Golden Eaglets land in Sokoto ahead Niger 2015

Sokoto - Nigeria's National Under-17 Team, Golden Eaglets on Friday arrived safely in Sokoto to round off their preparation towards the forthcoming 11th African Under-17 Championship starting next week in Niger.
Coach Emmanuel Amuneke led a team of 25 players and eight other officials to the historic seat of the Caliphate aboard Arik Air which departed Abuja International Airport at 10:40 am and landed at the Sultan Saddik Abubakar Airport at 11: 25 am.
The team was welcomed by a strong delegation from the Sokoto Football Association board led by its chairman, Mallam Muhammed Nasiru Saidu.
The Golden Eaglets were advised to enjoy their stay as they firm up their preparation towards the continental cadet championship. The weather condition in Sokoto is similar to what is obtainable in Niamey at this period with a temperature fluctuating between 40°C and 41°C.

Coach Amuneke said he was happy to be in Sokoto again since his last visit 24 years ago with the national Under-23 team for a friendly match ahead of the Cairo '91 All Africa Games Soccer Tournament.
"We are happy to come down to Sokoto for our final preparation for Niger 2015," he told the press on arrival. "We want to use this opportunity to thank the government and the people of Sokoto as well as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for giving us the platform to come to Sokoto and we are ready to work harder in the days ahead.
"Though, it is very hot ,  coming down to Sokoto  few days to our first game in Niger would surely help us and we just have to go through this in order to achieve our objective," he reasoned.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets have already settled into their Giginya Coral Hotel camp with arrangement already put in place for them to begin their training sessions in earnest.

- News24

Berahino on the West Brom 'naughty chair'

London - West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino is on the "naughty chair" according to manager Tony Pulis, after the striker said he wanted to move to a bigger club.
Berahino, who has scored nine league goals this season, gave an interview in which he claimed he would seek a move at the end of the season, once he had helped to secure West Brom's survival.


"He's been in the naughty chair, but he's okay, it's not too far from my desk," Pulis told reporters on Friday.
"Again, I do feel he's gone and done an interview for something else, not for what he ended up talking about
"I've spoken to him and I've spoken to his people. The most important thing Saido has got to do is don't talk about what he wants to do - but actually go out there and do it. That's what all the good players do. They actually go out and perform on the pitch."
Albion, who visit relegation rivals Burnley on Sunday, put contract talks on hold with the 21-year-old striker late last year, according to media reports.

- Reuters

No panic over Cuadrado says angry Mourinho

Cobham - Jose Mourinho insisted Friday that new signing Juan Cuadrado was not a "panic buy" as the Chelsea manager resumed relations with the media during a tetchy press conference.
Mourinho refused to speak to the media before or after Premier League leaders Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester City last week because of the Football Association's decision to ban Diego Costa for stamping in the League Cup semi-final win over Liverpool.
Costa was banned for three games for a challenge on Liverpool's Emre Can, with Mourinho saying excessive media scrutiny was behind the suspension.


The Chelsea manager, who risks a Premier League fine for his self-imposed silence, was evidently still agitated on Friday.
Indeed, the Portuguese admitted he was only present at the press conference at the club's Cobham training ground, south of London, because he had to be.
Recent decisions against Chelsea were indirectly, and sometimes sarcastically, referred to, as was the fact that Arsene Wenger was not punished for pushing Mourinho in Arsenal's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last October.
Meanwhile, Mourinho, whose side will kick-off at strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, the reigning champions, pointedly refused to mention Costa by name.
His sour mood was made evident immediately, when he was asked whether he was excited by the signing of Cuadrado, who arrived from Fiorentina for a reported fee of 23.3 million ($34.9 million, 30.8 million euros), as a direct replacement for Andre Schurrle, who joined Wolfsburg.
"Normal," Mourinho responded, with a facial expression that didn't exactly indicate his mood was normal.
"It's not a panic buy. It's a reaction to Schurrle, a departure that is not a panic buy because he (Cuadrado) is a player we've known for a long, long time.
"Schurrle is a player we like very, very much but the business was very good. We are happy with it."
Noisy silence

Mourinho was then asked why he has never won at Villa Park, one of just two English stadiums along with St James' Park where he has not enjoyed victory.
"Because the opponents score more goals than us, or sometimes the same number of goals," Mourinho said.
The former was the case last season, as Villa won 1-0 in a bad-tempered game that saw the Chelsea manager sent off along with Ramires and Willian. He appeared to still be angry about that too.
"There are matches that are impossible to win and you have to be smart enough to understand that."
Mourinho's mood became so difficult that he was asked the reason, and whether it was because he had to speak to the press.
"Speak to you? You know why I'm here, so you cannot expect that I'm super happy to be here," he said.
When asked whether he expected to be punished for not talking to the media before the City match, Mourinho responded with another grievance, referencing Wenger's push.
"You know, the only surprise I had in relation for that was not to be punished when I was pushed by another manager. Apart from that, I can expect everything."
Regarding his reasons for not speaking to the press, the Chelsea manager said: "Because, if you want, you can make a silence very noisy.
"It depends what you want to do. You could make noise with my silence, because you know the reason for my silence. It depends on you. If I was a journalist, from silence I could make lots of words."
Otherwise, Mourinho confirmed that there were only two absences for Saturday, Filipe Luis and Costa whom he refused to name.
"Filipe is injured and the player who is suspended is suspended. Everybody (else) is fit."

- AFP

Wenger warns Wilshere

London - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Jack Wilshere he must "master his life" after confirming the Gunners midfielder had apologised for being photographed holding a shisha pipe at a nightclub.
Wilshere, 23, who is nearing a return to first-team action following ankle surgery, generated unwelcome headlines after pictures were posted on social media following a night out in London.
It was not the first time Wilshere has found himself in an unflattering photograph after he was pictured smoking in Las Vegas last year with England goalkeeper Joe Hart after the World Cup.
Wenger, speaking Friday ahead of Arsenal's north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, said Wilshere had apologised and that the player had been reminded of his responsibilities.
"I have spoken with him about that (smoking) and he is not a smoker," Wenger said. He is of course sorry for what has happened.
"It is down to him to master his life. He had the day off the next day and he went out to watch the Super Bowl.
"When he is here he has to follow the rules that we dictate here. When he is out of his job, it is his own responsibility to behave like he wants to behave."

Also read: Wilshere out for three months
The veteran French manager added: "I believe his photo has been taken at half past 12 when he watched the Super Bowl. I don't know any more of what happened and it's not of a big interest."
Thursday saw Wilshere post a video of himself in training as he recovered from ankle surgery along with the message: "Worry about your character not your reputation, because your character is who you are and your reputation is only what people who don't know you think about you!"
Wenger added Friday that much of the recent publicity surrounding Wilshere was unfair to a player whose career has been blighted by injury.
"You are always worried for your players that they get what they don't deserve, but I think I observe him well and he behaves in a very professional way," Wenger said.
"Jack has gone through some bad spells in his career and always recovered.
"It would be wrong to give him that kind of (bad) reputation because he is a serious player and he works very hard.
"He is two weeks ahead of schedule in his (recovery) training, and you don't do that if you are not serious."
Wenger also told reporters: "You have been 20 as well. You need sometimes to relieve the pressure a bit.
"Today it is much more difficult because everywhere you go people make photos and a photo shows one second of your life.
"It doesn't define who you are," added Wenger, who took action against Wojciech Szczesny after it emerged the Arsenal goalkeeper had smoked a cigarette in the showers following the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year's Day.
Arsenal have won their last five games and Wenger warned that a fully-fit Wilshere would not be guaranteed a first-team place.
"Any player has a battle in our squad now," he said.

