Late Nigerian medical practitioner, Stella Adadevoh is being celebrated by Google on her 62nd posthumous birthday with a doodle.

Ameyo Adadevoh was a Nigerian physician. She became a national hero after curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing the patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite pressures from the Liberian government.

Stella Adadevoh was the Lead Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist at a private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria where she worked for 21 years.

She had never seen Ebola before but was able to diagnose and contain Nigeria’s first-ever Ebola patient in July 2014. When threatened by Liberian officials who wanted the patient to be discharged to attend a conference, she resisted the pressure and said, “for the greater public good” she would not release him.

Dr Stella later died after contracting the deadly virus while treating Sawyer and other victims of the disease in Nigeria.

Her efforts prevented a major outbreak in Nigeria and served as the catalyst for successful government action to contain the spread of what would have been a major outbreak in the country.

With Stella courage and steadfastness, all 20 Ebola cases in Nigeria were traced to a single path of transmission originating with the first (index) patient who took a flight from Monrovia, Liberia to Lagos.

Today we celebrate the life of late Stella Adadevoh who helped curb the spread of Ebola in the country. Indeed, she is a hero.

Read more at: https://thenovita.com/stella-adadevoh-how-she-saved-nigeria-from-the-deadly-ebola-virus/

Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central on Tuesday joined People’s Redemption Party (PRP), three days after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was contained in a statement by his Special Adviser, Political and Ideology, Mr Suleiman Ahmed, in Abuja.

He said that “It has become impossible for the senator to continue to co-habit with reactionaries and their perfidious and inimical style of politics.

“Sen. Sani maintains the highest respect and honour for President Muhammadu Buhari. However, we prefer to live in a Cottage of Honour than a mansion of shame.

“ Sen. Shehu Sani has returned to the PRP. PRP represents our socialist revolutionary ideology.

“Sen. Sani is now free from the toxicity and infamy APC existentially represents. We left the APC for the emperors and their lackeys.”

Confirming the development to the Newsmen in an interview, the Kaduna State Chairman of the party, Dr Tom Maiyashi, said the lawmaker is now a member of the party.

Maiyashi said the lawmaker had been duly registered and offered membership card of the party.

He stressed that “Sen. Shehu Sani has registered with the party and his ward is Kaduna South.’’

Shehu Sani on Sunday resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmaker announced this in a letter addressed to the APC Chairman, Ward 6, Tudun Wada North, Kaduna State.

Read more: https://thenovita.com/shehu-sani-finally-joins-prp/

[center]One of those things that will remain unfathomable and constant is the joking nature of politics in Nigeria. Like chess, only two domineering players are involved, where one literally takes the queen of the other and cripples any other chances of his opponent to win.
He however does this with so much transparency and credibility but we would not want to make a mountain out of a mole hill to attach these praiseworthy acts to the players of politics in our country. The populace also observing the whole game will want to be on the winning team so has to actualise or retain any form of preconceived benefits but quite frankly, can we blame them?
No fewer than 30 candidates has emerged from several political parties but apparently, even a blind man can tell that the seat of power for the 2019 presidential election would only be between the two dominant parties, the All Progressive Congress and the People’s Democratic Party. In other words, our past clamour for the not too young to run campaign clearly do not hold water now. Other noteworthy candidates should perhaps look beyond chasing the clouds and shine away from dogmatism.
There is absolutely no point wasting resources, time and energy on campaigns and every other thing attached to running for presidency. A somewhat silly advice that may appear, but what can one say in the true face of reality where the bosses who are no losers in the lucrative business of politics are involved?
The battle line has been drawn between the two representatives of both parties-PDP’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar whose rotten integrity precedes him like a bad record and APC’s candidate, Buhari whose administration is further sharpened by his lack of competence and blind decisions. The idiosyncrasy of these two characters deeply bothers the mind and has also made a mockery of democracy.
In contrary to what has been said by Oby Ezekwesili, the presidential candidate for the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Nigerians will obviously have to chose between these two evils in the short run. Everyone seems to have accepted this ill-fated plight and will have to pick their poison quite sooner regardless of the apathy that some may be showing now.
The populace must make a tough decision of choosing either of these two candidates that can stand the test of integrity and anti-corruption which is very important for the country’s development and progress. Candidate A, in the person of Atiku has been referred to as a ‘racketeer’ by the opposition party prior to his notorious reputation in corruption.
When we thought that such a candidate would turn in his coat and use his antics in corruption to fight corruption, has only in the past few weeks been alleged to have exchanged foreign hands of currencies with the National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party in order to emerge has his party’s presidential candidate. But of course what is expected from a child whose decaying attitude was not nipped early in the bud? Such a child would only grow in that habit and would find it difficult to flinch from it. Then it would only be normal to ask ourselves if truly we would be ‘atikulated’ or ‘atikulooted’ after we make the decision of voting him in the 2019 elections. Since Buhari’s former agenda was change, Atiku’s agenda could only surmount to us being changed to his whims and caprices at all cost.
Candidate B on the other hand, in the guise or frame of putting the country’s interest ahead of his own has only done more harm than good right from the very outset of his leadership during the military regime to his heavy comeback in 2015 under the canopy of ‘change’. Apparently, someone needs to get his acts together as he is not only wallowing in deep incompetence but softly trending the pathway of corruption like his opponent.
Evidently this is portrayed in the steps he took towards appointing the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, from a neigbouring state in an election he would be a contestant of. Likewise, his appointment of people from his region as heads of virtually all the security agencies in order to secure an easy pass in some state to win their votes for the forthcoming election, does sarcastically speaks well of him. His Excellency, with lesser forces to guarantee his win in the 2019 election is desperate to ensure that he takes the lead.
This totally explains why he could commend the nonsensical election in Osun state as being a success when in true terms he intends walking through that same lane of corruption. Although, one may not regard this form of corruption as a massive one in comparison to those of Atiku, so why not vote for him instead? but corruption in whatever form it exist is still corruption. In no oblivious way, this gives an ironical representation of his bid to curb corruption all through the year.
In the face of this cold belligerency between these candidates, citizens will have to pick their poison regardless of whether their votes will matter or not. Therefore, which of these poisons do we pick, Candidate ‘A’ whose looting will be reinforced if voted in or Candidate ‘B’ whose grievances will be because he was not able to redeem himself from his clothing of incompetence? Your choice is now before Nigerians to pick come 2019.

Continue reading here: https://thenovita.com/incompetent-buhari-vs-corrupt-atiku-pick-your-poison-if-it-is-going-to-matter/

Olusegun Obasanjo has said he doesn’t know the position Asiwaju Bola Tinubu currently holds in the All Progressives Congress.

Obasanjo made this known during a programme titled, “The Talk,” which was aired on a YouTube Channel, “Voice of the People.”

The former President had been asked to identify the designations of certain political figures in the country.

He identified Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as the President and Vice President respectively, while he also identified Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.

When asked to identify Tinubu, he said, “Oh, Bola? Bola is supposed to be the leader of the APC. I don’t know the position of his leadership as you and I are talking.”

In the interview, which seemed to have been recorded before he openly endorsed the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, the former President said he had hoped that Atiku would succeed him as President in 2007.

Obasanjo said this was the reason he gave Atiku a lot of responsibilities but his former deputy made some wrong decisions.

“Atiku didn’t want to become even a Vice President (in 1999). He was elected as a governor,” he recalled.

He, however, said his plan was to mentor Atiku to be his successor but his former deputy failed him.

Obasanjo added, “My plan was that he would be given a lot of work to do domestically and Atiku even used to complain that I gave him too much work to do, which was intentional because I wanted him to get to know things.

“My second term was that having prepared him for domestic issues, I would want him to represent Nigeria for one year at the African Union, Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations for a year so that he would be fully prepared, but the first thing I found out was that his judgement was not right on many occasions.”

The former President, who insisted that Buhari had not done well in government, said as a watchman, he would continue to speak up when things were going wrong.

He said there was the need for Nigerians, especially the youth, to elect leaders that could fit into a “digital 21st-century post-modern era rather than electing analogue personalities.”

On the Boko Haram crisis, Obasanjo said after he left office in 2007, his successor (late Umaru Yar’Adua) mismanaged the issue, which caused the group to become terrorists.

Obasanjo said had he been President at the time, Boko Haram would not have become what it is today.

