African journalists are to benefit from the 13th edition of the Highway Africa New Media Awards as part of programmes for 17thHighway Africa Conference taking place in South Africa on September 1 and 2.

The awards sponsored by Telkom aims at rewarding and enhancing innovative use of Information Communication technology, ICT, in journalism that serves Africa and its citizens.
The awards have become one of the major highlights of recognition, reward and celebration for creativity in using new technologies in media in Africa.

Entries should come from newsroom across Africa showcasing innovative use of digital media including online, social and mobile media.

Bloggers may also nominate an African-based or diasporic African blog based on its coverage, debate and use of ICTs within the African context.

Members of communities, organisations, or supporters may nominate an organisation based on their innovative use of technology within a community in Africa. The organisation does not have to be African based, but the community in which they operate must be.

Submissions are to be sent electronically to awards@highwayafrica.com . The Closing date is July 31.

Winners will be announced at the Telkom- Highway African New Media Awards ceremony during the Highway Africa Conference.

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Esteemed and competent judges including Michelle Atagana, OryOkolloh, Brenda Zulu and Ndesanjo Macha have been selected to adjudge the 13th edition of the awards.

The judges will consider the use of new media technologies to  advance newsroom operations, increase reach and diversifying content; encourage social empowerment amongst marginalisedcommunities through relevant topical community and/or African issues and innovative use of online media interactions platforms; highlight innovative and creative applications of technology for the benefit of the continent’s overall media development

The wide range of organisations and individuals that have won include journalists and students, NGOs and profit makingorganisations.

These individuals and organisations have made information and communication interventions that are critical to genuine free flow of information and participatory communication.

Among the previous winners are Citi 97.3FM (Ghana) (http://radio.gjoy24.com/online/Citi_FM_973), Global Voices (http://globalvoicesonline.org/), 3 Bute (Nigeria) (http://3bute.com/), African Women & Child Feature Service (Kenya) (www.awcfs.org), Simon Dingle (South Africa) (www.zatechshow.co.za), Zoopy.com (www.zoopy.com)
Click here for more information, contact VimbaiChikukwa at awards@highwayafrica.com  or visit: http://www.highwayafrica.com/?page_id=8.

Closing date is 31 July 2013, 16:30, Pretoria Time. Winners will be announced at the Telkom- Highway African New Media Awards ceremony at the Highway Africa Conference. Finalists will be contacted.

The minister of aviation, Stella Oduah, on Monday debunked accusations that contracts for the remodeling and rehabilitation of airports in the country were awards without recourse to due process or shrouded in secrecy.

Oduah said none of the 22 airports contracts awarded by the ministry could be linked with corruption as they were done within the provisions of the law.

Speaking through her special adviser on media, Joe Obi, the minister said all contracts were awarded in accordance with the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007.

“It would be misleading to insinuate that the contracts were awarded without normal and due process, through a Selective Tendering Process. To be sure, all contracts in the ministry for the remodeling of the airports and other critical infrastructure and equipment followed due processes,” she said.

Oduah stressed that the selective tendering process which was used to award the contracts is a lawful procurement procedure as enunciated in the Act, noting that the decision to opt for this method was informed by the fact that the present administration met aviation infrastructure, especially the terminals, in a dilapidated state.

According to her, a state of emergency was therefore required to rehabilitate the infrastructures and the selective tendering provision in the Act was the only option to follow.

She said further that security-related contracts were not announced because they were not subject to open competitive bidding in order not to compromise the entire process is not.

The minister also said that the security equipment ordered by the ministry was not an off-the-shelf item but is custom-made and manufactured specifically to suit the purposes of the ministry.

“We re-state that all contracts were awarded in accordance with the provisions of the PPA and received Certificates of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement,” Oduah said.

The federal ministry of environment has predicted heavy rainfall in the north this week and beyond, which may result in flooding.

According to a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by the deputy director in charge of erosion, flood and coastal zone management,Ekong Ekanem, the heavy rains are expected in 14 states between July 30 and August 6.

Many towns are expected to be flooded in Benue, Kebbi, Gombe,Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, Borno, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano, Sokoto,Kaduna, Taraba and Adamawa.

Specific towns in these states likely to be affected include: Beli,Donga, Lau and Yorro in Taraba; Kachia, Kauru, Jema’a andSaminaka in Kaduna State; Kangiwa, Shinkafi, Silame, Sokoto andWamako in Sokoto state; Kano, Bebeji, Wudil, Tudun-Wada,Sumaila, Kunchi, Karaye, Gezawa and Gwarzo in Kano State.
Others are: Bauchi, Katagum, Azare, Bajoga, Yelwa, TafawaBalewa, Itas, Misau, Darazo and Jama’are in Bauchi State; Katsina,Bakori, Funtua, Daura and Kaita in Katsina State; Dutse andGwaram in Jigawa State; Potiskum, Kanamma, Damaturu, Dapchiand Gashua in Yobe State; Kaura Namoda in Zamfara; Nafada andGombe in Gombe State; as well as Bungudu in Kebbi State.

