The Nation Newspaper

Category: Uncategorized

  • Women honour Chief Justice

    A group,Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) ,recently hosted the Chief Justice of the Federation,Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar to a private dinner in Lagos to mark her appointment as the first female Chief Justice of the country .The venue was the WheatBaker Hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The founder of WISCAR, Mrs Amina Oyagbola said: “The dinner was in recognition of her lifetime of hard work, exemplary leadership, thorough probity and consistent professionalism. In reaching the pinnacle of the Judiciary in Nigeria, she is a role model par excellence. We have decided to hold a dinner to celebrate not only Justice Mukhtar’s achievement of this milestone but most importantly her sterling qualities that have made the achievement possible.”

    Renowned for standing on the side of the truth, Justice Mukhtar was the President of the National Association of Women Judges of Nigeria. In 2003 she was honoured by the International Association of Women Lawyers and in 2004 was conferred with the Fellowship of the Nigerian Law School.

    Other guests at the event include: Hon. Mulikat Akande Adeoye, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Odein Ajumogobia, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and many accomplished legal practitioners, captains of industry and successful career women from different fields of endeavour.

    WISCAR is a strategic mentoring network aimed at unleashing the largely untapped potential of women professionals in Nigeria. Its vision is to institute a high level career and mentoring network for entry or mid career level professional women, and institute gender-friendly policies in organisations with the overall aim of developing women to build a better nation.

  • Ikuforiji: be more committed

    Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Adeyemi Ikuforiji has urged Muslims to be more obedient and dedicated in the service to God and humanity.

    Ikuforiji, who gave the admonition in his message, by his Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Adebayo, also congratulated Muslims.

    He urged them to emulate Prophet Ibrahim by being resolute and committed, even when faced with adversity.

    “We have to continue to emulate Prophet Ibrahim for that wonderful service he rendered to his Creator, by offering his only son as a sacrifice. We continue to be obedient, dedicated and committed in our relationship with the Almighty God, our creator, the governments and people around us.

    “This should also reflect in all Muslims’ positive attitude to all the laws passed by the legislature.

  • Help for kid heart patients

    Kanu Heart Foundation, in collaboration with the Society of Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN) has concluded plans to raise fund for kid heart patients who need medical surgery.

    According to the chairperson of SPAN Sarah Boulos, the society is collaborating with the Kanu Heart Foundation in order to save those who are suffering from the ailment. This, she said, would take the form of a theatrical production tagged Star Art Stage and would be entitled: “Take Heart.” She disclosed that this would be premiered at the Ballroom of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Sunday, September 28, 2012.

    Emphasising that, apart from educating the audience on the life-threatening heart condition called “dilated cardiomyopathy,” she said that the production is also aimed at raising funds for Kanu Heart Foundation to help take care of some heart patients. She said: “These funds would go a long way in providing the much- needed medical surgery for a child on the waiting list.”

    In a letter signed by Jo Demmer, the Artistic Director, Star Art Stage Production, Gbenga Yusuf said that “Take Heart” “examines the problems confronting a couple who need to save their child whose survival depends on a heart surgery.”

    In a chat with Newsextra, Boulos stressed that she was moving into this partnership as a result of an incident 12 years ago about a girl who donated her compatible heart to save her friend.

    Boulos who described “art as a silent language that can be universally understood by everyone,” called on artists to learn from the girl by “re-defining their arts to reflect changes in the society.”

    According to Yusuf, over 400 people, including children, youths, and parents are expected to watch the theatrical performance.

    While the briefing lasted, Coordinator, Kanu Heart Foundation, Pastor Onyebuchi Abia, lamented that most Nigerians take the issue of their health with levity, even as he said that they do not feed well and do not go for constant health checks.

    According to him, during their recently held free echo cardio-graphic test, among 150 checks carried out, 50 people were diagnosed with heart problems and other related diseases.

  • Thousands of commuters stranded on Abuja-Lokoja highway

    For more than six hours yesterday, thousands of commuters were stranded on the Abuja-Lokoja highway following heavy security against the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The army mounted an unusual blockade in Abaji, homestead of a Boko Haram coordinator, Kabiru Sokoto, who is detained by the State Security Service (SSS) after his arrest in Taraba State early this year.

    Commuters pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on the army to give the checkpoint in Abaji a human face and fast track the screening of passengers.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that there was easy passage of commuters between 5am and noon but a sudden heavy security was mounted as from 1pm.

    As at 6pm, there was no hope for the stranded commuters, most of whom might sleep in their vehicles in Abaji.

    An official of the Federal Roads Safety Commission(FRSC), who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “We are helpless; the soldiers told us that they decided to strengthen security based on orders from above.

    “We have done our best to put structures in place for easy passage, but if it has to do with security issues, we have our own limitations.

    “We will make representation to the government on the traffic gridlock in this axis; it is now left to the appropriate authorities to liaise with the Army on how to improve the situation at the checkpoint in Abaji.”

    The source added: “As it is, we should have more than 200,000 commuters stranded because at a random count, we have about 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles on queue with no hope of leaving Abaji. Most of these commuters in Abaji are Muslims going for Sallah celebration.

