Atiku Launches Presidential Campaign, Decries High Unemployment Rate

Nigeria’s Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has decried the rate of unemployment in the country.

He faulted the situation on Saturday when he officially flagged off his presidential campaign in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

“Today, we have the highest unemployment rate in the history of our country. More than 10 million youth are unemployed,” Atiku told a gathering of supporters and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the rally.

He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of poor leadership and worsening the nation’s economy.

Condemning the repeated killings in parts of the country, the former Vice President said Nigeria was facing its worst security challenge since it gained independence.

He, however, promised to revamp the nation’s security architecture, ensure the safety of lives and property, as well as fix the economy if elected as Nigeria’s president.

Less than 210 days to the presidential election, Atiku was confident that he and the PDP would reclaim power at the centre from President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC if he was given the party’s ticket.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar addressing supporters and PDP members when he flagged off his Presidential campaign in Adamawa State on July 21, 2018. Photo: Twitter – @OfficialPDPNig.

“Today I have returned to reclaim what rightly belongs to the PDP,” the presidential aspirant said. “My fellow Nigerians, the government of APC has failed; it has failed to unite Nigeria.”

“Today, we are more divided than any other time in the history of this country. The APC government has destroyed our economy. They took over an economic growth of seven per cent and brought it down to less than two per cent,” he claimed.

Atiku, a former APC chieftain, announced his defection from the ruling party in November 2017 through his aide, Paul Ibe, after which he returned to the PDP.

In his quest to become the nation’s number one citizen, he contested against President Buhari and three others for the APC ticket in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.

Having lost to the President in the APC primary conducted in 2014, the former Vice President reportedly collapsed his structure to support President Buhari during his campaign.

He had left the PDP to join the APC in February 2014, after he lost the presidential election of 2007 on the platform of the then Action Congress.

While he was in the PDP, he had declared his intention to run for the Presidency in 2011 but lost to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Atiku also contested for the Presidency in 1992 on the platform of the then Social Democratic Party (SDP), but later stepped down for late MKO Abiola who won the convention primary.

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Ozil Defends Controversial Picture With Erdogan

In this handout picture taken on May 13, 2018 and released on May 14, 2018 by the Turkish Presidential Press office Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) poses for a photo with German footballers of Turkish origin Ilkay Gundogan (L) and Mesut Ozil (2nd L) in London. 

KAYHAN OZER / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP

Footballer Mesut Ozil said Sunday he had no regrets about his controversial photograph with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany’s national squad ahead of the World Cup.

Breaking his silence over the snapshot that caused outrage during the tournament, the Arsenal midfielder said in a statement on Twitter that he was loyal to both his Turkish and German origins and insisted he did not intend to make a political statement.

“Like many people, my ancestry traces back to more than one country. Whilst I grew up in Germany, my family background has its roots firmly based in Turkey,” he said.

“I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish.”

Ozil said he had first met Erdogan in 2010 after the president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel watched a Germany-Turkey match together.

“Since then, our paths have crossed a lot of times around the globe,” he said.

“I’m aware that the picture of us caused a huge response in the German media, and whilst some people may accuse me of lying or being deceitful, the picture we took had no political intentions.

”Ozil said despite the timing of the picture with teammate Ilkay Gundogan and Erdogan — shortly before the president won re-election in a poll endowing him with sweeping new powers — “it wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country”.

“My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies,” Ozil said.

“I get that this may be hard to understand, as in most cultures the political leader cannot be thought of as being separate from the person. But in this case it is different. Whatever the outcome would’ve been in this previous election, or the election before that, I would have still taken the picture.”

Ozil, 29, came in for stinging criticism in Germany for their shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.

Team boss Oliver Bierhoff suggested after the debacle that Germany should have considered dropping Ozil after his failure to explain himself over the Erdogan picture.

Bierhoff later backtracked, saying that he “was wrong” to put Ozil under undue pressure, but the picture continued to draw scorn from fans on social media.

Germany is home to more than three million people of Turkish origin.

