The Department of State Services has invited a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, to its Jos office.
Mailafia confirmed the development to our correspondent in Jos on Tuesday.
He said, “Yes, it true. The DSS invited me to appear in their Jos office tomorrow (Wednesday) by noon.”
Mailafia said his invitation was not unconnected to an interview he granted an Abuja radio station, 95.1FM, on Monday.
In the interview, he said repentant terrorists told him that a serving northern governor was the Boko Haram leader.
Mailafia, who was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2019 election, said the terrorists moved weapons even during the COVID-19 lockdown.
…calls on the FG to embrace ranching to curb insecurity
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons such as AK47 to deter criminals from attacking innocent and helpless Nigerians.
He says the policy should be backed by a strict legal framework to prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.
These were some of the submissions contained in the paper Governor Ortom presented yesterday during the virtual meeting convened by Centre for Values in Leadership, CVL, in collaboration with Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF.
In the paper titled ‘Insecurity and Governance Challenges in the New Normal’, the Governor said governments at all levels must come to terms with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to development of the country and be willing to sincerely tackle the menace.
He also recommended adequate funding of security agencies and continuous training of their personnel to enable them be abreast of global dynamics in the fight against insecurity.
The Governor urged the Federal Government to embrace ranching as it is the global best practice of animal husbandry and enact a law to end open grazing which often comes with attacks on farming communities by armed herdsmen militia.
Governor Ortom also advocated improved educational standards and enhanced public enlightenment campaigns to give the people, particularly youths the needed orientation to shun negative acts and become more patriotic.
He called for the repositioning of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency through training, funding and logistics to successfully confront drug barons and peddlers; a move he said would stop illegal drugs from entering and circulating in the country.
Governor Ortom also recommended that the embargo on employment be lifted and more job opportunities created to take Nigerian youths from the streets.
He tasked the federal, state and local governments to show greater commitment to developing the agricultural value chain to generate more jobs for Nigerians.
Governor Ortom concluded his presentation by stating that Benue State has made significant contributions to national development and as the food basket of the nation, if the state is threatened by insecurity, the negative impact would be on the entire country.
He therefore solicited the support of all stakeholders in tackling security challenges and pledged the resolve of his administration to ensuring the safety of lives and property.
As Nigeria celebrates this year’s World Youth Day, Nigerian Youth have been challenged by Youth and Sports Development Minister Mr Sunday Dare to be focused, committed towards attaining their potentials.
According to the Minister, Nigerian Youth have demonstrated courage, resilience and enterprise which raises hope of a greater future for the country.
“On behalf of Mr. President Mohammadu Buhari , I congratulate all Nigerian Youth on the occasion of the United Nations World Youth Day. This year’s theme “Challenging Youths to Global Action” is not only auspicious, but timely, instructive and in resonance with the Federal Government’s plans to re -position our teeming youths for a better tomorrow. The recent approval of the Youth Investment Fund underscores the importance placed on our Youth by the Buhari government. This vision is geared towards the development of the entrepreneur spirit of the Youth to become employers of labour and be positioned for the challenges of a changing world order. ”
Dare further affirmed ” Nigerian Youth canot be excluded from the changes taking place globally in politics, business science and technological innovations. This administration is more than ever irrevocably committed to laying a solid foundation for our youth to cement and secure a better future which we will all be proud of. This an opportunity for the Youth to position themselves in the onerous task of nation building”, Dare concluded
The theme of this year’s celebration Youth Engagement For Global Action seeks Youth engagement at local, national and global levels and how it is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes as well as draw lessons on their representation.
As part of activities for the World Youth Day, the Minister is expected to engage the Youth on line on availing themselves opportunities through the Youth Investment Fund, Digital training and Sports Development.
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (RTD) has pledged to engage
the Defence Industrial Corporation of Nigeria (DICON ) in a more strategic partnership to achieve its the mandate of producing military hardware for the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Magashi made this pledge during his maiden official visit to the Defence Industry Complex on Tuesday in Kaduna, as DICON marks its 56th anniversary.
He explained that DICON occupies a pride of place in Nigeria’s evolution as a premier parastatal of the defence ministry solely mandated to produce arms, ammunition, ordnance material and other war machines for the military and other security agencies.
