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
BY Grace Udofia Abuja – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has exonerated Azibaola Robert, and his wife, Stella, of collecting any money paid for a 'safe house' by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) headed by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd). Robert Azibaola and his wife At the resumed trial on Friday, the tenth prosecution witness, David Mkpe, an EFCC operative, told the trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja, that Robert, his wife and company, Oneplus Holdings did not collect any money for the 'safe house'.
"The petition we received from the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement (PICAP) was to specifically investigate the N650m paid into the account of Tunji Adeniyi & Co by ONSA," Mkpe told the trial judge, Justice Dimgba, under cross-examination by the Defence Counsel Chris Uche, SAN.
"We investigated the complaint (from PICAP) and found out that no farthing of the N650 million paid for the safe house was found in any of the accounts of the defendants (Robert, his wife Stella, and Oneplus Holdings Limited). Tunji Adeniyi had testified before this court that he had refunded the said N650 million to the ONSA and also wrote and made statement before the EFCC confirming the refund."
Mkpe told the court that Alhaji Numan Danbatta is the owner of property Plot Number 2245 in Maitama for which the sum of N650 million was paid by the ONSA into the account of Tunji Adeniyi & Co.
"I did not take statement from Alhaji Danbatta, and I have never sighted any statement given by him in the course of our investigation."
Also, Mkpe told the court that "All the five members of the EFCC Special Task Force Team 2 which investigated the complaint of the Presidential committee were non-conventional police officers, except one, CSP Ibrahim Musa, and said that the team was disbanded immediately after they concluded their investigation.
Mkpe had earlier in the day's proceedings also told the Justice Dimgba that he was aware that a member of the Presidential committee which sent the complaint to the EFCC to investigate, had been arrested, detained and being investigated by the Department of State Security (DSS) for alleged fraud.
Exhibits were tendered and admitted before the court as Exhibit ASO23, and the trial judge told the prosecution to make available the original copy of the exhibits to the defence on or before the adjourned date.
Azibaola Robert, wife, Stella and his firm, Oneplus, are standing trial for allegedly receiving the sum of $40 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser for the supply of security communication kits but which was laundered.
However, all the prosecution witnesses except the EFCC operative, Mkpe, who claimed to have investigated the suspects, have denied transacting any business or knowing them before they met in court.
The trial has been adjourned to 18th and 20th of October 2017.
By Bashir Bello KATSINA – Massive turn out as polio immunization commenced on Friday in Jibia local government area of Katsina State. Tiwa Savage immunising a child against polio. The women and children besieged the venue of the flag off at Farfaru village in Jibia local government area, to receive the polio vaccines.
Speaking at the official flag off ceremony, the Director Primary Health Care of the area, Alh. Hamisu Lawal said about eighty thousand children were targetted for this round of immunization in the area.
He said Ninety six thousand six hundred doses of vaccines were provided for the conduct of the exercise while Three hundred and seven (307) vaccinators were deployed to eleven political wards of the area to go round the nooks and crannies to administer the polio vaccines.
He advised parents to make their wards available for the immunization exercise describing it as very important to kick out polio in the state.
Similarly officials from United Nations Children Funds, UNICEF and other partners commended traditional rulers for their support towards polio eradication in the state.
They however charged Jibia people and the state as a whole to improve and sustain the crusade against polio. END
Effurun(Delta) – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged government at all levels and Nigerians to encourage local entrepreneurs to grow the economy. Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo Obasanjo gave the advised on Friday while inspecting the ongoing facilities of Lee Engineering and Construction Company in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta.
The former president, who expressed satisfaction at the oil and gas facilities, said the initiative would help to check over dependence on foreigners to work in the oil and gas sector.
He noted that the fortune of the International Oil Companies (IOC) was diminishing unlike when he was president and wondered what would happen to the young graduates in the oil and gas if the local content was not pursue vigorously.
"I initiated the policy of Local Content to get as much as possible local fabrications to develop our oil and gas sector and I am happy that Lee Engineering has key into the policy and is doing so well.
" One thing is to create an opportunity, another thing is to get people that will understand and grab the opportunity and make the policy a success.
"Those who have the courage, vision and understanding that we cannot be a developed country unless we invest in our own country must be encouraged.
" When we started the policy we were expecting indigenous Nigerians, who will take advantages of it and establish facilities like this.
