Al-Makura Vows To Ensure Free Nasarawa LG Polls

Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura has vowed not to tamper with the independence of the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC).

The governor made the pledge on Monday during the inauguration ceremony of the chairman and members of the state electoral body.

The inauguration, which held at the Council Chambers of the Government House in Lafia, the state capital, is in line with the preparation for the local government elections slated for May in the state.

Addressing the newly NASIEC officials, Governor Al-Makura noted that adequate provision has been made to ensure the polls are conducted successfully.

He also called on other political parties to participate fully in the elections without any fear of partisanship and assured them of responsiveness on the part of the state government.

Read the governor’s full speech below:

It is with a heavy heart and great sense of loss that I am performing this exercise in view of the recent demise of the former Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, OON. However, exigencies of office dictate we act in order to ensure that governance processes and conventions be carried out, as at when due.

This, we believe, is more fitting, a farewell, to the late Governor. Hence, I am addressing you today on this occasion of the swearing-in of the Chairman and Members of the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC), a Permanent Secretary in the Nasarawa State Public Service, as well as Interim Management Committee Chairmen of Keana and Keffi Local Government Councils.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it would be recalled that the tenure of the erstwhile Chairman and some Members of the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) expired, thereby creating a vacuum and the necessity to fill the existing vacancy therein. Accordingly, by the powers conferred on me, it became imperative to reconstitute the Commission.

In this regard, I submitted names of nominees to the Nasarawa State House of Assembly for confirmation as Chairman and Members of the electoral body in the State. I need to express my appreciation to the Right Honourable Speaker and Members of the House for their speedy consideration of the appointees.

This, no doubt further demonstrates our enduring partnership towards fulfilling our collective responsibilities to the people. It is my hope that this relationship will continue to flourish.

Let me point out that we made meticulous consultations with regards to consideration of the backgrounds, wealth of experience and track records of the appointees. It is my belief that these appointees have met our set criteria.

While congratulating the Chairman and Members of NASIEC, therefore, I charge you to justify the confidence reposed in you, considering the fact that your appointment came at a time the State is preparing to conduct the Local Government elections in May 2018. In other words, you must exhibit honesty and integrity in your conduct.

As you settle down to this onerous task, remember that the first assignment before you are to organize a free, fair and credible election that is in line with the Law and best practices. Accordingly, I call on you to ensure a level playing field for all the would-be candidates to be fielded by the registered political parties in the State.

Let me place on record that Government would not interfere with the independence of the State electoral body in the due discharge of its responsibilities. I, therefore, call on all political parties to participate in the electioneering process without any fear of partisanship. To underscore our commitment in this direction, Government is providing the necessary enablement to facilitate the smooth preparation and conduct of the May 2018 election.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me state that, as part of this occasion, a new Permanent Secretary has also been sworn-in to fill existing vacancy in the Civil Service. It is also aimed at strengthening the machinery of Government towards effective and efficient service delivery. I must reiterate to our new Permanent Secretary that public service is public trust.

I, therefore, charge you to uphold the virtues of this Administration anchored on accountability, transparency, probity in the management of public funds and, above all, loyalty. You are enjoined to work in synergy with your colleagues and other political appointees, as well as your subordinates in the implementation of Government policies and programmes.

You will be surprised that we are swearing-in Interim Management Committee Chairmen of Keana and Keffi Local Government Councils respectively, while we are holding elections in May 2018. This is to avoid having a vacuum in these Local Government Areas for smooth Administration in the affected councils.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me take the liberty of this occasion to comment on the tenure of Local Government chairmen and councillors in the State. You are already aware of the controversy surrounding the tenure of elected Local Government officials which the previous Assembly fixed for only two years which was not helped by several court decisions on the issue.

For all intent and purposes, this Administration notes that no meaningful socio-economic activities will take place within a span of two years. It is for this reason that Government recently submitted a bill to the Nasarawa State House of Assembly aimed at addressing the issue of tenure of our elected Local Government representatives to a three-year term. It is my belief that the amendment of the Local Government Law will put to rest the issue of tenure of Local Government officials in the State.

At this juncture, ladies and gentlemen, as we move closer to the May 2018 Local Government elections, I urge all and sundry to ensure that we participate fully in this exercise that will usher in elective officers at the grassroots. I urge you to conduct yourselves in a peaceful and orderly manner, not only during the electioneering campaigns but also during the conduct of the elections.

On this note, I once again congratulate the Chairman and members of NASIEC, the new Permanent Secretary and Interim Management Committee Chairmen of Keana and Keffi Local Government Councils. I welcome you on board to the service of Nasarawa State.

Buhari’s Administration Is Incompetent, Uncoordinated – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has yet again criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, describing it as incompetent, disorganised and uncoordinated.

The criticism follows the President’s comments about the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, flouting his orders regarding the security situation in Benue State.

During a meeting with stakeholders in the state on Monday, the President said he was not aware that the IGP had left Benue for Nasarawa after he was ordered to relocate to the state.

Although the IGP visited Benue after the President’s directive, the state government accused him of spending only one day in the state after which he proceeded to Nasarawa state and spent several days there.

