he assured the youths that he would not be selective in fighting corruption adding that he would ensure that all institutions of government would be allowed to function without undue inteference1 i offer leadership driven by empathy. where leaders are responsive to the citizens. where they know that government cares. we will not be indifferent or turn a blind eye to the real concerns of our people. every single nigerian life matters1 i have deliberately chosen the opportunity of being here with you my number one constituency who i see as the future of our great country to make my intention known. i believe the nigerian youth are critical to rebuilding and growing the economy and restoring our national pride1 saraki went on to say that the economy was in dire need of urgentrevival in order for nigeria to grow adding that nigerians have become more divided than ever before between the haves and the have-nots1

#EndSARS: Ag President Osinbajo directs investigation, overhaul of SARS
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 acting president prof. yemi osinbajo has directed investigations into the activities of the special anti-robbery squad sars following persistent allegations bordering on human rights violations1 this is even as he has directed the inspector general of police ibrahim idris to immediately overhaul the management and activities of the squad1 in a statement signed by laolu akande senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity office of the vice president osinbajo said that a new sars that is intelligence driven should emerge from the process1 he also directed the national human rights commission to set up a panel to investigate the alleged unlawful activities of sars1 following persistent complaints and reports on the activities of the special anti-robbery squad sars that border on allegations of human rights violations acting president yemi osinbajo san has directed the inspector general of police igp to with immediate effect overhaul the management and activities of sars and ensure that any unit that will emerge from the process will be intelligence-driven and restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery and kidnapping and apprehension of off1 the acting president has also directed the igp to ensure that all operatives in the emerging unit conduct their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to international human rights law and the constitutionally guaranteed rights of suspects. the operatives should also bear proper identification anytime they are on duty1 the acting president has directed the national human rights commission to set up a special panel that will conduct an investigation of the alleged unlawful activities of sars in order to afford members of the general public the opportunity to present their grievances with a view to ensuring redress it read1 the social media especially twitter has been awash with posts by some nigerians alleging human rights violations by sars and calling on the federal government to end sars1 on twitter the hashtag trended for several months1

NASS, NILDS push for administrative autonomy in States Assemblies
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 he therefore urged all lawmakers to endeavor to declare their assets before assuming office1 this was the main advocacy at a workshop organized by the national institute for legislative and democratic studies nilds for members of the state houses of assembly1 the conference tagged two-day conference for state houses of assembly on operating within the context of first line charge was organized for members of the 36 houses of assembly1 in her welcome remarks the director general of nilds prof ladi hamalai told the lawmakers that there cannot be effective financial autonomy without the establishment of a service commission1 she explained that for the legislature in the states to be truly autonomous they must be fully responsible for all the affairs that concern them1 with particular reference to the principles of separation of power she said that the legislature could not be said to be independent if the executive arm was still in charge of employing and deploying staff members of the legislature1 we must all pass the act establishing the service commission it is part of the principles of separation of power1 she said that the financial was a good stepping stone for the legislature in states but stress that there was still a long way to go after the autonomy had been well domesticated1 reiterating the role of service commission in effective autonomy the secretary of the national assembly service commission nasc mr olu ajakaye said that without administrative autonomy1 he recalled that the period of financial dependence was very torturous as the legislature had to always go cap in hand to the executive anytime they had a programme or project1 in a bid to make the recently passed financial autonomy more effective the national assembly has commenced push to enshrine administrative autonomy in state houses of assembly1 this financial autonomy would be incomplete without administrative autonomy a situation in which the employees of the state assembly are controlled by the state civil service commission does not aurgur well for the autonomy of the legislature1 it is on this note that i call on all states that are yet to establish their state service commission to do so immediately1 we must try and distinguish the legislative service by also entrenching he nomenclatures that are peculiar to the legislative service1 today the legislature has its own unique concepts norms practices and procedures1 therefore we must imbibe our own structure in line with our procedures. many secretaries of commissions or clerks of assemblies prefer to be addressed as permanent secretaries1 the earlier we drop the civil service hangovers the better for the legislative service. this will not only create an identity for the service but will also make the service robust and enviable he said1 he commended the efforts of the dg nilds for her pragmatism in convening the conference and other relevant conferences1 declaring the conference open the clerk to the national assembly mohammed sani omolori however cautioned the lawmakers to handle the autonomy with responsibility1 he said that the financial autonomy was not an avenue for the legislature to become financially reckless stressing that any form of misappropriation would be treated as an act of corruption1 he therefore admonished the lawmakers that they must also push for administrative autonomy and take over the management of their staff if they must reap the benefit of the financial autonomy recently granted them1

