The U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Rex Tillerson, will arrive in Abuja on Monday in continuation of his visit to some African countries.

The U.S. Embassy in Abuja said on Sunday that Tillerson would hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

When he arrives, Tillerson will become the highest ranking official in the Trump Administration to visit Nigeria.

The secretary is expected to hold a press conference at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday by 11.45 a.m

Tillerson is expected to be joined in the press availability by Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama, the embassy stated.

Tillerson has been on a week-long tour of Africa.

He has visited the Horn of Africa just days after he announced a new $533 million package for Africa out of which $128 million was earmarked for Nigeria and countries of the Lake Chad region.

Tillerson and Buhari are expected to discuss counter terrorism efforts and humanitarian issues in Nigerias Northeast and the Lake Chad basin.

He is also expected to discuss how to advance peace and security, promote good governance, and spur mutually beneficial trade and investment with the president

He would also meet with U.S. Embassy personnel and participate in events related to U.S. government-supported activities.

During his visit to Kenyan, Tillerson, said on Friday in Nairobi he had shared his concerns with Kenyas President Uhuru Kenyatta about the importance of democracy.

Tillerson said at a news conference that his concerns were that government should not stifle the media and threaten the courts.

We believe that there are actions that need to be taken in Kenya and that they need to correct certain actions like shutting down independent TV stations and threatening the independence of the courts, he said.

I know Kenya takes these matters seriously. A free and independent media is essential for safeguarding democracy and giving all Kenyans confidence in their government.

Tillerson called Kenya a leading democracy in Africa, praising President Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga for meeting on Friday and pledging to bring their people together after 2017 contentious and bloody elections.

He said they had shown a commitment to working for all Kenyans, regardless of party, to take the long journey that is necessary to restore the country, eliminate these divisions that are creating obstacles to Kenyas future.

Tillerson said all the credit for the meeting went to the Kenyan political leaders, in response to a question as to whether the U.S. had a role in organising it.

Both Kenyatta and Odinga had said in a joint statement that they agreed to establish a new office staffed by advisers.

They are to tackle the divisions ranging from opposition complaints over the election to tensions between ethnic groups and corruption.

We have a responsibility as leaders to find solutions. Elections come and go, but Kenya remains, Kenyatta said.

Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term in November after an extended election season which saw the Supreme Court nullifying an August presidential poll.

The apex court went on to order a re-run in October, which Odinga boycotted.

Around 100 people died mainly in clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters during months of acrimonious campaigning and protests.

The election season blunted growth in Kenya, East Africas richest economy and a Western ally in a volatile region.

In January, Odinga took a symbolic presidential oath in a Nairobi park in a direct challenge to Kenyatta.

Before Fridays meeting, the two men had defied calls from Kenyan civil society, religious leaders and Western diplomats to hold talks to overcome deep divisions opened up by the disputed elections.

Odinga said the opposition had decided to change tactics for the sake of the countrys unity.

We refuse to allow our diversity to kill our nation, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in the Kenyan capital later on Friday as part of a seven-day visit to Africa.

The move was in the face of U. S. attempt to bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to China for trade.
(NAN)

Source: NAN

The Nigerian Senate said today that Senator Shehu Sani was in order when he revealed the N45m quarterly allowance that each Senator takes home.

And it quickly added that the information about the emoluments of senators was never a secret.

Senate Spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said thefigure Sani gave out about running cost of the offices of Senators was contained in various line items and expenditure heads of the budget of the National Assembly which has been made public.

According to him, Senator Shehu Sanidid not disclose anything new.

Sani who represents Kaduna Central disclosed the figure and the N700,000 salary of senators in an interview with magazine. The interview was published last week, triggering social commentaries about the Senators well kept secret.

Abdullahi dismissed any insinuations that Sanis colleague were unhappy with him and said if people had looked critically at the budget of the National Assembly which has since been made public, they would have seen that various line items like travelling , medicals, consultancy and the rest were captured in the budget and they were the funds divided for each Senators use.

Almost all holders of elective and appointive offices have running costs allocated to their offices and that cannot be said to be part of their salaries, Abdullahi stated.

In the interview, Sani said: I think what we can say is that the running cost of a senator is N13.5 million every month.

He was responding to a question on alleged bogus salaries and allowances of Nigerian lawmakers.

According to him, while there is no specific instruction on what the fund should be used for, lawmakers must provide receipts to back up their expenses from the running costs. He added that the running cost is in addition to funds earmarked for each senator for constituency projects.

