The Nation Newspaper

Category: News Update

  • John McAfee arrested in Guatemala

    John McAfee arrested in Guatemala

     

    John McAfee, the founder of anti-virus software maker McAfee, has been arrested in Guatemala, accused of entering the country illegally.

    He crossed the border to seek political asylum, having been on the run in Belize where police are investigating the death of his neighbour.

    Belize officials said the software pioneer was a “person of interest” in the murder of Florida businessman Gregory Faull on November 11.

    BBC says Mr. McAfee has protested his innocence.

    He says on his blog that he has been “harassed” by police, and that this was the reason he fled Belize. There is no international arrest warrant for the multi-millionaire fugitive.

    Guatemalan Interior Minister, Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said Mr. McAfee was arrested at a hotel in an affluent area of the capital, Guatemala City.

    Appearing in public for the first time in weeks on Tuesday, Mr. McAfee and his lawyer had said he would petition the Guatemalan government to stay there.

    “Belize does not have a good track record of providing safety when they ask to question you. I felt much more secure crossing the border,” said Mr. McAfee.

    He reportedly checked into the five star Villa Real hotel in Guatemala City earlier on Wednesday having sneaked out of Belize.

    The 67-year old revealed that in order to go unnoticed, he changed his appearance by dying his hair and beard, sticking chewed bubble gum to his upper gums to fatten his face and staining his teeth.

    Gregory Faull was found dead with a single gunshot to the head on November 11.

    His Belize home sits next to Mr. McAfee’s compound on a tropical island.

     

  • Military plane crashes in South Africa

    A military plane carrying 11 passengers has crashed in South Africa’s mountainous east.

    The plane, which had been travelling from Pretoria to Mthatha, went missing on Wednesday but the initial search was abandoned due to poor weather.

    The BBC reports that the wreckage was found in the Drakensberg Mountains, near Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal province.

    Unconfirmed reports said that those on board included members of Nelson Mandela’s medical team.

    A spokesman for the defence department, Siphiwe Dlamini, has refused to confirm or deny the reports, saying it was an operational matter.

    Brig. Gen. Xolani Mabanga said that the aircraft had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press.

    He said soldiers had been sent to the scene to look for survivors.

    The remains of the aircraft were found some 210 miles (340km) south-east of the Waterkloof air base.

    The wreckage of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, is reported to be spread over a wide area near the Giant’s Castle, a famous peak on a steep escarpment.

    Mthatha’s small airport in Eastern Cape Province is situated some 17 miles (30km) from Mr. Mandela’s rural homestead of Qunu, where the former president has lived since retiring from public life.

    The BBC says the military are responsible for the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero and a medical team travels regularly to his home.

     

  • Gowon wants Electoral College for 2015 poll

    Gowon wants Electoral College for 2015 poll

    …Opposes creation of new states

    Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) on Wednesday advocated for the use of the Electoral College system in the conduct of future Presidential elections in the country, beginning with the 2015 elections.

    He also asked the National Assembly to end the agitation for new states.

    The former Nigerian leader spoke just as Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa lamented the security situation in the northern part of the country, which according to him, has chased away potential investors who were willing to invest in the Agriculture, mining and solid mineral sectors in the region.

    Speaking at a two- day conference on the north and strategies for sustainable development, the former head of state who was represented by the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Aliko Mohammed however said that the north must come together to forge a common front in other to enjoy political progress and development.

    Although he did not elaborate further on the Electoral College system, he said, “Unless we come together in the north, we would continue to have problems. I met with the Senate caucus in the north in Abuja last week and I asked them to reconsider the introduction of Electoral College in electing the president.”

    Gowon said the creation of new states will only increase the cost of governance, pointing out that it will not resolve the catalogues of problems bedevilling the country.

    Addressing the gathering, Governor Yakowa said that the north has always remain a catalyst for the unity of the country, adding that despite the current security challenges, the region will remain a rallying point for the unity and development of the country.

    Yakowa said, “The north has been a catalyst for the unity, stability and development of the country. The country has been relying for direction from the north. This is contrary to what some out there would want the world to belief about the region.

