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 Presidency has listed the gains of President Muhammadu Buhari's participation in the just concluded Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) to include the billions of dollar to be injected into African economies by Japan.
A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, said the Japanese Government had pledged to expend 40 billion dollars to boost the African economies in the next four years.President Buhari as he departs Nairobi Kenya for Abuja after participating at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi Kenya
He gave the breakdown of the amount as 10 billion dollars to be injected in the next 12 months while the remaining 30 billion dollars would be expended over a three-year period on areas key to African economies, targeting infrastructures such as roads, energy, ports, hospitals and training institutions.
According to him, the TICAD seeks a win-win partnership between Japan and Africa.
He added that a key objective of the conference was to build up African ownership of its own vision of growth and development.
“In furtherance of this, Japan seeks to differ with the other players on the continent by placing emphasis on high quality infrastructure that do more than job creation by transferring technology through the training of youth and women.''
According to Shehu, for Nigeria in particular, the conference’s milestones include the important meeting between President Buhari and Prime Minister Abe, at which event problems militating against the inflow of Japanese investment into Nigeria were discussed and agreed upon.
He said, “Japanese companies had done a lot by way of investment in the past in Nigeria but there has noticeably been a drop in the last decade or two. Chiefly to blame is the problem of security, disguised in official discussions as `business environment.”
He stated that President Buhari used the meeting effectively in giving assurances that the problem was being addressed.
“Boko Haram terrorism is nearly gone and sabotage in the Niger Delta will soon be ended preferably through dialogue and if not, by force of arms.
“Coming into close personal contact for the second time, the two leaders discussed the issues of trade and investment, health, peace and development of the continent.
“In addition, they discussed issues in diplomacy and international relations.
“President Buhari’s statement at the Head of States’ round table meeting with business leaders underscored the serious efforts government is making to improve Nigeria’s notoriously bad business environment.
“At this meeting, he announced the coming into place of a soon-to-be inaugurated “Presidential Enabling Business Council, PEBEC.”
“He described it as an inter-ministerial council to oversee the efforts of government to remove various bottlenecks that stifle business and economic activity to give way to the right enabling environment and investment climate in Nigeria.
“It will be powered by the government but will be private-sector driven.
“According to its vision, the PEBEC will make Nigeria one of the most attractive business destinations in the world.
“It will start with the modest effort of moving the country up 20 points in the World Bank ranking in the ease of doing business in the first year, taking it into the top 100 at the end of the four-year mandate of the current administration.
Shehu announced that the third takeaway was on the sidelines of the TICAD where the Nigerian government delegation met a good number of big Japanese enterprises.
He said, “collectively and individually, these businesses expressed their intention of either coming in newly or expanding their participation in Nigeria’s private sector.
“The companies with varied interests in power, agriculture, automobile, motor cycles, textiles, financing and the service sector included the Honda Manufacturing (Nigeria) Limited, representing Honda Motor Co. Ltd; Japan Tobacco Inc., Marubeni Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation.
“Others included Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Toyota Tsusho (Nigeria) Ltd., an affiliate of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, West African Seasoning Co. Ltd., affiliate of Ajinomoto Co. Inc., and Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO''.
He stated that at these meetings, they explored the scope for the incentive packages the Nigerian government would give them to deepen and expand their investments.
He said that these included export rebates, access to Foreign Exchange, land, interest rates, transparency in business regulation and favourable regulatory structure.
Shehu said the fourth important takeaway of the conference was the formation of a new group KENSA made up of industry leaders on the continent, Kenya representing East Africa, Egypt for North Africa, South Africa for the South and Nigeria, from West Africa.
The Presidential aide said the fifth takeaway of the conference was that Nigeria and Kenya seized the opportunity of the meeting of their leaders to strengthen bilateral relations and follow up on the achievements of the State Visit to Nairobi by President Buhari, earlier this year.
“From the time of the visit, both countries have seen a growing impetus for trade and investment between them.
“Kenya which discovered oil lately is picking lessons from Nigeria’s vast experience in oil and gas.
“Nigeria is learning from Kenyan experience in managing animal grazing.
“There are efforts on both sides to share experience and promote private sector participation in trade, cooperatives, micro finance, cotton farming and palm oil processing.
Shehu disclosed that under the auspices of the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC0), several memoranda of understanding were signed between Nigerian parties and their foreign counterparts.
“From many of these, investments and jobs would follow.''
He noted that the conference was significant in the sense that this was the first time it took place in Africa.
“They met in Japan all the time in the past.''
According to him, another significant departure is the recognition of the role of the private sector in the economic take-off of the continent.
“In this respect, more than 100 Chief Executive Officers, CEOs from leading Japanese companies accompanied Prime Minister Abe.
“This is a clear indication that more and more Japanese companies are eying the African continent.
“A modest number of Nigerian business and state-owned enterprises were equally present.''
The TICAD was being held every five years from the time it started in 1993 until the last one in 2003 when it was decided that it should be convened every three years instead.
On the President’s delegation were the Ministers of Agriculture, Health, Budget and National Planning, and Industry, Trade and Investment.
There were also the National Security Adviser (NSA), and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
“Members of the delegation expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the conference and the side engagements,'' Shehu said.
Abuja – The Super Eagles Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr has assumed duty following his arrival in Uyo on Tuesday in preparation for the AFCON 2017 qualifying match against Tanzania on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the encounter which is best described as a “dead rubber'' is Rohr's first official assignment as Eagles technical adviser.
The Eagles and their Tanzanian counterparts failed to qualify for the competition after Egypt picked the sole qualification ticket from the group.
Chad had withdrawn from the qualifiers over financial difficulties and thereby making Nigeria walk a tight rope following a 1-1 draw with Egypt in one of the qualifiers in Kaduna.
Rohr would use the encounter as a test match for the Super Eagles' 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Zambia on October 3.
Cameroon and Algeria are the other teams drawn alongside Nigeria and Zambia in Group B.
Super Eagles Media Officer Toyin Ibitoye the 24 invited players had yet to arrive in camp as at Tuesday night.
Ibitoye said that the usual morning and evening training session had begun as Rohr had resolved to build a formidable squad for the country ahead of future international engagements.
According to him, Belgium based Moses Simon and Slovakia based Kingsley Madu will arrive on Wednesday, while Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme will arrive on Thursday.
“The players are in high spirit owing to the fact that they have a new technical adviser,” Ibitoye said.
Majority of the players failed to report to camp on Monday following cancellation of ARIK airline flight and hours of delays.
Professor Chiweyite Ejike, the deputy chairman of Igbo Leaders of Thought, ILT, in this interview, spoke on the centrifugal issues that give rise to Igbo marginalization and agitations for Republic of Biafra among others.
rofessor Chiweyite Ejike, the deputy chairman of Igbo Leaders of Thought, ILT,
On alleged marginalization of Ndigbo by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration
The issue of marginalization had been a constant theme in discussions of the dividends of governance in Nigeria since Independence in 1960. At any point in time, it has been either the North or the South claiming marginalization in the distribution of government amenities and services and blaming it on the government in power while suggesting that the zone or region producing the Head of Government is being favoured.
Many a time, one can say that there is no smoke without fire. There is no denying the fact that favouritism, nepotism and related unwholesome practices are part of the second nature of most Nigerians. In the current situation, it is important that we work with the knowledge and understanding that marginalization form part of the general problem of bad governance in the Nigerian polity.
What is necessary is that we should fight marginalization not by pointing accusing fingers at any party, government or ethnic group, but by undertaking a proper study of the genesis, causes and empirical proof of this phenomenon both as it had played out in the past and as it is now being practiced under the current APC government at the centre and one might add, in almost all the state and local governments of the country.
Thereafter, we should be able to proffer ways and means of providing remedies for this negative aspect of our national governance.
The Igbo Leaders of Thought had in the past discussed this and other related national challenges at several of its Focus Group meetings. In summary, what we are saying is that, first, we need to be fully informed about the remote and the immediate causes of marginalization of Ndigbo.
Secondly, the external and internal socio-economic and political dimensions of this fact of marginalization must be tackled.
Thirdly, the need to evolve a viable road map with which to act in rectifying this deficiency. For the time being, the immediate reaction recommended is to realize that we (Igbo) as a people had fallen short of our expected role in preparing our people to take on the challenge of appropriate positions and role in the national theatre of operations in Nigeria. We must therefore, through our individual and corporate efforts, serious and determined good governance of the various states, initiate emergency action-plans and programmes that would enable us stand out as a beacon of excellence in Nigeria.
That way, we would legitimately demand and fulfil the responsibilities and duties expected of us and claim the reward that Ndigbo deserve considering their past and present investments in the founding and nurturing of the Nigerian nation over the past 100 years.
There is the opinion that Biafra agitations are being fuelled by extreme marginalization of Ndigbo in the country's political and core professional appointments. Is this so and what have the ILT done in this direction?
We are living in an age of grave circumstances. Protests are accepted in the world over as modulating techniques for keeping any given democracy on a steady keel. The danger, however, is that what normally starts up as peaceful protests could readily escalate into violence especially if not well led and if met with disproportionate police action.
