A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh Abubakar Kawu Baraje, at the weekend proffered solutions to security challenges confronting the nation. (more…)
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Gov. AbdulRazak has rescued colleges of education in Kwara – Provost
Dr Olokoba Abdullahi, the Provost of College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS) in Ilorin, says Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazak has rescued colleges of education in the Kwara by releasing huge sums of money to them.
Abdullahi commended the governor for his efforts during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Tuesday.
He said that all these colleges did not get their subvention for seven months from September 2018 to March 2019 before AbdulRazak came to their rescue.
“The state government had an agreement with all colleges of education in the state to pay a subvention of 70 per cent of our salary and insisted that we should help ourselves with the internally generated revenue.
“We managed the IGR for some years until September 2018 when the government stopped paying the subvention until the coming of Governor AbdulRazak in April.
“The new administration invited all the colleges of education in the state and asked for our debt profile where we mentioned non-payment of salary, poor infrastructure and accreditation of courses.
“The governor promised to solve all the issues, but decided to begin with salary and released a sum of N250 million for all the colleges.
” I personally pleaded for salary and accreditation and they released N24 million for accreditation of all the courses in the college,” Abdullahi said.
The provost said that the governor promised to pay one month from the current month and one month from the outstanding salary until all was paid.
According to Abdullahi, CAILS was running an affiliated degree courses with the Bayero University Kano (BUK), but the college could not accredi all the courses when it was time for accreditation.
“BUK eventually terminated our affiliation through the National University Commission (NUC) on the ground of distance, but in true sense it was because we failed to accredit all our courses
“The memorandum of understanding stated that if there is a disengagement with the university, the admitted students on ground will finish there courses, but there will be no more opportunity to admit new students
“This made it possible for us to still have few students running degree courses, and in three years time, they will finish their courses,” he said.
Abdullahi said that the college decided to affiliate with University of Ilorin, adding that necessary documents had been completed.
“We are expecting University of Ilorin to come and access us before the NUC final assessment,” he said. (NAN)
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Oshiohmole Meets Buhari, Frowns At Ministerial List’s Critics
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, questioned the credibility of those criticising the 43 ministerial list submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for screening.
Oshiohmole made his position known when he addressed State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
The APC party leader, who was reacting to criticism that the list was based on political patronage, said in the contrary the list was meant to boost formation of an all-inclusive government.
Oshiohmole, who descended heavily on the critics, said the president was magnanimous to have nominated up to two ministers from state that contributed less than five per cent of the President’s votes in the 2019 Presidential election.
He said: ”Whose credibility? How credible are some of those who are talking?
”The point is that I don’t know if there is a Nigerian who knows every Nigerian.
”Even as I can say that I have worked for Nigerian people at all levels, as a worker in a factory, as President of the NLC, as governor of a state and now as a national chairman of a party, there are too many Nigerians I will never be able to know.
“The screening process is meant to enable those watching, it is not for nothing that it is televised, it is to enable Nigerians see who these people are.
“But you will find that people started dismissing the list even before they saw it, just like some other things that Nigerians dismiss without knowing the meaning.
“So, what you and I should insist on is that in the President’s second term, in this next level, our party, our government at the centre, state and local government level must deliver. That is the entry point for every Nigerian.
”And when you talk of patronage, should we appoint…have you heard of Americans appointing Russians because they are experts to go and preside over their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)?
“Even in your newspapers do you invite me as APC chairman to come and write your editorial? He queried
According to Oshiohmole, the president has shown the capacity to patronize all geo-political zones of the country including where he did not win election.
He said: “Otherwise, where we got less than five percent, I saw two ministers coming from that state (Anambra), inspite of the fact that he got less than five percent there.
”That speaks volumes about a large heart, to accommodate, appreciate and to have an all inclusive government.”
The APC boss, who narrated his achievements so far, expressed optimism that the incoming ministers would perform creditably well after taking oath of office in days to come.
“I am very optimistic that these ministers coming, all of us working together, the party, the executive which the ministers belong and the National Assembly where we have overwhelming majority, we have what it takes to take Nigeria to the next level and the next level we are going there,” he said
He added that Nigerians were appreciating the APC better under his leadership, saying that the party had made tremendous progress.
