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July 1, 2020 by The Nation BREAKING: Suspend plan to recruit 774,000 Nigerians, NASS tells Buhari By Sanni Onogu, Abuja The Senate and the House of Representatives has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the implementation of the plan to recruit 774,000 Nigerians for Special Public Works across the country. The position of both chambers of the National Assembly followed a sharp disagreement between the National Assembly Joint Committee on Labour, Employee and Productivity and the Minister for State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo SAN over the modalities for appointing the 20-member Selection Committee for the programme. Keyamo who had appeared at an interactive session organized by the joint committee opposed a resolution of the Joint Committee to resolve into a closed door session. The Minister said he rejected the lawmakers decision to quiz him behind closed doors because of the need to ensure transparency and accountability. However, the Senate had on Wednesday held an executive session apparently to deliberate on the fiasco between the Minister and the lawmakers. The Nation learnt that during the closed session which lasted for about two hours, the lawmakers expressed shock at the behavour of Keyamo and his insurance that the National Assembly cannot direct him on what to do concerning the recruitment. The Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru and his House of Representatives counterpart, Hon. Benjamin Kalu in a statement insisted that the implementation of the programme must be put on hold until its modalities are explained to the National Assembly.

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-suspend-plan-to-

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December 7, 2022 by Toba Adedeji, Osogbo Aregbesola’s group dissolves TOP, seeks return to APC Loyalists of former Osun State governor and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on the platform of The Osun Progressives (TOP), in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, have dissolved the group to align with the main party structure. The faction had since 2021 opposed former governor Adegboyega Oyetola and chairman of the party in the state, Gboyega Famodun, alleging mismanagement of the party. Aregbesola’s loyalists led by the former speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Najeem Salam, addressing reporters yesterday, said the faction was dissolved to strengthen the unity of the party. He expressed displeasure and disappointment about the loss of the governorship election on July 16, describing it as painful and a mere distraction. Salam said: “We are gathered here today, given the trajectory of our party and the electoral misfortune we suffered in the governorship election of July 16, 2022, leading to our painful loss, to espouse our resolve and the way forward. “We are here to inform the generality of our members and admirers that the progressive party that promotes their interest, protects their values and guarantees their rights is alive and ready to champion their cause once again. Our party has a tradition of progressivism dating back to Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group in the First Republic. “We are conscious of the huge responsibility of history and the support of our sincere and committed progressive leaders and members in Osun State. We declare cessation of hostilities and invite genuine progressives to an all-inclusive meeting for the rebuilding of our party within the next one week. “We therefore extend our hand of fellowship to everyone who is a progressive at heart and loves good governance, in our party, in the other parties and those who were hitherto not aligned to any party. “This is a call for unity of purpose in our party and beyond. It is a call for burying the hatchet and working for the greater good and service to humanity through progressive governance. “I am here to announce the dissolution of factional tendencies of all shades in the party, including The Osun Progressives (TOP), with the sole objective of harmonising all core Omoluabi progressives on a rebuilding mission that will bring us back to the leadership of our state and people.” Leaders at the meeting included former chairman of APC, Adelowo Adebiyi; ex- Information commissioner, Lani Baderinwa; former SA, Taxation, Gbenga Akano; ex-lawmaker representing Olorunda, Wasiu Adebayo; former chairman, Ilesha West, Azeez Adesiji, among others.

https://thenationonlineng.net/aregbesolas-group-dissolves-top-seeks-

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved the production of Chloroquine for clinical trials in tackling COVID-19. Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made the announcement on Friday at the NAFDAC headquarters in Lagos. She, however, pointed out that NAFDAC is not approving Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 but for clinical trials to find treatment for the virus. “In the case of Chloroquine, it has been demonstrated in the literature and with clinical research which is still ongoing, that Chloroquine is superior to the Placebo. “NAFDAC is not approving Chloroquine as a product that has can be used for Coronavirus because there is no submission to us for registration but because it is under clinical trials, NAFDAC approves medicines meant for clinical trials. “Therefore the medicine is being approved just for the clinical trials,” Adeyeye said. She, therefore, called on experts and researchers that are interested in doing a clinical trial on Chloroquine to approach approved outlets, adding that a drug company has been given an approval to produce chloroquine in batches “Right now, we have asked one company to make a batch of Chloroquine for the purpose of clinical trial,” Adeyeye added. The NAFDAC DG also urged Nigerians not to use Chloroquine as anti-malaria. “Nobody should use chloroquine as anti-malaria because of the resistance that has been proven to develop in the past after the use of chloroquine in the population.”

https://www.channelstv.com/2020/03/20/breaking-coronavirus-nafdac-

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May 15, 2021 by The Nation Third party will emerge if Tinubu is denied 2023 Presidential ticket – Oyo Lawmaker By Segun Showunmi, Ibadan Former member of House of Representative, Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi over the weekend said that there will be emergence of third party if the rulling All Progressive Congress (APC) deny former Lagos Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu its President ticket come 2023. The former lawmaker stated that another political party may come on board in favor of Tinubu to tackle Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and APC so as to make the dream of the APC National leader in becoming Nigerian next President a reality. Speaking on a live radio program on Saturday in Ibadan, Hon. Fijabi, who represented Ibadan Northwest/Southwest under APC at the 7th and 8th assembly while feeding question on Tinubu’s Presidential ambitions stated that anything can happen in 2023 because Nigerians are unpredictable. READ ALSO: Tinubu: Cutting Reuben Abati’s Gordian knot He said, “our people are unpredictable, there might be emergence of third party to counter the two existing ones (PDP and APC) if Asiwaju Tinubu is denied presidential ticket by APC in 2023.” Fijabi however said that APC will come back stronger in 2023 in the State because reconciliation is currently on going within the party to bring back all the aggrieved party members into one fold.

https://thenationonlineng.net/third-party-will-emerge-if-tinubu-is-

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Twenty people have been confirmed dead with seven others rescued after a boat carrying passengers capsized in Bagwai River in Bagwai Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State. According to an eyewitness, the accident happened on Tuesday evening. Authorities of the Kano State Police Command confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Wednesday. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abdullahi Haruna, said a rescue mission was underway, adding that the number of people involved in the accident cannot be ascertained yet. “20 bodies have been recovered, and we were able to rescue seven,” he said. “The boat was overloaded with passengers numbering 40 to 50 passengers. “We are doing our best to rescue other passengers or recover their bodies.” The helmsman of the canoe and two other male passengers were among those rescued by fire servicemen and local fishermen close to the river bank. Channels Television gathered that the canoe was carrying Islamiyah schoolchildren and other passengers from Badau village to Bagwai LGA where they were expected to board a vehicle to Tofa LGA for the Maulud celebration. “The body of a woman and her baby have been found, and multiple Islamiyah students. The driver and six other passengers have also been taken to hospital,” an eyewitness said. “We have counted over 40 pairs of shoes. Right now police have arrived and fire servicemen and also local fishermen are on a rescue mission. We need assistance from anyone who can bring torchlight or can participate in the rescue effort.” See photos from the scene of the incident below:

https://www.channelstv.com/2021/12/01/20-dead-as-boat-carrying-

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24th June, 2019 Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe says winner of Season 4 will win a total of N60m in prizes at the end of the show scheduled to begin on June 30. The breakdown of the prizes includes: a N30m cash prize; a top of the range SUV from Nigerian automaker, Innoson Motors; a trip to Dubai for two packaged by TravelBeta; a home make-over courtesy Scanfrost; a year’s supply of Pepsi and One Africa Fest VVIP experience; a year’s supply of Indomie noodles & Munch it; and a brand new Oppo mobile smartphone. There’s also a bonus prize of two VIP Tickets to watch a European Football final game LIVE, courtesy BET9ja. “Each edition of Big Brother Naija significantly improves on all aspects of the previous season and this year is no different. The winner of season four will walk away from the house with a N30m cash prize and a top of the range SUV amongst many other exciting prizes. The Big Brother Naija winner will also emerge as the most popular and marketable personality on the continent, as the show is known to launch prominent careers in arts, entertainment and other supporting industries,” Ugbe revealed. This season’s grand prize is an increase from the previous edition, which saw Miracle Ikechukwu Igbokwe walking away with N45m worth of prizes. Another major development for this year’s edition of Big Brother Naija is the return of the House to Nigeria. While the location of the house has not been revealed, fans of the show have nonetheless been excited since the announcement was made earlier this year. Season 4 of Big Brother Naija returns to DStv and GOtv screens on Sunday, June 30 at 7pm WAT. The 24-hour show will be live on DStv channel 198 and GOtv 29 and available on all DStv packages and GOtv Max and Plus packages.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/06/24/winner-of-big-brother-

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April 19, 2019 by The Nation Lagos begins fixing potholes on 87 major roads The Lagos State Government has begun immediate repairs of potholes across the state, with over 87 major roads enlisted for intervention. Special Adviser, Lagos State Public Works Corporation and Drainage, Engr. Temidayo Erinle, in a statement on Friday, said the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode had directed that the Corporation should commence immediate rehabilitation of critical roads across the State. He said the roads mapped out for repair were presently in terrible state, and that the situation was impeding free flow of traffic in those areas with its attendant consequences. “We have received quite a number of complaints from residents and motorists on the State of the roads and how it was directly affecting travel time which in turn has negative effects on the ease of doing business in the State. “The Governor has therefore directed the Public Works Corporation to move immediately and commence repair on those roads to ameliorate the traffic that residents have been going through as a result of the State of the roads,” he said. Read Also: Lagos assures residents of safety Erinle, however, appealed to residents and motorists to bear with the State Government, urging them to drive carefully while the roads are being fixed. He assured that in the next few weeks, all the potholes would disappear on Lagos roads. Some of the roads captured for immediate repair include Ikotun-Egbe, Ijegun Roads, Alimosho and Dopemu Roads, Aka-Kemberi Road, Amuwo Odofin, Marina Beach Road, Apapa, Olaniyi Road in Ifako Ijaiye, Acme-Oba Akran Road and Ikeja. Other roads also listed include Ijede Road, Sabo market Road in Ikorodu, Costain Road by Brewery, Glover Road, Herbert Macaulay Road in Mainland Local Government, Itire-Ogunlana drive intersection, Itire-Lawanson, Babs Animashaun Road in Surulere, Alakija/WAEC Road, Somolu, Obalende Road, Eti-Osa, among others.

https://thenationonlineng.net/lagos-begins-fixing-potholes-on-87-major-

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8th November, 2021 By Sumaila Ogbaje The various security threats in Nigeria have adversely affected food security, triggering high costs of food, Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi, said. This, he said, poses new dimension of threats to the country. Magashi spoke at the opening of a retreat for Defence Advisers/Attaches Conference, organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Monday in Abuja. The conference/retreat was themed, ‘’Advancing Counterterrorism Efforts through Enhanced Inter-Agency Cooperation: A Whole of Government Approach.” He said the attacks by Boko Haram Terrorists and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the North East as well as banditry and herder/militia in the North West and Central had continued to pose serious security threats to Nigeria. According to him, the littoral states in the South-South region are plagued with illegal oil bunkering, piracy and militancy while the South-East is challenged with secessionist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He added that the South-West region is equally plagued by occasional tension between herders and farmers and secessionist agitation. “The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures. “Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security. “In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of food stuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat. “This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle these menaces in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract Foreign Direct Investment. “It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation,” he said. Magashi said that the Defence Advisers/Attachés system had crucial roles to play by forging understanding and cooperation with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries of accreditation. He said the conference would provide participants the opportunity to appraise the shared vision of stemming the tide of insecurity through the integrated efforts of all government entities, the objectives of the government approach. The minister said the recent achievement of the military and security agencies who took the fight from all angles to the door steps of the adversaries leading to the surrender of over 14,000 terrorists, is reassuring. The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, said the defence Attachés/Advisers were considered as critical stakeholders in surmounting the myriad of security challenges facing Nigeria. Monguno, represented by his Principal General Staff Officer, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Ndalolo, said that Nigeria had been adopting both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in dealing with security challenges, adding that both approaches had been yielding results. He said that the government also laid emphasis on the integrated approach, which recognised the roles of ministries, departments and agencies as well as the entire society in “tackling our security challenges.” According to him, this involves participation of critical stakeholders from different sectors of the society, such as religious actors, youths, teachers, women, civil society, media, law enforcement as well as the security and intelligence agencies. The Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj.-Gen. Samuel Adebayo, said the conference is an annual event which affords DIA a medium to assiduously review the activities of all its defence sections. Adebayo said the conference was also an avenue to identify new lessons and challenges, discuss modalities for overcoming such challenges as well as restrategise for the future. According to him, this conference comes at a time when the nation is facing unusual daunting security challenges characterised by a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. “That is why the theme for this year’s Conference, “Advancing Counterterrorism Efforts through Enhanced Inter Agency Cooperation: A Whole of Government Approach”, was carefully chosen. “This theme will undoubtedly guide our deliberations and contributions to the current efforts of the Federal Government towards attaining an approach in our counter terrorism strategy and create an atmosphere for sustainable national security and development. “It is therefore in this regard that I urge the participants in this conference to address the issues squarely and deliberate with open minds to ensure that the objectives of the conference are achieved,” he said. The CDI noted that the Nigerian armed forces had made tremendous progress in confronting the nation’s security challenges as evident from the massive surrendering of terrorists in the North East and intensified operations against bandits in the North West and North Central regions. He said the fluid nature of the threats posed by the enemies had reinforced the need for collaborative efforts, be it government to government, within the security Services and even through foreign diplomats and Defence Attachés System (DAS). According to him, the need for a continuous reappraisal of our strategies, operational tactics and methods of intelligence gathering and sharing in order to efficiently deal with our security challenges, is therefore paramount. He said the forum would provide the opportunity to tap from the vast experiences of the participants. The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, at the event urged attachés to use their position to support the fight against drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria. Marwa said there is a strong connection between drug and insecurity, saying that taking drugs out of the hands of peddlers would reduce the effects on security. He said the recent seizure made by the agency revealed that large quantities of drugs used by criminals are finding their ways into the country.

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2021/11/08/rising-food-prices-

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90-yr-old virgin, Miss Agnes Akpan Udofia with some of the children she groomed at the church service. By Emmanuel Ayungbe IKOT UDOBIA—A 90-year-old woman in Akwa-Ibom State, Agnes Akpan, has revealed that she has never had sex with any man in her life, not even in the dream world. The woman reputed to have raised over 50 children at Ikot Udobia community, Etinan Local government area, Akwa Ibom State, was recently honoured by the people for her enviable life and devotion to humanity. Saint Pius Catholic Church, Ikot Udobia, venue of the thanksgiving service was full to capacity and the town agog, as community members assembled to make merry with the nonagenarian, who lived her life nursing children she did not give birth to. Sex life: The celebrant told NDV in an interview: “I have never known anything like man in my entire life, not to talk of a husband. I have never been married, no relationship with any man, no boyfriend even when I was young. I have never slept with any man as far as my memory can carry me, not even in my dream state. “I was born partially blind, no man saw anything good in me, so I grew up without the feeling of a man. When I was much younger, reverend sisters staying at the Convent School at Ikot Udo Ntuen made me to embrace Christianity. Every Sunday, they came to our house to pick me and brought me back in the evening. Those were the kind of friends that I had. No immoral discussion, it was all about Holy Mary and the child of God, Jesus. Regrets: “No, no regret. In the first place, I do not know what to regret about, my belief is that I was created by God to live and die without a husband, child and anything I can call my own. I see things in and around me as normal. I never hated men neither did the men hate me, but we never met. “I lived my life the way you see me. No feeling for a man. I do not see it as either normal or abnormal. Maybe I will get better answers from God when I eventually transit to meet my Creator. But I know I was created by God not to get a man in my life in the name of husband or children. I do not know the meaning of men frustration and broken home. I do not have any of painful past.” Passion for children: On her interest in raising children, she asserted: “I enjoy taking care of little children between the age four to 10 years. Mothers who have children will drop them with me when they are going to farm, market or to fetch water. I will take care of them until they return to take their children. I feed them and keep them happy as long as they stay with me. Feeding: “I do not have a farm nor do any business, but their parents drop the children with the food that will carry them until they come back from wherever they have gone to. The only things I do apart from taking care of children is cracking palm kneels for my late parents and keeping the compound clean.” My joy: Happy with the turnout at the event to celebrate her, she said: “Look at the crowd that is here to celebrate me in the church, they are all the children I have touched their lives when they were babies. Some of them are outside the village and could not come for one reason or the other, but they contributed in making my today memorable. “I really feel fulfilled as I see the children that I took care as big people, some own cars, houses and are doing well in their various engagements. I see all of them as my children. I always feel happy whenever I see children.” She touched our lives— Udoh One of the guests, a successful business man, Mr. Fabian Udoh, raised by the nonagenarian, said: “I am here to honour the woman, an exceptional gift to this community. She has touched the lives of over 50 children. I have known her not to have any relationship with any man. If she was raped when she was a teenager, only God knows. “We are proposing a foundation to immortalize her; we all came home today to celebrate her now that she is alive. It will make no meaning celebrating her after death. She gave most of us life and we must celebrate her while she is alive.” Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/06/90-im-

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June 29, 2021 by The Nation PSC adds South Africa to list of ‘countries of concern’ By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja The Federal Government has included South Africa to the list of countries being observed as countries of concern over the prevalence of more virulent strains of the COVID-19 within their domains. The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, which stated this yesterday during its media briefing in Abuja, also announced the extension of the restrictions placed on international passengers arriving from the said countries of concern by another four weeks. Chairman of the PSC and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, who made the announcements at the briefing, also said Nigeria had decided to place some other African countries noticed to be struggling under the weight of high COVID-19 infections under watch. The PSC also indicated that a list of 176 defaulters, including Nigerians and Indians, who had breached the restriction protocol for passengers arriving Nigeria from the initial three countries of concern, had been submitted to the Nigeria Immigration Service for appropriate sanctions. Nigeria introduced a couple of restrictive measures for passengers flying into Nigeria from India, Turkey and Brazil, citing the prevalence of highly virulent strains of COVID-19 in the countries. “A few weeks ago, we announced additional measures to be met by passengers arriving from Brazil, Turkey and India. This action was due to the prevalence of variants of concern and the dangers associated with importation of such virulent strain. “The PSC has been reviewing these restrictions and is of the opinion that they should remain for another four (4) weeks before it is further reviewed. South Africa, has however, been added to this category once more.” “In addition to these three countries, the PSC has also shifted its focus on some African countries. South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia and Uganda fall in this category. “South Africa for example, recorded over 100, 000 cases in the last one week while 20,000 were recorded in the last 24 hours. The four major variants of concern are now classified as Alpha (UK), Beta (SA); Gamma (Brazil) and Delta (India). “The Delta variant, which has wrecked devastating havoc, is not yet found in Nigeria hence the need to tighten our borders and be more vigilant. The WHO Country Representative and the DG NCDC will elaborate on this and the measures for mitigating a potential third wave”, Mustapha said. Speaking on the controversy on the Emirate Flight crisis, the SGF said that the PSC has updated its position on the issue of Emirates flights in and out of Nigeria. According to him, the relevant ministries continued to review developments and concluded that any decision to fly the Nigerian route by an airline is a business decision. He said: “In all circumstances, however, conditions placed on such flights must conform to international civil aviation standards and must not be discriminatory and must respect our sovereignty”. He also noted that the work from home directive to all civil servants from Grade-Level 12 downwards remained in force. Meanwhile, the PSC has announced an increased surveillance at all ports of entries into the country to prevent the importation of any of the variants of the virus into the country, which could spark the spread of a third wave in the country. The National Incident Manager (NIM) of the PSC, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad, who stated this during the briefing, itemised a couple of precautions being taken by the committee to prevent an outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Mukhtar went on to inform that the PSC had compiled a list of 176 defaulters of the restriction placed on travellers arriving Nigeria from India, Brazil and Turkey, had been compiled and submitted for appropriate sanctions.

https://thenationonlineng.net/psc-

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By John Egbokhan Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Lars Lagerback, has told the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) that the 2010 World Cup semi-final mandate given to him was not realistic, within the short time frame that he has to work with the national team. The 62-year-old Swede-born coach, who signed a five-month contract with the NFF that started running on March 1 after former handler, Shaibu Amodu, was demoted to the Home Eagles, on account of the poor showing at the 27th African Cup of Nations in Angola in January, was given the herculean mandate to tinker the team to a last four finish in South Africa, if he is to stand any chance of earning a long-term deal at the expiration of his current deal. But after weighing the chances of his team against other oppositions at the Mundial, Lagerback, who is currently in Durban, to inspect Eagles camp site alongside other bigwigs of the NFA and the Sports Minister, Ibrahim Isa Bio, has now said the mandate is not achievable. Speaking on the coach’s U-turn, Sani Lulu’s Personal Assistant, Tunde Aderebigbe, said in Abuja that after examining the opposition expected in South Africa and the time Nigeria has to prepare for the event, the coach noted that the Super Eagles would do well at the World Cup but did not guarantee a semi-final ticket as requested by the federation. Aderibigbe noted that the federation was desirous of a good Eagles outing at the tourney to celebrate Nigeria’s 50 years, stressing that the federation would do everything possible to ensure the Eagles did not fail. When he got the job he said it was possible to take Nigeria to the last four. The coach said reaching the semi-final of the tournament in South Africa was going to be a tall order in view of many factors on ground but promised that the Eagles would do well at the World Cupâ€, said Lulu’s Personal assistant. In a related development, assistant coach Augustine Eguavoen has promised to give equal opportunity to the 44 players invited for camping. Eguavoen also disclosed that Lagerback would have the final say in picking the final list of 23 players. Speaking on Brila FM, the former Eagles coach said “We will also expect the invited players to have a sense of understanding, especially with the final list (when out) because all of them will not be at the World Cup at the same time.†Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/27/semi-final-target-no-longer-

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May 19, 2021 by The Nation Minimum wage: Sanwo-Olu increases pension by 33% By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved an increase of 33 per cent adjustments in the pensions of retirees under the Defined Pension Scheme (DBS) arising from the implementation of the New Minimum Wage Act. The governor has also announced plans to repeal the former governors’ pension law while presenting the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the state House of Assembly last November. The Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mr. Babalola Obilana made this known in an interview with The Nation. Obilana said the governor said the aim of repealing the law was to free the state government of the legal obligations and reduce the cost of governance. The LASPEC DG further said the government is committed to the speedy resolution of pension issues. He maintained that Lagos is the only state in Nigeria with up-to-date pension contributions remitted to the Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) of pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). He said LASPEC has been paying a minimum of N1 billion monthly as Accrued Pension Rights to RSAs of pensioners. He said: “Since the inauguration of his administration, a total number of 7,308 retirees had their Accrued Pension Rights of N29.1 billion credited into their RSAs between May 2019 and last month. “The status of implementation of states’ report collated by the National Pension Commission affirmed that Lagos State is the only state with a valid Group Life Insurance Policy for its employees.This is the evidence of the state government’s dedication to the financial security of its workers, post service and beyond. “Let me also add that Lagos State Government has been consistent in her leadership role in the implementation of the CPS in line with the provisions of the Lagos State Pension Reform Law of March 19, 2007 now amended on February 22, 2019.” Obilana noted that LASPEC has been the trail blazer on pension matters in the country, having won awards as the most compliant state in the dispensation on several occasions. “The payment of accrued rights to retirees of the state is carried out systematically and scheduled by year of exit. The retirees are, therefore, not under any coercion to offer kickbacks to staff of the Commission to ensure payment. “A testament to the governor’s commitment to the welfare of pensioners is the recent honour bestowed him by the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (N.U.P) who presented the distinguished award of “Excellence and Greater Commitment to Pensioners’ Welfare” to the representatives of the Lagos State Government at its 11th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference in Abuja,” he added.

https://thenationonlineng.net/minimum-wage-sanwo-olu-increases-pension-

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16th February, 2021 The government of the State of Osun, said on Monday, that it will spend N 2.7 billion net of all taxes on the construction of the flyover at Olaiya Intersection. It has also announced that the Public Procurement Agency has issued approval of “No-Objection/Due Process Certification” for the award of the contract for the construction of the flyover. The disclosure, which was sequel to a memorandum by the Ministry of Works and Transport to the State Executive Council was made on Monday by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, after the week’s edition of the State Executive Council Meeting. The total sum, presented as Three Billion, One Hundred and Eight Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Nine Naira, Seventy-Six Kobo (N 3,108,379,829.76), comprises the net sum of N 2,688,748,552.74 and a 13.5 percent statutory deductions which include the percentage withholding tax, 7.5 percent Value-Added Tax and 1 percent stamp duty deduction. The government of the State of Osun had announced its decision to construct a flyover at the Olaiya Intersection, Osogbo, to both address recurring accidents and decongest traffic at the Intersection. It would also be recalled that the government announced that the Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA) would be adopted for the funding of the project.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2021/02/16/osun-releases-cost-of-olaiya-

