Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Idah, in Kogi state, M.I Akpata, today escaped kidnappers noose as he escaped when the car in which he was been transported towards the Eastern part of the country had an accident.
Akpata was said to have been kidnapped in his office in Idah by unknown gunmen and was bundled into a car whose plate number was not immediately known.
Luck shone on the Rector when the car had an accident as the car sped towards the East and all the occupants (kidnappers) had broken legs and he emrged from it unhurt.
It was learnt that police have already arrested the kidnappers even as they go for medical attention.
Senate President, David Mark has made it clear that Boko Haram has by the spate of attacks it has been launching, declared full war with Nigeria and that it requires full military action in the most endemic states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
Senator Mark who made a full review of the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country in the last few weeks submitted that the situation is no longer a mere conflict or terrorism, but a war on Nigerians.
Addressed his colleagues today on resumption from the Easter recess, the Senate President lamented the recent bombing at the Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja and the abduction of about 234 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, two weeks ago.
“It is obvious that we are dealing with insurgents and well funded nihilists who are determined to violently trample upon the secularity of the Nigerian State and destroy the country.
“A modern, vibrant, progressive, multi-ethnic, multi-religious Nigeria is an anathema to them. Because they are fired by zealotry and extremism, they are not likely to be swayed by overtures of any kind. We must henceforth shift from fighting terrorism to fighting insurgency.
“Our emphasis must therefore be on winning the hearts and minds of the communities in the immediate theatres of conflict.
“The full might and strength of our security services must now be deployed to confront this scourge and we expect our security services to rapidly reorient their assets and capabilities so as to overcome this difficult challenge.
“This must be done within the shortest possible time frame with minimal casualties. Let me emphasise that for them to achieve this they require the cooperation of all and sundry.”
He said the government must do all it can to immediately identify the sponsors and the source of funds to the terrorists and the insurgents.
“In this connection, nobody who is implicated, no matter how highly placed, should be treated as a sacred cow.”
He pledged that as federal legislators, we will continue to co-operate and work with all arms of government and the people to bring this unwarranted assault on our peace and unity to a swift end.
The disciplinary panel of the Confederation of African Football has suspended the Vice-President of Raja Club Athletic of Casablanca, Mustapha Dahnane from football-related activities for a year even as it asked him to pay a fine of $30,000.
In a statement today, CAF said that Dahnane was suspended from continental participation for accusing its officials of being bought over by AC Horoya after the return match between AC Horoya of Guinea and Raja Casablanca in the 2014 CAF Champions League.
It said that the sanction would be subject to an extension at the international level.
The three-time African champions defeated the Guinean visitors 1-0 at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, only to lose 4-5 on post-match penalty kicks.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sanctioned 14 companies in Edo state, accusing some of them of selling banned drugs such as Opthalidon.
The Unit Head of the agency in the state, David West told newsmen in Benin city today that many other erring companies, including drug distribution outlet, pharmacy and patent medicine shops as well as food and cosmetic establishments were found to be distributing controlled drugs.
Such rugs, he said, included Tramadol and banned drugs like Opthalidon, adding: “the food companies that were sanctioned were operating under poor hygiene practise.
“Sanctions were also slammed on companies that were producing cosmetics without authorisation from the agency.”
Mr. West said that a total of 14 companies that had marketing authorisation were registered and 30 surveillance activities were carried out during the period under review.
“During one of our surveillance visits, we went to some local government vaccine storage centres in the state to ensure that vaccines were kept well.
“We wanted to be sure that cold chain was maintained to prolong efficacy of the vaccine.
“We, however, noticed that equipment like generators and cool van that would promote good storage were lacking,” he said.
West said that 150 pharmacovigilant and post-marketing activities were carried out during the same period to ensure that products remained the same way they were registered.
Organized Labour has declared a ‘war’ with the new owners of the electricity distribution in the country, known as electricity distribution companies (DISCOs). Leaders and members of the labour unions have begun disruption of the services of the new owners, including power plants in seven states over alleged extortionist tariff without power to Nigerians, among others.
The labour leaders have since last week, threatened to shut down Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, Jos Electricity Distribution Company, Transcorp Electricity Ugheli, Egbin Power Plc; Geregu Power Plc, and Olorunshogo Power Plc.
Other grievances of labour are perceived de-unionisation of workers by the management of the DISCOs and victimisation of labour leaders by the new investors.
Meanwhile, action has since started in Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo Delta and other South-South states.
The picketing is being coordinated by state chapters of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and civil society allies of labour.
The aggrieved workers chanted anti-government slogans and displayed placards with various inscriptions such as “Labour says no to casualisation of workers; we say no to crazy bill without supply; the investors have failed to add value to electricity supply, union is the only way, 6 months after privitisation, Nigerians are still in darkness, “People that worked for 10years in electricity industry without engagement. What is our fate”; “No to anti union stance of the investors”; “No progress can come with Darlington in charge” and many others.
The South-West Organising Secretary, Richard Kedee declared that, the union would not compromise on members’ rights, and would ensure that all their entitlements were paid.
