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Iraq: Mayor Shot Dead As Multiple Explosions Kill 24

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Iraq: Mayor Shot Dead As Multiple Explosions Kill 24

The mayor of the Iraqi city of Falluja was shot dead while bombings in various locations across the country have killed 24 more people, the police reported Thursday.

Adnan al-Jalbawi, Falluja’s mayor for the past three years, died in a burst of gunfire while visiting a sewage pumping station, police officials in Anbar province confirmed.

One of the mayor’s bodyguards was critically wounded as well.

The attacks reportedly took place in  Baghdad and Baquba, to the north, each killed 10 people, some other persons were killed in explosions in Falluja.

Bombing in  Baquba targeted pilgrims gathering for the Shiite religious commemoration of Ashura, the most holy day in the Shiite calendar.

In Baghdad, Shiite pilgrims and security forces were among the targets of gunfire and more bombs, which left 10 dead and 17 wounded in six separate incidents, the police said.

Back in Falluja, bombs destroyed two houses belonging to police officers on the city’s east side — and when onlookers gathered around the homes, which were empty at the time, a second bomb exploded.

That blast left four people dead and 14 wounded, women and children included.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but the government has blamed other recent killings on Sunni extremists loyal to al Qaeda in Iraq and the Anbar provincial council voted to fire police commander Hadi Azraiej on Wednesday due to the deteriorating security situation there.

FG Hails US Designation Of Boko Haram, Ansaru As Terrorists

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FG Hails US Designation Of Boko Haram, Ansaru As Terrorists

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has welcomed the designation of two Nigeria-based Islamic militant groups, Boko Haram and Ansaru, as foreign terrorist networks by the US state department.

The designation under US Federal Law means that business and financial transactions with the organizations are blocked and the US and other law enforcement agencies can investigate and prosecute suspects associated with the two militant groups.

Adoke told reporters in Abuja that the US stance is a welcome development and saluted Washington for partnering with Nigeria to stamp out terrorism.

“This step will assist this nation to deal with these renegades. It will also help in strengthening the proscription of Boko Haram by the federal government,” he said.

The minister urged other super powers to emulate the US government in order to check the spread of terrorism all over the world, because “a threat to any nation by the insurgents is a threat to global peace.

The United states department of state announced the designation Wednesday, citing section 219 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.

The statement added: “All of our assistance to Nigeria stresses the importance of protecting civilians and ensuring that human rights are respected. That assistance and these designations demonstrate U.S. support for the Nigerian people’s fight against Boko Haram and Ansaru.”

NEMA, NAPTIP Partner To Aid Victims Of Human Trafficking

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NEMA, NAPTIP Partner To Aid Victims Of Human Trafficking

Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, northeast zonal office says it is ready to partner with National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters, NAPTIP, and other stakeholders in disaster management and mitigation to assist victims of human trafficking.

NEMA’s Northeast zonal coordinator, Mohammed Kanar would, said the agency will continue to give necessary support to victims of emergency situation and disaster within its area of jurisdiction.

Earlier, the Borno state coordinator of NAPTIP, Shehu Umar who led a team to the NEMA office, explained that his visit was to open ways of partnering with the agency to deal with challenges faced by rescued persons and victims of human trafficking.

Umar said that his organisation is responsible for the arrest of traffickers and the conduct of investigations, as well as counselling of victims as well as to undertake research and give orientation on the danger of human trafficking.

He said, so far, Borno State has recorded 76 cases of human trafficking in the last three years and recorded six convictions within the same period.

“For the past three years, we have received 76 cases of human trafficking and we’ve been able to secure six conviction and rescued 178 persons in three year. We empowered 68 who are mostly persons women and children,” he said.

Anambra Election: Jonathan Leads PDP Campaign

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Anambra Election: Jonathan Leads PDP Campaign

President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday led a rally organized by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Onitsha, Anambra State on behalf of Tony Nwoye, its governorship candidate.

Speaking at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha during the rally, Jonathan warned that anyone caught rigging the weekend election will be dealt with accordingly no matter how popular or highly placed, adding that security agencies have been positioned to carry out their duties without fear or favour.

He said Saturday’s election would afford the state the opportunity to regain its rightful position in the political main stream and called on the electorate vote for Nwoye whom he described as a young man with great leadership attributes.

He observed that the date picked for the election was significant in that it is also the birthday of one of Nigeria’s foremost nationals and urged the people of the state to shun election irregularities.

The national chairman of PDP, Bamanga Tukur, who was also at the event said Nwoye was poised to transform the state.

Also present were governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio; the state chairman of PDP, Ken Emeakayi; Arthur Eze, a PDP financier; Anayo Nnebe, former speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly among others.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said the November 16 gubernatorial election in Anambra would be an improvement on past elections.

The national chairman of the commission, Attahiru Jega, gave the assurance at a forum with the political party leaders, candidates and stakeholders in Awka, saying the past mistakes encountered in some polling units in the state had been addressed.

“We would continue to improve on this process in the country until a desirable standard is achieved. We have conducted fair and free elections in Edo, Ondo and Anambra will not only be different, but better,” he said.

