The UN is to mark the 100th anniversary of former South African President Nelson Mandela in recognition for his global contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

The UN would use the occasion on Wednesday to take stock of what it termed Mandelas vast legacy for mankind.

Nelson Mandela was a towering global advocate for justice and equality, UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres said in his video message for Nelson Mandela International Day.

The Day is annually observed on July 18, which was inaugurated by UN General Assembly in November 2009, in recognition of Mandelas global contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

Mandela, who died in 2013, was the first democratically-elected president of South Africa and the countrys first black head of State, after he had been in prison for 27 years on charges of sabotage before being released and eventually elected president.

He continues to inspire the world through his example of courage and compassion. Nelson Mandela was held captive for many years. But he never became a prisoner of his past, Guterres said.

The UN chief noted that Mandela poured his energy into reconciliation and his vision of a peaceful, multi-ethnic, democratic South Africa.

Rarely has one person in history done so much to stir peoples dreams and move them to action, the UN chief said adding: That struggle for equality, dignity and justice continues.

In December 2015, the General Assembly decided to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day to also promote humane conditions of imprisonment and to encourage societies everywhere to treat prisoners as a continuous part of society by adopting the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.

The Rules added important safeguards, including an absolute prohibition on torture and ill-treatment and clear restrictions on the use of solitary confinement, instruments of restraint and intrusive searches, as well as detailed guidance on prisoners rights to equivalent health-care services.

Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said a nation should be judged by how it treats its lowest citizens, not the highest ones.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison in the course of his struggle for justice. He knew better than anyone that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.

A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones, the UNODC chief said.

Fedetov said his office would assist all countries in translating these rules into action, to promote humane conditions of imprisonment and ensure no part of society is forgotten.

Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 marks 100 years since the birth of a true hero who left the world a better and more just place than he found it, Fedotov said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

South East group has begun aggressive campaign and mobilisation for President Muhmmadu Buharis re-election.

The Coordinator, South-east caucus, National Committee of Buharis Support Group, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, said high powered meetings were being held to mobilise massive support for Buhari in 2019.

Uzodinma told newsmen after the caucus meeting in Abuja, that the association membership was voluntary and committed.

The lawmaker also said sub committees had been set up while state coordinators had been appointed.

According to him, members of the group are using their money to work toward the Presidents re-election bid in 2019.

The Central working committee met and created sub committees and appointed state coordinators, who will in turn create local government coordinators.

South-east is very serious about this. We want to make sure we win convincingly and the President will be able to appreciate the work we have done.

He explained that that the caucus activities would be sponsored by well meaning individuals, who believed in Mr Presidents determination to ensure a corruption free, secured and economically vibrant nation.

The Government is not involved in the association, we have people who have volunteered to assist us to support with both funding and human resources.

This is to ensure that come 2019, President Buhari will win convincingly in the South-east.

I can assure you that with the level and calibre of people involved, commitment is sure and drive is going to be wonderful, he said.

A member of the caucus, Mr Emeka Wogu, also said that the caucus was working hard to ensure that the All Progressives Congress (APC) garnered up to 80 per cent of the votes in the South East.

Wogu, also a former Minister of Labour and Productivity, expressed optimism that more South-eastern people would vote for Buhari in 2019.

He said that APC is strong in terms of spread in the South-east.

According to him, the group is working hard to make sure that come 2019, President Buhari and APC win all the elections in the South-east convincingly. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The World Food Programme (WFP) has spent $126 million to provide food aid in various forms to 1.2 million people in 16 Northern Nigerian states since 2017.

Ms. Ingermarie Vennize, the World Food Programmes Head of Communication in Nigeria, identified the sates as Katsina, Kaduna,Taraba, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Plateau and Niger.

She added that the programme planned to meet its target of providing food assistance to 1.5 million of the most food insecure and vulnerable people in Northeast Nigeria.

As at this moment, WFP is providing food and cash assistance to more than 1.2 million, she said.

According to Vennize, the number of people affected by insurgency has increased as more than 20,000 have returned to the area from neighbouring countries.

She said that the programmes activities in the affected states had increased, especially from June to September, when stored food would have dwindled.