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President Muhammadu Buhari has downplayed claims that he has a favoured candidate for the 2023 elections, saying he will hand over to whoever Nigerians elect. The President made the remark on Monday while answering questions from journalists after observing the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at the Mambilla Barracks parade ground in Abuja. According to Buhari, he has no special candidate to replace him next year. He, instead, said the one who would succeed him is “the person that Nigerians elect”. The Nigerian leader equally urged security agencies to redouble efforts in the fight against insecurity. “We’ll continue to make the environment secure, especially when the rainy season is coming so that farmers can go back to their farms and we wouldn’t have problems of food security,” Buhari said. “Heads of the services — army, navy, air force, the inspector-general of police, and so on — are very much aware of the situation. It’s their duty to know where the terrorists are and eliminate them.” ‘Victory Is Within Sight’ On Sunday, Buhari had in his Sallah message, reiterated his administration’s resolve to end insecurity. While the battle has been hard and long, he is optimistic that victory is closer than expected. “After a period of fasting and reflection, this year, we have cause to welcome the occasion in hope. The battle waged against terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching its conclusion,’’ the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his aide, Garba Shehu. “The fight has been long and hard. The final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers are now fading. “Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered to enter rehabilitation programmes. “The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity. Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are, together, now embarking upon.”

https://www.channelstv.com/2022/05/02/2023-presidency-ill-hand-over-to-

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By Haruna Aliyu, Birnin Kebbi Thousands of the ruling All progressives congress, APC, members on Thursday dumped party to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gulma town under Argungu local government area of Kebbi State. The mamoth defectors were led by Alhaji Mansur Adamu Gulma yargyra a former reps hopeful under the ruling All progressives congress, APC in Kebbi state, Mansur who spoke on behalf of the defectors said that, he left the ruling APC due to injustice done to many members of the party by some selfish persons who does not have the love and interest of the party at heart. He added that, the APC used the power at their disposal to muzzle weak members by disenfranchising them through open abuse of power “its a shame there is nothing to show and nothing to tell people of Kebbi state during campaigns” he said. He noted that, as a result of Senator Yayha’s defection to PDP over twenty thousand women traders in Argungu and Gulma have left the ruling party for the opposition peoples democratic party which include women leader of Gulma and her massive supporters. Receiving the defectors in Gulma, the former Senate leader, Senator Dr Yahya Abdullahi expressed joy over their defection saying their coming into the PDP fold means they are comfortable with leadership exhibited while in the ruling APC which speak for itself, he said that party belongs to everyone but since some have flexed muscles to silence others because at the moment they hold the four aces “as free Nigerians we moved to another party to continue to serve our people because that is our calling, we will strive to strengthen our democracy by peacefully effecting meaningful change through the ballot box, so i urge you all to get your PVCs as it’s the weapon needed to enshrine sustainable democracy and bring in good leaders he said. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/07/gale-of-

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January 1, 2024 by Wale Akinola, Assistant Online Editor BREAKING: Tinubu addresses Nigerians, says 2024 will be prosperous President Bola Tinubu is currently addressing Nigerians on his mandate to make the nation a prosperous and economically viable one. The president said: “It gives me immense joy to welcome each and everyone of you – young and old- to this brand new year 2024. We must lift up our hands to Almighty God, in gratitude, for his grace and benevolence to our country and our lives in the year 2023 that has just gone by. “Though the past year was a very challenging one, it was eventful in so many ways. For our country, it was a transition year that saw a peaceful, orderly, and successful transfer of power from one administration to another, marking yet another remarkable step in our 24 years of unbroken democracy. “It was a year, you the gracious people of this blessed nation, entrusted your faith in me with a clear mandate to make our country better, to revamp our economy, restore security within our borders, revitalise our floundering industrial sector, boost agricultural production, increase national productivity and set our country on an irreversible path towards national greatness that we and future generations will forever be proud of. “The task of building a better nation and making sure we have a Nigeria society that cares for all her citizens is the reason I ran to become your President. It was the core of my Renewed Hope campaign message on the basis of which you voted me as President.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-tinubu-

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President Muhammadu Buhari By Emmanuel Elebeke The Federal government may have ignited a social media war it may not be able to to prosecute or win, with the suspension of Twitter for deleting President Buhari’s twit for what Twitter considered as offensive. Shortly after announcing Twitter operation in Nigeria, Facebook joined Twitter in banning President Buharo’s civil war controversial message on its platform, saying that it violates its standards and capable if inciting violence. With this action, President Buhari’s entire message had been removed from facebook following the ban on Twitter on Friday by the federal government. ” In line with our global policies, we have removed a post from Presidenr Buhari’s facebook page for violating our community standards against inciting violence. “We remove any content from individual or organisation that violates our policies on facebook,” facebook said. Recall that President Buhari had made a post against the South East region of Nigeria via his official Facebook page early in the week when INEC management led by its chairman, submitted a report on attacks on its facilities across the country. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/breaking-buhari-suffers-another-

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BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin City Apostle Johnson Suleman is the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministry, one of the leading new generation churches in the country today. The church located along the Auchi-Abuja road in Auchi, Edo state is another Mecca in Nigeria as people from all over the world throng the giant edifice to see him. As a result, it was not easy for Saturday Vanguard to track down the man of God for this interview due to his very busy schedule. However, with sincere apologies, Apostle Suleman finally spoke to Saturday Vanguard at the Benin Airport, and as expected, he gave his 2013 predictions, saying that it will be disastrous for the nation if President Goodluck Jonathan decides to run for the 2015 Presidential election. Pastor Suleman who had in the past predicted the death of President Yar’Adua, disclosed that only eight governors will finish their tenure unless urgent prayers are made to save the situation. He spoke on his life and his views on the seeming trend by top Pastors in the country purchasing private jets. Excerpts: How I received Christ 1992, December 24, I slept and I woke up December 26. I did not see the Christmas Day, I slept all through the Christmas Day. And when I woke up, I was actually wishing people happy Christmas but they were looking at me, telling me it was actually a Boxing Day. I was taken aback because I felt I saw the Christmas Eve and how come I did not see the Christmas Day. I started remembering dreams I had of heaven and hell and of God calling me to become a preacher. Prior to that time, two years before that encounter, I was already a Christian in 1990 but I was scared to be a Pastor because of the so much stigma associated with Pastoring at that time. So for the call , I did not see December 25 1992 and that was the encounter that I had of God giving me a warning that I had no other choice than to do his work. That was the major encounter I had that made me become what I am today. Life as a cultist in school It was a normal one though I was doing some secret evil that my parents did not know. My father was surprised when he heard that I started smoking when I was in primary school. My parents were strict. My mum is a retired police officer while my Dad is a retired politician. They were very strict. But I found out that sometimes when you are too strict on children, they device means to break laws. That was what happened in my case. It was just the normal juvenile delinquency of the Nigeria youth. I was not living a good life before I became born again. I was a cultist in the higher institution. I was actually leading a sect in school then. The only thing I never did was to kill or rob. I am saying this publicly so that people who are cultists will know that there is nothing there. I did every other thing that a young man will do but I never partied. I was always a shy person, and that is why I am even surprise that I am a Pastor today because I am always shy in the crowd. I have never gone to any party in my life. I love doing my things quietly and forget it. I started my higher education at the Auchi Polytechnic and did my PHD in UNIBEN. I actually studied Mass Communication in Auchi. When I was in school, I was academically sound despite my bad boy attitude. I had a lot of women around me because they know I was very intelligent in school. I was SUG President, then class Rep.I have always excelled in my academics because that was one thing my parents were able to imbibe in me. Finding a wife My wife was my enemy. She was some body I never liked, she was too quiet but I felt she was a pretender. To make matters worst, she was my neighbour in our street. She was so quiet and reserved and I did not like that. I felt she couldn’t be that pretty and say she didn’t have relationships with men. I never liked her honestly. But some how, one thing led to another and today we are married with four kids. Secret behind the success of my Ministry I measure success with how many lives I have affected. I will say I am successful when I have affected the last person on earth. Presently, we have been able to move on and carry on just by the grace of God. God gave me the right team. I have loyal pastors who are educated.All my senior Pastors are graduates and it has helped us to bring their secular knowledge to play. It has been wonderful and we thank God. Why all my predictions have come true Well, I know I always wait upon the Lord, like every year I go on 40 days fast three times. I spend at least five hours every day studying and praying. But all of that is not what really brings the anointing. The gift of God is embedded in you by the anointing. When the anointing of God comes upon you, the gift of God is embedded in you and it is this gift of God that propels you to see things and say them. Like I said, all my predictions have come to pass. I predicted the death of President Yar’Adua. When I predicted that, some top Pastors in the Ministry said I was lying. I learnt some of them went there to pray for him and when God gave me the date of his death, my life was threatened, people came after me. But finally it came to pass. You see, when revelations of God come, what people should do is to find out how to redeem themselves when it is negative and when it is positive, you thank God for that. We live in a generation people just get political when prophecies come. Some people get upset and start chasing the man of God. This is God speaking through a man and we should understand that there is nothing personal about that. But people have this perception that some of you top Pastors belong to one cult or the other where you get your powers. What is your take on that? That is the African belief but if you go to America and God uses you, they appreciate God. Africans are used to their traditional institutions, they are used to occultism, they are used to the Dark Age. It is their way of life, so if they see any thing that is spectacular, they ascribe it to the devil. Now don’t totally write it off because some Pastors have gone occultic. Some Pastors have gone satanic, some have gone materialistic. There are Pastors today who are busy amassing wealth. I don’t know what a Pastor is doing with an Aircraft. I don’t know what a Pastor is doing with fifty cars. I read the success of any Minister by how successful those around him are; his ability to disburse what comes his way. God is going to bless you, once God is using you, he must bless you. But you must be able disburse that wealth. Genuine success through prosperity is to give back to the society. When you give back to the society, that is when you are truly successful. Talking about being materialistic, we have observed Pastors buying private jets and building schools; they are really wealthy in the society but their members are dying in poverty? The truth is that some of these Pastors in fairness have really done a lot for the less privileged. We can never do enough but you can do a lot because there is still one less privileged person out there that needs to be reached. It is not possible for the soap factory to make sure that every body gets neat every day, but what they can do is to affect the ones they can affect and enlighten the ones they can enlighten. Most Pastors also have really taken it up as a challenge to touch the lives of the less privileged. But some of them have not. When a Pastor has spent many years in the Ministry and now owns an air craft, I have no problem with all of that. What I have a problem with is this pursuit to prove to the world that you have arrived. You are going to pay the pilot, the crew members, maintain the aircraft, it cost a lot of money. That is my worry with people in that category. Advice for President Jonathan One major thing that I will say now is that people should be careful not to be crazy about power. One good thing that I will advise President Jonathan is that he should not contest for the 2015 presidential election. And if prayers are not made, if we don’t pray, I see only eight governors completing their tenure. We should pray because with prayers, a lot of things can be averted but if we don’t pray, we will see eight governors only completing their tenure. What God wants to focus on this year is to reward politicians with their sins. The Agricultural sector is going to receive a great boost this year. We have natural disasters coming up. I have a revelation last November that there will be attempt on the life of President Obama. I saw an African President being laid to rest and I saw Nigerian flag flying half mast. We need to pray for President Jonathan, if he goes ahead to contest there will be trouble. Abacha’s wife left the villa without Abacha, Yar’Adua’s wife left the villa without the husband, if Jonathan goes to contest, some thing very grave may happen. Those who are pushing him now, they want to destroy him. I am not saying this out of any personal animosity. I am saying this now because it can be averted. He should seek counsel. I love him but destiny has to be taken very sacrosanct. So I believe that if he asks for counsel, people can help him not to run for the Presidency in 2015. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

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The Daura Emirate in Katsina State has canceled Durbar celebrations for the upcoming Eid-El-Fitr over the lingering security challenges in some parts of the state. This was announced in a statement dated May 6 and signed by Danejin Daura, Alhaji Abdulmumini Salihu on behalf of the secretary of the council. The statement further said that special prayers will be offered for sustainable peace in the state immediately after the Eid prayers on Sallah day. “The focus will be on performing special prayers on the Sallah day as soon as the Eid prayers are performed. “You are by this notice to inform all the Imams to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari (Bayajida II) and other leaders for protection from all evils of the enemies of progress of this country, its stability, and its corporate existence,” the statement read in part. It added that the Emir had instructed the District Heads to conduct the Eid prayers with the people in their domain and offer special prayers for lasting peace in the country immediately after the Eid prayer. This year’s Eid-El-Fitr Sallah is expected to be observed either on Wednesday or Thursday as faithful across the country have so far observed 27 days fasting.

https://www.channelstv.com/2021/05/09/insecurity-daura-emirate-

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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State …As State Assembly embarks on consultation visits By Dirisu Yakubu Governor Yahaya Bello’s rumoured 2023 Presidential ambition rallied to a huge boost at the weekend with an international press conference conveyed in London, United Kingdom to draw the attention of Nigerians home and abroad to the big project. With participants from other countries joining via zoom, speakers eulogised the Kogi State governor for what they called his inclusive governance model, women empowerment and visionary leadership. Speaking under the auspices of Bello Diaspora Support Movement, BDSM, convener of the conference, Ambassador Akinmosun Kolawole said the gathering was simply “a Diaspora support movement for the actualisation of the youth Presidential project as represented in Governor Yahaya Bello.” He described the All Progressives Congress, APC stalwart as the right man “to reposition the nation on the path of progress and shared prosperity,” adding that BDSM “is assiduously mobilising Nigerians across the globe to support Governor Yahaya Bello.” According to him, “today’s event will go down in history as one that is about to birth a new Nigeria where ethnicity will be a thing of the past, where insecurity will be confronted with an uncompromising approach, where youths and women will be at the driver’s seat of governance and national development. Ours will be a nation where religion, tribe and creed will never divide us but would bind us forever. Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state exemplifies all the aforementioned and I, therefore, wish to state on behalf of millions of Nigerians in Diaspora that we will do our best to help our nation choose a President that will deliver,” he added. In his keynote address, Jamiu Abdulkareem Asuku, Chief of Staff to the governor said Bello in the last five years has “broken the wall of disunity, banished religious bigotry in governance to the world of antiquity, restored youth participation in governance and confronted security challenges frontally,” even as pledged his readiness to work with BDSM to realize its objectives. For Rt.Hon. Matthew Kolawole, Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, the state legislative house is currently reaching out to other states assembly on consultative visits to drum support for the Bello Presidential aspiration. Director-General, Research and Development and Speech Writer to Governor Bello, Barr Moses Okezie Okafor described his principal as a truly detribalised Nigerian “who only sees competence and not tribe, performance and not religion and capacity and not sentiments,” as well as “the President Nigeria needs in 2023.” On his path, initiator and facilitator of the event and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Matters, Omoluabi Bode Adeyemi says Governor Bello has done outstandingly and deserves the highest elective office to impact positively on Nigerians, a remark also echoed by Tolutope Dada, BDSM co-coordinator in the United States. Bello won his re-election as governor of Kogi state in 2019 on the platform of the APC. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/01/2023-yahaya-bello-for-president-gets-

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March 21, 2015 by The Nation Boko Haram: Nigerien, Chadian troops uncover 70 bodies in Borno mass grave Troops from Chad and Niger have discovered what appears to be a mass grave outside Damasak,Borno State,which was liberated from the terror group Boko Haram last weekend. No fewer than 70 bodies,some of them beheaded,were found dumped near a bridge outside the town . The skeletal bodies were partially mummified by the dry desert atmosphere, witnesses said, suggesting that the killing had taken place some time ago. Niger military sources said yesterday that they were awaiting the arrival of Nigerian authorities to take charge of the operation. “Niger and Chad’s troops have discovered a mass grave at Damasak, which appears to contain the bodies of Boko Haram’s victims,” said one of the military sources, who asked not to be identified. The dusty streets of Damasak were largely deserted following its liberation on Saturday, after many inhabitants had fled the terrorists’ four-month rule. Shops and businesses were looted and Boko Haram’s black and white insignia were scrawled on buildings around the town. Nigeria announced on Thursday that scores of dead bodies had been found in a well in Bama, Borno State that was also recently reclaimed by Nigerian troops, from Boko Haram. The authorities said the large number of bodies found in the well are apparently some of the hostages of the terrorists or those who resisted them. An intelligence officer is reported to have confirmed that a cordon and search operation in the town is continuing with interrogation by troops. Bama, the second largest Local Government Area in Borno, fell to Boko Haram on September 11, 2014. Some residents, mostly women and children who tried to flee the area at the time were reported to have died of thirst and hunger as insurgents tightened their grip on the town. The community was liberated from the group on Monday by Nigerian soldiers.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/boko-haram-nigerien-chadian-troops-

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024. This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which instructed banks to place a “Post no Debit” restriction – which prevents customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN”. “Effective immediately, any unfunded account/wallet shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ until the new process is satisfied. Effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ and no further transactions permitted,” the circular by the CBN Director of Payments System Management Department Chibuzo Efobi, and the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department Haruna Mustapha read in part. It also said all BVN or NIN attached to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024, According to the bank, a BVN or NIN verification will be “conducted shortly”, adding that the move is part of its efforts to promote financial system stability and strengthening of the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures in financial institutions. The bank will also carry out a “comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shortly” and where breaches are identified, appropriate sanctions shall be applied. “The process for account opening shall commence by electronically retrieving BVN or NIN-related information from the NIBSS’ BVN or NIMC’s NIN databases and for same to become the primary information for onboarding of new customers, and all existing customer accounts/wallets for individuals with validated BVN shall be profiled in the NIBSS’ ICAD immediately and within 24hrs of opening accounts/wallets,” the CBN added. In cases where a potential customer does not have a BVN or NIN, the CBN advised the regulated financial institution to “commence the process of enrolling the individual onto the BVN database and be guided by the extant protocols issued by NIBSS”.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/12/01/cbn-to-freeze-bank-accounts-without-

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Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman, defunct Pension Reformed Task Team (PRTT), on Friday, told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that his leg would have been amputated if he did not travel to Niger Republic for medicare. Maina, in his affidavit to support the bail application filed before Justice Okon Abang, said a surgical operation was performed on his kneel to save his leg from amputation. He urged the court to grant his prayer for bail so that he could attend to his current deteriorating health challenge. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Maina had, on Jan. 20, approached Justice Abang for another bail after his arrest for jumping the first bail. Maina, in a motion on notice dated and filed on Dec. 24, 2020, brought by one of his lawyer, Anayo Adibe, said the application became necessary over his worsening health condition. In the motion, the ex-pension boss told the court that he had reasonable and responsible sureties who were willing to act as sureties if granted bail. At the resumed hearing, Sani Katu, SAN, who appeared for Maina, said he had three applications filed before the court. Katu said besides a bail application, he had filed an application praying the court for the recall of the prosecution witnesses in the trial. The lawyer said due to Maina’s failing health, a letter was written to the Kuje Correctional Centre on the need for his proper medical attention. He averred that the correctional centre where he was kept did not have facility to attend to his state of health. Katu, who said his client was taken to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada recently, pointed out that the medical report was exhibited in the bail application. The lawyer urged the court to grant Maina bail with assurance that he would not abuse the privilege, having sworn an undertaking to that effect. He said the treatment Maina received outside the country saved his limbs from amputation. But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s Lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, told the court to reject the bail plea. Abubakar argued that in Maina’s affidavit in support of his bail request, he did not feel remorse for his action in jumping the first bail graciously granted him by the court. “The 1st defendant applicant (Maina), without any remorse, stated at paragraph 9 of his affidavit that as a result of the order of his arrest, he decided to seek for a better medical facility for the treatment of his kneel and was eventually referred to a military hospital in Chad Republic and Niger Republic where the knees surgery was successfully carried out. READ ALSO: Sometimes I feel no essence to live on, says Man who lost wife, three children, everything in Lagos building collapse “What he is saying is that his jumping bail was a premeditated decision. It was a decision he took by himself in disobedience to the gracious order of this honourable court in releasing him on bail,” he said. Abubakar argued further that by that remark, it showed that Maina also fled to the Republic of Chad . “It is also clear by this paragraph that while we thought that the 1st defendant applicant fled to Niger Republic, he is now informing the court that he also went to Chad Republic while his American and Nigerian passports are in custody of the court,” he said. According to the EFCC’s lawyer, it is our humble submission that this is not a person that deserves a second chance of taking a risk by the court in releasing him on another bail. He said the medical report brought by Maina from the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on his current state of health was silent on the kneel surgery he claimed he had outside the country. “It is also important to highlight that while the 1st defendant applicant talked about a purported surgery conducted on his kneel and the purported pain he presently suffering on that kneel which he claimed may result in the amputation of his leg if not granted bail, the medical report brought by him is silent about any issue about his kneel; whether he is feeling pain or surgery ever performed in the kneel before,” he said. Citing a previous Court of Appeal decision, Abubakar said “while a defendant has a right to legal practitioner of his own choice, he does not have a right to a medical practitioner or facility of his own choice, and that even where there is a medical report attached to a bail, the court will still not grant bail unless the medical report or deposition of a medical practitioner on oath proves that the applicant cannot get the required medical attention while in custody.” The lawyer, who said Maina had failed to meet these requirements, urged the court to refuse the application. Responding, Katu, who said that granting bail was at the court discretion, said this was in accordance with Sections 158, 162 and 165 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. The lawyer, who hinted that Maina once had a mild stroke, said all that he prayed for was a bail so that his client could have proper medical attention outside the correctional centre as exhibited in their application. On the decision by Court of Appeal, he argued that the nature of the case was different from the one at hand. “While in Adamu Vs. FRN case, the report said an applicant had no entitlement to medical doctor of his choice, we are not asking for a particular doctor of our choice. Rather, we are asking for a general practitioner,” he said. Katu urged the judge to discountenance all the arguments by Abubakar that had to do with facts which were not contained in the affidavit, while praying the court to exercise its discretionary power in favour of Maina. Justice Abang adjourned the ruling until February 25. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/02/i-would-

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Senator Ahmad Yerima on Friday defended his marriage to a 14-year-old Egyptian girl, which sent shockwaves across the globe 13 years ago when it first came to light. The former Zamfara State governor drew the ire of local human rights groups when reports emerged in 2010 that he had married an alleged 13-year-old foreigner at the national mosque in Abuja. The outrage prompted a Senate probe — as a sitting senator at the time. However, Yerima who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today, revealed that his Egyptian bride was older and was in the process of obtaining a master’s degree. When he objected to her being 13, the former governor was asked if she was 15, to which he replied, “Around that age: 14, 15.” Yerima criticised the Child Rights Act (2003) and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (2015), saying whatever act is passed at the National Assembly has to be domesticated by the state assemblies. “And once they have not done that, it’s no longer a law,” he added. The former governor alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo “tried to smuggle the Child Rights Act”. “He passed it at the National Assembly through some manipulations but I don’t think any state in the North domesticated it and passed it,” Yerima said. Asked to share his views on whether children deserve the right to education and other freedoms enshrined in the Child Rights Act, he argued that marriage could not stop education. Probed further on the level of education of his Egyptian wife, he said, “She’s doing her master’s degree now.” Yerima also noted that his daughter whom he had given away in marriage at the age of 16 “is doing her PhD in London”. $100,000 For Her Hand On the claim that he paid $100,000 as dowry for the Egyptian girl’s hand in marriage, the former Zamfara governor noted that “it’s not dowry.” He explained further that “all other things” stipulated as conditions for the marriage were counted to arrive at that figure. “Provision of the house, provision of dowry, the dresses that she has to wear, everything [in] total,” he said. “At that time, it was just N15 million.” One can give as much as is requested of them in marriage by Sharia Law, Yerima disclosed. “Whatever you have to do in marriage is clearly stipulated under the Sharia Law. You have to provide for a house for the girl, if you’re marrying her, like, from the condition the Egyptian government’s law provides,” he said.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/07/07/yerima-says-14-year-old-egyptian-

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school driver: The driver/proprietor (left) and the two pupils. By Esther Onyegbula Two pupils of New Vine International School, Mushin, Lagos, were flung out of a moving bus driven by the Proprietor, Mr. Ekezie Augustine, at Costain Roundabout, on their way from the National Theatre, Iganmu. Mr. Ekezie was promptly handed over to the Divisional Traffic Office, Iponri, by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of Lagos State Police Command, for prosecution. According to school’s Principal, the affected pupils, Seunfunmi Oseni, 4, and Amira Otegbola, 6, were among the 20 that embarked on the journey. The children, who were rushed to Brickfield Medical Centre, at Ademuyiwa Road, Ebute Metta, were referred to Foremost Radiology, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, for brain scan before further treatment. According to an official of Brickfield, “the boy, Seunfunmi, sustained a lot of bruises on his head and leg. He has not walked since he was brought here. We feared he has injured his legs too. He is always folding it and he preferred to be carried.” Further investigations revealed that the school was not registered with the authorities in Lagos and it had just relocated to its new address in Mushin. However, the Principal said certification of the school was being processed. He added that “the children were over-excited and uncontrollable before the incident happened.” About three teachers were reportedly with the children in the bus on the said day. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/pupils-fall-out-of-school-bus-

