Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is engaging diplomatically with Saudi Arabia but isnt backing down on concerns about human rights

His comments come two weeks into a spat over Ottawas calls for the release of Saudi activists from detention.

We continue to engage diplomatically with Saudi Arabia, I think its important to have positive relationships with countries around the world, Trudeau told reporters after Cabinet meetings in British Columbia on Thursday.

Source: NAN

Australia was bracing for yet another change of prime minister Friday after a revolt against Malcolm Turnbull by hardline conservatives in his Liberal party, with his near three-year reign hanging by a thread.

Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-winger, has been the stalking horse seeking to unseat Turnbull after a party backlash against his more moderate approach to politics.

Turnbull survived one attempt to knife him on Tuesday, winning a party room vote 48-35, but since then ministers have been defecting and a second letter adership challenge is likely at noon (200GMT) Friday.

Dutton needs to prove he has majority backing, or 43 signatures from within the partys parliamentary group a requirement for him to force a second crack at the top job ahead of national Ok opelections due by mid-2019.

Reports on Friday said at least 43 lawmakers were onboard for a leadership change. Turnbull has asked for a Verification of the signatures and has promised a meeting for voting.

Turnbull, who accused Dutton and his supporters of bullying and intimidation, on Thursday said he would not contest a second leadership challenge and leave parliament, although he did not put a timetable on when he would go.

If he moves out of politics, it would spark a by-election for his Sydney seat, threatening the governments one-seat parliamentary majority.

Even if Dutton gets the numbers for a challenge, there is no guarantee he will assume the top job after foreign minister Julie Bishop and treasurer Scott Morrison, both Turnbull allies, threw their hats in the ring.

During a three-way vote, whoever comes last in the first round will be eliminated with a second round taking place to decide who becomes leader.

Defence industry Minister Christopher Pyne, a Turnbull ally, refused to say who he would be backing and hit out at elements inside his party.

I think some people should have considered the greater good of the people of Australia, and the government, rather than their own self-interest and ambition, he said.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to emulate two security men who returned a handbag filled with valuables, including dollars, forgotten at the Murtala Muhammed Airport by an American returnee.

He said such conduct reflects the new Nigeria that we all desire.

A Lagos-based medical doctor, Banji Oyegbami, who runs Betta Hospital in Agege, had met a family returning from America at the airport on August 18. In the process of loading their luggage into his car, the handbag of the returnees wife fell, unknown to anyone.

It was not until 90 minutes later that an officer of Halogen Securities, on duty at the airport, called the couple, to come for the retrieved bag.

When the bag was eventually collected, the contents, including a handsome amount of American dollars, phone, wrist watch, and other valuables were intact. The grateful couple offered a generous gift, but Messrs Francis Emepueaku and Achi Daniel, declined, saying they were merely doing their duties.

President Buhari said that despite the scoffing of a minority number, Nigeria is resolutely on the road to a new dawn.

Honesty remains the best policy. We must exhibit such behaviour in whatever position we find ourselves, whether high or low, he submits.

The security men could have chosen to behave differently, following the self-serving principle of if you cant beat them, join them. But they have chosen to be examples of good, honest Nigerians. I commend their conduct to the rest of the country.

The President urged Nigerians to bring out the best in themselves at all times, noting that with such minds, they can never be hoodwinked again by those who seek power for selfish and dubious reasons, and return the country to an inglorious past.

Nigeria will no longer be a byword for corruption and plundering of public resources. That is the path we have chosen to take, and our country will eventually get to a new shore, President Buhari affirmed.

Read Dr. Oyegbamis post that triggered President Buharis Reaction:

I am Dr Banji Oyegbami, a Medical practitioner in Lagos. The following story is my practical experience at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos yesterday night 18th August 2018.

As planned I went to the Airport with my driver to pick up my very close friend and his wife that arrived from Atlanta USA on board Delta Airline.

I parked my car on the first floor of the New Multi level car park and walked briskly to wait for my guests in front of the Arrival hall. About an hour of waiting my friend and wife emerged from the entrance pushing the luggage trolley. I rushed forward to meet them and as expected exchanged pleasantries. My driver immediately took over the trolley and we walk briskly to the car park chatting all along the way. We got there and started loading the bags into the boot of the vehicle. Instinctively Madam dropped her handbag on the floor while trying to help the driver with the loading. Loading done. the 4 of us jumped into the car and drove out of the Airport. But my friends wife forgot to pick her handbag.

We journeyed for about one and a half hour in terrible traffic without realizing this.

We were jolted when I received a phone call from the daughter of my friend
in America. She told us that she received a call via her mothers number. The caller informed her that the owner of the phone forgot her bag at the Airport car park, and that we should turn back to collect it.

Source: NAN

South Africas competition watchdog has approved Glencores roughly $900 million bid for Chevrons local and Botswana assets, bolstering its chances of scuppering a rival bid from Chinas Sinopec.

Chevron agreed last year to sell its stake to state-owned Sinopec before miner and commodities trader Glencore swooped in after reaching a deal with minority shareholders, who backed it and exercised preemptive rights on the sale.

At stake is a 75 percent share in Chevrons South African subsidiary that runs a 100,000-barrels-per-day oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban and 820 petrol stations and other oil storage facilities.

