Sahara Reporters Latest News Sunday 20th October 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 20/10/19
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IMN Calls For Dialogue With Nigerian Government
The Islamic movement in Nigeria has called on the Nigerian Government to come to a round table for dialogue.
Malam Yahaya Yakubu, leader of the group in Katsina, said this while addressing journalists as part of activities marking the annual Arbaeen Trek, which is in commemoration of the murder of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
He said, “Our doors are always open for dialogue with the government, it is an unconditional offer to enable government understand us even though we have understood them already, we have no other country but Nigeria.
“We have no other way to demonstrate and worship God than peaceful march through the streets and we have never instigated violence.
“The government should provide evidence justifying that what we are doing is wrong even in the sight of God. If they can, we will stop.
“We are in good relationship with our neighbours and even assist them in times of disasters.
“We invited the media in order to open up our activities on what we are doing to promote religious peace and interfaith harmony.’’
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Nigerian Army Recruits 5,000 Soldiers To Combat Insecurity
The Nigerian Army said it has recruited 5,000 soldiers to strengthen the fight against insecurity in the country.
Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Defence Staff, disclosed this at the passing out ceremony of the new soldiers.
Olonisakin assured Nigerians that the military will not rest until the country was safe from threats of Boko Haram terrorists, armed bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements.
He also gave an assurance that the security challenges the country is currently facing will soon be a thing of the past.
He said, “Nigeria is currently facing numerous security challenges occasioned by activities of Boko Haram terrorists, armed bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements.
“But I wish to state that these security challenges will soon come to an end as we will not rest.
“Today marks yet another chapter in the history of this great institution and the country in general.
“I am glad that depot Nigerian Army has continued to evolve innovative ways of improving the standard in the training of personnel for the Nigerian Army.”
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IMF Lauds Nigeria Over Border Closure
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Abebe Selassie, Director of African Department at the International Monetary Fund, has lauded Nigeria on the closure of its land border.
According to TheCable, Selassie said this at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C.
Selassie said although free trade was critical to the economic growth of the continent, it must be legal and in line with agreements.
He said, “On the border closure in Nigeria which has been impacting Benin and Niger, our understanding is that the action reflects concerns about smuggling that has been taking place.
“It is about illegal trade, which is not what you want to facilitate.”
He said the IMF was hoping for a speedy resolution of the issues as the action was already taking a toll on the economies of Nigeria’s neighbours.
He added, “We are very hopeful that discussions will resolve the challenges that this illegal trade is posing.
“If the border closure is to be sustained for a long time, it will definitely have an impact on Benin and Niger which of course, rely quite extensively on the big brother next door.”
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N65 Billion Contracts: Senate Summons NDDC Boss
The Senate has summoned Enyia Akwagaga, acting Managing Director ofthe Niger Delta Development Commission, to appear before it onTuesday over the award of N65 billion contracts.Matthew Urhoghide, Chairman Senate Committee on Public Accounts,summoned Akwagaga over his absence at the hearing of the committee onthe contract.The contracts were awarded between 2017 and this year for clearingwater hyacinth and desilting rivers in the region.Urhoghide said the Committee was aware that N2.5 billion was allocatedfor the contract, and that N65 billion has allegedly been spent sofar.He said that if the information was proven, it would mean that thebudget for the contract was exceeded.Urhoghide said: “We want to ascertain if due processes were followedin the award of these contracts, particularly the information that wehave at our disposal that they exceeded budget limits.“What we know is that N2.5 billion was budgeted for the desilting andclearing of water hyacinths. We heard that the Commission has spentover N 65billion. This committee is charged with the responsibility ofensuring that there are transparency, accountability, and economy,that is, there is value for money.“Once we can ascertain that the Commission has done it well, ofcourse, they are not going to have any problem. If not, we willrecommend appropriate sanctions.”The Committee also mandated the NDDC boss to forward all relevantinformation about the contracts to it on or before next Monday.The required information includes the project title, contractors’names and addresses, contract location, contract sum, date of award,the amount paid to date and the actual date of completion.The committee also demanded the original copy of all the newspaperadvertisements for the contract, technical bids for the job by each ofthe bidders, financial bids submitted by each of the bidders,deduction of taxes, and evidence of remittances.NDDC Director of Special Duties, Nosakhare Agbongiasede, said Akwagagacould not honour the invitation because she was indisposed.“She is sorry for her inability to come,” Agbongiasede said.
