A socio-political activist, Mr Ibrahim Bashir has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to politicise the running of sensitive government agencies.
He said this while reacting to the appointment of Baffa Agundi as the new Director General of the National Productivity Center, NPC.
TVN recalls that President Tinubu last week appointed Agundi as the new Director-General of the NPC.
A statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity noted that Mr Dan Agundi is a former majority leader of the Kano State House of Assembly, as well as former Principal Registrar of the Kano State High Court of Justice.
However, Ibrahim told journalists on Tuesday that the President was ill-advised in making the leadership change at the NPC.
According to him, the agency had been thriving on the service experiences of Dr Raji Mustapha as the Director General, stressing that it would be a disservice to the nation to start trying someone from the outside.
He said the NPC was long known for promoting individuals from within its ranks, based on merit, professional qualifications and a deep understanding of the organization’s mission.
While recalling that Mustapha joined the NPC as an assistant productivity officer three decades ago and ascended to the role of DG in May 2023, he said such a person should not be replaced with someone from outside the organisation.
He said, “Without any prejudice against Baffa Agundi, I must have to say that it would do the nation a great disservice to politicize this all-important agency.
“I think it’s important to consider specialization and expertise before making some appointments. Everything should not be based on political considerations.
“The NPC has maintained the tradition of getting a successor from the inside and this has helped to stabilize the agency for the past years.
“This unbroken record led to the appointment of Dr Mustapha last year and he has performed optimally.
“We urge Mr President to listen to several other persons and groups who share this same view. The appointment should be rescinded in the interest of the nation.
“Bringing on board someone who lacks the necessary professional experience and understanding of productivity management will undermine the integrity and effectiveness of the NPC.
“NPC is very strategic in its role of advancing productivity across both private and public sectors in Nigeria, especially this time that the nation is facing multifarious challenges.”
Ibrahim appealed to President Tinubu to ignore those who are bent on politicising every single appointment for their selfish gains.
Activist advises Tinubu against politicising agency appointments
Activist advises Tinubu against politicising agency appointments
Ekiti NULGE tackles Fayose over comments on LG autonomy
The President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, Ekiti State Branch, Oluseyi Olatunde, has said that the former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, lacks necessary ideas about the workings of the local government system.
Olatunde spoke in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday in response to Fayose’s statement during a television interview that “most council officials do not take their work seriously”.
The NULGE president said, “Such a mischievous statement is not the true picture of local government practice in Nigeria and in Ekiti State in particular. It is a mere fallacy cooked up by Fayose and his likes who are opposed to the realities of the local government autonomy.”
Fayose had, while expressing opposition to autonomy for councils granted last week by the Supreme Court, stressed that nobody from the grassroots can emerge as a local government chairman without the support of a governor, the Ekiti politician said both the court and FG ‘cannot take the baby from the mother.’
But the NULGE president, who disagreed with Fayose, said, “We call on Fayose to humbly withdraw the vexatious statement and tender unreserved apology to the council workers who he had discredited, blackmailed and portrayed in a bad light in the eyes of right thinking public.
“Council workers in Ekiti State are very productive and this is evident in the various developmental progress made so far by all the councils including the Local Council Development Areas created in the state.
“The leadership of NULGE is not surprised at the negative outburst of Fayose who during his time as governor of Ekiti State ran the councils like his private business and reduced the office of the council Chairman to that of a puppet.
“Not that alone, he impoverished local government workers through his obnoxious policy of using three federal allocations to pay a month’s salary which resulted in unpaid salaries accumulating in arrears of nine months despite the huge bailout funds the state received from the Federal Government.”
Rwandan President Kagame wins fourth term in office with 99 per cent
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has won 99.15 percent of the votes from the country’s presidential election to secure a fourth term in office.
Rwanda’s electoral body said only about 79 percent of ballots have been counted.
Authorities said 9.5 million Rwandans registered to vote.
The country has a population of 14 million.
Kagame, 64-year-old, is qualified to continue in office till 2034 after a constitutional amendment in 2015 changed a two-term limit.
Kagame’s opponents: Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana, received less than one percent each in the provisional results.
The result is the same as 2017 when Kagame swooped nearly 99 percent of the votes.
Final results are expected by July 27, although they could be announced sooner.
Kagame seized power as the head of rebels who took control of the government and ended the genocide in 1994, becoming vice-president and de facto leader from then to 2000, when he became president.
Rwandan President Kagame wins fourth term in office with 99 per cent
Tinubu has directed CDS to curb oil theft in N’Delta
The Group Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari on Tuesday said President Bola Tinubu has given marching orders to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to curb oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region within the shortest possible time.
According to him, the menace has become a national issue that needs to be surmounted to boost oil production in the country.
