Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

CHIEF (MRS) NKECHI MBA, PRESIDENT, NCWS NIGERIAN women have condemned assassination attempt on the embattled Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, describing the act as ‘callous and a total violation of her right to live’. The National President, National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, Mrs. Nkechi Mba, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Abuja, adding that the threat on the minister’s life shows that some desperate persons want to tarnish her image for giving the aviation sector a facelift. Mba restated women’s plea to the federal government to consider the good works she has done in the sector by tampering justice with mercy, stating however that women will not take it likely if anything happens to the minister. “Women are not happy with all that is happening and we will not take it likely if anything happens to the minister. We have been pleading that justice be tampered with mercy yet they are threatening and attempting to kill her. “She has done well in the avi...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the restriction on human and vehicular movements in two local government areas in Anambra during Saturday’s supplementary governorship election. A statement from the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukaogu, in Awka on Friday named the local governments as Idemili North and Onitsha South. It also said the restriction would begin at midnight on Friday and end at 6 p.m. on Saturday. According to the statement, the restriction was to ensure a successful and peaceful conduct of the supplementary election. It warned travellers passing through the state to find alternative routes during the period. The statement also warned politicians and other individuals not to move about with security officials and appealed for total compliance with the directive. It warned that “anybody who flouts this order will be arrested and prosecuted. “These measures are geared toward a hitch-free conduct of elec...

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, has described the defection of five governors of the party to the opposition All Progressives Congress as a sad development. He, however, urged party loyalists across the nation not to panic over the  governors’ decision. Anenih said this while responding to questions from journalists in Abuja, on Thursday. The BoT chairman said he took solace in the fact that the party leadership including President Goodluck Jonathan, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, former National Chairmen, Senators Barnabas Gemade and Ahmadu Ali and himself “invested enough energy, commitment, maturity and sincerity in the collective effort at reconciliation.” He said, “Indeed, I had expected the governors to stay on in the party which  offered them a unique opportunity to serve their people. “Surprisingly, they decided to abandon their home and platform to take up tenancy in an oppositio...

ASUU president, Fagge A Lecturer at the University of Calabar, Dr Edidiong Ebitu, has described the new demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as an act of sabotage of the education sector. Ebitu made the declaration on Friday in Uyo in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. The teacher, who is a senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing in the university, said he was in support of the Federal Government’s directive that lecturers should resume classes. “The various branches of ASUU had already voted to resume classes. The over four-months strike has done enough damage to the system. “The president had made reasonable concessions, so ASUU should resume for other things to fall in place,” he said. However, reacting to Ebitu’s views, the Secretary of the University of Uyo Branch of ASUU, Dr Aniekan Brown, debunked the claim that ASUU was making fresh demands. “ASUU is not making fresh demands, ASUU ...

Former  Niger Delta activist and leader of Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has been released by the authorities of Benin Republic. Vanguard learnt that Dukobo was set free around 1:00 AM Nigerian time today after spending 36 hours with the Beninoise gendarmes. It was gathered that the former militant was immediately flown to Abuja. Dokubo was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Cotonou. Follow us on Twitter:   Click here On Facebook:   Click here

RESCUE OPERATORS EVACUATING REMAINS OF PEOPLE KILLED IN AN UNCOMPLETED BUILDING BY UNKNOWN GUNMEN AT APO ZONE E IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY (20/9/13) THE Senate yesterday absolved the security agents that carried out the raid at the Apo Legislative Quarters which led to the death of eight persons suspected to be members of Boko Haram of extra-judicial killing but a hastily executed operation. The Senate had set up a 20-member Joint Committee on National Security and Intelligence and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the alleged extra-judicial killings of the eight in September 20th by the combined team of soldiers and Department of State Service. The Joint Committee which was chaired by Senator Mohammed Magoro, PDP, Kebbi South, and retired General in the Nigeria army in its report which was adopted on the floor of the senate said that the operation of security agents at Apo that produced casualties was necessitated by electronic intercepts made by the DSS which ind...

The Kaduna State Police Command on Tuesday confirmed the killing of three suspected armed bandits believed to be terrorising road users on the Kano-Zaria expressway. The Police Public Relations Officer, Aminu Lawal, confirmed the killing but refused to give further details. “The incident happened and police are still investigating the matter,” he said. Investigation conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria, however, revealed that the incident occurred on Monday night at Hawan Maimashi, near Maraban Gwanda in Sabon-Gari Local Government Area. A reliable police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said one of the suspects died instantly during an exchange of fire with the police at the scene. “The second died later; the body of the third suspect, who ran away with gunshot wounds, was recovered from the bush and taken to the Zaria Police Station,” the source said. NAN also learnt that two locally-made guns were recovered from the deceased. Follow us on Twitter:   Click ...

