The convoy of the governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako was attacked by gunmen believed to be Boko Haram insurgents earlier today.
The incident occurred at Shuwari area of the State, as the governor was returning from paying a condolence visit to victims of Boko Haram attacks two days ago.
The governor reportedly escaped in an escort vehicle and no casualties were recorded.
Credit: Nigerian news update
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Sanusi’s Bid To Reverse Suspension rejected!!!
Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s bid to return to office suffered a setback,Wednesday as the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, dismissed his ex-parte application that sought to reverse his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan, pending the determination of an interlocutory motion he filed along with a suit he initiated, challenging the suspension.
Shortly after the applicant’s lawyer, Sam Kagbo, informed the court about the application, Justice Kolawole said he felt hesitant and constrained to grant the reliefs sought. He ordered that the respondents be put on notice.
The judge held that it was unsafe, at the current preliminary stage of the case, for the court to embark on granting far-reaching interim orders which have all the attributes of a mandatory injunction without hearing from the defendants. Justice Kolawole noted that, when defendants have been duly served with the originating summons and motion on notice, he intends to inquire whether, in the light of the Third Alteration Act, No: 20 of the Constitution, the Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the case, irrespective of the questions for determination contained in the originating summons.
On plaintiff’s apprehension that a delay would occasion harm to his interest, the judge noted that the court possesses the powers to declare the suspension unlawful and order his return to office, if at the end of trial, it finds that the suspension was wrong. He added that even where the tenure had lapsed, the court could order the defendants to pay the plaintiff such remunerations and allowances, if his remuneration and allowances were also suspended while his suspension lasted.
He consequently adjourned to March 12 for hearing.
In a suit filed on Monday, Sanusi wants the court to among others, restrain the President and two others from giving effect to his purported suspension pending the determination of his suit. Also to be restrained are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Culled from Nationonline
Shortly after the applicant’s lawyer, Sam Kagbo, informed the court about the application, Justice Kolawole said he felt hesitant and constrained to grant the reliefs sought. He ordered that the respondents be put on notice.
The judge held that it was unsafe, at the current preliminary stage of the case, for the court to embark on granting far-reaching interim orders which have all the attributes of a mandatory injunction without hearing from the defendants. Justice Kolawole noted that, when defendants have been duly served with the originating summons and motion on notice, he intends to inquire whether, in the light of the Third Alteration Act, No: 20 of the Constitution, the Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the case, irrespective of the questions for determination contained in the originating summons.
On plaintiff’s apprehension that a delay would occasion harm to his interest, the judge noted that the court possesses the powers to declare the suspension unlawful and order his return to office, if at the end of trial, it finds that the suspension was wrong. He added that even where the tenure had lapsed, the court could order the defendants to pay the plaintiff such remunerations and allowances, if his remuneration and allowances were also suspended while his suspension lasted.
He consequently adjourned to March 12 for hearing.
In a suit filed on Monday, Sanusi wants the court to among others, restrain the President and two others from giving effect to his purported suspension pending the determination of his suit. Also to be restrained are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Culled from Nationonline
Must Read: Centenary Anniversary Broadcast by President Jonathan
This is the national broadcast by Pres. Jonathan on the occasion of Nigeria’s Centenary Celebrations today Wednesday, 26th February, 2014.
Read Below:
Dear Compatriots,
1. I extend warm greetings and felicitations to all Nigerians as we celebrate our nation’s centenary; a significant milestone in our journey to Nationhood.
2. One hundred years ago, on the 1st of January 1914, the British Colonial authorities amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates, giving birth to the single geo-political entity called Nigeria which has become our home, our hope, and our heritage.
3. I have often expressed the conviction that our amalgamation was not a mistake. While our union may have been inspired by considerations external to our people; I have no doubt that we are destined by God Almighty to live together as one big nation, united in diversity. Continue...
4. I consider myself specially privileged to lead our country into its second century of existence. And as I speak with you today, I feel the full weight of our hundred-year history. But what I feel most is not frustration, it is not disillusionment. What I feel is great pride and great hope for a country that is bound to overcome the transient pains of the moment and eventually take its rightful place among the greatest nations on earth.
5. Like every country of the world, we have had our troubles. And we still do. We have fought a civil war. We have seen civil authorities overthrown by the military. We have suffered sectarian violence. And as I speak, a part of our country is still suffering from the brutal assault of terrorists and insurgents.
6. While the occasion of our centenary undoubtedly calls for celebration, it is also a moment to pause and reflect on our journey of the past one hundred years, to take stock of our past and consider the best way forward for our nation.
7. Even as we celebrate our centenary, we must realise that in the context of history, our nation is still in its infancy.
8. We are a nation of the future, not of the past and while we may have travelled for a century, we are not yet at our destination of greatness.
9. The amalgamation of 1914 was only the first step in our national journey. Unification was followed by independence and democracy which have unleashed the enormous potentials of our people and laid the foundation for our nation’s greatness.
10. In challenging times, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. But hope, when grounded in realism, enables and inspires progress. Therefore, as we celebrate our first century of nationhood and enter a second, we must not lose sight of all that we have achieved since 1914 in terms of nation-building, development and progress.
11. Today, we salute once again the great heroes of our nation – Herbert Macaulay, Ernest Ikoli, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alvan Ikoku, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Dr. Michael Okpara, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye and Chief Michael Imoudu among others.
12. We must be inspired by our past to overcome the obstacles we face in the present and honour our forebears by realising the promise of a Nigeria that is not only independent but also truly unified, prosperous and admired the world over.
13. The history of Nigeria since independence is the story of a struggle to fulfill our great promise. The discovery of oil in our country in the late 1950s offered new hope of prosperity but we have not always been able to reap the benefits in a fair and equitable way.
14. The situation was not helped by political instability and the frequent suspension of democracy by military coups. During the civil war, the very existence of our country was cast into doubt but through it all, the promise of a Nigeria that is united, free and strong remained in our people's hearts.
15. Thanks to the efforts of our statesmen and women, and millions of ordinary Nigerians, the union endured and flourished. I would like to specifically commend members of the Armed Forces for their contributions and sacrifices to keep Nigeria one.
16. General Yakubu Gowon had the wisdom and grace to declare that the civil war had seen "no victor, no vanquished" and welcomed, "the dawn of national reconciliation".
17. It was in this spirit that General Olusegun Obasanjo collected the instruments of surrender at the end of the war and later became the first military ruler in our country to hand over power voluntarily to a democratic government.
18. While the Second Republic did not last, his fine example was later followed by General Abdulsalam Abubakar who paved the way for our current democratic dispensation which has lasted longer than the previous three put together.
19. As we celebrate our centenary, I believe that it is vital that we focus our thoughts on the vast potentials of a unified and progressive Nigeria; and build on the relative stability of the Fourth Republic to achieve accelerated national socio-economic development.
20. I also believe that the future greatness of our country is assured by the favourable tail winds of a resilient population, ecological diversity, rich natural resources and a national consciousness that rises above our differences.
21. We are a unique country. We have been brought together in a union like no other by providence. Our nation has evolved from three regions to thirty six states and a Federal Capital Territory.
22. We have transited from the Parliamentary to a Presidential system of government. We have moved our capital from the coastal city of Lagos to Abuja, at the centre of our country.
23. Today Abuja stands as a monument to our national aspiration for greater unity; it symbolises our dream of a modern nation unhinged from primordial cleavages and designed as a melting pot of our diversity.
24. If in our first century, we could build a new capital city, we can surely build a newer, stronger, more united and prosperous Nigeria in the next century that will be an authentic African success story.
25. The whole world awaits this African success story. With our sheer size, population, history, resilience, human and natural resources and economic potentials, Nigeria is divinely ordained to lead the African Renaissance.
26. That is why I am confident that in the next 100 years, those who will celebrate Nigeria’s second centenary, will do so as a united, prosperous and politically stable nation which is truly the pride and glory of Africa and the entire black race.
27. The key to the fulfilment of that vision is our continued unity as a nation. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories of our political evolution in the last hundred years is that an ordinary child of ordinary parentage from a minority group has risen to occupy the highest office in our country.
28. As we march into the next hundred years, it is my hope that mine will no longer be an extra-ordinary story but an accepted reality of our democracy that every Nigerian child can pursue his or her dreams no matter how tall; that every Nigerian child can aspire to any position in our country, and will not be judged by the language that he speaks or by how he worships God; not by gender nor by class; but by his abilities and the power of his dreams.
29. I am proud and privileged to have been elected leader of Nigeria and I consider it my solemn responsibility to act in the best interest of the nation at all times.
30. Dear compatriots, in line with the thoughts of that great son of our continent, Nelson Mandela, let us not judge ourselves, and let not the world judge us by how many times we have stumbled, but by how strongly we have risen, every single time that we have faltered.
31. Even as we remain resolute in our conviction that our union is non-negotiable, we must never be afraid to embrace dialogue and strengthen the basis of this most cherished union. A strong nation is not that which shies away from those difficult questions of its existence, but that which confronts such questions, and together provides answers to them in a way that guarantees fairness, justice and equity for all stakeholders.
32. My call for the National Conference in this first year of our second century is to provide the platform to confront our challenges. I am confident that we shall rise from this conference with renewed courage and confidence to march through the next century and beyond, to overcome all obstacles on the path to the fulfilment of our globally acknowledged potential for greatness.
33. I have referred to national leaders who did so much to build our nation in the past hundred years but nation-building is not just a matter for great leaders and elites alone.
34. All Nigerians must be involved in this national endeavour. From the threads of our regional, ethnic and religious diversities we must continuously weave a vibrant collage of values that strengthen the Nigerian spirit.
35. The coming National Conference should not be about a few, privileged persons dictating the terms of debate but an opportunity for all Nigerians to take part in a comprehensive dialogue to further strengthen our union.
36. I am hopeful that the conference will not result in parochial bargaining between competing regions, ethnic, religious and other interest groups but in an objective dialogue about the way forward for our nation and how to ensure a more harmonious balance among our three tiers of government.
37. My dear compatriots, as we celebrate our centenary, the security situation in some of our North-Eastern States, sadly remains a major concern for us. Just yesterday, young students, full of hopes and dreams for a great future, were callously murdered as they slept in their college dormitories in Yobe State. I am deeply saddened by their deaths and that of other Nigerians at the hands of terrorists. Our hearts go out to their parents and relatives, colleagues and school authorities.
38. We will continue to do everything possible to permanently eradicate the scourge of terrorism and insurgency from our country. We recognise that the root cause of militancy, terrorism and insurgency is not the strength of extremist ideas but corrupted values and ignorance.
39. That is why our counter-terrorism strategy is not just about enforcing law and order as we have equipped our security forces to do. It also involves expanding economic opportunities, social inclusion, education and other measures that will help restore normalcy not just in the short term, but permanently.
40. I want to reassure Nigerians that terrorism, strife and insecurity in any part of Nigeria are abhorrent and unacceptable to us. I urge leaders throughout Nigeria to ensure that ethnicity and religion are not allowed to become political issues.
41. I hope and pray that one hundred years from now, Nigerians will look back on another century of achievements during which our union was strengthened, our independence was enhanced, our democracy was entrenched and our example was followed by leaders of other nations whose ambition is to emulate the success of Nigeria; a country that met its difficulties head-on and fulfilled its promise.
42. Finally, Dear Compatriots, as we enter a second century in the life of our nation, let us rededicate ourselves to doing more to empower the youth of our country. Our common heritage and future prosperity are best protected and guaranteed by them. We must commit our full energies and resources to empowering them to achieve our collective vision of greatness in this second century of our nationhood.
43. That is the task before our country; that is the cause I have chosen to champion and I believe we will triumph.
44. I wish all Nigerians happy Centenary celebrations.
45. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
46. I thank you.
Read Below:
Dear Compatriots,
1. I extend warm greetings and felicitations to all Nigerians as we celebrate our nation’s centenary; a significant milestone in our journey to Nationhood.
2. One hundred years ago, on the 1st of January 1914, the British Colonial authorities amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates, giving birth to the single geo-political entity called Nigeria which has become our home, our hope, and our heritage.
3. I have often expressed the conviction that our amalgamation was not a mistake. While our union may have been inspired by considerations external to our people; I have no doubt that we are destined by God Almighty to live together as one big nation, united in diversity. Continue...
4. I consider myself specially privileged to lead our country into its second century of existence. And as I speak with you today, I feel the full weight of our hundred-year history. But what I feel most is not frustration, it is not disillusionment. What I feel is great pride and great hope for a country that is bound to overcome the transient pains of the moment and eventually take its rightful place among the greatest nations on earth.
5. Like every country of the world, we have had our troubles. And we still do. We have fought a civil war. We have seen civil authorities overthrown by the military. We have suffered sectarian violence. And as I speak, a part of our country is still suffering from the brutal assault of terrorists and insurgents.
6. While the occasion of our centenary undoubtedly calls for celebration, it is also a moment to pause and reflect on our journey of the past one hundred years, to take stock of our past and consider the best way forward for our nation.
7. Even as we celebrate our centenary, we must realise that in the context of history, our nation is still in its infancy.
8. We are a nation of the future, not of the past and while we may have travelled for a century, we are not yet at our destination of greatness.
9. The amalgamation of 1914 was only the first step in our national journey. Unification was followed by independence and democracy which have unleashed the enormous potentials of our people and laid the foundation for our nation’s greatness.
10. In challenging times, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. But hope, when grounded in realism, enables and inspires progress. Therefore, as we celebrate our first century of nationhood and enter a second, we must not lose sight of all that we have achieved since 1914 in terms of nation-building, development and progress.
11. Today, we salute once again the great heroes of our nation – Herbert Macaulay, Ernest Ikoli, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alvan Ikoku, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Dr. Michael Okpara, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye and Chief Michael Imoudu among others.
12. We must be inspired by our past to overcome the obstacles we face in the present and honour our forebears by realising the promise of a Nigeria that is not only independent but also truly unified, prosperous and admired the world over.
13. The history of Nigeria since independence is the story of a struggle to fulfill our great promise. The discovery of oil in our country in the late 1950s offered new hope of prosperity but we have not always been able to reap the benefits in a fair and equitable way.
14. The situation was not helped by political instability and the frequent suspension of democracy by military coups. During the civil war, the very existence of our country was cast into doubt but through it all, the promise of a Nigeria that is united, free and strong remained in our people's hearts.
15. Thanks to the efforts of our statesmen and women, and millions of ordinary Nigerians, the union endured and flourished. I would like to specifically commend members of the Armed Forces for their contributions and sacrifices to keep Nigeria one.
16. General Yakubu Gowon had the wisdom and grace to declare that the civil war had seen "no victor, no vanquished" and welcomed, "the dawn of national reconciliation".
17. It was in this spirit that General Olusegun Obasanjo collected the instruments of surrender at the end of the war and later became the first military ruler in our country to hand over power voluntarily to a democratic government.
18. While the Second Republic did not last, his fine example was later followed by General Abdulsalam Abubakar who paved the way for our current democratic dispensation which has lasted longer than the previous three put together.
19. As we celebrate our centenary, I believe that it is vital that we focus our thoughts on the vast potentials of a unified and progressive Nigeria; and build on the relative stability of the Fourth Republic to achieve accelerated national socio-economic development.
20. I also believe that the future greatness of our country is assured by the favourable tail winds of a resilient population, ecological diversity, rich natural resources and a national consciousness that rises above our differences.
21. We are a unique country. We have been brought together in a union like no other by providence. Our nation has evolved from three regions to thirty six states and a Federal Capital Territory.
22. We have transited from the Parliamentary to a Presidential system of government. We have moved our capital from the coastal city of Lagos to Abuja, at the centre of our country.
23. Today Abuja stands as a monument to our national aspiration for greater unity; it symbolises our dream of a modern nation unhinged from primordial cleavages and designed as a melting pot of our diversity.
24. If in our first century, we could build a new capital city, we can surely build a newer, stronger, more united and prosperous Nigeria in the next century that will be an authentic African success story.
25. The whole world awaits this African success story. With our sheer size, population, history, resilience, human and natural resources and economic potentials, Nigeria is divinely ordained to lead the African Renaissance.
26. That is why I am confident that in the next 100 years, those who will celebrate Nigeria’s second centenary, will do so as a united, prosperous and politically stable nation which is truly the pride and glory of Africa and the entire black race.
27. The key to the fulfilment of that vision is our continued unity as a nation. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories of our political evolution in the last hundred years is that an ordinary child of ordinary parentage from a minority group has risen to occupy the highest office in our country.
28. As we march into the next hundred years, it is my hope that mine will no longer be an extra-ordinary story but an accepted reality of our democracy that every Nigerian child can pursue his or her dreams no matter how tall; that every Nigerian child can aspire to any position in our country, and will not be judged by the language that he speaks or by how he worships God; not by gender nor by class; but by his abilities and the power of his dreams.
29. I am proud and privileged to have been elected leader of Nigeria and I consider it my solemn responsibility to act in the best interest of the nation at all times.
30. Dear compatriots, in line with the thoughts of that great son of our continent, Nelson Mandela, let us not judge ourselves, and let not the world judge us by how many times we have stumbled, but by how strongly we have risen, every single time that we have faltered.
