Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts

Miley Cyrus -- Beatles Fans ... Prepare to Be Offended

Sunday, March 16, 2014


Picture yourself on a boat on a river ... listening to Miley Cyrus cover one of the most legendary songs of all time -- and try to not cringe. Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne released a disturbing pic Saturday night of he and Miley in the studio recording their own take on the  Beatles'  "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."He also snapped a shot of he and Miley getting "high as f**" this weekend before a recording sesh.The girl with kaleidescope red eyes.

Bishop Dies After Wife Forced Him To Confess His Infidelity To Congregation

A Connecticut Bishop who heads the Miracle Faith World Outreach Church has died in front of his congregation last week Sunday after his family reportedly publicly confronted him about a past act of infidelity that his wife of 50 years, Christine, pushed him to confess in the presence of his congregation.
The Bishop confessed to his wife that he had an affair long time ago, and he felt it was right to tell her now because he wanted to be ‘clean’. 
The wife after the Sunday service announced to the congregation that the Bishop has a message for them.
Soon as he walked him, not knowing what was waiting for him, his wife said, ‘tell them what you told me’, the shocked Bishop didn’t know what to say and he made the confession.
But his congregation were glad he did, and they started echoing the same words, ‘we forgive you, we love you’. But it seems his immediate family weren’t pleased as one of his sons attacked him, and his daughter poured him water.
The bishop who couldn’t look up immediately suffered heart attack and was pronounced dead at the hospital he was rushed too.
The Police have been invited to look into the matter, but they said there was nothing criminal about it.

A church member said the matter should have been handled privately, and the Bishop who doubles as a certified marriage and family therapist was shocked his family treated him that way, and that was what led to his sudden death.
A close church member also said his wife had asked him who the lady was, but the man replied that it does not matter any more because she is no more.
 Ministry...Miracle Faith World Outreach Church, which the pastor and his wife founded together in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Photos: Immigration Recruitment! Lagos Job Seekers Protest, Halt Traffic

Meanwhile in Lagos, thousands of job seekers who were invited to take an aptitude test by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) seized all roads leading to the National Stadium venue of the test in protest, shortly after they were told it has been postponed. The young job seekers asked that their N1000 processing fee be returned to them, hence they won’t be returning back home any time soon. The protest took place for several hours with the candidates chanting anti- government songs and blocking major roads.
According to reports, at least 100, 000 job seekers came out for the screening test which was supposed to hold at the 45,000-capacity National Stadium.
Meanwhile, some people have called on the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro that the N1000 processing fee was uncalled for, and with about 6,000,000 candidates they will be making N6,000,000,000.  But the minister explained that the N1,000 was charged by the consulting firm to defray cost of accessing the website to fill forms.
See more photos from the protest after the cut.








NIS Test: Impatience led to applicants’ death - Minister of Interior

Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, has reacted to the craziness that happened yesterday during the Immigration Service Test which took place across stadiums in Nigeria. The number of people that died during the recruitment exercise has increased from 6 to about 9. The deaths occurred in Abuja, Lagos and Minna but instead of commiserating with families who lost loved ones, Mr Moro said they died as a result of their impatience...
“The applicants lost their lives due to impatience; they did not follow the laid down procedures spelt out to them before the exercise. Many of them jumped through the fences of affected centres and did not conduct themselves in an orderly manner to make the exercise a smooth one. This caused stampede and made the environment unsecured.”
He also contradicted the number of applicants that participated in the employment test. The initial number we got was 2.3million, but the minister says that only 520,000 participated and only 4,556 would be recruited. 520,000 x1,000 =?

Female banker defrauds Emir of Kano of N17million

A female banker identified as Amina Magaji, who works with one of the old generation banks has reportedly defrauded the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, to the tune of N17million.

The Emir reportedly opened the account with the said bank in 1967 but left it dormant over the years and the amount in the account grew to N46million. Amina who is highly placed in the bank got tempted and deceptively requested for a cheque book, claiming it was for the emir. She started operating the account and withdraw monies from the account to the tune of N17million.

Her immediate boss eventually noticed the difference in the signature of the Emir they have in their file and that of the signature on a cheque Amina presented and alerted the authorities.

Amina who is said to be married to a top staff of a broadcast organisation is currently in the custody of the EFCC alongside 12 colleagues who have been identified as accomplices. The bank has however raised the 17million from the accounts of Amina and her other accomplice and returned to the Emirs account.

