₦airaland Forum

Have you always wanted to know why our female celebs  look good everyday, with new sets of clothes and make ups(Very expensive ones), brand new cars, e.t.c,  The reason for this is very simple and that is the amount they charge per script they wanna act on. Below is the list of the HIGHEST PAID NIGERIAN ACTRESSES

15. Uche Jumbo --- N 450,000 per script
14. Fathia Balogun --- N 500,000 per script
13. Mercy Johnson --- N 600,000 per script
12. Funke Akindele --- N 600-700,000 per script
11. Oge Okoye --- N 600.000 per script
10. Chioma Chukwuka --- N 700,000 per script
9. Rita Dominic --- N 1m per script
8. Ngozi Ezeonu --- N 1m per script
7. Joke Silver --- N 1m per script
6. Stella Damasus --- Goes for anything that suits her.
5. Kate Henshaw Nuptal --- N 1m per script
4. Omotola Jolade --- N 1.5m above per script
3. Patience Ozonkwo --- N 1.6 m per script
2. Ini Edo --- N 1.8m per script
1. Genevieve Nnanji --- N2m per script

At 19 years old, Alia Sabur is the youngest college professor in history. From Northport,  New York, U.S.A. Alia has clearly been ahead of the learning curve since an early age. She  started talking and reading when she was just 8 months old. She finished elementary school  at age 5 and made the jump to university at age 10. And by age 14, Alia earned a bachelor’s  of science degree in applied mathematics summa cum laude from Stony Brook University — the  youngest female in U.S. history to do so. Her education continued at Drexel University,  where she earned an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering. On top of her  unprecedented academic achievements, Sabur has a black belt in the Korean martial art of tae  kwon do and is also a music prodigy. She has been playing clarinet with orchestras since her  solo debut at age 11, playing with recording artists Lang Lang and Smash Mouth.

With an unlimited future ahead of her, Alia directed her first career choice to teaching.  She was three days short of her 19th birthday in February when she was hired to become a  professor at Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea. This distinction made her the youngest  college professor in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, beating the  previous record held by Colin Maclaurin, a student of physicist Isaac Newton, in 1717.

Explaining why she chose teaching, Alia said: “I really feel I can help a lot of people.” At  Konkuk University, Ali said she will take part in classroom instruction, but will also focus  on research into developing nanotubes for use as cellular probes that could help aid in  cures for diseases.

Before taking up the appointment, however, Alia has taken up teaching math and physics  courses at Southern University in New Orleans, which is still struggling from the  devastation left in Hurricane Katrina’s wake in 2005. Funny enough, though she is old enough  to teach in New Orleans, she cannot join her fellow professors in a bar after work. In  Korea, where the drinking age is 20, she might have more luck. In traditional Korean  culture, children are considered to be 1 year old when they are born, and add a year to  their age every New Year instead of their actual birthday, so in Korea Sabur is considered  20.

http://www.coastalnews.com/component/content/article/122-world-news/739-meet-the-worlds-youngest-professor.html

Nigerian billionaire businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has donated $2 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help the survivors of the devastating floods in Pakistan.

The aid was made through the Dangote Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dangote Industries Limited, West Africa's leading manufacturing conglomerate.

“The Dangote Foundation and the entire management and staff of Dangote Industries Limited feel a real need to make a modest contribution to help make life a little more bearable for the survivors in Pakistan,” said Dangote, President of the Dangote Foundation.

“The hearts of all Africans go out to the people of Pakistan as they go through this ordeal. Africa is not only a recipient of humanitarian aid, but is also able to help her brothers and sisters in Pakistan and elsewhere where there is suffering. Helping our family, in this case our global family is part of Africa’s traditional values,” he added.

The donations are expected to provide life-saving food relief to the millions of Pakistanis whose lives have been turned upside down by this disaster as well as help with the logistics of the entire humanitarian community working to supply urgent food and other supplies to the estimated six million Pakistanis WFP is serving who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the heavy monsoon rains that have hit the country.

Commenting on the donation made by Dangote Foundation, Sandy Westlake of the WFP Private Sector Partnerships said: “We are completely humbled by the Dangote Foundation’s generous donation on behalf of WFP and the people of Pakistan. Your contribution will make a life-saving difference and allow WFP to continue its important work on the ground. The funds for Pakistan are absolutely critical and will do a lot to further WFP’s focus on saving lives in the flood zone.”

Westlake, who also described the donation as a testament to the Dangote Foundation’s commitment to broadening its philanthropic reach globally, said support at this level was crucial towards providing immediate food relief to those most affected by the flood.

High Commissioner for Pakistan, Rtd. Major General Asif Duraiz Akhatar, expressed profound appreciation to the Dangote Foundation, saying: “the people and government of Pakistan will forever remain grateful to the Dangote Foundation for this big sacrifice that will greatly address the needs of the people.”

The foundation also last week donated 50 trucks of different food items, with a total value of over N100 million, to the government of Niger Republic. The move, according to the foundation, was also meant to assist the government in addressing the acute famine, currently plaguing the country.

Niger faces the worst hunger crisis in its history, with almost half the population in desperate need of food.
For 2010, the foundation has provided food items to the victims of Jos and Bauchi crisis to the tune of over N70 million; provided dialysis machine to Lagos Island General Hospital and also sunk boreholes in various communities in the country, totalling over N100 million.

In making this donation, the Dangote Group, whose activities include cement, sugar, salt, flour and pasta, said it is staying true to its statement goals.

“Our mission at the Dangote Group has always been to touch the lives of people by providing their basic needs. Our vision is to be a world-class enterprise that is passionate about the quality of life of the general populace and high returns to stakeholders,” Dangote said.

One of Dangote Foundation's guiding principles is to provide humanitarian relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters.
In the past, the Dangote Foundation had provided relief materials and food to victims of civil strife in Nigeria. Since its establishment in 1993, it has worked to provide drinking water and health facilities in partnership with various Nigerian state governments and through grants to individuals and groups for health, education and economic development projects.

The Group’s core business focus is to provide local, value added products and services that meet the “basic needs” of the Nigerian population. Through the construction and operation of large scale manufacturing facilities in Nigeria and across Africa, the group is focused on building local manufacturing capacity to generate employment, prevent capital flight and provide locally produced goods for local people. The Dangote Group has a workforce of over 14,000 employees.
http://www.coastalnews.com/component/content/article/120-nigeria-news/744-dangote-donates-2m-to-pakistans-flood-victims.html

Politicians in Nigeria have complained that the election timetable released yesterday by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is too tight.

Reacting this morning, some of the politicians who spoke with P.M.NEWS, said the timetable is tight because of the electoral activities packaged within the short period.


Speaking on behalf of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, its national Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the timetable as unrealistic, saying it is a recipe for failure of the 2011 general elections.

Says Mohammed: “the National Assembly must show uncommon patriotism by suspending the operation of the amended constitution until after the 2011 elections, so that INEC could conduct the elections in April, 2011.

“My party is issuing this warning in order for the country not to repeat its history of electoral woes and to prevent the billions of naira to be spent on the elections from going down the drain,” he stated.

He disclosed that the problem of impossible time-lines which the elections face now, was not created by INEC, but by the choreographed delayed amendment of the constitution by the National Assembly.

In his own comment, governorship aspirant in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State and former Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief Waliu Taiwo said the programmes lined up by INEC to be concluded by January 2011 are just too tight.

He also blamed the crowded timetable on the delay in the amendment of the electoral law.

“To me, the timetable has so many programmes to be completed in a very short time, and as such it could create room for the disenfranchisement of so many aspirants.

“We cannot, however, blame INEC because it only operating, according to the law that guides it. It has been slated that INEC must conduct election 90 days before swearing-in and that’s what its trying to do,” Taiwo said.

Other politicians who spoke with P.M.NEWS this morning on the issue shared the same view.

MOBO444:
Source please.

Did you read the article at all?