”You talk about rumours, what about what you see. I am very proud to say that under my chairmanship, our party has made tremendous progress.
”I am not at the mercy of fake or even disgruntled analysts. I write my own testimonials by my self in terms of what l do, how I do it and what the unbiased people say.
“Irrespective of all the speculations, for example, it was said that 17 governors were going to remove Oshiomhole, what happened? At the end , we provided leadership and had more votes.
”In the 2015 election, the difference between our candidate and President Jonathan then, was slightly less than three million, but this time around, we had slightly less than four million.
”That is the way it works and I believe that Nigerians under my leadership appreciated APC better under my Chairmanship, as evidenced by the fact that we had more Senators, House of Representatives members this year, than before,” he added.
Oshiohmole further maintained that APC, under his leadership, had successfully uprooted the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his cronies, politically, in Kwara.
He said: ”Remember I was saying that Saraki must be removed, people would say how would I do it? I said okay if he resists removal then we would uproot.
“We went to Kwara, we did Otoge, we uprooted Saraki and you cannot commend me for this? You know who Saraki is? If you are talking of the most smartest political player, seasoned smart guy, he is.
”But for every smartness he has, I have a superior smartness. At the end of the day who won?
“As a senate president, we uprooted him as senator, we uprooted his nominee for governor and senators, we put our own.
”Today, he doesn’t have one senator in Kwara, he doesn’t have one House of Representatives in Kwara. Everything in Kwara is APC and you can’t commend me for that?
“If you don’t, then I will be like lizard, I will praise myself if you State House correspondents don’t praise me.” he added.
NAN reports that since the exercise began on July 23, 40 nominees have been screened by the Senate.
The exercise continues on Tuesday..(NAN)
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Mothers in Bauchi decry stock out of Severe Acute Malnutrition
Mothers, whose children are affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition, (SAM) in Bauchi State have called on the state government to provide them with more Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). (more…)
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Zenith Bank Women’s B’ball League: Kada coach hails players for good performance
Sim-Sim Morrison, Head Coach of Kada Queens basketball club, has hailed his players for a resounding win against Kebbi in the ongoing Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball league.
Morrison praised the team in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Kaduna after they defeated Kebbi Babes 62-36.
He said he was excited with his team’s performance in the competition which is exactly the way they wanted to go about the competition.
“I am happy with the performance displayed by the players at the ongoing league.
“The league is very competitive but our girls are playing good games and are improving daily.
“So far, from five matches played, we won four and lost one,” Morrison told NAN.
He added that up next for them was to look forward to playing at the second phase of the competition so as to have a better standing in the league.
“I must thank God almighty for giving us four consecutive wins, that’s our first objective in the competition, now it is left for us to look up to play at the second phase so that we can get to the finals.
“I must say I am grateful to my players, we will do all to address some mistakes from the players,” he assured the club’s fans.
While lauding his ladies on sticking to the match plan, the coach believes they had a good chance if they could replicate their form against the Adamawa team.
The head coach appealed to the state government for release of funds so as to make impact in the competition.
“We are still appealing to the state government for release of funds to enable us participate fully in the league.
“We appreciate the government’s support to us all this while but we need funds to enable us to get kits for the club, travel allowances for players and officials and salaries.
“Since last year, we are having challenges with funds which affected our performance, but we pray for the release the funds to us so as to motivate our players. (NAN)
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‘420,000 children die annually from severe acute malnutrition in Nigeria’
About 420,000 children die annually in Nigeria of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) scourge a development that is alarming and needs to be checked immediately to save the children. (more…)
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I’m ready to assist Buhari to take Nigeria to next level – Akpabio
Sen. Godswill Akpabio, ministerial nominee, says he is ready to work with President Muhammadu Buhari to take the country to the next level.
Akpabio gave this assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at the sidelines of the ministerial nominees screening at the National Assembly, Abuja on Wednesday.
He who explained that the country is under siege by banditry and other hoodlums, expressed his willingness to assist President Buhari to take the country to the next level.