- AFP

Atletico's aerial strength a worry for derby - Ancelotti

Barcelona - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admits that Atletico Madrid's aerial strength against his side's inexperienced defence is cause for concern ahead of Saturday's La Liga derby.
Real's regular centre-backs Sergio Ramos and Pepe are injured while left-back Marcelo is also suspended for the game, when victory for leaders Real would give them a 10-point cushion over third-placed Atletico.
Frenchman Raphael Varane has been playing alongside Ramos recently, and has been involved in some important games for the club, but the homegrown Nacho Fernandez has been given little playing time since he made his debut under Jose Mourinho in 2011.
Also read: Arsenal search for derby delight

While Nacho is quick he is not tall, and Ancelotti says they lack height against a physical Atletico side that might choose to play Mario Mandzukic in attack rather than Fernando Torres because of the Croat's aerial ability.
"We are limited in this area and it is a problem for us," Ancelotti told a news conference on Friday. "It was the same for us against Sevilla (when Real won 2-1), where they had more powerful players than us and we managed to cope with it.
"We will use others to get back and help out the smaller players.
"The injury to Sergio (Ramos) is serious but I have complete confidence in Varane and Nacho. They are both very good players and are looking forward to the game, especially Nacho, and I am sure that he will be fine."
Real have suffered a series of injuries so far this season. They are also missing Luka Modric and James Rodriguez further up the pitch.
"A lot of the problems have just meant players have been out for a short amount of time, but others like Sergio's are more important," Ancelotti said.
"There have been too many injuries for midfield players though, and this is a worry."
Atletico have been criticised in some games this season for being too aggressive, but Ancelotti denied this was a concern.
"We don't have any fear. They are a team which works well above all defensively and they are one of the best sides in the world," the Italian said.
"We are focusing on the best way to make it difficult for them and to beat them."
Real are four points ahead of second-placed Barcelona, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

- Reuters

Jonathan dumps Oritsejafor

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2015-02-06 19:30

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan has replaced his erstwhile close friend and business associate, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor as the arrowhead of his re-election campaign among Nigerian Christians, reports NewsDay.

In his stead, President Jonathan has settled for President of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo.

Jonathan believes Oyedepo’s church with with over 4 million members is of more political asset than Oritsejafor, who many believe has lost his political value due to the numerous scandals around him.

Aside Oyedepo, President Jonathan has also enlisted the support of popular pastors like Paul Enenche, Paul Adefarasin, Uma Ukpa

The thinking in the presidency is that President Jonathan can draw from the goodwill of these pastors to ensure that Christians vote for him in the February 14 presidential election.

Read more at NewsDay.

- Newsday

APC promises improved healthcare delivery

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2015-02-06 21:10

Displaced people from Baga listens to President Goodluck Jonathan (unseen) in a Maiduguri camp on January 15, 2015. Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan met survivors from what is thought to be Boko Haram's worst attack in its six-year insurgency. H ~ OLATUNJI OMIRIN

Abuja - The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday promised to deliver improved healthcare services to Nigerians if elected.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, said the party’s Health Policy would provide adequate medical personnel and midwifery to reduce maternal mortality rate at the local communities.

Mohammed made this known at the Nigeria Political Parties discussion series organised by Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) for APC and PDP in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria’s health performance is low; the maternal rate is 62 per cent and 12 per cent infant mortality.

He said if voted into the Presidency, the APC government would extend the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover everyone in the country.

"The major focus of APC is to make healthcare services cheap and also ensure that the informal sector of the Nigerian society benefit from the scheme.

Also read: APC promises peaceful governorship election in Osun 
"The issue of training and retraining of medical personnel will be improved upon at the local communities, and will give room for more midwifes at the local communities," Mohammed said.

He said that APC would also place emphasis on health policy that would revolve around a local network of mobile clinics to make it easily accessible to Nigerians.

Mohammed said that funding for the various health initiatives would be raised through the elimination of corruption and wastages of funds.

"We will tackle corruption to generate revenue to execute the project; it is not about dwindling revenue about mismanagement and embezzlement.

"The price of crude oil has also gone down in many countries in the world but they are not complaining as much as we are complaining."

On Education, Mohammed said the rate of poor performance of students in the National Examination Council (NECO) and Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) called for a national attention.

According to him, Nigeria is the only country where parents have better education than their children, indicating the falling standard of education in the country.

He said that APC would ensure free and qualitative education at all levels and resuscitates technical schools to make them appealing.

"Education is a big problem in Nigeria, more than 10.5 million children dropped out of school every year, especially at the northern part where insecurity had sent children out of schools."

At the debate, Mr Kachi Onanuju, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, said that the present administration had done a lot on healthcare delivery, such as the fight against the outbreak of Ebola virus.

Onanuju said that government had succeeded in curbing polio diseases across the country, adding that a world class hospital had been established in Akwa-Ibom to handle sicknesses that required adequate attention.

He said that child mortality had dropped considerably, adding that many hospitals have been refurbished at the federal, state and at the local levels.

He said that the present administration had been able to tackle HIV/AIDs in the country, adding that people living with the disease are receiving adequate medication and stigmatisation has also reduced tremendously.

"People living with the disease are receiving adequate attention now and the transfer from mother to child has also reduced.’’

The PDP chieftain said that the administration had been able to block corrupt practices in the civil service through IPPIS whereby several billions are being saved for the government on a monthly basis.

On education, he said President Goodluck Jonathan had built 12 new federal universities across the country in addition to Almajiri schools in the northern region.

He said that the PDP administration did not neglect technical schools in the country as it was building talents.

- NAN

Morocco banned from 2017, 2019

Malabo - Morocco were kicked out of the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Friday while Equatorial Guinea were punished for the unrest in Thursday's semi-finals in which 36 fans were injured.
Morocco were also fined $1 million (EUR8.8m) and ordered to pay just over EUR8 million ($9m) in compensation after they refused to host this year's event due to fears over Ebola.
Also read: No panic over Cuadrado says angry Mourinho

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee also announced that Equatorial Guinea, who stepped in to host the 2015 event, were being fined $100,000 after violent scenes in their 3-0 semi-final defeat to Ghana.
Meanwhile, Tunisia's soccer chief was banned from all African football activities for claiming his team was cheated out of a quarter-final win against the hosts.
CAF refused to accept Morocco's reasons for pulling out of hosting the 2015 event.
"The CAF executive committee considered that, contrary to what the Royal Moroccan Football Federation cited, force majeure cannot be accepted for the benefit of the federation," said CAF.
"CAF decided to suspend the national team of Morocco from the next two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2017 and 2019, and to impose on the federation the regulatory fine of $1 million.
"...they decided by a separate measure to be borne by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation the sum of eight million and fifty thousand euros in compensation for all material damage sustained."
'repeat offenders'