"What I see today is a cutting-edge of technology, welding, building fabrication," he said.
Earlier, the Chairman, of Lee Engineering Construction Construction, Leemon Ikpea said the company was 100 per cent Nigeria company in oil and gas, adding that it was now 26 years old.
He said the aim was to provide among other things, employment and also reduce huge cost in importation of foreign materials.
"We observed that most of the facilities used by the IOCs are imported so we decided to build our local capacity," he said.
The Acting governor of Delta, Mr Kingsley Otuaro commended the company for the good job.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Kogi chapter, on Friday threatened to drag Kogi Government to court over alleged refusal to conduct elections into the 21 local governments in the state.Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State
Muhammed Lawal, state Chairman of the party, who disclosed this at a news conference in Lokoja said the constitution of caretaker committees as Administrators for the 21 local council areas was illegal.
Lawal said the party was already exploring ways to ensure that the state government follow due process and conduct the election, saying that his party was tired of waiting for the exercise.
"We are going to draw the attention of the Governor to the need to conduct local government election because we have a constitutional provision that backs our claim.
"There is a subsisting court judgement before now, secured late Barrister James Ocholi against the PDP government on the matter.
"He got the court judgement that ruled that there is nothing like administrator or caretaker chairman.
"Automatically, the judgement is there already and it is just for us to approach the court for its invocation," he said.
He expressed concern that the caretaker committees constituted by the Gov. Yahaya Bello had already spent over one year in office before the governor extended their tenure by another six months.
The party chairman said that a bye-law by the state House of Assembly stipulated that no administration should exceed one third of its tenure in office without conducting local government elections.
On the ongoing political tussle in the state, the APGA state chairman urged the actors to find a way of resolving their differences amicably rather than over heating the polity.
Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, has assured civil servants that allocation of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) houses would soon take-off.
Residential Housing Estate
Oyo-Ita gave the assurance while inspecting the completed Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN)-funded estates in the FCT on Friday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 177 houses are completed under the FMBN-funded estates while 850 houses will be completed by the end of the year.
The houses inspected included 86 units of three-bedroom flats, semi-detached bungalows located in Kuje, FCT, developed by American Building System International (ABSI).
Others are 12 units of three-bedroom fully detached bungalows located in Kuje developed by Hydraform Engineering Nigeria Ltd. and 48 units of two-bedroom flats at Apo developed by Netconstruction Nigeria Ltd.
She said that the programme initiated by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), would ensure that houses allocated to civil servants were of high quality.
"The purpose of the visit is to see which of the estates we want to load onto the fish platform; we must say that we are very impressed with what we are seeing on ground.
"The FMBN has been doing very good jobs with the developers, and we are checking to see which of the estates can fall within the affordability range of civil servants.
"We want to assure Nigerians that now that we have estates that are ready, the programme will now take off fully."
She said that the allocation of the houses to civil servants was being delayed because of the processes involved which include the mutual agreement between the three key stakeholders.
Oyo-Ita said that her office would ensure transparency and accountability in utilising the N13 billion approved by the Federal Government for the programme.
Also speaking, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, the Managing Director, FMBN, commended the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for its willingness to inspect some of the bank's estates.
Dangiwa gave an assurance that the estates were ready, noting that FMBN would offer the houses to the Head of Service off-takers for mortgage to their staff housing scheme.
"There are up to 177 houses that are very much ready on ground. We have over 850 houses that are at various stages of completion which can be offered by the end of the year for the office to take up.
"We also have houses round the country. In 20 states of the federation, there are estates that are completed and ready for take-up.
"Federal civil servants who are outside the FCT can also access these houses depending on what they need.''
He said that major challenges facing the project were getting competent developers who could construct quality houses within the project time frame.
"For our other estates that are at their various stages of completion, we are battling with the contractors to complete the estates, to increase the housing stock of the country,'' Dangiwa said.
In her remarks, Dr Hannatu Fika, the Executive Secretary, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board (FGSHLB), commended the quality of the houses.
The Edo Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC) has declared N2.18 billion as total allocation accrued to the 18 local governments in the state from the Federation Account for the month of June. Edo cultural dancers. Mr Anthony Eboigbodin, the Head of Uhunmwode Local Government Administration, disclosed this on Friday after the JAAC meeting chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki at the Edo State Government House in Benin.
He explained that N1.41 billion collected in June was used for mandatory expenditures while the distributable sum left for the 18 LG council was put at N758m.
