Marcus Rashford was Jose Mourinhos joker that made Manchester United beat rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford, with 74,855 fans on the stands

And then after he was substituted by Marouane Felliani, his colleagues held off a Liverpool fightback to move five points clear of their visitors in second place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win.

United are now within 13 points of Manchester City, but barring a late season collapse by the runaway league leaders that gap looks unbridgeable. More significantly Jose Mourinhos men moved another huge step closer to guaranteeing a top-four finish by opening up a 12-point lead on fifth-placed Chelsea.

Liverpool were left to rue a slow start as Rashford twice finished impressively after Romelu Lukaku had outmuscled Dejan Lovren.

The visitors dominated after the break, but could only find a response via a United player when Eric Bailly turned into his own net 24 minutes from time.

Just a second defeat in 21 Premier League games leaves Liverpool still in third, but they could drop to fourth if Tottenham win at Bournemouth on Sunday.

Rashford may not have even have started but for an injury Paul Pogba suffered in training on Friday.

Without the 89 million ($123 million) French international, Mourinho moved Alexis Sanchez inside behind Lukaku and handed Rashford his first league start of the year on the left.

The Portuguese coachs plans worked to perfection when Rashford brought the game to life with a superb finish after 14 minutes.

Lukaku beat Lovren to a long ball and the England international skipped inside Trent Alexander-Arnold before smashing a shot past the helpless Loris Karius.

Liverpool had chances for an immediate response as Sadio Mane just failed to get on the end of Roberto Firminos dangerous cross before Virgil Van Dijk skewed a header wide from close range when unmarked from a corner.

But soon Liverpools task became doubly difficult as Uniteds power and pace again proved too much.

Lukaku shrugged off Lovren once more and when his ball through to Juan Mata was cut out by Van Dijk, Rashford swept home the rebound.

An eventful afternoon for Rashford continued moments later when he escaped with just a yellow card for a late lunge on James Milner.

And he should also have had an assist to his name before half-time when a dinked cross picked out Mata perfectly only for the unmarked Spaniard to send an acrobatic effort wide.

Liverpool enjoyed almost complete control of the ball in the second-half but failed to find a way through the mass ranks of United defence.

The visitors did have two strong appeals for penalties waived away as Ashley Young pulled at Mohamed Salahs shirt before an Andy Robertson cross rebounded off Antonio Valencias arm.

When Liverpool were handed a lifeline, it came via a United boot as Bailly who had excelled on his first start since November flicked Manes cross into his own net.

Source: NAN

Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue again as Real Madrid followed up their thumping win over Paris Saint-Germain with a narrow victory against Eibar.

Ronaldo scored twice, his second six minutes from the end, as Real won 2-1 and avoided another slip-up in La Liga. Ivan Ramis had equalised for Eibar shortly after half-time.

His double means Ronaldo has now scored in seven consecutive games and has a remarkable 13 goals overall in that period.

Real move four points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, who will restore that gap to seven with a win over Celta Vigo on Sunday. Eibar stay eighth.

After securing a 5-2 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, Real swapped the Parc des Princes for the Ipurua Municipal Stadium, the smallest in La Liga with a capacity of just over 7,000.

They were below their best and rode their luck late on when Eibar should have converted a pair of excellent chances.

But Ronaldo proved the difference again, the 33-year-old taking his tally for the season to 35 goals in 37 appearances.

Zinedine Zidane had insisted the success in Paris was now forgotten and his starting line-up suggested as much, with Karim Benzema the only key player rested.

Gareth Bale started up front alongside Ronaldo, while Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, fit enough only to come off the bench in midweek, returned.

Isco and Casemiro formed the top and tail of a midfield diamond.

Real were ragged early on as Takashi Inui, Kike Garcia and Joan Jordan all went close to giving Eibar the lead.

Raphael Varane had to be replaced by Nacho after taking a bang to the head and, against the run of play, Real edged ahead in the 33rd minute.

A sloppy pass out from the back by Anaitz Arbilla conceded possession to Luka Modric who quickly picked out Ronaldo with a sublime bending pass. Ronaldo chested the ball down and slammed it in at the near post.