Despite disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday's semi-final defeat to Ghana in Malabo, supporters will still be allowed into the country's third-place playoff against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.
CAF meted out the fine to the Nations Cup hosts "for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders" for crowd trouble, said a confederation statement.
An order to play Saturday's third place playoff behind closed doors was suspended "to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015".
But CAF made it clear that if there was more unrest then it would "automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team's next official match".
Saturday's playoff is being held at the same 15,000-seater stadium in Malabo where Equatorial Guinea's supporters pelted Ghanaian fans with plastic bottles and chairs on Thursday night.
The game was halted for over half an hour with Ghana eventually winning 3-0 to set up a final on Sunday with Ivory Coast in Bata.
As the missiles rained down, the 500 visiting Ghana fans poured onto the pitch and play was halted eight minutes from time as security officials battled to regain control.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) described the scene as a "war zone."
After the match, the Ghanaian supporters were kept at the stadium for several hours while further chaos ensued outside the ground.
Equatorial Guinea supporters broke street light poles and overturned vendors' tables.
The Ghana team were escorted to Malabo airport for the short flight from the island city to Bata on the mainland.
Equatorial Guinea's governing Democratic Party blamed the country's "eternal enemies" for Thursday's violence in Malabo.
It hit out at "the acts of provocation designed to create the disorder... perpetrated by the eternal enemies and detractors of our people and by their agents who wanted to disturb the peace".
unfairly treated

Tunisia football chief Wadie Jary was banned from all CAF activities on Friday following claims his side were unfairly treated during their defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
CAF ordered Jary and the Tunisian federation to apologise or provide evidence to back up their complaints before midnight on Thursday.
However when no apology was forthcoming, CAF suspended Jary until an apology materialised.
Tunisia were warned they also face the same fate as Morocco and will be banned from the 2017 Cup of Nations if they fail by March 31 to supply either an apology or proof of bias.
Tunisian tempers flared after Mauritian referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn awarded the hosts a dubious stoppage-time penalty which resulted in the equaliser in their quarter-final clash.
When the final whistle sounded after Equatorial Guinea won 2-1, riot police had to protect the match officials from furious Tunisian players.
CAF banned Seechurn for six months and dropped him from the elite referees panel.

- AFP

S.Sudan fighters carried out a 'month of rape': UN

Juba - South Sudanese fighters carried out a "month of rape", a top United Nations rights chief has said, warning that atrocities continue with a seventh ceasefire broken.
"Violations continue to take place," said UN Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, after visiting the "destroyed" towns of Bentiu and Malakal.
Simonovic, speaking after visiting areas that have seen some of the worst fighting in the past 13 months of war, said he had received the "simply appalling" report of fighters embarking on a campaign of rape.
"This is absolutely intolerable," he said, without giving further details as to which of the multiple armed forces was responsible.
"It is essential to push for peace, this situation is not sustainable," he added, in a statement released Friday.
Fighting erupted in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused ousted deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup.

Also read: AU urged to release South Sudan probe
It quickly spread from the capital Juba, triggering a cycle of retaliatory massacres across the country.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon this week accused the leaders of putting their own interests above those of their people, after they agreed another ceasefire on Sunday but failed to reach a power-sharing deal.
Kiir and Machar have been set a March 5 deadline to strike a final full peace agreement, but similar previous deadlines have been repeatedly ignored.
UN aid chief Valerie Amos arrives in South Sudan Friday for a three-day assessment mission.
Half the country's 12 million people need aid, according to the United Nations, which is also guarding some 100,000 civilians trapped inside UN camps ringed with barbed wire, too terrified to venture out for fear of being killed.
Simonovic also repeated calls for the African Union to release findings of its inquiry into atrocities, amid warnings that ignoring its recommendations would help the guilty to evade justice.
"Peace, if it is to be sustainable, needs to include justice," Simonivic said.

- AFP

S.Sudan fighters carried out a 'month of rape': UN

Morocco man fears torture if deported from Spain

Madrid - Campaigners on Thursday demanded that Spain halt the deportation to Morocco of a man who fears being tortured there after being sentenced over unrest in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Rights activist Hassanna Aalia, aged 26, is demanding political asylum in Spain but says Spanish authorities have turned down his request. He told AFP he faces torture in jail in Morocco.
Aalia was one of the organisers of a protest camp that drew tens of thousands of Sahrawis in 2010 in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony now controlled by Morocco.
He was accused of killing members of the Moroccan security forces during unrest that broke out when they raided the camp and crushed the protest.
Eleven security force agents and two Sahrawi civilians died in the clashes.
Aalia denied any wrongdoing but said he was sentenced to life in prison in absentia by a Moroccan military court in 2013, while he was studying in Spain. He had earlier received a suspended sentence from a civilian court.
"If I go back there, I face jail for life and all kinds of torture and mistreatment," he told AFP.

Also read: Morocco arrests alleged Algerian jihadist
An interior ministry spokeswoman told AFP the ministry could not comment on the case due to confidentiality laws governing asylum cases.
Aalia said his lawyer was preparing to lodge a last-minute appeal against his deportation at Spain's National Court. It was not certain whether he could be deported before the appeal runs its course.
He alleged Spain was refusing him asylum to protect its economic relations with Morocco.
"This is a political case. Economic interests are being placed above all else," he said.
Aalia's supporters staged a five-day hunger strike in Madrid airport which ended on Wednesday.
They then handed to the interior ministry a petition demanding asylum for Aalia, signed by 150 groups including branches of the left-wing party Podemos and the leading trade union UGT.
Morocco took control of most of Western Sahara in November 1975 when Spain withdrew. Repeated bids by UN mediators to hold a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawis have failed.
The Spanish Human Rights Association warned Spain it was breaching international human rights treaties by denying Aalia asylum.
"The expulsion order could be a death sentence to this person," it said. It accused Morocco of "repression" in the territory.

- AFP

Harvard bans professors from having sex with students

Cambridge - Harvard University has instituted a total ban on professors having sex with undergraduate students, strengthening language it said didn't reflect its expectations on appropriate relationships between faculty members and students.
Harvard said in a statement released Thursday the change came as part of a formal review of its policy on Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences Committee on Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures determined the university's language on "relationships of unequal status" was not strong enough.
"Therefore, the Committee revised the policy to include a clear prohibition to better accord with these expectations," Harvard said in its statement.

Also read: Why pastors love sex and cheating
The university, which is based in Cambridge, just outside Boston, has about 2 400 faculty members and about 6 700 undergraduate students. Previously, its policy prohibited professors from having sex with students under their direct supervision. The policy now specifically bans professors and undergraduates from having any romantic or sexual involvements.
History professor Alison Johnson, who led the committee, said it spent last summer and fall consulting with students, faculty members and staff to get feedback.
"As part of this process, we thought a lot about the way that power dynamics can contribute to sexual harassment," Johnson said in an email. "We wanted to emphasize that the central characteristic of any relationship between a professor and an undergraduate in the College should be pedagogical."

