News
Non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities have suspended their strike.
The staff, members of three unions, NASU, SSANU, and NAAT, announced the suspension of the three month and 10 days old strike on Wednesday.
Mr Samson Ugwoke, national chairman of Joint Action Committee of the three unions announced the suspension on Wednesday at a press briefing.
He said members of the three unions have been directed to resume on March 15, 2018.
“We shall not hesitate to resume the strike if government reneges on the agreements reached or delays in any aspects,” he said.
The workers commenced the strike on December 4, 2017.
PT
A major crack has emerged in the ranks of All Progressives Congress in Niger state as one of the senators from the state declared that governor Abubakar Sank Bello does not deserve a second term in office.
Mr David Umaru representing Niger East in the National Assembly gave the thumb down for the governor while speaking with some newsmen in Minna on Wednesday.
Both the governor and senator were elected on the platform of APC but have been at each other’s throat since 2016 over some of the policies of the governor which the senator felt were against people of the state and in particular his constituency.
APC had recently endorsed Mr Bello for a second term in office. Umaru was absent at the endorsement rally.
Umaru said the performance of the governor in the last three years did not qualify him for such endorsement.
According to him, the governor had not performed to the expectation of the electorate that voted him into office in 2015 to deserve such endorsement.
Umaru said the poor performance of the governor did not "justify his rush for second term".
"The APC administration in Niger state has performed terribly bad to the extent that we should not be talking about second term. There is virtually nothing on ground to justify second term for the administration.
"Today I feel ashamed for working to enthrone this administration because of its highest level of un-seriousness”.
The federal lawmaker emphasised the need for APC to "make amends and give the people the deserved developments instead of preoccupying itself with endorsement galore which does not have the support of the electorate".
Umaru criticised the party for "embarking on unrealistic endorsement of some elected persons including the governor" adding that “the party can give ticket but the people will do the voting in 2019”.
“I do not need the endorsement of the governor; he needs my endorsement. I need the endorsement of the people not that of the governor”.
He also decried what he described as "the use of ethnicity and religion to cause confusion in the state’s political landscape" in the face of serious underdevelopment saying "we should all come back as a united force and rescue the state in 2019”.
The lawmaker said that he was "waiting on God to decide whether to contest for any position including the senate in 2019" pointing out that: “contesting in 2019 should not be my priority now.
"As you know I do not have any poster out. I believe it is not how long I stay in office but what I have been able to do for the people that will determine if the people want me back or not".
NewsScroll
The Federal Government has said that it has no money to fix the nation's refineries.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the cabinet meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The minister stated that he had given all the guidance required to fix the refineries.
He said the government had to raise money through a Public-Private Partnership model.
He stated: "As a seasoned professional, I have given all the guidance that is required to fix the refineries. We came into a situation where we don’t have money to fix the refineries. We had to raise the money looking into the PPP model; it has to go through a process.
"The technical committee is headed by the NNPC. Obviously they'll submit their report to the board when they complete their work. So, from a governance and guidance sense, steering point of view, I think that steering is right on track, from a management of the technical aspect of the contracting, that is something we would have to allow NNPC handle, it is not the job of the ministry to superimpose, you’ve got to let them do their work and do it efficiently."
Kachikwu also said that the proposed modular refineries in Delta and Rivers States were not meant to address the current refining gap.
“On modular refineries; modular wasn’t supposed to provide a sufficient solution to your product needs, modulars are on the average between 2,000 and 5,000 maybe 10,000 at most capacity per refinery. Your consumption is about 630,000 barrels per day, that is not the essence of modular, what modular was supposed to do for us is provide work within some of these communities where people are busy doing illegal refining.
“It’s not meant to address the refining product gap we have in the country, we are hoping that those gaps will be covered by a mixture of the three or four refineries that government owns currently, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna and of course the Dangote refinery of 600 barrels,” he said.
DailyTrust
It was a tearful scene yesterday in Dapchi, the Yobe State community where Boko Haram snatched away 110 girls on February 19.
President Muhammadu Buhari visited the Government Girls Science and Technical College where the girls were abducted.
Some of the distraught parents and the girls’ school mates broke down in tears when the Chairman of the Parents, Bashir Alhaji Monzo, spoke on the incident.
