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Showing posts from October, 2014

China votes additional $81m to fight Ebola

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China plans to earmark $81 million in aid to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra-Leone to combat the Ebola virus, Secretary General of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, told Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete at a meeting on Friday during his official visit to Beijing, reports Tass. “We will provide money and material help and send more experts and physicians to combat the virus. Besides, we are going to build a medical center in Liberia”, he said. This is the fourth time China provides aid to West African countries to support them in their struggle against the Ebola epidemic. Beijing allocated some $50 million over the last two months to fight the deadly virus. It also provided humanitarian aid, medicine and medical equipment. Moreover, around 200 Chinese specialists are currently working in the epidemic area. According to the latest reports of the World Health Organization (WHO), the death toll from Ebola virus neared 4,900, while the number of probable and suspected cases is ar

PDP berates Amaechi for closing down markets, shops

(Nigeria) The Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has berated Governor Rotimi Amaechi for ordering that all markets and shops in Port Harcourt be shut down on Saturday, October 25, 2014 scheduled to mark his seven years of Supreme Court victory and swearing in as Rivers State Governor in 2007. Rejecting the executive order through a statement by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to the State Chairman, Mr Felix Obuah, the PDP said it’s insensitive and smacks of unconcern for the welfare of the people by coercing them to remain indoors simply because an uncaring governor wants to celebrate a controversial Court victory that took place seven years ago which has caused the people more pains and backwardness. More worrisome, the PDP notes, is the huge amount to be wasted on the hired crowd who were paid N20,000 each to pose as Amaechi’s and the All Progressive Congress, APC’s teeming supporters in the State. The PDP is shocked that a governor who wants the people to continue

Fasehun's OPC sacks 3 national officers

(Nigeria) The Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, has announced the dismissal of three of its recently-dropped national officers, including the former General Secretary, Dare Adesope, who recently proclaimed himself the organisation’s President. OPC Founder/President, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, said that those dismissed alongside Adesope included: Olusola Ajayi Edward, the former Publicity Secretary, and Alhaji Taofik Adeyemi, the former Organising Secretary. According to the OPC President, the trio has been fired over charges of insubordination, fraud, misappropriation and impersonation, as well as for conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. The resolution arose after a meeting Fasehun held in Lagos yesterday with new members of the OPC executive, including the Deputy President –Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, Assistant President –Alhaji Lateef Lawal, and OPC National Coordinator –Comrade Odunayo Ogunmoye, announced in a newspaper advertisement on Octobe

Kidnap: NBA commends DSS, Police on Okey Wali's release

(Nigeria) The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr Okey Wali, SAN, who was abducted last by gunmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has regained his freedom. President of NBA, M r Augustine   Alegeh, SAN, in a statement on Friday, said "Wali was released by his abductors after 13 days in captivity. I have personally spoken to him and can confirm that he is hale, hearty and in good spirit. He expresses his thanks and appreciation to members of the Bar and Bench, the Security Agencies, friends and family for their concern, support and prayers during the period of his ordeal. He gives glory to God for his safe release. "The Nigerian Bar Association is greatly delighted by the safe release of Okey Wali, SAN and wishes to express appreciation to all NBA members and well-meaning Nigerians who supported the Bar and the Okey Wali Family during this trying period. We must also commend NBA members for keeping calm throughout this period and not taking any steps th

Lawyers commend release of abducted Wali, former NBA president

The news of the release of the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr Okey Wali, SAN, by his abductors  was  received with joy, excitement and advice by Nigerian lawyers participating in this year International Bar Association, IBA, in Tokyo, Japan. One of the predecessors of Wali in office, Chief OCJ Okocha, SAN, described the news as  "a great one. I do hope he is in best spirit. We thank God. We hope and pray that it would not happen again not only to lawyers but to other Nigerians". Chairman of the   Security Committee of the 2014 NBA Annual General Conference in Owerri, Mr Ogochukwu Okeke, said "Honestly, I thank God for his release. Most especially, I thank NBA President, Augustine Alegeh, SAN, for his exemplary leadership. Many leaders might have said they are not part of the security agencies and travelled down here to  Tokyo, but he has made the sacrifice to show we are all our brothers' keeper." He therefore called on the N