She said that owing to the development, WFP required 49 million dollars to sustain its life-saving support until the end of 2018.

WFP is able to carry out the exercise by mopping up assistance from the government of countries that are friendly to Nigeria.

We also provide nutritional support to pregnant women to prevent unnecessary mother and child death, she added.

The official said further that WFP also provided support to mostly the vulnerable in the society and in the areas ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency for the people to engage in agricultural activities wherever they could, or engage in income-generating activities wherever possible.

The head of communication further said that the programme was providing preventative nutrition assistance to children of six to 23 months old, and to children with moderate or acute malnutrition that were of between 24 and 59 months old.

She said that pregnant and lactating women also received preventative nutrition assistance integrated with cash or in-kind food support.

Vennize, however, said that in areas where people returned en masse, livelihood support interventions were made to contribute to early recovery and help reduce reliance on food assistance.

She pledged that the programme would not relent in its efforts at providing food assistance to people affected by terrorism.

WFP started its presence in Nigeria in 2016 upon the request of the Federal Government to assist in the crisis in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, as a result of insurgency, she said.

Vennize, however, said she was pleased with the Federal Governments efforts at ensuring that some affected families returned to their homes.

She expressed confidence that once internally displaced persons were returned to their homes, agricultural activities would be revived and food production enhanced.

Source: NAN

Ms. Ingermarie Vennize, Head of Communications, of World Food Programme (WFP) Nigeria, formally visited NAN where she said $126 million had been spent to provide food in embattled North East.

The amount, she said was in form of food assistance and other forms to 1.2 million persons in 3 North eastern Nigerian states, since 2017.

Vennize in Abuja, identified the states as Taraba, Borno, and Adamawa.

Vennize, however, said that the programme was working toward meeting its target of providing aid for the most food-insecure and vulnerable persons in the Northeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

At the moment, WFP is providing food and cash assistance to more than 1.2 million persons in the region, she said.

She noted that the number of affected people in the Northeast had increased, as more than 20,000 people were now returning from the neighbouring country of Cameroon.

She said that the development had increased the activities of WFP in the affected areas, particularly during the lean season between June and September when the food stock would have been depleted.

Vennize said that as a result of that, WFP urgently required at least 49 million U.S. dollars to enable it to sustain the life-saving support until the end of 2018.

WFP is able to carry out the exercise by mopping up assistance from the government of countries that are friendly to Nigeria.

We also provide nutritional supplies to pregnant women to prevent unnecessary maternal and child deaths, she said.

She said that WFP was also providing food assistance to children with ages between six and 23 months as well as malnourished children within the two to five years age bracket.

The WFP official said that pregnant and lactating women also received nutrition assistance as well as cash and food support.

Vennize, however, said that in areas where there were returning Internally Displaced Persons livelihood support interventions were implemented to facilitate the returnees early recovery and reduce their reliance on food assistance.

Source: NAN

A six-storey building collapsed into an adjacent construction site in Greater Noida near New Delhi, India killing at least two persons, police said on Wednesday, as rescuers searched for more people feared trapped in the rubble.

Building collapses in India are more common during the current monsoon season, aggravated by the use of poor building materials, police and residents say.

Greater Noida is one of a cluster of areas that have sprung up around the Indian capital over the last decade, home to scores of residential and commercial blocks, many of them unfinished structures for lack of funds or approvals from the state local authorities.

About 100 people were involved in the night long rescue effort using cranes to clear the rubble, officials said. A dog squad sent in to look for survivors did not find any, P.K. Srivastava, commandant of the National Disaster Response Force said.

Source: NAN

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has described the alleged exit of the governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, from the party as a rumour.

Reacting to what the party called speculation, on Monday in Abuja, Oshiomhole said the party had a cordial relationship with Ortom.

He spoke to newsmen after a closed door meeting with members of the partys National Working Committee (NWC).

I know that Governor Ortom is a very senior member of the party and he has said so repeatedly in print and has said to me one on one that he will not leave the APC unless he was pushed out.

Since I assumed the chairmanship of this party along with my colleagues in the NWC, I know of a fact, that we have not shut out any governor and certainly not Governor Ortom.

