Nigerian youths on Wednesday urgedpolitical parties to reduce the cost oftheir nomination forms to enable themto participate in the 2019 general elections.

The Convener of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement, Mr Samson Itodo,made the caall at the National Headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, saying that youths were demanding inclusiveness.

Itodo said that the youths were at the partys secretariat and other political parties nationwide to solicit support for the aspirations of young Nigerians, who had indicated interest to contest various elective positions in 2019.

He said that youths were not asking for free forms but a reduction in the cost of nomination forms to enable them to contest for offices.

We are asking that this party should support young presidential aspirants, reserve tickets for the youths, reduce cost of nomination forms and adopt the direct primaries option in the selection of candidates for elective positions.

We are calling for an end to vote buying; Nigerian youths are now more aware of what is going on.

The nation is being celebrated today across the world for reducing the age limit to run for elective offices simply because of that step taken to address this issue.

As a party that represents transformation, you must reduce the cost of obtaining nomination forms because youths will no longer accept crumbs, Itodo said.

Responding on behalf of PDP, the National Youth Leader, Mr Sunday Udeh-Okoye, assured the group of the partys willingness to carry youths along, adding that the party was famous for championing youths aspirations.

The Not-Too-Young-To-Run Law was sponsored by our member who has defected for one or two reasons, but which has nothing to do with the PDP not doing well.

Even as he has defected, he is still our member in spirit; our party will protect your interest.

We believe in you and we have respect for our youths; we want the young ones to grow, which is why while the other political parties were kicking against the bill, we stood our ground and ensured that it was passed.

Udeh-Okoye said that the field was now open for every Nigerian youth to run as age was no longer a barrier.

He chargedthe youths to begin to vie for electivepositions without looking at anybodys face,sayingthey mustbe dogged in their demands for inclusiveness.

He assured the group that PDP would not disappoint theyouths and that all its primary electionswould be transparent as well as seek to protect the interests of youths.

The News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) reports that the rally to political parties was organised nationwideto press for inclusion of youths in the activities of the existing political parties.

Source: NAN

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has described as unconstitutional the freezing of the accounts of Benue Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, the Chairman of NGF, spoke with State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja.

EFCC had on Tuesday froze the states account which was confirmed by Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Samuel Ortom.

Yari said that by the security situation in Benue, it was not wise to dislocate the state financially.

If EFCC freezes the accounts of any state government, Benue or anywhere else, I think it is unconstitutional, it is not right, because you are shutting down government.

Government must spend, more especially Benue where there are issues of insecurity.

So, we do not know why the EFCC took the action. I do not think it is correct, but if it is correct, then in my own point of view, it is wrong.

But I believe this government will not sit down and oversee unlawful operations happening from the security agencies.

From what happened yesterday, someone can understand that this government is following due process and laws of Nigeria.

EFFCs action in Benue is something that should be reversed, he said.

Speaking on Tuesdays blockade of the National Assembly, Yari said it was very unfortunate.

He however, said that the attendant reaction by the acting president had vindicated the Federal Government in the eyes of local and international communities.

The governor recalled that similar incidents occurred in 2011 and 2014 respectively but no serious action was taken by the then government.

According to him, the government of Muhammadu Buhari is following due process and will never oversee unlawful activities within the security agencies.

Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, who was also in the Presidential Villa, told correspondents that Tuesdays incident at the National Assembly was an embarrassment which should not have been allowed to happen.

On defection of his Deputy, Prof. Hafizu Abubakar to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ganduje said there was no cause for alarm.

According to him, it is the season of defection as the All Progressives Congress (APC) is also receiving defectors from other parties.

The state House of Assembly wanted to impeach him but I was prevailing on them but they insisted, when he saw the handwriting on the wall, he decided to resign.

They wanted to continue with the impeachment because he committed some impeachable offences, but I pleaded and they dropped the charges and allowed him to go, that is politics, he said.

Source: NAN

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has calibrated voting preference in Nigeria and is sure that President Muhammadu Buhari will defeat other presidential candidates next year to continue his administrations change agenda.