31. Even as we remain resolute in our conviction that our union is non-negotiable, we must never be afraid to embrace dialogue and strengthen the basis of this most cherished union. A strong nation is not that which shies away from those difficult questions of its existence, but that which confronts such questions, and together provides answers to them in a way that guarantees fairness, justice and equity for all stakeholders.
32. My call for the National Conference in this first year of our second century is to provide the platform to confront our challenges. I am confident that we shall rise from this conference with renewed courage and confidence to march through the next century and beyond, to overcome all obstacles on the path to the fulfilment of our globally acknowledged potential for greatness.
33. I have referred to national leaders who did so much to build our nation in the past hundred years but nation-building is not just a matter for great leaders and elites alone.
34. All Nigerians must be involved in this national endeavour. From the threads of our regional, ethnic and religious diversities we must continuously weave a vibrant collage of values that strengthen the Nigerian spirit.
35. The coming National Conference should not be about a few, privileged persons dictating the terms of debate but an opportunity for all Nigerians to take part in a comprehensive dialogue to further strengthen our union.
36. I am hopeful that the conference will not result in parochial bargaining between competing regions, ethnic, religious and other interest groups but in an objective dialogue about the way forward for our nation and how to ensure a more harmonious balance among our three tiers of government.
37. My dear compatriots, as we celebrate our centenary, the security situation in some of our North-Eastern States, sadly remains a major concern for us. Just yesterday, young students, full of hopes and dreams for a great future, were callously murdered as they slept in their college dormitories in Yobe State. I am deeply saddened by their deaths and that of other Nigerians at the hands of terrorists. Our hearts go out to their parents and relatives, colleagues and school authorities.
38. We will continue to do everything possible to permanently eradicate the scourge of terrorism and insurgency from our country. We recognise that the root cause of militancy, terrorism and insurgency is not the strength of extremist ideas but corrupted values and ignorance.
39. That is why our counter-terrorism strategy is not just about enforcing law and order as we have equipped our security forces to do. It also involves expanding economic opportunities, social inclusion, education and other measures that will help restore normalcy not just in the short term, but permanently.
40. I want to reassure Nigerians that terrorism, strife and insecurity in any part of Nigeria are abhorrent and unacceptable to us. I urge leaders throughout Nigeria to ensure that ethnicity and religion are not allowed to become political issues.
41. I hope and pray that one hundred years from now, Nigerians will look back on another century of achievements during which our union was strengthened, our independence was enhanced, our democracy was entrenched and our example was followed by leaders of other nations whose ambition is to emulate the success of Nigeria; a country that met its difficulties head-on and fulfilled its promise.
42. Finally, Dear Compatriots, as we enter a second century in the life of our nation, let us rededicate ourselves to doing more to empower the youth of our country. Our common heritage and future prosperity are best protected and guaranteed by them. We must commit our full energies and resources to empowering them to achieve our collective vision of greatness in this second century of our nationhood.
43. That is the task before our country; that is the cause I have chosen to champion and I believe we will triumph.
44. I wish all Nigerians happy Centenary celebrations.
45. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
46. I thank you.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
BokoHaram: Senate Committee urges Chief of Army Staff to relocate to Maiduguri (for now)
The Senate Committee on Defense and Army,which is led by Sen. Thompson Sekibo had on Wednesday in Abuja urged the Chief of Army Staff to relocate temporarily to Maiduguri. This call was made at the 2014 budget defense of the committee.
Sekibo said the committee condemned what it described as the atrocity being unleashed by Islamist sect Boko Haram on the innocent citizens of North Eastern Nigeria.
He said that as part of measures to curb the activities of Boko Haram, the committee also wanted all schools and health institutions from now on to be provided with special security. “We heard of your planned relocation to Maiduguri. We hereby as the committee overseeing your activities, direct that your office relocate temporarily to the 7th Division in Maiduguri. This is so that you take urgent and appropriate steps to quell the situation. The Chief of Army staff should also re-strategise on possible new ways of curbing these excesses and mobilise all military resources and face the insurgents,”Sekibo said.
The committee further called on President Goodluck Jonathan to mobilize all the needed resources for the Armed Forces to face the challenge. “This battle must be won to sustain our nation’s stability and unity as it is only in the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity that development can be carried out,” Sekibo said.
He also said the committee would take a tour of the three affected states when senate resumed from its recess.
In his response, the Chief of Army Staff Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah said that the Army was in dire need of more funds. Minimah assured the committee that the Army was up to the task and it was just a matter of time before it would bring the insurgents to their knees.
Meanwhile, the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba condemned the killing of students in Yobe on Tuesday,he described it as the “crossing the border of decency”. In a personally signed statement, Ndoma-Egba said the killing of about 40 students showed that the sect planned to plunge Nigeria into a “bleak and blank future”.
He called for an urgent modification of the security strategy to include hot pursuit as this was permissible in international law.
Credit: (NAN)
Sekibo said the committee condemned what it described as the atrocity being unleashed by Islamist sect Boko Haram on the innocent citizens of North Eastern Nigeria.
He said that as part of measures to curb the activities of Boko Haram, the committee also wanted all schools and health institutions from now on to be provided with special security. “We heard of your planned relocation to Maiduguri. We hereby as the committee overseeing your activities, direct that your office relocate temporarily to the 7th Division in Maiduguri. This is so that you take urgent and appropriate steps to quell the situation. The Chief of Army staff should also re-strategise on possible new ways of curbing these excesses and mobilise all military resources and face the insurgents,”Sekibo said.
The committee further called on President Goodluck Jonathan to mobilize all the needed resources for the Armed Forces to face the challenge. “This battle must be won to sustain our nation’s stability and unity as it is only in the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity that development can be carried out,” Sekibo said.
He also said the committee would take a tour of the three affected states when senate resumed from its recess.
In his response, the Chief of Army Staff Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah said that the Army was in dire need of more funds. Minimah assured the committee that the Army was up to the task and it was just a matter of time before it would bring the insurgents to their knees.
Meanwhile, the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba condemned the killing of students in Yobe on Tuesday,he described it as the “crossing the border of decency”. In a personally signed statement, Ndoma-Egba said the killing of about 40 students showed that the sect planned to plunge Nigeria into a “bleak and blank future”.
He called for an urgent modification of the security strategy to include hot pursuit as this was permissible in international law.
Credit: (NAN)
Fmr CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sues President Jonathan
Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has finally sued President Goodluck Jonathan before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, challenging his suspension from office.
In a suit filed late Monday by some of his lawyers, including Kola Awodein (SAN), Sanusi is urging the court to, among others, restrain the President and two others from giving effect to his purported suspension, pending the determination of his suit.
Also to be restrained are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), sued with the President.
Sanusi is pleading for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing, disturbing, stopping or preventing him in any manner, from performing the functions of his office and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office of the governor of the CBN.
He said the interlocutory application he filed with the suit was necessitated by the issues raised in the suit.
Sanusi is of the view that delay could occasion irreparable, serious damage and mischief against him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN Governor. He urged the court to grant the prayers contained in his interlocutory application, on the ground that the President’s alleged unlawful interference with the management and administration of the CBN, unless arrested, posed grave danger to the country’s economy.
He argued that granting his application will encourage parties to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of the substantive case. In a supporting affidavit, Sanusi averred that in the course of his duties as the CBN Governor, that he discovered certain discrepancies in respect of amounts repatriated to the federation account from the proceed of crude oil sales between the period of January, 2012 and July, 2013 and that he expressed concern in respect of the said discrepancies and had cause to inform the National Assembly of the said discrepancies because they affect the revenue of the federation and the national economy.
He stated that the President’s action, in purporting to suspend him from office, is aimed at punishing him for these disclosures.
Sanusi stated that he is challenging the President’s power to suspend him from office, noting that the President did not approach nor obtain the support of the Senate, based on his discussions with several senators, including Senator Bukola Saraki.
“I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me by Senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct that the Senate did not give the President any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Sanusi stated that the President’s actions in suspending him from office is contrary to provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN Governor and that his purported suspension amounts to unlawful interference in the administration and management of the apex bank and is illegal, null and void. He urged the court, in the interest of justice, to grant his reliefs.
The suit is yet to be assigned for hearing.
In a suit filed late Monday by some of his lawyers, including Kola Awodein (SAN), Sanusi is urging the court to, among others, restrain the President and two others from giving effect to his purported suspension, pending the determination of his suit.
Also to be restrained are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), sued with the President.
Sanusi is pleading for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing, disturbing, stopping or preventing him in any manner, from performing the functions of his office and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office of the governor of the CBN.
He said the interlocutory application he filed with the suit was necessitated by the issues raised in the suit.
Sanusi is of the view that delay could occasion irreparable, serious damage and mischief against him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN Governor. He urged the court to grant the prayers contained in his interlocutory application, on the ground that the President’s alleged unlawful interference with the management and administration of the CBN, unless arrested, posed grave danger to the country’s economy.
He argued that granting his application will encourage parties to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of the substantive case. In a supporting affidavit, Sanusi averred that in the course of his duties as the CBN Governor, that he discovered certain discrepancies in respect of amounts repatriated to the federation account from the proceed of crude oil sales between the period of January, 2012 and July, 2013 and that he expressed concern in respect of the said discrepancies and had cause to inform the National Assembly of the said discrepancies because they affect the revenue of the federation and the national economy.
He stated that the President’s action, in purporting to suspend him from office, is aimed at punishing him for these disclosures.
Sanusi stated that he is challenging the President’s power to suspend him from office, noting that the President did not approach nor obtain the support of the Senate, based on his discussions with several senators, including Senator Bukola Saraki.
“I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me by Senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct that the Senate did not give the President any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Sanusi stated that the President’s actions in suspending him from office is contrary to provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN Governor and that his purported suspension amounts to unlawful interference in the administration and management of the apex bank and is illegal, null and void. He urged the court, in the interest of justice, to grant his reliefs.
The suit is yet to be assigned for hearing.
FG Increases International Passport Fee By 50%
The Federal Government has increased passport fee by 50%. According to a circular signed by the Deputy Comptroller in charge of Operations/Passport and released a few days ago titled ‘Passport Reforms’, applicants will now pay N15,000 instead of N10,000. Also applicants for change of data will pay now N30,000.
A newly introduced 64-page passport for frequent travelers will cost N20,000, while Passport for applicants 18 years and below will cost N8,750. It’s N15,000 between 18-60 and N8,500 for people above 60 years.
Female applicants, who apply for change of name as a result of marriage/divorce or deceased spouse, will pay N8,750, while processing fee for request for change of data will cost N30,000.
All payments will be made online going forward according to the circular
A newly introduced 64-page passport for frequent travelers will cost N20,000, while Passport for applicants 18 years and below will cost N8,750. It’s N15,000 between 18-60 and N8,500 for people above 60 years.
Female applicants, who apply for change of name as a result of marriage/divorce or deceased spouse, will pay N8,750, while processing fee for request for change of data will cost N30,000.
All payments will be made online going forward according to the circular
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Boko Haram :Attacks Federal Govt. College In Yobe, Kills 40 Students
men suspected to be Boko Haram members has in early hour of today attacked and killed dozens students of Federal Government College Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Yobe state Police Commissioner, Sanusi A Rufai confirmed that twenty nine male students were killed and twenty four structures that include the Administration block, students hostel and staff quarters were burnt down.
A resident in the area said he has counted 39 lifeless bodies within the premises. “The attackers started the operation around 12:15 unpertubed until after 4 am, the students were slaughtered and fired with guns.
I counted 39 copses” he said. The assailants stormed the school premises in 6 Hilux pick up vans and motorcycles and separated only the male students before they opened fire on them. “It was too horrible because, some of the students were slaughtered, some were burnt inside the hostel”, a source said.
He said that many school structures were burnt down along with the occupants including the staff quarters residents in Gujba.
The source also stated that three ambulances passed to the school to convey the dead and injured. Armed Security operatives were seen moving to the town, although there was no telecommunication network in the area. Army spokesman, Captain Eli Lazarus confirmed the attack adding that they are yet to know the number of casualties.
Source: DailyTrust
Yobe state Police Commissioner, Sanusi A Rufai confirmed that twenty nine male students were killed and twenty four structures that include the Administration block, students hostel and staff quarters were burnt down.
A resident in the area said he has counted 39 lifeless bodies within the premises. “The attackers started the operation around 12:15 unpertubed until after 4 am, the students were slaughtered and fired with guns.
I counted 39 copses” he said. The assailants stormed the school premises in 6 Hilux pick up vans and motorcycles and separated only the male students before they opened fire on them. “It was too horrible because, some of the students were slaughtered, some were burnt inside the hostel”, a source said.
He said that many school structures were burnt down along with the occupants including the staff quarters residents in Gujba.
The source also stated that three ambulances passed to the school to convey the dead and injured. Armed Security operatives were seen moving to the town, although there was no telecommunication network in the area. Army spokesman, Captain Eli Lazarus confirmed the attack adding that they are yet to know the number of casualties.
Source: DailyTrust
Monday, February 24, 2014
REVEALED: Plot to Impeach Nasarawa State Governor Uncovered?
Plans by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Presidency’s foot soldiers to remove Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Al-Makura and replace him with his deputy has been uncovered.
Daily Trust reports that :Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly are reportedly involved with the impeachment plot, and already impeachable offences are being complied against the governor. The PDP has 19 members in the assembly, while Al-Makura’s APC has five lawmakers.
According to Daily Trust’s source, the PDP is already wooing Deputy Governor Dameshi Barau Luka, who has had a frosty relationship with the governor since last year, to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the impeachment, after which he would take over as a PDP governor and work for the party’s victory in Nasarawa in the 2015 elections. This, according to him is the “game plan”.
Luka has also reportedly been seen hobnobbing with PDP chiefs, including President Goodluck Jonathan, and he had criticised the APC for asking its federal lawmakers to block executive bills over “impunity” in Rivers State.
The state chapter of the APC later suspended the deputy governor from the party, citing the statements he made on the APC directive.
The source added that President Jonathan and other PDP bigwigs are scheduled to attend a big rally in the next couple of weeks in Lafia to receive APC defectors, among them the deputy governor as well as Senator Solomon Ewuga, an ally of the Nasarawa governor before the Ombatse uprising in May last year. He has already announced his defection to the PDP.
When contacted yester night, the Presidency said it ”has never wooed or invited the deputy governor of Nasarawa State to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It is the deputy governor himself that has decided to defect to the PDP and Mr. President cannot say no to it.”
Meanwhile, The deputy governor was unavailable for comments by telephone yesterday, but his spokesman Danjuma Joseph denied any impeachment plot against Al-Makura.
Also, PDP’s national publicity secretary Olisa Metuh could not be reached for comments.
For his part, a spokesman for Governor Al-Makura, Mr. Iliyasu Ali Yakubu, did not confirm nor deny the impeachment plot when contacted by our correspondent. He said the governor had survived the lawmakers’ onslaught previously and remained steadfast.
Daily Trust reports that :Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly are reportedly involved with the impeachment plot, and already impeachable offences are being complied against the governor. The PDP has 19 members in the assembly, while Al-Makura’s APC has five lawmakers.
According to Daily Trust’s source, the PDP is already wooing Deputy Governor Dameshi Barau Luka, who has had a frosty relationship with the governor since last year, to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the impeachment, after which he would take over as a PDP governor and work for the party’s victory in Nasarawa in the 2015 elections. This, according to him is the “game plan”.
Luka has also reportedly been seen hobnobbing with PDP chiefs, including President Goodluck Jonathan, and he had criticised the APC for asking its federal lawmakers to block executive bills over “impunity” in Rivers State.
The state chapter of the APC later suspended the deputy governor from the party, citing the statements he made on the APC directive.
The source added that President Jonathan and other PDP bigwigs are scheduled to attend a big rally in the next couple of weeks in Lafia to receive APC defectors, among them the deputy governor as well as Senator Solomon Ewuga, an ally of the Nasarawa governor before the Ombatse uprising in May last year. He has already announced his defection to the PDP.
When contacted yester night, the Presidency said it ”has never wooed or invited the deputy governor of Nasarawa State to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It is the deputy governor himself that has decided to defect to the PDP and Mr. President cannot say no to it.”
Meanwhile, The deputy governor was unavailable for comments by telephone yesterday, but his spokesman Danjuma Joseph denied any impeachment plot against Al-Makura.
Also, PDP’s national publicity secretary Olisa Metuh could not be reached for comments.
For his part, a spokesman for Governor Al-Makura, Mr. Iliyasu Ali Yakubu, did not confirm nor deny the impeachment plot when contacted by our correspondent. He said the governor had survived the lawmakers’ onslaught previously and remained steadfast.
United States Government declares Fmr Abia State Gov.Orji Uzor Kalu wanted !!!!
I don't know how true this is,but according to a report by CKN, Former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu is wanted in US for an allege murder of one of his girl friends in his house in the USA few years ago.Kalu has since gone into hiding occasioned by the warrant of arrest against him, issued by the US government
It will be recalled that Kalu murdered her mistress in his porto marc mansion after several sex bouts with this lady who is said to be a shop attendant in US.
Kalu who was in company of his brother Nnanna Kalu when the incident happened disappeared into the thin air escaping arrest. The family of the deceased with the help of some well-connected individuals has been on the case to ensure that kalu who has not entered the US since that period is brought to book.
