The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Sunday alleged that conservatives within the party are ganging up to pass a vote of no-confidence in him.

In a long statement by his press secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, Oshiomhole said his sin was his refusal to allow continued impunity and circumvention of due process being perpetuated in some states.

He said he was not surprised by the gang up, as he never had the illusion that the process of reforming the party was going to be an easy on one.

The full statement:

The All Progressives Congress, APC, under the national chairmanship of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is in safe hands as the party marches, sure-footedly, to victory in the 2019 general election. This is the overarching mission of the national working committee, NWC, of the party under his leadership.

To be clear, Comrade Oshiomhole did not become national chairman of the governing party to bring it down a notch from the pedestal of its 2015 electoral victory let alone to preside over its liquidation.

Rather, his single-minded goal, from the outset of his declaration of interest in the position, was to deploy his capacity in helping to strengthen and reposition the party as a truly supreme and disciplined political entity.

Although, it might appear fortuitous to some persons that he became national chairman at the threshold of the 2019 general election; the truth is that there is no accident in predestination. We must appreciate the fact that it has pleased the Almighty God to place him in the saddle of APC leadership at this time for a purpose.

The purpose has begun to manifest in its vast flourish and ramifications: instilling discipline, ensuring party supremacy, promoting due process, dealing with impunity and executive arrogance wherever they manifest to undermine intra-party electoral processes in the states.

From the outset, we never expected that those who cherished and supported the status quo, which Comrade Oshiomhole supplanted, would cave in easily under the magnitude of the current political revival that he spearheads. Indeed, while the progressives are enamoured of change, the conservatives find it difficult to embrace it. That is the current reality in the deliberate effort to rebrand the APC.

Again, we were not, in the least, deluded that the process of rebranding or rewriting the narrative of the four-year old party would be easy. What we are witnessing in the APC today is Comrade Oshiomholes adroit management of the strains and pains that accompany the birth of a resuscitated governing party.

The leadership provided in the recently-held primary elections and the large-scale integrity of the processes are developments that should hence serve as exemplars in the administration of governing parties.

Indeed, the message therein is very clear that the party, and not pseudo political empires in the states, has the power to superintend the primary elections for the nomination of the partys candidates in the general election.

While the party will not surrender its functions, which are constitutionally circumscribed, to any other entities, it will always be ready to moderate the divergent tendencies and mediate the disparate political camps in the interest of party cohesion.

This is one of the hard-nosed truths that the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC preaches and practises with an apostolic zeal to the chagrin of some influential stakeholders in the states.

Comrade Oshiomhole envisions an APC that is capacitated to pragmatically build a corpus of leadership and membership that do not only submit to the high ideal of party supremacy, but also the credo of party discipline.

These-party supremacy and discipline- are two fundamentals that had been eroded even before the emergence of the Oshiomhole leadership. It is sad that while the national chairman is working round the clock, some stakeholders have thrown selfish political agendas into the mix to threaten the building of institutional capacity for the APC.

The suggestion in some quarters, especially by one of the presidential aspirants on the platform of the party, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, that the APC cannot win with Oshiomhole is therefore unfair, denigrating and baleful of Comrade Oshiomholes personal commitment to a rejuvenated winning machine that the APC typifies.

The totality of Unaghas claims, without necessarily addressing them one after the other, tallies with cooked-up narratives being sponsored by some influential stakeholders in their respective states that Comrade Oshiomhole is responsible for all the problems in the APC at the moment.

These influential stakeholders, according to grapevine, have begun to mobilise to pass a no-confidence vote in the leadership of Oshiomhole, having failed to impose their preferred candidates on the party in the nomination process.

Rather than resort to needless perfidy at the threshold of a general election, we call on them to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship, bolstered by the fact that the Oshiomhole leadership is propelled more by its interest in propriety in which victory for the party could be grounded.

The crime committed by Comrade Oshhiomholes leadership is its disdain for impunity and circumvention of due process perpetrated in some of the states at the pleasure of some influential stakeholders.

Overall, Comrade Oshiomhole has not, since stepping in the saddle, taken any unilateral decision in the running of the party affairs. All decisions, so far taken, passed through the mills of NWC deliberative sessions and enjoyed unanimous resolutions. The records are there. History will justify Comrade Oshiomhole and posterity will vindicate him.

