The Speaker of The House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has sent a passionate appeal to the national U23 team styled Dream Team V1, not to boycott its quarter final encounter against Denmark on Saturday, at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympics.
Dogara, who was speaking against the backdrop of complaints of Team’s Head Coach, Samson Yebowei Siaisia, that the players of the team have refused to train and may boycott the tie due to unpaid allowances and wages said the Dream Team should take patriotism as a fulcrum of their campaign, as he will personally do everything within his powers to intervene in the matter.
He said the team with the likes of John Mikel Obi, Yakubu Umar, Oghenekaro Etebor and William Troost-Ekong has a very bright chance of repeating the feat of the Atlanta ’96 Dream Team led by the legendary Nwankwo Kanu and the team should be encouraged by all Nigerians.
“We will do all we can to ensure that all entitlements due to the team are paid, as we are already talking to relevant government agencies”, Dogara declared.
He noted that football being the major unifying factor in the country should be maximized by all for Nigeria’s continued joy and unity. “We will stop at nothing to ensure that we get the team to excel in Brazil and for Nigeria to recreate the watershed of Atlanta ’96.”
Nigeria Vs Denmark: Etebo still a major doubtful
Nigeria are sweating on the fitness of four-goal hero against Japan Oghenekaro Etebo after he suffered hamstring injury in the team’s final group game against Colombia.
“Etebo suffered a hamstring injury and he is now a major doubt for the quarterfinal against Denmark on Saturday,” a team official informed AfricanFootball.com
Etebo was forced out of the game late in the Colombia game and Nigeria were forced to finish the game with 10 men as coach Samson Siasia had used up all his substitutions.
Nigeria’s injury problems were further worsened after Al Ahly new signing Junior Ajayi was reportedly injured in training before the Colombia match.
Kick-off time for Saturday’s showdown against Denmark is by 8pm Nigerian time.
Respite appears to be coming the way of Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, as over 90% of the House , representing about 324 members , are strongly backing him amidst overwhelming allegations of budget padding, Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, has disclosed. With this support, the lawmaker said, the vocal minority, representing 10%, has paled into irrelevance.
The leadership of the House sacked Abdulmumin Jibrin as the Appropriation Committee chair over alleged budget padding, a development that angered the Kano-born lawmaker who countered and released all manners of allegations against Dogara and some principal officers. But while admitting that the Speaker was human, “and so cannot please everyone in a 360-member parliament like the House,” he said, people should be wary when such calls ensued, especially against the backdrop of what happened to former Speaker, Patricia Etteh, who was removed over allegations of graft, only to be cleared of any wrongdoing years later.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Nkem-Abonta said he had not seen any register where about 260 members reportedly signed to pass a vote of no confidence on the Speaker. He said: “I am sure that less than 10% are the ones against him, meaning that 90% or more stand with Dogara,” arguing that going by feelers from members, that could be confirmed. Further corroborating his position, the lawmaker said, “Looking at the output of the 8th Assembly of the House, you can understand that majority of members enjoyed, and are still
enjoying the leadership style of Dogara, notwithstanding our differences at take-off. Until the so-called padding, Dogara had no issue in the House. “I am from Abia state; I have not seen the register, but can say authoritatively that no member would sign against him (Dogara) from Abia, we all love Dogara. It is true he is human, he may have his shortcomings, but we all love him.” “Dogara has maintained a cool level-head leadership, so, no need for change of leadership. He cannot please 360 people, and nobody is perfect.
Those who are aggrieved should use the in-house mechanism to address issues. He cannot place everybody where they want be. The whole idea of the parliament is lobbying, and that signatures may purportedly be collected as a tool of bargaining, which anybody or group can do. “When people begin to cry out ‘step aside,’ be wary. Anybody can investigate him, but let him remain as Speaker. Those clamouring for his resignation over alleged padding should let him be,” Nkem-Abonta further contended.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Compliance, Hon. Abiodun Olasupo, yesterday described ‘budget padding’ as a “constitutional responsibility of the legislative arm of government.” The lawmaker, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/ Iwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo state, said this while inspecting some zonal intervention projects and federal government projects in his constituency in Oke-Ogun area of the state. Olasupo, who pointed out that the House did not err in the current ‘budget padding’ controversy, noted that Sections 80 and 81 of the constitution, give the lawmakers the powers to alter the budget proposals.
