Northeast Coordinator of Women Situation Room Nigeria, WSRN, Philomena Henry has led other women to take part in SIT-OUT campaign against the recent defilement and death of a 14 years old girl.
Briefing newsmen in Kaduna, she said defilement of the girl child necessitated a simultaneous SIT-OUT on the 3rd of August, 2017 across 9 States, namely Lagos, Imo, Enugu, Kaduna, Benue, Gombe, Rivers , Delta and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja from 8.30 – 11am.
Mrs. Henry explained that there is a Law against rape and defilement at the federal level -VAPP Act.
“In Lagos State the law stipulates life imprisonment or jail not less than 14 years with adequate financial compensation – YET culture of silence and shame, religious interferences and official inaction has interfered with the justice system! We are calling on the government to do something against this!
“Rape or defilement has far reaching consequences to the survivor and victim’s family .
“The issue of rape or defilement has become a cause for concern with its increase and an obvious lack of persecution of rapists and defilers.
“We call on all to support this SIT-OUT action. Black on black symbolizes pain, hurt and grief of the violation of babies and children and women.
“This Sit out is organized by Women Situation Room Nigeria, a Program of WILPF Nigeria in partnership with Alliance Against Domestic Violence and Abuse, AADVA.
“AADVA is made up of various NGO’s and Citizens Citizens – spearheaded by ACTS Generation who believes more is achieved with ONE VOICE,” she exclaimed.
Gombe (Nigeria) — Commissioner for Agriculture in Gombe State, northeast Nigeria, Dahiru Buba Biri, has debunked the allegation by All lower Farmers Association that officials of the ministry are extorting money from farmers applying for the Anchor Borrowers scheme initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
speaking with journalists in Gombe on Thursday, Mr. Biri said his ministry never demanded for any money for registration, consultancy or surveying from any farmer.
He also denied claims by the Association that officials of the ministry have conspired with officials from the Bank of Agriculture to short-change farmers in the state.
Mr. Biri who doubles as chairman of the Project Monitoring Team handling the Anchor Borrowers project, explained that the alleged discrepancies in dues and prices of commodities were meant for distribution to farmers.
ALFA alleged that the ministry had asked members of the association to pay N20, 000 as consultation fee, and another N20, 000 paid to the surveying officer, among other sundry charges.
The Commissioner, while denying that ALFA represented by Sani Idris, was not even registered to benefit from the scheme, called on anyone with evidence of payment with respect to the mentioned charges to come forth, stressing that the state government has paid for mapping and data capturing.
He also dismissed claims that the farmers were being shortchanged in the total sum of money to be disbursed.
“Concerning N300,000 the agreed economic cost of production for dry season was N244, 245 per HA while that of raining season is N185, 640 per HA.” he said.
“There is no market in Nigeria where N50kg of rice cost N1, 000. Presently in Gombe the price of paddy rice for consumption is N7, 000 per N50kg. The total cost of certified seed which is used for planting is N400 per kilo equalling N20, 000 per 50kg,” he said.
Contrary to the claim by one Sani Idris whose organisation recently petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), urging the graft agency to wade into the matter to save members of the All Farmers Association, the commissioner all decisions regarding the scheme were taken by the PMT comprising of the ministry, Central Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Agriculture, Gombe State Agricultural Development Programme and farmers’ association among others.
In their petition to the EFCC, the farmers have alleged that instead of the N300, 000 promised them, “the bank said they would give us N110, 640 in farm inputs and N75, 000 cash.”
Nigeria has unveiled five Super Mushshak trainer aircraft acquired to boost the capacity of its Air Force officers to tackle Boko Haram menace.
The five aircraft are among the 10 acquired by the government from Pakistan.
The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali at the unveiling ceremony in Kaduna, northwest-Nigeria, said Nigeria would welcome more support from friendly nations in its efforts to mow Boko Haram insurgency.
According to him, “I will not fail to mention that the decision to acquire the Super Mushshak aircraft from Pakistan has greatly promoted the existing bilateral relationship between the two sister countries.
