Killing Of Soldiers, Airmen In Niger State Unfortunate – Buratai

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has described the killing of soldiers and airmen on lawful duty in Bosso, Niger State, by suspected gun runners as unacceptable.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday shortly after addressing personnel at the 332 Artilery Regiment in Shendam, Mr. Buratai, however, said the incident would not deter the military from carrying out its lawful duties.

“What happened in Bosso is highly unfortunate”, he said, noting that the troops were on a mission to recover arms hid in communities in the area when they were ambushed and killed.
“But instead of them – gun runners to be law abiding, they took the law into their hands and attacked the troops.
“We have the mandate to bring the situation under control, we are working with the police to make sure that we keep our society free of criminalities”, the chief of army staff said.

RELATED POST: Five Killed, Two Injured As Villagers Mistake Soldiers For Armed Herdsmen In Niger

On his visit to the regiment and other military formations in the state, Mr. Buratai said it was “routine” and to find out challenges of the troops in order to address them.
“If you are not on ground to see them and know what their challenges are, you will not be able to appreciate and address them”, he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chief of army staff announced the promotion of a gunner in the regiment, Dantani Ibrahim, to Lance Corporal, for his bravery, dedication and hard work.
Mr. Buratai, who later addressed wives of soldiers at the regiment, promised to give their welfare a top priority, adding that children of soldiers who died in line of duty would be sponsored up to the university level.
He also said any of those children, who desire to get enlisted into any of the military services, would be given priority.

NiMet Alerts Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Nine Other States To Imminent Flooding

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has urged 11 state governments to take pro-active action against imminent flooding.
The appeal was contained in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications, Public Relations Unit, National Weather Forecasting and Climate Research Centre of NiMet, Eva Azinge, in Abuja on Monday.

“The affected States include: Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe and Zamfara”, she said.
Mrs. Azinge said NiMet had predicted flooding in the eleven states due to the cumulative high intensity rainfall in those parts of the country in June and July.
She added that with the current rainfall, there were prospects of flooding in August and October.
“After thorough analyses of rainfall data from our observatories nationwide for June and July, soil moisture has either reached saturation, or near saturation levels”, she said.
“This is due to cumulative high intensity rainfall in some parts of the country in June and July.
“This means that floods should be expected in these areas because the soil is no longer able to absorb more rainwater in the coming weeks which coincide with the peak rainy season”.
Mrs. Azinge said many parts of the country would experience lower than normal total rainfall due to the effect of El Nino.
“Flooding could still be experienced in such areas; particularly those that are naturally prone to flooding”.
She recalled that the 2016 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), identified parts of the Northwest, Southwest and low-lying areas, as particularly vulnerable to flooding during the 2016 rainy season.
According to Mrs. Azinge, “these observations and projections are also in agreement with the 2016 Annual Flood Outlook that was released by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency.
“NiMet advises Governments, communities and individuals in these vulnerable parts of the country to take proactive actions, such as clearing water channels, drainages and avoid activities that will block the free flow of waters.
“Governments, communities and individuals in these vulnerable parts of the country are advised to take proactive actions, such as clearing water channels and drainages, and also avoid activities that block the free flow of water.
“Closer attention should also be paid to NiMet’s daily weather forecasts and alerts. It is further advised that relevant agencies should perfect their emergency evacuation plans and activate them as soon as necessary.
“Meanwhile, NiMet will continue to monitor the rainfall pattern as well as general weather conditions across the country and issue updates from time to time”.
She said NiMet was also working in collaboration with the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency to monitor rainfall across the country.
(NAN)

N/Delta Groups Hail Buhari NDDC’s Board Appointments

President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for appointing a new board for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The president was commended by three groups in the Niger Delta, which also condemned a publication credited to a youth movement in the region, condemning the appointment of a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state, Chief Nsima Ekere, as the intervention agency’s Managing Director.

The groups alleged that the “faceless” petitioner’s aim was to discredit the nomination of Ekere as NDDC’s boss without having knowledge of the political topography and history of appointments in the area.
A joint statement by Abiye Tamuno Sokari-George (Rivers Pathfinders), Erasmus Obele Nwankpa (Alliance for Transparency and Good Governance) and BaJerome Alali Green (Vanguard for Justice, Equity and Strategy) said the appointment was in order and satisfied the yearnings of the area

Ex-Amnesty Boss, Kuku Denies Link With Avengers

The immediate past Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Hon. Kingsley Kuku, has condemned the attempt to link him with the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, had in statement issued weekend by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, alleged that Kuku, alongside prominent Niger Delta personalities, including former President, Dr. Goodlukc Jonathan, were the brains behind the NDA, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for bringing Nigeria’s crude oil production from about 1.8 million barrels per day to a little above 1 million barrels.

