Sierra Leones Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Allie Kabba, has requested Nigerias assistance in energy, education and health sectors.

Kabba, who made the call on Wednesday in Abuja when he visited his Nigerian counterpart, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, also requested Nigerias help for his countrys energy sector.

He said that the new government in Sierra Leone was voted on the basis of its manifesto and was committed to providing disciplined leadership.

He explained that the provision of quality education was the flagship of the governments programme and said the government would not let the people down in delivering its mandate

We will instil discipline in the leadership and make sure that every child in our country has access to quality education. So, that is why education is the centrepiece.

In fact, it is the flagship programme of our new government and we are working on that.

I hope that we can count on the support of Nigeria not just in the area of providing classrooms but also providing the teachers.

Our joint commission over the years stipulates that trained teachers from Nigeria should be sent to help us.

According to him, the technical assistance will make a big difference as the government moves forward in translating its manifesto into reality.

He said that the administration also takes the health sector very central noting that the country has been trying to rebuild its health infrastructure after its civil war.

The diagnostic tools are really challenges to us and that is why those who have the means have to come to Nigeria or Ghana

And, of course they require foreign exchange that is straining on us too and we want to make sure that those diagnostic tools are available locally, he said.

He expressed gratitude to Nigeria for sending doctors and nurses to assist in the health sector.

We are very grateful for that, because that is the area we need more help.

So that those who served their two years are replaced quickly so we dont create a gap in the health delivery system.

We also need the help of Nigeria in the energy sector, he added.

Onyeama pledged Nigerias support to the new government, stressing that the present administration had been supportive to the country.

The Minister said that President Muhammadu Buhari supported the country during the election and also during the tragic mudslide in the country.

He promised Nigerias assistance through the Technical Aid Corps.

We have a joint cooperation of bi-national commission that has been moribund to certain extent and we will certainly cooperate to reinvigorate it.

So we will get started on that on time and other areas that we have to cooperate

We have an extensive programme, the Technical Aids Corp Programme and Sierra Leone is one of the beneficiaries of that programme as structured to address more emphasis on the area of priority for your government (NAN)

Source: NAN

Former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, on Wednesday in Lagos likened the risks in pursuing investigative journalism in Nigeria to fighting corruption.

He said both are very dangerous acts to pursue in the country.

Osoba spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a colloquium in honour of Mr Kunle Ajibade, who clocked 60.

The ex-governor, a former editor, journalist and newspaper administrator, who was the chairman of the occasion, stressed the dangers of investigative journalism.

According to him, digging beyond the surface by journalists has led to a number fatalities in the country.

It is as dangerous as fighting corruption in our country. They are both extremely dangerous, he said.

Osoba, during the colloquium, called for Open Ballot Electoral System in the country, which produced him as governor against the preference of political godfathers of the day.

The event, under the theme: A Brighter Future for Nigeria And How To Get There, attracted mediamen, civil society organisations, lawyers and other prominent Nigerians, including Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun.

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; poet, Mr Odia Ofeimun; Mrs Bisi Fayemi; Mr Femi Falana (SAN); former president of Civil Liberties Organisation, Ms Ayo Obe; Amb. Tokunboh Awolowo-Dosunmu, were also at the event.

Mr Ajibades professional colleagues, who went through turbulent periods under both Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha military regimes, including Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, Mike Awoyinfa, Owei Lakemfa, and others, were also on hand to lend support.

Presidential aspirant and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore, was also in attendance.

Soyinka, Falana and Ofeimun, spoke at the event, dwelling on the dangers of investigative journalism, which made Ajibade famous.

They praised the author of the books titled: Jailed for Life and What a Country, for his doggedness and commitment.

I owe Kunle inestimable debt for dragging him into the dangerous terrain of investigative journalism, which he discharged with deep investigative zeal, Soyinka said.

He, however, lamented that the job is yet to be over as the question of who corrupted the institutions remains germane.

It is not enough to trace various bank accounts of a former Inspector General of Police, but where do all the monies come from?

He was not even operating most of these accounts.

There is a nexus between this expose and how elections are rigged in the country. Who corrupted the IG? Why is it so difficult to pursue the original owners of the loot? Soyinka queried.

