By Nathan Nwakamma

A coalition of leaders from nine states of the Niger Delta on Wednesday criticised ongoing smear campaign targeted at Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.

The leaders, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa, said that unwarranted attacks to tarnish the image of Kachikwu were unacceptable.

A Niger Delta activist, Prince Tonye Jemenimiema, said that frivolous allegations of operating a foreign account while holding a public office was laughable and mischievous.

He said that Kachikwu had a fruitful career in the international oil sector spanning several decades and worked in many countries before he rose to become a Vice President at Exxonmobil before his appointment.

Jemenimiema who is also President Niger Delta Youth for Practical Development noted that the attempt by certain interest groups to discredit Kachikwu who is performing creditably in the oil and gas sector was regrettable.

The youth leader said it was an irony that Kachikwu, who midwifed reforms in the downstream sector of the oil industry and brokered peace in Niger Delta that stabilised oil production, could be targeted by critics.

He said that the region would not condone further attacks on the Minister whose laudable polices had translated to transparency in the oil sector adding that those affected by Kachikwus reforms were behind the attacks.

It is interesting that the cabal is out again, masquerading in another disguise with bogus allegations to demonise the gentle, God fearing and upright personality in the face of the public.

This is a man who brought transparency and orderliness to the system. One may ask what is the reputation of the faceless group behind these spurious allegations and campaign of calumny.

What have they contributed towards the advancement of the country?

We trust that the frivolous litigation will fall like a pack of cards and the judiciary will not sacrifice the innocent for the wicked.

We are very worried and concerned over the safety of our brother; who knows if such evil collaborators may resort to going after his life.

We know Kachikwu is innocent and must not bow to any pressure to bend him, Jemenimiema said.

Also Pastor Tiedor Olayinka, President, Niger Delta Youths Coalition for Peace and Progress, berated those who felt envious and intimidated by Kachikwus verifiable records.

Those affected by the reforms carried out under Kachikwu are the ones operating behind the scene to cause Kachikwus downfall.

The steady attacks on Kachikwus hard earned reputation is one too many. They say when you want to kill a dog you hang him a bad name. Who is desperate to take Kachikwus office?

Who is offended by his giant strides as reforming the sector and bringing sanity to the once ailing industry?

It is evident that result achieved by the current administration is traceable to Kachikwu.

If it is not degree classification it is now baseless and unfounded allegations asking a man who rose up to the rank of Vice President of a multinational oil firm why he is operating foreign account.

These have to stop, Olayinka said.

He urged the public to be wary of groups whose stock in trade was to spread malicious false allegations against public office holders to blackmail them to succumb to their demands for gratification.

He urged the federal government to scrutinise those making allegations merely to attract attention and sanction them if investigation showed that such allegations were false.

Source: NAN

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday ordered shutdown of the crossings between Gaza and Israel after Gaza militants fired rockets at Israel, a statement released by the Defence Ministry said.

According to the statement, Lieberman instructed the military to shut down the Erez Crossing, the only pedestrian passage between the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom Crossing, a passage for goods.

Lieberman also imposed further restrictions on the allowed fishing zone in Gaza.

The moves were retribution to rockets fired from Gaza at southern Israel earlier on Wednesday.

One rocket hit a residential home in the southern city of Beersheba, causing damage.
Two people were injured as they ran to seek cover. Another rocket fell in the sea across central Israel shores.

In response, Israel launched a wide-scale air attack, targeting Hamas sites, according to the military.

At least one Palestinian was killed by the strikes and three others were injured, local media reported.

The escalation came after weeks of tensions. Gazans have been holding demonstrations near the fence separating Gaza from Israel since March 30, to protest blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.

The protest includes occasional launching of helium-filled balloons to set fires in southern Israels arid farmlands.

Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday morning after rockets were launched from the besieged Palestinian enclave, with one hitting a home in southern Israel.

At this time IDF (Israel Defence Forces) fighter jets started attacking terror targets in the Gaza Strip, a military spokesperson said in a statement just before 7 a.m. l (0400 a.m. GMT).

At least three people were injured in the strikes on Gaza, according to local media.
A police spokesman said a rocket fired by militants from Gaza struck a residential home in the city of Beer Sheva in southern Israel.

A spokesman for Magen David Adom medical emergency service said a mother and her three children whose home was struck were being treated for shock.

He said that two other people were injured during a panic to seek cover when the projectile triggered sirens across the city.

Later, another rocket fell short in the sea across the shore of central Israel, causing no damage or injuries, according to the police.

The municipality of Beer Sheva said that in the wake of the strike, all of the citys schools and kindergartens would remain closed Wednesday.

