A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
Professor Charles Soludo, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria has bewailed over the dilapidated state of Nigeria, thus states that Nigeria is drifting to a failed state having been in the "Red Beaming Alert" position in the global index. He said that Nigeria has never been more divided than now, as we experience fall in Nigeria economic growth.
Soludo who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at a meeting with few Igbo leaders under the ambience of Nzuko Umunna 'Elders Gathering', condemned the planned trial which he called 'secret' of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), perhaps demanded his immediate and unconditional release. He reiterated that the continued detention of Kanu is unacceptable and an abuse IPOB leader's right to legitimate agitation.
Prof Soludo
The meeting he said is for the social, political, economical and otherwise development of Igbo people and Nigeria at large. Pointing at the Nigeria potentials he said "We believe that Nigeria has all the potentials to be great and one of the most prosperous nations on earth. Like most countries of the world, it has its own internal contradictions, challenges of national cohesion and development. On this view he moaned that every country that has endured and prospered has devised a dynamic system for dealing with its internal contradictions.
The failure to deal with our economic challenges has reduced Nigeria to a mire nation without security strength to protect her children.
"Nigerian has never been more divided than now, with the agitations for self-determination becoming more strident and desperate. He said.
“Most discerning patriots have come to the conclusion that Nigeria as currently structured and governed is unsustainable and drifting to a failed state status. Since 2005, Nigeria has drifted from a rank of 54th position in the global
Failed/Fragile State Index to 17th position in 2014 and now to a dangerous 13th position in 2016 (under the 'Red Alert' category of countries)," Soludo said.
The South African Government has deported 97 Nigerians for committing various offences in the country.
The deportees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Monday night in a chartered aircraft with the registration number GBB710 from Johannesburg.
They were made up of 95 males and two females.
DSP Joseph Alabi, the Spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development.
An immigration source told NAN on condition of anonymity that six of the deportees were returned to the country for drug offences while 10 were arrested and deported for other criminal offences .
The others were said to have committed immigration offences in the Southern African country.
All the deportees were profiled by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) while those deported for drug related offences were handed over to the Police for further investigation.
The Federal Government had also on Monday evacuated 41 Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Mali for sex and labour exploitation.
Six of the suspected human traffickers were also apprehended and brought back to the country for prosecution.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has effectively admitted he no longer has a first-choice goalkeeper after declaring he will choose between Willy Caballero and Claudio Bravo on a game-by-game basis.
Bravo was brought in from Barcelona in August to be the senior goalkeeper, but has lost his Premier League place to Caballero in recent weeks after a series of inconsistent displays.
Chile international Bravo was brought back in for the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Huddersfield 10 days ago, and is widely expected to be selected for the replay at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Guardiola
Guardiola, however, has rotated his keepers for domestic cup ties this season, so that would then mean Argentine Caballero returning for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Sunderland.
But Spaniard Guardiola, who let England goalkeeper Joe Hart leave City for a loan move to Italian side Torino last year, insisted on Tuesday he was reviewing the goalkeeping situation constantly.
“They (Caballero and Bravo) are so professional, they are exceptional, so there’s no problem about that,” Guardiola explained.
“You may not believe me, but I am not thinking about who is the first and who is the second.
“I decide on what I see, on what is the recent past, on the upcoming situation of the future. We are going to decide game by game.
“I have to think about it, not just with goalkeepers.
“Tomorrow’s a ‘final’ against one team (Huddersfield) who impressed a lot when we played there away. They are near the top of the Championship. Sometimes, teams at the top of the Championship are stronger than teams in the Premier League.
“So it’s one game. We know how many surprises there are in the Cup, so I have to think about it after the training session tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.”
– Kompany return on hold –
City made eight changes for the goalless draw at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium, and fringe players such as Pablo Zabaleta, Jesus Navas and Nolito are likely to be given a chance to impress again.
Wednesday’s game is the first of five in 19 days for Guardiola’s men, with Premier League tests against Stoke and Liverpool, as well as Sunderland, and the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in Monaco to come.
City captain Vincent Kompany, though, is not ready to return after multiple injury setbacks, with the most recent a leg problem.
The Belgium international has played only six times this season, and has been dogged by injury woes over the last two years.
Guardiola, though, insisted Kompany was close to a return, and would be able to play a full part in the remainder of the season.
“Vincent is not ready for tomorrow,” the manager said. “He is much better but not for tomorrow.”
Guardiola and his players had a short break in Abu Dhabi after having no game last weekend, with scheduled opponents Manchester United beating Southampton in the League Cup final at Wembley instead.
The Abu Dhabi trip saw Guardiola meet with City owner Sheikh Mansour for the first time.
Guardiola, who succeeded Manuel Pellegrini as City manager last year, said he was impressed by the Sheikh’s football knowledge –- but the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was left in no doubt he will be replaced if results are not good enough.
“I was really impressed that he knew absolutely everything about us,” said Guardiola. “It was nice to meet him and spend a few hours together.
“He is so happy because he sees all the games and he sees the effort, he demands it. He knows we make absolutely everything, we fight until the end.
“I had good relations with almost all my owners in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, of course it is important to know them.
“They know, we know, all the managers and owners know that we are here because of the results. If the results are not good we are going to be replaced. I replaced another manager.”
ABUJA – Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the penchant for unnecessary wealth by the elite in the country was fueling corruption.
Osinbajo who spoke while inaugurating the Private Sector Advisory Group for the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, the first by a United Nations member country at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday said that the actions and inactions of the political, economic and religious elite were affecting the rest of the country.
He said: “This event marks the beginning of the unique partnership between the public and private sector.Ag President Yemi Osinbajo and SSAP on SDGs, Princes Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire during the inauguration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) at the State House in Abuja.
“I have always believed that Nigerian elite, political, business and even the religious elite, have a responsibility to ensure that we do something for our society which will affect it fundamentally.
“Everywhere in the world, it is that elite that have always make a difference in the societies. Those are the ones responsible for transformation.
“Many of the societies that have been truly transformed have done so when their elite decided that it was necessary to do so.
“Sometimes, when you look at our situation, you think that it is necessary to force the political and private sector elite together to do something. But the truth is that whether or not we recognize it formally, they are doing things together whether it is for good or ill. The important thing is to recognize that we have an important role to play.
“We have decided as an elite in this country that wealth is a measure of worth. It is a decision we made consciously or unconsciously.
“The political elite have decided that wealth is a measure of worth and that is why you find so much corruption among the political elite. Even the religious elite believe that it is a blessing of God.
“There are some societies that have decided that the value of human beings is in their contribution to the society. Those societies, of course, have done better than those who have decided that wealth, no matter how it was obtained, is a measure of worth.
“I think it is important if our elite decide that dealing with poverty is worth the while and that it will measure whether or not we are serious about our society.
“There is an enormous responsibility placed upon us as elite to do something about the millions of the extremely poor in our midst. It is a responsibility that we cannot take lightly at all.
“This is how we are going to be measured. At the end of our lives, the question that will be asked is what is the impact that we made on people’s lives. Nobody will be measured by how much money we made or the positions we held.
“A lot of our people in this country hang their hopes on us. They look up to us and believe we can do it and despite all the failures and the false starts, our people especially the poor and the vulnerable still believe that these elite will and can deliver.
“Let us therefore take this as a personal responsibility to our people to do something profound that will make a huge difference in the lives of our people.
“This is why I am so excited about this coming together of the public and private sector to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals are realized in our time and that nobody is left behind”.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, described the inauguration of the PSAG as a landmark event, saying Nigeria was the first United Nations member state launch such a group.
She said that the advisory group was a veritable platform for interaction between leaders, saying it had become imperative to harness the technical resources of the private sector to realize the goals of the SDGs.
She said, “No country has significantly improved people’s lives without the driving force of a vibrant economy.
“In the face of a prevailing fiscal crunch, it has become urgent to leverage multi-stakeholder engagement to mobilize non-government resources for SDGs implementation.
“It is in this recognition that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-Fund established the global Private Sector Advisory Group as a powerful platform for business leaders from across the world to interact, leverage comparative advantages, exchange lessons learned, promote South South, North South and Triangular Cooperation and in the process, accelerate the attainment of the SDGs.”
Orelope-Adefulire listed the duties of PSAG to include engaging with and coordinating the Nigerian Private Sector to partner with the SDGs Office to implement an agreed roadmap; ensuring public-private alliances to provide large scale solutions towards achieving the SDGs; as well as working within a set of SDGs impact areas and focus on driving a specific targets that will be tracked, monitored, reported and reviewed periodically.
