Mr. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second son of ex-Libyan leader late Muammar Gaddafi, is set to launch his election bid for presidency,

Politically fragmented Libya goes to the polls later this year to get a leader that would unify the country.

Local media reports say Saif who had been detained by a militia in Libya until his release last year, will be joining the race to be the strife-torn country,

Saif who is reportedly inside Libya since his release will in a matter of days appear on television to pitch his presidential ambition before voters.

Saifs manifesto is reportedly revolving around a clarion call for administrative reforms, national reconciliation and the building of a modern state.

It is not known what Libyans made of his alleged presidential ambitions

The 45-year-old who was never part of his fathers administration had an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over his head over his alleged role in the bloody persecution of political opponents.

He was widely regarded as a potential successor to his father, a theory which he had severally attempted to debunk.

With Libya still blighted by a deadly civil war shortly after his father was killed, Saif was captured in the south of the country by militiamen originating from Zintan.

While being held in Zintan, he was sentenced to death four years later by a Tripoli court in a trial in absentia.

He was released from custody in June 2017, and continues to live in Libya, although his exact whereabouts remain unknown.

Since the overthrow of his father in an armed uprising in 2011, Libya has been caught up in a struggle for control by two rival governments based in Tripoli and Benghazi.

A UN-funded election is expected to take place toward the end of 2018.

Confirming its involvement in January, the UN said it was encouraged by number of Libyans who had registered to vote in what would be the countrys first Western-style democratic election in decades.

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Source: NAN

By Isaac Ukpoju

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has handed over one of its staff in Nasarawa, to the Department of State Security Services (DSS), for interrogation over alleged sales of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) forms.

INECs administrative secretary in Nasarawa Mr Opaleke Otolorin, said in a statement on Wednesday in Lafia.

Otolorin said the action followed a social media report indicating that one of its staffers in Karu Local Government Area (LGA) of the state was issuing the CVR forms to members of the public at a fee.

He said the case was promptly reported to the DSS for investigation, adding that the suspect was thereafter taken into custody for interrogation.

Otolorin said the suspect had already made statement to the service as investigation was ongoing in the matter to ascertain his level of involvement and possible prosecution.

He therefore advised members of the public to refrain from offering fees, gratification or inducement to INEC staff engaged in the registration.

Otolorin pointed out that inducement of staff of the commission contravenes the electoral laws, the CVR guidelines as well as the commissions ethics.

Source: NAN

The Federal Government said the number of Dapchi schoolgirls released on Wednesday has increased from 76 to 101, following the documentation of more of the freed girls by security agencies.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who gave the update in a statement issued in Abuja, said that the number could still increase as the documentation of the freed girls was ongoing.

Mohammed had in an earlier statement confirmed the release of 76 of the 110 abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe on Feb. 19.

The minister said that the release of the schoolgirls was the outcome of the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the release of the schoolgirls.

He said the girls were released around 3 a.m. through backchannel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and that it was unconditional.

For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.

Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost, he said.

Meanwhile, a Federal Government Delegation comprising Ministers of Information and Culture; Interior as well as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs are on their way to Maiduguri to meet with the freed girls

Source: NAN

Nigeria was obviously absent on Wednesday when African leaders signed the Largest Free Trade Agreement since the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Sunday cancelled his trip to Rwanda due to pressure by Labour union not to participate in signing the agreement.

A statement signed by the spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Tope Adeleye Elias-Fatile said the president cancelled his trip to Kigali, Rwanda to allow more inputs from Nigerian Stakeholders.

The trade agreement deal created a continental market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product of more than 3.4 trillion dollars.

A major goal in the agreement is to boost intra-African trade and rely less on the volatility ofthat affect many exports.

The aim is to have agreement, signed by 44 of the African Unions 55 member states, enter into force by the end of this year, said the chair of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.

He added that states must ratify the deal.

