It's PluxTIME: local news

Bank staff narrates how he steals customers’ money

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<img alt="The Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood speaks" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Vampire-4.jpg" /><br />
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Having stolen N20 million of bank customers’ money, a staff of a new generation bank and his accomplices have been arrested.</div>
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Christian Amechi, who worked at the bank’s  ATM customers service unit, has confessed to the Police that he perpetrated the fraud by using a string of impersonators.</div>
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He works at the bank headquarters, Victoria Island, Lagos, Sun reports on Saturday.</div>
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His accomplices are Oyozoje Joseph, Nelson Matthew Eugari, Henry Omogbemi and Ene Mona Gabriel who are being detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command.</div>
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The arrest of a notorious  pickpocket, Mr. Akeem Apejoye in Lagos, by police on patrol gave the police the clue to the gang of fraudsters.</div>
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In his confessional statement at the police station, Akeem indicted several others including Christian, the banker as the one who encouraged him to continue to steal phones.</div>
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Bank staff narrates how he steals customers’ money

Having stolen N20 million of bank customers’ money, a staff of a new generation bank and his accomplices have been arrested. Christian...

Troops kill 7 Boko Haram fighters

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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Troops of the Nigerian Army have killed seven Boko Haram fighters in the Sambisa forest in Northern Borno in an operation supported by the Air Force.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">According to Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, the Director of Army Public Relations, late Friday, the troops also destroy 11 gun trucks and 12 Hilux vehicles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Usman said that other terrorists’ equipment destroyed were make-shift accommodation around Camp Zairo, Improvised Explosives Device (IEDs), booby traps and other delaying obstacles and devices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“In addition, the gallant troops recovered one gun truck, one anti-aircraft gun, one machine gun, a pistol, large quantity of anti-aircraft gun ammunition, a 120mm mortar base Plate and a dane gun,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Usman added that three canter trucks, two double barrel rifles, 30 bicycles, power generating sets, cylinders, printers, military kits and IED making workshop were also destroyed by troops.</span></div>
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Troops kill 7 Boko Haram fighters

Troops of the Nigerian Army have killed seven Boko Haram fighters in the Sambisa forest in Northern Borno in an operation supported by ...

Army launches operation to end cattle rustling, others

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Nigerian Army launches operation against cattle rustling, armed robbery and kidnapping" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DFl6zb4VoAAHIkj.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna has launched a special operation in parts of Kaduna and Niger States to tackle rising cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and cattle rustling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The operation, code named `Karamin Goro’, will cover Minna-Birnin Gwari-Pandogari and Minna-Sarkin Pawa general area, a statement by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Muhammad Dole said on Thursday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dole said in Kaduna that the special operation involved the Nigeria Air Force, Police, DSS operatives and Nigeria Civil Defence Corps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said emerging cases of armed robberies, cattle rustling and kidnappings in the affected areas have continued to pose serious security threats to Nigerians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“These criminals use the thick forests as hideouts and major highways as staging areas to perpetuate their nefarious activities along highways,   major roads, adjoining towns and villages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“As a result of their dastardly acts, some remote villages were completely   deserted, causing the residents to abandon their ancestral domains to unknown destinations for their safety.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“In  response  to  these  re-emerging  security concerns,  the Division launched Operation Karamin Goro to clear the remnants of the criminals from their bases and ensure the safety of lives, properties and  safe movement of the people within these general areas.’’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dole said arrangements and measures had been put in place to ensure safe passage of persons, motorists and their properties along the areas of operation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He solicited the understanding, cooperation and support of the general public to ensure hitch free and successful operation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dole also urged the general public to provide credible information to the security agencies that would lead to speedy execution of the exercise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said that those with useful information should call 193 from any network provider for prompt response by security agencies.</span></div>
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Army launches operation to end cattle rustling, others

The 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna has launched a special operation in parts of Kaduna and Niger States to tackle rising cases of kid...

