PDP woos Cross River voters with rice.

 Close

Ahead of Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections, the Peoples Democratic Party in Cross River State is currently distributing bags of rice and other food items to curry votes from electorate.
Our correspondent learnt on Wednesday that the party may have set aside N10, 000 for each electorate in difficult areas so as to get maximum votes from such areas.
Cross River State has slightly over 1.1 million registered voters spread across the 2, 283 polling units located in 196 wards. As at March 24, figures from the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission indicated that about 84 per cent of the Permanent Voter Cards had been distributed.
A top PDP source, who craved anonymity, said the party would not take any chances to woo electorate because of the glaring opposition that confronts it ahead of the general elections.
He confirmed that each ward might receive not less than 500 bags of rice and other food items such as seasonings and canned tomatoes that must be distributed among the electorate before the Saturday’s election.
The PDP member, who hails from Yakurr Local Government Area, which is one of the difficult terrains where the party has glaring opposition in the National Assembly election, said a number of the electorate would receive N10, 000 each to vote for the party in the March 28 and April 11 elections.

Bomb threat: Bash Ali arraigned in court

Ex-international professional boxer, Mr. Bash Ali, was yesterday arraigned before an Abuja Magistrate Court over threats to bomb the headquarters of NEXIM Bank, located in Central Business District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Ali’s prosecutor, the ex-international boxer is being tried for criminal trespass, obstruction in public way, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation, contrary to Sections 79, 85, 348, 194, 266 and 397 of penal code.

Ali was arrested on Wednesday at about 2pm after one Mr. Bisong Peter of NEXIM Bank reported him at the Central Police Station. He was arrested alongside five others when he trespassed into the premises on the bank, using bus to block entrance into the building, thereby restricting staff from accessing their offices.

According to the prosecuting lawyer, Mr. Bulus Samuel, Ali threatened to bomb the bank, having come to its premises along with the others now facing prosecution.

In his submission, Samuel argued that the accused should be remanded in police custody while further investigation would be conducted to ascertain the true intents of their actions.

However, Lawyer to the accused, Mr. Agbonlahor Anthony, begged the court to grant them bail. He cited significant contributions Ali had made in nation building, stressing that since there was no official charge brought against the accused, it was only fair that they be granted bail.

In her ruling, Magistrate Hadiza Dodo, granted bail to Ali and other accused, but with stringent conditions. She ruled that each of them must provide one surety each who must be a top civil servant and must have a landed property in Abuja. She added that each accused person must pay N1 million to secure their bail.

The case was therefore adjourned till March 4, 2015 for hearing.

Where is the Audit Report on Missing $20b? - Reps to Jonathan

The House of Reps has asked the federal government to make available to it the full forensic audit report on the alleged missing $20billion from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The House of Reps’ action is a direct consequence of the exclusive demand made by LEADERSHIP, which had invoked the Freedom of Information Act, to compel the auditor-general of the federation (AuGF) to provide the media house with the full report of the forensic audit of the NNPC.

Rather than comply with this lawful demand, the AuGF Office directed LEADERSHIP to the presidency.

Consequently, the resolution of the House reads: “For the purposes of accountability and in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, the federal government should, as a matter of urgency and in the interest of the general public, make the full report available to the Public Account Committee for the benefit of the House.”

House minority leader, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, who moved the motion, expressed concern at the allegations by the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2013 that such a huge amount of money was missing from the NNPC, even as he lamented federal government’s inaction on the said report.

The motion noted that on April 2014, the Presidency had through the minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced the engagement of a reputable international auditing firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers, to carry out a detained forensic audit on the accounts of NNPC.

Gbajabiamila lamented that since February 2, 2015, when the audit report was formally presented to President Goodluck Jonathan by the auditing firm, up until now neither the general public nor the National Assembly had been briefed in details on the contents of the report.

Poor hygiene likely cause of hep A: expert

POOR hygiene in a Chinese factory likely led to the contamination of frozen berries linked to hepatitis A, an expert says.

EIGHT people, three in Victoria, three in Queensland and two in NSW, have been diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus after consuming imported produce from 1kg packs of Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries.University of Melbourne food microbiology expert Dr Said Ajlouni says the product, which is packed and sealed in China, was probably contaminated as a result of poor hygiene and sanitation conditions.

