Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Senegal and Ethiopia has been listed to benefit from UK Governments support in growing solar technology companies.

The project is designed to help more than 11 million people across the sub-Saharan Africa countries have access to solar electricity.

A statement from the British High Commission in Abuja noted that the UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, made the announcement on Wednesday.

Baldwin, who accompanied Prime Minister Theresa May to Nigeria, said that supporting such companies to provide clean energy to off-grid households in Africa would improve the livelihoods of people.

Africas solar industry is vibrant and exciting, full of potential to transform the lives of millions of people who are still living off the grid.

By sharing British expertise were allowing this industry to flourish, helping the poorest to access clean, sustainable energy, while also opening up opportunities for UK business and investment.

This is a win for African countries and a win for the UK, she said.

The high commission, in the statement, mentioned that the UK aid through the Department for International Development (DFID) was helping to boost opportunities for early stage businesses in Africa.

It stated that the opportunities were made available through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) and a new round of the fund was being launched in five sub-Saharan African countries.

The countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Senegal and Ethiopia.

A new round of the AECF, 16 million, is being launched, providing grants, loans and business development support to small businesses creating innovative household solar products and appliances.

This programme will help up to 1.5 million poor people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2022 access clean, affordable modern energy, with a focus on women and children.

It added that the UK aid would also help governments reduce the barriers in the growth of solar companies in Africa and lay the groundwork for 14 partner sub-Saharan African countries in clean energy.

Support to DFIDs Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility (15.5 million) will work across 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Kenya.

It pointed out that the UK aid would increase its support to the Energise Africa impact investment platform to help 1500 new UK small investors provide the necessary finance needed.

It added that the platform would connect 125,000 more people to affordable solar energy, allowing the programme to reach a total of 325,000 people.

Energise Africa to date has raised 4.8 million from 1000 investors to help more than 195,000 access affordable solar energy.

Strengthening the solar market in Africa is opening up opportunities for the UKs own pioneering solar industry to access the untapped potential offered by African markets. (NAN)

Source: NAN

No fewer than 1,700 Nigerians are serving various jail terms in accessible prisons in Libya and many others are held in rebels areas.

The Charge D Affairs, Nigeria Mission to Libya, Mr Alex Kefas, confirmed as he also report that 165 stranded Nigerian irregular migrants were on Thursday evacuated from Libya by Nigeria.

Kefas, said that were still many other Nigerians held for various offences in various prisons in the area being controlled by the rebels which still remained inaccessible to the mission.

Our major issue now, apart from bilateral issue with Libya, is the issue of migrant crisis; the Federal Government as at today evacuated 3,801 irregular migrants in the last few months.

He said that the 165 irregular migrants arrived at the Murtal Mohammed Airport in Lagos on Thursday .

There are six of them that are dead and are in the mortuary as we cannot locate their families because many of them change names when they get there, he said.

According to him, out of the 165 irregular migrants that arrived are 109 that appealed for rescue through a video few weeks ago.

We have 109 that few weeks ago appealed t the president and religious leaders to come to their help through a video that went viral

We are happy that they are in this very group that are arrived today (Thursday).

The mission has been doing a lot to ensure the welfare of the migrants; some of them were taken to the hospitals for child delivery, he said.

He said that the mission had been getting support from the Federal Government of Nigeria to improve funding to take care of challenges that it had been facing.

The issue we are talking about is not that we are not doing anything; the European Union, International Organisation on Migration and UN have been doing their best.

But one of the challenges is that some of the migrants have insisted that Europe is their destination and we cannot stop them according to international law.

Some of them refused to be repatriated and nobody could be forced to come back home, it is not possible, he said.

According to him, about 65 of those categories were rescued from the high seas recently and this is almost on weekly basis.

Some are still there as we speak, even among those that sent the video recorded have refused to be repatriated, so but we are still appealing to them to reconsider their steps, he said.

Source: NAN

The UN has renewed support for the stability and resilience to take embattled Lake Chad Basin out of crisis and to put it on the path to sustainable development.

Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, said Abuja at the Ministerial Conference on the Validation and Adoption of the Regional Strategy on stabilisation of Boko Haram affected areas of the Lake Chad region.

The UN said the resilience of the Boko Haram group in the Lake Chad basin since 2009 posed enormous security, humanitarian and governance challenges.

Four countries caught up in the insurgency are Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

UN said the Boko Haram had displaced nearly 2.4 million people in the Lake Chad sub-region.

UNDP and the entire UN system stand ready to support the Lake Chad Basin countries and partners to ensure an inclusive, sustainable and accountable implementation of the regional stabilisation strategy.