AFP

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JAMB remits N7.8bn as examination surplu

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has remitted another N7.8 billion to the Federal Government.

The board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made this known on Sunday in Lagos.

According to him, the board has planned to remit the amount as surplus to the Federal Government as was done in 2017.

Benjamin said that the amount was the surplus generated from the conduct of the board’s 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

“However, government in its magnanimity, graciously directed that we remit about N5.6 billion and use the balance for restructuring of the board’s headquarters to meet up with its international status.

“We, therefore, want to appreciate the governing board of JAMB led by Dr Emmanuel Ndukwe for the tremendous support in ensuring that the current administration’s vision of transparency and accountability as fully embraced by JAMB is sustained.

“The Ndukwe-led board had, within its short period of inauguration, contributed immensely in some ground breaking innovations.

“One of such innovations is the quick remittance of the 2018 surplus. Whatever candidates pay for JAMB’s examination is a trust and must be accounted for.

“The board, though not a revenue generating agency, will continue to be judicious with resources at its disposal,” he said.

Benjamin said that cumulatively and technically, the board had remitted a total of N15.6 billion in less than two years.

“The board is thinking of how to ensure that candidates benefitted from the surplus.

“We are currently looking at a number of ways to enhance the conduct of the examination where candidates will benefit by way of conducive environment in writing the examination.

“We are also looking at putting more mechanism in place that will ensure absolute equity and fairness in the selection of candidates through enhanced technology as currently being done by the Central Admission Process Selection (CAPS),” he said.

Benjamin said that the board was set to acquire cutting edge technology to give candidates the best registration procedure, examination and a more improved selection process.

He said the development was similar to the one that was currently being developed by the CAPS initiative.

Benjamin lauded the efforts of members of staff of the board, as well as other key stakeholders, for their doggedness, commitment and support in ensuring that integrity of the board and its examination was sustained. (NAN)

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SARS accused of killing herbalist over charm sold to NNPC official

Filani Dankali aka Musa Ardo, 70, has died in custody of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, after he was allegedly brutalised by the personnel.

According to the lawyers of the deceased septuagenarian, SARS officers from Kano had seized him from his residence at Gedege village in Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

In their petition filed by Al Qasim Ja’afar and Co. (Gidado Chambers) dated July 16, 2018, and addressed to Kano State Commissioner of Police, late Mr Ardo’s family requested for the full details of the SARS action and the circumstances that led to his death as well as an autopsy report.

It reads in part: “One Alh. Musa Kano consulted the deceased in his resident at Gedege village in Kubau Local Gov’t Area of Kaduna State and sought a protection charm (Layar Bata), which they negotiated at the cost of N30,000. The client left for Kano after being informed about the strict guidelines, which must be adhered to in order to avoid the disappearance of the charm.

“To the amazement of late Malam Musa Ardo, he returned two days after, thus before the completion of the directives given, complaining that the charm had disappeared. He demanded for another charm but the deceased perceived that it was a clever way of tryingnto secure another one for free. Malam Ardo then insisted that Alh. Musa Kano should bring back the charm to claim his money.

“Alh. Musa Kano returned to the deceased house two days after in company of a police officer from SARS Office, Kano by name Auwal. They made three trips in an effort to force the deceased to refund the money Alh. Musa was now claiming was N1.6million. He later even claimed it was N2million while the deceased rejected the claims in totality.

“It is evident that Alh. Musa Kano who is with NNPC Kano Depot has connived with Auwal, Umar and one other SARS Officer to cause the arrest and detention of the deceased as to hatch plans to eliminate him which they succeeded in doing. This amounts to flagrant violation of the deceased’s right to life, besides, no cogent explanations were given to either the deceased family or their lawyers on the matter.

“All those involved in the arrest and detention of the deceased should be immediately apprehended and interrogated for their role in conniving to cause the death of the deceased.”

The deceased son, Shehu Musa, recalled that they followed up the case to SARS office a day after, and met their father in good condition.

