PDP secretariat reportedlyattacked in Gombe by BokoHaram

According to an eyewitness who spoke with
The Nation , Boko Haram men today attacked
the PDP Secretariat in Gombe where they
opened fire and killed many people. This was
after carrying out an attack on the Nafada
Divisional Police headquarters in Nafada LGA
earlier.
"In Nafada, they went straight to the
police station and opened fire. From
there, they went to the PDP Secretariat
and the local government secretariat
and opened fire on each of the places."
the eye witness said
The eyewitness said 10 persons including one
Sheik Adamu Misira was killed during the
attack.
In a related development, there are reports
that the sect men have hoisted their flag in
Mubi town in Adamawa state, which they
captured recently and have changed it's
name from Mubi to “Madinatul Islam”
meaning the city of Islam.
"They mounted check points and
surveillance at strategic locations,
brandishing riffles but asking us not to
panic or run away,” A resident of Mubi,
Aliyu Bala told Premium Times.

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GEJ, other ECOWAS leaders head toOuagadougou for crisis talk

Read the State House press release below...
President Goodluck Jonathan will travel
to Ouagadougou tomorrow as a member
of the three-man delegation of Heads of
State and Government raised by the
Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) to facilitate the rapid
resolution of the current political crisis
in Burkina Faso.
Other members of the delegation of ECOWAS
leaders are President Macky Sall of Senegal
and President John Mahama of Ghana who is
the current Chairman of the ECOWAS
Authority of Heads of State and Government.
During their one-day visit to Ouagadougou,
President Jonathan and his Ghanaian and
Senegalese counterparts are expected to meet
with Burkina Faso’s interim Head of State,
Lt.-Col. Isaac Zida, opposition leaders,
members of civil society and other political
stakeholders in the country.
Recent political turmoil in Burkina Faso led
to the resignation of former President Blaise
Compaore and the assumption of power by
Lt.-Col. Zida
The African Union’s democratic charter
requires its 54 member-states to act against
the forceful overthrow of elected governments
on the continent.
The Union has given the Burkina Faso
military an ultimatum to transfer power back
to a civilian administration within two weeks
or face sanctions.
President Jonathan will be accompanied to
Ouagadougou by the Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed and
some of his principal aides and advisers.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 4, 2014

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Boko Haram reportedly takes over Ashaka Cement factory in Gombe

According to a breaking news report
by Sahara Reporters, Boko Haram members
have taken over the Ashaka cement factory in
Gombe state. The sect members were said to
have arrived the factory in a convoy of pickup
vans and started shooting indiscriminately,
causing the security guards and staff to run
for safety.

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Photos from DJ Cuppy's house warming party in New York

Billionaire Femi Otedola's daughter, Florence Otedola aka DJ Cuppy recently hosted a housewarming party for a few friends for her new apartment in New York. Friends including international model Oluchi Orlandi and others were in attendance. See more photos after the cut...

Posted by expdonaloaded

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Senzo Meyiwa's dad criticised for waving to the crowd at his funeral

 

This pic has got the SA online community talking. This is the father of late South African goal keeper and captain of the national team, Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot dead on October 25th by suspected armed robbers at his girlfriend's home. During his funeral last Saturday November 1st, Sam Meyiwa waved to the crowd in excitement from an ambulance conveying his son's corpse.Most South Africans found this offensive as he was meant to be grieving. He was seriously criticized and now the SA online community have gone agog with Memes of the waving. See some pics after the cut...

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Facial Definition Made Easy! (Highlighting & Contouring)

This has been made popular over the past 2 years by a few celebrities, but as a matter of fact, the technique has been in use for many decades.

The facial sculpting technique uses a darker shade to contour areas of the face that should naturally have a shadow and a lighter shade of product to highlight areas of the face where light hits the face.

This technique can be used to imitate different face shapes and conceal parts of the face. 
 

The Zaron Face Definer is the absolute favourite contour kit for women of colour as it contains not just a contour powder and highlighter but also contains a bronzer that will give you the perfect glow for your skin.

The highlighter is used to reflect light off the face and to draw attention to certain areas of the face. These are areas that are usually prominent on the face like the bridge of the nose, underneath the eye, chin and on the brow bone. 

The contour powder is used to create shadows and make areas where it is applied appear less prominent. It should be applied on areas such as beneath the cheekbones, the sides of the nose, the forehead and the crease of the eye. By applying the contour beneath the cheekbones, that area of the face is made darker and less prominent thereby enhancing the cheekbones and bringing them into focus. The same logic applies when you apply contour to the sides of the nose.

The bronzer should be applied slightly unto the apples of the cheeks blending upward into the hairline; it can also be applied to the bridge of the nose and the chin. This is to create a warm glowy or dewy effect.

The Zaron Face Definer comes in four different shades that have been perfectly combined to suit you. So whether you are really fair complexioned or very dark in complexion, Zaron has the perfect shade of product to help bring out your best features. The best part is it retails for as low as N2,980.

So what are you waiting for? Join the many smart women who use Zaron’s Face Definer.

To purchase or for further inquires, call 01-4545472.

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Indonesian Fighter Jets Intercept Australia-bound Saudi Plane

Indonesian fighter jets have intercepted a plane carrying Saudi Arabian delegates en route to Australia for allegedly violating Indonesian airspace, media reports said on Tuesday.

The Local Air Force Commander, Andi Wijaya, said in Jakarta.

Wijaya said that the Gulfstream HZ-103 plane carrying 13 people was forced to land on Monday at the El Tari airport in Kupang, the main town in West Timor.

“Those on board included members of an advance team preparing for a visit by a Saudi prince to Australia.

“Seven of the passengers are members of the Saudi Government,’’ Wijaya, said

Report said in October, Indonesian fighter jets also intercepted an Australian light aircraft for entering the country’s airspace without clearance.

It added that the plane was released after the crew paid a fine of 60 million rupiah (about $5,000).

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Dortmund out to stop rot with Galatasaray tonic

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp says the Bundesliga strugglers desperately need a Champions League win over Galatasaray on Tuesday to help get their season back on track. Borussia can secure their place in the knockout phase by beating Galatasaray in Dortmund having beaten them 4-0 in Istanbul a fortnight ago.

The 2013 Champions League finalists are top of Group D having won their first three matches in style while Galatasaray are bottom of the table after two defeats and a draw. But Klopp says Dortmund particularly need a confidence-boosting win having lost their last five German league matches, including a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich on Saturday. Dortmund are enduring the worst start to a league season in the club’s history to leave them second from bottom in the table. And another victory over Galatasaray in Europe would be a welcome tonic ahead of Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach. “We have the opportunity to once again to celebrate that success feeling and get things back on track,” said Klopp, who has been given a job guarantee by CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke. “We expect a strong Galatasaray team tomorrow, who want to improve increase their situation in the table and we’ll be ready for that. “We showed some positive developments against Bayern, even if we did not get a result, and we’ll try to build on that. “We want to try to keep working on things in the game tomorrow and then take advantage of it on Sunday.” Having won the 2011 and 2012 German titles, then finished runners-up for the last two seasons, Dortmund are in a crisis for the first time since Klopp took charge in 2008. “Of course, the whole situation is not great right now,” said veteran midfielder Sebastian Kehl. “We talked about it for a long time on Sunday. “I have the feeling that we, as players, much like the whole club, needs to stay calm, the situation is not hopeless. “I don’t think we are doing things that much differently in the league as we are in the Champions League, but we lack the concentration and the compactness.

