Oshiomhole Moves To Stop Tuesday’s NEC Meeting [LEADERSHIP]
In what seemed like last minute attempt to resist moves to edge out the embattled national chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, a faction of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has called on members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to shun the committee’s meeting slated for Tuesday.
This is just as indications emerged yesterday that APC governors under the umbrella of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) may have perfected plans to pick Oshiomhole’s replacement at Tuesday’s NEC meeting.
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that the acting national secretary, Chief Victor Giadom, had on Friday announced a meeting for the party’s NEC slated for Tuesday.
But in a statement signed by APC national legal adviser, Babatunde Ogala; national publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and acting national secretary, Waziri Bulama, the Oshiomhole-led NWC members said Giadom has no powers to convene NEC meeting.
Quoting Article 25 (B) (i) and (ii) of the party’s constitution, they contended that the required number of the NWC did not meet to call for the meeting and as such should be disregarded by NEC members.
The statement noted: “The attention of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to a purported invitation to an Emergency National Executive Committee meeting of our great Party slated for Tuesday, 17th March, 2020, which invitation is credited to Hon. (Chief) Victor Giadom, the Deputy National Secretary of the Party.
“The Party’s constitution provides that a National Executive Committee meeting shall be convoked as follows: Article 25 (B) (i) and (ii) – The National Executive Committee shall meet every quarter and or at any time decided by the National Chairman or at the request made in writing by at least two-third of the members of the National Executive Committee provided that not less that fourteen (14) days notice is given for the meeting to be summoned.
“Without prejudice to Article 25(B)(i) of this Constitution the National Working Committee may summon an Emergency National Executive Committee meeting at any time, provided that at least seven (7) days notice of the meeting shall be given to all those entitled to attend.
Nigeria’s Total Trade Hits N36trn, Rises By 13.05% [LEADERSHIP]
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria recorded N36.152 trillion as value of total trade in 2019, representing a 14.05 per cent increase over 2018.
The Bureau said this in its “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics, Quarter Four, 2019,” released on Friday in Abuja.
However, this was lower than 36.86 per cent recorded in 2018 over 2017.
“The level of imports stood at N16.959 trillion, while exports were valued at N19.192 trillion, resulting in a trade balance of N2.232 trillion.
“While imports rose by 28.8 per cent in 2019 over 2018, exports rose by only 3.6 per cent and the trade balance was 58.4 per cent less than in 2018,” it said.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the NBS said the value of total trade was N10.1 trillion, or 10.2 per cent higher than the value recorded in quarter three, 2019 and 25.9 per cent higher than in quarter four, 2018.
While noting that the country’s merchandise trade grew in quarter four, 2019, it however stressed that imports rose faster, exceeding falling exports.
“The value of the export component (N4.770 trillion) fell by 9.79 per cent against quarter three, 2019 but rose by 7.06 per cent when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2018.
“On the other hand, the import component (valued at N5.349 trillion) increased by 37.20 per cent in quarter four against quarter three, 2019 and 49.34 per cent against quarter four, 2018.
“The faster increase in imports resulted in a negative trade balance of N579.06billion during the quarter under review, the first since mid- 2016,” it added.
The Bureau in its overview of the total imports in the fourth quarter of 2019, said it stood at N5.349.63 billion, representing an increase of 37.2 per cent over the value recorded in quarter three, 2019 and 49.34 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2018.
It added that in 2019, total imports grew by 28.8 per cent compared to 2018.
S/Africa Engages Okonjo-Iweala To Tackle Recession [LEADERSHGIP]
South Africa has held talks with Nigeria’s former finance minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to assist the country in overcoming its recession.
The former finance minister Nigeria’s on Friday met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the country’s Economic Advisory Council to discuss “growth for the South African economy”.
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that South Africa entered its second recession in two years in the final quarter of last year as agriculture, transport and construction contracted, data showed on Tuesday, highlighting the impact of power cuts on the nation’s economy.
South Africa is currently experiencing an economic downturn, having gone into its second recession in two years, with multiple sectors of the country’s economy adversely affected by power cuts.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala met with President Ramaphosa and members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in Pretoria as an adviser discussing sources of growth for the South African economy and other “win-win economic interactions with the continent.”
