NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Tribunal sacks Bauchi lawmaker, affirms another's election
Written by Saliu Gbadamosi, Bauchi Wednesday, 16 November 2011
The State and National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Bauchi, on Tuesday, nullified the election of Honourable Idi Shehu Tiyin, member, representing Warji Constituency in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately give the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate in the April 28, 2011 election, Hamza Gawo, certificate of return as the legitimate winner of the election.
Gawo had approached the tribunal to challenge the election of Tiyin, who is the chairman, House Committee on Security, claiming that his election did not conform with the Electoral Act 2010, as it was characterised by massive rigging, malpractice, ballot stuffing and snatching of ballot boxes, adding that the defendant also presented a false qualification to the INEC.
During the hearing of the petition, Gawo called a number of witnesses, including officials from the Certificate Evaluation Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, to prove his allegations. The officials from the ministry told the tribunal that the Standard Certificate of Education allegedly issued by Standard Association Examinations of the United States of America was not recognised in either Nigeria or the USA.
Delivering her judgment, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Maria Sanda Zukogi, said that the tribunal was convinced, based on the evidence before it, as of the time of the election, that Honourable Tiyin was not qualified to contest the election and, therefore, declared Gawo, who came second with the majority of votes cast in the election as the winner.
I’ll continue to toe path of peace –Shettima
Written by James Bwala, Maiduguri Wednesday, 16 November 2011
THE Borno State governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has said his administration will continue to toe the path of peace and negotiation, even as he called on the opposition to join him in running the state.
Shettima said this in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, shortly after returning from Abuja, following his victory at the election petitions tribunal.
He said the victory was a thing of joy to him and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), adding that “we do not even enjoy the luxury of a protracted legal tussle in Borno, taking into cognisance the developmental challenges and the insurgency facing us in the state.”
The governor called on members of the opposition political parties to sheathe their swords and join hands with his administration for the greater glory of Borno.
It will be recalled that an explosive device suspected to be planted on the roadside by members of the Boko Haram went off in Maiduguri, on Monday, as Governor Shettima was being welcomed back to the state, after winning at the election petitions tribunal in Abuja.
The governor, therefore, called on everyone to ensure peace and tranquility reigned in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Simeon Midenda, said the blast came from a canister thrown at a police patrol vehicle “but did not affect either the targeted vehicle or any person around.”
Nigerian Tribune reported that but for the security mounted by the police and men of the Joint Task Force, the attackers might have been able to hit their target.
UI to honour Yar’Adua, Gambari, Adeboye, Solanke Saturday
Written by Adebayo Waheed Wednesday, 16 November 2011
AS part of its 2011 convocation ceremony, the University of Ibadan (UI) will, on Saturday, honour four prominent Nigerians for their contributions to the socio-economic development of the country.
Those to be honoured by the institution are the former president, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua; former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States (US), Professor Agboola Gambari; the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Fo-lake Solanke.
Nigerian Tribune learnt at the congregation for the award of certificates, diplomas and first degrees of the institution, on Tuesday, that the late former president would be presented with a post-humous award.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Adewole, reiterated the commitment of the institution to implementation of post-graduate pro-grammes, in fulfillment of its mission as research and post-graduate university.
While noting the challenges of admission into the university, he said the institution had been under pressure to select the best candidates from the number of prospective candidates.
He called on graduating students of the university to rise to the challenges in the global labour market and equip themselves with further knowledge, in view of the high standard job requirement.
Kebbi: Don calls for employment of non-academic staff for college
Written by Mathew Abraham, Birnin Kebbi Wednesday, 16 November 2011
THE Acting Provost of the College of Preliminary Studies, Yauri, Mallam Ahmad Abu Bawa, has made a passionate appeal to the Kebbi State government to employ more non-academic staff for the school, in order to promote learning.
Bawa made the appeal recently while addressing newsmen in his office, adding that the school was now operating with only nine non-academic staff.
He said the school was established to assist students in gaining admission to tertiary institutions.
The provost further explained that the school had made a tremendously achievements by producing and assisting 36 medical students, 28 veterinary students and 20 pharmacists to gain admission into various university across the country.
He commended the state governor, Usman Saidu Dakingari, for approving N23 million to the school for rehabilitation.
EFCC told to give detailed account of all past arrests
Written by Yinka Oladoyinbo, Akure Wednesday, 16 November 2011
The Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists (CNCRA) has charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to give a detailed account of all the arrests the agency had made in the past.
The conference argued that this was necessary as the commission seemed to have outlived its usefulness due to its politici-sation.
A statement by the convener of the group, Ifeanyi Odilli and the secretary, Sina Akadiri, alleged that the commission was being used as a witch-hunt against certain individuals in the country, particularly the opposition.
The group stated that the recent arrest and arraignment of some past governors by the commission, although a welcome development, led to the asking of questions over the past activities of the EFCC.
The group said: “What is the fate of previous arrests and prosecutions of political office holders, such as EFCC vs Ogbu-lafor; PDP National Chairman; EFCC vs Chief Lucky Igbinedion, a for-mer governor of Edo State; EFCC vs Honourable Ndudi Elumelu; EFCC vs Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State; EFCC vs Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State; EFCC vs Dimeji Bankole and others and very many others.
