At least 4,395 prospective couples wishing to participate in the Kano State Government’s mass wedding have so far registered for the programme.
The state government had directed the Hisba Board to register all interested prospective couples in the state.
Dr Abba Sufi, the Director-General of the board, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Kano on Saturday.
Sufi said of the number, 3,117 couples were registered by Hisba offices in 41 local government areas of the state, while the remaining 1, 278 couples were registered at the state headquarters of the board in Kano.
“As I am talking to you now, 4,395 prospective couples indicated interest to participate in the programme. He said as soon as the remaining three local government areas submitted their list, the board would write a comprehensive report to the government for necessary action.
Sufi, who was giving update on the registration exercise, reaffirmed the commitment of the government toward ensuring the success of the programme.
“The government is committed to the programme hence its decision to continue with the programme. “The registration is still open to all interested persons as the exercise is still ongoing,” Sufi said.
The registration for the prospective couples began simultaneously across the 44 local government areas of the state on Aug. 8. Thanks for reading.
Relief As Turkey Waives Tuition Fees For Nigerian Students
The Turkish Government on Friday said it has waived tuition fees for Nigerian students studying in private universities in the country before they were closed down.
This was disclosed by the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Hakan Cakil, when he visited the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, in his office in Abuja.
The government closed down private universities and other establishments operating in the country following last month’s failed coup in the country.
According to a statement issued by the ministry’s Deputy Director, (Press), Ben Bem-Goong, said Nigerian students in private universities in the country have been moved to public schools for them to continue their education.
He said: “Following the coup attempt in Turkey which led to the closure of many private Universities, Nigerian students studying across Turkish private varsities which have been closed down have now been moved by the Turkish Government to public schools in that country where they will pay very little or no tuition fees at all.”
Ambassador Hakan Cakil, however, assured the Minister that no Nigerian students would be allowed to suffer the closure, and any students electing to return to Nigeria will be doing so as a matter of choice. Thanks for reading.
Shocking: Two Men Rape 10-Year-Old Girl
The Jigawa State Police Command disclosed that over the last three weeks, it has charged 53 people to court over rape and sodomy.
According to the State Commissioner of Police, Henry Fadairo, another shocking case was reported at the Gumel Police Station, where the father of the victim gave details of what happened to his 10-year-old daughter.
While highlighting the spate of the crimes in the state, he said one of the suspects charged to court was 40-year-old Idris Abdu, who was reported at the Hadejia Police Station to have taken a nine-year-old girl to his room and raped her. The suspect later confessed to the crime.
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His words: “The father of the 10-year-old girl reported at the Gumel Police Station that he saw his daughter holding some money. When he asked how she got the money, the girl said that one Mohammed Abdullahi, a 40-year-old man, took her to his room and raped her after which he gave her money.
“The father of the girl said another man, identified as 25-year old Nasiru Mohammed forced the same girl into an uncompleted building and raped her again.
“The girl told her father that the first man who raped her (Abdullahi) had also raped her 10-year-old friend. The father of the second victim also reported the case. The culprits confessed to their crimes, revealing that they had raped the girls on many times, he added.
Fadairo said that less than one month after he took over the mantle of leadership of the command, he charged the 53 suspects to court over 28 rape incidents and 25 sodomy allegations.
He told journalists that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is bent on ensuring that those involved in the crime are prosecuted. “I have started parading them publicly in order to make their prosecution a deterrent to others,” he added.
Fadairo said that in Garki Local Government Area of the state, a mother of an eight-year-old girl reported to the police that when her daughter was on her way to school, the Village Head of Kargo village, AbubakarYa’u, a 60-year-old man, waylaid the girl and took her to his room where he raped her.
He, however, stated that investigations by the police indicated that the village head actually committed the crime, adding that the suspect will soon be charged to court for prosecution. Thanks for reading.
SAD: Flood Destroys 120 Houses, Farms In Jigawa
Flood has destroyed 120 houses and washed away farms and other valuables worth millions of naira in Jahun local government Area of Jigawa state.
Sai’du Yusif, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Jahun/Miga constituency at the house of representatives, made this known to journalists on Saturday after visiting the victims to sympathise with them.
Yusuf said the report from the victims indicated that about 120 houses, foodstuff and other valuables were destroyed by flood.
