younglee's Blog

Gabon opposition candidate Jean Ping has called on President Ali Bongo on Monday to “acknowledge his defeat” in Saturday’s presidential election. After publishing numbers on Sunday that showed him comfortably in the lead based on a small percentage of votes, Ping called on Bongo to step down. “I encourage Ali Bongo to submit to the verdict of the ballot box,” he told a news conference, without providing more voting figures. Bongo’s camp also says it is set to win and has accused Ping’s supporters of fraud. On Twitter, his spokesman Alain Claude Bilie By Nzé called Ping’s news conference “the start of an odious attempt at a coup de force”. Gabonese law forbids candidates from publishing their own results before the official count, expected on Tuesday. The country’s interior minister called Ping’s move to pre-empt an official announcement of the poll results by declaring victory an attempt to manipulate the democratic process. Gabon’s one-round election means the winner...

Nigeria’s currency market registered $327 million worth of trades on Monday, about six times more than its usual volume, the market regulator told Reuters. That included a single $270 million transaction at 345 naira per dollar, by foreign investors buying local currency bonds, Bola Onadele, the Managing Director of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, said in an interview. Other transactions were carried out from 314.50 to 317.34 per dollar. Average trading is around $50 million a day on normal days. It might reach $100 million on days the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervenes in the currency market. Traders also said the CBN sold an undisclosed amount of dollars, close to the end of market session, to help prop up the naira. The currency closed at 305.50 on Monday, around the level where it’s closed for the past week. Monday’s surge in trading came after the CBN said on Friday that it would offer 212.85 billion naira ($675 mln) in treasury bills maturing between 91 days and...

The Niger Delta Avengers, a militant in Nigeria’s south-south region says it expects a genuine and positive attitude to restructuring and self-determination for every component unit of Nigeria. In an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the group, which has claimed responsibility for most attacks on oil facilities in the region, pointed out that it had “listened carefully and halted hostilities in the Niger Delta”, but claimed that ongoing military operations in the creeks Of Ijaw communities in the Delta were pre-determined genocide in the Niger Delta. The letter published on the militants’ website read: “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to put away the garb of a stooge to the imperialists, whenever he speaks outside Nigeria. “Dear president, what makes those countries (Japan, Germany, France, USA, Britain etc.) great is the ability of their governments to accommodate internal protestations and conflicts for the greater good of their nations over the years. ...

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has passed a vote of confidence on the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee in Abuja. Rising after a four-hour closed door meeting, they also mandated the Committee to prepare for a fresh convention, which will be held in Abuja. Chairman of the BoT, Sen Walid Jubril, also explained that the board has directed the Caretaker Committee to raise funds for the proposed convention. This will be the third time that the PDP has been trying to hold a convention that will elect principal officers of the party after the first and second attempts in May and August failed.

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the composition of the governing board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The approval was contained in a statement by the spokesman for the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi. The new NPA governing board has 11 members with Mr Emmanuel Adesoye as its Chairman. The members of the board are: Supo Shasore, Suleiman Halilu, Constance Harry Mashal, Umar Shu’aibu, Charles Sylvester, Hadiza Usman, Mohammed Koko, Dr. Sekonte Davis, Professor Idris Abubakar and Mrs I. J. Uche-Okoro. Similarly, President Buhari approved a governing board for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). The NIMASA board also has 11 members, with Major General Jonathan India Garba as the Chairman. The members of the board are: Asekomhe Kenneth, Mohammed Muazu, Ebele Obi, S. U. Galadanchi, Ms Nene Dike, Dakuku Peterside, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, Bashir Jamoh, Joseph Fashakin and...

The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello has promised that the state government will assist the families of the eleven soldiers that were ambushed and killed by militants, during a military operation in Bosso Local Government Area, of the state in July. The governor pledged his administration’s support to the Nigerian Army in its effort to combat insurgency and other related crimes in the state. The governor made the pledge when he visited the General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army, to commiserate with him over the death of the eleven Soldiers. He also announced that state government will take the responsibility of renovating the dilapidated structures at the Nigerian Army 31 Artillery Brigade barracks in Niger state, in other to make it more comfortable for the officers and men. The GOC One Division, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade reiterated his readiness, adding that officers and men of the division will always discharge their constitutional duties wi...