At the event, a Civil Society Organization, Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI) advocated more patronage of products from the Defence Military Corporation.
Executive Director of GOPRI, Amb Melvin Ejeh, commended the giant strides of the corporation in innovation and production of world-class medical ventilators, ammunitions, military gears, wares, vehicles and other non-military products.
While noting that the President Buhari’s action at improving local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components was commendable, GOPRI appealed to the Federal Government to direct all security and non-outfits of the federal government in the country to patronize the rich array of Military and non-military equipment produced by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON.
“DICON products are of a high standard like anywhere in the world, hence the need to patronise them. The current re-engineered and repositioned DICON under the leadership of Major General Victor Okwudili Ezugwu has been able to achieve amazing feats.”
“We need to grow our local economy while contributing to the fight against all threats to our national security”, he stated.
Recall that while signing the Executive Order 5, President Buhari had directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs to engage indigenous professionals in the planning, design and execution of national security projects.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has assured Nigerian youths of his commitment to supporting them at all times.
Atiku gave the assurance on Wednesday in a message to mark the 21st anniversary of the International Youth Day (IYD).
“I shall stay the course and continue to offer my shoulders for you all to climb because as youths, you are Leaders of Today,” he said.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hailed Nigerian youths for their doggedness and drive towards a better nation, saying this year’s theme, “Youth Engagement for Global Action,” captures how important young people are in the scheme of things.
“I salute the Nigerian youth in particular for their commitment and perseverance towards the attainment of a greater Nigeria,” Atiku added.
“This global picture, which has been on my mind, informed my decision of 40% youth inclusion in my 2019 presidential campaign; a promise I am committed to keeping for the futuristic benefit of our great Nation.”
He explained that with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, youths have a huge responsibility in fighting the disease as the future of humanity rests on their shoulders.
“Indeed, the survival of humanity rests largely on the shoulders of the youths, as vigour is required to wear out this plague,” the former vice president explained.
“The vigour and spirit that you embody as youth will play a crucial role in the socio-economic survival of the world, and its rejuvenation, post-COVID19.”
Young women & men worldwide are raising their voices to demand a better future. When provided with opp. to reach their full potential, they can be a driving force for #SDGs.#Volunteering allows youth to address ?'s most pressing issues & bring about positive change!#YouthDaypic.twitter.com/uPvmpTDWDe
As future leaders, Atiku called on young people to preach and embrace peace, show patriotism, shun nepotism and promote competence.
“Only then can we truly have the Nigeria of our dream,” he said.
According to the United Nations (UN), the 2020 International Youth Day theme is to buttress the “ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced.”
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $1.5 billion contract with US biotech company Moderna for 100 million doses of an eventual coronavirus vaccine, the sixth such deal reached since May.
“I’m pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Moderna to manufacture and deliver 100 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine candidate,” Trump said at a White House news conference. “The federal government will own these vaccine doses, we’re buying them.”
“We’re on track to rapidly-produce 100 million doses as soon as the vaccine is approved, and up to 500 million shortly thereafter, so we’ll have 600 million doses,” he added.
Moderna, in partnership with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), is conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of a vaccine candidate and manufacturing of vaccine doses will take place while the trials are underway.
Handout picture released by the Sao Paulo State Government press office showing a volunteer receiving the COVID-19 vaccine during the trial stage of the vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech at the Hospital das Clinicas (HC) in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on July 21, 2020. Handout / Sao Paulo State Government / AFP
The vaccine, called mRNA-1273, is being co-developed by Moderna and the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is led by Dr Anthony Fauci.
Fauci has said researchers are unlikely to know the efficacy of the vaccine before the end of the year at the earliest. But Trump has said he hopes to have a vaccine before the November 3 presidential election.
The latest contract brings the US government’s total commitments to Moderna to $2.48 billion.
The company, founded less than 10 years ago, has not previously developed a vaccine of any kind but preliminary results of the company’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine have reportedly produced promising results.
File photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from the White House on July 11, 2020 in Washington, DC. Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/AFP
The Trump administration has allocated a total of at least $10.9 billion for the development and manufacturing of a coronavirus vaccine.
