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Troops Target Recapture Of Baga, Others …As Boko Haram Attacks 16 Towns In Borno
The Federal Government said yesterday that troops were working hard to free Baga and other towns captured by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno.
The Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mr Mike Omeri, stated this while giving newsmen an update on ongoing troops operation in the North East.
Omeri, however, said the situation in Baga had improved.
But when asked to make clarification on the improvement, Omeri said disclosing strategy could endanger troops operations in that area.
The coordinator said troops operations were being reviewed with a view to improving logistics and support for them to defeat the insurgents.
According to him, officers are being trained and re-trained to update their skills and capacity, while surveillance, intelligence sharing and synergy are being enhanced.
Omeri also said that there were consultations among security chiefs and their retired colleagues, traditional rulers and other critical stakeholders to bring their experiences to bear on the fight against the insurgents.
He assured the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa that government was working steadfastly to restore normalcy but added this would be done in a way to reduce loss of lives and property.
However, Boko Haram has launched renewed attacks around Borno, razing at least 16 towns and villages.
A local government official told our source that the insurgents to the ground all the 16 towns and villages including Baga, Dorn-Baga, Mile 4, Mile 3, Kauyen Kuros and Bunduram,” said Musa Bukar, head of the Kukawa local government in Borno state.
Head of Borno’s fish traders union and a Baga native, Abubakar Gamandi, confirmed the attacks, which happened Wednesday, adding that hundreds of people who fled were trapped on islands on Lake Chad.
Meanwhile, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, yesterday called on Muslims and Christians to come together to end insurgency in the country.
Abubakar made the call at the opening ceremony of the 29th National Qur’anic Recitation Competition in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
“What is happening to our brothers in the Northern parts of the country is bad and we must come together to find an end to this insurgency,” he said.
He said that those perpetuating evil under the name of Islam had dented the image of the religion.
“As Muslims, we must all stand and counter this violence that has dented the image of Islam.
“Islam stands for peace, people doing so many things in the name of Islam should look inward and repent,” he said.
The sultan urged religious leaders to continue to pray for the peace and unity of the country.
“Religious leaders should continue to pray for our leaders because if you don’t pray for them, they will do the wrong thing, but if you pray for them, they will do the right thing.’’
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, urged those hiding under the name of religion to commit crime to desist from it, saying that “violence does not pay”.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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