Time to Fight!

FG, ACF Partner to Tackle Boko Haram


The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Wednesday night closed ranks with President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle insecurity, especially the issue of Boko Haram which has nearly brought the economy of Northern Nigeria economy to its knees.

Chairman of ACF, Lt General Jeremiah Useni, said the body was ready to work with the Federal Government to address the issue, adding that their forum was not “a small body” to take their word lightly. He particularly expressed happiness that the government had agreed to dialogue with the group and assured that all would soon be well.

"We always advise the government; we represent the North and we are a very strong group. Our happiness is that the Federal Government has agreed to dialogue with the group. It is not a new thing even when you are fighting with somebody you have to sit down one day to talk," he said. Asked of his view on the comment by General Muhammadu Buhari that there will be bloodshed if the 2015 election was rigged, Useni replied: "I cannot speak for them. I don't know why they said so. God determines everything. God determines even our tomorrow, even tonight". - http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-acf-partner-to-tackle-boko-haram/115995/


Nigeria, UK, W’Bank unite against gender inequality

NIGERIA, the World Bank and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) are collaborating to check discrimination against women working in certain sectors or occupations. It is part of a strategy to increase labour productivity by as much as 25 per cent in some countries including Nigeria. To this end, the trio are organising a Gender Policy Dialogue in Abuja, Enugu, Minna and Lagos.



Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Nigeria Country Director yesterday lamented that the country was losing immensely due to gender inequality and called for measures that would allow women put into use their hidden potential and share with men the fruits of growth and globalization. She said the move was expedient for the future of Nigeria and the achievement of key developmental goals. - http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86393:nigeria-uk-wbank-unite-against-gender-inequality-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559




Ex-militants rally against exclusion from amnesty

MORE than 2,000 ex-militants in the Niger Delta yesterday protested their alleged exclusion from the Federal Government’s amnesty training programme and threatened to go back to the creeks if urgent steps were not taken to include them in the programme. The former militants said they accepted the 2009 Federal Government’s amnesty proclamation and submitted their arms and were issued certificates but that they had not been included in the amnesty programme.



The leader of the group representing Edo State, Abiodu Edah (a.k.a. Kabiru) and the Secretary Tam Odogwu, called on the National Assembly to prevail on the government to fulfil its promise to them. The ex-militants who protested in Benin City yesterday said their inclusion was needed for the nation to continue to enjoy peace in the region. – http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86352:ex-militants-rally-against-exclusion-from-amnesty&catid=1:national&Itemid=559




FG warns Buhari - ACN, CPC hit back at Jonathan



The Federal Government yesterday warned against what it called utterances capable of causing disaffection, apparently referring to General Muhammadu Buhari’s comments predicting a standoff in the event of rigged elections in 2015. Buhari told a visiting Niger State CPC delegation on Monday that crisis could result from the next general elections because the people would no longer tolerate rigging.



Informtion Minister Labaran Maku, who spoke at the State House in Abuja yesterday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, said it was undemocratic to provoke people to violence. But he said the council did not discuss Buhari.

“In no major nations of the world will politicians or parties urge people to go and fight in polling stations or defend their votes or threaten violence because democracy is ivility,” he said. Maku added: “We all know the consequences of violence in politics. We all know the consequences of lives lost in pursuit of ambitions and the nation is going through a period now that is critical and it is important that all of us who are critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project should weigh whatever we say such that it would aid national unity, national development and will aid peace particularly now in Northern Nigeria. He said the law provided ways for aggrieved people to seek redress. “We are seeing the consequences of lack of peace in our community. At this time it is not about the Federal Government, it is the responsibilities of all Nigerians particularly those that God has elevated to positions of responsibility in the polity,” he said.



