The Editorials

by Gordon Brown They lie about 150 miles apart in the vast brush lands of northern Nigeria, but the towns of Chibok and Dapchi have a tragic bond: both have been targets of large-scale kidnappings of schoolgirls by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Following a four-year global campaign to free the 276 girls kidnapped from Chibok in 2014 – an event that brought Boko Haram’s sadistic agenda to the world’s attention – 110 girls in Dapchi vanished this month under identical circumstances. In both cases, members of Boko Haram, which in the Hausa language translates roughly to “Western education is a sin,” sprayed a school with bullets as they invaded the grounds to steal food and oInline image ther supplies.  The group’s quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has already left at least 20,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009. Another commonality between the two attacks is that the fate of the schoolgirls was a source of

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has queried the veracity of Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo's claim that he is a Pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God( RCCG), following the VP’s continuous utterances and complaints about alleged corruption in the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.  Fayose said he was beginning to have a second thought on the Vice President’s claim to be a pastor.  According to him, Is he truly a pastor? A pastor does not go about playing to the gallery and defending falsehood. Isn’t it a disgrace for a pastor of the Redeemed Church in particular to be an agent of falsehood?” The Governor In a statement issued on Friday, by Lere Olayinka, Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media, said, “Nigerians are now more interested in what the government has done to make life more meaningful for them and not what the previous governments did or failed to do. “Today, the most difficult que

OREDOLA ADEOLA President Muhammadu Buhari, on the Day-2 of his official visit to Lagos State,  took a tour of the ongoing Eko Atlantic City project, and later commissioned the project which is  expected to accommodate at least 250,000 residents and a daily flow of 150,000 commuters, when completed. The President during the inspection of the project was accompanied by APC Chieftain Bola Ahmed-Tinubu, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Lai Mohammed, among other top government officials. Speaking while commissioning of the ongoing  Public and Private funded project, President Buhari said the Atlantic city has the capacity to transform the Nigerian economy.  He also commended the contractors of the project for employing Nigerians in the construction work. He said, “I am extremely grateful to those that agreed to invest so much in our country. I am really grateful to those who accepted to invest in our country with the aim to get a secured area. The Eko Atlant

The Federal Government through the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed on Friday released names of the individuals and officials of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration who looted funds belonging to the country. In the statement by the Minister the individuals are  PDP chieftains who are currently being tried for corruption and financial crimes. He said, “The PDP has challenged us to name the looters under their watch. They said they did not loot the treasury. "Well, I am sure they know that the treasury was looted dry under their watch. Yet they decided to grandstand. This shows the hollowness of their apology,” Mohammed said as he released the names. The names and allegations are : PDP Chairman Uche Secondus Allegation: On the 19th of Feb 2015, he took N200 million only from the office of the NSA. Former PDP Financial Secretary. Allegation: On the 24th of Oct 2014, he took N600 million only from the office of former NSA. Former National Pub

Oredola Adeola with agency reports China has intensified plan to alter the ecosystem through test of the country’s cutting-edge defence technology which would modify the system thereby bringing more rain to the Tibetan plateau. This project is being handled by the Beijing weather modification office. Recall that last year, the Chinese Government approved a $168 million ( 1.15 billion yuan) for the project, potentially to bring more rain and snow across Beijing, and its surrounding areas including parts of Hebei and Inner Mongolia. The Beijing Weather Modification Office operates as a unit of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. This is expected to emerge as the world’s biggest weather alteration project. The unit plans to use its new technology to develop a powerful yet relatively low-cost weather modification system to bring substantially more rain to the Tibetan plateau, Asia’s biggest freshwater reserve. The system, which involves an enormous network of fuel-burning

OREDOLA ADEOLA  Few hours to the proposed visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Lagos state for a two days official visit, the Ikeja branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and other civil society groups have vowed not to back out in the plan to stage a protest, demanding for the cancellation of new Land Use Charge recently introduced by the Lagos state Government, despite threat by the Police authorities. The NBA rejected the 50 per cent reduction of the Land Use Charge recently reviewed by the Lagos State Government, revealing that the government is not sincere about the downward review of the charge and that the reduction by the Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode led-administration is “unacceptable”. Adeshina Ogunlana, Chairman, NBA ,Ikeja Branch said, "The upward review is something that came with by law and cannot be reviewed downward like that. Until the law is reviewed, we are not going to accept it. The reduction is arbitrary and illegal. “ We need a total reducti

