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Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, the National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Caretaker Committee said the Supreme Court judgment on the party's leadership tussle had stabilised Nigeria's polity.
Makarfi made the observation when he received a delegation of the PDP Women Forum in his office at the party's National Secretariat on Wednesday in Abuja.
Makarfi, who said that the judgment had also calmed down tensions, promised that PDP would not let Nigerians down.
"It was a landmark judgment that touches on every political party you can think of. It is a landmark judgment that has stabilised the polity.
"We know there is hunger, we know that there are difficulties, all kinds of problems in the country, but as soon as this judgment came, it seemed to have brought down tempers.
"Why tempers have gone down is that people have seen the alternative they have been waiting for. We will work together as always to make sure we don't let the people down," Makarfi said.
He re-emphasised that the party leadership would pursued reconciliation with PDP members who had either left the party or developed cold feet, even before 2015.
He added that apart from reconciliation, PDP needed to expand and attract new members to go beyond what it used to be, saying the process required accommodation.
" If you can't reconcile, you can't expand if your policy will be exclusive in nature.
"As you reconcile and expand, you accommodate different political interest that is rational, that is reasonable, that is fair. Otherwise, people have no reason no reason to reconcile.
"That should be the guiding principle; but in so doing, we are also not going to sacrifice those who have made investments for us to get to where we are.
"It is question of balancing of interests without forgetting the inputs, the contributions of men and women across the length and breadth of this country.''
Makarfi said that the party's forthcoming non-elective convention would determine programmes of the National Caretaker Committee.
"We will not draw up programmes that we will not have time to implement. Of course, some programmes will have to stay beyond us because they must be started at a particular time.
"There should be classic programmes which should be implemented within the time that we will be in office and give party leaders after us the latitude to continue to move PDP forward.''
He assured the forum that in going forward, women would continue take a central role in all the party's activities.
The leader of the PDP Women delegation, Dr Aisha Aliyu, speaking earlier congratulated the Makarfi and members of the Caretaker Committee on the victory at Supreme Court.
Aliyu said that the PDP women having supported and followed the travails of the committee in the last two years, pledged to remain as trusted stakeholders, ready to champion the rebranding of PDP.
"We are fully aware that as a party that is reengaging with Nigerians, this is not the time for women to be only heard.
"This is the time they need to be seen participating and promoting a future for Nigerians which is inclusive of all.''
Newsmen report that Makarfi also received a delegation of the PDP former Speakers of the State of Assemblies Forum led by its acting Chairman, Mr Inuwa Gauba.
Gauba said that they were at the party national secretariat to congratulate Makarfi-led committee and to pledge their support for the development of the party.
The Zone 2 Police Command, Lagos on Wednesday urged journalists to report all cases of sexual and gender-based.
The training was organised by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT).
Dolapo said that journalists should avoid judgmental languages in their write ups.
"Writing about a survivour's history, what they wear, what were they doing or what time of day the abuse occurred could imply survivour blame.
"Generally, contextual factors such as those just listed should be avoided in all media reporting on SGBV.
"Unless justifiably relevant to the story, survivours and perpetrators' ethnicity should not be reported,'' Badmaus said.
She also urged journalists to give life and hope to survivours and also indicate prevention measures in their write-ups.
"Treat survivours with respect, ensure privacy by conducting interviews in a secure environment and avoid questions that are sensitive.
"Report precisely, concisely and carefully for clarity of purpose and also avoid putting up details that can further put a survivour at risk,'' she advised.
Dolapo urged journalists to work in collaboration with the police in order to bring perpetrators to book and save survivours from shame.
Also, Mrs Bola Akinsete, a member of DSVRT, said that journalists should be mindful of the way they describe sexual attack on survivours.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, has said there was the need to train media personnel in reporting SGBV properly.
"It is very important that journalists understand and describe key concepts and basic principles of reporting gender-based violence.
"I believe this training will improve participants' ability to write in a way that will be well understood by the community and also expose the atrocious acts in our society,'' she said.
Vivour-Adeniyi urged journalist to always address victims as a survivours.
The command's Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Dolapo Badmus, made the appeal at a one-day seminar for media practitioners on "Investigating and Reporting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)''.
Mr Segun Oni, Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that the salary arrears syndrome across most states of the federation will soon be a history.
According to a statement signed by Mr Edegbe Odemwingie, APC Assistant Director, Publicity, Oni said this when a UK Member of Parliament for Edmonton, Kate Osamor, visited the APC national leadership on Wednesday in Abuja.
