Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), has described Ekiti a state where change is necessary.

At the mega rally of APC’s governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, Tinubu said that Ekiti would join the progressives after the change.

“We will not take Ekiti back to the past. You all must use your Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) to vote in APC.

“Your PVC is your red card. Use your PVC to give PDP a red card on July 14,’’ Tinubu advised the crowd.

Former Edo state governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, who spoke after Tinubu narrated how his plane was grounded and prevented from travelling from Benin to Ekiti in 2014 to campaign for Fayemi.

Oshiomhole, who is gunning for the APC National Chairmanship position at the party’s convention on Saturday said that the injustice meted on him in 2014 was a play of dictatorship of the past administration,

He urged Ekiti people not to be afraid because those who assisted in perpetrating the crime have been relegated.

“Those people are no longer there. There is no more need to be afraid. Come out and vote on July 14. You will be protected.

“The good news is that on July 14, Fayemi will be the candidate you will vote for.

“It will no longer be bad for Ekiti but good.

“The past four years was for the thief, but July 14 is for the owner.’’

Prince Dayo Adeyeye, former spokesman of PDP and former works minister formally defected from his party to APC at the rally.

Adeyeye, who was also a governorship aspirant of PDP, said: “PDP died in Ekiti since May 29.’’

“I have decamped from PDP and many others would soon join the APC.’’

He said he was now committed to APC to ensure that Ekiti came up again in terms of development

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, national Chairman of APC, received Adeyeye and other defecting PDP party chieftains.

He congratulated them and assured them of celebration of Fayemi’s victory on 14 July.

The Nigerian Government has demonstrated commitment to introduce nuclear power into its energy mix to boost electricity generation in the country.

Mr Dmitry Shornikov, an expert and Chief Executive Officer, Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation (ROSATOM), said this in an interview text emailed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

According him, Nigeria is most certainly following all the correct steps required to be ready for nuclear power production.

“The Nigerian Government has shown firm commitment to introduce nuclear power into its energy mix.

“As part of the government’s programme to deploy nuclear power plants for electricity generation in the country, the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission was activated in April 2006.

“One of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines for newcomer countries envisages assistance to adapt national energy grids for special requirements of reliability and safety.

“If a country that wants to develop nuclear programme does not have adequate grid infrastructure, it should follow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines in order to rectify this.

“In the summer of 2015, the IAEA conducted two missions to Nigeria in support of its nuclear programme.

“These missions found that Nigeria’s emergency preparedness and response framework was consistent with IAEA safety standards, and that the country needed to further refine its policies and strengthen capacities on the management on nuclear initiatives.”

NAN recalls that Nigeria started developing its peaceful nuclear programme a decade ago and ROSATOM has been working with Nigeria for roughly half of this time.

A great deal has already been done in terms of the legal framework and educating specialists, both of which are part of the nuclear infrastructure development programme.

The two countries started their partnership in nuclear power development in 2009, by executing an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of the peaceful usage of nuclear technologies.

On Oct. 30, 2017, Russia and Nigeria signed project development agreements on construction and operation of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and a Research Centre housing a multi-purpose nuclear research reactor on the territory of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The parties also signed a roadmap for cooperation in the field of peaceful usage of nuclear technologies.

Dmitry, overseeing Central and Southern Africa of ROSATOM, said it was important for Nigeria to harness all available energy mix, including nuclear to improve its power generation, given the huge demand for electricity supply in the country.

“Today, Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, however, its power sector is performing far below the level of an economy of this magnitude.

“Over half of the population has no access to grid-connected electricity and those who are connected to the grid suffer extensive power outages.

“Nigeria’s current installed capacity is estimated at around 12,500 MW, only half of this is operational, and only about 5,000 MW reaches the grid.

“Restricted output has been blamed on gas supply problems, water shortages, grid constraints and breakdowns.

“Existing energy mix in Nigeria is made up mostly of hydro and gas turbine power plants and will certainly benefit from the addition of sustainable base load generation.

“There are three important factors that should be considered when designing the optimum energy mix, this include economics, security of supply and environmental impact.

“Nuclear is one of the only power sources that is capable of producing all the three factors and is, therefore, crucial to help balance any energy mix,” Dmitry explained.

