28042019 - No delaying minimum wage, go ahead and pay, FG tells MDAs, states, others

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PAGE 44— SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 28, 2019 Sun Kaleidoscope BENUE NATIVES VOW: Return of grazing route means more deaths, plan will not stand By Peter Duru, Makurdi Tension is brewing in Benue State after news of President Muhammadu Buhari's town-hall with the Nigerian community in Dubai, on April 9, filtered in that he hinted about the Federal Government's plan to reintroduce grazing routes in the country. At the meeting, the President was quoted to have absolved herdsmen he tagged as "Nigerian cattle rearers" of guilt in the killing of farmers in Benue and elsewhere, putting the blame on those he labelled as "cattle rearers from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and other cattle herders”. He reportedly added, "Those of you, who are neighbours to cattle rearers, know that they used to carry only sticks and their machetes to cut foliage for the cattle. “But these are cattle rearers with weapons like AK47 but the problem is that you can hardly identify the difference because cattle rearers look the same." Buhari also said that his differences with Governor Samuel Ortom on the matter compelled the Benue governor to leave the The President's comment is, by far, the most direct admission by him that he has no idea of what the modern solution to what he described as an old problem is ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. His words, "I took the governor on this and this is one of the reasons he left our party for another party. “Because I told him the cattle rearers and settlers’ problem in Nigeria is older than me not to talk of him and, during the First Republic, there were cattle routes; they put infrastructures and even veterinary. “So, if you are a cattle rearer or you know about cattle like me, the herders now pass through anybody's land to find water for their cattle to drink. I told Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture, to look at the Gazette of the First Republic to get the cattle routes and get the grazing routes and re-establish them so that we can reduce this incidence. Some of you here know the efforts we are making.” Backlash The President’s comments no doubt generated a backlash and obviously did not go down well with Benue people who have not hidden their resolve for the absolute implementation and enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law enacted by the state government in 2017. To the people, the resolve of the Federal Government to return grazing routes in the country was not only out of tune with the realities on ground, it would also run at variance with the state's subsisting law which, to a large extent, has stemmed the spate of herdsmen and farmers’ bloody clashes that have claimed thousands of lives in Benue. To Benue born social commentator, Terver Atsar, "the President's comment is, by far, the most direct admission by him that he has no idea of what the modern solution to what he described as an old problem is”. Atsar went on, "It is unacceptable to pay glowing tribute to the age of a problem as a reason why it can't be solved with modern thinking, a job he was elected to do. That President Buhari is still stuck with a questionable narrative on grazing routes is unacceptable. "Unfortunately for him but fortunately for us in Benue, history books have no gazetted grazing routes in Benue. He cannot fabricate those documents he needs to back up the false claims of historic grazing routes in Benue. The reason the people he requested to exhume those documents could not do so is that those documents never existed. "By refusing to admit that even if we had such grazing routes in the past, they should have become obsolete in 2019, President Buhari has admitted that he is a leader who is stuck in the past and cannot figure out modern solutions to current problems. We obviously need another hero. Apologies to Tina Turner who sang, 'We don't need another hero.' "President Buhari also referred to the problem against all visible evidence as herders/farmers clashes. Yet, curiously, he found it expedient to harp on a solution that appeals to herdsmen without any concern for the farmers' plight. "He didn't even pretend to care about the thousands of lives taken by marauders who, he admits, come from all over West Africa, into Benue. As far as he is concerned, we can continue to die as long as we are not willing to surrender our ancestral lands to herdsmen from all over West Africa. "For us in Benue, it is unacceptable for a leader to admit that he cannot protect the sovereignty of his country from invaders from neighbouring countries because he doesn't know the difference between the invaders and their local accomplices? Why do we have an immigration service if our borders cannot be secured? "By the interview, he has unwittingly vindicated Ortom. Indeed he has confirmed the claim that Ortom elected to position himself as a defender of his