2019: We will never allow ex-Governor Dariye run from prison – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it would never allow a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye vie for office on its platform in 2019.

The party said this while reacting to the news that Joshua Dariye, a senator from Plateau State, reportedly obtained Senate nomination forms for 2019 while in prison.

Yekini Nabena, the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party told newsmen on Tuesday that he had not confirmed if a form was purchased for Dariye.

He said both the Nigerian law and its own constitution prohibited election of persons found guilty of criminal offences.

“I have gone to the list for Plateau State, I did not see his name, but if somebody has managed to collect the form for him, he will be screened out. There is no way he can contest on our platform.

“Somebody who has been convicted does not have a right to contest on our platform,” Nabena emphasised.

Dariye was jailed sometime in June for 14 years by an Abuja High Court for misappropriating N1.1billion state’s fund.

The former governor of Plateau state was found guilty of 15 of the 23 criminal charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud and money laundering when he governed Plateau State and has since been sent to prison. - Daily Post

2019: Security agencies warned against electoral fraud

National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Monguno (retd), has warned security operatives against any act of infraction or misconduct during the 2019 general elections.

He gave the warning at the meeting of Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) held at the National Headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Monguno, who is also Co-chair of ICCESS, urged security personnel to deliver their mandate in a very responsible manner, demonstrating democratic values and professional ethics to members of the society.

“There are Code of Conducts for all security agencies and we will all be held responsible for any infraction during elections.

“It is also important for us to understand that operating outside the confines of legality or legitimacy will be viewed very seriously.

“The forthcoming elections, especially 2019 general elections, have to be conducted in such a manner that not only on wider Nigerians society but indeed the international community should be able to perceive us in a very positive manner,’’ he said.

Mongunu added that there would be full enforcement of electoral laws.

He advised security agencies to come up with means to surmounting negative trends such as hate speeches that may incite the public or affect peaceful atmosphere during the general elections.

“Again, there will be issue of vote-buying and vote-selling; these are concerns that we have to look into collectively and begin to deal with whatever problems that might arise from these unfavourable acts.

“Anybody found complicity in any situation will of course have to bear the consequences on his own. It is very important for you to pass this message down the line to all you operatives.

“Any colloration or complicity by any of your staff will be viewed with all seriousness it deserved. I don’t need to over-emphasise that.”
Monguno said that as the 2019 elections drew closer, there would be need for security agencies to meet more frequently to deal with issues that would arise and cause unpleasant situation before, during and immediately after the elections.

“The idea is for us to streamline all areas that need to be looked at and begin a training session for all security operatives who will provide security during the elections.”

He also advised security agencies to share intelligence and information to help INEC conduct credible elections.

In his remarks, INEC Chairman and Co-Chair of ICCES, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the importance of the commission to work with security agencies was crucial.

According to him, it is to secure the environment for the commission to conduct elections, and elections cannot be conducted in an atmosphere of rancour.

“In fact, the Electoral Act, especially Section 26, empowers the commission to suspend election on account of violence or treat of violence, therefore election can only hold when we have secured environment.

“So, we will continue to partner and continue to work with ICCES. As we approach the 2019 general elections, our meetings are going to become more frequent and regular,’’ he said.

Yakubu pointed out that good election was good for the country, while bad election would be a recipe for disaster; “we don’t pray for it’’.

He stressed the need for members of the commission to continue to work together to address anticipated challenges.

“The nation expects that we should do so, and once we do so, there be less problem during elections.”

Yakubu also urged security agencies not to condone vote-buying in the Sept. 22 governorship election in Osun.

“On our part, we will do whatever we need to do to ensure that we find solutions to this challenge, including the re-administration of our polling units.

“I want to register our commitment to credible elections. We will continue to partner security agencies.” - Daily Post

In Britain, calls for a 4-day week: Can it be done?

Increasing numbers of workplaces around the world are embracing technology, and a greater array of tasks is being automated. In the eyes of one major British labor organization, that need not be a threat to workers, but may instead offer an opportunity: less time working.

“I believe that in this century, we can win a four-day working week, with decent pay for everyone,” Frances O’Grady, the head of the Trades Union Congress, an umbrella group, said in a speech at the labor federation’s annual conference.

That, she said, would help workers reap the benefits of technological change.

The economist John Maynard Keynes had predicted that people would eventually work for just 15 hours a week. Instead, technology has led to unpredictable, more intensive and longer hours at work, the Trades Union Congress said. “This is a return to the days of piecework, creating a culture where workers are required to be constantly available to work,” the group said in a report.