In front, Real improved but five minutes into the second half and Eibar were level. Sergio Ramos lost his man at a corner and Ramis nodded in from six yards.

Source: NAN

Former President Robert Mugabes photograph with Brig.-Gen. Ambrose Mutinhiri, the leader of opposition party the National Patriotic Front (NPF), has elicited a shock-waves in the political landscape of Zimbabwe.

The shockwaves ripped through the party he dominated for decades, the ruling Zanu-PF.

Mutinhiri is taking on the ruling party in this years election.

Mugabe grinned broadly in the posed photo, standing beside Mutinhiri, the leader of opposition party the National Patriotic Front (NPF), which hopes to unseat the government in polls by August.

Mutinhiris abrupt resignation from Zanu-PF last week followed by his surprise announcement that he would be the presidential candidate of the new party exposed deep divisions in the governing party.

The symbolism of the photo opportunity, which was featured at the top of a press release issued by the new pro-Mugabe splinter party, was unmistakable.

Two days later Zanu-PF Youth League supporters chanted down with Mugabe at a rally, a rare outburst from the normally disciplined members of the party that Mugabe led for nearly four decades.

A leader of the league, Pupurai Tigarepi, later said that if Mugabe is not responsible, we are going to look at him as a new enemy.

In response to the hostility, the new president did little to defend the man who was once presented by Zanu-PF to the world as a liberation hero and father of the nation.

There is an issue regarding the former president, said President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Currently we see in the media various speculations about his activities we are not happy with what the media is saying. We dont know whether its correct or not but it is an issue we are examining.

(The photo) sort of solidifies the whole idea that the Mugabe family is behind the project, said Gideon Chitanga, an analyst with the Johannesburg-based regional think-tank Political Economy Southern Africa, describing Mugabes meeting with Mutinhiri as very cordial.

Other analysts said that Mnangagwa had every reason to be concerned by Mugabes sudden re-emergence on the political scene.

There is an understated panic especially within Zanu-PF, said Zimbabwean political analyst Brian Kagoro who added that the ruling party had already struggled to formulate a response to the opposition following the death of its figurehead Morgan Tsvangirai in February.

It would have been a much easier task to concentrate on infiltrating the (opposition) but now they have to deal with uncertainty as to who is with them, said Brian Kagoro, a director of the UHAI Africa think-tank.

Mugabe was forced to quit when the military briefly took power in November and Zanu-PF lawmakers launched impeachment proceedings against their once beloved leader. Since his dramatic reversal of fortune, he has largely appeared to stay out of public life.

The military moved against Mugabe, 94, after he sacked his then-deputy and heir-apparent Mnangagwa apparently fearing the nonagenarian was grooming his wife Grace to succeed him as president.

The former first lady had cultivated her own factional support base within Zanu-PF known as G-40 that was seen as hostile to the security establishment.

There is a fight for legitimacy among the retired military supremos, said Kagoro, who suggested that Mugabe was behaving with grand malice over his treatment.

The NPF claims to have many members who are outraged by the unconstitutional and humiliating manner in which president Mugabe was criminally ousted from the leadership of both Zanu-PF and the country.

Source:

Source: NAN

A News Analysis by Obike Ukoh

Controversy over sequence of election is on the front burner since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), released the 2019 general elections timetable.

INEC fixed Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) elections for Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, while Governorship and State Assembly elections come up Saturday, March 2, 2019.

The National Assembly, however, reordered the sequence of the elections, demanding that the National Assembly election should come first and the presidential last.

The argument of those opposed to the reversal, besides contending that NASS has no powers to change what INEC put forward, was that it was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some senators event walked out of the chamber to protest the adoption of the reordering of election sequence put forward by INEC by the Senate.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, before the adoption, had told his colleagues to remember that they would not be senators forever.

We will come and go, but the institution will stay. We need to come up with laws that will build strong institutions. Let us not be personal about this. Let us behave like statesmen. We have procedures on some of these things.

There are many bills we have passed. If there are issues, there are mechanisms we can use to resolve them.