He said the 4,608 polling units and 326 wards in the state would be manned adequately by the security operatives and naval personnel in riverine areas.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state,  Chukwuemeka Onukaogu, said the distribution of election materials would be done on Thursday and Friday.

Also speaking at the event, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, urged politicians and other stakeholders in the gubernatorial election to play by the rules of the game.

Abubakar warned all police personnel involved in the election to be meticulous, firm and ensure that nothing untoward happens within their areas of jurisdiction.

He cautioned them against any conduct capable of tarnishing their names and that of the police.

APC Consults With Babangida, Abubakar

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APC Consults With Babangida, Abubakar

The All Progressive Congress, APC, in its determination to pull as many converts as possible to the party, has visited two former Nigeria leaders, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar in Minna, Niger state.

The party chieftain on the mission to Links on Wednesday included the national chairman, Bisi Akande, former head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Masari, former works minister, Hassan Lawal and the national woman leader, Sharon Ikeaso.

Speaking to newsmen after the separate closed door meetings, Babangida while responding to questions about his fraternity with the opposition, said the country was bigger than Peolpes Democratic Party, PDP.

Carefully avoiding to say whether he was going to decamp to the APC, the former military ruler said he would continue to welcome suggestions from any quarter that is aimed at moving the nation forward, as the progress of the was his utmost desire.

“The APC leaders visited me to discuss the welfare of the country which should be the responsibility of every Nigerian whether you belong to a party or you do not have a party, you have an assignment assigned to you to protect the integrity of the country,” the said.

He told journalists that the closed-door meeting discussed issues that have to do with the welfare of Nigerians in sectors such as education, security and economy as a whole.

“Anything that would promote and move the country forward would be encouraged by me”, Babangida stated.

On his part, Abubakar said he cannot be wooed by the APC as he had never been a politician.

“I am not a politician, I am not a partisan politician and I don’t need to be wooed,” he said.

He said he was briefed by the APC leaders on the amalgamation of the new party, how they are doing, how far they have gone and how things are moving, adding that he has given them his advice.

“What I told them, they have already heard. I’ve advised them on how all of us need this country and to make sure that we maintain peace in the country,” he said.

Akande said they were in the state to consult with former leaders of the country so that they can be properly guided in the running of the activities of the party.

He added that the consultations would continue until they have visited and consulted with all the “wise men” in Nigeria.

On his part, Tinubu said the APC was committed to planning for a better tomorrow now, so that younger generations would have a better country to live.

“We are concerned with the well-being of Nigerians especially the young ones. We need to advocate for a future that belongs to all of us. A stable country that will promote peace, prosperity and diversity,” he said.

Justifying the reach out to past leaders, Tinubu said, “we have a lot of leaders that have been there before. They have seen Nigeria largely and governed the country, we have to look for them as we plan for the future.”

Healthcare In Nasarawa Get Free Drug Boost

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Healthcare In Nasarawa Get Free Drug Boost

By Godwin Ojoshimite

The Nasarawa state government and the Millenium Development Goals. MDG, office have provided drugs worth N49 million to 39 Primary Health Care centre in the state.

Senior special assistant to governor Umaru Al-Makura on MDG, Salisu Raj, disclosed this on Wednesday at a workshop in Lafia for directors of Primary Health Centres, PHCs, and ward development committee leaders in the state.

He said that three PHCs from each of the 13 local government areas will benefit from the pilot phase of the Drug Revolving Fund Scheme, adding that others would join the scheme as it improves.

Raj explained that the scheme was introduced in compliance with the National Primary Healthcare guideline for achieving sustainable drug supply in Nigeria before the end of 2014.

“I am convinced that the provision of sustainable drug supply scheme to our PHCs will assist in reducing the hardship faced by care givers and health workers in providing effective health delivery services,” he said.

He noted that the workshop would serve as an avenue to build the capacity of the directors and other stakeholders in order to effectively manage the drug revolving fund scheme.

“Today’s workshop is a manifestation of Governor Al-Makura’s commitment to ensure affordable, sustainable and efficient drug supply to the people of the state,” Raj added.

He therefore urged participants to make judicious use of the skills to be acquired and appealed to citizens to assist government in enlightenment on the need to embrace the scheme in order address some avoidable sicknesses confronting various communities.

Also speaking, Emmanuel Akabe, the state commissioner for Health described the scheme as one of the critical things that could happen to the health sector of the state as medicine is fundamental to healthcare.

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Akabe, represented by Thomas Affi,a director in the ministry, pointed out that most secondary health facilities (General Hospitals) in the state had already keyed into the state drug revolving fund.

He said the era of health facilities being consulting centres is gone as patients attending such facilities would not only be diagnosed and given prescriptions but would also access drugs.

He also said the scheme would go a long way to check the proliferation of fake and adulterated drugs endangering the lives of the people.

House Passes N315 Billion NDDC 2013 Budget

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House Passes N315 Billion NDDC 2013 Budget

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the 2013 budget of N315 billion for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

The breakdown of the budget revealed that N15 billion was approved for personnel costs while capital expenditure got N2 billion.

Overhead expenditure had N11 billion, while N286 billion was allocated for development projects of the commission.