The sale also includes 220 convenience stores across South Africa and Botswana.

For Glencore, the deal would secure the traders first refining asset since it ventured into downstream investments. For Sinopec, it would mark its second major refinery investment as the company looks to expand overseas amid a saturated home market.

Both deals have now been given the green light from the Competition Commission subject to several conditions that include the preservation of jobs after the deal.

It is now up to the Competition Tribunal, which makes the final ruling on deals, to decide whether to accept the Commissions recommendations.

The Tribunal has already approved Sinopecs bid.

Source: NAN

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned all those calling for his head about the consequences of his impeachment.

In an interview with Fox and Friends host Ainsley Earhardt in White House, Trump said the market would crash if he were forced out of office.

I think everybody would be very poor, he said, before pointing to his head. Because without this thinking, you would see numbers that you wouldnt believe.

Calls for Trumps impeachment came in the wake of revelations by his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen that he paid hush money to two women, on Trumps instruction.

But in the interview broadcast early Thursday, Trump questioned why there are calls for his impeachment because hes somebody whos done a great job.

Fox and Friends host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump if Democrats will move to impeach him if they retake the House during Novembers midterm elections.

I dont know how you can impeach somebody whos done a great job, Trump responded.

If Hillary Clinton had been elected, Trump said, the gross domestic product rate would not have hit 4.1 percent this last quarter.

Had Hillary and the Democrats gotten in, had she been president, you would have had negative growth, he said.

Trump also touted his great relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping days before he is expected to impose another round of tariffs on China. Beijing is then expected to retaliate.

When I came in, China was a dominant force, he told Earhardt. Now they like me very much.

Trump has previously warned that Republicans need to maintain the House majority, otherwise he could face impeachment from Democrats.

Calls for Trumps removal have renewed this week after his former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and implicated the president.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), however, said on Wednesday that Trumps ouster is not a priority.

Source: NAN

British Airways will suspend flights between London Heathrow and Tehran from in September.

The airline said its last outbound service will operate on September 22, with the final inbound flight returning on September 23.

We are suspending our London to Tehran service as the operation is currently not commercially viable.

We are sorry for any disruption this may cause to our customers travel plans and we are in discussions with our partner airlines to offer customers rebooking options.

Alternatively, they will be offered a full refund or the opportunity to bring their flights forward.

BA relaunched flights to the Iranian capital in September 2016 following a gap of four years. Business Traveller reviewed the service shortly after its launch.

It was not clear whether the flight suspension is rooted in the collapse of Iranian currency and soaring food prices following President Trumps re-imposition of sanctions on the country.

Source: NAN

A legal practitioner, Mr Realwan Okpanachi says that President Muhammadu Buhari is likely to be re-elected in 2019 due to his sterling quality of trust.

Okpanachi, of Joe Abrahams (SAN) & Company, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, many Nigerians, especially those in the north trust him more than any other leader.

Okpanachi, also a political analyst and social commentator said no candidate would be able to beat Buhari in the 2019 general elections.

According to Okpanachi, though Senate President Bukola Saraki is in-charge of Kwara politics, he can do minimal harm because the voting strength of Kwara is limited.

“Although Buhari got more than 300,000 votes from Kwara in the 2015 general elections, yet this is a figure that can simply come from one federal constituency in the north where he is very popular.

“For example, in Katsina north with 12 Local Government Areas, there are almost a million registered voters,’’ Okpanachi said.

Analysing the political space further, the lawyer said that from the geo-political point of view, it was only few zones that the president lost ground in 2015, compared to those he won, which includes the north central.

He opined that although, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso could pose a threat if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave him a presidential ticket, but this threat could be doused because Buhari was also popular there.

The social commentator noted that with the power of incumbency, Buhari could influence and shape the political space, adding that besides, he also had support from the governor of Kano State, and members of the National Assembly.

“So, the combination of all these forces can completely neutralise Kwankwaso to such an extent that he cannot cause serious damage even if he has his supporters across the northern states,” Okpanachi said.

According to him, the president is very much on ground in Kano State, and so “if Kwankwaso saw himself as a son of the soil, he can as well see himself as a son of the soil.”

Okpanachi said that Buhari’s popularity had been tested and proven in Kano even while Kwankwaso was the governor.

The analyst said that since Buhari ventured into politics in 2003, he had never lost elections in his strong hold which comprises Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and Borno.

“And these are states the opposition has not been able to make any serious inroads, besides, the people are not even interested in the opposition.

“What they know is that there is an element in the president which is very scarce in other politicians in those areas, and that is trust,” he said.

He said that come 2019, Buhari would garner nothing less than 25 per cent from the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones.

According to him, this is attainable with the likes of former governor of Akwa Ibom, Mr Godswill Akpabio defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other strong politicians who are already on ground.

“Before the last election, someone like Sen. Ndoma Egba was not with the president, but now he’s with him. There are also appointees he has from that place who were not there before,” he said.

Okpanachi opined that in Rivers state, the president would surely do better than he did in the 2015 elections.

He said even though former Gov. Rotimi Amaechi supported Buhari, his powers were neutralised by federal might. But now the federal might was in favour of Amaechi.

“All Amaechi has to do is to ensure that the kind of rigging that allegedly took place in Rivers state during 2015 elections should not repeat itself.

