Presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Idriss Deby Itno of Chad have renewed their commitment to fight the Boko Haram terrorists and bring their insurgency to an end.

The leaders, along with President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin and Prime Minister of Cameroon, Philemon Yang, made the vow in Abuja Saturday, at the meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

It was their second meeting in three weeks, following another meeting in Ndjamena at the end of November.

Also at the Abuja meeting were the Ministers of Defence of Lake Chad Basin Commission Member Countries and the Chiefs of Defence Staff of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic

The African leaders made their position known in a communiqu issued at the end of the summit convened by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, Mamman Nuhu, read the English version of the communique.

The regional leaders agreed to seek the support of the community leaders to strengthen the fight against terrorism.

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the accelerated implementation of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy in the areas of Lake Chad affected by the Boko Haram crisis.

The Regional Stabilisation Strategy was recently endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council.

They, therefore, agreed to implement the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) within the limit of available resources to provide immediate relief to the communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

While expressing appreciation to the African Union Peace and Security Council for renewing the yearly mandate of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) for the year 2019, the leaders also commended LCBC partners and international community for their support and contributions.

They, however, urged them to extend additional assistance to the LCBC/MNJTF to eradicate the Boko Haram insurgency and to reinforce global peace and security.

The regional leaders also directed the Committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to meet regularly to assess the security situation and the efforts being made to bring an end to the insurgency.

They also thanked President Buhari for his inspiring leadership as Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Source: NAN

The pastor of a megachurch in South Carolina, United States has defended buying a $200,000 Lamborghini luxury car as gift for his wife on their eighth wedding anniversary.

Pastor John Gray captured headlines over the weekend after an Instagram video taken of the moment he handed his wife the keys to the bow-wrapped “Lamborghini Urus” on Saturday went viral.

Gray, who is the pastor of Relentless Church, later stressed online that he had purchased the vehicle for his wife, while rebutting critics who raised suggestions about whether he bought the car with church money.

The pastor of a megachurch in South Carolina, United States has defended buying a $200,000 Lamborghini luxury car as gift for his wife on their eighth wedding anniversary.

Pastor John Gray captured headlines over the weekend after an Instagram video taken of the moment he handed his wife the keys to the bow-wrapped “Lamborghini Urus” on Saturday went viral.

Gray, who is the pastor of Relentless Church, later stressed online that he had purchased the vehicle for his wife, while rebutting critics who raised suggestions about whether he bought the car with church money.

“First of all, it wasn’t a pastor that bought the car. It was a husband that bought the car,” Gray said in the video. “I’m a husband first. Don’t confuse what I do with who I am. What I do is I pastor God’s people. Who I am is a husband and a father and I’ll do anything to honour them. And I won’t ask permission from anybody to do it.” — Pastor John Gray

“First of all, it wasn’t a pastor that bought the car. It was a husband that bought the car,” Gray said in the video.

“I’m a husband first. Don’t confuse what I do with who I am. What I do is I pastor God’s people. Who I am is a husband and a father and I’ll do anything to honour them. And I won’t ask permission from anybody to do it.”

“My wife has pushed for my dreams and my vision, and she has toiled with a man who is still trying to find himself,” Gray continued. “That carries a weight. I wanted to honor her for how she’s covered me.”

“What should concern people who are actually genuinely concerned is ‘did this man use any money from the church to do this?’ And the answer is no, absolutely not,” he continued.

Some critics pointed to the pastor’s association with Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, who once proclaimed, “It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty.”

Osteen has also captured flak for his lifestyle, including living in a $10.5 million mansion in River Oaks, according to the Houston Chronicle.

However, other social media users supported Gray and his wife, Aventer Gray, and questioned why people were critical of the purchase given the pastor also has other forms of income.

Gray’s wife also jumped to her husband’s defense on Instagram, mentioning a number of different projects her husband is currently involved in – including a reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and his various book deals.

“I don’t see anyone screaming about how basketball players drive what they do while you paying $$$ to see them play in arenas and on fields. We don’t live for people! We live for God!” she said in the post.

Source: NAN

The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $7.24 billion for institutions 2019 borrowing programme to be raised from the capital markets.

The Banks Treasurer, Hassatou NSele, said the continental bank accesses a wide array of capital markets with the majority of its borrowing in US dollars and Euros as well as issuances in other public markets such as Australian dollars and Pound sterling.

The Bank maintains an active presence in the socially responsible investment arena and continues to be a regular issue of Green and Social Bonds.

