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Ondo Election: Appeal Court To Hear PDP’s Case Tuesday

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Ondo Election: Appeal Court To Hear PDP’s Case Tuesday

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The court of appeal has fixed Tuesday, November 1, to hear the case of Eyitayo Jegede, factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Ondo State governorship election.

Jegede was the candidate that emerged winner of the primary election organized by the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP and was recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

However, on Thursday when the electoral commission published a list of candidates contesting the election, it had substituted Jegede’s name with that of Jimoh Ibrahim, the candidate of the Ali Modu-Sheriff.

INEC said its decision to substitute Jegede’s name was based on a court ruling delivered on October 14, by Justice Okon Abang of the Abuja Federal High Court, ordering it to recognize Modu-Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the PDP and as such, to recognize Ibrahim as the authentic candidate of the PDP in the Ondo governorship election.

Jegede then approached the federal high court seeking for permission to appeal the judgement, but the application was denied as Justice Abang held that Jegede had no locus standi to appeal the judgement since he did not take part in the Modu-Sheriff organized primary.

However, on Saturday, a three-man panel of appeal court judges led by Jummai Sankey, said that due to the urgency of Jegede’s application, the court would hear the matter on Tuesday.

“In view of the contentious notice, the appellant objector and appellant applicant are hereby given 24 hours to file their processes,” Sankey ruled.

“Application of the appellant applicant will be heard on Tuesday.”

The appeal court also said it would also hear an application filed by the Makarfi faction of the PDP, challenging the ruling which declared it illegal.

Flash Floods Kill 15, Injure Over 50 In Egypt

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Flash Floods Kill 15, Injure Over 50 In Egypt

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Heavy rains and intense flooding in Egypt have claimed the lives of at least 15 people and left more than 50 others injured.

According to a statement released by the country’s Health Ministry on Saturday, at least six people were killed and 24 others wounded early on Friday when two buses and three cars overturned in floods on a highway in the eastern province of Sohag, some 500 kilometers south of the capital Cairo.

Elsewhere in the town of Ras Gharib, in the eastern Red Sea province, at least seven people lost their lives and 23 others sustained injuries.

Two other people were also electrocuted by lightning in Fayed, in the northeastern province of Ismailia.

Reports also said at least seven people were wounded in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh in South Sinai province after their vehicles were swept away by intense flooding.

The torrential rains, which began late on Wednesday, coupled with exceptionally high winds, have forced the authorities to shut four sea ports in Suez and Port Said provinces and to close some schools and main roads.

According to Egypt’s official meteorological agency, the heavy rains are expected to last at least until Saturday.

Upper Egypt and Red Sea mountainous regions, impoverished areas with poor infrastructure, receive torrential downpours annually in late October and early November.

Central African Republic: Clashes leave 25 dead – UN

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Central African Republic: Clashes leave 25 dead – UN

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Twenty-five people have been killed in two days of violence in the Central African Republic, the UN peacekeeping mission has said.

On Thursday, 15 people died in clashes between Muslim fighters of the former Seleka militia and the Christian vigilante anti-Balaka group, it said.

Six police officers and four civilians died in an ambush on Friday.

The Central African Republic has been wracked by conflict along religious and ethnic lines since 2013.

In a statement on Saturday, the Minusca mission said “clashes between elements of the anti-Balaka and ex-Seleka caused 15 deaths and a number of wounded” in the town of Bambari, about 250km (150 miles) north-east of the capital Bangui.

It added that “six gendarmes and four civilians lost their lives on Friday morning in an ambush on the Bambari-Grimari road”.

The UN mission urged all armed groups to end “the cycle of attack and reprisal”.

Seleka rebels briefly seized power in March 2013 and deposed the Christian President Francois Bozize.

The Seleka group was itself then ousted, leading to a wave of violent reprisals against the Muslim population by the Christian anti-Balaka militia.

Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the CAR since 2013.

More than 12,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in the country.

Twin Explosions Kill 9, Injure 24 in Borno

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Twin Explosions Kill 9, Injure 24 in Borno

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Suspected suicide bombers have detonated bombs along Maiduguri Damboa road in the fringes of the metropolis, killing 9 persons and injuring 24 others.

A second explosion occurred close to an Internally Displaced Persons camp.

A witness said the first blast was at the Bakassi IDP Camp while the second bomb blast was at the NNPC Depot Damboa Road.

Mohammed Kanar, spokesman for Nigeria Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said: “Two suicide bombers riding in motorised rickshaws this morning detonated their explosives 10 minutes apart, with one of them targeting the Bakassi IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp on the outskirts of the city.”