And, put the Lake Chad sub-region on the path to sustainable development.

According to him, the UN is working closely with the government of Nigeria and other Lake Chad Basin countries in their relief and recovery efforts in addressing the needs of affected population.

He said that the visit of the UN Security Council to the region in March 2017 and the subsequent adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2349 (2017) further galvanised the world attention to the crisis in the Lake Chad.

The adoption of the strategy fulfilled the Security Councils Resolution 2349 that, among others, called for regional organisations to develop a comprehensive strategy.

This will effectively address the drivers conflict that contributed to the emergence of Boko Haram and ISIL, with a particular focus on longer term development needs, he said.

Kallon stressed the need for the collaborative efforts to mobilise resources to implement the strategy.

Our task now is to take this forward and mobilise required resources to implement the strategy.

The high level conference on the Lake Chad Region in Berlin slated for Sept. 2 and 3, will have a concrete regional stabilisation strategy to build on, he said.

Also speaking, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Ketil karlsen, said that the strategy was more needed now than any other time.

The ambassador said that EU would support the depth implementation of the strategy.

Karslen stressed the need to recognise the significant progress and the achievement by the stakeholders in solving the crisis in Nigerias northeast and Lake Chad basin regions.

He expressed concern that with the magnitude of the crisis it had been one of those overlooked crisis in the global scale.

He said that the EU supports the integration approach to solving crisis, stressing for need to combine political and financial strength to end the crisis successfully.

He said the EU has been and will remain supportive in the fight against insurgence in the lake Chad basin, stressing that the union had spent more than 700 million Euros in its humanitarian assistance in the area. (NAN)

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has hosted South West Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to a dinner to strategise on Osun governorship election coming up on Sept. 22.

The national chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiohmole, had on Wednesday inaugurated a 63-member national campaign council for the Osun governorship election.

The Campaign Council is headed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State.

The dinner was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, South West APC NEC and NWC members as well as Governors of Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Kano states.

Mr Gboyega Oyetola, the Osun APC gubernatorial candidate, was officially presented to the President at the event. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Earths forests, deserts, landscapes and vital ecosystems risk a major transformation in the next century due to climate change, international scientists have warned.

Some of these changes are already under way in the southwestern United States, where massive wildfires are destroying pine forests and transforming swaths of territory into shrubland.

In the next 100-150 years, these changes will likely extend to savannas, deserts, and woodlands, upsetting ecosystems and imperiling plant and animal life, particularly in areas like Europe and the United States, researchers warned in the journal Science.

If we allow climate change to go unchecked, the vegetation of this planet is going to look completely different than it does today, and that means a huge risk to the diversity of the planet, said co-author Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

The report is based on fossil and temperature records from a period that began 21,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age ended and the planet warmed seven to 13 degrees Fahrenheit (4-7 degrees Celsius).

But experts say their predictions are conservative, since this historical warming, caused by natural variability, took place over a much longer period from the Last Glacial Maximum 21,000 years ago until the early Holocene, about 10,000 years ago.

But human-caused climate change is different. The burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal emits heat-trapping gases around the planet. The Earth is currently heating up at much quicker pace.

Were talking about the same amount of change in 10-to-20 thousand years thats going to be crammed into a century or two, said Stephen Jackson, director of the US Geological Surveys Southwest Climate Adaptation Center.

Ecosystems are going to be scrambling to catch up.

Researchers described their work as the most comprehensive study to date, based on pollen and plant-fossil records from 594 sites worldwide, dating back to between 21,000 and 14,000 years ago.

Every continent except Antarctica was included.

The most significant changes were seen in the mid-to-high latitudes of North America, Europe and southern South America.

These were regions that had been most covered in glaciers, and which warmed up the most as the climate shifted.

Researchers calculated that if little is done to contain current emissions, the probability of large-scale vegetation change is greater than 60 percent.

However, if greenhouse gasses are limited to levels targeted in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the probability of large-scale vegetation change is less than 45 percent.

Shifting landscapes would affect not only the forests, but drinking water, river flow, and water recreation.

And the loss of forests could unleash even faster global warming, because important carbon sinks would disappear.

A lot of the carbon now locked up by vegetation around the planet could be released to the atmosphere, further amplifying the magnitude of the climate change, Overpeck said.

*AFP

Source: NAN

Lenovo launched the world's first laptop with two screens Thursday as it looked to continue momentum from a recent rebound in PC sales.

The Yoga Book C930 is a 999 euro ($1,164) Windows device with the following features:

• Two screens with a digital keyboard,

• One screen that turns into an e-reader,

• A bluetooth pen to write on the screen.

