Nigerian Newspapers
Much ado about breaking of fast
President Goodluck Jonathan is not a Muslim but he participates in the annual Ramadan fast religiously. As a tradition, he also invites dignitaries to join him in breaking the fast in the evening. Some of his regular visitors on such occasions are members of the diplomatic corps in Nigeria.
During the week however, a newspaper came up with a report that former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), turned down Jonathan’s request for him to break his fast with the gap-toothed former leader in his Minna Hilltop mansion.
The report, no doubt, rattled the President and his handlers so much that they had to issue a rejoinder denouncing the story. They went a step further to demand for an apology and retraction from the newspaper.
They however got more than they expected when the newspaper published the following day that it stood by its earlier story. Despite the Presidency’s explanation that it is not in the character of Jonathan to leave the premises of the seat of power in order to go and break his fast with a private citizen, the publishers said they were not convinced.
While the President’s media men were still considering their next line of action however, the military dictator fondly referred to as the evil genius, also came out to say that there was no iota of truth in the report.
In fact, he said he would jump at any opportunity to eat with even his Ward Councillor without equivocation, let alone the President of the Federal Republic.
I suspect strongly that the news report might have emanated from the comment of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Anthony Anenih, during a reception organised to mark his 80th birthday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Sunday.
Anenih, while soliciting support for Jonathan in steering the ship of the country, had said that he would return home and sleep a happy man anytime he enters the Villa and he is told that Jonathan, Babangida, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former military leader, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar are eating together inside.
Celebrating Sambo’s birthday in his absence
Last week Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan summoned an emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council. Because FEC’s statutory meetings always hold on Wednesdays, there was anxiety among some of the ministers that the emergency meeting might have been summoned to announce a cabinet reshuffle.
As it later turned out, the agenda of the meeting was far from cabinet reshuffle. The meeting was convened to discuss the nation’s 2014-2016 medium-term fiscal framework.
Despite the anxiety that preceded the meeting, cabinet members did not forget to remember one of their own, Vice President Namadi Sambo, whose 59th birthday coincided with the emergency meeting. They really planned big for him. I guess as at the time they were preparing, many of them did not envisage that the birthday boy would not be at the meeting.
Some individuals, mostly politicians, also doled out some cash to place congratulatory advertorials in some national newspapers for the Vice President.
Sambo had left the shores of the country the previous night to take part in the lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia. He returned to the country on Tuesday evening.
Apparently not aware that the Vice President would not attend the emergency meeting, cabinet members took turn to sign a giant birthday card meant for Sambo as they arrived the venue of the meeting.
Minister of Housing, Lands and Urban Development, Ama Pepple, coordinated the exercise. The giant card was placed on her desk as she called members to come and sign.
It finally dawned on them that Sambo would not attend the meeting when Jonathan arrived the venue without the Vice President behind him as the usual practice. They however handed over the card to the Deputy Chief of Staff for onward presentation to the Vice President.
A number of special cakes were also made that saw each minister leaving the venue after the meeting with one big cake each. Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, was magnanimous enough to hand over his own to journalists before he started the post-meeting press briefing.
Anglican primate warns minister
What could have made a clergyman to hand down a stern warning to a serving minister? That incident played out during the week at the official residence of President Jonathan inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Revd. Nichols Okoh, had led some clergymen and members of the church to pay a condolence visit on the wife of the President, Patience, who lost her foster mother, Mrs. Christy Oba, fondly called Mama Sisi, in an auto crash in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The visit of the church delegation coincided with that of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, who has been on the firing line from journalists who are eager to know the position of the Federal Government on same-sex marriage. He was reported to have said recently that Nigeria would welcome gay diplomats. He has since denied the claim.
Immediately members of the delegation stepped out of the President’s living room, Okoh left members of his folks and approached Ashiru. He was apparently speaking to the minister on the need for the country to maintain its anti-same sex marriage stance.
Suddenly, the bishop increased his voice and was heard saying, “That thing (same sex marriage) must not come to Nigeria o.” He repeated the warning like three times and the minister kept smiling and assuring him that all was well.
Is Edem Duke afraid of sack?
Penultimate Friday, President Jonathan summoned an emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council. Many Nigerians thought the President would use the opportunity to send his ministers packing by dissolving his cabinet. The speculation became the major stories in national newspaper that day.
Expectedly, the speculation caused panic among ministers who attended the meeting with the fear that that might be their last one. As soon as they arrived, however, they were given documents relating to the 2014-2016 medium term fiscal framework. They sat on their seats and perused the documents while they waited for the President to start the meeting. The atmosphere was clearly tensed.
While all of them were still engrossed in their perusal of the documents however, Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, betrayed them. He showed what was going on in their minds when he suddenly shouted, “Let’s get this over please!” without necessarily addressing anybody in particular. All his colleagues started laughing while broadcast journalists, especially television cameramen, struggled to get him and the response of his colleagues recorded.
Lest I forget, the interim chairman of the newly registered All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, wants Jonathan to “port” from his PDP to APC. Will the President join the likes of the popular actor, Saka, to shout “I don port o”? Let’s wait and see.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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