Reps Urge FG to Declare State of Emergency

– A member of the House of Representatives Hon. Solomon Bulus Marengo says some companies in Nigeria are involved in illegal mining of solid minerals deposits across the country
– Complains that illegal miners are reducing Nigeria’s stake in the solid minerals and other raw materials sectors
The House of Representatives has mandated its committee on solid minerals development to investigate the activities of miners, their collaborators and sponsors.
The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the mining sector.
Leadership reports the call is sequel to a motion moved by Hon. Solomon Bulus Marengo, in which he said some companies in Nigeria were involved in illegal mining of solid minerals deposits across the country.
Solomon Bulus Marengo complained that illegal miners were reducing Nigeria’s stake in the solid minerals and other raw materials sectors.
He said the illegal act was depriving the country of about 500,000 jobs for the teeming youths.
The lawmaker said illegal miners do not contribute to the development of the host communities as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
He said their activities leaves communities devastated, impoverished and exposed to hazardous environmental conditions.
Sequel to the motion raised by Marengo, the House mandated its committee on solid minerals development to investigate the activities of miners, their collaborators and sponsors.
It also asked the committee to ascertain the extent of the involvement of both local and foreign firms in the illegal exploration and exploitation of the sector and report back in four weeks.
Meanwhile, the office of embattled lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee has been sealed by security operatives.
Jibrin’s office in the House was sealed following his suspension after he failed to appear before the Ethics Committee in relation to his allegations of budget padding against the principal officers.

 

BH Ready To Negotiate On Chibok Girls’ Release

– Barrister Aisha Wakil says Boko Haram terrorists have put forward a request that she represents them in negotiations with the government to secure the release of the Chibok girls
– The alleged request by the sect for negotiations comes days after President Muhammadu Buhari said the UN should intervene and negotiate with the terrorist group
– Wakil on her part, said she was willing to negotiate with the government for the release of the girls
The Chibok girls were kidnapped in their boarding school in Chibok, in the restive Borno state, on 14 April 2014.
Barrister Aisha Wakil, otherwise known as Mama Boko Haram, has said that the insurgents are ready to begin negotiations with the Nigerian government to secure the release of the Chibok girls.
Wakil told IBTimes UK that Boko Haram terrorists have put forward a request that she represents them in negotiations with the government to secure the release of the girls.
“There are three Boko Haram factions at the moment and all of them have requested to be represented by Barrister Aisha,” he said. He added the first thing that will be negotiated is the release of the Chibok girls, ” Prince Lawal Shoyode, a spokesperson for Barrister Aisha Wakil said.
The request by the sect for negotiations came days after President Muhammadu Buhari said the UN should intervene and negotiate with the insurgents.
Shortly after Buhari’s speech, an audio allegedly made by a Boko Haram member in Hausa emerged, requesting that Aisha Alkali Wakil should represent the group during negotiations with the government.
On her part, Wakil said she was willing to negotiate with the government.
“ I want total surrender of the boys [Boko haram]. I want them rehabilitated counseled, properly directed, and forgiveness from people. Then we move on,” she said.
“ You know the release of Chibok girls and other captives are paramount. You also know that some of them are married with kids, sad but manageable. Let them come out and have a new life, homes. Once the boys will keep their stand on peace, dislodge all negative forces, we will be swimming in peace and joy.”
Recall that earlier in September, President Buhari said the government was willing to free some detained Boko Haram militants in exchange for the girls.
Buhari however, said the governments efforts at negotiating with the insurgents failed because it became difficult to identify credible leaders of the sect.
The Chibok girls were kidnapped in their boarding school in Chibok, in the restive Borno state, on 14 April 2014.
Some of the girls managed to escape and one was rescued in the Sambisa forest earlier this year, but at least 218 are still missing.
To me personally I think it's a way forward. Some issues bothering the country Nigeria must be handled tactically, the forceful approach of the is not always the way forward .

Much love from Jeff ...

Naira In Trouble Again As Dollar Reserve Shrinks

Abuja - The naira hit a new record low of 436 against the United States dollar at parallel market on Thursday, down from 428 on Wednesday, as dollar shortages on the official market persist.
The development came amid depleting external reserves, which stood at $24.8bn on Monday. It also came two days after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee met and left the lending rate and other key economic indicators unchanged.
The latest data posted on the CBN website showed that the foreign exchange reserves were down by 3.4 per cent from a month ago to its lowest level in more than 11 years, as the apex bank sells the greenback at the interbank market to support the naira.
At the interbank official market, the naira was quoted at 313.07 to the dollar on Thursday, down from 310.08 on Wednesday.
Economic and currency analysts said there had been no significant policy response to the fall in the reserves, further fuelling the concerns.
An analyst at Afrinvest, a local research and investment advisory firm, Ayodeji Ebo, said it was difficult to trace the reason for the sustained fall in the value of the naira after the MPC’s decision to keep the interest rate unchanged.
He said the development could be traced to the decision or the imminent maturity of the CBN’s forward contract.
I think the federal government must source for all available ideas and suggestions regardless of who provides them. This economic trauma must be attacked rigorously and systematically in other to quell the hardship the masses  are going through.
Pray for Nigeria...God bless Nigeria.