It was learnt that the manhunt for OUK has started in earnest having been declared wanted. Further investigation revealed that the search for Kalu by the Interpol has been extended to other Countries and Nigeria is not an exception.
Kalu in the past few weeks have gone into hiding, as he no longer appears publicly in Nigeria, as was the case some months ago.
The family of the deceased it was reliably gathered has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and the IG on the issue. A source at the IG’s office confirmed that the petition has been received and the IG he said is working on it discreetly.
Source: CKN Nigeria
It will be recalled that Kalu murdered her mistress in his porto marc mansion after several sex bouts with this lady who is said to be a shop attendant in US.
Kalu who was in company of his brother Nnanna Kalu when the incident happened disappeared into the thin air escaping arrest. The family of the deceased with the help of some well-connected individuals has been on the case to ensure that kalu who has not entered the US since that period is brought to book.
It was learnt that the manhunt for OUK has started in earnest having been declared wanted. Further investigation revealed that the search for Kalu by the Interpol has been extended to other Countries and Nigeria is not an exception.
Kalu in the past few weeks have gone into hiding, as he no longer appears publicly in Nigeria, as was the case some months ago.
The family of the deceased it was reliably gathered has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and the IG on the issue. A source at the IG’s office confirmed that the petition has been received and the IG he said is working on it discreetly.
Source: CKN Nigeria
Saturday, February 22, 2014
WEekend Special: Charlyboy writes again.......See Finish Syndrome Pt 2
A part 2 of Charly Boy's first article on See Finish Syndrome.
Check on it below..
When I published my piece about the death of desire in marriage/relationships (“See Finish Syndrome”) I didn't expect the kind of feedback I got on that matter, hummm see gobe!
It was clear to me that the marriage institution in Nigeria is in a big problem. Ninety percent of the overwhelming phone calls and emails were from angry, lonely, disgruntled and confused wives. It was then it hit me that millions of homes and marriage relationships are going through a very bad patch, wives are growing very disenchanted with their husbands and their relationship. Before I did the piece (see finish) apart from experiencing it personally, I have heard and seen so much sadness in too many homes that made me swear and ever determined not to allow my marriage be caught by the "See Finish" bug.
From the mails and the phone calls I received, it was clear to me that many wives whilst still in their relationship, DON PORT. They have emotionally moved on engaging in hot sizzling extra-marital affair. The number is alarming, their reasons are as enlightening as it is revealing and I must add, I learnt quite a lot from all the sad stories I heard and read. Thank God for the opportunity, I will always share with my readers some of my personal experiences, trusting that in coming clean I will also learn from the mistake of others. Long story short, it is for me therapeutic.
Many wives these days "DON PORT", alarming unconfirmed statistic show a large number who have grown disinterested in their marital sex, while husbands are busy reassuring themselves that their wives are still "The Good Girl" they married. Hummmmmm. For many who wrote in and I spoke to, swore that they never thought they were the "Type" that would ever cheat, but now they are far too deep into it and never want to stop. I begin to see a pattern in all of this confusion, if we don’t develop an accurate understanding of our wives; very soon, marriages will become old fashion because so many people are becoming disillusioned with the whole institution. In all of this, so many men are stuck with their societal beliefs about females that are grossly distorted and completely erroneous. Wahala dey my people.
The following is a letter from one of my numerous readers, since she doesn't mind me sharing it with you, I don't mind either…
Hello AreaFada,
I am writing this because there is a serious issue I'm struggling with, I desperately need to share it with someone. I felt I could open up to you and not be judged having followed you for long. I don’t mind if you use this mail on your several platforms, i believe i speak for many too.
I got married in the 90's to perhaps the most wonderful man on earth and together, we have one of the best families anyone would wish to have. My husband and I are doing very well on our jobs and our kids are excellent both at home and at school.
We have no reason to suspect each other or anyone, there is nothing like lack of trust in this relationship. We live in each other's body and so, privy to what the other is doing per time and we are very supportive of each other, at the same time, being each other's worst critic because we always are on the look-out for areas to improve. We're absolutely loyal and faithful to each other, nothing less than a 100%.
This is a summary of the home I had until 3years ago.
I met a man in the course of my job who came along with a new information and completely opened my eyes to a new feeling.
Ours wasn't a chance meeting, we worked together on a project so we exchanged phone numbers and since then he has always called. That was the beginning o, he would not let me rest, calling and texting nice stuff almost by the minute. Before long, I started looking forward to this. We started bonding like you can never imagine. In a very short space of time, we became an item. This means spending more time with him........at the expense of my family time.
I didn't start sleeping with him o, we kept things off SEX Lane and surprisingly, he didn't make a fuss. Of course, each time we saw, he wanted to get it on but as soon as I told him 'No', he just let me be without getting angry. At least not obviously.
This singular act, I think, is the clincher that made me very fond of him because back home, the only thing that caused quarrels between my gentleman husband and I was the fact that he made too much fuss each time I refused him sex, when I'm tired or not just in the mood. He gets angry to a convulsive state and I used to wonder if it was running away.
For more than a year of seeing each other, my now boyfriend (OMG, am I writing this?), asked for sex and I felt obliged. He had been very understanding, so why don't I do him this honors. So I agreed. He was so gentle and alluring, handled me the way no man had ever done me before. I felt like a woman, perhaps for the very first time, allowing me experience orgasm before him, Wow, is this heaven or what? After which he gave me my 1st bath as an adult. I had never seen that before. It's a season of firsts for me and I was loving every second of it,
Please pardon me, I crave your indulgence, I needed to open this up to someone and I'm glad I found your platform. Thank you. Just hear me out, that's all I ask.
I no longer have time for anybody and anything else. I get infuriated by the smallest things, making mountains out of moll hills. Any small thing, I resign to my basement and ask that no one disturbs me. My basement, which hitherto was a dungeon of not-frequently-used items in the house, is now my get-away, to be alone with my lover, who incidentally is also married. My loyalty to my family is brutally divided or is it totally eroded? My husband has been and remains a good man, i doubt if he ever has been unfaithful to me in the close to twenty years of our marriage and I know he doesn't deserve this. At least, one good turn they say....
I know, I have a feeling this is bad, very bad, but I'm enjoying this new information. Imagine, it's been well over two years since we started sleeping with each other and I can’t even find a word for the kind of sex we share. My boyfriend just knows how to keep it ever new and fresh, every single time.
The strange thing is my husband doesn't even have a clue I've been cheating. Even if the thought crosses his mind, he would probably think something is wrong with him 'upstairs' for thinking such thoughts. AreaFada, please don't advise me to stop o, just counsel me on the best way you think I can keep the groove on without breaking eggs...how to have the best of my now two worlds.
My happiness is very important, am sexually alive with my boyfriend.
Thank you for your time, may God bless you.
Check on it below..
When I published my piece about the death of desire in marriage/relationships (“See Finish Syndrome”) I didn't expect the kind of feedback I got on that matter, hummm see gobe!
It was clear to me that the marriage institution in Nigeria is in a big problem. Ninety percent of the overwhelming phone calls and emails were from angry, lonely, disgruntled and confused wives. It was then it hit me that millions of homes and marriage relationships are going through a very bad patch, wives are growing very disenchanted with their husbands and their relationship. Before I did the piece (see finish) apart from experiencing it personally, I have heard and seen so much sadness in too many homes that made me swear and ever determined not to allow my marriage be caught by the "See Finish" bug.
From the mails and the phone calls I received, it was clear to me that many wives whilst still in their relationship, DON PORT. They have emotionally moved on engaging in hot sizzling extra-marital affair. The number is alarming, their reasons are as enlightening as it is revealing and I must add, I learnt quite a lot from all the sad stories I heard and read. Thank God for the opportunity, I will always share with my readers some of my personal experiences, trusting that in coming clean I will also learn from the mistake of others. Long story short, it is for me therapeutic.
Many wives these days "DON PORT", alarming unconfirmed statistic show a large number who have grown disinterested in their marital sex, while husbands are busy reassuring themselves that their wives are still "The Good Girl" they married. Hummmmmm. For many who wrote in and I spoke to, swore that they never thought they were the "Type" that would ever cheat, but now they are far too deep into it and never want to stop. I begin to see a pattern in all of this confusion, if we don’t develop an accurate understanding of our wives; very soon, marriages will become old fashion because so many people are becoming disillusioned with the whole institution. In all of this, so many men are stuck with their societal beliefs about females that are grossly distorted and completely erroneous. Wahala dey my people.
The following is a letter from one of my numerous readers, since she doesn't mind me sharing it with you, I don't mind either…
Hello AreaFada,
I am writing this because there is a serious issue I'm struggling with, I desperately need to share it with someone. I felt I could open up to you and not be judged having followed you for long. I don’t mind if you use this mail on your several platforms, i believe i speak for many too.
I got married in the 90's to perhaps the most wonderful man on earth and together, we have one of the best families anyone would wish to have. My husband and I are doing very well on our jobs and our kids are excellent both at home and at school.
We have no reason to suspect each other or anyone, there is nothing like lack of trust in this relationship. We live in each other's body and so, privy to what the other is doing per time and we are very supportive of each other, at the same time, being each other's worst critic because we always are on the look-out for areas to improve. We're absolutely loyal and faithful to each other, nothing less than a 100%.
This is a summary of the home I had until 3years ago.
I met a man in the course of my job who came along with a new information and completely opened my eyes to a new feeling.
Ours wasn't a chance meeting, we worked together on a project so we exchanged phone numbers and since then he has always called. That was the beginning o, he would not let me rest, calling and texting nice stuff almost by the minute. Before long, I started looking forward to this. We started bonding like you can never imagine. In a very short space of time, we became an item. This means spending more time with him........at the expense of my family time.
I didn't start sleeping with him o, we kept things off SEX Lane and surprisingly, he didn't make a fuss. Of course, each time we saw, he wanted to get it on but as soon as I told him 'No', he just let me be without getting angry. At least not obviously.
This singular act, I think, is the clincher that made me very fond of him because back home, the only thing that caused quarrels between my gentleman husband and I was the fact that he made too much fuss each time I refused him sex, when I'm tired or not just in the mood. He gets angry to a convulsive state and I used to wonder if it was running away.
For more than a year of seeing each other, my now boyfriend (OMG, am I writing this?), asked for sex and I felt obliged. He had been very understanding, so why don't I do him this honors. So I agreed. He was so gentle and alluring, handled me the way no man had ever done me before. I felt like a woman, perhaps for the very first time, allowing me experience orgasm before him, Wow, is this heaven or what? After which he gave me my 1st bath as an adult. I had never seen that before. It's a season of firsts for me and I was loving every second of it,
Please pardon me, I crave your indulgence, I needed to open this up to someone and I'm glad I found your platform. Thank you. Just hear me out, that's all I ask.
I no longer have time for anybody and anything else. I get infuriated by the smallest things, making mountains out of moll hills. Any small thing, I resign to my basement and ask that no one disturbs me. My basement, which hitherto was a dungeon of not-frequently-used items in the house, is now my get-away, to be alone with my lover, who incidentally is also married. My loyalty to my family is brutally divided or is it totally eroded? My husband has been and remains a good man, i doubt if he ever has been unfaithful to me in the close to twenty years of our marriage and I know he doesn't deserve this. At least, one good turn they say....
I know, I have a feeling this is bad, very bad, but I'm enjoying this new information. Imagine, it's been well over two years since we started sleeping with each other and I can’t even find a word for the kind of sex we share. My boyfriend just knows how to keep it ever new and fresh, every single time.
The strange thing is my husband doesn't even have a clue I've been cheating. Even if the thought crosses his mind, he would probably think something is wrong with him 'upstairs' for thinking such thoughts. AreaFada, please don't advise me to stop o, just counsel me on the best way you think I can keep the groove on without breaking eggs...how to have the best of my now two worlds.
My happiness is very important, am sexually alive with my boyfriend.
Thank you for your time, may God bless you.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Breaking News: Fashola Bans Mini Skirts, Other Revealing Attires for Government Workers and Officials in Lagos
Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration in a circular issued by the Head of Service, Mrs. Josephine Williams and sent to all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, has banned indecent dressing among Lagos’ female public servants.
Henceforth, all forms of dresses that expose breasts, contours and other sensitive female body parts have been outlawed.
According to PM News, the decision was taken due to the worsening cases of indecent dressing among female public in the state, especially at the State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
The circular, with the reference number CIR/HOS/14/Vol.1/022, said a similar directive had been issued through the HOS in 2005 in a circular number 113 which mandated public servants to dress properly and decently to the office and official functions portray the good image of the state government.
“It has however been observed with grave concern that some officers have not been complying with this directive. The noticeable non-compliance of some officers to this directive should henceforth stop as the extant civil service rules and regulation on proper and indecent dressing still subsist and will be applied accordingly on flouters,” Williams said and proceeded to list what form of dressing is acceptable for ladies working in governmental agencies in the state.
According to the new dress code, skirts above the knee should not be worn by public servants. Dresses allowed are skirts which are of knee level, moderate slit and not body clinging skirts.
If female public servants must wear trousers, such trousers should neither be tight nor revealing and must be worn with a jacket, Williams stated.
Also, gowns to be worn by female public servants must be of knee level, moderate slit, not sleeveless and not body clinging.
Williams added that if native attires must be worn, they must be worn completely.
The government also reeled out dress code for male public servants. In the dress code for men, administrative officers must wear suit and tie as professionals and other officers could wear suit and tie or French suit.
Junior and clerical staff are allowed to wear shirts and trousers and French suit while complete native wear is allowed for all cadres of public servants.
“As a matter of necessity, all Directors of Finance and Administration are hereby enjoined to ensure that officers within their purview adhere strictly to moderate and decent dressing,” She said.
Already, the Directors of Finance and Administration of various ministries have been having urgent meeting with their staff to intimate them about the new dress code.
Henceforth, all forms of dresses that expose breasts, contours and other sensitive female body parts have been outlawed.
According to PM News, the decision was taken due to the worsening cases of indecent dressing among female public in the state, especially at the State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
The circular, with the reference number CIR/HOS/14/Vol.1/022, said a similar directive had been issued through the HOS in 2005 in a circular number 113 which mandated public servants to dress properly and decently to the office and official functions portray the good image of the state government.
“It has however been observed with grave concern that some officers have not been complying with this directive. The noticeable non-compliance of some officers to this directive should henceforth stop as the extant civil service rules and regulation on proper and indecent dressing still subsist and will be applied accordingly on flouters,” Williams said and proceeded to list what form of dressing is acceptable for ladies working in governmental agencies in the state.
According to the new dress code, skirts above the knee should not be worn by public servants. Dresses allowed are skirts which are of knee level, moderate slit and not body clinging skirts.
If female public servants must wear trousers, such trousers should neither be tight nor revealing and must be worn with a jacket, Williams stated.
Also, gowns to be worn by female public servants must be of knee level, moderate slit, not sleeveless and not body clinging.
Williams added that if native attires must be worn, they must be worn completely.
The government also reeled out dress code for male public servants. In the dress code for men, administrative officers must wear suit and tie as professionals and other officers could wear suit and tie or French suit.
Junior and clerical staff are allowed to wear shirts and trousers and French suit while complete native wear is allowed for all cadres of public servants.
“As a matter of necessity, all Directors of Finance and Administration are hereby enjoined to ensure that officers within their purview adhere strictly to moderate and decent dressing,” She said.
Already, the Directors of Finance and Administration of various ministries have been having urgent meeting with their staff to intimate them about the new dress code.
House of Reps Says Sanusi’s Removal, It’s ‘illegal and Unconstitutional!!!
The House of Representatives has rejected President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of Sanusi Lamido as governor of the Central Bank, dismissing the president’s action as “illegal and unconstitutional”
Mr. Sanusi was suspended yesterday for what the president called “financial recklessness”; but many Nigerians believe he was punished for exposing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s failure to account for $20 billion missing oil money, and how the government has failed to act on the matter.
Mr. Jonathan has already named Godwin Emefiele, the current chief executive officer of Zenith Bank, as new CBN chief, subject to the confirmation of the Senate.
But the House of Representatives on Thursday(yesterday) rejected the president’s decision, and accused Mr. Jonathan of acting outside his power, in a direct message that reflected the sentiments expressed by many Nigerians.
Lawmakers also accused Mr. Jonathan of hastening to fire Mr. Sanusi when the same president had failed to act on several of reports of the House of Representatives indicting corrupt officials of his administration.
Past investigations by the House indicted petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and officials of the NNPC. Mr. Jonathan has consistently refused to act on any of the reports.
The House committees on justice and legislative compliance are to compile the names of all officials of government indicted in its investigations, and forward same to the president for immediate compliance, the House resolved Thursday.
“In a democracy, the rule of law and not the rule of man is the only condition that can guarantee freedom and protect the rights of the citizen,” said Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, who raised the matter for discussion hours after the presidency announced Mr. Sanusi’s removal.
Mr. Osagie said the president breached the law establishing the CBN, as the approval of the Senate is required to order the removal of the CBN governor.
Mr. Sanusi has said he will challenge the president’s directive in court.