Oni said that the Federal Government was working hard to totally eliminate the problem, adding that the bulk of arrears owed workers in some states, had been paid through the bailout funds.
"We are doing something which people have not recognised as a cardinal signature of the progressives; we are trying to eradicate salary arrears.
"Past governments, particularly at the state levels owed salaries and this administration has been trying to help them (states) pay the arrears.
"Very soon, we are going to have a check on how much is left to be paid; the people that are owed are mostly the downtrodden and when they are owed, you compound the poverty equation.
"We are working towards ensuring that in no distant future, the arrears will be eliminated," Oni was quoted as saying.
Furthermore, Oni said in the statement that the APC-led administration had initiated several pro-people initiatives, including the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme and N-Power scheme.
According to him, the programmes are meant to alleviate poverty and provide gainful economic opportunities for the masses.
He said that the government was open to ideas and best practices to develop the country, reduce poverty and productively engage its young population.
´´Our population is growing at a very fast rate; but opportunities are not growing; therefore we need help in terms of exchange of ideas and opportunities that will actively and productively engage our young population."
He said that APC was actively working to ensure that marginalised groups, particularly women and youths were exposed to the rudiments of politics early.
He advocated for greater participation of women in politics as a way to increase their representation in government and party structures.
Osamor, who is of Nigerian decent, thanked the APC leadership for its support and promised to extend the party's good wishes to other current UK MPs of Nigerian decent.
She listed the other Nigerian-born UK MPs as Chi Onwurah, Fiona Onasanya, Chuka Umunna, Helen Grant, Abimbola Afolami and Kemi Badenoch.
She said that her Labour Party was willing to share its experiences as well as work with APC.
Meanwhile, Mr Anthony Smith, the Chief Executive Officer, Westminister Foundation for Democracy, who accompanied Osama on the visit, urged political parties to be responsive to voters' concerns before and after elections.
Smith noted that the UK and Nigerian political party system were similar as major parties were required to have a national spread and reach.
´´It is very important for our parties to respond to voters' concerns not just in a few weeks before the election, but after the election till the next.
´´I think a programme that enables us to share experiences between parties is very important and we are very happy to be partners with you," he said in the statement.
The Nigerian Senate has pushed for the change of name from the Nigerians Police Force to simply the Nigerian Police. This is part of the recommendations in the 29 bills approved by the Senate in the ongoing Constitution amendment process.
Some stakeholders in the security sector have claimed that the if the word force is removed from the Nigerian Police, it will better drive home the reality that the police is really “your friend” especially because friends don’t need force, like the military, in relating with fellow friends.
However, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, while commending his colleagues for job well done, said that the senate has laid the foundation for a new and better Nigeria by approving the 29 bills in the ongoing Constitution amendment process.
Police
Saraki who spoke at the closing of electronic voting on the proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria commended his colleagues for passing the recommended amendments.
"I want to thank all our colleagues. I want to really commend and appreciate the efforts of our Deputy Senate President and all members of the Constitution Review Committee.
"By these 29 Bills, Distinguished Senators, I will say that we have laid a new foundation for a new Nigeria that will be more committed, create opportunities for our young people and place us firmly among the nations of the world that are really prepared for the years ahead.
"What we have done today definitely is to lay the foundation for a far-reaching reform of our political, economic and social development.
"To be part of that history is a great honour for all of us and I want to thank you, my colleagues. May God Almighty bless Nigeria," he said.
He said the Senate will be remembered by posterity for having kept its promise to amend the Constitution and by concluding its own process in record time.
Itemising some of the amendments that had been approved by the upper legislative chamber, Saraki said that it was worthy of note that the Senate, by its actions, has opened up the road for younger people to contest elective positions.
"We have addressed the issue of saving money earned by the Federation which has always been an issue in this country for many years.
"The fact is that as a nation, we now have a constitution that makes it paramount for the country to save for the rainy days.
"We have also by the amendments shown our commitment to the fight against corruption by providing for separation and financial autonomy for the offices of the Accountant General, Auditor-General and particularly, the Attorney General.
"Also, by the work we have done today, we have helped to improve administration at the local government level which will strengthen our democracy by and large, ensure more credible elections by some of the provisions that we have passed.
"More importantly, we have introduced constitutional provisions that would help our judiciary in timely dispensation of Justice," he said.
Part of the amendments which the Senate approved are: granting financial autonomy to State assemblies, Judiciary and Local Governments, abolishing local government care taker committees and reducing the age requirements to contest elections.