In refining what the Yoga Book is, and who is should be for, Lenovo has narrowed its potential customer set down to those who have enough disposable income to afford a Yoga Book as a secondary computer, or as a travel device. It’s hard to fathom millions of people buying this. At the same time, Lenovo—which has managed to expand its image beyond that of a strictly-enterprise laptop maker over the past several years—deserves credit for experimenting once again.

Lenovo says the Windows version of the 2016 Yoga Book sold much better than the Android version did; as a result, this new Yoga Book (with the forgettable name C930) will ship only as a Windows 10 device. In some ways this means it’s really more of a laptop than a tablet. It ships with a 7th generation Intel Core i5 or Core M processor—not the latest, but an upgrade from the Atom processor in the 2016 Yoga Book. It has four gigabytes of memory, and 258 gigabytes of SSD storage. There’s also the option for LTE, which will come in handy for those frequent travelers Lenovo is targeting.

The device will be available from the end of September in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Its dimensions are almost the exact same as the last Yoga Book. This one weighs 1.7 pounds; the first model weighed 1.5 pounds. The top display on the new one is slightly larger: a 10.8-inch, quad HD, touchscreen display, compared with the earlier 10.1-inch display.

It’s the “keyboard” part of the laptop that’s changed the most. It was a digitizer before; now it’s basically a second display. And it’s an E-Ink display, replacing the “Halo” keyboard from the previous generation. Users can choose between a couple different E-Ink keyboard styles to start, and control the ink color and contrast in settings.

The inclusion of E-ink also means you can fold it over and use it as a reading device. When it first ships, though, it will only support a PDF reader and not apps like Kindle. You can use a Wacom stylus on both top and bottom displays, switching to a Lenovo-made note-taking app on the bottom. In pre-briefings, Lenovo described a use case in which you can write a note on the bottom half, select it and transform it into text, and then drag to copy it into a Word document on the upper display.

It’s still a zero-travel keyboard, meaning it’s totally flat, but Lenovo says the sensory feedback has been improved both in terms of vibration and sound. This haptic feedback is meant to give you a sense of keys bouncing off your fingertips, even when you’re just plunking them on a flat surface. Each individual key is also a little larger. The biggest adjustment might be on the AI side: Lenovo says it’s storing learning patterns for how users type on the device. This isn’t to offer predictive typing, the company says, but more about offering accurate typing. If you tend to hit your “J” key a little high, for example, the keyboard will “know” that that’s the key you mean to hit.

Another new feature: the Yoga Book C930 includes a “knock to open” feature. Because of the laptop’s chiseled edges, it might be hard to wedge a fingertip in its front lips to get the thing open, even though there is a slight indent there. So the laptop’s accelerometer detects when you double-knock on the top of the laptop, and sends a current to a shape-shifting alloy that contracts, pushes some magnets around, and pops open the laptop. It also goes into “bag mode,” so it doesn’t accidentally open in your bag, when the laptop is placed at a certain orientation and motion is detected.

Lenovo has looked to diversify revenues away from its core PC business with investments in so-called internet of things (IOT) technology. This term refers to internet-connected devices.

At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Lenovo unveiled a series of smart home products including an internet-connected plug, camera and light bulb. These will be compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant products with availability in the U.S. starting in November.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met behind closed doors with the British Prime Minister, Theresa May at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that May who had earlier visited South Africa, is in Nigeria as part of her tour of some African countries.

The meeting started in the President’s office shortly after May arrived at the forecourt of the State House, Abuja.

She was received on arrival by President Muhammadu Buhari and top government officials.

The meeting is expected to touch on how to strengthen the existing cordial relationship between Nigeria and Britain.

The two countries will later sign agreements on security and defence partnership and economic development

25 states yet to domesticate UNs security resolution on women

By Angela Atabo

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equity and Empowerment of Women (UNWomen) on Wednesday in Gombe, said 25 states in Nigeria were yet to domesticate UNs resolution on women security.

UnWomens Deputy Program Manager, Mr Peter Mancha, stated this at the opening of a training on The Role of Media in Implementing National Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 for Electronic Media in Northern Nigeria.

According to Mancha, the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 is premised on the important roles and responsibilities of women in peace-building.

He said that Nigeria keyed into the resolution in 2013 and created a National Action Plan (NAP) which was upgraded in 2017.

He said that the action plan was under the ambit of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

Mancha, however, said that only 11 states in the country had domesticated the plan, and deplored the situation where 25 states were yet to accept the plan.