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Expdonaloaded:dress package

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Fashola advocates law empowering states to produce, distribute electricity

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has formally commissioned the 8.8 Megawatts Mainland Independent Power Project that will supply constant power supply to both Federal and state government establishments, saying Lagos is capable of providing stable power supply to residents if backed by enabling legislation. fashola-

He also charged Nigerians not to accept any excuses for the inability of the government at the centre to provide stable electricity. Fashola who spoke at the state Electricity Board, Old Secretariat, Ikeja location of the power plant noted that those who promised steady power supply in the past four years have shown that their best is simply not good enough having failed to deliver on the promise. He described the successful completion of the Mainland Independent Power Project as a demonstration that the present government is one that makes a public commitment and is duty bound to ensure that it stands by it. He said the 8.8 MW Power plant has been made possible through a Public Private Partnership between the Lagos State Government and a consortium of Mainland Power Limited, CET Power and Solad Electric Limited. The MIPP would serve agencies like the Lagos State Electricity Board, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Area F Police Command, the High Court, the Office of the Chief Judge, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the State Water Corporation, the Old Secretariat complex, the State Ministry of Housing Estate and Eko Engineering Limited. Others include street lights covering a stretch of 20 kilometres from the Old Secretariat, the Ikeja Flyover, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Agege Motor Road, Ikorodu Road, Jibowu to Maryland, Palm Avenue in Mushin and Ikeja GRA. Fashola stated that as it is currently constituted, the state government has operated within the limits allowed states and has clearly demonstrated that steady power supply is indeed deliverable to the people. According to the Fashola, “If tomorrow, the National Assembly legislates that states should generate and distribute power, a state like Lagos will conveniently generate its own electricity and distribute same to its residents”. Stressing that there are many lessons to learn from the success which the state had made of its Independent Power Plants, the governor expressed concern that “Nigeria is the only country with oil and gas that is without steady electricity.” According to him, nations like Gabon, Ghana which also have oil and gas in Africa do not have electricity problem just as the whole of Europe depends on Russia for her gas supplies but had never experienced electricity difficulties. He reiterated that when the administration gave a commitment that the MIPP would be commissioned in 2014, it was conscious that it must be accomplished adding that the promise was made then from an informed position. Fashola, who also spoke on the focus on young people to power the energy sector, said the present administration is committed to harnessing the undying spirit of the young people to develop the sector adding that although the wisdom of the elders would also be needed in forging ahead, space must be opened for the young ones to participate. “Nigerians as a people must also agree on the fact that there is a need to conserve energy because it is practically impossible to have unfinished energy”, he said adding that just as Nigerians have introduced the word ‘flash’ into the telecommunication lexicon to conserve, the same should be done with electricity too. Fashola added that from the time of Ehingbeti Summit earlier in the year, the Government knew that the way forward was in solving the energy problem and was committed to doing that. The governor, who also sought to know why a Power company like CET Power, with its proven record of success with building power plants, did not qualify as a preferred bidder in the privatization process of the Power Sector by the Federal Government, pointed out that if the best companies participated and did not win, it simply means something is wrong with the process. Earlier in his address of welcome, the State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Engineer Taofiq Tijani, said the Mainland Independent Power Project is the fourth power plant to be commissioned by the present administration. He also informed that the on-going Conserve Energy, Save Money (CESM) campaign has run on full steam throughout the month of October and that people could now download the first ever consumer focused household energy calculator from mobile App store. Giving a project overview, the Managing Director of CET Power, Mr Obiora Nwizu, said the 8.8 Megawatts Power plant has 5.8 MW as the primary power that is produced by natural gas while the 3 Megawatts standby is driven by diesel. General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board, LSEB, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, said that for the state to address its power challenge, it would need 200,000 energy technicians with maximum age of 45-year-old. She noted that the number is needed urgently, as the state population increases daily, “This was the reason the state government established the energy academy. This will assist the government to provide the needed technicians within the next 15 years.” Ogunbiyi stressed that the state government had created an application to assist residents to know the number of energy they consume and what they waste and how they could prevent waste.

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My successors abandoned power sector —Obasanjo

ABEOKUTA—Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has attributed the problems ravaging the power sector in the country to his successors, saying, they abandoned the sector. Obasanjo said he had tried to ensure stable power supply since 1979 when he was Military Head of State and when he returned as civilian President in 1999 but, his successors abandoned the sector thereby making it moribund. The former President stated this yesterday at a programme tagged First Green Legacy Moment with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Leadership and Human Security in Africa, in Abeokuta. powerpix-newObasanjo who submitted that part of the problems facing the country is lack of political will by Nigerian leaders, warned that power should not be privatised to friends. He said: “Part of our problems is lack of political will on the part of the leaders.What does a leader understands about development, any leader worth its salt should know that power is very important. It is the driver of all development be it social, economic, and even political. “When I was military head of state, I developed the Jebba dam, I developed Shirroro, I started Egbin. Shagari came and completed Egbin and commissioned Jebba and Shirroro. Between Shagari in 1983, until I came back in 1999, there was no single dime invested in power generation. If anything, the ones that were there were allowed to go down. “A country like Nigeria must be adding not less than two thousand mega watts if we are to be moving on the path of development. “If you will remember, when I came back in 1999, my first Minister of Power was late Bola Ige. I won’t say Bola didn’t know what he was doing and he said publicly that he would fix the power problems in six months. “After one year, Bola with his capacity couldn’t fathom what was wrong with power. It was riddled with corruption. Then we had no money, people have forgotten that in 1999/2000, the price of crude oil was US $9 per barrel. So, I wanted the oil companies; Mobil, Total and they wouldn’t go along. “When we started having money, we started the National Integrated Power Plant . When we said the money we had should be invested in power, my successor didn’t understand, he stopped it. “If for almost 20 years we did not achieve anything in power generation, then we may not be able to get it again. “Let me give you an example: the population of South Africa is 55 million and they generate 45,000 megawatts. Our population today is about 180 million people and could not generate 4,000 megawatts. And South Africa is an industrialising country and not an industrialised nation. “For us to say that we are industrialising country, we must be generating much more than what South Africa is generating, say 100,000 mega watts. What year will Nigeria get there if we are adding 2,000 mega watts each year? For us to get to 100, 000 mega watts, I leave the mathematics to you. It sounds very discouraging but that is the reality”, he said.

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Tambuwal: Court stops moves to reconvene Reps sitting -

THE raging battle for the soul of the House of Representatives were fought at all fronts yesterday, including the law courts.