Google honours Stephen Keshi

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google has honoured former Nigerian coach and player, Stephen Keshi, with a doodle on its search engine page for Nigerian loggers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The honour came on Keshi’s 56th birthday. Keshi died suddenly in Benin on 7 June, in 2016, to the shock of his compatriots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was born in Azare, Bauchi. But his parents hailed from Delta state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keshi was educated at Saint Finbarr’s College in Akoka, Lagos and Saint Gregory’s College.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His wife of 30 years, Kate Aburime had died six months before his own death. They had four children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During his playing career as a defender, Keshi earned 60 caps for the Nigerian national football team, making him the nation’s second-most capped player at the time of his retirement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, captaining the Super Eagles to victory in the latter. He also played club football in five countries, most notably Belgium, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a manager, Keshi achieved success by qualifying Togo for the only FIFA World Cup appearance in its history in 2006.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, he left the position prior to the tournament and was replaced by Otto Pfister. He later coached  Nigeria’s Super Eagles , where he became one of only two persons, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach. This was in 2013, two years after he was appointed the coach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The following day Keshi handed in his resignation, only to reverse his decision the day after. Keshi led Nigeria to the 2013 Confederations Cup, defeated Tahiti 6–1, and lost 1–2 to Uruguay in the second game, and also lost 0–3 to World Cup winners, Spain in their final group game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On 16 November 2013, Keshi’s Nigeria secured qualification to the 2014 World Cup by beating Ethiopia 4–1 on aggregate in a play-off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keshi set a record in African football by being the first African coach to successfully qualify two African nations (Nigeria and Togo) to the World Cup Finals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Bio data from Wikipedia.</span></div>
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Google honours Stephen Keshi

Google has honoured former Nigerian coach and player, Stephen Keshi, with a doodle on its search engine page for Nigerian loggers. The h...

FG asks court to revoke Metuh’s bail

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Olisa Metuh: FG wants bail revoked" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/metuh-court3-620x400.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), the prosecuting agency in the ongoing trial of former Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) Spokesman, Olisah Metuh, has asked the court to revoke Metuh’s bail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mr Sylvanus Tahir, counsel to the EFCC, who made the application at the resumption of hearing of the matter on Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, said Metuh should be remanded in prison.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tahir said the application was based on the grounds that Metuh had breached the terms of the bail granted him by the court, by being absent in court for two days with no cogent reason.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The prosecutor asked the court to discountenance the submissions of the defence as to why Metuh was absent in court.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Since the defendant has been absent from court for two days for inexplicable reasons, and bearing in mind that the defendant is enjoining the bail of the court and has undermined the purpose of the bail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The prosecution is constrained to apply for the revocation of the bail pursuant to Sections 137(b) and 169 of the Administration of Criminal Justice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">” We urge the court to revoke the bail and commit the defendant to prison pending the determination of his case.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He further told the court that he was vehemently opposed to the application to vacate the days already fixed for trial and adjourn to the next dates convenient for the court.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the said medical report sent to the court by one Dr. O.C. Ekweugwu of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Universiry Teaching Hospital, Anambra, the prosecutor said there was nothing before the court to prove the authenticity of the letter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The letter ought to have come by way of an affidavit, but nobody has deposed to an oath verifying the worth of the so called medical report, rather the report was just dumped in the court.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He further submitted that it was of no purpose for the defence to ask the court to order an investigation to ascertain the veracity of the medical report.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mr Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel to Metuh, had in his submission, prayed the court to vacate the earlier dates the court had fixed for the trial and fix fresh dates in the interest of justice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ikpeazu urged the court to grant the application on the grounds that his client was currently in hospital undergoing treatment for a spine related illness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He further submitted that being a criminal case, it was mandatory for his client to be in court since it was against the law to proceed with the matter in the absence of his client.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mr Tochukwu Onwubufor (SAN), counsel to the second defendant in the matter said that he aligned himself with the submissions of Ikpeazu.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Onwubufor, however, added that there was substantial reason for Metuh’s absence in court.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“There is a letter from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Anambra stating the medical condition of the first defendant.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the question of the authenticity of the report and whether the person who signed it was indeed a medical doctor, the counsel asked the court for time to investigate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The judge, Justice Okon Abang said the court noted that there was no proof before the court to show that the person who issued the letter was a medical doctor or an employee of the hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Abang added that the hospital was not a party in the matter and that the person who issued the letter was not in court to testify.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He further wondered how the said letter found its way into the court records.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He adjourned the matter until Jan. 24 for continuation of arguments by counsel.</span></div>
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FG asks court to revoke Metuh’s bail

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), the prosecuting agency in the ongoing trial of former Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) ...