And in these days of social media, I will not be responding on the basis of rumor and unverified reports, the APC chairman said.

On the partys victory at the just concluded Ekiti governorship election, Oshiomhole said the APC was excited not because it won the election, but particularly with the process.

We just want to make sure that the results of the election reflect the will of the people.

You will also recall that there were issues about police deployment.

I am very happy that all the commentators and observes including the European Union are happy that the election was free of violence and that the process was free and fair.

We cannot ask for more, we celebrate not just the fact that we won, we celebrate that under President Muhammadu Buharis government, we now can see that election can be conducted without people being hospitalised, he said.

He said party was very proud of its accomplishment at the election and had asked Dr Kayode Fayemi the governor-elect to reflect on all that should be reflected on so before he was sworn in.

He added that Ekiti people could not afford to wait any longer to see a renewed and refocused leadership that would ensure the quality of life of the people.

He further added that the partys leadership hadappealed to Fayemi to see the wisdom to carry along various shades of opinionand also to reach out to the opposition.

Infact, democracy works well regardless of who wins. If the winner governs well for the benefit of all, indeed, the people can never lose in a democracy.

And we trust that Fayemi will do all that, including addressing the huge liability, the APC National Chairman stressed.

Source: NAN

In a shift from the delegate primary adopted in Ekiti State, the All Progressives Congress has said it will adopt the direct primary to pick its candidate for the September 22 Osun governorship election.

The direct primary will allow all card carrying members of the party to elect the partys candidate, unlike the delegate system, which is often prone to corruption.

Party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole stated this on Monday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen after a closed door meeting with members of the partys National Working Committee (NWC). The direct primary on Thursday, will be the first to be held by any political party since the return of party politics in 1999.

Oshiomhole said that 17 aspirants who obtained the partys Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest its ticket at its primary slated for Thursday, had all been screened and cleared.

According to him, the 17 aspirants are all competent to effectively govern the state.

We do not lack competent hands to provide leadership in Osun after the exit of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola.

Oshiomhole added that though all the aspirants had been cleared, it is only one of them that would fly the partys flag at the election.

Regardless of who wins the primary, we hope that the rest of them will support the person to ensure that we do our best to retain the governance of Osun.

We have decided that in order to ensure popular participation, and to deepen democracy in Osun State, in-line with the provision of our party constitution which allows for either direct or indirect primary, we have resolved that the governorship election primary in Osun state will be conducted on the basis of direct primary.

What that means is that every card carrying member of our party will participate in the process of nominating the flag bearer of the party.

This for us, is the most democratic way to conduct election and is in line with what our critical stakeholders from that part of the country wants and we are quite happy to oblige, he said.

Oshiomhole further explained that the essence was to allow more party members to participate in the process of nominating candidates and to remove issues of corruption or monetising the processes.

He added that the direct primary would also give party members a sense of ownership of the outcome of the exercise.

He further added that the party leadership had constituted a panel to be chaired by Gov. Abudulazeez Yari of Zamfara to oversee the process.

Oshiomhole expressed optimism that Yari, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) could not be compromised.

He will be assisted by four others who will work with him to ensure that this direct primary is conducted in a hitch free manner, Oshiomhole said.

He condemned the recent killings in Sokoto state and other parts of the country, describing it as unfortunate, adding that the party was worried about the development.

Oshiomhole added that the partys preliminary investigations showed that those affected in the Sokoto killings were from a part of the state that could be said to be quite rural and probably a place where people dont even have cattle.

All they have is just their farm land. These killings, like other killings across the country are condemnable and the NWC condemn them in the strongest words possible.

We believe that every Nigerian, regardless of his location has a right to life. We admit that the minimum obligation of government is to protect lives and property.

We therefore, urge our security chiefs to do everything possible not only to arrest all those involved in these killings, but to do everything possible to be seen to have the competence to protect lives and property.

No one will be satisfied with making explanations or try to explain why we cannot secure human lives, especially of a Nigerian citizen within the borders of the country.

This is the only country we have and so, we must do everything to give every Nigerian a sense of security regardless of his accident of birth place,he said.