The Pastor of Glorious Vision International Ministries, Ori Oke Ogudu, Lagos, Nigeria,  Pastor Paul Nna has been arraigned before the Ogudu Magistrate’s Court charged with raping a  housewife (names withheld).
P.M.NEWS gathered that the woman’s husband, also a pastor in another church sent his wife to  Pastor Nna’s church to collect a bag from him.
When the victim got there, Nna reportedly told her that he saw a vision that there was  danger lurking ahead in a new appointment she was about taking up that morning.
Nna was said to have deceived the colleague’s wife that she needed deliverance to cast a  demon out of her body.
In the process he flogged her severely with broom and after she became exhausted, she fell  down.
According to the husband, Charles Kukuise, before his wife could recover, Nna raped her. But  immediately the woman became conscious she phoned her husband to reveal the incident to him.
Charles then reported the matter at Ojota Police Division.
He also rushed his wife to an undisclosed hospital where she was admitted.
After investigation, the matter was charged to the Magistrate’s Court.
The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Eyo Owai docked the pastor on a  one-count charge of raping the pastor’s wife.
When the charge was read to Nna, he pleaded not guilty.
The trial Magistrate, Mrs. Aje Afuwa granted Nna bail in the sum of N100,000 and one surety  in like sum.
She adjourned the matter till 13 October, 2010 for trial.

Nigeria Category One certification, a KLM airline’s flight has been attacked by an aggrieved passenger at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.

Investigation by our correspondent showed that the passenger, whose identity has been masked by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, had last Monday beaten all security measures to launch an attack on a flight scheduled to depart for Amsterdam.

Our correspondent learnt that the passenger who apparently lives in Europe had had altercations with officials of the Dutch airline at its regional office in Sheraton Hotel and Towers Abuja earlier in the day.

Although the airline warned the passenger never to appear at the airport, he showed up as promised and still engaged the airline in hot arguments. Initially, he was apprehended and handed over to Aviation Security officials.

However, the unruly passenger later escaped and made it to the tarmac mysteriously when the KLM aircraft was being pushed in readiness for taxing and eventual take off.

He came armed with a bag filled with stones, which he started hurling at the engine of the aircraft thereby drawing the attention of onlookers and creating panic in the hearts of the passengers that had boarded the aircraft.

Our correspondent learnt that Aviation Security (known for short as AVSEC, the security arm of FAAN in charge of airport security) officials at the tarmac had to call for reinforcement.

With the reinforcement, the passenger was eventually overpowered, arrested and handed over to the police at the airport.

The Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Airport Police Station, Mr. S.O.N. Anene, confirmed that the police were handling the case but declined to give further details.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100906345393

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2 . Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6 . Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest,  Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells,

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

No fewer than 10,000 packets of condoms are distributed monthly to soldiers with the Special Task Force (STF) personnel, charged with ensuring security in Jos since the outbreak of the 2010 crisis.
The Executive Director of a Jos-based non-governmental organization (NGO), Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD), Mr Zanna Umar, disclosed this yesterday in Jos at a workshop on mitigating the effects of  HIV/AIDS on physically-challenged persons.
Said he:  ”We are distributing a minimum of  10,000 condoms every month to the soldiers you see on our streets maintaining internal security. We were distributing 7,000 condoms to them after the 2008 crisis; that figure has been increased to 10,000 since the 2010 crisis broke out.’’
“The STF personnel have too much money on them, but they have nowhere to spend it. That is why they spend a lot of   time with the ladies. Our organization was disturbed by the development and had to respond with the free distribution of  condoms to protect both parties from being infected by HIV.”
He also said some physically-challenged persons took to prostitution to survive because of  the discrimination against them in employment opportunities.
The VSD director added:“ Unstable source of   livelihood for persons with disabilities generally is a serious risk factor for the spread of HIV/AIDS especially among the women. Have you not heard about people with disabilities being taken advantage of and abused even sexually?  What do we make of cases of some women that suffer mental disability that were forcefully impregnated by some unscrupulous individuals mostly for  rituals?’’
He said physically challenged persons, who were also infected, were not courageous enough to  seek support because of  an intolerant society.

http://www.peoplesdaily-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13523:jos-crises-ngo-distributes-10000-condoms-to-soldiers-monthly-&catid=16:national-news&Itemid=33

One of the most contentious issues in the vast literature about alcohol consumption has been the consistent finding that those who don't drink actually tend to die sooner than those who do. The standard Alcoholics Anonymous explanation for this finding is that many of those who show up as abstainers in such research are actually former hard-core drunks who had already incurred health problems associated with drinking.

But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that - for reasons that aren't entirely clear - abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.

Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation and sociability, which can be important because people who are isolated don't have as many family members and friends who can notice and help treat health problems.

But why would abstaining from alcohol lead to a shorter life? It's true that those who abstain from alcohol tend to be from lower socioeconomic classes, since drinking can be expensive. And people of lower socioeconomic status have more life stressors - job and child-care worries that might not only keep them from the bottle but also cause stress-related illnesses over long periods. (They also don't get the stress-reducing benefits of a drink or two after work.)

But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables - socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on - the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who had never been drinkers, second-highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers.

The sample of those who were studied included individuals between ages 55 and 65 who had had any kind of outpatient care in the previous three years. The 1,824 participants were followed for 20 years. One drawback of the sample: a disproportionate number, 63%, were men. Just over 69% of the never-drinkers died during the 20 years, 60% of the heavy drinkers died and only 41% of moderate drinkers died.

These are remarkable statistics. Even though heavy drinking is associated with higher risk for cirrhosis and several types of cancer (particularly cancers in the mouth and esophagus), heavy drinkers are less likely to die than people who have never drunk. One important reason is that alcohol lubricates so many social interactions, and social interactions are vital for maintaining mental and physical health. As I pointed out last year, nondrinkers show greater signs of depression than those who allow themselves to join the party.

The authors of the new paper are careful to note that even if drinking is associated with longer life, it can be dangerous: it can impair your memory severely and it can lead to nonlethal falls and other mishaps (like, say, cheating on your spouse in a drunken haze) that can screw up your life. There's also the dependency issue: if you become addicted to alcohol, you may spend a long time trying to get off the bottle.


That said, the new study provides the strongest evidence yet that moderate drinking is not only fun but good for you. So make mine a double.

news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599201433200

Remi Babalola, the Minister of State for Finance, who was deployed to the Ministry of Special Duties in a minor cabinet reshuffle by President Goodluck Jonathan on 11 August, has resigned his ministerial appointment, P.M.NEWS gathered this mornin
Babalola had immediately after handing over to HajiaYabawa Lawani Wali, his successor in the Ministry of Finance, asked for permission to embark on his accumulated leave.
P.M.NEWS gathered that Babalola immediately travelled out to the United Kingdom and returned to the country over the weekend.
It was gathered that he took the decision to pull out of President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet while he was in the UK.

P.M.NEWS was unable to confirm if the Preisdency has received the resignation letter of Babalola as at the time of writing this story.
Calls and text messages to Ima Niboro, spokesperson to President Jonathan seeking confirmation of the informatiom were unanswered.
However, sources close to the former Executive Director of First Bank confirmed that he has indeed decided to leave the cabinet.
Babalola who was appointed as minister of state for finance ran into trouble following his statement that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is insolvent at the meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC held in Abuja on 13, July.
Ironically, Babalola had relied on a letter from the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Austen Oniwon in making the claim.
Babalola had told the FAAC meeting which includes state commissioners of finance that he received a letter from the NNPC GMD on why the corporation has not been able to remit the N450 billion it should have remitted to the federation acoount since last year.
The statement made by Babalola that led him into trouble is as follows: “At the close of business yesyterday, my office received a letter signed by the Group Managing Director of NNPC wherein the following positions were posited among others by the Corporation: NNPC is facing financial difficulties evidenced by amongst others, the inability to pay for domestic crude as at when due and delays in settling bills for fuel imports.The financial difficulties stem from disequilibrium between costs and cash flow.”
He added that NNPC’s current liabilities exceed current assets by N754 billion as at December 31, 2008.
This revelations by Babalola was said to have embarrased the NNPC and the Federal Government as it elicited immediate enqiuries about the state of finance of the regulator of the Nigerian oil industry across the globe.
“We cannot be classified as insolvent when we have a healthy cash flow and we can pay for our crude and product import obligations,” Levi Ajuonuma, spokesperson of NNPC said in denial of Babalola’s assertions though the minister had relied on a letter from the corporation in making the claims.
But the sign that Babalola may have talked himself into trouble became more glaring the next day when the Federal Government disowned the ministers’ statement after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
While briefing reporters after the the FEC meeting,  Communications Minister, Dora Akuyili, said: “NNPC does not have solvency issues”.
Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Finance corroborated Akunyili’s statement, insisting that  “NNPC is a going concern, it is involved in all joint ventures we have in the country, it is involved with all IOCs, we still have all the wells and other parastatals related to the NNPC.”
The strong denial of Babalola statement concerning NNPC had sparked off speculations that Babalola’s days as a minister in the cabinet may be over as he may be sacked for putting the government in an embarrassing situation.
But rather than sack him, President Jonathan deployed the minister to Special Duties Ministry on 11 August.
Though as substantive minister in his new post, the Special Duty minister is generally considered to be a glorified messenger at the beck and call of the President for any available job.
Certainly, for Babalola who as Minister of State for Finance had the responsibility of supervising niche government parastatals like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Nigerian Import Export Bank (NEXIM) in addition to chairing the monthly meeting of FAAC, the redeployment was considered a demotion.
We gathered that this was one of the major reasons for his decision to quit the cabinet.
It was also gathered that the banker turned minister may have been disappointed that he was punished for reiterating an information that is already in the public domain about NNPC.

