The Alliance for Credible Elections is elated with the turn-out for the Saturdays Ekiti governorship election and commended stakeholders for the transparency of the electoral process.

Dr Omilusi Mike, an official of the Alliance, on Sunday said: I want to sincerely commend the turnout of the people from across the nooks and crannies of Ekiti to vote for their chosen candidate.

The determination displayed by the people on Saturday was unprecedented and unbelievable.

I saw the number of people coming out from their villages and homes, contrary to the rumour of riot and crisis being spread across the state a few days to the election.

It is obvious that the wishes of the people have prevailed especially at a critical period in Ekiti, he said.

Former Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals Development and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Kayode Fayemi, was declared winner of the election after securing 197,459 votes.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and current Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, scored 178,121 votes.

Other results declared by the Chief Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, include Accord, 250; Action Alliance, 41; ACD, 1149; AD, 216; ADB, 1082; ADA, 107; AGAO, 31; ANRP, 125; APA, 1199; and APDA, 464.

Also declared were APGA, 70; ANPP, 14; DA, 14; DPC, 147; DPP,181; FJP, 42; GPN, 20; I.D, 31;, KOWA, 23; LP, 280; MMN, 35; MPN, 23; NDLP, 44; NPC, 353 PANDEL, 74; and PGC, 1242.

The rest are DPA, 632; PPN, 107; SDO, 367; UDP, 29; UPN, 33; YDP, 31 and YPP, 49.

The total valid votes in the election was 384,594 while total votes cast was 403,451, with 18,857 votes invalidated.

NAN reports that the election held in 2,195 polling units spread across 177 wards in the 16 local government areas of Ekiti while 35 candidates contested.(NAN)

Source: NAN

By Bamikole Omishore

President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki-led a joint delegation of Nigerias National Assembly on a 3-day working visit to the United States recently.

During this unprecedented visit of members from both chambers of the National Assembly, diverse issues of National Interest were raised with the U.S Chamber of Commerce, Council on Foreign Relations, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and select members of the U.S Congress.

Interestingly, the crux of the visit transcends parliamentary duties and exchanges. It focused more on the dire need to foster increased collaboration and broaden the bilateral ties between Nigeria and the United States. Considering the mono-product export status of Nigeria and the desperate need for diversification, the Senate President took advantage of every meeting to market the strong entrepreneurial grit of the average Nigerian youth whose value addition to the nations economy cannot be ignored.

He also stressed the need for America to adopt a symbiotic trade relationship with Nigeria and indeed the rest of Africa. Saraki challenged his counterparts in the U.S Congress on the necessity to work with African leaders to increase trade and investment opportunities in the continent. The Senate President used the opportunity to make a strong case for increased trade despite the perceived imperfection with regards to the security threats and the seeming dithering of government in proffering lasting solutions to the many challenges besieging the country.

According to the Senate President, we want to see a bigger trade relationship; we want to see stronger and deeper investment engagements, security, democracy-strengthening and beneficial trade relations with the United States.

The President of the Senate noted in one of the meetings that Nigeria, a major player in ECOWAS and African Union must be seen by the international community as taking proactive steps towards ensuring that there is development of sustainable and inclusive strategies to tackle the perennial economic woes. He alluded to the resilient spirit of Nigerians in the diaspora whose contributions to the American and global economy have become a reference point amongst many potential investors.

In walking the talk, over the last three years, the 8th National Assembly has passed over 200 bills with substantial number being economic priority bills. Some of the bills such as the Credit Bureau Reporting Act helped in upgrading Nigeria on the World Banks Annual Ease of Doing Business ranking and most recently, the passage of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which is the biggest and most comprehensive pro-business reform bill geared towards stimulating economic growth and making the Nigeria business environment more competitive.

The parliaments desire to improve the nations economy and restore foreign investor confidence in her business terrain resulted in the passage and subsequent signing into law of the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act. With this law, new and small companies will gain more access to credit with movable assets as security and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Unfortunately, this desired economic prosperity will remain a mirage if insecurity persists. The incessant killings and displacement of many Nigerians will continue to send wrong signals to the international investing community. It is not rocket science to know that investors have affinity for countries where there is political stability and relative peace.Thus, for Nigeria to reclaim the top spot destination of choice for foreign investors in Africa, the insecurity challenges must be holistically curbed.

Earlier in the year, the parliament organised a national stakeholders security summit with top echelon of the countrys security agencies, with the sole aim of finding lasting solutions to the security challenges overwhelming the country. Under the leadership of the Senate President, the National Assembly has remained consistent in providing support to the security agencies through regular oversight and constant advisory interventions on ways by which safety can be guaranteed to all Nigerians, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious affiliation.