FG makes use of National ID compulsory – NIMC

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="National Identity Card by National Identity Management Commission NIMC" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/National-Identity-Card-by-National-Identity-Managemnet-Commission-NIMC.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Federal Government has approval the gazette of supplementary regulations for the mandatory use of the National Identity Number (NIN), and other identification platforms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Managing Director, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Aliyu Aziz, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said the step would allow the commission to deliver on its mandate as expected and in record time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to him, the Federal Government has gazetted and published five Regulations, following an approval from the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice in November, 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The gazetted regulations are: ‘Mandatory Use of the National Identification Number (NIN) Regulations, 2017’; ‘Nigeria Biometrics Standard Regulations, 2017’; ‘Registration of Persons and Contents of the National Identity Database Regulations, 2017’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Access to Register Information in the National Identity Database Regulations, 2017 and Licensing of the Frontend Services of the National Identity Management Commission Regulations, 2017,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The NIMC boss stressed the need for supplementary regulations, saying that it was essential toward the realisation of the commission’s mandate in the coming years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“With the increase and expansion of the commission’s activities, the new policy for the implementation of NIMS desires that the commission develop the identity eco-system in Nigeria and meet its mandate of harmonising all identity related databases in the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“It is necessary to promulgate regulations, which consist of sets of principles, practices, policies, processes and procedures to be utilised to achieve the desired objectives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The regulations will ensure that the commission actualises and effectively delivers on the National Identity Management System (NIMS) project in the coming years,” he added.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NAN, recalls that the commission had in November 2016, announced the commencement process to document and publish these regulations, pursuant to Sections 27 and 31 of the NIMC Act, 2007.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Act provides for the commission to make supplementary regulations to cover its various services and offerings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Draft copies of the regulations were widely circulated to various government organisations, private and security agencies as well as the general public, inviting comments, inputs and opinions, after which the comments were reviewed by the committee charged with the development of the strategy for implementation of NIMC regulations.</span></div>
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FG makes use of National ID compulsory – NIMC

The Federal Government has approval the gazette of supplementary regulations for the mandatory use of the National Identity Number (NIN)...

Obasanjo urges Buhari not to run in 2019

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Obasanjo.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just back from Liberia, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday threw another bombshell and asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a special press statement entitled, “The Way Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement”, Obasanjo claimed Buhari has performed far below expectation and should honourably “dismount from the horse”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obasanjo urged the President to join the league of the country’s former leaders whose “experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the side line for the good of the country.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obasanjo, a two-term president on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he felt disappointed by Buhari, whom he supported during the 2015 election over then incumbent and candidate of his former party, Goodluck Jonathan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obasanjo had written a condemnatory open letter in December 2013 titled “Before it is Too Late”. where he highlighted the numerous failings of the Mr Jonathan administration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The former leader argued that his decision to go against Jonathan, at the time was the right one as events in the last three years have since proven, was for the good of the nation and nothing personal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Even the horse rider then, with whom I maintain very cordial, happy and social relationship today has come to realise his mistakes and regretted it publicly and I admire his courage and forthrightness in this regard,” Mr. Obasanjo said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“He has a role to play on the side line for the good of Nigeria, Africa and humanity and I will see him as a partner in playing such a role nationally and internationally, but not as a horse rider in Nigeria again.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Likening the state of the nation to lice-invested clothes, he said the country’s fingernails is stained with blood as it tries to kill the lice by pressing them in-between two fingernails. According to him, in order to make sure that our fingernails remain blood-free we must do what it takes to rid our clothes of lice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today,” he wrote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of ‘blood’,” he added.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While thanking Buhari for the effort of his administration in rolling back the Boko Haram insurgency and his fight against corruption, Obasanjo said Buhari has ultimately failed in other areas where he had thought he would be efficient.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The octogenarian, who bagged a PhD over the weekend, admitted he knew Mr Buhari was weak in handling the economy, he went ahead and voted for him because at the time “it was a matter of ‘any option but Jonathan’” and because he thought Mr Buhari would appoint qualified Nigerians to help out in that area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He slammed Buhari for turning a blind eye to corruption within his government saying it amounted to condonation and cover-up saying whoever is “going to justice must be with clean hands.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He also berated Mr Buhari for allowing the clashes between herdsmen and farmers to go “sour” and messy saying the endorsement of the President by some governors to seek re-election barely 24 hours after 73 people who were killed by herdsmen in Benue State were given mass burial was “a sad symptom of insensitivity and callousness.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obasanjo however reserved his harshest words for what he described as Buhari’s clannishness, lack of understanding of the dynamics of politics, and his tendencies to pass the buck of his government’s inadequacies to the immediate past administration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“But there are three other areas where President Buhari has come out more glaringly than most of us thought we knew about him.  One is nepotic deployment bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline to bear on errant members of his nepotic court.  This has grave consequences on performance of his government to the detriment of the nation.  It would appear that national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotic interest.  What does one make of a case like that of Maina: collusion, condonation, ineptitude, incompetence, dereliction of responsibility or kinship and friendship on the part of those who should have taken visible and deterrent disciplinary action?  How many similar cases are buried, ignored or covered up and not yet in the glare of the media and the public?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The second is his poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics.  This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided and inequality has widened and become more pronounced.  It also has effect on general national security.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The third is passing the buck.  For instance, blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for devaluation of the naira by 70% or so and blaming past governments for it, is to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility.  Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today.  If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in.  He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To Obasanjo, President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress do not have the solution to the country’s problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Obasanjo, President Buhari is not healthy enough to withstand the rigour associated with running a country like Nigeria neither does his party capable of providing the answer needed to sail the country through its difficulties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obasanjo thus asked Buhari to step down at the end of his first term with honour and dignity and attend to his health.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He urged him not to listen to “self-serving so-called advisers who would claim that they love him more than God loves him and that without him, there would be no Nigeria.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“President Buhari needs a dignified and honourable dismount from the horse. He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the side line for the good of the country.  His place in history is already assured.  Without impaired health and strain of age, running the affairs of Nigeria is a 25/7 affair, not 24/7.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time and at this age.  I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy his retirement from active public service.  President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice.  But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I have had occasion in the past to say that the two main political parties – APC and PDP – were wobbling.  I must reiterate that nothing has happened to convince me otherwise.  If anything, I am reinforced in my conviction.  The recent show of PDP must give grave and great concern to lovers of Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“To claim, as has been credited to the chief kingmaker of PDP, that for procuring the Supreme Court judgement for his faction of the Party, he must dictate the tune all the way and this is indeed fraught with danger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“If neither APC nor PDP is a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria at this crucial and critical time, what then do we do?  Remember Farooq Kperogi, an Associate Professor at the Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States, calls it “a cruel Hobson’s choice; it’s like a choice between six and half a dozen, between evil and evil. Any selection or deflection would be a distinction without a difference.”  We cannot just sit down lamenting and wringing our hands desperately and hopelessly.</span></div>
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Obasanjo urges Buhari not to run in 2019