Boko Haram War Trauma: Military Deploys Psychologists, Others To Battlefields [PUNCH]
Worried by the disturbing rate of soldiers killing themselves and their colleagues, the Nigerian military authorities have deployed new strategies to mitigate the ugly development, investigations by Sunday PUNCH have revealed.
The Defence Headquarters has, therefore, commenced the deployment of psychologists to the battleground in a bid to reduce the suicides and murders among the troops fighting against Boko Haram in the North-East.
It was learnt that the medical experts had been catering to the emotional, psychological and mental health needs of the soldiers fighting against the insurgents whose activities have led to the loss of many lives and destruction of property in the region.
Multiple sources at the DHQ in Abuja told one of our correspondents that apart from counselling tours by the psychologists to the theatre of operations, which had been made a priority, the medical team now conduct daily ward round to hospitals where soldiers are being treated to see to their mental health.
There have been growing concerns over a spate of suicides among soldiers and troops killing their colleagues and innocent people, a development some have attributed to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Coronavirus: No Wash-Hand Basins, Sanitisers At Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti Assemblies [PUNCH]
Amid increasing sensitisation of the public to the need to use disinfectants in order to contain the spread of the dreaded coronavirus, some state Houses of Assembly have yet to put in place such measures on their premises, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.
Our correspondents, who visited the Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti Assembly complexes found that the hand sanitisers, wash-hand basins and other things that could help to prevent the spread of the virus were lacking.
The first and only case of the virus in Nigeria so far was confirmed in Lagos on February 27 when a 44-year-old Italian, who arrived in the country onboard a Turkish Airlines flight having transited through Istanbul, Turkey, tested positive for the virus.
The patient, who has since been quarantined in the Infectious Disease Centre, Yaba, Lagos, had after spending his first night at a Lagos hotel visited Lafarge Africa Plc in Ewekoro, Ogun State, where he developed a fever and showed symptoms of the virus. He was then transferred to Lagos where he tested positive for the disease.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said on Friday that the 55 passengers on the flight with the Italian were put under watch, 61 were put under supervised self-isolation in Lagos and Ogun states, adding that none had manifested any symptoms of the disease. Meanwhile, all suspected cases in other parts of the country have so far tested negative.
Governors Shop For Oshiomhole’s Replacement [PUNCH]
The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress took a new twist on Saturday as the governors opposed to the embattled National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, began the search for his replacement.
It was learnt that consultations had been going on in the states, with meetings scheduled to take place next week on how to pick his successor.
Ex-Zamfara State governor Abdulaziz Yari, a one-time Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum; ex-Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, are among those being touted as the new APC National Chairman.
But the pro-Oshiomhole governors and members of the party’s National Working Committee who are unhappy with the former Edo State governor’s problems have reportedly gone on the offensive.
It was learnt that they had scheduled a meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), early this week to plead his case.
One of Oshiomhole’s sympathisers, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, stated, “Because some of us have been quiet some people think we don’t know they are doing all of these because of their 2023 agenda.
“We will be meeting the President this week to ask him if he is aware of a letter being bandied about by some of these people seeking to force our chairman out. They are claiming that he consented to attending the illegal NEC (National Executive Committee) meeting they called for the March 17.
“We will also want to find out if he is aware that this whole thing is a plot to destabilise his government, because these people don’t mean well for our party.
“We want to tell the President that enough is enough, we will not allow the ambition of individuals who don’t mean well for our party to destroy us. These are the people telling the President lies about Oshiomhole.
“We want to tell the President that these people do not love him, because he needs to concentrate on his work.”
The source further said from his interaction with some of the anti-Oshiomhole governors, their grouse with him were largely personal.
Boko Haram Will Be Crushed In Days, Says Buratai [THE GUARDIAN]
As the military continues to record success in its fight against insurgents, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai has assured that Boko Haram will soon be a thing of the past.
Buratai gave the assurance during the celebration of Nigerian Army Special Day at the ongoing Kaduna International Trade fair.
