A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
ABUJA—THE wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has urged privileged Nigerians to help Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, living in squatter camps across the country, describing such gesture as work of faith and the essence of living.
Aisha Buhari
She made the call during a charity awareness walk organized by Victims of Violence Charity Foundation in Abuja weekend.
Mrs. Buhari, who was represented by wife of Nasarawa State governor, Hajiya Mairo Tank Al-Makura, attributed the heart of giving and caring for the less privileged to the spirit of brotherliness, which she said was a critical aspect of nation building and development.
"We all understand what charity is all about. The first lady, like you know, has a passion for women, children, and youths of this country.
''Her programme: Future Assured – has done a lot in collaboration with other organizations to uplift the living standard of those living in the IDP camps.
''The Federal Government cannot do it alone. So we need people, philanthropists to come out, support and assist the IDPs," Mrs. Buhari said.
She commended the organizers of the annual charity awareness walk for sustaining their passion in helping and supporting the less privileged ones, especially those in the IDP camps, for the past three years.
Also speaking, wife of Zamfara State governor, Mrs. Asmau Yari, hailed Mrs Buhari for demonstrating through her own actions the kind of quality care and support IDPs need to find their feet in the society and re-adjust to normal living in their respective communities.
Mrs. Yari also gave unflinching assurances of the support of governors' wives to the cause of rehabilitating the IDPs.
"This is for a very good cause. And, you know anything that has to do with malnutrition, concern for children and the less privileged, the governors' wives will play a very passionate role in that," she said.
Donald Trump plans to immediately deport or jail as many as three million undocumented immigrants, the Republican said Sunday as he set out his priorities as America’s head of state in the first television interview since his election.
This came as Bernie Sanders, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination race said that they will oppose Trump if his presidency is going to be about scapegoating immigrants, African-Americans or Muslims.
“If Mr. Trump has the courage to take on Wall Street, to take on the drug companies, to try to work forward, go forward to create a better life for working people, we will work with him, issue by issue. Sanders-Hillary
“But if his presidency is going to be about discrimination, if it’s going to be about scapegoating immigrants or scapegoating African-Americans or Muslims, we will oppose him vigorously,” Sanders declared.
Millions were expected to tune in to Trump’s full interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” for clues on how the populist billionaire will govern, and how far he intends to convert his firebrand slogans into hard and fast policy.
Since Tuesday’s shock election triumph, Trump had appeared to tone down his rhetoric, notably suggesting he might be willing to reconsider a pledge to scrap President Barack Obama’s signature health reform.
But he made clear in excerpts of Sunday’s interview that he still intended to crack down on the undocumented, focusing on people with criminal records.
“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people — probably two million, it could be even three million — we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said.
He also said he stood by his pledge to build a wall on the Mexican border — although he said it could include some fencing.
Experts estimate there are as many as 11 million foreigners living illegally in the United States, many of them Central and Southern Americans long-established in the country.
Trump’s stance stood in opposition with comments by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said Sunday the focus under a Trump administration would be on securing the border, not rounding up immigrants.
“We are not planning on erecting a deportation force. Donald Trump’s not planning on that,” Ryan told CNN.
– Appointment ‘imminent’ –
Since his election on the back of an incendiary anti-immigrant campaign, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets daily, worried that Trump will put his rhetoric into practice.
The billionaire’s Trump Tower residence in Manhattan was picketed for four straight days by, with similar protests across the United States.
The tower has been a hive of activity as the real estate mogul huddles with his transition team to shape his cabinet — appointments expected to play a crucial role in setting the tone of an administration led by a 70-year-old political novice.
Trump faces a colossal task in hammering out cabinet picks and filling hundreds of other top government jobs ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has said the announcement of White House chief of staff — the powerful gatekeeper to the president — is “imminent.”
Top contenders include Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee, who Trump has credited for helping engineer his unlikely election win.
– ‘Hold him accountable’ –
Democrats have been despondent in the wake of an election they were certain of winning, but vowed Sunday to oppose Trump — despite now being locked out of power not only in the House and Senate, but now in the White House as well.
“Our job now is to hold him accountable,” said Bernie Sanders, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination race.
“If Mr. Trump has the courage to take on Wall Street, to take on the drug companies, to try to work forward, go forward to create a better life for working people, we will work with him, issue by issue.
“But if his presidency is going to be about discrimination, if it’s going to be about scapegoating immigrants or scapegoating African-Americans or Muslims, we will oppose him vigorously,” Sanders declared.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll out Sunday shows that 74 percent of Americans accept Trump’s election as legitimate, but that number fell to 58 percent among supporters of his defeated rival Clinton.
Trump has shown some willingness to soften his more strident positions. His U-turn on Obamacare — he now says he may simply amend a law he once branded a “disaster” on the stump — was prompted by his White House meeting with the outgoing president earlier this week.
He told CBS and The Wall Street Journal he may maintain some of the program’s more popular elements, such as a ban on insurance companies denying coverage because of so-called pre-existing health conditions.