As for the nascent militancy in the South-East, the ILT would like to remind the nation that the constitution guarantees freedom of expression manifested in lawful protest(s) as a fundamental right. The solution to this serious development of Pro-Biafra demands is that we approach it with standard conflict resolution strategies accepted by the civilized world and directed by rules of engagement prescribed for such levels of national difficulties. What is required is not necessarily strong-arm response but consultations and dialogue aided by peaceful negotiations.
Nigerian midfielder Rabiu Ibrahim has arrived in Belgium ahead of a switch to KAA Gent this week.
Rabiu Ibrahim
The 25-year-old is expected to undergo a medical before joining up with The Buffalos on a long-term deal.
Details of the contract, at this time, remain sketchy until the attacking midfielder finalises the move.
Ibrahim, a member of Nigeria's senior men's national team, has spent the last two seasons with Slovakian side AS Trencin where he has played a role in winning two league and Cup titles.
The midfielder enjoyed early success in his career when he joined up with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon at the age of 17 after winning the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in South Korea with Nigeria.
Unfortunately Ibrahim could not thrive at Sporting Lisbon considering he was still young and he would later move to PSV Eindhoven, Celtic and Kilmarnock, all brokered by his English representative, Tony Harris.
Ibrahim, who was named among the world's top 50 most exciting talents in the sport a few years back, has made more than 40 appearances during his time at Slovakian champions AS Trencin.
Seven-time Nigeria champions Enyimba say they are satisfied with current head coach, Paul Aigbogun.
The former Warri Wolves gaffer has come under intense scrutiny in recent months for what some fans of the club have termed an underwhelming season.
Paul Aigbogun
The fans have voiced their discontent over the club's failure to progress past the group stage of this year's CAF Champions League but the People's Elephant are still in contention in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and the Federation Cup.
Enyimba chairman, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu, says he has had no reason to question the credentials of Aigbogun.
"We (Enyimba) have not been given any reason to show dissatisfaction with the work of Aigbogun.
"He has been given a free hand to do his job to the best of his knowledge.
"People are free to speculate that Aigbogun will be sacked but I don't know where those stories are emanating from. "There is nothing from our end to suggest that Aigbogun will be sacked at the end of the season.
"Aigbogun is doing a good job and he needs to be encouraged also.
"Enyimba never presses the panic button and we will not start doing at at this stage," he told supersport.com. Meanwhile, Aigbogun has declared that he was never worried about the prospect of getting the sack at Enyimba.
"I have never had a problem with the chairman or the board since I took over.
"I admit that there are times this season when things did not go according to script for me but there has been a lot of mutual respect between all parties and no one has ever talked about sacking me," he said.
Aigbogun replaced veteran trainer Kadiri Ikhana at the start of the season.
Franco-German Gernot Rohr took charge of the Super Eagles, for the first time yesterday as the team began training sessions ahead of Saturday's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations match against Tanzania.
Rohr and a number of players could not fly to Uyo from Lagos on Monday as Arik airline eventually cancelled their flight after many hours. But the entourage landed in Uyo just after noon on Tuesday.
On arrival at the team's Le Meridien Hotel, Coach Rohr had a meeting with his assistants, backroom staff and players present, before the evening's training session at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.
In camp as at Tuesday evening were Skipper Mikel John Obi, assistant captain Ahmed Musa, goalkeepers Emmanuel Daniel and Ikechukwu Ezenwa, defenders Musa Muhammed, Chidozie Awaziem, Abdullahi Shehu, Jamiu Alimi, Leon Balogun, William Troost-Ekong and Elderson Echiejile, midfielders Ogenyi Onazi, Wilfred Ndidi and Nosa Igiebor and forwards Brown Ideye, Imoh Ezekiel, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo and Victor Osimhen.
Team administrator Dayo Enebi Achor confirmed to thenff.com that Belgium -based Moses Simon and Slovakia -based Kingsley Madu will arrive today. The delegation of Tanzania's Taifa Stars is expected to arrive in Nigeria on Wednesday, while the match officials will jet in on Thursday.
Marc Albrighton has become the latest Leicester City player to commit himself to the club after the Premier League champions announced he had signed a new four-year contract on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old former Aston Villa winger played a key role in Leicester’s 5,000-1 title triumph last season.
He follows Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, Wes Morgan, Kasper Schmeichel and manager Claudio Ranieri in signing a new contract at the King Power Stadium.
“I just think there’s a really good feeling around the place,” Albrighton told the Leicester website after tying himself to the club until 2020.
“Everyone seems to want to stay at the club and I think that’s a massive credit to how far the club has come in the last few years.
“It’s exciting times for Leicester City Football Club and I want to be a part of that.”
Albrighton joined Leicester from Villa on a free transfer in 2014 and has made 65 appearances, scoring four goals.
The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the British Government on the modalities for the return of Nigerian stolen assets. The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, signed on behalf of the Federal Government in Abuja on Tuesday.
President Buhari as he departs Nairobi Kenya for Abuja after participating at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi Kenya
Malami said that the MoU reflected the desire and willingness of both countries to continue cooperation and mutual support. Malami said that this was in the responsible and transparent return of all recovered assets.
He outlined the objectives of the MoU to include the fact that the processes of returning stolen assets was a partnership recognising the interest of both countries and based on mutual understanding, confidence and trust.
“That both countries recognised that they have a mutual interest in ensuring that returned assets are not at risk of being misappropriated again. “And that both countries recognised they have obligations toward their own citizens for providing such assurances. “That both countries recognised the importance of ensuring that the highest possible standard of transparency and accountability are applied for the return of assets.”
He gave the assurance to the international community that all funds recovered would be judiciously utilised for projects that would benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society. Earlier, leader of the UK delegation, British Minister of State for Immigration, Robert Goodwill, said that the MoU provided the mechanism by which monies could be returned.
Goodwill, who is also a member of the British Parliament, noted that there was no safe place for stolen assets in the UK. “Our ability to recover and return stolen assets should send a clear message to all who may seek to habour such assets that there is no safe haven in the U.K,” he said.
According to him, the British government is committed to the return of all funds looted from the Nigerian State. “We are keen to do this as soon as the necessary legal process allow. “As outlined at the summit, we will be taking steps to accelerate the procedures for identification and confiscation of illegally acquired assets.”
He said that they were as committed as Nigeria in ensuring that beneficial ownership of assets was made available to relevant authorities so they know who the real owners of assets held in the UK are.
“Forty jurisdictions, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies announced that they will automatically share beneficial ownership information relating to companies, trusts, foundations, Shell companies and other relevant entities and legal arrangements.
“It is important that everyone can see how returned assets are used to benefit Nigerians. We have therefore agreed in this MoU to be fully transparent about this.” The signing of the MoU is a follow up to the agreement reached at the London anti-corruption summit in May.
Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has warned against the politicising of Capt. Elechi Amadi's burial.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, on Tuesday in Abuja. According to the statement, Wike said the Late literary icon deserved a befitting burial for his contributions to the development of the state, Nigeria and humanity.
The governor inaugurated a State Burial Committee for the burial at the Government House, Port Harcourt. During the innaguration, Wike urged the family to cooperate with the committee to ensure that the late literary icon got the deserved befitting burial.
He warned against the politicisation of the burial, adding that the state government would not struggle with any group on who should organise the burial. He said,“if the family do not want Rivers State Government to participate in the burial, it should make its position known.”
Wike said the committee was set up after wide consultation with stakeholders, to carry every group along, adding that the committee could co-opt more members as the need arose. He urged the committee to ensure the burial took place in 2016 and weather the state should play a part in the date for the burial.
Responding, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Frank Ohwor, assured the governor that members of the committee would work towards a befitting burial for the literary icon.
Those inaugurated by the governor are Mr Frank Owhor, Chairman; Mr David Briggs, Secretary and Mr Paul Wonodi, Deputy Chairman. Mr Monday Mgbor, Mr Hope Ikiriko, Mr Chris Orji and Chairman, Ikwerre Local Government Area are also members of the committee.
Others are Henry Wordu, Dr Preye Elechi Amadi, Mr Carl Amadi , Mr Azubuike Elechi-Amadi, Prof S.C. Achinewhu, Mr Ben Ugo and Mr V. Amadi.
The late Elechi Amadi born on May 12, 1934, and was a Nigerian author who had written five African novels – The Concubine, The Great Ponds, The Slave, Isiburu and Estrangement. Born in Aluu in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, he attended Government College Umuahia and the University of Ibadan where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics.
Amadi's novels are generally about African village life, customs, beliefs and religious practice, as they are all set before contact with the Western world. Elechi died on June 29 at Good Heart Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike to press home its demands for the implementation of its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government. The ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Prof. Olusoji Sowande, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Lagos.
Sowande said that the union was planning to toe this part after several efforts to ensure that the government address the pending demands, proved abortive. He said that the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on funding of state universities, breaches of the conditions of service and re -negotiation of the agreement, were still pending. ?
