The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Sunday said the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC never indicted the state as regards the alleged diversion of bailout funds disbursed to states by the federal government.
Aregbesola who made the statement while addressing workers in the state during a ceremony organized in commemoration of the 2016 International Workers Day said that ICPC has confirmed to the state through a letter that it never indicted the state on the disbursement of the bail-out loan.
He noted that ICPC had written to his office to clarify insinuations by the opposition that his government diverted bailout funds.
It would be recalled that the media was awash two last week over allegation of misapplication of the bailout loan by some states who obtained the loans.
The governor added that according to the letter written to him, ICPC said that there was no evidence indicating that the funds distributed as at then, had been applied to any other matter apart from salaries in the state.
He stressed that the report was just an extract of what the commission got from officials of government on a template provided by ICPC and forwarded to it in October 2015.
The Governor said, “I want to also assure you, contrary to the insinuation being made by our traducers, who claimed we diverted the bailout funds, that nothing of such happened. This is the concoction of a mischievous opposition and their media conspirators.
“ICPC never indicted us. Other media agencies reported the ICPC accurately that the data it published on disbursement of bailout funds by states was as at October last year and this was given to them by us. How could we then have indicted ourselves?.
“I am happy that ICPC has cleared the air. The anti-corruption body has written to us affirming again that the information it gave out covered only October 2015, saying that it never indicted us since no evidence exists that we applied the funds to any other matter outside of workers salaries.
“We demanded for N64.3 billion to cover outstanding salaries, pension and gratuities up till June 2015 for the state workers and N23.8 billion to cover the salaries, pension and gratuities for the local government workers for the same period.
“However, we got N25.8 billion for state and N9.1 billion for local government, totaling N34.9 billion. So, we can all see that this is a far cry from what we needed and asked for. We got this far only because of exceptional financial engineering, extreme prudence and commendable cooperation of Labour.
“I must also let you know that there is no way we could have diverted the funds, knowing that it was not sufficient for our needs in the first place”. He stressed.
Aregbesola also announced the naming of a major road at the state capital, Orita Olaiya/Itan Olookan, as Workers Drive in recognition of what he described as the perseverance of the workers in the face of challenging financial situation and assured the state workers that the worst is over, promising that the state shall soon be out of the woods soon.
He added that state governors had a fruitful meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari who has been very concerned about welfare of Nigerian states.
He commended workers of the state for their fierce loyalty, dedication, hard working, industrious and their exhibition of the fear of God during the challenging period.
He continued: “We are particularly grateful for the fiercely loyal, dedicated, hard working, industrious and God-fearing workers we have in Osun.
“I can go on ad infinitum, but there is no doubt that without workers, no administration can succeed in doing anything.
“Our workers have also demonstrated unsurpassable understanding and forbearance in the face of the challenges we are going through. I will be eternally grateful to them.
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Gov. Ahmed promises Kwara workers prompt payment of salaries
Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara says his administration’s strategies in reducing the cost of governance and renewed revenue generation mechanism will ensure prompt payment of salaries and pensions.
Ahmed, represented by the state’s Head of Service, Hajia Zara Umar, said this on Sunday at this year’s Workers’ Day celebration held at the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin.
The governor noted that the state’s Internal Revenue Service, KWIRS, has been empowered to shore up the state’s internally generated revenue.
He added that this would enable the state government to meet up with its statutory commitments and promote infrastructural development..
Ahmed thanked workers and pensioners for participating in a verification exercise, saying the exercise would give an accurate number of workers and pensioners on its payroll.
The governor also said that data collected from the exercise would be used for planning purposes which would facilitate growth and development.
He commended the Federal Government for suspending monthly deductions at source for states who received bailout funds.
‘’ This will ease the financial challenges facing many of those states as we seek alternative measures to improve our economy,’’ he said.
He, however, urged labour unions to situate their request for upward review of minimum wage to N56, 000 within the context of the economic challenges confronting all tiers of government.
“ As it is, most states can hardly pay salaries based on the current minimum wage not to talk of increasing it,’’ he said.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Yekini Agunbiade, listed a number of outstanding demands of labour from the state government.
He called on the state government to boost revenue accruing to local government councils so that they could meet their financial obligations to workers and pensioners.
Tiwa Savage: Dr. Sid ignores Tee Billz’s rant, hails wife on his birthday
Sidney Onoriode Esiri popularly known as, Dr SID, celebrated his 36th birthday today, ignoring the rant of Tunji Balogun (Tee Billz), the husband of his label mate, Tiwa Savage who accused him and others of having sexual affair with the Eminado crooner.
The Surulere singer, who has refused to respond to the allegation, posted a photo of himself having a drink in a ship with the caption, ‘Thanks 4 d birthday wishes. I’m blessed 2 have amazing pple around me. @simiesiri I love u n I’m blessed 2 have u’.
