By Emmanuel Mogbede

The All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Thursday that it was deeply pained by the death of some of its supporters at its Next Level campaign rallyin Taraba for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari .

Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC National Publicity Secretary, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident was caused by a stampede at the partys Next Level campaign rally for President Muhammadu Buhari at the Jolly Nyame Stadium in Jalingo, the Taraba capital.

Our party is deeply pained by this painful loss. We pray for the dearly departed and express our deep condolences to their family members, loved ones and the good people of Taraba, he said.

Issa-Onilu also prayed for the speedy and full recovery of the partys supporters, who sustained injuries during the incident, which he said was caused by overcrowding.

The APC spokesman added that the party would ensure that improved crowd control measures were put in place to as much as possible prevent a re-occurrence of such a sad incident.(NAN)

Source: NAN

Former Oyo State Governor Chief Rashidi Ladoja, on trial for the past 12 years for an alleged N4.7billion fraud will know his fate today.

Justice Muhammed Idris of Federal High Court in Lagos will deliver judgment on the matter. Ladoja is facing trial along with former commissioner for finance, Waheed Akanbi.

The Nation reported that the parties have been served with hearing notices.

Lead prosecuting counsel Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN) confirmed that his law firm got the judgment notice.

Justice Idris had reserved judgment in the criminal case on 21 Januaryafter counsel representing parties adopted their final addresses before the court.

Ladoja was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with converting N4.7billion from the States treasury to his personal use.

He was re-arraigned along with Akanbi on an 11 count charge of money laundering and unlawful conversion of public funds. Both pleaded not guilty to the charge, and were granted bail.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that evidences in the trial closed on Nov. 17, 2018 after Ladoja had given his evidence before the court.

The court then adjourned for adoption of final addresses.

The prosecutor, Mr Oluwafemi Olabisi urged the court to hold that the prosecution had been able to establish its case against the accused based on evidences adduced.

He argued that the crux of the prosecutions case centred on money received as proceeds of crime.

According to him, offences of this nature do not give room for acknowledgment of monies taken from government coffers.

He added that the court was enjoined to look at circumstantial evidences in arriving at its decision.

Olabisi urged the court to discountenance evidences adduced by defence witnesses, and hold that the prosecution had been able to establish its case against the accused.

On his part, defense counsel, Mr Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika urged the court to discharge and acquit the accused on the grounds that the prosecution had a weak case incapable of securing any conviction.

If there is no foundation, the super structure cannot stand, he said.

Olumide-Fusika argued that no prosecution witness was able to link the accused with the alleged offences, adding that the prosecution was only concerned with securing conviction at all cost.

Besides, the defence counsel argued that the statement used by the prosecutor in his written address that the second defendant in the very least, did conspire to commit the offence was incapable of establishing his guilt.

He urged the court to be sensitive to evidences adduced as PW2 who testified as having engaged in the sale of the Oyo State shares was never charged.

In all, he urged the court to discharge and acquit the accused as there was no shred of evidences against them, adding that the evidences by prosecution witnesses, even supports the innocence of the accused.

After listening to the submissions of counsel, Justice Idris commended them for seeing the trial to conclusion.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that after the close of prosecutions case, the accused had opted to file a no case submission before the court, contending that the prosecution failed to establish a case against them.

But in its ruling, the court dismissed the no case submission, and held that based on a preponderance of evidences as put forward by prosecution, there was no doubt that the accused had some explanations to make.

NAN reported that in the charge, the accused were alleged to have conspired to siphon and launder N4.7 billion from the coffers of Oyo State government.

The EFCC also accused them of converting N1.9 billion belonging to the state for their personal use through the account of a company known as Heritage Apartments Ltd.

The anti-graft agency claimed that the accused retained the money sometime in 2007, in spite of their knowledge that it was proceeds from a criminal activity.

Ladoja was accused of removing 600,000 pounds from the state coffers in 2007, which he sent to his daughter, Bimpe in London.

In addition, the ex-governor was accused of converting N42 million belonging to the state for his personal use and subsequently used same to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser.

The EFCC added that Ladoja converted N728 million and N77 million at different times in 2007 for his personal use and transferred same to Bistrum Investments for the purchase of a property in Ibadan.

The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 14, 16, 17 (a) and 18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, according to the EFCC.

Source: NAN

A body recovered by British investigators from the submerged wreckage of a plane that went down in the Channel has been identified as that of footballer Emiliano Sala, police said on Thursday.

The Argentine strikers body was first spotted by rescuers with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on Sunday close to where the plane went missing near the British island of Guernsey.