The states that have domesticated the NAP are Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Kaduna, Adamawa, Kano, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, Gombe and Kogi.

More effort needs to be made to fully implement the NAP in states to help equip women to air their voices in decisions that concern them as the major victims in crisis situations.

The domestication of the NAP will equip women in peace-building, conflict-resolution, enhance accountability and promote gender equality.

Mancha said that domestication of NAP was imperative because conflicts affected women and men differently, adding that in most cases, women and children were the most affected.

He said that the plan had five pillars which echoed the governments commitment in ensuring the security of women and enhancement of their active participation in peace-building process.

He explained that the action plan would enable government and stakeholders to be alert and look out for and identify early signs, conflict prevention, peace-building and post conflict remedy.

Mancha said that such would provide a good road map for the implementation of the UN plan 1325 with practical operational tools for supporting those affected by armed conflicts.

He urged the media to increase sensitisation on the UNSCR1325 to ensure its full domestication to promote peace and security in the concerned states.

Mr Obinna Chukwukezie, Media Consultant, Search for Common Ground, an International Non-Governmental Organisation, described the media as critical stakeholder in the implementation of the plan.

Chukwukezie urged the media to engage more in the dissemination and enlightenment of the NAP.

He also encouraged newsmen to be objective in their reportage and deliberately play up issues of gender inequality to give women and the voiceless a voice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organised by Search for Common Ground in collaboration with UNwomen, UNICEF and the European Union.

It is to equip journalists with the necessary tools and information in the promotion of womens role in peace-building.

Source: NAN

Lagos State, the commercial nerve-center of Nigeria, has retained its position as the state with the highest foreign debt in the country, with a foreign debt put at 1.45 billion dollars as at June 30.

A document obtained from the Debt Management Office (DMO), on Wednesday in Abuja, titled: States, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Federal Governments External Debt Stock as at June 30, 2018, also detailed other states external debts.

The document also stated that the external debt stock of the entire nation stood at 22 billion dollars with the Federal Government incurring 17.8 billion dollars, while the states and the FCT owed 4.28 billion dollars.

This means that the Federal Government accounts for 81 per cent of the countrys external debt, while the states and the FCT account for 19 per cent.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as at Dec. 31, 2017, Lagos State also had the highest foreign debt portfolio 1.47 billion dollars, but the figure reduced to 1.45 billion dollars by June 30.

Following Lagos in a distant second is Edo, which incurred 279 million dollars.

Others are Kaduna, 232.9 million dollars; Cross River, 193.7 million dollars; Bauchi, 134.9 million dollars and Enugu, 127.9 million dollars.

According to the DMO, other top debtors are Anambra owing 107.4 million dollars; Oyo, 106.34 million dollars; Ogun, 105.3 million dollars; Osun, 101.5 million dollars and Abia with 100.2 million dollars.

Following closely are Ekiti with 97.9 million dollars; Ondo with 81.4 million dollars; Rivers, 79.5 million dollars; Ebonyi, 67.9 million dollars; Kano, 65 million dollars; Katsina, 64.7 million dollar and Delta, 63.8 million dollars.

The statement also revealed that Imo incurred 61.2 million dollars; Nassarawa, 61.4 million dollars; Adamawa, 57.8 million dollars; Niger, 55.7 million dollars; and Bayelsa with 57.2 million dollars.

Others are Akwa Ibom with 48.3 million dollars; Kebbi, 46.7 million dollars; Kwara, 49.8 million dollars and Sokoto with 40.2 million dollars.

States with the lowest debt portfolio include Taraba, with 22.1 million dollars; Borno, 22.2 million dollars; Yobe, with 28.4 million dollars and Plateau with 29.6 million dollars.

Others are Kogi, with 32.37 million dollars; Jigawa, 32.80 million dollars; FCT, 32.83 million dollars; Zamfara, 34.2 million dollars; Benue, 34.7 million dollars and Gombe, 38.5 million dollars.

NAN reports that the Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, had at a media conference on Aug. 14, said as at June 30, the nations public debt stock increased marginally by 3.01 per cent from that of Dec. 2017.

One of the beneficial outcomes is the rebalancing of the debt stock, the ratio of domestic debt to external debt inching towards the target of 60:40 and the target of 75:25 between long term domestic debt and short term domestic debt.

According to the figures for June 30 released by the DMO, the ratio between domestic and external debt stood at 70 to 30 compared to 73 to 27 in Dec. 2017.

Oniha said the ratio of 60 to 40 was important to ensure that the nation was not 100 per cent indebted externally, and that it was also easier to raise money domestically.