Shortly after the news of the escape of six suspects linked to Senator Dino Melaye from Police cell in Kogi state, Ibrahim Idris, the inspector-General of Police, IGP has ordered the immediate removal of the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Ali Janga. IGP Idris Jimoh Moshood, Force Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in a statement released to the press on Wednesday. The IGP also redeployed the Commander, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in the state, the Divisional Police Officer ‘A’ Division, Lokoja and other police officers implicated in the escape for negligence, dereliction of duty and gross misconduct. The affected officers according to the statement are facing serious disciplinary action.

Shortly after the news of the escape of six suspects linked to Senator Dino Melaye from Police cell in Kogi state, Ibrahim Idris, the inspector-General of Police, IGP has ordered the immediate removal of the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Ali Janga. IGP Idris Jimoh Moshood, Force Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in a statement released to the press on Wednesday. The IGP also redeployed the Commander, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in the state, the Divisional Police Officer ‘A’ Division, Lokoja and other police officers implicated in the escape for negligence, dereliction of duty and gross misconduct. The affected officers according to the statement are facing serious disciplinary action.

After the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held on Tuesday ended in a deadlock due to the alleged non-remittance of more than N37billion into the Federation Account, the committee reconvened on Wednesday to allocate the sum of N647billion to the Federal, state and local governments for the month of February. Out of N647 billion shared, the Federal Government got N270.8bn, states received N173.75bn and the 774 local government councils were allocated a total of N130.9bn. FAAC also allocated the sum of N57.35bn to the oil producing states based on the 13 per cent derivation principle while N14.55bn was returned to the revenue generating agencies as the cost of revenue collection. The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, disclosed that the amount distributed represents an N11billion increase compared to what was distributed in January.

The Police authorities have announced the disappearance of some criminal suspects who allegedly confessed to being armed and financed by Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West Senatorial constituency, last week. In a statement released to the press by the Nigeria Police Force, Kogi State Police Command on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, the authorities disclosed that the Command received a report that six (6) suspected criminal elements namely; Kabiru Seidu a.k.a Osama, Nuhu Salisu a.k.a Small, Aliyu Isa, Adams Suleiman, Emmanuel Audu and Musa Mohammed who were under detention at the ‘A’ Division Lokoja escaped from lawful custody. Mr. Ali Janga, Kogi police commissioner, in the statement said, “Four of the suspects were on court remand including two that indicted Senator Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu. “The Police Command declared the suspects wanted and placed on Interpol watchlist alongside Mr. Melaye and Mr. Audu. “Consequently, all the six suspects, Senator Dino Melaye

A group known as Ghana First Patriotic Front (GFPF) is set to stage a massive demonstration in Accra on Wednesday March 28, 2018, kicking against the establishment of a military base for the United States armed forces in Ghana. The military base is a facility directly owned and operated by the US military as one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. After details of the agreement which received cabinet approval on 8th March, 2018, were made public, there has been justifiable outrage and unified loud calls by many concerned Ghanaians for the Government of Ghana to withdraw the said agreement from Parliament. The GFPF had earlier expressed disappointment in the decision of President Akufo-Addo led government to permit the establishment of the Military base, saying that the agreement undermines the sovereignty and security of Ghana. It stated that it was not deterred by the arrest of the deputy General Secretary

By Iyorwuese Hacher On Monday March 26, 2018 one of the biggest historical ironies of all time took place at Abuja at Aso Rock. His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari hosted the family members of Martin Luther King Jr. the World’s greatest champion of freedom, justice and equality ever known. The timing and the optics were hilarious at best, but deeply ominous. While Dr. Mrs. Naomi Barbara King was posing with the Nigerian President and turning her cheek for a presidential kiss, in far away North Eastern Nigeria, a defiant fourteen year school girl child, Leah Sharibu, was left in the hands of her captors, the dreaded behemoth of evil called Boko Haram: vicious blustering, gloating and imperious terrorists. Her schoolmates, her school and her government abandoned Leah. Alone in the hands of her captors, Leah did not flinch nor beg for mercy but defiantly refused to convert to Islam from her Christian faith. Her God alone is with her now as she faces death, threats of