Abdullahi Adamu (APC- Nasarawa), a former Nasarawa governor and Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, led the nine protesting senators.

They contended that the action of the National Assembly breached the constitution, which they claimed empowered only INEC to fix dates for elections.

Considering the strategic importance of the bill, it does not need to be rushed. Many members of the committee did not sign. We need to know why they did not. I believe that the content of the bill is not fair. We need to be fair. Why the rush? I will not be part of it, Adamu said.

Andrew Uchendu (APC- Rivers), who accompanied Abdullahi, said the amendment would not stand.

Chairman of the Senate Committee, Sen. Suleiman Nazif (APC- Bauchi), who spoke on the issue outside the chamber, dismissed the insinuation that the report targeted Buhari.

The sequence of election came from the House of Representatives. The Senate only adopted what the House passed.

For the avoidance of doubt, this bill which makes provision for a sequence of election different from the one earlier, did not violate any provisions of the laws governing the operations of the electoral body.

This sequence had been adopted in past elections, particularly in 1979 when presidential election was held last, that is, Aug. 11; election to the Senate was conducted on July 7, followed by the House of Representatives election on July14.

Also, in 1992, the Senate and House of Representatives elections were held on July 4, while the presidential was held later on June 12, 1993. In 1999, elections to the Senate and House of Representatives were held on Feb. 20, while the presidential was held February 27.

In 2003, the National Assembly election was held April 12, while the presidential held April 19. Similarly, in 2011, National Assembly elections held on April 9 while the presidential held April 16.

Chairman, House Committee on INEC, Edward Pwajok (APC- Plateau), also said the bill was not targeted at anybody.

The sequence of election provision in the bill is not targeted at anybody.

It is aimed at further giving credibility to the electoral process by way of giving the electorate the opportunity to vote, based on the individual qualities of candidates vying for National Assembly seats.

Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, in their reaction, described it as `rare news from the National Assembly.

National Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Odumakin, said the new election timetable was a positive development which will allow participatory democracy.

Odumakin recalled that the election sequence which was used in 1979 recorded success as it revealed the strength of each political party.

According to him, the new election sequence will allow each party express its strength and prevent bandwagon effect.

This is one of the very rare good news that has come out of the National Assembly. It is a good development that will allow participatory democracy in our country.

If we go back into history, in 1979, the order of elections was the one that we started with National Assembly Elections and ended with the Presidential election.

In that election, the NPN that formed government at the national level then, won only seven out of 19 states, while UPN, GNPP, PRP, NPP won the rest.

You saw the strength of each party reflected.

In 1983, the order of election was changed, and once we had that, that is when we started having landslide (victory). That was when NPN started taking everything.

Elections stopped reflecting the wishes of the people. This is because the Presidency is the most powerful office in the land, therefore, once a party takes it, the rest is a bandwagon, he said.

Odumakin said that the new sequence is beneficial as it will allow each election stand on its own.

The reason to the best of my knowledge is to ensure that each election stands on its own. People are able to make their choices not based on the fact that a party has won the presidency, therefore, there is no point voting for the other political party.

Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), Enugu State chapter, on its part, condemned what it called the unconstitutional amendment of Section 25 of the 2010 Electoral Act by the National Assembly.

The group called on Buhari to veto the bill and distinguished senators and House members to support the veto.

The group warned that, obstacles or booby traps should not be planted to block President Muhammadu Buhari from firming the solid foundation he is laying in the provision of critical infrastructure rails, roads, agro and power.

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, a staunch supporter of Buhari, said reordering of election sequence would not affect the presidents electoral fortunes.

Bello, who spoke recently to State House correspondents in Abuja, said that the president would still win by a landslide irrespective of which election comes first.

Whichever order it comes, this upcoming general elections I can assure you that Mr President will win landslide and the good ones will return to the National Assembly.

Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, South-East Senate Caucus Chairman, said those opposed to the reordered election sequence were those who cannot win elections except they climb on the back of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: Anybody who attaches himself to Buhari for re-election is not fit, ab initio, to be a Senator. It is high time politicians stopped riding on the back of some political establishments or parties to win elections in Nigeria.