He said ROSATOM was committed to assisting Nigeria archive its nuclear energy production ambition.

Dmitry, however, said skills development was a key requirement in Nigeria getting ready for the development and running of nuclear energy plants, adding that ROSATOM was willing to further assist in developing the needed skills.

“Since 2010, ROSATOM has been running a project on training staff for partner countries.

“The project is aimed at supporting the partner country in creating an integrated system for training qualified specialists for the nuclear power industry.

“From highly professional construction, installation and operating staff to providing the most modern specialised university education and retraining of executives, both for nuclear power and national regulatory authorities in the nuclear sphere.

He disclosed that 17 students from Nigeria were presently studying in Russia, adding that Nigeria was part of special ROSATOM’s bursary programme on free education for talented students.

According to him, ROSATOM will give its best to support development of science in Nigeria which remains a veritable key to further develop the country.

Two persons died when a truck loaded with boards and plywood tilted on the Ojuelegba Bridge, Surulere, Lagos State late on Tuesday evening.

Two other persons were also injured, according to an update provided by the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Adesina Tiamiyu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accident occurred at 8.p.m..

Similar accidents had claimed lives in the last three years. In one of the accidents in September 2015, in which three members of the same family died, the relations are pursuing a N10billion compensation suit at the Lagos High Court. Both the Lagos and Federal governments, along with the owners of the truck, are defendants in the case.

Tiamiyu spoke with newsmen at the scene of the latest accident; as remnants of the plywood were being cleared to ease vehicular movement in the area.

“A flat bed truck laden with plywood and finished boards tilted on top of Ojuelegba bridge and fell on three commercial buses and a Toyota Corolla Camry.

“Unfortunately, two people died while two other people sustained injuries but what we are doing now is recovery.

“We have removed the vehicles from the road and we have also taken the trucks off the bridge.

“We are now trying to clear the remnants of the plywood at Ojuelegba under-bridge and the top of the bridge.

“That vehicle was definitely overloaded and that was what I think caused the accident, ” Tiamiyu said.

He, however, urged commercial drivers to park at designated bus-stops and to stop parking indiscriminately.

Tiamiyu said: “If the buses were not parked indiscriminately, the accident would not claim lives.

“Commercial drivers should not turn Ojuelegba into a bus-stop.

“Let’s have free drive under Ojuelegba Bridge. ”

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the 2019 general elections will probably be the least expensive elections for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking to TheCable, he said the current administration has performed well and doesn’t need to convince anyone.

When asked about how the APC will fund the 2019 polls and its government control how much other parties spend, he replied: “INEC is the statutory body saddled with the responsibility of monitoring campaign expenditure, but one thing I can assure you is that for us, 2019 election will probably be the least expensive for us, because we have performed, we have delivered.

“Just talking to you now, we feed 8.2 million pupils everyday, one free meal a day, they have parents. I just told you what we’ve done in infrastructure.

“I was about to tell you what we have achieved in tackling insecurity. When we came in in 2015, 20 out of 27 local governments in Borno state alone were under the influence of Boko Haram, today not a single local government in the entire northeast.”

Senator Ahmed Makarfi, a former Governor of Kaduna State and former Caretaker Committee Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has formally joined those jostling for the party’s 2019 presidential ticket.

Former Cross River State governor Donald had last week also declared his intention to run for the 2019 presidential ticket on the same party platform.

Also former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who recently defected from ruling All progressives Congress (APC) back to his original PDP, is currently on nationwide consultation to galvanise support for the party’s presidential ticket.

Makarfi disclosed his intention in Kaduna on Sunday.

He explained that he had consulted widely and arrived at the conclusion that the time had come for him to contest for the exalted position.

He said unveiled his programme if elected in 2019.

“Restructuring the country, tackling insecurity, fighting corruption with due process and rule of law, improving the economy, reuniting the nation are top among what my administration will do for the country,’’ he said.

Makarfi said the crisis rocking the ruling APC was an advantage for his party to emerge victorious in the election.

Makarfi, however, commended president Buhari’s administration’s fight against insurgency.

The Nigerian Government says it will shut the land border between it and a neigbouring country in a few days time to avoid smuggling of foreign rice into the country.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday while speaking with youths in a leadership clinic under the auspices of Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI).