Describing Ajibade as a pioneer of investigative journalism in Nigeria, Soyinka pointed out that the number of journalists killed in the pursuit of investigative journalism is more than those killed covering war.

On his part, Ofeimun recalled Ajibades journey through journalism and various face-offs with military dictatorship, which culminated in his being sentenced to life in prison for treason.

NAN recalls that as many as 13 staffers at TheNEWS group were in various jails across the country at a particular time under the administration of General Abacha.

Ajibade was released after Abacha died in office in June 1998.

He was released in July 1998 by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Abachas successor.

Others at the colloquium, including Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Sam Omatseye, Ayisha Osori, Idowu Obasa and Lai Babatunde (SAN), also spoke in similar vein on investigative journalism.

Mrs Fayemi, who stated that she was not attending to represent her husband, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, also recalled her foray into investigative journalism with Radio Kudirat, where she was a broadcaster under a pseudo-name, Iyuade.

Either for good or for evil, we must remember that we would be remembered somehow.

How do you want to be remembered? was her admonition for continuous good to the society.

Falana, on his part, said that military training for all Nigerians should be considered.

He said this was in view of growing concerns over ceaseless fatal invasion of communities in the country by armed bandits.

Falana also said that the state governors had a role to play in improving security in their respective states, especially with their presence in the Police Commission.

He insisted that by the provisions of section 214 of the Nigerian Constitution, the governors have powers to control the police.

The only thing the Federal Government needs to do is pay the salary of the Police.

Over 300 assailants have been apprehended, but none has been prosecuted.

This is the work of state attorney generals, not the federal government, Falana said.

According to him, the governors are abdicating their responsibilities, and this is why the killings would continue.

Murder is not a federal offence, but states, he said.

Ajibade, who turned 60 on May 28, thanked the dignitaries and others for their turnout at the colloquium.

Source: NAN

A yet-to-be identified 27 year-old Nigerian is awaiting extradition by Poland to the United States over an estimated $7m cybercrime.

The Nigerian was arrested by Polands police in the southwestern city of Wroclaw in connection with alleged cyberfraud and extortion done over the internet.

The Police Central Bureau of Investigation said in a communique Wednesday that the Nigerian was nabbed as a result of cooperation with the FBI and Interpol, which had circulated a warrant for him.

The police raid took him by surprise, the communique said.

The man is suspected of banking fraud, extortion and theft of online banking access data.

Source: NAN

Nigerian students are happy with President Muhammadu Buharis resolve to deepen democracy with the assent to Not-too-Young-to-Run bill.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has applauded the president after assessing Buharis Democracy Day Speech on Tuesday.

Buhari had promised that he would be joined by few promising youths to sign the bill.

The National President of NANS, Comrade Kadiri Aruna, told NAN in Enugu that the Buharis decision was laudable.

Kadiri noted that NANS and other pro-young peoples group had long waited for Mr Presidents positive stance on the Bill.

This Bill will deepen democracy and give all especially youths that constitute the bulk of the population of the country as sense of belonging.

It will also make the political space more inclusive and dynamic as more young people will bring in their innovations, he said.

The students leader, however, urged all political parties in the country to implement the provisions of the Bill when signed into law to create a space for young people to contribute to the nations growth and progress.

By this action, President Buhari has demonstrated that he is a listening President and father who seeks for the betterment of the youths at heart, he said.

According to him, Nigerian students will continue to support Mr Presidents programmes meant to better the lots of Nigerians.

Meanwhile, a law Student at the University of Calabar, Mr. Ekpeyong Bassey has said that the Nigerian democracy was still at its experimental stage.

Bassey said though, we celebrate May 29 of every year in Nigeria as democracy day, we have not really enjoyed the dividends of democracy.

He said our democracy is bedeviled with a lot of setbacks like bad leadership.

Those who are suppose to be in power never get the opportunity of being in power while those in power are those who are not suppose to be in power.

Asking for the military to take over power is not the solution to our problem, the right thing to do is to put the right people into leadership positions, he said.