    “History has shown that the unity and strength of the north, with a collective sense of purpose and focus has been the bastion for the unity and strength of Nigeria. We must do everything to sustain this responsibility bestowed on us by providence.”

    The governor, who commended the organizers of the conference for their foresight, said it was gratifying that Nigeria has remained a single country despite the security challenges, saying, “we must give credit to Nigerians and to God that Nigeria still remains a country, albeit beleaguered by towering security challenges.

    “In this difficult time, we must work assiduously to adequately address the tolerance level among our people, if we must succeed collectively. Nigeria, as a multicultural and multilingual nation of diverse people, with more than 250 distinct languages and ethnic groups, cannot continue to behave as a group of irreconcilable religious and ethnic nationalities, contrary to the ‘One North One People’ bequeathed to us by no other than the late Sardauna, Ahmadu Bello,” Yakowa said.

     

  • Nigerian businessman to sponsor Niger AFCON campaign

    Nigerian businessman to sponsor Niger AFCON campaign

    Nigerian tycoon Dahiru Mangal will fly a 540-strong Niger contingent to next year’s African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    MTNFootball.com reports that Mangal, a Katsina-based major air transporter and businessman agreed to make available one of his Boeing 747 planes to transport Nigerien national team and its supporters to the former apartheid enclave for the continent’s premier soccer tournament.

    “Mangal is a good friend of our President and he has graciously accepted to support Niger at the Nations Cup by providing us with a Boeing 747 plane that will take us to and from South Africa.

    “We will fuel the chartered aircraft, otherwise he would bear the other costs.

    “This is a big assistance to Niger and we really appreciate it.

    “His airline, Maxair, operates in Niger and he has several other business interests also in the country,” top Niger Football Association official, Mohammed Sani, told MTNFootball.com.

    This sponsorship is believed would save Niger at least about 50 million Naira.

    Niger will be based in Port Elizabeth for the first round of matches. The Mena will meet Ghana, Mali and DR Congo in the tournament starting in January.

    Mangal rose to national prominence during the tenure of late Nigerian president, Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

    This year, his airline ferried the bulk of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

     

  • ANPP to restructure party ahead of 2015 elections

    ANPP to restructure party ahead of 2015 elections

    The National Secretary, All Nigeria People’s Party, Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah, said on Wednesday that the party had set up a 21-man committee to restructure it ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Tumsah, who made this known in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, said the committee was headed by Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, former Kano State governor and the presidential candidate of the party in the 2011 general elections.

    He said the committee would receive inputs from stakeholders, adding that the aim of the exercise was to take the nation to greater heights.

    The ANPP scribe said that the committee would put the party in a good footing to win the next general elections, adding that Nigerians deserved better dividends of democracy than what the present government had provided so far.

    ‘’The primary focus of any government is the protection of lives and property of its citizens and once that government falls short of this responsibility it is a setback,’’ the ANPP scribe said.

    According to him, any government that is not alive to its responsibility in terms of security of lives and property would not witness rapid development.

     

  • Delta to shut down illegal health centres

    Delta to shut down illegal health centres

    Delta State government has vowed to close illegal health facilities in the state.

    Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who made this known while reviewing the conclusions reached at the State Dashboard Implementation Workshop in Asaba, said that all clinics, nursing homes and pharmacies operating illegally or below the minimum required standard would be closed down forthwith.

    The Dashboard Implementation Workshop is a self evaluation programme, designed to review the activities of ministries and parastatals and prepare a road map aimed at improving government policies.

    Uduaghan also directed the Direct Labour Agency (DLA) to complete all repair works on roads in Warri and Asaba before the end of this month.

    According to him, the state government has made appreciable progress in the health sector with the state recording above average in the World Health Organization’s standard on doctor/hospital ratio as well as other paramedical staff ratio to the population of the state.

    However, he charged the staff in the sector to be more vigilant and diligent in their duties to ensure that the standard was improved upon.

    Dr. Uduaghan said his administration will embark on mass housing programme, adding that N1.5 billion naira has been set aside for the project.

