I’ll Not Give Up Until I’m President – Atiku

Atiku  Abubakar

Former Vice President and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Sunday, said that he would not give up on his bid to become the president of this country now or in the future.
Atiku made this declaration in Dutse, Jigawa shortly before holding a closed-door consultation with Governor Sule Lamido in Dutse.
He said he was determined to continue to vie for the office of President if he lost the present bid until he eventually scaled through in the near future.
Atiku, however, said that his chances of winning his party’s primary on 10 December were bright.

He also said he was ready to support whoever emerges at the primary election to ensure that person’s victory at the 2015 presidential election.
Atiku had earlier told journalists that he was in Dutse to interact with his party delegates ahead of the December 10 presidential primary of the party.
The former Vice President criticised the alleged swoop on APC data office in Lagos by security operatives.
Newsmen were barred from covering the meeting as it was said to be “private”.


Source: Breaking Times

Electricity tariff must rise —Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has hinted that electricity tariff in the country must be hiked as the ultimate solution to the erratic power supply in the country.

But he assured that government will not immediately increase it as it was concerned with cleaning up the electricity value chain at the moment.

He spoke at the 6th Presidential Business Quarterly Forum for Private Sector at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday.

He said: “Listening to questions concerning lower tariffs, we must pay higher tariffs, these sorts of things are inevitable. What we are trying to do is not increase tariffs for now, but how we can ensure we clean up the entire value chain. I’m sure you are aware of the Payment Assurance Guarantee which we put in place for over N700billion to ensure gas is paid for and for liquidity in the whole value chain.

“Today, we will be meeting with the World Bank on a scheme they have been working with us on to fund the entire value chain, and ensure we transit smoothly from where we are, to a much more market-determined policy for electricity.

“This will involve a fair amount of subsidy and help the Federal Government and World Bank are working together on that.

“There is no way of sustaining the current subsidies long term, but we want to ensure the process is smooth.”

Source: Nigeria Tribune

Biafra: Nigerian government approached ECOWAS Court to strike out Kanu’s case – IPOB

Nnamdi Kanu

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused the federal government of approaching the Community Court of West Africa (ECOWAS court) to strike out its suit of rights abuses.
The group said it was the reason Its leader, Nnamdi Kanu had jumped bail.
IPOB said it condemns in its totality the new strategy employed by the federal government to ensure that its leader was denied justice, when in the real sense he was being held by the Army.
Mr Emma Powerful, media and publicity secretary of the group in a press release made available to DAILY POST in Awka on Monday, stated that, “Federal Government of Nigeria and her agents, seeking to frustrate the ongoing human rights enforcement process had applied to strike out the matter.”
He said It had become customary for this current APC government to abuse and violate human rights at will and when confronted with their deeds in a competent court of law, they resort to “blackmail, cheap lies, misinformation and sometimes inducing a certain sections of the media to help them sway public opinion against victims of their cruel regime.
“Instead of addressing the substance of the charges against them before ECOWAS Court for nearly two years now, they chose instead their favorite method of trial by media and senseless smear campaign.
“The case of abuse of fundamental human rights by the Buhari regime brought by the leader of IPOB Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at the ECOWAS Court has been pending for two years, with the government employing all manner of delay tactics to frustrate the case. Now they are holding Nnamdi Kanu in their custody, having denied such publicly, they have finally woken up to ask the court to dismiss the charges against them after sanctioning and conducting the kidnapping raid in Afaraukwu on the 14th of September 2017.
“It will be fair to assume, going by the antics of this government, that their primary reason for the murderous raid on the home of the IPOB leader, was to remove him from circulation and truncate all legal matters involving him.
“The government think their plans will remain undetected forever but they are mistaken. Why didn’t the Buhari regime bother to attend ECOWAS Court throughout the period Nnamdi Kanu was out on bail or in prison?”
Powerful said that the group has said uncovered that the abduction of Kanu in September was deliberate so as to stop him from appearing in court in October, so that he would be labelled as having jumped bail.
“You remember that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu went to Ohafia to announce publicly he’d be attending court on the 17th of October 2017 with 2 million men, the powers that be raided his house and abducted him because they did not want him to appear in court,” Powerful stated.

We will obey Buhari’s directive to pay salary arrears before Christmas on one condition – Governors

President Buhari and APC Governors

Governors from the 36 states have said they will abide by the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to pay all outstanding salary arrears before Christmas.
They, however, gave a condition to be met for them to comply with the directive.
This was revealed by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State while briefing State House correspondents after the governors held a closed-door meeting with Mr. Buhari inside the council chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mr. Okorocha, who confirmed the directive from Mr. Buhari, said the payment of the arrears is dependent on the president’s approval of the payment of the 50 per cent Paris Club loan refund.
“Yes, with the Paris Club coming, every worker should enjoy his/her Christmas”, Mr. Okorocha said.
The Imo governor also said: “the president has expressed the need to make ensure that every Nigerian especially the workers have a beautiful Christmas and the issue of outstanding Paris club was discussed and that was taken care of.”