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New Minimum Wage: Don’t Increase Personal Income Tax, NLC Warns Buhari Regime
Ayuba Wabba, the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress has urgedthe President Muhammadu Buhari regime not to increase personal incometax, electricity tariff and prices of petroleum products afteragreeing on minimum wage for all levels of workers.The government reached a consensus on the implementation of the newminimum wage on Friday after long hours of consultation between theparties.A resolution was finally reached early yesterday when labour accepteda 23.2 percent salary increase for workers on level 07; 20 percent forthose on level 08; 19 percent for level 09; 16 percent for levels 10to 14 and 14 percent for levels 15 to 17.Reacting to the agreement, the labour union president described thesigning of the agreement as a victory for Nigerian workers.He said: “We want to thank all Nigerian workers and our affiliatedunions for their support, solidarity, and unity of purpose throughoutthe difficult negotiations. It is heartwarming that the process waseventually rewarding.”We must say that, as always, we were disappointed by the antics ofthose whose interest lies elsewhere than the common goal of protectingand advancing the interest of ordinary Nigerian workers.“We wish to emphasize that the hard-won salary adjustment will benefitall categories of workers including those in the military andpara-military services. Apart from workers, the recent salary increasewill also benefit ordinary citizens, especially those in the informalsector as the increase in the available disposable income of workerswill translate into a stronger purchasing power for our people.“This will however only be sustainable if traders and providers ofessential services refrain from artificial inflation of the prices ofgoods and services. It makes more sense to sell more at a stable pricethan sell little or nothing at inflated prices. Certainly, we havelearnt from our past mistakes that inflation of prices with adjustmentin salaries is a roulette game in which the downtrodden masses are thevictims.“We also call on the government to refrain from introducingcounter-productive economic policies and decisions that would erodethe recent wage gain achieved by workers. Any further increase in theprices of petroleum products, electricity tariffs, and personal incometaxes would amount to collecting with the left hand what is given toworkers with the right hand. The leadership of organized labour willresist such a move.”Arising from our successful negotiation with the federal government,it is expected that all employers of labour in the public sector mustensure that all the necessary formalities for a smooth implementationof the negotiated salaries based on the new national minimum wage arecarried out with immediate effect.”While commending state governments that have already commencedimplementation of the new national minimum wage, we urge that theimplementation should be a product of collective bargaining process inline with ILO Convention 98 on Organizing and Collective Bargaining.”Furthermore, all employers of labour in the thirty-six states of thefederation and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the organizedprivate sector, are expected to complete the implementation process ofthe new national minimum wage and consequential wage adjustmentforthwith.”State councils of the Nigeria Labour Congress are hereby directed tooffer leadership and work harmoniously with the TUC and JNPSNC and allunions to ensure effective implementation of the new national minimumwage and the consequential salary adjustment that must be reachedthrough a process of collective bargaining.”
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Court Stops NNPC Recruitment Over Age Requirement
A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the suspension of NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation’s ongoing job recruitment pending thedetermination of a suit filed by Pelumi Olajengbesi.According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Olajengbesi, a publicinterest lawyer, commenced the enforcement of the fundamental rightsof all potential applicants to set aside the recruitment by the NNPCon the ground that it was discriminatory.The recruitment had disqualified Nigerians above the age of 28 fromapplying for the vacant positions.Olajengbesi had faulted the age criterion placed on the ongoingrecruitment of the NNPC noting that it violated section 3(e)(iv) ofthe Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure), 2009 which protectedthe public interest of NigeriansHe had written to the then Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr.Maikanti Baru, on March 26, threatening to drag the organisation tocourt for placing discriminatory age requirements on qualifiedNigerians who would have applied for the jobs advertised by thecorporation.The NNPC had invited applications from candidates for a number ofpositions including trainees who must not be more than 28 years as ofDecember 31, 2018, and had graduated from a university or polytechnicnot earlier than 2014.At the hearing on October 18, the applicant prayed the court to ensurethat justice was served on the unemployed Nigerians who needed to knowtheir stand in the matter.“The matter has long been before the court and the rest of the matteris at a stake and under Order 8 Rule 4 of the Article II of theAfrican Charter of Human and People’s Right (Ratification andEnforcement) Act.“I pray that the matter be heard together with the preliminaryobjection filed by the respondents in the interest of justice,” theapplicant said.When the matter was called up, the applicant’s counsel informed thecourt that the respondent filed his counter on October 15, 2019.In reply, the respondent informed the court that he was sick and hadsurgery. The presiding judge, Justice Muhammed Tsoho informed therespondent’s counsel that his counter was not properly filed beforethe court and had not been regularised.The court in considering the urgent nature of the matter granted anadjournment for the respondents to regularise their counter.Tsoho, however, ordered that parties must maintain the status quopending the hearing of the substantive suit. He adjourned the matteruntil October 29 for hearing.