No fewer than 300 houses in some parts of Kaduna State, North-west Nigeria, have been submerged by flood, as a result of a heavy rainfall. Following the Incident, more than 10, 000 people have been forced out of their homes. The incident which started on Friday morning, after long hours of heavy downpour, lasted till later in the evening. In July, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), issued an alert that eight Local Government Areas in the state were likely to experience flooding, and therefore warned residents of the affected areas to vacate to safer places. Ever since the flood incident in 2012, that killed about seven people, destroyed several houses and farmlands in Kaduna, the State Emergency Management Agency has set up an early warning system to monitor the situation. The agency said Friday’s flooding incident was as a result of drainages being blocked with refuse, and people building structures along water channels. Some of the affected areas include...

Spanish tennis players, Rafa Nadal and Marc Lopez won the Olympic men’s doubles tennis title on Friday, after beating Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau to win gold for their country. The Spanish duo beat Mergea and Tecau 6-2 3-6 6-4 to secure their country’s third gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Games. Meanwhile, American duo Steve Johnson and Jack Sock beat Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-2 6-4 to clinch bronze.

The English Premier League title holders, Leicester City have started the season on a negative note, falling a goal behind to newly promoted team, Hull City. Hull City forward, Adama Diomande, opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Riyad Mahrez, last season’s Premier League Football Association’s player of the year, levelled up for Leicester from the penalty spot. Scottish midfielder, Robert Snodgrass, sealed the game for the home team in the 57th minute after a mistake by Leicester goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel. However, the defending champions fought hard to get an equaliser but to no avail as Hull City claimed the first three points of the 2016/2017 campaign.

Troops have carried out mine and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) clearance in Gombori belonging to the Boko Haram terrorists. The operation was carried out along the troops’ main supply route in Borno State, following an information provided by a suspected terrorist, Lawan Abbai. He was arrested on Thursday by officials of the Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno State in a counter-terrorism operation in northeast Nigeria. “The troops located and recovered two heavy IEDs buried in the ground by suspected remnants of the insurgents. “In the process of recovering the deadly IEDs, the troops intercepted four fleeing suspected Boko Haram terrorists that claimed they were on their way to surrender to troops. “On preliminary investigation, they were identified as confirmed Boko Haram terrorists planting IEDs along troops’ routes by their arrested colleague, Lawan Abbai,” the Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, said in a statement. The troops also rescued five wome...

Troops of 35 Battalion, One Brigade of the Nigerian Army in a joint patrol with officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Katsina State, have killed a suspected cattle rustler and recovered weapons. A statement by the Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, revealed that the troops and the NSCDC, under the auspices of “Operation SHARAN DAJI”, carried out the operations along Tsambe-Fafare road in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, northwest Nigeria. “The operation was predicated on information received by well-meaning citizens that three gunmen were sighted on motorcycles. “The team swung into action and pursued the suspected armed bandits towards Dumburu forest in Zamfara State. “During an encounter, the team killed one of the suspected cattle rustlers and armed bandits while the other two escaped with gunshot wounds,” the statement read. Colonel Usman said that the troops recovered an AK-47 rifle with registration number 1985PS6288, addit...

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has secured a $700 million loan for the development of the nation’s real estate and agriculture sector. The Managing Director of the organisation, Mr Uche Orji, gave reasons for the securing the loan on Friday at the signing ceremony of the deal in Abuja. Mr Orji said both sectors had potentials of providing jobs and reducing poverty. Giving a breakdown of the loan, he explained that $500 million had been earmarked for the real estate sector while $200 million would be invested into the agriculture sector. On her part, the Minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, also stated that the initiative was part of the Federal Government’s plan towards attaining economic diversification. Nigeria’s dire need for economic diversification had become more glaring, with the drop in the price of crude oil which the nation depends hugely on for its revenue. The nation’s vast arable land has remained unused since the nation shifted focus from agr...