He stressed that budgets presented by the executive arm of government do not often reflect true federal character, hence the need for ‘padding’. ”If you look at the Nigerian Constitution, what Hon. AbdulMumini Jibrin referred to as padding is tantamount to what the constitution defines as the function of a member of House of Representatives because the constitution guarantees the three major functions of making laws, appropriation, and oversight. “In appropriation, it is either for us to add, subtract or change, and what Hon Jibrin has been trying to say is that we are changing, inserting and adding.
So, if that is what he calls padding. Then that is what the constitution expects the House of Representative to do,” Olasupo further explained. The lawmaker maintained that as an active member during the budget defence, he was involved in the budgeting system of up to six ministries and agencies like FERMA, Navy, health institutions and many others. According to him, the entire budgeting system makes it possible that if one is elected as a member of the National Assembly and not ready to do what Jibrin called padding, then such a person is a failure.
He added: “Basically, the budget that is been brought to the National Assembly does not reflect the principle of federal character as guaranteed by the constitution”, saying, all projects and employments from the executive, should be done in a way that they reflect all parts of Nigeria. “I am not saying somebody is wrong or right, but I do not see what is bad in attracting projects to my constituency. For the first time in the history of this country, a budget presented by the executive was reduced. It means that we are shifting away from impunity, and corruption that has characterised the government of the past,” Olasupo further clarified.
As the celebration for the 2016 International Youth Day is celebrated across the world, the Lagos State Government has identified training and empowerment of youth as core elements for national development.
Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Pharmacist (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf made this known on Friday during a press briefing heralding the commencement of a week-long event slated for the celebration of year 2016 International Youth Day.
She said that the State government believes that when youth are idle they become susceptible to perpetuate crime and commit all sort of atrocities, this according to her made the State Government intensified and widened the scope of its training programmes for the youth of the State.
‘Our intention is to empower youth to be self-reliant and enterprising. We had trained no fewer than 2,000 youth in the heavy equipment sector in partnership with Rated Cranes and Scaffolding Nigeria Limited.
Majority of the youths were trained in the areas of Mobile crane driving, HIAB training, Crane Operation, Manufacturing safety among others’ she stated.
Akinbile-Yussuf also added that 500 students had graduated from the Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Programme (YEASAP) in different areas of vocations including bead making, cosmetology, Head Gear tying among others in order to empower and enhance opportunities for teeming unemployed youth in the society.
The Commissioner said that another empowerment avenue provided by the State Government was through the N25billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF) meant to provide capital for youths that are willing to engage in enterprise in different sectors of the economy.
She opined that if youth can properly and adequately utilise all these avenues and opportunities opened for them, achieving the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would become fruition.
She called on other youths who are still perpetuating crimes to desist from such and take advantage of the several training programmes and empowerment initiatives to be productively engaged.
Akinbile-Yussuf urged the general public not to shield criminally-minded youth who are fond of disrupting peaceful co-existence of Lagosians. She promised that government would decisively deal with such individuals.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Youth and Social Development, Hon. Adedamola Richard Kasumu, advised the youth to stop blaming the present situation of the country on past mismanagement by our some leaders but rather make the best of the present situation, stressing that the youth of the present age should discontinue the unprofitable bandwagon of the past.
He commended Governor Ambode for giving the youth a prime place in governance including the constitution of his executive members.
International Youth Day celebration is observed all across the world. It provides opportunity for government and others to draw attention to youth issues.
An interest group in Ekiti State Civil Service, the Enlightened Workers’ Forum (EWF) has criticized Governor Ayo Fayose for his outbursts on a radio programme, where he attacked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the recent seizure of his assets.
The workers said they are in full support the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari administration and the efforts of the anti-graft agency to ensure that the commonwealth of Ekiti people and assets purchased with arms slush funds are recovered.
They called on Fayose to pay the remaining arrears of workers’ salaries and all entitlements due to pensioners “majority of whom are dying at home because they have been neglected by the state government and denied their rights.”
In a statement issued on Friday by EWF Coordinator, Mike Bamidele, the workers dissociated Ekiti people from the anti-Buhari utterances of Fayose made on a live programme on an Ibadan, Oyo State-based radio station, Fresh FM, which was relayed on the state-owned electronic media.