It was recovered on Wednesday and brought to the Isle of Portland in southern England on board the Geo Ocean III offshore supply ship on Thursday for formal identification by coroners, who investigate violent deaths in Britain.

The body brought to Portland Port today has been formally identified as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala, police in Dorset, the county where the body was taken, said on Twitter.

The families of Mr Sala and pilot David Ibbotson have been updated. Our thoughts remain with them all, police said.

Britains Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which recovered the body, said that bad weather in the busy shipping thoroughfare meant it was unable to recover the plane and as a result was closing down the operation.

The light aircraft was carrying the 28-year-old footballer to his new Premier League team Cardiff City when it disappeared near Guernsey on January 21, along with 59-year-old Ibbotson.

Salas disappearance prompted an outpouring of grief across the footballing world, including at his former club Nantes in France where the plane was flying from.

After search operations were suspended in the days after the plane went missing, a shipwreck hunter hired by Salas family, with funds donated by football stars such as Lionel Messi, found the wreckage on Sunday.

The AAIB then co-ordinated the recovery and the rescued body was taken to Portland Harbour earlier on Thursday and was seen being stretchered into a silver van.

In challenging conditions, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage, the AAIB said Wednesday.

The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible.

But it added: The weather forecast is poor for the foreseeable future and so the difficult decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close.

It said that extensive video footage captured by a remotely operated vehicle is expected to provide valuable evidence for our safety investigation, adding that it intends to publish an interim report on the accident later this month.

Sala had been flying in to join up with his new club Cardiff City in what was the most expensive signing in the Welsh clubs history.

Nantes have consulted lawyers to explore legal options to ensure Cardiff pays the transfer fee for Sala, a source close to the French club revealed on Wednesday.

According to the source, the first instalment of the 17-million-euro ($19.3 million) deal for the Argentine striker has yet to be paid, despite the transfer being finalised before the accident.

According to BBC Wales, Nantes have given Cardiff a 10-day ultimatum over the first payment of between five and six million euros.

A source at Cardiff told British media that the Welsh club will honour the contract but only once they have clarified all the facts. Cardiff are said to be surprised with the timing of the demand so soon after the tragedy.

The plane, a Piper PA-46 Malibu, vanished from radar around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Guernsey, with pilot Ibbotson the only other person aboard.

After the official rescue team gave up their search, saying there was little chance of finding anyone alive, Salas family raised more than 370,000 euros ($422,000) in an online campaign to pay for a private hunt.

Had that not happened, I dont think anybody would have searched for the plane, shipwreck hunter David Mearns, whose private company found the plane, told AFP.

The discovery of two seat cushions on the French coast last week revealed that the plane had broken apart, Mearns added.

Earlier this week the footballers father, Horacio Sala, acknowledged that there was no prospect of finding his son alive.

Theres no longer any hope, he told Fox Sports.
*AFP

Source: NAN

The sum of $5 billion is required to recover the area of Lake Chad Basin that is affected by Boko Haram crisis to restore its economic and socio-cultural value and make it to once again provide livelihood for the communities.

Mr Suleiman Adamu, the Chairman, Council of Ministers of Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), unveiled the projected financial requirement at the 64th Ordinary Session of the Council on Thursday, in Ndjamena.

He said that the amount would cover the first phase of the areas recovery project, which was part of LCBCs Regional Stabilisation Strategy.

The Commission, he said, should take advantage of new funding opportunities as demonstrated by most of our partners for effective and inclusive implementation of the stabilisation strategy to recover the Basins areas.

According to him, mobilising such a budget requires a huge effort in terms of advocacy, monitoring and responsiveness.

Adamu, who is Nigerias Minister of Water Resources, said that with the leadership and determination of Heads of State and Government in the region, solutions were gradually being put in place to rejuvenate the basin.

He aim, he said was to ensure our Basin will once again become this vast and highly productive ecosystem, providing livelihoods for riverside communities and representing a food export pole for the entire Basin.

He noted that the Councils meeting came at a time when terrorists in the Lake Chad region had renewed their onslaught aimed at undermining the territorial integrity of our states and security of our peoples.

Adamu, however, said that the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) of LCBC and the national armed forces of member-countries were working hard to completely eradicate the insurgents.

He added that while security, military and humanitarian dimensions had a major role to play in bringing about peace, security and stability, they were still insufficient on their own.

It is, therefore, more necessary than ever to implement the Regional Stabilisation Strategy for the resilience and recovery of the areas of the Lake Chad Basin affected by the Boko Haram.

In addition to the socio-economic development dimensions, this must also include the educational and religious components, with their major role in spreading the culture of peace, tolerance and moderation.

