Fayemi Resigns As Minister

Dr. Kayode Fayemi has resigned his appointment as Minister of Mines and Steel Development to concentrate on defeating Kolapo Olusola, Governor Ayo Fayose’s deputy, at the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Fayemi tendered his resignation letter to Pres. Buhari three weeks ago, but it officially takes effect from Wednesday, May 30.

Fayemi will be APC flagbearer in the election. Incumbent governor, Fayose, has already boasted that an electoral disaster awaits Fayemi in July, saying: “He will suffer the worst defeat of his political career… after the July 14 election, he will go into political oblivion.”

Dino Defects, Dumps APC, Joins PDP

Senator Dino Melaye on Wednesday made a dramatic appearance at the Senate, declaring his intention to cross-carpet to the other wing of the chamber.
Melaye had been away from the Senate, since over a month, when the Nigerian Police arrested him and he was subsequently admitted at the intensive care unit of the National Hospital, Abuja.
Appearing with clutches and neck support to Wednesday’s plenary, Melaye said he was no longer comfortable sitting on his seat at the wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he would cross over to the wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The lawmaker who is currently representing Kogi West senatorial district, had come under order 14 of the Senate rules (which covers personal privileges and welfare of members of the Senate), thanking his colleagues for standing by him during his ordeal in the hands of the Nigeria Police.
Melaye specially thanked the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, members of the 8th Senate, the Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara and members of the green chamber, for the show of solidarity, saying, “an injury to one is an injury to all”.
He also appreciated the entire Nigerians, “kogites and particularly the good people of Kogi West, young and old, children and the aged” for standing and defending his mandate.
 “They stood up for me when I could not stand up, they fought for me and protected my mandate during the failed recall exercise, orchestrated by the Governor of Kogi state”, Melaye said.
The lawmaker specially acknowledged the opposition party, the PDP, for standing by him through strong statements and campaigns that Kogi West electorate should stay off the recall exercise.
Melaye accused the Nigeria Police for attempting to poison him twice, saying, “one, through the application of a chemical substance and the second time through injection. They actually came with an injection but God intervened”.
The outspoken Senator, however, said he would not be deterred by the trauma he went through “and still going through”, vowing to continue to speak out at all times and ask questions when things go wrong.
He said, “The battle to salvage this country from financial scavengers and economic canker worms, to me, is a battle of no retreat, no surrender. We must salvage this country together, we don’t have any other to call our own. As my voice gets better, it will get louder. I shall not cease to ask questions where necessary”.
The Senate, was however, thrown into rowdy session when, Melaye, in his usual dramatic style, requested that a seat be provided for him at the PDP wing, saying, he was no longer comfortable sitting on the APC wing.
His words, “I have a request to you Mr President. Because of the trauma I went through and I’m still going through, I want to seek your indulgence that you will call on the Sergeant-At-Arms to look for a comfortable seat for me on this side of the divide (pointing at the PDP wing).
“I’m no longer comfortable sitting here. So I want to ask the Senate President that you mandate the Sergeant-At-Arms tomorrow to look for a seat for me on this other divide of the chamber.
“Before you do that today, through the help of my walking sticks I will take a comfortable seat close to Papa General, Senator David Mark (PDP), pending when you get me a comfortable seat on this side”.
As soon as he finished speaking, the opposition members in their large numbers welcomed Melaye to their wing with loud ovation as Senator Ben Bruce and others helped him to walk slowly to his new seat.
This, however, didn’t go down well with the ruling APC, as the Majority Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, objected to the movement, saying it was wrong for Melaye to abandon his seat on the mere excuse of not being comfortable.
But the deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, said Melaye had come under an order of personal privileges, and as a member of the Senate, he was entitled to a good treat on matters of welfare and privileges, adding that section 41 of the 1999 constitution as amended also allowed free movement, which the chamber falls within the Nigerian territory.
Ekweremadu was supported by the Minority leader, Goodwill Akpabio, who thanked Melaye for crossing the carpet to the PDP, urging other APC lawmakers to follow suit, “as there are more comfortable seats” yet to be occupied in the PDP wing.

