BREAKING!!! Umahi’s Commissioner Refuses To Join APC, Resigns Appointment!

By Wisdom Nwedene, Abakaliki 

The Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs in Ebonyi State, Hon. Laz Ogbe has resigned his appointment, Igbere TV reports.

In a letter seen by IGBERE TV on Tuesday, Hon. Ogbe said he has resigned his appointment and thanked the People's Democratic Party, PDP.

IGBERE TV gathered that Ogbe's resignation is because of his refusal to join All Progressives Congress, APC with Umahi. 

IGBERE TV had reported that Umahi on Tuesday met with the National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus and told him he is leaving PDP for APC.

Umahi is reportedly making moves to contest for bigger position come 2023 General elections.

Recall that Ogbe contested for a second tenure for the House of Representative in 2019 and won but was later sacked by the Election Tribunal sitting in Enugu state.

#igberetv

Edo: 14 Rebel Lawmakers Have Realised They Were Deceived By Oshiomhole – Obaseki 

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state on Thursday said the 14 lawmakers-elect the Edo State House of Assembly who are yet to be inaugurated have realised they were deceived and misdirected by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He however said while he feels sorry about their plight, he lacks the power to assist them in anyway since their seats have been declared vacant.

It will be recalled that The Edo State House of Assembly in December 2019 declared vacant the seats of the 12 members who have avoided the chamber since its inauguration on June 17,2019. The leadership held that two others who did not meet the mandatory sitting requirement were also affected.

Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, monitored by Daily Independent, Obaseki said there is no political solution to the issue as it is purely a constitutional matter.

According to him, the only options available to the embattled lawmakers-elect is for the court to make a pronouncement on the matter or for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye election which they are free to participate in.

He said “Well, it is quite unfortunate. I think a lot of them have now realised that they were deceived and misdirected. So they are very sorry about the actions they have taken. I feel sad about it. But unfortunately, there is nothing I can do personally today”.

“Those seats have been declared vacant as per the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. Today, I swore an oath to uphold the constitution, I cannot be seen to be violating it. The seats have been constitutionally declared vacant”.

“The only two constitutional things that can happen is either the court decides otherwise or INEC conducts fresh bye-election and they can come back and recontest. There is nothing that I as the governor of Edo state today can do otherwise”.

“This country is governed by the law and the constitution. There is no political solution that will be above our constitution”.

On his relationship with Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, his opponent in the September 19 governorship election, Obaseki said while he is hoping to embrace Ize-Iyamu with open arms and welcome his positive contributions to governance in Edo state, Ize-Iyamu is yet to reach out to him.

“He hasn’t reached out to me. I have said it at several fora that there is no bitterness and that he should work with us. If he reaches out to me, I am sure we will embrace him. As I said, if he has anything positive to contribute to our government, we will welcome such contributions”.

#nairaland

FG Commences Disbursement Of N20,000 Grant To Women In Rural Area

The Federal Government on Thursday began the disbursement of N20,000 grant to rural women in Bauchi State for them to start small businesses with a view to alleviating their sufferings.

While flagging off the disbursement in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum Local Government Area of the state, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, informed that over 150,000 beneficiaries across the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would benefit from the programme.

The grant, which she said was meant for rural women in the country, according to the minister was introduced in 2020 by her ministry as part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s social inclusion and poverty reduction agenda.
Represented by the Deputy Director Humanitarian Affairs in the ministry, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, Farouq explained that the programmes is meant as part of President Buhari’s efforts aimed at lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

According to her, the cash disbursement is designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural Nigeria.

The minister added that it is also meant to boost beneficiaries’ income, enhance their food security as well as enable them contribute towards improving their standard of living.

“A grant of N20,000 will be disbursed to over 150,000 poor rural women across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The grant is expected to increase access to financial capital required for economic activities.

“It is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make good use of the opportunity to increase their income, enhance their food security and generally contribute towards improving their living standard,” the minister said.

Farouq declared optimism that with the complementary effort of the Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, beneficiaries of the grant would be on their way out of poverty to prosperity.

According to her, “I am optimistic that with support and cooperation of Your Excellency and other stakeholders present here, we can lift 100 million out of poverty by 2030.”

The Humanitarian Affairs Minister informed no fewer than 54,738 poor and vulnerable households drawn from 16 local government areas of the state have benefitted so far from the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.

She informed that since September 2016, the beneficiaries, who are receiving N5,000 monthly under the CCT programme, have so far received about N3 billion.


The conditional cash transfer, Farouq explained, was designed to deliver timely and accessible cash transfers to beneficiary households and support development objectives and priorities as well as improve household consumption.