Dr Uwakwe Esse, in apparent reference to personal strength and popularity of politicians, recounted how Chief Ejieke Ukaegbu, was elected into the Eastern House of Assembly during the First Republic as an independent candidate.

Ukaegbu represented Bende, the present Bende Federal Constituency, currently represented by Nnenna Ukeje (PDP-Abia).

Ukaegbu was a member of the NCNC, but Dr Michael Okpara, then Premier of Eastern Region, from the same cultural and political zone with Ukaegbu, preferred Oji Iheukwumere from Uzuakoli as the partys candidate.

Ukaegbu consulted with his constituents, and he contested the election as an independent candidate and won.

In the case of Ukaegbu, personal charisma and acceptance gave him the victory, rather than sequence.

When the issue of order of election sequence became an issue in 2014, during debate on amendment of the Electoral Act, Daily Trust newspaper wrote an editorial on the issue.

The April 9, 2014 editorial was titled: INEC can hold all elections in one day.
In the editorial the paper wrote inter alia:

Members were sharply divided over some of the proposals, including a proposal to grant the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) powers to use electronic voting machines in future polls.

Perhaps the most crucial of the bills is the one that proposes that INEC should conduct all elections in one day. Leading the debate on the proposed legislation, Sen. Abu Ibrahim, its sponsor, argued that such procedure would be in tune with global best practices and cost effective.

Although INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega foreclosed, rather unfortunately, the conduct of all elections in a single day in the 2015 elections, it would be useful for the country to prepare to do that in subsequent polls.

If the yearnings and hopes for credible elections are to be addressed in a positive way, holding all elections in one day is the way to go.

The huge resources that the country expends on elections are a trend that is disturbing and should end.

With only a day slated for all elections, this cost will be drastically reduced.

In the last elections in 2011, staggered over three weeks, INEC paid the ad-hoc staff it engaged for the exercise N50 billionfor one day, according to figures that Sen. Ibrahim referenced in arguing the bills relevance.

Besides cutting cost, holding elections in one day will promote greater participation of all political parties in the process even if many of them relatively do not have enough resources as the ruling party does.

Crucially, such a process will eliminate the so-called bandwagon effect, in which the outcome of preceding election shapes voter attitude in subsequent ones.

Not surprising, ruling party stalwarts opposed the thrust of the proposed bill, hinging their argument on the tenuous argument that INEC lacked the capacity to embark on such exercise.

INEC can actually set the ball rolling, even in 2015, by reordering the sequence of the forthcoming elections so that the presidential poll comes last.

Afterwards, it can begin to plan for all-elections-in-one-day scenario in 2019 and beyond. (NANFeatures)

Source: NAN

Senator Babafemi Ojudu has promised to probe the useless government of Ayo Fayose, if he is elected the governor of the state on 14 July 2018.

Ojudu, who is the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, made his intentions known at a rally held at Ado Ekiti, the State Capital, during which he formally declared his interest in the governorship race.

Senator Ojudu will be contesting under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress, APC, party.

The colourful occasion, which was witnessed by a mammoth crowd, had juju maestro, Saheed Osupa and Small Doctor on the bandstand dishing out songs to the delight of the crowd.

While declaring his intention, Ojudu revealed his plans for the state and the residents.

Today, I declare my desire to be the next governor of our state. Today, I ask you to join me in bringing sense back to our Government House. Today, I ask you to join me in bringing better jobs to the state. I call on you indigenes and residents to join me aboard our train of progress. If you want a better life for your children, join us and let us make our state a pacesetter state. I know that the journey cannot be easy because we will have to climb mountains but our work will not be in vain.

He promised that his administration would give priority to education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, asking, With the resources that this state is endowed with, why are we so poor? Why are we this broke and have become a laughing stock? Why has our land become a land of grief and pains? Can we continue like this? No, we cannot. This is the reason why I am telling you that the time has come to rescue our state from the oppressors and the time has come for the voices of our people to be heard.

Ojudu, who assured the people that the administration of the outgoing governor, Ayodele Fayose would be probed, stated that it is time to vote out corrupt leadership in the state saying, Say bye bye to Fayose and his useless government.

