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Members of the African Action Congress (AAC) on Friday staged a protest at the vice presidential debate in Abuja to demand the inclusion of their candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and Ahmed Rufai.

The event, which is holding at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, was disrupted for a few minutes when the protesters besieged the entrance of the hall, despite the presence of armed policemen at the venue.

The protesters carried placards and chanted solidarity songs. They arrived the venue of the event at 6:45pm.

Jude Eya, who led the group, said they were protesting to show solidarity and ask for the inclusion of Sowore in the election debate.

"We are here to demand the inclusion of our vice presidential candidate, Dr. Ahmed Rufai, and presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore. Our party should be included in this debate. This debate is a national exercise. AAC is registered party in Nigeria. We the young people are not happy with the way AAC and our candidate Omoyele Sowore has been excluded from this exercise."

         

He accused the organisers of "bias", stating that "the process of  selection would have been made open to allow every candidate see that it was not manipulated".

Eya demanded for the documents contianing the criteria for selection of candidates, adding that AAC was rated third in the poll that was conducted online.

"Surprisingly, there was an online poll that was conducted to test our popularlity and AAC came third. So, if there is any party to be put in the third position after APC and PDP, then it should be AAC," he stated.

In his address, Ina Okopi-Agu, Assistant National Secretary North Central of the party and Director of Special Duties of the #TakeItBack Movement, vowed that the party would continue with the protest until the issue is addressed.

"We would have expected a situation where the others who were invited turn it down, but to our shock even the other parties who are not at the mainstream are represented here.

"We expected that they would have acted on this and refused to show up for this event. Right now, I see some of them on the screen and we want to assure the people who have put this together that we are coming for you. The youth of this country will take back their country in 2019."

Okopi-Agu demanded that the next debate slated for January 2018 be put on hold, adding that the country is "bigger than anybody trying to hold it to ransom".

He said since the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is a public organisation funded with tax payers' money, the group would continue with the protest and not give up on its demand for justice.

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Members of the African Action Congress (AAC) on Friday staged a protest at the vice presidential debate in Abuja to demand the inclusion of their candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and Ahmed Rufai.

The event, which is holding at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, was disrupted for a few minutes when the protesters besieged the entrance of the hall, despite the presence of armed policemen at the venue.

The protesters carried placards and chanted solidarity songs. They arrived the venue of the event at 6:45pm.

Jude Eya, who led the group, said they were protesting to show solidarity and ask for the inclusion of Sowore in the election debate.

"We are here to demand the inclusion of our vice presidential candidate, Dr. Ahmed Rufai, and presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore. Our party should be included in this debate. This debate is a national exercise. AAC is registered party in Nigeria. We the young people are not happy with the way AAC and our candidate Omoyele Sowore has been excluded from this exercise."

         

He accused the organisers of "bias", stating that "the process of  selection would have been made open to allow every candidate see that it was not manipulated".

Eya demanded for the documents contianing the criteria for selection of candidates, adding that AAC was rated third in the poll that was conducted online.

"Surprisingly, there was an online poll that was conducted to test our popularlity and AAC came third. So, if there is any party to be put in the third position after APC and PDP, then it should be AAC," he stated.

In his address, Ina Okopi-Agu, Assistant National Secretary North Central of the party and Director of Special Duties of the #TakeItBack Movement, vowed that the party would continue with the protest until the issue is addressed.

"We would have expected a situation where the others who were invited turn it down, but to our shock even the other parties who are not at the mainstream are represented here.

"We expected that they would have acted on this and refused to show up for this event. Right now, I see some of them on the screen and we want to assure the people who have put this together that we are coming for you. The youth of this country will take back their country in 2019."

Okopi-Agu demanded that the next debate slated for January 2018 be put on hold, adding that the country is "bigger than anybody trying to hold it to ransom".

He said since the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is a public organisation funded with tax payers' money, the group would continue with the protest and not give up on its demand for justice.

Elections Politics News AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Members of the African Action Congress (AAC) on Friday staged a protest at the vice presidential debate in Abuja to demand the inclusion of their candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and Ahmed Rufai.

The event, which is holding at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, was disrupted for a few minutes when the protesters besieged the entrance of the hall, despite the presence of armed policemen at the venue.

The protesters carried placards and chanted solidarity songs. They arrived the venue of the event at 6:45pm.

Jude Eya, who led the group, said they were protesting to show solidarity and ask for the inclusion of Sowore in the election debate.

