Nation
MarkCondemns Yobe Killings …Seeks Children’s Protection Against Terrorist
Senate President David Mark yesterday stressed the need to put in place measures to protect children against terrorists.
He made the call in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja.
Mark, who condemned the gruesome murder of 26 students and a teacher of a secondary school in Mamudo, near Potiskum, in Yobe State called on the terrorists to give peace a chance.
The senate president described the killings, which were purportedly carried out by members of the Boko Haram sect, as “barbaric and wicked’’.
“Even in war situations, children and women are protected. Killing children is akin to cutting down the future of a people.
“This is inhuman, barbaric and unacceptable to any right-thinking member of the society.
“For no reason, the lives of these promising children were needlessly cut down by the heartless people. This cannot be a way of life; enough of this bloodshed,’’ he said.
Mark quoted some verses from the Holy Bible to buttress his argument that children deserved protection under any circumstances whatsoever.
“Mathew 18: 10 states ‘take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for in heaven their angels always behold the face of my father which is in heaven.
“Mark 9:42 states ‘whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him hat a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea.’’
Mark, however, appealed to the security agencies to step up their surveillance and monitoring activities to halt the trend and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The senate president gave the assurance that the National Assembly would continue to give priority attention to budgetary allocations to the security agencies to enable them to carry out their duties without hitches.
He commiserated with the government and people of Yobe, especially the bereaved families, over the incident.
Mark urged the perpetrators of the violence to use the numerous windows of dialogue and peace, which the government had opened, to express their grievances.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.