Going by the worrying increase of recent killings in several parts of the country, the responsive parliament has initiated a fresh amendment to the constitution aimed at halting the institutional barriers that have hindered the countrys law enforcement and security personnel from efficiently safeguarding the lives and properties of Nigerians. A resolution by the Senate at plenary directing the constitutional review committee to put in place the mechanism to amend the constitution so as to allow for the creation of State and Community Police has just passed the first reading.

While Nigerians await the outcome of this important legislative process aimed at strengthening the security agencies and tackling the hydra-headed challenges, it is expedient that the national leadership develops systems that will consistently guarantee safety and economic prosperity of its citizens. Hence, by this visit of Nigerias parliament to the United States, a stronger relationship with the U.S is expected to avail the National Assembly with all the necessary support to continue to legislate in line with international best practices, without any sense of fear or intimidation from any quarters.

From all the meetings attended by the delegation, it was evident that America wants to move beyond the era of the usual aid and grants to that which offers increased trade and investment prospects. Thus, the Senate President was able to successfully convince his hosts of the immense and abundant returns on investment which Nigeria guarantees, going by the steady progress on the global economic index. For the benefits of hindsight, the dividends of this symbolic parliamentary cum diplomatic visit will in no distant time translate into the desired economic prosperity of Nigeria.

Bamikole Omishore is the Special Assistant on foreign Affairs and International Relations to President of The Senate, Federal Republic of NigeriaAfricas richest man, Aliko Dangote, has signed a $650 million loan facility with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for his oil refinery project in Nigeria.

The seven-year term loan would attract a moratorium of five years, according to facility terms read out during the signing.

Cairo-based Africas trade bank also signed a $750 million facility with Nigerias development bank, the Bank of Industry.

Reuters witnessed the signing of both loans on Saturday.

Dangote Group Executive Director Devakumar Edwin told Reuters last week that the oil refinery would cost around $10 billion and should be completed by December 2019.

He said the company would borrow $3.3 billion for the project, arranged by Standard Chartered Bank. The remainder will be funded by equity and through export agencies.

Dangote built his fortune on cement and now has interests in flour milling, agriculture and real estate. He is building the worlds largest single oil refinery and also expanding into fertilizer, aiming to address long-standing problems in Nigerias energy markets.

The refinery and petrochemical complex is located on 25,000 hectares of swampy land with a jetty to ferry products by sea within Nigeria and abroad including an undersea pipeline to transport gas. It would account for half of Dangotes sprawling assets when it is finished next year.

Dangote intends to process different grades of crude to meet local demand for refined petroleum products and also target export markets abroad.

Afreximbank, celebrating its 25 years of operation this year, aims to foster intra-African trade through the creation of a payment platform to ease settlement and currency risks.

Source: NAN

The governor-elect of Ekiti, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said his victory in Saturdays governorship election is very significant for the future of democracy in Nigeria.

This was just not an Ekiti election, I want people to understand that this election has a lot of significance to the future of democracy in Nigeria.

The fact that we have witnessed a free, fair and transparent election process has huge importance for similar exercises like Osun State next door to us and eventually the national elections in February 2019, he said.

Fayemi spoke on Sunday while addressing the newsmen in Isan-Ekiti shortly after he was declared the winner of the governorship election.

He said: The victory of this election, I believe, is for reclaiming the land and restoring the values of our people.

Our values in Ekiti are respect for our leaders, commitment to our people, non-brigandage, nor criminality and so on.

This victory is a victory for all, it is not a victory for only Gov. Kayode Fayemi, it is a victory for all the Ekiti people.

The governor-elect thanked all the APC leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari, National Leader of the APC, Sen. Bola Tinubu, former governor of Ogun, Chief Segun Osoba, former interim Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, as well as party leaders in the state.

He also thanked his family members, especially his wife, Bisi, for their support during the election campaign.

Fayemi first became governor of the state in 2010, after a three year legal battle to reclaim his 2007 victory. He lost re-election in 2014 following massive rigging for his successor, Ayodele Fayose, by the Peoples Democratic Party.

Source: NAN

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has congratulated the Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on his victory in the just-concluded Ekiti gubernatorial election.

Saraki, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that the Governor-elect of Ekiti State should use his second-coming to continue the people-centered policies and programmes of his first term.

He urged hi to also work to grow the States economy in order to leave behind a sustainable legacy.

He said the victory was a sign that the people of Ekiti State still have confidence in the former ministers ability to provide good governance and render efficient service to the state and its people. He also advised the Governor-elect to maintain his focus on how to bring more development to the State and improve the standard of living of the people.