"We are here to demand the inclusion of our vice presidential candidate, Dr. Ahmed Rufai, and presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore. Our party should be included in this debate. This debate is a national exercise. AAC is registered party in Nigeria. We the young people are not happy with the way AAC and our candidate Omoyele Sowore has been excluded from this exercise."

         

He accused the organisers of "bias", stating that "the process of  selection would have been made open to allow every candidate see that it was not manipulated".

Eya demanded for the documents contianing the criteria for selection of candidates, adding that AAC was rated third in the poll that was conducted online.

"Surprisingly, there was an online poll that was conducted to test our popularlity and AAC came third. So, if there is any party to be put in the third position after APC and PDP, then it should be AAC," he stated.

In his address, Ina Okopi-Agu, Assistant National Secretary North Central of the party and Director of Special Duties of the #TakeItBack Movement, vowed that the party would continue with the protest until the issue is addressed.

"We would have expected a situation where the others who were invited turn it down, but to our shock even the other parties who are not at the mainstream are represented here.

"We expected that they would have acted on this and refused to show up for this event. Right now, I see some of them on the screen and we want to assure the people who have put this together that we are coming for you. The youth of this country will take back their country in 2019."

Okopi-Agu demanded that the next debate slated for January 2018 be put on hold, adding that the country is "bigger than anybody trying to hold it to ransom".

He said since the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is a public organisation funded with tax payers' money, the group would continue with the protest and not give up on its demand for justice.

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PM Scott Morrison says Australia will not immediately move its embassy from Tel Aviv.

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Yemen's truce deal is fraught with risk, but it brings the country a step to closer to elusive peace.

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North Korea is trying to develop civilian technologies but can it become an innovation powerhouse?

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The army earlier accused the UN children's agency of spying for Islamists in north-eastern Nigeria.

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Russia's government wants people to have a laugh - as long as it's at its opponents' expense, and not Mr Putin's.

Ovuozourie Macaulay, former Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), has said with the current situation of the economy, Nigeria is "a country waiting for her final burial".

Speaking on the state of the nation with journalists during the week in Isoko, Delta State, Macaulay said he had "prayed for somebody who can come and salvage us from our present woes as a nation, because the country as it is today is only waiting for its burial, because it is a dead country economically, security-wise, and otherwise".

According to the one-time Delta State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the present administration is "a monumental failure".

Speaking further on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Macaulay, a member of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, said: "It is only a lazy man that complains of his bad tools. Jonathan has done his best and he's gone and you told us Jonathan was not doing well and you want to come and make things better. The bottom line is that the current APC government should admit that they have failed.

"Let me remind President Buhari of one thing. As a Christian — and I believe it is in the Koran too — the power of life and death is in the tongue. Let him search his mind if he ever said he was going to do one tenure to correct things and go away. Let him stick to that. Buhari's government has performed far below expectations and the country is dying. We are appealing to the APC government to be democratic and ready to accept defeat. We must all defend our votes come 2019 and the security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must not allow themselves to be used.

"You cannot be going after everybody for saying the truth and telling your government the truth of what you are doing that is wrong. Obama took over the affairs of the United States at a time their economy was crumbling, and what he did when he came in was not to crumble it further but stabilized it where he met it and from there they started building on it and took it back before he left office. In this case, four years the economy has worsened, so you didn't have the solution, so, in the first place you lied when you said you have the solution.”

On PDP’s 16 years of governance, Macaulay stated that: "When they say PDP wasted 16 years, the first question you ask is ‘who were those in the PDP that they are talking about and where are the people now?’ Adams Oshiomhole cannot write his history without giving some credit to the PDP as it were, because the PDP governor in Edo State handed over to him. So, if PDP was that power drunk, it would not hand over to him.

"Show me those in the All Progressives Congress (APC) today who do not have a link to the PDP. There is none. Is it Rotimi Amaechi? All his life has been PDP. In the House of Assembly, he had eight years and as governor, he also had eight years. This is his first time in APC so we don't even have his records as an APC member. Yet, the records available to history today are his 16 years in PDP, because he has not finished his tenure in the APC so, he cannot write his history in APC.

"Godswill Akpabio has just gone to meet them in APC. All his life as commissioner, governor was with PDP. We can go on naming all of them as products of PDP so, if they are accusing PDP of bad administration then they themselves are the first people to be punished for it. How do you compare a bad administration and a good administration?