The coordinator also mentioned other demands like the exclusion of Nigerian universities from Pension Management Company and non-release of NEEDS Assessment Intervention Fund. He said that funding of state universities, earned academic allowance and renegotiation of the agreement were parts of the outstanding issues. ? Sowande recalled that the union had embarked on strike in 2012 and 2013 as part of the efforts to make the government implement the agreement, adding that the issues remained unresolved. He said that the 2009 agreement provided for a periodic review after every three years which had not been done.
“The review of the agreement should have been undertaken in 2012 and 2015 but that did not happen.? “The implication is that our union has shown enough patriotism and understanding on these matters in the last four years. “We are perplexed and disappointed that both the Federal and State Governments are not responding to our consistent appeals to bring about genuine transformation in the education sector, '' he said. ? According to him, embarking on strike has never been a favourable choice as the Students and ASUU members have always suffered the pains more. “It is unfortunate that the only language government appears to respect and listens to is that of industrial action like strike,'' he said.
The don said that the National officers of the union had met with the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu on May 10 and tabled ten-point demand. He said that the minister had promised that the issues would be resolved within two weeks but nothing had been done till now.
Sowande said that based on MOU signed in November 2013, “Nigerian universities requires N1.3 trillion to revitalise the system'', adding that the government was already in arrears of N605 billion as at the third quarter of 2016. He said that the government had refused to release N128 billion and N250 billion respectively for the earned academic allowance of three years after the MoU was signed.?
“In order to forestall this avoidable crisis, we appeal to all genuinely progressive individuals and groups to prevail on both the Federal and State Governments to commence release of funds for the listed purposes. “This is to arrest the brewing and potentially combustible situation in the Nigerian university system before it degenerated into a serious conflagration,'' he said.
The Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the party's Board of Trustees (BoT) recommendations on its next national convention and resolution of its leadership crisis. This is contained in a statement signed by the faction's Ag. Deputy National Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, on Tuesday in Abuja.
It also said that the BoT would facilitate the raising of adequate funds for the party's activities, including the convention. The trustee passed a vote of confidence on the caretaker committee, and charged it to, as soon as possible, convene a meeting of the NEC of the party.
But, Sheriff's group said that the outcome of the BoT Monday's meeting fell short of its earlier decision with party's reconciliation committee.
“Having deliberated on the reported outcome of the BoT meeting of Aug. 29, we have resolved that the resolutions feel short of the decision reached with the Dickson/Mantu reconciliation committee. “The agreement we had is that Sheriff should chair a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where Makarfi will attend as a member of the BoT.
“At the meeting, a chairman of convention committee will be agreed upon, a new convention committee setup, including all other sub-committees, zoning, finance, accreditation, etc. “The venue of the convention will be in Abuja, where a new leadership of the party will emerge, internal democracy will be respected and confidence will return to the party,'' the group said.
It said that it had hoped that opportunity would be given for everybody to return to the one umbrella “and shake hands and will see the PDP re-emerge for the challenges ahead''. The group added that it “completely rejects the vote of confidence passed on the `illegal caretaker committee' because a committee that has failed twice to successfully organize a convention on two occasion is a failure''.
“Consequently, we can now confidently inform the general public that well-meaning Nigerians have been urging Sen. Makarfi to resign to save democracy. “We, therefore, call on his friends and associates and family to advice him to do the needful and resign now to save multi-party democracy in Nigeria and stop impunity that has been the bane of internal democracy,'' the group stated.
It alleged that the BoT Chairman, Sen. Walid Jubrin, brought crisis to the party. “ In any case, his tenure has expired as he has spent more than 10 years as secretary and chairman of BoT, which runs contrary to the Constitution.
“A party where we have eminently qualified persons like Sen. David Mark, Babangida Aliyu and others, cannot be led by individuals controlled by the love for money. “The source of irritation in the party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee and the Board of Trustees should have advised that the illegality be addressed,'' it said.
The faction commended PDP supporters nationwide for their understanding and patience, adding that “we make bold to state that until we get it right and check impunity, the Nigerian opposition party won't perform as required.
“As we move towards reconciliation, PDP should prevent any person or group from hijacking the party. “Be rest assured that the PDP will emerge stronger as we note that impunity marred the party's success in 2015 general elections,'' it added. Contacted, BoT Chairman, Jubrin, declined comment, saying that he was in a meeting.
National Deputy Chairman (South) of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Segun Oni, on Tuesday accused politicians of complicity in the incessant attacks on communities across the country by suspected herdsmen.
Oni, who made the allegation while speaking to journalists at the party's National Secretariat in Abuja, said that the intent of the politicians was to destabilise the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that recently, communities in some states, including Benue, Plateau, Enugu, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Taraba had been attacked by the suspected herdsmen, who carried arms.
”This, personally worries me because these gunmen who have suddenly become so notorious, invading villages and so on, are people that have always been around. ”My guess is that many of these are sponsored by people who have so much money and want to create instability.
”I believe that many of these have political motives and people who just want to trouble the government of the day. ”People who don’t want peace because they believe peace will also not be what they will want to see. It is very, very difficult. ”You will just hear one version here today, another striking us there tomorrow and so on.
”It is also a way of saying that what we are battling with is not ordinary,” he said. The APC chieftain said that the APC-led Federal Government had scored pass mark in fighting insecurity. He said, ”one thing we can say for sure is that Boko Haram has been mutilated.
”I believe the average Nigerian can see that, can feel that and understand that; whatever is left of it, let us encourage the security agencies to move ahead and move fast and take further control. ”I don’t think the security situation is as terrible as it used to; no, it is not. ”Therefore, as far as security is concerned, I would say that we have earned the pass mark, but we can do better.”
On President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to treat the Niger Delta militants like the Boko Haram if they did not stop their acts, Oni said, “I think it is a warning. ”You know at times a father would also warn his child, `don’t cross this line so that I will not be hard on you'. I think it is a warning.”
He admitted that the public was right to have expected a quick fixing of the economy, but said that in reality, there was no magic way out of Nigeria's present economic problem.
”This economy must work, we must get Nigeria back, but it is not as quick as anybody could imagine by touch of a hand. ”So, people are entitled to their expectations; we, as a government will do our best to ensure that the end will justify its course.
”We were not elected to run Nigeria for one year or two years; we were elected to run Nigeria for four years. “Before we get to an appreciable length of time, I am sure, I am confident that we will begin to see very obvious changes.”
Meet The Boss interviews DHL’s new Regional Director in charge of West & Central Africa, Randy Budah, who shares his views on the current state of innovation and the strategies the logistics company has used over the years to consistently deliver outstanding results in the parcel delivery business. Clearly, as this excerpt shows, DHL is committed to customer-focused innovation:
Could you tell us a bit about the history of DHL? DHL was founded by three young shipping executives Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn who were looking for a way to increase turnaround speed for ships at ports. They reasoned that if the shipping documents could be flown from port to port, they could be examined and processed before the ships arrived, and speeding up the process would decrease port costs for shippers. With this in mind, the trio combined the first letters of their last names to form the acronym DHL, thus beginning an air-express company that revolutionized the delivery industry.
DHL’s new Regional Director in charge of West & Central Africa, Randy Budah
DHL rapidly developed into an express delivery service between California and Hawaii, then quickly expanded to points east. So that evolved from California to Hawaii; then it branched into the international market in the early 1970s by entering both developed and developing countries coming with the solution to move documents at a very quick pace.
What is role of DHL Express within the scope of the DHL Deutsche Post Group? DHL Express transports urgent documents and goods reliably and on time from door-to-door in more than 220 countries and territories, and operates the most comprehensive global express network.
What are the challenges of coordinating and moving parcels and documents on a worldwide scale-and the opportunities that presents?
You have customs related challenges, challenges with other regulatory authorities, local politics, landing and territorial rights and so on. There are lots of interests for the various postal regulators and sometimes, international express operators can be considered to be competition to the post office but if anything, we are an added enhancement to the post office because in most cases, we work with them.
What portion of the market does DHL represent within Nigeria as well as the West/Central Africa? We operate in all sectors but this is also dependent on the specific market in question. For instance, Nigeria, Gabon and Angola are oil-based economies so we have a lot of clients within the oil and gas industry in those markets. In commodities based countries like Ghana, we work with the NGOs, life sciences, high tech and communications companies.
Bearing in mind the growing number of delivery companies, what's your view of the current level of competitiveness in West/Central African market? The industry is very competitive here and it's a good thing because it ensures that customers get a reasonably sized pool to choose from. Over the past 34 years, DHL Express has invested significantly into equipment, vehicles, aircraft and facilities as well as into the training and development of our staff. More specifically for Nigeria, in addition to our fleet of vans and motorcycles we have a state of the art DHL Gateway and DHL Hub located on the airside of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, which is the logistic home to our aircraft operations and distribution model for West Africa.