Asked by the paper whether he would, as threatened, name a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, Trump deflected, saying his priorities were “health care, jobs, border control, tax reform.”
Not long ago Trump was leading crowds in chants of “Lock her up!”
– Hate groups –
The Republican has yet to respond, however, to mounting calls to reassure Americans who fear a xenophobic crackdown under his authority.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors hate groups, tracked more than 200 incidents of election-related harassment in the three days following the vote, with many more allegations emerging on social media.
Tens of thousands have signed an SPLC petition urging Trump to clearly distance himself from hate groups.
Online hotels booking company, Hotels.ng has developed a universal location solution to help e-commerce firms, especially online retailers tackle the challenge of poor addressing system in Nigerian cities, using a precise location algorithm.
The solution is a product of Hotels.ng's internship programme which kicked off in August, 2016.
Led by Olayinka Success, a veteran Hotels.ng developer, a group of these interns began a project to define a new addressing format for locations across the country. The idea was to uniquely identify places using a number of characters, for example NG-LA1600-OD-01. This string, when used to tag any location (for example a hotel), uniquely identifies it down to the exact building.
This provides a scalable and flexible way to identify not just specific buildings, but also used to identify entire regions, e.g. the string NG-AK31UY would represent the entire region of Nigeria > Akwa Ibom State > Uyo > Uyo Urban.
The Locations Application Programme Interface, API has multiple potential benefits, some of which include: Easy pinpointing of every physical location with a longitudinal & latitudinal address and corresponding driving instruction; There can be a global auto-complete address standard as the API recognizes similar addresses and can predict locations with accuracy;
Easily recognizable unique identifier for places that didn’t previously have postal codes; All physical addresses can easily be linked to each other via their unique code, and driving instructions from any location to the next will be computed based on that.
The team leader, Success, said: "The product is still in its very early stages and it can only get better especially through collaborative efforts. We cannot possibly provide every address so we need people to contribute. People can actually suggest new addresses and flag those that might be wrong and need corrections."
He added: "The locations API is currently released in alpha as an open data project – the locations information is free and open to all to download, modify and fix. The hope is that with community effort, soon we will have an API that allows us to effortlessly identify locations without many problems."
Out-of-favour Manchester United winger Memphis Depay came off the bench to score twice and save the Netherlands’ blushes in Luxembourg in World Cup qualifying on Sunday.
On an evening when Europe’s minnows came close — but ultimately fell short — of springing some major upsets, Depay gave United manager Jose Mourinho a reminder of his worth just as the Dutch were sliding to an embarrassing draw.
The 3-1 victory over Luxembourg keeps the misfiring Dutch in the hunt for a place at Russia 2018, but they will need to play an awful lot better if they are to trump the twin threats of table-toppers France and Sweden in Group A.
Arjen Robben had a chance after a quarter of an hour for the Dutch, but should have done better than firing at Ralph Schon in the Luxembourg goal, as the Dutch tightened the screw.
Davy Klaassen then went closer, teed up by Robben, but Schon came to the rescue again for Luxembourg, bottom in the group.
The home stopper was finally beaten on 36 minutes when Robben moved the ball onto his favourite left foot to slot home for a deserved Dutch lead.
But a minute before the break the minnows grabbed a leveller after Joshua Brenet felled Daniel da Mota in the box and Maxime Chanot punished the visitors from the penalty spot.
Robben, whose brilliant career has been blighted by injury, failed to make it out for the second half. Wesley Sneijder was also hooked at the break.
It was Depay, one of the replacements, who struck soon afterwards to break home hearts.
And the 22-year-old, strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford to Everton, sealed the match with his second goal in the final minutes.
Also in Group A Bulgaria edged Belarus 1-0 in Sofia.
In Group H Gibraltar made a piece of history and were level for a while in Cyprus before going down agonisingly 3-1.
But they had cause to celebrate a significant consolation with Lee Casciaro’s 51st-minute equaliser — their first ever World Cup qualifier away goal.
In Group B the Faroe Islands were similarly plucky in soggy Lucerne, where Switzerland scored seven minutes from the end through Stephan Lichtsteiner to grind out a 2-0 victory and maintain their 100 percent record.
In the same group Hungary hammered Andorra 4-0 at home.
Switzerland are streaking away at the top of the group with 12 points from 12, but European champions Portugal can close the gap to three points again if they beat Latvia at home later on Sunday.
Bauchi – Deputy President, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Umar Saidu, on Saturday cautioned players of Super Eagles against complacency, just as they maintained the lead in their group in the World Cup qualifiers.
Reacting to the Eagle's 3-1 defeat of the Algerian National team, Saidu said that with six points in two matches, the players and officials should not think that they had already scaled through because 'football is not mathematics'.
"The outcome of today's game with Algeria is heart-warming as the Eagles have consolidated on the leadership of their group in the World Cup qualifying matches.
"The team however needs not to be reminded that it is not all over until it is over because football is not mathematics," he said.
