I should be re-elected, govts. perform better during second term – Jonathan.

President Goodluck Jonathan

According to President Goodluck Jonathan, most governments worldwide perform better during their second term in office. He said his administration’s case wouldn’t be different and promised to do more in the next four years if re-elected.

GEJ disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with members of the Kogi State Council of Chiefs at the Chari Maigumeri Barracks, Lokoja, Kogi State, as part of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential campaign rally.

According to the President, most governments perform better during their second term because they have enough time to settle down and plan for national development.

“Whatever we have done in the last four years, we believe that we will even do more in the next four years. “Most governments all over the world do better in their second tenure. “This is because the Presidents are more stable that time, especially in this two terms arrangement. “They are more stable. They sit down and plan for the country and focus on key areas,” Jonathan said.

He also pledged that if re-elected, his administration would give more attention to the Ajaokuta Steel Company of Nigeria and ensure that the steel is included into the nation’s rail system, adding that with the global fall in the price of crude oil, his administration would also continue to give more attention to the development of solid minerals and agriculture.

Jonathan also vowed to continue to work with the state government to develop Kogi State. Speaking earlier, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, assured the traditional rulers of Jonathan’s administration’s resolve to restore their constitutional roles, adding that the PDP could not understand why traditional rulers, 

“as the custodians of culture and tradition,” are still being denied of connotations roles. Our party leader, President Jonathan, is leading the crusade to bring you back into the constitution,” he assured the traditional rulers.

Muazu added that since the traditional rulers’ support in 2011 led to their success, they decided to visit them again for their royal blessings. Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State in his remarks said traditional rulers in the state had always been supportive of the present administration’s transformation agenda and said he was confident that they would do more as the elections draw nearer.

The Attah Igala, Idakwo Michael Oboni II, who spoke on behalf of the traditional rulers, told Jonathan to go ahead with his administration’s laudable projects, while also assuring him that the people of the state, being his second home, would continue to support him.

Man Electrocutes His Wife For Giving Birth To A Girl

The couple

A man in Turkey, has been found guilty of killing his wife for giving birth to a second girl when he expected her to give birth to a boy. 29-year-old Veysi Turan was sentenced to life in prison for  electrocuting his wife in her asleep. Worldwideweirdnews reports:

The court heard how Turan planned the murder. He bought electrical cables and exposed the wires. He then attached it his wife’s feet as she slept before plugging it into the outlet, electrocuting his wife.
Medical experts said that his wife, Mubarek, 33, would almost certainly have died in agony after being awakened by the electric shocks.
Turan claimed that he had killed her in a fit of rage, a day after the birth of their new baby girl.
However, prosecutors said that it was premeditated as he had purchased the power cord, thick gloves and insulated rubber plugs for use in the murder just one day before he carried out the fatal attack.

When he was sentenced to life in prison, judges at the Diyarbakir 2nd Heavy Penal Court told Turan: “Your callous behavior has left two children without a mother, and now with no father as well.”

Newborn baby dumps outside a motel

The baby boy

A baby, estimated to be about 3 days old, was found near a motel in Abule Egba Lagos.

Lagos State Police said that the baby was found abandoned in the early hours and People living within the area believed the baby was dumped by one of the prostitutes working in the mote.

Police launched an investigation, and are trying to locate the mother, meanwhile, the baby was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition.

Buhari to ban importation of rice, tomato if elected.

Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd), on Monday said if elected on February 14, he would ban the importation of basic items like rice and tomato in order to enhance local production of the products.

He also said his administration would focus on agriculture, mining, infrastructure and job provision at the top of its economic agenda.

Buhari, who gave a summary of how he intended to revive the economy in a meeting with the Organised Private Sector in Lagos, said his government would place emphasis on three key issues of security, tackling corruption and reviving the ailing economy.

The meeting, which had all the key members of the APC in attendance, was hosted by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

“How can Nigeria be importing virtually everything? How can we be importing even tomatoes? If I am elected, basic items like rice and tomatoes, which we have the capacity to produce, will be banned from being imported,” Buhari said.

The APC presidential candidate said his commitment to the Nigerian people would be governed by the highest consideration for how his policies would create jobs.

He also said he would focus on the provision of infrastructure such as power and roads.

Buhari, who said he agreed with the current administration on the privatisation of the power utilities, however, said there would be a need to also privatise the transmission segment.

According to him, the privatisation of the power sector has yet to achieve the desired result because after the handing over of the assets to private investors, the hard work to connect the various parts of the power chain, supply gas, install transformers and complete substations has not been done.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER.

Philanthropist Okoya-Thomas dies at 79

Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas

One of Nigeria’s most prominent businessman and philanthropist, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, is dead, he died on Monday at the age of 79 years.

The Nigerian Table Tennis Federation announced the death of Okoya-Thomas, the Asoju Oba of Lagos, He was a philanthropist and sports enthusiast who solely sponsored the popular annual Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship in Lagos for more than four decades

Okoya-Thomas was the chairman of CFAO Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based industrial conglomerate engaged in the wholesale trade of automobiles, building materials, technical equipment, electrical equipment, and agricultural equipment.

. He held the Nigerian national honor of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic, and was a recipient of the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, the highest national honor given by the French to a foreigner.

CAC launches 24-hour online registration portaV

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on Monday in Abuja launched a 24-hour online registration platform to fast track its business services to its customers. Dr Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said that the new online registration portal was developed by CAC to make registration of business easy and accessible to its clients.

The Wired World: A graphic representation of the Internet

“Nigerians will no longer have to incur extra costs and will not travel to the CAC’s office to register their businesses,’’ Aganga said. He added that it was a joint initiative with the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology under Government Service Portal initiative.


He explained that the portal was robust enough to accommodate all platforms such as inter-switch, e- transaction and visa card. Others include Verve card, American express and other forms of electronic payments. Aganga explained that any person that wanted to register his business would now do so easily in any part of the world without physically coming to CAC.


He listed easy access to payment of the commission’s services, reduction in cost for the accredited agents and ordinary persons as many benefits of the new online portal. Aganga said that the Federal Government was committed to deploying more positive initiatives towards a friendly business environment climate in the country.


He demonstrated the use of the portal which took him only 15 minutes to register his business name, adding that the online registration would reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Aganga said that the registration was in line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan to fast track the development of the nation’s economy.


Earlier, Dr Omobola Johnson, the Minister of Communication Technology, said that online registration would enable users to make payment services from the comfort of their homes. Johnson said that the portal would assist in revenue general for the commission as well block all financial leakages.


She said that the portal was developed with local content in ICT initiative and was done to increase the participation of Nigerian companies in the ICT sector. Johnson said that the portal was designed by a team of Nigerian software developers and engineers from OasisSeamfix. She explained that the company had met international benchmarks and best practices stipulated by DFID sponsored consultant.


Mr Bello Mahmud, the Registrar General of CAC, said that the new portal would save a lot time in doing business with the commission, adding that the public, other than accredited agents, would carry out transaction directly with CAC. Mahmud noted that the Federal Government recently approved the reduction of 50 per cent in the filing fees for new business registration in the country.


Mahmud expressed appreciation to the World Bank, and DFID for their assistance in establishing the online portal. He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Communication Technology for contributing over 60 per in funding the portal.


Vanguard.

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