The Federal Government has decided to continue paying the stipends of the N-Power 2016 Batch 1 beneficiaries beyond the expiry month of December 2018, the presidency said.

The statement issued by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President, on Monday in Abuja, said funding for the continued payments is contained in the 2018 budget.

However, Akande said that beyond the payments of stipends, the Federal Government is also exploring further options to seamlessly move the beneficiariesfrom the government job programme to positions where they were able to earn a sustainable income.

He said that the transition would be through a plan, designed to enable them become valuable, all-rounded employees, employers or entrepreneurs.

The plan is basically an extension of the exit date of December 2018 for the first batch of 200,000 to enable them continue to offer their valuable services in their various communities while still earning their stipends.

They are also to partake in the Enhancement Programme that would seamlessly transition them into numerous economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the economy.

The N-Power is a job employment and empowerment scheme for hitherto unemployed Nigerian graduates under the Buhari Administrations National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).

The scheme is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in Africa, comprising N-Power beneficiaries that are paid a monthly stipend of N30, 000 and are deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space, such as health, agriculture, education and public finance.

For the first time in Nigeria, the N-Power beneficiaries applied and were selected for the programme in an objective, efficient and transparent manner, without the need for connections to anyone of influence, he said.

He said that based on conservative projections, the N-Power scheme would provide jobs for at least 10 million Nigerians by 2023.

Akande said that since it commenced in 2016, the N-Power scheme, which had beneficiaries in all the LGAs of the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, had so far, provided jobs for half a million young Nigerian graduates nationwide.

He said that all the N-Power beneficiaries were given the opportunity to select and own electronic devices for continuous learning as they grew; depending on the selected vocations of entrepreneurship, and to boost the Knowledge Economy.

Source: NAN

More facts have emerged in ongoing investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who was allegedly murdered in Saudi Arabias Consulate in Istanbul Turkey on Oct. 2.

The latest revelation showed a member of the 15-man Saudi hit squad suspected in the death of Khashoggi dressed up in his clothes and was captured on surveillance cameras around Istanbul on the day the journalist was killed, a senior Turkish official has told CNN.

CNN has obtained exclusive law enforcement surveillance footage, part of the Turkish governments investigation, that appears to show the man leaving the Saudi consulate by the back door, wearing Khashoggis clothes, a fake beard, and glasses.

The same man was seen in Khashoggis clothing, according to the Turkish case, at the citys world-famous Blue Mosque just hours after the journalist was last seen alive entering the consulate on Oct. 2.

The man in the video, identified by the official as Mustafa al-Madani, was allegedly part of what investigators have said was a hit squad, sent to kill the journalist during a scheduled appointment to get papers for his upcoming wedding.

Saudi Arabia has presented a shifting narrative of what happened to Khashoggi.

After weeks of denying involvement in Khashoggis disappearance, Saudi Arabia said that he was killed in the Istanbul consulate, saying his death was the result of a fistfight.

A Saudi source close to the royal palace later told CNN that the Washington Post journalist died in a chokehold.

On Sunday, its foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, went further, describing Khashoggis death on Fox News as a murder and a tremendous mistake.

He also said they dont know where the body is.

We are determined to uncover every stone. We are determined to find out all the facts. And we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder, he said in the interview.

In the apparent cover-up that followed Khashoggis death, Madani, 57, who is of similar height, age and build to Khashoggi, 59, was used as a decoy for the journalist, according to the Turkish official.

A senior Turkish official told CNN that the video showed that Madani was brought to Istanbul to act as a body double.

Source: NAN

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Amid criticisms and call for slashing of its funds, the governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal has called for more funding for the National Assembly to enable it perform its duties.

Tambuwal disclosed this on Monday while delivering a lecture at the Second Convocation and Awards Ceremony of the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in collaboration with the University of Benin.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said that even though it is an unpopular argument, that so long as Nigeria operates a presidential system of government, the funding of the National Assembly remained meager.

Giving insights on how to boost the institutional capacity of the National Assembly, the Sokoto Governor stressed that for the committees of NASS to work effectively, more money must be allocated.

The constitutional responsibilities of the National Assembly are enormous, especially in the areas of law making and oversight. Adequate financial resources are required for the Assembly to be able to discharge these responsibilities effectively in line with public expectations.

A study by NILDS observed funding gaps in critical areas of committee activities including meetings, implementation of oversight visits and activities, holding interactive sessions and conducting public and investigative.

Am sure this may not go down well with a large percentage of the populace but we cannot run away from the fact that the National Assembly requires more funding, he said.

He said that the issue of funding and procurement of vehicles was strongly argued when President YarAdua began the moneytisation policy and wanted to deprive the National Assembly of project vehicles.

The former lawmaker said that building the institutional capacity of the legislature was very key to the development of the nation stressing that strong institutions define a nation.

He however decried that a major challenge facing the legislature was that of high turnover, stressing that the way new lawmakers were elected into office does not give room for professionalism and expertise.

Tambuwal added that interference of the executive in the activities of the legislature must cease so that the legislature can truly be free to carry out its functions.

He called on NASS to legislate on budget cycle in a way that compels the executive to submit the budget on time while also advising them to review the recruitment process for legislative aids to ensure that only professional were employed and not friends or allies of the lawmakers.

Legislators-constituency relations should emphasise constituency-wide benefits. NASS should also invest in outreach programmes and strengthen linkages with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as they play key roles in civic education.

Legislature must continue to cultivate public trust in the democratic system through high ethical standards. This underscores the need to strengthen the ethics and code of conduct regime at the National Assembly in order to develop a culture of high etiquette for legislators and to rebuild public trust in the political system, he said.

