₦airaland Forum

FROM the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has come a strong disapproval of the Church of England’s nod to homosexual clergy in civil partnerships.

In a statement Wednesday at the ongoing Anglican Bishops Retreat at Ibru Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, said the Church of Nigeria urged the House of Bishops of the Church of England to reconsider its decision on the issue.

Okoh added that the call became necessary “so as to allow for a full, prayerful and sober reflection on the call on all clergy, especially bishops, to live holy lives and not encourage what are, at best, morally ambiguous partnerships that make it impossible for a bishop to be a wholesome example to the flock, especially since the supposed assurances of celibacy, while perhaps well intentioned, are both unworkable and unenforceable.”

“The Bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), meeting for their annual retreat at the Ibru Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, heard with dismay the news of the recent action of the Church of England House of Bishops.

“The decision to permit homosexual clergy in civil partnerships to now be considered for the episcopacy is one step removed from the moral precipice that we have already witnessed in The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada.

“We are also grieved by the timing of this decision, coming only days before the retirement of Archbishop Rowan Williams and before Dr Justin Welby becomes the new Archbishop of Canterbury.”

SOURCE:GUARDIAN

SOURCE:SUN NEWSPAPER

A senior lecturer of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has landed in trouble for extorting N100, 000 from a female student . The lecturer (name withheld), who is in the Faculty of Law was arrested by the university’s security personnel and handed over to the police after he allegedly collected the marked money from the student to change her course of study from English Language to Law.

It was learnt that the arrest of the lecturer had led to the busting of a syndicate that specialized in extorting money from students in the institution. Informed sources at the university revealed that the suspect, said to have strong links in the committee constituted by management to coordinate students’ inter-faculty movement every academic session, used his vantage position to compel the female student to pay N150,000 to approve her request for a switch from the Faculty of Arts to the Law faculty.

It was gathered that the student, who could not immediately raise the money, following pressure mounted on her by the lecturer, reported to another lecturer, who decried the planned extortion and encouraged her to formally lodge a complaint with the higher authority in the institution. Following the advice, the student played along and called the lecturer that she could only raise N100, 000, which she was promptly directed to pay into a certain account given her by the lecturer.

Luck, however, ran against the lecturer when he called the girl’s mobile phone, asking her to discontinue the bank arrangement and instead, to bring the money to him in his office, just when she was going to pay the money into the bank account earlier given to her. Sources told Daily Sun that no sooner that the female student delivered the marked money to the lecturer than the alerted personnel from the security unit swooped on the unsuspecting lecturer and handed him over to the police.

A search in the lecturer’s office by the university security personnel was said to have led to the discovery of a list of 18 students, including the female student who paid the N100, 000.00. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Harrison Osarenren, confirmed the report, saying “with the arrest, we will try and rid the system of bad eggs.”

Asaba—TWO persons who allegedly played key roles in the kidnap  of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, from her husband’s palace at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, have been arrested.

Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, said: “Following the dragnet spread in the ongoing investigation into the kidnap of the wife of Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and the mother of Minister of Finance, Prof. Kamene Okonjo, our net, on January 5, 2013, at Uga Junction in Anambra State, caught two of the suspects who played key roles in the kidnapping incident.

“Both suspects are currently helping the police in tidying up investigations after which they will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

The two arrested suspects bear Chiboy and Biggy as nicknames.

It will be recalled that one Andrew, who was in charge of bringing food to the hideout but later broke away from the gang because he was shortchanged in the sharing of the ransom, had earlier confessed at the state Police headquarters in Asaba, that Chiboy and Biggy were members of the gang, referring to Chiboy as the boss.

He had said that “for now, I know why I am arrested. Some friends of mine, they indulge themselves in kidnapping . One of them is Chiboy and another is Biggy.

“The person I know well is Chiboy. It was through this Chiboy that I met this Biggy. I was trading on fairly used shoes and my business was not moving well. So Chiboy told me that there was something he wanted me to do. I asked what was it. He said that there was somebody I was going to drop food for, that I was going to drop food twice a day and he would settle me.”

SOURCE:VANGUARD

…As middle aged man loses life
KANO -The police in Kano has detained Mr Aminu Sule, the eldest  son of Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido for allegedly crushing to death a middle aged man along BUK road by Rumfa College, Kano.

Eye witness account confided in Vanguard that the incident occurred at about 8.55pm adding that the victim died on the spot.

Aminu Sule who is been prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged money laundering is been detained alongside his SUV sport car at Kwali police station in Kano.

The source further explained that “for the timely intervention of the police on patrol, Aminu would have been killed by the mob.

Confirming the incident, Kano Police Public Relations Officer, PPRC, ASP Magaji Musa Majia stated that the driver of the accident vehicle has been identified as Aminu Sule.

Majia stated that the police has equally identified the relation of the victim, stating that the body was taken to a government hospital for doctor’s confirmation.

SOURCE:VANGUARD

Culled from PM News
A Nigerian High Court has sentenced two ‘men of God’, Pastor Glory Abrefera and Reverend Vincent Okpogo to 10 years imprisonment each over a N1 billion deposit scam.
Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Asaba, capital of Delta state, found the duo and their company, Mustard Seed Micro Investment Limited guilty on a four count charge of carrying out banking practice without licence.
The accused persons were said to have collected over N1 billion from different individuals and organizations as deposits in an illegal banking practice.
They have also failed to account for all the deposits they collected.

Mustard Seed Micro Investment Limited was convicted on two counts and fined N2 million on each of the counts. Pastor Abrefera and Reverend Okpogo, both directors of Mustard Seed Micro Investment limited, were also convicted on two counts and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each.
They were equally fined N2 million on each of the counts.

The terms are to run concurrently.

The accused persons were said to have sometimes between 2006 and 2007 at Warri, Delta State engaged in banking practice without the required banking license and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 2(2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap B3, Vol 2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Part of the charge reads:
“that Pastor Glory Okeoghene Abrefera, Reverend Vincent Okpogo and Mrs Nonye Abrefera (still at large) whilst being directors of Mustard Seed Micro Investment Limited sometime between 2006 and 2007 at Warri, Delta State within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court knowingly consented to the carrying on of banking business without a valid licence by the company thereby committed an offence contrary to Section (2) and 49(1)of the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act Cap B(3), Vol 2, laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004”.

The so-called men of God were arrested following a petition filed by some of the depositors to the EFCC, detailing the dubious activities of the accused persons.

The EFCC subsequently intervened, investigated the activities of the voodoo bank and arraigned the suspects in 2011.

Counsel to EFCC, G. K. Latona described the judgment as a milestone in the Nigerian judiciary.
He said it was the first time that persons were convicted for carrying out banking practice without the required licence.