The 57-year old woman who died on the flight from Lagos to Atlanta on Monday died of ovarian cancer, according to autopsy reports released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The  burea identified the passenger as Aolatou Assani according to John Bank head the agency spokesman.

The agency described the cause of her death as "diffuse, metastatic ovarian cancer."

Assani was  was found dead yesterday aboard Delta Flight 53 an hour before the flight was due to land at the Jackson-Hartsfield International airport in Atlanta.

An angry father, Gbenga Adewole has dragged a young man, Kenneth Anayo to Ejigbo Magistrate Court for having sex with his 18-year-old daughter, Rose for three consecutive days.
Gbenga claimed that Kenneth kept Rose in his house at 6, Adodoye Street, NEPA Ijegemo, outskirt of Lagos, Nigeria and was busy having sex with her as if she were his wife, though he has not contracted marriage with her.
The embittered father went to the Isheri Oshun Police Station and reported that Kenneth abducted his daughter and he was arrested and charged to court for abduction.
But Kenneth denied that he abducted her, saying she was his girlfriend and after the first rounds of sex with her, she decided to stay for extra days for more.
However, Rose said that she actually went to his house on her own but did not know what got over her and she decided to stay on.
Kenneth was arraigned for the offence of abduction and illegal sex with Rose but he pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The magistrate, Mrs. M.b. Folami, granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two responsible sureties. The court also ruled that the sureties must show evidence of the payment of tax and their addresses must be verified by the court.
The matter has been adjourned till 1 September for definite trial while the defendant was remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Apapa, Lagos because he could not fulfill the bail conditions.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a 38-year-old cripple, Sulaiman Danlami, for falsely claiming to be an associate of the Director- General of the National Youth Service Corps.

Danlami, who said he was the Chairman, Joint National Association of Disabled Persons and Special Adviser to the D-G, allegedly conned a female corps member of N25,000 with the assurance that he would ensure that she was re-deployed to Lagos State from Nasarawa State, her original state of deployment for the mandatory one-year national service.

It was learnt Danlami met the corps member at a restaurant in Keffi, Nassarawa State, where he offered to assist her in getting re-deployed to Lagos State.

The head, media and publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, confirmed the incident.

He said, ”The corps member said that Danlami promised to get her posted to either Daewoo Automobile Company or Shell Development Petroleum Company, both in Lagos.

“He eventually offered her a letter allegedly written by the NYSC‘s Director of Posting re-deploying her to SDPC. The corps member said that upon presenting the letter to the company, the letter was found to be a fake one.”

Danlami, it was learnt, had earlier helped two other persons to secure gainful employment through such means.

Babafemi said, ”Copies of fake letterheads of the NYSC‘s Director-General and another letterhead of the House of Representatives were found in his possession.

“Two of his aides: one a driver and the other a personal assistant were arrested with him. He would be arraigned very soon.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100829483714

A part of the Peoples Democratic Party National Secretariat was in the early hours of Saturday gutted by fire.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the fire, which raged for about one hour, destroyed furniture and fittings in the conference room of the National Working Committee of the PDP located on the second floor of the three-story edifice also known as Watada Plaza.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire began at about 10:10am but was contained with the prompt intervention of the Civil Defence Corps whose headquarters is about 100 meters from PDP national secretariat.

The fire service personnel from Wuse Fire Station in Abuja arrived 35 minutes later to put the fire out.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, who visited the scene at about noon, said the cause of the fire was probably due to faulty electrical appliance.

He told reporters, “We are yet to get full details but we suspect it is from the air conditioner. Though investigations are still on, incidents of this nature are usually caused by electrical faults; maybe the air-conditioner or some other items that were not switched off.”

He pointed out that the wooden partition used to demarcate the offices might have aggravated the fire.

Onovo denied the speculation that sabotage might have been responsible for the inferno.

Mr Ike Abonyi, media aide to PDP National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, said it would be hasty to allege sabotage until otherwise indicated after being investigated.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali in a released said, “From preliminary reports, we learnt that the fire started from an air-conditioner in the hall. The quick intervention of the Fire Service personnel, Civil Defence Corps and staff of the Secretariat contained the fire.”

However, SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the fire extinguishers in PDP national secretariat were faulty and so were not used.

The Chief Security Officer of the secretariat, Mr Chris Udoaka, said, “Investigations will be carried out so I cannot comment on that.”

The Area Commander of Wuse Fire Station, Mr. Karibo Samson said, “Most of the fire extinguishers were brought by the civil defence corps. We do not know whether the fire extinguishers in PDP office were working or not. We did not have to use fire extinguishers because we had access to water.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010082948120

A Saudi couple tortured their Sri Lankan maid by hammering 24 hot nails into her after she complained of her heavy workload.

X-rays showed the brutal result after the nails were hammered into the hands, legs and feet of LT Ariyawathi, a 49-year-old mother-of-three.

Mrs Ariyawathi had returned to Sri Lanka on Friday after five months in Saudi Arabia.

Her family took her to the hospital after it became clear she was in massive amounts of pain.It was then that doctors discovered the 1in to 2in nails inside her body. One had been hammered in over her eyes, officials said.

Mrs Ariyawathi told a local newspaper that her employers tortured her with the nails as punishment.

'They (employer and his family) did not allow me even to rest. The woman at the house had heated the nails and then the man inserted them into my body,' she was quoted as saying in the Lakbima, a newspaper published in local Sinhalese language.

She told the paper that she went to Saudi Arabia in March and was paid only two months' salary, with her employer withholding three months' salary to buy an air ticket to send her home.

Dr HKK Satharasinghe said X-rays show Mrs Ariyawathi has 24 nails and needles in her body. Some of her wounds have healed over, he said but she finds it difficult to walk because she has two nails in her knee and two in her ankles.

Another needle is in her forehead, and the rest are in hands, he said.

'Her condition is stable, but we are giving antibiotics and painkillers,' Dr Satharasinghe said, adding that doctors will begin removing the remaining nails tomorrow.

Kalyana Priya Ramanayake, media secretary of the Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau, said: 'The landlord and the wife of the landlord hammered 24 nails into her when she complained of the heavy workload.'

He added that Mrs Ariyawathi had been too afraid to complain about the abuse to Saudi authorities, fearing that her employers might not let her return home. She also did not report the abuse to Sri Lankan officials, until she was hospitalised.

A diplomatic row is brewing between the two countries over the incident.

The Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry is to confront the Saudi government over the attack, while the Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau is consulting with the Attorney General over any possible legal action.

Nearly two million Sri Lankans sought employment overseas last year.

Around 1.4 million, mostly maids, were employed in the Middle East with 400,000 working in Saudi Arabia alone. Many have complained of physical abuse or harassment. According to Human Rights Watch, the estimated eight million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are suffer multiple abuses and exploitation, and sometimes slavery-like conditions.

The reason this is allowed to flourish largely unchecked is because it is tied to a system of migrant sponsorship called kafala, which ties migrant workers' residency permits to their employers.

It leads to abuses such as employers confiscating passports, withholding wages and forcing migrants to work against their will.

Recent law reforms have set prison sentences of up to 15 years for forced labour to combat trafficking, and extended some protection to migrant domestic workers.

However, the reforms excluded giving domestic workers the rights to leave the house or keep their passports and it still requires them to obey the employers.

Saudi's foreign embassies report thousands of complaints each year from domestic workers forced to work 15-20 hours a day for seven days a week, who are denied their salaries, denied food and drink and sometimes even subjected to sexual abuse.