These products serve to satisfy increasing demand for impact investment but also allow the Bank to highlight its development mandate and promote sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Institution has also used its High 5 operational priorities as a platform to continue the issuance of theme bonds, including an inaugural Integrate Africa bond, a Feed Africa bond awarded Asia Pacific Deal of the Year by mtn-i, more than forty Improve the Quality of the Life for the People of Africa bonds, and two taps of its Light Up and Power Africa bond.

The Bank is keen to innovate to diversify its product range and, as the financial markets continue to look to a future after Libor, was able to combine innovation with its social responsibility program and issue the first ever Green SOFR-linked bond, in November.

It will continue to promote the development of African Capital markets with the issue of local currency denominated debt to facilitate the financing of its local currency operations, alongside other initiatives.

We continue to raise our profile in the capital markets to provide cost-effective resources to finance projects and programs on the African continent.

We have a strong track record, a diversified funding profile, investors across the world and the benefits of a AAA rating to strongly support the African Development Bank mandate, NSele said.

The African Development Bank is rated triple-A by all the major international rating agencies and enjoys several solid ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) ratings. ()

Source: NAN

Masked for centuries by the soot of candles and lately by scaffolding, the mosaics of Bethlehem Church of the Nativity have been restored to their Crusader-era splendour in time for Christmas.

Over the past 15 months, experts have cleaned and repaired surviving fragments of the 12th century masterworks, preserving 1,345 square feet (125 square metres) of what was once 21,528 square feet (2,000 square metres) of glittering gold and glass.

The rest has been eaten away by wear, humidity, wars and earthquakes.

Now the restored remains shine against the white walls above the heads of visitors to the church in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Overlooking the nave are seven angels framed in gold who appear to have landed on a carpet of vivid green grass.

Each is placed between windows symbolising divine light. One of the angels was discovered during the restoration work beneath a layer of plaster.

Only faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone.

One of the partially destroyed angel figures was restored using different materials to the original so as not to mislead future archaeologists.

Ibrahim Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian Authority (PA) engineer said the transformation caused by the restoration is striking.

When you entered the church before, you could not even make out that there were mosaics, it was so black, he said.

In a rarity for the period, the works were signed by the craftsmen responsible, Abed Rabbo said.

In the choir of the church, the visitor can now see an image of Saint Thomas, incredulous at the resurrection, poking his finger into Christs wound from his crucifixion.

Elsewhere there is the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Its meticulously detailed, it gives the impression of being brand new, said Patricia Lieby, 44, a French tourist visiting the church for the first time.

I have never seen a mosaic like this outside Jerusalem, its sublime.

Father Asbed Balian is the senior cleric of the Armenian church at the basilica, where property rights are shared with the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox faiths.

After seeing the completed restoration, he said, he was stunned.

Spiritually, we feel more exalted, he added.

On the nave walls, the restorers also gave renewed life to paintings dating from 1127 and the end of the 12th century when wealthy pilgrims commissioned artists to paint their family or home region saints, for display in the holy site.

These portraits were barely distinguishable, blackened by the years, Piacenti said.

Now their silhouettes stand out against the churchs reddish columns, although the faces were erased after the Muslim conquest, in keeping with the Islamic ban on portrayal of the human form.

The first Church of the Nativity was built in the fourth century by Roman Emperor Constantine and his mother Helene.

That original structure was believed to have been destroyed by fire but Piacenti said no trace of burning was found during the restoration work, leading him to think an earthquake was a more likely cause.

The Byzantines rebuilt the basilica in the sixth century and the Crusaders later added to it.

Persuade more locals to stay

Due to disagreements between the three faiths responsible for the site, the building had gone unrepaired since the middle of the 19th century.

In 2002, bullet holes pocked the front of the church after a five-week Israeli army siege when some 100 Palestinians took refuge inside.

When the Palestinian Authority began renovations in 2013, the basilica was in danger, PA restoration consultant Afif Tweme said.

Scaffolding remains in part of the choir stalls as restorers work, inch by inch, on floor mosaics, hidden from public view by plywood screens.

Its very special, because of the location, said Piacenti. Sometimes I have to force them (workers) to leave at the end of the day.

Tweme said the restoration would influence tourism for sure.

He hopes the economic benefits will persuade more of Bethlehems dwindling local Christian population to stay in the city rather than move away.

AFP

Source: NAN

The wife of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, People Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Hajiya Titi, has organised end of the year party and showered gifts on 500 Orphans in Abuja

The orphans were invited from 13 orphanages within Abuja.

