80 dead, 109 wounded, 3 arrested

No fewer than 80 persons have been confirmed killed and 109 wounded in the bombing and reprisal attacks which took place in Jos from Christmas eve to date. Also, three people have so far been arrested in connection with the reprisal attacks. Security agencies have also discovered an area in Nasarawa Gwom where some persons were engaged in manufacturing of local bombs.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Abdurrahman Kano, said 20 houses were burnt in the reprisal attacks carried out on Sunday.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which has so far identified four refugee camps in the state capital housing some of the displaced persons disclosed that it arrived at the figure of the victims after going round five hospitals where they were being treated. They include the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Our Lady of Apostles Hospital, ECWA, Sunna and Zakariya Hospitals.The Deputy Director of Communications of NEMA, Mr. Daniel Balarabe Gambo, who disclosed that the records from the hospitals also showed that 71 victims had been treated and discharged. He said the agency was also working in conjunction with the police, Civil Defence Corps, Doctors Without Borders and Red Cross Society of Nigeria. He said most of the victims still on admission were in dire need of food and medication, adding that while NEMA was trying its best to meet their needs, it would equally need assistance from public spirited Nigerians.
Meanwhile, Spokesman of the Special Task Force on Jos Crisis STF, Capt. Charles Ekeocha, has disclosed to journalists that two of those arrested, Yusuf Sabiu and Ismaila Garga were arrested at Anglo Jos in the process of igniting dynamite to burn down some houses.
He said when they were searched, two wraps of Indian hemp and seven unexpended cartridges were found on them while the third man who was arrested on Monday morning was from Niger Republic. The STF spokesman said the men would be handed over to the police headquarters for further investigations.
The spokesman also disclosed , Monday evening that some of the STF men ran into some men making local bombs with dynamite powder and some spirits at Nasarawa Gwom. He said on sighting the men of the task force, the people took to their heels and could not be arrested but the task force was able recover the items they were using. He said efforts were being made to arrest the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petirin  has visited all the areas rocked by last Friday’s bomb blasts with a promise to get to the root of the incident, stressing that the crisis in Jos would no longer be treated with kid gloves.
Air Chief Marshal Petirin, while addressing the people at the spot of the incident at Kada-Biu area of Jos, assured that perpetrators of the dastardly act would be tracked down.
The defense chief said the intention of government was to fish out the perpetrators because “we cannot continue to allow the people of evil mind to move about freely. I want all of you to be patient with the law enforcement agents and allow them to carry out a thorough investigation. I can assure you that positive result would come out of our investigation,” he assured.
In a related development, Plateau State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists has announced the death of one of its members, Mr. Augustine Sindyi,  a photo journalist with The Nigeria Standard Newspapers in the recent  bomb explosions in Jos. According to a statement signed by the NUJ Chairman, Mr. Katdapba Gobum and the Secretary, Mr. Isaac Shobayo, Mr. Sindyi was at the scene of the multiple bomb blasts at Kabong in Jos North Local Government Area of the state when the unfortunate incident occurred. He was among the first casualties that died instantly before getting to the hospital.
Meanwhile, business activities have begun to build up while vehicles have started plying roads unlike what was experienced two days earlier. However, there is still strong security presence in the state capital.

source:http://www.sunnewsonline.comhttp://www.sunnewsonline.com

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...Oritsejafor, Kumuyi charge FG

Two frontline Christian clerics, Ayo Oritsejafor and W. F. Kumuyi have charged the Federal Government to urgently muster the political will to fish out the masterminds of the attack. President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Oritsejafor who spoke yesterday at the end of the 2010 Poverty Alleviation Programme of the Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, described the perpetrators of the heinous Christmas Eve multiple bombing as agents of terrorism bent on destabilising the nation.

The fiery preacher who is also the national leader of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) said he was pained that certain individuals could deliberately attempt to truncate the peace that was beginning to evolve in Jos after a spate of violent crises.

“I must tell you that that was the worst devastation that I have heard since the beginning of the year, especially knowing that people could detonate bombs in Jos on the eve of Christmas. It was as incredible as it was shocking and that is why I will like to call on the Federal Government to urgently arrest the brains behind the act of terrorism,” he said.

Similarly, Pastor Kumuyi, General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, said the incident was an unfortunate commentary on the ability of government to stem the tide of fanaticism and unbridled religious convictions.
According to him, a situation in which intra-sect feuds easily led to the burning of churches and needless killings of church ministers and innocent citizens was an abhorrent trend, which must not be allowed to continue.
Addressing journalists at the Deeper Life Conference Centre, Mowe, Ogun State, the cleric said the perpetrators of such acts must not only be apprehended but must be visited with the full weight of the law promptly, adding that the initiative rested on the doorsteps of the security agencies to bring this unfortunate trend to an end.

His words: “The repeated flare-ups of such crisis is an unfortunate commentary on the ability of government to stem the tide of fanaticism and unbridled religious convictions. Perpetrators of such acts must not only be apprehended, they must be seen to be visited with the full weight of the law promptly.”
Kumuyi decried the state of the nation saying it was a mixed-bag of successes and drawbacks. “Clearly, our country could have progressed more than we are witnessing but for lapses on the part of everyone. Ours is a nation of manifold human and material resources, but the repeated failure to harness these resources harmoniously for our collective good, has served to hinder our march to progress in every facet,” he stated.

He observed that whichever way one looked at every sector, be it education, health, transportation, energy and so on, they people were yet to fully mobilise the latent potentials, which were begging to be exploited for the collective good and this, according to him, was the long-standing challenge facing the people as a nation.
Oritsejafor who described the twin violent uprisings in Jos and Maiduguri, Borno State, as both political and religious, warned that if the government did not swiftly and decisively arrest the growing trend of terrorism in parts of the North, there might be greater devastation.
He said it was obvious that the blasts were the evil machinations of certain powerful and influential individuals in the society who were determined to truncate the current political transition if they could not get their hearts’ desires.

Oritsejafor called on the
Christian community to remain calm while he was still making efforts to reach President Jonathan on how best to deal with the matter and assuage the victims of the bomb blasts by way of adequate compensation.
He alleged that certain powerful individuals in the society hadperfected plans to destabilise the nation’s polity by provoking the Christian community to reaction and cause chaos and in the aftermath of the chaos make the country ungovernable.
Oritsejafor, therefore, implored the Federal Government to take decisive steps to tame the growing trend before few disgruntled elements plunged the country into a theatre of another war, warning that no nation had ever survived two civil wars.

