The Nigerian Indicator

Ogun Assembly Warns Police Against Killing of Innocent Citizens

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 23:35:00 +0000

An appeal has gone to the Nigeria Police, Ogun State Command to caution its men in Sagamu to exercise restrain in the manner in which they pursue “yahoo boys” with vehicle thereby killing innocent people in the process.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraju Ishola Adekunbi gave the appeal while responding to a presentation made by the member representing Sagamu I State Constituency, Hon. Adeyinka Mafe who spoke under Personal Explanation.

Adekunbi enjoined the police to always exercise restraint in the manner they trailed suspects to avoid killing of innocent citizens, while calling on the Commissioner of Police in the State to find a lasting solution to the issue.

Earlier, Hon. Mafe disclosed that the unfortunate killing of a resident of Sagamu last week in an error by men of the Nigeria Police while pursuing some suspects known as “Yahoo Boys”, almost created mob attack in the town.

Also at the plenary, the member representing Abeokuta North State Constituency, Hon. Olayiwola Ojodu, made a passionate appeal to the management of the State Ministry of Environment to provide necessary safety equipment to road sweepers in the State to protect them from dangers of hit and run drivers.

Ojodu who spoke under Personal Explanation said that a resident of his constituency was recently knocked down by a car while performing her lawful duties.

Rep Blasts Fayose Over Comment Against Buhari

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 23:17:00 +0000

Fayose/Buhari

A member of the House of Representatives and former Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Bosun Oladele, yesterday, in Lagos took a swipe at Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State over what he described as his persistent unfortunate comments against President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption programme, dismissing the governor as a rabble rouser.

Fayose recently said President Buhari’s probe was targeted at PDP supporters and cautioned him against playing to the gallery as he said, “Nigerians should not be probed on the pages of newspapers. Rather, the anti-graft agencies should do their jobs quietly.”

Oladele, who is representing the Irepodun/Orelope/Olorunsogo Federal Constituency of Oyo State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, asked the governor to wait for the President as, according to him, Abuja would get to him soonest.

His words: “Fayose is just a meddlesome interloper. He is a rabble rouser. It is only him that sees ghosts where everybody sees lives. He should not start talking about Buhari probing on the pages of the newspapers.

”He should wait for him because, he (Buhari) is coming to him. Fayose will get his own bit of it. I think from all indications of what he has been seeing, he has started developing butterfly in his stomach but he shouldn’t wait for too long, he will start feeling the heat and that is exactly why he is talking when everybody is supposed to keep quiet.”

<<vanguard>>

Kashamu Stops Obassanjo Book Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:15:00 +0000

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

AN Abuja High Court has restrained former President Olusegun Obasanjo from proceeding with plans to publish or have someone publish on his behalf, an autobiography entitled, “My watch.”

The judge, Justice Valentine Ashi of Abuja High Court, sitting I Wuse II, made the restraining order on Friday after listening to Dr Alex Iziyon who argued a motion exparte brought on behalf of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Buruji Kashamu.

Iziyon had argued that the content of the book related to issues contained in Obasanjo’s December 2, 2013 letter to President Goodluck Jonathan and former PDP national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, where he (Obasanjo) claimed that Kashamu was allegedly a fugitive wanted in the United States (US).

He contended that since the content of the letter was the subject of the libel suit his client filed against Obasanjo, which is still pending before the court, it was wrong for the ex-president to be allowed to proceed to comment on, write books about or make publications on the issue yet to be decided by the court.

Justice Ashi, in a ruling, restrained Obasanjo from either publishing the book or having it published on his behalf by anybody, pending the determination of the main suit still pending before the court.

“The defendant, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, whether by himself, his agents, servants, privies or any other person by whatever name called and howsoever described, is hereby restrained from publishing or caused to be published in the yet-to-be published book, ‘My Watch’ or any autobiography or biography and any extracts of same, by whatever name called or howsoever titled, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice hereof,” Justice Ashi said.

The judge further restrained Obasanjo and his agents, “from further writing, printing, publishing or causing to be published or printed or circulated, or otherwise, publishing of and concerning the plaintiff, the statement contained in the Daily Sun (pages 47-49) and The Leadership (pages 3 to 8) newspapers of December 12, 2013 and which statements are alleged to have reproduced the letter written by the defendant to the President entitled: ''Before it is too late'' or similar statements pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

The judge ordered the applicant to, “execute a bond with the Registrar of the court to pay such damages as shall be assessed should it turn out that the order ought not to have been granted in the first place.”

He adjourned hearing of the main suit to December 10, 2014.

Kashamu had, shortly after the content of the letter became public, sued Obasnajo for alleged defamation of character.

He argued that the defendant (Obasanjo) “maliciously and recklessly published a letter titled, ‘Before it is too late,’ which contained words which he (Obasanjo) knew to be false.”

In his writ of summons, Kashamu said the criminal imputation made against him by Obasanjo in his letter, has injured him (Kashamu).

He is praying the court to award in his favour, and against the ex-President, N20 billion for the damage he has suffered as a result of the allegation.

He is praying the court for, “an order awarding the sum of N20 billion only to the plaintiff against the defendants as aggravated and exemplary damages against the defendant for libel falsely and maliciously published by the defendant against the plaintiff in the said letter.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, servants or privies from publishing or further publishing or cause to be published any defamatory words against the plaintiff to any person or persons; and the sum of N100 million as cost of this action”.

Boko Haram Behead Nigeria Air Force Pilot, Shekau Appear In Another Video.

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:37:00 +0000

Boko Haram, the extremist Islamic group In Nigeria, has posted a video that shows charred plane wreckage and the beheading of a man identified as a pilot of a missing Nigerian Air Force jet, bolstering the group’s claims that it shot down a fighter plane.

The video also allegedly featured Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, a man Nigeria’s military twice claimed to have killed — first in 2009 and again last year. Two weeks ago the military said they had killed a Shekau lookalike who had posed in the group’s videos.

“Here I am, alive, and I will remain alive until the day Allah takes away my breath,” the man says in the Hausa language. “Even if you kill me … it will not stop us imposing Islamic rule … We are still in our Islamic state, reigning and teaching the Quran.”

The United States still has a $7 million bounty on Shekau’s head.

The video was made available to The Associated Press through the same channels used previously and seems to show the same man. Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters suggested in a blog that the insurgents had manipulated images and cloned “another Shekau.”

In the video, the man identified as Shekau says Boko Haram is implementing strict Shariah law in areas of northeast Nigeria under its control. Examples are shown, including the stoning to death of a man apparently accused of adultery; the amputation of the hand of a young man accused of theft; the lashings of a man and what appears to be a girl covered in a hijab.

The video ends with a show of burnt-out plane parts in rugged bush. Two pilots and an Alpha jet have been missing since Sept. 11 when it left the northeastern town of Yola on a bombing mission against Boko Haram.

The video shows a kneeling man in a camouflage vest with his right hand in a sling, with a fighter hovering over him with an ax, which is later used in the beheading.

Speaking in English, the victim identifies himself as a wing commander in the Nigerian Air Force and says he was undertaking a mission in Kauri area of northeast Borno state.

“We were shot down and our aircraft crashed,” he says. “To this day I don’t know the whereabouts of my second pilot.”

The insurgents have stolen military hardware from Nigerian forces, probably including anti-aircraft weapons.

On Mount Arafah, Pilgrims Seek Divine Solution To Nigeria Challenges.

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:10:00 +0000

NIGERIA’S security challenges, growth and development turnaround as well as fair, free and peaceful elections in 2015 were some of the points canvassed at a special prayer session held for the country at the weekend at Mount Arafah.

