The Journalists for Peace in Korea Peninsula (JPKP), a group of journalists based in Nigeria, has called on Nigerian Government to reconsider its diplomatic relationship with the government of North Korea.
In a statement issued in Kaduna, northwest of the country by its Chairman, Tajjudeen Ajibade, the group said it noted with sadness the stubbornness of the President of North Korea on his insistence to continue with missiles test, despite the condemnation by the whole world.
According to JPKP , the action of the North Korean government in spite all sanctions, should not be tolerated and this is the high time when the whole world must severe diplomatic relationship with the tyrant North Korea.
“For this reasons, the Federal Government should cut all relationship with North Korea government, close down it’s embassy in Nigeria since the leadership of North Korea government has refused to see any reason to stop rudeness and embrace peace,” the statement said.
The group urged other countries that are yet to severe relationship with North Korea to do so and emulate the Republic of China.
“As a peace organization, the JPKP will however continue to plead with the North Korea leadership to accept dialogue over the issue in order for it to avoid a journey of no return.
“The President of North Korea should borrow a leaf from its South Korean counterpart who has been an ambassador of peace and peaceful coexistence all over the world ” it added
Gombe (Nigeria) — In order to improve the participation of Women in politics the All progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State northeast of the country, has waved fifty per cent cost of nomination fee for females vying for various party executive positions during its mini convention this Saturday.
The Party’s Caretaker Committee Secretary, Kasim Maigari, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the level of preparedness for the Congress, said 39 candidates have been cleared to vie for different positions during the Congress
He said appropriate measures have been put in place for the exercise which would signal that unity has finally returned to the party.
Two women are among the contestants for the elective positions.
“There are eight vacant positions and we have screened 39 persons who were all qualified to contest, among them were two women.
“There are eight persons contesting for the post of chairmanship, five, Deputy chairmen, four, secretary, 10, Youth leader, three, Legal Advisers, two, Zonal women leader and three ex-officio”.
He said the party sold the forms for the chairmanship at the cost of N100, 000 while other positions went for N30, 000 adding that the party will be more united and ready to capture power from the PDP in 2019.
The caretaker secretary promised that a level playing field has been created for a credible, free and fair congress expected to hold in Gombe, the State capital.
President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Irked by the deepening crisis of global malnutrition, President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has called for urgent action from stakeholders.
Adesina made the call as he joined key nutrition actors, private-sector representatives, policy-makers and thought leaders at the 2017 World Food Prize-Borlaug Dialogue Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, to push for mutual accountability on leadership, governance and investments for nutrition.
The President’s charge aligns with the AfDB’s High 5 development priorities, in particular with the fifth goal to improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
The quest for high-quality, healthy diets also supports the achievement of Goal 2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.”
Earlier, Adesina had attended a plenary session to launch the Global Panel on Food Systems and Nutrition policy brief, ‘Urban diets and nutrition: Trends, challenges, and opportunities for policy action,’ where he highlighted the major problem associated with poor diets.
Poor nutrition has become the number one killer in the world. It’s therefore high time to address this seriously and decisively,” he said.
“Poor nutrition has become the number one killer in the world. It’s therefore high time to address this seriously and decisively,” he said.
He explained how many low- and middle-income countries now experience a ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition, where under-nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies co-exist with obesity and other diseases related to diets.
“We must face the reality that unhealthy foods now pose the greatest danger to the health of urban dwellers.
“In short: Urban foods are energy rich, but nutrient poor. The changing face of urban areas aggravates malnutrition. We must address the problems of rapidly expanding slums, globally and especially, in Africa,” he stressed.
The Global Panel report highlights critical areas that deserve attention in dealing with the link between urbanization and malnutrition.
“We need to have stricter food market regulations in urban areas, especially for informal food markets.
“To reduce pressure on urban food systems, policies should be used to promote more sustainable peri-urban agriculture, especially for vegetables, legumes and other nutrient-rich crops.
“Better policies are needed to link rural and urban food systems, with greater investments in infrastructure, transport logistics, storage and markets, to assure steady supply of foods to cities and secondary towns.
“To cut back on rising obesity, urban areas need to invest in better education on health and nutrition, support physical activities and tax sugar drinks,” Adesina observed.
“To cut back on rising obesity, urban areas need to invest in better education on health and nutrition, support physical activities and tax sugar drinks,” Adesina observed.
The policy brief describes the challenge of providing healthy diets in urban environments, with eight evidence-based recommendations.