Just back from Liberia, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday threw another bombshell and asked President Muhammadu Buhari not t...

EFCC arraigns elderly woman for defrauding man of N4m under the pretext of securing a job for him in Jonathan's administration

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="EFCC arraigns elderly woman for defrauding man of N4m under the pretext of securing a job for him in Jonathan" src="https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a663a9641645.png" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Economic and Financial Crimes Commission</span> today, January 22nd, 2018 arraigned one Ijeoma Ugwah before honourable Justice Dije Abdu Aboki of the Kano State High Court on a count charge obtaining by false pretense.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The accused person allegedly obtained the sum of N4,000,000 (Four Million Naira Only) from the complainant under the pretext that she would secure him a job in the Goodluck Jonathan administration. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />According to the complainant, he was introduced to the accused person by one Engineer Johnson where she told him to pay the sum of N4,000,000 (Four Million Naira Only) if he wants a job. The complainant subsequently paid the sum as he was instructed to by the accused person. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />After he paid the money, the accused person told him that he would receive a call from Reuben Abati, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to former president, Goodluck Jonathan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since then, the complainant neither hear from the accused nor Rueben Abati which prompted him to petitioned the Commission.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The charge read that "You Ijeoma Ugwah on the 8th November, 2013 within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N4,000,000 (Four Million Naira Only) through the zenith Bank account of Conskemy Associates Nigeria Limited with account number 1011029215 from one Umar Ahmed under the false pretense that the money was required for an employment you will secure for him which pretense you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section (1)(1)(a) of the Advance fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offence Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />After listening to the charge, the accused person pleaded not guilty.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Prosecution counsel, Salihu Sani requested the court for a trial date in view of the plea of the accused person.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Counsel for the accused person, moved bail application on behalf of the accused.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Prosecution counsel informed the court that he was just serve with charge and needed time to respond.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Justice Aboki adjourned the matter to January 25th, 2018 for hearing of bail application and ordered that the accused person be remanded in EFCC custody.</span></div>
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EFCC arraigns elderly woman for defrauding man of N4m under the pretext of securing a job for him in Jonathan's administration

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission today, January 22nd, 2018 arraigned one Ijeoma Ugwah before honourable Justice Dije Abdu ...