    “We are certainly trying to resolve the traffic challenge caused by this sudden security build-up. We have always had the checkpoint but today’s (Thursday) has been standstill. We cannot talk about the information at the disposal of the authorities.”

    Some of the commuters spoke with our correspondent in Abaji.

    Hajiya Zainab Malik said: “This experience is just harrowing. I got to Abaji at about 12.15pm and here I am at 5.29pm on the same spot. Yet, I am not sure of when I will get home on the eve of Sallah.

    “They told us that the tight security has to do with Boko Haram scare. But we have not noticed any threat at all.”

    Alhaji Musa Yabagi, said: “I am carrying my ailing aged mother home for treatment but you can see the helpless woman gasping for breath. I feel so disappointed.

    “I want to appeal to the President to intervene, especially during festive period like this. If we cannot have good roads, we should be allowed to move about freely. It is this kind of situation that makes some of us to lose faith in the system. Who can be this callous to give this kind of order.

    “Yet, when we got to the checkpoint, they were only doing sight and pass method. They were not checking anything than to look at faces. Why should we wait for five hours for soldiers to look at our faces?”

  • Tension in Onitsha over plan to relocate market

    There was tension yesterday at Williams Street Market, one of the major markets in Onitsha, following the government’s plan to relocate the traders to the market’s permanent site at Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area.

    There was a brawl between the Acting Chairman of the market, Mr. Solomon Maduike, and his principal officials, after the announcement.

    The chairman allegedly refused to obey the relocation order.

    The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee set up by the government, Mr. Gabriel Momegha, told reporters in Onitsha the committee sought an audience with the executives on the matter.

    He said: “The visit was to seek the possibility of the executives of the market to relocate to the permanent site, which has been completed and officially inaugurated by the government in 2009.

    “At the mere mention of Ogbunike Building Material Dealers’ Market, the Acting Chairman, Solomon Maduike, started shouting on top of his voice. He said he was not interested in Ogbunike Market.

    “All efforts to explain the need to relocate to the new site, have failed. We also tried to tell him about the need to relocate because Williams Street Market is no longer large enough to accommodate their goods, but he refused.”

    Momegha accused a trader of masterminding the crisis.

    He said: “Further attempts to calm them down by the caretaker committee officials did not yield any fruit. He walked out on us and made a call for the police to arrest us. We quietly left the market.”

    A detachment of policemen from the Central Police Station was deployed in the market to forestall a breach of the peace.

    The embattled chairman allegedly mobilised to lynch the caretaker committee members.

    But Maduike denied the allegation.

    He said the market had not resolved to relocate to the permanent site.

    Maduike described the allegation as false and malicious.

  • Adhere to the rule of law, advises Fashola

    LAGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has enjoined Nigerians to conform to the tenets of the rule of law.

    He said without law and order, no society would prosper.

    In his Sallah Message, the governor said the act of obedience demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim when he was commanded by the Almighty Allah to sacrifice his only son, Ismael, is a compelling factor for all Muslims to learn from in the maintenance of law and order in our society.

    “Our nation is greatly challenged by the inconsistencies in our attitude to the rule of law; yet the great religions of the world preach obedience as the only condition for our close relationship with the Almighty Allah”.

    “The significance of the act cannot be more relevant at any other time in our history than today when we need all hands on deck to build an enduring democracy; an egalitarian society where every citizen will have the opportunity to attain his or her potentials in life”, the governor said.

    He implored all Nigerians, particularly the Muslims, to use the period of the celebration to rededicate themselves to the maintenance of law and order in the society adding: “Without the rule of law, no society can progress and without law and order, life will be both intolerable and unbearable”.

  • Abia partners MTN on health

    The Abia State government will partner with MTN Nigeria to develop mobile rural clinic across the 17 local government areas of the state.

    The state Commissioner for Health,Dr Okechukwu Ogah, made this known while declaring open the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) 2012 Physician Week in Umuahia.

    Ogah said that the scheme would be launched by the Governor Theodore Orji, before the end of the year.

    “Under the scheme, MTN would take up 18 Model PHC in the six local governments and run them efficiently for us for a given period of time.

    “We are also partnering with national health insurance in the development of community health insurance scheme,’’ Ogah said.

    He said that a pilot scheme of the health insurance programmes would start with some communities in Ohafia, Osisioma and Ukwa East local government areas.

    Ogah said that the state was almost in the final stage of sealing a deal with the National Health Insurance Scheme for Abia civil servants to key into NHIS, adding that Orji would sign the MOU with NHIS.

    The commissioner, who reviewed government’s effort at boosting the primary, secondary and tertiary health system called on doctors to share the vision of government in moving the sector forward.

  • Travellers agonise on Abuja-Lokoja Expressway

    It was a nightmare yesterday for commuters and motorists travelling on the Abuja-Lokoja Road to various destinations for the Eid-el-Kabir holiday.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who left Abuja at 7 am, did not arrive at Abaji, in the Federal Capital Territory, until 2 pm, a journey of one hour on a normal occasion.

    A combined team of soldiers, police, civil defence and road safety corps members worked hard to clear the bottleneck at Gwagwalada, also in the capital territory, earlier in the day.