“We can no longer allow this group of disgruntled elements to get away with these acts of terrorism in Nigeria,” he said, stressing the need for the Federal Government to urgently begin a process of training the nation’s security outfits on how to combat terrorism.
He reiterated his appeal to the Christian community in the country to stay calm to avoid playing into the hands of people who were out to destabilise the nation for their

selfish designs.
He disclosed that there were earlier security reports that were not promptly acted upon and hence scores of Nigerians were sent to their untimely death and denied the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
He maintained that Christmas reminded Christians of “the
birth of hope, the birth of peace and the birth of true reconciliation.”
Oritsejafor also used the occasion to urge the Christian
community, who he said, were desirous of free and fair
elections next year, to actively participate in the entire process.

The CAN president said Christians must come out to register during the voters registration exercise, noting that they must select credible candidates who had impeccable pedigree and after voting for such persons they should stay to defend their votes.
On the 2011 elections, Kumuyi said, “it is ennobling that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has resolved to deliver a process that will be both credible and fair. It behoves all Nigerians to fully cooperate with the agency so that we can once and for all abandon the spectre of electoral manipulations and the attendant consequences on the socio-political and economic outlook.

“Our politicians must know that Nigeria is a resilient and unique country, which has weathered successfully the severest of storms. They must also learn from history that those who abort the popular will have always stood on the wrong side of history and ultimately lose out in the process. Let us, therefore, learn from history and with the fear of God, position this nation where it ought to be as a respected member in the comity of nations.”
         
He, therefore, appealed to the leaders to seriously consider the defined interest of the nation and place it beyond the restricted confines of self-interest. This, he said, had become even more imperative as Nigerians prepare for the elections of next year with the attendant tension and stress being engendered.
“If the striving for leadership position is all about service to God and to humanity, then the acrimony and sometimes intemperate language being used by political actors must be substantially toned down. This negative trend is raising the political temperature of the country unnecessarily when democracy, as we know it, is all about popular participation, transparency, openness and liberty. Whatever detracts from these ennobling concept is counter-productive and must be avoided,” he advised.

He further appealed to the political actors at all levels to employ a more elegant and elevated language of discourse during political campaigns.
“What the nation does not need for now is an over-heated climate that could further compromise an already tenuous fabric. The focus should be on concrete, measurable, verifiable and achievable programmes that will justify the huge resources with which our country is endowed. I believe those aspiring for political offices must discuss issue-oriented and people-centred policies and programmes as against sabre-rattling and name-calling which are clearly counter- productive.”

He stated that the examples of some sister countries here in the West African sub-region, which successfully underwent a relatively stress-free political campaigns and elections should serve as a beacon to Nigerians that they could also repeat the same feat with same grit and determination.
The cleric also noted that political parties themselves had decided to raise the bar of prerequisites of those aspiring to contest for offices as those who wished to govern the people must possess the highest moral and intellectual credentials, which would spur them to emphasise service to the nation over and above pecuniary and parochial considerations.

“As we stand on the threshold of a new year, there is need for us as individuals and collectively to take an introspective look at the conduct of our lives thus far and consider the amendments we must undertake to make our lives worthy of God’s endowments. It should not take anyone time to recognise the need for more of God in our lives, even as we strive to overcome by His grace, those things, which serve to draw us apart from Him. If we are thinking of making a success of our earthly sojourn, it is of utmost importance that ·we submit to the majesty of God’s counsel,” he added.
Source:sun

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Sikiru Ayinde Barrister for burial

 Sikiru Ayinde Barrister

The remains of late Fuji Music maestro, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister will be flown into the country on Wednesday and buried in his home in Isolo, Lagos State, contrary to conflicting reports about where his last resting place will be.

It was revealed that the body will arrive the Murtala International Airport by 1pm from the London Hospital where he died after a protracted illness. The reemains will then be moved to his house for burial, slated for 4pm the same day.

Further findings revealed that the body will be committed to mother earth right inside the sitting room of his popular Fuji Chambers,

while the house will be turned to museum. The Lagos State Government is said to have signified interest to contribute to the burial ceremony.

Sources close to the late musician also informed the public that the bed on which he last slept on before his departure for treatment in the UK and subsequent death will be preserved as part of archival materials that would attract tourists to the chambers.

Mr Ayinde died penultimate Thursday at St Mary's Hospital, London, United Kingdom, after developing complications as a result of surgery he underwent recently to extract excess fat from his body.

Health complications

Barrister, as he was fondly called in the music industry,

was 62.He was, about three months ago, admitted to a German hospital where about 32kg of fat was extracted from his body. Before this, he had undergone surgery at an Indian hospital. But on his return to Nigeria, he developed some complications and was referred to Germany for further medical treatment.

While in Germany, news filtered through that the musician had died. That news shook his fans and artistes who looked up to him for guidance, but he quickly came out to debunk the death rumour.

The deceased was a former soldier who fought in the Nigerian Civil War, before eventually becoming a full time musician. His music, which is very philosophical, touched the lives of his many fans.

Source: http://234next.com

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7 die, 15 injured in 100-vehicle pile-up on SW China expressway

 

Photo taken on Dec. 27, 2010 shows a crashed truck after heavy fog caused an accident on the express way connecting Guiyang and Zunyi in southwest China's Guizhou Province. A chain of rear-end collisions began after a heavy truck crashed into a petrol station at about 8 a.m. on Monday. At least 7 people were killed and 15 were injured in the accident.

Seven people were killed and 15 others injured when over 100 vehicles crashed into the back of each other on an expressway in southwest China's Guizhou Province Monday morning, local authorities said.

The pile-up began when a truck crashed into a petrol station in Zunyi County at about 8 a.m. At least 100 other vehicles then crashed into the rear of each other, according to local firefighters.

Six people died at the scene. One died in hospital. The injured received treatment at the People's Hospital in Zunyi County.

It was foggy when the pile-up happened. At around 10 a.m., visibility on the expressway was still less than 50 meters, according to a Xinhua reporter at the scene.

Traffic banked up for about 20 kilometers after the accident.

Source:http://english.people.com.cn/

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Akala gets condition for second term

 The Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala.

One of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo state,Yekini Adeojo, at the weekend, gave Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala a condition he should meet before he gets needed support for his second term ambition.

Speaking with journalists at his Iyaganku Quarters residence in Ibadan, Mr Adeojo said if the governor could survive a fraud-free primaries and emerge the flagbearer of the party for the 2011 governorship election in the state, he will wholeheartedly support his ambition.

He, however, described the feat as gargantua, saying it has almost become a taboo going by the history of successive governors in the state from its inception.

"It is a taboo for Akala to say he wants to do it twice. Alao-Akala cannot do it twice. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Samuel Akintola and Chief Bola Ige who actually performed well did not succeed.Somehow, they all fell," he said.