She added further that the CCT programme is also aimed at improving school enrolment and attendance, encouraging household financial and asset acquisition and engaging beneficiaries in sustainable livelihood.

“The Conditional Cash Transfer Programme commenced in September 2016 with the aim of responding to deficiencies in capacity and lack of investment in human capital of poor and vulnerable households.

“The programme provides targeted monthly base cash transfer of N5,000 to poor and vulnerable households with the sole aim of graduating them out of poverty.”

She listed the benefitting local government areas in the state where beneficiaries come from as Gamawa; Tafawa Balewa; Alkaleri; Darazo; Bogoro; Zaki; Warji; Ningi; Katagum; Kirfi; Jamaare; Dambam; Dass; Itas Gadau Misau and Toro.

“The conditional cash transfer programme in Bauchi State was intended to improve the socio-economic and livelihood of over 54,738 poor and vulnerable households enrolled across 16 local government areas of Gamawa, Tafawa Balewa, Alkaleri, Darazo, Bogoro, Zaki, Warji, Ningi, Katagum, Kirfi, Jamaare, Dambam, Dass, Itas Gadau, Misau and Toro, with a total disbursement to date of N2,987,360,000,” the minister informed.

Farouq noted that since the inception of President Buhari’s administration in 2015, the Federal Government has been paying more attention to protecting and promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country.

This, she stated, informed the Federal Government’s decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) as a strategy for enhancing social inclusion, declaring that the NSIP is one the largest social protection programmes in Africa.

She further submitted that the NSIP has positively impacted on the poor and vulnerable Nigeria since its introduction in 2016.

“Since its introduction in 2016, it has impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria. I have personally witnessed the life-changing experiences of people who lived below the poverty line and those that are vulnerable to shocks,” she said.

#punchng

Joe Bidden Projected To Win Arizona, Expands Electoral College Votes To 290 

Expand his Electoral College to 290.

For just the second time in more than seven decades, a Democrat will carry Arizona in a presidential election, a monumental shift for a state that was once a Republican stronghold.

CNN projected on Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden will carry Arizona, defeating President Donald Trump and providing Democrats in Arizona and the universe of allied grassroots organizations in the state with a crowning achievement a decade in the making.

Biden's win in the state that propelled Republican leaders like Barry Goldwater and John McCain to national prominence could foretell problems for the party going forward. Three key shifts in the state helped Democrats this year: a growing Latino population that leans Democratic, a surge in voters moving to Arizona from more liberal states like California and Illinois, and the way suburban voters have starkly broken with a Republican Party led by someone like Trump.

Arizona, by going blue, is moving closer to its neighbor to the northwest -- Nevada, where Democrats have taken control of almost all aspects of government -- and away from the state's traditional rightward bent.

The Democratic victory -- declared days after CNN projected Biden's win in the presidential race -- was anchored by Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and nearly 60% of all people in the state. Maricopa is the fastest-growing county in the country, transforming over the last two decades into a sprawling mass of metropolitan hubs, sun-scorched planned communities and bustling strip malls.

"Maricopa County won the state of Arizona for Mark Kelly and Joe Biden," said Steven Slugocki, chair of Maricopa County's Democrats. "Here in Maricopa, we committed our resources to contact voters of color, women and traditionally underrepresented groups throughout the state. Our strategy proved to be effective."

Biden is just the second Democrat to win Arizona since 1948, when Harry Truman won. Bill Clinton narrowly won the state in 1996, but Arizona moved further right in the next two decades, electing hard-line immigration proponents like Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and passing laws like SB 1070, a controversial state law that required officers to make immigration checks while enforcing other laws if "reasonable suspicion" of illegal immigration exists.

The Democratic victory builds on the work by grassroots organizations on the ground in Arizona, many of which focused on the state's growing Latino population by uniting around the opposition to Arpaio and the immigration crackdown. Those groups provided the state's Democratic apparatus -- which had few wins to brag about back in 2010 -- with the building blocks needed to grow into an influential force able to win a Senate seat in 2018, and, just two years later, the other Senate seat and the presidential race.

"This year was a victory for the decade-plus of work in this state," said Laura Dent, the executive director of Chispa Arizona, one of a number of organizations that have formed a coalition called Mi AZ, an alliance of six groups that have worked to engage voters, particularly Latinos, for years. "It has been a decade-plus of building and the sustained work of organizing between electoral cycles have been critical."

Dent said the organizing around SB 1070 was a "catalyst" for these groups to unify around something and "build that collective power" on display this year. Just since 2018, Chispa Arizona alone has registered 44,000 voters, and it made 1.3 million calls to voters this year in Arizona.