The ministry appealed to governments and people of the prone areas to take all necessary precautionary measures to avoid any disaster.

It added that adherence to similar warnings in the past had saved lives and property.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has constituted a 7-man national disciplinary committee to be headed by Umaru Dikko.

This is contained in a statement issued on Monday by the party’s acting national publicity secretary, Tony Okeke.

According to the statement, setting up the committee is in pursuant to the provisions of Articles 57 (1), (2), (3) of the party`s constitution.

The statement said that King A.J. Turner would serve as deputy chairman of the committee while Emmanuel Agboti would serve as its Secretary.

Other members of the committee include; Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu,Shuaibu Oyedokun, Nana Ayishat Kadiri and Hussaini Diraki.

The statement said that the committee would be inaugurated by the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur at a later date.

Dikko was a Special Political Adviser to President Shehu Shagari and also a one-time Minister of Transport in the second republic.

He played prominent roles as transport minister and head of the presidential task force on rice in Shagari`s administration.

Dikko fled to London on exile when the Shagari administration was overthrown in a coup on December 31, 1983.

The PDP, on July 26, had inaugurated a 30-man reconciliation committee which headed by Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsato reconcile aggrieved members of the party.

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the federal ministry of education to commence the full implementation the recommendations made by Academic Staff Union of Universities,ASUU, on how to improve the state of universities in the country.
The President gave the charge this in Lafia, the capital of NasarawaState, Monday while commissioning the ultra-modern TA’AL Model primary school constructed by the Umaru Tanko Almakuraadministration to provide competitive and free education for the less privileged.

Represented by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, the President, who was not categorical with figures, said billions of naira had been approved for the education minister, Ruquayyatu Rufai, to commence implementation of the recommendations as soon as possible.
In a startling revelation, President Jonathan also disclosed that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in Africa with a staggering 9.5 million children without access to basic education.
While pledging the continued support of the federal government toNasarawa State through the Universal Basic Education Commission,UBEC, Jonathan also promised to provide free textbooks and science laboratory equipment to TA’AL model school and over thirty of its kind which are to be constructed in all the local governments of the state.
In his remarks earlier, the state governor, Umaru Tanko Almakura, noted that it was the first time in a long while that any Nigerian President would be commissioning any project in the state.

Almakura lamented that “despite the fundamental importance of education to the development of our society and its influence on our way of life, we lost our bearing on education a long time ago” adding that “there is no doubt that over the years, we have allowed mediocrity to invade the quality of our public schools”.
The governor said that it was in pursuit of equality and social justice in the education sector and among children of all status and in all parts of the state that his government established the model schools.

A senior Nigerian judge serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Gambia, Joseph Wowo, has been sacked for soliciting a N2.5 million (500,000 Dalasi) bribe from a Gambian-based Dutch businessman in return for a favourable judgment in a land dispute case, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.
Mr. Wowo, also a former President of the Gambia Court of Appeal, was caught on tape holding a surreptitious meeting with the formerGambian Justice Minister, Lamin Jobarteh (who has also been sacked), a Dutch national, André Klaarbergen, and his Nigerian Lawyer simply identified as Mene, negotiating the price of subverting the judgment of a Gambian High Court over a land dispute case, which Mr. Wowo agrees the Dutch rightly lost.
“How much are you willing to offer first so that we can negotiate,” Mr Wowo was heard saying on tape, now posted on Youtube.
“You know my position based on my position I’m not even supposed to come here in the first place. I’m the President of the court of Appeal and now I’m acting Chief Justice,” he continued, openly admitting he was sabotaging the course of justice by even agreeing to be at the meeting.
“I’ve read your file at the Court of Appeal, [and] that is why I said you don’t have any case at the Court of Appeal. You will lose at the court of Appeal because the way they deal with the case at the Court of Appeal, the lawyer messed it up. That is why I called your lawyer and said let us see how we can help you,” confirming that the lower court had made the right call in the case.
Mr Jobarteh then cuts in and suggested a quick resolution of the matter.
“The fact of the matter is that the error has been made and it’s irrecoverable. The issue now is how can we meet each other to correct the problem,” he said.
Mr. Wowo then demanded a bribe of 2.5 million Dalasi (N12.3 million) but Mr Klaarbergen, who complained that his business had been slow lately, offered to pay 500,000 Dalasi.
The disgraced Attorney-General, with a tone of threat, then appealed to Mr Wowo to accept the bribe.
“Come a time you people will come running to me and in view of all other consideration and the man financial predicament now, I appeal to you to accept the 500,000.
“Because of Justice Jobarteh, honourable minister, that is why I’m accepting,” Mr Wowo replied.
Even when the Dutch businessman expressed some reluctance and suggested talking to his partner, Justice Wowo asked him to “go and borrow” if he could not raise the agreed bribe.
Fearing prosecution, Mr Wowo is feared to have fled the Gambia furtively.  His whereabouts is currently unknown, and he did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ series of calls to his Gambian mobile telephone.
Guinness and Brandy
However, the Wowo bribery transaction also revealed a flabby underside and worldliness of the Nigerian judge. Once he was satisfied that the bribery deal had gone well, Mr. Wowo then complained about the choice of drink on offer.
“You didn’t bring my choice. Me I take only Guinness and brandy.”
When his host (Mr Jobarteh) offered to give him non-alcoholic wine apparently due to his religious leaning, Mr. Wowo complained that it would “run my stomach” and jocularly threatened to sue his host if that happens.
Nigerian Mercenary Judges
The report of the scandal in the Gambian media shows that Mr.Wowo and other Nigerian judicial officers have tainted reputation in that West African country.
Many Gambian newspapers openly refer to Nigerians working as legal personnel in the country with derogatory monikers such as “The Nigerian Mercenary Judges”, “the Nigerian Mafia” and the “Nigerian cowboys”.

