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    Ekweremadu salutes Ugwuanyi, Saraki on Supreme Court verdicts

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, has congratulated Enugu State Governor Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki on their victories at the Supreme Court on Friday.

    Ugwuanyi was having a legal battle with Sen. Ayogu Eze over election primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 governorship poll in Enugu State.

    Ekweremadu said that Ugwuanyi was an agent of peace and development in Enugu.

    On the victory, he said, this is victory, not just for Gov. Ugwuanyi, but more importantly, a victory for peace, equitable development and unusual transformation in Enugu State.

    I believe it is a motivation for the governor to do more and a veritable launch pad into the 2019 general elections for the PDP in the state.

    It is instructive that the three senatorial districts of Enugu State have already endorsed him unanimously for a second term in office because he has justified our decision in electing him in 2015.

    On Sarakis victory Ekweremadu said the apex courts unanimous decision, dismissing the assets declaration charges against him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was avictory for the legislature and democracy.

    Ekweremadu said: I salute the courage of the Supreme Court jurists.

    This decision has no doubt strengthened faith in the Judiciary as a sanctuary of justice and defender of rule of law.

    It has, once again, distinguished the judiciary as the bastion of democracy and last hope of the oppressed.

    He added that it was victory, not only for the President of the Senate, but for the National Assembly, our democracy and every Nigerian, who stood up against all forms of political intimidation, high-handedness and impunity.

    I salute the President of the Senate for his resilience, courage and undying commitment to the immutable democratic principles of the rule of law and separation of powers as well as the integrity and independence of the legislature.

    Source: NAN

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    NILDS can solve perception problem plaguing the legislature  CNA

    The Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Omolori has said that legislatures across the globe face a common problem of public perception .

    The CNA who stated this in his key note address at a 2-day workshop on State Legislatures and Public Engagement organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS), said the perception problem arose as a result of lack of required engagements from time to time .

    According to him, the public are neither knowledgeable about nor particularly satisfied with workings of the legislatures and unless the public are informed about what parliaments are doing , they cannot influence the institution and unless they can influence the institution they cannot hold it and their elected members fully to account .

    He said that it was for the reason that the workshop had become more apt, stressing that with more of such engagements as have been exemplified by NILDS, the public can become more knowledgeable of the working of the legislature and appreciate them better.

    He explained that at the national level, the National Assembly has taken active measures to engage more with the public through information provision and involvement in legislative processes .

    To further open the legislature to the public at the National level, he disclosed that National Assembly in consolidating legislative openness and in line with international best practices , will for the first run an open week 16th to 19th of this month .

    This , he explained, is to further open the legislature to the public , foster interaction between the public and their elected representatives and deepen public understanding of the workings of the National Assembly in promoting accountability and good governance .

    In making the public engagement robust, the Speaker called on the civil society organizations to see the legislature as partners in the quest for good governance anchored on transparency and accountability and not as a body to be attacking all the time .

    More often than not, CSOs constitute themselves as opposition to the legislature rather than as partners . Such disposition is not helpful to consolidating democracy that CSOs seek to achieve in the first instance .

    In the long run, there can be no genuine democracy without the legislature . Indeed , it is arguably not in the extreme to postulate that the presence of legislature is the democracy , he said .

    In her remarks at the occasion, the Director General of NILDS, Prof. Ladi Hamalai said the essence of organising the workshop for Clerks of State Houses of Assembly, was to replicate public engagement moves being made at the National Assembly at the state levels.

    Source: NAN

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    Badminton Federation trains 67 umpires for intl engagements
    The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) says it will ensure Nigerian umpires are recognised by the world body especially in the officiating of international competitions.

    BFNs President, Francis Orbih, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that the federation had started the move with the umpires course held at the National Stadium, Abuja.

    Orbih said the course which held between July 2 and July 5 for 67 umpires was designed to expose them to the latest developments in the game.

    He said the course was also organised to build the capacity of the match officials and prepare them for international assignments.

    I can tell you that for any championship, if the standard of officiating is poor, it can mar the game. We feel that our umpires should be grounded in the rules and technicalities of the game.

    As we are today in Nigeria, we do not have one single referee in Africa; there is no Nigerian referee recognised by the world body.

    So, we think and feel strongly that with the level the game has reached in Nigeria, we should have our umpires participating in international competitions.

