The All Progressives Congress (APC) is planning a massive ceremony to receive defecting minority senate leader Godswill Akpabio on August 9.

Senator Akpabio who is currently a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has completed plans to defect to the national ruling APC.

According APC United Kingdom, Acting President YemiOsinbsjo, accompanied by Senator (Dr ) Ita Enang, and leaders of the APC in Akwa Ibom would formally receive Akpabio into APC at Ikot Ekpene Stadium.

It said that all lovers of democracy were invited to attend the ceremony.

BREAKING!

Acting President, accompanied by Senator (Dr ) Ita Enang, and leaders of the APC in Akwa Ibom to formally receive Senator (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio into APC at Ikot Ekpene Stadium on Thursday 9 August, 2018.

All lovers of Democracy are cordially invited.

APC United Kingdom (@APCUKingdom)

In the twitter handle of the Presidential Liaison to the National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang, he wrote: Im confirming that the APCNigeria family as earlier indicated will formally receive H.E,@godswill_akpabio on Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at an elaborate ceremony in Akwa-Ibom State.

Im confirming that the @APCNigeria family as earlier indicated will formally receive H.E,@godswill_akpabio on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8,2018 at an elaborate ceremony in Akwa-Ibom State.Senator (Dr) ITA ENANG.Presidential Liaison to the National Assembly- Senate. [email protected] pic.twitter.com/Cu8SpXTHYE

Im confirming that the family as earlier indicated will formally receive H.E,@godswill_akpabio on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8,2018 at an elaborate ceremony in Akwa-Ibom State.Senator (Dr) ITA ENANG.Presidential Liaison to the National Assembly- Senate. [email protected]

Senator Ita Enang (@SenItaEnang)

The Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, had also made a similar announcement.

He said a rally will be held at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, to receive the former governor to the APC.

Following the announcement, Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North West District in the Senate, on Sunday visited the president in the United Kingdom where he is currently on vacation.

The visit, as well as speculations of his (Akpabios) defection from the PDP, come amidst a gale of defections by lawmakers from the ruling APC.

Source: NAN

The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (management) Board (PEF) has set up a task force for the the immediate implementation of transportation of petroleum products through the rail.

The General Manager, Corporate Services of PEF, Dr. Goddy Nnadi, said the task force was set up by the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi for the implementation of the new equalization model.

The job of the task force has hit the peak in working out the logistics for a smooth take off targeted at early 2019.

He said that Bobboi, who is driving the process, has given the task force the matching orders to ensure that the take-off deadline was met.

Nnadi said that rail transportation of petroleum products became inevitable because of the potentials, especially in jobs creation, reduction of pressure and accidents on the roads.

The process would generate more revenue for the Federal Government since it would cost less to move products around the country as well as reduce rural urban migration.

He named on other stakeholders in the project to include the National Association of Road Transport Workers (NARTO), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and PPMC.

He said that members of the task force had commenced the inspection of rail lines in collaboration with NRC to ascertain how the movement of the products would be effected, what quantity of products would be moved on particular rail lines and destination of products.

He explained that after review of the collaboration, it was discovered that NRC has enough tanks to transport petroleum products from Lagos to Kano.

Some major markets, he said, have shown interest in buying into the new equalisation model.

He said that the new transport arrangement would create opportunity for the construction of inland tank farms which in turn would cause the availability of jobs.

Another advantage of the new equalization model is that rural communities will be served better due to shorter distances to be covered by road in getting products to the hinterland, he said.

Apart from the financial cost implications, the constant use of heavy duty trucks over long distances took its toll on the roads, while lots human lives were lost to vehicular accidents.

On safety of products, Nnadi said that security agencies would soon be engaged to work our logistics on how products would get to destinations without hitches.

In a similar development, Nnadi said that plans have reached advanced stage to commence the equalization of cooking gas, LPG, by rail as a step in the efforts of the Federal Government to make the product available in rural areas at the cheapest cost.

He said that the move was also aimed at discouraging the use of firewood for domestic cooking on grounds that the felling of trees for firewood is a major contributory factor to deforestation and desert encroachment.

He said that there were chances that the federal government would ban the use of firewood for domestic cooking once cooking gas was made available and affordable to rural dwellers.