The governor congratulated the students who had graduated from the various courses of the Institute.

In an address, Prof Peter Lewis of Johns Hopkins University, commended the 4Republic Legislature, particularly the 8 National Assembly for being the most independent legislature in the history of Nigeria.

Lewis, Director of African Studies and a Professor of Advanced International Studies, at the University in Washington DC, USA said that the first and second legislatures were basically instruments of the Executive.

He said that the second legislature for instance had only one member sponsored bill unlike the 8 National Assembly were most of the over 200 bills that had been passed were sponsored by members of the legislature.

The National Assembly in Nigerias Fourth Republic now in its fifth session since the inauguration of democracy in 1999 is unlike any previous parliamentary institution since independence.

This is not because of the design of the assembly, which has roots in the British parliamentary tradition rather, it is the roles and functions of the NASS that are distinctive. It is the first independent legislature in Nigerian history.

In the First and Second Republics, the legislature had little autonomy from the executive, the Assembly was largely a debating chamber and an instrument of the executive.

Since 1999, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have asserted roles in legislation, oversight and representation. More than 2100 bills have been shepherded through the Assembly during the span of the Fourth Republic, he said.

For the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki, who is the Chairman Governing Council on NILDS, he said that the National Assembly will continue focus on policies that would advance the people.

He said that the legislature would continue to be effective stressing that an effective legislature is essential to democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and economic and social development.

The core legislative, oversight and representative functions of the legislature provide an essential contribution to the quality our democracy and governance as a whole.

In the 8 Assembly, the legislature has played a greater role in policy formulation and has engaged more robustly with the Executive at the various stages of policy formulation, he said.

Saraki who presented the certificates to all 78 graduates of the various programmes of NILDS commended the graduands and the institution for the milestones recorded.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the post graduate courses for which the convocation was held were Masters in Legislative Studies and Masters in Legislative Drafting.

Mr Omololu Phillip Ogunmade, a Journalist with Thisday Newspaper formerly assigned to cover the National Assembly, was awarded as the best graduating student for Masters in Legislative Studies.

Source: NAN

By Abiodun Lawal

No fewer than nine persons were feared dead on Tuesday in an accident involving a Mercedes-Benz Marcopolo bus and an Iveco truck at Aseese area on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Mr Clement Oladele, Ogun Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, confirmed the figure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta.

Oladele said that the accident was caused by speeding by the driver of the bus marked SMK 867 XG.

He said that the bus lost control and collided with the parked truck with registration number AAA XP at 5:30am.

A total of 42 persons were involved in the accident; they comprised 34 males and eight females.

Three male and two female adults were injured while seven male and two female adults died, he said.

The sector commander told NAN that the injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital while the corpses were deposited at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital mortuary, Sagamu, Ogun.

Source: NAN

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki says the National Assembly will continue to mount necessary pressure to get presidential assent on the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).

Saraki spoke at a dinner as part of activities at the ongoing 24th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dinner which ended late in the night, was attended by trade experts, industrialists, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators and financial experts among other dignitaries.

According to Saraki, the resolve by the legislature to mount pressure to ensure the bill gets presidential assent has become necessary, given its importance to development of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

NAN reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had withheld assent on the PIGB following its passage by the National Assembly.

The President had also communicated its decline of assent to the PIGB 2018, citing constitutional and legal reasons in the bill.

The Senate president said that it was unfortunate that the bill had not been assented to, adding we took it as a responsibility to drive that bill to a level it has never been in a decade.

That bill, a lot of people when we started said we cannot do it, but we demonstrated we have the political will and the commitment to do it.

We passed the governance bill and it went to the executive.

What I expected considering the kind of work that was done was for us both arms to seat down, because the issues that were raised are not issues that are not surmountable.

Unfortunately, after so many months, the bill has come back with query that can easily be trashed out in a day session.

Those in the petroleum sector will agree with me that they have never seen the engagement we saw in the governance bill.

Secondly, we had the fiscal bill and we have taken it to the point that has never been archived, but I believe a lot of the operators will want to ask what will happen to the fiscal bill if the governance bill was not assented to.

Our intension is to go back to the executive and seat down with them in the interest of Nigeria.

This is a very good bill as most operators and the technical people in the sector commended it.

He said the observation made on the bill was not enough reasons to stop its assent because of the huge positive impact it would make in investments in the sector.

Because as you know, there is no serious investment going in the oil and gas sector because people are not sure of what to expect.

On cost of governance, Saraki said it was huge but added that there were some wastages that could be reduced.

The Senate president said the fight against corruption must be transparent, and credible, adding that effort should also be made to prevent it.

For example, the main area where we produce our major revenue is mainly in the oil and gas sector.

But when you look at corruption cases, I am not sure you will find many of the cases in that sector, the fight is so selective.

But if it is transparent, you should start from where you are producing your large source of revenue.

Because if you can tackle corruption in the sector, there will be less leakages down the line.

For example today, we are back to spending close to 3.6 billion dollars petroleum subsidy, so apart from the national assembly, which anti-corruption agency is looking at that?

The point I am making is that there should be a transparent process and approach in fighting corruption.

If we can make the petroleum sector most efficient which accounts for large revenue, government will be more efficient.

Source: NAN

By Deborah Coker

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Edo Command, has intercepted a truck laden with 45,000 litres of suspected illegally-refined petroleum products.

Mr Makinde Ayinla, the State Commandant of the NSCDC, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Tuesday.

