NIGER Delta activist and former Minister for environment, AnnKio Briggs has warned that any one joining former President Olusegun Obasanjo to “fight” President Muhammadu Buhari, does so at his or her own risk.

Briggs in a statement yesterday, also noted that contrary to claims in some quarters that former President Goodluck Jonathan did a lot for the Ijaw nation including ensuring the election of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Obasanjo only did so for his “selfish reasons.”

Taking a swipe on Governor Seriake Dickson for inviting Obasanjo to Bayelsa in commemoration of the governor’s 6th anniversary, she said: “His (Obasanjo) visit confirms that Ijaw politicians are in politics for themselves and not Ijaw nation.”

Briggs while mourning those who lost their lives during the 1999 Odi massacre, said: “Obasanjo should have been taken to Odi before he leaves Bayelsa to enable those who survived the Odi massacre confer on him a traditional title.”

Describing the visit of the former president as “dancing on the graves of the people killed by the army,” she said: “May the over 4000 innocent Odi women, men, old and young, youths and children who were shelled, bombed, drowned, and murdered by Olusegun Obasanjo through the Nigeria Army haunt him.

“He did not pick Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Vice President for the love of Ijaw or Niger Delta people, he did not support him in 2011 for love of Ijaw or Niger Delta people, but did so for his own selfish reasons, and when Jonathan did not be please him as president, he turned against him.”

Reacting to Obasanjo’s advice to President Buhari not to run for second term, Briggs said: “He is getting set to fight Buhari and he is pretending to be a friend of Ijaw and Niger Delta people.

"Anyone who joins Obasanjo to fight Buhari is doing so at his or her own risk, Ijaw people will not vote for Buhari and we don’t need Obasanjo to tell us that.”

Source: VGR

Cornelius Chiadi Ezeibekwe, 25, recently caused a stir in Ekwulobia in Aguata local government area of Anambra State when he wedded his younger sister, aged 17. In Igbo land, such a marriage is a taboo and it was on the basis of this that youths of the community burnt down the Sabbath Church where Chiadi and his sister were thought to have been joined as husband and wife. Chiadi, the sixth of 10 children (eight boys and two girls) by Mr. Louis Ezeibekwe, is a mathematics teacher at Community Secondary School, Isuofia, also in Aguata local government area. At the time Sunday Vanguard visited their home at Agba, Ekwulobia, Chiadi was busy marking examination scripts and there was nothing in the compound to indicate that any abnormal thing happened there.

His sister is a student of Federal Government Technical College, Awka, but she left school to enable her observe what Sabbath people call ‘Shimta’. During the observation, which Chiadi said lasts for one year, she must remain in the compound. It was during the observation that the marriage took place. Before then, she had left school because of the controversy generated by her marriage with her elder brother.

Louis Ezeibekwe, their father, 78, and who recently buried his mother who died at the age of over 100, appeared not to be in control of the behavior of his children as he exhibited signs that all was not well with his health. His eldest son, Emeka, who lives in Port Harcourt and who is not a member of the Sabbath Church, said he belongs to the Winners Church. He also confirmed that their father was not well. Though members of the family were originally Catholics, they later changed to Seventh Day Adventist Church and subsequently to their own brand of Sabbath worship, with Paul, one of the children of Louis Ezeibekwe, as pastor.

Justifying his reason for marrying his sister, Chiadi said: “I am a Sabbath and, in searching through the scriptures, I discovered that one could marry his sibling. So, we went ahead with the arrangement to marry my younger sister. “The marriage ceremony was observed inside our family compound, which also serves as a place of worship for us. My immediate elder brother, Paul Ezeibekwe, the pastor, was present during the ceremony.

“What happened is that when we decided to get married, we told our parents our intention and my father asked us if we knew what we were about to do. I told him that we searched through the scriptures and that God sanctioned it. It was after this that our parents consented.