The workers’ group took a strong exception to Fayose’s statement on the radio programme condemning the freezing of his personal bank account and seizure of houses linked to him when he (Fayose) asked ‘whose father’s money got lost and whose father’s houses were lost?’
An interest group in Ekiti State Civil Service, the Enlightened Workers’ Forum (EWF) has criticized Governor Ayo Fayose for his outbursts on a radio programme, where he attacked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the recent seizure of his assets.
The workers said they are in full support the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari administration and the efforts of the anti-graft agency to ensure that the commonwealth of Ekiti people and assets purchased with arms slush funds are recovered.
They called on Fayose to pay the remaining arrears of workers’ salaries and all entitlements due to pensioners “majority of whom are dying at home because they have been neglected by the state government and denied their rights.”
In a statement issued on Friday by EWF Coordinator, Mike Bamidele, the workers dissociated Ekiti people from the anti-Buhari utterances of Fayose made on a live programme on an Ibadan, Oyo State-based radio station, Fresh FM, which was relayed on the state-owned electronic media.
The workers’ group took a strong exception to Fayose’s statement on the radio programme condemning the freezing of his personal bank account and seizure of houses linked to him when he (Fayose) asked ‘whose father’s money got lost and whose father’s houses were lost?’
The EWF contended that the EFCC cannot fold its arms and look the other way when there are concrete and incontrovertible evidence that funds belonging to Ekiti were allegedly diverted to buy choice properties within 180 days of Fayose’s assumption of power.
The group urged the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Department of State Services (DSS) to beam their searchlights on other banks apart from Zenith Bank to recover state funds allegedly stashed there.
The statement read: “The EFCC, ICPC and DSS still have a lot to do in Ekiti State, they should not limit their investigations to Zenith Bank alone; other banks must also be investigated and every nook and cranny of the state should be combed.”
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by detained Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday disowned the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), both of which have been linking their own agitations to Kanu’s incarceration.
It said it has “no connection, contact, ties or any kind of relationship” with MEND and NDA.
Kanu, speaking though his lawyers in Abuja, also expressed his willingness to negotiate with the Federal Government.
The lawyers, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Amoebi Nzelu said that Kanu is prepared to accept a political solution in line with his belief that he is a political prisoner of conscience.
Kanu and two of his associates – Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi (a field maintenance engineer with MTN) – are currently being held in Kuje prison, Abuja, following their arraigment before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
They were arraigned in January of this year on a six-count charge of treasonable felony, running an unlawful organisation, plotting to level war against the country, illegal possession of firearms and unlawful importation of a transmitter to run their illegal radio station – Radio Biafra.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, Ejiofor and Nzelu told reporters yesterday that their client was not opposed to talks with the government.
They spoke against the backdrop of report that the Federal Government had directed the release of some members of the group arrested in February this year during a protest rally.
They said:”Nnamdi Kanu is not averse to political solution in resolving his present politically orchestrated ordeal.
“He welcomes genuine political solution to this case. Nnamdi Kanu has people of proven integrity and impeccable character that will negotiate on his behalf, based on his demands when communication on this effect is established,” Ejiofor said.
On the claims that MEND was negotiating on behalf of Kanu and IPOB, the lawyer said, “In the past few days, the media was awash with news on negotiation going on between the Federal Government and members of MEND, where our client’s name (Nnamdi Kanu) conspicuously featured.
“It is on that note that we wish to inform the general public that Nnamdi Kanu has no connection, contact, ties or any kind of relationship with members of MEND.
“As such, MEND has no implied, direct or express authority of Nnamdi Kanu to represent him or IPOB in any purported negotiation going on between MEND and the Federal Government.
“The general public is accordingly advised to ignore, discountenance and disregard the falsehood been peddled by MEND,” said Mr. Ejiofor.
Responding to a question on whether Kanu would abandon his campaign for an independent state of Biafra in exchange for freedom, Nzelu said that his client would not jettison the agitation even if he was released.
He also said that Kanu has no ties with the Avengers.
“It is not easy to drop an ideology. IPOB is bigger than Nnamdi Kanu. Self-determination is as a result of marginalisation,” he said.
