-
Strike: Normal activities continue at Abuja airport
News & Trends •
by sumaila ogbaje3 according to him what the labour is fighting for is for the benefit of all workers which is why every worker must be part of this agitation. nan1 nan reports that normal flight operations are smoothly ongoing at both the arrival and departure sections of the airports1 nan also observed that all major airlines were booking and boarding passengers with airport staff fully on ground for normal services1 mr abdulahi saroke station manager for max air told nan the strike had not affected flight operations in all airports adding that he had received flights from lagos and kano and boarded passengers to those airports1 however saroke said he had heard the news that airports could be shut anytime to join the strike1 in spite of the total shutdown proposed by the organised labour unions in the ongoing nationwide strike normal activities continued on thursday at the nnamdi azikiwe international airport abuja the news agency of nigeria nan reports1 akinjole explained that the delegates conference at which a new leadership of the national union of air transpirt employees nuate would be elected had been planned before the decision by the labour unions to embark on a nationwide strike1 he said the reason why the strike had yet to be enforced at the airports was because all aviation union leaders were out of their stations1 according to him aviation unions are strongly with the nlc on the strike even though we are not on ground to enforce it today1 we are currently in asaba for nuates national delegates conference for today and tomorrow and we shall enforce the compliance in aviation sector as soon as we finish from here he said1 a staff of abuja airport who pleaded anonymity said their various unions had not mobilised them to join the strike. he said a lot of airport workers were willing to support the strike to press home the demands for a new minimum wage in the country.1 when contacted mr francis akinjole general secretary air transport senior staff association of nigeria atssan said that all aviation unions in the country were currently attending their national delegates conference at asaba delta1 -
Osun rerun: Sour grapes by PDPs Adeleke
News & Trends •
senator ademola adeleke the governorship candidate of the peoples democratic party pdp may have already resigned himself to defeat by the candidate of the all progressives congress in the rerun election in the state as he termed the election as a coup1 his comments ran against the grain of incidents in the state and the attempted disruption of voting by thugs of his party1 in osogbo some of the pdp thugs were caught by the police as they attempted to disrupt voting. police had to fire gunshots in the air to restore some normalcy1 in olode ife the pdp polling agent failed to turn up for duty. but agents of at least five other political parties reported for the monitoring of the election1 but in a telephone conversation with punch adeleke described the election as a coup1 what is happening in osun state now is not an election. what we have is a coup1 that is what we are witnessing now. our supporters are being harassed and are not allowed to vote at all1 let the whole world know that this is not the democracy he told a correspondent of punch1 is this sour grapes already even as residents of the state and nigerians await inec to deliver the results from the seven polling units where the rerun took place1 the pdp candidate adeleke went into the rerun with an advantage of 353 votes over the apc candidate. adeleke had 254698 votes while gboyega oyetola of the apc had 254 345 votes1 -
Police restore calm at Osogbo polling unit
News & Trends •
armed policemen quickly restored calm on thursday at one of the polling units ward 5 unit 17 alekuwodo osogbo where the re-run governorship election is taking place1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that at about 12 noon while voting was still going on some street urchins and political thugs took over the area causing problems for the people in the affected area1 the timely intervention of the security personnel drafted to the area who shot into the air scared away the hoodlums causing problem in the area1 as at the time of filing this report the alekuwodo area of osogbo and all the adjoining streets in the area were tense as residents scampered for safety while shops were hurriedly closed1 also at the popular ola-iya a few kilometres away from the polling unit there was heavy security presence with police vehicle stationed at strategic places1 also at biket area osogbo where the pdp secretariat is located hundreds of people mostly youth confronted the security operatives1 the situation however led to open confrontation between the two groups disrupting the free flow of human and traffic for several minutes before it was brought under control1 -
Osun rerun: 16 PDP members masquerading as INEC observers arrested
News & Trends •
