SABINEWS EVENING NEWS UPDATE MARCH 7, 2019
2019 Election: Egbeme-Ijaw youths to Buratai, call your Army to order
Ahead of Saturday’s gubernatorial and state Assembly elections, Egbeme-Ijaw youths, has called on the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai to call the Nigerian Army personnel to order. In a statement its leader, Mr. Ebipade Kari, said, “Our attention has been drawn to purported plans by the ruling party at the centre to take over Delta State by all means in connivance with the Nigeria army. “As peace loving citizens endowed with fundamental and inalienable socio-political rights, we wish to call on the Chief of Army Staff to call his personnel to order and not to allow the highly revered military force in Africa to be used as petty thugs by the ruling government.
How Sowore’s AAC reacted as Amaechi endorsed its governorship candidate
The African Action Congress, AAC, has reacted to the endorsement of its Rivers State governorship candidate, Awara Biokpomabo by the Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Rotimi Amaechi.
AAC’s leadership dismissed the endorsement, saying the party has “no alliances or coalition with the APC or any other parties in Rivers state”. Addressing APC supporters yesterday, Amaechi had said: “So, on Saturday (March 9), we will vote for AAC. You must go home and vote for AAC. There should be no excuse not to vote because there will be security for everybody. You must prepare and make sure you win the governorship election.”
43 Political Parties back Ganduje in a Kano
Over forty-three political parties on Thursday in Kano state openly declared their support for the All Progressive Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in the Match 9 governorship election in the state. The Governorship Candidates of the forty three political parties who threw their weight behind governor Ganduje through their Spokesman and gubernatorial Candidate of United People’s Congress (UPC) Ambassador Ibrahim Gaya at a break -fast held at the African House Government House Directed their members to vote en mass for the APC Candidate during the Saturday polls.
Buhari approves NNPC’s operations budget for 2019
Meanwhile, President Buhari has approved the 2019 operations budget of the NNPC, the Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has disclosed. Though, Baru did not give the financial details of the corporation’s budget for 2019, he, however, stated that Buhari was gracious to approve it early enough. He was, however, silent on whether or not the corporation would submit the budget to the National Assembly for legislation in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, which provides that federal revenue generating agencies must submit their budgets to the National Assembly even when some of their boards have powers to approve same.
Why we adopted AAC gov candidate in Rivers –Amaechi
The All Progressives Congress in Rivers has said that its decision to support the African Action Congress governorship candidate, Biokpomabo Awara, is because the party (AAC) fits into the quest of the APC to give Rivers people justice. The state APC also called on it supporters to turn out and vote for the AAC governorship candidate. Leader of the main opposition party in Rivers State and the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who addressed supporters of the APC in Eleme on Wednesday, explained that it was pertinent for his party to adopt the AAC candidate considering the closeness of the elections.
Buhari receives Arewa leaders, pledges better stewardship
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to work harder for the betterment of Nigeria in his second and final term of four years in office. He made the promise yesterday when members of the northern socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), paid him a congratulatory visit at the State House, Abuja. His words: “This is my last lap and I will try to work even harder than I did in my first tenure. I very much appreciate your coming here to congratulate me. “I assure you that I will not let you down. I will do my best and I will pray to God that my best will be good enough.”
Buhari has subverted Supreme Court, Atiku may not get justice – Agbakoba
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said he is in support of the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s decision to challenge the result of the February 23 presidential poll in court. He, however, expressed doubts that Atiku would get justice because “President Muhammadu Buhari has subverted the Supreme Court by the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen, and the appointment of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (Justice Muhammad Tanko).”
FRSC to deploy 70 personnel in Ore
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Ore Unit Command in Ondo State, says it will deplore no fewer than 70 personnel, three patrol vehicles and one ambulance for the March 9 polls. Mr. Philip Ozonnandi, the Unit Commander, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ore that the deployment was to ensure total compliance of no movement of vehicles from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Ozonnandi said that vehicular movement would be restricted on the Shagamu-Ore-Benin expressway and other roads in and around Ore.