Our peoples, our business community and our youth in particular cannot wait any longer to see the lifting of the barriers that divide our continent, hinder its economic takeoff and perpetuate misery, even though Africa is abundantly endowed with wealth, Mahamat said.

He urged strong follow-up to confound those who, outside Africa, continue to think, with barely concealed condescension, that our decisions will never materialize.

And while Africas largest economies are expected to benefit most from the deal, some of them worry that more people from poorer countries will migrate their way.

But some of the continents strongest and fastest-growing economies, including Ghana and, signed the deal.

The major concerns remained that the president of, one of Africas largest economies, skipped the summit.

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Source: NAN

A Federal Government delegation comprising Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadijat Bukar Ibrahim, are on their way to Dapchi, Yobe State to meet with the freed schoolgirls.

They will arrive Maiduguri first before going to the Yobe town, said Segun Adeyemi, special adviser to Minister of Information.

The ministers had attended a Federal Executive Council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, before they left for Maiduguri.

Before their departure, Mohammed told media men, that the number of the Dapchi schoolgirls who were released on Wednesday has increased from 76 to 101, with the documentation of more of the freed girls by the security agencies.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister said the number could still increase, as the documentation of the freed girls is ongoing.

He said the release of the schoolgirls is the outcome of the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the release of the 110 Dapchi schoolgirls, who were abducted 19 Feb. 2018.

The Minister said the girls were released around 3 a.m. through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and that it was unconditional.

For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.

Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost, he said.

Source: NAN

Yobe governor, Ibrahim Gaidam and several members of his cabinet are away in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as his state erupted in joy over the release of 101 out of 110 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on 19 February.

Gaidam was in Malaysia to receive a Gold Merit Award conferred on him by the Lincoln University College of Malaysia, based in Petaling Jaya near Kuala Lumpur.

The award was conferred on him today, coinciding with the release of the schoolgirls abducted from Dapchi Government Girls Science and Technical College.

The governors absence may explain why the three ministers sent to Dapchi by President Muhammadu Buhari, are calling in Maiduguri first, instead of going straight to Damaturu, the Yobe capital.

Buhari had visited Damaturu and Dapchi on 14 March and vowed to do everything possible to rescue the Dapchi schoolgirls.

According to the university, Gaidam was recognised for working hard to improve education and security in Yobe State despite the ongoing, nine-year old Boko Haram insurgency.

The award was conferred on him at the Universitys 2018 Convocation Ceremony which took place at the Putra World Trade Centre in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Lincoln Universitys Vice Chancellor Dr. Amiya Bhaumik said the university was impressed that despite the insurgency in Yobe State, Governor Gaidam had forged ahead to rebuild, expand, and equip schools, including some of those earlier destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Governor Gaidam has lived the philosophy of Abraham Lincoln of working for the good of humanity. He is not only working hard to nip the Boko Haram insurgency in the bud by partnering with the security forces in Nigeria, he is also working to provide education to boys and girls and, in conjunction with the federal authorities, to make sure that those girls that have been kidnapped are returned safely to their parents.

For all the contributions toward the development of mankind in the field of education and the promotion of peace and harmony, Lincoln University College today honours Gov. Gaidam, the Vice Chancellor said.

The Pro-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Datuk Bibi Florina Abdullah also lauded the governor, saying as an institution that is going global, Lincoln University was pleased to honour the governor.

Gaidam said he was humbled to be so recognised with the gold merit award.

I am humbled by the fact that this award is a recognition of my contributions, which you have assessed, to the promotion of security, peace, well-being and educational development of my State, Yobe State of Nigeria I wish to say that this event has no doubt helped to further bring to light what we in Yobe State of Nigeria have been doing for the development of education and security, he said.

The governor, who spoke about specific actions that he took to re-position the education sector, said his administration is willing to establish partnership with Lincoln University, especially given their renowned excellence in the field of medicine.