He said the judgment would serve as a deterrent to other persons engaging in such nefarious activities

The Church of England has lifted a ban on gay male clergy who live with their partners from becoming bishops on condition they pledge to stay celibate, threatening to reignite an issue that splits the 80-million-strong global Anglican community.

The issue of homosexuality has driven a rift between Western and African Anglicans since a Canadian diocese approved blessings for same-sex couples in 2002 and U.S. Anglicans in the Episcopal Church appointed an openly gay man as a bishop in 2003.

The Church of England, struggling to remain relevant in modern Britain despite falling numbers of believers, is already under pressure after voting narrowly in November to maintain a ban on women becoming bishops.

The church said the House of Bishops, one of its most senior bodies, had ended an 18-month moratorium on the appointment of gays in civil partnerships as bishops.

The decision was made in late December but received little attention until the church confirmed it on Friday.

Gay clergy in civil partnerships would be eligible for the episcopate - the position of bishop - if they make the pledge to remain celibate, as is already the case for gay deacons and priests.

"The House has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate," the Bishop of Norwich Graham James said.

"The House believed it would be unjust to exclude from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church's teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline," he added in a statement on behalf of the House of Bishops.

The church teaches that couples can only have sex within marriage, and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Britain legalized civil partnerships in 2005, forcing the church to consider how to treat clergy living in same-sex unions.

The church ruled that a civil partnership was not a bar to a clerical position, provided the clergy remained celibate, but failed to specifically address the issue of when the appointment was of a bishop.

In July 2011 the church launched a review to deal with this omission, at the same time imposing the moratorium on nominating gays in such partnerships as bishops while the study was conducted.

The review came a year after a gay cleric living in a civil partnership was reportedly blocked from becoming a bishop in south London.

It was the second setback for the cleric, Jeffrey John, who would already have become a bishop in 2003 but was forced to withdraw from the nomination after an outcry from church conservatives.

Rod Thomas, chairman of the conservative evangelical group Reform, said the church's move on gay bishops would provoke further dispute.

"It will be much more divisive than what we have seen over women bishops. If you thought that was a furor, wait to see what will happen the first time a bishop in a civil partnership is appointed," he told BBC television.

http://www.naijapicks.com/2013/01/church-of-england-approves-gay-bishops.html?m=1

ABUJA—In a move to curtail insurgency and other criminal challenges confronting the country, the National Population Commission, NPC, has commenced a comprehensive biometric capturing of all Nigerians, with a view to allocating every Nigerian number that would be associated with him or her from birth to death.

Chairman, NPC, Chief Festus Odimegwu, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the biometric capturing would also be applied to all people resident in Nigeria.

He said the biometric identification would help to streamline the avalanche of foreigners into the country and reduce the scope of kidnapping, armed robbery and Boko Haram sect’s activities in the country.

He said: “We are going to do for the first time in Nigeria a comprehensive biometric census. To record all Nigerians, their biometrics, give them one number that will follow them from birth to death.”

SOURCE:VANGUARD

ABUJA—In a move to curtail insurgency and other criminal challenges confronting the country, the National Population Commission, NPC, has commenced a comprehensive biometric capturing of all Nigerians, with a view to allocating every Nigerian number that would be associated with him or her from birth to death.

Chairman, NPC, Chief Festus Odimegwu, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the biometric capturing would also be applied to all people resident in Nigeria.

He said the biometric identification would help to streamline the avalanche of foreigners into the country and reduce the scope of kidnapping, armed robbery and Boko Haram sect’s activities in the country.

He said: “We are going to do for the first time in Nigeria a comprehensive biometric census. To record all Nigerians, their biometrics, give them one number that will follow them from birth to death.”

Some of you think the relationship between D'banj and Genevieve Nnaji was a publicity stunt...it wasn't! The sexy stars dated off and on between 2009 and early 2012. D'banj recently opened up to Toolz on the Juice about his relationship with Ms Nnaji and said he doesn't know who dumped who.

"Genevieve was a friend…(but now) I haven’t seen her…I don’t know who dumped who."

I can tell you for free that Genevieve did the dumping. Not necessarily because she wanted to, but because she had no choice. There were just too many women around D'banj. It seemed at a point, a lot of women wanted a piece of the Kokomaster, including a close friend of the actress who allegedly began an affair with D'banj behind her back. Genny decided she'd had enough and ended things in late 2011.

Genevieve and D'banj briefly reconciled in early 2012, but ended things for good after D'banj started flaunting his relationship with Ghanian actress, Nadia Buari.

The relationship which began in late 2009 after the two met at the airport, became public after D'banj granted an exclusive interview to Stella Dimoko Korkus in March 2010, expressing his feelings for Miss Nnaji.

D'banj said:

"We have been trying to keep this quiet but yes, I am dating Genevieve Nnaji.  I am in love with her. It’s been long I felt this way about anyone. I don’t know what other words to use to qualify my feelings. She’s my baby, she’s my every thing and I love her."

People in the know claim that it wasn't only the other women in D'banj's life that ended their relationship but also because Genny herself was not committed to the relationship. D'banj was said to have been hurt after he heard that Genny had also allegedly dated another popular Nigerian singer.

By Linda Ikeji

How the world has so changed. Tonto is surely captivating and getting the attention of all; from young to old. In making all the headlines for both good and not so good reasons, she has become the most talked about and even younger ones aren’t left off the discussion, one of whom has gone a step further.

Little 5 year old boy is so naively happy to express what he wants;

“Will you please marry me auntie Tonto. I love you very much”

Some may probably think otherwise about the connotation of his statement above, but it just relates to his admiration of an icon he sees mostly on TV. Are kids doing their homework or is it all Nollywood movies?

http://www.naijapicks.com/2012/12/five-year-old-boy-sends-tonto-dikeh.html?m=1

A Director of Ojukwu Transport Company Limited has said the wife of the late Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca, has no place on the directorship or trusteeship of the company.

Director, Mr. Ifeukwu Ojukwu, said on Monday that since OTL was owned by the late Sir Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the late Biafran warlord could not dictate who the trustees or directors of the company should be.


Ojukwu, who was the Ikemba of Nnewi, had directed, in his Will, that Bianca, should replace him as a trustee of OTL.

Ifeukwu said, “Bianca is neither a trustee member nor a Director of OTL and it is good to note that OTL is a different property from the things the late Ikemba Ojukwu had and the directorship cannot be transferred through a Will.”

The clarification by Ifeukwu, who is based in Boston, United States, came as counsel for the late Ikemba, Chief Emeka Onyemelukwe, insisted that the Will read last Friday at the Enugu State High Court Registrar was authentic and sacrosanct.

