The Syrian crisis needs a negotiated solution involving all powers in theregion, German foreign minister Heiko Maas said on Monday, adding he could not imagine anyone who had usedchemical weapons against his own people to be part of that process.

Maas was asked whether Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad could be part of a solution to the crisis in Syria.

There will be a solution involving everyone who has influence on the region, he told reporters on arrival to
a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Nobody can imagine someone who uses chemical weapons against his own people to be part of this solution.

NAN reports that the U. S., Britain and France fired more than 100 missiles at Syria on Friday in a one-time shot
the Pentagon said followed evidence that Al-Assad was responsible for a chemical weapons attackusing at least chlorine gas.

While Turkey is cooperating with both Russia and Iran to wind down some of the violence in Syria, Ankara has
long demanded that President Al-Assad must go and has backed rebels against him. Assads main supporters
are Moscow and Tehran.

Turkey has also been at loggerheads with Washington over U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia,
which Ankara considers a terrorist organisation linked to Kurdish militants waging a decades-long insurgency
in Turkish soil.

Turkey supported the air strikes by U.S., British and French forces, saying the move sent a message to
Al-Assad.

Source: NAN

It has been revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron persuaded President Donald Trump not to pullout U.S. soldiers in Syria to enable him launch airstrikes as punishment for the Bashar al-Assad led-government for an alleged chemical weapons attack on his people.

Macron made the confession while appearing in a two-hour live broadcast on French television BFM and online investigative site Mediapart.

The 40-year-old leader said the U.S., Britain and France had full international legitimacy to intervene in order to enforce international humanitarian law.

The allies fired missiles early Saturday at three chemical-weapons facilities in Syria to punish the regime for the alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma.

It was retaliation, not an act of war, Macron said in justifying the operation a day before the French parliament was set to debate it.

The airstrikes marked Macrons biggest foreign policy yet. Nearly a year into his term, the new president declared France the most active country on the diplomatic field and at the United Nations.

Ten days ago President Trump wanted the United States of America to withdraw from Syria. We convinced him to remain, he said, speaking in the majestic room of Chaillot National Theater, with the Eiffel Tower shining in the background.

He said France now wants to involve Western powers, Russia and Turkey in a new diplomatic initiative to find a sustainable political solution in Syria.

Macron also offered to play the role of intermediary between the United States and Russia.

Source: NAN

Governor Ayodele Fayose will spend many years in jail after leaving office in October, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his predecessor said.

Fayemi who is now Minister of Mines and Steel Development, and wants to seek re-election made the vow during his declaration of intent to contest for Ekiti State governorship seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Fayose, he stated, will be made to account for the gross mismanagement of the state’s resources and allocation in the last four years.

Fayemi shocked the crowd by bringing out a red card from his pocket which he symbolically showed to Fayose and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the red card is an answer to the White Paper issued against him by the Fayose regime which indicted him of financial impropriety and banned him from holding public office for ten years.

Traffic was grounded for about four hours in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, where a massive crow turned out to hear Fayemi speak on his readiness to win Ekiti for APC in the July 14 governorship poll.

Fayemi said the state has retrogressed sharply in the last four years he left office saying his bid to run again was motivated by the need to “rescue Ekiti people from bad governance, want, hunger and poverty.”

He lamented the suffering of teachers, state civil servants, local government workers, and pensioners who are being owed backlog of arrears of salaries, allowances and benefits.

According to him, Fayose owes core civil servants six months, local government workers ten months, community health workers ten months; pensioners, ten months; teachers, ten months and students, bursaries of over three years.

Fayemi said Governor Ayo Fayose has no excuse not to pay workers’ salaries and pensioners benefits having collected two tranches of bailout funds, two tranches of Paris Club refund cash and Budget Support Funds for thirteen months.

He also disclosed that latest records from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed Fayose has borrowed N56 billion since coming to power in October 2014 with nothing appreciable to show for it.

