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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the ‘Not Too Young To Run Bill’ which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday was pursued and sponsored by members of the PDP at the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. The PDP says that President Buhari had no input in the bill neither did he show any support or enthusiasm towards the initiative. According to the party in a statement on Thursday through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the President had no option than to perform a mandatory statutory duty of assenting to the bill, given that it had already passed through the constitutionally required approval of two-thirds of states in the federation. “This development is indeed a democratic victory for the Nigerian youths over forces, particularly, the All Progressives Congress (APC), that had disregarded them as lazy and inconsequential but had to succumb to the dictates of the law and pressure by the youths and the PDP. “The party commands the spo

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to the youths not to eye his seat in the coming 2019 general elections. The President made the appeal on a light note while signing the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill at the Aso Rock Council Chamber, Abuja on Thursday. While he congratulated the youths on the feat, which he described as a “formidable legacy”, he told them to postpone their ambitions till after 2019. He said, “I am confident each one of you will transform Nigeria in your own way – whether through media, agricultural enterprise, economists, engineers, or as lawmakers in your States or at Federal levels, or as State Governors – and even someday, as President. Why not? “But please, can I ask you to postpone your campaigns till after the 2019 elections”. He, however, urged the youths not to relent in their efforts to impact the nation in whatever way possible. According to him, the signing of the bill is only a starting point which presents them with an opportunity to make

President Muhammadu Buhari has accented to the ‘Not Too Young to Run’ bill. The signing on Thursday took place at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the nation’s capital. See full speech below. REMARKS BY H.E. MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE SIGNING OF THE NOT-TOO-YOUNG-TO-RUN BILL, 31ST MAY, 2018, STATE HOUSE, ABUJA 1. First, I would like to welcome you all to the State House. Today is a significant day for all of us in Nigeria, and most especially our young people – and the role they play in our democracy, politics and national life. 2. We are gathered here for the signing of the “Not Too Young To Run Bill”, a landmark piece of legislation that was conceived, championed and accomplished by young Nigerians. 3. The coordinators of the Not Too Young To Run movement have now established a formidable legacy – which is that, in our maturing democracy, if you really want to change something in Nigeria, and if you can

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday had dinner with Africa’s richest Aliko Dangote and other members of the business community. At the dinner which was held at the State House in Abuja to break the Ramadan fast, the President thanked Nigerians for their continuous support to his administration. He said he is particularly happy with the performance of the agriculture sector in the past two years. The Chairman and CEO of Sahara Energy, Tope Shonubi; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Deputy National Chairman, North, APC, Senator Shuaibu Lawan, were among those at the dinner.

File photo: Bukola Saraki. Photo credit: ChannelsTv The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has insisted that trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over the allegation of false asset declaration was political. Dr Saraki said this in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu. He was reacting to a report that the trial, which is now before both the Supreme Court and the CCT, formed part of the discussions between the new People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government. The Senate President faulted the report, maintaining that the issues being discussed between the nPDP and the APC leaderships were beyond personal matters and those who attended the meeting would attest to it. He explained that he could have ignored the report, but he had decided to disclaim it as it might be perceived to have some level of authenticity due to the circumstances around it. Senator

Late Gbadebowale Aboderin The Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Mr Gbadebowale Aboderin, is dead, the print media announced on Thursday. According to them, he died after a heart surgery in a hospital in Lagos on Wednesday morning. Mr Aboderin, who hailed from Kudeti in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, died at the age of 60. His family also confirmed his death in a statement by one Angela Emuwa and dated May 31, 2018. The deceased attended the Government College, Ibadan and trained as a commercial pilot at the Burnside-Ott Flying School, Florida, United States. He was a sports enthusiast, philanthropist and founded the Dolphins Female Basketball Foundation. He was the chairman of the foundation and also an erstwhile chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association. Aboderin is survived by his wife and two children.

South-South Governors during the meeting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, May 30. Photo credit: ChannelsTv Governors of the South-South states on Wednesday met in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State were at the meeting while Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki was represented at the meeting by the deputy governor. The governors were received on Wednesday evening by Governor Nyesom Wike at the Government House in Port Harcourt. Governor Wike led his counterparts into the meeting which was held closed-door. At the end of the meeting, Governor Dickson, who spoke on behalf of others after the meeting re-echoed the governors call for restructuring and also reacted to the withdrawal of the N1billion from the excess crude account for security.

File photo: Orji Kalu A former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has filed a no-case submission in his trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos, for an alleged N3.2 billion fraud and money laundering case. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in October 2016 filed a 34-count against the former governor and a former Commissioner for Finance in Abia, Udeh Udeogo. A Company, Slok Nig. Ltd, said to be owned by Kalu, was also joined as a defendant to the charges. The defendants had, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail. At the last adjourned date on May 11, the EFCC closed its case against the defendants and the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, adjourned till May 30 for the defendants to open their defence. At the resumed trial of the case on Wednesday, the prosecuting counsel informed the court that the anti-graft agency had been served with the no-case submissions filed by each of the defendants. He als

