Nedu Echianu's Blog

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he was a descendant of Abraham, a biblical hero regarded as the father of faith. The President said this in an article he wrote in The Church Times UK titled, “Don’t politicise religion in Nigeria.” In the piece, Buhari eulogised the late Revd . Samuel Ajayi Crowther, reputed to have translated the English Bible into Yoruba language. The President said just like the millions of Christians in Nigeria, he believed in peace, tolerance, reconciliation, the institution of the family, the sanctity of marriage, divine revelation, among others. He wrote, “In 1844, Revd. Samuel Ajayi Crowther returned home to Yorubaland. Twenty years earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave traders who were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an abolitionist naval patrol, and received by the Church Missionary Society. There, he found his calling. “Crowther made his voyage home to establish the first Anglican mission in Yorubaland. He came w

President Muhammadu Buhari with Shehu of Borno and the Governor of Borno, Kasshim Shettima during his visit to the state on Wednesday. Source: Instagram. The Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Elkanemi, has revealed that the people of the state are still under Boko Haram siege, despite claims to the contrary. Elkanemi said this when President Muhammadu Buhari paid him a courtesy call at his palace in Shehuri, Maiduguri, reports TheCable. The monarch dismissed claims by security operatives that the ongoing military operations, particularly in some parts of the state and the Lake Chad region, was yielding a positive result. He said, “On behalf of the traditional institution in Borno, I want to commend Your Excellency for the commitment you have given towards ending the lingering crisis of Boko Haram. “It is unfortunate that despite all efforts put in place to restore peace in our land and the north-east, we the people of Borno state are still under Boko Haram siege. “Nobody can dare move ou

The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to the challenge of a debate thrown at him by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Atiku, after he had been introduced by Secondus to the members of the PDP National Executive Committee during the 83rd PDP NEC meeting in Abuja on Thursday, challenged Buhari to a national debate for the two of them to explain to Nigerians their programmes and policies. Secondus who also spoke on the occasion, agreed that President Buhari should debate with the PDP presidential candidate. He said, “We challenge President Buhari to come out and debate and tell the people what he wants to do. He should not use proxy. Let him debate on issues with our candidate. Let him come out and debate. Politics is about engagement and persuasion and not by intimidation and arm-twisting. We have the best candidate in the country today

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the Nigerian Army has been transformed into a political weapon that has abandoned her security responsibilities. He stated that the disruption of the training of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme by the Nigerian Army is the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity In the State. He spoke at Odiokwu, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State where he flagged off the construction of a Model Primary Healthcare Centre, Odiokwu Internal Roads, Odiokwu-Anwuigboko and Odiokwu-Oyigbo Roads on Thursday. "The Army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State. "If you don't want Rivers State to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us", he said. The governor said that Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante outfits which were com

Chief of Army Staff, Buratai The 6 Division Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt says it has discovered an illegal militia training camp inside a Rivers community. Col. Aminu Iliyasu, spokesman of the division, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Port Harcourt that soldiers had taken over the camp. He said the illegal camp was discovered by troops, who were on routine surveillance of the NYSC Orientation Camp in Nonwa Gbam, Tai Local Government Area of the state. “The troops on routine surveillance discovered the illegal militia training camp in the area. We met over 100 recruits undergoing military type of training inside the camp,” he said. Iliyasu said the trainees had been removed from the camp, adding that preliminary investigation had been launched with the support of sister security agencies. He said that manhunt was underway to apprehend operators and sponsors of the camp. “Recall that similar militia training camps were discovered and disbanded in Benue and Taraba st

The Federal Government has asked the United States to be cautious in granting visa to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in order not to create the impression of endorsing him for the 2019 election. Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the government position at an interactive session with media executives in Abuja on Thursday. Mohammed said the government was aware of the move by the former Vice President to lobby the US to lift the visa ban imposed on him. He said, while the US has the prerogative of whom to issue visa, it should be mindful of the timing, in order not to give the impression that Atiku has been endorsed by the US government. “We understand and appreciate the fact that it is the prerogative of the US to grant a visa to anyone who applies. “However, we want the US to be neutral and be wary of taking any decision that will give the impr

