PHOTOS: Voting begins in pro-Sheriff Edo PDP governorship primary

The post PHOTOS: Voting begins in pro-Sheriff Edo PDP governorship primary appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/29aVv2s
via IFTTT

IDP camps: Borno gov meets Buhari’s Chief of Staff

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The Presidency on Wednesday intervened in the reported cases of poor conditions of Internally Displaced Persons Camps in Borno State.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari, met with the state governor, Ibrahim Shettima, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shettima attended the meeting with some unidentified officials of his government.

The meeting which lasted less than hour was held in the Chief of Staff’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the end of the meeting, Shettima did not speak with State House correspondents who approached him for comments.

“No, it was just a private meeting,” the governor simply said as he made his way to his waiting car.

There have been reports of cases of malnourished children and deaths at the IDP camps in the state.

The humanitarian aid organisation, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), had last week released a statement alongside photographs stating that about 24,000 IDPs were in dire health situation with at least 30 people, mostly children dying every day.

President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have been angry at the report.

He was said to have regretted that such development could happen in the camps despite billions of naira spent by the different levels of government as well as donor agencies and philanthropists.

Shettima had alleged that some Non-Governmental Organisations were taking huge advantage of the pains of IDPs in the state and defrauding foreign philanthropists under the guise of trying to help victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The post IDP camps: Borno gov meets Buhari’s Chief of Staff appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/294mEmu
via IFTTT

BREAKING: Voting begins in pro-Sheriff Edo PDP governorship primary

Alexander Okere, Benin

Voting has begun in the ongoing primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, organised by the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the party, for the forthcoming governorship polls in Edo State.

Voting commenced at 4:24pm, with 677 accredited delegates casting their ballot papers, according to their respective local government areas.

Two aspirants – Johnson Agbonayima and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen – were cleared by the Sheriff group to contest the primary election.

But prior to voting, Agbonayima, who represents Egor and Ikpoba-Okha constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, announced his decision to step down for ‎Iduoriyekemwen.

‎The lawmaker explained that he decision was in the interest of the party and the people of the state.

The post BREAKING: Voting begins in pro-Sheriff Edo PDP governorship primary appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/295x3NF
via IFTTT

Ekiti lawmakers back Fayose, move sitting to highway

Kamarudeen Ogundele, Ado Ekiti

Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly on Wednesday held their plenary on a major roundabout in Okesa to protest what they said was a witch-hunt against Governor Ayodele Fayose by the Federal Government.

The legislators conducted their business under a canopy while the area was cordoned off by a detachment of armed policemen who blocked one side of the two lanes.

They accused Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, of being the brains behind a plot to remove Fayose from office.

They claimed that both Falana and Ojudu had ambitions of becoming the governor of the state.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, said the lawmakers embarked on the “sit out to tell the whole world that we are determined and resolute to support Fayose.”

He alleged that 10 of the legislators had been listed for arrest on Thursday based on “trumped-up charge of not having valid certificates to contest election as Assembly members”.

He added, “No amount of blackmail will make us to do dirty job, we are calling on the APC led government to leave Fayose alone. The freezing of his account is condemnable.

“We are aware of plans to arrest 10 members of Ekiti State House of Assembly, we are ready for arrest. We stand by Fayose, enough is enough. Let there be peace in Ekiti, let Abuja leave Fayose alone.”

The Committee Chairman on Health, Samuel Omotoso, accused the Federal Government of “flippancy and double standards” in its prosecution of anti-corruption war, saying the legislators were ready for arrest.

“There are double standards and flippancy in the so-called anti-corruption war. When you are in PDP, you are a demon but when you run to APC, you become a saint,” he said.

The post Ekiti lawmakers back Fayose, move sitting to highway appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/292K3C3
via IFTTT

Dickson warns politicians, plans civil service reform

Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has reaffirmed his commitment to carry out effective reforms in the civil service to make it more result-oriented and respectable.

He, therefore, warned politicians to leave civil servants out of politics and also called on the civil servants not to allow themselves to be used by politicians in the furtherance of their political ambitions.

The governor, who spoke through the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite, said those were part of his charge to permanent secretaries, directors and heads of departments of various ministries, departments and agencies during a meeting in Yenagoa.

The Governor, who commended the top hierarchy of the civil service for supporting the ongoing reforms in the service, said whatever the government was doing, was purely to properly reposition the service to function effectively in line with best practices.

Dickson, who said the permanent secretaries, directors and HODs were unanimous in their support for the ongoing reforms in the service, noted that the reform would go a long way in enthroning a civil service that would be apolitical, disciplined and focused.

While commending Dickson for adhering to the age-long order of seniority and succession in the civil service, against what prevailed in the recent past, the top civil servants declared their support for the six-month extension of the tenure of the Head of Service, Dr. Peter Singabele.

 

The post Dickson warns politicians, plans civil service reform appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/2958iFv
via IFTTT

Mob sets suspected serial rapist ablaze in Delta

Ovie Okpare, Warri

A mob on Wednesday set ablaze a suspected member of a gang of rapists that has been terrorising Ughelli and its neighbouring communities in Delta State.

In the past two weeks, four ladies including a wife of a popular hotelier in the area had been raped by suspected members of the gang.

Luck, however, ran out on a suspected member of the group on Wednesday morning, when he allegedly tried to rape a salesgirl at Adagharagba junction near the Ughelli Central Market.

It was gathered that the suspect was apprehended by residents around 11:30am during the ill-fated rape attempt.

A resident of the area who witnessed the incident told our correspondent that several people had been killed and raped in the area by a group of young men who targeted sales girls and female traders within Ughelli and its environs.

The witness said the suspect confessed that he belonged to an armed gang that rape and attack girls in the city before he was set ablaze.

The suspect, who said he hailed from Oroahakpor community in Ethiope West Council area of the state, allegedly disclosed that other members of the group fled on sighting the angry crowd.

Another eye witness, who also spoke anonymously, said, “The hoodlums pretended to be customers buying things in bulk hence they were allowed entering the store. But surprisingly, the next thing we heard was the screaming of the salesgirl and we immediately rushed in to found her already attacked in her pool of blood.

“Following the attack, the mob pursued the suspects until one of them was caught at Omotor Junction where he was set ablaze by angry mob before the arrival of security agents.”

The post Mob sets suspected serial rapist ablaze in Delta appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/294gIKA
via IFTTT

Court sacks Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja on Wednesday sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Justice Valentine Ashi ‎held that Sheriff’s ascension to office was unlawful as it was based on amended provision of the PDP ‎Constitution said to be illegally introduced in December 2014.

‎Though the court did not specifically mention Sheriff’s name, it made an order restraining all persons who became national officers of the party by virtue of the amended Article 47, Rule 6 of the party’s constitution, from further parading themselves in the said capacities.

The judge nullified the amendment of the said provision which he ruled was done in violation of mandatory provisions of Article 66 (2) and (3) of the party’s constitution.

The post Court sacks Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman appeared first on Punch Newspapers.

from Punch Newspapers http://ift.tt/29pgcVT
via IFTTT