“And with what is going on in Delta state where political heavy weights are going into the ruling party, Buhari is sure to get 25 per cent which he needs,” Okpanachi said.

Mr Timothy Agbaragu, the Head, Public Relations/Protocol Department, Delta High Court, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Asaba.

The governor said the order took effect from Aug. 20, 2018.

Okowa said the order was in exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 24 (1) of the Magistrate Court Law, Cap M1, Vol. 3, Laws of Delta State, 2006.

The law empowers the governor to increase the jurisdiction of magistrates in civil and criminal matters.

By the order, the maximum monetary limits of Chief Magistrates (Special Grade), Chief Magistrate Grade 1 and Chief Magistrate Grade 2, has been increased to N10 million, N8 million and N5 million, respectively.

Senior Magistrate Grade 1 and Senior Magistrate Grade 2 now have jurisdiction on matters within N3 million and N2 million.

Magistrate Grade 1 and Grade 2 shall have jurisdiction on matters within in N1 million and N500, 000, he stated.

The governor said that the order followed the recommendation of the state Chief Judge, Justice Marshal Umukoro.

The recommendation provides that in all actions relating to landlord and tenant, the claimant may in addition claim arrears of rent and the profits.

This is irrespective of the fact that the total claim exceeds the amount assigned to the cadre of magistrate concerned.

Okowa also increased the criminal jurisdiction of magistrate courts to Chief Magistrate Special Grade.

The governor said that Chief Magistrate Grade 1 and Grade 2 were now empowered by the order to impose sentences/fines of 14 years or fine not less than N250, 000.

He said they now had powers to impose sentences of 10 years or fines not less than N200, 000 and six years imprisonment or fine not less than N150, 000.

The governor said these were applicable where the law creating the offences did not make any specific provisions.

Similarly, Senior Magistrate Grade 1 and 2 can now sentence convicts to four years and three years, while their criminal jurisdiction has been expanded to sentence convicts to two years and one year.

Source: NAN

The Ondo State Police Command on Thursday paraded a 43-year-old man, Francis Oladapo, who was arrested for allegedly issuing fake number plates to some motorists and motorcyclists in the state.

The commands spokesman, Mr Femi Joseph, said that the suspect collected over N4,000 from each of his victims while carrying out his illegal activities.

Joseph said that detectives from the command swung into action by arresting Oladapo after they had received information regarding his illegal act from the members of the public.

It was unfortunate that on sighting the police, the suspects accomplices escaped arrest.

This illegal act no doubt must have depleted the revenues that should have accrued to the state government revenues, the spokesman said.

Joseph, however, advised the members of public to only register their motors and motorcycles at the State Board of Internal Revenue or at the office of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

The suspect told newsmen that he was introduced to the illegal business two years ago by a gang member now at large.

He said that he was not aware that his accomplices were engaged in criminality.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari said the combined efforts of defectors and their backers in the opposition will not distract his administration from the good work it is doing for the benefit and development of Nigeria.

President Buhari, who spoke in Daura on Thursday stressed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has the full understanding of Nigerias challenges and is encouraged by the support of Nigerians in addressing them.

The President spoke at a lunch with some APC Governors accompanied by some members of the National and State assemblies and commissioners.

We are always encouraged when all our constituents are happy with the work we are doing and our genuine efforts to make sure that what we campaigned for in 2015 is still very much in our minds and we have not lost focus.

In terms of security, economy and the fight against corruption we have maintained focus. Even the opposition with all their resources cannot fault our identification of Nigerias priorities and the efforts being made to better them.

We will continue to do what we ought to do in the leadership position God has placed us and we thank the constituents for the support, he said.

On the defections within the major political parties, the President reiterated his earlier message to them: for those who have decided to change camp for whatever reason, we wish them good luck.

The leader of the delegation and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State commended the President for his great efforts in keeping the nation together through visionary leadership.

He noted that President Buhari had remained focused and unshaken by situations and circumstances, adding that it shows that your administration is approved by God.

Okorocha told the President, we are here to encourage you to keep doing what you are doing as Nigerians are very very pleased with you.

We also want to inform you that we had wonderful and peaceful Sallah celebration across the country because of security of lives and property you have guaranteed in our nation.

Governor Okorocha was accompanied by the Governors of Katsina, Kebbi, Kano and Niger States.

Source: NAN

A multinational research team has identified the genes responsible for inherited breast cancer in Nigerian women, according to the study published in the 21 August issue of the Journal for Clinical Oncology.

“This is the first study to use high-throughput genomic analysis of African women,” said study author Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and associate dean for Global Health at the University of Chicago.

“Based on state-of-the-art genomic technologies, two things were clear,” added co-author Mary-Claire King, PhD, American Cancer Society Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Risks to Nigerian women who carry mutations in breast cancer genes are higher than risks to women in the U.S. with mutations in the same genes. And inherited breast cancer plays a bigger role in the total occurrence of breast cancer in Nigeria compared to the U.S.”

According to a report by www.news-medical.net, the study enrolled 1,136 women with invasive breast cancer and 997 controls; women of similar ages and heritage who did not have breast cancer. Disease was far more advanced at diagnosis than in the U.S., with 86 percent of the patients who were fully evaluated diagnosed at either stage 3 or stage 4.