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It is not the only organization scrutinizing how technology affects productivity and work-life balance.

Who is experimenting with a shorter workweek?

• A trial of a six-hour workday in Goteborg, Sweden, led to happier, healthier and more productive employees. The problem: It was too expensive.

•Perpetual Guardian, a firm that manages trusts and estates in New Zealand, instituted a four-day week and kept wages the same. It said productivity increased among its staff when working hours were reduced to 32 hours from 40. The company is now considering whether to make the change permanent.

• In an effort to close a hefty gap in its state budget in the years after the 2008 financial crisis, Utah trimmed the workweek. Proponents said the move had the effect of improving the offering of government services available online and was better for the environment, but the state also benefited from volunteer groups picking up the slack when government organizations were closed.

•Amazon, the online retail behemoth, has tested a small pilot program for a 30-hour workweek, where staff worked reduced hours, though for reduced pay.

What else is being done to guard against encroaching technology?

•France has created a law giving workers the “right to disconnect.” It requires companies with more than 50 employees to negotiate a new protocol to ensure that work does not spill into after-work hours, an effort to prevent cases of burnout, which officials say are becoming more prevalent.

• Several measures have been taken in Germany to improve work-life balance. The country’s Labor Ministry ordered its supervisors in 2013 not to contact employees outside office hours. In 2011, the German automaker Volkswagen began shutting off its BlackBerry servers at the end of the workday. Daimler, another German car company, deletes emails sent to employees while they are on vacation.

So will we all have 3-day weekends soon?

Unfortunately not. It may be feasible for some companies, but it is unlikely to happen across entire economies in the years to come.

Any such change, even if it were possible, would not occur overnight, said Alex Bryson, a professor who specializes in labor studies at University College London. Companies that wanted to limit working hours would have to make investments to help their workers become more productive, which would take time and cost money, he said.

“It’ll be a gradual switch,” added Paul Swinney, the head of policy and research at the Center for Cities, a London-based think tank. “We’ll see a bit of that with some people deciding to work four days one week and five another. It’ll change gradually along with social norms.”

“In 50 or 100 years’ time, it may be that four days is the norm,” he continued, “but we shouldn’t expect it by 2020 - The New York Times

Women are being forced to breastfeed standing on packed trains. What has the world come to?

If proof of the contempt with which women are routinely treated in this country is needed, Wide Awoke advises you to ask any mother about her experiences of travelling with small children.

My randomly plucked horror story goes like this: boarding a train from Edinburgh to London with my toddler, I found that both of the wheelchair spaces – the only place where you have the option of keeping your baby in their buggy – were taken. By three able-bodied adults. There was another woman with a baby in a buggy and I politely asked them to move for us. They refused. We then politely asked the train guard to assist us. He said there was nothing he could do. Everyone else in the carriage put in their headphones and shut their eyes. We folded our buggies and stood holding our babies until seats became available. The atmosphere was at Bodyguard levels of intensity. The other mother started sobbing and I ended up comforting her in the vestibule as we lurched against the walls of the tilting train, our babies thumping on our hips and hopelessness in our hearts.

This was not a one-off. Take the blogger Kate Hitchens who shared on Instagram her experience of having to breastfeed her baby while standing on a packed train. For half an hour. No one offered her a seat. Or, rather, one woman did, but another commuter took it, put in her headphones and closed her eyes, which tends to be body language for, “I refuse to be a member of society but still want to appear like I might give a s***.”

“What has the world come to that a mother has to stand up on a moving train breastfeeding a wriggling and writhing six-month-old 20lb baby?” wrote Hitchens, who was then subjected to a second wave of misogyny, in which she was informed that: a) equality means we all have to stand up on trains now, b) she should have just asked for a seat and c) breastfeeding in public is disgusting anyway.

These supposedly minor inconveniences are major in their significance. Like all microaggressions, they express something bigger: structural inequality, sexism, the way women – particularly in those first fragile and turbulent years of motherhood – are seen as less valuable members of society. Less deserving of kindness. Less seen at all. It’s enraging and humiliating, but mostly it is just really upsetting. And this is not some niche issue only affecting mothers. We should all care about how people in need of help and understanding are treated and not only because we all have the potential to be carers and need care. It’s about the milk of human kindness. - The Guardian, UK

We cannot buy form for El-Rufai who destroyed our business – Kaduna Market Traders Association

Contrary to the report that some groups jointly purchased the 2019 APC governorship form for Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, some groups mentioned have started dissociating themselves from the news.