His wife, Simi, also seem unperturbed by the allegation as she took to her instagram page to celebrate Dr. Sid, with a photo captioned, ‘My love, my best friend, my husband and the father of my daughter. Today, I want you to take time off taking care of everybody and let me love and pamper you like you do for me. Even if no one gets you, I get you and I gat you. What it is, is what it was and what it will always be. Happy birthday Sidney Onoriode Esiri. Love you always!’.
Earlier in the day, Mavin Boss Don Jazzy took time out to send him a shout out on Instagram.
“My brother from another mother. The most misunderstood person I know. If only the world can know you like we know you. But at the end of the day all that matters is that GOD knows and sees your kind heart. For as long as I live I will forever be grateful for a friend like you. Happy Birthday Bro. God Bless You Always. # Mavin @iamdrsid”
In what many have described as a moment of madness Tunji Balogun a.k.a Teebillz husband of superstar singer, Tiwa Savage woke us all up on Thursday with an Instagram post, attacking his wife, his mother-in-law, and some of Tiwa’s label mates, accusing his wife of infidelity. Tiwa denied all the allegations, including infidelity.
“I have never cheated on my husband…not with Don Jazzy, not with Dr Sid, not with 2face..and I am willing to take a lie detector testI have never cheated on my husband. Not with Don Jazzy, Dr Sid, 2face Idibia or anybody. I have never cheated on my husband, and Tunji knows this. He knows that in his heart. (She breaks down in tears) Sometimes in the studio, one of the things that Don Jazzy and some of my other label mates say is that I am really good with interviews, with being diplomatic and knowing how to carry myself with difficult situations. This hurts. I have seen comments of what people are saying about me. It is not true,” she said in a 45 minutes interview.
Last week, Tiwa released the video to her single ‘If I start to talk’ featuring Dr Sid. The video attempts to tell a story of what the singer has been through in and out of the industry, which is all centred on gratitude.
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Gov. Adams Oshiomhole’s deputy escapes assassination
Deputy governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu, escaped an assassination attempt on his life yesterday April 30th. According to reports, Odubu was speaking with a group of people at the APC secretariat in Auchi, Edo state when the incident happened. Unknown gunmen said to be about 7 stormed the building and opened fire on the group, injuring five people, including a police office, a DSS operative and 3 others. Odubu was not injured. The injured are currently being treated in hospital.
The deputy governor recently declared his intentions to contest in the September 10 governorship election in the state on the platform of the APC. Guess some folks aren't happy about that!
Ghanaian crowned first ‘Miss Africa Continent’
Barefoot, wearing traditional costumes including animal hide skirts and elaborately beaded headdresses, the contestants strutted the stage before Ghanaian Rebecca Asamoah was crowned the first Miss Africa Continent.
The 24-year-old dental hygienist beat 11 finalists drawn from an original list of 40 contestants from across the continent in the inaugural pageant at Johannesburg’s Gold Reef City casino on Saturday night.
Runner-up was Michelo Malambo of Zambia, while South Africa’s Jemimah Kandimiri was placed third.
The swimsuit contest was also a departure from the beauty contest norm, with contestants wearing black t-shirts and tight shorts while dancing barefoot to music such as “Africa” by Mali’s legendary afro-pop musician Salif Keita.
The pageant is the brain child of South African film producer Neo Mashishi, who says it aims to empower young African women.
“This is the first ever Miss Africa Continent,” said Mashishi, adding that it had been five years in the making.
“This is about Africa, we are selling Africa to the world, and we are proud to be Africa”.
“The way everything was done was African, we didn’t emulate anything from Miss Universe, or Miss World,” he said.
Asamoah, who wore braids, entered the stage in a traditional Ghanaian Ashanti gold-coloured beaded crown and then returned in a evening dress made from the country’s trademark kente cloth.
She walked away with a grant to study business management at Monash university in Johannesburg.
Runner up in the 2015 Miss Ghana competition, Asamoah said she wanted to see young people help uplift the continent.
“There are a lot of things to be fixed in Africa — water, education, environmental issues,” she told AFP.
“My main concern is the empowerment of youths… so we can work hand in hand and put our continent in the best place it should be.”
In the weeks running up to the event, the 12 finalists embarked on a series of pre-pageant activities, including showing off their culinary skills in cooking traditional meals from their native countries.
Ultimately, the organisers hope to involve the continental body, the African Union, “so our winner can play a role in uplifting Africa”and spearhead campaigns to fight Africa’s woes such as malaria, poverty and xenophobia.
Bishop weds 109 couples
Most Rev. Mathew Audu, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Saturday in Masaka wedded 109 couples and urged in-laws not to interfere in their affairs.
Audu, who was on his third pastoral visit to St. Martin`s Catholic Church, Masaka, appealed to relatives of the new couples to allow them to build their marriages.
“As newly wedded couples, you must love each other just as Christ Jesus loved the church and died to set souls free.
“You must respect each other’s feelings; care for each other, share views and reason together in peace and unity.
“You must not allow a third party to come into your matter; always invite God to intervene in your case.
“Ensure that you are coordinated in all your dealings and make the word of God your standard, your pillar, your faith and your hope.