people against Buhari's intimidating coercion to surrender his land to herdsmen. If by his admission Ortom left the APC to oppose grazing reserves/ routes, then he indeed is a hero worth celebrating. "Perhaps APC was used as a platform to intimidate Ortom and coerce him into submission. But Ortom chose to risk his political career and even his life by jumping to the other party where his fate was unknown. "Shame to some Benue sons who are refusing to admit the obvious that Ortom is the current face of the struggle for the survival of the Benue valley, now that President Buhari has confirmed him as such. "Whereas Buhari clearly has shown exasperation over the problem, Ortom took the bull by the horns by enacting a law that, if obeyed, should put paid to indiscriminate grazing; a law which the President Buhari-led Federal Government is unwilling to recognize because it is averse to modernty and bloodless solution to the problem. Who is then a true leader between these two?” Vindication On his part, President of the Benue Youth Forum, BYF, Comrade Terrence Kuanum, the comment of the President was a vindication of the government and people of Benue on their decision to enact its gazing law and also quit the APC. Kuanum said, "The comment by President Buhari has confirmed that he has no idea of the solution to the crisis rather he prefers to emphasize the duration of the crisis as superseding the solution. This is astonishing to us as a people. "We agree with Mr. President that the age long crisis is older than both he and the governor. But we are aware that several herdsmen groups have stated openly that the crisis in Benue and some other states was a continuation of the 1804 Jihad which is aimed at the conquest of the Benue Valley and other fertile lands in Nigeria. "And on January 1, 2018, the Miyetti Allah groups carried out their threats in the most brutal manner ever experienced in our land and they openly claimed responsibility for the genocidal attacks and no arrests were made. "But Ortom always throws the challenge that anyone with a better option to the law should bring it to the table. Obviously, the opening up of grazing cattle routes carved long ago when the country had a smaller population cannot be the solution to the crisis”. Shocking Also reacting, the Benue state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, insisted that heaping blames on foreign herdsmen for the killings in the state and the resolve of the Federal Government to resort to open cattle routes to address the herders/ farmers crisis was shocking. "On the first count, this represents a shocking acceptance by the President that he and this country's security architecture are not only incapable of policing its borders effectively to stop criminal elements from breaching those borders, but at the same time, they are powerless to curb the criminal activities of those intruder elements in the country," Iortyom stated. A former House of Representatives member and Convener of Benue Women Forum, Mrs. Rebecca Apedzan, also contributed to the issue, saying, “All over the globe, even in smaller countries, cattle routes have been done away with and ranching of cattle as enshrined in the Benue grazing law is the known best practice. "My question is why should Nigeria return to an archaic practice that would further aggravate this lingering herders/farmers conflict? The fact is that Benue people have a law that is in conformity with the business of cattle rearing globally and the earlier the Federal Government adopts it to end the mindless killings of innocent Nigerians, the better for us all."
AFCON 2019: Super Eagles plan to storm Egypt early NIGERIA’s Super Eagles are planning to be the first team to arrive Egypt for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where they hope to win their fourth title. The idea, according to team officials, is to afford the Super Eagles an ample opportunity to acclamatise and prepare adequately for the tournament in which they are one of the favourites. The Eagles will begin their campaign in Group B that includes Madagascar, Guinea and Burundi with a game against Burundi on June 22 at the Alexandria Stadium. Team Spokes man Toyin Ibitoye told NAN that the Eagles will camp in Asaba where they would play a a friendly before jetting out to Egypt to play another friendly with Senegal. “The team will have few weeks of camping in Asaba, but we want to be in Egypt early to start preparations. “The plan is for us to get to Egypt at least seven or eight days before our first match. So, in Egypt, we will play a friendly against Senegal because we want to really focus on getting our players fresh. “There is a need to understand that AFCON is coming up at the end of European football season, so the trick is to get the players fresh and keep them away from injuries. “It is going to be a tough challenge in Egypt, so the coach has been talking to the players on his approach and the need for them to be fit so that we can come together to play the tournament with full blast,” he