Nigerian Eye

Lagos 2019: Tinubu won’t ask me to step down for Ambode — Sanwo-Olu

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An All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday said he did not believe a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would ask him to back down on his ambition. 
 
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Sanwo-Olu made the statement during an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos. 
 
A journalist had asked him whether he would step down his ambition or not if Tinubu asked him to do so. 
 
Sanwo-Olu, a former Commissioner for Training and Establishment, was reported to have been adopted by party chieftains loyal to Tinubu and the 57 council chairmen to puncture the second-term bid of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode. 
 
Ambode had declared his second-term bid on Monday, while Dr Obafemi Hamzat, a former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, had also obtained and submitted his nomination form for the race. 
 
The state party chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun had told newsmen on Wednesday that the governorship ticket was open to all aspirants. 
 
Sanwo-Olu told newsmen that he did not think Tinubu would ask him to step down for Ambode or any other aspirant, as the party leader is a firm believer in internal democracy. 
 
“Your question is if my national leader (Tinubu) asks me to back down at the end of the day, what will I do? 
 
“You see, I really don’t know which side of the divide you want us to stay. 
 
“Sometimes, people will say this man (Tinubu) is imposing and he is not allowing aspirants to contest for positions. 
 
“They say there is no internal democracy. But this man is a democrat who will allow democracy to rule and thrive. 
 
“My aspiration has nothing to do with an individual; my national leader is my national leader and he is the leader of everybody. 
 
“Therefore, his passion is about Nigeria and not Lagos alone. The movement we have started is participatory democracy, and so there is no basis for him (Tinubu) urging me to drop my ambition. 
 
“Asiwaju is a democrat, and I trust he will allow the process to go on without any rancour. 
 
“On September 25, by the grace of God, the entire APC members will vote for me as the candidate to represent them in the 2019 elections,” he said. 
 
The aspirant said he was motivated to seek the number one seat in the state out of the need to deliver innovative and an inclusive government. 
 
He said he would bring about a state which everybody would be proud of, if elected as governor. 
 
NAN

Latest-News Lagos 2019: Tinubu won’t ask me to step down for Ambode — Sanwo-Olu

An All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday said he did not believe a national leader ...

Falz sets up Sweet Boys Association

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DSS: Our appointments not lopsided, Buhari did not favour Northerners - FG

20:54 Unknown 0

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the defence on Friday in Lagos when he paid an advocacy visit to Channels Television to call for support for the national campaign against fake news. 
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The Channels’ management team had asked the minister for his reactions to the criticism of lopsidedness that had trailed appointments in the security sector. 
 
With the latest appointment of Yusuf Bichi as the new Director-General of Department of State Service, DSS, Buhari was alleged of being sectional, appointing mainly northerners to man the security apparatus of the nation. 
 
The minister said the critics should stop focusing only on the security sector in their assessment. 
 
“Those talking about balancing and federal character should stop focusing on one aspect. 
 
“Let us see how many Permanent Secretaries, Director-Generals and Executive Directors and Heads of Parastatals we have in Nigeria today and where they come from. 
 
“This will give us a more insight to the fact that this administration is not lopsided in appointments. 
 
“We should stop looking at only one side to make our judgment and anywhere we notice any lopsidedness government will correct it,” he said. 
 
The minister also debunked the allegations from certain quarters that the N16.6 billion Paris Club refund to Osun state was to prosecute the election in favour of the All Progressives Congress-led state government. 
 
“This is not the first time the Paris Club refund is being made available to states, I think it should be about the fourth time the government had released the money. 
 
“This particular tranche would have been drawn a while ago but for the disagreement between the governors and the Federal Government. 
 
“It is released to all the states, so, it has nothing to do with the election, the timing may be a coincidence,” he said. 
 
On the progress made so far on Digital Switch Over, the minister said that the Economic Management Team headed by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo had set up a committee look into the challenges facing the process. 
 
The minister said that the major challenge of DSO was basically funding and certain statutory interpretation. 
 