South east leaders endorse Buhari for second term

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With eyes cast on the prospect of a South easterner becoming Nigeria’s president in 2023, some leaders from the region said they would back the re-election of  President Muhammadu Buhari next year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The leaders made the commitment on Monday during a visit to Buhari in Abuja.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘‘We implore Mr President, as a just and fair-minded leader, to make history by supporting the zoning of the office of the President in our great party to the South East at the end of your second tenure in office as President in 2023,’ said spokesman  Emma Eneukwu, National Vice Chairman, South East APC.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The visitors from the South East, were in the main, APC leaders in the region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eneukwu commended President Buhari for the several projects receiving attention of the Federal Government in the South East region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said the projects included the 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu-Port Harcourt road as well as the Enugu-Onitsha –Owerri road, among others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eneukwu reaffirmed the unanimous decision of the party in the zone on Dec. 31, 2017 endorsing the President for a second term in office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said: ‘‘It is our conviction that four years is not enough for you to complete this worthy journey hence the need for another four years to enable you make Nigeria truly great.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In response, President Buhari  pledged to give his best to all Nigerians, guided by a clear conscience in making decisions for the progress of the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He thanked the leaders  for their patriotism, sacrifices and support for the peace and stability of the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He commended the South East leaders for acknowledging the laudable and consistent efforts of his administration to restore Nigeria to the position of eminence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘`I am very pleased with your patriotism and consistency in supporting our administration. You are always going around explaining things even at the risk of abuse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘‘I want you to know that I have not forgotten the efforts and sacrifices you have made in the successes I have achieved in my position and I appreciate what you are doing for the stability of our country and the future of our children and our grandchildren.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘‘I assure you that whatever I try to do, I will do it with a clear conscience and I’ll do the best I can do for all Nigerians,’’ he said.</span></div>
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South east leaders endorse Buhari for second term

With eyes cast on the prospect of a South easterner becoming Nigeria’s president in 2023, some leaders from the region said they would b...

Gunmen storm Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, many casualties feared

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Kabul-Intercontinental-hotel-on-fire-during-the-assault-by-gunmen.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many casualties are expected in the latest attack by terrorists at a highbrow hotel in Kabul. At least four gunmen stormed the iconicIntercontinental Hotel in a night-time raid on Saturday and opened fire on guests and staff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to AFP, the hours-long assault  is still ongoing by midnight GMT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack in the Afghan capital that followed a series of security warnings in recent days to avoid hotels and other locations frequented by foreigners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Four attackers are inside the building,” an official at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency told AFP.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are “shooting at guests”, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A guest hiding in a room told AFP he could hear gunfire inside the 1960s hilltop hotel where dozens of people attending an information technology conference on Sunday were staying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I don’t know if the attackers are inside the hotel but I can hear gunfire from somewhere near the first floor,” the man, who did not want to be named, said by telephone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We are hiding in our rooms. I beg the security forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reach and kill us.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His phone was switched off when AFP tried to contact him again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is not clear how many people are inside the hotel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another official said the attackers were armed with small weapons and rocket-propelled grenades when they blasted their way into the hotel, which often hosts weddings, conferences and political gatherings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Seven wounded people have been taken to hospital,” interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP, adding two attackers have been killed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Some other guests have been rescued. We will be able to release casualty figures once the operation ends.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rahimi said the first and second floors of the hotel have been secured by Afghan forces, who are now trying to clear the fourth and fifth floors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Special forces were being lowered by helicopters onto the rooftop of the state-owned hotel, he added.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Afghan media is reporting multiple casualties in the attack, which comes days after a UN Security Council delegation visited Kabul for a close-up view of the conflict.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fourth floor of the hotel, which boasts several restaurants and an outdoor swimming pool, had been set on fire during the raid, the NDS official said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The operation will soon end and the attackers will be killed,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">– Security questioned –</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last major attack on a high-end hotel in Kabul was in March 2014 when four teenage gunmen raided the Serena, killing nine people including an AFP journalist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Intercontinental was targeted in June 2011 when a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban killed 21 people, including 10 civilians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even before Saturday’s attack was over, authorities were questioning how the assailants got past the hotel’s security, which was taken over by a private company two weeks ago, Danish said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“They probably used a back door in the kitchen to enter,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Abdullah Sabet, an official at the communications and information technology ministry, said IT officials from around the country were staying at the hotel ahead of a conference on Sunday.</span></div>
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Gunmen storm Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, many casualties feared

Many casualties are expected in the latest attack by terrorists at a highbrow hotel in Kabul. At least four gunmen stormed the iconicIn...