They were fed with food and drinks and also showered with several gift item, including school bags.

Some popular Abuja base musicians were also on ground to thrill them with songs as the children responded with amazing dance steps.

The party took place in her husbands support group campaign office in Wuse Abuja.

Mrs Abubakar said that the party was not politically motivated but an act of charity.

It is an annual event which I started 19 years ago on the platform of my foundation, WOTCLE, F she said.

WOTCLEF has been catering for orphans, women and widows and always dedicate a day to bring them together and celebrate with them and give them a sense of belonging, she said.

She said that people remember the existence of children that dont have biological parents during festivals.

Abubakar said expressed delight with the level of intelligence exhibited by most of the children at the event.

The Proprietor of Jedidah Ministry Orphanage , Kuje, Pastor Temitope Bangudu, who came with 30 orphans to the party thanked the Abubakar for the show of love for the children.

Bangudu said that her orphanage had 100 children and called on wealthy individuals to support the management of the facility.

One of the orphans, Daniel Obed, expressed gratitude to Abubakar for the gesture and for bringing the orphans together.

Source: NAN

As President Muhammadu Buhari marks 76th birthday on Monday, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo and Rep. Umar Bago have called for prayers to support the presidents resilience in nation building.

Akeredolu sought the support and prayers of Nigerians for Buhari to enable him serve the country better.

In statement by Mr. Olusegun Ajiboye, his Chief Press Secretary, Akeredolu
joined millions of Nigerians to congratulate Buhari on his birthday.

Akeredolu also congratulated Nigerians for having Buhari as their president at this difficult time.

He expressed confidence that the president was celebrating his 76th birthday with calmness, love and robust service to his fatherland.

He said the presidents commitment to the development of Nigeria as the largest black African nation was increasingly yielding the expected results.

I am soliciting more Nigerians support and prayers for the President to enable him to serve the country better, he said.

On his part the lawmaker described Buhari as a committed progressive concerned with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

Bago in a statement commended the president for his political commitment in the ongoing fight against corruption, insurgency, cattle rustling, and sectarian crisis.

According to him, such positive development will continue to provide enable environment for the countrys growth.

Mr President has succeeded in repositioning the country for the better, especially in the areas of security, transportation, roads construction, agriculture and diversification of the economy.

President Buhari has proved beyond reasonable doubt to be honest, sincere and committed to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, irrespective of political, tribal and ethnic differences.

Our dear nation still has more to reap from his wealth of experience and deep wisdom in its journey to greatness.

I am pleased to join your family and other well-wishers in thanking God for blessing you with the strength and wisdom to live a fulfilling life of honest, commitment to the well-being of all ordinary Nigerians, he told President Buhari.

At 76, your contributions to national growth have remained undiminished as you continue to fearlessly lend your strong voice and strategic support to the genuine efforts toward making our nation great.

I pray that God will still keep you longer to play greater role in the stabilisation of our country. Your life has been one of great sacrifices for the unity and progress of our country.

From your days as a military head of state to a civilian President, you envisioned a great nation where everyone will be well accommodated and freely pursue his or her aspirations.

For this, you have worked, and still working to keep Nigeria united and Nigerians happier through democratic governance.

Source: NAN

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said the newly completed terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will process 15 million passengers annually when it begins operations.

Mr Saleh Dunoma, the Managing Director of FAAN, said that the terminal building was designed essentially to transport passengers.

He said the terminal building would be inaugurated on Dec. 20 to enhance the operational capacity of the airport.

The FAAN boss disclosed that the current carrying capacity of the airport was 7.5 million passengers per annum.

He said that the inauguration of the new terminal would bring about expansion to the airport.

He said that passengers would begin to enjoy comfort and efficient services, saying the terminal was built and equipped with modern facilities such as modern check-in, baggage handling and security facilities.

Currently, Abuja is doing like 7.5 million passengers annually in the old terminal, both domestic and international.

He said that the nation now had a terminal that can process 15 million passengers which he described as a great departure from what it had before.

It is essentially designed for passengers, it is not the kind of terminal where you have several offices and aviances, it is just designed for passenger purposes and duty offices only.

So, most of the offices are going to remain in the old facility and then we will provide posts for the agencies that will participate in the processing of passengers.

All the passenger-handling facilities like the modern security equipment that are important for security are available in the new terminal.

We have modern check-in facility, we have modern baggage handling facility, and we have modern security surveillance gadget in the terminal.

