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Senate Approves Additional Funds To Support 2016 Budget

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Senate Approves Additional Funds To Support 2016 Budget

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The Senate has approved the sum of N213 billion to augment the shortfalls in the 2016 budget for the funding of critical Recurrent and Capital items of the budget.

President Muhammadu Buhari had written the National Assembly requesting for the approval of additional N180 billion to beef up the budget, but the House of Representatives on November 22, approved the President’s request at N208 billion following recommendations from its Committee on Appropriation.

The Senate, on its part, approved an even higher sum of N213 billion, also relying on the report of its appropriation committee.

But the approval was not without a mild drama, as Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu raised a constitutional point of order, saying that the issue of virement as requested by the president was unconstitutional.

He argued that the constitution only recognized supplementary appropriation, but another lawmaker, Abdullahi Adamu, countered the argument by pointing out that section 24 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act made provision for Virement.

This was supported by Yahaya Abdullahi who explained that a Supplementary Budget is to address new issues in the existing Appropriation Act while Virement is to address shortfalls in it.

Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, pointed out that Ekweremadu had been a principal officer of the senate for more than eight years and had witnessed situations where virement requests were considered and approved.

He wondered why the Deputy Senate President has suddenly realized that the President’s request was unconstitutional.

Approving the request, Senate President Bukola Saraki noted that the move would resolve all pending financial issues especially in the Public Complaints Commission, the Amnesty Programme and others critical areas.

Kaduna Crisis: State College Of Education Shuts Down Indefinitely

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Kaduna Crisis: State College Of Education Shuts Down Indefinitely
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai fielding questions from journalists
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai fielding questions from journalists

The Kaduna State College of Education has announced that it is shutting down academic activities indefinitely due to the persistent attacks by unknown gunmen on villages close to Gidan Waya, where the institution is located.

Public Relations Officer of the college, Danlami Aduwu, made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday, saying that the suspension has become necessary in order to safeguard the lives and properties of staffers and students.

The statement directed staffers and students to vacate the school premises immediately, while staff members were asked to report to the temporary site of the college located at Kafanchan.

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, many of the institution’s workers and students have since evacuated the Gidan Waya campus in fear of being caught in the violence.

Villages bordering the college of education including Godogodo, Pasakori, Mile One and Tudun Wada, have been attacked a number of times by unknown assailants with the attendant loss of lives and destruction of property.

On Friday, November 25, four people were reportedly killed in Mile One village while several houses were razed down.

These developments are in spite of a peace pact signed between leaders of the Fulani herdsmen and traditional leaders in Kaduna State on November first, aimed at bringing an end to the series of clashes that had been witnessed in the state.

The peace deal was brokered by the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Adeniyi Oyebade, a Major General, at a meeting that was attended by traditional rulers and leaders of the Fulani community, as well as heads of other security agencies in the state.

It was agreed at the meeting that a peace and reconciliation committee should be set-up to resolve all pending issues.

Also both parties agreed to place a ban on child-herdsmen who usually lead their cattle onto farmlands and major roads. A prohibition was also placed on herdsmen bearing fire arms.

At the end of the meeting, the National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Othman, assured that his people would abide by the resolution.

But on the contrary, the situation has only worsened.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has repeatedly accused the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of merely paying lip service to the crisis it described as a state-sponsored elimination of Christians in the state.

Top Skills That Can Get You Hired In 2017

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Top Skills That Can Get You Hired In 2017

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LinkedIn has revealed the top ten skills that can land you a lucrative job in 2017. These skills are in high demand by employers.

Each year, LinkedIn releases an annual list of the skills employers need most in candidates.

According to LinkedIn, the Global Top Skills of 2016 list reveals several trends about the global job market.

First the demand for marketers is slowing because the supply of people with marketing skills has caught up with employers’ demand for people with marketing skills.

However, the demand for skills on cloud computing and data mining is on the increase. LinkedIn explained that these skills are in such high demand because they’re at the cutting edge of technology. Employers need employees with cloud and distributed computing, statistical analysis and data mining skills to stay competitive.