Duncan Mighty, other celebs in solidarity march for Akas Baba's release

Duncan Mighty and other celebs in Port Harcourt today participated in a solidarity March for kidnapped Wazobia FM OAP, Anthony Akatakpo popularly known as Akas Baba, who was taken from his home on Thursday March 13th by unknown gunmen. They are trying to raise awareness about his kidnap as nothing has been heard from the kidnappers since his abduction. Continue to see more photos...



Photos: Seven Dead, Many Wounded During Immigrations Recruitment In Abuja

Saturday, March 15, 2014

At least seven people have died and several others injured after thousands of panicked job-seekers stampeded during a government recruitment drive at the national stadium this morning, Saturday, March 15, 2014.
Thousands of youths gathered to apply for jobs with the immigration department before the tragic incident occurred.  One witness said the stampede broke out as applicants surged towards a central stage.  See more pictures after the cut.

Badoo! OLAMIDE celebrate his 25th birthday today.

 
The hit Hip-Hop/Rap Artist  ADEDEJI OLAMIDE a.k.a Badoo, Who was born March 15 1989 celebrate his 25th birthday today.
We wish him Congrat for his success in life!

House Wife Loses Right Eye For Refusing Neighbour’s Sexual Advances

Mrs Amaka Ohanwe, a mother of two and house wife has lost her right eye because she refused her neighbours sexually advances. According to her, she was a very good friend of Kingsley Ohanwe, her neighbour who assaulted her, but when she noticed he was desperate to have sex with her, she started avoiding him. He became aggressive and attacked her shortly after she started avoiding her. Doctors have said I can’t see again with my right eye, she said. Below is how Pm News is reporting it. Completely sad!

A 35-year old man, Arinze Kingsley, has left a married woman, Mrs Amaka Ohanwe, partially blind when she allegedly refused his sexual advances. Amaka was seriously injured in her right eye when she was allegedly beaten up by Kingsley at a beauty salon.
She said after undergoing several operations, the doctors at Apapa General Hospital confirmed that she cannot see with the eye again.
Following the assault, the police at Area ‘B’ Apapa arrested Kingsley and charged him with assault before Apapa Magistrate’s Court after which he was remanded in Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
Both Amaka and Kingsley, who is still single, admitted that they were friends but Amaka said they were just friends not lovers.
She said she stopped relating with Kingsley when she discovered that he was desperate to have sex with her despite the fact that he knew that she was married and had two kids.
She said after several attempts by him to sleep with her failed, he became aggressive and when she noticed that, she started avoiding him.
Amaka said Kingsley eventually traced her to a salon at Pen Crescent, Apapa, Lagos where she went to have her hair done and attacked her in front of the beauty shop.
“He waited for me outside the salon. When he saw me, he started abusing me after I refused his advances. I replied him and he hit my eye and threw me on the floor. He started  hitting his head on my eyes until I started bleeding,” she told the court.
Amaka said it was their neighbours who came to her rescue and took her to the hospital, while Kingsley immediately started his motorcycle and rode off after attacking her.
She alleged that after the attack, Kingsley boasted that nothing would happen to him because he has money to bail himself out of any difficult situation.
Amaka reported the case to the police but alleged that she was asked to collect N30,000 for her eye operation in order to settle the matter out of court.
Amaka said she had spent over N200,000 on the surgeries but they were not successful.
She called on the state government to come to her aid and ensure justice was done in the matter. Meanwhile, when Kingsley was contacted, he admitted attacking Amaka but said he wanted to settle the matter out of court but she refused.
When he was arraigned, he pleaded not guilty.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs O.A Adegbite, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He was, however, remanded in prison custody pending when he will fulfill his bail conditions
The matter was adjourned till 24 March.

Marriage Is My Priority Now And Nothing More- Filmmaker, Peju Ashaye

The film maker revealed in a new interview that her priority now is marriage and nothing more. She also says she wonders why actresses fail in marriage.

'It baffles me when i see marriages crash especially in Nollywood and wonder what kind of message this will send to our fans and admirers in the society. I think, it’s time for me to settle down and I’m due for marriage. I can categorically tell you now that marriage is my priority for now and by God’s grace, I will get engaged this year', she said.

