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Irate youths on Thursday burnt down a Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) patrol vehicle at Uya-Oro junction in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
The angry youths staged the protest when some NCS personnel attempted to clamp down on a vehicle allegedly carrying five bags of imported rice.
Latest Reality Metro reports that while the NCS vehicle was chasing a car with the contraband (rice), the car ran into commercial cyclists carrying three passengers.
A witness, who pleaded anonymity, said one of the three passengers died, living others injured.
He said the accident happened at about 3 p.m.
The angry youths later went berserk after a failed attempt of the customs personnel to arrest the car carrying the five bags of alleged imported rice.
Reacting to the issue, the Akwa Ibom Police Public Relations Officer, DSP MacDon Achebe, confirmed the incident.
He said that a customs vehicle tried to stop a car carrying contraband and the driver refused to stop.
“The customs personnel shot at the car and in an attempt to escape, it ran into a commercial cyclist,” Achebe said.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday signed into law the `Not Too Young To Run’ bill and raised eyebrow on the non-reduction of the age limits for senators and governors as originally proposed by sponsors of the bill.
The President, who signed the bill in company of members of the `Not Too Young To Run’ movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also jokingly appealed to the young people to postpone their campaign (presidential ambition) till after the 2019 general elections.
The bill was passed by the National Assembly in July 2017 to alter Sections 65, 106, 131, 177 of the Constitution, to reduce the age qualification for president from 40 to 30; House of Representatives membership from 30 to 25 and State House of Assembly membership from 30 to 25.
The bill, however, maintained the age qualification of 35 years for the positions of senator and governor as against 30 years as originally proposed by the sponsors of the bill.
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“Surprisingly, the age limits for senators and governors were not reduced, as originally proposed by the sponsors of this Bill. This is an issue that may need to be addressed going forward.
“Nevertheless, your focus and contributions have now successfully increased the quality and maturity of Nigerian democracy and expanded the playing field for youth participation in politics.
President Muhammadu Buhari (M) Sponsor, ‘NOT-TOO-YOUNG-TO-RUN BILL’ (NTYTR-B) in the Senate, Sen Abdulazeez Mutala-Nyako (3rd R) Sponsor, NTYTR-B in the House of Representatives, Rep Tony Nwulu (2nd R) Leader NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN GROUP, Mr Samson Itodo (6th L) after the signing into law of the NTYTR-B by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
“You, the young people of Nigeria, are now set to leave your mark on the political space, just as you have done over the decades in entrepreneurship, sports, art, media entertainment, technology, and several other fields.
“You are undoubtedly Nigeria’s most important resource – not oil, not agriculture, not solid minerals – but you and all of us. Your energy, intelligence and talent are what will drive and develop Nigeria, long after we are all gone.’’
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He said that the signing of the bill provided him with an opportunity to affirm that his Administration would continue to do everything in its power to make Nigeria work for the young people.
“You may all know that the Bill I just assented now becomes an Act of the National Assembly.
“Thus, it may be tempting for you to think of this as the end of the journey.
However, it is only the beginning; there is still a lot of work ahead, towards ensuring that young people take full advantage of the opportunities provided not only by this constitutional amendment but also through Nigeria’s boundless prospects.’’
Buhari enjoined the youth to inculcate the spirit of self-help, adding that those who completed their training should not just sit down and wait for government or private sector to employ them.
He urged them to be innovative and turn their hands to any legitimate work that would enable them to sustain themselves.
“You may have noticed already that every one of you represents one of our 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This is because today is about preparing for the bright future of our country.
“I am confident each one of you will transform Nigeria in your own way – whether through media, agricultural enterprise, economists, engineers, or as lawmakers in your states or at federal level, or as state governors – and even someday, as President. Why not?
“But please, can I ask you to postpone your campaigns till after the 2019 elections!’’
In his remark, Coordinator of the “Not Too Young To Run” movement, Samson Itodo thanked President Buhari for assenting to the bill, saying that with the signing, the president had succeeded in writing his name in the history books of Nigeria.
Itodo said the youth would continue to contribute their quota towards the development of the country by upholding the values integrity and accountability.
“We, as young people, hereby make a commitment that we will remain patriotic, upholding the values of integrity and accountability and also contribute our own quota to rebuilding this country and bringing it back to the path of economic and political progress,” he pledged.
