RIZE FM RADIO BLOG: August 2018

Friday, 31 August 2018

China Africa’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years

China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for nine years in a row as major cooperation programs boosted bilateral trade, official data showed. China-Africa trade has been growing robustly since the launch of 10 major cooperation plans three years ago.

In the first half of 2018, bilateral trade rose 16 percent year on year to 98.8 billion dollars Qian Keming, vice minister of commerce, told a news conference.

China announced 10 major plans for China-Africa cooperation at the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2015 and many of them were targeted at economic and trade cooperation.

The revenue reporting template to be used by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC for remittances to the Federation Account Allocation Committee FAAC will be ready in September.

The minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, made this known while briefing journalists on the outcome of the monthly FAAC meeting.

President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a review of the revenue reporting template between NNPC and FAAC as a lasting solution for the frequent disagreements between both parties over remittances.

Eddie Howe says Bournemouth will take inspiration from last season’s matches against Chelsea as they try to beat the London outfit in the Premier League on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign,.

Bournemouth narrowly lost their home league match against Chelsea as well as a League Cup encounter between the two sides but secured a shock 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge in January.

Nigeria’ Consul General in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Sani, has urged Nigerian pilgrims to pray for a successful general election in the country in 2019.

Sani who visited the pilgrims in Makkah extended the felicitations of President Muhammadu Buhari to the pilgrims and urged them to continue to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari earlier hosted the South West Caucus of the All Progressives Congress APC to a dinner at the First Lady Conference hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the president and members of the South West APC Caucus would use the opportunity of the dinner to deliberate and strategize on the forthcoming Osun State governorship election slated for Sept. 22.

President of Egypt Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi has sworn in 21 New Provincial Governors, including the First Female Governor from the country’s minority Christian Community.

Manal Mikhail has been appointed governor of the coastal city of Damietta, becoming the first-ever Christian woman to hold such a position.

Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi makes Nollywood debut

Nigeria International and Arsenal forward, Alex Iwobi, has made a debut in his first film role in the soon to be released Inpadisu.

The movie, now trending on social media, features Iwobi being pursued all over the place, apparently because of choices he made in the movie.

Iwobi also took to his Instagram page @Alexanderiwobi to confirm his role in the film alongside award-winning actress, Somkele Iyamah.

New Video: DMW feat. Davido, Duncan Mighty & Peruzzi – Aza

The DMW crew, label boss Davido and signee Peruzzi, have teamed up with Duncan Mighty, for a new song and video titled ‘Aza’.
The Official Video of the Song AZA is out, Watch Video Here

See Video:

Source: Bella Naija

Court fixes date to decide on suit against EFCC over Benue government accounts

The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has fixed October 8, 2018 to deliver judgment in the suit filed by the Benue State Government.

State challenging the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to investigate it’s accounts.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba fixed the date after counsel representing the various parties ‎to the suit adopted their briefs of arguments.

The Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC has assured the people of Ogun of it's commitment to ensure safer roads to reduce carnage to the barest minimum.

The Sector Commander in the state Clement Oladele gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ota.

China has earlier said that the United States had no right to criticize its policies on ethnic minorities, after U.S. lawmakers called for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses against Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a regular news conference in Beijing.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers called for the United States to impose sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses against minority Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, saying it was being turned into a “high-tech police state.”

Zimbabwe is likely to experience an El Nino phase, which will result in erratic rainfall during the 2018/19 farming season, a government official said on Wednesday.

This will be the second drought for the country in three years, following an El Nino-induced drought in 2016 that left a quarter of the rural population in need of food aid.

That drought was Zimbabwe’s worst in 30 years.

Cameroon’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a public awareness campaign to curb endemic corruption in public services.

CONAC Chair, Dieudonne Massi Gams, said that Civil servants and users of public services must really be in accord with what they have to pay and what they don’t have to pay.

The UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin disclosed that The Government of United Kingdom has announced a new £70 million programme to create 100,000 jobs in Nigeria.