He added that the target was to protect the environment since Nigeria was signatory to the climate change treaty.

Nnadi said that a high level committee made of members from the offices of the Vice President, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Minister of Environment, DPR, PPPRA, Nigeria gas Association, PEF among other agencies is already working out the logistics for the implementation of the project.

It will be recalled that failure of the rail system in Nigeria led to the transportation of all petroleum products by road across the country and this has been at a huge cost to the Federal Government.

Source: NAN

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged on Sunday that his son met with Russians in 2016 at Trump Tower to get information on his election opponent Hillary Clinton, saying it was totally legal and done all the time in politics.

The Republican president had previously said the meeting was about the adoption of Russian children by Americans.

Trumps morning Twitter post was his most direct statement on the purpose of the meeting, though his son and others have said it was to gather damaging information on the Democratic candidate.

In a post on Twitter , Trump also denied reports in the Washington Post and CNN that he was concerned his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could be in legal trouble because of the meeting with the Russians, including a lawyer with Kremlin ties.

He repeated that he had not known about the meeting in advance.

Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics and it went nowhere. I did not know about it! Trump said.

Political campaigns routinely pursue opposition research on their opponents, but not with foreign representatives from a country viewed as an adversary. Russian officials were under U.S. sanctions at the time.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is examining whether Trump campaign members coordinated with Russia to sway the White House race in his favor. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied his government interfered.

One part of the inquiry has focused on a June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Donald Jr., other campaign aides and a group of Russians.

Email released by Donald Jr. himself showed he had been keen on the meeting because his fathers campaign was being offered potentially damaging information on Clinton.

Donald Jr. said later he realized the meeting was primarily aimed at lobbying against the 2012 Magnitsky sanctions law, which led to Moscow denying Americans the right to adopt Russian orphans.

President Trump has repeatedly denied that his campaign worked with Moscow, saying No Collusion! Last week, however, he adopted his lawyers tactics and insisted collusion is not a crime.

While collusion is not a technical legal charge, Mueller could bring conspiracy charges if he finds that any campaign member worked with Russia to break U.S. law. Working with a foreign national with the intent of influencing a U.S. election could violate multiple laws, according to legal experts.

CNN reported last month that Michael Cohen, the presidents longtime personal lawyer, was willing to tell Mueller that Trump did know about the Trump Tower meeting in advance.

Trumps lawyers and the White House have given conflicting accounts about whether Trump was involved in crafting Donald Jr.s response to a New York Times article last summer revealing the Trump Tower meeting with the adoptions rationale. Trumps lawyers acknowledged in a letter to Muellers team in January 2018 that Trump dictated the response, according to the Times.

Trump has stepped up his public attacks on the Mueller probe since the first trial to arise from it began last week in Alexandria, Virginia, involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The federal tax and bank fraud charges Manafort faces are not related to the Trump campaign but Manaforts close relations with Russians and a Kremlin-backed Ukrainian politician are under scrutiny in the trial.

Trumps attacks on the special counsels investigation have been rebuffed by Republican leaders in Congress who have expressed support for Mueller.

The president should be straightforward with the American people about the threat to our election process that Russia, Putin in particular, is engaged in is ongoing, Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday.

One of the presidents personal lawyers said on Sunday that if Trump is subpoenaed by the special counsel, his lawyers will attempt to quash it in court. Any legal battle over whether the president can be compelled to testify could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said on ABCs This Week.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election with a campaign of hacking into Democratic Party computer networks and spreading disinformation on social media. American intelligence officials say Russia is targeting the November congressional elections, which will determine whether or not Republicans keep control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress.

*Reuters

The three main opposition candidates in Malis presidential election are alleging ballot box-stuffing and counting fraud in the first round of voting said to have been won by incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The three candidates led by second placed Soumaila Cisse have already mounted a legal challenge of the result in the countrys constitutional court.

Keita won 41.42 percent of votes in the July 29 presidential poll in the sprawling west African nation, easily ahead of the second place rival Soumaila Cisse with 17.8 percent. They will face off in a runoff vote next Sunday.

Soumaila Cisse filed last night (Saturday) around 20 submissions to the constitutional court for ballot box-stuffing, violations of the electoral law and other irregularities, a spokesman for the candidate told AFP.