“But on Wednesday, July 11, we received calls from the police that we should come to Kano as our father was seriously sick. We arrived the following day to meet his corpse deposited at Murtala Mohammed teaching Hospital Kano. Our father apparently died on that Wednesday.

“The Police officer named Auwal told me to go back as arrangement had been concluded for the burial in Kano,” he said.

The spokesman for Kano Police Command, Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident and receipt of the petition told Daily Nigerian.

He said the matter was before Chief Magistrate Court 30, sitting at Audu Bako Secretariat, and that the court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Mr Ardo for criminal conspiracy and threat to Mr Musa’s life.

On the circumstances leading to Mr Ardo’s death, Mr Majia said the deceased was rushed to Sir Sanusi Hospital at Hedejia Road, Kano and later transferred to Murtala Mohammed Teaching Hospital, where he died of complications of cholera.

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Manchester United and Jose Mourinho should focus on performances, not new signings

PHOENIX, Arizona -- The Club America players in the line for security at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport have a different travel style from Manchester United, their opponents in Thursday evening's 1-1 draw. United go by private chartered flight while the America players wait in the security lines with the public and take off their shoes for the X-ray machine just like everyone else.

"Who was the best United player last night?" this writer asked two or three of the Mexican players.

"Mata's very good," a sentiment met with general agreement. "But Alexis Sanchez is the best." More nods.

After fixing a visa issue, Sanchez will play for United in Santa Clara, California against San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, a game likely to see more empty seats than in Phoenix. Repeat trips and a weaker United squad will probably explain why, prompting ticket prices to have been reduced. Yet United's overall squad is far from weak.

You wouldn't get that sense if you speak to a lot of United fans at present. Fans crave new players -- there are some United fans for whom there will never be enough new signings -- but isn't it time to take stock and look at the vast, expensively assembled cohort already at Old Trafford?

United fans haven't seen anything like the best from Sanchez, who has enjoyed his first summer break since 2013. They'd be buzzing if he'd signed this close season instead of in January when he became available.

There are several other hugely talented players who can and must do better too, with Paul Pogba and Antony Martial chief among them. The relationship between Pogba and Mourinho will be vital to any United success this season, but is it expecting too much to hope that Victor Lindelof looks more settled in his second season? That Marcus Rashford continues his improvement, and Jesse Lingard becomes an even more important player? For Luke Shaw to finally settle into the first team? And what's to say that United won't get a surprise boost? Maybe a young player like Tahith Chong comes through, or Andreas Pereira could turn out more than useful or Fred might emerge as a key component of the team.

Fans are underwhelmed by the transfer business so far but what do they really know about Fred or Diogo Dalot? About as much as they knew about Nemanja Vidic and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Even if he doesn't buy one more player as he hopes to during this transfer window, Jose Mourinho has been heavily backed in the transfer market since he arrived, signing 11 players in 26 months. It's true he would always want more, just like any other manager. (See: Ivan Perisic last year.) Under Mourinho, United broke the world transfer fee for the first time for Paul Pogba, the man who should be made United captain. United also paid £75 million for a centre-forward and £50 million for a 30-year-old midfielder, Nemanja Matic.

Is the answer really more new names? The new arrivals in the past five years have hardly provided a panacea for United's ills; give this United fan more inspiring football over another player instead. The players want that too, as do the fans, and the talent is already at the club. It would help if Mourinho settled on a defence that gives him the confidence to allow his players to adopt a more attacking outlook.

The current pessimism of some supporters has its roots in a soporific end-of-season run that saw Manchester City be miles better than anyone else and Liverpool reach a Champions League final.

Mixed messages from Jose Mourinho didn't help, but what did they expect when they applauded his arrival two years ago? An all-singing, all-dancing bundle of happiness? As ever, Mourinho is a man who wants to be first and looks pained when he's not. It's exactly how it should be yet away from his words in public, United's manager is working hard and encouraging his young players on the tour. Previously criticised for turning his back on youth, he spends a lot of time talking them up and giving them opportunities to play first-team football.