Other amendments which the Senate approved include: inclusion of former Presidents of the Senate and House Speakers who were not impeached to the Council of State and changing the name of the Nigerian Police Force to the Nigerian Police.
The Senate on Wednesday promised to include a Bill seeking to provide 35 per cent affirmative action for women in the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill.
This resolution followed a Point of Order raised by Deputy Minority Whip, Sen. Biodun Olujimi, after the voting on the amendment of the Constitution by the lawmakers during plenary.
In the motion, Olujimi said "I thank this Distinguished Senate for what transpired during the Constitution amendment. I want to thank those who voted for the clause that had to do with affirmation action for women, and those that did not vote.
"We lost the vote but we won the popular vote," she said.
According to her, the exercise was a mark of democracy, saying that "he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."
"In the light of that, I want to ask for this great obligation that the Senate do graciously allow that the clause on affirmative action be brought in when the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill comes back to the Senate.
"I ask that you support us in that because that will just be a law that can be subjected to amendments as and when due," Olujimi said.
Seconding the motion, Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, said "I recall that this Senate is a very gender sensitive Senate.
"We supported women at all material time. Anytime we had issues concerning women we stood by them. The voting we had was actually in response to some other provisions of the constitution, especially those dealing with issues of non discrimination.
"It was very difficult to sideline some of the provisions we voted against in the existing provisions of the constitution," Ekweremadu said.
According to him, what they have done is to do a debate to enable the Senate have another look at the Constitution.
"I am supporting the motion so that when we do the Bill relating to gender matters, we will be able to focus on the issue of affirmative action.
"I plead with this Senate that we remember this commitment and also support our women," he said.
The matter was unanimously agreed upon when put to Voice Vote by the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki.
NAN report that the Gender Equal Opportunity Bill has scaled second reading and is currently before the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
Sen. Suleiman Nazif, on Wednesday commended Senate's approval of reduction in age qualification for offices of the President, Governor, membership of the Senate, House of Representatives and state houses of assembly.
Nazif, the senator representing Bauchi North Senatorial District, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said the vote in favour of a bill seeking to alter sections 65, 106,131 and 177 of the 1999 Constitution was a move to include Nigerian youth in the process of governance.
According to him, if voted for by two third of the state houses of assembly and signed into law by the president, it would give Nigerian youths the opportunity to use their talent for the development of the nation.
"Yesterday, a movement known as "The Not Too Young to Run Movement protested against age limit in age qualification for appointive and elective offices and the Senate in its wisdom has done justice to the matter.
"I was one of the senators that addressed them and I assured them that the 8th Senate was pro-youth and would do anything to ensure that the Nigerian youth was given his or her pride of place.
"We all know that it is a sensitive issue in Nigeria but the beauty is that the Senate in its wisdom applied wisdom and reduced the age to what Nigerian youths will be satisfied with.
"The 18 years they were clamouring for was an uphill task.
"However, with what happened today, if it scales through, the youth, who are in the majority, will have the opportunity to vie for all positions they so desire.
"We reduced each of the positions by five years from what it used to be and I think that is fair enough to give our youth the opportunity to contribute their quota to the development of the nation,'' he said
It could be recalled that Not Too Young to Run Movement, a Non-Governmental Organisation, led by one Mr Samson Itodo stormed the National Assembly on July 25 demanding that the age restriction on elective and appointive positions in the country be removed from the constitution.
Itodo had maintained that time had come for young Nigerians to be given the opportunity to run for office, adding that once a person is eligible to vote, he or she should be eligible to run for office.
The Senate on Wednesday, considered the Bill seeking reduction in age qualification for offices of the President and Governor, membership of the Senate, House of Representatives and state houses of assembly and 32 other bills. NAN
Terminally-ill British baby Charlie Gard will spend his final days in a hospice, a court heard Wednesday, after his parents dropped their request to take him home, but a dispute continues over his care plans.
Baby Charlie Gard and parents
Gard’s parents had wanted 11-month-old Charlie to spend his final days at their home in west London after losing a legal bid to take him to the United States for experimental treatment.
The case has generated international interest and drawn the attention of US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
But Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), where Charlie is being cared for, said that moving Charlie home for his final days would not be practical and suggested instead that the baby be moved to a hospice.
“GOSH has found an excellent hospice willing to assist that would afford Charlie and his parents the space and privacy necessary to protect them all,” the hospital said in a statement.
“A special area would be made available to them with the option for friends and family to visit”.
