20032019 -Petition: My case against Buhari, by Atiku

14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019
How culture can bolster Nigeria’s
unity, development — RUNSEWE
A
B U J A —
DIRECTOR
General of the National
Council for Arts and
Culture, Otunba Segun
Runsewe has charged
Nigeria’s traditional
institutions to help support
and preserve cultures
across the country in a bid
to promote national unity
and development.
The NCAC boss gave
the charge at a press
conference in Abuja
yesterday to flag off the
awareness campaign for
National Festival Of Arts
And Culture tagged
‘EDO NAFEST 2019.’
While explaining that
this year’s festival taking
place in Edo State will be
done in collaboration
with the Oba of Benin’s
palace, Runsewe said
this is in furtherance of
the centrality of Benin
Monarchy to the sociocultural
activities of the
state.
According to him, “as
the custodians of our
culture, the traditional
institution has the
responsibility to
preserve our rich
cultural heritage and
propagate our cherished
values such as love,
respect for elders,
constituted authorities
and for the sanity of the
human life, honesty,
discipline, work ethics,
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neighbourliness,
community spirit among
others. It is our conviction
that the progressive
deterioration of these
values over the years is
partly responsible for the
crisis of national unity and
the under-development
our nation is currently
facing.
“It is in the light of the
above that we have
incorporated Royalty Day
as one of the components
of this year’s edition of the
festival.
''Accordingly,
representatives of the
contingents from all the
participating states shall
be paying homage to His
Royal Majesty in the
course of the festival. In
addition to this, a
Special Royal Exhibition
depicting the grandeur
of Benin Royalty shall be
mounted throughout the
period of the festival to
reflect the richness and
glamour of the Benin
traditional institution.”
Runsewe said the
mandate of NCAC is to
preserve, promote and
market Nigerian Arts
and Culture, stressing
that as such, “We cannot
effectively do this
without active and
sustained engagement
with our royal fathers
who are the custodians
of our culture.''
APFLON urges strict enforcement
of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft ban
THE
African
Association of
Professional Freight
Forwarders and Logistics
of Nigeria (APFLON),
has commended the
Federal Government for
banning the Boeing 737
MAX 8 aircraft in the
country.
A statement yesterday
by the National President
of the association, Otunba
Frank Ogunojemite
reads: “We hereby
commend the Federal
Government for taking
precautionary measures
by placing a ban on the
Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft
on her airspace.
‘’We recall that
Ethiopian Airlines Flight
302 crash is the second
recent fatal accident of the
Boeing aircraft brand after
Flight 409 in January 2010.
This ugly incident has
generated mixed reactions
across the globe,
prompting the ban of
Boeing 737 Max 8
aircraft by quite a
number of countries.’’
While expressing grief
over the death of 157
passengers and crew
members on board the illfated
plane, APFLON
urged the Federal
Government and the
Nigerian Aviation Authority
to enforce this measure to
the letter, so as not to
endanger the lives of
Nigerians and others.
Ogunojemite said:
“APFLON wants to believe
that the story that the
Federal Government is
considering allowing the
use of Boeing 737 Max 8
Aircraft for cargo lifting is
untrue, even as APFLON
expressed fears over this
information, which of
course we would want to
assume is mere rumour.
“On this note, APFLON,
with a deep sense of
concern condoles with the
government of Ethiopia
and other nationals who lost
their loved ones in that ugly
incident. We pray God
Almighty to grant them the
fortitude to bear the
irreparable loss.”
Senate passes Budget 2019 for second
•Refers same to committee, gives committee two week
reading
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—AHEAD of
the defence of the
2019 Appropriation Bill of
N8.83 trillion presented
before the National
Assembly by President
Muhammadu Buhari, the
Senate yesterday passed
the bill for second reading.
The bill scaled second
reading at the upper
legislative chamber on
Tuesday — three months
after President
Muhammadu Buhari
presented it
This came as the senate
warned ministers and
heads of Parastatals against
traveling outside the
country to avoid stalling the
process, insisting that this
was not the time for them
to travel.
The bill was subsequently
referred to the Senator
Danjuma Goje, APC,
Gombe Central led Senate
Committee
on
Appropriations to report in
two weeks.
The Committee on
Appropriations was asked
to complete work on the
document in two weeks,
and to pass the budget
where any minister
refused to appear before
the Senate for budget
defence.
Speaking after the
Appropriation bill scaled
second reading, the Senate
President, Dr. Bukola
Saraki said among others,
“I want to make a strong
appeal to all members of the
Subcommittees on
Appropriation to ensure that
you all immediately start
receiving presentations. As
I say that, all Ministers,
Heads of Agencies and
Department should ensure
that they promptly attend
when they are called in so
that there will be no delays
coming from them.
“Ministers and Heads of
MDAs should know that
this is not the time to travel.
This is the time to be
around. Because of the
short timeframe,
Distinguished Senators
should let us know of any
MDA that you have called
for presentations who have
not attended for one reason
or the other, so that this can
be done by the 2nd of April
when we hope to consider
the final Report by the
Appropriation Committee.”
