President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the inclusion of 3,642 ex- Niger Delta militants in the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The new figure brings the total number of ex-militants undergoing reformation under the programme to 30,000.

It was learnt that the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, had forwarded a memo to the President seeking his approval for inclusion of more ex-agitators in the programme.
The President was said to have approved Kuku’s request on Thursday and also instructed that the demobilisation exercise at the Obubra camp, Cross River State should commenced immediately.

Investigations revealed that the Amnesty Office had been making moves to reopen the Obubra camp.

It was learnt that the Federal Government granted inclusion of youths from five agitating groups in the programme.

They are 500 hundred youths were taken from the Itsekiri National Youth Council, 100 from the group led by the late John Togo and 200 from Lato group in the Bakassi Peninsula.

Others are groups of 200 and 842 from communities severely impacted and polluted by oil production activities in the region.

Youths from the Niger Delta, who were not included in the programme, had been called on Jonathan to include them in a third phase of the programme.

Kuku, who doubles as the Chairman of the Amnesty Programme, said there was no room for a third phase of the programme.

Head of Media and Communications of the Amnesty Office, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, he said he was at a meeting when our correspondent called him on the telephone for his reaction to the story.

However, when our correspondent called him an hour after, the repeated calls placed to his mobile telephone line indicated that it was either switched off or in an area outside network coverage. http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-approves-3642-ex-militants-inclusion-in-amnesty-programme/

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, insists the Federal Government alone cannot successfully address the security challenges facing the country.

Speaking during a Citizens Forum in Ilorin on Thursday to mark the end of the National Good Governance Tour in Kwara State, the minister said to address the security challenges, there was the need for collaborative efforts.

He urged traditional rulers to ensure the safety of lives and property in their areas.

Maku said, “No development can take place in atmosphere of insecurity.That is why I’m worried about the North because we are far behind.

“We need to work harder for the security of lives and property in the country. If we do not to this, we will not be able to achieve the objectives of accelerated development.

“We therefore solicit the cooperation of traditional rulers working with local government chairmen and the communities under the leadership of the governor to secure every state.

“The challenges we face in the North are challenges that can only be solved in a cooperative approach and this is the what the Federal Government is doing with the governors.”

The minister lamented that corruption had permeated all segments of the Nigerian system, calling for a national reorientation.

He regretted that many public officials were under intense pressure from their communities to splash cash, saying this had contributed to corrupt practices in the country.

Maku said, “In the country we have a major issue with proper management of resources. That issue cuts a across all sectors, even the private sector. Corruption is something that the country must defeat because so long as resources are not properly utilised, we cannot realise the objectives of government’s investments.”

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said insecurity was not peculiar to Nigeria.

However, he said the country must surmount its security challenges. Ahmed identified poverty and corruption as the major challenges confronting the country.

The governor said, “We should know that we have a common enemy and they are poverty and corruption. We must put our hands together and fight them.

“When we talk of corruption, people keep looking at those in government, governors, commissioners, ministers.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/fg-alone-cant-solve-insecurity-maku/

Federal Road Safety Corps has condemned the plan of Lagos State not to allow commercial and private vehicles without the state number plates to operate in the state.

Our correspondent however learnt on Thursday in Abuja that the management of the corps was not pleased with the position of the state on the issue.

A senior corps officer said the state was trying to provoke what he called avoidable crisis with the Federal Government and the FRSC, pointing out that the issue would “cause more problems than expected.”

“This move by Lagos is purely a revenue-driven policy, but it will cause more problems for motorists if other states adopt it, ” he said.

FRSC however, said it would soon make its position known on the plan of the Lagos State Government.

The corps stated that it would study the policy as enunciated by the state and make its stand known on the issue.

Deputy Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, said the Corps Marshall, Osita Chidoka was currently in Ghana attending the annual conference of West African Traffic Agencies and he has not had time to study the new directive.

“We (FRSC) will make our position known on the matter as soon as the Corps Marshall studies it. He is presently attending the annual conference of theWest African Traffic Agencies in Ghana and he is yet to study the statement made by the state government; be rest assured that we will make our stand known soon,” Kazeem said over the phone from Ghana.

Lagos State Government had on Wednesday advised residents with private vehicles to change to the state’s number plates to reflect the fact that they live in Lagos.