Ogbeh who did not mention the particular country and border, said that shutting the borders had become necessary to encourage local production and sustain the economy of the country.

The minister said that a neighbouring country was bent on destroying the economy of the country and discouraging local production of rice, hence the need to shut down the border.

“Our other problem is smuggling. As we speak, a neighbor of ours is importing more rice than China is importing.
“They do not eat parboiled rice, they eat white rice, they use their ports to try and damage our economy.
“I am telling you now because in a few days, you will hear the border has been shut, we are going to shut it to protect you, us and protect our economy.

“You will start seeing all sorts of negative things on the internet.
“Let me tell you why we need to shut the border, I grow rice, I was the first Nigerian to mill rice free of stones, if you plant rice in certain parcels of land, some poisonous materials gets into the rice.

“There are three kinds of water in their natural state; there is fresh water from the river, salt water from the sea, blackish water.

“If you go to the Delta in many countries, in South East Asia where they grow the rice, if you plant rice in the same place like four to six years continuously, the quantum of arsenic begins to increase and arsenic causes cancer and that is what they are dumping for us.

“Some people say they prefer Thai rice because they are very sophisticated, welcome to poison,’’ Ogbeh said.

He said that the Federal Government in two years reduced rice importation by 95 per cent and increased the number of rice farmers from five million to 30 million.

The minister said that states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa were doing well in rice production.

“We just have to handwork you to prosperity otherwise, this country will not grow. My wish for you is to have a better time that we had,’’ Ogbeh said.

The President of GOTNI, Dr Linus Okorie, commended the minister for sharing prosperity experiences with the youth.

Okorie noted that the leadership clinic was organised by GOTNI to expose young people to practical leadership principle for life success.

According to him, GOTNI is committed to changing the narratives of poor leadership in Nigeria by consciously developing the capacities of generational leaders.

“A lot of young people are asking questions, seeking answers to their questions, wish that they have an experienced person who will hold them by the hands and show them the way to achieve success.

“There are a few people that are readily available to do this; a lot of them are making decisions everyday on the basis of their limited exposure.

“If Nigeria must make progress, if we must consciously build the next generation of leaders then, we must expose these young people to experienced leaders that have gone ahead for a conscious transfer of knowledge and experiences,’’ he said.

Some of the youths who spoke at the meeting called for continuous mentorship from leaders, access to finance and low interest rates to assist them in businesses.

GOTNI is a non-profit youth leadership capital development organisation with a passion to nurture various categories of young people under 40 years of age, into transformational leaders.

(NAN)

Ekiti State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Gboyega Oguntuase, has alleged that the debts incurred by the Kayode Fayemi administration from 2010 to 2014 had so far cost the state N35.34billion.

The PDP claimed that the N35.3 billion was used in the servicing of debts, and deductions from statutory allocations from October 2014 till date.

But the former Governor and immediate past Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Fayemi has swiftly denied the allegation, describing it as a deliberate falsehood, sponsored by Gov. Ayo Fayose to smear his image as well as cover up the failure of his government to deliver on his electoral promises.

Fayemi who reacted through the Media Director of his Campaign Organization, Wole Olujobi, said the campaign of lies was a sign of frustrations from the Fayose camp.

Fayemi said Fayose and his party decided to embark on character assassination because of his rising political profile and the imminence of the PDP candidates rejection at the coming gubernatorial poll.

It is ridiculous that Fayose and his aides can still be peddling inaccurate debt figures after the Debt Management Office(DMO) had published the debts taken by Fayose himself alone, in the last three years which has amounted to N56billion, even though he swore and lied many times that he never borrowed a kobo.

We admit that Fayemi borrowed N25b to be defrayed within three years and records are there at the DMO that Fayemi paid back N14.5billion of the debts, leaving the balance of only N10.5billion before he left office on Oct. 16, 2014.

If the official debt figures are as stated above, how then did they come about spending N35.34billion to service an outstanding debt of N10.5billion? Fayemi queried.

NAN reports that the state PDP boss had in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, raised the alarm that by calculation, the N35.34billion sum already paid to service debt allegedly incurred by Fayemi, meant that the state was servicing the debts at an average of N1.1billion monthly.