A former governorship aspirant in the state, Mr Adeojo condemned Mr Alao-Akala for allegedly disrespecting the national leadership of the party by not personally attending a meeting called to harmonise all factions of the PDP within the party in the state last week.

Act unbecoming

The governor was said to have sent Olayiwola Olakojo, secretary to the state government and one other person, to represent him at a meeting organised by Okwesilieze Nwodo, PDP national chairman,to iron out issues on the crisis rocking the party in the state.

"If Akala emerges after the party leadership at the national has intervened and successfully harmonised all the groups, I will campaign for him. But, we are not going to primaries with those old Oyo state executives because they have been declared illegal by the INEC. The governor is not bigger than the party because it is the party that made him. If a party called him and he did not honour it, it shows he doesn't have respect for the party," Mr Adeojo said.

The politician said the governor's attitude is unbecoming of a man who rose to the top through the help of the party.

Though he said he would not want to say unpleasant things about the governor,whom he referred to as a brother, Mr Adeojo averred that it is a bad showing for the governor to want to place himself above the party after coming to the limelight through it.

While boasting that he was instrumental to the emergence of Mr Alao Akala as the governor, Mr Adeojo, one of the notable members of the coalition against the second term of the governor, said he will like to witness a renewed harmony among the factions within the party.

Source:http://234next.com

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Milk of human kindness

 

A female baby lion-tailed macaque drinks human breast milk from a feeding incubator at the Guangzhou Zoo, Guangdong Province on December 10. The monkey, classified as a threatened species, on the IUN(International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, was born on November 3, but its mother rejected it.

"It was born thin, and because its mother did not feed it, the situation was very dangerous," said a zoo worker surnamed Yang who looked after the baby.

When zoo employees discussed how to feed it artificially, a vet who was a 2-month-old father at that time thought that his wife's breast milk might be helpful. His wife agreed. "When my husband told me his idea, I was happy to try, hoping my breast milk would help the baby monkey grow healthy." She used a breast pump to store milk and her husband took it to the zoo. The monkey is thriving now and another zoo worker who recently gave birth is also donating some of her milk.

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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'Hero mother'

 

A 8-month-old Tibetan mastiff named "Biyue" is seen with 12 of 14 puppies she gave birth on December 9 at the Jieyi Tibetan Mastiff kennel in Taoyuan township, Suining county, Jiangsu Province.

Tibetan mastiffs typically give birth to about eight pups. The kennel has found another dog to nurse five of the puppies.

"Biyue is really a hero mother," said a kennel employee who visited 30 Tibetan mastiff kennels to find a suitable mate for her, and finally found one named "Juwuba" (giant) in Tianjin Municipality.

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Ban Tonto Dike. Boycott her movies.

 

I have only one very short thing to say.

Please help STOP Tonto Dike from acting. The girl is atrocious, she cannot act. If Nigeria has a porn industry, she is better of working there. She will make a very good porn star. the debauchery she exhibits in every movie she is in is enough to tell us that.

Please boycott all movies with Tonto Dike in it. If it pleases the actors guild, please ban this girl. she is a total disgrace to the growing nigerian film industry. The only reason producers keep using Tonto is because she is a whore. She is the sex element for them to use in selling their films to all of us hypocrites. We like sex, like to see it, but when Socrates Safo makes real porn for us, we yell at him. Thus, producers will put in Tonto. Knowing she will wring her mouth, put pressure on her face, make ugly faces and we think its cool as if that is what happens in Hollywood. Tonto thinks that is what will get her into Hollywood or that is what happens there? ignorant idiot she is in addition to being a cheap prostitute.

Shame on all the producers, actors and crew of dirty secret. Muna Obiekwe. Your nose like someone stepped on it. You too. next week is yours.

BAN TONTO DIKE, BAN TONTO DIKE, BAN TONTO DIKE, BAN TONTO DIKE. BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN THE WHORE!!!!

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Suspect package disarmed at Greek embassy in Rome

Fire-fighters carrying hoses enter the Greek embassy in Rome, December 27, 2010, as Carabinieri officers stand outside.

ROME -- Bomb disposal experts disarmed on Monday a device sent to the Greek embassy in Rome, days after parcel bomb attacks claimed by an Italian anarchist group wounded two people at the Swiss and Chilean missions.

Police said the package found at the Greek embassy resembled the bombs which exploded in Rome last week, costing an employee of the Chilean embassy two fingers and also injuring a member of the Swiss embassy staff.

"The package was similar to the ones at the other embassies," Maurizio Mezzavilla, an official of the carabinieri, Italy's paramilitary police, told reporters outside the embassy, adding that anarchist involvement "could not be ruled out."

However, he said investigations were still being conducted and there was no firm evidence of who was responsible.

"A suspect package arrived; we immediately informed the carabinieri who arrived immediately and neutralized the bomb," Michael Campanis, the Greek ambassador to Italy told reporters.

He said the package, addressed by hand, had arrived in the embassy on December 24.

"We had not received any threats previously. The packet arrived on Friday afternoon when the embassy was already closed. The staff member found it this morning but security measures had already been stepped up," he said, adding that it appeared likely that the anarchists were responsible.

"Since it was the same kind of package as the others, that is our hypothesis," he said.

Last week, an Italian anarchist group called the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) claimed responsibility in a note for the parcel bombs at the Swiss and Chilean embassies.

Authorities have been on high alert since the attacks and there were false alarms at the Venezuelan, Danish, Monaco and Kuwaiti embassies as suspect packages turned out to be harmless.

There were other false alarms at the Irish and Ukrainian embassies last week.

The incidents have re-awakened concern over a potential rise in violence by domestic European militant groups as social tensions have grown following the financial crisis and government austerity packages imposed to pay for it.

Source:/www.chinadaily.com.cn

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How Jonathan beat Atiku to lawmakers’ endorsement

Details have emerged on how 75 senators on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were persuaded to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan as the candidate of the party for the 2011 presidential election.