Source: Premium Times

Pay workers’ salaries before Christmas, Buhari tells governors

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed state governments to ensure payment of outstanding workers’ salaries in their various states, to enable workers to “smile to banks”, and to happily celebrate the forthcoming Christmas.
Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo confirmed this development to State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with the President in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
He said workers’ issue took the centre stage during the meeting, saying that the president was so much concerned with those who depended on salaries to feed their families, pay school fees and their house rents.
He said President Buhari specifically directed the governors to ensure that they kept workers and pensioners happy by paying their outstanding salaries and allowances from the balance of the outstanding Paris Club refund which would soon be paid to them.
He said the President was so much concerned with those who depended on salaries to feed their families, pay school fees and their house rents.
“It was a brief meeting between the governors of Nigeria and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The discussion centred on basically the end of year and president himself has expressed the need to make sure that every Nigerian, especially the workers have a beautiful Christmas.
“The issue of outstanding Paris Club was discussed and that was taken care of to make sure that workers in various states, everywhere in the country get to celebrate the Christmas.
“We also use the opportunity to review our working relationship with the president and we found out that we are in harmony; there is no difference between us and the president, everybody seems to be very happy; we are working together.
“We particularly commended Mr President for getting Nigeria out of recession,’’ he said.

Okorocha stated that the governors lauded the president for approving the payment of the remaining balance of 50 per cent of the Paris Club refund to the states.
He said the president’s approval would enable the states to include part of the refund in their 2018 budget proposals.
“We are looking at getting the balance of Paris Club refund thrashed out once and for all.
“We also made a request for Mr President’s approval that the balance should form part of our 2018 budget, because we can’t include it until we are sure that the money is coming. That was also sorted out.’’ He added.
Okorocha stated that the governors assured the president that they would meet up with the obligations of paying the salaries of their workers.
Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’i, who also spoke on the outcome of the meeting, said the president had ordered that the balance of the first 50 per cent be paid to the state governments to meet their obligations before Christmas.
He said: “The Paris club figures need to be reconciled. While the reconciliation process was going on, the president approved that 50 per cent of the original amount be paid to the states. The payment started from last year.
“We still have the balance of the first 50 per cent.
“This is what the president said should be paid to state governments to meet their obligations before Christmas because he’s concerned that many families depend solely on their salaries to pay for rent, for the festive period. That had been decided.
“The balance of the first 50 per cent is what we are expecting now before Christmas. The president has approved that and said it must be paid.’’


Source: The Guardian

Bishop Kukah reveals why Nigeria is underdeveloped

Bishop Mathew Kukah

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rt. Rev. Mathew Kukah, has attributed the high rate of under development in Nigeria to lack of good governance.
Kukah made this assertion yesterday while presenting a paper at the 1st Conference on “Peace and Development’’ organised by Veritas University Abuja.
He said that about 1.5 million Nigerians were on the streets of Northern Nigeria as Almajiris.
“Lack of good governance is what is causing lack of development in this country. How can we live in an environment that is so richly endowed and we are in this kind of situation, in Nigeria, recommendations have been made but no implementation.
“Why is Nigeria good at theorising and with all our educated elites and leaders we cannot work the talk.
“Up till today, we are still rolling out job creation plan, it is a shame, up till now we are still debating our constitution,” Kukah said.
He added that the environment was hostile with some items being on concurrent list and others on exclusive list, stating that there was the need for moral revolution in the country.
In his presentation, Prof. Albert Olawale of the University of Ibadan, congratulated Veritas University on its 10 years anniversary and for establishing a centre for Peace and Development in its institutions.
He stated that good governance would promote peace in the country.
According to him, the security challenges are mounting and the country does not have adequate capacity to address it.
He said that security education in institutions was another means of ensuring peace in the country, adding that government must lend political will.
The don called for more investment in security and education, saying that peace of a nation emanated from individuals that had decided to do the right thing not just the government.
“The education system in this country possesses knowledge and skills but no passion, if our leaders can be passionate, things will go well for Nigeria.
“It is not enough to establish institutions, it must be backed up by passion for it to be effective and actualise its set goal of peace.
“Security education alone will not bring peace to Nigeria, but good governance will,” Olawale said.
He added that inter-faith dialogue should also be encouraged to promote peace in the country.


Source: Daily Post

Importers frustrating Nigeria’s tomato policy – Experts

 Stakeholders in the agriculture sector say Nigeria is yet to feel the impact of the tomato policy six months after it was put in place by the federal government.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the stakeholders told participants at Agra Innovate West Africa forum on Tuesday in Lagos that Nigerians were yet to feel the impact of the policy.
The federal government in April this year announced a new tomato policy aimed at promoting local production of fresh tomato, increasing local production of tomato concentrate and reducing post-harvest losses.
The policy restricts the importation of tomato concentrates to the seaports to address the abuse of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), stops the importation of tomatoes preserved otherwise by vinegar or acetic acid, and increases the tariff on tomato concentrate to 50 per cent with an additional levy of $1,500 per metric ton.
Nigeria imports an average of 150,000 metric tons of tomato concentrate per annum, valued at $170 million, mostly due to inadequate capacity to produce tomato concentrate.
Current demand for fresh tomato fruits is estimated at about 2.45 million metric tonnes per annum, while the country produces only about 1.8 million metric tonnes per annum.
But the stakeholders say many importers are frustrating the tomato policy.
“A lot of importers anticipated the tomato paste policy and filled their warehouses with imported concentrates before the policy even commenced.
“We hope by next year when the importers have exhausted all they have imported before the policy we would begin to see the impact.
 “For now, the impact of the tomato paste policy is not yet there,” said Abdulkarim Kaita, Managing Director, Dangote Tomato Processing Factory.
According to Mr. Kaita, it is one thing to put a policy in place and it is another thing to ensure it is fully implemented.
Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG, said that the policy was slow to have real impact because importers were taking steps at frustrating its success.
“It is taking time for the policy to have impact on the industry. The problem we have is that the importers have turned out to be a very powerful group.
“And this is so sad because not a single tomato produced in the country is used for the paste Nigerians are consuming at present,” Mr. Ijewere said.
The NABG boss said government realised the need to boost local production of tomato by enacting the policy but the importers are fighting back.
“This is the same problem we have with rice and chicken,” he added.
He said that the policy approach was focused on addressing the issue from the processing end so as to trickle down to the smallholder farmers.
Mr. Ijewere said that the country was losing $15 billion annually to post-harvest losses and called on government to educate farmers on best practices.
Also speaking at the forum, Olatunde Oderinde, Team Leader, Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), said that Nigeria would only benefit from the tomato paste policy when all stakeholders were carried along in implementing it.