Texas A&M Star Mike Evans SIGNS WITH CASH MONEY SPORTS

Cash Money Sports is officially in business -- TMZ Sports has learned the agency has just signed its first high profile athlete ... Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans -- considered one of the best players in the upcoming NFL Draft -- had initially hired another agency to rep him ... but we're told Evans has now signed on the dotted line with Cash Money. FYI -- Cash Money is run by Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams -- the brothers who built the Cash Money record empire ... the home of Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Paris Hilton. What's interesting ... Evans is tight with Johnny Manziel ... who happens to be BFFs with Cash Money rapper Drake. So, the question ... will Johnny follow his wide receiver to Cash Money Sports? The arrival of Cash Money Sports could set up a battle royale between CMS and Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports agency. 6:35 PM PT -- Sources tell us ... Cash Money Sports will be working with Priority Sports -- the agency Evans initially signed with -- in some capacity, but the details of the relationship are unclear.  //

Stress, longer period in traffic increase heart diseases – Ihejieto

Friday, March 14, 2014

F12


Dr, Justine Ihejieto, General Medical Practitioner speaks on the medical and health implications that arise from spending long hours in traffic.

What are the health hazards of spending long hours in traffic?

The health hazards affect virtually every aspect of human life – physically, socially, psychologically and mentally. When you’re stuck in traffic, you are exposed to all sorts of health risks that arise as a result of inhaling fumes from vehicles and exhaust pipes and dust on the road. The longer the period you spend in traffic, the more you’ll be exposed to these health hazards.

For those who are already suffering from some diseases like asthma, stroke and hypertension, it also  worsens their situation especially in emergency situations where urgent medical care is needed. If an ambulance is stuck in traffic, the consequences could be very dire, as it will take the sheer grace of God for a patient or victim to make it.

Does it increase the risks of  chronic diseases?

As roadways choke on traffic, it is suspected that the tailpipe exhaust from cars and trucks – especially tiny carbon particles already implicate in heart disease, cancer and respiratory ailments may also injure brain cells and synapses, the key to learning and memory.

To be sure, cars and trucks today generate one-tenth the pollution of a vehicle in 1970. Still, more people are on the road and they are stuck in traffic more often. Drivers annually spend an average of 140 hours, or about the time spent in the office in a month, idling in traffic, a new analysis reported. Long-term stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research on the precise level of cardiovascular risk is limited.

Does it have a lasting effect on the brain?

No one knows whether regular commuters breathing heavy traffic fumes suffer any lasting brain effect. Researchers have only studied the potential impact based on where people live and where air-pollution levels are highest. Even if there were any chronic cognitive effect on drivers and commuters, it could easily be too small to measure reliably or might be swamped by other health factors such as stress, diet or exercise that affect the brain.

Recent studies show that breathing street-level fumes for just 30 minutes can intensify electrical activity in brain regions responsible for behaviour, personality and decision-making, changes that are suggestive of stress. Breathing normal city air with high levels of traffic exhaust for 90 days can change the way that genes turn on or off among the elderly; it can also leave a molecular mark on the genome of a newborn for life.  And older men and women long exposed to higher levels of traffic-related particles and ozone are often prone to memory and reasoning problems that effectively reduce their mental abilities. The emissions may also heighten the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and increase the effects of Parkinson’s disease.

How does it affect an individual’s productivity and relationship with others?

Apart from the physical hazards that they are exposed to, there is also the psychological damage too. A lot of people get agitated, angry and disoriented. Even when they get to work, they can’t perform their duties normally due to the stress they underwent on the road. Long delays in getting to and from work is another result leading to less productivity from employees and family crises. There are more cases of  accidents because people become frustrated or angry due to the traffic jams. Pollution in the city centre worsens as a result of car emissions. The stress of waiting in gridlock can get intense if you’re in a hurry, leaving you feeling frustrated and anxious about the traffic. That stress can translate into deeper health hazards.

What can be done to curtail these risks?

There is really nothing much for one to do. You can wind up the glasses of your car if it is air- conditioned and listen to soothing music to help relax the brain and nerves. Also, the government  and traffic management authorities should help check and reduce some of the causes of these gridlocks.

2015 elections will be better – Jega


Jega
The Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega last Monday in an interactive session with Editors in Lagos talked about  the preparations being made   for the 2015 general elections especially the Osun and Ekiti gubernatorial elections . He also spoke on the mistakes made by the commission in the past  and efforts being made to avoid repeating them in future. Excerpts:

The mistakes
INEC had a new register in the 2011 elections but that posed  many challenges and so, we have to put that aside for a new biometric register in 2015 general elections.

By September this year, continuous voter registration, CVR,  for 2015 general elections will commence. There was CVR before the Anambra gubernatorial election and we are doing same in Osun and Ekiti governorship elections. We couldn’t do continuous voter registration in Edo and Ondo because in Edo, there was a controversy and that required our putting that aside.

We have commenced the distribution of permanent voters cards in Ekiti and Osun for the forthcoming governorship elections in the two states. We will also do same in all the states before the 2015 elections to avoid the kind of challenges we had in Anambra.