Eboigbodin said the state government would set up a committee to harmonise the assessment and conduct collection of rate-able properties geared towards increasing Internally Generated Revenue in the state.
He said the collection rollout, involving the collection of taxes and levies, and fixed rates in the entire LGAs in the state would start on Monday, July 10, 2017.
"We appeal to the people to co-operate with government officials, who will be going round to collect these rates and levies as approved by new harmonised Local Government Laws", he said.
Edo state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has donated N2m to the families of four victims, who were killed by suspected Fulani Herdsmen in the state.
Mr. Anthony Eboigbodin, the Head of Uhunmwode Local Government Council, disclosed this at the end of a Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting presided over by the governor at Edo State Government House in Benin, on Friday.
Recalling that two of the victims were killed at Ewu community in Esan Central, one in Ekpoma area of Esan West and the last in Elele Community, near Auchi in Etsako West LGA of the state, Eboigbodin disclosed that the families of the four victims would get N500, 000 each.
The elections in Osun West this Saturday is one of two faces. It has a sad side to it being an election to replace a prominent indigene of Osun who died due to some medical ignorance, as has been revealed.
On the other side, it offers Osun West another opportunity to weigh up options before them and choose another representative to continue and even better the legacy of the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke.
The options before the people of Osun West are various but two stand out of the bunch, Senator Mudashiru Hussein who is a former commissioner, member of the House of Representatives and senator representing the same district until stepping down for the now late Serubawon, as the late Senator was fondly called.
The other major candidate is Otunba Demola Adeleke, who, quite fairly, is brother to the late senator.
If it was lost on you, it is important that I point you to the distinction in qualification for the job description.
In order to portray fairness, I had scanned through records looking for signs that a vote for the "brother" will not be a wasted one (which was in itself an arduous task seeing as Demola Adeleke does not even have a Wikipedia page to start with) but almost all descriptions of him were about who he was brother to and rarely who himself was.
This has already created a massive gulf between both major aspirants, seeing as while we can hold Senator Hussein to his records since becoming a member of the House of Representatives at the beginning of the Fourth Republic, there is little or nothing to hold Otunba Adeleke to.
And it is a grave act of deceit for anyone to ask to be assessed based on the records of another man, whether brother or sister. Senator Mudashiru Hussein on the other hand has served in several capacities in public service, without once betraying his mandate, and has continuously stood out for complete loyalty to his ideology and party, without fear for whose ox is gored.
Senator Hussein, then a member of the House of Representatives, was one of the loudest lawmakers who fought against the rumoured third-term bid of President Obasanjo, being one of the few lawmakers in the opposition as at the time who resisted all advances to join the ruling party.
Not one to hide his opinions or back down from a fight, it was Mudashiru Hussein who said publicly in February 2004 that the House of Reps should invite President Obasanjo himself to account for the source of about N360m used in demolishing toll gates around the country. The courage behind that outburst will not be appreciated until one has an understanding of how carpeted the National Assembly was during the tenure of President Obasanjo.
Constantly using his representative seat as a megaphone, Hussein always spoke out for the people and against the government under the tenure of Obasanjo. He however was one to recognize good even if it were covered badly and this showed when he argued in 2004 that the rising number of military politicians in the nation's polity would bring about a stable democracy.
In this age where discussions around restructuring are very loud, it is important to note that Senator Hussein has always been a vocal supporter of strengthening the regions to be more responsible for their people. Out of love for peace, Senator Hussein it was who once argued that a "Mineral Resources Commission Bill" which sought to allow regions control their resources, should be considered to halt agitations for resource control.
Senator Hussein had defeated an incumbent Senator Isiaka Adeleke by a very wide margin in a result that demonstrated the trust reposed in him by the people of Osun West and it was only sensible that, after stepping down his personal ambition to accommodate his then opponent to his party, he be allowed to replace Isiaka Adeleke after his unfortunate death.
Considering the antecedence, it is clearly a case of the man we know versus the brother we don't know so much, and that this even looks like a contest among both options is enough disservice to what Senator Mudashiru Hussein represents. If there is a reason not to vote Hussein, I am yet to find out. Especially as not voting Hussein is essentially voting to make the senatorial seat of Osun West a hereditary one.