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July 15, 2022 by The Nation Anxiety as INEC closes nomination for presidential, NASS elections The stage is set for the 2023 presidential election as four major political parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) have met the deadline for the Nomination of candidates and replacement of withdrawn candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had an uphill task, weekend, managing the traffic on the Nomination Portal as political parties scrambled to beat the deadline. Although the Commission is yet to issue to release the list of the political parties that met the deadline, The Nation findings, showed that the four political parties have met the requirements. The APC and Labour parties substituted their presidentkal running mates. The APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, picked former Borno Governor Kashim Shetima as his running mate after Ibrahim Masari, withdrew from the race. Peter Obi of the Labour Party also substituted his running mate, Doyin Okupe, with Yusuf Dati Baba-Ahmed. When contacted, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said it was still premature to come up with a comprehensive list of parties that met the deadline. According to him the deadline for the withdrawal and replacement of withdrawn candidates for Presidential and National Assembly elections collided with the deadline for the nomination of Governorship and House of Assembly elections. He said: “You know the window closed today at 6pm and because the window for the replacement of withdrawn candidates for Presidential and National Assembly elections and submission of list of Governorship and House of Assembly elections also closed today, our Staff have been busy sorting the documents. “So there is no way I can tell anybody what has happened now because most of the parties waited for the last minute”.

https://thenationonlineng.net/anxiety-as-inec-closes-nomination-for-

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President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, stated that the consensus of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is that no one would be allowed to “insincerely” buy time. This comes a week after the Niger coupists announced a three-year transition plan. But Tinubu assured the U.S. Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, that war was not beneficial to his economic reforms, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale. “We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms. “War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,” the ECOWAS Chairman affirmed. See the full statement below: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU TASKS U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY ON DEEPENING COOPERATION AND DEFENCE OF DEMCRACY IN WEST AFRICA AS U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN EXTENDS AN INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION AT UNGA President Bola Tinubu on Saturday advised U.S. Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, to ensure that U.S. policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent. The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa, which operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, such that the legitimate yearnings of Africans would no longer be manipulated to serve the narrow aims of self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power. “Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria. Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” the President declared. The Nigerian leader affirmed that the crisis in Niger Republic would not deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians and that he takes a queue from no nation, but will only advance the interest of the Nigerian state in his approach toward ECOWAS’ handling of the regional standoff. “We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms. War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,” the ECOWAS Chairman affirmed. Pledging its support for the position of ECOWAS, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy expressed the high regard the U.S. Administration has for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, and extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September. “We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the U.S. Special Envoy said. The President concluded that he accepts the invitation to meet the U.S. President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and that the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world. Ajuri NgelaleSpecial Adviser to the President(Media & Publicity)August 26, 2023

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/08/26/niger-ecowas-

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TECNO during MWC 2022 announced that the CAMON 19 series will be using the RGBW high-transparency crystal molded lens for its camera. The technology has been developed by the company jointly with Samsung. TECNO says that the technology adds white sub-pixels to the original RGB three primary color implementation to form an RGBW pixel arrangement. The additional white pixel helps produce a more refined color tone since a regular RGB implementation can’t produce pure white. TECNO’s solution is further enhanced by Samsung’s ISOCELL technology to improve light sensitivity, reduce light crosstalk, and bring a better low-light shooting experience. Reports suggest that the said RGBW sensor will have a resolution of 64MP and will improve incoming light capture performance by up to 60%. In addition, the pricier and more effective Glass+Plastic lens assembly will be used, which performs better than all-plastic lenses. Not much is known about the CAMON 19 series itself but the lineup is said to comprise four models including the CAMON 19 Pro 5G and CAMON 19 Neo. Apart from this, there are no other details about the CAMON 19 phones. But we could see them popping up on certification sites soon, which should reveal some specs. - Tecno LF7 spotted with Helio G88 & Android 12, might be the POVA 3 - TECNO Mobile brings Samsung’s RGBW Color Filter Sensor Tech to its upcoming CAMON Series - Tecno Camon series to debut the RGBW sensor with an in-house image processing algorithm - Tecno Spark 8C with 6GB of total RAM and 90Hz display arrives in India for Rs. 7,499(~$100) - Tecno Spark 8C to come with 90Hz display and 6GB RAM under Rs. 8,000(~$107)

https://www.gizmochina.com/2022/03/10/tecno-

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday said only two of its eight demands have so far been met by the Federal Government in the last nine months. The Ibadan Zone of the union made this known in a statement after its meeting at the Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso chaired by its Coordinator in LAUTECH, Prof. Oyebamiji Oyegoke.Others in attendance were: the Chairpersons from University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayo Akinwole; UNILORIN, Prof. Moyosore Ajao; LAUTECH, Dr Biodun Olaniran and KWASU, Dr Shehu Salau. Oyegoke said in the statement that strike was “a ticking bomb” and fear that the educational system would be engulfed in another crisis. “For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU stated that only salary shortfall and setting up of Visitation Panels to the Federal Government-owned universities have been addressed by the government in nine months. “Other demands such as the renegotiation of conditions of service, injection of revitalisation funds, payment of earned academic allowances, implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) have not been addressed,” he said. Oyegoke said that the proliferation of state universities, release of withheld salaries and non-remittance of check-off dues of Unions, which were all contained in the December 22, 2020 Memorandum of Action, have not been addressed. He said: ”The claim by the Minister of Labour and Employment that the money allocated for Revitalisation of Public Universities had been paid as contained in the MoA of 2020, cannot be true. “The same Minister confirmed on Aug. 2, 2021 that the money is still in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), only awaiting application by the Minister of Education for eventual transfer to the NEEDS Assessment Fund Account. “That government is working hard to facilitate the release of money by the CBN since January 2021 leaves a sour taste in the mouth.” On IPPIS versus UTAS, he explained that withholding salaries for months, non-release of EAA, non-payment of check-off dues accruing to the union, in spite of what ASUU has demonstrated, could only be an invitation to another possible cycle of industrial crisis. “Moreover, UTAS avowed suitability has been demonstrated admirably to the Minister of Education and members of his team, the Honourable Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “And other key stakeholders like Ministries of Labour and Employment; Education, Finance, Office of the Accountant-General, representatives of Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). “The more the government insists on fulfilling the demands of integrity test on UTAS, the longer will be the accompanying pains earlier identified in IPPIS will stay our members,” he said. Oyegoke said at a reconciliation meeting between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the leadership of ASUU on Monday, Aug.2, 2021, at the Conference Room of the Minister of Labour and Employment, all contentious matters affecting the outstanding issues as regard the implementation of 2020 FGN/ASUU MoA were discussed. “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on behalf of the Federal Government, promised that a broader government team and inter-ministerial committee on the draft renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement would conclude its work and submit the report to government by the end of August, 2021. “The meeting concluded with an agreement to reconvene by the end of August 2021 to ascertain the faithfulness of the Federal Government in resolving the outstanding issues. “We are in the second week of September, 2021, nothing positive from the Federal Government so far,” he said. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/09/fg-

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The packaging industry commonly uses custom cardboard boxes. People pack the products to give them great security and safety. You will find a variety of cardboard sheets. Also, you find them in different thickness densities. However, you may look for other materials too. Let’s read the alternatives you could use instead of these. 8 Alternatives to Cardboard Boxes Despite using traditional boxes, people always look for something new. It doesn’t mean alternative to inexpensive cardboard boxes aren’t good. However, there are some flaws in it that you need to know. You should consider cardboard box alternatives for the second option. A huge amount of waste from cardboard diy is collected annually. Mostly it gets wasted, and the authorities dump it somewhere. It remains unused and unprocessed for years. The accumulation of material is not good for the Earth as it slowly destroys the planet. To limit this process from happening, you need to shift to something effective. Try to use something biodegradable. Thus, associating all products with a similar packing material is wrong. Manufacturers pay great attention to what they are making. They might use various raw materials to make it efficient. Therefore, a huge responsibility lies on their shoulders regarding this selection. Below is the detail of alternatives to cardboard boxes. As the name suggests, the raw material used for this is corn. What they do is process it. Then they mold it into different shapes and sizes. Modifying this material is easier because it can bend quickly and is better than plastic. It is suitable for many products. You can design packaging for food items, apparel, jewelry, medicines, cards, etc. But it has a drawback which is its cost because the food industry largely consumes it. Hence, high competition always exists about which industry requires them more. So before using it for boxes, a company must look for its pricing. 2. Bubble Wrapping You might have seen bubble wrapping on glass made or delicate decorative items. They use it for makeup, medicines, decoration items, electronics, etc. Hence, there is a great demand for it to keep the products safe. If you are worried that they made it with plastic, then don’t worry. Box makers use corrugated material to make bubble wrapping. You would see small cuts with air-filled bubbles. However, it appears like plastic-made ones but not in reality. The cuts provide a cushion to the item packed inside. So products don’t move in it and reach their destination securely. Moreover, they use eco-friendly materials, so you don’t have to worry about environmental damage. You will get various sizes of sheets to match your demand. 3. Mushroom Made Packaging It is unique and eco-friendly. Makers design it with mushrooms and a mixture of agricultural products. Then, they can shape it in the required shape. The raw material is not scarce as it is grown in abundant quantities worldwide. Its cost has been almost constant for a long period. 4. Peanut Packaging Yes, again, this one is made from food-composed material. You would use this when you want the product to bear the shock or accidental fall. It allows products to reach their destination location safely. Sometimes, they add an extra filling layer inside the box of products. Therefore, it prevents the product from getting scratched by accidental contact with other products packed together. In most countries, this packing technique is very common because of its eco-friendliness features. 5. Seaweeds Packaging Sometimes they require gelatin for packages. So what they do is they use seaweeds to get gelatin. It produces similar results as you achieved through cornstarch. The seaweed provides a soft cushion-like effect to the product. Hence, it is great for the transportation of delicate items. 6. Cardboard that is Recycled This one has great significance in this field. If you prefer using recycled ones, then it somehow saves the environment. It is better than using new cardboard present in the market. The use of organic material is better. You could even use it after recycling it a few more times. 7. Plastics Packaging Plastic is not good for the environment. However, if you choose a biodegradable one, then it is best. This basic material is necessary when packing heavy items for shipment. The paper would not withstand its transportation journey’s wear and tear process. The only option left is plastic. Use the one you can dump in the environment for decomposition so the environment is safe. You will have to do deep research about its types and forms. After you get it, do a test for biodegradability. 8. Other Edible Material In your daily routine, you consume different kinds of edibles. For example, biscuits, chocolates, candies, etc. Have you wondered how differently they have packed these? Yes, they use sustainable materials. It protects the food from contamination and other impurities. They design the wrappers with lightweight. Although, you would see many variations in the colors, sizes, and quality. They mostly use natural substances. Then it doesn’t have a bad effect on the environment. How to pack without boxes What Material Is Better Than Cardboard? For years, organic cardboard boxes have served the world. It helped them in the transportation of various heavy or lightweight goods. The shipment of products was easier through them. People always look forward to it no matter how heavy or delicate the products are. Similarly, they would easily stack them anywhere. However, with time, people became aware of the environmental damage it caused. Despite the immense benefits, it had many drawbacks. These drawbacks have encouraged them to shift to alternatives. Suppose we replace them with other packaging material; it is a better option. With perfect packing, you could contribute to environmental safety. Use natural materials as it is now crucial. We have discussed many of its replacements. Choosing a material like biodegradable plastic or corrugated sheets meets this requirement. Also, make sure you can mold your selected substances into shapes easily. Nowadays, the industry has been using smartly designed boxes. That is because sometimes it is quite challenging to carry heavy ones. Their shipment becomes difficult as well costly. You had to keep the huge cartons in warehouses if there was insufficient space in the cargo. Hence, it contributed to additional warehouse charges. In such scenarios, selecting particular custom packing material along the sizes situation would be far better. Similarly, you can overcome these problems by looking for substitutes that can be light in weight. It reduces the burden of additional payment for the extra weight. With a little research and examination, you will come across numerous other options. The market has now completely changed as it is welcoming new raw materials. Box makers are now willing to change their traditional techniques. What Is the Lifespan of Cardboard? There is no specific answer to the life of cardboard. Its lifetime is sometimes unpredictable. It’s because they use different numbers of sheets for packing. For every order, it has a variable number of sheets. Some demand the use of thick sheets, and some use thin sheets. Moreover, the choice of the cardboard sheet’s thickness depends on what you need to keep inside the box. Several factors are involved in predicting its life. As discussed above, the main factor revolves around the quality of cardboard sheets. If the quality is high, it will survive for a great time. A thin layered box will expire in a few uses. The second factor is how you handle it. It will survive if you use it with care, like protecting it from water and sunlight or keeping it stacked nicely. Generally, it might survive for two years if not exposed to a severe environment. But the condition is that it should get proper ventilation. Otherwise, it might decompose in a short while. Keeping it in a damp environment deteriorates it in a short time. You can now conclude that the way of keeping cardboard boxes could have contributed to their lifetime. Cardboard packaging is no doubt a popular choice. However, if you would replace this material with alternatives, then it’s good. It not only satisfies the customers but also keeps the earth healthy. Always hire a reputed company to achieve a premium experience from their services.

https://www.clawscustomboxes.com/what-can-you-use-instead-of-

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20th April, 2024 A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Peers Advocacy and Advancement Centre (PAACA), has called for an end to carpet crossing by politicians in the country in order not destroy the role of opposition in democratic governance. The Executive Director, PAACA, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja. He said politicians have outsourced opposition to media and civil society groups but would rather cross carpet to a different political party when they did not succeed with their political ambitions. “Nigerian politicians have no interest in opposition, their opposition is in writing statements. “The work of the civil society and the media is not to oppose the government but to clap when the government does well and criticise when they should. But they now want us to play their own role. “And that is why we need to do something about this movement from one political party to another. “They are outsourcing the opposition. ”That is why when they see us, they say you people are not talking enough, forgetting that the only reason civil societies talked under military rule in the past was because there were no political parties then,” he said. Ezenwa said that opposition political parties were meant to be shadow governments, through policy differentiation. “The Republican Party and the Democratic Party of the United States of America do not speak the same language; when they want to speak the same language, they come into a conference. “The Labour Party and the Conservative Party of the United kingdom do not speak the same language. “Opposition is a policy; what is your policy in agriculture, in education and health? So, if I compare with the PDP or the APC, then I can make a choice. “The only difference here is the style of accomplishing those tasks. Opposition is not fashionable to the Nigerian politician. “Where does it leave the Nigerian people? They are being deceived and aided by a very uninformed populace that do not take the time to differentiate between what is concrete and what is not,” Nwagwu said. He therefore, said it was necessary to do something to discourage or kill cross carpeting, to ensure Nigeria’s democracy and Nigerians enjoy viable opposition.

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2024/04/20/cross-carpeting-destroying-role-of-

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File: Nnamdi Kanu’s first day in court. By Kingsley Omonobi – Abuja There are indications that IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested in a South American country after he was tricked by a Nigerian Lady working undercover with Nigerian security agencies A source who did not give details of what Nnamdi Kanu was doing with the lady in the South American country, confirmed that Nnamdi Kanu left his London abode where as a British citizen, he has rights and flew to the South American country, thereby falling prey to security operatives. The source said that on arriving at the popular South American country, the undercover agent ushered him to a hotel which unknown to Kanu was already secured by intelligence operatives. The IPOB leader was subsequently tranquilized with a suspected high dose of drugs that knocked him off before he was moved into a vehicle and driven to the airport. Thereafter, the source said Kanu was flown to Nigeria in a private jet which was already on standby for the journey to Nigeria and that he slept all through the journey. A source said the successful arrest of Nnamdi Kanu by the coordinated efforts of Nigerian Security Agencies led by the National Intelligence Agency and Interpol and his subsequent Movement to Nigeria, was the reason President Muhammadu Buhari’s scheduled trip to London for medical check up was postponed. The planning and execution of the arrest and his movement to Nigeria was said to be ‘an Ultra-Secret Intelligence Mission’ which many diplomatic and other officials, even in government were not privy to. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/how-lady-lured-nnamdi-kanu-from-london-

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24th August, 2021 COVID-19 has claimed yet another senior Nigerian, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye. The Ijebu Igbo born politician, died today from complications from the virus. He was 88. The former political activist and member of National Democratic Coalition(NADECO) represnted Ogun east in the Senate between 1999 and 2003. He later served as chairman, Board of Commissioners for Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), under the first term of the Buhari administration. COVID-19 has been flagged as the killer of Senator Ibrahim Mantu and the pioneer artist Yusuf Adebayo Grillo. The Durojaiye family is yet to release a statement on his death. Otunba Durojaiye earned a BSc (Economics) London, and an LLB, London. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1979. He also graduated from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. He worked for 35 years in the Nigerian public sector, including 28 years as a Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Mint. He also worked with the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.A and the City University London between 1964 and 1982. He is survived by many children and grandchildren. His wife Florence died in 2009, at the age of 72, two months after they marked their 50th anniversary.

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2021/08/24/breaking-elder-statesman-senator-olabiyi-

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Saraki and Idris ..Advices Senate President not to Interfere with Police Investigation into Assassinations. **Transferring Gang of Hired Assassins to Force HQ for further investigation in accordance with Police Procedure. The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris Wednesday night reacted to the allegation by Senate President, Bukola Saraki that he (Idris) is plotting to frame him in the criminal assassination of some people in Kwara State saying that the it is an attempt at obstructing justice. The IGP also urged the Senate President not to interfere with Police investigation adding that all those involved no matter their status would be brought to book. In a statement signed by the Force Public Relation Officer, ACP Jimoh Moshood, the Police said, “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to Press Statement credited to the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, of “Plot Against Him by IGP”. “The Nigeria Police Force is shocked at the unbelievable claims, unverifiable allegations and unfounded accusations being peddled against the IGP by the Senate President, accusing the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris of plot and strategies against him to settle scores. “The Force therefore wishes to categorically state that, there is no iota of truth in the allegation and false assertion by the Senate President of plot against him by the IGP to implicate the Kwara State Government and the Senate President in any criminal matter. “Until investigation is concluded, any person, persons or group who tries to interfere in the investigation process by action or utterances is committing an offence. “To set the records straight, the Kwara State Police Command on the 11th of May, 2018, paraded the following suspects before the Media and the Public, namely; Abolaji Safti Ojulari of Kankatu area, Ilorin, Lanre Mohammed Soliu a.k.a Askari of Ile Nda Compound, Ilorin, Azeez Moyaki of Moyaki Compound, Gambari Area Ilorin. Others are Suleiman Babatunde of Gambari Area, Ilorin, Yusuf Habeeb of Kangile Village, Kulende, Ilorin, and Umar Yahaya of Kangile Village, Kulende, Ilorin. “The suspects admitted and confessed before the press and the public to have killed Eleven (11) innocent persons in kwara State and other States of the country. “The victims according to the suspects were targeted and killed on the instructions of their sponsors. “Find attached names of victims killed in cold blood (i) Bukola Ajikobi killed on 18/01/2016 at ajikobi Area in Ilorin (ii) Azeez Lawal killed in February, 2018 at Oja oba area of Ilorin (iii) Lateef (Surname unknown) killed February, 2018 at Ode Alfa Nda area of Ilorin (iv) Jamiu (Surname unknown) killed in February 2018 at idi ape area, Ilorin (v) One segun (Surname unknown) killed in September, 2017 at kankatu area of Ilorin. Others are (vi) Wasiu (Surname unknown) killed in September 29, 2016 at Shao garage of Ilorin (vii) Musiliu (Surname unknown) killed in February, 2018 at Shao Area Ilorin (viii) Bayo Ajia killed in January 18, 2018 at taiwo Road, Ilorin (ix) Another Lateef killed in January 2016 at Baboko Area of Ilorin (x) Abbey a student of Kwara Polytechnic killed in April, 2017 at Niger Road, Ilorin (xi) Lanre (Surname unknown) killed on 23rd August, 2015 at Isale Aluko Area of Ilorin. “Consequent upon the public confessions of these vicious and notorious killer squad to the killings in cold blood of more than Eleven (11) innocent people in Kwara State and other States of the Federation, the statutory procedure and practice in the Force is that such a heinous crime and capital offence is transferred to the Force Headquarters for further investigation. “This is to enable a thorough and discreet investigation into the crime. “However, it is pertinent to state that, there is no vested interest by the Inspector General of Police in the ongoing investigation into the several murders committed by this killer gang, other than ensuring that justice prevails in the matter. “Nobody, no matter how highly placed would be allowed to interfere or obstruct Police investigation to pervert the course of justice. “It is also imperative to let the public know that last year, suspects arrested over the mayhem and killings of innocent people in Ile-Ife, Osun State and those arrested in Southern Kaduna crisis in Kaduna State and suspects arrested in connection with Zaki-biam killings in Benue State were all transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja for further investigation before they were arraigned in court of competent jurisdiction. “Therefore, transferring this hired assassin gang masquerading as cultists in kwara State to Force Headquarters, Abuja for further investigation is in accordance with Police investigation procedures. “It is also important to underscore that the statement credited to the Senate President can dissuade and discourage living victims/deceased families of those who must have been killed by this vicious hired assassin gang from coming forward to give evidence against them. “The Nigeria Police Force hereby implores members of the general public to disregard and discountenance the claim of plot by the IGP against the Senate President as a ruse, unfortunate and an attempt to divert Police investigation into the killings of more than Eleven (11) innocent people from kwara State and other States of the Federation in the recent past by the killer squad who operate under the guise of a cult group. “The Force will leave no stone unturned and will do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure justice in this matter, no matter whose ox is gored.” Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/05/no-iota-truth-allegation-igp-idris-

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The meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over fuel subsidy removal has ended without a consensus. The meeting began around 4 pm on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Representatives of the Federal Government included Dele Alake, the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu; and the Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari. Other government officials present were the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole. The Organised Labour was represented by the NLC National President, Joe Ajaero; and the President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Festus Osifo. After several hours of meeting with the Federal Government, the NLC demanded that the Federal Government return to the status quo by reversing the price of fuel before resuming negotiations with the NLC. The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, who criticised the removal of subsidy stated that the status quo returns before any formal engagement with the NLC to protect the Nigerian workforce and proffer additional solutions. The NLC insisted that the Federal Government did not enter into any conversation even on palliative measures for Nigerians, hence the rejection of the latest announcement. The union said it had decided to reconvene with its members to determine the next line of action. Conversely, Alake described the meeting as robust, adding that talks would continue. He expressed hope that the parties would reach a reasonable conclusion at its next adjourned meeting. ‘Fuel Subsidy Is Gone’ On Monday during his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu said the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended, adding that with the 2023 budget making no provision for fuel subsidy, further payment was no longer justifiable. “The fuel subsidy is gone,” Tinubu said. His government would instead channel funds into infrastructure and other areas to strengthen the economy, he added. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the House Of Representatives have since backed Tinubu’s decision. However, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) argued the President could not unilaterally take a decision on subsidy removal, saying there was a reason the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari pushed the “sensitive issue” to the new government. Fuel queues have since resurfaced across the country since the presidential pronouncement as Nigerians forage for the premium product. ‘Tears And Sorrow’ Ajaero, on Tuesday, kicked against Tinubu’s announcement confirming the removal of fuel subsidy. The NLC president described the development as not well planned, saying Nigerians feel betrayed by the move. “By his insensitive decision, President Tinubu on his inauguration day brought tears and sorrow to millions of Nigerians instead of hope. He equally devalued the quality of their lives by over 300 per cent and counting,” he said in a statement.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/05/31/just-in-fg-nlc-meeting-on-fuel-subsidy-

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Twenty persons passed with first-class out of a total of 4,350 successful candidates who participated in the March 2021 Bar Final Examination of the Nigeria Law School. The Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Ciroma disclosed this while presenting the successful candidates for July 2021 Call to the Nigerian Bar, to the Body of Benchers on Wednesday in Abuja. Ciroma said that a total of 5, 770 candidates sat for the March 2021 Bar Final Examination. ” Total number of candidates who participated in the examination were 5, 770 and out of the number, 4, 350 candidates were successful with 20 recording first class”, he said. He said that the figures represented 75 per cent success of the final examination. Ciroma assured that the institution shall continue to remain the gatekeepers of law profession, adding “as teachers, and administrators, we will continue to uphold the standard and integrity of the Bar.” Summary of the result showed that 432 candidates made Second Class Upper, 2, 174 made Second Class Lower while 1, 724 others had pass. NAN recalled that the school had on Tuesday, graduated and Called to the Nigerian Bar, 884 candidates from its December 2020 batch in addition to four others from previous batch. In his address, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Chairman, Body of Benchers said that the graduates were expected to adhere to the provision of Rules guiding the profession, at all times. “I urge you to conduct yourselves in the most responsible way expected of you as people in a noble profession. ” As a lawyer, you are an officer of the court and accordingly, you are not to do any act or conduct in a manner that will obstruct or adversely affect the course of justice. ” The practice of Law is not a right but a privilege. ” It is a privilege that can be lost should you fail to live up the requisite professional standards imposed upon you by virtue of your entry into the community of lawyers”, he said. He warned that the Body of Benchers Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee was always determined to discipline any lawyer found wanting or breaching set rules of the profession. RhodesVivour hinted that his committee had from January to July, disbarred six lawyers, suspended some following none adherence to the laid down rules “Be of good behaviour in the course of your operations and abide by the ethics and values of the profession, to avoid being brought before the committee”, he advised. Rhodes-Vivour also encouraged the graduates to continue to read and update their knowledge on both statute and case law in order to grow in the profession. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/07/20-bag-