The mistake in Anambra was caused by our staff posted to Idemili North and the case is in court today. For effectiveness in elections, we customized  result sheets but things still got mixed up.In some wards in Idemili, there were agitations and people suspected foul play and prevented us from distribution of voting materials.

Jega

We ended up postponing the election to the next day with the agreement of the people but that also became another issue because the next day was Sunday and we always try to ensure elections don’t take place on religious days. But we made that mistake and the matter  is in court. There was so much media hype over Anambra election and I can tell you that even though there were mistakes on the part of  INEC official, the conduct of that election was good enough.

Out of the 21 Local government areas in the state, there was problem in just one and even in that one, it was only in three wards.

But people had other complaints:

•  People claimed they were disenfranchised but it was not true because going by my understanding of the meaning of disenfranchisement, what happened in Anambra was not disenfranchisement because it was not willful.

•Electoral details got missing because hoodlums made away with them.

•Equipment crashed in other places

•There were multiple registrations in Anambra. Most of the people whose names were not in the register were those who did multiple registration and hence their names were removed.

•Many peoples names were missing because they used cards of 2007 and their names were not in the 2011 register.



A new approach

But things have changed now. We have cleaned the register. It’s electronic biometric register and compares favourably with others in the world. But we must understand that in terms of multiple registration, there is no software in the world that removes that 100%.

We have scheduled the time for continuous voter registration in Osun and Ekiti states and we hope that people would come out to register.

We have commenced serial numbering of ballot papers so that in distribution, you’d know what serial numbers are going to a particular polling unit and this approach will enhance accountability.

All ballot boxes are also serially numbered and we also numbered result sheets. So, you cannot fraudulently alter results or swap result sheets. We have customized result sheets in such a way that every result sheet is specified to a particular polling unit.

But in Anambra, the officials made a mistake of randomly distributing result sheets and that caused problems.Before we realised that, it was already too late.

We have also introduced colour-coded ballot papers so that they are not uniform across the states or even local governments. We also plan to do colour-coding by senatorial districts and constituencies.

We introduced some unique features too. There are somethings you can only read with infra-red and some which only I as Chairman can read and if tampered with, we know who exactly to hold responsible.

We have brought transparency into the collation process. Before, it used to be INEC staff  doing everything but we are human beings, not machines. We have changed that. Our staff are no longer collation and returning officers. We got Professors, Vice Chancellors and Senior lectures involved and the process of collation is sanitized and complaints of lack of transparency is reduced.

For 2015, we want to go beyond these class of people to include members of Nigerian Bar Association as collation and returning officers. We want to involve Engineers and the media too.

In the past, we have used members of the National Youth Service Corps and students in tertiary institutions as returning officers.



New communication policy

In  2015, we will come out with a new communication policy. That communication policy will dictate how we will perform  better; how we can do mobile education better; the kind of mobile education we can get across.

We often hear that elections are costly. But we need these funds because we use them  for allowances, logistics, transportation and feeding. We expect an average of three uniformed policemen per polling unit and we pay them allowances. They have to eat and it’s a lot of money.

In 2015, we are reviewing the number of the polling units. Some polling units in the past elections had as large as 3000 voters attached to each and we have decided to create more polling units. In future, it would be 500 voters per polling unit and it also means more personnel for the new polling units.

After 2011, we did an in-house review and people from independent organizations  gave us recommendations. We want to sieve our personnel to ensure that wrong people are not retained as returning officers.

We are rewarding and punishing people at the same time. We  are quietly asking people to leave, like the Resident Electoral Commissioner that handled the last Ekiti gubernatorial election. She is no longer with INEC.

Others who committed various categories of offences have also been dismissed and some have taken us to court. We have  done a lot of restructuring and re-organisation but you cannot remove people arbitrarily or it becomes a recipe for disaster.

We have been training and re-training our staff. Our adhoc staff in 2011 were given only a three-day training seminar and there were deficiencies. So, we are giving a five-day training programme for 2015.

Our developmental partners are also giving bridge-training for our staff which will add value to what we are doing. Most importantly is putting to use, the permanent voters cards which are embedded chip cards  just like ATM cards. The card reader is battery-operated with a 16-hour battery life. So, we don’t anticipate challenges.



Sanitizing the system

Some of the politicians who buy cards from voters cannot do so usefully again. If they buy the cards, they cannot put them to use because we have taken steps to abort that. We are set to bring remarkable improvement in the voting process. You cannot use any other person’s card to vote in any election anymore because we have put steps to check that.