The ballot box-stuffing explains IBKs tallies in the north and centre of the country, the spokesman added, using Keitas initials.

He said a motion had also been filed seeking the recusal of six of the courts judges on suspicion of bias, including its president Manassa Danioko.

Third-placed Aliou Boubacar Diallo, who won 7.95 percent of the July 19 vote, has also filed a complaint to the constitutional court concerning the results and the vote tallying, his spokesman Cheick Diallo told AFP.

And in fourth place with 7.46 percent in the first round, Cheick Modibo Diarra former transitional prime minister in 2012 has also appealed to the highest court about the reports of irregularities, according to a statement from his political group.

The nine-judge constitutional court must officially announce the results of the first round by Wednesday to kick off campaigning for the run-off vote which Keita is heavily favoured to win on August 12.

When questioned by AFP, the courts secretary-general Mamadou Magassouba said he could not confirm receipt of submissions because such requests come in confidentiality.

He also declined to comment on allegations of bias in the court.

Cisse, 68, whom Keita defeated in a 2013 run-off vote, has called the latest vote results neither sincere nor credible and a fraud.

Violence disrupted the first-round election in several areas beset by ethnic and jihadist unrest despite the deployment of 30,000 security personnel.

Suspicions of electoral fraud have been fuelled by the fact that the ministry of territorial administration has released provisional results only on the national level.

The government has no intention of publishing (results) in detail, bureau by bureau, a source close to the ministry said, despite demands from the opposition and international observers for transparency.

The international community, including the UN mission in the country (MINUSMA) and French forces present in the country, have put high hopes in the poll which could revive a peace agreement signed in 2015 between the government, government-allied groups and former rebels.

Mali, considered a linchpin state in the troubled Sahel region, is one of the worlds poorest countries, with most people living on less than $2 a day.

Source: NAN

Four candidates with links to Ogun state were among the top five that excelled in the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The overall best candidate of the 1.3 million candidates is Galadima Zakari from Biu in Borno State. However, he sat for the examination in Ogun. He got the highest score with 364.

Adekunle Jesufemi, an indigene of Ogun State who sat for his examination in Abeokuta, the state capital came second with 358 marks.

Ogun state also produced the fourth best candidate in Ademola Adetola who sat for the examination in Lagos with a score of 355.

Akinyemi Paul from Ogun state, who wrote his examination in Lagos, Ape Moses from Benue who wrote the examination in Makurdi and Obi-Obuoha Abiamamela from Rivers tied for the fifth position. The latter wrote his examination in Port Harcourt. All the trio scored 354.

However, Alikah Oseghale from Edo State who sat for the examination in Ekpoma with a score of 357 was the overall third best candidate.

JAMBs Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said in a statement on Sunday, in Abuja said that the information became necessary to put the records in proper perspective following some misinformation in some quarters.

According to him, the attention of the board was drawn to publications that Ape Moses from Benue came top in the entire exercise.

The report, he said, was untrue and incorrect.

He, however, explained that Moses with 354 score was the highest scorer from Benue State and the entire North Central.

Benjamin added that it was imperative to set the records straight in order to ensure that the public was not misled by unverified report.

The Board appeals to all interested individuals and organisations who would want to use its data for research, reportage and other national necessary disposition to always contact it for accurate and up to date information.

This is so as not to misdirect the public into taking wrong and misleading conclusions.

Our doors are always open to any request especially when the nation would be the ultimate beneficiary.

Source: NAN

Pa Moses Ekpo, deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State has reportedly resigned, according to a tweet by @APCNewspaper and

The resignation has not been confirmed officially by the PDP controlled Akwa Ibom State Government, but the APC organ said Ekpo, the oldest deputy governor in Nigeria, is heading to join Senator Godswill Akpabio into the All Progressives Congress. Both are political allies. Akpabio was a former governor of the state for eight years(2007-2015) and installed incumbent Governor Udom Emmanuel.

BREAKING: Deputy, Pa Moses tenders resignation. To join in on Wednesday.

APC Newspaper (@APCNewspaper)

Ekpo, a veteran journalist, diplomat and administrator was born on 22 December 1941 at Abak in Akwa Ibom State.