Ayinla said that the truck was intercepted at Aduwawa area on Benin/Auchi road.

He told NAN that the truck, which was laden with suspected illegally-refined diesel was loaded in Delta and heading to Abuja.

The NSCDC boss said the driver of the truck had been arrested and would soon be prosecuted.

Ayinla said that the command would continue to discharge its duties and ensure that the nations economic saboteurs desist from their unpatriotic trade.

The commandant advised petroleum marketers to shun acts inimical to the economic emancipation of the country and ensure that they got their products from the legal refineries.

He said this was imperative as any marketer that patronised illegal refinery would eventually suffer a loss as such products, if intercepted, would be destroyed.

Source: NAN

By Felicia Imohimi

Stakeholders in health sector have urged the Federal Government to include Family Planning (FP) and other primary healthcare services provided by Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors (PPMVs), in information platforms.

The stakeholders made the call at the inaugural meeting for the development of PCN FP and other Primary Health Care (PHC) Strategic Plan in collaboration with the PSN-PACFaH@Scale in Abuja.

The stakeholders included the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health @Scale Project (PACFaH@Scale.

Others are Community Pharmacists and PPMVs, Society for Family Health/IntegratE Project, among others.

They identified such platforms to include the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) and the National Family Planning Dashboard, noting that community pharmacies and patent medicines shops were solution to achieving universal health coverage.

Giving an overview of the strategic plan, Dr Edwin Akpotor, Programme Manager, PSN-PACFaH@Scale said the plan would itemise what the council intended doing in repositioning CPs and PPMVs in providing extended services.

Akpotor said the three years strategic plan which would commence from 2019 to 2021 was meant for FP service delivery adding that for Nigeria to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) there was need to include private sector healthcare provision.

According to the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 60 per cent of Nigerians patronise or obtain their services and other PHC services from private sector, which is the CPs and PPMVs.

He emphasised that with the current Task Shifting and Task Sharing (TSTS) policy of the government, more services would be given to CPs and PPMVs.

Akpotor said: The Federal Government at the July 2017 London FP2020 Summit made a commitment to expand the FP services that community-based health practitioners such as CPs, PPMVs among others can provide.

Through this commitment, the government believes the current FP unmet need can be bridged while increasing access to critical FP information and services especially in hard-to-reach environment and ultimately achieving the countrys modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate goal (MCPR).

In supporting the government to achieve this commitment and others, the PSN-PACFaH@Scale project is supporting PCN to develop a strategic plan (blue print) on re-positioning and strengthening the FP and other PHC services provided by CPs and PPMVs.

Through the plan the council needs to have a plan on how to operationalise the TSTS, monitor, ensure supportive supervision of this group to provide accurate, exact services they are met to do, he said.

Akpotor identified some of the task of the council to include demand creation and generation, creating awareness, ensuring that the practitioners provide the relevant information and services.

According to him, such measures will enable them to give right information to their clients or make a referral to the appropriate quarters when the need arise.

When developed, the strategic plan will be leveraged upon by development partners and donors in strengthening the regulatory capacity of PCN and ensure CPs and PPMVs provide quality FP and other PHC information and services.

Source: NAN

Saudi Arabia is in crisis in the face of international outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Tuesday at an investment summit boycotted by a host of global CEOs and policymakers.

The three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII) was meant to project the historically insular petro-state as a lucrative business destination and set the stage for new ventures and multi-billion dollar contracts.

But the summit, nicknamed Davos in the desert, has been overshadowed by the outcry over the murder of Khashoggi inside the kingdoms consulate in Istanbul on October 2, with a string of leading international investors pulling out over the case.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kings powerful son whose reform credentials have been heavily damaged by the scandal despite repeated denials he had any involvement in the killing, was a no-show at the opening session.

As we know these are difficult days. We are going through a crisis, Falih said in his speech.

Falih said the murder of Khashoggi was regrettable, adding that nobody in the kingdom can justify it.

The comments come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded to know who gave the order for Khashoggis killing in his country and the location of the slain journalists corpse.

The Riyadh conference opened amid tight security at Riyadhs Ritz-Carlton hotel, with Russian Direct Investment Fund chief Kirill Dmitriyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan headlining.

Falih heaped praise on the CEO of French energy giant Total, Patrick Pouyanne, for standing by Saudi Arabia in this difficult period.

We see what partnership means when you have difficult times, Pouyanne responded as he shared the stage with Falih.

This is when you really strengthen a partnership.

But a long list of investors and international policymakers have declined to show up in Riyadh in apparent protest against the Khashoggi killing.

Siemens chief executive Joe Kaeser, corporate chiefs from JP Morgan, Ford and Uber, and media powerhouses like Bloomberg, CNN and the Financial Times all scrapped plans to attend.

Ministers from Britain and France and the United States, which have huge defence deals at stake with Saudi Arabia, have stayed away.

A wider Western boycott of the conference suggests rising political risks in Saudi Arabia that could hit foreign direct investment, which already plunged to a 14-year low last year, according to a UN body.

Despite talk of reform, FDI inflows into Saudi have stayed low and the scandal will only increase investor uncertainty, said research firm Capital Economics.

And in a fresh setback, the forums website went down on Monday after an apparent cyberattack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

It was back up with reduced content when the conference opened.

This years conference contrasts with last years inaugural FII a star-studded event at Riyadhs Ritz-Carlton hotel, where Prince Mohammed was lionised as a visionary by speakers.

But many Western firms have too much at stake to abandon the Arab worlds biggest economy, and some have decided to send lower-level executives.

Companies from China and Russia have also shown little interest in withdrawing from the event, an organiser said.