Fayemi vowed that Fayose would be brought to justice at the end of his tenure on how he has managed all the funds received from the federal government on behalf of the state.

The former governor was joined by his wife, Bisi; former deputy governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Eniola Ajayi and other officials who served in his administration to the APC secretariat where he officially informed party leaders of his intent to run.

After declaring at the secretariat, Fayemi and his train moved to the nearby Jonathan African Church Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti where he addressed another crowd waiting for him on his agenda for the state.

He said all APC members who had joined the governorship race are eminently qualified to occupy the state’s number one seat saying anyone who emerges as the flag bearer would be supported by all.

The minister declared that everything humanly, constitutionally and legally possible would be done to win Ekiti State for APC at the next governorship election.

Fayemi said: “When I come before you, it is with profound need for the unfinished business, we need to complete what we started, reclaim our land and restore our land.

“Anywhere Ekiti people go, people subject us to questions that what is wrong with you Ekiti people?

“We thought you are educated, we thought you are exposed, how do you come up with a character like this as governor?

“It is time to put a stop to that; it is not about title, it is about sacrifice and whatever it will take us to free Ekiti from these criminal and rapacious brigands, we will do it.

“We are here to inform Ekiti people that we will never abandon them. We will never hesitate to leave the comfort of Abuja. It is high time to come home and help our vulnerable people.”

He added: “We will do everything that is required to win Ekiti back. They will accuse us of using federal might.

“Although power belongs to God and he gives it to whoever He wishes, we will use bottom power, middle power. That is why they are jittery.”

He described the White Paper of the Fayose administration which indicted him of financial impropriety and recommended him for a ten-year ban from holding public office as an “ordinary tissue paper.”

The minister said: “Every time I move around, I see the suffering and penury our people are going through. I saw their pain and pangs of not knowing where the next meal will come from.

“That is why we must tell the man who is shouting around that he has a White Paper, we have a red card for him and his party. We will ensure that he will end up in jail.”

Fayemi described Fayose as a “pathological liar” for claiming that the debt he (Fayemi) left behind was responsible for his (Fayose’s)

inability to pay workers’ salaries and pensioners benefits as and when due.

The ex-governor explained that he took a N25 billion bond from the Capital Market in December 2011 with which he executed capital projects adding that he had repaid N14.5 billion at the time he left office in October 2014.

Dismissing the opposition’s claim that he hates workers and teachers, Fayemi stressed that workers enjoyed most during his administration when they enjoyed salary increase three times.

Apart from this, he said workers were sponsored to local and overseas seminars, teachers got Core Subjects Allowance, Rural Teachers Allowance and no worker was sacked.

To party members, Fayemi said: “Whoever wins the primary, we will all support him. Don’t run down any aspirant. Let us desist from hate speech because all aspirants are promoting our party.

“Party members should not use abusive and intemperate language and I want to suggest to our party leaders to come out with a code of conduct to check this.

“If we don’t do that, we run the risk of damaging our brand (APC). You are free to market your aspirant and leave the judgment to our delegates.

“They (delegates) want our party back in power and we must respect their judgment. Any aspirant who does not respect the rule, I will take him as an agent who does not want the good of our party.

Source: NAN

Mr Ibanga Etang, an aide to Gov. Mr Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

It would be recalled that few months ago, the governors Special Assistant on Electoral Matters, Mr Chris Okorie also dumped thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC.

Etang, a former Chairman of Esit Eket Local Government, resigned on April 9, as Special Assistant to the Governor on Projects andformally registered with the APC at his Etebi Ward 7 along with over 300 followers on April 10.

Addressing his supporters at a post-defection meeting on Friday, Etang said with their entry into APC, the party stood 70 per cent chance of winning Esit Eket Local government Area.

Etang, who was also a former President of Afigh Iwaad Ekid, the umbrella youth organization in Eket Federal Constituency, said he left the PDP because of impunity.

I blame the continuing exodus from the Esit Eket PDP on a situation where an individual takes Esit Eket as his personal property, he stated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Etang had also served as Special Assistant to former Gov. Godswill Akpabio.