NEMA also posted on its Twitter handle that “Nine persons lost their lives with twenty-four persons injured and evacuated to various hospitals.”

Spokesperson of NEMA, in Maiduguri, Abdulkadir Ibrahim confirmed that rescue and health workers have moved to the scenes for evacuation of wounded victims while the bodies of the dead have been deposited in the mortuary.

Minister Denies ‘Change Begins With Me” Costs N3.4 Billion

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Minister Denies ‘Change Begins With Me” Costs N3.4 Billion
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has denied reports circulating in the social media that N3.4 billion was budgeted for the recently-launched national reorientation campaign “Change Begins With Me”.

Mohammed was speaking in Asaba, the Delta State capital on Friday at the opening of the 14th National Council on Information.

Describing the report as a ruse, he said it was reports like this that lends credence to the calls for some sort of regulation for the usage of the social media.

“Anyone can wake up and decide to become an online newspaper publisher, an online television station owner, an online radio station operator, a purveyor of news, photographs and videos,” the minister lamented.

“They use the numerous social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, Twitter and Instagram just to mention a few.

“They spread whatever information that catches their fancy without engaging in the rigours of accuracy, fact-checking and fairness imposed by the traditional media.

“But there is another problem: They have their own public, and this public believes whatever information they put out.”

Mohammed  further expressed disappointment that some journalists and seasoned writers go ahead and spread such falsehoods without bothering to crosscheck the facts.

He also refuted reports that some ministers have been sacked by president Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “Ministers are daily being dropped on the social media. Many of us now wake up to read that we will be dropped as ministers or have our portfolios changed.

“Even our families and friends believe what they read or hear in the social media than what we tell them.”

Mohammed urged government media managers to always train their personnel on new technology and acquire state-of-the art technology as well as deploying uncommon commitment and passion to what they do.

He added that ministers or commissioners of information, government information managers are the true agents of change, urging them to sustain the “Change Begins With Me” campaign, which he said was aimed at “bringing back those time-tested values that once defined us as a people.”

The 46th meeting of the National Council on Information has the theme “Leveraging on Information and Digital Technology to Sustain the Change Agenda of Government”.

It is being attended by commissioners of information from the 36 states and the FCT and critical stakeholders in the government information circle, including heads of federal and state governments media organisations.

Over N2 Trillion Lost To Militancy, Pipeline Vandalism

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Over N2 Trillion Lost To Militancy, Pipeline Vandalism
NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru
NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has said that Nigeria has lost about $7 billion or more than N2 trillion to pipeline vandalism as well as the activities of Niger Delta militants from January this year till date.

Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of NNPC, said this on Friday in Abuja at the 2016 Fiscal Liquidity Assessment Committee Retreat, while delivering a lecture titled: “Global Oil Prices, Militancy and Terrorism and its Impact on Government Revenue in Nigeria’’.

He added that apart from security challenges in the Niger Delta region, politics, judiciary, oil prices and production cost has continued to impact negatively on the oil industry.

“Over 7000kpd of crude oil has been lost due to vandalism this year. A bulk of the loss is from JV assets,” Baru said

“This implies that 60 per cent of oil production lost is NNPC-FGN equity.

“At an estimated price of 45 dollars per barrel, the total 2016 revenue loss to the Federation Account translates to about 7 billion dollars.

“This is money that the government could have used to achieve major infrastructural milestones.

“This loss is equivalent to a new 7,000mw power plant; new 350kpd refinery; over 30 per cent of National budget; and a new 1,700 kilometre pipeline,” he pointed out.

To check the ugly trend, the NNPC boss said the corporation has a plan to increase security of oil and gas assets as well as improve its community social responsibility and the Amnesty programme.

He said the NNPC planned “to renegotiate terms of Production Sharing Contract with deep offshore operating companies because with the current agreement, only 17.7 per cent of total revenue comes to government.”

Immigration Ratifies Recruitment Of 888 Personnel

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Immigration Ratifies Recruitment Of 888 Personnel

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The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has ratified the employment of 888 out of the 2000 applicants who had been protesting their dismissal from the service while undergoing training.

Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muhammed Babandede, announced this during a news conference on Friday in Abuja.

He said that out of the 2000 applicants, a total of 1470 reported for screening while 888 met all the criteria and were therefore successful.

A breakdown shows that those recruited included 177 II Assistant Superintendents of Immigration; 305 Assistant Inspectors of Immigration and 406 Immigration Assistant 1 –immigration Assistant III.

Babandede said 530 applicants did not report for the screening exercise, while some pregnant women were also recruited because they met all the criteria of engagement into the NIS.

