₦airaland Forum

There are indications that the Federal Government will impose stringent measures on private jet owners and charter aircraft operators to avert disaster in the general aviation section, investigation by our correspondent has revealed.

This, it was learnt, was the outcome of an emergency meeting between the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, and heads of the aviation agencies, with some top players in the aviation sector in Abuja last Wednesday.

The minister reportedly said at the meeting, which ended around 3am, that there was need to look deeply into the operation of the general aviation sector, which involves private and chartered aircraft.

Part of the measures, it was learnt, would include imposing heavy sanctions on any non-compliance with standard safety procedure.

A source at the meeting said the new arrangement would also forbid pilots of private and chartered jets from flying above the normal flying hours to avoid any accident occasioned by fatigue.

“So, nothing will be taken for granted in the general aviation sector now,” the source said.

The recent Naval Augusta crash in Bayelsa State, it was learnt, brought the issue to the front burner.

The development also followed the increasing number of private jets and chartered aircraft, including helicopters in the nation’s airspace.

Although the crash in Bayelsa involved a military aircraft, which Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Aviation had no regulatory power over, the civil aviation authorities saw the crash as a wakeup call and the need to focus more attention on the operations and activities of lighter aircraft, sources close to the ministry said.

It was also gathered that the recent private aircraft crash involving the Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, made development pertinent.

Consequently, it was learnt that government had decided that the ministry and the NCAA would henceforth pay more attention to the activities of airstrips, heliports, helipads, airports, private jets and chartered aircraft.

The ministry oversees airstrips while the NCAA oversees aircraft.

“Most of the people that own private jets in Nigeria are big people who ordinarily may not want to obey rules at times. But the minister said that the recent happening in the military circle was also a wakeup call for the civil aviation as well.

“It now means that the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority will be paying more attention to the operators of private and chartered jets/ helicopters in the country.”

The source added that the development could lead to a situation where some airstrips, helipads and helidecks would be re-examined or audited.

The general aviation sector in Nigeria has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years and stakeholders are happy that the sub-sector is attracting more foreign and local investors.

But an aviation industry analyst, Mr. Olumide and Ohunayo, said the latest development was not expected to retard this growth, rather it should strengthen it.

http://m.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1544058&l=3535e50fc8&id=259701504082765&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FLJcCEQN7&_rdr

Iaz93: My 72 virgins!

So you are a member of Boko haram. Okay nah

While making this insinuations, The French president should have also stated why he thinks so. What are the facts behind his insinuation? We need to know.
Also, the actiivities of that Frenchman that was kidnapped need to also be investigated. Has he at any time done anything or said something that could make anybody to be on his trail?

musiwa10: i just read the profile of one of your elected officer.. the university that person claim he went to.. Does not exist... and have never existed.

Who is the person? And which University is that?

Callotti: [b]While Christ may have taught that, only a happy, peaceful and content person can have a TRULY forgiven spirit. Yes, I am in line with God.

The reason my life is rich and fulfilling is because of my AGNOSTIC beliefs. Christianity would rob me of the simple joy of thinking. . . not to mention living.

I believe in a LIVE AND LET LIVE world.
Can Christianity offer me that? NO! The reason I can NEVER accept it.
It has nothing to do with 'others'. . .but what it can offer me. NOTHING.
Thanks dear. Just do your part and we shall all fulfill out purposes. . . .synergistically-speaking that is.
Most importantly, I'D RATHER DIE HAPPY DOING MY OWN THING, BY MY OWN RULES, than negotiate some form of 'salvation' that should HAVE BEEN FREE in the first place. I really do not with to claim an ofterlife of spiritual wealth I no absolutely nothing of. . . .at my own expense.
MY AGNOSTIC GOD UNDERSTANDS.

Many blessings to you dear. Thanks for your warm words. I enjoyed reading them.[/b]

Thanks for finding time to read and reply my post. I just chose these part of your reply which got my attention, and i need to clarify some issues you raised therein. As i said earlier which you confirmed, you were surrounded by people who misunderstood Christianity which gave rise to your present agnostic views. I would suggest you read the Bible and see stories of some influential and wealthy peple who believed in God. Also, we still have wealthy, happy, fulfilled believers living today.

Now back to the issues you raised in your reply, let me assure you that Jesus Christ offers a happy, fulfilling, peaceful and content life and cannot rob u of the simple joy of thinking and living.