Within the Nigerian Gateway, we have dedicated customs officers as well as other regulatory aviation authorities to ensure the rapid clearance of our inbound shipments coming into the country. Recently, because of the heavy traffic often experienced when going from the Lagos mainland to Victoria Island, we added a boat to our fleet to ferry our parcels and documents from Victoria Island/Ikoyi to the mainland, which connects to our international and domestic aircrafts based at MMIA. And that has really saved us quite a bit of time by utilizing the waterways to move our materials back and forth.
What is the movement of goods from West Africa to Europe like? Is this merchandise traffic still in its infancy, or has a development become noticeable? For most West African countries, the major lanes are US and parts of Europe as well as South-East Asia. However, on the inbound, we are starting to see a lot of the traffic shifting from the traditional western countries to South-East Asian markets like China, and India, which are becoming big players in global trading. It’s evolving and it continues to evolve. How have you managed to maintain a productive workforce and the company's commitment to growth?
If your people are happy, your business will flourish and at DHL, we have identified continuous training and employee empowerment as important drivers to ensure that we have motivated people, which is an important pillar of our global focus strategy.. We have an internal learning and development platform called Certified International Specialists (CIS). The programme is a global initiative which has reached over 100,000 DHL Express employees in 220 countries and territories; it has been a principal factor in the company's impressive global performance. As a change management initiative, the award winning programme has been instrumental in instituting a cultural transformation within DHL Express and reinforcing the company's international market leadership. All DHL Express employees in Nigeria have been trained on CIS as well as many other specialized programs which fall under the umbrella of Certified International Specialists. The CIS programme is both educational and motivational. All the trainers are company employees and I’m one of the facilitators.
How significant is the West/Central African markets for future growth? There are many opportunities here in West Africa and there is an abundance of opportunities outside of the oil and gas industry. With a lot of investments and trading being done here, West Africa is very strategic not just for us but many businesses. You have one of the largest African economies here, and if you also look at the diversity of all the economies all the way from Senegal down to Cameroon and across to Central Africa and Chad, there are multiple business opportunities and it hasn't reached maturity. So if anything, we are still in our infancy in this particular side of the world but one cannot deny the fact that the opportunities exist and with the ongoing trends in the global markets, we believe the odds favour this region and this is one of the reasons why West/Central Africa is very strategic for our business in Sub Saharan Africa.
How do you see the trend in the Nigerian mail and parcel market? The trends have evolved quite a bit. As we know the oil and gas industry is being suppressed because of the drop in the price of crude. What we’ve seen in the last couple of years is the emergence of the high-tech industry especially the advent of smartphones with people wanting to get connected. The other sector that is booming down here is e-commerce with the likes of Jumia, Konga, Yudala competing in the market.
How involved is DHL Express with e-commerce expands and also, how do you manage security concerns? We are heavily involved with e-commerce and it has continued to grow. Recently, the mechanics of e-commerce has started to evolve from the traditional e-commerce system to a more market-based one where buyers and sellers are brought together and a company like DHL provides transport or logistics to the buyer and seller. Nigerians are very high-tech savvy so e-commerce is a natural progression for growth. More than that, a lot of Nigerians who went overseas for education are coming back to help drive the economy. So, despite the sheer fact that we have the largest population in Africa, we have a very big consumer market so if you’re in the consumer segment of the market, this is really the place to be.
If you have to move e-commerce, you need fast and reliable speed to market. When people buy something online, they want it quick and if you look at the growth of our industry, probably the fastest growing segment is e-commerce not just here but worldwide. That is why we have a lot of investment in technology and handling these person-to-person deliveries to our consumers is becoming a very important part of our business and it will continue to be that way in the years to come.
Security is a top priority for DHL Express. We have aircraft that not only fly domestically within countries but internationally across borders so we have to be careful with what we put on those aircraft so as to ensure we continue to remain compliant with our security policies and procedures.
To what extent does the Nigerian economy rely on logistical services and express shipping companies? Logistics facilitates connectivity which is important for economic growth. DHL's own research, conducted with IHS Global Insight, has shown that SMEs who trade internationally are twice as successful as those who trade only within their own market - so connecting with global opportunities is key to success.
Innovation is one of DHL's key strategic priorities. Why does innovation occupy such an important role in the group's strategy? Innovation is critical to ensure that we continue to make incremental improvements to our processes - and the end goal of improving the customer experience. On the e-commerce side, we have some locations called DHL Pack stations so we don’t actually make a delivery to the end user, we provide a service point that has multiple electronic lockers and the clients can collect their shipments at a convenient time, using protective passcodes to access the lockers. We have also introduced scanner units in 26 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, as part of our Global Courier Application deployment. These pocket sized Android-based scanners come equipped with touchscreens, built-in location services as well as GPS navigation capabilities, enabling customers to track parcels in real-time. With the new scanner units, customers are able to sign on the device's touchscreen and within 15 minutes, the electronic proof of delivery will be made available on the DHL.com website.
How would you describe your role in driving the culture at DHL? I am the chief energy officer for the West and Central African region so I live by example and keep my team motivated, well trained and happy. We have shared values, goals and targets because it’s a large company but at the same time, it’s a family company. I’ve been in the company for 35 years now and I learn something new every day.
Retraction: Last Monday, the print version of this interview erroneously omitted attributing the introductory note to African Business Magazine. We regret this error.
The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, on Tuesday briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the outcome of Nigeria's outing at the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. Briefing State House correspondents in Abuja after a meeting with the President, Dalung disclosed that he briefed Buhari on the performance, challenges and progress recorded by Nigeria's Rio Olympics contingent.
He said the President appreciated Team Nigeria's performance, and challenged the athletes and officials to do more at future international competitions for the country to move forward in sports development.
“It is normal for you, after somebody has sent you, to come back and discuss with the person before you now start talking outside. “So, all I did was to brief the President on our performance, the challenges we had, the progress we made. This is because in 2016 Nigeria was celebrated.
“Two Nigerian athletes particularly, Aruna Quadri and Chierika Ukogu, were recognised internationally in Rio. That is happening to Nigeria. It is an achievement. “And I also requested from him (President Buhari) the support to get a date to organise a reception for our Dream Team VI which got a bronze medal for us.
“He (President Buhari) also appreciated our performance and thanked us for doing the country proud and keeping the flag flying. “He challenged us to do more for the country so as to move forward in sports,'' Dalung said.
The minister dismissed calls for his resignation due to Team Nigeria's “below expectation'' performance at Rio, saying sports development's problem in the country had gone beyond his resignation as minister. He said the country's sports system needs a total overhauling, pointing out that the country must develop a sports developmental model where talents would be identified, developed and groomed.
Dalung assured that the National Youth Games would be fully resuscitated for identification of young talents to boost sporting activities in the country.
After two bruising quarters marked by attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger delta and ballooning inflation, Nigeria is expected on Wednesday to announce it is officially in recession.
The news shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sales of oil at a high price had made Nigeria the biggest economy in Africa.
But when the price of crude crashed from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 to below $50 today, Nigeria’s fortunes followed.
Reacting to the dramatic decline in state revenue, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ended costly fuel subsidies and finally devalued the naira in June after upholding a controversial currency peg for months.
But Buhari’s policies have yet to inspire any real confidence at a time when inflation is hovering around 16.5 per cent and getting dollars is still a throbbing headache.
One dollar is now worth over 400 naira on the parallel market, up from 340 in January. “We can’t get dollars,” one black market seller complained, “we’re even accepting bills from 2003″.
The shortage keeps investors away and makes life tough for local businesses.
"You don’t have to be an economist to know that any system that allows you to sit in your garden, and with a telephone call make one billion naira without investing a kobo, that system is wrong,” said Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, who served as Nigeria’s central bank governor under the previous administration.
Buhari’s refusal to devalue the naira for months kept “foreign investors waiting on the sidelines”, Daniel Richards, West Africa analyst for BMI Research, told AFP.
“The uncertainty that has surrounded monetary policy in Nigeria over the past 18 months has been the biggest constraint on growth after lower oil prices.”
Nigeria’s economy will likely show a decline of 1.6 percent in the three months through June, estimated Bloomberg News, following a 0.4 percent year-on-year contraction in the first quarter.
This year gross domestic product could contract by 1.8 per cent, according to the International Monetary Fund.
– ‘Execution risk’ –
Buhari has been frank in his assessment of the beleaguered Nigerian economy.
In his May speech commemorating his one-year anniversary in office, the president said he inherited “decrepit” infastructure and the oil refineries in a “state of disrepair”.
His plan to kickstart the economy has two priorities: one is to tackle endemic corruption, the other is to diversify the economy.
Buhari’s anti-corruption drive has been largely met with applause. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is doggedly persuing top politicians who allegedly looted millions from state coffers.
Yet the response to his expansionary budget designed to wean Nigeria off oil has been tepid.
“It projects a very large increase in non-oil revenue of 70 per cent”, said Moody’s Investors Service in April, adding that “the government’s objectives are extremely amibitous.”
In reality, said Moody’s, “since 2012, non-oil tax revenue has gradually grown but at a much lower pace.”