A total of 76000 pilgrims from Nigeria joined over two million Muslims from 37 countries who stood on Mount Arafah at the weekend.

Staying on the plain of Arafah is not only the cardinal rite of Hajj, it is regarded as a divine moment of blessing for the humanity. And when it falls on a Friday, it becomes a unique moment of multiple blessings. This uniqueness of this year’s Arafah Day was hammered by the Amirul Hajj and leader of Federal Government Delegation, Oba Riliwanu Akiolu of Lagos, who tasked all pilgrims from Nigeria to pray fervently for the country.

“This Arafah Day which falls on a Friday is unique. It is a sign of better things to come for us as Nigerians and our country, provided we sincerely and genuinely believe in God; be our brothers’ keeper. Since this exercise started, Dahiru Bauchi and others have been praying and the anchor of their prayers is that sincerity, love for others and belief in God should reign supreme in our hearts. We pray that all security challenges and other challenges in our country, Allah, in His infinity mercies, should bring a permanent end to them. In sha Allahu, I have no doubt that our prayers have been answered.”

The monarch, however, stressed “sincerity and honesty of purpose” as ingredient that quicken acceptance of prayer. “As we pray for all our leaders that God should be with them, guide them in the right way, the leaders also have a duty to be absolutely honest in anything they are doing. There should be no pretence of any sort. And the general elections in 2015, my prayer is that the leader that has the best interest of Nigerian community should emerge and lead us in the way of God and peaceful coexistence.”

Both Islam and Christianity, Oba Akiolu averred, “teach peace, even, the traditional religionists also preach peace,” just as he tasked Nigerian masses to cooperate with leadership. “But we the followership should also cooperate with our leaders, pray for them, support them and give them honest and sincere advice, not what they want to hear. If we continue to tell them what they want to hear, the Day of Reckoning will come when, according to the Holy Quran, the mouth will not be allowed to talk, but your hands and legs will do the talking. We should remind our leaders that everything that has the beginning must also have an end. I have no doubt that Nigeria is a blessed and loved country provided we know what we are doing. By the grace of God Almighty, all will be well for us.”

In the same vein, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal underscored the imperativeness of peace to socio-political and economic development pleading for normalcy to return to Nigeria.

“We just finished praying for our dear country, Nigeria. We earnestly need peace and that is what has been prayed for. May God Almighty return Nigeria to normalcy, so that we can witness tremendous development in all spheres of life. This is Mount Arafah where, as Muslims, we believe that once you pray, Allah answer the prayer. And we believe firmly that Allah has answered our prayer in that respect.”

Tambuwal also seized the occasion to call on Nigerians “and our leaders that we must continue to see ourselves as Nigerians, we must continue to relate with one another as brothers and sisters. We have only one country, Nigeria and we believe in Nigeria, we must continue to work for the progress of Nigeria.’’

I plead that we should continue to tolerate each other, understand one another, and we should continue to preach unity and peaceful co existence.”

As a member of the delegation, Ambassador Adamu Muhammad Bulkachuwa described this year’s hajj as special because Arafah day fell on Friday. He recalled that the Arafah of the last and only Hajj performed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also on Friday.

“We, here in the Federal Government delegation tent, have prayed for peace and tranquillity for our beloved country. And we have also prayed for the unity of Nigeria and all the things that make us, Muslims and Christians, feel bad, we have prayed against that and we have asked God to bring back Nigeria as it were in the very good old times.”

The Seriki Bai of Katgum insisted that prayer is what Nigeria need to overcome its all challenges. “At all times, we should continue to pray for Nigeria. The country needs prayers. We have so many wise, clever people, who believe they know the solution to myriad of Nigeria’s problems, but ultimately, we believe prayer is the ultimate thing as God Almighty is the only solution to our problems. We have prayed here in Saudi Arabia and I believe, Nigerians, especially Muslims who are in festive mood, will also continue to pray for our dear country.”

What gladdened the heart of the spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Uba Mana was the prompt resolution of the transportation challenge that confronted the last batch of Nigerian pilgrims in Madinah. “I am happy that all our pilgrims made it to Arafah.” Last Wednesday night when Mana’s attention was drawn to the hitches faced by 120 Nigerian pilgrims, he had assured that both the Hajj Mission and the Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj Affairs were hard to the remaining pilgrims then in Madinah join their counterparts in Makkah for onward movement to Arafah on Friday.

He had attributed the delay to large number of pilgrims who arrived in the holy land this year through the city of Madinah.

“For the first time in the history of airlifting of pilgrims, over 70 per cent of pilgrims came through Madinah. And this tasked the movement of pilgrims back to Makkah for the commencement of the rites of Hajj. But the hitches are being sorted out as no pilgrim will stay in Madinah today (last Wednesday),” Malam Mana had said.

Statistics from the NAHCON office in Madinah indicates that out of 76000 pilgrims, over 74 per cent had visited the city which hosted the sacred mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. A total of 37000 flew directly from Nigeria to Madinah, while 20,100 came by road having first landed in Jeddah.

And to make the stay on the plain of Arafah comfortable, Saudi Arabia authorities mobilised over 10,000 security and para military officials to ensure security of lives and property during the observation of the fundamental rite of hajj. Similarly, over 800 hospitals and clinics were provided to cater for the wellbeing of pilgrims during the dawn to dusk programme

INVESTIGATION: The Rejected Ebola Soldier: How Nigeria Blocked A Determined Volunteer.

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:45:00 +0000

At the peak of the Ebola outbreak, the Federal and Lagos State Governments asked Nigerians to volunteer as they battled to contain the disease. A PREMIUM TIMES man tried to sign up. This story is about what he experienced and how he was bounced.

==========================

Thirty minutes had passed when the female guard in the reception room tapped me on the shoulder.

“You can go in now. He is around,” she said.

I rose and followed her direction into the office of the Director of Clinical Services Training, DCST, a spacious enclosure with a large LCD television and an equally large framed photo of the director.

A name plate on the wooden table introduced him as Dr. Adedokun.

Seated behind a heap of files and business cards on a table, Dr. Adedokun, was tapping the screen of his android phone, when I walked in.

He motioned me to a seat. A lady standing by the door bolted it behind me.

I had always wondered what it would feel like to be a volunteer in the Ebola Response Team, or an anti-Ebola soldier – as a colleague termed it – to help battle and contain the spread of the deadly virus in Lagos.

But what thickened my curiosity was the journalistic instinct in me. I wanted to be in the thick of things, to see things first hand and not rely on second hand reports. I discussed my plans with my editor who encouraged me to take the plunge. He emphasised that I should volunteer sincerely with all my heart but that I should come out with “one of the greatest narratives of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria” at the end of it all.

It was that mission that brought me to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, on August 6, exactly 13 days after the death of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who fled surveillance in his country and imported the disease into Nigeria.

At the time, Ebola had killed three people, including Mr. Sawyer, and 10 people or thereabout were in quarantine at the Ebola Ward of the Yaba Mainland Hospital. Nigerian doctors were on strike and the Federal and Lagos State governments were calling on Nigerians to volunteer to help in contact tracing and in caring for those already infected by the disease.

“Please, sit down. They said you wanted to see me?” Dr. Adedokun asked, pausing for the first time from his phone activity to look at me.

“Yes. I heard volunteers are needed to care for the Ebola patients and also trace contacts. I want to volunteer.”

He seemed to size me up.

“What’s your qualification?”

“I have a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology.”

He dropped his phone, and his eyes lit up.