That, is something to vote against. So when Osun West goes to the polls this weekend, because I do not have a vote over there, we can consider it as one less vote for Senator Hussein. Hopefully it won't matter much in what I expect to be a landslide win for the career servant over the brother.
Keffi (Nasarawa State) – Prices of food items have started coming down in Nasarawa State following the arrival of newly harvested farm produce, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. Foodstuff prices in the market has gone too high for the average Nigerian to buy A survey conducted by NAN around Keffi markets of the state on Friday revealed that the prices of maize, groundnut and local rice had reduced, but that foreign rice was still expensive.
A bag of maize is now selling for between N18, 000 and N20, 000 as against N25, 000 and N27,000 sold last two month, while a measure now costs about N200 down from between N270 and N250.
The report also said that a measure of local rice which sold for N 550 is now selling for between N400 and N450, while the foreign brand now costs about N500.
Mrs Mercy Usman, a resident of Keffi, said: "We are now happy that the harvest of new agricultural products had started crashing the prices of food items especially the price of maize and local rice.
"A measure of maize which is previously sold at N270 to N250 is now going for about N200, while a bag of maize now is sold at N20,000 to N18,000.
"This will now reduce our economic hardship in the state and the country at large.
"The previous hikes in the prices of goods in the markets have created untold hardship to many Nigerians who found it hard to feed their families," She said.
Another housewife, Madam Azumi Ibrahim, said: "Most consumers are now happy that the harvest of food items is forcing their prices to come down except that of foreign rice and we don't know why.''
According to her, "low prices of commodities would not only encourage consumers to buy more quantity but would also improve on their standard of living there by boosting the socio-economic development of the country''.
She expressed optimism that the prices of food items would crash further before the year ends, adding that massive food production would end the current economic hardship facing the country.
However, some residents who spoke with NAN appealed to the state government to ensure prompt payment of salaries to civil servants to cushion their lives. (NAN)
By Gbenga Olarinoye Osogbo – An Osun State High Court sitting in Ede yesterday ordered the immediate past Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, Professor Anthony Elujoba to be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Prof Anthony Elujoba
Elujoba was ducked along with the bursar of the institution, Mrs. Josephine Akeredolu.
They were arraigned before the court over allegation of corrupt practices and financial improprieties in the university.
The anti-graft agency had on Wednesday arrested Professor Elujoba alongside the bursar of the school Josephine Akeredolu on alleged Financial corruption and abuse of office.
Professor Elujoba and Mrs Akeredolu were arraigned on a 7-count charge of intent to steal money belonging to the institution and conspiracy to defraud the school among others.
The defence lead Counsel Ibrahim Lawal who had earlier filed a bail application, pleaded with the court not to grant the prosecution prayer to remand the defendants in Ilesha Prison, but in EFCC custody pending the hearing of the application.
Justice David Oladimeji granted the prayer of the defence counsel and ordered that Professor Elujoba and Mrs Akeredolu be remanded in EFCC custody pending bail application hearing next Tuesday.
The Nasarawa State Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has setup a committee to intensify prayers for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari currently on medical vacation in London.
The state's CAN Chairman, Bishop Joseph Masin , made this known in an interview with in Lafia on Thursday.
"We pray that may Almighty God grant the President speedy recovery in order for him to come back and continue his responsibilities in office.
"He is our President, so he needs our prayers and we all need to pray for him, irrespective of our differences," he said.
According to him, the committee is also charged with the responsibility of praying for the peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic and religious groups in the state.
The chairman, who said the association was also not in support of the disintegration of the country, advised those agitating for the breakup of Nigeria to be conscious of the consequences of their utterances.
Masin also said the association had concluded plans to tour the 13 Local Government Areas of the state, to sensitise Christians on the need to live in peace and harmony.
"CAN will soon organise crusade in all the three senatorial zones of the state for the spiritual revival of the Christians." Masin.
He advised Christians to unite and accommodate adherents of other religions for peace to reign in the state and the country at large.
The religious leader also appealed to the state government to settle workers' salary arrears and other entitlements to end the ongoing industrial action.
Accra – Ghana's first satellite, dubbed Ghansat-1, was released and deployed into orbit at an altitude of 420 km, local media reported on Friday.
"This followed the successful launch on June 10 into the International Space Station (ISS) by SpaceX, Flight 11 from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the United States,'' local media said.
It further said that the process was watched live at All Nations University campus in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, some 85 km east of the capital.