 A member of the Senate, who is in the know of how the endorsement was achieved, told Sunday Vanguard that the decision to get the senators to endorse Jonathan in writing was to pre-empt the main rival to the  president, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was also wooing members of the national assembly to support him.
The 75 PDP senators had, penultimate week, endorsed the candidacy of  the president in what is seen as a major boost to his campaign.
In documents seen by Sunday Vanguard, a breakdown of the senators indicates that sixteen from the south south endorsed him; eleven from south west and fourteen from the south east endorsed the president.
The rest are thirteen from the north central, eleven from the north west and ten from the north east.
One of the senators said that, following the endorsement of Jonathan by  the PDP governors,  the coordinator of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign in the Senate, Senator Bariagha Amange appointed coordinators  the Senate to coordinate the collection of signatures to indicate the acceptance of each senator that he would vote for Jonathan in the forthcoming primaries of the PDP.
“For instance, Senator Grace Bent was the coordinator for the north east zone and she was very instrumental to persuading people like Senator Jubril Aminu to append his signature to the endorsement document. Similarly, Senator Joseph Akaagerger was the coordinator for the north central and he worked hard to get the highest number of senators from the zone to endorse Goodluck Jonathan”, the senator said.
Explaining why the endorsement by the senators is important, the senator stated: “we believe that each senator should be able to attract one delegate and if we are able to achieve this, then our candidate is home and dry. We do not want to take chances by feeling too confident about the chances of President Goodlcuk Jonathan”.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that  Amange and other supporters of  Jonathan in the National Assembly are also working on members of the House of Representatives to endorse the president Jonathan for the PDP primaries.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com
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PDP RIGGING ROADMAP: Jonathan, Atiku in hot exchange of words

 

former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and President Goodluck Jonathan 

The war of words be-tween President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over the authorship of a rigging roadmap for the 2011 presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continued at the weekend, with Atiku’s campaign group blaming leakages in Jonathan’s campaign for the revelation.

While Atiku’s campaign blamed dissatisfied staff for the leakage of the alleged plan,  Jonathan’s campaign, on its part, disowned the alleged plans, charging Atiku to stop his seeming desperation for power.
The 141-page document details alleged plans by  Jonathan’s campaign group to compromise delegates, the police, religious leaders and other institutions which the Atiku campaign claimed were articulated by  Jonathan’s campaign group.
The Jonathan campaign had in its first reaction accused the Atiku campaign of cloning and doctoring its working documents and subsequently yesterday, disowned the document as circulated by the Atiku campaign to Western foreign missions in Abuja and the media.
Jonathan/Sambo’s camp
Mr. Mike Omeri, Director of Planning, Research and Strategy at the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign headquarters, said yesterday: “We totally deny ownership of this sinister document being circulated by the Atiku campaign and challenge it to prove its veracity to Nigerians.
“While, unlike the Atiku Campaign, we are not in the habit of threatening the media with legal actions in a veiled attempt to gag the Third Estate of the Realm, we would appeal to our friends in the media to be more circumspect with information made available to them by politicians.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we do not need to plan to manipulate a process that already clearly points to our success. As a campaign, we are doing everything lawfully possible to win the January 13, 2011, presidential primaries of the party.
“We have identified and are engaging with the delegates to the primaries. We have visited 32 of the 36 state branches of our party to engage with the delegates; and President Jonathan has personally gone to four of the six geo-political zones to meet with the delegates. The remaining states and zones of the party are scheduled to be engaged with this week after the Xmas festivities.
“We are glad that our efforts are already paying off. We have the endorsements of 21 of the 26 PDP governors and all the six geo-political zones of our party. Non-PDP members as well as non-partisan members of the public have also not hidden their preference for President Jonathan. In an unusual show of solidarity, the entire traditional rulers of the South-East as well as prominent and paramount traditional rulers in the North, South-West and South-South have declared their support for our President.”
Moles in Jonathan’s camp— Atiku Campaign
However, Atiku campaign spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, was insistent on the authenticity of the alleged rigging document which he said was obtained from leakages (moles) within the Jonathan/Sambo campaign headquarters.
He said: “It is a leakage from them and they don’t need to deny what they did. Afterall, didn’t Dr. Omeri say that it was a badly cloned document that we did and now they are coming out to disown it. Which one do we believe?”
On how Atiku campaign obtained the alleged document, Shehu said: “They have leakages in their camp and we are not to be blamed for that and it is because of lack of commitment and passion for what they are doing.
“Once we got it, we circulated it to diplomatic missions in the country to ring the bell about the injustice being planned against us.”
Atiku is desperate—Jonathan Campaign
The Goodluck/Sambo campaign was, however, dismissive of Atiku’s assertions, saying it was ridiculous for Atiku to insinuate that esteemed PDP delegates could be compromised.
It said: “We express our regret about the Atiku Campaign insinuation that the esteemed delegates and members of our party are incapable of making a decision on a matter of such national importance as the selection of our presidential flag bearer without financial inducement.
“This insinuation is an unfortunate manifestation of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s habitual contempt for our party and its members; an attitude which took him to the Action Congress in 2007 and has brought him back in 2010. We can only urge him to be less desperate about his political desire by putting our country and party first in all his subsequent political actions.”

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com
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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promises free, fair elections

Ilorin—National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Dr.  Abdulkadiri Oniyangi, has said Nigerians were capable of organising free and fair elections in 2011.

He said:  “The much celebrated June 12, 1993, election was conducted by Nigerians.”
Oniyangi, who  said this  in Ilorin, at the  weekend at the 45th annual national conference of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union, IEDPU, said a review of INEC activities so far indicated that everything  was being done to correct the global electoral deficiencies, which the nation  had incurred on account of her poor electoral outing in 2007.
Represented by Professor Hassan Saliu, Oniyangi, however, admonished Nigerians, saying “all will be well only if we learn  appropriate lessons from especially the 2003 and 2007 general elections that  have, no doubt, produced electoral deceit, judging by the general feelings that  the two elections have fallen of standard expected of credible, free and fair  polls.
He further charged Nigerians to collectively resolve to ensure that the 2011  general elections “are better organised.”
, administered and enjoyed a higher level  of participation by Nigerians.”
INEC commissioner added “I, of course, recognize that INEC alone cannot bring  about the kind of elections desired by Nigerians.
“The citizens have to cooperate  with the electoral umpires in terms of performing their duties to ensure the success of the 2011 elections.”
Also speaking at the event, Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State noted with  satisfaction that the annual event had helped to strengthen peace, understanding  and harmony, not only among the indigenes of Ilorin emirates, but also among the  generality of the people of the state.
Saraki, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG,  Alhaji Saka Isau (SAN), thanked the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu_Gambari,  his chiefs, religious and community leaders in the emirate for their support.
According to him, the support “has made this administration to have moved the state to a greater height.”

SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com
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Minimum wage: N18,000 too small – Nyako

 Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa

Yola — Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa has described the N18,000 minimum wage as too small.
Speaking with newsmen in an interactive session on Christmas day in Yola, Nyako said the amount was to meagre to cater for a family man.
Nyako was, however, quick to point out that in spite of the small amount, many state governments would find it difficult to implement.
He said this was because of the states’ sole dependence on the monthly federation account allocation.
Nyako said there was need for states to source for alternatives to oil money if they were to meet the growing developmental needs of their people.
He said it was the zeal to wean Adamawa from over dependence on oil money that his administration engaged in projects such as transforming agriculture by introducing commercial farming.
Other projects, Nayako said, included the technical skills acquisition centres as well as independent power plants for steady electricity to fast_tract industrialisation that would bring more revenue.
The governor explained that the World Bank would be assisting the state with over N7 billion which he described as “almost free interest loan” payable in 40 years including 10 years moratorium.
The governor also said that Islamic Development Bank would also assist the state in establishing three science schools for the training of personnel
According to Nyako, with steady electricity supply, industries would troop to Adamawa where there would be not only available power, but trained manpower to meet industrial demands.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com
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Again, Atiku challenges Jonathan to a debate

 

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

AHEAD of the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has again challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to a debate on the nation’s economy.

Atiku, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, also yesterday extended Christmas and New Year greetings to President Goodluck Jonathan and his Campaign Organisation.
In a statement from Atiku’s Campaign Organization, ACO, the former VP said: “ACO once again restates its request and invitation for a presidential debate between President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and any other aspirant in the PDP.
“This debate should be organized by a credible organization and should be held before the party presidential primaries in the tradition of all successful democracies.
“The debate should afford the Nigerian people the right to have clear and unmistakable insights into the programme of aspirants, their mind sets, capacity and intelligence unscripted. We pledge to be available for any such debate.
“As the nation enjoys its traditional season of love and joy, the Atiku Campaign Organisation (ACO) extends its greetings to the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation.
“For us in ACO, we see the quest of our principal’s desire to seek the Presidency of Nigeria in 2011 as one borne out of our desired hope to improve the lots of the Nigerian people through the actualisation of our five-point agenda, namely employment generation and wealth creation, power generation and infrastructural development; security, good governance and war against corruption; education, health and social services and the Niger Delta.
“Consequently, after thorough evaluation of the ongoing campaign, pronouncements by both organisations and their approved and unapproved surrogates, it is our conclusion that Nigerian people are being increasingly checkmated through denials of their rights to know what the candidates stand for through excessive misinformation being dished out daily.”

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com
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35,000 youths endorse Bankole for 2nd term

 Dimeji Bankole

NO fewer than 35,000 youths of Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Ogun state, in what looked like a carnival yesterday met at Centenary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta,  and formally endorsed the Speaker of House of Representatives,  Rt.Hon. Dimeji Bankole for another term as their representative in the House of Representatives.
The event, which drew all youth organizations from Abeokuta South was coordinated by Ibara Youth for Dimeji Bankole Organisation.
Addressing the huge crowd that disrupted traffic along the Ake Palace and Isale Ake area, Mr. Ramoni Olowokere, the president of Ibara Youth for Dimeji Bankole Organisation,  said the youth constituent of Abeokuta South after reviewing the achievements of Bankole as a representative and as Speaker of the House of Representatives  unanimously decided to endorse him for another term of office as their representative.
He said: “Bankole have fully represented the youth and other constituents of Abeokuta South and as they say we have no intention of changing a high scoring player in our constituency.”
Olowokere stated.
The president of the youth organization said that Abeokuta South is noted for producing first class citizen in Nigeria adding that Bankole is the true face of Abeokuta in Nigeria today.
“In terms of constituency projects and empowerment of youth Bankole have attracted multi_ billion Naira projects to Ogun state like the completion of Ota Bridge, Adatan Road as well as on_going bridge across Ogun River and an airport in Abeokuta” Olowokere stated adding that his major achievements for the youth include over 6000 scholarship for indigent students as well as the building of an administrative block, male and female hostel worth N200million at University of Agriculture Abeokuta.
Also speaking at the occasion, Alhaji Dare Gbolahan  a former LGA chairman of Abeokuta South and a member of the board of National Women Commission, stated that so far Bankole is the best candidate available for the position of a representative adding that the constituency will always present its best candidate at the federal level and not any second eleven or reserve player.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com
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Panel invites ex-Gov Oni over ‘missing’ 593 cows

Ado-Ekiti—A panel recently raised by Ekiti State Government to assess abandoned and ongoing projects has invited  the ousted government led by Engr Segun Oni in the state  to come and explain the whereabout  of   593 cows out of the 700 cows imported  to the state’s dairy farm at Ikun Ekiti during his regime. The Oni led administration had in early 2009  imported 700 cows at N1 million each from South Africa amidst fanfare claiming that the cows were imported to produce milk for pupils in public schools and provide beef for the people of the state at cheaper rates.
Briefing newsmen weekend in Ado Ekiti shortly after the end of the visit to the dairy farm , the chairman of the panel, Mr Ranti Adebisi,  said his panel was able to see  just 107  out of the 700 cows in the farm, noting that the ousted administration may have mismanaged the farm.
The RATF Chairman, said if Oni was unable to give a satisfactory answer to the whereabout of the cows that he would be compelled to pay damages over the alleged mismanagement of the dairy over which his administration spent hundreds of millions of naira without a tin of milk to show for their importation.
The panel boss said Oni and other officials connected with the importation of the cows must be made to explain why only 107 cows are left in the dairy farm out of the 700 imported from South Africa early 2009.
Adebisi also disclosed  that the state  governor, Engr  Kayode Fayemi, has ordered that the remaining 107 cows be sold out to interested buyers to save them from dying of starvation.
Besides, Adebisi also demanded that all contractors and consultants of the dairy farm project be summoned to come and explain their roles in the importation of the cows which were brought to the site to be starved to death.
While expressing deep regrets about the state of health of the remaining 107 cows, Adebisi maintained that all the officials of the sacked administration must be called to question to prevent a repeat of such mismanagement and waste of public funds.
The massive death of the cows has heightened fears of epidemic and other heath hazards in Ikun community which is now overtaken with horrible odour emanating from the decomposing cows.
The supervisor in charge of the farm, Mr Yaya Idris  was said to have  explained to the team that the Oni_led government abandoned the farm to the extent that some time, throughout a month, the cow would not be fed while no medication for them.
All these, Idris explained, resulted in their untimely death saying there was a time that the death of the cows became a daily occurrence owing to the neglect of the ousted administration.
“We have invited the former governor to come and see things for himself, but he has refused to come. He did not bother about how this  place was being run” Idris said.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com
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Nine years after, progressives honour Ige

 Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige

Nine years after his murder by unidentified persons, progressive politicians on Sunday converged on the Esa-Oke, Osun State hometown of a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige (SAN), where they paid tributes to his memory.

