News/Politics

The forthcoming Gen. Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government will, like the current administration, parade many women believed to be influential, FISAYO FALODI writes

The outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan boasts of an array of influential women, who command much respect even among their male counterparts. Apart from the President’s wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, who pundit say is always interested in official matters and those who get elective and appointive positions, it is believed that the influence of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, made Jonathan’s administration popular.

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The two ministers currently head sensitive ministries in Jonathan’s government.

Likewise, the inauguration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s new President on May 29 will throw up another set of influential women. Some of the women were believed to have invested their energy in the March 28 pre-election campaigns in which the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate won.

The women, parading what may be described as robust credentials, braved all odds to contest elections like their male counterparts to represent the people of their various constituencies or districts.

A few of them, according to observers, will wield a lot of influence in the incoming administration by the virtue of their positions as the wives of the President or vice-president, while others will hold sway because of the offices they occupy in the APC executive committee.

Aisha Buhari

The 44-year-old wife of the President-elect, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, will automatically become the country’s new First Lady on May 29 after her husband’s inauguration.

The Adamawa State-born cosmetologist attended the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration.

Though, some people have described the member of the United Kingdom Vocational Training and Charitable Trust and the International Health and Beauty Council as an introvert, she is said to be a consummate politician and strong believer in the project Nigeria. The alumnus of the famous Carlton Institute of London and the Academy Esthetique Beauty Institute of France did tell everyone during the pre-election campaigns that her husband, if elected, would give women opportunities to contribute to the development of the country.

Hajiya Buhari demonstrated her passion for the development of Nigerian women at a campaign rally in Edo State, where she assured women that her husband would initiate policies that would guarantee their improved living standard.

She said, “I am here to let Edo women know that when my husband is elected into office as President, insecurity, the girl-child trafficking, the plight of the widows in the South-East will be looked into.

“There must be a cultural design that can accommodate the widow. A design that would make the girl-child comfortable wherever she is in this country.

“The portion of the girl-child is to have a high standard and moral society for her to live in, get married, have children, train them and also mould them to become future leaders.”

Dolapo Osinbajo

Little was known about Dolapo Osinbajo until her husband emerged as the APC vice-presidential candidate.

The grand-child of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is the leader of the Ladies Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus House Paris, Banana Island, Lagos.

Described as humble and submissive wife by those who are close to her family, she supported her husband in 2007 to establish ‘The Orderly Society Trust’, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the promotion of Christian ethics and orderliness.

While others sought political offices to touch the people’s lives, Mrs. Osinbajo yearned for a different avenue to reach the larger society, especially the poor. She invariably wrote a book, They Call Me Mama.

She said the drive to write the book came from her experiences with some “street boys and men in Lagos State.” According to her, she aims to use the proceeds from the book to sustain her efforts in getting the street urchins off the roads and into homes.

Mrs. Osinbajo said, “My weekly visit to the boys in their hideout under the bridge for several years has filled me with unforgettable stories. Reminiscences of these times are the focus of this book. 

Our original meeting spot which was lovingly referred to as ‘Under’, today; it has been transformed to the Muri Okunola Park.

“To me, they are beloved children and they call me ‘Mama.’ They are lost, but can be found. That was why I was compelled to write the book and I dedicate the book to everyone who is lost.”

Remi Tinubu

The senator representing Lagos Central is an educationist, administrator, philanthropist and Officer of the Order of the Niger. She was described as exemplary First Lady of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, during which period she founded the New Era Foundation, a non-profit organisation, dedicated to youth development, girl-child education, women empowerment and inspiring youths to excellence.

It was believed that Mrs. Tinubu’s re-election into the Senate in the just concluded general elections would make her become more influential in the next government as she may head one of the sensitive committees in the upper legislative chambers.