Court adjourns fishermen pipeline vandals case

(Nigeria) The absence of Justice Musa Kurya of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Wednesday, stalled the trial of 11 Fishermen, charged with Pipeline vandalism. The accused are--- Sidi Egbayelo; 29, Sunday Shadrach; 39, Edem Okon; 30, Godwin Kofa; 28, Rosemon Neito; 30, Ejona Kpamkpam; 23,  Moses Victor; 28, Chris Sunday; 29, Peter Gay; 21, Remo Uchugwu; 23, and Mike Sabato; 29. They are standing trial on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, vandalism, stealing, and unlawful possession of petroleum products. The case which was fixed on Wednesday, for continuation of trial, was stalled due to the absence of the trial judge. No reason was given for the absence. The matter was however, adjourned to Nov. 3 for continuation of trial. The accused were arraigned on Feb. 7, 2013, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, vandalism, and unlawful possession of petroleum products. They had each pleaded not guilty to the charge. Justice Kurya had then grante

2015: APGA pegs governorship forms at N12million

(Nigeria) Ahead of the 2015 general elections in the country the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has released guidelines  for the conduct of its primaries to select candidates for the elections. According to schedule of activities released after a meeting of the party's National Working Committee (NWC) and signed by the National Secretary Dr. Abdulahi Sani Shinkafi the purchase and return of the expression interest forms and nomination  begins on October 27 and ends on the 4th of the November. The party pegged its governorship form at N12 million with the expression of interest form going for N2million while the Nomination Form​​​ is N10million. For the State Houses of Assembly the expression of Interest form goes for N200,000 while the nomination form is N1million. The expression of interest form for the House of Representative is N500,000 and the nomination form is N2million. Expression of Interest Form​ for the Senate sells at N500, 000, while the nomination form is N3

Don’t bit the hand that fed you, PDP tells Graham Douglas

(Nigeria) Irked by the comments by Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas on the persons of the former governor of the Rivers State, Sir, Dr. Peter Odili and Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  Mr Felix Obuah, the party in the state has advised  Douglas to tow the path of other elder statesmen and leave a legacy of honour instead of shame. The Party regretted that a man in the mould of Graham Douglas would descend so low to throw stones when he is living in a glass house. The  PDP said that it was sad that at a time when the PDP is struggling to retake the Rivers State Government House which Governor Rotimi Amaechi took to the All Progressive Congress, APC, Graham Douglas who is a member of PDP Board of Trustees, was helping the APC instead of the PDP. Apart from the admitted romance between Graham Douglas and Governor Amaechi, the PDP notes that the unwarranted venom visited by Graham Douglas on Dr Odili can only be the action of an ingrate coming from a distorted mind

First Bank accuses businessman of scandalising banking sector

(Nigeria)First Bank of Nigeria Limited on Tuesday accused the Managing Director of Index Petrolube Africa Limited, Ezeani Thankgod before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos of scandalising the Nigerian banking sector with monumental debts to the tune of N12.4 billion to various financial institutions. The bank, through its lawyer, Ade Oyebanji, made the accusation at the resumed hearing in a debt recovery suit filed against the businessman and his company. The bank had sued Thankgod, his company and a director in the company, Obinna Ezeani Nnamdi before the court and secured a mareva injunction restraining the defendants from operating their bank accounts in twenty commercial banks in Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the suit. The court had specifically ordered all the banks to file an affidavit before the court to disclose the state of accounts of the defendants before them, an order which had since been complied with. The defendants had filed an application to

Trials of Ebola vaccine to start in Switzerland by Nov. 1 — WHO

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The clinical trials of perspective vaccines against the Ebola virus in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) are due to begin in Switzerland by November 1, WHO Assistant Director-General Marie Paule Kieny told journalists on Tuesday, reports Tass. The trials are set to start in Switzerland’s Lausanne late this month or on the first day of the next month. A total of 125 volunteers are to be injected two various doses of chimpanzee-based adenovirus vaccine, she said. Clinical tests of this vaccine are already underway in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mali, in West Africa. Simultaneously, Geneva is due to carry out clinical trials of a second vaccine, containing a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus. Five various doses of the vaccine are to be tested in Geneva. The trials will also involve 125 volunteers. These tests will last for between 6 months and one year, but the first results on their safety and antigenicity will be ready in December. If the vaccin