Razia Khan, Africa economist at Standard Chartered Bank, has similar concerns.
“A very ambitious budget was outlined, but we know from the past that Nigeria doesn’t have a good record in delivering on time,” Khan said.
“In the longer term the execution risk is all about revenue mobilisation. Is Nigeria going to be able to sustain this spending without amassing great debt?”
– Power barrier –
The sluggish growth could go on for “another two years”, said Dawn Dimowo, an analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice.
Even if the oil price rebounds and rebels stop sabotaging oil production, Nigeria has to address its decript infrastructure and revamp its refineries.
“There is a critical need for massive investments in infrastructure and import replacement, which will take years to come through,” Dimowo said.
“Power is a major barrier, that sector needs to be a priority”, she said.
Electricity production, which already was faltering before the crisis, barely reached 2500 megawatts for its 170 million inhabitants.
By contrast, South Africa — with a population less than a third of Nigeria’s — has a power capacity of 40,000 megawatts.
Without power, growth may improve but diversifying the economy will be near impossible, explained Richards.
“If import substitution is to be realised and the manufacturing sector bolstered, then more headway must be made in improving power supply.”
As more and more African countries are confronted with security challenges, the President of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa (NNHRI-WA), Prof. Bem Angwe, has called on them to provide educational opportunities and employment for youths so as to check insurgency.
Prof Angwe, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, spoke at the 2016 Annual General Assembly of the Network in Abuja in Abuja, during which he condemned the high level of violation of rights to education and employment in the region.
Prof. Bem Angwe
Angwe noted with dismay the growing vices which he said had combined to erode the rights and dignity of the people.
Prof. Angwe said each country in West Africa was confronted with diverse forms of security challenges thereby distracting them from providing the needed support and opportunities for their nationals.
Angwe said: "Basic rights like freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression and the press are routinely trampled upon.
"Press freedom remains under siege in many countries. The right of women to equality and freedom from fear of discrimination is common. Religion and cultures combine to undermine the realization of equality in West Africa".
"Prison conditions are dire with overcrowding, poor feeding and absence of rehabilitation facilities are key issues. Poor prison conditions violate numerous human rights and this must be addressed urgently.
"The rights to education and employment are violated without remedies. Youth unemployment is dangerous trend that must be arrested. The use of child labour in plantation farms and an artisanal mine violate international law and dehumanises the child. In Nigeria, Niger and Mali, the use of children for the promotion of insurgency is deplorable and regrettable".
Prof. Angwe also condemned what he called "the serial violation of the right to participate in government as required under Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the applicable ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
The Executive Secretary if the NHRC noted that when the right to participate in public affairs is violated, it means that community citizens are unable to vote for the candidates of their choice during elections.
The President of ECOWAS, who was represented by Mr. Eyisan Okorodudu, said that the Commission had taken steps to improve the process of monitoring human rights framework with a holistic outlook from the perspective of the ordinary community by taking time to bring CSOs to produce reports on human rights situation in West Africa.
He noted that by 2017, the first of the reporting would be circulated in the region with a view to addressing the gaps noticed across the region and pleaded with the member states to work with the secretariat in promoting thematic issues especially rights to education, employment and good health.
Meanwhile the secretariat of the NNHRI-WA, headed by Mr. Saka Azimazi said that the objective of the meeting was largely to examine the human rights situation in West Africa and the challenges faced by national institutions in upholding their mandate and offering remedies for human rights violations.
In his opening statement, the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for West Africa, Mr. Andrea Ori advocated for credible and effective national partners that can contribute on the side of or jointly with governments and civil society in the effective implementation of international human rights instruments, and the expansion of the human rights culture among the public in general.
Arsenal’s Olympic silver-medallist Serge Gnarby is set for a transfer back to Germany, Werder Bremen’s sports director said on Tuesday.
“We have an agreement in principle with Arsenal, but it is not yet signed,” Bremen boss Frank Baumann told reporters.
“We have agreed terms with the player and I really think it will happen.”
Gnarby, 21, played all six matches for Germany at the Rio de Janeiro games as his side lost the final to Brazil on penalties.
Having joined the Gunners in 2011 from Stuttgart’s academy, Gnarby spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion and has only made a handful of Premier League appearances for Arsenal since 2012.
Bremen badly need reinforcements after being drubbed 6-0 by defending champions Bayern Munich last Friday on the opening weekend of the new Bundesliga season, less than a week after their shock German Cup defeat at third-division Sportfreunde Lotte
ABUJA: Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chief Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, disclosed that the administration has concluded plans to award the contract for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
Chief Amaechi, who said this while speaking at the one year memorial lecture in honour of Human Rights Activist and former General Secretary of Alliance for Credible Election, ACE-Nigeria, late Comrade Emma Ezeazu, in Abuja, said contracts for Kano-Kaduna and Calabar-Port Harcourt railway project would also be signed before the end of this week.
File photo: From Left: Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria; Managing Director, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Mr Jack Lee; Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi and Director of Rail Transportation, Mr Mohammed Babakobi, during the Minister's inspection of the Abuja-Kaduna Rail Project ..
The memorial lecture with theme; Advancing the Frontiers of Progressive Governance, was organised by Emma Ezeazu Mandate Group.
Meanwhile, the former governor, while giving reasons why he dumped his former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to pitch tent with the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, explained that he left the then ruling party because he was made an orphan.
According to him, "The President agenda is not just to recover loots. We are recovering as much as we can. But the president is determined to create employment. That is why you can see his focus. In transportation, from Kaduna to Abuja, we have created over 700 workforce. What did I do? I said all the villages or those communities along the route; I said they should give them level six down. March on that railway.
"Their job is to march on that railway from the beginning to the end to see there was no security breach. The rest of applicants will go online to apply for the jobs. They said if we publish people will die the way it happened during immigration recruitment exercise and they will say Amaechi should resign (thunderous laughters)
"The President called a meeting last week and requested too be briefed on what we are doing in terms of the railway. This year, we will start Lagos-Ibadan, railway project. You know the difference between us and the rest, we will not say go and start we will look for counterpart funding.
"We will bring our counterpart fund as poor as the country is now and give to the Chinese because their money is already in their bank account. It is for us to bring our own. If we bring our own they bring their own to make sure there is no delay, we will bring all our own to give them and say go and start work.
"If that happened, in two years, Lagos-Ibadan will be ready. Tomorrow I will sign the contracts for Calabar-Port Harcourt railway project. Before the week runs out, I will sign Kano-Kduna. That is what we are doing. This is to show you that we are moving away from the corruption economy to production economy."
Amaechi, while recalling the students' union activities were eventful during their time when the late Comrade Emma Ezeazu was President of National association of Nigerian Students, NANS, lamented that student union has drifted to the lowest ebb.
According to him, "Recall 1983 to 1987 there were no speeches, there were actions. I reminded President Muhammadu Buhari and I said student when you were Head of State I was among those who used to sing all sorts of things about him because there were demonstrations in all the schools everyday.
"Then, they were closing university down everyday because we are not addressing give us hostels, give us water, give us rive, we are addressing national issues and the closure of schools were because we will not agree to any national issue we thought was against the people. Now, NANS president has a convoy and has SAs, and his office is located in the villa."
On the dying agitation for good governance, he said, "When I listen to all of you I laugh, I laugh because the poor has lost.either thoroughly beaten by the ruling class has lost the ability to resist. So, those resisting now is no longer the poor, it is the ruling class resisting themselves."
Responding to a remarks by the guest lecturer, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, the minister said, "He made analysis now and I laughed when he talked about nomadism in the politic of Nigeria and I laughed. While I laughed is that he knew little or nothing of what was going on. And I want to be put on record, I was made orphan including oil bloc.
"And I said no, Nigeria was going under and I won't continue to support this government. And I have to move, I was kept on the table for discussions, not one meeting, not two or three meetings. I was taken out of the country for meetings for me to remain in PDP. I was made orphan that when you see it you will say, what is my business with this Nigeria?
"But at that time, it was between me my conscience and the Nigerian country. I could have taken those offers. I was the beautiful bride. If you remember one of the speeches I made as governor at the Freedom Park, and I said if you people continue to look at us, we will steal everything. And there will be nothing left for you to eat. That until you begin to stone us. There will be no stop to stealing. You can't stop to stealing."
On the issue of transparent, he said "The system built for you to be transparent. When you are not transparent does not mean the system is not there. It means that you just undermine the system. There is a contract you will award, the system said no; advertise it for everybody to bid.
"That system is ridiculous. It will only offer you what is called single source. You will approach them and say you want single source and when they give you single source and because you want to break the rule of law no one will even apply and you just say contract come and do this thing and nothing happened. Nothing happened because the President of the country does not want anything to happen."
In his lecture, the Director General of Electoral Institute, Professor Chidi Odinkalu blamed the corruption and underdevelopment of the country to the consequences of the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, introduced by the President Ibrahim Babangida's administration in 1986.