According to him, he has refused overtures from PDP leaders in the state in the last few days not to defect to APC.

He said, I vowed that my supporters and I have decided to move on and no going back.

In his resignation letter to the Governor, he said he was leaving because it was necessary to depart now in line with the dictates of my conscience and highest level of sincerity.

Receiving the defectors, Mr Bassey Dan-Abia Jnr, a former member of the House of Representatives said the APC has been increasing in number, andexpressed optimism that the party would take over the state in 2019.

He commended the defectors for their courage and boldness and assured them of Federal Government lofty programmes for the state.

NAN reports that seven chieftains of the PDP in the local government have so far defected o APC.

They include Sen. Etang Umoyo, a former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Bassey Dan-Abia, a former NDDC Commissioner,Mr Imaobong Inyang, a retired Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mike Eyo and two former House of Representatives members, Bassey Dan-Abia Jnr. and Eseme Eyiboh.

Source: NAN

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Olujimi who has served as a deputy governor in the state officially submitted her nomination form at the headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Abuja.

Olujimi who was accompanied by Sen. Stella Oduah and and several of her colleagues, is the only female principal officer in the senate, and the first female candidate to officially join the race

Speaking to newsmen shortly after submitting her form, she said that her candidature was for the people of Ekiti state, saying that moving forward, their concerns must always come first.

Let me be clear, todays submission of this form is not just an intent to run, it is an intent to serve. It is a message to the people, my people of Ekiti State that the time has come.

The time has come for a government that will always put your concerns first. This form that has been submitted today represents the interests, the best-wishes and the prayers of millions of people in Ekiti State who want a government that will always put their needs first.

She underlined the need for Nigerians, going into the 2019 elections, to always look at the track record of candidates and vote for issues, performance and track-records.

My track-record speaks for itself, the Deputy Minority Whip said,

The Ekiti people know this and the members of my party know this. Now that I have submitted this form, it is time to hit the ground running. It is time to sell my vision for the future of the great state of Ekiti both to the people of Ekiti and my party members.

Other Senators who accompanied Olujimi for the submission of her form include: Senators Attai Aidoko , Mohammed Hassan, and Matthew Uroghide.

Source: NAN

He told me: Look at this sprawling place. Just two of us waiting to see the President. It didnt use to be like this. Up to 3 a.m daily, the place used to be like a market, filled with men, women from within and outside the country. They would come to seal all kinds of deals on petroleum, power, transport, iron and steel, and all others. And of course, the President and his household would always have a cut. The wheeler-dealers would also have their cut. Who dares approach this President with such proposals? That is why you see so much sanity here.

Source: NAN

The Police have commenced investigation into an alleged accidental shooting at an Enugu burial ceremony which led to the death of a woman and wounding of the chief mourner on Saturday.

The Enugu State Police Commands spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, made this known in a statement on Saturday.

Amaraizu said the incident occurred at Amanato Mburumbu community in Nkanu East Local Government Area, adding that the police recovered a locally-made single barrel gun at the scene of the incident.

Amaraizu said the victims were a woman and the chief mourner.

It was gathered that tragedy struck when a man identified as Daniel Chukwu of Amanato Mburumbu community stormed the burial ceremony arena with his single barrel locally-made gun and perhaps never knew it was already set for action.

It was further gathered that as the burial ceremony hit up and the suspect tried unslinging his gun, it allegedly discharged accidentally and hit one Ngozi Eze, 40, from Amanato Mburumbu community, who was confirmed dead.

The chief mourner, identified as one Hawaya Nworiuzo, was also injured hence he was rushed to hospital for medical attention.

The situation shocked sympathisers who scampered for their safety at about 12 noon today, he said.

Amaraizu said that the suspect was helping the police in their investigation.

He also said the corpse of the dead had been deposited in a nearby mortuary for autopsy. (NAN)

KSN/JCE

Source: NAN

More than 40,000 South Africans from across the political spectrum gathered at the funeral ceremony of Winnie Mandela in her beloved Soweto to wish her a final goodbye on Saturday. And it was a glorious exit for the famous anti-apartheid heroine.

