National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that Nigerian government can afford living wage for workers, if stealing of public money is curbed.

He said non-payment of salaries by governors creates a vicious circle leading to low production and eventual loss of jobs.

Oshiomhole, a former trade union leader, said as a governor, he told his colleagues that payment of salaries was no burden, but a means of enhancing the development potential of the state.

He said that the countrys major problem is stealing of public resources.

The former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president spoke on a television programme.

His position is in clear contrast with that of state governors, who claimed they could not pay a national minimum wage of N30,000 being proposed, unless they downsized the staff force.

As a governor, Oshiomhole paid Edo workers a minimum of N25,000, which was N7,000 above the national minimum.

My views are clear, that payment of wages is not an act of kindness for an employer to pay the employees wages at the end of the month. Even the Holy Bible says that the labourer is entitled to its wages, Oshiomhole said.

I think, again, this is where President Buhari stands out clearly. He has publicly asked public sector employers; how do you sleep when you have not paid your employers for one year. But he did not stop at lamenting it, he went on to provide the much- talked about bailout fund and said, please use this money to pay your workers and pay pension arrears.

And even the deductions from states that was done under the PDP in the name of settling our foreign debts, they went into state treasury and they over deducted; that was done under the PDP. But under President Muhammadu Buharis government, even in spite of the huge financial challenges that he faces, decided that in order to assist the states to meet up with their social obligations, to begin to pay what is now referred to as Paris Club refund.

He has done that two, three instalments and each time the governors are told that you must use this money, among other things to settle pension arrears and be up to date in the payment of salaries.

But I am very proud that this President has rich conscience, he recognises that the Nigerian worker deserves his wages and that is why he has publicly lamented that there are governors who have not paid salaries as at when due, whether they are PDP or APC, it is immaterial. And in seeking to deal with it he has also provided support across party divide and I think that is statesmanship at its best.

As for my views on the minimum wage, I tried to deal with it as a governor. I told my colleagues then that wage is not a burden in the society. In economics, when people work and get paid, purchasing power is enhanced and because purchasing power is enhanced producers will respond to that by seeking to produce more goods and services. And in the process they will recruit more hands.

. My being in government or now chairman of a party cannot change what I believe in.

The real problem in the public sector is money being stolen in the name of salaries, I find it embarrassing when we talk about ghost workers. And I ask the question, who counts ghosts. It is only in Nigeria that ghosts are known.

*Reported by

Source: NAN

To boost Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government will soon establish People Money and Entrepreneurship Banks.

Osinbajo disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during a visit to Bodija and Oje markets in Ibadan on Thursday to monitor the Trader Moni initiative.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the initiative is a Federal Government intervention programme for petty traders under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme(GEEP).

As part of efforts to institutionalise the social investment scheme process, this administration will soon establish the People Money Bank and along the line Entrepreneurship Bank, he said.

The vice president said the initiative was part of the APC agenda, adding that the People Money Bank would be devoted to giving credit to ordinary people.

Osinbajo said the Federal Government was committed to empowering traders toward improving the prospects of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs).

He said that no fewer than one million traders had already benefitted from the Trader Moni.

The first phase of the Trader Moni was targeted at two million petty traders across the country but over a million have today benefitted from the scheme.

We have observed that nobody wants to give these traders credit because lenders believe they wont pay back.

The market traders represented the most significant percentage of those who engage in commercial activities.

Both the Trader Moni and Market Moni scheme seeks to address that large population or persons involved in commercial activities who usually dont have access to credit, he said.

Some of the traders, who spoke to NAN at the markets, lauded the initiative of the Federal Government.

Mr Saliu Delesolu, the Babaloja of Oje market, lauded the Federal Government for initiating the programme, saying it would enhance petty trading.

This is the first time a government in this country will be extending credit facility to petty traders. We appreciate this and thank President Muhammadu Buhari for this.

We assure our members that the money would go round. Not everybody could benefit from it at once but we have been assured that the programme will be institutionalised, he said.

Mrs Olajumoke Ajao, a petty trader, also corroborated Delesolus claim, saying the government must be commended for the gesture.

Source: NAN

Former Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has withdrawn from the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). He will now seek to represent Ondo South in the senate.