Therefore, with eyes firmly fixed on the general election, especially the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the scheduled February 16 poll, Comrade Oshiomhole assures all stakeholders in the APC of his respect for them. He assures them of his readiness to work with them for the good of the party.

The comrade chairman also proposes a common front in the general election and believes that the APC, as a governing party, will do a commemorative post mortem next year to appraise and reappraise the political developments and decisions that presaged the election, which it would win emphatically.

Source: NAN

Former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Chief Onyemauche Nnamani has been expelled by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), over alleged misconduct.

Nnamanis expulsion was announced by the Chairman of the APC in Enugu, Dr Ben Nwoye, on Sunday.

According to Nwoye, Nnamani, who served as SSG during the reign of former governor Chimaraoke Nnamani, was expelled for dragging the party to court.

Nwoye noted that Nnamani went to court without first ventilating his grievances through internal mechanisms provided in the partys constitution.

The development contravened provisions of Article 21 of the APC constitution, which deals with discipline of members, Nwoye said.

Nnamani contested the position of APC national vice chairman, South-East, during the partys national convention.

The election was eventually won by the incumbent, Chief Emma Eneukwu.

Nwoye disclosed that a petition filed by Nnamani against the outcome of the election was dismissed by the national convention appeal committee.

The Enugu APC chairman added that Nnamani went ahead to drag the party and Eneukwu to court over the same matter.

Nnamani had in the suit claimed that Eneukwu did not obtain any waiver that would allow him to contest the position during the convention.

Source: NAN

By Shehu Danjuma

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) in Katsina State, on Monday confiscated about 100 cartons of expired beverage drink at a super market in Katsina metropolis.

The state director of NAFDAC, Mr John Agada, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Katsina.

NAFDAC received a complaint from a consumer that a particular super market was selling expired zero coke.

When we visited the super market, our officers found several cartons of Zero coke, which date of best use is June, 2018.

By implication, it means that all the cartons of the zero coke are harmful and dangerous to the consumers and the owner of the super market was still in business selling the expired coke.

NAFDAC officers immediately impounded the cartons of zero coke as the best day for drinking them had expired. he said.

Agada called on members of the public in the State to always look at the expiring date of any bottle of soft drink before consumption.

He warned owners and operators of super markets and provision stores to always check purchased items to avoid selling expired products to unsuspecting members of the public.

Anybody caught selling expired items will face the full wrath of the law, he said,

Source: NAN

The Federal Government has decided to continue paying the stipends of the N-Power 2016 Batch 1 beneficiaries beyond the expiry month of December 2018, the presidency said.

The statement issued by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President, on Monday in Abuja, said funding for the continued payments is contained in the 2018 budget.

However, Akande said that beyond the payments of stipends, the Federal Government is also exploring further options to seamlessly move the beneficiariesfrom the government job programme to positions where they were able to earn a sustainable income.

He said that the transition would be through a plan, designed to enable them become valuable, all-rounded employees, employers or entrepreneurs.

The plan is basically an extension of the exit date of December 2018 for the first batch of 200,000 to enable them continue to offer their valuable services in their various communities while still earning their stipends.

They are also to partake in the Enhancement Programme that would seamlessly transition them into numerous economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the economy.

The N-Power is a job employment and empowerment scheme for hitherto unemployed Nigerian graduates under the Buhari Administrations National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).

The scheme is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in Africa, comprising N-Power beneficiaries that are paid a monthly stipend of N30, 000 and are deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space, such as health, agriculture, education and public finance.

For the first time in Nigeria, the N-Power beneficiaries applied and were selected for the programme in an objective, efficient and transparent manner, without the need for connections to anyone of influence, he said.

He said that based on conservative projections, the N-Power scheme would provide jobs for at least 10 million Nigerians by 2023.

Akande said that since it commenced in 2016, the N-Power scheme, which had beneficiaries in all the LGAs of the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, had so far, provided jobs for half a million young Nigerian graduates nationwide.

He said that all the N-Power beneficiaries were given the opportunity to select and own electronic devices for continuous learning as they grew; depending on the selected vocations of entrepreneurship, and to boost the Knowledge Economy.

Source: NAN

Acclaimed Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has described United States First Lady, Melania Trump as racist.

Adichie made the statement in a recent interview with international magazine, Esquire UK where she talked about her stance on feminism, Melania Trumps visit to Africa and racism.