A Consultant Neurologist, Prof. Adesola Oguniyi, on Wednesday in Lagos said that red pepper was a natural pain killer and an alternative to medication. Oguniyi, who works with the University of Ibadan, said   that extracts from red pepper were essential in pain treatment. “Studies have shown in some parts of the world that extracts from red pepper, especially the capsicum specie, can actually be used to treat pain. “It is not the pepper that will be rubbed directly on the affected area, it is the extracts from it which would have been processed in a laboratory. “It is useful as a topical preparation; when you apply it on the skin, initially, it burns, but after a while, the person does not feel the pain again,“ he said. According to Oguniyi, red pepper extract is safe for most people, although it is not supposed to be applied directly on open wounds or irritated areas. He said that various types of mild and moderate pains could be controlled with red pepper extracts as an al...

More than 4,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Keffi and Kokona local government areas of Nasarawa State. A correspondent report that the defectors were formally received into the PDP fold at Keffi and Garaku, the headquarters of Keffi and Kokona local government areas, respectively by the state’s Chairman of the party, Mr Yunana Iliya. Speaking while receiving the defectors, Iliya commended their decision to join the PDP and urged members of other political parties in the state to also join the party. He commended their courage of the defectors and urged party loyalists to embrace the new entrants. The PDP state chairman assured that the party would continue to initiate programmes aimed at bringing development to the people. Iliya appealed to the electorate to vote for PDP candidates in the upcoming local government elections in the state as as well as in subsequent elections. He said that, if elected, th...

The seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party have announced their decision to merge with the All Progressives Congress. The governors, at the meeting they had with the leadership of the APC in Abuja on Tuesday, said their decision was aimed at rescuing the country. A former Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, announced the decision after the meeting, which was held at Kano Governor’s Lodge in Abuja. Among the governors at the meeting were that of Rivers (Rotimi Amaechi), Kano(Rabiu Kwankwanso), Adamawa(Murtala Nyako), Kwara(Badulfatah Ahmed) and Niger(Dr. Babangida Aliyu). The governors of Jigawa and Sokoto states, Sule Lamido and Aliyu Wamakko respectively were absent. Baraje said the governors were part of the decision. Some leaders of the APC like its Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; and a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), were in attendance. ...

After a hectic six months of battling Islamic insurgents under a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, President Goodluck Jonathan came back to the National Assembly early in November 2013, to ask for a six-month extension to enable the armed forces complete the job. The Senate gave its express approval, even though a few of its members from the troubled zone grumbled. The House of Representatives was not so expeditious. It summoned the Service Chiefs on November 20, 2013 to explain in greater details before also granting the President’s request. The Service Chiefs made it clear that more military resources were needed to establish the level of stability in the areas before the emergency rule could be called off, warning that this might go on for a much longer period than expected. We are aware of the displeasure that citizens from those areas have expressed over the extension, particularly given the challenges it imposes on their economic and social activities. T...

Thabo Mbeki FORMER South African President, Thabo Mbeki’s contention that ordinary Nigerians deserve as much blame as the politicians for the leadership failure in the country provides a valid platform for the re-evaluation of citizens’ role in governance in Nigeria. According to the man who took over the mantle of leadership from the great Nelson Mandela, it is only the citizens themselves that can put a stop to bad leadership. We agree. Democracy’s efficacy and legitimacy are predicated on an informed citizenry; without active and knowledgeable citizens, democratic representation remains empty; without vigilant, informed citizens, there is no check on potential tyranny. Mbeki’s position quickly brings to mind the statement credited to a French historian and political thinker, Alexis de Tocqueville, that “in a democracy, the people get the government they deserve.” Given his background as an activist and freedom fighter, whose struggles helped to bring down the obnoxious aparth...