Itodo, however, frowned at those three states — Kano, Lagos and Zamfara — whose Houses of Assembly refused to pass the “Not Too Young To Run bill”.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
The Ugandan parliament on Thursday passed a law imposing a tax on people using mobile social media networks in an attempt to increase revenue, but rights groups say the levy is actually aimed at silencing dissent.
The tax for users of WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook is minimal, at 200 Ugandan shillings (five cents) a day, but adds up to about 18 dollars a year – not a small amount of money in the impoverished East African country.
“As a government, we thought it would be good to impose taxes on some aspects of the social media,” deputy government spokesman Shaban Bantariza told dpa Thursday, the day after parliament passed the law.
He added that “government is installing infrastructure like WiFi in areas around the country and it will not do this without our contribution through taxes.”
It was not quite clear how the tax would be implemented, but 24 millions Ugandans – about half the population – have access to the internet, according to the Uganda Communications Commission, mostly through mobile phones.
However, human rights groups expressed concern over the move, which reportedly came about after long-time leader Yoweri Museveni said social media helped spread gossip.
“This tax is detrimental to the enjoyment of freedom of expression,” said Livingstone Sewannyana, director of Uganda’s Foundation for Human Rights Initiative.
“Its prohibitive. It shows the repressive nature of the state which is amassing as much revenue as it can to its advantage,” he added.
During the 2016 elections, social media networks were shut down because people were using them to communicate and mobilize anti-government demonstrations. dpa/LR News
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Ahmed Gabdo, An Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), has cautioned parents against smoking cigarettes close to their children to safeguard their health and future development.
Gabdo, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Thursday as the world celebrates “No Tobacco Day” said the warning had safeguard the health of children.
Gabdo said that many parents who smoked near their children and wards, exposed them to many risks and varieties of health challenges in future.
He said that children whose parents smoked, were more prone to coughing, wheezing and asthma attacks than children whose parents do not smoke.
“They also tend to have higher rates of pneumonia and bronchitis; smoking, not only impacts your cardiovascular health, but also the health of those around you, who do not smoke.
“Exposure to second hand smoke carries the same risk to a non-smoker as someone who does smoke. Other risks include stroke, heart attack and cancer, among other diseases.
“Cigarettes contain about 600 ingredients and when these ingredients burn, they generate more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous and at least 69 of them are linked to cancer,” he said.
A smoker, Musa Bashir, who claimed he had been in the business of puffing cigarette for about 17 year, said doing so removed pain, anger and anxiety.“I was introduced to smoking by my friend and sincerely speaking, cigarette is my closest companion.
“I enjoy smoking, especially when I eat and when I am worried, it cool off my temper.
“Doctors say there are side effects, but for all these years, it has been an immune-booster to me.
‘ I am thinking of quitting, but I needed a job. I need to engage myself in positive activities that will keep me away from my friends who are also smokers. That way, I can stop,” Bashir said.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Arkady Babchenko faked his death
Ukrainian authorities revealed on Wednesday that they faked the death of a Russian journalist to catch someone they suspected of attempting to kill him.
This came less than a day after the reported death of Arkady Babchenko gripped Ukraine watchers as they tried to make sense of what seemed like the third sensational death of a journalist in just a few years.
Q: Who is Babchenko?
A: Babchenko, 41, is a Russian national who was a soldier during the country’s wars in Chechnya in the 1990s. He made his name in literary circles with his descriptions of brutality employed by the Russian army in its fight with the Chechens.
Babchenko, who now lives in Kiev, has also openly criticized Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s southern Crimea region and the ongoing pro-Russian separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Q: How did Ukraine fake his murder?
A: Ukrainian authorities said Babchenko was fatally shot outside his home in Kiev on Tuesday and said Russia was to blame.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called Babchenko a “true friend of Ukraine who told the world the truth about Russian aggression.” “And so they killed him,” Groysman said in a post on his Facebook page.
Babchenko showed up alive the next day at a press conference organized by the head of the government’s main security agency, the Security Service of Ukraine.
Babchenko apologized to his wife and others who had mourned him.
Q: What do we know about the suspect?