The hospital argued that it could not provide round-the-clock care for the baby in the couple’s home and that the “ventilator does not fit through the front door.”
It also said that despite several enquiries, it had been unable to find any other medical facility “prepared to accept Charlie for end of life care”.
The parents and hospital are still at odds, however, over the detail of Charlie’s care plans and were given until Thursday to come to agreement.
The couple fought a long legal fight to allow them to take their child out of GOSH and flu him to the United States, but lost a series of appeals in British courts and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Their legal battle led to offers of help from the United States and the Vatican, leading the hospital to ask the courts for a final assessment of any new evidence.
The parents abandoned their latest court case on Monday, with their lawyers telling the court that “time has run out” and that they had made their decision after seeing Charlie’s latest brain scans.
Charlie suffers from a rare form of mitochondrial disease, which causes progressive muscle weakness in the heart and other key organs.
“Instead of respecting himself, shutting up and seeking for forgiveness from God for betraying his Igbo people, addressing his elders and betters in an inappropriate and insolent manner and playing the fool, the village … called Rochas Okorocha has once again fouled up the public space by opening his dirty mouth and talking about Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Culture and Tourism and former Minister of Aviation.
This time around he talks about FFK not having what he calls “native sense” and he goes on obsessing about his distinguished family, privileged upbringing and noble lineage. Okorocha and Fani-Kayode
Clearly Rochas is obsessed with FFK and he has come to appreciate the fact that there are some things, like class, a good lineage and integrity that money cannot buy.
Yet the truth is this: it is not a crime to have been born into a well-to-do family and neither is it a sin.
That is why many people spend money sending their children to school and make great sacrifices in order to do some
The fact that Rochas, but his own admission, was once a street-hawker explains his lack of appreciation of such matters and clearly he still resides in the gutter where he came from.
They say that a pig that wears lipstick remains a pig. And that is precisely what Rochas is: a filthy, greedy and conscienceless pig who does not know when to shut up.
He has no decorum, no finesse, no decency, no class, no education and no integrity.
He is a primitive and bush villager of questionable paternity whose father remains unknown even to his mother.
If he is truly a man and not the animal that we know him to be let him come on a live television show with FFK to debate these issues including his sordid and filthy history and background and then Nigerians can decide for themselves who really has “native sense” between FFK and him.
We repeat that a man who constantly speaks up for and supports a government that consistently slaughters and routinely massacres his own Igbo people can only be described as a sociopathic self-hating Igbo who is suffering from a terrible and debilitating inferiority complex.
He was born a slave and he will die a slave. Attempting to compare himself to a courageous, well-educated, refined, confident, attractive, successful and well-bred man like FFK is like comparing fine wine to toilet water.
Rochas is scum and nothing more than scum. When he finishes his tenure as governor he will crawl back into the filthy cesspit and hole from which he came.
FFK was never a ritualist, a cultist, a 419er, a sodomite, a traitor or a dirty and unreliable street urchin and scammer.
He never ruined the lives of millions, bowed before strange gods and slept in coffins to make his money.
He never sold his soul to the devil or his body to reprobate men who lust for other men in return for money and power.
Unlike Rochas FFK frowns upon such things and comes from a noble heritage and a spiritually clean and strong foundation.
Rochas knows where he has soiled his hands and what the source of his power and wealth is.
He has much to answer for and the evil spirits that, by his own admission, have been tormenting him ever since he became governor will soon take their pound of flesh.
The sword of the Lord is poised to strike and the judgement of God awaits him for his many indiscretions and sins. Thereafter comes hellfire”-
SIGNED: JUDE NDUKWE, SPECIAL ADVISOR (MEDIA) TO CHIEF FEMI FANI-KAYODE.
President Muhammadu Buhari with Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State with them are L-R: Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi state, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State as he receives in courtesy visit delegation of Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum led by its Chairman Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja House London on 26th July 2017President Muhammadu Buhari with Wife of President Mrs Aisha Buhari and Wife of Benue State Governor Mrs Eunice Ortom as he receives in courtesy visit delegation of Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum led by its Chairman Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja House London on 26th July 2017President Muhammadu Buhari in a group photo shortly after receiving in courtesy visit delegation of Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum led by its Chairman Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja House London on 26th July 2017 in the photo are R-L: Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi state and Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo StatePresident Muhammadu Buhari in a group photo shortly after receiving in courtesy visit delegation of Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum led by its Chairman Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja House London on 26th July 2017 in the photo are R-L: Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi state and Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo StatePresident Muhammadu Buhari with Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State with them are L-R: Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi state, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State as he receives in courtesy visit delegation of Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum led by its Chairman Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja House London on 26th July 2017
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has confirmed the kidnap by Boko Haram militants of 10 members of the University of Maiduguri research team prospecting for oil in northeast Nigeria.
kidnapNNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu said the men, working as consultants were kidnapped near Jibi village in Borno state on Tuesday afternoon. The village is in Magumeri local government area, about 50 km (30 miles) from the state capital, Maiduguri.