Others were to partner with the SDGs Office to hold periodic Public-Private Dialogues to expand engagement for sustainable development; to promote and coordinate broad-based actions to deliver results while mobilising the entire private sector around SDGs priority areas; to galvanise business to deploy the UN global compact for durable development; as well as contributing and helping to mobilize resources for the successful implementation of the SDGs in line with the guidelines contained in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
The inauguration attracted the many stakeholders including the former Minister of Industry and President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Chief Mrs Nike Akande and the Chairman of Channels Television, John Momoh.
Nigeria’s former football official Amos Adamu was on Tuesday banned for two years by world governing body FIFA for ethics violations.
Adamu, a former FIFA executive committee member and West African Football Union president, cannot take part in any “football-related activity at national and international level” for the next two years, FIFA said in a statement.
The sanction is effective from February 28.
Adamu Amos
Adamu, 62, had already served a three-year ban in 2010 for accepting bribes in relation to the attribution of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 tournament to Qatar.
An investigation into Adamu was opened on March 9, 2015. A final report was passed to FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber last December recommending a sanction, after which ethics committee chairman Hans-Joachim Eckert decided to open proceedings.
FIFA said on Tuesday that “through his involvement in the organisation of an event in 2010, while being a member of the (then) FIFA Executive Committee, Mr Adamu violated … the FIFA Code of Ethics”.
World football’s governing body has been in turmoil since last year due to a number of corruption scandals, including that of a two million Swiss franc payment made by former president Sepp Blatter to ex-UEFA supremo Michel Platini that saw both men banned from the game.
General overseer, Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries, a.k.a Liberation City, Dr. Chris Okafor has advised his fellow pastor, Tunde Bakare to organise a national rally on saving Nigerian souls just like he(Bakare) did during the time of Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan's administration.
He said Bakare should do so if he must keep his dignity as the current crisis facing Nigerians in the country warrant that their souls be urgently saved now.
Speaking during one of his programmes, he said Christian leaders should speak out in the face of mounting confusion, recession, destruction, oppression and killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Watch the video and type your comments below let us see your thoughts
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has expressed its commitment to grow the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company's, NPDC, crude oil production to 500,000 barrels per day by 2020.
The Corporation said it would also grow NPDC's gas production to 1500mmscf per day within the same period.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, who stated this in a keynote address titled: "NNPC's Commercial Strategy and Priorities" at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, said everything was being done to achieve the target reserve growth as well as increase national crude oil production to 3million barrels per day from the current 2.2 million barrels per day.
Dr Maikanti Baru
He also said NNPC would sustain frontier exploration in the inland basins to meet government's aspiration to achieve crude oil and gas reserves of 40 billion barrels and 200 trillion cubic feet respectively by 2020.
Dr Baru put the current oil and gas reserves at 37 billion barrels and 192 trillion cubic feet (tcl) respectively.
"Furthermore, efforts are currently ongoing amongst all stakeholders to reduce the level of gas flare by converting most of the flared volumes to ensure commerciality of the gas resources", he stated.
Speaking further on gas commercialization, Dr Baru said efforts were on to raise between $3.6 and $4.5 billion to build the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline to help generate 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity for the country.
"Beyond growing gas for the power sector, there has been a strategic positioning of the sector to support massive gas-based industrialization. We will incubate and midwife a portfolio of critical and mutually dependent investments (Central Processing Facilities, CPFs, Fertilizer, Petrochemical, Free Trade Zone, FTZ, infrastructure and Ports) which will jumpstart the gas revolution agenda. NNPC intends to develop or take equity in some of these gas-based industries such as fertilizer and others", he said.
Another priority for the Corporation, according to the GMD, was the rehabilitation of the refineries, adding that his Management has secured the approval of the Board to pursue the rehabilitation with a view to increasing their capacity utilization to above 60 per cent.
He expressed confidence that diligent execution of the initiatives would increase the commerciality and profitability of the Corporation in the near term.
Meanwhile, while declaring open the 2017 edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday, Dr Maikanti Baru, said Nigerian oil and gas industry was on the path of recovery with crude oil price on the upswing, decline in pipeline vandalism and drop in restiveness in the Niger Delta.
Dr Baru, who expressed delight that the NOG Conference which could not hold last year has roared back at a time when hope was rising for the industry, stated that there were indicators that things were beginning to shakeup for the industry.
The first indicator, according to him, was that cases of pipeline vandalism have reduced with a positive impact on crude oil production.
"We are having a lot of engagements with people in our core area of operations in the Niger Delta and this is bringing a lot of hope. If we go by the number of pipeline vandalism cases, they have dropped to an average of 20 per cent on a monthly basis as against a similar period last year. This is an indicator that calm is returning to the environment", he said.
He listed other indicators to include the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market and the renewed confidence in the industry among the international oil companies as a result of the cash call exit agreements which have guaranteed a steady flow of funds.
"On this note of hope, I declare the 2017 NOG Conference and Exhibition open", he said as he proceeded to inspect the exhibition stands of the various companies participating at the conference.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadiq, on Tuesday performed the ground breaking ceremony for a new Air Force Base, the 211 Regiment Group, Owerri, Imo.
In his remarks, Sadiq said that the Unit when finally put in place would enhance security in the state and help in curbing all kinds of crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery.
He said that the unit which was among the nine new formations established across the country would collaborate with other security agencies in the state to curb crime.
"I advise kidnappers and armed robbers to have a rethink and change their lives unless they want to meet their waterloo.
"The unit we are placing here is a highly skilled unit, a quick response group, one of the best in the Air Force. In the event of anything, we will be able to respond as quickly as possible," Sadiq said.
He also promised that work would soon commence on the site because it was captured in the 2017 budget while giving assurance that Nigerian Air Force (NAF) would help the host communities and other communities in health outreach services.
While commending the Governor of Imo for his giant strides in the development of the state, Sadiq said the NAF would create an enabling environment for him to sustain the growth of the state.
In his speech, Gov. Rochas Okorocha commended the Federal Government for locating the Air Force unit in the state.
Okorocha, however, called for more federal projects especially road projects linking the state with other parts of the country.
The governor pledged the support of the state government to the speedy completion of the permanent site, adding that the new Air Force unit would complement the Imo International Cargo Airport, Imo Air, as well as creating employment.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has announced that students awaiting their O'level results will no longer be able to secure admission into higher institutions.
In a statement by its spokesperson, JAMB also announced the introduction of fourth choice of higher institution during application by candidates.
The statement reads thus : "In the cause of conducting admission exercise, many institutions have admitted candidates on merit only for them to discover that such candidates do not have qualified O'levels results or the right combination for admission and had to delete and start the process all over again. With this, they would have denied other qualified candidates the opportunities for admissions.
FILE: CANDIDATES WRITING UTME
"This we are addressing by ensuring that no candidate is henceforth recommended without his O'levels result being supplied. To achieve this, JAMB will insist that candidates supply their result on its website during registration or later, but before admissions commences for them to be considered for admissions. We believe this will allow only qualified candidates to be considered for admissions.
"Candidates and their parents are also to note that the Board has restructured the registration platform to allow for only one choice of Public University. The new registration platform will now be first choice, second choice, third choice and fourth choice and not most preferred, preferred etc as it was.
"Candidates' first choice can be a College, University, Innovative Enterprises Institutions or Polytechnic/Monotechnic. However, if a candidate makes a Public University his first choice, he will not have any public University to choose for 2nd, 3rd and 4th choice. He will have on the remaining three choices, a College, a Polytechnic, Private University and IEI'S. However, candidates for the 2017 UTME can now select NCE (College) or ND (Polytechnic/Monotechnic) as their 1st choice up to 3rd choice and the 4th IEI. They can select the IEI (Innovative Enterprise Institution, ND) as their 1st choice up to the 4th choice, but can only pick a public university once.
By Levinus Nwabughiogu and Favour Nnabugwu ABUJA-Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Tuesday said that a corrupt free country was dependent on a corrupt free civil servants.
He said civil servants who were privileged to occupy high offices in the land had no reason to subvert the will of the people in the execution of government policies.
Osinbajo spoke at the inaugural quarterly civil service lecture series, with its theme: “Civil Service in a Change Environment: The Change is Now”.Ag President Yemi Osinbajo and SSAP on SDGs, Princes Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire during the inauguration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) at the State House in Abuja.
The function also unveiled the Strategic plan of the Civil Service from 2017 to 2019.
He said: “It was the judiciary that told the military then that while it may make laws those laws should still respect the inalienable rights of the people as enshrined in international human right conventions to which the country had voluntarily acceded.
“These were individuals without guns, just sitting down on platforms up there in the court who insisted on holding the military responsible.
“Despite the criticisms that civil servants are subjected to, I am sure that you know that sometimes civil servants are described as ‘evil servants’ but you must take heart. The best professions are usually the most criticized, but I must say that the wholesome privilege of public service is very easily abused or taken for granted. The public service elite represents as we have seen the most important factor in mass development.