Almost half (46 percent) of the patients were diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (tumors that lack estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptors). This is an aggressive breast cancer subtype, likely to have with a poor prognosis, even in wealthy countries.

For their study of “Inherited Breast Cancer in Nigerian Women,” the authors sequenced 25 genes associated with increased risk of breast cancer and identified all damaging mutations in each of those genes.

They found that one out of eight breast cancers in the study was caused by an inherited mutation in one of four of these genes. Mutations in BRCA1 (7 percent of patients) and BRCA2 (4 percent) were the most common, followed by PALB2 (1 percent) and TP53 (0.4 percent).

Patients with BRCA1 or TP53 mutations were diagnosed at younger ages than women with other mutations. The mean age at diagnosis for all cases in the study was 47.5 years, but the BRCA1 carriers were diagnosed at an average age of 42.6 years. Patients with TP53 mutations were diagnosed even earlier, at an average age of 32.8 years.

“Genomic sequencing to identify women at extremely high risk of breast cancer could be a highly innovative approach to tailored risk management and life-saving interventions,” the authors wrote. Given the limited treatment resources available in this setting, “prevention and early detection services should target these highest-risk women.”

Following up on the study, the Chicago-Ibadan team has already developed a risk-prediction model for breast cancer in Nigerian and other Sub-Saharan African women, who are, on average, more than 10 years younger when diagnosed than American women. This predictive model can identify individuals at high risk of breast cancer, tailor surveillance and suggest risk-reduction strategies.

There is an urgent need to address “widening global disparities in breast cancer mortality that disproportionately impact women of African ancestry,” the authors wrote. Breast cancer among both African American and Nigerian women is more frequently triple-negative than in other populations for complex reasons that remain poorly understood. Given the young ages at diagnosis in Nigeria, focusing on genetically high-risk women could, the authors suggest, “substantially reduce premature mortality from breast cancer.”

“It may seem paradoxical to apply the most recent technology in severely resource-limited settings,” the authors add, “but in fact the solution fits the problem… Women with extremely high risk of breast cancer due to mutations in these genes can be identified inexpensively and unambiguously, and offered interventions to reduce cancer risk.”

“Coordinating our team of clinicians and scientists and community elders in Nigeria was no small feat, but we got the job done despite resource constraints,” said Adeyinka Falusi, PhD, Professor of Hematology and L’OREAL/UNESCO Laureate, Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training in the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

“As the premier institution in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan remains committed to deploying science and technology to improve the health of Africans on the continent and throughout the diaspora,” she said. “Lessons learned in Nigeria can be transferred back to low resource settings in the U.S. and other countries.

African and African American women are more likely than women of other ancestries to develop and to die from triple-negative breast cancer.

The Nigerian Breast Cancer Study, based in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria, has been in the field for more than 20 years. During this period, breast cancer incidence throughout the country has steadily increased.

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to assist a visually-impaired National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, currently deployed to Daura, Katsina State.

28-year old Okenala Ahmed, a graduate of Insurance from the Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State, was among the Corps members who paid Sallah homage to President Buhari Tuesday in Daura, as part of activities to mark the Eid-El-Kabir celebrations.

In the course of the President’s interaction with the Corps members, the Corps Liaison Officer (CLO), Jibrin Ishak, had appealed for assistance for their physically challenged member.

According to the CLO, the indigent Corps member, who is from Offa, Kwara State, had earlier contemplated redeployment from Katsina State due to his health condition.

President Buhari will undertake the cost of medical care and treatment of Ahmed, who is an Economics NYSC teacher at Government Day Senior Secondary School, Daura.

The President of the Senate Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki has responded to reports credited to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu claiming that he (Saraki) and some other left the party because they could not actualise their selfish personal interests.

In a statement personally signed by Saraki and made available to newsmen in Abuja and posted on his Facebook page and twitter handle, Saraki said that he would have refrained from joining issues with Tinubu but was compelled by the urge to set the record straight.

I have always restrained from joining issues in the media with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is based on my respect for him. However, I will not allow him to create a wrong, false and mischievous impression...

Read more here: https://t.co/Cq0vkcoXbk pic.twitter.com/7y1ioNd3vO

— Bukola Saraki (@bukolasaraki) August 20, 2018

Saraki said that he respected Tinubu a lot but must make clear his decision to leave the APC, hence his response to Tinubu.

According to the Chairman of the National Assembly, he had frequently complained about how the National Assembly was not being carried along and treated with contempt on matters that would still need the approval of the law making body.

Saraki reminded the APC National Leader that he made it clear that the decision was ‘imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist’.

He accused Tinubu of having not forgiven him for being part of the APC leaders that foisted a Muslim-Muslim ticket that was proposed in 2014.

Below is the full text of the statement by Saraki:

I have always restrained from joining issues in the media with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and this is based on my respect for him. However, I will not allow him to create a wrong, false and mischievous impression about the reasons for my decision to exit the All Progressives Congress (APC) and present his prejudice as facts for public consumption.

I have been consistent in my complaints to all leaders of the APC, including Tinubu, that a situation where the National Assembly is not constructively engaged or carried along in key policy decisions, particularly those that will eventually require legislative approval, is not in the best interest of the nation.