Prof. Odinkalu regretted that Nigeria never recovered from the SAP, which according top him led to wreck unprecedented havoc on the economy, with the collapses of the manufacturing sector of the economy.
He said, every other countries that were at par with Nigeria then have left us behind because of the adjustment.
His words, “Next stop: Lagos! This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I’ll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I’m excited to learn as much as I can.
Our first stop is the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps. I’m looking forward to meeting more people here!” He noted.
…as over 5,000 CSOs March in Abuja to support Buhari
The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE), a coalition of over 5000 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on Tuesday, in Abuja, held a rally to appreciate the successes recorded by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government and the current military leadership in the war against insurgency.
Members of Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE), during their March in Abuja, to support President Muhammadu Buhari
Addressing journalists during the rally which kicked off at the federal secretariat and ended at Office of the Secretary to the Federation (SGF), Secretary General of the Coalitions, Comrade Daniel Obaje said since the government of President Buhari came into office, significant progress has been made in addressing the security breaches that had threatened the integrity of Nigeria.
He said areas where Boko Haram once set up camp have been cleared, adding that some displaced persons are already beginning to return to their homeland.
He said, “The Army freed over 5000 persons that the terrorists once held captive even as efforts are being intensified to free those that are yet to regain freedom.
He said, “Remnants of the terrorists are risking death to flee across the desert into the Mediterranean. The group in its defeat can only now think of hit and run attacks by drug addicted fighters who now increasingly opt to fail in their assignment so that the military can capture them for rehabilitation.
“The recent weeks have seen the higher echelon of Boko Haram decimated with several commanders killed in troops' operations. Others have been captured, which has left the group being fragmented with split in its leadership. Everything points to a group that has been finished.
“We therefore want to urge Mr President not relent in continuing with measures that will ensure Boko Haram terrorists are not allowed to regroup anywhere on our territory ever again. In fact, we urge that Nigeria does all that is necessary to make sure these killers do not regroup in Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic, all of which share borders with us.
Responding on behalf of the SGF, Ibrahim Bapetel Hasan, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on policy development analysis said the report will be passed to the President Buhari
He thanked the coalition for acknowledging the efforts of the current administration in the war against Boko Haram, saying obviously, much progress has been made since President Buhari came into office.
He said the current administration is happy that Nigerians acknowledge the efforts of the military.
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
The PDP running mate John Yakubu yesterday accused Governor Adams Oshiomhole of failing to provide N1 billion to fund the accreditation of programmes in the Ambrose Alli University while at the same time pumping N40 billion in the same period to the new university in his village.
Yakubu spoke as an Esan socio-cultural group, the Ikolo Esan, urged the Esan nation to reject the APC for the marginalisation of the area by the outgoing Oshiomhole administration.
At an interactive session in Benin weekend that was well attended by Esan sons and daughters within and outside the Edo State capital, participants agreed that the Esan nation had not fared well under the Oshiomhole's administration and that he repeatedly ignored cries of marginalization made by the Esan people.
They accused Governor Oshiomhole of putting his Etsako nation ahead of other groups in the state in terms of developmental projects and political appointments, adding that the Esan nation was the worst hit by the lopsided appointments and projects.
Members of the Ikolo Esan hailed the PDP for nominating an Esan man, Mr. John Yakubu, as running mate to the party's governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, saying the future of Esanland was more secured under the PDP.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Yakubu said Governor Oshiomhole's plan for the Esan nation was to make them politically irrelevant, saying the September 10 governorship election presented an opportunity to Esans to unite and fight their marginalization and humiliation by the APC government.
He further briefed the people how Comrade Oshiomhole allegedly stopped the Ibore and Okhunlen erosion projects the Federal Government planned to execute in Edo Central Senatorial District, adding that the only way they could put a stop to the present marginalization was to vote for the PDP.
He said, "While Governor Oshiomhole could spend up to N40 billion in Iyamho University, he could not fund Ambrose Alli University with at least N1 billion so that the NUC would not de-accredit some of the courses there. On his part, the Chairman of the occasion, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Benin, Prof Abhulimen Richard Anao, said the reason they came together was to pursue the interests of the Esan nation and that the Esan people should have a say in the affairs of Edo State.
APC chieftain Elder Sunny Uyigue, Monday, declared that the gods of Benin land would never allow the PDP come back to power in the state.
Speaking to journalists yesterday, Uyigue said Ize-Iyamu was the worst decision the PDP could have produced given what he claimed as the candidate's relationship with the past PDP government in Edo State.
He also praised Governor Adams Oshiomhole for his performance in office saying that he had never seen a governor who performed like him since he joined politics.
According to Uyigue, "the campaign has been going on well, but PDP has started what they know best which is violence, but that will back fire. They are organizing thugs, creating tension where there is none. There is no magic that can make the PDP win this election; Oshiomhole has done what Napoleon could not do when it comes to Edo State politics.
"Since I joined politics, I am yet to see a governor like him. Before, the PDP used to tell us how mammy water has stopped them from constructing roads, but today where is the Mammy water. Oshiomhole is constructing roads everywhere, schools, look at the hospital he built even if you are sick and go there you will be healed immediately.
By Elizabeth Nwandu Coastal bus drivers Monday boycotted Okoko / CMS route to protest the alleged killing of their chairman, Sunday evening by a Mobile policeman.
The deceased, identified simply as Salau Fatai was said to have been hit by a stray bullet from a Mobile policeman, at Doyin bus-stop in Orile area of Lagos.
The policeman with an undisclosed identity was escorting a jeep. He was said to have fired some shots into the air apparently to disperse vehicles which blocked the road, only for a stray bullet to hit Fatai. .
One of the protesting drivers, Ishola Manni who spoke with this reporter, said: Our chairman and colleague, Fatai, popularly called Oshe was killed by a Mobile policeman on Sunday. He died leaving behind a wife and five children. Who will take care of them? he asked .
An eye witness, Ebere Madu explained: "I was attending to some customers when we heard some gun shots. Everyone ran away, thinking it was a robbery operation. But by the time the whole place was clam, we were told that a man who was hit by a stray bullet fired by a Mobile policeman was lying in the pool of his blood.
“When the Policeman realised what happened, he disappeared from the scene, leaving the vehicle he was escorting. Some boys in the area swung into action and arrested the occupant of the jeep whom they handed over to policemen at Orile division. The corpse was taken to the police station, from where it was taken to another location".
A mechanic, who identified himself simply as Fashola, said that the incident happened barely an hour after the deceased left his work shop.
He said: "He brought his vehicle, a coastal bus for repairs at my workshop at school bus-stop. In the process, an apprentice of his, Kehinde, came in his vehicle to collect something from the deceased. Thereafter, he told me he was going home (Oko-Afor) they left in Kehinde’s vehicle at about 6pm. Barely one hour later, I got a telephone call that he was killed by a stray bullet".
BY UGOCHUKWU ALARIBE Tragedy struck in Aba at the weekend when an unknown operative of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as 'Bakassi Boys', shot dead a female birthday celebrant at a popular eatery in Ariaria area of the city.
Eyewitnesses told Vanguard that the celebrant was attracted to sporadic gunshots being fired by the AVS operative and appealed to him to stop as her guests were terrified. But the gun allegedly went off and hit the celebrant who died on the spot.
The incident caused tension in the area, forcing customers at the fast food centre to scamper to safety while business owners shut their shops.
The AVS operative would have been lynched by an angry mob but for the timely intervention of a police patrol team who was alerted to the scene.
"The lady was celebrating her birthday at the fast food. She went outside as her guests complained of gunshots being fired. The lady was asking him why he shot into the air having known that she was hosting her friends at the fast food. As she approached the Bakassi man, we heard another gunshot and the lady shouting for help. She died before she could receive medical attention, "eyewitnesses said.
A team of policemen later took her corpse away amidst a crowd of tears from sympathizers.
Attempts to reach the spokesman of the Abia state police command ,ASP Ogbonnaya? Nta proved abortive, but a senior Police officer at the Ariaria Division said the matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Umuahia.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said only qualified teachers, who were duly registered, would be allowed to teach in the country to ensure professionalism. Adamu said this while briefing newsman on the sidelines on the presentation of a draft roadmap tagged “Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan 2016-2019'' to education stakeholders in Abuja on Monday.
He said the teaching profession had declined and there was need to ensure professionalism to improve the quality of education. “ Teacher education itself is dying simply because non professionals have now become teachers. “ Therefore, the professionalisation and registration of teachers will help make sure that the profession is reorganized with quacks kicked out.
“So nobody should be employed as a teacher if he or she does not have a teaching qualification; there is no magic if you are not qualified as a teacher: you cannot teach," Adamu said. According to the Minister, teaching qualification means the person has undergone the course of philosophy of education and the method of teaching.
Adamu said the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TCN) was in the forefront of ensuring that only qualified and registered teachers would be allowed to teach in Nigeria. The Minister listed funding as one of the major challenges in the sector, saying that it has not been fully funded.