Kaduna Market Traders Association, KMTA, has come out dissociate itself from the list of those said to have purchased the form for the governor.

In a statement by KMTA and signed by Alhaji Falalu Musa Maidoya, Alhaji Gafai Boska and Mr. Thomas Yakubu JP, the group said, “We, the Kaduna Market Traders Association wish to disclaim and denounce the purported use of our name by some faceless figures in the name of purchase of APC nomination for Governor Ahmed Nasir Elrufai,”

The statement further explained, “There was never a time the Association met to decide on whether or not to purchase a nomination form for the Governor.

“We don’t know the identity of those who paraded themselves as our officials. Our investigation only revealed to us that those people are political scammers close to the Governor.

“We contacted members of the other groups whose names were used and they told us that they are equally unaware of any form of contribution for the purchase of forms for the Governor.

“We are not a partisan organization and never in the 48-year history of our Association engaged ourselves in such an act of political fraud and deceit. Our Association comprises non-politicians and politicians from different parties.

“We have no reason to purchase a form for the Governor whose tenure has never been helpful to us other than inflicting hardships on our members.

“All the promises made to us by the Governor in 2015 have never been fulfilled.

“He demolished our shops, increased our taxes, failed to give us the soft loans he promised and worst of all was that during the last conduct of our Association election, he sent APC thugs and Policemen of “Operation Yaki” to invade and scatter our election materials when it was clear that his stooge lost the election.

“The Association doesn’t have N22 Million Naira to donate to the Governor. If we have such excess amount of money, we could have used it to help our members who were recently affected by flood in Kaduna. If he said he doesn’t have N20million Naira in his account, may God who is listening to him provide for him. But our name should not be used.

“Not sounding immodest, we appeal to the Governor and his political friends to stop using our names in what we cannot defend before our creator in the hereafter.

Kaduna Market Traders Association, KMTA, also called on the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate this purported claim to ascertain its authenticity. - Daily Post

56-year-old prophet defrauds widow of N18m

A  Celestial Church prophet Peter Onanuju has been arrested by the anti-fraud command of the Federal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), Alagbon for alleged N18million fraud.

Ononuju, a resident of 41, Jubril Martins Street, Lawanson in Surulere was paraded on Tuesday by Police Commissioner Nkem Okoro at the FCIID, Alagbon, Ikoyi.

He was said to have collected the money from a widow, Oluchi Dillion in the guise of acquiring a plot of land for her son at Ibeju-Lekki.

According to the victim, the incident occurred in April last year but she realised she had been duped when the suspect started threatening to wipe off her entire family.

She said it was at the point of demanding for documents of the land that she discovered it belonged to the suspect’s ex-wife.

She said: “I have known him for over 30 years. He was my lover then. He used to sleep in my father’s house when we were young. I gave him the money in trust and I never knew he could do this to me.

“As a man of God, I confided in him that I need to buy a property and he told me he knew someone that has one. He told me he had seen the one of N12 million and he said I should not pay him the money through the bank. I paid the first N2million into his account and then he said his account was bad that I should not pay in there again.

“I paid him the money onn installments. He collected N12 million for the land and N6 million for Governor’s consent. I later discovered that the land in question belongs to the prophet’s ex-wife who has remarried and was based in the United States with her husband.

“My son discovered her contact from her Facebook and when we contacted her, she told us that she was not selling.

In fact she rained abuses on us. When the prophet realized that the game was up, he started threatening to kill us. That was why I ran to the police. He told me that he can defend himself but we cannot.”

Okoro said: “When the lady discovered the fraud, she reported to my office and I detailed detectives to go after the prophet and he was promptly arrested.

“During investigation detectives discovered that the suspect collected N16 million cash and N2million into his bank account. This goes to show the suspect had another intention.

“He is currently in court remand in our custody. We are still investigating this case and at the end of the process, the suspect would be charged to court.

“I use this medium to warn fraudulent minded people, organisations to change their ways or face the wrath. People should also be wary of those who claim to be pastors when transacting business because they tend to cash into gullible nature of true believers to swindle them.

“The so called prophet took advantage of the relationship he has with the widow to swindle her. From the beginning he had the intention of defrauding the woman.

“He started threatening to kill the woman and her children when they discovered that he had swindled them,” said Okoro.

But the suspect denied defrauding the widow insisting that he had genuine business deal with her, adding that problem broke out when one of the woman’s sons demanded for a refund.

