I Supported Buhari That's Why i Didn’t Contest APC Primary Against Him, Says Saraki.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has said that he didn’t contest in the 2014 presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which produced Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s flag bearer.

Saraki, made the statement on Wednesday through his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said he decided to support Mr. Buhari when the latter indicated interest to run for president.

The senate president was responding to a report said to have been published in Africa Confidential, a specialist publication on Africa, which claimed that the Senate President had contested against Mr. Buhari.

The report, an analysis of how succession politics within the ruling party was allegedly frustrating President Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, is said to have also claimed that the Senate president has retained the services of a London-based communications consultant, Aequitas, to help him work on his public image.

All the claims contained in the publication are not correct, Saraki said in the statement.

“The senate president publicly announced in a statement in Ilorin on October 12, 2014 that he would not contest against Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who was then an aspirant because ‘some of us need to make sacrifice and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem of the party’” the statement said.

“He then declared that he would support the candidacy of the retired General. Dr. Saraki was one of the people who worked tirelessly to ensure General Buhari won the APC ticket and the general election.

“Again, contrary to the claim in your article, Dr. Saraki does not retain the services of Aequitas. He formerly engaged Aequitas for strategic policy services while he was Governor of Kwara State and Chair of the Nigeria Governors Forum, and at the initial stage of his period as Senate President. He no longer retains the services of Aequitas effective from January 1, 2017.

Saraki said in the statement that his interest, for now, was how to reform the country’s Senate and “make it an institution whose impact and relevance is felt and appreciated by the generality of the people”.

Saraki, who pledged his “full support” for the administration of President Buhari, didn’t say categorically that he wasn’t interested in contesting for president in 2019.

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Lowest Unemployment Hit EU Since 2009, Eurostat

Euro area unemployment was 9.3% in April, compared with EU28 at 7.8%. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since March 2009. The EU28 unemployment rate was 7.8% in April 2017, down from 7.9% in March 2017 and from 8.7% in April 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since December 2008. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that 19.12 million men and women in the EU, of whom 15.04 million in the euro area, were unemployed in April.

Compared with April 2016, unemployment fell by 2.22 million in the EU and by 1.52 million in the euro area Meanwhile, Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.4% in May, down from 1.9% in April, according to Eurostat.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in April 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic(3.2%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4.1%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.2% in February 2017) and Spain (17.8%).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in April 2017 fell in twenty-seven Member States and remained stable in Finland. The largest decreases were registered in Croatia (from 13.7% to 11.0%), Spain (from 20.4% to 17.8%) and Ireland (from 8.4% to 6.4%).

In April 2017, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.4%, down from 4.5% in March 2017 and from 5.0% in April 2016.

Although labour market developments are a lagging indicator of economic health, the figures underscore a brightening and broadening recovery in the bloc after years of double digit unemployment and sluggish growth. Separate inflation figures also held good news for the European Central Bank. Annual consumer price growth fell back from 1.9 % to 1.4 % in a development that should ease pressure on monetary policymakers. Core inflation fell back to 0.9 per cent.

In April 2017, 3.746 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.617 million were in the euro area. Compared with April 2016, youth unemployment decreased by 600 000 in the EU28 and by 419 000 in the euro area. In April 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 16.7% in the EU28 and 18.7% in the euro area, compared with 19.0% and 21.4% respectively in April 2016. In April 2017, the lowest rate was observed inGermany (6.8%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (47.9% in February 2017), Spain (39.3%) and Italy(34.0%).

The euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The European Union (EU28) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

( Neweurope )

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Prince Charles Meets Local Producers In Transylvania Visit.

Britain's Prince Charles has stepped into the Transylvanian countryside, meeting local producers of cheese, jam and salami during a private visit, Hosted report.

He met Wednesday with locals in Viscri, where he owns a house. He also is expected to tour three medieval churches that have been vandalized, with a view to restore them.

The region has 250 medieval Saxon churches that belonged to Saxons or ethnic Germans. Romania has fewer than 15,000 Saxons, down from a quarter of a million in 1990.

Charles received an honorary degree for his devotion to Romania on Monday. He said he was enticed by the "hilly, woody and fertile landscape" he encountered in Transylvania 20 years ago.

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Uk Election Goes From Dull To Dramatic As Contest Tightens.