She spoke during a business event as part of the activities for Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Nigeria on Wednesday.

NAN reports that Baldwin, who led a business delegation to the event, said that the programme would raise the income of three million people from the poorest parts of Nigeria.

Facebook has said it is rolling out globally its Watch video service, which has already been available in the United States for more than a year.

Fidji Simo, Facebook’s vice president for video said They designed the product not just in a mindless consumption but in order to get people engaged.

Facebook launched Watch amid a shift in video viewing habits away from traditional television to online platforms including Netflix and Hulu, and with more people watching both professional and user content on services like YouTube.

The sacked Director General of the Department of State Services DSS, Lawal Daura, has finally spoken on his ordeal.

In new details which emerged on Wednesday, Daura was quoted as making three declarations: (i) That he took all actions in national interest through a collective responsibility, including involvement of principal officers of sister agencies; (ii) that he acted on a higher authority which he relied on to deploy agents at the National Assembly; (iii) that the report submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Idris Ibrahim was totally incorrect.

Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, and Duchess of Sussex Meghan, attended a gala performance of Hamilton in support of Sentebale at Victoria Palace Theatre in London, England.

President Muhammadu Buhari met with caucus members of the All Progressives Congress APC at the presidential villa last night.

The highlight of the meeting expected to deliberate on direct primaries and parties time table was the presence of a former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan at the meeting.

Uduaghan, a two-term governor of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, had long been speculated to be on his way to the APC.

Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, on Wednesday officially declared his presidential ambition. The Senator is among aspirants seeking the Peoples Democratic Party’s ticket. His declaration which was held at Chida Hotel in Abuja attracted thousands of Kwankwasiya supporters and party members. The ex-Minister of Defence expressed readiness to give Nigerians the change the current government has failed to provide despite repeated assurances.

2. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Wednesday had a private meeting with former President, Goodluck Jonathan. In the meeting which held in Abuja, Jonathan was reported to have praised the Senate President for the way he runs the affairs of the National Assembly.

3. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, UK, Theresa May, Wednesday arrived Nigeria.
May landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and proceeded to a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa where two agreements were signed between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

President Buhari Reveals Maritime sector to serve as main economic driver

President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that his administration is re-positioning the maritime sector as the country’s main economic driver and agent of diversification.

The president made the declaration in Abuja at the launch of a book “Harnessing Nigeria’s Maritime Assets – Past, Present and Future”, authored by the executive director, Finance and Administration of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Bashir Yusuf Jamoh.

British Prime Minister Theresa May Set to Arrive Nigeria tomorrow

British Prime Minister Theresa May will arrive Abuja tomorrow as part of a three-nation African tour. She will fly into the federal capital from South Africa and move to Lagos where she is due to meet with victims of modern slavery during her three-hour stay in the nation’s commercial hub.

She will discuss trade the main objective of her African visit – with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja as well as security.

The Chairman, South-East Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, says the region would only support the presidential aspirant who would guarantee equity, fairness and justice in 2019.

Umahi spoke when he received a Peoples Democratic Party PDP presidential aspirant, Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the Government House, Abakaliki.

California Lawmakers have sent three bills to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk that call for stricter restrictions on firearms in a state that has one of the toughest gun laws in the country.

The bill was sent to Brown’s desk one day after a gunman opened fire at a gaming event in Florida, killing two persons before turning the gun on himself.

Legal practitioners and civil society organizations have condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA.

The President, in his speech, urged lawyers to put national security over and above the rule of law. Reacting, Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, in a statement, said Buhari’s declaration was a great set back for Nigeria’s democracy and national development.

The Police arrested popular Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 MMA2 Lagos for assaulting a male security staff of Dana Air, but the actor was later released after tendering an apology.

Spokesman for Dana Air, Mr. Kingsley Ezenwa, who confirmed the incident to Daily Sun said the action of Mr. Iyke constituted a breach of the Nigerian civil aviation regulations and that the actor was arrested and also denied boarding by the airline following the assault on the security personnel.
Ezenwa said that He was very unruly and slapped one of our staff and that’s against civil regulation laws and so we got him arrested by the Police and we also denied him boarding our aircraft.

