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Sanwo-Olu To Establish Youth Affairs Units In LGs, LCDAs |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Lagos State Governor,   Babajide Sanwo-Olu,  has decided to establish a Youth Affairs Department in all Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of the state.

This move was disclosed by Saheed Akanbi,  the Senior Special Assistant on Youth Matters to the State Governor, during  the Third Annual Media Retreat of ‘Conference 57’.

The ‘Conference 57’ is a forum of Chief Press Secretaries of all the 20 Local Government  Areas in the State and the 37 Local  Council Development Area.

Akanbi said that the Youth  Department at Council levels would help fast-track development across the State, and also make the Youths closer to the Government in channelling their demands and grievances.

“Effort is in progress, as there is need to establish Youth  Affairs  Department in all Local  Governments  and LCDAs to make the job more easier.

“So that if there’s anything happening in any council concerning the Youth, it will be easier to contact the supervisor on Youth  Affairs  in that Council  to fix the development collectively.

“At the same time, the Department will ensure that the plights  of the Youth  are properly taken care of at the grassroots levels,” he said.

Akanbi, also, said that there was need to review the remuneration of media aides of all Council  Chairmen in the state.

He said that reviewing their remuneration in terms of salaries and offices would assist in bridging the gaps between the residents and the councils.

Akanbi, however, advised the Spokespersons to be loyal to the Councils and ensure that its activities and programmes are properly publicised to the residents.

Emmanuel Bamgboye, Chairman, Mushin Local Government, in his remark, urged the Media aides to be proactive in disseminating information to the public.

“Your job is very valuable, this is the era of information, we need publicity in all levels of government.

“We appreciate what you are doing but continue doing more of it with loyalty, which is very important and we will continue to appreciate you,” the council boss said.

He urged the media aides to cooperate with their bosses and give adequate publicity to allow the residents know the level of development in the community.

Mr Oseni Ajimomuya, Chairman ‘Conference 57’, said measures were in place by the association to curb the menace of fake news in the society.

“Our major crusade in this regard is to enlighten the masses on the negative impact of fake news across various social media platforms.

Abuja Court Jails Senator Ndume Ali |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

For his failure to produce a suspect on bail, a Federal High Court, Abuja,  today, Monday, ordered the remand, of Chairman Senate Committee on Army,  Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South ) in Kuje Correctional Centre.

He will remain there until he produces in court, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, who he stood surety for.

Justice Okon Abang, who gave the order, also, ruled that Ndume should, alternatively,  pay N500m to the treasury  of the Federal Government, or forfeit his  property located at plot 158 cadastral zone Asokoro Abuja.

According to him, until any of the conditions is fulfilled, Ndume should remain in Kuje prison.

Senator Ndume stood surety in April 2020 after the defendant had spent six months in custody, due to his inability to  produce a senator to stand for him.

Maina is facing a-12 count charge of  laundering the sum of N2bn through multiple fictitious bank account names.

He has been absent in court for four consecutive times without any tangible reason acceptable to Court.

At the last adjourned date,  November 18, the judge gave Ndume till today to show cause why he should not be sent to prison.

Maina, who is standing trial for alleged money laundering charges, absconded and left Maina in the lurch. Ndume consistently told the Court he didn’t know Maina’s whereabouts.

Last week, a Bench warrant to arrest Maina was issued by the Court. And on Monday November 23, the Ndume was ordered remanded in Prison Custody.

*With Additional Report by Akinwale Kasali

Breaking: FIFA Bans CAF President, Ahmad, For Five Years For Corrupt Practices |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

In one of the most shameful blows to hit African Football,  the World Football Governing Body, Federation International for Football Association, FIFA, has banned the Confederate of African Football President, CAF, Ahmad Ahmad.

Ahmad is seeking re-election for a second term as the Africa Continent President, but the ban by FIFA  has dashed his ambition.

The Madagascar born CAF President was slammed with a five-year ban by FIFA for engaging in corrupt activities.

The announcement was made by FIFA on Monday. The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee  banned Ahmad for breaches of duty of loyalty, offering and accepting gifts or other benefits, abuse of position, and misappropriation of funds, a FIFA statement confirmed.

CAF is yet to respond to the news. It remains to be seen what this means for the elections of the new CAF president, scheduled for 12th March 2021.

Ahmad, a former Madagascarn Minister, quit his office to vie for CAF President. He has been the President  of CAF since March 2017 and was standing for re-election.