We meet regularly with political parties. We brief them. They raise questions and we address them and it’s a way of building trust as we go towards 2015. We are meant to complement each other.

Again, we said that with good resources, we will be able to get these things done but it will cost money, because we will do radio jingles of about five-minutes programme on prime time. Again, we will also  do this in other languages that are not English. We’ll do our best and we believe that other state governments will contribute their best either as social responsibility or as obligation. For example, political parties have an obligation to mobilise the voters. They have to ensure that the voters come out to register and vote. Then, you also have to educate them so that when eventually they come out to vote, they will know how to do so. Otherwise, it will be a wasted time.

The thing now is that political parties are asking INEC to give them money to do voter education. They are supposed to do complementary work and all range of stakeholders can express this work and responsibility. We have uploaded on our websites. We have also gone ahead to establish what we call, INEC Citizens Contact Centre.

You can now call on us, send an SMS or twitter to say what you want to say about INEC. You can ask any question and you will receive a response. We believe also that this is a way that we can use to enlighten the public, giving them the information about what we do in the commission. We want to make sure this citizens contact centre operates virtually 24 hours so that at anytime, people can send comments and they will be able to see our responses.

Of course, again, in order to make information available to the public, in Anambra less than a week before the election, we introduced an express service through which you can actually find out whether your name is on the register or not.

Unfortunately again maybe because we introduced it two months to the election, or maybe there was  inadequate publicity, many people did not recognise it. We have again introduced it into Ekiti and Osun.

Infact,about a month ago, we announced the numbers and we shared it to radio and TV stations. It has been part of our enlightenment campaign. All you need do is to text that number, your state, your last name and the last five digits of your pin number on the registration card. You will automatically receive a response that you have successfully registered. They will tell you where you have done the registration. If you can’t find your name on the register after you must have sent this, it means we need to come and renew your status of registration.

We have to do this in the remaining states so that from anywhere, you can send an SMS or you can go through our website. There is a place you can put your details to know where you have registered.

I want to assure you that we in INEC are doing our best and we remain focused.But there are a lot of things out there. Most editorials in newspapers have done a lot of damage by communicating wrong information to the public. The electronic media also do that.

One headline put me into a lot of trouble by giving a headline that I said that elections will not hold in the North Eastern  states which I never did. What I said was recorded. I don’t know why people would wake up and do such a headline story. And everybody who was reporting the story was reporting from the headline news. They left me in a difficult condition. The governors of these states now reacted. So I have to react not just to the mis-information, but to the anger of these governors and citizens of these states that there was no way I could say such things. Some corporate bodies did independent reports regarding  the Anambra elections. I think we are thinking about reforming democracy and in doing this, we don’t have to undermine the electoral process.

Let me give you another example, recently, many of you must have heard of the reports from a Human Right agency. I don’t know how many of you read that report. They indicted the judiciary and other people. I don’t know about the other organizations but I took the trouble and read what that report wrote about INEC. All the examples they gave were about the 2007 elections but the way the report was made and presented, it was as if it was about a recent election and the preparations for 2015 elections. They quoted one of editorials which I told you and was saying that something was wrong with 2011 elections. How many people have read that report and how many have observed it? Anybody reading that report will think nothing has changed. How can you use evidence of 2007 in 2014?

I am here today I might not be here tomorrow, all I know is to do my best. It is not about Jega, it is about what is good for the country.



Turn-out for elections

In 2011, the largest voter turn-out was 57% and that was for the Presidential election. Low voter turn-out could be  a function of many things: lack of sensitization; lack of choice; feeling of apathy by voters that their votes may not be counted.

We have detected a means of detecting multiple registration. We have evidence of detecting that and prosecuting it.

We have prosecuted hundreds of electoral offenders but that also depends on the lawyers handling the case; the policemen handling the investigations and the court processes involved. As it is, INEC is automatically joined in every electoral offence.



Elections in the North-East

I have never said there will be no elections in the North East. I was invited to a senators’  forum and a senator asked a question that in view of the situation in the North-East, whether elections would hold. I answered that we are planning that election would hold everywhere in view of the hope that the issue would be resolved by that time. I went ahead to add that  under the circumstance of the rule of emergency, elections would not hold. But I’m an incurable optimist who believe things would be right by the time elections will hold.

I did say that people could be afraid of coming out to vote and these are some of the challenges with conducting election in the North east.