Much love from Jeff...

Football: League Management Company Boss Arrested

The Nigeria Football Federation has frowned on the arrest of chairman of the League Management Company Shehu Dikko by the Nigerian Police.
Four persons who introduced themselves as detectives from the FCT Police Command went to the office of the League Management Company (LMC) on Wednesday ostensibly to arrest its Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko (also NFF 2nd Vice President) and its COO, Alhaji Salihu Abubakar, allegedly pursuant to a Jos High Court order.
The court had ruled that the Nigeria Professional Football League be suspended indefinitely pending when the case concerning the ban on Giwa FC from the league, will be concluded.
But the NFF, in a statement on Thursday, said it will take drastic measures to put a final stop to the endless drama.
“The time has come for all peace loving and law abiding Nigerians to stand up against the continued intimidation of private citizens and institutions using both fabricated and/or void court orders as well as people whose status as police officers raises doubt.
“The entire football family has raised its voice time and again against those plotting to derail our football by using unwarranted and dubious litigation. We at the NFF as custodians of Nigerian Football and Licensors of the Nigeria Professional Football League reiterate the condemnation of the actions of these charlatans whose interest is contrary to the interest of Nigerian Football and indeed Nigeria. We remain steadfast in our support of the LMC and its officials and we will continue our quest for justice and ensure that Football is the winner at the end of this ugly incident.
“We ask that all clubs, club officials, league officials, football business entrepreneurs and indeed the millions of Nigerian Football Fans whose interests are affected by this brigandage should remain calm and rest assured that both the NFF and the LMC are taking all necessary steps not only to expose and end this continued fraud on our football but to once and for all expose the mafia behind the attempted rape of our collective will.
“As a Federation, we fully understand the dynamics and intrigues of Football Laws and Civil Laws and how we relate with both.”
Giwa FC were banished from the Nigeria Premier League for the 2015/16 football season after failing to honour three league games.

Much love from Jeff...

We Will Bomb NNPC Towers In Abuja - NDPPVF

A group known as The Niger Delta Peoples Professional Volunteer Force (NDPPVF), have released a statement vowing to bomb the four wings of the NNPC towers in Abuja if former first lady, Patience Jonathan, is arrested over the $15 million found in her account.
Spokesman of the group, Parkinson George-Amabo, in the statement released today, said it is not in support of corruption, but against the manner in which the anti-graft agency has carried out its investigation into the foreign currency linked to Mrs Jonathan. ‎The statement in part reads; “As a matter of fact, the EFCC has launched a criminal investigation of Mrs. Jonathan and in the process, frozen her bank accounts domiciled with a Nigerian commercial bank without affording her opportunity to state her own side of the matter. Nobody is above the law. The NDPPVF does not support or condone corruption. If Mrs. Jonathan was found to be corrupt, we shall not hesitate to call for her prosecution. We, however, have a grouse with the modus operandi of Mrs. Jonathan’s investigation, given her status as the wife of a former deputy governor, former governor, former vice-president, former acting president and finally, former president. She is perhaps, the only Nigerian woman – dead or alive – with such an impressive and fortuitous pedigree; which accounts for why the EFCC needs to thread with caution. Recently, there have been calls on the attorney-general of the federation as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and prosecute ‎former First Lady for alleged money laundering. We shall simultaneously bomb the 4 wings of the NNPC Towers the day it is announced that MRS. PATIENCE GOODLUCK JONATHAN has been arrested by the EFCC.”

The country's situation is really so terrifying, for us to move to greater heights all must be treated with equity and justice with no sense of favors.

The sword of the government must swing evenly through all the geographical locations else it will be chaotic.

Much love from Jeff...