This shift in Arizona will also be felt back in Washington, DC, as the party's top operatives attempt to figure out how they lost a state like Arizona, which just six years ago was seen as a Republican lock. The key question: Will the rising Democratic organization in the state put Arizona further out of reach in the years to come?

"I thought by 2024, Arizona would be for real a swing state," said Yasser Sanchez, an immigration lawyer who volunteered for Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and worked for McCain's 2016 reelection to the Senate before rejecting a Trump-led Republican Party and helping organize Latino voters for Biden. "Every time I heard it would be before, I thought that was wishful thinking."

Looming over Biden's victory is the legacy of McCain, an Arizona stalwart whose "maverick" conservatism carried a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans for years in the state. Trump and McCain had a tense relationship, and when the senator cast a vote against the President's Obamacare repeal bill, the tension exploded, leading Trump to double down on his mocking attacks of the Republican senator, even after he died in 2018. This, along with comments Trump reportedly made about military members and veterans, spurred McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, to back Biden, an endorsement that was front page news in the state.

Republicans like Chad Heywood, the former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, argued that the Democratic victory did not portend a significant shift in the state.

"This was a purple state that looked red during the Obama years," said Heywood, adding that if the President ends up losing the state by less than 3 percentage points, it wasn't "a massive sea change in Arizona."
W
#uselection

I Am Tired Of Playing Gateman Roles - Jigan Baba Oja Cries Out 

Nigerian actor, Jigan Baba Oja has cried out over
the kinds of roles he gets in movies.

The actor revealed that he's tired of being cast
as a gateman in movies.

The comedian took to Twitter to ask movie
producers to help his career by giving him other
roles.

He wrote: 


"If truly want to help my career , stop
giving me only gate man role !
"I can play any role my dear brother ! E ma baiye
mi je."

Osinbajo: Nigeria’s Problem Is Not Restructuring

ABUJA – VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the problem of Nigeria was not geographical restructuring rather prudent management of national resources and providing for the people properly.
Osinbajo also said prudent management of the nation’s resources and the provision of essential needs of the people were better ways of addressing Nigeria’s development challenges.

The Vice President stated this while fielding questions from a cross-section of Nigerians at a town hall meeting in Minnesota, the United States of America, Sunday.

According to him, “the problem with our country is not a matter of restructuring and we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into the argument that our problems stem from some geographical restructuring. It is about managing resources properly and providing for the people properly, that is what it is all about.

“I served for eight years as Attorney General in Lagos State and one of the chief issues that we fought for in Lagos state was what you call fiscal federalism. We felt that there was a need for the states to be stronger, for states to more or less determine their fortunes.

“So, for example, we went to court to contest the idea that every state should control, to a certain extent, its own resources (the so-called resource control debate). We were in court at that time up to the Supreme Court and the court ruled that oil-producing states should continue to get 13% derivation.
#punchng

D'banj Buys Customized Roll Royce Wraith (Photos, Video)

The music star is known for his expensive and luxurious cars.

Nigeria music star D'banj has gotten dilivery of a Rolls Royce Wraith according to a new clip on social media.

The announcement was made by his protege, Cheeky Cheezy via his Instagram stories where he congratulated his boss on his latest acquisition.

His name "dbanj" was imprinted on the door's handle. 
It is not clear what model of the pricey car the music star got but, a Rolls Royce Wraith goes for between N100M - N180M depending on the design.

#dbanj

AMAC Seals Restaurant With Customers And Staff Still Inside

The business owner, who owns multiple branches of a restaurant, went online to complain after Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) sealed the Gwarimpa branch of her restaurant with customers and staff inside.

Watch video here



She explained that they come often, making demands, despite the fact that she has done every registration they asked her to do and has taken all her staff for medical tests.
.
In the latest event, she said they were asking for the food handlers' receipt. She explained that she has it in her Wuse 2 branch and needs time to bring it over, but they sealed her restaurant all the same with customers in there and demanded 250,000 Naira to open it.

#nairaland

FG Owes 3,504 Contractors N69.9bn - Fashola Tells National Assembly

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said on Thursday that his ministry owed 3,504 contractors handlings its various housing projects, about N69.9bn.

Fashola stated this when he appeared before the joint National Assembly Committee on Housing, to defend his ministry’s 2021 budget estimates.

He, therefore, said the N76.4bn allocated to the ministry in 2021 would be grossly inadequate to execute 186 projects across the country.

#punchng

Governor Godwin Obaseki's ADC collapses at his swearing-in ceremony for a second term on November 12.

#nairaland