A Nigerian footballer in Hungary has been ordered to leave the country because of an error made by his own embassy in Madrid, Spain during the process of a new biometric passport.

Enefiok Francis Edem, 23 got the shock of his life when he presented his new passport to the Hungarian Immigration for a transfer of his permanent resident permit which he had obtained as a result of his marriage to Hungarian woman.

On presenting his new biometric passport, the immigration discovered that the date of birth recorded in his new passport did not tally with the old one. The Embassy of the Republic of Nigeria in Spain had mistakenly committed an appalling error of data by writing 10th of July 1987 instead of 10th of June 1987 as Francis date of birth.

According to the immigration, disparity in personal data in a document such as passport is an offence under the existing Hungarian law. But Human Rights lawyer, Dr. Horváth Péter said that Francis has not committed any offence – technically – since the mistake was an official error duly attested to by the sister diplomatic mission of the issuing authority in Hungary.

However, the “To Whom It May Concern” by the Nigerian embassy in Hungary, attesting to the fact that its sister diplomatic mission in Spain had made a mistake regarding Francis date of birth, might eventually save the footballer from being repatriated.

Francis, a goalkeeper for the Afrique Internationale here in Budapest, said that the ugly situation probably would have been averted if only the Nigeria embassy in Hungary had earlier understood the seriousness of the case the first time he went there for attestation which the immigration had requested for.

“When I went there the first time,” said Francis, “the embassy was reluctant to issue an official paper – though I was later given – that Nigeria embassy in Spain had made a mistake concerning my date of birth”.

Although Francis was given the option to appeal within ten-working-day, his permanent residence permit has since been replaced with a temporary one of three months.

“This is a violation of human rights,” declared a Human Rights activist who is closely following the case, adding that “if someone is expelled unlawfully, it is a violation of International law and European Convention of Human Rights of which Hungary is a member signatory”.

Dr. Horváth in his official letter to the immigration and made available to this writer states that the decision to expel Francis does not fulfil the criteria of the Hungarian law, especially when the immigration itself admitted that the passport was duly obtained at a diplomatic mission of the person in question.

Although Dr. Horváth added that the Home Office in its capacity can take any decision deem fit in such circumstances, especially regarding personal data misinformation, he believed Francis should have been given another option instead of revoking his permanent residence.

“It’s part of immigration bureaucracy,” he said, saying we have appealed the decision and we are waiting for the court proceeding.

A policeman attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Borno State police headquarters in Maiduguri has allegedly impregnated a 24-year-old homicide suspect, Halima Abdu, while being detained in cell at the CID wing for investigations before her prosecution in court.


Daily Trust confirmed yesterday that the suspected policeman, whose name was only given as Abubakar from Biu Local Government Area, has since been arrested and detained by his colleagues after the Nigerian Prisons Service wrote to the state Commissioner of Police informing him that a suspect was confirmed to be pregnant while she was to be admitted into the maximum security prison in Maiduguri and on investigations, she said she was impregnated by a policeman.



The Fulani woman was brought to the CID where she identified the man and he was promptly detained by his colleagues with investigations still on, police sources said. The woman became pregnant sometime in January 2010. She was arrested and detained since 2009, shortly after she was accused of killing her three-day old baby boy whom she dumped in a public well at Balbaya village in Bayo Local Government Area of Borno State in June 2009.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Isa Azare, didn’t answer phone calls yesterday for comments and wasn’t traced but a source at the command said investigations were going on which may require a DNA test after the woman delivers next month, September- expectedly, to ascertain the paternity of the child.

Now about eight months pregnant, Halima told Daily Trust that she was impregnated by the police officer after she was transferred from Bayo Police Division to the CID. She said he lured her into having sex with him.

“He said he was going to help set me free if I agreed to have sex with him and we had sex right there inside the cell where I was kept. But after that, he failed to keep his promise. I did what I did to regain my freedom,” she said.

Daily Trust found out from prison sources that the pregnancy was discovered based on the suspicion of a female prison warden at the Admissions Board (a department within the prisons that is saddled with the responsibility of ascertaining conditions of new inmates and disclosing to them their rights).

A pregnancy test was conducted in March, 2010 and the woman was confirmed to be 12 weeks pregnant as at then. Halima had told Daily Trust that she was married to one Haruna Buba and lived at Unguwan Mai Ruwa in Jalingo, Taraba State, but was sent packing by her husband without a divorce letter while she was already pregnant for him.

Despite court intervention, he refused to divorce her, forcing her to go back in search of her parents who were until then resident at Juniji village in Bayo Local Government Area of Borno State.

She said she couldn’t locate her parents and on June 15, 2009, she was accommodated by one Hafsat, a house wife. “In the afternoon of June 17, 2009, I gave birth to a baby boy and decided to move with the baby,” she said.

She said in the evening of June 19, 2009, she stopped over at Balbaya village in Bayo and out of frustration and annoyance with how her husband treated her, and having nowhere to go or whom to turn to, she confessed, “I decided to drop the baby boy into a well.”

Daily Trust gathered that one Malam Bello Ali (Agambe) Chairman of water vendors at Balbaya was said to have sighted the body of the baby boy and rushed to report his discovery to the village head, Lawan Ali Muhammadu, who in turn reported the matter to the Balbaya police outpost. The case is to continue on August 11, 2010.

Super Eagles’ skipper, Nwankwo Kanu, has finally announced his retirement from the national team after Nigeria failed to advance beyond the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

"I started my career in Africa and I'm happy that it ended in an African country. After this tournament, I will now go home and meet my family who were also here today to see me play my last match for team. They were all happy to see me in Nigeria's colours and I'm so happy about it.

“Don't ask me where I'm going from here. I would have to think and plan on where I'm going because there were offers everywhere”.

The Eagles’ skipper said he was disappointed that the team couldn't utilise all its scoring chances against South Korea.
Kanu began his career, aged sixteen, at First Division club, Federation Works, before moving to Iwuanyanwu Nationale in 1992. After a notable performance at the Under-17 World Championships he was signed by Dutch Eredivisie AFC Ajax in 1989 for €207,047. He made his Ajax debut the following year and went on to score 25 goals in 54 appearances. Kanu also came on as a sub in Ajax's 1995 Champions League final win over AC Milan. In 1996, Ajax sold Kanu to Serie

A side Internazionale for around $4.7 million; that summer he captained the Nigerian team that won gold at the Olympics, and scored two late goals in the semi-finals against powerhouse, Brazil to overturn a 2–3 scoreline into a 4–3 win in extra time.

Kanu was also named African Footballer of the Year for that year. However, soon after returning from the Olympics, Kanu underwent a medical examination at Inter, which revealed a serious heart defect; he underwent surgery in November 1996 to replace an aortic valve and did not return to his club until April 1997. In interviews, Kanu frequently cites his faith as a Christian, and has often mentioned the trying time of his career as an occasion when he prayed to God. Kanu's experience also led to his founding Kanu Heart Foundation, an organisation that helps predominantly young African children who suffer heart defects. Kanu is known throughout Africa for his philanthropic work.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/sports/2010/june/24/sports-24-06-2010-002.htm

The Federal Government has procured a total of fifty-nine units of fully equipped security combat patrol boats worth over N15 billion, for the Marine Department of the Nigeria Police Force , with the sole aim of nipping criminal activities on the nation’s waterways , particularly in the Niger Delta region of the country, in the bud.

Charging the Force to live up to its statutory expectation,President Goodluck Jonathan , while commissioning the combat boats at the Marine Police headquarters , Ikoyi , yesterday, said the gesture was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to equip the Nigeria Police Force, with a view to transforming it into a modern institution in line with world best ranking.

Lamenting what he described as worrisome cases of insecurity and violent crimes such as  hostage taking and illegal bunkering on the   the nation’s water ways, President Jonathan said the combat boats would not only address the situation but would also increase  economic activities on the waterways.

“Government and the indigenous public are not unaware of the various challenges facing the Nigeria Police Force which entails adequate training , equipment and funding .

The Marine department of the Nigeria Police Force for instance, is constrained with the challenges of patrolling the Nigeria water ways against insecurity  and a lot of violent crimes.

The launching of these boats will therefore go a long way in enhancing security particularly on our water ways”, president Jonathan stated.

Jonathan who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, stated that  the present administration was determined more than ever to adequately equip the Nigeria Police, noting that the procurement of the combat boats was a pointer to the actualisation of its dream for the Force.