“However, our other relations objected to the idea when they learnt of the plan and when we ignored them and went ahead with the marriage, they and other villagers burnt the Sabbath Church where we used to worship because they thought it was in that place that we worship, not knowing that we have since abandoned the place and worship in our compound. The burning of the church does not mean anything to us. “God told me to marry my sister and she also saw same vision.

There are places in the Bible that support such marriage. Those in doubt should read Songs of Solomon Chapters 4 and 5 and 1st Corinthians Chapter 7. “Since we took this decision, I have not felt anything unusual, or felt that I did anything wrong. In the school where I teach, many people ask me about it and I boldly refer them to the Bible”. Worried by the development in the community, some elders went to the traditional prime minister of Ekwulobia, Chief Gabriel Ezeukwu, to lodge a complaint because the traditional ruler of the area, Igwe Emmanuel Onyeneke, is out of the country. After consultations with other elders in the community, Ezeukwu ordered that the marriage be dissolved and a cleansing of the community of the bad omen arranged.

According to Sunday Vanguard gathered that the Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Ekwulobia is handling the cleansing process, especially when it was realized that the family was originally Catholic. Asked if he would subject himself to the cleansing by the Catholic Church, Chiadi said in as much as he would not like to break the law of the land, he would leave everything to God to decide because it was God that gave him the vision to marry his sister. He said further: “Except my eldest brother, Emeka, other members of the family supported the marriage and our father only changed their minds following the uproar generated by our action. It is not the beauty of my sister that made me to marry her.

The attraction is that when God wants you to do something, you should do it. “One of the reasons for marrying my sister is to avoid divorce which is rampant these days because even if we divorce, we will remain in the same family. Besides, by marrying one’s sibling, there will not be the possibility of introducing ugly situations, like diseases or social vices into the family”.

The traditional prime minister of Ekwulobia, Ezeukwu, a mass communication lecturer at Madonna University, Okija, said the people of that village reported the matter to him. He said: “Before coming to me, they were considering various options, including whether to involve the police, resort to jungle justice or parade those involved round the town before subjecting them to other rituals. “But I advised that the first thing was to investigate the matter thoroughly.

I personally went to their compound and met their parents. I did not see the young man involved and when I was told that he was teaching at Community Secondary School, Isuofia, I went there, but still did not find him. “I saw a burnt structure that looked like a church beside their house and I urged those who gathered at the scene to disappear in their own interest. “Because what they committed was a cultural offence, I invited the family to my house. I knew that what they did was bad and I ensured that the matter did not escalate by further unwholesome action. “But when I invited the family, their mother and children ran to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State where their mother hailed from.

I sent a delegation to the area and their people confirmed that it is also not in their culture for someone to marry his biological sister. “After receiving the information, I summoned a meeting of the Igwe’s Cabinet and members of the family and we deliberated on the issue for several days until the children admitted that they committed atrocity. I made it known to them that they will purify the land and that is why we went to the Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Catholic Church, which is the family’s original church.

“However, I ensured that the girl in question was subjected to rigorous pregnancy test to ascertain that she had not been impregnated by her brother and, after several tests, it was confirmed that she was not pregnant, which is a relief to everybody.” Ezeukwu said they met with the Parish Priest four days ago on the purification process, expressing delight that the affected family was already showing remorse. According to him, March 17, 2018 has been fixed for the purification ceremony.

He said the surprising thing was that even the Sabbath Church, which the young man claimed supports such marriage, had since denied and disowned them, advising that the development in Ezeibejwe’s family should serve as a lesson to everybody. The good thing is that the eldest son of the family, Emeka, 33, has vowed that nothing would make his siblings get married, adding that he had never heard such a thing in Igbo land. “I cannot be alive and see them live as husband and wife in this compound,” he insisted.

Source: VGR

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to make Nigeria one of the easiest, safest and attractive places to do business in the world.

He also promised to make Nigeria among the most safest and attractive investment destinations in the world.