On Monday, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed that the country lost $1.84bn worth of petroleum products from refineries in nine years.
But speaking to journalists at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, following a meeting of all security and intelligence agency heads convened by the Chief of Defence Staff, the NNPCL boss stated that achieving the desired economic stability would be impossible without curbing oil theft and other crimes in the Niger Delta region.
Kyari said, “We are here to engage with the CDS based on the directive of the president. The president has directed the CDS to take control of the crisis we are having in the Niger Delta operational area. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have become a national issue, the president has directed the CDS to contend this within the shortest possible time so that we can restore national production to the level the president and the country is expecting.
“To do this, he needs the coordination and cooperation of all armed forces, the police, the DIA, the DSS among others. It is the survival of our country that is at stake today. Without restoring oil and gas production, we cannot have the economic stability that we desire. The president is clearly focused on this to deliver value to our country. It is impossible to do this without settling the crisis around our operational areas.
“We are already seeing progress, we are seeing substantial value that is being created by the coordination but we are very convinced that a solution is in sight. ”
The Chief of Defence Staff vowed to eliminate all acts of vandalism and other criminal activities throughout the South-South region.
He said, “The truth about it is that whatever is happening in the South-South has been ongoing for such a very long time. And we feel it is high time that it is stopped. What we are promising Nigerians is that henceforth, the entire South-South will be cleared of any acts of vandalism, or criminality within the general area.
“As we said, the President has given us a mandate to ensure that we secure the entire South-South and to enable NNPC and others to carry out their tasks so that we can have improved production. We know that Nigeria relies so much on what we produce. And so we want to use this medium to appeal to the communities, to have an understanding.”
He called on the host communities to trust and give the security agencies the needed support.
Musa said, “Yes, we know trust has been a problem. But they can trust us, they can trust the government, that we want to do things differently. Everyone will be carried along.
“Everyone has a role to play. It is not only for the security agencies alone. We need the communities to understand that pipeline vandalism and all the hazards being caused are also affecting them directly. And we need to stop that. ”
Musa also said the operations of the security agencies would be harmonised to achieve the task given to him by the president.
The Defence Chief assured Nigerians that the results of the harmonized operation of the security agencies would be felt in the next two to three months.
He said, “We need to work together. And this meeting we had today is to harmonize that based on the mandates that the President has given us.
“We’re going to work together as a team. All the operations will be harmonized. Coming on that, the Joint Task Force, with the land components of all the other agencies, and we’re going to work and bring results. And I can assure you within the next shortest possible time, two, three months, you will see results coming in. ”
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun assured that every step needed to be taken to curb oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region would be taken.
He said, “We accept that we have challenges, but we must all come together to solve them. So, we need the cooperation of all agencies, we need the cooperation of the citizens. We need to take every step that we need to take to address all these issues. I assure you that in the days ahead, you are going to see results.”
Gov Sanwo-Olu dons NYSC uniform to orientation camp, gifts 4,254 corpers [VIDEO]
![Gov Sanwo-Olu dons NYSC uniform to orientation camp, gifts 4,254 corpers [VIDEO]](https://tvn.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Sanwo-Olu-768x421.jpg "Gov Sanwo-Olu dons NYSC uniform to orientation camp, gifts 4,254 corpers [VIDEO]")
Governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu has visited the Lagos State orientation camp and gifted the over 4,254 youth corps members N400 million for their hard work.
Sanwo-Olu made the donation on Tuesday at the NYSC camp at Iyana Ipaja, Tuesday
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Batch ‘B’ Stream I Orientation Course, he also promised to approve N5 bn for the construction of the NYSC permanent site.
Sanwo-Olu in a now trending video on social media, arrived at the Orientation Camp, wearing the NYSC uniform.
“For all 4,254 for this batch and with all sense of responsibility and because you have been very hardworking, each of you will go home with N100,000, the money will be made available into your accounts by next week and your directors will credit your account.”
” I will release 5bn this year alone to start the full development of the permanent site for NYSC.”
Video:
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by GoldMyne (@goldmynetv)
Gov Sanwo-Olu dons NYSC uniform to orientation camp, gifts 4,254 corpers [VIDEO]
What we know about bomb Israel used on Gaza ‘safe zone’
Israel’s deadly strike on Al-Mawasi, one of the bloodiest attacks in more than nine months of the war in Gaza, used massive payload bombs provided by the United States, according to weapons experts.
The bombing of the Israeli-declared “safe zone” transformed the tent city on the Mediterranean coast into a charred wasteland, with nearby hospitals overrun with casualties.
According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, the barrage killed at least 92 people and wounded more than 300.
The Israeli military said it targeted two “masterminds” of the October 7 attacks by Hamas that triggered the war. It said a top commander, Rafa Salama, was killed in the strike, but uncertainty remains over Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
AFP videos of the attack showed a white mushroom cloud billowing over a busy street, leaving behind a huge crater strewn with the wreckage of tents and a building blown to bits.