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May 4, 2022 by The Nation ASUU strike: Negotiation panel report ready The committee set up by the Federal Government to re-negotiate the 2009 agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university-based unions have submitted its interim report to the Ministry of Education. Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige, who disclosed this yesterday, said the Education Ministry has already commenced work on the report. However, hours after, public university workers under the aegis of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), said that their ongoing warning strike is now indefinite. The union said they had adopted a “No Pay, No work” stance in response to government’s “No work, No pay policy.” The re-negotiation of the agreements is one of the demands of the four university-based unions….ASUU, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and NAAT. Other demands are non-deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, non-release of revitalisation funds for universities, non-payment of earned allowances for university teachers and shortfall of payment as a result of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). The seven-member renegotiation committee is headed by Prof. Emeritus Nimi Briggs, the pro-chancellor, of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State. ASUU was however absent when the committee was inaugurated on March 7, 2022. It had insisted that government should commence implementation of the existing pact instead of wasting time through the committee. When contacted yesterday evening, ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke said the union was not aware the Briggs-led committee had submitted its report. But Ngige, who said that discussions were ongoing to end strikes by the unions, added that he would meet with either SSANU or NASU leadership tomorrow. He did not say if he also contacted ASUU or not. The minister said: “Discussions are ongoing, not only with ASUU but with all the other education unions. On Thursday I will meet either SSANU or NASU. “I am still waiting for the Education Ministry to give me the final report they have from the ad -hoc committee we put in place on the condition of service for the 2009 agreements. “The report is for every education union. The chairman told me that they have put in an interim report. The education ministry is working on the interim report. “I will make contact with the ministry to know where they are because they have subjected whatever they are doing to an inter-agency committee work which is the right thing to do.” But ASUU President Osodeke said the report would be of no value to university teachers if did not expressly state that the government should sign the agreement renegotiated in May last year. His words: ”Except the report is saying that they (government) should sign the agreement then fine. But if they (panel) have submitted another thing, then they don’t want this issue (strike) to be resolved because they have not discussed anything meaningful with us. “Anything that has to do with the agreement (2021 renegotiated agreement) they have not told us. ”They (panel) called us for a meeting and they told us that they went around a number of ministries, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and had a discussion with them and got their opinion. ”We told them that that was not the issue. We have our agreement with a team set up by the government. That is what we will listen to. “The President asked the Minister of Labour and Employment to organise a committee and if you are calling for what you have from ministries that is not part of our negotiations. :” So, if they submitted anything that is different from what we negotiated without informing us then it has no value.” Also yesterday, NAAT said that laboratories, workshops, farms and others in the universities would remain shut till the government pays its members’ salaries. NAAT President Ibeji Nwokoma advised members of the union to remain undaunted, and not allow the government’s “divide and rule” tactics to dampen their morale. Nwokoma said: “Today (yesterday), our Union and ASUU have been singled out for the implementation of the policy of “No work, No Pay” policy. “Comrades, your President and indeed the National Leadership stand with you in this trying moment. Our strike action is legitimate and follows every due process. “We, therefore, stand on “No pay, No work”. This divide and rule policy of Government shall not work. Be rest assured that we shall come out better, stronger with every dime paid before or on resumption of work.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/ASUU-strike-negotiation-panel-

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Akure—NO fewer than 20 youths were Tuesday arrested by Ondo State Police flowing a violent protest over power outages in Oke Aro area of Akure, the State capital. As early as 6am some miscreants said to be protesting lack of power supply in the area of barricaded major streets and allegedly manhandled innocent people and vandalized several vehicles. The protesters were said to have also stormed the office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, in Oke Aro, during the protest that lasted for over four hours. Road users were held hostage for hours as the miscreants barricaded the roads and threatened to set vehicles and other government property ablaze. Policemen were said to have been invited to quell the protest during which the suspects were arrested. The protest, according to the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, PRO, Mr. Adeniran Aremu became riotous and the timely intervention of police saved other property from been vandalised. Adeniran who described the protesters as miscreants, said they would be charged to court for disturbing public peace. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/police-arrest-

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13th June, 2015 The new Pro-chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Dr Umar Mustapha, says his mission is to place the institution among the top 100 universities in the world. This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Olatunji Oladejo, Director of Public Communication, UI, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday. The statement quoted Mustapha as saying that he would make the University of Ibadan to be first choice for Nigerians interested in earning quality degrees, especially at post-graduate level. It said that Mustapha, who is also the chairman of the university governing council, promised to seek more harmonious working relationship between the academic and non-academic staff of the institution. The statement quoted him as saying that such relationship would help in improving the teaching and learning environment for the students. Mustapha, according to the statement, said that serious attention would be focused on producing more renowned and accomplished people like Emeritus Prof. Wole Soyinka, late Emeritus Prof. Chinua Achebe, Prof. Iya Abubakar and others. It quoted the pro-chancellor as saying that this would bring international recognition to the institution and the country as a whole. The pro-chancellor said in the statement that efforts would be made to transform, within the next five years, the university’s newly established School of Business to be one of the best in Africa. Mustapha urged the university management to vigorously pursue implementation of polices that would improve welfare of the students in terms of decent accommodation, feeding arrangements, transportation and medicare. The statement said he urged both lecturers and students to stay off plagiarism which carries serious penalty and could bring the reputation of the university to public disrepute. NAN reports that Mustapha was appointed as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University on April 4.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/06/13/ill-make-ui-world-class-

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December 30, 2017 by The Nation EL-ALAN’s skyscraper bestrides Lagos landscape With the way things are going, the coastal city of Lagos will soon be playing host to one of the seven wonders of the modern world—an amazing work of architectural ingenuity, the like of which has never before graced the metropolis. This wondrous feast of steel and colour and concrete is slowly creeping up into the tallest building in the highbrow Ikoyi axis. The Number 4 Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi edifice under construction is the latest footprint of Andre Geday and Alex Nadey, two genii of the construction sector who have been transforming the Lagos metropolis with eye-catching structures for more than three decades. The ‘Nigerianised’ duo sit atop EL-ALAN Construction Company, a name that has become synonymous with cutting-edge construction solutions that never fail to satiate even their most demanding customers. The 25-storey building is the latest in a line of mind-blowing projects prosecuted by the company founded in 1982. Though primarily businessmen, the dynamic duo of Alex and Andre have done more for humanity than many a politician. Their ethos of high quality service delivery set them apart from the run-of-the-mill competitors around.

https://thenationonlineng.net/el-

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There are indications that the Labour Party (LP) may replace Doyin Okupe as the Director-General of its 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Channels Television has learnt. An impeccable source within the party, who spoke exclusively with Channels Television on Monday, confirmed that talks are already ongoing to replace Okupe. The source, however, said the decision will be jointly taken by all concerned including Okupe himself. Although he declined to mention possible replacements, feelers have former presidential aide, Akin Oshuntokun as a front runner to take Okupe’s position. Okupe was earlier on Monday found guilty of receiving over N200 million cash from former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Ojukwu held that the action of Okupe, who is the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), violated the Money Laundering Act. While stating that the Act provides that no individual or organization shall receive any sum above N5 million and N10 million respectively without passing through a financial institution, the judge held that “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution”. The court consequently held that the first defendant, Dr Okupe was guilty in counts 34, 35, 36, and 59. Reacting to the judgement earlier through its Media Officer, Diran Onifade, the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), confirmed that Okupe has paid N13m fine handed to him by the court. He said as the party that respects the rule of law, its officials will obey court judgments promptly. Onifade, however, said appealing the judgment is a personal decision Okupe and that the PCC cannot influence that. Meanwhile, Okupe, in a tweet after his conviction on Monday, blamed his “enemies” for his legal travails. God is not man. The enemies have tried in so many ways but kept on failing.. Victory is of God.— Doyin (@doyinokupe) December 19, 2022

https://www.channelstv.com/2022/12/19/labour-party-may-change-okupe-

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August 17, 2021 by The Nation Fed Govt to borrow N4.9tr to finance 2022 budget deficit Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed has said the Federal Government will borrow about N4.89 trillion from local and foreign sources to finance its budget deficit for 2022 due to decreasing revenue from government sources. The Minister spoke yesterday in Abuja during the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and Fiscal Strategy Paper(FSP) interactive session with the House Committee on Finance. She said the sustained perception about the over valuation of the naira despite recent adjustment by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has compounded Nigeria’s risk aversion in the global capital market which will further put pressure on the foreign exchange market as foreign portfolio investors are yet to return to the Nigerian market. According to her, government is projecting to borrow from foreign and domestic sources to finance the N5.62 trillion budget deficits in the 2022 financial year and it is likely to cut down capital expenditure by N259.315 billion in 2022. She said the reduction became necessary given economic volatility occasioned by unstable global oil market as well as effects of the covid-19 pandemic. She pointed out that in capital expenditure, N1.76 trillion as opposed to the N2.02 trillion will be available to Ministries Department and Agencies of government in 2022. She also disclosed that the government has decided to peg the Exchange rate at N410 per dollar, adding that the projection is likely to come down in favour of the naira in 2023. “The budget deficit and the financing items for the expenditure projected for 2022 is N5.62 trillion, up from N5.60 trillion in 2021. The deficit is going to be financed by new foreign and domestic borrowing, both domestic and foreign in the sum of N4.89 trillion, then privatisation proceeds of N90.73 billion and draw downs from project titles of N635 billion. “This amount represents 3.05 percent of the estimated GDP, which is slightly above the 3 percent threshold that is spent recommended in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. “The revenue that we expect is N6.54 trillion, N2.62 trillion to accrue to the Federation Account and VAT respectively,” she said. She said further that net oil and gas revenue which will be available for the Federation Account for distribution will be N6.151 trillion in 2022. She said the key macro-economic assumptions contained in the MTEF/FSP include a crude oil benchmark price of $57 per barrel for 2022, crude oil production of 1.88 million barrels per day, and a dollar exchange rate of N410.15 to one US dollar, an inflation rate of 13 percent in 2022, and a nominal GDP of 149.369 trillion. She noted that interestingly; non-oil GDP continues to grow at 169.69 trillion compared to oil GDP of 14.68 trillion included in the nominal GDP. Nominal consumption is 130,49.36 billion. On unemployment, she said the National Bureau of Statistics projected that about 82.9 million Nigerians are currently adjudged to be living in extreme poverty. The Minister, however, said that Nigeria has continued to be exposed to risk aversion in the global capital markets, which will put further pressure on the foreign exchange market as foreign portfolio investors are yet to return to the Nigerian market. She emphasised that the situation is also compounded by sustained perceptions about over-valuation of the naira, despite recent adjustments by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that in response to the developments affecting the supply of foreign exchange to the economy, the CBN adjusted the official exchange rate to align with the NAFEX rate, currently N410.15 /US$1, thus Moving closer to a unified exchange rate regime. She said further that the weaker-than-expected economic performance is threatening the nation’s ambitious revenue growth targets, as seen in the 2021 Performance up to June. The Minister said further that non-oil revenue performance has been impressive and heading in the right direction. efforts will be sustained in this regard, while high costs, including PMS under-recovery and cost of securing oil pipelines are however weighing down on oil revenues; these issues must be addressed wholesomely to free up much needed fiscal space. She told the Lawmakers that “the draft 2022 – 2024 MTEF/FSP has been prepared against the backdrop of global economic recovery amidst improved vaccination outlook and lower incidence of infection, despite recent surge in the Delta variant. However, the Medium Term Fiscal Framework shows that there are continuing global challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19. Read Also: Eurobond to fund 2021 budget deficit “Overall, fiscal risks are somewhat elevated for Nigeria, due to persisting weaknesses in the economy and slower than expected recovery”. Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha said as a result of poor performance in revenue, there will be an increase borrowing which will not increase the debt stock of the nation. Oniha said: “I think one of the things that have come out from the presentation from the Honourable Minister is, much as we have been conservative in projecting revenues, we still see that we are underperforming in revenue. So, it means that we are relying increasingly on borrowings to finance the activities of government. “And if you look at the figures from last year when the budget was revised because of COVID-19, we can see that the borrowing levels are going higher. So, what that means is that the debt stock as expected will keep rising and debt service will also keep increasing, as shown in the presentation. “I just thought I should highlight that, that this is primarily where the debt stock is growing from, and the debt service, which means that we are also servicing, taking from the revenue which has not grown as expected. I thought I should highlight that because there is a lot of concern about debts. But really, this is the source and we can see the trend.” Responding to questions, Oniha said: “So, to respond to your question is to say that we have looked at it; just note some numbers in the MTEF, just looking at where the public debt stock is today and what we project it to be, based on the new borrowings provided for in the MTEF; debt stock will grow naturally – look at the trillions of new borrowings there – and we see that debt to GDP as well will also grow. “The committee may be aware that early this year, the public debt to GDP ratio was increased to 40 per cent primarily because of the increases in new borrowings and other activities of government. So, debt to GDP will also grow over the period but we are still within the limit of 40 per cent that was approved in February. I just said I should highlight these. Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, said at the end of June, this year, the non oil sector of the economy was running high in terms of revenue generation, while the oil revenue was on the decline. He said “as the Minister highlighted in her presentation, as of June, this year in terms of revenue performance, our non-oil tax revenues were running ahead of or very close to target. But our oil revenue performance was a drag – just under 50 per cent of target. That pulled down our overall revenue performance percentage. “But on the expenditure side, we are running over 90 per cent, not surprising because we are meeting all of our recurrent expenditure and there is also strenuous efforts being made to fund the capital budget. So, that has meant that the deficit was running ahead of plan as of that date. ‘Overall, the deficit is still within the ceiling set in the Appropriation (Act 2021). Expenditure is over 90 per cent but our revenue is a little under 70 per cent; that is the overall in aggregate. On capital, as of the number that we have presented, extrapolated to August. But as of June, releases for capital was over N900bn. But that figure has gone up to N1.3tn (as of August). As the honourable minister has reported, as of August is 63.5 per cent appropriated for capital has been released, which is the N1.3tn. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation said they were compiling a list of MDAs that has defaulted in remitting revenue to the government and the amount each agency is owing the government from e presentation to the House Committee by Tuesday.

https://thenationonlineng.net/fed-govt-to-borrow-n4-9tr-to-

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27th June, 2017 The Mirror reports that evil ISIS thugs cooked the baby boy of a Yazidi woman and then fed him to his unsuspecting mother after almost starving her to death. The woman was allegedly being kept as a sex slave in a dark cellar and hadn’t eaten for three days. The Mirror quoted Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, as saying that a ten-year-old girl was also ‘raped to death’ in front of her family members. A tearful Ms Dakhil was speaking to Egyptian TV channel Extra News when she revealed the horrific persecution endured by her people. Ms Dakhil told interviewers: “One of the women we managed to retrieve from ISIS said that she was held in a cellar for three days without food or water. “Afterwards, they brought her a plate of rice and meat, she ate the food because she was very hungry. “When she was finished, they said to her: ‘We cooked your one-year-old son that we took from you, and this is what you just ate’.” Ms Dakhil is the only Yazidi in the Iraqi Parliament. She begged for international help when the Yazidi community was trapped on Sinjar Mountain in 2014 amid an ISIS onslaught. ISIS believe they are entitled to rape, abuse, torture and murder Yazidi women after they declared them ‘devil worshippers’. Ancient faith of Yazidism integrates some Islamic beliefs with elements of Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion and Mithraism. Yazidi women and children are expecting to convert to Islam if captured by ISIS, and are then sold as brides. But those who refuse to convert are eventually murdered. Ms Dakhil also told the news channel that a young girl was raped to death in front of her father and five sisters after they were taken captive.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/06/27/isis-cooked-baby-boy-fed-

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Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo - Buhari hosts 23 presidential aspirants, others in Aso Rock The Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential screening committee may have ranked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo top of the 23 aspirants jostling to secure the party’s presidential ticket for the 2023 election. The committee had announced that it cleared 13 of the aspirants to contest the primaries due to hold on Monday and Tuesday but was mum on the fate of the others. An authoritative source hinted that what the committee did was to score the aspirants based on its own criteria and the Vice President emerged tops. The committee’s report submitted to the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdulahi, was scheduled to be deliberated upon at Saturday night’s meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari, members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) and the 23 presidential aspirants at the presidential villa, Abuja. Also at the meeting were the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babangida Monguno (rtd). It was gathered that the main objective of the meeting was to encourage the aspirants to support the individual who was ranked top among those who were screened. The meeting, which took place at the official residence of the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Saturday night, came barely 48 hours to the national convention of the ruling party where it is expected to choose its flag bearer. President Buhari had already asked the governors of the APC to support him to pick his own successor, a demand that has generated some controversy within the party. Saturday’s meeting also came against the backdrop of the outburst by former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, against President Buhari ostensibly over the perceived plot to sideline him from the race. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/06/just-in-apc-screening-committee-

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GWR: Nigerian traveller to tour 54 African countries by road, sea A Nigerian travel enthusiast, Ileri Babalobi, is set to visit all 54 African countries via road and sea travel in an attempt to becoming the first African to complete such a feat, and setting two Guinness world records in the process. The 31-year-old has visited all the 36 states of Nigeria, all the 16 regions of Ghana, as well as over a dozen African countries. According to the travel itinerary, he will visit 48 African countries on the road by public transport and 6 island countries by sea. The attempt, which is titled “Naija to the World,” is aimed at showcasing the resilience that Nigerians are made of and also use the trip to galvanise support for the Nigerian Red Cross. At the borders of each country, he will take a picture with the Nigerian flag. “The Nigerian Red Cross does so much good work for Nigeria. I’ll be raising awareness for funds for the Nigerian Red Cross at every step of the trip. I fell in love with this country when I visited all 36 states, and I consider myself a patriot. I’ve always wanted to do something Gratis for Nigeria, and I found an opportunity by combining multiple passions. The Red Cross also has a track record of effective charity” Babalobi said, giving an insight into the travel expedition tagged, “Naija to the World. “ Ileri Babablobi who started travelling shortly after appearing on the Game show ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ and winning a million naira, said he chose to spend his resources on travelling because he wanted to explore other people’s cultures and to satisfy his curiosity about Africa and Africans. “I am a travel enthusiast because I love seeing new cultures and how people live. Even before this attempt, I have been to all the 36 states of Nigeria, and when I lived in Ghana, all the 16 regions of Ghana as well. Additionally, I’ve been to over a dozen African countries, and my last road trip stretched for three months – July to October 2023, where I visited 10 African countries”, he said. Ileri would also be promoting the Borderless Africa campaign by the NGO , Africans Rising. Under the ideals of the borderless Africa campaign, he believes there should be a deeper brotherhood among Africans, and Africans should be able to easily travel from one Africa country to another. “It’s a pity that Africans have to pay expensive visa fees to visit most other African countries. I look forward to a future where most of the barriers to migration for Africans within Africa are removed.” While calling for private and public organisations as well as the government to support his expendition, he noted that the voyage will take about 9 months, spending 3 or 4 days on average in each country and visiting the tourist sites and interacting with the culture of each country. He added that the adventures of each day would be posted on YouTube. The “Naija to the World” expedition is scheduled to start in March 2024. Ileri Chukwuemeka Babalobi, an indigene of Osun State, holds a degree in psychology from the University of Ibadan. He was born in Enugu and grew up in Northern Nigeria before moving to Ibadan as a child.

https://allure.vanguardngr.com/2024/02/ileri-babalobi/

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February 17, 2021 by The Nation BREAKING: Senate asks Buhari to declare state of emergency on insecurity By Sanni Onogu, Abuja The Senate has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency over escalating insecurity across the nation. It made the call following kidnap of students and teachers of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State by gunmen on Wednesday morning. The lawmakers further called on the President Buhari led administration to implementation the various recommendations of the Senate on how to tackle insecurity. These resolutions of the Senate followed a motion on a matter of urgent public importance on the incident by Senator representing Niger East, Mohammed Sani Musa. Senate President Ahmad Lawan said the frequent incidents of kidnapping of students would reverse the gains made in school enrollment over the years in the North. He said parents would no longer yield to persuasion to enroll their wards in school with the level of insecurity plaguing the area especially the kidnap of school children. In his contribution, Senator Mohammed Birma Enagi (Niger South) described the Federal Government as “incompetent” in dealing with the rising insecurity in the country.

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-senate-asks-buhari-to-declare-

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The European football governing body has banned English Premier League (EPL) champion, Manchester City from participating in the UEFA Champions League for two seasons. According to UEFA, Man City who is yet to win a continental title will also pay the fine of €30m after being found to have committed serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.” Read Full Statement: UEFA takes note of the decision of the independent Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), issued today, which included the following summary of its content and effect to be announced as required by the Procedural Rules governing the CFCB: “Following a hearing held on 22 January 2020 the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), chaired by José da Cunha Rodrigues, has today notified Manchester City Football Club of the final decision on the case which was referred by the CFCB Chief Investigator. The Adjudicatory Chamber, having considered all the evidence, has found that Manchester City Football Club committed serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016. The Adjudicatory Chamber has also found that in breach of the regulations the Club failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB. The Adjudicatory Chamber has imposed disciplinary measures on Manchester City Football Club directing that it shall be excluded from participation in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of € 30 million. The decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber is subject to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If Manchester City Football Club exercises that right the full reasoned decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber will not be published prior to publication of the final award by the CAS.” As noted by the Adjudicatory Chamber, the club has the right to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Therefore, UEFA will not be commenting further on this decision at this stage. UEFA takes note of the decision of the independent Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), issued today, relating to Manchester City Football Club... — UEFA (@UEFA) February 14, 2020

https://allnews.ng/news/uefa-manchester-city-banned-from-champions-league

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May 11, 2021 by The Nation Don’t cry for my son, keep praying for us – Pastor Adeboye By Alao Abiodun General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adeboye has urged Nigerians not to cry over the demise of his son, Dare. He rather called for prayers for his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, the widow, his children, grandchildren and the entire family. The Nation reports Dare, the third child of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, died last Wednesday in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, where he was based with his family. The 42-year-old was the Assistant Pastor in charge of Region (Youth) 35 before his death. The father of three daughters was buried on Tuesday. Adeboye, in a 10-minute, 55-second video, shared by his son, Leke Adeboye on YouTube as obtained by The Nation, thanked Nigerians for the massive show of love. “I want to thank each and every one of you, for this massive show of love, not just for Dare but for me, my wife, the widow, the children, the siblings Read Also: Tears as Pastor Dare Adeboye is laid to rest “I am extremely grateful, I am only bringing you this brief message not just to thank you but to let you know that by the special grace of God, we are loved of God and because we are loved of God, we are more than conquerors. “I want you to know that God who knows the end from the beginning, knew long before the foundations of the world that what has happened is going to happen. “And because His word is forever settled, He said all things work together for good to them that love God. We may not understand now, but what has happened is going to work out for good as individuals, as families and as a denomination.” Adeboye described his late son, Dare, as a “champion”. He said: “Cry if you wish but don’t cry for Pastor Dee (as Dare is fondly called) because he is resting in glory. Cry because you are the one still fighting the battle. “Anyone who has caught a glimpse of heaven will not be crying for Pastor Dee because there is no comparison between heaven and earth. But then fight courageously because, on the resurrection morning, we shall meet again. “I want you to know that God who knows the end from the beginning knew long before the foundations of the world that what has happened was going to happen. “And because his word is forever settled, he said all things work together for good to them that love God. We may not understand now, but what has happened is going to work out for our good. “In one of his sermons, Dare himself said God does not need a visa to pay you a visit or to do whatever he wants to do in your life. “And I have told you before death is not a function of age. Young people die, old people die, children die. And it is not about how long you live it is how well. Even Jesus Christ himself died at the age of 33. John the Baptist never lived to be 34 and yet he was the greatest. “We have lost a champion. You would agree with me on that. Let us consider him a seed that we have sown and let’s get ready for a special harvest. “I want us to join our forces together and produce many champions like Damilare that would go round the whole world and shake the world for the Lord Jesus. That is how we can honour his memory.” He added: “The church of God is marching on. It doesn’t matter what the devil is thinking now. “The devil was rejoicing the day the Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross but he never knew what was coming. The devil was rejoicing when Job lost all his children but if only he knew what was coming.” he added.

https://thenationonlineng.net/dont-cry-for-my-son-keep-praying-for-us-

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February 14, 2021 by The Nation For remaining at Monguno Hospital despite Boko Haram, Zulum approves N13.9m, car for Yoruba doctor Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the payment of N13.9 million and car gift to a 65-year old medical doctor from Ogun State, who lived within the General Hospital in Monguno and continued to offer healthcare services to patients even when the town was faced with the most severe threats by Boko Haram. The doctor, Dr. Isa Akinbode, graduated from the University of Maiduguri and joined the Borno State Civil Service, where he served for 22 years before he retired in 2016 at Monguno General Hospital. After his retirement, the doctor, despite reports that he was once abducted and released by Boko Haram in Monguno, remained at the General Hospital in Monguno to offer voluntary medical services. Then Governor Kashim Shettima, during one his visits to Monguno, directed officials of the state’s Ministry of Health to engage Akinbode as a contract staff. Due to bureaucratic procedures, officials at the ministry in Maiduguri, however, delayed formalising the doctor’s contract, even though he continued to serve. Read Also: Zulum approves N624m for Borno students Five years later, Governor Zulum, on Friday, directed that Dr. Akinbode be paid his accrued arrears of N13.9m based on the terms of the contract directed by the former governor in 2016. Zulum also directed that going forward, contracts should be formalised for monthly entitlements. The governor also presented a Toyota Highlander as gift to Dr Akinbode for his services to the host people of Borno. “These (people like Dr Akinbode) are the kinds of people that need to be encouraged. He lives in Monguno despite all the security problems. My predecessor had during his visit to Monguno directed that he should be engaged on contract basis; unfortunately due to some bureaucratic procedures, his reengagement has not been formalised. In fulfilment of the promise of my boss, I decided to re-engage him on contract basis retrospectively. We are paying all his entitlements/salary in arrears. I am giving him a cheque of N13.9m. I have also approved his reengagement from 2016, being the date of his retirement.” Zulum said. Governor Zulum also approved the recruitment of Dr Akinbode’s daughter, who studied Public Administration at the University of Maiduguri, into the Borno State Civil Service.