According to him, with my wealth of experience as a former governor, senator and lawyer, I have a lot to offer Nigerians.
“Nigerians should expect higher performance, commitment to service and dedication to the country.
“If you look at my record, I don’t want people to look at my lips, they should look at my track record, which is very impressive in terms of dedication to quality service.
“We are going to work so hard to ensure that the president leaves a legacy to all Nigerians, not just in the area of fighting corruption, but we also want Nigerians to remember they once had a president dedicated to putting the country on the right track.
“Therefore, expect a lot of uncommon representation and uncommon performance that will culminate in uncommon achievements,’’ he said.
Akpabio, however, acknowledged the fact that they may not solve all problems, but they are determined to minimise the current problems plaguing the country.
Sen. George Akume, also a ministerial nominee from Benue said the next level of President Buhari’s administration will be more productive.
Akume noted that Buhari is committed to his agenda and as such has carefully put together a team to assist in achieving the goal of moving the country to the next level.
“I alone cannot make a difference, but together with my colleagues we will do our best for the country and Nigerians, and I believe when we are done, Nigeria will never be the same again positively.
“Seven of us from the senate are part of the Federal Executive Council, and so I believe the process is meant to smooth the relationship between the executive and the legislative arm of the government,’’ he said.
On his part, Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, described the ministerial nominees screening process as elating to the senators and to himself.
Enang said it is a confirmation that President Buhari took time to select men of good standing, people he knows and the best for the next level.
“From the presentation by the distinguished members, who have been screened and the other nominees, it has been very revealing and that the president went to a great refinery and brought very refined men good enough for the next level of this country,’’ he said.
On the relationship between the legislature and the executive, Ita Enang noted that both arms of government are working together seamlessly.
He said, “this shows that the relationship is very good, and there were consultations between the executive and the legislative before the list was compiled and delivered.
“There is also an indication that the senate prepared in advance for the screening and nothing has taken them by surprise.
“The CVs of all the nominees we had them, we produced 120 copies, which were sent to the clerk of the senate to be distributed as each of the candidate was coming in.
“You could see from the composure and dexterity displayed by the President of the Senate, and even the comportment and professionalism of the distinguished senators shows that Nigeria is actually different under the 9th senate and second term of the president,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the senate will reconvene on July 25 to continue with the screening of the ministerial nominees. (NAN)
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Peace Corps Bill to be passed by Reps
Peace Corps Bill set to be passed by Reps The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, unanimously passed a resolution to recommit the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill to the Committee of the Whole, for passage.
The Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, which was recently re-gazetted as HB. 17 was re-introduced and sponsored by the Chief Whip, Rt. Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno.
The reintroduced Bill passed First Reading in the House of Representatives July 3, 2019.
Leading a debate on the motion on Wednesday, Hon. Monguno said, the move to reconsider the Bill in the Committee of the Whole was in pursuant to Order 12, Rule 16 of the Standing Order of the House, which prescribed that, a Bill passed by the previous Assembly, “upon being re-gazetted or clean copies circulated, be reconsidered in the Committee of the Whole without being commenced de-novo”.
The Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, which was overwhelmingly passed by both Chambers of the 8th National Assembly, is to give statutory backing to the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria, with a core mandate to “Develop, Empower and provide gainful Employment for the youths, facilitate Peace, Volunteerism, Community Services, Neighbourhood watch and Nation-building; and for other Related Matters”.
While reacting to the re-introduction of the Bill, National Commandant, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Dr Dickson Akoh, on behalf of the Organisation, expressed his gratitude to the Honourable Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the entire Members of the House of Representatives, for the decision to revisit the Bill.
Dickson Akor. National Commandant of Nigeria Peace Corps Dr Akoh who spoke to our reporter on phone, urged members of the organisation to be patient and remain steadfast, as he is very optimistic that the Bill will see the light of the day this time around.
He said the main reservation raised by President Muhammad Buhari in withholding assent to the Bill has been adequately addressed.
The Bill shall be passed in the next legislative attempt, after clause-by-clause considerations at the Committee of the Whole.