the nigeria police force has arrested 16 members of the peoples democratic party that it claimed were in possession of customised inec tags face cap and jackets with the inscription of inec osun 2018 election observer during the osun rerun1 the police also said the suspects who included moshood adejare the pdp house of representatives aspirant in orolu federal constituency were trying to gain access to restricted areas during the rerun election in the state1 police team on stop and search duties at orolu intercepted vehicles with sixteen persons on board in possession of customized inec tags face cap and jackets with the inscription of inec osun 2018 election observer and pdp membership cards the suspects are using the items to have easy access to restricted areas meant for personnel with due accreditation said superintendent folasade odoro the police public relations officer in the dig operations office1 the nigeria police force wishes to debunk report that some accredited inec observers were arrested or denied access to polling units. therefore assuring the good people of osun state and other critical stakeholders of its renewed commitment and resolve to ensure adequate security for a free and fair re-run election while investigation continues odoro said1 apart from adejare the other suspects were identified as olaoye asimi raimi taofeeq gbenga olapade charles amibiogoiu ayomide ayansola kayode dada and daramola segun. others were tunji akinroyinmi kunle adedeji habeeb bahiru yisa sodiq adeolu bamijoko oladipo samson and adeolu bamidele. all the suspects were all men.1 -
Core investors unsettle Nigeria Air
News & Trends •
source63 the last minute pull out of core investors forced nigeria to suspend the establishment of a national carrier nigeria air information and culture minister lai mohammed has disclosed1 he noted however that the project was still on course but that the federal government was trying to now get a better funding structure for the project and provide the enabling environment1 a government will take a holistic view of any intended project and if the understanding of government at the beginning that the project will either be self-financing or would be financed by her investors and it turns out that such a project can no longer be financed by investors either because they are not forthcoming or that such venture can no longer be viable the government this administration would do a rethink1 now the business of government in business is to provide enabling environment and it is not to become the sole source of finance the sole source of funding and in addition it is much more than funding in trying to get our national carrier1 we also need to look at the thinker aspect overall the federal government believes that this thing should be stepped down now till we get a better funding structure but a situation where this kind of thing would be funded by government it cant do it1 muhammed also dismissed insinuations that the minister of state aviation senator hadi sirika did not carry the federal executive council fec along in the entire process adding that if things did not work out as planned the minister should not be blamed1 it doesnt mean that you see you could start a project with a lot of assurances from many quarters and then at the critical point in time those assurances might not materialize so it does not mean that he didnt carry us along from the beginning from the start the federal executive council fec was privy to everything so if anything happened in between i cannot blame the honourable minister for aviation for that1 the minister however gave the assurance that other projects on the aviation roadmap geared towards repositioning the aviation sector including airport concession mro aircraft leasing company among others would be looked into to see if they could still be executed1 i think what we should do is to look at each of these other projects in their own merits and individually and look at whether they can still be executed but i dont think the government should be condemned or criticized if it decides to step down a particular project1 he said in lagos that the decision became necessary because the federal government resolved not to finance the project alone1 i think that four years in the life of any country is a short time this is a work in progress it does not mean that we have completely abandoned or ended it he added1 in the meantime the central bank of nigeria cbn on wednesday gave a notification to revoke the operating licences of 182 other financial institutions in the country1 according to the list released by the regulator on wednesday 154 of the affected institutions are microfinance banks six are primary mortgage banks while the remaining 22 are finance companies1 the cbn said 62 of the microfinance banks had already closed shop 74 became insolvent 12 were terminally distressed while six voluntarily liquidated1 the cbn listed the primary mortgage banks for revocation as accord savings and loans limited in lagos that failed to recapitalise and ahocol savings and loans limited in anambra state government-owned that closed shop1 other mortgage banks for revocation are trans atlantic savings and loans limited in bayelsa state government-owned that became insolvent royal savings and loans limited in delta state that also closed shop amex savings and loans limited in lagos that failed to recapitalise and supreme savings and loans limited also in lagos that closed shop1 the cbn disclosed that eight finance companies voluntary liquidated 13 failed to recapitalise while one became insolvent1 according to the apex bank the affected institutions are from different states of the federation1 i think it is in the overall interest of the country that we dont embark on a project which has not been well thought out or a project that would probably have to been abandoned midway1 -