But what I am saying is that that money (N13.5 million per month) must be receipted for what you do with it. But what you are given to go and spend without any accountability is N750,000.00.

The constituency project itself is given on a zonal basis and almost every Senator will go with a constituency fund of about N200 million, but it is not the cash that is given to you.

You will be told that you have N200 million with an agency of government for which you will now submit projects equivalent to that amount. And it is that agency of government that will go and do those projects for you.

Now, the corruption comes when the projects are not done and the money is taken. But right now, it is difficult to do that because NGOs and transparency groups have come into it. They track every allocation made to you and where they are being used.

So, its becoming difficult for what used to happen in the past to happen now.

But I can tell you that I would love a situation where we do away with running costs, constituency projects and leaves senators and members of House of Reps with salaries.

And also, the public should be informed that nobody should come to any senators house asking for any kobo. That also would be helpful.

Source: NAN

A wealthy Turkish socialite, Mina Basaran and seven of her friends were among the 11 people killed on Sunday when a private plane bringing them home from a Dubai bachelorette party crashed into an Iranian mountainside.

The plane was owned by the private holding company of her father, the Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran, and carried eight passengers and three crew, an official for Turkeys transport ministry said.

Those on board were all flying back from a party ahead of Minas planned wedding next month.

Huseyin Basaran, a former deputy chairman of Trabzonspor football club, owns businesses that span yachts to energy.

One of his companies is the top shareholder in Bahrain Middle East Bank BSC, a small investment bank. His construction projects include a series of luxury apartment blocks on Istanbuls Asian side called Mina Towers, named after his daughter.

The last photo on 28 year-old Mina Barasans Instagram account showed her surrounded by seven other young women, all wearing robes and sunglasses. The post, tagged #minasbachelorette, said it was taken at the One and Only Royal Mirage luxury hotel in Dubai.

By late on Sunday evening, just a few hours after news of the crash, there were more than 7,000 comments on the photo.

The wreck of the jet and the bodies are found. They will be carried down from the mountain when sun comes up. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, said on Twitter, citing his Iranian sister organisation.

Kinik had earlier told Reuters there was no chance of any survivors, given the aircraft was a jet and it was flying in snowy weather, although he was unable to officially confirm fatalities.

Calls to Basaran Holdings office in Istanbul went unanswered.

Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Irans Civil Aviation Organization, told state television the jet had crashed near the southwestern city of Shahr-e Kord.

Local residents who had reached the site of the crash said there appeared to be no survivors and victims bodies were burnt, ISNA news agency reported, quoting Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for Irans emergency services.

ISNA earlier quoted emergency services as saying the wreckage was burning and was clearly visible.

Emergency crews had a difficult approach to reach the crash site because of the mountainous terrain, ISNA said.

Source: NAN

The trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has been adjourned indefinitely.

Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, announced the adjournment in a short ruling on the resumption of trial in Abuja today.

He said the tribunal would await the decision of the Supreme Court on the appeals filed by both Saraki and the Federal Government.

Saraki is being tried on three of the 18 count-charge for false declaration of assets.

Umar gave the ruling after listening to the addresses of both the defence and prosecuting lawyers.

In his address, the prosecuting counsel Mr Rotimi Jacobs urged the Tribunal to proceed with taking the final address from the parties in the suit.

He based his request on the fact that the defence had already opened and closed their case and the Tribunal had adjourned for the adoption of final addresses.

However, Counsel to the Senate President Mr Kanu Agabi urged the Tribunal to be mindful of the dignity of the Supreme Court and prayed for an indefinite adjournment.

Agreeing with the defence counsel, the CCT chairman held that the Tribunal has decided to tarry awhile so that the integrity of Supreme Court would not be played with.

The Tribunal will adjourn this matter sine die pending the outcome of the appeals at the Supreme Court, he added.

On Tuesday last week, the Tribunal had adjourned the case till March 8 to hear the final address by the parties in the suit and for its final judgment.

The parties will have to await the decisions of the Supreme Court to proceed with the rest of the trial.

*Reported by Channels TV

Source: NAN

Britain will build a new 112-bed wing at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos so that it can transfer Nigerian prisoners there, foreign secretary, Boris Johnson announced in London today.

In a written statement to parliament, Johnson said tenders had been placed and a supplier identified to conduct the building work at Kirikiri. He did not name the supplier.

The project will be funded from Britains Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, which has an annual budget of more than 1 billion pounds and aims to commission projects that can help prevent conflicts and stabilise countries or regions.