Buhari’s party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), yesterday fired back at the Presidency over its reaction to comments by the former head of state. President Jonathan’s spokesman Reuben Abati on Tuesday condemned Buhari’s statement on 2015 and labelled him a section leader. He said also Buhari was wrong to have said the Federal Government is the biggest Boko Haram. In a statement in Abuja yesterday, CPC spokesman Rotimi Fashakin said Jonathan is the most sectional-inclined leader as all his oil ministers so far are his Ijaw kinsmen. He said also that Jonathan’s swift exoneration of MEND in the October 1, 2010 bombing was symptomatic of a sectional leader. - http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162792:fg-warns-buhari-acn-cpc-hit-back-at-jonathan&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8


Why govs oppose Sovereign Wealth Fund – Fashola



LAGOS — Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, said state governors’ opposition to the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, and the Excess Crude Account is borne out of distrust for the Federal Government’s ability to judiciously manage the funds and utilise it for the purpose it was meant for. “These really are the issues. It is not that the governors are up in arms against the idea of saving. But we are asking what the rules of engagement are and do those rules of engagement work within the rules that bind all of us,” Fashola said at the Renaissance Capital’s 3rd annual Pan-Africa Investor Conference in Lagos.Fashola also said the governors’ apathy stems from the fact that the fund lacks the necessary constitutional backing, explaining that until the controversial issues surrounding the fund are addressed, it will continually be seen as a high risk venture by investors. - http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/why-govs-oppose-sovereign-wealth-fund-fashola/


Edo 2012: INEC summons Oshiomhole, Airhiavbere, others to Abuja



ABUJA — Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Profesor Attahiru Jega, has invited Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the governorship candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria, and that of Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, General Charles Airhiavbere, in the July 12 governorship election, to a meeting in Abuja, tomorrow.

Also invited for the crucial meeting were the national and Edo State chairmen and secretaries of all the affected political parties.

Citing reasons for inviting the stakeholders to the meeting, Jega said: “The commission is deeply concerned about unfolding events in Edo State which are capable of overheating the polity and pose a fundamental threat to the integrity of the impending governorship election and indeed, the stability of our democracy.

“To avert further deterioration of the situation, the commission has invited the chairmen and secretaries (national and state) as well as candidates of all the parties contesting the governorship election in Edo State. - http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/edo-2012-inec-summons-oshiomhole-airhiavbere-others-to-abuja/


We Must Learn From Arab Uprising, Oshiomhole Warns



Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has warned of dire consequences should the July 14 governorship election in Edo State be manipulated by forces he described as “agent of darkness.”

He also said the singular incident in the Arab nation where a truck pusher set himself ablaze was responsible for the calamity the Arab countries are witnessing, adding that such situation must not be allowed to play out in Nigeria.

Oshiomhole spoke after staging a protest to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin, saying the wishes of Edo people to decide who governs them must not be undermined.

He also called on the electorates to be vigilant in the forthcoming July 14, governorship election. - http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/24923/2012/05/17/we_must_learn_arab_uprising_oshiomhole_warns.html


Belo-Osagie Unveils Metropole Magazine Today



Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, will today unveil Metropole magazine at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja with a black carpet starting by 5p.m. A statement issued Wednesday by the organisers of the event said among those expected to grace the event are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SFG), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and Mutawalli of Borno, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, as the chairman, special guest of honour and chief host respectively.



While the Minister, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, was scheduled to take advantage of the occasion to discuss the future of the Federal Capital Territory as the Keynote Speaker, others also expected at the august occasion are ministers, members of the National Assembly, heads of government agencies and departments, members of the civil society and diplomatic missions, leading journalists and business leaders.



The statement disclosed that the magazine is designed to showcase the people and the city of Abuja and has as its target audience the political, business, diplomatic and policy elites of the metropolis. “It is an all-gloss, full-colour, lifestyle magazine cum city-guide exclusively devoted to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital territory. It is published by SW4 Media Limited, which is led by Mr. Waziri Adio, a multiple award-winning journalist and former columnist with THISDAY newspapers. - http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/belo-osagie-unveils-metropole-magazine-today/115985/