Sahara Reporters Latest News Monday 17th June 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 17/06/19
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target=_blank>2023 Nigeria Presidency: Buhari, APC Should Give South-west Presidential Ticket, Lawan Says
Power shift to the South-west in 2023 is the best honour that can be bestowed on the late Chief MKO Abiola, Ahmed Lawan has said.Lawan stated this on Saturday in Yola, Adamawa State, in an interview with journalists.He, therefore, advised President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the APC, to take a step further by handing over the 2023 presidential ticket to the South-west.”The president and indeed our party must beware of divisive elements who are now proponents of retaining power in the north beyond 2023,” Lawan said.He added, “I have said it before and I believe that 2023 presidential ticket of the APC must go to the South-west. Since I made this comment last time, some members of my party have been hatching a plot to suspend me from the party but I am not moved and I will still hold my ground that power must go to the west. “June 12 Democracy Day is a milestone in Nigeria’s history and anyone who embraces democracy in Nigeria should be proud of what Buhari has done and it takes so much courage to do.”So many Nigerian leaders have shied away from talking or acting about it because of the controversy arising from the date and fear of being scandalized but this is what Nigerians want, respect, rule of law and honour for those who fought and bled for democracy and that is what Nigerians should remember as significant for this date.
“It was not marked to spite or contradict anyone but to celebrate the common value we share in the belief in democracy as the best form of government that would serve this country and its people. And Buhari must be praised for this day.”On whether the day is widely acceptable, he said, “I don’t think Nigerians rejected it in any way, on the contrary, it has been welcomed with huge applause across party and regional divides.”
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target=_blank>Biafrans Need Justice That Eluded Them Before, During And After The War, Says Sowore
Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist has called on the Nigerian government to deliver justice for people from the South-east region Nigeria popularly called Biafrans.
Nigeria engaged in a civil war with the region from 1967 to 1970 killing many civilians in the process.
He made the call while responding to a question on the Biafran agitation while speaking to Nigerians at a town hall meeting organised by the Take It Back Movement in Greece.
Sowore said, “People are agitating for Biafra because they are looking for justice, the kind of justice that eluded them before the war, during the war and after the war.
“If they are guaranteed the justice that they are looking for, Nigeria is too small for Igbo’s. Igbo’s have conquered the world in terms of sports, business and professionalism. There is nowhere you go to in America that you don’t find them in health care and sports, the same with the Yoruba and the Hausa but in their situation, the Igbo’s were unjustly oppressed, killed, destroyed and emasculated within the Nigerian nation.”
He, however, condemned the tolerance of leaders in the region for political leaders who participated first hand in the war and who have continued to oppress the people of the region.
“The biggest error, however, is that Biafran leaders are very quick to vote for people who participated in the war.
“Didn’t Buhari participate in the war? Why was he allowed to even campaign in the East? Didn’t Obasanjo participate in the war?
“Every time there is an opportunity to have a new President that comes from the South-east, the first people they will bring to reject it are South-easterners. When Babangida wanted to leave, it was Nzeribe who said he must stay forever. When Abacha wanted to remain in power, they brought strong men for the East to endorse his continued stay. When Obasanjo wanted to elongate his tenure for three terms, it was one Odumegwu who used to be in Nigerian Breweries that was leading the agenda.
“But my question is, why can’t we find someone from the South-east who can do a better job? Why are they ahead of everybody saying this Yoruba person must not leave power, when is power going to reach the South East if each time there is an opening, you say the person who is there must continue?
“We must review the position of these leaders.
“The conversation about Biafra must be about how we can save our general humanity,” he concluded.
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E2%80%99s-says-china target=_blank>FedEx Probe Not Retaliation For Huawei’s, Says China
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China’s investigation into FedEx Corp over misdirected mail should not be regarded as retaliation against the U.S. company, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, amid worsening relations between China and the United States.