The urban food crisis has become a thread we can no longer ignore,” said Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Policy-makers at local level need to take a leading role in championing better diets and nutrition, and this requires them to be both mandated and empowered to act, the Global Panel members emphasized.
The Global Panel is an independent group of influential experts and leaders who hold or have held high office and who show strong personal commitment to improving nutrition.
Formally established in August 2013 at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in London, it is jointly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Female politicians in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria, have identified voter apathy, lack of empowerment, gender role, stereotype, men discouragement, selling of vote, and stigmatization, as some of the challenges militating against their full participation in politics.
This was part of the outcomes of a one day women in politics forum organized by LEADs Nigeria, an NGO, in collaboration with Action aid, aimed at bringing women groups together to discuss ways of broadening their participation in politics.
One of the participants, Aisha Mohammed, lamented that women out of jealousy fail to support their fellow women; hence the need to gain each other’s trust so as to move forward.
According to her, when women are elected and occupy strategic positions, the interest of women will be protected, pointing out, “Had it been women are well represented in the National Assembly, the Affirmative action bill of 35 percent for women wouldn’t have been thrown out from the House.”
In a paper entitled, ‘Women in politics and governance in Nigeria’, Mrs. Ngozi Okorie, stressed that, women in Nigeria have the numerical strength to contest and win an election but their numbers are irrelevant in governance, saying, they are mostly used for rallies and campaigns.
According to Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, NBS report, 2015, women constitute 49.5 of the country’s population while men are 50.5, yet, only seven percent are in governance, she said. “Only 5.9 percent are in the national legislatures when compared to most African countries.
She however urged women to rise to the challenge saying the era of just being used for rallies, campaigns and voter registration are over.
The root of the challenges arises from political parties, another participant, Rabi Saleh Tukur pointed out.
According to her, most political parties in Nigeria are dominated by men and the only position given to women is that of the women leader. She stressed that unless women are focused and empowered, they will continue to be relegated.
Participants are of the opinion that women should be bold and maintain high integrity so as to dispel any form of stereotype and stigmatization.
They also resolved that there is need for massive sensitization on the power of a vote and importance of politics to women while the public should know that politics is a career for all.
Earlier in her address of welcome, Executive Director of Leads-Nigeria, Mrs. Rebecca Sako John said the forum was necessitated as a result of the drastic reduction of women’s participation in politics and appointments across all levels of governance in the country in recent years.
According to her, there is need for women to come up with an open heart to actively participate so that they can contribute their own quota for the development of the country.
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) in collaboration with NextMerge has concluded plans to unveil an online application for journalists and news sources.
The Application, “ScoopNews” according to a statement issued by AMDF Coordinator, Sekyen Dadik, is one of the first indigenous applications in Northern Nigeria to provide a platform for the general public to share stories or scoops with journalists and media organizations registered on the application page.
The unveiling is scheduled for Tuesday, 24th October, by 10am in Kaduna, at the NUJ Council Secretariat Muhammadu Buhari Way (Waff Road).
It explained that the application would go a long way in giving journalists insights into what is happening around and also an opportunity to dig deeper into such issues.
It explained that the application would go a long way in giving journalists insights into what is happening around and also an opportunity to dig deeper into such issues.
“NextMerge is a group of IT professionals supported by AMDF, working on innovations that will assist journalists perform effectively in this technological era,” according to the statement.”
The embattled Senator Isah Misau, has been finally arraigned before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama, Abuja.
The Senator was charged for injurious falsehood against the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, former Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro and the Nigerian Police.
Misau was arraigned by the federal government on a five-count charge bordering on alleged falsehood against the person of the IGP, Ibrahim Idris, the Police Service Commission and the Nigerian Police Force, between August and October 2017.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges and his counsel, Godwin Obla, SAN, moved an oral application for his bail on the grounds that Section 393(1) of the Penal Code under which the defendant was charged carried maximum of two years punishment upon conviction.
He said section 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, expressly makes provision for bail of the defendant.
Obla also argued that Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution presumed the defendant innocent and that being a serving senator, he cannot run away. He also said that the defendant cannot tamper with police investigation.
In his ruling, Justice Ishaq Bello, said although Obla applied for bail in self-recognition for the defendant being a serving senator representing Bauchi Central in the Senate, he, however, said that he would want sureties for the defendant.
He granted Senator Misau bail in the sum of N5m and two reliable sureties in the same amount.
Meanwhile, the trial has been fixed for November 28 and 29, 2017.
