CITE POST: 2013-09-15

Friday, 20 September 2013

Photo: Baby Born With Two Fully-Formed Teeth

A mother has spoken of her shock after she gave birth to a baby with two fully formed front teeth.

Vicki Griffiths had planned to breastfeed little Eva Faith but changed her mind after seeing the newborn’s teeth.

Eva astounded nurses and midwives as well as her family when
she was born weighing 7lbs 4oz at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The new development was the outcome of the deliberations between Sambo and ASUU’s delegation held behind closed doors in the State House for about two hours last night.
At the end of the meeting between the vice-president and representatives of ASUU, the contending parties refused to reveal details of the discussions, hence leaving journalists to guess if the meeting was fruitful or not.

Minna — The National Examinations Council, NECO, has released 2013 Senior Schools Certificate Examinations results with a considerable improvement by the students nationwide compared with the past results.

ABUJA — PEEVED by alleged comments by Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama that the 2013 budget was no longer implementable due to what he called “over-bloated revenue estimates by the National Assembly”, the Senate yesterday, directed its Committee on Finance to, as a matter of urgency, summon the two ministers of finance to appear before it to defend the allegation.

Fire razed over twenty shanty buildings at Isakaba community, Ikota- Lekki, Lagos.

According to eye witness the fire broke out around 8pm on Thursday, 19th of September, 2013; when an unidentified woman who locked her children inside her house with a candle on for them to see, reportedly went out.

AWKA- THE embattled Anambra State commissioner for special duties, Chief Vincent Ejikeme Ezenwajiaku, who was declared wanted by the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, of the Nigeria Police for allegedly obtaining N10.6 million by false pretence and forgery has announced his resignation from the Anambra State Executive Council.

He has also sued the Commissioner of Police in charge of Special Fraud Unit, SFU, as well as one Chuks Mgbenena of NIMASA and CSP Okposiakpo Elolor for N250 million over what he described as an attempt to damage his reputation.

ABUJA— Efforts by security agencies at fighting terrorism in the country through intercepting GSM communication, received Senate’s blessing, yesterday, when it overwhelmingly supported a bill aimed at empowering security agencies to intercept that regard.

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan and his Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party may be heading for further isolation, as another five incumbent governors of the party may soon dump them for the Abubakar Baraje faction, otherwise known as New PDP (nPDP).

A mass protest by the various unions in the education sector, civil and human rights groups, students and parents over the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday grounded commercial activities in some parts of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Members of academic unions – ASUU, Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, College of Education Academic Staff Union and the Nigeria Union of Teachers – as well as youth and women groups, artisans and students stormed the streets of Abeokuta, chanting solidarity songs.

THE outgoing Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Makinde, has told the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to fulfil its electoral promises to Nigerians, rather than continue to fight over who leads the country in 2015.

Makinde expressed worry that the PDP had been engaged in the fight for who would be in charge of the country’s affairs in the next political dispensation without fulfilling its electoral promises to Nigerians.

Lagos State Government on Thursday said it decided to expose the two officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline accused of extortion by traders at Iddo Market to prove that it is committed to its anti-corruption stance.

KAI, an enforcement arm of the Ministry of the Environment, had on Wednesday announced the suspension of its men, Femi Ajayi and Samuel Awoseyin, while an investigation panel was set up to probe the men.

The Ondo State Government has announced October 4 date for the interment of the former governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, who died last Friday, September 13.

According to a three-day burial programme announced by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, in Akure on Thursday, burial events will kick off with a Tribute Day on September 30 at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

NIGER State Governor Babangida Aliyu has said that the northern region of the country is not opposed to the national conference being canvassed by some sections of the country but that the North is against the setting up of a Sovereign National Conference.

The Senate on Thursday passed a motion directing the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, to appear before it and update members about the performance of the 2013 budget implementation.

The minister would also be expected to confirm to the senators, a statement credited to him by a national newspaper where he was quoted to have declared that the budget of the current fiscal year was not implementable.

An Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday discharged and acquitted suspects accused of masterminding the N787m fraud in the Universal Basic Education Commission.

Justice Adamu Bello noted that members of the board of UBEC as at the time the contract was awarded in 2005 should have been the ones facing trial before the court, rather than the accused persons whom he described as “scapegoats.”

The retiring President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, on Thursday opened up on the circumstances that led to his suspension as the President of the Court of Appeal.

Salami spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, during a book presentation by Nigeria Bar Association Ilorin branch. The book is titled: “Nigeria Judiciary: Contemporary Issues on Administration of Justice” and it is written in honour of Salami.

Hope of an early resolution of the strike embarked on by the public universities’ lecturers rises as the Vice-President Namadi Sambo met with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja on Thursday.

