The Nation Newspaper

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  • Dabiri-Erewa urges 9th NASS to expedite action on diaspora voting

    Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman, Nigeria Diaspora Commission, has called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to prevail on the Ninth National Assembly (NASS) to amend the constitution to enable them vote in next elections.

    Dabiri-Erewa made the call on Thursday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the inauguration dinner with ‘Diasporans’ in Abuja.

    She said there was need for lawmakers to expedite action by amending sections of the constitution and the Electoral Act (2010 as amended).

    This she said would make way for Nigerians living outside the country to participate in the electoral process and vote.

    “It is the responsibility of all of us; it is about the national assembly to amend the section of our laws to make it possible for Nigerians in the Diaspora to vote.

    “This is the ninth assembly, hopefully, they will listen to the yearning of the Diaspora that they should be able to vote; smaller countries are doing it.

    “It can also be done in such a way that it will even add more credibility to whatever things we are doing, so it is about the National Assembly amending the law,” Dabiri-Erewa.

    Read Also: Nigerians in Diaspora commission and global African Diaspora

    She said that the Diasporas were ambassador wherever they are and that the commission was going to have Diaspora policy that will guide all Diaspora engagements.

    “We also want them to invest in Nigeria, we want their investment back in the country, we have been talking about Foreign Direct Investment but the Diaspora investment will be huge.

    “We need to encourage them, we need to address their challenges and we are ready to do it.

    “We have been saying that human resources are our greatest assets so let us tap into those resources, Nigerians at home and Nigerians abroad,” she said.

  • Man kills HIV-positive wife for allegedly cheating on him

    Police in southern Pakistan have arrested a man for killing his HIV-positive wife in an epidemic-hit region, officials said on Thursday.

    The man in the town of Ratto Dhero strangled his wife on the suspicion of cheating on him and hanged her body on a tree to make the death look like a suicide, police official Waheed Mangi said.

    Situated in the province of Sindh, Ratto Dhero is a small town where around 800 people, mostly children, have tested positive for HIV in past two months.

    The man killed his 32-year-old wife because he believed that the HIV infection meant she must have had other sexual partners, said another police official, Irfan Baloch.

    Health authorities have screened around 25,000 people in the town this month, said doctor Sikandar Memon, head of AIDS control programme in Sindh.

    Read Also: How church treasurer swindled pastor of N850,000

    A team led by doctors from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is visiting the region on Thursday to determine the exact cause of the epidemic and suggest preventive measures, Memon said.

    The Pakistan government earlier this week declared a health emergency in the region and sought assistance from global bodies like the WHO and the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.

    Health experts have suggested that the virus may have spread through the re-use of infected syringes by poorly trained medics in rural Pakistan.

    There are around 170,000 registered HIV infected people in Pakistan, according to the National AIDS programme in the capital Islamabad.

  • IPOB’s sit -at -home: Nnewi, Onitsha shut down

    The sit -at -home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (Thursday) in the Southeast worked perfectly in Nnewi, Onitsha and Ekwulobia cities in Anambra State, except in the capital city of Awka.

    All the markets in the commercial cities, banks and schools were closed as directed by the proscribed Biafran group.

    But the joint security operatives including the police, Army, Navy and other para Military outfits were all out in their patrols, making sure there was no breach of the law.

    The outlawed Igbo group mobilised people in the zone to sit- at- home in honour of those who died during the war and others killed across the nation recently.

    Its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, called the order evangelism as against protest as described by some.

    Read Also: Photos: IPOB Sit-at-home commences

    Before the 30th May date, the group and security agencies engaged in war of words, which heightened tension in all the states in the Southeast especially, Anambra and Abia the two strongholds of IPOB.

    However, skeletal services were going on in the state capital of Awka as people were equally going on with their activities without any problems including the markets.

    But the banks did not open for businesses although their staff were inside chatting and celebrating a form of work- free day for them.

    Private and public schools in Nnewi, Ekwulobia, Ihiala, Onitsha and their environs were all closed for fear of any possible attack from IPOB members.

  • Atiku’s daughter describes tenure under APC as memorable

    Dr Fatima Atiku, the daughter of Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has described her tenure as Adamawa Commissioner for Health under immediate past Gov. Muhammadu Bindow as memorable.

    Atiku was one of the technocrats Bindow appointed to help his administration transform the health sector of Adamawa.

    She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Yola that her tenure brought about the formulation of Adamawa Health Policy, Health Insurance Scheme, Cancer Registry for the control of cancer scourge, among other initiatives.

    “The four years was full of experiences and quite memorable; it was my first time of occupying public office and I learnt a lot of things through my interaction with a lot of people and organisations.

    “I feel very fulfilled that I was given a chance and my impact was felt by the people of Adamawa,” the ex-commissioner said.

    Atiku, who dedicated her salaries for the four years she served to support some health programmes in the state, said she might not reject Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri’s invitation to serve in his government if extended.

    Read Also: APC suspends ex-Rep Daramola for supporting Atiku

    “It is something I have to think about; if not for anything but for the interest of the public,” she said.
    NAN reports that while Atiku stayed back, some serving commissioners left Bindow’s government when her father defected from APC to PDP and emerged as its presidential candidate.

    But Atiku, who attracted many interventions from health organisations and international donors to the state health sector, explained that she was not a politician.