The Director, Vehicle Inspection Office, Mr, Gbolahan Toriola, said the measure was meant to achieve “sanity, standard, safety and security” as stipulated by the road traffic law.
http://www.punchng.com/news/frsc-faults-lagos-policy-on-number-plate/

True talk..... Dese Govs collect security votes and they re chief secuirty officers for their respective states, same applies to Local Govts chairmen and our legislators with various constituency allowances, dey all must take reponsibilities and be ready to work hand in hand with Mr President because dey re his eyes in deir respective capacities.

HMMM....... nice one

Residents of AMAC Housing Estate, located in Angwansawa Village, a suburb of Abuja were recently shocked to their marrows following the discovery of kidnappers’ den right inside a sitting room by the Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the command after a tip-off from the concerned residents.

It was gathered that men of the SARS invaded the kidnapers’ hideouts following the kidnapping of a nursing mother who was identified as Justina Uwakwe, by a four-man gang right in front of her residence.

Report says that the kidnappers blindfolded Uwakwe , tied her legs and sealed her mouth and zoomed off to their den through the jungle.

The victim was held hostage for six days by her captors who vowed not to let her go until the husband pays a ransom of N25million.

Further investigation revealed that some crème de crème of the society who were abducted in the Federal Capital were always kept in the tunnel (a pit dug inside the kidnappers’ sitting room and usually covered with a slab and carpet.)

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) FCT Abuja, Mr Usman Alkali, the command was informed by residents of the area about the dug pit at the Housing Estate where the kidnappers usually keep their victims. The police boss disclosed that following the tip-off, he ordered the Commander of SARS, Ibrahim Saidu, to lead the team to the village where they discovered the hideouts of the kidnappers and engaged them in gun battle. He added that two of the kidnappers escaped while nemesis eventually caught up the with two others.

His words, “We were able to discover four houses including the gang leader’s residence where they built an underground tunnel and covered it with slab and rug right inside their sitting room”.

Meanwhile, while narrating her story, Mrs Justina Uwakwe said “It was like a drama . I was driving my car into the compound when suddenly, I saw four men wearing masks around 7.30 pm. They told me to lie down and that I should co-operate with them. They jumped inside my car and took me away. They dragged me through the bush and told me that I should cooperate. They covered my face and tied my legs and I noticed that they took me inside one room and thrown me inside a tunnel (pit) and it with a slab and rug. “ I spent six days inside the pit and was being guarded by two men. I was fed with Indomie and pure wate,r at times once a day and at times, morning and night. They started demanding N25milion from my husband and telling him to pay the money on time. I told them that I am a mother of triplets. I started pleading with them. I prayed for them and they told me that I was very nice. They told me they didn’t collect money from my husband. On the seventh day, they took me to the bush and told me to find my way to the house,” she said.

Mr Roland Uwakwe, the victim’s husband said it was God that saved his wife from the claws of death, “ I received a call from the

They demanded N25million. I pleaded that I wanted to go round and look for the money as I raised N1.5m. I quickly went to report the incident at ACO- AMAC Estate Police Post which later transferred the case to Iddo police station before SARS took over the case,” he said.

“ Someone came to me and said that he knows one of the kidnappers . I took him to the officers at SARS and immediately they swung into action and arrested two of the kidnappers in their house.

“I was shocked . I saw the pit where they kept my wife for six days. She was released on the seventh day. In their confession, one of the suspects, Chibuzo Eze, said that they were four in number and that they built the pit in their room to serve as a cage for their victim.

He said: “It was through the kidnapping job that I built my house. We kidnapped the victim, Mrs Uwakwe and we covered her face and tied her legs and thrown her inside the pit and used a slab to cover it. She was there for six days before we released her on the seventh day,” he confessed.

Another suspect, Chibeze Ike, a native of Isu Local Government Area of Imo State confessed that: “We went into kidnapping when we didn’t have money. We told the victim to pray for us . She prayed for us and we didn’t succeed in collecting money from the husband. Our plan was that when we receive the money, we will give it to the leader of our gang who wanted to use it to travel to Ghana but we didn’t succeeded.” He added.