The new 112-bed wing, which will cost 700,000 pounds ($973,000) and be compliant with United Nations standards, will make it easier for Britain to comply with a prisoner transfer agreement it signed with Nigeria in 2014.

Under that deal, eligible prisoners serving criminal sentences in Nigeria and Britain can be returned to complete their sentences in their respective countries. The British government did not indicate how many prisoners might be moved or when the project is likely to be completed.

Nigerian prisons many of them built by British colonisers more than 100 years ago are severely overcrowded, leading to the spread of diseases.

The Nigerian government has said it is developing a strategy to tackle the issue.

Britains own prison system has been showing signs of severe strain in recent years, with overcrowding, rising suicide rates and a growing problem with drug trafficking and other crimes within jails that were sometimes built in the Victorian era.

Kirikiri is not one of the oldest prisons in Nigeria but it does date back to colonial times.

Last month, the government said the prison in the southern city of Port Harcourt, which was originally designed to hold 800 prisoners, currently has nearly 5,000. It said 3,700 of them had been awaiting trial for more than five years.

Source: NAN

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cancelled scheduled events on Saturday on the second day of a visit to Kenya because he is not feeling well, a State Department spokesman said.

The secretary is not feeling well after a long couple days working on major issues back home such as North Korea and has canceled his events for the day, spokesman Steve Goldstein said.

The announcement comes little more than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet North Koreas Kim Jong Un before the end of May.

The audacious diplomatic gambit, which was taken before consulting key confidantes including Tillerson who was in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at the time left aides scrambling to catch up.

Just hours before the summit announcement, which emerged late on Thursday, Tillerson had said Washington was a long way from talking directly to North Korea as he kicked off his five-nation Africa tour.

The US diplomat, who arrived in Nairobi on Friday, had been due to visit the AIDS-relief programme PEPFAR on Saturday and also attend a ceremony marking 20 years since Al-Qaeda bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people.

Plans to lay a wreath at the site could be rescheduled, Goldstein said.

Tillerson is due to travel to Chad on Monday then on to Nigeria a day later.

Tillerson arrived Kenya on Friday after visiting Ethiopia and Djibouti.

After talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, he told newsmen he had shared his concerns with Kenyatta about the importance of democracy and said the government should not stifle the media and threaten the courts.

The Kenyan government shut down three television channels in January on the day opposition leader Raila Odinga took a symbolic presidential oath, then defied a court order to switch them back on. The stations had planned to live-stream the oath.

We believe that there are actions that need to be taken in Kenya and that they need to correct certain actions like shutting down independent TV stations and threatening the independence of the courts, Tillerson told a news conference in the Kenyan capital.

I know Kenya takes these matters seriously. A free and independent media is essential for safeguarding democracy and giving all Kenyans confidence in their government.

Asked at the news conference with Tillerson if Kenya could call itself a democracy in light of restrictions appeared intended to stifle dissent, Kenyas foreign affairs minister, Monica Juma, said that the notion that there is a restriction of the media is not backed by fact or reality.

She said that only three of more than 10s of TV stations were temporarily shut down. The three stations taken off air reach the majority of viewers in the country.

In September, after Kenyas Supreme Court overturned President Uhuru Kenyattas election victory and ordered a new poll, Kenyatta dismissed the judges as wakora, meaning crooks in Swahili. He also said the country had a problem with its judiciary that needed to be fixed.

Tillerson, the top U.S. diplomat, praised Kenyatta and opposition leader Odinga for meeting on Friday and pledging to bring their people together after last years contentious and bloody elections.

All the credit for the meeting went to the Kenyan political leaders, Tillerson said, in response to a question as to whether the U.S. had a role in organizing it.

As expected, Tillerson also emphasized the U.S. security partnership with Kenya and what he called our shared fight against terrorism. He said he would pay his respects on Saturday in Nairobi to victims of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The bombings killed 224 people.

He also recognized the 4,000 Kenyan troops fighting al-Shabaab in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeeping mission AMISOM.

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

Lobi Stars of Makurdi are now atopNigerian Professional Football League table, three points ahead of Kano Pillars, after beating Katsina United in Makurdi today.

They won the game 1-0 withDavid Tyavkases 69th minute strike.

In contrast, Kano Pillars, who were in the league lead last week, surprisingly lost 0-2 away to Yobe Desert Warriors, thanks partly to Joel Djondang own goal in the 24th minute.

Abdulmalik Mohammed finished off Ali Aliyus assist in the 71st minute to seal the victory for the Damaturu based side.