Britain's election has gone from dull to dramatic, with polls showing a narrowing gap between Conservatives and Labour and one estimate suggesting no party will win a majority.

The pound fell below $1.28 to its lowest level in more than a month after pollster YouGov suggested Britain could be headed for a hung Parliament in which no party has an overall majority.

YouGov stresses that's just one possible result of its research, which is based on a mix of polling and demographic modeling.

But it follows a trend. A few weeks ago polls put Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives up to 20 points ahead.

Polling expert John Curtice says "every single pollster, using whatever method, has found a rise in Labour support and something of a decline in Conservative support."

( Hosted )

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It Will Now Cost You $7 to Send an Email to The British Government

From June 1, anyone who emails the UK's visa and immigration service from outside the country will now have to pay £5.48 ($7), CNBC report.

A private company called Sitel UK is taking charge of the government visa service from Thursday and the government website now states that people "will need to pay using a credit or debit card for contacting us by email."

The fee is applicable to general enquiries and will relate to both those seeking to work in the U.K. as well as holidaymakers who need a visa to visit Britain.

The U.K. government said the changes will help cut costs and "ensure those who benefit directly from the U.K. immigration system make an appropriate contribution".

Additionally, the number of languages offered by the service is being reduced to 8 from 20.

Services will be now only be offered in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, French, Hindi, Russian and Spanish.

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I Caught My Husband Making Love in Our Bedroom, Woman Tells Court.

A 40-year-old trader, Mrs Folake Alimi, on Wednesday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that  she caught her husband making love to a girl on their matrimonial bed, Vanguard report.

The woman said this  while responding to a divorce suit filed by her husband whom she accused of cheating on her.

“I came home unannounced and I caught my husband making love to a girl;  he jumped up when he noticed my presence.

“He begged me not to expose him because of his position in the church and I kept it a secret,” she said.

The respondent said her  husband was always  jealous and had  often  accused her of dating every man he saw her with.

“My husband stopped me from working  claiming men are dating me,” she said.

The mother of four said that what used to cause  their frequent fights  was his penchant for buying  things for the children of his first wife and ignoring her own.

She begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of  the marriage, claiming  that she was still in love with him.

Her husband, Joseph, had approached the court seeking to end his 11-year-old marriage over  his  wife’s alleged   infidelity. 

“My wife is cheating on me, she receives  calls from men at odd hours,” he said.

The petitioner accused his wife of going out and returning at will. 

“My wife abandoned me and the children for one year for an  unknown destination; she came back and left for another seven months.

“She was always going  to  parties and spending  days before coming back,” the estranged husband said. 

The 47-year-old businessman said that his wife’s son from another father, in company with  a gang,  attacked him in his church with  cutlass, rods and other dangerous weapons.

“My step-son that I trained came to my church with his gang in order to beat me up  because I beat his mother,” he said. 

He urged the court to terminate the marriage, saying  he  was no longer in love with his wife.

The President of the court, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, adjourned the case till June 28 for further hearing.

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BREAKING NEWS: Nigerian Lawmaker Kidnapped.

A member of the House of Representatives, Garba Durbunde, who represents Sumaila/Takai federal constituency has been kidnapped, according to unconfirmed sources.

PREMIUMTIMES report that Mr. Durbunde was kidnapped along Kaduna- Jere road on Tuesday while on his way to Kano from Abuja .

Abdulrazak Namdas, the spokesman of the House of Representatives, said he was not aware of the incident.

“I am not aware of this but I was told some papers have carried it,” he said

But a lawmaker, who asked not to be named, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.

He said the family of the kidnapped lawmaker were already in contact with the kidnappers.

The source also said the State Security Service were already investigating the kidnap.

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Ethiopia shut down the country’s internet to beat exam cheats

Ethiopia shut down the internet on Tuesday (May 30) ahead of a scheduled national examination that was due to take place in the country on Wednesday.

Social media users noted that the internet service was interrupted from around 7 pm on Tuesday—reportedly to prevent exam leaks. About 1.2 million students are taking the grade 10 national exams, with another 288,000 preparing for the grade 12 university entrance exams that will take place next week.

Sources in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa told Quartz the internet was reinstituted on Wednesday morning after more than a 12-hour shutdown. Others, however, said that the connection was still being interrupted, and was going on and off. “No connection at all. Everything was blocked,” Biniam Alemayehu said. Alemayehu told Quartz that his 4G phone connection didn’t start working until 9.30 am.