An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court issued an interim order of injunction stopping the House from reconvening until Friday when a motion ex-parte lodged before it by the embattled Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, will be heard. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who gave the order, further directed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, its Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’Azu and five other defendants in the matter, to appear before the court on that date to show cause why the reliefs being sought by the Speaker should not be granted. Tambuwal and Goodluck Jonathan Tambuwal and Goodluck Jonathan The court ordered all the parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the motion before it, saying the order was necessary so as to preserve the ‘Res’ of the matter brought before it by the Speaker and his new party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. This came on a day President Goodluck Jonathan directed the 195 PDP members of the House to ensure Tambuwal’s removal. Some aggrieved PDP Reps, it was gathered, have started making moves to elect Bashir Adamu to replace Tambuwal, who dumped the PDP for APC, last week. Meanwhile, the 160 members of the APC in the House have dared the presidency and the PDP to do their worst, boasting that they have the capacity to handle any situation. The court order Moving the application yesterday, counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. Sunday Ameh, SAN, told the court that despite the pendency of a substantive suit filed by his clients last Friday, the defendants were still plotting to remove Tambuwal as Speaker of the House. According to him, the PDP had summoned all its members at the House of Representatives, including the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, with a view to persuading them to reconvene the House for the purpose of discussing Tambuwal’s removal as speaker and member of the House. He contended that Order 5 Rules 18(1) (2) and (3) of the House Standing Rules empowers the Speaker to reconvene the House by directing the Clerk to notify members, saying it will be unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void for the PDP to move to reconvene the House without the approval of the Speaker. Aside PDP and Mu’Azu, other defendants in the suit, which has the APC as the 2nd plaintiff, are the House of Representatives, the Deputy Speaker of the House, the IGP, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation. Specifically, the plaintiffs had in their motion ex-parte, prayed the court to abort moves by the PDP and its Chairman, to illegally and unconstitutionally reconvene the sitting of the House. Tambuwal, in the motion filed through the chambers of Mr. Jubril Okutepa, SAN, told the court that since the day he defected to APC, the PDP has continued to perfect strategies with a view to not only ensuring his removal as the speaker, but to also declare his seat as a member of the House vacant. Alleging that the defendants, “have the propensity to act with impunity and in total disregard for due process “, Tambuwal insisted that only a quick intervention of the court could stop the “evil plot” against him. Besides, he alleged that the defendants, “in further demonstration of their unconstitutional conduct”, connived with the Acting Inspector General of Police, Sulaiman Abba, and withdrew all the security details attached to him as the Speaker of the House, a development he said has exposed him to bodily harm. Therefore, the plaintiffs prayed the court among others for “an order of interim injunction restraining the Defendants/Respondents herein either by themselves or agents, proxies or otherwise howsoever from taking any steps or further steps to abrogate or diminish or take away or interfere with or infringe the 1st plaintiff’s rights and privileges as the Hon Speaker and as a member of the 3rd Defendant/ Respondent pending the hearing and determination of the motion for interlocutory injunction before this court.’’ Why Jonathan wants speaker removed Meanwhile, President Jonathan has directed PDP lawmakers to ensure that Tambuwal is removed from office. Mallam-Aminu-TambuwalSources close to the presidency revealed that the president who could not hide his anger told some ranking members of the House at a meeting at the Presidential Villa on Friday night to immediately start moves towards Tambuwal’s ouster. He blamed them for allowing the speaker to exhibit such control over them without protecting his interest. Said the source: “We had to apologise to him and promised to carry out his instructions to remove the speaker. Towards this end, we’ve summoned all our members to reach Abuja today (yesterday) unfailingly to attend a meeting with our party leaders.” Jostle to replace Tambuwal begins Impeccable sources told Vanguard that a four-term lawmaker, Bashir Adamu (PDP, Jigawa) has been tipped to replace Tambuwal. Also being considered is Usman Kumho, but from all indications he does not have a strong support base to become speaker. Why we won’t impeach Ihedioha On the grand design to impeach Emeka Ihedioha, the deputy speaker, the source said “it is virtually impossible because we can’t lose two strong PDP lawmakers. We’ve lost Tambuwal. So, Ihedioha remains for now and that is not really our challenge.” Plot to impeach Tambuwal ‘ll fail unless… However, another PDP lawmaker said that even if PDP heeded the call to give automatic tickets to lawmakers as widely reported, the idea to impeach Tambuwal would fail. Reason: none of them is ready to play politics of impeachment at the moment given the fact that every lawmaker has returned to his constituency to fight for tickets. “Look, they are only playing politics. I can tell you that no PDP lawmaker is ready to vote for Tambuwal’s impeachment. Even if there would be anything like that, it can’t be now. PDP doesn’t have the number to remove Tambuwal –Nwuke Also lending his voice, an APC lawmaker from Rivers State, Ogbonna Nwuke, said that the PDP lawmakers did not have the required two-third majority to oust the Speaker. He said: “Let me say this to you. It’s not possible for PDP lawmakers to muster two third majority. They don’t have it. The only way they can get that is if some APC lawmakers decide to betray the party. But that is not possible.” PDP meeting At press time, the PDP meeting was on-going. Vanguard gathered that one of the issues slated for discussion was automatic tickets for all PDP lawmakers to enable them work towards removing Tambuwal. Those expected at the meeting included members of of the Board of Trustees (BoT), National Working Committee (NWC), PDP Governors Forum, Attorney General of the Federation and PDP caucus in the House. Leave us alone, face our economy, APC Reps advise PDP Also yesterday, APC members from the court venue where they went to restrain PDP from reconvening the House, advised the Federal Government to concentrate on the economy and leave the leadership of the House alone. The arrowhead of the lawmakers, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos), who addressed the press berated the PDP for resorting to self-help and using the police to withdraw the speaker’s security details. He wondered why the PDP is over-reacting over Tambuwal’s defection, who he said exercised his fundamental and constitutional right to freedom of association. We’ve the capacity to handle any situation –APC Reps Also speaking after the APC briefing, Chairman House Committee on Finance, Abdulmunin Jibrin (APC, Kano) said: “We members of the APC are in shock because when the Speaker officially moved, we had thought that there would be some kind of celebration in the Presidency and of course, the PDP because they have never done anything to pull the speaker close to them. We in the APC worked hard on the speaker. We showed the Speaker that we are going to provide him a home, and eventually the speaker moved to the APC.” “And now there is all sort of scheming going but the most important thing is that the speaker has nothing to lose. We have nothing to lose.”

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Mubi: FG orders military to flush out Boko Haram, as suicide bombers kill 23 in Yobe

By Kingsley Omonobi, Umar Yusuf & Ndahi Marama ABUJA—Seven days after Boko Haram insurgents seized Mubi, the commercial nerve centre and second largest town in Adamawa as well as Vimtim, home town of Defence Chief, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, the Federal Government, yesterday, gave a marching order to the military to flush out the terrorists from the occupied areas immediately.