There is the need for collaboration between this University and the Yobe State University fully established and funded by our administrationThe Lincoln University College can also assist us with expertise in the running of our State University Teaching Hospital, Damaturu and the full take-off of the College of Medical Sciences in the Yobe State University, he said.

Gaidam said following the sad abduction of schoolgirls at GGSTC Dapchi, he was initially disinclined to receive the award.

The sad incident in Dapchi is very devastating. And although the offer letter from Lincoln University came well before the Dapchi incident, I was disinclined to receive the award with what has happened with our girls in Dapchi. But since serious efforts are underway to get the girls back and we are confident they will be released Insha Allah I decided not to be discourteous to the University after having initially accepted the honour, he said.

Providing context to the award conferred on the governor, the Provost of the Atiku Abubakar College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Nguru Dr. Abba Idriss, who was present at the ceremony, said Lincoln University picked Yobe State as an area of research interest following a conference paper he delivered under the title Boko Haram Insurgency and its Effects on Education in Nigeria: The Case of Yobe State in Pahang, Malaysia in April, 2017.

The occasion was the 2nd International Conference on Humanities, Language, Culture and Business. Many Malaysian Universities were represented at the conference, Lincoln University among them. After I delivered my paper, Lincoln University decided to show interest by checking some of the issues I raised.

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Mogbede

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the prompt release of the Dapchi schoolgirls as another demonstration of the political will of President Muhammadu Buhari to secure lives of Nigerians.

Malam Bolaji Abudullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday while expressing delight over the return of the girl by their abductors.

The APC is extremely delighted with the news of the return of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram.

With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations.

If the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with the similar alacrity, the Chibok schoolgirls would have been released or rescued, he said.

The APC spokesman noted that instead of giving the situation the urgency it deserved, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories.

This, he said, left the APC government with no choice than to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them when it came to power in 2015.

Abudullahi assured Nigerians that the APC-led Federal Government was committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still held in captivity by Boko Haram.

The spokesman added that government would ultimately rehabilitate and reunite the girls with their families and loved ones when they were eventually rescued.

He expressed confidence that the reforms that the government had embarked on, would improve the capacity and efficiency of security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists.

This, he said, would also diminish the ability of terrorist to carry out attacks on soft targets.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Boko Haram today, returned 105 kidnapped Dapchi school girls in nine vehicles same way they took them away on Feb. 19.

Source: NAN

Bayern Munichs goal poacher, Robert Lewandowski is set to force his way out of the club in the summer and join Real Madrid.

The Poland international is desperate for a new challenge and hired super-agent Pini Zahavi who has met with potential clubs in the recent months.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the 29-year-old will sign a two-year contract with Madrid, picking up a healthy wage bump with the option of extending the deal for a further year.

Despite agreeing personal terms with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich are still resisting transfer talk involving their star goal scorer.

The Bayern forward is still under contract at the club until the summer of 2021 and will have to persuade the Bundesliga giants to let him leave in the summer.

Lewandowski who has won five German league title in his eight years in Germany has scored 142 goals in just 184 appearances for Bayern Munich.

The Polish skipper is attracted by the fact that he will be spearheading Real Madrids attack force if he signs since the current striker Karim Benzema is set to be sold by the Spanish giants after awful season.

Reports said Manchester United and Chelsea are also interested in adding the striker in their squads but his agent met with Jose Angel Sanchez and agreed with the Real Madrid terms

Source: NAN

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe says the country will hold its first presidential and parliamentary elections in July after the long ruler of former president Robert Mugabe.

He made the announcement after meeting with the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday night.

.The polls will be the first major test of the new leader, who took power in November after a de facto military coup forced the 94-year-old Mugabe to resign.

They will also be the first without Mugabes name on the ballot since independence from Britain in 1980.

As a nation, party and government, we are looking forward to very peaceful, transparent and harmonised elections in July this year, Mnangagwa sid

Mnangagwa, 75, said the elections would be free of the violence that gripped previous polls and which was one of the reasons for strained relations between Zimbabwe and the West.