Ononuju, who said he did not need Power of Attorney to sell his ex-wife’s property, claimed that she was aware he sold it.

He however refused to mention her name nor provide her contact details for verification of his claims.

Ononuju said: “I acted as a middle man. She came to me to say that I should help look for a land. Because of the existing relationship between the two families, I went all out to ensure that I get her a good land but look at where it has landed me.“ - The Nation

2019: What second term for Buhari will do to Nigeria’s economy – HSBC

A multinational banking and financial services company, HSBC, has said a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari would stunt the economic development of the country.

In a report, put together by its Global Research Unit, entitled, “Nigeria, Papering over the Cracks,” HSBC said Nigeria’s current economic struggles look set to continue if Buhari wins a second term in office.

According to the financial institution, the president’s “approval ratings sit near all time lows,” a development, it said, “largely reflects the impact of Nigeria’s painful recession in 2016-17 and the sustained economic hardship that has accompanied his presidency, including rapidly rising joblessness, and poverty.

“A second term for Mr. Buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify government revenues away from oil.”

The multinational banking group, which is Europe’s largest by total assets, noted that while higher oil prices have brightened Nigeria’s macro outlook, boosting export earnings, improving the supply of foreign exchange, and supporting naira stability, the Buhari administration was yet to address the economy’s structural shortcomings.

It said, “Economic growth remains sluggish and reliant on the rebound in oil output while the non-oil economy, which accounts for about 90 per cent of GDP, continues to languish with many service sectors still mired in contraction.

“Joblessness continues to rise, up almost three-fold in three years to 19 per cent in Q3 2017, pushing the number in poverty to 87 million. “Meanwhile, current account improvements may have pivoted on higher oil prices, but they also derive from on-going import restrictions and limited FX access for many sectors of the economy.”

DAILY POST reports that the president is set to wonce again lead the All Progressives Congress, APC, having received his nomination form on Tuesday. - Daily Post

EMPEROR in action ! Ambode ‘faces impeachment’ over second term bid

Reports on the plot to stop Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos, in 2019 have been dismissed by stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state — but emerging signs show he is fighting for his political life.

Credible sources have informed TheCable that there is a threat to impeach Ambode if he does not drop his second term bid.

Over 50 council chairmen loyal to Bola Tinubu, his estranged godfather, have met and pledged their support to Jide Sanwonolu, who is believed to be Tinubu’s preferred choice, according to APC insiders.

The council chairmen are the most influential grassroots mobilisers under the direct primary system adopted by APC to pick governorship candidates.

Most members of the Lagos house of assembly are also loyal to Tinubu.

“Meeting is over. Ambode is out. Jide Sanwonolu is the new governor of Lagos. All 57 local government chairman have signed his form. It’s over,” the source said.

TheCable could not independently verify this claim.

On Monday, the governor, alongside some members of his cabinet, stormed the headquarters of the APC in Abuja to get expression of interest and nomination forms for his 2019 bid.

He later told some APC members that he was not tired and needed their support to continue in office beyond 2019.

“With your support, we have made Lagos a better place and changed the face of our state. I did not do it alone; we did it together, because you believed,” he had said.

“So, I humbly call you again, to give me your support as I seek to continue with your mandate to steer the affairs of our state. I ask you to believe again and together, let’s achieve more.”

However, Sanwonolu and Obafemi Hamzat, two prominent members of the APC in Lagos, also picked the nomination forms for the governorship election of 2019.

Sanwonolu, who served as a commissioner under Babatunde Fashola, Ambode’s predecessor, is currently the managing director of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC).

He is being backed by Mandate Movement, a group fiercely loyal to Tinubu.

At a meeting held after Sanwonolu picked up his nomination form, James Odunmbaku, an ally of Tinubu known as “Baba Eto” in the political circle, said “Sanwololu is the incoming governor of Lagos.”

There have been reports of a rift between Tinubu and Ambode. When the APC leader canvassed for direct primary in Lagos, rumors were rife that Ambode was one of the targets but both men have carried on as if all is well.

Hamzat, a former commissioner in the state, is also eyeing Ambode’s seat, having failed to secure the party’s ticket in 2015.

Heavyweights of the ruling party had rallied round Ambode who defeated Hamzat and Olasupo Sasore, the choice of Fashola, to clinch the ticket of APC in 2015.

Asked to comment on the latest development in the state, Joe Igbokwe, publicity secretary of Lagos APC, told TheCable: “Do you know that Ambode picked his nomination form yesterday? That puts to rest the speculations you’ve been hearing for years. Ambode is the man. Take it.”

