General Elections: Buhari directs NIS to tighten security around borders

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to tighten security around the nation’s borders before and after the general elections. Interior minister Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this in Katsina on Tuesday while inaugurating the Katsina State headquarters of the service.

“The order from President Muhammadu Buhari is that between now and the time we will conclude elections, you must make sure our borders are secured,” Mr Aregbesola said. The minister charged officers to ensure that illegal immigrants do not create problems during and after the elections. “The service should live up to the directives of Mr President,” he said.

The minister also tasked them on ensuring the documentation of all migrants. Mr Aregbesola said that Katsina State had 400 kilometres of border lines and 14 border positions which the service needed to protect. He said the government was upgrading the capacity of the NIS to control the nation’s borders effectively. “We are deploying electronic digital technology to ensure 24/7 surveillance of the 5,000 kilometres border lines.

“We have already awarded the contract, so, very soon, the comptroller-general, from his office, will be able to see what is happening anytime at any border point,” he said. In his remarks, Governor Aminu Masari, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Muntari Lawal, commended the NIS for the project and affirmed the administration’s readiness to support the service to secure the nation’s borders. Also speaking, the State controller, Bello Garba, who reiterated the commitment of officers and men to their responsibilities, said the service currently had 688 officers and men across the state.

 

Source: Peoples Gazette

 

 

Taraba council APC chairman suspended

The chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lau Local Government Council of Taraba State, Mallam Musa Umar, has been suspended. His suspension is coming barely two days before the Supreme Court judgement on the party’s governorship tussle. The suspension letter, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Jalingo, the state capital, indicted the embattled chairman of anti-party activities.

Addressing journalists, the party’s vice chairman in the council, Musa Eli Bamga, alleged that “the chairman has been working against the party since 2021.” He stressed that the executives of the party in the council did not hesitate to suspend Umar from office for anti-party and other related offences and therefore will mete out the same treatment to any member of the party caught in sharp practices.

Bamga further claimed that the suspended chairman has been directed to hand over all the party’s properties in his possession to the vice chairman. Though the beleaguered chairman could not be reached for comment, a close associate of his claimed that his removal was done wrongly. The associate who spoke anonymously said the suspended chairman “will not take the suspension lightly and will explore legitimate means to exonerate himself from the allegations levelled against him.”

 

Source: Dailypost

 

 

Fuel scarcity may affect our plans for general elections, INEC warns

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it plans to meet with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) leadership to ensure adequate fuel supply during the 2023 general election. At a consultative meeting with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Abuja on Tuesday, INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said the commission was worried about the fuel situation as it could affect election arrangements.

Mr Yakubu noted that the commission was concerned about fuel scarcity and its impact on transportation on election days. “The truth is that our arrangements may be negatively affected by the non-availability of products,” he said. Mr Yakubu added, “For this reason, the commission will this afternoon meet with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to look into ways to ameliorate the situation.”

He said the meeting was to fashion out ways of ensuring adequate supply to prevent disruption of INEC plans for the general election. “I wish to assure Nigerians that we will continue to engage every national institution for the success of the 2023 General Election,” Mr Yakubu said.

 

Source: Peoples Gazette

 

 

Motown’s hitmaker, Barrett Strong, dies at 81

One of Motown Records’ original hitmaker and songwriter for “Money (That’s What I Want),” and other soul classics, Barrett Strong has died at age 81.

Strong was perhaps best known for his collaborations with fellow Motown hitmaker Norman Whitfield, which include Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and Edwin Starr’s “War,” along with several songs performed by the Temptations like “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” and “Cloud Nine,” among many others. News of Strong’s death was confirmed by the Motown Museum on Twitter. Motown founder Berry Gordy issued the following statement, “I am saddened to hear of the passing of Barrett Strong, one of my earliest artists, and the man who sang my first big hit ,Money (That’s What I Want) in 1959.

Strong was a pivotal figure in music during the late ’60s and early ’70s, both as a singer and a composer who contributed massive hits throughout Motown’s formative years. He was among Gordy’s first signings to the label, and performed their first hit, 1959’s “Money (That’s What I Want).” The track, which was originally released on Tamla, Gordy’s first label, was written by the Motown founder and his then-secretary, Janie Bradford.

Money went on to be covered by several popular bands such as the Beatles (1963), the Flying Lizards (1979) and the Rolling Stones (1964), to name a few. The same year he released Money, Strong appeared on the little-distributed “Let’s Rock,” under Tamla. From that point forward, he went on to become one of Motown’s most successful songwriters in partnership with Norman Whitfield. The duo was critical to the label’s switch from orchestral soul to a blend of rhythmic funk and rock. Strong received a Grammy for best rhythm and blues song in 1973 for the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”

 

Source: Punch