2018 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: NIGERIAN EDITORS TASK JOURNALISTS

The Nigerian Guild of Editors has congratulated African journalists on their resolve to weather the storm to remain afloat, in spite of harsh economic conditions and environment.

In a message signed by its President, Funke Egbemode and General Secretary, Victoria Ibanga, the Nigerian Guild of Editors said this year’s celebration demands sober reflection as it also affords journalists opportunity to assess the state of press freedom, state of the media in Nigeria, as well as empathize and pay tribute to colleagues in various prisons across the world, as well as those who died in the course of performing their Constitutional duty.

It said drawing from the theme of this year’s celebration, “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice", Nigerian Editors join organisations like the United Nations, to implore governments world over to create an enabling legal environment for press freedom as well as give special attention to the role of an independent Judiciary in ensuring legal guarantees for press freedom and the prosecution of crimes against journalists.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors noted with delight, the roles of the media in the struggle for independence, enthronement of democracy and promotion and propagation of social justice and human rights.

Funke Egbemode, President, NGE

The guild therefore requested government and security agencies to reopen and urgently resolve all pending cases of attacks and killings of Journalists and Media workers in Nigeria and bring perpetrators to book, to serve as deterrent to others.

The World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference.

It aims to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the Right to Freedom of Expression, enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since the Declaration of Windhoek, the anniversary is celebrated annually on May 3^rd, as World Press Freedom Day.

LACE UP JEANS JOLTS JEANS LOVERS

The internet isn't loving these bizarre lace-up jeans

The ripped-knee jeans trend hasn’t been our favourite when it comes to practicality – for those of us that don’t like exposing our knees to the elements, anyway.
But compared to one pair of lace-up jeans that have recently surfaced on the internet, slightly-torn trousers sound like a godsend.

Fashion Nova’s Wild Thang Lace Up Pants are selling for $49.99 (£37). They have the attributes you’d expect many jeans to have; they’re high rise, available in light blue wash, and boast a decent proportion of cotton content (74%).


Not a pair to meet the boyfriend’s parents in [Photo: Fashion Nova]
The “lace up” element throws all of that out of the window, however, and the internet is confused to say the least.
Since the product was posted to Instagram, people have had a few words to say about Fashion Nova’s creation.

One commenter said: “What is she, a leg of ham in a deli?”

“Might as well go pantless,” said another.

“I’m not paying full price for these, they better be half off,” one person joked.

EXTREME CUT JEANS

Others pointed out the potential difficulties in getting them on in the first place.

One person said: “How many times my toes would get caught in those strings every time I would try to put those pants on?! Ouch.”

Not to mention what would happen if you wore them on a sunny day.

“Imagine getting a sunburn/tan in these,” said one commenter.

Imagine you do decide to wear them to a festival – if it was sunny, you’d end up with some interestingly-patterned legs. If it was too cold, you’d freeze.

Not that practicality was necessarily a priority when designing them.

If you need us, we’ll be wearing a pair of denim thong shorts or a denim jeans-skirt hybrid instead.

YAHOO NEWS

FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT BUHARI's 2017 INDEPENDENCE SPEECH

October 1^st remains a special date for all Nigerians as this marks the day when we attained one of the most precious of human desires — freedom.

Over the years the country has gone through trials and tribulations, but October 1^st is always a day for celebrations.

It is a day for thanks giving, reflection and re-dedication.

It is also a day for remembrance. We should remind ourselves of the recent journey from 1999 – 2015, when our country happily returned to democratic rule.

 However, in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1m barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected.

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

We were left with no savings and huge infrastructure deficit.

The APC Government’s Campaign rallying cry to restore security, re-balance the economy and fight corruption was not all rhetoric.

The country must first be secured. The economy must be re-balanced so that we do not depend on oil alone. We must fight corruption which is Nigeria’s Number One Enemy. Our Administration is tackling these tasks in earnest.

In the past two years, Nigeria has recorded appreciable gains in political freedom. A political Party at the Centre losing elections of State Governor, National Assembly seat and even State Assemblies to the opposition parties is new to Nigeria. Added to these are complete freedom to associate, to hold and disseminate opinions. Such developments clearly attest to the country’s growing political development. But like all freedoms, this is open to abuse.

Recent calls on re-structuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, has let in highly irresponsible groups to call for dismemberment of the country. We can not and we will not allow such advocacy.

As a young Army Officer, I took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic civil war costing about 2m lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering. Those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through.

I am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through. Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly.

At all events, proper dialogue and any desired constitutional changes should take place in a rational manner, at the National and State Assemblies. These are the proper and legal fora for National debate, not some lop-sided, un-democratic body with pre-determined set of objectives.

Government is keeping up the momentum of dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep the peace. We intend to address genuine grievances of the communities.

Government is grateful to the responsible leadership of those communities and will pursue lasting peace in the Niger Delta.

SECURITY

On security, Nigerians must be grateful to our gallant Armed Forces for rolling back the frontiers of Boko Haram’s terrorism, defeating them and reducing them to cowardly attacks on soft and vulnerable targets.