I have already invited all political parties in Zimbabwe to a roundtable where we all commit ourselves to non-violence, he added.

Mnanaggwa will have to announce a date in an official notice. He has said he would invite Western observers, who had been banned under Mugabes rule.

The state-owned weekly Sunday Mail said a European Union pre-election team was expected in Harare on Monday.

The EU head of mission in Zimbabwe, Phillipe Van Damme, told the paper it would meet the president, political party leaders, and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Mugabe, in his first comments since he stepped down, said last week that Mnangagwas rule was illegitimate and a disgrace.

source/uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zimbabwe-politics/president-says-zimbabwe-to-hold-elections-in-july-idUKKBN1GU0GM?rpc=401

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, on Monday declared that the forthcoming July 14, 2018 Ekiti governorship election is a litmus test for the party, ahead of the general election in 2019.

He said the party must therefore work very hard to win the state.

Oyegun made the remark in Ado-Ekiti during the kick-off of fresh membership registration drive of the APC in Ekiti.

According to him, the party will deploy every available resources to win the election and promised all the 33 APC governorship aspirants that the party would conduct a free, fair and credible primary in the state.

He debunked the possibility of delegates list padding and other fraudulent practices that could vitiate the outcome of the May 5 primary.

He also assured that the national secretariat of the party did not have any favourite among the aspirants as being insinuated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Chairman of APC, Chief Jide Awe, reportedly in hiding over an alleged murder case, made a surprise appearance at the event.

NAN reports that the Ekiti State Government had been after Awe, over his alleged complicity in the murder of Juliana Adewunmi and Ayo Jeje, who were killed in Erinjiyan Ekiti on May 30, 2014 during the administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi.

Oyegun hinted that the delegates list to conduct the primary had been compiled and would be made available to aspirants with good financial standing for verification.

We will work hard to ensure that Ekiti returns to the progressives fold after the July 14 election.

Though, we are in power at the centre, that doesnt mean we should not work hard.

President Muhammadu Buhari, as you know, will not rig or compromise or subvert the will of the electorate, so we must work hard to deserve the victory that will come to us, he said.

NAN reports that Oyegun had earlier on arrival made a stop-over at the party secretariat where he flagged-off the new membership registration exercise.

Oyegun was received by party chieftains, including the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Segun Oni and members of the State Working Committee.

Other aspirants at the event included Sen. Gbenga Aluko, Sen. Ayo Arise, Wole Oluyede, Wole Oluleye, Capt. Sunday Adebomi, Bimbo Daramola, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, Victor Kolade, Mr Kola Alabi, Mr Diran Adesua, Dr Bayo Oriire and Femi Bamisile.

Others like Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, Sen. Babafemi Ojudu and Mr.Bamidele Faparusi sent representatives.

We have got your demands and we are giving you assurances that there will be no imposition and that the primary shall be free, fair and credible

To all the aspirants, you must not campaign as if there wont be tomorrow. Dont campaign in a way that breeds enmity. I learnt that you are above 30, but the large number shouldnt be a source of problem.

Let me say this clearly, anybody who wants to fly the flag of our party must maintain decorum. We shall be fair to you as much as possible because there cant be peace when justice is denied

We must not also have bad losers, you must work with whomever the electors pick as their candidate during the primary.

All aspirants must ensure that there is no division before and after the primary. We are also barring members of SWC from joining the bandwagon of campaign for any of the aspirants, because this can cause further division, he stated.

Oyegun said the choice of Ekiti to flag off the programme was strategic, saying this conveyed a vivid and strong message of love for the people of the state, especially with regards to the July poll.

I am happy with APC in Ekiti with the level of mobilisation from our aspirants. You have shown that you are desirous to join the progressives fold. We didnt choose Ekiti for the flag off of this programme by accident

We have decided that this election is one that we will particularly work hard and leave no stone unturned, because to us it is a must-win election, he said

Source: NAN