This happened on a day that more than 23 people were killed after two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers burst into the Shi’ite Muslim procession in Potiskum, Yobe State to commemorate the new Islamic calendar. It was also a day gunmen attacked Kogi prison, setting 145 inmates free. In Adamawa, to ensure that the terrorists were flushed out from the occupied areas, more attack helicopter gunships and surveillance aircraft were deployed, yesterday, while the new General Officer Commanding 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General FO Alli, whose Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes Adamawa State, was said to have relocated to Yola. PROCESSION—Members of Shi'ite sect celebrating Muharram, the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed in Bauchi,yesterday. Photo: NAN. PROCESSION—Members of Shi’ite sect celebrating Muharram, the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) in Bauchi,yesterday. It was gathered that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. KTJ Minimah tasked him to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Mubi and Vimtim were retaken in the shortest possible time. The Federal Government was said to have given the military the marching order following intelligence reports that the new upsurge in Boko Haram attacks may have been influenced by political motives to ensure that political activities do not take place in the North East zone of the country. Vanguard gathered that a time frame was given to the GOC and the Commander of the Air Force Strike Group in Yola within which to push out the terrorists. Air Force helicopter gunships (Mi35 and the Super Puma attack helicopters) have commenced softening the grounds with light attacks preparatory to a massive onslaught, it was gathered. A senior officer who spoke to Vanguard disclosed that by the directive the Government wanted to prove the insurgents wrong that they can take over Mubi and nothing will happen. The thinking has created uncertainty among residents of Yola, the capital of Adamawa State. The Federal Government’s directive it was further gathered, followed intelligence findings which showed that with the successful derailment of the failed bid of the group to invade and take over Maiduguri, using Konduga and Kawuri as launch pad, they have turned to plan ‘B’ which is to push for Yola. Suicide bombers kill 23 in Yobe Meanwhile, on the suicide bombing in Potiskum, the incident was said to have taken place at about 10 am on Old Market Road. 48 people were injured in the first blast; before the other suicide bomber was arrested yesterday by the police. Speaking on the incident in Damaturu, the Police Commissioner; Danladi Markus in a telephone interview said: “There was a Monday morning blast in Potiskum, that claimed the lives of more than a dozen people with the injuring of others, but I cannot give you the exact figure as I am on my way to the scene of the blast, 100 kilometres from the state capital. At this moment, I am travelling to Postiskum to assess the extent of damage to both lives and property. “One of the suspects was arrested at the blast scene, while the military and police rescue teams have evacuated many people to Postiskum hospital for treatment.” Hamza Isa, a resident of Potiskum also said: “When the blast went off by 10am this morning, all of us ran in different directions for safety, as the explosion rented the air with deafening sounds before soldiers and policemen rushed to the blast scene near the Old Market. An injured shiite member sits on the ground after a suicide blast in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on November 3, 2014. At least 15 people were killed and over 50 injured when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at at a ceremony marking Ashura, the annual commemoration of the killing of Husseyn, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Six other people were killed when soldiers opend fire on the mourners fleeing the scene, according to a shiite cleric and witnesses. AFP PHOTO An injured shiite member sits on the ground after a suicide blast in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on November 3, 2014. At least 15 people were killed and over 50 injured when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at at a ceremony marking Ashura, the annual commemoration of the killing of Husseyn, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Six other people were killed when soldiers opend fire on the mourners fleeing the scene, according to a shiite cleric and witnesses. AFP PHOTO “The security operatives responded with sporadic gunshots to show their readiness to stem any further attack on the town and this caused panic among traders to flee into various directions, leaving the streets and market empty for over three hours.” Similarly, during last Saturday’s nomination of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam at the August 27 Stadium, Damaturu, a disruption threat letter was issued to operatives of security agencies in the state, before yesterday’s blast in Potiskum that claimed lives of innocent residents. Meanwhile, Governor Gaidam has condemned the attack, describing it as heinous, barbaric and unwarranted. A statement signed by the governor’s spokesman, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego said: “Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam has been informed of an attack in Potiskum town on Monday (yesterday) during an annual procession of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, marking Ashurah. The governor notes that those behind the attack are criminals who want to fan the embers of religious discord. He called on all the people of the state to remain calm and vigilant. “Governor Gaidam has prayed the Almighty Allah (SWT) to grant eternal repose to those killed in the attack and quick recovery to those who sustained injuries”. The governor, according to the statement, has also directed government hospitals in the area to provide immediate free medical treatment to all victims of the attack. Mubi attack: NEMA Records 10, 496 IDPs in five camps in Yola Following the recent attacks on Mubi town by Boko Haram insurgents, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ASEMA) have recorded 10,496 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in five camps situated in Yola south and Fufore, while more people are still pouring into the state capital. Five women were also safely delivered babies in two of the IDP camps. Making the disclosure while leading a special team to the state, the Director of Relief and Rehabilitation of NEMA, Mr. Eugene Ezeh said that the agency had delivered adequate relief materials to all the established camps in the state and the new one would be provided with tents. Receiving the NEMA team, the Adamawa State Governor, Bala James Ngilari, said that the state government had sent vehicles for the evacuation of thousands of displaced persons who were scattered in various locations around Mubi and those that ran into Cameroon to established camps in Yola. He said: “The tragedy has really stressed us, we require your intervention for both short and long term”. He noted that majority of the displaced persons live with their relatives in the host communities, while appealing to them to come forward and register so that they too could benefit from whatever was provided. Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, the leader of the Shi'a Muslim community (C) stands over bodies of sect members at Madrasatul Fudiyya seminary in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on on November 23, 2014. At least 15 people were killed and over 50 injured when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a ceremony marking Ashura, the annual commemoration of the killing of Husseyn, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Six other people were killed when soldiers opend fire on the mourners fleeing the scene, according to a shiite cleric and witnesses. AFP PHOTO Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, the leader of the Shi’a Muslim community (C) stands over bodies of sect members at Madrasatul Fudiyya seminary in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on on November 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Alhaja Zainab Maina said President Goodluck Jonathan assigned her to assess the situation and assured them of his continuous support up to the time when they would be going back to their homes. She said the Federal Government has been doing everything possible to see the end of the insurgency. The camps are in Dawarei, Girei, Malkwohi, Nyako Housing Estate, NYSC camp and COCIN Church. Relief items provided at all the camps include drugs, rice, clothes, mattresses, maize, buckets, mats, soaps, towels, cooking oil and sanitary items.

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Women should contest elective positions – APC woman leader

The Zonal Woman Leader (South-West) of the  All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs.  Kemi Nelson, has called on female members of the party to contest in  the forthcoming elections and ensure that they are well represented in the various legislative houses in the country.

Nelson, in a press release in Lagos, said it is was time for women to take their rightful position in the various legislative houses in the land by contesting for elective offices.
She advised female members of the party to take full advantage of the generous provision of the APC for them to actively participate in the electoral process.
According to her, Women should take advantage of their large population to elect their own into legislative positions and stop being just followers and mere supporters of male members of the party.

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Akwa Ibom: Governorship should go to Oron –Etiebet

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources and life Board of Trustees (BOT) member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Don Etiebet has said the only way peace would return to Akwa Ibom is f

or an Oron person to succeed Governor Godswill Akpabio in 2015.


Chief Etiebet said this  while  speaking on last Saturday’s PDP ward  delegates’ congress in Uyo. He said the zoning of the gubernatorial ticket to Eket Senatorial District would have been a perfect arrangement if the governor had not adopted the immediate past secretary to the state government, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, an Ibibio man, as his successor.
He said it was when Akpabio adopted Udom that he decided to part ways with the governor since such a move did not guarantee justice and fair play, which was enshrined in the state zoning arrangement.
“If we are to talk about justice, we should be talking about Oron; let Akpabio take it to Oron and I will support him 100 per cent as we started in 1999. My disagreement with him is with taking the gubernatorial ticket to core Ibibio in Eket senatorial district in the name of zoning and also trying to take Abak gubernatorial slot for himself.
“You can’t be preaching justice and fairness on one hand and practicing injustice on the other hand. In 2007, I resisted Governor Victor Attah producing a successor in the person of his son-in law even though Udoma Ekarika is from my local government and his democracy dividends would have affected my community positively.
“Udom Emmanuel is my in-law because he married from Oruk Anam, my local government. But equity and justice would not allow me to support him.
“That is why I say if the thing doesn’t go to Oron, then let there be a level playing field for everybody. Nobody should be cheated. Let everybody who bought the form be allowed to contest without any one aspirant getting undue government support,” Etiebet explained.
He carpeted the Saturday ward delegates’ congress as sham, saying the leader of the PDP team that came to conduct the congress, Senator  Abdulazeez Ibrahim, had openly admitted in the PDP state secretariat that their duty was not to conduct but monitor the exercise.
“I have never seen such a biased electoral team since 1978. They were not ready to listen to anybody at all. They only came to monitor, meaning that the congress had since been conducted maybe, in Government House as they later drove to the centres to read names of delegates without any election taking place.”
Etibet said he had the national leadership of the party had been duly informed with the hope that they would order a fresh ward delegate congress to be conducted in the state .  “But if this type of anomaly continues, it is left for the people to decide what to do,” he warned.

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Tambuwal: APC, PDP in crucial meetings

Leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) last night held separate meetings with lawmakers in the House of Representatives on their separate platforms.