Prof. Osinbajo spoke on Wednesday at the Township Stadium in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, while receiving Senator Godswill Akpabio, who defected from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Acting President, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; declared that treasury looters would no longer be allowed to return to power.

A posse of aspirants in the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party are lining up to challenge President Buhari in the 2019 election. Among them are former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, former Sokoto governor, Attahiru Bafarawa and former PDP interim chairman, Ahmed Makarfi. There are also Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, and former governor Sule Lamido. Senate president Bukola Saraki dropped hints Wednesday that he too may join the race.

Acting President Osinbajo believes none of the presidential contenders can match Buharis electoral value.

The Acting President said: I came here to thank the people of Akwa Ibom State for the remarkable show of solidarity that you have exhibited today (yesterday). I came here to dispense this goodwill from the President and the Acting President for the show of solidarity and to tell you that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari loves the people of Akwa Ibom State. I have come here to share with you the thrust of this government and to give you some basic facts that will help you make up your minds as to the direction Akwa Ibom has decided to go in 2019.

When this government came on board and as President Muhammadu Buhari constituted his cabinet, you will be shocked to find that there are 36 ministers; 18 of these ministers are Christians, 18 are Muslims. Out of the 18 Christians, nine are Catholics. In addition to that, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is a Christian, the Head of Service of the Federation is a Christian, the Vice-President is a Christian, the Governor of the Central Bank is a Christian.

When we met with the Conference of Catholic Bishops, I told them that if there is anybody that owns this government, the Catholics have nothing really to complain, because they have nine ministers, in addition to the chairman of the party, the Governor of the Central Bank; they also have the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

People of Akwa Ibom State, I know that this is electioneering year, a lot of people will be going around offering their services to you. I have worked with all the candidates of the PDP. I know them personally. They are my friends. I do not have anything against them. If I have my way, I will ask the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow all of them compete, but I can assure you that all of them will be defeated by President Buhari in 2019, because all of them are from the Northern part of the country.

In 2007, we barely got two million votes all over the nation. I can tell you that President Buhari has won consistently in their states. Is it Sokoto, is it Kano, is it Jigawa, is it Gombe, is it Adamawa? Where else? Buhari is the only candidate that can give you 10 million votes as head start. Why do you have to invest and engage a candidate that can just generate 300,000 votes in his state? It is a totally wasteful exercise.

He spoke about the administrations achievement, saying:

I recommend the government of the APC to you, because it has delivered on all planks. We are growing the economy, your railways are coming on board. Work is being provided through the social intervention programme, security is being improved, in spite of the challenges and with Akwa Ibom coming on board, under the able leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, things will change and turn around for the better for the Niger Delta region.

Prof. Osinbajo also lauded the people of Akwa Ibom State for the massive support, pleading with them to be ambassadors of the change, as they returned to their various homes and communities, thereby setting the foundation for the growth of democracy.

The Acting President also thanked Akpabio for his exemplary leadership, the uncommon transformation of Akwa Ibom State and his decision to turn around the fortunes of the Niger Delta region, adding that the entire Southsouth zone will be taken over by the APC.

At the rally witnessed by a mammoth crowd of APC members and supporters of the ruling party were Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole; Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan, who led over 35 senators to the event, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki; the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director Nsima Ekere, a governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom state; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Senator Ita Enang, among other leaders of APC.

Source: NAN

Senator Godswill Akpabio is now the leader of the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State.

National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole announced this on Wednesday at a mega rally in Ikot Ekpene that formally received Akpabio into the party.

Oshiomhole described Akpabio as an uncommon transformer for pulling a mammoth crowd to the Ikot Ekpene Stadium.

To him, the sea of heads at the stadium, the energy of the youth, their sheer determination, as evidenced by the fact that they had been waiting since morning, were indicators that they wanted a change in the state.

