Political Briefs
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GENERAL Muhammadu Buhari, president-elect, on Wednesday, April 29, said that he was not aware of the ban imposed on African Independent Television, AIT, not to cover his official functions. Consequently, Buhari instructed all his aides, including the security team, to steer clear of all media activities and allow those assigned the responsibility to solely play the role with their colleagues.
In a statement issued in Abuja, by the directorate of media and publicity of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, Buhari said he read about the incident in the papers and that he was neither consulted nor informed about the development.
He, however, aligned himself with the pronouncement of his party, which had since reversed the ban on the AIT. Buhari said: “I would like everyone to henceforth stay within his/her defined area of responsibility. The time of change has come and we must avoid making the same mistakes as the outgoing government.”
Speaking in an interview, Garba Shehu, director of the APCPCC, blamed the incident on the reactions of some overzealous supporters of Buhari who saw documentaries carried by the AIT during the electioneering. “You know that people react in different manners to issues. So, some people who are still very protective of the general and still sore about the programmes of the AIT, are not happy with the station. But as the general has said all that has to be in the past now and we should move on,” Shehu said.
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Chibok Girls Still Missing
ALL the 293 women and girls that were rescued from Sambisa forest by Nigerian troops are indigenes of Gumsiri and not Chibok. The Borno State government which made the clarification on Wednesday, April 29, said that the rescued women and girls are not the missing Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted a year ago by Boko Haram insurgents.
Mohammed Bulama, state commissioner for Information, speaking at a briefing, told journalists that the profiles of the 200 girls and 93 women rescued by the military on Tuesday, April 28, showed that they were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from Gumsiri village in Damboa Local Government Area of the state.
The Borno government, through Bulama, commended the Nigerian Army for rescuing the 293 women/girls from captivity, adding that it still believed and hoped that other abducted persons would be rescued soon. He said the government had started making plans to put in place all the necessary structures to rehabilitate and reintegrate the freed 293 females back into the society.
“These girls and women rescued are still our daughters, just as much as the Chibok girls, and we have to commend the military for liberating them, hoping that the rest will equally be liberated,” the commissioner said.
The government’s disclosure of the identity of the rescued females followed the growing speculation over the possible rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists a year ago.
Thousands of women are believed to have been kidnapped by the insurgents in the last few years, but the kidnapping that drew the attention of the world was that of the Chibok schoolgirls.
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APC Warns Labour to Beware of Fayose
THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State has accused the state government of alleged plans to induce the state work-force into a prolonged labour crisis in order to prevent the party lawmakers in the Assembly from carrying on with the impeachment proceedings against Governor Ayodele Fayose.
A statement by Taiwo Olatubosun, publicity secretary of the party, in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, April 29, warned the organised labour in the state against being used by the government to work against their general interest. Olatubosun said the party had uncovered plans to induce workers in the state to embark on a prolonged strike.
He, therefore, called on the labour leaders not to drag workers in the state into partisan politics, noting that most of the conducts of labour leaders amounted to flagrant abuse of labour laws. He further alleged that for some time now the labour leaders had abandoned the interests of their members as they are allegedly hobnobbing with the state government for their selfish interest.
“To set the planned strike in motion, the governor has offered to pay half salary for April, which labour would reject, leading to a disagreement that would spark a strike action,” he explained.
— May 11, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: African Independent Television AIT All Progressives Congress APC Ayodele Fayose ban Boko Haram Chibok Chibok girls Chibok schoolgirls Damboa Local Government Area Garba Shehu Gumsiri half salary insurgents labour laws military Mohammed Bulama Muhammadu Buhari Nigerian Army organised labour Presidential Campaign Council Sambisa forest Still Missing Taiwo Olatubosun