Represented by Lt. Gen Lamidi Adeosun, Army’s chief of policy, Buratai said: “The Nigerian Army (NA), aside from its primary role of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria, is also involved in fighting insurgency in the Northeast and other internal security operations across the length and breadth of the nation.
“However, in line with global trends, the NA is developing its capacity to contribute to the economic development agenda of the present political leadership through the establishment of some army units, such as Nigeria Army Farm and Ranches, NA Post Service Housing Development Limited, Command Engineering Depot, as well as NA Property Limited and NA Welfare Limited by Guarantee.
“These outfits not only serve the interest of NA personnel but also avail their products and services to the general public at relatively affordable prices; hence our participation at Kano, Abuja and now Kaduna International Trade Fairs.
Nnewi: Nigeria’s Self-Made Industrial Hub [THE GUARDIAN]
Nnewi is not a tier-one city in Africa, and not in Nigeria. Even within Anambra, it is masked by the commercial lure of Onitsha and the officialdom of Akwa, the political seat of the state. Yet, the town holds the hope for Africa’s fabrication industry and it is running with it.
It is not only in fabrication and engineering Nnewi has made an indelible mark. Today, it is almost synonymous with full-scale industrial activities. From food, body care, building material to the automobile market, Nnewi brands stand tall. Cutix Plc, Chicason Group, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, Tummy Tummy Foods Industries Limited, Intercontinental Feed Mills, Ngobros Industries and Ibeto Group are some of the big brands behind the rising Nnewi industrial zone.
Though they have emerged as household names, these companies are not the real heroes of the decades of the triumph of the ancient town. Its (Nnewi’s) essence is defined by hundreds of battered, yet uncompromising fabricators that have defied all odds to earn a living from their trades.
EMCO Foundry Works is one of the unsung heroes. Located in what appears like an abandoned building on a plot of land along Afam Oledome Street, EMCO has held tenaciously to nurturing its dream of growing into an automobile parts manufacturing company someday. The company owned and operated by a middle-aged Ukamaka Okoye brings together over half a dozen young people who etch daily pay by working with crude tools and implements to produce car battery terminals, motorcycle hand clutch levers and similar components. Like the products, the fabrication machines are a product of the local ingenuity, innovation, and determinism Nnewi represents.
Understanding Divine Visitation: Lenten Meditation – Part 1 [THE GUARDIAN]
Why do we need divine visitation? We need divine visitation to bring the wisdom, power, favour, and blessing of heaven upon our efforts. Divine visitation brings heaven down and overrules the powers of the enemy at work in our situation, opening the floodgates of heaven to bring down blessings that money cannot buy, nor human influence guarantee. It stamps our work with an eternal value that is a fulfillment of that petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
One thing that summarises the exercise of fasting is the desire for a closer encounter with the Divine. We are further encouraged by such scriptural promises as in James 4:8: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” We can indeed go much further back to the prophets, for Jeremiah also writes, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
That the Lord Jesus Christ also speaks about the conditions for divine visitation clears the air of ambiguities, for we read in John 14:21,23, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him…Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Oshiomhole: IG Bars Warring APC Groups From National Secretariat [THE NATION]
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Friday warned the feuding groups in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to keep off the party’s national secretariat in Abuja for now.
Operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) yesterday joined armed policemen on the premises of the secretariat to keep the peace and ensure that no one gained access.
The building has since been put under lock and key.
Adamu met with the two sides on Friday during which he told them to refrain from taking the law into their hands.
A group opposed to the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had on Wednesday obtained an interim court order restraining him from parading himself as chairman.
Soon after the order was granted, the police deployed a detachment of their men to secure the APC secretariat.
Human movement within the premises was restricted with only secretariat staff and journalists allowed in.
Party members and visitors were barred.
The following day, a Federal High Court in Kano issued an interim order that the status quo be maintained in the APC.
Inside The Battle To Unseat Oshiomhole [THE NATION]
The ides of March has visited the All Progressives Congress (APC) like a thief in the night. Nigeria’s first major opposition coalition to form a government is gradually slipping into abyss unless it is saved at the last minute. The ruling party which boasted of a repeat of the 16-year record of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in power may have to contend with an eight-year lifespan unless the laboratory test suggests otherwise.