It said that the satellite was built by students of All Nations University.
"The successful launch of the satellite has put Ghana on the international map as the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to launch academic satellite into space.
"The successful launch also paved way for the country to explore the full benefit of satellite technology,'' it added.
The satellite has cameras onboard capable of taking pictures of Ghana and providing data on happenings on Ghana's coastal areas and the environment
By Demola Akinyemi ILORIN-The British government has denied claims by some secession agitators in parts of Nigeria that the british government is backing their agitation to break Nigeria.
It would berecalled that some agitators had claimed that some powerful nations like the US and UK were backing their agitation, while the US government had denied such claim.Paul Arkwright
The British Envoy in Nigeria,Mr Paul Arkwright made the clarification yesterday while speaking with journalists when he met with the Speaker of the Kwara state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad, on a courtesy visit .
The British Envoy said,”In a word no. We have nothing to do with any agitations and acts to break up Nigeria. We strongly support the unity of Nigeria. ”
“We strongly support the federal government and that is the position that the British Government had held consistently. ”
“We have absolutely no interest about agitation for the breakup of Nigeria and anybody who claims the British and the British Government is involved in any way is completely wrong”
The British ambassador, who described Nigeria democratic situation as delicate, particularly commended both the kwara state government and the state House of Assembly on their efforts at upholding democratic tenets, and keeping the flame of democracy alive.
He said the British government was interested in getting more Nigerian women engaged in politics, adding that he was happy with efforts of the state government and the House of Assembly in women participation, especially with women lawmakers holding leadership position in the House.
He however noted that percentage of women in politics was low in Nigeria, and charged the government to encourage more women in politics.
His words,”Percentage of women in politics is low. So anything you could do to encourage women in politics and civil society, I will welcome that ”
“I was very keen to see the house of Assembly and the members here.i feel strongly that sometimes in this country, democracy is for the delegates. It is great to see a House of Assembkt that is operating in the true spirit of democracy representing the people here. ”
He also said that his government would continue to collaborate with state government in areas of education, and political development.
Also speaking, the Speaker described the visit as symbolic, saying that it was an attestation that British government was in support of Nigeria democracy.
“This has also deepened democracy in Nigeria and it sent a message that legislature is central to democracy. Unfortunately, many state Houses of Assembly in Nigeria are not functioning as expected. But we here at the House of Assembly have had cause to amicably deferred with the executives despite the fact that we’re in same party”, he said.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on Friday revealed that the late tele-evangelist, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, got his father converted to a born again Christian at a crusade in Ibadan, Oyo State in 1980 and that his father later donated the family’s only car to propagate evangelism. Ayodele Fayose Speaking in Benin while delivering the convocation lecture of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) entitled “Education and actualisation”, Fayose said the decision of his father to give out the family’s only Peugeot salon car drew the anger of his six wives and 27 children who felt bad about the decision.
”Archbishop Benson Idahosa came to Ibadan in 1980 for a crusade and my father attended and he was converted and after Idahosa had finished preaching he said they should donate something for God’d work and since my father was converted and deeply touched, he gave out the family’s only Peugeot car.
“He changed the car’s ownership and particulars and brought it to Idahosa that he was donating it to support evangelism. Though the entire family was against it because we thought it would affect the family’s movement, the thing paid off in the end. Those who donated were prayed for by the Bishop.
“But today, God has prospered the family. It’s good to give to the Lord and when you do that you are sowing a seed that will germinate for the children and that is working for us now,” he said.
He added that he thanked God that before his father died, he was able to buy four different cars for him as a reward for his diligence and commitment to God and taking care of the family.
Fayose said what he wanted to bring out was the importance of giving to the Lord cheerfully.
He charged the management of the institution that the vision of the late Idahosa must not be allowed to die but upheld.
On political developments in the country, Fayose said Nigerians should expect two great events to happen soon that would determine where the nation would head to. On what led to the rot in education, Fayose blamed the foundation laid by the colonialists.
Fayose said despite the billions of naira being spent on the education sector annually in the country, the nation is not reaping commensurate gains because education provided for us by the colonial government was not designed to prepare young men and women for the service of our country.
He opined that Instead it was motivated by an attempt to foist the values of the British on us and prepare us for the service of the colonial state.
The governor said it was rather unfortunate that instead of changing the course of education to meet our own local needs, successive leaderships seemed to toe the same line laid down by our colonialists and put undue premium on paper qualifications among others.
