The Nation Newspaper

Category: News Update

  • Jonathan assures on national growth

    Jonathan assures on national growth

    President Goodluck Jonathan has reassured Nigerians that the Federal Government would continue to provide the needed enabling environment for the growth and development of Nigeria.

    Jonathan gave the assurance in Sokoto at the 2012 Merit Awards Ceremony organised by the state government, saying the transformation agenda of his administration would be pursued to a logical conclusion.

    The president, who was represented by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bello Sali, said the Federal Government was making efforts toward resolving the security challenges in the country.

    He stressed the need for Nigerians to regard peace and unity of the country as top priority, considering that,” without peace, the nation will never progress and prosper.”

    Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State said the award was instituted to honour deserving men and women of integrity.

    “Nigerians must renew their commitments to country and be determined to confidently face the future with hope.

    “The people we are honouring today are role models in the state and the country in general,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted governor as saying at the event.

    The National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Samson Jaja, commended the state for being,” the home of the party.”

    Tukur expressed happiness over the peace in Sokoto State, saying “this is the only state in the country that free education is provided to non- indigenes.”

     

  • Nairobi minibus ‘hit by grenade’

    A blast has killed at least six people on a crowded minibus passing through a suburb of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, which has a large Somali population.

    A grenade was thrown into the vehicle in the Eastleigh area, police said, ripping the roof and sides off the bus.

    BBC says several recent attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa had been blamed on Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group.

    Earlier this year, Kenya sent troops into Somalia to pursue militants.

    Kenyan forces ousted the Islamist rebels from their last Somalia stronghold, Kismayo, last month.

    After Sunday’s blast, police fired into the air to disperse crowds of youths who targeted Somali residents in retaliation.

    Kenya began its intervention in Somalia nearly a year ago after a spate of cross-border attacks blamed on al-Shabab.

     

  • Gunmen kill two in Zaria

    Gunmen kill two in Zaria

    The Police Command in Kaduna State on Sunday confirmed the killing of two people, following an attack on Cosmopolitan Hotel in Sabon-Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aminu Lawal, said the attackers, who had yet to be identified, also injured two people in the attack.

    He, however, said that investigation into the matter had begun.

    The police identified the victims as Mr. Benjamin Sule and a Director of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Mr. Nnamani Daniel.

    It also named the injured as Uba Mamuda and John Oguche.

    An eyewitness said the gunmen attacked the hotel between 9:30p.m and 10 p.m on Saturday.

    The witness said the attackers arrived at the hotel on a motorcycle and opened fire.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the bodies of the deceased were taken to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika.

     

  • No plan to hike fuel price, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has assured that there is no plan to hike the fuel price next year.

    He gave this assurance during the presidential chat held on Sunday evening in Abuja.

    “It is not true that there is any plan to increase the price of fuel. We have already made provision for subsidy in the 2013 budget. I was misunderstood when I spoke on the matter during a courtesy visit by a group to my office,” Jonathan said

    The President  also stated stated that there is no on-going dialogue with the Boko Haram group contrary to reports, noting that the leaders of the fundamentalist group  remain faceless.

    “The members of the group wear mask and they are faceless,” the President stated, adding that that ensuring security remains a major challenge of his administration.

     

  • Super Eagles to get $100, 000 each for AFCON victory

    Super Eagles to get $100, 000 each for AFCON victory

    Each Super Eagles player could earn as much as $100,000 should they win next year’s African Cup of Nations in South Africa, MTNFootball.com reports.

    “Incentives will not be the Super Eagles problem at the Nations Cup.

    “If they go all the way and win the competition, they will each take away about $95,000 and when you add that to their daily allowances of around $5,000, you will have about $100,000.

    “And the chief coach (Stephen Keshi) will get double this amount,” a top official told MTNFootball.com at the weekend.

    In the proposed budget for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, each Super Eagle player will earn $10,000 for a win in the first round, where they are drawn against defending champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

    This would translate to $30,000 each if they win all three first round matches, the same amount they also received when they qualified for the quarterfinal of the 2010 tournament in Angola.

    However in Angola, the bonus was a winner-take-all one in the sense that the players were paid $30,000 each for going past the first round rather than being paid per game.

    The team’s win bonus will then be reviewed upwards as they move up in the knockout stage of the biennial competition.

    Victory in the quarterfinal will fetch each player $15,000, while victory in the semi-final will see them $20,000-a-man richer.

    And should the Eagles clinch Nigeria’s third Nations Cup trophy inside the magnificent Soccer City in Johannesburg on February 10, each player will pocket a win bonus of $30,000.

    Each player to the Nations Cup in Angola two years ago earned about $80,000 when they placed third.

     

  • Bus crash kills 50 children in Egypt

    Bus crash kills 50 children in Egypt

    At least 50 children aged four to six years old and the driver of the school bus they were on were killed when their vehicle was hit by a train in central Egypt on Saturday, officials told the BBC.

    The transport minister resigned in the wake of the crash near Manfalut, 350km (230 miles) south of Cairo.

    The provincial governor said the man in charge of the crossing was asleep and had been arrested.

    Egyptian roads and railways have a poor safety record.