Electioneering campaigns

We have observed  that political parties do not comply with the rules about electioneering campaigns. All the parties are guilty of breaking this rule. The specified time for electioneering campaigns is 90 days before the election to end 24hours to the election. Campaigns are meant to start after primaries are conducted and candidates have emerged but we have people putting up posters two years and one year to the election and that is an electoral offence which security agencies should contend with. But political parties can hold rallies.

On political parties also, we have noticed that they lack capacity to dispatch credible agents to polling units and we give agents of political parties copies of  results from each unit. We have told partis to bring their agents for training by INEC but till date, no political party has done that. Due to the possibility of the results being changed, polling units and collation centres have what we call stream-lining the results and we have introduced a data base to access results as they come in from polling units. That creates room for people to have parallel tabulation of results as they come in.



Why African Peoples Congress, APC,  was not registered

The All Peoples Congress, APC, is a merger of existing political parties and they met the requirements for registration but the African Peoples Congress as a new party seeking registration did not meet some of the requirements for registration. But the law is clear and All Peoples Congress met the requirements. The other APC did not meet  the requirements and so was not registered.



Effect of confab on election

We are preparing on the process of existing law and there is a constitution in place. We are asking the National Assembly to be finished with all amendments within six months to the election as stipulated by law. If amendments were not concluded six months to the election, they won’t have effect on the election. But the National Assembly has given its word  that amendments in Electoral Act  would be concluded six months before the election.



Order of election

In 2011, Presidential election was second after National Assembly  election. The third was gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.

Elections in one day is not feasible because of the challenges involved. It would only create more problems and it’s necessary we avoid that. In Kenya, a smaller country than Nigeria, it posed challenges that they said if they have opportunity, they would not have elections in one day.

In Nigeria, elections in one day means five ballot boxes, five ballot papers and with the level of illiteracy in Nigeria, it would create problems.

It is not impossible to hold all elections in one day but we would be biting more than we could chew. There are systemic challenges concerning this.

We in INEC have the capacity to prepare adequately, conventionally and logistically and to create a level playing ground for politicians and we are doing our best to do that well. The  electoral process will be fertile as it was in 2011 and we want to ensure peaceful elections next year.

We know that Nigerian politicians are a special breed. We are to communicate to many Nigerians about the attitude  with which politicians come  for the elections. Our politicians should  do something about their language and utterances and about changing the rules of the game.

We will be better than 2011 and we are putting things in place to ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2015.

In planning, we stayed away from things that will require legal amendment. There is prohibition on electronic voting and we have stayed away from that hoping that the prohibition could be amended someday because electronic voting has become worl standard.

Aggrieved workers chase out council boss from office in Kogi State Middle belt of Nigeria

Aggrieved workers of Yagba East Local Government area of Kogi State have laid siege to the Local Government secretariat in Isanlu since Monday, preventing the Chairman, Alhaji Funsho Ibrahim from entering  his office .

The aggrieved workers who have been on protest have vowed not to allow the chairman return to  office until there is a strong assurance that their January salary will be paid in full.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the protest which started peacefully on Monday turned violent on Tuesday when the chairman, Funsho Ibrahim called security operatives to disband the protesting workers; a development that angered the workers who invaded his office and chased him  out of the secretariat.

A  source said the embattled Chairman having perceived that the workers could not be pacified or intimidated by the security operatives drafted to the secretariat scampered into the bush leaving his vehicle behind.

The workers on Wednesday took the protest around Isanlu town, the headquarters of the Local Government, visiting the house of  Chief Jide Omokore, the political leader of the axis who was said to have nominated the chairman for the position.

The protest  also continued on Thursday and yesterday as the workers continued to burn tyres in front of the local government secretariat, vowing not to stop until the chairman issues a word that their January salary and other months will henceforth be paid in full.

One of the workers who spoke with Saturday Vanguard on ground of anonymity said, “We have to resort to this because the chairman is an arrogant man that will not see reasons with us. The salary of his aides and councilors are being paid in full, but can you believe that since May last year when he resumed office, we have been collecting half salary.

“Also, he has stopped promotion saying that it’s only on grounds of work recognition that one can be promoted and not by years of service. He has also recalled all workers who are in school on study leave saying that the Local government is not a charity organization. But  he has failed to pay us in full or honour  the minimum wage. We have been suffering in silence.”

The source also stated that the chairman who has not initiated any project since he assume office has now arrested the NULGE chairman and other executives on Thursday night, who spear headed the protest and has engage thugs to harass other workers from continuing  with the protest.

He however said the protest will continue next week until their demands for their legitimate wages are paid in full saying some of them have been collecting less than N10, 000 naira has monthly take home pay since the introduction of the half salary.