“Fantastic! So you want to volunteer eh? Do you have a BMLS (Bachelors in Medical Laboratory Science) certificate?”

I paused for a moment.

“Errrr, actually I ….”

He cuts in, animatedly.

“That’s fantastic. Very fantastic. Volunteers will be given N30,000 daily, the complete working kits, and they have a chance of working with the WHO (World Health Organisation) afterwards.

“They are actively, I mean actively looking for volunteers. And you read Microbiology, ah, there is a great chance that they will retain you. They will also provide insurance cover, although I don’t know the details.”

He stopped abruptly, and then picked up his phone and dialled a number and waited.

There was no response from the other end.

“Ok ok, you can take down these numbers,” he turned to me.

He reeled out the digits of four different mobile phone lines, I quickly jotted all down.

He dialled a number again, this time the person at the other end picked.

“I have a volunteer right here in my office. He is a young man and he read Microbiology. I’m sending him to you right away.”

Then he paused, nodding his head vigorously as he listened to what appeared to be a directive from the other end, before hanging up.

“You have to go to Yaba Mainland Hospital. That’s where volunteers should report to. When you get there, tell them you want to see Dr. Oguntimehin, the Incidence Manager.”

With that, Dr. Adedokun wished me luck, the lady by the door beamed at me as she ushered me out of the office.

Outside the office, I paused briefly to ponder over the sudden burst of excitement and affection I had just received. In movies, that was usually how people were sent to the gallows.

The Ebola hospital

As I said above, a lot of reasons motivated me to go apply as a volunteer, but to be honest, the financial remuneration Dr. Adedokun mentioned also got my adrenaline pumping – N30,000 daily. With a life insurance package – which would also be monetized – thrown into the mix.

About two hours after I walked out of Dr. Adedokun’s office, I walked into the premises of Yaba Mainland Hospital, with its array of ancient buildings and rusted zinc roofs.

Everybody in the hospital was wearing either a face mask or using a handkerchief to cover the nose. There were people in the complete Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, attire – long, white coat, rubber gloves, rubber boots, and face mask – moving around the compound.

An eerie quietness, the kind only seen in graveyards, permeated the place. At a nearby shed, a group of masked uniformed guards sat in ominous silence.

I was the only uncovered person as far as my eyes could see. It looked like death was circling the sky above the hospital. My first impulse was to turn and bolt towards the gate. Instead, I stood, took a deep breath, and headed towards the hospital’s Out Patient Department.

As I approached, two masked nurses, seated behind a table, motioned frantically that I should keep a safe distance from their table.

“Please, I came here to volunteer for the Ebola …”

They quickly motioned me towards another building.

“Ask for Ward B,” one of them managed to say, her voice muffled by the face mask.

I was to find out later that the Male Ward B in the hospital, which had been turned into an Isolation Unit by the Lagos State government, now goes by the name of ‘Ebola Ward.’

Outside the Ebola Ward, I met another volunteer, a medical doctor who had come from Abuja to be a part of the anti-Ebola army.

“I came here because since the doctors’ strike, I haven’t really been doing anything. So instead of just staying idle, let me come here and help,” the young doctor, a Holy Bible tucked under his arm, told me.

Together, we stood and waited, but there was no one to attend to us. I wondered why that was the case especially considering how desperate government officials were sounding at the time whenever they lament the dearth of volunteers.

A few minutes later, a lady in a WHO overall appeared and I enquired about Dr. Oguntimehin.

“Oh. He’s no longer in charge. He is the head of the Primary Health Care centre. The person you should speak to is Dr. Abdulsalam,” she said, and proceeded to give me the same phone number Dr. Adedokun had given me earlier.

I tried to call the number, and all the others Dr. Adedokun had given me; they would ring and ring without any response.

After about an hour, and still no one to talk to, we left.

The Return

On the second day, I returned to the hospital just in time to catch a (Centre for Disease Control) official tutoring 15 volunteers on safety techniques.

“I’m credibly impressed with all of you,” the official, whom I later identified as Dr. David, told the group comprising mostly of doctors, nurses, and Lagos State Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS, officials.

“If you have an Ebola Virus Disease, I could be this close with zero protection, we can have this conversation,” Dr. David said, moving within a few feet to the volunteers.

“It’s contact with body fluids. It’s how you get infected, it’s with mucosal contact. Why wear gloves on the hands? Because it usually goes to the face.”

The training session was on the best safety practices on how to avoid contact with a virus associated with one of the highest fatalities in recent times. But the manner the instructor went about the session, it could easily pass for a lecture on how to handle malaria patients.

“The virus does actually attack the brain. It doesn’t do it for everybody. I’ve not seen a health care worker put at risk because of it.

“We worry a little too much about being infected. If you already have diarrhoea and vomiting, I already know that I need to be appropriately dressed. That’s not rocket science.

“If I do everything I’m supposed to do in here (he pointed to the Isolation Unit), am I guaranteed 100 per cent that I will not be infected? Yes.”

He paused to cough.

“Excuse me, not Ebola. Just a primary cough.”

The volunteers laughed.

The lecture continued.

“Staff in hospitals have an opportunity to apply for risk assessment regarding the infection prevention control practice you are going to choose for the patient in front of you, right? You let the patient decide what you are gonna do?

“You are not afforded that kind of freedom here. Here, the process is, because we know we have patients who are contaminated, because we know the situation is high risk. Here it is a matter of process.

“And so you build the process, you build the procedures around the idea that there is some redundancy to increase safety and as you get tired and get busy, that you do things the same way every time.”

During the question and answer session, a volunteer asked what stage of the cycle of the virus an active carrier can pass on the disease.

“The method of innoculation? Think cholera. It’s hand to mouth. If a patient is not having vomiting or diarrhoea, that can be anywhere. We have seen E-coli disease, etc, present the same symptoms. It is hard to say any particular disease.

“If somebody is incubating, they are usually not infectious. Test the individual and provide some kind of care for them.”

Another volunteer asked if an insect or a fomite (an inanimate object) could transmit the virus.

Dr. David responded that the virus did not typically have a long life span outside a host.

“Also, there have been no evidence that bed bugs, for instance, transmit Ebola. But we do decontaminate anything that needs to be decontaminated.”

A volunteer asked what to do if, in the middle of taking care of an infected person, his hand gloves get torn.

“There’s a reason we have a surgical knife in the ward. Grab one and cut off the hand,” Dr. David said.

But it was a joke.

“Some people wear two gloves. My gloves tear all the time. Ideally, you change gloves after dealing with each patient.

“We also do this if we have visible contamination. I remove my outer gloves, wash my inner gloves and put on fresh gloves.”

After the lecture, which lasted for about two hours, the volunteers hung around for the next phase of their training but nobody paid them further attention.

They went home.

Later in the afternoon, I saw two middle aged women weeping profusely outside the Ebola Ward. They had been told that the corpse of their sister, the nurse who was the fourth victim of the virus, was inside the building where it will be kept until cremation.

The training for the volunteers continued the next day.

I didn’t make headway in signing up as a volunteer myself. And I began to feel that the government was insincere in its campaign that people should sign up.

The words of Jide Idris, the Lagos State Health Commissioner, kept echoing in my head, “We have a shortage of personnel. I won’t lie about that. And that is why we are asking for volunteers.”

The wait

My editor continued to encourage, pester and, in some instances cajole me to return to the Ebola hospital to try again.

Two weeks later, I returned to the Ebola Ward, and was told to go to the Central Medical Laboratory in Yaba to pick up a volunteer’s form.

At the laboratory, we (I’d been joined by half a dozen intending volunteers) were asked to pick up the forms in the next compound, housing the Psychiatric Hospital.