A: Russian special services recruited a Ukrainian citizen who convinced an acquaintance, a former participant in Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorism Operation, to kill Babchenko for 30,000 dollars, the Ukrainian agency’s head, Vasyl Hrytsak, told reporters.
The organizer was tasked with purchasing weaponry and ammunition on the black market from the conflict areas in eastern Ukraine, Hrytsak said.
His agency released a video of a middle-aged man being detained by undercover officers on a crowded street in broad daylight. He has been identified only by the initial “G.” Only the side of his face is visible in the video.
Q: What was the reaction to the stunt?
A: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said after the surprising press conference that “the best news is that Babchenko is alive,” according to a statement on her Facebook page.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was relieved that Babchenko is alive, and demanded that Ukraine explain why it felt it needed to lie to the world.
“Ukrainian authorities must now disclose what necessitated the extreme measure of staging news of the Russian journalist’s murder,” the organization said in a statement.
Reporters Without Borders issued a statement expressing its “deepest indignation after discovering the manipulation of the Ukrainian secret services.”
“It is always very dangerous for a government to play with the facts, especially using journalists for their fake stories,” the statement said.
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Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Thursday he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the third year in a row.
“I have taken the decision to not continue next year as Real Madrid coach,” the Frenchman told a hastily convened press conference, before adding he was not looking for another club to coach.
“This club deserves to continue to win and needs a change,” he said, adding that he believed the “moment has come.”
“After three years the club needs another discourse, another method of working,” he added
“I don’t see myself continuing to win this year and I am a winner, I don’t like to lose,” added Zidane, who was under contract with Real until 2020.
“I have thought a lot about this decision and I can’t go back on it.”
Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the final in Kiev on Saturday, making Zidane the first coach in history to win three successive Champions League titles.
Zidane, 45, has now won nine trophies since replacing Rafael Benitez in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout in January 2016.
He was flanked at the press conference by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez who said Zidane’s announcement was “totally unexpected”.
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Following the meeting, Mr Trump tweeted a photo of himself with a stoic Kardashian in the Oval Office.
“Great meeting with [Kim Kardashian] today, talked about prison reform and sentencing,” Mr Trump tweeted.
Kardashian left the White House in an SUV that was parked inside the White House grounds, which CNN notes is an unusual level of access and courtesy provided since most VIP guests have to walk through a gate before they are able to get to their vehicles.
“I would like to thank President Trump for his time this afternoon.
“It is our hope that the President will grant clemency to Ms Alice Marie Johnson who is serving a life sentence for a first-time, non-violent drug offence,” Kardashian wrote on Twitter after the visit.
Kardashian has spoken out about prison reform previously, and has been campaigning for the pardon of Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender who is serving life without parole for those crimes.
Kardashian’s interest in the subject was sparked by a viral video posted by Mic, which described the difficult circumstances and case facing Johnson, a great-grandmother.
The White House has said that one of Mr Kushner’s focus in the administration is to negotiate prison reform a priority, however it does not appear that sentencing reforms to keep non-violent drug offenders out of jail are on the table. LR News
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The Federal Capital Territory High Court has sentenced a former governor of Taraba State, Mr Jolly Nyame, to 14 years in prison without an option of fine.
The court convicted Mr Nyame of criminal breach of trust in a case of N1.64billion fraud preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nyame, who was Taraba State governor between 1999 and 2007, was accused of criminally misappropriating the funds while he governed the state.
Delivering a judgement that lasted more than four hours on Wednesday, Justice Adebukola Banjoko found the former governor guilty in 27 out of 41 counts he was charged with.
The judge blamed Nyame for financial recklessness and brazen display of executive power without following due process.
According to the judegment, the former governor was jailed two years for misappropriation of government funds, seven years for receiving gratification, and five years for obtaining valuable government properties without consideration.
However, the jail terms are to run concurrently.
– No Case Submission –
In November 2016, the prosecution had closed its case against Mr Nyame after presenting 14 witnesses to testify against him in the court.
But the trial suffered a setback on the same day after the defence told the court that it was going to file a “no case submission”, arguing that there was no prima facie case established against the former governor.
Consequently, in January 2017, both the prosecution and the defence adopted their written addresses and gave oral arguments.