Here is what we know about the weaponry used in the attack:
– US-made JDAM –
Two weapons experts told AFP that a sliver of munition seen in a video of the blast site circulating online was a tail fin from a US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). AFP could not independently verify the video.
The GPS-aided kit converts unguided free-fall bombs — so-called “dumb bombs” — into precision-guided “smart” munitions that can be directed towards single or multiple targets.
The United States developed the kit to improve accuracy in adverse weather after Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The first JDAMs were delivered in 1997 and, according to the US Air Force, have a 95 per cent system reliability.
A former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, Trevor Ball, concluded from images of the Al-Mawasi strike that “it’s 100 per cent a JDAM kit” made in the United States.
He said that given the types of bombs compatible with the guidance system and the size of the fin fragment, the JDAM was most likely used with either a 1,000 or 2,000-pound (450 or 900 kilogrammes) payload.
He said the fragment could also be compatible with the BLU-109 “bunker buster” warhead, which is designed to penetrate concrete.
Ball said it was not possible to definitively determine where the payload itself was made without “very specific fragments of the bomb body”.
– New delivery –
Repeated use of such large bombs in the densely populated Gaza Strip has sparked humanitarian outcry and heaped pressure on US President Joe Biden to reconsider the munitions supplied to Israel.
On July 12, Israel’s main military backer announced it was ending a pause on supplying 500-pound bombs, though Biden said the 2,000-pound type would be withheld.
The White House has repeatedly voiced frustration over the civilian death toll in Gaza as Israel attempts to eradicate Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told two top Israeli officials on Monday that the civilian toll was “unacceptably high”, his spokesman said.
Israeli officials said their “precise strike” in Al-Mawasi hit an open area that housed a Hamas compound and not a civilian camp.
When contacted by AFP regarding the weapons used, the Israeli military declined to comment.
Based on Israel’s stated target, a retired US Air
Force master sergeant and strike and joint targeting expert, Wes Bryant, said it would have been feasible to avoid collateral damage in the surrounding area.
“My assessment is that any civilians killed in this strike were in the compound -— not in the surrounding vicinity. So the IDF either failed to assess presence of civilians, or… deemed the risk to civilians proportional to the military advantage of taking out the Hamas leaders,” he said.
– ‘Absolute destruction’ –
The strike left Al-Mawasi a scene of “absolute destruction” with no water, electricity or sewage treatment, the Islamic Relief charity said.
It condemned Israel for its willingness “to kill innocent men, women and children in pursuit of its end goals”.
Hamas said that by arming Israel, the Biden administration is “legally and morally responsible” for spawning a “major humanitarian catastrophe”.
It said US-supplied weapons used by Israel included GPS-guided bombs, dumb bombs, bunker busters and JDAMs.
After repeated high-casualty strikes in recent days, a Hamas official said the group was withdrawing from indirect talks for a truce and hostage release deal with Israel.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,664 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry.
AFP
Anti-Government Protests: Nigerian traders warned to boycott rallies
The President of the National Harmonized Traders Union, Dr Bature AbdulAziz, has directed the Nation’s Traders and Marketers to shun the planned August protests against the government of President Ahmad Bola Tinubu over bad economic policies leading to suffering in the land.
Dr Bature AbdulAziz also directed his members to stop their children and relatives from joining the protests, which he said might lead to the breaking of Nigeria.
Speaking in a press release he signed and issued to newsmen in Kano, AbdulAziz explained that apart from creating a serious crisis it might lead to further economic woes in Nigeria.
Giving examples of the #EndSars Protests, he said many traders were killed while their goods were looted and their stores burnt to ashes.
“In any case, we are not against peaceful protests but in Nigeria, we don’t see any peaceful protests, any time people, mostly youths and in most cases, jobless youths take to the streets, outcomes are always devastating”.
Similarly, the Traders Union President reminded most countries of the world like Yoghoslavia who protested for a long time against their leaders today. Those countries are not only divided but they have completely fallen out, with their citizens left wallowing in greater destitution before their actions.
Bature Abdulaziz said, “We share the pains and agony of Nigerians in the present economic devastating conditions they find themselves or we find ourselves but allowing the government to gradually fix the situation is better than creating yet another problem that will drive the Country 100 years backwards”.
He said the government must try and measure up by quickly coming out with an assured means of salvaging the situation so that Nigerians will see clearly that there is an effort which will pacify them to shelve their planned mass protests.
Dr Bature AbdulAziz who doubles as the National President of the Patriotic Elders for Peace and Unity, called on parents to as a matter of urgency begin a serious consultation on the children against joining any kind of protests that might lead to the break of the country.