"About 10 members of the University of Maiduguri geology and surveying department were abducted by suspected Boko Haram members," Ughamadu said. The group included academic staff, drivers and other contractors.
The university said some of its lecturers, who were accompanied by security staff, had not returned on Tuesday from a prospecting trip. Its spokesman said the university was waiting for a report from security agencies.
The NNPC has been surveying for more than a year for what it says could be vast oil reserves in the Lake Chad Basin, a region wracked for eight years by an Islamist insurgency, which has killed at least 20,000 people and forced some 2.7 million to flee their homes.
Nigeria relies on oil for two-thirds of its revenue. The NNPC is trying to reduce its reliance on crude from the southern Niger Delta where militant attacks cut production by more than a third in 2016, deepening the recession in the country.
Boko Haram, which attained international notoriety after kidnapping 270 girls from their school in the town of Chibok in 2014, is trying to create an Islamic state in the Lake Chad Basin area.
At least 62 people have been killed in Maiduguri and its environs since early June, in renewed bombing attacks. Seventeen people were killed in the city in one week this month.
The conflict has not deterred NNPC's search for oil in the region.
"We are working with the security agencies for an early return to the Chad Basin," aiming for drilling to start in the fourth quarter of the year, NNPC chief Maikanti Baru said at the beginning of July.
In May, the NNPC said it would resume oil exploration in the northeast "on the heels of (the) improved security situation"
By Emmanuel Elebeke ABUJA – The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Ministry has strengthened the capacity of its Information Officers to tackle the menace of fake news with fact-based counter-narrative. Lai Mohammed
The Minister stated this in Abuja on Wednesday in his keynote address at a capacity building Workshop for Strategic Communication Liaison Officers, with the theme “Mainstreaming Strategic Communication Across Government for National Security.”
He said though the Social Media has proved to be a powerful tool of public communication, it is plagued with challenges, particularly the prevalence of fake news which makes it imperative for Information Officers to brace up and overcome the challenge.
”Faced with the prevalence of fake news, we took action by preparing Information Officers with the skills to identify and counter such fake news through engagement and counter narrative.
Information Officers are assigned to monitor both online and offline news media to identify such fake news and develop timely and credible counter narratives to respond to such fake news,'' Mohammed said.
He said the Federal Government is also implementing a robust strategic communication framework, with feedback mechanism, to interface with Nigerians on the policies and programmes of government.
“For example, we engage through Town Hall Meetings across the six geo-political zones to inform Nigerians and the international community about our programmes and to listen to criticism, feedback and advice from the citizens.
”Through these meetings, we are able to shape policy and improve on delivering our promises to the people. The town hall meetings, undoubtedly, have yielded positive results with the kind of direct feedback we received from Nigerians.
These interactions with Nigerians underscore the importance this administration attaches to the people in carrying them along in the task of governance,” the Minister said.
He underscored the critical role of Information Officers in strengthening government communication to achieve national strategic objectives, particularly in managing the image, reputation and promoting the cultures of the people of Nigeria through a dynamic public information system.
He said because of the dynamics of public communication, ”the ministry is leveraging on various Social Media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Twitter and Instagram to reach our audiences, especially the youths. These Social Media platforms also provide unique opportunity for the Ministry to aggregate and gauge public opinions and perceptions of government.”
The National Security Adviser, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Ambassador Aminu Nabegu, challenged participants to come up with a strategic communication plan to counter the propaganda and negative narratives by terror and anti-state groups.
He said the present administration has eliminated inter-agency rivalry in order to achieve seamless and coordinated approach to effective communication.
The Workshop was organized by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) to build the capacity of Strategic Communication Liaison Officers (SC/LO) across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed one of its armed helicopter to Takum, Taraba, to give support to the ground forces in the efforts to maintain peace in the area.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja
Adesanya said the deployment of the helicopter was also to deter warring communities within the area from further engaging in violent activities.
"The helicopter is already carrying out armed reconnaissance missions within the Mambilla Plateau and environs.