“It is our hope that we will continue to have the support and collaboration of other friendly nations, especially as we continue to combat insurgency and other security challenges in our country.”
The Acting President, who also witnessed the graduation of 16 young Student Pilots from 401 Flying Training School, for the first time in 30 years, pledged that the administration would continue to invest in the country’s air arsenal.
He recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had two years ago pledged to build the capacity of the armed forces to effectively address Boko Haram insurgency and other national security threats.
Osinbajo stressed that the administration had remained committed to its desire of ensuring a peaceful country.
“This has been a major security policy thrust of this administration. We have since embarked on qualitative training and acquisition of new platforms and other supporting equipment for the Armed Forces and security agencies.
“We have also sanitised the procurement process of military hardware with a view to eliminating corruption and inefficiency.
“It is now your responsibility to make good use of the aircraft as we await the delivery of the last batch by the end of the year.
“I have no doubt that the acquisition of the Super Mushshak aircraft would add impetus to the training efforts of 401 FTS,” he noted.
Earlier, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar said the NAF has attained 70 per cent aircraft serviceability as against 30 per cent two years ago. He said that the training of several combat pilots and other capacity building initiatives had raised the morale of air personnel and their efficiency.
“We now have the capability to embark on and sustain major operations simultaneously within and beyond our national boundaries,’’ PR Nigeria quoted Abubakar to have said.
Gombe (Nigeria) — All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Gombe State, Abubakar Habu Muazu has said the party may lose 2019 gubernatorial election if the crisis within the party is not resolved
Mr. Mu’azu who is among the party gubernatorial aspirant come 2019 election stated this on Wednesday while meeting with officials of the party from the ward to the local government levels from Billiri local government area.
He said if the crisis between stalwarts in the party is not put to rest before the election, the APC stand to lose the governorship election again to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Mr. Muazu who met the party officials as part of his consultations with officials of the party from across the 11 council areas regarding his preparation towards contesting for the gubernatorial ticket of the party, cautioned the people against politics of money.
He told the party supporters that turned up at the event to be wary of “Abuja politicians” who would select few individuals to be taken to Abuja to be settled in order to compromise the wishes of the people.
“Our election takes place here in Gombe. We must not allow people living outside the state to compromise our desire to elect leaders that know and understand the plight of the people,” he said.
While urging members and supporters of the APC to close ranks and unite to ensure victory for the party in the 2019 election, Muazu harped on the need to elect career politicians who would carry the people.
He explained further that the Tangale people who are known for their block vote during elections would be adequately rewarded if they supported his governorship ambition.
“I have not held any public office in my life. If you don’t know me personally, you must have heard my name. Most importantly, you must have benefited from my contribution towards community service in your area,” he said.
He cautioned the people to be wary of politicians who would buy their conscience only to abandon them after winning elections.
He promised to unfold a special programme towards empowering mostly women and youth through skills acquisition training, both within the country and abroad.
Earlier in a welcome address, APC Chairman, Billiri local government, Timothy Seth, while commending the aspirant for his decision to join the party, described Habu Muazu as a seasoned politician, who knows and understand the problems of the people.
He disclosed that Muazu has so far constructed over 40 boreholes to address the perennial water scarcity in the area.
Mr. Seth added that with the coming of the aspirant into the party, “he has rejuvenated activities of the APC in the state.
He restated the need for members and supporters of the party to unite in order to ensure victory for the APC come 2019.
Chairman of the Kaduna State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Yusuf Adamu, has tasked Journalists in Africa to be up and doing so as to prevent quacks from taking over their job.
He added that with the coming of new media, what some journalists do is to wait for stories from colleagues, then change the headline and by-line, making them more lazy and unprofessional.
Adamu stated this Wednesday in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, at the orientation program organised by League of Professional Online Journalists (LEPOJ), with support from Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF), for members of LEPOJ.