"If there is a sick employee in the company who went to the toilet, came back without appropriate washing of hands, he could have transferred the virus easily to the produce," he told AAP on Monday.

"One single employee could cause the problem, because these viruses can be spread very easily."

Dr Ajlouni said it was possible, but less likely, that water or soil caused the contamination because viruses lay dormant until they reach a human or animal.

The suspect frozen berry product contains strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from China and blueberries from Chile.

Victorian health department senior medical advisor Dr Finn Romanes has also said contamination would have occurred overseas before importation.

Patties Foods, the Victoria-based distributor of the product, issued a nationwide consumer recall on Saturday and on Sunday, also recalling 300g and 500g packs of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries as a precaution.

Hepatitis A is spread when traces of faecal matter containing the virus come in contact with hands, water or food and then enter a person's mouth.

FRSC partners TRACE on Sango-Ota traffic gridlocks

The Federal Road Safety Corps said on Sunday that it was collaborating with Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps to reduce gridlocks in Sango-Ota and its environs.

The Sango-Ota Unit Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Olonisaye Olufemi, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Ota.

He noted that heavy traffic gridlocks were being experienced at the Toll-gate, Ojuore, Sango-Ota under bridge, especially on Sundays when worshippers going to Living Faith Church, Ota, drove against the traffic.

“The worshippers contributed immensely to gridlocks between 5.30am and 2pm by increasing vehicle movement to the areas,” Olufemi said.

On his part, the Zonal Commander of TRACE, Mr. Adekunle Ajibade, said it would deploy manpower to those troubled areas to assist FRSC staff to decongest traffic jams.

Ajibade said it would also bring a tow truck that would be used to clear obstruction by vehicles, especially commercial buses.

The zonal commander said commercial buses were adamant and parked indiscriminately on the roads without considering other road users.

“The collaboration between the two parties will reduce road crashes and the number of accident victims especially when articulated vehicles lost control and ran into other road users,” he said.

Nigeria faces critical six weeks to polling day

Nigerians had been due to elect a new president on Saturday until the electoral commission delayed the vote by six weeks, citing fears about security and the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency.

The country will now go to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections on March 28, with gubernatorial and state house assembly polls two weeks later on April 11.

The delay has triggered widespread debate about what happens next, particularly if no significant progress is made in tackling the Islamist insurgency raging in the north and there is a further postponement.

Amid fears of widespread violence, the coming weeks are seen as among the most important since civilian rule was restored in 1999.

“The next six weeks are laden with difficult struggles to protect Nigeria’s hard-won democracy,” the International Crisis Group’s Nigeria researcher Nnamdi Obasi wrote.

Much of the discussion in the last week has centred on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s acceptance of advice from the country’s security chief and its impact on the political campaign.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Muhammadu Buhari were seen as mounting the first serious opposition challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The result was even predicted to be close to call, with the prospect of the PDP being dumped out of power for the first time in 16 years.

Buhari, a former military ruler, called the election delay “a crude and fraudulent attempt to subvert the electoral process”, while the APC has alleged that the PDP used the military for political ends.

Jonathan’s campaign spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode described the APC as having “paranoid delusions” and “far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories” about the date shift.

The distribution of voter identity cards, which is not yet complete, and the ability to ensure security were “legitimate and genuine concerns” for a free, fair and credible election, the spokesman said.

Should elections go ahead on March 28, they would be within the timeframe under electoral laws that stipulate voting cannot be held later than 30 days before the handover of power.

Jonathan, whose term of office expires on April 30, has twice described the May 29 date for the transfer of power as “sacrosanct”.

But should he and his party not gain any advantage from the prolonged campaign and stall the APC’s momentum, the vote is likely to remain close — and could even lead to a re-run.

Legal action is a real possibility, particularly if the military is unable to secure and stabilise the restive northeast, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced people to vote.

The APC has already said the integrity of the overall result would be in doubt if voters are disenfranchised in its stronghold in the violence-wracked northeast.

Court action could equally come from the PDP if there are further problems in issuing all voter cards to the 68.8 million registered electors or if there are claims from either side of voter fraud.