Buhari made the pledge on Saturday at the opening of the 39th Kaduna International Trade Fair.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, said the administration “is prioritising the industrial sector by focusing on rebuilding infrastructure.

“One of the important initiatives of our government is the Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council, which is a partnership of the government with the private sector meant to solve difficult problems militating against industrialisation”.

Buhari said that the government would sign the Continental Africa Free Trade Area Agreement in March, as part of efforts to prioritize trade as a significant instrument for reform in the country.

According to him, the purpose of the agreement will be to promote regional trade.

“Right now, the intra African trade is less than 15%; other regions of the world are well over 50%, so we want to move that of intra Africa to about 30% so as to grow”.

The President said that, “other policies being pursued will promote export by establishing special economic growth zones where Nigeria and International businesses would have the required infrastructure”.

He mentioned that the theme of the fair, ‘Promoting Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for International Competitiveness’ was in line with the economic recovery and growth plan of the country.

Mrs Iyalode Lawson, President, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Industry, said the theme underscored the riding interest in the competitiveness of locally produced goods and services.

“KADCCIMA should also show its support to the efforts of both the State and Federal government towards reviving the economy, particularly investing in agriculture, manufacturing, technology and other commercial activities”.

Lawson hoped that the fair would increase exposure to global brands of businesses.

Source: NAN

The National Assembly and the Executive arm are partnering to review treaties and conventions entered into by Nigeria, says Bamikole Omishore, a Special Assistant to the President of the Senate.
Omishore who is Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and International Relations disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday.
He said that Nigeria entered into several conventions decades ago and it had become necessary that the treaties be reviewed to ensure that Nigeria was getting the best out of such partnerships.
With reference to illicit financial flows from Nigeria which is sometimes tied to vague clauses in some of the treaties, Omishore said that the aim of the review was to domesticate such treaties to serve Nigerias interest first.
He recalled that the Presidency in 2017 also alluded to its plans to take a second look at conventions and trade partnerships entered into by Nigeria.
Nigeria has different treaties and partnerships that weve signed with different countries.
We are now going through all those treaties to see how we can domesticate them in Nigeria to make sure that Nigeria is getting the best from every agreement that is signed by different countries.
The executive is taking a lead, ours in the 8 Senate is to make sure we provide the legislative framework and the appropriate oversight to make sure the interest of Nigeria is protected at all times.
I remember the executive made mention towards the end of last year that they would be reviewing different treaties because as you rightly said, times are improving and changing.
The executive is taking a look at it but at the national assemblys leadership is also looking to see if some of those things favour us or not.
You also mentioned the illicit financial flows thats going on, thats definitely being looked at as well.
The 8 National Assembly is looking to make sure that the illicit transactions are stopped but at the same time, create an environment for businesses to be done with ease.
Over the last few months, you might have noticed the bills on ease of doing business and also the bill on NFIU in Senate, those are part of a wide range of legislative interventions to make sure Nigeria conforms with international best practices, he said.
Speaking on his role as an assistant on foreign relations, Omishore said that his mandate is to assist the President of the Senate in building stronger relationships with the international community and foreign missions from a parliamentary standpoint.
He stressed that the focus will begin from Africa as it is currently more difficult to do business with fellow African countries that it is to trade with Europe and America.
Omishore stressed that the leadership of the 8th National Assembly has the anomaly on its front burner and will do all it can to address it.
National Assembly leadership is already looking at how to use Parliamentary oversight to strength relationship with African countries.
As it stands now, it is easier to travel and do business In EU and US than it is to do business with our brothers in Ghana.
The President of the Senate will be addressing the Ghanaian parliament next Monday and these are some of the things that will come up, he said.