According to Adamu, one of the greatest challenges of professional journalism is the compromising of ethics by practitioners, explaining that, for journalists to progress, they must work hard and maintain professional standard which can distinguish them from quacks.
He however urged LEPOJ to sustain and maintain the standard of operation, so as to sanitize the system especially among online publishers and bloggers.
In her speech, Coordinator of Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF), Sekyen Dadik, pointed out that LEPOJ platform intends to bring together online journalists in Africa in order to foster professional excellence and information sharing among African online journalists, as well as serve as a place of refuge for members against threats and intimidation from repressive regimes and other threats to free media.
“In the wake of fake news, we envisage professionalism, commitment and authenticity among online journalists,” she added.
Earlier in his welcome address, Coordinator of LEPOJ, Alex Uangbaoje, said, LEPOJ is a formidable association of journalists promoting professionalism in the practice of online journalism not only in Kaduna State, but in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.
He also noted that the Association also provides a forum for exchange of ideas, knowledge and capacity building of its members in order to continue to uphold the integrity of online journalism.
“Well, as we all know, the issue of ‘Fake News’ and Hate Speeches’ in recent times has become a very serious problem to the media world, especially the use of internet through social media to promote ideas and reports that can pull nations down, set the citizens against the authorities and against themselves, even destroy families and relationships all in the name of disseminating news.
“And when these stories are pushed out by anybody, blogs or news websites that are created by some people who can afford to pay for website design, the impression the public gets is that, “it is the news media that published it” probably because of the faith they have in this noble profession, without being able to distinguish between the non professionals and those who are trained to disseminate information.
“So, this is why the leadership of Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) in their wisdom came up with the idea to bring online journalists together and start a professional association with the objective to promote professionalism, equip online journalists with knowledge to uphold ethical conduct at all times, so as to separate the professionals from the ordinary bloggers and social media users,” he explained.
Gombe (Nigeria) — Gombe State Government in northeast Nigeria says it has commenced the payment of over 495 million naira as compensation to the 844 people in Gombe Local Area of the state, over the 12 roads construction projects in the area.
Chairman of the committee on payment of compensation and Commissioner of Land and Survey, Shehu Abubakar Durbi, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Gombe, on Wednesday.
He said that the aim of the compensation was to ensure that those who were affected in the exercise have sense of belonging in the society.
Mr. Durbi said the affected area are Jekadafari and Dawaki wards in the local government, adding that the government decided to compensate the affected persons to enable them add value to the development of the state.
He warned the people to desist from taking over the remaining compensated leftover areas, and given one month to remove what they want from the site.
“Such areas are meant for other developments like water connection, electricity wiring payment would be in batches”, he added.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), LOGO
By Auwal Mohammed
Gombe (Nigeria) — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Head of operations Mr. Aminu Ado Aliyu has said that the Commission is still investigating the over N388 million 2015 election campaign funds for the State involving some politicians and state government officials.
The EFCC head of operations stated this while fielding questions from Journalist shortly after briefing newsmen over achievements made by the Commission’s zonal office in the last seven months, where he stated that about 191 suspects were arrested over various petitions received.
He also said from January to July the agency in the course of investigation has recovered the sum of N79,074,743.53 in draft and cash of N31,745,280 summing up to N110, 820,023.53 from cases under investigation”.
He said “the cases were under investigation and some of the investigations would soon be completed after which the press will be briefed; but for now, the Commission does not want to rush to the press and at the end, the indicted persons are not guilty,”
Concerning the investigations started last year, the Head of Operations explained that the investigation was on and very soon, it will get to the politicians. “If you observed, we have been inviting some of the various security heads that were on ground during the elections,” Aminu Ado Aliyu stated.
The Zonal Office had sometimes last year said it detained the Accountant of the Government House Gombe, Mohammed Balbaya over N388 million 2015 election campaign funds for the State which was intended to compromise the results in favour of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
According to the Head of Public Affairs of the Commission’s zonal office in a press statement made available to Journalists last year, Mohammed Balbaya was interrogated over his role in the N338million campaign fund sent to the state.
