Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The idea of zoning political positions to particular areas in the country has been described as backward and out of tune with modern political trends all over the world. The Senator representing the Oyo North Senatorial District, Senator Abdul-Fatahi Buhari, made these assertions in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Monday while speaking with some select journalists on issues concerning the latest political developments in the state and country. He is of the opinion that rather than zoning offices to certain areas, the people should be allowed to pick their representatives based on their track records and ability to deliver to them the dividends of democracy. Senator Buhari, who is regarded as one of the leading candidates for the 2019 Oyo State Governorship election, added that picking people for political officers based on a rotational policy has been drawing the country back for years and that only those who have demonstrated leadership qualities and have sh...

http://ift.tt/2qLcAGc US President Donald Trump (C-L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. MANDEL NGAN / AFP Saudi Arabia and its allies Saturday welcomed an accusation by President Donald Trump that Qatar was bankrolling extremism but ignored a separate US call for them to ease their economic blockade. Trump’s comments came as Washington joins intensifying international efforts to heal the worsening rift between the key Western Gulf allies, which has escalated into the region’s worst diplomatic crisis in years. Qatar denies the allegations and has sent its top diplomat on a tour of European capitals in a bid to drum up support. But its neighbours seized on Trump’s remarks as vindication of their position and of the crippling sanctions they imposed on Monday. The United Arab Emirates welcomed “President Trump’s leadership in challenging Qatar’s troubling support for extremism”. “The next step is for Qatar to acknowledge these concerns and commit to re...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Al-Shabaab militants captured a town in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region on Thursday, a senior official said, and the group said it had killed at least 61 soldiers in the fighting. “Al Shabaab attacked Af Urur town this morning. There were few soldiers there and thus al Shabaab captured the town. “It is difficult to know the casualties because the telecommunications were cut off,” Bari region governor Yusuf Mohamed told Reuters. The al Qaeda-linked group said it had also killed 61 soldiers after over-running a military base in the town. “The number could rise since the operation is still underway,” Abdiasis AMusab, Al-Shabaab’s military spokesman said in a statement. Musab said their fighters had also seized weapons and vehicles from the base. Al Shabaab’s insurgency aims to drive out African Union peacekeepers, topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state.     The post Mil...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Nasarawa State Government has invoked the `no work no pay’ policy on striking public sector workers, the state Head of Service, Mr Thomas Ogiri, announced on Thursday. Ogiri said in a statement issued in Lafia that the action was in line with the labour law which stipulated that worker on strike would not be entitled to wages or remuneration throughout the period of the strike. The official, however, assured that civil servants not participating in the ongoing strike would be paid their salaries. The government directed all Permanent Secretaries and Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to undertake table payment for May 2017 salaries to “deserving staff.” Reacting to the order, Ahmed Naibi, Secretary of the state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the government had no right to take the action. According to him, the no work no pay policy applies only if workers abscond from duty for no good reason. The NLC scribe stresse...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Bayelsa Government has established a dialysis centre in the state to bring relief to people with kidney and other related health challenges. Gov. Seriake Dickson said the facility was part of his revolution in the health sector. Dickson made the remark while inspecting the centre in the Government House Specialist Hospital on Wednesday in Yenagoa. He said with the state of the art facilities and medical personnel deployed to various hospitals and health institutions across the state, the era of traveling to other states and countries to seek quality healthcare services were gone for good. “This is a statement we are making that Bayelsa has changed and we are waging a silent revolution for change, development and posterity. And this is one of the healthcare investments the state has made. “This is the first time we are having dialysis facilities by the state ‎government and we are glad that our partners, a team of experts from the United States are here to...