Oniha also said the Federal Government had been borrowing from the external debt market to refinance maturing local debts because of the lower interest rates obtainable from foreign sources.

Source: NAN

The Nigerian Police have arrested a customs officer for shooting a motorist at Iya-Afin checking point, Badagry, on Wednesday.

Police sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry that the customs officer (name withheld) allegedly shot the victim at the right arm because he allegedly refused to stop fora check.

According to the source, the motorist, who was coming from Seme Border, refused to stop at the check point and the officer opened fire which hit him at the right arm.

Friends and relations of the victim who were around, mobilised the people to attack the officer and it almost degenerated into chaos, a witness said.

However, SP Samson Akinromen,the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Badagry, immediately visited the scene and ordered the arrest of the customs officer.

The officer was taken to Badagry Police Station while the victim was rushed to an unknown hospital for treatment, the source said.

The source further said that some of the relatives of the victim who visited the police station were told that the case had been transfered to Police Area K Command at Morogbo.

Saidu Abdullahi, Seme Border Customs Spokesman, told NAN that the incident was yet to be reported to the command.

Source: NAN

An agro-business firm AgroNigeria says it has secured the services of Nollywood and the creative industry actors to produce movies and a television series to encourage youths to take to farming.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mr Richard-Mark Mbaram made the disclosure at a news conference on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mbaram said there was need to demonstrate to Nigerian youths the attractiveness, benefits and wealth in the agriculture sector through movies and television series.

Mbaram said the television series would showcase Nigerias agric potential as capable of driving Africas economic development if properly harnessed.

We want to use the screen to demystify the notion that agriculture is a complex sector; hence collaborating with some renowned figures in the Nollywood industry to showcase the agric sector.

The first phase in Nigeria will gulp N350 million, while the N350 million will be spent at the continental level.

The funds will be gotten from our supporting partners, which include the Africa Development Bank (AfDB); OXFARM and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

AfDB, Oxfam as well as CIAT have merely endorsed the concept. We are raising the funds through corporate sponsorship across the continent, he said.

Mbaram cited the Cock Crow at Dawn television series of the 1970s aired on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as one of the firms case study to pursue the Agro Nolly series.

He said the rural areas where core farming activities were domiciled would be the major focal points for the series as well as highlighting implications of governments actions and inaction in the sector.

It is time the political class in Nigeria begins to look at the implications of their actions and inaction. Nigeria must get its acts together to systematically take on the opportunities in the sector.

We need to show and talk about issues as they occur like transportation and marketing. In other climes, transportation of farm produce is easy but in Nigeria, it is hard work because of the state of our roads, he said.

NAN reports that AgroNigeria is the organiser and driver of Feed Nigeria Summit, an annual gathering of stakeholders in the agribusiness space globally.

Source: NAN

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has arrived atFMDQ Security Exchange building, Victoria Island, Lagos, for a meeting with the Nigerian business community.

The prime minister, accompanied by members of her trade delegation, arrived the venue at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr Femi Otedola and Mr Tony Elumelu, among others, had earlier assembled at the venue.

The meeting, expected to last for 40 minutes, would provide an opportunity for forging more bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

May had earlier on Wednesday afternoon arrivedthe Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Ikeja, in Lagos after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

She is billed to spend time with victims of modern slavery during her brief stay in the nations commercial hub.

The prime ministers visit to Lagos comes barely eight weeks after the French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron, visited the African Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos.

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, accompanied by his deputy, among other state officials, received the prime minister at the airport.

After the reception, May drove out of the airport to attend to her engagements in the state.

After Mays meetingwith President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria and Britain signed agreements on Defence and Security partnership, among others.

Mays visit to Nigeria is part of her tour of three African countries. (NAN)

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja assured UK Prime Minister Theresa May of his commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

Mr Femi Adesina, the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement, said Buhari gave the assurance during a bilateral meeting with the visiting Prime Minister at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari welcomed UKs support toward strengthening democratic institutions in the country.

I assure you that Im all out for free, fair and credible elections.

Im very pleased that my party is doing very well. The High Commissioner will brief you more.

The recent successes in polls in Katsina, Bauchi, and Kogi have boosted our morale greatly.

Nigeria has accepted multiparty democracy and that is putting politicians on their toes, forcing them to work harder.

On the anti-corruption campaign, the President applauded Britains support to the country, noting that the success of the fight was very important to ordinary people in the country.

He recalled that Nigeria had great opportunities and resources between 1999 and 2014 due to high oil prices.

But when we came in 2015, oil prices plunged to as low as 37 dollars per barrel.