The criteria used to screen the applicants include: age on rank, academic certificate, physical fitness, drug free test, security clearance, good conduct/character and medical fitness.

Recall that the applicants had on Friday, August 19, staged a protest march to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa to complain about what they said was an attempt to rob them of their jobs.

They alleged that the NIS had illegally replaced them after they had undergone training, including handling of weapons, and were waiting for deployment.

But the immigration authorities explained that the recruitment exercise was only suspended as it was characterized by irregularity.

2016 Education Conference To Focus On Teachers

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2016 Education Conference To Focus On Teachers

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Nigeria’s Annual Education Conference to be held on November 8 will focus on the critical role teachers’ play in achieving the goal of providing learning opportunities for all.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to deliver the keynote address while Kwame Akyeampong, an erudite international professor of Teacher Education at the University of Sussex, UK will present the lead paper.

The conference is organised by the Federal Ministry of Education with its partners in education, led by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Speaking on the proposed event, Oladele Akogun, a professor and Country Director of Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria, EDOREN, explained that the conference would provide an opportunity for all stakeholders in the education sector, especially teachers, to make input into education policies in the country.

He said: “ The main objective are to provide an opportunity for communicating research evidence that will guide basic education policy and practice of the Federal and State governments, and to bring together stakeholders in the education and policy sector.”

He said researches have shown that education policies are made without the input of critical stakeholders, including teachers, stressing that the long term aim of the conference is to give teachers the benefit of contributing to education policies.

Akogun, who spoke to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said the theme of the conference is: Learning Opportunities for All: The Critical Role of Teachers.  A carefully selected team of experts in diverse fields of education will lead discussions on topics such as: Improving the quality of teaching, developing an approach to managing teachers effectively, and rebuilding education services in emergencies.

Other sponsors of the conference include The British Council, UNICEF, State Education Partnership Investment Programme, Nigeria Partnership for Education Project, the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and the Universal Basic Education Commission.

Lagos To Advance Badagry Deep Sea Port

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Lagos To Advance Badagry Deep Sea Port
Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State
Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State

Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State has said that the Badagry Deep Sea Port project, when completed would be a major turning point in the economy of the state which was lately recognized as the fifth biggest economy in Africa.

Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Habib Aruna, quoted him as saying this after a meeting with the executive management of APM Terminals (Maersk Group) in London.

Ambode said that the meeting was sequel to a process which begun as far back as 2012, but which has been taken on with renewed vigour by his administration, resulting in a significant foreign investment estimated at over US $2.6billion into Lagos.

“This port and free zone, situated on over 1000 hectares is expected to be the largest deep sea port in Africa upon its completion. The project will include a container terminal, oil and gas services and a liquid bulk terminal, with general cargo and Ro-Ro facilities,” the Governor said.

He added that the project is expected to generate 500,000 direct and indirect jobs upon completion, and pledged his government’s commitment to ensuring the interests of the host communities alongside a sustainable regeneration and urban renewal of the area.

Governor Ambode noted that deep sea port project would be a major infrastructural development to the Badagry axis of Lagos state.

He also confirmed that talks are on to reach financial close on Lot 3 of the Mile 2-Seme 10-lane highway expansion, adding that it would complement the ongoing Badagry Deep Sea Port Project.

The representative of Maersk Group reassured the governor that the Group was committed to the Badagry Deep Sea Port, saying that that all business streams of the Group would be involved in ensuring the success of the Project.

It would be recalled that Governor Ambode about three weeks ago in London, met with representatives of APM Terminals led by the Head of Africa,  Peter Volkjaer Jorgensen.

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Army Introduces Internet Phones For Troops In Borno

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Army Introduces Internet Phones For Troops In Borno

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The Nigerian Army has inaugurated internet protocol desktop telephones at the 8 Task Force Division in Borno to facilitate easier communication with their families and loved ones.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, in Maiduguri on Friday.

Nwachukwu stated that the facility was inaugurated by Abu Nani, the General Officer Commanding, GOC, of the Division in Monguno.

The statement read in part: “The Nigerian Army has inaugurated the first set of internet protocol desktop telephone in some locations of the 8 Task Force Division in Northern Borno.

“The essence is to alleviate the sufferings of troops who spend two to three hours travelling to Maiduguri to communicate with their families on phone.”

He added that the telephone systems “were installed at the headquarters of the taskforce in Monguno, in 7 Brigade Baga and 153 Task Force Battalion in Marte.”

Nwachukwu also noted that “Each of the call centres provides five terminal points for officers and soldiers to communicate with their families from the front lines.”

Nwachukwu said that the provision of the facility had resolved the nightmare of troops being cut off from their families and friends.

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