UN worries over women, children fleeing Cameroon

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/anglophone-Cameroonians-protest-e1506893380832.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The United Nations has expressed worries over swelling numbers of people, fleeing from English-speaking areas of Cameroon to Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The UN fear for the safety of those fleeing, particularly women and children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mr. William Spindler, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), decried the precarious situation of women and children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said that women and children made up about 80 per cent of the approximately 10,000 registered refugees in Nigeria’s Cross River.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Some of these are boys and girls who fled to Nigeria alone,” Spindler said, adding that unaccompanied and separated children are particularly vulnerable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“UNHCR has received numerous reports that children have to work or beg to survive or to help their families.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Many reported that they were unable to attend school, for lack of time and money.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Thousands more are among the population of unregistered Cameroonians in neighbouring states, where some of the children are unaccompanied and vulnerable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“UNHCR is working with the Nigerian authorities to assist with the reunification of separated children with their families, to provide unaccompanied children with protection services and to restore the basic right of all children to education,” Spindler said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said some of the children fleeing to Nigeria told UNHCR that they had been out of school in Cameroon for all of 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“For women, the lack of work combined with the over-stretched reception facilities, creates a higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence, particularly from survival sex.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“While only a limited number of cases have been recorded, mainly in the Amana community of Cross River state, UNHCR is concerned that many more go unreported or are referred only to community elders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Incidents of domestic violence, as well as cases of teenage pregnancies involving girls as young as 14, have also been reported,” the spokesperson elaborated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He said in Benue, two school buildings were serving as temporary refugee accommodations, where women and their families sleep inside communal school halls – deprived of private space and the right to family dignity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“For them, and for the rest of the population living in temporary tents hastily built next to local residences, sufficient and appropriate shelter is key to ensure adequate registration, systematic aid distribution and reduced protection risks,” Spindler stressed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to him, UNHCR and the Nigerian authorities are currently working to identify sites away from the border, where the refugees can live according to international standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We are also establishing offices in the towns of Calabar and Adikpo to better provide assistance and protection to the women and children,” he said, noting that support includes food, basic relief items, water and sanitation facilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since mid-2017, Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have seen demonstrations as tensions have mounted over what the country’s English-speakers see as discrimination against them in favour of the majority French-speaking population.</span></div>
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UN worries over women, children fleeing Cameroon

The United Nations has expressed worries over swelling numbers of people, fleeing from English-speaking areas of Cameroon to Nigeria. ...

Nigeria to produce seed yams for export

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/yam-export.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The technical committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme is working with the University of Agriculture, Umudike and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to produce seed yams for export.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The committee was charged with the responsibilities of finding markets for Nigerian yams in the world and providing market information on weekly prices of yam at the major marketing centres abroad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prof. Simon Irtwang, the programmes’ chairman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the seed yams would be given to farmers to plant them specifically for export.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“One of the challenges with the flag-off of yams exported in June 2017 was that the yams were exposed to the sun before being selected for export.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Once yams are exposed in the sun for long, the process of decaying sets in gradually.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“With special seed yams, the structures to have a good quality of seed yams for export will be set in motion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“This will help and ensure that future yam exports withstands the temperatures of all the countries the yams will be sent to,’’ he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Irtwang said that the technical committee would consider the post-harvest handling of yams for export to ensure they meet international standard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He, however, added that not all yams were good enough for export.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“There are some species and varieties of yams that are good for export and in the open market; the yams are always separated from each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Irtwang said that yam exporters have to be familiar with the processes of handling as well as the other varieties and species not good for export.</span></div>
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Nigeria to produce seed yams for export

The technical committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme is working with the University of Agriculture, Umudike and the International Ins...