Said observed that a lot of work still needed to be done in the defense line of the Eagles, which had always been the weak part of the team.
Making the same observation, former Chairman of Gombe State Sports Commission and proprietor of Yarmalite Football Academy, Gombe, Alhaji Faruk Yarma, commended the Eagles but said the technical team needed to do some extra work on the defense line.
Yarma, who is currently the state's Commissioner for Youth and Poverty Alleviation, urged the players to redouble their efforts as the next opponents (Cameroon) had been a stumbling block to Nigeria's success in the past.
Football fans in Maiduguri and Dutse also hailed the Eagles for winning the match with wide margin.
One of the fans, Ahmed Ibrahim, a resident of Maiduguri, said that the Eagles were 'almost' sure of qualifying for the World Cup, going by the victory.
"I will like to congratulate all Nigerians for the victory; the players have actually done well in their campaign.
"I think that they have won the heart of many Nigerians by the victory," Ibrahim said.
Ahmad Musa, a resident of Dutse, told NAN that the outcome of the match made him to be optimistic that the Eagles would quality for the 2017 World Cup.
"The level of play by the Super Eagles shows that they are ready for the task ahead," he said. (NAN)
Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria Sadanobu Kusaoke in this interview gave a detailed assessment of the Nigeria-Japan relations and notes that in spite of the many inroads made, the potential is not yet fully utilized
Keeping in view the history of Nigeria-Japan relations which was established in 1960, could you shed some light on the present bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Japan?
Japan and Nigeria established diplomatic relations in 1960. Our embassy in Lagos at the time became operational that same year. Nigeria also established a fully operational embassy in Tokyo in 1964. Since these developments, both countries have continued to enjoy cordial bilateral relations. The ties became even stronger after Nigeria's transition to democracy in 1999. Since then, there have been numerous high level exchanges between both countries, culminating in former President Obasanjo's 5 visits to Japan.
Prime Minister Yoshiro Morialso visited Nigeria in 2001 and the list goes on. Although President Buhari is yet to visit Japan ; he has had fruitful bilateral talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at various functions abroad with the most recent being the 6th TICAD, last August. I am also quite pleased to mention that our grass-root level, people to people exchange and scholarship program are some of the valuable elements of the bilateral ties.
Following the ever changing trends in international politics,alliances and counter-alliances, how much significance does Japan give to Nigeria in its foreign policy?
The geographical distance of both countries does not affect the international politics inherent in diplomacy. Both countries share a lot of values and mutual interests. For instance, Japan and Nigeria are major contributors to the United Nations and both of us strongly believe that UN Security Council should be reformed to improve its representativeness. We are also both committed to disarmament and non-proliferation. The fact that Nigeria is one of the 12 member states of Non Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) initiated by Japan testifies to this. Furthermore, we are equally close partners in tackling global challenges such as climate change.
•Sadanobe Kusaoke
What is the status of economic relations between Nigeria and Japan?
The potential is not yet fully realised. Although we've made significant inroads in manufacturing, petro-chemical refineries, hydro-power generating plants, civil engineering designs amongst others. We are currently a major LNG purchaser from Nigeria. In spite of these, Nigeria and Japan should look into other ways to further expand these ties.
What is the number of Japanese investment here in Nigeria?
Japanese investment reaches 2.5 million US dollars in 2015 excluding the amount invested by Japanese companies' subsidiaries' registered outside Japan. In terms of job creation in Nigeria, Japan's contribution has been substantial because Japanese companies spare no effort to maintain as much Nigerian employment as possible in spite of recent economic conditions.
What is the Nigeria investor operation like in Japan?
I only have anecdotal information at hand, not a statistics about Nigerian businesses' activity in Japan. Some Nigerian investors are engaged in trading. Some are in food business and others run restaurants. I hope that flows of trade and investments between both countries increase and we look forward to seeing more Nigerian companies doing business in Japan.
Which industries in Nigeria have the most potential for increasing their businesses with Japan?
Nigeria has huge potential for business with Japan. I have no doubts about that. One of the promising sectors is infrastructure, such as power and transport. Manufacturing and trading. Consumer goods and services also have huge potential because of Nigeria's large population and growing domestic market. Nigeria is trying to transform the national economy into an all-weather type economy by promoting its diversification. With support from the Federal as well as relevant State governments, Japanese businesses can become part of this undertaking.
How can Nigeria –Japan businessties be strengthened even more?
Frankly speaking, many companies operating in Nigeria have been negatively affected by prevailing economic and business environment. Japanese firms are no exception. It is all the more encouraging; therefore, that Nigeria is trying to improve its investment climate. The discussion about how to raise the country's standing in the "Easy to do business" Index published by the World Bank is a good sign. I am sure that Nigeria will design and implement concrete, investor-friendly reform as a matter of urgency.