“In all of the above, not a single suspect was convicted except the face-saving and very ridiculous fine of N500,000 slammed on the former governor of Edo State, who was accused of huge financial crimes.
The CNCRA also asked the commission to tell Nigerians the reason why some former political office holders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had not been questioned over some alleged financial recklessness that occurred while they were in office.
It said: “If the EFCC cannot question the former president over financial recklessness, all charges against the former governors be dropped forthwith as they enjoy the same immunity as provided for by the constitution of Nigeria.
“Since it has become a matter of public interest, the CNCRA requires a strong and persuasive explanation on the issues raised herein, failure which the CNCRA will be forced to forward a petition against the Government of Nigeria to the United Nations Secretary- General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, to caution the ruling Government against the use of EFCC to suppress, intimidate and harass past public office holders, particularly those they perceived to be in the opposition.”
2012 budget: President meets Senate today
Written by Ayodele Adesanmi, Abuja Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Ahead of the presentation of the 2012 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, the leadership of the Senate will today meet President Goodluck Jonathan.
The meeting, which is at the instance of the Senate, would deliberate extensively on the direction of the appropriation bill which would be presented to the National Assembly by the president before the end of November.
This was part of the resolutions made at the closed door meeting of the Senate on Tuesday.
A source who was at the meeting told the Nigerian Tribune that the Senate would be involved in this year’s budget act and that there was need to dialogue with the president before the presentation.
According to the source, “the leadership of the Senate would meet the president on Wednesday and the meeting would centre on the 2012 Appropriation Bill, the presentation time and the focus of the bill.”
It added that the closed door meeting essentially focussed on the issue of the Appropriation Act and security.
After the closed door meeting, it was learnt that the security chiefs met with all the Senate Committees that are related to security.
The meeting, it was learnt, discussed the insecurity situation of the country most especially the recent bomb explosions in Borno and Yobe states and the way forward.
The committee members in attendance were those of Defence and Army, Air Force, Police Affairs, National Security and Intelligence, Interior and Navy.
The venue of the meeting was not known to Senate reporters but it was later learnt to have been held in the office of one of the principal officers.
Senate spokesman, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, told newsmen that the closed door meeting was more concerned with the matter of national security, assuring Nigerians that the National Assembly members would continue to engage the executive on the issue of security.
Abaribe, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, stated that the “Committees on Police Affairs, Security and National Intelligence, Defence and Army, Air Force, Navy and Interior and all of us are aware of the situation of things in the country today and we want to also let you know that the National Assembly will continue to engage the executives with regards to national security.
"The discussion is ongoing to ensure that each and everyone of us live in Nigeria that is free from the current problem that we are undergoing and we hope that every Nigerian will be more concerned about our security and that is exactly what we are doing.
"We have recently introduced manual security measures. You will also recall that not too long ago, we had an executive interaction with all the various heads of security organisations in Nigeria and this discussion has been ongoing and is part of what we did today.”
Nigerians spent $300m in 2010 for heart surgeries in India
Written by Gbola Subair and Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja Wednesday, 16 November 2011
The Kanu Heart Foun-dation (KHF) has dis-closed that Nigerians spent a whooping $300million for open heart surgeries in India in 2010.
To put an end to this anomaly and conserve the country’s hard-earned foreign exchange, the KHF has proposed the establishment of a cardiac centre in Abuja.
Addressing newsmen on the proposed fund raiser for the project which is slated for February 2012, the founder of KHF and former captain of the Super Eagles, Mr Kanu Nwankwo, said the plan to build the cardiac centre was in line with the aims and objectives of KHF.
He said the project, estimated to cost $35million or N5billion, would, upon completion, perform at least 250 open heart surgeries annually with free treatment for heart patients between the ages of 1-12 while adults would receive subsidised treatment.
To achieve the fund raiser objective, he said the foundation had appointed Messrs Red Sapphire, a leading marketing communications and events management company led by Ono Akpe.
“Presently, it costs KHF five times more to send one child overseas for open heart surgery than if the surgery was performed here in Nigeria if the facilities were available,” Nwankwo declared.
He said since the inception of KHF in 2000, the foundation had spent $4.2million, an average of $10,000 per person for surgeries outside Nigeria.
Hajj: Jigawa spends N100m on pilgrims’ accommodation, meals
Written by Kola Oyelere, Kano Wednesday, 16 November 2011
AS a measure to assist pilgrims of Jigawa State expected to be airlifted from Saudi Arabia soon, the state government has resolved to spent over N100 million as accommodation and provide free three square meals to them in Arafat, Medina and Mecca.
According to a message forwarded by a correspondent in Saudi Arabia, the executive secretary to the Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Alhaji Alhassan Muhammad, who disclosed this in the holy land, the accommodation subsidy was part of Alhaji Sule Lamido’s welfare package to the over 3700 pilgrims.