A review of Google’s Transparency Report also indicates a drop in traffic from around 3 pm yesterday.

This is not the first time the Horn of Africa nation shut down social media outlets to prevent exam leakages. In July 2016, the government blocked social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Viber after university entrance exam questions were posted online. Getachew Reda, the government spokesperson at the time, said the blockade was a “temporary measure” given that social networks served as “a distraction” to students.

Ethiopia, which has one of the lowest internet and mobile connectivity rates in the world, was among the first countries to censor the internet to curtail political protests.

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Low Income Nigerians Can Own Homes Cith N30K, Says Osinbajo.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said the Federal Government is implementing a N100 billion Family Home Fund, which provides inexpensive mortgages to Nigerians who can afford N30, 000 per month.

Osinbajo said the scheme has taken off in 11 states.

The Acting President first gave a hint of the scheme in his May 29 Democracy Day Broadcast.

He further elaborated later on it at the Social Investment Programme’s score card presentation organised as part of activities to mark the 2017 Democracy Day celebration.

According to him, “there is also an aspect of the SIP that has not been mentioned. This is N100 billion set aside for the Family Home Fund of our Social Housing Project.’’

Explaining the operation of the fund, Osinbajo said “the N100 billion is a yearly contribution to our N1 trillion Social Housing Fund, the largest in the history of the country.

“Both the World Bank and AFDB are contributors to the fund from which developers will borrow 80% of cost of project and counter fund with their own 20%.’’

The Acting President added that “the same fund will enable us to provide inexpensive mortgages for hundreds of thousands across the country especially for Nigerians who can afford N30, 000 per month.

”We expect that this Family Housing Fund will jumpstart and expand construction exponentially across the country,’’he said.

Some of the houses are estimated to cost as low as N2.5 million, which would be paid for through the monthly mortgages.

Earlier in his broadcast to the nation Prof. Osinbajo stated that “the 2017 budget provides for substantial investment to implement our Social Housing Programme.’’

“The Family Home Fund of our Social Housing Programme will provide inexpensive mortgages for low-income individuals and families across the country,’’ he added.

(Vanguard)

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Young Man Steal Church’s Fan to Buy Garri, Rice, Palm oil in Lagos.

A young man, who attempted to steal a fan from a branch of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Onifade Town, Ayobo area of Ogun State yesterday, was apprehended, Vanguard report.

The suspect, identified as Dele, told the mob that almost lynched him that he stole the fan because he needed money to buy gari, rice and palm oil.

He reportedly walked into the church, unplugged one of the standing fans from a wall socket and took it away.

One of the church workers, who had gone to clean the auditorium prior to an evening meeting, sighted the suspect coming out with the fan. The stranger’s behaviour arouse the church worker’s curiosity.

When he demanded to know where the stranger was taking the item to, the latter took to his heels, consequent upon which an alarm was raised.

The suspect, as gathered, attempted to board two commercial motorcycles with a view to escaping from the scene. The third one, rather than pick him, according to eyewitnesses, held him until the mob caught up with him.

In the course of interrogation, he revealed that he came from Kaka area of Ayobo, pleading to be pardoned.

An eyewitness, who gave his name as Badmos Gbamgboye, said: “He threw away the fan when the second motorcyclist he tried to board refused to wait. It was the third motorcyclist that held him.

“When he was asked why he chose the church, he said he felt that members would forgive him if caught. He said that his intention was to sell the stolen fan so he can buy food to eat.

“He said in Pidgin Englisg ‘I wan use the money buy yam, gari, rice and palm oil for house because I dey hungry’.”

However, he was stripped naked and forced to carry the stolen fan on his head.

He would have been lynched but for the intervention of  some church’s members.

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Zidane: “The Team Goes in to The Final Confident And in Very Good Physical Shape”.

Zinedine Zidane responded to questions from the media on the open day that was held at Real Madrid City. The Whites’ coach analysed the match against Juventus, which will be played on Saturday.

"We’re very happy to be in the final. We know how difficult it is to get there and we’ve worked very well during the year. We deserve to be in the final and the team is going in to it in very good physical shape and we’re confident. There are four days left and we’re focused on what we have to do".