“Our protest is to senitize Nigerans on the deceit of Federal Government,that they have concluded payment of all disengaged staff and pensioners. There are still leftover. The so-called investors gave impression that they have all it takes to fix things right,but we now discovered it is a deceit. The investors have no capacity to move the sector forward. There is even attempt to destroy the union,Labour law approves unionism, and we stand by that. Our demand is also that those disengaged illegally must be recalled” Kedee stated.
Director -General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Engr .Emeka Ezeh has classified 80 per cent of contractors who do business with the federal government as rogue who are in the habit of tendering forged documents.
In an address at a forum of contractors, consultants and service providers of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs in Abuja, Eze frowned at the ignoble practice, saying that as many as 156 such companies are now being prosecuted.
The worst culprits, he stressed, are local contractors, adding: “a lot of contractors, especially 80 per cent of the local ones are notorious for submitting fake documents when bidding for contracts.
“We see all manner of fake documents such as false Tax Clearance Certificate, PenCom Certificate of Compliance, false claim of personnel, false audited account and use of fake addresses and submission of fake bank statements.
“Currently, there are 156 companies being prosecuted because of this. There is not enough space in our prisons, to accommodate all these fraudulent activities by contractors, so this has to change.”
Ezeh said that the unscrupulous contractors deprived the nation of value-for-money service, reminding the contractors that although his office would encourage local contractors to bid for public jobs, but that he would not do business with any fraudulent companies. The Nigerian public, according to the BPP boss, deserved the best of services and urged honest contractors to come forward and participate in bidding processes, especially as the federal government is determined to ensure an effective implementation of the 2014 federal budget.
According to him, the federal government has established a database with which his office could easily appraise submissions and fight against corruption in contract processes, saying that there is no going back in the procurement reforms of the present administration.
“We started the registration of all contractors, consultants and service providers in the country as part of BPP’s drive to reform the public procurement system for better monitoring and oversight of public procurement processes in the country. “As at April 24, 2014, 1,495 companies have started the registration process. Out of that number, only 158 have completed their registration.
“By mid- June this year, any company that is not completely registered on our database cannot do business with any government MDA.”
Diplomatic dust is daily rising between the United States of America and Russia, with the latest seeing Moscow accusing Washington of bringing back “Iron Curtain” policies in the fierce showdown over Ukraine, while the West revealed its new sanctions included measures against Russia’s military chief.
The furious escalation in language from Russia underlined the Cold War echoes of the crisis as the United States and Europe set in motion sanctions to hammer powerful Russian figures and firms close to President Vladimir Putin.
The increasing geopolitical tensions were doing nothing to ease the situation on the ground in east Ukraine, where sporadic violence is unabated and negotiations to free seven OSCE inspectors held by rebels continued.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov tore into the United States for leading the sanctions charge on Monday, especially for its decision to curb hi-tech exports to Russia that could have military uses.
“All of that is a blow to our high-tech enterprises and industries,” Ryabkov said in an interview with online newspaper Gazeta.ru.
“This is a revival of a system created in 1949 when Western countries essentially lowered an ‘Iron Curtain’, cutting off supplies of high-tech goods to the USSR and other countries.”
The European Union, meanwhile, revealed that General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces and the country’s deputy defence minister, was one of 15 Russians and Ukrainians targeted by an asset freeze and travel ban in bloc’s latest blacklist.
Russia’s foreign ministry responded by saying the European bloc was “doing Washington’s bidding with new unfriendly gestures towards Russia”.
The White House on Monday slapped sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 companies close to Putin, while Canada added nine names and two banks and Japan said it was denying visas to 23 targeted Russians.
An outraged Kremlin has vowed “painful” retaliation against Washington for the measures.
But for all the fury, there was no sign the sanctions were having any immediate effect on getting Russia to use its influence to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.
On Monday, a mayor in east Ukraine’s biggest city of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, was shot in the back by an unknown gunman, leaving him in a critical condition.
Kernes, who is Jewish, was flown Tuesday to Israel for medical treatment, his spokesman said.
Fourteen people were also seriously hurt on Monday when pro-Moscow militants wielding bricks, bats and knives attacked their march for Ukrainian unity in the city of Donetsk.
Kalashnikov-toting militants the same day seized the town hall of Kostyantynivka — the latest of more than a dozen towns held by the pro-Russian rebels.
Russia, which has massed tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, has repeatedly said it has no plans to invade the ex-Soviet republic.
Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu repeated that assurance in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Chuck Hagel, the Pentagon said.
Shoigu again denied US accusations that covert Russian forces were already deployed in Ukraine to sow unrest, and urged Washington to tone down its rhetoric on the crisis.
Hagel in turn called for an end to Russia’s “destabilising influence inside Ukraine and warned that continued aggression would further isolate Russia and result in more diplomatic and economic pressure”.
The US defence secretary also asked for Moscow’s help in securing the release of the seven OSCE inspectors held by pro-Russian militants in Slavyansk.
An AFP journalist in Slavyansk said early Tuesday there was still no sign of the captive inspectors leaving the occupied town hall, where they were being kept under armed guard.
The OSCE has been negotiating for several days to free the seven Europeans, who were seized on Friday along with a Swede, who was released on Sunday because he suffers from diabetes.