He mentioned other ichallenges in the sector to include: out-of- school children, cultism, exam malpractice and indiscipline. “Only 17 per cent of applicants are admitted into the university and there are 11 million out- of- school children.
“About 25.3 million students at all levels of education are out- of- school in the country.'' Adamu expressed the hope that the strategic plan would help address the problems in the education sector, saying "this document is the solution to the problems in the sector".
In recent times, mobile phone makers are putting huge marketing budgets behind the promotion of, what is now the modern world's most expensive toy- smartphones.
A growing culture that combines modern city life and smartphones is believed to be one of the drivers for the sales of very expensive, high-end smartphones across markets.
But as analysts try to validate sales with advanced mobile specifications and overall improved productivity from super smartphones, sociologists suggest a more emotional reason for the growing adoption of high-end smartphones.
"You cannot rule out the positive perception that goes with owning an expensive toy. A lot of the mobile users we polled hinted lifestyle statement as being part of the reason they had bought a high-end device"-says a sociologist researching mobile trends in emerging markets.
High-end smartphone brands the likes of Samsung S7, Tecno Phantom5, HTC M9 and LG G5 have successfully pitched ground-breaking upgrades in camera specs, processor grades, security protocol and overall hardware design to consumers and made impressive sales on release.
The new trend
Not minding the heavy price tags on top flagships, more mobile users are opting for big budget smartphones.
The driving force? Productivity and durability.
Next Tecno Phantom-4K video enabled, VR compatible, triple layer security and while staying ultra-slim.
If the rumored September release of Tecno Phantom drops with the specifications making rounds, this smartphone could be the most talked about super smartphone of the year.
Tecno as a mobile brand has worked hard over the years to reposition brand perception with the Phantom flagship - establishing a sense of class amongst its users looking for something fresh.
Disputed National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, said his faction of the party would review outcome of its primary election for governorship election in Ondo state.
He said, in a statement in Abuja on Monday that the faction's National Working Committee (NWC) would review the process of the election, held earlier on Monday in Ibadan, Oyo state.
In the primary which had three of the five aspirants withdrawing from the race, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim emerged the candidate.
But in the statement signed by the faction's National Organizing Secretary, Mr Okey Nnaedozie, Sheriff said that soon after the election, the NWC started receiving “series of serious phone calls and petitions regarding the processes''
He said that while the result from the exercise was at “best tentative'' until approved by the NWC, the process and the result would be reviewed.
“The NWC wishes to assure all aspirants, stakeholders, members and teeming supporters of the party in the state that it will comprehensively review the processes and circumstances of the exercise accordingly.
“This decision is as a result of serious reports claiming that proper accreditation was not done for the exercise.
“The review therefore will enable the NWC take an informed decision on whether to conduct a fresh primary or uphold the result from the exercise,'' he said.
Sheriff added that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given political parties up to Sept. 19 to conduct their primaries for the Ondo governorship election.
It would be recalled that on Aug. 22, in Akure, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, emerged candidate of PDP primary election for the Ondo governorship election conducted by the National Caretaker Committee led by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi.
The Africa Union (AU) has stated that the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) can be richer than Dangote because the scheme is accepted in all parts of the country for the skills it has and is still imparting in the youths. To this end, the AU has indicated its willingness to partner the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in skills acquisition for youths in Nigeria.
The AU Envoy in Nigeria, Dr Tunji Asaolu, gave the indication on Monday in Abuja when he paid a courtesy visit to the Director- General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Sule Kazaure. Asaolu noted that the NYSC was the only body that could help the Federal Government to reduce the burden of unemployment in Nigeria.
“We want to partner NYSC, using corps members to run teachers volunteer scheme and use these teachers in a survey and those who perform well will be retained. “We are encouraging people to develop skills in production and agriculture; our partnership will create jobs, enrich the economy and develop the country at large.
“NYSC can be richer than Dangote because it is accepted in all parts of the country. “Some programmes that can help engage youths are Africa Youth Volunteer Corps, Pan Africa Safety Commission and so on. “With the intervention programmes that we have, we will see how we can subsidise to enable us to achieve the goal,'' Asaolu said.
Asaolu said that if corps members were making and using products made by NYSC, the organisation could become a big company of its own. Responding, Kazaure, pledged to key into the partnership and added that a technical committee had been set up to meet with the AU. He said NYSC was ready to partner AU to empower and improve the lives of Nigerians.
Ekiti state governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, on Monday signed the "Anti Grazing Bill 2016" recently passed by the House of Assembly. The bill was sponsored by the executive after the killing of two persons by suspected herdsmen in Oke Ako community in Ikole Local Government Area of the state.
The new law criminalises grazing in some places and certain time limit in the state. Signing the bill, Fayose said that the new law would check cases of incessant attacks or killings of local residents and destruction of farmlands by herdsmen and their cattle.
He said that the law would also strengthen security in various communities across the state, adding that anyone that fouled the law stood the risk of being treated as terrorist. "With the signing into law of this bill today, anyone caught grazing with arms or any weapon in Ekiti would now be charged with terrorism and be made to face the law according to certain sections of it.
"The same goes for those who graze in prohibited areas or go against the time frame of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. allowed for open grazing,'' the governor said. Giving an overview of the bill earlier, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Kolawole Oluwawole, said that the assembly gave it accelerated hearing as part of its collaborative efforts towards maintaining peace and order in the state.
According to Oluwawole, the state government was already working with local government authorities to allocate portions of land for grazing in their areas. He explained that grazing must henceforth be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on daily basis and that the government would allot portions of land to each local government area in that regard.
"Anyone caught grazing on portions of land or any farmland not allotted by government shall be apprehended and made to face the law.
"Any herdsman caught with firearms and any weapons whatsoever during grazing shall be charged with terrorism. "Any cattle confiscated shall be taken to government cattle ranch at Erifun and Iworoko Ekiti community in the state.
"Any farm crop destroyed by the activities of any apprehended herdsman shall be estimated by agricultural officers and the expenses of the estimate shall be borne by the culprit. "Any herdsman who violates any of these rules shall be imprisoned for six months without option of fine,” the speaker said.
I will cut taxes; disband touts in Edo-Onaiwu, APGA candidate
By Omeiza Ajayi
As the Election Day draws nearer, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Governorship candidate in Edo State, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, has promised to reduce the taxes being imposed on the citizens so as to mitigate their economic woes.Osaro Onaiwu
Onaiwu said it was wrong to impose multiple taxes on the people of the state while touting (popularly called agbero) had become a part of the administration, scaring away prospective investors and genuine businessmen from the state.
"I will from day one ensure that our people pay less taxes as against the current multiple taxes being imposed on Edolites and immediately disband touts (popularly called agbero) so as to encourage both large small scale businesses in the State.
The governorship candidate, who made the promise on Monday while on morning bus ride with co-passengers in the popular 'Comrade Bus' in Benin City, said the action was to enable him feel the pulse of the people with a view to designing grassroots programmes and projects to meet their needs when he becomes governor next month.
Onaiwu, said his party, APGA, has a well structured and implementable manifesto that centres on Employment, Agriculture, Empowerment, Trade and Commerce and Infrastructure.
The former Director-General of Nigeria Governors' forum and former Special Adviser to former Governor Samuel Ogbemudia of the defunct Bendel State, appealed to eligible voters in the coming election to vote APGA for good governance, accountability and progress.
Osao Onaiwu, who pleaded with the people to give him the chance to prove himself, promised not to disappoint Edo people if elected into office.
Pharmaceutical professionals, institutional investors, policy makers and key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries from across the world will in September hold a public discourse in Lagos to reflect on the developments, challenges and opportunities in the sector.
The discourse, dubbed Africa Pharmaceutical Summit and Exhibition, which is the 4TH in series, has the theme: Driving Forward Improvement in pharmaceutical Industry: A Clear Framework for Investment and will hold September 6 and 7.
Miles Mudzviti, Founder, PharmaAfrica and organiser of the summit, said it will focus on the pharmaceutical and healthcare investment landscape in Nigeria, state of innovation in the industries, future prospects and barriers for pharmaceutical manufacturing industries, the imperative for WHO prequalification, future landscape of health insurance, good distribution systems and practices in the industries.
The summit, Mudzviti added, will also feature its inaugural Forum of Health Commissioners, during which key policies of government will be analysed and discussed using the peer review mechanism. "It is a gathering for the exchange of ideas, know how, sharing of experiences as well as serving as a place to obtain a broad overview of the industry's s latest trends, and that extensive summit agenda will compliment the exhibition," he added.
PharmaAfrica, according to him, has recognition in the global pharma arena, for reoffering a platform to enable growth of quality pharmaceutical industry in the continent that can competitively contribute to the healthcare needs of the citizens.
Worried about the rising cases of cervical cancer among Nigerian women, Executive Director of the Sebeccly Cancer Care and Support Centre, Dr. Omolola Salako has enjoined Nigerian women to embrace regular cervical screening to ensure prompt treatment of the life threatening condition.