No genuine leader of the legislature will be comfortable that the Presidency will simply write a terse letter to the National Assembly on key issues which the federal legislature is expected to later deliberate upon and give its approval.

The Buhari administration consistently treats the legislature with contempt and acts as if the lawmaking body should be an appendage of the Executive. To me, this is unacceptable.

In the same way, I find it very objectionable that many stakeholders who worked strenuously to get the administration into office have now been excluded in the government and not consulted on key decisions as necessary and expected.

In fact, some of them are treated as pariahs. A party that ignores justice, equity and inclusion as basic pre-conditions for peace, unity and stability cannot sustain its membership and leadership.

Let me redirect the attention of the former Governor of Lagos State to the aspect of my July 31, 2018, statement announcing my exit from APC in which I emphasized that the decision “has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist”.

In that statement, I further noted that those APC elements “have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded.

All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.

The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party.

Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere”.

Tinubu himself will recall that during the various meetings he had with me at the time he was pursuing reconciliation within the APC, I raised all the above issues. I can also vividly recall that he himself always expressed his displeasure with the style of the government and also mentioned that he had equally suffered disrespect from the same government which we all worked to put in office.

I also made the point that whatever travails I have gone through in the last three years belong to the past and will not shape my decisions now and in the future.

However, during those meetings, the point of disagreement between Tinubu and I is that while I expressed my worries that there is nothing on ground to assure me that the administrative style and attitude would change in the next four years in a manner that will enable us to deliver the positive changes we promised to our people, he (Tinubu) expressed a strong opinion that he would rather ‘support a Buhari to get a second term because in 2023, power will shift to the South-West. This viewpoint of Tinubu’s was not only expressed to me but to several of my colleagues. So much for acting in national interest.

It is clear that while my own decision is based on protecting the collective national interest, Tinubu will rather live with the identified inadequacies of the government for the sake of fulfilling and preserving his presidential ambition in 2023. This new position of Tinubu has only demonstrated inconsistency — particularly when one reviews his antecedents over the years.

Again, let me reiterate my position that my uncertain and complex relationship with Tinubu has been continually defined by the event of 2014 when myself and other leaders of the APC opposed the Muslim-Muslim ticket arrangement about to be foisted on the APC for the 2015 polls.

It should be noted that he has not forgotten the fact that I took the bull by the horns and told him that in the interest of the country, he should accept the need for the party to present a balanced ticket for the 2015 General Elections in terms of religion and geo-political zones. Since that time he has been very active; plotting at every point to undermine me, both within and outside the National Assembly.

It is a surprise to me that Asiwaju Tinubu is still peddling the falsehood about the fact that my defection is about automatic ticket and sharing of resources. Members of the public will recall that when the issue of my decision to quit APC came to the fore and many APC leaders were holding meetings with me, a newspaper owned by the same Tinubu published a false report about the promise of automatic tickets, oil blocks and other benefits.

I immediately rebutted their claims and categorically stated that I never discussed any such personal and pecuniary benefits with anybody. My challenge that anybody who has contrary facts should come forward with them still remains open.

It should be known that Democracy is a system that allows people to freely make their choices. It is my choice that I have decided to join others to present a viable alternative platform for Nigerians in the coming elections. Tinubu and leaders of the APC had better respect this decision or lawfully deal with it. As for me, Allah gives power to whom He wishes. Human beings can only aspire and strive to fulfill their aspirations.

Signed:

Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
President of the Senate

The Presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated his fitness to run for a second term by trekking 800 metres from the Eid-praying ground in Daura to his private residence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports after the Eid-prayers, President Buhari shunned protocol and opted to trek some 800 metres, acknowledging cheers from Nigerians, who lined up on his home route to catch a glimpse of him.

One of the aspirants interested in the president’s office is Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state. He said last week that President is “too old’’ to continue to rule the country beyond 2019

According to Tambuwal, President Muhammadu Buhari is just too old to be Nigeria’s leader, despite his integrity and impeccable character. Tambuwal stated this during a solidarity visit of students and youth in Sokoto, last week.

Tambuwal said: “We love President Buhari and that was why we supported him in 2015 unconditionally, and while doing that, we are too sure that he will seek re-election after his first term, but when things are wrong we have to tell him.

“We still believe in his integrity, patriotism and courage but these are not enough for a leader.

“We all know that there is a vacuum in the government occasioned by his disposition probably because of his old age or health condition.

“That is why Nigerians are yearning for younger ones to lead this country.’’

However, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the trekking by the president was a positive response to Tambuwal’s diatribe.

“I think there are two things here; one is to say that the President is responsive to the enormous support and commitment of his own people that had come out in their numbers to see him and he just decided that he couldn’t go on riding in a black vehicle and he came out and walked to the distance.

“The second thing, he is curious that these days, one or two people who are aspiring to be president are campaigning on their youthfulness and good health.

“I think the president has done one thing today – that the issue is not how old one is but how fit he is ; how healthy he is. Now that the president has proven his fitness and well-being to continue in office is a settled matter

“I think that if people want to campaign against him they should do so on issues that are of significance to Nigerians. The President is fit, he is healthy; he is good to go for second term,’’ he said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) is set for the trial of Gbenga Makanjuola, deputy chief of staff to the Senate President Bukola Saraki and a former Managing Director of Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria( SGBN), Mr. Robert Mbonu.

