We’ve dislodged APC in Rivers – Wike

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has declared that the All Progressives Congress has been dislodged in the state.
Wike said that the vestiges of the APC were removed following the mass execution of key projects across the state.
The governor made this remark on Tuesday while commissioning the Ozuoba-Rumuoparaeli-Choba road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
He said the APC was no longer a voice in the state because leaders of the party were only involved in anti-people’s programmes.
Wike lauded the Akpor people for giving him the traditional mandate to protect the people of the state, pointing out that he will stand for the people at all times.
“There is no more APC in Rivers State; we have used projects to dislodge the APC in the state.
“If they don’t steer clear of Rivers State, we shall cut them off from the state now that our people have given us the mandate to clear all the unwanted items.
“All those that know must not come close because my people have given me the instrument to go to war against enemies of Rivers State,” the governor added.
Commenting on the road, Wike said the Ozuoba-Rumuoparaeli-Choba road traversed three communities and two wards.

The governor said he had fulfilled the promises made to the people of the area, adding that more projects will be executed in the area.
The State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Iheanyichukwu Bathuel, noted that the completion of the road had improved the value of property in the three communities that the road serve.
Also, spokesman of the Rumuokparali community, Mr. Chris Abel, expressed the gratitude of the people the governor for fulfilling his campaign promise to them.
Reacting on the governor’s claim that the APC has been dislodged in Rivers, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Chris Finebone, said a thousand of Wike would not be able to endanger or threaten the larger-than-life existence of the APC in the state.
He said, “‎We believe that dream is free and Governor Nyesom Wike is free to embark on his delusion of grandeur that he is capable of diminishing APC in Rivers State. He knows that he is merely amusing himself and his motely group and he is free to do so.
“The truth remains that a thousand Wike cannot endanger or threaten the larger-than-life existence of the APC in Rivers State. If the governor hallucinates about that, then he has a high mountain to climb. Again, he is free to entertain himself in the circus show he has turned Rivers State into. It is very unfortunate.”


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Senate rejects U.S.-based don as NERC boss

The Senate has rejected the nomination of American-based professor, Akintunde Akinwande, as the head of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Mr. Akinwande was rejected for his failure to attend confirmation hearing.
The decision was announced Tuesday.
Other nominees for whom confirmation was sought by President Muhammadu Buhari, were cleared by the Senate.

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Rivers rerun: Make details of DSP Alkali’s murder investigation public – PDP tells IGP

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State has challenged the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr Ibrahim Idris, to make public details of Police investigations of the circumstances surrounding the brutal murder of late Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP Mohammed Alkali, and his orderly in Uju community in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area during the December 10 re-run elections in the state.
Publicity secretary of the party in Rivers State, Mr Sam Nwonosike, claimed the dismissal of the six police officers recently by the IGP was a ploy to divert attention from the findings of the Police on the murder of the late DSP and his orderly.

He said the reasons given by the Police for the dismissal of the six police officers were contradictory, stressing that there was no way Governor Nyesom Wike, as a lawyer, would violate electoral guidelines while the election was on.
He said he was shocked by the alleged silence of the Police over alleged electoral violence committed by its men during the re-run elections, claiming he was among those allegedly manhandled by men of Special Anti-Robbery Squad on the orders of a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress who wanted results sheets snatched at all cost at the collation centre in Ikwerre Local Government Area.


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Uganda’s Museveni promotes son to special adviser role

Uganda’s leader Yoweri Museveni has promoted his eldest son to become a special presidential adviser in a reshuffle of army commanders.
Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has risen rapidly within the military, fuelling speculation that he is being groomed to become president one day.
Analysts say his new role, working more closely with state house, will broaden his remit and experience.
Mr Museveni, 72, is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
He came to power in 1986 after winning a five-year guerrilla war – and last year won his fifth term in office with more than 60% of the vote.
Gen Kainerugaba, 42, had been in charge of the Special Forces in charge of his father’s security since 2008.
He graduated from the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2000 and last year was promoted from brigadier to major general.

“Muhoozi… is going to play a significant role in a post-Museveni Uganda, there’s no doubt about it,” political commentator and rights activist Nicholas Opiyo told the Reuters news agency.
“He is just giving the boy a hand in experiencing how government works on the side of politics.”
In the reshuffle Brigadier Peter Elwelu, who oversaw a deadly raid in November on the palace of a regional king accused of launching a secessionist movement, was promoted to army chief.
BBC reports the promotion is being seen as a reward for the operation, in which more than 60 people were killed.
Meanwhile the previous army chief General Katumba Wamala has been made a junior Minister for Works in the government after serving as the top army official since 2013, a departure seen as a demotion, BBC reports.
Military spokesman Paddy Ankunda said the moves were part of normal changes within the institution.