“If you can keep these entire commandments, your marriage will be perfect and other couples will want to copy from you,’’ he said.
The Bishop, who also confirmed 1,390 faithful, blessed 56 Eucharistic Ministers and 76 lectors, saying the blessing would strengthen their faith.
He said that the confirmation and the blessings the members received would energise them to evangelise to people and win more souls into the kingdom of God.
Audu said that confirmation in the Catholic Church was the sacrament which reaffirmed a person’s status in the church.
He advised the members who were confirmed to keep doctrines of the Catholic Church and ensure that they carried out responsibilities given to them diligently.
“The Catholic Church sees confirmation as a rite in which grace falls on the person confirmed as they announce their commitment to God and the Church,’’ he said.
Earlier, Rev. Fr. Jude Maigari, Parish Priest of the parish, said that the mass wedding was a culture imbibed by the church to enable couples with little finances wed in the church.
He encouraged the couples to heed the advice given by the bishop saying it would help them to live in peace and harmony.
Ekiti workers will soon heave sigh of relief – Speaker
The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr Kola Oluwawole, has urged civil servants in the state to exercise patience, saying relief will soon come their way.
Oluwawole, in a Workers’ Day celebration message issued in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday by his Media Aide, Mr Stephen Gbadamosi, lauded the resilience of workers across the nation in the face of dwindling revenue.
“I particularly want to praise the resilience of our workforce and the entire citizens of Ekiti State in particular and Nigeria in general.
“The resilience and perseverance during the months of economic recession has been legendary and unprecedented.
“But I have a message of hope; very soon, I believe we will all heave a sigh of relief.
“On our part as a government in Ekiti State, under the leadership of Gov. Ayo Fayose, we have not been able to sleep with our two eyes since this recession has been having adverse effect on the welfare of the workers.
“At the end of the tunnel, we will soon have light. I assure you that we are more committed to making life more meaningful to workers in the state,” he said.
The speaker said that the Federal Government must also be thinking of how to get the country out of the current economic logjam.
“I, on behalf of the entire House of Assembly in Ekiti State, congratulate the leadership and members of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and those of Trade Union Congress (TUC),” he said.
Workers Day: NLC to build 3,050 houses for civil servants
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Sokoto State says it will build 3,050 housing units for civil servants in the state.
The stateChairman of the NLC, Mr Aminu Umar, disclosed this in Sokoto on Sunday at the 2016 May Day Celebrations.
Umar, who was represented by his Deputy, Mr Abubakar Malami, said that the houses will be built in partnership with some private estate developers.
“So far, about 100 hectares of land had been acquired by the company on which the houses would be built including other facilities like clinic, mini market and schools, among others.
“Therefore, I will like to solicit for your continued cooperation in order to help us achieve the set goals of improving the welfare of workers,” Umar urged.
He commended the State Government for ensuring the regular payment of salary and the payment of arrears of gratuities to retired civil servants in the state.
The chairman extolled the existing cordial relationship between labour unions and the state government.
Umar further acknowledged the desire and commitment of the state government to improve the lot of the civil servants in the state.
However, he appealed to the state government to look into the plight of retired teachers and workers of local government councils, as well as salary disparity between secondary and primary school teachers.
Umar further urged the state government to implement consolidated salary for legislative staff, as well as introduce a special media salary scale, among other demands.
Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, said that no society can develop without a functional, robust, motivated and dedicated civil service.
Tambuwal also pledged to sustain the prompt payment of salary and pensions, as well as uplifting the general welfare of the citizenry.
The governor urged the civil servants to reciprocate the gestures of the state government by being disciplined, dedicated to their duties and more productive.
Borrow to fund welfare programme promised by APC, Falana tells Buhari
Abuja – Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Saturday called on the Nigeria Labour Movement to lead campaign for recovery of stolen wealth and the prosecution of all indicted looters.
He made the call at the 2016 Pre-May Day Lecture with the theme, “The fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy’’, organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Falana who was represented by Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, the Chairman, Partner for Electoral Reforms said that the need to prosecute indicted looters had become imperative, as there had been diversion of public funds by a handful of public officers.
According to him, government has continue to take toxic loans from foreign financial institutions to fund the escalating costs of governance.
“Under an economy controlled by market forces, the majority of citizens have been denied access to security, welfare and happiness.
“In an arrogant manner, the few public officers and their cohorts who have cornered the commonwealth go around freely.
“The ongoing investigation into the mega looting of the treasury had shown that if the resources of the nation had been judiciously managed, an effective welfare programme could have been established.
“This will run in the interest of the people, although the mega looting of the national treasury is being investigated.’’
Falana noted that electricity tariff had been increased even though there was no improvement in electricity supply.
He also said that Nigerians were being forced to pay more for education, health, fuel and other essential social services.
“Since the Federal Government is in a position to borrow N600 billion every month to pay salaries, it should also borrow to fund the welfare programme promised by the APC.
“It is therefore suggested that the stolen wealth being recovered should be channeled towards the funding of a welfare programme for the people,’’he added.