He added that it also means about 40 percent of the states allocation was being deducted from source monthly.

The PDP Chairman claimed that documents from the DMO and the Federal Ministry of Finance, agencies in charge of the debts and statutory allocations, revealed that the debts were incurred under several headings.

He added that between October and December 2014, the states allocations had N1.71billion deducted to service the debts.

In 2015, the sum of N7.85billion was deducted from our allocations. In 2016, it was N11.30billion, in 2017, it was N12.12billion and from January to May this year, the sum of N4.94billion had been deducted.

While we have paid off the commercial agriculture credit scheme, we are yet to pay off others and some will run till 2036

The implications of this are many. If we had such a huge sum, we wouldnt be owing workers salaries and more welfare programmes and projects would have been executed by the Fayose administration

The debts are under these headings: Contractual obligations, fertiliser, foreign loans, bonds, commercial agriculture credit scheme, water projects, restructuring of bank loans, excess crude loan among others.

For instance, under contractual obligations is the vehicles and buses they purchased for traditional rulers and various groups that they did not pay a kobo before they left office.

Under commercial agriculture credit scheme is their YCAD programme that failed woefully, they also took money for the rehabilitation of water scheme and the money they borrowed for Ero Dam rehabilitation just went down the drain

We all know the N25billion they borrowed from the Capital Market to finance some projects, but where are the projects? They never built any Governors Office. They did not build a new Oja Oba Market, they did not complete their Event centre. Even the state pavilion was not fully completed,

Fayemi is the reason Ekiti State is under financial burden. He plunged the state into debts and cant point to any tangible project he executed while in office. His administration also got the highest revenues from the Federation Account in the history of the state, he claimed.

Oguntuase who asked the electorate not to vote for Fayemi in the coming poll, said members of the public could get the details of the debts on the websites of the DMO and the Federal Ministry of Finance and in their offices. (NAN)

Source: NAN

A U.S.-based woman, Princess Oyenike Oyedele Roberts, has declared for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 presidential election.

Nike Roberts, as she is called, while addressing supporters in New York, also dissociated herself from corruption, vowing never to accept any donation from corrupt Nigerians to fund her campaign.

She said her aspiration was built on five-cardinal plans: Uninterrupted power supply, quality healthcare for all, creation of one million jobs annually, quality affordable education and security of lives and property.

The PDP presidential aspirant, whose campaign slogan is Hope 2019, is the Vice Chair of Nigerian-American Public Affairs Committee and the President, Association of African Media Practitioners in the U.S.

She blamed the problems of Nigeria on what she termed the current faulty structure, saying the Nigerian president in the next political dispensation must have the will to restructure the country to realise its potential.

Notwithstanding the allegation of corruption levelled against PDP when it was in power, she urged Nigerians to trust her integrity as she had not been tainted by any act of corruption having not held political positions.

Roberts said PDP is poised for a major shift ahead of 2019, claiming it was the party to beat and a viable platform because it had national appeal and spread.

Our political system is driven by money and thats why we have the kind of leadership. The system should be driven by meritocracy what you know to do, how to do it and the will to do it.

That is what should drive people; its not how much money you have or how much money you can invest in a person that you can control at the end of the day.

Thats what gave rise to the God-fatherism notion that it is who you know that gets you to the top. That system has continued for so long.

But Im seeing a new breed of leaders coming; a change thats going to cause a shift in how we do politics in Nigeria. We dont allow meritocracy to rule; we allow money to rule, she said.

She called for more determination in the fight against corruption so as to secure notable convictions with commensurate consequences through the executive, legislative and Judicial commitments.

The Osun-born presidential aspirant, in her 50s, said at the centre of her heart is the security of lives and property, saying: We must secure the borders to prevent illegal infiltration and activities.

As a matter of urgency, the National Identity system must be concluded in order to account for every individual in the national database.

This will put face to crime and assist law enforcement agencies to deliver efficient services. I will also move for the professionalism of law enforcement agencies through inter-agency cooperation and improve their welfare.

She said apart from creating at least one million jobs annually, there would be an urgent review of the minimum wage to living wage to match current trends as well as a relief package for the extremely poor.