Influential women to watch in Buhari’s govt

As a senator, she hosts a quarterly town hall meeting with her constituents to render accounts of her stewardship and obtain feedbacks on their developmental needs. To date, she has sponsored three bills to provide Social Security for Elderly Citizens; seek the Amendment of the Labour Act to enhance employment opportunities for women and a bill to provide Special Economic Assistance to Lagos State in view of its status as a former capital city and the commercial capital of Nigeria.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora Affairs, is also considered as a force to reckon with in the forthcoming administration.

The dexterity with which she coordinated the APC presidential campaign alongside a senator-elect, Dino Melaye, had endeared her to the party.

Dabiri-Erewa was first elected into the House of Representatives to represent Ikorodu Federal Constituency of Lagos State in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. She also won re-election in 2011.

The former Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity had sponsored a number of significant bills that were passed by the Parliament, including the Freedom of Information Bill; a bill for an act to ensure full integration of Nigerians with physical disabilities and eliminate all forms of discrimination against them; the Nigerian Infant Health Welfare Bill (ensuring every child under five receives free medical care); Nigerian Diaspora Commission Bill; a bill to repeal Nigerian Press Council Bill and replace it with the Nigerian Press and Journalism Council Bill (strengthening the NPC and promote responsible journalism and protect the welfare of journalists in Nigeria).

Dabiri-Erewa did not contest for any elective office in the just concluded general elections. Observers are of the opinion that her performance as Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora as well as her activities during the APC campaign will earn her an enviable position in the incoming cabinet.

Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu

The President-General of the Global Women & Youth Empowerment Strategy will no doubt command much respect in Buhari’s administration by the virtue of her position as the APC Woman Leader.

Like her woman colleagues, Ramatu Aliyu, committed herself to APC’s activities to contribute to the party’s victory in the last presidential election.

Aliyu demonstrated her commitment to the party by mobilising the electorate, especially women, to collect their Permanent Voter Cards.

“The collection of the PVCs represents a veritable instrument to ensure that the people, to whom power resides, exercise their franchise in the legitimate pursuit of free choice and popular sovereignty,” Aliyu had said in a statement in Abuja.

Having capitalised on the numerical strength of Nigerian women, the APC Woman Leader told her folks before the election that without the sacred power to vote in a democracy, they could hardly effect the change, which they desire for the sake of their collective happiness and fulfillment.

He said, “Nigerian women constitute over 50 per cent of active voters during elections in the country. It is therefore, important that they avail themselves of the historic opportunity offered by the exercise to strengthen their electoral value and consolidate their demographic advantage, especially as we approach the 2015 general elections.

“Accordingly, I call on Nigerian women to rise in unison and ensure their active participation in the exercise. They should troop out en-mass and ensure that they collect their PVCs so that their votes will not only count but make the difference during elections.

“I urge that in the prevailing circumstance, our women should reaffirm their faith in democratic change and strengthen their resolve to enthrone good governance rooted in popular franchise, free and fair elections and robust democratic engagement.”

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan

Though the Independent National Electoral Commission declared that the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Mr. Darius Ishaku, won the Taraba State governorship election, the APC candidate in the poll, Senator Aisha Al-Hassan, has demonstrated that she is a force to reckon with in the politics of the state.

Alhassan’s popularity grew after she defeated three male aspirants to clinch the APC governorship ticket at the party’s primary held at Jolly Nyame Stadium, Jalingo, amid heavy security.

If Al-Hassan had won the Taraba State governorship election, she would have become the first woman to be elected governor in the political history of the country.

Al-Hassan, a lawyer by training, rose to become Taraba State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. She was appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on December 17, 2003.

After she retired from service, she won election on the PDP platform to represent Taraba North Senatorial District in 2011, but defected to the APC to seek the latter’s governorship ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections.

source: ThePunch

 

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Baby pulled from Nepal earthquake rubble after 22 hours

                           

His tiny face is coated in dust from the debris that crashed around him as the earth shook on Saturday, April 25, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring at least twice as many more.

His name is Sonit Awal, and he's just four months old.