A key question will be whether any disputes can be resolved before the handover, particularly if there is a repeat of the deadly post-poll violence that killed some 1,000 people in 2011.

National security advisor Sambo Dasuki has said the vote will not be rescheduled again but many believe his six-week deadline to effectively crush Boko Haram is unrealistic.

“Despite the recent interventions by Chadian and Cameroonian forces, Boko Haram has proved its continued ability to disrupt,” wrote Obasi, noting that a wider regional force has yet to deploy.

A slight delay after March 28 would still fall within the 30-day limit before May 29.

But Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo warned: “Any further postponement beyond the 30 days to the May 29 handover date will be a recourse to civil disobedience and unrest.”

Violence “may prompt the military to seize power and truncate the current democratic dispensation”, he added.

Political risk consultants Verisk Maplecroft said unrest could at worst inflame tensions between the largely Christian south and Muslim-majority north.

It warned of a “post-election crisis — similar to Cote d’Ivoire in 2010/2011 or Kenya in 2007/2008 — potentially even escalating as far as civil war”.

The APC and others have recalled the political turmoil after military ruler Ibrahim Babangida cancelled elections in June 1993, when the business tycoon Moshood Abiola was set to win.

But Nigeria’s Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke dismissed talk of a military “interim national government”, saying there was no provision in the constitution implemented in 1999.

Osun shuts two schools over students’ riots

Osun Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, has ordered the closure of Government Technical College, Osogbo, and Osogbo High School, indefinitely over disturbances by the students.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some students of Government Technical College, Osogbo and Osogbo High School embarked on a protest on Thursday.

This was contained in a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Osun State Ministry of Education, Mr Lawrence Oyeniran.

The statement said the closure was to curtail any further disturbances in the schools.

It advised parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to stay away from acts capable of causing public disturbance.

“While the closure is being effected, parents and guardians are advised to warn their children and wards to desist from acts that are capable of causing public disorder in the two schools and beyond.

“Consequently, security agencies have been directed to take charge of the two schools and maintain peace,” it said.

The statement added that the activities of a few students had led to wanton destruction of valuable property in Osogbo High School, running into millions of Naira

Tinubu Sends Message To Soldiers Parading His House

Just few days after the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu cried out that his private residence is under uncalled surveillance by soldiers, a new update about the story is here!





Tinubu




Recall that Tinubu had accused President Jonathan of sending soldiers to survey his house along Bouillon Road in Ikoyi, an accusation which Tinubu says has been on for days before he spoke out. However there is a new dimension to the story.



According to Linda Ikeji, two new banners have be hung on the main gates of the APC chieftain and former governor of Lagos state. The inscription on the banners is hilarious it shows how creative our politicians can be when it comes to using words to tackle the opposing party. Although the banners were said to be put there by Tinubu’s supporters, an anonymous onlooker has this to say about it:


“This is the message we found on the fence of the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu’s house this morning. The two banners hung in the fence of the main house and the next building to his house. The message was loud and clear to the military who have been patrolling Tinubu’s house and the stretch of Bouillon Road since last Sunday. The message on the banners meant for the military- “This is not Sambisa Forest. Wrong Posting.Sambisa Forest is the forest under the control of Boko Haram for years and is yet to be penetrated by the Nigerian military.It is suspected that APC stalwarts and Tinubu supporters must have put up the message over night.
Last night about a lorry load of soldiers drove back and forth on Bourdillon Road and round the Falomo Roundabout for about an hour before finally driving off


See one of the banners below as it was hung on the fence:





Hilarious, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, the former Lagos governor and currently the Jagaban of the Borgu Kingdom in the Northern Niger State of Nigeria has recently criticized the idea of postponement of elections.

12 killed, 150 injured in India train derailment

No fewer than 12 people were killed and 150 others injured in a train derailment in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Friday, a senior police officer has said.

The officer said on condition of anonymity that the accident happened when nine coaches of an express train derailed near state capital Bengaluru in the morning.

He said the Bangalore City-Ernakulam Intercity Express was going from Bengaluru to the city of Kochi in the neighbouring state of Kerala when the incident took place.

