President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with former Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Aliyu Gusau, on the death of his wife, Hajiya Binta.

In a condolence message by the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday, Buhari said the death of Hajiya Binta came to him as a great shock.

The President said: A wife occupies an important place in a mans life, a bond so strong that we treat them like our own flesh and blood.

My heart goes out to Gen. Gusau at this emotionally trying moment.

Death is inevitable and we are powerless against the will of God. No tears can wipe away our grief; the best tribute to the dead is to pray for them.

The President prayed Allah to comfort the retired army general and members of his family and grant them the fortitude to bear this great loss.

May the soul of Hajiya Binta rest in peace, May Allah reward her good deeds with al- Jannah, amen, he said.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with former Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Aliyu Gusau, on the death of his wife, Hajiya Binta.

In a condolence message by the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday, Buhari said the death of Hajiya Binta came to him as a great shock.

The President said: A wife occupies an important place in a mans life, a bond so strong that we treat our wives like our own flesh and blood.

My heart goes out to Gen. Gusau at this emotionally trying moment.

Death is inevitable and we are powerless against the will of God. No tears can wipe away our grief, the best tribute to the dead is to pray for them.

The President prayed Allah to comfort the retired army general and members of his family and grant them the fortitude to bear this great loss.

May the soul of Hajiya Binta rest in peace, May Allah reward her good deeds with al- Jannah, amen, he said.

Source: NAN

Thirty pregnant women have given birth at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Gandi village where victims of July 9, bandits attack in Raba Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto state are taking refuge.

Alhaji Ibrahim Dingyadi, the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) disclosed this on Saturday when the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, visited the IDPs to condole with them over the sad incident.

At present 4,996 displaced persons from nine villages affected by the incident are taking refuge in the camp, Dingyadi said.

He listed the villages to include, Tabanni, Gidan-Kare, Kursa, Warwasa, Rumbun-Tsamiya, Tudun-Kwasa, Dutsu, Illilu and Yankusar-kilawa.

Dingyadi commended Sultan for assisting the victims with 200 bags of grains adding that the State Government had been feeding them, in addition to taking care of their welfare.

According to him, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency, the Federation of Muslim Women and some politicians have provided relieve materials to the IDPs at the camp.

Also speaking, the secretary of Raba LGA, Alhaji Aminu Gawo, said some victims have expressed readiness to return to their villages while others have requested to be settled somewhere else.

Gawo said many people were apprehensive on the happenings noting that the Minister of Interior retired Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau visited and deployed security personnel which assisted in calming the situation.

He however, appealed to the monarch to facilitate the use of Nigerian Air Force planes on the bandits due to the difficulty the ground troops encounter in accessing the area.

Responding, Abubakar said he visited to condole with the victims and interact with them over the incident which occurred when he was abroad.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received some traditional rulers from Isoko communities in Delta State, who pleaded with government to extend amnesty programme to their area.

At a meeting with the president, they said the programme should be extended to the peaceful youths in Isoko and also to consider giving political appointments to the people.

They also asked the President to reward the Isoko community for being peaceful and protecting the nations oil and gas assets for over 15 years.

The President-General of the Isoko Development Union and spokesman for the traditional rulers, Iduh Amadhe, called on President Buhari to look into the spread of development projects in Niger Delta.

With eight oil fields of flow stations in Isoko land, we appeal to His Excellency to direct NNPC to establish a gas plant and a modular refinery in Isoko land.

It will be beneficial to the nation; it will create employment and generate revenue, he said.

Amadhe claimed that Isoko community had been left out in Federal Government appointments.

The area, he said, had also been ignored in the establishment of federal educational institutions, skill development centres, and infrastructure.

The leader of the delegation is the Odiologbo of Oleh Kingdom and Chairman, Isoko Traditional Council, HRM Anthony William Ovrawah Omogha 1.