The duo are to be arraigned over the alleged conversion of N3.5billion of N19billion London-Paris Club refund to states.

The other accused are Melrose General Services Limited and Obiora Amobi. No date has been fixed for the trial of the suspects at a Federal High Court in Lagos, TheNation newspaper reported today.

Following protests by states over deductions for external debt service between 1995 and 2002, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of N522.74 billion (first tranche) refund to them, pending reconciliation of records.

Each state was entitled to N14.5 billion or 25 per cent of the amount claimed.

The release of the cash was trailed by a huge controversy, including payment of N19billion consultancy fees and $86million into the accounts of the NGF.

The EFCC in the last two years has been investigating the alleged diversion of the N19billion under the guise of consultancy fees, including the N3.5billion, which was allegedly remitted to Melrose General Services Limited, allegedly with links to Mbonu.

About $183,000 of the N3.5billion was transferred to a Dubai jeweler patronised by some senators.

In the charges against the suspects, the EFCC said there was no service rendered to have warranted the payment of the N3.5billion.

The charges read in part: “That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu, Melrose General Services Limited and other persons at large on or about the 14th day of December, 2016 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to disguise the unlawful origin of the sum of N3.5billion paid into the account of Melrose General Services Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu and Melrose General Services Limited having reason to know that N3.5billion directly represented the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: Conspiracy and Stealing: did convert the said funds which you received from the Nigeria Governors Forum under the false guise that you were entitled to payment of consultancy fees from money recovered for the states in relation to “over-deductions on Paris and London club loans on the account of the states and local government (1995-2002)” which service you did not render and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu and Melrose General Services Limited on or about the 14th December, 2016 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did retain in the Access Bank Plc Account No. 0005892453 operated by Melrose General Services Limited the sum of N3, 500,000,000.00 received from the Nigeria Governors Forum when you reasonably ought to know that the said money was a direct proceed of your unlawful activity to wit Conspiracy and Stealing: and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2) ((1) 0f the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu and Melrose General Services Limited on or about the 20th of December, 2015 in Lagos wihln the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did transfer the sum 0f N50m being part of N3.5billion which represented the direct proceed of your unlawful activity to wit: (Conspiracy and Stealing) to Gbenga Makanjuola and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.

That you Gbenga Makanjuola on or about the 20th of December, 2016 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make cash payment of the sum of N50, 000,000.00 (Fifty million naira) to Robert Chidozie Mbonu without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 201 1 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu on or about the 20th of December, 2016 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did accept cash payment of the sum of N50million from Gbenga Makanjuola without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of‘ the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu and Melrose General Services Limited between the 15th December 2016 and 17th December, 2016 in Lagos Within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did transfer the sum of N300million being part of N3.5billion which represented the direct proceed of your unlawful activity (to wit Conspiracy and Stealing) to Obiora Amobi and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.

“That you Obiora Amobi between the 15th December 2016 and 17th December, 2016 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make cash payment of N300million to Robert Chidozie Mbonu without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act.

“That you Robert Chidozie Mbonu on or about the 20th of December, 2016 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did accept cash payment of N300million from Obiora Amobi without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act.

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has offered a political-philosophical analysis on why Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal left the APC.

He said the duo quit because the APC could not offer them what they wanted.

In a major analysis of the political situation in Nigeria, titled “They go Away because We go the Right Way, which he also tweeted, Tinubu said the two defectors left the APC because they “wanted automatic tickets and sharing of the national wealth which the APC could not guarantee”.

“The rest of the defectors were given similar assurances by the PDP as to their offices. The APC refused to make such bargains as they are part of the ancient regime; these bargains are not of our democratic new way.

They “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges

“Governor Tambuwal’s exit can be distilled to one cause. He covets the presidency. However, he had not the stomach to challenge President Buhari in a primary. Tambuwal felt further insulted that he would be compelled to face a direct primary just to retain the governorship

“But for the promise made by PDP hardliners like Rivers State Governor Wike that he would have the PDP presidential nomination, Tambuwal would not have left. His exit had nothing to do with governance of the nation. It was about forging a personal ambition predicated on the defeat of progressive reform not the advancement of it”.

“Much the same for Senate President Saraki. Returning to the PDP, he harbours dreams of the presidency but Tambuwal’s ambition will dwarf Saraki’s when the two collide. If Saraki had remained in the APC, he would be unable to reclaim his Senate seat let alone the Senate Presidency. He thus bolted because he lusts for the presidency but was promised by the PDP, at least, a return to his position in the Senate”.

“For Saraki to talk about lack of governance is for him to deny who he is and the position he holds. This man stands as Nigeria’s Number 3 citizen. Clothed is he in ample power and influence. If he saw areas where government and the nation needed help, he could have easily applied his energies to these areas. He could have drafted legislation and easily got laws passed.

“However, no progressive enactment bears his name for he cared not for progress. He has been more focused on changing the rules of the Senate to favour himself and changing the order of elections so as to coincide with his selfish designs”.

Asiwaju Tinubu asked the people to go beyond the debate on the numbers in the Senate or House of Representatives, saying “we must pull back from the shallow headlines to recognise that something fundamental is at stake.