Police beef up security at four flash points in Ebonyi
Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi state, Awosola Awotunde has said that the command has identified four flash points in the state which it will pay serious attention in Saturday’s governorship and State Assembly elections in the state. The state Commissioner of disclosed this while briefing journalists in Abakaliki on the preparedness of the state police command ahead of Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly elections. According to him, the flashpoints, which he described as volatile areas, gave the command trouble during the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Super Falcons end Cyprus cup with win
The Super Falcons have ended their participation in the Cyprus Women’s Cup with a commanding 3-0 win over Thailand – one of the 24 countries that will take part in this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals. Forward Asisat Oshoala scored her second goal of the tournament in the 23rd minute to open the floodgate, before defender Onome Ebi made it two for Nigeria five minutes later. Anam Imo, who also scored Nigeria’s winning goal in the 4-3 defeat of Slovakia on Friday last week, got Nigeria’s third in the 74th minute to seal the victory.
Antetokounmpo to trace Nigerian roots
Milwaukee Bucks forward of Nigerian descent, Giannis Antetokounmpo is eager to get back to his roots reports Completesports.com. Antetokounmpo, who is an MVP candidate in the NBA this season, stressed that he won’t be forgetting his roots any time soon and has plans to go to Nigeria, where both his mother and father were born and raised. The 23-year-old Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece, three years after his parents moved there from Lagos.
French cardinal convicted of covering up sex abuse allegations
A high-ranking French Catholic cleric, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, was convicted on Thursday of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse in his diocese and said he would submit his resignation to Pope Francis. Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon and the highest-profile cleric to be caught up in the child sex abuse scandal inside the French Catholic Church, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence. The court in Lyon ruled that between July 2014 and June 2015 Barbarin covered up allegations of sexual abuse of boy scouts in the 1980s and early 1990s by a priest who is due to go on trial later this year.
EU awaits reworked UK Brexit proposals, deal remains elusive
The European Union told Britain to rework its Irish backstop proposal by Friday but feared it would struggle to secure a deal that satisfied pro-Brexit lawmakers before a key vote in the UK parliament on Wednesday. Just 22 days before Britain is due to leave the EU the two sides are locked in a game of brinkmanship and attempts to reach a mutually acceptable deal could go down to the wire. EU diplomats briefed on the negotiations said the UK’s top lawyer Geoffrey Cox had proposed a disputes arbitration panel that would not be obliged to refer cases to the EU’s top court, the ECJ, whose jurisdiction Britain wants to leave.
UK house prices make surprise 5.9% rise in February, Halifax says
UK house prices have defied the Brexit gloom by racking up their biggest monthly increase since records began in 1983, adding more than £13,000 to the value of a typical home in only 28 days, according to the Halifax. However, the scale of the reported increase – 5.9% in February – confounded many commentators, as it appears to contradict the widely held view that the UK’s property market remains in the grip of a slowdown.
Valve says its Steam platform won’t sell “Rape Day” game after outcry over “sick” content
Valve Corp. said it won’t distribute a game called “Rape Day” — described by its developers as “a game where you can rape and murder during a zombie apocalypse” — after almost 8,000 consumers signed a petition protesting the game’s violence towards women. In a blog post, Valve’s Steam video-game platform said it decided to block the game because of “unknown costs and risks,” adding that “we respect developers’ desire to express themselves.” Some consumers said the statement didn’t go far enough, pointing out the statement didn’t condemn the game’s violence and depiction of sexual assault of women.
China’s Huawei sues the U.S., claiming it shouldn’t be blocked from selling to federal government
Huawei is suing the U.S. over a law that bans government agencies from buying the Chinese technology giant’s equipment, claiming the legislation is unconstitutional, as the company goes on the front foot following months of political pressure. The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday local time, focuses on a provision in a law known as the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 889 of that legislation prohibits executive government agencies from procuring telecommunications hardware made by Huawei and another Chinese firm, ZTE. Both companies are explicitly named in the act.
Zuckerberg says he doesn’t know how his new vision for Facebook will make money yet
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his new vision for the future of the company in a 3,000-word note published Wednesday. But in a new interview with Wired, Zuckerberg said he still doesn’t know how exactly the new strategy will make money, though he is optimistic about its future. ”The basic way that we’ve approached things is first to focus on building the consumer service that people really want,” Zuckerberg told Wired Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Thompson. “Then focus on making it so people can organically interact with businesses, and then focus on paid ways that businesses can grow and get more distribution. So we’re still in the phase on this private messaging platform, of phase one, where we’re really focused on nailing the consumer experience.”