Yes! Christianity Can offer you a world of LIVE AND LET LIVE
True Christianity does not believe in the "pull-him-down" (PHD) mentality, only hypocrites do.
You can chose to make a difference with your Christianity, you dont have to look at what others are doing, only the Bible is the true Word Of God. Even these Christian literature/books we have around, some of them mislead.

And finally, SALVATION IS ENTIRELY FREE! You don't negotiate or price or pay for it. Christ already paid for it with His blood which was shed on the Cross of Calvary. All you have to do is BELIEVE and CONFESS that JESUS IS LORD. That's all. Then leave the rest to the Holy Spirit to do (which include guiding your life, protecting you, directing your life in a way that pleases GOD AND NOT MAN, and making sure that all things work for your good).

Just continue to take good care of yourself okay, i'll keep praying for you.

Cheers!

Omo see figures! Well, I sincerely hope that all these figures would translate into improved standard of living for the average Nigerian, better infrastructures (medical, social, educational,etc) for us all.

These are religious boots who allow senseless fanaticism to cloud their reasoning. So because Yakowa was a Christian, that's why they are happy that he died. Na wa for poverty and illiteracy

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

@ Callotti, having gone through this thread, I think I admire you, but nevertheless, I still have some things to chip in ( as a fellow mature lady like you), especially as it concerns your religious beliefs. Hope you don't mind.

Hey! We all learn.
All for experience.
Forgiven. I remember you. You insulted me for absolutely no reason.
The computer makes us brave without knowing who sits behind it.
No wahala!

From this statement of yours, I can tell that you have a Christian heart. Forgiveness is a true Christian virtue which Jesus Christ taught us. For the fact that you can forgive, you are in line with God already.

I never cared for Christianity from my childhood, for it never made sense. I did not want to offend my parents. As soon as I could pay my own bills, I slammed the door on religion. Christianity confused the hell out of me.

Oh dear! I really feel your pain. Maybe you were then surrounded by mere Church goers who did not practice Christianity as led by the Holy Spirit.

Nairaland and other Nigerian message boards like NVS made me HATE Christians! The hypocrisy. The judgemental, holier-than-thou attitude! Nauseating!!! I could go on and on! I found real happiness when I became an Agnostic. I feel free and I have accomplished sooooooooo much without Christianity in my life!

Dear, you know what? You do not have to listen to anybody, let alone a biased hypocrite to understand Christianity. The Holy Bible is there for you to read! The Scripture says "do not be deceived, God is not mocked". I really feel bad that some people's attitudes scared you away from Christianity. My dear, I would still implore you to think twice about this agnostic thing. There are lots of things to benefit from being a Christian. You can still be rich, influential, high and mighty, etc. Afterall, The Bible says we shall be the head and not the tail. Christianity is not an excuse to be a low life! At all! Christianity cannot stop you from achieving your dreams, as long as they are in line with the divine will of God for your life.
See, as I am now, I'm a big babe, a socialite, academically up-there, etc. and I'm a believing Christian! I've met and interacted with real high and mighty peopke in the society who are true Christians. You can really see the Glory of God radiating in their lives.
You see! It's just that you allowed some people's hypocrisy and bigotry to cloud you, which I really feel bad about. Just know that Jesus loves you and wants you back to where you belong. Just go back to Him in prayer, He will surely listen to you. Also feel free to contact me okay.

Cheers love.

Who else but My Husband, the one and only Mr. Bera

Why are they toying with the wrath of God? They better repent. Is it not enough for them to practise homosexuality? Now they translate the Unbiased Word Of God to suit their sinful desires.
It's a pity

Chai! Dimkpa anaa! Laa n'udo Nwoke dimma

All Nigerians should be treated equally and there should not be preferential treatment.
But i heard that security forces are on the trail of both her kidnappers and those that kidnapped MR. Ihekwoaba.
Let's just believe in them and anybody that has any information should endeavour to give them any assistance or information which could help. No amount of information to the security agents is too little at a time like this.
What you think might not help may turn out to be the headway.
My worry is that they should please hasten up abeg.

In as much as this may likely be a publicity stunt by the "Primate", or may be, a true revelation (who knows?), I would still want to urge the President and his co to imbibe proper maintenance culture for his fleet, etc because a word is enough for the wise.

