Declare Your Assets Or Forget Screening, Senate Tells Ministerial Nominees.

The Senate has declared that ministerial nominees must show proof of declaration of assets before they are considered for the screening which starts on October 13th.

Senator Dino Melaye, Chairman, Senate ad hoc Committee on Media and Publicity spoke to newsmen at the end of Thursday's plenary.

Here is what he said ;
“We considered a number of issues that had to do with the approach and the procedure for the screening of the ministerial nominees. So, we developed two modalities for the screening of the ministerial nominees.

“The first criterion is using constitutional provisions as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as a fundamental procedure for the screening of ministerial nominees.

“Section 120 of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the Senate shall not consider the nomination of any person, who has held any public office as contained in Part 2 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution prior to his nomination unless there is a written evidence that he has declared his assets and liabilities as required by Section 11(1) of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Such declaration shall be required for scrutiny by the senators. What this Section is saying is that every ministerial nominee must produce proof of compliance as required by the Constitution and the Rules of the Senate.

“You must declare your assets, and you must have a certificate of proof that you have declared your assets, and that you are given a certificate of proof by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“We also, in line with our convention, agreed that for you to be cleared as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, minimum of two senators from your state must, at least, show support for your nomination.

“It’s a convention by the Senate,and we have decided to uphold that convention in the sanctity of the integrity of the Senate. The era of take-a-bow-and-go is over. We are still going to maintain that, except with slight modification as regards former senators and former members of the National Assembly.

“For those who have been members of the House of Representatives and senators before, for them to become members of the House of Representatives and senators, they must have met those conditions before now.

“So, they would not be exposed to the same rigorous scrutiny that those who were not members of the National Assembly will face.”

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Gunmen Abduct Chinese Farmer In Nasarawa

A 70 years old Chinese farmer was on Tuesday evening kidnapped by unknown gunmen in his farm in Sabon Gida town,  Kokona local government area of Nasarawa State.

Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Umar Numan confirmed the incident on Thursday. He said that the command has since commenced investigation to rescue the Chinese.

Meanwhile, the community head of Sabon Gida, Mallam Maikeffi has lamented that the abduction of the Chinese farmer identified as William Chain will send a wrong signal to other foreign investors who may be considering to invest in the area.

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FG To Partner Power Equipment Firm To Improve Electricity

In pursuance of its objective of achieving energy sufficiency, the Federal Government has signed a partnership agreement with international energy equipment manufacturers, TE Connectivity.
The partnership was announced at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday. It is expected that the $13.3b company will provide the critical expertise and workforce training essential for Nigeria’s power sector.

Nigeria was represented at the press conference by the Director-General, National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, Engr. Rueben Okeke.

According to Okeke, Nigeria’s power sector had suffered setbacks in the past due to inadequate infrastructure and poor energy efficiency.

He said that the government was partnering TE Connectivity to develop solutions to the challenges facing the power sector through the training and development of local talent, and expressed optimism that the partnership would ensure energy sufficiency.

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Aftermath Of Gaidam Attack: More Troops Deployed In Yobe

Following the attack on Sector 1 of the 27 Task Force Brigade in Gaidam, Yobe State, the Nigerian Army has deployed more troops to the area.

Army spokesman Col Sani Usman said that although the troops repelled the attack, killing over 100 insurgents and destroying their equipment, three soldiers lost their lives.

Col Usman disclosed that Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai has since visited the Brigade with a stern warning that the incident must not be allowed to repeat itself.

He said ;
“The Nigerian Army wishes to confirm an attack on Sector 1 of 27 Task Force Brigade located at Gaidam, Yobe State,  on Wednesday evening.

“The attack was successfully repelled by the troops and the reinforcement sent. The troops killed most of the attacking terrorists, destroying their weapons and equipment.

“However and regretfully too, we lost three soldiers and some equipment during the encounter."

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Boko Haram Now Using Cluster Bombs

Military authorities have alerted Nigerians of the deployment of cluster bombs by Boko Haram militants.