He said the free meals to over 3,000 pilgrims started from Nigeria, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, to Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and now continued in Mecca.
Alhaji Alhassan noted that over 90 per cent of their pilgrims had so far visited Medina, while the remaining ones would be travelling to the city before the weekend.
He, however, refuted a rumour that the state pilgrims were involved in an accident at Minna, saying what happened to their pilgrims was that a number of them were sick and had recoverred since.
He added that the Jigawa welfare agency had recorded a huge success in this year hajj operation, noting that many states were coming to them for support on the way they organised animal sacrifice which the state started about two years ago.
The secretary, therefore, said the state government provided enough medical centres capable of catering for their pilgrims.
He said the agency had made adequate preparation to return the pilgrims to Nigeria, saying Alhaji Lamido had been up and doing to ensure total success in the hajj operations.
Uche brothers give Keshi first victory
Written by Tosin Omojola Wednesday, 16 November 2011
UCHE brothers, Kalu and Ike, saved the day for the Super Eagles as the Nigerian team laboured to a 2-0 win over the Chipolopolo of Zambia in an international friendly played yesterday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
The match was the second under new coach, Stephen Keshi. The Eagles, four days ago, had played a goalless draw against Botswana in Benin and looked forward to a winning outing against The Chipolopolo.
A ninth minute goal by Kalu Uche who connected home a long pass from hardworking Ahmed Musa put the Eagles ahead but the Nigerian side later went to sleep and lost proceedings to the Zambians led by Christopher Katongo.
While the first half performance was a little better, the second half was nothing to write home about for the Eagles who were forced to run around the pitch by the well- coordinated and skillful Zambians. The Kaduna fans did not hide their feelings as they jeered at the Eagles.
When the fans were already trooping out of the stadium, Ike Uche sealed victory for the Eagles as he finished off yet another clinical pass from Musa.
Keshi described the match as tough but rewarding.
''It was a tough one but quite beneficial to the players and the technical crew, our approach to the game was successful, even if we did not quite impress, we got the result we wanted,'' Keshi said in a post-match interview.
Eguavoen names squad •As Dream Team returns today
Written by Tosin Omojola Wednesday, 16 November 2011
U-23 national team coach Austin Eguavoen will release the list of players to don the country's jersey at the CAF Olympics qualifier scheduled to hold in Morocco.
The Dream Team which has been preparing for the tourney in Ghana is expected back in the country later today baring any last minute change.
Already, the tactician had pruned the number of players in camp after series of friendly matches played by the team and he is expected to make his final choices for submission to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Team officials disclosed that the Nigeria Olympics team is due back in the country from a training camp in Ghana today.
''The team will fly into Lagos enroute to Morocco for the final qualifiers,'' team media officer Arafat Aliu said.
The Dream Team V has been in Accra, Ghana, since November 5 after proposed training camps in Portugal and Turkey were cancelled.
Meanwhile, media officer, Aliu confirmed that Kryvbas FC of Ukraine midfielder Michael Babatunde was on Monday issued his Moroccan visa by the Morocco embassy in Kiev.
'Sports no longer for dropouts’
Written by Omolara Alli Wednesday, 16 November 2011
COMMISIONER for Lands and Housing, Oyo State, Ajiboye Omodewu, says sportspersons are now millionaires and not droputs they were thought of in those days.
Omodewu said this yesterday at the fourth Inter House Sports competition of Bishop Akinyele Grammar School, Oke Are, Ibadan held at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan.
The commissioner thus advised parents and teachers to encourage students in sporting exercises, saying the state government will not relent in promoting sports at all levels.
Principal of the school, Rev. Mabadeje said exposure to sports is one of the school's mission statements.
''We thus inculcate in them the spirit of healthy competition while helping to develop and exercise their mental capacities for excellent performance in academics.''
Akinyele House led the competition on 190 points, Akinfenwa House came second on 175 points.
Both School and Olajide Houses came third and fourth on 148 and 123 points respectively.
It’s too early to crucify Keshi - Ogunjobi
Written by Niyi Alebiosu Wednesday, 16 November 2011
FORMER board member and Chairman of Chairmen of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi has said the Super Eagles Coach; Stephen Keshi should not be judged by the result against Botswana on Saturday in an International friendly at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Speaking with Tribunesports in Ibadan , on the accessment of the Super Eagles gaffer after his friendly matches with Botswana and Zambia since the sack of Samson Siasia, Ogunjobi said it was too early to judge him by the result saying there is still time.
According to the former Shooting Stars FC board Chairman, ‘the Big Boss should be given enough time to work as the Super Eagles coach before being crucified or condemned. “He has just started work as the head coach and got a goalless result, plus a 2-0 victory over Zambia we should be patience with him and allow him settle with the players and after playing series of matches without good result, we can then start complaining but I think Keshi will deliver and satisfy the yearnings of all soccer loving Nigerians.
All he needs is prayerto succeed,” the Osun State Football Association chairman said.
He also sent his congratulatory messages to the management and players of the 3SC football for remaining in the Nigeria Premier league, urging the team to strive very hard next season and improve on its stand.
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