It has already ordered 100 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Pfizer and Sanofi and 300 million from AstraZeneca.
Tanzania’s media regulatory body, TCRA, will now require local media stations to seek government approval before broadcasting foreign content. Press freedom activists are calling on the regulations to be reviewed.
Local stations in Tanzania that are already airing programs from foreign international media will now be required to apply for authorization and present the agreements to the country’s media regulatory body, according to Tanzania’s Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Rudolf Elmendorp is a foreign journalist who has been trapped in Tanzania after the outbreak of COVID-19. He has found it very difficult to work in Tanzania
Tanzania says it will not halt any of the broadcasts or the current agreements in place.
“This is a good procedure that will enable TCRA to understand such agreements and successfully oversee the sector in accordance with the available laws and regulations,” Andrew Kisaka, a TCRA official told DW.
The amendments — regulating radio and television broadcasts — were issued after Radio Free Africa aired a BBC interview with Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
In the interview, Lissu claimed that authorities had denied him a chance to pay his last respects to former President Benjamin Mkapa, who was buried on July 29. The TCRA deemed the interview misleading, as it did not seek clarification from a government spokesperson.
#Tanzania: Media house in trouble for interviewing opposition leader, Tundu Lissue & not giving government chance to comment https://t.co/535MZJ352k
“We are approaching our presidential elections in October 2020. I would like to believe that they would like to see how the media will comply with the government line of thinking,” Pili Mtambalike, a former regulations and standards manager at the Media Council of Tanzania, told DW.
Tanzania’s Chadema opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu has accused the ruling CCM of an uneven playing field ahead of elections
Mtambalike pointed to how the media coverage of the various presidential candidates collecting forms from the Electoral Commission differed widely when compared to the ruling party’s platform. “Of course there is a lot of coverage for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. The opposition parties have been a little bit short-changed,” Mtambalike said.
Tanzania’s deteriorating press freedom record
Tanzania ranks 124 out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.
Back in 2016, Tanzania had a law named the Media Services Act. For Mtambalike, it was a very problematic legislation. “People in the media went to court and, later, the East African Court of Justice struck out some sections of the Act because they went against the East African Community’s regulations.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said it was aware of the new two amendments to regulations which are very important to the press freedom environment. “These are the 2018 online content regulations which were already restrictive but have now been made more punitive, and the radio and television regulations,” Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan representative, told DW.
Muthoki, however, noted that she had yet to see the full amendments on broadcasting — as only a statement on radio and television regulations were made available by the government. “It is very important for the sake of transparency and for the sake of the media outlets which would be forced to adhere to these new regulations and for the sake of public discourse, to make sure that the radio and television regulations are made public, distributed as widely as possible so that everyone can see for themselves, and if they have concerns they can raise them with the government.”
DW and international media affected
The media regulatory body TCRA has determined, with immediate effect, that all domestic media must apply for a separate license if they wish to broadcast content from foreign media on their channels. The partner broadcasters of several international media, including DW, are directly affected.
Media outlets in Tanzania must re-register and are not allowed to broadcast programs of their foreign broadcast partners until a new license is granted. Several DW partner channels have temporarily suspended broadcasting the regularly adopted DW programs after the new regulation was announced. The channels have been given one week to submit a new license application, according to sources in media management.
DW, which has a large following in Tanzania, has since issued a statement on the new regulations, describing them as “a worrying trend towards restrictions on press freedom.”
Under President Magufuli, Tanzania’s freedom of the press has faired poorly
DW Director General Peter Limbourg said: “This is a clumsy attempt to suppress critical voices and independent information before the elections in Tanzania. DW’s programs are extremely popular among users in Tanzania.”
“The first reactions of our partners show enormous civil courage. But this far-reaching form of state censorship is difficult to counter. We support our partner broadcasters in Tanzania and together we will find ways to keep the population well informed, for example through the increased use of social media.”
Monitoring, ‘censorship’ ahead of election
According to Mtambakile, Tanzania’s strict media laws have led to censorship in newsrooms. “People are very careful about what they report because it is very easy to get your newspaper, radio or television station shut down because of these laws,” she said.