While the main thrust of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with the members was on how to galvanise support for the removal of the embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the opposition party’s national leadership, led by John  Odigie Oyegun, met to discuss how to ward off the impending move by PDP to impeach the speaker.
Tambuwal, last week, dumped the PDP for the APC on the floor of the House.
Investigation revealed that the PDP leaders’ meeting with the lawmakers, which was to hold at Wadata Plaza, the party’s national secretariat, was moved to the residence of its  National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu.
The APC meeting, however, held at the party’s national secretariat.
Addressing the lawmakers before the meeting dissolved into closed-door session, Oyegun thanked them for honouring the invitation.
His remarks:”  I want to thank you for responding to our call for a meeting. This is the first meeting I have a pleasure of inviting you as members of the APC.”
Turning to Tambuwal, who was present at the meeting, Oyegun lauded him for giving good leadership as Speaker and for having the courage to dump the PDP.
“You have been able to give credible leadership. A childish, arrogant government that relishes in impunity is today, making you one of the most popular politicians in the country. Your coming to the party is coming when the contrast between us and them is noticeable.”
The APC meeting commenced at 8 p.m. and was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.

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Extra polling units: Nigerians in Diaspora write Jega

The controversy surrounding the proposed 30,000 extra polling units across the country by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to abate as Nigerians in the Diaspora have written the commission seeking further clarifications.

In a statement jointly signed by Dechi Dariye,  Osahon Osagie and Abayomi  Adeolu, president, secretary and a member​ respectively, the concerned Nigerians, based in the United States of America, commended INEC leadership for work well done, but warned that the provision of 30,000 additional polling units could rubbish the commission’s past performance.

The statement read in part: “Sadly the reports, relating to the arbitrary creation of polling units that appears to be inspired by sectional/regional interest which may have regressive consequences for the forthcoming 2015 electoral process in Nigeria.
“Our findings revealed that while there is need to create polling units due to congestion and emergence of new settlements, there are no credible scientific evidence to support the formula used to create these new polling units.
“Against this background, we sought evidence of recent constituency delimitation and districting exercises called wards in our country that should normally precede the exercise of polling units creation.
“We can only find the report of Dr. Lisa Handley, a renowned consultant on delimitation which advised that INEC required a minimum of three years in-between general elections to commence and conclude a review of constituencies and secure the approval of the National Assembly.”
“Secondly, we note that the Senate committee in Nigeria responsible for oversight functions on election management has advised against continuing with the new polling unit allocations because of the limited time required to embark upon a credible process, following international benchmarks.
“We see this as a realistic corroboration of the Handley recommendations, but sadly, despite public denials by the electoral commission under your leadership, we hear of subterranean efforts to surge ahead with the new polling units, despite professional recommendations and legislative oversight disapproval.”
The concerned Nigerians abroad therefore urged Jega, “to revert to the tested contingencies which your commission applied in the previous elections and heed the advice of Dr. Handley, the Senate oversight committee and others.”

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Adamawa PDP kicks against zoning

Endorsement of the zoning of governorship slot to the Adamawa Central Senatorial District by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) has created disaffection in the state chapter of the party.

Some aspirants in the aborted October 11 governorship bye-election in Adamawa State, led by Ahmed Gulak, former senior special adviser on Political Matters to President Goodluck Jonathan, had last week called on the party’s national leadership to adopt an earlier position on the zoning of the governorship slot to Adamawa Central Senatorial District.
Addressing newsmen last Thursday at the end of an emergency national working committee, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, had announced the party’s resolve to restrict its governorship primary in Adamawa to only the aspirants from Adamawa Central.
Metuh further noted that the decision was in line with an agreement reached with aspirants at a meeting presided over by Senate President, David Mark, before the botched governorship election.
But addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, a group, The Adamawa Collective (TAC), dismissed the declaration of the party’s NWC as unacceptable. National Coordinator of TAC, Mr. Eli Gamaniel, and Secretary, Dr. Panny Boga, told journalists that the governor, Bala Ngilari, was the target of the pronouncement by the Adamu Mu’azu leadership of PDP for zoning the governorship to Adamawa Central.
They further expressed concern over the party’s decision to uphold an agreement reached without the knowledge of Governor Ngilari, who was at that time challenging his removal as deputy governor.
Also, Boga alleged that the latest pronouncement by the party national leadership was instigated by Mu’azu and the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Alhaji Hassan Tukur, all in an effort to foist a particular ethnic group and a candidate on the majority of Adamawa people.

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INEC to create 1,144 additional polling units in Benue

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Commissioner in charge of Benue State, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, has said the commission will create additional 1,144 polling units in the state.

This, according to Yusuf, when added to the already existing 3,688, would bring the number of polling units to 4,832 across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Yusuf, who stated this while on a courtesy visit to the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, the Tor Tiv, Chief Alfred Akawe Torkula, said the essence of creating the polling units was to decongest polling units in the state.
Responding, the paramount ruler pledged to involve the royal fathers to sensitize the electorate in their domains on the need for peaceful disposition before, during and after the elections.

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2015: 28 Borno lawmakers obtain APC guber form for Shettima

No fewer than 28 lawmakers, including members of the National Assembly from Borno State and their counterparts at the Borno State Assembly, yesterday picked an expression of interest and nomination forms for the state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.

According to the lawmakers, Governor Shettima was their choice candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Borno State governorship. With this, the governor is set to seek a re-election in 2015.
The lawmakers, comprising one out of two APC senators, five out of the eight members of the House of Representatives on the platform of APC and 22 out of 27 members of the Borno State House of Assembly, were among those who refused to join the former governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff, in People Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking on why the lawmakers decided to obtain the forms for the governor, Tahiru Monguno, said as a representative of Borno people, they were at the party secretariat to express the confidence that Borno people and residents had in the governor.
“The excellent performance of the governor in the last three and half years, especially with the manner he manages the security challenges in the state, his genuine efforts towards restoring peace, his reconstruction efforts and his courage in carrying out numerous projects despite the challenges, are the things that motivated us.
“As you can see, despite the recent defection of some APC stalwarts to the PDP in Borno State, majority of the lawmakers at the national and state Assembly remained in APC and are standing behind the governor,” Monguno, said.
Earlier, while presenting the forms, the party’s Deputy National Chairman, South, Mr. Segun Oni, said it was a good thing that the lawmakers had come to show solidarity with their governor, saying: “One good ‘term’ deserves another.”
He assured that APC would continue its dominance in the state.
Receiving the forms after making payments, Senator Ndume told the party national leaders that Borno State was a comfortable APC stronghold, assuring the national headquarters that its leaders had nothing to worry about.

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2015: Vote for right people, APGA chieftain charges electorate

A frontline politician and legal practitioner from Oraukwu in Idemili North Council Area of Anambra State, Dr. Theodore Okonkwo, has formally picked the House of Representatives Nomination Form on the platform of the All Progressives grand Alliance (APGA).

He is to run for the Idemili North and South Federal Constituency seat in the 2015 general elections.
Presenting the form to him, the state Chairman, Chief Mike Kwentor said APGA remained the party to beat in Anambra State, noting that with the quality and integrity of candidates it was fielding, the party would record massive victory in all the elections.    His words: “APGA has come to stay in the state. It is a party for the people, whose ideals are founded on providing dividends for the people. We are now stronger, having weathered various storms that threatened our unity but our focus as a movement prevailed.”
Speaking to newsmen after he purchased the form, Dr. Okonkwo said quality legislation was required to entrench the desired responsiveness and transparency in governance as well as civility and patriotism on the part of the citizenry. He said his involvement in the race was to bring about a sense of direction and impact in the representation of people of Idemili North and South Federal Constituency.
Acknowledging that power belongs to God, the APGA chieftain urged people of the area to remain vigilant and guard against electoral malpractice and ensure that they elect candidates whose representation would usher in the desired transformation of the area.
He said: “APGA is not a political party, it is a movement. Through her, people-oriented governance has been entrenched in Anambra State. I offer myself to be elected by my people under this platform and I urge the party’s hierarchy to endeavour to avail all contestants a level playing field in furtherance of its belief in the principles of equity and fairness.”    Dr. Okonkwo, who harped on the need for Ndigbo to forge a common front through which they can agitate for their interest, urged the people of the South East to unite and leverage on the viable platform provided by APGA as a movement to infuse into relevance in the nation’s scheme of affairs.
He assured that if elected, he would aggressively pursue quality grassroots representation, which will witness constant consultation with constituency members to identify and address their needs.