The President of Gambia, Yayah Jammeh, had on June 13 named Mr.Wowo as replacement for another Nigerian, Akomaye Emanuel Agim.
A source that asked not to be named told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr.Wowo was allegedly instrumental to the removal of Mr. Agim as the Chief Justice of the Gambia after he reported on him to Mr Jammeh.

With his removal from office the somewhat astronomical career growth of the 47- year old judge came to a disgraceful end.

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Mr Wowo, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was called to bar in 1991 and after a stint in private practice in the Gambia, he was appointed a Principal State Counsel and Deputy Head of the Civil Division Ministry of Justice, Banjul, The Gambia from 1998 – 2001.

In 2007 he was appointed a High Court Judge, Criminal Division from where he became the President of the Court of Appeal.

The Gambia, West African smallest country of less than two million people, lack qualified citizens to hold key positions, especially in the judiciary. So it has, since independence in 1965, hired many Nigerians to work as senior judges, and presidents of its Court of Appeals and Chief Justices of the country.

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Clashes between vigilante youths and Boko Haram insurgents have left some 25 persons dead in two separate incidents in Dawashe in Kukawa local government area and Mainok, both in Borno State.

While 20 persons were killed in the clash in Dawashe, five youths were shot dead by Boko Haram members in an ambush near Mainok.

In the first incident, youths who are helping the military to fight the insurgents,are said to have gone from Maiduguri to Dawashe village in search of members of the dreaded terrorist group which has been banned by the government.

However, it was gathered that an attempt to root out the insurgents was met with stiff resistance resulting in a gun battle during which about 20 persons were killed.

Many of the dead are said to be innocent villagers caught in the crossfire of the gun battle.

An unspecified number of villagers were also injured in the clash and are receiving treatment at the medical facility of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which is headquartered nearby in Baga.

The clash was confirmed by the spokesman of the MNJTF, HarunaMohammed Sani, a lieutenant, in a statement sent to journalists by email.

Explaining what happened, Sani said that “a group of Civilian Joint Task Force from Maiduguri stormed the village Dawashi in search ofBoko Haram members when the suspected sect members came armed and fired sporadic shots that killed over twenty innocent civilians while a dozen secured serious gunshot injury.”

“The victims are mostly fishermen and traders who pursue their legitimate business in the area. As at the time of compiling this report, the victims were still lying within the premises of MNJTFField Ambulance receiving medical treatment from the injury sustained during the attack,” he explained further.

Sani admitted that the Dawashi, Daban Masara and Malan Karanticommunities are well known hideouts of the insurgents and added that a Quick Reaction Group from MNJTF had been deployed to the area to maintain the peace.

In the second incident, another set of vigilante youths leftMaiduguri to hunt for members of the sect in Mainok. However, it was gathered that as they returned from the exercise, they were ambushed by the insurgents who succeeded in killing five of the young men.

The youths were said to have succeeded in arresting some members of the sect last Friday and were returning to Maiduguri to hand them over to the Joint Task Force, JTF, when they ran into a well plotted ambush and an army of heavily armed insurgents a fewkilometres from Mainok on the Maiduguri-Kano road.

One of the youths who escaped the ambush, Isa Inuwa, told journalists that the insurgents “attacked one of our taxis conveying the two arrested suspects to Maiduguri for handover to Joint Task Force (JTF).”