We got there to a small crowd of other intending volunteers. A notice on the wall informed us that every other volunteer category had been filled, except for the contact tracing and community mobilisation groups.

A lady, clutching a sheaf of papers, was going around sizing people up.

“What is Ebola?” she asked a tall fellow leaning on a wall.

“It’s a virus.”

She shook her head and walked past him.

“What did you study?” It was my turn to be sized up.

“Microbiology.”

She handed me a form.

Then raising her voice, she announced: “After filling your forms, return it to me and go home. You will be contacted via your emails and phone numbers.”

One week later and no word about my application status, I returned to the Central Medical laboratory.

A staff at the Laboratory told me, “Don’t worry. They are calling people one by one. When it’s your turn, they will call you.”

So I returned home, to wait by the phone and computer for that call and email.

The plea of Dr. Idris continued to ring in my head, “We are counting on you, our brothers and sisters to support this cause; because without you, we cannot contain this disease in Nigeria.”

I continued to wait. I’m still waiting…

MTN Invested #10bn In CSR In 10 years.

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:04:00 +0000

MTN Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of MTN Nigeria, said it has invested over N10 billion in social projects since its incorporation in 2004.

A Director of MTN Foundation, Mr Dennis Okoro gave the figure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Okoro said that the investment was made in the key areas of education, health and economic empowerment in 341 locations across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said that the foundation was passionate about improving the quality of life in Nigeria and contributing to socio-economic growth.

According to him, MTN Foundation is constantly seeking opportunities to contribute to the development of the communities wherein it operates.

“In line with its continued commitment to support state government’s efforts at reducing the security challenges in the country, the Foundation recently donated security vehicles to the Rivers State Government under the third phase of its Security Support Project (SSP).

“The gesture is in furtherance of the Foundation’s commitment to improving the quality of life in Nigerian communities.

“It is common knowledge that security of life and property is critical to the growth and development of any state and is therefore an area that should not be left for government alone,’’ he said.

The Director said that Rivers State had been a beneficiary of several other MTN Foundation initiatives.

He said that such initiatives include the MTNF Rural Telephone, the MTNF Disability Support, MTNF Learning Facility Support, MTNF Scholarship Scheme for students, Widows Empowerment Scheme and now MTNF Security Support Projects.

Okoro said that through the two previous phases of the MTNF-SSP, the Foundation had presented 115 fully equipped security patrol vehicles with communication gadgets to 19 state governments and the FCT.

“Ondo, Lagos, Enugu, Kogi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kogi and Bayelsa benefitted from the second phase of the project.

“Phase one of the project witnessed the donation of fully kitted security vehicles to Anambra, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Delta, Oyo, Ogun, Jigawa, Imo, Katsina, Kano, Plateau and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“The third phase will see Rivers, Abia, Benue, Cross River, Edo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger, Osun, Sokoto and Zamafra states benefitting from the Foundation’s provision of fully kitted security vehicles to enhance security operations in these states,’’ he said.

The statement quoted Gov. Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers, who was represented by his Deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, as commending the MTN Foundation for keying into his administration’s vision of providing adequate security in the state.

It quoted the governor as saying that the initiative would complement efforts made by the government in securing the lives and properties of the state’s inhabitants.

“We are calling on other service providers to emulate MTN and support government’s effort in providing adequate security for residents of the state, as well as the entire country,’’ he was quoted as saying.

Ekiti Workers Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 16:45:00 +0000

Workers in Ekiti have began indefinite strike over two months unpaid salaries and allowances by the outgoing Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Organised Labour Unions, under the leadership of Joint Negotiating Council, also criticised the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the State for not protecting the interest of workers.

Addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti, the JNC Chairman, Comrade Oladipupo Johnson, said the August and September salaries had not been paid.

He also said June and July deductions from the workers salaries had not been remitted by the government.

Johnson said, “It is unfortunate to note that in spite of the pronouncement and promises from top government functionaries, there seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Sequel to the following, the workers of the public service had met and directed that no worker should come to work today, October 2, 2014 and this subsists until all conditions are met.

“And any worker who refuses to obey this simple directive does so at his or her own risk since the leaders would not take responsibility for anything that happens.”

Johnson, who said the council had been in dialogue with the Governor in the last three months to resolving the issue, expressed surprise that the workers were not paid even after government received two allocations.

“We don’t want to stay back and allow our people to be dying on the streets because we are gradually becoming beggars. The Government has not paid salaries in the last two months, that is why we ask them to be at home and look for alternative way of existence .

“They are owing full salaries for August and September and 60 percent deductions in the June and July Salaries. And going by evidence we had, the Governor had collected two allocations without remembering that these salaries should be paid.

“We have met with the Head of Service, the Accountant General and other relevant people and what they agreed was that the salaries will be paid by October 1, 2014.

“But I want to assure you that the workers will resume to work as soon as the two months salaries are paid as well as the June and July deductions.”

PDP Liars!!! Osun APC Debunks Alleged Discovery of Fake Ballot Papers

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:40:00 +0000

OSUN State All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked the claim by the state Peoples Democratic Party that 11,000 fake ballot papers were discovered in the inspection of electoral documents used in the August 9 governorship poll.

The party’s spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement in Osogbo, the state capital yesterday, said the attention of APC had been drawn to “the blatant falsehood being bandied around by the PDP.

“This claim is nothing, but a joke taken too far by people who are nothing but enemies of progress and development in our dear state. Their past-time is to use all manner of dubious tactics to hoodwink unsuspecting public into believing their good-for-nothing petition has any shred of credibility.”

The Election Petition Tribunal had granted an order of inspection of all polling documents to both the PDP and APC since September 9.

The inspection at the INEC office was in two folds – getting the Certified True Copy of all the result sheets obtained by both parties and scanning the ballot papers for the purpose of forensic analysis.

The APC, in the statement, said: “The only equipment authorised to be brought to the INEC office are the photocopiers and scanners and no other. One wonders how photocopiers and scanners will discover fake ballot as claimed by the PDP liars!

“Our team of inspectors is also on ground inspecting electoral materials and contrary to PDP falsehood, at no time did any PDP representative raised the issue that any ballot paper was fake. So, it is mischievous to state that the INEC was unable to explain the presence of fake ballot papers.

“To buttress the point that the promoters of this falsehood are on a wild goose chase and are all out to entertain themselves, the basis upon which their petition is based is that in almost all the polling units, result sheets were not signed and stamped by the presiding officers, thereby rendering the result null and void.

“However, the certified true copies of the result sheets have shown that the result sheets were signed, stamped and even authenticated by PDP agents in all the polling units being challenged. Curiously, in some units that PDP claimed that election was rigged, it was PDP that had highest scores on the result forms. What an absurdity of a reckless petition?”

The party said the phantom claim of discovery of fake ballot papers was a product of hallucinating minds of dishonorable persons who have no regard for truth and integrity of the judicial process.

It added: “We are in receipt of the Certified True Copy of all Result Forms (EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E), particularly Form EC8A across all the polling units in the 30 local government in the state and we discovered contrary to the PDP claim in their petition that all the result sheets were not only signed, they were stamped by the respective presiding officers and countersigned by the party agents, including PDP agents.

“It is therefore a demonstration of crass irresponsibility of the PDP to now turn a mere inspection of polling documents that had revealed nothing untoward to an avenue where they allocate imaginary votes, which they failed to legitimately earn at the August 9 election to themselves and disturb the peace of the state with their odious noise of a victory that will never be.”