One element of this policy could be the creation of a framework to reassure existing and future foreign investors in Nigeria. We are prepared to discuss with our Nigerian partners an appropriate framework such as an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) for this purpose. Even a modest action on such initiative would send a positive message to Japanese and Nigerian business people.
How would you describe the cultural relations between the two countries?
The culture of both countries has not been introduced to each other frequently enough and that's because of the distance created by the geographical location of both countries. But we are now determined to promote cultural exchange and delighted to hear a very positive response from our Nigerian friends. A recent example was when our Embassy co-organized Animated Film Festival with French Embassy (Institute Francais) in Abuja early November.
We have been supporting Nigerian students to read post/under-graduate courses, at colleges of technology/specialized training at Japanese universities under Japanese Government (MEXT) scholarship program. We most recently focused on sports exchange with the Tokyo Olympic Games proposed for 2020. This has led to the sponsored training of the Nigerian Volley Ball team coach under the Japanese National Volley Ball team coach. There are also similar programs for Karate and Judo. My personal fear that we might end up beaten by Nigerian athletes will never get in the way!
How can Nigeria –Japan cultural ties be strengthened even more?
The short answer is by mutual education and enlightenment. Nigeria has a prosperous film industry nicknamed "Nollywood" and Japanese films, including animation, are very much loved in some countries, most of our fellow Japanese or Nigerians are not aware of these facts. Therefore we try to stimulate people's curiosity or interest in Japanese and Nigerian films by actually screening films to the Nigerian audience. Hence our 2nd Animated Film Festival in early November, I hope these events go a long way to enhance our interest in each other's culture and, lead eventually to a broad-based cultural exchange on a commercial basis.
The Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) is the biggest, oldest and most powerful international conference which discusses African development. How would you rate its impact so far?
TICAD, as a pioneer forum of discussions on development of Africa, has maintained its commitment to African development for about a quarter century. During the period through six TICADs, our African partners and Japan have been advocating development concept of African ownership combined with international partnership. This concept has firmly taken root among the economic and development policy community and has been put into practice in Africa. They are reflected in designing and implementation of numerous development projects to promote people-centered development.
How big is the Japanese community in Nigeria?
As of October 2015, there were around 160 Japanese nationals living in Nigeria.
Are there any non-business-related advocacy issues you would like to take up with Nigeria?
I would like to take up more cultural exchange programs. I understand that Nigeria is proud of its various art forms such as literature, painting, sculpture, theater and movie, which I highly admire. But unfortunately the only thing Japanese know about Nigeria is that it's an "oil rich country with security issues". I would like to change this perception on Nigeria and tell our people that Nigeria is much more than that. At the same time, I would like the Nigerian people to have some interest in Japanese arts and tradition. And it is in these areas that I would like to make our relations mutually inspiring.
What are the main challenges you've faced since your posting to Nigeria?
I did not know the place. That was my biggest concern since I had never set foot in West Africa. Next came two kinds of distance to my mind. One is the distance between Japan and Nigeria, 24 hours' journey. The other is the distance between Abuja and the sea. The first kind of distance is getting shorter psychologically as I know more about Nigeria. The second one stays the same as an island person like me always wants to be near sea.
By Dayo Johnson THERE are pressures on the Independent National Electoral Commission , INEC, to shift the November 26 governorship election. Stakeholders in the state have asked the electoral body to shift the date of the poll by at least three weeks to allow all court cases relating to the candidacy of the major parties to be resolved.
There are legal tangos over the governorship tickets of three of the major political parties – Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, All Progressives Congress, APC, and Alliance for Democracy, AD.
Of the four leading candidates, only the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Dr Olu Agunloye is free of legal encumbrance as his primary and that of his Deputy, Modupe Akindele, went peacefully.
The candidacy of the APC Candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN is being challenged by the first runner up in the APC primary, Olusegun Abraham. The AD Candidate, Olusola Oke, has been dragged to the Federal High courts both in Ondo and Abuja while Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, is at the Court of Appeal to retrieved his PDP ticket from Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim.
Aides to the three governorship candidates are unanimous that the poll be shifted to allow for the resolution of the cases. Although, the Resident Electoral Commissioner REC in the state, Olusegun Agbaje has insisted that the election would not be postponed, recent developments as regards the court cases may necessitate a shift in the date.
His aides said they could not speak on the sensitive matter as the headquarters has the final say on the date of the poll. However, the Ondo Rebirth Group ORG weekend advised that the INEC to postpone the poll for the sake of equity and justice.
A statement by its Director General, Olusola Akinbinu, said "as a matter of justice, fair-play and equity, the INEC should shift the election date for nothing less than 10 days, for parties involved in the election to be given a level playing ground'' because ''there is nothing cast in iron about November 26 as the fixed date for the election.''
It said: "Since the Electoral Act 2010 (with 2011 Amendments) & Allied matters section 25(8) states that "An election to the office of the Governor of a state shall be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of term of office of the last holder of that office. So, any date till the 25th of January, 2017 is acceptable by the Law.