He called on the Federal Government to review the National Minimum Wage as it was long overdue in line with the law.
According to him, government is under obligation to provide a living national minimum wage and ensure that condition of work is humane.
He said that government must ensure that the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment were safeguarded and not endangered or abuse.
Also speaking, the NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba assured workers that labour and all other progressive forces would continue to meet and provide policy option that must force government to implement agreements.
“The challenges we have in this country is lack of planning, corruption and mismanagement, among others.
“Therefore, we will not expect those issues to change without us engaging our political elites on how best to transform the economy. We must hold our leaders accountable,’’ Wabba said.
Earlier, the TUC President, Mr Bobbio Kaigama said labour would continue to liaise with anti-graft agencies to probe state governors who were not able to disburse their bailout funds accordingly.
“I want to assure the Nigerian workers that we will continue to provide the necessary leadership that will benefit the workers,’’ he said.
With assistance, Nigeria, others target coordinated fight against Boko Haram
With US and European support, African states threatened by Boko Haram are out to smash the militant Islamist group terrorising the region — but a coordinated response is required if they are to succeed.
A regional offensive launched early last year against the group by Chad, and Nigeria under new President Muhammadu Buhari has seen Boko Haram driven out from numerous towns and villages that it controlled in northeastern Nigeria.
Two weeks ago, Nigeria’s military said it would raid the group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold on the Cameroon border. The group also has hideouts within nearby Lake Chad’s huge maze of small islands and swampland.
Despite losing some ground in recent months the insurgents retain the capacity to launch attacks almost at will, notably via suicide attacks which require few resources.
British NGO Action on Armed Violence said earlier this week that Boko Haram attacks claimed three times as many victims last year as in 2014.
The group started wreaking havoc in Nigeria in 2009 and according to World Bank estimates has killed around 20,000 people, also sowing chaos and fear inside neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
US and British troops will join the international coordination effort against the group, while Nigeria and France on Thursday signed an agreement on closer military cooperation, including intelligence sharing.
Nigerian Defence Minister Mansur Dan Ali saluted the deal as evidence of a “growing partnership” between Abuja and Paris.
An 8,500-strong multinational force has been drawn up to track the jihadists, but its deployment has been haphazard with little to indicate the extent of real progress.
Even so, the Nigerian general overseeing the force, Lamadi Adeosun, indicated Friday during a meeting with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian that “much has been done and is still being done to win the battle and ultimately win the peace”.
The Nigerian army is expected to launch an offensive in the coming days so as “to deny Boko Haram its traditional Sambisa sanctuary”, according to Chad military sources in the capital N’Djamena.
Such an offensive has been in the offing ever since Buhari took office a year ago but has yet to materialise.
– Imminent action –
“The idea is to be able to announce at the next Abuja summit (on May 14) that this sanctuary no longer exists. That is a military and also a political imperative,” says a source close to the president.
The summit will bring together leaders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — allied neighbours in the fight against Boko Haram — as well as French President Francois Hollande and representatives from Britain and the United States.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video late last month and “he still seems to be the leader and is hiding out in the Sambisa Forest,” according to a French military source.
The group is thought to number somewhere between 100,000 and 30,000. Its exact strength is hard to evaluate but the French source says that experienced fighters who have returned from Mali or Libya are no more than a small hard core.
The multinational force is preparing its own offensive along the border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger but time is of the essence with the rainy season approaching.
– IS link? –
The multinational force, whose HQ is at N’Djamena although each nation’s contingent is under its own command, will have access to intelligence compiled by French and US drones and fighter planes — but communications, transport and logistics hardware are in short supply.
Coordination is paramount.
“If they are not coordinated they will never be able definitively to curtail Boko Haram,” a French military source warned.
General Adeosun says the international community should be doing more — red tape has held up 50 million euros ($55 million) of EU aid — and has asked for lifejackets and a consignment of flat-bottomed boats to take the fight to the enemy across the huge expanse of Lake Chad.
There are concerns Boko Haram may have received weapons via Libya from Islamic State through individual go-betweens, though Le Drian says that “for now we do not have proof of close links” between the jihadists.
On Saturday, Le Drian promised to do away with Boko Haram “barbarity” as he visited the Ivorian resort of Grand-Bassam, scene of a deadly March 13 attack blamed on an Al-Qaeda affiliate which killed 19.
“We are determined to fight together with the Ivory Coast authorities for our freedoms and against barbarity,” said Le Drian a day after pledging to lift the French troop contingent in the country from 600 to 900.
Leicester City set for history
Leicester City’s players looked relaxed as they departed for Manchester on the verge of Premier League glory.
Claudio Ranieri’s side face Manchester United at Old Trafford today knowing victory over Louis van Gaal’s men would seal the title.
After a remarkable season, the Foxes are now just three points away from starting the party but if the pressure was getting to them, the players weren’t letting it show.
And striker Leonardo Ulloa, who will once again step into the boots of the suspended Jamie Vardy on, was one of the Leicester players pictured before boarding the team bus.