The National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande, led many other politicians, included Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to the tomb of the departed politician in the family house known as Solemilia Court to offer prayers for the repose of his soul.

Akande, who attended a remembrance service held at the Saint Paul’s Anglican Church, Esa-Oke, said Ige’s political disciples would not depart from the philosophy of selfless service.

The deputy leader of pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, was murdered in his Bodija residence in Ibadan on December 23, 2001, while serving as the AGF in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Chief Iyiola Omisore, and some other politicians arrested for alleged involvement in the murder were set free by the court.

While in prison custody, Omisore ran for the Osun East senatorial seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and won.

Speaking at the tomb, Aregbesola said Ige’s killers had not been able to silence his ideals, stressing that the late Yoruba leader was victorious in death.

The governor said, “Uncle Bola Ige may no longer be physically present here with us, his spirit is alive. His ideas are living. Uncle has proved to us that even in death, there is victory.

“There is victory in death and that victory is scored when an individual devotes his life to the development and advancement of his people, his community, his country. Whenever he drops dead, the world will always remember him. That means he is victorious even in death.”

Aregbesola said if Ige were still alive, he would have supported the plan by Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states to develop a joint railway project, assuring that the ideals of the defunct Western Region would be re-enacted by progressives in the South-West.

Among dignitaries at the ceremony were Ige’s eldest son, Muyiwa; daughter, Funso; the Chairman of the ACN in Osun State, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; a former member of the House of Representatives, Prof. Sola Adeyeye; an ACN chieftain, Mr. Ayo Afolabi, and Mr. George Adedeji. Read more...

8 Americans killed in a bus crash in Egypt

 CAIRO - A tour bus slammed into a truck in southern Egypt on Sunday, killing eight Americans and injuring 21 others in the latest fatal crash involving tourists, the state news agency said.

The tour bus that was involved in an accident in Abu Simbel, Aswan about 879 km (546 miles) south of Cairo, is seen Dec 26, 2010. [Photo/Agencies] 

The bus was taking a tour group on the 115 mile (185 kilometer) journey from Aswan to the ancient temples of Abu Simbel along Lake Nasser, when it ran into the truck carrying sand parked on the side of a single lane desert road, killing six women and two men.

The Egyptian driver and a guide were also injured in the accident.

Egyptian security officials said the hurt Americans were first transferred to a military hospital for treatment and then 10 of the injured, including two Egyptians, were airlifted to a hospital in Cairo.

An official of Misr Sinai Tours, which was running the bus service, said the accident occurred around dawn while it was still dark about 13 miles (22 kilometers) outside of Aswan.

The official said the bus, containing 37 passengers, was part of a larger tour of 116 American tourists traveling in three buses.

The other buses did not continue on to Abu Simbel, and instead returned to Aswan, he said, declining to be identified.

The US embassy in Cairo confirmed that the injured are being moved by military transport to Cairo, but said in a statement that it didn't have any further information on the accident or those involved.

The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, known for its four colossal statues, was built during the reign of Ramses II and was dedicated to the god Amun. It is considered one of the most beautiful ancient monuments in Egypt.

Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic rules, and crashes involving tour groups are not uncommon.

Last month, eight foreign tourists were killed when their tour bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding mountain road near a resort on Egypt's Red Sea coast, while in October six Belgian tourists were killed in a crash in the south.

Following last month's accident authorities closed several travel operators after complaints of inadequate safety measures and bad driving.

Misr Tours is a joint stock investment company and one of Egypt's leading full service ground operators.

An estimated 8,000 people die in car accidents annually in Egypt.

 

John Vanderveen, 77, and his wife Helen, 73, both from the US, rest in a hospital in Cairo Dec 26, 2010, after being involved in a road accident.

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

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Indelible pains: Sri Lankans commemorate vicitims in 2004 tsunami

 

A Sri Lankan woman commemorates the victims of the December 2004 tsunami, offering flowers, prayers and alms during a special ceremony to mark the six-year anniversary in the southern coastal town of Peraliya on December 26, 2010. Organisers had also restored a train that was damaged during the Boxing Day tsunami for a special journey to Peraliya, that included safron-robed Buddhist monks chanting prayers for hundreds of train passengers who perised when tidal waves slammed the carriages. Some 31,000 people died in the South Asian tsunami, while a million left homeless when tidal waves hit the tropical island's coastal lines. 

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Winter storm leads to flight cancellations at NYC-area airports

Passengers leave the John F. Kennedy International Airport as snow falls in New York, the United States, Dec. 26, 2010. A blizzard hit New York on Sunday, causing flights delay or cancellation.

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Christmas night in Toronto

 
The photo taken with a long expoure on Dec. 25, 2010, shows a bus goes by a house lit with Christmas decorations in Toronto, Canada, Dec. 25, 2010. 

The photo taken on Dec. 25, 2010, shows a house lit with Christmas decorations in Toronto, Canada, Dec. 25, 2010.

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Cote d'Ivoire's Ouattara calls on citizens to go on strike: report

Peacekeeping personnels of the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire patrol in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on Dec. 25 2010. Cote d'Ivoire's Laurent Gbagbo has rejected a warning by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that force might be used to make him give up power, media reports said Saturday. Gbagbo was backed by the country's Constitutional Council, while Ouattara has the support of the electoral commission.


The party of Cote d'Ivoire's Alassane Ouattara called on citizens to go on strike till Laurent Gbagbo's stepping down, media reports said Sunday.

Cote d'Ivoire's opposition coalition Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace party (RHDP) issued a statement urging people to go on strike from Monday, reports said.

Cote d'Ivoire has been trapped in a political impasse since the landmark presidential run-off held on Nov. 28. Both the incumbent Gbagbo and opposition leader Ouattara claimed victory and swore themselves in as president of the country, and formed their respective government.

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Aquiculture farmers make dried fish products

 

An aquiculture farmer airs fish in Zhuji City of east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 26, 2010. The best time to harvest fish in Zhuji started in the last ten-day of December, and many fish farmers would like to salt and air their fish to make dried fish products. 

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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World Super Model Contest China Champion Final held in Chongqing

 

A contestant takes part in the Blue Sword-Viee Cup 2011 World Super Model Contest China Champion Final in southwest China's Chongqing, Dec. 26, 2010

Source:http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Ex-NBA boss assassinated in Ogun

The immediate past chairman of the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Erasmus Baderinwa, has been murdered.

Baderinwa was reportedly shot dead close to his residence in Mowe, Ogun State, on December 22.

The development came just as the family of a late female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Sylvia Shinaba, announced the deceased‘s burial plans.

