NCC Babajika is an icon says Northern Youth

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has honoured the Director, Licensing and Authorisation at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Muhammed Babajika, with the titled of "Garkuwan Matasan Arewa (literally translated as icon of societal transformation). 

This award is in appreciation of Babajika's dedication to his duties which has contributed to opening up spaces to engender youth development and a better Nigeria.

VAT vs Sharia Hisbah: Wike lambasts northern governors, 'Convert political population to IGR' - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Executive Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, has lambasted his northern counterparts, especially those who destroy beer in the name of Sharia and turn around, go to Abuja monthly to collect their shares in the Value Added Tax (VAT) made from the same product in the south, reports ITREALMS.

Governor Nyemson Wike

Speaking during a statewide broadcast after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) failed to secure a stay-of-execution to stop Rivers from collecting VAT from businesses in the state, Mr. Wike hinted his victory would affect states’ with low revenue.

Northern youths: Afenifere must call their children to order - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Chairman of the Coalition of Northern Youths, Alhaji Mai Turere Abubakar, has advised Afenifere and others to call their children to order, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement personally endorsed by Alhaji Turere and made available to ITREALMS, read in part:

Northern government lacks commitment to protect children, women - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Stakeholders have decried the fact that governments across all states in the northern part of Nigeria lack the commitment to protect children and women, reports ITREALMS.

This was the highlights of the One-Day Consultative Meeting on Women and Countering Violent Extremism in the North East organised by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Abuja with the support of Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD).

Speaking, a consultant on the matter, Prof. Patricia Donli, lamented that some children in the Northeast have known nothing but violence, explaining that the lack of implementation of relevant laws that protects that protects the rights of children has given rise to varying degrees of abuses.

"Rape cases are on the increase in the North East. We have four cases in Maiduguri IDPs alone last week. Just recently two sisters were raped by a teacher, a little boy was nailed on his head. General hospitals smell so bad because of girls suffering from VVF due to child marriage," Donli said.

She regrets that 11 northern states are yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act (CRA) enacted in 2003 and the VAPP Act and even in states which have, implementations have been very slow due to lack of coordination among actors and political will from government.

Donli urged states government not to see these policies as acts that promotes child rights but see it as policies that will he used to protect their children and place priority on them. She also called for increased awareness on the law among the populace.

Speaking further on the state of violence and conflicts across the country, Donli bemoaned the poor participation of women in Countering Violent Extremism, despite the unique role they play in restoring peace.

She recalled that Nigeria launched its second National Action Plan for the Implementation of UNSC1235 and related resolutions on 9 May 2017, for the period between 2017 and 2020. NAP being one of the most powerful tools governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society have to increase the inclusion of women in politics and peacebuilding, and the protection of women and girls in times of war, was domesticated to State level State Action Plan (SAP) she said.

She however said only four states in the North East has the SAP to include Boronu, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa. This according to is due to a lack of political will in the part of government.

Donli also noted that the awareness level of SAP is very low hence the need for sensitisation. "even if this places have SAP, the implementation is very poor, you find out that people are not even aware of its existence."

She also highlighted a lack of planned budget as a constraint in the domestication and implementation of the law.

Speaking, the National Coordinator, WANEP-Nigeria, Ms. Bridget Osakwe, regrets that women and girls bear most of the brunt of violence, yet are excluded in the peacebuilding and conflict resolution processes.

Osakwe explained that, in the North East geo-political zone, violent extremism has increased in tenacity from unabated attacks from the violent extremist group Boko Haram.

"Since the inception of this Islamic extremist group in 1995, it has continued to intensify attacks in the North-Eastern States and other parts of Nigeria. Over 40,000 Nigerians have been killed in more than 2,300 incidents reflecting a wide range of ethnic, religious, political and economic tensions across large portions of the country.

"This accounts for almost 40% of the total deaths more than any other source of social violence in the country," she said.

The head of programmes, WANEP, Ms. Patience Obaulo, however informed that the project seeks to promote women’s participation in countering violent extremism to advance the implementation of Nigeria National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 at the local level in North East Nigeria.

She stressed that the role of women relating to countering violent extremism (CVE) is a critical security issue that directly relates to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the eight supporting resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, most notably UNSCR 2242 and 2349.


