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Not surprisingly, the House of Representatives, according to reports, Tuesday, cleared three of its lawmakers erstwhile United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, accused of sexual transgressions when they were in US early in the year for an official engagement. Entwistle had writen the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Yakubu Dogara on June 9, 2016, claiming three out of 10 members of the House on the official trip were involved in cases of attempted rape and soliciting for prostitutes from staff of a hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. The affected lawmakers were Reps Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi State), Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom State) and Mark Gbillah (Benue State). Other lawmakers that made the trip were Reps Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi (Nasarawa State), Danburam Abubakar Nuhu (Kano State), Nkole Uko Ndukwe (Abia State), Rita Orji (Lagos State) and Ayo Huliyat Omidiran (Osun State). The names of the remaining two were not given. The lawmakers, according to reports, wer...

The Pan –Yoruba Group, Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption without violation of rule of law. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the founder of OPC, who is also the National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, Dr Fredrick Fasehun said the invasion of the homes of the Judges is a gross and blatant violation of Rule of Law,” In as much as we recognise the harm that corruption has inflicted on our development, and we subscribe to the current war against corruption, however, in battling corruption, relevant institutions and agencies must follow due process and the Rule of Law”, Fasehun said. Fasehun therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately call to order the Director General of the DSS, while demanding that the National Assembly, as part of its oversight functions, should summon the DSS DG for questioning. Beside, the group called on the government to obey all court orders, including the Federal Hig...

Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, has directed that the ongoing Minna-Suleja road, under rehabilitation at the cost of N500 million, be suspended immediately due to over-loaded heavy duty trucks plying the road. Bello, who gave the directive, while inspecting the road project awarded by the state government, knowlsaid the activities of heavy trucks were affecting work on the road. To ensure longer lifespan of Nigerian roads, he called on the federal ministry of works to enforce weighing bridges in the country, hence in consultation with the state House of Assembly to introduce a weighing bridge bill to ensure arrest and prosecution of any overloaded vehicle. Bello stated, “The way trucks are being overloaded, weighing between 40,000 and 70,000 tonnes instead of the lawful maximum of 30,000 - 35,000 tonnes, is not right. The roads were initially constructed to carry about 35,000 tonnes or litres.” Having spent N500 million on rehabilitation of the road, he regretted the level...

A bill seeking to repeal the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Act and rename it Federal Roads Authority, (FRA) passed second reading yesterday in the senate. Sponsored by Senator Kabiru Gaya, (APC, Kano South) and entitled, “A Bill which seeks to repeal the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency Act, LFN 2002 and to establish the Federal Roads Authority,” the bill also seeks to widen the scope of the functions and sources of funding available to FERMA. In his lead debate, Gaya stated that the proposed authority would be a semiautonomous road agency that would be responsible for the professional management of federal roads in the country, involving planning, design, construction, rehabilitation and maintenance, thereby ending the duplication of functions between FERMA and the Highways Department of the Ministry of Works. He said when enacted into law, the agency will among other things be responsible to “manage the federal roads network so that it is safe and efficientb with a v...

Economic and Financial Crimes C o m m i s s i o n EFCC, Wednesday told Justice Okon Abang of Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that it has four additional witnesses to prove the allegation of money laundering charges against the former Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and his company, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited. Alex Badeh Badeh is standing trial alongside his firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, for allegedly abusing his office, by using the dollar equivalent of N1.4 billion removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to purchase properties in choice areas of Abuja between January and December 2013. The sixth prosecution witness, Air Commodore Mohammed Lawal Sini concluded his testimony Wednesay after he was cross-examined by counsel to the first and second defendants, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) and Sam Ologorisa respectively. The prosecution had already called six witnesses, who gave evidence in the 10-count charge preferred against Badeh and his co...