THIS GOES A LONG WAY TO TELL US THAT THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO BEAT THE LAW. IT MUST SURELY CATCH UP WITH YOU.
IT PAYS TO BE LAW-ABIDING, NO MATTER THE COST

This goes a long way to show how the spoilt brat was brought up by his parents. It's possible that there is no discipline in their home, if not, the boy wouldn't have dared to slap the soldier back.
The father/Pastor's response must have been well calculated first by him, because he knows that his response to the matter would definitely go public.

Popular Nollywood actor, Chinedu Ikedieze (MFR) known as Aki in movie circles, is a year older today. He was born December 1977 to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ikedieze Ogbonna.
The graduate of mass communication from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu (Nigeria), is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the African Movie Academy Awards.

Here’s wishing the successful actor a happy birthday.


http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/12/chinedu-aki-ikedieze-clocks-35-years-today-12-12-12.html/akii

hmmmm. waiting for more stories to unfold

make dem go do DNA test nah

I BET YOU, BY THE TIME WE DO THAT TO THEM HERE IN NIGERIA, THEY WILL WAKE UP. Because their rubbish has got too much.

The purported deregistration of our party, FRESH (Fresh Democratic Party) as announced by Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday, December 6, 2012 came to us as a rude shock, even though the commission only made good its long standing threat to embark on this undemocratic action against all rationale thinking and public opinion.

It is also an affront on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the decision of the Court of Appeal on the vexed issue.

We condemn and reject this unilateral and anti-democratic action which is designed to further shut out the opposition from the democratic space; and we would seek legal redress for this injustice in the court of law. It is obvious that the ruling party, the PDP is afraid of the growing stature and acceptability of our party and therefore uses this arm twisting tactic to remove our party from the list.

It is unheard of that a ruling party will unilaterally decide that the size, spread and strength of opposition parties should be the basis of their existence, when the constitution provides for freedom of association of groups or persons of diverse creed or political persuasions and philosophies.
You will recall that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division in an appeal filed by Peoples Redemption Party and others on the issue of registration stated succinctly and unambiguously that INEC had no power to refuse to register a party that has fulfilled the required constitutional provision; and by extension no power whatsoever to de-register a party that has fulfilled all constitutional stipulations.

At no time in our political history did those criteria formed the basis of party existence. It is, therefore, without precedent and should not stand.

The PDP cannot adjudicate in a matter in which it has a clear, vested interest. It cannot determine by force of its present numerical strength in the federal legislature to decide which parties it approves to be its opponent in electoral contests. To allow this unlawful deregistration to stand in this era of deregulation is to condone a perpetration of injustice by the ruling party against the opposition. It would amount to a tyranny of the majority.

It is widely acknowledged that the PDP’s majority was secured through a combination of scientific rigging and other fraudulent devices as the upturning of some of its ‘electoral victories’ at governorship levels have shown.

Moreover, INEC erred by refusing to base its decision on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria relying solely on the Electoral Act 2010, which runs foul and is inconsistent with the Constitution.

Every party is evolving. The young shall grow, as they say. A small party can grow into a big party over time. A regional party can, through mergers for instance, grow into a big national party. We have seen that happen everywhere including here in our beloved country. Our nascent democracy is only 13years old and the PDP is already writing off smaller opposition parties, which it obviously perceives as threats to its hegemony because of the strong personalities behind these parties.

The most the government could have done is to discontinue the funding of parties it deems ‘’weak’’ and see if they’d die a natural death. This option is open to INEC but it chooses to play the tune discharged by its piper- PDP. It should be noted that some of the parties, have a subsisting suit in court that challenges INEC’s decision on party deregistration , yet without regard for the rule of law, the commission went ahead to effect this illegality.

While pursuing the option of seeking justice, we urge our teeming supporters to remain calm. What we stand for is at the heart of the Nigerian project and it cannot be legislated out of existence.

 
Signed
Ladi Ayodeji
Director, Media and Publicity
FRESH

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/12/07/press-release-chris-okoties-fresh-rejects-purported-deregistration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=press-release-chris-okoties-fresh-rejects-purported-deregistration

ohemmanu: in ecology,ecologists try to understand migration patterns in animals e.g birds and fish etc.these animals move to certain regions of the world at particular periods in search of food,warmth or to produce their young ones.some birds from Africa migrate to europe let's say in the summer and move back in the winter cause of so many reasons.some fish specie live in fresh water but when they want to produce their youngs,they move to saltwaters.so in order for ecologists to study this movement pattern,they use tag.Hope i am of help

Thanks a lot

I vote for ITSMODELLA

She reminds me of Michelle Obama

I don't understand this tracking-bird-migration thing. Can someone plz explain?