Anti-graft heat turns on banks
News & Trends •
the kenyan people demand that from all of us and will take us very unkindly if we look the other way dr njoroge said1 in a renewed battle against corruption the central bank of kenya cbk has issued a stern warning that it would sanction any banks handling proceeds of graft1 he was addressing bankers at the 7th annual research conference organised by the kenya bankers association kba in nairobi1 dr njoroge said cbk is ready to crack the whip again on any rogue bank which helps ship out money from public institutions illegally obtained from graft1 two weeks ago we took action against some of your institutions because of non-compliance with integrity laws. make no mistake warned dr njoroge1 we will not hesitate to do it again under similar circumstances. banks must steer away from being used as conduits for ill-gotten funds he added1 he said bank chiefs owe a duty of care to the public not to abet or aid graft in public institutions1 the central bank of kenya cbk governor patrick njoroge said on thursday that the banks will face stiff sanctions1 nearly a fortnight ago the cbk fined five banks 3.1 million for their role in aiding the movement of the stolen funds1 the penalised banks were kcb group the regions largest bank by assets which was slapped with a 1.49 million fine equity bank 895000 standard chartered bank-kenya 775000 diamond trust bank 560000 and co-operative bank of kenya 2000001 the office of the director of public prosecutions said it was also preparing charges against bank executives for their alleged role in helping ship out more than 30 million of money stolen from kenyas national youth service nys two years ago1 the law requires all financial institutions to file daily reports with the financial reporting centre on transactions above 10000 and those deemed suspect. cbk accused the five banks of failing to comply with the requirements of kenyas anti-money launderingcombating financing of terrorism laws and regulations1 an individual found guilty of contravening the crime and anti-money laundering act faces a prison term not exceeding 14 years or a fine of ksh5 million 500001 source east african1 httpwww.theeastafrican.co.kebusinesskenya-banks-face-stiff-sanctions-if-found-aiding-graft2560-4780388-iwwkgkzindex.html1 -
Trending: Wike threatens PDP over convention venue
News & Trends •
reported by channels tv2 apart from the osun rerun election the threat by rivers state governor nyesom ezenwo wike that he will do something unpleasant to the officialpdpnigeria is the second most trending news in twitter nigeria1 he spoke during a consultative visit the government house in port harcourt by ibrahim dankwambo the gombe state governor who is also a pdp presidential aspirant1 according to wike during the pdps national meeting no presidential aspirant opposed port harcourt as a venue1 he therefore threatened that if they went against the decision that had been agreed upon by leaders of the party the people of rivers will teach the party a lesson1 he also said that the state will not support any desperate pdp presidential aspirant who is sabotaging the economy of the state adding that such persons should forget about its support during and after the national convention1 let me warn the party if they dare rivers state will teach the party a lesson. those days have passed when they took rivers state for granted. nobody can use and dump rivers state. no presidential aspirant can use and dump rivers state. we never lobbied for it we never asked for it but it will boost the economy of the state. people will make money1 the usually blunt wike on wednesday said his state will teach the peoples democratic party pdp a lesson if it succumbs to pressures from some presidential aspirants to move the partys national convention away from the state1 the governor however stressed that whether or not the national convention takes place in rivers the winner preferred by the delegates will emerge1 he added that at the appropriate time he will reveal the names of presidential aspirants allegedly working with the apc to scuttle the presidential primary1 i dont know why anyone who wants to be president will be afraid of a venue. then you are not prepared for the election1 nobody should dare rivers state any longer. enough is enough. pdp should know that we are not a punching bag. we are not people you can use and push. we are not harlots. whenever you want you come. when you finish you push us aside1 we will retaliate at the appropriate time. when you go tell your colleagues the presidential aspirants. we were not interested but having given it to us you cannot insult us wike said1 meanwhile he described governor dankwambo as eminently qualified to contest the position of president stating that he will be considered when rivers delegates meet to decide on who to support1 those who are against rivers people from making money to improve their businesses will not get our support1 -
US commends INEC for ordering Osun rerun election
News & Trends •