https://thenationonlineng.net/for-remaining-at-monguno-hospital-

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Former Vice President and presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) ,Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,on Tuesday said he would actualise Igbo presidency if elected in 2023. Abubakar made the pledge during the PDP South-East Zonal Stakeholders’ Meeting in Enugu on Tuesday. He said his love for Ndigbo was so great that in the 2011, 2019 elections and he chose Igbo men as running mates. Abubakar added that he had chosen another Igbo man in Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta as running mate for the 2023 election . “So, why do you say I will not give Igbos a fair chance to the lead the country after my tenure as president. “I did that in 2019 when I brought Obi and another Obi in 2011and for 2023 I chose Ifeanyi Okowa, another Igbo man as my running mate, even when Ohaneze said no Igbo should contest for Presidency under PDP. “My brothers and sisters, I don’t address you anymore as ladies and gentlemen but brothers and sisters, it is clear that you cannot fall my love for Igbo nation,” Atiku said. The PDP candidate said he had supported people from the South-West, the North-West and the South-East to be president at different times. He said there was the need to make make the country attractive to make citizens stay and contribute their quota to its development . Abubakar said ,if elected, his administration would provide quality education that would enable equip the youths with the required skills and competences for a modern economy. The PDP presidential candidate also promised that he would provide quality healthcare system for if elected . Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/09/i-ll-be-a-stepping-stone-for-igbo-

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By Ochereome Nnanna DID Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State, really imagine himself a president of Nigeria? As a lawyer, former local government chairman, chief of staff to a governor, minister and now two-term Governor of Rivers State, Wike is eminently qualified. But his bad mouth, bellicosity and lack of temperance have just robbed him of a chance to at least secure the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and take it from there. Wike’s 237-371 votes loss to Atiku Abubakar was a good show. The money which he threw around with mindless abandon went far but not far enough. There are things money cannot buy. Those are the things Wike lacked and Atiku possessed in abundance: ability to make friends and cultivate associates across the divides. Wike thought that his style of bullying his way through Rivers politics would work at the national level. Tell me, how many past presidents bullied their ways into power? Even Obasanjo as a president had to kneel down for Atiku, his VP, to win his second term in 2003. Muhammadu Buhari adopted deception – “repented democrat” – in 2015. He humbled himself before Ahmed Tinubu who then helped him to win the presidency. Buhari had failed three previous times because he thought the North alone could catapult him into Aso Villa. Wike chose to fight individuals and groups rather than make friends and build bridges. He has been raging about being “betrayed”. Wike has also been accused of being a betrayer: he betrayed the South-East. I think his presidential ambition was an overnight fancy. He himself hinted so when he said he decided to run when the 17 Southern Governors resolved that the next president must be from the South. His ambition was a flight of fancy fuelled by his free access to money. How can an Ikwerre man who desires to be Nigeria’s president distance his people from their larger Igbo national umbrella and hope to go far? The Igbo are among the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria and among the top five in Africa. The Igbo nation was chiefly responsible for President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat of Buhari in the 2011 election, which was why Jonathan, an Ijaw man, virtually became an “Igbo president” thereafter. A wise politician of Ikwerre extraction would identify himself with such a large group, if not on ethnic grounds then for a big home base. Chibuike Amaechi, Wike’s Ikwerre brother, is toeing that path of wisdom and now loudly claims his “Igboness” though he had denied so in the past. Northerners do not talk about tribe. They talk about the North. This creates a sense of unity among them and helps them to dominate the fractious South. Until the Southerners learn to sink their differences and work together, the North will always override them politically and plunder their resources as they have done since independence. It will embolden them further to keep pushing their Islamic agenda towards the eastern flank of the ocean. From 1999 till date, the South-West and South-South have each produced President and Vice President through the rotation and zoning policy. With the Southern Governors’ resolution that the next president should come from the South after Buhari’s eight years, the South should have come together to support the South- East to take their turn. If that had happened, the North would have given their support. Even Atiku had promised to support the South-East if the party zoned the presidency directly to it. Why didn’t Wike and other PDP South Governors push for it? The South-East had supported the South-West, North and South-South when the presidency was zoned to them, but when it came to their turn, the likes of Wike decided to play spoilsport. An unprepared and unfit Wike jumped in from nowhere. Not only that, he went to Anambra State to heap insults on Peter Obi, the most promising South East aspirant. He said Obi “cannot win”. Has Wike won now? He went to Edo State and took on fellow Governor, Godwin Obaseki, in his usual bolekaja (come down let’s fight) way. He also took on his former Northern Man Friday, Aminu Tambuwal. There were media reports that they nearly took to fisticuffs! A presidential aspirant? Fancy having such a character in Aso Rock! My word of advice for Atiku Abubakar: he is free to consider any Southerner for his running mate. Anyone but Wike. He has no business in the corridors of our presidency. He is too mannerless and divisive. I have my own idea of the future of Nigeria if I had my way. Whatever Atiku chooses to do, he should be reminded that the PDP presidential ticket he is holding should have gone to the South-East based on the party’s entrenched zoning policy. However, I can understand why PDP did everything in its power to hand it over to Atiku. He is their surest banker for regaining power in 2023. The party regaining power is more important to the PDP than worthless sectional sentiments. Only a party in power can implement zoning and make it fit. President Olusegun Obasanjo personally implemented zoning in 2007 and he made it stick. But for his failed government, Buhari could have carried out zoning without sweat. I am very positive that Atiku will do the right thing after his presidency if he wins in 2023. It is natural that Atiku’s running mate should come from the South-East. Apart from prominent party members like Pius Anyim, Osita Chidoka and Ike Ekweremadu, there are also his longtime political associates such as Senator Ben Obi and Emeka Ihedioha. If Atiku still goes outside the South-East to pick his VP, he would be continuing Buhari’s policy of the zone’s political exclusion. There would be consequences both electorally and otherwise. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/06/did-wike-just-run-for-

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…Power supply by GENCOs in 2019 average 32,799,114MWh — NBS By Ediri Ejoh There are indications that despite the pronouncement of the suspension of the new tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, on Tuesday, the directive has not been implemented as bills paid yesterday to the Nigeria Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs, remained at the new rate. Recall that the regulator had approved the hike in tariff which kicked off on September 1, 2020, but under the pressure from the organized labour union, an interim reversal was ordered earlier in the week by the government. Vanguard gathered that customers, who had recharged their prepaid meter across the country yesterday, were forced to pay the new cost-reflective tariff issued on September 1, 2020. The DISCOs, who confirmed this situation, said the directive was given on Tuesday and modalities for the implementation would need time. They noted that such was not applicable to postpaid meter customers who are been served bills for August which carried the old rate and not September. A statement NERC noted that the suspension was issued on Tuesday, September 29, stressing that it had officially suspended the electricity tariff hike. The regulator issued Order No. NERC/209/2020 around 10.30 pm on Tuesday; with the title, “NERC Order on suspension of the Multi-Year Tariff Order 2020 for the electricity distribution licensees.” The order was co-signed by the NERC Chairman, James Momoh, and the Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye. However, the Commission stated: “This order shall take effect from 28th September (Monday) 2020, and shall cease to have an effect on the 11th October 2020.” Meanwhile, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday revealed that the power generation statistics for 2019 reflected that a total of 33,448,633 MWh of energy was generated by power stations. The NBS report stated that GENCOs generated 19,692,683 MWh, IPP generated 7,798,253 MWh while the NIPP generated 5,957,697MWh. However, Egbin recorded the highest energy generation with 3,786,313MWh accounting for 11.32 percent while Alaoji NIPP recorded the lowest with 209,453MWh accounting for 0.63 percent of total energy generated in 2019. Total Energy sent out by GENCOs in 2019 stood at 32,799,114MWh. GENCOs sent out 19,233,151 MWh, IPP GENCOs sent out 7,648,700 MWh while the NIPP sent out 5,917,262 MWh. Energy consumed by the Eleven DISCOs in 2019 stood at 28,026,503 MWh, Ikeja DISCO recorded the highest energy consumption with 4,087,971 MWh accounting for 14.95 percent while Yola DISCOo recorded the lowest with 1,122,534MWh accounting for 4 percent of total energy consumed in 2019. Cross Border Electricity Transactions showed that Benin and the Niger Republic were supplied a total of 1,278,344MWh and 1,048,807MWh of electricity respectively. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/10/electricity-

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By Femi Salako The declaration of Dr. Doyin Okupe to contest the next presidential election in Nigeria is one which has continued to garner immense support from Nigerians, and Party Members of the People Democratic Party. It is one which has given Nigerians hope that they can have a candidate with value and substance, one with the needed experience and drive to lead Nigeria to a new and greater height. While the People Democratic Party (PDP) recorded a great success with its just concluded National Convention, it’s also a big win for Dr. Doyin Okupe has he was amongst one of the few Presidential Aspirants who stole the limelight. If there was any doubt about his resolve and determination to contest the next presidential election in the country, the recently concluded National Convention helped erase any shade of doubt. The posters and campaign materials of the two times presidential spokesperson became a common feature of the convention as his supporters came en-masse to throw their weight behind him. His army of supporters took the venue of the convention by storm going head to head with the supporter’s strength of candidates like Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso. Ever since the declaration of Dr. Doyin Okupe for presidency,he has continued not only to make his plans known to all Nigerians, he has also cemented himself as the only candidate of the PDP who has come out from the South to vie for the presidency come 2023. His resolve is unshakeable, firm and determined, in his words, “There is no stopping us now, we’ve got the groove, in this upward beat of the PDP towards 2023, by the Grace of the Almighty God, I will play a leading role” Evidence of this became manifest during the recently concluded National Convention when little me was the only visible Presidential Aspirant from the whole of Southern Nigeria.” It may be too early to start predicting those who will eventually contest the next Presidential election in Nigeria, however it’s not far fetched to put Dr. Doyin Okupe in the ring of the strong candidates who will replace President Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of the nation come 2023. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/11/doyin-okupe-shines-at-the-pdp-

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By Chinonso Alozie Over 50 persons have been arrested in connection with pipeline vandalism in Imo state. The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Elisha Danjuma, disclosed this on Tuesday in Owerri, while commemorating the International civil Defence Day. Danjuma said that the arrest of over fifty persons was part of it’s efforts to protect and sustain the economic environment of the state. According to him, “The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, being member of the international Civil Defence Organization, ICDO, and a major stakeholders worldwide in civil protection management celebrates with the sole aim of raising awareness towards protecting the civil populace. READ ALSO: Imo goes clean and green again “The essence of clean environment by the leading the officers to cleaning the environment within and outside the state command’s headquarters saying that a preserved natural economy can only thrive in a clean environment which is a collective environment.” However, the NSCDC, pointed out that, “The command in a bid to preserve the national economy has myriads of arrests to her credit to avert crime and criminality and oil pipeline vandalism. “In the area of vandal, the state commandant stated that Imo command has arrested over 50 vandals since he came on board. He added that, “The civil defence day serves as a day that symbolizes, honour, prestige and signifies the importance of civil importance.” Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/03/breaking-

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By Ayo Onikoyi D’banj as a singer and Don Jazzy the producer used to be the perfect team as the honchos of Mo’hits Records. But like a bolt from the blue, their hitherto smooth relationship collapsed in 2012 like a pack of badly arranged cards. Ever since, fans and colleagues in the music industry have been begging the duo to come back together and rework their magic. However, what could have been the perfect opportunity for the two heavyweights to address the issue came to pass on Sunday, September 20,at the Eko Hotel-venue of 2face Idibia’s Fortyfied Concert. D’banj mounted the stage to perform some of his hit songs to the delight of the audience, and halfway through, he said he was going to perform a song, ‘Feeling Good’ produced by Don Jazzy and featuring 2face that was leaked online before it could be properly released. He beckoned on Don Jazzy to join him on stage to perform the song, but Jazzy remained glued to his seat with new Mavin signees, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, and Dija. Even when 2face begged the duo to produce one more hit together, Don Jazzy remained resolute. In 2face’s words, ‘Don Jazzy and D’banj, abeg make una do one more song, just one…. I take God beg una.’ D’banj instantly responded with the words, “Sure! It’s going to happen,” while Don Jazzy still remained on his seat without even a smile. This led many of the guests in attendance to insinuate that D’banj was more eager for a come-back than Don Jazzy is. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/don-jazzy-ignores-dbanj-on-stage/

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September 8, 2022 by The Nation BREAKING: Presidential aide backing Atiku, PDP, Wike alleges Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has alleged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar are arrogant because someone in the presidency is backing them. Wike said the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, had refused to honour his promise to resign and yield his position to the South because he was banking on the presidential backing. But the Governor reminded them the same forces at the Presidency promised someone the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but failed to deliver it. The Governor said in due time he would reveal the identity of the person at the Presidency backing Atiku and the PDP.

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-presidential-aide-backing-atiku-

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April 2, 2016 by The Nation AFCON 2017 FALLOUT: Le Guen accepts Eagles job Sportinglife can reveal exclusively today that Frenchman Paul Le Guen has tacitly accepted to coach Nigeria’s senior team, the Super Eagles in a two-year deal that is renewable based on the team’s performance. SportingLife scooped further that the Frenchman demanded that the NFF gets him a house in Abuja where he hopes to stay and monitor the domestic league players plying their trade weekly. Indeed, Le Guen will get a house in Lagos where he would go to watch the league matches in the two stadia in Lagos and also the games in the South South, South East and South West areas of the country. Interestingly, SportingLife reported yesterday that NFF chieftains have offered the new helmsman a whooping 40,000 Euros monthly and that the new tactician would pay for the services of his assistant and a trainer from the monthly 40,000 euros which he has accepted to earn during his three-year tenure. Le Guen, who was born 1 March 1964, is a French football manager and a former player. His last role was as manager of the Oman national football team, from which he was relieved in November 2015. Interestingly, NFF chiefs have decided to allow the technical crew that prosecuted the two-legged ties against Egypt in Kaduna on March 25 and in Alexandria on March 29 in tact, given the remarkable manner in which they worked as a team for the games. Indeed, on Tuesday, NFF hierarchy would meet with the sports minister, Solomon Dalung where the issue of Le Guen’s employment would be exhuastibly discussed, just the NFF’s plans for the Russia 2018 World Cup competition with draws of the competition slated to hold in June. NFF men are also toying with other options principal of which is the urgent need to fill the void that would arise in the squad when Samson Siasia head for the Rio’ 2016 Olympic Games, in the event that the minister isn’t persuaded to employ a foreign coach for the Super Eagles after the Tuesday’s meeting in Abuja. Already, the NFF have contacted renowned agents to shop for international friendly games meant to keep the Eagles busy now that the draws for the Russia 2018 World Cup would be held later in June.

http://thenationonlineng.net/afcon-2017-fallout-

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November 4, 2022 by The Nation Atiku, firm in row over $5.9m visa bill payment Barely three months to 2023 poll, there was a fresh row over alleged non-payment of a $5.9million fees by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to secure a visa to visit the United States in 2018. A firm, Legacy Logistics LLC Limited, alleged that Atiku was yet to pay the princely sum for the visa. Although the firm alleged that Atiku’s trip was applauded by his teeming supporters, he did not pay for the services rendered. It alleged that Atiku intentionally refused to honour his part of the service agreement despite repeated demands. But Atiku’s legal adviser, Prof. Maxwell Gidado (SAN) , who was named by the firm to be in the know of the agreement, said the company did not procure any visa for the PDP candidate. He also said no agreement was signed with the company to pay $5.9million for the visa. He said Legacy Logistics LLC Limited outsourced the service to retired Ambassador Kumba in Dallas in the United States, who admitted that what he did was not up to half a million dollar. He said upon return from his shuttles to the United States in 2018, Atiku paid the aggrieved company some money for its “troubles.” He said the protest letter was an attempt to “extort money from Atiku.” After a 13-year break, it was difficult for Atiku to secure entry to the US in 2018. The development made him to hire some legal firms and lobby groups to be able to get a visa to prove that he was not banned from America. In spite of the fact that the efforts paid off, the PDP candidate did not claim that a price was allegedly attached to the visa procurement. But Legacy Logistics LLC Limited has come out openly to admit that it was one of those who made Atiku’s visa processing possible at $5.9million, which it claimed, remains unpaid . The company has however, indicated its preparedness for a legal battle, unless Atiku fulfills his obligation to it. It made its position known in a letter, which was dated September 19, 2022, by a legal firm, Jurisperitus Associates. The letter was titled: “Demand for payment of the sum of $5,900,000 Legacy Logistics LLC for processing and procurements of United States of American visa on your behalf.” The excerpts of the letter, originally published by Saharareporters, read in part: “We are solicitors to Legacy Logistics LLC Ltd (hereinafter referred to as our client and on its behalf and instructions) we write you: “Our client briefed us thus: - That you instructed your legal representative Prof. Maxwell Gidado, SAN and your advisor, Dr. Samuel Cornelius to seek the services of our client to process and procure United States of American visa on your behalf. - Consequent upon your instruction, a scope of service agreement was entered into dated 15th October, 2018. The service our client was to provide base on the agreement were specified in the addendum I to the scope of service agreement. - Our client diligently executed the agreement and you were successfully issued the United States of America visa which same was delivered to you. “You subsequently used the said visa and travelled to the United States of American whereby your teeming supporters and admirers in Nigeria and the world over applauded you. “Your Excellency sir, you have intentionally refused and neglected to honour your part of the service agreement despite repeated demands from our client.” When contacted last night, Prof. Maxwell Gidado (SAN) said the firm did not do the job. But he said the promoters of the aggrieved company were paid for their “troubles” to get Atiku a visa to the United States. He said the drama about the $5.9m was about an alleged attempt to “extort money” from the PDP presidential candidate. He said: “No. These people are just trying to extort money from Atiku Abubakar (AA). I agreed that they came in 2018 and wanted to offer their services to assist Atiku Abubakar (AA) procure a visa to America. “They started and engaged the services of one Ambassador Kumba. And Amb. Kumba did try and got to a particular stage. But due to non-payment of money for the financing, he backed out. They were the one that promised paying the money but they didn’t pay him. Samuel and Joseph promised paying Amb. Kumba to procure the visa, also write a book and also do an image of Atiku (a very, very good image of Atiku) in the international community. These were the three things they asked him (Kumba) to do. “And they promised paying him by creating an escrow account which Kumba will be working with. Amb. But when Kumba started work, these people didn’t put a dime in that account. So, the man stopped work. “And then another firm continued with the process of getting a visa for Atiku and they got it for him. And even when he went and came back, they came and brought their bill. “Atiku settled them (Joseph and Samuel). He paid them money for their troubles. And I was a witness when he was paying them this money. And they didn’t give Kumba a dime. “And this matter was a 2018 case. If you knew you had a matter that involved $5.9million, you will sleep over it in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Haba! Haba! Rubbish. “To me, they are just trying to extort money. And don’t worry, Amb. Kumba has been contacted. He is going to do a disclaimer and his lawyer is even going to write. “I did not play any role. They are just dropping my name because I am the Legal Adviser. And we went along with them to the United States where I went and met Amb. Kumba. And that was the complaint Kumba was giving to me. “As I tell you, no agreement was signed by neither Atiku Abubakar nor me with them for this $5.9million. That is what I want to tell you as a lawyer and a senior Advocate. There was no agreement whatsoever. Ask them to bring any agreement where there was a signature and that agreement says process and procure a visa for AA and we will pay you $5.9million. Signed by AA and signed by them. “Secondly, let them also prove that they were the ones that procured the visa (they did the visa procurement). They never did it, so it is just a scam. They just want to extort money from Atiku. So, Atiku’s lawyers are going to get at them. “ ‘Responding to a question, Gidado said the petitioners were not the ones that processed the visa. He added: “No, they were not the ones. First, the law firm and the people that assisted are going to talk. “The law firm is from Washington D.C. They are going to take it up too. In fact, they want to even sue them for passing off.” Asked why he went to the That was when they came to inform AA that they had one Amb. Kumba and as one of the legal advisers, I wanted to go and meet Amb. Kumba to see the veracity or otherwise of what they were doing. That was why they were mentioning my name. “As far as I am concerned, we never signed any agreement with them, nor was there any written agreement. “The only thing was that Amb. Kumba was to be given for some money for his troubles if he is able to. “And there is no way the procurement can cost $5.9million. Are you going to give them a new heart, a new head? Even you journalists, if you are writing anything, do some investigation. “The man (Kumba ) is even claiming $300,000. He said all he did up to the time he stopped this work was $300,000. And he said if Atiku gives him or he doesn’t pay him, he doesn’t give a damn. That was why the matter died like that. Otherwise, Kumba would have taken Atiku to court. He also knows that he didn’t sign any agreement with Atiku. “Kumba was a retired Ambassador at that time but very influential in the United States. He is based in Dallas. “They were not to procure the visa. They didn’t get one paper. I want you to quote me, Samuel and Joseph never touched one paper to procure a visa. All they did was to go through Kumba. Kumba was the one that was to do the job. And Kumba is saying what he did was not up to half a million dollar. Where did they get $5.9million claim from?” When contacted, the spokesman for Atiku campaign organisation, Paul Ibe, said: “They are fraudsters. Their objective is to extort money.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/atiku-firm-in-row-over-5-9m-visa-bill-

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28th November, 2017 The Alliance of Nollywood Guilds and Associations (ANOGA) says that no fewer than 200 websites have been pirating the Nigerian creative contents in the last 12 months using their Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) domiciled in the country. ANOGA said this in its communiqué issued at the end of its meeting held in Lagos and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. It was signed by Dr Victor Ashaolu, ANOGA’s president, Mr Afolabi Ogunjobi , its Secretary General and Chief Donatus Chikezie, an executive member of the association. The communiqué said, “Through our exclusive aggregator, MDN Limited, we have been able to engage a US-based anti-piracy organisation to fight piracy of the Nigerian creative contents on the online platforms globally. “As part of its test operation, the organisation recently discovered over 200 websites pirating Nigerian creative contents in the last 12 months with their Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) domiciled in Nigeria’’ it said. ANOGA also said that some telecommunication companies had also conspired with some middle men called Value Added Service (VAS) Licence holders to deny creative content owners in the music and film industry in Nigeria of their revenues. It said that such revenues should have accrued to the content owners from downloading and streaming their platforms. ANOGA then appealed to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, to compel ALTON to make public royalties collected from its sales of Nollywood members’ works in the last one year. In his reactions, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the chairman of ALTON confirmed that the association received a letter from ANOGA. Adebayo said that the letter had been referred to a committee within the association and it was looking into it. “We need to find out what their legal standing is, because we have the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), are asking for royalties on some people’s behalf. “We have asked that the committee should look into the legality of the requests of ANOGA. “We are looking at what they sent us with relative to what the provision of the law is and at the right time, we will make the right communication to them,” he said.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/11/28/anoga-fights-online-

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August 16, 2021 by The Nation BREAKING: House of Representatives member dies The lawmaker representing Akure North and Akure South in the House of Representatives, Hon Omolafe Adedayo Isaac aka”Expensive”, is dead. Hon Omolafe died around 2am in a private hospital in Akure, the Ondo State capital. Omolafe was elected to the National Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). He was elected chairman of a local council and served as Coordinator of the SURE-P programme under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Ondo PDP spokesman, Kennedy Peretei, who confirmed the death, described him as a grassroot politician who would be missed. Peretei said his death was a big blow to the party.