Jarus: See your file:




We don't have anything to gain from banning anybody just for the sake of it. You must have done something.

And please stop inciting tribal sentiments, Mukina2 and I are the least concerned about where anybody comes from in our activities here. Mukina2 is not even a Nigerian.

For real? Where is she from plz? Are non-Nigerians allowed to come here and intimidate Nigerians?

Hi, there's an update on this Bode George matter here https://www.nairaland.com/1125585/all-africa-students-union-aasu

donroxy: Ok, end it

Pls what's ur point?

I DON'T KNOW HOW TRUE THIS STORY IS, BUT SAHARA REPORTERS HAS THIS TO SAY ABOUT THE PLANNED AASU AWARD TO BODE GEORGE

The All Africa Students Union (AASU) has disowned a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Party, Olabode George, saying it has no plan to confer any award on him.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES from AASU headquarters in Accra, Ghana, the Secretary General of the organization, Fred Awah, said reports of the award on Mr. George, an ex-convict, who recently served jail term for corruption, was “absolutely untrue, misleading and fraudulent.”

“It is clear there are elements dragging the name of our organization in the mud,” Mr. Awah said. “The Kwame Nkrumah African Leadership Award is a prestigious one and there are criteria for awarding it. At no time did we consider him (Bode George) for any award.”

Mr. Awah, who sounded livid on the telephone, said he was already planning to travel to Nigeria to meet with officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, with a view to identifying “the fraudulent elements” using AASU’s name to offer dubious awards to individuals for percuniary gains.

“What they have done is criminal,” he said. “We must expose and disgrace them so that others will learn.”

There have been reports in the media (not PREMIUM TIMES) that AASU, on the recommendation of NANS, had nominated the PDP chieftain as winner of its 15th edition of the Africa Leadership Award.

A certain Olufemi Lawson, described as the Nigeria representative at AASU and project co-ordinator of the award, reportedly announced Mr. Bode’s selection, saying the award would be conferred on him on December 12 at an elaborate ceremony that would feature “a distinguished leadership lecture”.

He was quoted as saying Mr. George was selected from among the many nominees for the 2012 award based on his commitment to youth development and his defence of democratic institutions.

AASU is a regional students organisation, headquartered in Accra, Ghana with over 54 African countries as members.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES Friday, Mr. Lawson insisted there was no going back on the conferment of the award on Mr. George. He said the award ceremony would hold in Lagos as planned.

Mr. Lawson said the President of AASU, Mohammed Bashir, a Sudanese, is aware of the arrangement, and that the organisation’s secretary general, Mr. Awah, was not in the loop because he had been busy with the Ghanaian elections.

Mr. Lawson said in selecting Mr. George for the award, he and his group “looked beyond the politics of Nigeria” and were impressed by his effort in youth development and education.

“This is a man who has awarded over 1000 scholarships and grants to indigent students,” Mr. Lawson said. “He deserves to be honoured.”

But shortly after Mr. Lawson spoke to us, we called Secretary General Amah again who insisted “there is no such award for Bode George from AASU.”

“Lawson  is not an official of AASU,” Mr. Amah said. “He contested for the position of deputy secretary general and lost. He was defeated by a Liberian. Since then, he has been pursuing a fraudulent scheme, using the name of the organization to hand out dubious awards.”

A former President of AASU, Oludare Ogunlana, also explained that his investigation indicated the organization and its secretariat had no knowledge of the purported award.

He said there is no Nigerian on the executive of AASU at this time, meaning Mr. Lawson could not be speaking for the organization.

Many Nigerians have widely criticized the plan to honour Mr. George, who was imprisoned for mismanaging public funds.

The PDP chieftain could not be reached for comments Friday morning. He did not answer or return calls made to his telephone.

Past recipients of the AASU bi-annual Africa Leadership Award include former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Kofi Anan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai among others.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/all-africa-students-union-aasu-disowns-bode-george-says-plan-honour-him-premium-times

Everything is wrong with it.

Na wa oh. I thought we produce these things. Do we still have to borrow money to process them? Ha!

Mega cities add value to a country and attracts investors. But mega cities shouldn't be built at the expense of the mega-masses