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Party primaries: Igbo leader harps on level playing field

As the primaries of political parties ahead of the 2015 general elections draw nearer, Igbo leader and member of Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, has stressed the need for all the parties to ensure a level playing field and avoid imposition of candidates on the people.

Ezeonwuka,  who spoke during a visit to APGA  secretariat in Awka, Anambra State said the people were earnestly waiting for the primaries to know those who would emerge as candidates for various positions  in the 2015 elections, even as he expressed optimism that  parties would field credible candidates at the polls.
The Ogirisi Igbo said as a BoT member, he had made it known to the National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA that there should be no imposition of candidates on the people. He urged that all candidates must emerge through democratic process of primary election as stipulated in the party’s guidelines and constitution.
The Igbo leader also urged other political parties to desist from imposition and allow the people make their choice of candidates.
“As BoT member, I have made a strong case against  imposition of candidates in APGA, stressing the need for the party’s guidelines to be followed to the letter during the primaries.”
Let me also use this opportunity to call on other party leaders to take a stand against imposition of candidates during party primaries scheduled to begin later this month,” he said.
Previewing the chances of APGA ahead of the elections early next year, Ezeonwuka said he was optimistic APGA  is certainly going to do well because “it is going to field credible candidates who are ready to make impact in the government of the day. APGA represents a platform of change following the failure of politicians in other parties to live up to expectations as senators, House of Representatives and House of Assembly members.”

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Okpala returns to Eagles

The recalling process in the Super Eagles has continued with the return of former assistant coach, Sylvanus okpala who was fired by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup.
Okpala, just like Ike Uche is staging a comeback courtesy of Stephen Keshi who has requested for his return ahead of the all-important Nations Cup qualifier against Congo in Pointe Noire next week.

A competent NFF source confirmed to Daily Sunsports yesterday that the NFF board has endorsed Okpala’s return based on the special request put forward by Keshi as part of his game plan for the must-win away game against Congo.
According to our source, the NFF has resolved to give Keshi all the technical support he needs to leave Congo unscathed hence the decision to unconditionally grant his request for Okpala.
“Keshi has asked for Okpala’s inclusion in the technical crew ahead of the Congo war and we have given our go ahead to it,” our source said, adding, “we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure we qualify for Morocco in spite of the fact that we are right now walking on a tight rope.”
Efforts made last night to reach Okpala proved abortive as his lines were not going through. Okpala, it is recalled was sacked after the Eagles AFCON 2013 victory with the NFF hinging his sack on the need to downsize the Eagles technical crew. Interestingly, Okpala ended up being the only person that was sacked in the so called downsizing exercise with all the other members of the crew retaining their jobs.
Many pundits believe Okpala’s sack contributed to Eagles poor run since after the South Africa Nations Cup outing. The former Super Eagles captain who is a no-nonsense physical trainer is known to be a good reader of matches.

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Uyo Stadium: Udoh targets first goal

Nigeria’s new goal king, Mfon Udoh, has set a new target for himself after setting a new domestic league record of 21 goals in a season to erase the 20-goal mark set by Jude Aneke three seasons ago.

The Enyimba International striker who is among the home-based players invited for the international friendly match between the Super Eagles and Ghana Black Stars for the official commissioning of the new ultra modern Uyo International Stadium on Thursday, said he wants to make history as the first player to score in the new stadium.
“I’m very excited to set a new record in Nigerian League and I’m most grateful to God for the grace,” the Akwa Ibom-born prolific forward relished. “I’ll be reporting to the Super Eagles’ camp tomorrow (yesterday) for the international game against Ghana to officially open the Uyo International Stadium. I want to make history as the first player to score in the stadium. “I’m from Akwa Ibom State and as an indigene, it would be a great honour for me to enter the record book as the man that scored the first goal in the stadium,” Udoh emphasized.
“I’m really looking forward to the game. It’d be great playing in front of my teeming home fans once again. I can’t wait to thrill my fans with the best of beautiful football because I know they love to watch me in action,” the former Akwa United star said.
Meanwhile, Dolphin’s hit man, Emem Eduok, has congratulated his Enyimba International counterpart, Mfon Udoh, for increasing his goals tally to 21on Sunday to set a new record in the Nigeria Professional League.  Before Sunday’s game, both players had tied on 20 goals to equal Jude Aneke’s all-time record of 20 goals set three seasons ago.
Udoh, however, grabbed the equalizer for Enyimba in his side’s 1-1 draw with Dolphins at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt while Eduok fired blanks.
“I tried my best to score so as to set a new record in the domestic league but the goal refused to come. And as God would have it, my rival, Mfon Udoh, was lucky to have scored; so I congratulate him and wish him well,” Eduok said.
“That’s not to say that I’ve given up on the goals race. We still have a match to go and who says that I cannot two goals or more in that match and finish as the highest goal scorer this season,” Eduok wondered.
Both Akwa Ibom State-born strikers are expected to lead the Super Eagles’ attack against Ghana Black Stars in Thursday’s international friendly match to officially open the Uyo International Stadium before coming face-to-face against each other in this year’s Federation Cup final between Dolphins and Enyimba at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on November 23.

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AFCON 2015: CAF insists on January

The Confederation of Africa Football on Sunday rose from an emergency meeting with the organisers of the AFCON 2015 in Morocco and decided unanimously that the championship will hold as scheduled from January 17 to February 8, 2015 despite the country’s concern over the Ebola virus disease.

According to a release from CAF yesterday,  the meeting considered the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Morocco on the postponement of the 2015 Orange Africa Cup of Nations but insisted that based on the precautionary measures put in place on the Ebola Virus Disease, there would be no need for a shift in date.
CAF’s media director Junior Binyam confirmed the event is still scheduled to take place as planned from January 17 to February 8.
“CAF confirms the dates of the tournament,” said Binyam, adding that a second meeting has been scheduled for November 11 in CAF’s Cairo headquarters to ‘take the necessary decisions’.
“Any change of dates would be to the detriment of the CAF calendar, which must follow FIFA’s international calendar.”
CAF argued that since the beginning of the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus, it has always acted in accordance with the precautionary principle of safeguarding lives by strictly adhering to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) which was enforced through a circular dated 12 August 2014 which sanctioned the suspension of all CAF competitions in countries heavily affected by the disease; Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, so as to prevent holding football matches that could result in mass gatherings and could facilitate the spread of the virus.
Morocco now have until November 8 to officially respond to CAF, according to Moroccan Football Federation spokesman Mohamed Makrouf.

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West Eagles defence worries Taribo

With the Super Eagles AFCON 2015 campaign in dire need of salvation, former Nigerian international, Taribo West, has expressed concerns over the team’s defence noting that the backline needs to be firmed up properly.

