IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

The Hausa community in Anambra state says it is dissociating itself from the ultimatum given by the Arewa Youths for Nigerians of Igbo extraction to leave the North. They affirmed their strong resolve to remain in a one indivisible Nigeria, where all tribes and ethnic divide would be free to live, trade and interact peacefully with their host communities.

Just like their Igbo counterparts, the Hausas are a traveling trade bunch moving across boundaries to carry out commercial activities and many in the process deciding to take up residency in their host states and therefore cannot fathom Arewa youths asking the Igbos to leave.

The Hausa community in Anambra affirmed their resolution to stay put while condemning the action of the Arewa youths at an Eid El Fitri celebration organised by the State Governor.

Lewis Hamilton called title rival Sebastian Vettel "a disgrace" after the Ferrari driver drove into his car in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The two clashed before one of three restarts in a chaotic race, Vettel hitting the back of Hamilton's Mercedes and then swerving sideways into him. Vettel said Hamilton had deliberately slowed - or "brake-tested" - him.

The Briton denied that and said Vettel's driving was "disgusting" and "not sportsman's conduct". Vettel of Germany was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty in the race - won by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo - after being found guilty of dangerous driving but still finished a place ahead of Hamilton in fourth, extending his championship lead to 14 points.

The 29-year-old was also given three penalty points on his licence, taking him up to nine. If a driver receives 12 in a 12-month period, it triggers an automatic race ban.

The embattled Senator representing Kogi West senatorial district of Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has alleged that the signatures of his constituents, which were collected for his recall, were forged and fraudulently forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission. Addressing newsmen at the press centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Lokoja on Sunday, Melaye said his investigation revealed that even signatures of dead persons were among those purportedly seeking his recall from the Senate.

For instance, Melaye, who spoke through one of his legislative aides, Mallam Abubakar Sadiq, claimed that the signature of the late Chief Yakubu Rotimi Obadofin, a former All Progressive Congress governorship aspirant from Ijumu Local Government Area, was included in the recall register. “This recall exercise was hatched in the Government House due to the manner in which Senator Dino Melaye had consistently challenged and engaged the government of Kogi State over non-payment of workers’ salaries and pensioners for over 15 months so also the closure of tertiary institutions.”

“They claimed to have got over 188,000 signatures of the electorate in Kogi West, whereas the total vote cast in the last senatorial election of 2015 was merely 111,000 for all the candidates that participated at the election, both valid and rejected votes.

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, and the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, have agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Ghana. This, they said, would go a long way in developing the two countries and the sub-region. The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday night. Akande quoted the two leaders as making the pledge when Akufo-Addo visited Osinbajo at his official residence, Aguda House, inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Sunday.

“We’re extremely excited about the ECOWAS sub-region and hope that we will be able to do a lot together,” he quoted Osinbajo as saying during the visit. He added that discussions between the two leaders centered on the forthcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, ongoing negotiations on the Continental Free Trade Agreement and the revitalisation of the Ghana-Nigeria Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation. “Both leaders pledged to intensify bilateral cooperation for the benefit and development of the sub-region,” he added. Akufo-Addo was said to have thanked Osinbajo for receiving his delegation at a time the country commemorating Eid El-Fitr.

The Ghanaian leader said his visit was part of an ongoing tour of the sub-region to “take stock of what’s going on, and to renew relations.” He extended his good wishes to President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently receiving medical attention in London, United Kingdom.

Ex-militant leaders of phases 2 and 3 had resolved in Port Harcourt, Rivers, to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s peace initiatives for the region. This decision followed a crucial meeting between Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (Rtd) and the ex-militant leaders. According to a statement signed by Ms. Stella Inametti, Media and Communication Dept, PAP, on Saturday in Abuja, the meeting is aimed at peace building and conflict resolution among the groups and the Amnesty office. The statement quoted Boroh also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, as saying it is imperative for the leaders to meet regularly with officials of the Amnesty Programme.

“To share ideas, make observations and proffer solutions that will bring about peace, infrastructural change and human capital development of thousands of the youth captured in the PAP. He emphasised that conflict and violence were no resolutions to a crisis. He asked the leaders to constantly remind the ex-agitators in their camps not to breach the peace in the country. The presidential aide noted that they should ensure that the non-violence agreement signed at Obubra that led to the declaration of Amnesty in 2009 was upheld.

Boroh urged the leaders to use all channels of dialogue in solving problems to allow government’s developmental projects like the rail construction, modular refineries, and the community pipeline surveillance to take off. He said that it would be of benefit to the people and create massive job employment opportunity for the youth of the region.

Lewis Hamilton produced a stunning last-gasp lap in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas to pole.

The Briton made a mistake on his first lap when he looked set to go fastest and a red flag looked like it might have cost him a chance of pole. The session was restarted with enough time for one lap and Hamilton beat his Mercedes team-mate by 0.434 seconds.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel will start third and fourth.