“We are yet to have a policy life cycle in Nigeria where every player in the industry is carried along and where their challenges are addressed holistically.
“Nigeria needs to work deliberately on policies that create inclusiveness. We need to sort out the issue of competitiveness to keep farmers productive.
“If we can provide them with a guaranteed market, the smallholder farmers will produce more,” Mr. Oderinde added.
More than 30 exhibitors were on ground while over 1,000 visitors were recorded on the opening day of the two-day expo and conference.


Source:  NAN

Benue to sack or reduce salary to solve non-payment

The Benue State Government is considering two options to get out of the non-regular payment of workers’ salaries.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Benson Abounu, who is also the chairman of the screening committee verifying the actual workforce of both the state and local governments, disclosed this at the stakeholders’ meeting held in Government House, Makurdi.
Abounu, who gave an interim report of his committee to stakeholders on Monday, explained that the committee was faced with the options of reducing workers’ salaries or retrenching some as a possible solution to the non-regular payment of salary in the state.
The deputy governor noted that his committee discovered several anomalies that could have been responsible for huge wage bill of the state which he puts at N7.8bn monthly.

Abounu explained that the shift allowance meant for a category of workers on shift duty at the state health management board were being paid.
The screening committee chairman also said that 7,746 local government workers across the state with a total emolument of N530m were recruited without approval in the past 10 years.
He said: “Our committee was set up to look at the legitimate earnings of workers both at the state and local governments and several anomalies were found which were contained in our interim report.
“For instance, at the health management board, shift allowance is meant for only those on shift duty but to our chagrin, we discovered that all members of staff of this board were collecting shift allowance.
“So also was undue allowances by members of staff in our tertiary institutions, the staffers collect SIWESS allowance every month.
“At the local government level, when we carried out the screening, many came up with papers which added to 20,976 workforces, the additional figure is 7,746 members of staff and these people were recruited with no approval.”

Source: The Nation

Emmerson Mnangagwa to be sworn in as Zimbabwe President

Emmerson Mnangagwa [Photo credit: IB Times Uk]

Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former Zimbabwean vice president, who was sacked by Robert Mugabe, would be sworn in Wednesday, media reports say.
Local media and Zimbabwean sources said Mr. Mnangagwa would be sworn in Wednesday to replace Mr. Mugabe who resigned Tuesday afternoon after 37-years in office.
The 75-year-old was removed from office and exiled 13 days after Mr. Mugabe accused him of disloyalty and insubordination.
Mr. Mugabe had reportedly taken the action to pave way for his wife, Grace, to emerge as the new leader of ruling Zanu-PF ahead of the country’s general election next year.
Mr. Mnangagwa is said to be popular amongst the powerful War Veterans group and the Zimbabwean military chiefs.

Source: Breaking Times

Naira crashes against dollar

The Naira on Tuesday traded at N362.5 to the dollar at the parallel market.
Meanwhile, the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N476 and N426 respectively.
 At the Bureau De Change window, the Naira flattened at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N476 and N426 respectively.
Trading at the interbank window saw the Naira closed at N359.87, while the CBN rate closed at N305.9 to the dollar.
Traders said that patronage at the market was slow as they awaited the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the CBN.
Meanwhile, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, noted that the investors and exports window had maintained a positive influence in the foreign exchange market
 Emefiele said at the end of the MPC meeting that the window transacted more than $18.7bn since it commenced transaction in April.
He added that the Naira had remained stable at the parallel market, while the investors ’window had boosted confidence in the economy.
The MPC meeting of the CBN retained the benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent alongside other monetary policy parameters.
The CBN had injected$ 210m into the foreign exchange market on Monday to boost liquidity.
 The series of interventions by the apex bank at the nation’s foreign exchange market had been critical in defending the Naira against the antics of currency speculators.

Source: Daily Post

Robert Mugabe finally resigns as president of Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe Tuesday, swept from power as his 37-year reign of brutality and autocratic control crumbled within days of a military takeover.
The bombshell news was delivered by the parliament speaker to a special joint session of the assembly which had convened to impeach Mugabe, 93, who has dominated every aspect of Zimbabwean public life since independence in 1980.
It was greeted on the streets of the capital Harare with car horns and wild cheering.
“I Robert Gabriel Mugabe in terms of section 96 of the constitution of Zimbabwe hereby formally tender my resignation… with immediate effect,” said speaker Jacob Mudenda, reading the letter.
“My decision to resign is voluntary on my part. It arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire to ensure a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transfer of power that underpins national security, peace and stability.”