Mtambalike added that the Tanzanian media has been perhaps more pro-Magufuli than his predecessors — but warned that with such leanings in the media “you tend to write more about the praises rather than to also criticize the system.”
Depdatus Balile, chairman of the Tanzania Editor’s Forum, told DW that the new regulations go a bit against the candid law that is found in the constitution under Article 18 — which encourages freedom of expression, access to information, and freedom to share your opinion.
The East African nation is gearing up for the October elections amid tighter media regulations
“The system of enacting laws in Tanzania is usually retroactive but now they have decided to use a retrospective system where the law which is enacted today is affecting what happened a day before, a month before, or a year before. We think it’s not a good idea for a law to affect mistakes that were made before the law was enacted,” Balile said.
Kennedy Wandera, chairperson of the Foreign Press Association, Africa (FPAA), told DW: “What is happening in Tanzania is very unfortunate, you would expect that they would be able to leverage the media gains in that particular country, especially when they are getting to elections,” he said.
“But with these regulations, I think that it is going to be seen by the media as a way of curtailing their work, which is very wrong.”
Wandera, however, noted that the association of Tanzania’s local media with international media helps the country to show the world what it is capable of doing. “For instance, tourism. Tanzania has a rich tourism industry, if such cannot be told on the global stage, then it becomes difficult for people outside Tanzania to understand what is happening in Tanzania. Media freedom is a core pillar of democracy in Tanzania and any other country for that matter.”
Balile says the Tanzania Editor’s Forum will advise the government accordingly. “We think they will understand our position.We are not going to use force whatsoever but we are going to advise them to make sure that we nurture freedom of expression for the betterment of this country.”
US presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s selection of Senator Kamala Harris gives him a running mate who can appeal to African American voters who are core to Biden’s base of support and serve as a fierce critic of President Donald Trump’s record in office.
A former top state prosecutor in California, Senator Harris brings a law-and-order career record that will help Biden steer a tricky, centrist line between Black Lives Matter protesters and white Americans who worry about attacks on police funding.
At the same time, picking a woman who competed with Biden during the presidential primaries and attacked him memorably on race during a debate, shows Biden asserting a degree of self-confidence that he can forge a cooperative, working relationship with her, political analysts told Al Jazeera.
“Biden faced unprecedented pressure to pick a Black woman,” said John Jackson, a professor at the Public Policy Institute of the University of Southern Illinois.
“He wanted someone who is going to command some respect and will balance the ticket with demographic characteristics of gender and race,” Jackson said.
“And he wanted somebody who he has personal chemistry with that is good,” he said.
Indeed, Biden’s selection of Harris is unprecedented and a high-risk moment for his campaign both in that Harris is a woman, and she is Black. It is only the third time in US history a woman has been selected as a vice presidential candidate, and the first time a Black person has been selected for that role.
How the selection plays out during the next week and during the upcoming Democratic National Convention will serve to define the personality of the Democratic ticket in November’s election. President Trump, Republicans and his campaign can be expected to attack Harris and Biden’s choice which says as much about him as it does Harris.
The choice of a running mate is one of the first big decisions that the public gets to see a presidential candidate make. Sometimes, candidates make mistakes. John McCain took a political risk in 2008 picking Sarah Palin, who proved to be a controversial campaigner, and Walter Mondale in 1984 chose Geraldine Ferraro. In both cases, the selections were surprises that did not play well with voters.
In contrast, Biden’s process has been almost painfully public and deliberate with the names of nearly a dozen women on his list circulating for weeks in the media to speculation from all sides about their respective qualifications. It has been compared, not favourably, to a season of the reality TV show “The Bachelor”.
In 2000, George W Bush picked an older adviser in Dick Cheney who had served in his father’s administration and who Bush had actually tapped to lead the vice presidential search. The choice telegraphed that Bush the son would draw from this father’s coterie of advisers and served to reassure older Republicans who were uneasy with his youthfulness.
George HW Bush had picked Indiana Senator Dan Quayle in 1988 who immediately drew criticism as lacking sufficient executive experience and whose tenure in office was marked by comic moments.
In 1960, a young John F Kennedy selected Lyndon Johnson from Texas, who was the Senate majority leader at the time. The pick helped bring voters from Texas and the southwest that turned out to be critical to Kennedy’s election.