These are some of the highlights of MatchDay 12, in which debutants Yobe Desert Warriors are now third on the table, with 19 points. Kano Pillars are second with 20 points.

In other developments, Nafiu Kabuga of Wikki Tourists, Bauchi scored the first hat-trick of 2017/2018/Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season against Rivers United.

Kabugas goal in the 57, 59 and 87th minutes saw the hosts secure 16 points in total on 11th position while their visitors are 7th with 17 points.

Elsewhere in Enugu, Ghanaians Nana Bonsu and Fatau Dauda were in goal for Rangers FC and Enyimba International FC of Aba.

Injured Femi Thomas of Rangers was replaced by Bonsu in 32nd minute as the hosts pulled a lone early goal courtesy of Bright Silas, five minutes into the game.

New comers Go Round FC of Amaku, Rivers secured a win against 17th placed Sunshine Stars of Akure with Eta Okon Otop goal in the 34th minute.

The 19th placed Rivers based team are 13 points in 11 matches while their visitors are in the relegation waters with 13 points on 17th.

Thirteenth placed FC Ifeanyi Ubah of Nnewi shared 1-1 spoils with visiting Abia Warriors of Umuahia in another oriental derby.

The Anambra Warriors could not hold on to their Patrick Ikeokwus five minutes goal into the match, paving way for Obi Samsons 67 minute score to gain a point for the visitors.

MFM FC of Lagos brought in their continental A game when they thrashed visiting Heartland FC of Owerri 3-0.

Stanley Okorom first utilized a penalty kick for the Lagos based side eight minutes into the game with Uwaga Chuka goal in the 63rd minute and Giscard Tchato score at exactly regulation time.

Defending champions Plateau United lost 0-1 to Niger Tornadoes of Minna with Isah Hussain 34 minute goal.

Bottom placed Kwara United could not safe the day, drawing 1-1 with visiting El Kanemi Warriors.

El Kanemi who is placed 18th opened scoring via Antonio Desonsa in the 36th minute with the hosts getting the equaliser in the 54th minute.

A total of 16 goals were scored on Match Day 12, with seven home wins and two draws.

Lobi 1-0 Katsina United

Wikki 3-0 Rivers United

FCIU 1-1 Abia Warriors

Kwara United 1-1 El-Kanemi

Tornadoes 1-0 Plateau United

Yobe Stars 2-0 Kano Pillars

Go Round 1-0 Sunshine Stars

Rangers 1-0 Enyimba

MFM 3-0 Heartland

Source: NAN

Two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova had her 14 match winning streak snapped on Sunday at Indian Wells as she lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to world No. 149 Amanda Anisimova.

Kvitova had been playing some of the best tennis of her career.

So it wasnt the kind of third round statement the ninth seed was looking for as she lost in straight sets to the youngest player in the draw.

The 14 straight victories tied her previous career best which she set in 2011-2012. The 28-year-old Czech came into Indian Wells having won the last two tournaments she played in.

This was her first time back at Indian Wells after missing last year while recovering from a stabbing incident during a robbery at her home in December 2016.

Kvitova committed four double faults and had her serve broken five times in the 69 minute match.

The 16-year-old Anisimova, who needed a wildcard to get into the draw, is making her Indian Wells debut.

She moves to the fourth round where she will face either fifth seed Karolina Pliskova or Chinas Zhang Shuai.

Source: NAN

Tiger Woods narrowly missed lifting his first trophy since 2013 at the Valspar Championship, losing to Paul Casey by just one stroke.

This wasdespite Woodsthat put him in contention.

But victory was not to be for the 14 major winner and holder of 79 trophies.

He ended up tied for second, along with Patrick Reed, CBS Sports reported.

Casey, who had not won on PGA Tour since 2009 carded 5-under 66 in the final round to finish at 10 under on the week.

Casey played the last 15 holes in 6 under to grab his first victory since the 2009 Shell Houston Open. He had to wait until the last minute for confirmation, though. Woods missed a 38-foot birdie on the 72nd hole, and Casey took the trophy from the clubhouse.

It might not have been the outcome most people watching and attending were hoping to see, but Casey was certainly emotional and delighted by the victory.

Tiger made it look easy for such a long time, and its not, Casey told Steve Sands of NBC.

Ive won a few times in Europe, but to take this on and get my second victory on the PGA Tour, its emotional. Ive worked so hard. Im so happy for it.

For Woods though, there was something to cheer in his coming up second as it was his best finish on the PGA Tour in 1,659 days.

Source: NAN