There are strong indications that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, may have given a new directive on how Bureaux de Change operators should source dollar proceeds from International Money Transfer Services, IMTS. Unconfirmed reports yesterday indicated that the apex bank had, as an interim measure, authorised only First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Limited, and Travelex, to supply foreign exchange (forex) to major DBCs until other operators would strengthen their operations before qualifying for IMTS’ dollar proceeds. Although there were no official explanations from the apex bank when National Mirror contacted the Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, who was said to be at a meeting with the CBN Governor, our correspondents’ findings indicated that the choice of First Bank was predicated on its prolonged involvement in IMTS. When contacted, most officials of the Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, feigned ignorance of the new policy measure but National President, Associatio...

A police officer, Inspector Edet Archibong, was Wednesday night in Calabar South Local Government Area killed when about 50 members of a suspected secret cult engaged a police van on patrol in a gun duel leaving his colleague, Sgt. Awo Obongha, with injuries. Briefing journalists in Calabar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in the state, Tunde Gbolarumi, explained that around 9.30 pm on Tuesday, suspected cult members engaged in a gun battle with policemen on routine patrol at Nkwa Street, killing Archibong while Obongha sustained bullet wounds and is currently receiving treatment at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH. According to Gbolarumi, who said he was speaking on behalf of Police commisioner Jimoh Ozy-Oby, the hooligans set the two police patrol vans on fire. He said on the same day around 9pm, another group of over 50 cult boys engaged the Atakpa Division Patrol men in a serious gun battle along Bogobiri by Queen Duke Junction, with two cult members being ki...

Former acting chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and a national commissioner, Hajia Amina Zakare, Wednesday charged politicians in the country to desist from engaging in politics of do-or-die. Also, the Coalition of Network of Civil Society in Nigeria Wednesday told politicians to avoid all forms of violence and malpractices during election. Zakare, who spoke at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room to review the just concluded governorship election in Edo State, organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, condemned buying of votes among politicians. National Coordinator of the Coalition of Network of Civil Society Group, Comrade Kalu Victor, who also spoke in Abuja, advised INEC, in collaboration with security agencies, to set up a monitoring team to check and arrest anyone sharing money for voters during elections. The network, one of INEC’s duly accredited domestic election observers for Edo governorship election, asked political parti...

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has ordered full-scale investigation of a fire incident in Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday. A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, described the fire as minor. Nyesome Wike Nwakaudu also said the incident occurred about 3pm at the police observatory, by the back gate of the Government House. The statement reads, “A minor fire incident occurred today at the Police Observatory at the back gate of the Government House, Port Harcourt, about 3pm. “Preliminary findings indicate that the minor fire incident was caused by power surge which led to the malfunctioning of an air-conditioner attached to the post.” He explained that the situation was immediately contained by fire fighters at the Government House. “Nobody was injured in the incident and government activities are going on unhindered. ‘‘A detailed investigation into the cause of the minor fire incident has been ordered by G...

A 48-year-old real estate agent, Femi Alabi, Wednesday bagged three years imprisonment for defrauding 21 accommodation seekers of N6.9m. He was sentenced by Justice Kudirat Jose of an Ikeja High court after he pleaded guilty to the offences at his re-arraignment. The convict was re-arraigned alongside one Lateef Azeez by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after they had entered a plea bargain agreement with the antigraft agency. However, Azeez is yet to be sentenced by the court. According to EFCC counsel, Mr. M.S. Usman,the convict had, in 2011, conspired with Azeez to commit the offences between November 2011 and March 2012. Usman said they obtained various sums of money from 21 prospective tenants under the guise of securing accommodation for them. He said their victims included Alhaja Ololade Hija; Mr. Akeem Olawole; Miss Dupe Ajayi; Mr. Samuel Daniel; Mr. Tochukwu Onyekwere; Mr. Sunday Eze and Mr. Vincent Aneke, among others. The victims were said to have sought ...