Part of the charges against the defendant were that on August 10, this year in Abuja, he made false statement of fact that Police Officers were paying as much as N2.5million each to get special promotion and posting and that the allegation was capable of harming the reputation of the IG Idris, Police Force and Police Service Commission.
The defendant was also alleged to have on October 5, 2017, in Abuja, made false statement of fact to the effect that N10billion was been received monthly by the Inspector General of Police from oil companies, banks and hotels among others and that the allegation was capable of harming the reputation of the IG, Okiro and the Police.
Part of the charges filed before the FCT High Court are, “That you, lsah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau Residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State, on or about August 10, 2017, at Abuja and other part of Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did make a false statement of fact to wit: that police officers pay as much as two million, five hundred thousand naira (N2.5m) to get special promotion and posting through the Police Service Commission as published in the Daily Trust Newspaper dated August 10, 2017, knowing that such false statement of fact would harm the reputation of Mr. Ibrahim Kpotun ldris (the serving Inspector-General of Police), the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission and you thereby committed an offence.
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered relevant agencies to compile a full list of all those who stole government funds and make same available to him.
The president’s directive followed federal government’s resolve to enforce a judgement of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos which ordered that names of public officers from whom public funds were recovered be made public.
The court had also ordered the government to tell Nigerians the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abukabar Malami (SAN), who disclosed this yesterday said, “President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all relevant agencies to compile documents on names of all looters with a view to promptly enforcing the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos ordering the government to release to Nigerians, information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered”.
Malami gave the hint during a meeting with a delegation from the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) at his office in Abuja.
In a statement he issued yesterday, SERAP’s executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni said, “We had a very productive meeting with Mr Malami, discussing among other critical issues, the need for the government to obey the judgment delivered in July by Hon Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by SERAP.
“Mr Malami informed us that President Buhari has directed the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other relevant agencies involved in the recovery of looted funds to promptly put the documents together with a view to fully and promptly enforcing the judgment by Justice Shagari.
“We appreciate the opportunity to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation and look forward to working with him as the government strives to enforce this very important judgment. We hope that the implementation of the judgment will now happen sooner rather than later.
“We believe that effectively implementing the judgment will be a victory for the rule of law, show the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators in the country, as well as demonstrate Buhari’s oft-repeated commitment to tackling the problem of grand corruption”.
The judgement of the court had followed suit filed by SERAP upon disclosure last year by the federal government of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals.
In her judgment delivered on July 5, 2017, the presiding judge, Justice Shagari agreed with SERAP that “the federal government has legally binding obligations to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present”.
Joined, as defendants in the suit, were the minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
That same day the judgment was delivered, AGF Malami told journalists in Abuja that government was in agreement with the ruling and would carry out the order as long as it does not amount to sub judice.
Justice Shagari also declared that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the defendants are under a binding legal obligation to provide the plaintiff with up to date information by widely disseminating, including on a dedicated website, information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered since May 2015 and the circumstances under which stolen public funds were returned.
The Ministry of Information had last year published details of the recoveries, which showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved total cash amount, including N78, 325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016.
Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period, including N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17, as well as anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totaling $321,316,726.1, £6,900,000 and €11,826.11.
The ministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.
Subsequently, SERAP issued an FOI request and gave the minister of Information 14 days to disclose the names of all suspected looters.
The request reads in part: “While we believe that suspects generally are entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, SERAP opposes blanket non-disclosure of names of high-ranking public officials from whom some of the funds were recovered”.
“SERAP insists that the public interest to know is greater than any other legitimate interest that the government might wish to protect. The Nigerian government has an obligation to balance whether the risk of harm to the legitimate aim (that is secrecy of ongoing corruption investigation and presumption of innocence) from disclosure of the names of public officials is greater than the public interest in accessing the information.
“SERAP believes that the recoveries, specifically from high-ranking public officials (and not private individuals), are matters of public interest. Publishing the names of those public officials will provide insights relevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat a culture of grand corruption in the country.
“The gravity of the crime of grand corruption, the devastating effects on the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population, and the fact that recovery of huge funds from high-ranking public officials entrusted with the public treasury raise a prima-facie case and therefore amount to exceptional circumstances that justify naming those high-ranking officials in the public interest.
“Publishing the names of public officials involved could go a long way in preventing senior public officials from turning the public treasury into a private cashbox. The public interest in publishing the names of the high-ranking government officials from whom funds were received outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as there would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as long as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.