Fayose Suffers Blow As Adeyeye Dumps PDP For APC, Backs Fayemi For Governor

Prince Dayo Adeyeye, one of the aspirants for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, has dumped the party to join the All Progressives Congress.
Adeyeye, a former spokesperson of the Makarfi faction of the PDP, announced his defection and those of his supporters to the APC on Tuesday.
The lawyer-journalist, who was former Minister of State for Works during the PDP regime of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, lost the primaries of the party to the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka.
He accused Governor Ayo Fayose of having given undue advantage to Olusola-Eleka.
Adeyeye said he left to support the candidate of the APC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the bid to rescue Ekiti State from the maladministration of Fayose.

DEMOCRACY DAY: President Muhammadu Buhari’s Full Speech

Address by Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in commemoration of the 2018 Democracy Day celebration, Tuesday, 29th May, 2018

My Dear Nigerians!
Today marks the 19th year of our nascent democracy and the 3rd Anniversary of this administration. I am thankful to Almighty God for bringing us thus far. This administration came at a time that Nigerians needed Change, the Change we promised and the Change we continue to deliver. We have faced a lot of challenges on this journey and Nigerians have stood by us in achieving the three cardinal points of this administration namely; Security, Corruption and the Economy.

The commemoration of this year’s Democracy Day is a celebration of freedom, a salute to the resilience and determination of Nigerians and a recommitment by Government to keep its promise to lead Nigeria into a new era of justice and prosperity.

 Public safety and security remains the primary duty of this Government. Before this Administration came into being 3 years ago, Boko Haram held large areas of land spanning several Local Governments in the North East.

Today, the capacity of the insurgents has been degraded leading to the re-establishment of authority of government and the release of captives including, happily, 106 Chibok and 104 Dapchi girls, and over 16,000 other persons held by the Boko Haram.

In order to minimize the impact of the insurgency on Internally Displaced Persons, Government has established secure IDP Camps and has improved the mechanism for the distribution of basic aid, foods and essential commodities using various strategies in collaboration with local and international Organizations.

Efforts are in process for resettlement of IDPs in their home communities by providing schools, hospitals, clinics, water and sanitation to facilitate a quick return to economic activities. Government is similarly implementing de-radicalization and rehabilitation programmes to facilitate sustainable peace and development.

The unfortunate incidences of kidnappings, herdsmen and farmers clashes in several communities which have led to high number of fatalities and loss of properties across the country is being addressed and the identified culprits and their sponsors shall be made to face the full wrath of the law. All the three tiers of Government are presently engaged with communities and religious organizations to restore peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

I want to commend members of the Multinational Joint Task Force drawn from Niger, Benin, Chad, Cameroon and our own country in collaboration with the International Community who are assisting in the fight against insurgency in the North East. I also commend the gallantry of members of our Armed Forces and other security agencies that have continued to provide security for lives and properties across the country. State and Local traditional authorities are helping with much needed intelligence in this fight against insurgency.

This administration is pained over the grievous loss of lives and properties occasioned by the carnage of insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country. I wish to assure Nigerians that we will not rest until all criminal elements and their sponsors are brought to justice. Government is boosting the capacity of our security agencies through recruitment of more personnel, training and procurement of modern equipment, enhancement of intelligence gathering as well as boosting their morale in the face of daunting challenges.

The Niger Delta Region has enjoyed relative peace through social inclusiveness and cooperation of the Elders and the good people of the region. Government is committed to implementing the comprehensive peace, security and development plan for the region. The environmental clean-up of the region which commenced with the launch in Bodo, Ogoni in June, 2016 is progressing satisfactorily. Furthermore farming assets are being revived and investors in cocoa and palm oil plantations are showing serious interest.

The second primary object of this Administration is to fight corruption headlong. Like I have always said, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will destroy the country. Three years into this Administration, Nigerians and the international community have begun to applaud our policies and determination to fight corruption. We are more than ever before determined to win this war, however hard the road is. I therefore appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to continue to support us in this fight.