LinkedIn pointed out that for the first time ever, data presentation, which is visualizing data, makes the list of top ten skills. It explained that because of statistical analysis and data mining holding strong again this year, employers need employees who can organize data so it is easy for people to understand.

Here are the top 10 skills by LinkedIn in 2016

  1. Cloud and distributed computing
  2. Statistical analysis and data mining
  3. Web architecture and development framework
  4. Middleware and integration software
  5. User interface design
  6. Network and information security
  7. Mobile development
  8. Data presentation
  9. SEO/SEM marketing
  10. Storage systems and management

Brazilian Football Team Involved In Plane Crash

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Brazilian Football Team Involved In Plane Crash

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A plane carrying 81 people, including a top Brazilian football team, Chapecoense FC, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia.

Police earlier said that five people survived the crash but a statement by club said a sixth survivor was later found.

The team was due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin team Atletico Nacional.

The first leg of the final of the cup, South America’s second most important club competition, was scheduled for Wednesday, but has now been suspended.

Management of the football club issued a brief statement saying: “May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation.”

It said it would refrain from any further statements until it had assessed the extent of the crash.

But vice-president of the club, Ivan Tozzo, told a sport television station that “there are a lot of people crying in our city, we could never imagine this. Chapecoense is the biggest reason for joy here.”

One of the survivors was confirmed as Chapecoense defender Alan Ruschel.

Reports suggest that at least two other footballers – goalkeepers Jackson Follman and Danilo – may have survived, as well as physiotherapist Rafael Gobbato.

The team, from the southern city of Chapeco, was promoted to Brazil’s first division in 2014 and reached the final last week after a victory against Argentina’s San Lorenzo.

The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by Bolivian charter airline Lamia and carrying 72 passengers and nine crew, crashed in Cerro Gordo in the municipality of La Union.

According to a Colombian airport press release, it had reported an electrical fault to the control tower.

Medellin’s Mayor Federico Gutierrez described it as “a tragedy of huge proportions”.

Poor weather meant that the crash site, in a mountainous area, was only accessible by land, and later Medellin airport that the rescue operation had been suspended.

There was no fire on impact, which appears to have increased the chances of survivors being found.

Ondo Governor Mimiko Congratulates Akeredolu

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Ondo Governor Mimiko Congratulates Akeredolu

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Incumbent governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has sent a congratulatory message to the Rotimi Akeredolu, the winner of the governorship election held in the state last Saturday.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Eni Akinsola and made available to newsmen in Akure, the state capital, Mimiko said “it behoves on me as Governor of Ondo State to congratulate the Governor-elect, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and wish him success in the challenging task of governing our dear state.”

“It is incumbent upon me as Governor to facilitate smooth transition between my government and the incoming one. I will, to this end, provide the ambience for a smooth and seamless transition process,” the governor stated.

Mimiko, while expressing appreciation to the people of Ondo State, also promised to continue to provide quality leadership until his handover date.

He said: “I use this medium to express my sincere appreciation to all our citizens for the very peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves throughout the election period.

“I will not waiver in providing needed leadership to our dear state till the last day of my term.”

He called on the people to continue to work hard to sustain the peace that has been witnessed in the state for the past seven years.

It is surprising that Mimiko who is from the PDP will congratulate the APC governor-elect, when the national leadership of his party has openly rejected the election results.

In a statement released on Monday by the PDP national publicity secretary, the party called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the exercise.

It also urged the party’s candidate in the election, Eyitayo Jegede, to challenge the entire electoral process in the court of law.

Mimiko’s actions by hurriedly congratulating Akeredolu may lend further credence to the speculations that he is planning to dump the PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Recall that the outgoing governor won his first term election on the platform of the Labour Party, before decamping to the PDP during his campaign for the second tenure.

He was recently accused of planning to join the APC after he had gone to welcome President Muhammadu Buhari when he visited the state for the Ondo APC campaign rally.

He however denied the reports, insisting that the gesture had no political undertone as he was merely following protocol by going to personally welcome the number one citizen of the country.

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Zimbabwe Launches New Currency Amidst Controversy

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Zimbabwe Launches New Currency Amidst Controversy

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Zimbabwe has launched its own currency for the first time since the country’s dollar was abandoned seven years ago amid rampant inflation.