The APC urged its supporters to ignore the alleged “falsehood of PDP, which is merely calculated to hoodwink their paymasters in Abuja.”

“For the PDP pathological liars, we wish they will desist from ignoble act of misleading members of the public, an enterprise that ensured their failure at the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun in the first place,” it said.

Source

VC Charges Stakeholders On UNN Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:20:00 +0000

VICE Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Prof Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba has called for collaborative efforts of stakeholders to enable the institution realize the dreams of her founding fathers.

He stated that though the institution has in the last 54 years contributed in the development of the country through research, development as well as producing some best brains, it must do more to

ensure that certain challenges confronting the country were overcome.

Presenting his first Founders Day celebration address in Enugu yesterday, Ozumba, who was recently appointed the 14th Vice Chancellor of the school, said that staff and student welfare, environment and campus aesthetics, academic leadership and research, academic discipline and ethics remained his priority.

“My agenda is to provide the university of Nigeria the leadership needed to become an academic giant and pace-setter in the quality of its successful research, the level of its innovative teaching and the robustness of its community service among universities in the developing countries”, he said.

He stated that the Founder’s Day celebration was to call to mind the dreams of the founders of the university, stressing that it would offer his administration the opportunity to review the progress so far made and areas of improvement.

Ozumba, said his administration was abreast with challenges facing the university and has constituted a committee to address them.

He said that the committee tagged ‘welfare committee’ would tackle grievances that had affected the process of development of the institution.

He announced at the briefing that water had been restored at the Enugu campus of the institution more than 15years after it was disrupted.

On student’s welfare, he promised the provision of better wifi services to enable them access to internet, provision of laptops at subsidized rate as well as work with the Students Union Government (SUG) to achieve set goals.

2015 MDGs Deadline: Nigeria Won’t Cry For Food – Patience Jonathan

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:46:00 +0000

With less than a year to the end of the United Nations Anti- Poverty Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has said that Nigeria will not cry for food as it has halved the proportion of those who suffer from hunger way ahead of the 2015 deadline.

The first lady stated this yesterday in Abuja, at the official launch of Agricultural Empowerment Programme for Rural Farmers, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, during which over 230,000 bags of fertiliser were distributed to farmers across the country.

Dame Patience described the distribution of the fertilisers as a move aimed at bolstering the nation’s productivity as well as contributing immensely to the realisation of Mr President’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, and commended farmers for their sacrifice which aided the country to attain goal one of the MDGs.

According to her, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2013 acknowledged that Nigeria has halved the proportion of those who suffer from hunger way ahead of the 2015 deadline.

She said, “It is a thing of joy that under President Jonathan, significant improvements have been made in the agricultural sector, particularly in the area of fertiliser distribution. The National Fertiliser Policy for Nigeria is such that fertiliser seeds are now sold by the companies directly to farmers through an e-wallet system”.

Boko Haram Video Shows Abubakar Shekau Alive

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:15:00 +0000

A video has been released dismissing Nigeria’s military claim that leader of Islamist group Boko Haram is dead.

In the video, Abubakar Shekau says his fighters shot down an air force jet that went missing three weeks ago.

Last week, the military claimed a man posing as the Boko Haram leader in a video has been killed.

Security analysts have questioned the credibility of the military's claim.

A Nigerian journalist, who has good contacts within Boko Haram, said on his Twitter account that he had it "on authority that Shekau is well and alive".

BBC

13 Days Before Exit From Office Fayemi Appoints 8 New Permanet Secretaries

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 10:50:00 +0000

13 days before his departure from office, Ekiti state Governor, Kayode Fayemi has appointed 8 new permanent secretaries.

According to NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, the Ekiti state government said the appointments were made due to the the need to inject new blood into the state civil service and fill all vacancies occasioned by retirement of some senior bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, Ayo Fayose, governor-elect of Ekiti has kicked against the appointments.

Fayose in a statement issued after the swearing in of the permanent secretaries said, "as much as we are not opposed to people progressing in their chosen careers, one finds the recent appointments questionable.

"It is very ridiculous for Fayemi who has less than two weeks to leave office to appoint permanent secretary for the incoming administration. It shows how evil the All Progressives Party (APC) is.

"In the last four months, the outgoing government has created 19 new local council development areas (LCDAs), employed 3,000 workers without following due process and right now backlog of salaries of workers are yet to be paid and workers are currently on strike.

Reacting to Fayose's claims, Ekiti state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr Tayo Ekundayo, speaking on behalf of the government said, "I can tell you that we are in government till October 15, 2014 and we will not hesitate to take the proper actions if there are vacancies to fill as long as there is budgetary provision for it,” saying “opposition should not be worried for whatever action taken by our administration, we are going to be held responsible for whatever action taken in the last four years. They should stop crying blue murder when such did not arise.

SOURCE: Nigeria Bulletin

Jonathan,Tinubu, Aliyu, Northern govs, others mourn Agagu

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 01:13:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday led prominent Nigerians to pay tributes to former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu, who died at 65 last Friday.

He described the ex -Minister of Aviation and Power, Dr Olusegun Agagu, as a man whose exemplary decorum, poise, urbanity, finesse and loyalty in the conduct of politics will be greatly missed.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said: “On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Jonathan extends sincere
condolences to Dr. Agagu’s family, the government and people of Ondo State, as well as Dr. Agagu’s friends, political associates and colleagues in Ondo State and other parts of the country.
“The President joins them in mourning the distinguished academic whose exemplary decorum, poise, urbanity, finesse and loyalty in the conduct of politics will be greatly missed by all, especially his colleagues and associates in the Peoples Democratic Party.”

Former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described his death as a blow to the renewed struggle to restore sanity to the nation’s politics. He said: “Once again, the cold hands of death have snatched an illustrious man of great character and devotion to country. “Agagu was a good man, a bridge builder who never let the bitterness of defeat or political disagreements rob him of his patriotic spirit.” Tinubu described Agagu as a man with a noble heart and a politician who placed national interest above self interest. “His death will slow down this new movement but others will pick up from where he stopped.”

The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) also paid tribute to Agagu, saying his death marked the end of a glorious era. Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, described the late Agagu as a true nationalist. A statement by Aliyu’s spokesman, Danladi Ndayebo, said: “From Agagu’s stint as a lecturer at the prestigious University of Ibadan, through his tenure as Minister of Aviation, to his election to the position of the Governor of Ondo State and his life in retirement, the former Governor remained with the people.”

Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, described Agagu’s death as regrettable.
The governor, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, said: “He died at a time when the nation should have benefited more from his wealth of experience as an intellectual, politician and public servant.”

The governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, said Ibadan, the South West and indeed Nigeria had lost one of their most cerebral and intellectual politicians ever. Ajimobi, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, recalled that Agagu left imperishable legacies in Ondo State where he was governor between 2003 and 2007. According to him: “Dr. Agagu can never die; when the people tread those roads constructed by his administration in Ondo State, when they pass by those imperishable legacies he left.
“The foremost Geology teacher will live in their hearts and they will confront his great love for the people of the state afresh, even decades to come.”

Former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, said: “His exit at this period was a great setback for the nation due to his wealth of experience in political engineering.”

A former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, described Agagu as a consummate politician, who played a key role in the socio-political development of Nigeria. Orji, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi, said: “No one can take it away from Agagu that he did his best as governor of Ondo State.

Cross River State governor, Liyel Imoke, expressed grief over the demise. Imoke, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, recalled his time with the late governor as Minister of Power.
He described the deceased as an astute administrator, a consummate professional and a team player.

Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said the death of Agagu was a “blow below the belt” for the political class. He said: “He served as a very loyal deputy governor under our revered father, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, and the legacies of that administration are still there for all to see.”

Culled from The Nation Online

Female police officer molested, stripped naked in Onitsha

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 00:47:00 +0000

A near commotion was averted yesterday at Bridge Head, Onitsha, when a female member of the Nigerian police, was abused, molested and almost stripped naked by a dreaded wealthy man, (name withheld)in the area who allegedly slapped the Commissioner of Police last year.

According to a tout in the park who gave his name as Tunde and witnessed the averted commotion said the
female police officer, Inspector Tochukwu Offoegbu was on duty when the ‘big man,’ who owns a park in Onitsha, approached her, allegedly telling her that he would facilitate her removal from Onitsha as he did to one Archibong. Tunde said the female police officer demanded to know what her offence was that would warrant the threat of removal, so the chief gave her a slap for daring him.

Also, his boys allegedly tore the female officer’s uniform, leaving her almost naked. ‘’She ran for her life into the Police post to avoid the peering eyes of the public before the Area Commander Benjamin Nwordu asked all of them to come to the area police station, Onitsha. ‘’That man cannot be arrested because last time he slapped the Commissioner of police because of park matters and so the governor closed the park and now, it is an Inspector. I fear,” said Tunde.

According to a report monitored on The Nation online, when contacted, the DPO Fegge, where Offoegbu works , Maikudi Shehu, said he would not speak on the matter, insisting that the PPRO is the only person authorized to speak on such matter. The PPRO, Emeka Chukwuemeka, when contacted on phone said he was with the Onitsha Area Commander and would get back to the reporter on the issue. CP Balah Nassarawa was said to be out of the state as at the time of going to the press.

Reacting, another eyewitness and Campaign for Democracy Coordinator, Dede Uzor A Uzor, demanded for the immediate arrest of the accused and thorough investigation into the matter with a view to punishing the offender to deter future occurrence. CD gave the Commissioner of Police seven days to arrest the man or face human rights groups protest and call for his removal as that was the height of abuse of an officer on duty, particularly a woman.

Nigeria University Lecturers (ASUU) Commence Indefinite Strike

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 05:50:00 +0000

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) resumed yesterday the industrial action it suspended in January 2011 following the federal government’s failure to implement the agreement it reached with the lecturers.

ASUU’s National President, Dr. Nasir Isa on Monday, said the industrial action though painful would be total, comprehensive, total and indefinite and last for as long as the federal government implements details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both parties signed in 2011.

He said that the decision to have the strike was reached at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of ASUU held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.

He said that the action was as a result of the inability of the federal government to implement some of the
issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with ASUU.

ASUU claimed that the government had also reneged on the MoU it entered into with the union in December 2011.

“Before now, there has been this issue of the implementation of the key issues contained in the 2009 agreement we entered into with the federal government.”

“We have had several meetings and deliberations to let government understand why these issues must be resolved but it is like the more we meet and deliberate, the messier the issue gets.”

“One of the issues that needed to be addressed was basically that of the Academic earned allowance. This earned allowance, and other issues, had dragged on until government then agreed to write an MoU with the union. But as we speak, there has been nothing to show that government was committed to an MoU it also willingly wrote to better the university sector. It is in this regard that we are embarking on an indefinite strike,” he explained.

Dr Isa stated that having waited patiently for the government to swing into action to no avail, the ASUU’s NEC decided to meet, deliberate and come up with the action.

Chairman of the University of Lagos chapter of ASUU, Karo Oghenekaro,, told journalists that government’s penchant for reneging on agreements was not acceptable.

He said that government entered into the MoU with ASUU after the union suspended its strike two and a half years ago.

Mr. Oghenekaro explained that the government had made essential laws on some of the burning issues such as the 70 years retirement age of lecturers as well as the pension commission.

According to him, government, however, is not forthcoming with other pressing demands such as the earned allowance.

He noted that the academic earned allowance was expected to take care of excess work load carried out by the lecturers such as examination officers, deans and supervision of post graduate, masters and other programmes.

“I want to say that not all lecturers are entitled to this allowance, but as we speak, not a single lecturer under the aforementioned categories has received any such allowance. What we are demanding as the earned allowance is not more than N12, 500 per person, yet government is saying it cannot afford such.”

“Government was actually thinking of the cost implication of everything but after much deliberation, government agreed to sign the MoU and said it had set aside N100 billion to take care of all the burning issues.”

“However, government came back to us and pleaded for a reduction and we decided to step the cost down to 80 per cent. That not enough, it also appealed for another reduction to 50 per cent.”

“This 50 per cent, government said, will be a one off payment; that it was from that 50 per cent that we shall take care of everything, including the earned allowance.

“This did not go down well with us and so we decided to meet and take the decision we have just taken,” he said.

According to him, the Nigerian tertiary education sector is where it is because of inadequate funding. He said that one of the reasons why there were no foreign scholars in the system was because of the poor wages.

“When we agitate about earned allowance, we are also using it to as a means of attracting foreign scholars so it is not all about our personal interest.

“We are also using it to address the issue of brain drain in the system. As it were, our best brains are all drifting into industries and other sectors that will pay them better, rather than ploughing back into the academic sector.

“To us, it is all about looking at a bigger picture and putting things in the right place,’’ he said.

The union leader said that the decision to embark on the strike was painful but that there was no going back until government took a positive step to address their demands.

The ASUU strike is coming two months after polytechnic lecturers, ASUP, embarked on their own national strike, which is still ongoing.

£3,000 British visa bond an insult to Nigeria and unacceptable - oba of Lagos, Akiolu

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 05:33:00 +0000

The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, on Monday condemned the proposed £3,000 British visa deposit imposed on Nigerian travellers.

Akiolu said this at the opening of a five-day workshop on corporate fraud organised by the police Special Fraud Unit in collaboration with the City of London Police in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

“It is unacceptable to us as a nation; we will not take it. It is a big insult to us for British to demand £3,000 before we can go to London. We are not criminals,’’ he said.

The monarch stressed the need for the government to release the reports of some major probes into corruption, including the Halliburton scam.

Senate must approve appointment of service chiefs

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 05:04:00 +0000

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that the appointment of all Service Chiefs by the President is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void without the approval of the Senate.

Justice Adamu Bello, ruling on a suit filed by Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo challenging the appointments, on
Monday, declared that the President of Nigeria cannot appoint service chiefs without the approval of the Senate.

Justice Bello then restrained the President from further appointing them except in consultation with the National Assembly.

Untill this ruling, the President is at liberty to appoint or sack Service Chiefs.

The Service Chiefs include the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Army Staff.

When contacted for the Presidency’s reaction to the ruling, the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr Reuben Abati stated that “the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice was still studying the ruling.”

The case was instituted in 2008 by Mr Keyamo against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation and all service chiefs asking the court to determine whether going by the interpretation of the provisions of Section 218 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 18 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, if the Nigerian President can appoint the service chiefs of the Federation, namely, the Chief of Air Staff, the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, without the confirmation of the National Assembly first sought and obtained.

He also asked the court to determine whether Section 18 (1) & (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 is not in conformity with the provision of the 1999 Constitution so as to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, that the President, may, by Order, modify its text, to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

Keyamo had approached the court following the appointment of service chiefs by late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua within his first year of assuming leadership of the country after his election at the 2007 Presidential election.

The Judge agreed with the plaintiff as he ruled a mandatory order for the President to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly in the appointment of service chiefs failure of which the appointment becomes illegal, unconstitutional and void.