"Considering also the sensitivity of the candidacy issue of major political parties to the election, and the litigation processes, nothing will be lost, if INEC allows the expeditious litigations at the Appeal court to finalize with the short required time, thereby allowing the electorate to sincerely choose who they want as their leader, and in the interest of peace, progress and tranquility.”
E-commerce giant, Konga.com has said it expects its marketplace to generate N2.5 billion during this year's Yakata sales.
Yakata is Konga's version of the popular black Friday sales, when prices of consumer goods are slashed considerably.
Konga's CEO, Shola Adekoya, said despite the challenging economic climate in Nigeria, he remains optimistic for a blockbuster 2016.
He said: "We are expecting a buoyant Black Friday or, as we like to call it, Yakata, 2016. Just like Black Friday in the West, Yakata kicks off the holiday shopping season for us retailers. As millions of Nigerians are feeling the pinch financially, we know that they will be looking out for the very best value for their money, and will be visiting Konga to source the best deals. Our customer service teams are already receiving hundreds of queries a day concerning what offers we will be offering this year, so we have strong indications as to what our shrewd shoppers are on the lookout for.
"Our 60,000+ merchants are mobilized and ready to sell their stock at super-heavily discounted prices to our one million+ customers throughout Nigeria. As e-commerce continues to grow at a furious pace in Nigeria, we are prepared for a massive influx of traffic, primarily from mobile, from both existing and new customers, who will benefit from the largest range of consumer goods online, as well as speedy and reliable order fulfillment."
Konga in a statement, recalled that it recently launched 'Fulfilled by Konga', whereby its 60,000+ merchants can now store and have all their orders delivered by Konga's in-house team, reducing processing times from 40 hours to 3 hours, a 90 per cent reduction. The company's technical team has also been preparing for the huge increase in traffic during Yakata, and will be relying on its ultra-optimized mobile platform, that is data efficient, to meet the needs of Nigerian online shoppers.
Worried by what it described as some troubling developments in the political space, a pro-democracy coalition has raised an alarm, warning that the manipulation of the electoral process in the country is capable of derailing the fourth republic.
The group specifically accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of engaging in "electoral travesty," and setting some dangerous precedents, which may perhaps make the conduct of the next general election in 2019 almost an impossible task.
INEC boss, Mahmood Yakubu
Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution (CDNDC) in a statement by its Co-Convener, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, catalogued some "worrisome trends," which it accused the nation’s electoral body of "deliberately contriving."
The statement read: "We wish to alert the country that the culmination of some unsavoury things that INEC is doing or failing to do as an umpire that ordinarily should be seen as thorough and unbiased, from Abia to Ondo and Rivers States, is fast creating some bottled-up political tension in the land and gradually spreading.
"We are deeply worried that the President did not grapple with the enormity of the challenges ahead in his recent comment, asking the commission to shape up. Only an independent, truthful and unbiased review of the commission's activities can reveal the danger ahead.
"We recall vividly that before the latest electoral aberration leading to the temporary substitution of a duly nominated and INEC-supervised candidate of the PDP in Ondo State, the Court of Appeal had in the case of Ikpeazu vs Ogah, given the commission, the necessary direction in acting on a judgment or order from a court of first instance that has been appealed.
"Save for the resoluteness of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and the grace of God that prevailed on the people of the state to exercise great restraint, INEC could have thrown that state into chaos of an unimaginable proportion, before the Appeal Court came to the rescue.
"As if acting out a script, the electoral body proceeded to repeat a similar unpalatable scenario in the forthcoming Ondo State governorship poll by substituting the name of a duly nominated and INEC-supervised candidate of the PDP with an impostor whose primary it did not monitor.
"INEC refused to obey the notice of appeal it received from Eyitayo Jegede, whose name it listed as the authentic candidate before the Justice Abang's controversial judgement came. But because Jegede's matter is in it court, the commission failed to stay necessary action unlike Gov. Ikpeazu that took his destiny in his own hand and succeeded.
"While the Ondo State matter has become a subject of appeal which we are optimistic would be reversed based on well settled cases at the appellate courts, we consider the unstable action of INEC as perilous to Nigeria's political stability.
"We sincerely urge the National Assembly and the Presidency to pay serious attention to these sad developments caused by INEC and the likely threatening implications on the 2019 general elections.
"We fear that if justice is not done on the Ondo State matter quickly by the court, it could create an atmosphere of uncertainty and we don't want a repeat of 1983 political crisis which led to the death of the second republic," the statement added.
CDNDC also asked INEC to come clean over the latest discovery of printing of fake ballot papers in Port-Harcourt for next month's rerun legislative rerun in Rivers State.
"We expect INEC to follow up on this matter with the Police and ensure that those involved are timely prosecuted to absolve itself of any conspiracy as being rumoured in the system.
"This is not a matter of neutrality for INEC; it is a criminal matter which the commission must show more than a passing interest to serve as a deterrent to others," the pro-democracy coalition said.