Mohammed assured that the DSO was on course and the process would be fast-tracked after the report of the committee. 
 
(NAN)

Latest-News DSS: Our appointments not lopsided, Buhari did not favour Northerners - FG

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the defence on Friday in Lagos when he paid an advocacy visit to Channe...

‎Fayose signs 2018 supplementary budget, blasts Fayemi

20:54 Unknown 0

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The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday signed the 2018 supplementary budget of N9.9 Billion into law. 
 
Fayose at the event attended by Speaker Kola Oluwawole and some members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, mocked the All Progressives Congress and the Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, for questioning the budget. 
 
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“It is amusing to hear that Dr Kayode Fayemi said the revised budget being signed today was unnecessary. He (Fayemi) signed his own on September 15, 2014, exactly a month to his leaving office, now I’m signing my own on September 14. They should keep quiet and stop crying wolf, I’m still the governor. 
 
“It is laughable that Fayemi won’t stop at anything to blackmail me even when he had to go to a ridiculous level.” 
 
“This revised budget being signed today September 14, 2018, Fayemi did sign the same kind of budget on September 15, 2014, when he had less than a month to leave office. Maybe he has forgotten, but Ekiti people are not suffering from dementia and are students of history. 
 
“The Clerk of the House in 2014 when Fayemi signed his revised budget, Mr Tola Esan is still the clerk and he is here today. We are not robots and when there are things to attend to we will still do that before we leave office. 
 
“When Fayemi finally resumes, he can turn the state upside down, history will record him.” 
 
Accusing President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC of taking hypocrisy to a ridiculous height in governance, Fayose said he had acted within the law by sending the budget to the assembly for appropriation. 
 
“They are confusing Nigeria, confusing the public, I don’t know the level they have taken hypocrisy to. 
 
“Recently President Buhari paid for fighter jets from excess crude account without appropriation, and heaven did not fall. This is sheer hypocrisy.”

Latest-News ‎Fayose signs 2018 supplementary budget, blasts Fayemi

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday signed the 2018 supplementary budget of N9.9 Billion into law. Fayose at the event ...

2019 Election: Buhari’s challenger steps down

20:54 Unknown 0

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One of the Presidential hopefuls expected to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abubakar Alkali on Friday announced his eventual withdrawal from the presidential contest, saying Buhari remain the best person to lead the nation post 2019. 
 
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Dr. Alkali who announced his withdrawal at a news conference in Abuja also cited the huge cost of the Presidential nomination form as one of his reasons, adding however that he will not allow his dream for the country to die. 
 
While endorsing President Buhari, he said since the party has decided to give the presidential ticket to the President, he has no option, as a loyal party man than to abide by the party decision. 
 
He called on his supporters to join hands with the current administration to continue in its job of delivering on democracy dividends to Nigerians, while also asking the leadership of APC do something about the cost of nomination forms, saying such has deprived so many young aspirants with good ideal which would have better the nation. 
 
He said: “The purpose of this press conference is that i am here to announce my withrawal from the contest for the office of the president and the reasons for the withdrawal are not far fetched. 
 
“Majorly, one of the reasons is that the APC has picked president Muhammadu Buhari has its sole consensus candidate for the 2019 general election, and as a loyal party member, I have to go by the rule and dictate of the party and that is the why I am aligning fully and totally with the position of our great party, and I fully support the decision to pick Mr. President as a consensus candidate of our great party.” 
 
Speaking on the N45m cost of APC presidential nomination form, Alkali said that he and many others who had intended to contest the election could not afford the cost. 
 
“I also want to use this opportunity to say my mind regarding the cost of the nomination form which I will say its outrageous, which I believe will also say it is the reason I withdrew. 
 
“I think the cost of the form is outrageous and also do not depicts the ethics of our democracy. Actually, the cost of this form to me broke sincere and genuine aspirants from aspiring for the office and are not in tandem with the maxim of the NotTooYoungToRun movement, and a lot of the youths who have sincere concern for this country can not afford this outrageous cost. I appeal to our party, going forward to look at this issue very seriously.”

