NSA attack Abba Kyari’s for interference in Security Matters – NSA

The National Security Adviser , Major General Babagana Monguno (retd .), has blamed the President’ s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, for the failures in the war against insurgency.
Monguno said Kyari was fond of giving orders to the service chiefs without the knowledge of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd. ).
The NSA said this in a letter addressed to the service chiefs which was published by an online medium,
Premium Times, on Monday .
In the letter dated December 9 , 2019 , and titled, ‘ Disruption of the national security framework by unwarranted meddlesomeness’ , the NSA said the chief of staff was neither a security official nor head of any government agency .
“Such acts and continuous meddlesomeness by the Chief of Staff have not only ruptured our security and defence efforts but have slowed down any meaningful gain that Mr President has sought to achieve , ” Monguno alleged .
The letter read in part, “While it is expected that all heads of security agencies, having spent many years in service would understand means of passing directives from the President, Commander- in- Chief of the Armed Forces, it may be necessary to remind all, in the face of glaring breaches to that procedure

Shekau’s new video shows failure of FG’s strategies – Sharia Council

The Supreme Council for Shari’ ah in Nigeria , on Monday , said service chiefs must be called to account for the resurgence of security threats, including Boko Haram attacks and other threats across the country .
It also described Boko Haram leader , Abubakar Shekau, as a coward and challenged him to come out of hiding .
“Shekau should be bold enough to face security forces , if he is truly the courageous leader of Boko Haram he claims to be, ” the Council said at a press briefing in Kaduna conducted by its Secretary - General , Nafi ’ u Baba -Ahmed.
It noted that the video allegedly released by Shekau was a collective challenge to all well - meaning Nigerians desirous of peace and stability .
“The release of the video itself is a sad indication of the evident failure of strategies and efforts of government in tackling Boko Haram insurgency in particular and the myriads of equally horrendous security threats bedevilling the country , ” it noted .
The council, therefore , urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd. ), to decisively crush Boko Haram insurgency and restore order in the country , in line with his campaign promises

South-West assemblies to hold public hearings on Amotekun bill

The Houses of Assembly in the six South- West states will on Monday , February 24 , hold separate public hearings on a bill to back the South-West joint security outfit , Operation Amotekun.
The public hearings date on the Amotekun bill was fixed at a meeting of the Speakers of the Houses of Assembly in the six states held in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State , on Friday, February 14 .
The advertorial signed by the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of South- West State Legislatures, Bamidele Oleyelogun, said, “After an exhaustive deliberation , the conference resolved that, as a matter of urgency , all the State Houses of Assembly should commence action on the process of passage of the (Amotekun) bill into law.
“The conference , also in this regard , mandated all the State Houses of Assembly to simultaneously hold public hearings on the bill in their respective states on Monday , 24 th February 2020 .
“The Conference of Speakers of South- West Legislatures urges all the people of the South- West to attend and make meaningful contributions to the bill that regulates the protection of lives and property in our states .”
The advertorial noted that after the public hearings , the six speakers would reconvene and meet with Attorneys General from the states “to address all conflicting areas and to review the contents of the reports generated at the public hearing for harmonisation into the proposed law ”.
While the conference of the South-West speakers said a public hearing on the proposed law would hold on Monday , the status of the bill differed in the six South- West states .
Ekiti Assembly passes bill , awaits gov’ s assent
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State House of Assembly had passed the bill on Friday.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Information , Muyiwa Olumilua, in an interview with The PUNCH , said the State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi , would soon sign the Amotekun bill into law
Olumilua said the governor ’ s assent , which was the final approval for the proposed law, would be expressed very soon , the bill having been passed by the state House of Assembly .
Bill scales first reading in Osun Assembly
But the Osun State House of Assembly on Monday commenced work on the Amotekun bill . Speaking at the plenary he presided over , the Speaker , Timothy Owoeye , told the lawmakers that Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, had written to the parliament to present the bill .