Robert Mugabe

 It capped an unprecedented week in which the military seized control, tens of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans took to the streets to demand that the president go and Mugabe wrestled to remain in power.
– ‘Things are finally going to change’ –
“We are just so happy that things are finally going to change,” Togo Ndhlalambi, 32, a hairdresser, told AFP.
Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe almost unopposed since the country won independence from Britain but his efforts to position his wife Grace as his successor triggered fury in the military that had underpinned his regime.
His grip on power was shattered last week when the armoured military vehicles took to the streets, blockaded parliament and soldiers placed the president under house arrest in an operation that had all the hallmarks of a coup.

But instead his generals stressed they were simply “arresting” criminals around Mugabe — a reference to supporters of Grace — and even allowed the one-time liberation hero to appear at a public function and deliver a TV speech stressing that he retained control.
Open dissent 
It is expected that he will eventually be replaced by former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had been Grace Mugabe’s chief rival to succeed her husband and whose dismissal earlier this month triggered the army takeover.
Grace has not been seen since the start of the crisis.
However, under Zimbabwe’s constitution, second Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko stands to be elevated as head of state.
Veterans of the independence war — who were also formerly key Mugabe allies — had compounded mounting pressure on the former leader, demanding that he leave office immediately and helping to rally the weekend’s vast protests.
On Saturday, in scenes of public euphoria not seen since independence, huge crowds marched and sang their way through Harare and other cities in peaceful celebrations to mark his fading power.
The demonstrations drew citizens of all ages and races, jubilant that Mugabe’s fate had been sealed.
In central Harare, a group of young men tore down a green metal street sign bearing Robert Mugabe’s name and smashed it repeatedly on the road.
Such open dissent would have would have been routinely crushed by security forces before this week’s shock events.
The majority of Zimbabweans had only known life under Mugabe’s rule, which was defined by violent suppression, economic collapse and international isolation.

Source: The Guardian

Alex Ekwueme dies in London

Dr Alex Ekwueme

Former Nigerian vice president in the Second Republic Dr Alex Ekwueme has died in the United Kingdom where he was receiving treatment, his family said.
“Ekwueme family regrets to announce the peaceful passing away of their patriarch, the former Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme GCON,” his brother Professor Laz Ekwueme said in a statement.
“The sad event occurred at the London Clinic at 10:00 pm on Sunday 19th November 2017.”
Ekwueme, who celebrated his 85th birthday on October 21, was reported to have collapsed at his home on October 29 and was rushed to Memfys Hospital of Neurosurgery, Enugu, where he was treated for a chest infection.
He was later flown to London in an air ambulance on November 12 on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ekwueme was elected as Nigeria’s vice president in 1979, a position he held until December 1983 when the Shehu Shagari government was overthrown in a military coup in December 1983.


Source: The Guardian

Obiano Wins Anambra Governorship Poll

Gov Willie Obiano

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared Governor Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
Declaring the result of the election, which was keenly contested by 37 candidates, in Awka on Sunday, INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Zana Akpagu, said Obiano polled 234, 071 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Tony Nwoye of All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 98, 752 votes.
Akpagu who is the Vice Chancellor of University of Calabar said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr Oseloka Obaze, came third with 70,293 votes.
He also added that the United Progressives Party (UPP) candidate, Chief Osita Chidioka, polled a total of 7,903, while the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) candidate, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, scored a total of 2787 votes to clinch fifth position.
According to him, the total valid votes cast at the poll was 422,314, with a total number of 26, 457 rejected votes, while the total votes cast was 448,771 votes.
After declaring votes scored by each of the contestants, Akpagu described the conduct of the poll as free and fair, devoid of violence.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, Dr Ukwachukwu Orji, commended the people of the state for exhibiting good behavior.
“No bloodshed was recorded. Let this election not divide the people of the state but bring you together”, Orji noted.
He said Obiano will get his certificate of return from INEC on Wednesday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared Governor Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
Declaring the result of the election, which was keenly contested by 37 candidates, in Awka on Sunday, INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Zana Akpagu, said Obiano polled 234, 071 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Tony Nwoye of All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 98, 752 votes.
Akpagu who is the Vice Chancellor of University of Calabar said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr Oseloka Obaze, came third with 70,293 votes.
He also added that the United Progressives Party (UPP) candidate, Chief Osita Chidioka, polled a total of 7,903, while the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) candidate, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, scored a total of 2787 votes to clinch fifth position.
According to him, the total valid votes cast at the poll was 422,314, with a total number of 26, 457 rejected votes, while the total votes cast was 448,771 votes.
After declaring votes scored by each of the contestants, Akpagu described the conduct of the poll as free and fair, devoid of violence.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, Dr Ukwachukwu Orji, commended the people of the state for exhibiting good behaviour.
“No bloodshed was recorded. Let this election not divide the people of the state but bring you together”, Orji noted.
He said Obiano will get his certificate of return from INEC on Wednesday.
Also, Governor Obiano said yesterday that his victory in the governorship election does not belong to him or APGA alone, but to all the people of Anambra
In his acceptance speech titled, ‘Time to Build a New World’, Obiano said, “This sweet victory belongs to Ndi Anambra. It belongs to the wheelbarrow pushers and the okada riders who have clearly seen in our recent political experience, a glimmer of light in the horizon.
“It belongs to the farmers in Ayamelum, Onono, Ogbaru, Omasi, Omor and Ufuma who have now realised that agriculture is the future of Nigeria.
“It belongs to the teachers and civil servants who have seen that a motivated workforce is the greatest asset of any government.
“It belongs to the illustrious sons and daughters of Anambra State who have seen the star of this great state rise in the Eastern skies and have answered our call to  bring home their naira and dollars to put our dear state on the investment map.
“This victory belongs to all of us. My dear people, this victory is not a winner takes it all. In the New Anambra of my dream, everyone is a winner”.
He implored other governorship candidates to join in building the new Anambra that the citizens would be proud of.
He said the victory did not come by chance but the final product of the combined efforts of brilliant men and women who sacrificed their comfort to ensure that Anambra’s steady march to progress was not derailed.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for proving to the people of Anambra that under his watch, democracy would have deeper roots in Nigeria.
“Mr President promised us a free and fair election. Today, we can all see that he has kept his promise’’, he said.


