The Nation Newspaper

Category: News Update

  • Grandpa gets First class in UI

    A grandfather, Mr. Aderemi Alli, was among the 21 first class graduates produced by the University of Ibadan at its convocation on Thursday in Ibadan.

    The university graduated a total of 1,582 students for the 2011/2012 academic session with 243 graduating in Second Class (Upper Division) and 920, Second Class (Lower Division).

    A total of 135 of the students graduated with Third Class and 203 Pass.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Alli, 57, was among the three first class graduates produced by the institution’s Faculty of Law.

    He had had a first degree in economics education 31 years ago.

    Alli, whose last child is studying electrical engineering in UI, told journalists at the ceremony that he was motivated to study law because many of his schoolmates had become Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

    “I feel I can still participate in the society in spite of my age. I am using this medium to advise others that they can do it, if I can do it,” he said.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said that of the 21 first class graduates, one was produced by the Faculty of Arts and 17 came from the university’s affiliated institutions.

    He expressed regret that the university did not produce many first degree graduands due to the disruption of the 2011/2012 academic calendar which prevented some final year students from completing their courses.

     

  • Jonathan, South- East governors meet on roads’ projects

    Jonathan, South- East governors meet on roads’ projects

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday night met with governors from the South East states and their leaders.

    Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it was gathered that issues bothering on erosion and deplorable state of federal roads in the South East were some of the issues that dominated discussions.

    Political issue and the recent security threat in the region also came up for discussion.

    Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting which lasted till about 12am, Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi, said they discussed the construction of the second Niger Bridge and road infrastructure in the region.

    “We actually come to see the President to brief him on the situation of the South East and also mention one or two issues that are of concern to us and we had a very useful meeting.

    “Some of the issues are personal to us but the issue that is of main concern to us is the issue of second Niger Bridge which the Minister of Works has been working very hard and has promised to deliver,” he said.

    Describing the meeting as fruitful, the governor said the issue of roads, especially the Enugu – Port-Harcourt road and the Enugu Onitsha road came up for discussion.

    Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, said the meeting afforded him the opportunity to brief the governors on the procurement of the second Niger Bridge.

    He said: “You will recall that in December last year we commenced the procurement process for the Second Niger Bridge and we have achieved a milestone on that particular procurement till date.

    “The transaction adviser was appointed a couple of months ago, a couple of months after, they submitted an inspection report on the project.

    “About a week ago, the request for proposal was issued to the shortlisted consortia who are participating in the procurement process and that is expected to be turned in by the second week of December.

    “After the analysis of the Record for Proposal by the various would be concessionaire, a successful concessionaire will be announced and that will be followed quickly by the financial closure.

    “We are certain that base on our projection, that by the end of the first quarter of 2013 there will be a breaking of ground on the second Niger Bridge project, which means that the successful concessionaire for the project will be on site.”

    The minister said the project would be driven under the Public –Private- Partnership arrangement.

     

  • Election: Obasanjo leads ECOWAS observers to Ghana

    Election: Obasanjo leads ECOWAS observers to Ghana

    …Kuffour heads to Freetown for Sierra Leone’s poll

    Former president Olusegun Obasanjo will lead a 250-member Economic Community Of West African States team to monitor Ghana’s general election billed for December 7.

    A statement issued on Thursday by the ECOWAS communication unit said the trip is within the context of the region’s instrument for provision of support to member states holding elections.

    It reads: “The ECOWAS team, comprising representatives of various segments of the West African society, will be in the country for nine days to observe the conduct of the presidential, legislative and local elections, expected to contribute to the deepening of democratic culture in the country.

    “An ECOWAS assessment mission was in Ghana last October to review preparations for the elections during which the mission members met with various stakeholders, including representatives of political parties, civil society organizations and the national electoral commission, to discuss their perspectives on the preparations for the elections.

    “Through these missions, the region seeks to promote a culture of transparent and credible elections, consistent with best practices for the enhancement of regional peace and stability.”

    In the same vein, Ghana’s former president John Kuffuor will lead a 150-member ECOWAS Observer Mission to Sierra Leone’s general elections scheduled for November 17.

    The observers drawn from various segments of the society in the region, according to the statement, will also be in the country for nine days for the presidential, legislative and local elections.

    “The objective of the two missions is to help entrench a culture of transparent and credible elections that will contribute to the promotion of regional peace and stability,” it stated.

     

  • Senate has no hidden agenda on Constitution review – Mark

    Senate has no hidden agenda on Constitution review – Mark

    The Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday in Lagos, assured Nigerians that the Senate has no hidden agenda in the on-going 1999 constitution review sessions.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mark made the declaration at the opening of the senate constitution review session for the South-West zone, at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

    He spoke as the exercise by the senate kicked off in all the six geo-political zones of the country.

    “The senate will consider every view presented at the sessions in the amendment of the constitution.

    “There are so many arguments and we may not take them all in one single sweep. The amendment is a continuous exercise; the National Assembly will revisit the constitution as often as possible when necessary,” Mark said.

    The Senate president urged the participants to make security and development issues their priority during the deliberations.

    “Any amendment that will improve security and bring development closer to the people should be top priority,” he stated.

    The senate president pointed out that requests for Lagos to be granted a special status was not a decision for him alone to take.

    “What matters most is that we need to make our presentations from a patriotic point of view.”

    “The essence of the sessions is to get Nigerians to participate fully in the amendment so that the National Assembly can take out the “military”, for a people’s constitution. “

    In his keynote address, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) sought a special status for the state because of its strategic importance to the nation.

     

  • Leadership is ANPP’s biggest problem – Zamfara governor

    Leadership is ANPP’s biggest problem – Zamfara governor

    Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, on Thursday said lack of pragmatic leadership was responsible for the dwindling performance of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) since the 1999 general elections.