Militants blow up NPDC facility in Delta

Delta - Suspected Niger Delta militants have attacked oil delivery line belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company crossing Afiesere-Iwhrenene communities in Delta State.
The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, one of the groups operating in the area, took responsibility for the incident, which happened at about 1:00 am on Tuesday.
The group through a statement by its spokesperson, Aldo Agbalaja confirmed its involvement in the attack.
The group threatened to carry out more attacks, stating that the recent one was part of its ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ exercise.
It said, “As a mark of our faith to totally grounding the Nigerian oil economy, the gallant “Opudo” strike forces brought down the Afiesere- Iwhrenene major delivery line in Ughelli North, leading to the UPS/UQCC operated by NPDC/SHORELINES at about 1am today 13th September 2016.
“The Niger Delta is not a conquered territory and our people have never succumbed to intimidation before, rather we match force with the oppressor’s brutality.
“The Nigerian government should already know that the people of this part are not fools, who will not be able to see when they are being treated with disdain.”
It also reiterated its warning that Nigerians living close to oil pipelines leave immediately to avoid being injured.
“For the last time, leave these areas if you live around them and if you love your lives,” it said.
Now my questions are:
* Is this actually the way forward?
* Don't you think they are only increasing the stinky smell of poverty within these regions?
* Will the polluted lands ever go back to their original forms?
* What about the water bodies?
* Health implications of those that lives within the riverine arears most especially?
* Can't they think of a better way to fight this war?
* Doesn't this economic recession affect their people?
Loads of questions keeps popping up in my mind each time I hear these kinds of news.
I have an advice for the Niger Delta people, shun violence, shun the destruction of your country's future, get involved in active politics, set out a political agenda, follow it up for years, get to the apex of politics, seize power, install your people in prominent positions, take over the leadership of the nation, be smart like your counterparts.
The destruction of public facilities is not the way forward.
When you're done blowing everything up what else will you blow?
Think twice, look before you leap.
The journey towards the prosperity of the Niger Delta and other regions that are sidelined can actually start from today.
Dialogue...Peace and political strategy is the only way forward.

Much love from Jeff ... 😘 ♥ ♥

TAKE YOUR TIME

From all indications it is obvious that life is in phases, stages and in a systematically well arranged sequence for every individual. This means that life is in varieties.
Each and everyone of us was programmed to follow a definite path, we all have our unique path and routes naturally. But as humans most times we tend to be competitive and comparative, seeing others around our neighborhood excel more than we do, not knowing the fact that we all have different timelines, different destined locations, different natural occupational places and lots more.

The most important thing is for us to find the right tracks, get set for the collision of the season and time, we must be prepared to take our lives to the next phase, but all these comes with the price of waiting, studying, experimenting, gathering of the required experiences, information, knowledge and right application of both which is wisdom.
The get rich quick syndrome must be abolished for our society through the renewal of our minds knowing that success is tied to work. Even the Scriptures says "I will bless the works of your hands" in other words, to achieve long lasting success /wealth you must be engaged in constructive works. The law of use must be put into practice.
Having discovered the fact that all humans are programmed with different timelines, you must patiently wait for your time to come while you put in place the necessary ingredients required to sustain the success you'll be exposed to. Such as a loving heart, charitable characters, a bridled tongue, neatness, genuine love for God, taking responsibilities and making amends where faulty, a peaceful lifestyle, etc.
Just be a role model to others. Live a life that others can lookup to and someday nature is going to smile at you, everything will respond to you because God will find you worthy of His blessings.
Take this from me:
When it seems the road is so narrow, like there's not gonna be light at the end of the tunnel, just lift your head high and say help will come when the time is right. Trust me, your time could be now or just at the corner. Do not give up and don't give-in to evil thoughts because the darkest part of the night marks the dawn of a new day.