Source: NAN

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for increased American and global investments to help unlock Africas agriculture potential.
The President of the Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, made the appeal at the USDAs 94th Agriculture Outlook Forum in Virginia with the theme, Roots of Prosperity.
Adesina said: For too long, agriculture has been associated with what I call the three Ps pain, penury, and poverty.
The fact though is that agriculture is a huge wealth-creating sector that is primed to unleash new economic opportunities that will lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Adesina appealed to the US private sector to fundamentally change the way it views African agriculture.
Think about it, the size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will rise to US $ 1 trillion by 2030.
This is the time for US agri-businesses to invest in Africa.
Think of a continent where McKinsey projects household consumption is expected to reach nearly $2.1 trillion and business-to-business expenditure will reach $3.5 trillion by 2025. Think of a continent brimming with 840 million youth, the youngest population in the world, by 2050.
He urged the U.S government to be at the forefront of efforts to encourage fertilizer and seed companies, manufacturers of tractors and equipment, irrigation and ICT farm analytics to ramp up their investments on the continent.
As the nation that first inspired me and then welcomed me with open arms, permit me to say that I am here to seek a partnership with America; a genuine partnership to help transform agriculture in Africa, and by so doing unlock the full potential of agriculture in Africa.
This, he said, would help to unleash the creation of wealth that would lift millions out of poverty in Africa, while creating wealth and jobs back home right here in America.
Adesina told more than 2,000 delegates that the African Development Bank was spearheading a number of transformative business and agricultural initiatives.
We are launching the Africa Investment Forum, as a 100 per cent transactional platform, to leverage global pension funds and other institutional investors to invest in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 7-9.
The World Bank, International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, are partnering with the African Investment Forum to de-risk private sector investments.
The African Development Bank is also pioneering the establishment of Staple Crop Processing Zones in 10 African countries which are expected to transform rural economies into zones of economic prosperity and save African economies billions of dollars in much need foreign reserves.
We must now turn the rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity.
This requires a total transformation of the agriculture sector. At the core of this must be rapid agricultural industrialization. We must not just focus on primary production but on the development of agricultural value chains, Adesina added. That way, Africa will turn from being at the bottom to the top of global value chains.

Source: NAN

South African police have busted Mancoba Seven Angels Ministry, a church run as a cult, with no fewer than 100 sex slaves, among them girls as young as 12, nursing tiny babies and with leaders who regard themselves as angels.
The church, called Mancoba Seven Angels Ministry, was sacked Saturday after some members of the church attacked a police station in the tiny Eastern Cape Town of Engcobo, killing five policemen.
Leaders of the church, who see themselves as angels, were alleged to be the masterminds of the attack at the police station.
In this church it is forbidden to have identity documents. Children are not allowed to have birth certificates and they are not allowed to attend school, said National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sithole.
The rescued girls were kept in about 10 corrugated iron shacks. Inside, mattresses lined the floor and clothes hung from wires or were dumped on the beds.
A high-ranking police officer told City Press that the cult, in the centre of Nyanga village, was established by a Mr Mancoba, who died in 2015.
Mancobas seven sons refused to follow their fathers successor. The seven angels and their mother subsequently became the leaders of the breakaway cult.
They soon ran out of money, which the officer said could explain why they attacked the police station and bombed two ATMs in town.
They need money and are desperate. People of that church are brainwashed. They only live in their own world.
The officer said at least three of the seven men killed in Friday nights shooting were among the angel brothers, who had masterminded the massacre. One of them is on the run.
The guys, known as angels, drive very expensive cars, but do not work. They are well known here in Engcobo, the officer said.
There are people here in this town who go to that church. People would give up all their pensions and donate them to the church, said the officer.
City Press of South Africa reported that three of the seven Mancoba brothers suspected of involvement in the murders of the officers were killed during a shoot-out with police on Friday.
Sithole said the rescued girls were indoctrinated and brainwashed girls. They have been taken to social workers for counselling.
As City Press reported, the cult run by the seven Mancoba brothers and their mother was flagged by the government since 2016.
A report by chapter 9 institution the CRL Rights Commission, which was presented to Parliaments portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs in October last year, warned it was a disaster waiting to happen.
Commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told City Press she interviewed the cult leaders in 2016 during her investigation into church practices and made the parliamentary committee aware of her serious concerns.
Everyone [at the cult] was sitting waiting for Jesus to come. We told Parliament that this was a high risk and these people need urgent attention.
We warned that there will be something else [that will happen] once their money runs out. Look what has happened, Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said.
This has been a ticking time bomb. We said either these people are going to commit suicide or something else will happen.
We questioned the sanity of church leaders, who saw themselves as angels sent by God.
The Eastern Cape social development department knew about the cult. Spokesperson Mzukisi Solani said officials went there in 2016 and rescued 18 children. They were taken to places of safety after the department obtained a court order. After the raid, they alerted the CRL commission to the cult.
On Friday night, police tracked down those who allegedly attacked the police station. They were found 3km outside Engcobo and about 500m from where two of the five slain policemen were executed before their van plunged into a gorge. Seven cult members were killed in the ensuing shoot-out and 10 were arrested.