The high profile withdrawal of so many American CEOs from the conference certainly presents opportunities for Asian and Russian companies to make a splash, Ellen Wald, author of the book Saudi Inc., told AFP.

The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, faces what the risk consultancy Eurasia Group has called an acute public relations crisis over Khashoggis murder.

After more than two weeks of vehement denials, Saudi Arabia has now admitted Khashoggi was killed in the consulate.

In the past weeks, Turkish media and officials speaking to international media have said audio recordings prove Khashoggi was tortured before being decapitated although no concrete evidence of their existence has emerged.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Tuesday the killing of a critic must never happen again, as he pledged a thorough and complete investigation.

Khashoggis killing fits the pattern of a recent crackdown on dissent in the kingdom, in which clerics, business high-fliers and women activists have been detained.

Further stoking investor anxiety, the kingdom is embroiled in an expensive war in Yemen and is leading an embargo against neighbouring Qatar.

Source: NAN

A 72-year-old man Dharampal Singh, has died in India after a group of monkeys threw bricks at him from a tree.

Singh had been collecting pieces of dry wood before the incident in Tikri, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday.

Police said monkeys rained bricks on the man from a treetop after collecting them from a nearby dilapidated building, the Times of India reported.

The elderly man later died in hospital from sustained head and chest injuries.

Villagers have repeatedly complained about aggressive monkeys in the area, but the animals are a protected species.

Mr Singhs family are said to have put in a formal complaint about the incident to police.

The victims brother reportedly told the newspaper: Monkeys threw more than 20 bricks at Dharampal on Thursday.

He said they will now meet senior officials and request them to initiate action in this regard.

Source: NAN

Many communities that make up the Cross River Central senatorial district have vowed to vote against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 senatorial election.

Leaders from five communities in the district who spoke to our correspondent, alleged that both PDP and APC had continued to marginalization marginalise them, stressing that they would be massively supporting the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The communities stressed that since the return of democracy in 1999 no son or daughter from their area had been given the opportunity to represent them despite the zoning formula practiced by both parties.

Chief Victor Oyama, a community leader from Obubra Local Government Area decried that people from the Ikom area had been occupying the position for too long and it was time for the ticket to go to the other half of the senatorial district.

He urged the candidates from Ikom to take an example from Senator Ben Bruce, who although being a first time senator, respected the partys zoning formula and withdrew from contesting for a second term.

Cross River Central comprises the old Ikom and the old Obubra. These used to be local government areas until Abi, Yakurr, Etung, and Boki were added to the two. But about 20 years now since the return of democracy, old Ikom has been occupying that position.

The other half of the senatorial district believe now is their turn to produce a senator as they have been patiently supporting the old Ikom over the years to win the seat.

The APC and the PDP picked their candidates from the Old Ikom section of the district which has been providing the senator since the return of democracy, but only SDP has moved to correct the injustice by fielding a candidate from old Obubra.

We are going to vote massively for SDP because of that, Oyama said.

Also speaking, Mr Eval Ejeje Egbe from Abi Local Government Area faulted the lack of respect for zoning on the part of the Ikom LGA, stressing that it was time the other LGA had their own son or daughter representing them.

The senatorial district used to have just Ikom and Obubra LGAs before the creation of other LGAs.

Obubra was divided into three same as Ikom. Ordinarily after Ikom enjoys the senatorial seat, it should swing to Obubra, but as it stands now, the people of Obubra are very angry and think they are being taken for a ride.

They have resolved to vote against any party that does not field a senatorial candidate from the old Obubra.

In PDP and APC, aspirants from Obubra sought the ticket but they were sidestepped and the tickets of both parties went to persons from Ikom despite outcries of marginalisation from the Obubra people.

So, the people have resolved that this time, it is their turn and are not ready to give listening ears to candidates from the other part of the district when they come for campaign, he said.

The community leaders also faulted one of the candidates who is leaving the chairmanship of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to return to the Senate, lamenting that the candidate was shortchanging the entire Cross River.

From the Yakurr community, Mrs Comfort Okoi, decried the the Ikom people were doing the state more harm than good in aspiring for the senatorial position.

She lamented that one of the aspirants from Ikom was abandoning his position in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a position which she said was more beneficial to the state than that of a senator which he now seeks.

He is the chairman of NDDC yet he wants to drop it for the same senatorial seat the people of Obubra have not tasted.

People have been telling him that he will be shortchanging Cross River if he drops his plum position at NDDC as it will automatically go to another state.

After being a senator for three terms, he is now chairman of NDDC which is bigger than a senate seat yet he wants to come and be struggling for the smaller opportunity for people of his senatorial district.

He wants to deprive Cross River state of the opportunity of producing chairman of NDDC and also deprive other people who are due to have one of their own in the senate.

We dont want Ndoma Egba at the senate, we want him to remain as NDDC chairman so he can be giving our people jobs and contracts. If he leaves that place, a Cross River indigene wont be appointed as replacement, she said.

On his part, Mr Enang Asu from Boki LGA noted that the PDP candidate is from Ikom, the same LGA of the governorship candidate of the APC, Owan Enoh and the senatorial flag bearer.

If things go their way a local government would have produced the governor as well as senator in Cross River. How then can the same LGA produce his successor to the disadvantage of the other five LGAs particularly those in the old Obubra who havent tasted the seat since 1999.

At the return of democracy in 1999, the first senator for Cross River Central was Senator M. T. Mbu from old Ikom. He handed over to Ndoma Egba also from old Ikom. Ndoma Egba was there for 12 years, and handed over to another Ikom man, Owan Enoh who is there for another four years making it 20 years.

