London-Paris Club loans: Our Governors should fear God and pay outstanding salaries and pensions (Photo)

The Federal Government has released N388.304 billion out of N522.74 billion to 35 states as refunds of over-deductions on London-Paris Club loans.

Topping the list of states with the hugest reimbursements are states controlled by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contrary to their claims that they were being financially oppressed by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

UPDATE: NPOWER VERIFICATION OF 200,000 GRADUATES COMPLETED IN 13 STATES, MORE FORTHCOMING

As the Federal Government prepares to commence the payment of monthly stipends to the 200,000 graduates engaged under the N-Power job creation programme of the Buhari administration, 13 states of the federation have now submitted verified lists of the graduates and more expected later this week.

Disclosing this on Sunday while giving a news update on the programme, Mr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity in the Office of the Vice President stated that also in some states the graduates have also been deployed to their primary places of assignment, noting that payment of the N30,000 stipends for the graduates will commence this month once verification and deployment have been done.

Abati - Tomato Scarcity As Metaphor

One of the major news items in circulation has been the scarcity of tomato. Incidentally, Nigeria is (was) the 14th largest producer of tomato in the world and the second largest producer in Africa, after Egypt, but our country hardly produces enough to meet the local demand of about 2.3 million tonnes, and lacks the capacity to ensure an effective storage or value chain processing of what is produced. Out of the 1.8 million tonnes that the country produces annually, 900, 000 tonnes are left to rot and waste. Meanwhile, tomato-processing companies in the country operate below capacity and many of them have had to shut down.

The CEO of Erisco Foods, Lagos, Eric Umeofia laments that tomato processing companies lack access to foreign exchange to enable them buy heat-resistant seedlings and other tools that would help ensure the country’s sufficiency in local production of tomato paste. Similarly, Dangote Tomato Factory recently suspended operations due to the scarcity of tomatoes and the assault on its tomato farms by a tomato leaves destroying moth, known as “tuta absoluta” – a South American native, also known as the Tomato Ebola, because of its Ebola-like characteristics.

A Winning or Rigging Formula? - Gumi

Ringing the 2015 election this time will be very difficult indeed. Voters will remain until the results of their votes casted are pasted in front of them. And with a more potent competitor, the PDP that was once the only "national party' has further polarized the polity not just on the north-south divide but more dangerously on the religious one. Already some of them have already started calling APC an 'Islamic Party' to put in the Christian psyche the loathe of the party. Yet not acknowledging the fact that PDP especially with the recent South African $9.3m scandal, majority of Muslims believe the party is a CAN party.

With this ugly political scenario in situ, re-endorsing President Jonathan is their greatest political blunder because I know the Muslim North will totally reject him. That means the only option left for PDP to continue is by rigging.

PDP is then the epicenter of the most dreaded religious earthquake or the crater of volcano eruption that can shatter and destroy the nation. Because 2015 is not 2011. In 2011, the benefit of doubt which Jonathan enjoyed in the North is completely eroded by his style of governance.

INEC to rescheldle registration points for eligible voters in FCT and 11 states

INEC PRESS STATEMENT

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has noted with concern the agitation in some quarters for an extension of the second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), which ends on Monday, August 25th, 2014.

This phase of the exercise, which commenced on Wednesday, August 20th, 2014, involved the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 11 states namely Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kwara, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Oyo Delta and Cross River.

Much as the Commission is eager to ensure that all legitimate persons who are yet to register as voters have the opportunity to do so, it is logistically impossible to extend this phase of the CVR beyond its scheduled deadline (i.e., Monday, August 25th, 2014).

But in order to give fair chance to legitimate registrants, the Commission will, on a date to be shortly announced, set up registration points at its Local Government Area (LGA) offices where people yet to do so can go to register.

INEC notes with deep regret that old tendencies towards irregularity, such as partisans urging people to come out and do multiple registrations, largely accounted for the crowd clusters lingering at registration points set up for the CVR by the Commission. Many other people who have relocated since the last registration exercise and only needed to apply for their registration status to be transferred to their new location also turned up for fresh registration. When data are consolidated and de-duplication is carried out by INEC, all instances of multiple registrations will yet be eliminated. But, unfortunately, these sets of people obstructed legitimate registrants from having their turn at the registration points.