    She fielded questions on backdrop of scrambles and intrigues by interested persons, including politically exposed individuals, angling to be appointed as health commissioner by Fintiri.

    NAN

  • FIFA bans ex-Oceania general secretary Nicholas for 8 years

    Former Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) general secretary, Tai Nicholas, has been banned from all soccer-related activities for eight years, for financial misconduct, world soccer governing body FIFA said on Thursday.

    Nicholas, a former member of FIFA’s standing committee, was also fined 50,000 Swiss francs ($49,554), about N200 million.

    Read Also: FIFA U-20 World Cup: USA beat Nigeria 2-0

    “The investigation into Mr Nicholas concerned the misappropriation of FIFA funds allocated to the OFC between 2014 and 2017 in relation to the OFC Home of Football,” FIFA said in a statement.

    “As a result, Mr Nicholas has been sanctioned with a ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level (administrative, sports or any other) for eight years.”

    FIFA said Nicholas violated Article 21 of its Code of Ethics, which deals with bribery and corruption, as well as Article 20, which sets out rules governing the offering and accepting of gifts and other benefits.

  • Breaking: Sanwo-Olu resumes, tours secretariat

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu accompanied by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat resumed office on Thursday by taking a tour round the State Secretariat at Alausa.

    He was welcomed by the excited civil servants, who hailed and praised him as he moved from one block to the other, waving at them in acknowledgement.

    The enthusiastic civil servants sang songs in Yoruba praising the governor, saying this dispensation will be good for all Lagosians.

    Read Also; ‘Why Ambode was absent at Sanwo-Olu’s inauguration’

    The governor later addressed them, promising to address all the challenges and issues facing them such as minimum wage, inadequate office space, chairs and tables, transportation -provision of more buses, electricity etc.

    Details shortly…

  • Breaking: Appeal Court reverses judgment sacking Sen Nwoboshi

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the April 3, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja which sacked Senator Peter Nwaoboshi as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Delta North Senatorial seat.

    A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment on Thursday, held that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to have heard the case filed by Ned Nwoko.

    Read Also; Court sacks Delta North senator-elect, Nwoboshi

    Justice Mohammed Idris, in the lead judgment, held that the suit by Nwoko was statute barred and that Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja ought not to have heard the case and gave the judgment he gave in favour of Nwoko.

    Justice Mohammed had, in the April 3, 209 judgment, sacked Nwaoboshi as the PDP candidate for the last election in Delta North Senatorial district and among others, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept Nwoko as the party’s candidate.

     

     

  • How church treasurer swindled pastor of N850,000

    A treasurer in the Apostolic Church of Nigeria, Friday Robbinson, who allegedly swindled a Senior Pastor of N850,000, on Thursday appeared in an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    The police charged Robbinson, who resides on No.18 Bankole St., Isheri, Berger in Lagos, with two counts of theft and obtaining under false pretext.

    The Prosecution Counsel, Sgt. Michael Unah, told the court that the defendant allegedly collected N850,000 from Pastor Victor Ekong, under the pretext of introducing him to oil and gas business, a representation he knew to be false.

    Unah told the court that the defendant committed the offence in August 2018 about 10.25 a.m. at No.2 Olanipekun St., Mobil Bus Stop, Ore- Ira, Ogba, Lagos.

    He said that the defendant, who was an elder and also a treasurer in the church, obtained the N850,000 from the complainant and relocated to an unknown destination.

    “The defendant approached the complainant that he wanted to introduce him to oil and gas business.

    “The complainant initially transferred a sum of N500,000 to the defendant’s FCMB account and also gave him N350,000 cash belonging to the church.

    “The defendant stopped coming to church and fled to an unknown destination the moment he collected the money,” the prosecutor said.

    The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 287 and 314 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015. (Revised)

    Read Also: Alleged debt: Court dismisses bank’s suit against Petrocam

    He pleaded not guilty.

    If convicted, he is liable to three years in prison.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mr A.A. Fashola admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N300,000 bail with two sureties in like sum.

    Fashola ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and show evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The Magistrate adjourned the case until June 17 for mention.

  • Abiodun, deputy resume work in Ogun

    Governor Dapo Abiodun and his Deputy, Noimot Salako – Oyedele, on Thursday resumed office amid thunderous welcome and excitement from the state’s workforce.

    Abiodun was received by the Head of Service, Engr. Ishmail Bisiriyu, after inspecting a guard of honour mounted by the Nigerian Police.

    The Governor who arrived Oke – Mosan by 9:30 am, was later taken round the offices and ministries within the state Secretariat, Oke – Mosan Governor’s Office, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

  • Emmanuel re-appoints Ekuwem as A’Ibom SSG

    Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom on Thursday re-appointed Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Mr Ekerete Udoh, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor made this known in a statement in Uyo.

    He said that the SSG would be sworn in Thursday, May 30, at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Uyo by 5p.m.

    Udoh explained that Ekuwem’s reappointment was in line with the governor’s determination to keep the engine of governance running seamlessly.

    Read Also: We’ll defend trust reposed on us – Osinbajo

    It will be recalled that Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem first appointed in January 2018 by Gov. Emmanuel is an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University’s t Ile-Ife.

    He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Physics, Master’s Degree in Physics, Master’s Degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Microcomputer-based Instrumentation and Control Engineering).

    Dr. Ekuwem hails from Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom and is married with four children.