The defence relied on the fact that some critical elements were missing in the case and urged the court to “hold that the testimony of prosecution witnesses have been so damaged and can’t be relied on”.
But the prosecution swiftly countered the submission, stating that it had established a prima facie case against Nyame after calling 14 witnesses who testified to how they assisted him to divert the funds.
After listening to both parties, Justice Banjoko had fixed February 14, 2017, to decide whether the former governor had a case to answer or not.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, the judge found the former governor guilty of 27 out of 41 counts levelled against him and jailed him for 14 years without an option of fine.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has announced his resignation from President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.
Dr Fayemi made the announcement on Wednesday at a valedictory briefing in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory in order to pursue his governorship ambition in Ekiti State.
He had given a hint about his resignation from the President’s cabinet earlier in May during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The former minister emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Ekiti State in the party’s rescheduled primary election which held on May 12.
He faulted the allegation that he was desperate to become the governor of the state for a second time.
Instead, Fayemi said he was contesting the election because he was unable to complete his mission in his first tenure.
“I have a sense of unfinished business; not a sense of wanting to come back for desperate reasons. I served as governor of the state for four years – whatever I’m doing is based on the record that somebody could be subjected to critical scrutiny,” he had said.
Following his victory at the primary, President Buhari congratulated Fayemi and other aspirants who took part in the exercise.
The President was optimistic that having won the party’s ticket, the former governor would leverage his track record as a reformist who has a passion for education, health and welfare, to reclaim the governorship seat when the state goes to poll on July 14.
He, had, however, asked members of the APC in Ekiti to uphold the values and philosophy of the ruling party by coming together to support the former minister.
Meanwhile, the present state governor, Ayodele Fayose, has asked the former governor to “expect to suffer worse defeat compared to that of 2014”, when they both vie for the Ekiti governorship seat.
Fayose was happy that the APC picked a candidate whom he claimed the Ekiti people would gladly vote against.
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After weeks of being away from the Senate Chambers, the Senator representing the Kogi West Senatorial Constituency, Senator Dino Melaye has resumed plenary.
Senator Melaye resumed plenary on Wednesday and asked to be moved from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) side of the chamber to the Opposition.
The Senator who resumed plenary after a battling with the police and being on admission in the hospital for a while asked Senate President Bukola Saraki for permission to leave his allotted seat and move to the opposite side of the Senate chamber.
He specifically asked that he wants to sit beside the former Senate President, David Mark.
According to Senator Melaye, his reason for wanting a change of seat is because his present seat is no longer comfortable after his ordeal with the police and his health issues.
But the lawmakers from the ruling APC kicked against the move by Senator Melaye arguing that it is against the constitution.
Meanwhile, the opposition lawmakers welcome the change of seat by Senator Dino Melaye.
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Milkweed Bugs
A South African company has begun selling what it calls “Entomilk”, a special milk made from farmed insects.
“Think of Entomilk as a sustainable, nature-friendly, nutritious, lactose free, delicious, guilt-free dairy alternative of the future,” Gourmet Grubb said on its website.
According to the company, one of the most pivotal benefits of Entomilk is that it has a high protein content and is rich in minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium.
Entomilk entered the market two years after the debut of the so-called “cockroach milk,” a milk made from the viviparous cockroach named Diploptera punctata.
This particular kind of cockroach, which is usually found on Pacific islands like Hawaii, is the only known cockroach that gives birth to their babies, as opposed to laying eggs.
Their milk is a crystal of proteins, fats and sugars, which are important for the growth of baby cockroaches.
A study carried out by Indian researchers in 2016 found that the cockroach milk is estimated to contain over three times the energy of the equivalent mass of cow milk.
However, scientists did not expect the cockroach milk to be found in supermarkets anytime soon. Besides its unappealing name, it’s also unclear if the milk is safe to consume.
“We have no evidence that it is actually safe for human consumption,” said Subramanian Ramaswamy, the lead author of the 2016 study. Xinhua/LR News
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Researchers from the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital said some supplements could pose harm to our health.
The study disclosed that niacin and antioxidants were associated with a higher risk of death by any cause, albeit a very small increase.
“We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” said lead author Dr. David Jenkins in a statement.