The bond note, which is worth one US dollar is raising fears of a return to the ill-fated local dollar.

The US dollar has been Zimbabwe’s main currency since 2009.

When the introduction of the new notes was first announced in May, it fueled some of the biggest protests in a decade against President Robert Mugabe.

But the government said it was issuing the bond note to tackle a worsening cash shortage.

It hopes the cash substitute, which is legal tender in Zimbabwe but is not valid outside the country, will halt the flow of US dollars going overseas.

Initially, an amount worth $10m is being introduced into circulation in two and five dollar denominations.

Business groups have welcomed the move as a way of boosting economic growth.

However, major opposition parties, workers and civil society groups are planning further protests this week.

And in the run-up to the notes’ release, Zimbabweans queued for hours to withdraw their US dollars amid fears the bond notes would not be able to keep parity.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has always refrained from referring to the new bond notes as currency.

But For ordinary Zimbabweans, memories of the collapse and demise of the Zimbabwean dollar in 2009, and the hyperinflation that caused its destruction, still rankle.

However, there were few alternatives for the Reserve Bank as the economy is experiencing a chronic shortage of US dollars, which has been the main currency of use for the past seven years.

If the current experiment with bond notes even looks like taking a step backward to the hyperinflation of seven years ago, not only will the economy’s very survival be in jeopardy, so too will the government’s.

Zimbabwe’s central bank has assured people the notes’ release will be controlled, including weekly withdrawal limits of $150 worth.

Under a proposed law, anyone found guilty of defacing the notes could face up to seven years in prison.

An egg cost 50 billion Zimbabwean dollars in 2008, a loaf of bread cost the same as 12 brand new cars would have cost ten years previously as inflation rates reached 231,000,000%.

To keep up with the rising prices, a 100 trillion dollar note was issued – enough for a weekly bus ticket – before the Zimbabwean dollar was eventually scrapped in 2009.

Nigeria Joins Countries Planning To End Child Marriage

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Nigeria Joins Countries Planning To End Child Marriage

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Nigeria will on November 29 join the growing list of African countries that have launched Anti-Child Marriage Campaigns.

Fifteen African countries have launched such campaigns aimed at stemming the tide of child marriages in the continent.

The countries are : Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Niger, the Islamic Republic of Gambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Zambia, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Madagascar.

The federal government has finalized arrangements for the kick-off of the campaign to stop the menace of child marriage and other related harmful traditional practices across the country.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Alhassan made this known during a media briefing on Monday in Abuja, saying that the campaign will be launched on Tuesday, November 29, at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja.

She said the move was borne in keeping with the resolution reached by African leaders during the 25th African Union Ordinary Session of Heads of State in June 2015, take practical steps in addressing the issues of child marriage and other harmful traditional practices.

Alhassan said: “One of first practical steps is a vigorous campaign to end child marriage which will be launched tomorrow Nov. 29 at the Sheraton Hotel.

“Global communities and Nigeria in particular are increasingly recognizing child marriage as a serious challenge, both as a violation of human rights and a hindrance to key developmental outcomes.”

The minister lamented the fact that most African countries were faced with the challenges of child marriage which robbed girls or children of their childhood, education, health and future.

She referred to a report by UNICEF to the effect that 15 million children are married off every year globally with devastating consequences on their general well being.

“This is very disturbing as it is further revealed that 15 out of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world are in Africa.

“Fifteen African countries have so far launched the campaign to end child marriage.

“The countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Niger, the Islamic Republic of Gambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Zambia, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Madagascar,” Alhassan said.

The minister called on the media, development partners and other stakeholders to do more in ensuring that girls are protected from child marriage and other forms of violence.

Minister Urges States To Support Film Makers

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Minister Urges States To Support Film Makers
Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed
Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has called on state governments to encourage and support movie producers by providing incentives and creating the enabling environment for the creative industry to thrive in their respective states.

Mohammed made this call in Abuja after witnessing the premiere of a movie titled ‘My Name is Kadi’.

He said the reason he attended the movie premiere in person was to further buttress the need to encourage and support the movie industry, especially to put into action the promises so far made by the federal government to strengthen the creative sector.