Fielding questions from Daily Sunsport in a chat at the weekend, the former AC Milan and Inter Milan FC strongman noted that Keshi should work harder on the Eagles defence, arguing that it is obvious that the players are too young to man the team’s defence.
While weeping for the Super Eagles defence, Taribo said: “Well, I think they will grow but it is painful sometimes when you see them commit some blunders that ought not to happen in the defence of a national team like Super Eagles, especially in the match they played against Congo in Calabar. In the other matches, there were equally some elementary mistakes and errors the defenders made. The problem is that young boys are manning Eagles defence now like Omeruo, Oboabona. They need more years through the road.”
Continuing Taribo said “Echiejile has a bit of concern because in the last few months his game has really dropped. I don’t know whether it was because of the injury he copped before the World Cup but I pray he regains his full form.”  Taribo, who equally spoke on the bench role being played by almost all the Nigerian players in Europe, said: “It is really a difficult time for them and it means that our game has declined so much that sometimes when I sit to watch football I feel like returning to the field again.”
their various European clubs calls for concern.
stressing that the implication of most of them sitting on the bench shows a decline in the current generation of Nigerian players.
Asked his feeling on the Super Eagles in the verge of not qualifying for the 2015 Africa Nations Cup in Morocco, he said: “We will certainly qualify though we followed a very rough road in addition to the disagreements between the parties at the football federation. I think there is an opening for settlement which will help bring everybody back to the normal stage.”
“We all know the magnitude of the task ahead and we can only pray that everybody will accept to reconcile with the peaceful overtures on the table. The settlement will help encourage the boys to qualify,” he said.
“It is really sad but we can only pray for God to give us another generation of promising players from especially the Golden Eagles that won the last edition of the U-17 FIFA World Cup in UAE.
“They have many young boys including Iheanacho and I believe those boys will mature into the shoes of the former Eagles players so that we can have a better Super Eagles team,” he noted.

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Pearl Awards tasks FG on policy consistency

Even as the Federal Government has granted Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on all commissions on capital market transactions, the Pearl Awards Nigeria has called the government to be consistent in formulation of policies relating to stock market.

Its President/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tayo Orekoya, made this call last Thursday in Lagos during the press briefing to announce the 2014 Pearl Awards Nite scheduled to hold on November 30, 2014 at Eko Hotel & Towers Victoria Island.
According to Orekoya, although government VAT exemption on all capital market transaction is commendable, it should always be consistence in its policies. He pointed out that a number of times the FG had come up with one policy today only to change to another policy the next day to counter the first.
He said: “yes the Federal Government should be commended on exemption of VAT on stock market transactions but it should strive to be consistent. We have recorded a number of incidences where government counters itself with policies. We don’t want that repeating all the time because inconsistencies in policies affect the capital market negatively”.
Orekoya also noted that a lot of investor education is needed to ensure Nigeria capital market growth. He argued that in spite of all the efforts of the market regulators; the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) towards investor education some investors are still weary to invest in stock market.
He however, tasked the regulators to do more stating that active investor sensitization and education is essential to further restore investors’ confidence in the market.
The Pearl Awards President explained that this year’s awards, like the previous ones will be determined utilizing ten key globally acceptable parameters which include turnover growth; return on equity, earnings yield; share price appreciation; dividend cover, profit margin ratio amongst others.
“The 2014 Pearl awards as usual would be in three main competitive categories namely the sectoral leadership awards, which rewards a company for outperforming others within the same sector based on aggregate points garnered from all the ten indices utilized for ranking”
“The market excellence awards category is based on recognition of entire market leadership in respect of each of the ranking indices while the third category is the overall highest award category-the Pearl of the Nigerian Stock Market”.
He noted that there would also be special recognition awards category which was introduced in the year 2000 to reward and honour individuals and media institutions that contributed remarkably to capital market development in Nigeria.
Some of the companies nominated for the awards include; Presco, Guinness Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Nestle, Forte Oil, FBN Holdings among others.

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Nigeria needs $14bn to boost infrastructure investment –Okonjo-Iweala

Minister of Finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that the country would need at least $14 billion (about N2.296 trillion) annually to meet its infrastructural investment, just as she highlighted the imperative of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The Coordinating Minister of the Economy, who made the disclosure while declaring open a 3-day PPP training programme for stakeholders organised by the African Development Bank (ADB) in Abuja however charged participants to look into PPP key challenging areas like procurement, contractual, regulatory, legal issues and risks involved in the arrangements.
Her words: “I am proud of what ADB is beginning to do in Nigeria and all over West Africa, which this hub will serve, have worthy projects. For Nigeria alone, we need about $14 billion a year equivalent for infrastructure investment, about 10 of that at the federal government level alone, but we are only investing about $6 billion all through the country.
“What it means is that there is a big gap especially as it is without the costing of a new infrastructure master plan which we are still waiting for. What I am just given is just figures that are not even complete because it did not encompass all of the cross-cutting type of infrastructure in the master plan.
“But even if it is a conservative figure, we already have gap and like many countries in the world, since budgetary resources and private sector investment alone will not be able to fill this gap, we have to look for other models of financing and that is where the PPP model comes in.
“We have really struggled to establish this model by trying to concession certain thing like our ports, we also have some other public private sector projects we are looking at. More importantly, we have this feeling that we never get this model right the way it should work. We also lack the technical capacity to support the PPP projects going on, which was why government established the ICRC.
“Most infrastructure ministries have established PPP units including the Ministry of Finance since it was clear that some of the financial implications of this signed PPP arrangements were not very crystal clear to those signing them. We found some agreements that cannot just work.
“We will have some regional and sub-regional infrastructural projects to be done on PPP basis since the type of resources needed will be very difficult for government to muster.
We have to involve the private sector, the right type of structure, legal agreements and the right kind of financing to make it work. That is why personally I am quite excited at this PPP hub,” she noted.
Enumerating some of the key arrears they must deliberate during the workshop, the Honourable Minister said: “Some of the issues I know you should talk about are procurement issues, contractual, regulatory, legal issues and risks, but there are one or two issues you need to pay attention to. One of them is the length of time that PPP stake on this contract. The statistics I got is that it takes an average of about seven years to complete a PPP.
“You can imagine why ministries don’t rush into a PPP when the time horizon for the delivery is so long compared to the shorter time horizon for the policy makers. Sometime the policy makers leave office after four years without delivering the PPP arrangement and that is why the technical departments and MDGs who should be interested in going into the arrangements are not eager.
“You have to shorten the length of time it takes to process, realise and come to financial close on PPP in this continent. We cannot afford to take that length of time because we have many ongoing projects.
“It also means that we need financial capacity to understand the types of needed arrangements, the legal, regulatory frameworks upon which we are doing this in order to hasten the projects. A lot is always tied up with the financial issue, the type of return that may be expected from the private compare to the public sector.
“Sometimes the legal arrangements are too complicated in my view. We will like to have a legal framework for this PPPs. It is fairly straightforward that share risks appropriately. Some the frameworks and agreements I have seen, load virtually every risk on the government while the private sector partner works away with very little risk.
“That is not going to work and we have to turn down those kinds of arrangements for a more even distribution of risks. It is not that government will not take risk, but we will not be in a PPP arrangement which one party takes all the risks while the other structures himself to collect all the financial gains laughing all the way to the bank. What it means is that we must have the expertise and legal strength to be able to negotiate these agreements to do a good prototype of our IPP.
“You also need to talk about the rate of return expectations because we got a high profile international partner in one of the BPPs we are doing but the expectations were something in the range of 30 per cent. We must remember that these projects are done for Nigerians or West Africans to use and if you structure it in such a way that the toll or price they have to pay is so high, what do you expect they will do other revolting against it and block it from taking place since it is not structured in their interest.
“You have to look at the right framework in terms of the financial and economic analysis to permit participating parties to make dividend rate of return and ensure that the consumers get fair deal at the end of the project.
“We are coming up with the PPP type projects in Nigeria like the second Niger Bridge already going along very well, the Lagos/Ibadan express road, Lekki Deep Sea Port, Onne Port among others. I hope we got the right kind of experts because we have five projects cooking,” she charged.