“These findings suggest that people should be conscious of the supplements they’re taking and ensure they’re applicable to the specific vitamin or mineral deficiencies they have been advised of by their health-care provider,” Jenkins said.
The doctor suggested that it’s most beneficial to rely on a healthy diet to get one’s fill of vitamins and minerals.
“So far, no research on supplements has shown us anything better than healthy servings of less processed plant foods including vegetables, fruits and nuts,” he added.
They further said that taking vitamin and mineral supplements may not make much a difference in one’s health.
They found out that many popular vitamins had no advantage in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or early death.
The vitamins the team reviewed were “A, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6, B9 (folic acid), C, D, and E”, as well as carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium.
The only supplement that showed any benefit among the studies was folic acid, which could lower one’s risk of heart disease and stroke. Xinhua/LR News
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Mozambique Police Officers
Police in Mozambique said 10 people were beheaded in an attack over the weekend in an area where previous Islamist attacks have been reported.
Radio Mozambique said police in the capital Maputo could not immediately give details of the attack in a village near the town of Palma, close to Mozambique’s border with Tanzania.
The area was also near one of the world’s biggest untapped offshore gas fields.
“Unknown persons killed by decapitation at least 10 people in recent days in the administrative post of Olumbi, Palma district, in the north of Cabo Delgado province,” Radio Mocambique said in a brief report.
The radio station did not provide any further details on the attack.
Portuguese news agency Lusa, quoting national broadcaster TVM, said two children were among those beheaded but this could not be independently verified.
Palma district administrator David Machimbuko told the station that authorities had moved security teams to areas where further attacks were feared.
Police spokesman Inacio Dina said officers were gathering information from a team dispatched to the north.
Local media have reported a series of attacks carried out by Islamists since October 2017, when police stations were attacked in the north, a predominantly Muslim region.
Mozambique has not been a focal point of Islamist militant activity in the past and police have been reluctant to ascribe the attacks to Islamists.
Muslims make up about 18 per cent of Mozambique’s population.
Roman Catholics form the largest single religious grouping, with about 30 per cent of its 30 million people.
The gas project is located in the Rovuma basin off the northern coast of Mozambique, an area where oil firms are exploring.
Experts say the reserves are enough to supply energy to Britain, France, Germany and Italy for over 20 years. Reuters/LR News
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Peacekeeper: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decorates Amodu
Cdr. Olufunmilayo Amodu, serving with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), has been decorated with medal for her outstanding service.
She was decorated with the medal by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.
The UN will also honour three fallen Nigerian peacekeepers on June 1, at the UN headquarters in New York.
They are Lt. Col. Ali Suleiman, who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Others are Warrant Officer Remmy Amakwe, who was deployed with the African Union–United Nations Mission in Darfur; and Mr Kolawole Shogaolu, who served in a civilian capacity in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali.
NAN reports that the honour is an acknowledgement of the contribution of Nigeria to UN Peacekeeping Operations to ensure global peace and security.
The decoration was part of activities to honour the service and sacrifice of peacekeepers around the world to mark the 2018 International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
Guterres also awarded a medal to appreciate the outstanding service of Maj. Mohammad Khan from Bangladesh, a military staff officer based at MINUSMA Force headquarters.
Speaking after receiving the award, Amodu said: “The medal is very important. It symbolises what it is to be a peacekeeper at MINUSMA. Receiving it from the Secretary-General is a very unique privilege.
“The terrorists are not relenting in what they are doing. And obviously, we are not backing out in what we have come to do”, she added, underscoring the worrying security situation in Mali.
She further said: “The UN is all about peace. And when there is peace, there is development.
“When there is peace, there is promotion of technology. When there is peace, every other thing works the way it should work.
“And for any person who would want to join MINUSMA, you should have at the back of your mind that when you are coming, it is to support the peace process.”
Latest Reality Metro reports that more than one million men and women have served under the UN flag, saving countless lives just as over 3,700 blue helmets have paid the ultimate price over the past seven decades.
Troops with the mission have increasingly become the target of attacks.
Meanwhile, Guterres attended a ceremony at MINUSMA’s base in Bamako where he paid tribute to fallen peacekeepers and laid a wreath at the memorial inside the camp, engraved with the names of those killed in the service of peace.