All the personalities mentioned as alleged sponsors of the NDA have since issued separate statements denouncing the claim, with the exception of Kuku, whose office as former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, was in charge of the amnesty programme.

SEE ALSO: GEJ, Other Accused Sponsors Of Niger Delta Avengers Refute Claims

However, in a statement he issued from Alabama, the United States of America (U.S.A) where he is undergoing therapy after a knee surgery, the former amnesty coordinator denied sponsoring any militant group.
The statement reads: “This is yet another attempt to discredit my hard-earned reputation and defame my person, after the earlier plot to implicate me with terrorism by another fictitious Kano-based group, National Security Watchdog. If that attempt failed, this too has surely fallen flat.
“Since the 1990s, I have dedicated a greater part of my life to the service of our dear country. I have been privileged to serve Nigeria and my people in different capacities and have discharged my duties and responsibilities with utmost patriotism and the fear of God.
“The jury is still out on my last national assignment as Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. But what cannot be disputed is the fact of an indelible mark my team and I achieved at ensuring and stabilising the peace and security of the Niger Delta for four solid years, despite the very grave challenges we faced. Even now, I am willing to join any sincere effort to restore and strengthen the peace of the region, irrespective of party affiliation, in the interest of my people and the nation.
“It is, therefore, the height of perfidy to point fingers at a man like me; after committing so much to guarantee peace and security in the region, to now sponsor acts that are antithetical to my cherished principles. Without mincing words, I am pained by the seeming reversal of the gains recorded while discharging our mandate.
“But no matter the systemic attempts to blur our achievements, there shall be light at the end of the dark tunnel.
“In Nigeria of today, where you are guilty until proven innocent, which is the title of my upcoming book, some of the fruits of our efforts have started manifesting with the graduation of three of our delegates with First-Class degrees and some others with Second-Class Upper degrees in the United Kingdom (U.K) alone, just as thousands of others have equally performed excellently well in other parts of the world and in Nigeria. These are youths who were privileged to be enrolled in higher institutions abroad and in Nigeria under the Special Scholarship Scheme initiated by my team and me under former President Goodluck Jonathan. We invested so much in academics and capacity development of youths from the region and our achievements continue to speak for us.
“As I recuperate from my surgery, I have advised my lawyers to take steps to defend my integrity against negative media reports.
“I remain an unrepentant advocate of the indissolubility of the Nigerian nation as well as the peace and development of the Niger Delta”.

President Buhari Congratulates Tinubu’s Son On The Occasion Of His Wedding

Mr. Oluwaseyi Afolabi Tinubu, son of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, got married to his heartthrob, Layal Jade Holm yesterday at a low-key ceremony at the Iga Idunganran Palace of Oba Rilwan Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos. The ceremony was witnessed by top government functionaries,

The ceremony was witnessed by top government functionaries, eminent academics and royalty. Although, President Muhammadu Buhari didn’t attend the wedding, he sent his well wishes  to the couple via a letter.

“It is a real pleasure for me to convey my congratulations to the groom, Oluwaseyi Afolabi Tinubu and the beautiful bride, Layal Jade Holm on this day. Wedding day is one of the happiest and most momentous days of a couple’s life. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you very happy marriage and long life together.
“Seyi, your duty is to look after her, respect her and be patient with her. Layal, your duty is to respect him, honour him and be patient with him.
“Seyi, your father is among the famous Nigerians who helped to shape modern Nigeria. You should cherish and help keep his legacy alive. Congratulations, happy day today and happy days ahead.”

Residents Flee As Military Vows To Apprehend Killers Of Soldiers In Nembe

The Joint Military Force deployed to the Niger Delta has vowed to apprehend the militants who attacked its base and killed the three soldiers at Nembe jetty on Monday.
This is contained in a statement by Lt.-Cdr. Abdulrashid Ahmed, Acting spokesman of Operation Delta Safe, in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

Ahmed said that the troops had been reinforced to fish out the militants.
“Some suspected gunmen believed to be militants at about 10 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2016, attacked 343 Artillery Regiment, a detachment of Operation DELTA SAFE deployed at Nembe Jetty in Bayelsa State.
“During the incidence, three soldiers lost their lives.
“The Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, has consequently deployed reinforcement team to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime”, he said.