The present administration he disclosed , would in the nest five years transform the Nigeria Police force with its focus mainly on  upgrading its equipments and welfare of men and officers .

Appreciating what he described as a significant gesture that showcased the extent of the federal government resolve to live up to its commitment to the Police,  the Inspector_General of Police, Mr Ogbona Onovo, earlier in his welcome address, described the procurement of security combat boats as timely .

Although the Marine Police according to Onovo, began operations in 1891as the Police Night Water patrol under the then colonial police division in Lagos, he said it came to the fore following escalation of hostilities and criminal activities along the Niger Delta region, where unfortunately the Force lost some of its men.

“The situation did not only place enormous demand on the unit but  also exposed her operational inadequacies resulting from lack of adequate equipment for modern maritime combat. This situation informed government decision to fortify the Police Marine”, he stated.

Stressing the need for a sustained improvement in the provision of modern hi_tech equipment for the use of the Nigeria Police, Onovo stated that  “While governments effort is highly appreciated, I must use this opportunity to underscore the fact that the government alone can not be able to fully provide the needs and requirement for the provision of adequate security.  I therefore call on all stakeholders to join hands with government in the drive to equip the Police for the betterment of the society at large”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/06/05/fg-buys-n15b-equipment-for-police/

bizzy234:
Johannesburg - The Hawks arrested four people implicated in a 419 scam at the weekend after they allegedly held a US woman hostage for nearly a month, an official said on Monday.

"Police believe the four lured the US citizen with a promise that she had won $1.06m (R8m)," Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said.

The gang started scamming her last year and fleeced $60 000 from her between April and July.

"After July, the communication went cold until they approached her again in April this year."

She was told to come to South Africa in person to claim her prize and bring $2 000.

Taken hostage

"She duly came and on arrival on April 15 they took her hostage from the airport and kept her in a house Albertsdal, Alberton for well over a month. She was fed once a day while in captivity."

The woman managed to free herself on May 22 after breaking the window of the room where she was kept hostage.

She sought help from the neighbours who contacted the police.

"Intensive investigations were conducted by the Johannesburg Hawks unit working alongside crime intelligence colleagues," said Zondi.

The four people - three Nigerians and a South African woman - were arrested on Saturday.

They were due to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The US woman has since returned home.

Where is your source?

A young secondary school leaver, who was identified as Solomon Ehigie, is among nine other drug trafficking suspects arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, in the last two weeks.

Solomon was arrested  May 24, while attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris, along with one Ejiro Henry who was caught on his way to Rome aboard an Alitalia flight.

While Ehigie ingested 66 pieces of cocaine, weighing 900 grammes, Ejiro Henry ingested 73 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.285 of cocaine.

Aside the two, eight others were arrested with a combined total weight of hard drugs estimated at 12.33kg, comprising 11.215kg of cocaine and 1.115kg of heroin.

Among those arrested during the period were Osaze Godwin, who ingested 60 pieces of cocaine, weighing 1.010kg; Izevbokun Kelvin, who ingested 111 pieces of cocaine, weighing 1.610kg and Joe Favour, who ingested 82 pieces of cocaine, weighing 1.300kg.

Others include Nwodo Ogochukwu, who swallowed 95 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.515kg; Chinedu Okeke, who swallowed 69 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.115kg; Obarisiagbon Marvis, who ingested 77 pieces of cocaine, weighing 1.445kg; Liasu Ismaila Ajadi, who ingested 80 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.190kg and Omorose Kingsley, who swallowed 960 grammes of cocaine,

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, charged youths to eschew get-rich-quick syndrome and embrace the principles of discipline.

Giade, in his goodwill message on the nation’s Democracy Day, charged youths to take advantage of the numerous windows of opportunities offered by the stable and growing democratic system in the country to reposition themselves for leadership responsibilities.

He identified indiscipline and greed as the prevalent factors responsible for the involvement of youths in narcotic trafficking, and urged youths to positively re-brand themselves in line with the practice of integrity and contentment.

According to him, a good name is priceless and what integrity and discipline offers is far more valuable than silver and gold.

“Drug traffickers usually act on impulse as a result of greed and indiscipline. Unfortunately, many only have a re-think after they had been caught,” the NDLEA boss stated.

Giade revealed that drug barons now deploy Nigerians resident in Europe with valid travel documents, adding that only two of those arrested during the period were based in the country.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/30/drugs-ndlea-arrests-9-suspects/

Ghana’s Serbian manager, Milovan Rajevac has named the 23-man squad that will represent the Black Stars in South Africa.

Here is the list: Goalkepers : Richard Kingson (Wigan, England), Daniel Agyei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana), Stephen Ahorlu (Hearts of Lions, Ghana).

Defenders: Samuel Inkoom (FC Basel, Switzerland), Jonathan Mensah (Free State Stars, Spain), Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea, Ghana), Rahim Ayew (Zamalek, Egypt), Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), John Mensah (Sunderland, England), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim, Germany), John Paintsil (Fulham, England).

Junior Agogo and his team mates at the 2010 Nations Cup: Courtesy: AP

Midfielders: Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Italy), Derek Boateng (Getafe,Spain), Anthony Annan (Rosenborg, Norway), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy), André Ayew (Arles-Avignon, France), Stephen Appiah (Bologne, Italy), Quincy Owusu Abeyie (Al-Sadd, Qatar), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth, England).

Forwards: Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda, Netherlands), Asamoah Gyan (Stade Rennais, France), Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim, Germany), Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan, Italy).

In South Africa, Ghana will be in Group C and will face Serbia (June 13th) Australia (June 19th) and Germany (June 23rd).

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/30/world-cup-ghana-battle-ready-names-23-man-list/

Former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke has dismissed speculations that security agencies stormed the launch venue of Calabar Women and Children Hospital (CWCH) arrested him and whisked him off to Abuja for interrogation, stating that “as I speak, I am in my house; I was never arrested by any security agency for whatever reasons.”

According to The Will, an online news site, Duke said the hospital launch organized by his wife, Onari was well underway when armed policemen cordoned the venue brandishing a purported court injunction from an Akamkpa High Court to stop the ceremony.

He said since he knew that an Akamkpa High Court had no jurisdiction over Calabar Municipality, he disregarded the purported court injunction and proceeded with the ceremony, adding that he yielded to entreaties from an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who invited him after the event had ended to see the State Commissioner of Police with whom he had an enlightened discussion on the circumstances surrounding the disruption after which he departed to his abode.

The court injunction was issued by Justice Maurice Eneji of Akamkpa High Court in Suit No., HK5/2010 instituted by Mr. James Ebri to stop the launch of the hospital organized by the Child Survival Organization of Nigeria promoted by Mrs. Onari Duke.

The storming of the event by agents believed to be sponsored by the Attorney General of the state and Chief of Staff to Governor Liyel Imoke reportedly embarrassed local and international donors and invitees including officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Bank for Africa, UBA, Flour Mills, Shell, Wampco, Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, NAIRDA, Mikano who waited patiently to the end of the ceremony regardless of the attempt to disrupt the event with a spurious court injunction.

But Duke said regardless of his apparent hounding by the current administration, he wishes it “nothing less than goodwill because their progress and success would translate to the people of the state and the country in general.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/may/30/national-30-05-2010-003.htm

snowdrops:
That makes the coach in 10 years.

I wonder how long it will take before Mourinho himself gets fired.

silly club.

I dont think mourinho will be fired,rather he will fire it self.

Real Madrid have confirmed the sacking of former manager Manuel Pellegrini, with Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho to be his replacement.

Club president Florentino Perez confirmed Pellegrini's dismissal after a board meeting on Wednesday, in a move that was widely expected despite the Chilean leading the club to second in La Liga — with a club record points total — last season.

"The board of directors today in their meeting have decided to bring to an end Manuel Pellegrini's rein at Real Madrid," Perez told reporters.

"I'd like to thank Manuel Pellegrini and his backroom team for his efforts in this past season.

Perez then confirmed that the club intended to appoint Mourinho as the club's new manager, although the Portuguese tactician still needs to agree his severance with the Italian club before he can be officially unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"It has not been an easy decision to reach, but we are 100 per cent behind the need for a change," Perez revealed.

"We are very happy Jose Mourinho will be the man to take over the reins.

"He is one of the best in the world, and he's going to take our club forward."

However, Inter chairman Massimo Moratti warned that an agreement to release their Portuguese manager from his current contract will not be reached in the foreseeable future.

