ATTENCAO

"Let me summarise my arguments: one, we need to restructure our mentality so that we can recognise opportunities even within these present constraints; two, the federal government must shed weight and devolve more powers and more revenue to the states so that we can focus less on Abuja and look at our backyard; three, we need to restructure the throat of our public officers in all arms of government, so that the gluttony can be curbed, and we can free more resources for development." Something is wrong with anybody who says there is nothing wrong with Nigeria. We all seem to agree that something is not working. We all seem to concur that this is not the best Nigeria can be. We all seem to believe that something major needs to be done for us to make progress. What we lack is a consensus on what the actual problem is, and what the solution should be. The diagnoses are different and the prescriptions are inevitably different. Those who think the problem is Lord Lugard ...

#Nationalunity #Taraba #Budget2017 #Curriculum #EidAlFitr #Etisalat #Uninterruptedpower • Indian town renames itself "Trump Village" as a gesture to the American president ahead of PM Modi's Washington trip. • Russia’s electoral body has announced that Alexei Navalny,the opposition leader,is barred from challenging Vladimir Putin in 2018 elections. He is “ineligible to stand for office” because he is currently serving a 5-year suspended sentence for embezzlement.- Electoral Commission The body said people convicted of such crimes cannot stand for public office until 10 years after their sentence ends. •UAE warns Qatar to accept its list of  demands, including shutting down news agency Al-Jazeera, or face 'divorce'. • Russia threatened to ban the Telegram messaging app, saying the company failed to submit registration details. • Barack Obama kicks off a 10-day family holiday in Indonesia that will take in Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta. • Teams at s...

#Sarakitrial #Jamb #Anthonyjoshua #Orubebe #Nationalunity • Most Americans say they think President Donald Trump has little to no respect for country's democratic traditions, according to a new poll. The AP-NORC poll of 1,068 adults was conducted June 8-11 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel. The new survey found more than 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, and nearly half strongly disapprove. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone. • A leading rights group has condemned the imprisonment of a man in Tunisia for smoking cigarette in public during  dawn-to-dusk Muslim fast. *•The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has dismissed 18-count charge of false asset declaration against Senate President Bukola Saraki.* On May 4, the senate president told the tribunal that he would file a no-case submission, which implies that he is...

A few weeks ago, the Federal Government  announced the removal of the Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who was immediately replaced by Alhaji Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko. In reconstituting the board, Mr Funso Doherty was also announced as the new chairman to replace former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Adamu Muazu. Since PenCom is a statutory agency where appointments require Senate confirmation, there was a lacuna that did not escape the attention of the lawmakers who instantly asked the appointees not to resume work. However, there are also a few critical issues that are still lingering. One, Anohu-Amazu was confirmed as DG on 30th September, 2014 for a five-year term, which ordinarily was expected to end on 29th September, 2019. Two, the man initially named to succeed her hails from the North-west, a violation of Section 21 (2) of PRA 2014 which states that, “In the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint a repl...

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has blacklisted 48 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres over their involvement in extortion and organised examination malpractices during the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja at a news conference at the end of an enlarged meeting with external examiners and other stakeholders in the conduct of the 2017 UTME. Oloyede, who also announced the cancellation of the results of 59,698 candidates who sat for the examination, said another 24 CBT centres had been suspended for one year for failing to live up to expectations. “The (24 CBT) centres will not participate in the 2018 UTME, but they can be reconsidered for 2019 and above. “The delisting of 48 centres from participating in the board’s examination in future is as a result of serious technical deficiencies, extortion, organised examination malpractices and other damaging infract...

NIGERIA IS LUCKY TO NOT HAVE ASSUMED THE STATUS OF A FAILED STATE – Edmund Obilo. By Ayoola Omole. •Let us concentrate on pressing national Issues – Usman Solomon. •No individual or organization is stronger than the generality of Great Ife Students – Okediji Simon •I have never in my lifetime experienced a speech so insightful – Participant. Seasoned broadcaster, public affairs analyst, journalist, and former Splash FM employee, Edmund Obilo has in the light of the present climate surrounding Nigerian national integration, remarked the country has so far been lucky to not have assumed the status of a failed state. He stated this at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, during the June 12 political symposium put together by the office of Public Relations Officer of Obafemi Awolowo University Student Union, in commemoration of the annulment of the June 12,  1993 presidential election which is predominantly acclaimed to have been won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiol...