Edo government awards families of slain police officers N6 million

The Government of Edo State has awarded the families of three slain police officers that served at the Ogba Zoo, six million naira.

The state governor, Godwin Obaseki, who made the cheque presentation at the Government House in Benin City, said the gesture is to compensate the bravery shown by the officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Ahead of the 2019 elections, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has said that it is not involved in the idea of having a sole presidential aspirant for the party.

The party said it would rather be pre-occupied with the provision of an enabling environment for all the aspirants to canvass votes at its national convention than to be thinking of asking some of the aspirants to step down.

There has been concerns over the growing number of presidential aspirants on the platform of the party.

Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Kogi west senatorial district have ruled out automatic tickets for aspirants in the 2019 general election.

Senator Dino Melaye, who defected from the All Progressives Congress APC to the PDP, is the lawmaker representing the district at the senate.

The decision not to give any aspirants automatic ticket was reached at a meeting which held at the Aiyetoro-Gbedde residence of David Jemibewon, a retired major general and member of the PDP board of trustees BoT
.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has been officially sworn in as president of Zimbabwe today Sunday after winning a bitterly contested election that marked the country’s first vote since Robert Mugabe was ousted from power.

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC has spread to eastern ‘no-go’ zone surrounded by rebels, UN agencies have warned.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR, warned that rebel violence in eastern DRC was escalating inside the vast country’s Ebola-hit North Kivu province, putting millions at risk.

Niger, Benin Republic pay $10 million electricity bill to Nigeria following disconnection threat

Two international customers, Benin Republic and Niger, have paid $10.1m to Nigeria to settle their electricity bill.

This was disclosed by the market operator arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN during the August power sector stakeholders’ meeting.

The two neighbouring countries made the payments for their outstanding energy debt through their respective power companies.

Former Ghana president John Mahama announced his bid to seek the nomination of the main opposition party and contest the 2020 election.

Mahama, who became president in 2012 but lost his re-election bid to President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2016, said he had decided to give the country’s top job another shot.

A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue Leah Sharibu, the kidnapped Christian Dapchi schoolgirl, even as he plans to send more looters to jail.

Attah made the call at a media briefing in Lagos on Thursday.

The Parliamentary Democrats Group PDG, a group in the House of Representatives has warned the All Progressives Congress APC lawmakers in the lower legislative chamber, against an alleged move to remove Yakubu Dogara as Speaker.

In a statement, Timothy Golu, a lawmaker from Plateau and spokesman of the group, said any attempt to oust Dogara would be met with fire.

The federal government has hinted that President Muhammadu Buhari will present the 2019 budget to the National Assembly when the legislature reconvenes in September.

Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, explained that this was to restore the January to December budget cycle.

Priest attacked by Man In Indiana Accusing him of Sexual Abuse:”

A Catholic priest was beaten on Monday morning as he finished celebrating liturgy at his church in Merrillville, Indiana, and authorities are investigating the attack as a hate crime.

According to Report, Rev. Basil Hutsko was hospitalized after he was beaten at St. Michael’s Byzantine Church.

Maltese coastguards rescued 100 migrants and recovered two bodies from a small boat south of the island. The boat the migrants were on was taking in water and two had already died by the time rescuers reached them, the Armed Forces of Malta AFM said in a statement. After the AFM vessel carrying the rescued migrants arrived in Malta’s Grand Harbour, the migrants were transferred to a detention centre.

Meanwhile, in a statement the Maltese government stressed that it always adhered to international laws and applicable conventions when it comes to rescuing migrants at sea.

Here is today’s summary from Nigerian newspapers:

1. President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday expressed confidence that Nigeria is resolutely on the road to a new dawn, stressing that the country will no longer be a by-word for corruption. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President said this while commending two security men who returned a handbag filled with valuables forgotten at the Murtala Muhammed Airport by an American returnee.