    An estimated 8,000 people die in car accidents each year in the country.

    The head of the railway authority has also resigned.

    Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi ordered his ministers to offer support to the families of those killed, the state news agency reported.

    “They told us the barriers were open when the bus crossed the tracks and the train collided with it,” Dr. Mohamed Samir told the Reuters news agency, citing witness accounts.

    An eyewitness said the train pushed the bus about 1km (half a mile) along the track.

    More than a dozen people were also injured.

     

  • Council warns against sell of sub-standard goods in Kano

     

    The Chairman, Consumer Protection Council in Kano State, Alhaji Nuhu Bello, has warned supermarket owners against selling of sub-standard goods to consumers.

    Bello gave the warning at a stakeholders meeting held in his office in Kano on Saturday.

    According to him, the supermarket owners have key role to play in stopping the sale of smuggled, expired and sub-standard goods to the citizenry.

    “We want to inform you that we are set to visit any supermarket at any given time to inspect your goods.

    “We will not hesitate in taking action against anyone found selling sub-standard goods,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the CPC chief as saying on the issue.

    He said that the council had so far uncovered several items that were either pirated or smuggled into the state.

     

     

  • Sierra Leone holds third general elections

    Sierra Leone holds third general elections

     

    Sierra Leone is preparing to hold its third general election since the brutal 1991-2002 civil war, which killed more than 50,000 people.

    More than 2.5 million of the country’s six million citizens are expected to cast their vote for a new president, parliament and local councils.

    Incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma, faces eight candidates, including ex-military leader Julius Maada Bio.

    BBC says the election will be closely monitored by several thousand local observers.

    The results have to be declared within 10 days of voting taking place.

    The three main parties in the running are Mr. Koroma’s All People’s Congress (APC), Mr. Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC).

    The leader of the PMDC, Charles Francis Margai, is the son of Sierra Leone’s second Prime Minister Albert Margai.

    The political manifestation of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is also contesting the polls.

    The RUF were accused of committing atrocities and employing child soldiers during the civil war.

    The West African nation has come a long way since its devastating war in the 1990s.

    Its economy is growing fast – albeit from a very low base – and the elections are set to be held in a peaceful, democratic way, the BBC adds.

    But despite significant advances, Sierra Leone remains one of the world’s poorest nations.

    A large number of the country’s approximately six million people live on less than $1.25 (80p) a day.

     

  • Enugu Government backs creation of Adada State

    Enugu Government backs creation of Adada State

     

    The Enugu State Government said that it is supporting only the creation of Adada State in the South East Zone.

    The government made this position known in Enugu on Friday during the senate public hearing on constitution review.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Amaechi Okolo, who spoke on behalf of government, said that Adada State was the oldest outstanding state creation agitation in the zone.

    Okolo said that Nsukka, which is made up of the Adada State, was the only province in the Eastern Region that had not been accorded state status.

    “To ensure equity and fairness, Enugu State Government enjoins the senate committee to support the creation of one additional state in the south east.

    “In specific terms, Enugu State Government asks for the creation of Adada State.

    “We want to put on record that of all the provinces of the former Eastern Region, it is only Nsukka which constitutes the state in question that has not been given state status.

    “It is the oldest outstanding state agitation in the south east.

    ” As much as we have been deceived with a lot of agitation today, we should also bear in mind that law recognises first among equals and that should be granted the right of place,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the SSG as saying on the issue on Friday.

    Reading the resolutions of the state, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Dave Umahi, said that implementing local government autonomy would be detrimental to the country.

    “Local government is part of the state and should not be divided. The powers of the state government must also not be divided,’’ Umahi said.

     

  • 20 Journalists get scholarship in Rivers

    The Commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has advised Nigerian journalists to update their knowledge through training.

    The commissioner gave the advice in Port Harcourt on Friday at the presentation of scholarship award to 20 journalists.

    The scholarship award was instituted by Prince Emma Anyanwu, the Patron of Rivers State Council, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for members of the union.

    In her speech at the occasion, Semenitari, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Jokotade Adamu, said that journalism required regular updating of knowledge through training.

    She said that constant training would enable journalists to be well informed about the society and commended Anyanwu for instituting the award for journalists in the state.

    Seminitari urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the offer by ensuring that they did well in their various studies.

    ‘’I want to charge the recipients of this wonderful gesture. You are not just to collect the money and go and while away your time in whatever institution you are trying to get into.

    ‘’You are to go there and be very serious with whatever you are doing.

    “That is the way the financier will appreciate that you have spent his money well,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the commissioner as saying at the forum.

    In his remarks, Prince Anyanwu, said he instituted the N2 million scholarship award to assist journalists in the state update their knowledge in their profession.

    “I was inspired to take this mission because of the thankless and hazardous services rendered by members of the NUJ in Nigeria.

    “Many of you have gone through many pains in the process of your assignments, and nobody has come to say thank you.

    ‘’I am not here for you to thank me. I am here to reward your efforts, to encourage you, to share with you the pains you go through in the process of discharging your duties which is voluntary.

    ‘’ You earn nothing, your salaries are meagre. But you discharge your duties to the nation, to the state and to your family with joy,’’ he said.