A businessman in Calabar, Godwin Joseph said democracy in Nigeria is for the politicians and not for the masses.

He said those who were not in government find it difficult to believe that Nigeria practices democracy because it is just for the elites and political class.

It is hard for someone who is not in government to talk about democracy, people that occupy offices in Nigeria only think of themselves and their family, they dont care about others, democracy should touch lives.
(NAN)

Source: NAN

The faction of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara has alerted that members of nPDP in the party were out to destroy APC in the country.

The Chairman of the faction, Hon Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, declared onm Tuesday that the divisionary tactics of nPDP members were aimed at bringing down the chances of the APC in the coming elections.

We have come to the conclusion that fragmenting a ruling political party into fractions at this material time is injurious, self-serving and the promoters should only be seen as agents of destabilization but fifth columnists.

We may need to refresh ourselves that the antics of the nPDP members is to demonize our great party and make it less in value before Nigerians.

It is part of their plot to de-market the party while they are seeking alternatives.

The grievances advanced by these people bent on destroying the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government can be likened to the proverbial woman seeking to divorce, he said.

Bolarinwa alleged that members of nPDP under the leadership Alhaji Kawu Baraje were already hobnobbing with other political parties.

Baraje was recently sighted in Abuja at a meeting convened at the instance of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and such a man is championing the cause of nPDP members within APC.

The other arrow head of the nPDP seemingly on a journey to his political desert resigned from a Federal Board to join Africa Democratic Party (ADC) in less than five days from the date of resignation.

How sincere is a woman whose divorce was premeditated by another man and could pack into his house within the shortest time?

It will be safe to say that she has been having extra -marital affairs, he said.

While the grievances advanced by nPDP remain frivolous, they have done worse to the legacy bloc in Kwara State, he added.

Bolarinwa added that members of the legacy group were marginalized in the state, saying that despite this, his group remained loyal to the leadership of the party and the President.

He added that APC ended up having two congresses in Kwara because of the selfish nature of a clique that believed everyone must kowtow to a personality even when principle of fairness and equity were not respected.

Our members were denied nomination forms, and level play field to contest even if they will lose, they should have allowed them the chance to contest in the first place.

Source: NAN

Prince Dayo Adeyeye, one of the aspirants for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, has dumped the party to join the All Progressives Congress.

Adeyeye, a former spokesperson of the Makarfi faction of the PDP, announced his defection and those of his supporters to the APC on Tuesday.

The lawyer-journalist, who was former Minister of State for Works during the PDP regime of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, lost the primaries of the party to the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka.

He accused Governor Ayo Fayose of having given undue advantage to Olusola-Eleka.

Adeyeye said he left to support the candidate of the APC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the bid to rescue Ekiti State from the maladministration of Fayose.

Adeyeye, told a news conference at his Ado Ekiti residence that he defected because he could no longer operate on the same pedestal with the state governor, Ayo Fayose.

He claimed that Fayose was too dictatorial and overbearing in his handling of internal affairs of the PDP in the state.

He said he had consequently directed all his teeming supporters across the state to follow suit and join the APC.

He said he preferred to work with the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who he described as better equipped.

Adeyeye, who was also the former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee and former spokesman of the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said his defection to APC was his Democracy Day gift to the nation.

He, however, denied that he defected because he had reached an agreement with Fayemi purposely to become his running mate in the July gubernatorial poll.

Nothing can be farther from the truth in that regard. I never planned to leave PDP so as to become Fayemis deputy.

As far as I know, Fayemi will announce his deputy tomorrow or the day after, and as far as I know, I will definitely not be the one to be so announced.

Leaving the PDP was not an easy decision to make. That was a party to which I have rendered invaluable service at the most trying period of its history.

Expectedly, patriotic leaders of the party appealed to me to reconsider my decision in the light of my previous service and loyalty to the party.

But the issue was never about me as a person. It was about the interest of the very many people who associate with me and more importantly the collective interest and future of Ekiti people.

For me, politics has always been an opportunity to serve and make contributions toward the development of my community and the nation.

Therefore, when I am compelled to make a choice between loyalty to a political party and loyalty to my community, l will readily choose my community or state.