The President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Mr Charles Harry, says the organisation is capable of resolving the challenges of militancy in the Niger Delta region within 30 days if the Federal Government ceases hostilities in the region. Mr Harry warned against the use of military force in the region, saying that the area had lost a lot of youths to violence. He added that the Federal Government also have a role to play for enduring peace to reign in the region. The Ijaw President appealed to the government to take steps to redress the challenges of underdevelopment in the Nigeria’s south-south region.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Nigeria says it has effected only one change in its guidelines for admission into higher tertiary institutions. It said that the change was in line with the stoppage of the conduct of post-UTME by higher institutions. The new Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, made the clarification on Friday while addressing reporters during a visit to the JAMB zonal headquarters in Benin City, the capital of Edo State. “After due consultation with the Senate, House of Representatives and all the regulatory agencies, we have resolved the matter totally. “There is no ambiguity about what will happen. “As has been announced by the Minister for Education, there will be no written post-UTME examination by any institution. “Apart from that every other steeps remains as it used to be,” he explained. Professor Oloyede also said that the Federal Government and the board would continue to respect the autonomy of the academic boar...

The Kaduna State government has established a new security outfit known as the ”Vigilante Service” that will assist security agencies to tackle cattle rustling and all forms of criminality in the state. The State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, inaugurated the Board of Management of the service and other parastatals on Friday. He explained that the new security outfit was to complement the work of the police and other security agencies in intelligence gathering and crime prevention. He also announced the disbandment of all private vigilante groups across the state. The Chairman of the board, Dika Anto, on his part, assured the Governor that they would live up to expectations. The vigilante service board has representations from the army, civil defence corps, State Security Service and traditional rulers.

A former Governor of Edo State, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, has faulted the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that indicted him for electoral offence. Professor Osunbor described the allegation as malicious and unfounded during an interview with Channels Television. “It is a pity that a body that calls himself a human rights commission should be violating the human rights of people. “I believe something is seriously wrong with our human rights commission for them to be indicting somebody. They never invited me for any investigation. “They should tell the world what offence I committed and I will be prepared to face the investigation if that is actually the case,” he said. The former governor stated that the NHRC also acted in contempt of court for indicting him a second time after he had earlier sued them for indicting him falsely. Meanwhile, a former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly and acting governor of the state, Mr Clarence Olasemi,...

A heavy downpour has rendered hundreds of people homeless in Jakusko town of Yobe State in northeast Nigeria. The torrential rain, which has been persistent in the past few days, also destroyed farmlands and foodstuffs Some of the residents, Lawan Jakusko and Usman Abba, said that no fewer than 200 houses were destroyed, rendering some of the inhabitants homeless. They pleaded for urgent assistance from the government and other non-governmental organisations, calling for response to their crucial needs. Disastrous And Pathetic The Yobe State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajara Lawan, in a sympathy visit to the area described the situation as disastrous and pathetic. She called on the government and other spirited individuals to respond immediately in helping the victims who were mostly peasants and in dare need of urgent intervention. Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has swiftly responded by commencing an assessment tour to the flood area,...

Members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State have resumed their indefinite strike. The resident doctors had on June 27 2016 suspended their three week old strike as a result of the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara‎. Addressing journalists at the hospital, the branch President of the Association, Dr. Ahmed Olanipekun, stated that they decided to embark on strike again due to the refusal of the management of the hospital to attend to their demands. Dr Olanipekun said the demands include the regularisation of the employment of 22 casualised medical officers, replacement of casual officers with qualified resident doctors and the new clause in the appointment of house officers expunged. Other demands include full payment of salary arrears of resident doctors and consultants from January, 2016, as well as the payment of all arrears of examination fees and upgrading fees. R...