“The power to do great good or evil lies with a few people who form what we refer to as our civil service. When some in such an elite see the opportunity as one for self enrichment by corrupt practices then the nation faces a monumental tragedy.
“There is no excuses anywhere in a nation where the majority are still poor and are struggling to make a living that anyone who has the benefit of good education and good fortune of a job in the civil service should subvert that service for personal gains, I think its the greatest tragedy that a nation can experience”.
Also speaking, the Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred Iyo-Ita said that change was necessary in the civil service as it would help bring sanity to the system.
She said that the strategic plan was to mainly restore confidence in the service.
“We are able to achieve a lot of feedback mechanisms. As soon as we get complains, we don't allow it to move from table to table anymore. It goes straight to the tripartite committee there and then where they are sitting.
“The PENCOM person is there, the person from employee, PRW, head of service and so on. They immediately analyze the problem, they contact the person and so on. So, they also produce monthly results. I insist that every month, i want to see the number of complaints received, how it has been addressed, what are the issues and so on. And there is a good response.
“You heard what His Excellency, the Acting president say change doesn't have to incorporate everybody. It’s unrealistic. Even if one or two people out of one thousand are able to change, that change will come because it will spread. And you will find out that a time will come in the service when it will be so fashionable to be part of the change train. It will no longer be a thing of having to force people or coerce people to do the right thing. They will just know that they have to do the right thing to maintain their integrity.
“The strategic plan is quit ambitious. It is very bulky, but we can start it right away by setting up a technical team made up of serving and retired civil servants of high group who can actually now help to design the implementation strategy.
“Some parts of the strategy are controversial, some are everybody's piece of pile. Now we will look at how to fine-tune those goals that may not be very achievable in view of the constraints in the service but definitely all the fore goals , like the president said , not all the four goals will be 100% implemented but something. We start with a little of each and definitely the sky is our limit”, she said.
Technology giant, Huawei at the ongoing Mobile World Congress holding in Barcelona, Spain, has released the industry’s first 5G network slicing router at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Spain.
The 5G network slicing router provides 50GE base station access and seamless compatibility with 100GE, and achieves physical isolation of port channels based on innovative Flexible Ethernet technology to provide differentiated SLA guarantee.
At a media conference at the ongoing conference, the company stated that with the arrival of 5G, human-to-human conducing are becoming human-to-machine or machine-to-machine connections.
“In light of these changes, 3GPP defined three key scenarios for 5G applications: eMBB, mMTC, and uRLLC. eMBB is related to user experience while mMTC and uRLLC are to meet machine-to-machine interconnection requirements.
5G
"This requires that the bearer network infrastructure provide E2E slicing capabilities to ensure differentiated SLA guarantee”, the technology firm said.
Speakers at the conference said Huawei’s network slicing router implements resource slicing from the control, protocol, and forwarding dimensions while a full series of network slicing routers can generate E2E network slicing for specific 5G scenarios.
“Each network slice is a self-sufficient logical network and each service can have an independent network slice. For example, specialized video, IoT, or key communications network slices. Different service slices have their own O&M views and can independently implement resource scheduling and management. This realizes on-demand network SLA guarantee, on-demand bandwidth adjustment, and rapid fault locating for each scenario, meeting the differentiated SLA service bearer requirements of 5G scenarios”, the company explained.
President of Huawei’s Router and Carrier Ethernet Product Line,Gai Gang, explained that Network slicing is the key technology that effectively enables diversified network features for different industries in the 5G era adding that the launch of the 5G network slicing router will effectively promote the development of 5G services and help operators quickly enter more vertical industries.
He observed that Huawei is committed to providing high-quality 5G bearer solutions and actively promoting technical advances in Flexible Ethernet and network slicing.
We hope industry partners will also participate in these initiatives to prepare for the arrival of 5G, he added.
The routing protocols of different network slices can be independently configured to quickly provide physically isolated slices for traditional 2G/3G/4G and other mobile services.
In the future, the technology firm said that the router will be smoothly compatible with 5G services by providing new slices.
On a network using different generations of mobile system, this will fully utilize network resources and protect the customer’s investment.
Before now, Huawei’s mobile backhaul (MBH) solution, which focuses on business innovation and customer experience, has been widely deployed by top service providers from around the globe.
In the 4.5G/5G field, Huawei will provide users with the best network experience and help operators achieve business success by continuously innovating device capacity, network slicing, bearer protocols and other key technologies.
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state has asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to stop making provocative statements that distract and discourage Nigerians from squarely facing up to the onerous task of fixing the economy and building Nigeria into a strong and virile nation.
Reacting to a statement credited to Obasanjo, in which the former president said his generation had failed the nation, Fayose who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu. Adelusi, decried Obasanjo's sanctimonious self-righteousness, saying that apart from the statement being misleading, self-serving and discomfiting, it is also not what the country needs at this time of great economic distraction.
"There is much suffering in the land. The people are hungry. Yet, one of those responsible for this unsavoury state of affairs relishes in adding insult to the people's injury. He makes statements that are not only reckless but also untrue", he added
Fayose said rather than generalise, Obasanjo should speak for himself. "Obasanjo, truly, has failed this country many times over but not all members of his generation failed this country. There are shinning lights in that generation that have served the nation well", the governor said.
"How about Emeka Anyaoku, Wole Soyinka, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi? The list is endless and they are to be found in all the nooks and crannies of this country who belong in the same generation as Obasanjo and who have done this country proud", he added.
Fayose, however, lamented that Obasanjo wasted all the golden opportunities that he had to make this country great, first as a military Head of State and later as a two-term civilian president. "It is too late in the day for him to now cry over other countries that have passed Nigeria by. This is mere crocodile tears when we realise that no other Nigerian leader had the opportunities that Obasanjo had to make this country great but he bungled them all".
"He should speak for himself and not rope his entire generation into his misadventure in governance. Here is a man who neither recognised nor encouraged any star except himself. He must shoot them down or disparage them. For him, Obafemi Awolowo was not patriotic; MKO Abiola was not the messiah Nigeria needed; Tinubu was a rascal; Jonathan was not good; and President Muhammadu Buhari did not understand economics. Only Obasanjo is good. Only Obasanjo fought and won the civil war. Only Obasanjo understands everything – from economics to military to foreign affairs"
"Yet, this is the same Obasanjo that laid the foundation for corruption in this country with his ill-fated third-term misadventure when billions of Naira was used to bribe National Assembly members. This is the same Obasanjo that turned EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu into his private army to harass political opponents. Under this same Obasanjo, eight civilian governors were illegally and unceremoniously removed from office through kangaroo impeachments. Minority members of the Houses of Assembly were empowered to override the majority members. Under Obasanjo, our elections were "iwuru-wuru" and "mago-mago" and we were the laughing stock of the international community.
"This same Obasanjo, who came back from prison a pauper, ask him how much he is worth today and how he made the money? The launching of his Presidential Library, which he is preparing to commission soon, attracted donations that ran into billions of Naira while he was in office. Only God knows how many more billions the commissioning will garner this time around.
Accusing the former President of an obsession with hugging the limelight, the governor said: "Obasanjo should give us a break. There is no denying the fact that he failed the country. The least he can now do is leave us alone to clear the peculiar mess he and others of his ilk got this country into. Let him retire into obscurity; fade away from the limelight; and allow us our peace and serenity", Fayose added.
Nigerian song writer and singer Banky W's house has been gutted by fire.
Banky W, whose real name is Olubankole Wellington shared the details with his fans on his instagram handle@ bankywellington.
He said he and his dog Duke, escaped unhurt.
Banky's burnt trophies
"Thank God I was awake to smell the smoke. Thank God we caught it early enough and the damage wasn't so bad.. it basically burnt some of the stuff that was around it.
"So awards, portraits, and some small electronics. But thank God, Duke and I are alive and well. We only had to form James Bond and climb down from the top floor balcony LOL..
Thank God for my neighbours and the amazing workers in and around the compound for helping us escape via the balcony, helping put out the fire, and helping with the aftermath/cleaning.
Thank God for life. And I'm not even upset.. I'm just grateful for life, health and for the grace and mercy of God.
I figure I'm about to have the best year ever so the devil tried to throw a tantrum.
But not today Satan. Not today, not ever. Now sit back and watch me be great.
By God's grace. Amen. God bless you all.
The singer whose songs include "Jaiye Orimi'' and All I Want Is You Feat. Chidinma, recently acted a lead role in the film `The Wedding Party.''
Afro-pop sensation Skales has released the highly anticipated video to his smash hit 'Ajaga' featuring DMW boss Davido and Egberi Papa 1 Timaya.
The singer took to his Instagram; in a euphoric post he wrote;
"Here it is, world! The wait is over. I want you all to know I put in a lot to this piece – the artistic value is overwhelming. I want to use this medium to thank my brothers @davidoofficial and @timayatimaya for your contribution in making this beautiful work of art a success. To my amazing fans; this is from me to you – it's because of y'all I do this. Click the link in my bio and enjoy!"