Nigeria Vs Iceland: Saraki meets Super Eagles ahead of Match (Video)
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 however nigeria who are in group d still stands a chance of qualifying as argentina only has two one point having drawn their first match and lost the second while iceland has one point from their first game against argentina1 the president of the nigerian senate dr bukola saraki has met with the super eagles players in russia ahead of their world cup match against iceland1 saraki who is in russia on a working visit on the invitation of the chairperson of the russian parliament made out time to meet and address the super eagles team1 saraki who was flanked by the super eagles coach and their trainer told the boys that his visit was to further encourage them like he did in abuja nigeria before they departed1 the nigerian super eagles will be playing against iceland in their second game at the world cup having lost their first match by two goals down to croatia1 nigeria vs iceland saraki meets super eagles ahead of match1 croatia tops the group with 6 points having won nigeria in their first leg and defeated argentina by 3-0 in the second leg on thursday1 i am here just to encourage you and to tell you that you are lucky and opportune to be here. i know that you can do it and i wish i had the talent to be here too he said1 he encouraged the players to put up their best and ensure they came out victorious in their remaining two matches at the group stage1 he assured the players of the support and the prayers of many nigerians back at home1 if nigeria wins the matcg against iceland they will be in second position on the group with 3 points1

Russia: Saraki to address Russian Parliament, cheer Super Eagles
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 he listed those that would be accompanying saraki on the trip to include minority leader of the senate senator godswill akpabio majority whip senator adeyeye senator danbaba senator sunmonu and others1 saraki who announced the visit on thursday at plenary told his colleagues that he would be addressing a special plenary session at the russian federal council1 this is to inform the distinguished senate that i will be leading a delegation of the senate to the federal council of the federal assembly of the russian federation on an exchange visit from the 19th to the 22nd of june 20181 during the visit i will address a special plenary of the federations council saraki said1 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki will be addressing the russian parliament during an exchange visit between june 19th and june 22 20181 they exchanged ideas and she invited the senate president to deliver a speech during a joint special session1 the event will also have a wreath laying ceremony at tomb of unknown soldier and other meetings to strengthen parliamentary relationship between both russia and nigeria1 at the 2017 ipu saraki also began negotiations for a1 omishore disclosed that saraki will also make out time to support the super eagles during one of their games at the world cup1 speaking to our correspondent on the visit special assistant to saraki onforeign affairs and international relations bamikole omishore said that the visit is sequel to the meeting of saraki with the chairperson of the federal council madam valentina matviyenko at the 2017 inter-parliamentary union assembly ipu1

JOHESU Strike: Saraki intervenes, meets Adewole, Ngige
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 the only thing i can assure you is that we will make sure that the right thing is done and that this matter is resolved he said1 the president of the senate dr. abubakar bukola saraki after a meeting with the leadership of johesu yesterday where he listened to their grievances and demands today met with the minister of health prof. isaac adewole and the minister of labour dr. chris ngige to hear their own side of the issue1 while meeting with the johesu leadership led by its chairman comrade biobelemonye joseph the president of the senate had pledged that the senate would ensure that the right thing is done to end the strike1 chief press secretary to the president of the senate sanni onogu in a statement in abuja said sarakis meeting with adewole and ngige was meant to hear their side of the issue and to forge a way forward not only to end the strike but to ensure that there is lasting peace and industrial harmony in the nations health institutions1 the senate has intervened in the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the joint health sector unions johesu in a bid to end the strike and make the nations hospitals functional once again1 he noted that it is not in the interest of the country to have its hospitals closed while he pledged that the senate would work with all stakeholders to ensure that the strike is called off1 saraki said our interest here in the senate and the national assembly in general is to find a solution to this problem. it is not in the interest of the country for us to have our hospitals closed and we must work to ensure they are reopened promptly1 i have heard your remarks i will spend sometimes to discuss with you and get more details to see how we can put an end to this strike1 on our own part we will bring all parties involved together to ensure that where commitments have been made those who made the commitments honour them1 during his meeting with the leadership of johesu saraki said the senate and indeed the national assembly would ensure that the right thing is done to end the strike1