Madikizela-Mandelas death on April 2 at the age of 81 after a long illness was met by an outpouring of emotion across the country, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties holding memorials to remember her courage in the struggle to end white-minority rule.

The official funeral service for the ex-wife of the late Nelson Mandela took place on Saturday morning in Soweto the Johannesburg township at the forefront of the battle against apartheid where she lived.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that, just as South Africa grieved for Madikizela-Mandela, it was comforted by the profound meaning of her life.

In death, she has demonstrated that our many differences along political party and racial lines and the numerous disputes we may have are eclipsed by our shared desire to follow her lead in building a just, equitable and caring society, he said.

Loudly and without apology, she spoke truth to power. It was those in power who, insecure and fearful, visited upon her the most vindictive and callous retribution. Yet, through everything, she endured. They could not break her. They could not silence her.

The afternoon burial ceremony at Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery, north of Johannesburg, ended a nearly two-week mourning period declared by the government.

Earlier, mourners sang and cheered as Madikizela-Mandelas body was brought into the 40,000-seat Orlando stadium, filled to capacity for the funeral service.

Many mourners were clad in the green and yellow colors of the ANC. Members of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party also attended in large numbers.

EFF leader Julius Malema, an admirer of Madikizela-Mandela who echoes her fiery rhetoric, said she had always put the country above her own personal safety in the fight against apartheid.

She lived in constant naked contact with danger, prepared to lose her life, even the lives of her own children, who were put into danger by her political activities, Malema said to loud cheers in the stadium.

FIGHTING SPIRIT

During Mandelas 27-year incarceration for his fight against apartheid, Madikizela-Mandela campaigned for his release and for the rights of black South Africans undergoing detention, banishment and arrest.

I appreciate many things about her. She represents a fighting spirit because, even though she lived through the apartheid era, she never gave up, said 20-year old college student Gift Mokale. Im very grateful to be here today.

Also present at the funeral service were former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma, dignitaries from African countries and celebrities such as British supermodel Naomi Campbell and U.S. civil rights activist Jesse Jackson.

For many South Africans, the most memorable image of Madikizela-Mandela is of her punching the air in a clenched-fist salute as she walked hand-in-hand with Mandela out of Victor Verster prison, near Cape Town, on Feb. 11, 1990.

For husband and wife, it was a crowning moment that led four years later to the end of centuries of white domination when Mandela became South Africas first black president.

Madikizela-Mandelas legacy, however, was later tarnished.

As evidence emerged in the dying years of apartheid of the brutality of her Soweto enforcers, known as the Mandela United Football Club, some South Africans questioned her Mother of the Nation soubriquet.

In 1991, Madikizela-Mandela was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault, but her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine and a two-year suspended sentence on appeal.

Source: NAN

Since the News Agency of Nigeria broke the news that Nigerias population has been officially estimated at 198 million, as announced by the National Population Commission (NPC), the subject has been trending, especially in relation to what it portends for the Nigerian Economy.

However, while some people believe the newly released figure is as an asset, there are those who feel otherwise.

NAN-TVs Iyiola Pedro captured one of such debate at the Vanguard Economic Discourse, held at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

NAN reports that the event was chaired by Mr. Bukar Kyari, Chairman, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, while the panelists included Mr. Olabode Agusto, Chief Executive Officer of Agusto and Co; Mrs Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office, DMO; Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Comrade Issa Aremu, Vice President Global Union, African Region; Mr Opeyemi Agbaje, Chief Executive Officer, RTC Advisory Services; and Mr Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director, Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN.

Filmed

Renowned human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) has hit hard on the private sector and churches as being nests of corruption, more than government institutions.

Falana made the remark at the 2018 edition of the Vanguard Economic Discourse, themed: Economy in Recession: Pitfalls, Trajectories and Resetting

The event held at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Source: NAN