Directed by HG2Films, the video has since made the rounds across social media platforms with hundreds of fans expressing their excitement and commending the singer for his effort in the video.
Skales, Davido & Timaya
The video boasts a variety of radiant colours; making it visually appealing with a number of eye-popping ladies in their bikinis; gyrating heartily.
Davido and Timaya however displayed a side of them that isn't often seen as their meritorious chemistry with Skales easily complimented one another; making every scene incredibly intriguing.
Skales has revealed his long-awaited album 'The Never Say Never Guy' will be released sometime in April 2017. Watch video here: https://youtu.be/8IcmnHcW6qE
Ajaga Audio Available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ajaga-feat.-davido-timaya/id1140401462?ls=1&app=itunes
Following the resurfaced xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other nationals living in South Africa, the Senate, during plenary on Tuesday, resolved to send a strong delegation of Nigerian legislatures to the South African parliament to put an end to the ugly trend. The Senate equally warned that should the trend persist, Nigeria may be forced to reconsider its diplomatic ties with South Africa.
In a motion of urgent need raised by by Senator Rose Oko on the resurgence of Xenophobic Attacks and Extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South Africa by the South African Police and nationals, the Senate recounted how one Tockuwu Nnadi was on 29th December, 2016 killed in an extra judicial manner through strangulation by the South African police.
The Senate also recalled that the President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mr. Ikechukwu Anyene had confirmed the attack and looting of businesses owned by Nigerians by the South African people.
Xenophobia
The Senate also worried that the attacks have perpetuated despite Nigeria’s remarkable contributions to the liberation of South Africa from the clutches of apartheid.
To this end, the Senate resolved as follows: To “Condemn in strong terms the return of the Xenophobic attacks and extra-judicial killings Nigerians by the South African police, and South Africans.”
“Invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs to provide insight into Govt’s plans towards engaging the S.African govt to effectively end the xenophobic attacks that just resurfaced and the growing incidence of extra-judicial killings of Nigerians.”
The senate also resolved to “Urge the federal Government to reconsider Nigeria’s diplomatic ties with South Africa if the ugly incidents of xenophobic attacks & killings of Nigerians in South Africa are not urgently halted by the South African Government.
It also agreed to “Lead a delegation of Nigerian Legislators to the South African parliament to address the ugly trend.”
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki said the incident is a sad and unfortunate one. Saraki urged the South African Government to as a matter of urgency put an end to the attacks on Nigerians, saying both countries have enjoyed great relationship over the years.
“We must preserve our dignity and respect for Nigerians, we must be seen to be defending our people at all times,” Saraki said.
Saraki also commend Nigerians for showing constraints by not attacking South African companies in Nigeria as a reprisal attack, saying “two wrongs don't make a right.”
Recall that some days back, South Africans attacked Nigerians and looted their shops. The Nigeria`s Consul General in South Africa, Amb. Uche Ajulu-Okeke while visiting Nigerian victims of the Xenophobic attack described it as unfortunate, saying while a pastor was stabbed, another Nigerian was arrested by the South African police for defending himself.
She said, " We visited seven locations in Pretoria West. At the first location, a garage, 29 cars, 80 Nigerian passports, welding and painting appliances and a restaurant were burnt while cash totalling R140, 000(N3.360m) were removed,"
Recall also that the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Lulu Mnguni had, while reacting to the attacks said that some Nigerians and other nationals living in South Africa were engaging in drug peddling which according to him, is a violation of his country’s laws.
He said there were concerns among South Africans that a few foreigners, including Nigerians, were involved in drug peddling.
"We are not condoning violence, but it will be wrong not to reflect the concerns of South Africans, especially with regard to drug trafficking. "We must not look at one side even though we are not condoning it. People must not take laws into their hands. "When people go to other countries, they must respect the laws of the country,'' he said.
Recall also that the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS had, during a protest in Abuja, warned that its students nationwide would resort to violence against South African nationals and companies in Nigeria should the xenophobic attacks continue in South Africa.
Many other well-meaning Nigerians had equally condemned the attacks.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned ruling in an application seeking to amend an originating summon pleading for the removal of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State from office.
The application filed by Sen. Umaru Dahiru was on accounts that the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that produced Tambuwal for the 2015 governorship election was not validly conducted.
Counsel to Dahiru, Mr Ikoro I. Ikoro, argued and sought to amend the originating summon filed against the APC, Tambuwal and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the April 11, 2015 governorship election.
In the amendment Dahiru is now praying the court to remove Tambuwal from office and declare him as the winner of the December 2014 APC Primary Election.
He also asked the court for an order compelling INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the governor present it to him on the grounds that he was the lawfully elected candidate of the APC at the primary election.
The senator also sought an order nullifying the nomination of Tambuwal by APC for the 2015 governorship election and replaced him as the properly nominated APC candidate to INEC for the 2015 governorship election.
•Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Senator Umar Dahiru Tambuwal
However, in his objection to the application, Counsel to APC, Mr Jubrin Okutepa (SAN), asked the court to dismiss the request for the amendment.
He said his objection was on grounds that it is not in compliance with the Supreme Court Judgment of Dec. 9, 2016, which ordered a retrial of the plaintiff's case.
Okutepa argued that the applicant (Dahiru) had changed the character and direction of his earlier originating summon.
He also said that the applicant sought to amend the originating summon because of his sudden discovery that event had overtaken the initial originating summon.
The counsel added that any attempt to allow the amendment will amount to an affront to the Supreme Court Judgment of December last year.
Okutepa further argued that the applicant was not consistent in the reliefs been sought in the proposed amendment as in the originating summon, the applicant had asked the court to nullify the APC primary election.
He said this was on grounds that it was unlawfully conducted and that the same applicant cannot seek to be declared winner of the said unlawfully conducted primary election.
The counsel therefore urged the court to refuse the amendment and allow hearing in the initial originating summon as directed by the Supreme Court.
Counsel to Tambuwal Sunday Ameh (SAN) aligned himself with the submission of the APC and urged the court to hold that the amendment been sought by the governorship aspirant is unmeritorious.
The counsel insisted that it is too late in the day for the applicant to seek the relief after the governorship election had been conducted, adding that the proper place for the applicant to ventilate his anger is the election petition tribunal.
Ameh also submitted that the applicant cannot even go to any election petition tribunal because the 21 day required by law under which a petition can be filed to challenge the election of any declared winner had lapsed since 2015.
He also prayed the court to refuse the temptation of turning itself to an election petition tribunal as there is no law for such an action.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole after taken arguments from both parties fixed March 10 to give ruling on whether to allow or refuse the proposed amendment sought by the former governorship aspirant.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through the Youth and Sports Ministry, has further endorsed the candidature of NFF President Amaju Pinnick for a seat on the Executive Committee of Confederation of African Football, at the polls scheduled for next month's Congress in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
At a meeting convened by Youth and Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung in Abuja on Tuesday, Pinnick and members of his Executive Committee briefed the former, and at the end, Barrister Dalung said the Government of Nigeria has given its blessing to Pinnick's quest and will fully support him.
Dalung and Amaju Pinnick
With regards to the CAF presidential election also coming up at the same Congress in Addis Ababa, the gathering advised, just as the NFF Executive Committee had done in its meeting of Tuesday, 7th February 2017, that the NFF boss should use his discretion to vote for the candidate who will best serve Nigeria's footballing interest. It was agreed that the interest of Nigeria should be paramount in all calculations.
Incumbent CAF supremo Issa Hayatou, the former 400m and 800m champion of Cameroon and who has been in office since 1988, is being challenged by Mr. Ahmad Ahmad, president of the Malagasy Football Federation.
The meeting also resolved that other stakeholders in Nigerian Football who have suggestions/advice/recommendations should tender same through the NFF and not in the media.
The session was attended by all members of the NFF Executive Committee, bar Hon. Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande and Mr. Chidi Ofo Okenwa who forwarded apologies for absence.
The coast is thus clear for Pinnick, vice president of WAFU B, a member of the Organizing Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations and member of the Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions, to challenge Beninoise Anjorin Moucharafou for a seat in the supreme club for football administration in Africa, at the 39th Ordinary Congress of CAF in Addis Ababa on Thursday, 16th March 2017.
Only two Nigerians – Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo (of blessed memory) and Dr. Amos Adamu – have sat on the CAF Executive Committee in the body's 60 years of existence. An attempt by former NFF President Aminu Maigari to join the club in 2013 ended belly up.
A man in Germany suspected of slaying his 79-year-old grandmother, and who subsequently killed two police officers on Tuesday, has been detained, the police spokesperson, Baerbel Cotte-Weiss, said. The suspect was said to have rammed them with his car.