Source: Leadership Newspaper

Robert Mugabe sacked !!!

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has been sacked as leader of the ruling ZANU-PF party and replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the deputy he sacked this month, sources at a special ZANU-PF meeting to decide Mugabe’s fate told Reuters on Sunday.

“He has been expelled,” one of delegates told Reuters.

“Mnangagwa is our new leader.” Three other delegates confirmed Mugabe’s dismissal.

NAN reports that Mugabe’s nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, said that the president and his wife Grace are “ready to die for what is correct” and have no intention of stepping down.

Speaking to Reuters from a secret location in South Africa, Zhuwao said Mugabe had hardly slept since the military seized power on Wednesday but his health was otherwise “good”.

An extraordinary meeting of the party’s central committee convened around 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) to consider removing the 93-year-old, four days after a military seizure of power ostensibly aimed at “criminals” within his entourage.

Separately, state television said Mugabe would meet military commanders on Sunday, quoting the Catholic priest who has been mediating in negotiations with the president.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare, singing, dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at Mugabe’s overthrow.

ZANU-PF’s central committee is also expected to reinstate Mnangagwa as party vice-president, resurrecting the political career of the former security chief, nicknamed The Crocodile, whose sacking this month triggered the military’s intervention.

Mugabe’s wife, Grace, will be fired as head of the ZANU-PF Women’s League, the sources told Reuters, completing the demise of a 52-year-old former government typist who just a week ago stood in pole position to succeed her husband after Mnangagwa’s dismissal.

The pair’s stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa, where a number of entrenched strongmen, from Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila, are facing mounting pressure to step aside.

In scenes reminiscent of the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, men, women and children ran alongside the armoured cars and troops who stepped in this week to oust the man who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980.

Under house arrest in his lavish ‘Blue Roof’ compound, Mugabe has refused to stand down even as he has watched his support from party, security services and people evaporate in less than three days.

On Harare’s streets, few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a “second liberation” for the former British colony and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship.

“These are tears of joy,” said Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag.

“I’ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last.”

The crowds in Harare have so far given a quasi-democratic veneer to the army’s intervention, backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power, which would help it avoid the diplomatic backlash and opprobrium that normally follow a coup.

The U.S., a long-time Mugabe critic, said it was looking forward to a “new era” in Zimbabwe, while President Ian Khama of neighbouring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once.

Buhari’s Govt Lacks Political Will To Fight Corruption –Falana

Femi Falana

Human Rights Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration lacks the political will needed to fight corruption.
He stated this on Friday while speaking on the topic: “Restructuring, Pros, and Cons: The place of the Nigerian youth”, at the 78th International Students Day organized by the Ogun State Government in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Falana noted that the fight against corruption embarked upon by the Buhari government remained a mere scratch on the surface.
He said, “I am sure you are following the anti-corruption war being prosecuted by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, men and women are involved.
“Christians and Muslims are involved and those who believe in traditional religions are involved. One person has been charged with collecting N4.7bn from former President Goodluck Jonathan for spiritual consultation.
“The point I am making is that if our looters are not divided on the table of ethnicity nothing will happen. The government still lacks the political will, the war now is just a tip of the real iceberg; there is still money to be recovered.”
The human rights lawyer also faulted the Senate for approving $5.5bn loan request put forward by the executive.
Falana, who lamented the state and standard of education in the South-West, argued that the zone seemed to have lost its place to others as evident in the recently released West African Examinations Council results where the region performed poorly.
He said, “After the last WAEC, NECO and JAMB results were released, no state in the South-West made it to the top 10 list and that for me is a shame.
“We need to go back to where we are coming from and where we got it wrong.”
Falana urged the youths not to join those calling for the breakup of the country, adding that those fanning the embers of disunity were only fighting for their selfish interest.
He noted that for the country to move forward, it must have a knowledge-based system.
On his part, the governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, appealed to youths to do whatever they could do to prepare themselves for leadership positions, urging them to show high commitment in nation-building.