The Ford Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with the Niger Delta Development Commission, to spend N3.6 billion for skill development and employment in the Niger Delta region. Signing the agreement on Wednesday at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, the Head of West African office of the Ford Foundation based in Lagos, said that the MOU would advance skill development and employment of young people in the nine states of the Niger Delta in the next two years. According to him, the foundation identified a number of areas of convergence of interest and willingness to work with the NDDC. He said that those areas informed the drafting of the MOU and explained the rationale for the partnership. Chukwuma said: “The reasons for this partnership are to leverage on our resources, not just financial but knowledge. For instance, we don’t know the terrain of the Niger Delta as much as the NDDC. “As an organization based in Lagos, we don’t know the t...

Men of the Ogun State Command of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS have intercepted 37 vehicles loaded with bags of rice being smuggled into the country through the Idiroko border routes. Customs’ Deputy Controller in charge of Enforcement, Mohammed Gagiyo, who briefed journalists Wednesday at Idiroko border about the seizure, said the contrabands were intercepted by NCS men while on surveillance patrol along the Ipokia, Owode/Idiroko and Alaari/Ifonyintedo smuggling routes. Gagiyo, who explained that each of the 37 vehicles was carrying about 60 to 100 bags of rice, also disclosed that the NCS operatives arrested three suspects in connection with the contrabands. The Customs boss, who gave the names of the three suspects as Olowe Oluwabunmi, Bibilari Olaniyi, and Rasheed Abiola, emphasised that the anti-smuggling operation which resulted in the in terception of the vehicles and arrest of the suspects lasted a week. Among the 37 vehicles was a Volkswagen truck with registration number (LA...

There is a growing clamour in Germany to honour three Syrian refugees who overpowered a bomb plot suspect with possible links to the so-called Islamic State. Calls to reward them for their heroics are coming from politicians along with news and social media. Suspect Jaber al-Bakr gave elite commandos the slip over the weekend, sparking a two-day manhunt as Police believed Bakr was planning to bomb a Berlin airport. The country’s best-selling daily newspaper Bild dubbed the refugee trio the “Syrian heroes of Leipzig”. Politicians from across the spectrum recommended them for the Federal Cross of Merit, a rank in Germany’s civilian honours system. Ansgar Heveling, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Interior Affairs, went a step further and called on them to be granted asylum. Fellow Syrian refugees have also taken to social media to praise their compatriots. Police had been watching Bakr, 22, for months, but he evaded police surveillance on Saturday in the eastern German city of...

Legislative aides in the National Assembly in their large numbers Wednesday protested over their unpaid allowances estimated at N1.5bn. The legislative aides, who converged at the lobby to the two chambers at about 10.20 a.m., chanted solidarity songs saying that they resorted to protest after failed promises made by the management of the National Assembly to pay up the entitlements. They also warned that they would target Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara during their next protest. One of the legislative aides, Ucho Kingsley, who spoke to journalists, said many of his colleagues have endured hardship waiting for promises to off set the owed allowances. He also said after over a year of working at the National Assembly, legislative aides had not been sent for training. He said: “Today is the 12th day of the month and our salary has not been paid for last month. Our entitlements such as transport allowance for five quarters of the year s...

The Bill to strip convicted persons of their national merit awards successfully passed through second reading in the House of RepsRepresentatives yesterday. The bill is seeking an amendment to the Nigerian National Merit Award Act, Cap 122, Laws of the Federation, FLN, 2004, to require that any recipient that is convicted of a criminal offence shall be stripped of the honour. The bill was brought by Ayodele Oladimeji, who said the amendment he was proposing was in the bid to strengthen the anti-corruption war being fought by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. “There is need for the law to be amended, this will strengthen the anti-corruption war of the government of the day. “The awardees must be found guilty of any crime by a competent court of jurisdiction before the executive consider the stripping of such awards,” he said. Contributing to the debate, Adamu Kamale, while giving support to the amendment, said it would be make the recipients of such awards live up to ex...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is at extreme risk of descending into widespread violence, according to the UN Security Council. UN Envoy in the DR Congo, Maman Sidikou, said threats to the 18, 000-strong peacekeeping mission there outstripped its capabilities. Violent protests have broken out over the postponement of presidential polls. The opposition has accused President Joseph Kabila of trying to cling to power beyond the end of his term, which is due to expire in December. Dozens of people died in anti-government violence in the capital Kinshasa last month after the electoral commission 36said it could not hold polls in November. The headquarters of three opposition parties were also attacked and burned down. “Actors on all sides appear more and more willing to reort to violence to achieve their ends,” Sidikou, head of the UN peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. “While MONUSCO will do everything it can within its Husseinmandate to pr...