National chairman of the party, Dan Nwanyanwu, confirmed Mimikos withdrawal at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the party would approach the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw his name and file same for the Senate.

According to Nwanyanwu, Nigerians have zoned the office of the president to the north.

He said the north has produced two powerful candidates President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Nwanyanwu said Mimiko has the records to show and the capacity to replicate what he did in Ondo across the country.

We are starting the process to persuade Mimiko to withdraw and take a senatorial ticket; after all, we need strong men at the Senate to pass the necessary laws after the election next year.

He is a loyal party member and I can assure you, with the discussions we have had, by tomorrow we should be filing his name as a senatorial candidate after withdrawing it from the presidential race.

ZLP will be part and parcel of the making of a new president, we shall support one of the big parties but that is left to the party to meet and decide.

We have to look at all the options and all that has happened since 2015, what is on ground and who is able to deliver for the common good, Nwanyanwu said.

In a move that appeared to have been well rehearsed, former Ondo State commissioner for works, Gboye Adegbenro, has dropped his senatorial ambition to allow Mimiko to replace him.

Adegbenro, who is the Ondo Central senatorial candidate of the ZLP, said in Akure on Thursday: It became imperative that I bring to a close, my aspiration to represent Ondo Central Senatorial District at the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at this critical juncture.

According to him, having consulted far and wide with his family, business associates, followers and constituents, he is bowing out before the full race commences in the interest of the party and state.

More than the above, I am convinced that the candidacy of our leader, Mimiko, will better serve the interest of the district now and the overall goal of the south-west.

Source: NAN

A U.S. judge has ordered the White House to restore access to a reporter of the CNN who was barred from the seat of power.

The White House suspended the press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta on Wednesday, November 7, hours after President Trump took issue with questions Acosta asked at a news conference.

The Donald Trump-appointed Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled in favor of CNNs Acosta, allowing the networks star reporter to temporarily regain access to his White house press credential.

I will grant the application for the temporary restraining order I order the [government] reinstate the pass. Judge Timothy J. Kelly said.

The move to punish Acosta by removing his access to the White House is believed to be unprecedented.

The Trump administration barred another CNN reporter from attending an open media event in July but until now has not gone as far as removing a credential, known as a hard pass, which enables a journalist to enter the White House grounds.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders cited Acostas brief confrontation with a White House press aide during Trumps midday news conference as the reason for suspending his press pass until further notice.

During the 90-minute session at the White House, Trump snapped at Acosta after the reporter asked whether the president had demonized immigrants by calling a caravan of Central American migrants an invasion.

After a long and tense back-and-forth, a female White House intern tried to take the microphone from Acosta.

Acosta held onto it and raised an arm to shield it, in the process making contact with the aide. Pardon me, maam, he said to her.

[Youre a very rude person. Thats enough. Sit down. Trumps news conference turns hostile.]

After their exchange, Trump told Acosta: CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldnt be working for CNN.

Youre a very rude person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldnt treat people that way.

On Wednesday night, Sanders accused Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman and said it was on those grounds that Acostas press pass was being suspended.

President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration, Sanders said in a statement.

We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.

This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question.

Video of the exchange showed otherwise. On Twitter, Acosta responded to the press secretarys statement with, simply: This is a lie.

Source: NAN

(Reuters/NAN) Family and friends of slain Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, offered funeral prayers in Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Friday for the repose of the soul of the late journalist, killed by agents of his own government.

The case sparked global outcry and mired the kingdom in crisis.

Reuters correspondent, Huseyin Aldemir, reported that people attended the symbolic funeral prayer for Khashoggi at the courtyard of Fatih Mosque in Istanbul on Nov. 16.

Mourners raised their hands in prayer outside Fatih Mosque asimam recited Quranic verses under a tent set up to protect them against rain, and Khashoggis friends eulogized him.

What we heard yesterday from the Saudi public prosecutor is not the justice we were expecting or waiting for, but represents injustice itself, said Ayman Nour, a liberal Egyptian politician.

Yasin Aktay, adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Prince Mohammed to distance himself from the legal proceedings, saying there is no chance to have a court proceeding that is independent from the crown prince in Saudi Arabia.