"The impunity in PDP that killed the party then has been taken over by the APC and multiplied. PDP is having the mass support today because people now see that we have learnt our lessons. APC is in disarray today and the people have now built more confidence in the PDP."

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Ovuozourie Macaulay, former Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), has said with the current situation of the economy, Nigeria is "a country waiting for her final burial".

Speaking on the state of the nation with journalists during the week in Isoko, Delta State, Macaulay said he had "prayed for somebody who can come and salvage us from our present woes as a nation, because the country as it is today is only waiting for its burial, because it is a dead country economically, security-wise, and otherwise".

According to the one-time Delta State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the present administration is "a monumental failure".

Speaking further on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Macaulay, a member of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, said: "It is only a lazy man that complains of his bad tools. Jonathan has done his best and he's gone and you told us Jonathan was not doing well and you want to come and make things better. The bottom line is that the current APC government should admit that they have failed.

"Let me remind President Buhari of one thing. As a Christian — and I believe it is in the Koran too — the power of life and death is in the tongue. Let him search his mind if he ever said he was going to do one tenure to correct things and go away. Let him stick to that. Buhari's government has performed far below expectations and the country is dying. We are appealing to the APC government to be democratic and ready to accept defeat. We must all defend our votes come 2019 and the security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must not allow themselves to be used.

"You cannot be going after everybody for saying the truth and telling your government the truth of what you are doing that is wrong. Obama took over the affairs of the United States at a time their economy was crumbling, and what he did when he came in was not to crumble it further but stabilized it where he met it and from there they started building on it and took it back before he left office. In this case, four years the economy has worsened, so you didn't have the solution, so, in the first place you lied when you said you have the solution.”

On PDP’s 16 years of governance, Macaulay stated that: "When they say PDP wasted 16 years, the first question you ask is ‘who were those in the PDP that they are talking about and where are the people now?’ Adams Oshiomhole cannot write his history without giving some credit to the PDP as it were, because the PDP governor in Edo State handed over to him. So, if PDP was that power drunk, it would not hand over to him.

"Show me those in the All Progressives Congress (APC) today who do not have a link to the PDP. There is none. Is it Rotimi Amaechi? All his life has been PDP. In the House of Assembly, he had eight years and as governor, he also had eight years. This is his first time in APC so we don't even have his records as an APC member. Yet, the records available to history today are his 16 years in PDP, because he has not finished his tenure in the APC so, he cannot write his history in APC.

"Godswill Akpabio has just gone to meet them in APC. All his life as commissioner, governor was with PDP. We can go on naming all of them as products of PDP so, if they are accusing PDP of bad administration then they themselves are the first people to be punished for it. How do you compare a bad administration and a good administration?

"The impunity in PDP that killed the party then has been taken over by the APC and multiplied. PDP is having the mass support today because people now see that we have learnt our lessons. APC is in disarray today and the people have now built more confidence in the PDP."

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Ovuozourie Macaulay, former Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), has said with the current situation of the economy, Nigeria is "a country waiting for her final burial".

Speaking on the state of the nation with journalists during the week in Isoko, Delta State, Macaulay said he had "prayed for somebody who can come and salvage us from our present woes as a nation, because the country as it is today is only waiting for its burial, because it is a dead country economically, security-wise, and otherwise".

According to the one-time Delta State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the present administration is "a monumental failure".

Speaking further on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Macaulay, a member of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, said: "It is only a lazy man that complains of his bad tools. Jonathan has done his best and he's gone and you told us Jonathan was not doing well and you want to come and make things better. The bottom line is that the current APC government should admit that they have failed.

"Let me remind President Buhari of one thing. As a Christian — and I believe it is in the Koran too — the power of life and death is in the tongue. Let him search his mind if he ever said he was going to do one tenure to correct things and go away. Let him stick to that. Buhari's government has performed far below expectations and the country is dying. We are appealing to the APC government to be democratic and ready to accept defeat. We must all defend our votes come 2019 and the security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must not allow themselves to be used.

"You cannot be going after everybody for saying the truth and telling your government the truth of what you are doing that is wrong. Obama took over the affairs of the United States at a time their economy was crumbling, and what he did when he came in was not to crumble it further but stabilized it where he met it and from there they started building on it and took it back before he left office. In this case, four years the economy has worsened, so you didn't have the solution, so, in the first place you lied when you said you have the solution.”