Onyemelukwe, who was reacting to a claim by Emeka Ojukwu Jnr. that the Will was manipulated, said  the Will was registered in the Enugu High Court on July 9, 2005, while the codicil, which was to give details and correct any mistakes in the Will, was dated December 16, 2009.

Onyemelukwe, who tendered documents at a press conference in Enugu to back his argument, stated that he had been close to the late Ojukwu since his return from exile in Cote d’Ivoire in 1982.

He said all Ojukwu’s legal papers were  still with him, including those of properties and chattels willed to Emeka Jnr, who claimed he did not know him as his father’s lawyer or friend.

Meanwhile, Ojukwu Jnr. has taken over his father’s residence in Nnewi, “according to the Igbo tradition that the first son would inherit his father’s house and compound on the event of his death.”
Ojukwu (Jnr.) said even if the Will had not covered the Nnewi residence, it was traditionally statutory that the first son inherits his father’s house.

He also said other contents of the Will could be constested in court.

Source: PUNCH

The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby, St James's Palace has announced.

Members of the Royal Family and the duchess's family, the Middletons, are said to be delighted.

A spokesman said the duchess has been admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in central London with acute morning sickness and is expected to stay for several days.

The royal baby will be born third in line to the throne, after Prince Charles and Prince William.

He or she will one day be head of the armed forces, supreme governor of the Church of England and subsequently head of state of 16 countries.

Catherine and William were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

The duchess was last seen in public on Friday when she visited her old school St Andrew's School in Pangbourne in Berkshire.

In a statement, St James's Palace said: "Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby.

"The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

It said the duchess was being treated in hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which requires supplementary hydration and nutrients.

"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter," it added.

St James's Palace refused to be drawn on when the royal couple became aware of the pregnancy, only saying "recently".

But it is understood that the pregnancy has not passed the 12 week point and the palace announcement was prompted by the Duchess's medical condition.

Asked about having children in an interview after their engagement, William said: "I think we'll take it one step at a time. We'll get over the marriage thing first and then maybe look at the kids, but obviously we want a family."

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that he was "delighted by the news", adding: "They will make wonderful parents."

Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted: "Fantastic news for Kate, William and the country. A royal baby is something the whole nation will celebrate."

Royal historian Hugo Vickers said: "It's fantastic that there is another generation of the House of Windsor coming along in the reign of the present Queen so she will see a great-grandchild who will one day sit on the throne.

"We will be watching this baby from the moment it's born, and if we all live long enough until the moment it becomes king or queen. And that's the great advantage, I think, of hereditary monarchy."

© BBC

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI is joining Twitter promising “pearls of wisdom” in eight languages under the handle @pontifex, the Vatican announced on Monday.

Papally-approved tweets will begin next week just in time for Christmas celebrations, as the Catholic Church tries to reach a wider audience and harness social media to woo the Internet generation.

“The first tweets will be answers to questions sent to the pope on matters of faith. The public can start sending them now,” Greg Burke, a senior communications adviser to the Vatican, told a packed press conference.

The account carries a picture of the pope waving and its followers rose from around 2,400 at the time of the announcement to more than 24,000 just an hour later — still only a tiny fraction of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics.

An introductory message on the account based in “Vatican City” read: “Welcome to the official Twitter page of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.”

“Pontifex” is a Latin word meaning “pontiff”, the pope’s official title.

Benedict will only follow his own account in other languages for the moment and there are no plans for a Facebook account yet, Burke said, adding: “Twitter can be more effective than Facebook in passing on the Pope’s message.”

The tweets will be in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish and more languages could be added in future.

Several fake Twitter accounts already set up in the pope’s name have been used to mock the 85-year-old pontiff, but the Vatican said it was not worried about the risk that hostile messages would be tweeted on the real account.

Burke, a former correspondent for US channel Fox News brought in by the Vatican in June to overhaul its public-relations operation, said the pope’s Twitter account would create “a free market of ideas, and that is good”.

It would serve up “pearls of wisdom coming from the heart of the pope”, he said, though the 140-character messages will not be written by the pope himself but by Vatican officials who will then submit them to him for approval.

“We are going to get a spiritual message. The pope is not going to be walking around with a Blackberry or an iPad and no one is going to be putting words into the pope’s mouth. He will tweet what he wants to tweet,” Burke said.

The Vatican said: “The pope’s presence on Twitter is a concrete expression of his conviction that the Church must be present in the digital arena.”

Benedict wants “to ensure that the good news of Jesus Christ and the teaching of his Church is permeating the forum of exchange and dialogue.”

The aim is to “dialogue with men and women of today wherever they are,” said Cardinal Claudio Maria Celli of the Pontifical Social Communications Council.

Celli said the papal tweets would be like “sparks of truth”.

The news of the elderly pontiff’s decision to join Twitter received mixed reactions on the online community.

“Does this mean we can just tweet our sins instead of showing up for confession?” asked Twitter user Sandra Hayes.

Several leading Vatican prelates are already regular tweeters including Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as the tradition-bound institution tries to reach a younger global audience.

Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer, American Sean Patrick O’Malley, Italian Angelo Scola and South African Wilfrid Fox Napier also tweet — out of 200-plus cardinals in the world, many of whom might not be quite as tech-savvy.

Father Antonio Spadaro, director of the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica and one of the Church’s Twitter pioneers, said the pope’s decision was comparable to the first radio broadcast by pope Pius XI on February 12, 1931.

“Social media are real places of emotion where people share their lives, their best and worst desires, their questions and their answers,” he said.

Benedict last year launched a new Vatican information portal with a tweet from the Holy See’s Twitter account sent from an iPad. A bemused pope could be seen in images of the event being shown by prelates how to tap on the device.

“Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessing, Benedictus XVI,” read his first tweet, which he signed with his formal Latin name.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

Worried by growing reports on acts of terrorism in Nigeria, the Directorate of the State Security Service (SSS) has invited reporters covering security in Abuja to undergo a week-long “training” on how to report terrorism in the country.
SaharaReporters learnt that the invited journalists were already in Bwari, a suburb of Abuja, where they are being taught the dos and don’ts of reporting on terrorism, according to the dictates and rule book of the Nigerian secret police.
The training is being coordinated by officers of the SSS led by its Director-General, Ekpeyong Ita.
 
The SSS had told the reporters that they should remain in the school throughout the duration of their training, which started on Sunday.
 
A senior official of the SSS told our correspondent that the agency was not happy with the way reporters were exposing security problems facing the country and blaming the security agencies for poor intelligence work. “We are worried about the image of the Service, which is being adversely affected by negative reports by journalists,” said the official. He added: “We need to partner with [the media] so that they will know the type of stories to be sending to their headquarters concerning us.”
 