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Kogi Polytechnic Workers Protest Over Unpaid Salaries

Workers of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja on Tuesday took to the streets in protest against the non-payment of salaries.
The workers, who took over all routes leading to the institution, held placards some of which indicated that more than 20 per cent of them had not been paid salaries for eight months “even after all manners of screening exercises”.
The Secretary of their workers’ union, Mr. Simeon Ogbadu, on the action, regretted that members had been subjected to “stressful screenings and rigorous checks without any benefit”.
He said that lecturers were hungry with some of them dying over the lack of basic needs in their homes.

He said, “Many of the lecturers have lost their wives and children and have suddenly become objects of ridicule in the society.”
The union’s scribe said that the workers would embark on an indefinite strike if the state government refused to pay the salaries.
Ogbadu, however, urged the workers to remain calm and await further directives from the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics.
He said, “We are ready to return to the classes, but government must meet its obligations; I am very optimistic that the issues will be resolved soon, but unless they are resolved, it will be difficult to work with an empty stomach.”


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Kaduna killings: Lagos lawmakers beg FG for state police

 

Some lawmakers representing various constituencies in the Lagos State House of Assembly have again appealed to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to allow states have their own police commands.
They said the appeal was sequel to the recent resurgence of clashes in Southern Kaduna, in Kaduna State.
The lawmakers, in separate interviews, said that the NASS should enact a law that would allow states to have their own police force so that they would be able to quell such ugly developments before they spread.
This would put a stop to the mindless killings of innocent citizens as experienced in Kaduna State in recent months, they said.
They said that security challenges would remain a threat to the survival and unity of the country until states get their own police commands.
The Chairman, LAHA’s Committee on Public Accounts, Mr. Bisi Yusuff, said, “It is unreasonable to kill any human being under any disguise. I am not happy with the current killings in Southern part of Kaduna State.
“State police is definitely the answer to this development. The total number of policemen in the country is not enough to protect the country’s current population.
“What is the population of Nigeria, over 170 million, and what is the numerical strength of our police force that is employed to take care of them.
“No matter how benevolent the government of a country may be, when security is not put in proper perspective, there will be problems and the government will be handicapped on what it wants to do.
“I am not saying our governments are not trying, but they should increase the tempo. I heard that they recently employed 10,000 policemen, but will that solve any problem.
“The Federal Government in additional to the 10,000 police officers it recently recruited should allow each state of the federation to have its own police force.”
Yusuff, representing Alimosho Constituency 1 at the Assembly, urged the fighting factions in Southern Kaduna to sheath their swords and embrace peace.
He said, “Killing of human beings, under whichever guise, is ungodly. I don’t see why we should be killing ourselves.’’

He debunked insinuations that the Federal and the Kaduna State Governments were silent on the issue.
The lawmaker said that the both tiers of government might be working at the background which might not be known to the public.
The Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Abiodun Tobun, said, “The killing in Kaduna State is not reasonable.
“The killing is repugnant, if people can hide under the guise of religion to kill, one wonders the kind of people they are. Killing under religious guise is totally condemnable.
“Sincerely, we need state police to mitigate all these irrational killings and shedding of blood.”
Tobun advised both the Federal and Kaduna State Governments to improve on their strategies aimed at ending the orgy.
Similarly, the Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. David Setonji, also condemned the spate of killings in parts of the country.
Setonji urged Federal Government to stop all criminal activities by allowing each state to have its police.
Suspected gunmen had severally attacked some communities in Southern Kaduna populated mainly by Christians.
This had led to the death of many while some others sustained injuries.
A leader in the area, Mr. Emmanuel Adamu, had told journalists in Sanga that the attacks were carried out in Anikpon village in Nandu and Kabamu Village in Fadan-Karachi.
Last May, seven people were killed when gunmen attacked a police outpost at Fadan Karshi.
The Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan at a joint news conference alleged that the latest attacks in the area claimed 808 lives, with 57 injured in 53 villages.
The Vicar-General of the Diocese, Very Rev Fr Ibrahim Yukubu, said that the recent attacks affected four local government areas were: 1,422 houses, 16 churches, 19 shops and one primary school were destroyed.
The national leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria had to direct churches across the country to observe Sunday, January 8, as a day of prayer and mourning over the killings in Southern Kaduna.
Several Christians across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State complied by dressing in black attires and offered prayers that God should intervene in the ongoing killings

 

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Senate APC caucus sacks Ndume as leader

The All Progressives Caucus in the Senate has sacked the Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, as its leader.
The caucus, in a letter to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, which was read on the floor of the chamber during the plenary on Tuesday, announced Senator Ahmed Lawan as its new leader.
It is still uncertain if Ndume will maintain his position as Senate Leader by implication.