Harry Kane has returned to Tottenham Hotspur to build up his fitness after injury and will play no part in England’s home friendly against Spain on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old was an unused substitute in England’s 3-0 defeat of Scotland on Friday in World Cup qualifying, having only just returned from a seven-week lay-off with an ankle injury.
Kane, who has become a key player for England, played 73 minutes for Tottenham in last weekend’s north London derby against Arsenal and scored a penalty, but is short of match fitness.
“Harry reported for us last week having not played a full game for some seven weeks but Tottenham were more than happy for him to come with us,” said interim England manager Gareth Southgate.
“It was never really my intention to start him in a game and I think it’s important that he gets a different training programme to what we’re going to follow over the next couple of days.
“I’m really grateful to Tottenham for letting us have him for the qualifier. Once we’d assessed our injury status and the fact we were fine and covered for what we’d do for this game, the sessions that we’re going to do aren’t what Harry needs at this time, having had such a long lay-off.”
England have not called up a replacement for Kane, with Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott all available to fill attacking roles.
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, said today he is not in any form of in trouble with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the diversion of the sum of N400 million allocated to the PDP in the state to compromise last year's Presidential poll.
The governor made the clarification in reaction to reports at the weekend suggesting that he used his firms, Osborn La-Palm Royal Resort Ltd and Brass Engineering & Construction Nig. Ltd.to divert the N400 million bribe allocated to PDP in Ebonyi State and thereafter used the money to build hotels.
Umami, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Emma Anya, contended that he had nothing to do with the two companies, having relinquished his interests in them before becoming Ebonyi governor.David Umahi
He did not however attach the documents showing how he gave up his shares in the two companies and when that was done and if that information had been made known to the EFCC currently probing the matter.
In the statement entitled “Umahi not in trouble and will never be”, the governor made it clear that the information being bandied about by the EFCC and the media against him was nothing new but a rehash of what he called ‘stale’ news, which had already been used.
Anya said, “I am therefore at a loss on what they stood to gain by these publications.
“I state here once again that Governor Umahi established his business empire, including Osborn La Palm Royal Resort long before he became the deputy governor.
“He had before serving as the state's deputy governor relinquished his interests in the companies he founded as required by law.
“I also use this medium to let the writers and newspapers know that the governor cannot be in trouble over the poll cash because as a sitting governor, he enjoys immunity from prosecution.
“He cannot be in trouble since the money in question was neither used by him nor any of the mentioned companies. The EFFC knows this. It should therefore know where to beam its searchlight.
For those whose desire is to see His Excellency drown; I have a message for them: You will be shocked to your bone marrow.
“To Umahi's associates, admirers and all other Ebonyians who are highly pleased with the unexpected transformation of the state, I say expect more. His Excellency remains undaunted in his avowal to make the state Nigeria's best, economically and structurally,” Anya boasted.
But EFCC said at the weekend it had already arrested and questioned many suspects, including bank officials, who had made statements linking the governor and his companies.
EFCC sources said, "This case involving some chieftains of the PDP in Ebonyi State and some companies emanated from the alleged N23.2 billion disbursed by the erstwhile Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke during the 2015 Presidential election out of which N400 million was traced to Ebonyi State.
"In the State, Kelechi Igwe (incumbent Deputy Governor), Fidelis Nwanwko and Ambassador Frank N. Ogbuewu collected the money to prosecute the 2015 general election.
"The duo of Fidelis Nwankwo and Ambassador Frank N. Ogbuewu were invited and they disclosed that they collected the N400 million from Fidelity Bank and handed it over to Access Bank on the directive of the then Deputy Governor who is now the incumbent Governor, Engr. David Umahi.
"The Operations Manager of Access Bank Abakaliki was invited and he revealed that the money was paid into the accounts of Osborn La-Palm Royal Resort Ltd and Brass Engineering & Construction Nig. Ltd. domiciled in Abakaliki.
"The statement of the accounts of the companies that were analysed disclosed that the sum of three N300 million was paid into the account of Osborn La-Palm Royal Resort Ltd and N100 million into the account of Brass Engineering & Construction Nig. Ltd and subsequently withdrawn by Chinyere Egwuche.
"The movement of the fund from one account to another and the subsequent cash withdrawal of N300million in tranches of N50million are clear features of money laundering.
"The above companies were discovered to have been incorporated by the incumbent Governor of Eonyi State in 1993 and 2011 respectively.
"Consequently, letters of invitation were written to the Managing Directors of the companies where the money was paid but the letters were returned undelivered as the addressees refused to collect them.
"Thereafter, Austin Umahi, Maxwell Umahi, Chinyere Egwuche and Mabel Dikibo were arrested. Investigation revealed that Chinyere Egwuchu and Mabel Dikibo were the signatories to the account of the companies.
"It was also discovered that one of the suspects, Chinyere withdrew the N300million paid into the account of Osborn La-Palm which, according to her was used to further construction of Osborn La-Palm hotels in Abakaliki, Uburu and Port Harcourt, while the N100million paid into the account of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited was transferred to a certain David Umahi Faith Foundation. They volunteered statement and were released on bail to reliable sureties.