Acting Director, Defense Information, Col Rabe Abubakar made the disclosure in a statement he issued on Thursday. He said that caches of cluster bombs were recently discovered by troops in Adamawa State.

Col Abubakar said that Boko Haram militants have been found to be using cluster bombs in pursuit of their deadly objectives in the Northeast.

He said the bombs were usually deployed in places with large concentrations of people or troops.

According to the statement,
“The Defence Headquarters wishes to inform Nigerians living in the North East and any other part of the country to lookout for Cluster Bombs sometimes called scatter bombs, as the Nigerian Army Engineers serving in Adamawa State have recovered some caches of these bombs in the contested areas in recent times

“The military high command has discovered that the Boko Haram terrorists in these areas have used such lethal instruments over time to push their callous terrorist cause. For easy identification, it is important to note that cluster bombs are bombs that house sub munitions, that is, smaller explosives contained in individual cases.

“These bombs are used against large areas containing many targets, such as columns of vehicles, marketplaces, places of worship or large troop concentration as the case may be.

“Some cluster bombs carry several hundreds of very small explosives wrapped in a metal container like a pot while others carry larger sub munitions that can find specific targets such as tanks. Some of these sub munitions do not blow up immediately, but remain behind and act as landmines.

“This can be an acceptable explanation for the recovery of catches of these bombs by Nigerian Army Engineers in the area.

“The general publics is hereby requested to be wary of such concealed dangerous equipment now being used by the terrorist elements to cause havoc to both innocent lives and property.

“The public is also advised to report such objects/materials if seen to security agencies for prompt action. The terrorists are desperate and frustrated and could use any cruel instrument to actualise their evil intention.

“Members of the public are hereby urged to continue to cooperate with the security agencies by giving timely information to secure our great country.”

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UK To Help Nigeria Defeat Boko Haram

The United Kingdom is offering further assistance to Nigeria to help achieve her objective of defeating Boko Haram by December.

UK's Chief of Defense Staff, Gen Nicholas Houghton disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Gen Houghton said he was in Nigeria to see how UK could help the country to optimize the support that would be coming from the British government.

He said ;
“My concern is in the security situation, in particular the war being waged by Boko Haram.

“I think that Nigerian armed forces have made some remarkable progress in the last few months in pushing Boko Haram back.

“But as it comes to the end of the rainy season, I know the President has got a very strong ambitions  to what he can achieve by Christmas, it shows because the UK has a strong support for your troops training just to make sure we optimise our support and that is the best way we can help.”

He said that the security concerns in Nigeria are shared by the global community which is why the United Kingdom wants to intensify her support for Nigeria.

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Kuje Traders Count Losses, Lament Low Patronage.

Since last Friday night's Abuja bombings which killed 15 persons and left several others injured, traders in Kuje market have been counting their losses.

A cross section of the traders affected by the partial closure of the market by security agencies expressed their worries to News Agency of Nigeria.

According to the traders, business activities have been severely affected by the bomb blasts.

NAN observed that security operatives have cordoned off the front end of the market, diverting vehicular and human traffic to the adjoining streets. Also, all the shops at the front of the market have remained shut on the orders of security operatives since the blasts.

According to Mrs Hajara Suleiman, a textile dealer,
“Business is no longer moving because customers are afraid to come to the market and when it is 5p.m. everyone has gone home.

“I can’t sell in the shop for now, I supply to customers through phone calls.

“I pray that the perpetrators are brought to book and the roads open so that we can resume our business activities fully.”

The Chairman, Kuje Market Traders Association, Mr Yunusa Isah has appealed to traders affected by the partial closure of the market to bear with the security operatives as the ongoing investigations are for the good of all.

The market Chairman also sympathized with the families of the victims of the blasts which he described as barbaric.

His words ;
“Some affected traders who were transferred to the National Hospital, lost their lives yesterday.

“I want to appeal to the traders whose shops have been locked down at the front of the market to be patient as investigation is ongoing.

“Security operatives are still carrying out investigation and once they are done, the shops and roads would be opened.

“I also want to appeal to the security operatives to carry out the investigation within the shortest period of time, so that traders can resume their businesses."

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