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State chairmen of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday confirmed that four governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the north have concluded arrangements to join All Progressive Congress (APC). The chairmen who briefed jou...
The 35th General Assembly of African soccer's governing body, CAF, enters the second day in Marrakech, Morocco, on Sunday, with the election of the confederation's officials, including the president.
Incumbent CAF President, Issa Hayatou, who was first elected to the post also in Morocco 25 years ago, is sure to retain the presidency, because he is the only candidate.
The Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) which is based in Switzerland, paved the way for Hayatou to be returned unopposed after ruling last week that his possible opponent, Jacques Anouma of Cote d'Ivoire, was not eligible to contest.
CAS ruled on Tuesday that the CAF Executive Committee had jurisdiction to refuse Anouma's candidature.
It added that CAF Statutes adopted in September 2012 were applicable in assessing the validity of the candidates in the presidential election.
The ruling also said that Anouma did not meet these criteria because he had never been a member of the CAF Executive Committee.
Last year, CAF confirmed that the 66-year old Hayatou will be unchallenged for re-election.
This followed a controversial amendment that was made to the confederation's statutes last September, when member nations voted to introduce a measure that will permit only executive committee officials to run for the organisation's presidency.
Hayatou, who has said this will be his last contest for the CAF presidency, is the fifth CAF president and by far the longest serving.
His predecessors are Ethiopian Ydnekatchew Tessema, who served 15 years, Egyptian Abdel Aziz Moustafa (10 years), Sudanese Abdel Halim Mohammad (5 years) and Egyptian Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem (1 year).
Apart from the election into the CAF presidency, there will be elections for four executive committee positions, while Algerian Mohamed Raouraoua and Sudanese Magdi Sham El Din have been returned unopposed.
The CAF general assembly had opened on Saturday with a colourful ceremony depicting the diversity of the African continent.
Declaring the congress open, Hayatou said Morocco held special memories because the north African country hosted the congress at which he was elected president for the very first time.
He said the country had been a great, willing and constant supporter of African football for a long time.
Among those who attended the opening were the presidents of the 54 national associations and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Blatter hailed Hayatou’s leadership of African football over the last quarter of a century, saying African football has become world famous and made commendable strides during this period.
He also commended Morocco for the continued development of its football infrastructure and recent launching of professional league.
The FIFA President added: “As a result, Morocco will become the first African nation to host FIFA World Club Cup in December this year and that is in recognition of the enormous work Morocco, through the guidance and leadership of King Mohamed VI, has undertaken.”
President Goodluck Jonathan has promised more support for the development of the Nigeria Police Games, to enable it to discover more talents for international competitions.
Jonathan made the promise in Port Harcourt during the closing ceremony of the 10th Biennial Police Games.
The president said that the support was necessary to promote sportsmen and women in the police force and to also enhance the nation's sports development.
Represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the president said that the importance of Nigeria Police to securing the nation could not be over-emphasised.
''The history of Nigeria will not be complete without the roles the police played to the development of the country,'' Jonathan said.
He said that Nigeria recorded a remarkable achievement from the police force, commending the legends that had been discovered through police games.
''To all the participants in the 10th biennial games in Port Harcourt, I urge you to consider your participation in the games as an honour to Nigeria,'' he said.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, said that the games had been a breeding ground for discovering of stars in the country.
''The best of Nigeria Police has been displayed in the games; I urge those that participated not to rest but to utilise their talents.
''The time demands that you must work hard for you to become a legend,'' Abubakar said.
The Rivers Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, congratulated the organisers of the games, and expressed optimism that the aim of the games had been achieved.
''We have seen unity among the police and the entire Nigerians; I hope they have learnt much about Rivers state,'' Amaechi said.
Represented by his Deputy, Mr Tele Ikuru, the governor said that unity, which was one of the objectives of the games, must have been achieved through interactions among the participants.
The National President of Youths Enhancement Organisation, Mr Obinna Egbuka, has advised Nigerian leaders to show more commitment to service and leadership. Addressing the youths of Imo at the opening of a two-day seminar organised by the organis...
The National Vice-Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) North-Central Zone, Alhaji Yusuf Ahitogo, says the party is not afraid of any merger by opposition parties ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Ahitogo stated this in Lafia on Saturday at the Grand Reception/merit/ Awards for Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, state Party Chairmen and other major stakeholders.
He said: “the merger talk by other political parties will not in any way affect the ruling party; it is not giving any of our members any sleepless night.'”
``The parties have done it before; they failed, so what magic would they use now to fight PDP.?
“Our party remains the largest party in Africa, and we are determined to follow the provisions of the party’s constitution which is aimed at transforming the country and also provide basic needs of our people.”
