North Korea leader executes official for dozing off in meeting

The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reports that former agriculture minister Hwang Min and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry, were executed using anti-aircraft guns.

A source suggested that Ri Yong Jin was executed after he ‘dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim’.

‘He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security ministry. He was executed after other charges, such as corruption, were found during the probe.’

‘I understand he was executed because policy proposals he had pushed for were seen as a direct challenge to the Kim Jong-Un leadership,’ the source added.

It is believed they were executed earlier this month, and this is the latest in a series of high-level purges under the young leader’s rule.

The executions, which were reportedly carried out at a military academy in the capital, Pyongyang, are part of a “new reign of terror” sparked by “a series of defections by senior officials that has rekindled talk of instability and disunity among the North Korea elite”.

Kim took power in 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, and his consolidation of power has included purges and executions of top officials, South Korean officials have said.

Hyun Yong Chol, a former defense minister, was executed last year for treason, according to the South’s spy agency.

North Korean state media described Hwang, one of the officials named, as agriculture minister in 2012, and referred to him as a vice minister of agriculture in 2014.

How would you score Buhari’s government on economic management so far?

Cool FM Freezeagrees he had issues with his boss

Cool FM on-air-personality Freeze has finally open up for the first time on his rumoured sack by his boss, the CEO of AIM Group Amin Mousalli on Saturday, August 28, 2016. The news of his sack surfaced on social media which he tried to deny but according to the OAP it was all a family affair. He said: “Rumours started flying around on Saturday when some bloggers were trying to get an audience, came up with all sorts of stuffs, many of them malicious and most of them untruths.”
Daddy Freeze while confirming his sack and recall pointed to the microphone in front of him to show that he was sitting within Cool FM Studios, then he continued, “Cool FM might look like entertainment but it is a corporate organisation, and there are times when my boss will disagree with me. But I don’t see my boss as a boss. My boss is my father.” The popular media personality, famous for taking people’s private affair to the public, said his sack ‘was not a business of the world’. “This is my first post-school job. I came here when I was 25, I am 40 years old now. I have been here 15 years! We are a family. some blogger called me up first thing on Saturday morning and I was like look we have internal issue. t’s not the business of the world. If there is an issue I will come out with an official statement. I cannot be without a job and still be acting like I have a job.Let there be an official statement to it.”
Concluding his defence he said: “This is my brand, this is the brand I am loyal to. Anyway guys everything is just cool.”

Former Minister tackles ‘dictator’ Buhari, says Nigerians are suffering

A former minister, and now chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau State, Damishi Sango, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s approach to governance, saying his policies are “anti-people and dictatorial”.
Mr. Sango said the level of hardship under the current administration has forced many Nigerians to live in abject poverty.
He said current events were a repeat of the harsh Nigerian economy during Mr. Buhari’s military government in 1983.
“Buhari is not a democrat, he jailed our parents during his rule as military head of state; I was a witness to that, our people suffered severe hunger, just as the hunger that is biting now,” Mr. Sango said.
The PDP leader said this on Tuesday at a press conference at the party secretariat in Jos.
He said most Nigerians who voted Mr. Buhari in 2015 were disappointed.
“Not many thought the first year of Muhammadu Buhari would look like this. The pump price of petrol at 145, per litre, the Naira at 380 to a dollar, not a single road tarred, the 2016 budget in baby step, no minister has received a tranche for work, salary backlog now a routine, herdsmen as killer squads, Biafra on the rampage, Niger Delta brigands reborn, the change mantra muted jobs,” he said.
Mr. Sango, a former minister youth and sport during President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, said Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, has since assumption of office received N97 billion from the federal government, yet was owing civil servants
On the factions in the PDP at the national level, Mr. Sango said the party will address the issues.
“Our leadership challenges at the national level is an internal crisis, it will be resolved soon, I’m of the opinion that both factions should unit for the sake of our great party into strive again,” he said.
He assured that PDP will reclaim its mandate in 2019.

Boko Haram ready for peace’