The inquiry was aimed at sending a message that any economic entity in China should abide by the country’s laws and regulations, it said in a commentary.
“China is willing to share the opportunities in its courier market with foreign investors. Undermining Chinese clients’ legitimate rights and interests, however, is not acceptable,” Xinhua said.
China launched an investigation into FedEx Corp on Friday over parcels delivered to the wrong address, without giving details about the deliveries in question.
The move came after Huawei Technologies Co Ltd complained that the U.S. company had diverted parcels destined for the Chinese tech giant’s addresses in Asia to the United States. FedEx said the packages were “misrouted in error”.
The investigation has fueled concerns that more U.S. companies with operations in China could be caught up in frictions between the two countries, after Washington put Huawei on a blacklist last month citing national security.
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target=_blank>Rev. Solomon-Ahima, Incumbent Ayokunle Battle To Lead Christian Association Of Nigeria
Rev. Solomon-Ahima and Incumbent Supo Ayokunle
Rev. Solomon-Ahima and Incumbent Supo Ayokunle
Barely 24 hours to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) elections, Rev. Caleb Solomon-Ahima has assured Christians of his commitment not to betray their trust if elected president of the religious body.
Solomon-Ahima, who is the President, Fellowship of Christian Churches in Nigeria (TEKAN), on Sunday gave the assurance in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.
The TEKAN president is challenging the incumbent CAN President, Rev. Supo Ayokunle, in an election scheduled for June 18 at the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.
He described leadership as a “trust of the people” to be jealously guarded and kept for the benefit of the people.
“l am going into this contest with the sole purpose to rescue CAN and serve our Christian brethren by not only uniting them but lifting their spiritual lives to give their best towards the building of our Nation.
“When the church is united and in harmony with other faith for peaceful co-existence, then we can build a very strong Nigeria and give hope to the young ones.
“Nigeria is God’s Project, so we as Nigerians must believe in ourselves and God, our creator, for the desired growth and development as we work together as a team.
“We should know that even posterity will judge all our actions just as God will judge us all. So, we should fear Him in all we do, not to fail Him and His people,” he said.
Solomon-Ahima pledged to carry all Christians along in his administration if given the chance and urged the delegates to vote with their conscience in accordance with the will of God.
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target=_blank>Corruption: Sara Netanyahu, Wife Of Israel Prime Minister, Convicted
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his wife, Sarah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his wife, Sarah
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, appeared in court on Sunday to admit criminal wrongdoing over the misuse of state funds to order catered meals, in a plea bargain carrying no jail time.
Under the agreement, a fraud charge was reduced to a lesser offense and she will pay the state 45,000 shekels ($12,490) in reimbursement and a 10,000 shekel ($2,775) fine.
According to the original indictment, Sara Netanyahu, along with a government employee, fraudulently obtained from the state more than $100,000 for hundreds of meals supplied by restaurants, bypassing regulations that prohibit the practice if a cook is employed at home.
Smiling broadly, Netanyahu faced a phalanx of cameras in the courthouse before the session got underway.
At the hearing, a judge ratified the plea deal, convicting her of the criminal charge of intentionally exploiting another person’s mishandling of state money for her own benefit, after prosecutors dropped the more serious offense of fraud.
“Do you understand what you admitted to?” the judge asked Netanyahu, 60.
“Yes, I do,” she replied.
Israel’s YNet website published a photograph of what it said was a note from her husband, who was not in the court, that was passed to her during the session. “We will get through this, too. Be strong!!”, it said.
While the deal lifts a legal cloud over Sara Netanyahu, it has no direct bearing on the prime minister’s own troubles – three corruption cases in which he has denied wrongdoing.
In February, Israel’s attorney general said he intended to file fraud and bribery charges against Benjamin Netanyahu, pending a pre-trial hearing.
That session is set for early October, two weeks after a Sept. 17 general election that follows a ballot in April in which Netanyahu declared victory but failed to form a government.