Others are the Odiologbo of Owhe, HRM Inna 1, HRM Ovie of Uzere, Isaac Udogri 1,Ovie of Aviara, HRM Emaviwe,Ovie of Okpe, HRM Agbabe, Ovie of Enhwe, HRM Efekodha and others.

Source: NAN

Allegations of voter fraud are mounting in Zimbabwe less than 48 hours to the first polls since former leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year,

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabes former ally in the ruling ZANU-PF party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party in a landmark vote for the southern African nation.

Zimbabwes military generals shocked the world in November when they seized control and ushered Mnangagwa to power, ending Mugabes 37-year reign in a few short days.

Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.

But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change as ZANU-PF has ruled since the countrys independence from British colonial rule in 1980.

Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and violence, and this years campaign has been dominated by accusations that the vote will be rigged.

The MDC has raised allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.

But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful compared with previous elections, and some analysts point to pressure for the vote to be judged credible to draw a line under the isolation of the Mugabe era.

The international community is looking for an election that will provide sufficient excuse to re-engage with Zimbabwe, said Showers Mawowa, an analyst at the Southern African Liaison Office rights advocacy group.

There are a lot of political and economic interests at play that are converging around the prioritisation of stability.

Mawowa said the risk of violence or military intervention could be highest after polling day.

There is reason to be anxious about whether or not the military will accept an opposition victory, particularly because they recently executed a de facto coup, he said.

Post-election violence might be a possibility, with the opposition making it clear that they are not going to accept an outcome that they would have not won.

Polling accuracy in Zimbabwe is uncertain, but a recent Afrobarometer survey of 2,400 people put Mnangagwa on 40 percent and Chamisa on 37 percent, with 20 percent undecided.

Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under Mugabe, has vowed to hold a fair vote and invited in international observers including the previously-banned European Union team.

This is the new Zimbabwe we want. We shall continue to grow and grow, he said opening a chrome processing plant this week.

Zimbabwe shall never be the same again. We preach peace, we preach unity and we preach tolerance.

Chamisa has launched blistering attacks on Mnangagwa and accused the much-criticised Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of trying to fix the election.

But he vowed not to boycott the vote, saying his party would still win.

We have a ZEC that has chosen to throw away the whistle as a referee and joined another team, he said on Wednesday. Winners dont boycott. Victory is inevitable.

The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.

Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work.

Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.

We need to see jobs, said Rest Maphosa, one resident of the capital Harare. I will be patient even if it takes me eight hours standing in the queue, because what I want is to vote.

With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4.

A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one in the first round.

In 2008, then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks orchestrated by the state claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.

Mugabe, now a frail 94, was finally ousted as he tried to position his wife Grace, 53, to be his successor.

In his only press interviews since his fall, he admitted only that some errors were done under his rule, adding that he now thought his country was topsy turvy.

*AFP

Source: NAN

He faces 24 candidates of which only one, Soumaila Cisse, 68, is seen as having a strong chance of ousting him. Both men are from the Saharan nations political elite, and IBK beat Cisse in a run-off at the 2013 poll.

Both held final rallies attracting thousands of people on Friday night.

There is still a lot to do. Thats why I am soliciting the Malian people to give us another term, not because Im thirsty for power, Keita said at a rally on a leafy square on the banks of the Niger river.

Everywhere Ive been I see a desire for change. Malians want nothing more to do with this regime, Cisse told his supporters at his party headquarters.

All candidates have promised to reverse Malis decline and help end pervasive poverty. Mali is 14th from the bottom on the U.N. Human Development Index, despite being Africas third biggest gold exporter and a major cotton grower.

A billboard in the exhaust fume-choked capital Bamako depicts Keita in flowing white robes and a skull cap, urging Malians to consolidate the peace.

Yet since he has been in power, violence has worsened. Civil society website Malilink recorded 932 attacks in the first half of 2018, almost double that for all of 2017 and triple 2015.

In the north, where French troops stepped in to halt a Tuareg rebellion and jihadi takeover before the last poll, jihadists have killed more than 160 U.N. peacekeepers.