Also, thousands of worshippers at Meccas Grand Mosque and the Prophets Mosque in Medina, Khashoggis hometown, joined in prayers for the deceased, though the imams did not mention his name.

For weeks, Khashoggis family urged Saudi and Turkish authorities to find his remains and hand them over for burial, but the Saudi prosecutor said their whereabouts were unknown.

Islamic tradition places immense importance on proper handling of the dead, mandating quick burial.

The revelation that the body was dismembered had thus been particularly disturbing.

The decision to hold prayer services in the absence of a body suggests that the family does not expect it to be recovered.

Source: NAN

By Chimezie Anaso

The Police Command in Anambra has announced the sealing of Anambra Assembly (ANHA) complex over the impeachment crisis rocking the House.

SP Haruna Mohammed, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Anambra disclosed this in a statement in Awka on Friday.

Mohammed said the application to seal off the complex was contained in an official letter to the Commissioner of Police.

The Anambra State Police Command wishes to inform the public that it has sealed off the Assembly Complex with effect from 6:00pm of Thursday 15th November, 2018 as a proactive measure to avert possible breakdown of law and order in the Assembly, he said.

The command implored members of the public to stay away from the complex until further notice.

It also solicited the co-operation of Anambra people in its commitment to provide adequate security in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there was strong police presence at the complex on Nov. 15 when the House resumed after the impeachment saga that rocked it on Nov. 13.

The house was divided between former Speaker Rita Mmaduagwu who was purportedly impeached and Mr Ikem Uzoezie who was installed as new speaker.

Source: NAN

Mortuary Staff Union in Ghana has advised members of the public to wait until their strike is over on Nov. 20, before dying.

Richard Kofi Jordan, General Secretary of the union gave the advice whileindicating that the unions planned strike action would go on as planned unless the government listens to their concerns, reports.

He said, Those who intend to die during that period should wait. When mortuary men are back to work they die; simple.

Mortuary workers in Ghanas public health facilities are protesting their poor working conditions and are therefore demanding improved terms of service.

According to the aggrieved morticians, they are exposed to several diseases given their close contact with corpses and chemicals used in preserving them but each time they raise concerns, the government turns a deaf ear.

The chemicals we use give us five different kinds of cancers, the government is aware of this situation.

We are also at risk of blindness but nobody is addressing our challenges, he added.

Source: NAN

By Hafsah Tilde

Project Pink Blue (PPB), an NGO, has called for more awareness about support and treatment of cancer in the country.

PPB made the call at a Music and Comedy Fundraising show themed Show Love to encourage donations for cancer patients nationwide.

The Executive Director of PPB, Mr Runcie Chidebe said the show was organised to entertain, create awareness and support people battling with cancer.

We want a very strategic way to get people to come and laugh and enjoy the music today to see how they could touch lives, he said.

Chidebe said the contributions made, would assist cancer patients in need of funds to ensure their treatment and overall wellbeing.

The show had in attendance, Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu, his wife Zainab Bagudu and other wives of governors, Mrs Amina Abubakar of Niger, Mrs Asia El Rufai of Kaduna and Mrs Betty Akeredolu of Ondo.

Governor Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi, praised the efforts of the Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, for her firm support to achieve better healthcare for women and children.

He said that this had empowered other non-governmental organisations to support the fight to eradicate cancer.

In the last two years, in a lot of states in Nigeria, almost all states, one seen effort at cancer awareness mobilisation, is that of Her Excellency, the Wife of the President.

Mrs Aisha Buhari with her Future Assured Programme, ably assisted by her husband President Muhammadu Buhari, has inspired all the wives of governors to do much more than they were doing before.

To re-mobilise and do things together with the government and in support of the government and in support of the populace that has not been done before.

I believe a lot of us are proud of what we have been seeing, Bagudu said.

Mrs Betty Akeredolu, Wife of Ondo State Governor and a breast cancer survivor, said that cancer was curable.

There is a misconception that people have on how cancer can be treated and the thinking that cancer is a spiritual attack; thus the need for awareness about cancer, she said.

Akeredolu said that people should be educated on the stages of cancer and how to detect it.

