President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an extraordinary summit of Heads of State and Government of Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Newsmen report that other sub-regional leaders participating in the summit include the Presidents of Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum and Central African Republic, Faustin Touadera. Others are Mahamat Idriss Deby, President of the Transitional Military Council of the Republic of Chad, while Cameroon’s President Paul Bryan, was represented at the meeting. Other participants at the summit include representatives of Mohamed Al-Menfi, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, and the Sudanese President. Newsmen report that the leaders would be discussing the growing security threats in Sahel and Lake Chad region, politica...
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Sunday said his administration inherited about N100 billion unpaid pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Okowa disclosed this at the third session of the 8th Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Ughelli Diocese. The session was held at Bishop Agori-Iwe Memorial Church, Ughelli. Okowa said that the financial burden forced 18 state governments out of 26 that enlisted on the scheme to withdraw, leaving only eight state governments, including Delta, in the Programme. The governor explained that the major challenge which forced the states to withdraw and others not to enrol in the scheme, was the huge backlog running into billions of naira. He said that his administration was up-to-date with payment of pensioners in the old scheme. ...
Rebels in northern Chad are ready to observe a ceasefire and to discuss a political settlement after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last week, a rebel spokesman said on Sunday. The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the northern border from Libya on April 11 calling for an end to Deby’s 30-year rule. They came as close as 200-300 km (125-185 miles) from the capital N’Djamena before being pushed back by the army. Deby was killed on Monday while visiting troops at the front, just after he won an election. His death shocked the Central African country, which has long been a Western ally against Islamist militants. The air force has since bombarded rebel positions, the military and rebels said. The military said on Saturday it had “annih...