Welsh midfielder Andy King also cut a relaxed figure while right back and former United man Danny Simpson posted a picture to Twitter of him and star midfielder Riyad Mahrez.
Eagles coach to understudy Guardiola
Super Eagles interim coach Salisu Yusuf has disclosed that he plans to return overseas to understudy new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola when the new English Premier League season.
Yusuf was recently at Scottish club Hearts to understudy their workings.
“I hope to understudy Pep (Guardiola) by the time he resumes at Manchester City. I was scheduled to do that when I finished at Hearts in Scotland, but I shifted it because I wanted to attend the CAF A license in Abuja,” the coach said.
“My visit to Scotland was eye-opening and it showed to me again why cubs in Europe are very prepared because they have experts for all aspects of their preparations – from fitness conditioning to dieting.”
Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini at The Etihad for the new season when Yusuf then hopes to visit.
Former Kano Pillars and Enyimba coach Yusuf, who has assisted Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh and Samson Siasia, will lead Nigeria for two friendlies against Mali and Luxembourg in the new month.
PDP holds peaceful congresses
The ward congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, conducted in most states of the country, yesterday, passed uneventfully with the notable exception of Ogun and Osun states. In Ogun, party members and regulatory electoral institutions split into three factions across the 236 wards in the state. The ward congresses are the first steps in the election of principal officers of the PDP at the ward, local government, state, zonal and national levels.
The congresses, however, did not hold in some states like Edo, Kogi and Bayelsa where congresses were earlier held.
In most states, the election went with ease and, in some cases, leaders of the party met in caucuses to adopt pre-selected officials to be elected as party executives and delegates to the elections in the upper echelons of the party. In Kano, the exercise was suspended to allow the party concentrate on the bye-election into a seat in the state House of Assembly, the party’s publicity secretary, Musa Dan’Birni, said.
In Ogun, consensus was, however, difficult to achieve as party members converged in three different locations in each of the 236 wards according to the loyalties of the members. The principal factional groupings were around Senator Buruji Kashamu, former Speaker Demiji Bankole and Rep Ladi Adebutu, a member of the House of Representatives.
Remarkably, Sunday Vanguard gathered that all the factions had officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Department of State Services, DSS, and national party officials in attendance.
The Kashamu group, which has the state Chairman and Secretary of the party, Bayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo respectively, as members, was, however, accused of holding members of the 11-man Congress Committee hostage in the senator’s Ijebu-Igbo house.
The Adebutu and Bankole factions further claimed that Kashamu and members of the Congress Committee compiled the names of the wards leaders at the senator’s residence.
The Chairman of the committee, Mohammed El-Yakubu, however, denied the allegations and claimed that, as of the time journalists encountered him midway into the congress, he had not set eyes on Kashamu .
But speaking with newsmen, the party’s former Organising Secretary, Folasade Filani, said the congresses held by her group, which is believed to be loyal to Adebutu, was the valid exercise.
A former member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Johnson Olu-Fatoki, who is loyal to the Bankole, as evidence of the legitimacy of the exercise conducted by his group, said his faction held the exercise at the venues designated by the PDP national leadership.
In Lagos, the exercise passed smoothly in the 245 wards of the state with no reports of violence.
However, in Igando Ward F, Alimosho Local Government Area of the state, some party members faulted the process, alleging it was manipulated to favour some members.
The exercise also passed smoothly in Delta State. Sunday Vanguard monitored the exercise in Oshimili North and South, Aniocha North and South, Ika North East and Ika South, Isoko North and South, Ughelli North and South, Ndokwa East and West, Ukwani, Sapele, Okpe, Ethiope East and West and Patani Local Government Area, and found that the exercise was devoid of violence.
The congresses in the 27 local government areas of Jigawa State were equally peaceful, a claim that was buttressed by Alhaji Aminu Nuhu Jahun, Deputy Vice Chairman of the PDP, who told newsmen that the exercise was hitch-free in his area Jahun and other places he had received reports from.
The exercise was marred by protest in Osun State, championed by, among others, a candidate for state Chairman, Dr Bayo Faforiji, who demanded outright cancellation of the exercise.
Supporters Faforiji had stormed the state secretariat of the party in protest of alleged non-release of forms to those believed to be loyal to him by the outgoing state Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa.
But debunking the claim, another chairmanship candidate, Hon Soji Adagunodo, said forms paid for by his camp were given to them and dismissed the protest as “mere distraction”.
The congresses were also peaceful in the 177 wards in Ekiti and in the 319 wards of Rivers State.
Deputy Publicity secretary of the party in Rivers State, Mr Sam Wonosike said people voted persons of their choice into the various positions. There was massive turn out of PDP members in Plateau State despite the restriction of movement for the environmental sanitation exercise.
The exercise was conducted peacefully in most parts of the state. Similarly, in most parts of Taraba State, the exercise passed smoothly with consensus mostly the order of the day.