Desperate to halt a probe into his finances, former Delta State Governor James Ibori tried to bribe anti-corruption boss Nuhu Ribadu in 2007 with $15m in cash in a bag so heavy one man alone could not lift it, Ribadu told a London court on Thursday.

Commercial and vehicular activities were paralysed in some parts of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Thursday as some hoodlums suspected to be members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria and National Union of Road Transport Workers, took to the street apparently to foil a campaign rally organised by a member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele.

RIVERS State Governor and the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, declared on Thursday that the Nigerian economy had gone comatose.

Amaechi explained that contrary to the rosy picture painted on Wednesday by the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, about the nation’s economy, Nigeria was battling to survive economically.

THE faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, known as the New PDP, has accused the Presidency of plotting to remove Senate President David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

Senate Backs Conference Of Ethnic Nationalities

The Senate President, David Mark, yesterday said that the upper house would support a conference of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities, “called to foster frank and open discussions of the national questions.”

Mark, in a welcome address to mark the resumption of the Senate from its 2013 annual vacation, however, opposed the convocation of a sovereign national conference.

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has accused past administrations in the state of diverting funds meant for developmental projects for election campaigns.

This, Okrocha said, had retarded grassroots’ development.

The governor, who spoke while commissioning the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, Ultra-Modern Cottage Health Centre at Umuonyeukwu community, in the Ikeduru Local Government Area, said the state had, in collaboration with the Federal Government, under the MDGs 2011 Conditional Grant Scheme, CGS, completed 60 projects in various communities across the state.

The way the Federal Government has been handling the ongoing strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) seems a good barometer for measuring the way important national issues are handled. The strike has been on since last July 1 in protest against FG’s refusal to honour a 2009 agreement it freely entered into with the union on the funding of universities as well as a January 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

More details emerged yesterday about how jailed former Delta State governor James Ibori used front men and shell companies to acquire a hidden stake in privatised fertiliser company Notore.

British police detective, Constable Peter Clark told a London court at the continuation of asset confiscation hearings concerning Ibori’s conviction that the disgraced politician had bought two apartments in Washington in 2001 worth a total of $4.43 million, previously unknown assets to add to a list of six other Ibori properties in four countries worth $11 million.

UGHELLI — LEADER of Liberation Movement of the Urhobo People, LIMUP, Kelvin, has resurfaced and issued a 60-day ultimatum to Delta State and Federal Governments to address unemployment and poverty in the Urhobo nation and Kokori in particular.

AWKA — The Special Fraud Unit, SFU of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, has declared the Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Vincent Ejikeme Ezewajiaku wanted for allegedly obtaining the sum of N10. 6 Million by false pretense and forgery.

The serving commissioner according to the Unit’s spokes person, Ngozi Insitume-Agu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, was invited to the Unit to answer questions bothering on the allegation, twice, but failed to show up.

Detectives from the Unit whom she said visited Anambra state to effect Ezewajiaku’s arrest, later released him on bail to one Engineer Obi Okwudili who stood as a surety.

Barely 48 hours after a free-for-all ensued at the National Assembly, following the visit of the splinter Peoples Democratic Party, indications emerged last night that the Presidency was jittery over the implications of the lawmakers’ action.

Sources close to the Presidency hinted that its strategists were worried that the lawmakers could easily effect a change in the leadership of the national legislature and get at President Goodluck Jonathan.

ABUJA — STRONG indications emerged, yesterday, that an end to the lingering political quagmire rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not in sight as the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led faction accused the party National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur of not being serious with peace moves. This came just asthe nPDP said that it has not entered into any deal with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The military has warned members of the public against indiscriminate use of its uniform and other kit, saying such unauthorised use is aiding crime.

The Commander, 9 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brig.- Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, said this at a press conference at the Ikeja Military Cantonment, Ikeja, Lagos State, on Wednesday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission said it had dismissed eight members of its staff and terminated the appointment of one employee.

Their exit was contained in a memo signed by the commission’s Director of Human Resources Manager, Mr. Musa Adamu, and published in the Wednesday’s edition of “INEC Daily Bulletin.” No details as to the offences of the affected workers was contained in the announcement but sources in the commission said it was in preparation for the 2015 general elections.

The Federal Government has ordered the deployment of soldiers in Nassarawa State to prevent further breakdown of law and order in the state.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Ibrahim Attahiru, said during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, that the soldiers were a little less than a battalion.

A 21-year-old Nigerian woman, Aisha Ajibola, has emerged the winner of a beauty pageant that is exclusively for Muslims in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, on Wednesday.

She was chosen among 20 contestants from six countries to wear the crown in the 2013 Muslimah World beauty pageant, ahead of the controversial Miss World event scheduled to take place in the same country in a few weeks from now.