Terrible! Three Large Explosions Hit Maiduguri This Morning

The city of Maiduguri in Borno state this morning experienced three large explosions suspected to be a major bomb attack, Sahara Reporters reports
Saharareporters could not ascertain if the explosions led to deaths or destruction of any kind. But our sources states that the three explosions were heard across the city.
SaharaRepoprters learnt that fighters from the Islamist sect Boko Haram are attempting to bomb and take over a major military base known as "Giwa barracks" in Maiduguri. A gunfight is raging in the area as at the time of publishing this report.

Shirtless, shell-shocked and drenched in blood: Court is shown dramatic photos of Pistorius moments after he shot his girlfriend

Bare-chested with blood drenched all over his shorts and prosthetic legs, these dramatic images show a shell-shocked Oscar Pistorius moments after he killed his girlfriend.
The first police officers on the scene found the Paralympian pacing around in a 'very emotional state' and a grisly trail of blood that ran throughout the house.
The images were taken by police photographers in the garage in the aftermath of the shooting in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

In one, the muscled Olympic athlete, who is shirtless, is standing facing the camera wearing his prosthetics.
There are blood stains up to the knees of his limbs and his shorts are also bloodied, but his naked chest appears to be clean.
A second photograph shows Pistorius from the waist up and from the left side, also showing blood on his shorts and parts of his body, with a tattoo visible on his back.
The court was guided through the images - and other graphic scenes including the blood-spattered toilet where Miss Steenkamp was shot - by former police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg arrived at the house around 40 minutes after the shooting.
Mr van Rensburg, the former commander at a police station close to Pistorius's home, said he did not arrest Pistorius immediately after discovering Miss Steenkamp had been shot dead, but did warn him to remain at the house.
'I told him I observed him as a suspect at that stage,' Mr van Rensburg said.
'I warned him of his rights. I said to him I wasn't arresting him at that stage... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene.'
A short time later, Mr van Rensburg said the runner's brother Carl, sister Aimee and a lawyer arrived at the house.

The prosecution says Pistorius intentionally killed MIss Steenkamp after a loud argument and then tried to cover it up by saying he thought the 29-year-old model was a dangerous intruder.
Pistorius, 27, maintains the killing was an accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
During the investigation in the bathroom, Mr van Rensburg also said that he turned around at one point to see that the firearms expert had handled the gun Pistorius used to kill Miss Steenkamp and taken the magazine out of the weapon without using gloves.
'I asked him "what are you doing?",' Mr van Rensburg testified.
The officer realised his error, apologised, put the magazine back in the gun and laid it on the mat where it was on the floor, Mr van Rensburg said.
He then took the gloves out of his chest pocket, and again picked up the gun, according to Mr van Rensburg.
'I was very angry,' he said.
Mr van Rensburg also testified today about eight expensive watches that were found in a blood-spattered box in the bedroom upstairs, saying he warned fellow officers that they should be monitored closely because they could be tempting to anyone moving through the crime scene.
Pistorius's sister asked if she could take one of the watches, leaving seven in place, he said.
But Mr van Rensburg said another went missing while he was out of the room, prompting him to order the frisking of all the police forensic experts on the scene, as well as a search of their bags and vehicles, and the entire house.
Mr van Rensburg, who recalled that one of the officers had estimated the cost of one watch at close to $10,000, said he then opened a case of theft after the watch was not found.
Later, he said, Pistorius's brother, Carl, asked if he could take the watches. Mr van Rensburg said he would instead hand the watches directly to Oscar Pistorius, but without the box, which was still being analysed.
While doing so, he asked Pistorius to inform him if anything else went missing, but nothing else was reported stolen.

Has Nicki Minaj let DJ Khaled? as She Celebrates 10 Years With Boyfriend Safaree

Thursday, March 13, 2014


Nicki Minaj and her boyfriend Safaree Samuels are celebrating
their 10 year anniversary of being together. The two have been dating since they were teenagers. But last
weekend Nicki Minaj was clearly in a good mood since she posted a
photo of her anniversary gift on Instagram along with more photos of
herself and Safaree, aka Scaff Beezy, hanging out with some friends. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. #Year10,” Nicki Minaj captioned the below image.


Friends Have Deserted Me! Even Bola Tinubu Is Not Comfortable Seeing Me Around Again---- Baba Sue..