(left to right) INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, PDP Chairman, Uche Secondus, IG of Police, Ibrahim Idris The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, on Thursday called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud, to resign over his alleged inability to conduct free, fair and credible election. He also called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim, to resign, as he alleged that police officers were being used to undermine the democratic process. He spoke during the 83rd PDP National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja. Secondus said: “We want to do this advance warning that we are lovers of democracy and peace. “We want the peace of our nation; so, let them note all they have done, even in the case of Kwara and Bauchi, where we warned clearly that they announced different results. “That will no longer be acceptable. We therefore call on the INEC leadership headed by Prof. Yakubu to quietly resign beca

President Muhammadu Buhari has reduced the cost of forms for some terminal examinations like the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, organised by the Joint Admission Matriculation Board, the Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Examination Council, as well as the Basic Education Certificate Examination. This was revealed by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, after the Federal Executive Council meeting in State House. Abuja. According to Tolu Ogunlesi, the Head of Digital Communications for President Buhari, on his Twitter handle, @ toluogunlesi, who shared the news, the reduction will take effect from January 2019. He tweeted, “President Buhari has approved the reduction in the cost of Forms for JAMB UTME, NECO SSCE and the Basic Education Certificate Examination. With effect from January 2019, the cost of JAMB UTME Form will drop from N5,000 to N3,500. NECO will drop from N11,350 to N 9,850. “Minister of Education Adamu Adamu announced t

The Socialist party of Nigeria SPN has assured Abuja residents that it will introduce rent control to curb the increasing cost of accommodation in the Federal Capital if its candidate, Dimeji Macaulay is elected as chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC during the area Council elections next year. A statement released by Akande Daniel Babatunde; the Campaign Director for the Chairmanship Candidate, said the party will massively Invest in Public Housing and introduce rent control for the Working People and the Poor masses. While lamenting the 1.7 million housing deficit in the FCT, the statement added that the housing crisis is a huge problem for the poor and the working people in Abuja with more than half of the population living in precarious houses. Below is the full statement: PRESS STATEMENT SPN government if elected will massively Invest in Public Housing and introduce rent control for the Working People and the Poor masses. Housing crisis is a h

The Southern African Students and Youths Development Association (SASYDA) has confirmed the nomination of the Director-General of Nigeria's Raw Material Research and Development Council - Dr. Ibrahim Hussaini Doko to bag the prestigious "All-Africa Public Service & Innovation Award" slated to be presented at the forthcoming African Students and Youths Summit, at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, from December 9 - 16, 2018. A statement by the Secretary-General of SASYDA, Comrade Agisanyang Dingalo, which was made available to Nedu Echianu’s Blog, via members of Pan-African Media Alliance confirmed that student leaders from all 55 countries of Africa, Higher Education Stakeholders, Corporate leaders and development Partners are expected to grace the all-important summit convened under the theme, "Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for employment creation: future of jobs for all". The summit is advocating a higher education curriculum th

The Nigerian Army has said that it has discovered that Boko Haram terrorists have started using drones and foreign fighters. The Army in a statement by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman on Wednesday said ‘we have noticed daring moves by the terrorists, increased use of drones against our defensive positions and infusion of foreign fighters in their ranks. These potent threats require us to continually review our operations. The Army also expressed gratitude to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) for visiting the troops including some of the wounded officers and soldiers in the hospitals saying ‘we thank His Excellency the Executive Governor and good people of Borno State who have taken the brunt of the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram terrorists. Our gratitude also goes to the Honourable Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs, who have all shown concern and vi

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday visited the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, to seek his understanding over the choice of Mr Peter Obi as his running mate. On the entourage of Atiku were the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, who is also the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki;  National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus; and the National Organising Secretary of the party, Col. Austin Akobundu  (retd.). It was learnt that the visit was meant to appease Ekweremadu, who had hoped that he would be the natural choice for the position. It was gathered that the visitors asked for Ekweremadu’s support and explained to him that Obi was picked in the interest of the zone in particular and the nation in general. A source said, “He was told that Obi does not have any corruption case against him and that he does not belong to any faction of the party. “He was also told that Obi’s emergence