The politician said she would advocate for an expansion of the health insurance scheme to include all citizens while there would be incentives to encourage regular health checks.

Roberts promised to allocate minimum of 15 per cent of the annual budget to education as well as the total overhaul of the system to allow for early instruction in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

She said: There must be continuous training and certification for teachers and instructors at all levels. The public school infrastructure must be upgraded as a matter of urgency.

The politician pledged to overhaul the power infrastructure and tackle the ineffective model of operations to increase power generation to at least 20,000 megawatts using renewable sources to support the fossil sources.

Roberts said she had support base in all the 774 Local Government Areas and expressed confidence in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct credible poll in 2019.

Nike Roberts attended Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls Secondary School, Lagos(1975-81) before leaving for the United Kingdom to study hotel management in Oxford. According to her website, www.nikeroberts.org, Nike returned to Nigeria to work in the hospitality industry by developing her own brand of lunch delivery services to corporate clients, and event catering.

She later left for the US where she attended Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia.

She then started the first multi-cultural television station in Atlanta area, which showcases the experience of Africans in Diaspora. She also produced and hosted her own talk show.

Nike has degrees in Office Administration

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has charged the 23 newly elected council chairmen to prudently utilize council funds to pay workers salaries and fight insecurity in their areas.

Wike gave the charge on Monday in Port Harcourt while swearing in the chairmen who emerged victorious in the council poll conducted on Saturday.

He warned them to avoid non-payment of salaries or payment of half salaries to council workers and to use their positions to make a difference in the administration of local government councils for others to emulate.

He further urged them to use their good offices to proffer solutions to challenges that had caused delay in the development of local government areas.

He also advised them to prioritize projects that would benefit the masses and avoid wastage of funds.

Wike underscored the need to the chairmen to be close to the people in order to be abreast of the challenges confronting them.

You should always be at home; do not stay far from the people; do not stay in Port Harcourt; do not distance yourselves from the people; stay in your councils to know the problems of your people.

He also urged the chairmen to work with their councillors and security agencies to ensure absolute peace in their domains.

He advised them not to give appointments that they could not pay for, adding that such appointmentscould create crisis in the councils.

The governor also urged them to desist from using their positions to create crisis or confusion in the party and to always seek permission before embarking on long journeys outside the state.

He lauded both the Rivers State independent Electoral Commission [RSIEC] and the security agencies for conducting free, fair and credible council elections in the State.

Wike specially commended the security agencies for carrying out their jobs professionally, which he noted, averted breakdown of law and order during the council elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clinched all the 23 chairmanship seats in the council elections.(NAN)

Source: NAN

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Adeyeye, on Monday accused Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State of promoting violence in the state.

The former Minister of State for Works said in Ado-Ekiti that the governor should be held responsible for the destruction of the campaign materialsof the APC candidate in the July 14 election, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

He said in a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Mr Omoniyi Ojo, that the governor was also heating up the polity with the threats to the perceived enemies of the administration.

Adeyeye also accused Fayose of harassing traditional rulers in thestate and sacking civil servants and appointees supporting Fayemi.

The former minister, however, appealed to those affected to endure, assuring them that help was underway after the governorship poll.

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, should be held responsible for the present state of insecurity in the state.

People who are familiar with his antics cannot sleep with their two eyes closed anymore.

He was chased out in his first term in office when he was imposedon the people of Ekiti State by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

This second time, he told people that he was a changed person, but he is now worse.

He was impeached because of violence in his term in office, evensome of the cases that include murder cases are still in court.

Two days ago, an APC supporter was killed, two days before, the billboards of Dr Fayemi were destroyed in Ikere Ekit

If you are looking for who are behind all these violence, look in the direction of Fayose.

Fayose is so intolerant. In 2014, he was holding open meetings with civil servants in the state canvassing for their support and none of them was molested, nobody issued threats to sack them.

However, I call on those being molested or victimised who are afraid and rightly concerned about their future , that help is on the way.

They should bear with the situation now because it would soon be over.

Victory is assured for APC on July 14. They shall be restored to those stations immediately after the election.

The Pharaoh that you see today, you shall see no more, the statement said.

Source: NAN