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Their sublime skills, character, grit and entertaining moves will be sorely missed at the 2010 World Cup. Revered as some of the best footballers in the world, their exclusions from their various countries‘ squads to the World Cup has ensured that they will spend the summer in front of television screens instead of packed stadiums in South Africa.

This is the story of football‘s biggest names who will not be part of the World Cup and their absence will undoubtedly change the overall landscape of the World Cup.

These players were left off the 30-man provisional lists recently released. The final list of players for the World Cup will be released by all the teams on June 1.

Ronaldinho (Brazil)

The biggest exclusion from the World Cup is unarguably Ronaldinho. The 30-year-old enormously talented AC Milan player was ruled out from Brazil‘s 30-man squad despite a splendid season with the Italian giants. Coach Dunga had insisted that the two-time FIFA Player of the Year was not part of his plans and ultimately the fans will miss his cheeky smiles, back heels, dribbling and above all, his showmanship.

Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina)

Cambiasso has enjoyed a strong season with Inter helping them reach the UEFA Champions League final. ‘Cuchu‘ is one of the most consistent midfielders Argentina have produced over the last decade, but his performace with Inter Milan were not enough to convince coach Diego Maradona into selecting him. Cambiasso‘s inclusion would have added more steel to Argentina‘s midfield because of his ball winning abilities and knack for goals.

He was part of Argentina‘s 2006 World Cup squad, but unfortunately, he has been left out of the national team set-up since Diego Maradona took over as coach in November 2008.

Adriano (Brazil)

Adriano‘s exclusion by coach Dunga is still a surprise to many. The Brazil coach has been critical of the Adriano because often he has missed training due to his alcohol addiction.

Rather, Dunga preferred to go with Grafite who has consistently impressed in the Bundesliga, even if the Wolfsburg striker has only won two caps with the Selecao, as Brazil‘s national team is known.

Francesco Totti (Italy)

Totti‘s exclusion had to do more with discipline rather than poor form. His scoring record and overall performances for Roma this season showed he is in top form. He spearheaded Roma‘s title challenge, scoring 25 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions. Totti, who was instrumental in Italy‘s World Cup win in 2006 has not played for the national team since then. But his decision to join Italy for the World Cup brought smiles on the faces of Italian fans who were hoping his leadership qualities will see the defending champions through in South Africa.

But that will not come to pass due to an incident during the Coppa Italia final against Inter Milan. During the game, Totti kicked Inter‘s Mario Balotelli and got sent off, costing him a place in Marcelo Lippi‘s World Cup squad.

Fernando Gago (Argentina)

Another very skilful player that will miss the World Cup is Real Madrid‘s Gago, though few are surprised at his exclusion by Maradona.

Gago lost his place in Madrid‘s first team and pondered a move to Boca Juniors to ensure he had regular playing time to prove that he should be part of the World Cup team but the deal fell through and he remained in Madrid. With the number of options Maradona has had to choose from, it was definitely going to be difficult for Gago making the team.

Alexandre Pato (Brazil)

The 20-year-old also failed to convince Dunga for a place in Brazil‘s World Cup team. The highly talented player performed below expectations in the Serie A this season, leading to his non-inclusion.

Dunga opted for Nilmar instead, a player who made the most of each opportunity he received, scoring a brilliant hat-trick against Chile in September. But Pato still has age on his side and should be at his best for the 2014 World Cup.

Karim Benzema (France)

The Real Madrid forward was left out of France‘s party to South Africa due to his unconvincing form.

Benzema joined Madrid in a £30 million move from Lyon last summer but has scored just eight goals in 26 appearances in La Liga this season.

His failure to impose himself as a regular starter at the Bernabeu has cost him his World Cup place, with Raymond Domenech instead naming Nicolas Anelka, Jimmy Briand, Djibril Cisse, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Sidney Govou and Thierry Henry as the strikers in his 30-man preliminary squad.

Benzema‘s name was also included in the sex scandal that rocked the French national team, but Domenech said the striker‘s exclusion was unconnected to the incident.

Lisandro Lopez (Argentina)

The recently voted French Player of the Year didn‘t even make Maradona‘s provisional World Cup squad, even if he found the back of the net 14 times with Lyon in the Ligue 1. ‘Licha‘ is a scoring machine, but the fact that Argentina has so many high-profile forwards was always going to count against him. He could have been a good alternative for Maradona off the bench, however, players like Diego Milito, Martin Palermo and Sergio Aguero will be provided with that opportunity instead.

Charlie Davies (United States)

Despite his efforts to return to full strength for the World Cup, Davies‘ exclusion from the United States roster is no surprise following a fatal car accident that left him severely injured.

Davies returned to Sochaux to complete his rehab in February, but USA coach Bob Bradley announced that he will not travel to South Africa

Ruud Van Nistleroy (Holland)

The former Manchester United forward had previously retired from international football after Euro 2008, but he had a change of heart and hoped to get back into the team for South Africa. The 33-year-old has been on loan to Hamburg from Real Madrid in a bid to prove his fitness as well as play first team football, but coach van Marwijk seemed unconvinced saying he was worried about the player‘s past injury woes.

Van Nistelrooy has been prolific at every club he has played for in his career and had a fairly decent time in Hamburg this season scoring seven goals in 18 games; he also has 33 goals in 64 international appearances to his name. Whether the Netherlands will miss his experience remains to be seen.

Javier Zanetti (Argentina)

Like in 2006, Zanetti will miss the World Cup once again. Maradona has overlooked the Inter Milan captain’s memorable season with his club who are on course for a rare treble. Zanetti, a leader, could have added valuable experience to Argentina‘s World Cup squad.

Patrick Vieira (France)

The Manchester City midfielder‘s exclusion by coach Raymond Domenech is even more painful considering that he will be missing out the first time the World Cup will be hosted by an African country. Despite being one of France‘s most outstanding players in recent years, Vieira was actually born in Senegal.

He was world champion in 1998, unlucky finalist in 2006 and Euro 2000 winner with Les Bleus. His name will surely be missed in South Africa.

Samir Nasri (France)

Nasri did a decent job for Arsenal last season making his exclusion a surprise to many also. He was outstanding in the absence of Cesc Fabregas and had great games in the Premier League and against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League.

It‘s even more difficult to believe that Domenech dropped Nasri while players like Yann M‘Vila, Gignac, Briand and Mathieu Valbuena made France’s 30-man list!

The governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, who has been nominated to fill the vacant post of Vice President, has been dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations of financial impropriety.

A Kaduna-based lawyer, Sadau Garba, petitioned the anti-graft body asking that the governor be investigated for allegedly misappropriating N153.6bn with the support of the state legislature.

A copy of the petition which was obtained by our correspondent on Saturday alleged among other things that the N1.2bn spent by the state government in hosting the U-17 World Cup championship was yet to be accounted for.

Nigeria hosted the championship in 2009 and Kaduna State was one of the states where the tournament was held.

The governor whose name has been forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and confirmation as the Vice-President was nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday night after he had a meeting with Peoples Democratic Party governors.

But Sambo who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Umar Sani, has dismissed the petition just as he queried the credibility of the petitioner.

He added that the petitioner needed to be examined to determine whether his claims had any substance.

But in the petition, Garba averred that the state obtained a $17.32m loan guaranteed by the Minister of Finance from the Islamic Development Bank, but that the loan was not captured in the 2009 budget as required by law.

He also accused security operatives of acting out the script of the state government by harassing him on account of the petition.

Meanwhile, tension has gripped the state capital following alleged opposition by some groups and persons to the nomination of Sambo.

Following this, SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that riot policemen and Armoured Personnel Carriers have been deployed to patrol the flash points in the state.

Our correspondent gathered that unfavourable security reports about the situation led to the deployment of security men on Friday, shortly before the Muslim Jumat prayers.

The security beef up, it was learnt, was informed by the circulation of some text messages from unknown sources asking the Muslims not to accept the nomination of Sambo as well as the expected change in leadership that will follow in the state.

The state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Tambari Yabo Mohammed, had earlier on Saturday held a meeting with Divisional Police Officers in the state during which, he instructed them to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order in their areas.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201005160405893

Nigeria’s Asegun Comprehensive High School, Ibadan, were Monday crowned champions at the maiden edition of the Nestle Milo African U-13 Championship in South Africa.

The team pipped their opponents, Ghana 4-1 via penalties after hostilities ended goal-less in regulation time.
The tourney had teams from Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast and the host, South Africa competing fiercely for the trophy.

Speaking on phone from South Africa , Nestle’s Category Business Manager (Beverages), Mr. Walter Okafor, who went with the team, said he is happy with the performance of the team and is rest assured that in the next few years, Nigeria will be proud of a vibrant national team.

“Let me assure you that this trip for the U-13 team is just the beginning of our commitment to grassroots football development in the country. Since we are convinced that this is the way to go in order to develop football in Nigeria, Nestle and the Milo brand will continue to support “catch them young” programmes that will ensure the achievement of this objective”, he said.

The Captain of the team, Olanase Saburi said he is very happy to be the skipper of the team that won the inaugural edition of the Milo U-13 African Football Championship.

“This victory has strengthened my desire to combine football and education, and hopefully I will play for any of the national teams in the near future”, the 12-year old centre forward said.

Speaking on the feat, former Green Eagles skipper, Chief Segun Odegbami, (MON) described the success of the team as an indication that Nigeria can present formidable teams in various youth championships and be able to excel anywhere across the globe.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/14/asegun-wins-milo-african-u-13-championship/

The beleaguered golfer is said to have hired a lawyer specialising in international child custody arrangements.It is thought that Miss Nordegren would move back to her native Sweden, where she has been renovating a house, and proceedings could then be filed there.

The central issue in any divorce would be the custody of the couple’s two children to ensure both parents would have access to Sam, 3, and Charlie, 14 months.

The couple would be expected to agree to share parenting and do not want an “ugly” divorce, according to US media reports.

Miss Nordegren, a former swimwear model, could receive up to $300 million (£200 million) in a settlement, but the couple are said to be determined to keep any details confidential and leave the division of their properties out of any court filings.

Woods’s private and professional life collapsed in November after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home in Florida in the early hours of the morning.

The crash was said to have followed an argument with his wife, over his marital infidelities. A string of women then came forward alleging affairs.

Tiger Woods took a break from golf and underwent counselling before returning to apologise for his behaviour.
In a televised statement in February, he admitted being unfaithful and said he had been “selfish and stupid”. He returned to golf in the Masters at Augusta, Georgia last month, where he finished fourth.

His wife did not attend the tournament and is said to have felt that he returned to golf too soon.
She has since been seen travelling without him, while friends have described her as feeling “numb” and wanting to “move on” with her life.

After emerging from counselling, Woods committed to working on the marriage and so far talk of divorce has been limited to speculation from friends.No legal papers have been filed and there has been no confirmation that the couple will divorce.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/14/woods-and-elin-to-file-for-divorce-in-sweden/

kenlala:
@justwise,pls where is their embassy in lagos?

19 Tiamiyu Savage Street
PO Box 50247
Victoria Island
Lagos
Nigeria
Phone:
+234-1-2619328

IN a recent NEO confirmation  report released on April 17,2010  by the  International Astronomical Search Collaboration signed by Dr.Patrick Miller of Department of Mathematics & Astronomy, Holland School of Science & Mathematics, Hardin and Simmons University,Abilene,Texas and also the Director of  I.A.S.C, stated that Dr.Alphonsus Ekwerike from Science Medicine Research Institute,Dallas-Texas,USA  confirmed  the comet  C/2010 H1.
This confirmation of a near-Earth object is important because it is this type of object that has the potential of hitting the Earth, said Dr.Patrick Miller, while congratulating Dr.A.Ekwerike and Science Medicine Research Institute for playing a vital study role in saving the earth and lives in it.

Dr.Alphonsus Ekwerike is also the discoverer of Neurosquatemetry & Sciencemedicine research based Professions.
Science Medicine Research Institute , a research participant in the NASA WISE Asteroid Search Campaign and IASC (“Isaac”) is a collaboration of Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, TX), Lawrence Hall of Science (University of California at Berkeley),

Astronomical Research Institute (Westfield, IL), Global Hands-On Universe Association (Portugal), Sierra Stars Observatory Network (Markleeville, CA), Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NASA), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, TX), The Faulkes Telescope Project (Wales), and Astrometrica (Austria).

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/08/nigerian-scientist-confirms-comet-2010-h1-2/

ANOTHER case of giving out minors in marriage has again occurred in Ghana when a man offered his 12-year-old daughter to a 52-year-old man.

Only recently in Nigeria, a Senator and former governor, Alhaji Ahmed Sani, took a 13-year-old Egyptian girl as a wife, an act that has been condemned by many people.

What makes the case in Ghana more interesting is that the actors in this drama are Nigerians, but they have been dragged to court.

The father, who is also a Fulani cattle owner at Nkawkaw in Ghana, on Friday appeared before Mpraeso Circuit Court presided over by Mr. Alex Owusu Ofori for offering his 12-year-old daughter to marry his 52-year-old friend.

The man, Alhaji Maaju Abubakari, pleaded not guilty to the charge of force marriage and accepting dowry.

His friend, Alhaji Aliu Gariba, who is based in Nigeria, pleaded not guilty to the charge of trying to marry an under-aged girl. They have been granted 10,000 Ghana cedis bail each and to reappear on May 5.

Prosecuting officer, Inspector Christian Apronti, told the court that last year, Alhaji Gariba visited his friend at Nkawkaw where he met the girl in his house and expressed interest in marrying her.

The prosecutor said Alhaji Abubakari, who is the head of the Fulani community in the Kwahu area, informed the daughter that his friend wanted to marry her, but she refused.

Apronti said on January 19, Alhaji Abubakari and Gariba attempted to forcibly send the girl to Nigeria in a private car, but when they got to a police check point at Nkawkaw, the girl started screaming that she would not go anywhere with them.

He said police personnel at the checkpoint became suspicious and questioned the girl after which she was sent to the Domestic Violence and Victim’s Support Unit.

Alhaji Abubakari was compelled to dissolve the marriage and allow the girl to continue her education. The prosecutor said the two accused persons were granted police enquiry bail to report periodically to the police, but the police had a tip-off that they were planning to send the victim to Nigeria.

They were re-arrested and charged with the offence while the victim had been placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/news/934-man-gives-out-12-year-old-daughter-to-52-year-old.html

A man in Abia State, whose father’s corpse disappeared from a popular mortuary in Umuahia has more than enough stories to tell about how corpse could develop wings and fly into space like an UFO.
While searching for his father’s body, he was confronted with a most bizarre assignment of sorting through a pile of corpses, in fact thousands of them in the morgue to see their faces and pick out that of his father. Alas he could not locate the body.

After more than three hours in this nightmarish task in search of his 88-year old man’s corpse, bewildered Chukwunyere Nnorom told Saturday Sun that he passed out and was later revived by friends and relations.
Narrating his ordeal at the Deeper Life Bible Church, in Aguiyi-Ironsi Layout, where Saturday Sun met him, Nnorom said that over one thousand dead bodies littered the floor of the mortuary and that proved difficult to know who was who except when one turned their faces.

It was at that instance that he went to work and started turning the faces of the dead one by one to identify the corpse of his father deposited there on February 5 and was to be buried on March 27.

“Some of the faces there had so changed that it would be hard even for their relatives to identify.

“For this reason, I had to turn them one after another and at the end of the exercise, I fainted and had to be revived by those who came with me.
“Maybe because of the chemical I inhaled, exhaustion, or the fear of a living being staying in the midst of the dead for that long, I passed out.

“Vultures and rodents even come into the place to feed on corpses through the openings at the back and anyone the attendants found eaten that way is filled up with mud and dressed before the owners arrive to take them for burial.

After Pa Samuel Nnorom Uchegbu Nduka died on February 5 at 88, the family had met and scheduled the burial for March 27 and agreed that the body should be deposited at the mortuary along Aba Road, Umuahia.

Preparations commenced for a befitting passage rites and before the day, 90 percent of the arrangements had been concluded.
The family ran a budget in excess of N2.5 million and on the scheduled day, food and drinks were made available as guests thronged the village, Umuokehi Obiohuru to pay their last respects.

The grave had been prepared waiting for the corpse to take possession of it as several Ministers of God from the man’s church were set to conduct the funeral.

Time to pick the corpse from the morgue for burial approached and the family members left for where their late father’s remains were kept. But they got a shocker to discover that the casket they brought earlier was empty and the clothes meant for the body were all intact.
They asked the mortuary attendants what had become of their father’s body and a long story commenced.

“One of them feigned ignorance of the situation to take us inside the mortuary to bring the body and when we could not see it and came out, the other people had deserted the environment. It was then that it became clear to us that there was a problem.
“The youths lost their cool and wanted to set the place ablaze and I told them to calm down that I would consult my lawyer. And when I did, the lawyer advised that we should invite the police. The police was invited who arrested the owner of the mortuary, one man identified as Ogbuefi Anthony”, his son narrated.

Before this time the distraught man had turned over one thousand corpses, looking for his father’s body without success. After that he fainted and was revived by people around. “I had never imagined a place like that before”, he recalled in astonishment.
“Inside the place were so many bodies that were just scattered on the floor. Some of the bodies were partly eaten up by vulture and rodents which I think come in through the back of the house which is open.

“When any of the bodies is eaten, the attendants have special mud with which they fill them up before dressing and handing them over to their owners.
“Of course, nobody will go to the extent of undressing a corpse to know if it was complete or not before taking them to the grave once they are brought back from the mortuary. One of the rooms inside there was filled with human skeleton, which I think are the bones of bodies that must have been abandoned for years without being claimed.
“I think, they introduce chemicals on them to eat up the flesh and keep them in that room standing like weird beings. It is so amazing, so horrifying.

“The owner of the mortuary pleaded that we should give him two days to look for it.
We agreed to allow him two weeks instead to make sure that he found our father’s corpse.”
The team had to call home to tell the family to serve the guests who came for the burial since the body could not be found. Some of the people ate and others refused to eat and left in anger.

Two days later, the morgue owner called to say he had found the body. They had delivered the corpse to another family far away in another town a month earlier and he was buried in another man’s grave, while the real owner of the grave was still lying in the mortuary.
The body was erroneously delivered to a family in Amakama Olokoro, in Umuahia South LGA. There it was buried. When the error was detected by the mortuary managers, the Uchegbu Nduka family moved in there to exhume their father’s body and return it home for proper burial in his ancestors place and in the grave meant for him.

Then the body had stayed in a strange grave in a strange land for 35 days. “I was there with them and identified the body of my father inside another man’s grave. It was still intact and had not started decomposing at all due to the chemicals the mortuary used on the body. The body was returned to the mortuary and discussions with them started. Several meetings were held and at last we agreed to settle at home. We were able to settle with the mortuary owner and took our father’s body and buried him two weeks after”, his son said.
Pa Samuel Nnorom Uchegbu Nduka was born in 1922 at Umuokehi in Umuahia North and died on February 5.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ali Okechukwu confirmed the incident but said that the matter was peacefully resolved.

The mortuary owner, who identified himself as Ogbuefi Anthony spoke through a man he identified as his imagemaker saying that the body was actually found and re-buried.
“Did you not hear that the body has been buried, that is what is important? If you write anything about it, you will become my enemy,” the man threatened.

A lady who refused to disclose her identity, but likely the daughter of Pa Nnorom confirmed the settlement with the mortuary owner and said “we settled with him, not minding how much we lost and the embarrassment they caused us. Whatever offer they made was accepted.”
A family source from Umuokoroukwu Village, Amakama, where Pa Nnorom’s body was erroneously buried told Saturday Sun that the mistake of carrying another corpse in place of their 90 year-old Pa Mathias Mgbodo was made by the mortuary attendants.

“The tag they gave us was 70 and it was written like 76. So when we got to the mortuary, instead of giving us the corpse that had tag 70, they gave us the one that had 76, which was the body of the other man - Pa Nnorom. Because they had some level of resemblance, and the first son who was supposed to identify him did not come with them to the mortuary, they took the body and buried. The elders in the village are also to blame because this is a man they lived with and they could not recognize that he was not the one laid in state prior to burial.”

However, traditional meaning was read into the incident by a villager who narrated that: “While the man was alive, he told them to kill a ram for his funeral when he dies because he is a strong believer in tradition. But instead of the ram, the family killed a goat. It is believed that the man was the one that closed their eyes not to recognize him at the mortuary.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/living/2010/may/01/living-01-05-2010-001.htm

No fewer than 698 pieces of army camouflage, consisting of 500 pieces of military bullet-proof jackets, 198 pairs of uniforms and 40 hats have been seized by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The Customs Area Controller, MMAC, Lagos, Mr. Michael Adewole, while disclosing this at a press briefing in Lagos on Friday, said the illegally imported military wears, brought into the country three days ago, were suspected to be plans by some ”evil elements and corrupt politicians” to win elections at all cost during the coming 2011 elections.

Meanwhile, the Customs boss also revealed that authorities in the United States of America had seized about $1.4m cash from an unnamed Nigerian couple at an American border post on Friday morning.

The two sets of military camouflage were imported aboard Saudi Arabian Airlines from an unnamed country in the Middle East, and aboard Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, Turkey respectively.

The CAC said that investigations were already going on in collaboration with the Directorate of Military Intelligence and other security operatives to unravel those behind the importation

He said, ”It is unfortunate that this is happening in our country. All this can be traced to the preparations for the 2011 elections. We discovered that these military camouflages were not imported by the Nigerian Army but by elements who have wicked and ulterior motives. These people are out to maim and kill. We are preaching that we should follow one-man, one-vote system, but some people are planning something else.”

The Customs boss said the camouflage kits would be handed over to the Nigerian Army while investigations continued.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100501629860

Kayraph:
Don't mind him/her jare. The only African country on the list is South Africa and the person cannot stay more than 3 months.

@kayraph,ijaw_girl is right.Namibia is included as the Africa country too.

Ikem44:
Please, I will be traveling to Thailand next Month,Did anyone know anything or life in Thailand? mail me at chakira4love@yahoo.com,

Follow this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-422599.0.html

London-bound stranded passengers of Arik Air, Wednesday, threatened to disrupt operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, if they were not airlifted immediately. They claimed to have ran out out of cash.

They accused the airline of shifting commencement of airlift to 29 April when other carriers such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways had started evacuating their stranded passengers to London since Tuesday.

But the airlines’ spokesman, Mr. Banji Ola, explained that the airline was yet to get clearance from the British authorities to fly into Heathrow Airport in London.

The aggrieved passengers said they had shown sufficient understanding for the airline, especially as the reason for the delay in their airlift was a natural phenomenon, but stressed that now that most airspaces had been re-opened in Europe, including Britain, there was no reason for Arik not to evacuate them.

One of the passengers, Mrs. Abimbola Onasile, a staff of the University of Leeds, said she was to have returned to work since 17 April, but for the volcanic eruption in Iceland which led to airspace closure.

She expressed concern that now that the airspace had been re-opened in the United Kingdom, her employers would listen to no excuses for not resuming work.

Mrs. Onasile lamented that she might not be able to leave the country until 29 April which the airline said would be the date of commencing operation.

Another passenger, Dr. Dennis Umoren, who works in England, said he was expected to have resumed work last Monday, adding that not even the upgrade of his ticket and those of his wife and nephew from Economy to Business Class had been a way out for him.

The case of Miss Rabi Sani Santos, a diabetic patient, was pathetic, as she had ran out of cash and the insulin she needed to administer on daily basis to stabilise her health condition.

She dispelled  claims by the airline that its stranded passengers were checked into hotels, adding that she ran out of cash because nobody took care of her and other stranded passengers.

The passengers expressed worry that though the airline had said it would not commence flight until 29 April, they were not even sure of getting seats in the plane.

According to her, more than 500 persons have been checked into that flight, which is beyond the capacity of the plane used for the flight.

They alleged their eagerness to meet with the airline’s chief executive to re-assure them of airlift was frustrated by some of the staff.

They appealed to the airline to give priority to passengers who were to have travelled on April 15, but were disembarked after they had secured boarding passes, passed through security screening and sat in the plane before they were asked out of the aircraft because of volcanic eruption in Iceland.

But speaking through its spokesman, Banji Ola, Arik Air said it was not its intention to deliberately keep the passengers stranded, adding its inability to evacuate them was due to non-receipt of clearance from the British authorities to fly into Heathrow.

“We will start evacuation of our passengers as soon as we get the necessary clearance from Heathrow,” he said.

Confusion is trailing the move by former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to rejoin the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the Adamawa State chapter of the party said it had banned his return.

Atiku’s media aide, Alhaji Garba Shehu, however, described the purported ban as an exercise in futility.

Announcing the ban of the former Vice-President, in a statement issued in Yola, Wednesday, chairman of the state chapter of the party, Alhaji Umaru Kugama, said the action followed a unanimous decision by all the party leaders, including the state executive, the governor, all members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders.

Kugama said the ban was finalised after a brief discussion between the National leadership of the party and Adamawa PDP stakeholders, adding that the decision has been communicated to the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party.

In a reaction, Atiku’s media aide, Alhaji Garba Shehu, argued that the camp is working on the directives of the PDP National Secretariat that the Adamawa State chapter should commence the process of re-registering the former Vice-President.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/21/adamawa-pdp-rejects-atiku/

Nigeria’s nemesis at the Beijing Olympics Games, Angel Di Maria of Argentina, is spoiling for war against the Super Eagles, when both continental soccer giants clash in a World Cup Group B match on June 12.

FINAL PUSH ••• Argeentina’s Angel Di Maria (left) beats Nigeria’s Solomon Okoronkwo during the final match at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Di Maria, who scored the goal that clinched the gold medal for the Argentines during the final match against Nigeria’s Dream Team, led by coach Samson Siasia, told Radio Punta, an Argentine station,  that he was tickled by the prospects of playing his first World Cup after fearing he would miss out on a place in Diego Maradona’s squad.

The  22-year-old Benfica winger, who has produced  series of sparkling performances in recent months and is regarded as one of the most exciting young players on the planet, is one of the 11 players Maradona has already penciled down for a starting role against Nigeria.

“This was one of my objectives for the year and honestly there were times when I believed I would be out after my red card against Bolivia,” Di Maria said, in reference to the early part of his international career, which  has not gone entirely to plan after being sent off in the humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bolivia last year.

Argentina have such strength in depth and Maradona has been so inconsistent with his selection policy that Di Maria has been sweating on whether he would be on the plane to South Africa.

“Diego follows  me with confidence and that has given me motivation throughout my professional career.
In the last few months I have matured as a footballer and now I play with  more sense on the field. To be at the 2010 World Cup is a dream fulfilled for me and now I will accept the orders of Maradona for any work.

“My challenge is to get in the team and also to help the squad. I want to help the team win the first match against Nigeria. A good start at the World Cup begins with winning your first match and I feel we have the players to win the opening match. I hope the players will not arrive at this World Cup fatigued from the season.

Nigeria’s nemesis at the Beijing Olympics Games, Angel Di Maria of Argentina, is spoiling for war against the Super Eagles, when both continental soccer giants clash in a World Cup Group B match on June 12.

FINAL PUSH ••• Argeentina’s Angel Di Maria (left) beats Nigeria’s Solomon Okoronkwo during the final match at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Di Maria, who scored the goal that clinched the gold medal for the Argentines during the final match against Nigeria’s Dream Team, led by coach Samson Siasia, told Radio Punta, an Argentine station,  that he was tickled by the prospects of playing his first World Cup after fearing he would miss out on a place in Diego Maradona’s squad.

The  22-year-old Benfica winger, who has produced  series of sparkling performances in recent months and is regarded as one of the most exciting young players on the planet, is one of the 11 players Maradona has already penciled down for a starting role against Nigeria.

“This was one of my objectives for the year and honestly there were times when I believed I would be out after my red card against Bolivia,” Di Maria said, in reference to the early part of his international career, which  has not gone entirely to plan after being sent off in the humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bolivia last year.

Argentina have such strength in depth and Maradona has been so inconsistent with his selection policy that Di Maria has been sweating on whether he would be on the plane to South Africa.

“Diego follows  me with confidence and that has given me motivation throughout my professional career.
In the last few months I have matured as a footballer and now I play with  more sense on the field. To be at the 2010 World Cup is a dream fulfilled for me and now I will accept the orders of Maradona for any work.

“My challenge is to get in the team and also to help the squad. I want to help the team win the first match against Nigeria. A good start at the World Cup begins with winning your first match and I feel we have the players to win the opening match. I hope the players will not arrive at this World Cup fatigued from the season.

Port Harcourt—No fewer than 34,000 women die annually in Nigeria as a result of unsafe abortion, following which out of every woman that dies, 20 others are maimed for life due to ruptured uterus and other complications arising from the abortion.

Also, every six minutes, a woman dies needlessly as a result of unsafe illegal abortion, obstructed labour or haemorrhage.

A breakdown showed that over 76,000 induced abortion took place yearly in the country, 25 illegal abortions out of every 1000 pregnant women, out of which 60 per cent are unsafe.

Disclosing the figures at a seminar by the Network of the Bar, Bench and Police, in conjunction with the Federation of International Women Lawyers, FIDA, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Tuesday, Mrs Hauwa Shekarau, said “when a woman dies, the mortality of the under-fives rises very sharply.”

Speaking on the theme, Reproductive health and righting a collective responsibility, Shekarau, who is Head, Policy Unit, Ipas Nigeria, said the death of a nursing mother may lead to the death of the child of under five years.

Shekarau said  women and girls, particularly in the rural areas, use all forms of items to procure crude abortion, including cassava plant, leaf and stem as well as alligator pepper, native chalk, native alum, which they ground to paste and insert in their private part to terminate unwanted pregnancy.

She said some even use Bahamas grass, explaining that there were laws against unlawful abortion, including penal and criminal codes, which stipulate 7 to 14 years jail terms.

According to her,  some of the laws against illegal abortion are obsolete.

In his keynote address, Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samson Parker, said some of the abortions were direct consequences of rape cases, stating that “Doctors without Borders,” (medecins sans frontiers) had reported 200 rape cases in Port Harcourt to his office.

Parker said the 200 cases were recorded last year alone, adding that some of the rapes were even incestuous.
He explained that some of the victims accused their fathers, brothers and other close relations of raping them.

justwise:
This is the reply i got from passy234   who is promising everybody an invitation letter to any schengen country

A whooping 300euro for invitation letter?This guy is a recycle LADRI.

rasputinn:
@ OP

The incident happened this morning,April 19 and not yesterday or are you posting from China??

I wasnt posting from china,i was posting from your crib.

LAGOS—A MAJOR air disaster was averted, yesterday, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, when an Abuja-bound Dana Air plane with 97 persons on board lost an engine to bird strike on take-off.

Trouble started for flight 9J995 at about 9:20am when on take-off on runway 18L of the airport, the aircraft’s left engine was hit by a bird, which caused a deafening bang that changed the running of the engine.

The unusual engine sound of the MD-83 aircraft forced people out of their offices, and the airport’s neighbours at Mafoluku out of their homes.

The bird’s attack caused a drag to the plane as it could hardly climb, but the pilot could not abort take-off because he had reached a point of no return.

The twin-engine aircraft managed to take-off eventually, with the ill-fated engine emitting big balls of fire and exploding at about 5,000ft above sea level.

The aircraft, however, managed to climb after the three mid-air explosions. Fire trucks of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, were immediately mobilized in anticipation of an emergency landing.

Some of the lucky passengers of the Dana Airline flight 9J 995 en-route Abuja from Lagos that suffered a bird strike shortly after take off but managed to make an emergency landing at MMIA, Lagos.

For almost 25 minutes, people’s apprehensions heightened, especially after the aircraft was expected to have returned to base before then, since it would be ill-advisable for the pilot to continue the flight to Abuja on one engine.

At exactly 9:45am, the pilot managed to bring the aircraft down on runway 18R, used for international operations, and was escorted by fire tenders to the tarmac at the new domestic terminal, MMA2, of the airport.

After taxiing to a stop, the passengers were promptly evacuated into another Dana Air plane for continuation of their journey.

Some passengers, however, opted out of the flight and requested for refunds.

Most of the passengers looked awe-stricken and kept thanking God for surviving what could have been a fatal crash. They appeared fagged out, though they had flown for just 25 minutes.

One of the passengers who managed to speak told Vanguard: “I felt many things while the trouble lasted; I am just on my way home. My wife warned me not to travel today, but I didn’t listen.”

Reacting to the development, Dana Air said in a statement: “Dana Air flight 9J995, en route Abuja from Lagos, suffered a bird strike shortly after take-off and, in line with the airline’s safety and service policy, the captain made an emergency landing at MMIA, Lagos.

“All 97 passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft safely, and the aircraft was taken to the hangar. Most of the passengers were booked on alternative Dana Air flight to Abuja, while a few who preferred a refund were given.”

The Exam Ethics International has stated that figures from the Exam Malpractice Index (EMI) reveal that Nigeria loses about N21 billion  annually from the cancellation of results that relates to established instances of examination malpractice.
The organisation, which is dedicated to promoting best practices in education, said yesterday in Abuja while inaugurating the national organising committee of its 2010 Exam Ethics Week, that national examination bodies cancel an average of 429,000 results yearly which translates to such lose.


According to the organisation, the Exam Ethics Week is an annual initiative aimed at sensitising the public on the ills of examination malpractice and the expected responsibilities of stakeholders in combating the menace.
The Chairman of Exam Ethics International, Ike Onyechere, explained that examination fraud has risen to an all time high and that if proactive measures were not taken to contain the situation, the country would have to contend with the realities of living with incompetent and corrupt future leaders that have evolved from fraudulent educational backgrounds.


With an assertion that Nigerian schools have become breeding places for potential fraudsters, Onyechere added that it is imperative for government at all levels to muster the political will to lead a decisive fight against the trend.
The strategic role of the committee according to Onyechere will include the planning and implementation of the activities scheduled for the week, as well as liaising with relevant stakeholders and government to ensure that the campaign is evenly propagated.


The committee which is headed by Professor Steve Okocha, the technical adviser to the immediate past Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, has representatives from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, National Parent Teachers Association, All Nigerian Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools and select journalists from media outfits across the country as members.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=171226

A multi million Naira hotel building under construction in Auchi, the headquarters of Estako –West local government area of Edo State, collapsed yesterday with no fewer than seventeen construction workers feared dead and buried in the rubble.

The hotel building, behind Uyi House and allegedly said to belong to a Benin-based business man, was said to have collapsed at about 5 a.m. while the workers were asleep.

Six of the survivors who spoke with journalists at the scene of the incident, while expressing gratitude to God for their miraculous escape, disclosed that they were asleep and were woken up by a deafening sound of the falling building.

A tense atmosphere still enveloped the scene of the incident as at press time.

However, men of the Nigeria Police, Auchi Area Zone have been drafted to the scene of the disaster to forestall possible break down of law and order from the emotional crowd who have been trooping in and out of the scene. Efforts to reach the Edo State Police Command spokesman, Mr.Peter Ogboi, for his comment failed as he would not picked his telephone.

Also, attempt made to see the owner of the building in Benin; failed as his staff at his Mission Road Office would not disclose his whereabouts.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/18/17-feared-dead-as-building-collapses-in-edo/

In comparison with 2009’s registration for the University Matriculation Examination (UME), relatively fewer candidates have registered for the first Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scheduled to hold this Saturday.

In a press conference held in Abuja yesterday, Dibu Ojerinde, Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) the examination body that organizes the UTME, said a total of 1,375,642 candidates registered for the examination. This is lower than last year’s figure.

“In the last Universal Matriculation Examination (UME) conducted in 2009, a total of 1,182,381 candidates registered for the examination, while 342,957 registered for the Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Colleges Education Matriculation Examination (MPCEME), bringing the total number of candidates to, 1,525,338,” said Mr. Ojerinde. “The figure for the UTME shows a decrease of 149,696 candidates when compared to last year’s figure of 1,523,338.”

Mr. Ojerinde said 152 visually impaired candidates have registered for the examination, while 85 prison inmates from Kaduna and 36 inmates from Ikoyi, Lagos also registered.

He said that the examination will take place in 321 towns in Nigeria and 6 foreign centres: Accra, Ghana; Buea, Cameroon; Cotonou, Benin; Johannesburg, South Africa; Jedda, Saudi Arabia; and London, the United Kingdom.

A new kind of exam

The registrar explained that the UTME is unique because two examinations are combined into one and, at the end, candidates can make their choices for admission into six different institutions; two universities, two polytechnic and two colleges of education. This, he said, will help in breaking the dichotomy between university and polytechnic education.

In the past, one of the major problems in the conduct of the board’s matriculation examination has been the activities of a few of supervisors and invigilators who encouraged malpractice in examinations, Mr. Ojerinde said.

“The board is determined to ensure a credible and successful UTME by ensuring that all officials engaged in the conduct of the board’s examination are held culpable for any lapses during the examination and the full weight of the law is equally brought to bear on any indicted official,” he said.

He warned those who want to cheat that the names of any schools, supervisors, invigilators and JAMB staff found culpable of any unethical behaviour in the examination will be blacklisted and will be subjected to other forms of administrative disciplinary actions.

“The board blacklisted Omoku in Rivers State and Afroc International Secondary School Akwu-Achi,[and] Oji Local Government Area of Enugu State due to widespread cheating and those towns are not being used for this examination,” he said. However, examination towns in Okene, Kogi State, Nsukka, Enugu State, and Ife, Oyo State, that were de-listed for exam malpractice have been included this year following the cooperation of traditional rulers, heads of institution and the communities.

Stricter measures

Mr. Ojerinde also said that stricter security measures have been adopted to nip malpractice in the bud.

“More than 16,000 officers and men of the Nigeria Civil Security and Civil Defence Corps will be deployed to monitor the examination nationwide,” he said. “The board will equally engage the services of about 531 independent watch groups to monitor the examination.”

The groups will comprise school vice chancellors, rectors and provosts, officials of federal and state ministries of education; members of the governing board of JAMB, immediate past directors of the board and stakeholders in education and other observers.

The JAMB boss called for collaboration of all communities to ensure a hitch-free examination. He also appealed to the candidates to conduct themselves properly, while discouraging any political activities on that day which may hamper the smooth conduct of the examination.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5554393-146/jamb_records_low_registration_for_utme.csp

The police have arrested two young men suspected to be involved in internet fraud. The suspects are Chukwuedo Chukwuemeka, 25, and Edokpaye Isola, 23, both from Delta State.

Chukwuemeka had convinced an American, Mr. Howard Cockline, to remit $10,000.00 for an investment in Oceanic Bank by claiming to be an account officer of the financial institution and had presented some forged documents to his victim.

But luck ran out on Chukwuemeka, when his friend, Ishola, who had been monitoring the exchange of emails between his acquaintance and Cockline, forged documents and got the money deposited in his account.

Chukwuemeka, who is a certified web designer and also handles his late father‘s real estate business, had gone to one of the branches of Fidelity Bank in Lagos to collect the money, unknown to him that someone else had picked it. The Fidelity Bank officials suspected that Chukwuemeka had come to collect someone else’s money, alerted the police, and he was arrested.

According to the Lagos State Police Command’s spokeman, Mr. Frank Mba, the matter is a case of obtaining money under false pretence, outright stealing and impersonation.

He said that the command was doing everything possible to recover the money and return it to the victim.

He also said the suspects were involving in defrauding foreigners by presenting Nigerian ladies’ pictures to them, claiming that the women were searching for husbands or lovers.

Mba said, “One of the suspects in this case, Chukwuedo Chukwuemeka, in one of his routine browsing on the internet, stumbled on an American called Howard Cockline, based in California in the United States. Chukwuedo Chukwuemeka, who is also known as Chucks Edo, presented himself as an accounts officer with Oceanic Bank. He actually successfully designed a website that looks so much like that of the bank in question and managed to convince Howard Cockline to invest in the bank.

“He presented another person known as Chuks Edo, which is still his alias, as his secretary, to Howard Cockline. After much exchange of emails, Howard Cockline was convinced to invest in this fictitious bank and he remitted $10,000 through money transfer to him.”

He added, “In the course of investigation, we discovered that there was another suspect, Edokpaye Ishola, known as Barry, based in Benin who is a friend to Chuks. Of course, both are the same yahoo business. Both are in the same internet scam business and both have had interactions that showed that they are birds of a feather.

“Ishola had hacked into the email account and had been monitoring the entire exchange of emails between Chuks, who is also known as John Goodman, and Cockline. The moment the transaction was sealed, Ishola forged all the relevant documents, went to a branch of Fidelity Bank in Benin and cashed the money.

“Chuks has shown so much intelligence. He is a certified website designer. My interaction with him showed that he has a deep intellectual base. My concern is the fact that his intellectual capacity that ordinarily should have been utilised for positive things is being channeled into criminal activities.”

Chukwuemeka, who told our correspondent that he regretted his action, attributed it to greed. He said he was a first offender and promised that he would not be involved in any other fraudulent activities in the future.

Ishola, who also told our correspondent that he would not be involved in fraud again, attributed the act to the devil. According to him, he got the password of his friend‘s email address when he forgot to sign out.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100413213642

DUTSE — Jigawa State Government has released over N127m for the payment of scholarship allowances to 2009/2010 continuous students, the Executive Secretary, State Scholarship Board, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini disclosed.

Speaking to Vanguard in his office, Hussaini said the amount included the registration fees for girls in tertiary institutions in accordance with free education policy of the government for girls at tertiary levels, adding that 7,257 students studying in 72 tertiary institutions would receive the allowances.

Hussaini explained that the payment of the scholarship will commence tomorrow in all the schools. He urged students to be in their schools and to be orderly during the payment.

He commended the administration of Governor Sule Lamido for providing all the necessary support and finance for the development of the education sector, reiterating the commitment of the board to continue with its responsibilities and enable the government achieve its objectives.

Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited announced names of three of Nigerian musical rave of the moment, MI, Banky W and Eldee as the local official artistes and producer for the remix of Coca_Cola 2010 football anthem; “Wavin” Flag,”at an impressive media launch held in Lagos to usher in her FIFA World Cup 2010 campaign last Tuesday March 16.

Speaking at the unveiling, Wangi Mba_Uzoukwu, Strategic Marketing Manager (Colas), Coca_Cola Nigeria Limited said, “The artists are popular and well known to a lot of people. Banky and MI rally the Nigerian youth and the Nigerian spirit even in their musical style.

They are gentlemen in their persona and we feel that they have carried themselves well so far in their career. That is something we are proud to endorse because we are actually giving back. It is about giving to local artistes and another is their voices. If you listen to K’naan’s voice and Banky’s own actually blend together.”

She said Coca_Cola identify successful young Nigerians who are doing their things the Nigerian way. According to her, “That is why we selected these artistes.

And of course, the work Eldee does from Tribesmen to now attest to the fact that he is a good producer. He’s done a couple of songs we all dance and jig to. There was no question in our mind that we’d work with this three on this project. That is not to say they are the only people we’d ever work with but they are the ones we have chosen to work with for now.”

She said Coca_Cola and football both share the values of inspiring authentic human connections and encouraging fun and enjoyment amongst people. She confessed that football represents a unique lens through which Coca_Cola’s brand vision comes to life.
Prince Adeniji Adele, Commissioner for Sports and Youths Development, Lagos State, who was the special guest of honour, in his contribution said Coca_Cola’s name is synonymous with football. He informed that Lagos State Governor is an ardent fan of the round leader game and he assures the management of Coca_Cola that Lagos State Government will support any initiative to positively develop Nigerian youths.
Also speaking at the event, while performing Coca_Cola football anthem, “Wavin Flag,” Banky W and MI said they completed the song a few hours before their media performance that morning. Banky W said, “It is a one_in_a_life_time opportunity to be endorsed by Coca_Cola Company.”
The hall and all those present literarily lit up during their performance. Even Prince Adeniji Adele, Dr. Bolaji Ojo_Oba, Smason Siasia, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, Victor Ikpeba, Waidi Akanni, Nduka Ugbade, Taribo West joined the “Wavin Flag” dance.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/11/2010-wc-ccnl-creates-football-anthem-mi-banky-w-involved/

lorin — One of the white farmers from Zimbabwe working in  Kwara State, Mr James Chisohm, was mysteriously found dead beside the stream in Labintan village, Bakase in Asa Local Government Area of the state, weekend.

Informed source told Vanguard that the deceased had earlier sent his boys to get him drinkable water around the area.

On their return, the source claimed that the boys could not locate 63-year-old Chisohm, a development that prompted the setting up of a search party to look for him.

The search, which started on Friday, continued till the next day, Saturday. They eventually discovered his corpse in the said village.

Police story
Contacted Sunday, Kwara State Police Command confirmed the development in an interview with journalists in Ilorin.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Dabo Ezekiel, “The Kwara State Police Command wishes to announce to the general public the death of a white Zimbabwean farmer.

“The deceased Zimbabwe-an farmer, Hamish James Chisohm aged 63, was confirmed dead on Saturday at about 1206hrs after severe search. The decea-sed was said to be in search of water in the stream said to be located at Labintan village via Bakase in Asa LGA of Kwara State.”

The PPRO added that “the incident occurred on 9 April 2010 at about 1150pm when one Seyi Adedokun ‘m’ of Nigeria Starch Mill Farm Onire, along Alapa came to the police station to report on the issue same date at about 145pm.

“Hamish James Chisohm, the deceased Zimbabwean farmer, Sunday, Baba Azeez, Elemosho and Seyi Adedo-kun, all of Starch Mill Farm,  went to measure the land and set the boundary.

“At a stage, Hamish sent them to get him water from the office and later directed them to meet him at another location of the farm. When they came back with the water at the said location, Hamish was no where to be found.”

Search  for Chisohm

Dabo continued: “A search party was put in place to go round the farm to look for him, but the search proved abortive. On 10 April 2010 (Saturday), the search resumed and about 1206hrs of the same date, the body was found dead by the side of a stream in Labintan village via Bakase in Asa LGA of Kwara State.”

The police spokesperson, however, noted that investigation conducted on the deceased showed no mark of violence or cuts on the body and therefore no foul play was suspected.

He stressed that the corpse has been moved to the state specialist hospital morgue where autopsy will be conducted after which the body will be released to the family for burial.

Meanwhile, a high powered delegation compri-sing the state Police Commissioner, Muhtari Ibrahim, DPO Francis, the Commissioner for Planning and Economic Develop-ment, Abdulfatah Ahmad, Security Adviser to the Governor, Yinka Aluko, Mike Fields and John Sawyer (both Zimbab-wean farmers from Shonga) and other staff of the farm visited the place where Chisohm was found dead.

The Board of Directors the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has directed the agency’s Management to explore all legitimate means to recover the over N10 billion owed it by airlines and other concessionaires.
This comes as the Managing Director of FAAN disclosed that the agency spent N252 million on fencing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

The Board gave the management the approval to use any means, including eviction, termination or withdrawal of services, to recover the debts.

The directive was part of the resolutions passed at the recent meeting of the Board chaired by its Chairman, Chief Ebitimi Banigo.

The meeting also directed FAAN’s management to identify fraudulent concessionaires whose activities lead to revenue losses to the organisation in order to minimize, if not eliminate such ugly situation.

FAAN had also been advised to implement the increase in Passenger Service Charge (PSC) from N350 to N1, 000.00, fuel surcharge and advert concessions as approved by the Board with a mind to improving revenue generation.
Some of the key resolutions at the meeting were that FAAN should undertake only safety critical projects until its liquidity position is restored and that all the Authority’s debtors should pay up within a limited period of time to avoid sanctioning.

It was also agreed that all incompetent officers and staff found to have engaged in malpractices should be weeded out.
The management was also directed to work towards returning the Authority to liquidity, through concerted efforts at achieving a major improvement in all airports under its management within six months as a way of celebrating Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary.

The meeting also agreed that FAAN’s management should work with the unions to reposition the Authority to achieve Government objectives.

Meanwhile, the Federal Airports  Authority of Nigeria, FAAN has expended N252 million on the fencing of operational area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Managing Director of the agency, Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, disclosed this in Lagos, saying FAAN was also looking forward to completing that of Port Harcourt International Airport and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly.

‘This is the inner fence, which is different from the perimeter fence of the airport. It is a fence confining authorised persons to the operational area and preventing unauthorised persons from the operational area,” he stated.
According to him, fencing of the operational area of the airport is an additional security measures and  has been successfully completed.

Aisuebeogun said the perimeter fencing project for the major airports in the country was part of 2009 federal government project.

He added: “FAAN is looking forward to completing the fencing of the operational area of the Port Harcourt International Airport and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja under the World Bank assistance project.”

Aisuebeogun explained that the fencing of L:agos airport was an addition to the perimeter fencing and road construction at the Port Harcourt International Airport by the federal government.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/05/faan-spends-n252m-on-airport-fencing/

No fewer than 12 million passengers travelled through the nation’s airports in 2009, and this is a 21% improvement on the traffic for 2008.

The 3D body scanner machine being insdtalled at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at the weekend

According to the Directorate of Operations of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), this figure defies earlier predictions that passenger traffic globally would  witness a drastic decline of at least about five per cent during the above period.

The actual traffic figure for the last quarter of 2009 was 3,576,656 against 3,025,185 recorded in 2008.
The figures show that more people were patronising air transportation as a means of travelling within and outside the country, since air travel had been shown not to be  only safer but also a cheaper and faster means of travelling, both for  business and leisure,

Aircraft movement also showed a marginal growth in the 4th quarter of 2009, the period under review.
The directorate said the total figure for the period was 59,583 aircraft, against the 53,978 recorded within the same period in the year 2008, for both the local and international routes.

, representing a percentage growth of 10 per cent.The cargo movement, according to FAAN, also showed a positive growth figure of 45,691,120.8 against the figure of 29,991,259.7 in the preceding year, representing a 52.5 per cent growth.

The total passenger traffic figure for the whole of the year 2009 is about 12.5million passengers.
“This shows that Nigerian airports have great potentials for growth and the Management of FAAN is not unmindful of this fact.

“Facilities that need to be upgraded and refurbished have received attention in recent times. Runways are being overlaid, airfield lightings are either being replaced or installed. The Port Harcourt International Airport was re-opened recently, and its AFL upgraded.

“The security of all the passengers is receiving greater attention, with the introduction of more modern security equipment such as hand-held metal detectors, X-ray machines for luggage, as well as body scanners which were recently acquired and are being installed.

“The authority is also expecting brand new fire tenders soon, all these in an effort to make Nigerian airports more customer-friendly,” FAAN said in a statement issued in Lagos.

ABUJA—ACTING President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is set to sign into law a Bill on the Nigerian Content  in the Oil and Gas sector.

The law would establish a local content commission to be predominantly staffed by citizens from the Niger Delta region.

The law draws out a Nigerian content plan for supervision, coordination, monitoring and implementation of Nigerian content and for matters incidental to it.

The House of Representatives sub-committee Chairman on Local Content, Tamarautare Brisibe, PDP/Burutu/Delta, told newsmen in Abuja that the law would help in addressing militancy, youth restiveness and kidnapping in the area.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/05/jonathan-set-to-sign-local-content-bill/

Brisibe who said the law would lead to the employment of many jobless citizens of the zone, noted that the Acting President would “write his name in gold,” if he gave his assent to the bill, as the piece of legislation would hasten development of the oil and gas industry.

He said: “The law provides that all international oil companies, IOC, operating in the Niger Delta shall necessarily establish offices in their host communities, which must employ a particular percentage of indigenous youth thereby ending idleness.”

Noting that the law has protected the interest of Nigerians, he stressed: “where applicable before carrying out any work or activity in Nigeria, the operator who submits a plan shall establish in the project’s catchment area, a project office where management and procurement decision making process are to take place, to the satisfaction of the Board.”

Opportunities in oil producing areas
He added that “where Nigerians are not employed because of their lack of training, the operator shall ensure, to the satisfaction of the Board that every reasonable effort was made within a reasonable time to supply such training locally or elsewhere.”

Brisibe said the law also had the potentials of engendering employment opportunities in the oil producing communities and Nigeria as a whole, adding that section 31 (1) of the proposed law posits that “for each of its operations, the operator shall submit to the Board a succession plan for any position not held by Nigerians.

Such succession plans shall provide for Nigerians to understudy each incumbent expatriate for a maximum period of four years. At the end of the four year period the position shall become Nigerianized. All Nigerianized positions shall attract salaries, wages and benefits as provided for in the operator’s conditions of service for Nigerian employees.