Even Ikom-born Moses Ojong expressed concerns the people of Ikom had enjoyed the support of old Obubra and as such it was time for power to change hands.

Its true that the status quo favours us but some of our people are worried. For APC and PDP to field candidates from old Ikom despite knowing the political history of Cross River Central seems as if they want to destroy the bond of brotherhood between Obubra and Ikom people.

The other section will now be thinking that all of us in old Ikom are power grabbers and we fear that when they eventually occupy the senatorial seat, they wouldnt want to hand over to our children. So, justice should prevail, he said.

Source: NAN

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Sunday alleged that conservatives within the party are ganging up to pass a vote of no-confidence in him.

In a long statement by his press secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, Oshiomhole said his sin was his refusal to allow continued impunity and circumvention of due process being perpetuated in some states.

He said he was not surprised by the gang up, as he never had the illusion that the process of reforming the party was going to be an easy on one.

The full statement:

The All Progressives Congress, APC, under the national chairmanship of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is in safe hands as the party marches, sure-footedly, to victory in the 2019 general election. This is the overarching mission of the national working committee, NWC, of the party under his leadership.

To be clear, Comrade Oshiomhole did not become national chairman of the governing party to bring it down a notch from the pedestal of its 2015 electoral victory let alone to preside over its liquidation.

Rather, his single-minded goal, from the outset of his declaration of interest in the position, was to deploy his capacity in helping to strengthen and reposition the party as a truly supreme and disciplined political entity.

Although, it might appear fortuitous to some persons that he became national chairman at the threshold of the 2019 general election; the truth is that there is no accident in predestination. We must appreciate the fact that it has pleased the Almighty God to place him in the saddle of APC leadership at this time for a purpose.

The purpose has begun to manifest in its vast flourish and ramifications: instilling discipline, ensuring party supremacy, promoting due process, dealing with impunity and executive arrogance wherever they manifest to undermine intra-party electoral processes in the states.

From the outset, we never expected that those who cherished and supported the status quo, which Comrade Oshiomhole supplanted, would cave in easily under the magnitude of the current political revival that he spearheads. Indeed, while the progressives are enamoured of change, the conservatives find it difficult to embrace it. That is the current reality in the deliberate effort to rebrand the APC.

Again, we were not, in the least, deluded that the process of rebranding or rewriting the narrative of the four-year old party would be easy. What we are witnessing in the APC today is Comrade Oshiomholes adroit management of the strains and pains that accompany the birth of a resuscitated governing party.

The leadership provided in the recently-held primary elections and the large-scale integrity of the processes are developments that should hence serve as exemplars in the administration of governing parties.

Indeed, the message therein is very clear that the party, and not pseudo political empires in the states, has the power to superintend the primary elections for the nomination of the partys candidates in the general election.

While the party will not surrender its functions, which are constitutionally circumscribed, to any other entities, it will always be ready to moderate the divergent tendencies and mediate the disparate political camps in the interest of party cohesion.

This is one of the hard-nosed truths that the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC preaches and practises with an apostolic zeal to the chagrin of some influential stakeholders in the states.

Comrade Oshiomhole envisions an APC that is capacitated to pragmatically build a corpus of leadership and membership that do not only submit to the high ideal of party supremacy, but also the credo of party discipline.

These-party supremacy and discipline- are two fundamentals that had been eroded even before the emergence of the Oshiomhole leadership. It is sad that while the national chairman is working round the clock, some stakeholders have thrown selfish political agendas into the mix to threaten the building of institutional capacity for the APC.

The suggestion in some quarters, especially by one of the presidential aspirants on the platform of the party, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, that the APC cannot win with Oshiomhole is therefore unfair, denigrating and baleful of Comrade Oshiomholes personal commitment to a rejuvenated winning machine that the APC typifies.

The totality of Unaghas claims, without necessarily addressing them one after the other, tallies with cooked-up narratives being sponsored by some influential stakeholders in their respective states that Comrade Oshiomhole is responsible for all the problems in the APC at the moment.

These influential stakeholders, according to grapevine, have begun to mobilise to pass a no-confidence vote in the leadership of Oshiomhole, having failed to impose their preferred candidates on the party in the nomination process.

Rather than resort to needless perfidy at the threshold of a general election, we call on them to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship, bolstered by the fact that the Oshiomhole leadership is propelled more by its interest in propriety in which victory for the party could be grounded.

The crime committed by Comrade Oshhiomholes leadership is its disdain for impunity and circumvention of due process perpetrated in some of the states at the pleasure of some influential stakeholders.

Overall, Comrade Oshiomhole has not, since stepping in the saddle, taken any unilateral decision in the running of the party affairs. All decisions, so far taken, passed through the mills of NWC deliberative sessions and enjoyed unanimous resolutions. The records are there. History will justify Comrade Oshiomhole and posterity will vindicate him.

Therefore, with eyes firmly fixed on the general election, especially the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the scheduled February 16 poll, Comrade Oshiomhole assures all stakeholders in the APC of his respect for them. He assures them of his readiness to work with them for the good of the party.

The comrade chairman also proposes a common front in the general election and believes that the APC, as a governing party, will do a commemorative post mortem next year to appraise and reappraise the political developments and decisions that presaged the election, which it would win emphatically.

Source: NAN

Former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Chief Onyemauche Nnamani has been expelled by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), over alleged misconduct.

Nnamanis expulsion was announced by the Chairman of the APC in Enugu, Dr Ben Nwoye, on Sunday.