Ahitogo said the outcome of the merger arrangement by other political parties was like a merger of strange bed fellows, adding that all the members affected by the merger talk have their own personal interest.
He, however, appealed to members of the PDP in the zone to assist in ensuring that the party recaptures Nasarawa, come 2015 elections.
“The past two years have been difficult for us at the zonal level with the loss of Nasarawa to the opposition in 2011, this has adversely affected our political activities in the entire North-Central.”
Ahitogo, who also doubles as North Central chairman, appealed to leaders of the party to come together and close rank with each other in the interest of the party, ``as we move closer to 2015 general election for maximum result''.
In his remarks, the party’s North Central Youth Leader, Mr Kwaghgba Amande , explained that the youths remained the life wire and effective instrument of the party.
He said the youths would launch “operation re-capture Nasarawa.
“Very soon all the state youth leaders and other concerned political activists in the North Central will map out strategies aimed at recapturing Nasarawa, as we prepare towards 2015 general elections.”
Amande said the loss of the state to opposition party had reduced the zone to a large extend, ``our collective bargaining in the political configuration of Nigeria.''
The All Progressives Congress (APC), South East Zone, has called for the entrenchment of internal democracy in the manifesto and constitution of the party.
The call is contained in a communiqué issued by the leaders of the party in the zone, at the end of a two-day meeting held in Owerri, Imo capital.
The communiqué, signed by Sen. Chris Ngige, representing Anambra Central in the senate, said that the call was to ensure that the choice of members prevailed at all times.
It said that APC in the zone had also resolved to raise funds for immediate sensitisation and enlightenment of the people of the zone at the grassroots.
The communiqué said that the party had resolved to set up offices in the five states in the zone, as well as local government areas and wards without delay.
“APC government shall invest public resources in the development of critical infrastructure, and also create the enabling environment for job creation”, it stated.
The meeting was attended by members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance {APGA}, Action Congress of Nigeria {ACN}, All Nigeria Peoples Party {ANPP}, Congress for Progressive Change {CPC} and Democratic Peoples Party [DPP}.
In attendance were Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo, the National Chairman of the ANPP, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, and former governor of Imo and ACN chieftain, Chief Achike Udenwa and other party stalwarts.
The National Woman Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Kema Chikwe has urged Nigerian women to rally support for President Goodluck Jonathan's administration in promoting gender equality in the country.
The UN Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that she spoke during the Nigeria Day to commemorate the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York on Saturday.
Chikwe said that such support should be reciprocal to the government, following the government’s National Gender Policy, which seeks to ensure gender perspective in all sections of development.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the Nigeria Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
`` For the sake that the President is gender sensitive and because of the work that has been done so far in the National Assembly and in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the gender issues are getting more prominence.’’
Chikwe said that government had made gender issues an integral part of all policy at all tiers and has provided 35 per cent benchmark for women’s participation in decision making.
She commended the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina's brilliant presentation at the on-going session of the Commission.
`What was really important in her speech was the aspect of political empowerment but there must be a political will to push the gender issues.
``It is very important because in Nigeria we still have a lot of conflicts on the culture and gender based issues.’’
Chikwe also noted that issues of violence against women and girls were not properly highlighted by the media, stressing that ``It is usually being trivialised.’’
Prof. Joy Ogwu, the Nigerian Permanent Representative to the UN, drawing from the Women’s Anthem that was recited at the event, said that the three concepts of equality, development and peace were intrinsically linked.
According to her, in seeking to prevent violence against the women, the elements should come to bear and that the principle of complementarity must also be borne in mind.
A verse of the anthem reads, `` Women can’t be silent when all around the world people hurt and hungry, children cry. We will sing out now for justice and development and hold the rights of all the people high so sing a song.''
The Director of Foundation for African Cultural Heritage (FACH), Mrs Theresa Okafor in her remarks, noted that in preventing violence against woman, they need to adopt a multi-Sectoral approach that would be peaceful and all inclusive.
``We need to find solutions by incorporating the help of men, women, religion, culture and the family.
``Unfortunately, there is a concerted effort to discredit the role played by these factors, men are considered to be the aggressors to be overcome and this gets confrontational and simply escalates the cycle of violence.
``Religion is misinterpreted and misrepresented, forgetting that religion talks about human dignity, fraternity, mutuality and complementarity of the sexes.’’
``Conversely there is an orchestrated effort to bring in ambiguous concepts such as ‘sexual and reproductive rights’ and ‘comprehensive sex education’ without carefully considering the devastating impact these can have and how they counter provisions of our education, valued culture and religion.’’