Ebola fear: S-Africa declines to host 2015 Africa Nations Cup

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Sports authorities of the South African Republic followed the steps of Morocco and also decided against hosting next year’s Africa Cup of Nations biennial football championship, citing concerns over the outbreak of deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, reports Tass. “The possibility of holding the Africa Cup of Nations is excluded,” South African Sports Minister Fikile April Mbalula said. South Africa already hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 in place of Libya, which was torn by the war at that time. “Our budget is incapable of holding the championship in 2015,” Mbalula said. “This is totally impossible.” Mbalula also said that on top of everything, his country was “facing the task of fighting Ebola.” “We are not immune to it,” the South African sports minister added. Morocco earlier claimed that it made the decision to cancel hosting the 16-nation football tournament, scheduled to run between January 17 and February 8 next year, as it wanted to avoid holding an event involvi

Senator Uzodinma dragged to court over certificates forgery

(Nigeria) The chances of the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District,Senator Hope Uzodinma returning to the upper legislative chamber appears grim as he has been dragged to a Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations that he forged his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificates. He was also alleged to have claimed that he posses a Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) a degree awarding institution. In the suit filed by Ebubeagu Ekenulo through his counsel Alex Williams the plaintiff who cited the Registrar Federal university of Technology Owerri (FUTO), FUTO, the Attorney-General of the federation and Uzodinma as defendants asked the court to declare that the 4th defendant (Uzodinma) did not have the requisite ordinary level qualification (WASC of GCE) which is the condition precedent to be admitted to FUTO (2nd defendant) for the purported HND in Maritime Technology or at all. A declaration that the

Collective administration: PMAN sends SOS to Jonathan, Tambuwal

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(Nigeria) The Performing Musicians’ Employers’ Association of Nigeria ( PMAN ), has sent an SOS to President Goodluc k Jonathan and Mr Aminu Tambuwal , Speaker, House of Representatives, calling for the immediate liberalization of collective administration in Nigeria. In two separate letters, PMAN disclosed that it has written series of letters to the Nigerian Copyright Commission ( NCC ), and the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed  Adoke (SAN) on the issue but had received no response. In a chat with journalists, the Chairman, PMAN Care Taker Committee, Kevin Lucciano Gabriel, lamented that the monopoly was killing entertainment business in Nigeria:”The forced monopoly in the copyright administrative system in Nigeria is killing entertainment business even more than piracy. We have demanded for audience but PMAN has not received any response or action on its requests from NCC. “In August 2010, a group of entertainment practitioners, u

Court nullifies Jimoh Ibrahim ownership of Newswatch dallies

(Nigeria)Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, quashed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) which transferred ownership of Newswatch Communications Ltd to erstwhile businessman, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim.    Two minority shareholders, Mr Nuhu Aruwa  and Prof. Jubril Aminu had filed a petition, praying the court to quash a share purchase agreement which transferred ownership of the company to Ibrahim. The applicants are also seeking an order, restraining the respondents from publishing and selling to the public, Newswatch daily and weekend magazines. In addition, they are seeking an order restraining the publications of Saturday Newswatch, Sunday Newswatch and the daily Newswatch. Respondents are: Newswatch Communications Ltd, Global Media Mirror Ltd, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, Newswatch Newspapers and the Corporate Affairs Commission. Delivering judgment in the suit on Monday, Justice Ibrahim Buba upheld all the prayers of the minority shareholders. The judge also awarded the sum of N15.7 million da

Russia ready for disarmament, missile defense talk----- Lavrov

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Russia is ready to discuss all disarmament issues, including missile defense, strategic non-nuclear weapons, placing weapons in the outer space, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a public lecture on Russian foreign policy affairs in the Russian capital on Monday, reports Tass. “Our American partners have been proposing insistently already for several years, and [US Secretary of State] John Kerry confirmed this at the meeting in Paris, to resume talks on disarmament and to agree on further steps to cut strategic offensive weapons. I explained to my partner that we are ready to consider issues of security, disarmament and strategic stability only in interrelations,” he said. With all circumstances taken into account these talks can be only sweeping, including missile defense issue, and certainly problems are emerging as a result of implementing the US prompt global strike program that implies production of strategic hypersonic weapons with non-nuclear warheads, but much more eff

EU needs 1 billion euro to fight Ebola

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European Union nations are working to find 1 billion euros to help fight Ebola in West Africa and seeking a common approach in dealing with the disease outbreak, reports AP. EU foreign ministers on Monday opened a week of talks so that their 28 leaders can agree by Friday on a package of measures which should include anything from financial aid to common repatriation procedures, treatment facilities on site and training for health workers. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that the billion-euro fund was needed as soon as possible because "we've got a very short window to get on top of it and prevent the uncontrollable spread of the disease." The Netherlands said it was preparing to send a frigate to the area to help out.