Our fight against extremism must also have as its essential purpose, to provide young people and women with an open education rooted in the authentic values and standards of our society, he said.

Adamu stated that treading the recovery path would lead to entrepreneurship and job creation which would protect the people from the temptations of extremism.

The chairman also charged the Council to focus on implementing the objectives of sustainable development as defined at the International Conference on Saving Lake Chad held in Abuja in February, 2018.

He said in addition to the promise of a better life for our populations, the revitalisation of Lake Chad and the restoration of these resources are the guarantees of greater peace, security, progress and development in the region.

He recalled that at the conference in Abuja, the African Union approved the Inter-Basin Water Transfer Project as a Pan-African project aimed at restoring Lake Chad for sustainable development.

He said that the project, which would also restore security and peace in the region, was a win-win partnership for the Congo Basin and Lake Chad.

Adamu disclosed that the partners had committed themselves to achieving objective of the synergy, saying it would produce hydroelectric power, build roads and river infrastructure and promote irrigation for the sustainable development.

He said that the development would extend to economic integration, peace and security in Central and West Africa and in the Sahel in particular. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Traditional rulers from Akoko North East and Akoko South West council areas of Ondo state have hailed the Npower, school feeding and other poverty alleviation initiatives of the Federal Government.

The monarchs made the commendation on Thursday when the Npower enrolees campaign team for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari visited select towns and palaces in Akoko.

The campaign was organised by Mrs Olubunmi Ademosu, the Special Adviser to the Ondo state Governor on Public and Inter-Governmental Relations.

The Traditional Ruler of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Akadri Momoh, said that people must continue to pray for government, adding that a government must be commended when it had done well.

Momoh said he believed that Nigerians would vote for Buhari, considering the many economic opportunities and jobs created through the various intervention programmes of his administration.

He said: We will always support the government in what it is doing. We shall also be praying for them in all their endeavours.

Oba Samuel Adedoyin, the Owale of Ikare Land, said that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria could have been minimal, if past governments had initiated similar interventions.

Adedoyin said that as a royal father, he was apolitical, but must not see a good thing and not commend it.

He said: It is not about how much the money is, but how to manage small resources that you have.

At least the Npower enrollees are all working. We thank the federal and state governments.

We implore our youths not to misuse the opportunity given to them, he said.

Olubaka of Oka Kingdom, Oba Yusuf Adeleye, also thanked the president for all the social interventions of his administration.

Adeleye said the people of the community had seen the economic effects of the interventions, including the Npower, Trader Moni and school feeding programmes, in the community.

The monarch also thanked Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for the rehabilitation of the Oka Road which, he said, was in a terrible state of dilapidation.

He said: I thank the governor for the construction of Oka Road. It is a Federal Government road but the governor said it is his people that use the road.

We now know that we have a government. Before the governor came, our roads were in poor state but he tackled them within his first year in office.

Several of our schools have been repaired through SUBEB. He is doing what the people expect and we are happy with him.

The cordial relationship between the state and federal government is bringing progress to the state.

Adeleye expressed joy that the state was benefitting from the governors wealth of experience, having served the nation in various capacities.

All the state governments social services are good and I am happy for that.
We are the government because without the cooperation of traditional rulers, no meaningful progress would be made in the communities, he said.

At the palace of Olubaka, Ademosun, who also doubles as the focal person for the Npower in the state, said that no fewer than 1, 000 beneficiaries of the programme came from Akoko South West alone.

She appealed to the monarh to mobilise his subjects toward the realisation of the presidents re-election bid to ensure that the enrollees did not return to the street.

She expressed the confidence that the beneficiaries would also work to ensure that Buhari was re-elected because of their jobs. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Countdown to the presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) , has insisted that it would conduct free, fair and credible polls.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance at an interactive meeting with the members of the Administrative Board of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said that the meeting was part of the nationwide consultation with stakeholders on the Commissions readiness for the general elections,

Yakubu said that the Commission was determined to improve on the gains recorded in the 2015 general elections, just as he affirmed that only the votes cast by citizens would determine the eventual winners at the polls.

Responding to questions, he debunked some media reports making the rounds about the alleged centralisation of the recruitment of Collation and Returning Officers for the elections.

He said there was no basis for the allegation in the first place, since Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) had never handled the recruitment of such officers.

He said that INEC took a decision in 2011 not to recruit Collation and Returning Officers from among its staff, but from senior lecturers and professorial cadre, in order to protect the sanctity of the electoral process.

This is what the Commission has done consistently. The Chairman of the Commission handles this responsibility. He liaises with Vice-Chancellors under specific criteria.