The body of the man's grandmother was discovered by the authorities in the east German town of Muellrose earlier in the day. This prompted the suspect to flee in his car, police spokesperson, Ingo Heese, said.
The 24-year-old then rammed the two officers at a checkpoint in the eastern state of Brandenburg and both succumbed to their injuries at the scene, Heese said.
The former right hand man of ex-Fifa President Sepp Blatter, on Tuesday appealed against his 10 year ban from football.
Jerome Valcke, who was Secretary-General of the sport's world governing body, was banned last year for his alleged involvement in a scheme to profit from World Cup ticket sales.
Jerome Valcke
The Frenchman, Valcke became Secretary-general at FIFA in 2007, has now asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the sanction.
Valcke has always maintained he has done "absolutely nothing wrong".
He was originally suspended for 12 years and fined 100,000 Swiss francs (£70,800) by FIFA, though the length of the ban was later reduced.
As well as Valcke being implicated in the World Cup tickets scheme, Fifa's ethics committee said: He had "acted against Fifa's best interests and caused considerable financial damage" by taking private flights for sightseeing trips with his family at the organisation's expense.
It was also critical of his involvement in the sale of television rights for below market value .
He said: "deliberately tried to obstruct the ongoing proceedings against him by attempting to delete or deleting several files and folders relevant to the investigation".
Former president Blatter was also sanctioned by FIFA for ethics breaches. His attempt to overturn a six-year ban was rejected by CAS in December 2016.
A housewife,Bose Okeiye, on Tuesday prayed an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court, Agodi-Ibadan, Oyo State, to dissolve her 25-year-old marriage to her estranged husband, Augustine Okeiye, and safe her from an untimely death.
Okeiye had approached the court seeking dissolution of the marriage which had produced five children, on the grounds that her husband was a threat to her life, not caring and irresponsible.
She narrated how the defendant battered her to the extent that she had to undergo surgery while on admission in a hospital for two months.
"I was on admission in a hospital for two months and had to undergo surgery because of my husband's brutality and constant battering.
"He neither checked on me nor did he pay my hospital bill throughout my period in the hospital.
court
"Later, my family members asked why he refused to visit me in hospital and his response was that my father offended him.
"My lord, I am tired of him; please dissolve this marriage before he kills me. I want to take care of my five children in good health," she pleaded.
The defendant (Augustine) was, however, not in court to defend the allegations leveled against him despite three letters of summons from the court.
The court's president, Chief Mukaila Balogun, in his ruling said, "having gone through evidence presented by the complainant and considering the disrespect of the defendant toward the court, it is clear that there is no more love between the couple."
Balogun, therefore, dissolved the marriage and ordered that the first two children should be in the custody of the defendant while the remaining three children should be with their mother.
He also ordered the defendant to pay N9,000 to his wife as monthly allowance for the upkeep of the three children.
A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says he is an ardent patron of products made in Aba and all he is wearing are made locally.
The minister disclosed this in Umuahia on Monday at the Federal Government's town hall meeting and the launch of the national reorientation campaign, "Change Begins With Me'' , in Abia.
Ngige said he used to buy his wears from Malaysia before he realised that such items were made locally, particularly from Aba and are of better quality.
The minister noted that "Nigeria and Nigerians have the resources to make the country great but we must look inward to develop our products''.
He said Abia had the full potential to become the industrial base of the country and the present administration had identified Aba as one of the places to build industrial parks and clusters.
Ngige called on the people of the state to take full potential of the advantage to transform the state and generate employment for the teeming youths.
The host of the event and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that one of the major planks of the Federal Government diversification policy was the boosting of local production of goods and services.
Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige
He said government had also identified patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods and services as key to the success of the policy.
"In this regard, I can boldly say that Abia state is a pacesetter.
"Today, the state supplies high-quality military boots to our military and that is just one of such impressive ventures by the state.
"So, while the state is boosting local production of goods and services, the military is patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods.
"It is a symbiotic relationship, and there is no better way to give teeth to the economic diversification policy,'' he said.
The minister said that to encourage patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products, the Federal Government had approved the review of the establishing Act of the Bureau of Public Procurement.
He said the review of the Act would encourage and mandated patronage of local products and services by government institutions even private establishments.
The minister said that the policy would resulted ingrowth, development and boosting of the nation's economy.
Mohammed said government had introduced policies to develop Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and approved a 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in the country.
He said the measures would boost local production and give a much-needed bounce to the nation's economy.
Also, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Bawa Bwari, said that government had identified 44 viable mineral resources across the country.
Bwari said that experts from the developed world had also been engaged to develop bankable data on the resources to attract local and international investors.
The minister said that 675,000 mining cooperative societies had been registered by government to encourage local investors in the sector.
He said that the Federal Government would collaborate with states to develop the mining sector.
The Lagos State Government on Monday said it has concluded plans to commence the crushing and recycling of over 4000 impounded commercial motorcycles popularly called Okada, in line with the provisions of the State Traffic Law 2012.
Disclosing this to journalists at the Olusosun refuse dump site in Ojota, the State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the recent clampdown on Okada across the State was a fall out of the Government’s resolve to address the security concerns posed by their operations, saying that criminals are in the habit of using Okada to perpetrate crime and get away.
Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi; State Commissioner for Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Caster Bade-Ajibade during a media briefing on the thousands of impounded motorcycles (Okada) at Olusosun Dumpsite, Ojota, on Monday, February 27, 2017.
The Lagos Traffic Law 2012 prohibits the operations of Okada and Tricycles also known as Keke Marwa from operating in certain routes and areas across the State.
He said the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode had directed that the Police and other security agencies concerned redouble efforts to ensure the Law is complied with, assuring that the clampdown will be sustained vigorously on a daily basis.
He said: "It would not be one off. So far, we have impounded about 500 motorcycles since we started our renewed efforts and we now have a total of about 4, 000 bikes ready to be crushed. The law made provisions on how those motorcycles should be handled and the law also made provision on how to handle those that have flouted the law itself."
According to Owoseni, the decision to crush and recycle the impounded motorcycles was in accordance with the provision of the Law
Owoseni said aside impounding the motorcycles and tricycles, the enforcement would also clampdown on the operators and residents who patronise them, adding that mobile courts would be instituted to try arrested offenders.
Impounded Motorcycles
"The operators of the commercial motorcycles and those patronizing them, with time, you will get to see the Mobile Court going around to try some of those that have been arrested. What we are saying here is that we want people in Lagos to know that there is a law and the law is made for a purpose and if all of us obey the law and conform, the better for us."
Besides, Owoseni said that due to the constant challenges of enforcing the law, the State Government was already considering an outright ban on okada operations in some areas of the State starting with the Lekki and Victoria Island axis.
He frowned at the flagrant way Okada and tricycle operators flout the Traffic Law especially by not obeying traffic light, saying that in most cases it leads to avoidable accident and death of innocent citizens.
"The Okada riders, no doubt, have been a sort of menace. They go into the road and flout the laws with impunity. When they get to where you have the traffic lights, they behave as if it is not meant for them and combine with that is the way the criminal elements put the motorcycles to either snatch money or use them as a getaway in some areas and the same law says that citizens should not patronize commercial motorcycles on prohibited routes.
"Not only that, the law says that by 8pm, they should not be on the road and so the message we are passing is that this is not going to be a one-off thing, we will continue and sustain it. We just like to appeal to people to stop patronizing Okada plying restricted routes," Owoseni said.
Corroborating him, Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Olanrewaju Elegushi said the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode recently warned all commercial motorcycles to steer clear of restricted routes as the clampdown on defaulters would be total.
"We have an enforcement unit led by the Commissioner of Police, the Task Force on Environmental and Other Special Offences, the Divisional Police Officers and the Area Commanders. They have started enforcement and we came to see how far they have gone," Elegushi said.
UMUAIA—THE Federal Government yesterday apologized to the people of South East over the destructive activities of herdsmen in the area and assured that permanent solution was being worked out to stop them from destroying crops and farmland.
The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh who made the apology on behalf of the Federal Government also said that he has been a victim as the herdsmen had invaded and destroyed crops in his farm.
According to him, the Federal Government was seriously working out modalities to end the menace of the herdsmen, who he said have no right to carry about AK 47, with which they harass farmers.
Ogbeh who was reacting to issues and questions on herdsmen attacks raised at the a Federal Government organized Town Hall meeting in Umuahia, said "I sincerely apologized to those whose crops were destroyed by the herdsmen; I was a victim, they have invaded my farm and destroyed crops; but please nobody is happy about their activities.
"We are working hard to stop them, they have no right to carry AK 47, the army or police cannot follow the herdsmen around, but the Government is doing everything to find a lasting solution an may be in a few months you will see the result".