In Mideast, Pence defends Trump’s shift on Jerusalem

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Mike Pence" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/proxy-3.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is defending President Donald Trump’s move to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel, a decision that has touched off uneasiness among Arab nations on his first tour of the region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pence was to meet Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II for discussions that are expected to include last month’s shift on Jerusalem and plans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the fiercely contested holy city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The vice president said after meeting Saturday with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that he emphasized the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pence said he assured el-Sissi the U.S. was committed to “preserving the status quo with regard to holy sites in Jerusalem,” and that borders and other issues would be negotiated between the parties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The United States of America is deeply committed to restarting the peace process in the Middle East,” Pence said before departing for Jordan. He said he would be “delivering that message in Jordan, delivering that message in Israel, as well.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">El-Sissi said in a statement after the meeting that he affirmed Egypt’s “unyielding position” in support of the Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital. He said the conflict could only be resolved through negotiations leading to a two-state solution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Israel views Jerusalem as its unified capital, while the Palestinians demand east Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of their future state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A longstanding international consensus holds that the city’s final status should be decided through negotiations, which was also U.S. policy going back decades.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arab and Muslim nations support the Palestinians’ claim to east Jerusalem, and the Trump administration’s shift ignited protests across the region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ahead of Pence’s arrival, several dozen Jordanians gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Amman, protesting against U.S. policies in the Middle East.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“America is the head of the snake,” they chanted. Some held up a banner reading: “The envoy of the Zionist American right-wing is not welcome.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Trump administration’s dramatic policy shift on Jerusalem has posed a dilemma for Jordan’s monarch, a staunch U.S. ally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Palestinians make up a large segment of Jordan’s population, and the ruling Hashemite monarchy derives some of its political legitimacy from its historic role as custodian of Jerusalem’s main Muslim shrine, the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is Islam’s third holiest site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any perceived threats to Muslim claims to the city, such as Trump’s shift on Jerusalem, undermine its vital role there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the same time, Jordan relies on U.S. military and economic aid — $1.5 billion in 2015 and $1.6 billion last year — at a time of a worsening economic downturn and rising unemployment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pence was also expected to meet with U.S. troops in the region on Sunday and then depart for Israel, where he’s scheduled to hold meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deliver an address to the Knesset and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Netanyahu has said he’ll soon decide on Israel’s new ambassador to Jordan after the two countries agreed to move past a diplomatic row. Israel media reported Netanyahu as saying Israel had expressed remorse over a shooting at its Amman embassy last summer that killed two Jordanians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Israel’s ambassador returned to Israel along with the guard involved in the shooting. The guard claimed self-defense and received a hero’s welcome at home, angering Jordanians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The incident has strained relations between the countries, which signed a peace agreement in 1994 and cooperate on security and other issues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Source: AP</span></div>
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In Mideast, Pence defends Trump’s shift on Jerusalem

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is defending President Donald Trump’s move to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel, a decision that ha...

''I got only 198,000 votes from south-east, yet they have four senior ministers. I am not tribalistic'' President Buhari

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">President Buhari</span> has reacted to claims that his government is ruled based on tribe and ethnicity. Many Nigerians have openly criticized the Buhari-led government, accusing it of appointing only Nigerians from the North in key positions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">President Buhari during his dinner with <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">APC</span> chieftains on Thursday January 18th, said even though the South Easterns gave him the lowest of votes during the 2015 election, he has appointed four persons from that region into very key positions. He appealed to the APC chieftains to go back and help him correct the notion that the appointments made by his administration is based on ethnicity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking at the dinner, President Buhari said ''There is something that hit me very hard and I am happy I hit it back at somebody. Seven states of the north are only represented in my cabinet by junior ministers, ministers of state. In south-east, I got 198,000 votes but I have four substantive ministers and seven junior ministers from there. You are closer to the people than myself now that I have been locked up here, don’t allow anybody to talk of ethnicity. It is not true''.</span></div>
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''I got only 198,000 votes from south-east, yet they have four senior ministers. I am not tribalistic'' President Buhari

President Buhari has reacted to claims that his government is ruled based on tribe and ethnicity. Many Nigerians have openly criticized...

Immigration officers arrest Niger citizens smuggled into Abuja

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Immigration officers arrest Nigerien citizens smuggled into Abuja in a truck used to transport goats and rams" src="https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a6321a9eabbb.png" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nigerian Immigration Service, Police and DSS yesterday arrested illegal Nigerien citizens and other foreigners at Karu, Abuja, following a tip-off. The illegal immigrants were smuggled into Abuja via a truck used to transport goats and rams. See more photos below</span></span><br />
<img alt="Immigration officers arrest Nigerien citizens smuggled into Abuja in a truck used to transport goats and rams" src="https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a6320aec13ab.jpg" /><img alt="Immigration officers arrest Nigerien citizens smuggled into Abuja in a truck used to transport goats and rams" src="https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a6320bd6a397.jpg" /></div>

Immigration officers arrest Niger citizens smuggled into Abuja

Nigerian Immigration Service, Police and DSS yesterday arrested illegal Nigerien citizens and other foreigners at Karu, Abuja, following a...