According to Nwoye, Nnamani, who served as SSG during the reign of former governor Chimaraoke Nnamani, was expelled for dragging the party to court.

Nwoye noted that Nnamani went to court without first ventilating his grievances through internal mechanisms provided in the partys constitution.

The development contravened provisions of Article 21 of the APC constitution, which deals with discipline of members, Nwoye said.

Nnamani contested the position of APC national vice chairman, South-East, during the partys national convention.

The election was eventually won by the incumbent, Chief Emma Eneukwu.

Nwoye disclosed that a petition filed by Nnamani against the outcome of the election was dismissed by the national convention appeal committee.

The Enugu APC chairman added that Nnamani went ahead to drag the party and Eneukwu to court over the same matter.

Nnamani had in the suit claimed that Eneukwu did not obtain any waiver that would allow him to contest the position during the convention.

Source: NAN

By Shehu Danjuma

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) in Katsina State, on Monday confiscated about 100 cartons of expired beverage drink at a super market in Katsina metropolis.

The state director of NAFDAC, Mr John Agada, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Katsina.

NAFDAC received a complaint from a consumer that a particular super market was selling expired zero coke.

When we visited the super market, our officers found several cartons of Zero coke, which date of best use is June, 2018.

By implication, it means that all the cartons of the zero coke are harmful and dangerous to the consumers and the owner of the super market was still in business selling the expired coke.

NAFDAC officers immediately impounded the cartons of zero coke as the best day for drinking them had expired. he said.

Agada called on members of the public in the State to always look at the expiring date of any bottle of soft drink before consumption.

He warned owners and operators of super markets and provision stores to always check purchased items to avoid selling expired products to unsuspecting members of the public.

Anybody caught selling expired items will face the full wrath of the law, he said,

Source: NAN

The Federal Government has decided to continue paying the stipends of the N-Power 2016 Batch 1 beneficiaries beyond the expiry month of December 2018, the presidency said.

The statement issued by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President, on Monday in Abuja, said funding for the continued payments is contained in the 2018 budget.

However, Akande said that beyond the payments of stipends, the Federal Government is also exploring further options to seamlessly move the beneficiariesfrom the government job programme to positions where they were able to earn a sustainable income.

He said that the transition would be through a plan, designed to enable them become valuable, all-rounded employees, employers or entrepreneurs.

The plan is basically an extension of the exit date of December 2018 for the first batch of 200,000 to enable them continue to offer their valuable services in their various communities while still earning their stipends.

They are also to partake in the Enhancement Programme that would seamlessly transition them into numerous economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the economy.

The N-Power is a job employment and empowerment scheme for hitherto unemployed Nigerian graduates under the Buhari Administrations National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).

The scheme is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in Africa, comprising N-Power beneficiaries that are paid a monthly stipend of N30, 000 and are deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space, such as health, agriculture, education and public finance.

For the first time in Nigeria, the N-Power beneficiaries applied and were selected for the programme in an objective, efficient and transparent manner, without the need for connections to anyone of influence, he said.

He said that based on conservative projections, the N-Power scheme would provide jobs for at least 10 million Nigerians by 2023.

Akande said that since it commenced in 2016, the N-Power scheme, which had beneficiaries in all the LGAs of the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, had so far, provided jobs for half a million young Nigerian graduates nationwide.

He said that all the N-Power beneficiaries were given the opportunity to select and own electronic devices for continuous learning as they grew; depending on the selected vocations of entrepreneurship, and to boost the Knowledge Economy.

Source: NAN

Acclaimed Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has described United States First Lady, Melania Trump as racist.

Adichie made the statement in a recent interview with international magazine, Esquire UK where she talked about her stance on feminism, Melania Trumps visit to Africa and racism.

When asked if she thought Melania Trump was racist, she answered in the positive with reference to Melanias recent visit to Africa.

She said: Had you asked me this question yesterday, I would have said yes and my evidence would be that she supported her husband when he was being incredibly racist to Barack Obama.

But I just watched an interview that she gave and I was just appalled by it. She sort of stepped out of a colonial 1750 guidebook about how to be in Africa.

Theres a pith helmet and then I am thinking maybe this is supposed to be ironic? Maybe it is a critique of colonialism.

She really thought this is what you do when you go to Africa and it says something about someone who is so removed from reality, Adichie said.

Adichie went on to reference a jacket Melania wore to one of the US children immigration camps which read I really dont care: Do you? and caused a media frenzy.

She said, And I remember when the media made a lot of noise about that jacket. I remember actually kind of being on her side when all that noise was happening.

I thought she doesnt know, she couldnt possibly do this knowingly. She did, so the answer to your question is yes. I think she is racist, Adichie said.

When asked why she passionately fights for feminism and not racism despite being black, Adichie stated that she always finds the need to make a case for feminism.

She said, In my own personal space, the people I love, my family and friends all get race. So I have never with them had to make a case for why something was racist.

So I am with my circle of friends and something happens to do with blackness and immediately, we all get it.

But with gender, I find that with the people I love, I am constantly being expected to make the case the ways in which women are reduced.

And it gets emotionally exhausting because I dont feel that I have the kind of effortless support that I have when I talk about race, Adichie said.

Adichie, an award winning writer, has constantly used her voice and books to advocate for equal opportunities for men and women.

Adichie trended in April when she said she was upset that the Twitter bio of former US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, began with wife despite her numerous achievements.

NAN reports that Adichies feminism campaign has been a pivotal crux of her writing as her characters centre around powerful women who are usually dwarfed by the patriarchal system in their environments.