The SSS and other security agencies have been blamed for failure of intelligence gathering, which has been identified as a factor in several successful bombings carried out by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect in the country.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday denied calling for a revolution in Nigeria. Reacting to reports quoting him as saying that a revolution was imminent in the country, the former president said he was misquoted as he never made such comment. He said: “The person saying I talked about revolution taking place in Nigeria is talking nonsense; he doesn’t understand English.

“What I said was that as long as we do not pay adequate attention to solving the problem of unemployment, we are all sitting on a keg of gun powder. And it is a tickling time-bomb. All of us must realise that it is a serious problem. Our leaders must pay attention to this issue.

“That is not revolution. I never used the word revolution. Unemployment is a continental problem and indeed a global problem.

If a state can have over 50 per cent of its population as unemployed, it is a major problem that needs serious attention. “I didn’t mention revolution in my speech. Who will write a cheque for us in Africa?

Asked to clarify whether he spoke about a revolution happening in Nigeria, he said: “I didn’t. And that is not what I want for Nigeria. What I want for Nigeria is job creation for the youth not revolution.” Obasanjo was said to have predicted that a revolution loomed in Nigeria unless the government took urgent step to arrest youth unemployment and poverty.

The prediction was reportedly made at the weekend in a speech at a West African regional conference on youth employment in Senegal. Meanwhile, former President Obasanjo has asked political parties to do more in enforcing party discipline, proper implementation of their manifestoes, service delivery and national integration in their quest for power acquisition. Obasanjo spoke yesterday in Abuja as chairman of the first session of a two-day roundtable conference on “Party Politics and Election in Nigeria,” organised by the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS).

The former president expressed concern that in Nigeria, political parties’ manifestoes are being abused because they are only used to win elections and thereafter dumped by political parties. He wondered how a party in office would be assessed if not through the party’s manifestoes.

He observed that in the absence of manifestoes, it becomes difficult to hold political parties accountable in office. He said: “In Nigeria, manifestoes are prepared, read and thereafter thrown away after elections.

Worse still, in other instances, some political parties do not even have manifestoes. How then do we hold political parties accountable?”

While commenting on party discipline, Obasanjo stressed that no human institution or organisation, not the least, political parties can endure without party discipline, particularly under a multi-party democracy like Nigeria. He noted that it is party discipline that subjects the activities of members of the party to checks and ensures that the ideologies of political parties are sustained. On service, the former president implored political parties to do more because at the moment.

“We rarely find political parties delivering services to the people to justify the confidence reposed in them by the electorate”, he said. The conference, which was attended by the Senate President, David Mark, his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Deputy Speaker of the House of representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; former President, Ibrahim Babangida; former principal officers of the National Assembly, chairmen of registered political parties in Nigeria, serving members of the National Assembly and some visiting members of the United States of America Congress.

In his keynote address while declaring the event open, Mark explained that intra party squabbles exist because political party affiliation in Nigeria is rarely anchored on ideology or any uniting and defined philosophy, but rather largely on crass opportunism. This, the Senate President said, undermines the capacity of the political party to govern effectively, even after gaining political power.

He expressed concerns that in reality, most of the current political parties in the country are fledging and hardly able to stand on their feet, while many others exists mainly on paper, and were floated to attract the financial subventions, which the 1999 constitution hitherto guaranteed them.

According to him, even the big parties, which control various executive and legislative arms of government are often mired by internal convulsions, lack of cohesion, indiscipline and glaring absence of internal democracy. These problems, Mark said have been the bane of party politics in Nigeria.

He described as unfortunate that the term lobbying has come to acquire a pejorative connotation, despite its many inherent and positive benefits, noting that this is due largely to the abuse to which it often liable.

By Odele Ojo & Goerge Oji / National Mirror

Former Nigeria international, Samson Siasia has exclusively told supersport.com that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) never wanted him as head coach of the Super Eagles.

Siasia coached the Nigeria national team between 2010 and 2011 but was sacked following the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

With his successor, Stephen Keshi successfully steering the Super Eagles to a place at the 2013 finals in South Africa, Siasia has now revealed that he lived on borrowed time as Nigeria head coach.

“These guys (at the NFF) never wanted me. It was the Nigerian public that actually wanted me to coach the Super Eagles. What the NFF did was to invite a lawyer from the United States during the signing of my contract. It was like a set-up and I ended up signing a bad contract,” Siasia told supersport.com.

Siasia said "several things happened" which prevented him from delivering the 2012 Afcon ticket to Nigerians.

“I wanted to get that ticket for Nigerians but several things happened and I failed. But in life you have to learn from your mistakes and I have learnt,” he said.

The former Nantes striker then took the time to voice his sentiments about a proposed return to the national team as coach.

“When I come back again as coach of the Super Eagles, I will not make the mistakes I made earlier. I will get a lawyer to look at the contract. They will advise me on what to do.

“(Present Nigeria coach), Stephen Keshi has the same contract and it is sad. It is sad because if (the NFF) continues to fire coaches at will, when are we going to have a coach that will stay for a very long time to build a good team?

“That’s why Nigeria continues to fail at international level,” he concluded.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/sports/eagles-coaching-job-siasia-blasts-nff/

The General Overseer of Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo has been asked to pay N2 billion within 14 days as general damages or face legal action, for the death of three-year-old Imienfan Omokaro who got drowned at Kingdom Heritage Model School operated by Winners Chapel in Benin.

A letter written by Omokaro’s Counsel, Prince Peter E. Uwadiae-Igbinigie and, dated November 28, 2012 and made available to journalists in Benin, explained that the amount was “for the callous and senseless killing of our client’s daughter, Miss Imienfan Omokaro.”


Besides, Mr. Omokaro’s lawyers want Kingdom Heritage Model School to tender unreserved apology in three national newspapers, warning that if the demands were not met within 14 days, “we have the irrevocable instructions of our client to commence legal action against the school (Kingdom Heritage Model School) and Church (Winners Chapel) without any further correspondence from this Chambers.”

Imienfan Omokaro, a KG I pupil of Kingdom Heritage Model School, was said to have drowned in a drum of water in a toilet in the school on November 1, 2012.

Also, teachers of the school allegedly did not inform her mother when she came to pick her from school on that fateful day until late in the evening.

The school authorities and Winners Chapel had reportedly kept the girl for more than an hour, praying for her before finally taking her to Irowa Hospital in Benin, where she was confirmed dead.
The girl had died before being brought to hospital, doctors said.