the deputy chief of mission united states embassy in nigeria mr david young on wednesday commended the independent national electoral commission inec for the decision to conduct rerun election in osun saying it would enhance democracy1 young made the remarks at an interactive session with newsmen after he inaugurated magvoile vocational centre in kaduna1 the deputy chief stated that the rerun would ensure that voters at the remaining seven polling units who were not able to vote on saturday cast their votes1 certainly the decision of inec to go ahead and have a rerun in seven polling unit is one that we respect given the fact that there was only 355 vote margin between the two candidates1 certainly this is a decision that make sense we want to say that its important for democracy that every person vote is secret and counted as we go forward with the vote tomorrow he stressed1 young who commended the people of osun over last saturdays peaceful election urged them to ensure same in the upcoming re-run1 he also urged contestants to accept the outcome of the election without rancour in accordance with democratic norms1 we want to urge the victor to be magnanimous in victory and whoever loses to be gracious in defeat this is part of democracy he said1 -
FEC okays $64.2m for Escravos power project
News & Trends •
by chijioke okoronkwo9 shehu said that the council also approved the construction of five security water front patrol boats for the nigerian ports authority in marina lagos for coastline security1 dr ibe kachikwu the minister of state for petroleum resources disclosed this while briefing state house correspondents after fec meeting presided over by the vice president prof. yemi osinbajo in the presidential villa1 escravos which hosts two major transnational oil companies shell and chevron is located in warri south local government area of delta state communities therein include ugborodu ogidigben jala madagho and ajidubu1 kachikwu said that previously the escravos lagos pipeline system elps was stopped because communities raised concerns over moving 50 per cent of gas required when the immediate community did not have power supply1 the minister said that the project was consequently stalled for a very long time1 today we approached the council to approve 64235644 million dollars to fund two lots1 one is for the supply of power itself which is building the plant all the engineering services required to do that and also distributing the power within the series of communities affected1 the federal executive council fec on wednesday approved 64.2 million dollars for power supply project to communities within escravos area of delta state1 we believe that with this power will be provided to the immediate communities for a period of four-five years and it will become a permanent structure1 because in the absence of that we are going to use generators which will cost over n18 million every month to manage just to provide light in those areas so as to enable the more important contract of the elps to take place he said1 earlier malam garba shehu the senior special assistant to the president media and publicity said that fec had given three approvals to the economic and financial crimes commission efcc1 according to him the first is a n500 million contract awarded to julius berger for the provision of facilities and maintenance services for the new 10-storey building1 they also got approval for the procurement of 700 computers 100 laptops and 25 laser printers at about n449 million1 the third one to efcc is the purchase of 15 utility vehicles they are expanding and they need a lot more vehicular support for their operations1 the vehicles are being bought from local assemblies in line with the policy of the administration he said1 the council was gracious enough to approve that to two specific companiesfec approved it in two different lots one for 51 million dollars and the other one for 13 million dollars1 -
Omisore: APC, SDP forming coalition government in Osun
News & Trends •
he said he would never renege on his promise of good governance accountability and human dignity in the state1 ahead of the osun rerun governorship election a confident senator iyiola omisore said his social democratic party and the ruling all progressives congress will form a coalition to govern the state after the election1 it was the first time he was giving a hint into the electoral arrangement with the apc1 we have accepted to support the apc for victory in the rerun election tomorrow and thereafter form a coalition government he said1 the announcement formally shut the doors of collaboration with the peoples democratic party candidate ademola adeleke1 omisore dumped the pdp after high level talks with the leaders of the apc in ile-ife. the apc delegation which comprised the party chairman adams oshiomhole and four governors ajimobi ganduje amosun and badaru including governor-elect kayode fayemi and minister of information and culture lai mohammed1 the social democratic party governorship candidate in osun state senator iyiola omisore has said that what is paramount to him is the practice of true democracy good governance and accountability in osun state1 this is coming after over 72 hours of being pressurised by the leadership of the peoples democratic party and the all progressives congress ahead of the