On PDP’s 16 years of governance, Macaulay stated that: "When they say PDP wasted 16 years, the first question you ask is ‘who were those in the PDP that they are talking about and where are the people now?’ Adams Oshiomhole cannot write his history without giving some credit to the PDP as it were, because the PDP governor in Edo State handed over to him. So, if PDP was that power drunk, it would not hand over to him.

"Show me those in the All Progressives Congress (APC) today who do not have a link to the PDP. There is none. Is it Rotimi Amaechi? All his life has been PDP. In the House of Assembly, he had eight years and as governor, he also had eight years. This is his first time in APC so we don't even have his records as an APC member. Yet, the records available to history today are his 16 years in PDP, because he has not finished his tenure in the APC so, he cannot write his history in APC.

"Godswill Akpabio has just gone to meet them in APC. All his life as commissioner, governor was with PDP. We can go on naming all of them as products of PDP so, if they are accusing PDP of bad administration then they themselves are the first people to be punished for it. How do you compare a bad administration and a good administration?

"The impunity in PDP that killed the party then has been taken over by the APC and multiplied. PDP is having the mass support today because people now see that we have learnt our lessons. APC is in disarray today and the people have now built more confidence in the PDP."

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The Nigerian Military has announced the suspension of the operations of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) from the North-East.

According to a statement released on Friday by Onyema Nwachukwu, a Colonel and Deputy Director of Public Relations, Theatre Command, this was because UNICEF had “abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engaged in training selected persons for clandestine activities to continue sabotaging the counter terrorism and Counter insurgency efforts of troops through spurious and unconfirmed allegations bothering on alleged violations of human rights by the military”.

Mwachukwu said the Theatre command would not tolerate “this kind of sabotage from any individual, group of persons or organization”, and urged all NGOs and members of humanitarian agencies to keep to their legitimate norms in the discharge of their acclaimed humanitarian duties. 

“The Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE has observed with dismay that some of the activities of international humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations’ operating in the North East have left so much to be desired,” read the statement.

“There is credible information that some of them are indulging in unwholesome practices that could further jeopardise the fight against terrorism and insurgency, as they train and deploy spies who support the insurgents and their sympathisers. 

“It is baffling to note that some of these organizations have been playing the terrorists’ script with the aim to continue demoralizing the troops who are doing so much to protect the lives of victims of Boko Haram Terrorism and safe guard them from wanton destruction of property and means the of livelihood. The Theatre Command considers the actions of these organizations as a direct assault and insult on the sensibilities of Nigerians, as they tend to benefit more from expanding the reign of terror on our people. 

“Consequently, the Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE is suspending the operations of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in the North East theatre until further notice. 

“This has become inevitable since the organization has abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engaged in training selected persons for clandestine activities to continue sabotaging the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts of troops through spurious and unconfirmed allegations bothering on alleged violations of human rights by the military.
“Information within the reach of this Command specifically indicates that the organization commenced the said training on Wednesday 12 December 2018 at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall, Musa Usman Secretariat, Maiduguri and ended on 13 Thursday December 2018. The Theatre command will not tolerate this kind of sabotage from any individual, group of persons or organisation. 

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The Nigerian Military has announced the suspension of the operations of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) from the North-East.

According to a statement released on Friday by Onyema Nwachukwu, a Colonel and Deputy Director of Public Relations, Theatre Command, this was because UNICEF had “abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engaged in training selected persons for clandestine activities to continue sabotaging the counter terrorism and Counter insurgency efforts of troops through spurious and unconfirmed allegations bothering on alleged violations of human rights by the military”.

Mwachukwu said the Theatre command would not tolerate “this kind of sabotage from any individual, group of persons or organization”, and urged all NGOs and members of humanitarian agencies to keep to their legitimate norms in the discharge of their acclaimed humanitarian duties. 

“The Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE has observed with dismay that some of the activities of international humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations’ operating in the North East have left so much to be desired,” read the statement.

“There is credible information that some of them are indulging in unwholesome practices that could further jeopardise the fight against terrorism and insurgency, as they train and deploy spies who support the insurgents and their sympathisers. 

“It is baffling to note that some of these organizations have been playing the terrorists’ script with the aim to continue demoralizing the troops who are doing so much to protect the lives of victims of Boko Haram Terrorism and safe guard them from wanton destruction of property and means the of livelihood. The Theatre Command considers the actions of these organizations as a direct assault and insult on the sensibilities of Nigerians, as they tend to benefit more from expanding the reign of terror on our people. 