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Abuja Kidnappings: We Have Arrested 14 Suspects, Say Police
The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested 14 suspected kidnappersterrorizing Abuja metropolis.The alleged kidnappers and other suspected criminals were paraded bythe FCT Police Command on Friday.Bala Ciroma, the Commissioner of Police, said among the suspects are10 people who were arrested in connection with the recent kidnappingsin Kuje while one was arrested in connection with the kidnap incidenton September 14 at Asokoro.He gave their names as Mohammad Umar, 22; Mohammed Abdusalam, 18;Abdullahi Bashir, 17; Abdulrazak Ibrahim, 20; Ibrahim Dogosika, 20;Idris Ori, 30; Friday Taiye, 22; Abdullahi Ibrahim, 30; GarbaAbubakar, 25 and Abdullahi Mohammed, 35.Ciroma also said 12 cars were recovered from eight suspected car snatchers.
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Serial Killers, Fraudster Arrested In Osun -Police
The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested two suspected serialkillers and a fraudster in Osun State.The suspects, Teslim Raji and Femi Bamidele, were paraded by the OsunState Police Command on Friday.Abiodun Ige, the Commissioner of Police in the state, while paradingthe suspects in Osogbo, said Raji was arrested after series ofcomplaints by residents.She said Raji, being investigated for the crime, was arrested lastyear, charged to court and granted bail but later jumped bail afterwhich the suspect allegedly killed another person.“His conspirator was arrested earlier when our officer went to hishouse and one of his boys tried to escape,” she disclosed.Ige revealed that the command also raided a shrine in Osogbo allegedlybeing used by fraudsters to defraud unsuspecting members of thepublic.The commissioner said during the raid a suspected fraudster, FataiOlanrewaju, was arrested, adding that the raid on the shrine followeda complaint by a woman that she was duped by the suspect.“The woman said the suspect had been collecting money under the guisethat he was helping her.“You can imagine the number of people who would have fallen victims ofhis activities and the money rituals that would have been done here,”Ige explained.The police boss, however, said all the suspects would be charged tocourt after the conclusion of the investigation.
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ICPC Recovers Constituency Tractors From Ex-Senator, Hands Them Over To Local Councils
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related OffencesCommission has handed over to six local government councils, sixtractors worth N72 million seized from Isa Hamman Misau, a formersenator representing Bauchi Central senatorial zone.ICPC State Commissioner, Abubakar Dutsinma, who handed over thetractors to the chairmen of Ganjuwa, Misau, Dambam, Darazo, Warji andNingi councils in Kafin Madakii, said they were recovered on July 31by a special Constituency Projects Tracking Group (CPTG) set up in 12states by the commission in collaboration with civil societyorganizations.He said in the course of the investigation, the group discovered thatthe tractors were under the 2015 constituency projects bought by IsaHamman Misau, but could not be delivered to the councils.Dutsinma explained that the chairman of the Commission, BolajiOwosanoye, ordered the release of the tractors for distribution to thebeneficiaries.A source in the commission also revealed that the former senator wasmade to put the tractors in working condition before they were handedover to the local government chairmen.Also recovered from Misau are motorcycles ought to have beendistributed as part of his constituency projects.The source in the ICPC said the motorcycles had not been distributedbecause it was hard to identify potential beneficiaries.
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There’s No Kidnapping For Christ, Christian Association Tells Muslim Group
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has slammed the MuslimRights Concern (MURIC) over comment suggesting people are “kidnappingfor Christ”Ishaq Akintola, director of MURIC, had condemned the kidnap of ninechildren from Kano State. In his condemnation, the MURIC leader hadsaid: “kidnapping for Christ is disgusting, nauseating, wicked andreprehensible.”Reacting to this statement, Joseph Hayab, chairman of CAN in thenorthern region, condemned Akintola’s statement, stating thatcriminality abounds in every religion.He said: “Criminals abound everywhere and in every religion, for MURICto say a crime was perpetrated for Christ, is sheer mischief aimed atprovoking Christians,” he said.“How could a rational, sane and educated person, associate the actionof criminals to a religion? There are many instances where Christiangirls were abducted, forcefully converted to Islam and married off bycriminals in Northern Nigeria. In some of these cases, the police either refused to act or turned blind eyes.“Will it be right to accuse all Muslims of the action of suchcriminals? The answer is no.“A particular group which belongs to a particular religious group hasalways been alleged to be responsible for the rampant kidnappings andbanditry across the country, especially in the north, will it be rightto say that they are committing the crime to promote their tribe orreligion?“We also have the case of Leah Sharibu who is still being held by BokoHaram insurgents for refusing to denounce her Christian faith andconvert to Islam. No Christian has associated Muslims with suchcriminal acts.“If we have any witness against the culprits behind the abduction, wewill join hands with the people of Kano to testify against him or themin court,” he said.“There is nothing like kidnapping for Christ. This evil kidnapper orchild trafficker, knowing that he did not carry away the children forreligion gave them new tribal names, MURIC should note.“CAN northern states, therefore, condemned anybody carrying people’schildren away and supports security agencies to investigate the matterand prosecute the culprits. The abduction of children is a criminaloffence. MURIC can call whoever is found doing that whatever name theylike, but don’t associate criminality with Christ.”
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