The President and his entourage arrived at the school hall around 3.54 p.m
Earlier in Damaturu, the state capital, the President had told stakeholders that “there will be no rest until the last girl, whether from Chibok or Dapchi, is released.
“The girls and all our students must enjoy unhindered freedom and pursue their legitimate aspirations. The Dapchi and Chibok students are our girls and must enjoy our protection. They must live to achieve their individual ambition to be great women of tomorrow. It is our duty to protect them and we are determined to restore peace to all parts of the country from the west to the east, north to the south.”
The President, who described the abduction as “careless”, stressed: ”It is my hope that any agency, person or group found to have been negligent or culpable in the abduction of the girls will be punished according to the law”.
The parents were weeping as reporters interviewed them, hours before the President’s arrival.
Addressing the parents in Hausa, President Buhari promised that no effort will be spared towards bringing their children back alive.
He also vowed that Boko Haram terrorists woud not be spared for their evil activities.
Said the President: “I have read the full report of what happened in Damaturu. As we received the information and what the Federal Government is doing under my leadership since beginning of the problem to date, may God console you.
“I am informing you that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that this country is living in peace.”
He recalled that during the campaigns, the government promised to achieve three objectives – ensuring security, revamping the economy and fighting corruption.
According to him, his administration has succeeded in all.
Buhari said: “Those Boko Haram members were in control of many parts of Borno State and some local governments in Yobe State. But, at the moment, they have only resorted to bombing mosques and churches, and kidnapping young girls.
“Boko Haram has also brainwashed some of the girls and made them to kill themselves with suicide bombs. By the will of God, we have directed police, DSS, Soldiers and other security agencies to find modalities by which your children will be returned to you in peace.”
“But this their action and the one they did in 2014 before we assumed office, we will not spare them. So, because of that, the Federal Government will use all its powers to see the end of insurgency and bring peace into the country. May God console you,” he told the disturbed parents.
Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam acknowledged that the Federal Government had lived up to its responsibility over the incident.
According to him, the President had sent delegations to the state over the matter.
“It is my hope that the findings of the committees will be implemented and the abducted girls rescued alive,” he said.
The school’s principal, Hajiya Adama Abdulkarim, urged the parents not to be discouraged by the incident.
The parents carried placards. Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Rescue our abducted DAPCHI school girls now”; “Any delay is dangerous. We want genuine action. Rescue our daughters now.”
Another reads “Welcome Mr. President; we are parents of the abducted Dapchi school girls. Please rescue our daughters, we love them, they are our hope for a brighter future.”
With the President were Ministers Lai Mohammed (Information), Abdulrahman Danbazzau (Interior); Adamu Adamu (Education), Solomon Dalung (Sports), and Mansur Dan-Ali (Defence) and Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim.
One of the mothers of the abducted girls, Hafisatu Mohammed, who spoke in Hausa, said: “We are in a terrible situation; some parents have died due to the loss of their children. Some of them are very sick.
“We know that this tragic situation was ordained by God. We accept it in good faith. We accept this as a trial from God. We know that Almighty God will help us fight our battle. Our God will expose them. He will bring us out of this predicament.
“We are begging our President, Baba Buhari, that he should do all ‘the needful’ in good time and rescue our children from this oppressors.”
Another mother, Aisha Bukar, also speaking in Hausa, and crying, said: “The sister to one of my daughters, who was abducted in the school, is very sick at home due to the abduction of her sister.
“We pray that God will bring peace back to Nigeria. We have never experienced such a terrible situation in our lives. Although there is relative peace since Buhari became President and we are still thanking him for what he is doing and may God continue to protect him.
“We want him to redouble efforts to save our children from this wicked people. My daughter that was kidnapped was not able to walk for seven years. We brought her to school after she was cured and now they have kidnapped her. Because of this incident, I became sick and was admitted at the hospital.”
One of the fathers of the abducted girls, Alhaji Deri Kade, said: “So many things have happened; we have seen the worst. My only wish is to see Mr. President and welcome him and express my feelings to him, so that we discuss the way forward to rescue our children.
“We are sure that Mr. President is very concerned about rescuing our children and that is why he is here in Dapchi, and our prayers will lead to that success,” he added.