The local rebel leader has given the OSCE a list of pro-Russian militants detained by Ukrainian authorities who he wants freed in a prisoner swap.
Kiev’s soldiers are surrounding the flashpoint town in a bid to prevent reinforcements reaching militants there.
International Olympic Committee vice-president, John Coates has piled pressure on 2016 host, Rio de Janeiro, blasting its preparations as the worst he has ever seen.
The Australian, who has made six visits to Rio as a member of the IOC Coordination Commission overseeing the Games, painted a dire picture of the progress being made, which he said was of “critical concern”.
He told an Olympic Forum in Sydney: “there is little co-ordination between the federal, the state government and the city — which is responsible for a lot of the construction.
“And this is against a city that’s got social issues that also have to be addressed; a country that’s also trying to deal with the FIFA World Cup coming up in a few months. It’s the worst that I’ve experienced.”
He said that that the IOC had been forced to take “unprecedented” action, embedding experts in Rio’s Organizing Committee to ensure the sporting spectacle proceeds.
“The IOC has formed a special task force to try and speed up preparations but the situation is critical on the ground,” he said, adding it was “the worst I have experienced”.
“The IOC has adopted a more hands-on role, it is unprecedented for the IOC but there is no Plan B. We are going to Rio.”
With the clock rapidly ticking before the first Olympics in South America, many facilities in Rio have yet to be completed because of construction delays and soaring costs.
Earlier this month, the IOC drew up a list of urgent recommendations aimed at breathing life into the flagging preparations.
These include the creation of three task forces with a number of aims including easing the fears of an increasingly angry population who have protested at the costs of both the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, which is also in Brazil.
International sports federations is expected to send teams of experts to work alongside local organizers in a model of co-operation which was used in the build-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics.
“I think this is a worse situation than Athens (in 2004),” said Coates, who has been involved in the Olympics for nearly 40 years.
“In Athens, we were dealing with one government and some city responsibilities. Here, there’s three.”
Nigerian Nollywood has again lost a star actress, Amaka Igwe. She died of asthma attack at the age of 51.
She was said to have died in Enugu where she had gone, in company of her husband, for pre-production preparations for a new Igbo soap.
She was said to have suffered an asthma attack and was immediately rushed to the hospital after initial interventions had failed but died before getting to the hospital,’ a statement issued this morning read.
Amaka Igwe, who was trained in theater arts, has produced movies, series and soap operas for television, film and video. In the 1990’s the immensely popular soap opera, Checkmate catapulted her to national renown and is among the standard-setting works for Nollywood productions. Her short film, The Barber’s Wisdom is one of the few shot on celluloid among contemporary Nigerian filmmakers, which attests to the popularity of the home video movement from which Nollywood evolves.
In addition to the central role she plays as filmmaker, Igwe is an important stakeholder in the Nigerian film industry. She is founder and organizer of BOBTV the acronym for Best of the Best TV, a film and television program market held annually in Abuja, Nigeria. In addition, it is a venue for meetings, conferences and workshops related to film/video.
Mrs Igwe is survived by her husband of 21 years Charles Igwe, three children, an aged mother, siblings and a large extended family. Mrs Igwe’s last major outing was at the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference held on April 26, 2013 at the Grand Ball Room of Eko Hotels and Suites. Participating as a keynote speaker, Mrs Igwe delivered a speech on the ‘Reflections from an unapologetic commercial Nollywood filmmaker’. Born Amaka Isaac-Ene, the deceased was an accomplished writer, producer, director, entrepreneur and teacher. She is the founder of BoBTV Expo, founder and CEO of Top Radio 90.9FM, Amaka Igwe Studios, and the newly-launched Q Entertainment Networks.
The Lagos mainland based Top Radio station was launched years ago, with preparations underway to launch Q Networks, a DSTV channel in a few weeks. A visionary and pioneer of modern Nigerian TV drama and film, she hit national limelight as the writer and producer of award-winning TV soap ‘Checkmate’ and its off shoot ‘Fuji House of Commotion’. Her Nollywood projects include RattleSnake and Violated – two critically-acclaimed movies that set apart Amaka Igwe Studios in the much-criticised Nollywood industry.
The District Head of Gude in Mubi South Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Alhaji Sali Bello, has his subjects to turn to God and seek divine intervention over the security challenges pose by Boko Haram activities in many parts of the North and other criminal activities across the country.
Alhaji Sali Bello said in an interview today that the security challenge threatening the North-East, claiming several lives and property is alarming, adding: “the prevailing insecurity in the north-east region is a matter of concern.
“We should, therefore, seek God’s intervention through prayers in our Mosques and Churches for peace and peaceful co-existence among the people of the state and the nation at large.”
The traditional ruler, who was a former General Manager of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) inYola, Adamawa state said that security issues should not be left for the government alone, he called for collective action for the development of the state.
“People should give their maximum support and cooperation to the Federal, state and local governments to curtail the present security situation.”
According to him, the support of the subjects to the government will enable it to deliver more dividends of democracy, even as he advised youths in the area to engage themselves in meaningful ventures that would earn them decent living.
He also enjoined them to show respect to their parents and elders for blissful life
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