Various policy measures already put in place to stem the tide of corrupt practices are yielding remarkable results. Some of these key reform policies include:
a. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) has realized Billions of Naira being saved from maintenance fee payable to banks. N200 Billion has also been saved from elimination of ghost workers in public service.
b. The Whistle-Blowing Policy has helped to recover over N500 Billion;
c. The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit set up with a mandate to validate controls, assess risks, prune personnel costs, ensure compliance with Public Financial Management reforms has helped to identify and remove over 52,000 ghost workers from the Federal Government MDAs Payroll;
d. The Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) aimed at expanding tax education and awareness has offered the opportunity for tax defaulters to regularise their status in order to enjoy the amnesty of forgiveness on overdue interest, penalties and the assurance of non-prosecution or subject to tax investigations.
e. The Sovereign Wealth Fund project portfolio has been expanded with an injection of US$650 million so as to strengthen its investment in local infrastructure, power, health, re-construction of Abuja-Kano road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, East West Road (Section V) and the Mambilla Hydro-electric Power project as well as the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge.

The fight against corruption through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has resulted in recoveries of Billions of Naira, as well as forfeiture of various forms of assets. This alongside other efforts has improved Nigeria’s international image and regional cooperation.

We have retained the services of one of the world’s leading assets tracing firms to investigate and trace assets globally. This is in addition to the exploitation of provisions of existing Treaties, Conventions as well as Bilateral Agreements with Multilateral bodies and Nations. Nigeria has also signed Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements to ensure that there is no hiding place for fugitives.

This Administration has therefore focused on revamping the ailing economy it inherited in 2015. In 2016, Government executed an expansionary budget and developed the Strategic Implementation Plan. For the first time, 30% of the budget was earmarked for capital expenditure which represents an upward review when compared with the 2015 budget. The SIP was followed by the development of a comprehensive medium term plan – the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 – 2020.

 The broad strategic objectives of the ERGP were to; Restore and sustain economic growth; Build a globally competitive economy; and Invest in our people. The implementation of the ERGP has started yielding results. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that the economy grew by 1.95% in 1st quarter 2018, which is a good performance when viewed against -0.91 in 1st quarter 2017 and -0.67% in 1st quarter 2016 respectively.

 Our foreign reserve has improved significantly to 47.5 billion USD as of May, 2018 as against 29.6 billion USD in 2015. The inflationary rate has consistently declined every month since January, 2017.

Recently, Government conducted Focus Labs in three key sectors of the Economy namely, Agriculture & Transport, Manufacturing and Processing as well as Power and Gas. These have yielded significant prospects for investments and Job creation to the tune of US$ 22.5 billion with a potential for creating more than 500,000 jobs by 2020. These investment generation initiatives are expected to increase capital inflows in the form of foreign direct investment. There is a high prospect that the cumulative investments from this first phase of the Labs will hit US$39.2 billion by 2025.

 Under agriculture, Nigeria continues to pursue a strategic food security programme built around self-sufficiency and minimization of import dependency. As a result, rice importation from other countries has been cut down by 90% which has a direct impact on foreign reserves.

The Social Investment Programmes (SIP) has been created as a means to graduating our citizens from poverty through capacity building, investment and direct support. The major strategic objective is to restore livelihood, economic opportunities and sustenance for the poor across the country. The SIP programmes and projects include:
a. Home Grown School Feeding Programme – About 8.2 million pupils are currently being fed from 24 States of the Federation with over 75,000 Catering Staff engaged under the programme.
b. The Conditional Cash Transfer has so far recorded over 297,000 caregivers and being trained by 2,495 Community Facilitators in 21 states. Less privileged Nigerians are now being paid N5,000 monthly stipend in 9 pilot States of Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo. Eventually the scheme will cover all the 36 states of the federation including the FCT.
c. Under the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme – About 264,269 loans had been disbursed to 4,822 societies in the 36 States and FCT, while another 370,635 are awaiting release of funds.
d. N-Power Job creation Scheme – is targeted at providing jobs for unemployed young graduates and has so far recruited 200,000 youths while the next batch of 300,000 have been selected, verified and would soon be deployed across the 36 States and the FCT. Furthermore, 20,000 non-graduate volunteers have also been selected to kick off the N-Build programme in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council and the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria.

In the area of power generation, Nigerians from all parts of the country continue to report better power supply and less use of generators. This underscores the effectiveness of the methodical plan to deliver incremental and uninterrupted power supply to our homes, markets, offices and factories.

The country achieved 5, 222.3 MW representing the highest peak of power generated onto the national grid and delivered to customers in December, 2017. With new facilities, repairs and rehabilitations by Government and private investors, generation capability now exceeds 7,500 MW.

