Wike donate N500 million for rebuilding of Sokoto mosque

 Pensioners in Rivers State are gnashing their teeth over Governor Nyesom Wike’s N500million largesse to the Sokoto State Government to douse the pain on the state and traders affected by the inferno at Sokoto Central Market.

The pensioners, who lampooned the governor, said N500million would have to a high extent met some of the demands of retired civil servants in the State.

Some retirees who spoke to newsmen at the Rivers State Secretariat Complex lamented that since the Governor assumed office in 2015, Pensioners are yet to receive their gratuities and pension arrears.

One of the retirees, Bariza Kpaen said, “How can our governor give out such an amount of money when there are so many unresolved financial issues? We the governor to immediately settle the issues surrounding the gratuity and Pension arrears now that it is obvious that he has so much to spend.”

Another retiree who simply identified herself as Hart, said, “Some of our colleagues have died for lack of funds to take care of themselves medically and otherwise. The Governor must stop playing politics with the lives of pensioners in this state.”

On his part, Youth Activist, Charles Jaja blamed elders statesmen and youths for being silent in the face of Governor Wike’s financial recklessness; “I am disappointed because I am simply worried about our elder statesmen and good number of youths who sing the praises of Governor in the face of this financial irresponsibility.”

Also reacting, Chairman of the Rivers Civil Society Organizations Enefaa Georgewill, expressed disappointment in an interview with DAILY POST over the donation, stating that while it is not wrong for an entity to make donations, noted that it is wrong for a government who is yet to develop its State to do so.

Enefaa, stated that it is saddening that residents of Rivers State are currently grappling with survival tendencies while Governor Wike has embarked on a spending spree without appropriation by the Legislature.

According to Georgewill, “There are flooding issues that need urgent attention that have not been looked into, every year buildings, plants and people’s source of livelihood are being destroyed due to the disaster that can be managed if the government simply pays attention.

“Indigent Rivers students are struggling in different tertiary institutions because the Governor stopped paying them bursary. Pensioners are dying because the Governor is withholding their pensions and gratuities.

” What Governor Wike has simply done with that donation to Sokoto is eye service and dirty politics. The Governor should be concerned about removing the log in his own eyes before removing the spec in another person’s eyes.”

Wike had on Wednesday pledged the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira to support the Sokoto State government to rebuild the Sokoto Central market that was gutted by fire.

“What affects Sokoto State affects Rivers State. We are going to support the traders and the government of Sokoto State. We are donating the sum of N500million to support the traders and also support in building the market back part of which will go to bringing back the market”, Wike said.

Goodluck Jonathan reveals why restructuring will not work, rejects one party system

 

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a former President of Nigeria has provided some reasons restructuring the country may just be a waste of time.

Jonathan noted that though restructuring the country will bring about some benefits but elites must de-emphasize issues that divide the people among religious, tribal and political lines.

Jonathan pointed out that nepotism, ethnicity and lack of patriotism are among issues that must be tackled squarely before restructuring.

He said, “We cannot restructure without solving issues that polarize us which are nepotism, ethnic and religious differences and lack of patriotism,” Jonathan said at a media dialogue in Abuja on Thursday.

Jonathan further noted that the discussion on restructuring will not help the country except citizens restructure their minds.

“From Independence, the struggle was that politics was based on regions and there was this tension,” he added.

He lamented that the battle of who will produce the national leaders among religions is still hunting the country till today.

“Our conversation in this country is taking the dimension of a baby frog and baby snake. We are making our children hate themselves,” Jonathan warned.

The former President, nonetheless, turned down the twin ideas of the one-party system and unitary system of government.

“Let me state for the records that I strongly oppose both the philosophy and the idea of a one-party system as well as the unitary system of government. That cannot solve the problem,” he stated.

NEWS : I’m a ‘herdsman,” all herdsmen are not bandits, Fredrick Nwabufo:

 

Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion.

 In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices. The insecurity devouring Nigeria affects everyone – Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Idoma, Jukun — and people of different religions. The criminals pillaging the country do not select victims based on ethnicity and religion. The devourers only come to steal, kill and destroy.