The Vice-Chancellors submit names directly to the INEC Chairman, the submitted names are further vetted, before we finally engage and post them to the states.

It is after we have finished with the process of engagement that we liaise with the RECs, who then assign the Collation and Returning Officers to local government areas and constituencies where they are going to work.

There was a reason why the Commission took that decision. There was a time in the past when, particularly in the recruitment of Collation Officers and most especially the Returning Officers, some people pandered to the wishes of politicians.

The Commission then decided to centralise it and involve not only the universities, but also the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU).

He explained that since 2015, INEC had conducted elections into 195 constituencies and not on one occasion did the headquarters ask the RECs to recruit Collation or Returning Officers.

According to him, this is what the Commission has been doing since 2011. I was surprised when I read the report.

On another allegation that the National Register of Voters contains names of under-age or ineligible persons, Yakubu said that while the current Register was, indeed, not perfect, it is the largest and most current database of Nigerians with photographs and full biometrics.

The INEC Chairman observed that each of the registered political parties got a copy of the Voters Register since 2011 and none of them had ever complained of the prevalence of under-age voters in the Register.

He also argued that the responsibility of cleaning the Voters Register was not that of INECs alone.

He said while the law requires the Commission to paste the Register at each polling unit nationwide before the general election for claims and objections, Nigerians and political parties also owe it a duty to draw the Commissions attention to the names of ineligible persons for rectification.

On the National Collation Centre, Yakubu explained there is difference between the actual collation of the 2019 general elections results and the ad hoc committee established to put the Collation Centre in place.

He likened the Centre to an ordinary Event Centre that would house the Situation Room among others, for which the constituted ad hoc committee had been saddled with the responsibility to putting all the structures and amenities it needed to function effectively in place.

Since the perception is that we might be up to something, which is why (according to the narratives), the Commission is unwilling to open up the place, we have decided to open up the situation room. We will give visitation rights.

The Chairman of INEC is the Chief Returning Officer for the Presidential Election and I am not going to share that responsibility with anyone, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Sen. Ayogu Eze, the embattled governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has vowed to reclaim his position after an Abuja Federal High Court nullified his primary election.

Eze made the vow in a statement issued by his campaign organisation Chief Spokesperson, Mr Okey Ezirigwe in Enugu on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Sen. Eze as the governorship candidate of the APC.

In a judgment delivered Tuesday morning by Justice I. Ekwo of the Federal High Court 5, the court asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize George Ogara as the candidate.

He berated the committee sent by the APC National Working Committee to conduct primary election in Enugu.

Ezirigwe said that the movement towards President Buharis re-election and the decisive victory in the Governorship elections in Enugu State remained `unwaveringly on course.

Our train is on the move. There is no stopping this great Rescue race to victory

Our lawyers have briefed us about a strange judgment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which tends to void the primaries conducted by the party in Enugu State.

We want our teeming party supporters to disregard this reckless adventure from the bench, an adventure they knew would be discharged in due course.

Our lawyers have assured us that all necessary legal steps are being taken to discharge this obvious miscarriage of justice within the next couple of days.

Our party faithful and supporters from across the parties should remain calm and resolute while our lawyers are dealing with this minor distraction and irritation.

We are however, humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of solidarity from our large supporters and ever growing support base, not only from every corner of our dear Enugu but from beyond.

We appreciate their calling our attention to a curious Abuja court order which, as the saying goes, is really of no issue at all, he said.

The spokesperson assured all and sundry that Ayogu Eze remained the Governorship candidate of APC in Enugu State.

He said that they were going on with their campaign in full assurance that Eze, would emerge as the Governor of Enugu State in March 2.

Ezirigwe said that the celebration by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its leadership over this judgment had further indicated that Eze was a big scare to the rattled PDP.

He called on the teeming supporters to ignore the court decision purchased by a desperate political party for their sponsored agent to cause distraction and continue with the already laid down campaign programmes.

Ezirigwe used the opportunity to congratulate their great party on the victory secured at the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt in respect to the Rivers State Governorship and other candidates.

Source: NAN

Venezuelan military officers blocked a bridge on the border with Colombia ahead of an anticipated humanitarian aid shipment Tuesday, as opposition leader Juan Guaido stepped up his challenge to President Nicolas Maduros authority.

The opposition-dominated National Assembly had earlier warned the armed forces, which make up much of Maduros power base, not to cross a red line by blocking aid.

Guaido, who proclaimed himself acting president on January 23 sparking an international crisis claims that up to 300,000 people face death if the aid is not delivered.

