ATIKU, AKANDE BATTLE FOR APC BOT CHAIRMANSHIP

There are strong indications that a fresh power tussle is brewing in the All Progressives Congress over the chairmanship of its Board of Trustees.
Saturday PUNCH reliably learnt on Friday that the tussle was between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and a former Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.
Investigations showed that the tussle was part of moves by the power blocs in the APC to influence decisions in the party by taking control of its various organs.
Saturday PUNCH had last week reported that two power blocs led by Atiku and a National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had engaged in a fierce battle to control the party.
It was learnt that the two camps believed that the BOT chairmanship would go a long way in assisting them to control the party.
The chairman of the BOT, according to Article 13.2 of the APC constitution, shall be elected by the board members.
Both camps, investigations showed, had started reaching out to members of the board, who would elect the chairman.
It was learnt that Akande was being backed by Tinubu, who is not happy with Atiku’s role in the National Assembly leadership elections.

SARAKI: YOUTHS DEFEND LAI MOHAMMED OVER ATTACK

Some youths of in Kwara state have risen in defence of the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed for issuing a statement rejecting the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President.
The Youths under the aegis of Oro Kingdom Youth Forum lampooned those attacking Mohammed for doing his job.
It would be recalled that some APC and Saraki loyalists in the state had harangued the APC spokesman who hails from the same state with Saraki, a former governor of the state.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun had equally defended Lai Mohammed, saying he issued the statement with the consent of the party's leadership.
The youths who are Mohammed's kinsmen passed a vote of confidence on him even as they criticised the statement credited to some Oro elders, saying their attack on Lai Mohammed was "harsh and barbaric".

DOGARA RESISTS APC LEADERS' MOVE TO APPOINT GBAJABIAMILA AS MAJORITY LEADER

All Progressives Congress continued to talk over the recent resentments regarding the headship of the National Assembly with the party’s legislators at the weekend to try to prevent the problem from festering. Last week, the party was said to have proposed concessions aimed at accommodating key interest groups in the sharing of principal posts. But such moves were opposed by supporters of the new leaders of the National Assembly.

In the House of Representatives, a proposal by the APC leadership to concede the post of House Leader to Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who was the party’s choice for the speakership, was opposed by the new Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

Dogara had defeated Gbajabiamila in the contest for speaker on June 9 owing to collaboration between a section of APC’s 225 members and Peoples Democratic Party’s 125 members, a situation that enraged the APC leadership.
Dogara’s argument, THISDAY gathered, was that the South-west, where Gbajabiamila hails from, had already produced the deputy speaker in the person of Hon. Yusuf Lasun, and could not rightly produce the majority leader while there were zones that were yet to get any principal position.

A source, however, said the position of chief whip of the House of Representatives had been zoned to the South-south, with Hon. Pally Iriase representing Owan East federal constituency of Edo State, being tipped to occupy the position.

President BUHARI May Appoint 12 Senior MINISTERS FROM NORTH

After accepting the Ahmed Joda-led Transition Committee recommendations of a “small government” which entails pruning the number of ministers from 42 to 19, President Muhammadu Buhari may appoint 12 senior ministers from the North.
Ashiwaju,org  gathered that most of the service chiefs and some other top security chiefs will also come from the North.
The President is expected to implement key recommendations of the report, especially those proposing lean cabinet structure as a way of cutting recurrent expenditure and freeing up funds for capital projects.
According to a source, the committee recommended only 19 senior ministers and 17 (junior) ministers of state totaling 36 in line with constitutional provision of one minister per state.
Top on the list of the ministries to be manned by Northern politicians and technocrats include education, defence, FCT, finance, Justice, police affairs, foreign affairs and the newly-created ministry of energy amongst others.

DANMARAYA JOS DIES AT 69

Iconic Musician popularly known among the Hausa speaking tribe of Nigeria, west Africa, Dr. Adamu Wayya, best known as Danmaraya Jos, is dead, his friend and close associate, Ladan Salihu, has announced.
He was 69.
“Inaa Lillaahi Wa Innaa ilaiHir raaji’un. One of Nigeria’s foremost Northern musicians, poet, philosopher and philanthropist, Dr Adamu Danmaraya Jos has answered Allah’s call about an hour ago,” Mr. Salihu, a zonal director at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, announced at about 4 p.m Saturday on his Facebook page.
Mr. Salihu continued, “He died in Jos after a protracted illness. When I visited him two weeks ago, he spoke passionately about the Unity of the North and of one Nigeria. I remember when he insisted that my late father gave out his (Danmaraya’s) adopted daughter’s hand in marriage some 15 years ago.
“We shared many moments. He was to me a brother and a friend. I am devastated. But I am proud he lived a very useful life, transforming society through music and silently through Islamic endeavors.
May Allah grant him Aljannatul Firdaws. Amin. For the record he was a recipient of the National Honours of MON, OON and United Nations Peace Medal.”