Furthermore, the court held that section 18 (1) & (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, is in conformity with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution so as not to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) – of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, that the President, may, by order, modify its text, to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

The court however declined the third prayer of Mr Keyamo, which sought the court to order the service chiefs appointed by the late President to vacate their offices noting that the relief had been overtaken by event as none of them is still in service

Nigeria U20 V Uruguay U20 - A preview

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 04:34:00 +0000

For the second time in 12 days, Nigeria will square up against Uruguay – this time at youth level as both sides battle for a last eight spot at the Fifa World Youth Championship billed for the Ali Sami Yen Arena.

Ali Sami Yen Arena was the same ground the Flying Eagles defeated Korea Republic to finish runners-up behind Portugal in Group B. Although, this will be the first time both countries will be meeting at this level of
football, the West Africans will be hoping to prove their superiority over their South American opponents who also finished as runners-up in Group F.

Interestingly, both teams share same peculiarities. First, the Flying Eagles finished third at the African Youth Championship in Algeria in April while Uruguay placed third in the South American version of the qualifiers. Also, both teams started Turkey 2013 on a losing note before winning their last two group games to reach the knock out stage of the competition.

Nicolas Lopez who shone like a million stars in Uruguay’s 4-0 whitewash of Uzbekistan will be heavily relied on by coach Juan Verzeri to punish the Nigerian defence that has let in three goals in three games with Defensor SC of Uruguay’s midfield maestro, Gino Acevedo expected to dictate proceedings from the middle.

The Nigerians on their own part are a great attacking side by all standards putting in six goals past opposing goalkeepers in three matches. With Abdul Ajagun, Kayode Olarenwaju and Aminu Umar in the right frame of mind, then the Gaston Silva and Guillermo Varela-anchored defence are in for a tough time despite boasting of the best defensive records so far in the tournament.

Should Nigeria scale through, they will set up a potential cracker with the winner between Spain and Mexico in one of the quarter final games billed for Bursa.

Culled from: Goal.Com

When Maracana played like the extra man

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 04:16:00 +0000

Shakira and Brazil singer Ivete Sangalo during the Confederations Cup final match between Brazil and Spain at the Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro. (Reuters Photo)

RIO DE JANEIRO: It's 3pm and four hours before the kick-off but the ramps coming down from the Maracana metro station are already looking like a sea of yellow.

Trains coming from the city centre are off-loading hordes of Brazilian fans in national colours at three stations near the Maracana. On the pavement, two urchins are dribbling a ragged ball while chanting "tiki-taka, tiki-taka".

On all the street corners in Tijuca, where the stadium is located, cops in heavy gear are standing behind the
barricades. There are rumours of a massive protest rally. In the media lounge, an English journalist sniggers at Ronaldo the Phenomenon's prediction: "3-0 for Brazil". A Dutch veteran wonders why the Brazilians are so "cocky, just like they were in 1950s."

Several ghosts - from the past and present - are lurking around the Maracana as the closing ceremony unfolds. As dancers in their fantasy dresses twirl on the pitch, some old Brazilian reporters talk about that day in July 1950 when Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay here and sent the country into a collective trauma. Some foreign correspondents are whispering about tear-gas from the streets filtering into the stadium. But the crowd - 78,000 people - is shouting "Brazil, Brazil".

Now, the ball is rolling. It's the second minute of the game when Fred, lying on the grass, clips the ball into the net. Maracana erupts as Fred, Neymar and the whole team run towards the stands. The bench joins them as the players hug their fans who are screaming with ecstasy. It's just two minutes and the Maracana is already declaring victory.

An old song, "The champions are back," is echoing so loudly in the stands that even a TV reporter sitting in a chopper above the stadium says he is "getting goose bumps" . Then the crowd breaks into another chant: "Ole, Ole".

As the end of the first quarter approached , Alvaro Arbeloa upends Neymar . As the Dutch referee Kuipers shows the yellow card, the crowd shouts: "Cartao vermelho, cartao vermelho (red card)".

That shout dies down quickly and as Neymar sends a sizzler into the net in the 41st minute and makes a dash to the stands, the Maracana is drowned in the collective chants of "Neymar, Neymar" . The Maracana - and Brazil - have found their new hero.

A few hundred protesters outside the stadium have been sent home. Television is reporting about street parties all over the country. Journos are asking Ronaldo if he wants to revise his prediction to 4-0.

The second half begins and Fred, a darling of the Rio crowd, does it again with a curling shot and the team and the bench are back with the crowd.

The Maracana wants a massacre. As Gerard Pique fouls against Neymar and shown the red, the stadium chanted "Bruna 3, Shakira 0." Bruna is Neymar's girlfriend. Shakira, Pique's partner.

The clock ticks towards the final whistle but the tiki-taka is still failing to rhyme. The party is on at the stands.

3: The 3-0 loss was only the third Spain has suffered under Vicente del Bosque and followed a 2-0 loss to the USA at the 2009 Confederations Cup and a 1-0 defeat by Switzerland in group play at the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. It was Spain's heaviest defeat in a competitive match since 1985.

Culled from: Times of India.

Mimiko wins again

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:17:00 +0000

Mimiko

The Court of Appeal in Akure, Ondo State capital, has upheld the re-election of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

Reports monitor in Akure by TNI indicates The five man appel panel of Judges led by Justice Mohammed
Gumel dismissed the petitions of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Olusola Oke on the basis that they lacked merit.

In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Daniel Kalio, on the appeal of the PDP, the court ruled that the appellant was unable to prove how injections into the voters’ register affected the governorship election result.

The court thereby declared that it had no reason to distort the decision of the lower tribunal.

The appellants had appealed the ruling of an election tribunal which declared Mr. Mimiko of the Labour Party as the duly elected winner of last year’s governorship election in the state.

Governor Mimiko in his reaction to the judgment said the court has proved that the mandate given to him by the people of the state is beyond any reproach.

He thanked the people of the state and assured that the victory is a challenge for him and his deputy to continue working for them.

It was a moment of joy for the Labour Party in the state as top politicians including legislators, cabinet members and party officials joined the governor and his wife at the Government House to celebrate the victory.

Thompson Oliha, ex-Nigerian Green Eagles player dies at 44

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 20:54:00 +0000

Late Thompson Oliha

THE sport circle in the country was again thrown into mourning on Sunday when news filtered in that former Super Eagles player Thompson Oliha had passed on.

TNI gathered that Oliha died at Yusjib Industrial Medicare in Ilorin after he reportedly slumped in his toilet on Sunday before he was rushed to the hospital where the Chief Medical Director Dr Abdulraheem Yusuf, confirmed him dead.

Oliha, a midfielder was a member of the Super Eagles team that played at the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1994, two months after the squad won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in Tunisia.

The late midfielder was also a member of the Flying Eagles squad to the 1987 World Cup in Chile.

Thompson Oliha first played for the senior national team in a 1988 Olympic Games qualifying match against Algeria in Annaba in January 1988, and then became a fixture in the team at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Algeria.

The ex-Nigeria international was Until his death, the coach of the senior students of Kwara Footbal Academy, Ilorin, Kwara State

NIGERIA NOT WORKING - SULTAN

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 19:44:00 +0000

Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Sa'ad Abubakar

The Sultan of Sokoto and president-general of the Jama'atul Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III is of the view that so many things are not working in the country because the leaders refuse to allow them work this is according to reports monitor online.

The Sultan who spoke at a national conference on peace, unity and security organised by JNI in Kaduna said, “So many things have gone wrong in this country and things are still going wrong.