NLC faction demands N90,000 minimum wage
AHEAD of today’s Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, a faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, led by Joe Ajaero, yesterday, rejected the N56,000 national minimum wage proposal reportedly sent to the Federal Government by the Ayuba Wabba-led NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, saying it was not in tune with economic realities faced by workers.
At a pre-May Day symposium, titled, “Inclusive Socio-Economic Space for Sustainable Development”, Ajaero told his audience that his faction of NLC was not part of the N56,000 proposal because the cost of living today and other socio-economic realities workers were faced with in the midst of the current exchange rate of the Nigerian currency, it was obvious that the N56,000 was off the mark.
The NLC he led, the factional NLC leader stated, was demanding N90,000 national minimum wage based on the current exchange rate, noting that should the exchange rate go above N500 per dollar, NLC would demand for more than N90,000.
He said: “No sacrifice is too much to liberate the Nigerian workers. Every year, we go to the stadium to salute those who have been enslaving us, those who have refused to pay us minimum living national wage. But since last year, we have been forced to gather under the bridge of the National Stadium, which we have named `Workers Freedom Square’. We will gather, match through the streets, take the May Day to the real owners, the Nigerian workers and masses, to tell them that there is no electricity despite the astronomical tariff, that there is no fuel, that there are no good roads, that public universities are being closed down, that there are no jobs and so on and so forth.
“Few days ago, we were told that N56.000 minimum wage proposal has been sent to the government. We want to tell you that we are not part of that because even as they were sending the proposal, they equally said that they know that the economy is bad. By the time you say that, it means that the proposal is dead on arrival. We all know that the current minimum wage is less that the electricity bill paid by most workers. On our part, we are demanding N90,000 minimum wage. The N90,000 we are demanding is with a proviso, depending on the exchange rate. If the exchange rate goes above N500 a dollar, we will ask for more.”
Delivering the pre-May Day symposium, human rights activist and former lecturer at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr. Femi Aborishade, called for a united struggle for a national living minimum wage as prescribed by the Constitution.
According to him, Ajaero, Wabba led NLC and TUC should unite and come out with a national living minimum wage, because the ruling class had institutionalized poverty, unemployment and illiteracy among others.
Nnamdi Kanu predicted Fulani herdsmen impunity, says IPOB
Biafran separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said that the current mindless killings and unprovoked attacks on South Eastern communities by Fulani herdsmen were long predicted by its detained leader, and Director of Biafra Radio, Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, in a press statement yesterday, said although Kanu had warned against the grave implications of Muhammadu Bunari’s presidency, many people did not take him seriously.
The pro-Biafra group strongly condemned the bloodbath at Uzo-Uwani by Fulani herdsmen who killed over 40 persons there, saying this was part of the reasons the agitation for Biafra was renewed.
The statement read: “As they campaign vigorously for elections, you would think, they are coming to grow the economy, enthrone justice, breed unity and tolerance, love for one another.
“No, they are coming to enthrone Hausa/Fulani supremacy, to reposition the security agencies by sacking all competent hands and replace them with their kinsmen in order to drive their ethnic domination of the south. The Fulani herdsmen will be armed and encouraged to slaughter us with impurity and their masters will protect them.
“They are coming to ensure that my people are enslaved forever. Those who do not believe me will soon see it happen before their eyes.
“The Fulani will take over the entire south as a continuation of their age-long agenda to Islamize Eastern Nigeria. They will brazenly seize our land in pretence of creating grazing fields for the Fulani. Then the conquest will be complete, we will become their serfs forever.”
The statement further quoted Kanu as saying before the 2015 elections that: “Between Jonathan and Buhari, none is good for us. Freedom remains our only option, Jonathan is weak and confused, Buhari is a tyrant, who will destroy the land with his parochial view point.
“His kinsmen will take over the military and the security architecture of the land. Christians and Easterners will become endangered species; He will use the security apparatus to advance the agenda of his ethnic group. My people will suffer”.
According to IPOB, Kanu had also predicated that a group deadlier than Boko Haram would be unleashed to the South to destabilise Eastern people and economy.
“Then a group deadlier than Boko Haram will emerge, they will seize our farmland, rape our women, kill our people and their master will protect, defend and even arm them, because their sole agenda is to enslave us forever.
“Those who cannot see it now, will soon see it. The hatred in their souls for my people is legendary. They do not see us as humans. They kill, they slaughter, they burn and they destroy. Mindless bloodletting is in their DNA. My people are in trouble”, Kanu was quoted as having said then.
“We can only add that he forgot to inform the world before his unjust arrest and detention, that the DSS would falsely accuse us of killing 5 Fulani who they vehemently refused to take newsmen to the graves to confirm the veracity of the claims if any”, Powerful added.
IPOB, however, said it would not retaliate the unwarranted attacks on South Eastern communities by Fulani herdsmen, insisting that no amount of temptation will make it compromise its non-violent stance in the struggles for independence.
Obama out’: president gets in final laughs with US media
President Barack Obama cracked jokes and poked fun at rivals Saturday in his last appearance as US leader at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ending his performance with a mic drop and the words “Obama out.”