On Saturday, Sonit was at home in Muldhoka, Bhaktapur, east of the capital Kathmandu, when the 7.8-magnitude quake sent tremors through Nepal and neighboring countries, according to Kathmandu Today.

The house collapsed, burying the child, leaving his father Shyam Awal frantically searching for him amid the rubble. 

A desperate Awal called the Nepalese Army, and they too scrambled through the dirt and debris until midnight, before giving up hope and leaving.

Sonit's father had lost all hope of finding his son alive, the paper reported, until he heard faint cries from below.

On Sunday morning, the soldiers returned and at 10 a.m they lifted Sonit clear of the fallen rocks, beams, bricks and dust that had trapped him for 22 hours.

Source: www.cnn.com

 

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PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-president Namadi Sambo, non-returning federal lawmakers, ministers and   presidential aides will collect N3.24bn as severance allowances, investigation by The PUNCH has shown.

The severance allowances   are contained in the Remuneration Package   put together by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

According to the package, Jonathan, who will hand over to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, is entitled to 300 per cent of his annual basic salary.

The President’s annual basic salary is put at N3, 514,705 and therefore his severance allowance will be N10, 544,115 after May 29.

The severance allowance is without prejudice to his other constitutional entitlements as a former head of government.

Similarly, Vice-President Sambo, who leaves office the same day as Jonathan, is also entitled to 300 per cent of his annual basic salary put at N3, 031,572.50. This means that his severance allowance after May 29 is N9, 094,717.50.

For having held the office of vice- president, Sambo also has some constitutional entitlements and perks.

About 76 senators are not returning to the National Assembly either because they did not stand for election or because they lost their bids to return. They are however entitled to N462,019,200 at the expiration of their tenure on June 5.

Like Jonathan and Sambo, they are entitled to 300 per cent of their annual basic salaries as severance allowances. This amounts to N6, 079,200 per senator.

In the House of Representatives, about 290 members are not returning to the 8th National Assembly to be proclaimed into existence by Buhari on June 5.

Each of the members is entitled to N5, 955,637.50 as severance allowance. This means that the 290 members   will be paid N1, 727,134,875.

The ministers, on the other hand, will be collecting a total of N253, 967,212.5. There are 42 ministers in Jonathan’s cabinet. Thirty one of them are senior ministers and 11 are ministers of state.

Each of the senior ministers is entitled to N6, 079,200 severance allowance while each of the ministers of state   will receive N5, 872,740.

This means that collectively, the senior ministers will get N188, 455,200 at the expiration of their tenure on May 29 while collectively, the ministers of state will be collecting N65, 512,012.5.

The aides to the President comprising special advisers, senior special assistants and special assistants   will   get   N775, 207,125.

There are 23 of them who work with the president as special advisers. Apart from this number, however, there are several others estimated at 110 who work with the vice-president, the First Lady(Patience Jonathan) and special advisers that are designated either as senior special assistants or special assistants to the President.

This means that there are about 133 aides to the president and each of them is entitled to 300 per cent of their annual basic salary which amounts to N5, 828,625.

The Nigerian democracy has been identified as one of the costliest in the world as a result of a large number of political office holders.

Some experts, for instance, think that a cabinet made up of 42 ministers is too large. However, constitutionally, each of the 36 states   is expected to be represented in the Federal Executive Council.

Bicameralism is another source of worry for many observers who believe that Nigeria can do with one chamber of the National Assembly. Some Nigerians have called for part-time legislature as a means of saving cost.

Source: www.punchng.com

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Mom survives 36 hours in Nepal quake rubble

The collapsed building in Kathmandu from which Tanka Maya Sitoula was rescued

Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN)Kathmandu is a city with few good stories right now, but Tanka Maya Sitoula has one of them.

The 40-year-old mother-of-four was at home when Saturday's deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, bringing the 5-story building down around her ground floor apartment.

In the wake of the disaster, which has left at least 4,500 people dead across Nepal, Sitoula endured 36 long hours trapped in a room on the ground floor, before she was freed by an Indian rescue team.