Still shocked and marveled over the discovery, the Angwansawa community leader Chief Thomas Kubari said he never knew such activities was going on the in the area: His words: “We couldn’t believe what we saw this morning. I know Chibuzo Eze very well. We didn’t know that they were into kidnapping and that they keep their victims in this community before they were exposed by the men of SARS. “They have been living in this house without paying rent for some time and I often saw the landlord running after them for rent. We thank SARS and we don’t want them to return to this community. We are peaceful people and we don’t want criminals in our midst,” Kubari aded.

Speaking on the incident, the officer-in-charge of SARS at the FCT Police Command, Ibrahim Saidu (SP), disclosed that when they got information, they immediately moved into action and urged the victim’s husband not to pay a dime as ramsom to the kidnappers. He stated, “We stormed their house and discovered a pit built inside their sitting room where they usually kept their victims. We learnt

Mrs. Uwakwe was there for six days before she was released on the seventh day.” Also, the landlord of the kidnappers territory, Mr Kanayo Obi, said he was shocked to learn that the men were using his house for dubious activities: “I only gave their sister my house, suddenly, they came around, and they refused to pay me one kobo since the beginning of 2012. They only paid me six months when they moved in, since then, they have refused to pay me again. I didn’t build an underground tunnel inside my house. They went and built the illegal pit and covered it and started keeping their victims there. He added

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/10/04/exposed-sars-discovers-kidnappers-den-inside-sitting-room/

Barely twenty-four hours after fresh rumours hit the media about the state of health of the First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan, claiming the she is suffering from uterine cancer, the Vanguard is categorically claiming that the First Lady has been discharged from the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, where it was believed that she had been for about a month.
The newspaper, however, is still unable to disclose the nature of the ailment for which she had been receiving treatment. However, according to the Vanguard, she reportedly left the hospital two days ago. They also claimed that doctors at the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden last week were reported to have told the media they had been in touch with Nigerian officials on Patience’s condition.
According to one of the doctors, who they claimed, spoke on condition of anonymity, “They wanted us to discharge Mrs. Patience Jonathan but we have notified the Nigerian government through its embassy here that we will not be able to discharge our patient at this time because her situation is not stable… We still need to monitor her very well before we can ask her to proceed on any long-distance trip.”
This seems to correlate with news that emerged in the media about the same time, that the First Lady would be accompanying the President on his trip to the USA, and that she would be back in the country in time for the Independence Day celebrations. Well, we do hope this one is true, and congratulations to the First Family.
http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/10/first-lady-discharged-from-german-hospital.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Kudos to GEJ and his media team for proving their crebility and shaming critics who re bent on pulling down his administration. Unfortunately and unknown to these self acclaimed oppositions in the veil of social crusaders,they wreck more havoc to d image of the nation before international communities by trying to heat up d polity unnecessarily and discredit the present administration. However, I also support criticisms but only when it is constructive.

he National Judicial Council (NJC) yesterday said it does not require President Goodluck Jonathan’s authority to reinstate Justice Ayo Isa Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal, noting that it has the constitutional powers to recall him.
This was contained in a reply filed by NJC’s counsel, Mr. Usman Isah, to a case instituted at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against Jonathan by eleven human rights activists challenging the continued suspension of Salami as PCA.

The NJC insisted through its lawyer that the power to recall suspended Salami solely and exclusively belonged to it without any recourse to the direction or authority of any other person outside the council including the President.

In an originating summons filed before the court, the group sought for the interpretation of the powers of the NJC vis-a-vis the powers of the President on the matter.

They also faulted Jonathan’s reappointment of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, on a permanent acting capacity without the constitutional approval of the NJC.

The presiding judge, Justice Adamu Bello, adjourned further hearing in the matter till Friday, December 4. http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/lead-stories/178049-jonathan-has-no-role-in-salamis-reinstatement--njc

As the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] began its senatorial mega rally today in Ikare-Akoko area of Ondo state, the former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, today described the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko an ingrate.

According to the Tinubu who is also the National Leader of ACN revealed how Mimiko received huge amount of money from him to get back his mandate from the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] at the election tribunal in 2009, but later betrayed him.

Tinubu who stated this while addressing the mammoth crowd of ACN supporters at the rally, said the judgement of God would soon come over Mimiko.

He said “Today, you have seen our candidate. You have seen someone who called himself Olusegun Mimiko. The judgment of God has come. This is a vote for the liberation of the Yoruba race. We don’t say anybody should not stay alone in the bush. This iroko will live alone in the bush. I urge you to sweep away poverty, sweep away hunger, and sweep away lack of water.