For the fifth time in five months, party leaders are at each other’s jugular over the fate of the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who is barely two years old in office having been elected through a voice vote on 23 June 2018.
The attempts to oust him were made as follows at: the November 21, 2019 National Caucus session; the November 22, 2019 National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting; the emergency session of Progressives Governors Forum in Abuja on November 22 ; and an audience with the President last year by APC governors with an ‘Oshiomhole Must Go’ agenda.
The party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha were said to have saved the party from sinking into a deeper crisis at the APC Caucus meeting on November 21. It was learnt that when Tinubu moved a motion to raise a National Reconciliation Committee, Oshiomhole was naive to the extent of calling for a counter-motion.
But with Governor Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) raising about 22 defects in the party’s Audit Report to nail Oshiomhole, those who wanted the party intact (like Boss Mustapha) quickly waded in.
My friend told me to use what I had to get what I needed – Woman Allegedly Used By Pastors For Fake Miracles [THE NATION]
A 44-year-old woman, Mrs Bose Olasukanmi, whose right arm was used by various pastors to perform fake miracles as both parties claimed that it was twisted from birth, has admitted that she was only a pawn on the chessboard of fake pastors.
She also explained why she accepted to play the ignoble role of facilitating an organised crime by hanging the arm she said was once injured in an accident in a way that it would look twisted.
She would tell the congregation that the arm had been like that from birth and all medical efforts made to correct it had failed. At this point, the presiding pastor would step forward and ask the woman if she desired healing. The pastor would then engage in a session of spiritual gymnastics or tongue speaking.
While these lasted, the congregation would watch in pin-drop silence as they anxiously expected a miracle. The pastor would then command the evil spirit that had been tormenting her to get lost. Gradually, the hanging arm would descend until it rested in its normal position, greeted with shouts of hallelujah that would shook the auditorium to its foundation.
The ultimate aim, according to the police source who spoke with our correspondent, was to attract more worshippers to the church and enlarge the congregation.
Before the game was up, the suspect was reportedly going from one church to another in different parts of the country so that the trick would not be known to people who had previously witnessed the same ‘miracle’ performed on her.
Campaign Against Oshiomhole Persists [SUN]
The plot to remove the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has persisted with the Director General of the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, accusing him of being tyrannical and despotic in the disciplinary sanctions he meted out to chieftains of the party.
Reacting to Oshiomhole’s rant that his ward lacked the power to remove him since he was elected by 7000 party members at a national convention, Lukman queried his rationale in endorsing the suspension of the National Vice Chairman (North West), Inuwa Abdulkadir, who was also suspended by his ward.
He suggested that the National Executive Council (NEC) during its emergency meeting scheduled for March 17, should, apart from appointing an Acting National Chairman, review the questionable suspensions clamped on NWC members and governors.
Backing his argument with relevant sections of the party’s constitution, he insisted that the previous suspensions endorsed by the Oshiomhole-led NWC were not rule-based but on impulse.
“Article 13.4(i-xvii) provides for the powers of the NWC. Nowhere in those provisions was disciplinary responsibility given to the NWC. The reality is that all decisions about suspending Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaibu and the three governors were taken by the NWC.
“In the case of Abdulkadir, it was taken by his ward and transmitted to the NWC. Upon receipt of that decision, the NWC was expected to invite the NEC to set up the fact-finding committee.
FG Releases N984m To Fight Coronavirus [SUN]
As the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads across the globe, the Federal Government of Nigeria at the weekend released N620 million, the second tranche of the funds needed to tackle the scourge. N364 million had earlier been released in February and this brings the total money spent to N984 million.
An aide of the Finance Minister, Tanko Abdullahi made the disclosure in a statement.
He said: “The approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of funds to tackle COVID-19 was an emergency and the process of releasing the fund was also an emergency as it was an unexpected expenditure. However, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning had released the first tranche of N364 million sometime ago and the process of releasing the second tranche has been concluded with the release of N620 million this morning, bringing total release to N984 million”.
“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, promised that the second tranche of the needed fund would be released today, which has been done, keeping to the promise”, he said.