"No. Not even close, actually quite the opposite," Moratti told the club's official website, when asked how close to an exit from the club Mourinho is.

"We haven't even started [to discuss it]. We will need a bit more time."

Perez admitted he hopes to speak to Moratti to "solve this matter soon" and accelerate proceedings in getting the 47-year-old installed in the Spanish capital.

There have been concerns that Mourinho's pragmatic style of football will not fit with Los Blancos' traditional desire for attractive, entertaining and successful football, but Perez was quick to reject such concerns.

"The style of play of Mourinho fits well with the history of Madrid," said Perez.

"The important thing is to win, then there is the spirit of sacrifice and the values."

Mourinho won the treble at San Siro last season, completing it with the Champions League trophy last Saturday at the ground he is now set to call home. He has previously had spells at Chelsea and FC Porto, winning domestic titles at both clubs.

As part of his termination agreement Pellegrini, who has already been linked with a switch to Sevilla, will be paid the full €4 million (£3.4m) he was due to earn from the second year of his contract at the club, which he will now not get the chance to complete.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2557/news/2010/05/26/1944240/breaking-news-real-madrid-confirm-the-dismissal-of-former

Major telecommunications operator, Glo Mobile has decided to pull out of Ghana, an authoritative source close to the company has disclosed. Daily Sun gathered over the weekend that the telecommunications giant has decided to divest its investment in the country and exit Ghana as it faces several challenges from some interests bent on sabotaging the company's nationwide take off plan.

A source close to the company disclosed that some of the challenges the company has faced since it was awarded a GSM licence by the National Communications Authority (NCA) included an encroachment on the frequency allocated to it by the NCA, the repeated and organised sabotage of its billboards and the delay in securing approval for the swift deployment of its infrastructures like base stations.

It was gathered that officials of the company are concerned that while they have been working at a frenetic pace to formally roll-out the network, some forces have been deliberately working round the clock to cripple its operation and prevent it from rolling out quickly to the detriment of the Ghanaian society.

Derek Okpobi, a senior official of Glo Mobile Ghana, said "the frustrations are getting out of control. We have considered pulling out". Another source close to the company said the operator's management felt that its infrastructures in the country are not getting adequate protection from the law enforcement agencies. Efforts to get the official reaction of the company to the development proved abortive but it was gathered that the company will soon serve the government its notice to quit.

The source which was privy to the outcome of a meeting held by senior management staff of the company on the issues, said the company was displeased with the various acts of vandalism, and would have felt relieved if the law enforcement agencies had apprehended the perpetrators and exposed them. Glo Mobile Ghana recently embarked on a massive deployment of outdoor advertising structures comprising billboards, light boxes, lamppost signs and brand marks (branded lit globes) throughout Accra as part of the build-up towards the nationwide launch of the company’s operations in Ghana.

However, immediately after the deployment of the outdoor advertising materials which generated a lot of positive remarks, a number of the outdoor structures have been vandalised by unknown persons. In February, about 15 light boxes mounted from the Airport traffic light median to the Opeibea House traffic light, were deliberately destroyed with the flexi materials used on both sides of the unit torn. One of the Glo brand marks, mounted in Accra was also destroyed. About two weeks ago, light boxes numbering about 16, from the King Tackie Tawiah overpass to Busy Internet, installed by Glo, were also vandalised. "Every single unit, with materials made from top grade flexi, was defaced with a sharp object, suspected to be a knife or razor blade", disclosed a source.

"It was curious that light boxes belonging to another telecom operator, deployed within the same stretch, continuing from Busy Internet to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, were left unscathed", said the source. In December last year, some people were also apprehended and handed over to the Police while attempting to sabotage a Glo mast located in Baatsona area of Accra. "It is clear that these acts of lawlessness are deliberate and are being perpetrated to frustrate Glo's rollout plans", said a source close to the company. Another major area of concern for Glo, it was learnt, is the blanket ban on erection of mast by the National Environmental Protection Agency. The development was said to have affected Glo the most being the only network building a nationwide telecoms company from the scratch.

"You see, Glo is losing opportunity to make revenue for everyday there is a delay in launching its network. I believe that is why they are worried", said a source. Since Glo was granted a licence to operate in Ghana, it has invested huge resources to deploy a nationwide state-of-the art infrastructure. It has also devoted millions of dollars to the sponsorship of the Ghana Premier League, the Ghana National Football Teams and the Ghana National Supporters Union. An investment expert who preferred anonymity said it will be a major setback to the effort of the government to attract direct foreign investment, generate employment and stimulate economic growth if Glo should pull out of Ghana. He urged the government to intervene on the issue. At a recent presentation of cheques by Glo to the Ghana Football Association for the impressive performance of the Black Stars at the last edition of the African Cup of Nations, the Minister of Communications assured that the government would give Glo all the support it requires to enable it roll out its services.

Some Ghanaians have reacted to the development. In a comment posted by a group tagged "glosupportgrp" on myjoyonline.com, the official website of one of Ghana's most popular radio station tagged, 'Glo should stay', the group said, "Glo shd know that the majority of Ghanaians are behind them. These other operators who are only interested in robbing Ghanaians will never stop at anything in preventing Glo from coming in."
In another comment, Efemo posted on myjoyonline, "Why are they afraid of competition? I’m sure they are aware that GLO would sweep the market. Please allow GLO to feel free to operate in Ghana. However, Hey GLO! he who runs away from a fight lives to fight another day. So stay on and fight to the end that's the spirit. All the best!"

In a similar vein, Amarteifio in a comment posted on peaceonline.com said:
"This is serious. We were all looking forward to using GLO. The wicked will not win! We will support you, GLO!".

Major telecommunications operator, Glo Mobile has decided to pull out of Ghana, an authoritative source close to the company has disclosed. Daily Sun gathered over the weekend that the telecommunications giant has decided to divest its investment in the country and exit Ghana as it faces several challenges from some interests bent on sabotaging the company's nationwide take off plan.

A source close to the company disclosed that some of the challenges the company has faced since it was awarded a GSM licence by the National Communications Authority (NCA) included an encroachment on the frequency allocated to it by the NCA, the repeated and organised sabotage of its billboards and the delay in securing approval for the swift deployment of its infrastructures like base stations.

It was gathered that officials of the company are concerned that while they have been working at a frenetic pace to formally roll-out the network, some forces have been deliberately working round the clock to cripple its operation and prevent it from rolling out quickly to the detriment of the Ghanaian society.

Derek Okpobi, a senior official of Glo Mobile Ghana, said "the frustrations are getting out of control. We have considered pulling out". Another source close to the company said the operator's management felt that its infrastructures in the country are not getting adequate protection from the law enforcement agencies. Efforts to get the official reaction of the company to the development proved abortive but it was gathered that the company will soon serve the government its notice to quit.

The source which was privy to the outcome of a meeting held by senior management staff of the company on the issues, said the company was displeased with the various acts of vandalism, and would have felt relieved if the law enforcement agencies had apprehended the perpetrators and exposed them. Glo Mobile Ghana recently embarked on a massive deployment of outdoor advertising structures comprising billboards, light boxes, lamppost signs and brand marks (branded lit globes) throughout Accra as part of the build-up towards the nationwide launch of the company’s operations in Ghana.

However, immediately after the deployment of the outdoor advertising materials which generated a lot of positive remarks, a number of the outdoor structures have been vandalised by unknown persons. In February, about 15 light boxes mounted from the Airport traffic light median to the Opeibea House traffic light, were deliberately destroyed with the flexi materials used on both sides of the unit torn. One of the Glo brand marks, mounted in Accra was also destroyed. About two weeks ago, light boxes numbering about 16, from the King Tackie Tawiah overpass to Busy Internet, installed by Glo, were also vandalised. "Every single unit, with materials made from top grade flexi, was defaced with a sharp object, suspected to be a knife or razor blade", disclosed a source.

"It was curious that light boxes belonging to another telecom operator, deployed within the same stretch, continuing from Busy Internet to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, were left unscathed", said the source. In December last year, some people were also apprehended and handed over to the Police while attempting to sabotage a Glo mast located in Baatsona area of Accra. "It is clear that these acts of lawlessness are deliberate and are being perpetrated to frustrate Glo's rollout plans", said a source close to the company. Another major area of concern for Glo, it was learnt, is the blanket ban on erection of mast by the National Environmental Protection Agency. The development was said to have affected Glo the most being the only network building a nationwide telecoms company from the scratch.