BREAKING: Samir Nasri joins Sevilla from Man City on loan

Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola talks to Manchester City's French midfielder Samir Nasri (L) as he prepares to come on during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on August 28, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Samir Nasri, another City outcast, has joined Spanish side Sevilla, hours after Joe Hart completed his loan move to Torino.

The French midfielder had been deemed surplus to requirement by new coach Pep Guardiola.

Ondo PDP: Jimoh Ibrahim’s emergence illegal, says Markafi’s faction

Forty-eight hours after his emergence as the candidate of the Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim has been disowned by the Ahmed Markafi’s faction of the party, saying he emerged as the candidate of the party illegally.

The Makarfi faction also declared that the PDP had no other candidate apart from a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede.

Jegede emerged the candidate of the party last week during the primary of the Markafi faction, held at the International Events Centre, Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Ibrahim won the primary of the Sheriff faction held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Monday. However, it was gathered that the primary was not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Makarfi faction, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Banji Okunomo, said the Sherriff faction’s primary was illegally conducted, adding that it was not attended by the “real stakeholders.”

The statement read, ” All the persons that fall in the various categories making up the governorship primary had already participated in the Congress that produced Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as the flag bearer of the party.

“These persons cannot be impersonated and their roles in the electoral college cannot be replicated, duplicated or copied in whatever guise.

“It is also very important, at this juncture, to tell the whole world that Jimoh Ibrahim, the acclaimed candidate of the illegal parallel PDP primary, is not a member of the PDP from ward to state level.”

It noted that Ibrahim had left the PDP and had allegedly joined the Accord Party and he had not yet relinquished his membership of the AP. It also alleged that Ibrahim had not followed the procedure necessary to rejoin the PDP.

According to the statement, it is not only illegal for a member of another party to pick the governorship ticket of the PDP, but it also amounts to double standards. Hence, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State has declared Jimoh Ibrahim a ‘persona non grata.’

The PDP, in the statement, urged members to remain steadfast and work for the success of the party in the governorship election, coming up on November 26, 2016.

FG set to award Lagos-Ibadan railway projects, others – AMAECHI

Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, disclosed that the Federal Government has concluded plans to award the contract for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
Amaechi, who said this at the one year memorial lecture in honour of former General Secretary of Alliance for Credible Election, ACE-Nigeria, late Comrade Emma Ezeazu, in Abuja, said contracts for Kano-Kaduna and Calabar-Port Harcourt railway projects would also be signed before the end of this week. The memorial lecture with theme: ‘Advancing the Frontiers of Progressive Governance’, was organised by Emma Ezeazu Mandate Group. The former governor of Rivers State, explained that “the President’s agenda is not just to recover loots. We are recovering as much as we can. But the president is determined to create employment. That is why you can see his focus. In transportation, from Kaduna to Abuja, we have created over 700 workforce. What did I do? I said all the villages or those communities along the route; I said they should give them level six down.” Speaking further, he said “their job is to march on that railway from the beginning to the end to see there was no security breach. The rest of the applicants will go online to apply for the jobs. They said if we publish it, people will die the way it happened during immigration recruitment exercise and they will say Amaechi should resign. “This year, we will start the Lagos-Ibadan, railway project. You know the difference between us and the rest, we will not say ‘go and start’, we will look for counterpart funding.” On how the project will be funded, he said “We will bring our counterpart fund as poor as the country is now and give to the Chinese because their money is already in their bank account. It is for us to bring our own. If we bring our own, they bring their own to make sure there is no delay, we will bring all our own to give them and say ‘go and start work’.” “If that happened in two years, the Lagos-Ibadan will be ready. Tomorrow, I will sign the contracts for Calabar-Port Harcourt railway project. Before the week runs out, I will sign Kano-Kduna. That is what we are doing. This is to show you that we are moving away from the corruption economy to production economy.”

Airports Authority Increases Access Gate Charge - Travel

Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has increased the access gate charge. The new charges is effective from tomorrow Thursday, September 1st. Imagine paying N400 everyday, probably to-and-fro at N800 everyday.