Donald Trump’s deeply unsettling and disturbing views make him a danger internationally, the UN High Commissioner for Human Right, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, said yesterday. Al-Hussein cited Trump’s comments on the use of torture and his attitude to vulnerable communities. The Republican presidential candidate’s campaign has been marked by a number of controversial comments. Recent crude remarks about women have caused the biggest political fallout. Overnight President Barack Obama, at a rally for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, condemned those comments, saying: “The guy says stuff that nobody would find tolerable if they were applying for a job at 7-Eleven.” Al-Hussein Al-Hussein said: “If Donald Trump is elected on the basis of what he has said already and unless that changes, I think it is without any doubt that he would be dangerous from an international point of view. “I am not keen or intent on interfering in any political campaign within any particular country. “But when ...

Nigeria Police Force said it had arrested four suspected kidnappers of some residents in an Estate at Isheri area of Lagos. The suspects are: Natei Okunna, gang leader, James Kegbe, ThankGod Segede and Trust Bourdilon. This is contained in statement issued by the Force Spokesman, DCP Don Awunah, in Abuja on Wednesday. Awunah said that the suspects were arrested at different locations where they had gone to spend their share of the ransom. He said that in the course of investigation, they volunteered confessional statements admitting their involvement in the incident. He said that the feat followed due diligence and intelligence-led policing exhibited by members of the Force and the zeal shown by public-spirited citizens to rid our society of crime. It would be recalled that some residents of the estate were kidnapped on Sept. 27 and were subsequently released by their abductors. Awunah said the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, wished to restate the commitment of the Nigeria Police Fo...

At last, respite has come to thousands of graduates of the Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo who are without certificates many years after graduation as the authorities of the institution have commenced the release of their certificates. A total of 24,734 from both the external and regular systems of the university are captured by the development, majority of whom studied degree courses while others studied diploma and certificate programmes. And by this progress, many LASU graduates who have been denied of either paid employment, promotion at their work places or further studies due to no certificate to tender for that purpose can now flaunt of the document. The university’s spokesman, Mr. Ademola Adekoya made this known in a statement made available to journalists, saying the concerned graduates have up to one month to collect their certificates with almost three weeks gone. He noted that while faculties of management sciences, education, arts and social sciences has 3946...

Barely 24 hours after the State House of Assembly, OGHA, criminalized kidnapping as well as other acts of forceful takeover of landed property across the state, Ogun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, Wednesday appealed to traditional rulers to complement efforts of his administration towards ridding the state of the menace activities of land grabbers and 2016encroachment across the state. Amosun, who made the appeal during the inauguration of Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle as the new chairman of the state Council of Obas, also pleaded with traditional rulers in the state not to constitute themselves as stumbling blocks in the way of genuine investors who require land to set up businesses anywhere across the state.

Oyo State government Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium of investors, Agbowo Mall Infrastructure Development Company Limited, for the remodeling, redeveloping and rehabilitation of Agbowo shopping complex that will cost the investors about N8bn. Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mr. Olalekan Alli, while speaking at the signing ceremony,which took place at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, said the action of the state government is to give the complex a befitting outlook that would meet international standards with ultra-modern facilities that will promote and accelerate business activities in the state. He said the negotiation with the investors did not exclude the former occupants who were also present at the signing of the MOU, stressing that they (former occupants) would also be given adequate consideration when the complex is ready for allocation. The representative of the investors, Mr. Tunde Shonekan, said the rehabilitation of the entire c...