“Consequently, the Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE is suspending the operations of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in the North East theatre until further notice. 

“This has become inevitable since the organization has abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engaged in training selected persons for clandestine activities to continue sabotaging the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts of troops through spurious and unconfirmed allegations bothering on alleged violations of human rights by the military.
“Information within the reach of this Command specifically indicates that the organization commenced the said training on Wednesday 12 December 2018 at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall, Musa Usman Secretariat, Maiduguri and ended on 13 Thursday December 2018. The Theatre command will not tolerate this kind of sabotage from any individual, group of persons or organisation. 

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Professor Jerry Gana, a former Nigerian Minister of Information, has been declared the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The declaration was made in a ruling by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday.

Donald Duke had been declared as the presidential candidate of the party after the primary election held in October 2018.

However, Gana had instituted a case against the result in court, basing his case on the zoning and rotation formula of the party.

Giving his ruling, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf said: “In this instance, the party’s Chairman, Chief Olu Falae, is from the South and Duke is from the South too; the law is clear; there is nothing to write in-between.

“The law has crystallised that political parties should abide by the regulations which they have made by themselves. The claimant laid sufficient evidence to have the judgment in his favour; it is a clear violation of the party’s constitution; the court cannot wave right over illegality."

Duke's votes were declared null and void and the judge declared that Gana was the winner of the election. The SDP was also ordered to forward Gana's name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the 2019 general election.

Elections Politics News AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Professor Jerry Gana, a former Nigerian Minister of Information, has been declared the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The declaration was made in a ruling by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday.

Donald Duke had been declared as the presidential candidate of the party after the primary election held in October 2018.

However, Gana had instituted a case against the result in court, basing his case on the zoning and rotation formula of the party.

Giving his ruling, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf said: “In this instance, the party’s Chairman, Chief Olu Falae, is from the South and Duke is from the South too; the law is clear; there is nothing to write in-between.

“The law has crystallised that political parties should abide by the regulations which they have made by themselves. The claimant laid sufficient evidence to have the judgment in his favour; it is a clear violation of the party’s constitution; the court cannot wave right over illegality."

Duke's votes were declared null and void and the judge declared that Gana was the winner of the election. The SDP was also ordered to forward Gana's name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the 2019 general election.

Elections Politics News AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2RVO7Lq

Professor Jerry Gana, a former Nigerian Minister of Information, has been declared the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The declaration was made in a ruling by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday.

Donald Duke had been declared as the presidential candidate of the party after the primary election held in October 2018.

However, Gana had instituted a case against the result in court, basing his case on the zoning and rotation formula of the party.

Giving his ruling, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf said: “In this instance, the party’s Chairman, Chief Olu Falae, is from the South and Duke is from the South too; the law is clear; there is nothing to write in-between.

“The law has crystallised that political parties should abide by the regulations which they have made by themselves. The claimant laid sufficient evidence to have the judgment in his favour; it is a clear violation of the party’s constitution; the court cannot wave right over illegality."

Duke's votes were declared null and void and the judge declared that Gana was the winner of the election. The SDP was also ordered to forward Gana's name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the 2019 general election.

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A watchdog will investigate how a seven-year-old girl died after being detained by US Border Patrol.

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Trump announces that Mick Mulvaney will be acting chief of staff replacing John Kelly.

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Only a day after warring parties agreed a ceasefire, residents hear shelling in Hudaydah port.

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Witnesses say people fell ill after eating rice following a ceremony in the state of Karnataka.

Flights of Air Peace on several routes were on Friday disrupted over depressurisation to one of its aircraft, which the airline claims has rendered the aircraft "unserviceable". 

The flight disruption led to some of its passengers stranded in several airports. 

As a result of the incident, the airline grounded the aircraft in line with the safety standards as entrenched by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). 

A statement issued by the airline’s Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah, confirmed that some of the carrier’s scheduled flights were disrupted due to a depressurisation challenge on its Lagos-Enugu flight.

However, he expressed regrets about the resultant delay of flights on several routes that the aircraft was scheduled to service.

He assured members of the public that the airline had made arrangements for other aircraft in its fleet to salvage the situation.