“Harris is a more logical choice than anyone else,” said Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University.
“African Americans have played such an important part in his nomination and are going to be such an important base for him going forward in the election,” Beck said.
“It is also important that he designate someone who is perceptibly younger than him,” Beck said.
Biden is 77, and his age has been visible in campaign events. He has occasionally stumbled over his words, leading to speculation about mental decline, although he suffers from a lifelong speech impediment. Trump has picked up on the perceived weakness and regularly belittles Biden as “Sleepy Joe” in tweets.
Harris is 55, and has demonstrated a legal mind in her questioning of Trump administration witnesses appearing before Senate committees, notably Attorney General William Barr whom she grilled about whether Trump had asked him to pursue political prosecutions as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
“Her demonstrated ability occupy a prosecutorial persona, for all the things that are new about this, that is a very time-honoured and conventional role for a vice presidential candidate,” said Jim Henson, a political science professor at the University of Texas.
“The vice president is the person to go out and be more aggressive than the candidate. Kamala Harris, given her professional background and her performance in the Senate, has that reputation,” Henson said.
“We saw that in the debate, interestingly with Biden on the receiving end,” he noted.
Harris clashed with Biden in a Democratic presidential debate in June 2019 when she contrasted herself as a little girl being bused to a white neighbourhood to go to school with his record on school busing in the 1970s. Biden stumbled in that moment and was unable to give a coherent response.
“Busing is just such a complex issue, and it was just so divisive back in those days. It didn’t lend itself to more than 60 seconds in a debate even though Joe Biden really stood on the side that prevailed,” Jackson said.
Biden is an outgoing and accommodating personality which should allow him to mesh well with Harris, said Aubrey Immelman, a professor of political psychology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota.
His deliberation and thoughtful process suggest Biden was able to develop “personal chemistry” with her. It is quite likely as well that Harris’s friendship with Biden’s late son Beau also helped. And she may well have been a consensus pick among his close advisers, including his wife Jill Biden, as well as Barack and Michelle Obama.
“Metaphorically, Biden is led more by ‘heart’ than by ‘head”.
The Ondo State Government on Tuesday inaugurated the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Operation Amotekun.
No fewer than 192 recruited members of the corps were inaugurated at the ceremony.
The governor expressed optimism that no criminal element would trouble the relative peace enjoyed in the state as the agency had commenced operations.
He said, “It was so horrible that marauders laid siege to the highways as well as in the farmlands waiting to kidnap or devour anyone in sight. With the launch of the Amotekun, we resolved that it shall be no retreat, no surrender. We are not going to be intimidated or
Former governor of Ekiti State Ayodele Fayose says he will send the former President Olusegun Obasanjo back to prison for all his alleged infractions committed against Nigeria if he becomes president.
Mr Fayose spoke on Tuesday while featuring on “Plus Politics”, a programme on PlusTV Africa in Ado-Ekiti.
The former governor said he would ensure Obasanjo accounts for all the alleged financial impropriety and other manifestations of corrupt practices perpetrated during his eight-year tenure as Nigeria’s president and face the full wrath of law.
He said: “Let me tell to you, Obasanjo has made hate speech and should be brought to book by this government. I pray one day I will become president of this country by God’s grace, Obasanjo will go back to prison. I’m telling you the truth because there are so many things Obasanjo must be questioned about.
“Obasanjo is not a saint when he came out of prison his farm at Ota was in shambles. But, today, it is back to life. Where did the money for resuscitating the once ailing farm come from? It was from the government.
“For the library, all governors at that time contributed N10 million each to support Obasanjo by force. The third term is still fresh in our memory. So, baba should stop telling us he is a saint. Shagari was not good enough. He imposed him on Nigerians. He brought Yar’Adua and Jonathan. Nobody is good to Obasanjo except himself.
“Whatever you say about Kashamu. He has paid his own dues, spent his time. No court convicted him and he left and departed the world. Everybody will have an end. Let wait and see how Obasanjo will end.”
Fayose had recently attacked Obasanjo for his comments about the late Senator Buruji Kashamu after the former president said Kashamu could not beat death despite evading justice for alleged crimes.