Armed Fulani-herdsmen
Earlier in his contribution to the meeting, the Minister expressed disappointed that Abia State Government, both the past ones allowed the legacy late Dr. Michael Okpara, former Premiere of Eastern Nigeria built in the area of agriculture, particularly palm produce.
He lamented that 17, 000 hectares of palm established by the late Okpara has been abandoned while Nigerian suffer under the yoke of high cost of palm oil.
Other ministers who spoke at the Town Hall meeting anchored by Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, include Labour and Productivity Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige; Investment Minister, Okechukwu Enelama, and Minister of State, Solid Minerals, Alhaji Abubakar Buhari Bawa.
Ngige in his contribution said that the Buhari administration has not abandoned the zone and named many dilapidated Federal roads where intensive work is going on even as he urged Governor Ikpeazu to do Federal roads in his State and tender bills for refund, insisting that the Federal would refund such money if the job was well done.
In his speech, Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed assured Nigerians that the recovered funds from corrupt Nigerians were well kept and would be used to fund infrastructural deficit and complement the social investment programmes of the Federal Government.
The minister blamed corruption for all the multi faceted problems confronting the country.
Alhaji Mohammed also told the people that there was no cause for alarm over president Buhari's health as he is neither critically ill nor in the hospital, insisting that there was nothing to worry about the health of the president.
He said "no economy in the world can survive the quantum of looting that happened in the country in the past 16 years and it is because of such massive corruption that the country is suffering her present woes including high cost in the prices of goods and other living conditions of Nigerians.
"Money that was meant to fix infrastructure was looted by few Nigerians to the extent that the economy was crippled. We would first fight corruption and at the same time face the challenges of fixing our infrastructures and better the lives of Nigerians".
The minister stressed that the "Programme Change Begins with Me" was targeted at achieving attitudinal change in the way Nigerians do things, saying that the town hall meeting would provide opportunity for the government to interact with the people and feel their impulse on the activities of government.
Oghara – Locals, today, rescued two women when a Sport Utility Vehicle, on the ever busy Warri – Benin expressway rammed into a Jetta Car, plunging it into the Oghara river.
The Jetta Car, according to eye witness, was a commercial vehicle, said to be on his way to Oghara in Ethiope West local government area of Delta State and was approaching the bridge when the accident occurred.
Details of the incident were still sketchy at press time, but it was gathered that the rescued women were rushed to the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, where they are responding to treatment, while efforts are been made to rescue the other occupants of the Jetta car.
The bad spot on the road, close to the bridge, locals said, has resulted into accidents leading to lost of lives that has become a common occurrence on the road and attributed the accident as a result of the Jetta car trying to avoid the pot hole.
The Federal Government on Monday appointed five new Directors and one General Manager for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
NCAA made the announcement in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Sam Adurogboye, in Lagos.
Adurogboye explained that the appointment was with immediate effect.
He said that those appointed were Capt. Edem Oyo-Ita as Director of Air Transport Regulations, Mr Abbas Sanusi; Director, Human Resources and Administration, Adamu Sani; Director of Finance and Accounts.
"Others are: Odunowo Tayyib Adetunji, Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Mr Ita Awak, Director of Airworthiness Standards, Lawrence Kwajok, General Manager, Air Navigational Standards," he said.
The federal government on Friday sacked all the directors in the agency.
The sacked directors were Salawu Ozigi, Joyce Nkemakolam, Aba Ejembi, Emmanuel Ogunbami, Benedict Adeyileka, Justus Wariya, and Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi.
By Soni Daniel Abuja – A patriotic Nigerian, Aliyu Usman Tilde, has alerted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of a suspicious lodgement of N900, 000 into his account in a commercial bank.
The money, which was mistakenly deposited in Tilde’s account by the Federal Ministry of Justice, was reported to the Gombe Zonal Office of the EFCC, which promptly delved into the matter and discovered that it was paid in by the ministry in error.
Tilde, who owns the account having done no business with anybody to warrant such credit in his account, reported the suspicious lodgement to the Gombe zonal office of the EFCC.
The EFCC through discrete investigation discovered that the money belongs to a law firm that was engaged by the Federal Ministry of Justice in a case that involved a former staff of Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While commending the patriotism of Tilde, the EFCC calls on the general public to emulate such honest attitude by reporting suspicious lodgement/transaction to relevant authorities.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Monday condemned the reported killing of five persons in Ondo West Local Government Area of the state, during a leadership tussle among rival cult groups.
Five persons were reportedly killed on Friday at various locations in the area by suspected cult members.
APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, in Akure also distanced members of the party from the alleged killings.
APC Logo
"According to the Police, a preliminary investigation showed that the deceased were members of the popular cult group in Ondo town known as "Aiye."
"APC condemns these killings in its entirety and warns mischief-makers to desist from involving the party in the crisis.
"It is barbaric, evil and inhuman to kill fellow human beings under any guise.
"The Police and other security agencies are in control of the situation and we hope the perpetrators and sponsors of this dastardly act will soon be arrested to face the wrath of the law,'' Adesanya said.
He appealed to residents of the town to be calm and to go about their normal and lawful duties.
Nnewi – The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Monday released the prototype of the government and the diagram of the government it will run if it achieve the restoration of Biafra.
IPOB in a statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary Mr. Emma Powerful said that it has become very imperative for it to release to its members and supporters worldwide type of government and diagram of government to be run in Biafra.
IPOB said the government of will never cheat any body in the government of Biafra, in the diagram, the prototype government according to IPOB stipulates the directorates, commissions and agencies in the new government and it will be part of constitution of the Biafra government more are coming.
Air Peace on Monday clarified that one of its aircraft had a deflated and not a burst tyre, on take-off at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The airline made the clarification in a statement signed by its Communications Manager, Mr Chris Iwarah and obtained by newsmen in Lagos.
Newsmen report that the flight, which was carrying 105 passengers from Lagos to Abuja, was aborted by the pilot due to the incident. Iwarah said:"At about 11am today, our Lagos-Abuja flight aborted take-off at the
Murtala Muhammed Airport when the pilot-in-command suspected that there was an issue with one of the tyres of the aircraft.
Air Peace
"Passengers on board were transferred to another aircraft to ensure they did not miss their appointments. "The passengers were all calm, as it was not a life-threatening incident. There was no question of air return as our very experienced flight crew noticed the development much before take-off.
"Because of the premium we place on safety, our pilots are under a duty to call for checks when they suspect any fault, however basic it may be. That was what happened in this case. "Although it was initially suspected to be a case of burst tyre, our engineering department later inspected the aircraft and confirmed that one of the tyres got deflated. The issue has since been addressed."
He assured Air Peace passengers and members of the public that the airline would continue to give top priority to their safety and comfort.
The UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Nigeria John Howell on Monday said UK would strengthen and promote its existing relations with Nigeria and also assist the country to achieve its huge economic potential.
Howell, who is on a two-day visit to Nigeria starting Feb. 27 stated this in Abuja in a statement by Joseph Abuku, Press and Public Affairs Officer, British High Commission.
He said that his visit which was the second since 2016 aimed at strengthen and promoting the existing trade relations between the UK and Nigeria.
He said: "On this visit I will take forward engagement on ease of doing business and will specifically discuss with ministers key barriers that impact business and explore UK and Nigerian partnerships.
"UK businesses look to be a key partner in helping Nigeria achieves its huge economic potential.
"The UK is a global centre of excellence in diverse areas including architecture, digital technologies and professional services such as cyber security, fintech and general consultancy services; academia, healthcare, renewable energy, Oil and Gas and mining supply chain," he said.
He said that Nigerian domestic businesses who partner with UK businesses stood to benefit from skills and technology transfer, economies of scale and access to innovative technologies.
The envoy also said he would be meeting with a range of key stakeholders which include Nigeria's Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Petroleum.
Howell said he would engage with the Nigerian Stock Exchange and encourage continued cooperation between Nigeria's and British Stock Exchanges and financial institutions as part of an effort to help grow Nigeria's capital market.
On the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce the Trade Envoy said the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce had made a huge contribution to help facilitate trade between the two nations.
"I'm looking forward to celebrating the hard work of the Chamber and also engaging with Nigerian businesses and learning about their needs and how British expertise can help Nigerian companies grow.
"I will be visiting the Centenary City and discussing opportunities around Nigeria's ambition to develop future (smart) cities," he said.
Howell said UK had substantial expertise in urban planning and transport, which hopefully would support Nigeria via the Future Cities work-strand of the Prosperity Fund.
He said he wanted to advance his understanding of Nigeria's plans and needs on technology and innovation as he would be visiting the Abuja Tech Village.
He said UK was keen to support greater digital access and connectivity in Nigeria.
Sen. Theodore Orji representing Abia Central in the National Assembly has enrolled the services of his constituents in the identification of priority projects to be executed as part of his stewardship.