Source: Sahara Reporters

Anambra election: Party chieftains beg voters to come out

Some chieftains of political parties on Friday appealed to voters in Anambra to turn out en masse to vote for candidates of their choices in the Saturday’s governorship poll.
They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in interviews in Lagos that voters who would fail to exercise their franchise should not complain of poor leadership.
Chief Charles Nwodo, the National Chairman of Progressive Action Council, advised the people to avoid apathy.
“We believe that the people of Anambra know that if they fail to come out to vote, they are creating chances for poor leadership.
“There is no alternative to democracy; we are appealing to IPOB to cooperate with the electoral body and allow the people to exercise their franchise,’’ Nwodo said.
He urged security agencies not to intimidate any voter, urging adding that they should ensure peace and order.
Chief Osita Okereke, the National Chairman of African Liberation Party, also urged voters to come out and exercise their franchise.
“Voters should be wise in their decision,’’ Okereke added.
Chief Perry Opara, Secretary-General of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), urged people of Anambra to come out en masse to vote as there would be enough security.
Mr Damian Ogbonna, the National Chairman of Peoples Progressive Party, advised miscreants to avoid being used to foment trouble.

Why we want to restructure polytechnics – Nigerian government

Education Minister, Adamu Adamu

The federal government of Nigeria has announced that plans were underway to restructure polytechnics in the country.

This, according to FG would enable the institutions focus on research and development of indigenous technology.

The federal government of Nigeria has announced that plans were underway to restructure polytechnics in the country.

This, according to FG would enable the institutions focus on research and development of indigenous technology.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, made the disclosure on Wednesday at the 17th convocation ceremony of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, in Ogun State.

Represented by Samuel Ojo, the Director of Tertiary Education in the Ministry, the minister harped on the need for the institutions to invest in commercially viable inventions.

He said, “the government would no longer tolerate the situation where technology – based institutions shifted their focus to courses in liberal arts.

“There are plans to restructure polytechnics in the country to them focus more on research and development of indigenous technology.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Rector of the polytechnic, Olusegun Aluko, disclosed that the institution at the 17th convocation produced 2,525 graduates.

He gave the details as 1,650 National Diploma graduates and 875 Higher National Diploma graduates.

“In this number we have 154 graduands with distinction, 747 with upper credit, 1,280 graduands with lower credit and 344 with pass,” Mr. Aluko stated.

Source: Daily Post

Why we approved Buhari’s $5.5bn loan request – Reps

The House of Representatives on Thursday said it approved the 5.5 billion dollars loan request from the executive because President Muhammadu Buhari is trustworthy and keeps to his words.

It said that the approval was in spite of the nation’s rising debt profile.

NAN recalls that both chambers had on Tuesday approved the president’s request to borrow 5.5 billion dollars made up of 2.5 billion dollars to fund the 2017 budget and another three billion dollars to re-finance the country’s domestic debts.

Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, told newsmen that “we approved the loan because we believe that the President is a man of his words and will utilize the funds for the projects earmarked”.

He said that the House after studying the projects outlined to be executed with the proceeds of loan realised that they were essential for rapid economic development.

Namdas added that the House also realised that the loan proceeds would enhance social development of the country and considering the president’s integrity, they had no option than to approve the loan.

“If you have a person that sticks to his words and with President Muhammadu Buhari, we have no doubt that this loan will be put to good use. ”

He also explained that the nation was just recovering from recession and there was need to inject more money into the economy to rejig it adding that the terms and conditions of the loan were favourable and not injurious to the nation.

“We just came out of recession and we need to spend money on infrastructure. Borrowing is part of ways to rejig the economy but it is not good to borrow for frivolous items. However, when you borrow to invest, there is nothing wrong about it.”

Namdas assured that the House will also step up its oversight function to ensure that the loan was judiciously expended on the projects outlined.

“We don’t just approved the loan, we are going to do oversight and ensure that the loan is properly utilized.”

Some of the projects to be funded with the loan are the Mambilla Hydropower project, construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, counterpart funding for rail projects and the construction of the Bode-Bonny Road, with a bridge across the Opobo Channel.

Source: The Guardian

Mugabe refuses to stand down in talks with military

This is the first picture of Robert Mugabe (back centre) after he was placed under house arrest in a military coup – amid claims he is refusing to step down as Zimbabwe’s president. Also in the room, is military chief General Constantino Chiwenga (in fatigues), defence minister Sydney Sekerayami (to Mugabe’s left), State Security Minister Kembo Mohadi (red tie) and South African politician Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (yellow head wear). PHOTO: THE HERALD.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, refused to resign during a crunch meeting Thursday with military generals who pushed him from power and seized control of the country.

he talks in Harare, confirmed to AFP by a source close to the army leadership, came after soldiers blockaded key roads, took over state TV and detained the veteran leader.

“They met today. He is refusing to step down. I think he is trying to buy time,” said the source, who declined to be named.

Mugabe’s motorcade reportedly took him from his private residence to State House for talks which were held alongside meetings with envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc.

Images of the meeting showed Mugabe dressed in a navy blue blazer and grey trousers standing alongside army chief General Constantino Chiwenga who smiled and was dressed in camouflage military fatigues.

Zimbabwe was left stunned at the military intervention against Mugabe, 93, who has ruled the country since independence from British rule in 1980.

Despite Mugabe’s refusal to resign, attention has shifted to the prominent figures who could play a role in any transitional government.

Morgan Tsvangirai, a former prime minister and long-time opponent of Mugabe, told journalists in Harare that Mugabe must resign “in the interest of the people”.

He added that “a transitional mechanism” would be needed to ensure stability.

Tendai Biti, an internationally-respected figure who served as finance minister during the coalition government after the 2008 elections, called it “a very delicate time for Zimbabwe”.