- AP

Police find 10 bodies in ex-crematorium in Mexico

Acapulco - At least 10 bodies were discovered in an abandoned crematorium in Mexico's Pacific resort of Acapulco after neighbors complained of a foul smell, police said Friday.
Army and federal police were deployed to guard the crematorium, which was abandoned a year ago, while authorities removed the bodies in the Llano Largo neighborhood, a high-ranking Guerrero state police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The bodies were in an advanced state of decay but the officer did not give any more details about the corpses.
Acapulco was once a favorite haunt of Hollywood stars, but the city has lost its flair over the years, while feuding drug gangs have turned it into one of Mexico's most violent places.

Also read: Bodies of two kids found at a stream in Enugu
The port is in Guerrero state, where authorities say 43 college students were abducted by corrupt police and handed over to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, whose henchmen killed and incinerated the victims.
The aspiring teachers, all young men, vanished on September 26 in the city of Iguala, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Acapulco.
The Iguala case has sparked protests and turned into the biggest challenge of President Enrique Pena Nieto's two-year-old administration.

- AFP

Ebola nightmare does not end with recovery

Geneva - People who survive Ebola continue to suffer from serious physical and psychological ailments and require care long after the deadly virus has left their bodies, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Nearly 9,000 people have died from Ebola since the west Africa-centred outbreak began 13 months ago, but many thousands more have survived the virus and are facing the aftermath.
Also read: 'Encouraging' Ebola drug results in Guinea

"There's a huge need for ongoing care for people who've recovered from Ebola," WHO technical advisory Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva.
Survivors suffer a wide range of symptoms, including muscle and joint pains, including chronical arthritis, and sight loss, she said.
In addition, they are often traumatised by their experience and face a variety of psychological problems.
"It's becoming clear that the disease doesn't just end in the acute phase," Harris said.
The UN health agency convened an international meeting of experts last week to discuss needed revisions to Ebola treatment guidelines.
The experts, including clinicians working with Ebola patients in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone at the epicentre of the outbreak, had agreed that far more attention needed to be paid to survivors of the virus, Harris said.
"There's a need to have such people on registries so they can be followed up," she said.
Children especially at risk

It was especially important to follow up children who had been infected with Ebola, she said, pointing out that it remained unclear "what the psychological effects of what they've been through are (and) if this will have any effect on their neurological development and other development."
The experts also recommended a range of other changes in the way Ebola patients are treated and managed.
They found that young children and pregnant women, who have had very high fatality rates in the epidemic, required special treatment.
Around 90 percent of children under the age of one who have contracted Ebola have died, Harris said, pointing out that there was some indication that "simply being separated and isolated ... had a devastating psychological effect on children."
Caretakers fearful of contracting Ebola may also not provide them with the assistance they need to eat and drink, or weigh them to estimate the correct amounts of medication and intravenous liquids to administer.
"The standard methods are not ideal," she said.
Pregnant women too have a high fatality rate, although Harris said at least 21 were known to have survived.
But their foetuses rarely live, since "the amniotic fluid is an immunological sanctuary" where Ebola can remain and amplify even after the mother has fully recovered.
This means "the delivery is an enormous risk" for everyone involved, Harris said.
She said some of the Liberian experts had proposed using caesarians to help control the health care workers' exposure to the mother's highly infectious body fluids.
Otherwise, the experts found that the quality of care could dramatically improve an Ebola patient's chances of survival, pushing fatality rates down as low as 25 percent.
Fluid intake was especially important, Harris said, adding that ideally intravenous fluid replacement should be given early on.
Such therapy is much more effective when salts and electrolytes in the blood are monitored to spot any metabolic problems, she added, pointing out that "where people can correct those, people have a better chance of surviving."

- AFP

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Delta APC vows to stop fraud inpolls

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2015-02-06 21:25

Supporters rides in a campaign bus of Nigeria's leading opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate Mohammadu Buhari and his unning mate Yemi Osinbajo in Lagos on January 24, 2015. Unknown gunmen stormed and bombed the site of a  ~  PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Delta - The All Progressive Party in the Delta State has vowed to stop corruption in polls in the region, DailyIndependent reported.
The running governorship for the APC, Vander-puya Soloka, stated that the party is tired of the power hungry and money bagging PDP.

Also read: 1 000 APC members defect to PDP in Benue
He further stated that the PDP is loosing grip of due to the state the country is and this can be seen with the ongoing violence to maneuver the upcoming elections.
The APC has no reasons to doubt the Independent National Electoral Commission that it will hold credible elections.
For more on this story visit DailyIndependent

- News24

Taraba police warn candidates against attacks on political opponents

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2015-02-06 22:14

Nigerian presidential candidate of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari and vice-presidential candidate Yemi Osinbajo attend a campaign rally on January 19, 2015 in Kaduna. Buhari will face President Goodluck Jonathan ~ CHRIS STEIN

Jalingo - The Commissioner of Police in Taraba, Mr Ademola Omole, has warned governorship candidates of various political parties against attacking opponents at campaign rallies.
Omole gave the warning at a meeting with governorship candidates of political parties on Friday in Jalingo where an accord to end attacks on opponents was later signed by the candidates.
The commissioner decried the clash among political parties in Suntai village which claimed two lives, warning that the command would come hard on anyone that went against the terms of the accord.

Also read: Jonathan warns campaigners against threats of violence
Seven out of the 15 governorship candidates in the state signed the accord.
They include: Mr Darius Ishaku of the PDP; Mrs Charity Bulus of Advance Congress for Democracy (ACD) and Mr Charles Buki of Action Alliance (AA).
In an interview shortly after the signing of the accord, the PDP candidate, Ishaku, described the move as a wonderful step toward a peaceful election.
In his comments, Alhassan Ardo, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged security agents and other stakeholders in the electoral process to be neutral in their conduct.
Ardo said the APC was conducting issue-based campaign to win votes and would support any moves for a peaceful election.

- NAN

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Presidency hopeful Buhari expects 'landslide victory'

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2015-02-06 22:39

Nigerian presidential candidate of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari and vice-presidential candidate Yemi Osinbajo attend a campaign rally on January 19, 2015 in Kaduna. Buhari will face President Goodluck Jonathan ~ CHRIS STEIN

Abuja - Nigeria's main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari on Friday told AFP he was expecting to win next week's presidential election by a wide margin, despite talk of a close race.
The February 14 poll, in which he is challenging incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, has been seen as too close to call, leading to a possible run-off if neither man secures a first-round majority.
But Buhari, 72, dismissed the suggestion of a tight race, saying in an interview: "What's their reason for 'too close to call'? What is their speculation on? I'm expecting a landslide victory."
The former army general, who led a military government for 20 months after seizing power in December 1983, has stood unsuccessfully for the presidency three times in the last 16 years.
On each occasion (2003, 2007, 2011), he alleged electoral foul-play.
But asked if he would accept defeat this time around, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate stated: "I'm not going to lose. So, I won't answer that question."

Also read: History of Buhari
Nigeria's main opposition is considered as having its best chance yet of ending the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) unbroken run in power since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.
Buhari, who was noted for his hardline approach to indiscipline and corruption during his time in power, has been touted as the answer to Nigeria's lengthy list of problems.
The PDP has sought to portray Buhari as yesterday's man with dangerous, outdated ideas but he asserted that Africa's most populous nation and leading economy was ready for change.
"I have visited 34 states so far. In each of the states there are three things that are consistent, that are fundamental issues to this country, insecurity, the destruction of the economy and corruption," he said.
"Every Nigerian is feeling worried."