"There is no difference between the final in Milan and this one. The most important thing is to get to the final. There are no favourites in finals. Juventus are a great team and what we all want is to see a good match".
 

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Expect Surprises in Power Supply Growth, Fashola Tells Nigerians

The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has promised Nigerians positive surprises in the efforts being made by the federal government to ensure stable power supply in the country.

According to Thisday report He said the ministry had enunciated a couple of policies and actions under the power sector recovery programme which is part of the implementation of the economic recovery and growth plan of the government targeted at stabilising the economy.

Fashola, who briefed the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and members of the party’s National Working, Committee (NWC) as apart of the midterm performance assessment, told journalists that despite the challenges posed by gas supply, the country was already witnessing incremental power supply.

He said as at yesterday, power generation capacity had peaked at 4000MW, with more increases being expected in the days ahead.

“We are already having incremental power and in spite of the setback, we have had with the gas supply, as at yesterday average power generation was over 4000MW.”

Fashola who said he was at the party national secretariat to take his turn in presenting the progress chat to the party leadership, urged Nigerians not to lose hope yet as some of policies already put in place are bound to meeting their expectations.

“We are going to see that we get to those milestones of progress. There are milestones even though the time is not yet finished. But this is halftime, as you know in football even at halftime when it is draw, there is alway a room for surprising results and Nigerians should expect surprises at the end of this mandate that they have given us.

“I will say that l am concerned that the need to produce stable power in order to serve the people and grow the economy, l will say that l am concerned but it is not my nature to panic because there is a plan and l have told you about power sector recovery programme.

“You see I am a person driven by methods, so is this government; so is this party. We are a party of methods and l think that Nigerians would benefit more from the implementation of our plans because they have taken time to be put together and they are well thought out.

“I am optimistic that the story can only get better, and as you access our performance, continue to access it within the contest of what is clear sabotage and damaged to pipelines and if you continue to puncture the fuel tank in your car, don’t expect that the car would run for a long distance,” he stated.

On the promise made by the party about interrupted power supply, Fahola said: “That is still behind what we achieved last year, but when we relate this period last year to now where we’re at about 2000MW and we still have not restored all of the damage in the gas lines’ confidence is coming back to the sector and the institutions are being reconstituted such as NERC, Rural Electrification Agency and there will be more as we go on.

“I will say that l am concerned that the need to produce stable power in order to serve the people and grow the economy, l will say that l am concerned but it is not my nature to panic because there is a plan and l have told you about power sector recovery programme.

“You see I am a person driven by methods, so is this government; so is this party. We are a party of methods and l think that Nigerians would benefit more from the implementation of our plans because they have taken time to be put together and they are well thought out.

“I am optimistic that the story can only get better, and as you access our performance, continue to access it within the contest of what is clear sabotage and damaged to pipelines and if you continue to puncture the fuel tank in your car, don’t expect that the car would run for a long distance,” he stated.

On the promise made by the party about interrupted power supply, Fahola said: “That is still behind what we achieved last year, but when we relate this period last year to now where we’re at about 2000MW and we still have not restored all of the damage in the gas lines’ confidence is coming back to the sector and the institutions are being reconstituted such as NERC, Rural Electrification Agency and there will be more as we go on.

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Russia Has Promise to Help Nigeria Fight Boko Haram And Terrorism.

The Russian Government on Tuesday promised to support measures that would be taken by Nigeria to bring an end to Boko Haram and other terrorist activities in the country, Thisday report.

Russia Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, disclosed that his country has resolved to commit more efforts and attention to issues that would improve security and stability in Nigeria and other African countries.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, urged the international community to step up concern and support for Nigeria in the fight against insurgency. Levrov and Onyeama spoke at a joint press conference after a long meeting in Moscow.

Onyeama is currently on a working visit to Russia ahead of today’s Africa Day in Moscow. 

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Angry Naval Officers Set Three Policemen Ablaze in Calabar.

Mightyceeblog reported that there was a gun shooting yesterday betwee naval officer and policemen, its now been confirmed that Three policemen were on Tuesday reportedly set ablaze, following a clash between the police and some officers of the Nigerian navy in Calabar, Cross River state capital.

According to Channels TV, the naval officers allegedly set the deceased ablaze in their station during the fight.

According to the report, the misunderstanding between the two parties had started at a police checkpoint, opposite the Navy barracks in Akim area of the town.