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Nigeria loses N776bn to corruption in fertilizer sector –Akinwumi

The Federal Government has said it lost over N776‎ billion to corruption or an average of N26 billion annually in the seed and fertilizer sector between 1980 and 2010.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said at a four-day Public Affairs Forum organised by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Public Affairs), Dr. Doyin Okupe, with the theme, “The Jonathan Administration: Four Impactful Years,” that over N873 billion ($5.4 billion) was spent on fertilizer subsidies‎ of which not more than 11 per cent of farmers received the inputs.
According to him, “over N776 billion ($4.8 billion) was estimated to have been lost to corruption or an average of N26 billion (162.5mln) annually while the system displaced the private sector while  Nigerian farmers lost their dignity.”
Adesina said the Agricultural Transformation Agenda was begun using a three-stage approach of treating agriculture as a business rather than as a social or developmental issue, using the value chain approach of adding value to everything produced in Nigeria and ensuring a paradigm shift to agriculture which is the engine growth of the economy.
He said the Jonathan administration transformed the lives of farmers by ending 40 years corruption in the seed and fertilizer sector within 90 days through the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of which 14 million farmers had benefitted from subsidised farm inputs, with 10.3 million of these beneficiaries (75 per cent) in northern Nigeria.
Adesina stressed that as part of the success of the Jonathan administration, Fertilizer producers and inputs and retailers enjoyed a near 500 per cent boost in credit from financial institutions from $22 million to $125 million between 2012/2013, $5 billion investments in commitments in the fertilizer sector with $1.3 billion from Notore, $9 billion investment by Dangote Group and $1.2 billion by Indorama.
Other achievements, he said, include the large scale mechanised farming ‎underway on 5300 Ha in 10 states to ensure efficient production and the rice revolution in which Nigeria has recorded an additional seven million mts of Paddy rice since 2012, adding that the government was financing N13 billion acquisition of 10 integrated rice mills with capacity of 360,000 mts to reduce the rice milling gap.
Other successes, he said, include the inclusion of 20 per cent cassava flour in the nation’s wheat and confectionery processes particularly in over 30 major bakeries across Nigeria‎, mechanisation of agriculture, empowerment of women farmers and very viable loan facilities through the creation of NIRSAL facilities.
He said to facilitate cassava flour production the government had also facilitated the acquisition of six medium scale plants, private sector to set up seven medium scale plants while the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) is training 5,000 master bakers in 2014 to effectively produce cassava bread at commercial scale with the N4.3 billion Cassava Bread Fund being managed by the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and Bank of Industry (BOI) respectively.
The Federal Government in August 2014 launched the nation’s Agricultural Mechanisation Programme aimed at supporting farmers to take advantage of existing technologies to develop and expand their agriculture. This was effected with the launch of the AEHE, which is meant to provide agricultural mechanised services at subsidised rates.
The Minister revealed that the full roll out of the programme would be implemented in stages. “We have already started the process to establish the first set of 118 units of Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises across the country. They will have 590 units of tractors, 500 power tillers and 500 harvest and post-harvest equipment. The bidding process by the private sector for these centres are being concluded this week and I expect most of the centers would be fully set.

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South Africa prosecutors appeal Pistorius verdict

South African prosecutors on Tuesday filed an appeal against the sentence and conviction of star Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who last month was sentenced to five years for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend.

“Today, we announce that the NPA filed the application for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence,” The National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement. “The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law.”

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Gunmen invade Kogi prison, free 145 inmates

Gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Sunday night invaded the Federal Prison, Kotonkarfe in Kogi State and set free all the 145 inmates

One of the inmates, however, lost his life during the stampede that ensued during the terrorists’ invasion while 12 of the inmates, who fled later returned to the prison yard yesterday morning.

Speaking when the Governor of the state, Captian Idris Wada, visited the prison, Comptroller General of Prisons, Alhaji Aminu Suley, said the attackers were external forces suspected to be terrorists
He said they came at about 8.30 pm on Sunday and operated for more than two hours.
According to Suley, 26 of the prisoners had been convicted for various offences, while 119 were awaiting trial for offences such as robbery, culpable homicide and other heinous crimes.
He pleaded with the governor to prevail on the judiciary to wake up to their duties by giving accelerated hearing to the cases of inmates currently in prison. He said some of the inmates had no business being in the prison.
The governor, who was visibly annoyed on the deplorable condition in the prison, however, promised to provide some beddings to the prison, saying it was inhuman for over 145 inmates to sleep on bare floor.

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expdonaloaded post Photos: co-join twins born in Sapale Hospital, die within 2 minutes

Just received this email, will post it exactly the way it was sent to me. Hope some of you know how to read pidgin English. This is so sad. Read below...If i dey insult and yab our Government,many people go feel say,i dey carry yarn,becos maybe dem dey benefit from the Government,so dem nor wan hear any wrong thing about the Government.

The parents of this wonderful kids don get other Children but d woman dey find Girl pikin. Na so God come throway two Girls give her according to SCAN wey she do. After many hours for Labour for Sapele General Hospital. Doctors cum find out say if one of the child dey push come out,say something dey drag her back dey go inside. So them cum prepare the Woman for C.S.

My people before God and Man,na "Cojoin Twins" nai d woman produce. After them bring down the children,nai dem contact me,say them get major issue wey pass them for the Hospital. Before i reach the Hospital,i don put on all my Transmitting machines and CCTV camera's. My dear people of Sapele from the hour of delivery,these children nor last reach 2Minutes,before dem give up. WATER ALMOST FINISH FOR MY EYES. How on earth person go carry pregnancy for 9months,only for her to deliver wetin our Health sector nor fit protect? Wetin cum be the need of the Hospital without basic facilities? E don tey when i dey complain say Sapele General Hospital nor get simple Oxygen and other facilities to meet up our present health challenges,but nobody dey give listening ears. When i reach the ward to go examine the Babies,i cum find out say,na Oxygen dem say,dem use sustain the kids or else dem for die earlier than the period wey dem stay. If we look well for deir pictures under,we go see say,somebody hold oxygen dey inter-change am for the babies to gasp in air to survive. From dis picture,unu go agree with me say,na lack of equipment nai kill dis children becos if the two kids get deir individual Oxygen i nor think say,dem for ever die fast at all,if at all say dem go die for dis tender age.

How a whole SAPELE GENERAL HOSPITAL nor go get Oxygen? Report reach us say our Governor pronounce say Delivery na free for all pregnant women,but if you mistake enter Labour for 30minutes,the baby norva cum down,the wicked nurses wey dey General go just begin dey abuse patients,before u know,them don refer you for C.S,and after the d delivery dem go charge you almost N40K. How dat one cum take be free? 

I don dey talk am before say na who get something nai suppose know the value. Our Community Leaders wey suppose use deir influence beg Companies to donate some of dis facilities to our Hospital refuse to talk. Na to chop land money nai concern unu. When i research about Cojoin twins i cum find out say to separate dem dey hard in most cases becos them dey mostly dey share dsame Kidney,Heart,Liver and other human parts. Most especially when dem gum eachother from the Belle side. But dem dey survive and leave well among us. Cojoin twins don become Minister of Health,Engineers,Doctors and other professioner jobs,wey contribute deir own quarter to the betterment of the world. Though i know say we still dey behind to handle such issues but the kind money wey dis Government dey put into Health and where as nothing dey happen,dey very alarming. I dey very sure say the only Oxygen wey General Hospital manage get,nor even dey in good working order and nai make we quick lost this children.

Today i dedicate this morning to dis our priceless kids wey God use take test our medical sector and expose deir anus. As i call on all of us for dis forum to pray for deir Souls. Them deliver the children on Friday wey pass so and dem die dat same friday for same Sapele General Hospital...post by expdonaloaded

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