Much love from Jeff... ♥ ♥ 😘

Nigeria urgent polio vaccination drive tragets 25 million

Maiduguri - An emergency polio vaccination campaign aimed at reaching 25 million children this year has begun in parts of Nigeria newly freed from Boko Haram Islamic extremists, with fears that many more cases of the crippling disease will likely be found.
Two toddlers discovered last month were Nigeria's first reported polio cases in more than two years, putting the world on alert just months after the African continent was declared free of the disease.
One member of the Rotary Club's "End Polio Now" drive said he almost cried when he got the news. It was a major blow to global efforts to stamp out polio, which persists in only two other countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Associated Press joined the vaccination drive in northeastern Nigeria, a campaign going to extraordinary lengths to fight the disease in areas still threatened by Boko Haram extremists who violently oppose Western medicine.
Health workers using military helicopters, all-terrain vehicles and even tricycle taxis vaccinated about 1.5 million children in the past week alone, starting in the refugee camps where the new cases surfaced.
The World Health Organization has said the two new cases indicate the wild polio virus has been circulating for five years in northeastern Borno state, where Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009.
More cases are expected to surface as Nigeria's military forces Boko Haram out of more towns and villages, said Dr. Tunji Funsho, head of Rotary's polio eradication drive.
Just 20 years ago, this West African nation was considered the world's epicenter of polio, recording 1 000 cases a year. Men and women with twisted limbs crawling along the roadside to beg are still a common sight. A global drive to end polio began in 1988, when the highly contagious disease was endemic in 125 countries.
Though progress has been made, wiping out polio probably will not be possible without ending the unrest tied to Islamic extremism that prevents vaccination in the three countries where the virus still is endemic, according to a new report from U.S.-based risk analysis group Stratfor.
"Boko Haram is largely responsible for the insecurity that has hamstrung vaccination efforts in Nigeria," the report said. "Though the group has weakened since the start of 2015, as long as this security risk remains, so, too, will the risk that Nigeria's latest run-in with polio will not be its last."
Boko Haram is in retreat but remains deadly. In July, militants attacked a humanitarian convoy near Maiduguri, the region's largest city, leading the United Nations to suspend aid to newly liberated areas where it says half a million people are starving.
Boko Haram's opposition to all things Western reached new heights in 2013 when militants shot and killed nine women vaccinating children against polio in northern Kano, Nigeria's second largest city.
Over the years, the vaccination campaign has had to fight rumors that the vaccine was a plot to sterilize Muslims, which it overcame by winning over religious and traditional leaders and grassroots women's groups.
"Yes, it's a major setback, but we are not defeatist," Funsho declared of the latest cases. He looked over a map of Borno state that showed only a small southern section as "accessible," most of the sprawling state "partially accessible" and a band in the north bordering Niger, Cameroon and Chad as "inaccessible" because of Boko Haram fighters.
Over the past week, hundreds of health workers from the government, the United Nations and aid organizations spread out across Borno state, delivering the vaccinations through drops on the tongue.
Military armored cars and truckloads of soldiers guarded trips into precarious areas. They included the town of Chibok, where nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April 2014, shocking the world. More than 200 remain missing. Boko Haram extremists attacked a village near Chibok last week, killing 11 people.
For areas too dangerous to reach by road, helicopters delivered vaccines to already trained people on the ground, to avoid suspicion of strangers, said Rotary field coordinator Aminu Muhammad.
"We've even been able to reach a couple of areas that we had been told by the military were inaccessible, after community leaders informed us we could get through," Muhammad said proudly.
"Still, there were some major communities outside the metropolitan areas that we were unable to reach," Muhammad said.
He could not estimate costs for the massive campaign because organizations like the US Centres for Disease Control, the UN children's agency and London-based Save the Children all are participating with their own budgets.
Most vaccinators are women because men traditionally are not allowed into the home of a Muslim woman if her husband is absent.
One campaign member, Maryam Kawule of the Core Group, led green-veiled young women ticking off family names handwritten in an exercise book. "We do the preliminary work of counting the children, and we're here now to ensure every kid under 5 gets his or her vaccination," she said.
It doesn't end there. The polio vaccine has to be administered at least three times to each child, and up to five times in endemic areas, so more rounds are planned next year.

THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL PARTIES

For any country to have a strong DEMOCRACY there must be a strong political party in power with the strong will of encouraging the rule of law, enhancing economic growth, stabilizing the county's economy with the strong will of pulling the masses along.
On the other hand, there must be a strong political party for OPPOSITION.
Considering the nature of the Nigerian political parties, it is obvious that both the party in power (APC) and the supposed opposition party (PDP) are both shying away from their responsibilities.
For the #PDP it's more like a deliberate act knowing that the #APC is clueless for now on how to run the affairs of this country and they'll be glad to see the APC fail so as to reclaim their position in the next GENERAL ELECTIONS.
But is this how it's supposed to be done? How long will the masses suffer hoping to see the #CHANGE they were promised? The destiny of this NATION must not be toyed with. The #PDP must come out strong with constructive criticism on how they managed to take the country's economy to the forefront in AFRICA. How they handled health issues like the #POLIO for years and when Nigeria was on the verge of being declared polio free, the whole thing came down crumbling. The #PDP must prove to Nigerians that they have the interest of this country at heart. The #APC must step up their game and be ready to take constructive criticism from both the opposing party and the masses at large.
We as a nation must wake up to the fact that NIGERIA is our own to build. We must all criticise constructively instead of fighting ourselves, showing disrespectful acts and speaking guile words always about those in power.
If Nigerians finds any of them wanting, they should recall and impeach them. We must grow up.
#BETHECHANGEYOUWANTTOSEE #BEAPATROIT #WEARENIGERIA
GOD BLESS NIGERIA