The lawmaker, who was accompanied by Alasan Doguwa, chief whip, and a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) official, said he came to assess the level of damages caused by the flood for appropriate action.
The chief whip, who was representing Yakubu Dogara, the speaker, donated N500,000 to the victims to assuage their sufferings.
Yusuf declined comments on his donation, saying “it is between me and God”.
But NAN learnt that he had donated the cash, 50 sacks of maize, 50 bundles of wrappers and 60 bundles of brocade popularly known as ‘Shadda’ to the victims.
He pledged to move a motion of urgent national importance at the house to find lasting solution to the flood that had been ravaging the council annually. Thanks for reading.
Rio Olympics: Dream Team VI Finally Secures Nigeria’s First Medal
The Dream team have won Nigeria a medal at the Rio Olympics after beating Honduras 3-2 to clinch bronze medal.
Nigeria started as the better side in the third place match against Honduras but wasted most of their chances at goal. In the 34th minute, Roma striker Sadiq Umar opened scoring for team in a one sided first half. The Honduras also tried to gain momentum but no avail.
In the second half, Nigeria came in with increased vigor, searching for a second goal, four minutes in to the second period, Aminu Umar got a much needed second goal for the Dream team while Sadiq Umar extended the lead seven minutes later. In the 71st minute, Anthony Lozano scored from close range for Honduras before Marcelo Pereira headed in their second from a free kick on the edge of the box barely four minutes to injury time and continued to pile pressure on the Nigerians, who nervously finished the match to claim the bronze medal in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
The Samson Siasia-led Dream team will be delighted to be the first team to win a medal for Nigeria at the Rio Olympics. Thanks for reading.
Ukrainians saw Paul Manafort's political impact up close; and it wasn't pretty
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, has only recently become familiar to Americans. But in Ukraine, Manafort has played a decisive role in politics for nearly a decade – one that is being closely scrutinized after his name has appeared in documents that are being examined in a corruption investigation. That is why on Friday, I helped to make public more documents related to Manafort’s dealings with the Party of Regions, which he used to consult for. I remember Manafort clearly during the inauguration of Victor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine. On a cold February morning, men and women wearing tailcoats and evening gowns hurried towards the Lenin monument. There was a little bit of commotion at the entrance – Rinat Akhmetov, the richest Ukrainian man and the right arm of Yanukovych, was trying to make way for an inconspicuous American. It was only me and a few of my colleagues who recognized the mysterious stranger’s face: it was Paul Manafort. Manafort had served as a consultant to the Party of Regions for many years. He had just as much cause for celebration as the newly inaugurated president, since he was the mastermind behind the president’s victory. The two had worked together since 2004. After Yanukovych’s election defeat that year, Manafort was hired by him and they worked on four election campaigns (including one presidential and three parliamentary ones) together. The American consultant was recommended to Yanukovych by his business and political partner Rinat Akhmetov, who in turn was recommended by Oleg Deripaska, his Russian colleague from the circle of fellow oligarchs. That way Manafort passed from one person to another as a relay baton to later become one of the most influential players in the Ukrainian politics. The question is now if he ever abused his position. So-called “shadow accounting” documents I have seen show $400,000 in cash payments were made to him, which were intended to be spent on conducting exit polls. The documents show a further $812,000 to be paid to him for engaging international observers. And, these documents, which I reported on and which were the focus of a New York Times article this week, list a total of $12.7m of payments made to Manafort. Ukrainians are concerned about the theft of public money. We want the chain of corruption to end. That is why many are troubled that Manafort’s name has emerged in this investigation. It is not just these latest revelations that cast a shadow over Manafort’s name in Ukraine. Manafort was an advisor to President Yanukovych when he pursued a divisive electoral campaign, such as focusing on the alleged infringement of rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. This wasn’t an issue before, but after years of driving this idea into the heads of voters, the question of the Russian language has really become an important factor in Ukrainian politics. Subsequently, after the escape of Yanukovych in 2014, it was under the guise of protecting the Russian population that Putin invaded Crimea, violating the post-war balance of power in Europe. Manafort worked with Victor Yanukovych – one of the most notorious European politicians – for nearly 10 years. This is not a casual relationship between the client and the performer. Such long-term cooperation incorporates a general worldview and values. Now voters in America will have to ask themselves: are these values they want in their country?. Thanks for reading.