Hajiya Aisha Wakil, who is believed to be close to the Boko Haram leadership, says the group is ready for talks with the Federal Government on the fate of the 219 missing Chibok girls.
She said yesterday that she had been on the neck of the Boko Haram leaders, who according to her offered to honour her to dialogue with the government and release the girls and other captives.
The group’s leadership might soon make a pronouncement on their plan for the girls, she said.
Hajiya Aisha, who spoke with our correspondent on the phone, said she expected the Boko Haram leaders to come out and discuss with the government.
She said: “Since I came back, I have been on their neck. They have now agreed to come out and discuss with the government and bring back the girls.
“I am for the Chibok girls and all the captives. They are ready for peace. This is what they told me.”
Although Hajiya Aisha was not forthcoming on the imminent release of the girls, whose abduction has sparked a global outrage, she said: “I think they might post some information on YouTube within 24 hours.”
The Army on August 14 declared Hajiya Aisha and two others wanted  for interrogation in line with the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 (as amended).
The others are a journalist, Ahmed Salkida, and Amb. Ahmed  Umar Bolori.
But Aisha has maintained her innocence, claiming  that she is not a shady personality.
In a reaction to the Army’s statement, she had said: “I am Aisha Alkali Wakil. I understand that  the military declared me,  Ahmed Silkida and  Ahmed Bolori wanted for having links with Boko Haram. It’s interesting; now they believe me?
“I know the Boko Haram boys. I have been in front fighting for peace long before Chibok girls were kidnapped. Nigerian security knows me too well. I’m not shady. Why declaring me wanted?
“I have had meetings with Chief of Army Staff and his people. I told them the way forward, to allow me come with some commanders of Boko Haram and  discuss with them,  present the release of CBGs but they chose to do things their own ways only and never gave considerations to any of my suggestions.
“I  want to inform the Nigerian people of my innocence and make them realise that I am in constant relation with the security personnel and they know where to find me but wonder why I had to be declared wanted on national news, even mentioning my husband’s name alongside.
“This has put my immediate and extended family under a lot of pressure and I do not deserve this from the Nigerian government.
“Though they may not appreciate all my efforts to proffer peaceful solutions to the menace of Boko Haram, my name should not be mudslinged nor my character defamed. Thank you.”
President Muhammadu Buhari,  in an interview with reporters on the sideline of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya last weekend, said the government was ready to dialogue with bonafide leaders of the group who know the whereabouts of the girls.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying: ‘‘I have made a couple of comments on the Chibok girls and it seems to me that much of it has been politicized.
‘‘What we said is that the government which I preside over is prepared to talk to bonafide leaders of Boko Haram.
‘‘If they do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognized Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), convince them that they are holding the girls and that they want Nigeria to release a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention, which they are supposed to know.
‘‘If they do it through the ‘modified leadership’ of Boko Haram and they talk with an internationally recognized NGO, then Nigeria will be prepared to discuss for their release.”

Ex-Kaduna gov, Umar to Buhari: Don’t bomb Niger Delta

Erstwhile Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (retd), on Tuesday, warned President Muhammadu Buhari against deploying troops and military hardware in the Niger Delta to halt the activities of militants in the region.

Umar said the Federal Government’s planned use of force to rout out  militants, especially the Niger Delta Avengers in the Niger Delta, was not the best option; adding that the militants were still amenable to dialogue.

In a statement credited to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Affairs, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Nairobi, Kenya, President Buhari was quoted to have said that he would treat Niger Delta agitators the same way he dealt with Boko Haram if they failed to negotiate.

But the former governor in a statement entitled, ‘War in the Niger Delta: A most dangerous option,’ argued that the militants could not be treated like Boko Haram insurgents that had killed over 20,000 Nigerians in the North-Eastern part of the country.

Umar argued that the Niger Delta militants could not be said to be terrorists in the real sense of the word, warning that collateral damages to any military option in that region would be colossal.

Umar said, “I am really frightened by the sudden escalation in the Niger Delta Region from where there are some reports of skirmishes between our security forces and the Niger Delta militants.

“This is happening after the President was quoted as vowing to deal with the militants as he did to Boko Haram.

“All factors considered, the use of military force in an attempt to resolve the lingering crisis is not a good option and must therefore be discarded.

“As a retired general, Mr. President is well aware of the serious and daunting challenges any military will face in its operations in the most difficult and densely populated Niger Delta region.

“The creeks are so heavily polluted with oil, rendering them highly inflammable. It will take the firing of a few high explosive shells to set the whole area on fire, resulting in the inestimable collateral damage among innocent civilians.

“It is also difficult to see how an armed conflict can secure our oil and gas assets in the region. Instead, it will aid the destructive activities of the militants and lead to the total shutdown of all oil and gas operations in the area.”

The ex-governor stated that, “Besides, the Niger Delta militants cannot be said to be terrorists in the real sense of the word. I believe they are amenable to meaningful dialogue.

“I need  not to remind the President that  a war in the Niger Delta will be opposed by most objective Nigerians and the international community as unjust and merely aimed at the control and exploitation of the region’s oil and gas resources.

“I therefore beseech you, Mr. President, in the name of all that is good, to continue to explore peaceful means of resolving the Niger Delta crisis as painful as you may find this. May God direct and guide you on the path of justice.

Cement price rises to N2,300

The price of cement yesterday rose to between N1,200 and N1,300 in Lagos and other parts of the country.
Before the hike, a bag of cement costs about N1, 600 marking over 35 per cent rise in the cost of the raw material used in the building and construction industry.
Reacting to the development, 2nd Vice President Vice President, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr. Kunle Awobodu said the increase may have been as a result of cost of production and the devaluation of the naira.
He lamented that with the hike,  the cost of construction will increase while the need for cost variation in all ongoing contracts and abandonment of projects may become inevitable, adding that  it may also discourage  people from embarking on new projects.
He said: “Clients, contractors and quantity surveyors may have disagreements due to price variations. New price on old contracts in a competitive bidding may eventually lead to sub-standardisation in construction.”
A cement distributor in Arepo, Ogun State said the new price came as a surprise, adding that it many have been occasioned by the current economic down-turn. Another distributor at Ajah area of Lagos, Mr. Kunle Salami  said he has stopped his requests for more supplies as he is not sure of his customers reactions.
He decried the increase and urged the government to intervene either in terms of policy for the manufacturing sector or the provision of constant electricity in order for them to thrive.