Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

BY: FUNMI OJUROYE  27th Sept. 2013 Prof Wole Soyinka Nobel laureate,  Prof Wole Soyinka  is expected to be the Special Guest of the Rivers State government at the formal international presentation of Port Harcourt The World Book Capital 2014 on Saturday, September 28 at Trenton, New Jersey, USA. Other speakers and special guest at the event include Prof Toyin Falola, Prof. Kalu Ogbaa, Dr. Ogaga Ifowodo, and some other members of the Nigerian literary community in the US. The presentation designed as one of the series of events to usher in the 2014 deadline for the World Book Capital is expected to be done by the Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who same day is also being conferred with the Quintessence Award for Leadership by the African Writers Foundation. Governor Amaechi will be supported by the President of the Port Harcourt Literary Society, Dr Chidi Amuta and Mrs Koko Kalango, President of the Rainbow Book C...

BY: FUNMI OJUROYE  27th Sept. 2013 nPDP chair, Kawu Baraje The chairman of the new Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, has unequivocally condemned the rape of the country’s economy by the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration. He said that despite claims to the contrary by the government in a futile bid to deceive Nigerians, the overwhelming evidence is that the Nigerian economy has been run aground and is now comatose. The assertions are contained in a statement issued by the faction in Abuja, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka Eze. It drew attention to the massive scale of officially-induced oil theft, the dwindling returns from oil and massive looting going on at the federal level as evidence that Nigeria is on the brink of economic collapse. "One manifestation of this is the Federal Government’s inability to pay states their share of the Federal Allocation since July. The last time that states were paid was for part of...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  27th  Sept., 2013 AS the 2015 general elections draw nearer, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has advised intending observers of the poll to make their own security arrangements. This advice was given, yesterday, in Abuja by the Chairman of INEC Prof Attahiru Jega, in his remarks at a one- day workshop organised by the commission, entitled “Election Observation Outside Nigeria; Lessons Learnt.” Jega further stated that all over the world, apart from Venezuela, election observers were always responsible for their own security, adding that this would also apply to Nigeria  since INEC would be saddled with the engagement of security agencies for the overall conduct of the polls. Said he: “What we do in Nigeria is to liaise with the security agencies to   provide security for the overall conduct of the elections. Observers to provide own security “Observers can make their own security arrangements. We even have some countries ...