Nigeria is grateful to its neighbours and the international community for the collective efforts to defeat this world-wide menace of terrorism.

Not even the most organized and most equipped police and security forces in the world can escape the menace of modern day terrorism, as we have seen in recent years in Europe and other parts of the world.

But we are not letting up. Our Armed Forces in an effort to enhance the operational capability of troops of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE have established Mobile Strike Teams in the North East. These will ensure the final push to wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram.

In addition, through targeted air strikes most of the leadership and identified logistics bases and routes of the insurgents have been neutralized. The Armed Forces have established a Naval presence in the Lake Chad Basin as part of the coordinated military efforts to curtail the movements or re-emergence of the sect in the area.

Government is working round the clock to ensure release of the remaining Chibok girls, as well as other persons in Boko Haram captivity. Government will continue to support the Armed Forces and other security agencies to fight not only terrorism, but kidnapping, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers violence and to ensure peace, stability and security in our country.

ECONOMY

With respect to the economy, the Government has remained pro-active in its diversification policy. The Federal Government’s agricultural Anchor Borrowers Programme, which I launched in November 2015, has been an outstanding success with:

· N43.92 billion released through the CBN and 13 participating institutions,

· 200,000 small holder farmers from 29 states of the federation benefitting,

· 233,000 hectares of farmland cultivating eight commodities, namely Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, soya-beans, Poultry, Cassava and Groundnuts, in addition to fish farming.

These initiatives have been undertaken in close collaboration with the states. I wish to commend the efforts of the Governors of Kebbi, Lagos, Ebonyi and Jigawa States for their support to the rice and fertilizer revolutions.

Equally commendable are contributions of the Governors of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Cross River, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna and Plateau States for their support for the Presidential initiative for palm oil, rubber, cashew, cassava, potatoes and others crops.

With the abundance of rainfall last year and this year, agriculture has enjoyed Divine intervention.

Since December last year, this Administration has produced over 7 million 50Kg bags of fertilizer. Eleven blending plants with a capacity of 2.1 million metric tons have been reactivated. We have saved $150 million in foreign exchange and N60 billion in subsidy. Fertilizer prices have dropped from N13,000 per 50Kg bag to N5,500.

Furthermore, a new presidential initiative is starting with each state of the Federation creating a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths, again with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.

Power remains a huge problem. As of September 12^th, production of power reached an all — time high of 7,001 Megawatts. Government is increasing its investment, clearing up the operational and financial log jam bedeviling the industry. We hope to reach 10,000 Megawatts by 2020.

Key priorities include better energy mix through solar and Hydro technologies. I am glad to say that after many years of limbo, Mambilla Power Project has taken off.

Elsewhere in the economy the special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters, foreign exchange requirements has proved very effective. Since April, about $7 billion has come through this window alone. The main effect of these policies is improved confidence in the economy and better investment sentiments.

The country has recorded 7 consecutive months of lower inflation, Naira rate is beginning to stabilize, appreciating from N525 per $1 in  February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.

Furthermore, in order to stabilize the polity, the Federal Government gave additional support to states in the form of:

·State Excess Crude Account loans,

·Budget Support Facility,

·Stabilization Fund Release

to state and local government as follows:

·N200 billion in 2015

·N441 billion in 2016

·N1 trillion in 2017

Altogether totaling N1.642 trillion.

This was done to enable states to pay outstanding salaries, pensions and small business suppliers who had been all but crippled over the years.

In addition, the Government’s current N500 billion Special Intervention Programme is targeting groups through;

· Home Grown School Feeding Programme,

· N-Power Job creation to provide loans to small-scale traders and artisans,

· Conditional Cash Transfer,

·Family Homes Fund and

·Social Housing Scheme

CORRUPTION

Fellow Nigerians,

We are fully aware that fighting corruption was never going to be a straightforward task. We expected corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly judicial obstruction and political diversion. But we are determined to eradicate corruption from our body politic.

In this fight, the Government has:

·Empowered teams of prosecutors,

·Assembled detailed databases,

·Accelerated the recovery of stolen funds

The Administration’s new institutional reforms include:

·Enforcing Treasury Single Account,

·Whistle-Blowers Policy,

·Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System

We have signed multi-lateral cooperation agreements on criminal matters with friendly countries. There are signs of increasing cooperation from the Judiciary. Recently the Chief Justice of the Federation directed Heads of all our Courts of first instance and Appeal to accelerate hearings of corruption cases and dismiss any judicial officers found to have been compromised.

Justice Salami has just been appointed to chair the Judiciary’s anti-graft committee. Government expects a lot from this Committee.

I commend the National Assembly for refocusing on its oversight committees. They should, in addition, ensure swift passage of enabling corruption laws. But fighting corruption is a bottom to top operation. I call on all Nigerians to combat corruption at every turn. By not asking for and refusing to accept a bribe, by reporting unethical practices or by blowing a whistle, together we can beat corruption. The government for its part will work for accountability at all levels – Federal, State and Local Governments. CHANGE will then be real.