“I assisted Mimiko to retrieve his mandate in 2009. Four years ago, he came to me in tears. Mimiko came with two of my brothers, rolling on the ground. He begged us to rescue him. We don’t like Poverty Development Party [PDP]. They just stole our votes then. We said no. Yoruba will allow that. We are not betrayers. We fought the battle. Aregbesola was fighting his own. We fought in Ekiti and Edo.

“I gave Mimiko money and everything that he needed to fight the battle. We took his case overseas. The white people collected money from us. Do you think white men will do anything for free? But he is now saying that we did nothing for him. When he was afraid to come to Ondo state, we gave him a bullet-proof car. The Holy Bible says in Psalm 17 verse 13 that if you reward good with evil, evil will not depart from your house. I want you to use your votes to judge the case.”

He criticized Mimiko for kicking against the idea of the Yoruba integration, stressing that the Governor wanted to remove the people of Ondo from Afenifere.

His words “Look at how Lagos has been developed. If we come together, we can build a refinery. The refinery can produce hundreds of thousands of jobs. You must liberate yourselves”

Tinubu warned the police against partisanship, saying members of ACN in Ondo state were being arrested and detained indiscriminately.

His words: “I salute you policemen, but you should be careful. Stop being partisan; I know that some of you are good. I am from a police family and I don’t want to denigrate you. You have been arresting and detaining members of our party. Don’t force us to react. When you force us to react, it will be suicidal. When you are being paid from our consolidated account, we will not tolerate the indiscriminate arrest and detention of our members any longer. We have a peaceful rally here today. After we leave, we don’t want to hear about any negative story.”

He urged the people of the state to vote massively for the candidate of the party in the October 20 governorship election in the state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu [SAN].

According to him, there had been no development in the state in the last three years, stressing that Mimiko deserved no second term in office.

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/10/02/mimiko-ingrate-collected-money-betrayed-me-tinubu/

After weeks in hiding, the American man behind the anti-Islam film that sparked outrage across the Muslim world, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, has been smoked out and arrested by authorities, American media are reporting this morning.
Mr. Nakoula, 55, a Christian, originally from Egypt, was arrested Thursday for violating terms of his probation, authorities said.
He was taken into custody Thursday, Time.com quoted U.S. Attorney’s spokesman, Thomas Mrozek, as saying.
Mr. Nakoula is scheduled to be arraigned before a U.S. District Court Thursday (Friday morning in Nigeria) in a hearing that is closed to the media and the public.
The California man has been on probation after he was convicted for a 2010 federal check fraud that earned him a 21-month prison sentence.
Under the terms of his probation, he was barred from using computers or the Internet for five years without clearance from his probation officer.
But Mr. Nakoula broke the terms of his probation by masterminding the production of “Innocence of Muslims” (a blasphemous, anti-Islam film which portrayed Islam and its Prophet in bad light) and then uploading a 14-minute trailer to YouTube.
The film immediately sparked protests across the world, leading to the killing of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens and three other  U.S officials in Libya.
The officials were killed when armed protesters stormed the American consulate in Benghazi, shooting at the building and throwing homemade bombs.
In Nigeria, Muslims protested for days in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and other northern cities.
The film was initially thought to have been made by a certain Sam Bacile, who also uploaded the film to YouTube under that name.
But the AP has since determined that Bacile does not exist and that that it was Mr. Nakoula, who made the amateurish film.
He later acknowledged that he was involved with the movie, but claimed he only provided logistics and management.
The protest that erupted on September 11, two months after the film was uploaded to YouTube, led to the death of about 13 people around the world.
Apart from the four Americans killed in Libya, reports say four other people were killed outside the United States embassy in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
Tunisia recorded three fatalities; while Sudan had two.
An attack on two American-owned fast food joints in Lebanon also left at least one person dead, reports say.
Across the Middle East, security forces battled protesters with tears gas, stun grenade and rubber bullets.
The killings in Tunisia came after protesters breached the US embassy compound in the capital Tunis. The US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, also came under intense attack leaving one person dead. The UK and German embassies were also attacked in Tunis.
 