Source:

By SaharaReporters, New York

The Defence Headquarters in Abuja has announced the sacking AVM Abdullahi Kure, the commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, Kaduna State and Corps Commander, Major-General Mohammed Isa was also sacked.
Their sack follows last Sunday bombing of the St. Andrews Military Protestant Church at the Army base leading to the death of 15 persons as two car bombs exploded minutes apart during a church service.
The Defence Headquarters spokesperson, Col. Mohammed Yerima said in a statement that Air Vice Marshal EE Osim is to replace Air Vice Marshal Kure as Commandant Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) while Maj Gen KC Osuji will act as Corps Commander, Infantry, Jaji.
The statement also stated “An inquiry raised by defense headquarters to unravel the circumstances that led to the bomb explosion which rocked Saint Andrew’s protestant church at the Jaji Military Command in Kaduna state last week. Air Vice Marshall Kure and Major-General Isa will be redeployed by their respective services.”

The Central Bank governor on Monday called for the sack of 50% of civil servants in Nigeria because according to him, 'the country spends 70 per cent of its earnings on salaries and entitlements of civil servants.'
“You have to fire half of the civil service because the revenue of the government is supposed to be for 167 million Nigerians. Any society where government spends 70 per cent of its revenue on its civil service has a problem. It is unsustainable,” he said.
Organized Labour, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the Civil Liberties Organisation and Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union, have all condemned his statement, some asking for his immediate sack.

http://www.lindaikeji..co.uk/2012/11/sanusi-calls-for-sack-of-50-of-civil.html?m=1

The recent approval of  the sum of N2.2 billion for the construction of  a new banquet hall at the Presidential Villa, Abuja has not been received well by most Nigerians. Yesterday, during the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, the large sum was approved for the construction of a new banquet hall.

According to Vanguard, the approval is part of the final set of N19.4 billion contracts for this year covering road construction, rail transportation and infrastructural development in the Federal Capital Territory.

The new banquet hall would have a capacity of 150 seats. There is already an existing hall in the Villa where national events are held. However, the proposed 150-seater hall will have walk ways, security post, hall conveniences, technical room and press briefing room.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed, while defending the approval said that the council did so because smaller countries had befitting banquet halls in their seats of power. He added that the  contract for the construction was awarded to Julius Berger, a company that is already in charge of services in the Presidential Villa.

“The second project approved by council is the building of a 150-seater Banquet Hall in the Presidential Villa.

“We noticed that it (existing hall) is inconveniencing; it is not in tandem with what is outside the country. Even smaller countries have better Banquet Halls near their Presidential residences. Of course, part of the things we are going to provide there is a 150-seater (hall) with all the facilities that will cover the walk ways, security, hall conveniences, technical room and press briefing room that are more and more enhanced so that national broadcast can be done from there.

“The contract was awarded in the sum of N2.2billion to Julius Berger because they are more familiar with the terrain in the Presidential Villa and for security reasons.”

This large amount of money approved for the construction of a 150-seater Banquet Hall sounds quite exorbitant. I don’t claim to know the current state of the existing hall in the Villa but surely, there are a lot of other things that could be done in Nigeria with N2.2 Billion!

SOURCE: VANGUARD

Robert Hagerman just wanted his daughter to buy him some beer, but when she refused, the Florida dad got hopping mad.

Rather than get the suds for himself, Hagerman, 56, chose to call 911 and told dispatchers that his daughter was on drugs, throwing things and hitting him, ABCActionNews.com reported.

When police in Seminole arrived on the scene, they determined Hagerman was the one who lost his head. He was reportedly under the influence and uncooperative, according to CBS News.

Hagerman's daughter was still in the house and explained to deputies that her dad made the call because she wouldn't go buy him beer, the Miami Herald reported. She also played cellphone recordings of her father making false statements to the police.

Pinellas County sheriff's deputies arrested Hagerman on a charge of making a false report of a crime.

http://www.naijapicks.com/2012/11/man-calls-911-after-daughter-refuses-to.html?m=1

A 28year-old woman, Hawa Musa, of Kurudu village, Abuja, on Thursday told a Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court how her neighbour bite off her nipple during a scuffle.

Hawa in her evidence-in-chief said “I came out of our room that morning to throw away the water I used to wash my face.

“Mistakenly, I threw the water away in front of my neighbour, Anastasia Uche’s, house, who came out and started raining insults on me.

“I told her I was sorry and even swept the area where I poured the water. She then attacked me and tore off my cloths, including my bra.

“As I was trying to run for cover, she grabbed me and bit my nipple.

“I was immediately rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that my nipple was missing,’’ she said.

Hawa said a team have thoroughly searched for the nipple but the nipple was not found.

The accused, Anastasia pleaded not guilty and could also not account for her neighbour’s missing nipple.

Hawa may have to live without one of her nipples as a medical doctor at a hospital in Gwagwalada said that the affected part required disinfection – because it already had pus – before a surgery can be performed next year January.

The Counsel to the accused, Michael Ejeh, was not in court and no reason was given for his absence.

The prosecutor Pascal Njoku, told the court that the offence contravened Section 241 of the Penal Code.

The case was adjourned to December 10, for the defence to open its case.

SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES

Women in Bulawayo are scrambling for baboon urine which they believe keeps their husbands from straying. The urine is sold at the Bulawayo City Council run toilets at Egodini commuter omnibus terminus.

The urine which goes for $2 is sold with a mixture of soil giving it a solid look. An elderly woman spoke highly of the baboon-urine as a love concoction saying it is highly recommended to those who want to curb their husband's bed hopping antics.

"You grind the mixture before you sleep but after bathing, you then have to apply the powder in your privates. When applying you do not have to overdose because once you become damp, the urine's smell is pungent," the woman said.

In a day she said at least 30 customers buy her love concoctions and makes more than $50. She said the ulterior motive is to drive the man into adopting a baboon's urinating habit. According to the elderly woman, a baboon is disciplined when it comes to urinating.

"A baboon by its nature urinates only on one spot. Even if it travels from Matopo to Bulawayo, when it gets pressed, it will travel all the way to Matopo before it relieves itself. When you apply the powder, the man will absorb the baboon's urine and it will start regulating his bedding tendencies. Once you use this (baboon urine), just like the animal does, he will never release his seeds of manhood to any woman but to you only," she explained.

The urine is also sold in a variety of mixtures which helps in bonding the lovers' sexual life.

"We also sell this urine (baboon) mixed with nama, overtaker and zwana mina," she said.