“While the government in some limited cases can legitimately place restrictions on the public’s right to access certain information, attempts of the Nigerian authorities to justify the total closure of information related to the names of public officials from whom funds were recovered on the basis of “ongoing criminal investigation” and “presumption of innocence goes far beyond the limitations allowed under international law, and would promote secret recoveries.
“The information being requested is not related to detailed investigatory activities of anticorruption agencies regarding the recoveries so far made. Similarly, the mere fact that the information being requested is related to ongoing investigation does not necessarily mean that the information could not be disclosed. In addition, governmental agency has the obligation to prove that the disclosure of the names of public officials would disrupt, impede, or otherwise harm the ongoing or pending investigations or presumption of innocence”.
Reps To Probe FEC Over N895bn Gas Supply Payment
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives yesterday resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the ₦701 billion-payment assurance facility plus ₦194 billion-interest payment approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The said monies are meant for emergency and long-term power sector recovery plan as interventions to ensure payment for gas supply and generation subsectors of the electricity industry.
The decision followed the adoption of a motion brought by Hon Chris Emeka Azubogu noting FEC’s approval of ₦701 billion for Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading as an intervention in the power sector as well as other payments to Distribution Companies (DISCOS).
Azubuogu informed the House that the federal government and the World Bank Group are planning a US$2.519 billion as financial support for Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) as payment guaranty for the Power Generating and Gas Supplier Companies to ensure stable power supply that will drive the economy.
He acknowledged that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) are statutorily empowered to manage the privatisation and commercialisation programme by ensuring that the power sector reform progresses successfully.
He observed “the NCP has been properly constituted with the Vice President of Nigeria as the Chairman and the Minister of Finance as the Vice Chairman with representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Industry, National Planning, Justice and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)”.
The lawmaker further observed that while the ministers of Power and Petroleum Resources are not members of the NCP, they ought to be invited to meetings that will involve energy steering committee established by the NCP, while the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the president should be invited to meetings as the representative of the Office of the President.
In its resolution, the House also mandated the committee on power to investigate the approval with a view to ensuring that the entire process was geared towards significant improvement of power supply in Nigeria and turn in its report within four weeks for further legislative action.
Nyong’o, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, was a drama student at the time of the alleged incident.
She said she had been invited to his family home in Connecticut, apparently to watch a film, shortly after they first met in 2011.
He then insisted that she leave the screening room with him, she claimed.
‘I felt unsafe’
Nyong’o, 34, wrote: “Harvey led me into a bedroom – his bedroom – and announced that he wanted to give me a massage.
“I thought he was joking at first. He was not. For the first time since I met him, I felt unsafe.
“I panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead: it would allow me to be in control physically, to know exactly where his hands were at all times.”
She said she was trying to keep a “semblance of professionalism” in the “bizarre” circumstances, as she had studied body work and massage while at Yale.
She added that she was trying to “buy time”, to “figure out how to extricate” herself from the situation.
Image copyrightAFP/GettyImage caption Weinstein has described many of the allegations as “patently false”
“Before long he said he wanted to take off his pants,” Nyong’o continued. “I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable.
“He got up anyway to do so and I headed for the door, saying that I was not at all comfortable with that.”
She said on another occasion, she attended a screening with Weinstein and expected there to be a group of people for dinner.
Yet she said it was only herself and Weinstein, who suggested they continue their meal in a private room.
‘Threat and reassurance’
She refused and said that when she asked Harvey if they were “good”, he allegedly said: “I don’t know about your career, but you’ll be fine.”
“It felt like both a threat and a reassurance at the same time,” she wrote.
When she met Weinstein again at the premiere of 12 Years a Slave, Weinstein told her he had treated her badly in the past and was “ashamed of his actions”, she continued.
She said she thanked him but vowed to never work with the producer.
Nyong’o wrote: “I share all of this now because I know now what I did not know then. I was part of a growing community of women who were secretly dealing with harassment by Harvey Weinstein.
“There is clearly power in numbers. I thank the women who have spoken up and given me the strength to revisit this unfortunate moment in my past.”
Employees want to ‘speak openly’
Police in London, Los Angeles and New York are currently investigating Weinstein, 65.
Meanwhile, a group of Weinstein Company employees have written an open letter asking their employer to release them from the NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) that bar them from speaking publicly about what they have experienced and witnessed.
“We ask that the company let us out of our NDAs immediately… so we may speak openly, and get to the origins of what happened here, and how,” they wrote in a letter signed by “Select Members of The Weinstein Company Staff”.