The Media Adviser to the senator, Mr Norman Obinna, told journalists in Enugu on Monday that the move was to ensure even spread of constituency projects.
Obinna said that the former Abia governor had also deployed the process to ensure that only projects dear to the people were put in place to attain optimum satisfaction.
He said that they desired to ensure that most communities in Abia Central had federal presence through the sighting of choice projects that would alleviate the suffering of the people of the area.
"Sen. Orji has directed members of his constituency to identify deficits in infrastructural development for proper communication to the Federal Government.
"This we hope will remedy the defects within the constituency with all possible and timely expedition," he said.
He assured that mechanism had been put in place to ensure that projects were evenly spread in the six local government areas in the district.
"Preference will, however, be given to communities facing menacing ecological problems like erosion and deplorable roads.
Sen. Theodore Orji
"This explains why Emede community in Umuhia North Local Government Area of the state has so far got the largest share of the 10 constituency projects recently kicked off.
"We also have erosion control in Umueze Road and Umuakanu Road as well as Umuagu Road all in Emede Ibeku community," he said.
Obinna said that the former governor of Abia was worried about the spate of ecological challenges in his constituency as affected communities were facing the threat of obliteration.
He said that constituents of the area had extracted commitment from their representative that communities yet to be included in the ongoing infrastructural would soon be reached.
"We still have other projects captured in 2017 budget. Once the budget is accented some of those communities are likely to benefit," he said.
Obinna debunked insinuations that the senator had not put to good use constituency projects funds made available to him by the Federal Government.
"Such allegations are not only unfounded but laughable and only exposes the ignorance of the purveyors," he said
He said that it was the responsibility of the senator to identify deficits in projects execution and present same on the floor of the senate.
Obinna said that it was not the duty of his principal to nominate contractors or partake in the execution of the project, adding "what we only do is to supervise".
A lagging sex drive and poor erection could be the result of what you've been eating. Of course, it's not always about food.
Poor erection can be attributed to a number of factors, including sociological, psychological, and hormonal influences. Often, antidepressant medications are the culprit. Other times, stress or drug and alcohol abuse can play a role.
Smoking, along with all of its other terrible health effects, can diminish sexual desire and satisfaction, especially in men.
"Smoking has a direct, negative effect on the sexuality of a man on every level," says Panayiotis M. Zavos, PhD, Altering bad habits, like smoking and excessive drinking, in order to encourage better overall health, will no doubt be beneficial to your sexual health as well.
Now lets talk about the kinds of food that may be affecting your performance on bed.
Generally any food type that makes us gain weight can affect one's libido as well but below are some foods that could be ruining your pleasures.
Fried Foods
Fried foods definitely don't do your sex life any favors. Trans fats found in fried foods dramatically decrease the male and female libido, according to Medical Daily.
Consuming trans fatty acids can also cause abnormal sperm production in men and interferes with female gestation. You and your significant other would be wise to skip the french fries at dinner, since they could be at fault for more than one sexual problem.
Processed Carbohydrate
Any refined carbohydrates, like those found in bleached white flour and white rice, are bad news for your sex drive. This includes many pastas, cereals [rice and wheat], breads, and snack foods like crackers, cookies, and chips.
Men's Fitness explained that large amounts of refined carbs will cause your testosterone levels to decrease. The sugars from these carbohydrates can make men gain weight and raise estrogen levels as testosterone is depleted. Reach for good carbs like vegetables and whole grains instead.
You must have heard the popular saying that "Sugar is your enemy?"
Or you must have ever had that embarrassing experience where your dick just refuses to charge when you need it most, this is what we call "Sugar Crash"
Sugar from soda drinks, sweet, ice-cream, so called energy drinks etc can crash your libido and erection in a twinkle of an eye causing you embarrassing moments with your partner.
You can't risk your girlfriend in the hands of these men who have found and used this 100% NAFDAC Approved solution to small blokos and 3-minute man problem.
You will also discover a brand new Japanese made enlargement oil that is helping men like you increase their penis size in less than 2 weeks with no side effect.
So if you have a small man-hood and its so embarrassing for you, here is a one time opportunity to double its size in 2 short weeks 100 percent natural, no pills
The UN’s health agency urged the world on Monday to create new drugs to tackle 12 killer superbugs which are resistant to antibiotics and threaten an explosion of incurable disease.
The “priority pathogens” include germs that cause deadly infections of the bloodstream, lungs, brain or urinary tract, but do not respond to an ever-longer list of medicines.
In more and more cases, none of the existing drugs work.
“Antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options,” said Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director-general at the World Health Organization (WHO), which published the list.
“If we leave it to market forces alone, the new antibiotics we most urgently need are not going to be developed in time.”
Governments should put in place policies to boost public and private funding for drug research and development against the listed microbes, the WHO said in a statement.
The agency previously warned that if nothing is done the world was headed for a “post-antibiotic” era in which common infections and minor injuries become killers once again.
Bacteria can develop drug resistance when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics. Resistant strains can be contracted directly from animals, water and air, or other people.
When the most common antibiotics fail to work, more expensive types must be tried, resulting in longer illness and treatment, often in hospital.
The germs on the WHOs list were chosen based on the severity of the infections they cause, how easily they spread, how many working drugs remain and whether new antibiotics to kill them are already being developed.
– Saving lives –
The list is divided into three categories of priority: critical, high and medium.
The top priorities are superbugs resistant to carbapenem antibiotics — a last-resort treatment for life-threatening infections often spread in hospitals, nursing homes and among patients who rely on ventilators and catheters.
In January, an American woman died of an infection — resistant to all 27 available antibiotics — caused by a germ called Enterobacteriaceae which is on the WHO’s critical list.
The second and third tiers contain drug-resistant bacteria that cause “more common” diseases such as gonorrhoea and salmonella-induced food poisoning, said the WHO.
The list will be discussed with health experts of the G20 group of major economies in Berlin this week, it added.
“New antibiotics targeting this priority list of pathogens will help to reduce deaths due to resistant infections around the world,” said Evelina Tacconelli of the University of Tuebingen in Germany, who helped draw up the index.
Tuberculosis was not listed because well-funded programmes already exist to develop new antibiotics, said the WHO.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday attributed the slow rate of infrastructure development in Nigeria to lack of synergy between public and the private sector.
Obasanjo, who was the Chairman of the 2017 Annual Seminar of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture [KADCCIMA], said the Nigerian government had over the years paid very little attention to the private sector.
According to him, it is important to develop deep synergy between the two in order to tackle the wide infrastructure deficit in the country and accelerate national development.
The former president explained that the relationship had not been productive because for some time, the public sector regard those in the private sector as "parasites", who reap from what they did not saw and only interested in making profit.
He noted that the theme of the seminar, `Promoting Public/Private Partnership, as a Panacea for Accelerated Growth and Development', stressed the need for the government and private sector to work together for the common good of the country.
Obasanjo noted that the engagement of more people from the private sector in government is helping to encourage a more robust relationship.
Obasanjo
He said that for the country to experience any serious development, it must view the public and private sector as two legs necessary for the country to move forward.
"Nothing would work if the emphasis is on the public or private sector, there must be synergy between the two for reasonable growth," he said. The former president also blamed the country's retrogressive growth to poor leadership.
"We are not there, is a fraction of leadership. We are where we are not because of God's design, given our human and natural resources, but because of bad leadership that could not put the resources to good use.
"The countries that are better than us today are better because they are committed, focused and understands what it takes to develop. "Until we get the problem of leadership right, we will not go anywhere," Obasanjo said.
On his part, the Guest Speaker, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, a former minister of finance, noted that the country has a huge infrastructural gap.
Usman, in a paper, "Promoting Public Private Partnership As a Panacea for Accelerated Growth and Development" said the country need foreign capital and expertise to supplement the resources that the country can afford to generate.
He described the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) as a crucial tool in addressing the infrastructural gap in the country, adding however, that its potential has not been fully tapped.
Usman gave example of countries like India, Malaysia and South Africa among other countries that successfully deployed PPP to achieve accelerated socio-economic growth and development.
He identified the problems of politics, absence of strong legal framework, inconsistency in policy implementation, lack of clear goals and coordinations as hindrances to Nigerians ability to tap the benefits of PPP.
According to him, the country's legal framework and budgetary approval processes must be review for PPP to work efficiently in the country.
"Similarly, there is the need for high political support, post transaction monitoring and evaluation, alternative dispute resolution mechanism to ensure smooth operation of the PPP strategy, " he added.
Earlier, the President of the KADCCIMA, Dr Muheeba Dankaka explained that the theme was chosen to highlight the need for collaboration between the public and private sector to enhance the business environment through massive infrastructure development.