Her TedX talk We Should All Be Feminists was sampled on American singer Beyonces hit song Flawless and was also part of Beyonces performance routine at 2018 Coachella.

In 2017, Adichie released a small book titled Dear Ijeawele or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions.

Source: NAN

The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has disclosed that 23 people were killed and 17 injured in various parts of Kaduna metropolis during the violence that took place on Sunday.

With 55 people killed in Karuwan Magani on Friday, a total of 78 people died in the senseless violence.

The Executive Secretary, SEMA, Ben Kure, gave the latest death toll on Monday, during a tour of affected areas.

According to him, no society can progress without peace which is an essential ingredient of development and harmonious coexistence.

The executive secretary commiserated with the injured, while extending condolences to the families of the bereaved.

He said the state government was committed to providing security for all and ensuring conducive environment for all to live peacefully.

Kure thanked the State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, for his unflinching support to the agency.

After touring Kaduna metropolis, the SEMA boss also visited Kasuwan Magani, where 55 people were reportedly killed on Thursday, to present relief materials to the affected families.

Kure called on the people of the state to embrace peace and shun violence

Source: NAN

The 24-hour curfew slammed on Kaduna metropolis will be reviewed on Tuesday, in view of the return of normalcy, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said in a special broadcast today.

The governor said that the State Security Council would meet on Tuesday morning to review the security situation and possibly reduce the hours of the curfew.

In the broadcast, El-Rufai lauded the massive support of communities in ending the violent clashes that engulfed Kaduna, the state capital on Sunday.

He said the government remains committed to ensuring lasting peace across the state.

The support of communities has been reassuring, he said, adding that they must also reject those who incite violence and divide us.

The governor cautioned residents against spreading rumour and fake news which contributed largely to the violence.

The governor said security agents have been directed to escort travellers passing through Kaduna to the outskirts of the town so as not to impede their journey.

El-Rufai assured that the government would vigorously pursue the prosecution of all those apprehended in the course of the recent violence across the state, including the 65 being prosecuted over an earlier violence in Kasuwan Magani in February.

El-Rufai who commended security agents for their professionalism in containing the violence, however stressed that the ultimate guarantee to peace lies in the willingness of all to live in peace and resolve misunderstandings amicably.

Source: NAN

Journalists and civil servants, trapped by the imposition of an emergency 24-hour curfew by the Kaduna state government on Sunday, have recounted their ordeal.

Several of the journalists who were away from home when the curfew was declared Sunday afternoon, virtually putting the vibrant city in a lockdown, said they took refuge at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Mr John Fwah, Publisher of Newsontime, an online media platform, was among the journalists, who spent the night at the NUJ Secretariat. He said it was not an easy experience.

There was no water, no food, we have to share two loaves of bread among the five of us stranded there, we took it with Lipton tea in the night and this morning before some soldiers on patrol took us home at about 11 am.

I couldnt sleep until at about 5 am. Thank God we were able to communicate with our families to assure them that we were safe, Fwah said.

Fwah said he had just left the Polo Club, where a tournament was taking place, when he heard about the crisis in parts of the town and the declaration of a 24-hour curfew. He quickly sought refuge at the NUJ secretariat nearby.

On Monday, Fwah and his colleagues were taken to their various homes by security men.

I have just left the` NUJ IDP camp, it was an uneasy experience. I now know what it means to live in an IDP camp.

A senior reporter with Kaduna State Television, Mr Joseph Zango, said he had just closed from work at the station when the the 24-hour curfew was announced.

Amidst the confusion it was difficult for me to get home, so I headed to the NUJ secretariat, where I met seven other journalists including two ladies who were later evacuated by a relative nearby, leaving five of us.

We slept there until a team of soldiers evacuated us and took each of us home.

Another reporter, Stella Kabruk, said she had to abandon the coverage of the Polo tournament and head for home when people began running helter-skelter.

Unfortunately, when I inquired about the cause of the pandemonium I was told that there was crisis in Sabo area of the town and that is where I live.

I had to drive home through safer routes, and along the way I saw some vehicles burning, and I later learnt that some innocent people lost their lives.

Mr Idris Abdulrahman, the editor-in-chief of the News Agency of Nigeria, in Abuja had visited his family in Kaduna. He said his plans were completely upset by the curfew drama.

This has thrown me off balance because I planned to pass only one night in Kaduna but now Im forced to seek alternative arrangements to keep my family safe.

My visit was casual, to see my family after weeks of absence from them. This curfew has thrown up a big challenge to me and many others.

It has disrupted my official engagements in Abuja and caused me some unexpected expenses at home.

Abdulrahman said he attempted driving out of the town in the morning but was stopped by fierce-looking security men who would not listen to any explanation.

It was also a tale of woes for some Federal Government civil servants who planned to return to work in Abuja after the weekend. They found themselves stranded in Kaduna.

Mallam Abdullahi Mohammed, who works at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Abuja, told NAN that he was forced to remain indoors in Kaduna since police are patrolling our area.

This crisis and the attendant curfew have disrupted my plans. I wanted to get to Abuja by 9 a.m. but now I have to review my plans to accommodate buying enough foodstuffs for my family.

Security agents have virtually taken over strategic areas of the highways and areas mostly hit by the crisis.

Malam Ado Abdulmalik, a politician heading to Abuja, narrated his experience, saying those security men would not even listen if you have an emergency.

I could not even go to railway station, few metres from my house, to board it to Abuja because police are patrolling everywhere.

The curfew has crippled commercial and social activities, with hundreds of federal government workers, businessmen and women, politicians on transit to Abuja stranded due to the enforcement of the restriction on movement.