“In these planned protests, one can see the hands of the enemies of Nigeria who have been angling to have a chance to make the country ungovernable, this should not be supported by every sensible person and parents have a greater role to play by stopping their wards from joining the Protests”, he advised.
“We called on the government of Ahmad Bola Tinubu, to amplify means that will reduce the pains and agony, hunger, starvation and hyperinflation which results in many homes sleeping without food.
”Introduce more serious intervention, although we thank the government for starting the distribution of 20 Trucks of Rice to each state, this is commendable”.
Anti-Government Protests: Nigerian traders warned to boycott rallies
Belgium refuse to host Israel match over security fears
Belgium will not host the Nations League match against Israel on September 6 over security fears.
The Belgian Football Federation announced this on Tuesday.
The city of Brussels said last month that the match would not be played at the King Baudouin stadium because it could spark demonstrations.
Authorities had deemed it “impossible to organise this very high-risk match” in the city due to tensions linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other Belgian cities also refused to host the match.
The host city has not yet been designated with Budapest being cited as an option.
Concerns were likely raised by the attack in Brussels in October in which an Islamist gunman killed two Swedish football fans before a Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden, although the motive of the attack was not anti-Semitic.
France and Italy are in the same Nations League Group A2 as Belgium and Israel.
AFP
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from According.
Contact: [email protected]
Kano files fresh fraud charges against Ganduje
The Kano State Government has filed fresh charges against the immediate past Governor of the state and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje before a Kano State High Court with Case No. K/143c/24.
According to the charge sheet sighted by The Punch, Ganduje and his former Commissioner for Justice, Musa Lawan are 1st and 2nd Defendants, respectively.
They are being accused among others of Criminal Conspiracy, contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97, Criminal Breach of Trust contrary to Section 311 and punishable under Section 315, Criminal Misappropriation contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.
The duo are standing trial for; “dishonestly, fraudulently and without reasonable justification, in the abuse of your respective officers, conspired between yourselves, misappropriated, diverted and converted the sum of Two Hundred and Forty million naira to finance purely personal and private case for your own personal and private benefit thereby causing wrongful gain to yourselves and wrongful loss to the Government and people of Kano State.”
The charge sheet further reads: “The prosecution intended to present 4 witnesses and will at the trial of the Defendants adduce evidence to show that the 1st Defendant in betrayal of his official trust, taking advantage of his privileged position as the Governor and Chief Executive Officer of Kano State.
“That between the period of November 2022 or thereabout, Conspired with his subordinate, the 2nd Defendant who is in blatant display of abuse of office initiated a memo to the 1st Defendant to approve the release of Two Hundred and Forty Million Naira for the purpose of civil litigation in respect of the staff of Kano State who were being accused by the EFCC which in reality the funds were converted to secure order against the EFCC not to investigate bribery and corruption allegation against the 1st Defendant in purely private and personal matter.”
However, no date has been fixed for the commencement of the trial.
Lawyer threatened with bench warrant for court absence
A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama on Tuesday threatened to issue a bench warrant on an Abuja-based lawyer, Victor Giwa, in an alleged charge of unlawful eviction, criminal intimidation, and threat to the life of one Ms Asabe Waziri.
The defendants, in the suit, marked CR/222/2023, are facing a nine-count charge bordering on unlawful eviction, criminal intimidation, threat to life, and damage to property to the tune of N300 million.
When the matter was called upon for hearing at today’s sitting, all three defendants as mentioned in the suit, Mr. Cecil Osakwe, Mr. Victor Giwa, and Ms. Edith Erhumwuuse were absent for their scheduled arraignment.
The plaintiff’s counsel, M.A Una, had told the court that at the previous sitting in the matter, Victor Giwa, the 2nd defendant, had written to the court that he was sick but there was, however, evidence that he was before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja as a counsel in another matter.
He, therefore, urged the court to grant a bench warrant for his arrest for arraignment.
Giwa’s counsel Deborah Nwoke, in her response, insisted that her client was sick and had a medical report to prove it but did not contest the fact that he was in court that day.
The plaintiff’s lawyer also told the court that the 1st defendant, Cecil Osakwe, is evading service and that several attempts to serve him failed.
He asked the court to grant an application for substituted service that can be pasted on his residence at No11, Aso Drive, Abuja.
In a short ruling, Justice Samira Bature granted the substituted service request to be pasted on the residence of the 1st defendant.
She also threatened to issue a bench warrant on the 2nd defendant should he fail to appear on the next adjourned date.
The judge held that the 2nd defendant is being pardoned only on the grace that he is a lawyer.
She urged him to appear in the next adjourned date or the application for a bench warrant would be granted.
Justice Bature adjourned to Wednesday, July 17 for further mention and subsequent arraignment.