“Nigeria is undergoing a historic transition. Sometimes awkwardly, tentatively, yet inexorably, we nurture political and governance reform. We steadily close the door on the old malpractices that have caused a rich nation to reside in the tenement of the global poor”.

“There is nothing wrong with ambition. Without a degree of ambition, we would never strive to improve and develop ourselves. But ambition, restrained by nothing but itself, is a dangerous commodity. Unwedded to social conscience, it leads to ruthlessness; it is the father of the deception that leaders are meant to lord over instead of to serve the populace.

“In the final analysis, the reason for the defections is as clear to see as it is crooked in its motives. The APC seeks to reform governance and politics. However, many powerful people believe the established system assures their maximum benefit. Progressive reform would defeat them. They must fight reform and never be allied to it. Thus, they had to leave the APC.

“In a fundamental way, the APC may be better for their exit. It would be untrue to say their departures did not generate concern. As the air clears and we can better assess what is lost and gained by their exit, I can truthfully say the APC will be better off because they are gone.

“We can more decisively push for the jobs programme, expansion of social security for the poor, affordable housing programs and a viable mortgage system, national infrastructural programme that will provide adequate power and potable water, basic health care for all, and educational reform. Each of these is important in itself. In combination, these objectives shall reshape the very landscape of our political economy. They shall bring fairness and prosperity where none has been. They will give the average person a government that serves them and the land that they deserve.

“We can now focus more wholly on democratic governance inside and outside the party. Inside the party, we have adopted direct primaries to discourage corruption of the democratic process. Regarding public policy, we can now better articulate our progressive stance without having naysayers among complaining that we are going too far or that the good we seek for the people ought not to be done.

“We can more decisively push for the jobs programme, expansion of social security for the poor, affordable housing programs and a viable mortgage system, national infrastructural programme that will provide adequate power and potable water, basic health care for all, and educational reform. Each of these is important in itself. In combination, these objectives shall reshape the very landscape of our political economy. They shall bring fairness and prosperity where none has been. They will give the average person a government that serves them and the land that they deserve.

“But this prospect means a large segment of the political class will oppose the APC. We, as a party, must have the courage to accept this reality. Having decided to place the public welfare above the private welfare of the few, we must forge ahead no matter the foes aligned against us.

”This struggle toward a better Nigeria is hard, described more by difficult obstacles than by smooth passages. Had reform been easy, the task would have already been accomplished. Powerful hands have gathered to halt our collective move forward. Not everyone wants a better Nigeria for all. Those who profit from the imbalances of the past are those who fear a fairer tomorrow.

”Come the general election, the people will face a stark choice. If they want to relive the certain failure and inequality of the system the PDP had erected against their very interests, the people will walk the way of the defectors. If the people want to give themselves a better chance at an excellent nation they will adhere to the path elected in 2015 when they voted for reform and the APC.

“I believe in the collective wisdom of the people. They will choose the right way for they are Nigerians which means they shall do what is right and just”.

” This moral battle informed the recent defections. Those who belong to that PDP mode of thought could find no permanent comfort in walking the path of progressive reform and progress. All the things we have inaugurated such as school-feeding programs for poor pupils, social security for poor families, affordable housing programs, greater access to credit for small businesses and greater access to education and health care, these things the defectors could not well abide. They detested President Buhari’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) innovation because it barred them from mis-directing funds into a maze of unaudited accounts from which they could siphon as they pleased. Buhari cut off their clandestine illicit spigot.

“These politicians see accountable good governance and lifting of the common person as the tearing down of their quest for great riches and power.

Even more so, they detested the APC drive toward greater internal democracy. They bristled when we demanded that congresses and conventions be held; they had demanded giving themselves automatic extension in their positions. They privately erupted as the APC decided that direct primaries where all party members vote on the party’s nominations should be the way of the future. The injection of greater democracy meant a decrease in their ability to manipulate end results. Politics will be ushered out of the backroom and given to the people to whom sovereignty genuinely belongs. These men could not countenance such transformation. They saw it not as the gift of democracy but as an obstacle that complicated their self-interest. They left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges.

“Their defection statements swell with high-sounding words and the attempted grasp of lofty ideals. While I shall refrain from being so coarse as to call these statements counterfeit, I must invoke a sufficient level of common sense for the protection of all. Anyone who accepts their statements at face value will quickly experience buyer’s remorse. Their attempt at fine notions aside, what compelled these people was galloping yet blind ambition.”

Musician Yinka Ayefele’s multi-million naira studio came under the bulldozers today, as the Oyo state government made good its threat to demolish the building for violating town planning rules.

The demolition of the building began this morning, with Ayefele posting photographs of the rubble on his Instagram page, with an emotional statement:

“Oyo state government did at last…..my pain my sweat..so help me God.”

The destruction of the N800m building and content, attracted hundreds of Ibadan residents.
Oyo government said the building contravened the state’s planning laws and blamed it for three fatal accidents on the abutting highway.

NAN reports that the demolished Music House located at the Challenge-Toll gate road, is also home to Ayefele’s Fresh FM Station.

Ayefele had approached an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan seeking to stop the demolition.