Oshiomhole said: Today (yesterday) is historic in the life of our party (APC). For too long, when I was governor of Edo State, even now my successor, Godwin Obaseki, we have always said that in the whole of the Southsouth, it is only in Edo State that APC has a governor. We are determined to find other states in the Southsouth to join forces with Edo State to sustain the changes that Nigeria badly requires.

There are people who are giving the impression that Akwa Ibom State belongs to them, but today, with what my eyes have seen (mammoth crowd), in February next year, the great people of Akwa Ibom State will effect a change, under the leadership of a man of honour, Akpabio, who did what other people failed to do, by saying enough of the umbrella that has been badly shattered by terrible political weather, after misruling Nigeria for 16 years.

What other people are afraid to do, Akpabio did it after deep reflection and he listened to the yearnings of his people, by sacrificing the title of Minority Leader of the Senate to join the APC. Akpabio did what Senator Bukola Saraki is unable to do and he has shown that the people of the Southsouth zone can be different, where it matters. We can stand up and be counted.

I know that with your (Akpabios membership of our great party (APC), we will benefit from your uncommon transformational qualities that you demonstrated while you were the governor of this great state. You (Akpabio) are an uncommon defector. There are ordinary defectors, who want to move, but they want to steal the crown. We have an uncommon rally in Ikot Ekpene.

Akwa Ibom people are united that in 2019, under the leadership and guidance of Akpabio, this state will join the states of progressive governance.

Source: NAN

Senate President Bukola Sarakis allusion that a government within government exists in Nigeria is a complete fallacy, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) said Wednesday night.

The group said the Senate President and his leadership should be blamed for what transpired at the gate of the National Assembly on Tuesday, when some masked DSS operatives mounted a blockade at the gate of the complex.

The Senate President had at a World News Conference alleged that the siege on National Assembly was orchestrated by a government within government.

BMO, in a statement signed by the chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke in Abuja said that from all indications, the so-called invasion was orchestrated by Saraki and his cohorts to cause a breakdown of peace in the country, hence the timely intervention of the acting president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who brought the situation under control.

The group reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo are totally in concert on the decision to sack the then Director General of the Directorate of State Service, DSSMr. Lawal Daura and wondered why Senator Saraki is imputing the existence of a government in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Definitely, there is unity, cohesion, cooperation and understanding between the acting president and President Muhammadu Buhari and therefore no basis for the statement. It can only be in the imagination of Senator Saraki and his co-travellers.

We therefore advise the senate president to desist from using his position to cause division in the country, but rather focus on making laws for good governance in Nigeria.

Source: NAN

Rep. Abiodun Olasupo (ADC- Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa) has blamed Gov. Abiola Ajimobi for the defection of members of his Unity Forum in the Oyo State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Olasupo who said this at Iwere-Ile in Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State at a town hall meeting with constituents noted that Gov. Ajimobis disrespect for party supremacy was responsible for their decision.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olasupo who is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance recently defected to ADC, alongside other members of the Unity Forum, a splinter group of the APC in the state.

The lawmaker, however, argued that the recent defections across political parties were good for democracy, adding that the development would enhance good governance.

Democracy is about tyranny of the majority. There wont be a strong political party when the interest of minority overrides that of the majority.

As long as there is no strong political party, there wont be a stable government and without a stable government, there wont be the much-desired development, he said.

Olasupo stated that political participation and membership were about free entry and exit to allow participants the choice of desired political ideology and direction.

When the tenets of a political party do not give power to the people to elect who leads them, then free exit is guaranteed.

People will have to move to another party where they are warmly welcomed and where internal democracy is much sacrosanct.

We defected to ADC where we found an abode. This is an abode where party supremacy and internal democracy is highly valued.

In this party, the tyranny of majority works and the minority have their say, he said.

The lawmaker said that politics globally was about personal interest, adding that participants needed to be where they were wanted in accordance with the choice of supporters.

Olasupo said his ambition to seek re-election was driven by the support and aspirations of his supporters.

When I was elected in 2015, I saw so many possibilities and made many promises. By the grace of God and the support of my people, I have delivered, but not on all.