Uju N. Dominic/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Threats to Igbo: Arrest leaders of northern youth coalition now – El-Rufai

ITRealms:

The governor of Kaduna State, Malam El-Rufai has called for the immediate arrest of leaders of northern youths coalition that issued a three-month relocation threat to the Igbo, reports ITRealms.

The governor speaking through the Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Samuel Aruwan said that the Police and security agencies should arrest those who signed the threat communique, saying its in violation of safety and property of citizens, especially of Igbo extraction.

He also said the Kaduna State Government condemns in the strongest terms the press statement by some self-appointed “northern youths” that threatened the safety and property of our citizens of Igbo extraction.

El Rufai assured every resident of the state that their constitutional and human rights to live peacefully and own property wherever they choose is sacrosanct. Even people who may feel unhappy about irresponsible comments or actions that have taken place in other states must know that two wrongs cannot make a right.

The Kaduna State Government, he said, believes in and will uphold the right of every Nigerian to live safely and develop his/her full potentials within its territory.

According to El Rufai, reckless disregard for the rights of other citizens drips through the press statement by these “northern youths” who have chosen to use the discourse around restructuring to promote their own agenda of hate, division and incitement.

“This sort of opportunists cannot be allowed to distort debate, or turn it into a pretext for a barely-disguised agenda of displacement and dispossession of some citizens,” he said.

He insisted that his government would not tolerate such irresponsible statements and conduct in our state. The statement issued by the “northern youths” violates the laws of Kaduna State. Therefore, the Kaduna State Government has directed that its Ministry of Justice should prepare charges and prosecute the signatories and anyone complicit in arranging this egregious assault on the rights of fellow citizens.

Further, he said, in preparatory to prosecution, the police have been directed to immediately arrest, interrogate the signatories to the statement and investigate all the circumstances and persons that may be implicated in the matter.

“The Kaduna State Government urges all residents to ignore the threats from the “northern youths”. We are in contact with the leadership of the Igbo community in Kaduna, and we delighted to say that this community, like all our other communities, believes in the strength of the constitutional order to protect all citizens,” he said.

Reiterating that KDSG wishes to encourage all people to celebrate the diversity with which the Almighty has blessed the country by continuing to shun agents of division, and to stand firm in upholding a common humanity.

Umaro Ahmadu/GEE

“Everyone has a right to live in peace and harmony,

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Dogara, Northern Reps reject bill to establish South-East Development Commission

ITRealms:

A bill seeking for the establishment of South-East Development Commission (SEDC) has suffered a setback, Thursday, with the rejection of majority of Northern members of the House of Representatives led by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, reports ITRealms.

The House rejection came at the second reading of the bill after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, but reacting to the situation, Hon. Chukwuka Onyema representing Anambra-PDP, and who is the lead-sponsors decried the rejection, alleging a plot against the South-Eastern states.

Onyema said that the bill which sought to tackle the menace of poverty and ecological problems confronting the South East part of the country, stressing that it would receive and manage fund from allocation of the federation account for the development, restructuring and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructure in the region.

For the House Minority Leader, Rep. Leo Ogor (Delta-PDP), said the bill would address most of the issues affecting the region, asserting that this country cannot continue with the situation where everyone come to Abuja every month to share money.

“I think every zone deserves such commission because it will make everybody look inward. This nation needs to be restructured, we cannot continue the way we are going,” Ogor said.

Equally speaking, Rep. Sani Abdul (Bauchi-APC) said that the agitation to create the commission was as a result of government’s inability to address the socio-economic challenges in the country.

“We should look at it holistically in order not to have problems. We are worried, however, because the timing of the bill with the agitation for Biafra is suspicious,” Abdul said.

However, some lawmakers while opposing the bill, said the timing was not appropriate.

Rep. Sunday Karimi (Kogi-PDP) said that some of the South-East states were already captured in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and “the creation of a South East Commission will be too much.”

Rep. Sani Zorro (Jigawa-APC) said not much consultation was done to ensure the success of the bill.

“I won’t be comfortable that at the end of the day we leave here with acrimony. In view of the debate we have had so far, I am of the view that the sponsors and supporters of this bill should make further consultations,” Zoro said

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!