Obama to focus on Ebola this week

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Rarely one to leave anything to chance, President Barack Obama is playing it by ear this week as his administration's response to the Ebola scare continues to evolve, reports AP. After waking up in his own bed Monday at his family's home in Chicago, Obama plans to vote early for the midterms and attend a fundraiser for Democrats. How he'll spend the rest of the week is anyone's guess. That's because Obama's schedule this week is a work in progress, in a departure from the normal practice in which the president's schedule is previewed days in advance. The blank slate reflects the White House's attempt to stay nimble, leaving Obama room to maneuver amid a public health crisis that has been anything but predictable. Last week, Obama twice had to cancel planned campaign trips at the last minute to stay in Washington to focus on Ebola. This week, Obama is hoping to avoid such last-minute cancelations and show he's singularly focused on the task at ha

Amodu Shuaibu now interim coach, as NFA sack Keshi

( Nigeria ) The Board of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has relieved Stephen Keshi of the duty of Head Coach of the Super Eagles and replaced him with Amodu Shuaibu as interim coach. In a communiqué after a meeting which ended in the early hours of Thursday, the board said that Amodu Shuaibu, a former Super Eagles coach, will now take charge on interim basis. The Board said that Shuaibu would execute Super Eagles remaining two 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches against Congo in Brazzaville and South Africa in Uyo. The communiqué reads: ``The board unanimously praises the excellent contributions of the technical crew of the Super Eagles, led by Stephen Keshi, to the glorious accomplishments of the team in the past three years. ``Keshi, Daniel Amokachi and Ike Shorounmu are true national heroes. ``However, in the interest of Nigeria football and the desire to ensure qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals, the board has decided to relieve t

Canada to give WHO ebola experimental vaccine

The Canadian government said it will start shipping its experimental Ebola vaccine to the World Health Organization on Monday for possible use in the West African countries hardest hit by the outbreak, reports AP. The government said in a news release Saturday that the Public Health Agency of Canada is supplying the vaccine to the U.N. agency in Geneva. The WHO is the international coordinating body for battling the Ebola outbreak which has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa. The news release said Canada will send 800 vials of its experimental vaccine in three separate shipments. The WHO will consult with its partners, including health authorities from the affected countries, to determine how best to distribute and use the vaccine, taking into consideration concerns about using an experimental vaccine on people. Human testing of the Canadian-made vaccine began last week in the U.S. Twenty vials of the vaccine were sent to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Mary

Over 3700 killed in Donetsk, Lugansk----UN

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The death toll as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine has grown by 25 people over the past week to reach 3,707, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported. The Office’s report said 9,075 people have been wounded in the region. The previous report said the number of wounded was 8,871, according to Tass. The UN OCHA underlined that the assessments are reserved and are provided by the UN mission monitoring the human rights situation in Ukraine and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the WHO believe the real death count is way higher, the report said. According to UN data, the population keeps fleeing the conflict-torn areas. As of October 17, Ukraine had 415,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). A week ago, the number was 402,000. The number of refugees has nearly not changed at all and now totals 427,000 people most of whom have hidden in Russia. Some 5.2 million peo

15 Killed in renewed shelling of Donetsk

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No fewer than 15 civilians in the city of Donetsk were killed in shelling over the past 24 hours, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Aleksandr Zakharchenko said on Saturday, reports Tass. Earlier in the day, the Donetsk city council said that two residential households were destroyed by artillery shelling. On October 11, Zakharchenko announced that the DPR jointly with the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) were introducing “a silence regime.” On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council’s information and analysis centre announced the so-called “silence regime” during which combat operations and shelling in the contact zone of Kiev’s troops and south-eastern militias should be stopped. In turn, the Defence Ministry of the DPR said it had not received any notifications from the Kiev authorities on the new cessation of fire. Zakharchenko said that despite the announced by Kiev “silence regime”, the Ukrainian troops used re