“Dear peacekeepers, you have demonstrated that you are capable of all forms of sacrifice. For many of your colleagues, this has meant the supreme sacrifice of giving their lives to protect the lives of Malian civilians.
“I want to thank you very much for this effort; these sacrifices, to pay tribute to you, and to say how proud I am to work with you.
“As peacekeepers, you are the foremost symbol of the United Nations itself”, Guterres said.
Also, Mahamat Annadif, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali and Head of MINUSMA, said that honouring the fallen “warms the hearts of their comrades and encourages us to continue to defend even more resolutely the values of the United Nations”.
Guterres was accompanied on his visit to Mali by Under Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare, Head of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and the Executive Director of UN Children’s Fund, Henrietta Fore.
He was received at the airport by Malian President Ibrahim Keita.
He was also scheduled to meet with Keita and other Malian officials as well as UN officials working in the country.
UN has declared the north-west African country as the most dangerous place in the world to be a ‘blue helmet’ as 21 troops and seven civilians serving with MINUSMA died in 2017. LR News
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Minister of Labour Chris Ngige
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that the new national minimum wage may not materialise in September as being speculated.
Ngige, who disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday at his residence in Abuja, said that the September date was just a date to conclude negotiation on the issue of minimum wage.
“The committee on the new National Minimum wage is expected to conclude its work by the end of September and present its report to the government for deliberation and approval before an executive bill is sent to the National Assembly on the issue”.
The minister, however, said that the issue of capacity to pay was also paramount in the deliberations on the minimum wage.
According to him, it is to get the input of all those concerned including state governments and the organised private sector that the committee embarked on zonal public hearing across the country.
The minister said further that in the course of the zonal public hearings, many state governments made different submissions ranging from N22,000 monthly to N58,000.
He added that the governors were also of the belief that for the new minimum wage to become effective, the current revenue allocation formula would have to be reviewed in favour of the states and local government.
He said that some other states were also of the view that the minimum wage should be maintained at the current N18,000 in view of the inability of some states to pay the current wages.
According to Ngige, when the minimum wage committee concludes its report, it will be submitted to the National Council of State and the Federal Executive Council for approval before a bill is sent to the National Assembly to legalise the work of the committee.
He said even though it was not an easy task, the committee was making progress in its assigned responsibility.
He pointed out that six governors were elected to be members of the committee as well as representatives of the private organised sector in an effort to carry everybody.
On the threat of non-teaching staff of universities to resume their suspended strike as a result of government failure to honour the terms of their agreement, the Minister said the government was sourcing for the N6 billion needed to pay them their earned allowances as contained in the agreement.
He said with his experience as Minister of Labour, majority or about 95 per cent of agreements currently being paraded by trade unions in the country were signed before the Buhari government came into office in 2015.
Based on this, he noted that most of such agreements had no timeline for implementation.
He also said many of the agreements signed by the past governments were not implementable because of the amount involved.
He added that the principles of the International Labour Organisation allowed employers to renegotiate agreements, when they feel they cannot implement.
“What is important in all collective bargaining agreement is the ability to pay what is being demanded and what is agreed upon.
He appealed to striking health workers to return to work while negotiations continue on their demands.
According to the minister, the delay in the implementation of their signed agreement was as a result of failure of the National Salaries, Wages and Income Commission to defend the two different figure presented to a government high powered committee. LR News
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Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN special envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame at a press conference in Paris after four Libyan leaders agreed to hold elections in December 2018
Four Libyan leaders agreed Tuesday to hold elections on December 10 after a peace conference in Paris aimed at unifying the war-torn north African country.
The four men, who represent most but not all of Libya’s rival factions, also agreed to “accept the results of elections, and ensure appropriate funds and strong security arrangements are in place”.
The commitment to holding parliamentary and presidential polls this year came after four hours of talks in Paris where the leaders faced pressure to agree on a political roadmap to end seven years of conflict.
European leaders see stabilising Libya as key to tackling jihadist threats and migration from the fractured country, which has become a departure point for hundreds of thousands of Africans trying to reach Europe.
“I’m optimistic,” UN envoy Ghassan Salame told AFP at the end of the talks which he called “historic” because they had brought together the main Libyan protagonists as well as regional countries for the first time.