RELATED POST: Militants Kill Three Soldiers In Bayelsa

Ahmed quoted the commander of the joint force as warning that henceforth, Operation Delta Safe would go on the offensive to fish out all criminals in the region.
He attributed the attack by militants to the ongoing operations of the troop to flush out all forms of criminality, especially pipeline vandalism and destruction of illegal refinery within the region.
Ahmed, however, assured law abiding public, particularly the Nembe community that its operation in the area was to ensure conducive and safe waterways for legitimate businesses in the Niger Delta region.
Meanwhile, residents in Nembe are leaving the area for fear of reprisal by the military following the attack.
Mrs. Marry Benjamin, who hails from Nembe, described that attack in which the militants carted away a military gunboat and a cache of arms and ammunition as worrisome.
She recalled that militants had attacked the military post in November 2015 and killed four soldiers.
The killing of the soldiers has triggered panic in Nembe area; our people have started moving out in fear of military reprisal.
We can no longer stay in the area because shootings are ongoing here and there”, Benjamin said. (NAN)

We Don’t Miss GEJ, Nigerians React To Senator Ben-Bruce’s Tweet

Nigerian Senator and businessman, Ben Murray-Bruce took to his Twitter to say how much Nigerians miss President Goodluck Jonathan and how people come to value something more after they have lost it. A lot of his followers did not agree with him and weren’t exactly gentle in disagreeing!

The Senator tweeted;

At times we dont know the value of what we have until its gone. Everywhere I go, Nigerians tell me how much they miss @GEJonathan. Do I lie?

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 9, 2016

And Nigerians came at him with no chill at all. To them, they’d rather have president Buhari than former president Jonathan and all other corrupt Nigerians will miss the later.
Only corrupt people will miss GEJ

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan Corrupt people will always miss the symbol of corruption, for us we’ve moved on. @deleyewilliams

— APCYF South West (@apcyouthomoodua) August 9, 2016

We have moved on

@benmurraybruce @gejonathan we are ahead that for now les face reality and move.

— Kayode Gideon (@kaygideon10) August 9, 2016

We don’t miss GEJ

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan Miss him 4 wat?D gross impunity& wanton fiscal recklessness?He shld enjoy his loot & let us lick our wounds pls

— Harvey Specter (@Roporay) August 9, 2016

Big lie

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan very big, fat and filthy lie

— Alhassan Mukhtar (@mukhtarite) August 9, 2016

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan That’s a lie!We do not miss GEJ, neither are we happy with Buhari. This nation deserve a better leader than both

— Dafidi (@Molade87) August 9, 2016

Too many gates under GEJ

@benmurraybruce what Nigerians missed a president under whose rule the country plunder into economic meltdown, dansuki gate, Olisa metuh?

— shecomms (@shecomms) August 9, 2016

However, some did agree with Mr senator saying, they really missed him and that PMB isn’t living up to expectation.

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan YES. we are happy @GEJonathan is not our President and will never be our president again.

— Adesanya Adebayo A. (@Adebayoadesanya) August 9, 2016

@benmurraybruce @GEJonathan you are saying the truth. Even those who were against him are now regretting, He is a selfless leader/patriot.

— ig (@ig_charles) August 9, 2016

Probe Into Alleged Budget Padding Begins;12 Things To Know

Ho. Abdulmumin Jibrin has petitioned the police as well as the EFCC after alleging that the 2016 Budget was padded. He alleged that the padding was carried out by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and nine others. also gave the police  three versions of the budget yesterday and they (police) have begun probe into the budget

He also gave the police  three versions of the budget and they (police) have begun probe into the allegations.