    It is not only our athletes that should be excelling at international events, our umpires should excel too; we want a situation where other African countries will come to Nigeria and employ coaches.

    We want to train our coaches and umpires to that level. We want to have as many referees as possible recognised and invited by the world body to officiate matches, Orbih said.

    According to Orbih, the umpires course will make more meaning to the federation when the match officials are invited to officiate at the highest level.

    He said: When you have people at that highest level it means that there is no aspect of the game that they do not know.

    But first and foremost, we want to make sure that we organise national championships for them before we begin to look at sending them on international training.

    It is the number of games an umpire officiated that add up to qualify him or her to be invited for African championships.

    When I addressed the umpires during this course, I told them that if they do not have competitions where they will go and practice what they have learnt, then, we have wasted our time.

    From the response we have received, we are going to have a second batch of this course after the Lagos International Badminton Classics this July; we have seen that we need to do more.

    Akinyemi Akindele, the Chairman, Caretaker Umpires Committee of BFN, said 67 participants from 27 states including Army, FRSC and Prisons attended the course.

    We had this course last in 2003 because the people there before did not deem it fit to conduct it. But when we came in last month, we pleaded with BFN to assist us financially to organise the course.

    Our aim is that since we are getting old, we are supposed to leave officiating for the younger ones and that is basically why we are organising it.

    The new BFN board is working hard to ensure that they take one umpire to every competition who will later impact the knowledge learnt on others, Akindele said.

    Akindele noted that Nigerian umpires would be the toast of other African countries if the federation continued with the current trend.

    He said the umpires committee had pegged the age limit for entry point at between 20 and 40 years.

    Source: NAN

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    World Cup: France, Brazil, Uruguay, Belgium battle for semi-final spots
    The World Cup bursts back into life on Friday as tournament favourites Brazil take on a Belgium side brimming with talent while a young France team face battle-hardened Uruguay.

    The first match Uruguay-France, will take place at 3pm Nigerian time and the second at 7pm.

    Neymars Brazil are aiming to win a record-extending sixth World Cup at Moscows Luzhniki Stadium on July 15.

    But first, the worlds most expensive player and his star-studded supporting cast have to get past Belgium, who boast an array of their firepower, to reach the semi-finals.

    In a Kazan Arena expected to be dominated by yellow-clad Brazil fans, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne have a chance to prove they can cut it at the highest international level.

    They will have to be wary of attacking threats coming at them from every direction.

    Individually, Brazil are the strongest team in this World Cup, said vastly experienced Belgium defender Vincent Kompany.

    But it doesnt affect our chances against them. None of us are going to sleep at night thinking We have already lost to Brazil.

    We are going to look them in the eye. But if we make this a match of individuals, then well lose, he said.

    Brazil coach Tite said he was desperate to win the match without resorting to the horror of penalties after three of the last-16 ties were settled by spot-kicks.

    A football match should never be settled with the horror of penalties. I dont see that as a valid result, Tite told a packed press conference on Thursday. For me, there has to be another way.

    Brazil made a slow start in Russia but hit their stride with an impressive performance to shut down Mexico in the last round, even though Neymar was roundly criticised for once again play-acting at the merest contact from an opponent.

    If I seem more relaxed, its because the players have put me in this position by playing better, said Tite.

    France overran Argentina in a last-16 match that appeared to signal the passing of a torch to a new generation of superstars, as 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe scored twice to outshine Lionel Messi and dump the 2014 finalists out of the competition.

    Uruguay have so many assets, so many qualities, said France coach Didier Deschamps. They defend as a unit, they play together and they love to do that.

    Uruguay are crossing their fingers that prolific striker Edinson Cavani will recover from the calf injury he sustained in his impressive two-goal performance that ended the hopes of Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal.

    Cavani was back in training on Thursday and France are acutely aware of the threat posed by the man who plays his club football for Paris Saint-Germain.

    I am preparing my team for if Cavani plays, Deschamps said, although he suggested Uruguay were keeping their cards close to their chest: If he plays or not, I will only know 90 minutes before the game.

    In England, World Cup fever is building as hopes rise that Gareth Southgates young team can beat Sweden on Saturday and reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1990.