The governorship aspirant promised that during his tenure if elected, he would not demolish houses, but respect the traditional rulers,and pay workers salary, as well as pay pensioners allowances, and make life better for the people.

He further cautioned the sitting governor against any act of hooliganism, assuring that he would do anything to protect his supporters.

Ojudu, born 27 March 1961, is a Nigerian journalist who was elected Senator for the Ekiti Central constituency of Ekiti State, Nigeria, in the April 2011 national elections. He ran on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

He attended Ado Grammar School in Ado-Ekiti, between 1973 and 1977 after which he proceeded to to the University of Ife, Ile-Ife to study English. He also attended the University of Lagos between 1985 and 1986, where he studied for a Masters degree in Political Science.

Before venturing into the murky water of politics, he worked at Guardian Newspaper and Concord Newspapers where he rose from a reporter to the position of assistant editor.

He later joined his professional friends to establish Independent Communications Network Limited, ICNL, parent body of many reputable titles in Nigeria including: The News Magazine, and PM News.

*Reported by PMNEWS

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

Results of the general elections conducted on March 7, in Sierra Leone will be released any moment from now.

In readiness for the announcement, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Friday conducted officials of political parties and some observer groups round its results management facilities and Tally Centre in Freetown.

The Sierra Leone NEC Chairman, Mohamed Alie-Conteh, had promised that the Commission would produce and announce elections results that are credible and acceptable.

Mr Paul Ejime, the Spokesman of ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commission (ECONEC) and a member of the ECOWAS observer Mission, noted that the inspection of the facilities was to address issues raised by parties on the processing of the results.

Observer groups represented at the meeting were ECOWAS, AU, EU and the National Elections Watch (NEW).

ECOWAS Head of Mission Prof. Amos Sawyer was represented by Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Gen. Francis Behanzin and Head of UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr Mohamed Chambas .

A presidential candidate must receive 55 per cent of the total valid votes cast to win the elections.

If no candidate was able to score 55 per cent, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a runoff or second round.

In this case, the runoff is concluded according to a simple majority or First Past the Post (FPTP) system.

This means that the candidate who receives the majority of valid votes in the second round is declared the winner.

In all other types of elections, the simple majority/FTTP system is used to determine winners.

In Parliamentary elections, there are 112 constituencies in the country and one member is elected from each constituency.

They may run either as members of any of the registered political parties or as independent candidates.

In the election of Chairs and mayors, 19 chairs contested to head the 19 local Councils, into which Sierra Leone is sub divided (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Kaduna APC crisis came in different stages- the one that began with me and the one that is continuing with Senator Hunkuyi and others. There are both ideological and political differences between me and (Governor) El-Rufai. He came from a political establishment. For the 16 years of PDP rule, he spent 13 years as a PDP man, he was never known until 1999 when he was appointed the DG of Bureau of Public Enterprises and later, Minister for FCT. This was a man who used to call Obasanjo his mentor and he used to call (Late) Umar YarAdua his mentor and teacher and he used to call Jonathan Goodluck his very good leader, and now, it is Buhari. What I know is that the Nasir- el Rufai that betrayed Atiku, betrayed Obasanjo, Jonathan, Atiku will also betray Buhari.

A: No, I came from a social, political movement and he came from the political establishment and then we found ourselves in APC. I was not his favourite candidate for the Senate. His favourite candidate was then the incumbent candidate

A: Oh my God! We live in a world of Google now. If you Google Nasir, you will see where he generally said that he supported General Saleh. We are not in 1960, we are not in 1950. Check the interview he granted in 2016 to Vanguard newspaper where he said he supported General Saleh. So, which one are you going to believe what his aides say or what he said personally? And as far as I am concerned, you can check my Facebook posts, I said it very clearly, that I would not give and delegate any kobo to win election. Vote for me based on my ideas and principles and I was voted in that manner. I didnt say that in a room or just inside my mind. I said it publicly.

