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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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