The United States Court for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday ruled in favour of Oracle, saying Google violated copyright laws when it used Oracle's open- source Java software as programming code to build the Android  operating system in 2009. The copyright feud between the two software giants started in 2010, when Oracle sued Google for using Java Shirt code to develop Android programme. Oracle was seeking $8.8 billion, but the legal battle victory could cost the Alphabet Inc. Ismore dollars more. The judgement of the court had in 2012, favoured Oracle , when the judge ruled that Java does not deserve protection under copyright law. However in 2014, the ruling was overturned. Another Court in 2016 also ruled that Google's use of the operating system was legal under the copyright law's fair use doctrine. This judgement was overturned this week at the appeal court. A three judges on the appeal panel wrote, "There is nothing fair about taking a copyrighted w

The Lagos State Government has declared Thursday, March 29 as work free day for workers in the state as part of measures to encourage Lagosians come out enmasse to welcome President Muhammadu Buhari who is on a two-day visit to Lagos State. He will be in Lagos to commission the newly built world class Ikeja Bus Terminal by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led administration. This was contained in a statement issued by Kehinde Bamigbetan, Commissioner for Information and Strategy. According to him residents of the state are charged to adhere to the security guidance earlier announced to make the visit as peaceful and orderly. Imohimi Edgal, Lagos State Police Commissioner, at a press briefing held at Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja, announced that there would be traffic diversions and alternative routes ahead of a two-day visit by President Muhammadu Buhari to the State between March 29 and 30. The CP noted that adequate preparations have been made to mitigate the impact of the road

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected the tenure extension of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman and other elected state officials as announced by the National Executive Council of the party in February . He declared the extension as illegal. The President revealed this on Tuesday while addressing members of the National Executive Committee of the Party in Abuja. According to him , after due consultation, it had become imperative to overturn the resolution of the February 27 NEC, which allowed the extension of the tenure of Mr. Odigie-Oyegun by one year, on the ground that it contravened Article 17 Sub-section 1 of the Party constitution which recommends a 4-year tenure for all elected officials. President Buhari further stated that the tenure extension contravened the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which requires elected officials to present themselves for re-election after four years. The President charged members of his party to av

By Lasisi Olagunju The oppressive one-North is on its death-bed. General Yakubu Danjuma sang the Nunc Dimittis on Saturday. But if the Middle Belt states are free finally, the credit cannot go to this taciturn General from Takum. The Fulani conquerors deserve the prize; they scored the golden own goal.  It has taken the Hausa/Fulani and their Kanuri collaborators just three years of bloody indiscretion to unravel 104 years of one-North myth.  The greedy mice of the tiny Fulani elite have peed into the North’s soup pot; everyone has now learnt to answer his mother’s name.  We are at the threshold of a new phase in the struggle for a new Nigeria. But then, the battle has just started. The dying won’t let go of their inheritance quietly. Beyond Danjuma’s Taraba, Benue and Plateau, is there anywhere else that is not feeling the pangs of Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri elite destruction? I call their abode the Core-North which is not interested in catching up with anybody. Its interest i

Nigeria's former Defence Minister, General Theophilus Danjuma(retd) has revealed that there is an attempt by the power that be to conduct ethnic cleansing in some rural communities across the country. He disclosed this at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University , Jalingo , Taraba State, an event monitored by Punch Newspaper. According to him, there is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state and of course, some rural states in Nigeria. He said, “ I am not a politician and politics is one profession I don ’t want to belong to because if I am a politician, I would not say what I am going to say to you now. “ When I arrived this arena, I saw rich cultural display , and I was amazed at the rich cultural heritage of our people . Taraba is a mini Nigeria with diverse ethnic groups living together peacefully , but the peace in this state is under assault. “ We must resist it. We must stop it. Everyone of us must rise up, “ he cautioned. Meanwhile, The Def