Luhansk republic rejects Kiev’s law on special status

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The law signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier this week is unacceptable for the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), the chairman of the LPR’s parliament, the People’s Council said on Friday, reports Tass. “The essence of the law is that we remain part of Ukraine, and we clearly cannot accept this. People had their say during the May 11 referendum. People made their choice and the Kiev authorities should acknowledge this,” Alexei Karyakin said The lawmaker said a detailed study into the law shows that the republic is subordinated to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and all the issues on the vital needs will be solved through the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine. “So it turns out that whatever we might decide they [Kiev authorities] will strangle and chop it,” Karyakin stressed. “I reiterate that we are a republic, with our laws, and we elect deputies under our laws. We are ready to cooperate in political and economic issues with Kiev, but o

WHO declares Senegal Ebola-free

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The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday an end to the deadly Ebola outbreak in Senegal, reports Tass. The United Nations Health Agency praised Senegal's efforts to stop the virus spread, calling them "a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola." The sole Ebola case in Senegal was confirmed in a man who had direct contact with an Ebola patient in neigboring Guinea. Under the WHO rules, a country can be declared Ebola-free if no new cases are reported withing 42 days.

Convict on death row be released from prison after 19 yrs

(Nigeria) In an unprecedented turn of events, a release order for Thankgod Ebhos, an inmate on death row in Benin prison has been signed by Ramalan Yero, the governor of Kaduna state. The governor signed the release in exercise of his power of Prerogative of Mercy as outlined under Section 212 of the Nigerian Constitution. Mr Ebhos is one of nine prisoners whose release order was approved to commemorate Nigeria’s 54th Independence Day celebration. Mr Ebhos came into the limelight in June 2013 when he narrowly escaped execution alongside the famous four inmates of Benin prison after their death sentence warrants were signed by the Edo state government. Thankgod, the fifth inmate, was actually taken to the gallows but was not hanged unlike the four who did not escape the hangman’s noose.  The long winding road to Thankgod’s Ebhos release began with the intervention of the international human rights Organization, Avocats Sans Frontieres France (ASF France) on the platform of their death

Nigerian govt, Boko Haram agree on ceasefire

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(Nigeria) The Nigerian Government and insurgents of the Boko Haram Islamic sect, Friday, agreed on an immediate ceasefire. The Director General of National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mr Mike Omeri, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, said "We can confirm to you that there have been contacts between the government and representatives of Boko Haram. "The discussions are essentially in relation to the general insecurity in the North East and also the need to rescue all captives of the terrorists, including the students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok. "From the discussions, they indicated their desire for and willingness to discuss and resolve all associated issues. They also assured that the school girls and all other people in their captivity are all alive and well. "Already, the terrorists have announced a ceasefire in furtherance of their desire for peace.  In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a ceasefire. "Final

Hong Kong leader to talks with protesting students

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Authorities in Hong Kong said on Thursday they were ready to start talks with student protesters next week, suggesting a breakthrough in a political crisis that has seen activists taking over the city's major parts for almost three weeks, reports Tass. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying told a news conference that in the past few days, the government had been negotiating through middlemen with the Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the organizers behind the protests. Negotiations with representatives of the organizing group Occupy Central With Love and Peace could begin as early as next week, he said, adding that the two sides would discuss ways to restore order in the region and start a second public consultation on political reform. Leung’s announcement suggests a thaw in the stand-off between Hong Kong’s government and the student protesters started in late September. Last week, the government called off planned talks with the protesters after they called on supporters

Ebola fear: Morocco turn down African Cup of Nation championship

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The authorities of Morocco decided against holding next year’s Africa Cup of Nations biennial football championship, citing concerns over the outbreak of deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, local media reported on Thursday. According to Tass,  Morocco claims that it made the decision to postpone the 16-nation football tournament, scheduled to run between January 17 and February 8 next year, as it wanted to avoid holding an event involving countries where Ebola cases were registered, as well as to prevent the expansion of the deadly virus. Issa Hayatou, the president of the African football’s governing body CAF (the Confederation of African Football), was expected to arrive in in the South Africa Republic on Thursday in order to find a solution to the problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic was spreading geographically and the death toll neared the figure of 4,500, while the number of probable and suspected cases exceeded 8,900.