According to a source, trouble started earlier in the day after a policeman stopped a naval officer at the checkpoint, but the officer reportedly refused to obey.

The source said the refusal had led to a shootout.

He added that following the incident, some naval officers mobilised later in the evening and “set the police station ablaze.”

Efforts to reach Irene Ugbo, the State Police Public Relations Officer could not yield any furit at the time of this report.

Similarly, the navy in the state has also not made any official statement concerning the issue yet.

Dailypost

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Nigerian's Lost N28.7 Billion On MMM, Check Out The Real amount, invested, lost by Nigerians in 2016 revealed

Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum, NeFF, has revealed that Nigerians lost N11.9 billion to the Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox, MMM, Ponzi scheme last year.

NeFF, which was unveiled yesterday in Abuja, made this claim in its annual report.

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According to NeFF, Nigerians invested over N28.7 billion in the scheme between June and December 2016.

The report also showed that the N28.7 billion was money that passed through the NIBSS, involving only 14 banks that are currently on the NIBSS industry Anti-fraud System, HEINDALL, an indication that the aggregate amount Nigerians invested in the MMM and the loss could be much higher than the above figures.

The report also indicated that Nigeria’s financial sector lost N2.19 billion to fraudsters in 2016.

It said the actual money lost to fraudsters is slightly less than the N2.256 billion recorded in 2015.

However, the volume of fraud cases jumped to 19,531, against 10,743 cases in 2015, an indication that the financial system had increasingly suffered attacks from fraudsters.

The attempted fraud value in the year under review slightly decreased to N4.368 billion , from the 2015 figure of N4.374 billion.

The report indicated that some banks shield fraudsters in the financial system by refusing to expose them, thereby making it easy for such criminals to continue in their evil.

It said that 1,020 were those who benefitted from fraud in the year under review but that the affected bank sent the Bank Verification Number, BVN, of a mere 217, representing 21 per cent of them.

It said, “It is quite unfortunate that despite several awareness and tips about BVN watchlist, some institutions still refuse to send BVNs of their customers who have been involved in fraudulent acts for watch-list, thereby leaving these fraudsters free in our ecosystem and subsequently perpetrating more fraud.

“Out of the 1, 020 unique individuals who were beneficiaries of fraudulent transactions in 2016 across listed channels, only 217 BVNs were sent to the NIBBS (Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System) for watch-listing.

“If we do not cut off these unscrupulous elements from the financial ecosystem, they will continue to migrate from one institution to another wreaking more havoc.”

Dailypost

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Condemned Nollywood Actress Who Escaped From Prison, Rearrested by DSS

A condemned prisoner, Rabi Ismail, who escaped from lawful custody in Hadejia Prison on December 16, 2011, has been recaptured by the Intelligence Unit of the Nigerian Prisons Service with the support of men of the State Security Service, SSS.

The prisoner bearing number k/22c Rabi Ismail was sentenced to death by hanging for culpable homicide by a High Court in Kano on the 5th of January, 2005.

Ms Ismail was subsequently held in Kaduna Central prison from where she was transferred to Hadejia prison before she escaped about 6 years ago.

In July 2011, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of the lower courts that sentenced her to death by hanging for killing a male friend, Auwalu Ibrahim, to acquire his property.

The court found her guilty for drugging and drowning Mr Ibrahim in 2002 in Kano.

According to dailypost report the Controller General of Prisons expressed appreciation to the assistance rendered by security agencies particularly the SSS and the police in arresting the fugitive.

He appealed to members of the public to continue to provide useful information on escapees and indeed any criminal element in their midst to security agents, noting that such outlaws pose security threats to the society.

He assures that security measures have been strengthened to prevent persons in prison custody from escaping.

The prison boss said escapees still at large would be fished out of their hiding no matter how long it takes to do so.

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Barcelona And Real Madrid battle for €90 Million Rated Forward.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to lock horns on the signing of German League highest goal scorer of the season Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as reported by Daily Express.

The striker has reportedly asked for a move away from Borussia Dortmund this summer.

Borussia Dortmund has placed €90 million price tag on their star player and the club is willing to let him go if the valuation is met by any club.

The Gabon international is also a prime target from French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. But the player is keen on securing a move to Real Madrid as he wanted to leave the German team during the January window transfer and he also made a confirmation that his likely destination is Real Madrid.

