Photos from late Prof. Dora Akunyili's burial

Dignitaries at the burial of Prof. Dora Akunyili included Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Information Minister Labaran Maku, Deputy Speaker of House of Reps, Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda, Onyeka Onwenu and many others. See more photos after the cut...

Photos: Pres. Jonathan launches new national e-ID card in Abuja

President Jonathan today August 28th launched the new national e-ID card at the Villa in Abuja. The new e-ID card which is powered by MasterCard is a multi-purpose card for identification, electronic signatures, and can be used for depositing money, withdrawing and making payments. So it's both an ID card and ATM.

The first phase of the project will see 13million Nigerians issued the card while the next phase will target 100million Nigerians. The project is a partnership with MasterCard, the Nigerian National Identity Management Commission and Access bank. See more photos after the cut...

Hard work, diligence, persistence will give you the billions- billionaire Folorunsho Alakija advices

One of Africa's richest women and chairman of Famfa Oil, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija yesterday August 27th revealed that she never went to a university, saying one does not need a university education to make it in life. Mrs Alakija said this while speaking with students of the University of Lagos during the 2014 UN International Youths Day in Lagos.

"I come from Ikorodu, Lagos state. I am married to a dashing young lawyer of 70 years of age and we have four grown up gentlemen and grandchildren. It has not been a rag to riches fairytale. It has not been an overnight phenomenon like some cases which you find here and there all over the world. For as long as I can remember, I had always wanted my own business. Hard work...am trying to tell you how I got to where I am if you want those billions. Hard work, diligence, persistence...days where you nearly gave up but I chose not to give up." Continue...

PIX from Night of Tributes For Late Prof Dora Akunyili in Abuja

courtesy: Sahara Reporters

World's 'tallest man', Leonid Stadnyk, dies aged 44

Leonid Stadnyk, believed to be the world's tallest man at 8ft 4 inches has died. He was just 44. The peasant farmer from the Ukrainian village of Podoliantsy, died on Sunday August 24th from a brain haemorrhage after health problems.

In his last interview, Leonid, who wears a  talked about how his height was a curse, why he refused to be measured by the Guinness Book of World Records and also why he refused to get married

"To me, my height is a curse, a punishment from God, not something to celebrate. What sin I have committed, I do not know. All my life I have dreamed of being just like everyone else. I don't want or need the fame that this would bring so I have no desire to be in this Guinness book.

"I never got married because I don't want to inflict my problems on a wife. I think it would not be fair on her" he said.

At one point, his condition, called giganticism, left him growing at the rate of roughly a foot every 3 years. His feet measured 18 inches in length while his palms were more than a foot in diameter

Nigeria successfully contains Ebola, has only one case left - Health Minister

Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said today that Nigeria has been able to reduce the number of Ebola cases to just one.

At a press briefing held today August 26th in Abuja, Prof. Onyebuchi said only one patient out of the 13 confirmed cases in Nigeria is still at the Isolation center. He said five of those infected died while seven have successfully recovered and have been discharged. He also said two of the nurses who attended to Patrick Sawyer at the First Consultant hospital were discharged yesterday.

Find the minister's statement after the cut...

FG postpones resumption of primary & secondary schools to Oct. 13th

The Federal Government has postponed the resumption of primary and secondary schools across the country to Monday October 13th, it has been announced. Primary and Secondary schools were supposed to resume on September 22nd but about two weeks ago, FG postponed it indefinitely to prevent an outbreak of the Ebola Viral Disease. They announced that schools can resume October 13th.

The Federal Government also stopped all summer schools.

Why I dropped presidential ambition –Ribadu

Former presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has explained why he abandoned his presidential ambition to contest the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Adamawa State governorship poll.

Ribadu, who spoke with journalists after he submitted his nomination form at the national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja on Monday, said that his desire to serve at any level propelled him to drop his initial ambition.

Ribadu, who was a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said, “Everything in my life has been about public service. I’m prepared to serve in any capacity.