Tunde Rahman, spokesman of Tinubu, promised to get back to TheCable when he was contacted but had not done so as of the time this report was filed.

Abib Haruna, chief press secretary to Ambode, was not available for comments as his phone was out of reach.

The latest development is coming at a time when an APC faction led by Fouad Oki is plotting to stop the primaries for the 2019 elections which are to commence across the country on Wednesday. - TheCable

Niger State : Pregnant woman, son, seven others die in boat mishap

A pregnant woman, Ramatu Mamman, her two year-old son, Saminu, a 72 year old man and six others persons on Monday died in boat mishap in Niger state.

The deceased were said to have boarded the boat from Shata Sabo in Shiroro local government area when it capsized midway into their journey to Shata Soho in Bosso local government area.

Nine out of the 11 passengers abroad the boat were killed.

The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhjai Ahmed Inga who disclosed this to newsmen said attributed the cause of accident to flood wave saying the flood wave forced the boat to capsize.

He said that a mechanic, John Moses and two of his apprentices, Khalifa Danladi aged 14 and Ubale Usman aged 16 were also involved adding that the trio who were based in Nangawu community in Bosso local government area were going to repair a broken down vehicle when they met their death.

The other passengers on the boat include a Fulani man, Malam Muhammad Safir and Malam Salihu Aliyu.

Inga further said two of the passengers including the boat’s driver survived the accident but that the driver is in critical condition.

He said that only the remains of the pregnant woman and her son whom she strapped to her back was recovered adding that local divers are still searching for the reaming passengers.- The Nation

FAILURE !!! Osun releases N19.8bn for workers’ salaries — 11 days to governorship poll

The Osun state government has released N19.8 billion for the payment of salaries of workers and pensioners.

This is coming 11 days to the governorship election.

In statement on Tuesday, Bola Oyebamiji, Osun state commissioner of finance, said Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the state, directed the payment of the arrears to demonstrate his commitment to his promises.

Oyebamiji commended the workers for their perseverance despite the lean finances of Osun.

“In line with its agenda and fulfillment of its promise to the state workers regarding prioritisation of their welfare above others, the government of the state of Osun has commenced payment of full salary and arrears in line with available resources,” the statement read.

“This decision was taken at the meeting of the fund apportionment committee led by comrade Hassan Sumonu with labour and government representatives in attendance.

“In line with labour unions’ demands and current financial position of the state, the government of the State of Osun led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has authorised payment of four months salary arrears and 2016 leave bonus to its workers.

“Also, Mr Governor has directed that going-forward, workers in the state should be paid their full salary as and when due to demonstrate his commitment to his earlier promises.

“With this, government of the state of osun has commenced gradual disbursement of nineteen billion, eight hundred and one million, three hundred and twenty-eight thousand, two hundred and seventy-one naira, twenty-two kobo (19,801,328,271.22) as salaries and other entitlements to its workers.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had alleged that there was a secret release of N16 billion Paris Club refund to the state ahead of the election. - TheCable

Falana writes Seiyefa: Disclose identities of 294 detainees in DSS custody

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has asked Mathew Seiyefa, acting director-general of the Department of State Service (DSS), to release the names of 294 detainees in custody of the service.

In a letter to Seiyefa on Tuesday, the lawyer accused the DSS of impunity, saying the detention of the suspects for over two years amounts to infringement of their fundamental human right.

The letter reads in part: “I thank you for acceding to my request by releasing some of the persons who had been detained for over two years without trial. However, I have confirmed from the detainees who have just regained their freedom that not less than 294 others are still being held in dehumanising and degrading conditions in the underground cells located in the headquarters of the State Security Service at Abuja.

“As no person can be legally detained beyond 48 hours without a court order in any part of Nigeria under the current democratic dispensation you will agree with me that the detention of the 294 persons in the custody of the State Security Service for over two years is the height of official impunity as it constitutes a gross infringement of their fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed by section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“In order to put an end to such prolonged detention of citizens without trial I have requested the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to designate Judges to conduct a monthly visitation of the detention facilities of the State Security Service and other law enforcement agencies in line with the provisions of section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“However, in exercise of my right under the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request you to avail me of the names of the 294 detainees and and the particulars of the criminal offences allegedly committed by each of them.

“In case any of the detainees has been charged with any offence in any court of law you are also requested to supply the details of the cases and the trial courts.”

Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser, and Ibrahim Zakzaky, are among the suspects in DSS custody. - TheCable