Shinaba drowned last Thursday at Oniru Beach, Lagos, while trying to save her receptionist, Ms. Victoria Odunaiya, who was struggling with the waves. They had both gone for Shinaba’s chambers’ end-of-year party.

Our correspondents gathered that Bolarinwa’s assailants drove his car away. The Lagos Branch of the NBA through its chairman, Mr. Chijioke Okoli, has called for investigation into his death, saying his assassination signified ”the total collapse of the security apparatus of the Nigerian State.”

Shinaba‘s family said burial arrangements for the deceased SAN would begin on December 30 with a Service of Songs while lying in state and interment will hold on December 31.

Meanwhile, prominent lawyers, including Mr. Emeka Ngige(SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, Ms. Ayo Obe, Carol Ajie, and Mrs. Stella Ugboma, have extolled the virtues of Shinaba, saying that her demise was a great loss to the legal profession.

Ngige said, “I knew Sylvia Shinaba (nee Ekpo) when she was a junior counsel with Kehinde Sofola Chambers in the mid 80s. She was a real tiger at the Bar, a very brilliant lawyer, very erudite and yet very friendly. She brooked no nonsense and was an epitome of discipline. It was no wonder she later became the chairperson of FIDA Nigeria.”

For Falana, “The deceased was a brilliant lawyer. It is a big shame that on a yearly basis people get drowned on Lagos beaches due to failure of government to provide lifesaving jackets. I hope that the NBA will take advantage of this unfortunate incident to demand that all the beaches in the country are equipped with lifesaving jackets.”

Obe, who is a former President of Civil Liberties Organisations, said, “I remember Shinaba from her early days in practice, starting out with Kehinde Sofola and Co. I remember her darling little daughter whose birth came just soon enough after mine for us to exchange tips. We are all so very sad but what a noble end.”

Ajie said, “The sad news has just been broken to me by a colleague. She (Sylvia) was a rare breed, brilliant, dedicated, committed learned friend. Even in death, she took the risk to help humanity. She was a shining legal star and held her own particularly as a distinguished member of the Census Tribunal, Abuja where she gave rulings that the brightest of lawyers found unimpeachable.”

The International President of FIDA, Mrs. Stella Ugboma, said Shinaba‘s death was a sad way to end the year, adding that the deceased was a lawyer who handled many probono cases.


Source:punchng.com
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House of Reps broke – Investigation

 

Hon. Speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole

The House of Representatives may be broke as findings indicated on Sunday that it had become difficult for the House to render services, including the funding of committee operations.

The leadership of the House has, however, described claims that it is battling a financial crisis as “impossible.”

Among the worst-hit by the development are the 11 reinstated members of the House who were suspended on June 22.

Investigations by THE PUNCH on Friday showed that seven of the reinstated lawmakers had not been paid their salaries and allowances, which accrued since June when they were suspended, allegedly owing to lack of funds.

Five of the seven, Mr. Dino Melaye, Mr. Solomon Awhinawhin, Mr. Anas Adamu, Mr. Bitus Kaze and Mr. Independence Ogunewe, had on Thursday, filed contempt charges against the leadership of the House for failing to pay their salaries and allowances.

THE PUNCH, however, learnt that the leadership was warned about how to source funds to offset the salaries and allowances.

Each member of the House officially takes home N28m every three months as “quarterly allowance”, excluding the monthly salary of around N1m.

This implies that each lawmaker receives at least N10m every month (salary and allowances).

Findings indicated that for the two quarters (six months) that the 11 lawmakers were on suspension, their accrued salaries and allowances stand at N660m.

It was gathered that owing to the financial crisis, only four of the 11 lawmakers reportedly received part payment of their salaries and allowances before the House proceeded on Christmas break on December 21.

Sources in the bureaucracy of the National Assembly claimed that Mr. Ehiohie West-Idahosa and Mr. Gbenga Onigbogi were paid about N25m each.

Two others, Mr. Austin Nwachukwu and Mr. Gbenga Oduwaiye, reportedly received about N16m each, leaving huge balances yet to be paid.

The four did not challenge their suspension in court but preferred to seek pardon by apologising to the House over their roles in the event that led to June 22 free-for-all on the floor of the House.

It was learnt that the five lawmakers led by Melaye and two others — Ms. Doris Uboh and Kayode Amusan — were yet to be paid as at Friday.

One of the sources in the National Assembly bureaucracy attributed the financial crisis in the House to the alleged decision of lawmakers to “collapse and share” all the funds budgeted for the running of the House in 2010 across board.

The source, who is a senior management official, confided in our correspondent in Abuja that, “The truth is that there is not enough money in the accounts of the House.”

He said, “They (lawmakers) have drawn and spent nearly all their votes and that is why they are having problems with those members suspended who were reinstated by the court.

“Trouble is brewing there (at the House) because even if they collapsed the accounts, they ought to have known that they must set aside the salaries and allowances of the suspended lawmakers.

“Except if they had concluded that the suspension was indefinite and they did not envisage the lawmakers bouncing back through the court.

“I strongly feel that their inability to honour the court decision is because there is no money to clear the outstanding salaries and allowances.”

But the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Labaran Dambatta, denied that the House was broke

Dambatta, who told our correspondent that he had been paid his December salary, added that it was impossible for anybody to say that there was no money in the accounts of the House.

“How can the accounts be in the red? It is not possible”, he claimed.

When asked why the reinstated lawmakers had not been paid their salaries and allowances, Dambatta replied, “I would not know really. It is an individual thing.”

According to him, that the majority of lawmakers has been paid and some excluded does not mean that the House has no money.

“Even if two of you operate accounts in the same bank, one person may be paid and another one may not be paid; it has to do with the individual”, he added.

The spokesman for the House, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, is out of the country, while several calls to the mobile telephone of the Majority Leader, Mr. Tunde Akogun, were not answered.

When contacted on Sunday, Melaye confirmed that the reinstated lawmakers had not been paid their salaries and allowances.

“That is why we went to court; if we have been paid, why did we go to court?” he asked.

Source:punchng.com

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Dimeji Bankole denies plan to defect to ACN

 Dimeji Bankole

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, on Sunday ruled out the possibility of defecting from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the Action Congress of Nigeria.

Bankole made the denial following the speculations that he and 70 other members of the PDP in the lower house were contemplating dumping the PDP for ACN.

The Speaker, who spoke with reporters shortly after accompanying Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State to attend a Christmas service at the Rev. Mellor Methodist Cathedral Church, Agbowa, Sagamu, also predicted total victory for the PDP in the 2011 general elections.

Responding to journalists’ questions on his plan to defect, Bankole simply retorted, “Me? ACN koo, ACN ni.”