rerun election in the state1 omisore announced this in ile-ife today in an interview with journalists1 in a statement earlier released before meeting apc leaders on wednesday omisore said osun state has always been a stellar example of democracy where the people have consistently and freely expressed their franchise to determine who governs them1 this should remain so. osun people have shown that it is not business as usual. it is a positive deviation from what was hitherto the norm. i am telling my people that they should go with any political party that believes in what we in the sdp stand for good governance social justice and accountability1 i have already detailed how we planned to restore osun to the path of good governance through the five thematic pillars in my manifesto i shared during the electioneering. i will not negotiate for personal gains and abandon my people1 my alliance is with the people of osun state irrespective of the political party they belong. i want my people to be treated with the dignity they deserve. i desire that they have a government that will be accountable to them. i want them to experience the good governance the founding fathers of this state envisaged1 i have told the parties that have solicited for my support to approach the electorate and ask for their mandate as i have assured them that i will not coerce them for political or social power. it is because i have kept my promise that has made me enjoy their unalloyed support all these years1 the fulcrum of my campaign was and is still the restoration of good governance and accountability to our dear state. i have consistently preached against voters coercion i have voiced my stand against votes buying voters intimidation and politicisation1 senator omisore assured his followers and admirers that he will not abandon his campaign promises even as he engaged all stakeholders on the way forward to ensure the progress of osun state1 -
Man who climbed mast in protest arraigned by Police
News & Trends •
the defendants however pleaded not guilty to the five-count charges of joint act criminal trespass inciting disturbance disturbance of public peace and attempt to commit suicide levelled against them1 by nana musa1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the trio who are residents of kaduna state were accused of attempts to commit suicide inside the presidential villa1 mr augustine urom the prosecuting counsel had averred that lawal on september 12 allegedly climbed an mtn telecommunication mast within the presidential villa to commit suicide while the others watched1 urom further told the court that the department of state service dss had transferred the defendants to the fct police command on sept.181 he further averred that the defendants allegedly invaded the aso rock villa with various protestation placards capable of making the public to revolt against the federal government1 urom said the first information report fir had alleged that the display of the defendants was capable of igniting uprising against a constituted authority1 the prosecutor claimed the offences contravened sections 79 348 114 113 and 231 of the penal code1 the police on wednesday arraigned iliyasu lawal 28 nura iliyasu 29 and idris suleiman 28 in a wuse zone 2 magistrates court fct for allegedly trespassing the premises of the presidential villa abuja1 mr uche uwazuruonye counsel to lawal and suleiman thereafter filed an oral application seeking the court to admit his clients to bail1 uwazuruonye said the alleged offences were bailable adding that his clients would always be available to stand justice1 i assure the court that the defendants would not jump bail if admitted he said1 similarly mr dim udebuani counsel to the second defendant iliyasu prayed the court to also grant his client bail saying this will provide for him required right atmosphere to prepare his defence1 the magistrate mr muhammad abdulmumini went ahead to admit the three defendants to bail in the sum of n250 000 and a surety respectively1 abdulmumini said the sureties must be from a grade level seven officer and above in the federal civil service within the jurisdiction of the court1 the magistrate adjourned the case until oct. 16 for hearing1 -
Ebola : WHO raises alarm on situation in Congo
News & Trends •
world health organisation who on tuesday said ebola outbreak in democratic republic of congo could deteriorate rapidly because of attacks by armed groups community resistance and geographic spread of the disease1 we are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together over the next weeks and months to create a perfect storm peter salama told a news conference in geneva1 salama is whos head of emergency response1 -
APC embarks on house-to-house campaign
News & Trends •