    Yari, elected under the ANPP platform, made the remark in Gusau when he received a committee set up by the Board of Trustees to determine the party’s support base nationwide.

    “Since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999, only the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and our party, have national spread and acceptability, but because of leadership problem, the party is dwindling by the day.“

    The governor said considerable number of “high braw personalities” within the ruling PDP cross carpeted from the ANPP, adding that it was an indication that something was wrong with the past leadership.

    “The problem of ANPP is not that of lack of membership but how the leadership could mobilise the followership to attain electoral victory, “the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the governor as saying at the meeting.

    He, however, said that in spite of the challenges, the party has a bright electoral future and remains the only viable opposition strong enough to wrestle power from the ruling party.

    He called on the ANPP national leadership to come up with strategies to rejuvenate the party and fast track its electoral fortunes as a frontline political party in the country.

     

  • Nigeria switches to automated flight plans

    Nigeria switches to automated flight plans

    The Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Mr. Nnamdi Udoh, said Nigeria will change from the analogue method of preparing flight plans to automated system on Thursday.

    He said this at a stakeholders’ forum on the implementation of the new International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) flight plans in Nigeria.

    “From Thursday Nigeria will join the rest of the global aviation community in this development, as it has become mandatory for all contracting states of ICAO to do so,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Udoh as saying at the forum.

    Udoh said the new flight plan would afford air navigation service providers the opportunity to make maximum use of aircraft capabilities.

    He listed other benefits of the new flight plan to include ability of the aircraft to conduct flights more closely to their preferred trajectories and facilitate the utilisation of advanced technologies, thereby increasing efficiency.

    “It will also enhance optimised demand and capacity balancing through efficient exchange of information,’’ Udoh said.

    The NAMA boss also said that the switch-over would enhance the airlines’ use of modern capabilities on board the aircraft, as well as enhance search and rescue operations when the need arose.

     

  • China picks Xi Jinping as new leader

    China picks Xi Jinping as new leader

    Xi Jinping has been confirmed as the man to lead China for the next decade.

    Mr. Xi led the new Politburo Standing Committee onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, signalling his elevation to the top of China’s ruling Communist Party.

    The party faced great challenges but would work to meet “expectations of both history and the people”, he said.

    Most members of the new committee are seen as politically conservative, and perceived reformers did not get promotion.

    BBC says Xi Jinping replaces Hu Jintao, under whose administration China has seen a decade of extraordinary growth.

    The move marks the official passing of power from one generation to the next.

    Mr. Xi was followed out onto the stage by Li Keqiang, the man set to succeed Premier Wen Jiabao, and five other men – meaning that the size of the all-powerful Standing Committee had been reduced from nine to seven.

    Those five, in order of seniority, were Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang, Shanghai party boss Yu Zhengsheng, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and Tianjin party boss Zhang Gaoli.

    The new leaders had great responsibilities, Mr. Xi said, but their mission was to be united, and to lead the party and the people to make the Chinese nation stronger and more powerful.

    “The people’s desire for a better life is what we shall fight for,” he said.

    Corruption had to be addressed, he said, and better party discipline was needed.

     

  • Fresh Ebola outbreak in Uganda

    Fresh Ebola outbreak in Uganda

    A fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Uganda has killed at least two people, the health ministry has said.

    Two members of the same family died over the weekend in a district not far from the capital, the health minister told the AFP news agency.

    BBC says an estimated 17 people died in western Uganda of the haemorrhagic fever during an outbreak in July.

    According to the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), there had been no cases since August.

    Health Minister, Christine Ondoa told The Associated Press that investigators had found conclusive evidence of Ebola in Luweero, about 60 km (37 miles) from the capital, Kampala.

    She said a third man had also died in the area late last month after showing symptoms of Ebola.

    However, no samples were taken from the victim and the case was not reported to health officials at the time, AFP reports.

    Five people who came into contact with those who died are being monitored. Two of them have been admitted to an isolation unit at Kampala’s main Mulago hospital, the minister has told AFP.

    There is no known cure for Ebola, but patients can be treated for their symptoms with antibiotics, drugs for pain relief and for other diseases such as malaria, to strengthen their resistance.

    The virus causes death in 90 per cent of human cases.

    Uganda has seen several major Ebola outbreaks over the past 12 years.

    The deadliest was in 2000 when 425 people were infected. More than half of them died.

     

  • Oshiomhole picks Ihonvbere as SSG

    Oshiomhole picks Ihonvbere as SSG

    …Obahiagbon is governor’s new Chief of Staff 

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has made key appointments into his cabinet.

    Prof. Julius Ihonvbere has been appointed the Secretary to the State Government. He replaces Dr. Simon Imuekemhe.

    Former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Patrick Obahiagbon is the new Chief of Staff, replacing Mr. Osarodion Ogie, while Mr. Stephen Idehenre is the new Deputy Chief of Staff, Governor’s Office.

    He replaces Mr. John Odigie Ejale.

    Mr. Peter Okhiria retains his position as Chief Press Secretary. Princess Theresa Erediauwa also retains her position as the focal person and Executive Director, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Comrade Yakubu Aliyu is the Governor’s new Principal Private Secretary.

    Mr. Godwin Obaseki remains the Chairman of the Economic Team, while the former Chief of Staff, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, is Vice Chairman of the Economic Team.

    Born in June 1956, Prof. Ihonvbere holds a Ph.D in Political Economy from the University of Toronto.

    A Professor of Political Science, the SSG-designate was a former Special Adviser on Policy Monitoring as well as Speech Writer to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He holds a national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).