2. Mr. Sunday Ogunniyi, the Special Assistant on Environmental Services to the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has resigned his appointment. Ogunniyi’s resignation letter to the governor tendered through the office of the Secretary to the Kwara State Government did not state the reason behind his decision.

3. Irate youth, yesterday set the Magistrates’ Court in Olru, Imo State on fire. The Police spokesperson in the state, Andrew Enwerem, who confirmed the incident, said the inferno destroyed all the documents in the court before it was put out.

Zimbabwe opposition asks court to annul election result

Zimbabwe’s opposition argued in the country’s top court that the presidential election results must be thrown out, alleging that only “massive doctoring” of the vote had kept Emmerson Mnangagwa in office.

Lawyers for the Movement for Democratic Change MDC launched a blistering attack on Mnangagwa, the ruling ZANU-PF party and the election commission over the July 30 ballot — Zimbabwe’s first election since the ousting of Robert Mugabe last year.

Senator representing the Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, Bassey Albert, has said no amount of intimidation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will make him dump the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Albert said he was prepared to stand by the PDP, adding that the EFCC charge was orchestrated by someone in the state trying to coerce him into the APC.

The Nigeria InterBank Settlement System NIBSS Instant Pay platform recorded over 278,966 failed electronic payment transactions in the country.

As at 5.40 p.m. on Sallah Day, the platform recorded a total volume of 5.43 million transactions, according to live updates provided by the NIBSS.

Some youths in Edo State, pelted the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, with stones at the Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the incident happened in Irrua where Obaseki had gone to consult with leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the Edo Central Senatorial District.

The meeting was said to be connected to the party’s forthcoming primaries for the 2019 general elections.

Armed Ogbe-Ijoh and Isaba youths on Tuesday allegedly abducted an indigene of Owhawha Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Newsmen reports that the Owhawha indigene, simply identified as Samson, was abducted in his farm at about 11 a.m. along the College road of Aladja Community.

A journalist and publisher of Weekly Source, a local tabloid based in Bayelsa State, Jones Abiri,, returned to Yenagoa, the state capital, and relived his ordeal in the hands of the Department for State Services.

Abiri, who was received at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists by journalists and leaders of the Civil Liberties Organisation, said he was arrested in his office, detained for seven days in DSS cell in Yenagoa and later blindfolded and flown to Abuja.

Governor of Oyo State Abiola Ajimobi has claimed that he has dedicated his entire life serving humanity.

He, therefore, declared that no matter the curse placed on him by anybody or group of persons, it will not affect him.

The government was apparently replying some critics who were attacking him over the demolition of the Music House, owned by ace singer, Yinka Ayefeele.

The Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central, reacted to the killing of Pastor Hosea Akuchi and abduction of his wife Mrs. Talatu H. Akuchi by a group of armed men.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, is one of the best things to happen to Nigeria.

Buhari said this when he received Corps members in Daura during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

Court stops EFCC from further investigation of Benue Government

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to stop further investigations into the finances of Benue State Government pending the determination of the suit filed by the state.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who gave the order on Monday, warned that parties should not take further steps that would destroy the subject matter of the court.

The workers of College of Health Technology Calabar, COHTECH Cross River State earlier stormed Governor’s office in Calabar, demanding the implementation of a salary scale approved in 2011.

The workers, made of two groups, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic ASUP and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics SSANIP said the College was the only tertiary institution in the state that was yet to benefit from the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Salary Structure, CONPCASS.

Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, earlier dared his predecessor Senator Godswill Akpabio to a debate ahead of the 2019 election.

Emmanuel’s challenge was an apparent reply to Akpabio’s comments at Ikot Ekpene. The former governor had stated that Udom is a mistake that must be corrected in 2019.

Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has laughed off the claims in the camp of the opposition party that he now trains thugs ahead of the 2019 governorship election.

He said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and ICT, Tahav Argezua. There is the need to reiterate what has been stated several times that Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, neither possesses nor patronizes thugs.