TYRANT !!! Buhari govt under fire as security operatives storm Sahara Reporters’ office

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Nigerian government to immediately lift the siege to the offices of Sahara Reporters and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).

It called for an end to the illegality and allow journalists, activists and civil society to operate freely.

In a statement on Wednesday by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization advised Nigeria’s security agents to stop harassing journalists.

“The attack on Sahara Reporters and CDHR is coming on the heels of staggering crackdown on critics, journalists and activists by many state governors”, it said

“The federal authorities and many state governors are targeting journalists, critics and activists, in clear violation of Nigeria’s constitution of 1999 (as amended), and international obligations, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to requiring the authorities to respect fundamental rights and the rules of law.

“These attacks are clearly aimed at silencing the kind of journalism and investigative reporting that makes federal and state governments uncomfortable. President Muhammadu Buhari now needs to make clear that he doesn’t want any part of this kind of behaviour and that unacceptable and dangerous threats and attacks against journalists, protesters and activists will be fully investigated.

“The international community including the African Union, the UN human rights special mechanisms and Treaties Bodies, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as Nigeria’s international partners can and should push for an end to the escalating crackdown on journalists, bloggers and activists, and for investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the intimidation, harassment and attacks.”

- DAILY POST 

Obasanjo: I’ve been unable to serve my wife divorce papers

Mr. Olujonwo Obasanjo, son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday told an Ikeja High Court that he has been unable to serve his estranged wife, Temitope Adebutu divorce papers

Temitope is the daughter of popular Premier Lotto magnate, Sir Kessington Adebutu alias “Baba Ijebu”.

Neither Obasanjo nor Temitope was in court, while there was also no legal representation for Temitope.

Counsel to Obasanjo, Mr. Olayinka Kujembola, informed the court that several fruitless efforts had been made to serve Temitope.

“We have made several attempts to serve her in Abeokuta, Ogun State, but failed. Even at her residence located within an Estate in Ikoyi, the court Sheriff complained that he was unable to effect service because of the tight security,” Kujembola said.

Justice Bisi Akinlade noted that proceedings in the divorce suit were always reported in the media and that efforts should be made to serve Temitope in Ogun where she works and resides.

“The issue between this couple is always reported in the papers. The respondent stays in Ogun State, why do you want me to grant an Order for substituted service for Lagos where she does not stay?” he asked.

“I will adjourn this case to ensure that the bailiff serves her personally so that we can be sure that we have exhausted all options. This is a very simple matter, it is a very simple divorce. This case is adjourned till Oct. 2 for a hearing of pending applications,” Akinlade said.

During proceedings of May 23, Obasanjo’s counsel, Ms. Omo Omofoma also told the court that Obasanjo had made several attempts to serve Temitope to no avail.

Justice Akinlade had noted during the proceedings that other means of service like an alternative address and courier service should be explored by the petitioner (Olujonwo).

Obasanjo and Temitope got married on May 11 and 13, 2017 at a grand wedding which attracted the ‘creme de la creme’ of the society. The marriage, however, came to a halt a few months later.

Weeks leading to the May 2017 wedding, Olujonwo Obasanjo’s mother, Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo filed a suit at an Ikeja High Court seeking the postponement of the wedding of her son to Temitope.

According to her, she had received various warnings and prophecies from men of God that her son should not be involved in any elaborate celebration before his 34th birthday which was June 1, 2017.

Justice Lateefa Okunnu in a ruling on April 10, 2017, dismissed the suit because the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it because the younger Obasanjo, then 33, is an adult.

 - PM NEWS

Europa League: Solskjaer names 4 Man Utd players that will not play Astana clash

Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has disclosed that Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Daniel James will not feature for the Red Devils in their UEFA Europa League opener against Astana on Thursday at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer’s men head to the game following a 1-0 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League last weekend.

“We still have a few players out,” Solskjaer told MUTV.

“Jesse is back, which is great. He had a bad time when he was with England but, hopefully, we’ll get him on the pitch to try to kickstart his season again.

”The youngsters are raring to go. They all want to play. But I don’t think we’ll see Paul or Anthony, I’m sure we won’t see them. Luke is not ready yet. Dan is touch and go. He missed training today and [his recovery] might be longer than expected but hopefully [he’ll be back for] the weekend.”

“Diogo is back,” Solskjaer added. “He’s been training for a little while now but we needed assurances before we threw him in. We probably could have had him on the bench against Leicester last time, but now he’s ready.

”I think it’s a chance for me to use the squad and give some minutes, of course, to some of the young players. We all know, if they take a chance, it might be the start of something big. Hopefully, we can see the young kids go out and enjoy themselves.

“We don’t know too much about Astana but they’re the second seeds in the group. They’ve always been really good at home, but struggled a bit away from home, so hopefully we’ll make their start to these group stages difficult.”

The kick-off time for the match is 8pm.

- DAILY POST

You were voted to do what I couldn’t, stop complaining – Fayose tells Fayemi

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called on Governor Kayode Fayemi to do what he could not do for the workers in the state civil service by paying them their arrears of unpaid salaries and emoluments.

Fayose said this after Fayemi told labour leaders on Tuesday that the workers in the state civil service were currently being owed N57billion as arrears of unpaid salaries and emoluments.