Through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP on Tuesday said that President Buhari’s explanation on the IGP is also an admission that he has handed over power to a cabal that neither sought for votes nor were they elected by Nigerians.

The party said the President has irredeemably indicted himself adding that such “unpardonable slipshod” attitude to governance is directly responsible for his government’s wrecking of the nation’s once robust economy as well as other woes that have befallen the nation in his almost three years in office.

Furthermore, the party warned the APC and supporters of the President to take their minds off the Aso Villa ahead of 2019 election now that their leader and the sole candidate has practically admitted his incompetence to run an effective government as desired by Nigerians.

Read Also: I Never Knew IGP Moved To Nasarawa After I Sent Him To Benue – Buhari

It also criticized the President for trying to pass the buck to the IGP, a development which it said further exposed his lack of direct commitment and concern toward the well-being and security of Nigerians.

Read the statement below.

“Nigerians have completely lost hope in President Muhammadu Buhari and his incompetent administration. By stating that he was unaware that the IGP only spent 24 hours in Benue state, Mr President has confirmed that he has not been effectively monitoring the handling of the security situation of our nation.

“This places a huge question mark on the regular assurances issued from the Presidency on security.

“For our party, PDP, the expression of President Buhari has once again vindicated our position that our nation has been placed on autopilot cruise with a cabal pretending to be managing our affairs.

“Indeed, Nigerians need to know; what exactly did President Buhari, as the Commander-in-Chief, do when he realized that the IGP did not carry out his orders? We demand a direct answer from the Presidency.

“The fact is that there is no sense of remorse by the Government as the President himself spent only two hours in Benue state without visiting the victims or even making any direct policy statement on those behind the killings and how to forestall future bloodletting. Rather, in the character of this government, Mr President engaged in yet another blame game instead of facing issues.

“If the Presidency is not committed to monitoring critical issues such as security, then Nigerians are no longer in doubt as to why other sectors, particularly our once robust economy, had gone comatose under the Buhari administration.

“Moreover, Nigerians are miffed that while the wailings over these daily bloodletting are yet to abate, President Buhari is busy announcing his plans to return to Benue to seek for another round of votes.

“This shows clinically that Mr President is truly not aware that Nigerians have since abandoned him in his state of unawareness.

“Nigerians can no longer bear with a government that cannot give directions to officials and monitor it through; a government that is so inept that it lacks the elementary proficiencies to initiate and implement effective policies and programmes for national cohesion and development; a government that lacks the basic skills to internationally engage and run a virile economy.

“We have a government that was so careless, that it even had names of dead persons in the list of appointees to federal boards.

“Again, we maintain that our nation has been on auto-drive under the APC and Nigerians cannot wait to end this nightmare come 2019″.

The party, therefore, called on other Nigerians to support their plans to return to power in 2019.

Renowned British Scientist, Stephen Hawking, Is Dead

Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, whose mental genius and physical disability made him a household name and inspiration across the globe, has died at age 76, his family said Wednesday.

Propelled to superstardom by his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, which became an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe.

His genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarified world of astrophysics, earning comparisons with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

Hawking died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” Professor Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement carried by Britain’s Press Association news agency.

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.”

Hawking defied predictions he would only live for a few years after developing a form of motor neurone disease in his early 20s.

The illness gradually robbed him of mobility, leaving him confined to a wheelchair, almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through his trademark voice synthesiser.

“His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world,” his family said.

“He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”

– A titan of science –

Born on January 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day after the death of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei — Stephen William Hawking became one of the world’s most well-regarded scientists and entered the pantheon of science titans.

His death was announced on the 139th anniversary of the birth of Albert Einstein.

Inside the shell of his increasingly useless body was a razor-sharp mind, with an enduring fascination with the mysteries of black holes.

His work focused on bringing together relativity — the nature of space and time — and quantum theory — how the smallest particles behave — to explain the creation of the Universe and how it is governed.

“My goal is simple,” he once said. “It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

But he was also a beloved figure in popular culture, with cameos in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “The Simpsons”, while his voice appeared in Pink Floyd songs.

Tributes began pouring in from scientists around the world, lauding him as an inspiration.

American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted his condolences, with a characteristically cosmological reference.

“His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it’s not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure,” the scientist said.

Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, called Hawking “a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world.”

NASA issued its own Twitter eulogy, publishing a video of the scientist grinning as he soared into weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, escaping his wheelchair for a brief period of time.

“His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we & the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014.”

His death even drew mourning from celebrities not normally associated with the intricacies of astrophysics.

American singer Katy Perry said there was “a big black hole in my heart”.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Hawking had “made the world a better place, ” calling his death “anguishing”.

– ‘Not afraid of death’ –

Hawking’s first marriage to Jane Wilde in 1965 gave him three children and was immortalised in the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything”.

The couple split after 25 years and he married his former nurse, Elaine Mason, but the union broke down amid allegations, denied by him, he was being abused.

Hawking became one of the youngest fellows of Britain’s most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, at the age of 32.