Ayefele’s counsel, Mr Olayinka Bolanle, in an exparte motion, filed before the court, sought for an order of the court restraining the state government from demolishing the property pending the determination of the suit.

Bolanle also stated that due process was followed in the construction of the structure while relevant approvals were obtained from the state’s departments and agencies associated with land and housing.

Justice I. Yerima ordered the claimant to ensure service of the court process on the respondent and adjourned the case till Monday for the hearing of the exparte motion.

The state government on Sunday, however, demolished the structure.

Witnesses told NAN that bulldozers moved in at about 4.30 a.m. to commence the demolition while Fresh FM alerted the public on the development.

The government officials and equipment used in the exercise had since left the scene.

NAN reports that the radio station had since been off air while a huge crowd gathered at the site.

Fresh from his return home on Saturday from a 10 working day vacation in London, President Muhammadu Buhari dropped a message to treasury looters and corrupt Nigerians.

In an interview with NTA, he gave an assurance that he would not spare anyone found guilty of any corrupt practice or sabotaging the nation’s economy.

”We are going to jail more of the thieves that brought the economic problems to the country. I think that is being expected of me and I will do it,” he said

Buhari, who also reacted to happenings during his absence, including the cases of defections by politicians, said the incidents were part of the beauty of democracy.

He, however, advised all eligible Nigerians to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to enable them elect public officers of their choose.

Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC-Nasarawa) has called for a probe into the allocations to the National Assembly in the last couple of years.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, Adamu alleged that the allocation to the federal legislature has been muddled up.

He accused the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki, who is the Chairman of the National Assembly of ‘messing up’ the allocation to the National Assembly.

“I call for a forensic audit of the finances of the Parliament which has been thoroughly messed up by the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki who is the Chairman of the National Assembly,” he said.

Adamu insisted that Saraki’s influence had completely diminished, stressing that it was in view of that that he called off the resumption of the Senate last week.

He argued that the only reason Saraki was still the President of the Senate was due to the privileges he enjoyed.

“He has lost the respect and confidence of majority of senators and well-meaning Nigerians, but he’s just latching on to that seat (of Senate President) because of the privileges he enjoys.

“Ordinarily, Saraki needed not wait for any pressure to be mounted on him before he resigns from his position as Senate president.

“You can’t command any respect or assert your authority as a leader when majority of those you’re supposed to lead have lost confidence in you and are opposed to your leadership.

“So, if he’s a self-respecting person, he doesn’t even need anyone to ask that he should throw in the towel because he and his PDP have lost majority in the Senate,” he said.

According to the former Nasarawa State governor, Saraki is entitled to aspire to any office in the land, including that of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “but he shouldn’t try to destroy the system just because he wants to realise that ambition at all costs”.

On who succeeds Saraki, if he exits from his seat as Senate President, Adamu said: “you don’t cross a bridge before you get to it.

“All the speculations about the purported rift is aimed at dividing us and distracting us from our determination to assert the interest of our party which enjoys the majority in the Senate,” he said.

While reacting to the recent Senatorial bye-elections conducted in Katsina and Bauchi, the lawmaker said it was a sign of victory for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2019.

“They were the clearest pointers to the victories that would be recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2019 General Elections.

Adamu further said that his party’s victory was not only “remarkable”, but also point to the confidence that the nation’s citizens had in Buhari and in the APC administration.

He however called on the APC to make frantic efforts to reduce the level of poverty in Nigeria.

He also stressed the need for the ruling party and the Executive to intensify efforts on implementation of economic enhancement programmes of the Buhari administration.

“The APC needs to urgently, after the vote of confidence reposed in it, accelerate our efforts to empower the ordinary citizens in order to reduce the level of poverty in the land.”

“I think this is the time for our party, the APC to galvanise all our teeming members, especially members of Mr. President’s cabinet to accelerate our pace in executing capital projects as another avenue for deepening the rising public confidence in the administration,” he said.

In what appears like a political earthquake, 252 Special advisers and Special assistants appointed by Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state have resigned their appointments.

And they have returned to the All Progressives Congress, instead of working under a PDP government.

Alhaji Ibrahim Haske, a special adviser to the renegade governor and spokesman for all the aides, announced this at a news conference in Sokoto on Sunday.

He said their decision followed Gov. Tambuwal’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Our appointment is based on the position that APC is the political party governing the state and now that the government belongs to PDP, we have no option other than to resign.

“We are bonafide members of APC and our position has always remained same; we therefore resign voluntarily from the PDP government ,” Haske said.

Haske, who was a former Sokoto South Local Government Chairman, further explained the decision was based on their desire to support APC to deliver on its mandate after the 2019 general elections.

Alhaji Abdullahi Sokoto, also a special adviser to Tambuwal, restated the former aides’ commitment and dedication toward ensuring the success of APC across the state.

“We will continue to remain in our party APC and as such we sacrifice our political appointments to clarify people’s doubt and show our stand on party supremacy.”

He restated the group’s loyalty and support to the policies and programme of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of APC.

In his reaction, the APC Chairman in the state, Alhaji Sadiq Achida, commended the former aides to Gov. Tambuwal for their demonstration of loyalty to the party.

He said, “the sacrifice of the Special advisers is highly recommended and will surely be rewarded by the people and APC in future.”