No iron fists?
Buhari rejected claims from the ruling party that he would rule again with an iron fist, saying the circumstances under a military regime were different from a civilian administration.
Multi-party democracy and the three tiers of government, enshrined in the constitution, had to be respected, with consequences for anyone acting outside the system, he said.
The APC has portrayed President Jonathan as weak on security and of being unable -- some say unwilling -- to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.
Some soldiers have complained that they lack the weapons and even bullets to fight the better-armed militants, despite defence spending accounting for some 20 percent of the federal budget.
Buhari said that if elected, his administration would "empower the law enforcement agencies to be much more efficient".
"The first thing we will do is to make sure there is efficient utilisation of resources. If money is voted for equipment and training, that money will go to equipment and training," he added.
The APC has claimed that Jonathan has failed to tackle endemic graft and Buhari said corruption was practically "a culture" in the country.
"I believe the most serious thing to do is to draw a line, that you intend to move forward," he said but added that investigating every allegation of corruption would be a hindrance to progress.
"From the day we are sworn in as a government, anybody who abuses trust will be called to account," he added.

- AFP

APC Manifesto Spending Plan To Cost N53trn Over Four Years - Business Day - Politics

Promises, proposals and projects in the 2015 election manifesto of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), could amount to an estimated N53 trillion spending plan in the first term of office, if the party’s presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari is elected into power at the February 14 polls.

BusinessDay estimates that the cost of “Building a New Nigeria”, which is the theme of the APC manifesto, could warrant an initial bill of N6.23 trillion in 2015/2016 compared to the N4.46 trillion “Transition Budget 2015” outlined by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal government.

The 2015 budget has passed a second reading at the National Assembly and could be passed before the end of the current administration in May 2015.

Economists and political analysts believe a supplementary budget cannot be ruled out, irrespective of who wins the elections. More so, they are of the view that the APC manifesto may be rather ambitious and short of financing options.

“I don’t think it is realistic in its expectations for public spending despite its philosophical foundations,” says Opeyemi Agbaje, CEO of RTC Advisory Services, commenting on the manifesto via a phone interview.

“I would have expected the document to show alternative financing methods such as public private partnerships and increased taxation. I accept that there are funding loopholes that can be plugged but there is a lack of realism about the size of these loopholes,”he adds.


High points of the manifesto include the creation of three million jobs per year; employment of 100,000 new police officers; immediate pay increase for defence and security personnel; free meals for primary school children; social security payments for 25 million poorest Nigerians; one million houses per year; interest free loans to university graduates; a N300 billion growth fund; among others.

All these have resultant costs for an APC government, if elected.

On creating three million jobs a year, BusinessDay estimates show that this would amount to N10.6 billion additional public sector wages at the current minimum monthly wage of N18,000.

Public sector wages have been a huge source of concern for government spending, after a 53.7% increase in the federal wage bill was implemented in 2010. The 2015 budget proposes N1.8 trillion or 40% of the budget for public sector wages alone.

Furthermore, the APC plans to employ100,000 new police officers, which could add another N33.6 billion wage bill per year, assuming a monthly minimum wage of N28,000.

An immediate pay increase for all five security services (Army, Navy, Airforce, Police and Intelligence) is proposed in the APC manifesto as part of a larger plan to double the entire security budget in the first term, if elected. This could cost an additional N246 billion, according to BusinessDay estimates.

The manifesto proposes one free school meal daily for all primary school children, modelled after the O-meal programme in Osun State led by Governor Aregbesola (also of the APC).

Spreading the N250 per child per day programme across the country could cost about N1.17 trillion per year.

The party proposes direct conditional monthly social security payment for 25 million of the poorest Nigerians.

This could easily amount to N1.26 trillion based on an assumption of US$1.25 (N210) cash payment per day.

The poorest Nigerians being targeted include unemployed youths less than 30 years old, senior citizens above 70 years, the disabled and army veterans.

To bridge Nigeria’s 17 million housing deficit, the APC would need about N3.5 trillion annually to achieve its one million housing target per year for the next decade.

The party proposes a National Housing Policy that will collaborate with state governments to achieve this target.

A long term plan to increase health and education spending to 35 percent of the budget by 2025, from the incumbent government’s 15 percent of budget, would add an estimated N81.16 billion of spending yearly.

The APC also proposes a N300 billion growth fund, which compares to the incumbent government’s N220 billion MSME fund.

Wale Edun, one-time Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State believes the policies outlined in the APC manifesto are “progressive, populist and aimed at the greatest good for the common man.”

He further explains that revenue will be generated “through savings from the re-ordering of priorities and plugging of loopholes.

“There are opportunities for public private partnerships and we will not be imprudent in running an expansionary programme.”

He argues that expansionary programmes, monetarism and fiscal relaxation amidst economic challenges, have been embraced all over the world, with a very recent example in Europe.

“It is a big challenge but the intention is to put the 50 percent unemployed youth back to work” Edun concludes passionately during a telephone interview with BusinessDay.

Overall, the APC manifesto seeks to redirect public spending to achieve a “50:50” balance of recurrent and capital expenditure by 2025; a feat yet to be achieved by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999.

Akin-Olusoji Akinyele

DSS Arrests Timipre Sylvia In Abuja - Politics

SSS Arrest former Baylsea Gov
Timipre Sylvia in Abuja just now. Reason not yet known, will keep you guys posted.

DSS arrests Bayelsa ex-gov Sylva in Abuja

Operatives of the Department of State Service on Friday arrested the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Timipre Sylva, in Abuja over undisclosed offences.

The spokesperson for the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, however, denied knowledge of the arrest when she was contacted for confirmation.

“Why would he (Sylvia) be picked up? I am in the office, I don’t have such information with me,” she said on the telephone.

National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Lai Mohammed, however, confirmed the arrest, promising to issue a statement on Sylva’s arrest soon.

Details later…
http://www.punchng.com/politics/dss-arrests-bayelsa-ex-gov-sylva-in-abuja/

Presidency Lists Grouse With February Polls Date - Politics

The Presidency on Friday listed some of the reasons it feels that going ahead with the February dates for the general elections as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission can “throw the country into turmoil and confusion.”

It however said President Goodluck Jonathan would not engage in any form of subterfuge to pressurise INEC to change the dates of the elections.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, stated these in Abuja at a press conference called to clarify the outcome of the Council of State meeting held on Thursday.

Okupe said there was no time during the meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when the chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, insisted on the February dates as quoted by some media reports.

He listed the level of preparedness of the electoral body and security situation in some parts of the country as some of the reasons why it will be wise to revisit the February dates.

On preparation, Okupe said in all INEC’s submissions at the meeting, the only process that was 100% concluded was the preparation and availability of the voters register.

He claimed that all other processes including provision, distribution and collection of PVCs, printing of ballot papers, distribution of verification machines and other non –sensitive materials, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff are all “work in progress.”

He added that Jega himself admitted that given a little more time, INEC would be in a better position to perfect the processes and its readiness for the elections.