While the Senate made no mention of the suspension order, beyond announcing Mr. Jonathan’s new nominee to the post, the House of Representatives degenerated into chaos Thursday as lawmakers either kicked against or back Mr. Jonathan’s move.
A few members, who backed the president, said he acted well within his mandate and was right to fire the defiant CBN governor.
Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor (PDP-Delta) said the suspension was only a part of a process to the eventual removal of Mr. Sanusi.
Another lawmaker, Pally Iriase challenged Mr. Jonathan to disclose allegations of “various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct,” he gave as reason for the CBN governor’s suspension.
“We have been talking about impunity. This is yet another show of impunity by this administration. The suspension is personal and is not unconnected with the recent disclosure of missing money from the NNPC,” Mr. Iraise said.
“It is a clear case of if you cannot shut him up, ship him out. It should be condemned in its totality.”
Credit: , Premium Times
Mr. Sanusi was suspended yesterday for what the president called “financial recklessness”; but many Nigerians believe he was punished for exposing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s failure to account for $20 billion missing oil money, and how the government has failed to act on the matter.
Mr. Jonathan has already named Godwin Emefiele, the current chief executive officer of Zenith Bank, as new CBN chief, subject to the confirmation of the Senate.
But the House of Representatives on Thursday(yesterday) rejected the president’s decision, and accused Mr. Jonathan of acting outside his power, in a direct message that reflected the sentiments expressed by many Nigerians.
Lawmakers also accused Mr. Jonathan of hastening to fire Mr. Sanusi when the same president had failed to act on several of reports of the House of Representatives indicting corrupt officials of his administration.
Past investigations by the House indicted petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and officials of the NNPC. Mr. Jonathan has consistently refused to act on any of the reports.
The House committees on justice and legislative compliance are to compile the names of all officials of government indicted in its investigations, and forward same to the president for immediate compliance, the House resolved Thursday.
“In a democracy, the rule of law and not the rule of man is the only condition that can guarantee freedom and protect the rights of the citizen,” said Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, who raised the matter for discussion hours after the presidency announced Mr. Sanusi’s removal.
Mr. Osagie said the president breached the law establishing the CBN, as the approval of the Senate is required to order the removal of the CBN governor.
Mr. Sanusi has said he will challenge the president’s directive in court.
While the Senate made no mention of the suspension order, beyond announcing Mr. Jonathan’s new nominee to the post, the House of Representatives degenerated into chaos Thursday as lawmakers either kicked against or back Mr. Jonathan’s move.
A few members, who backed the president, said he acted well within his mandate and was right to fire the defiant CBN governor.
Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor (PDP-Delta) said the suspension was only a part of a process to the eventual removal of Mr. Sanusi.
Another lawmaker, Pally Iriase challenged Mr. Jonathan to disclose allegations of “various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct,” he gave as reason for the CBN governor’s suspension.
“We have been talking about impunity. This is yet another show of impunity by this administration. The suspension is personal and is not unconnected with the recent disclosure of missing money from the NNPC,” Mr. Iraise said.
“It is a clear case of if you cannot shut him up, ship him out. It should be condemned in its totality.”
Credit: , Premium Times
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Update: Zenith Bank's MD Mr Godwin Emefiele to replace Sanusi
Following the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the CBN Governor, President Goodluck Jonathan has nominated Mr Godwin Emefiele for the position of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Emefiele, the current Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, is to replace Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was suspended on earlier today by the president for alleged “financial recklessness and misconduct’’. In a letter to the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, for approval of the nomination, the president said the request was in view of the fact that the tenure of the incumbent would end on June 1.
The letter read in part: “Pursuant to the provisions of section 8(1) and (2) of the CBN Act of 2007, I hereby forward the name of Mr Godwin Emefiele for your kind consideration and confirmation.’’
The president had earlier appointed Dr Sarah Alade, the most senior Deputy Governor in the bank, Acting Governor, pending the confirmation of Emefiele’s nomination. In a separate letter, the president asked the Senate to confirm Mr Adelabu Adekola as a Deputy Governor with CBN.
The president expressed the hope that the letters would be handled in the usual expeditious tradition of the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate has commenced a two-week recess after which it resumes on March 11.
Emefiele was until now the Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc, a position he has held since August 2010. Until then he was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, having been appointed into that position in 2001. Emefiele has been on the bank’s management team since inception and has held various management positions in the bank, including serving as the Bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning.
Until he took over as Group Managing Director, Emefiele was directly responsible for all the Group’s local subsidiaries, Treasury and Correspondent Banking, and Multilateral, Conglomerates, & Private Banking. He also had responsibilities for direct supervision of majority of the bank’s branches in Lagos and Northern Nigeria.
Emefiele has over twenty-six (26) years banking experience and holds a B.Sc and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Before commencing his banking career, he lectured Finance, Bank Management, and Insurance at the University of Nigeria and University of Port Harcourt respectively.
Emefiele, the current Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, is to replace Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was suspended on earlier today by the president for alleged “financial recklessness and misconduct’’. In a letter to the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, for approval of the nomination, the president said the request was in view of the fact that the tenure of the incumbent would end on June 1.
The letter read in part: “Pursuant to the provisions of section 8(1) and (2) of the CBN Act of 2007, I hereby forward the name of Mr Godwin Emefiele for your kind consideration and confirmation.’’
The president had earlier appointed Dr Sarah Alade, the most senior Deputy Governor in the bank, Acting Governor, pending the confirmation of Emefiele’s nomination. In a separate letter, the president asked the Senate to confirm Mr Adelabu Adekola as a Deputy Governor with CBN.
The president expressed the hope that the letters would be handled in the usual expeditious tradition of the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate has commenced a two-week recess after which it resumes on March 11.
Emefiele was until now the Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc, a position he has held since August 2010. Until then he was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, having been appointed into that position in 2001. Emefiele has been on the bank’s management team since inception and has held various management positions in the bank, including serving as the Bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning.
Until he took over as Group Managing Director, Emefiele was directly responsible for all the Group’s local subsidiaries, Treasury and Correspondent Banking, and Multilateral, Conglomerates, & Private Banking. He also had responsibilities for direct supervision of majority of the bank’s branches in Lagos and Northern Nigeria.
Emefiele has over twenty-six (26) years banking experience and holds a B.Sc and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Before commencing his banking career, he lectured Finance, Bank Management, and Insurance at the University of Nigeria and University of Port Harcourt respectively.
Boko Haram: Strikes again in Bama
The Boko Haram sect has launched another brazen attack on Bama town killing several people.
Although details are still sketchy credible military sources confirmed the attacks and that hundreds of residents are presently fleeing the town after the sect launched an attack around 3 AM. The sect had been attacking villages and towns in Borno and Adamawa states despite the state of emergency declared by President Jonathan.
During the fresh Bama attack on Wednesday morning, 47 people lost their lives.
The attackers were said to have also torched the palace of the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari Elkanemi, the LGA headquarters, and nearly all other key public buildings in the town.
Elkanemi’s whereabouts were unknown as of 9pm on Wednesday.
The attackers were however more daring in the Buratai incident on Tuesday evening as they stormed the private and family homes of the Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai.
One person was said to have been killed in Buratai’s family house and a soldier in his private residence in the village.
The Bama attack occurred barely a few hours after the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.Gen Kenneth Minimah, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, visited the community which had been attacked several times by the insurgents.
They also took place barely three days after 146 people lost their lives during a raid on Izghe, a largely Christian community in Borno State.
The state police commissioner, Lawal Tanko, who confirmed the death toll to Reuters, however did not provide further details about the latest attack.
Tanko said, ‘’Every landmark building, the Local government secretariat, the state lowcost housing estate, schools and several other buildings, as well as a part of the Shehu’s palace were destroyed.
“As of the last time I spoke to my DPO in Bama, we had 47 dead casualties recorded, while several number of persons were confirmed injured. Some are already in hospitals there. I have instructed my men to liaise with the hospitals if we can have the actual figure of the dead.’’
Although details are still sketchy credible military sources confirmed the attacks and that hundreds of residents are presently fleeing the town after the sect launched an attack around 3 AM. The sect had been attacking villages and towns in Borno and Adamawa states despite the state of emergency declared by President Jonathan.
During the fresh Bama attack on Wednesday morning, 47 people lost their lives.
The attackers were said to have also torched the palace of the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari Elkanemi, the LGA headquarters, and nearly all other key public buildings in the town.
Elkanemi’s whereabouts were unknown as of 9pm on Wednesday.
The attackers were however more daring in the Buratai incident on Tuesday evening as they stormed the private and family homes of the Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai.
One person was said to have been killed in Buratai’s family house and a soldier in his private residence in the village.
The Bama attack occurred barely a few hours after the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.Gen Kenneth Minimah, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, visited the community which had been attacked several times by the insurgents.
They also took place barely three days after 146 people lost their lives during a raid on Izghe, a largely Christian community in Borno State.
The state police commissioner, Lawal Tanko, who confirmed the death toll to Reuters, however did not provide further details about the latest attack.
Tanko said, ‘’Every landmark building, the Local government secretariat, the state lowcost housing estate, schools and several other buildings, as well as a part of the Shehu’s palace were destroyed.
“As of the last time I spoke to my DPO in Bama, we had 47 dead casualties recorded, while several number of persons were confirmed injured. Some are already in hospitals there. I have instructed my men to liaise with the hospitals if we can have the actual figure of the dead.’’
Breaking News: CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi suspended
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has been suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Here is a statement the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati just released:
Having taken special notice of reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other investigating bodies, which indicate clearly that Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterized by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence, transparency and financial discipline;
Being also deeply concerned about far-reaching irregularities under Mallam Sanusi’s watch which have distracted the Central Bank away from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory mandate; and
Being determined to urgently re-position the Central Bank of Nigeria for greater efficiency, respect for due process and accountability, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
President Jonathan has further ordered that Mallam Sanusi should hand over to the most senior Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr Sarah Alade who will serve as Acting Governor until the conclusion of on-going investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN.The President expects that as Acting Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Alade will focus on the core mandate of the Bank and conduct its affairs with greater professionalism, prudence and propriety to restore domestic and international confidence in the country’s apex bank.
The Federal Government of Nigeria reassures all stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial and monetary system that this decision has been taken in absolute good faith, in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy and in accordance with our laws and due process.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
February 20, 2014
Here is a statement the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati just released:
Having taken special notice of reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other investigating bodies, which indicate clearly that Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterized by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence, transparency and financial discipline;
Being also deeply concerned about far-reaching irregularities under Mallam Sanusi’s watch which have distracted the Central Bank away from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory mandate; and
Being determined to urgently re-position the Central Bank of Nigeria for greater efficiency, respect for due process and accountability, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
President Jonathan has further ordered that Mallam Sanusi should hand over to the most senior Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr Sarah Alade who will serve as Acting Governor until the conclusion of on-going investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN.The President expects that as Acting Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Alade will focus on the core mandate of the Bank and conduct its affairs with greater professionalism, prudence and propriety to restore domestic and international confidence in the country’s apex bank.
The Federal Government of Nigeria reassures all stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial and monetary system that this decision has been taken in absolute good faith, in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy and in accordance with our laws and due process.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
February 20, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Senate Confirms Gusau, Nine Others As Ministers.
The Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of 11 out of the 12 ministerial nominees forwarded to it by President Goodluck Jonathan two weeks ago.
Those whose nominations were confirmed by the Senate as ministers are a former Nigeria’s ambassador to Ghana, Musilu Obanikoro, (Lagos State); an ex-National Security Adviser to both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara State); a former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna (Adamawa); Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano); Mohammed Wakil (Borno State), Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State), and Alhaji Abdujelili Adesiyan (Osun State).
Others are Mrs Akon Etim Eyakenyi ( Akwa Ibom State), Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger State), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna State); and Dr. Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers State).
The Senate however deferred the screening of the 12th nominee, Hajia Jamila Salik, from Kano State, because she did not appear before the Senate on Tuesday.
Three members of the upper chamber from Osun State, Senators Olusola Adeyeye, Babajide Omoworare, and Mudashiru Hussein, had made futile efforts to stop the confirmation of Adesiyan, the ministerial nominee from their state.
Adeyeye, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, had raised a point of order to stop the final confirmation of the nomination of Adesiyan on the grounds that he was allegedly linked to the assassination of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the late Chief Bola Ige, in December 2001.
The Senator said the nominee did not convince the three senators that he was innocent of the death of Ige.
Those whose nominations were confirmed by the Senate as ministers are a former Nigeria’s ambassador to Ghana, Musilu Obanikoro, (Lagos State); an ex-National Security Adviser to both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara State); a former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna (Adamawa); Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano); Mohammed Wakil (Borno State), Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State), and Alhaji Abdujelili Adesiyan (Osun State).
Others are Mrs Akon Etim Eyakenyi ( Akwa Ibom State), Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger State), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna State); and Dr. Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers State).
The Senate however deferred the screening of the 12th nominee, Hajia Jamila Salik, from Kano State, because she did not appear before the Senate on Tuesday.
Three members of the upper chamber from Osun State, Senators Olusola Adeyeye, Babajide Omoworare, and Mudashiru Hussein, had made futile efforts to stop the confirmation of Adesiyan, the ministerial nominee from their state.
Adeyeye, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, had raised a point of order to stop the final confirmation of the nomination of Adesiyan on the grounds that he was allegedly linked to the assassination of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the late Chief Bola Ige, in December 2001.
The Senator said the nominee did not convince the three senators that he was innocent of the death of Ige.
Chimamanda Adichie's take on the anti-gay law (Must read)
This Article was written by award winning writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled 'Why can’t he just be like everyone else?'
Read below...
I will call him Sochukwuma. A thin, smiling boy who liked to play with us girls at the university primary school in Nsukka. We were young. We knew he was different, we said, ‘he’s not like the other boys.’ But his was a benign and unquestioned difference; it was simply what it was. We did not have a name for him. We did not know the word ‘gay.’ He was Sochukwuma and he was friendly and he played oga so well that his side always won.
In secondary school, some boys in his class tried to throw Sochukwuma off a second floor balcony. They were strapping teenagers who had learned to notice, and fear, difference. They had a name for him. Homo. They mocked him because his hips swayed when he walked and his hands fluttered when he spoke. He brushed away their taunts, silently, sometimes grinning an uncomfortable grin. He must have wished that he could be what they wanted him to be. I imagine now how helplessly lonely he must have felt. The boys often asked, “Why can’t he just be like everyone else?”
Possible answers to that question include ‘because he is abnormal,’ ‘because he is a sinner, ‘because he chose the lifestyle.’ But the truest answer is ‘We don’t know.’ There is humility and humanity in accepting that there are things we simply don’t know. At the age of 8, Sochukwuma was obviously different. It was not about sex, because it could not possibly have been – his hormones were of course not yet fully formed – but it was an awareness of himself, and other children’s awareness of him, as different. He could not have ‘chosen the lifestyle’ because he was too young to do so. And why would he – or anybody – choose to be homosexual in a world that makes life so difficult for homosexuals?
The new law that criminalizes homosexuality is popular among Nigerians. But it shows a failure of our democracy, because the mark of a true democracy is not in the rule of its majority but in the protection of its minority – otherwise mob justice would be considered democratic. The law is also unconstitutional, ambiguous, and a strange priority in a country with so many real problems. Above all else, however, it is unjust. Even if this was not a country of abysmal electricity supply where university graduates are barely literate and people die of easily-treatable causes and Boko Haram commits casual mass murders, this law would still be unjust. We cannot be a just society unless we are able to accommodate benign difference, accept benign difference, live and let live. We may not understand homosexuality, we may find it personally abhorrent but our response cannot be to criminalize it.
A crime is a crime for a reason. A crime has victims. A crime harms society. On what basis is homosexuality a crime? Adults do no harm to society in how they love and whom they love. This is a law that will not prevent crime, but will, instead, lead to crimes of violence: there are already, in different parts of Nigeria, attacks on people ‘suspected’ of being gay. Ours is a society where men are openly affectionate with one another. Men hold hands. Men hug each other. Shall we now arrest friends who share a hotel room, or who walk side by side? How do we determine the clunky expressions in the law – ‘mutually beneficial,’ ‘directly or indirectly?’
Many Nigerians support the law because they believe the Bible condemns homosexuality. The Bible can be a basis for how we choose to live our personal lives, but it cannot be a basis for the laws we pass, not only because the holy books of different religions do not have equal significance for all Nigerians but also because the holy books are read differently by different people. The Bible, for example, also condemns fornication and adultery and divorce, but they are not crimes.
For supporters of the law, there seems to be something about homosexuality that sets it apart. A sense that it is not ‘normal.’ If we are part of a majority group, we tend to think others in minority groups are abnormal, not because they have done anything wrong, but because we have defined normal to be what we are and since they are not like us, then they are abnormal. Supporters of the law want a certain semblance of human homogeneity. But we cannot legislate into existence a world that does not exist: the truth of our human condition is that we are a diverse, multi-faceted species. The measure of our humanity lies, in part, in how we think of those different from us. We cannot – should not – have empathy only for people who are like us.
Some supporters of the law have asked – what is next, a marriage between a man and a dog?’ Or ‘have you seen animals being gay?’ (Actually, studies show that there is homosexual behavior in many species of animals.) But, quite simply, people are not dogs, and to accept the premise – that a homosexual is comparable to an animal – is inhumane. We cannot reduce the humanity of our fellow men and women because of how and who they love. Some animals eat their own kind, others desert their young. Shall we follow those examples, too?