AON boss Worried by the unending crisis in the  aviation sector, President, Chartered Institute of  Aviation of Nigeria,  and Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria  Dr, Steve Mahonwu, says  air safety could only be ensured through improvement in  equipment and facilities at the airports . Mahonwu, who spoke at the 23rd convocation/ matriculation ceremony of the Institute Of Transport and Management Technology and official opening of International Training Centre of the institute, noted that aviation is a dynamic business and urged the country to imbibe the culture of training and retraining to promote aviation dynamics. He explained that the opening of the of the  institute’s International Training Centre  marks a new dimension in the  transport sector as technology was being enhanced through training and retraining, adding that  aviation safety is a continuous  phenomenon . The former  Transport and Aviation Minister,L...

A Niger State magistrate court sitting in Minna, the state capital, has sentenced one Isah Aliyu to five years imprisonment for intending to sell his 9-year-old child for N10m. The 30-year-old man attributed his action to poverty. The incident occurred on November 15 when the buyer, one Mallam Magaji, agreed to buy the child for N7 million. But the buyer promised to pay half of the money and balance at a later date. The father of the child was said to have refused because of his desperation to collect the N7 million at once. After the negotiation, the father agreed to the half payment but, instead of bringing the money, the buyer headed for the police station to report the deal. The police then followed Magaji to the meeting place and arrested Aliyu who was still waiting for the money so that he could hand over his son. Aliyu was charged to court under the clause prohibiting selling of child in the Niger State Child’s Right Act. Aliyu pleaded guilty and was summarily sentenced to ...

Alh. Lai Mohammed With the governorship election  in Anambra State declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and mixed reactions trailing the outcome, the interim National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, argues, in this interview, that the exercise remains irredeemably defective. Excerpts: The governorship election in Anambra State has come and gone… It has not gone. Okay it is still ongoing but while some are calling for outright cancellation of the election,   INEC has vowed to go ahead with a supplementary election. What  happens if it goes ahead with the supplementary poll? There are many options to be explored and such options will be discussed at the NEC meeting of the party. But what does INEC mean by supplementary election? The November 16 governorship election  in Anambra  State is irredeemably defective. We do not understand what INEC means by supplementary electi...

The House of Representatives on Thursday mandated the Committees on Petroleum resources (Upstream and Downstream), National Planning and Finance, to investigate relevant government agencies over dwindling oil revenue in Nigeria. The committees are expected to report back to the House within four weeks. This resolution followed a motion moved by Rep. Ben Nwankwo ( PDP-Anambra) which was unanimously adopted. Nwankwo said that the near total dependence on oil as the major source of revenue had almost reduced the country to a mono-product economy. “This reliance on oil has made Nigeria’s economy not only fragile but also extremely vulnerable and under constant threats from even the slightest developments in the world oil market,’’ he said. According to him, Nigeria’s crude oil market is under serious threat arising from the discovery of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing or franking. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that franking is a process of forcing water, chemicals and...

French authorities were able to identify the suspect in a series of shootings in Paris thanks to a man who recognized him and approached police Monday, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Thursday. Abdelhakim Dekhar allegedly shot a photographer at the daily newspaper Liberation in Paris on Monday. Dekhar was semiconscious because of medications when he was apprehended Wednesday night, Molins said. He was also linked by DNA samples to bullet shell casings and a car that was seized Monday, according to the prosecutor. That car had been carjacked near the Societe Generale bank towers in the Paris neighborhood of La Defense. Authorities are studying a 15-year-old psychiatric report on Dekhar to try to understand his motivation. The report showed no psychiatric abnormalities, Molins said, though it indicated obsessive tendencies. On Thursday, French President Francois Hollande thanked police for capturing him. It "prevented the worst from happening again," he ...

The Special Task Force (STF) in Jos on Wednesday confirmed that rustlers killed two herdsmen and injured another during an attack at Foron community, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau The incident occurred on Tuesday. The spokesman of the STF, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, said that “at least two people were killed. The other person injured during the attack is receiving treatment in a hospital’’. The spokesman said the STF was, however, investigating the incident. The Public Relations Officer of Plateau Police Command, Mrs Felicia Anselem, who also confirmed the incident, however, said only one person lost his life during the attack. “The gunmen on Tuesday night killed one cattle rearer and injured another person during the attack,’’ she said. The spokesman said 120 cows were also rustled by the attackers. “The police are investigating the matter to unearth those behind the murder and robbery,’’ she said. She called on members of the public with vital information on the incident...