He attended both the Government School and Holy Family College, in Abak for his primary and secondary education before going to the London Polytechnic, University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A and World Intellectual Property Organization Academy (WIPO), Geneva Switzerland.

He holds a Diploma and B.Sc. in Journalism and a WIPO Academy Diploma as well as a certificate of the United States Patent Academy, in addition to several certificates and diplomas earned from many international workshops and seminars.

In a public service career spanning over four decades, Mr. Ekpo has served as Proof Reader, Reporter and Editor in several Nigerian newspapers and broadcasting organisations. He served in senior editorial and management positions in the Daily Express, Daily Times, West African Pilot, the Morning Post, Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service and Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service.

He was for years the Nigerian country Correspondent for the Voice of America (VOA), Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Ekpo was also General Manager of Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, Publishers of the Nigerian Chronicle Group of Newspapers.

He also served as Chief Information Officer in the Cross River State Government as well as the Chief Public Relations Officer to that Government.

He was also Assistant Director of Information and Acting Federal Director of Information
and Director of Nigerian Information Service with concurrent accreditation to Europe and the Americas.

He was Commissioner for Information, Social Development, Youths

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump stepped away from her husbands criticism of NBA star LeBron James to compliment his work on behalf of children and even offer to visit his school for at-risk children.

It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today. Mrs. Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement Saturday.

The statements tone was in stark contrast to President Donald Trumps tweet Friday night following James appearance on CNN in which he told journalist Don Lemon that he would never sit across from Trump, whom James has criticized in the past. The interview took place at James I Promise school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon, Trump tweeted in a swipe at a news network he often derides. He made Lebron look smart, which isnt easy to do.

While many former and current professional athletes jumped to James defense, Mrs. Trumps spokeswoman noted that the first lady's Be Best initiative for children promoted the importance of responsible online behavior as well as their well-being and healthy living.

Her platform centers around visiting organizations, hospitals and schools, and she would be open to visiting the I Promise School in Akron, Grisham said.

Mrs. Trump has stood apart from her husbands views before. In June, when migrant families entering the U.S. illegally were being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under Trump administration policies, she said through her spokeswoman that she hated to see the separations and that she believed the U.S. needed to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.

Source: NAN

Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom state, is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party and dampen the celebration mood in the PDP headquarters, over the defection of some senators and three governors from the All Progressives Congress.

Now a reverse switch is about to happen, with one of the main pillars of the PDP in the South South crossing to APC.

APC Newspaper on its Twitter handle announced Saturday night: We can confirm that, HE, Sen (Dr) Godswill Akpabio is a card carrying member of @OfficialAPCNg effective August 4, 2018. @OfficialPDPNig has lost him. Official Reception in days.

And APC United Kingdom in another tweet set the date for the defection: Acting President, @ProfOsinbajo accompanied by Senator (Dr ) Ita Enang, and leaders of the APC in Akwa Ibom to formally receive Senator (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio into APC at Ikot Ekpene Stadium on Thursday 9 August, 2018. All lovers of Democracy are cordially invited.

Akpabios political movement appears irreversible as he also visited former the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his Lagos home, to seal things up.

Akpabio, two-term governor of oil rich Akwa Ibom state, is at present minority leader of the PDP in the senate.

Analysts said Akpabios crossing over to the APC may flip Akwa Ibom to APC in next February election and at least assure President Buhari of capturing 25 per cent of the vote.

Source: NAN

A broadcast by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday was cut short during an outdoor speech at a military event and soldiers were seen running before the televised transmission was cut off.

A loud explosion nearby appeared to have been the cause of the anxiety as Maduro was speaking about Venezuelas economy.

The audio suddenly went. He and others on the podium suddenly looked up, looking startled.

The camera then panned to scores of soldiers who started running, before the transmission was cut.

The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But various reports said Maduro was evacuated into safety.

Source: NAN

In it's bid to increase social engagements, the World's biggest Social networking site, Facebook is already putting finishing touches to it's dating App. The App is currently undergoing internal testing at the company.

At it's F8 conference in May, 2018, Facebook hinted of it's dating application, which inadvertently would threaten Tinder, the social dating website.

According to Zuckerberg, “This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships — not just for hookups. We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren’t going to see your profile, and you’re only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends.”