He recalled that in 2011, with the permission of former President Goodluck Jonathan, he visited the family of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and other aggrieved persons in the terrorist group and they explained why they were carrying out attacks.

He added that “In 2011, I went to Maiduguri. This was after Boko Haram had attacked the UN building in Abuja and I just wanted to know who they were and if they had leaders and what their grievances were.

“I found out that these elements of Boko Haram had been there even while I was in government. And they, through their intermediary, said they were there and I didn’t disturb them so they didn’t disturb me.

“They were preaching Sharia and that was what they wanted. But, according to them, when I left government, they were being chased and haunted and they lost a number of their adherents and they decided to fight back and even the leader of their sect, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed and his in-law was also killed.

“They went to court to try and get compensation which was granted to them but the state government did not pay.”

See video here: https://thenovita.com/i-dont-know-tinubus-position-in-apc/

Southern Kaduna youths on Friday vowed to unseat the state governor, Nasir el-Rufai, in the 2019 governorship election.

The youths under the aegis of the Southern Kaduna Youth For Progress and Development promised to deliver bloc votes for the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Alhaji Isa Ashiru and his running mate, Sunday Katung.

Addressing a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ Secretariat in Kaduna, the state capital, the Chairman of the group, Mr. Danjuma Sarki, said the group would deliver bloc votes in 11 local government areas in the state, which include eight from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial Zone; two from Kaduna Central; and one from Kaduna North.

“Coming at a time when our dear state is in dire need of unity, stability and purposeful leadership, an Ashiru/Katung ticket ushers in a new dawn and brings hope to the electorate,” he said.

Read more: https://thenovita.com/well-unseat-el-rufai-in-2019/

The Federal Government says it is engaging foreign media organisations, networks and think tanks to shape their opinion on the true position of things and to also correct the negative narratives about the country and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in London after an engagement with the Royal African Society, a body founded in 1990 to promote relations between the UK and Africa.

Specifically, the minister said that the engagement was to shape their minds and opinion on the true position of insurgency in the North East, farmers/herdsmen clash and the achievements recorded by the Buhari administration, which were being downplayed.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the minister arrived in London on Sunday and delivered a lecture in Chatham House, the UK-based Royal Institute of International Affairs.

He also interacted with foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, All Party Parliamentary Group and featured on Aljazeera television news hour.

The minister also met with the largest global news agency, Reuters, New African and African Business magazines and African Report.

Mohammed said that the essence of the engagements was to correct the negative narratives about the country and place on the table the giant strides of the Buhari government.

He added that “the whole idea of the trip is to engage foreign media organisations, networks and think tanks to actually explain the activities of government.

“As you were aware, we have been to the UK twice and the U.S. on this kind of mission.

“I think generally it has been quite fruitful because it offered us the platform and opportunity to explain to them what this government has achieved in the areas of security, fighting corruption and in revamping the economy.

“It also gives us the opportunity to disabuse the minds of the people about the insecurity in the North-East and how the government has succeeded in returning normalcy in affected areas.

“It offers us the opportunity to explain that the farmer/herdsmen clash is largely due to population explosion, climate change and criminality, as against the naysayers’ position that it is ethnic or religious.

“Really, it has been quite helpful and we will continue with the engagements.”

The minister said he was satisfied with the level of reception and understanding achieved during the visits; even as he has also been scheduled for more engagements before returning to Nigeria.

Read more on: https://thenovita.com/why-we-engage-foreign-media-lai-mohammed-explains/

Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and his Daar Investment and Holdings Company Limited, told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday that they are not the launderer of the N2.1bn as alleged in their ongoing trial; but the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), who paid the funds to them in 2015.

The EFCC had charged Dokpesi and Daar Investment with money laundering and procurement fraud involving the sum of N2.1bn, which they allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser between January and March 2015.

They spoke through their lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) while arguing their no-case submission which they filed after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission closed the case against them with the 14th prosecution witness on May 28, 2018.

Dokpesi and Daar Investment (the parent company of AIT and Raypower FM) were said to have received the sum of N2.1bn from NSA office while being headed by Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) as payment for a “purported contract on presidential media initiative.”

The prosecution alleged that Dokpesi and his firm received the sum of N2.1bn from ONSA to prosecute the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2015 presidential media campaign.

The prosecution also alleged that the payment was in breach of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the EFCC (Establishment) Act.

But arguing his clients’ no-case submission on Friday, Agabi urged the judge, Justice John Tsoho, to dismiss the case and discharge his clients.

Agabi contended that the prosecution failed to prove any prima facie case warranting his clients to give an answer to any of the six counts instituted against them by the EFCC.

He argued that the charges were defective, as they allegedly failed to disclose the ingredients of money laundering against his clients and were “riddled with inconsistencies from the head to the toes.”

While EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe, opposed the no-case submission insisting that the submission by the defence was an admission to have committed the alleged crimes, Agabi maintained that the prosecution failed to call vital witnesses such as Dasuki or former President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said his client (Dokpesi) implicated in his statement.

Agabi said, “The money was paid by Col. Dasuki. His name is mentioned in the four counts of money laundering as the one who made the payment. Therefore, he is the one alleged to be laundering the funds.

“The money in counts one to four is not being laundered by the defendant. The launderer is Col. Dasuki. So, if the launderer is Col. Dasuki, are we going to convict him in absentia? We cannot convict him while he’s absent.

“Why is he not charged? His name is mentioned again and again in the charges. Even if they are not going to charge him, they should have called him as a witness because it is his action that is in question here.”

Responding, the prosecuting counsel said all the ingredients of the alleged offences were proved by the prosecution and all the necessary witnesses needed to prove the case were called.

Atolagbe said the defence’s line of the argument involving Dasuki’s roles was an admission that they committed the alleged crimes.

On Agabi’s allegation of contradictions and inconsistencies in the charges, Atolagbe said, “That cannot also stand, because money obtained in the violation of Public Procurement Act as admitted by the defendant certainly cannot be legitimate.”

He urged the court “to direct the defendants to enter their defence” so that they would call witnesses such as Dasuki and Jonathan, that they felt the prosecution failed to call.

Justice Tsoho fixed November 12 for the ruling.

Read more on: https://thenovita.com/dasuki-laundered-n2-1bn/

Photo and video of the wanted leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Knau, has surfaced showing where he is praying in Jerusalem, Israel.

Kanu went missing in September 2017 after the military invaded his home in Abia state and there had not been any trace of him until now.

The photos and videos were shared online by Radio Biafra.
He was declared missing by his community in Abia state, after the alleged “Operation Python Dance II” operation by the Nigerian Army in the South East.

Many relatives of Kanu had also been allegedly declared missing by the Afara community in Umuahia following the invasion of his home by the Nigerian army.

Click here to see the video and pictures; https://thenovita.com/nnamdi-kanu-seen-in-jerusalem/

To many Nigerian political observers, Atiku Abubakar’s endorsement by his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo came as a surprise. However, to me, an avid follower of political trends in the country, I have come to realize that this endorsement further attests to the fact that OBJ is an inconsequential, pathological liar and egocentric being who will go out of his way to get the whole of Nigeria in his kitty.
If you think my stand against Obasanjo is personal, then you’re missing it. I detest his lifestyle not because of his stance on President Muhammadu Buhari or endorsing Atiku Abubakar but as a result of his double standard, corrupt practices, greediness and “Know It All” behaviour. He thinks he can manipulate and insult the cerebral of Nigerians with his shady and dubious ways.
To start with, let’s quickly take a look at some of the statement he has said in the past about Atiku.
Just in August, Obasanjo told Premium Times that he cannot for any reason support Atiku’s presidential bid. He said “How can I be on the same side with Atiku? To do what? … “If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support.”
The above statement is not enough for us to know who the person of Atiku is to Obasanjo. Let’s read together a paragraph dedicated to Atiku in Obasanjo’s “My Watch.”
“What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.”
Indeed, these are damning and incriminating claims about Atiku. What did Obasanjo really know about Atiku? We can’t just allow all these accusations swept under the carpet. As a matter of sincerity, Nigerians would like to know the rationale behind Obasanjo’s U-turn. What has now changed about Atiku within some days that Obasanjo now wants Nigerians to trust with their mandate?
Is Atiku no longer corrupt? Is he now a truth teller? Is he now transparent? Is he now ready to sacrifice self and selfish interest for national good? And will God now forgive Obasanjo for supporting Atiku?
We need to ask again, is he not the same Obasanjo that marketed Umar Musa Yar’Adua to Nigerians in 2007? Whose demise later led to the rise of Goodluck Jonathan, in fact, who sold the clueless Goodluck Jonathan to the populace in 2011 and endorsed the same incompetent Muhammadu Buhari to us? These are salient questions the self-acclaimed “Ebora of Owu” must answer.
Judging from his speech, Obasanjo made it known that his major grumble with Buhari is not his incompetence but rather his inability to influence the president to do his devilish bidding. It is still fresh in our memories that those were the same issues Obasanjo had with former President Jonathan.
Obasanjo’s habit of wanting to hold onto power is very dangerous to our nation and we must call his bluff before his notorious actions consume Nigeria. We need to do away with this culture of getting an endorsement of the incoming president by the nonsensical leaders who to me are “misleaders” and brought the country on her knees.
2019 general election is near, Chief Obasanjo is playing the best game he knows how to play- studying the political landscape of the country and positioning himself so as to scale through with his selfish agenda and remain in the corridors of power.
In fact, it’s still surprising to me to see why some Nigerians still listen to a man who cannot even comport his family and doesn’t enjoy the support of his children. Go read Iyabo Obasanjo Bello’s open letter to Obasanjo in 2013.
Conclusively, both Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar are not the best options for us in 2019, but we must pick our poison between the incompetent Buhari and corrupt Atiku. The onus is on Nigerians to vote based on the individual integrity, merit and achievements and reject the moribund leaders.