"In furtherance of this investigation, the property belonging to the companies were identified and the Commission's stickers "Under Investigation" were placed on them. However, legal machineries are being set in motion to seal the companies in case the suspects refused to wholly refund the monies that were fraudulently collected by them."
In the meantime, the sum of N90million has been refunded. Investigation is still in progress," a top EFCC operative said.
The Federal Government is to rehabilitate Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway, Abuja, with about one billion naira.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a reliable source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disclosed this to aviation correspondents in Lagos on Sunday.
NAN gathered that the runway had been in bad state due to overuse and had been a source of concern to Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers.
The source said the Minister of State, Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had set up a committee to oversee the work.
"Government is making urgent effort to start the rehabilitation of the runway at the Abuja airport and government has provided funds for the work, which could start anytime from now.
"The committee is expected to schedule the maintenance dates, which are expected to run from days to weeks.
"It is expected to also decide whether the runway would be closed daily or some hours of the day so that work could start on the facility", the source added.
According to the source, Sirika had designated Kaduna airport as alternative to Abuja so that flights would be diverted to Kaduna while work is ongoing at the nation's second busiest airport.
The source further disclosed that the project had been advertised and Gilmore, Julius Berger and PW had bided for the project.
The source said:"After the committee's final presentation to the Minister, he will be expected to discuss with the National Security Adviser to agree on the date work would start on the runway.
"The Abuja airport will be certified by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.The process for certification will end by March 2017.
"The airport has been chosen as the pilot for the International Civil Aviation Organisation's No Country Left Behind campaign."
The Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, also confirmed the rehabilitation plan for the Abuja airport.
She noted that all efforts were being made to ensure the runway was restored to international standard.
Lagos -Mr Jerry Oche, the Lagos District Manager, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), said the corporation would soon increase the fine of roof top riders to N100,000.
He said on Sunday in Lagos that the fine was not meant to generate revenue but to discourage people from riding at the roof top of the train.
He said miscreants had formed the habit of riding on roof top of train and causing mayhem on innocent passengers, making train ride insecure.
He added that 36 persons were charged to court on Wednesday, Nov. 9, out of the 105 suspected roof top riders arrested recently.
The district manager said that the suspects were made to pay N25,000 fine which the NRC would later increase to N50,000 and N100,000 to deter them from such illegal act.
He added that "the fine is just a way to discourage people from riding at the roof top of the train.
"We have charged 36 out of over 100 suspects to court recently and the clampdown will continue."
Oche explained that the hoodlums were arrested by a combined team of Railway Police, the Lagos State Police Command, the NRC Task Force and Man-O-War personnel.
According to him, the miscreants have constituted a nuisance to the corporation's mass transit shuttle service in Lagos and Ogun states, causing harm and injuries to innocent passengers.
The manager said that the raids would continue and the corporation would increase its police posts and security personnel to ensure the safety of passengers and NRC personnel on the trains.
He added that the safety and security of passengers was paramount to the corporation.
NAN reports that hoodlums caused mayhem at the Agege station on Nov. 1 and the development led to reprisal attacks from the people, which affected the operations of the corporation. (NAN
Barely 13 days to the November 26 Governorship Election in Ondo State, the social media was abuzz on Sunday, following the emergence of a new brand of bread bearing the alias of Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Reactions have however, continued to trail the Aketi 2017 brand of bread which sources say is being distributed in Ondo North Senatorial District of the state.
It was however, not ascertained at the time of this report if Akeredolu was directly behind the production and distribution of this bread or his supporters from Ondo North.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has predicted sunny and hazy weather over central states of the country with night temperatures of 29 to 36 degrees Celsius on Monday.
NiMet made the prediction in the Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Sunday.
The agency predicted that the southern states will experience cloudy to partly cloudy morning with night time temperatures of 32 to 35 degrees Celsius.
It also predicted possibility of isolated thunderstorms in few places over the coastal areas like Port Harcourt, Calabar and Eket in the evening and night.
According to NiMet, northern states will experience dust haze with visibility of about three to five kilometers over Nguru, Kastina, Yola and Yelwa .
"The region will have night time temperatures of 34 to 37 degrees Celsius.
"Northern part of the country will experience hazy condition while cloudy to partly cloudy conditions are expected over the inland and isolated thunderstorms in very few places around the coastal cities''.
The 2015 Presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Martin Onovo, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be non-partisan in elections and give victory to any political party that emerges winner, especially in the Nov. 26 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
"INEC must make sure that if NCP wins, it gives the victory to NCP; if Labour Party wins, it gives it to Labour Party. Anybody who wins is the choice of the people; let the people take responsibility for their choice,'' he said.
Onovo made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos. The politician spoke against the backdrop of an allegation of partisanship made against INEC in some past elections, especially the last governorship election in Edo.
"INEC should not be partisan; any system that lacks integrity will fail; INEC system must have integrity."