Application Researcher Jan Wong, disclosed through a series of tweets about the App going through a series of testing with facebook staff.

Facebook is internally testing Facebook Dating.

I can't go past the signup screen because they are not activating all non-employee Dating profiles because, well, it's "pre-launch" ;) pic.twitter.com/VQFHUJIkuX

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 3, 2018

According to Techcrunch, facebook will allow people to intentionally create a dating profile on Facebook. Matching will be done based on some set of user preferences and It will be visible to non-friends who also opted into dating.

NAN Reporting

Thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) members are reportedly massing up in Sokoto, ahead of the arrival today of Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, the indisputable leader of the party.

Wamakko, who is expected to be accompanied into town by Deputy Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto and Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobi, will address party supporters in the state capital in a mega rally, to show that chief defector Governor Waziri Aminu Tambuwal is a paper weight in APC affairs in the state.

The former governor had said, earlier in the week, that those who were writing off the APC, following the defection of Governor Aminu Tambuwwal and 18 members of the state’s House of Assembly to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), should wait till this weekend when he returns to Sokoto and see whether the APC is still in control or not.

The Nation reports that over the last few days, a lot of Sokoto residents have been expressing support for President Muhammadu Buhari openly, chanting pro-Buhari slogans.

Women and youth in particular displayed their joy amidst “Rarara’s” musical songs “Masu Gudu, Su Gudu (those who want to go can go).”

Similarly, posters of President Buhari, Senator Wamakko are displayed in many parts of the state capital.

Also accompanying Wamakko to Sokoto today are seven members of the House of Representatives from the state; the chairman of APC in the state, Alhaji Farouk Malami Yabo, and Alhaji Sadik Isah Achida, among other notable politicians.

UPDATE: Rally in Pictures

Former President OlusegunObasanjo has reiterated his unforgiving displeasure to his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar.

In an interview with Premium Times, Obasanjo swore he will never support Atiku and the doctor of theology also invoked God to buttress his position:

“How can I be on the same side with Atiku?” Mr Obasanjo asked. “To do what?”

“If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support,” he added.

Obasanjo’s pronouncement comes barely two weeks after Mr Abubakar declared his intention to run for president and weeks after a photo-op between him and Obasanjo at an event on China Africa relations, organised by Gusau Institute in Abuja.

“I do not have personal grudges with anyone,” Mr Obasanjo said. “If you do not do well for Nigeria, you do not do well for all of us.”

“It is not a question of working with or not working with an individual,” he said. “If you are working for the good of Nigeria, I am working with you. If you are not working for the good of Nigeria it does not matter who you are I am not working with you.”

“Most of you do not understand the way I operate,” Mr Obasanjo said. “And I thought your own paper will understand better.”

“I know Atiku very well. And I have mentioned my position with Atiku. My position has not changed,” he said.

On a personal note, he added, “If my children are getting married, he has sent representatives. If his children are getting married, I have sent representatives. That is social. That is not political.

But “on political ground, my position has not changed. If I support Atiku for a political office other than the one I supported him in the past when I did not know him,” maybe, but not “now that I know him, God will not forgive me.”

The Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS), a German Foundation, has revealed that Nigerians are the third largest asylum seekers in the country.

Dr. Gerhard Wahler, Head of Department, European and International cooperation of the foundation, made this known in Abuja during the celebration of 15 years of KAS operation in Nigeria.

Wahler explained that the lack of an enabling environment continued to make Nigerians, especially youths, seek a better life in Europe hence, embarking on illegal migration.

He, therefore, urged the Federaal Government to boost socio-Economic development and improve welfare.

Africa and especially Western Africa, plays a pivotal role for us in Germany; in many ways, Africa shows a lot of potential.

There is a new generation of entrepreneurs, digital natives and inventors that can and will shape the future of the continent.

On the other hand, the unprecedented population growth, the lack of economic development, increasing scarcity of land and resources, will continue to drive people away towards Europe.

Today, Nigerians are for example the third largest group of asylum seekers in Germany.

Wahler said that the prevalence of terrorist groups in the region negatively affects development in Nigeria and the African region.

He said that the forthcoming visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Nigeria at the end of August was an important sign that Germany stands with Nigeria in countering security threats like Boko Haram.