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-house-of-

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11th July, 2019 To restate its commitment to fighting examination malpractices to the barest level and enforcing discipline, the management of The Polytechnic Ibadan has ordered that mobile phones, worth millions of naira, which were confiscated from the students during examinations be set on fire. The Deputy Rector of the institution, Bayo Oyeleke, addressing journalists on Wednesday, at the Ibadan campus of the institution said the authorities have resolved to ensuring that the examinations of the Polytechnic are sacred. According to Oyeleke, the phones worth millions of naira were recovered from the students during examination in the school and that the school has decided to burn the phones to restate its commitment to fight examination malpractices to the barest level. “We are here to take further action on our resolved to ensure that the crop of students and product being produced by the school are students with exemplary character and are those who really work and worth the certificate of the institution.” He said. He further said there are rules guiding the school examination and that any student that goes against any of the rules will be made to dance to the music. “There are rules guiding the principles of our examinations and one of it is that no student under whatever guise should come into the examination hall with cell phones but you know that some students are very recalcitrant “We have resolved to confiscate them because it has been expressly stated on their examination paper that any phone found on any students during examination shall be confiscated and in order not to allow any of the phones to filter out, the school has resolved that such phones shall be burnt,” he said.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/07/11/exam-

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January 18, 2024 by Gbenga Omokhunu | Abuja Confusion as FCT Police Command faults report of rescued man abducted in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has described as false report that police has rescued a man abducted in Abuja and has also arrested the kidnapper. Report has it that police on Thursday, January 18, rescued an Abuja resident, Segun Akinyemi who was kidnapped while driving out of his house after heavy gun battle. According to a statement issued by the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, the kidnappers were taking Akinyemi from Abuja to Kano State when the police swooped on them. He said on January 18, 2024, operatives attached to Kawo Divisional Headquarters, Kaduna, received a distress call of a kidnapping incident from Abuja. He said they were alerted that the culprits and their victim were transiting through Kaduna. “The Operatives, at about 0010 hours, blocked a grey Toyota Hilux van with registration number Abuja RBC 90 DC, carrying four passengers, the driver inclusive, suspected to be the vehicle conveying the kidnappers and their victim.” “On sensing danger and in an effort to escape, one of the kidnappers fired at the policemen, and they responded. “In the resulting gun duel, the victim, a certain Segun Akinyemi of block 10, flat 2 FCDA quarters Area 3 Garki, Abuja, was rescued, and one of the kidnappers, a 28-year-old Chinaza Philip of Life Camp Abuja, was arrested,” he said. Hassan said the three other suspects who escaped are being trailed, adding that the vehicle belonging to the victim, two Retay G17 model pistols, one Beretta pistol, ten 9mm P.A.K. ammunition, and five 9mm special ammunition were recovered from the kidnappers. He said preliminary inquiries revealed that the victim was abducted on January 17, 2024, by the kidnappers just when he was leaving his home situated at the aforementioned address. He said the three escaped suspects were: Chidibere Nwodibo of Life Camp, Abuja, one Auwal surname unknown, and the gang leader whose identity is yet to be ascertained. He said: “The Commissioner of Police Kaduna State Command, CP A.D Ali, while commending the operatives for the brave feat, still tasked them to continuously go after criminal elements in the state. “He called on the members of the public to avail themselves of security agencies’ hotlines for any distress call requiring a prompt response”. However, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh told reporters that the report was not true. Adeh while reacting to the development said: “not true please disregard”.

https://thenationonlineng.net/confusion-as-fct-police-command-faults-

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Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah (2nd L) is comforted by team members as he leaves the pitch after injury during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on May 26, 2018. / AFP PHOTO Real Madrid vs Liverpool:Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that Mohamed Salah’s injury during the Real Madrid vs Liverpool game that forced him off in the first half of the Champions League final on Saturday was “serious”. “It is a serious injury. He is in hospital for an X-ray. It is either the collarbone or the shoulder itself,” Klopp said after Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid in the final in Kiev. “It doesn’t look good. That’s it.” Salah, who scored 44 goals for Liverpool this season, came off just half an hour into the game in tears after hurting himself in a challenge with Sergio Ramos. Liverpool had been on top at that point, but following the shock of the Egyptian’s injury they went on to lose due to a combination of two goalkeeping howlers by Loris Karius and a superb Gareth Bale goal. However, Klopp believed losing Salah was the turning point of the Real Madrid vs Liverpool game. “Of course it was a big moment in the game. I know if you say that after you lost it sounds like you’re a bad loser but for us it was like a harsh challenge. It was like wrestling. “The shock of the boys was obvious.” Salah later left the NSC Olimpiyskyi stadium with his arm in a sling, not stopping for waiting journalists. The official Twitter account of the Egyptian team, @Pharaohs, posted a picture of Salah with the caption: “Get well soon @MoSalah”. However, Klopp admitted that Salah now risks missing out on the World Cup — he has been hoping to lead Egypt in their first appearance at the tournament since 1990, but their opening match is against Uruguay on June 15, less than three weeks from now. “We wanted everything and got nothing. We lost an important player and probably Egypt lost for the World Cup an important player. “From what I said so far it doesn’t look really good.” Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/05/salah-injury-serious-says-liverpool-boss-

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Twitter announced on Wednesday it is launching a feature that allows users to follow topics the way they follow people, starting with sports and K-pop, as part of its to bring in and keep more users on the app. The new “Topics” feature was expected to be available to Twitter users on Android and Apple devices or through web browsers by November 13. The “mute” option is available to avoid seeing the score of a match, for example. “We are starting with topics that have the most volume on Twitter — and you’ll see us add in even more on a week to week basis,” Twitter told AFP. Twitter earlier this year already made disclosure plans to provide users the option of following any of a small number of interests. The launching of the feature was to be done internationally as the one-to-many messaging platform prioritises being and online venue for different conversations rather than a platform where one-way broadcasting to the masses is done.

https://www.naijatech360.com.ng/twitter-launching-a-new-feature-

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25th April, 2016 Fight broke out between two brothers and church ushers who wanted to enforce the church rules on dressing during a Sunday service at a popular church in Isolo, Lagos state, southwest Nigeria. During the fracas, two ushers were brutally battered and they suffered injuries. P.M.NEWS gathered that the fight temporarily disorganized the service before it was brought under control by the church security. The incident happened at Living Christ Mission church located at disciple street in Aswani at Isolo. The brothers, Chisom Alamduru and Victor Alamduru have been arrested and charged before Isolo Magistrate’s court for the allegedly assaulting their victims. The victims, Emmanuel Ndukwe and Okechukwu Olomeforo suffered their fate after they reportedly prevented the suspects from entering the church during the service. P.M.NEWS gathered that the suspects went to the church wearing clothes the ushers considered inappropriate for the service. While they were about to enter the church, they were prevented and it resulted in exchange of words and subsequently a fight. The brothers reportedly told the ushers that the church did not belong to them and that the ushers cannot determine what they can wear to the service. During the squabble, the suspects reportedly battered the victim before the church security men separated them. Due to the degree of the injuries sustained by the victims, the brothers were handed over to the police at Aswani divison. They were charged to court with conspiracy and assault under the Criminal code. They pleaded not guilty. The presiding Magistrate, Mrs A.O. Adedayo granted them bail in the sum of N100,000 with one sureties in like sum. They were remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri pending when they will perfect their bail condition. The matter was adjourned till 11 May 2016.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/04/25/two-brothers-batter-church-

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October 9, 2017 by The Nation More winners emerge in Access Bank Family Fortune promo More winners have emerged from the ongoing Access Bank Family Fortune Promo as the lender rewards 118 customers in the second monthly selection of winners. The event, which held at the Bank’s Alausa Branch in Ikeja, Lagos State, produced 50 customers, who won DSTV decoders while another 30 got N50,000 worth of shopping vouchers. Also, 20 customers won Samsung mobile phones, 10 others won Home Theatres, five won 49-inch LED televisions, while three also won 7-seater home furniture (sofa) each. At the launch in June, the Bank promised to reward its consumers with over 100,000 gifts, specifically to family units through weekly, monthly and the mega random selections. The Promo, tagged: “Save Today, Take Tomorrow”, ultimately aimed at stimulating a savings culture in families, does not leave the kids out as scholarships are up for grabs. Other fantastic prizes include family holidays, 16KVA generators and brand new cars. Speaking at the second monthly random selection of winners, Group Head, Inclusive Banking, Ope Wemi-Jones, said the Promo had attracted a large number of participants from across the country while, winners had emerged from previous random selections in Lekki, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Abuja. Mrs Wemi-Jones said: “The promo was designed to reward the collective savings habit of families with grand prizes and competitive interest rates while they enjoy the confidentiality of their banking transactions as individuals.” In line with Access Bank’s Family Fortune Promo objectives, the chances of a family winning are quite high while all the winners from the selection met the Promo criteria, which include achieving a minimum balance at the qualifying level of N150,000. The fund is required as a cumulative balance across family members accounts with each member having a minimum balance of N20,000 to qualify for the Family Fortune Promo. The mega random selection is scheduled to hold in December, 2017 where three families will each go home as proud winners of a house.

https://thenationonlineng.net/winners-emerge-

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By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s faction loyal to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Monday, said they would not be blackmailed into leaving the party for unprincipled politicians. The faction, in a statement by Abiodun Agboola, said the group is aware of clandestine move to frustrate their members out of the party, but have resolved to stay put irrespective of level of impunity in therein. According to the statement, the group after a stakeholders meeting on Sunday, resolved to stay put in the party being founding members and co-founders in the state. READ ALSO: I begged Oyetola for two years – Aregbesola They said: “We are the original inheritors and proud sustainers of the progressive politics and governance in Osun and therefore cannot leave it for minimalist, who has not offered the people tangible democratic dividends in about four years now. “Our conviction to pursue a desired new order and restoration of rights, sanity and true progressive ideology became stronger with the conclusion of the APC’s national convention few days back. “We will not abandon the platform for fair weather friends and his sponsors whose desperation for political profits has led to the bastardisation of the progressives norms and values. “However, the stakeholders believe that the newly-installed national executives of the APC (excluding the political prostitute among them) may as well be a very bright hope which will put an end to the impunity-riddled Caretaker. “Instead of leaving the party, we will continue to relentlessly and systematically pursue the court cases we have on our hands. “We are sure of victory on the suits, if they are devoid of vicious human interference. “The cloudy situation in Osun APC is a passing phase, which will definitely come to an end by the grace of God who has not, and will never support treachery and the patriotic zeal of the new management team of the APC at the national level, who desires success for the party,” the statement reads. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/04/we-wont-

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By Prince Okafor, Genevieve Aningo & Chinwe Okeke Lagos- Against an earlier statement of possible shut-down of the country’s power supply over cash liquidity and gas supply difficulties in the power sector, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has faulted such claims, describing it as “inflammatory and insensitive to Nigeria’s national security.” The minister made this known at the opening ceremony of the Power Nigeria Agenda 2016, yesterday in Lagos. It will be recalled that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Dallas Peavey Jr, had warned that the country’s electricity woes may worsen in the coming weeks as liquidity and gas supply issues continue to threaten operations of Egbin, noting that owners of the plant might be forced to consider shutting it down if the challenges remain unresolved. Dispelling the remarks, Fashola said: “The statement is inflammatory and it was insensitive to our national security.” Speaking further, he said: “If the commentator was not introspective, he would mention that the debts were not incurred by this administration, and that debt and settlement are continuous events in the power value chain, bills are served, claims are made, they are verified and settled. “Also, he would have spoken about approval and payment that have been made this year. It is a continuous verification for claims and settlement of debts. “All of the debts that are owed and legitimately contracted, verified will be paid. There is a clear policy decision in that area, but it requires all operators, those who claim and those who have to pay to operate in a transparent manner. We will not pay debt that are not properly verified and accounted for.” He, however, refuted claims that the grid is very fragile and cannot support 1300MW not to talk of 5000MW. He said the grid currently has the capacity to support 5300MW which is expanding on a daily basis. “We are synchronizing with the Generating Companies and the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) in order to ensure the service end that connects both, which is the Transmission Company of Nigeria is able to respond adequately on demand. These are some of the serious issues that we take up at our monthly power meeting. Our next meeting will hold in Sokoto,” the Minister said. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/fashola-dispels-fears-possible-nation-

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Less than a week before the Imo State governorship election, the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Senators Samuel Anyanwu and Athan Achonu, have staged a walkout at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The candidates had registered their grievance to the electoral body to press home their demand that the state Resident Electoral (REC), Professor Sylva Agu, be redeployed. Tuesday’s meeting was part of INEC’s interactions with the governorship candidates, security agencies, the media, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders ahead of the November 11 poll. The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu was represented by the National Commissioner representing South-east, Kenneth Ukeagu. After Ukeagu ordered journalists to turn off their cameras/gadgets and leave the hall, LP’s deputy governorship candidate, Mr Tony Nwulu, and that of PDP, Jones Onyereri, who represented their flagbearers, and other officials of the opposition political parties vehemently opposed the directive. The situation then threw the meeting into a commotion in Owerri, the Imo State capital. The duo insisted that the press, as critical stakeholders, could not be excluded from the meeting. An angry Nwulu alleged that there were plans by INEC to rig the election in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, wondering if the meeting was “a secret cult affair.” Speaking in support of Nwulu, Onyereri displayed copies of documents he described as fake result sheets posted on the INEC portal during the House of Assembly election in the state. As a result, the session turned rowdy with supporters of both the ruling and opposition parties raining abuses on each other, with the situation nearly degenerating into fisticuffs.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/11/08/imo-poll-lp-pdp-gov-candidates-stage-

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Odion Ighalo has said Manchester United do not have a striker that plays him as he gets set to make his debut against Chelsea tonight in a premier league fixture. Shortly after arriving Ighalo outlined how he would transform United’s front line and fans will be hoping to see the striker this evening. Asked if he can make a difference, Ighalo told MUTV: “Yeah, because sometimes I watch the games and they don’t have like a striker who stays mostly in the middle. “[Anthony] Martial likes to come from the side, even [Marcus] Rashford and all that. So they need someone in the middle who can keep the ball, hold the ball. “Because I watched so many United games and they need that physicality there to keep the ball, to give, to make some movement. Which I believe, if everything goes well, I can add to the team.” The striker, who was brought in on loan in January, has finally linked up with his new team-mates after two weeks of training on his own. Mirror Sport revealed last week that Ighalo had been banned from Carrington while United were in Spain over fears of a potential coronavirus risk. The ex-Watford forward was instructed to train away from the AON Training Complex over health and safety issues, instead working out at a Taekwondo Centre located near Man City’s Etihad Stadium.

https://sportinglife.ng/ighalo-im-the-perfect-

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10 Best Binary Options Brokers for 2024 While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for How We Make Money. None of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. Traders need to make the right choice of a binary broker without relying merely on their experience in the Forex market, as this will raise the efficiency and convenience of trading. You do not need to collect information on various brokers and their trading conditions anymore. We have done this for you below. Our listing order is based on real feedback from traders, as well as numerous additional factors. The affirmative incorporation of new technologies into a broker’s operations, the local and global stability of the company, and the trade growth of the brokerage company also influence the popularity of the broker and its position on the ratings list. 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A binary broker offers a trader an electronic trading terminal, quotes, additional options, and charges a commission on successful transactions.

https://tradersunion.com/ratings/binary/common/

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https://www.IQtest.com

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11th February, 2020 A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), AIDs Health Care Foundation (AHF), will distribute 250,000 condoms in six states of the federation along with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in commemoration of the 2020 International Condom Day (ICD). According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Steve Aborisade, the marketing manager of AHF Nigeria, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday. He stated that the 2020 ICD, with “Safer is Fun” as its theme, will be celebrated on Feb. 13, to commemorate Saint Valentine’s Day which is celebrated on February 14 annually. He said that AHF would mark the day with a road walk, free distribution of condoms and HIV testing and counselling exercise across six AHF-Nigeria programme states of Benue, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Nasarawa, Anambra and Abuja. Other activities include entertainment and educational “Safer is Fun” activities alongside advocacy messages. The marketing manager noted that Dr Echey Ijezie, the Country Programme Director of the foundation in Nigeria had reiterated commitment toward ensuring increased access to condom as the world celebrates ICD. He said the use of condom would assist in preventing unwanted pregnancy, HIV and Sexually-Transmitted Infections (STIs), as well as promote healthy lifestyles. Quoting Ijezie, he said “on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14, we will show Nigerians how Safer is Fun and why we urgently need to take advocacy for condom access to a higher level. “This is critical as people cannot take charge of their health if widespread stock outs, shortages and unaffordable prices for condoms continue. “There are 1.7 million new HIV infections annually and more than one million new cases of curable STIs every day, according to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation (WHO), respectively. “That is unacceptable when these conditions are 100 per cent preventable, thus, governments and global health organisations must do more to ensure that people have easy access to free or affordable condoms.”

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/02/11/6-states-where-free-condoms-

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July 29, 2019 by The Nation Four commercial banks offer varsity scholarships to top 100 UTME candidates Four leading commercial banks in the country have offered free scholarships to first 100 candidates that wrote this year’s unified tertiary matriculation examinations. The banks are offering the top 100 UTME candidates scholarships to study in tertiary institutions of their choice across the country. The list of the 100 candidates that came top of the UTME would be forwarded to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board this week for action, The Nation learnt. The Head of Information of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, confirmed the offer to our reporter in Abuja on Monday, adding that some candidates would have the opportunity of their names appearing on the lists of the four banks because of their UTME scores. However, Benjamin failed to give the names of the banks, saying the commercial banks have asked that their identities be kept secret. He said the scholarship offers were a demonstration of the acceptability and confidence in the board’s products. Dr. Benjamin said: “About four banks have indicated interest to sponsor top 100 candidates. Two banks have requested for top ten and two for top hundred candidates. “We will submit the names of the candidates to the banks this week.” He explained that the conduct of the 2019 UTME had witnessed a dramatic turn of events with many startling discoveries and the capacity of the board to navigate such emerging threats. “As a result of the handling of the crises and performances, many corporate organisations have called on the board to furnish it with top scoring candidates to offer scholarships to study in tertiary institutions of their choice. “There are banks which are demanding the top 100 UTME candidates for scholarships. This is a stamp on the approval of the board’s products and efforts at repositioning the conduct of public examinations in Nigeria. “The fight against examination corruption should therefore be fought on all fronts. This is because of the board’s belief that the first manifestation of corruption is cheating in an examination,” he said. Benjamin urged corporate organisations seeking for UTME candidates to sponsor to vary their stipulated conditions for scholarships. “Otherwise the same 10 top candidates would benefit from multiple offers, thus depriving other equally qualified candidates the fruits of sponsorship,” he said. He added: “In this regard, a proviso that the board should provide top scorers who must not have benefitted from any scholarship programme will address the challenge and spread the benefits to other deserving candidates. “These organisations, including the candidates, are to, however, note that scoring high in the UTME alone is not a guarantee for admission as other factors such as the Ordinary Level results and the post-UTME will have to be incorporated for a holistic cut-off score.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/four-commercial-banks-offer-varsity-

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February 8, 2016 by The Nation No Borno LGA is under Boko Haram control – Shettima Borno State government on Monday denied reports that some local council areas in the state are still under Boko Haram control. Governor Kashim Shettima, who reacted to weekend’s claims by a senator that the insurgents are still in control of more than half of the state, told reporters to dismiss the lawmaker’s claim. He said, “To me, it is unbelievable that such a statement could have emanated from Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai. I can’t believe he said that because as a Senator, he has access to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the IGP and even the Presidency and he is not the type that even speaks to the media easily. So this is why I am at a lost. “I have not been able to get in touch with him yet to get his own side, to hear from him what he actually said. But for now, I suspect he must have been misquoted or if he wasn’t misquoted, he must have spoken based on emotional outburst and not anchored on ground realities.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/no-borno-lga-is-under-boko-haram-

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Ljungberg has been in charge for five of those matches, but is hoping a permanent appointment can be made before next weekend’s trip to Everton. “It is a great honour to do this, but I’ve said I think it needs to be cleared up, to make a decision so that everybody knows,” said Ljungberg. “It is totally up to the club. I try to do things as well as I can but it would be good to make a decision, regardless of what it is.” There was little doubt City would bounce back from a derby defeat to Manchester United last weekend that left them 14 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table after De Bruyne opened the scoring just 90 seconds in. Gabriel Martinelli had Arsenal’s only shot on target inside the first minute when Ederson blocked from his fellow Brazilian. City broke straight up the other end and Gabriel Jesus’s low cross picked out De Bruyne to stroke the ball into the roof of the net. Pep Guardiola’s men had been ruthlessly cut apart on the counter-attack by United and were conscious not to make the same mistake again as they allowed Arsenal possession for large spells before breaking at speed. The visitors doubled their lead just 15 minutes in with De Bruyne this time the creator as he carried the ball forward before squaring for Sterling to slot home his 16th goal of the season. The appointment of a new manager cannot come soon enough if the Gunners are to salvage anything from a thoroughly disappointing season so far.

https://sportinglife.ng/ljungberg-calls-on-arsenal-

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July 13, 2022 by The Nation I’ll leave no inheritance for my children – Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed he is leaving not any inheritance for his children beyond the training and education he gave them. The President spoke at the palace of the Emir of Daura, Dr Faruk Umar Faruk, in Daura, during Sallah homage. He also appealed to parents to inculcate the right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities and living purposeful life through continuous education. The President charged youths to seek education, not for government jobs, which are unavailable, but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and to meet the needs of the 21st century. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari said more time should be given to the coaching of future leaders with basic knowledge of moral values as the fast-changing world driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding. “I was locked up for more than three years, after leading the country. At that point, I realised and I told my children that your net worth is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life. “My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting first degree. “They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated,” he said. The President stated children should be guided and taught history as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds. “Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes. “We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs. We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming more smaller, nimble and efficient. “Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology. During the Covid-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively”, the President noted. He told the Emir of Daura that he will be more regular in visits, preparatory to the handing over in May, 2023, adding that the prolonged absence was due to the demands of his office. “This is the longest I have been away from home. In fact, the Emir took to the court of public opinion at the prayer ground, when he openly told everyone that I had not visited Daura for close to a year,” he added.

https://thenationonlineng.net/ill-leave-no-inheritance-for-my-children-

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The Chairman of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), Prof. Peter Okebukola has commended the performance of Nigerian universities in the Times Higher Education 2023 Subject Rankings released on Oct. 25. This is contained in a statement issued by Okebukola in Abuja on Wednesday. Okebukola, who is also a member of the international advisory board of Times Higher Education World University rankings, said that in the 2022 rankings, only five Nigerian universities featured in four subjects. He said that in the 2023 ranking, 48 Nigerian universities were cumulatively listed among the world’s best in 11 subjects/disciplines. He listed the subjects/discipline as arts and humanities; business and economics; education; law; social sciences; computer science; engineering; clinical and health; life sciences; physical sciences and psychology. “Noteworthy is the impressive ranking of Covenant University, the only private university in the league tables, featuring prominently in business and economics, social sciences, computer science, engineering, and physical sciences. “No state university is on the league tables. The federal universities with impressive rankings are University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. ” Others are the University of Ilorin, Obafemi Awolowo University, Federal University of Technology Akure, Bayero University Kano, and University of Benin,” he said. Okebukola released details of the results as Arts and Humanities (University of Nigeria Nsukka=601+); Business and Economics (Covenant University=401-500; University of Lagos=501-600; Obafemi Awolowo University=601-800 and University of Nigeria Nsukka=801+. Others are Education (University of Ibadan and University of Nigeria Nsukka=501-600); Law (University of Nigeria Nsukka=251+); Social Sciences (Covenant University=251-300; University of Lagos=401-500; University of Ibadan and University of Nigeria Nsukka=601-800; and University of Ilorin and Obafemi Awolowo University=801+). Also in the list are Computer Science (Covenant University=401-500); Engineering (Covenant University=401-500; Federal University of Technology Akure and University of Ilorin=601-800; University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria Nsukka and Obafemi Awolowo University=1000+). He said for Clinical and Health (University of Lagos=151-175; University of Ibadan=201-250; University of Nigeria Nsukka=501-600; Bayero University Kano, University of Benin and Obafemi Awolowo University=601-800; University of Ilorin and Nnamdi Azikiwe University=801+). Also in the list are Life Sciences (University of Ilorin=601-800; Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Federal University of Technology Akure, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria Nsukka and Obafemi Awolowo University=801-1000). Okebukola listed Physical Sciences (Covenant University=401-500; Federal University of Technology Akure and University of Ilorin=501-600; Bayero University Kano=601-800; Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and University of Lagos=801-1000; University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsukka. Also Obafemi Awolowo University has1000+); and Psychology (University of Nigeria Nsukka=301-400). Speaking further on the results, Okebukola expressed appreciation to the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed for setting up NURAC and for the commitment they continue to show to improving quality in the Nigerian university system. “Professor Rasheed is one individual who will not rest until the old glory of Nigerian universities is fully restored”, Okebukola noted. “We assure Nigerians that with the ongoing implementation of the Blueprint for the Rapid Revitalisation of University Education in Nigeria, the days of consigning Nigerian universities to the group of non-performers will soon be over,” he said. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/10/48-nigerian-varsities-top-worlds-

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November 30, 2022 by Toba Adedeji, Osogbo Adeleke reverses self on sack, dethronement, others •Governor raises panel to review Oyetola’s govt •It’s an afterthought, says ex-governor’s aide Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke said yesterday his administration has not sacked any worker and dethroned three monarchs. Adeleke spoke against the earlier announced Executive Order 3, 4 and 5, which stated nullification of employment, appointment made by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola from July 17, 2022 till his inauguration and vacation of the throne of three monarchs appointed by past administration. The order states: “All employments in the service of Osun State Government made in any capacity into any capacity in all the ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, boards and parastatals after July 17, 2022 are hereby nullified. “All appointments in the service of Osun State Government made in any capacity into any capacity in the ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, boards and parastatals after July 17, 2022 are hereby reversed. “All appointments of traditional rulers made by Osun State Government after July 17, 2022 are hereby ordered to be reviewed to ensure there was strict compliance with due process of chieftaincy declarations and native law, custom and tradition relating to such chieftaincies. In the case of Ikirun, Iree and Igbajo, to avoid further breakdown of law and order, the appointments of Akinrun of Ikinrun, Aree of Ire and Owa of Igbajo are hereby put on hold pending review. Subsequently, the palaces of Akinrun of Ikirun, Aree of Iree and Owa of Igbajo should remain unoccupied, while security agencies are hereby ordered to take charge.” However, the governor through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, speaking yesterday on a private radio station, Rave FM, in Osogbo, during a talk show programme, ‘Frank Talk’, said Adeleke had not sacked any worker. He said the appointment and employment made by the Oyetola administration would be reviewed to ensure legality and due process, stressing that nobody had been sacked, the executive order was misquoted. All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has described the setting up of review panels by Governor Adeleke as an afterthought designed to arrive at predetermined outcomes. The party urged the governor to settle down to study the handover notes, so as to prevent the blunders he was committing. In a statement signed by its Director of Operations, Sunday Akere, APC said: “We told you from day one that these people have nothing to offer. We can all see from their first action that they are even confused. “They had told us long time ago that they were coming to sack. They came and announced it. Why set up a panel after taking a decision? What they are doing can be likened to doing ablution after observing prayers. Who does that?” Governor Adeleke has ordered the dissolution of non-statutory boards. Spokesperson Malam Olawale Rasheed said in a statement that the directive was conveyed to heads of ministries, departments and agencies by Mr. Teslim Igbalaye, the Secretary to the State Government.