Eedris Abdulkareem Slams Buhari’s Administration, Says It Is On Life Support |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Eedris Abdulkareem

By Akinwale Kasali

Member of the defunct Music Group, The Remedies, Eedris Abdulkareem, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a failed one, living on life support.

The Rapper lamented the backslide in the economy of the nation, reacting to the dollar exchange rate to the Naira.

As at Monday morning, 23rd November, 2020, a Dollar to a Naira was between N475-N480.

Abdulkareem further described the Buhari Government as a ‘Mean regime surviving on life support system’

He applauded Nigerians, noting that it is a miracle to live in Nigeria at this point, where things are upside down.

Commenting on his  Instagram page, the Rapper said: “When you see a Nigerian living in Nigeria, give him/her some accolades.

“It is a miracle to live here. Shocking if you save a Naira a day you may not have up to a dollar at the end of the year.

“$1=N475, A very mean mean regime, surviving on propagandas and life support system. Transmogrifying Change to Next level”, he wrote.

Abdulkareem has over the years been a strong critic of past Nigerian Presidents, putting them on their toes to to do things aright.

He once criticised the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, following the increase in Petrol.

He sang the song, “Nigeria Jagajaga”, talking about the anomalies and Corruption in the Nigeria system.

Nigeria has just entered its second depression under the Buhari Government, described as the worst in decades.

GT Bank Targets PFAs, Telcos in New Holco Plans |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Tosin Olatokunbo

The managing Director/ chief executive officer of Guarantee Trust Bank, Segun Agbaje has disclosed that the bank will leverage on its huge customers base to become Africa’s financial behemoth in few years, by diversifying into telecoms, insurance, pension franchises.

The bank’s has strategically positioned itself as the most profitable commercial banks in the country for three decades and has passed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s capitalization threshold.

“We have never had the strategic objective of being the biggest bank in the country. The strategic objective of GTB is to be number one in profitability, ROEs and ROAs. We believe it is not the size that matter to shareholders; the bank with the biggest branches does not make enough profit,” Agbaje said.

The retail lender has grown from barely 3 million customers few years ago, to over 13 million customers, and remained the most capitalized and profitable deposit money banks, DMBs in the country, according to figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

According to a report from the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE the bank has declared a third quarter 2020 pre-tax profit of over N167 billion, coming barely few days after its management hinted of plans to become a holding company.

Speaking in Lagos recently, Agbaje said GT Bank has decided to diversify income beyond banking in line with its strategic position as the leading financial service provider in the continent.

He said the bank is creating opportunities for Fintechs, Telcos, insurance under one platform which will lead to job creation and profitability for its numerous shareholders.

“The universe of banking is changing r=dramatically from what it was 10 years ago and GT Bank” cannot afford to be left behind, adding that the bank does not want to lose a large chunk of what is happening in the financial landscape because that means “you will miss what the Telcos, Fintechs and lending companies are doing.”

He said the decision not to join the bandwagon of holdco over a decade ago was purely strategy, as the bank wanted to focus on providing core banking service which helped the bank to become the most profitable bank in the country within few years.

But now “it is time to diversify earnings. And the only way to diversify your earnings in Nigeria today is to create a holding company structure. We are focused on creating our assets management system. The PFA is growing, what we want to do is to build an assets management company.

The reason why we have asset management is because it complements our business. We have grown a very big retail business today. Sometimes when some people has a high yield, we lose such opportunities” to our competitors, but creating our own assets management  company will bring all services” in the banking, PFAs, Asset management into the bank’s ‘ecosystem’  the bank’s CEO said.

He, however, hinted that “We are still going to face our core banking services; and we are not going to let that drop. GTB will continue to be the mother ship for us. We will continue to deepen our retail, SMEs business.”

 

#EndSARS Protest: UK Parliament Set To Deliberate On Petition Against Nigeria |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Endsars Protesters in Edo State

By Akinwale Kasali

The United Kingdom Parliament is set to deliberate on the petition against Nigeria over the, alleged,attacks, killing, victimization and abuse on the Fundamental Human Rights of the #EndSARS Protesters by the Nigeria Government.

The Petition before the UK Parliament seeks sanction for the Nigeria Government and the Nigeria Police Force over alleged human rights violations during the #EndSARS protests, would be debated on, today,Monday, 23 November 2020.

The UK Parliament’s website contained information about the debate, to be led by Theresa Villiers at the Westminster Hall between 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm.

In the debate pack titled, ‘E-petition 554150, relating to Nigeria and the sanctions regime’, the parliament referenced the shootings of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza on October 20, 2020, as one of its press articles.