When asked if she thought Melania Trump was racist, she answered in the positive with reference to Melanias recent visit to Africa.

She said: Had you asked me this question yesterday, I would have said yes and my evidence would be that she supported her husband when he was being incredibly racist to Barack Obama.

But I just watched an interview that she gave and I was just appalled by it. She sort of stepped out of a colonial 1750 guidebook about how to be in Africa.

Theres a pith helmet and then I am thinking maybe this is supposed to be ironic? Maybe it is a critique of colonialism.

She really thought this is what you do when you go to Africa and it says something about someone who is so removed from reality, Adichie said.

Adichie went on to reference a jacket Melania wore to one of the US children immigration camps which read I really dont care: Do you? and caused a media frenzy.

She said, And I remember when the media made a lot of noise about that jacket. I remember actually kind of being on her side when all that noise was happening.

I thought she doesnt know, she couldnt possibly do this knowingly. She did, so the answer to your question is yes. I think she is racist, Adichie said.

When asked why she passionately fights for feminism and not racism despite being black, Adichie stated that she always finds the need to make a case for feminism.

She said, In my own personal space, the people I love, my family and friends all get race. So I have never with them had to make a case for why something was racist.

So I am with my circle of friends and something happens to do with blackness and immediately, we all get it.

But with gender, I find that with the people I love, I am constantly being expected to make the case the ways in which women are reduced.

And it gets emotionally exhausting because I dont feel that I have the kind of effortless support that I have when I talk about race, Adichie said.

Adichie, an award winning writer, has constantly used her voice and books to advocate for equal opportunities for men and women.

Adichie trended in April when she said she was upset that the Twitter bio of former US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, began with wife despite her numerous achievements.

NAN reports that Adichies feminism campaign has been a pivotal crux of her writing as her characters centre around powerful women who are usually dwarfed by the patriarchal system in their environments.

Her TedX talk We Should All Be Feminists was sampled on American singer Beyonces hit song Flawless and was also part of Beyonces performance routine at 2018 Coachella.

In 2017, Adichie released a small book titled Dear Ijeawele or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions.

Source: NAN

The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has disclosed that 23 people were killed and 17 injured in various parts of Kaduna metropolis during the violence that took place on Sunday.

With 55 people killed in Karuwan Magani on Friday, a total of 78 people died in the senseless violence.

The Executive Secretary, SEMA, Ben Kure, gave the latest death toll on Monday, during a tour of affected areas.

According to him, no society can progress without peace which is an essential ingredient of development and harmonious coexistence.

The executive secretary commiserated with the injured, while extending condolences to the families of the bereaved.

He said the state government was committed to providing security for all and ensuring conducive environment for all to live peacefully.

Kure thanked the State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, for his unflinching support to the agency.

After touring Kaduna metropolis, the SEMA boss also visited Kasuwan Magani, where 55 people were reportedly killed on Thursday, to present relief materials to the affected families.

Kure called on the people of the state to embrace peace and shun violence

Source: NAN

The 24-hour curfew slammed on Kaduna metropolis will be reviewed on Tuesday, in view of the return of normalcy, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said in a special broadcast today.

The governor said that the State Security Council would meet on Tuesday morning to review the security situation and possibly reduce the hours of the curfew.

In the broadcast, El-Rufai lauded the massive support of communities in ending the violent clashes that engulfed Kaduna, the state capital on Sunday.

He said the government remains committed to ensuring lasting peace across the state.

The support of communities has been reassuring, he said, adding that they must also reject those who incite violence and divide us.

The governor cautioned residents against spreading rumour and fake news which contributed largely to the violence.

The governor said security agents have been directed to escort travellers passing through Kaduna to the outskirts of the town so as not to impede their journey.

El-Rufai assured that the government would vigorously pursue the prosecution of all those apprehended in the course of the recent violence across the state, including the 65 being prosecuted over an earlier violence in Kasuwan Magani in February.

El-Rufai who commended security agents for their professionalism in containing the violence, however stressed that the ultimate guarantee to peace lies in the willingness of all to live in peace and resolve misunderstandings amicably.

Source: NAN

Journalists and civil servants, trapped by the imposition of an emergency 24-hour curfew by the Kaduna state government on Sunday, have recounted their ordeal.