Photo: Eric BARADAT / AFP Ugandan users of Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and other social media will from July have to pay a daily tax, according to a new law which rights activists said Thursday was a bid to stifle free speech. Uganda’s parliament passed a law late Wednesday imposing a tax of tax of 200 shillings ($0.05, 0.04 euro) a day on users of so-called “over the top” services which publish content bypassing traditional distributors. The new law does not spell out how the tax would be applied and collected in practice. Finance Minister David Bahati said the aim of the legislation was only to raise revenue for public services. However, President Yoweri Museveni wrote to the finance ministry in March urging the introduction of the tax as a way to deal with the consequences of online “gossip”. Journalist and activist Lydia Namubiru said that Museveni sees online communication as a threat to his 32-year rule. “The president… said it was to stop young people from gossiping

Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy                                                 PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, is poised to be ousted from office after a Basque party on Thursday gave its decisive support to a no-confidence motion over a corruption case, making it all but certain to succeed. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) said its five lawmakers would vote against Rajoy. This gives the main opposition Socialist party, which filed the motion, the absolute majority of 176 votes needed for it to pass in a vote scheduled Friday. “We think that we’re responding to what most Basque citizens want… by voting yes” to the motion, Aitor Esteban of the PNV said during a pre-vote debate at the lower house of parliament. The Socialists filed the motion last week after a court said it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former officials of Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005. T

An anti-governement demonstrator takes part in a march in support of “the Mothers of April” movement – whose children died in the protests – on Nicaragua’s National Mother’s Day, in Managua on May 30, 2018. At least 87 people have been killed and almost 900 wounded since protests began on April 18 against Ortega and his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. DIANA ULLOA / AFP At least five people died Wednesday in Nicaragua at pro- and anti-government rallies in the latest spasm of violent unrest that has left dozens dead since last month, police and the opposition said. As the overall death toll reached 92, President Daniel Ortega vowed to remain in power. “Nicaragua belongs to all of us, and here we are all going to stay,” Ortega said in a speech to thousands of supporters. More than 20 people were wounded and two opposition news outlets were attacked in Wednesday’s unrest. In the capital Managua, people wearing hoods fired guns and mortars at families taking

In this handout picture taken and released on May 30, 2018 by the Ukrainian Presidential press service, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) speaks with Russian anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko during a meeting in Kiev. Mykola Lazarenko / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP Ukraine sought to justify faking the death of an anti-Kremlin journalist who appeared alive and well at a press conference in Kiev less than 24 hours after he was “murdered”, citing an alleged Russian plot to kill him. Onlookers gasped and applauded as Arkady Babchenko re-appeared on Wednesday, introduced by the head of Ukraine’s security service, who said the murder had been staged in order to foil an attempt on his life by Moscow. Less than 24 hours earlier, Ukraine said the reporter had died from three gunshots to the back in the stairwell of his apartment building in a contract-style killing in a case that provoked an outpouring of grief and a diplomatic spat. “Thanks to this

Croatia Police Croatian police said Thursday they seriously wounded two 12-year-old migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan after opening fire on a van which refused to stop. The shooting occurred around 10:00 pm Wednesday (2000 GMT) when the vehicle illegally crossed the border from Bosnia, police spokesman Elis Zodan told AFP. Officers opened fire and then discovered 29 illegal migrants in the van, including the two children who were hospitalised and now in stable condition, he said. The driver of the van, which had Austrian registration plates, fled into the woods and police were searching for him, Zodan added. Police said they twice tried to halt the van but the driver “charged the vehicle at police … after which they opened fire,” according to the spokesman. The migrants included 15 minors in total and were “mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, members of several families,” Zodan said. The two injured children were hospitalised in the coastal town of Zadar and their lives w

Three people appeared in a French court Thursday on charges of illegally assisting a group of migrants trying to cross into the country from Italy, a case that has fuelled protests that prosecutors are punishing a “crime of solidarity”. Eleonara Laterza, a 27-year-old Italian student; Bastian Stauffer, 26, a Swiss student; and Theo Buckmaster, a 23-year-old Swiss-Belgian, were detained for 10 days in April after participating in a march of 100 activists to escort some 20 migrants over an Alpine pass. They were responding to a blockade set up by several dozen members of a far-right group, Generation Identitaire (Identity Generation), at a nearby pass to keep them out. The trial is the latest involving activists trying to aid migrants on the move through Europe, in protest at a tough new immigration law being pushed by French President Emmanuel Macron. About 120 leading French education, scientific and political figures signed a tribune in French daily Le Monde this week suppo

TV personality Kim Kardashian is seen entering the grounds of the White House on May 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan / AFP Days away from a historic summit with North Korea’s mercurial leader, US President Donald Trump held a White House meeting Wednesday with another famous Kim — reality TV star Kardashian — to discuss prison reform and sentencing. The reality star entered the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wearing a black suit and canary yellow stilettoes, an AFP photographer witnessed. Kardashian was expected to meet aide Jared Kushner, who has spearheaded stuttering White House efforts at criminal justice reform. In the end, she met with fellow TV personality, President Donald Trump — formerly of “The Apprentice” and New York tabloid fame. “Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing,” the president said in a tweet, accompanied by a photograph of the pair in the Oval Office, with Trump flashing a broad grin. Karda