The men of Ogun State Police Command have arrested three members of a robbery and kidnapping gang who have been terrorizing residents of Ijebu - Ode as well as Sagamu over a period of time now. A statement issued yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital by the Acting Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the three suspects were rounded up by operatives of the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad, FSARS, who were acting on a tip-off about their hideout at Ipoji area of Sagamu. Oyeyemi gave names of the suspects to include: Abibu Onasanya, Kamorudeen Abdulahi and Olalekan Ogunbowale all of comwhom he said are currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, at the command headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta. Ogun PPRO further explained that items recovered from them included two pump-action riffles, one double-barrelled gun, one English-barrelled gun and three locally made single barrel guns. He said the state Commissioner...

Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, has given insights into why some of the foreign airlines are quitting Nigeria while others are reducing their operations. Usman attributed the recent challenges in the sector to the inability of some of the foreign airlines to repatriate their funds to their home countries and the high price of Jet A1 in the local market. Usman stated this Wednesday during the visit of the House Committee on Aviation to the Nigerian aviation industry. Usman however explained that the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, recently released 50 per cent of the foreign airlines funds trapped in the country, promising that the issue would be adequately tackled. Before now, about $700, 000 of foreign airlines’ funds were trapped in the CBN due to new policy of the government. With the revelation of Usman, it indicated that at least, $350,000 had been paid to the airlines in recent time. No fewer than...

Worried by the dangers facing factory workers in Anambra State due to lack of personal protective gadgets in the course of production, the state House of Assembly is set to enact a law to ensurethe safety, health and welfareof factory workers as well as all persons in the production line. This was the crux of the matter on Wednesday as the lawmaker representing Ihiala 2 State Constituency, Hon. Paschal Agbodike, presented the Anambra State Factory Workers Safety Bill 2016 on the floor of the house. Shedding more light on the bill, Agbodike said the bill is life-saving and health-friendly. According to him, the bill seeks to protect the lives of factory workers in the state. Agbodike explained that in Anambra there are lots of factories and companies, which use machines and other sophisticated equipment for production purposes. The lawmaker said the primary concern is the safety and protection of all those operating the machines in the factories, which he noted necessitated the making ...

After two months of flexing political muscles, an Owerri socio-cultural group, Dozie- Mezie Owerre, Wednesday dared Imo State government by finally evacuating the refuse heap on Douglas road. The clean-up exercise was coordinated by representatives of the group who flew into the state from Abuja on Monday, led by Mr. Stanley Nkwazema and Chief Tony Nwadike. The state government reportedly refused to evacuate the garbage that covered the whole of Douglas road because the indigenes of Owerri took Governor Rochas Okorocha to court to prevent him from relocatingn the Ekeukwu Main Market outside the town. Some illustrious sons and daughters of Owerri, including those in the Diaspora, decided to shun the government by volunteering to evacuate the heaps of refuse without government assistance as the situation was nearing epidemic stage. Nkwazema, who is the spokesman of Dozie-Mezie Owerre Worldwide, told our correspondent, “The refuse had become a serious threat to the lives of our kinsmen a...

As incidence of kidnapping and abduction of people continues to rise in the country and schools becoming soft targets of attack, Chief Executive Officer of SSV Protection Services Limited, Mr. Felix Olorunda has stressed the need for schools to be more sensitive and vigilant to the security situation around them. He said it was only in a well-secured school that meaningful teaching and learning that would transform into socio-economic prosperity could take place not only in Nigeria but also in other countries of the world. Olorunda, a security expert and retired military personnel explained that was why every school either publicly or privately-owned in both urban and remote communities is required to build and sustain a culture of safety awareness that would give adequate protection to lives and property in their possession. According to him, students, workers and visitors to schools need to be physically and psychologically secured in and around schools to be able to function in the...