A few days ago, bandits invaded the home of Professor Aliyu Mohammed at Wusasa in Zaira, Kaduna state. They kidnapped him, killed his young son and shot his brother – not minding his religion or ethnicity. There have been countless cases of attacks on commuters on Abuja-Kaduna road. The victims of these attacks have been Nigerians of all shades and contours.

These bandits do not even spare their own kin. Mohammed Adamu, a suspected kidnap kingpin, had to pay N1.5 million ransom to a rival kidnapping gang led by one Buba Babu when he was abducted. Adamu ‘’was held and shot in the hand until his gang members paid a ransom of one million, five hundred and fifty-five thousand naira (N1,555,000.00) only for his release’’. We have to see these pillagers purely for what they are – criminals from Hades born without a soul.

The evils of these vultures on citizens in the north could escape ethnic tinctures largely because of the false perception of ‘’na dem dem’’, but in the south they are spurring divisiveness and atavistic prejudices. As a matter of fact, many families are in mourning. Many have lost loved ones to the Mephistophelian enterprise of bandits. So, it is natural for Nigerians to be angry. I recall the killing of a young agro-entrepreneur in Oyo whose life was extinguished by his abductors after his family had paid N1.6 million ransom — such a tragedy. The killing of the daughter of Pa Fasoranti and a first-class traditional ruler in Ondo is still fresh. These are very depressing incidents.

Really, Nigerians have a right to defend themselves against certain death. The constitution guarantees this. But what the constitution does not sanction is the profiling of any citizen based on ethnic origin or religion. So, we should not make the problem of banditry an ethnic one. These are criminals who will leisurely kill their own kin for ransom.

Again, Nigerians are angry. I am exasperated. I believe everyone has been affected – directly or vicariously — by the machinations of bandits. I have been affected. But we must work concertedly in addressing this challenge. We should not stigmatise or isolate any group. To tame this beast every group and stakeholder in the Nigerian corporation must be involved. We are all affected. But when there is discordance and divergence of purpose among those who should come together to fight this common enemy, the pillagers will continue to hold sway.

On Monday, Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo state governor, ordered all herders to vacate the state’s forests. I construe his action from a point of helplessness. The governor is tired of the killings and abductions in his state. He is the chief security officer of the state but he cannot marshal the police or the army to black out the nightmare in Ondo. He lacks the constitutional power to do so. One of his closest staff has been a victim of these devourers. The wife of his chief of staff was kidnapped in November 2020. A first-class traditional ruler, the Olufon of Ifon was killed by bandits in the state. And there have been jarring cases of kidnapping and murders. So, it is only natural that the governor acts to check the slumping of his state into a kidnappers’ paradise.

Also, that states are embarking on parallel security outfits to defend themselves indicts the federal government of failure. The consequence of the Buhari administration’s ineptitude is clearly the resort to self-help by citizens. If the Buhari administration was responsive in tackling security threats across the country there will be no Amotekun or any other divergent regional security outfit.

State governors are helpless. What options do they have? Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, publicly lamented that governors were ‘’frustrated and tired’’ over the parlous state of security. The Buhari government has failed to secure the country, hence the resort to panic remedies which impede national cohesion by governors.

But we must take caution not to tinge the enemy in brushstrokes of ethnicity. Asking all herdsmen who congenitally take to the forest to vacate the forests of Ondo comes off as ethnic targeting. The intentions of the state government may be genuine but we live in a divided and delicately unbalanced country. Nigerians have a right to reside anywhere they want to.

Let us not make banditry about ‘’all herdsmen’’ or any ethnic group.

Omawumi clears air on pregnancy rumour

 

Popular Nigerian singer, Omawumi Megbele, popularly known as Omawonder, has made clarifications on her pregnancy rumour.

The rumour started after the music star posted a picture on her Instagram page where she was seen wearing a swimsuit.

In the post, her belly looked slightly protruded which had her fans and Nigerians speculating she was pregnant.

The mother of two has, however, denied the rumour on her Instagram page.

She explained that the protruded stomach was ‘because of ‘Eba and Starch’.

Her post read: “It is a beautiful day and the sunshine is just right. Dear womb watchers, nothing they happen, na just Eba and Starch dey show themselves.”