    It was not clear what caused the gridlock at Abaji, but motorists blamed it on the security checkpoint in the area, manned by soldiers.

    The checkpoint has been in existence for several months and has disrupted traffic, especially on holidays.

    While some motorists called for a speedy completion of the dual carriageway, others decried the delay caused by security agencies at the checkpoints.

    Mrs Esther Nwafor, a civil servant travelling to Lagos, called on the government to find a lasting solution to the problem on the highway.

    “It is surprising that the expansion of the road is taking too long considering its importance as a major link between the North and the South.”

    Another traveller, Mr. Timothy Olaoye, said motorists should exercise patience instead of driving against traffic or jumping the queue.

    Also, hawkers around the area had a field day selling food and drinks.

  • Jonathan seeks prayers for security agencies

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged Nigerians to pray that the nation’s security agencies experience divine intervention to overcome insecurity.

    He spoke in Abuja at the third National Prayer Breakfast organised by the National Assembly.

    The theme of the programme was: “Sacrifice with righteousness, a necessary ingredient for national transformation.”

    The President, who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, noted that insecurity is the greatest challenge confronting the nation.

    He enjoined leaders to shun corruption and preach peace to enable the country advance.

    The President also urged Nigerians to pray to God to touch the hearts of the country’s detractors.

    The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, noted that it was time for the country to shift from “religious competitiveness” to “righteous competitiveness.”

    He added that if people could behave righteously, the nation would be better.

    The Director-General of the Institute for National Transformation, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu, said Nigeria is not working according to the vision of its founding fathers.

    He said the country needs quality leaders if it must develop.

    Anigbogu said it was only selfless leadership and sound management principles that could revamp the country.

    He added that leaders have to live for the future if the country must grow.

    Said he: “Any nation that wants to grow must have a burning vision of the future, which in turn, it transmits to the children.

    “Leaders must have a mind to solve problems.

    “We need to create an environment that will allow Nigerians to be in their best element.

    “If the country must advance, we must stop wasting our human resources and do everything that will make us great.

    “We cannot develop without the requisite infrastructure.

    “What can we do to change this nation?

    “We must adopt the principles of functional righteousness.

    “If you give this country to Europeans, they will make it the first in five years.”

    Anigbogu enjoined those in power to “stop bringing shame to the country” through selfishness, corruption and greed.

    Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon led prayers for President Jonathan and other leaders.

    He asked God to help them eschew corruption and grant them grace to rely on him in their activities.

    The President of the National Prayer Breakfast, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, said the programme was predicated on the importance of prayers for divine guidance in governance and national growth.

    He said: “It is our faith that our prayers will trigger the throne of grace to intervene in the intractable problems of our nation.”

    Senator Sunny Ugboji led the prayers for Nigeria.

    He asked God to forgive the country and turn its fortunes around positively.

    The senator also asked God to show the nation mercy and give it a new lease of life.

    Ugboji implored God to give Nigeria a second chance.

    The Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, took the first Bible reading from the book of II Chronicles 7:11-20, while the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, represented by Andrew Uchendu, took the second Bible reading from 1 Peter 2:4-7.

    The National Assembly Choir and a renowned gospel artiste, Dr. Panam Percy Paul, blessed the guests with soul-lifting music.

  • PDP to probe Elechi’s projects

    The Ebonyi State chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it would investigate the projects the Martin Elechi administration has executed.

    This is to ascertain their impact on the residents, it said.

    Its Chairman, Prince Ugorji Amaoti, addressed reporters in Abakaliki, the state capital, after the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party submitted its report to the State Executive Council (Exco) on the 13 local government areas and 64 development centres.

    The PDP chairman said the party would not recommend any sanction against any of the council chairmen or development centre coordinator who performed below the expectation of the party until Governor Martin Elechi would have gone through the report.

    He noted that the report was not to witch-hunt anybody but to ensure that those who performed below expectation are encouraged to turn a new leaf.

    Submitting the report to the party Exco, Amaoti thanked the governor for giving them the opportunity to interact with him.

    He explained that the PDP embarked on the tour of the councils to get first-hand information on their operations.

    The party chairman said the PDP occasionally undertook oversight functions on the performance of those it elected to manage the affairs of the people.

    Amaoti said the report was in two parts: the major copy and the abridged version.

    He noted that the report would enable the government to have a deeper insight into the councils.

    The party also presented Party Project Magazine and wall clocks with the PDP insignia.

    Amaoti said the clocks would be given to political appointees and elected members of the party to remind them that they are products of the PDP.

    Elechi hailed the party chieftains for their innovativeness.

    He said: “We have a chairman, who has so much confidence in our party. Yet, he is unassuming.”

    The governor said the tour was to ensure that those who emerged through the party deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.

    Elechi noted that the zonal leadership of the party had undertaken similar trips.

    He added: “We hope the national leadership will also do the same. If this can’t be done state by state, it could be zone by zone.”

    The governor said his administration will, by December, tour the local governments to interact with the people and thank them for the mandate they gave him.

    Elechi added that the government would study the report and encourage sanction against any erring council.