Read more at: https://thenovita.com/demystifying-the-corrupt-oracle-that-is-olusegun-obasanjo/

Niger State Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Tanko Beji has said that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti has no reason to quit the party over the outcome of the National Convention.
Recalled that Fayose had threatened to dump PDP following the failure of his preferred aspirant and Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal to win the party’s presidential primaries.
Tambuwal lost the ticket to former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku who got 1,532 votes to dwarf his 693 votes at the National Convention held on Saturday in Port Harcourt.
Fayose who was vexed with the outcome has said in a statement released on Monday in Ado Ekiti that he would defect from the PDP to another party.
Speaking with the newsmen on Tuesday in Minna, Beji opined that Fayose, a vocal founding member of the PDP, had no reason to dump the party.
“Fayose is the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum; he cannot abandon the position and leave the party in the middle of the sea,” he said.
Beji wondered why Fayose should keep the loss of the ticket to heart when Tambuwal had already congratulated the winner.
“Fayose cannot cry more than the bereaved. I will advise him not to take a step he could regret later.
“Fayose is a bold democrat we all respect in PDP. Majority of PDP members have accepted Atiku. Fayose cannot say no."
“What I expect Fayose to do is to join the majority. He has the right to be angry, but this is a democracy and the majority has spoken,” he said.
The chairman also dismissed claims that some of the PDP candidates for next year’s general election were sponsored by the opposition.
“We do not have moles among our candidates. That I can assure you,” he said.
The chairman said that the PDP primaries were successful at all levels, declaring that the party was “set to confront and defeat every rival in the 2019 general elections”.

Read more at: https://thenovita.com/we-dont-want-you-in-our-party-apc-tells-fayose/

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki has just replied the All Progressives Congress (APC) for mocking him over his performance at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Primary.

The APC spokesman, Yekini Nabena had issued a communique, mocking Saraki’s performance saying that his “Presidential bid had crashed”.

However, in a statement Issued by the Media and Public Affairs to the President of the Senate, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said that the APC is always disturbed by the sound of his name.

Saraki, however, advised the APC and its leadership to stop focusing on developments in the opposition party and seek ways to solve the “civil war” that had been ignited in the party.

The statement reads:

“We have noted the irresponsible statement issued by the APC spokesman, Yekinni Nabena.

“We know that he and the leadership of the APC are always incensed and disturbed at the mere hearing of the name, Saraki. It is also notable that Nabena and the APC are always concerned about the developments in the opposition party, the PDP.

“However, we believe that with the ‘civil war’ that Adams Oshiomhole and Yekinni Nabena have ignited in the APC and the very low level that they have dragged the party, in such manner that the ruling party is wallowing in confusion and disorganization, they have too much to pre-occupy them than to be poking their noses in what happens to Saraki or the PDP,” he said.

Read more here: https://thenovita.com/saraki-replies-apc/

The ruling All Progressives Congress has mocked the Senate President, Bukola Saraki over his dismal run for the presidency of Nigeria at the Port Harcourt convention of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Saraki was a member of the ruling APC until he defected to his old party, the PDP to run for the presidency.

Yekini Nabena, APC spokesman in a statement described Saraki “A Rolling Stone That Gathers No Moss” and asked him to vacate the Senate presidency honourably.

“He should be a distinguished Senator in name and indeed. He cannot continue to preside over the APC-dominated Senate as a member of the minority PDP”, Nabena said.

The Statement Reads:

The disappointing performance of Sen. Bukola Saraki at the Presidential Election Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a befitting end to the ambition of a greedy, untrustworthy and double-dealing politician.

With a miserly 317 votes, behind Aminu Tambuwal’s 693 votes and Atiku Abubakar’s 1532 votes, the PDP delegates have given clear indication that they are fed up with Saraki’s political style. When a leader cannot be trusted, cannot be relied upon, and cannot keep agreements, the people take due cognizance and records of these actions and respond with their votes at the appropriate time.

How will someone who emerged Senate President through conspiracy with members of the opposition Party and against the wishes and interests of his own party be trusted to be elected as the presidential candidate of a party? Even on his being elected to the position, did Saraki acquit himself creditably?

Having sabotaged the President Muhammadu Buhari government while in the APC, he later showed his true colours by formally joining the opposition PDP. The APC bade him goodbye as he returned to the looters club where he belongs. However, in doing so, Saraki must do the needful by giving up the Senate President position. He should be a distinguished Senator in name and indeed. He cannot continue to preside over the APC-dominated Senate as a member of the minority PDP.

Throughout Saraki’s tenure as Senate President, it has been one confrontation between the National Assembly leadership with the Executive or another. Confirmation of Executive nominees sent to the Senate for confirmation has been delayed unnecessarily, annual national budgets delayed. For instance, the supplementary budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2019 General Elections is continually delayed due to Saraki’s selfish political machinations.

A selfish Saraki will rather than perform his constitutional legislative functions by ensuring timely consideration and passage of Executive bills, sabotage the efforts of the Executive in furtherance of his treacherous politics.

Having sabotaged the President Muhammadu Buhari government while in the APC, he later showed his true colours by formally joining the opposition PDP. The APC bade him goodbye as he returned to the looters club where he belongs. However, in doing so, Saraki must do the needful by giving up the Senate President position. He should be a distinguished Senator in name and indeed. He cannot continue to preside over the APC-dominated Senate as a member of the minority PDP.

The delegates of the PDP have rejected Saraki as their presidential candidate. Let the Senators also do likewise by rejecting the greedy, deceitful and unreliable Senate President as their leader. A new President of the Senate, free from all allegations of criminality is needed now.

Read more: https://thenovita.com/apc-mocks-saraki/

This piece is not an endorsement of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in any form, whatsoever. By extension, it is not aimed at belittling the potentials of Brand Buhari at this all-important electioneering period.

Rather, it is an end product of observations of happenings and developments in relation to Buhari’s time in office so far and the forthcoming general elections.

When elections beckon here, we are besieged by myriads of issues from bad politics to disregard for our reputational standing in the comity of nations. We saw what happened in Osun and Ekiti. The remnants have spilled into party primaries held this week. If you offer that bad politics has an overbearing influence on our democracy, I wouldn’t pick an argument.

Daily, citizens are treated to mendacity, sham and mudslinging ferried around by politicians in desperate attempts to score cheap political points and amass relevance through the ballot. This is the status quo in my Nigeria, your Nigeria where fake news is sought after to deal with political adversaries and win elections. Where is issues-based politics in all of these?

The country’s political climate is susceptible to the dictates of violence. If you are in doubt, check what transpired in Imo last Saturday at the governorship primaries of saint All Progressives Congress. The party got it all wrong too in Ogun. Gunshots, hoodlums frustrated efforts to conduct hitch-free governorship primaries. Perhaps violence is a feature of democracy.