    Even Bank of England governor Mark Carney is getting swept up in the excitement, saying that if the Three Lions were to win the tournament for the first time since 1966, it would be an unalloyed, unadulterated, absolute good.

    Coach Gareth Southgate has urged his young squad to seize their chance.

    Its a great opportunity, and although our team will be individually better in two years, we might not have this opportunity again, Southgate told the BBC.

    In Saturdays other quarter-final, host nation Russia will hope to keep their rollercoaster ride through the finals going when they face Croatia.

    Written off as no-hopers before the tournament, Russia are now within reach of their first semi-final since 1966.

    Source: NAN

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    Ndume dismisses R-APC, Oshiomhole appeals

    Mr Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of the All Progressives (APC) has reiterated his appeal to aggrieved members of the party to be patient with his leadership, in an apparent response to the emergence on Wednesday of a rebel group, Reformed APC(R-APC)

    My appeal to all those who are aggrieved is to be patient, Oshiomhole said.

    However, former Senate leader and the Senator representing Southern Borno, Alhaji Ali Ndume, dismissed the new group, saying that only God and time could determine the direction of the APC in 2019.

    Oshiomhole spoke to newsmen after receiving the report of the partys just concluded National Convention Appeal Panel Committees report on Wednesday in Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Alhaji Buba Galadima who is the National Chairman of the Reformed APC, announced its formation at a news conference at the Sheraton Hotels in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The assurance is that under my leadership, we will make honest mistakes and once our attention is drawn, we will find courage to make up for our mistake.

    Some people say how can people eat their words, for me, I will eat my words if it is nutritious enough and if that is what I have to do to have peace in the family, Oshiomhole said.

    He expressed appreciation to members of the party for his election and for entrusting with him, the responsibility to pilot the partys affairs at this time.

    He acknowledged that he new of the partys challenges before accepting the task, saying that it wasa huge opportunity for him and other newly elected executives of the party to make a difference.

    This, Oshiomhole said, was not only for the party, but for the country generally.

    So, I appeal to people to realise that a blind man can redeem his eyes if he applies the correct medication, but you cant force it to open over night, he said.

    He added that forcing the eyes to open over night, would create more problems and damage the eye the more.

    The APC national chairman maintained that he would do everything possible to sustain confidence and trust, adding that everybody was important in the party.

    He also said that everybody in the party matters, adding that he would run an inclusive party.

    I pray for wisdom and courage and I believe that we have it and we will deploy it for peace within the APC family,Oshiomhole said.

    Senator Ali Ndume, in a separate interview dismissed the new group.

    He said the threat by the R-APC and nPDP to leave the APC would never spell doom for it, but only God and time would tell.

    The Senator who admitted that politics is all about interest, said there was however, nothing wrong if an aggrieved group voices out its displeasure.

    He added that movement from one political party to another is normal in politics.

    What is happening is part of politics, especially now in our political days, all of us are Nigerians and we know what is happening.

    So, politics is about interest and if somebody feels that his or her interest will be more protected by voicing out his dissent, it is Ok.

    This party is a party of time, decided by Nigerian masses and it is only God that can decide the time of a political party: God and Nigerians know that APC government is the light at the end of the tunnel,the Senator said.

    Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary was more laconic in his reaction. He said the party leadership would get the full details of what happened.

    Source: NAN

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    Boko Haram: Focus on intelligence gathering  Ndume to FG
    By Naomi Sharang

    A member of National Assembly, Sen. Ali Ndume, has urged the Federal Government to concentrate on intelligence-gathering in its effort to win the fight against insurgency in the country.

    Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District at the Senate, made the call when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

    He suggested that security agencies should collaborate with various communities in troubled areas to gather intelligence on where explosive devices used for suicide bombing were manufactured.

    Everybody in Borno knows that the major black spot of Boko Haram is Sambisa and the Lake Chad Basin fringes.

    Ndume expressed dismay that many people still did not understand what people in the North-East were passing through with regards to the humanitarian crisis.

    Many people are under-rating and under-estimating the humanitarian crisis in the North-East. People dont know and are under-estimating the level of destruction to infrastructure, to ecosystem and to the people.

    There are many children out of school in Borno for nine yearsthat were not able to go to school. Many children dont know where their parents are.

    The institution of government is not working; so, since Im here to represent my people I shouldjust keep quiet and concentrate, he said.