Earlier,
Abaribe,
Enyinnaya
senator
representing Abia central,
described the appropriation
bill as a “budget of
impossibilities”.
The senator said the
statistics show Nigeria is
still being held down by
more debt.
He said: “With a total
debt service of 25.7% and
capital budget at 23%, it
means we are paying more
debt. Out of every one
naira, 68 kobo is paid out.
The federal government
needs to go back to the
drawing board.”
Ben Murray-Bruce who
represents Bayelsa east
senatorial district said
compared to those of
previous years, there is
nothing new in the budget.
“The budget is not
different from what we have
been presenting in the last
four years,” he said,
adding: “Recurrent
expenditure of N4 trillion
is too high. There are
government agencies set
up that have no value.
These agencies must be
scrapped.”
Mao Ohuabunwa of Abia
north senatorial district said
Nigeria is “consolidating
poverty” with such an
appropriation bill.
“We need to really look at
this budget. Instead of
reducing, we should ‘jerk
up’ the budget by 10
trillion. What can two
trillion do when we have on
going projects,” he said.
“We need to block
leakages and ensure taxes
NAFEST BRIEFING: From left; Mr. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero, Commissioner
for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs; Otunba Olusegun Runsewe,
Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture and Dr. Uyi Oduwa-
Malaka, Special Adviser to the Governor of Edo State at the NAFEST 2019
Press Conference held at the NCAC premises, Garki, Abuja yesterday.
Kidnappers of cleric who prayed for Buhari’s re-lection
demand N300m ransom
THE kidnappers of a
famous Islamic
scholar and prominent
reciter of the Holy Quran,
Sheikh Ahmad Sulaiman
have demanded for a
ransom of three hundred
million Naira before his
release.
PRNigeria gathered that
the abducted Sheikh
Suleiman, a prayer-warrior
and fanatical supporter of
President Buhari had
offered prayers for the reelection
bid of Mr.
President at some political
rallies organised by All
Progressives Congress
(APC), in the build-up to
the 2019 general elections.
The Islamic Scholar was
returning to his base in
Kano, after attending a
religious function in Kebbi
State when they were
abducted.
However, in an audio clip
obtained by PRNigeria, the
kidnappers are demanding
a colossal sum of three
hundred million Naira as
ransom, before releasing
the revered cleric from their
hideout.
The supposed ringleader
of the abduction gang,
spoke in Hausa, with a
close associate of the
kidnapped Quranic reciter,
saying they were
mandated by an influential
politician to abduct and kill
Sheikh Sulaiman, who
their sponsor allegedly
claimed is a terrorist.
“However, after taking a
close observation, we
noticed that our victim has
no semblance to a terrorist.
We discovered that he is
rather a God-fearing
Two suspected car snatcers nabbed at PDP Hqtrs
By Dirisu Yakubu
A suspected
BUJA—TWO
car
snatchers met their
Waterloo yesterday in
Abuja as luck deserted
them while putting their
skills to work.
The suspects who
identified themselves as
James Ayuba from
Nasarawa State and Abdul
Bello from Kwara State
were on Tuesday arrested
by men of the Nigerian
Police Force stationed at
Wadata Plaza, national
secretariat of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP.
Muslim and very
knowledgeable preacher.
We also interrogated him,
and he told us everything
about himself,” the
kidnapper told the reciter’s
sympathizer, in the nineminute
telephone chat.
When asked by his caller
what they should offer for
the speedy release of the
notable Islamic teacher, the
Hausa-speaking gang
leader with Fulani’s accent,
said they were never
interested in carrying out
The duo were arrested
along Michael Okpara
Street, Wuse Zone 5. While
Ayuba, an electrician,
claimed he lived
somewhere at Sharp
corner, Mararaba in
neighbouring Nasarawa
state, Bello said he was an
auto mechanic, patrolling
the streets of Abuja in
search for job.
Luck ran out of the
criminals when a street
photographer noticed an
unholy movement around
a Honda car fondly called
“Baby Boy,” with
registration number Abuja
BF 438 KWL packed along
the murderous assignment,
in the first place.
“But it will be unfair that
we fritter the three hundred
million naira the politician
gave us without executing
his work,” he said, adding
that, “So, we are intending
to give him back his money
since we may not be able
to do his bidding. And
again, we will also express
our displeasure to him for
wrongly accusing the
Sheikh to be an insurgent,
when in reality, he wasn’t.''
the road, and quickly
notified the police, who
wasted no time in
apprehending the
suspects.
Ayuba, who claimed he
knew nothing about car
snatching also denied
knowing his accomplice,
saying he was passing by,
to submit his Curriculum
Vitae (CV) at the Federal
Island Revenue Service,
FIRS, an argument that
was punctured when the
men in uniforms dialled the
number of his colleague
with his (Ayuba’s) phone
which revealed “Acid” as
the caller’s identity.