According to the statement, “Parliament will debate this petition on November 23, 2020. You will be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.

“On July 6, the British Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

“This sanctions regime will give the UK a powerful new tool to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses. The sanctions regime is not intended to target individual countries. It will allow for sanctions to be imposed on individuals and entities involved in serious human rights violations or abuses around the world.”

The petition asking the United Kingdom to sanction members of the Nigerian government and Police Force for human rights abuses over the #EndSARS movement was signed by 220,304 individuals.

The petition, created by one Silas Ojo, sought to generate 100,000 signatures.

Any petition signed by over 100,000 individuals will be considered for discussion according to information obtained from the UK parliament’s website.

Insurgency: Army Chief Orders Soldiers To Go After Nigerians |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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Burutai

By Fola James

Few hours after some soldiers were allegedly killed by boko haram in Borno state, during an attack on the convoy of Governor Babagana Zulum the chief of Army Staff, COAS Lt General Tukur Burutai has given a marching order to the soldiers fighting insurgents to treat all Nigerians as possible terror suspects.

The Borno state government has debunked the report claiming that the state’s helmsman was attacked on his way to Baga town on Saturday, while the military has remained mum on whether soldiers were actually killed by the insurgents.

The state government said in a statement that “For the record, we write to quickly clarify that contrary to a “breaking news” by an online news medium, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum was neither attacked nor was any component of his convoy attacked by anyone.

The governor was actually in Baga from Saturday to Sunday (Sunday), during which he supervised the distribution of food and cash to 5,000 residents and he assessed major reconstruction and resettlement efforts with no hitch whatsoever.

While we continually accord respect to all media organisations as supportive partners, we importantly clarify that we have no knowledge of the breaking news” in question. As members of the public can testify, it is the culture and principle of Professor Zulum to say things as they are, and in this case, it is what it is- no attack whatsoever.

Any media organisation that wants further clarification may wish to contact the Nigerian military. “Meanwhile, Governor Zulum appreciates all well- wishers, and he gratefully commends armed forces and civilian volunteers for the relentless efforts to fully regain lasting peace in Borno State,”

Sources at Defence Headquarters in Abuja said the armed forces is taking the war on terror very seriously which may require adequate profiling of some persons to determine his/her level of involvement or otherwise in terror activities in the north east.

The COAS directed the troops to brace up because the nation is in a state of war and cannot afford to take anything for granted any longer, after lamenting that a slack in soldiers’ performance had prolonged the war.

An online newspaper, Sahara Reporters quotes an army correspondence where the COAS said “All persons must be treated as suspects unless fully identified and cleared especially in isolated, high threat areas, when on clearance operations and check point duties.

“We are not in peacekeeping operations, internal security operations or deterrence actions. This is real war fighting.”

The memo titled: “COAS Special Order-01 Change to War Mode,” also directed soldiers deployed in ‘Operation Lafiya Doleé a special anti-terrorism combat squad to embark on adequate profiling of resident in the troubled region as a way to fish out Boko Haram suspects.

Meanwhile, some experts informed the magazine that the order could lead to unnecessary harassment of innocent Nigerians resident in the region.

But another school of thought also insists, that it is within the Army’s rule of engagement to do whatever necessary within the the law to rein in insurgency in the region.

“Late Vendor Could Have Been More Than Speaker” – Colleague Tells Gbaja |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Femi Gbajabiamila Meets Vendors

By Adesina Soyooye

Ejike Ebirimnwa, a colleague of the late Abuja Newspaper Vendor, Ifeanyi Okereke, said he could have been bigger than Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Ebirimnwa spoke during a condolence visit/ meeting Gbajabiamila held with Abuja Newspaper Vendors and Distributors on Sunday.

A security personnel, attached to the Speaker, had accidentally shot dead Okereke, allegedly, when he shot in the air to disperse people who the Speaker said tried to block his convoy. Speaker Gbajabiamila said he had stopped, as he had done, atimes, over the years, to exchange greetings with the Vendors when the tragic incident happened.

The Vendors and Newspaper Distributors had, on Friday, staged a peaceful protest in Abuja over Okereke’s killing, asking for justice.

During the meeting with them, a  clearly pained Speaker told them he had visited Okereke’s family and would take care of his family, and the two children he left behind.

The youngest of the two is nine days old, but the Speaker said he would take care of them till they turn 21 years. In that regard, the Speaker said he would set-up a Trust Fund for Okereke’s family.