United finished second last season with a decent points total. If the players already at the club can play to their full potential, this season will be better.

Mourinho always asked to be judged after three years, so let's judge him after three years. If United are 19 points behind City next May, that clearly won't be good enough. If the surrender in the Champions League is as meek as it was against Sevilla, that won't be good enough either. Most important of all, if the style shows too few traces of the attacking soul of Manchester United, then that definitely won't suffice.

This is as big a season for Mourinho as it is for United. There will be a severely diminished appetite for him to continue 12 months from now if next season is like the last.

Fans are saying the same thing, too, from travelling Mancunians in the George and Dragon pub near downtown Phoenix on Thursday to the Arizona Reds in the Salt bar by the silver cladding of the University of Phoenix Stadium. There's a sense of now or never for United under the current manager, and no appetite for another sideways season

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1 dies, 20 sustain injuries in an accident involving Solomon Dalong’s motorcade

Gombe – An accident involving the motorcade of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalong has led to the death of one person while 20 others sustained various degree of injuries. Mr Sunday Jika, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) Gombe State Marshal, a local security outfit, who was amongst the minister’s motorcade confirmed this to newsmen on Saturday in Gombe. *Dalong

““We received the minister at the airport and on our way back to town a Peugeot 406 car entered the motorcade of the minister hitting the pilot car. “”The Peugeot car went ablaze. We were able to bring out three persons from the Peugeot car while the driver got burnt in the car. ““In the other bus among the minister’s motorcade, we also brought out people. All the injured persons have been taken to Gombe Specialist Hospital and Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe,” he said. A NAN correspondent, who was at the Specialist Hospital and FTH, saw doctors attending to patients at the casualty department of the hospital. When contacted, Dr Zainab Kaltungo, Deputy Medical Director FTH Gombe declined comment. Dr Godwin Omiko, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) when contacted on phone, said he was yet to be briefed on the accident. (NAN)

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Facebook probes whether data firm violated policies

Facebook has suspended a Boston analytics firm from its site and says it is investigating whether the company’s contracts with the US government and a Russian non-profit violated policies, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The firm, Crimson Hexagon, says its platform allows clients — which include major US corporations — to analyze audiences and to track brand perception and campaign performance.

Citing people familiar with the business, the Journal said the government contracts of Crimson Hexagon, which pulls public data from Facebook, were not approved by Facebook in advance.

Since 2014, US government agencies have paid Crimson Hexagon more than $800,000 for 22 contracts, the Journal said, citing government procurement data.

Crimson Hexagon has sold its proprietary analytics platform abroad, including to Turkey and Russia, where in 2014 it worked with a non-profit tied to the government, the Journal reported late Friday.

It said Crimson Hexagon appears at least once to have mistakenly received private data from Facebook’s Instagram service.

Facebook had requested further evidence from Crimson Hexagon but the Journal quoted a spokesman for the social network as saying that “based on our investigation to date, Crimson Hexagon did not obtain any Facebook or Instagram information inappropriately.”

Chris Bingham, a Crimson Hexagon executive, wrote in a Friday blog post that his firm only collects publicly available social media data, an act which is “completely legal.”

Bingham says his firm routinely vets potential government customers to ensure they comply with policies of its “data partners” like Facebook.

“For example, there are special sensitivities about how government agencies can use online public data, even though that same data is freely accessible by others,” he wrote.

Facebook acknowledged this month that it was facing multiple inquiries from US and British regulators about a scandal involving the British consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

In Facebook’s worst ever public relations disaster, it admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by Cambridge Analytica, which was working for US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Cambridge Analytica, which denies the accusations, has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Britain.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in May that he was rolling out privacy controls demanded by European regulators to Facebook users worldwide because “everyone cares about privacy.”

Facebook and other online platforms have also been under pressure to better protect against being used to spread misinformation or promote division, as US intelligence leaders say Russia did during the 2016 US presidential campaign.

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