 http://premiumtimesng.com/news/101791-america-arrests-man-behind-anti-islam-film.html

The flooded portion of the Abuja-Lokoja highway which led to the closure of the road on Sunday has been recovered through the joint efforts of Gitto, Julius Berger and RCC construction companies. Consequently, the road was re-opened at about 7:45 pm yesterday, Special Adviser to the minister of works on media Tony Ikpasaja has said.  The Abuja-Lokoja highway, a major road that links the Federal Capital territory with many parts of southern Nigeria was closed to motorists on Sunday by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for safety reasons.
http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/lead-stories/177833-abuja-lokoja-road-re-opens
Hundreds of people travelling from the north to south and vice versa were trapped on opposite sides of the River Niger since Sunday. Passengers travelling to Abuja and other parts of the North now pay N500 to board an engine boat from Mpata area to Banda, where they board vehicles to Abuja.
Some motorists were said to have paid as much as between fifteen thousand naira to be ferried across with their vehicles.

Consequent upon the blockade of the highway, the FRSC gave alternative routes as follows: “vehicles coming from Lagos – Okene – Lokoja- Abuja should use Okene – Ajaokuta – Ayangba – Ankpa – Makurdi Lafiya- Akwanga- Abuja.

A statement from the office of the FRSC in Lokoja also said: “Those coming from the South-East should use Otukpa – Makurdi route. The ones from Abuja to Lokoja should use Akwanga – Lafiya- Makurdi – Ankpa – Okene down to Lokoja with massive deployment of personnel to the alternative routes to ensure free flow of traffic.”

The Minister of Works Arc Mike Onolememen on Monday said during his visit to the flooded location, promised Nigerians that the road would be recovered in three days.

He thereafter directed the three construction companies to work day and night to effect quick recovery of the road to reduce the agony of motorists.

Our correspondent who was at the Banda area of the road yesterday in company of the police observed Gitto, Julius Berger and RCC construction companies working to block the water and open the road.

One engineer with Gitto construction company, Ajani Adeyemo, told Daily Trust that work on the road would be completed last night so that motorists can continue their journeys.

Sector Commander of the FRSC, Muhammed Garba, said yesterday that the road will be re-opened as soon as the job is finished and the corps is satisfied that the road is safe.

Kogi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Muhammed Musa Katsina, said the command had deployed Marine Police to the area to handle water emergency issues.

He maintained that adequate security had also been provided for stranded passengers, vehicles and the construction companies working on the road.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said over 10,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Kogi and Benue states are currently taking refuge at different camps after they were sacked from their communities and homes by the floods.

The floods have also sacked hundreds of communities in Taraba, Edo, Bauchi, Jigawa and many other states, claiming lives and property worth billions of naira.

Meanwhile the Kogi State governor Captain Idris Wada yesterday said property worth over N40 Billion have so far been destroyed by the recent flooding in some local government areas of the state.

Wada stated this while taking stock and giving estimates of the damage the flood has done to over a hundred communities of about 2million people.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy Yomi Awoniyi, said the state is still taking inventory of the damage done by the flood, describing it as the worst in 76 years (Since 1936).

He said the actual cost of damage caused by the flood can only be ascertained when the flood would have receded, adding that the amount will likely double the present estimate.

He said the state government has put in place machinery to curtail the effect of the disaster on the people, especially the farm lands which have been submerged.

He said improved seedlings, insecticides, and tractors would be given to farmers free of charge to encourage farming of several variety of crops that may have been destroyed.

He assured the people that efforts by the Federal and State Government is on going to cushion the effects of the flood.

The court should should speed up the prosecution process and let the law take its full cause, after all el rufai has admitted that he actually revoked and allocated these lands/plots to his cronies and allies........abuse of office

Crisis looms at LG councils nationwide •Over joint accounts with states •Unable to execute projects

AMIDST calls for the scrapping of local government councils and criticisms trailing the unencouraging developmental strides at the rural level, investigations have indicated that unending controversy dogging states and councils' joint account has further stagnated healthy growth at the grass roots.

There have been hues and cries over the legality of the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), a financial platform between states of the federation and councils, alleged diversion of funds from such arrangement, deductions from local governments' allocations, under the guise of implementing capital projects by some state governors are fast turning councils to lame duck.

