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FG Declares January 14 Public Holiday

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FG Declares January 14 Public Holiday

The federal government has declared January 14 a public holiday in commemoration of the Eid-el-Maulud celebration.

This is contained in a statement issued by the permanent secretary, ministry of interior, Fatima Bamidele.

Eid-el-Maulud is held to observe the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and occurs in Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar.

The statement enjoined all Muslim faithful and all Nigerians to use the period to pray for peace and progress in the nation.

It also urged all Nigerians to support and cooperate with President Goodluck Jonathan in his sustained effort to build a peaceful, united and virile nation.

Gov Aliyu Accuses Opposition Of Plot To Destabilize Niger

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Gov Aliyu Accuses Opposition Of Plot To Destabilize Niger

Nma Skewolo – Minna

Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State Thursday accused the opposition of plotting to stage a protest against the ban on commercial motorcycle operations in the state, describing the act as cheap blackmail.

Aliyu alleged that the opposition in the state was teaming up with some notable figures to destabilize the state by creating the false impression that things were not working and pitching the people against the government.

According to a statement by the governor’s chief press secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government in the state acted responsibly and in the interest of the public when it banned the operations of commercial motorcyclists in the state capital, stressing that the law will not be repealed.

“The government of Niger State condemns this cheap blackmail being used by the these disgruntled politicians who have lost out of the power game and are clutching at anything, including mere straws to remain relevant,” it added.

Ndayebo noted that the advantages of the newly introduced tricycles far outweigh those of motorcycles and that no responsible government would sit and watch its citizens die in avoidable road crashes.

“There is no need to politicize the issues on ground, because innocent Nigerlites, irrespective of their party affiliation, suffer greatly, with some, even losing their lives, often times when accidents involving motorcycles occur,” the statement said.

Aliyu said he would not be distracted by the antics of those seeking attention by cheap means, but will remain committed to delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

Kaduna Assembly Suspends Member Over Bribery Allegation

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Kaduna Assembly Suspends Member Over Bribery Allegation

The Kaduna State House of Assembly on Thursday suspended a member, Shehu Adamu, for six months over allegation of N180 million bribery he levelled against other members.

The decision followed a motion by Muhammad Ali, (Kawo – PDP), who drew the attention of members to an interview granted by Adamu, (Maigana-APC), where he made the allegation.

Adamu had in an interview on September 23, 2013 in the electronic media and national dailies, accused members of collecting bribe of N10 million each to remove the former speaker, Usman Gangara, and other principal officers.

When the motion was moved by Ali on November 6, 2013, the assembly mandated its committee on ethics and privileges to investigate the matter.

The chairman of the committee, Philemon Gidan-Mana, told the Assembly that the defendant refused to appear before the committee after he was summoned three times.

Gidan-Mana said by the provision of the legislative houses (power and privileges) Act 1990, Cap L12 Section 24 (1) A, B and C, the lawmaker was guilty.

The section says, “any statement whether in writing or otherwise, which falsely or scandalously defame a legislator, House or any committee thereof shall be guilty of an offence. The standing penalties for misconduct by any member would result to reprimand, demotion, or withdrawal of privileges or expulsion from the House.”

The committee therefore recommended that the house should suspend Adamu from official duties for the period of six months.

“Also before he is re-admitted into the Assembly he must go back to the same electronic medium to retract his previous statement with an apology to Kaduna State legislature,” the chairman of the committee said.

During the debate on the committee’s report, some members pleaded with the House to forgive him.

In his defense, Adamu denied the allegation, saying that he requested for the DVD of the said interview so as to enable him respond but members of the committee refused to give it to him.

The Speaker, Usman Tahir, after debate on the matter by members, announced the suspension of Usman from the Assembly for the period of six months.

FG Bans Foreign Trainings For Civil Servants

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FG Bans Foreign Trainings For Civil Servants

The federal government has cancelled all training of personnel of ministries, departments and agencies outside the country, as part of efforts to reduce cost of governance.

This is contained in a document analysing the 2014 budget on major focus of government to ensure good governance released by the ministry of finance.

It stated: “From 2014, all training for personnel of MDAs and Parastatals must now take place in Nigeria. Foreign training programmes will only be approved in exceptional cases and will be based on guidelines to be developed by the Head of Service and the Director –General of Budget Office.’’

It said further that foreign travels by government personnel would further be curtailed, adding that the directive would apply to all ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government.

On the issue of pension, it said that a Pension Transition Arrangement Department under a new director general had been setup in 2013.

According to the document, in 2014, this department will now ensure that pensioners still under the old scheme receive their pensions and gratuities.

“In 2014, three electronic platforms – the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Government Integrated Financial Management Information system (GIFMIS) and the Integrated Payroll and personnel information System (IPPIS) – will be completed,’’ it said, explaining that this was geared towards improving efficiency and transparency in the public finance.

Two Students Roasted To Death In Delta

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Two Students Roasted To Death In Delta

Caption: Provost, College of Education Agbor, Duke Okobia

From Jessica Tamaraduoye, Asaba

Two students of the Delta State College of Education, Agbor, in Ika South local government area, were roasted to death in their sleep when their private hostel was gutted by strange fire on Tuesday night.

The victims simply identified as Favour and Ndidi, were said to be of the same family from Obiaruku in Ukwuani local government area of the state.

They reportedly returned on Monday evening to their hostel located close to the old campus of the institution, for a new academic session after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The fire, which reduced the six-room apartment hostel to rubbles, was said to have started at about midnight. The cause of the fire is however yet to be ascertained.

Others at the hostel said the victims came into their room late and as such those who noticed the fire early could not determined if there were persons in the rooms.