As we enter the second half of our term of office, we intend to accelerate progress and intensify our resolve to fix the country’s challenges and problems.

Thank you and a happy holiday to all of you.

God bless our country

BREAKING NEWS: JURY DECLARES BILL COSBY'S TRIAL A MISTRIAL

American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and author, William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. is currently a freeman as the jury trying his sexual assault case declared a mistrial.

BILL COSBY

More details shortly.

Fulani are threatening me, says Ortom

John Charles, Makurdi

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Wednesday said that he had received messages from Fulani threatening him over the anti-open grazing law recently enacted by his administration.

Ortom stated this when he addressed members of National Council of Tiv Youths who protested to government house over what they described as ‘outburst and unguided utterances against Tiv nation and the Indigenes of Benue state by leaders of Fulani cattle rearers’.

The governor said that he would not be intimidated by the threat coming from the Fulani, stating emphatically that the law has come to stay and that the full implementation of the law would commence latest November 2017.

Governor Ortom had a few weeks ago assented to anti-open grazing bill passed by the state assembly which prohibits open grazing of cattle and livestock.

The law had  among others  provided  that anyone who engages in open grazing in Benue State  and on conviction will now be liable to five years imprisonment and  provided  for monetary compensation  in case of any damage to a property and imprisonment of two years of the livestock owner or manager in case of injury to any person in the state.

The governor said that the enactment of the law was necessitated following the constant attacks on farmers in the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen, adding that he has the constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property of residents of his state.

According to him, ‘just this morning (Wednesday) one Fulani called my wife and asked her to warn me that I (Ortom) am joking with them (Fulani), but my response when my wife told me this, is that am not joking, this law has come to stay.’

“I challenge anyone who has superior solution to the senseless killings of our people other than anti-open grazing law should bring it forward,  before the passage of the bill by House of Assembly, due process was followed, every nationality living in the state;  the Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas/Fulanis and others were invited to the public hearing”.

Governor Samuel Ortom

“Whoever chooses to live in Benue must obey the law of the land, there is no grazing in Benue,  I was elected to protect lives and property of every resident of the state, not to preside over dead people”.

The governor expressed assurance that with the enactment of the anti-open grazing law peace would return to the state.

He also said that the enforcement of the law would commence between October and November 2017.

Earlier, the leader of the protesters, Mr John Akperachi while addressing the governor had regretted that no herdsmen have been prosecuted over the killings of farmers in the state since 2012.

Akperachi called on federal government to prevail on security agencies to arrest leaders of Miyeitti Allah for opposing the anti-open grazing law and laying claim to natural resources of the state.

The protesters carried play cards with various inscriptions;  ‘Security: call Miyeittii Allah to order’,  ‘Why value cows more that human lives’, ‘Our land, our ancestors, our possession!’, ‘ranch your cows now, respect the laws of our land,’ and ‘we say no to open grazing’ among others.

PUNCH

Welcome To Philip Nwelih's Blog: BREAKING: False Asset Declaration Charge: Saraki d...

Welcome To Philip Nwelih's Blog: BREAKING: False Asset Declaration Charge: Saraki d...: The Code of Conduct Tribunal has dismissed the case of false asset declaration against Nigeria’s Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Mr. Sarak...

BREAKING: False Asset Declaration Charge: Saraki discharged, acquitted

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has dismissed the case of false asset declaration against Nigeria’s Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Mr. Saraki made a no-case submission on May 4, after the prosecution closed its case.
In the ruling, the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, said the prosecution had failed to prove its allegations.
Details later…
BACKGROUND
The Code of Conduct Bureau had in September 2015 slammed a 13-count charge of corruption on Mr. Saraki.

Bukola Saraki

In charge number ABT/01/15, dated September 11 and filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr. Saraki is accused of offences ranging from anticipatory declaration of assets to making false declaration of assets in forms he filed before the Code of Conduct Bureau while he was governor of Kwara state.
According to the charges, the Senate President was also accused of failing to declare some assets he acquired while in office as governor.

Among other offences, including allegedly acquiring assets beyond his legitimate earnings, Mr. Saraki was also accused of operating foreign accounts while being a public officer – governor and senator.

The offences, the charge said, violated sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
Mr. Saraki was also said to have breached Section 2 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act and punishable under paragraph 9 of the said Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
The charges were prepared by M.S. Hassan, a deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
The government later increased the charges to 17 on January 11, 2017. In February 2017, one more charge was added, bringing the charges to 18.
The Senate President pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In a statement after the charges were filed, Mr. Saraki, said the processes were calculated to rubbish him, saying he was fully ready to assert his innocence.
“We therefore conclude that this is not an anti corruption driven case and cannot be part of the moves aimed at fighting corruption,” the senate president said. “It is simply a pure malicious and politically motivated prosecution aimed at undermining the person and office of the Senate President.”
He said the charges were based “on outright fabrication and mischief, will not and cannot stand the test of justice.”
PREMIUM TIMES