President Muhammadu Buhari has cancelled his planned five -day “casual leave ’’ as a mark of respect for victims of Boko Haram attacks across the battlefields in the Northeast zone of the country. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the President had planned to spend the casual leave at his home country, Daura, Katsina State from November 27 to December 2. The president, according to NAN, had earlier cancelled his official trip to Benin City, Edo state , where he was initially billed to inaugurate the Edo -Azura Power Plant and grace the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference. NAN reports that already the advanced teams of the president, who left Abuja for Katsina and Benin on Sunday, had been asked to return. NAN gathered that the cancellation of the trips would also enable the president to continue his ongoing meetings and consultations with relevant security and intelligence community aimed at addressing the nation's security challenges. However, the president is expect

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has said that he is still in the All Progressives Congress, adding that his support for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari ’s re - election is incontestable and unshakable. Okorocha, who spoke on Tuesday at the Government House, Owerri, during a media parley, also added that Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, remained the best candidate for the election in the state. “He is visionary, dutiful, hardworking and a proactive young man. He remains the best among all the candidates for the governorship election in the state.” Okorocha, however, contended that he was still in the APC having been one of the founding fathers of the party in the country. “I cannot be part of destroying the mansion I have helped in building. I totally support the APC and all of its candidates for the 2019 general elections.” He further described what played out in the APC in the recent past on who emerges as its Imo State governorship candidate as a political injustice. Statin

The opposition People’s Democratic Party has alleged former minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, is behind the controversy rocking the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. “The whole idea behind the recent onslaught by the Senator Godswill Akpabio’s sponsored sacked members of the state assembly is to cause mayhem, generate tension with a view to make the state ungovernable,” the party’s spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said on Tuesday. “The former members of the State House of Assembly are back to the Assembly complex this morning with heavily armed Police & thugs. We call on all Nigerians to rise in condemnation of this heinous crime,” he added. In the early hours of Tuesday, the assembly was reportedly locked down by men of Nigeria Police Force for the second time in two weeks. Five recently sacked lawmakers reportedly stormed the House of Assembly with heavily armed policemen and thugs. According to reports, the sacked lawmakers were in possession of the mace and wanted t

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday denied receiving any donation from any state governor or group. On its verified Twitter handle, @officialEFCC, the anti - graft agency said, no state governor or individual or group, has donated to the agency ’s Anti- corruption Marathon project or any other projects. The tweet read , “ #Alert: For the avoidance of doubt, no State governor or some other individual or group has donated any amount of money to the EFCC to carry out the Anti-corruption Marathon project or any other project for that matter.” Meanwhile, on its Facebook page, the anti -graft agency released a statement, specifically denieing receiving a 10 million Naira donation from the Kano State government. It was reported that the Kano State governor, Umar Ganduje had donated the sum of N10 million to the National Anti- corruption Marathon, which is being organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, and Athletics Federati

There were gunshots and pandemonium in the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Uyo on Tuesday, as five of the lawmakers whose seats were earlier declared vacant met and commenced impeachment proceedings against the state Governor Udom Emmanuel. The atmosphere, however, became rowdy when the governor arrived at the assembly complex at Udo Udoma Avenue. The News Agency of Nigeria learnt that immediately Gov. Emmanuel entered the premises, gunshots were fired by those described by eyewitnesses as security operatives and thugs who were around the premises. According to the witnesses the newly acclaimed speaker, Mr Nse Ntuen, who had earlier sat with the four other lawmakers, was also harassed by security personnel in the assembly premises. Ntuen’s vehicle was said to have been damaged while he escaped a mob action by some persons believed to be Peoples Democratic Party members. The eyewitnesses said : “As the governor entered the assembly hall, youth started shouting ‘eight years, eight ye

The Federal Government and leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities met on Monday at the Ministry of Education headquarters, Abuja, to review the grey areas in the 2017 Memorandum of Action, trying to reach a middle ground. The strike by the lecturers, however, continues as the meeting could not conclude on whether ASUU should return to work or not. The meeting started around 5.10 pm and stretched till 9:30 pm, with the government delegation led by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and the Permanent Secretary, Sony Echono. The last meeting between the two parties was on Thursday, November 15, which lasted for six hours but was deadlocked as no resolutions were taken. As of press time on Monday, a reliable source privy to the meeting was quoted as saying that the discussions still centered on the contentious areas in the 2017 MoA. He said, “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, travelled out of the country and so, the negotiations have been taken