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, that has been investigating the Acting Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, Dr. Ayodele Olaosebikan in Oshogbo, Osun State may have transferred the matter to its headquarters in Abuja. National Mirror gathered that the rector, the college Registrar, Alhaji Raji Abdulhammid and Bursar had been summoned by the anti-graft agency to report in Abuja on Wednesday and were yet to return at the time of filling this report. Investigations revealed that a long petition had been written by the staff unions against the acting rector to the Federal Ministry of Education copying the ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on allegations bothering on improprieties, among others. She was specifically alleged in the petition to have falsified her age at different times when she joined the Federal Ministry differently to the one she claimed when she joined the polytechnic and when she applied for the rectorship pos...

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has filed an amended 12-count criminal charge before a Lagos High Court against two citizens of Republic of Benin, Gnanhoe Sourou Nazaire and Senou Modeste Finagnon, over alleged fraud of N630m. The defendants are standing trial for allegedly defrauding one Rachidatou Abdou and her company to the tune of N630m. At the resumed hearing of the criminal suit yesterday, EFCC counsel, Kayode Oni, informed the court of the amended charge and urged the court to allow it to be read to the defendants. Defence lawyer, Rickey Tarfa, SAN, told the court that he had no objection but requested for an interpreter since the defendants only speak French. At this stage, the trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, directed the prosecution to provide an interpreter but none was available. “We cannot proceed without an interpreter. The prosecution needs to expedite action in this case,” Justice Taiwo added. The matter has been adjourned till October 31 for f...

A not-for-profit making organisation, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) has solicited for sponsors for the senior secondary school entrepreneurship competition known as “National Company of the Year Competition.” The competition according to the organiser is designed to empower secondary school students across Nigeria with skills and trade that can earn them income while still in school. Making the appeal at the event to unveil the winner in Lagos, the Keynote speaker, Chief Executive Officer, JA Africa, Mrs. Elizabeth Bintliff revealed that the competition had produced some of the largest numbers of wealth creators on the African continent, hence the need for government and individual supports. Bintliff encouraged the youth to dream big; create solutions where problems exist and operate with a high sense of integrity”, stressing that they must push through with their visions “despite the obstacles we face in Africa you hold the key to successfully rebuilding our nations’ economies.” S...

“On the whole the entire episode is one that unfairly denigrates the entire Judicial system as an institution. It does a lot of disservice to the vast majority of Judges and lawyers who carry out their duties and practice their profession in compliance with the best ethical standards. By conducting those simultaneous raids across several states in the dead of the night, the DSS has unwittingly created a wrong impression in the minds of millions of Nigerians that the Judiciary is not only an unreliable but a criminal organization.” While it is true that a drastic situation may require equally drastic measures to curtail it, it is also true that two wrongs do not make a right. These were my thoughts when on Saturday, 8th October, 2016 I received news of the invasion and search of the homes of a number of Judges by officials of the State Security Services otherwise known as Department of State Services (DSS). At the end of the visits which were described as “raids” by some sections of the...

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed yesterday defended the recent arrest of judges by officials of the Department of State Services, DSS, saying that in the process of fighting corruption, government would step on very sensitive toes. DSS, had last weekend, stormed the houses of some judges, arrested them and recovered huge sum of money in different denominations. The affected judges were on Monday given bail on self recognition by DSS. National Judicial Council, NJC, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and some human right associations have been expressing divergent views over the incident. Fielding questions from State House correspondents while briefing on the meeting of Federal Executive Council, FEC, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, the minister said all proper procedures were complied with before the arrest, adding that it was not meant to humiliate the judiciary. According to him, the present government bel...

A Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Political Debate Commission with responsibility to conduct and organise debate for candidates of political parties seeking elective positions in the country passed second reading yesterday in the senate. The Bill, sponsored by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North) seeks to give legislative backing for the establishment of a commission with responsibility to organise and conduct debates for all the candidates of political parties cleared by Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to particinetpate in election into the offices of the President, Vice President, governors and deputy governors. In his lead debate, Senator Buhari said if the Bill scales final passage and assented to by the President, it would strengthen the nation’s democracy and bring it in conformity with the practice in other renowned democracy of the world. He explained that when passed into law, the debate would be used to sample candidates’ knowledge on a wide range of issu...