A cross section of residents who spoke with NAN expressed shock and frustration over the escalation of the crisis and sudden declaration of curfew.

Some of the residents who spoke in separate interviews with the NAN, lamented the shutdown of economic activities, adding that residents have inadequate food in their homes as they were not prepared for the curfew.

Martha Ayuba, a housewife said: There are no business activities going on as they cannot buy food Ingredients.

This is an unfortunate situation as preparation was not made for the curfew. I hope the curfew does not last for another 24 hours because all shops are closed and one cannot buy what he needs.

We prayed for calm and peace to be restored in the state because in situations like this, people need each other and not violence.

Mrs Jummai Bako, a businesswoman said the curfew has affected her because she earns her daily bread selling foodstuffs.

I cant go out to sell my foodstuffs in the shop because of the curfew.

I have fresh tomatoes and pepper in the shop that if I dont sell them, I will lose.

Also some civil servants lamented the imposition of curfew adding that most workers were yet to receive their salaries, so they were unprepared and had not done their monthly stockpiling of food stuff.

NAN reports the usual Monday market where most residents converge to buy foodstuffs was deserted.

The residents demanded the arrest of those behind the attacks that claimed many lives in Karuwan Magani, describing the imposition of the curfew as an unpleasant situation.

We will continue to plead with everyone especially our youths to conduct themselves within the provisions of the law, and to not to engage in acts that will disrupt the peace of the state,

Meanwhile, uneasy calm is being observed in many parts of the town as areas such as Sabo, Barnawa, Narayi, Malali, Central market area and Unguwar Muazu look desolate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that after the deadly fracas at Karuwan Magani, the spill-over crisis was ignited in Maraban Rido and Sabo, a densely populated area, prompting the imposition of the curfew by Gov. Nasir El-Rufai.

The Governors Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said the measure was to curb further breakdown of law and order.

Source: NAN

By Gabriel Agbeja

Artificial intelligence, (AI) is set to take root in Nigeria as the Federal Government and United Arab Emirates (UAE) partner to harness capabilities in the country.

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with the simulation of intelligent behaviour in computers or computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, while receiving the UAE Ambassador, Mr Obaid Mohamed on Monday in Abuja, said contributions from UAE would fast-track development of Artificial Intelligence.

The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems with the ability to reason and discover meaning, among others.

Contributions from UAE would help to fast-track development of Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria.

Onu said developing AI in the country would also enable Nigeria to take its rightful place in the comity of nation.

For his part, Mohamed said UAE had been producing AI for quite some time and would be happy to collaborate with the Federal Government to develop the technology in Nigeria.

He said that UAE would like to partner with the Federal Government on renewable energy to improve electricity supply in Nigeria. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Barcelona now face an anxious wait over the arm injury suffered by their talismanic player, Lionel Messi, especially as the Clasico against Real Madrid comes up next weekend.

Up till the 26th minute, when he was substituted, Messi was pivotal in the game against Sevilla at Camp Nou. He scored and then went off injured as Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday to move back to the top of La Liga.

In the 26th minute at the Camp Nou, he awkwardly fell on his right arm, his right arm, but not before the Argentinian had doubled Barcas lead with a curling left-footed finish.

Philippe Coutinho had opened the scoring and Luis Suarezs penalty, which he also earned, made sure of victory before a three-goal flurry in the final 11 minutes.

Pablo Sarabia and Luis Muriel twice reduced the deficit to two, either side of a sweeping volley from Ivan Rakitic.

Any joy at jumping above in-form Sevilla, however, was tarnished by the injury to Messi.

Before the clash against Madrid next Sunday, Inter Milan visit in the Champions League on Wednesday but Messis involvement there would seem unlikely.

He fell to the ground following a tussle with Sevillas Franco Vazquez and, as his right hand tried to cushion the landing, his elbow appeared to buckle.

Messi was helped off the pitch by medical staff and, despite having his right arm heavily strapped while Barca played for nine minutes with 10 men, he finally trudged off down the tunnel.

If the injury proves serious, the timing could hardly be worse, given Ernesto Valverdes team face a difficult run of fixtures over the next month.

After Inter and Real, whose poor form continued with a loss at home to Levante earlier on Saturday, Barcas schedule includes the return tie against Inter in Italy, as well as La Liga games against Real Betis and Atletico Madrid.

Even without Messi, they might be confident of seeing off Madrid, whose early-season dip has only deepened while Barcelona have sparked a rival.

Since drawing at home to Athletic Bilbao last month to make it three games without a win, they have blown Tottenham away at Wembley, taken a point away to Valencia and now eased past Sevilla, who came into the weekend top of the table.

Barca fans had chanted, dont touch the badge before kick-off after president Josep Maria Bartomeu had announced earlier on Saturday that plans to change the club crest had been shelved.

They were soon celebrating a goal too as Coutinho bent a sumptuous right-footed shot into the far corner with only two minutes on the clock.

Messi doubled the advantage, racing clear on the counter-attack before jinking inside and curling into the bottom corner with his left foot. It was his last significant contribution.

Ousmane Dembele was his replacement but Suarez took on the mantle, too quick to his own heavy touch and brought down by Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. Suarez buried the penalty.

The game seemed up but Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make a brilliant double save to deny Sarabia and then Wissam Ben Yedder with his thigh.

Sarabia gave Sevilla hope with 11 minutes left, his shot deflecting off Clement Lenglet and in, but Rakitic ensured there was to be no late drama with a well-timed volley. Muriel added what proved only to be a consolation in injury time.

AFP

Source: NAN