“If you ask me to come and be a sweeper of any street in any part of the country, I’m ready to do that. I don’t even have power of my own in any part.”

Asked whether he was worried that the PDP was yet to grant him and other defected aspirants waivers needed to contest the primary, he said no.

”I am not worried about the waiver. I have followed the rules. I am a law and order person. I have done my own bit and I will wait for the party to do their own. That part is not my responsibility,” he said.

Under the constitution of the party, new members and returnees are not qualified to seek elective positions until after two years, except they get a waiver.

Section 50 (9) of the PDP constitution says, “There shall be a minimum of two year membership span for a member to be eligible to stand for election into any public office, unless the appropriate executive committee gives a waiver or rules to the contrary.”

Meanwhile, other aspirants have insisted that the party must conduct proper primary to choose the party’s candidate for the October 11 election.

The aspirants spoke when they came to also submit their nomination forms to the party’s national leadership, which was received by the National Organisation Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha.

The aspirants included the former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Modibbo; Acting Governor of the state, Ahmed Fintiri; former Presidential Adviser, Ahmed Gulak; and the former ACN governorship candidate in the state, Mr. Marcus Gundiri.

Others are former Lagos State Military Administrator, Buba Marwa; Dr. Umar Ardo, Senator Ahmed Girei, Gen. A.A.Kana (retd.), Awwal Tukur and Aliyu Idi-Hong.

Modibbo said, “People should be allowed to contest. We should not pay too much attention to consensus. Our tragedy in the state was that we did not do the proper thing when we chose the past leader.”

culled from PUNCH NEWS

I won’t apologise to defectors, says Oshiomhole

 

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said that he would not apologise to former members of the All Progressives Congress in the state who defected to an opposition party.

Oshiomhole, who made this known at the presentation of staff of office to Alhaji Jackson Etokhana as the Oghieavhianwu of Avhianwu, stated that he “will never share the state’s resources, meant for developing the state, to them.”

He added, “So, those who defect because I do not put money in their pockets, let them continue to defect; no apology. Everybody will be remembered when they write the history of politics in Afemai land.”

The governor stressed the need for traditional rulers to educate their subjects on ways to distinguish and support only politicians who stood for the interest of the people, rather than personal interest.

He also urged the electorate to be mindful of politicians who were out to capitalise on the plight of the people to perpetrate their selfish intentions.

Oshiomhole said, “We must use every opportunity to educate our people. This afternoon, your Royal Highnesses, I am not asking you to go and carry party cards. I only ask you and your chiefs to educate our people to distinguish politicians, who will stand only when it is good for their family, not when it is good for the larger community.

“I want it to be said that when I left office, our people started distinguishing thieves from real politicians. Our people must learn to begin to interrogate all manners of political miscreants, who come wanting to cash in on the poverty of our people. I always say that to be poor is not to be crazy. So, we must be clear.

“Those who called for Afemai Agenda believing that when an Afemai man becomes the governor, he will carry state money and share to them. And once they do not get it, they abandon Afemai Agenda and now they have turned only to the agenda of their stomach infrastructure.

“You will always be governed by politicians, whether you like it or not, but you must carefully select your politicians on the basis of those who understand that state power is not for the private comfort of those around the state operators.”

Oshiomhole assured traditional rulers in the state that his administration would “never interfere with traditional matters.”

The governor, who said that he would not “sponsor anybody to write a petition against any royal father,” stressed that fictitious petitions would be dismissed.

He assured the newly installed royal father, Alhaji Jackson Etokhana, as well as the entire people of Avhianwu Clan, of government’s continuous support in the provision of infrastructural facilities to the community.

Kent Brantly US doctor who survived Ebola speaks, leaves hospital

 

An American medical doctor, Dr. Kent Brantly and another aid worker , Nancy Writebol have been discharged from the quarantine unit of the Emory University Hospital, United States of America on Thursday.

Brantly and Writebol, who were infected with the Ebola virus while volunteering to treat infected patients in Liberia, have been certified virus-free by experts at the hospital.