said. Ibitoye said that Egypt remained the tournament favourites considering the fact that they were the host nation and also have a good squad. “The tournament will be taking place in Egypt so they are the favourites and also have a good squad. Morocco also comes to mind and Senegal. “The likes of the defending champions, Cameroon and Ghana are potential winners and outsiders such as South Africa, Mali and Guinea; these are teams that can spring surprises,” he said. Nesiama praises Nigerian juniors’ exploits in Cote d’ Ivoire FIFA U-20 WC: Aigbogun submits provisional list FLYING Eagles coach Paul Aigbogun has submitted a provisional list of 30 players ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. The list include Villarreal of Spain up and coming striker Samuel Chukweze, Bologna of Italy midfielder Kingsley Michael and Manchester City’s midfielder Tom Dele Bashiru, but long Afeez Aremu who helped the team to qualify for the World Cup was dropped from the list. The Flying Eagles have been drawn in the same group alongside Qatar, USA and Ukraine at the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup finals. The Squad: Home-Based: Detan Ogundare, Olawale Oremade, Matthew Yakubu, Mike Zaruma, Rabiu Mohammad, Solomon Onome, Ikouwem Udo Utin, Quadri Liameed, Adewale Oladoye, Peter Eletu, Ernest Chidiebere, Victor Arikpo, Effiom Maxwell, Abubakar Ibrahim, Adeshina Gata, Aniekeme Okon, Sor Collins, Ahmad Ghali, Aliu Salawudeen, Tijani Muhammad, Pascal Durugbor, Saeed Jibril, Valentine Ozornwafor. Overseas-Based: Samuel Chukwueze, Kingsley Michael, Ash Kigbu, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Chinedu Ekene, Henry Offia, Abubakar Jibril, Hamdi Akujobi. *Musa Ahmed,Super Eagles captain By Ben Efe FORMER Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN technical director, Omatseye Nesiama said the efforts of Nigerian athletes at the last African Junior Championships in Cote d’ Ivoire is commendable considering the difficult conditions they had to cope with. Retired Navy Commodore Nesiama who is also a member of Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Technical and Competitions Commission, said Nigerians should be proud of the athletes who came third behind Kenya and South Africa on the overall medals table. He pointed out that athletes like Favour Ofili who won triple gold in the youth category was quite a revelation and she gives hope for the future of Nigerian athletics. “The high points of the competition to me were many. One of it was to see Nigeria producing the best overall female athlete, Ofili Favour, this is no mean feat. “Another high point is being very professional in my officiating the U-18 male high jump event where a Nigerian won with a personal best,” Nesiama told NAN. “Naturally as a Nigerian, I was excited many times internally to see Nigeria win medals. “Team Nigeria’s performance can be considered good, bearing in mind what the entire team had to go through logistics wise. “They traveled by road and arrived at the eve of the competition and it took time before they could get settled into the Athlete’s Village.” Also speaking on her experience, discus thrower Prince Kara revealed that winning a gold medal and achieving her personal best more than made up for the long suffering they endured. “It wasn’t easy for us but I’m glad that I went there to put up a performance that I never expected.” The team returned last Tuesday and the AFN officials sent them away empty handed, not even transport money back to their respective homes. It was buses provided by the Delta State sports council that took some of them away. However, it was gathered that the athletes were asked to drop their bank accounts with the hope that they will be reimbursed at a later date. Edo govt lauds Mabel Madojiemu Schools athletics meet EDO State govern ment has found the efforts made by former athlete, Mabel Madojiemu to revive athletics in the State commendable. And the deputy governor, Dr. Philip Shaibu has promised to make a huge presence when the Princes Mabel Madojiemu Schools meet begin on May 6 in Benin City. According to former 400m hurdler, Henry Amike, the Edo State deputy governor has given his blessings to the catch them young meet, the first of its kind in many years. “We have been to the office of the deputy governor and they were quite receptive and have pledged their support for the event,” said Amike who is the national 400m hurdles 48.50 secs record holder for many years. “All preparations have been made and we are looking forward to a great event,” added Amike. It was also gathered that traditional rulers from Igueben, Madojiemu’s home town have also signified their interest to attend the meet to support their daughter. Fifteen schools from the State will participate in the two-day meet. Vanguard, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019 — 45 Shaibu leads Edo exco to grace FA Cup final in Ekpoma *Shaibu, Edo Dep Gov EDO State Acting Gov ernor Comrade Philip Shaibu, Secretary to the State government, Barrister Osarodion