Other supporters suggest that gay men sexually abuse little boys. But pedophilia and homosexuality are two very different things. There are men who abuse little girls, and women who abuse little boys, and we do not presume that they do it because they are heterosexuals. Child molestation is an ugly crime that is committed by both straight and gay adults (this is why it is a crime: children, by virtue of being non-adults, require protection and are unable to give sexual consent).
There has also been some nationalist posturing among supporters of the law. Homosexuality is ‘unafrican,’ they say, and we will not become like the west. The west is not exactly a homosexual haven; acts of discrimination against homosexuals are not uncommon in the US and Europe. But it is the idea of ‘unafricanness’ that is truly insidious. Sochukwuma was born of Igbo parents and had Igbo grandparents and Igbo great-grandparents. He was born a person who would romantically love other men. Many Nigerians know somebody like him. The boy who behaved like a girl. The girl who behaved like a boy. The effeminate man. The unusual woman. These were people we knew, people like us, born and raised on African soil. How then are they ‘unafrican?’
If anything, it is the passage of the law itself that is ‘unafrican.’ It goes against the values of tolerance and ‘live and let live’ that are part of many African cultures. (In 1970s Igboland, Area Scatter was a popular musician, a man who dressed like a woman, wore makeup, plaited his hair. We don’t know if he was gay – I think he was – but if he performed today, he could conceivably be sentenced to fourteen years in prison. For being who he is.) And it is informed not by a home-grown debate but by a cynically borrowed one: we turned on CNN and heard western countries debating ‘same sex marriage’ and we decided that we, too, would pass a law banning same sex marriage. Where, in Nigeria, whose constitution defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, has any homosexual asked for same-sex marriage?
This is an unjust law. It should be repealed. Throughout history, many inhumane laws have been passed, and have subsequently been repealed. Barack Obama, for example, would not be here today had his parents obeyed American laws that criminalized marriage between blacks and whites.
An acquaintance recently asked me, ‘if you support gays, how would you have been born?’ Of course, there were gay Nigerians when I was conceived. Gay people have existed as long as humans have existed. They have always been a small percentage of the human population. We don’t know why. What matters is this: Sochukwuma is a Nigerian and his existence is not a crime.
Read below...
I will call him Sochukwuma. A thin, smiling boy who liked to play with us girls at the university primary school in Nsukka. We were young. We knew he was different, we said, ‘he’s not like the other boys.’ But his was a benign and unquestioned difference; it was simply what it was. We did not have a name for him. We did not know the word ‘gay.’ He was Sochukwuma and he was friendly and he played oga so well that his side always won.
In secondary school, some boys in his class tried to throw Sochukwuma off a second floor balcony. They were strapping teenagers who had learned to notice, and fear, difference. They had a name for him. Homo. They mocked him because his hips swayed when he walked and his hands fluttered when he spoke. He brushed away their taunts, silently, sometimes grinning an uncomfortable grin. He must have wished that he could be what they wanted him to be. I imagine now how helplessly lonely he must have felt. The boys often asked, “Why can’t he just be like everyone else?”
Possible answers to that question include ‘because he is abnormal,’ ‘because he is a sinner, ‘because he chose the lifestyle.’ But the truest answer is ‘We don’t know.’ There is humility and humanity in accepting that there are things we simply don’t know. At the age of 8, Sochukwuma was obviously different. It was not about sex, because it could not possibly have been – his hormones were of course not yet fully formed – but it was an awareness of himself, and other children’s awareness of him, as different. He could not have ‘chosen the lifestyle’ because he was too young to do so. And why would he – or anybody – choose to be homosexual in a world that makes life so difficult for homosexuals?
The new law that criminalizes homosexuality is popular among Nigerians. But it shows a failure of our democracy, because the mark of a true democracy is not in the rule of its majority but in the protection of its minority – otherwise mob justice would be considered democratic. The law is also unconstitutional, ambiguous, and a strange priority in a country with so many real problems. Above all else, however, it is unjust. Even if this was not a country of abysmal electricity supply where university graduates are barely literate and people die of easily-treatable causes and Boko Haram commits casual mass murders, this law would still be unjust. We cannot be a just society unless we are able to accommodate benign difference, accept benign difference, live and let live. We may not understand homosexuality, we may find it personally abhorrent but our response cannot be to criminalize it.
A crime is a crime for a reason. A crime has victims. A crime harms society. On what basis is homosexuality a crime? Adults do no harm to society in how they love and whom they love. This is a law that will not prevent crime, but will, instead, lead to crimes of violence: there are already, in different parts of Nigeria, attacks on people ‘suspected’ of being gay. Ours is a society where men are openly affectionate with one another. Men hold hands. Men hug each other. Shall we now arrest friends who share a hotel room, or who walk side by side? How do we determine the clunky expressions in the law – ‘mutually beneficial,’ ‘directly or indirectly?’
Many Nigerians support the law because they believe the Bible condemns homosexuality. The Bible can be a basis for how we choose to live our personal lives, but it cannot be a basis for the laws we pass, not only because the holy books of different religions do not have equal significance for all Nigerians but also because the holy books are read differently by different people. The Bible, for example, also condemns fornication and adultery and divorce, but they are not crimes.
For supporters of the law, there seems to be something about homosexuality that sets it apart. A sense that it is not ‘normal.’ If we are part of a majority group, we tend to think others in minority groups are abnormal, not because they have done anything wrong, but because we have defined normal to be what we are and since they are not like us, then they are abnormal. Supporters of the law want a certain semblance of human homogeneity. But we cannot legislate into existence a world that does not exist: the truth of our human condition is that we are a diverse, multi-faceted species. The measure of our humanity lies, in part, in how we think of those different from us. We cannot – should not – have empathy only for people who are like us.
Some supporters of the law have asked – what is next, a marriage between a man and a dog?’ Or ‘have you seen animals being gay?’ (Actually, studies show that there is homosexual behavior in many species of animals.) But, quite simply, people are not dogs, and to accept the premise – that a homosexual is comparable to an animal – is inhumane. We cannot reduce the humanity of our fellow men and women because of how and who they love. Some animals eat their own kind, others desert their young. Shall we follow those examples, too?
Other supporters suggest that gay men sexually abuse little boys. But pedophilia and homosexuality are two very different things. There are men who abuse little girls, and women who abuse little boys, and we do not presume that they do it because they are heterosexuals. Child molestation is an ugly crime that is committed by both straight and gay adults (this is why it is a crime: children, by virtue of being non-adults, require protection and are unable to give sexual consent).
There has also been some nationalist posturing among supporters of the law. Homosexuality is ‘unafrican,’ they say, and we will not become like the west. The west is not exactly a homosexual haven; acts of discrimination against homosexuals are not uncommon in the US and Europe. But it is the idea of ‘unafricanness’ that is truly insidious. Sochukwuma was born of Igbo parents and had Igbo grandparents and Igbo great-grandparents. He was born a person who would romantically love other men. Many Nigerians know somebody like him. The boy who behaved like a girl. The girl who behaved like a boy. The effeminate man. The unusual woman. These were people we knew, people like us, born and raised on African soil. How then are they ‘unafrican?’
If anything, it is the passage of the law itself that is ‘unafrican.’ It goes against the values of tolerance and ‘live and let live’ that are part of many African cultures. (In 1970s Igboland, Area Scatter was a popular musician, a man who dressed like a woman, wore makeup, plaited his hair. We don’t know if he was gay – I think he was – but if he performed today, he could conceivably be sentenced to fourteen years in prison. For being who he is.) And it is informed not by a home-grown debate but by a cynically borrowed one: we turned on CNN and heard western countries debating ‘same sex marriage’ and we decided that we, too, would pass a law banning same sex marriage. Where, in Nigeria, whose constitution defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, has any homosexual asked for same-sex marriage?
This is an unjust law. It should be repealed. Throughout history, many inhumane laws have been passed, and have subsequently been repealed. Barack Obama, for example, would not be here today had his parents obeyed American laws that criminalized marriage between blacks and whites.
An acquaintance recently asked me, ‘if you support gays, how would you have been born?’ Of course, there were gay Nigerians when I was conceived. Gay people have existed as long as humans have existed. They have always been a small percentage of the human population. We don’t know why. What matters is this: Sochukwuma is a Nigerian and his existence is not a crime.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
UNILAG to name 15-storey female hostel building after Nigeria's First lady, Mama Peace
The University of Lagos management has revealed that its proposed 15 storey female hostel building which will be named after the wife of the president, Patience Jonathan.
Mama Peace would be in Lagos on Friday, Feb 22, to lay foundation for the project which is expected to gulp N3billion.
Speaking at a media parley yesterday, the deputy vice chancellor Prof Duro Oni said they are naming the hostel after Mama Peace because of her immense contributions to the development of womanhood in Nigeria.
"It is a female hostel and the person due to be named after it is the President’s wife who has touched the lives of many women. Over time, we have been having issues with shortage of accommodation, especially for our female students; but as it stands, we are about to witness a huge relief in that regard. I must thank the first lady for agreeing to be part of the history-making event and also thank our parents for coming to partner with us,” he said." he said.
The project, tagged: “Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan’s Female Hostel Complex’’, is expected to be completed in two years and would be financed by the parents forum of UNILAG." Prof Duro Oni said
UNILAG has a population of 28,000 students with accomodation provided for just 8,000 of the undergraduates.
Mama Peace would be in Lagos on Friday, Feb 22, to lay foundation for the project which is expected to gulp N3billion.
Speaking at a media parley yesterday, the deputy vice chancellor Prof Duro Oni said they are naming the hostel after Mama Peace because of her immense contributions to the development of womanhood in Nigeria.
"It is a female hostel and the person due to be named after it is the President’s wife who has touched the lives of many women. Over time, we have been having issues with shortage of accommodation, especially for our female students; but as it stands, we are about to witness a huge relief in that regard. I must thank the first lady for agreeing to be part of the history-making event and also thank our parents for coming to partner with us,” he said." he said.
The project, tagged: “Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan’s Female Hostel Complex’’, is expected to be completed in two years and would be financed by the parents forum of UNILAG." Prof Duro Oni said
UNILAG has a population of 28,000 students with accomodation provided for just 8,000 of the undergraduates.
Breaking News: Pres. Jonathan appoints new Chief of Staff
President Jonathan has appointed Brig- General Jones Oladehinde Arogbofe as his new Chief of Staff and its with immediate effect. this was announced by the Presidential aide Reuben Abati on twitter ,this is coming a week after sacking the former Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadome.
OduahGate: Stella Oduah list achievements as Aviation Minister, as she hands over
Princess Stella Oduah has formally handed over to the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, Dr Samuel Ortom following her sack by the President last Wednesday, February 12th.
In her speech, she thanked President Jonathan for finding her worthy out of the 160million Nigerians and also listed her achievements while she was Minister. Excerpts from her speech below...
"It was a great privilege to be chosen from amongst the 160million Nigerians to serve in the Federal cabinet. My profound gratitude goes to Mr President who gave me this rare privilege. I also want to thank for him all the support he accorded me to pursue his transformation agenda in the Aviation sector. I equally wish to thank my aides, aviation sector workers and stake holders who partnered with me to realize our vision & mission in the sector. During my tenure, we gave our best to institute reforms in line with Mr President's Transformation Agenda. We produced the Aviation sector Master-plan and implementation Road map. Using the Masterplan and Roadmap, we were ably to...
-Reconstruct and Remodel all 22 federally-owned airports across the country. We also commenced the construction of Five International terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano.
-We also introduced the Perishable Cargo and Aerotrolis concepts to drive the growth and development of not only the aviation sector but also the country while modalities have been completed to kick-start the Aeropolis project.
-We also carried out institutional reforms, built the capacity of NCAT to produce enough professionals for both the local aviation market and for export.
-My greatest accomplishment comes from the safety and security of the Nigerian Airspace. We were able to procure,update and install safety-critical infrastructure that has repositioned the sector to achieve our objective of zero-accident rate in the Nigerian Airspace" she said
In her speech, she thanked President Jonathan for finding her worthy out of the 160million Nigerians and also listed her achievements while she was Minister. Excerpts from her speech below...
"It was a great privilege to be chosen from amongst the 160million Nigerians to serve in the Federal cabinet. My profound gratitude goes to Mr President who gave me this rare privilege. I also want to thank for him all the support he accorded me to pursue his transformation agenda in the Aviation sector. I equally wish to thank my aides, aviation sector workers and stake holders who partnered with me to realize our vision & mission in the sector. During my tenure, we gave our best to institute reforms in line with Mr President's Transformation Agenda. We produced the Aviation sector Master-plan and implementation Road map. Using the Masterplan and Roadmap, we were ably to...
-Reconstruct and Remodel all 22 federally-owned airports across the country. We also commenced the construction of Five International terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano.
-We also introduced the Perishable Cargo and Aerotrolis concepts to drive the growth and development of not only the aviation sector but also the country while modalities have been completed to kick-start the Aeropolis project.
-We also carried out institutional reforms, built the capacity of NCAT to produce enough professionals for both the local aviation market and for export.
-My greatest accomplishment comes from the safety and security of the Nigerian Airspace. We were able to procure,update and install safety-critical infrastructure that has repositioned the sector to achieve our objective of zero-accident rate in the Nigerian Airspace" she said
Boko Haram: "They are unstoppable" - Borno State Gov
Borno State Gov. Alhaji Kashim Shettima, in a chat with journalists after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in the Presidential Villa, on Monday, declared that the Boko Haram terrorists are unstoppable.
The Governor who described the situation in the state as being " in a state of war" adviced that its a high time all resources are marshalled towards visualising the antics of Boko Haram and the sooner this is being done the better for us all
He however, commended the officers and men of the Nigerian Army and police for their effort.
In His words....
“ honestly, Boko Haram are better armed and are better motivated than our own troops. And believe me, I am an eternal optimist, as I have always said but I am also a realist. Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram,” .
“I made it emphatically clear to Mr President that the Boko Haram are better armed and better motivated. Anybody who is following events in this country can attest to the fact that they have a very smooth sail overrunning communities, killing people.
“Have we ever succeeded in thwarting any of their plans? They went to Konduga and did what they wanted to do. They held sway for many hours before they left. They were in Kauri, Idzge and I don’t blame the Nigerian military. Honestly, we the leaders should be held responsible for our failure in leadership,” he said.
“In Idzge alone, we lost 106 people and they raided eight other communities. So, until I get back home, today or tomorrow, I cannot give you the exact figure. But some were hospitalised with very grave injuries. So, I am afraid the figures might climb,” he noted.
Speaking on whether 2015 election could be conducted in Borno State under the present circumstances, Gov. Shettima said it is "too early for anybody to talk about election when human lives are involved. Power comes from God and he gives power to whom He wills.
“I don’t care a hoot whether elections are held, but I do care that peace is restored in Borno and the North-East sub-region. So, people should stop playing politics,” he said.
The Governor who described the situation in the state as being " in a state of war" adviced that its a high time all resources are marshalled towards visualising the antics of Boko Haram and the sooner this is being done the better for us all
He however, commended the officers and men of the Nigerian Army and police for their effort.
In His words....
“ honestly, Boko Haram are better armed and are better motivated than our own troops. And believe me, I am an eternal optimist, as I have always said but I am also a realist. Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram,” .
“I made it emphatically clear to Mr President that the Boko Haram are better armed and better motivated. Anybody who is following events in this country can attest to the fact that they have a very smooth sail overrunning communities, killing people.
“Have we ever succeeded in thwarting any of their plans? They went to Konduga and did what they wanted to do. They held sway for many hours before they left. They were in Kauri, Idzge and I don’t blame the Nigerian military. Honestly, we the leaders should be held responsible for our failure in leadership,” he said.
“In Idzge alone, we lost 106 people and they raided eight other communities. So, until I get back home, today or tomorrow, I cannot give you the exact figure. But some were hospitalised with very grave injuries. So, I am afraid the figures might climb,” he noted.
Speaking on whether 2015 election could be conducted in Borno State under the present circumstances, Gov. Shettima said it is "too early for anybody to talk about election when human lives are involved. Power comes from God and he gives power to whom He wills.
“I don’t care a hoot whether elections are held, but I do care that peace is restored in Borno and the North-East sub-region. So, people should stop playing politics,” he said.
Monday, February 17, 2014
" Fingerprints would now be used for Bank Transaction – CBN Governor
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday inaugurated the biometric registration of bank customers and declared that after 18 months of the exercise, bank customers would not be able to do any transaction without their fingerprints.
The Governor, CBN, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, who launched the biometric registration exercise at the CBN head office in Lagos on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee, said the development represented a milestone in the nation’s financial system and economy in general.
He said the new biometric registration which will lead to the issuing of Bank Verification Number, a unique identity for every bank customer, would help to mitigate fraud, money laundering and other vices in the country.
“The CBN will issue a circular next week that will basically inform customers that this has now started. As soon as a bank gets the circular, the branches will issue notice to customers to find time to come in once and register. You can register anywhere actually. You can go to any bank or agent to register. Once you register, you cannot register again.”