Remarkably, she escaped without injury, apparently protected by a beam.

Sitoula, who talked to CNN through an interpreter, says she remained confident she would survive throughout her ordeal amid the rubble.

"I heard people making noise outside so I thought I would be rescued," she said, as she and her family sheltered in the grounds of a nearby school. "I was confident that everybody was there outside and that I would be rescued."

What did she do for 36 hours? "I was just lying down," she says. "There was no room to move here and there."

Sitoula's husband Mahendra, a butcher, said he called out for help for hours after the quake, as he could hear her shouting in the rubble of the collapsed building.

"I was totally confident that she was there," he said. "I never stopped calling her. And also from down below she was making sounds and I could hear her."

It took 18 hours before the necessary help arrived, he said. And it took another 18 hours to free her.

"I was asking people for help. Traffic police, whoever I could find. What happened was there were no tools to cut through the metal debris."

Eventually, a rescue team from India had the equipment required, he said.

Throughout the ordeal, he never gave up hope, he says: "I was confident that my wife was safe and sound."

He was only concerned about how she would fare during the attempt to free her.

                           

Inspector Karam Singh from India's National Disaster Management Authority was supervising search and rescue efforts at the Sitoulas' former home Tuesday -- a bright pink building, pancaked into two levels, with an entire wall sheared off to reveal its purple interior.

Source: www.cnn.com

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Indonesia executes 8 drug smugglers by firing squad: Nigeria, Australia, Brazil Make the list

The Australians were among the eight drug smugglers put to death on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing local media. The prisoners faced a 12-man firing squad on Nusa Kambangan island in Central Java.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appearing at a press conference, condemned the executions and said Australia would immediately withdraw its ambassador to Indonesia for consultations.

Abbott called the executions "cruel and unnecessary" because both men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, had been "fully rehabilitated" during a decade in prison. 

Abbott didn't say what permanent actions, if any, would be taken against Indonesia. "This is a dark moment in the relationship, but I'm sure the relationship will be restored," he said.

The Indonesian government had announced that nine prisoners would be executed, but according to local reports, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso was spared, at least for now. 

Lawyers fighting to delay the death of Veloso, a domestic helper and mother of two, have said they've given up their bid after her second legal review was rejected on Monday. This came despite a last-minute personal appeal from Philippines President Benigno Aquino to Indonesian counterpart President Joko Widodo.

Source: www.cnn.com

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Troops rescue 200 girls, 93 women in Sambisa forest

The Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, has confirmed that the troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued 200 girls and 93 women during a raid on Sambisa Forest in Borno State.

However, Olukolade could not however confirm whether the rescued girls were the Chibok girls, who were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April last year or not.

The Defence spokesman told our correspondent on the telephone that the tweets on the twitter handle of the Nigeria military supplied the true information about the military operation in Sambisa.

The Defence authorities had stated in three tweets that the soldiers rescued the girls and the women during an invasion of the Boko Haram stronghold.

It was further stated that the freed girls and women were being screened and profiled.

The Defence authorities stated specifically that the military had not been able to confirm whether the girls were part of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.

It was further stated that the troops also destroyed three terrorists camps including Tokumbere, which is said to be highly notorious (for crimes).

He said, “Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Sambisa. We cannot confirm if the Chibok girls are in the roup.

“The troops captured and destroyed three terrorists camps including the ‎notorious Tokumbere Camp in the Sambisa Forest operation.

Source: www.punchng.com 

‘Missing’ $20bn oil money: I have nothing to hide, Jonathan tells Buhari

 

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said his administration had nothing to hide in respect of the claim by a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor,   Lamido Sanusi, that   $20bn oil money was not remitted to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

To prove this, he said he had directed that the full report by PriceWaterHouse which was commissioned to carry out a detailed investigation into the activities of the NNPC be made public immediately.

Jonathan, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,   Reuben Abati,   also described   the allegation by the All Progressives Congress that his officials were embarking on last minute illegal actions as “unfortunate and uncharitable.”