Biko, I am not in the mood to argue; you can do that with your device or the paper you are reading. Let me add that the APC produced two governorship candidates in Delta – Prof. Pat Utomi and Chief Great Ogboru before it settled for the latter. Interesting!

Parallelism took centre stage at the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kano. Prodigal Rabiu Kwankwaso oversaw one, another group held another. This is one party that has managed to survive after it almost sunk in 2015. These political formations expect Nigerians to believe in their capacity to lead and govern. Jokers! That is what they are.

They expect the electorates to bequeath them with the instrument of power while they expect citizens to sit back and watch them do wonders in the life of the country. That is exactly what Buhari wants too. Power dey sweet belle. Power dey shak person.

Ask Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos. Dem do am strong thing on Tuesday.
Buhari wouldn’t mind another four years in office. He is flying the flag of the APC in the 2019 presidential elections. But his actions from leadership style to communication strategy state otherwise.

Mr. President has not been quite successful in projecting the achievements of his administration appropriately. In the midst of these, Buhari seems to have lost the qualities that gave him electoral victory in 2015.
PMB has been very discreet on feats recorded with his three point agenda – Security, Corruption and Economy. His media and publicity team have aggravated the situation. We don’t get to have him address us often with compassion and assurance. There is a fillable lacuna in the relationship between his government and citizens.

For a government that has been backlashed for its inability to live up to its billing, secrecy in terms of communicating policies and programmes is not the best of strategies. Settling for secrecy to address national issues is a major drawback of the APC-led Federal Government that has spent three years and five months out of its four-year mandate.
Let’s examine some of the setbacks in the communication strategy adopted by the Buhari administration.

Recently, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola was a guest on Your View, one of the flagship programmes of Lagos based Television Continental. But for that exclusive chat with Morayo Afolabi-Brown and co-hosts, one may not have been able to have a first-hand feel of what the FG is doing in terms of boosting the economic fortunes of the country through fitting road networks and infrastructure.

The Minister spoke about road projects and rehabilitation works in some states. These are ministries that are critical to our viability and existence- from individual to group progressions. But the pertinent question to ask at this point is: how often do this government come out to offer account of stewardship?

At a time the country needs empathy against the backdrop of distressing developments, Buhari lost another opportunity in his address on the commemoration of our 58th independence anniversary. The speech he delivered only reinforced the opaque administrative style adopted by his government.

That said, Mr. President is surrounded by people giving him problems. This is a function of his preference to accommodate them. But PMB must be duly informed that these people are threats to his re-election bid. Coupled with his efforts, governance has sloped further into suspicion, drama and malfeasances.

Citizens hold divergent views of this administration. Indifference and disconnection don make matters worse.

He admitted that his government is finding it difficult to get citizens to understand him when General Superintendent of the Deeper Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi paid him a courtesy visit at the Aso Villa on Monday. When you are surrounded by people who do not mean well for the collective good of the country, then it would be more difficult to bond with citizens.

Citizens want proofs of work done by this administration. Alas! Secrecy is what they get. Premising government and governance on the principles of fraternity is not helpful for democracy. This perhaps explains the decline in his acceptance and popularity in regions beyond his strongholds.

Brand Buhari is starved of reception from people who will sing his praises with honest tongues and beat drums on his side with sincere palms. I do not speak of some fellows in his circle. The mass of people in that circle are fair-weather fellows. They are insincere, uncommitted and corrupt.

Why wouldn’t he find it cumbersome to make people understand him and his government?

Needless delay that comes with Buhari’s response to matters of interest has done much damage to his brand personality. If he is acting on advice from certain quarters, then he needs to drop those advices. It is not a good strategy whatsoever.

The situation, yet again, underscores the need for political office holders to bring on board public relations execs to handle strategic communications on their behalf. Journalists can’t do this effectively; particularly those with no background in reputation management.

Buhari has a fantastic support base. Accepted. But he could bolster his support structure by substituting opaqueness with an open approach to governance.

PMB seriously needs to open up his government. Perhaps he could fare better in the South East come 2019 through this approach. This is one region that gave Buhari meagre votes in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 when he became Nigeria’s President at the fourth attempt.
Influencing citizens with information on plans and programmes, as and when due, may perhaps earn Buhari re-election in 2019.

It is a surefire strategy. His media and publicity team would do better and connect with citizens if they factor effective communication into their work plan.

You would have observed that the Ministry of Information and Culture superintended by Lai Mohammed and Voice of Nigeria (VON) have become so very engrossed in politics that they neglect their primary responsibility of informing the citizenry and the international community. The ineffectiveness of these organs has equally given impetus to the rise in disparaging comments about the government, the country and her people.

Fake news may continue to downplay the efforts of this administration when the organs of government that should push out information look the other way. People want to be informed jare.

When you are surrounded by people that add no value and bring your personality into disrepute, you let them go. This is what Buhari should do. His government has been hit adversely by bad elements. He needs sincere minds. Cabinet overhaul is not out of place to convince the electorates that he is worthy of a second term in office.

Refraining from running a government erected on secrecy will help his cause. Will he view governance from this perspective? Will he align with this trusty strategy to land a fresh mandate? Questions.


Read more: https://thenovita.com/2019-issues-and-buharis-chances/

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has released a list of approved 24 governorship candidates for the 2019 elections.

Yekini Nabena, National Publicity Secretary of the party disclosed this in a statement cited on the party’s website.
The statement reads, “Following the Governorship Primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held across the country, the Party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at its meeting held on Thursday, 4th October, 2018 ratified the reports of the various Electoral Committees and adopts the under-listed as Governorship candidates of the APC for the forthcoming 2019 general elections.”

See List of Approved Candidates

ABDULLAHI UMAR GANDUJE – KANO STATE
MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR – BAUCHI STATE
SIMON LALONG – PLATEAU STATE
NASIR EL-RUFAI – KADUNA STATE
MOHAMMED BADARU ABUBAKAR – JIGAWA STATE
AHMED ALIYU – SOKOTO STATE
ABUBAKAR ATIKU BAGUDU – KEBBI STATE
AMINU BELLO MASARI – KATSINA STATE
ABUBAKAR SANI BELLO – NIGER STATE
BABAGANA UMARA-ZULUM – BORNO STATE
MAI MALA BUNI – YOBE STATE
ABUBAKAR A. SULE – NASARAWA STATE
EMMANUEL JIMME – BENUE STATE
BABAJIDE SANWO–OLU – LAGOS STATE
TONYE COLE – RIVERS STATE
UCHE OGAH – ABIA STATE
NSIMA EKERE – AKWA-IBOM STATE
ADEBAYO ADELABU – OYO STATE
DAPO ABIODUN – OGUN STATE
GREAT OGBORU – DELTA STATE
OWAN ENOH – CROSS-RIVER
INUWA YAHAYA – GOMBE STATE
SUNNY OGBOJI – EBONYI STATE
SANI ABUBAKAR DANLADI – TARABA STATE
However, the governorship primaries in Imo, Zamfara and Adamawa are yet to be concluded as new electoral panels have been set up to conduct a fresh primary in the states.

Read more at: https://thenovita.com/apc-releases-approved-list-of-governorship-candidates/

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is planning to disrupt its national convention scheduled to hold on Saturday.

The party spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan stated this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of its national working committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja. He claimed that PDP was aware of plots or machinations of all kinds to stop the convention holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital.

He said: “We invite Nigerians to take note of this. We invite the international community to take serious note of the plots to thwart the efforts of the opposition to elect a candidate that will go into the February 2019 general election against President Muhammadu Buhari We invite all Nigerians to take cautious note of this development.”

“However, on our own part, we wish to inform Nigerians, particularly member of the PDP that the national convention where our presidential candidate will be elected that has been scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt will go on as planned… No plot, no plan by detractors can stop our national convention.” Ologbondiyan stressed.

He also disclosed that necessary security operatives and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been served notices on the convention.

Read More: https://thenovita.com/apc-planning-to-stop-our-convention/

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has said that he led nine All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the crisis that trailed the party’s primaries for 2019 elections.

Okorocha said they met with Buhari to find solutions to the crisis trailing the primaries in states. The national working committee (NWC) of the ruling party had screened out preferred candidates of some governors and also cancelled elections in some states.

Those who attended the meeting were Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Sani Bello (Niger), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Simon Lalong (Plateau), and Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa).

“We came to review the various crises characterising our primaries especially the APC with a view to finding a solution,” he said.