http://ift.tt/2ojNBMh Atletico Madrid's French forward Antoine Griezmann celebrates a goal during the Spanish league football match Club Atletico de Madrid vs Valencia CF at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid on March 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JAVIER SORIANO Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann intends to stay at the Spanish club next season amid ongoing speculation about his future, the striker told French television station TF1 on Sunday. Griezmann has been heavily linked with a move away from Atletico, all the more so since the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a transfer ban that means the club will not be able to sign any new players until January next year as a punishment for irregularities in the signing of foreign players under 18. There are concerns that will prevent them from having a team that can compete at the top of La Liga and in the Champions League next season, when they move into a new 68,000-capacity stadium. But, in an interview with Sun...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Chuks Okocha One popular maxim in journalism  is that facts are sacred but opinions are free. It is based on this   paradigm that the second anniversary of the 8th Senate under the leadership of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki would be reviewed. Despite the  distractions and  propaganda, the facts   on ground show that the 8th Senate   has indeed taken its   legislative duties and interventions   to higher levels in terms of keeping promises and  moving the country forward. The Senate has been able to demonstrate that when facts are separated from  propaganda, it will be clear that the legislative institution is delivering on its mandate. Statistics show that the 8th Senate has done better than its predecessors since 1999 in terms of works done. For instance, the Senate just last week broke the jinx over the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), 17 years af...

http://ift.tt/2qrhyJV Arsenal's French manager Arsene Wenger / AFP PHOTO / IKIMAGES / Ian KINGTON Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal can still salvage their turbulent season by defying the odds to snatch a Champions League place on the final day. Wenger’s side kept alive their faint hopes of qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition as Alexis Sanchez’s double clinched a 2-0 win over relegated Sunderland on Tuesday. The Gunners’ sixth victory in their last seven games leaves them in fifth place, one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool and three adrift of third-placed Manchester City. For Arsenal to avoid missing out on the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, they must beat Everton at home on Sunday, while hoping for a slip from either Liverpool or City. If Liverpool beat relegated Middlesbrough and City avoid defeat at Watford, then Arsenal are consigned to the Europa League, but Wenger hasn’t given up yet. “We want to get in there, let’s give ourselves e...

http://ift.tt/2p2zJ7Q President Muhammadu Buhari (C) presenting copies of the 2017 budget documents to the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. The N7.4 trillion budget bill of 2017 pass by the two chambers of the National Assembly last Thursday may reach the Presidency this week, it was learnt on Sunday evening. It was confirmed that despite the decision of the National Assembly to sit twice on Thursday to ratify the votes and proceedings of the budget passage to pave the way for its immediate transmission to the Presidency, the document is yet to leave the National Assembly because of the laid down procedures for the transmission of such documents. A source in the National Assembly said that once the budget is passed, it would still go through legal procedures to ensure all the details were thoroughly checked before the transmission to the President under the seal of the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), who is empowered by the Acts Authentications Act to...

http://ift.tt/2pBJ0FU Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino (R) waves to the crowd as the team members stand on the field during the closing ceremony at White Hart Lane in London, on May 14, 2017. Tottenham Hotspur legends including Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles took part in an on-pitch ceremony as the club said goodbye to their White Hart Lane stadium on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / IKIMAGES / Ian KINGTON /  Mauricio Pochettino described Tottenham Hotspur’s final day at White Hart Lane as “perfect”, but said moving into their new stadium would take the club to the next level. Local hero Harry Kane scored the decisive goal as Tottenham beat Manchester United 2-1 on Sunday in their last game at the Lane, which is due to be demolished and rebuilt in time for the 2018-19 season. The game was followed by a pitch invasion and then a ceremony involving Spurs greats from yesteryear, a rainbow breaking through the clouds with perfect timing as a shower of white tic...

http://ift.tt/2qiTSpe Hannelore Kraft, top candidate of the social democratic SPD party for regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, and her husband Udo cast their ballots at a polling station in Muelheim an der Ruhr, western Germany, on May 14, 2017. About 13.1 million eligible voters go to the polls in North Rhine-Westphalia, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party hoping to deal a crushing blow to her main rival Social Democratic Party (SPD) four months before national elections. Michael Kappeler / DPA / AFP One in five German voters are heading to the polls in a key state election Sunday, with Chancellor ‘s party hoping to deal a crushing blow to her main rival four months before national elections. About 13.1 million eligible voters in North Rhine-Westphalia are casting ballots to elect a new regional parliament for the sprawling industrial region, which has a large migrant population and has been a Social Democratic Party (SPD) stronghold for decades. But surveys...