“Twelve people have died, those injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals where the condition of some are said to be serious, while rescuers are trying to pull out those still trapped inside the mangled coaches,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished the injured a speedy recovery.

“Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and officials are closely monitoring the situation and ensuring timely relief,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prabhu has said the accident happened as a boulder fell on the track and the train hit it.

“I am personally monitoring it and in touch with state and local administration,” he said.

The Indian Railways have also announced a compensation of 4,000 dollars to the families of each deceased and 1,000 dollars for those injured in the incident.

The state-owned Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest train networks, runs hundreds of trains daily, criss-crossing the country from north to south, with poor safety record.

Housing should be cheaper: RBA

GETTING a roof over your head in a country as vast as Australia should be a lot cheaper, Reserve Bank boss Glenn Stevens says, and it's time governments pulled their socks up.

MR Stevens named rising house prices as the "biggest enemy" of first home buyers in his bi-annual parliamentary testimony on Friday.

Undersupply of land and a lack of infrastructure were the main barriers to housing affordability, particularly in Sydney, he said, and it was up to governments to address this.

"The biggest enemy for first home buyers is rising house values," Mr Stevens told the hearing in Sydney.

"A country with this much land, it ought to be cheap to get a roof over your head.

"It's an important social issue how (the younger) generation will afford to house itself if you want to live in a city where the supply side of the market is unduly constrained."

First home buyer numbers have fallen to record lows in the past year as investors, driven by low interest rates, price them out of the market.

Mr Stevens dismissed the idea of introducing tax breaks or more grants for first home buyers, saying they would only push prices even higher.

What was needed was more supply of well-located land on which homes could be built, as well as infrastructure to service those areas, he said.

Deputy RBA governor Philip Lowe said investment in more public transport was another important factor.

"I think as a society, one of the things we can do is invest more effectively in transportation to increase the supply of well-located land and put downward pressure on land prices and make housing more affordable," he said.

Mr Stevens expressed concern about Sydney's "very strong" property price increases.

But that concern did not outweigh the RBA's need to cut Australia's cash rate to a new record low of 2.25 per cent at its February meeting, he said.

While acknowledging that low interest rates may be having less impact on boosting demand than in the past, Mr Stevens said further cuts could still help the economy along, leaving the door open on another possible rate cut, which is widely expected by economists.

And he seemed to think lenders were doing their bit when it came to passing any rate cuts on to customers, saying there was plenty of competition in the lending market, particularly for mortgages.

Military reassures Nigerians of impartiality

The Defence Headquarters has assured Nigerians that the military and its personnel would be impartial in the discharge of their constitutional security responsibilities in the forthcoming general elections.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, said in an electronic mail on Wednesday that the military would remain committed to the performance of its constitutional role of securing the country before, during and after the elections.

Olukolade said the leaders of the military who are also beneficiaries of the democratic governance would not do anything to subvert it.

He also stated that the military would ensure strict adherence to professionalism and would remain non-partisan in its operations during the elections.

Olukolade said that the assurance became necessary in view of the tension generated by the role of the military in the on-going political process.

He said that the military had the responsibility to provide complementary security in support of the civil authorities aside from its traditional role of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.

“The Defence Headquarters has noted the palpable tension being generated in certain quarters with regards to the roles of the Nigerian military in the on-going political activities and recent developments especially in relation to the electioneering programmes in the country.

“Accordingly, it has become necessary to reassure all citizens that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed to its duty in working to ensure the sustenance of peace, law, order and stability in the country before, during and after the forthcoming elections.

“It is also important to reassure Nigerians that the military will, while working with all security agencies and stake holders in the process, remain professional, apolitical and non-partisan in all operations or activities related to this crucial exercise.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria is quite conscious of the fact that apart from its primary constitutional role of defending the country from external aggression and internal insurrection, it also has the responsibility of providing support in aid of civil authority such as the need to provide complementary security arrangement to protect our electoral process.

“It is on record that the military has successfully lived up to its responsibility while discharging this duty during previous elections without equivocation.”

He said that all military personnel had been warned to be conscious of their oaths of office to ensure the protection of the Constitution and to be loyal to constituted authorities in the country.