Besides, Nigerian Tribune authoritatively learnt that the tactical delay in the conduct of local government poll by some state governments and appointment of caretaker committee chairmen to pilot the affairs of local governments are part of the ploys by some governors to deplete the resources of councils in the country.

Our correspondents report that if the trend is not curtailed in time, socio-economic operations of large number of local governments may be grounded, while the current inability of some chairmen to pay their workers' salaries may linger for a while.

Checks indicated that the combination of revenue from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) and the statutory 10 per cent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that goes into the coffers of JAAC, is a clear cut stipulation within the framework of the 1999 Constitution.

But, the combined effects of the shortfalls in allocations accruable to states and councils from May 2012, health workers' special scale and the implementation of the new national minimum wage have made it extremely difficult for the third tier of government to effect prompt payment of salaries in recent months.

The development is already pitching the Nigeria Union of local Government Employees (NULGE) against some state governors, with the threat to embark on industrial action.

For instance, in Kwara State, while the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), led by Mr Adebayo Ishola, described as untrue allegation that the state government was extorting or collecting money from the 16 local government councils, NULGE is already mobilising its members to down tools over late payment of workers' salaries.

Reacting to the issue, the secretary of NULGE in Oyo State, Chief Joseph Oguntimehin contended that local governments were constitutionally guaranteed and recognised under Nigeria's constitution, but he insisted that JAAC, through which state governments allegedly fleece and stifle councils, should be criminalised by the National Assembly.

He said: "We are aware that governors are ganging up to further make local governments mere departments under the state governments. Already, constitution empowers them to create additional councils. Because they feed on council funds, they won't like the councils to be scrapped. Rather, they want a system where the councils will be mere appendages."

"Monthly allocations to all councils are published in the national dailies by the Federal Ministry of Finance. A local government got about N130 million recently and what eventually got to that council was less than N30 million. Where goes the remaining? If you ask, the governor would tell you the balance has been deployed to pay primary school teachers and so on," Oguntimehin lamented.

He continued: "What we are saying is that these councils should be allowed to pay the bills. There is a Supreme Court judgment which says funding of primary schools should be joint responsibility of states and councils. But they did not allow that verdict to take effect because the governors have turned themselves to alpha and omega in their respective states."

While warning that the development would culminate in the incapacitation of Nigeria's councils, Oguntimehin asserted: "The other angle to it is that they usually do not allow local government election to hold. How many states have conducted council poll since the last general election? They prefer to use caretaker chairmen, who are their stooges.”

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/lead-stories/48197-crisis-looms-at-lg-councils-nationwide-over-joint-accounts-with-states-unable-to-execute-projects-stakeholders-blame-govs-lg-bosses

Hmmmm, but omojuwa after casting aspersions on the integrity of the airline should ve allowed the issue to be settled amicably before going back to patronize the same airline.........can u now see.....the airline has taken a decisive step ....omojuwa can't publicly alleged it of theft and secretly still patronizing its services

yea.... there is available for market and the advantage of the population is also there

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, Tuesday freed 130 awaiting trial prison inmates of Kirikiri Prison, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
Justice Phillips, while exercising her judicial powers as enshrined under the criminal justice (release from prison) law of the federation 2007, said all the inmates released have been unjustly awaiting trial for upward of 12 years without trial.
She urged the inmates to be of good character as they reunite with their families and loved ones.
Justice Philips’ visit to the prisons and subsequent release of the 130 inmates is part of activities to mark the beginning of Lagos State 2013 legal year.
Deputy Comptroller General of the Kirikiri prison, Tinuoye Olumide thanked the Chief Judge for the gesture and pointed out that many of those released had no business being in the maximum section of the prisons where they were held.
Pleading with the Chief Judge to make such visit regular, Tinuoye said it was unfortunate that someone will be kept in the prisons by the legal system over suspicion of committing a crime for over 12 years.
He called on government to consider some form of compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/09/18/lagos-cj-frees-130-prison-inmates/

Concerned authority should do something quickly to alleviate the hardship on commutters

The Enugu State government in collaboration with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has embarked on conditional cash transfer to reduce poverty in the state, an official said.

Mr Godwin Ogenyi, the state’s Commissioner for Human Capital Development and Poverty Reduction, said this in an interview with newsmen in Enugu yesterday.