https://thenationonlineng.net/adeleke-reverses-self-on-sack-

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October 7, 2017 by The Nation Isheri-Oshun roads waiting for Ambode’s magic wand THERE is no gainsaying the fact that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has turned Lagos State into a huge construction site, especially his intervention in giving facelifts to rural and inner roads in the neighbourhoods. However, the roads in the White Sand area of Isheri- Oshun, Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area, are deplorable and should be given urgent attention. As concerned residents, we have tried a number of times to fix the roads, but our efforts have not yielded good results, hence, we want the state government to come to our aid. Also, the local government area has not been forthcoming in terms of rehabilitating the roads in our community, but we believe that Gov Ambode is a responsible and responsive governor. He should extend his magic wand to our community and save us from perennial sufferings arising from the poor situation of the roads.

http://thenationonlineng.net/isheri-roads-waiting-ambodes-magic/

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May 4, 2021 by The Nation Religious, former political leaders plotting to ‘overthrow’ Buhari – Presidency By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja The Presidency has alert of an alleged plot by some Nigerians, working with foreign elements, to overthrow the current administration. In a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the Presidency attributed its allegation to a recent alert by the Department of State Services (DSS). However, while vowing to decisively deal with the alleged plot and its masterminds, the Presidency reiterated that the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was legally constituted, following a popular election process. The Presidency, which categorically pointed at some unnamed religious and former political leaders as masterminds, claimed to be in possession of evidence to prove its allegation of plots to pull the government down. According to the statement, the Presidency observed that recent agitations by various groups and individuals were actually being orchestrated with the intent to create an atmosphere suiting for passing a vote-of-no-confidence on President Buhari. It, however, vowed to do all it would take to ensure that the country is kept together throughout the remaining days of the mandate of the current administration in 2023, not minding whose ox would be gored. “The Department of State Services (DSS), on Sunday alerted on sinister moves by misguided elements to wreak havoc on the government, sovereignty and corporate existence of the country. “Championed by some disgruntled religious and past political leaders, the intention is to eventually throw the country into a tailspin, which would compel a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership. “Further unimpeachable evidence shows that these disruptive elements are now recruiting the leadership of some ethnic groups and politicians round the country, with the intention of convening some sort of conference, where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the President, thus throwing the land into further turmoil. “The caterwauling, in recent times, by these elements, is to prepare the grounds adequately for their ignoble intentions, which are designed to cause further grief for the country. “The agent provocateurs hope to achieve through artifice and sleight of hands, what they failed to do through the ballot box in the 2019 elections. “Nigerians have opted for democratic rule, and the only accepted way to change a democratically elected government is through elections, which hold at prescribed times in the country. Any other way is patently illegal, and even treasonable. Of course, such would attract the necessary consequences. “These discredited individuals and groups are also in cahoots with external forces to cause maximum damage in their own country. “But the Presidency, already vested with mandate and authority by Nigerians till 2023, pledges to keep the country together, even if some unruly feathers would be ruffled in the process,” the statement reads.

https://thenationonlineng.net/religious-former-political-leaders-

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4th December, 2023 By Collins Yakubu-Hammer The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the Federal Government sponsored 422 delegates to the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, not 1,411. Peter Obi had attacked the President Bola Tinubu-led government of sponsoring 1,411 delegates to COP28, the same number as China. Idris made the clarification in a statement on Monday in Abuja. COP28, the Convention of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is the world’s pre-eminent Climate Change Conference. The minister said the clarification became necessary because of the public conversation that on the number of delegates from Nigeria attending the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai. He explained that the Conference was being attended this year by over 70,000 participants and delegates from over 100 countries. According.to him, Nigeria’s representation is very much in line with our status as Africa’s leading Sovereign voice and player in climate action. “Parties to this Convention from Nigeria include government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalised communities, and many others. “It is imperative to point out that the overall Nigerian delegation to COP28 comprises Government-sponsored (Federal and State) and non-government-sponsored participants (from Private Companies, NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia), etc. “The Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons, as follows: 32 persons from National Council on Climate Change and 34 from Federal Ministry of Environment “Others were 167 delegates from all ministries, 67 from the presidency, 9 from the Office of the Vice President, 40 from National Assembly and 73 from Federal Parastatals/Agencies,” Idris said. The Minister further explained that, as the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa, with a substantial extractive economy and extensive vulnerability to climate change, Nigeria had a significant stake in climate action. “Therefore, our active and robust participation at COP is therefore not unwarranted”. According to the minister, COP28 presents an array of investment and partnership opportunities for the various sectors affected by climate change, and Nigeria is already benefiting from its ongoing participation. “Nigeria and Germany signed an accelerated performance agreement to expedite the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative to improve Nigeria’s electricity supply. “The agreement was signed by Mr Kenny Anuwe, the Managing Director and CEO of FGN Power Company, and Ms Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, at a ceremony witnessed by President Tinubu and Chancellor Scholz. “Also, President Tinubu hosted a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and the Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the COP28 climate summit. “Similarly, the President unveiled the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan, co-chaired by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change Dr Dahiru Salisu. “The Electric Buses programme is only the first step in a series of innovative, clean, modern, and sustainable initiatives across diverse sectors, all aimed at simultaneously addressing climate change-related challenges. “It also aimed at reducing carbon footprint, modernising infrastructure systems, and positioning Nigeria as an attractive destination for global investments,” Idris said. According to him, Nigeria stands to benefit from the Loss and Damage Fund established during COP27 in Egypt and formally operationalised at the opening plenary of COP28 in Dubai. He added that the Fund would provide substantial non-debt financing to support countries most affected by the impact of climate change. Idris disclosed that hundreds of millions of dollars had already been pledged as contributions to the Fund. “The President also met the President of UAE to concretise engagements between the two countries. This is aside from the bilateral talks held with several countries and multilateral partners. “However, it should be highlighted that, over the years, Nigeria has firmly demonstrated its climate action credentials by being the first African country to launch its Energy Transition Plan. “We are the first African country to issue a Sovereign Green Bond, and one of the first to pass national climate change legislation. “President Tinubu has been unequivocal in his position that Africa, which is battling problems of poverty and security and struggling to provide education and healthcare to her people, cannot be told to abandon its primary source of income. “And the source of income is mostly from extractive industries, without the West providing the funding and investment in alternative and clean energy sources,” he said.

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/12/04/cop28-peter-obi-lied-fg-

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Former President Muhammadu Buhari says leading Nigeria is one of the hardest challenges in life. Buhari stated this on Tuesday in his Sallah message signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, stressing that leadership entails the cooperation and support of all citizens. “Leading a country like Nigeria is one of the hardest challenges in life,” Buhari was quoted as saying. The former president called on all Nigerians to fully support the administration of President Bola Tinubu. He added, “Leadership is a challenging task that demands the sacrifices and support of the citizens,” he said. Buhari also wished Nigerian Muslims a happy Eid and “to those on pilgrimage, Hajj Mabrur and a safe return home”. The Katsina-born former head of state completed his mandatory two-term tenure of eight years and handed over power to Tinubu on May 29, 2023. Buhari was also Nigeria’s military leader between December 1983 and August 1985.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/06/27/leading-nigeria-one-of-hardest-

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Lenovo has announced the release of their earbud for the first quarter of the year, and guess what? It is the Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds. The HTO 10 earbuds is an upgrade to the initial Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds which was launched last year in September in India and it was one of the cheapest earbuds that was launched last year. Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds are to feature an EQ technology that is normally found on high-end headphones but Lenovo has taken it into consideration to put it on Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds. The function of the EQ technology is to practically enhance the user experience when listening to sounds of different types, either from watching a movie or a song which is done by switching modes. The EQ technology has two modes which are the “pure mode” and “Extra bass mode” which allows users to shuffle between sound frequencies easily by pressing a single a button on the Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds. Other features of the Lenovo HT10 Pro earbuds include; Bluetooth | v5.0 (20 metre range) | Audio playtime | 48hrs | Standby time | 200 hours standby time | Power Backup | Yes | Chipset | Qualcomm 3020 chipset | Design | Ergonomic | Waterproof | Yes | Microphone | Dual | Price | 20,000 Naira (Might change) |

https://www.naijatech360.com.ng/lenovo-ht10-pro-earbuds-to-be-launched-with-

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Abuja – Some married people in Abuja on Wednesday identified the need for material possession as the major reason for infidelity among married couples. Respondents in separate interviews also mentioned the desire to satisfy emotional needs as another contributory factor. Mr Johnson Eze, a civil servant, said he was cheating on his wife not because he loved her less but for the sole purpose of “catching some fun’’. He said: “My marriage is one of the best because my wife, who is God-given, is an understanding woman and she tolerates me a lot. “Yet, I still find myself cheating on her just for the fun of it. This does not in any way diminish the love I have for her and my lovely kids. “I recall an incident that happened some time ago. I told my wife that I was travelling to Calabar for an official assignment, but ended up with my girlfriend in a hotel, and she found out. “The incident almost destroyed my home but thanks to God my wife was able to forgive and forget put the ugly incident behind, ‘’ he said. Eze, who described infidelity as `a careless act,’ advised men to desist from it. A female boutique operator, who pleaded anonymity, said the desire to keep up with the latest fashion trend made her to cheat on her husband. According to her, the husband, a low income earner, was financially incapable of meeting her insatiable material needs. “Besides, my hubby and I fight over things that are not relevant and I lie to him most times to raise extra cash to buy something, which he considers unnecessary. “I have not been faithful in my marriage because of the temptation to stay on top of the fashion trend which is way beyond the financial capacity of my husband. “Besides the extra cash my boyfriend gives me, whenever I want to collect money from my husband for food stuff and other basic necessities I always double the cost. “This has become a habit for me and whenever I don’t get my share in any shopping I do on behalf of the family, I get angry and pick on my husband at any little provocation, ‘’ she added. A legal practitioner who offered a coined name – Mr Kosi Chiemela – blamed his adulterous actions on lack of intimacy, emotional disconnection and lack of friendship with his wife. Chiemela who described marriage as “one difficult school you cannot graduate from till you die,’’ stated that the only way to escape was to stay single. “I am a temperamental person and when I newly got married, it was not easy for my wife whose temper is also short. “Both of us hardly agree on anything and the only escape route for me is to seek love and affection elsewhere. “My girlfriend understands me and she tolerates a lot, unlike my wife who blows up like a bomb at the slightest provocation,’’ he said. (NAN) Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/cheat-spouses-abuja-

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Qatar authorities said Wednesday they have seized 144 counterfeit World Cup trophies, the latest raid on fakes hitting the market ahead of the football tournament that starts later this month. The interior ministry said officers launched an operation “acting on a piece of information about a website that promotes the sale of cups that mimic the true shape of the World Cup.” It released a photo showing the 144 life-sized trophies laid out across a floor and stated that “further legal procedures will be followed”. The ministry did not say where the trophies were found, nor whether suspects had been detained. Football’s governing body FIFA and Qatari authorities have stepped up warnings recently about distributing or buying World Cup fakes. In June, Qatar warned drivers that it was illegal to have a World Cup logo on car number plates, after special plates were sold in online auctions. One month earlier, police arrested five people for selling counterfeit clothes with the World Cup logo. At the end of 2021, they raided a factory in the Gulf state producing perfume in bottles illegally using the World Cup brand.

https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/02/fake-world-cup-trophies-seized-in-

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May 19, 2015 by The Nation Court orders GTBank to refund N5.3b illegally withdrawn from customer’s account A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Apo yesterday found Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) guilty of illegally withdrawing N5.3billion from an account owned by one of its customers, Dr. Ted Iseghohi Edwards of Edwards and Partners Law firm. Justice Valentine Ashi, in a judgment, held that GTBank was without any defence to its action and ordered the bank to pay the money – N5,240,516,186.21 to the owner through his Zenith Bank Plc account. The judge further ordered that the N5.3billion should attract 10 per cent post-judgment interest, and another 21 per cent interest from December 12 last year when GTBank illegally withdrew the money, until the bank eventually paid Dr. Edwards. The judge struck out the Central Bank (CBN), the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Jonah Otunla, Minister of State for Finance Ambassador Yuguda, Anaocha Local Government Area and the Incorporated Trustees of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) from the suit as defendants on the ground that they were not necessary parties. Edward initiated the suit marked FCT/HC/CV/939/2015 in January, this year after GTBank carried out the illegal withdrawal of the money on December 12, last year. The money was paid into Dr. Edwards’ law firm’s account with GTBank on January 2, last year by the AGF as a settlement of a judgment got by his clients, Impecca Services Limited and His Royal Highness, Eze Samuel Ezekwo against ALGON for the consultancy services they rendered to the 774 local governments. The plaintiff stated, in the suit’s originating processes, that shortly after the money was paid into his account on behalf of his clients, GTBank made some disbursements from the account as directed, but that he was only informed on December 12 by an official of the bank that the CBN has withdrawn the N5.3billion. Edwards said when he enquired from the bank why it made deduction from his account without his consent, he said GTBank only insisted that the withdrawal was made in obedience to the CBN’s directive, which it could not disobey. Justice Ashi, in his judgment, faulted GTBank for betraying the banker/customer relationship between it and Edwards. He noted that it was wrong for GTBank to have withdrawn from the customer’s account without his knowledge and consent. The judge held that GTBank’s claim that it was helpless and that the withdrawal was at the instance of CBN was of no substance. He wondered whether GTBank would have obeyed a similar directive even if it was illegal.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/court-orders-gtbank-to-

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The Senate on Wednesday, approved the $200 million loan request for the Lagos State government, following deliberation of the report of Ad-hoc Committee on Foreign and Local debt to which the request was referred a fortnight ago. Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC Kano South), in a motion for the consideration of the report, said: “That the Senate do consider the Report of Ad-Commiittee on Local and Foreign Debts for Special approval of Lagos State Development Policy Operation (DPO) loan budget support of US$200 Million from the World Bank.” Supported by Senator Remi Tinubu (APC Lagos), Gaya explained that the loan would go a long way developing the state’s infrastructure and in generating jobs for the teeming unemployed in Lagos State. In his contribution, Senator Danjuma Goje, however warned that the loan should not be taken just for the sake of it, but should be expended judiciously and purposefully so that when it was being paid back people could point to the infrastructures it was used for. “Mr Senate President, my own is to express caution. Loans are meant to be paid back with interest and so it should be judiciously used to the extent that the people of Lagos State could point to those things it was used for,” he noted. On his part, Senator George Sekibo called on the Senate to ensure a detailed probe of past loans, adding that the red chamber should be carried along in the implementation of those targeted infrastructures so as to avoid corruption and misapplication of the funds. “Distinguished colleagues, I want to state that the Senate Committee always look into activities of past loans taken with a view to ascertain how it was used and also that from time to time the Senate should be carried along in the implementation in other to avoid corruption and misapplication of funds,” Sekibo submitted. Meanwhile, the ‘ayes’ had it, when Senate President Bukola Saraki put the request to a voice vote, after the deliberations. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/senate-

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July 25, 2022 by The Nation Terrorists attack Presidential Guards after threat to abduct Buhari Barely 24 hours after terrorists threatened to abduct President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna Governor Nasir el’Rufai in a viral video, troops of the Guards Brigade have been ambushed by armed bandits in Abuja. Three soldiers were wounded during the attack, which has thrown residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) into a panic. The bandits were headed to the Nigerian Law School in Bwari when they ran into the troops. There were Intelligence reports, according to military sources, the terrorists have laid siege to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with the intention to attack the Law School in Bwari and other government facilities. Military sources that pleaded anonymity said the attack was a confirmation of the terrorists’ siege to the city but authorities said they were on the trail of the assailants. According to one of the sources, troops of 7 Guards Battalion on routine patrol along Kubwa – Bwari road were ambushed by the suspected terrorists. He added three soldiers were injured during the attack and have been evacuated to THE hospital for medical attention. “The ambush happening within the general area of Bwari shows that the terrorists are actually within the location and possibly to carry out their plans of attacking the Law School in Bwari as earlier reported,” the source stated. When contacted, Assistant Director Army Public Relations, Guards Brigade, Captain Godfrey Abakpa, confirmed that soldiers were attacked by suspected terrorists but were repelled successfully. He added the wounded soldiers have been evacuated to a medical facility and were receiving treatment. “They were attacked and the attack was successfully repelled. We had a few wounded in action who have been taken to the hospital and are receiving treatments. “At the moment our troops are still combing the general area to get rid of the criminals that have been threatening the general area. It is advised that residents go about their lawful businesses and keep cooperating with us by giving us timely information to enable us win the fight against the criminals”.

https://thenationonlineng.net/terrorists-attack-presidential-

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June 15, 2021 by The Nation INEC job: Lobby for Onochie gears up at Senate By Yusuf Alli, Abuja The Senate is under pressure to confirm Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was learnt on Monday. A principal officer of the Senate is spearheading the lobbying, according to a source. After eight months of suspense, Senate President Ahmad Lawan referred it to the Senate Committee on INEC, headed by Sen. Kabiru Gaya, last week. It was gathered that the controversy over Onochie delayed the screening of other nominees . Other nominees are Prof. Mohammed Sani (Katsina); Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti), Seidu Babura Ahmed (Jigawa), Prof. Sani Mohammad Adam (North Central) and Dr. Baba Bila (North East). A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “What delayed the screening of Onochie for eight months was to allow for horse-trading and consultations with the Presidency on the observations by some Senators, the opposition and other stakeholders. “The chamber made behind-the-scene representation twice to President Muhammadu Buhari to replace Onochie, but the President stick to his decision. “Apart from defending her principal(President Buhari), Onochie, many top officials of the presidency believe, didn’t engage in partisan politics. “We have no choice than to leave Onochie’s fate to the Senate Committee on INEC to determine. And we have left stakeholders who have reservations about her nomination to approach the committee.” Giving insights into the nomination game in the Senate, a ranking senator said the Senate is under pressure to clear Onochie. ”Many people and some governors have been reaching out to APC and PDP Senators to clear her. “For some of us, they have reached out to our leaders to prevail on us to accept her nomination, “ a source said. The source added: “What some of us are saying, including some APC senators, is that we should take cognizance of Section 14(2a) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution( as amended) . We do not want to set bad a precedent.” The section says: “A member of the commission shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity.” The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media, Sen. Ajibola Basiru said the plenary will determine Onochie’s and other nominees’ fate. “Onochie’s nomination has been referred to the Senate Committee on INEC to consider her suitability or otherwise for the job. The same template applies to all other nominees. “The ultimate decision on Onochie is left to the plenary, based on the recommendations of the committee. “Don’t forget that the screening committee will only act, based on the information and representation before it. Whatever it is, the plenary is in charge of final decision”. Yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) said it would go to court to challenge Onochie’s nomination. It National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbodiyan, said: “We are already doing a memo to the Senate Committee on INEC. Apart from that, we will go to court to challenge the constitutionality of her appointment. “We are aware she is a registered member of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in a ward in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State. We have her card number and other evidence. “As for our members in the Senate, they are not silent. We have engaged them to oppose her nomination because it is unconstitutional. We also know that some APC members are opposed to her nomination.” A PDP senator said: “There is no need hiding behind one finger. We have all the partisan tweets of Onochie. For instance, in a tweet on January 13th, 2015, Onochie said: ”Issues in Nigeria. Hope is here. Vote Buhari/Osinbajo. Vote APC. Improved infrastructure, reduce poverty, equip school.” “Tweeting with APC flag at the background on June 24, 2020, Onochie said: ”There is definitely an APC e-NEC meeting tomorrow. We are going through a growth process. Thank you, everyone.” “It will be sad for our chamber to confirm her. We will try our best to resist her nomination, despite pressure on APC and PDP senators.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/inec-job-lobby-for-onochie-gears-up-

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April 2, 2022 by The Nation Obey agreement with ASUU, other unions, varsity alumni tell FG The Conference of Alumni Associations of Nigerian Universities has urged the Federal Government to honour its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other university-based unions. It said this would help bring an end to the ongoing industrial action by the unions. The organisation also asked the government to involve critical stakeholders like the representatives of the Vice-Chancellors and university alumni in subsequent negotiations with university labour unions. CAANU stated this in a communiqué issued after its first quarterly meeting which was held at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State. The communique, which was signed by the Chairman of CAANU, Prof. Ahmed Mora and Secretary, Dr Godwin Akpan, was obtained by journalists in Abuja. It said the recurrent strike actions are already killing the already comatose university system in the country. Part of the communique reads: “The Conference urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to as a matter of urgency fulfil the agreements between the government and the universities’ labour unions. “The government should also involve critical stakeholders like the representatives of the Vice-Chancellor and university alumni in subsequent negotiations with university labour unions. “The recurrent strike actions are killing the already comatose university system in the country. The Conference urged the government to give the funding of the universities the attention that it requires and show unalloyed commitment to the provision of infrastructure, equipment and facilities to the universities to ease the process of teaching and learning in a conducive environment.” The association also urged federal and state governments to, among others, desist from politicising the creation of more universities. It said: “The federal and states governments should also desist from politicising the creation of Universities when obviously the government is unable to fund the already established ones. READ ALSO: ASUU strike: How we are faring, by students “The conference condemned in strong terms the unfortunate protests that started on Thursday 17th March 2022 after the announcement of Prof. Adebayo Simeon Bamire as the 12th substantial Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife by the University’s Governing Council. “A protest based on the failure to appoint an indigene of the location of an educational institution is a show of the level of decadence and ignorance in the Nigerian society which the University should correct. “While the conference appreciated the necessary relationship between the town and the gown, it emphasised that it is the gown that should influence the town with its positive and refined thoughts and not otherwise. “It, therefore, warned all stakeholders and the general public to desist from every attempt to determine influence appointments and other exclusive internal concerns of the universities with sentiments like ethnicity, religiosity, political affiliations and other negative tendencies which had already placed the country in a fragile position. “Universities Alumni as enlightened members of the public should begin deliberate and constructive orientation of the public concerning the relationship between the universities and the host communities in particular and the public in general. The governing council of the universities should be strengthened with more external members to reduce bias in decision making. “The Conference implored Universities Alumni Associations to imbibe the culture of the Annual Alumni Intervention project to their universities. They should prioritise the need of the University for capital projects, while investors, sponsors and philanthropists should be partnered when necessary.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/obey-