He said, “Also in his presentations to the Council, the INEC Chairman, stated clearly that for the electoral process to be free, fair, and credible,  there are other matters which were not under the control of INEC, principal among which is the issue of provision and guarantee of security of lives and properties.

“The Security Chiefs were unanimous in their advice to the Council that it will be impossible for now for them to guarantee security of electoral materials, INEC Staff, and the voting population in the areas currently engulfed by the war against insurgency.”

Okupe said while some opinions were proffered that elections could be allowed to hold on February 14 in 32 states not affected by insurgency, Jonathan made it clear that he would not allow an election where some people will be excluded for no fault of theirs.

He quoted the President as further saying that endorsing such would tend to confirm the falsehood already being propagated in some parts of the country that he was encouraging the war in the North East to ensure that voters in the APC states were not allowed to vote in the 2015 elections.

He added, “For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians are hereby re-assured that there has never been, and never shall be any plan to cancel the 2015 elections, for any reasons whatsoever. It will not happen, and the May 29th date for the swearing-in is sacrosanct. All talks about interim government arrangement is pure fiction.

“The consideration behind the possibility of change of date is to allow those who may be disfranchised from voting on the 14th February to have an opportunity to exercise their lawful rights to vote and participate in the general elections.

“The new wave of successes being recorded by the Military in the War against insurgency, especially with the arrival of new effective combatant equipment and machinery, plus the newly revamped cross border co-operation with Niger, Chad and Cameroonian Military, offer a very genuine hope that in a very short while, the situation in the affected states will be brought under such reasonable control that will guarantee safety of the electoral process and electorate in the war front region of the North–East at a no distant future.

“We repeat that the only set of people who stand to benefit from a shift in election dates are Nigerians who desire to vote and have not been able to collect their Permanent Voters Cards and other innocent citizens living in the war zone who may not be able to vote on the 14th February.

“We also wish to recollect that in 2003, 2007, and 2011 the elections were held in April, and the hand over date was not affected.

“We therefore challenge the opposition to tell Nigerians in clear terms, what dangers the change of date from February 14th portends to the electoral process or to the Nigerian electorate. It will also be good if the opposition tells us who stands to benefit or be disadvantaged from any shifting of date and how.”

Okupe, while saying that INEC was not fully ready for the elections, dared the commission to direct its Resident Electoral Commissioners to swear to an affidavit to prove their readiness for the polls.

“It will be very re-assuring if the INEC can get its RECs to attach their state of readiness to a sworn affidavit and show it to Nigerians.

“The interest of this government is to ensure that we do not have a rancorous and poorly conducted general elections that will throw the country into turmoil and confusion with the likelihood of an unnecessary internal and external rejection and condemnation,” he said.

Okupe claimed that in Sokoto State, nine local government areas are yet to receive PVC for the continuous voters registration, barely nine days to the election.

He also claimed that the majority of the 960,000 ad hoc staff needed by the commission are yet to be recruited and trained especially on the operations of card readers that are yet to be made available.

He added that Lagos State is yet to receive a balance of about 12,000 card readers for elections


Presidency lists grouse with February polls date
Via Top 20 News Websites.
http://www.punchng.com/news/presidency-lists-grouse-with-february-po

2015 Election - Challenges And Mistakes Corps Members Should Look Out For - NYSC

A word is enough for the wise. I will succinctly list and explain the likely challenges corps members might experience when conducting the 2015 election. It is not a guess work but based on my experience on the governorship election in osun state '14. INEC training will never tell you all this because most of the trainers are either naïve or incompetent.

1. Removing posters of political parties on your poling unit

According to the INEC training manual, this is the first thing you are required to do before setting up your poling unit but be careful not to trigger any annoyance of party supporters or some die hard supporters. In my own case, some supporters almost cause a trepid when they accused me of removing their party poster 'first' before the other party which was not true. The problem was, other party does not even have a poster except theirs. So, they concluded that am an anti-party. To avoid such, instruct your APO's to join you in removing the posters at the same time.

2. Location of poling unit

Here you got no options than to make use with what you have. In my own case, the location of my poling unit was so small that I had no space to arrange my cubicle and other stuffs, I had to improvise with the help of the party agents. Such challenges can allow your ballot box to be far or closer to you in other to utilize the space available for voters

3. Cowardness of security personnel attached to your poling unit

This is a serious and likely challenge you cannot avoid. When I say security I don't mean "soldiers", every poling unit will be given a police officer who can either be male or female and two civil defense corps(majorly female) without no arms on them. Accreditation usually start by 8am and end by 12noon, immediately it is 12 noon, you are expected to instruct any of the security personnel to stand behind the last person on the queue. In my own case, the security personnel I instructed to do so was threatened by the voters and he told me "oga I no fit o, those people too stubborn", I was annoyed because the implication was, people keep joining the queue when accreditation should have stopped. I had to use the wisdom of giving out numbers to those on queue which really helps.

4. Voters having two voters card with different name and the same picture

Like I told you INEC training will never reveal all this challenges to you, all they say when you raise such questions is "it can never happen" but practically, it do happens but not frequently. In my poling unit, a voters was busted by some party agents with two voters card. He has already voted in a different poling units and still want to vote in my poling unit. The challenge was, is name was on our voters of register and also in the other poling unit. That is why you need the phone numbers of all your colleagues in the same ward, so that you can easily contact them for verification. I ordered is arrest but the security agents in my poling unit was unable to while he escaped.

5. Food

What I don't know is if there are any feeding allowance, all I know is we were given a training allowance. I will suggest you go to the poling unit with a flask of food because "INEC will not provide you with food" you are on your own. We were told that we will be provided with chops which most of colleague depend on but we ended up fasting. I Arrived at my poling unit around 5:30am and left around 6:30pm. You can imagine the dry fasting.

6. Always count your ballot paper

During the training, your SPO will tell you not to bother counting your ballot paper that everything is intact. My advice, count it. The ballot paper carries a unique serial number which might range from like 401-500, is just like a cheque book. You are to count it one after the other to avoid problems later. I made that mistake of believing my SPO, I told my assistance not to count it that every ballot paper is 100 each, not knowing that a particular one carries "102". This later transpires, when we notice that the number of electorate is higher than the numbers accredited by excess of "2". It took serious mathematics, brainstorming before was detected after series of frustration.

7. Party agents claiming the same name

After the training, INEC will give you the names of register party agents, so as for you to verify their authenticity. My first challenge was this, a particular party agent was claiming the name of his party and another party. He was representing party A and also party B using different name. I told him he will only choose one while I wait for the original representative of B. But guys, this guys are so smart that the name they will give you will tally with the one INEC gave you without even showing them, which means they are also the party A, B and C but trying to cause confusion.

8. Don't get intimidated by foreign journalist

According to INEC law, you are not to grant any interview during the election, except after(which is optional). If you are not smart enough, they will get you to say what you ought not to say. To avoid complexity, check their Id's to confirm if INEC accredit them, if not, walk them out respectfully and if they are, still walk them out respectfully or tell them you can't talk.

9. Party agents

If you are not careful, this people will take over your poling unit. You need that level of authority and command because these party agents are more experience than you and I, they mostly monitor your attributes to know if you are smart, intelligent or dull. If the reverse is the case, they will confused you into committing errors. Try not to be too harsh on them and also try not to be too simple because you both need each other cooperation. Never allow them to be too close to your table when collating results because they might compromise you, and mind you be transparent to all because they are monitoring and writing out all your activities.