The dreaded Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, at the early hours of Wednesday, returned 105 out of 110 girls who were abducted from Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School in Dapchi town, Yobe state on February 19, 2018. It was reported that the armed militants arrived Dapchi town with the girls in nine(9) vehicles same way they took them away about thirty days ago. However five of the girls were reported to have died. A resident of the community who confirmed the return of the girls to Daily Trust Newspaper, revealed that the insurgents returned the girls few minutes after soldiers were withdrawn from the town. She further stated that the people of the community were ecstatic and jubilant when the saw the girls. Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President Buhari  on Media and Publicity, has confirmed the return of the school girls. Shehu promised to give further details on the development later, adding that the girls are being transporte

The Ethiopian-Kenyan border town of Moyale town is staring at a possible humanitarian crisis due to the rising number of refugees fleeing a military miscalculated-operation in Ethiopia into Kenya. The Red Cross reported that over 8000 civilians have crossed into neighboring Kenya to seek asylum after government troops allegedly killed at least nine civilians in the Ethiopia's largest region, Oromiya. The recent crackdown by the country’s soldiers on the Bale zone, in Oromia town, Ethiopia, according to the Ethiopian News Agency, started about few weeks ago and has further triggered the sudden influx of people from Ethiopia into Kenya. The Ethiopian government reportedly attempted to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into the surrounding areas in accordance with its so-called Masterplan, a move which has further triggered the unrest. For the past few weeks, since the military commenced the crackdown on the Oromo Liberation Front, residents of the Ethiopian part of the

A student shot and injured two teenage students of Great Mills High School in St Mary's County, Maryland, United States. Police authorities confirmed that the shooter was immediately shot dead by an officer. The attack happened on Tuesday. This is coming after 14 February massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in southern Florida. The shooter identified as Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, shot a 16- year old girl, who was his girlfriend and a 14- year-old boy,  both sustained serious injuries. Blaine Gaskill, an armed campus guard, exchanged gunfire with the attacker (a student of the school) and went away unhurt. An investigator, Sheriff Tim Cameroon disclosed that the shooting began in a hallway at the school, when the gunman fired at a female and then a male student. He said, "Our school resource officer who was stationed inside the school was alerted," he told reporters. "He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter. During that engagement

The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) has invited application from suitably qualified candidates into its postgraduate programmes admission exercise. Application forms which can be obtained through 09061742116, are now available for prospective candidates to apply for the institution's PGD/MBA/MTM/MPA programmes. Options available are Oil &Gas, Cost Mgt, HRM, Marketing, Shipping, logistics, Aviation, Financial Mgt , Public health, Information Technology, Safety Technology, Environmental Health, Public Administration etc..  Duration:  3 semesters . PGD (2 semesters).

OREDOLA ADEOLA The National Council on Establishment has approved an enhanced entry point of salary Grade Level 09 for Engineers in the Public Service. This confirmation is contained in a communique issued at the end of the Council’s 40th meeting which ended in Owerri, Imo State on Friday, March 16, 2018. The Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, presided over the meeting that was attended by the Heads of Service from the 36 states and their Permanent Secretaries. Speaking on the new development, Engr. Adekunle Mokuolu, President of the Nigerian Society of Engineer ( NSE) disclosed that with the new development, Graduate Engineers  can now be employed into the civil service on GL 09, and then get upgraded to GL 10 after two years and further upgraded to GL 12 upon registration with COREN. This according to him, is a victory for the engineering profession in Nigeria and a testimony to the significance of tenacity in pursuing a just course.  He however comm

OREDOLA ADEOLA Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has disclosed that perception of people in Kaduna state is exact opposite of what his government feels is important as dividend of democracy. He stated this while evaluating a recent poll sponsored by the state. Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State The Governor disclosed that in the poll, the people picked education as 4th. Roads and infrastructure was 1st, water was 2nd, electricity was 3rd, and health was 5th. Governor El-Rufai said, “ We did a poll in Kaduna as to what people perceive as most important dividend of democracy, and shockingly, education was the least of their priority. “Perception of people is the exact opposite of what is more important. Leaders must take action and do what is important in the long run even if ordinary people do not understand that, it is more important for them. “Education was 4th. roads was 1st, water was 2nd, electricity was 3rd, and health was 5th,” Ek-Rufai stated. The