The minister said though government at the centre already has plans on ground for the growth of the movie industry, “I think the state governments should encourage such film-makers also by giving them access to grants to help them because this (Movie Production) could be very expensive.”

“The state governments will also help by establishing cinema houses to show these films,” he said.

Mohammed noted that if properly harnessed through regulatory and legislative framework, the film industry has a huge potential to contribute significantly to the development of the economy.

He said: “If you look at the GDP of California, which is largely dependent on the Creative Industry, it’s about the sixth in the world. Go to Mumbai in India and other cities, the Creative Industry is the bedrock of their economy.

“The good news here is that the artists, the film-makers, the musicians have gone far ahead and are today in a domineering position globally.”

The Minister said the government is working with some development partners to provide data and statistics that will encourage the private sector to key into the Creative Industry by investing and making profit.

He however observed that one of the challenges faced by the movie industry in Nigeria is that it’s largely unstructured, hence the government is creating a self-regulatory mechanism through the establishment of the Motion Picture Council of Nigeria, MOPICON, to organise and properly structure the industry.

On the issue of piracy, Mohammed said that his ministry and that of Justice are partnering to curb piracy, noting that the punishment for piracy needs to be stringent enough to discourage the unwholesome practice.

“We must protect the intellectual property of our artists. We have laws already in place but there are some people who are of the view that the punishment is not stringent enough,” the Minister noted.

He also harped on the need to discourage Nigerians from patronizing pirated products through advocacy to create awareness on the dangers of piracy to the nation’s economy.

PDP Wants Ondo Elections Cancelled

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PDP Wants Ondo Elections Cancelled

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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that it rejects the result of the Ondo State governorship election held last Saturday and wants the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the exercise.

This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, which also accused INEC of “advanced election rigging” in the Edo and Ondo States elections.

The PDP maintained that last Saturday’s election in Ondo State did not reflect the will of the people and has directed its candidate in the exercise, Eyitayo Jegede to challenge the process in court.

“INEC has however graduated from Inconclusive Elections as seen in Kogi, Bayelsa, Osun, FCT, Imo, Nassarawa and some other previous by-elections in the Country to ‘Advanced Election Rigging’, as in the cases of Edo and Ondo states Gubernatorial Elections,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the APC took advantage of the hardship it had inflicted on the people, “which have indeed made all Nigerians virtually beggars in their own country”, to engage in massive buying of votes even while security agents watched.

“It is common knowledge that the APC agents openly bought votes of the electorates in the full glare of security operatives who did nothing to prevent such dastardly violation of the Electoral Law,” Adeyeye stated.

“In view of the fact that the Election was blatantly manipulated from the beginning to the end to favour the APC, we vehemently reject the results of the November 26, 2016 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

“The election and all actions leading to it fall short of laid down principles guiding conduct of elections in Nigeria.

“We have instructed our candidate and the Ondo State Chapter of our party to proceed to the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election.

“We call on the judiciary to redeem Nigeria’s image on this matter as we request for the total cancellation of the election in Ondo State,” the statement concluded.

Zuma’s Cabinet Wants Him To Step Down

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Zuma’s Cabinet Wants Him To Step Down

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South African President, Jacob Zuma, is facing yet another threat to his presidency with a renewed call by three of his cabinet members for him to stand down.

Derek Hanekom, the Minister of Tourism, was the first to raise a motion in the country’s ruling ANC, calling for a vote of no confidence on the president.

Two other cabinet ministers are understood to be backing Hanekom’s proposal, they are: Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi and Public Works Minister, Thulas Nxesi.

President Zuma has survived several similar votes in the parliament but this is the first time the ANC will formally discuss his position.

Zuma has increasingly come under criticism over corruption allegations, with a recent report highlighting his links with the wealthy Gupta family.

Analysts say this could shape into the toughest battle of Zuma’s career.

Earlier this month, an investigation by the country’s anti-corruption watchdog said a judicial inquiry should be set up to further investigate allegations of criminal activity in Zuma’s government.

The investigation found evidence that the Guptas, a business family with links to Zuma, may have wielded undue political influence over the appointment of ministers.

Both Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.

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