The next thing I want you to understand is that the APC raised funds for its campaign, the election centrally with the support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bukola Saraki and other business moguls. That money was shared to all the 36 states and put in custody of the gubernatorial candidates to pay agents of the party. Did we pay the people who voted for us? No, we didnt. Did we give them some incentives to vote for us? No, we didnt. We differ politically and ideologically. He has a different candidate who I defeated at the primary and from then, when it comes to sharing positions of offices in the state, he gave those positions to the person I defeated. But he removed him recently from the position he gave him when he (Senator Saleh) went against him. Senator Saleh was the Senator from 2011 to 2015 and El-Rufai wanted him to be the senator from 2015 to 2019, but I defeated him. But to compensate him, El-rufai gave him the position of Chairman of Kaduna State House of Assembly Commission. But when General Saleh attended our meeting just some days ago, he sacked him. And he also sacked all political appointees that owe allegiance to Senator Hunkuyi and Saleh. Luckily for me, I dont have one political appointee in his government, so there is nobody to sack.

Many things happened in the past three years. First of all, he induced members of my ward to issue a fictitious suspension against me, a suspension that has no constitutional value in the party, but was only done for the purpose of just announcing it to embarrass me publicly. And I also warned Senator Hunkuyi that we are heading to tyranny, but he never agreed with me until two years after when the fangs of the tyrant in Kaduna now descended on him.

Many things happened in the past three years. First of all, he induced members of my ward to issue a fictitious suspension against me, a suspension that has no constitutional value in the party, but was only done for the purpose of just announcing it to embarrass me publicly. And I also warned Senator Hunkuyi that we are heading to tyranny, but he never agreed with me until two years after when the fangs of the tyrant in Kaduna now descended on him.

After my purported suspension, first, for eleven months, then indefinite suspension and Nasir discovered that that would not give him the peace he needs because I simply kept on my activities, the next thing he did was to send his agents to start moving round the schools which I attended from primary school, secondary to the Polytechnic to even the NYSC, trying to see whether I forged my documents or not.

I have all their correspondences and letters and the contacts which they have made with my schools. That also did not work. The next thing was that my constituency office was attacked eleven times by thugs, but that was not enough. And now, they moved to organising protests, spending heavy amounts of money on radio, trying to destroy my reputation and incite people against me, but that also did not work. They went around, planting stories that I am anti-Buhari and I said I can criticise Buhari, I dont hide my views, I am not a hypocrite nor am I a sycophant. That also did not work. The next thing that happened was that my own personal house was also attacked and the one that happened some weeks ago was the attempt to frame my own aides in a murder case. But that also has not worked.

I do not believe that people should be punished for their ideas or for dissenting, because I am a chief dissenter myself. But you cannot be in the Senate where you have the opportunity to disagree and you walk out to go and call press conference and make false allegations against people. I am not elected into the Senate to be pro or anti-Buhari. A senator has a set of rules and order to which he is duty bound to comply with. But when you tag somebody as being anti-Buhari, all you are trying to do is to whip up sentiment against that person and create a lot of issues for that person.

Now, I and Senator Hunkuyi agreed that, this party is not working because he too becomes a victim of the man he has been working with. And then, we said we should open our own APC office because what Nasir did after he won the 2015 election was to appoint 18 of the 26 members of the Kaduna APC into his cabinet, leaving the party empty. And by the constitution of the party, those persons appointed into political offices have virtually lost their seats in the party. And now, having seen that the party is empty, he started appointing people to various positions within it which is against what the constitution of the party says. There must be a mini convention or a consensus before that can be done. But he also handed over the party office to his political adviser, so that it got to a point that you dont even have a party.

As a journalist, if I asked you, please, show me any clip, on radio, TV, audio or newspaper of the acting chairman of Kaduna APC, you would not have any. The person that is supposed to be the chairman of the party now is Danladi Wada who is on our own side. But he brought somebody called Shuaibu Laoje. The only thing he does at APC meeting is opening prayer and closing prayer. Apart from that, he doesnt know anything.