The Niger Delta Avengers have, however, denied ever negotiating with the Federal Government on behalf of Kanu, adding that they have only made calls to the government for his release. In a chat with The Nation, a spokesperson of the group said: ” Avengers have never negotiated with the FG on behalf of Kanu. We have only called for his unconditional release and also asked the Federal Government to come out clear about the negotiation.
“We are fighting for restructuring of the country in a honourable way. The vision of Avengers and IPOB is to have a nation of theirs . This is totally different from what MEND stands for. MEND has no right to negotiate with the government on Kanu’s behalf because they don’t share the same vision with them.”
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To grow a thriving blog you need to be active and engaged on social media. If social media feels overwhelming, try scheduling it.
"Germany remains a safe country with a strong police force, with well organised security agencies… We are good [at security] but we want to be better."
Germany's interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, has recently unveiled a long list of anti-terror measures: thousands of new police officers, billions of euros for the security services, better cyber intelligence and faster deportation of foreign criminals.
This was, of course, in one sense about reassuring the German public. It is not the first time the government has announced anti-terror measures. But it is also the response to what are thought to have been the first terror attacks on German soil inspired by so-called Islamic State (IS).
But Germany has not experienced a major co-ordinated terror attack on the scale of those perpetrated on Paris or Brussels - yet. Security sources fear it may be a matter of time.
The deputy head of the Bavarian intelligence agency, Manfred Hauser, says "the risk is abstract but very high that we have hit squads and sleeper cells in Germany... We have clear signs that an IS command structure exists. There may be someone within it who is responsible for planning attacks in Germany."
Image copyrightAPImage captionGerman Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere insists the country is safe
Mr Hauser says his agents are investigating a substantial number of reports that suggest IS has exploited the migrant crisis, sending in teams of people - the "hit squads" - disguised as refugees to prepare attacks.
IS is also believed to be targeting young asylum seekers whose experiences may have left them traumatised and vulnerable to radicalisation.
"One reason it's hard to be certain is we don't know exactly who's come into the country as a refugee," says Mr Hauser. "Many of the refugees weren't registered. That makes it very difficult for the intelligence services to determine which dangerous individuals have come into the country."
And, he adds, there's another group of people which worries the authorities - "people who have returned from Syria or Iraq who have had weapons training there, were trained in terrorism and have been brutalised by taking part in armed fighting. This is a very dangerous group of people."
It's estimated that more than 800 Germans may have fought in Syria or Iraq. Around a third are thought to have returned to Germany. Those with dual nationality will be stripped of their German citizenship, the interior minister said on Thursday.
Recent polls suggest around three quarters of Germans are worried by the threat of terror. The co-author of one study, Prof Manfred Schmidt from Heidelberg University, was quoted as saying: "People used to worry about money, health and the environment. This has been replaced by terrorism and extremism."
Image copyrightEPAImage captionSecurity has been heightened in Germany, including at the Bayreuth Festival
The perceived link between that terror threat and the arrival of more than a million people seeking asylum in the country (both of last month's attackers entered the country as asylum seekers) is problematic for Germany's politicians.
Two questions - how to keep Germany safe and how to integrate the new arrivals - already dominate what is, in effect, unofficial campaigning for next year's general election.
Bear in mind the mainstream parties here have lost votes to the populist, right-wing Alternative fuer Deutschland. And the fierce political, and public, debate around the terror threat now goes well beyond the question of domestic security.
Mr de Maiziere, for example, is under pressure from some of his fellow conservatives to impose a ban on the burka and to outlaw dual citizenship.
Arguably, Germany is at a crossroads, facing profound questions about what kind of society it wants to be.
Take the country's defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, who wants to call in the military to work alongside the police in the event of terrorist attacks.
Armed German soldiers haven't deployed on German soil since World War Two. With this call, she has raised a sensitive - and for many, taboo - subject.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionDefence Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants the military to work alongside police in the event of terrorist attacks
Prof Michael Wolfssohn, a German historian, believes there is a fundamental shift in German thinking. In Europe, he says, "we are going through an historic change. As long as we had no real terrorist threat in Germany but rather a theoretical one, this discussion remained theoretical.