“They came out from the bush in two Hilux vehicles; and started firing at the taxi carrying the suspects. Two minutes after, one of us was shot dead in the chest, while the others received various injuries,” he explained.
He said further: “We had to flee because of the superior firing powers of the Boko Haram gunmen; and rushed the injured youth to the Umaru Shehu Hospital, Bulunkutu for treatment yesterday.”

A former commissioner for Health in Ebonyi State, Henry Aloh, has been charged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, for allegedly diverting N79million meant for the renovation and construction a general hospital in the state.

Aloh who was arraigned before the High Court of Ebonyi State, is accused of conspiring with one Sam Agbo, a manager at the Intercontinental Bank plc (now Access Bank) in Ebonyi State, to divert the sum to an account allegedly opened in the name of one John Okoli, who was falsely presented as a representative of the company.

“Part of the allegations against the commissioner was that he procured John Okoli who was his patient and Patrick Chukwu, his Personal Assistant to be signatories to the account opened in the name of the company, which is contrary to and punishable under,” a statement signed by the head of media, ICPC, Folu Olamiti said.

The offence is contrary to sections 26 and 19 of the ICPC Act 2000 and section 473 (2) of the Criminal Code Act, Cap 28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Investigations carried out by the commission, revealed that theoffences were committed in 2005 when the Ebonyi State government awarded a contract for the renovation and construction of Amasari General Hospital to the tune of N79 million.

The prosecution counsel, Raheem Adeshina, did not oppose the bail application moved by M. Erhenede and Emeka Uwake counsels to the accused.

The chief judge of the state, A.N Nwankwo, who is presiding over the case granted bail to the accused in the sum of N50 million and one surety in like sum who must be resident within the courts’ jurisdiction.

The case has been adjourned to October 22 for hearing.

The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,Bamanga Tukur, says the suspension of Ayo Fayose, former EkitiState governor from the party, cannot stand.

The PDP chairman made his position known after a visit to his office by some Ekiti elders led by Fayose complaining about the developments in the state chapter of the party.

Incidentally, Fayose had earlier accused the Ekiti State chairman of the party of plotting to impose the minister of police affairs, CalebOlubolade, as the party’s candidate for the 2014 governorship election in the state.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the special assistant media to the PDP chairman, Oliver Okpala, Tukur said that the suspension was done without the consent of the party’s national leadership and therefore violates laid down procedures.

Tukur expressed surprise that such a far reaching decision involving a former governor and a gubernatorial aspirant of the party was taken without due consideration and the consent of the party’s leadership.

The statement said that the party’s leadership would not condone any act of imposition of candidates, adding that in issues of election into any office, the party’s national leadership would create a conducive and enabling environment for all party members to contest.

It added that where it became necessary to have a consensus arrangement, all party members would be carried along to avoid anyone being short-changed or isolated.

The state chairman of the party, Makanjuola Ogundipe, had suspended the former governor for the roles he allegedly played in the invasion of the state secretariat by hoodlums last week.

Also suspended were: the state secretary of the party, Tope Aluko; state women leader, Busola Oyebode; as well as state public relations officer, Kola Oluwole.

Ogundipe said investigations conducted by the party indicated that the suspended persons were connected to the crisis in the party.

He denied allegations that he collected N5 million from the minister to help him emerge as the party’s consensus candidate.

President Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with the family of the late Alade Odunewu, a respected veteran journalist, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 85.

The President said that the late Odunewu would be remembered as a nationalist and patriot whose notable contributions to national development extended well beyond his chosen profession.

He urged the present generation of Nigerian journalists to emulateOdunewu’s exemplary qualities of forthrightness, fairness, patriotism and moral rectitude.

“Allah De”, the name given to the late journalist derived from his ‘Allah De’ columns written when he worked with the Daily Times of Nigeria, also headed the Nigerian Guild of Editors, an association he co-founded.

He also served as the president  and pioneer chairman of the National Press Council, NPC.

In 1956, he was managing director of the Nigerian Tribune and later worked with the Allied Newspapers of Nigeria as the editor-in-chief.

In 1964, he moved to the Times Group where he became the editor of the Daily Times and rose to become Editor-in-Chief.

He served as a commissioner for tourism in Lagos State in 1973 and was later a member of the Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO.

He was also appointed as Sole Administrator of Eko Today, a newspaper published by the Lagos State government during the administration of Muhammed Marwa, Brigadier-General.

Odunewu served as the president of the Nigerian Media Merit Award, a project that is designed to reward excellence in journalism.

He also published the book, ‘Winner Takes All’, a compilation of some of his writings.

An indigene of Ikorodu in Lagos State, he will be buried today at Vaults and Gardens Ikoyi, Lagos.