The rocket attack was one of the first in months and came amidst renewed tensions between Israel and Hamas.

The fire came less than a day after Lieberman said his country should deliver a serious blow to Gaza Strips Hamas.

Source: NAN

By Lucy Nwachukwu

The Federal Government has redirected applicants on a new Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN) Employment Portal to be used for the recruitment application.

Dr Anthony Uwa, the Head of BRISIN Implementation told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja that it had become necessary following the difficulty applicants encountered using the previous portal.

Uwa said the difficulties were as a result of some technical issues which would soon be resolved.

He said applicants who had started the application process should not be alarmed as they would be able to complete the exercise using the new portal.

He urged applicants that rather than using the website www.brisin.gov.ng initially advertised, they should use

Please be informed that the brisin recruitment registration which before now has been on www.brisin.gov.ng is beingre-channelled to which is the BRISIN Employment Data Base portal.

The reason is that BRISIN is building the first comprehensive data base to include both employed and unemployed with job identifications and verifications.

For this reason, www.brisin.gov.ng cannot be used for the recruitment as there has been a little technical break which is being rectified and will be back soon.

The www.brisin.gov.ng will continue its role on information to public on the importance and benefit of BRISIN to Nigeria and its citizens.

We apologiae for the inconveniences this delay could havecaused applicants, Uwa said.

NAN reports thatBRISIN is an integrated system for the collection, storage and distribution of information to support the management of the economy.

The Federal Government recently opened the portal for the recruitment of 5,000 unemployed Nigerians in the FCT in the pilot phase to drive the implementation of the scheme.

Source: NAN

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa on Wednesday, presented a budget proposal of N367, 095,083,451 to the State House of Assembly for the 2019 fiscal year.

The budget projected N209, 999,054,198, 57.21 for capital expenditure while N157, 096,029,253, 42.79 per cent was earmarked for recurrent expenditure.

The 2019 proposal had an increment of N59 billion from the 2018 Budget which was N308,888,558,898 (three hundred and eight billion, eight hundred and eighty-eight million, five hundred and fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred and ninety-eight naira).

Presenting the budget to the Delta State House of Assembly presided by Speaker, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Okowa disclosed that the projected 2019 budget titled: Budget of sustainable growth, would enable his administration consolidate on the successes and achievements.

Itemsing some of the achievements, Okowa said: Despite the fluctuating fortunes of the economy in the last three-and-half years, I humbly note that our State has continued to forge ahead.

Workers are paid regularly, thousands of previously unemployed youths are gainfully employed, and many of our people now enjoy better facilities in terms of roads, water, education and health.

Agriculture has received a strong boost with many cluster farms springing up in different parts of the State and, even more importantly, our people remain committed to peace and harmonious living, he said.

We shall build on this stable growth to position Delta State as a dynamic economy for the future; indeed, a Stronger Delta beckons.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that road construction and education are to gulp 29 per cent of the budget, with roads getting N79.6 billion while the Education Sector would gulp the sum of N26.8 billion.

Source: NAN

By Muhammad Nasir Bello

A member of Sokoto State House of Assembly Alhaji Muhammad Bashir, who lost in the bid to secure the All Progressive Congress (APC) ticket for the House of Representatives, has dumped the party.

Bashir said on the floor of the assembly on Wednesday in Sokoto that he has now shifted loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bashir was beaten in the primary for Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency by Alhaji Abubakar Yabo.

I wish to formally announce my defection from the APC to PDP as provided by Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he said.

Reacting on the development, Alhaji Sani Yakubu (APC-Gudu), said the member had been hobnobbing with the PDP for long, adding,so this defection has not come to us as a surprise.

Yakubu disclosed that even after Bashir lost the ticket for the federal constituency, the APC still returned his state Assembly ticket for him to contest.

We wish him well in his new political party, and want to assure APC members in his constituency that his departure will translate into huge success for our party, he said.

Source: NAN

By EricJames Ochigbo

A former Governor of Anambra, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife on Wednesday said the choice of Peter Obi as the running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2019 Presidential flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, was a welcome development.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Ezeife described the reaction of those aggrieved over Obis selection as shameful.

It will be recalled that some politicians including governors of the South Eastern region of the country challenged the selection, saying that they were not consulted before Obi was selected.

Ezeife said that all Nigerians, Igbos and non-Igbos, were very happy because Obi, also a former governor of Anambra, was the kind of politician the country needed.

According to him, Peter is economical and does not waste money, he knows management and he is a thorough business man.