by aminu garko3 imam called on all eligible party supportersto safeguard their permanent voter cards pvcs with the aim of electing credible leaders at the helm of affairs. nan1 alhaji mohammed imam the chairman of the party in the state made the disclosure in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in minna on tuesday1 he said that the campaign and sensitisation visits commenced from wards to districts local governments zonal areasand state levels1 we are using the opportunity to highlight our modest achievements recorded in the last three years of president muhammadu buhari and gov. abubakar bello imam said1 the apc chieftain said that the forum would give the party the opportunity to also inform its supporters on judicious utilisation of funds allocated to the state to provide dividends of democracy to the governed1 gov. abubakar has reformed our educational sector through the re-construction of classrooms learning facilities and motivation of teachers he said1 imam explainedthat the only legacy any responsible government would leave behind for future generationwas provision of qualitative and sound education which the present administration was fullycommitted to1 the all progressives congress apc in niger has commenced house-to-house and town hall campaigns to promote the programmes of the party in the state1 we have done very well in agriculture with the provision of tractors and farming implements for our farmers at subsidised rates roads construction youth empowerment among others the apc chieftain said1 imam urged the electorate in the state to vote for continuity in order to consolidate on the ongoing changes that would set the stateon the path of progress1 gov. abubakarhas proved beyond reasonable doubt to be a committed progressive leaderin providing democracy dividends to our people irrespective of political tribal and religious differences1 we are also mobilising our supporters to shun any form of political violence and thuggery as well money bags politicians during the forthcoming general elections1 as progressives it is not in our character to engage in any act capable of bringing confusion but to work toward promoting our partys lofty ideals1 anybody seeking elective positions and offer you money collect it. it is your money that was supposed to be used in providing democracy dividend but was diverted because of corruption he said1 he alsosaid that the present administration had provided state-of-the-art facilities in all health institutions for effective health care delivery1 -
I have never sent my staff to collect money Aisha
News & Trends •
she denied having any connection with his arrest and detention as the nigeria police being the constituted authority have the power to do so1 i wish to inform the general public that i have never sent any of my staff to collect any favours on my behalf or on behalf of my children and will never do so wife of the president aisha buhari has assured nigerians1 director information mr suleiman haruna released a statement on her behalf on tuesday in abuja1 baban-inna has been my adc since 2016 and has been associated with me ever since1 she was surprised that the initial investigation showed baba-inna allegedly used her name for some suspicious activities1 she made the assurance when she refuted allegations suggesting that she used her aide de camp csp sani baba-inna to collect n2.5 billion from unsuspecting members of the public1 it was the nigeria police force being his employer that arrested him to investigate the allegations levelled against him because the case is within their jurisdiction she said1 aisha urged those who were the alleged victims of baban-inna to get across to him and retrieve whatever he took from them1 she said she will not condone fraudulent behaviour by any of her staff1 she also called on individuals in authority to deal with errant aides involved with extortion by name-dropping1 she said the buhari administration was voted into office based on trust and confidence of the people to fight corruption nan1 -
Ghana closes 400 Nigerian businesses
News & Trends •
source63 more than 400 businesses owned by nigerians have been closed by authorities in ghana sparking a protest by owners who have issued a week ultimatum within which to resolve the surrounding the maltreatment of nigerian business community in ghana1 the national association of nigerian traders nants have written a petition to president muhammadu buhari and the economic community of west african states ecowas on the issue1 the association gave a one-week ultimatum to the commission to intervene in the matter warning that the association would occupy the ecowas premises if the situation in ghana was not addressed1 in their protest march to the ecowas secretariat on monday in abuja the traders urged the commission to intervene to stop the alleged victimisation of nigerian business men and women in ghana1 according to some local media reports on tuesday the president of nant mr. ken ukaoha stated that the development has reached a point where the ghanaian parliament has passed a legislation to make the business environment hostile to foreign investors1 he said that the ecowas president jean-claude brou had been petitioned over the development1 this is a save our soul call and the urgency of this protest is to inform you of the state of fear uncertainty and insecurity that nigerian traders are currently subjected to in the hands of the government and people of ghana in different cities under the coordination of ghana investment promotion centre and ministry of trade and industry ukaoha said1 according to him the members of the association have been shut out of their business premises in pursuance of the eviction order dated july 27 2018 demanding that we must have 1m as minimum foreign investment capital to do business in ghana1