Latest-News 2019 Election: Buhari’s challenger steps down

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Minimum Wage: Nigerian workers must smile before 2019 elections – Ngige

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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, says the Buhari administration is a labour friendly government, which is determined to put smiles on the faces of Nigerian workers before 2019 elections. 
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Ngige stated this when he alongside the Chairman of the National Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee, Ms Amma Pepple, addressed State House correspondents on the outcome of their closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari. 
 
Ngige and Pepple had briefed the president on the progress so far made by the Pepple’s committee, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday. 
 
According to the minister, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, will on Sept. 18, preside over the meeting of the Economic Management Team, which will be solely dedicated to the contentious issue of minimum wage. 
 
He said: “Next week we have an economic management team meeting on Tuesday, specially dedicated to the issue of national minimum wage to be chaired by the Vice President. 
 
“For anybody to say that this government is stalling or playing games will be uncharitable, because, we have done what we are supposed to do. 
 
“We have the interest of workers at heart, we have not retrenched anybody, there is no embargo on employment, there is no embargo on promotions, we are paying backlog of promotional arrears, we are backing backlog of transfers and repatriation and the rest of them and we are giving them houses under FISH and the rest of them. 
 
“So this government is a labour friendly government and we must put smiles on their faces before the next election; we are labour activists we don’t want to turn our backs on them.’’ 
 
Pepple, a onetime Head of Service of the Federation, told the correspondents that the committee would submit its report on or before Sept. 30. 
 
She, however, maintained that the committee needed a definite figure from the government. 
 
According to her, everything is on course but we need a definite figure from the government and of course we have to carry the states along. 
 
“So, we need those figures so that we can conclude on the figures to include in our report. 
 
“At least, I expect our report to be ready this month. We are submitting our report to Mr President this month. 
 
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) had on Wednesday issued a two-week ultimatum to government to conclude all negotiations on the national minimum wage or risk industrial action. 
 
But, while reacting to the threat by the organised labour, Ngige accused them of blackmailing the government. 
 
NAN

Latest-News Minimum Wage: Nigerian workers must smile before 2019 elections – Ngige

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Weather Forecast: NiMet predicts nationwide thunderstorms, rains for Saturday

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzrcVnzip2Va-E0j5oNeoF-8yR_HvSF40vOOe4NahKKkfvCbSA0-UwJz0yr7Y3XgnFp77qJbsUBdDYdLHycg40qL44WMf4lzADMF6qFgXbmOYE9nVTzgHflucnOm7uXgy7OrDmVngek0w/s1600/rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzrcVnzip2Va-E0j5oNeoF-8yR_HvSF40vOOe4NahKKkfvCbSA0-UwJz0yr7Y3XgnFp77qJbsUBdDYdLHycg40qL44WMf4lzADMF6qFgXbmOYE9nVTzgHflucnOm7uXgy7OrDmVngek0w/s1600/rain.jpg" /></a></div>
 
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted that thunderstorms and rainfalls would prevail over most parts of the country on Saturday. 
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NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Friday, predicted prospects of thunderstorm and moderate rains over the central states in the morning hours. 
 
It also predicted scattered thunderstorm over Abuja, Lafia, Jos, Minna, Bida, Ilorin and Lokoja during afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 25 to 30 and 16 to 24 degrees Celsius. 
 
The agency predicted thunderstorms over the northern cities with cloudy morning over Maiduguri, Dutse, Nguru, Potiskum and Adamawa axis. 
 
It further predicted that northwestern cities would be cloudy while thunderstorm was envisaged over the northeastern part with day and night temperatures of 27 to 32 and 20 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively. 
 
According to NiMet, thunderstorms and moderate rains over the southern region in the morning with light rains over southwest inland. 
 
“Thunderstorms are envisaged over southeast inland and moderate rains over the coastal cities in the afternoon and evening hours with day and Night temperatures of 27 to 31 and 20 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively,” NiMet predicted.