1. The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) has started looking through documents to isolate the padded areas.
2. Jibrin claimed that they inserted about 2000 projects worth N284 billion into the budget and had a two-hour session with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led SIP.
3. Jibrin, who submitted more documents on the matter to the investigators, is scheduled to appear before the panel again either today or tomorrow.
4. These versions are the original copy laid before the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the version passed by the National Assembly but rejected by the President due to the omission of some key projects, such as the N60billion Calabar-Lagos rail project; and the harmonised copy.
5. With the retrieval of these budget versions, detectives have started identifying padded areas by the House members.
6. After locating these padded areas, the SIP will be able to determine the focus of interrogation and the list of those to be questioned alongside the 13 already implicated by Jibrin.”
7. For the session with the SIP yesterday, Jibrin arrived at about noon and left around 2pm.
8. Jibrin brought additional documents to support his allegations.
9. What he did was to support every allegation with proof and the sources where he got all the documents.
10. He is trying to prove his case that the padding was criminal.
11. Yakubu Dogara and the other accused persons would be invited after  Jibrin.
12. The SIP promised to be fair to all and to also carry the public along.

Why I Handle 3 Ministries – Fashola

While answering a question at a town hall meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Babatunde Fashola, minister of works, power, and housing, told anyone not happy about his supervision of three ministries to send their complaints to President Muhammadu Buhari. INFORMATION NIGERIA brings you 3 things he said, you should know,

To merge cost

“Whether I can cope with three ministries or not, let us be clear on this. On the one hand, we have spoken about the cost of running government. And in trying to mitigate or reduce that cost, Mr. President, in his own wisdom, decided to merge three ministries together,” he said.

His duty is supervisory

So, my work really there is supervisory and directional. Today in the ministry of works, and in the ministry of housing, where there are over 4000 personnel, the number is reducing. The ministry of power has barely 800 staff today and the number is reducing as we are gaining traction.

Result so far

“So, it is no longer a government-driven sector, it is now a government-regulated sector driven by private sector. And if you have issues about that, I think you should complain to Mr. President. For me, the privilege is to serve my country in whatever capacity I am designated to.
Two of those ministries have had a natural relationship over years, they were either works and housing, or lands, works and something. In adding power to it, let us remember that essentially the work that is left in power is just to complete the privitisation and complete the transmission grid.
The distribution is now in the hands of companies. All of the work that NEPA (National Electric Power Authority) used to do is now in terms of distributing power is now in the hands of 11 companies. What they used to do in terms of generating power is now in the hands of six companies.
The agency called NERC (National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) is the regulator of the power sector, in getting licenses issued and so on and so forth. And a statutory company called MBET. All of these institutions are taking positions and evolving.”

APC To Jibrin; Keep Quiet And Stop The Public Show Of Shame

Although the All Progressives Congress, APC has warned the sacked chairman of the appropriation committee in the House of Representatives, Abdulmumuni Jibrin, to stop talking about the budget padding issue, Jibrin in his latest tweets accused the speaker, Yakubu Dogara of conniving with two serving governors and four ex-lawmakers to block his access to President Muhammadu Buhari in order to explain his side of the story.

The APC via its acting National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja accused Jibrin of lacking respect for the Sen. Shuaibu Lawal-led committee which has been charged by the party to look into the issue.

“It is now obvious how disrespectful, mannerless and desperate Hon. Jibrin could be even to the leaders of our party which include the deputy national chairman (north), national secretary, national treasurer and others who have been sleeplessly working to ensure that peace returns to the House.

But if Hon. Jibrin does not have respect for Speaker Dogara as a person, it is expected of him to respect the office of the speaker, the number four citizen of our party and the country.

Jibrin should also be told that he has clearly shown disrespect for President Muhammadu Buhari who is the leader of our party by this singular act. “It is high time Hon. Jibrin kept quite and stopped this public show of shame before his excesses will be made known to Nigerians and the whole world.”

Minister Orders Immediate Shutdown Of Apapa-Ijora Bridge

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Sunday ordered the immediate closure of the damaged Apapa bridge for emergency maintenance work to begin.

This is sequel to an assessment of the integrity of the bridge. The Minister made the announcement at a meeting with stakeholders in Lagos.
According to Fashola, shutting down the bridge was a difficult choice but saving lives was a better choice than the inconvenience the closure of the bridge would bring.
In his words: “It is a sobering experience that the Federal Government is now dealing with many years of neglect and abuse of the bridge by traders. There are many other bridges across the country that are begging for attention, maintenance and repairs.”
Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Dayo Mobereola, said that alternative access routes from Apapa would be cleared of all encumbrances.

He said that truck owners had agreed to move their vehicles from the alternative access routes as Julius Berger begins the palliative works.

Some of the stakeholders at the meeting were members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the representatives of the unions in the agencies in the maritime sub-sector

Source: NTAnews