See The Number Of Graduates FG Plans To Employ In 2017

According to the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, the Federal Government will employ an additional 350,000 graduates in 2017.

The graduates will be employed under the N-Power Volunteer Corps, a component of the government’s Social Investment Programmes.

Akande disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, February 26 and that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested an appropriation of N157.75bn in the 2017 budget estimates for the N-Power scheme.

“350,000 unemployed graduates more would be hired and trained, alongside 50,000 non-graduates youths to be engaged as artisans and in other creative ventures,” Akande said.

He explained further that under the N157.75bn also, a sum of N4.5bn had been earmarked for science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme to support young Nigerians in building skills in those disciplines.

Akande noted that the SIPs’ budget proposals for 2017 would be discussed this week at the National Assembly and urged Nigerians to expect more initiatives especially in the area of implementation as virtually all of the SIPs are now undergoing different stages of implementation.

“While we were able to engage 200,000 unemployed graduates last year, we will do 350,000 more this year,” he said.

He added that some of the teething problems were giving way to lessons that would enhance the implementation under the 2017 budget.

He also disclosed that about N75bn had been allocated for the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme in the 2017 budget.

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‘God Has Been Partial To Me’ – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that God had been partial to him as he did not deserve the favour he bestowed on him.

The former president stated this in his remarks at the thanksgiving service organised in his honour by the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, ahead of his 80th birthday scheduled to hold on Sunday, March 5.

Decked in white agbada, the former President said given the village where he hails from, Ibogun Olaogun, and the illiterate parents that gave birth to him, he never thought his name would even be known in the next village let alone the whole of Nigeria, Africa and the world in general.

Obasanjo also recounted his ordeal after he was alleged to be involved in planning a coup against the regime of the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.

He said it was due to divine intervention that he came out of prison alive.

He said, “God has been partial to me by showing me so much favour that I do not deserve.

“If you don’t know anything about me at all, go to the village where I was born. I was born by parents that were illiterates. There was no road to the village then. One could not boast of even being known in the next village.

“God has done so much more than I deserve. I thank God for this.”

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See What Toke Makinwa Wrote On Maje Ayida’s Baby Mama Instagram Page

Toke Makinwa is a Nigerian radio personality, television host, vlogger, and bestselling author of ‘on becoming’, where she walks us through her time with ex-husband, Maje Ayida.

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See below:

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‘There Is No Cause For Alarm Because Buhari Is Neither Sick Nor In The Hospital – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari is neither critically ill nor in life threatening situation and there is no cause for alarm.

The minister reiterated this position on Monday in Umuahia at the second town hall meeting for the South East and the launch of national reorientation campaign, “Change Begins With Me’’ in Abia.

The minister, who was asked to tell the country about the health condition of the president and whether there was need for a regular briefing on his health stressed that there was no reason for such briefings.

Mohammed disclosed that the president spoke with him on Saturday in the afternoon and there was no reason for Nigerians to be worried. “ I can say here very boldly and confidently that there is absolutely no cause for alarm. “`Mr president called me at 2.43 p.m. on Saturday and we spoke.

“If Mr president is in the hospital or is critically ill, as minister of information, I will give daily bulletin on his health. “Mr president is neither critically ill nor in the hospital and there is nothing life threatening about the checks he is going through,’’ he said.

Speaking on the state of the economy, the minister said that it was corruption that made the prices of commodities to go up. He noted that no economy in the world could survive the blind and reckless looting perpetrated by the previous administration.

“If one person was found with almost 10 million dollar in an uncompleted house and another with 136 million dollar in fake account and other with N7 billion how can the economy survives the kind of looting. “Naturally the price of commodities will go up.

“These are funds meant for development of infrastructure and for provision of services. “That is why you cannot do anything with the economy without first facing corruption squarely.

“But the good news is that the government is doing both together, as we are fighting corruption, we are also making sure that we are ensuring we are out of recession by investing heavily on infrastructure. Mohammed also pacified the audience who lamented the spate of attacks on farmers by the herdsmen.