The Nation
Following renewed attacks and killings of residents in northern Plateau state in the last two weeks, the state government has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew.
A statement issued by the state government Wednesday evening imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on all districts in Bassa local government area.
The release, signed by the secretary to the Plateau state government, Rufu Bature, said the decision was to curtail further attacks.
The statement urged citizens to observe the curfew hours of 6:00 p.m till 6:00 a.m to avoid being confronted by security operatives deployed to enforce the measure.
On Wednesday, gunmen besieged Dong community of Jos south killing three persons, and setting ablaze 11 houses and four cars.
Yet-to-be identified armed men in the early hours of Tuesday also attacked and killed 25 people in Bassa.
Meanwhile, five youths who were killed in Bassa last week have been given mass burial.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently visited the state where he called for calm and restraint.
PT
Controversial on-air personality (OAP), Daddy Freeze has explained why it’s more rewarding to patronize a night club by buying their liquor, than giving it to a Pentecostal church.
Freeze said this after Quilox boss, Shina Peller saved accident victims over the weekend, along Sagamu road using his mouth to “draw fuel” from a bus as FRSC ambulance had none.
Freeze took to his Instagram page to upload photos of Shina and wrote:
“Why it’s more rewarding to use your money to buy liquor in @shinapeller‘s nightclub #Quilox than for you to give it to a Pentecostal church.
“There was an accident along the lagos Ibadan expressway and my good friend from the same hood as I, SHINA was passing by. Not only did he stop to help, he siphoned fuel with his mouth because the ambulance on the scene did not have enough fuel. He also gave one of his vehicles to take the injured to the hospital.
“How many of your fake ass Daddy GOs would do this? How many of them would use those their dirty, lying ass mouths anointed by satan himself to draw fuel? How many will even stop?
“Many of the accidents along that road are caused by the traffic around the numerous satanic institutions set up where developed countries would have set up factories.
“When Jesus was alive he drank alcohol and was accused to be in the presence of sinners (possibly in Night Clubs) so enjoying a bottle of Champagne or Henny with coke and ice at quilox in responsibility and moderation is actually Christ like.
“Matthew 11:19 NIV: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ What could he have been drinking that they labeled him a drunkard? Lucozade boost?
“More so, another reason to patronize them lies in the fact that the club employs people who earn a living through it and it pays taxes as instructed by our first pastors, the disciples; something most pastors and churches are blatantly disobeying.
“Romans 13: NIV [6] This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. [7] Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
“Here are my 2cents, stop over at quilox on a Friday and empty your pockets there, so the thieves won’t have anything to steal from you on Sunday, while you are at it, drink responsibly! ~FRZ #FreeTheSheeple”.
DailyPost
Nigeria’s total public debt stock is N21.725 trillion – as at the end of December, last year.
Debt Management Office (DMO) Director-General Patience Oniha, speaking yesterday in Abuja on the country’s Debt Management Strategy (DMS), said the Federal Government’s domestic debt at the end of 2017 was N12.589 trillion. The 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have a domestic debt overhang of N3.348 trillion.
The combined external debt of the Federal Government and the states is N5.787 trillion.
The new DMS, Oniha said, has brought about the restructuring of the debt portfolio, which “has resulted in reduction of debt servicing costs, lowering interest rates in the domestic market and an improved availability of credit facilities to the private sector.” The recent spate of borrowings the DMO boss said, is essentially “for financing capital expenditure and stimulating the economy”. “The funds injected through the borrowings strongly supported the implementation of the Federal Government’s budget, which helped the country to exit recession in 2017.”
The figures showed that Nigeria’s Debt Management Strategy is achieving its objective of reducing the ratio of Domestic Debt in the portfolio, with a target of 60% Domestic and 40% External, .
The composition of the Debt Stock as at the end of 2017 showed that External Debt was 26.64% of the portfolio, up from 20.04% in 2016. Domestic Debt was 73.36%, down from 79.96% in 2016.