He said that while the challenges faced in the region were tremendous, Germany was ready to assist.
(NAN)

Dr Victoria Enape, Pro-tem President, Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria (CIFIA) says Nigeria stands to benefit a lot from the services of CIFIA.

Enape made the submission at the pre-Induction Training/Mandatory Continuing Professional Education of CIFIA with the themeTransition to Forensic and Investigative Audit.

She said that CIFIA would save Nigerian government the cost of inviting Foreign Forensic Auditors for fraud investigation as it were.

To some large extent it takes only Nigerian Forensic Auditors who knows the terrain to be able to track or investigate fraud successfully in Nigeria. Therefore, it is important to patronise made in Nigeria to grow Nigeria.

It will help to train government agents and staff through to certification on the use of science and technology of forensic and investigative audit skills for auditing of financial statement and put in place some advanced mechanisms to prevent fraud in their various organisations to avoid reacting to fraud issues after taken place which has not yield results in our country over the years.

It will primarily train all her members and also the staff in relevant agencies to be proactive rather than just being reactive to fraud cases.

If we as a country must address the problem of corruption and corrupt practices, we must be seen to come up with better ways to assist our government and relevant agencies in preventing fraud, she said.

According to her, CIFIA will help to strengthen the nations institutional frameworks thereby bringing us at par with other developed countries, in line with global standards and competitiveness.

More so, CIFIA said it would stimulate public confidence, and enhance transparency and accountability in our economic system and our national lives.

The pro-tem president said CIFIA would also answer the question often posed by foreign investors as to the safety and guarantee of their direct foreign investments (DFIS) in our country.

She added that CIFIA could help Nigeria to develop skilled professionals to deepen the fraud prevention, detection and preserve money in government.

Enape urged Nigerians to disregard alleged conflict between the functions of the proposed Institute and other institute established by existing legislations.

She said that CFIA should not be seen as a rival institute or a threat to any existing professional bodies in Nigeria, because it was not out to attack existing professional bodies.

Source: NAN

Nigerias current power generation has reached 7000 Mega Watts, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said.

Fashola said this on Friday in Calabar at the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing 4th Edition Retreat for top directors, heads of units and chief executives of agencies and parastatals.

He said that although there was still more to be done, the ministry had moved forward from where it was three years ago.

Three years ago, the story was that power generation was the main problem of Nigeria. The story was that the distribution companies were complaining that they did not have enough energy to distribute to Nigerians.

We were distributing averagely 2,690 mega watts of electricity to Nigerians, but today, that story has changed, distribution has risen to 5,222 mega watts, an all time national high.

Transmission has reached 7,000 while generation has reached 7000. The problem has not finished but all we can say is that we have made progress.

The minister added that the Federal Government was constructing roads in virtually all the 36 states some of which were through collaborative efforts as well as direct interventions.

According to him, the present administration has spent over N300 billion on roads construction since coming to power three years ago.

Before this administration, there was no housing policy but now we have one.

Fashola commended members of staff of the ministry for their support and team work, noting that without team work, the ministry would not have been able to achieve much.

He said that the theme of the retreat which is Goal Setting and Goal Reaching for a Focused Team, was meant to reinforce the team spirit while setting out on its goals in the next 90 days.

It is a team that wins. We will go together as a team. If we bind together, everything is possible, he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mr Louis Edozien, said that the retreat was meant to appraise the performance of the ministry in the past 90 days.

Edozien, who was represented by a Director, Mr Ahmed Abdul, added that the retreat would also afford the top management the opportunity to strategise on the plan of action for the next quarter.

(NAN)

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the July 14 election in Ekiti, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka late on Friday filed a 700-page petition before the Election Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the candidate along with his running mate, Mr. Deji Ogunsakin and a member of his legal team, Mr.Ola Olanipekun, (SAN) and scores of others, arrived the state high court premises at about 6:00pm, armed with heaps of documents to justify their petition

Eleka, whose main prayer before the Tribunal was that he be declared winner of the election, said the APC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi earlier declared the winner of the poll stole his mandate.

He had come to the Tribunal to beat the 21-Day deadline allowed under the Electoral Act, which expires tomorrow Saturday.