According to Sanusi, the biometric registration exercise will help bank customers such that they may not need to use many ATM cards any more.
He said the CBN was working with NIGCOMSAT to put internet in all the 774 local governments in the country to enable the revolution to go nationwide.
Sanusi in his words,said.... “What the banks are going to do is try to put all the information on your existing ATM card. If you have a First Bank or Zenith Bank ATM Visa card or MasterCard, they can put on your Bank Verification Number, and put your biometric on it. So you don’t need to carry two or three cards; so all is going to be on one card. So you use it for identification, and you use it for transaction, and everything will be there.”
The Governor, CBN, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, who launched the biometric registration exercise at the CBN head office in Lagos on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee, said the development represented a milestone in the nation’s financial system and economy in general.
He said the new biometric registration which will lead to the issuing of Bank Verification Number, a unique identity for every bank customer, would help to mitigate fraud, money laundering and other vices in the country.
“The CBN will issue a circular next week that will basically inform customers that this has now started. As soon as a bank gets the circular, the branches will issue notice to customers to find time to come in once and register. You can register anywhere actually. You can go to any bank or agent to register. Once you register, you cannot register again.”
According to Sanusi, the biometric registration exercise will help bank customers such that they may not need to use many ATM cards any more.
He said the CBN was working with NIGCOMSAT to put internet in all the 774 local governments in the country to enable the revolution to go nationwide.
Sanusi in his words,said.... “What the banks are going to do is try to put all the information on your existing ATM card. If you have a First Bank or Zenith Bank ATM Visa card or MasterCard, they can put on your Bank Verification Number, and put your biometric on it. So you don’t need to carry two or three cards; so all is going to be on one card. So you use it for identification, and you use it for transaction, and everything will be there.”
BokoHaram: kills over 106 in Izghe village
Gunmen believed to be Boko Haram Islamists invaded Izghe, a village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday night killing dozens of people, this latest killings came barely a few hours before President Goodluck Jonathan reiterated his belief that Boko Haram activities represented Nigeria’s “share of the negative news” across the world.
Only last week Tuesday, the fundamentalists snuffed lives out of no fewer than 67 people in Konduga in Borno State. Late last month, the sect killed over 115 people, including worshippers, in two communities in Borno and Adamawa states.
The gunmen reportedly rounded up a group of men in Izghe, a largely Christian community and shot them during the attack that lasted about five hours.
Residents, who fled the area said some of the victims were shot, while others had their throats slit by the attackers who were chanting “Allah is great.”
According to an eye witness, Abubakar Usman, who spoke to Reuters; dead bodies of the victims were still littered in the streets
There were however conflicting casualty figures given by some prominent indigenes of the area.
While Ali Ndume, who represents the area in the Senate told the Agence France Presse that about 106 people were murdered, a resident put the fugure at 93.
“So far, from information I have received from Izghe, 106 people, including an old woman, have been killed by the attackers, suspected to be Boko Haram gunmen,” Ndume said.
The resident, Mallam Bulama, told journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, that the Islamists, who were dressed in military uniform, invaded the community “killing 93 people, and inflicting injuries on several others.”
Bulama added that the terrorists who were about 100 came with sophisticated weapons and shot sporadically before setting many houses and shops ablaze.
Funeral rites were held for 52 Muslim victims at the central mosque in the nearby town of Madagali, mosque officials said.
According to another eyewitness “The attackers came around 9.30 pm in six trucks and some motorcycles. They were dressed in military uniform. They asked men to assemble at a place and then started hacking and slaughtering them,”
hmmmm,may their souls rest in perfect peace
Credit: Punch
Only last week Tuesday, the fundamentalists snuffed lives out of no fewer than 67 people in Konduga in Borno State. Late last month, the sect killed over 115 people, including worshippers, in two communities in Borno and Adamawa states.
The gunmen reportedly rounded up a group of men in Izghe, a largely Christian community and shot them during the attack that lasted about five hours.
Residents, who fled the area said some of the victims were shot, while others had their throats slit by the attackers who were chanting “Allah is great.”
According to an eye witness, Abubakar Usman, who spoke to Reuters; dead bodies of the victims were still littered in the streets
There were however conflicting casualty figures given by some prominent indigenes of the area.
While Ali Ndume, who represents the area in the Senate told the Agence France Presse that about 106 people were murdered, a resident put the fugure at 93.
“So far, from information I have received from Izghe, 106 people, including an old woman, have been killed by the attackers, suspected to be Boko Haram gunmen,” Ndume said.
The resident, Mallam Bulama, told journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, that the Islamists, who were dressed in military uniform, invaded the community “killing 93 people, and inflicting injuries on several others.”
Bulama added that the terrorists who were about 100 came with sophisticated weapons and shot sporadically before setting many houses and shops ablaze.
Funeral rites were held for 52 Muslim victims at the central mosque in the nearby town of Madagali, mosque officials said.
According to another eyewitness “The attackers came around 9.30 pm in six trucks and some motorcycles. They were dressed in military uniform. They asked men to assemble at a place and then started hacking and slaughtering them,”
hmmmm,may their souls rest in perfect peace
Credit: Punch
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Weekend Special: FOR MARRIED PEOPLE & COUPLES TO BE
Came across this lovely piece and I thought I could share it with you since we are still in the love Mode#winks
Read below........
10 simple ways to make your marriage
stronger
1. When you wake up...no
matter how short or long
the marriage is, kiss her
good morning DONT GREET
HER!
2. When he comes
home...DONT SIT DOWN,
wake up and meet him at
the door, a hug and/or kiss
and ask how his day
was....he spent most of it
trying to make sure you
guys have food in the
house.
3. Before you sleep, PRAY
TOGETHER AS A FAMILY, and
in your prayers, always
thank God for your spouse
and for his/her love and
dedication to the family.
4. Daily no matter how
tired you are, spend a few
minutes to discuss how the
day was what challenges
you both met and how you
handled the situation.
5. Find a moment to
encourage each other from
scriptures. If you can get a
devotional guide, let each
person handle a day of the
week including kids (if they
can)
6. Just because you married
her, life does not stop. At
least once a month, take
her out to dinner, spend the
evening just the two of you
outside the house eating
and talking-just the same
way you tried convincing
her to marry you.
7. Be proud of your
husband/wife. Walk
together holding hands,
text during the day...your
wife/husband should be
your best friend, so those
stuff you talk to your
friends, include your
spouse, ask silly questions
like what are you having
for lunch? What would you
like for supper? Can i get
you anything? Did you get
to work? Oh i just called to
Say i miss you....Have you
left work? etc...
8. People get scared to talk
about this but sex does
destroy marriages. SATISFY
your husband/ wife
sexually..it is a gift that can
be perfectly enjoyed in holy
matrimony...its not a sin
when you are married. So
stop feeling guilty and
make sure your sex life is
completely satisfied and
enjoyed by the two of you.
Do not give room for your
spouse to be tempted
sexually outside of
marriage because in it you
cannot give in.
9. Everyday never forget to
say you love your husband/wife at least 5times. Saying
i love you, never gets
boring, it never gets
rhetorical it never hurts for
someone to hear. "its a
delicious meal, i love you"
"wow, you came early....i
love you sweety" "will you
please get some bread as
you come? I love you"
"good night my love"
"wakey wakey sweety time
for breakfast love"
10. Never go to bed angry,
solve those arguments with
love. Fight all you can but
at the end, remember to
pray together, pray for
your love and marriage and
the goodnight has to have
"i love you". Always
remember a family that
prays together stays
together....be wise
By the wat how did your Valentine go....?
Read below........
10 simple ways to make your marriage
stronger
1. When you wake up...no
matter how short or long
the marriage is, kiss her
good morning DONT GREET
HER!
2. When he comes
home...DONT SIT DOWN,
wake up and meet him at
the door, a hug and/or kiss
and ask how his day
was....he spent most of it
trying to make sure you
guys have food in the
house.
3. Before you sleep, PRAY
TOGETHER AS A FAMILY, and
in your prayers, always
thank God for your spouse
and for his/her love and
dedication to the family.
4. Daily no matter how
tired you are, spend a few
minutes to discuss how the
day was what challenges
you both met and how you
handled the situation.
5. Find a moment to
encourage each other from
scriptures. If you can get a
devotional guide, let each
person handle a day of the
week including kids (if they
can)
6. Just because you married
her, life does not stop. At
least once a month, take
her out to dinner, spend the
evening just the two of you
outside the house eating
and talking-just the same
way you tried convincing
her to marry you.
7. Be proud of your
husband/wife. Walk
together holding hands,
text during the day...your
wife/husband should be
your best friend, so those
stuff you talk to your
friends, include your
spouse, ask silly questions
like what are you having
for lunch? What would you
like for supper? Can i get
you anything? Did you get
to work? Oh i just called to
Say i miss you....Have you
left work? etc...
8. People get scared to talk
about this but sex does
destroy marriages. SATISFY
your husband/ wife
sexually..it is a gift that can
be perfectly enjoyed in holy
matrimony...its not a sin
when you are married. So
stop feeling guilty and
make sure your sex life is
completely satisfied and
enjoyed by the two of you.
Do not give room for your
spouse to be tempted
sexually outside of
marriage because in it you
cannot give in.
9. Everyday never forget to
say you love your husband/wife at least 5times. Saying
i love you, never gets
boring, it never gets
rhetorical it never hurts for
someone to hear. "its a
delicious meal, i love you"
"wow, you came early....i
love you sweety" "will you
please get some bread as
you come? I love you"
"good night my love"
"wakey wakey sweety time
for breakfast love"
10. Never go to bed angry,
solve those arguments with
love. Fight all you can but
at the end, remember to
pray together, pray for
your love and marriage and
the goodnight has to have
"i love you". Always
remember a family that
prays together stays
together....be wise
By the wat how did your Valentine go....?
Friday, February 14, 2014
JONATHAN SHOWERS 31MILLION NAIRA ON CHAN EAGLES''
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, showered each players and technical crew of the home based Eagles with a total cash reward of 31.5 million naira.
Each player got one million naira, Coach Stephen Keshi 1.5million naira, while his assistants pocketed a million each and the back room staff five hundred thousand naira each.
At a ceremony to honour them, Dr Jonathan said his administration will continue to support Nigerian youths to show case their talents in continental and global sports competitions.
The home based eagles picked up the bronze at the just concluded African Nations Championship, CHAN, in South Africa.
Each player got one million naira, Coach Stephen Keshi 1.5million naira, while his assistants pocketed a million each and the back room staff five hundred thousand naira each.
At a ceremony to honour them, Dr Jonathan said his administration will continue to support Nigerian youths to show case their talents in continental and global sports competitions.
The home based eagles picked up the bronze at the just concluded African Nations Championship, CHAN, in South Africa.
OduahGate: Melaye’s Anti-Corruption Group Ready To Press Corruption Charges Against Oduah And Orubebe.
Former member of the Federal House of Representatives, Dino Melaye has praised the sack of Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, describing it as the long-needed opening to institute corruption charges against the two former ministers.
Speaking on behalf of his civil society group, the Anti-Corruption Network (ACN), Melaye described the sack as validation of the age-long cliché that the voice of man is the voice of God.
“I am vindicated; power truly belong to the people”, he said. “When we protested against two of these criminals, many abused us. But today, we are happy. We salute the courage of Mr. President, although he delayed too much because they ought to have been fired since”.
He recalled that his group submitted the corruption history of three ministers to the United States of America last year; and with the sack of two, the third must be relieved of her ministerial position as soon as possible.
“Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison Madueke must go, too. The president must take hard decisions in the interest of Nigerians”, he said.
“Now that they have been sacked, we will institute criminal charges against Orubebe and Oduah. The voice of the people is the voice of God.
“We encourage Nigerians to continue to protest vehemently against mal-administration, ineptitude and corruption. For me it is a no retreat, no surrender. No amount of arrest, intimidation, blackmail or name-calling will detract my attention from fighting all forms of injustices”.
SaharaReporters
Speaking on behalf of his civil society group, the Anti-Corruption Network (ACN), Melaye described the sack as validation of the age-long cliché that the voice of man is the voice of God.
“I am vindicated; power truly belong to the people”, he said. “When we protested against two of these criminals, many abused us. But today, we are happy. We salute the courage of Mr. President, although he delayed too much because they ought to have been fired since”.
He recalled that his group submitted the corruption history of three ministers to the United States of America last year; and with the sack of two, the third must be relieved of her ministerial position as soon as possible.
“Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison Madueke must go, too. The president must take hard decisions in the interest of Nigerians”, he said.
“Now that they have been sacked, we will institute criminal charges against Orubebe and Oduah. The voice of the people is the voice of God.
“We encourage Nigerians to continue to protest vehemently against mal-administration, ineptitude and corruption. For me it is a no retreat, no surrender. No amount of arrest, intimidation, blackmail or name-calling will detract my attention from fighting all forms of injustices”.
SaharaReporters
Thursday, February 13, 2014
OduahGate: Minister of Information names the replacement of sack ministers
Yesterday, President Jonathan announced the sack of 4 ministers. Well, all four of them have been replaced temporarily by serving ministers.
See their replacements below...
Ms. Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation replaced by Minister of State for Trade and Investments, Mr Samuel Ortom.
Godsday Orubebe, Minister of Niger Delta Affair replaced by Mr Darius Isiaku
Caleb Olubolade, Minister of Police Affairs replaced by The Minister of State for the FCT, Missus Olajumoke Akinjide.
The announcement was made yesterday evening by Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who said president Jonathan asked the ministers go after they had 'indicated their interest to pursue other goals in the country
See their replacements below...
Ms. Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation replaced by Minister of State for Trade and Investments, Mr Samuel Ortom.
Godsday Orubebe, Minister of Niger Delta Affair replaced by Mr Darius Isiaku
Caleb Olubolade, Minister of Police Affairs replaced by The Minister of State for the FCT, Missus Olajumoke Akinjide.
The announcement was made yesterday evening by Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who said president Jonathan asked the ministers go after they had 'indicated their interest to pursue other goals in the country
BokoHaram: Invades Konduga Village in Borno State,kills over 40
Over 40 people were killed on Feb. 11th(Tuesday) in Konduga village in Borno state by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.
The gunmen arrived the village in the evening and started shooting people. Several houses and a secondary school were burnt down according to security officials who visited the village after the attack. One security personnel said he counted at least 40 bodies following the unexpected attack.
The attackers met no resistance from security agencies as they carried out their deed. Military men reportedly arrived after the men had gone and have taken over the security situation in the area.
The gunmen arrived the village in the evening and started shooting people. Several houses and a secondary school were burnt down according to security officials who visited the village after the attack. One security personnel said he counted at least 40 bodies following the unexpected attack.
The attackers met no resistance from security agencies as they carried out their deed. Military men reportedly arrived after the men had gone and have taken over the security situation in the area.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
OduahGate: President Jonathan sacks Aviation Minister; Stella Oduah and 3 others
President Goodluck Jonathan today Wednesday February 12th, sacked the embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
Ms Oduah whose approval for the purchase of two bullet-proof cars for N255m caused public outrage in the country with many Nigerians calling for her removal and prosecution,will now be focusing on her Neighbour to Neighbour political campaign organization which she founded a few years ago.
Others affected were Caleb Olubolade (Police Affairs); Godsday Orubebe (Niger Delta); and Yerima Ngama (State, Finance).
“They were dropped, they did not resign,” a cabinet source told news correspondent.
Heard the other ministers were dropped for political reasons. All three of them are planning to run for governorship positions in their various states. Orubebe is running in Delta, Yerima in Yobe and Olubolade in Ekiti State, all under PDP.
Ms Oduah whose approval for the purchase of two bullet-proof cars for N255m caused public outrage in the country with many Nigerians calling for her removal and prosecution,will now be focusing on her Neighbour to Neighbour political campaign organization which she founded a few years ago.
Others affected were Caleb Olubolade (Police Affairs); Godsday Orubebe (Niger Delta); and Yerima Ngama (State, Finance).
“They were dropped, they did not resign,” a cabinet source told news correspondent.
Heard the other ministers were dropped for political reasons. All three of them are planning to run for governorship positions in their various states. Orubebe is running in Delta, Yerima in Yobe and Olubolade in Ekiti State, all under PDP.
President Jonathan vows to make Nigeria Better and Stronger!!!
President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to leave Nigeria better than he has met it. He said he is confident about it because " the various policies so far put in place by his administration were clear indications that he would leave the country better and stronger than he met it.
Jonathan recalled that prior to the launch organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he had inaugurated the Mortgage Refinance Company, the Dry Season Farming and had also hosted a conference on the private sector financing of the power sector.
He said all these were borne out of his desire to build legacies that would outlive his administration.
In his word, “With diligent implementation of these revolutionary programmes that we are launching today, we can tell Nigerians that our country is set for development.”
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had earlier in his opening remarks, explained that NEDEP was designed to address the neglect that SMEs had suffered in the past.
Aganga said his ministry had so far created 10,000 cooperatives societies while his target was to create 50,000 every year and produce one million direct jobs yearly.
He said with the present administration’s feat in the cement industry which led to the exportation of the commodity, his ministry was ready to replicate same in 15 other sectors.