“A way has to be worked out to maintain stability. That restoration requires a roadmap and to address the grievances that have led to this situation,” he said.

Mugabe’s advanced age, poor health and listless public performances fuelled the bitter succession battle between his wife Grace and vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who Mugabe sacked last week.

Mnangagwa, 75, was previously one of Mugabe’s most loyal lieutenants, having worked alongside him for decades.

But he fled to South Africa following his dismissal and published a scathing five-page rebuke of Mugabe’s leadership and Grace’s presidential ambitions.

The military generals were strongly opposed to Grace’s rise, while Mnangagwa has maintained close ties to the army and could emerge as the next president.

“People want the constitution to be upheld. The talks should look at how to deal with the Mugabe issue in a progressive manner,” political analyst Earnest Mudzengi told AFP.

Eldred Masunungure, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, added that the formation of a “pre-election coalition” could be a viable response to the crisis.

Many Zimbabweans hoped the situation would pave the way to a more prosperous future.

“We needed change. Our situation has been pathetic,” said Keresenzia Moyo, 65.

“The economy has been in the doldrums for a very long time. We are happy with what has been done.”

However a spokesman for the ruling ZANU-PF party, Simon Khaya Moyo, insisted it was business as usual.

“It’s normal, everything is normal with the party,” he told AFP.

Harare’s residents largely ignored the few soldiers still on the streets Thursday and continued commuting, socialising and working.

The international community has been watching the crisis closely.

In Paris, the head of the African Union, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, warned on Thursday that the continent “will never accept the military coup d’etat” in Zimbabwe and called for a return to the “constitutional order.”

“(Problems) need to be resolved politically by the ZANU-PF party and not with an intervention by the army,” added Conde.

Britain, Zimbabwe’s former colonial ruler, called for elections scheduled for 2018 to go ahead.

The state-owned Herald newspaper walked a fine line in its editorial pages Thursday by remaining loyal to Mugabe but also endorsing the military’s action.

“The military does not readily interfere… they had to break with this long tradition,” it wrote, adding that ZANU-PF “was being soiled by those who should be helping the President.”

Source: Nigerian Tribune

Why Google Is Celebrating Chinua Achebe With a Doodle

Surrounded by symbols, donning his signature cap and spectacles, Chinua Achebe is pictured in front of a green banner decorated with icons of his most famous literary works in Thursday’s Google Doodle. The illustration honors the legacy of the renowned Nigerian writer on what would be his 87th birthday.

Widely regarded as the father of modern African literature, Achebe was an illustrious author whose work sought to reclaim Africa’s literary voice from Western control. Achebe rose to international prominence when he published Things Fall Apart at 28 years-old. Based on his own family heritage and upbringing, the story recounts the demise of an Ibo man in southeastern Nigeria under the oppression of 19th century British colonial rule. The book is now a classic and required reading for students, selling more than 20 million copies and translated into 57 different languages.

“In the end, I began to understand,” Achebe once wrote. “There is such a thing as absolute power over narrative. Those who secure this privilege for themselves can arrange stories about others pretty much where, and as, they like.”

Achebe went on to publish several more works — ultimately winning the Man Booker Prize in 2007 — and then later became a professor at Bard College and Brown University. In 1990, a car accident in Nigeria paralyzed Achebe from the waist down. The writer passed away from illness nearly five years ago.

Source: Time

Zimbabweans elated but cautious as Mugabe flounders

A man reads the front page of a special edition of The Herald newspaper about the crisis in Zimbabwe on November 15, 2017 in Harare. Zimbabwe’s military was in control of the country today as the President said he was under house arrest, although generals denied staging a coup. Mugabe’s decades-long grip on power appeared to be fading as military vehicles blocked roads outside the parliament in Harare and senior soldiers delivered a late-night television address to the nation. / AFP PHOTO / –

On Harare’s streets, many expressed amazement and delight Wednesday that President Robert Mugabe’s long reign may be coming to a close, but people also admitted the future looked unstable.
Mugabe, 93, has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980 — longer than many can remember — and the sudden move against him by the military left some hoping that his repressive regime would soon fall.
“We are happy with what has been done,” Keresenzia Moyo, 65, a housewife told AFP after visiting a hospital in the capital.

“We needed change. Our situation has been pathetic. The economy has been in the doldrums for a very long time.
“What is good is that this has happened at the top and it is not affecting us people on the ground. People could be killing each other.”
Moyo said that she didn’t care if Mugabe was allowed to leave the country unhindered despite his tenure being marked by brutal repression of dissent, corruption and election vote-rigging.
Mugabe, who is under house arrest after the military took control, led Zimbabwe to independence.
But his decades in power have turned a country known as the breadbasket of Africa for its produce, into an economic basket case, where many go hungry.
“What we want is for our children to be able to get jobs and live a normal happy life,” Moyo said.
“We want to have food on the table, not one side having everything and others dying of hunger. Mugabe was once a good person but he lost it. Now we need a fresh start.”
‘We need some kind of direction’
Zimbabwe’s military has denied staging a coup, saying Mugabe was still president.
“We don’t know what this all means and we don’t know what to do,” Karen Mvelani, 21, a student, told AFP.
“We need some kind of direction on where we are heading.”
The impact of the momentous political developments was limited in Harare, with many people attending street markets, catching mini-buses to work or lining up outside banks as normal.
The country’s economic crisis has caused a severe cash shortage and sharply rising prices, which many Zimbabweans blame Mugabe for.
“He was a liability to the country because he was focusing on his leadership, he was a dictator,” said Tafadzwa Masango, a 35-year-old unemployed man.
“Our economic situation has deteriorated every day — no employment, no jobs,” he said. “We hope for a better Zimbabwe after the Mugabe era.
“We feel very happy. It is now his time to go.”
Mugabe sacked vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa last week, seemingly provoking the intervention of the military, which reportedly opposed First Lady Grace Mugabe’s emergence as the likely next president.
Precious Shumba, director of Harare Residents Trust action group, said Zimbabwe was entering “a new phrase”.
“Now at least we break with the past,” she said. “My wish is that they immediately announce a transitional government and state clearly when the country will have the next elections.
“We need a transitional government to rid the country of the toxic politics of patronage, corruption and nepotism.”