Several of the journalists who were away from home when the curfew was declared Sunday afternoon, virtually putting the vibrant city in a lockdown, said they took refuge at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Mr John Fwah, Publisher of Newsontime, an online media platform, was among the journalists, who spent the night at the NUJ Secretariat. He said it was not an easy experience.

There was no water, no food, we have to share two loaves of bread among the five of us stranded there, we took it with Lipton tea in the night and this morning before some soldiers on patrol took us home at about 11 am.

I couldnt sleep until at about 5 am. Thank God we were able to communicate with our families to assure them that we were safe, Fwah said.

Fwah said he had just left the Polo Club, where a tournament was taking place, when he heard about the crisis in parts of the town and the declaration of a 24-hour curfew. He quickly sought refuge at the NUJ secretariat nearby.

On Monday, Fwah and his colleagues were taken to their various homes by security men.

I have just left the` NUJ IDP camp, it was an uneasy experience. I now know what it means to live in an IDP camp.

A senior reporter with Kaduna State Television, Mr Joseph Zango, said he had just closed from work at the station when the the 24-hour curfew was announced.

Amidst the confusion it was difficult for me to get home, so I headed to the NUJ secretariat, where I met seven other journalists including two ladies who were later evacuated by a relative nearby, leaving five of us.

We slept there until a team of soldiers evacuated us and took each of us home.

Another reporter, Stella Kabruk, said she had to abandon the coverage of the Polo tournament and head for home when people began running helter-skelter.

Unfortunately, when I inquired about the cause of the pandemonium I was told that there was crisis in Sabo area of the town and that is where I live.

I had to drive home through safer routes, and along the way I saw some vehicles burning, and I later learnt that some innocent people lost their lives.

Mr Idris Abdulrahman, the editor-in-chief of the News Agency of Nigeria, in Abuja had visited his family in Kaduna. He said his plans were completely upset by the curfew drama.

This has thrown me off balance because I planned to pass only one night in Kaduna but now Im forced to seek alternative arrangements to keep my family safe.

My visit was casual, to see my family after weeks of absence from them. This curfew has thrown up a big challenge to me and many others.

It has disrupted my official engagements in Abuja and caused me some unexpected expenses at home.

Abdulrahman said he attempted driving out of the town in the morning but was stopped by fierce-looking security men who would not listen to any explanation.

It was also a tale of woes for some Federal Government civil servants who planned to return to work in Abuja after the weekend. They found themselves stranded in Kaduna.

Mallam Abdullahi Mohammed, who works at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Abuja, told NAN that he was forced to remain indoors in Kaduna since police are patrolling our area.

This crisis and the attendant curfew have disrupted my plans. I wanted to get to Abuja by 9 a.m. but now I have to review my plans to accommodate buying enough foodstuffs for my family.

Security agents have virtually taken over strategic areas of the highways and areas mostly hit by the crisis.

Malam Ado Abdulmalik, a politician heading to Abuja, narrated his experience, saying those security men would not even listen if you have an emergency.

I could not even go to railway station, few metres from my house, to board it to Abuja because police are patrolling everywhere.

The curfew has crippled commercial and social activities, with hundreds of federal government workers, businessmen and women, politicians on transit to Abuja stranded due to the enforcement of the restriction on movement.

A cross section of residents who spoke with NAN expressed shock and frustration over the escalation of the crisis and sudden declaration of curfew.

Some of the residents who spoke in separate interviews with the NAN, lamented the shutdown of economic activities, adding that residents have inadequate food in their homes as they were not prepared for the curfew.

Martha Ayuba, a housewife said: There are no business activities going on as they cannot buy food Ingredients.

This is an unfortunate situation as preparation was not made for the curfew. I hope the curfew does not last for another 24 hours because all shops are closed and one cannot buy what he needs.

We prayed for calm and peace to be restored in the state because in situations like this, people need each other and not violence.

Mrs Jummai Bako, a businesswoman said the curfew has affected her because she earns her daily bread selling foodstuffs.

I cant go out to sell my foodstuffs in the shop because of the curfew.

I have fresh tomatoes and pepper in the shop that if I dont sell them, I will lose.

Also some civil servants lamented the imposition of curfew adding that most workers were yet to receive their salaries, so they were unprepared and had not done their monthly stockpiling of food stuff.

NAN reports the usual Monday market where most residents converge to buy foodstuffs was deserted.

The residents demanded the arrest of those behind the attacks that claimed many lives in Karuwan Magani, describing the imposition of the curfew as an unpleasant situation.