    The lawmaker, however, said that the action of government in the fight against insurgency was commendable, adding but we are not there yet.

    We, as citizens, are expecting peace that we know to be back, he said.

    On the grants given to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ndume said, I am on the financial tracking system of the US.

    The international development partners have contributed 740 million dollars; if you convert that to naira it translates to N280 billion or more.

    Out of the 740 million dollars, they spent close to 80 percent on overhead and it is only 20 per cent that went to the people.

    He, however, decried existing situation where there was no synergy between the 75 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the state.

    It is not that they are not doing anything at all, but when you look at the money, 740 million dollars, if you decide to give the displaced persons conditional cash transfer, they would have settled themselves.

    He commended the World Food Programme, saying it was visible when compared with others.

    Source: NAN

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    Politicians, leaders planning disorder in Nigeria

    Opposition politicians and some past leaders have been accused of holding secret meetings within and outside the country to plan how to cause disorder in Nigeria .

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) on Thursday alerted Nigerians on the plan.

    The Chairman of BMO, Mr Austin Braimoh, said the meetings were parts of their alleged agenda to cause public disaffection and disorder in the country.

    According to him, the primary objective of the sponsors is to stop the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general election.

    This group of Nigerians were powerful in the past and misused the opportunity of running the affairs of this country while in position of authority.

    They are opposed to the anti-corruption action of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari because they directly or indirectly contributed to the economic adversity of the country, he said.

    The BMO chairman said that instead of these questionable leaders to apologise to Nigerians on the ignoble roles they played in ruining the economy, they have chosen to embark on campaign of calumny and mis-information against the country, under the guise of exercising their freedom of expression.

    It is ironic that while President Muhammadu Buhari is working hard to rebuild the economy, restore the image of Nigeria in the international community and take its rightful place in the comity of nations,

    These politicians are out there portraying the country in bad light, be-littling its status as a medium power in the world and discouraging foreign investors, Braimoh added.

    While advising them to retrace their steps, he described such plans as regrettable that people of their calibre have chosen to downgrade their status by their action.
    He also urged those involved in the perpetuation of this evil to support the current administration in its ongoing serious infrastructural development effort aimed at repositioning the country for the benefit of all Nigerians. (NAN)

    Source: NAN

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    House of Reps probes MDAs expenditure on IT
    By EricJames Ochigbo

    The House of Representatives on Thursday mandated its Committee on Public Accounts and its Finance counterpart to investigate Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) expenditure on Information Technology (IT).

    This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Iboro Ekanem (PDP-Cross River) at plenary.

    Moving the motion earlier, Ekanem said that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) reported that MDAs spent about two billion dollars on IT projects annually.

    He said that the huge expenditure was without commensurate results in the activities of MDAs.

    The lawmaker said that it had also been reported that the demand for public funds to pursue IT projects had become a means to siphon public funds by corrupt individuals.

    He said that a recent investigation carried out by NITDA showed that many IT projects were riddled with poor conceptualization and without clear sustainability plans.

    He said that such situation of led to duplication of projects, waste, redundancies and a conduit pipe to siphon public funds.

    Ekanem alleged that the nations financial resources were being hoarded to the benefit of a few individuals, thereby damaging the economy and reputation of the country.

    According to him, if no attention is given to this matter, it may pave way for corrupt practices to increase among MDAs, using lCT platform as a ground for official theft, breach of trust and misappropriations.

    In his remarks, the Speaker of the house, Mr Yakubu Dogara, mandated the committees to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

    Source: NAN

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    Oshiomhole:  I wont miss my sleep over Buba Galadima

    The National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday dismissed the so-called Reformed APC and its sponsors, saying reports that the party has broken up are far from the truth.

    Who are the people? I dont know about Galadima, Oshiomhole said when asked whether he would be the splinter group back into the APC.

    Oshiomhole spoke in an interview with the newsmen shortly after a maiden meeting with the APC caucus in the House of Representatives that lasted for about three hours in Abuja.

    Responding to questions, Oshiomhole disagreed that the party was in a crisis.

    There is no breakup in APC. If one Galadima of no particular political address says he is not happy, that is fine. He has the right not to be happy.

    And if he chooses to call himself what he wants to call himself, I wont miss my sleep over that.