Their roasted bodies were later recovered by men of the Delta State Fire Service after putting out the fire.

One of the residents of the hostel said he lost everything in his room, adding that the inferno did not spare any property in the other rooms.

The corpses of the victims have been deposited at the morgue of the Central Hospital in Agbor.

Nigerian Legion Lose 38 Men To Boko Haram

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Nigerian Legion Lose 38 Men To Boko Haram

Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

The Borno State chapter of the Nigerian Legion said Wednesday that it has lost 38 of its members to deadly attacks staged by the Boko Haram sect since insurgency in the region began four years ago.

Chairman of the Nigerian Legion in the state, Mustapha Ali, a retired Staff Sargent, disclosed this while on a courtesy visit to the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, in commemoration of the 2014 Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

Ali also used the opportunity to intimate the governor of some of the challenges faced by the retired soldiers, which include accommodation and mobility for the day-to-day running of their office.

He appealed to the governor to use his position as the grand patron of the legion in Borno state to help acquire lands for members to build their own homes while also seeking assistance in buying official vehicles.

Ali also expressed gratitude for the free medical care given to members at the military hospital, something he said they never enjoyed in the past.

Responding, the governor directed the commissioner of lands to allocate some plots of land along the Maiduguri – Kano road layout for members of the legion to build houses.

Shettima also gave a personal donation of two gulf cars as well as a cash gift of N3 million to the members for the celebration of this year’s armed forces remembrance day.

Bad Weather Delays President Morsi’s Trial

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Bad Weather Delays President Morsi’s Trial

The Cairo Criminal Court, on Wednesday adjourned the trial of ousted Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, to February 1 due to bad weather.

The fog on Wednesday morning prevented Egyptian authorities from transferring Morsi from his prison in Alexandria to the court in Cairo.

Morsi, along with 14 Muslim Brotherhood top leaders, is standing trial for inciting clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012, which left at least seven people dead.

It is one of three trials that Morsi faces and charges in all three carry death penalty.

The Islamist leader also faces charges of espionage, revealing classified military information to foreign bodies, including Palestinian Islamic Movement, Hamas, as well as financing terrorism.

Egypt’s interim government announced Morsi’s Brotherhood “a terrorist group,” on December 25, after a blast targeting a security department headquarters at Daqahliya province killed at least 17 people.

South Sudan Peace Talks Hit Brick Wall

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South Sudan Peace Talks Hit Brick Wall

Talks to halt violence that has killed at least 1,000 people in South Sudan faced further delay on Wednesday after the government rejected rebel calls for immediate release of detainees.

The three weeks of fighting, often along ethnic faultlines, pitted President Salva Kiir’s Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army, SPLA, forces against rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, and brought the oil rich nation close to civil war.

Both sides met face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday in Addis Ababa but quickly took a break for African mediators to head to Juba and push for the release of 11 rebel detainees who were arrested last year over an alleged coup plot.

But Kiir’s government rejected the request, saying the detainees would only be fereed as long as the requisite legal processes have taken place.

“We are willing to hear what the IGAD mediators will suggest and we will confer as a group,” said Mabior Garang, spokesman of Machar’s delegation to the talks in the Ethiopian capital.

“It is a decision that we will have to make as a group,” Garang said when asked whether Machar’s delegation would withdraw from the talks unless the detainees were freed.

IGAD is the East African group leading the talks and Its mediators were set to arrive in Addis Ababa on Wednesday evening.

The rebels had initially demanded the release of the detainees before the talks, but have since agreed to negotiate a ceasefire and the status of the detainees.

The fighting is the worst in South Sudan since it won independence from Sudan in 2011 in a peace deal that ended one of Africa’s longest civil wars.

It has also displaced over 200,000 people and cut oil exports.

Jonathan Tasks Power Companies On Stable Electricity Supply

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Jonathan Tasks Power Companies On Stable Electricity Supply

President Goodluck Jonathan through the ministry of power has ordered all transmission and distribution companies in Nigeria to ensure stable power supply across the country by June 2014.

The minister of power, Chinedu Nebo, made this known on Tuesday while inaugurating the new chairman of the supervisory board of the Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN, Ibrahim Waziri.

Waziri takes over from the company’s erstwhile chairman, Hamman Tukur, who has voluntarily resigned.

Nebo stressed that the problem of inadequate power supply to Nigerians has continued to be a source of worry to the President, adding that the success recorded in the reform of the sector can only be measured by the availability of power to the end users.

“Let me restate that the nexus between availability of power and the socio-economic development of our great nation cannot be over-emphasised. While we celebrate the unprecedented success so far recorded in the reform of the power sector, the yardstick by which consumers measure us is the availability of electricity at the last mile to our homes and businesses,” the minister said.

Nigeria currently has a total of 6,976.40 megawatts (MW) installed generation capacity but often transmits less than 4,000MW.

Kidnapped Swedish Journalists Regain Freedom

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Kidnapped Swedish Journalists Regain Freedom

Two Swedish journalists who were abducted in Syria in November have been released, Swedish and Red Cross officials said Wednesday.

Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed the release of writer Magnus Falkehed and photographer Niclas Hammarstrom, and said both were receiving assistance from Swedish diplomats in Beirut.

The two freelance journalists were abducted as they were on their way out of Syria in November.

Swedish authorities did not say who their abductors were or how they were set free, but national police spokeswoman Jessica Krasser Fremnell said Swedish police had worked closely with other authorities to secure their release.

Press advocacy groups say Syria has become the most dangerous country in the world for reporters over the past two years, with kidnappings becoming a major threat.

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