     

  • Why fuel scarcity persists – Minister

    Why fuel scarcity persists – Minister

    The Federal Government has again explained the reason for the stringent measures put in place in the management of subsidy regime.

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said the stringent measures are meant to check the activities of fraudsters in the sector and to recover fraudulent oil subsidy claims.

    Besides, she also attributed the current fuel scarcity in the country to some slight issues with the oil union, but assured that the issue is being tackled and normalcy will soon return to the filling stations.

    Madueke, who was responding to questions from reporters on the current fuel supply situation in the country, however said government was not folding its arm as it has been doing a lot to arrest the situation include pushing oil out from the nation’s strategic reserve.

    While also appealing for the support and cooperation of Nigerians, the minister said the current suffering is some of the sacrifices the people have to make to enthrone transparency and accountability in the sector.

    She said the whole issue will soon pass away as government is doing everything possible to arrest the situation.

    The country in the last few months had been grappling with shortage of fuel supply and this has led to long queues in most filling stations across the major cities of the country.

    The Minister of Finance Dr. Okonjo-Iweala had disclosed that the Presidential committee on subsidy claims headed by the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has submitted its report and uncovered NN232.2 billion claims that cannot be substantiated.

    It was also in the attempt to clean the sector that Federal Government announced recently that it was withholding N29 billion claims by some oil marketers as subsidy payment pending the outcome of the investigation by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission on the issue.

     

  • Fresh blast wounds two in Kano

    Another early morning explosion on Wednesday injured two persons at Zoo Road in Kano metropolis.

    A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano that the bomb exploded on the road at about 7.30 a.m.

    He said that after the incident, two unidentified persons who sustained injuries were rushed to the hospital in a Fire Service ambulance for medical attention.

    “I saw two persons being conveyed to hospital in an ambulance belonging to the state Fire Service,” he said.

    As at the time of filing this report, members of the Joint Security Task-Force had cordoned off the area.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Kano State, Mr. Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident.

    He said the bomb, which was in a small can was planted on the road and that it exploded around 7.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

    ‘’Nobody was injured and no damage was caused to any property,” Majiya said.

    NAN recalls that three persons on Monday sustained serious injuries in an early morning bomb blast at Kantin Kwari junction in Kano metropolis.

     

  • Nollywood star Elebuwa dies

    Nollywood star Elebuwa dies

    Nollywood star, Enebeli Elebuwa is dead.

    He died on Tuesday night in an Indian hospital.

    The late Elebuwa, according to reports, was flown to India few months ago after developing a partial stroke on one part of his body.

    He was an iconic figure in the Nigerian movie industry, featuring in over 100 films since the inception of home video industry in the early 90s.

     

  • U.S consultants to build hospital in Anambra

    U.S consultants to build hospital in Anambra

    A team of consultants from the United States on Tuesday proposed to build a world class hospital in Anambra.

    A member of the team, Dr. Maria Todd announced the proposal in Awka when they visited the state Governor, Mr. Peter Obi.

    Todd said the hospital, when completed would employ more than 40 doctors and no fewer than 1,200 nurses and other supporting staff.

    She said the hospital would equally create opportunities for capacity development and institutional strengthening for skilled and unskilled labour, including technicians and engineers.

    The team leader explained that the hospital with advanced health facilities could extend its services to the entire West African sub-region, noting that the state had the potential to drive the process.

    The Traditional Ruler of Ifite-Dunu, who was part of the team, Chief Emeka Ilouno, said the team wanted to identify with the success story of Obi’s administration, especially in the health sector.

    “We are responding to the governor’s call for stakeholders to come home and attract investments to the state to make it a model in the country in line with Obi’s passion to uplift the state,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Ilouno as saying at the forum.

    Responding, the governor said that Africa held the hope for the survival of the global economy as it had huge unexplored human and material resources.

    Obi pointed out that with the right leadership, Nigeria could effectively harness its abundant potentials to become a major player in the world economy.

    He underscored the importance of establishing the hospital in the state as it would assist the state government in its drive to achieve the MDGs.