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By Ikechukwu Amaechi IF there is anything that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, would want to die down at this critical moment, it is the certificate scandal that has dogged his political career for more than two decades. Though he survived the scandal when it first reared its ugly head in 1999 even as the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, accused of the same scam, lost his plum office, it has refused to go away. Tinubu survived the scandal then because the same gladiators who forced Buhari to resign on July 22, 1999, exactly 49 days after he clinched the coveted seat of the House of Representatives Speaker, turned around to save his neck from the political guillotine. And what was the case against Tinubu? Like Salisu Buhari who claimed to have attended University of Toronto in Canada and graduated with a degree in Business Administration, when he did not, shortly after he was sworn in as governor of Lagos State on May 29, 1999, there were allegations that Tinubu had perjured and forged the credentials that qualified him to run for the governorship election. The allegations were contained in a petition dated August 12, 1999, written by Alhaji Jameed Seriki and Dr. Waliu Balogun-Smith. They alleged a discrepancy in Tinubu’s age since the profile published during his inauguration stated that he was born in 1952 and the age on his transcript at the Chicago State University claimed that he was born in 1954. They also alleged that he did not attend Government College, Ibadan, as was stated in his profile and INEC FORM CF.001, and the University of Chicago as claimed in INEC FORM CF and an affidavit sworn to at the Ikeja High Court of Justice on December 29, 1998. Unlike Buhari who had no constitutional bulwark to shield him, by this time, Tinubu was already the governor and so enjoyed immunity, courtesy of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution. The onus, therefore, fell on the Lagos State House of Assembly dominated by the Alliance for Democracy, AD, to investigate him and take punitive action if he was deemed to have committed acts constituting gross misconduct. Of course, that was not going to happen. So, despite the fact that following a motion moved by Tajudeen Jaiyeola Agoro, who represented Lagos Mainland Constituency, the then Speaker, Dr. Olorunimbe Mamora, on Tuesday, September 21, 1999, set up a five-man ad hoc committee comprising Babajide Omoworare (Chairman), Thomas Ayodele Fadeyi, Adeniyi Akinmade, Ibrahim Gbola Gbabijo and Saliu Olaitan Mustapha, to investigate the allegations, Tinubu survived the scare. But the questions were not answered. In 1999, he claimed to have attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School, Ibadan between 1958 and 1964 and Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1969. The petitioners claimed that he did not. So, the question is simple. Did he or did he not? And because the monster that was Tinubu’s certificate scandal was not exorcised, it has reared its ugly head once again 23 years after and it will not go away because the man in the eye of the storm has refused to clear the air. He believes that he will successfully ride the storm. That may well be true. In any other country other than Nigeria, Tinubu would have voluntarily thrown in the towel like Salisu Buhari did in 1999 or be forced to do so. Tinubu submitted an affidavit to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, claiming his degree certificate was carted away by the Nigerian Army during a raid. But in doing so, he left the fields for primary and secondary school education blank, meaning he didn’t acquire those certificates even as he claimed to have obtained a degree in business and administration in 1979. Refusing to provide the information as required by law has further aroused public indignation. While Tinubu is keeping mum on the matter, his surrogates are speaking up, but even in doing so, they have refused to address the real issue. On Tuesday, human rights activist, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, said Tinubu graduated from the University of Chicago in flying colours and was the overall best graduating student in accounting. “Let me say here that in his working career, Tinubu has served as an accountant in various companies, including Arthur Andersen, Haskins and Sells, Deloitte and Douche, GTE Service Corporation, America’s largest communication and utility company and auditor and later treasurer at Mobil Oil Producing Unlimited,” Abayomi wrote on his Facebook wall. “He was once a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a NADECO chieftain and major financier alongside Pa Alfred Rewane and Governor, Lagos State,” the senior lawyer who has supported Tinubu’s presidential ambition to the hilt wrote. The same day, Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, introduced a rather ludicrous slant to the whole saga when he blamed what he called the inefficiency of INEC’s server for the mess. “In 1999, Tinubu contested elections and became the governor of Lagos. In 2003, he contested election for a second term. He ran and won as a senator in the country. Were records keeping efficient, and INEC server functional, he wouldn’t need to do fresh submission (of documents),” Uzodimma said. Nigerians have been scratching their heads, trying to make meaning out of his harebrained submission. In the 23 years since this scandal blew open, Tinubu has done everything humanly possible to squash it. Ironically, the only thing he has refused to do is the easiest: produce the certificates or provide proof that he attended those schools and shame his detractors. Like his political soul mate, President Muhammadu Buhari, who would rather hire dozens of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, to defend him in court than show Nigerians his WAEC certificate, Tinubu has wilfully refused to assuage the anxiety of Nigerians. If actually he attended primary and secondary school, the only reason he is not forthcoming on that is because there is something hidden in those documents that he does not want Nigerians to know about him. Dr. Femi Aribisala, an educationist and newspaper columnist, said that much in a tweet this week where he said: “I wrote in 2014 that Tinubu’s affidavit that he attended Government College Ibadan, GCI, between 1965 and 1968 is false. I was in GCI from 1962-1968, and Tinubu was not there. Tinubu now tells INEC he did not go to primary or secondary school. This means he committed perjury.” That is the crux of the matter. The issue is not about how brilliant Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is. No one is doubting his genius. The crux of the matter is: do we know anything about this man who may well become president on May 29, 2023? Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/06/tinubu-

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President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the suicide bombing in Madinah, which occurred on Monday in Islam’s second holiest city. Condoling with Saudi authorities over the reprehensible attack, President Buhari said that the development was a desecration of all that was sacred and holy, as it took place near the Prophet’s Mosque, and on one of the holy days of Ramadan. “The merchants of evil have once again shown that there is nothing religious in their mindless acts, by striking near the Prophet’s Mosque. It validates the claim that terrorism really has nothing to do with Islam. Purveyors of terror are simply agents of the devil,” President Buhari said. He asserted that the fact that the Madinah bombing came the same day as a suicide bomber struck near the US Consulate in Jeddah, also in Saudi Arabia, shows that it was an orchestrated plan to foul up the Eid-el-Fitr celebration. President Buhari urged nations to remain vigilant, “so that we can collectively beat the forces of darkness on the prowl round the globe.” President Buhari stressed that terrorism no longer respects international boundaries, and charged humanity to rise as one body “to excise this vermin from our body polity, and assert our liberty from those who pander to base and vicious instincts.” “With our collective resolve, we shall beat terrorism. Around the world and around the clock, let us be alert. And we would remain free and safe.” he said.

http://www.channelstv.com/2016/07/05/suicide-bombing-president-buhari-

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By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo Bandits on Saturday struck at the Iri Station community near Idon in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State where they kidnapped 14 locals. Although the police were yet to react, Supervisory Councillor of Admin, Finance and Health in Kajuru Local Government Council, Bala Jonathan said those kidnapped were Abdullahi, Yakubu Isah, Samson Julius, Angelina Julius, Pasema Daniel, Junior,Bobo Julius, Saratu Mohammed, Asenath Sunday, Confidence Jerry, Barnaki Sunday, Moses Kenneth, Danladi Goma and Ummi Jibrin. “These are the names of abducted persons in Iri Station which we have discovered for now. The sad event happened in the early hours of today, June 4, 2022”, he said. He said some of their people earlier kidnapped were still in.captivity because their relations were not been able to raise the ransom demanded by the bandits. The kidnapping cases in and around Idon ward of Kajuru are becoming a recurring event that has led to the impoverishment of the people of the affected communities who have to do away with their life savings and farm produce to pay ransom to redeem their loved ones from ‘unknown’ gunmen who victimised them at will,” he said. Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/06/bandits-kidnap-

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September 20, 2015 by The Nation Impact Business Radio berths A new radio station, Impact Business Radio, is set to be launched in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. With business and entrepreneurship as its main focus, Metropolitan Broadcasting Services, the management of the radio station, hinted that it will be broadcasting on 92.5 FM. Situated at Impact House, Akobo Ibadan, the management further revealed that IBR shall educate, inspire, and entertain the diverse populations of Ibadan and nearby areas. Led by Reverend (Mrs) Olufunke Alli, a veteran broadcaster with many years of local and international broadcasting experience, the management also revealed that the station will cultivate local music and facilitate the exchange of economic, cultural and intellectual ideas, with particular regard for businesses, entrepreneurs and utilization of resources in and around our coverage areas. “We shall represent those social and economic issues that are overlooked or under-represented by other media outlets. Impact Business Radio (IBR) shall cover every aspect of business in an informative, entertaining and interactive manner from the biggest headlines of the day to the nuts and bolts of how to build a business from the ground up with some shows offered via live, call-in format,” Alli said. According to her, IBR 92.5 FM will also offer views, reviews and interviews, advice, information, topics and real-life people’s experience and business education programmes spanning areas like marketing, finance, technology and business productivity to raise the management proficiency of the Nigerian business and professional community with special focus on Ibadan / Oyo State/ South West. “As part of its programming, IBR 92.5 FM will provide its listeners with a timeless music and up-to-date sports reviews. It will also embark on meeting the lifestyle as well as business needs of its target group, including health and the arts,” she added. Among the pioneer IBR team are Prince Atilade Atoyebi and Elder Bamiji Ojo who will be sharing their experience as consultants.

http://thenationonlineng.net/impact-business-radio-

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Yams being arranged for sale at Muda Lawal Market in Bauchi. NAN Photo Benin – A Dietician in the Department of Dietetics, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Mr Peter Stephen, on Tuesday advised against peeling of yam before cooking it. Stephen said in Benin that cooking yam with the skin reduced its sugar content. He noted that yam and rice had high Glycemic Index (GI) which increased blood sugar level, and advised that yam should not be peeled before cooking to reduce the sugar content. GI is a numerical scale used to indicate how fast and how high a particular food can raise blood glucose (blood sugar) level. “The skin of yam that is normally peeled off contains proteins and vitamin B Complex. “It also has soluble fibre that absorbs sugar inside the yam. ‘’When the yam is properly cooked, you peel off the skin before eating. “When you cook your yam with the skin, it will not increase the blood sugar level. “By the time you eat the yam with vegetables, it gives you a better result,” he said. Stephen listed foods with low GI to include tomatoes, soya beans and beans. He noted that such foods had natural substances lowered blood sugar level. He advised people, especially diabetic patients, to mix foods with low GI with those with high GI in the ratio of 2:1 to maintain a good blood sugar level. “Rice has high GI; so, if you want to eat it, mix it with food with low GI such as beans. “If you take five spoons of rice, you have to take 10 spoons of beans to help to slow down the rate sugar is absorbed in the blood. “Even if you are not diabetic, you have to control your sugar level because prevention is better than cure,” the dietician advised. (NAN) Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/dont-peel-yam-skin-cooking-dietician-

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April 11, 2024 by Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja Stronger Naira possible by Q1 2025 – Presidency With the successes recorded by President Bola Tinubu administration’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and resumption of full operations by the refineries, a stronger Naira should be achieved by the first quarter of 2025. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who made the projection in a brief to State House Correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, said the policy revitalisation in the foreign exchange market is aimed at strengthening the Naira in currency markets. Ngelale, however, noted that the recent successes in foreign exchange market are not enough for the nation to rest the policies and other efforts to strengthen the Naira. He further noted with the various refineries, public and privately-owned, resuming full operations and capacity between now and the first quarter of 2025, the position of the Naira should become stronger and reflect on prices of market commodities. “The President has been very consistent in his view that the labour pains felt by our people and the incredible sacrifices made by our people over the past 10 months would be rewarded across the board. “The President’s multi-faceted approach to ridding the nation’s foreign exchange market of malign actors and sharp practices have provided a platform for the sustainable strengthening of our national currency against all global currencies and this is what we are seeing. “But there is still much work to be done and this is not a time for celebration. It is a time for doubling down and working harder to ensure that inflation is sustainably brought down in short order and that consumer protecting regulatory agencies step up enforcement to ensure that our people are not short-changed by enterprises that fail to reflect the prevailing exchange rates on the pricing of goods and services across the board. “As our private and publicly-owned refineries resume operations between now and the first quarter of 2025, the nation’s cash position will dramatically improve to the extent that Nigerians can rightly expect a stronger Naira and a fair reflection of its strength in the prices of commodities in the market place. “Once you join the rising spending power of Africa’s population with the historic availability of trillions of naira for consumer credit that will bolster the real sector, you will see why Nigerians will be most pleased that they elected a financial engineer and businessman as president by the end of his first term in office, even as the signs are increasingly more evident today,” he said.

https://thenationonlineng.net/stronger-naira-possible-

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The domain name YESHARVEST.COM is for sale. $3140 One time payment and own the name outright.Lease to Own $302 / month Start using today, full ownership in 12 months.Expert curated premium domain name Professionally crafted logo design Guaranteed transfer or your money back Yes Harvest: A simple combination that implies mindful food production. Possible uses: A farming equipment store. A produce company. A grocery store. A Premium Domain Name Every business name on BrandBucket is curated by our experts.Professionally Designed Logo A creative logo created by a highly skilled logo designer.Transparent Pricing No hidden fees, no escrow fees. Guaranteed delivery.What's Next? We accept all major credit cards, Bitcoin or wire transfers.Follow Transfer Instructions An agent will contact you with personalized information.Confirm Delivery Payment is held in escrow until you've received the name.Frequently Asked Questions Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers. A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBucket’s secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you. 1. Verification and registrar choice After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files. In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: - Google Domains - Amazon Route 53 - 123 Reg 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the The BrandBucket lease-to-own program is available as an alternative to purchasing the name outright. You're able to buy the domain name with over monthly installments, and at the end of the lease period, if all payments are complete, you would be the new owner of the domain name. Once you complete the checkout process for a leased domain, you will be contacted by a BrandBucket agent who will help manage your lease. The domain will be transferred from the seller to a BrandBucket escrow account, ensuring a secure hold on the domain during the lease term. We will transfer the domain to you once all payments are complete. During the lease, you're entitled to use the domain name for your website and email; your agent will guide you through that. Each month you will continue to receive an invoice with a balance statement. You have the right to cancel the lease any time or complete all payments early to own the domain outright. Established in 2007, we are the original business name marketplace. Every year, we sell 1000s of premium domains to entrepreneurs and businesses like you. All of our domain names are handpicked by branding and linguistics experts based on rigorous criteria. You can rest assured that if a domain is on the BrandBucket marketplace, it is a top-tier business name. Almost one out of every four names sold on BrandBucket is sold to a repeat buyer or a referral, which means that people who buy from us once, keep coming back for more. The .com extension is a brand in itself. 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When people hear or see your business name without a TLD, they will inevitably assume it ends in .com, making it easy for them to find you online. Once you have received the name into your registrar account, you will be able to: - Use the domain as your website address. - Setup email addresses, for instance, [email protected]. - Use the domain and logo on business cards and other materials. If you don’t have a website built yet, you can put up a simple coming soon page, or you can just leave it until you are ready. You don’t need to do anything right away. Because you own the domain name, you can take your time. Our talented community of logo designers designs all logos on the BrandBucket marketplace. They are paid for their efforts, and BrandBucket owns all copyrights for the logos. We will transfer the full copyright for the logo to you upon purchase of the domain name. Logo files are delivered to you in the following formats: - High-resolution image file (PNG) - Editable vector file (.AI) Editing your design Vector (AI) files are entirely editable in programs such as photoshop and illustrator, so you or your designer can make desired changes. If needed, we can make basic color changes/small tweaks to the logo for you after purchase. If you are looking for a complete redesign, we can connect you with a designer from our talented design community at their discretion and price. All of our business domains are carefully chosen for their standout branding qualities. There is only one yesharvest.com. However, there may well be other businesses that are using the same brand name. In fact, with common keyword names, it is likely. That is why owning the .com is so essential. In holding the .com, you immediately establish your business as the most official version of that name. It's unlikely any serious business is going to use a brand name where the .com domain is already in use. Many companies believe that owning the matching .com version of a business name provides more protection for their brand than a trademark. No, and it’s not possible for us to do so. Trademarks are industry and region-specific, and to file a trademark for a name or logo, you must already be doing business as that name. Because of this, we can't trademark a name before your company is actively using it. Therefore, you will need to apply for trademark registration after you have purchased the name. When you purchase a domain from BrandBucket, you will own it 100%. However, all domain names worldwide must be kept registered at a registrar like Godaddy or similar that you choose. You will pay the registration fees to whichever registrar you decide to use. The price of registration varies at each registrar, but it generally ends up being around $10-15 per year for a .com domain name. Registration is annual but can be paid up for years in advance, which we suggest you do. BrandBucket serves as a third-party marketplace and escrow agent for domain names. We only offer refunds if either of these two conditions are met: - The buyer contacts us within 24 hours of purchase requesting a refund. - The seller fails to initiate the domain name transfer within 10 business days from the time of purchase. Buyers are advised to perform all necessary diligence prior to making a purchase. Your purchase is 100% confidential. Any personal information you share with BrandBucket is kept private, even from the domain seller. We never publicize any sale on our marketplace. A brand name is a name that you use to identify a family of products, services, or a single line of products or services that a company offers. For instance, Apple is the brand name used on most products manufactured by Apple, Inc. In this example, the business name and brand name are the same, a common use case. Your brand name is who you are to your customers. It is the pillar your business's public image will be built around. The products or services you offer can also have their own brand names. You may want to create new brand names for products or services that differ from your core business offering, for example: - UberEats - Food delivery by Uber - Amazon Web Services - Cloud computing from Amazon - Google Maps - Web mapping service from Google Registered Business Name A business name is the legally registered name of your business. You'll use your business name to create contracts, open bank accounts, pay taxes, and any other administrative related activities. Most business names contain the business's brand name, followed by the company's chosen business structure, for example: - Walmart Inc. - Verizon Inc. - Grasshopper LLC However, they don't necessarily have to be the same. In some cases, the business name is completely different from the brand name. This is most common in large businesses that have multiple brands housed under a single parent company, for example: - Brand Name: Google - Business Name: Alphabet Inc. - Brand Name: MailChimp - Business Name: The Rocket Science Group LLC A domain name is your website name - the internet address where people can access your website. Think of a domain as the address to the online version of your business. Every domain is one-of-a-kind. No website has the same web address as another website. Ideally, your domain name should be an exact match to your brand name. Think of your favorite companies. Odds are, their domain name is identical to their brand name. Apple's domain name is Apple.com; Amazon's domain name is Amazon.com. Having a matching domain ensures that people can easily find your brand online. What can a top brand name with a matching .com do for your business? Here are few of the many advantages of owning a premium business domain: Trust - Online, there are subtle clues that all of us subconsciously take into consideration to determine whether or not a business is legitimate and trustworthy. Having a great business name paired with a matching .com (by far the most trusted domain extension) signals to customers that you care about and are willing to invest in your brand. It makes your business and your brand messaging easier to trust. Authority - Owning a .com version of a fantastic brand name is a big signal to the world that your business means business, right out of the gate. This can lead to accelerated customer acquisition, more industry partnership opportunities, and press attention. SEO - Having a business domain that matches what customers are using in searches can lead to increased SEO, higher page ranking, and better quality traffic. Retention - Brand retention is critical for organically acquiring and keeping customers. A short, catchy, and unique business name makes your brand easier to remember, and having a matching .com means that consumers who hear about you offline will find you easily online. Save on marketing spend - Investing in a premium domain can save you a fortune in marketing spend down the line. You'll spend less of your valuable marketing budget and efforts on brand awareness, as your name will do much of the work for you. Our customers are primarily entrepreneurs looking for a quick and easy way to find a great brand name for their company. That's why when evaluating and appraising domain names, our central focus is whether they would also make great business names. What makes a great brand name? Here are some of the branding and linguistic traits we take into consideration: - Length - Great names are concise and to the point. The shorter, the better! - Common phrase/expression - Names that are based on real phrases and expressions make great brand names because of their built-in familiarity and inherent catchiness. - Letter order - Some letters are more valuable than others and better together, especially when it comes to the first letters of a name. - Pronunciation and spelling - Names should be easy to say and understand. It should also be spelled as it sounds. - Industry match - Names should be a good fit for a particular industry, or be broad enough to attract buyers from multiple sectors. - Longevity - Great brand names are broad enough in scope to grow with a company as it expands and not die when trends fade. - Uniqueness - Great brand names are easy to spot because they stand out in a crowd. - Memorability - A brand name is no good unless people can easily remember it. These criteria, along with historical sales data and current marketplace conditions, are used to determine whether a name is accepted to our marketplace, and how it's priced. Every name on our marketplace must score high in most or all of these categories to even be accepted. With an acceptance rate of only 10% of names submitted to our marketplace, BrandBucket sets a very high bar for the names we select. Customers Also Loved The following are business names for sale with similar qualities to yesharvest.com

https://www.yesharvest.com/

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Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, says votes cast in all parts of Nigeria are equal, adding that Abuja – the Federal Capital Territory – has been interpreted to be the 37th state of the country. He was commenting on Section 134 of the 1999 Constitution which has become a contending issue in the aftermath of the 2023 presidential election. But on Channels Television Sunday Politics, Falana said he will not be making a definite comment on the issue at the moment since it has become a serious legal matter now pending in court, noting that court decisions on the status of Abuja already exist. “I had expressed an opinion on section 134 of the Constitution on the 23rd of January this year – that is about a month before the presidential election. On that occasion, I expressed a legal opinion and that is why I was very hesitant to join the bandwagon when lawyers started to give political interpretations of that section. “I did state that there is no electoral college in Nigeria and therefore the votes cast or recorded in any part of the country are equal. Section 134 of the Constitution specifically requires a winner of a presidential election to meet certain requirements. The first one is to score the majority of lawful votes and the second is territorial spread, a two-thirds majority of the states and the Federal Capital Territory. “And since the FCT has been interpreted to be a 37th state in Nigeria for the purpose of the constitution I didn’t see any controversy at the material time and that was when I expressed my opinion. “But now that it has become a serious legal issue and the matter is now pending in court, I am very reluctant to speak definitively on the section because there are decisions of the court on the status of Abuja,” Falana said. Section 134 sub-section 1 (b) of the 1999 Constitution states that a winner of a presidential election must not have less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was declared winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to secure 25% votes in the FCT, raising concerns about the interpretation that section of the Constitution. Both Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party have filed petitions at the Presidential Election Tribunal challenging Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the 2023 presidential election. Atiku and Obi were placed second and third respectively.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/03/26/votes-cast-in-all-parts-of-nigeria-are-

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February 21, 2021 by The Nation 2023: Network launched to mobilize support for Yahaya Bello By Nicholas Kalu, Abuja The Bello Ambassadors Network (BAN), a youth organisation that has volunteered to mobilize support for the Presidential bid of Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in 2023, has been launched in Abuja. National Coordinator of the network, Anthony Edogbo, described Bello as a governor who prioritizes meritocracy in all his dealings without considering tribal and religious differences, saying he is the leader Nigeria needs. He said Nigeria is a nation with a youth population of over 33 million, but sadly over the years, hasfailed to utilize its numerical strength, creativity and powers towards building the Nigeria of the people’s dreams. He said they desired a Nigeria where every tribe, gender and religion is given equal opportunities to thrive and contribute towards national development. He said the people need a country that prioritizes healthcare and education, security, economic and infrastructural development. “The above we have seen in a state which we call the microcosm of Nigeria. A state bounded by 11 others, the confluence of opportunities, enriched with a rich cultural heritage and most dearly to us, governed by one of our own, a fellow youth who have shown exceptional leadership qualities and attributes. A Governor who prioritizes meritocracy in all his dealings without considering tribal and religious differences; that is the leader of our dreams. In him, we have seen courage, intelligence and love for every Nigerian,” Edogbo said. He said within 96 hours following the release of their website, www.ban2023.org, it hit over 320,000 members. This is a feat that was made possible because of the passion, love and agitation of youths across Nigeria for the actualization of a youthful and responsive national leadership. “I am pleased to officially welcome you all to the formal inauguration of this network of young Nigerians from across the six (6) geopolitical zones and thirty-six (36) states of the federation- Bello Ambassadors Network, where we strongly believe in the New Nigeria Dream. Our support is borne out of the urgent need to promote the youth agenda and support one of our own; Governor Yahaya Bello, the reason we are all seated here today. “As the youngest Governor in Nigeria, Governor Yahaya Bello has built a cabinet of young Nigerians including me, the youngest political appointee in Nigeria. On a very personal note, Governor Yahaya Bello never for once asked about my tribe nor religion before appointing me. His only interest was my youthfulness and capability; the exact definition of the 21st century leader of our dreams. “Right now, we are joined in a great national effort to build our organization and to fulfill its promise for all of our people. Together, we shall all determine the course of BAN for the next 859 days to come; the 2023 presidential elections. Distinguished Ambassadors and volunteers of this movement, I’m proud to tell you that what we are unveiling today will mark one of the biggest ever passion-driven network that will raise dusts not just in Abuja here, but across Nigeria and the globe. “Our diaspora Ambassadors shall be unveiling BAN in their various countries in the coming days. Let me also inform you that BAN has been officially registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria, and together with all her members and coordinators, we shall be making public our constitution and modus operandi. As founder of this organization and national coordinator, I have an immediate agenda targeted not just at hitting our five (5) million membership target by December 2021, but also at reaching out to every Nigerian through door to door awareness and sensitization for the 2023 year. “Amongst several others, our aims and objectives include mobilization of Nigerians from different states to support the BAN2023 agenda, the provision of support/ information to state entities and organization of exploratory and outreach events across the federation to bring you the best in terms of delivery. BAN has a network of registered doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, lawyers, bankers, engineers, teachers, undergraduate students, youths from different organizations, every caliber of person, mostly young Nigerians who are ready to contribute immensely to make us achieve this objectives. “Our ultimate structure shall include regional coordinators, state chapter coordinators which we shall be breaking down to local government levels and ward coordinators. We have student ambassadors, heads of institutions and student organizations who are also heavily represented here today, my own personal caucus. “Let me at this point request your continued support to this movement, online and offline towards achieving our ultimate goal. Following this formal launch today, we shall be coming down to state levels and local government levels to preach the BAN agenda, the Yahaya Bello agenda, the New Nigeria agenda,” he said. Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Chief Edward Onoja, who represented Bello at the elaborate event, said Nigeria is only bedeviled by leadership problems as the country is richly blessed with human and natural resources, adequate landmass and an absence of natural disasters. “Why are we where we are as the giant of Africa. The question has always revolved around leadership and leadership in summary is ability to manage and harness both the natural human and resources for the benefit of all,” he said. Onoja said Governor Bello has antecedents of excellence in every area of his life that can be easily identified. He said though the greatest challenge in the country is the rising spate of insecurity, Kogi State was witnessing looking a drastic reduction in the problem. “The story of Kogi has moved from worse to better headed to best. Even as the matter of insecurity is going on abated in parts of the country, the governor has dealt squarely with the matter of insecurity. We want to go into the future with a leader that is extrapolating what is happening in Kogi nationally,” he said. He expressed appreciation to the network for their confidence in him and promised his support as he urged them to go on mobilizing and networking across country. The governor’s Chief of Staff, Pharm. Abdulkareem Jamiu Asuku, described Bello as the man of the moment and the future. He said Bello was an extraordinary democrat, who had shown excellence in leadership. Asuku said the governor had successfully built a cabinet of young Nigerians irrespective of tribe, gender and religion. He said Bello had recorded feats in security, youth and women empowerment, agriculture, education, health care, infrastructure and others and he deserved national recognition. According to him, the temperature of the country needs someone like Bello, who is a stabilizer, peacemaker and unifier.

https://thenationonlineng.net/2023-network-launched-to-mobilize-

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