You know theres a red line, you know well theres a limit, you know that medicines, food and medical supplies are that limit, lawmaker Miguel Pizarro said in a message to the military.

Maduro, though, said humanitarian aid would be the forerunner of a US-led invasion, insisting that no one will enter, not one invading soldier.

Venezuelan military officers used a tanker truck and huge shipping container to block access to the Tienditas bridge, which links Cucuta, Colombia to Urena, Venezuela.

Franklyn Duarte, an opposition lawmaker from the border state of Tachira, told AFP that troops from the armed forces were blocking the crossing.

The aid delivery was being coordinated by Guaido, who has declared himself interim president of the oil-rich country and now enjoys the backing of some 40 countries as Venezuelas legitimate leader.

Maduro, 56, has repeatedly accused the United States of fomenting a coup.

The US, which has not ruled out a military intervention in crisis-wracked Venezuela, was the first to recognise him as acting president, followed by a dozen Latin American countries.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump reaffirmed US support for Guaido, saying we stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom.

Britain, France, Germany and Spain were among 20 EU nations to side with Guaido this week after Maduro ignored their demands that he announce new presidential elections by February 3.

Source: NAN

Japanese car giant Toyota slashed its full-year net profit forecast Wednesday after saying its nine-month figure had tumbled nearly 30 percent as it was hit by investment losses.

The firms senior managing officer Masayoshi Shirayanagi also told reporters there was no way to avoid a negative impact in the event of a no-deal Brexit days after fellow Japanese carmarker Nissan announced a cut in production in Britain.

The maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid now expects annual net profit of 1.87 trillion yen ($17 billion) instead of the 2.3 trillion yen it projected three months ago.

The new forecast represents a 25-percent plunge from the previous year.

Shares in the carmaker fell one percent on the news, reversing gains earlier in the day, as the results were worse than even the most pessimistic analyst had feared.

Net profits for the nine months to December came to 1.42 trillion yen, down 29.3 percent from the same period the previous year.

Toyotas bottom line was hit by losses of more than 350 billion yen on its investment portfolio, as the stock market fell in the final months of last year.

The appraisal loss appeared to be a major factor that squeezed Toyotas profit, said Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm.

Operating profit rose 9.5 percent to 1.94 trillion yen on sales of 22.5 trillion yen, an increase of 3.1 percent.

Toyota left its forecasts of operating profit and sales unchanged for the full year to March 31.

It projected operating profit at 2.4 trillion yen and sales at a record 29.5 billion yen for the current fiscal year.

Regarding Britains exit from the EU, Shirayanagi said: We cannot avoid the (negative) impact no matter how much we prepare beforehand if Britain leaves the EU with no deal.

He said the firm will monitor the situation, hoping that it will not happen, adding it was not at the moment considering production changes.

On Sunday, Nissan announced it was cancelling plans to build its X-Trail SUV at its plant in northeast England despite Brexit assurances from the government.

Source: NAN

The United States has embarked on a mission to convince European allies not to buy Huawei 5G mobile network equipment, a U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.

After meetings with the European Commission and the Belgian government in Brussels, U.S. officials are set to take a message to other European capitals that the worlds biggest telecommunications gear maker poses a security risk, said the official, who declined to be named.

We are saying you need to be very, very cautious and we are urging folks not to rush ahead and sign contracts with untrusted suppliers from countries like China, the official said.

The United States fears China could use the equipment for espionage a concern that Huawei Technologies Co. says is unfounded. The push to sideline Huawei in Europe, one of its biggest markets, is likely to deepen trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

Washington is using multiple tracks, the U.S. official said, including talks at the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Brussels and at international conferences in Barcelona and Munich: Europe is definitely where we see this as the top priority.

Huawei gear is widely used in Europe but the push is aimed at equipment for the new fifth generation mobile technology, which promises to link up everything from vehicles to factories at far greater speeds.

Meanwhile, the German cabinet will hold a secret session on Wednesday to discuss safeguard measures regarding the possible participation of Chinas Huawei Technologies in building Germanys 5G network, the daily Handelsblatt said, citing government sources.

Wednesdays meeting will focus on whether a security catalogue, prepared by the Federal Network Agency and the cyber defense agency (BSI), along with certification rules and a no-spy agreement with China, will be enough to ensure future 5G mobile networks are safe, the paper said.

The session, to be held after the regular cabinet meeting, and attended by the German foreign, interior, economy, finance, and transport ministers, will discuss measures proposed last week by Deutsche Telekom to safeguard national security, the paper said.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany needed guarantees that Huawei would not hand over data to the Chinese state before the telecoms equipment supplier can participate in building its 5G network.

Source: NAN