Ogie, Commissioner for Employment and Wealth Creation, Barrister Emmanuel Usoh, and other members of the State Executives are expected to be the Special guests at the final of the Edo State Football Association Cup final taking place today at the Ambrose Alli University Sports complex Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Speaking to news men shortly after Edo Queens zoomed into the final, Comrade Shaibu said that he was happy that Edo State has continued to keep to its promises of making sports development a cardinal point of her administration. “We have continued to echo it that we will ensure that sports in Edo State regains her premier position in the country. We are totally committed to using sports as a veritable tool of creating employment for our teeming youths in the state. By the Special Grace of God, we will all be at Ekpoma to witness the final of this year’s Edo FA Cup Final. Of course you know that all the teams involved in the competition are all teams from Edo, so we are going there to give our supports to good football.” Meanwhile, Edo Queens Football Club of Benin on Friday humiliated Rolly Babes FC 3-0 at the semifinal match played at the Garrison Barracks sports complex in Benin- City. In a chat with sports journalists at the end of the game, Technical Director of the team, Pa Coach Godwin Izilein, said he was happy that the girls gave good account of themselves, adding that the match is part of the team’s preparation for the forthcoming Women’s League billed to commence very soon in Nigeria. “I’m happy that we have qualified for the final of this years’ Edo FA Cup competition. These games you have just watched now is part of our training and build up towards the forthcoming women’s League which will commence within the next few weeks. For us as managers of the team, we believe we can get better as we move ahead. We cannot say that we have arrived, we need to train our girls very well so that they would be able to stand the test of time when it matters most,” Izilein said. Adamark Foundation commences No Barriers Female Basketball League in Abuja *Adamark basketball players Afemale basketball league, the first of its kind in the Federal Capital City has commenced with nine teams. Floated by the Adamark Foundation for Girls, an NGO, the league for girls within the FCT started running from April 20 and will end on July 6. It will hold on Saturdays and on Sundays, with an All Star Game planned to culminate the championship in the first week of July. Founder of the Adamark Foundation, Mrs Ada Mark Ogbole said that the ‘No Barriers Female Basketball League’, which is being decided at the Mapache High School Uncommon Ground, Apo Resettlement Scheme in Abuja was to give girls opportunity to play and develop their skills since they get little or no time to train and play compared to boys in spite of their skills and zeal. “To birth the idea, we came together and decided to float a basketball league in Abuja. We know that we have the Zenith League which does not give girls enough playing time considering that we have too many girls who have the zeal and passion to play basketball. So, we wanted to create enough playing time for the girls since boys have more playing time and playgrounds to play basketball. As a foundation, our focus are girls and since we have been running basketball clinics for girls for five years now so we thought we should create another opportunity that will add value for the girls to play.
Page 2 and 3: PAGE 2 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 2
Page 8 and 9: PAGE 8 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 2
Page 10 and 11: PAGE 10 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL
Page 12 and 13: PAGE 12— SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 2
Page 14 and 15: PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 28
Page 16 and 17: PAGE 16 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 2
Page 18 and 19: PAGE 18 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 2
Page 20 and 21: PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL
Page 22 and 23: PAGE 22 - SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 28
Page 24 and 25: PAGE 24 - SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 28
Page 26 and 27: PAGE 26—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 28
Page 28 and 29: PAGE 28 —SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 2
Page 30 and 31: PAGE 30— SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 2
Page 36 and 37: PAGE 36, SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 28,
Page 40 and 41: PAGE 40 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL
Page 42 and 43: PAGE 42—SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 28
Page 46 and 47: 46 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 28, 2
Page 48: SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 28, 2019 SEE

28042019 - No delaying minimum wage, go ahead and pay, FG tells MDAs, states, others

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?