Timbuktu, once a Sahara desert tourist spot, is unstable, hit by Islamist militants as well as tensions between Arab and Tuareg traders and black Malians from the south.

Islamist violence has also spread to central Mali, where militants have attacked the pan-regional G5 Sahel force. Killings have begun to take on an ethnic tone, as the Islamists exploit tensions over access to land and water.

Human Rights groups have unearthed evidence that Malian troops were implicated in mass graves in central Mali. The Defence Ministry pledged to investigate.

Keita has played down the countrys security woes.

There are pockets of violence, residues of terrorism that even (French forces) havent managed to vanquish from Malian soil, he said after a tour of Malis diaspora, one of about 150 costly foreign trips that have been criticised by opponents since he took office.

Are you going to blame all that on IBK?

Whoever is to blame, the violence could deter many from voting in a nation with consistently the lowest turnout in West Africa about 40 percent on average.

Violence in the Mopti region and northern region is really going to depress turnout, said U.S. researcher Bruce Whitehouse.

Discontent with IBK is palpable, and thousands protested against him in Bamako last month. Yet he has the benefit of incumbency and is likely to win, although probably only in a second round, diplomats say.

Though most expect a smooth election, there is a risk of a disputed poll turning violent. Opposition candidates are crying foul over alleged tampering with the electoral list.

Im sad to see a government that cheats, to see an electoral fraud in the offing, Cisse told Reuters after his rally. But we dont have a plan-B. We must go the polls.

If Mali can avoid a rancorous dispute over the result, that will sooth anxieties.

Thats the metric the international community will use: there you go, we had a peaceful election, Adam Thiam, a Malian analyst told Reuters in Bamako.

This election is all about showing Mali is stabilising.

Source: NAN

The outgoing Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Mr Denys Gauer, in Abuja said France has concluded arrangements to establish a cinema school in Lagos and some museums around the country.

The facilities are in addition to formalising an agreement on film production and the US$2 billion investment in projects in 10 years.

Gauer who paid a farewell visit to President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in Abuja highlighted the positive trends in the nations economy.

He told the President that more companies in his country have indicated interest to do business in Nigeria.

He also revealed that the French Agency for Development (AFD), which opened an office in Nigeria 10 years ago, has provided a total of $2 billion facility for projects in the country.

President Buhari commended the Republic of France for its commitment to strong regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime in West Africa.

The President also appreciated the roles and contributions of the French government to peace, security and stability in countries in the sub-Saharan region, as well as Central Africa.

He said Nigeria has placed the issue of combating terrorism in the region on international agenda and has received support and solidarity from France in the area of training, information, intelligence sharing, technical and equipment support.

President Buhari noted the regional level where Nigeria was conducting joint patrols with neighbouring countries under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

He was happy that France has continued to encourage regional cooperation among the nations francophone neighbours, aimed at addressing the security challenges and humanitarian conditions in the area.

The President also used the opportunity of the farewell visit to formally congratulate France for winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The victory is very important and historic for the country and I think it has raised a lot of positive optimism for French citizens, he said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

President Buhari recalled the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Nigeria, saying both countries would continue to maintain cordial ties and improve economic, cultural and political relations for their mutual benefit.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged supporters to slow down further campaigns for his re-election as they amount as a breach of the rules of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Mr. Femi Adesina, the media adviser to President Buhari sued for patience on Saturday in a statement. However, supporters are free to publicize the various achievements of the Buhari administration, he said.

According to INEC time-table, party primaries for the Presidential, Governorship, Federal and State Elections would begin on August 18 to end on October 7, 2018, while that of the FCT Area Council Elections will commence on September 4 to end on October 27, 2018.

The campaigns

The last day for the submission of nomination forms to INEC is December 3, 2018 for Presidential and National Assembly Elections; December 17 for Governorship and State Assembly and December 14, 2018 for the FCT Area Council Elections.