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[PHOTO] FG Evacuates 41 Teenage Nigerian Girls Involved In Human Trafficking From Mali

Photo of the girls as they arrived yesterday

The Federal Government on Tuesday evacuated 41 Nigerian girls from Bamako, Mali, through the Ministry of Defence, the Nigerian Air Force, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.

The 41 girls, according to the government, are victims of human trafficking to Europe but ended up in Mali.

They arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos aboard a Hercules C-130 military transport aircraft at about 7. 55pm.

The Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the girls were trapped in Mali.

She said NAF was asked to bring them back after the government received a distress call to help evacuate the girls.

Dabiri-Erewa said their return home was part of the directives from President Muhammadu Buhari, who insisted that Nigerians stranded anywhere in the world, should be assisted to return home .

She said many Nigerians were still stranded in Mali and would be brought back home and urged the girls to make the best use of their lives as they had no business living in Mali.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, prior to their evacuation, NAPTIP officials had travelled to Mali for documentation and other logistics to ease the return of the girls.

She said, “NAPTIP will rehabilitate them and we have commenced profiling of the girls. We call on Non-Governmental Organisations to join us in tackling this problem.

“They were deceived into embarking on the journey. We will ensure we train them to the state of proficiency in different vocations, after which we trace their parents and counsel them.”

She said many of the girls came back with stories of woes, adding that they were evacuated alongside six suspected traffickers.

“We have arrested six suspects and have handed them over to security agencies  for prosecution,” she added.

Some of the girls complained of not being allowed to take their belongings as they were literally brought home empty handed.

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‘I Don’t Regret Working With Goodluck Jonathan’ – Reuben Abati

Reuben Abati, media adviser to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan has said that he had no regrets working with Jonathan, because of the many lessons and quality exposure that he received under him.

Abati said this on Sunday night while fielding questions from the media on life in the Presidential Villa.

He described working under the former President as going to the ‘University of Life,’ saying that even those who were his critics would have had something to learn if they got into arena of state power at that time.

The former presidential spokesman said that in spite of the allegation that he received N50 million from ex-National Security Adviser, Dasuki Sambo, and his alleged promise to return N5 million out of the sum to the government, he still thinks his integrity and name are intact.

He said: “I do not regret working with the former President. If you worked with his government, it is a different kind of exposure. It is like going to the university. If you like, you can call it the University of Life.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to serve at that highest level in Nigeria and for the many lessons and quality exposure that I received.

“If you are on the other side, it is very easy to talk; it is very easy to analyze and criticize. But if you get into government, you will begin to gain knowledge of how government works. Many of the people out there who comment on government affairs, when they get into the arena they get to learn a lot.

“I think my integrity and name was intact when I left the villa. I don’t have any challenge in that regard. I think I did a good job.”

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[PHOTO] Court Orders Forfeiture Of Abuja Mansion Belonging To Obanikoro’s Wife

A Federal High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja has ordered the forfeiture of a multi-million naira property belonging to Moroophat Obanikoro, the wife of a former minister of state for defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro pending the outcome of investigations being conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission into her husband and children.

Her prayer asking the court to order EFCC to pay her the sum of N200m for violating her fundamental human rights was also rejected.

Moroophat has already filed an appeal challenging the court judgment.

The court ruling follows investigations into the $2.1bn arms scam involving the Office of the National Security Adviser in which the EFCC had traced the transfer of about N4.7bn to the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara, a company allegedly owned by Obanikoro’s two sons – Gbolahan and Babajide.

Sahara Reporters reports that out of the said amount, Obanikoro allegedly gave N3.880bn to Ayodele Fayose and Senator Iyiola Omisore in July 2014 when they were the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidates in Ekiti and Osun states respectively.

Already, the EFCC has seized a house in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State allegedly belonging to Obanikoro’s sons – Gbolahan and Babajide – and a property located at 44 Mamman Kotangora Crescent, Katampke Extension, Abuja, belonging to their mother.

However, Obanikoro’s wife argued that she bought the property over seven years before the alleged arms scam took place.

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