Sabinews Evening News Update for September 3, 2015
I won’t stop stomach infrastructure – Fayose
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said he would not stop his novel ‘stomach infrastructure’ project because of tough economic and social challenges facing the people.
He spoke in Ikere Ekiti during the distribution of items such as rice, milk, groundnut oil, beverages and maggi to the people. Fayose, according to a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti said only healthy people could contribute to the development of their societies. Read more
DSS fires Marilyn Ogar
The Department of State Services (DSS) has sacked its former spokesperson, Ms Marilyn Ogar and 44 other top directors in the security agency.
Marilyn Ogar who was the former deputy director of agency was removed two months ago and equally lost her promotion following President Muhammadu Buhari’s nullification of the exercise upon assumption in office. The secret service former spokesperson’s fate may not be unconnected with her alleged role in the last administration and the run-up to the 2015 election Read more
Obiano charges principals on creativity
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has charged principals of Secondary Schools in the state to imbibe creativity and passion in their work as school administrators. Obiano who gave this charge while declaring open a 7-day Capacity Building Retreat for Schools Principals, organized by the state’s Post-Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSSC), at Madonna Renewal Center Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area, tasked them to drive the new 2015/2016 academic session school calendar released by the Ministry of Education. Read more
Passenger slashes driver’s throat to snatch car
A passenger, one Ekene Ugwu, has been arrested by the police in Enugu after slashing the throat of a taxi driver he hired to convey him to an undisclosed location.
The spokesman for the Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the incident took place on August 22 in the Udenu Local Government Area of the state.
According to the police spokesman, the victim, one Anthony Nnamani, was a taxi driver who used a Toyota Camry. Read more
Prison break:13 inmates escape Sokoto Remand Home
Head of the Sokoto Remand Home, Alhaji Dahiru Lawal, on Thursday said 13 inmates had escaped from the centre in the last two years due to the poor state of its facilities. Lawal disclosed this in Sokoto when he received a donation from an NGO, Housewives Initiative Development Association, He appealed to the Sokoto State Government to undertake massive rehabilitation of the centre which was in very deplorable condition.
Lawal said that the Home, which served as reformatory for convicted juveniles, required urgent government support, to enable it discharge its responsibility more effectively. The official said that the inmates were able to escape due to the poor state of facilities at the centre. “The inmates dug a hole under one of the windows of their cell and fled. It had been repaired and seven of them were re-arrested. Read more
FG urges Israel to invest in 519MW dams
The Federal Government has urged Israeli investors to invest in various dams in Nigeria that have the capacity to generate 519 megawatts of electricity for irrigation purposes.
According to the government, its request for investments by Israeli entrepreneurs was prompted by the advanced technological development in the foreign nation in the management of dams for power generation and for irrigation. Read more
LASTMA plans to arrest traffic offenders at home
Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority have been directed to adopt the system of booking traffic offenders rather than impounding their vehicles.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu, handed down this order to the officials while briefing top echelon of LASTMA on government’s new policy thrust in the transportation sector. Specifically, the permanent secretary hinted that plans were being concluded to arrest traffic offenders, who flouted the fines imposed on them, at home. Read more
Oloyede V Osun Assembly: Hearing Begins on Sept 15
Justice Yinka Aderibigbe of an Osun state High Court, sitting in Osogbo has adjourned the case by Justice Folahanmi Oloyede
against the State House of Assembly to September 15, 2015 for hearing.
A serving judge in the state, Justice Oloyede, had dragged the legislators to court for their recommendation in the probe of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Oloyede, who leveled allegation of gross misconduct and mismanagement of public funds against the governor, condemned the outcome of the committee set up by the Assembly to look into the allegation. Read more
NEMA warns Ekiti residents against flood
The National Emergency Management Agency has warned Ekiti residents to stop dumping refuse in drainage channels to avoid flooding.
The Head, Ekiti Operations Office, Mr. Saheed Akiode, gave the warning in an interview with our correspondent in Ado Ekiti after the sensitisation/awareness campaign. NEMA recently said about N2.6trn worth of property, agricultural products and other materials were lost to the 2012 flood disaster across some states in Nigeria. The agency also warned residents to prepare for the risk of flooding from the impending release of water from Lagdo dam in Cameroon. Read more
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kill five villagers in northern Nigeria
Gunmen killed at least five villagers in a raid in northern Nigeria’s Borno state on Wednesday before being repelled by government troops, military sources said, an attack that bore the hallmarks of Islamist Boko Haram militants.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and displaced 1.5 million in a six-year-old insurgency to create an Islamic State in Nigeria’s northeast. But an army counter-offensive this year ousted Boko Haram from much of the territory it had taken and the jihadists have returned to a pattern of hit-and-run attacks. Read more
Congo Militia Leader Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ As ICC Trial Opens
Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda pleaded “Not guilty” on Wednesday to crimes including the rape of child soldiers in a campaign of pillage and murder in northeast Congo’s Ituri province in the early 2000s.