The Senate President also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the law enforcement and security agencies, the government and entire electorate to learn some lessons from the Ekiti State gubernatorial election, which has served as a fore-runner to the 2019 General Elections and ensure that all areas of complaints and inadequacies are corrected before a similar election in Osun State and the 2019 general elections.

To ensure that the Nigeria people have continued trust and faith in our electoral system, we must continue to work to improve our electoral policies and practices. We must look into the issues that have been identified in this last election to ensure that they are not repeated in the upcoming Osun Gubernatorial election, and during the 2019 elections. Definitely, the 2019 elections must be better in all ramifications than the 2015 polls, he said.

Saraki prayed that God will bless and guide the Governor-elect as he prepares to assume Office, and called for a smooth transition between the outgoing government and the incoming one.

Source: NAN

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has described the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State as a referendum on the three year-old Muhammadu Buhari administration.

With the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Nigerian people have spoken, and they have spoken loudly, about their perception of the APC-led Buhari Administration, Mohammed said today.

`The election was more than one states gubernatorial poll. It was a referendum on the performance of the Buhari Administration. And Nigerians have given their verdict!

Its not just a defeat for the PDP, its a defeat for all the naysayers who have made themselves the spokespersons for Nigerians.

Furthermore, it is a death knell for fake news! Anyone who monitored the social media before and during the election would think it would be a landslide for the PDP. But the reality is different.

We want to most sincerely thank the people of Ekiti State for ensuring that the election was free, fair and credible, as attested to by local and international observers, and for turning out en masse to exercise their franchise.

In 2014, the votes of the people of Ekiti did not count as the then PDP-led Federal Government used federal might to hijack the election and concoct the result. They barred two serving Governors from travelling to Ekiti to support their fellow Governor. They wilfully shut the Akure airport and we, leaders of then opposition APC, were forced to return to Lagos by road in the night.

With the roles reversed in 2018, we did not pay the PDP back in its own coin, because of our strong belief in the rule of law. The rest is history.

Source: NAN

Nigeria has been listed among countries most at risk as global warming brings more high temperatures, necessitating the need to keep people cool and preserve food and medicine.

In a study released today by the non-profit Sustainable Energy for All Group, more than a billion people are estimated to be at risk from a lack of air conditioning and refrigeration to keep people and things cool.

About 1.1 billion people in Asia, Africa and Latin America 470 million in rural areas and 630 million slum dwellers in cities were at risk among the worlds 7.6 billion people, the report said.

In a survey of 52 countries, those most at risk included Nigeria, India, China, Mozambique, Sudan, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, it said.

Cooling becomes more and more important with climate change, Rachel Kyte, head of the group and special representative for the U.N. Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, said.

More electricity demand for fridges, fans and other appliances will add to man-made climate change unless power generators shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energies, according to the report by the non-profit Sustainable Energy for All group.

We have to provide cooling in a super-efficient way, Kyte said. Companies could find big markets, for instance by developing low-cost, high-efficiency air conditioners to sell to growing middle classes in tropical countries.

And simpler solutions, such as painting roofs white to reflect sunlight or redesigning buildings to allow heat to escape, would also help.

The U.N.s health agency says that heat stress linked to climate change is likely to cause 38,000 extra deaths a year worldwide between 2030 and 2050. In a heat-wave in May, more than 60 people died in Karachi, Pakistan, when heat rose above 40 degrees Celsius (104F).

In remote areas in tropical countries, many people lack electricity and clinics are often unable to store vaccines or medicines that need to be chilled, the study said. And in city slums, electricity supplies are often intermittent.

Many farmers or fishermen, meanwhile, lack access to a cold chain to preserve and transport products to markets. Fresh fish goes off within hours if stored at 30 degrees Celsius (86F) but stays fresh for days when chilled.

Last week, a study by the University of Birmingham in Britain projected that the number of cooling appliances could quadruple by 2050 to 14 billion worldwide, driving a surge in energy consumption.

Source: NAN

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations on Sunday called on Russia to account for its role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 people on board.

Tuesday marks four years since the the Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky by a missile believed to have been fired by Russian-aligned rebels in eastern Ukraine.

International investigators said in May that the BUK anti-aircraft system used to bring down the jet belonged to the Russian military.

The Netherlands and Australia, whose citizens made up the most passengers on the airliner, both hold Russia legally accountable and are demanding Moscow admit its role and cooperate with investigators.

Russia has denied any involvement in the disaster.

In a rules-based international order, those responsible for unacceptable actions, such as the firing or launching of the BUK missile of Russian origin, which intercepted and downed a civilian aircraft, must be held accountable, the ministers said in a joint statement.

