There seem to be mixed feelings amongst Arsenal fans about the potential signing of Jamie Vardy.
And those who aren’t that keen may be buoyed by a report in The Independent which states that the player is likely to reject a move to The Emirates. They write:
Jamie Vardy is “80 per cent” sure that he will reject a move to Arsenal in favour of staying with Premier League champions Leicester City, it is being reported.
And The London Evening Standard also states:
Striker tells England stars he wants to stay at Leicester and is ’80 per cent’ set on decision
Arsenal triggered the player’s £20m release clause last week but the player may now stay with the champions.
Whatever you may think about Vardy he does have two irrefutable qualities which are both very relevant to the modern game. He is about as fast as footballers come and he’s a great finisher. TFF thinks that he would be a good addition to a squad which too often comes up short in attack in the crunch games.
In other major news related to Jamie Vardy, many news outlets are suggesting that the striker will be dropped from the starting line up for England’s first game against Russia at EURO 2016 this weekend. Vardy had been prominent in the warm up games for England but he has yet to form a good understanding with Harry Kane in a formation that hasn’t worked so far. The Daily Mail reports
The Ondo State striking workers on Thursday blocked the main gate to
the state government house, preventing Governor Olusegun Mimiko from
gaining access to his office.
The workers commenced the industrial action last week Wednesday to protest non-payment of their five months salaries.
The governor, who was forced to come down from his vehicle addressed
the protesters, pleading with them to suspend the strike, saying there
was not enough money in the government’s coffers to pay the accumulated
salary arrears.
But the governor’s plea to convince the workers was not accepted as some of them kept chanting, ‘no salary no work’.
Responding to the governor’s address, the state chairman of Joint
Negotiating Council, Mr. Sunday Adeleye, declared that if the workers
had no signal that the state government was ready to pay the salaries
owed, the indefinite strike would continue.
Apart from the government house, workers also stormed some major roads in Akure, the state capital to continue the protest.
During the protest that lasted for over four hours, the workers
carried placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Mimiko pay our
salary,’ ‘ we can’t feed our families,’ ‘ workers are dying of hunger,’
‘ise pupo, iya repete’ among others.
The workers who were led by leaders of organised Labour across the
state were chanting various anti-government songs during the protest.
It was gathered that the Ondo State Council of Obas led by the
Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor Kiladejo, was meeting with the leadership of
the organised Labour as of the time of filing this report.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh
The Federal Government on Thursday explained why non-citizens of
Nigeria were still allowed to graze their cattle across the country
despite the fact that it had been established that many herdsmen who
were involved in clashes in Nigerian villages were not Nigerians.
According to the government, the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol has
given the right of free movement to citizens of member countries, adding
that the law as similar to the fundamental right to freedom of movement
in the Nigerian constitution.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh,
disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Grazing
Reserves and Stock Routes in Abuja.
He said, “The Nigerian constitution has given every citizen the
fundamental right to freedom of movement in search of legitimate
businesses; transhumance pastoralism is seen along these lines.
“For pastoralists from neighbouring West African countries, access to
grazing rights in other countries in the ECOWAS zone including Nigeria,
are guaranteed by the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998 and ECOWAS
Protocol of Free Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa.”
Ogbeh stated that the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herders
to move across borders in search of pasture upon fulfilling the
conditions laid down in the Protocol.
“So it is not strange to see a Malian, Burkinabe or Nigerien
pastoralist grazing his cows, sheep or goats in Nigeria or a Nigerian
pastoralist grazing his livestock in Benin, Togo or Ghana and by
extension, transhumance pastoralists from other neighbouring countries,”
he added.
The minister noted that pastoralists who provide bulk of livestock
and dairy products consumed locally, employ mobility as a production
strategy.
He, however, regretted that the movement of animals within and across
agro-ecological zones had precipitated resource use competition that
had resulted in high incidence of conflicts between crop farmers and
pastoralists across the country.
On ways to mitigate the conflict between the groups and promote
commercial livestock production, the minister stated that grazing
reserves and stock routes’ development and utilisation had been stepped
up in recent years.
“The grazing reserves are to settle transhumance pastoralists and reduce/eliminate crop farmer-pastoralist conflicts,” he said.
The recruitment of the 500,000 teachers promised
by President Muhammadu Buhari in his Democracy
Day speech starts on Sunday.
According to a statement on Wednesday by the
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the
recruitment would be done online.
Akande said the 500,000 Teacher Corps, nicknamed
N-Power Teach on the portal, was one of the three
direct job creation and training schemes Nigerians
could start applying for from Sunday.
Others, according to him, are N-Power Knowledge
which will train 25,000 Nigerians in technology, and
N-Power Build, which will train another 75,000 in
building services, construction, utilities, hospitality
and catering, automotive vocations, aluminium and
gas services.
He said all trainees would be paid for the duration of
their training.
He added, “The N-Power Teacher Corps initiative
which will engage and train 500,000 young
unemployed graduates, is a paid volunteer
programme of a two-year duration.
“Unemployed Nigerians selected and trained will
play teaching, instructional, and advisory roles in
primary, and secondary schools, agricultural
extension systems across the country, public health
and community education-covering civic and adult
education.
“Besides their monthly take home pay estimated at
about N23,000, the selected 500,000 graduates will
also get computer devices that will contain
information necessary for their specific
engagement, as well as information for their
continuous training and development.
“They get to keep the devices even after exiting
from the programme.”
The Bayelsa State Government has concluded an
arrangement to set up Payroll Fraud Tribunal to try
fraudsters in the state civil service, the
Commissioner for Education, Mr. Markson Fefegha,
has revealed.
Fefegha made this known on Wednesday during a
meeting with the principals and headmasters of
public schools in the state at the Banquet Hall,
Government House, Yenagoa.
Ad
He said the government had been losing billions of
naira monthly to fraudsters in the system, adding
that the development had necessitated various
measures put in the place by the present
administration to curb the nefarious act.
Fefegha warned that anyone found culpable would
be prosecuted in accordance with the state Criminal
Act, advising the perpetrators to desist from the act
forthwith in their own interest.
Decrying the infusion of vicious names into the
payroll system of teachers, he called on the head
teachers to ensure that only the real names of
teachers in their schools appear on the salary
vouchers.
The Commissioner also said the ministry was
committed to restructuring and repositioning the
education sector in line with the administration’s
restoration agenda.
He commended teachers in the state for their
patience and promised that all salaries and
allowances owed them would be paid as soon as
funds were available.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr.
Alice Atuwo,commended heads of boards and
parastatals in the education sector for attending the
programme.
In another development, the Bayelsa State
Government has assured the stakeholders of full
take-off of proposed model schools in the state
before the end of the year.
The Federal Government has told a Federal High
Court in Abuja that the immediate past National
Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), is yet
to account for a large cache of sophisticated arms
he imported while in office.
The government said it feared that the missing arms
were in the hands of some unidentified persons that
were sympathetic towards the ex-NSA’s cause.
It stated this in an application filed by its lawyer,
Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), seeking an order
permitting it to shield the identities of its prosecution
witnesses in Dasuki’s ongoing trial before the court.
The Federal Government is prosecuting Dasuki
before the court on four counts of money laundering
and illegal possession of firearms.
The government said in its application filed on June
3, 2016 that although it had recovered some of the
arms and ammunitions, including cash in foreign
currencies in Dasuki’s Abuja home, security
operatives were yet to locate a large volume of
others.
The prosecution said it filed the application because
Dasuki was a man of huge influence across the
country, and that the safety of witnesses it intended
to call would be threatened if their identities were
not shielded.
The application read in part, “The defendant
(Dasuki), while serving as the NSA, imported into
the country a large cache of highly sophisticated
arms and ammunition, most of which have not been
accounted for.
“Upon the search of the defendant’s residence,
some of these arms and ammunition were
recovered, while the whereabouts of others is not
known till date.
“A huge volume of these highly sophisticated arms
and ammunition is feared to be in the possession of
persons, who are sympathetic to the defendant.
“The defendant was the immediate past National
Security Adviser, a retired senior military officer
and crowned prince of Sokoto Caliphate, who
undoubtedly, commands large followership
throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria and,
who may be aggrieved by this trial.
“The fears of highly probable attack on them (the
witnesses) expressed above, has completely
eroded the confidence of the prosecution witnesses
to testify in this case. The grounds mentioned above
constitute special circumstances, hence this
application.”
The prosecution sought among other prayers, an
order allowing prosecution witnesses in the case to
enjoy “witness protection by giving evidence behind
screen to be provided by the court”.
It also sought, “An order directing that the identities
of all prosecution witnesses be not disclosed in any
record or report of proceedings, which are
accessible to the public.
“An order permitting all prosecution witnesses to be
addressed with pseudonyms in the course of
proceedings.”
Okpeseyi informed the trial judge, Justice Adeniyi
Ademola of the pending application during the
Wednesday’s proceedings.
Dasuki’s lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN),
indicated his intention to oppose the application.
He said he intended to file a counter-affidavit
against the application which he described as
“unfounded”.
The prosecution had earlier on May 18, called its
first prosecution witness, Samuel Ogbu (an
operative of the Department of State Security
Service, who told the court, among others, how
investigators interviewed Dasuki on the arms,
ammunition and cash recovered from his residence.
Justice Ademola on Wednesday adjourned till June
23 and 24 for hearing of the prosecution’s
application.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday
granted bail to each of former President Goodluck
Jonathan’s cousin, Roberts Azibaola, and his
(Azibaola’s) wife, Stella, in the sum of N500m each.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba ordered in a ruling that
each of the accused person’s bail was to be
guaranteed by a surety each.
The judge had on Tuesday ordered the remand of
the accused persons in prison shortly after the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
arraigned them along with their company, One Plus
Holding Limited.
The accused pleaded not guilty when the seven
counts of money laundering, criminal breach of trust
and corruption were read to them on Wednesday.
They were accused of diverting $40m purportedly
meant for the supply of tactical communication kits
for Special Forces.
The money was allegedly transferred from the
account of the Office of the National Security
Adviser with the Central Bank of Nigeria to the
domiciliary account of their company, One Plus
Holdings.
The offence is said to be in contravention of Section
8(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011
as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section
15 (3) of the same Act.
In his ruling on the bail application by the
defendants on Wednesday, Justice Dimgba noted
that the intention of Administration of Criminal
Justice Act 2015 was for court to grant bail without
attaching excessive conditions.
He ruled, “All things considered, I grant the
defendants bail on the following terms:
“The defendants are admitted to bail in the sum of
N500m each.
“Two sureties in like sum which shall in turn enter a
bail bond of the sum of N500m.
”The sureties must each be owners of property in
Asokoro or Maitama District of Abuja.”
He held that the sureties must show evidence of
payment of their income tax.
The judge ordered the defendants to be remanded in
prison custody pending the fulfilment of their bail
conditions.
The judge granted accelerated hearing of the case
and adjourned till June 28 for commencement of
trial.
The Kogi State Governorship Election
Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed the petition by
the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in last year’s
governorship election in the state, Idris Wada, challenging the election
of Governor Yahaya Bello.
The Justice Halima Mohammed-led
three-man panel held in its judgment that the petition jointly filed by
Wada, his running mate, Sunday Awoniyi, and their party, the PDP, lacked
merit.
The tribunal had earlier in the judgment
struck out the petition while upholding the notice of preliminary
objection raised by Bello, his party, the All Progressives Congress, and
the Independent National Electoral Commission, against the petition,
but still went ahead to determine it on its merit.
It held in its pronouncement on the
respondents’ preliminary objection that the petitioners lacked the locus
standi to challenge the nomination of Bello as the APC candidate in the
election.
The tribunal held that even if it was
wrong to strike out the petition at the preliminary stage, there was no
merit in the entire petition supporting its grounds and the prayers
sought.
The tribunal had similarly on Monday
dismissed the petition by the deputy governorship candidate of the All
Progressives Congress, James Faleke, who had contended that he, and not
Bello, was the valid substitute for the original governorship candidate
of the party, the late Prince Abubakar Audu.
Faleke had sought in his own petition
that Audu had already won the first leg of the election held on
November 21, 2015 and that there was no need for the supplementary
election.
Though the petition was dismissed on
Monday, Faleke had asked for an order declaring that he, as Audu’s
running mate in the November 21 poll, ought to have been declared as the
elected governor of the state following Audu’s death.
The tribunal ruled on Monday and
affirmed on Tuesday that the situation that could warrant Faleke to step
into Audu’s shoes as envisaged under section 181 of the constitution
had not arisen since the governor-elect and the deputy governor-elect
had not been declared by INEC at the end of the November 21 poll.
Audu was already coasting to victory
with 240,857 votes as against Wada’s 199,514 votes when he suddenly died
after the November 21 poll was declared as inconclusive by INEC.
This gave rise to a supplementary
election held on December 5, 2015 in which the APC substituted the late
Audu with Bello as its governorship candidate.
Wada had asked the tribunal to hold that
he (Wada) polled the highest lawful votes in the November 21 election
and the December 5, 2015 supplementary election and should thus be
returned as the elected governor of the state.
Wada and the PDP contended that Bello
only polled 6,885 votes in the December 5 supplementary election and
could not possibly inherit the 240,857 votes polled by Audu in the
November 21 poll.
The petitioners also contended that
Bello was not qualified to contest the election on the grounds that he
went into the race without a running mate as the deputy governorship
candidate, who ran with Audu (Faleke), had allegedly withdrawn his
candidacy before the supplementary poll held.
They also contended that the election was marred by irregularities in some parts of the states.
They, therefore, asked the tribunal to
hold that having polled a total of 204,867 votes in the November 21 and
the December 5 supplementary poll as against the 6,885 votes polled by
Bello in just the supplementary poll, Wada was the validly elected
governor of the state.
But the tribunal ruled on the
respondents’ preliminary objection and also affirmed in the judgment on
the merit of the petition that the nomination and sponsorship of Bello
as the governorship candidate of the APC was a domestic affair of the
party.
It ruled that none of the petitioners,
the tribunal or any other person who did not participate in the primary
of the party had the legal capacity to question the nomination of the
party’s candidate.
It ruled that Audu’s substitution with
Bello was valid as the latter had participated in the August 29, 2015
primary and came out as the runner-up.
Justice Mohammed also ruled that the
votes recorded in the November 21 election belonged to the various
political parties “in view of the various authorities of the Supreme
Court on who owns votes.”
It added that contrary to the
petitioners’ contention, the votes polled in the November 21 election
were not rendered unlawful or invalid by Audu’s death.
It added that INEC was right to have
collated the 240,857 votes polled by the APC “through the
instrumentality of its candidate,” the late Audu, and merged them with
the 6,885 votes recorded by the party in the supplementary poll.
The merger of the results brought the total votes recorded by the APC to 247,752.
“It is, therefore, a fact that the
240,857 votes recorded by Prince Abubakar Audu belonged to the APC,
‘adding that’ the first respondent (Bello) is entitled to benefit from
the votes acquired by his party.”
On the issue of Bello’s
non-qualification to contest the election because he allegedly had no
running mate, the tribunal held that such an issue was not part of the
conditions for qualification of a candidate to contest as governor under
section 177 of the constitution.
It held that the issue was also not part
of the conditions for disqualifying a candidate to contest such an
election under section 182 of the constitution.
It, in fact, held that Faleke remained
the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in the supplementary
election as he failed to withdraw his candidacy as spelt out under
section 35 of the Electoral Act which required him to give a 45-day
notice to his party before the election.
It held that the letter he wrote to INEC withdrawing his candidacy as Bello’s running mate was of no effect.
Barely twenty-four hours after the
federal government issued a two-week ceasefire talks with the violent
Niger Delta Avengers, the militant group has blown up another Chevron
oil well, saying they were not ready to dialogue with the federal
government.
The facility identified as Dibi Flow
Station, is operated by Chevron around Usor village in Warri North local
government area of Delta State.
Local residents told our correspondent that the incident occurred about 1:00am on Wednesday.
A prominent activist from the area,
Comrade Graham Abulu, confirmed the incident when contacted. He said
very loud explosions were heard, a situation that caused panic among
residents of the area.
Another source from the area who did not
want his name mentioned, told our correspondent that the flow station
went up in flames immediately following the attack.
A senior military officer also confirmed
the development. The source said a technical team has already been
dispatched to the spot of the incident to assess the damage.
He could not however confirm the claim that the facility had been on fire.
The Niger Delta Avengers, which claimed
responsibility for the previous attacks, also claimed responsibility on
their twitter handle, @NDAvengers.
When contacted, Assistant Director,
Public Relations, 4 Brigade Command of the Nigerian Army, Benin, Captain
Jonah Unuakhalu, said he was not aware of the incident but promised to
confirm and get back to our correspondent.
Protest at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, against the appointment of the new vice chancellor. Photo: Femi Makinde.
Femi Makinde, Osogbo
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian
Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union, at the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile Ife, are now protesting the appointment of Prof.
Ayobami Salami as the new vice chancellor of the university.
Salami is the deputy vice chancellor
(academics) and his name was announced as successor of the outgoing VC,
Prof. Bamitale Omole, on Monday evening.
Omole is vacating the seat of vice chancellor before the of end of June.
The chairmen of SSANU and NASU, Mr.
Ademola Oketunde and Wole Odewumi, respectively led hundreds of their
members to stage a protest against Salami’s appointment in front of the
Senate Building of the university as early as 8am.
Oketunde said despite the court order
stopping the process of appointing a new VC, the governing council went
ahead and announced Salami as Omole’s successor.
The protesters accused Omole of
financial recklessness, saying the outgoing VC insisted on installing
his DVC to cover his alleged illegal acts.
The wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has raised the alarm over the increasing cases of tuberculosis in the country.
Buhari, represented by the wife of the
Vice-President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, spoke at the opening ceremony of a
two-day conference organised by the Stop-TB Partnership Nigeria and the
National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Abuja.
She also called for a concerted effort
to tackle the disease urgently, saying, “It is responsible for several
untimely deaths in Nigeria.”
According to her, the Federal Government
cannot tackle the TB burden alone hence the need for assistance from
development partners.
Buhari, who is an ambassador for the
“Stop TB campaign”, lamented that Nigeria had a high TB burden due to
poor awareness on the symptoms of the disease and late diagnosis.
She said, “Tuberculosis is the number
one killer disease in Africa. Statistics show approximately 600,000
people become infected with the disease in Nigeria every year. The
majority of the new infections affect children. Also, it is the common
cause of death in persons living with HIV/AIDS.
“The emergence of multi-drug resistance
TB is also not acceptable. It is also not acceptable that Nigeria has
one of the lowest detection rates in the world. Over 170,000 Nigerians
are dying from a preventable and curable disease.”
United Nations special envoy, Mr Eric
Goosby, in his speech, said a strong political will from the government
and other stakeholders was necessary, adding that if delayed, the threat
of TB would worsen on the continent
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Monday and Tuesday arrested key leaders of the Peoples
Democratic Party in the North-East states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and
Gombe.
The arrests, it was learnt, were part of
investigations into the $115m (N23bn) allegedly disbursed by a former
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the
build-up to the 2015 presidential election.
This is just as Senator Saidu Kumo, who
is the Special Adviser, Political Matters, to the embattled PDP
Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff; and a former PDP Chairman in Gombe State,
Paloma Nuhu, returned N2m each from their share of the money.
Some of those arrested include: a former
Minister of Power, Mohammed Wakil (Borno); a former Minister of Science
and Technology, Alhaji Abdu Bulama (Yobe); and the PDP chairman, Mr.
Joel Madaki (Adamawa). The accountant of the Gombe State Government
House, Mr. Mohammed Balbaya, was also arrested for the Diezani bribe.
Explaining the reason for the arrests, a
reliable source at the EFCC told our correspondent that the suspects
handled N450m each for their respective states.
The source said the PDP chairman in
Adamawa State was arrested for receiving N450m. The chairman, Madaki,
was said to have told investigators that the money was handed over to
the then acting Governor Bala Ngilari.
The detective said, “The PDP chairman in
Adamawa has shifted the burden of explaining how the sum of N450m
campaign funds sent to the state were distributed by the former acting
governor of the state, Ngilari.
“In a statement he wrote and signed at
the EFCC office in Gombe, the PDP chair said he, in conjunction with a
former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hassan Adamu, a
signatory to the document, authorised the release of the money by the
officials of Fidelity bank in Yola.
“Madaki, however, said he immediately
gave the money to the former acting governor of the state for
disbursement to the beneficiaries as envisaged by the donor, adding ‘I
did not know how Ngilari distributed the money’.”
The source revealed that Adamu had been
invited to explain his own side of the story on June 16. It was also
learnt that Ngilari might soon be invited by the anti-graft agency.
Regarding the sharing of the fund in
Gombe State, the EFCC source said the accountant of the Gombe State
Government House, Mr. Mohammed Balbaya, was arrested and interrogated.
The detective said, “Balbaya was
interrogated for his role in the N338m campaign funds sent to Gombe. He
told investigators that he collected the sum in cash from an official of
Fidelity Bank in the state based on the directive of Senator Kumo.
“He said that he contacted the Permanent
Secretary and Principal Private Secretary to the governor of the state,
Dr.Sani Jauro, who directed him to share the money to the
beneficiaries. He denied deriving personal benefit from the process.
However, he had not shown who the beneficiaries were and the amount
individual or group collected from him.
“Senator Kumo and the state former PDP
chairman, Paloma Nuhu, have through bank drafts refunded N2m each which
they claimed to be their personal benefits from the funds. The said
amount came from the sum of N106m both signed and collected from
Fidelity Bank for their state. However, Senator Kumo could not account
for the balance of N106m.”
In Borno and Yobe states, the funds were allegedly coordinated by ex-ministers Wakil and Bulama respectively.
A source at the anti-graft agency quoted
Bulama as saying that he collected N450m from the Director of Finance,
Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman, for use
in funding the PDP presidential election in the state.
“Former Minister of Finance Nenadi
Usman called and informed me to go and collect money in Fidelity Bank. A
five-man committee was set up to coordinate the campaign activities in
Yobe State, and we received N450m.
“The money was disbursed based on a
template we received from Abuja and we shared it among the three
senatorial zones in the state.”
The Borno State Coordinator, Wakil also confirmed he received N450m, according to the EFCC source.
“I received a call from Nenadi Usman,
former Minister of Finance, that N450m was sent to Fidelity Bank and a
template for how the disbursement of the funds will be conducted.”
Despite the Federal Government’s
decision to de-escalate (reduce) military operations in the Niger Delta
communities, military personnel will still remain on the region’s
waterways.
This was one of the decisions reached at
a meeting Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had with the nation’s service
chiefs and governors of oil-producing states on Tuesday at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was called to discuss the
renewed attacks and destruction of oil facilities by militants in the
Niger Delta, which had crippled crude oil production and power supply.
Governors, who attended the meeting, are
Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom);
Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Adams Oshiomhole
(Edo); and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo).
Cross River State was represented by the
deputy governor while the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu; the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usoro Uguru; and the
Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, also attended.
At the end of the meeting, Okowa addressed State House correspondents.
The governor said while the military would reduce its presence in communities, the waterways would be properly manned.
He said the process of consultation with the people of the area would start immediately.
“We have also agreed that there is a
need to distil military operations directly in communities, but the
military needs to actually remain on our waterways to ensure that we
adequately man the waterways itself, while we engage the communities and
that engagement process is starting any moment from now,” he said.
Describing the meeting as a fruitful
one, Okowa said the forum identified synergy between the Federal
Government and the state governments as very important.
He stated that while the meeting raised a
lot of issues, it was resolved that the collaboration would help to
tackle the issues in the Niger Delta.
The governor added that having been
briefed by the service chiefs as well as contributions of the governors
and Kachikwu, decisions that would mitigate the situation in the areas,
particularly Bayelsa and Delta states, were taken.
Okowa, who believed that a lasting solution would be found, said the Presidential Amnesty Programme had not been stopped.
“I think the process is still ongoing, we have a Special Adviser in charge of Amnesty and he is doing very well.
“I am aware that he did come to talk
with some of the communities and along with the advocacy team that was
set up in Delta State. He did brief us today and I believe it is going
to be maintained,” he said.
Oshiomhole later told reporters that despite the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers, Nigeria was not at war.
“Nigeria is not at war and we cannot be
at war with ourselves. If we have conflicts, we will talk through those
conflicts. There are laws that have to be enforced.
“I think that in all of these, the whole
idea is to find peace that is functional, that creates environment for
very decent Nigerians to live their lives,” he said.
The governor said all of them at the
meeting agreed that they should work together to refocus on development,
economic, military and community issues.
He also said the amnesty programme was still ongoing.
He said, “I believe the government
recognises that the amnesty programme has to be sustained but also we
can improve on it because we have trained people.
“People have been sent for training and they have come back and they should be able to apply those skills.”
Meanwhile, the United States Government has expressed worries over the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.
The US, however, expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in resolving the crisis in the region.
“The United States Mission to Nigeria is
monitoring reports of attacks and other incidents in the Niger Delta.
We share the concerns of all Nigerians about these attacks.
“Furthermore, the United States remains
supportive of efforts, including the promotion of dialogue, to address
grievances in the Niger Delta,” it said in a statement on Tuesday by its
embassy in Nigeria.
It urged the Federal Government and
Niger Delta militants to resolve their disputes through peaceful means,
adding that human rights of all Nigerians must be protected.”
Also, a former Director at the Defence
Headquarters, Brig.-Gen. Ayodele Ojo (retd.), has called on the Federal
Government to consider the underlying factors responsible for the
resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta.
“For an appropriate response by the
Federal Government to the activities of the Joint Niger Delta Force and
the Niger Delta Avengers and any other militant groups that might come
up, since there seems to be no end to the formation of militant groups
in Niger Delta, there is a need for the government to look deeper for
the real reason behind this current agitations,” the former DHQ director
said.
He told one of our correspondents that
Buhari should look in the direction of the country’s major opposition
party, the Peoples Democratic Party, for a solution to the crisis.
Ojo added, “It seems to me that as part
of the PDP strategy to frustrate the All Progressives Congress
government after losing at the centre was to ensure that none of the
oil-producing states is won by the APC. It was therefore not a
coincidence that PDP won all the oil-producing states governorship
elections except Edo State.
“Following from this analysis, my
suggestion to the Federal Government is to hold the state governors in
that region responsible for militant activities in their domains. There
is no way a state governor, who is the chief security officer of his
state, will claim not to know those behind the formation of these
militant groups when they are not ghosts.”
A police corporal, Daramola Tosin,
attached to the Ekiti Police Division in the Ekiti Local Government Area
of Kwara State, has been dismissed from the Force for allegedly killing
an inspector, Mr. Lateef Shuaib.
Tosin allegedly shot Shuaib after secretly withdrawing up to N300,000 from Shuaib’s bank account without his consent.
Naijatonic learnt that Shuaib had entrusted Tosin with his Automated Teller Machine card when he fell ill.
The suspect was said to have initially withdrawn money for the use of the father of two.
However, it was learnt that the suspect
started taking money in bits from the account for his own use until he
withdrew up to N300,000.
Shuaib was said to have chided him for the action.
The inspector was reportedly defecating
when Tosin shot him dead with an AK-47 rifle and buried him at the back
of a police barracks.
The victim’s sister, Sherifat Hammed,
was said to have reported to the Osi Police Station on May 10, 2016,
that Shuaib had been missing since May 6.
Hammed said she suspected Tosin because
her elder brother informed her when he was sick that he entrusted his
UBA ATM card to the suspect to help him in withdrawing money.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Sam Okaula, said when the matter was brought to his attention he
ensured that discreet investigation was conducted, adding that the
suspect was arrested.
According to him, the corporal confessed to the crime and was dismissed.
Our correspondent learnt that the
corporal was made to face an orderly-room trial for leaving his place of
duty and for discreditable conduct and was found guilty.
The CP said, “We do not condone crime.
We go after anyone including members of the Force who go out of their
way to commit crime. We will investigate and prosecute them if found
culpable and ensure we gain conviction. This particular dastardly act
will not be an exception.”
The suspect was arraigned on Tuesday before a magistrate’s court in Ilorin.
According to the First Information
Report obtained by our correspondent in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital,
the suspect buried the late inspector at the back of the Osi Police
Barracks.
It said, “Investigation conducted at the
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Ilorin, revealed
that on May 6 at about 10pm, while Inspector Lateef Shuaib was
defecating inside the bush, very close to the barracks at the Osi Police
Station, you Daramola Tosin, callously and viciously traced him to the
bush and shot him with your AK-47 rifle that led to his untimely death
and you later buried him inside the bush at the back of Osi Police
Barracks without the knowledge of anybody.”
The FIR said the offences were culpable
homicide, breach of trust and theft, and were contrary to sections 221,
312 and 289 of the Penal Code.
When the case was called up, the police
prosecutor, Inspector James Odaodu, said the offence of murder was
capital in nature, adding that the suspect could not be admitted to
bail.
He prayed the court to remand the suspect in prison custody.
The magistrate, Mr. Nurudeen Adeyanju,
who did not take the plea of the accused, said his court lacked
jurisdiction to entertain the matter since it was a murder charge.
He added that it should be handled by the high court.
He, however, ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prison, Mandalla.
The case was adjourned till June 21, 2016, for mention.
Meanwhile, Shuaib’s wife, Mosunmola ,
47, of Ife, Olukotun, in the Yagba East of Kogi State, said the death of
her husband by someone he trusted was devastating to the family.
She stated that their children, Kudirat, 23, and Sadiat, 20, had been traumatised by the calamity.
She, however, commended the CP and other officers of the command for the investigation and the arraignment of the accused.
Mosunmola said she was hopeful that justice would be done.
THE Nigerian Army has warned cultists in
Rivers State to surrender their arms and stop the killings in the state
or be ready to face full military action.
The Assistant Director, Army Public
Relations, 2 Brigade Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Captain Eli Lazarus,
who issued this warning on Tuesday, said the killing of innocent people,
including the security personal would not be tolerated by the Army.
Rival cult groups in Rivers State
recently stormed two communities in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government
Areas, killing several people and sacking a police station.
Lazarus in a statement on Tuesday
condemned the level of carnage and violence recorded in few days in the
state, adding that those involved would never be allowed to go
unpunished.
“The issues of cult clashes in Rivers
State have assumed an alarming dimension and a source of security
concern in the state. In the past few days, cult clashes were recorded
in communities in Ikwerre and Emuoha LGAs of the state with several
deaths recorded.
“Amongst these deaths are some of our
personnel who were part of the team that responded to distress calls to
prevent the situation from further degenerating.
“The cultists are hereby warned to
surrender their arms and turn away from their evil ways. Therefore, I
wish to state unequivocally that any such attacks on any community will
be met with full military action,” he warned.
He called on parents to warn their
children and wards to stop associating with cult groups, stressing that
anyone caught would not be spared.
He assured that any information given to the Army on those behind the killings in the state would be treated as confidential.
“The people are urged to remain calm
and go about their lawful activities as security agencies will continue
to work assiduously and make sacrifices in the performance of their
constitutional roles and relate with all well-meaning citizens to
identify these criminal groups and bring them to justice,” he added.
Jamie Vardy is in “transfer turmoil,” says the Sun. The paper, which stated Vardy would join Arsenal yesterday, says the Leicester City and England striker is torn between remaining with the Foxes and joining the Gunners.
A “source” says Vardy “does not know” if he will join the Gunners for
£120,000-a-week and any bonus form a £20m transfer fee. The paper says
Vardy is “prepared” to wait until after the Euros in France to make his
decision”.
In the Mail, the advice is “SORT IT VARDY – England manager Roy Hodgson wants decision on star’s Arsenal switch”.
But the Mail notes that the decision has been made, stating that Vardy has “verbally agreed a three-year deal with an option of a further 12 months“. Add to this the Mirror’s claim that Vardy’s agent instigated the Arsenal moveand you have player not exactly “in turmoil” and “tormented”, as the Mail’s mind-reading expert Matt Lawton says he is.
Is is really such agony to be deciding between playing for Leicester,
the Premier League champions where you are adored, or moving to one of
Europe’s biggest clubs for an extra £4o,000 a week? Come on. Vardy must
love it. If Vardy has given his word that he will join the Gunners, this
waiting for an official announcement looks like a PR job. Is Vardy the right man for Arsenal?
Ian Wright tells Sun readers “James ticks all the boxes for Arsenal”,
save for the bit of the form which says “sign here”. Wright reminds
readers he joined Arsenal at 28. Vardy is 29. Wright was magnificent at
the Gunners. He says Vardy will be a hit at Arsenal because he’s
“clever” and can change his game.
Dave Kidd tells Mirror readers “Vardy to Arsenal makes no
sense”. Kidd says it is the “most un-Arsenal transfer move imaginable,
making neither footballing no economic sense.” Vardy is the Football
Writers’ player of the year. He is a proven winner. At 29 he is the same
age Robin Van Persie was when he joined Manchester Untied and made them
title winners. The Arsenal fans will love his work rate and desire to
win. But Kidd says Vardy doesn’t score goals the Arsenal way (after lots
and lots of passing). He says Vardy will be on the bench as Arsenal’s
Plan B. Stop Press: The Guardian says “Jamie Vardy set to make Arsenal decision after European Championship.” Or as the Leicester Mercury puts it: “Leicester City transfer news: Vardy decision to come in next few days.” They don’t have the foggiest.
Arsenal are interested in signing Riyad Mahrez this
summer, say reports The North Londoners are set to make an astonishing £25million offer to bring Riyad Mahrez to the Emirates Stadium this summer, as per reports.
The above report is according to transfer expert
Tancredi Palmeri who himself claims the Gunners have submitted the said amount
for the 25-year-old.
About Mahrez, Palmeri
tweeted: "Arsenal have bid €32m (£25m) for
Mahrez. Arsenal, before bidding for Mahrez, had several meeting with the
player's entourage and the player is open for moving."
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger is understood to have
drawn up a shortlist of potential transfer targets.
Now, the Express is reporting that Arsenal have
submitted a £25million
offer for the Algerian international following his impressive performances for Leicester
City in the Premier League.
The same report goes on to say that, the Algerian
international has also attracted interest from other clubs in recent weeks.
The north London club officials reportedly met up
with the winger's representatives a number of times to make sure he's open to
the move before tabling a bid.
The Algerian international's fine form has attracted
interest from Arsenaland Barcelona, with
reports suggesting both clubs are lining up bids for his services this summer.
Arsenal manager is also keen to sign Mahrez's teammate
Jamie Vardy and last week made a £20m bid to trigger the 29-year-old's release
clause.
However,Express Sportunderstands
Vardy, who netted 24 goals this season, is not prepared to make a decision on
his future until after his Euro 2016 campaign with England.
THERE was panic among residents of Auchi
community in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, following
the shocking discovering of the headless corpse of a middle-aged man on
the Benin-Okenne-Lokoja expressway.
It was gathered that the body of the
victim identified as Clement was found in front of Campus Two of the
Federal Polytechnic, Auchi.
It was learnt that the late Clement was
likely a commercial motorcyclist as his severed head was sighted by the
roadside, a little distance from a motorcycle.
The circumstances surrounding the
victim’s death was not clear as at press time, even as some sources gave
conflicting accounts on the cause of his death.
While some residents claimed that the
deceased was allegedly murdered by suspected ritualists, others said
that he might have been crushed to death by a heavy-duty truck on
Sunday.
The Unit Commander of the Federal Road
Safety Corps, Moses Bature, who confirmed the incident, said that it was
a suspected case of a fatal accident involving a hit-and-run driver.
Bature also said that the corpse had been deposited at a mortuary.
He said, “It is hit-and-run. We did not see the driver. We only carried the body to a mortuary.”
The Former Super Eagles Coach, Stephen
Keshi, is dead. A tweet on the Nigeria Football Federation’s handle,
@thenff, says the legend died in the early hours of Wednesday.
The former international football player and coach, lost his wife, Kate, last year after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Keshi has coached the national teams of Togo and Mali, qualifying the former to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In his last job with Nigeria, he won the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations and reached the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA
World Cup in Brazil.
In his last job with Nigeria, he won the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations and reached the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA
World Cup in Brazil.