OREDOLA ADEOLA The Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is less worried about the rising debt profile of the country which grew from N12 trillion by December 2016 to  N21.7 trillion as at December 31, 2017. Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, in reaction to the criticism that followed the huge figure released by the Debt Management Office ( DMO). According to her, the Federal Government was borrowing to build key national assets for economic growth. She said that the loans are for long term infrastructure development, investments that allow businesses to thrive. Recall that the Director General of the Debt Management Offices (DMO), Patience Oniha, had on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, put the country’s public debt at N21.7 trillion as at December 31, 2017. She stated that the figure was composed of External Debt stock of 26.64 per cent, up from 20.04 per cent in 2016, and Domestic Debt of 73.36 per cent, down from 79.96 per cent in 2016.

A traditional ruler , the Onu Agbenema, Chief Musa Edibo,  his wife and eight other people  have been killed , while several houses were burnt down by suspected herdsmen in separate attacks on Agbenema, Aj’Ichekpa , Opada and Iyade villages, all under Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State. This is coming almost a week after more than 32 people were massacred in the same local government area of Kogi state. The people of the communities disclosed that attackers armed with sophisticated weapons hid in the bushes around these villages from were they reportedly launched deadly attacks on their targets. It was gathered that the herdsmen whose mode of operation is to set the houses ablaze and open fire on the fleeing inhabitants , allegedly slit victims’ throats and cut off their vital parts. The natives who would not want their names in print told PUNCH newspaper that the administrator of Omala LGA, Ibrahim Aboh, was lucky to have escaped from the attackers. Also, the h

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the withdrawal of all police offices attached to political and public office holders as well as other "Very Important Persons" (VIP) nationwide.  The IGP made the announcement on Monday in Abuja at a conference with Senior Police officers. The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris Also affected with the order are officers attached to private businessmen, multi-national companies and other corporate organizations. According to the IGP a special task force had been constituted across all the Police command in all the state of the federation to ensure strict compliance.  He also noted that the Force headquarters under the command of ACP Mohammed Dankwara has been commissioned to monitor compliance. Idris said, “In view of the current security challenges in the country, it has become expedient for the Nigeria Police Force to streamline the deployment of its personnel attached to political and pub

OREDOLA ADEOLA A North London teacher, Andria Zafirakou,has emerged as the first British winner of a prize for the World’s Best Teacher held in Dubai on Sunday night. She went home with $1million (£720,000) being the prize money for the award. The fourth edition of the award night which recognizes outstanding pedagogical achievements, was organised by the Varkey Foundation, an international foundation for educational development. It debut in 2015 to give the teaching profession more recognition. The British teacher emerged out of ten finalists, who were drawn out of about 30,000 nominations selected from 173 countries. Andria Zafirakou, an arts and textiles teacher from Alperton community school in Brent, North London, a poor neighborhood with many migrants. She learned basic phrases in 35 languages out of 130 languages spoken in the school. She effectively uses this medium of communication to address both her students and their parents. As a prize winner, she is expec

I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war (Ps. 120:7) '....For most of you here in the audience, you may recall that the last time I stood before a huge gathering of this nature to undertake the same assignment was at the funeral of the late Sir, Patrick Yakowa, and Governor of Kaduna State on December 21st, 2012. I am told that till date, members of the Kaduna mafia have not been able to live down the contents of the sermon. Yet, then as now, they did not dispute the evidence I presented. Today, that Kaduna has become an open sore of injury and pain that it is the most divided and volatile state in Nigeria is the result of the seeds of disunity sowed in the corrosive legacy of the policies of exclusion that the mafia sowed. We are sadly still not out of the woods yet. Today is a special day for Southern Kaduna people and the people of the state as a whole. It is a day of reckoning. It is as much a day of sowing as a day of reaping. It is a day of promise and