There are so many things beyond my weight as a first timer in the House of Representatives.

My re-election in 2019 God willing is going to be a project of consolidation.

I am going to consolidate on all I have done including educational support, infrastructure, economic emancipation, women empowerment, securing of jobs for constituents as well as physical and human development, he said.

The lawmaker also condemned the siege laid to the National Assembly by the DSS, describing it as sad in a democracy.

Some community leaders in the council area, Alhaji Abu Gbadamosi, Alhaji Saka Kareem and Alhaji Kazeem Olalekan, described Olasupo as a tested representative of the constituency.

Source: NAN

Abdulwahab Abdulrahman, a former assistant to the sacked director general of Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, has accused his former boss of extensive corruption and portrayed him as a man who serially betrayed his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, for money.

Abdulrahman, who retired as a senior DSS official, claimed in a interview that Daura also betrayed Buhari by serving as a mole for Bukola Saraki, the Senate President.

He will go and get information on plans for (Senate president) Bukola (Saraki) and then leak it to him, he said.

The former aide of Daura said he quit the agency in 2016 because of the scale of corruption and abuse there.

Mr Daura, who led Nigerias domestic spy agency since 2015, was abruptly fired on Tuesday by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo after he ordered a blockade of the National Assembly.

Mr Abdulrahman said President Buhari never knew Daura until he was introduced to him by the late Senator Mustapha Bukar in 2015. He then disclosed how Daura wormed his way into the heart of President Buharis cousin, Mamman Daura.

He claimed that after Daura was appointed in July 2015, Daura was receiving money from everyone including the presidents enemies.

Mr Abdulrahman said when they resumed, they always closed late at work, often at about 2am. What we were doing was mostly: receiving Ghana must go filled with cash brought by enemies of government to him.

The rate of corruption on that fourth floor was too much and the president doesnt deserve this, he said.

He will go and get information on plans for (Senate president) Bukola (Saraki) and then leak it to him, he said.

Similar allegation emerged Tuesday after Mr Dauras removal, with many administration supporters accusing him of working for Mr Saraki against the government.

On Wednesday, Mr Saraki said claims he compromised Mr Daura in respect of the National Assembly siege constituted an insult on the intelligence( sic) (ignorance) of Nigerians.

But as Premium Times reminded its readers, Messrs. Saraki and Daura clearly enjoyed cooperation in the past. In the heated days of the National Assemblys standoff with the executive over the appointment of Ibrahim Magu as head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, it was mostly memos from the SSS that the lawmakers referenced as basis for rejecting Mr Magu.

Asked what the real issue was between Mr Magu and the DG SSS, Mr Abdulrahman said Mr Daura wanted Mr Magu to share information on high profile cases with him

Magu is a smart officer and he knew Daura wanted to use such information to extract money from people. He told Daura to his face that I cant report to you, I only report to the president who appointed me, he said.

Source: NAN

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) have entered into a partnership for the financial institution to adopt the National e-ID card as a payment card.

The partnership is expected to revolutionise the nations financial inclusion drive and the Nigerian economic landscape.

This collaboration is seen as an important opportunity to enhance and intensify the robust relationship between the NIMC and UBA, Loveday Chika, Head of Corporate Communications of NIMC, has said.

It also affirms a commitment to bring about an all-round implementation of the identity management system and ensure speedy issuance and activation of Cards using available channels.

The collaboration is poised to ensure that the National electronic identity card which combines a proof of identity and access to financial services, will make it possible for Nigerians to receive a universally accepted identity card and also gain access to formal financial services.

The all-embracing card is one of the main components of the National Identity Management System.

The commission is charged with the mandate to establish and operate, a National Identity Management System, maintain and manage the National Identity Database as well as issue a unique National Identification Number (NIN) and a General Multipurpose National Identity Card to eligible Nigerians and legal residents.

The Group Head- Cards, Digital Banking UBA, Mr. Adeyinka Adedeji, had before now, appreciated NIMC for finding the bank professionally worthy of taking up such a huge and technical project as that of the National e-ID Card.