Similarly, Moji Makanjuola, a veteran journalist said she lost two people to cancer.

Therefore, creating awareness and supporting people with cancer is very crucial and humane. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Temitope Ponle

The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Moustapha Ciss Lo, says the parliament will support the G5 Sahel group to promote peace and security in the region.

Ciss Lo made the pledge at the opening of the Second Ordinary Session of the parliament on Thursday in Abuja.

Most of the countries are members of the ECOWAS as well so there is no competition and we cannot solve the security problem within ECOWAS if we do not solve the problem around the Sahel area.

Normally, we are supposed to have a resolution urging the Heads of State to support the G5 Sahel.

The G5 Sahel or G5S is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in West Africa.

The purpose of G5S is to strengthen the bond between economic development and security.

It was formed on Feb. 16, 2014, in Nouakchott and is made up of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger and is permanently seated in Mauritania.

The speaker said that most of the ECOWAS member states were part of the G5S and their contributions would complement the efforts of the group.

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Niger, Mr Yousouff Aya, urged members to support the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.

He added that the major challenges in the Sahel area were under the purview of parliamentarians.

The countries of the Sahel have fought vigorously by creating an intergovernmental framework of G5 Sahel.

For their part, the parliamentarians of these five countries have created an inter-parliamentary structure so as to follow the construction of this framework.

The objective of this is to make sure that they have good governance in the conduct of activities in terms of security and development.

The ECOWAS parliamentarians, on their part, should be spokespersons of this exigency for world peace.

On the issue of illegal migration, Aya called on members of the parliament to create conditions for citizens to migrate legitimately to encourage free movement of persons and good.

He also lauded the efforts the parliament in its fight against illegal migration

Mr Speaker, I want to hope that I can count on the involvement of your parliament so that we can create conditions for good migration that is free of mafia groups, that does not condemn our youth to death in the dessert or in the Mediterranean.

I hope that the members of ECOWAS parliament will actively involve themselves so that migration will be regulated by laws and other enactments.

I want you to commit ECOWAS so we can pull our efforts to organise more vigilant control at the borders more exposed in our community.

The Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament is to consider and adopt the 2019 Budget of the Community and also several work programmes.

The ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Brou will present the community report and members of the parliament will also present their various country reports at the session. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Atiku/Obi Presidential Movement, a group for the actualization of the Presidential ambition of Alh. Atiku Abubakar has promised to deliver 10 million votes for the former Vice President.

Amb. Niyi Omoyele, Director General of the movement disclosed this when he led National and state executives on a courtesy visit to the wife of the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The group which also vowed to resist all forms of rigging in the Presidential election, said that the movement had structures at the grassroots and across the 774 local government of Nigeria.

Omoyele said that the movement has been in existence since the return of democracy in 1999 and had campaigned for Obasanjo-Atiku, Yar,adua-Goodluck, Goodluck-Sambo and was now going to campaign for Atiku-Obi.

He said that any attempt to rig the 2019 election would be resisted by members of the group as the electoral law now provides for the instant announcement and transmission of the result from the polling unit and wards level in the presence of all stakeholders.

Members of the Atiku/Obi Presidential movement are optimistic that 2019 election is the divine time for Atikus Presidency because of the overwhelming acceptance of his candidacy across the country.

Nigerians are desirous of change, the type of change that only Atiku Abubakar can provide, he said.

He reiterated that the group is targeting to mobilise at least 10 million voters in synergy with other like minds toward the successful outing of Atiku/Obi at the poll.

A member of the national executive of the group Prince Joshua Idowu described Atiku as a good product that was easy to sell to the electorate.

The National women leader of the group Mrs Amaka Ofor also said that their women across the 774 local government in Nigeria have concluded arrangement to stage a one million solidarity walk for Atiku in Abuja.

Responding to the group, Atikus wife, Hajia Titi Abubakar thanked them for the visit and appreciated them for their continued support and solidarity to her husband.

She assured them that Atiku Abubakar was a man of integrity and that he would keep his promises to Nigerians and would never forget them when he emerged.

Other members of the group who also featured at the visit include: Gomez Okpala, Director for National Mobilisation and Mrs. Jumai Gowon, Director for Special Duties.

Source: NAN