Presidential Election would hold on February 16, 2019, while Governorship and State Assembly Elections would be conducted on March 2, 2019.

Here is Adesinas statement: It has been observed that some fervent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari have begun what may be interpreted as political campaigns in their advocacies and advertisements in the mass media.

We appreciate their enthusiasm, borne out of desire to garner support for an administration that is actuated by nothing else, other than service for motherland, but we hereby appeal for patience, so that the game can be played according to the rules.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a timetable for political campaigns, and we urge committed supporters round the country (and beyond) to be mindful of such. There will be ample time ahead to trumpet the good works of the Buhari administration, and solicit re-election, all for the good of our country and her people.

While a chronicle of the achievements of the administration is in order now, outright canvasing may amount to jumping the gun. We are an administration committed to due process and scrupulous respect for rules, law and order.

We appreciate our massive supporters nationwide, and urge them to exercise restraint till the race commences officially as stipulated by law.

Source: NAN

Another Nigerian has been killed in South Africa, bringing the number of those killed since January 2016 to 121.

Mr Chibuzo Nwankwo, 42-year-old Enugu State native was shot in the early hours of Friday at a local bar in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, following a disagreement with an unknown person.

The Nigerian community in South Africa on Saturday confirmed the killing of Nwankwo.

The community said that Nwankwo`s death brings to 121 the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa since January 2016.

Mr Habib Miller, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the telephone from Pretoria on Saturday.

The deceased, a patron of the bar, got drunk and started harassing a female worker.

Information available to the union said that Nwankwo was chased out by security personnel, but he kept on coming back; became very aggressive and rude before the ugly incident occurred, he said.

Miller said that the South African police later intervened and arrested the murder suspect.

A murder case has been opened and investigation has started. We call on Nigerians to be calm and allow the law to take its course, Miller said.

He said the union was against at any form of violence, adding that it would monitor the case to ensure that justice prevailed.

The President of Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mr Adetola Olubajo, had called on the South African authorities to arrest and prosecute killers of Nigerians in that country.

Olubajo blamed the incessant killings of Nigerians in South Africa on lack of prosecution of offenders by the authorities.

Olubajo said that the inability of the government to bring to book those perpetrating the heinous crimes against Nigerians has given the criminals free hands.

Lack of prosecution of these criminal activities has actually embolden a lot of people to feel that they can kill Nigerians without any consequence, he said.

He expressed concern that governments apathy to arrest and prosecute the killers has made the situation more complex.

People are embolden to perpetrate the crime with impunity and without consequences, because of lack of prosecution.

When there are no arrests, no prosecutions, criminals will have effrontery to go into crime without fear of retribution.

What we are demanding is that whosoever commits any crime should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others, he said.

Olubajo also urged both Nigerian and South African authorities to work together to address the situation and reduce criminal activities against Nigerians in South Africa.

He, however, called Nigerians in South Africa to be law abiding and shun criminal activities.

(NAN)

Source: NAN

Ugandas Constitutional Court has removed the 75-year-old age cap, allowing President Yoweri Museveni, now 73, to run again as president.

The president has already spent 32 years in office and he is seeking a sixth term.

The court delivered its ruling on the consolidated presidential age limit petition at the High Court in Mbale on Thursday.

The three main issues the court was to rule on were the lifting of the age caps, extension of the term of Parliament and the raid on the House last year.

In the verdict, the five-judge bench, by a majority of 4-1, upheld the removal of the 75-year age cap that allows President Yoweri Museveni.

The court unanimously rejected the extension of the tenure of the presidency and Parliament from five to seven years.

It stated that it was unconstitutional to amend the law without subjecting it to a referendum. This means that elections are due in 2021.

On the raid by security operatives who evicted mainly opposition MPs from Parliament during the age limit Bill debate last year, the judges said the conduct of lawmakers necessitated some intervention but condemned the handling of the incident by police.

Source:

Source: NAN