“If we can do it in cement, we can do it in 15 other sectors. The plan is holistic. We intend to create industrial cities and parks in conjunction with the state governments. We must consume what we produce which means local content is a must,” the minister added.
Credit: PunCh
Jonathan recalled that prior to the launch organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he had inaugurated the Mortgage Refinance Company, the Dry Season Farming and had also hosted a conference on the private sector financing of the power sector.
He said all these were borne out of his desire to build legacies that would outlive his administration.
In his word, “With diligent implementation of these revolutionary programmes that we are launching today, we can tell Nigerians that our country is set for development.”
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had earlier in his opening remarks, explained that NEDEP was designed to address the neglect that SMEs had suffered in the past.
Aganga said his ministry had so far created 10,000 cooperatives societies while his target was to create 50,000 every year and produce one million direct jobs yearly.
He said with the present administration’s feat in the cement industry which led to the exportation of the commodity, his ministry was ready to replicate same in 15 other sectors.
“If we can do it in cement, we can do it in 15 other sectors. The plan is holistic. We intend to create industrial cities and parks in conjunction with the state governments. We must consume what we produce which means local content is a must,” the minister added.
Credit: PunCh
APC allege that PDP Seduced their Members With Millions Of Dollars To Decamp
Interim National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Lai Mohammed has on Tuesday accused the Peoples Democratic Party of luring opposition legislators with amounts ranging from $1m to $10m to join the ruling party.
This was contained in a statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
According to the APC, the PDP is allegedly using public funds to lure back some of the federal lawmakers who have defected from the ruling party to the APC.
The opposition party condemned the act which it described as “a political horse trading carried too far.”
Mohammed said, “The PDP, in an unprecedented show of desperation, has rolled out a mouth-watering enticement package that promises $2m to each senator who returns to the PDP; $1m to each member of the House of Representatives and $10m to each ‘leader’ who abandons the APC for PDP.”
But the APC said there was no cause for alarm, as no amount of inducements would stop the change that was in the horizon, because Nigerians were ready and eager to vote out the PDP next year.
The party noted that the five House of Representatives members who had allegedly taken the PDP’s killer bait and returned to the party were doing themselves a disservice.
But the leadership of the PDP was engaged in a marathon meeting when the APC statement was issued. None of the party leaders was available for comments but a source close to the party leadership described the APC allegation as laughable.
The source said the APC was afraid of the defection. He asked what the APC gave those who defected to it from the PDP.
It was however learnt that the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, who is also attending the meeting at the national secretariat of the party would respond to the allegations today (Wednesday).
This was contained in a statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
According to the APC, the PDP is allegedly using public funds to lure back some of the federal lawmakers who have defected from the ruling party to the APC.
The opposition party condemned the act which it described as “a political horse trading carried too far.”
Mohammed said, “The PDP, in an unprecedented show of desperation, has rolled out a mouth-watering enticement package that promises $2m to each senator who returns to the PDP; $1m to each member of the House of Representatives and $10m to each ‘leader’ who abandons the APC for PDP.”
But the APC said there was no cause for alarm, as no amount of inducements would stop the change that was in the horizon, because Nigerians were ready and eager to vote out the PDP next year.
The party noted that the five House of Representatives members who had allegedly taken the PDP’s killer bait and returned to the party were doing themselves a disservice.
But the leadership of the PDP was engaged in a marathon meeting when the APC statement was issued. None of the party leaders was available for comments but a source close to the party leadership described the APC allegation as laughable.
The source said the APC was afraid of the defection. He asked what the APC gave those who defected to it from the PDP.
It was however learnt that the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, who is also attending the meeting at the national secretariat of the party would respond to the allegations today (Wednesday).
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Revealed: Why Mike Oghiadomhe was sacked(Resigned)
In a rare show of courage and an obvious break with the tradition of Presidential esprit de corps, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday fired his friend and Chief of Staff, COS, Mr Mike Oghiadomhe. Jonathan and Oghiadomhe had been long standing friends from their days as deputy governors in Bayelsa and Edo states. Their friendship became more consummated when Jonathan became the president and invited Oghiadomhe to be his COS.
While Oghiadomhe’s dislocation from Aso Rock was packaged to the public as resignation, It was revealed that the touted resignation was a mere smokescreen. Corruption and political betrayal were the real reasons for the red card. A source close to both men said the sack took long in coming.
Oghiadomhe sack came on the heels of mounting speculations that he may be involved in the sleazy deals in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The President was said to have warned the COS repeatedly against the backdrop of damning security reports linking him with some dirty deals in the NNPC.
According to sources at the Presidential Villa, Jonathan asked Oghiadomhe to resign early yesterday, sparing him the humiliation of an outright sack.
It was also gathered that, the former Chief of Staff had not been viewed as a loyalists by the kitchen cabinet of Jonathan, as he was viewed as a man who only looked out for himself , his son and his wife. Politically, Oghiadomhe was said to be sitting on the fence as regards the re-election bid of President Jonathan.
The President is said to be considering a few names as possible replacement for Oghiadomhe and top on the list is Chief Raymond Dokpesi who has been a close ally of Mr President and who hails from the same state with Oghiadomhe. Besides Oghiadomhe was said to be aloof from his political peers from Edo State.
Aside from his lack of closer ties with other geo-political zones, his kinsmen have consistently insisted he be removed. The plot to remove Oghiadomhe from the juicy position thickened last September with his expulsion from the PDP by leaders of the party from six councils of Edo North Senatorial District, his purported political stronghold.
Edo North PDP leaders and stakeholders meeting was held at Polaris Hotel, Jattu-Affasio near, Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area. The party leaders at the meeting were drawn from Owan East, Owan West, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West and Akoko-Edo councils.
Deliberations at the gathering was chaired by a former member of the House of Representatives and deputy governorship candidate of the PDP in the April 14, 2012 governorship election in the state, Johnson Agbolaba.
Sources in the PDP indicate that the majority of the party leaders and members from the senatorial district are not comfortable with Ogiadomhe’s leadership style and are not getting the desired impact in terms of development.
Leadership of the party from the senatorial zone had at that stakeholders meeting passed a vote of no confidence on the chief of staff, insisting that his position at the Presidency has not translated into any positive dividends of democracy to the benefit of people of the area.
Source: Political Economist
While Oghiadomhe’s dislocation from Aso Rock was packaged to the public as resignation, It was revealed that the touted resignation was a mere smokescreen. Corruption and political betrayal were the real reasons for the red card. A source close to both men said the sack took long in coming.
Oghiadomhe sack came on the heels of mounting speculations that he may be involved in the sleazy deals in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The President was said to have warned the COS repeatedly against the backdrop of damning security reports linking him with some dirty deals in the NNPC.
According to sources at the Presidential Villa, Jonathan asked Oghiadomhe to resign early yesterday, sparing him the humiliation of an outright sack.
It was also gathered that, the former Chief of Staff had not been viewed as a loyalists by the kitchen cabinet of Jonathan, as he was viewed as a man who only looked out for himself , his son and his wife. Politically, Oghiadomhe was said to be sitting on the fence as regards the re-election bid of President Jonathan.
The President is said to be considering a few names as possible replacement for Oghiadomhe and top on the list is Chief Raymond Dokpesi who has been a close ally of Mr President and who hails from the same state with Oghiadomhe. Besides Oghiadomhe was said to be aloof from his political peers from Edo State.
Aside from his lack of closer ties with other geo-political zones, his kinsmen have consistently insisted he be removed. The plot to remove Oghiadomhe from the juicy position thickened last September with his expulsion from the PDP by leaders of the party from six councils of Edo North Senatorial District, his purported political stronghold.
Edo North PDP leaders and stakeholders meeting was held at Polaris Hotel, Jattu-Affasio near, Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area. The party leaders at the meeting were drawn from Owan East, Owan West, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West and Akoko-Edo councils.
Deliberations at the gathering was chaired by a former member of the House of Representatives and deputy governorship candidate of the PDP in the April 14, 2012 governorship election in the state, Johnson Agbolaba.
Sources in the PDP indicate that the majority of the party leaders and members from the senatorial district are not comfortable with Ogiadomhe’s leadership style and are not getting the desired impact in terms of development.
Leadership of the party from the senatorial zone had at that stakeholders meeting passed a vote of no confidence on the chief of staff, insisting that his position at the Presidency has not translated into any positive dividends of democracy to the benefit of people of the area.
Source: Political Economist
Kidnapped APC registeration officers regains freedom
The two registration officers of the All Progressives Congress(APC) who were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Ebonyi state last Sunday have regained their freedom.
Mr Donatus Omenyi while Speaking to news men after their release, said that gunmen numbering about six came to his house around 2am fully armed and ordered him out of his house and took him away in a vehicle suspected to belong to the Ezza North Local government area.
According to him,he was ordered to follow them and threatened to shoot if he attempted to raise alarm or resist following them. They requested that he give them all APC registration materials in his possession. He was also asked to surrender the camera being used for the party registration exercise as well as the camera,which happened to be with his assistant, Mr Samuel Aligwe who escaped before the gunmen could get to his house.
After been beaten and tortured,they were asked to call their relatives to pay the ransom of N3million before they could be released.
They were however released after been threatened to be eliminated if they remain APC members ,that PDP must be allowed to take over the Ezza North council area and that every presence of the APC in the council area must be laid to rest.
Source: NAN
Mr Donatus Omenyi while Speaking to news men after their release, said that gunmen numbering about six came to his house around 2am fully armed and ordered him out of his house and took him away in a vehicle suspected to belong to the Ezza North Local government area.
According to him,he was ordered to follow them and threatened to shoot if he attempted to raise alarm or resist following them. They requested that he give them all APC registration materials in his possession. He was also asked to surrender the camera being used for the party registration exercise as well as the camera,which happened to be with his assistant, Mr Samuel Aligwe who escaped before the gunmen could get to his house.
After been beaten and tortured,they were asked to call their relatives to pay the ransom of N3million before they could be released.
They were however released after been threatened to be eliminated if they remain APC members ,that PDP must be allowed to take over the Ezza North council area and that every presence of the APC in the council area must be laid to rest.
Source: NAN
Monday, February 10, 2014
President Goodluck asks his Chief of Staff to Resign
President Jonathan has asked his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadome to resign. Oghiadohme, 55, was indicted by security operatives in the messy financial misappropriation scandal currently rocking the NNPC.
Oghiadome was a two-term serving deputy Governor of Edo State under Lucky Igbinedion. His sack is with immediate effect.
Culled from Sahara Reporters
Update:
Mike Oghiadomhe in a single paragraphed letter of resignation which was read to a news correspondent on phone, said, “ in view of the political exigencies in the country, I wish to resign from my position as chief of staff.
In the letter, Mr. Oghiadomhe thanked President Jonathan whom he referred to as a friend and a brother for the opportunity to serve and pledged his loyalty to the country, the president and the People's Democratic Party.
Oghiadome was a two-term serving deputy Governor of Edo State under Lucky Igbinedion. His sack is with immediate effect.
Culled from Sahara Reporters
Update:
Mike Oghiadomhe in a single paragraphed letter of resignation which was read to a news correspondent on phone, said, “ in view of the political exigencies in the country, I wish to resign from my position as chief of staff.
In the letter, Mr. Oghiadomhe thanked President Jonathan whom he referred to as a friend and a brother for the opportunity to serve and pledged his loyalty to the country, the president and the People's Democratic Party.
Breaking News: World Bank Approves $80 Billion for Nigerian Universities
The World Bank has approved $80m grant for Nigeria to fund its 10 Centres of Excellence in universities says the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, in Abuja on Monday at a news conference on the meeting of World Bank with African Centres of Excellence (ACE).
Okojie also announced that Nigeria won 10 slots out of the 18 approved proposals for the establishment of ACEs.
He said the World Bank-funded ACE project was introduced to build capacity in competitively selected institutions to produce in-demand highly skilled labour and applied research.
He said it was also to facilitate rapid development within the African sub-region through the strengthening of ACEs by collaborations and partnership in sharing of talents, skilled labour and higher education services.
The executive secretary said seven Nigerian universities were selected from 15 institutions that would benefit from the ACE grant.
The universities include Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Others are; University of Jos, University of Benin; and University of Port Harcourt.
He said the universities were selected based on their proposals to address specific issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, health sciences; and agricultural sciences.
Okojie said because of the excellent proposals from Nigeria, three more universities, namely, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Bayero University, Kano and Benue State University, Makurdi, were later approved bringing the total to 10 out of 18 ACEs in Africa.
Source: NAN
Okojie also announced that Nigeria won 10 slots out of the 18 approved proposals for the establishment of ACEs.
He said the World Bank-funded ACE project was introduced to build capacity in competitively selected institutions to produce in-demand highly skilled labour and applied research.
He said it was also to facilitate rapid development within the African sub-region through the strengthening of ACEs by collaborations and partnership in sharing of talents, skilled labour and higher education services.
The executive secretary said seven Nigerian universities were selected from 15 institutions that would benefit from the ACE grant.
The universities include Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Others are; University of Jos, University of Benin; and University of Port Harcourt.
He said the universities were selected based on their proposals to address specific issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, health sciences; and agricultural sciences.
Okojie said because of the excellent proposals from Nigeria, three more universities, namely, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Bayero University, Kano and Benue State University, Makurdi, were later approved bringing the total to 10 out of 18 ACEs in Africa.
Source: NAN
ASUU: Another Strike Looming??
Strong indications have emerged that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, may consider going back on strike following the federal government inability to honour the agreement it reached with the government during the last ASUU strike
This development is coming few months after the union suspended its six-month-old strike that grounded the university system last year.
The union, through its National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu, lamented that the Federal Government was yet to honour the agreement that N20 billion would be released at the beginning of each quarter to meet identified needs in universities.
Aremu, during an interview with newsmen at the Post Graduate Hall, University of Ibadan, weekend, said, “This is February and the government is yet to release the money for the quarter.”
According to him, the call was necessary to avoid the embarrassment that the last strike caused the nation.
His words, “All the strike ASUU had embarked upon in this country were basically because the Federal Government failed to honour agreements freely entered with us.
“It is also sad that each time, before we begin the strike, we would give the government enough warnings and grace to make them retrace their steps, but they will always fail.
“We don’t know why the government is always unwilling to implement the documents signed by their representatives. However, we will continue to fight for the system because if the system collapses, we will collapse with it.”
Adding his voice to the development, ASUU chairman, UI chapter, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, said it was unfortunate that successive governments in Nigeria failed to learn from history as they always wait until major standoff with their members before doing the needful.
Source: DailyPost
This development is coming few months after the union suspended its six-month-old strike that grounded the university system last year.
The union, through its National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu, lamented that the Federal Government was yet to honour the agreement that N20 billion would be released at the beginning of each quarter to meet identified needs in universities.
Aremu, during an interview with newsmen at the Post Graduate Hall, University of Ibadan, weekend, said, “This is February and the government is yet to release the money for the quarter.”
According to him, the call was necessary to avoid the embarrassment that the last strike caused the nation.
His words, “All the strike ASUU had embarked upon in this country were basically because the Federal Government failed to honour agreements freely entered with us.
“It is also sad that each time, before we begin the strike, we would give the government enough warnings and grace to make them retrace their steps, but they will always fail.
“We don’t know why the government is always unwilling to implement the documents signed by their representatives. However, we will continue to fight for the system because if the system collapses, we will collapse with it.”
Adding his voice to the development, ASUU chairman, UI chapter, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, said it was unfortunate that successive governments in Nigeria failed to learn from history as they always wait until major standoff with their members before doing the needful.
Source: DailyPost
Friday, February 7, 2014
Weekend Special: The See Finish Syndrome (For couples only) by Charlyboy
If you are married,engaged or you are about to ring the wedding bells,then this is for you.
Here is a very interesting article written by Charly Boy.
Enjoy below...
When two people, lovers, friends, partners or even team mates can consistently predict one another's moves like clockwork, it is called see finish
See finish can help one in fully understanding your partner. However, see finish in a marriage has its own bad sides, if not checked can lead to the death of DESIRE in a marriage, especially, sexually. That's when couples start to take each other for granted and no longer as granted. See finish in a marriage is when one spouse is desperately yearning for more sex, connection or physical closeness, and the other for whatever reason seems a bit unconcerned about their partner’s feelings, or just not with it any more.
For instance, if in the beginning of a marriage, a couple enjoyed going out together and five years into their union as husband and wife both or one of them starts to hate the idea of hanging out with their spouse, hummmmmm SEE FINISH has entered the matter.
See finish is when your spouse is no longer attractive sexually, when you start looking at your spouse as a sister or a brother. SEE FINISH in a marriage is when one spouse is desperately yearning for more sex, connection or physical closeness, and the other for whatever reason seems a bit unconcerned about their partner’s feelings, or just not with it any more. For married people, it's when making love has become a chore instead of a reaffirmation of love and intimacy. The worse stage of See finish in a marriage is when desire finally dies. Do you know that there are couples who haven't made it to their 10th year in marriage and already there is little or no action in their bedroom? If their desire has finally kicked the bucket before year ten, we that have survived 37yrs should ask for a divorce or what? There are couples who have lost all intimacy in their marriage, some of them live under the same roof like total strangers, and some are just cohabiting. It's crazy but it's true.