In explaining the plea agreement to the court, prosecutors cited Mrs Netanyahu’s clean record, the public humiliation she has suffered as a result of the case and the time that has passed – up to nine years – since the crimes were committed.
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target=_blank>Nigeria Police Arrest 26-year-old Fake Drugs Manufacturer
A 26-year-old Victor Oguwa, a suspected fake drugs manufacturer, has been arrested by the police in Bauchi.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Kamal Datti, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the arrest of some suspects in Bauchi on Saturday.
He said the police acted on credible intelligence and raid a black sport at Gwallameji area on June 13, and arrested the suspected fake drug producer.
According to him, the police recovered 71 bottles of locally produced codeine, 30 bottles of Tutolin, one carton of ORS used for codeine productions and one pot of codeine ready for refilling.
Others include 100 empty scavenged bottles, 60 bottles top cover and 1 20 product name tags.
“The case is under investigation after which the suspect will be charged to court,” Datti said.
The police spokesman assured that the command would not relent in its efforts to rid the state of crimes and criminality.
However, the suspect (Oguwu) in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) denied manufacturing fake drugs, claiming: “I was set up to pay for those items not knowing what was inside and what is meant for.
“I paid N140,000 that my friend from Onitsha asked me to pay and collect the goods before he comes from his journey.
“Not knowing that police are coming to arrest me, in fact, I don’t know anything about fake drugs manufacturing, it was unfortunate he involved me in that. ”
He, however, appealed to the police to temper justice with mercy.
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target=_blank>Nigerian Government Doesn’t Understand Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Agreement -AfDB
Director, Industrial and Trade Development of AfDB, Dr. Abdu Mukhtar
Director, Industrial and Trade Development of AfDB, Dr. Abdu Mukhtar
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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has expressed optimism that Nigeria, the largest country on the continent will soon ratify the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement.
The Director, Industrial and Trade Development of AfDB, Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, said this in an interview with journalists on Sunday.
The CFTA was adopted on March 21, 2018, and has presently been ratified by 22 African countries.
It seeks to create a single market for goods and services and movement of persons to deepen the economic integration of the continent among others.
According to Mukhtar, Nigeria is an important country for the CFTA and for the agreement to be effective useful and really worthwhile, Nigeria has to be part of it.
He said: “From what we are hearing, I think Nigeria is finalizing their discussions with key stakeholders.
“I understand the Nigerian government has been making consultations with the private sector, manufacturers association and so on. I have been talking to some of these people in Nigeria and I think the reason why they have been skeptical is that they don’t understand what is in it for them.
“So, what we could also do as a bank to provide that support to the Nigerian private sector is to organize a session for them. We did that two weeks ago in Abidjan as a test case, brought all the business people in Cote d’Ivoire and neighbouring countries and basically explained to them what the CFTA is.
“The private sector is the engine of growth in any country, so it is natural that they are apprehensive about what it means for them. They are apprehensive of whether it will benefit them or whether their market will be swollen by companies from other countries.
“So, I think that is the issue, but we are very confident that the Nigerian government will conclude on this consultation very soon and officially join.’’
Mukhtar, however, said that the AfDB was working at ensuring the success of the CFTA and had gotten approval from its Board of Directors to support submission of the CFTA secretariat.
He said the location for the secretariat was still being deliberated upon by the African Union adding that the AfDB had already secured the finances to support the secretariat where ever it was situated.
The director said the African Union was aware that establishing the secretariat as soon as possible was very important while expressing optimism that it would be concluded by this year.
On integrating the continent through trade, Mukhtar said it was important to ensure the right policies were put in place.
He said the bank was working on that and also providing a lot of advisory services to countries in their trade policy agenda.
He said integration also required adequate infrastructure, building the right roads and so on and also custom reforms.
Mukhtar said AfDB had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean Customs Service to work with a number of countries to help them organize their customs services.
He said the bank was looking at selecting six countries in the first phase, adding that he would be in South Korea soon to finalize the discussion on the countries that would benefit from this.
On the bank’s project in the aviation sector, Mukhtar said it was still ongoing as the bank would not relent in its effort to support the expansion of airlines.
He said “The project is still ongoing, we have supported air links , we are doing it in two ways , one is to establish the basic infrastructure, supporting airport that will act as house in various regions.
“And secondly, working with airlines that will connect effectively across the continent and one good example is the Ethiopian airlines.
“The bank has actually supported the expansion of Ethiopian airlines, we have recently supported air Cote d’ Ivoire which is also expanding its routes, the linkages to various places across the continent.
“We are playing and will continue to play a great role in this because for the bank, integration is really important.’’
He urged business owners and entrepreneurs on the continent to ensure they trade within the continent to increase our rate of trade to meet up with the Europeans and Latin Americans.
On AfDB’s involvement with Nigeria, Mukhtar said the bank was doing a lot of projects in Nigeria, adding that Nigeria was an important member of the bank.
He said the bank was positive about Nigeria and its entrepreneurs and urged it to take advantage of the bank when necessary.
“Nigeria should see it as their own bank, come to us whenever they have good projects that they want financing, especially on the private sector side.
“People think the AFDB only work with government but the key message I will like you to pass on is that we do a lot of private sector business as well .
“And we will like to work more with the private sector business and support their expansion.”
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target=_blank>Why We Must Not Give Up On Nigeria -Sowore
Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, has warned Nigerians against seeking instant gratification from politicians at the expense of building a country that works for their future.He made the call while speaking to Nigerians a townhall meeting organised by the Take It Back Movement in Greece.Sowore who ran for Nigeria’s Presidency in the 2019 general elections said his experience with Nigerians both young and old during the campaign prove that the immediate need to benefit for politicians was holding the country back.He said, “Anytime you meet Nigerians, the question they will ask you is what do you have for us? Do you have money, land or anything to promise us and even if you promise them something bigger for the future, they will still want instantaneous gratification and it is not only the youth who do it, older people do it too. “It might get to a point where you want to get discouraged about Nigeria. This is the experience we had this last election but because of the fact that this is a country of two million people, it’s very important that we do not give up for Nigeria and for Africa.”Sowore attributed the unwillingness of Nigerians to participate in the electoral process or encourage young people who do to internalization of Inferiority complex due to oppression. “Do not give up regardless of what you hear from home. Part of what you hear when people say go and start from the local government is the mental conditioning of oppression, just like in the days of slavery.Slaves were made to feel that those on the fields were inferior to house slaves but until everybody became free, they didn’t realize that slavery was slavery and there is no category. “It’s the same with Nigerians, they have been mentally battered and conditioned over the years to be questioning even their own humanity and competence to lead anything because their leaders keep telling them they are not good enough.”
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target=_blank>2,000 Nigerian Children Petition State Governors To Pay Attention To Safety, Quality Education
Today, on the Day of the African Child, about 2000 youth across 10 Nigerian states – including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja – presented petitions to their governors, parliamentarians, policymakers and other influential persons in a mass effort to draw attention to the need to act on commitments to increasing access to safe, quality education for all children, especially girls.
The action, supported by UNICEF, comes as the world celebrates the Day of the African Child, commemorating the day in 1976 that hundreds of students were shot in Soweto, South Africa, while demonstrating for their right to quality education.
The Nigerian campaign for access to quality education will hold the newly-elected government officials at all levels accountable for their campaign promises to provide equitable access to free, safe and quality education for every child, especially the girl child, in Nigeria.
The 10 states where the mass actions are taking place, Bauchi, Niger, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, and the FCT, have about eight million children not in school and, an average enrolment rate of only 57 percent.
The global theme for this year’s Day of the African child is child rights in all situations, including during humanitarian crises.