Controversial law that forced Adeboye to step down Suspended

The Federal Government on Monday suspended the controversial Corporate Governance Code which was issued on October 17 by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.
The suspension was disclosed in a statement by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah.
In the five paragraphs statement issued by the minister’s Strategic Communication Adviser, Constance Ikokwu, the minister said the code was suspended in order to carry out a detailed review of its application.
The review, according to the statement, would now involve extensive consultations with stakeholders upon the reconstitution of the board of the FRC.
The statement quoted the minister to have said that government remains committed to restoring and enhancing market confidence and improving the ease of doing business in the country.


The statement reads in part, “The Corporate Governance Code issued by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria has been suspended, pending a detailed review, extensive consultation with stakeholders and reconstitution of the board of the FRC.
“Government remains committed to restoring and enhancing market confidence and improving the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.
“Government is committed to strengthening FRC and enhancing its capacity to fulfill its core mandate.”
The FRC is one of the parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and it is responsible for setting and promoting compliance with standards for accounting, financial reporting and auditing in Nigeria.
It also regulates the practices of professionals involved in financial reporting and promotes good practices in financial reporting and corporate governance in Nigeria.

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New Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo accused of plagiarism

Nana Akufo-Addo presidency got off to a rocky start Saturday after he was accused of plagiarising a portion of former American president George Bush’s 2001 inaugural speech.
Akufo-Addo was sworn as the 54th president of Ghana, a country described as the “gold standard for democracy in Africa” taking over from John Dramani Mahama. But the new president’s inauguration was blighted by the accusation of directly lifting from Bush’s own inauguration speech.
In his speech, Bush said: “I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building communities of service and a nation of character.”
Akufo-Addo said: “I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building your communities and our nation. Let us work until the work is done.”
This is not the first time West African presidents would be accused of plagiarising American presidents’ speeches.

In September 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari came under fire from critics after admitting part of his “Change Begins With Me” speech was copied from US President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech. His aides put the blame on an unnamed “overzealous speech writer.”
Buhari’s speech read in part “We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of service, of patriotism and sacrifice. Let us all resolve to pitch in and work hard and look after, not only ourselves but one another.”
Obama had in different parts of his 2008 victory speech said: “Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long…
“So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.”

PDP workers refused meeting with Sheriff

Staff of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have shunned an invitation for a meeting with a factional chairman of the party, Ali Sheriff.
The staff, who met under the auspices of the PDP Staff Welfare Forum on Monday in Abuja, said they decided to shun the meeting with Mr. Sheriff because, unlike, the other factional chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, he never called for the reopening of the secretariat complex.
The Police have sealed the Wadata Plaza secretariat of the PDP since May 22 last year following a parallel national convention that saw the party divided.
The party’s national officers led by former Borno Governor, Ali Sheriff, were sacked and an interim team announced in Port Harcourt on May 21, 2016.
The convention appointed former Kaduna Governor, Ahmed Makarfi, as chairman and a former senator, Ben Obi, as National Secretary.
Mr. Sheriff, however, insists he remains the national chairman.
A statement from the Welfare Committee said Monday’s meeting which had about 80 members of staff present “unanimously voted to reject the invitation by Senator Sheriff.”
They said they decided to reject the invitation because “while the National Caretaker Committee under the able leadership of Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, spoke in support of the call for the national secretariat of the party to be opened for Party activities, Senator Sheriff in a statement by his spokesman, Hon. Bernard Mikko rejected the call for the reopening of the National Secretariat which was seen by the staff as an affront to the progress and rebuilding process in the PDP”.

The staff also queried the yardstick for the invitation by Mr. Sheriff, accusing him of not working for the growth and development of the party.
The staff accused him of “tacitly working against the party, as seen in his activities that reduced the fortune of the PDP in the gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states”.
The staff also queried the “deaf-silence by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on various salient national issues especially the recklessness and misgovernance of the APC-led administration.”