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday declared his support for aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress who opted to sue the party over their grievances against the party. The President said the courts remained the last option for the amicable resolution of disputes, hence he insisted that the party must allow aggrieved members to fully explore their democratic and legal rights. The APC has been battling post-primary election crises amid fears that the development may adversely affect its chances at the 2019 polls. The crises have led to court cases instituted by aggrieved members against the party. Reacting to the court cases, the National Working Committee of the APC, led by the party's National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, issued strong warnings to members that dragged the party to court, asking them to withdraw their cases or face sanctions. But Buhari on Monday, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity,

The administration of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano State, has donated N10 million to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other agencies organising the National anti-corruption marathon. The EFCC is collaborating with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and Athletic Federation of Nigeria, AFN, to organise the programme in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari. Ganduje announced the donation when he received members of the main organising committee in Abuja. He promised that the Kano State Public Complaints and anti corruption Commission would collaborate with the organisers as an official partner to ensure the success of the event. Ganduje said: “Before now, people find it difficult to access the services of the agency but we established offices across the 44 local government areas so that the services can be available to the common man. “We also facilitated the recruitment of additional personnel and subjected t

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a new salary package for police personnel. Mr Buhari also assured that his administration will continue to give attention to the welfare and operational needs of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with a view to restoring its lost primacy in the internal security framework of the country. Mr Buhari said this during an audience in the State House, Abuja, with members of the Nigeria Police Service Commission and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force on a “Thank You” visit. The visit followed his approval of Rank Salary Structure Adjustment, by which salary, allowances and pension of police officers will be increased. Mr Buhari regretted that the inability of the police in their constitutional role as the frontline force in the prevention of crime had led to military involvement in the maintenance of law and order throughout the country. According to the president, “From Taraba to Sokoto, to the South-south, people don’t feel secure

One of the soldiers who escaped the deadly attack on the military formation in Metele in Borno state has narrated how he escaped. Over 100 soldiers attached to 157 task force battalion were reportedly killed in the attack while the armoury at the formation was looted. The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) had claimed responsibility for the attack. The soldier who spoke off the record said more than 100 of his colleagues fled the attack. The soldier accused the military authorities of lying to the public about the insurgency in the north-east, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to act. “Most of our people dropped their arms and pulled off this dirty uniform… the bodies of our troops littered everywhere but we watched the news and heard army headquarters saying troops repelled the attack,” he told TheCable. “The army chief and other generals only sit in Abuja and lie to Nigerians whereas soldiers are being killed on daily basis. We lack manpower but nobody is tellin

Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection International (STTEP), a South African mercenary company, says President Muhammadu Buhari rejected intelligence warnings about operations of Boko Haram in Borno state. STTEP was employed by former president Goodluck Jonathan in January 2015 to assist the Nigerian army in the war against the insurgents. In a Facebook post on Sunday, Eeben Barlow, STTEP chairman, said Nigerian soldiers have been reaching out for help since his company’s services were terminated. Barlow is speaking out in the wake of the deadly killing of Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents. The latest attack in Melete village, Borno, is believed to have led to the death of no less than 100 soldiers. Weighing in on the development, Barlow said Buhari’s administration did not allow his company to complete the objective of “degrading and destroying” Boko Haram in Borno. He wrote: “There is, in a purely military sense, no such thing as a ‘technical defeat’—s

The Academic Staff Union of Universitis (ASUU) has given conditions upon which the current industrial action will be suspended. The president of the union, Abiodun Ogunyemi, stated the conditions in an interview on Sunday night with PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Ogunyemi said it was unfortunate that Nigerian leaders “like to move in circles without resolving the challenges rocking the system”. “Some of these conditions, ASUU said, include the full implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) the two parties willingly signed in October 2017,” he said. “So the MoA must be implemented fully before we can even talk of suspension of the strike. If they implement the outstanding issues in the MoA fully and change the leadership of the negotiating team, then we can go back to the negotiation,” Mr Ogunyemi said. After last week’s meeting by ASUU and the federal government which yielded no satisfactory results, the two parties will on Monday (today) meet at the Federal Ministry of Education

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Sunday admitted that it received payment to air a live programme of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) but could not do so. The state broadcaster, however, said its failure not to air the programme as agreed was due to technical issues and not political interference. The AUN is owned by Atiku Abubakar, a major opposition presidential candidate, while the NTA as a station often does the bidding of any government in power at a time. Apart from being a government-owned and funded media, the NTA top management staffers are government appointees who hold office at the discretion of the government in power. In Sunday’s statement, the Director-General of the NTA, Yakubu Mohammed, said the station was “compelled to react to the misinformation from the Atiku Media Office, alleging that NTA deliberately and under instruction from the Presidency, refused to broadcast live, the 13th anniversary ceremony of the American University of Nigeria,