“We are looking for a way out in this regard. We are going to find a solution, our party believes in justice, equity and fairness. We are requesting that the right thing be done and let everyone contest the elections.” Okorocha stressed.

Read more at https://thenovita.com/apc-governors-meet-buhari/

Some women trafficked from Nigeria are forced into prostitution in a park in Paris, the capital city of France, CNN report has revealed.

According to the report, the Bois de Vincennes, a park on the suburbs of eastern Paris, is popular with joggers and boules players during the day but a business spot for Nigerian sex workers in the night.

Nadège (not real name), one of the trafficked women, who managed to escape, told CNN how a female Nigerian love-vendor, “Madam” she met in Lagos promised her a job as a waitress in Europe.

“I was told it was like a paradise but getting here, it was like from frying pan to fire,” Negede said.

Nadège, 20, was trafficked from Nigeria to France and forced into sexual slavery at €20 ($23).

She and other girls would later have to pay off a huge debt of €50,000 ($57,690) and sometimes more, to Madam.

According to Nadège, before leaving Nigeria, the victims were made to take an oath at a “juju” temple never to speak about their deal with madam nor the debts they owe her.

She said they were made to lie in a coffin while taking the oath, with a threat of death (return to the coffin) if they broke the rules.

Nagede said she travelled from Nigeria to France with a fake passport her madam gave her. She was sent to work in the Bois a week after she arrived.

Her madam gave her a €100 daily target and took away her passport and all her earnings, except money for food and rent.

“Sometimes you work from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the morning, maybe get home by 8 a.m.,” she said.

She would start to work again, elsewhere, from 3 pm. “Until 6 p.m., then you have to go to your normal place of work.”

Nagede said she cut ties with her madam when she got pregnant a year later and decided to keep her baby.



She said after her escape, “I was waiting patiently for the death or the madness. I was like… ‘Should I go over to the street and start working? Should I abort my baby?’”

Nagede discouraged other young ladies against journeying to Europe in search of greener pastures, saying: “Don’t even think of it.”

“Even now I don’t have hope for myself. My past already destroyed my future,” she said.

“No matter what I am tomorrow, I am still going to be useless, because, I can’t proudly say my story.

In March, CNN has published a report of how Nima Elbagir, one of its correspondents, went undercover in order to have a first-hand experience of migrants who risk their lives to Europe through the desert.

Josephine Iyamu, a nurse of Nigerian descent, was in the same month, found guilty by a British court of trafficking five women to Germany for prostitution.

Watch the video and read more at https://thenovita.com/cnn-reveals-paris-park/

It is expedient to mention that our country is now 58 years of age. And though we might fly that green and white flag, and make declarations and hold festivals, in celebration of decades of unity and independence, our 58-year-old nation has achieved precious little and we know it.

Surely there is a nagging thought in the minds of all but perhaps the most callous Nigerians about the country’s future, and what it may hold for her people. The green and white wagon, liberated from Britain in 1960, continues to blunder down the road of her history, damaged in many places. As a people, we have endured many years of austerity, which has hit the poor majority the hardest. Ease of thought in spending, devoid of stern calculations is a fantasy in the minds of many Nigerians; security is alien to most of us; a good business environment has eluded us.

It is no wonder we are angry, and wary, as a people – anger and wariness founded upon disappointment from the past, when we have cast our votes in expectation, only to see those to whom we have trusted our wagon’s steering drive us further into unemployment, scarcity, insecurity, the list goes on.

Despite the fact that we do not expect miracles, nor demigods to tackle the problems of the nation, we know that a good government is central to a better Nigeria. We need a credible and transparent government that can curb corruption, address the issue of why there are so many poor people in a wealthy nation, and perhaps unmake the greatest oxymoron of all time: rich country, poor people.

For now, that seems far-off. Our politics has become a crime-filled system, base and thuggish, with each group determined to bloody the noses of the others. Take the just-concluded Osun governorship elections, for instance. It was a close-run contest, with INEC declaring the election inconclusive, and ordering a rerun poll in some areas. By the end of the election, accusations of rigging, violence, and victimisation abounded the state. In their statement, the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of having made elaborate but failed attempts to manipulate the election, saying that “they attempted to win by fraud… [but] failed in the first round and eventually lost the re-run election.” The PDP, on the other hand, accused APC of rigging the elections as well, reporting what they called “the brazen theft and daylight swindling of Osun people who were criminally denied their rights to vote and be voted for by an anti-people conspiracy among INEC, security agencies and the ruling All Progressive Congress.”

Who rigged the election then, if it was rigged at all? From what living in Nigeria has taught us, we may assume that both parties attempted to rig it. Whether they succeeded or not is a different question. There were also many reports of arrests, attacks by hooded thugs, and even deaths of people. A woman was allegedly killed for insisting that she be allowed to exercise freely her right to vote.

Take also, the on-going primary elections. There are already allegations of malpractices trailing the contests; woes, violence, and infractions characterised the elections of the two major political parties – PDP and APC. After APC’s primary presidential election which saw President Buhari emerge as the convincing winner, the PDP claimed in a statement that APC posted “fictitious results” as votes secured by the President, supposedly in a bid to hoodwink Nigerians and create massive support for President Buhari ahead of the general election next year.

During the governorship primary of the Kwara State chapter of the PDP, suspected hoodlums invaded the venue – the Banquet Hall, Government House, Ilorin – and disrupted the process. The state governor, Abdul Fatah Ahmed, some aspirants, and other government officials escaped through the back door. In Akwa Ibom State, the APC governorship primary ended in a stalemate as party leaders engaged in a fight that got to the exchange of blows. There have also been reports of accusations of abuse and hijacked materials with fakes presented in their stead.

As the elections draw nearer, the political climate gets darker. If primaries can generate so much bad blood, then we must shudder to think how things will be next year when the presidential elections (this one has the potential to be the most keenly-contested) arrive.

The solution to corruption cannot be born of corruption. How can a government that assumes power on the back of gross misconduct, victimisation of people, and bloodshed be genuinely expected to work towards a better Nigeria? It is difficult to imagine a credible, transparent and effective government that comes into power with such distasteful events as we now witness.

Granted, politics is generally known as a “dirty game” to humanity, and there is a reason why it is a race, not a lucky draw – each party uses any legitimate means it can to knock others out. But the key word here is legitimate. Misconduct, rigging, violence and thuggery now characterise our politics; this is hardly the path to growth, and nothing would be more corrosive to our future than its continuance.

Read more: https://thenovita.com/are-violence-misconduct-and-the-blame-game-all-our-politics-has-become/

The issue of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) has generated endless reactions and social media waves. Do you still remember Madam Kemi Adeosun, ex-finance minister? If not, it is understandable - there are myriads of Nigerian problems which dangerously prevent us from concentrating on any for a long time.

What about the young man who showed us what it meant to be baddest as his thrilling presence caused the law to lose its supremacy. Mind you, it did not start with Kemigate or Davido and didn’t end there as well; we seem to be in the era of NYSC and certificate scandals. Thanks to the rising political tension ahead of 2019 election; Adebayo Shittu now has a case.

With time, we would be facing bazillions of other dubious profiles. However, the popularity and increased attention this time around seems to be caused by the ‘who’ involved. Students of News writing 101 would recall that when a dog bites a man, it is no news; when a man bites a dog, it is news; and when a prominent man is bitten by a dog, it is news. Yet, there are many culprits.

Let’s start by examining the truthful role of the scheme especially in the face of our multi-ethnic diversities. Between 1973 and 2018, hasn’t post-modernism helped us realize that some things need to change?  It may be argued by some that NYSC is a waste of time, should they be asked to state why. Among them are people who would have loved to be somewhere else after graduation but could not; only the few who could have their way with the law did so.

The ones confident enough to say damn you to embrace an open opportunity to live and study abroad did so. The ones in this last category do not even now think they want to return to the land of their birth. Recent issues have taught some that there is no good milk to suck at the chest of the motherland.

On the other hand, most are likely to argue otherwise. Experience is an open field; we all do not place values on the same things. I know one or two persons who have been saved from unemployment due to the skills acquired during service.

Meanwhile, though we may not face it, one of the objectives of this scheme is fast dissipating. It may not be absolute for all but many have before, been to these states where they were posted to. Many have even within the four walls of higher institutions, met people of various ethnic background from across the country.

These may not be enough reasons but the youth service scheme with its provisions that answers to the powerful negates the realities of life and should either be scrapped or made optional before the ones who should return home all get pushed back.