We will continue to plead with everyone especially our youths to conduct themselves within the provisions of the law, and to not to engage in acts that will disrupt the peace of the state,

Meanwhile, uneasy calm is being observed in many parts of the town as areas such as Sabo, Barnawa, Narayi, Malali, Central market area and Unguwar Muazu look desolate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that after the deadly fracas at Karuwan Magani, the spill-over crisis was ignited in Maraban Rido and Sabo, a densely populated area, prompting the imposition of the curfew by Gov. Nasir El-Rufai.

The Governors Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said the measure was to curb further breakdown of law and order.

Source: NAN

By Gabriel Agbeja

Artificial intelligence, (AI) is set to take root in Nigeria as the Federal Government and United Arab Emirates (UAE) partner to harness capabilities in the country.

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with the simulation of intelligent behaviour in computers or computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, while receiving the UAE Ambassador, Mr Obaid Mohamed on Monday in Abuja, said contributions from UAE would fast-track development of Artificial Intelligence.

The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems with the ability to reason and discover meaning, among others.

Contributions from UAE would help to fast-track development of Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria.

Onu said developing AI in the country would also enable Nigeria to take its rightful place in the comity of nation.

For his part, Mohamed said UAE had been producing AI for quite some time and would be happy to collaborate with the Federal Government to develop the technology in Nigeria.

He said that UAE would like to partner with the Federal Government on renewable energy to improve electricity supply in Nigeria. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Barcelona now face an anxious wait over the arm injury suffered by their talismanic player, Lionel Messi, especially as the Clasico against Real Madrid comes up next weekend.

Up till the 26th minute, when he was substituted, Messi was pivotal in the game against Sevilla at Camp Nou. He scored and then went off injured as Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday to move back to the top of La Liga.

In the 26th minute at the Camp Nou, he awkwardly fell on his right arm, his right arm, but not before the Argentinian had doubled Barcas lead with a curling left-footed finish.

Philippe Coutinho had opened the scoring and Luis Suarezs penalty, which he also earned, made sure of victory before a three-goal flurry in the final 11 minutes.

Pablo Sarabia and Luis Muriel twice reduced the deficit to two, either side of a sweeping volley from Ivan Rakitic.

Any joy at jumping above in-form Sevilla, however, was tarnished by the injury to Messi.

Before the clash against Madrid next Sunday, Inter Milan visit in the Champions League on Wednesday but Messis involvement there would seem unlikely.

He fell to the ground following a tussle with Sevillas Franco Vazquez and, as his right hand tried to cushion the landing, his elbow appeared to buckle.

Messi was helped off the pitch by medical staff and, despite having his right arm heavily strapped while Barca played for nine minutes with 10 men, he finally trudged off down the tunnel.

If the injury proves serious, the timing could hardly be worse, given Ernesto Valverdes team face a difficult run of fixtures over the next month.

After Inter and Real, whose poor form continued with a loss at home to Levante earlier on Saturday, Barcas schedule includes the return tie against Inter in Italy, as well as La Liga games against Real Betis and Atletico Madrid.

Even without Messi, they might be confident of seeing off Madrid, whose early-season dip has only deepened while Barcelona have sparked a rival.

Since drawing at home to Athletic Bilbao last month to make it three games without a win, they have blown Tottenham away at Wembley, taken a point away to Valencia and now eased past Sevilla, who came into the weekend top of the table.

Barca fans had chanted, dont touch the badge before kick-off after president Josep Maria Bartomeu had announced earlier on Saturday that plans to change the club crest had been shelved.

They were soon celebrating a goal too as Coutinho bent a sumptuous right-footed shot into the far corner with only two minutes on the clock.

Messi doubled the advantage, racing clear on the counter-attack before jinking inside and curling into the bottom corner with his left foot. It was his last significant contribution.

Ousmane Dembele was his replacement but Suarez took on the mantle, too quick to his own heavy touch and brought down by Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. Suarez buried the penalty.

The game seemed up but Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make a brilliant double save to deny Sarabia and then Wissam Ben Yedder with his thigh.

Sarabia gave Sevilla hope with 11 minutes left, his shot deflecting off Clement Lenglet and in, but Rakitic ensured there was to be no late drama with a well-timed volley. Muriel added what proved only to be a consolation in injury time.

AFP

Source: NAN