"The communal unrest between graziers and farmers had subsequently led to the imposition of a curfew.
"It, therefore, became necessary to deploy NAF air assets toward maintaining peace and providing air cover for ground troops.
"So far, members of the communities have been observed to be going about their businesses in peace," he said.
The NAF spokesman also said that another NAF helicopter would soon be deployed to Kafanchan, Kaduna State, in support of the ground forces already working to maintain peace in the area.
He said that the helicopter would operate from a new NAF Forward Operating Base being established in the area
This, he said, was part of the Federal Government's efforts to ensure lasting peace in Southern Kaduna State.
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources says the new National Petroleum Policy will ultimately remove barriers affecting investment and development of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
A statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Press in the ministry, Mr Idang Alibi, said that the policy articulated the vision of the Federal Government for improving the petroleum sector.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on July 19, approved the policy.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, had explained that the 100-page document was very comprehensive on all aspects of the oil industry.
Kachikwu had also reiterated that the ministry was pushing for a refining processing environment to move away from exporting to refining petroleum products, given the volatility in crude oil price regime.
Alibi said that the set goals and strategies inherent in the new policy would promote a level-playing field between state owned-enterprises and the private operators in the sector.
"The policy defines the strategy of the Federal Government on Nigeria's oil resources.
"It establishes the medium to long-term targets for oil reserves growth, utilisation and strategies to be pursued to ensure the successful implementation of the policy in accordance with Nigeria's national socio-economic development priorities."
He said that the policy also proposed for a fundamental reforms to improve the operational efficiency and performance of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
He said that the document proposed the long-needed overhaul and modernisation of the existing petroleum industry legislation.
According to him, the policy will be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure consistency in government policy objectives at all times.
He listed the main components of the policy to include governance, comprising legal and regulatory framework; industry structure, with proposal for establishment of a new National Oil Company of Nigeria (NOCN) and restructuring of NNPC into autonomous business units.
Other components of the policy included strategies to develop resources in the upstream sub-sector, development of the midstream operations, and downstream subsectors of the industry.
He said the policy also proposed measures to develop the national human resources, the sector with emphasis on local content and export skills development.
"The policy also highlights internal and external communications strategies and roadmap for its implementation," he said.
Carlo Ancelotti has urged Italian side, Inter Milan to take their hunt for a midfielder else where as Arturo Vidal is not for sale.
Vidal
Both side will meet in a friendly in the International Champions Cup.
Vidal who joined Bayern from Juventus for €37million in 2015, has been heavily linked with a move away from the Allianz Arena.
At a pre-match press conference in Singapore, Ancelotti – who had already ruled out an exit for Vidal – said he has made it clear to Inter coach Luciano Spalletti and director of football Walter Sabatini that the midfielder is not for sale.
“It will be an important game and we’ll play in an organised manner,” said Ancelotti.
“Inter have a new coach, who has so much experience. After that, we’ll see if new players join them.
“Vidal, on the other hand, will stay with us. I’ve told my friends, Sabatini and Spalletti, to forget about him.”
…Warns Developers, Property Owners Against Altering Approved Building Plans
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday urged Lagosians not to hesitate to raise alarm if they suspect any discrepancy in the construction of any building within their vicinity. Lagos building collapse
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, TPL Wasiu Anifowoshe who spoke when he visited the site of the building which collapsed at No 3/5 Massey Street in Lagos Island on Tuesday, said Lagosians must join hands with the government and report property owners and developers where they sense any irregularity during construction.
"My advice for Lagosians especially the tenants that live in these houses, we have been saying this times without number, if you see your landlord doing anything dangerous to your safety, please be a whistle blower, make noise, tell us, let Government know in advance. We were informed that this mast was erected two weeks ago. If the mast had not been erected we might not have had this ugly situation. Please be on the look-out, let us be our brothers' keeper," Anifowoshe said.
Anifowoshe, who commiserated with families of victims who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident, said the State's emergency response team spent over 24 hours combing the rubbles to rescue trapped victims and convey them to the hospital, adding that a thorough investigation would be conducted to unravel the cause of the collapse.
"Presently, the site has been cordoned off and there will not be any development on this site because any site that collapses in Lagos State, the law says the State must seize the property," he said.
Also speaking, General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Engr. Olalekan Shodeinde alluded to the fact that Government could not tackle the menace of building collapse alone, hence Lagosians must be willing to assist by raising alarm whenever they see any illegal development in any area of the State.