”For instance, it was not sufficient for us to learn, understand and speak the English language, but we must phonetise it the way the Briton speaks his mother language regardless of the incomparable sizes of our tongues and shapes of our noses.
“We were thus trained to become local clerks, white collar and administrative support staff and also to spread evangelical works. Up till now, everything we do stresses book knowledge.
“They underestimate the place of natural intelligence and street wisdom which are equally important and abound in our people some of whom do not have the opportunity or intellectual capacity for university education.
I am not however inferring that any person can be efficient as a result of age, or that educational qualifications are unnecessary.
“My position is that it is a mistake to over-value book knowledge as it is to under-value it. Our theoretical knowledge must be balanced with exposure which is the practical representation of education. I am of the opinion that the development gap between us and the advanced countries has a correlation with the fact that those countries mostly request for evidence of ability to perform tasks while we concentrate on asking for paper qualifications or certificates,” he stated.
He also called for a review of the entry age of children into elementary schools, saying “most of our children now enter primary schools before age 6 i.e when they are mostly infantile and therefore unconscious of the values of their immediate society.”
He also challenged parents to start the education of their children by inculcating family and societal values and acceptable behaviours in their children.
”Secondly and quite related is the scheduling of disciplines, curricular and syllabi in our schools.
In most of our institutions, departments and course contents still exist the way they were handed over to us by the British. Our students are prepared for tailor-made studies designed to pass stereotyped examinations.
”Similarly, the examinations our students write are geared to certain international benchmarks which do not take cognizance our local peculiarities and needs. We need to reflect on the type of education we need to provide and thereafter select aspects of our syllabus and curriculum that are capable of delivering such outcomes,” he added.
While frowning at the misuse of social media and information and communication technology by youths, he charged them to know that the future of the country rests on their shoulders.
Fayose praised the foresight of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa that led to the setting up the BIU.
He charged the management of BIU to make sure that the institution leads the in the revival of education from its comatose state.
While fielding question after the delivering the lecture Fayose said handlers of the sector must live their words and put those concerned on the driver seat.
”I withdrew my sons from Olashore International School in Osun State and put them in SUBEB Schools in Ado-Ekiti. My sons attended institutions in Nigeria. Many people in the country say something and do other things,” he added.
He also advised youths not to inherit the enemies of their political leaders they know nothing about.
He charged Nigerians to critically examine their leaders before voting them into office.
On how he would actualise his dream of leading the country, Fayose said he would only align. himself with God’s power, saying with God nothing is impossible.
Femi Falana, in this video by SaharaReporters, has allegedly exposed how some big politicians have been keeping Nigerians in perpetual poverty with their policies and actions.
UGHELLI— Chairman, Delta State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Jones Erue, yesterday, applauded the ruling of the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State, which overturned an earlier judgment by a Delta State High Court sitting at Asaba, which sacked the state executive and ordered the conduct of a fresh congress.
Erue in a statement by the acting State Secretary of the party, Leonard Obibi, while applauding the judiciary for the ruling, said that "The legal battle which had been on for years, had cast blight on the legal standing of the State Executive Committee."
APC
Describing the ruling as a no victor and no vanquished, Erue said: "Notwithstanding this noble and just outcome, I wish to emphasize that this result only serves as an impetus to refocus and harness the strengths of the party into a formidable organ that all its members will be proud of.
"Today is a day for mutual forgiveness and it is important to begin a new phase that will erase divisions in our midst, while preparing all our members to redirect their energies towards our common interests.
"To this end, I advice all party members to note that with this judgment, there is no victor and no vanquished and it is now time to pull our internal capacities together.”
Video clip of an interview with BBC shows Phillip Effiong Jr., the son of Biafra Vice President Gen. Phillip Effiong speak on what he remembers about Biafra war and his thoughts about the current agitation.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, says the Nigerian military is winning the war against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and other parts of the country.
Abubakar said this on Friday while inaugurating one block of 30-room accommodation for officers and men of the 115 Special Operations Group (SOG ), Port Harcourt.
He said that many terrorists' cells in the North-East had been decimated by security forces and assured that victory was in sight.
"The Nigerian military is currently on the path of winning the war against terrorism in the North-East and other parts of the country.
"If you recall, in 2014, terrorists moved in convoy of 15 to 20 Hilux vehicles; ravaging villages and killing villagers. But that is not the situation on ground now.