This is not a good time at all for Yoruba comic actor, Baba Suwe. Baba Suwe in a new interview with Encomium Magazine has confessed that he is broke and a lot of his friends and helpers have deserted him. He said his cocaine scandal ruined him and it is almost ruining his career as well. People no longer call me to act in their movies, he revealed. Read what he told the magazine after the cut.
 “I have not collected any compensation money from NDLEA yet. The most painful thing is that I was wrongly accused. Had it been, I actually committed the crime, I won’t mind, but they just punished me for nothing. I was in NDLEA custody for almost three weeks, and nothing was found on me. No matter the kind of juju one may have, I don’t think there is anybody that can conceal cocaine for even two days.
Even researches had shown that no one can harbour the substance in the body for two days. It will burst inside the person’s stomach, which can lead to death. And I believe after all their investigations, they should have released me so I could continue with my career. But the whole situation, the way they treated me actually rubbished my image. My career has been dwindling.
A lot of people that are supposed to be inviting me to take part in their movies abandoned me because of the incident. Even a lot of people that could have assisted me financially don’t want to associate with me again. People within and outside the industry has deserted me on account of the allegation. They still doubt me despite my victory in court.
I have sung praises of some people in some of my movies, and I always appreciate whatever they give me. This makes a lot of people close to me. For instance, I was close to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before and he was very nice to me.
He had done a lot for me but now, it’s very difficult for me to be close to him. He is even not comfortable seeing me around him again because of the allegation. I don’t enjoy people’s love and admiration like before because people still believe that it was true“.

At last! Jonathan’s Cousin Freed


The president’s cousin that was abducted in his home on the 23rd of February, 2014, exactly 18 days ago has been freed. No ransom was reportedly paid.

Breaking News! Chinese satellite find suspected crash site of missing Malaysian flight

A Chinese satellite searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight has found what is being described as three 'large, floating objects' in the South China Sea, UK Daily Mail reports
The potentially crucial development comes on the fifth day of the search for the Boeing 777 seems to corroborate the testimony of a New Zealand oil worker who claims to have witnessed the crash of the missing airplane early on Saturday morning. Coni
It is also in the original search area under the flight’s original search path and appears to discount the theory that the aircraft turned back towards Malaysia and crashed hundreds of miles away on the other side of the Malaysian peninsula.
'IIt's where it's supposed to be,' Peter Goelz, a former National Transportation Safety Board managing director, told CNN remarking on the 'great skepticism' about reports the aircraft carrying 239 passengers had turned around to go back over Malaysia. 

'I think they've got to get vessels and aircraft there as quickly as humanly possible.'
The new suspect crash site is about 140 miles from the flight’s last radar contact as broadcast by its transponder.

The three objects are large, measuring 43ft by 59ft, 46ft by 62ft and 79ft by 72ft.
'Chinese satellites have found smoke and floating objects ... At present we cannot confirm this is related to the missing aircraft,' said Li Jiaxiang, China's civil aviation chief on Thursday.
The site is also near where South China Sea oil rig worker Michael Jerome McKay today described seeing what he believes to be the plane burning - in one piece for 10-15 seconds - flying at a high altitude slightly off from the standard route of planes that cross the sea shortly after the plane vanished.

'There was no lateral movement, so it was either coming toward our location, stationary, or going away from our location,' he wrote in a letter to his employers about the sighting on Saturday and seen by ABC News.

Deputy general director of Vietnam's air traffic management, Doan Huu Gia, confirmed he had been sent an email from McKay, the BBC reported.
'We received an email from a New Zealander who works on one of the oil rigs off Vung Tau.
'He said he spotted a burning [object] at that location, some 300 km southeast of Vung Tau.'
Vietnam has already searched the area where Chinese satellites showed objects that could be debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines jet but a plane has been sent to check the area again, Vietnamese military officials said.

'We are aware and we sent planes to cover that area over the past three days,' Deputy Transport Minister Pham Quy Tieu told Reuters. 'Today a (military) plane will search the area again,' he said.
And on Thursday morning Vietnamese authorities said two military jets searching for clues top the missing Malaysia Airlines jet found no wreckage at the location a Reuters journalist on board said.

Aircraft repeatedly circled the area over the South China Sea but were unable to detect any objects, said the journalist, who flew aboard a Antonov 26 cargo plane for three hours.

China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense announced the discovery of the images in the area where rescuers first started looking on Saturday - along with other images of what appear to show an oil slick tracing the surrounding area.

The images were captured on March 9 - the day after the plane went missing, but were somehow not released until Wednesday. There were 153 Chinese nationals on board the flight.

China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence gave no reason for the delay in releasing the images - or why it has not passed the pictures to Malaysian authorities.

Culled from UK Daily Mail
 

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