He, also, said the House of Representatives would honour the late Vendor at Plenary on Tuesday.

But speaking at the occasion, one of  Okereke’s colleagues, Ebirimnwa, expressed shock at the manner his life was cut short, saying he was all set to start work as a civil servant in the Ministry of Labour and Productivity before he was killed.

His words: He was a boy of 28 years. He had not less than one hundred and something years to live more. You don’t know who he would have become. He could be more be more than the Speaker. He just got employment as a civil servant in the Federal Ministry of Labour. He was waiting for capturing before he was gunned down by a trigger-happy personnel.”

Okereke’s death has caused outrage across the country, with some groups asking  Speaker Gbajabiamila to take responsibility for the fatal shot.

The Speaker has already disengaged the culprit from his convoy, and handed him over to the DSS for investigation.

Second Niger Bridge To Cost N414 Billion Says Fashola |The Source

By
Uche Mbah
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second niger bridge

By Uche Mbah

The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, has said that the second Niger Bridge will cost the Federal Government N414 billion to execute. Besides, it is estimated to gulp 68 tonnes of cement, 19 liters of diesel and four million cubic tonnes of sand.

In a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Awka, the Anambra state capital, Fashola lamented the menace of agitations by host communities, a move he claims is hampering the completion of the project.

The second Niger bridge has been subject to political controversy since the last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, when the contract was awarded to the German construction giant, Julius Berger. Berger started the work under Jonathan, but the work was stalled since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration while being enmeshed in controversies.

Part of the allegations was that the local people were demanding exorbitant compensation for damages on their land in the execution of the project.

But Fashola has asked the indigenous people to think of the economic benefit of the completed bridge to the zone, while he lamented that some grounds have been lost due to the agitations of the native people.

According to him, while the total cost of the bridge is estimated at N414 billion, the bridge on its own will gulp N206 billion, while N28 billion will be used to build ancillary link roads to the bridge.

Besides, all materials for the construction of the bridge will be sourced locally, which will result in economic empowerment for the host communities. This will involve the people of both Delta and Anambra state.

“Let me speak to what this project will do, what it is doing, and what it will be delivering. In order to complete this project, this company will be needing 644 aggregates. The contractors won’t import these; they will be buying them from here.

“They will need four million cubic tonnes of sand; 68,000 tonnes of cement and 21,000 tonnes of re-enforcement,” he said, adding that Julius Berger  “will need 19m liters of diesel which will be supplied by contractors as it does not produce diesel while 1400 indigenous workers will be employed to work on the bridge.”

He noted that from the start of the project the price of land has appreciated.

Recession: SERAP Gives Buhari 14 Days Ultimatum To Cut Down Cost Of Governance |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has launched another attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, following the disclosure that the nation has plunged into recession, giving him a-14 day ultimatum to cut down the cost of governance in Nigeria.

Nigeria has once again slumped into recession, the second in five years, and the worst in decades.

Reacting to this, SERAP, has called on Buhari to put the country’s resources at the service of the masses to enable them enjoy a good standard of living.

A letter dated 21 November, 2020, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, said the economic crisis provides an opportunity to prioritise access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to basic socio-economic rights, and to genuinely recommit to the fight against corruption.

It stressed that the nation cannot afford getting back to business as usual, and urged the implementation of transparency and accountability, measures that would save money, address projected adverse human rights impacts of the recession, and fast-track the economic recovery process.

SERAP said it is not too late to take urgent steps that would put the country’s wealth and resources to work for the common good of all Nigerians.

The body decried that decades of mismanagement and corruption, and deep-seated deficiencies in public financial management have directly contributed to higher levels of borrowing and public debts, and consequently, the economic recession.

It lamented that successive governments had squandered the promise afforded by the country’s natural wealth and resources.

The letter read in part: “The paltry resources Nigeria invests in essential public goods and services that would benefit ordinary Nigerians can be partly explained by the high spending of public funds to finance a life of luxury for members of the National Assembly, state governors, and other powerful politicians.

“The country’s resources appear to have been used almost exclusively for the benefit of the political elites rather than on projects that would ensure the right to an adequate standard of living, the maximum welfare, prosperity, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality.

“SERAP is seriously concerned about the adverse consequences of the economic crisis on the human rights of poor and vulnerable Nigerians, including denying them access to essential public goods and services such as healthcare, education, clean water, and regular electricity supply.”

The organization urged Buhari to commence moves to cut spendings on government officials.

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