ASARI-DOKUBO Urges FG To Pau Up EX-MILITANTS Pipeline Contract Arrears

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has called on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to pay contractors of the oil pipeline surveillance project in the country.
Asari-Dokubo, who is one of the former Niger Delta agitators awarded pipeline surveillance contract by the Federal Government, told Ashiwaju.org that the three-month deal elapsed on June 15.
He said that the ex-minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, did not sign for the payment of the pipeline surveillance contract before she left office.
The pipeline protection project, which cut across Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States, was executed from March 15, 2015 to June 15.
Asari-Dokubo urged President Buhari to pay the contractors their money if he was truly committed to the rule of law.

Senator Akpabio Leads Akwa Ibom Delegation To Visit Obasanjo

The Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State  Senator Godswill Akpabio and his successor, Mr. Emmanuel Udom led 12 man delegation  to visit former president Olusegun Obasanjo  at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun.

The duo arrived at Obasanjo’s residence at about 2:48 p.m. in company of a former Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria, Dr Sunday Mbang and some other state officials.
The team immediately proceeded into a closed-door meeting which ended at about 4:05 p.m.
Udom who addressed journalists after the meeting said he was in Abeokuta to pay homage and to thank Obasanjo.
According to him, he consulted with Obasanjo shortly before the general elections and that his advice paid off.
“I have come to show gratitude and respect for someone whom I regard as a father and whose advice I regard as invaluable and which also contributed to my victory at the polls,” he said.
The governor acknowledges that his predecessor had laid a solid foundation upon which he would build and move the state to greater heights.
He said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained the greatest party in Africa and would provide a credible and formidable opposition to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in order to move the nation forward.

DON’T FORGET AMAECHI’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR VICTORY,’ NORTHERNERS TELL BUHARI

The Northern community in the South-South geo-political zone of the country has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to forget the contributions of former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to his victory during the 2015 presidential elections in the country.
They, therefore, appealed to Buhari to ensure that Amaechi, who was the director-general of All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APCPCC), is appointed into a position that reciprocates his contributions and sacrifices towards the emergence of the APC-led federal government.
Chairman of the Northern Community in the South-South zone, Alhaji Muhammadu Ali Kwande, disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, shortly after the meeting of leaders of the community, where the x-rayed political events in the country before, during and after the general elections.
Kwande said, “In the whole of the South-South, it was only former Governor Amaechi that stood with Buhari. He almost lost his life because of Buhari. Amaechi’s own people in the South-South did a lot of evil things to him, yet he stood with Buhari.
“Amaechi’s kinsmen, who are supporters of former President Goodluck Jonathan abused him and said all sort of things about him for not supporting Jonathan, but he stood his ground. He loves Northerners and we also love him.

Unpaid salaries hit N110bn in states

No fewer than 12 of the 36 states of the federation are facing difficult times as the salaries they owe their workers are approximately well over N110bn. This represents the salaries being owed by government of 10 of the states of the federation. They are Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Plateau, Benue, and Bauchi states.

The 36 state governors, who met during the week in Abuja under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for the second time after the May 29 inauguration of the new government, expressed their concern over the issue.

The situation, according to Saturday PUNCH investigation, has been giving some of the governors’ aides serious concern as they are also being owed salaries and allowances.

The governors had resolved to meet with the President to demand the refund of the money spent on executing Federal Government projects in their respective states to enable them to pay their workers.

Rivers State, for example, which has a monthly wage bill of about N7bn, has not paid its workers for three months, putting the total amount of salaries the state owes its workers at N21bn.

It was learnt that while some workers in the state are owed 10 months’ salaries, the core civil servants have not been paid their salaries for the past three months. Drivers, gardeners, cleaners and some office assistants are some of the workers being owed salaries for 10 months. These workers are always paid from government overhead or imprest.

MTN Nigeria gets investors in People Gold Accreditation

Leading ICT company in Nigeria, MTN has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) Gold certification by the governing board of the UK-based organisation. The Investors in People Standard is a UK quality standard introduced in 1991. The Gold certification followed an earlier accreditation of MTN Nigeria as an Investor in People organization in 2013 – the first company in all of West Africa to receive such recognition.
The assessment of MTN Nigeria was carried out by a team of IIP assessors from the United Kingdom; their findings culminated in the award of the Investors In People Gold Level accreditation.
Organisations accredited by the IIP go through a series of precise assessments with particular reference to the company’s people management practices in line with the IIP Framework. The rigorous process involves the administration of structured questionnaires among all categories of employees and contract staff to establish the correlation between the company’s people management practices and business performance.