The Nigerian Army has dismissed reports claiming that it has uncovered plans by the terrorist group, Boko Haram to launch attacks in parts of the country. A source was reported to have said that an intelligence document it obtained indicates that Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Katsina, Imo, Yobe and Borno States as well as the Federal Capital Territory will be targeted by the terrorists. But the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sani Usman, told Channels Television that the report has no basis, neither did the purported document emanate from the Office of the Chief of Army Staff. Meanwhile, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has called for the investigation of the purported recruitment of Boko Haram terrorist in some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the northeast. Dr. Saraki asked various security agencies not to treat the rumours with levity but to urgently investigate the issue and unravel those behind the menace.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, says that the military will not compromise in its responsibilities to the nation. Air Marshal Abubakar also urged various communities across Nigeria to support soldiers in ensuring peace. He expressed sadness at the avoidable clash between military and civilians that led to the loss of lives in Kpaidna villages in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State, north-central Nigeria. The Air Chief, during a condolence visit at Government House in Minna, appealed to the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, to enlighten the people on security to avoid future occurrence. He also urged the people of the state to go about their normal activities and promised to sustain the peaceful coexistence in the state. The Air Marshal noted that he was in Niger State to inspect the existing infrastructure with a view to improve on them, adding that measures have been put in place to establish Aircraft Maintenance Repairs Organisation in M...

The Federal Government has constituted a committee for the review of the National Tax Policy as part of efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy. The committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Wednesday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Mrs Adeosun restated the government’s commitment towards the diversification of the economy, especially through its tax system. She stressed that the government is looking at ways to ensure that over 87% of other sectors contribute their quota to its revenue. The Minister expressed hope that a review of Nigeria’s tax policy would serve as a starting point towards achieving a diversified economy. The inauguration followed the approval of a Multilateral Competent Agreement by the Federal Executive Council, to give the government a better grip on its tax laws so as to prevent tax evasion by multinational companies. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said that the app...

Staff of the Abia State Hospital Management Board are bitter over non-payment of their salaries within the last six months. In a protest in front of their office, the workers dressed in black, numbering about two-hundred, lamented over the hardship they are experiencing and appealed to the government to do the needful. The State’s Commissioner of Finance, Mr Obinna Oriaku, however, said the protest has a political undertone. He said a recent verification exercise conducted, revealed a lot of irregularities that brought down the wage bill from N100 to N64 million and considered the protest to be unnecessary, as they had received a month’s salary. The protesters were seen carrying placards with different inscriptions such as: “Stop The Removal/Slashing Of Our Allowances”, “Our Children Are Thrown Out Of School For School Fees” “Landlords On Our Necks”, amongst others, while the gate and entrance to the offices were kept under lock and key. Mr. Oriaku stated further that the...

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has advised workers not to allow any arm of government tinker with Nigeria’s national minimum wage due to economic recession. The Governor noted that the average Nigerian worker is underpaid, adding that removing the minimum wage from the Exclusive List of the Federal Government would further impoverish the worker. He made the call on Wednesday at a forum organised by the Kukah Centre‎ for Leadership in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Governor Oshiomhole described the non-payment of wages of the workers as a criminal breach of trust and urged employers of labour to ‎device ways of ensuring the regular payment of wages on a monthly basis. In a lecture titled “From Activism To Political Power: The Challenges Of Democratic‎ Governance In Nigeria”, the Governor advocated for the retention of the national minimum wage to protect workers in the country. The Chairman of the occasion and a former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald...

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has called for the probe of the purported recruitment of Boko Haram terrorists in some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in northeast Nigeria. Dr. Saraki asked various security agencies not to treat the rumours with levity but to urgently investigate the issue and unravel those behind the menace. He made the call on Wednesday in Abuja in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu. Senator Saraki stressed that it has become necessary for Nigeria’s intelligence outfit to take such rumours seriously with the aim of curtailing the untoward development. He cited the example of the Islamic State (IS) that has been recruiting members from European refugee camps and that of the Kenyan government that had to shut down the world’s largest refugee camp because the Al-Shaabab group was also using the place to train and recruit young people as extremists. The Senate President re-emphasised that it is importa...