In Nigeria today, over 10.5 million children are unable to access safe and quality education, including due to the ongoing crisis in the north-east, which has left schools destroyed, teachers unavailable, and parents terrified to send their children to school due to insecurity – especially for girl children, who have been the victim of kidnapping while at school.
“Schools should be a safe place for children – one in which they can get a quality education that will put them on the path to a secure future,” said Peter Kawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
“Sadly, the demand for quality education by children in Soweto, South Africa in 1976, is still valid today, in too many countries around the world. The youth actions we are seeing today across several states is a wakeup call for leaders to act on their commitments to provide quality education for all children, in all situations.”
The engagement seeks to secure commitments from national and state governments to prioritize children’s rights to education in their governance agenda, including through budgeting, in their states and at the national level.
“This engagement creates an opportunity for Nigerian youth to advocate policy and decision makers and urge them to commit resources to education, without which the substantial number of out-of-school children in Nigeria will not be reduced,” said Peter Hawkins.
The action is calling for improved school infrastructure, a massive enrolment campaign to bring all children to school, and targeted investments to ensure an uninterrupted 12 years of schooling for girls. In addition, it hopes to extract a commitment for a 10% increase in budgetary allocation and release of funds for education, with 50 percent of the total budget to basic education, recruitment, deployment and provision of incentives for 1000 female teachers per year and recruitment and deployment of 1000 qualified teachers per year, especially to rural areas, where they are most needed.
The action comes as the world celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Convention is the most widely-ratified human rights treaty in history and stipulates that every child has the right to education. It has helped to transform children’s lives; inspiring legislative changes to protect children and enabling them to participate actively in their societies. Nigeria ratified the CRC in 1991.
As part of the commemoration, UNICEF has released a “Passport to Your Rights” – a copy of the CRC in child-friendly language, in pocket format. UNICEF aims that every child in Nigeria has a copy by 2030 – the deadline for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The CRC ‘passport’ is also available in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Pidgin languages, helping to ensure access by millions of Nigerians.
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Buhari To Nigerian Universities: You’re Still Slow In Discoveries, Inventions After 58 Years
President Buhari with his children L-R: Miss Zahra Buhari, Halimat Buhari Sheriff and Yusuf Buhari as he celebrates with hem on their graduation and Call to Bar in Statehouse
FILE PHOTO: President Buhari with his children L-R: Miss Zahra Buhari, Halimat Buhari Sheriff and Yusuf Buhari as he celebrates with them on their graduation and Call to Bar in Statehouse
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerian universities to intensify efforts at making discoveries and inventions that can assist the development of the country as he lamented their slowness in making discoveries and inventing things.
Mr. Buhari made the call on Saturday in Dutsinma, Katsina State, in his address at the fourth convocation of the Federal University, Dutsinma (FUDMA).
“It is not heart-warming that in our over 58 years of independence, Nigerian universities are slow in discoveries and inventions,” he said.
The president, represented by Hafiz Abubakar, a professor, the former Deputy Governor of Kano State, said part of the speech would serve as a wake-up call to the nation’s universities.
“Research, critical thinking, moral dispositions, discoveries, and inventions should find natural habitats in our universities, as they do in several other universities in the world.
“Universities are supposed to be strong drivers of the country’s development initiatives for sustainable development,” he said.
He, however, said that his administration would continue to do everything possible to improve structures and facilities in the institutions and to enhance learning by training the required manpower through various interventions like TETFUND.
Mr. Buhari also urged FUDMA to partner with Sokoto River Basin Development Authority to produce improved agricultural varieties and give the required scientific and extension support to the local farmers.
He said this would enhance the farmers’ productivity and economic viability.
In his remarks, the acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Adamu Baba-Kutigi, a professor, said 430 students were graduating from the institution for the 2017/2018 session.
According to him, the university, whose vision is to be among the top-ranking universities in the world, has seven faculties that run about 40 programmes.
He said the institution had established microfinance bank, university farm, printing press, and a shopping mall to enhance its internally generated revenue.
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