Source: NAN

Akeredeolu spoke to journalists in the Hague, the Netherlands on Tuesday, on the margins of President Buharis official visit to the Netherlands.

The Governor who is part of the Presidents delegation to the European country commended the people of theneighbouringEkiti for keying into the great Nigeria project, under an APC-led administration.

The victory of Fayemi is a product of research. We have a party at the centre controlling 24 States. I was part of the campaign and the people of Ekiti were tired of being a lone state in the South West that were not part of the Federal set up.

They were like a sore thumb being the only state in the South west not governed by APC, so the people had to key into the great project called Nigeria that we are trying to reinvent.

The people were ready to restore their land and values back because the values were lost. The people went out to vote in Ekiti to make sure that the reclaim their values, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ondo Governor has called on development partners and the organised private sector to invest more funds on agricultural research in Nigeria.

He made the appeal after a tour of a Research Centre for greenhouses in Bleiswijk, in the western Netherlands operated by Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), one of the worlds top agricultural research institution.

What is clear at WUR is that a lot of the research work here are being sponsored by companies who are interested in agriculture. My takeaway from this visit is why companies, banks in Nigeria not interested in investing on agriculture research.

I know research like this are capital intensive therefore something has to be done. We must have policy that will encourage private companies in Nigeria to finance researches on agriculture, he said.

The governor was among a high-level delegation that visited WUR, in the course of President Buharis ongoing three-day visit to the Netherlands.

Others who accompanied him to the institution highly revered for agricultural innovation are Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Rtd. Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd), and Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.

Source: NAN

An Igbosere Magiatrates Court in Lagos on Tuesday admitted a 36-year-old harbalist, Ahmed Ifakunle, who allegedly swindled his customer to the tune of N170,000, to bail in the sum of N500, 000.

Ifakunle, who resides at Atikori, Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State, is standing trial on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining under false pretences leveled against him by the police.

The Magiatrate, Mr Y.O. Arolambo, who admitted the accused to bail with two sureties, ordered that they must be gainfully employed.

Arolambo ordered that the sureties must show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

He adjourned until Aug. 15 for trial

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Friday Mameh, told the court that the accused committed the alleged offence between March and April.

He said that Ifakunle conspired with one other still at large and obtained N170,000 from the complainant, Mr Adeleke Shefiu, with a promise to pray for him to be promoted in his office and to get rich.

He said that the accused asked the complainant for the said money to buy items for offering and to perform special prayers.

The offences Sections 314 (1) (a) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Section 314 prescribes a 15-year jail term for obtaining money under false pretences.

Source: NAN

Facing a number of charges in France and Zambia, Congolese rhumba star Koffi Olomide, faces arrest on arrival in Zambia on the advice of France.

The French embassy in Zambia has asked the local authorities to arrest Olomide for various allegations.

Following the appeal, Zambian media quoted Religious Affairs minister Godfridah Sumaili saying the singer would be arrested upon arrival.

Olomide, a regular in Zambia, was due to hold two shows this month.

French ambassador Sylvain Berger said Olomide was facing a number of charges both in Zambia and France.

The rhumba maestro is wanted on suspicion of sexually assaulting dancers, kidnapping and employing them in France without permit and facilitating their entry and illegal stay.

It is not the first time Olomide is finding himself in the eye of a storm in Zambia.

He, in January 2013, assaulted a Zambian photojournalist and had to flee across the border to avoid arrest.

He later apologised to the journalist.

Mapao, as his fans fondly refer to him, was infamously deported from Kenya in July 2016 for kicking one of his dancers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The musician spent the night at police cells at the airport before being deported to Kinshasa where he was charged with the crime and jailed for three months, commuted down from 18 months on President Joseph Kabilas intervention.

He was, however, released on bail after five days.

Olomide apologised to Kenyans for his behaviour.

But even at home, the 62-year-old bad boy is never far from controversies. He was in August 2012 given a three-month suspended prison sentence for assaulting his producer. The sentence followed his arrest after fracas at a hotel in Kinshasa.

Earlier in 2001, security personnel in Kinshasa dragged Koffi out of his Mercedes Benz Compressor and frog-marched in public after he had defied being flagged down.

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Source: NAN