Former Italy attacker Fabrizio Ravanelli feels Mario Balotelli is nowhere near winning the Ballon d'Or despite his encouraging start to life at Nice. Balotelli Balotelli stated earlier this season he remains hopeful of winning the prestigious award at some stage in his career, despite struggling badly for consistency in recent years. The striker has impressed at Nice since his transfer from Liverpool ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, but Ravanelli is adamant his compatriot still has a lot of work to do before he can realistically start targeting the game's prized individual accolade. "Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and even Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the number ones not only because God gave them this talent but mostly because they make sacrifices in everyday life," Ravanelli told Omnisport. "For example a few months ago I read Novak Djokovic's book and was gobsmacked. I understood why he is the world's number one. He trains 14 hours per day. "This i...

Aston Villa have announced that Steve Bruce has been appointed as the club's new manager. The former Hull City and Sunderland boss has succeeded Roberto Di Matteo at Villa Park, after the Italian was sacked on October 3 , having earned just one win from 12 games this season. Owner Dr Tony Xia had teased supporters via social media that an announcement on the vacancy was imminent, and the club has at last confirmed Bruce's arrival on a contract of undisclosed length. Steve Bruce "It's a wonderful opportunity. It is one of the big clubs of this country. To be given the opportunity to manage it is terrific," Bruce told the club's official website. "I relish the challenge of trying to take the club where it wants to go and needs to be – and try to turn around the misfortune we seem to have had over the past few years. I am absolutely delighted to have been given the chance. I hope I can do my stuff." Xia added: "I'm delighted to welcome St...

Cristiano Ronaldo will be offered a new five-year deal which would see the Portuguese star earning a staggering €23m a year until the age of 36, according to reports. The player’s agent Jorge Mendes is currently in discussions with club president Florentino Perez about a renewed contract, claims Sport, and if negotiations are successful Ronaldo will remain at the club until 2021. The Spanish newspaper reports that Perez initially wanted the club icon to sign a new two-year deal but has been persuaded by Mendes to extend the offer by a further three years. Ronaldo's existing deal is due to expire in June 2018, but he is ready to commit his long-term future to Madrid.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka feels the Premier League is much more physical than the Bundesliga, though he thinks the two leagues are on par technically and tactically. Xhaka The Switzerland international left Borussia Monchengladbach for Arsenal ahead of the 2016-17 campaign and he has no regrets over his decision to leave the German top flight. "Physically the English league is much harder than the Bundesliga," Xhaka told Arsenal Player. "The tempo is higher and there's lots of pressure, especially here at Arsenal, where there's a lot more expectation than at Monchengladbach. "But technically and tactically, I think the Bundesliga is on the same level as the Premier League. "I've watched a lot of Premier League in years gone by and you can see here that the people live for football. The atmosphere in the stadiums is unbelievable and it's really fun to play here. "The pitches are cut really well and I'm pleased that I've t...

We all do it! It’s 7 pm, you finally have that great idea that could help you solve that lingering problem at work or you have some queries about a transaction that has been weighing in your mind… or you remember the e-mail you promised to send earlier but forgot and…BAM! You are on your computer, typing away and sending e-mails to colleagues, bosses and sometimes even stakeholders. While it is tempting to assume that time is inconsequential when it comes to doing things online, several time-related decorum should actually still apply. Ultimately, unless an email is essentially urgent, you may want to hold on till the next day. 5 reasons against sending professional e-mails late at night. It shows poor management skills.  Sending e-mails late at night, for one, shows poor management skills as it suggests lack of planning and inability to manage time. If you had planned your time properly and were mindful of your tasks, chances are you would send in the e-mail at the right time wh...