It is a lot of departure from what we had in the existing facility and the arrangement is for the passenger-flow to be more efficient than what we had in the old terminal building, he said.

Dunoma said that there were plans to make sure that the old and new terminals work together to ensure connectivity.

According to him, the authority will change its modalities of operations by providing free trolleys and WiFi services for all passengers in the new terminal.

He added that the new terminal would attract more passengers and patronage from more international airlines.

He said that there had been applications for additional frequencies into Abuja by some airlines.

The FAAN boss said that authority had decided to delay granting such approvals because of the limited capacity and in order not to create congestions pending when the new facility would become operational.

The Abuja Airport is one of the four new terminals being constructed at the cost of $600 million by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) under the Export-Import Bank of China loan.

The others are in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano and are being financed from the $500 million loan from China-Exim bank and $100 million counterpart funding from the Federal Government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in October inaugurated the one in Port Harcourt while the remaining two are expected to be opened for operations in 2019.

Source: NAN

By Felicia Imohimi

Saleh Ndaski, the Head of Nursing Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has called for adequate training and retraining, as well as motivation of nurses for quality healthcare delivery in the country.

Ndaski made the call at the annual national conference of National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Federal Health Institutions Sector in Abuja.

The conference has as its theme Nursing Models/Theories for Effective Nursing Practice.

The NANNM head described nurses as custodians of patients and the only healthcare providers who worked 24 hours.

He said nurses required continuous training to keep them abreast of emerging trends in the health sector.

He added that nurses require adequate training and retraining because healthcare problems are emerging and a lot of diseases are coming up and they need to be abreast with such problems and how to effectively tackle them.

Nurses require motivation to be able to provide the best of services required of them as majority of them are not well motivated and this is a major gap in quality care.

Ndaski noted that a lot of reforms were done in the profession with regard to scientific discovery.

He, however, added that a lot of theories and models that existed in the practice were not fully utilised by nurses due to lack of adequate knowledge, decayed infrastructure, among others.

He said that those theories and models provide nurses with perfect care and services, as well as quality healthcare delivery.

According to him, nurses are always concerned about patients having the best of care within the health sector, hence the theme of the conference.

Mr Wale Olatunde, the National Chairman of NANNM, reiterated the determination of the association to regulate the activities of Nigerian nurses and midwives in the most effective manner.

This, he said would ensure best practices and safeguard best healthcare delivery for all Nigerians.

According to him, the theme of the conference is carefully selected based on the nurses conviction that there must be shift from theory development to theory utilisation in health facilities.

Olatunde said this would help to restore proper relationship between theory and practice.

Nursing is now in the era of utilisation of philosophies, models and theories for clinical nursing practice, he said.

The chairman said that the theme was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the professionals and equipping them intellectually to select a theoretical work that would guide their daily clinical practice.

This remains one of the practical ways in which we can help to reverse the current rating of the countrys health indices.

The effectiveness of clinical nursing services remain critical in determination of quality health care services.

The conference, according to him, is part of the associations contributions toward complementing governments efforts in its drive to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the citizens.

Mr Faruk Abubakar, the Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, urged the nurses to deliver their duty with all diligence by prioritising the interest of patients.

Abubakar urged them to always discharge their duties to the best of their ability.

He said that nurses should consider the plights of patients in order to achieve quality care, which is the sole aim of nursing or other professional practices in the health sector.

Source: NAN

There were some moments of wrangling in Nigerias first TV debate on Friday night among political party candidates ahead of the February 16 presidential election.

And expectedly the feud was between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Dr Peter Obi, the vice-presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

The first argument arose when Obi derided Buhari administrations anti-corruption efforts as tantamount to leaving the shop and chasing the thieves.

Osinbajo rebutted the analogy and asked Obi, whether anything will be left in the shop if criminals were allowed to loot all the inventory.

The two speakers also disagreed on whether Nigeria has improved its ambience to attract foreign investment. While Obi reeled out statistics about the volume of foreign investment in other economies, Osinbajo punctured by the fact that the countries Obi cited, such as South Africa and China have one thing in common: adequate infrastructure.

According to Osinbajo, the APC government is investing heavily in this area, in roads and rail transport. He also reminded the audience where Nigeria was in 2015 in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business, rising from 170th position in 2015 to 146th today.

Osinbajo blamed Nigerias infrastructural deficit from 1999 to 2015 on the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) administration, which governed Nigeria then and how the Buhari administration in three and half years, despite declining financial resources, has changed the narrative.