Source: The Guardian

Polytechnic lecturers begin strike on Monday

Academic activities in the nation’s polytechnics will be disrupted from Monday, November 13, 2017 as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) commence an indefinite strike to press government to meet their demands.

The union accused the Ministry of Education of  failing to attend a conciliatory meeting called by the Ministry of Labour and Employment aimed at resolving their demands.

It said the Ministry only sent a deputy director without a mandate to attend the meeting.

National President of the union, Comrade Usman  Dutse said the union was declaring a total and indefinite strike, adding that the government was using endless verification exercises to delay the payment of entitlements of members of the union.

 He said while the union is not against government carrying out verification exercises, it should not endless and the exercise should not be used to denied workers their rights.

He said that despite the 21 days notice given to the government, they did not consider it necessary to address their demands for an improved funding of polytechnic education in the country, adding that an additional seven days given to the government has also not yielded any positive result.

“Our union is constrained to lament again that our sector is on the verge of collapse and needs all the emergency attention it urgently deserves. Until now, it should be noted that the issues raised here today have been there since 2014 and none of these issues has since 2014 been concretely resolved to improve the sector.

“It is against this background that we wish to remind governments at all levels and indeed all Nigerians that we cannot continue to be complacent in the face of imminent and seemly strategic annihilation of a sector that feeds and caters for millions of youths and families. 

“A sector that if well harnessed will boost Nigeria’s technological know–how, improve ICT, create millions of employment opportunities and raise the level of both theoretical and practical technological literacy.”

The polytechnic lecturers are demanding the implementation of the NEEDS assessment report which recommended the injection of N6.5 billion into the polytechnic education in 2014.

They said the amount has risen to about N8 billion, adding that without Imo,emerging the report, the essence of using tax payers money to embark on the  exercise is wasted.

They are also demanding passage of the Amendment Bill of the Polytechnics Act, noting that “the delay and indifference to the passage of this bill is viewed as a ploy to fester chaos and continued crises in the sector. Recall that this bill passed through public hearing since December 2016.”

He said “One wonders why an all important bill such as this still remains unattended to even when assurances have been extracted from the Senate Committee on this bill, our regulatory agencies and ministry of education. 

“Passing this bill will go a long way to resolving majority of the contending issues in the sector, reduce conflicts, improve on the efficiency levels of the administrative organs and ultimately bring the sector in tune with global best practices. Same bill died with the 6th and 7th assemblies and the current effort is now being threatened to go same way as it is stuck in the Senate since the public hearing in December, 2016.”

They also want the government to pay the shortfall in Personnel Releases and Withdrawal of Allowances and  emoluments due to cuts in personnel releases which it said  has persisted till date and accused government of “withdrawing allowances which hitherto were part of salaries.”

“Equally, unpaid arrears of promotions have continued to mount. While verifications of staff have been conducted over and over, only five institutions have received repayment of their 2016 shortfalls. This situation is compounded by the continued penchant of Governing Councils to siphon the meagre internal resources of institutions in order to assuage their unbridled appetite for luxury.”

They are also not happy with the sorry state of state government owned polytechnics and monotechnics which they said have continued to be in deplorable conditions, with salaries of staff not paid while union officials are victimized.

Also included in their demand is the Release of CONTISS 15 Migration arrears that has lingered since 2011 when the approval to migrate to the CONTISS 15 salary scale was secured from the government effective 2009.

“Since then, only the upper cadre has been fully taken care of. Staffs in the lower cadre are being short changed since then as they are yet to get the full benefit of this policy. In response, government continues to set up committees without terminal dates and any meaningful response to the union’s protests.

“It is worthy to note that a lot of these issues constitute violations of the agreement signed between our union and the government in 2010. This is in tandem with the now well documented penchant of government to renege on agreements. Recently efforts to address these issues led to the convening, on the 24th of October 2017, of a conciliatory meeting by the Federal Ministry of Labour in Abuja. 

“Curiously, the ministry in eye of the storm (The Federal Ministry of Education) was so poorly represented that no memorandum of action was agreed upon. This clearly showed the level of disdain and disrespect with which issues of the polytechnic sector are being handled by relevant agencies of government.

“In view of the above, our union rising from this emergency meeting hereby resolved to commence an indefinite and comprehensive strike action effective 13th November, 2017. This action shall be sustained until our demands are met or an implementable memorandum of action is agreed upon by our union and relevant agencies of government.

“We therefore call on well meaning Nigerians and indeed the public to prevail on the government to do the needful and avoid this imminent shutdown of the sector on an indefinite basis.”

Source: The Nation