Ogenyi said it was an important programme aimed at reducing poverty among the chronic poor families in the state. He said the government would give monthly subvention to assist such poverty-stricken families.

According to him, nine households in each community will be selected from the 17 local government areas of the state, while one person will be trained in skill acquisition. (NAN)

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news/177039-enugu-embarks-on-conditional-cash-transfer

Kidnappers have freed Mr. Kelly Odaro, the Chief Press Secretary to Edo State Deputy Governor, Pius Odubu.

Odaro was reportedly released on Monday night in the state capital, Benin.

An unconfirmed report said his freedom came after the payment of a N1.5 ransom.

Odaro was kidnapped in front of his house in Benin on Saturday night.

The spokesman of the state police command, Anthony Airhuoyo, said he had no information on the matter.

He promised to make contacts and get back to our correspondents.

More details later.

http://www.punchng.com/business/kidnappers-free-edo-deputy-govs-spokesman/

THE last is yet to be heard on the rightful winner of the Bauchi Central constituency seat in the 2011 election into Bauchi State House of Assembly, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state has requested the state command of the Nigeria Police to investigate an allegation of certificate forgery levelled against member of the House representing the constituency, Honourable Yakubu Mohammed.

The April 2011 House of Assembly election in the constituency was won by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate, Abdulkarim Angale, but Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the electoral victory at the election tribunal, which declared him the winner of the election.

Following his loss at the tribunal, Angale filed criminal charges against Mohammed at the magistrate court, alleging that the lawmaker obtained a forged certificate. Based on this, the court asked the CPC candidate to seek INEC's consent before filing a criminal complaint against the lawmaker.

Subsequently, counsel for Angale asked the electoral body to investigate issue of certificate forgery against Mohammed, which prompted the INEC to write the state Commissioner of Police, Mallam Muhammed Ladan, to investigate the forgery matter.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/47749-forged-certificate-inec-requests-police-to-investigate-bauchi-lawmaker

Former Head of State and elder statesman, General Yakubu Gowon, has charged Nigerians to work towards evolving, in the soonest time possible, a common, indigenous language that will serve as a national language for Nigeria other than English Language.

General Gowon gave the charge in a patriot’s talk entitled: “Respect for National Symbols as Imperative for National Development” during the maiden National Symbols Day organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to honour the various symbols that represent Nigeria’s nationhood.

The elder statesman was of the view that language remained the most important national symbol for any nation and serves as a propeller of national development.

He further stated that without language, the realisation of most innovative thoughts would be impossible.

“Nigeria has not evolved a truly national language to preserve its plans and strategy for national development from the multiplicity of languages and dialects in the country. With over 250 languages and dialects in Nigeria, the best we can do is to record our achievements in English Language, which is the country’s official language. What this means is that we have to now, ever than before, accelerate the search for a national language, if we are to be competitive on the world stage,” he said.

The chairman on the occasion and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, disclosed that efforts were being made to procure and distribute massive numbers of the Nigerian flag to Nigerians across the country in preparation for the nation’s Independence Day celebration on October 1.

He said the flag should make Nigerians proud even as they must all be committed to dignifying it so as to re-ignite the love for the country.

The Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, who recalled the nostalgic feelings that used to be associated with Nigeria’s national symbols in the past, called for a return to the patriotic habit of proudly wearing clothes that reflect national colours.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/47758-gowon-tasks-nigerians-to-evolve-national-language

Nigeria’s economy has improved tremendously since the return to democracy, placing the nation among the global club of emerging middle-income economies, the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has said.
Maina however lamented that in spite of what she described as the impressive economic growth recorded over the years, the nation’s unemployment and abject poverty rate is on the increase.
The minister, who spoke in Kaduna yesterday at the zonal launch of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin) women programme, noted that women are creditable managers of resources, and that when empowered, the result will be impressive.
She added that the YouWin programme is aimed at facilitating women’s transition from informal to formal sector of economic development. She said the programme will also promote micro, cooperative enterprises and expand market. In his address, Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, urged women at all levels to be supportive of each other.
Earlier in her remarks, Commissioner for Women Affairs/ Social Development and coordinator North-West zone of YouWin Kaduna State, Mrs. Maria Dogo said the programme is designed to encourage young entrepreneurs.
She added that, 80,000-110,000 new jobs would be created for unemployed women and youths.

http://news.naij.com/8890.html

The Federal Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, had said that some of the federal roads in dilapidated shape would be fixed in the year 2013.