Analysts believe that the 2019 Vice Presidential Debate organised by the Nigeria Election Debate Group in collaboration with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and Civil Society Organisations.
should have been a straight debate between Osinbajo and Obi, as the three other candidates did not offer much in terms of contribution.

Osinbajo and Obi were the stars of the night and as they spoke, they occasionally attracted jeers or cheers from the planted crowd in the audience at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, in Abuja. The moderator several times warned that certain reactions from the audience were a breach of the rule.

Osinbajo said corruption is the major cause of the country`s current challenges which must be tackled head-on.

He said the country's economy has consistently in the last six quarters been going up under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration, which is focussed on building the country`s infrastructure, especially the road and rail sector.

Osinbajo said the administrations social investment programmes were put in place to address poverty in the country.

He said the administration was investing heavily in power distribution to address problem of electricity as well.

Obi, the PDP Vice Presidential Candidate said his partys main agenda is job creation, which he believes remains the key to addressing insecurity and other anti-social vices in the country.

Obi stressed that the country's main problem is its economy which he said is under the purview of the Vice President, adding that he would do all it takes to set the country`s economy on the right footing if his party is voted into office in 2019.

The vice president has a role to build the economy and make the country work.Fighting corruption is not a policy, he said.

Obi further said there was need to review the country`s subsidy regime in the interest of the nation, adding that if the right thing was done, the price of petroleum products would drop. However, he was vague about the right thing that should be done.

He said the PDP government would properly support Small and Medium Enterprises in the country as well create enabling environment to attract foreign investors.

Osinbajo explained that subsidy of petroleum products is not inherently bad as the United States and other countries have all kinds of subsidies in place. He also said the present government has come up with several programmes to support SMEs, including investing in power at some markets in the country. This is not about what we are going to do, but what we are already doing, he said.

Also speaking at the debate, Mrs Umma Getso, Young Progressives Party Vice Presidential Candidate said the girl-child education and women empowerment was her priority.

She stressed that her party had all it takes to move the country to the next level, adding that subsidy in petroleum products was a scam and should be removed completely.

She emphasised the need to rebuild the country`s economy which she said is all encompassing, adding that her party would ensure constitutional restructuring and electricity redistribution.

Alliance for New Nigeria Vice Presidential Candidate, Khadijah Abudullahi-Iya said her party if voted into office, would ensure transparency in government`s institutions, diversify the economy and address issues surrounding petroleum subsidy.

She also said that her party had in place policies that would address unemployment, and encourage free trade to grow the economy.

Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria Vice Presidential Candidate said his party would work with technocrats to develop the country`s economy and make her the envy of other nations.

He said his party would privatise all government business to make them more productive.

Source: NAN

Fact checkers went to work Friday night to puncture some of the statistics quoted by Peter Obi, the vice-presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party at the live TV debate at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

In arguing that petrol subsidy that he estimated to be a trillion naira a year was a waste, Obi said there are only two million vehicles in Nigeria.

Fact-checking revealed otherwise. According to National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), Nigeria has over 11.5million vehicles on the road, as at 2017.

Obi also claimed that intra-African trade is just a mere 9 per cent. He was proven wrong. Intra-African trade, according to Afreximbank Africa Trade Report 2018, is estimated at 15 per cent. In 2016, this was estimated at 18 per cent of its total exports and imports. IMF even gave an estimate of 20 per cent of the total trade volume of about one trillion dollars.

Obi was correct when he said oil exports still accounts for 80 per cent of Nigerias dollar revenue. However, oil contribution to GDP has dwindled to about 10 per cent, according to NBS.

But he was caught out when he claimed that his administration as governor of Anambra state was the first to buy up to 30,000 computers for schools. Twitterati said Governor Kayode Fayemi bought more in his first term in Ekiti State. He reportedly bought 48,000 Samsung laptops, 30,000 for students and 18,000 for teachers.

Despite the statistical goofs, Obi was praised by many PDP sympathisers for his performance during the debate.

Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state, who had not tweeted for a long time, wrote:

Watching the I can assure Nigerians that we got the right man for the job as Vice President.

Peter Obi is backing all his points with facts and figures, proffering solutions too.What a man!

Aminu W. Tambuwal (@AWTambuwal)

Governor Dankwambo of Gombe state, similarly wrote:

I am so proud of Peter Obi tonight. He is reeling out facts and figures to buttress his argument.

Governor Dankwambo (@HEDankwambo)

Source: NAN