However, the leader of his legal team, Yusuf Alli, (SAN) and other lawyers were absent during thesubmission of the petition tothe court registry.

Eleka, while addressing journalists claimed his petition contained empirical evidence, to show that figures were falsified in favour of Fayemi. He also alleged that ballot boxes were either stuffed or snatched, while there was intimidation of voters and party agents from polling booths.

The election was openly manipulated by political desperadoes, using instruments of the Federal Government, he claimed.

I am challenging the election results not out of desperation to be governor, but for reasons of future and posterity, and largely on behalf of the people of Ekiti, who were taken aback by the outcome of the election

Without doubt, the will of the people was subverted by those who have chosen to take Nigeria back to the dark days of ballot stuffing, ballot boxes snatching and outright falsification of election results and I believe they deserve to get justice

As law abiding citizens of our country, the only path of honour to take in a situation like this is the process that we have initiated today, to seek redress against the use of security forces and other instruments of the federal government to suppress the will of our people

The mood of Ekiti people when the beneficiary of the electoral robbery was declared winner and up till today is a pointer to the resolve of the people not to accept the subversion of their will and we have answered their calls to use the judiciary to get back their mandate

In doing this, I have presented overwhelming discrepancies in the results declared by INEC to the tribunal to adjudicate upon and I am confident that the popular mandate of the people of Ekiti will not go unrestored

I therefore want Ekiti people to keep hope alive, remain strong and resolute in their belief in God

While we go through this judicial walk to exposing the electoral thievery of July 14, 2018, we urge the good people of Ekiti State, especially my teeming supporters to remain calm, peaceful and prayerful, bearing in mind that those who stole their mandate will not enjoy the benefits for long

Source: NAN

Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi was refused entry into Congo via the countrys land border with Zambia on Friday when he tried to return from exile to submit his candidacy for Decembers presidential election, he said in a tweet.

The millionaire businessman and former governor of the copper-mining Katanga region was sentenced to three years in prison the following month for real estate fraud. Katumbi denies the charges and says they are aimed at preventing him from contesting the election on December 23.

The regime has forbidden me from landing and barricaded the border, Katumbi tweeted. My crime? Wanting to enter my country and file my candidacy. In trying to block me, they want to deny the rights of the Congolese to a real election. I will fight!

Footage from his campaign team sent to Reuters TV showed him with a crowd of thousands of supporters at the border town of Kasumbalesa, on the Zambian side.

His treatment contrasts markedly with that of Kabilas other main rival, former warlord and runner-up presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was allowed to land his plane and given police protection for his return to town.

Both pose a real threat to Kabila or his chosen successor in the upcoming election, especially since the presidents popularity has waned over the years.

I hope for a unity of the opposition. I have started meeting with opposition leaders, Bemba told journalists in Kinshasa on Friday, in an apparent attempt to galvanise Kabilas opponents. The principle is how to choose the best candidate who could represent the opposition at the election.

In power since 2001, Kabila has refused to step down since his mandate ran out in 2016. This has raised fears he will defy constitutional term limits and spark a violent backlash by the population and militia groups active in the countrys east.

Source: NAN

The appearance in court of Nigerian journalist, Mr. Jones Abiri, has put paid to speculations that he may have died in detention.

Abiri was on Thursday remanded in a federal prison in Nasarawa State after appearing in court for the continuation of his trial.

He is being tried by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged militancy, two years after he was arrested.

He was charged with the offence on July 27.

At the resumed trial at the Chief Magistrates Court in Wuse Zone 2 in Abuja, Abiri told the court of his experience while being detained by the DSS.

He was later granted bail in the sum of N2 million and two sureties who must be civil servants not lower than level 12.

His lawyer, however, asked the court to vary the bail conditions, saying they were too stringent and cannot be met by him.

The trial Magistrate Chukwu Emeka Nweke then adjourned the trial to August 8 to hear the application and ordered that Mr Abiri should be detained at the Keffi Federal prison instead of the facility of the DSS.

Mr Abiri, the publisher of Weekly Source magazine, was arrested on July 21, 2016, at his office in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on allegations that he was a key militant terrorising locals and expatriates in the oil-rich Niger Delta, an allegation he denies. () reported

Malam Garba Shehu, the on Media and Publicity had clarified that Abiri, was not a journalist and does not belong to any chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists.