He said the spate of building collapse in the past years has reemphasized the fact that both the government and the people need to collaborate more than ever, not only to stem building collapse but also ensure that people build in compliance with physical planning laws.
He said: “Dealing with illegal developments here and there in Lagos State should be a joint effort between Lagosians and Government. We need information of such unlawful activities from responsible Lagosians so as to be able to curb the excesses of unscrupulous developers and owners of property in Lagos State."
Shodeinde also said that the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was committed to achieving zero tolerance to incidences of collapsed buildings and therefore would not fold its arms and watch citizens die avoidable careless death without taking precautionary measure to nip it in the bud.
He also warned building owners and developers to desist from imposing additional floors to existing buildings without obtaining necessary approval, saying that such could lead to building collapse and loss of lives.
According to him, it was suicidal to engage in such act without carrying out a thorough engineering appraisal and integrity test on the structure.
Explaining what led to the collapse, the LASBCA boss said the building, a four floor structure which was built with bricks, caved in due to foundation failure when the bearing capacity of the soil could not sustain the structure due to the load being transferred from the additional imposed load of communication mast erected on the building about two weeks ago.
Shodeinde said the building after several inspection rounds in the past did not show any sign of distress even though the structural member were constructed with gravel as granite.
"The additional load imposed on the structure added to the design capacity and loading being transferred through the structural members made the building heavier than the capacity of the soil which is the ultimate load bearer," he said.
Shodeinde also said that the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was committed to achieving zero tolerance to incidences of collapsed buildings and therefore would not fold its arms and watch citizens die avoidable careless death without taking precautionary measure to nip it in the bud.
Against the backdrop of socio-religious crises plaquing the country, Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and the Emir of Borgu, Muhammed Sani Dantoro, have called on Nigerians not to toy with Nigeria's unity.
They made the remark on Wednesday in Osogbo when the Emir paid a courtesy call on the governor.
Aregbesola said that the pursuance of Nigeria's unity and wishing the country well would enable Nigeria assist other African countries to contribute their quota to the development of the world.
He warned that Nigeria would not develop in the face of ethnic violence and sectarian struggles.
Such impediments, he noted, would not allow the country to make progress.
"As democrats, as patriots, as nationalists and as those, who believe in the unity of Nigeria, we must do the needful to make Nigeria great."
Aregbesola noted that the emir hails from a royal family of patriots, nationalists and genuine democrats, who believe that Nigeria deserves the best leadership.
In his remarks, the emir urged the leaders and citizens to preach peace and love instead of religious acrimony.
Dantoro, who described clashes and crises among humans as `madness,' urged Nigerians to preach peace as emphasised by all religions.
"We have to do a lot to keep this country together. Nigeria is for every one of us and we must do all we could to make this country work," he said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo says it has 385, 654 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) yet to be collected by residents in the state.
Prof. Francis Ezeonu, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), disclosed this at a one-day Stakeholders Forum held in Owerri on Wednesday.
He said that only 1,435 PVCs, which is about 0.004 per cent of the total 397,089 PVCs, had been collected so far.
Ezeonu expressed worry that registered voters were not desirous to collect their PVCs.
According to him, people could only exercise their political powers to the extent that they had the card to vote and chose their leaders.
"The commission is not also very satisfied that the women are not turning out in droves to register.
"The commission's gender policy focuses at creating platforms for equal access and participation of both men and women in the electoral process," he said.
Ezeonu appealed to women and other critical stakeholders to use the opportunity of the women's annual August meeting to mobilise women to participate actively in the exercise.
On the ongoing voters registration, Ezeonu gave the total number of registered voters as 39,803 with more registered males of 23,158 PVCs (58 per cent) against 16,645 (42 per cent) females.
Giving a further breakdown, he said that 491 persons had requested for replacement with 332 PVCs recorded as displaced, while 159 PVCs were misplaced.
The resident electoral commissioner said that 1,628 persons in the state requested for transfer comprising 1,320 persons for interstate transfer and 308 persons for intra state transfer.
He gave the local government area with the highest registration turnout as Owerri Municipal with 4,539 pvcs, followed by Aboh Mbaise with 2,638 PVCs and Ngor Okpala having 2,544.
Onuimo LGA, he said, had the least number of registered voters with just 341 persons, Idiato South LGA and Ohaji Ebgema LGA trailed with 622 and 792 registered voters, respectively.
Ezeonu said that INEC, for the first time, was instituting a continuous voters' registration (CVR) exercise unlike previous years.