Political parties come and go but the community remains. I cannot change my state or hometown but I can always change my party if I feel that it can no longer serve as a vehicle for our collective good as a people.

As a thorough bred Ekiti person with a deep love of this land and the people, it is incumbent on me to resist and stop the evil agenda of one man to put our people in perpetual enslavement, he said.

He said that Fayose does not believe in reconciliation, adding that no effort at reconciliation would work with him.

My supporters and I have decided to leave Egypt, which the Fayose administration represents and join hands with patriotic Ekiti people to board the train of the APC for the onward journey to our promised land.

He said his defection was to set Ekiti land free and entrust the land unto the hands of Fayemi, who had come to right the wrong and not on a vengeance mission as being touted by Fayose and his cohorts.

Fayemi is now better equipped, well focused and better prepared to move Ekiti forward,Adedeye said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ekiti governorship election will hold on July 14.

Source: NAN

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti said the defection of former Minister of State for Works, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye from the Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress will not affect the partys fortune in the 14 July election.

The governor made the claim in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Mr Lere Olayinka in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday.

Fayose said that Adeyeyes defection to the All Progressives Congress had merely confirmed his earlier position that he was never a loyal and committed member of the Peoples democratic Party.

I am not bothered by the action taken by the former aspirant in the just concluded PDP governorship primary election in the state.

His move to APC will not in any way affect us. This is because majority of those he thought were behind him did not defect with him.

In fact, one of his two party agents for the last primary is still with us in PDP and you know what that means.

If somebody is your party agent and could not go with you to another party it tells a lot and even as he is moving from PDP, many others from APC are coming to us, so we have nothing to lose with his defection, he said.

The governor said that he held no grudge against him because he had the right to move from one political party to the other adding that he wished him well in his new party.

While he was the PDP national spokesman, he had spoken terrible things against the APC and he has now gone to join the same party, Fayose said.

Source: NAN

Cdr. Olufunmilayo Amodu, serving with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), has been decorated with medal for her outstanding service.

She was decorated with the medal by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.

The UN will also honour three fallen Nigerian peacekeepers on June 1, at the UN headquarters in New York.

They are Lt. Col. Ali Suleiman, who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Others are Warrant Officer Remmy Amakwe, who was deployed with the African UnionUnited Nations Mission in Darfur; and Mr Kolawole Shogaolu, who served in a civilian capacity in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali.

NAN reports that the honour is an acknowledgement of the contribution of Nigeria to UN Peacekeeping Operations to ensure global peace and security.

The decoration was part of activities to honour the service and sacrifice of peacekeepers around the world to mark the 2018 International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

Guterres also awarded a medal to appreciate the outstanding service of Maj. Mohammad Khan from Bangladesh, a military staff officer based at MINUSMA Force headquarters.

Speaking after receiving the award, Amodu said: The medal is very important. It symbolises what it is to be a peacekeeper at MINUSMA. Receiving it from the Secretary-General is a very unique privilege.

The terrorists are not relenting in what they are doing. And obviously, we are not backing out in what we have come to do, she added, underscoring the worrying security situation in Mali.

She further said: The UN is all about peace. And when there is peace, there is development.

When there is peace, there is promotion of technology. When there is peace, every other thing works the way it should work.

And for any person who would want to join MINUSMA, you should have at the back of your mind that when you are coming, it is to support the peace process.

NAN reports that more than one million men and women have served under the UN flag, saving countless lives just as over 3,700 blue helmets have paid the ultimate price over the past seven decades.

Troops with the mission have increasingly become the target of attacks.

Meanwhile, Guterres attended a ceremony at MINUSMAs base in Bamako where he paid tribute to fallen peacekeepers and laid a wreath at the memorial inside the camp, engraved with the names of those killed in the service of peace.

Dear peacekeepers, you have demonstrated that you are capable of all forms of sacrifice. For many of your colleagues, this has meant the supreme sacrifice of giving their lives to protect the lives of Malian civilians.

I want to thank you very much for this effort; these sacrifices, to pay tribute to you, and to say how proud I am to work with you.