Paul Manafort resigns as chairman of Donald Trump campaign
Donald Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort has resigned, in the latest convulsion to sweep a candidacy reeling from poor polling numbers and self-inflicted controversy. With voters able to cast absentee ballots in the crucial swing state of North Carolina in just three weeks and his poll numbers sliding rapidly, the Republican nominee ousted his campaign chairman on Friday, only two months after the forced departure of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Manafort’s exit followed another unconventional move by Trump, who hours earlier had admitted that he “regretted” the pain caused by some of his intemperate remarks this year. “Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing,” he said, in tightly scripted remarks said to bear the hallmark of new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. Though the apology at a rally in North Carolina did not specify precisely whom he was saying sorry to, it was the first acknowledgment by the candidate that his swashbuckling style was proving self-destructive. News of Manafort’s resignation also came as a surprise to some within the campaign, and followed a slew of denials that a shakeup was under way. “I would have thought we were done with revolving chairs,” one source familiar with the campaign told the Guardian after the publication of Friday’s statement. Another person familiar with the shakeup said the change underlined how Manafort had never quite been able to communicate with Trump the way Lewandowski had. His departure meant Conway would be in charge of the messaging, whereas Bannon, a former banker, was there to run the business side of the campaign. It was also pointed out that Trump had long been uncomfortable with the campaign spending heavily to buy television commercials, a step that was taken earlier this week with Trump shelling out $4m to go on the air in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. “He thinks he is being robbed,” said the source familiar with the shakeup. “Boots on the ground are worth it” but “media buys, mail and other stuff” were looked on by Trump skeptically. In an interview with Fox News, Trump’s son Eric suggested that the controversy over Manafort’s ties to Russia and a report this week that he had potentially committed a felony by evading the reporting requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) led to the top operative being pushed out. “My father just didn’t want to have the distraction looming over the campaign, and, quite frankly, looming over all the issues Hillary is facing right now,” said the younger Trump. Who supports Donald Trump? The new Republican center of gravity Read more Manafort, a veteran political strategist, has been under mounting scrutiny as more details emerged of his role in advising foreign politicians, including Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovych. His close connections to Russia through Yanukovych, at a time when Trump is trying to criticise Clinton for taking money from foreign donors for her family foundation, were proving a growing problem. Manafort first joined the campaign as an unpaid adviser in March after Trump had been repeatedly outmaneuvered in the delegation selection process by rival Ted Cruz. The veteran operative, who helped Gerald Ford win the last contested convention in American history in 1976, soon used that foothold to expand his mandate. Within weeks, he had in effect replaced former campaign manager Lewandowski, who was disdained by many within the party establishment as well as the Trump family. In a statement issued on Friday, Trump suggested Manafort’s role had peaked as an adviser during the Republican national convention in Cleveland, where rival Ted Cruz had threatened to lead a revolt, but this time expressed no regret over the departure. “This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” said a statement from the Trump campaign issued on Friday morning. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.” The resignation, which contradicts claims Manafort would stay on earlier in the week, is the second moment Trump has exercised his famed slogan “you’re fired” – following the ousting of Lewandowski, in June. Lewandowski is now thought likely to make a comeback within the constantly shifting Trump inner circle, as he favours the same approach of “letting Trump be Trump” as Bannon is believed to. Trump also appeared rattled by recent opinion polling which suggests he is far adrift of where he needs to be to challenge Clinton in crucial swing states. The urgent need to confront his collapse in the polls suggests expediency, rather than a personality, may have been the largest factor leading to Manafort’s departure. At a rally on Friday night in Dimondale, Michigan, he again read off a prepared speech, with no mention of polls or crowds – two of his favorite topics for months of rallies. Instead he urged African Americans to join his “change movement”, saying, “to those hurting, I say: what do you have to lose by trying something new?” Signs of the old Trump did break through his restrained performance. At one point he went off-script, riffing to the mostly white crowd, “I am nothing more than your messenger.” Amid the Trump campaign shakeup and the apologetic address on Thursday night, Democrats rejected the notion of a new-look Trump on Friday, ridiculing a new emphasis on unifying the country that emerged on the same day as a campaign ad attacking immigrants. “In case you thought for a split second Trump was genuine about feeling regret, he is back to demonizing immigrants again in his new ad today,” said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon. Thanks for reading.
