Flowerbud News

Month: October 2023

  • Redeployment of Permanent Secretaries

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday approved the redeployment of four federal permanent secretaries to various ministries.

    Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), made this known in a statement in Abuja.

    She stated that Alhaji Mu’azu Abdulkadir, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel has been redeployed to Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    “Mrs Georgina Ehuria, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) was now deployed to Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel.

    “Mr Aliboh Leon, Permanent Secretary Special Duties, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) was also deployed to Federal Ministry of Environment.

    “Alhaji Suleiman Mustapha, Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office, OHCSF has been deployed to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

    She directed that all handing-over and taking-over processes should be done on or before Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. (NAN)

  • Polio: Pakistan launches vaccination drive

    More than 250,000 health workers have fanned out across Pakistan to vaccinate millions of children against polio in a week-long drive, officials said on Monday in the country’s push against the crippling disease.

    “The drive would target 38.6 million children under the age of five,’’ said Safdar Rana, who leads Pakistan’s fight against polio.

    Rana added that the children of Afghan refugees who frequently travel between the two countries would also be administered the vaccine.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are among only a few countries in the world where polio still exists as an epidemic.

    The UN-funded vaccination campaign has, however, helped Pakistan to control the spread as the number of new affected children came down to only four so far this year compared to 306 in 2014.

    “Pakistan is closest ever to its goal of polio eradication,” Rana said.

    The disease that cripples kids for life spread in the country’s mountainous north-west near the Afghan border, which remained under the control of militants linked with al-Qaeda for several years.

    The militants have killed hundreds of health workers and police guarding them because they thought the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.

    A series of military offensives was launched against Islamist militants to make sure workers could reach children in previously inaccessible areas. (dpa/NAN)

  • INEC declares Osun governorship election inconclusive

    INEC declares Osun governorship election inconclusive

    Prof. Joseph Fuwape, the Returning Officer for the Sept. 22 Osun governorship election, has declared the poll inconclusive.

    Fuwape, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), while announcing the results of the election, said that Sen. Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 254,698 votes.

    He said Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), scored 254, 345 votes.

    He said the election was declared inconclusive because of cases of ballot boxes snatching that occurred in some polling units during the election.

    The returning officer mentioned the affected polling units to include Ife north, one polling unit, Ife south, two polling units, Orolu, three polling units and osogbo, one polling unit.

    He said a total of 3498 votes were cancelled in the seven affected polling units

    “Based on this fact, I cannot declare anyone the winner of the election,” he said.

    Fuwape, however, said that the rerun of the election in the affected polling units would take place on Sept. 27.

    He urged all the political gladiators to maintain peace, before, during and after the rerun. (NAN)

  • Declare Adeleke Osun Governor-elect, Says Dankwambo

    Declare Adeleke Osun Governor-elect, Says Dankwambo

    Declaration

     

    By Esbee Oguns

    Abuja,Sept.23,2018(Flowerbud News) Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, incumbent Governor, Gombe state and Presidential aspirant has called on Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to reverse itself and conclude Osun Gubernatorial election by declaring Sen. Ademola Adeleke of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) winner of Sept.22 election.

    Dankwambo,a PDP Presidential hopeful, made the call on Sunday  in a statement signed by  Dr. Ayoade Adewopo, Director, Media & Strategic communication of his presidential campaign organization.

    Flowerbud News reports that PDP candidate Adeleke, polled 254,698 votes against 254,345 votes for APC’s Gboyega Oyetola while  3,498 votes were cancelled by INEC at four polling units across four of the 30 Local Governments in the state

    Full text of the statement:

    Declare Adeleke Osun Governor-elect, Says Dankwambo:

    Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, incumbent Governor of Gombe state and Presidential aspirant under the flagship of PDP, this afternoon stated in a released statement by the Director, Media & Strategic communication of his presidential campaign organization, Dr. Ayoade Adewopo, that INEC should declare Senator Ademola Adeleke the winner of the just concluded gubernatorial election in Osun state. In the statement, Dr. Dankwambo declared INEC’s pronouncement that the Osun gubernatorial election is inconclusive a rape on our democracy by INEC and its pay master APC. He further stated that the action is a deviation from the sportmanship demonstrated by former President Goodluck Jonathan, a hero of our democracy in 2015.

    Dr. Dankwambo further advised the other 47 candidates in the election to pick up their phones and make congratulatory calls to Senator Ademola Adeleke who was duly elected as the 5th executive governor by the good people of Osun in the historic election.

    According to Dr. Dankwambo, INEC’s pronouncement has no standing under our laws. Section 179 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended) clearly stated that for a candidate to be declared duly elected to the office of Governor of a State in Nigeria he should win a majority of the total number of valid votes cast and must have scored at least 25% of the total number of valid votes cast in at least two-thirds of the total number of local governments in the state.

    Therefore, once the constitutional requirements are fulfilled a winner of the election must be declared irrespective of the margin of victory.

    According to  Dankwambo, a winner should have been declared, there is no need for a re-run.

    Finally, Dr. Dankwambo congratulated Senator Ademola Adeleke, Osun State PDP Chapter, the National organ of the party and all the good people of Osun state for putting up a good fight at ending the draconian APC government in Osun and Nigeria at large.

     

     

  • PDP screens 30 governorship aspirants in North East

    The Screening Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says it has screened the party’s 30 governorship aspirants in the North-East comprising Adamawa, Bauchi , Borno , Gombe. Taraba and Yobe.
    ?
    The Chairman of the five-man committee, Mr John Mathew who disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Sunday, said one of the 30 aspirants was disqualified.

