Photos From Buhari's Meeting With Saraki, Dogara, Other APC Leaders

President Buhari had a closed door meeting with Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Chairman of APC, John Odigie-Oyegun and other APC leaders at the state House Abuja yesterday May 4th. More pictures below.....

National Agricultural Credit Fund Passes 2nd Reading

The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday applauded the Senate’s passage of 2nd reading of A Bill for an Act to establish the National Agricultural Credit Fund to Promote Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria.’ Saraki, in a statement on his social media pages, commended the effort by the Senate to establish the credit fund, saying that once established, the Agricultural Credit Fund would address the current lack of legal frameworks that limit funds meant for farming going to actual farmers.
The Senate President, further stated that the credit fund will also help ensure that local farmers are provided with implementable business plans, and systems that will guarantee that their products are purchased.
“This Credit Fund will also help ensure that local farmers are provided with business plans” Saraki said. “It will also help to ensure that agricultural products from our farmers get to larger companies that will purchase their products.

“Furthermore, the Agricultural Credit Fund will also help in our nation’s diversification plan and transition to seeing agriculture as a business, not just a social development program, as there will be clearly spelt out criteria for benefits, and fund administrators to guide the disbursement of the loans.”

It will be recalled that as the former Governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011, Dr. Saraki established the Shonga Farms scheme, which has been hailed as a revolutionary approach to addressing agriculture in Nigeria to promote job creation, improve efficiency, and enhancing food security.

Over 15 lawmakers who spoke in support of the bill, reiterated the essentiality of agriculture in economic development. They are: Senators Ibrahim Gobir, Ahmed Lawan, Aliyu Wammako, Emmanuel Bwacha , Abdullahi Adamu, Abubakar.

Others include: Bukar Ibrahim, Abubakar kyari, Jibrin Barau, Dino Melaye, Abubakar Gemade, Buka Ibrahim and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremmadu .

At Tuesday’s plenary, A Bill for an Act to Make Provisions for Freedom from Hunger was also passed for Second Reading. This bill is envisioned to make adequate food of acceptable quality the right of every Nigerian child's basic nutrition passed its second reading. Working in-sync, the agricultural lending fund bill and the Freedom from Hunger bill will be two critical pieces of legislation that address hunger and agricultural production, and will have significant positive impacts on commercial agriculture, food production and wealth generation.


Signed Bamikole Omishore
Special Assistant New Media to President of the Senate

My Reaction To The Allegation That I Have Gone Underground And That I Am Hiding From The EFCC -Femi Fani-Kayode

Post written by Femi Fani-Kayode.

I have just read some absurd media reports in which have qouted their sources in the EFCC as saying that I had gone underground and that I was hiding from them. This is false. I have not been invited by the EFCC by letter and neither have they phoned me or attempted to reach me in any other way. I have been in my Abuja home for the last few weeks and I am not hiding from anyone.
I am not a coward and this attempt to further demonise and humiliate me by the EFCC will fail. If they have any questions for me why don't they just write to me or call me, give me a date and I will be in their office. I have made my position clear on the issue of the Presidential campaign funds, I have written an essay about it in my various columns about two weeks ago and I have been waiting for the EFCC to reach me ever since then. They have invited others but they have not invited me. I do not believe that I have done anything wrong and this latest attempt to criminalise me and make me look like a fugitive from justice will fail.

Others that were invited to the EFCC over this same campaign funds issue were sent letters of invitation and were reached. I appear to be the exception and now these hideous lies are being fed to the newspapers to make it look as if I am in hiding or that I am running from them just to sensationalise the whole issue.
This is also to justify what the EFCC wish to do which is to arrest me in public, humiliate me or to storm my home and  lock me up indefinitely. There is no need for all that drama and if it happens that way the Nigerian people will know why. I have no fear of the EFCC, I will respond to their invitation any day and anytime they send it to me and I will help them to clarify whatever issues they wish to raise in any way that I can.

Others were invited in a civilised way and were treated in a humane and decent manner. I really do wonder why I should be treated differently, criminalised in the newspapers in this way and not even afforded the common courtesy of a formal invitation by them. I await their letter or their call and I leave those that wish to give the impression that I am running from them to God.  

Pictures From Buhari And Cameroonian President, Biya's Meeting In Abuja

President Buhari and Cameroonian president, Paul Biya pictured at a Communique Signing /Press Conference at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja today May 4th. More pictures below......

Metropolitan Police Makes Two New Arrests For The 2011 Murder Of Adeniyi Shode

Police investigating the murder of a young man five years ago has made two new arrests. The arrests today, Wednesday May 4, were made in the investigation into the fatal stabbing of Adeniyi Lateef Shode (known as Aden or Enda - pictured above) in Northoit in 2011.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC) arrested a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old man on suspicion of murder.

They were arrested at addresses in north London by officers acting upon fresh information regarding the killing of the 21-year-old.