The Defence Spokesman added that the military leadership would not accept any excuse for comprising the law or the Electoral Act in the forthcoming elections.

Olukolade, who commended Nigerians for their understanding, said the nation’s security was beyond politics and other considerations.

He appealed to Nigerians to separate the military from partisan politics and to retain their confidence in its neutrality and patriotism during the electoral period.

SLIMMING EXPERT QUINCY AYODELE LOSES DAD…

Foremost herbal slimming expert, Quincy Ayodele,has been thrown into an impenetrable darkness of bereavement. Days back, she lost her father, Pa Amos Oluwole Babalola Sodimu to the cold hands of death.
 gather that,Pa died after a brief illness in Abeokuta,at age 86years.Read her emotional tribute to the man who has been generally described as an essential of compassion. 

‘Daddy, I Praise God that you went to your Father, in good old age according to the word of God, peacefully and in your home as you wished. You were a father and a mother to me and to all of your children throughout your life time. 

You suffered a lot to father and mother me from when you collected me from my grandma in the village upon your arrival from London till God made me to fulfill destiny in your presence. 

Praise God I remember when I graduated from high school (Compro) with flying colors & the school wasn't going to release my result because we were owing school fees. You went to borrow the money from Sabo. 

You were 7days late to pay back & the consequence was to beat you with koboko for the number of the default days and in my presence(tears in my eyes) you were beaten for my sake.

 I remember days you will go looking for what we will eat and you would come back with only Gari and sugar, or just tomatoes... Days you will go on empty stomach so that we can eat. 

You taught us to be happy in all these situations and we were all happy together with our Step Mother who weathered the storms with all of us your children.

 Despite, you struggled to give us the best education at home and abroad. You insisted that after graduating in Nigeria, we must also have overseas training & you ensured we all did. You impacted good legacies on all your grandchildren as in you chose their careers with them - because you were a lawyer, you ensured that one of my children - Marita read law both at home & in the US. 

 In the last one year, as if you knew u were going to die, even in ur old age, you travelled out to see all your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren taking pictures with all. Even your great grandchildren remember you. 

It's just so sad that I won't meet you to physically present your latest great grand child Alicia Oluwanifishe Odunayo Abdul to you. You touched the lives of everyone around you. One can hardly tell the difference between ur biological children and other children. 

You united all extended families together & you made us to know most of them. You were a good father to all of us. You fondly call me "Olori aso mi" (meaning best of my clothes) and u always pray "o ni faya loju aye mi, o ni faya lehin mi" (meaning you will not tear in my lifetime and even after I die). I used to say amen while hugging you and I still say amen to that. 

I thank the Almighty God for giving me the opportunity to be a worthy child for you to reap the fruits of your labor over me till you died. You counseled and witnessed my growth from that village girl and good for nothing behind the typewriter (Secretary) to the great Quincy Herbal Slimmers known all over the world today. All glory, honor and praise to my Great Sheppard - Jesus Christ.

 Pa Sodimu oh, as I fondly call you, you taught me that "simplicity costs you nothing but buys you everything" this has been my guiding principle till date and will continue to be IJN.

 With tears in my eyes daddy, with the help of the Almighty God and your spirit leading, I will try my possible best to carry out all the instructions you gave me the last time we spoke. I showed you my love and loyalty when you were alive and trust me daddy, I will not deny you in death. I wish you could come & see how great our Senior Sister Titilayo is handling all situations. All of us ur children (Sistermi Titilayo, myself (Olasumbo), Omolara, Babatunde, Akinwole, Atinuke, Oluyomi, Mosunmola & Olusegun, Kayode, Dipo, Yemisi & your many grandchildren & great grandchildren grief your death in different ways.

 In all your life circumstances, I thank the Almighty God that your latter years were so much better than the former. May your caring soul rest in perfect peace. Burial arrangements will be announced later’.

SEE What Happened To This Man On His Wedding Day

It is surprising that a lot of people are taking wedding as a child's play these days, not knowing that it's a case of life or death. Getting married is something that has the capacity to make or maim you instantly and that is the bitter truth. Don't just approach marriage with levity, pray hard and get it right.

Many guys are in bondage today because they married the wrong lady, same for the ladies. Be guided!