Meeehn, I know it's not easy waking up to the same face, the same smell, the same breast, the same person year in year out, but everything special takes working at, takes cultivation, takes patience and the will power to want to make it work. "Too much of the same woman can kill ones manhood" obviously that was scripted or corned by a man to justify his wondering penis. Hummmmmm, and I will always ask, can too much of the same penis kill a woman's desire for the same man? After all what's good for the goose should be good for the gander, abi how una see am. But guess what, more women these days are caught up in this see finish Syndrome more than the men care to admit, I swear.
This much I can say with all certainty, that desire dwindles in marriages if you don't work on keeping the flame burning, if you’re not observant in noticing that some things have changed, if finally you can't just be bothered about fixing it. No marriage can escape the SEE FINISH syndrome, either couples are prepared to work on it and work it out when it rears its ugly head or forget about any form of intimacy whatsoever. I can understand couples who have been together for at least 50yrs, that's when we are pardoned for just being brothers and sisters and best friends, maybe no longer sexual lovers. Some of us can't even make it to our 10th year without feeling sexually suffocating. Please I’m not preaching here, because I’m no saint, but I know I am where I am today because I work at it.
Does any of this sound familiar? Is your marriage going through a bad patch because of the SEE FINISH syndrome? Would you want to work at it, or would you rather let it die completely? The choice is really yours. For me I enjoy my "reserved" status especially as CharlyBoy. Maybe because I’m all played out, or maybe because I have seen it all, I have chosen to respect myself especially my body and continue to work with the devil I know than the beauty queen to come. I have passed through the see finish syndrome phase before, it was only my determination to put all my real joy in one basket that made me sort myself out and battle to get my groove back. It wasn't easy at all, but after all I am Charlyboy, and I can do anything I set my mind to, Right?
Couples can fight about anything, but if they can kiss and make love, it soothes the bad feelings; it's like a rebirth, a forgiving ritual. But when your spouse is deprived of even that, bitterness, resentment and desperation accumulates. If your spouse’s libido has been slacking, just know that the most powerful sexual organ is between your ears, you need to approach your partner with greater understanding, compassion and wisdom. It may be difficult but talk to your spouse because you both need to make adjustments if you are to have a healthier marriage. Find out how you both can rekindle the flame. If your spouse can't or doesn't want to see that there is heavy gbege and doesn't want to change, then, you have to decide if a low sex marriage is a deal breaker for you. However, if one of you is having an affair where the culprit is getting better sex outside than inside, then wahala dey. You better start preparing a requiem for your relationship. My people, this matter no easy joor, I don talk my own sha.
For something more interesting…click on this link http://www.charlyboy.org/what-made-me-mad/
Here is a very interesting article written by Charly Boy.
Enjoy below...
When two people, lovers, friends, partners or even team mates can consistently predict one another's moves like clockwork, it is called see finish
See finish can help one in fully understanding your partner. However, see finish in a marriage has its own bad sides, if not checked can lead to the death of DESIRE in a marriage, especially, sexually. That's when couples start to take each other for granted and no longer as granted. See finish in a marriage is when one spouse is desperately yearning for more sex, connection or physical closeness, and the other for whatever reason seems a bit unconcerned about their partner’s feelings, or just not with it any more.
For instance, if in the beginning of a marriage, a couple enjoyed going out together and five years into their union as husband and wife both or one of them starts to hate the idea of hanging out with their spouse, hummmmmm SEE FINISH has entered the matter.
See finish is when your spouse is no longer attractive sexually, when you start looking at your spouse as a sister or a brother. SEE FINISH in a marriage is when one spouse is desperately yearning for more sex, connection or physical closeness, and the other for whatever reason seems a bit unconcerned about their partner’s feelings, or just not with it any more. For married people, it's when making love has become a chore instead of a reaffirmation of love and intimacy. The worse stage of See finish in a marriage is when desire finally dies. Do you know that there are couples who haven't made it to their 10th year in marriage and already there is little or no action in their bedroom? If their desire has finally kicked the bucket before year ten, we that have survived 37yrs should ask for a divorce or what? There are couples who have lost all intimacy in their marriage, some of them live under the same roof like total strangers, and some are just cohabiting. It's crazy but it's true.
Meeehn, I know it's not easy waking up to the same face, the same smell, the same breast, the same person year in year out, but everything special takes working at, takes cultivation, takes patience and the will power to want to make it work. "Too much of the same woman can kill ones manhood" obviously that was scripted or corned by a man to justify his wondering penis. Hummmmmm, and I will always ask, can too much of the same penis kill a woman's desire for the same man? After all what's good for the goose should be good for the gander, abi how una see am. But guess what, more women these days are caught up in this see finish Syndrome more than the men care to admit, I swear.
This much I can say with all certainty, that desire dwindles in marriages if you don't work on keeping the flame burning, if you’re not observant in noticing that some things have changed, if finally you can't just be bothered about fixing it. No marriage can escape the SEE FINISH syndrome, either couples are prepared to work on it and work it out when it rears its ugly head or forget about any form of intimacy whatsoever. I can understand couples who have been together for at least 50yrs, that's when we are pardoned for just being brothers and sisters and best friends, maybe no longer sexual lovers. Some of us can't even make it to our 10th year without feeling sexually suffocating. Please I’m not preaching here, because I’m no saint, but I know I am where I am today because I work at it.
Does any of this sound familiar? Is your marriage going through a bad patch because of the SEE FINISH syndrome? Would you want to work at it, or would you rather let it die completely? The choice is really yours. For me I enjoy my "reserved" status especially as CharlyBoy. Maybe because I’m all played out, or maybe because I have seen it all, I have chosen to respect myself especially my body and continue to work with the devil I know than the beauty queen to come. I have passed through the see finish syndrome phase before, it was only my determination to put all my real joy in one basket that made me sort myself out and battle to get my groove back. It wasn't easy at all, but after all I am Charlyboy, and I can do anything I set my mind to, Right?
Couples can fight about anything, but if they can kiss and make love, it soothes the bad feelings; it's like a rebirth, a forgiving ritual. But when your spouse is deprived of even that, bitterness, resentment and desperation accumulates. If your spouse’s libido has been slacking, just know that the most powerful sexual organ is between your ears, you need to approach your partner with greater understanding, compassion and wisdom. It may be difficult but talk to your spouse because you both need to make adjustments if you are to have a healthier marriage. Find out how you both can rekindle the flame. If your spouse can't or doesn't want to see that there is heavy gbege and doesn't want to change, then, you have to decide if a low sex marriage is a deal breaker for you. However, if one of you is having an affair where the culprit is getting better sex outside than inside, then wahala dey. You better start preparing a requiem for your relationship. My people, this matter no easy joor, I don talk my own sha.
For something more interesting…click on this link http://www.charlyboy.org/what-made-me-mad/
5,000 Youths allegedly undergoing Training as Political Thugs In Lagos Under FG Sponsorship
A shocking exposé has just been made by PM News, this report details the activities of about 5,000 youths who are currently being trained in Lagos State as political thugs ahead of 2015 general elections under the disguise that they’re FERMA recruits.
Below is how PM News Detailed it all:
It has been revealed that at least 5,000 youths are currently being trained in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria as political thugs in preparation for the 2015 general elections.
P.M.NEWS investigation revealed that the youths were being recruited and trained under the name of FERMA Federal Task Force at the Old Tollgate near 7Up Bottling Company, the former yard of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA.
It was gathered that as some have started training, more youths were still rushing to the place enmasse to get recruited because of the employment conditions.
P.M.NEWS learnt that the youths were not interviewed and were promised to be paid under the federal government salary scale according to their qualifications.
The emergence of the illegal taskforce is creating panic among stakeholders in the state as there are fears that the youths were being trained by the leading opposition party to destabilise Lagos and other southwest states during next year’s general elections.
More worrisome is the fact that the taskforce is not backed by any law or act setting it up.
Sources said the youths will undergo intensive training somewhere in Badagry and they will then be drafted to all southwest states under the guise of maintaining and protecting Federal Government roads.
There are allegations that the youths will be used to create mayhem in the zone to enable the PDP win all the southwest states during the forthcoming elections.
A lady that has been recruited told P.M.NEWS in confidence that they were told that over 5,000 youths will be drafted to the southwest zone for the 2015 general elections.
She said they were told that after the recruitment exercise, they would be taken to Badagry for intensive training.
Another youth who was recruited told our reporters that to be drafted by the agency, one must pay a fee of N10,000 for the registration form and purchase kit worth N35,000 and get captured on a data system after paying some charges.
A top PDP chieftain in the southwest zone was alleged to be involved in the recruitment and training of the youths.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the first aim of the taskforce is to drive officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management, LASTMA, out of the federal roads in Lagos and take over activities of the traffic officers.
The new taskforce would be playing the same role with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC. While FRSC is backed by law, the group will not be backed by any federal law or be affiliated to any agency of government.
One of those recruited told P.M.NEWS that there is an illegal detention cell at the taskforce office at the old tollgate.
This was confirmed also by a top police boss who craved anonymity, saying that a detention cell has been created at the tollgate where motorists and others arrested would be detained.
The top police boss said such a taskforce never had the backing of the law and so lacked the powers to carry out such activities.
The police officer wondered what the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Umar Manko, is doing that he has not disbanded the illegal taskforce as it had political undertone.
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have also expressed concern over the emergence of the illegal taskforce.
The lawmakers have raised concerns twice over the recruitment exercise.
The first time was when the Commissioner of Police in the state, Umar Manko, visited the House in relation to the security issues in the state.
The lawmakers asked the commissioner if he was aware of a nocturnal recruitment and trainings of some youths in the Badagry area of the state, but the commissioner told the members that he was not aware.
He also promised to investigate the case and take action against who were involved in the illegal activities.
But with more complaints from constituents and the seeming inability of the commissioner to act, the House again, during the plenary, called on Manko to urgently save the state by ridding it off unauthorised people or paramilitary organisations in the state.
The House said it was confused on why the youths were being recruited by an agency of government, FERMA, that is not a paramilitary organisation.
FERMA, however, disowned the illegal taskfoce, saying it has no hand in any group operating under the name of FERMA Federal Task Force and carrying out recruitment and paramilitary training for youths in Lagos.
FERMA South West 2 Zonal Coordinator, Mr Oladipo Fagbamila, said the agency had an organisational structure fit to carry out its constitutional responsibilities of nationwide road maintenance.
He said that the agency had enough machinery to handled all of its operations without any other group fronting for them, saying that “last year, our attention was drawn to a group which referred to itself as our “Federal Task Force” which is perpetrating activities that negate the mission of FERMA in some areas of Lagos State.
“It suffices to state in this disclaimer for the avoidance of doubt that FERMA did not engage and had not engaged anyone to contract business or businesses in the form of the activities of this so-called ‘FERMA Task Force,’ of which this disclaimer is hereby made.
“Notice of this disclaimer is hereby given by FERMA that the agency had no knowledge of the operations being conducted by the imposters, the identities of whom remain unknown but who had fraudulently employed the agency’s impeccable image being capitalised upon by this unknown imposters,” he said.
According to him, FERMA had written the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, and Lagos State Governor on the matter, adding that FERMA was committed to its responsibility of providing good, safe and motorable roads to residents of Lagos and Nigerians to ensure economic growth and development.
He enumerated FERMA’s functions to include daily surveillance, carrying out condition surveys, identifying bad portions and fixing them on federal roads, among others which according to him, it could undertake without support of imposters.
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, also issued a release warning that any attempt to compromise the present security of lives and property being enjoyed by Lagosians would meet with stiff resistance by both the government and people of Lagos State.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Interim Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that neither the party nor Lagosians are fooled by the antics of those behind the training of youths in Lagos on the purported excuse of protecting the dilapidated federal roads in Lagos.
It warned that the government and Lagosians are ready to deal with the instigated mischief behind these training and would mobilize Lagosians to resist any effort to compromise the enviable peace and security ambience in Lagos by desperate politicians.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there are only about 200 federal roads of the more than 10,000 roads in Lagos. These federal roads are so ill maintained and so dilapidated that the Lagos State government since 1999 has taken over the reconstruction and maintenance of some of these roads for the economic benefit of Nigerians.
Below is how PM News Detailed it all:
It has been revealed that at least 5,000 youths are currently being trained in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria as political thugs in preparation for the 2015 general elections.
P.M.NEWS investigation revealed that the youths were being recruited and trained under the name of FERMA Federal Task Force at the Old Tollgate near 7Up Bottling Company, the former yard of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA.
It was gathered that as some have started training, more youths were still rushing to the place enmasse to get recruited because of the employment conditions.
P.M.NEWS learnt that the youths were not interviewed and were promised to be paid under the federal government salary scale according to their qualifications.
The emergence of the illegal taskforce is creating panic among stakeholders in the state as there are fears that the youths were being trained by the leading opposition party to destabilise Lagos and other southwest states during next year’s general elections.
More worrisome is the fact that the taskforce is not backed by any law or act setting it up.
Sources said the youths will undergo intensive training somewhere in Badagry and they will then be drafted to all southwest states under the guise of maintaining and protecting Federal Government roads.
There are allegations that the youths will be used to create mayhem in the zone to enable the PDP win all the southwest states during the forthcoming elections.
A lady that has been recruited told P.M.NEWS in confidence that they were told that over 5,000 youths will be drafted to the southwest zone for the 2015 general elections.
She said they were told that after the recruitment exercise, they would be taken to Badagry for intensive training.
Another youth who was recruited told our reporters that to be drafted by the agency, one must pay a fee of N10,000 for the registration form and purchase kit worth N35,000 and get captured on a data system after paying some charges.
A top PDP chieftain in the southwest zone was alleged to be involved in the recruitment and training of the youths.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the first aim of the taskforce is to drive officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management, LASTMA, out of the federal roads in Lagos and take over activities of the traffic officers.
The new taskforce would be playing the same role with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC. While FRSC is backed by law, the group will not be backed by any federal law or be affiliated to any agency of government.
One of those recruited told P.M.NEWS that there is an illegal detention cell at the taskforce office at the old tollgate.
This was confirmed also by a top police boss who craved anonymity, saying that a detention cell has been created at the tollgate where motorists and others arrested would be detained.
The top police boss said such a taskforce never had the backing of the law and so lacked the powers to carry out such activities.
The police officer wondered what the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Umar Manko, is doing that he has not disbanded the illegal taskforce as it had political undertone.
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have also expressed concern over the emergence of the illegal taskforce.
The lawmakers have raised concerns twice over the recruitment exercise.
The first time was when the Commissioner of Police in the state, Umar Manko, visited the House in relation to the security issues in the state.
The lawmakers asked the commissioner if he was aware of a nocturnal recruitment and trainings of some youths in the Badagry area of the state, but the commissioner told the members that he was not aware.
He also promised to investigate the case and take action against who were involved in the illegal activities.
But with more complaints from constituents and the seeming inability of the commissioner to act, the House again, during the plenary, called on Manko to urgently save the state by ridding it off unauthorised people or paramilitary organisations in the state.
The House said it was confused on why the youths were being recruited by an agency of government, FERMA, that is not a paramilitary organisation.
FERMA, however, disowned the illegal taskfoce, saying it has no hand in any group operating under the name of FERMA Federal Task Force and carrying out recruitment and paramilitary training for youths in Lagos.
FERMA South West 2 Zonal Coordinator, Mr Oladipo Fagbamila, said the agency had an organisational structure fit to carry out its constitutional responsibilities of nationwide road maintenance.
He said that the agency had enough machinery to handled all of its operations without any other group fronting for them, saying that “last year, our attention was drawn to a group which referred to itself as our “Federal Task Force” which is perpetrating activities that negate the mission of FERMA in some areas of Lagos State.
“It suffices to state in this disclaimer for the avoidance of doubt that FERMA did not engage and had not engaged anyone to contract business or businesses in the form of the activities of this so-called ‘FERMA Task Force,’ of which this disclaimer is hereby made.
“Notice of this disclaimer is hereby given by FERMA that the agency had no knowledge of the operations being conducted by the imposters, the identities of whom remain unknown but who had fraudulently employed the agency’s impeccable image being capitalised upon by this unknown imposters,” he said.
According to him, FERMA had written the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, and Lagos State Governor on the matter, adding that FERMA was committed to its responsibility of providing good, safe and motorable roads to residents of Lagos and Nigerians to ensure economic growth and development.
He enumerated FERMA’s functions to include daily surveillance, carrying out condition surveys, identifying bad portions and fixing them on federal roads, among others which according to him, it could undertake without support of imposters.
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, also issued a release warning that any attempt to compromise the present security of lives and property being enjoyed by Lagosians would meet with stiff resistance by both the government and people of Lagos State.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Interim Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that neither the party nor Lagosians are fooled by the antics of those behind the training of youths in Lagos on the purported excuse of protecting the dilapidated federal roads in Lagos.
It warned that the government and Lagosians are ready to deal with the instigated mischief behind these training and would mobilize Lagosians to resist any effort to compromise the enviable peace and security ambience in Lagos by desperate politicians.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there are only about 200 federal roads of the more than 10,000 roads in Lagos. These federal roads are so ill maintained and so dilapidated that the Lagos State government since 1999 has taken over the reconstruction and maintenance of some of these roads for the economic benefit of Nigerians.
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