10. Voters/ electorate

This is the greatest challenges of all. During the INEC training you will be told on how to fold the ballot paper, but hey! These voters are taught another style by their parties which most times complicate issues. The way most of them fold this ballot paper render them "invalid most times" and if you say you should follow the pattern INEC gave, it means you will render all their votes invalid. You are to apply wisdom by checking only their thumb printing. Some will say you are to fold the ballot paper for them, YES! But these voters will refold it right in your presence. Just comply and check the main thing.

Note: Not all challenges are stated here because it will be too lengthy but I hope the few ones will help. I say "holla" to all batch A, 14 in osun state as we prepare for the election and our POP. I pray for the safety of all corps members nation wide (Amen)..keep your integrity to avoid the fight of your conscience

Group Supplies ICC With Evidence Linking Buhari To 2011 Post-election Violence - Politics

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja


The Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice said on Thursday in Abuja that it has submitted additional information linking the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to the 2011 post-election violence to the International Criminal Court of Justice at The Hague.

The group’s lawyer, Prof. Sluiter Goran, spoke with the officers of the coalition in a video call on Skype, confirming that he had filed the supplementary evidence about 3pm at The Hague.

The call was set up during a press conference organised by the officers of the NCD in Abuja.

The group insisted that the 2011 post-election violence was not spontaneous “but was orchestrated and the direct result of General Buhari’s inflammatory speeches.”

The group addressed a press conference in Abuja where it accused the Federal Government of lacking the political will to stop electoral violence in Nigeria.

The group’s Secretary, Research and Documentation, Ibrahim Baba noted that the much the Federal Government did after the 2011 post-election violence was to constitute a commission of inquiry.

He said that government’s lack of will to move against sponsors of electoral violence accounted for why political actors have continued to instigate violence.

He said the government had refused to act on the report of the commission because it (the government) remained insensitive to plight of victims of such violence, and was comfortable with the culture of impunity in the land.

Baba spoke in Abuja yesterday while justifying a suit his group initiated against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Muhammadu Buhari at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his alleged complicity in the 2011 post-election violence.

He denied argument that his group was being sponsored and said that the action was not politically motivated.

He said the suit being handled by a foreign lawyer, Professor Goran Sluiter was filed in 2011. He said the lawyer only filed some supplementary evidence yesterday at the Hague, to further fortify the suit.

“The complaint (suit) sets out in detail, the background to the 2011 Nigerian electoral violence and discusses the available evidence against Gen Buhari. In addition, the complaint analyses the crimes within the ICC Statute and the modes of liability applicable to Gen Buhari,” he said.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/group-supplies-icc-with-evidence-linking-buhari-to-2011-post-election-violence/201072/

More News

The Economist endorses Buhari

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2015-02-06 13:43

Presidential candidate of Nigeria's leading opposition All Progressive Congress, Mohammadu Buhari, meets with US Secretary of State at the US Consulate in Lagos January 25, 2015. US Secretary of State John Kerry said today that peaceful and timely el ~ AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE

Lagos - The Economist, one of the world’s most read magazine on Thursday took an in-depth look into Nigeria’s pending elections and concluded that the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate,  Muhammad Buhari would probably do a better job of running the country.

The magazine said Buhari is more competent than President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The magazine described Buhari as a sandal-wearing ascetic with a record of fighting corruption.

The magazine noted that under Jonathan’s watch , poverty has increased in Nigeria and Nigerians typically die eight years younger than their poorer neighbours in nearby Ghana.

Read the full article here

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Yoruba elders reject Jonathan’s endorsement

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2015-02-06 13:43

Nigeria's President and candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Goodluck Jonathan speaks with a campaign aide during a rally in Kano, Northern Nigeria, on January 21, 2015 . The February 14 vote is expected to be close-run, with the possibil ~ AMINU ABUBAKAR

Ibadan - The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has dissociated itself from recent endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan in the  February 14 presidential election by another Yoruba political cum cultural group, Afenifere, reports The Nation.

YCE, which is also known as’ Igbimo Agba Yoruba’, made the declaration after its national executive committee met at its office in Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday.



The meeting, presided over by Major General Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd), described YCE as apolitical, saying Afenifere is a political party.

Prof. Bayo Olateju, YCE spokesman, who read out the group’s communique at the end of the meeting, said the presidency should go to the best candidate who has the vision and mission of taking Nigeria and Nigerians from poverty to wealth.

The group noted that as respectable elders of Yoruba, they believed that caution should be taken on the issue of endorsement.

Read more at The Nation.

Soldiers attack Nasir El-rufai

2015-02-06 16:18

Kaduna - Some Soldiers in Kaduna on Friday morning molested the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai.

According to Rufai’s Media Adviser,  Muyiwa Adekeye, who tweeted via his twitter handle, @muyiwaadekeye, the soldiers attacked El-rufai at the junction of Ahmadu Bello way and Rabah junction in the Kaduna metropolis.

The soldiers in the process seized the gun of the police orderly attached to El-rufai.



Senior officers of the army intervened in the ensuing scenario and brought the situation under control.

Youths who witnessed the development later gathered and sheilded El-rufai.

They then escorted him to Kawo, Muyiwa added.

Ekiti Governorship Election: Fayose, Obanikoro, Omisore implicated

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2015-02-06 15:04

A ballot box filled with ballot is pictured before being counted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at a polling station in Yenagoa in Bayelsa State ~ PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Ado Ekiti - Fresh facts have emerged on how the Peoples Democratic Party rigged the June 21, 2014 Ekiti governorship election, reports Sahara Reporters.

The 37-minute audio recording detailed how major PDP leaders planned and successfully rigged the election in Ekiti State in favour of Ayo Fayose, and plotted a similar scenario in Osun in 2014.

The meeting had in attendance Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, former Minister of State for Defense, Musikilu Obanikoro,  Senator, Iyiola Omisore, Chris Uba from Anambra State, Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh of the Nigerian Army and the Minister for Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd.).

The meeting was held at the Spotless Hotel in Ekiti.

Listen to their conversation below.

- News24

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INEC urges voters to bring cameral to polling units

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2015-02-06 16:18

A ballot box filled with ballot is pictured before being counted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at a polling station in Yenagoa in Bayelsa State ~ PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Awka - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged voters to come to the voting centers with cameras to capture any ugly event that may unfold, reports Daily Times.

Edwin Nwatarali, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Anambra State, said this will help forestall sharp practices by staff of the commission and politicians.



Nwatarali, who was speaking at a stakeholders meeting organized by the commission in Awka, said the commission can not act on electoral offences committed by its staff without proof.

The tapping of such sharp practices ,according him, will serve as proof that the commission can use against electoral offenders.

Read more at Daily Times.

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Ambode leads Agbaje in governorship poll

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2015-02-04 21:23

Lagos - Akinwunmi Ambode, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State is narrowly leading Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) in the latest opinion poll, reports Premium Times.

The survey conducted by NOIPolls shows a close race  between the two top contenders.

Ambode led the other candidates with 26 percent, with Agbaje following closely with 21 percent.