The Rwandan-born Ntaganda is accused by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of conspiring to expand the power of the Hema ethnic group and seize the province’s vast oil, diamond and gold wealth for himself.
He faces 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in all, including murder, rape, pillage and persecution, under a doctrine of international law that allows him to be charged personally with offences committed by forces under his command.
One alleged co-conspirator is Thomas Lubanga, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence after becoming the court’s first convicted defendant in 2012. Read more
Tambuwal Lays Foundation for 250 Housing Estate in Sokoto
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a 250 housing units for workers in the state civil service.
The project, to be sited at Kasarawa area along the airport road, consists of four-bedroom detached duplex, three-bedroom detached bungalow and two-bedroom semi detached bungalows.
Speaking at the event in Sokoto, Tambuwal said his administration would provide the necessary incentives like subsidy to enable workers own houses, adding that the aim was to ensure that civil servants benefit from the projects optimally.
He stated that government would partner with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, labour unions and the organised private sector to make housing available to workers in the state. Read more
Ambode seeks private sector support on health
Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday, promised to support massive investment in modern medical equipment to meet the health challenges of residents of the state.
Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the promise at the inauguration of Clinix Healthcare, an Ultramodern Diagnostic Centre in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. He said private sector participation in health care delivery had complemented efforts of government and yielded tremendous dividends through qualitative health care. Read more
Stephanie Linus bags USAID ambassadorship
Nollywood actress Stephanie Linus has been announced as the ambassador for The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The National Democratic Institute (NDI). – Read more
Stephanie formal presentation as an ambassador took place at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja.
Speaking at the event, the actress said “I pledge my full support, my voice and everything within my capacity to make sure that these issues are brought to light and to help educate people about this violence and see ways we can put an end to it so that we can have a better society for ourselves and the future generation.” Read more
Benin airport runway reopened
The Benin airport runway in Edo State has been reopened for flight operations almost three months after it was shutdown by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.
Services on the runway had been suspended in June, 2015, to enable FAAN carry out works to ease flight take off and landing, leaving air travellers to use alternative airports. The Airport Manager, Mr. Sunday Ayodele, who confirmed the resumption to journalists in Benin, explained that the earlier closure also became necessary to ensure passengers’ safety and provide quality services.Read more
NDLEA arrests 170 suspected drug traffickers in Bauchi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Bauchi State Command, has arrested 170 persons for drug trafficking-related offences and seized over 300 kilogrammes of illegal drugs.
The Commander of the NDLEA in Bauchi State, Mr. Ibrahim Abdul, who disclosed this to journalists on Thursday in an interview in Bauchi, said this was achieved between January and August this year.
He added that while 83 of those arrested had been convicted in the court and sentenced to various jail terms, others who were found to be users of the drugs, were counseled and released. Read more
Ekiti to revoke C-of-O of undeveloped plots
Ekiti State Government has warned that it would revoke ownership of undeveloped plots of land in state owned Housing Estates.
The State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Prince Taelolu Otitoju made this known in Ado Ekiti while playing host to residents of the Omisanjana Housing Estate. Read more
APC to Fayose: You ‘re more guilty of lopsided appointments
The Ekiti State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed Governor Ayodele Fayose over his criticisms that President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent appointments was lopsided and promoting a Northern agenda.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said Fayose is more guilty of carrying out lopsided appointments since his return to the Government House, maintaining that he lacks the moral authority to attack the President over the appointments of close aides. Read more
REC shuns Yobe tribunal, testimony in alleged N15m bribery
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Yobe State, Abu Zarma, on Thursday refused to show up at the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, where he was scheduled to testify, particularly on the aspect of the petition levelling a N15m bribery allegation against him.
The petitioners, the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the April 11, 2015 Yobe State governorship election, Adamu Waziri, are by their petition challenging the declaration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ibrahim Gaidam, as the winner of the poll. Read more
Why Warri Refinery was shut – Kachikwu
THE Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has said that Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, Ekpan was shut down due to ongoing maintenance contrary to insinuation that it was due to crude shortage.
Kachikwu made the clarification yesterday in Warri during a tour of the Refinery. Read more
Ebola: FG screens Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire footballers
The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja certified the visiting football players and officials from Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire free of Ebola virus.
A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Ayo Adesugba, said the certification was “at the instance of the Nigeria Football Federation that is hosting a football match between the two countries in Port Harcourt on Sunday, September 6, 2015. Adesugba added, “In line with the ‘No travel restriction’ of the Federal Government, the necessary routine measures organised at three levels were put in place. Read more
APC asks IG to probe Inokoba’s death
The All Progressive Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, has asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to probe the death of one of its leaders, Col. Sam Inokoba (retd.).
Inokoba, former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, died in Lagos on Wednesday, 19 days after defecting with some key members of the PDP to the APC.
The party on Thursday sent a letter to the IGP requesting for an independent investigation into the circumstances that led to the sudden death of Inokoba. Read more