DAILY POST reports that Fayemi said this at a meeting he had with the civil servants as well as a cross-section of labour leaders at the Government House, Ado Ekiti.

The Governor claimed the trend was caused by irregular payments of salaries and pensions by the immediate past administration of Mr Ayodele Fayose.

Fayemi said, “It is sad to reel out such a humongous figure because it can create panic for you and I.

” But let me say that we cannot pay everything in one fell swoop, but the 2019 promotion arrears will be given immediate attention while others will be defrayed by instalment.

”It becomes difficult to pay once because Ekiti gets a little above N5 Billion monthly, with the state getting like N3 billion, while the local governments receive little above N2 billion monthly,“ he said.

But Fayose in a tweet he shared on Tuesday night via @GovAyoFayose, said: “I read without surprise & as usual @kfayemi usual brandishing of figures owed Ekiti workers & retirees by my administration

“Without joining issues with him, rather than public service announcement, I enjoin him to pay the workers. Moreso he was “voted” for to do what I couldn’t do.”

- DAILY POST

Oyo has highest rate of malnourished children in South West – Group

The Civil Society-Scale Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has declared that Oyo state has the highest number of malnourished children in the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria.

The group stated that the state has malnourished children under five-years-old with a mortality rate of 73 deaths per 1000 live births, and an infant mortality rate of 59 per 1000 live births.

CS-SUNN made these disclosures on Tuesday during an advocacy meeting christened, an advocacy brief on nutrition situation in Oyo State which was attended by stakeholders such as nutritionists, community mobilizers, government officials among others.

CS-SUNN Project Coordinator, Ambrose Evhoesor, maintained that nutrition in the state has over the years been neglected, with 34.5 percent of children under five-years-old being stunted, 3.8 percent wasted and 19.9 percent underweight according to a 2018 NDHS research, which also finds that only 49.5 percent of children less than six-months-old are exclusively breastfed.

Evhoesor noted that adequate nutrition is essential to children’s growth and development. According to him, the first 1000 days of a child’s life (the period from conception to age 2) is especially important for optimal physical, mental and cognitive growth, health and development.

“Malnutrition is a condition that occurs when people consistently do not consume or absorb the right amounts and types of food and essential nutrients. One of the main indicators of childhood malnutrition is stunting, when children are too short for their age. Stunted children have poor cognitive and brain development which prevents them from reaching their full potentials in life in an increasingly competitive world.

“Malnutrition is caused by several factors, including lack of food, improper feeding and caring practices, economic and political structures, low status and lack of education among women, and so on.

“Therefore, a multi-sectoral approach is required for a reduction and eventual eradication of the scourge. As a matter of urgency, there has to be multifaceted, multi-stakeholder and multilevel intervention at scale in order to produce substantial outcomes in the short to medium term.”

CS-SUNN Chairman in Oyo state, Adio Olusegun, remarked that state government investments in nutrition have been very poor between 2015 and 2018. According to him, most times, despite budgetary allocation, little or no funds are released.

Olusegun urged Oyo state government under the leadership of Mr. Seyi Makinde, to as a matter of urgency release the budget meant for nutrition in the state. He explained that if prompt action is not taken on the issue of nutrition, it can lead to malnutrition which could lead to inter generational problem for the state.

Adio pleaded with the present government in Oyo State to stand up to the situation in order to positively salvage the nutrition crisis in the state in order to have a healthy society. He advised the state government to increase investment in nutrition specifically. He seek government’s interventions in order to reduce the alarming statistics of infant and under five mortality in the state.

“It has been observed that even when government expands the size of the state budget, the budget for nutrition specific interventions do not follow the same trajectory.

“When aggregate expenditure is cut, the budgetary allocation for key nutrition specific interventions is slashed more in relative terms. The Oyo State Government is paying little attention to nutrition, which is alarming by all measurable indications,” Adio explained.

“Given that Oyo has a large population of malnourished women and children under-five in Nigeria, with an infant mortality rate of 59 per 1000 live birth and an under-five mortality rate of 73 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to 2016 MICS findings, it is essential that the Oyo State Government increases investment in nutrition specific and sensitive interventions.”

- DAILY POST

ECOWAS to Nigeria: Border closure not solution to your smuggling problems

Officials of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) has advised the Nigerian government to find a permanent solution to the challenge of smuggling.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the bloc said the border closure might hamper the implementation of free trade movement within the region.

Addressing parliamentarians at the ongoing 2nd extraordinary session of the ECOWAS parliament in Monrovia, Moustapha Lo, speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, requested that the Nigerian government reopens its borders.

Lo said the closure happened at a time when Africa was working to intensify efforts for the effective abolition of barriers within the member-states.

The Nigerian government had closed its borders since August with President Muhammadu Buhari saying the move was to check smuggling.

The ECOWAS parliament said the closure is a hindrance to the achievement of the regional bloc’s main objective, which includes “achieving the creation of a prosperous, borderless West African region where peace and harmony prevail”.

“The ECOWAS Parliament calls for compliance with Community provisions and thus calls for the reopening of borders and a coordinated fight against smuggling in the region,” the statement said.

“The root causes of this recurrent situation must be studied with a view to finding a permanent solution.”

- THECABLE