The black-tie event — at which the president, followed by a bona fide comedian, regale journalists and their celebrity guests with insider jokes about government and the media — is an annual inside-the-beltway ritual.
Obama poked fun at himself, the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and reporters. On a serious note he praised Washington Post former Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, released in October after 18 months in an Iranian prison.
Obama made fun about how he has aged on the job and how in his final year his approval ratings have been rising. “The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major,” Obama said, a reference to smoking pot in college.
Donald Trump, the 2016 Republican White House frontrunner and a frequent event guest, was absent on Saturday.
However billionaire Republican former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who toyed with the idea of entering the presidential race, was at the event.
“Mike, a combative, controversial New York billionaire is leading the GOP primary and it’s not you,” Obama told Bloomberg.
“That has to sting a little bit. Although it is not an entirely unfair comparison between you and The Donald. Mike was a big city mayor. He knows policy in depth, and he is actually worth the amount of money that he says he is.”
Trump was the target of some pointed jabs at the 2011 dinner, and said he would not attend this year’s event, suggesting that the media would misreport his mood.
But Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was present.
“Bernie, you look like a million bucks. Or, to put in terms you will understand, you look like 37,000 donations of $27 each,” Obama said, a reference to the flood of small contributions to Sanders’ insurgent campaign.
“I am hurt though, Bernie, that you have distanced yourself form me. That’s not something that you do to your comrade.”
Obama ended his presentation by saying “Obama out” followed by a microphone drop, a celebrity and pop culture way of saying that the performance was so good there is nothing to add.
Hollywood celebrities at the event included actors Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, Kerry Washington, star of the Washington-based TV show “Scandal,” Helen Mirren, Bryan Cranston and singer Aretha Franklin.
Five years after bin Laden, Al-Qaeda down but not out
Five years after the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the network he founded is far from dead even if it has suffered a series of setbacks.
Replaced as the preeminent global jihadist power by the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda nonetheless remains a potent force and dangerous threat, experts say.
With last year’s Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris and a wave of shootings in West Africa, Al-Qaeda has shown it can still carry out its trademark spectacular attacks.
And in Syria and Yemen its militants have seized on chaos to take control of significant territory, even presenting themselves as an alternative to the brutality of IS rule.
By the time US special forces killed bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, the group he founded in the late 1980s had been badly damaged, with many of its militants and leaders killed or captured in the US “War on Terror”.
Dissention grew in the jihadist ranks as new Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri struggled in bin Laden’s place, until one of its branches, originally Al-Qaeda in Iraq, broke away to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
After seizing large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, the group declared an Islamic “caliphate” in areas under its control, calling itself simply the Islamic State.
IS has since eclipsed its former partner, drawing thousands of jihadists to its cause and claiming responsibility for attacks that have left hundreds dead in Brussels, Paris, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and on a Russian airliner over Egypt.
– ‘Media war machine’ –
Its self-declared “emir” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has won pledges of allegiance from extremist groups across the Middle East and beyond, with especially powerful IS affiliates operating in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and in Libya.
Jean-Pierre Filiu, a Paris-based expert on Islam and jihadist groups, said IS has been especially effective at using new technology to surpass its less tech-savvy rival.
“Al-Qaeda propaganda has become invisible on social networks thanks to the media war machine that Daesh has managed to successfully create,” Filiu said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
“Al-Qaeda has lost everywhere to Daesh, except in the Sahel” desert region of northern Africa, he said.
William McCants, of the Brookings Institution in Washington, agreed that Al-Qaeda had lost some ground to IS, but said the organisation has recovered.
“Al-Qaeda has a strong showing in Syria and in Yemen,” he said.
In Syria the group’s local affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, is one of the strongest forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, holding large parts of the northern province of Idlib.
The local branch in Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has meanwhile seized significant territory in the south and southeast as the government struggles against Iran-backed Shiite insurgents who have taken the capital Sanaa and other areas.
AQAP suffered a setback last week when Yemeni troops recaptured the key port city of Mukalla it occupied for more than a year.
– Attacks in Paris, west Africa –
But AQAP remains the key jihadist force in Yemen with thousands of members compared with only several hundred affiliated with IS, McCants said.
AQAP, considered by Washington to be Al-Qaeda’s most well-established and dangerous branch, has also claimed responsibility for one of the group’s most important attacks abroad in recent years.
In January 2015 gunmen stormed the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo with assault rifles and other weapons, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by AQAP.
Another branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has carried out assaults on hotels and restaurants in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast since November that have left dozens dead, including many foreigners.
The attacks in west Africa “have reasserted the regional presence of AQIM and shown its expanding reach,” New York-based intelligence consultancy The Soufan Group said in March.
“AQIM has used the attacks to challenge the influence of the Islamic State, to demonstrate and build its local support and to show that it is united after earlier damaging divisions,” it said.
The International Crisis Group also argues that although IS has reshaped the jihadist landscape, Al-Qaeda “has evolved” and its branches in North Africa, Somalia, Syria and Yemen “remain potent, some stronger than ever”.