"The PPP, if well tapped could maintain and sustain the productive and manufacturing sectors, which would in turn ensure equitable distribution of wealth. "To achieve this, government and the private sector must work together".
Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State on Monday inaugurated newly elected chairmen of the 11 local government areas in the state.
The election, conducted on Saturday Feb. 25, saw the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party winning in all the local government areas. Dankwambo congratulated the chairmen and urged them to be committed in discharging their responsibilities.
According to him, the chairmen have been elected in conformity with section 79 (3) and (4) of the state Independent Electoral Commission Act.
He urged them to maintain the tempo exhibited by their predecessors in execution of projects, especially joint capital projects in order to improve the people's standard of living.
"Similarly, you should make efforts to improve on internally generated revenue by plugging all loopholes, as well as identifying new revenue sources.
"As agents at the grassroots, you are expected to evolve constructive ideas for the development and transformation of our Local Government Areas," he said.
Dankwambo also advised the chairmen to extend genuine hands of reconciliation to all those who contested and lost in the elections, regardless of party affiliations.
Responding on behalf of his colleagues,Chairman of Billiri Local Government Council, Mr Faruk Dankuka, thanked people of the state for electing them and assured that they would not betray the confidence reposed in them. Dankuka also lauded the state government for conducting peaceful and credible council elections in the state
At the ongoing GSMA Mobile World holding in Barcelona, Spain, technology gaint, Huawei Technologies explained how the company has been working with Nigerian government and other mainstream mobile companies in Nigeria in developing the country”s ICT plan.
The Executive Director of the Board and Chief Strategy Marketing Officer of Huawei, Xu Wenwei, who disclosed this to Technology Journalists during a press conference said that Nigeria is a typical emerging market for mobile technology, adding that Huawei was working in tandem with mainstream mobile operators like mtn in developing and managing apps and projects.
“Nigeria is a populist country with great potentials working with mainstream operators like MTM, Glo, and others in developing the ICT plan for Nigeria. We have partnered with local carriers in hosting services in the area of music application like mtn and we have worked with the Nigerian government in development of its ICT plan.
We have developed many solutions for Nigeria . We have worked with local operators who have optic fibre problems.
“Emerging markets like Nigeria represents great potentials. In many emerging markets; they have defined ICT as part of national strategy and they have highbrow potential markets.
“We are entering an exciting era where everything is connected and intelligent.. this era presents a significant opportunity for emerging countries to shift from resource-dependent economies to innovation driven sustainable economic growth.
“To benchmark digital economies; huawei published the global connectivity index which stated that countries are increasingly aware that solid digital infrastructure is a key engine driving sustainable economic growth”, he explained.
Mr Silas Agara, the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, has advised newsmen to focus more on developmental journalism to help Nigeria's search for a diversified economy.
Agara made the call on Monday in Lafia, when members of the Correspondents' chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Nasarawa State, paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that diversifying the economy required a cross fertilisation of ideas, and challenged the media to facilitate that.
He cautioned journalists against sensational reports capable of igniting civil or communal disturbances or stories that could incite members of the public against those in authority.
"Nasarawa State is just recovering from a plethora of crises; the media should not force us back to such bad moments," he said.
NUJ
He suggested that reports should be geared toward promoting peace and not stir up rancour and acrimony in the land.
The deputy governor reminded the reporters that the image from whatever they filed was the way the world would see the state, hence the need for them to be "positive and responsible".
He accused the reporters of "poor coverage" of government's achievements, and called for a greater collaboration toward speedy progress.
Earlier, the chairman of the chapel, Mr Suleiman Abubakar, had pledged the support of the union towards effective coverage of government activities, and particularly stressed his chapel's commitment to objectivity.
He urged the government to carry journalists along in its activities, and also stressed the need for an open system that would eliminate suspicion, rumour mongering and distrust.
The Chairman of the Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee, Sen. Ken Nnamani, has said that the ongoing reform will discourage swearing-in of office holders with cases at the election tribunals.
Nnamani, who spoke at the South-East zonal public hearing on electoral reforms on Monday in Enugu, said that the measure would discourage attempts by politicians to win at all costs.
He said that politicians were in the habit of deploying unwholesome means to be declared winners following which they would dare their opponents to go to the tribunal.
"We want to come up with a new system whereby no one can be sworn into office if they have election petitions hanging on their necks.
"Politicians are fond of fighting to win and saying 'let us go to court," he said.
The former senate president said that it was sad that prosecution of election cases had become costlier than campaigns.
"Experience has shown that majority of the cases in our courts are either pre-election or post-election matters and we want to find a way out of this," he said.
Nnamani said that the committee would ensure that future elections were credible such that no court would be able be upturning any of such elections, adding that such would also discourage unnecessary litigations.
Ken Nnamani
He said that the prevailing circumstance where cases were won in the courtrooms was discouraging.
"We want to ensure that after a candidate had spent time to campaign and given the mandate by the electorate such mandates will not be dropped at the court by way of losing in the case," he said.
He said that the work of the committee would not go the way of others before it, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari being a victim of electoral fraud had shown enough political will to implement the outcome.
"The president has been a victim so Nigerians should not entertain any fear whether or not the report of this committee will be implemented.
"I can assure you that if the president remains in office he is most likely to implement the outcome of our work.
"The easiest thing anyone can do is to criticize but we are here to listen to the public," he said.
The chairman said that the committee was made up of political veterans and consultants who could tell where the electoral act was faulty.
Nnamani said that the need for a new electoral act could not be over emphasized as laws were dynamic and in line with the dictates of the time.
Newsmen report that no fewer than 23 memoranda were received by the committee.
The public hearing is the first of seven of such that will hold across the country.
The head of Nigerian football’s governing body is at loggerheads with his executive committee after he endorsed Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad to be president of the Confederation of African Football.
The Nigerian Football Federation said it had called a meeting on Tuesday to distance itself from Amaju Pinnick’s position and instead throw its weight behind the incumbent Issa Hayatou.
CAF member countries vote for the new president in Addis Ababa on March 16. Ahmad is challenging Hayatou, who has been CAF boss since 1988.
Pinnick
One senior Nigerian official, who asked not to be identified, said the meeting in the capital, Abuja, was likely to be stormy after Pinnick made his preference known.
“He (Pinnick) has clearly upset the Nigerian football establishment and he will be told that in no uncertain terms at this meeting,” the official added.
Nigeria’s sports minister Solomon Dalung has already said Pinnick’s position was not that of the NFF, as have senior Nigerian football officials already holding CAF portfolios.
Amos Adamu, Dominic Oneya, Sani Lulu and Aminu Maigari — who have all been NFF president — at the weekend gave their backing to Hayatou in a public statement.
Pinnick as an individual could support anyone he wanted, they said, but added there was “no evidence where Mr Pinnick was mandated to commit this country to supporting Mr Ahmad”.
“No Nigerian member of CAF has been consulted nor informed out of courtesy about the ambitions of the NFF President,” they added.
“We do not remember Mr Ahmad visiting Nigeria to solicit or canvass for votes nor do we have any record of Mr Ahmad’s pedigree in the running of football in Africa that would have led Mr Pinnick to dangerously throw all of Nigeria’s eggs in his basket.
“We stand dangerously threatened.”
The Nigerian CAF officials instead said there was every reason to continue to support Hayatou, calling him “a pillar of support” and a “true friend of Nigerian football”.
A member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Murtala Isa-Kankara, has urged people of his constituency to support the efforts of the Katsina State Government to dialogue with bandits attacking communities in the area.
The member, who represents Faskari/Sabuwa/Kankara Federal Constituency, made the appeal in an interview with journalists on Monday in Kankara.
He said that dialogue was necessary in ensuring lasting peace, adding that all people of goodwill must support the initiative to end the unnecessary killings and destruction of property.
According to him, the state government's dialogue and amnesty committees have been successful in bringing about relative peace in the area.
He noted that the committees, set up at community levels have made positive impact towards ensuring peace across the constituency.
Armed Fulani-herdsmen
Isa-Kankara commended those that surrendered their weapons in the pursuit of peace and encouraged them to remain steadfast in their resolve, saying their action was in the best interest of everyone.
He advised people of Faskari, Sabuwa and Kankara local government areas, hitherto dislocated by cattle rustling and vandalism to return to farm.
"Peace and stability enjoyed in the areas at present should be complemented with increased investment in agriculture," he said.
The lawmaker urged religious and traditional rulers to be vigilant and continue to support security agencies in the efforts to end all forms of criminality.
Isa-Kankara also urged residents to cooperate with community vigilance groups set up to compliment the efforts of security agencies in restoring lasting peace to the area
Newsmen recall that repentant cattle rustlers and vigilante members on January 15, 2017 surrendered 104 AK 47 rifles and other weapons to the state government at a ceremony in Kankara after intense dialogue for peace.