This Administration is committed to lawful interventions to ensure the operators of the distribution business live up to expectations especially in the areas of distribution capacity, service delivery, collection efficiency, and metering to eliminate contentious estimated billing.

The Transportation Sector continues to undergo a series of reforms in order to sustain the international best practices and ensure safety and security. The nation’s major airports have witnessed reconstruction of runways, installation of navigational equipment and new international terminals due for commissioning in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Enugu. Bilateral Air Services Agreements between Nigeria and the Governments of other countries will significantly open up new flight routes.

As a result of strict regulatory and compliance policies, Nigeria retained her Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 status, after a routine international audit. Recently, a new Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility with capacity for aircraft C-checks and other comprehensive levels of maintenance was established in Lagos. This would save the country an estimated $90m annually.

Giant strides have been recorded over the past three years to improve road transport infrastructure in all geopolitical zones of the country.

The Railway Sector has also received tremendous attention as this Administration is committed to the goal of linking all State capitals in the Federation by rail network to ease the movement of goods and passengers.

 The Education Sector especially at tertiary level has continued to witness expansion in order to improve access to higher education by millions of youths in Nigeria. Over the last three years, Government has approved the establishment of 1 new Federal Polytechnic, granted licenses for the establishment of 4 State and 14 private-owned Universities as well as 12 private Polytechnics.

Government has also continued to support the implementation of various initiatives aimed at improving the quality of Basic Education delivery. Thus, it has ensured proper funding at the Basic Education level with the disbursement of N42.2 billion UBE Matching Grant to 26 States and the FCT, N851.5 million Special Education Grant disbursed to 23 States and private providers of Special Education and N2.2 billion Teachers Professional Development Fund to 33 States and the FCT.

The Federal Government has continued to support fiscal sustainability at the sub-national governments through the implementation of the Budget Support Facility which was accompanied by the 22- point Fiscal Sustainability Plan. Thus, bailouts funds were made available to States to ease their fiscal challenges and other obligations including payment of salaries. 

In addition, a total of 73 Ecological Fund projects for the control of gully erosion in different communities across all geopolitical zones have been completed in the last three years and are undergoing commissioning while 53 other projects are ongoing. The execution of these projects has generated 357 skilled jobs and 1,350 unskilled jobs during this period.
It is pertinent to also make mention of the immeasurable contributions of the Nigerian woman to national development and advancement of democracy, over the last three years. The government and people appreciate you all as mothers of our great country.

My dear country men and women, as we all celebrate our democratic experience, let us resolve to avoid hatred and intolerance; we can only achieve our objectives in an atmosphere of harmony and peaceful co-existence.

Finally, the up-coming months will usher us into another season of general elections. Let me use this opportunity to urge us all to conduct ourselves, our wards and our constituencies with the utmost sense of fairness, justice and peaceful co-existence such that we will have not only hitch free elections but also a credible and violence free process.

In few days to come, I will be joined by many promising young Nigerians to sign into law the “Not Too Young to Run” Bill.

I thank you for your attention.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Lagos Women’ll Be More Involved In Political Process – Jumoke Okoya-Thomas