Did anyone think Adeosun is the loser here? She should by now, be enjoying the best moment of her life and probably be busy with many progressive opportunities. And what is it about calling for due prosecution? Let the system persecute itself first for clearly allowing David Adeleke (Davido) to flout the rules.

It is rather surprising that Davido could have his way with the law that establishes the service scheme. But what? There are a number of youths who did not serve in person. Some broke the leg of the law to redeploy to a state of their choice. Some were supposed to be in A but they were running their business in C and so; someone stands in for them based on arrangement and get a larger part of their allawee at the end of the month.

You must have heard about them? You know someone like that, right? Are you not one? Let he who is not culpable first stone Davido.

This time someone was bold enough to make his contribution to bad leadership and followership public. Let the young man follow his trade. Let no law made by man hinder his pursuit. But then, Davido has revealed enough fault in the system.

A system which breaks its laws for a few should rather leave the door ajar for all who have serious businesses to mind elsewhere? While it may seem Davido had his way because of who he is but are there no other uncountable scandals unrevealed which even the ones who ought to guard the rules of the scheme have helped to break at a price below or above #19,800.

Let us stop pretending that we are law abiding citizens. If Davido could enter the camp with a car and muscled men, leave the camp for a tour; no one should lose a job, should shelve his or her business enterprise because of a nonsensical one-year-service which only awards a certificate that is no guarantee for employment.

This is article is not in any way propagating for disrespect for the rule of law in case it still exists. It is a call to examine a scheme and other institutions without teeth which have emboldened a lot of unlawful acts which if investigated, would reveal not only bad leadership but also bad followership. Enough of this scapegoat affair. The scheme should be scrapped or adjusted.

Read more on https://thenovita.com/nysc-a-case-of-many-toothless-institutions/

The issue of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) has generated endless reactions and social media waves. Do you still remember Madam Kemi Adeosun, ex-finance minister? If not, it is understandable - there are myriads of Nigerian problems which dangerously prevent us from concentrating on any for a long time.

What about the young man who showed us what it meant to be baddest as his thrilling presence caused the law to lose its supremacy. Mind you, it did not start with Kemigate or Davido and didn’t end there as well; we seem to be in the era of NYSC and certificate scandals. Thanks to the rising political tension ahead of 2019 election; Adebayo Shittu now has a case.

With time, we would be facing bazillions of other dubious profiles. However, the popularity and increased attention this time around seems to be caused by the ‘who’ involved. Students of News writing 101 would recall that when a dog bites a man, it is no news; when a man bites a dog, it is news; and when a prominent man is bitten by a dog, it is news. Yet, there are many culprits.

Let’s start by examining the truthful role of the scheme especially in the face of our multi-ethnic diversities. Between 1973 and 2018, hasn’t post-modernism helped us realize that some things need to change?  It may be argued by some that NYSC is a waste of time, should they be asked to state why. Among them are people who would have loved to be somewhere else after graduation but could not; only the few who could have their way with the law did so.

The ones confident enough to say damn you to embrace an open opportunity to live and study abroad did so. The ones in this last category do not even now think they want to return to the land of their birth. Recent issues have taught some that there is no good milk to suck at the chest of the motherland.

On the other hand, most are likely to argue otherwise. Experience is an open field; we all do not place values on the same things. I know one or two persons who have been saved from unemployment due to the skills acquired during service.

Meanwhile, though we may not face it, one of the objectives of this scheme is fast dissipating. It may not be absolute for all but many have before, been to these states where they were posted to. Many have even within the four walls of higher institutions, met people of various ethnic background from across the country.

These may not be enough reasons but the youth service scheme with its provisions that answers to the powerful negates the realities of life and should either be scrapped or made optional before the ones who should return home all get pushed back.

Did anyone think Adeosun is the loser here? She should by now, be enjoying the best moment of her life and probably be busy with many progressive opportunities. And what is it about calling for due prosecution? Let the system persecute itself first for clearly allowing David Adeleke (Davido) to flout the rules.

It is rather surprising that Davido could have his way with the law that establishes the service scheme. But what? There are a number of youths who did not serve in person. Some broke the leg of the law to redeploy to a state of their choice. Some were supposed to be in A but they were running their business in C and so; someone stands in for them based on arrangement and get a larger part of their allawee at the end of the month.

You must have heard about them? You know someone like that, right? Are you not one? Let he who is not culpable first stone Davido.

This time someone was bold enough to make his contribution to bad leadership and followership public. Let the young man follow his trade. Let no law made by man hinder his pursuit. But then, Davido has revealed enough fault in the system.

A system which breaks its laws for a few should rather leave the door ajar for all who have serious businesses to mind elsewhere? While it may seem Davido had his way because of who he is but are there no other uncountable scandals unrevealed which even the ones who ought to guard the rules of the scheme have helped to break at a price below or above #19,800.

Let us stop pretending that we are law abiding citizens. If Davido could enter the camp with a car and muscled men, leave the camp for a tour; no one should lose a job, should shelve his or her business enterprise because of a nonsensical one-year-service which only awards a certificate that is no guarantee for employment.

This is article is not in any way propagating for disrespect for the rule of law in case it still exists. It is a call to examine a scheme and other institutions without teeth which have emboldened a lot of unlawful acts which if investigated, would reveal not only bad leadership but also bad followership. Enough of this scapegoat affair. The scheme should be scrapped or adjusted.

Read More on https://thenovita.com/nysc-a-case-of-many-toothless-institutions/

It is no longer news that David Adeleke popularly known as Davido is currently undergoing the mandatory NYSC scheme. Considering the reach the pop star currently possess, one picture Davido NYSC on Instagram was all it took for it to become an internet sensation. It literally spread like wildfire.

Opinions on this development were apparently split, yet the most dominant one tilted towards the fact that it was a welcome development. They said it was the perfect way to inspire and breathe life into a slowing Scheme that people had started to question its relevance.

Seeing a celebrity in this uniform brought a different view of respect in everyone’s eyes and the division of class became ever so slimmer as it seemed everyone is a subject to the clarion call, however, mouths started to falter when pictures surfaced; he was not treated as a corps member but as a celebrity and only 2 days later, news surfaced that Davido had left the shores of the country.

He had gone to Boston for a show and after that, made an appearance at Charlemagne’s Breakfast Show in America. Davido blatantly flouted NYSC’s rules. According to Schedule 1: 3b: "During the period of orientation, every member shall:

(i) Attend regularly, punctually and participate fully in all official engagements on the field, at lecture and all places of work; (ii) Not leave the Orientation Camp or absent himself from any official activity without the written consent of the State Director or his representative; (iii) When absent from his duties on account of illness ensure that such absence is covered by an “Excuse Duty Certificate” issued by a medical doctor then on duty at the camp."

The Bye-laws also state penalties for leaving the camp without the permission of the State Director.

According to Schedule 2: 1b states that:

"The following penalties shall be imposed in the following circumstances.

“Leaving the camp without permission of the State Director” will attract “extension of the service year by double the number of days for which the member was absent from his camp and forfeiture of his allowance for the same number of days of which he was absent.”

Considering the heavy responsibility shifted on Davido’s shoulder by merely tweeting that he was a Corps Member, Davido’s lack of regard for the Scheme’s rules are so glaring it has become quite embarrassing to think about. This is not to tackle the young man, it is only to point out the apparent disparity between the rich and the poor in this Nation.

I can remember vividly when I was serving in Ilorin in 2016/2017, travelling home to attend to issues alone was a big deal. We were subjected to writing letters knee dip in bureaucracy and made to attach seemingly unnecessary documents. Funny enough, writing the required letter doesn’t guarantee you the state coordinator approval.

We really need to get things right in this country and before we can actually do that, certain things have to be put in place. NYSC as a scheme has to take itself seriously, you can’t be serving and at the same time holding political rallies or attending shows here and there. In fact, as a Corps member, you are not expected to be involved in politics.

An individual that was unofficially crowned the Number One Corper in the Country did not serve under the sun or in the rain and only briefly obeyed the Clarion call for good PR, there really is no excuse.

Measures have to be taken in the face of impunity, in fact, the Lagos state coordinator should be either sacked or tried for his incompetence. At any point in time, if any corp member had defied any of the rules Davido defied, I think none of them should be held responsible for their actions. No one should be above the law.