FG stops open grazing, begins cattle colonies next week

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiXJWWow0iK0SEWXXcFVkoD3FMLiyGs9BaL8PjvQ2IvZTPbUqUq0xvNWOz_IQmsF8jGsoASbVYW1Zb_r1CYL21DT-KdCjRjvClIpK6pA3SSfIsK0E_OcFJ0Ap6mxsPrK16fXMYzQAhyY/" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiXJWWow0iK0SEWXXcFVkoD3FMLiyGs9BaL8PjvQ2IvZTPbUqUq0xvNWOz_IQmsF8jGsoASbVYW1Zb_r1CYL21DT-KdCjRjvClIpK6pA3SSfIsK0E_OcFJ0Ap6mxsPrK16fXMYzQAhyY/" /></a><br><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Federal Government will commence the establishment of cattle colonies next week in states that show interest in a major step to discourage open grazing.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said on Friday that open grazing was posing serious challenges and it “is not too efficient for the cattle’’.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ogbeh described open grazing as a `torture’ to cattle which usually do not enjoy long distance walks.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ogbeh, disclosed on Friday during a visit to the Agriculture and Veterinary Complex of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“It doesn’t allow us to harvest milk; the cows are not well fed. What is going on is almost torture to animals.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“If we can create a new environment for cattle, give them what they need, protect them from rustlers, the herdsmen will quickly discover that they are making far more money than what they are doing now,’’ Ogbe said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ogbeh said that the National Economic Council on Thursday set up a 10-member committee comprising the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as Chairman and nine governors to facilitate the commencement of the cattle colonies in interested states.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We are happy that we are making progress in agriculture now.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“One of the most topical issues we have today is that of farmers and herdsmen clashes.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“If we do not deal with it quickly, we run the risk of damaging the harmony and the co-existence of Nigeria as a country. The killings are getting too many.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“In our attempt to solve the problem, we have proffered certain solutions but perhaps we were not sensitive enough to Nigeria’s fragile sensitivities and suspicions.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“When we spoke of colonies, we were immediately greeted with reactions that this was an attempt to cease Nigeria’s land and give to the Fulani to colonise.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The intention is not for Fulani or anyone to colonise any territory. It is to provide a haven for cattle to graze in peace under controlled environments to prevent the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Only yesterday, a committee was set up by the Vice President with members, most of them, state governors discussing this matter and resolving that states that are interested will begin work on this matter as soon as next week.’’</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The minister said that the Federal Government would engage the services of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) to assist in the production of fodder for cattle.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Earlier, the Director of NAPRI, Prof. Clarence Lakpini, said pastoralists in the country had no fewer than 19.7 million cattle and 113.8 million sheep and goats which were currently grazing.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We have a population of about 19.7 million cattle and total of 113.8 million sheep and goats. These are animals that graze and 90 per cent of these are owned by the pastoralists.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“These animals contribute a lot to the GDP of Nigeria. In fact, in the agricultural sector, it contributes 30 per cent of the National Agricultural GDP and of the National GDP, 3.2 per cent.’’</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lakpini also said that NAPRI had gone into partnership with various animal stakeholders to resolve the conflict between farmers and herdsmen across the country. </p><br><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">NAN</p>

FG stops open grazing, begins cattle colonies next week

The Federal Government will commence the establishment of cattle colonies next week in states that show interest in a major step to discoura...

Navy destroys 150 illegal refineries

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="One of the many illegal refineries in Nigeria" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Illegal-refinery.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rear Adm. Victor Adedipe, the outgone Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy,  Calabar, says the command destroyed no fewer than 150 illegal refineries between June 2017 and January 2018.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adedipe said that the illegal refineries destroyed within the Command’s area of operation included those within the maritime domain of Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adedipe said this during the handing over of the command to his successor, Rear Adm. Matthew Emuekpere in Calabar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adedipe said that since his resumption on June 29, 2017, the command had witnessed drastic reduction of crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and piracy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to him, the successes were achieved by the constant patrol by naval personnel at sea, adding that the command also repelled the hijack of several ships on the sea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“During my time in the command, myself and my team were able to make our contributions principally in two key areas which are operations and welfare.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Within the period, we were able to shut down 150 illegal refineries within the command’s area of operations. This was due to our aggressive anti-crude and illegal bunkering patrol.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“In the area of welfare, with very strong support from the Naval Headquarters, the command was able to add value to its entire barracks,’’ he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He also commended other security agencies, the host community and the governments of Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States for their support and solicits the same support for his successor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I also acknowledge the contributions of the Naval personnel and civilian staff that served in the command under my leadership and urge them to continue to give  the same level of loyalty, commitment and support to  the new FOC,’’ he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emuekpere in his response after receiving the flag of command and leadership commended Adedipe for his dynamic leadership in the command.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He thanked all those that helped Adedipe to succeed and urged that the same level of support be given to him to enable the command achieve its set objectives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I have formally served in this command as a young officer. I wish to solicit the support of all personnel within the command to help us move the Nigerian Navy to greater heights,’’ he said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(NAN)</span></div>
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Navy destroys 150 illegal refineries

Rear Adm. Victor Adedipe, the outgone Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Calabar, says the comma...