"You see, Glo is losing opportunity to make revenue for everyday there is a delay in launching its network. I believe that is why they are worried", said a source. Since Glo was granted a licence to operate in Ghana, it has invested huge resources to deploy a nationwide state-of-the art infrastructure. It has also devoted millions of dollars to the sponsorship of the Ghana Premier League, the Ghana National Football Teams and the Ghana National Supporters Union. An investment expert who preferred anonymity said it will be a major setback to the effort of the government to attract direct foreign investment, generate employment and stimulate economic growth if Glo should pull out of Ghana. He urged the government to intervene on the issue. At a recent presentation of cheques by Glo to the Ghana Football Association for the impressive performance of the Black Stars at the last edition of the African Cup of Nations, the Minister of Communications assured that the government would give Glo all the support it requires to enable it roll out its services.

Some Ghanaians have reacted to the development. In a comment posted by a group tagged "glosupportgrp" on myjoyonline.com, the official website of one of Ghana's most popular radio station tagged, 'Glo should stay', the group said, "Glo shd know that the majority of Ghanaians are behind them. These other operators who are only interested in robbing Ghanaians will never stop at anything in preventing Glo from coming in."
In another comment, Efemo posted on myjoyonline, "Why are they afraid of competition? I’m sure they are aware that GLO would sweep the market. Please allow GLO to feel free to operate in Ghana. However, Hey GLO! he who runs away from a fight lives to fight another day. So stay on and fight to the end that's the spirit. All the best!"

In a similar vein, Amarteifio in a comment posted on peaceonline.com said:
"This is serious. We were all looking forward to using GLO. The wicked will not win! We will support you, GLO!".

The campaign for the Presidential election of 2011 has started in earnest and I am proposing that Yar’Adua should consider re-contesting for second term in office. Did I hear you say ‘what a crude joke’? If you consider this  a joke, what then would you call the heavy media onslaught being unleashed on us daily by a group that go by the funny name “friends of Yar’Adua”? By the way, the group as with most funny groups in Nigeria is faceless. The undiscerning will be tempted to regard them highly as true friends who will do anything to stand by their friend through rain and sunshine. But nothing could be farther from the truth. With friends like “friends of Yar’Adua”, no one needs an enemy. These are a bunch of desperados who decided to treat with the highest scant, an otherwise sober outcome {illness} that no one, no matter how powerful is immune to. In truth, they represent the new face of wicked enemies.

One cannot say for sure whose idea it was to politicize the illness of Yar’Adua to this disgraceful proportion. Most of the blame has been placed at Turai’s doorstep. While she deserves it, the cacophony of voices that have joined to say the presidential umbilical cord should continue to be tied around Yar’Adua’s waist has created fresh doubts in the minds of most Nigerians. The case of Turai insistence to hang on at all cost could easily be explained. Here is a woman that is highly sedated in the concussion of lies prepared by jobless marabouts and fortunetellers. As first lady of the sleepy state of katsina state, she was confronted with the early signs of this same health challenges that has kept Yar’Adua out of circulation for nearly six months now. The marabouts were reported to have advised that Yar’Adua would come out of the illness smelling better than when he went under the surgeons knives’. That he would not only complete his term but will also move ahead to rule Nigeria. He reportedly stayed away from office for six good months and it came to pass that he did not only complete his term but also became President against all odds in accordance with the earlier predictions of the powerful marabouts. With such mindset and emerging from that experience successfully, it is easy to see why Turai has abandoned all reasons and turned our own equivalent of white house into one hell of a theatre for comedians and the husband the object of ridicule. What a pity!

From the beginning, Yar’Adua set up himself to be ridiculed. He was not upfront with us about his true health status. What was reported as catarrh during the 2006/07 electioneering campaign turned out to be kidney, liver and heart diseases summed up as pericarditis? What most Nigerians and other observers have consistently failed to understand is why the so-called friends of Yar’Adua and some hitherto respected elders from the North have not deemed it necessary to ask Yar’Adua to take the only available window of respectability-resignation. The poor handling of the Yar’Adua illness eroded all sympathies that could have accrued naturally to him and perhaps to the North in considering and upholding the so-called un-imaginative power rotation among PDP members. However, Obasanjo a major player in the power equation in the PDP politics of rotation has distanced himself from such arrangement and has challenged anybody that has a document to that effect to make it public. Talk of agreement and honour among a band of robbers. The general feeling and position of most Nigerians is that whatever it was that might have been agreed by PDP members should not sum up the feelings and aspirations of majority of Nigerians and therefore amounts to a dream. Any agreement that is not incorporated in the constitution of Nigeria being smuggled for use in determining the who becomes the President of Nigeria in the next dispensation will amount to monumental injustice to the greatest number of Nigerians who were neither party to nor consulted before arriving at such private arrangement. If that is what Obasanjo meant in his VOA interview, for once, he is perfectly in order. It was the same people shouting ‘it is the turn of the North to complete its remaining four years from 2011’ that also opposed vehemently the proposed six-zonal presidential rotation Dr Alex Ekwueme suggested during the 1995 Abacha organized constitutional conference that essentially delivered the 1999 constitution. Since they were so short sighted to see what Ekwueme was saying then and support it, they should just shut up and apologize to the rest of us because nothing has changed drastically since then to alter their position.

The question of Yar’Adua’s continues abode in Aso Rock has become pertinent and pitiable. Whatever purpose it was meant to serve has since been overtaken by events except the clerics are still spinning their divination stones and promising life after death. Let us assume that Yar’Adua gets well tomorrow and I sincerely pray he does, will that automatically make him start from where he stopped? Couldn’t these fellows see that too much water has already passed under the bridge since that decision to smuggle Yar’Adua back under the cover of the night?  Nigerians have moved on, any reference to Ya’Adua now appears to be a distraction, and that’s the unfortunate part. It has gotten to a point where people genuinely believe he should not recover because of the abuse his family and so-called friends have subjected him and the childish psychological torture the equally unleashed on the psyche of the average Nigerian each time the report of his miraculous appearances in gardens, coffee tables and lately his private library are reported. They practically turned our most important political address {Aso-Rock} as apparition ground.

Let us now examine some of the messages they are passing and expose the folly of these guys who perhaps believe that most Nigerians are as dense as they are. Please read a sampler that was posted by a group that goes by the cheeky name of YAR’ADUA SUPPORT GROUP {YSG} in a Thisday Newspaper advertorial dated Sunday 25, 2010. “For over four months now Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, president, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been a victim of coarse jokes, cruel jibes, ill-mannered cartoons, unsavoury commentaries and jaundiced editorial in the mass media. He has been demonized and criminalized, his legacy tarnished and scoffed at. This process of dehumanization is being excessively funded and promoted by both known and faceless individuals and power blocks whose path to instant power and future political hegemony must be paved with the battered image of a fine gentleman, and true democrat personified. Of course, these power crazed individuals have found ready allies in the media who blow their trumpets very loud, and among a tiny segment of civil society who aid them in spewing out poisonous words and bellicose slogans against Mr. President”. Etc.

That was one of the many inanities these deranged monsters would want us believe is the true situation in Nigeria today. If you reverse roles and indeed, we should, it would appear that every thing they have accused us of is what they represent in the Yar’Adua saga. For instance, who is power crazed? Is it the people that kept Yar’Adua in a cage to be viewed as a peep show or they people that observed this man’s inhumanity to man and took exception to it? If these clueless power drunks have treated our President with deserved respect and dignity, how-on-earth would the Commander-in Chief of the armed forces of Nigerian become a victim of coarse jokes, cruel jibes, ill-mannered cartoons, unsavoury commentaries and jaundiced editorial. This shows clearly that the characters we are dealing with are afflicted of delusional disorder. They indeed need urgent psychiatric attention while true lovers of Yar’Adua where ever they may be should stand up to be counted. They should quickly save the man whatever little honour is left. I am talking specifically to his daughters and their powerful husbands to insist in taking their father to a proper medical facility where he could be attended to properly. Here, if it is the wish of God that he will come out of this illness and become President of the world, so be it, if not, he should be allowed to answer the call of God gracefully with honour and dignity which is an inevitable debt we all have to pay, if not now but certainly later.