"If I want to go to the next level, I need to leave in summer. But we must see the proposals and if I'm going to play. Real Madrid is still a dream, but there has been too much noise," he told radio station, RMC.

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BREAKING NEWS; Many Police Dead As ‘Naval Officers’ Attack Police Station in Calabar

Report has confirmed that Several police officers are feared to have been killed Tuesday night after suspected officials of the Nigerian Navy stormed a police division in Calabar, southern Nigeria.

Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES the attack, which began shortly after 8:30 p.m., was still underway as at 10:19 p.m. at Akim Divisional Headquarters.

“The police station is still burning as we speak,” a horrified witness said.

Naval spokesperson, Suleiman Dahun, told PREMIUM TIMES he wasn’t aware of the development as at 10:26 p.m., promising to revert after his findings.

Police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, could not be reached for comments Tuesday night.

Sources said the unrest was a continuation of an initial skirmish between a police traffic officer and a naval officer at a traffic light near the Calabar Stadium along the Airport Road on Tuesday afternoon.

“Some naval officers ran the red light and police traffic officers intervened, but rather than listen, they descended on the policemen and beat them up,” a witness said. “This was around 5 p.m.”

“Police officers now called for back up and and the Navy also called for reinforcement and they took over the road leading to the airport.

“But the Navy Commander and police commissioner in the state intervened and the two sides backed down,” the witness said.

“However, around 8:00 p.m., when everyone thought the matter had been resolved, naval officers descended on Akim Police Station and started shooting and burnt down the facility.

“We confirmed three bodies but we feared there are more,” the witness said.

The witness also accused the naval officers of blocking fire fighters from extinguishing the inferno set at the police station.

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Buhari Has Created Millionaires Ever Since He Became President, Says Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has created new set of millionaires through Agriculture.

Mohammed, who made the assertion while featuring on Channels Television Programme, claimed that the feat was achieved through policies.

According to Mohammed, “What this government has done is that in the area of agriculture, we have created a new set of millionaires in Kebbi, Imo, Jigawa, Kano states so much that today, these new farmers have been empowered and we have made agriculture quite attractive to them”.

Commenting on prices of food items, he said, “In any country where you lack basic infrastructure like roads, railways, power, you are going to have a situation where the cost of food would go up and that is why we are investing in infrastructural development.

“On rail line, we have commenced the construction of the 150km per hour Lagos-Ibadan rail. We have been able to put down our $1.2bn counterpart funding that would make us do also Kano-Kaduna-Calabar and Port Harcourt line.

“By the time these things are put in place, traders would be able to bring tomatoes by train from Kano to Lagos would be able to bring food from the middle belt and that is what is going to make your food cheap. As we speak today, what government is trying to do is how do we subsidize transportation of these food items to bring them down. So if you don’t have power, roads, railways in any part of the world, the cost of food would go up”.

He maintained that the Buhari-led government has been able to move the economy out of recession in the area of agricultural, Manufacturing and Solid Mineral sectors.

Mohammed said, “Despite these austere times, we actually did move out of recession in manufacturing, agriculture and solid minerals”

According to Dailypost report He explained that Nigeria has been able to move out of recession in the manufacturing sector because of government’s commitment to “invest in infrastructure, to improve the ease of doing business and unlike the previous administration where 16% was spent on infrastructure in 2015, we spent 30% in 2017 and that is why you can see that we are climbing out of recession.”

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APC destroyed Nigeria’s economy in two years, Says PDP Spokesman Adeyeye

The National Publicity Secretary of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dayo Adeyeye, has painted a gory image of how Nigeria’s economy plummeted within the past two years, Dailypost report.

In a comparative analysis of the economy under the All Progressives Congress (APC) –led federal government and the previous PDP administrations, Adeyeye stated that incompetence and President Muhammadu Buhari’s de-marketing of Nigeria while globetrotting prompted foreigners to withdraw their funds from the country’s economy which then resulted in economic inactivity and consequent depression of the citizens.

He also noted that apart from the drop in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the country, the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and the consequent increase in pump price of petrol was another economic failure of the APC administration in the past two years.

According to him, Nigerians should rise and demand for the proceeds of fuel subsidy removal since it was executed without any palliative measures in place.