As peacekeepers, you are the foremost symbol of the United Nations itself, Guterres said.

Also, Mahamat Annadif, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali and Head of MINUSMA, said that honouring the fallen warms the hearts of their comrades and encourages us to continue to defend even more resolutely the values of the United Nations.

Guterres was accompanied on his visit to Mali by Under Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare, Head of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and the Executive Director of UN Childrens Fund, Henrietta Fore.

He was received at the airport by Malian President Ibrahim Keita.

He was also scheduled to meet with Keita and other Malian officials as well as UN officials working in the country.

UN has declared the north-west African country as the most dangerous place in the world to be a blue helmet as 21 troops and seven civilians serving with MINUSMA died in 2017. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has commended President Muhammadu Buharis strides in security, economy, fight against corruption as the administration marks three years in the saddle.

The National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, praised Buhari in a statement released on Tuesday in Kaduna.

Ibrahim said that three years of Buharis administration in the opinion of ACF, has experienced both challenges and successes that are natural process of nation building.

The Forum therefore congratulates Nigerians for a successful navigation despite the challenges and noted the governments ability to confront the situation with unity of purpose.

He noted for commendation, the continued degradation of the Boko Haram insurgency across the North and localization of their activities to the fringes of the Northeast.

Others are the rescue of over 100 Chibok girls and the 104 Dapchi girls that were kidnapped and held in captivity by the Boko haram terrorists.

The rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons have been reassuring measures to restore normalcy and hope in the lives of the people and confidence in the government.

ACF commended also the various military and other security operations in tackling insecurity nationwide, particularly the farmers/herders clashes and bandits attacks in the states of Benue, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba

The ACF noted that those others are practical demonstration by the government of its resolve to overcome these menace.

However, he said there was the need for greater effort in order to quicken the pace of bringing about the needed peace by way of emphasising community peace building advocacy that will make communities responsible for peaceful coexistence in their areas.

ACF also called on the government to sustain its efforts in the rescue and release of the remaining Chibok and Dapchi girls still in captivity.

Speaking On the anti-corruption fight, he said agencies responsible have lived up to their responsibilities with the arrest and prosecution of suspected public treasury looters.

He noted that the discoveries of stolen public funds hidden in banks and obscure places both in Nigeria and abroad, the forfeiture of such monies to the Federal Government are laudable efforts.

The forum stressed the need for government to do more by strengthening the anti-corruption agencies through legislation in order to ensure quick dispensation of justice by the Courts.

Its further called on government to muster the political will to make public officials, however highly placed, to account for their malfeasance while in office.

ACF noted that the economy could not flourish in a situation of insecurity and corruption, hence the need to tame them.

On the infrastructural development, there has been considerable effort on the rehabilitation and building of roads, completion of vital projects in transport, housing, agriculture and many others in view of their economic values and direct bearing on the lives of the people.

The Federal Government may consider practical steps to ensure that the Generating and Distributing Companies Gencos and Discos live up their responsibilities by improving power generation and distribution, he stated .

The private investors should also be encouraged through liberal policy framework in the renewable energy and coal sector to compliment the thermal and hydro generating plants.

He said the governments N-power programme, Social Investment Project, diversification in agriculture and solid minerals, recruitment into the Military, Police Force and other departments and agencies are commendable measures to reduce unemployment, tame insecurity and also boost the economy.

ACF has observed with concern the face-off between agencies of government and the legislature which has not been helpful, in fact, it has been a distraction.

Source: NAN

Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea ahead of the Trump-Kim Summit.

He is expected to hold talks with his counterpart about the situation on the Korean peninsula, the Kremlin says.

It would be recalled that earlier this month, President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were set to meet at a historic summit. Then last Thursday, Trump called it off.

But now, in a remarkable turnaround, it looks like that meeting could happen after all.

On Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in traveled to North Korea for an Part of the goal, apparently, was to make sure Kim still wanted to meet the US president.

Hours later, the White House said it would send to Singapore to prepare for the possible Trump-Kim summit on June 12. And on Sunday,confirmed that the US sent a delegation to the Northern side of the Korean border for talks with Pyongyang.

Source: NAN