For these his enemies that would rather we see them otherwise, we have noted your campaigns for  and would wish to inform you that your message is blurred because we really don’t understand what you want. If the message is Yar’Adua for second term, we say yes; but let him tell us himself, after all no one becomes president by proxy.
Chike Orjiako.

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5969-the-year-2011-yaradua-for-second-term.html

Super Eagles winger, John Utaka has declared that he wants to stay with relegated Portsmouth.Utaka, who is among the 44 players who have been pencilled down for a World Cup meeting by coach Lars Lagerback, says that he has nothing against playing in the English Championship.

•Utaka

Utaka hopes his goal against Wolves at the weekend will convince manager Avram Grant to give him a starting place at Wembley, and he is also open to remaining at Fratton Park next term.

“It is not up to me to say whether I have done enough to play in the FA Cup Final. It is up to the manager to decide,” he said.

“But yes, it would be nice if Avram and I were still here at the club next season”, added Utaka,
Utaka gave another tantalising glimpse of his undoubted ability and declared: That’s what I can do as a striker.

The enigmatic Nigerian struck his fourth goal of the campaign – but his first in the Premier League – with a sharp turn and crisp left-footed strike to put Pompey 2-1 up in the 3-1 success over Wolves in the club’s final home game of the season.

But having spent so much of his Blues career used as a wide player, Utaka believes he would have scored more goals if he’d been given the chance to play up front more often.

Utaka said: ‘I feel more comfortable up there.‘You have got options when you play as centre-forward – you can go left or right.

‘But when you play wide, if you go into the middle, it leaves the other side open. It’s not really my best position. ‘The most important thing is to do well when I get my opportunity.‘I don’t often shoot with my left foot but I just gave it a go and it went in.’

While Utaka still divides opinion among the fans over his ability and workrate, on his day he has proved that he can be a real handful for defenders.

And while he appears to be playing with more freedom and belief, he insists that his confidence has never been affected.

And he also feels that the victory against Wolves has given the team hope ahead of the FA Cup final on May 15.
He said: ‘I am always confident but the only thing that has happened is that I have been given an opportunity.

‘It was a good result and a good way to keep everybody happy. ‘It gives people hope that we can do it in the cup final.
‘The reception from the fans was brilliant.

‘It’s a way to show our appreciation as well for the way they have helped us and supported us this season.
‘Now we will take it step by step.

‘We have one game left in the Premier League and then the FA Cup final.‘It was a very good way to sign off. We had to give the fans the kind of show that they deserved.‘They have been there during the good times and the bad times.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/03/utaka-vows-to-play-in-championship-with-pompey/

NEW YORK - Lynn Redgrave, an introspective and independent player in her family's acting dynasty who became a 1960s sensation as the unconventional title character of "Georgy Girl" and later dramatized her troubled past in such one-woman stage performances as "Shakespeare for My Father" and "Nightingale," has died. She was 67.

Her publicist Rick Miramontez, speaking on behalf of her children, said Redgrave died peacefully Sunday night at her home in Connecticut. Children Ben, Pema and Annabel were with her, as were close friends.

"Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven year journey with breast cancer," Redgrave's children said in a statement Monday. "She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Our entire family asks for privacy through this difficult time."

Redgrave was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2002, had a mastectomy in January 2003 and underwent chemotherapy.

Her death comes a year after her niece Natasha Richardson died from head injuries sustained in a skiing accident and just a month after the death of her older brother, Corin Redgrave.

The youngest child of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, Lynn Redgrave never quite managed the acclaim — or notoriety — of elder sibling Vanessa Redgrave, but received Oscar nominations for "Georgy Girl" and "Gods and Monsters," and Tony nominations for "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "Shakespeare for My Father" and "The Constant Wife." In recent years, she also made appearances on TV in "Ugly Betty," "Law & Order" and "Desperate Housewives."

"Vanessa was the one expected to be the great actress," Lynn Redgrave told The Associated Press in 1999. "It was always, 'Corin's the brain, Vanessa the shining star, oh, and then there's Lynn.'"

In theater, the ruby-haired Redgrave often displayed a sunny, sweet and open personality, much like her ebullient offstage personality. It worked well in such shows as "Black Comedy" — her Broadway debut in 1972 — and again two years later in "My Fat Friend," a comedy about an overweight young woman who sheds pounds to find romance.

Tall and blue-eyed like her sister, she was as open about her personal life as Vanessa has been about politics. In plays and in interviews, Lynn Redgrave confided about her family, her marriage and her health. She acknowledged that she suffered from bulimia and served as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers. With daughter Annabel Clark, she released a 2004 book about her fight with cancer, "Journal: A Mother and Daughter's Recovery From Breast Cancer."

Redgrave was born in London in 1943 and despite self-doubts pursued the family trade. She studied at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, and was not yet 20 when she debuted professionally on stage in a London production of "A Midsummer's Night Dream." Like her siblings, she appeared in plays and in films, working under Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier as a member of the National Theater and under director/brother-in-law Tony Richardson in the 1963 screen hit "Tom Jones."

"Before I was born, my father was a movie star and a stage star," the actress told the AP in 1993. "I was raised in a household where we didn't see our parents in the morning. We lived in the nursery. Our nanny made our breakfast, and I was dressed up to go downstairs to have tea with my parents, if they were there."

True fame caught her with "Georgy Girl," billed as "the wildest thing to hit the world since the miniskirt." The 1966 film starred Redgrave as the plain, childlike Londoner pursued by her father's middle-aged boss, played by James Mason.

Dismissed by critic Pauline Kael as a false testament to free thinking, the movie was branded "cool" by moviegoers on both side of the Atlantic and received several Academy Award nominations, including one for Redgrave and one for the popular title song performed by the Australian group The Seekers.

"All the films I've been in — and I haven't been in that many attention-getting films — no one expected anything of, least of all me," Redgrave said in an AP interview in 1999.

"Georgy Girl" didn't lead to lasting commercial success, but did anticipate a long-running theme: Redgrave's weight. She weighed 180 pounds while making the film, leading New York Times critic Michael Stern to complain that Redgrave "cannot be quite as homely as she makes herself in this film.

"Slimmed down, cosseted in a couture salon, and given more of the brittle, sophisticated lines she tosses off with such abandon here, she could become a comedienne every bit as good as the late Kay Kendall," he wrote.

Films such as "The Happy Hooker" and "Every Little Crook and Nanny" were remembered less than Redgrave's decision to advocate for Weight Watchers. She even referenced "Georgy Girl" in one commercial, showing a clip and saying, "This was me when I made the movie, because this is the way I used to eat."

At age 50, Redgrave was ready to tell her story in full. As she wrote in the foreword to "Shakespeare for My Father," she was out of work and set off on a "journey that began almost as an act of desperation," writing a play out of her "passionately emotional desire" to better understand her father, who had died in 1985.

In the 1993 AP interview, Redgrave remembered her father as a fearless stage performer yet a shy, tormented man who had great difficulty talking to his youngest daughter.

"I didn't really know him," Redgrave said. "I lived in his house. I was in awe of him and I adored him, and I was terrified of him and I hated him and I loved him, all in one go."

Redgrave credited the play, which interspersed readings from Shakespeare with family memories, with bringing her closer to her relatives and reviving her film career. She played the supportive wife of pianist David Helfgott in "Shine" and received an Oscar nomination as the loyal housekeeper for filmmaker James Whale in "Gods and Monsters." She also appeared in "Peter Pan," "Kinsey" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

On stage, she looked at her mother's side of the family in "The Mandrake Root" and "Rachel and Juliet." In 2009, her play "Nightingale" touched upon her health, the life of her grandmother (Beatrice Kempson) and the end of her 32-year marriage to actor-director John Clark, who had disclosed that he had fathered a child with the future wife of their son Benjamin.

"Redgrave, a cancer survivor, sits at a desk ,  and works from a script because of what has been described as an unspecified medical ailment — but not a recurrence of cancer — requiring immediate treatment. It doesn't affect her touching, beautifully realized performance," the AP wrote last year.

"And reading gives the evening an almost storybook quality in which it seems as if the actress, buoyed by a radiant smile, has gathered a few good friends to hear her reminisce about this formidable woman — mother of Rachel, mother-in-law of Michael and grandmother to Lynn, Vanessa and Corin."

Lynn Redgrave is survived by six grandchildren, her sister Vanessa, and four nieces and nephews.

A private funeral with be held later this week.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/actress-lynn-redgrave-has-died-at-age-67/40199?nc