They are the first Americans to survive Ebola.They were also the first patients to have received the experimental Ebola serum, ZMapp, a drug that may have saved their lives.

Nigeria has also discharged five Ebola patients this week. They were however managed with routine drugs available in the country.

The Director, Emory’s Infectious Disease Unit, Dr. Bruce Ribner, in a statement according to the CNN on Thursday, stated that they are now free to go to their normal lives, as they pose no threat of infection to the public.

An elated Brantly at a news conference on Thursday said, “Today is a miraculous day. I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family.”

Ribner said at the news conference, “We are tremendously pleased with Dr. Brantly and Mrs. Writebol’s recovery.

“What we learned in caring for them will help advance the world’s understanding of how to treat Ebola infections and help, hopefully, to improve survival in other parts of the world.”

S-A-B-O-T-A-G-E! Mysterious fire guts NFF secretariat

BY JUDE OPARA

Abuja -The confusion rocking Nigerian football took a rather shocking dimension Wednesday when a mysterious mid-morning fire completely gutted the accounts department and the office of the general secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barr. Musa Amadu.

The fire which started about 9.15 am was not contained until about 10.20 am when fire fighters from both the Abuja Fire Service as well as construction giants, Julius Berger gained entry into the complex which also houses the FCT Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Sources say immediately the fire which began from the accounts department was noticed, an unnamed staff  opened the door to the office where the fire was already raging under a table and it was put off with a fire extinguisher but soon after it was noticed that the fire was still raging but this time the said staff was nowhere to be found and forced the breaking of the door but before then it was too late because the fire had already escalated.

The fire affected the accounts offices, ICT office, marketing department, part of protocol department national competitions as well as the office of the director of technical and it took the combined efforts of a team of officers from the fire service, Federal Road safety Corps, NFF internal security, staff as well as officers of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) who have been reporting to the glasshouse since the return of Maigari to contain the inferno.

But findings by Sports Vanguard showed that all the fire extinguishers in the office had expired since 2012 which probably was the reason why the fire continued even after the extinguishers were used to put it off.

The intensity of the fire was so high that it took nine fire fighting trucks to fight the inferno both from the front of the building and its rear which many analysts say was why the second wing of the building was saved.

Addressing the media after examining the extent of damage, president of the NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari said the incident was regrettable and unfortunate adding that he was grateful to God that no life was lost even as he urged the security agents to investigate to find out what led to the fire.

He said the board will be meeting immediately to decide on the next line of action because such an ugly development has never happened in the history of Nigerian football even as he called on members of Nigerian football to join hands with him to find a way out of the present situation.

“Yes the board will e meeting to decide on the next line of action because this the very first time we are witnessing this type of ugly development in our football, I am also hopeful that we will get over this situation and that is why I want to urge everybody again to bury their hatchet and let us together develop this game that Nigerians love so much” Maigari stated.

But for the leader of the Nigeria Fire Services team that intervened, Ime Eyo the staff of the NFF did not respond in time by calling the fire service even as he regretted that the barricade at the entrance of the office further hindered their pace which aided the fire to also escalate.

Eyo, who equally called for a thorough investigation into the incident said he was shocked to find out that his men saw only fire extinguishers that had expired since 2012 at the glasshouse.

But commenting on the incident, the deputy controller in charge of operations, Omopetusin Julius said his men responded promptly because it took only about 15 minutes for them to reach the secretariat due to the heavy traffic in the morning. He also said that from what was noticed, the fire fighters were not invited early enough. He equally said it was very early to determine the true cause of the fire even as he urged the NFF to demand for an investigation into what actually happened.

“For now nobody can actually determine the cause of the fire, I have heard people saying it could have been due to an electric spark but if they want the Fire Report, they can send a request to our office and we will ascertain the real cause of the fire. If not for our quick intervention, the entire building would have been razed but we thank God that we were able to save a part of the building” the fire service official said.