So, when it comes to the point of going to the media, the governor will hide Shuaibu Laoje and will bring an acting Secretary or the acting publicity secretary to speak on behalf of the party. That is what they have been doing.The chairman of the party became the deputy governor of the state, so the party now is only having a deputy chairman who happens to be Danladi who is on our side. But Nasir said he cannot be the chairman because he is our candidate. He brought Laoje and for the past two and a half years, you journalists have never seen him because the man cannot express himself. He is simply a decoy. If we say this is our deputy chairman and you say this is your own deputy chairman, thats okay, but please, lets bring them together and lets see who is better.

If Nasir thinks we are irrelevant, why did he move bulldozer there? If you think and believe that the masses of Kaduna State are with you and these people are simply rabble rousers, why move the bulldozer there? So, what he did was to simply engineer his own faction to suspend me for two and a half years. He used his own party to suspend Senator Hunkuyi and the two groups that were set up the Akida and the Restoration Group. He even expelled them from the party. But when his own suspension came for six months, he lost his senses, rationality, sense of reasoning and moved a bulldozer against our office. But what we are telling him is that the message has been sent. Nasir in Kaduna is fighting a lot of people he is fighting traditional rulers, Muslim religious leaders, Christian religious leaders, labour market women, the political class- almost everybody. So, with that kind of person, how do we win the 2019 election?

Yes, Kaduna State is the only state with a PDP Senator in North West. Ten local governments out of 23 are effectively under the control of PDP. So, what becomes of the other local governments that are under APC, but are not united? So, if this disunity continues, it is going to affect us. If he (El-Rufai) believes in Tinubu, why is he moving a bulldozer? We are saying that nobody could have addressed the problems of APC except the President himself because the governors are party to the crisis, the Senators, Reps are party to the crisis, the party itself is also a part of the crisis.

I can tell you when you are talking of reconciliation and peace in APC, there are some fires that Tinubu can extinguish with a cup of water and there are some fires he has to use a bucket of water and there are some fires, he has to pipe an ocean in order to extinguish. There are areas Tinubu can have some achievements. But he can only make that achievement if the parties are prepared to make peace. If one party is prepared for peace and the other party is not, there cannot be peace. But it is better late than never- this reconciliation ought to have been done since last year, but it appears that even Tinubu himself is aggrieved and has been sidelined in the affairs of the government. But now, inviting him to tackle this problem, I believe that if he succeeds, he will bring the APC family together and they will be stronger.

A: I can tell you that if Tinubu fails, there is going to be mass defection from APC.

I have the constitutional rights to contest if I want to. But as things are now, we need to put our ambitions in our pockets and allow the process of reconciliation to continue because reconciliation cannot go on with ambitions and bulldozers. Even, before you have peace in war situations, you must have a ceasefire. For now, we are giving a grace of time for Tinubu to succeed. If he succeeds, the outcome of the deliberations will form the roadmap for the future of the party and if he fails, we will simply apply our senses.

It is always good to look at the messenger and the message. Governor El-Rufai is the chief architect of that committee because he wants political relevance. How can an APC that promised restructuring only think of restructuring when it is a year to an election? Documents of that committee is more or less a campaign document for 2018. There will be no restructuring, you can quote me.

*Excerpted from

Source: NAN

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday arrived in Makurdi, the Benue State, to condole with the government and people over herdsmens attacks.

Since the deaths caused by herdsmens attacks, the state has become a Mecca of sort to all politicians, opposition inclusive.

President Muhammadu Buhari is also expected to visit the state early next week.

Obasanjo who landed Makurdi on Saturday on solidarity visit to the governor and people, was received at the airport by the state Governor Samuel Ortom and other top government officials in the state.

Not less than 158 persons have been reported killed in the state as a result of sustained herdsmen attacks in the state since the January 11th, an event that led to a mass burial and protest by youths in Makurdi, the state capital.

The former President is expected to visit the mass burial grave site and also meet stakeholders at the government house.

He is also expected to visit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp located in Agan Toll Gate, where over 34, displaced residents of the state are taking refuge.

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose had earlier paid a condolence visit to Benue State on Thursday, February 8.

During the visit, he declared support for the Anti-Grazing Law implemented by the state government in 2017, warning that it must not be compromised.