The key benefits of the restructuring of the portfolio, Oniha explained “are the reduction of the Government’s Debt Service Costs, lowering of interest rates in the domestic market and improved availability of credit facilities to the private sector”. ”The DMO repaid N198 billion Nigerian Treasury Bills in December 2017 with the proceeds of Eurobond issuances and the DMO has continued further implementation of the strategy in 2018, with the issuance of the USD2.5 billion Eurobonds in February 2018, the proceeds of which is being used to repay maturing domestic debt, starting with N130 billion NTBs repaid on March 1, 2018.”
“The Total Public Debt as at December 31, 2017 represents 18.20% of Nigeria’s GDP for 2017. This shows that Nigeria’s debt continues to be sustainable and is well within the threshold of 56% for countries in Nigeria’s peer group,” Oniha stated.
Ms. Oniha assured Nigerians that the most important consideration for these borrowings was that the proceeds were being prudently applied to bridge infrastructure gaps occasioned by the decline in revenues.
She also promised that “the rate of increase of debt servicing would reduce, going forward, given the Federal Government’s attention to raise revenue through the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), as well as targeted efforts to increase local production of some of the goods responsible for high foreign exchange demand”.
When asked to react to the advice by America’s former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Nigeria should be wary of Chinese loans, the DMO boss said that Chinese loans were being to provide specific infrastructure projects, such as railways and re-modeling of various airports.
She also noted that Nigeria borrows from other countries , such as Japan, France, India and Germany, “based on Nigeria’s needs, interests and conditions considered favourable to the nation”.
Mrs Pniha said: “If the Americans have any offer, it should be put on the table. It is not about de-marketing China.”
WHO OWES WHAT
- N12.589tr —Federal Government’s domestic debt at the end of 2017
- N3.348tr —The 36 states and the FCT domestic debt overhang
- N5.787tr—The combined external debt of the FG and the states
The Nation
Aisha Yesufu, co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls, BBOG, advocacy group has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop game of comparison with ex-president Goodluck Jonathan.
This is in response to the president’s statement during his visit to Yobe on Wednesday.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said his administration responded better than the immediate past government to the February 19 abduction of 110 students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
He said the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was slow with their response to a similar abduction in Chibok, Borno State.
According to Buhari, while his government swung into action immediately after the abduction, the last administration looked the other way when the Chibok girls were abducted in 2014.
Aisha in reaction said the Buhari’s visit was supposed to be a show of empathy to parents of 110 missing girls and not a show of comparison.
She urged the president to stop dragging level of incompetence with Jonathan.
On her twitter page, she wrote “President Muhammadu Buhari’s tour was supposed to be of empathy and condolence instead it has turned into show of incompetence.
“Can someone tell PMB he was not voted to drag title of incompetence with Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan? He should leave GEJ alone!”
DailyPost
Myanmar officials say the time is right to have U.N. agencies become involved in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh to escape violence against them.
Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Myint Thu said Wednesday that the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N. Development Program responded last week to the government’s invitation with a proposal and concept paper, which are now being studied. A U.N. spokesman in Myanmar confirmed sending a note proposing how the agencies could help create conditions for the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the refugees.
Angela Merkel has been sworn in as Germany’s chancellor for the fourth time, almost six months since the national election, bringing to an end the longest power hiatus in the country’s postwar history.
She received 364 out of 709 votes in the first round of voting in parliament – nine more than required to gain an absolute majority, but also 35 fewer than if all the members of her next governing coalition had cast their ballot in her favour.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, who have agreed to re-enter a grand coalition together, have a total of 399 votes between them.
“A clear vote and a smooth start,” tweeted Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new general secretary of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. “Now full steam ahead for Germany.”
As the chancellor received standing ovations, handshakes and bouquets of flowers from delegates across the political spectrum, she was watched over by her 89-year-old mother, Herlind Kasner, seated on the Bundestag’s gallery next to Merkel’s husband, Joachim Sauer, and long-term adviser Beate Baumann.
After the vote, the chancellor travelled to Schloss Bellevue to receive a letter of appointment from the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, before heading back to the Bundestag in order to take the oath of office. The new cabinet meets for the first time this afternoon.
The pressure will be on the new government to immediately get down to business, after months of horse-trading and delayed decision-making. Merkel said on Monday her new government’s focus would be on integrating refugees as well as increasing state powers to extradite people who had no right of residence. She has also stressed the necessity of securing Germany’s borders, and developing policies to mitigate the causes of migration.