To this end, we call on Russia to immediately engage with Australia and the Netherlands in good faith to explain and to address all relevant questions regarding any potential breaches of international law.

The G7 is composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.

The anniversary of the disaster on Tuesday falls a day after US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. It it not known if Trump will raise the issue during the talks.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN

Nigerias Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a senior advocate of Nigeria. But he is also cutting the reputation as a poet capable of weaving love ballads.

He did this again on Sunday celebrating the 51st birthday of his wife, Oludolapo.

Osinbajo took to both Instagram and Twitter to render another romantic poem to his wife of 29 years:

On the 50th anniversary of his wife last year, Osinbajo wrote:

Last year, at the 28th anniversary of their wedding, Osinbajo composed another poem that went viral:

On Twitter, Osinbajos latest poem has already commanded over 5,000 retweets and 20,000 likes, with the comments already exceeding over 2,000.

Trust cheeky Nigerians, Osinbajos obsession with his wife is a ground for them to ask him not to run with President Muhammadu Buhari in next years election.

One of the respondents to the post, Big Daddy writes:

Thats Y we wouldnt be voting u and ur crew in next year so u can have more time to be wif her Cos we care

Big Daddy (@izzystyles101)

But he seems to be the only one with the view, as Modibbo BYB countered:

That will be more reason to vote him. We need a responsive, loving, passionate nationalist.

BYB (@ModibboBYB)

Source: NAN

Hours before he was due to sit down for his first ever summit with Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump has derided his nation, blaming what he called U.S. foolishness for bad relations between Washington and Moscow, while the Kremlin said it expected a tough meeting.

Critics and his own advisers have urged Trump to use the summit to press Putin hard about election meddling and other malign activities. But hours before he was due to meet the Russian president, Trump focused his ire on his own country and the investigation into possible links between his 2016 campaign and Russia. The president has denied any collusion took place.

Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt! wrote Trump on Twitter, referring to the investigation into possible collusion.

During a breakfast meeting with Finlands president before the meeting with Putin in the Finnish capital, Trump appeared upbeat. Asked what he would say to the Russian president, Trump said: Well be just fine, thank you.

Trump also repeated his belief that predecessor Barack Obama had failed to act on Russian meddling.

While Trump has been abroad since last week, the special prosecutor investigating allegations that Russia interfered to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election indicted 12 Russians on Friday for stealing Democratic Party documents.

Neither side expects major breakthroughs from the talks and the outcome is uncertain given sharp differences between Washington and Moscow over everything from Syria to Ukraine.

For Putin, the fact that the summit is even happening despite Russias semi-pariah status among some Americans and U.S. allies is a geopolitical win because, in Russian eyes, it shows that Washington recognises Moscow as a great power that cannot be isolated or ignored.

The Kremlin made clear beforehand it did not expect an easy meeting, taking Trump to task over his criticism of a planned Russian gas pipeline to Germany and suggesting it would be hard to find common ground on Syria because of differences over Iran.

Trump wants Russia to help Moscow to use its influence in Syria where it is backing President Bashar al-Assad militarily to push Iranian and Iranian-allied forces out. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russias RT TV station ahead of the summit that was unlikely.

Of course Syria will be discussed by the two presidents, said Peskov. We all know what Washington thinks of Iran. But at the same time Iran is a good partner to us in terms of trade, economic cooperation and political dialogue. So this will not be an easy exchange of views.

Russia hoped however that the summit would be the first step in overcoming a crisis in relations, he said.

Presidents Trump and Putin respect each other and they get along well. There is no clear agenda. It will be determined by the heads of state themselves as they go along.

Source: NAN

Mexican President-elect Andres Obrador has announced plans to slash the salaries of high-level officials, including himself, as part of an austerity push by the government.

Obrador told newsmen outside his campaign headquarters that he would raise the national minimum wage in order to make the budget reach everybody.

He met with members of his future cabinet there earlier.

His monthly base salary would be 108,000 pesos (about 5,700 U.S. dollars), 40 per cent of what President EnriqueNieto currently earns, said Obrador, who will take over the Mexican presidency on Dec. 1.

The president-elect recently announced that he was canceling the generous pensions paid to former
presidents, all of whom are wealthy, and a slew of bonuses and fringe benefits provided to
lawmakers and other officials.

The austerity plan aims to redirect some 500 billion pesos (about 26.4 billion dollars) a year towards
welfare and development programmes.

In addition to public-sector belt tightening, Lopez Obrador seeks to pass laws to combat graft.

Mexico ranks 135 out of 180 countries in Transparency Internationals 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Obradors left-of-center National Regeneration Movement (Morena) won a majority in Congress, so proposed bills are virtually ensured congressional approval. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN