₦airaland Forum

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced on Wednesday that the House of Representatives had thrown its weight behind the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode of examination.

JAMB made the announcement in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin. The statement was given to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Benjamin quoted the lawmakers as saying that the use of computers for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was in tandem with government’s drive to sanitise the education sector.

“We the members of the House Committe on Basic Education have thrown our weight to the Computer-Based Test.

“We are convinced that the platform is in tandem with global best practices,” Benjamin said in the statement.

He said that the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education, Mr Zakari Muhammed, in company of some members of the committee made the statement during a fact-finding visit to the CBT centre in Bwari, Abuja.

According to the spokesman, the centre is one of the centres used for the candidates sitting for the re-scheduled UTME.

Benjamin noted that the re-scheduled examination was in accordance with the board’s promise to Nigerians that it would ensure that candidates who missed the 2016 UTME due to relocation of their centres were given fresh opportunity.

He said that the UTME, which was rescheduled for March 23 had been conducted in some states in the country.

According to Benjamin, when asked whether the house is contradicting its earlier stand on the CBT, Muhammed said the lawmakers have never taken a position on the CBT.

He quoted the committee chairman as explaining that the Paper Pencil Test was cumbersome and characterised by irregularities and unwholesome activities.

Benjamin said that candidates, who wrote the examination outside Nigeria were also leveraging on the flexibility of the CBT.

“Today, these candidates some of whom are sick are writing a rescheduled examination, but for the flexibility of CBT they would not have had this opportunity.’’

The mage-maker said, however, that the house called on JAMB to identify and address the hitches, describing the CBT as the way forward.

According to him, the house has pledged to support JAMB to put infrastructure in place to see that examinations are stress-free in future.

(NAN)


http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/utme-reps-endorsement-of-computer-based.html?m=0

Only God & petrol dealers know

Amen

Hmmmmmmmm

Following the ongoing fuel scarcity being witnessed in Jos and environs, the Operation Safe Haven responsible for the maintenance of peace in Plateau State, has banned roadside and illegal sale of petroleum products.

The directive was contained in a press statement signed by the Media Officer of OPSH, Captain Ikedichi Iweha and made available to journalists in Jos, Wednesday.

The directive reads, “Ban is hereby placed forthwith on all forms of roadside and illegal sale of petroleum products in Jos and Bukuru metropolis.

“All persons who have in their stock or possession petroleum products are given 24 hours effective from 1200 hours Wednesday 23rd March to 24th March, 2016 to dispose of them or return them to petrol stations for custody.

The statement further said it has served eviction notices to illegal marketers operating around the vicinity of the NNPC mega station, under the overhead bridge and other nooks and cranny of all roads within the metropolis.

The statement added that the ban is coming into place as a result of a resolution reached at the end of heads of security agencies’ meeting, held at the OPSH Headquarters.

“It was resolved that compulsory seizure will commence by security operatives at the expiration of the ultimatum,” the statement stressed.


http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/fuel-scarcity-military-task-force-bans.html?m=0

Tuesday is World Water Day, an annual celebration started as part of a United Nations campaign to raise awareness about water scarcity and safety issues around the world. But while water covers almost three-fourths of the Earth’s surface, it makes up a small portion of the global conversation.

The day takes on increased significance in the U.S. this year in light of the recent crisis in Flint, Michigan, in which thousands of residents were exposed to water contaminated with unsafe levels of lead as a result of the use of pipe-corroding water.

The crisis in Flint became a major point of contention in the 2016 presidential election when the city hosted a Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

In a statement to commemorate World Water Day in 2015, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “to address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future.”

To celebrate water’s big day, here are some facts about access to water around the globe, courtesy of Water.org:

1. 1.8 billion people around the world lack access to safe water.

2. Globally, a third of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

3. In low- and middle-income countries, a third of all healthcare facilities lack a safe water source.

4. The World Economic Forum in January 2015 ranked the water crisis as the No. 1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation).

5. The incidence of children suffering from stunting and chronic malnutrition — at least 160 million — is linked to water and sanitation.

6. More than 840,000 people die from a water-related disease each year, including diarrhea caused by bad drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.

7. Eighty-two percent of people who don’t have access to “improved” water live in rural areas.

8. More than one-third of people worldwide lack access to a toilet, more than the number of people who have a mobile phone.

9. Women and children spend 125 million hours collecting fresh water every day. Individual women and children spend as many as six hours collecting fresh water daily.

10. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.

11. Universal access to safe water and sanitation would result in $18.5 billion in economic benefits each year from deaths avoided alone, a return of $4 for every dollar spent on safe water access.

12. The amount of safe water could drop by 40 percent in 15 years if people do not change the way they use water.




http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/world-water-day-2016-12-facts-and.html?m=0

The Academic Board of the Yaba College of Technology has expelled six final year students for presenting fake or altered National Diploma (ND) and National Certificate of Education (NCE) results for admission.

The expulsion notice is contained in a circular signed by Mrs Taiwo Obadimu, the Deputy Registrar of the college, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to the circular, the authorities of the institution considered the report on verification of the affected students’ results and found them culpable. “Their expulsion was approved, having found the students guilty for presenting fake/altered ND/NCE results, as their conduct violated the college’s rules and regulations.

“The students are advised to hand over all college property, including student identity cards in their possession, to the heads of their department, the Polytechnic Librarian and the Dean of Students’ Affairs, with immediate effect,’’ the circular stated.

NAN reports that the affected students were in the departments of Food Technology, Mathematics and Integrated Science, Physics Education, Estate Management and Valuation, Industrial Technical Education and Industrial Maintenance Engineering.



http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/yabatech-expels-six-final-year-students.html?m=0

A petty trader, Mrs Mojisola Oyelola, on Wednesday narrated at an Ikeja High Court how her 13-year-old niece was defiled by a 32-year-old welder, Adewunmi Adetuyi. Adetuyi, whose address is unknown, is facing a charge of defilement before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye. Oyelola, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Jide Boye, told the court that the defilement occurred in 2014.

He said:“My 13-year-old niece was defiled by a 32-year-old welder on March 17, 2014. “On that fateful day, I made a wheat meal for dinner, but my niece told me she was not interested in eating it. “I gave her money to buy rice from a canteen three houses away from our home.

“She left the house about 7.30 p.m. and at about 9.00 p.m. when she had not returned, I became very worried.” Oyelola told the court that she alerted her neighbours, who organised a search party for her ward. 

“I could not go with my neighbours for the search because I was battling with an illness. “A few minutes after 11.00 p.m., the neighbours returned with her and I asked where she went and she told me that she was waylaid on her way to the canteen and taken away by someone.

“I asked her who took her away and she refused to tell me, so I asked the neighbours to give her a punishment known as ‘frog jump.” The petty trader said while her niece was being punished, the neighbours noticed that her dress was stained by blood.

“She told me that she was taken to an uncompleted building and raped by a welder who was known to her but unknown to me. “We went to the police station at midnight and the police advised that my niece should not have her bath or remove her cloth to preserve the evidence and that we should go to a hospital as soon as possible,” she said.

Oyelola said the welder was apprehended at his workshop by neighbours the following morning. Oyelola, while being cross-examined by the defense counsel, Mr Nwoha Nwabaka, told the court that her niece was mensturating during the alleged assault.

She said:“My niece was in the middle of her menstrual cycle when she was defiled. “After the incident, she moved to her uncle’s house at the Tollgate area of Badagry due to the trauma.” Justice Ipaye adjourned the case to March 24 for continuation of trial.




http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/how-my-13-year-old-niece-was-defiled-by.html?m=0

Some 100-level medical students at the University of Lagos have urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to quash the decision of the university’s Senate, which allegedly changed the academic requirement needed by them to proceed to 200-level.

The students, numbering about 31, claimed that the decision taken by the university’s Senate on January 27 was “an attempt to weed them out of the university.”

Already, the case has been assigned to Justice Sule Hassan, who has fixed hearing for Tuesday (today).

The students accused the university of raising the academic requirement in order to accommodate diploma students, who allegedly paid N500,000 to the institution’s College of Medicine.

The aggrieved students, through their lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, therefore, urged the court to declare the Senate decision as a nullity.

They, among others, also sought an order of certiorari “removing and reviewing the decision.”

The students explained that they were admitted to the university in the 2014/2015 academic year to studyMedicine and Surgery, Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Pharmacology, Physiology and Radiography.

According to them, their admission followed their successful performance in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and the post-UTME set by the university.

They claimed that upon being admitted to the university, the academic requirements they needed to proceed to the second year were clearly stated in the Faculty of Science pre-Medical and Pharmacy Programmes 2014-2016 Information Handbook made available to them.

 They added, “The said revision was not carried out with noble and genuine intentions to enhance academic standards in the MBBS and other medical programmes in the College of Medicine.

“It was also not for the reason of adherence to the admission quota of either the National Universities Commission or of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for the MBBS in the College of Medicine, (which is 150 for the College of Medicine).

“It was for the purpose of creating admission spaces for foundational course students who are given (or more appropriately sold) admission into the MBBS and other medical programmes upon participating in a one-year programme organised by a Joint Unified Preliminary Examination Board for which they paid to the university  a minimum total fee of N400,000 per session.

“The said payment is part of the internally generated revenue of the university, a stream of revenue which has attracted wide criticism in the university system in Nigeria, for lack of transparency and accountability in its management.”





http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/hearing-begins-today-as-medical.html?m=0

A 16-year-old schoolgirl was set to be charged Tuesday with raising money to support the Islamic State group, Australian police said, warning of a “trend of teenage children” involved in such activities.

The girl and a 20-year-old man were arrested in the western Sydney suburb of Guildford in the morning, New South Wales state police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said.

“We will be alleging that they were involved in obtaining money to send offshore to assist the Islamic State in its activities,” Burn told reporters in Sydney.

“The 16-year-old girl is not somebody who is well-known to us, however it is disturbing that we are continuing to see a trend of teenage children involved in activities that they should really not be involved in at all.”

The 20-year-old, named by local media as Milad Atai, faced court on one charge of financing terrorism on Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

He remains in custody and was due to appear in another Sydney court on Wednesday, the ABC added. The charge of getting funds to, from or for a terrorist organisation, which the Australian Federal Police said the teenage girl was also expected to face, carries a maximum penalty on conviction of 25 years in prison.

Burn would not say how much they allegedly collected, but added that a “number of people in this country” were raising money to finance terrorism and then send it offshore.

Federal Police Deputy Commissioner for national security, Michael Phelan, said the alleged fundraising was not linked to any plot of an attack in Australia and there was no immediate threat to the community.

Canberra has been increasingly concerned about home-grown extremism and raised the terror threat alert level to high in September 2014.

Authorities have conducted a series of counter-terrorism raids in several cities, while the government has passed new national security laws.

Since September 2014, 14 people have been charged under Appleby, a rolling operation investigating people suspected of being involved in domestic acts of terrorism, Australians fighting in Syria and Iraq and the funding of terrorist organisations, Phelan said.

Burn said police were working to identify “all those things that might have been involved in her getting to this position”.

In December, five people including a 15-year-old boy were charged in Sydney over a terror plot targeting a government building.

And in October a civilian police employee was shot dead by a boy, also 15, outside police headquarters in western Sydney. The teenager was killed in an exchange of gunfire.





http://jahelastic..nl/2016/03/16-year-old-schoolgirl-charged-for.html?m=0

I dey sure say he dey work for somebody

A teenager, Balogun Segun, was yesterday charged before an Ota Magistrate’s Court in Ogun State, for allegedly stealing a baby, Aluko Faith. Segun, 18, who lives at 7, Owolabi Street, Iyana-Ilogbo, Ota, is facing a one-count charge of stealing a baby.

The prosecutor, Itaita Ebibomino, told the court that the accused committed the offences on February 25 at about 5p.m. at Oko-Agi Area, Ota.

He said that the accused stole a baby, Aluko Faith, belonging to Aluko Kehinde. The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge preferred against him.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Funke Odubanjo, granted N200,000 bail to the accused with responsible sureties in like sum. She said that the sureties should be resident within the court’s jurisdiction and should be gainfully employed.

Odubanjo also directed that one of the sureties should be a guardian or parent of the accused, while others should produce one year tax clearance from Ogun State Government.

In addition, the sureties should submit four recent passport photographs to the court and the addresses of the sureties should be verified and the case adjourned till April 29 for hearing.



http://jahelastic..nl/2016/03/18-yr-old-boy-in-court-over-baby-theft.html?m=0

A teenager, Balogun Segun, was yesterday charged before an Ota Magistrate’s Court in Ogun State, for allegedly stealing a baby, Aluko Faith. Segun, 18, who lives at 7, Owolabi Street, Iyana-Ilogbo, Ota, is facing a one-count charge of stealing a baby.

The prosecutor, Itaita Ebibomino, told the court that the accused committed the offences on February 25 at about 5p.m. at Oko-Agi Area, Ota.

He said that the accused stole a baby, Aluko Faith, belonging to Aluko Kehinde. The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge preferred against him.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Funke Odubanjo, granted N200,000 bail to the accused with responsible sureties in like sum. She said that the sureties should be resident within the court’s jurisdiction and should be gainfully employed.

Odubanjo also directed that one of the sureties should be a guardian or parent of the accused, while others should produce one year tax clearance from Ogun State Government.

In addition, the sureties should submit four recent passport photographs to the court and the addresses of the sureties should be verified and the case adjourned till April 29 for hearing.

http://jahelastic..nl/2016/03/18-yr-old-boy-in-court-over-baby-theft.html?m=0

But it's in public already. So what do you now want to say about the name of ikorodu that three pupil were kidnapped or recent?

The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), of Queens College, Lagos said in Lagos on Monday that it had set up panel to investigate alleged sexual harassment in the school.

Chairman of the PTA, Mrs Beatrice Akhetuanen, told a news conference that the panel would be working with the Police Station in Sabo, Yaba to investigate the teacher said to be perpetrating the act.

According to the report, the teacher was said to have sexually harassed a JSS II student of the school. The report claimed the teacher was usually drunk, and started molesting the girl who screamed and was rescued by some of the girls, booing him.

The student’s mother alleged that she reported the case to the House Mistress who confirmed the teacher was in the habit of doing such and there was nothing anyone could do to him.

She alleged that the case was also reported to the Vice Principal but she said the teacher would not be allowed to leave the school that instead, her daughter would leave.

Akhetuanen said no parent had reported any sexual harassment to the principal or vice principal and that the teacher was not living in the school.

The PTA chairman, however, pleaded with the aggrieved parent to come forth so that the case could be looked into. ”The so-called parent has not shown herself, all efforts to get her has proved abortive.

“When I tried calling the number I saw on the report, she did not pick her call”, she said. Earlier, the SSS III students were seen protesting, saying that the accused had been set up by someone and was unjustly accused.




http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/pta-sets-up-panel-to-investigate.html?m=0

When guy are supposed to be thinking of making money and be a better person in life. I don't think they think at all.

Malumfashi (Katsina State) – A Malumfashi Senior Magistrates’ Court in Katsina State, on Wednesday sentenced six elderly persons to 20 strokes of the cane each for constituting nuisance while drunk.

The convicted persons were, Nomau Akwai, Yusuf Bature, Salisu Abdullahi, Sani Rabi’u, Sa’idu Abdullahi and Musa Yusuf, all residents of Malumfashi Local Government Area.

The prosecuting police officer, Cpl. Joseph George, told the Senior Magistrate, Mannir Shehu that the convicts were arrested by a team of policemen on patrol at Marabar Kankara, a suburb of Malumfashi on March 13.

George said the convicts were found wondering and intoxicated with alcohol at Gidan Mariya and Gidan Coach, an act that constituted nuisance to the public.

He said the offence contravened section 183 of the penal code law and urged the court to try them summarily.

When the offence was read to the accused, they pleaded guilty to the charge. In his ruling, the Senior Magistrate, Salisu Shehu sentenced them to 20 strokes of the cane each to serve as deterrent to others.



http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/six-elderly-receive-120-strokes-of-cane.html?m=0

Thanks jare @unlimited22

@unlimited22, this is true story and real. Go online to confirm this.

This is coming late but late is better than never. Happy Birthday to you baddest guy ever liveth, Olamide (Baddosneh), wishing you long life!

Here's the pix

Suspected cultists on Saturday night beheaded two  undergraduates of the Abia State University,  Uturu, and thereafter  used their heads as goalposts.

Our correspondent learnt that their roommate sustained severe injuries from machete cuts by the hoodlums.

The deceased  identified as Ebuka Nwaigbo,  a 300 level student of the Department of Estate Management,  and Samuel Ethelbert,  300 level student of the Department of Political Science,  were until their death living at Chi-Doo Lodge along  the Uturu-Afikpo road.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that their  killers were members of a rival cult group on a revenge mission for one of their members  killed last month.

A source,  who craved anonymity, said  the cult groups – Burkinafaso and Mafia – had engaged each other in a battle of supremacy  for years in the university.

He said, “Last month, one Collins Agwu, a member of  Burkinafaso,  was gunned down by the Mafia.

“His colleagues  (Burkinafaso)  decided to retaliate  by killing members of the Mafia.

“That night they came to the lodge  on   four motorbikes  carrying four persons each and they forced themselves in when one of the students living there came out to buy Indomie Noodles.

“They beheaded their targets while the third person, their visitor,  was seriously wounded.

“After killing them they carried their heads and bodies in a sack bag and took it to a playground where they (cult boys) normally play football near the school gate and mounted their heads as goalposts.”

When our correspondent visited the university community, top  officers of the school were said to be having  a crucial meeting.

Spokesman for the institution Acho Elendu said the  school  would make comments  after the meeting.

Meanwhile,  there has been a  heavy police   presence at the school since the incident occurred.

The  Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu,  who confirmed the development,  said the state Commissioner of Police Joshiak Habilah had ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to commence investigation into the murder of the students.

He said, “We are willing to invite any member of the public with any useful information that could lead to the arrest of  criminals to our office if such a person is afraid of giving the information to police officers.”



http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/cultists-behead-students-use-heads-as.html?m=0

Politics is the thing grounding Nigeria

DETECTIVES from Ondo State Police Command have arrested one Tope Akideji, who allegedly punched his 75-year-old landlord, Kayode Osunkalu, to death over electricity bill. Vanguard gathered that the suspect is being interrogated at the homicide section of the Command.

The deceased, a retired civil servant, owned a two-storey building located at 17, Ayeferere, Street in Ondo town. Officials of Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, according to a source, reportedly brought a bill to the house and the deceased invited all tenants for talks on how to settle the bill.

A police source informed Vanguard that an argument over the settlement of the bill ensued between the suspect and the landlord when he gave an ultimatum that all tenants should contribute their share within 24 hours.

He was said to have expressed concern over the huge amount owed and directed that all tenants endeavour to pay by all means to avoid disconnection by officials of the electricity company. An argument reportedly ensued when the suspect said that the ultimatum could not be met by the tenants.

The landlord reportedly tongue lashed him and held him by his shirt for several minutes. The intervention of other tenants failed to separate them, following which the suspect reportedly punched him and he slumped.

The deceased was rushed to the state Specialist Hospital in Ondo town, where he was later confirmed dead by the medical personnel on duty.

Contacted, the Divisional Police Officer in Enuowa Police Station, where the matter was reported, Chief Superintendent Kunle Omisakin, confirmed the incident.

Omisakin told Vanguard that the suspect has been transferred to the homicide section for further investigations. Meanwhile, the remains of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of the state Specialist Hospital for autopsy.





http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/tenant-punches-landlord-dead-over.html?m=0

For the second day, members of the Aga Orunto Ruling Family, yesterday, staged a peaceful protest to Ooni of Ife’s palace over the appointment of new Obalufe, Comrade Idowu Olaniyi Adediwura.

Protesters had last Thursday besieged the palace few hours before the official pronouncement of the new Obalufe, who is the second in command to Ooni, to register their displeasure on the choice. Those who staged yesterday’s protest along the major streets of Ile-Ife before terminating at the palace alleged imposition of the candidate and demanded reversal of the appointment. According to them, the Ooni made a wrong decision not to have appointed someone from Aga Orunto family as the new Obalufe to replace Oba Folorunsho Omisakin, who hailed from Ado, listing ordering for the appointment of Obalufe as – Ajagbusi, Ado Gbodo, Aga and Jaojo. Among others, the protesters demanded that the candidate that was picked after the screening conducted for candidates for the position from the Aga Orunto family be announced. One of the protesters, Prince Oluwasegun Olayade from Aga family, in a chat with newsmen, said: “We are protesting today because my family has been deprived of the Obalufe position that we are entitled to based on the order of the gazette. Four ruling houses are entitled to Obalufe position based on that existing arrangement and there was no disorder until it is our turn now.”






http://jahelastic..co.uk/2016/03/protest-in-ile-ife-over-appointment-of.html?m=0

It’s easy to become sleep deprived with time changes, distractions (hello, Netflix binge!), long work hours and family demands — just to name a few. We’re busy people who sometimes fall off our healthy routine and start to drink too much caffeine, work too hard, skip our workouts and end up sleep deprived. Instead of popping a sleeping pill, try a combination of these natural remedies for sleep deprivation.

Move your body. No matter how busy you are, if you tire out your body, you’ll sleep better. A few great workout ideas that you can easily fit into your schedule include a 20-minute cardio workout (a walk up a hill, a hike, treadmill workout or elliptical) or a yoga routine. Remember this caveat, though: If you workout too late, you’ll disrupt your body’s natural rhythm and may not be able to sleep.
Meditate. If you’re physically tired, but your mind can’t calm down, think about meditating for at least five minutes before you go to sleep. Sit on your bed however it’s comfortable, close your eyes, and take a deep breath in through your nose and then out through your mouth. Let every thought pass by as if you’re watching them from a park bench, without judgment.
Write down your thoughts. If you find yourself building a list of things you need to do the next day while you’re supposed to be relaxing and trying to sleep, take a few minutes every night before bedtime to write down all the thoughts bouncing through your mind. That way, you can clear your mind before you go to sleep, and you won’t have to worry you’re going to forget something.

Drink tea. Tea is warm and calming. Avoid any teas with caffeine (most herbal teas are caffeine-free). Passionflower tea has an extremely calming effect, while chamomile, lavender and peppermint are popular teas with body-calming effects.







http://jahelastic..de/2016/03/4-natural-ways-to-fall-asleep-faster.html?m=0

A Lagos-bound Air Peace plane on Saturday made an air return some minutes after taking off from the Port Harcourt International Airport, according to an official.

The General Manager, Public Relations, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.

Adurogboye said an alarm was raised about fire in the cabin which forced the pilot to make the air return.

“The flight crew did the right thing by returning to base to check the situation,’’ he said.

The NCAA spokesman, however, said the aircraft did not crash land, adding that there was no panic as the pilot properly briefed the passengers before landing safely.

“Air return is a precautionary flight safety procedure that must be adopted in the event of a snag.

“The pilot acted according to Standard and Recommended Practices,” Adurogboye said.

He also reiterated the NCAA’s commitment to safety of Nigeria’s aviation sector.

NAN leant that another aircraft was later provided to convey the passengers to Lagos.




http://jahelastic..nl/2016/03/lagos-bound-plane-returns-to-port.html?m=0

In a colourful blend of two cultures,  the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, got married to his new wife, Wuraola Obanor, from Edo State, at a traditional marriage held in Benin, the Edo State capital.

The ‎wedding rites was performed in the traditional Benin culture at the residence of the bride on Ewere Street, Etete, in Oredo Local Government Area of the state.

Although the monarch was not physically present, he was, however, represented by his father, HRH Omooba Oluropo Ogunwusi.

The grand event was attended by relatives, dignitaries‎ and friends from the Ife dynasty and the bride’s family, many of whom were dressed in white and purple attires.

Among the dignitaries present at the traditional wedding were the Lawarikan of Apoje, Ife Kingdom, Oba Ademola Ademiluyi; the Arode of Ife, High Chief J. A. Awe‎; the Lowate of Ife, High Chief Adebowale Olafare and the Waasin of Ilare, Ife Kingdom, High Chief Olasode Akinropo.

Wuraola was presented to the Ooni’s family by her father, Mr. Williams Obanor, at about 12:30pm, after her bride price was paid in the presence of her family.

In accordance with the Benin wedding rites, supervised by the Esogban of Benin Kingdom and other chiefs, she was placed on the laps of the Ooni’s father, after seven counts.

She was also presented with gifts from her immediate family, including ‎a local mortar, broom and a pot, while traditional dancers from Benin and Ife entertained the guests.

The father of the bride described the wedding as a historic event in the family of the Obanors.

“I feel very happy. When you get a good thing in life you must be grateful to God because this is all the work of God. I never thought it could so because I never thought that, one of these days, I will become very close to the Ooni of Ife. Now that it has happened, I feel grateful to God. So, I wish her a happy married life.”

He also urged his daughter to live peacefully and in harmony with her husband.

“My message for her is that she has to be very polite, obedient and understanding, believing much in God and whatever she needs she will get it. If you have any problem with your husband don’t let a third person to hear of it; go to him and both of you should resolve the problem together amicably,” Obanor said.

“We have a lot of gifts for her. But in Benin, we don’t believe in giving a car or cash. We have what goes by tradition. That is, we have the local mortar, broom and the pot. These are some of the things we normally send and at least a box of cloths,” he added.

‎

The two families and the guests later proceeded to Edo Hotel on Okada Avenue, Benin, for a grand reception awaiting the arrival of the new bride and the monarch’s father were driven to the venue in a limousine.

The event chaired by a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Femi Pedro, who thanked the guests for their presence.

Journalists were, however, barred from covering the reception by a stern looking female usher and a police orderly to the family of the bride, who insisted that only guests and media institutions with the invitation card would be allowed into the hall.

But it was learnt that the event was graced by personalities from all walks of life, including members of the National Assembly and government officials from Osun and Edo States.




http://jahelastic..nl/2016/03/ooni-of-ife-marries-new-bride-wuraola.html?m=0

God is on the throne to help us, when we divot our time for Him.

NO fewer than 13 persons including an Anglican priest were Thursday killed in a fatal multiple auto crash near Atakpo River in Ibusa along Asaba-Ogwashi-Uku road, Delta State. The death of the priest, who was identified as Revd Stanley Ejiniwe has thrown the entire Asaba Diocese of the Anglican Communion into mourning and confusion.

An eyewitness who spoke to Vanguard, said four survivors of the crash which occurred at about 6pm, were rushed to St. Joseph Catholic Hospital and St. Rebecca hospital both in Asaba, for medical attention.

And that those who died included 11 males and two females and were left at the Ibusa General Hospital, the source who pleaded anonymity, said the four survivors were in bad health conditions.

Decrying that the driver of the commercial bus, his wife and others died on the spot, the source said the priest who alone in the Ford bus belonging to the Parish, was recently transferred to Christ Anglican Church, Ibusa.

Pointing out the Ford bus which was descending the hill from Ibusa end collided with the fully loaded commercial Mitsubishi bus that was ascending the hill, the source further said a ‎Honda car which was coming from Ibusa on speed, rammed into the vehicles.

He gave the Ford bus registration number as GWK 684 XA; Mitsubishi L300 bus as BJ 831 AKD and the Honda car as BEN 413 CF.

The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, sector commander in the the State, Mr. Rindom Kumven who confirmed the accident blamed it on over speeding and poor visibility.






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The International Organization for Migration flew 172 Nigerian migrants including six women home from Libya on Friday, the organisation said. An AFP cameraman said a child was among the migrants who left Tripoli’s Mitiga airport at 4:30 am (0230 GMT) dressed in tracksuits and sports shoes.

“Almost all the migrants travelling on this charter were detained as they were trying to cross to Europe,” IOM said in a statement.

“One hundred and forty-two had spent months in immigration detention centres,” it said, adding the flight was organised with the Tripoli authorities and the Nigerian embassy.

Before embarking, they were given back personal belongings including mobile phones that were confiscated when they were detained.

On Thursday, they had travelled to the airport in buses from the Salaheddin and Abu Slim detention centres in the Libyan capital. At the end of February, IOM organised a similar flight for 117 migrants from Burkina Faso who chose to return home, the organisation said.

Libya has long been a stepping stone for migrants and refugees seeking a better life across the Mediterranean in Europe.

The perilous sea journey from the North African country to Italy has taken the lives of 97 migrants and refugees this year alone, IOM said. Libya has been in turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi and has had two rival administrations since the summer of 2014 when an alliance of mostly Islamist militias overran the capital.

People smugglers have taken advantage of the power vacuum to step up their lucrative business, while the Islamic State jihadist group has extended its influence in the oil-rich country.





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The two chambers of the National Assembly have disagreed with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, over the restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

While the Senate has backed the reforms, saying the minister’s action did not contravene any known law, the House of Representatives insists that the restructuring of the national oil firm is illegal.

Kachikwu appeared before the Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) in Abuja on Thursday to explain the reasons for the restructuring.

Before going into a closed session with the senators that lasted about one hour, the minister explained that his action was in the best interest of the country, but regretted not holding necessary consultations with the National Assembly before announcing the restructuring.

He explained that the exercise was necessary in order to make the NNPC a real revenue generating organisation so that it would be able to offset the $5.2bn it currently owed major oil companies as well as reduce its current N30bn monthly losses as much as possible.

Kachikwu also said the restructuring of the NNPC subsidiaries was aimed at making them more effective and efficient, but that they would still be under the corporation and would be controlled by a single board.

He said, “I must apologise that we didn’t take some of the Senate leadership along the path of this restructuring, but if you look at the draft of the Petroleum Industry Bill sent to us for our input, you will discover that the restructuring was within the suggestion we made.

“Having said that, I must take responsibility for not carrying out the necessary consultation as we should have done.”

A member of the committee, Senator Sola Adeyeye, said that the minister would have run afoul of the law if he had stuck to the use of the word ‘unbundling’ in the restructuring exercise, because his action would have contravened Cap. 23 (6) 1D of the Act that established the corporation.

He argued that although the minister, in his capacity as the group managing director of the NNPC, was given a free hand to operate, it would be illegal for him to create autonomous firms separate from the NNPC.

Briefing journalists after the session, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Tayo Alasoadura, described the interactive session with the minster as highly rewarding and useful.

He said Kachikwu had been able to convince members of the three committees mandated to carry out oversight functions on the petroleum sector that his action was legal and one that would boost the sector, generate more revenue and ensure stable supply of products.

Alasoadura said, “We have a very useful discussion with the minister. He clarified the issue that he was not unbundling the NNPC, because it is an entity created by an Act of the National Assembly and nobody can touch it unless he comes back to the National Assembly for amendment.

“Having looked at what he did and the presentation he made to us, and having considered the welfare of the staff of the NNPC and those working in the subsidiaries that were affected by the reorganisation that he has done in the sector, we found out that the staff would not be short-changed, nor deprived of their employment.

“We also found out that he has not contravened the law because we were worried that he might be acting against the law; but having looked at the law with him, we found out that he did not contravene the law.

“We also told him that he ought to have done more consultation with the National Assembly for which he apologised and he said that henceforth, more consultation would be done. We feel that he is working in the best interest of Nigeria.

“We want all Nigerians to support him so that we can get out of the mess in which we have found ourselves in this country today. One good thing today is that the price of fuel is going up and if we don’t do the reorganisation when we are in trouble, it may be more difficult for us to do anything when the price goes up.

“We will continue to pray that the price of oil will be going up and Nigeria will be better. What the minister has done is the internal reorganisation of NNPC. From the figure given to us by the NNPC, the organization is making about N30bn loss every month, if we continue like that, there is no time we are going to get out of the hole which we found ourselves.”

The senator added, “With the gradual reorganisation that the minister has been doing before, the loss of the NNPC as of last month was only N3bn. He is already assuring us that by July, we would have got to a level that the NNPC will not be making loss any longer.

“The only way to do it is to put all hands on the plough. Let everybody work for his pay. Let there be no fat cow that will just suck without contributing anything.”

In his contribution, acting Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Senator Jibrin Barau, said the most important thing was that the Senate was convinced that no law was contravened.

However, the House of Representatives reiterated its opposition to the restructuring at the NNPC, insisting that the action remained illegal so long as the law setting up the corporation was not amended to reflect the changes.

It noted that a key solution was the PIB, which the House said President Muhammadu Buhari had yet to present to the National Assembly.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, said the House had so far made three requests to Buhari to present the bill but that the President had not responded.

According to him, it was the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, who made the requests on behalf of the House.

Namdas said, “Mr. Speaker has called Mr. President three times to at least bring an executive PIB. We have not received the bill or his response, only to hear that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has unbundled the NNPC into seven units.

“What he has done is not in line with our laws.”

However, the minister re-stated his earlier statement that he was merely carrying out a reorganisation at the NNPC and not unbundling the corporation.

A lawmaker, who attended a meeting between Kachikwu and the joint House Committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream), told one of our correspondents that the minister explained that his actions were misconstrued.

“He took some time to explain that he was reorganising the operations of the corporation internally and not unbundling it as had been earlier interpreted. He came with officials of the NNPC,” the source added.

Speaking on the need to amend the NNPC Act, Namdas noted that the extant law provided for a Petroleum Inspectorate Directorate, which was not among the seven just created by Kachikwu.

He explained that the House recognised the powers of the executive to introduce reforms, but said such would achieve limited results without following “the due process of law.”

Meanwhile, at its plenary, urged Buhari to constitute the National Council on Public Procurement in line with the provisions of Section 1 of the Public Procurement Act.

In its resolution, the House observed that eight years after the enactment of the Act, successive administrations had failed to constitute the council.





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