Okafor explained that the presentation by the minister had actually set the pace for what the women know, that would eradicate violence against women without letting any country dictate to Nigeria what would lead to fragmentation and only escalate the cycle of violence.
While calling for stronger punishment on aggressors, she stressed, it was good but that women need to be mindful of the unintended effect whereby an aggressor wishing to escape stronger sentence would kill his victim to wipe off the evidence.
According to her, it is not enough to see the role the media play as creating awareness but that the media should also stop the objectification of the women, pornography and sexualisation in the media.
``This must be censored,’’ Okafor stated, noting that there should be distinction between cultural values and harmful practices and that culture was the problem.
`` It is effective to look at some other underlying causes of violence so that we can eradicate the root cause of the problem. Taking the family for instance, absence of mother and absence of father and lack of parenting skills are the problems.
``If parents are absent who forms the child in values? Where is the family as the safety net? We also need to look at the role played by alcohol, substance abuse and undiagnosed mental illness as contributing factors.
``We need the collective will of men and women working in concert to solve the problem. Above all, we need to be very discerning in the face of concepts.’’
Founder and Executive Director of GABASAWA Women and Children Empowerment Initiative, Mrs Gloria Yaro, who also spoke said that mental, financial and emotional or socio-cultural empowerment were important in tackling the issue of violence against women.
Yaro who is also a member of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates (NACCRAN), noted that in domestic abuse cases the first obstacle the group fought was a belief system with cultural roots which validates the abuse the men meted out on their women.
``We strive to counter mind sets in the women such as women believing they must be doing something to ask for the physical abuse they are encountering.’’
More than 65 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to the services of financial institutions, Mr Ugochukwu Okoafor, Central Bank of Nigeria’s Head of Corporate Affairs Department, says. Okoafor stated this in an interview with the News Agency ...
The police on Saturday arrested former Governor of Zamfara, Sen. Sani Yerima over alleged ``inciting’’ comments on a live radio programme run by Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Kaduna. The Commissioner of Police in the state, M...
Thompson Oliha, a former Super Eagles midfielder, on Saturday appealed to the Federal Government to fulfill its promise to the team after it won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Tunisia.
Oliha told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Saturday that he had yet to receive the house promised by government.
``I beg the Federal Government to fulfill its promise of giving every player in the team a house for our victory in the 1994 AFCON.
``I have yet to receive my own house which the government promised me 19 years ago; my great country has disgraced me and some members of the victorious team,’’ Oliha said.
He urged those in charge of allocating the promised houses to members of the team to release them.
``The people in charge of the allocation should please come out of their shells and give us our rightful possessions,'' he said.
According to Oliha, players that chose Lagos for their own houses were allocated houses while he and the rest who picked Abuja have yet to get their allocation.
Teams from six African countries are expected to join hosts Nigeria on Monday in Abuja for the 14th African Nations Volleyball Championship in Junior Women, an official has said. Adisa Beyioku, Secretary-General of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NV...
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will transform the nation’s oil and gas industry when passed into law.
The minister was quoted as saying this at the Africa Energy Summit session during the Cambridge Energy Research Association (CERAWEEK 2013) in Houston, Texas, U.S.
A statement issued by the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, NNPC, Ms Tumini Green on Friday said that the minister was represented by the Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, NNPC, Mr Abiye Membere.
``The PIB will ensure the development of our abundant oil and gas reserves, encourage significant infrastructural development and situate the Gas revolution,
``Aside attracting new investors to the nation’s oil and gas industry, the PIB will also ensure that new fiscal regime is put in place to address all issues of equity among stakeholders.’’
It noted that the instability in the Niger Delta would be addressed by the PIB and the country's revenue would be well-managed for a balanced development of the country.
It said that the continued reluctance of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to sincerely implement in-country capacity building to drive the local content implementation posed a big challenge to the sector.
``If after 50 years of operation in Nigeria, foreign companies are preferred to indigenous companies; it clearly shows that there is a problem. This has to change,’’ it stated.
The statement decried the non involvement of host communities in the development of their areas and stressed the need to collaborate with the host communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill, which has been generating a lot of controversies recently scaled through second reading at the Senate
A father was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment for causing the death of his 15-week-old daughter through oral rape. According to agency reports, Steven Deuman Jr, 26, of Traverse City, Michigan, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravate...
The Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP) yesterday raised the alarm over moves by the House of Representatives to grant immunity to lawmakers, saying that the bill for that purpose, which scaled through the second reading on Thursday, is a deli...
A few days to the area council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is engulfed in serious crisis. Investigation by LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed that as a result of the crisis, many card-carrying mem...