Onolememen gave this assurance while introducing Project Safe Passage during a meeting with Federal Government road project contractors across the federation.

According to him, the major pre occupation of the new initiative was to ensure that major bad roads in Nigerian were put in good shape before 2013.

He said: “In other words, Project Safe Passage would be considered as a contingency for failed sections of road alignments. Federal roads without subsisting contracts will be taken over by FERMA through its direct labour scheme for the implementation of Project Safe Passage,” The statement said.
Mr. Mike Onolememen
Like the many hundreds of human lives they have claimed, some roads in the country have equally consumed billions of naira without taking a good shape.

Yearly, the Federal Government allocates huge sum of money to fix roads such as the dreaded Benin-Ore Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Enugu PH road, Otukpo-Otukpa road and among others without any improvement.

From 2006 till date, the Federal Government has spent N18 billion to rehabilitate the road Benin Ore road, all to no avail.

It would be recalled that a certain day in 2008 when the then Minister of Transport Diezani Alison Madueke paid an on-the-spot assessment of the road,  she couldn’t help but broke down in tears, stressing, “Lagos-Shagamu-Ore-Benin Road is a clear picture of Nigerian  rejection of its responsibility to its citizens.  “The challenge for us is to act wisely in dealing with this matter. The errors had been made, but I think we can still correct the problem by looking for what will ensure a renewed government relevance not for self-serving or the good of a few but the good of all.”

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/09/15/federal-roads-repaired-2013-minister-works/

The price of beans has tripled in Lagos and its environs; now going for as high as N37, 000, as against the N13,000 it sold for per bag six months ago. The price hike was attributed to scarcity of the commodity as new beans had not arrived in the markets as it should around this time of the year.

The non-arrival of newly harvested beans has been attributed to flooding that ravaged parts of the northern states where beans are grown; as well as the security challenges in the country.

At the Mile 12 Market, a standard measure (mudu) of beans now sells for N1,200, as against N250 previously; representing more than a 300 per cent hike.

Magaji Haruna, the Secretary of the Beans Sellers Association of Nigeria, Mile 12 Market branch, said: “Our farmers, from whom we get the beans, are complaining that their farm produce have been destroyed by flood. We are selling according to how we buy. I can tell you that up till now, new beans are still very scarce and we are still selling beans harvested last year.”

Funke Ajayi, a beans buyer, complained that the hike in the price has forced her family to reduce consumption. “Now, instead of rice and beans, I better go for rice and plantain,’’ she said.

Mama Suara, a food vendor at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, lamented that it was becoming impossible to get beans in the markets. “I have to sell according to what I buy,” she said. “A spoonful of beans now sells for N50 as against N20 previously. My customers, who are complaining that what I am selling to them is too small, are now going for rice and plantain. You can imagine, before I could get two measures of beans for N2,500 last week, I had to beg, beg and beg.”

Reacting to the development, Umar Sokoto, the Sarki (Head) of Alaba Rago Market in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, attributed the high cost of beans in the market to the crises in Maiduguri and its environs; and advised the federal government to urgently address the situation as its ripple effects may worsen.

“The farmers are afraid of going to their farms; they are looking for hiding places everywhere because of bombings here and there,” he said. “If the situation is not checked, other grains may also become expensive. The price will go up again if the crises continue; so let peace reign so that the farmers can go back to the farms and produce more beans.”

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/09/14/scarcity-beans-hits-lagos-prices-triple/

Good kinsmen spirit, I also join the Bayelsans to wish our first lady speedy recovery

FG should keep and stick to these projects to a logical conclusion to better the lots Nigerians in niger delta region

Haba mallam.......thread gently and be cautious of statements that are untoward of a real statesman

Good Nigerians should pls come to the aid of the actress

Why is mallam el rufai making a u-turn of the person of GEJ now............ I am sure something is fishing

Religious and political instability are killers of industrial growth anywhere in the world, Government should help find a lasting solution to this upheavals in northerner Nigeria before our few performing industries are grounded

Innocent live has been lost......... Irrespective of reasons advanced...... Authorities and stakeholder need to be on top and correct anomalies in future