A very few people thought they would have been picked to be Atikus running mate.\

To the extent that they called a meeting in Enugu and at the end, they were not ashamed to announce that they did not come out with any decision, Ezeife said.

The former governor said that some Igbo elders were in his residence in Abuja and they were all complaining and condemning the actions of those politicians.

While congratulating Obi, Atiku and all Nigerians, the elder statesman said that no improvement could be made in the choice of a vice president made by Atiku.

I see a ray of light in our society. This Atikus nomination and the atmosphere at the PDP convention in Port Harcourt showed it clearly.

People had expected that after the convention, there would be implosion but the way it went and the matured speech of the winner changed the game, he said.

Going into 2019 general elections, Ezeife urged all Nigerians to work together for the progress of the country.

The former governor said that there were too many divisions along economic, ethnic and religious lines and it was not helpful to the nation, adding that God had given Nigeria a great destiny.

He described Nigerians as successful people filled with the motivation for achievements and the determination to succeed.

According to him, an ordinary Nigerian wants his children to surpass his achievements and the moment we stop pulling ourselves down, Nigeria will rise.

He said that the minority tribes should raise their voices as they were now equal to every other tribe and would have great impact in the 2019 general elections.

Ezeife whose 80th birthday will come up on Nov. 21, urged the youths to go about spreading love and wishing people well in order to live long.

Source: NAN

Presidential Aide, Senator Ita Enang says plans have been concluded for the establishment of a Court of Appeal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Enang made this known in a statement by his Media Assistant, Mr Essien Inyang on Monday in Abuja.

According to the statement, Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters(Senate), revealed this at a lecture in Uyo.

Enang in a lecture titled, Strengthening the Judiciary for Effective Justice Delivery through Financial Autonomy 2018/ 2019 Legal Year, said the judiciary in Nigeria must be strengthened to ensure effective dispensation of justice to all and sundry.

Let me say by way of a loud rumour that by Gods Grace, this state will soon have Court of Appeal, Uyo Judicial Division approved, gazetted and commencing sittings.

We have answered all questions that gets this set on the table, Enang said.

Enang who said he played a prominent role in the establishment of the Federal High Court and National Industrial Court in the state, expressed belief that the proposed Court of Appeal would bring justice closer to the people of Akwa Ibom State.

According to him, for the judiciary to function effectively, there is need for the full implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary, and referenced the presidential assent on the financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature.

By assent granted by President Muhammadu Buhari, on June 7, 2018 to the Constitution, 4th Alteration No.4, 2018, Constitutional effect was again given to the Judiciary and Legislative Arms of Government financial status.

The said amendment provides: 2. Section 121 of the principal Act is altered by substituting for subsection (3), a new subsection (3:) Any amount standing to the credit of the House of Assembly of the State; and Judiciary.

In the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state shall be paid directly to the said bodies respectively; in the case of Judiciary, such amount shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned.

This Act may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fourth Alteration No. 4) Act 2017.

Earlier Amendment and implementation include judiciary pronouncements related to the judiciary only, but the latest Buhari amendment encompasses the Legislative Houses.

Enang, said the continued dependence of the Judiciary on the Executive arms for its budgeting and funds release is directly responsible for the present state of underfunding of the Judiciary, poor and inadequate judicial infrastructure and low morale among judicial personnel.

He added that this has led to alleged corruption in the judiciary, delays-in administration of justice and judicial services delivery and general low quality and poor out-put by the judiciary.

Enang frowned at instances where state governors opposed judicial and legislative autonomy.

He said, I have laid out the above in detail to enable the audience appreciate how well the judiciary in this state as well as other states would have done as the Federal Judiciary has done if it were allowed financial autonomy by the state governors.

He called for synergy between the judiciary and the legislative arms, adding that the Presidency has been working and will soon unveil the modalities for implementation of the autonomy for judiciary and legislature as one sure step at restructuring.

Source: NAN

The British royal family has announced that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant with her first baby for husband, the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the news was disclosed on the palaces official twitter handle- @kensingtonRoyal on Monday.

It reads: Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019.

The announcement comes five months after Meghan wed Prince Harry in a glittery ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Prince Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeths grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne, got married on 19th of May to Meghan Markle, 36, a U.S. actress, best known for her role in the U.S. TV legal drama Suits. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai, has inaugurated the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, a new corps to protect its data/network against cyber attack and curb terrorism.

He also launched an app that Nigerian citizens can download to pass information to the military authorities.

Buratai said the Cyber Operations Centre, at the army headquarters in Abuja, would also boost the armys online presence in the fight against fake news targeted at it with counter narratives and cyber operations.