What we have been doing since 2015 is to focus on infrastructure development, despite low earnings. Work is ongoing on roads, rail, power, and many others, he said.

On Brexit, Buhari noted that it provided an opportunity to strengthen the historic ties between Nigeria and the UK.

We are nervously watching the development about Brexit because we know that the relationship had been on for a long time.

I assure you that I am prepared to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.

The president also thanked the UK government for the support on security and the fight against insurgency in the North-East, as well as the improved trade relations between both countries.

I am very grateful to the British government under you leadership for the help in security, particularly your training team that is in our institution in Kaduna, he said.

Earlier in a remark before the bilateral meeting, Buhari underscored the need for UK support toward reviving Lake Chad, which is a source of livelihood for millions of people.

The president told the visiting prime minister that Europe and China were already conducting an indepth study on recharging the Lake through inter-basin transfer from the Central African Republic.

In her remarks, Prime Minister May said she was pleased to be in Abuja to continue the excellent discussions she started with Buhari in London in April, particularly on security, trade, asset recovery and the fight against corruption.

May welcomed the assurance by the Nigerian government on credible elections in 2019.

Security and defence cooperation are very important steps to address Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa, May said.

On asset recovery, the prime minister said:We do not want to hold anything that belongs to Nigerian people; but we follow the judicial process which can be slow.

She appealed to Buhari to use his position as ECOWAS Chair to keep the issue of human trafficking on the front burner in the sub-region.

Buhari and May witnessed the signing of two agreements an Security and Defence Partnership and Economic Development Forum Agreement.(NAN)

Source: NAN

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), FCT chapter, has passed a vote of no-confidence on the associations national leadership superintended by Mr Honour Sirawoo.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at FCT SWAN emergency congress following the resignation of its Secretary-General, Mr Wale Alabi, on Aug. 23.

Alabi, a member of FCT SWAN, is an Assistant Editor-in-Chief with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

NAN reports that the vote of no-confidence passed on SWAN national leadership, was also necessitated by the purported registration of SWAN at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as an NGO, without the approval of members.

A communiqu issued at the end of the congress said the registration of SWAN as an NGO was a breach of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and SWAN constitutions.

Mr Honour Sirawoo, the National President, having failed in his duties to lead SWAN with efficiency and failure to defend the statute under which he was elected, no longer have our confidence.

We have unanimously decided to pass a vote of no confidence on him and the National Executive Council (NEC) he leads.

We call on the FCT NUJ and the national secretariat to forthwith withdraw the registration of SWAN with CAC which contravenes the NUJ constitution.

FCT SWAN decries the organised removal, suspension and forced resignation of elected members of SWAN NEC and their replacement with non-elected protegees of the president, the communique said.

The congress also frowned at plans to remove the body from the NUJ, noting that SWAN as an affiliate of the NUJ cannot be incorporated as an NGO without the agreement of its members nationwide.

SWAN is a beat association established under the law that established the NUJ, and it shall remain so, the communique also said.

The congress also observed that there was an increase of non-journalists in the SWAN NEC which also contravenes the NUJ constitution.

Source: NAN

Sen. Jonah Jang, former Plateau governor, has joined the race for the PDP’s ticket for the 2019 presidential election, asking for zoning of the ticket to North Central.

Jang, submitted his letter of interest at the state secretariat on Tuesday.

He said that the ticket should be zoned to the area in the interest of equity and fairness.

He argued that the zone had been the belt that tied Nigerians together over time, declaring that he was “the face of that middle belt in the presidential contest”.

Jang regretted that the zone had yet to produce an elected president, saying that his election would end that injustice.

He said that Nigeria was becoming increasingly divided along various lines, and blamed the nation’s enormous security challenges on inherent injustices.

“My innate desire is to rescue Nigeria from the brim of collapse; I want to restore our greatness by building a nation we shall all be proud of,” he said.

Jang promised to make peace and security his major focus if elected, adding that he would build the economy and end the current situation where Nigeria had been turned into a dump site.

He also promised to take a closer look at calls for restructuring of the country to ensure justice for all segments of the population.

Jang promised to tackle impunity and criminality, and vowed to apprehend gunmen that had made life so cheap.

The former governor, who represents Plateau North in the senate, promised to strengthen anti-graft agencies to fight corruption within the confines of the rule of law.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jang’s opponents for the ticket include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, and the former governors of Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Jigawa States – Ahmed Makarfi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Attahiru Bafarawa and Sule Lamido.

Others include the incumbent governors of Sokoto and Gombe States, Aminu Tambuwal and Dankwambo.