"But we have a new reality and that's why ordinary citizens, not right-wingers but ordinary citizens, are afraid and therefore it will become ever more easy for politicians to persuade the public... that they will have to react."
Equally unnerving for many are the debates around privacy. There are calls for more video surveillance and for the use of facial recognition software in public places.
The government wants to begin talks with doctors about how and when it's appropriate to share information with the authorities about a patient who may pose a risk to public safety.
These are highly-charged debates for Germany, a country which values privacy and where many still remember life under a regime which routinely spied on its own citizens.
Modern Germany prides itself on its civil freedoms. The dilemma facing its leaders now is how to keep its citizens safe while safeguarding the values they cherish.
Image copyrightANADOLU AGENCYImage captionClothes can change a person's thoughts sometimes says President Atambayev
Women can become radicalised to become terrorists if they put on Islamic dress, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, has claimed in his most recent intervention in a national debate on cultural identity.
Speaking at a press conference last week, President Atambayev also attacked those in his country, where 80% of the population is Muslim, who are critical of women who wear more revealing outfits.
His remarks followed several weeks of controversy over government-sponsored hoardings or banners put up in the streets of the capital Bishkek to try to dissuade Kyrgyz women from wearing Islamic clothing, notably the hijab, niqab and burka, ahead of a visit to the country by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in mid-July.
The hoardings, which, like the president's remarks, have offended many, showed contrasting photos: one side shows women wearing the traditional nomadic clothing of Kyrgyzstan, the other shows women in niqabs and burkas, the full veils worn by some Muslim women. The caption underneath said: "Poor people! Where are we heading to?"
Image captionThe government-sponsored hoardings angered many Muslims
Addressing criticism of the design, President Atambayev said: "When we erected banners some smart people appeared and started pointing at miniskirts. Our women have been wearing miniskirts since 1950s, and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt.
"You can wear even tarpaulin boots on your head, but do not organise bombings. This is not religion. Let them wear even miniskirts but there must not be any blasts."
He portrayed the wearing of some Islamic clothing as not only out of step with contemporary Kyrgyz national culture but also potentially dangerous.
"Terrorists are insane people," he said. "Clothes also can change one's thoughts sometimes. When we were searching for prisoners who had escaped a detention centre, Melis Turganbayev (the former interior minister) came to me and said that they had been eavesdropping on telephone conversations of wives and mistresses of criminals. Their wives and mistresses wore sacks on their heads and they wanted to organise bombings.
"If you do not like Kyrgyzstan you can leave our country and go wherever you want. We can pay your travel expenses, even to Syria," the president said - an apparent reference to his government's claim that around 350 Kyrgyz citizens are fighting with jihadi groups in Syria and Iraq.
Many people in the Central Asian state have been outraged by the anti-Islamic clothing campaign. A tongue-in-cheek Facebook group was created contrasting the traditional Kyrgyz head-dress, the Elechek, with Western women in tighter outfits. The inference was clear: was this option - the Elechek - any less conservative than the hijab when compared with Western clothing?
Image copyrightFACEBOOKImage caption"Poor people! Where are we heading to?"
However, in 2014, while speaking at a session of Kyrgyzstan's Security Council, President Atambayev said that it was not the conservative clothing, or Muslim traditions, that he had a problem with, but more the "Arabisation of society [and the] deprivation of the Kyrgyz nation of its language and traditions".
In another protest against the president's actions, four young women in hijabs posed on a road crossing in imitation of the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road. The caption with this widely-shared meme was: "The moon does not heed the barking of dogs."
Image copyrightFACEBOOK
A state commission concluded that the anti-Islamic hoardings did not breach advertising laws. But another state-run religious body, the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan, described the banners as "provocative", claiming that they "undermine the unity of people". There has been some vandalism of the designs and one of the banners was replaced with another showing the Kyrgyz Olympic team.
Tata Ulan, a well-known singer who defends traditional values, composed a rap criticising Kyrgyz girls who used to wear "half-naked" clothes instead of traditional ones.
Kyrgyz citizens have also been sharing pictures using hashtags that compare hijab wearers and women who prefer Western-style clothing. The majority of them bemoan the impact of Western culture on the country. Criticising the banners, some users also raised socioeconomic issues in the country, particularly labour migration to Russia and water shortages.