50 percent of those polled are undecided as to their choice of candidate.

The poll results also indicate that both candidates have strong support from eligible voters across all age groups.

15 candidates are vying for the governorship seat in the state.

Read more at Premium Times.

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Lagos PDP gives free kerosene to residents

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36 minutes ago

Lagos - The Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State is wooing residents of the state with free kerosene, reports NewsDay.

The distribution of the product ,which is being done during the party’s campaign rallies, is strictly for women.

The product is distributed directly from tankers.

During the distribution of the product in Ajegunle, residents of the area trooped out in their hundreds to collect their own share.


Jimi Agbaje, the party’ s governorship candidate in the state, while addressing the crowd at the rally, promised to ensure massive infrastructural development in the state.

Read more at NewsDay.

Anatomy of the missing $20 billion

Abuja - In late 2013, Nigeria's then central bank governor Lamido Sanusi wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan claiming that the state oil company had failed to remit tens of billions of oil revenues it owed the state.

After the letter was leaked to Reuters and a local news site, Jonathan publicly dismissed the claim and replaced Sanusi, saying the banker had mismanaged the central bank's budget. A Senate committee later found Sanusi’s account lacked substance.

Sanusi has since become Emir of Kano, the country's second highest Islamic authority, and has smoothed over relations with the president. He declined to discuss his earlier assertions. Before he was sacked, though, the central banker submitted to Nigeria’s parliament more than 300 pages of documentation in support of his claim. Reuters has reviewed that dossier, which offers one of the most comprehensive studies of waste, mismanagement and what Sanusi called “leakages” of cash in Nigeria’s oil industry. Detailed here, the dossier includes oil contracts, confidential government letters, private presidential correspondence and legal opinions.

Also read: The ‘missing’ $20bn abomination

Sanusi’s letter and documents do not state whether he thinks the money was stolen or lost through mismanagement. Nor did he make allegations of illegal acts against any specific individuals or entities. Both corruption and bad governance are perennial problems in Africa’s most populous nation, and central issues in elections due on February 14.

Nigeria’s oil industry accounts for around 95 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. If Nigeria continued to leak cash at the rate described in his letter to the president, Sanusi said at the time, the consequences for the economy would be disastrous. Specifically, the failure of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation “to remit foreign exchange to the Federation Account in a period of rising oil prices has made our management of exchange rates and price stability ... extremely difficult," he wrote. "The central bank of Nigeria is always blamed for high rates of interest,” but “given these leakages, the alternative is a devalued currency ... and financial instability."

That is exactly what has happened. As oil prices have plummeted to around $55 a barrel, half their level at the beginning of 2014, Sanusi’s successor Godwin Emefiele has devalued the naira, Nigeria’s currency, by 8 percent, and raised interest rates for the first time in more than two years.

Nigerian foreign exchange reserves are down around 20 percent on a year ago, while the balance in the country's oil savings account has fallen from $9 billion in December 2012 to $2.5 billion at the start of this year, even though oil prices were buoyant over much of that period. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters at a press conference in November that a significant portion of that money was distributed to the powerful governors of Nigeria’s 36 states instead of being saved for a rainy day.

Nigerians are rarely shocked by stories of billions going unaccounted for, or ending up with politically powerful individuals. Africa’s largest oil producer has for years consistently ranked towards the bottom of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

- Reuters

Woman Hides Late Brother’s Skeleton In Wardrobe For Two Years In Anambra - Violent/Disgusting Non-Celebrity Crimes

BY SAM OTTI AND EMEKA ONWUDINJO

•She cooks human parts for sale, says villagers

A food vendor in Anambra State, Ngozi Aloefuna, is in the eye of the storm after she was discovered to have been in custody of the remains of her brother who died of mental illness about two years ago. The corpse of Stephen Aloefuna, a former footballer with Rangers International Club in the 80s, was hidden in the family house for the past two years until it had decomposed to a skeleton.

Residents of Amikwo Village, Awka South Local Government Area, where the incident happened, were benumbed by the shocking discovery, even as people accused Ngozi, the food vendor, of mischievously harvesting her brother’s body parts to cook the food she sells to the public in the market.

Daily Sun investigation revealed that the woman was a popular food vendor in Eke-Awka market. Eyewitnesses to the horror told our reporter that the remains of the young man had turned into a skeleton when it was discovered by one of his brothers, who pressed Ngozi to show him where the late Stephen was buried.

The man, stunned by the bizarre sight, raised the alarm that attracted neighbours to the room. The sight shocked the neighbours, as they never imagined that they had lived with a decomposing corpse for the past two years. While suspecting Ngozi of sinister motives, the villagers alleged that she was using her late brother’s parts to prepare food for her customers, as nothing could explain why she locked up his remains in a room for two years.

It was gathered that the bewildered neighbours descended on Ngozi, as they demanded explanation for such evil. Sources disclosed that Ngozi admitted that it was the skeleton of her brother, Stephen, who died of mental sickness. However, her failure to explain why she hid the corpse increased people’s speculation that she had something sinister rolled up her sleeves.

But when Daily Sun went to the residence of the suspect to probe further, her relations denied the claim, insisting that she was innocent of any diabolical act. A member of the family, who spoke with our reporter on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death of Stephen, who he said suffered mental problem for many years before his death.

It was reported that Ngozi tried all she could do for him to recover from his sickness but all her efforts proved abortive. So, when he died, she called one of their brothers and reported the death of their brother, Stephen, but he allegedly shunned her and asked her not to bother him again. For the past two years, the corpse was denied a proper burial and abandoned in the room, where it decomposed to bones.

The dishonour to the dead came to light recently when Mr. Ifeanyi Aloefuna accosted Ngozi and demanded to see where the deceased was buried. It was at that point that she led him to the room where he beheld the terrifying skeleton of the late Stephen.

When this reporter asked Ngozi whether she was guilty of cooking her brother’s body parts, she said: “I am innocent. I did not kill my brother. Everybody knew he had a mental problem and was seriously sick before he died. Before he died, I was the only person that was taking care of him for years and nobody asked me how he was faring until he died. They said I killed him and used his body to prepare the food that I sell but only God knows the truth. I leave it for God to judge.”

She explained that shortly after her brother’s death, she called their elder brother, that was living outside the state but he warned her not to disturb his peace. According to her, since she could not bury his brother alone, she left the corpse in a room and covered him.

“I decided to cover him till he comes back because only I cannot bury him. After two years of his death, some of our family members came and asked of him and I told them he is dead and they said I should show them his grave. I opened his room and showed them where he died. Then I was arrested and taken to the police station,” she explained.

Ngozi denied embalming the corpse with native herbs to dry it and prevent any odour in the neighbourhood. One of the residents of the area told our reporter that a pungent smell pervaded the air within the area for many months in the past but no one could trace the source of the stinking odour. It was after the shocking discovery was made that residents felt disgusted of inhaling such odour from a decomposing corpse.

Daily Sun gathered that the remains of the deceased were taken to the police station, while Ngozi was detained and interrogated for some days. She was later granted bail when some of her kindred intervened. The relatives also buried the remains of late Stephen in their family compound.

When our reporter contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Uche Eze, he confirmed the incident and said that investigations were ongoing.

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