According to a report monitored online, all the 20 finalists in the contest were covered from head to toe during the event. They were required to wear headscarves, stroll up and down and do a catwalk in elaborately embroidered dresses and stilettos before an audience comprising religious scholars and other devout Muslims.

As the nation prepares for the 53rd independence anniversary, the Oyo State House of Assembly on Wednesday asked the Federal Government to recognise the designer of the national flag, Taiwo Akinkunmi.

The Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Dr. Paul Orhii, has said that the agency is reviewing its laws, with a view to making convicted fake drug dealers spend the rest of their lives in jail.

THE Archbishop of the Niger Delta Province, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey, on Wednesday said the police lied over claims that they (police) were responsible for his release from the hands of kidnappers.

Nigerians reacted on Wednesday to a report alleging that President Goodluck Jonathan accused the citizens of encouraging corruption in the country.

While declaring open the 54th annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society in Abuja on Tuesday, the President had reportedly said that if Nigerians did not “reward corrupt practices” through their actions, those involved would have no need to continue.

Jailed former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, used front men and shell companies to acquire a hidden stake in privatised fertiliser company, Notore, a British police detective told a London court on Wednesday.

The coordinating minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday dismissed calls for her resignation by members of the Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The Presidency on Wednesday took a swipe at the Abubakar Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party for referring to President Goodluck Jonathan’s purported 2015 ambition as a “third term from the back door.”

The Presidency said the New PDP’s position was based on ignorance and therefore advised Baraje to consult his lawyers in order to understand what the 1999 Constitution says on the tenure of a President.

The Federal Government has proposed a total of N14.07tn as budget for the next three years, with a proposal to spend N4.495tn in the 2014 fiscal year.

The 2014 proposal is N425bn less than the N4.92tn proposed by the Federal Government for 2013.

It also proposed N4.743tn and N4.839tn for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years, respectively.

Soldiers Kill 12 Ombatse Militants

Soldiers deployed to contain the security crisis in Nasarawa State on Tuesday said they have killed 12 suspected members of the outlawed Ombatse militia group at Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.

The militants were said to have been killed at a military checkpoint in Akwanga when they engaged soldiers who were on patrol in the area in a gun battle.

The Federal Government has approved N6bn for the rehabilitation of technical colleges, News Agency of Nigeria reports quoted the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, as saying.

Wike disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the two-day Africa Regional Forum on Advancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, on Tuesday urged the United Kingdom to support democracy in Nigeria.

The Speaker pointed out that the recent blockade of access to the residence of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, by the police signaled serious danger.

Former Chairman of Bank PHB, Prof. Pat Utomi and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday disagreed over the funding of Utomi’s 2007 presidential campaign.

The EFCC through its counsel, Mr. Kemi Pinhero (SAN), said that Bank PHB had granted a N2.7bn loan to Baywood Continental Limited, also chaired by Utomi during the period of his campaign.

Pinhero said, “The loan facility granted to Baywood Continental coincided with the period of presidential campaign (2006-2007). The period of disbursement also coincided with your campaign.”

FOLLOWING a major oil spill that destroyed its environment in 2009, Bodo community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State has dragged Shell Petroleum Development Company to a London Court.

This is the second time within three years that the community will take legal action against the oil firm over issues bordering on environmental degradation.

President of the Senate, David Mark, on Tuesday said the call for national conference by certain sections of the country was in order in view of the discontent in the polity.

Mark, while welcoming senators from their seven-week annual vacation, said every matter about the union of ethnic groups that made up the country should be opened to discussion though with the proviso that the dismemberment of the country should be a no-go area.

DR. Jonathan Silas Zwingina represented Adamawa South Constituency in the Senate between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview, he said that the face-off between the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the rebelling governors within the party, was borne out of the urge by Tukur to fight the culture of impunity practised by some state governors. He also said that President Goodluck Jonathan had no agreement with the North over 2015, adding that the North has never formed a common front in any election. Excerpts:

By GBENGA OKE

MAIDUGURI — Forty Eight hours after the killing of a vigilante youth by a policeman in Maiduguri, Borno State, members of the state’s Vigilance Youth Group, BVYG, have arrested 19 Boko Haram terror suspects in five villages of Konduga Local Government Area.

Lagos – A university graduate, Terna Tarka, on Tuesday filed a suit at a Federal High Court, Lagos, challenging alleged denial of mobilisation for national service by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Tarka, through his counsel, Mr Adekunle Oyesanya (SAN), is praying the court for a declaration that the act of the defendant (NYSC) is unlawful, ultra vires and a violation of the NYSC Act, Cap. 84, Laws of the Federation.

Friday, 20 September 2013

Thursday, 19 September 2013

Wednesday, 18 September 2013