According to Gogo, nama is a pounded tree root which is used to bind lovers together forever. Overtaker is a lovers' concoction used by a woman when she is competing for her man's love and intends to overtake her rival. Zwana mina (mupfuhwira) is an endearing charm with a supernatural power to cover one's flaws.

http://www.naijapicks.com/2012/11/baboon-urine-big-seller-in-bulawayo.html?m=1

A septuagenarian yesterday revealed how a newly wedded lady in Asa Village, in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, (name withheld) was allegedly raped by armed nomadic Fulani herdsmen who were currently terrorizing more than 30 communities in the Council Area. Pa Mathew Olukogun who spoke with journalists during a press conference at Ojo-Odan, lamented what he described as “unabated gruesome killing of Ketu people by the Fulani/Boboro herdsmen in recent times”.

Aside from rape, assault and molestation of the rural dwellers, Olukogun said fears of being attacked by the herdsmen had gripped the villagers who were appealing to the state government to come to their aid. According to the aged man who spoke on behalf of hundreds of farmers in the area, the immoral acts by the normal Fulani had instilled fears into the communities. His words: “Aside from this immoral act by the intruders, many of our sons and daughters have been gruesomely murdered in a way that appears as if we don’t have government.

Our brilliant ones including our wives have been raped, assaulted and even killed by the strangers.” He said many of their wives and ladies that had been raped were either on their way to the market or river to fetch water. “How would you feel if I mention your wife’s name as one of those that have been raped by the cattlerearers’’,, the old man replied in an answer to a question on the need for him to mention names. Olukogun said those who had been raped by the marauders knew themselves. “Many of our wives , ladies and daughter who have been raped were largely taken to the hospital in Abeokuta, the state capital.

“We are losing people as well as being prevented from doing what we know how to do best because of the grazing of our farms by the herdsmen’s cattle’’. ‘’With the terrible experience of the raping of our daughters and ones, including newly wedded wives, living in our communities is no longer safe, hence, we have deserted the communities in hundreds, praying that the state government would urgently come to our aid.’’ According to him, the herdsmen usually lurk around the communities and unleash terror on them in such a way that they are usually helpless.

‘’The worst of the action of the marauders was the raping of many newly wedded wives in our communities and we are bitter about this.” He adds: “In a matter of days, they enter the country through our communities and destroy our farmlands with the indiscriminate grazing of their cattle. We are helpless and that’s why we are appealing to the state government to urgently checkmate them.’’ Reacting to the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi said that the Ketu people were only crying wolf where none existed. While warning the Ketu people not to drag the police into the matter, he stressed that ‘’the police could only ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order rather than stopping the Fulani herdsmen from coming into the area.’’ “They should not drag the police into the matter.

The state government and the House of Assembly have set up a committee on the matter. We are only waiting for the government, he said. On his own part, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa said that the problem of the clash between the Ketu people and the Fulani had been a recurrent one in the past 15 years. Adeoluwa said that the state government’s desire to find a lasting solution to the re-occurring problem made it to set up a committee comprising the Ketu people, the Fulani and government officials to tackle the problem.

“These are unfair allegations. Last week, I held meetings with them. The 30 villages in Ketu and the Fulanis too were represented. We’ve told the Fulani herdsmen to hold on, that we have set minimum standards for them before they can come in,” , he stated. Meanwhile, a coalition of socio-cultural groups from the area, including Ketu Advancement Front, Ketu South People’s Assembly and Ketu Alliance have alleged that about 21 innocent residents of the area have allegedly been killed by the Fulani herdsmen since 2000.

The spokesperson of the socio-cultural groups, Mr. Lasisi Adewole, said three residents of the area, including Phillip Akanan from Owode-Ketu, Amosu Olofinjin and Akinola Tunde from Agbon-Ojodu have been killed this year alone by the Fulani herdsmen. Adewole also lamented that all efforts to ensure that the police, the State Security Service and the state government put in place adequate security measures to protect the people, particularly during dry season when the Fulani herdsmen usually encroached and destroyed their farms by the indiscriminate grazing of their cattle had yielded no fruits.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/fulani-herdsmen-rape-newly-wed-in-ogun/

Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has threatened to withhold the salary of any traditional ruler in whose community kidnappers are apprehended. He directed the monarchs to assume full responsibility of the security arrangement in their Community Government Council (aka fourth tier government) in their respective domains to enable them to assist the government flush out all criminals in the state.

The governor who gave the directive while launching the “Imo Security Network and Emergency Services” in Owerri promised to dish out an undisclosed ransom to any individual who supplies useful information to security agencies on the hideout of kidnappers and den of robbers in the state. Kidnapping does not occur in the moon but in our midst and it is a crime against God and humanity and henceforth anybody found guilty of it will be dealt with according to the law,” he warned.

He explained that the New State Security Network launched, was not meant to witch hunt anybody, but a strategy to complement the efforts of security agencies in crime control and prevention. The government therefore challenged staff of the security out-fit to swing into action immediately and to comb all bushes, forests and uncompleted buildings in all nooks and crannies of the state to fish out criminals still hibernating in the state, promising to equip them properly for the task ahead.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/kidnapping-okorocha-to-seize-monarchs-salaries/

Winner of an airplane at the MTN Ultimate Wonder promo, Ebube Essien-Garricks, speaks with MAUREEN AZUH on how she became the lucky millionaire and her plans

Stories of a rise from grass to grace, to many people, may be a case of a happy ending in movies and works of fiction. But for Ebube Essien-Garricks, that popular saying is now just as real as the air she breathes.

The 27-year-old student of the Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, is N64m richer. She emerged the winner of a Cessna 182T aircraft in the MTN Ultimate Wonder promo after a draw held in Lagos on November 13.

Expectedly, Essien-Garricks is still excited about the outcome of the lottery she says she could not remember taking part in.

“I was surprised when I was called by a family friend that I had won because I thought it was not real,” she says. “Before then, I had never played any game concerning MTN. Ironically my SIM card was blocked at the time. I had a code on my phone which I forgot and in the process of trying to decode it, my line was blocked.”

She adds that her family friend’s number was the last contact she made before her line was disconnected and so she was contacted through him.

“When he told me, I just told him to forget about it that it was the handiwork of 419 people. But later a lady called me from MTN to confirm it. I then asked her to unblock my line to convince me. She did so and it was at that point that I realised my fortune,” she says.

The unassuming young lady, who hails from Akinima in Ahoada West, Rivers State, is a 300-level student of radiography. She discloses that she had never dreamt of owning so much money in her lifetime, coming from a modest family background of eight children, where she is the seventh.

For her, however, winning N64m could only be a divine act, perhaps a manifestation of her full name, Ebubeomiso, meaning ‘the glory of God’.