He added that cyber warfare is the fifth domain of warfare after Land, Sea, Air and Space.Therefore, this project would not have come at a better time than now.

Buratai, therefore, stressed the need for the army to embark on data protection and Information Warfare to curb online radicalisation, as well as other terrorist activities perpetrated on the internet.

According to him, the intrinsic features of cyberspace can be easily exploited for information warfare by actors with malicious intent to plant and disseminate fake news and instruct paid users to spread online manipulated content.

This is done to degrade debates with diverging truths, deceive, distract and misinform public opinion.

This can eventually disorient and corroborate a sense of doubt among the public, or shape the opinion of a specific target audience on a certain issue.

Hostile actors in cyberspace are also willing and capable of leveraging the variety of tools allowed by computer network operations and computational propaganda to influence public opinion to a degree that old-fashioned Psychology Operations could only dream of.

The above statement accurately demonstrates the real threat of information warfare and the need to combat it with information knowledge.

The army chief charged personnel of the new corps which he said was first in Africa, to equip themselves with digital forensics capabilities to be able to handle cases of identity theft and generate immediate incidence response.

He added that furthermore, I encourage you to routinely survey the dark web/darknet and carry out analysis that may help the Nigerian army to be proactive in the cyber realm.

Buratai noted that in recent times, the military had been inundated with several complaints regarding claims bothering on the unprofessional conducts of some of its personnel in the field.

Consequently, he said, the army took it upon itself to create an avenue for the public to submit complaints and information directly to the appropriate authority without third party interference.

He said the avenue is an application that will allow users to relay information anonymously to the Nigerian Army.

It enables citizens to give timely information to the army, thereby facilitating quick response.

Additionally, crimes against the constitution perpetrated by serving personnel can be directly reported to the army, while keeping the person involved abreast with actions taken as regards a submitted complain.

The link to the application will be publicly available on the Nigerian Army Facebook page, while the application can be assessed through our website and on apps freely available on various app stores.

The chief of army staff added that users could submit a report, as well as attach uploads that would aid the authority in carrying out necessary actions.

Source: NAN

Literary giant, Prof Niyi Osundare on Monday tasked Governor Kayode Fayemi to use his second coming to fight poverty and moral decadence in the state and restore long held values of Ekiti people.

Osundare described former Governor Ayodele Fayose as a demagogue who pounced on the moral degradation in the state to promote stomach infrastructure as a fundamental policy of state.

Osundare spoke in Ado Ekiti on Monday while delivering an inauguration lecture entitled: Reclaiming Our Land, Restoring our Ekiti of Our Dream, in honour of the governor elect, who will be sworn in Tuesday to succeed Fayose, whose four-year tenure expired midnight Monday.

He bemoaned how Fayose, by his conduct and utterances, made the globe to brand Ekiti people, who had hitherto been known to be highly knowledgeable, as people who have no values.

He urged Fayemi to clean the Augean stable by instituting policies that would combat poverty and all forms of social ills that had crept into Ekiti through the actions of compromising politicians.

Ekiti are people that place priority on knowledge , wisdom. They know the values of these virtues. They were regarded as extremely stubborn people because they wont compromise their integrity for anything

There were times when education was a pride and we had the brightest academics like: the late Professor Sam Aluko, Professor Adegoke Olubunmo, Chief Afe Babalola, Prof. Ojo Ugbole, and many others

We placed values on hard work, knowledge acquisition and our parents sold their farms and clothes to send their children to school. They knew the rights from the wrongs at that time

But there came a demagogue who ran authoritarian government in Ekiti in a manner that had never been experienced by any State in Nigeria.

He stopped at market places to buy roasted corn and ate in public places just to deceive the people when majority of our graduates were not provided with jobs and farm products were wasting away and our value system collapsed calamitously

Education that was regarded as our best industry was not well funded and our graduates that had earlier been regarded as the best in Nigeria for decades became practically half-baked and unemployable. Book and elitist thinking were his enemies

The culture of stomach infrastructure was introduced and Ekiti became a laughing stock . How populism manifests itself and the politician banked on the vulnerability in the system to mislead our youths

With Fayemi coming on board, he needs to tackle poverty and reenact value reorientation in Ekiti. He must come with policies and programme of actions that will prohibit miracle centres where students passed without reading and make Ekiti vegetation centre of knowledge

His (Fayemi) nose and ears must be closed to the grounds, he must be close to the people and eradicate ignorance and poverty that make our people to believe in stomach infrastructure.

This is your(Fayemi) second chance and significant opportunity to rewrite your name in gold and make significant impacts on the lives of Ekiti people for real restoration of our value system, Osundare stated..

Source: NAN