He said the PDP would perform well at the forthcoming election in spite of the challenges confronting the party.

He described the crisis in the Ogun State chapter of PDP as “a challenge that has been overcome,” and expressed confidence that the party was now more formidable than before.

Earlier in his remark, Daniel commended the Speaker for giving a good account of himself in piloting the affairs of the House of Representatives.

The governor, who also spoke on the virtues of Christmas, urged Nigerians to demonstrate love, unity and work for the stability of the nation.

The joint attendance of Daniel and Bankole is considered by some political observers as an indication that the state PDP is putting its house in order ahead of the 2011 poll.

Source:punchng.com
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2011: President Goodluck Jonathan campaign group disowns document

  President Goodluck Jonathan

Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation on Sunday disowned a document containing President Goodluck Jonathan’s alleged plan to rig the Peoples Democratic Party primaries and 2011 elections.

The group, in a statement in Abuja by its Director, Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mike Omeri, said the document was circulated by a PDP presidential aspirant, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

But the Atiku Campaign Organisation, which circulated the document to journalists, insisted that Jonathan planned to rig the primaries and elections.

It said the document was prepared by the GSCO.

The Media Director of Atiku Group, Mallam Garba Sheu, said, “What we are trying to do is to bring the entire document to the understanding of the all stakeholders, local and international.”

But the Jonathan group said, “We totally deny ownership of this sinister document being circulated by the Atiku Campaign and challenge it to prove its veracity to Nigerians.”

The group recalled that on Friday, it raised the alarm over a sinister campaign by the AACO to smear the image of the President.

It said the AACO had circulated a 141-page document to some media houses purporting it to be the campaign strategy of the GSCO to manipulate the PDP presidential primaries.

It said it was surprised that some newspapers ran a story last Saturday in the AACO’s spokesman confirmed that it had such a document in its custody.

“This admission by Malam Garba shows clearly how desperate the Atiku Campaign and its principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have become in their burning desire to fly the presidential flag of the PDP in the general elections next year.

“These are interesting political times, and as we have seen, some politicians have become so desperate that they are prepared to do anything, including shedding the blood of Nigerians to achieve their political desires.”

The group, therefore, urged the media to be vigilant and ensure fairness and balance.

The GSCO said, “For the avoidance of doubt, we do not need to plan to manipulate a process that already clearly points to our success. As a campaign group, we are doing everything lawfully possible to win the January 13, 2011 presidential primaries of the party.

“We have identified and are engaging with the delegates to the primaries. We have visited 32 of the 36 state branches of our party to engage with the delegates; and President Jonathan has personally gone to four of the six geopolitical zones to meet with the delegates.”

It said that 21 out of the 26 PDP governors and all the six geo-political zones of our party had endorsed Jonathan.

The group added, “We as a disciplined campaign organisation cannot engage in actions that could undermine the electoral policy of our principal. President Jonathan has stated severally that he is committed to conducting the freest and fairest elections in our country.”

The document contains an alleged elaborate formula for the Jonathan campaign to undermine members of the opposition, compromise pro-democracy NGOs, religious leaders, electoral officials and security agencies.

The document also lists how alleged PDP operatives in each zone will be deployed to ensure Abubakar’s defeat in the primaries. Also, the document states that Abubakar’s business interests in Nigeria will be shut as a means of weakening his access to funds.

Source:punchng.com

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Three armed robbers to die by hanging

A High Court sitting in Ota, Ogun State, on Friday convicted three persons to death by hanging for armed robbery.

The convicts were sentenced in accordance with Section 1(2) A of the Robbery and Firearms Special Provision Act Cap 211 laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The three convicts: Segun Oduanayo, Kazeem Akintunde and Ahmed Salami were arrested on December 21, 2006, while robbing a family at Saka Iroko Town in Sango, Ogun State.

The three convicts in the case of the State versus Oduanayo and two others were sentenced to death by hanging by the High Court two sitting in Ota, presided over by Justice A. O Asenuga.

The convicts, who robbed the family on December 21, 2006, were armed with guns, machetes, and knives among others.

They had dispossessed the family of N697, 000 and their mobile phones before two of them were caught within the vicinity of the crime scene.

It was gathered that while Akintunde and Salami were arrested within the area, their confessional statement led to the arrest of Odunayo.

The convicts’ lawyer was Mr. David Ojo, while Mr. Olumuyiwa Ogunsanwo, stood in for the state.

In his judgment, Justice A. O Asenuga, said the court carefully weighed the charges against the convicts before arriving at the judgment.

“After weighing the evidence adduced by the prosecutions vis-à-vis the confessional statement of the accused, the court has come to the conclusion that the accused persons committed the crime and so they should die by hanging,” he said.

After the judgment, one of them broke down in tears as they were being led out of the court premises by the prisons‘ officials.

Also in a case of alleged rape involving Jones Attah slated for judgment, Asenuga said the judgment could not be read because the suspect was released by the Chief Judge during a prison visitation a day before the judgment.

But Ogunsanwo urged the court to give the judgment in the absence of the accused despite his release.

Attah was charged for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl (name withheld) and has been standing trial since 2005.

Source:http://www.punchng.com
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Police begin crack-down on users of fireworks

 

Police begin crack-down on users of fireworks

The Lagos State Police Command said it has launched a manhunt for those who sell and buy fireworks, especially bangers.

The police said users of bangers and other fireworks in the state must first apply to the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, and get permission before using them.

Spokesman of the command, Mr. Frank Mba, said the measure became imperative in order to monitor the security situation in the state throughout the Yuletide and New Year celebrations, as well as save the police from wasting much time and manpower on false distress calls.

Mba said criminal elements often operated where bangers were freely used, adding that the people would subsequently find it difficult to differentiate between sounds of guns and bangers. He added that in such cases, the robbers often went scot free.

He said,”It is not only that; we have had many cases where people call the police and on getting there, our men discovered that what the distress callers were calling robbery operation were just some youths throwing bangers and other fireworks.

“There is also health hazard involved in this thing. Some old people have suffered health problems thinking that robbers are after them, whereas it was just sound of bangers they were hearing. If people must use bangers and other fireworks, let them apply to the command. They should state why, where, when and how they want to use the fireworks and then the police will know what is going on in that area.”

The police spokesman also said that the CP had ordered massive deployment of marine policemen to beaches in the state till the New Year. “This is meant to prevent drowning, sudden and unnatural death,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mba said that three cases of road accidents were recorded in the state during the Christmas period.

“In all, four persons died, while about five others sustained injuries. The cases are under investigation,” Mba said.

Source:http://www.punchng.com

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