Don't use Chibok girls to score political point, APC tells Jonathan

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(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to release the school girls who were abducted in Chibok over six months ago, if indeed he knows where they are, rather than seeking to make political gains out of their release. ''Mr. President, tongues are wagging that you know where the girls are and that you want them to be released only when it will give you the maximum political advantage. We don't know if this is true or not, but if it is, please release the girls now,'' the party said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. ''It is cruel and unconscionable for anyone to use these girls as pawns on a political chess board. They have now been in captivity for over six full months. Please end the agony of the girls' parents and indeed of all Nigerians,'' it said. APC said the body language of President Jonathan, since the unfortunate abduction of the gir

NEMA distributes relief materials to Chibok community

(Nigeria)The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has again distributed relief materials in large quantities to members of the Chibok community traumatised by activities of terrorists rampaging most of the North East parts of the country. National Press Officer of NEMA, Ezekiel Manzo who gave this indication during a media interaction organised by Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) and I-Nigerian Initiative in Abuja on Thursday said the materials mainly included household items of food and non-food along with some other essentials building materials for temporary shelter. Manzo said that efforts to rebuild the community will only commence after government might have defeated the terrorists so that houses of citizens will then no longer be destroyed. He added that the Director General of the agency Mohammed Sani-sidi spearheaded distribution of relief materials to critical communities to motivate other emergency officers to render support in cris

Nigeria to reviews its Firearms Act to check weapons proliferation

(Nigera) The Federal Government, as part of its broader strategy to stop the illicit flow of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) into the country has moved to strengthen the Firearms laws in the country through the proposed amendment of the 1959 Nigerian Firearm Act and the Firearms Act CAP F28 LFN 2004. This was the focus of the  Two-day Experts Roundtable on the Repeal of the Nigerian "Firearms Act" organized by the Presidential Committee on SALW (PRESCOM) to examine administrative mechanisms and laws controlling the proliferation of SALW in Nigeria. Speaking at the opening of the event in Abuja, the Chairman, PRESCOM, Amb. Emmanuel Imohe, said that the roundtable would also examine the adequacy of the Firearms Act,  the enforcement mechanisms  established therein for the control of the flow of SALW, and to make recommendations for the harmonisation of the Act with the new convention. According to Imohe, the 1959 Act is both obsolete and does not reflect the realities an

Malaysia seeks to re-enter MH17 crash site — transport minister

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Malaysia’s government said on Wednesday it would intensify negotiations with Ukrainian authorities and local militias to ensure an investigating team gets access to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine before winter sets in, reports Tass. “We will continue negotiating and hopefully, the investigation team can enter the crash site soon, before the winter season starts. Otherwise, we have to wait until the cold season is over, probably next April,” Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said, adding that Dutch investigators managed to enter the MH17 crash site on Tuesday and gathered some personal belongings of victims of the ill-fated aircraft.The minister said “the complexity of the situation in Ukraine” made it difficult to get an agreement for a full ceasefire as there were several militia groups there. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and some other ministers had already held discussions with the Ukrainian government, Liow said. The Malaysia

Second US health worker tests Ebola positive

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A second health care worker at a Texas hospital where an Ebola patient from Liberia was treated last week tested positive for the deadly virus, local health officials said on Wednesday, reports Tass. The worker of the hospital in Dallas reported a fever on Tuesday and was immediately placed in an isolation ward, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. The person was among those who provided care for Liberia's Thomas Duncan who died from Ebola on October 8. Texas health officials reported earlier that nurse Nina Pham who had contact with Duncan had tested positive for the virus that has already killed more than 4,400 people in West Africa. The death toll of the Ebola outbreak reached 4,447 on Tuesday. and the umber of probable and suspected cases stands at more than 8,900. The World Health Organization describes Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) as a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%. Symptoms inclu

Ekiti group warn politicians to respect the will of the people

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(Nigeria) As the nation waits with bated breath on whether or not the governor- elect of Ekiti state, Mr Ayodele Fayose will be sworn –in into office on Thursday, an Ekiti socio-cultural group, Ekiti Development Union (EDU)has called on the parties in conflict in Ekiti State to allow peace and the will of the people to prevail over group sentiments and personal aggrandizement. In a statement by its Chairman, Pastor Yemi Olayinka, the secretary, Mr Foluso Oguntoyinbo, and Publicity Secretary, Kunle Ogunsakin, the group said that Ekiti people have been condemned unjustly over the choice they made in the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial elections. “Never in the history of Nigeria has a people been so much derided and vilified for their choice the way Ekiti people were derided”, the group noted. The group particularly warned the E-11, another Ekiti group that went to court in their bid to disqualify Mr Ayodele Fayose from occupying the seat of governor of the state; to desist from any action