We are more than delighted and would ensure that we will further raise the bar in delivering the top-notch service UBA is known for.

He further added that, the Card is embedded with the full functionalities of a prepaid Card, and can be loaded with funds and is acceptable on any payment platform including POS, ATM

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is preparing
to launch a probe on Saturday to study the Sun closer than any other human-made object before,
revealing mysteries behind the fiery surface.

According to NASA, the car-sized spacecraft called Parker Solar Probe is set to lift off on a United Launch
Alliance Delta IV Heavy, carrying instruments to study the Sun both remotely and directly.

NASA sais one science task of the probe is to study the acceleration of the solar wind and the Suns
constant outflow of material, while the other is exploring the secret of the coronas enormously high
temperatures.

Besides, Parker Solar Probes instruments might reveal the mechanisms at work behind the acceleration of
solar energetic particles, which can reach speeds of more than half the speed of light as they
rocket away from the Sun.

Such particles can interfere with satellite electronics, especially
for satellites outside of Earths magnetic field.

According to NASA, the biggest breakthrough for the spacecraft is its cutting-edge heat shield.

The Thermal Protection System (the heat shield) is one of the spacecrafts mission-enabling technologies,
said Andy Driesman, Parker Solar Probe project manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.

It allows the spacecraft to operate at about room temperature.

The heat shield is a sandwich of carbon-carbon composite surrounding nearly four and half inches of carbon
foam, which is about 97 per cent air.

The solar array cooling system and on-board fault management system are also innovations of the probe.

The cooling system allows the solar arrays to produce power under the intense thermal load from the Sun,
and the fault management system protects the spacecraft during the long periods of time when the
spacecraft cant communicate with the Earth.

The launch energy to reach the Sun is 55 times that required to get to Mars, and two times that needed
to get to Pluto, said Guo Yanping from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, who designed
the mission trajectory.

During summer, Earth and the other planets in our solar system are in the most favorable alignment
to allow us to get close to the Sun, Guo added.

The Sun constantly sends magnetized material outward, and the magnetic energy can burst out with light
and particle radiation that travel through space and create temporary disruptions in our atmosphere,
sometimes garbling radio and communications signals near Earth.

The key to understanding its origins lies in understanding the Sun itself and thats where Parker
Solar Probe comes in, according to the researchers at NASA. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN

A group under the aegis of Our Mumu Don Do Movement headed by Charles Oputa, aka Charlie boy, has appealed for the extension of the continuous voters registration exercise until Dec.14.

The call was contained in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), dated Aug. 8 and made available to the press in Abuja.

The letter signed by the Governor of the group, Mr Charles Oputa, said there are thousands of Nigerians eager to register.

He stated that the group had been inundated by calls and complains from other notable groups and concerned citizens.

Oputa noted that since the INEC announced the suspension of the continuous voters registration exercise on Aug.17, individuals, groups and disturbed Nigerians all over the country had become frustrated.

While commending INEC for various improvements in the registration exercise; the extension of time, and weekend registrations, the group said the aforementioned did not make the exercise a continuous one.

It is our well- considered view that INEC has had enough time to perfect the process of registration and other activities to run concurrently with the preparation for elections, the leader group added.

Oputa maintained that best practices demanded that INEC should be decentralized to handle core and big operations simultaneously and seamlessly, by putting in place special structure to handle registration of voters.

The group, which carried out a peaceful demonstration outside the premises of the INEC, demanded that the exercise be extended to Dec.14, 2018.

This it said, was in accordance with the 60 days before the first election as guaranteed by the Electoral Act, 2010, so that justice would be seen to have been done to everyone.

The group expressed its willingness to engage in further discussions with INEC on how the process of registration could be reviewed and made less strenuous for Nigerians to register.

The group urged that the registration should remain a continuous process as part of INECs responsibility to Nigerians so that eligible Nigerians can have the opportunity to exercise their franchise.

Source: NAN