"INEC has had experience since 1999; it has enough experience to conduct free and fair elections in this country."
Onovo frowned at inconclusiveness of some elections in recent times.
The NCP chieftain also urged the media to give elections deserved attention by exposing malpractice. He alleged that some media professionals connived with politicians to deceive the public for selfish gains.
On local government administration, the NCP chieftain called on the federal and state governments to uphold the rule of law by granting local government autonomy.
Onovo condemned the use of caretaker committees and sole administrators to administer local government areas, saying that the practice contravened the law.
"If the law is not right, let us amend it, but as long as we accept the law, we must comply with its provisions. Failure to conduct local government elections, use of sole administrators or caretaker committee is aberration."
"Whatever the law says about local government administration should prevail. We went to court in Lagos State to challenge unending use of caretaker committees and sole administrators, and we got the judgment, but some of our fellow politicians are lawless," he said.
According to Onovo, non-compliance to legal provisions is an index for lawlessness.
Following the uproar which greeted his unfulfilled prophesy that Former Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton will beat Republican candidate, Donald Trump, in the just concluded US Presidential election, General Overseer, The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet TB Joshua, Sunday, chided his critics, saying “Our levels are different. We are not on the same level.”
T.B Joshua
Prophet Joshua, who made this remark during a service at the headquarters of his church in Ikotun, Lagos on Sunday, said: “We have seen the outcome of the election in America. Having read, you will notice that it is all about the popular vote, the vote of the majority of Americans.
“In this case, we need the Spirit of a Prophet to recognize or to know a Prophet. Our levels are different. We are not on the same level.
“We might have great cathedrals, huge bells, and all kinds of activities that are good by human standards but human point of view is limited.
“1 Corinthians 1:25. The foolishness of God is wiser than that of men and the weakness of God is stronger than that of men. There is no shortcut to spiritual maturity unless earthly understanding gives way to spiritual enlightenment.
“I see many people trying to interpret prophets on the basis of their own minds and ideas. The prophecy seems to cause uproar, to many who gave it different meaning and interpretation.
“Finally, campaigns and elections in any democratic country in the world are never about one person, it is about the country we care and love. Whichever way it happens, we must accept the outcome and then look to the future (God), the Author and Finisher.
“Democracy is all about accommodation. All democrats must value the process of democracy more than the product.
A politician, Chief Martin Onovo, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be non-partisan in elections, especially the Nov. 26 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Onovo, the 2015 Presidential Candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), made the call in an interview in Lagos.
The politician spoke against the backdrop of an allegation of partisanship made against INEC in some past elections, especially the last governorship election in Edo.
"INEC should not be partisan; any system that lacks integrity will fail; INEC system must have integrity.
"INEC has had experience since 1999; it has enough experience to conduct free and fair elections in this country.
"INEC must make sure that if NCP wins, it gives the victory to NCP; if Labour Party wins, it gives it to Labour Party.
"Anybody who wins is the choice of the people; let the people take responsibility for their choice,'' he told NAN.
Onovo frowned at inconclusiveness some elections in recent times.
The NCP chieftain also urged the media to give elections deserved attention by exposing malpractice.
He alleged that some media professionals connived with politicians to deceive the public for selfish gains.
On local government administration, the NCP chieftain called on the federal and state governments to uphold the rule of law by granting local government autonomy.
Onovo condemned the use of caretaker committees and sole administrators to administer local government areas, saying that the practice contravened to the law.
"If the law is not right, let us amend it, but as long as we accept the law, we must comply with its provisions. Failure to conduct local government elections, use of sole administrators or caretaker committee is aberration.
"Whatever the law says about local government administration should prevail.
"We went to court in Lagos State to challenge unending use of caretaker committees and sole administrators, and we got the judgment, but some of our fellow politicians are lawless," he said.
According to Onovo, non-compliance to legal provisions is an index for lawlessness.
South Africa suspended coach Ephraim Mashaba on Sunday after “a regrettable incident”, a day after he guided the team to a 2-1 World Cup qualifying home victory over Senegal.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) gave no reason for the suspension, but media speculation said that the 66-year-old argued with officials from the national body after the match in Polokwane.
Mashaba arrived at the post-match media conference an hour late and appeared unhappy despite the significant victory.
Strong-willed Mashaba has clashed with SAFA bosses before, particularly for preferring local-based footballers to those playing in Europe.
Mashaba
His assistant Owen Da Gama will take charge for the friendly against Mozambique in Maputo on Tuesday.
SAFA said “Mashaba will not join the team in Mozambique as the association has deemed it necessary to employ disciplinary measures after a regrettable incident on Saturday.
“The association will not be making any further comments on this matter out of respect for the dignity of Mashaba and SAFA and the legally privileged nature of such proceedings.”
Defeating Senegal allowed South Africa to share first place in Group D with Burkina Faso on four points after two rounds.
Senegal have three points and Cape Verde have none.
The group winners qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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