Shehu said Abiri was arrested for pipeline vandalism and crude theft, including militant activities in the Niger Delta.

The presidential spokesman was reacting to a statement at the World Congress of International Press Institute in Abuja that a journalist, known as Jones Abiri was arrested in the course of his work.

On the issue of the arrest and continued detention of Mr Jones Abiri, who allegedly parades himself as a journalist, by the Department of State Services (DSS), it is instructive to note that the accused is a guest of the security agency because of his alleged involvement in militant and criminal activities.

Admittedly, the issue of Abiri had been brought to the attention of the Presidency by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

As a true believer in the rule of law and the integral role of the media in a democracy, the Presidency did interface with the security agency involved in the matter and our findings confirmed that the suspect is in custody because of alleged involvement in pipeline vandalism and theft.

Abiri is not a registered journalist with any of the media professional bodies in the country.

Shehu further stated that there was no evidence to show that Abiri belonged to any chapel or membership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) or payment of the unions check-off dues.

Abiris stock-in-trade and notoriety in the liberalised Nigeria media industry include fronting as a spokesman for militants engaged in economic sabotage in the Niger Delta region, he added.

According to the presidential aide, President Buhari is resolutely and his administration will ensure that media personnel in the country discharge their duties without let or hindrance.

He, therefore, frowned at those individuals or groups insinuating that President Buhari was in support of restrictions on freedom of expression and the media.

It is therefore very uncharitable for anyone or group to suggest otherwise or infer that the President is in support of restrictions on freedom of expression and the media.

The presidential spokesman maintained that the Buhari administration would continue to promote the freedom and safety of journalists.

He reassured that the administration would also do nothing untoward to damage the credibility it had demonstrated in promoting press freedom since coming into power in May 2015.

Source: NAN

Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has asked the Court of Appeal to vacate the arrest order issued against him.

He made the request in an appeal filed on Thursday in Abuja, through his lead counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Adegboyega Awomolo.

Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court in the nations capital had issued the warrant of arrest against Yakubu on Wednesday for allegedly disobeying court orders.

In the notice of appeal, the INEC Chairman claimed that Justice Pam acted in bad faith in the issuance of the arrest order.

He explained that he had already filed a pending appeal against the order while the attention of the judge was drawn to the appeal.

Yakubu submitted among other claims that up till date, no order was enrolled and served on him for his personal appearance in court as required by the law.

He noted that the warrant of arrest against him was a nullity because none of the parties in the contempt case applied for issuance of a bench warrant, except the judge who reportedly did so on his own.

The INEC boss stressed that he has not disobeyed any court order since he was not present before the court when the alleged order directing his personal presence was made.

He added that Justice Pam who has no jurisdiction to punish him for the alleged disobedience of court order committed ex-facie curie (outside the court).

Yakubu said he was no longer a contemnor at the Federal High Court under the strength of his appeal lodged at the Court of Appeal challenging the justification of the contempt charge against him.

He argued that the trial court breached Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution by striking out his motion without hearing it, thereby denying him his right to fair hearing in the determination on the merit of his application.

Justice Pam issued a bench warrant against the INEC boss on Wednesday, following his alleged failure to appear before the court.

The INEC boss was to defend himself in the contempt charge brought against him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State.

Source: NAN

Liberia has obtained a $500 million World Banks loan for the completion of the Coastal Road Project within three years.

The Liberia Minister of Information, Minister Eugene Nagbe, said in his regular press conference,n Monrovia Thursday, that government would pay a concessional interest rate of 0.5 per cent over a reasonable timeframe.

Nagbe added that following the ratification of the loan agreement by the government, the World Bank would propose a consortium comprising it, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank (AFDB), that will provide an additional $500 million, bringing the agreement to $1 billion.

The Information minister told journalists that President George Weah is insistent that the loan agreement, when ratified, should see off the completion of the Coastal Road Project within three years.

President Weahs insistence on road construction is based on empirical and scientific evidence and data presented to him by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in its Constraints Analysis following an assessment of Liberias development challenge, he emphasized.

According to the MCCs Constraints Analysis, the lack of good road network and energy are the two most development constraints hampering the growth and development of Liberia. ()

Source: NAN