He said, Mr. Balbaya told investigators that he collected the sum in cash from an official of Fidelity bank in the state based on the directive of Senator Saidu Umar Kumo, the Director-General of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo’s re-election campaign organization during the 2015 election.
According to the investigation, Mr. Balbaya said he contacted the Permanent Secretary and Principal Private Secretary to the Governor of the state, Sani Jauro who directed him to share the money to beneficiaries. He however denied deriving personal benefit from the process.
He said, though Mr. Balbaya did not disclose who the beneficiaries of the money were and the amount each individual or group collected from him, he however gave the EFCC useful information.
Nigeria’s Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday in Kaduna said that the federal government has sanitised the military procurement process to prevent corruption following the $2.1bn arms gate that rocked the military in the last administration.
According to him, “We have sanitised the procurement process of military hardware with a view to eliminating corruption and inefficiency. I make bold to say that we have achieved remarkable savings and infused quality into the system.
The Acting President, represented at the induction of 5 new Super Mushshak aircrafts and graduation ceremony of 16 student pilots held at the Nigerian Air Force Base Kaduna by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan-Ali, described the procurement of the aircraft as timely, especially with the renewed ambushes by Boko Haram elements in Borno State.
“This has contributed in no small way to the acquisition of these new aircrafts without any encumbrances. I have no doubt that the acquisition of the Super Mushshak aircraft would add impetus to the training efforts of 401 FTS.
“This administration as promised two years ago is determined to protect everyone living in the country and their property. That is why it has taken the issue of insurgency and terrorism very seriously.
“The federal government is also including training and capacity building to what we are doing that is, acquisition of more Air hardware and training so that our armed forces especially, the Air Force personnel can perform better in securing our national integrity.
“On corruption in the system and Boko Haram, we have restrategised and all these attacks you see are just sign of weakness and we have been doing a lot to see that all these ambushes come to an end.
“We also want to train civil defence and police so they can join us where we are and move forward instead of remaining in one place.
“You will recall that Mr President promised in his inaugural address about 2 years ago to build the capacity of the armed forces to effectively address the Boko Haram insurgency as well as other national security threats.
“This has been a major security policy thrust of this administration. We have since embarked on qualitative training and acquisition of new platforms and other supporting equipment for the Armed Forces and security agencies,” the Acting President explained.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the solo acrobatic display at 401 training command, Kaduna, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, hinted that the relocation of service Chiefs to Maiduguri has improved the intelligence gathering and final clean up of insurgents in that part of the country.
He added that the NAF from aircrafts were roving the air for minimum of nine hours daily to ensure security of lives and property, as well as protection of air asset to guide against reoccurrence of what happened few years ago where insurgents attacked our base in Maiduguri and destroyed some air asset.
“We have 10 training aircraft now and we are expecting additional five by December this year. That shows that the federal government is doing very well in providing both manpower and hardware for defence of our national integrity.
“We have already relocated to Maiduguri at the wake of renewed Boko Haram attack. We are on air more than before. We are on air for nine hours, non stop with cameras to see how to make the country safer.
“The Super Mushshak is not only for the training. It can be used to fight crime because it has compartment where ammunition can be kept and applied. It can also be use for intelligence surveillance, ambulance among others,” he noted.
Speaking on the graduation of 16 students pilots the Air Chief said, “The training school here is where you prepare the pilots and give them all they require to perform well in the field.
“We are exciting that this training is happening for the first time in 30 years. When I was here as a cadet, I spent more than one year to acquire the training. But today, within four months, the training will be over and this is because we now have enough training facilities within reach.”
On maintenance, he said, ”We have trained 19 personnel in Pakistan and Pakistan engineers are also here. The guys you just saw flying are Nigerians. They are trained in Pakistan which is a sister country.”
Northeast Coordinator of Women Situation Room Nigeria, WSRN, Philomena Henry has led other women to take part in SIT-OUT campaign against the recent defilement and death of a 14 years old girl.