Buhari had while receiving an APC delegation from Adamawa State on Sunday, expressed surprise that instead of probing the allegation by Sanusi ,who is now the Emir of Kano, the Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party administration chose to fire him.

He stated that since Sanusi’s claim was documented, his administration would take a look at it after the May 29 handover date.

Buhari said, “On the issue of corruption, I heard that some people have started returning money. I will not believe it until I see for myself.

“You all remember what the Emir of Kano talked about when he was the governor of the CBN. He said $20bn, not N20bn, was unaccounted for; they said it was a lie. Instead of investigating it, they sacked him. And God in his infinite mercy made him the Emir of Kano. In any case, that is what he wanted. And since this was documented, our administration will take a look at it.”

Sanusi had written a letter to Jonathan that $49bn was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

But following the controversy which the letter generated, a committee was set up to reconcile the account.

Sanusi later recanted and said the unremitted fund was $12bn. He later changed the figure to $20bn.

But Abati, in his   statement, said Jonathan was concerned by the continuing suggestions that his administration had anything to hide on the allegation.

The statement read in part, “President Jonathan is also deeply concerned by the continuing suggestions that his administration still has anything to hide about the unproven allegation that about $20bn is unaccounted for by the NNPC during his tenure.

“To lay the matter to rest, President Jonathan in line with Section 7(2) of the NNPC Act, has directed that the full report of the PWC Forensic Audit of the NNPC accounts be released immediately to the public so that all Nigerians will be properly informed on the matter.”

When journalists asked Abati why Jonathan had to wait   until Buhari said he would look into Sanusi’s allegation before making the audit report public, he said he did not know the circumstances in which the President gave the directive.

He said all he knew was that the issue had been in the public domain for a long time and that there was the need to lay it to rest.

Abati gave assurance that Jonathan would continue to do his best to ensure a smooth handover to the President-elect but regretted what he called the unfairness and combative frame of mind reflected in a recent   statement by the APC’s spokesman, Lai Mohammed.

He said that as the APC’s spokesman threatened in his statement, the incoming administration would be perfectly within its rights to review all actions of the present government as it might deem fit.

Abati added that   there was nothing wrong with that because the Jonathan government also reviewed the actions of previous governments on assumption of office with resultant benefits for policy and project implementation.

Abati’s statement explained, “We have noted with concern, the allegation by the spokesman for the APC, Alhaji Mohammed, that officials of the Federal Government are engaged in ‘last-minute looting of the nation’s resources, rushed privatisation of key institutions and hurried recruitment into the public service’.

“We also consider as most unfortunate and uncharitable, the suggestion by Alhaji Mohammed that the Jonathan administration is trying to “tie the hands” of the incoming government merely by continuing to discharge its constitutional responsibilities until the end of its tenure.

“The Jonathan administration which continues to do its best to ensure a smooth and peaceful handover of power to the President-elect deeply regrets the unfairness and combative frame of mind reflected in Alhaji Mohammed’s statement.

“President Jonathan has done his best in the past five years to discharge his constitutional responsibilities for good governance and effective leadership of the nation.

“Without any prejudice whatsoever to the freedom of the incoming administration to do as it pleases, within the confines of extant laws when it assumes office, the Jonathan Administration will continue to discharge its responsibility to govern until May 29, 2015.

“In continuing to fulfil the obligations of his office however, President Jonathan has not, and will never condone any form of unscrupulous conduct on the part of state officials.

“President Jonathan will also never authorise any attempt to create any problems for the incoming administration as the APC spokesperson, who ought to know that the outcome of the March 28 presidential election does not imply a cessation of governance, unjustly alleges.

“As Alhaji Mohammed threatened in his statement, the incoming administration will be perfectly within its rights to review all actions of the present government as it may deem fit.

“We see nothing wrong with that. After all, the present administration reviewed the actions of previous governments on assumption of office with resultant benefits for policy and project implementation.”

Source: www.Punchng.com