We all need to fix up from unnecessary celebrity worship.

Source: https://thenovita.com/davido-nysc/

It is no longer news that David Adeleke popularly known as Davido is currently undergoing the mandatory NYSC scheme. Considering the reach the pop star currently possess, one picture Davido NYSC on Instagram was all it took for it to become an internet sensation. It literally spread like wildfire.

Opinions on this development were apparently split, yet the most dominant one tilted towards the fact that it was a welcome development. They said it was the perfect way to inspire and breathe life into a slowing Scheme that people had started to question its relevance.

Seeing a celebrity in this uniform brought a different view of respect in everyone’s eyes and the division of class became ever so slimmer as it seemed everyone is a subject to the clarion call, however, mouths started to falter when pictures surfaced; he was not treated as a corps member but as a celebrity and only 2 days later, news surfaced that Davido had left the shores of the country.

He had gone to Boston for a show and after that, made an appearance at Charlemagne’s Breakfast Show in America. Davido blatantly flouted NYSC’s rules. According to Schedule 1: 3b: "During the period of orientation, every member shall:

(i) Attend regularly, punctually and participate fully in all official engagements on the field, at lecture and all places of work; (ii) Not leave the Orientation Camp or absent himself from any official activity without the written consent of the State Director or his representative; (iii) When absent from his duties on account of illness ensure that such absence is covered by an “Excuse Duty Certificate” issued by a medical doctor then on duty at the camp."

The Bye-laws also state penalties for leaving the camp without the permission of the State Director.

According to Schedule 2: 1b states that:

"The following penalties shall be imposed in the following circumstances.

“Leaving the camp without permission of the State Director” will attract “extension of the service year by double the number of days for which the member was absent from his camp and forfeiture of his allowance for the same number of days of which he was absent.”

Considering the heavy responsibility shifted on Davido’s shoulder by merely tweeting that he was a Corps Member, Davido’s lack of regard for the Scheme’s rules are so glaring it has become quite embarrassing to think about. This is not to tackle the young man, it is only to point out the apparent disparity between the rich and the poor in this Nation.

I can remember vividly when I was serving in Ilorin in 2016/2017, travelling home to attend to issues alone was a big deal. We were subjected to writing letters knee dip in bureaucracy and made to attach seemingly unnecessary documents. Funny enough, writing the required letter doesn’t guarantee you the state coordinator approval.

We really need to get things right in this country and before we can actually do that, certain things have to be put in place. NYSC as a scheme has to take itself seriously, you can’t be serving and at the same time holding political rallies or attending shows here and there. In fact, as a Corps member, you are not expected to be involved in politics.

An individual that was unofficially crowned the Number One Corper in the Country did not serve under the sun or in the rain and only briefly obeyed the Clarion call for good PR, there really is no excuse.

Measures have to be taken in the face of impunity, in fact, the Lagos state coordinator should be either sacked or tried for his incompetence. At any point in time, if any corp member had defied any of the rules Davido defied, I think none of them should be held responsible for their actions. No one should be above the law.

We all need to fix up from unnecessary celebrity worship.

Source: https://thenovita.com/davido-nysc/

It is no longer news that David Adeleke popularly known as Davido is currently undergoing the mandatory NYSC scheme. Considering the reach the pop star currently possess, one picture Davido NYSC on Instagram was all it took for it to become an internet sensation. It literally spread like wildfire.

Opinions on this development were apparently split, yet the most dominant one tilted towards the fact that it was a welcome development. They said it was the perfect way to inspire and breathe life into a slowing Scheme that people had started to question its relevance.

Seeing a celebrity in this uniform brought a different view of respect in everyone’s eyes and the division of class became ever so slimmer as it seemed everyone is a subject to the clarion call, however, mouths started to falter when pictures surfaced; he was not treated as a corps member but as a celebrity and only 2 days later, news surfaced that Davido had left the shores of the country.

He had gone to Boston for a show and after that, made an appearance at Charlemagne’s Breakfast Show in America. Davido blatantly flouted NYSC’s rules. According to Schedule 1: 3b: "During the period of orientation, every member shall:

 (i) Attend regularly, punctually and participate fully in all official engagements on the field, at lecture and all places of work;   (ii) Not leave the Orientation Camp or absent himself from any official activity without the written consent of the State Director or his representative;   (iii) When absent from his duties on account of illness ensure that such absence is covered by an “Excuse Duty Certificate” issued by a medical doctor then on duty at the camp."

The Bye-laws also state penalties for leaving the camp without the permission of the State Director.

According to Schedule 2: 1b states that:

"The following penalties shall be imposed in the following circumstances.

“Leaving the camp without permission of the State Director” will attract “extension of the service year by double the number of days for which the member was absent from his camp and forfeiture of his allowance for the same number of days of which he was absent.”

Considering the heavy responsibility shifted on Davido’s shoulder by merely tweeting that he was a Corps Member, Davido’s lack of regard for the Scheme’s rules are so glaring it has become quite embarrassing to think about. This is not to tackle the young man, it is only to point out the apparent disparity between the rich and the poor in this Nation.

I can remember vividly when I was serving in Ilorin in 2016/2017, travelling home to attend to issues alone was a big deal. We were subjected to writing letters knee dip in bureaucracy and made to attach seemingly unnecessary documents. Funny enough, writing the required letter doesn’t guarantee you the state coordinator approval.

We really need to get things right in this country and before we can actually do that, certain things have to be put in place. NYSC as a scheme has to take itself seriously, you can’t be serving and at the same time holding political rallies or attending shows here and there. In fact, as a Corps member, you are not expected to be involved in politics.

An individual that was unofficially crowned the Number One Corper in the Country did not serve under the sun or in the rain and only briefly obeyed the Clarion call for good PR, there really is no excuse.

Measures have to be taken in the face of impunity, in fact, the Lagos state coordinator should be either sacked or tried for his incompetence. At any point in time, if any corp member had defied any of the rules Davido defied, I think none of them should be held responsible for their actions. No one should be above the law.

We all need to fix up from unnecessary celebrity worship.

Source: https://thenovita.com/davido-nysc/

Over the decades, it has been more of a delusion than reality to optimize for a virtual Nigeria; where integrity is the order of the day, corruption is at its barest minimum, where there is a steady power supply, a decent exchange rate, respect for human rights, security of human lives and properties, job opportunities and above all, a better political administration. Yet, the suspended Nigeria Air is another monumental error.

But alas, at this stage no one needs to take a walk in the night to see how the ills that plague us flesh in and out like a disease. Quite appalling also, the leaders never seem to learn from their past mistakes such that a succeeding administration hardly fared better than the previous one.

Her citizens are therefore made to bear the brunt of their actions and in-actions and rapping over their knuckles overtime has done no good than to make them more obstinate in their bid to fulfill their own selfish interest at the expense of the populace.

Where exactly have we gone amiss?

Like every other odd events that have manifested this year, the sacrifice of issuing out billions of naira to projects for the ‘interest of the masses’ has yet again gone down the drain. Ranging from the issue of stolen funds, corrupt disguise to forgery of certificates, one would have thought that the wheels of governance had maneuvered into sense but the woes of the present administration is an ended story that had only just begun.

How then do we begin to tell the tale of how an incredulous sum of public funds was directed into financing the so-called “Nigeria Air” only to be suspended before it was even launched?

If the president and his cabinet had for once decided not to be so myopic, perhaps they would have considered directing the money to other pressing issues like health and education.

The nonsensical plot, after several attempts to have an airline that will restore pride and put the country at vantage position in the bilateral air services agreement, has only landed the country in a serious mess. What more nonsensity could have been fostered as the government choose foreigners over its own citizens to design the Nigeria Air Logo which allegedly cost thousands of dollars to design?

One of the ideas behind the Nigeria air was to promote job opportunities, but how can they ensure this when no attempt was even made to encourage local industries? We can only start talking of restoring pride if the focus is shifted to the core problems of the country and not by setting goals that are not plausible and needless at the moment.
The country quite recently has made the landmark to be one of the world’s poorest countries, courtesy of our leaders no doubts who consistently indulge in practices that eventually amplify loss or be of benefit to them. The Nigeria Air saga is yet another proof of money, time and resources wasted.

The minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika gallantly balls out to tell the country that the indefinite suspension of the project was only to strategize rather than admitting that the project was a white elephant and providing accountability for the money spent so far. Apparently, what he said was a mere window-dressing and one could easily deduce that the project had hit the rocks.