The new Woman Leader of the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, has promised to protect the interest of the women across the state.
Speaking to journalists after the swearing-in of the new executive members of the party at its state secretariat on Acme Road, Ikeja, Lagos last Thursday, Okoya-Thomas promised to bring a new lease of life to the women and other members of the party.
She took over from Chief (Mrs.) Kemi Nelson, who has been on the seat for four years. Kemi Nelson predecessor was former Deputy Speaker of Lagos State House Of Assembly, Mrs Toun Adeniran.
Okoya-Thomas, who was elected through a consensus during the state Congress of the party on Saturday, 19 May, 2018, added that the womenfolk deserve a better representation and opportunity.
According to her, “We will bring in a new generation of women in politics into Lagos APC and protect the interest of all the women in our great party especially in the grassroots. I am glad that I am taking over the office of the Woman Leader of the APC at a time people are calling for more participation of women in politics. However, we are graciously thankful to the leader of the party in Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Bola Tinubu for surpassing the 30 percent affirmative action for women in the constitution of the Lagos APC executive.
“I promise to uphold this throughout my stay in office and I have no doubt that other members of the new executive under the pragmatic leadership of the new chairman of great party would co-operate with me in this task. It is a known fact that women constitute a large percentage of our voting population in Lagos and the new APC executive will give women a special place in the party.”
The former member of the Federal House of Representatives promised to listen to suggestions from women and carry them along in her task of making things better, adding that the APC-led government believes in women empowerment and participation in politics.
“My aim is to build on what my predecessors has achieved and make more women to actively engage in the political process of Lagos State by vigorously mobilizing more women into the APC, especially the new generation of politically conscious women in the grassroots who are our backbone. I can assure you that women participation will be massive in this process and the party will continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. ” Okoya- Thomas said.
Some other members of the new executive of the party in the state include the Chairman, Mr. Tunde Balogun, who promised to take the party to the next level in his time.
Other members of the new executive of the party in the state include Chief Sunny Ajose, Deputy Chairman, Dr. Wale Ahmed, Secretary, while Bamgbala Hakeem was sworn-in as the new Vice Chairman of the party for Lagos Central.
The rest are Ashipa Kaoli Olusanya, Vice Chairman, Lagos East, and Funsho Ologunde, Vice Chairman, Lagos West.

Talented Youths Contributing To Excellence Of Lagos— Ambode

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday evening acknowledged the efforts of exceptionally talented children and youths in contributing to the excellence which the State is known for, saying they deserved to be commended and celebrated.

Speaking at a Special Evening of Arts held at Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja to celebrate Children’s Day, Lagos at 51 and the third anniversary of his administration, Governor Ambode said it was gratifying that the frontline position of Lagos in the area of performing arts was now globally acknowledged, and attributed the recognition to the young ones who are doing the State proud with their talents. 

Describing children in the State as the most cherished assets of his administration, the Governor said any nation desirous of realizing its full potential could not afford to toy with its youth, which according to him, was why deliberate policies were put in place to support them to use their talents for the benefit of the State.

“No nation achieves its full potential without the human capital that the children and youth represent. Our State as you know has the largest concentration of such beautiful, brilliant set of children and youths anywhere in the black world. Whether in education, in innovations, arts and literature or in sports, Lagos excels because of the exceptional talents of our young ones.

“This is why we have chosen to specially celebrate them this evening with one of the gifts that the world now acknowledges the frontline position of our State – performing arts. This of course is in line with our promise to make Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment and the Arts together with Sports the centrepiece of our development agenda for the youths in our State,” Governor Ambode said.

He said it was satisfying that the critical stakeholders in the sector appreciated the efforts being made by his administration to nurture and grow the performing arts industry, just as he assured that no efforts would be spared to sustain the drive to place the State on a sound pedestal for growth and development via the sector.

“In three years of renewed vigour and commitment to the finer things of life like the Arts and Culture, we are pleased with the fact that our critical stakeholders appreciate our modest intervention and are encouraged to do more.

“This evening we have chosen four of such stakeholders today not only for the beautiful performance they have treated us with; but to also specially honour them too for their contributions in uplifting the standard of performing arts in our State, especially as it concerns children and the youth,” he said.

The Governor specifically celebrated the parents and members of the youth groups which performed at the event - The Dream Catchers, Dance Na The Main Thing (DNMT), The Q Dance Company and Footprints of David, among others, just as he urged them to keep up the good work.

“These children mean so much to me and I love them all from the bottom of my heart. I am and I reiterate once again committed to the upliftment of the culture and the heritage of Lagos. I will do it with it with all my strength and I also promise that I will keep the performing arts growing by investing in the sector.

“Already, we are in the process of having a Lagos Museum and we will do everything to create the atmosphere that will allow these young ones to thrive and also become additional celebrities that we want them to be,” the Governor said.

Earlier, Governor Ambode performed the official kick-off of the finals of the Channels International Kids Cup football competition held at Campos Mini Stadium, where he rewarded the top four teams with N5million.

The winner, LGEA Central Primary School received N2million; Baptist Primary School which took second place was given N1.5million, while Emmanuel Anglican Primary School in third place received N1million.

X-planter Private School from Lagos in fourth position was also not left out as the Governor rewarded them with a sum of N500,000.