“Some have grafted themselves onto local insurrections, displaying a degree of pragmatism, caution about killing Muslims and sensitivity to local norms,” said the Brussels-based think-tank.
Al-Qaeda chiefs in Yemen and elsewhere have condemned IS for some of its actions, including bombings of Shiite mosques.
– ‘Jihad will last decades’ –
The United States clearly still sees Al-Qaeda as a key threat, pursuing a vigorous drone war against the group in Yemen.
The strikes have killed many senior operatives, including Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command Nasir al-Wuhayshi in June 2015. In March a US strike on an AQAP training camp in Yemen killed at least 71 recruits.
Writing for French news website Atlantico in early April, former intelligence officer Alain Rodier said that while IS may have stolen the spotlight, Al-Qaeda may be in a better long-term position.
By rushing to declare its caliphate and establish its rule, IS has made itself an easier target, with thousands of its supporters killed in air strikes launched by a US-led coalition and by Russia.
Its harsh rule has also alienated potential supporters, while groups like Al-Nusra have instead sought to work with local forces in areas under their control.
“The death of Al-Qaeda’s founding father in no way meant the end of his progeny,” Rodier wrote. “This jihad will last for decades.”
North Korea sets coronation for Kim Jong
After four years of top-level reshuffles, purges and executions, Kim Jong-Un will formally cement his unassailable status as North Korea’s supreme leader at a landmark ruling party congress this week.
The first gathering of its kind for nearly 40 years is really a coronation of sorts — recognising the young 33-year-old leader as the legitimate inheritor of the dynastic dictatorship started by his grandfather Kim Il-Sung and passed down through his late father Kim Jong-Il.
“This congress means everything for Kim Jong-Un,” said John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University in Seoul.
“It is the most public, historic setting in which he can demonstrate that he is fully in charge, and that everyone follows his orders,” Delury said.
“Nominally, it’s for the party, but really this congress is for Kim,” he added.
Kim wasn’t even born when the last congress was held in 1980 to crown his father as the heir apparent to founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
When his own turn came, following the death of Kim Jong-Il in December 2011, there were numerous doubters who suggested the Swiss finishing school graduate lacked the survival skills needed for the Machiavellian world of North Korean power politics.
But he proved them wrong, purging the party, government and powerful military of those seen as disloyal, and displaying a ruthless streak that notably led to the execution of his powerful uncle, and one-time political mentor, Jang Song-Thaek.
– Policy pivot –
He also adjusted his father’s “songun”, or military first policy, to a “byungjin” policy of pursuing nuclear weapons in tandem with economic development.
The nuclear half of that strategy has dominated the run-up to the party congress, starting with a fourth nuclear test in January that was followed by a long-range rocket launch and a flurry of other missile and weapons tests.
“The objective of all that was clear from the start,” said Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“It was a race to have a credible nuclear deterrent in place, as a crowning achievement, before the congress opens,” Cha said.
But there was an embarrassing stumble in the home straight, with the failure in recent weeks of three separate efforts to test fire a powerful, new mid-range ballistic missile capable of striking US bases on the Pacific island of Guam.
– Nuclear test prologue –
One final act might still play out before the party gathering begins on May 6, with many predicting a fifth nuclear test to underline the North’s status as a genuine nuclear power.
Then, once the congress gets underway, comes the question of what, beyond Kim’s leadership qualities, the gathering will seek to spotlight.
The optimist’s scenario is that, with a confirmed nuclear deterrent in the bag, Kim will announce that the North’s security is ensured and the focus can now switch to the other half of his “byungjin” strategy — economic development.
“The key is not whether such a strong North Korean deterrent force is a reality, not even whether Kim believes it, but whether he will set out this position as the philosophical basis for a new direction in policy,” said Robert Carlin, a visiting scholar at the Centre for International Security and Cooperation in California.
In his very first public address, at a military parade in April 2012, Kim had said he was determined that North Koreans would “never have to tighten their belts again”.
The need to raise living standards has been a constant refrain of his annual New Year addresses, although analysts note that they have been largely devoid of any specific policy initiatives.
So while the party congress does provide the platform for a genuine policy shift, it can just as easily become a stage for tired, self-congratulatory rhetoric that offers little in the way of change.
– New, young leaders? –
Whatever the tone, the content of the speeches, especially Kim’s keynote address, will be closely scrutinised as will any personnel changes, with analysts looking for a younger crop of officials to take over leadership positions.
The North’s chief diplomatic ally, China, which has become increasingly frustrated with Pyongyang’s refusal to restrain its nuclear ambitions, will be among the closest observers.
“Any North Korean rhetorical emphasis on living standards and peaceful development over nuclear chest-thumping and threats… will be interpreted by Chinese state media as evidence that things are moderating,” said Adam Cathcart, a University of Leeds specialist on China-North Korea ties.
“There may also be more willingness to work with newly-promoted officials who are somewhat younger and presumably more pragmatic,” Cathcart said.
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