SCORES of women from various parts of the state who protested, yesterday, over the conduct of Anambra governorship poll on Saturday, had a rough deal at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as they were dispersed with tear gas canisters by the police attached to the commission. The women, who marched through some streets in Awka and ended up at INEC head office were calling for total cancellation of the election. Some of them carried placards that read “Anambra not for sale,” “No election was conducted in Anambra,” and “We want fresh poll not supplementary poll.”  As the women ran for their dear lives, two of them fainted and they were helped out by their colleagues. Their leader, Mrs. Tina Akonobi, said that they were at the commission’s office to “mourn for the disaster, destruction, doom, robbery and fraud that took place on the November 16.”             She said: “The election was a sham aimed at insulting th...

President Goodluck Jonathan  may have  initiated peace talks with the leadership of the National Assembly  aimed at resolving the disagreements over the 2014 budget. The development came barely 24 hours after Jonathan cancelled his scheduled visit to the National Assembly earlier on Tuesday to present the estimates of the budget to a joint session of the legislature. The crude oil benchmark proposed for the budget in the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper is the bone of contention. Jonathan had initially proposed $74 per barrel of crude, but was later favourably disposed towards the $76.5 passed by the Senate. However, the House rejected the $76.5 and passed $79 as the  benchmark. The President had claimed, in a letter to  the leadership of the National Assembly,  that the benchmark dispute was the reason he put off the visit. He advised the Senate and the House to harmonies their positions on it before he could present th...

National President, ASUU, Nasir Issa-Faggae The Academic Staff Union of Universities has banned a faction of the union at the University of Ilorin, led by Professor Wahab Egbewole, from going ahead with its planned procession for the late Prof. Festus Iyayi. The union said it was still mourning Iyayi, who died when a bus conveying some ASUU leaders was involved in an accident with a vehicle in the convoy of Kogi State Governor Idris Wada in Lokoja last week. ASUU said it had not approved any procession for any of its branches. It also described the planned procession in Ilorin as hypocritical. In a release issued in Ibadan on Tuesday and signed by the Zonal Coordinators of Ilorin and Ibadan zones, Dr. Ayan Adeleke and Dr. Adesola Nasir respectively, titled “Do not desecrate the memory of our late president,” ASUU said the national leadership of the union would not permit any attempt by any group in UNILORIN to desecrate the memory of its late leader. “The attention of the union h...

At least 10 Egyptian soldiers are reported killed and several more wounded in a car bomb attack near the North Sinai city of el-Arish. Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper said a convoy of buses carrying infantry soldiers was hit by a roadside bomb as it moved through the Kharouba area. The death toll was likely to rise, a security source said. Attacks on security forces in the Sinai have increased since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in July. The peninsula has grown increasingly unstable since the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak nearly three years ago. In September security forces launched an offensive against Islamist militants there, but have suffered a spate of deadly bombings. Wednesday's attack, which took place at around 07:45 local time (05:45 GMT) on the road from Rafah to el-Arish, is thought to be the bloodiest against the military since Mr Morsi was deposed. Twenty-six soldiers were wounded in the explosion, al-Ahram website reported. The attack is r...

The UN says the greatest number of refugees in the world come from Afghanistan The US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Iran of violating its legal obligations towards refugees from Afghanistan and failing to protect them from abuse. In a report published on Wednesday, HRW says thousands of Afghans have been summarily deported from Iran without a hearing of their right to remain. Thousands of Afghans enter Iran illegally every year. About 2.4 million Afghans are resident in the country. 'Real and serious danger' In its report, HRW says Iranian officials "have in recent years limited legal avenues for Afghans to claim refugee or other immigration status in Iran, even as conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated". Iran's home office says that around two-thirds of the Afghans resident there are illegal immigrants. "Iran is deporting thousands of Afghans to a country where the danger is both real and serious," said Joe Stork...

US President Barack Obama explains his vision for a deal with Iran US President Barack Obama has urged US senators to hold off from proposing more sanctions against Iran to allow time for world powers to complete a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. A White House spokesman warned that if a deal with Tehran was not agreed, Iran would continue enriching uranium. Envoys from the P5+1 group of nations will begin a new round of negotiations with Iran in Geneva on Wednesday. Iran's foreign minister said he believed issues could be resolved. In a message on the video-sharing site YouTube, Javid Zarif said: "We expect and demand respect for our dignity. For us Iranians, nuclear energy is not about joining a club or threatening others. Nuclear energy is about a leap, a jump toward deciding our own destiny rather than allowing others to decide for us." President Obama held two hours of talks with senators at the White House on Tuesday, along with Secretary of State John K...