“As leaders, we are committed in ensuring justice in whatever we do; we are committed in ensuring that those leaders
whom Allah placed on us to lead us do what is right. And we must continue to tell them when they do wrong. No leader is ever right.”

The Sultan added that “the reason of our coming together today is to unite our senior brothers and sisters in Islam, especially the Ulama”.

“If there is unity amongst Muslims there will be peace; if there is peace amongst Muslims of this great country of ours, there will be total security in Nigeria. If there is security, definitely there will be development.

“What we have been experiencing in the northern part of the country -- in particular the unfortunate incident which has been forced on us for so many reasons.

“I believe it’s high time that all of us come together and discuss those things that have been festering in our lives as Muslims in this country,” he said.

He noted that “our coming together and sitting together under one roof shows that we are ready to be united. Sitting down to discuss the main issue facing us is a plus for all of us.”

To the Muslim community, the Sultan said: “We are very aware of the challenges facing us as Muslims and i believe with constant prayers we shall overcome the challenges and move to the greater heights.

“We must put aside personal interest to put Islam above all. We will not allow anybody to stop us from being Muslim, because that is what we choose to be.

“We will not allow anybody to turn our lives upside down. We will not allow anybody to ascribe any form of violence to Islam. We must come together and solve our problem together.

“I remember in this very hall when President Goodluck Jonathan was campaigning; it was in this very hall we listened to what he wanted to see us for. And we the Muslim leaders gave him our agenda -- what we wanted from him.

“But whether he has done what we told him or not is a different thing altogether. We have not sat down to articulate it because of the so many insecurity problems that came up.”

Jonathan, Amaechi: War in the delta creeks

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:56:00 +0000

It is beyond doubt that the Presidency and the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, are embroiled in a cold war that is already affecting the political rhythm of the Niger Delta, creating a sort of discord rather than harmony. IDOWU SAMUEL writes on issues that have provoked discord between two brothers, President Goodluck Jonathan and Amaechi, into waging war against each other.

CHIBUIKE Rotimi Amaechi came to power amid the euphoria of achieving the unthinkable, then by dethroning his predecessor, Celestine Omehia, via litigation. By that, he launched himself into instant
recognition. Rivers State is, of course, a natural platform for any governor, who desires glory, to shine. It is a state enriched by nature and the nation appreciates that well judging from the allocations that flow monthly from the federal level to the state.

Interestingly, Amaechi has always cut a picture of a politician with a promising future; he has age on his side. He has been riding high politically both in Rivers State and at the national level until the present event. But how did all this begin?

First, a governor with a strong character like Amaechi, could easily be located in a crowd and it is on that strength that he became the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). With that opportunity, Amaechi seemed not to have learnt early that humility and diplomacy are two great virtues that smart politicians deploy too often to excel. There have been copious media reports that portrayed him as self-opinionated being the chairman of the Governors’ Forum. There were reports too that the Governors’ Forum under Amaechi was determined always to ride roughshod over the Presidency on state matters. Indeed, the forum headed by Amaechi never pretended to work in tandem with the Presidency on national issues or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he belongs. The forum has on many occasions, caused even President Jonathan to rescind many decisions he had made on governance.

The NGF became a power base with cult-like disposition in its operations. The forum carried on in a manner that made the Presidency looked uncomfortable and weak. The president, for instance, must consider the interest of the governors before taking crucial decisions in some cases. Even the ruling PDP never had it smooth with Amaechi on party matters. Situations became tough for the PDP when Amaechi allegedly mobilised his colleagues with an attempt to force the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to rescind his decision on the suspension of the Adamawa State executive council of the party, for instance.

Dr Azubuike Ojiakor, a public analyst and a PDP stalwart based in Port Harcourt, told Sunday Tribune that the inability of Amaechi to decode power game and marry it with forbidden attributes in politics as a leader has been the cause of his perceived confrontation with the power that be in Nigeria. Ojiakor may not be far from being right, as widely reported, because efforts were made unsuccessfully to ensure that Amaechi and the PDP leadership sit on a round table to resolve areas of differences between them. Yet, situation was degenerating in PDP on a daily basis with solutions not in sight. It got worst amid reports that Amaechi and the governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, had a common interest in Jonathan’s seat in 2015. Though denials were made by the duo, later events would suggest that there might be some truths in the claim that they could be contesting against Jonathan in 2015.

It was said that the need to effectively checkmate Amaechi and show his promoters that the Presidency was not weak and could withstand the onslaughts from the NGF and even throw devastating punches of its own led to the current face-off. Alhaji Shettima Umar Bullus, a close confidant of the PDP National Chairman, disclosed that the need to put Amaechi properly in his place made the Presidency to break the NGF. Bullus said the moment the PDP Governors Forum was formed, the game was up for Amaechi, as he had lost considerable power to the leader of the PDP Governors’ Forum.

Therefore, Amaechi’s woe started the day the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, came on board as the chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, an umbrella that covered 23 governors. Since then, events meant to put the Rivers State governor in greater troubles started breaking in rapid progression. The worst came when an Abuja High Court paved the way for emergence of Felix Obuah as the chairman, Rivers State PDP, after outlawing the former executive officers.

Earlier in the week, Obuah and his team visibly demonstrated a mandate to weaken the power base of the Rivers State governor and possibly prepare avenue for his early exit from power. If the ultimatum Obuah issued to Amaechi to explain issues involving the aircraft grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) did not suggest that, there was no mistaking the real motive behind the suspension of the 27 out of 32 members of the state House of Assembly by the Rivers State PDP. Indeed, the resolve by the PDP to declare vacant the seats of the suspended members meant that most of them were at the verge of being expelled by the party.

In succinct terms, the ongoing friction between Abuja and Port Harcourt is a reminder to what played out between Jonathan and Timpre Sylva, the erstwhile governor of Bayelsa State not too long ago. The cold war between the president and former governor was to consume the latter.

But it appears Amaechi and his foot soldiers, for now, are banking on the court to provide a way out. A reprieve came their way last Monday when a Port Harcourt High Court granted an order of interim injunction, restraining the PDP in Rivers State from suspending 27 members of the state’s House of Assembly. By implication, the action by the Rivers’ legislators has left the battle between the Presidency and Amaechi hanging, while all hands would be on deck in expectation of the next move by either side.

But the clock will continue to tick for the two gladiators. Though it may appear that Amaechi has time and space to contend with, emerging trends in Rivers State, however, suggest that he has two options left to determine his survival. The first is to willingly quake and then seek the face of the Presidency. The other option is for him to fight on hoping for a miracle to confront his formidable adversary. But whatever the decision might be, it is certain that the scuffle will claim a victim, unless people of goodwill make spirited intervention to douse the flame.

Culled from: Nigerian Tribune

I dont want to be president - Kwankwaso

noreply@blogger.com (Banjo) — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:22:00 +0000

Kwankwaso

Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has described reports quoting him as saying he would declare his intention to run for the presidency in 2015 at the right time as misrepresentation of fact.

The governor declared that he is focused on critical issues of governance and development in Kano State and that he is yet to make a decision on his involvement in future politics in the country.

A statement issued in Kano and signed by the Governor’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Malam
Halilu Dantiye, said the governor, currently serving his second term, never made any statement that suggested that he would contest the presidency of Nigeria in 2015.

The statement reads:

”We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso, currently serving his second and final term as governor of Kano State, has not declared interest to vie for the presidency of this country or for any elective position.

"What Gov. Kwankwaso said was that at the moment he is focusing on critical issues of development and security in Kano State and will make his position on his political future known in due course. He stressed that two years into his tenure in office is too early to start talking about 2015."