Chairman, House committee on NDDC, Nicholas Mutu, expressed optimism that the budget would enhance the operations of the commission.

Also, the House passed for second reading a Bill seeking to provide for the right of appeal from the Industrial Court to the Court of Appeal.

The Bill also seeks an Act to alter the 1999 Constitution (as amended), with a view to providing for the right to appeal judgments from the industrial court to court of appeal.

Leading debate on the general principles of the Bill, Friday Itulah said the bill, if passed, would give litigants the opportunity to appeal to court of superior jurisdiction.

Ossai Ossai and Mohammed Monguno  also spoke in support of the proposed legislation, but others spoke against the bill.

They argued that it was not necessary to amend the Constitution.

“The National Industrial Court, a creation of the Act of National assembly, is a special court to solely take charge of labour matters. We don’t need to subject the industrial court to constitution amendment, it is a court established to expeditiously resolve labour and trade disputes”, Uzo Azubuike said.

The opposition notwithstanding, the bill scaled through its second reading and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal referred it to the special ad- hoc committee on the review of the Constitution.

PDP Condemns Oshiomhole’s Celebration, Alleges Edo Owes N250 billion

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PDP Condemns Oshiomhole’s Celebration, Alleges Edo Owes N250 billion

From Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has criticised the Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state for throwing a party to celebrate his fifth year in office, insisting that there is nothing to cheer about  a debt profile of over N250 billion.

Chairman of the Edo state chapter of the party, Dan Orbih, said the governor has ran the state aground inspite of the over N400 billion which accrued to the state under him.

“Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s administration has collected over N400 billion since 2008. This is apart from the N33.4 billion he has collected in five years as the cost of running government security votes. Oshiomhole has collected N19 billion as security votes alone,” he said.

Orbih therefore described the fifth anniversary celebration as “self aggrandizement”, as there was nothing to show for all the monies received.

Orbih also accused the state government of dragging the judiciary into partisan politics, saying that the presence of the Chief Justice of the state at the launch of the APC was condemnable.

NSCDC Distances Agency From Land Racketeering

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NSCDC Distances Agency From Land Racketeering

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has said that the 61 houses and 45 plots of lands recently seized by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, does not belong to the organisation.

Chairman of the ICPC, Ekpo Nta, told the Senate last week that his commission had seized the properties spread across the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa, from a top NSCDC official.

According to a statement signed by its public relations officer, Emmanuel Okeh, on behalf of the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ade Abolurin, the para-military agency stressed that “the property seized by the ICPC do not belong to NSCDC; rather, they belong to some indicted officers who are currently under investigations.”

It said the seized property were purportedly acquired with proceeds of the illegal land sales by the scammers.

Abolurin noted that the NSCDC is not involved in sales of land and did not at any time delegate persons, organisations or agents to do so on its behalf, adding that it neither has land for sale, or any housing estate in its name.

He said the mandate of the corps as a para-military agency was to protect and safeguard the critical infrastructure of government and the country’s national assets.

It listed some of the assets as petroleum pipelines, power transmission equipment and telecommunication installations, among others.

The commandants said further: “The corps, therefore, does not have any business with the purported land sales and the officers who are culpable must be sanctioned according to the law.

House Of Reps Investigates NNPC Over New Oil Scam

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House Of Reps Investigates NNPC Over New Oil Scam

The House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated three of its committees to investigate the alleged connivance of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, with some Swiss oil dealers to “rob” Nigeria of billions of dollars.

The committees are Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and Justice.

The resolution followed a motion moved by Abiodun Balogun (APC-Ogun), at plenary which was adopted without debate when put to vote by the deputy speaker, Emeka Ihedioha.

The motion was titled “Urgent need to investigate the alleged connivance of NNPC with Swiss oil dealers to rob Nigeria of billions of dollars”.

Balogun noted that there had been a long standing allegation of secrecy surrounding the operations of the NNPC and the oil industry.

According to him, the National Assembly had carried out several previous investigations into the sector with far reaching recommendations which has saved Nigeria billions of Naira.

The legislator expressed concern that there are still allegations of corruption in the sector in spite of the actions of the National Assembly.

He further expressed concern over the new report by a Swiss non governmental advocacy organisation, the Berne Declaration, which detailed how NNPC connived with major Swiss oil trading companies.

Balogun said the report showed how Swiss oil trading companies were draining Nigeria of billions of dollars in revenue through the sale of crude oil below the market value.

He said that the report entitled “Swiss Traders Opaque Deals in Nigeria’’, detailed the schemes employed by NNPC and foreign oil companies to dupe the country.

The lawmaker was worried that the Berne Declaration had described the Nigerian oil scam as the greatest fraud Africa had ever known.

According to Balogun, the Berne report specifically mentioned Vitol and Transfigura Commodity Trading Firms (NNPC partners) in the shady deals.

He said the report also accused the NNPC and its subsidiaries of not publishing detailed reports since 2005.

Balogun urged the relevant committees to wade into the matter and find out the truth concerning the allegations.

“I am not passing judgment here, but our economy is at stake, I am only asking that an investigation be done to ascertain the truth” he said.

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