Biden Signs Executive Orders Reversing Trump Policies on the Border Wall, Paris Climate Accords and More

 

With the sweeping stroke of a pen President Joe Biden moved quickly to dismantle former President Trump's legacy on his first day in office, signing a series of executive actions that reverse course on immigration, climate change, racial equity and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 

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"With the state of the nation today there's no time to waste. We're going to get to work immediately. As we indicated earlier we're going to be signing a number of executive orders over the next several days to weeks and I'm going to start today," Biden said. "Some of the executive actions I'm going to sign today are going to help change the course of the COVID crisis, combat climate change in a way that we haven't done so far and advance racial equity and support other underserved communities. We're going to rebuild our economy as well."

Biden signed orders halting construction on Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, ended the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization and revoked the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The 15 executive actions will amount to an attempt to rewind the last four years of federal policies with striking speed. Biden appears intent on demonstrating a sense of urgency and competence that he argues has been missing under his Republican predecessor.

Biden has said getting a grip on the pandemic, which has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the U.S., is his top policy priority. On the list of presidential orders he signed Wednesday was one putting in place a mask mandate on federal property. Biden's executive order will require employees and contractors to wear face coverings in all federal buildings and on federal land — a departure from Trump's White House, where masks were rarities. Biden is asking all Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days.

Many noted on social media that Biden wore a face mask as he signed the orders and addressed reporters from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Biden also signed an order extending the federal eviction freeze. He created a federal office to coordinate a national response to the containing the coronavirus and distributing the vaccine. Yet another executive order restored the White House’s National Security Council directorate for global health security and defense, an office Trump had closed.

Biden's orders also targeted Trump's environmental record, calling for a review of all regulations and executive actions that are deemed damaging to the environment or public health. Another order instructed federal agencies to prioritize racial equity and review policies that reinforce systemic racism. Biden revoked a Trump order that sought to exclude noncitizens from the census and ordered federal employees to take an ethics pledge that commits them to upholding the independence of the Justice Department.

Biden also took steps to halt construction on a border wall, which Trump has cited as one of his main accomplishments. He issued a proclamation terminating the national emergency declaration that Trump used to divert money to wall construction.

One of his orders will seek to fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, a signature effort during the Obama administration that provided hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and a pathway to citizenship. That's part of a broader immigration plan that would include provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Biden to Sign Executive Order Asking Americans to Wear Face-Masks for 100 Days

 

President Biden was sworn into office Wednesday, and one of his first priorities will be to sign an executive order urging Americans to wear masks for 100 days and requiring them on federal property. 

His first executive order, the “100-day masking challenge,” will require masks and social distancing in all federal buildings, on all federal land and by federal employees and contractors, and on airlines, trains and transit systems traveling between states. 

While a president cannot tell state and local officials what to require, Biden’s order will urge states to enact their own mandates. Most states have already done so. 

During his inaugural address, the new commander in chief warned that the nation’s “darkest and most deadly” coronavirus pandemic days could be ahead of it. 

Another executive order Wednesday will create a White House COVID-19 response office, headed by Biden’s coronavirus czar Jeffrey Zients. 

Last month, Biden said the coronavirus pandemic would be “first priority, the second priority, and the third priority” of his White House. Last week, Biden unveiled his “bold” new vaccination plan to fix former President Trump’s “dismal failure,” he said.

NEWS : Joe Biden speaks on letter left by Trump

 

President Joe Biden said the letter his predecessor Donald Trump left him before leaving the White House on Wednesday was “very generous”.

He gave the description while speaking from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office after signing Day One executive orders.

The Democrat said he would not immediately reveal the contents out of respect for Trump.

“The President wrote a very generous letter. Because it was private, I will not talk about it until I talk to him, but it was generous”, he told reporters.

It is a modern tradition for outgoing presidents to drop a letter for their successors.

A senior Trump aide told CNN that the “personal note” prayed for the success of the new administration to care for the country.

The aide disclosed that the letter was one of the items on Trump’s list in the Oval Office Tuesday night.

White House press secretary, Jen Psaki refused to provide an insight during his chat with the media Wednesday night.

“This is a letter that was private. As he said to you all, it was both generous and gracious, and it was just a reflection of him not planning to release the letter unilaterally”, Psaki said.

In 2017, Trump described Barack Obama’s letter as “long, complex, thoughtful”.

In his farewell address on Tuesday, the former President had some kind words for the new administration.

“This week we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous. We extend our best wishes. And we also want them to have luck”, he said.