He said the last registration began on April 29 and ended on July 20, adding that the list of those registered had been displayed in INEC offices in local government areas for claims and objections.
He urged the people, as major stakeholders in the Nigerian democratic project, to go and check their names, collect their PVCs even as the second phase of the exercise would resume on July 31.
Ezeonu said the forum was a call for synergy among the stakeholders, especially in creating more awareness and encouraging the people to go out and register.
Newsmen report that some of the stakeholders had demanded for funds to enable them go to the grassroots to create the awareness.
They blamed INEC for most of the rigging during elections and its inability to go to the grassroots for registration.
The stakeholders said that INEC was encouraging political parties to rig by allowing them to go to the people for registration.
The state Chairman of ADC Party, Mr Nlem Ignatius, the State Chairman of AA Party and the Deputy Chairman Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Anthony Ahanetu, agreed that INEC, as a federal institution, was well equipped to carry out its responsibility of registering voters.
The Federal Capital Territory Muslim Pilgrims' Welfare Board, on Wednesday said it would commence transportation of its intending pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sunday July 30, 2017.
The Public Relations Officer of the board, Malam Muhammad Lawal, made the disclosure in a statement made available in Abuja.
Lawal said that the board had released Flight Manifests of all intending pilgrims for this year's Hajj to its officials across the six Area Councils.
He said all the intending pilgrims scheduled for the first and second flights were expected to report to the FCT Permanent Hajj Camp on July 26, for collection of their travel documents.
The spokesman urged the intending pilgrims to adhere strictly to the flight schedule, adding that those who miss their flight should have themselves to blame.
Lawal said the camp would be opened for the first flight from 3p.m. on Saturday, while those scheduled for second flight should report from 6p.m.on Sunday.
He advised the pilgrims to collect their Identity Cards from their area officers before proceeding to the camp as only those with pilgrims' identity card would be allowed to enter the camp.
No fewer than 2000 intending pilgrims are expected to perform the 2017 hajj through the board.
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, is expected to bid the intending pilgrims farewell before their departure to the Holy Land.
Alhaji Bashir Rimin-Zayam, former Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State, has commended Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo for "effectively holding forte", in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari.
His words "He is doing a good job; he deserves commendation for steering the affairs of the country in the absence of his boss. He has ensured that there is no vacuum," Rimin-Zayam said at a news conference on Wednesday in Bauchi.
He said that he was particularly impressed with Obisanjo's swift reaction to the security challenge in Mambila Plateau, Taraba State.
"He swiftly ordered the deployment of security agents to restore law and order. His prompt action ensured a quick end to the hostilities there.
"He has also demonstrated excellent tact in tackling agitations by groups seeking to break the country. He has been able to convince so many of them that Nigeria is big enough to accommodate everyone. That is what leadership is all about.
"He has also introduced measures that are already restoring the value of the Naira and rejuvenating the economy. We must applaud and continue to encourage him," he said.
Rimi-Zayam advised the vice president to always consult stakeholders like state governors, politicians, religious, traditional and community leaders, so as to constantly gauge the mood of Nigerians.
He also advised Osibanjo to foster cooperation and understanding between the legislative and executive arms of government to ensure political and social stability.
The PDP chief urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the quick recovery of President Buhari.
Newsmen report that Osibanjo has been acting as President since his boss traveled to London for medical check up, May 7.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kogi Council on Wednesday, applauded President Muhammad Buhari and the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo over the appointment and inauguration of Prof. Stephen Ocheni as Minister.
Ocheni , who hails from Kogi is a patron of NUJ in the state.
Prof. Stephen Ocheni from Kogi State and Alhaji Suleiman Hassan from Gombe State as ministers of the Federal Republic.
The Council Chairman, Alhaji Adeiza Momoh-Jimoh and Secretary, Ademu Seidu, made the commendation in a statement they issued in Lokoja on Wednesday.
The council said Kogi had again got a voice in the Federal Executive Council with the inauguration of Ocheni
According to them, the inauguration of Ocheni as Minister of the Federal Republic represents the restoration of the hope for Kogi people in making their contribution to the political development of Nigeria.
The union described the new minister as a rare professional who would no doubt contribute positively to drive the change agenda of the Federal Government.
The council assured that the minister had all it takes to make Kogi and the entire country at large proud and wish him well in his new assignment.
Ocheni replaces Mr James Ocholi (SAN), former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who died in an autocrash on Kaduna-Abuja highway on March 16, 2016.
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