She says, “I have never fainted in my life before, so when they called the amount I did not faint. I just became thirsty, I kept asking for water and I kept smiling, again and again. I thought I was dreaming but with the kind of people I have been shaking hands with, people hugging me, asking to take photographs with me, I think it’s an act of God. I can imagine how many numbers they played and mine was singled out, just like that.”

In these times, when owning a private jet is becoming the norm in Nigeria, some people may wonder why Essien-Garricks opted for cash equivalent instead of the airplane.

“If I took the plane, where would I park it?” she asks rhetorically. “I just told them it was the cash I really wanted and nothing else. I was not persuaded to take cash. If it is something I worked for, I would argue but I never laboured for it. They said either the plane or the cash equivalent and I chose the cash.”

However, Essien-Garricks is not in a hurry to spend the money. She will let it ‘breathe some fresh air in the bank’ while she completes her education, she says.

Prior to her winning the lottery, she says, she planned to work as a radiographer after school but with the change of status comes her change of plans. “Now I will buy machines and work for myself. I will be an employer of labour,” she states.

She also plans to give her aging parents and siblings a ‘new life’. “My family needs a new level. This money is for them, not me only. God just wants to use me to bless the family so everybody has a share in it,” she enthuses.

When the news of her winning the lottery broke online, some comments about ‘the lucky guy’ in her life came up — with some people advising whoever she is in a relationship with not to let go. But Essien-Garricks says she is single and when she is ready for marriage, she would not go for anyone who is interested in her money.

“I know what love is,” she notes. “People are calling to ask my parents if I am married, some others are giving them promises. Even on the Internet, I don’t have a Facebook account but someone has opened one in my name. If anyone is coming because of my money, I promise the person that he will not get a dime because I will make sure he doesn’t.”

On the current Nigerian Communications Commission’s ban of promos and lotteries from network providers, Essien-Garricks appeals that government should lift the ban and checkmate them.

“The fact is that lives are being changed through this. The most important thing is, if they promise, they should fulfil it,” she says.

http://www.punchng.com/feature/midweek-revue/guys-jostle-to-win-heart-of-n64m-winner/

As materialism encroaches on the Nigerian Christian church, the Concerned Northern Nigerian Christians (CNNC) has dismissed the reaction of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to last weekend’s criticism by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, saying that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the CAN President, cannot match Bishop Kukah in integrity and morality.
Pastor Oritisejafor recently received the gift of a private jet from his congregation as an anniversary gift, the latest of several pastors in the country to take possession of one, and measure success by materialism.  Reflecting on the matter on Saturday, Bishop Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, said that the jet-setting new trend by Christian leaders diminishes the moral voice of the church in the fight against corruption.
Kukah made the remark as Guest Speaker at the annual Founder’s Day Anniversary lecture of Providence Baptist Church in Lagos, and squarely placed the new phenomenon side by side with Nigeria’s suffering under corruption.
“The stories of corrupt men and women being given recognition by their churches or mosques as gallant sons and daughters and the embarrassing stories of pastors displaying conspicuous wealth as we hear from the purchases of private jets and so on clearly diminish our moral voice,” he said, echoing similar remarks made recently by Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly.  
Responding to those remarks, Elder Sunday Oibe, the National Director of Research, Planning and Strategy of CAN, suggested that both religious leaders might have something against Pastor Oritsejafor, and were merely hiding under the cloak of the gift of a jet to attack him.  
Oibe, who is also the Public Relations Officer of the Northern branch of CAN, said: “If there is any clergyman in the country whose constituency is government, it is Bishop Kukah, who served every government in power in the last decade,” he said in the phone interview with a newspaper. “He thinks people have forgotten in a hurry how he served in Obasanjo’s government and turned round to attack the former president, or his fraternity with the former Governor James Ibori and his Rivers State counterpart, Peter Odili.”
Reacting to those remarks, CNNC said in a statement by its spokesperson, Yahuda Peter, that Elder Oibe’s statement confirmed fears that the “honest, unifying and most coveted CAN” and its true ideals as carefully laid down by its founding fathers Ambassador Jolly Tanko Yusuf, Cardinal Ekandem and many others are under attack.
“Though built with integrity and an earnest quest for genuine freedom amongst Christians, it’s ridiculous how it is being turned into a mere child’s play and a medium for wild gains best known to the likes of Mr. Oibe and his pay masters.
“Mr. Sunday Oibe embarked on a voyage of cheap black mail that exposes his ignorance on the person of Bishop Kukah. Bishop Kukah never served in Obasanjo’s government but was only a member of an Adhoc Human Rights Investigation Panel, popularly known as Oputa Panel, akin to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. That Tutu chaired South African Commission and has been friends of Mandela for decades; does that mean he served in ANC’s government of Mandela?”
CNNC said that nothing in the past or the present has put Kukah’s integrity in doubt except for Oibe’s pay masters whose understanding of nation building, is opulence via a religious exploitation with Christianity as the epicentre and cover.
“It is the likes of Oibe and his master Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor that have a responsibility of exonerating themselves from the wrong side of Nigerian history in the hereafter, but for Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, it has been a life of service to God and Country and to God be the glory, it has been a life most worthy of emulation for all true lovers of God walking in integrity, conscience and saying the truth to power without any compromise.”

http://mobile.saharareporters.com/news-page/jet-setting-pastors-christian-groups-launch-counter-attacks

ABUJA —THE Senate was, yesterday, told that the N1, 305, 292, 050 set aside in the 2013 budget for refreshment and meals and other miscellaneous expenses in the State House will not be enough.

This is just as a breakdown of the Miscellaneous sub-head in Aso Rock’s budget shows that N203,752,432 was allocated for refreshment and meals; N107,412,768 would be spent on honorarium and sitting allowance while N37, 277,825 will be for publicity and advertisement.

These were disclosed, yesterday, when the State House Permanent Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbile appeared before the Senator Dahiru Kuta-led Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs to defend the N14,715,566,104 budget for next year.

Ogbile also told the senators some other expenses that were being taken care of in the refreshment and meals vote, which he said include National Economic Council (NEC), Council of State, conferences in the Banquet Hall, Presidential retreats, National Merit Award, Children’s Day as well as hosting of dignitaries. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta, however, countered the Permanent Secretary on the provision for the Merit Award which he said has its own budget.

The Permanent Secretary also gave a further breakdown of the 2013 State House budget as thus, Medical expenses (N50,308,546); Postage and courier services (N10,035,583); Welfare packages (N195,066,223); Subscription to professional bodies (N4,589,793); and Sporting activities (N32,910,730).