In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University — a post previously held by Newton — where he had moved from Oxford University to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

Hawking was an outspoken commentator on life back on earth, voicing his disapproval in recent years of both the election of Donald Trump in the United States and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

He was unafraid of ruffling the feathers of the religious, dismissing the concept of an afterlife in a 2011 Guardian interview.

“I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first,” he said at the time.

Tillerson ‘Unaware’ Of Reason For His Removal

Outgoing US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did not speak to President Donald Trump before he was sacked on Tuesday and has not been given a reason for his ouster, a top aide said.

“The secretary did not speak to the president this morning and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling and not to be regretted,” Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein said.

Tillerson arrived back in Washington before dawn on Tuesday after a tour of African countries and a few hours later Trump announced abruptly on Twitter that he was to be replaced by CIA director Mike Pompeo.

“We wish Secretary-Designate Pompeo well,” Goldstein — who is undersecretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy — said, in a series of tweets from his official account.

“The secretary had every intention of remaining because of the tangible progress made on critical national security issues. He established and enjoyed relationships with his counterparts,” he said.

“The secretary will miss his colleagues at the Department of State and enjoyed working together with the Department of Defense in an uncommonly robust relationship,” he added, in a nod to Tillerson’s close working relationship with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.

Tillerson And I Disagreed On Some Things, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke of his disagreements with the ousted secretary of state Rex Tillerson.

Some of this disagreement according to Trump include the Iran nuclear deal.

He explained this as his decision to replace Tillerson with Mike Pompeo.

“We got along actually quite well but we disagreed on things,” Trump told reporters.

“When you look at the Iran deal, I thought it was terrible, he thought it was okay. I wanted to either break it or do something, he felt a little differently. So we were not really thinking the same.

ALS: The Disease That Stephen Hawking Defied For Decades

British physicist Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the fatal neurological disease that paralysed his body but did nothing to curb his contribution to science.

The rare condition normally claims the lives of those who have it within two to three years of diagnosis, making Hawking’s five-decade fight to overcome the disease an extraordinary exception.

The neurodegenerative condition attacks the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, hampering their ability to communicate with muscles and control voluntary movements, leading to eventual paralysis.

Early symptoms of stiffness and muscle weakness worsen over time as victims gradually lose the ability to walk, speak and breathe.

The deadly condition is very rare, occurring on average among two new cases per 100,000 people every year, most typically among individuals aged between 55 and 65.

It became something of a household name in 2014 after the viral “Ice Bucket Challenge”, which saw people upload videos of themselves pouring cold water over their heads in a bid to raise awareness about the disease.

There is currently no cure or treatment that halts or reverses ALS, though there are some options to can help manage symptoms.

The disease takes two main forms, according to the US-based ALS Association.

The vast majority of people suffer from a “sporadic” version that can affect anyone while up to ten percent of cases in the US are inherited.

Military veterans are up to twice as likely to be diagnosed as the general public, for unknown reasons.

The average survival time for those affected by ALS is three years, according to the ALS Association.

Only five percent of patients live for 20 years or more.

Researchers have said Hawking’s exceptional longevity remains a mystery, though some have noted that the diseases’ progression varies by patient and could be governed by genetics.

Other famous victims of the disease include playwright Sam Shepard, who died in August 2017, “Sesame Street” co-creator Jon Stone and jazz musician Charles Mingus.

ALS is commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s disease” in a nod to the baseball legend who is believed to have died from the illness in 1941.

Millions In China Mourn ‘Giant Star’ Hawking

Millions of Chinese mourned Stephen Hawking on Wednesday, bidding farewell to a “giant star” admired in China for stoically rising above physical disability and posting heartfelt messages to his Chinese fans on social media.

Already well-known in China, the British cosmologist two years ago further endeared himself to fans in the country when he opened an account on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, posting in both Chinese and English.

The account garnered one million fans within its first few hours and now has nearly five million, with his infrequent posts typically generating tens of thousands of admiring comments and earning him the affectionate nickname “Hawking Dada”, or “Uncle Hawking.”

News of Hawking’s death at 76 quickly became the top-trending Weibo topic, with the hashtag #Hawking passed# generating more than 300 million reads and nearly 200,000 comments within a few hours after his death was announced.

Many said his passing was “the falling of a giant star.”

“The deterioration of his body did not trap him. Today this superhuman brain has left this world, and his next journey, death, remains a mystery,” one user said.

“I hope he has the strength to send us information from the next world.”

Another user wrote: “Even though I can’t understand Hawking Dada’s books… he is the one who knows the secret of this world.”

Most of Hawking’s life was spent in a wheelchair, crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neuron disease. He died at his home in England on Wednesday, his family announced.

Hawking, who had travelled to China previously, even visiting the Great Wall in 2002, posted on Weibo about black holes and other phenomena, and wrote in one message that being on China’s leading social media platform was “a source of great inspiration”.

One of his more popular postings was a June 2016 message of encouragement to tens of millions of Chinese students preparing for annual national college-entrance exams, a stressful, make-or-break ordeal that can determine one’s future.

“Whether you aim to be a doctor, teacher, scientist, musician, engineer, or a writer, be fearless in the pursuit of your aspirations. You are the next generation of big thinkers and thought leaders that will shape the future for generations to come – SH,” he wrote.