The grand coalition was initially seen as an unlikely constellation after the election on 24 September, when Merkel’s conservative alliance, the pro-business Free Democrats and the environmentalist Greens strove to create a so-called “Jamaica” coalition. But after those talks collapsed spectacularly, both the conservatives and the SPD came under pressure to revive the grand coalition, which has governed Germany for the majority of Merkel’s time in office.
Wolfgang Kubicki, deputy leader of the FDP, said of the result of Wednesday’s vote: “That was closer than we expected. It shows that the grand coalition is actually going to be a small coalition.”
Merkel received supporting votes from 91% of delegates in her three-party coalition, compared to 92% in 2013 and 89% at the start of her first term in 2005.
Merkel will have to find a way to win over unenthusiastic delegates not just among the Social Democrats, many of whom believe the party should have sought to reinvent itself in opposition, but also among her own Christian Democrats, where there is disappointment over the loss of the finance ministry to the centre-left junior coalition partner.
One CDU politician described the result as a “bad omen” for the coming term. “This coalition has had a bad start, not just because of the unfortunate coalition deal, and won’t last for three and a half years”, said MP Alexander Mitsch.
The reformation of the grand coalition means the far-right Alternative für Deutschland becomes the large opposition party in the Bundestag.
The Guardian
More...
Sierra Leone will hold a run-off vote for president on March 27, the election commission said Tuesday, after the country's main opposition finished slightly ahead of the ruling party in the first round of voting.
Opposition leader Julius Maada Bio, from the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), took 43.3 percent of votes in the March 7 election, while Samura Kamara of the incumbent All Peoples Congress (APC) took 42.7 percent, the commission said.
The threshold to win in the first round was 55 percent, and results were slightly delayed by recounts in some areas.
The two parties have dominated Sierra Leone's politics and ruled alternately since independence from Britain in 1961.
Third party candidate Kandeh Yumkella finished with just 6.9 percent of votes despite his National Grand Coalition (NGC) party's hopes of an electoral breakthrough.
AFP
Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking has died at age 76, a family spokesman said on Wednesday.
"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today," professor Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement carried by Britain's Press Association news agency.
"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."
Hawking defied predictions he would only live for a few years after developing a form of motor neurone disease that left him confined to a wheelchair.
"His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world," the family said.
"He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."
AFP
Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has refused to resign, vowing to fight allegations that saw her embroiled in a financial scandal, the presidency said in a statement Wednesday.
"Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, having nothing to feel guilty about and able to provide corroborating evidence, rejects any idea of resigning," read the statement.
It was issued less than a week after the prime minister announced she had agreed to step down.
Pravind Jugnauth, the prime minister, told reporters last week Gurib-Fakim would resign after 12 March after the celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary.
Gurib-Fakim, a chemistry professor, was appointed to the largely ceremonial post in 2015, as the island nation’s first female president.
She denied any wrongdoing and refunded all the money in question.
Reuters
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson didn’t thank President Trump in a Tuesday press conference responding to the president announcing his firing on Twitter.
Tillerson praised State Department officials and Defense Department staff for their work during his tenure, while also thanking members of the military and the American people.
But Tillerson did not mention Trump by name, only referring once to the president.
“I received a call today from the president of the United States a little after noontime from Air Force One, and I’ve also spoken to White House chief of staff [John] Kelly to ensure we have clarity about the days ahead,” Tillerson said. "What is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition during a time that the country continues to face significant policy and national security challenges."
Tillerson also took a parting shot at Russia, saying “much work remains to respond to the troubling behavior and actions on the part of the Russian government.”
“Russia must assess carefully as to how its actions are in the best interests of the Russian people and of the world more broadly,” he added. “Continuing on their current trajectory is likely to lead to greater isolation on their part, a situation which is not in anyone’s interest.”
Trump has caught flak for his muted criticisms of Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the U.S. intelligence community determined Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in an effort to help Trump win.
The Trump administration has not implemented sanctions against Russia that overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress last year.
Tillerson did not take questions from reporters after making his statement on Tuesday afternoon at the State Department.
Tillerson said his term as the nation's top diplomat will end at midnight on March 31. Until then, Tillerson is delegating his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.
The Hill