This was clearly a wrong time to pursue such a phantom dream. Everyone seems to be focus on other things like the 2019 general election and if this was a political strategy by the president as presume by the larger masses, it is certainly a refill to the cockpit of unwise decisions taken over the years of his administration.

However, there seems to be the devil lurking in the narratives given by the minister of aviation as to the whole process involve in the suspension and unaccountability has yet again proven itself to be the country’s second nature. There are so many conflicting information about how much money was wasted, the commitment made and how much percentage was cut out to the federal government on the airline.

A strong indication from aircraft leasing companies to blacklist Nigeria over the failure of domestic operators to keep to terms of agreement in leasing aircraft, spares and engines might even be more problematic if the country does not play her part.

The suspension on the brighter side may appear to be the right thing to be done at the moment and if our honourable minister of aviation excuse for this suspension does not yield positive returns, this might just be another fresh episode of nonsensity to be experienced again.

Source: https://thenovita.com/nigeria-air/

Minister of Communication and Oyo State governorship aspirant, Adebayo Shittu has been accused of not participating in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) after graduating from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in 1978.

This was coming barely after a week Kemi Adeosun resigned as Minister of Finance following the discovery of the forgery of her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

Premium Times reported that Shittu completed his programme at the Law School, and was elected into the Oyo State House of Assembly. Born in 1953, he graduated in 1978 at the age of 25, and finished Law school in 1979, the same year he was elected into the house.

The NYSC Law mandated all Nigerians who have earned degrees or higher national diplomas from tertiary institutions in Nigeria and abroad (effective 1972/73 session).

Those who qualify for exemption are those who graduated after their 30th birthday, persons with national honours and those who serve in the Police Force and Nigerian Army for a period of nine months.

While reacting, Shittu insisted that he deliberately skipped NYSC, maintaining that “The constitution provides for the qualification needed for state assembly members, NYSC is not there. I didn’t need it to become a member of the state assembly, and that is already a service.”

However, lawyers who spoke with Premium Times maintained that Shittu deliberately skipping NYSC is a criminal offence.

Abdul Mahmud, Chairman of the Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL), said the Minister is a “dodger who is in breach of the law”.

According to Mahmud, the provision of Section 12 of the NYSC Act, indicates that the Minister should have presented his certificate before he was cleared for the position.

“The provision is clear. It says (you must serve) before you get any job in the federation,” Mahmud said, noting that Shittu’s “case is worse than that of Kemi Adeosun because he deliberately refused to serve”.

“If we assume as a member of the Oyo House he (Mr Shittu) served, did it not defeat objective 4 (b) stated in Section 1 (4) (b) of the NYSC Act? Members serve in states other than their own,” he said.

Mahmud called for Shittu’s immediate arrest and prosecution, saying “all positions he has held are illegal and he should return all monies he earned from those posts to government coffers”.

Source: https://thenovita.com/adebayo-shittu/

The whole Kemi Adeosun affair is another unfortunate gunshot on the already riddled tyres of the vehicle that is Nigeria.

Everybody is discussing it: political parties, news agencies, the media, lawyers, respectable statesmen, prominent figures, students… the list goes on.

Whatever comes out of it, a prolonged debate about this is nothing but injurious to the progress of the nation, whether we are on the side of our former Finance Minister and the government, or against them, or simply just acclaiming that the Rule of Law be served.

Certainly, many opponents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have pounced on it, like vultures on carrion, manipulating it, and incorporating it into their fiery opposition of the ruling party. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for instance, has spared no blushes in “kicking the man while he is on the ground”. In light of this, the Presidency necessarily needs to put its best foot forward and settle the dust.

In Ms. Adeosun’s letter to the President, she admitted that the certificate was forged and that she had to resign: “I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine. This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in line with this administration’s focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign.”

But is that enough? Forgery is a crime; a government that sails on the flagship of integrity cannot turn a blind eye to that, and let such a high-ranking official walk away without prosecution.

Ms. Adeosun’s excuse was ignorance, and how much relief that earns her should be decided only in a court of law – in which ignorance is, sadly, no excuse. The Presidency must decide whether to pursue the Rule of Law or to churn the waters of Nigeria’s peace and progress even further.

However, beyond the case of prosecuting Kemi Adeosun, as is pursuant to the laws of the Republic, a very crucial question the Presidency must answer is WHY such a distasteful thing transpired in the first place. It (the Presidency) is duty-bound to investigate further as to why a body as high as the Directorate of State Security did not detect any forgery in her document.

Was it done so expertly well that so high a body could not detect it? Why did the same certificate keep her in employment since 2002, escaping the notice of the government of Ogun State, the Presidency, and even the Senate? The Presidency needs to find out if some people were lax in their duties; or if perhaps, Ms. Adeosun was purposely certified, only to be secretly blackmailed and controlled as regards the country’s funds.

In her letter, Kemi Adeosun said that there was some debate as to whether the NYSC law was applicable to her or not, seeing as she did not reside in Nigeria until her mid-thirties. Why was this not properly clarified by the NYSC? If she was not eligible for an Exemption Certificate, why did they not clearly inform her that she was ineligible for it, and so, had to go for service? If they had, then most likely it would never have played out in this disgraceful manner.

As Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, rightly told us months ago: ‘the NYSC is part of the government’. Thus, the Presidency needs to muck out the dirt in their stables, before some of us “realise” that the government is a deathtrap which ensnares people, and that Ms. Adeosun was a victim of the careless and disorderly system.

This incident should not be thrown under the carpet, for the sake of the country’s progress.

If in the government lies the height of murkiness, then we wonder how we can look towards the future with hope. Also, beyond this currently steaming case, we are forced to remember, with a foul taste in our mouths, a like case in the past.

Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was officially dismissed in October 2017, after being indicted by a senate ad-hoc committee for the misappropriation of funds. Almost a year on from that and nothing has been heard.

It is indeed a blunt display of total illogic that a government with zero tolerance for corruption, waging an anti-corruption war (or at least trying to make the people believe they are) would let high-ranking officials indicted of fraud and forgery walk free, making feeble or no attempts to prosecute them.

If President Buhari wants to be taken seriously by Nigerians, then he should show us that his war against corruption is not a scam, starting with Kemi Adeosun’s case. The situation currently is maddening and he needs to get on top of it really quickly.

Source: https://thenovita.com/kemi-adeosun-resignation/

This is a lot! Very insightful...

Keep it up

Tuesday, August 14, 2018, will be the day when the National Assembly will reconvene after it went for a recess on July 24, 2018, to consider the 2019 election budget which is an issue of national interest.

No doubt, the issue of who becomes the leader of the Senate will come to play even when that is not the reason for reconvening. A lot of political gymnasium and power tussle is likely to surface on that very day all because of who gets what.

According to the last defection list announced on the floor of the Senate before the house went on recess, it is crystal clear that the APC is in the majority with 53 senators while the main opposition PDP is with 50 senators, 2 ADC senators, 1 APGA senator, 2 vacant seats and 1 party less senator who did not announced his new party after his exit from the APC.

Also interested in reading: Senator Akpabio’s Defection: Time to Reject APC and PDP LegisLooters Is Now!!!

It is no more a news that the APC leadership has lost their sleep over the plots to impeach the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu.

It is what the APC led federal government perceived to be their right as they claimed it is not morally right for an opposition party to hold the leadership of the Senate when the APC is in the majority.

Away from being the majority, what makes it wrong for a minority party to become the Senate president and deputy? Indeed, the Senate standing rule does not negate a minority party from being the leader of the Senate.

The next question that comes to your mind is, why then the cries and hues that Saraki must go? The answer is not farfetched, it is the dynamics of Nigeria politics and its do-or-die elements.

As a concern Nigerian, we must, however, know that the requirement to impeach a Senate president and his deputy is a two-thirds vote by the members of the Senate which is practically 73 senators are needed to impeach Saraki and his deputy.

At this point in time, do you think Saraki and Ekweremadu can be impeached? Do you think APC will follow due process to impeach Saraki? Do you think the APC will get the numbers of senators’ constitutional needed to impeach them? Do you think the opposition will also fold their arms to allow their man to go?

These are questions hanging in the balance in the minds of many Nigerians, stay tuned as I will proffer answers to those questions in my next epistle coming up tomorrow. May God bless Nigeria


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