Governor Nysome Wike of Rivers state also visited and donated some money to the state.

Source: NAN

No fewer than 50 Nigerian migrants were among the hundreds ofmigrants rescued today in the Mediterranean by Libyas coastguard and an international charity, Doctors Without Borders(MSF).

The Nigerians were aboard a boat with 110 migrants. They were rescued by , a ship being operated by MSF, 21 miles from the coast west of Tripoli. The ship will deliver the migrants, who included 18 women and one child, to Italy.

According to Reuters, more than half the migrants on that boat were Nigerians, with the rest from other sub-Saharan African countries as well as two Palestinians.

(Watch the 19 sec. video posted by MSF:

RT MSF: RT MSF_Sea: The will remain on standby in international waters, ready to rescue other boats in distress. 's Doctor Dan explains.

nicolacois (@nicolacois)

The Libyan coastguard vessels alsointercepted two of the migrant boats, the first an inflatable dinghy that had broken down with 125 people on board off Zawiya, just west of the capital, Tripoli, said Ayoub Qassem, a coastguard spokesman.

The second boat was turned back off Garabulli, east of Tripoli, and had 112 people on board.

The migrants and their smugglers were trying to take advantage of calm seas as they launched a flurry of boats towards Italy.

Meanwhile the coastguard in Zuwara, a former Libyan smuggling hub west of Zawiya, said they had foiled a departure during the night and arrested some migrants whilst others had escaped with smugglers.

The coastguard posted pictures of detained sub-Saharan African migrants sitting in an inflatable rubber boat on the beach in the dark.

Libya is the main departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea. More than 600,000 migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean to Italy over the past four years as people smugglers took advantage of a security vacuum in Libya.

Since last summer the rate of departures dropped significantly after smugglers in the Libyan town of Sabratha struck a deal with the Tripoli government to halt their activities and were then pushed out of the town by rival armed groups.

Libyas EU-backed coastguard has also stepped up interceptions, often cutting migrant boats off before they can reach international vessels that would bring them to Europe.

Source: NAN

By Chinenye Offor

Dr Emem Omokaro , the Executive Director, Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF), says Nigeria is putting in place a social infrastructure that will enhance the welfare of its older citizens.

Omokaro said this in Abuja on Saturday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the end of a five-day training in Ageing and Policy Formulation, jointly organised by DOF and International Institute on Ageing United Nations-Malta (INIA).

According to her, Nigeria is overhauling its systems to ensure that its older citizens are included in its policies.

Omokaro said that it was imperative for the society to maximise every opportunity to include older persons in its development policies and regulations.

She, however, underscored the need to involve those who were knowledgeable in ageing issues in the drafting of ageing policies.

She also said that the policies, which should be comprehensive and multi-sectoral, must adopt a life-course approach which was human-based and capable of engendering inter-sector synergy.

Besides, Omokaro said that the policies should be based on principles that would protect the dignity of older persons as well as their values, inclusion, participation, independence and security.

She stressed the need to promote capacity building and data acquisition, while involving competent personnel in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that understood core ageing issues in plans to mainstream the ageing factor into the sectors.

Policy must include core living healthcare, continual long-term care, palliative care and continual engagement of older persons; their independence and lifelong learning.

The policy must be multi-sectoral, with a life-course approach that is human-based. It is very important to maximise every opportunity to include older persons in all national development projects, Omokaro said.

Also speaking, Dr Andrew Mbewe of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that having specific policies in place for older persons would facilitate efforts to alleviate some of the challenges they were facing.

He urged the government to adopt the 2016 Global Strategy on Health and Ageing, which underscored the need to include older persons in health schemes so as to attain universal health care.

Besides, Mbewe said that it was important for older persons to improve their functionality, adding that efforts should be made to have facilities that would enable older persons to have hitch-free access to buildings, for instance.

In Japan and other developed countries, there are social and environmental services that keep older persons going.

But we dont have such facilities here and older persons in the country need such facilities in order to help them live healthy, he said.

He, therefore, urged all those who were trained in ageing issues and ageing policy formulation processes to become advocates of ageing in the country.

Source: NAN