According to him, Overtime will gulp, N250,455,589; Feeding of animals including animal supplements for the veterinary clinic (N30,584,144); Summit/ Extra ordinary sessions including the UN, African Union, ECOWAS, etc (N228,112,862); and NYSC, IT, LOCUM, Housemanship and contract staff allowance (N144,788,555).

According to Ogbile: “I have taken pains to explain that this money is not just to fund the residence of the President and that of the Vice President. The experience I have had is that this fund is grossly insufficient. It is not even enough.”

The Permanent Secretary noted that “it is also from the budget of N1.305 billion that we take care of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which holds every Wednesday.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/n1-305b-not-enough-for-refreshments-meals-presidential-villa-tells-senate/

A UNIVERSITY don and a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, Prof. Samuel Wara has noted that Poly Vinyl Chloride commonly known as PVC which  is one of the common synthetic materials heavily used in building construction today, especially for interior finishes, is the most environmentally damaging plastic material ever used  by home owners.

According to Wara who is a lecturer in the Department of Electronics Engineering at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, the danger in the use of the materials is premised on the fact that the life cycle of PVC right from its production stage to its usage and finally disposal always results in one form of health and environmental hazard or the other.

He said in Nigeria, the use of PVC products such as PVC ceiling, PVC windows and doors as well as roofing materials made from PVC has become the order of the day, pointing out that this is as a result of failure of relevant regulatory agencies involved in the building construction industry to check and enforce the building regulatory code as related to various building materials applications.

Common practice

He added that it is now a common practice to see mansions, offices and other heavily occupied buildings being finished with PVC products.Prof Wara said the argument often put forward in support of PVC materials includes their appealing aesthetics, lower cost, fire retardant and lower weight among many others.

He however noted that ‘’while these appear tempting, the comment in January 1998 issue of the Environmental Business News is disturbing. This report stated that ‘while Greenpeace has been most vocal regarding environmental and health concerns with PVC, they are by no means the only voice out there expressing such concern’.

‘’Also, the position of the International Association of Fire Fighters in the U.S. does not favour the continuous use of PVC products as building materials. According to the Association, ‘due to its intrinsic hazards, we support effort to identify and use the alternative building materials that do not pose as much risk as PVC to fire fighters, building occupants and the communities’. It is imperative to critically examine the other side of PVC products in the light of its usage as building materials going by growing concerns and call for its abolition in virtually all of advanced countries’’, he said.

On the dangers inherent in the use of PVC-based materials, the fellow of NSE told Vanguard Homes & Property that PVC products which are rich in chlorine; reduces its natural fire retardant property considerably, explaining that in the event of fire incident in a building finished with PVC products, the materials become a double edge sword in the sense that its long smoulder period enhances release of irritating and poisonous hydrogen chloride gas.

He added that the occupants of such building might get caught up in fire due to late sign of visible fire outbreak.

‘’In addition, building materials made from PVC such as PVC windows, ceilings, doors as well as PVC vinyl flooring and roof release a chemical softener called DiEthyl-Hexyl Phathalate (DEHP), which has been associated with the increase in respiratory sensitisation. Also, some PVC products such as PVC mini-blinds have lead additives as active component. This lead additive was found to cause lead poisoning in people living in such buildings, especially in small children.

‘’Flexible PVC such as one used for ceilings and roofs causes harm to indoor air quality and encourages growth of hazardous moulds. Three separate epidemiological studies have found that human exposure to PVC in building interior such as  roofs, ceilings, doors, windows, blinds etc causes significant elevated risk of asthma and other pulmonary conditions, including bronchial obstruction, wheezing and pneumonia, prolonged coughing and irritation of nasal passage and eyes.

‘’The hazards posed by dioxins, DEHP and vinyl chloride are largely unique to PVC products owing to the fact that it is the only major building material and the major plastic that contains chlorine or requires plasticizer or stabilizer. DEHP produced by PVC has been found to cause damage to reproductive system of sex resulting in partial or total infertility. Notable impairments include testicular damage, reduction in sperm count, suppressed ovulation, abnormal development and function of testes’,he stated.

On what can be done to check this, Prof. Wara said across the world, governments, companies, agencies and scientific organisations have come to a common position and recognised the hazards of PV, pointing out that virtually in most advanced countries, application and usage of PVC have either been eliminated or restricted for environmental and health reasons.

According to him, this is achieved by the introduction of PVC avoidance policies to safeguard the populace, while numerous local and regional governments have put in place specific policies to avoid use of PVC products in building construction in an attempt to checkmate the inherent dangers in PVC.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/expert-warns-on-dangers-of-pvc-building-materials/

AWKA—A SEVEN – MONTH old baby boy, Uchenna Nwoye, his parents and two others were allegedly arrested and detained by the police in Onitsha over N20 000 debt owed by the parents.

They were arrested at Ifitedunu in Dunukofia local government area of Anambra State by policemen from Fegge Police Stattion, Onitsha, for failure to pay the N20,000 to a woman Uchenna’s father allegedly did business with.

Narrating the incident to newsmen, yesterday, in Onitsha, mother of the boy, 23-year-old Mrs. Ukamaka Nwoye, said they were whisked away by the policemen without any reason, adding that   they were fast asleep when heavily armed policemen numbering over 20 forced open their door and arrested all the occupants, including the 7-months-old boy.

She said:  “On November 7, at about 2.30am, we were all asleep when suddenly, some policemen came into our compound and forced their way into our house and arrested us, including my 7-month-old baby.They took us to their bus and whisked us away to a place we later found out was Fegge Police Station, Onitsha.

“They denied us the opportunity to call any of our relations. It was one of the policemen who saw how my child was almost suffocating inside the cell that secretly helped me to call one of my brothers and I told him where we were being detained. We spent over seven days in detention.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/police-detain-7-month-old-baby-parents-over-n20000-debt/

Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has condemned comments credited to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah and Pastor Tunde Bakare, who claimed that acquisition of private jets by religious leaders diminishes moral voices of the church in the war against corruption and are therefore calling for a revolution in the Church of God.

Speaking in a telephone interview, National Director of Research, Planning and Strategy, Elder Sunday Oibe, urged the Catholic bishop and the former vice presidential candidate of CPC, that if they have anything against the person of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, they should come out and say so, and not hide under the cloak of the gift of a jet to attack the CAN president.

Oibe, who doubles as the Public Relations Officer of Northern CAN, said he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones.

He said: “If there is any clergyman in the country whose constituency is government, it is Bishop Kukah, who served every government in power in the last decade.

“He thinks people have forgotten in a hurry how he served in Obasanjo’s government and turned round to attack the former president, or his fraternity with the former Governor James Ibori and his Rivers State counterpart, Peter Odili.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/private-jets-can-slams-kukah-bakare/