Source: NAN

A Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) team on Sunday morning rescued a pregnant woman from suspected kidnappers in Badagry, Lagos.
The Corps Public Education Officer, Mr Bisi Kazeem, said in a statement on Sunday that the woman gave birth to a baby boy immediately after she was rescued.
At about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 25, 2018, a team from the Badagry Unit of FRSC led by Assistant Route Commander, Peace Danboyi, accosted a vehicle with registration number KTU 356 CE at AP Filling station before Aradagun Bus stop in Badagry, Lagos.
In the vehicle were two suspected kidnappers (male) and a pregnant woman who was their victim.
The pregnant woman, who had body injuries, was rescued to Ola-Oki Hospital, Ibereko, where she immediately gave birth to a baby boy, he said.
Kazeem said it took the prompt intervention of soldiers to rescue the suspects from a mob that had attempted to attack the suspected kidnappers.
The soldiers arrested and handed them over to the police in Badagry, while Corps Marshal of FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has expressed appreciation to the gallant officers and commended them for their bravery, he said.
The statement also said that Oyeyemi assured the public that his men would always be on roads to ensure safe traffic and security of lives by cooperating with other law enforcement agencies.

Source: NAN

Church leaders closed Jerusalems Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest against Israeli taxation and land policy affecting church property.
Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Church leaders said the holy site, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, would be closed until further notice.
A statement by the leaders accused Israel of a systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land in pursuing a new tax policy and a proposed land appropriation law.

Source: NAN

Troops on patrol have arrested a herdsman with a locally made bullet proof and cutlass at Chegba village in Logo Local Government Area of Benue.
A statement signed by Col. Aliyu Yusuf on Sunday said the suspect had been handed over to the police.
Yusuf also said that troops during the patrol intervened in a violent clash between hunters and herdsmen in Obi Local Government following a distress call.
In related development, Yusuf said troops on patrol named Ayem Akpatuma, Cat Race, also seized a locally made pistol with one live cartridge at Gidan Kiya village, Ibbi Local Government Area of Taraba.
He call on the residents of the areas where the exercise was taking place to continue to cooperate with the troops by providing useful information and to report any suspicious movement to security agencies.

Source: NAN

Pope Francis has called for an immediate end to violence and access to humanitarian aid to the eastern Ghouta district of Syria.
He said Syria was being martyred by continued attacks and killing of civilians in the eastern district.
All this is inhuman, Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peters Square, on Sunday for his weekly blessing.
He spoke hours after the United Nations adopted a resolution demanding a 30-day truce across Syria to allow aid access and medical evacuation.
In these days my thoughts have often been taken up by the beloved and martyred Syria, he said.
He noted that there had been thousands of civilian victims of violence that had not spared even hospitals.
Francis insisted that no one should fight evil with another evil and urged his listeners to join together in a moment of silent prayer.
He called for an immediate end to the violence so food and medicine can get in and the sick and wounded can leave.

Source: NAN