In 1985, or was it 1986, a top official of the Babangida administration said something that, up till today, I am still struggling to understand. The naval officer and member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) said: “We are over-pampering the youth when we call them leaders of tomorrow.” I now can’t remember the occasion or the context, but I was already a teenager at the time and was used to the popular expression that “the youth are the leaders of tomorrow”. It was a simple, indisputable statement and a natural fact, I always thought. I, therefore, couldn’t understand his proclamation. Maybe I was too young to appreciate it. I am much older now and if you ask me to interpret that statement, I would still struggle. Maybe he meant it as a deliberate check on youthful exuberance. Maybe he meant the youth should be reminded of their responsibilities since more emphasis was being constantly paid to their rights. Maybe he meant there is more to leadership than the youth were being ...

#Parisclubfund #Fuoye #Lawschoolexams #Mayweather #Supereagles • UK Prime Minister Theresa May's two closest aides announced their resignations after a crushing electoral setback that left her authority in tatters. Timothy had been widely blamed for the social care plan, over which May was forced to backtrack in the middle of the election campaign. Hill has also made enemies with her combative style,confronting anyone- ministers and journalists -who seemed than loyal to her boss. Hill told a conservative lawmaker Nicky Morgan to keep away from Downing Street after criticising the premier for her expensive leather trousers. • Egypt President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has praised President Trump for his role in “the formation of a united front to combat terrorism” • The Nigerian Law School has released summary of its final examination results, with 28 per cent failing the exam. The Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Olarewaju Onadeko, made this known in a statement on...

What happens if there is no clear winner of the general election? Will the party with the most MPs form the next government? Not necessarily. The party with the most MPs, when the votes have been counted in all 650 constituencies, is normally described as the winner and its leader nearly always goes on to become the next prime minister. But that might not happen this time if there is an inconclusive result. It is possible for the party that came second to form a government with the help of other parties. How does someone win the election? The easiest way to become prime minister is to win what is called a majority in the House of Commons - a majority is where your party has more MPs than all the other parties put together. The finishing line is 326. That would be enough for a government to vote through new laws without being defeated by their opponents. If they don't reach that number we have got what is called a hung Parliament. What is a hung Parliament? When no si...

It would not be difficult to understand why as an Igbo man, I am writing about buying and selling. That is the vocation of majority of my people. Some people deride the trader by making uncomplimentary comments about buying and selling. Well, today, I am going to demonstrate that everything in life is actually about buying and selling. The inspiration to write this piece came from a discussion I had recently with a driver known as Eddy. He was assigned to me by my host in the US to pick up me from the airport and handle all my movements. Somehow, on Day Two of my trip, we had a conversation about his experience when he visited his home in Imo State during the last yuletide. He had led a group of young people, several years ago before he travelled out to Russia from where he made his way into the US. He has been ‘abroad’ now for over 10 years and was very excited to come home for the first time in December 2016. He was glad to attend the end of year get together of the group he had le...

The Central Executive Council, CEC, Obafemi Awolowo University, on Tuesday reviewed its decision to postpone a much awaited union congress to the 13th of June, and resolved to instead hold it on Thursday, 8th of June. The congress was initially scheduled for the 7th of June before it was abruptly postponed, invoking criticism among numerous amounts of students, who questioned the rationale behind what they considered not only as rash, but in equal measure suspicious move by the CEC who may have been motivated by political permutations rather than the mandate to act in the best interest of the union members who it represented. As the first congress presided over by a union president since members of the Dr-Ibk led administration were sworn into office, as well as the reinstatement of the Obafemi  Awolowo University Student Union, it was evidently viewed as symbolic, thoroughly discussed and prepared for. The congress is expected as a platform to assess how the newly elected ...