Ifeanyi Ubah, President of Nnewi-based FC Ifeanyi Ubah, has admitted that the club was owing its players but said that their welfare was still being taken care of.

Ubah said this during an interactive session with some youths in Awka on Tuesday.

He said indebtedness to players was common to most clubs in the country because of the inability of the League Management Company (LMC) to pay the clubs what was due to them.

The business mogul said the players were right to demand for their pay but decried social media attacks on him as if his was the only club owing.

“The players can agitate because it is their due, they deserve their pay, but the LMC is owing all football clubs in Nigeria for two years now, they have not paid a dime.

“They have been collecting rights from Television, Radio, Adverts running into billions but they have not paid anything to us.

“Governments use their clubs for politics but we are using our own to keep our youths gainfully busy.

“My players are all being taken care of irrespective of the fact that they are being owed like most clubs owe their players too,” he said.

The Anambra Warriors financier described football business in Nigeria as very difficult, saying it was only sheer ingenuity that has kept him in top flight.

He said that some clubs owned by the states could not play their continental matches at home because of inadequate infrastructure, noting that he built a CAF approved stadium in two years.

“Football is expensive to run; out of the 20 clubs in Nigeria’s premier league, 17 belong to state governments, only three are owned by individuals.

“I deserve commendation, staying in the Premier League is not a mean feat, ABS FC owned by the Senate President tried, it was there for one season with all his clout.

“Remo Stars owned by Bet Naija proprietor was there and only stayed for just one season, and even Ikorodu United owned by DSTV manager lasted one season,” he said.

“But Anambra Warriors have been there since four years, I have been highly criticised on the social media but nobody has given me money to run the club, I am just enjoying myself, it’s not political.

“In two years we won FA Cup, we played the South-East and South-South competition last year and won,” he said.

Ubah said that sports were another way of empowering youths and making them discover their talents.

He decried the absence of functional sports stadium in the state, adding that with his stadium, he had “tread where the angels feared’’ and provided the grounds for youths to take part in sports economy.

“Look at the Amansea Stadium, since 1999 up till now, successive governments have refused to invest there, but sports is very import for the development of our youths.

“As a state, we do not have a stadium but I have been able to build one in two years and got certification from CAF.

“Enyimba was playing in Calabar for three years; Plateau United was playing their CAF matches in Lagos.

“Is it not unfortunate that as a governor, your team which is playing continental matches where youths are supposed o cheer them have to play them in faraway places,” he
said.

Ubah has been accused of owing his players for up to eight months which had led to the depletion of the team with the departure of some players.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with former Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan making a surprise appearance.

Uduaghan was a two-term governor of the oil rich state, under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party between 2007 and 2015. In recent times, there have been unconfirmed reports of his switch to the APC.

The meeting was being attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and members of the National Executive Committee of the APC led by its chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. National leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former interim chairman, Chief Bisi Akande were also at the meeting.

Others attending the meeting were APC governors of Borno, Jigawa, Niger, Plateau, Kogi, Adamawa, Ondo, Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Katsina, Osun, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Imo, and Lagos.

Also at the meeting were former governor of Ekiti state, Engineer Segun Oni, Majority leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, former Ebonyi governor, Mr Martin Elechi; former Borno State Governor, Ali Sheriff; former Lagos State Governor, Buba Marwa, General Lawrence Onoja, Jim Nwobodo and Sen. Kabiru Gaya.

Others were former APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; former Enugu State Governor, Sylva Chime, former Edo Governor, Oserheimen Osunbor.

Also in attendance were the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, former Ekiti State governor, Niyi Adebayo, former Akwa Ibom governor, Godswill Akpabio, former Bayelsa governor, Mr Sylva Timipre, former petroleum minister, Don Etiebet, and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Some members of the National Assembly from both Senate and the House of Representatives are also in attendance

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reliably learnt that the meeting being held behind closed doors would be discussing socio-political issues including the forthcoming APC party primaries.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in January released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 general elections.

The timetable covered the Presidential, National and State Assembly, Governorship and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council elections.

The timetable, which was issued by the INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud in Abuja, indicated that party primaries for the Presidential, Governorship, Federal and State Elections would begin on Aug. 18 to end on Oct. 7, 2018.

The Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections would commence on Sept. 4 to end on Oct. 27.

NAN gathered that the meeting of the APC Caucus would deliberate on whether to adopt direct primaries being advocated by the party’s national chairman, Oshiohmole, or indirect primaries, through delegate system

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has adjusted its budget for 2019 elections from N189 billion to N143 billion in compliance with directive from the National Assembly.

The Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC, Sen. Suleiman Nazif, made this known to newsmen after a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, saying that INEC had effected the changes.

He said that the commission submitted a new budget reflecting N143 billion as originally requested by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nazif disclosed that a sub-committee had been set up to look at the proposal and to point out any area of infraction to the committee, adding that the committee was mandated to complete its assignment on Aug. 29.

The National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC had on Monday, recommended N143 billion for approval for the commission’s preparation ahead of the 2019 general elections.

This is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s request on July 11 when he sought the legislators’ approval of N242 billion for the elections.

Specifically, he said that N164.10 billion of the funds was urgently needed to enable INEC to commence preparations for the elections, while the balance of N78.34 billon would be provided for in 2019 Budget.

The President had in his letter of request explained that the urgently needed N164 billion would be allocated as follows: INEC, N143.51 billion; Office of National Security Adviser, N3.86 billion and Department of State Services (DSS), N2.90 billion.

Others are Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, N1.85 billion; Nigeria Police Force, N11.46 billion and Nigeria Immigration Service, N530.1million.

The Senate Committee on INEC had on Aug. 16, queried the commission for presenting a budgetary proposal of N189 billion for the elections, saying it was at variance with the president’s for the polls.

This was because, though Buhari had in his letter requested for N189 billion for the 2019 elections, he said that N143 billion was urgently needed by INEC to begin preparations for the polls.

The money is expected to be vired from the 2018 Budget, especially from the N587 billion, which the president said was inserted by the lawmakers into the budget, raising it from N8.6 trillion to 9.12 trillion.

The Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in the National Assembly, has rejected the N189 billion proposed Budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Arising from a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, the committee directed the electoral body to revert to the N143 billion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari in his letter to the National Assembly.

Buhari had proposed the approval of the INEC budget in trances of N143 and the balance in 2019, but the Electoral body in its own proposal, requested that the total sum be approved and released in one fell swoop.

The Chairman of the Committee Suleiman Nazif (APC, Bauchi) who briefed newsmen after the meeting with INEC, said that INEC has been advised to return on Tuesday with a budget proposal that will reflect the N143 Billion Presented by President Buhari.

“The joint committee has sat and has deliberated the position to adopt the N143 billion as presented by Mr. President at this point in time it is also the wish of this committee that INEC represents their budget of N143bn as requested by Mr. President.

Therefore INEC has an opportunity to reprioritize and this committee will be ready to receive them. This committee will be reconvening tomorrow (Tuesday) by 1:00 O’clock so that we can consider the presentation by INEC,” he said.

The Commission is now expected to return on Tuesday with a harmonized budget figure for speedy approval by the committee.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun investigation into the N117 billion described as “suspicious transactions’’ carried out by the Rivers state government.

According to the Nation, the monies represent over the counter withdrawals in the last three years.

It quoted EFCC sources alleging that there were indications that the withdrawals from the state accounts were laundered by some state officials.

But the state government has described the investigation as “political witch-hunt” and that it would not be intimidated as the state was covered by 2007 court ruling which forbids probe of the state.

The EFCC had so far listed four suspects for interrogation in connection with the massive withdrawals, including an official in-charge of Finance and Accounts at the Government House and also a cashier.

A bank’s Managing Director (MD) had already been detained after he admitted that N5.2 billion was realised as charges for the “controversial” transactions.

According to the sources, the withdrawals were made in tranches of N10 million with as many as 50 cheques cashed in a day.

The sources said it was a case of “gross violation” of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2011.

One of the sources said: “Based on intelligence report, the EFCC swung into action.

“Our findings indicated that the withdrawals were made in cash from the state accounts mostly by one person. There are no records of what the cash was used for. We are working on clues that it was diverted.

“The EFCC team has obtained all the records of the withdrawals, including date and time. For instance, on June 8, 2015 barely few days in government, about 45 cheques amounting to N450million were cashed over the counter for no justifiable purpose.

“Also, on June 9, 2015 about 50 cheques amounting to N500million were withdrawn. We will soon release the details of findings by our team.”

The government, has warned that no government would appear before EFCC on the matter until the Court of Appeal sets aside the 2007 judgment barring the commission from investigating the state.

The governor’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Mr.Simeon Nwakaudu quoted Wike as describing the EFCC’s action as a “political witch-hunt”.

“We are not afraid of their probe and they have no power to probe us.

“No government official will appear before the EFCC until they set aside the court judgment of Rivers State Government against them in 2007. We cannot be intimidated.

“They filed for leave to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal. Until they set aside the judgment, we will not come.“