    We know those who are in the system. Those who are in the politics for bread and butter, that is their problem, he said.

    There is no breakup in APC. If one Galadima of no particular political address says he is not happy, that is fine. He has the right not to be happy. And if he chooses to call himself what he wants to call himself, I wont miss my sleep over that.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a rebel group in the party, the Reformed All Progressives Congress (rAPC), under the leadership of Alhaji Buba Galadima, emerged on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Announcing the formation of the group at a news conference in Abuja, Galadima said the group had activated its parallel structures from the national to the ward levels.

    He further stated that the new leaders at the ward levels would soon be made public.

    The news conference was attended by many APC leaders, including the former National Chairman of the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Alhaji Kawu Baraje.

    Oshiomhole said the party is in talks with the real stakeholders in APC.

    I mean between the executive and the two arms of the National Assembly, we have very important, influential leaders and we are engaging them.

    Now, if you have people who are being sponsored by those who thought that our convention would be a failure and they were expecting implosion.

    If you review the headline before the convention, there were stories like Oh people are going to walk out of the convention, Oh people will boycott the convention.

    In the end, they were shocked to find that president was seated, the Vice-President was seated and Senate President was seated.

    Speaker of the House was seated, the national leaders were seated, the then national chairman was seated, and all the governors were seated.

    So they were like, what do we do next. They couldnt stop what God has willed.

    So if thereafter, after two weeks of wriggling in pains that they were disappointed, you find mercenaries who are willing to be hired for a purpose, it is their right to be so hired, he said.

    The APC chair said the development would not cause any distraction within the core party leadership.

    And I met with the Senate leadership, with the Senate president in attendance, I have just met with the House of Reps, with the Speaker in attendance.

    Of course, I have had series of meetings with various party leaders

    I have had meetings with governors elected on APC platform, everybody that matters in APC is here and our members just expect that with the new leadership, a couple of things will be done differently.

    And we are obviously going to do a couple of things differently because as it is said, you can be doing the same thing the same old way and expect different outcome.

    I am convinced that there are many things that we could do differently, he said.

    According to him, although there are worries, there are also hopes.

    He dismissed insinuations that the crisis might jeopardise the partys chances in the 2019 elections.

    If people choose to be detained by fear, it is their choice. I am inspired by hope of the infinite possibilities for the future.

    On whether he intends to bring the splinter group together, Oshiomhole asked: Who are the people? I dont know about Galadima.

    He said he was at the National Assembly to thank the House caucus of the party for its support at the convention.

    Earlier at the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, had said that it was only by enthroning justice and equity that the APC would be able to silence voices of dissent and opposition.

    He said although there is no human endeavour that is perfect, the APC lawmakers only expected justice which is indivisible and universal.

    In every family, whether it is a nuclear, extended or an organisation, there is bound to be problem and that is because we humans are running those institutions are not perfect ourselves.

    So we dont expect perfection in from any quarters.

    Our only expectation is the issue of justice and justice is indivisible. What is justice to the executive should be justice to the legislature and it should be justice to the judiciary, Dogara said.

    Source: NAN

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    Ciromas death, great loss to Nigeria- Tinubu

    By Lucy Osuizigbo

    The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday described the death of former Finance Minister, Malam Adamu Ciroma, as a great loss to Nigeria.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ciroma, an elder statesman, died in an Abuja hospital on Thursday after a protracted illness.

    The deceased was a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and also the finance minister during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He was 84 years old.

    In a statement issued by his Media Officer, Mr Tunde Rahman in Lagos, Tinubu said the country had lost an illustrious leader who played politics with a commitment to serve the people and change society.

    He said that the late Ciroma was a consummate politician and an accomplished public servant.

    Malam Adamu Ciroma was one of the illustrious leaders this country has produced. He was a politician of note.

    You cannot but recall his days in the Second Republic National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and in the PDP where he was one of the partys founding fathers.

    He also made name as an experienced technocrat and skilful public servant particularly as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor and in later years as Minister of Finance.

    He was a fine man who played politics with a commitment to serve the people and change society.

    This did not come as a surprise given his background honed by sound education at the popular Barewa College and University of Ibadan and his nationalistic worldview.

    My condolences go to the Ciroma family and the people of government of Yobe State. May his soul rest in peace, Tinubu said (NAN)

    Source: NAN

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