“On Friday, December 14, 2019, our Lagos-Enugu flight had a depressurisation challenge, compelling us to declare it unserviceable upon safely landing at destination in line with our strict safety standards. Although depressurisation is a common occurrence in aviation, we sincerely regret that the incident led to the disruption of our Enugu-Lagos service and other flights the aircraft was scheduled to operate. We are indeed sorry for the resultant inconvenience caused our esteemed customers.

“We have, however, made alternative arrangements to ensure the operation of the Enugu-Lagos and other services the aircraft was scheduled to do, while our team of engineers conduct proper checks on the aircraft, which has since been ferried to our base.

“We assure members of the flying public and our crew that we will continue to accord their safety a prime place in our operations and always act in their best interest. We urge our valued customers to continue to trust us to deliver the best flight experience to them.

“We quite understand the expectations of our esteemed customers, especially during the Yuletide, and we wish to assure them that we will neither disappoint nor take their patronage and loyalty to our brand for granted.”

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The African Action Congress (AAC) has urged Fela Durotoye, Oby Ezekwesili and Kingsley Moghalu — presidential candidates of Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Action Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and Young progressives Party (YPP), respectively — to boycott the presidential debate scheduled for January 2019.

In a move that has been widely criticised by Nigerians, the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) had selected five political parties for the vice-presidential debate scheduled to take place later today, and the presidential debate which will take place on January 19, 2019. See Also Elections JUST IN: NEDG, BON Pick Only Five Political Parties For Presidential Debate 0 Comments 2 Days Ago

Ezekwesili, Moghalu and Durotoye had also taken to Twitter to add their voices to the calls for the inclusion of more presidential candidates in the debates.

However, a statement by Dr. Malcolm Fabiyi, Director General of the Sowore 2019 Campaign/TakeItBack Movement on Friday, called on the presidential candidates to show integrity, decisiveness and courage by shelving plans to attend the debate.

According to Fabiyi, the plan to exclude Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the AAC, from the presidential debate is a "deliberate attempt by the establishment to exclude the leading generational voice of Nigeria’s youth in a debate about Nigeria’s future".

The statement read: "After the massive outcry that greeted the exclusion of Sowore from the presidential debates organized by NEDG, BON and Channels TV, Fela Durotoye, Kingsley Moghalu and Oby Ezekwesili sent Twitter messages asking for transparency in the selection process and requesting the inclusion of Omoyele Sowore in the debate.

"While we salute them for their tweets, we ask them to do more. Tweets are cheap. Now that they have talked the talk, the question is will they walk the walk? These candidates know that their questions will not be answered simply because they asked nicely on Twitter. They know that they must act — with integrity, decisiveness and courage. If they claim to be part of a youth vanguard for change, this is their test of character.

"For Moghalu, Ezekwesili and Durotoye, this is the first test that they will face as voices of the new political generation in Nigeria. Each of them has acknowledged that the process that saw their emergence as debate participants was flawed. The question is this: will they be a part of this debate travesty? Will they affirm and endorse corruption by standing on a stage that was designed to fraudulently exclude authentic voices like Sowore’s from the debate about Nigeria’s future?

"Each of these presidential candidates knows that Sowore’s AAC polled ahead of them in the survey that Channels TV commissioned for selecting participants. Each of them knows that Sowore’s exclusion is a deliberate attempt by the establishment to exclude the leading generational voice of Nigeria’s youth in a debate about Nigeria’s future. Each of them knows that a debate stage that does not include Sowore is one that has been forged in deception, manipulation and lies.

"While we are not surprised that John Momoh, Channels TV, NEDG and BON will be on the side of ignominy and falsehood, by kowtowing to the APC and PDP in excluding Sowore from the debates, we wonder what the response of those who claim to offer a different and viable political alternative for Nigerians will be.

"Will Moghalu, Ezekwesili and Durotoye stand up for truth by boycotting a debate that is non-inclusive and obviously flawed? Or will their introduction to the Nigerian people be one that is aided by grand fraud and deception, enabled by the same system they claim to want to change?

"Later today, the Vice Presidential debates will hold. If the VP Candidates for the ANN, YPP and APCN get on that debate stage tonight at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, we will have our answer about what moral character these youth candidates are truly made of. We will finally know whether they are authentic voices for transformation and change, or whether they are puppets, and mere tools, in the hands of the old political order.

"The struggle to reclaim Nigeria will continue. We will know tonight, whether we can count on Moghalu, Durotoye and Ezekwesili to be part of that historic train. Nigeria MUST progress."

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