The Nigerian Army on Saturday refused to divulge details of the terrorists’ attack on the 157 Battalion in Metele, saying that it would file cases in court against individuals or groups spreading “fake videos of purported Boko Haram attacks.” The army in a statement late on Saturday said that it “continued to observe with great dismay the myriads of photos and video clips being recklessly distributed on various social media platforms by different calibre of persons” noting that such undermined the national security. The army, however, refused to state efforts it had made to end the Boko Haram attacks on military bases in the North -East, which had claimed scores of lives of soldiers and rendered others missing. The army in the release on its official Facebook page said on Saturday that it would henceforth report and file cases against individuals or groups who deliberately spread fake news that aims to undermine national security, in courts. The release partly reads, “It is indeed

The Southern African Students and Youths Development Association (SASYDA) has confirmed the nomination of Liberia's Honorable Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief-of-Staff to the President - Hon. Nathaniel McGill to bag the prestigious "All-Africa Public Service & Democracy Award" slated to be presented at the forthcoming African Students and Youths Summit, at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, from December 9 - 16, 2018. A statement by the Secretary-General of SASYDA, Comrade Agisanyang Dingalo, which was made available to Nedu Echianu’s Blog, via members of Pan-African Media Alliance confirmed that student leaders from all 55 countries of Africa, Higher Education Stakeholders, Corporate leaders and development Partners are expected to grace the all-important summit convened under the theme, "Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for employment creation: future of jobs for all". The summit is advocating a higher education

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has approved the sponsorship of no fewer than 225 persons for 2018 pilgrimage to Israel. Joseph Bega, the State Executive Secretary, Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Gombe on Friday. He said at the state level, Mr Dankwambo approved 200 seats and 25 for the local government level. According to him, so far there are six self-sponsored, while more are expected before the closing date. The executive secretary said the screening exercise would hold from November 29 to December 1, while the list of intending pilgrims would be sent to Abuja for visa after the screening. “We thank his Excellency for the sponsorship of this year’s pilgrimage. All the committees are on ground for a successful exercise,” he said. Mr Bega advised all the intending pilgrims to be law abiding and be good ambassadors of the state and the country. NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has sent Mansur Dan-Ali, minister of defence, for an emergency meeting with Chadian President Idris Deby, following the recent attacks on Nigerian soldiers. According to NAN, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, confirmed the development, but said: “I’m unaware of his mission there.’’ Dan-Ali had on Thursday briefed Buhari on the security situation across the country, especially on the Nigeria-Chad border. The latest attack on the 157 task force battalion of the Nigerian army in Maitile, Borno, left scores of soldiers dead while some are still missing. The incident occurred barely three weeks after a similar attack took place at a military base in Kukawa, Borno. Another attack occurred in Zari, also in Borno, in September. The Nigerian defence minister is also expected to meet with his Chadian counterpart to identify what led to the recent increase in Boko Haram terrorism in the area. Meanwhile, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), a faction of the Bok

Under construction seven storey building has collapsed this evening in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, leaving some occupants dead and others trapped.  Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Command, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the incident told Vanguard that, “The worry now is not about ascertaining the level of casualties. Rescue operations is ongoing.” Unconfirmed sources said at least 11 persons have been rescued from debris at the scene of the incident just as the number of the dead remains unascertained.

President Muhammadu Buhari, says leaders who undermine the economy by denying workers their benefits, while stuffing their personal accounts with public funds will not escape the current anti-corruption dragnet. The president stated this when he received All Progressives Congress delegation from Benue State, led by Senator George Akume, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. President Buhari said the Federal Government’s bailout to states and Paris Club funds were basically to alleviate the sufferings of the people, describing misappropriation as unjust and unfair to workers. He said: “I honestly don’t know how people sleep when workers have not been paid. The workers have to pay rent, buy food, send their children to school and they have health care to take care of. “I assure you that my main interest is all Nigerians in all parts of the country. “Therefore, if anybody who tries to create any impression that I prefer any group across ethnicity or religion let him dare me by being caught