The PDP Spokesman added that the erosion of the value of the Naira to the Dollar within the past two years was another economic misadventure of the federal government that led to the loss of more than 4.5 million jobs across the country.

Adeyeye said that Nigerians had never been as hungry in their entire lives as they are today except during the Civil War.

He stated that: ‎“record show that Nigeria became the favoured investors’ destination in Africa with the highest investment of $8.4 billion USD; and it attracted $20 billion USD worth of foreign investments in 3 years.

“But two years into the APC’s governance, as a result of incompetence and President Buhari’s de-marketing of Nigeria while globetrotting; investors (both local & foreign) have withdrawn their monies from the System thereby creating economic inactivity and consequent depression that we are being faced with alarming rate of suicide.

“No doubt, economic activities and an enabling environment is the basic response to recession but experience and requisite skills are alien to the APC in this regard.

“Petrol Subsidy Removal – It is on record that the APC wailed against subsidy removal and due to PDP’s Government sensitivity to the people, Petrol Pump Price was then reduced to N87 which the APC under few months of assumption of office jacked to N145.

“It is high time Nigerians demanded for the proceeds of this insensitive action with no palliative measures.

“Let us again remind the APC that the US Dollar under the PDP Government was 190 Naira to 1 US Dollar but today, the difference is there for everyone to see.

“The 18,000 Naira Minimum Wage could buy 2 bags of Rice then with a balance in the PDP led government but today, price of food items and other commodities increased by more than 100% with static income; and instead of $1 to equal N1 as promised, it’s changing for almost N400.

“Every other promise made is equally not fulfilled. For instance, the Retail Price of Cement was N1,750 before but in the two years of APC led Administration, it equally skyrocketed to N2,700. Nigerians have never been this hungry in their entire lives as seen in the last two years except during the Civil War.

“The Federal Government under the PDP created 500,000 jobs per annum for our teeming unemployed youths. Since the APC led administration took over, more than 4.5 million people have lost their jobs instead.”

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Over 1000 Workers Benefit From The N1bn Oyo Housing Loan, Says Ajimobi.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that about 1000 workers have so far benefited from the state government’s N1bn housing loan scheme.

He stated this at the flagging off a 5.9 hectares housing project, Ajumose GRA and 14.6km road projects on Tuesday.

Ajimobi who flagged off the expansion of 3.2 km Oke-Adu-Agodi Gate-Idi-Ape-Iso Road interchange and the dualisation of 11.4 km Agodi Gate-Alakia Adebayi Junction with spur to Alakia- Ibadan Airport Road said that good road networks would encourage trade and commercial activities, easy flow of traffic and movement of the people.

He said that the 5.5 hectares of land at the Ajumose GRA will be sold to the people at an affordable price.

Ajimobi said that his administration had earlier at the beginning of his regime entrenched a peaceful atmosphere.

Dailypost report said He added that housing infrastructures were pertinent, adding “the people of this state deserve humble shelter and good road networks. We are not constructing as well as expanding roads but we take road networks into cognizance.

“Infrastructure is the bedrock of development and in the list of infrastructural development is good road network that will encourage free flow of commerce, trade and movement of the people. With this in mind, we decided at the inception of our administration to have adequate infrastructure. We accomplished a peaceful environment and believed that the next level was to provide complementing infrastructural development.

“By the time we will be leaving in 2019, we would have earned the name the builder of a modern Oyo State. If nothing else, we would also be remembered as a welfarist government who takes care and touches the lives of the people of the state in the areas of health, education, social and physical infrastructure, agriculture, investment and industrialization amongst others”, Governor Ajimobi explained.

He appreciated the support of traditional rulers, community leaders, motorists and those affected by the road reconstruction and expansion, pledging that those that have valid documents would be promptly and adequately compensated.

Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Wasiu Dauda said that the roads’ projects were products of long term and careful planning, design and consultations, stressing that the projects were conceived to reduce to the barest minimum traffic congestions and travel time within the state.

His Lands and Housing counterpart, Ajiboye Omodewu stated that over 1000 civil servants had benefitted from the housing loans scheme, noting that about N1bn had already been disbursed to the beneficiaries of the housing loan scheme.

Omodewu said that the land grabbing law was already yielding positive results, explaining that the ministry had tackled 25 cases and that 20 out of the cases had been resolved amicably.

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