Salako made the call during a free cervical cancer screening for over 300 female employees of the Lagos State Public Service, in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, with support from the America Cancer Society recently in Lagos.
She expressed worry that Nigerian women were dropping dead on a daily basis due to late presentation at the various centres when little or nothing could be done to reverse the condition.
Salako explained that if women take advantage of routine screening, most of the cervical cancers could be detected early and prompt treatment could reverse them and even save the lives of affected women.
“We are here in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviations to screen more than 300 women in Ikeja community. “The theme of the campaign is “1K Cervix,” she said. Salako said the essence of this grant is to promote cervical cancer awareness and screening as well as research.
“In terms of screening, it is an opportunity to screen 1000 women at no cost and follow them up if there are abnormalities,” she added.
Speaking, the Commissioner for WAPA, Mrs. Lola Akande said the Programme which was organised for female employees in the Lagos State Public Service is in line with the mandate of WAPA, which is concerned with total development of all women groups in the state. “This screening is purposely to screen women for signs and symptoms of cervical cancer before it manifests in the system," Mrs. Akande noted.
Akande said the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation would extend the screening to other groups of women in the nearest future and called on all female civil servants to avail themselves of medical screening facilities at their doorstep.
On his part, a Consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecologist, Dr. Kehinde Okunade, noted that although, the knowledge of cervical cancer was extremely low among the beneficiaries, after the lectures which usually precede the screening it increases the level of awareness among the women.
Police in Kano on Monday arraigned three Hisba guards for allegedly assaulting a reporter with the Kano-based Radio station, Express Radio, Malam Abdullahi Isah. The suspects, Dahiru Murtala, Auwalu Ibrahim and Farouk Usman, were charged for criminally assaulting and confiscating gadgets belonging to the reporter.
The prosecutor, Cpl. Sani Mohammed, had told the Shahuci Upper Sharia Court sitting in Kano that the victim was beaten to pulp and pushed to ground in the presence of people, who converged on the premises of the Kano Trade Fair Complex on Saturday.
The prosecutor said people were at the complex to attend a lecture organized at the behest of a renowned veteran broadcaster, Malam Ahmed Isah. However, counsel to the defendants, Mr Nabahani Usman, prayed the court to grant his clients the chance for an out-of-court settlement.
He said this would provide the clients the chance for an amicable settlement in view of the immense contribution the Hisba Board was getting from the radio station.
On his part, counsel to the radio station, Mr Audu Bukarti, described the development as a great victory to the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of those criminally assaulted and manhandled in the course of discharging their constitutional responsibility.
Granting bail to the accused, the Presiding Officer, Malam Garba Ahamad, adjourned the case to Sept. 28, to enable both parties look into the possibility of out-of-court settlement.
The Rivers Police Command said on Monday that the killers of Port Harcourt-based human rights lawyer,Mr Ken Atsuwete, would be brought to justice.
Mr Nnamdi Omoni, a DSP, and Public Relations Officer of the command, told a news conference in Port Harcourt that Atsuwete was killed at 6.00 a.m. on Monday.
He said that the police had commenced investigation into the incident and would ensure that the killers were arrested and prosecuted.
Omoni described the incident as “ pure assassination".
According to him, the lawyer had contacted the police to inform them that there was kidnapping in his area, at Umuogba,Aluu community in Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that Atsuwete might have been shot in his car after struggling with the armed men.
“ The killers used Atsuwete`s car to escape, abandoned it, ran into another car and escaped with it.
“ This is an unfortunate thing that has happened. His body has been deposited at the mortuary and police investigation has commenced.
“ Ken was the voice of the voiceless. The killers would be brought to justice soon," Omoni said.
Air Peace has issued hundreds of free business and economy class tickets to its loyal customers who have earned enough points under the airline's frequent flyer programme tagged "Peace Advantage."
In a message sent to the qualified customers, the airline said it was grateful to them for their loyalty and patronage.
"You have kept faith with us and continued to make Air Peace your airline of choice. On behalf of the chairman and management of Air Peace, please accept our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations," the airline said.
"The Peace Advantage package," Air Peace added, "is our way of giving customers a well-deserved appreciation for their decision to fly with us always. With a Peace Advantage card, the traveller gets additional travel time on any destination they wish each time they travel with us."
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ABUJA: Ahead of Saturday’s governorship primary election of his party in Ondo state, President Muhammadu Buhari has exonerated himself from the crisis of confidence rocking the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC.
Locked party secretariat by the group
Mr Buhari spoke Monday in Abuja through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir David Lawal who met with the 24 aspirants of the party.
Briefing journalists at the end of the parley which lasted four hours, Mr Lawal said discussions were peaceful and fruitful.
“The government of President Muhammadu Buhari wishes to reiterate that it has no preferred candidate among the 24 aspirants and that government would do all in its power to provide a level-playing field for all the aspirants.
“We expect that all the aspirants will work hard to win the votes of delegates. In the tradition of APC, we expect that there will be no inducement of delegates or coercion”, he said.
Lawal also assured of adequate deployment of security operatives for the primaries, warning that government would deal decisively with anyone who breaches the peace.
He also added that as a government, the President Buhari-led administration has no preffered aspirant.
He urged the aspirants to unite behind whoever emerges as the candidate saying, “soon, Ondo state would become an APC state”.
“We understand that tension is high due to some underlying factors. The National Working Committee NWC of the party has assured the government and we believe them that everything will be done to ensure that elections are free and fair and we know that no official of the party would do anything to give undue advantage to any aspirant over others.
“We will like to once again reassure you that as a government, we have no preferred candidate.
“Government will come hard on anyone that does anything that in anyway jeopardises the peace and security of Ondo state”, he warned.
He equally told the aspirants that 10 of them were yet to sign an undertaken with the Department of State Services DSS to be of good conduct, urging them to so do.
National Secretary of the party, Mai Mala Buni also restated the position of its leadership to provide a level-playing field for all aspirants.
He said, “This party is committed to providing free and fair election because the calibre of members that we are sending to conduct this primary election are up to the task.
“The question of either camping or inducing delegates, I am sure our delegates are people that no one can control their minds. Nobody at any level will influence their decisions”.
Responding on behalf of the aspirants, Mrs Jumoke Anifowoshe: thanked the president for the reassurances, saying the aspirants are now satisfied and comfortable with the response of the government that the election would be free and fair.
Aspirant and legal luminary, Dr Tunji Abayomi had written a letter accusing a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of endorsing one of the aspirants, Segun Abraham.
Since then, the state chapter of the party had been embroiled in crisis. Efforts by the NWC of the party to calm frayed nerves appeared to have recently hit a brick-wall, as the crisis continues to fester.
Its more excitement in the Nigerian market as mobile users can now enjoy smaller recharge amounts. OneCard Nigeria has introduced N20 and N50 recharge cards into the market. The excitement even gets better as the new recharge cards tops up all mobile networks; Airtel, Etisalat, Glo and MTN.
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Abuja -Ministers of Education , Mallam Adamu Adamu and Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, yesterday denied rumors of any ongoing rift between them since their assumption in office.
In what would be viewed as an impromptu media parley with both Ministers at the venue of the presentation of the sectors road map, 'Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan 2016-2019', both ministers insisted they were and would continue to be great friends.
Adamu accused journalists of being responsible for the rumors which he maintained was targeted at generating headlines that would increase the sales of newspapers and also pull media traffic to the various media outfits in the country.
According to Adamu, "This is the creation of journalists. I don't think that there is any two ministers in this country who are working as closely as Tony and I are doing because we have never disagreed.
"Somebody was asking me a question and that question was actually designed to get a headline and probably somebody wants a headline that is why they said we are quarrelling me and him and unfortunately on that day also, I forgot that you sent Obioma to represent you and didn't recognize his presence. They want to sell their papers.
"Tony and I, I don't think I have seen public servants who don't have any personal agenda. If you don't have any personal agenda you will never have quarrel with anyone and I think our duty is to try to move the education sector forward, that is all,".
Minister of State, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, urged journalists to desist from cooking up stories with a belief it could create nonexistent problems between himself and his principal, Mallam Adamu.
Commenting on his absence during the launch of the National Education Quality Education Assurance Handbook on the 9th of August he said,"The press should stop inventing imaginary things.
"The day in question we have had another appointment with Nigerian breweries and Nigerian breweries is an outfit that conducts the best teachers' Maltina award. By 10am ?they were supposed to be in the office and I had to receive them. I cannot be in two places at the same time so the press is uninformed."
On his letter of resignation to the presidency through the SGF, Anwukah furiously told journalists "This is absolute nonsense, it is stupid. There is no such thing that existed. I never did anytime.
"We are all Nigerians press or no press; I hate stupid insinuations no matter where it comes, from the press or otherwise. The press should please mind its dutiful responsibilities. I sent a letter to who? Get me a copy of the letter from where.
"The press from today, keep it in your brains and in your books and your pen, there can be no better friend I have in Abuja than this man so if you make your insinuations try to find problems where there are no problems, it won't create the problem, please, please," Anwukah pleaded.