Following this new development, officers continue to appeal for witnesses and information and are offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible.
Adeniyi, of Edgware, was discovered collapsed close to the junction of Rowdell Road, Ealing Road, and Kensington Road, at approximately 20:50hrs on 2 May 2011.

He had suffered stab injuries. He was taken to St Mary's Hospital and died of his injuries later that night. His mother Antonia Francis said in an earlier appeal: "All our family thinks about Aden every day. We remember his laugh and smile and he always remains in our thoughts.

"It still hurts us to think that whoever killed Aden is still out there and we pray that it doesn't happen to anyone else's family. I would ask anyone who may be able to help us to speak to the police. If you are not happy talking to the police then please tell someone and get them to pass the information on. What is important is that the police can track down whoever took my son from us."

Detective Inspector Garry Moncrieff, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said:

"Although five years have passed, officers remain committed to bringing Aden's killers to justice. Allegiances may have changed over this time and those who may know who is responsible for Aden's death may not have the same sense of duty to those involved. We strongly believe that people out there may know who murdered Aden and why. Anyone with any detail, no matter how minor, is urged to contact police. It may provide closure to Aden's family who want to see justice done."

On 6 May 2011 a man [A - 20yrs] and two women [B - 22yrs; C - 18yrs] from the Northolt area were arrested in Berkshire in connection with the murder. On 9 May 2011 a man [D - 19 ys] from the Northolt area was arrested in connection with the murder. They were subsequently released; no one has ever been charged with Aden's murder.

Source: Metropolitan Police

Toyin Saraki Outlines The Importance Of investing in Midwifery, Ahead of the Inaugural Global Midwifery Conference‏

Ahead of the Inaugural Global Midwifery Conference, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki, the Founder-Director of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and ICM Global Goodwill Ambassador, outlines the importance of investing in midwifery.

HE Toyin Saraki expressed the following points:

· The value of midwives in Nigeria is being shown in the unlikeliest of places - camps for internally displaced people (IDP) uprooted by Boko Haram militants.

· Around one in five babies are dying during childbirth in northeast Nigeria, where the Islamist group has waged a six-year insurgency, yet the survival rate of pregnancies delivered in IDP camps in the region is almost 100 percent

· At this conference, the midwives will not only learn how to save a mother and child's life, but also how to detect women at risk of domestic violence and female genital mutilation (FGM)

· While Nigeria has started training midwives in life-saving emergency obstetric care in recent years, it still lacks enough midwives or an even distribution across the nation

· Midwives will be the army to change dire health outcomes, if we invest in them and provide them with skills

· Nigerian midwives need to be able to stand on an equal footing with midwives from around the world

NLC Blast Okupe For Calling On States To Downsize Their Civil Servants, Questions His Degree As A Medical Doctor

The leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress NLC have blasted former media aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, for calling on state governors to downsize their civil servants so they can have enough funds to pay salaries and stop the habit of seeking bailout from the Federal government. Reacting to Okupe's suggestion, the chairman of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, described his suggestion as a jaundiced argument. He questioned Okupe's degree as a medical doctor. The statement in part reads..

“Ordinarily, we would not have responded to Doyin Okupe when he urged governors, in a statement few days ago, to retrench civil servants as a panacea to irregular payment of salaries, because we know him. In his jaundiced argument, very much unlike one who is truly deserving of his certificate from a medical school, Okupe said, ‘virtually all state governments in the country have over-bloated civil service’.
To underscore this point, he said between ‘2008 and 2009, Ogun State received N2 billion monthly from the federation account and paid out N1.8billion as staff salaries, wages and overhead costs’ to civil servants not more than 50,000 in a state with a population of 5,000,000.
In his view therefore it was ‘an obvious socio-economic absurdity and incongruity where 10 per cent of the population was consuming 90 per cent of the wealth of the state. Okupe is bandying political statistics and this is neither good for his health nor the health of those with whom he seeks to ingratiate himself. We at the Nigeria Labour Congress believe in the equitable distribution of the nation’s resources.
We will not subscribe to a situation whereby 10 per cent corner 90 per cent of the resources of the state. It is in furtherance of this that we urge Okupe to do a forensic audit of what Ogun got, what it paid to civil servants, contractors and politicians and what it used in running the Government House!”

Okupe Replies NLC, Explains His Call For Downsizing Of Civil Service

Okupe took to his twitter handle to respond to the criticisms he received from the Nigeria Labor Congress NLC, for calling on state governor to downsize so they can pay salaries with ease. See more of his tweets below......

Abducted Ex Minister Of State For Education, Iyabo Anisulowo Rescued

The Lagos state police command has rescued former Minister of State for Education, Iyabo Anisulowo, who was kidnapped last week Wednesday April 27th alongside her security aide by some armed men on Sawonjo/Imasayi Road, in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State. They were rescued yesterday May 3rd by a team of police officers. The mastermind of her kidnap was also rescued...