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Pit Botha Dies At 86

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Roelof Frederik “Pik” Botha, South Africa’s apartheid-era ex-Foreign Affairs Minister, has died at the age of 86.

Botha was known for trying to get his party to accept broader political rights for black South Africans. His son, Roelof Botha, said on Friday — “my dad passed away in the early hours of the morning at his home’’. He was 86 years old.

“I think the contribution that he made … to lasting peace in this country is something recognised.”

Botha served under two National Party presidents – BJ Vorster and PW Botha – and his greatest diplomatic achievement was negotiating independence for Namibia, then under South African rule.

After the end of apartheid, Botha served as minister of mineral and energy affairs in the government of Nelson Mandela – the country’s first democratically elected president.

Botha was born on April 27, 1932, and a South African politician who served as the country’s foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era.

He was considered a liberal but the bulk of his career was spent defending South Africa’s apartheid system of racial segregation against foreign criticism.

He had two sons, the rock musician, Piet Botha and the economist, Roelof Botha, and two daughters, Anna Hertzog and artist Lien Botha.

The death of Botha has attracted numerous comments in the social media, especially Twitter.

Lucas Ledwaba @LedwabaStyles said: “Pik Botha was a member of the ANC. Will the comrades be singing Hamba kahle Mkhonto in his honour? Can comrades please enlighten us? [cross border raids etc]

KhayelihleKhumalo‏ @KhayaJames tweeted: “Former Deputy Minister of foreign affairs Aziz Pahad says #PikBotha was a longest serving Foreign Minister in the world.’’

Flo Letoaba also said: “Hearing Pik Botha’s son saying his father was worried about the deteriorating state of South Africa on his deathbed is almost laughable.

Hloni Nyetanyane said: “Pik Botha was an ANC stalwart & former minister in Mandela’s cabinet. The flag must fly at half-mast & be granted an official funeral. It’s only fair.
#PikBotha

Sourced From: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

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Corona Virus

NIgeria Records 87 New Cases Of COVID-19, Total Infections Now 1,182

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By Abujah Racheal

Nigeria has recorded 87 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the total infections to 1,182 , according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The NCDC, in a tweet via its official handle, said 33 of the new infections were recorded in Lagos, 18 in Borno, 12 in Osun, nine in Katsina, four each in Kano and Ekiti, three each in Edo and Bauchi and one in Imo.

“As at 11:55 pm April 25, there are 1,182 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria.  The country’s total deaths from the virus now stand at 35, while 222  have been treated and discharged,” it said.

The centre said as at 11:55 pm, April 25, Lagos has 689, FCT-138, Kano-77, Ogun-35, Osun-32, Gombe-30, Katsina-30, Borno-30, Edo-22, Oyo-18, Kwara-11, Akwa Ibom-11, Bauchi-11, Kaduna-10, Ekiti-8 and Ondo-4.

Others are Delta-six, Rivers-three, Jigawa-two, Enugu-two, Niger-two, Abia-two, Zamfara-two,  Sokoto-two, Benue-one, Anambra-one, Adamawa-one, Plateau-one and Imo-one.

Sourced From: News Agency of Nigeria

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Buhari Rebukes Oshiomhole’s NWC

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Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has publicly disagreed with the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress over the right of aggrieved members to seek redress in court.

In a statement by Femi Adesina, the president’s media adviser, President Buhari stressed that if anyone is displeased with the way and manner anything has been done, and feels deprived of his/her rights, then such a person is at liberty to approach the courts for redress.

It was the president’s first public reaction to the discontent within the party over the conduct of primaries, in the selection of candidates for elective offices.

Until now, President Buhari had tried to appease members behind the scenes, begging and cajoling aggrieved members to bury the hatchet.

In a different reaction, the NWC of the party headed by former governor Adams Oshiomhole forbade members from dragging the party to court. It even went further to threaten the litigants.

President Buhari disagreed with the party:

“We can’t deliberately deny people of their rights. We agreed that party primaries should be conducted either through direct, indirect or consensus methods, and if anyone feels unjustly treated in the process, such a person can go to court. The court should always be the last resort for the dissatisfied. For the party to outlaw the court process is not acceptable to me.”

In the statement, President Buhari still favoured non-legal approach for reconciliation of the aggrieved as he urged them to embrace the party’s reconciliation panels.

According to Adesina, President Buhari advised members to work with the reconciliation committees empanelled for the six geo-political zones by the APC, and not a purported Presidential Committee on Reconciliation, stressing that the Party is the only body authorised to constitute such committees.

The APC had threatened aggrieved members who have headed to the courts, saying that: “The Party intends to activate constitutional provisions to penalise such members as their action is capable of undermining the Party and hurt the Party’s interest.

“We hereby strongly advise such members to withdraw all court cases, while approaching the appropriate party organs with a view to resolving any outstanding disputes. In addition to this, aggrieved members are urged to take full advantage of the reconciliation committees the Party has put in place.

“APC members should understand that as a progressive party that operates on the principle of change, it is not a matter of choice to keep to the rules.”

 

Sourced From: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

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Over 1000 Workers To Be Employed For Warri-Itakpe Rail

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By Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni.

Over 1000 workers will be employed for the Warri-Itakpe standard gauge rail corridor, Mr Fidet Okhiria, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) said.

“It’s about 320km, about 12 stations and we have to engage people that will maintain the tracks, people that will work in the stations and sell tickets.

“Also, technicians that will examine the train. So, we are going to engage close to over 1000 to maintain about 320km track, both junior and senior.

“New employees can’t just be sent there; they must be trained.

“In order for them to be trained, we will be moving people from the existing staff, but we have to replace them. So we have to fill up those positions before the new people will be trained and certify to be part of the train operations,” he said.

NAN reports that NRC operates one-year training programme for graduate staff and three months for the junior staff.

According to Okhiria, the 12 stations for the train service are still under construction, adding that temporary stations would be used pending completion.

He, however, assured that the stations would be completed by the first quarter of 2019, noting that some of the houses at the railway village were renovated recently for workers.

Okhiria said that a lot has been achieved, especially in the rail system under the current administration, with the purchase of more rolling stock and wagons.

 

Sourced From: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

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National Identity Number Registration Is Free – NIMC Official

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Nigeria National Identification Number

By Jacinta Nwachukwu/ Bukola Adewumi

Mr Loveday Ogbonna, Head, Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says registration for the National Identity Number (NIN) is free of charge to all Nigerians.

Ogbonna, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, said that the commission had never charged anyone for NIN registration.

Some residents in Kubwa, Abuja, had claimed that they were made to pay N200 for logistics before being registered at the ongoing NIMC registration.

But, Ogbonna said that it was not the responsibility of the enrollees to pay money to fuel generators at registration centres.

“The commission absolutely condemns this, it is not right for enrollees to pay money for fueling of the generators before being captured but people also react based on how urgent they need NIN.

“Our staff would have told them that there was no light which is not under their control; however, you know that electricity is not under our purview just like the internet.

“Therefore, if you come to a place that we don’t have electricity and people on their own volunteer to contribute money to fuel the generator, it is out of their own free will.
“Although we don’t encourage it, because that will lead to corruption, but if the people on their own decide to contribute we cannot stop them.

“All these issues are due to paucity of fund, if there is enough money available for the exercise or steady power supply all these things will not happen,’’ Ogbonna.(NAN)

 

Sourced From: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN

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