    Matthew who did not reveal the name of the disqualified aspirant said the rest 29 met the electoral and party requirements to contest in the primaries in their respective states.

    ?’’We screened all the 30 governorship aspirants and issued them with qualification certificates.
    ?One of the aspirants was disqualified for some reasons which will not be disclosed here.
    ?
    “Despite that, we gave him the disqualified aspirants certificate and reasons for his disqualification as a governorship aspirant,” he said.
    ?
    ?The chairman said that the committee followed the guidelines of the party in determining the aspirants that would vie for the flag of the party.
    ?
    “We screened seven governorship aspirants from Adamawa, four from Bauchi, two from Borno, 13 from Gombe, one from Taraba, and three from Yobe,” he added

    Matthew, who said most of the aspirants were not seeking the office for the first time, added
    that they presented all the required documents to the screening committee.
    ?
    “The aspirants showed their voters’ cards, membership cards, tax clearance, age declaration certificates, educational qualifications, birth certificates and other statutory requirements by the Federal Government and the party.
    ?
    “So we are satisfied that the aspirants met the requirements for governorship in their states,” Matthew said. (NAN)

  • President Buhari arrives New York ahead of UNGA73

    President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived New York ahead of the 73rd Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) which officially opened on Sept. 18.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president accompanied by his wife, Aisha, departed the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Sunday morning and had arrived New York on Monday (Nigerian time) morning.

    The theme for this year’s Session is: “Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.”

    A statement earlier issued in Abuja on Saturday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the highpoint of Buhari’s participation would be his address on Tuesday to the General Assembly on the opening day of the General Debate.

    According to him, the President’s presentation of Nigeria’s National Statement is expected to reaffirm the nation’s commitment to international peace and security and sustainable socio-economic development.

    He said the presentation would also cover the areas of disarmament and denuclearisation, youth and women empowerment, climate change, rule of law and human rights, among others.

    The presidential aide said Buhari would particularly canvass international support for the fight against corruption, the return of illicit assets, counter-terrorism, insurgency and curbing irregular migration.

    He said the president would seek the support of the international community in efforts to re-settle Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and recharging the receding Lake Chad.

    Adesina, who is the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said the president would also advocate for the reform of the United Nations, especially the expansion of the permanent membership of the Security Council to make the vital organ of the global organisation reflect regional and equitable geographical representation.

    He disclosed that the president and his wife, Aisha, would also attend a welcome reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and his spouse for Heads of State and Government and their spouses.

    “The Nigerian leader and his delegation will participate in a High-Level meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis, organised by the World Health Organisation as Nigeria currently ranks seventh amongst the high TB-burden countries globally, and second in Africa.

    “The Nigerian delegation is expected to attend the Mandela Peace Summit, which is a High-Level Meeting on Global Peace in honour of the centenary birth of the late South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela,’’ he revealed.

    According to Adesina, other side events lined up for the Nigerian delegation include a High-Level Meeting on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit.

    Others are the Second Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum, High-Level Meeting on Action for Peace-Keeping, Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

    He said: “During the course of his stay in New York, in addition to the audience with the UN Secretary-General, the Nigerian President is also expected to have bilateral meetings with African and world leaders, including Bill Gates, to promote national and African interests.’’

    Adesina disclosed that the president would also grant audience to a select group of Nigerian professionals based in the United States.(NAN)

  • China to issue white paper on U.S. trade frictions – Media

    China’s state council will publish a white paper on the ongoing bilateral trade frictions with the United States, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

    The report said the white paper, which will be published at 1 p.m. local time (0500 GMT), will contain “facts and China’s position” on the trade frictions, without elaborating further.

    The latest U.S. and Chinese tariffs on each other’s goods took effect at 0401 GMT. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Ndume renews call for power rotation in Borno

    Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has renewed his call for Borno South Senatorial District to be allowed to produce the next governor of the state.

    Ndume made the call when he appeared as a guest on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Sunday.

    The lawmaker, who represents Borno South in the Senate, noted that in the interest of fairness, equity and natural justice, it was proper for someone from his constituency to be allowed to serve the state as governor.

    “It is feasible if there is an agreement, and that is what I have been advocating for, I am part of the advocacy for power rotation.

    “But let me say that when I was the Senate leader, I made sure that power rotation was included in the Constitution Amendment Bill.

    “Unfortunately, it did not see the light of the day because the majority had their way. But we have started the struggle. It is not something that is realisable in a day.’’

    Ndume identified lack of unity and understanding among the minorities in the district as the major challenge undermining their aspiration.

    He, however, said he had seen some improvement as the people of southern Borno had become more united than before.

    “We are giving it a shot, because out of the 23 or 24 contestants for the gubernatorial election, we have about three or four people from southern Borno, this time around.

    “Although it is still a small number if you look at it, but we are hoping we will get there one day,’’ he said.(NAN)

  • NASS postpones resumption to Oct. 9

    The National Assembly has rescheduled resumption from its annual recess from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9.

    This is contained in a statement by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr Mohammed Omolori on Sunday.

    Omolori explained that the postponement was due to activities of primary elections by political parties.

    He said, “this is to inform all Distinguished senators and Honourable members that resumption of plenary session earlier scheduled for Tuesday, 25th September, has been postponed to Tuesday 9th October due to activities of primaries of political parties.

    “All distinguished senators and honourable members are expected to resume plenary session by 10 a.m. on the 9th of October, please.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the national assembly proceeded on its annual vacation on July 24 and was expected to resume on Sept. 25.(NAN)