"It is true that we have cases of suicide bombings, but we are doing everything humanly possible to contain the insurgents.
"The insurgency may linger for some time but we are capable to deal with the whole issues and make it become a thing of the past.
"We have highly committed Nigerians (military personnel) that are working day and night to ensure that no part of Nigeria is under the control of any group other than the legitimate government," he said.
Abubakar assured that the military would continue to safeguard the nation's territorial integrity from any form of external and internal aggressions.
He refuted claims that the military had penchant for committing collateral damages in its operations in the northern parts of the country.
According to him, the military should be commended and encouraged for its selfless service to the nation rather than being condemned by some.
Abubakar explained that the 115 SOG Air Force unit played a very critical role in various security operations in the country.
"We are on a visit to the unit to access preparedness of the unit while improving on welfare of troops for effective and efficient service delivery," the air chief said.
The Ibenananaowei of Bomo clan, Southern Ijaw Local Government, Bayelsa, King Joshua Igbugbugbu has said that Nigeria's unity is non-negotiable and that haven being on the throne for 58 years now, he would not want the country to break up.
The Octogenarian and traditional ruler said this on Friday when the Chairman, Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Prof. Olanipekun Edward, paid him a courtesy visit at his palace annex, Yenagoa.
He said the agitations of those clamouring for secession might have arisen from perceived exclusion.
"If you look at the state and local governments, the people are crying over salaries and others.
He, however, advised the agitators to direct their grievances to political leaders to ensure even delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.
Igburugbu also urged the separatists to desist from threatening the unity and stability of the nation.
"I have been on the throne for 58 years and I don't want the country to break up.
"In unity we should stand and divided we fall. All I want is unity and good governance.
''All I want is a united Nigeria. The North should not drive the Ibos and the Ibos should not drive the Hausas. All we want is unity," he said.
The monarch described the recent calls for restructuring of the nation as "highly political."
He also called on the governing council of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekeowe and the students of the institution to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The monarch appealed to the Federal Government to award contract for the construction of the road from Yenagoa to the institution for effective development of the riverine area.
Edward told the monarch that the visit was for him to have firsthand knowledge of the institution, adding that the third Governing Council was inaugurated on May 11.
He commended the monarch for his assistance during the assessment tour of the institution and sought his help in prevailing on the Federal Government to construct access road to the institution.
The Director-General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Prof. Oshita Oshita, has said that for peace to reign in the country, the country's resources must be shared equitably.
He stressed that Nigeria is already hugely blessed with human and natural resources and as such, should be shared in a way that peace would always reign.
A statement by Michael Abu, media aid to Oshita in Abuja on Friday, quoted him as giving the advise while playing host to a team from Robert Bosch Stiftung, Berlin, Germany in Abuja.
File: Three major ethnic divides in Nigeria
The team was led by the Senior Vice-President of the Robert Bosch Stiftung Institution, Sandra Breka, along with two senior project managers, Henry Alt-Haaker and Patricia Degueldre.
He further urged Nigerians to be tolerant of one another and support the government's peace efforts and development programmes.
Oshita explained that the country was richly blessed with agricultural and mineral resources.
He said that mechanism for mainstreaming peace in the sharing of the resources and in execution of projects remained a sine-qua-non to achieve peace and national integration.
The IPCR boss said the institute and UNICEF had designed Development Toolkits that would enhance peace and unity in the country.
He said programme should be aimed at enhancing peace in a manner where sites for projects and their execution would serve as units for promoting peace and unity between and among communities.
Oshita also said the institute was working assiduously with development partners to produce package of peace building and peace enforcement toward making the country peaceful and better rendezvous in the world.
The director-general also said that efforts to achieve this must be deliberate and conscientious.
The IPCR boss who commended the commitment of the Acting President toward the mitigation of conflicts across the country expressed the readiness of the institute to serve as backup for technical assistance.
He said that the Conflict Early Warning mechanisms had already been activated in Anambra and Oyo States to cover the southeast and southwest respectively.
He said that efforts were being made for the take-off of other Early Warning mechanisms in Gombe and Benue States for the Northeast and North-central.
Osita said the idea was to establish the early warning system in all the geopolitical zones of the country and subsequently in all states of the federation on the long run.
According to him, the early warning system would be connected to the national hub at the institute.