The Libyan invitees were Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, and 75-year-old military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose rival Libyan National Army dominates the country’s east.
Also present were Aguila Saleh Issa, the parliament speaker based in the eastern city of Tobruk, and Khalid Al-Mishri, the newly-elected head of the High Council of State.
“There is no solution other than via you,” Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi told the Libyan leaders at the opening of the talks. “If things go badly, it’s your responsibility.”
In a further complication, the main political and military representatives from the western city of Misrata boycotted proceedings after not being offered the same status as other invitees in Paris.
“There are some positive points in this agreement, which ultimately is not worth anything because it hasn’t been signed,” a senior military figure in the Misrata militia, Ibrahim Ben Rjab, told AFP.
Instead of signing the deal, the leaders in Paris gave their approval for a joint statement to be issued and later committed verbally to implementing it when explicitly asked to do so by Macron during a group photo.
“So we are all working on this common basis, bravo!” Macron told them.
Years of mediation by the United Nations, as well as Italy, have failed to bring stability to the nation which descended into chaos after the ousting of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
Previous peace agreements have come to nothing.
“It went well. Afterwards, it depends on the implementation,” one diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Representatives from 20 countries including Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, attended the talks, as well as Libya’s neighbours Algeria and Tunisia.
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Prince Dayo Adeyeye
Prince Dayo Adeyeye, one of the aspirants for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, has dumped the party to join the All Progressives Congress.
Adeyeye, a former spokesperson of the Makarfi faction of the PDP, announced his defection and those of his supporters to the APC on Tuesday.
The lawyer-journalist, who was former Minister of State for Works during the PDP regime of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, lost the primaries of the party to the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka.
He accused Governor Ayo Fayose of having given undue advantage to Olusola-Eleka.
Adeyeye said he left to support the candidate of the APC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the bid to rescue Ekiti State from the maladministration of Fayose.
Adeyeye, told a news conference at his Ado Ekiti residence that he defected because he could no longer operate on the same pedestal with the state governor, Ayo Fayose.
He claimed that Fayose was too dictatorial and overbearing in his handling of internal affairs of the PDP in the state.
He said he had consequently directed all his teeming supporters across the state to follow suit and join the APC.
He said he preferred to work with the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who he described as “better equipped”.
Adeyeye, who was also the former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee and former spokesman of the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said his defection to APC was his Democracy Day gift to the nation.
He, however, denied that he defected because he had reached an agreement with Fayemi purposely to become his running mate in the July gubernatorial poll.
”Nothing can be farther from the truth in that regard. I never planned to leave PDP so as to become Fayemi’s deputy.
“As far as I know, Fayemi will announce his deputy tomorrow or the day after, and as far as I know, I will definitely not be the one to be so announced.
“Leaving the PDP was not an easy decision to make. That was a party to which I have rendered invaluable service at the most trying period of its history.
“Expectedly, patriotic leaders of the party appealed to me to reconsider my decision in the light of my previous service and loyalty to the party.
“But the issue was never about me as a person. It was about the interest of the very many people who associate with me and more importantly the collective interest and future of Ekiti people.
“For me, politics has always been an opportunity to serve and make contributions toward the development of my community and the nation.
“Therefore, when I am compelled to make a choice between loyalty to a political party and loyalty to my community, l will readily choose my community or state.
“Political parties come and go but the community remains. I cannot change my state or hometown but I can always change my party if I feel that it can no longer serve as a vehicle for our collective good as a people.
“As a thorough bred Ekiti person with a deep love of this land and the people, it is incumbent on me to resist and stop the evil agenda of one man to put our people in perpetual enslavement,” he said.
He said that Fayose “does not believe in reconciliation,” adding that no effort at reconciliation would work with him.
”My supporters and I have decided to leave Egypt, which the Fayose administration represents and join hands with patriotic Ekiti people to board the train of the APC for the onward journey to our promised land.”
He said his defection was to set Ekiti land free and entrust the land unto the hands of Fayemi, who had come to right the wrong and not on a vengeance mission as being touted by Fayose and his cohorts.
”Fayemi is now better equipped, well focused and better prepared to move Ekiti forward,”Adedeye said.
Latest Reality Metro reports that Ekiti governorship election will hold on July 14.
