Firework blaze in Russian nightclub kills at least 109
At least 109 people were killed and 134 injured when a blaze ignited by fireworks ripped through a packed Russian nightclub, starting a stampede as revellers rushed to escape clouds of toxic black smoke.
The pyrotechnics show went wrong at the Lame Horse nightclub in the Russian city of Perm on Friday night when sparks set fire to wicker coverings on the walls and ceiling during a party celebrating the club's eighth anniversary.
As partygoers rushed for the only door, scores were choked or crushed to death. Medics said many of those hospitalised were being kept alive with respirators and that some had burns of more than 60 percent.
Some of the severely injured have been sent to specialist burn units in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities.
A clubber who survived, identifying herself as Svetlana, told Reuters: "Everything was catching fire so quickly as if it was made of hay, it happened in seconds. We could not all get through, everyone was pushing, from all sides."
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a national day of mourning for Monday and demanded tough punishment for the owners of the nightclub, who he said had repeatedly ignored warnings from fire inspectors that the premises were unsafe.
"They have neither brains nor conscience," Medvedev told ministers in a televised meeting, criticising the club's owners for failing to come forward immediately after the disaster.
A Reuters photographer in Perm, 1,150 km (720 miles) northeast of Moscow, saw groups of distraught people visit a morgue to identify victims. Others, some weeping or smoking, stared blankly at the lists of the dead.
According to the Emergencies Ministry, the oldest fatality was 44-years-old and the youngest just 21.
Hundreds of red carnations and candles have been placed outside the club.
Friday's fire was Russia's most deadly in decades, emergency officials said, and the worst nightclub fire worldwide since nearly 200 people died at a party in Buenos Aires in 2004.
"This is not a premeditated murder, but this does not lessen the gravity of the crime," Medvedev said.
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told Medvedev there was no evidence of a bomb. Russian prosecutors said five employees, including the club's owner and founders, had been detained in on suspicion of breaching fire regulations and manslaughter.
A Perm resident watching firemen pull burnt people out of the club said corruption was to blame.
"As always in Russia, there is irresponsibility and bribery," said the local, who only gave his first name, Oleg.
"We need to find the fire inspector who gave permission to this club and why he allowed it," he said.
FIREWORK SHOW
Video footage of the disaster showed a merry crowd celebrating when a presenter suddenly announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are on fire. Leave the hall. Line up in a queue."
Then the camera shows fire roaring along the wicker-covered ceiling of the 500 square metre (5400 square ft) club. Many revellers slowly moved to a narrow exit -- some still sipping cocktails and smoking.
A few moments later, a stampede broke out as heavy black smoke quickly filled the hall and the crowd of more than 200 guests rushed headlong trying to escape.
Immediately after the fire, dozens of charred bodies were piled on the pavement outside the club as medics moved the injured into ambulances.
Blood-covered women in evening clothes and knee-high black boots lay on stretchers.
Russian officials have in the past blamed poor fire safety standards for high death tolls in fires at orphanages, hospitals and other institutions. More than 15,000 Russians died last years in fires, according to government figures.
The Kremlin said the December 7 day of mourning in Russia will have flags at half-mast across the nation. Three days of mourning will be observed in Perm, which is Russia's sixth largest city with a population of 1.2 million.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 5, 2009 at 5:14am
Now, there is no hiding place for the Eagles.
This evening in Cape Town, South Africa, Nigeria's group opponents in the forthcoming World Cup taking place in that country, were unveiled.
If Nigerians expected a soft draw, they did not get it as they have found themselves in a group from whose passage into the second round may not be easy. The Super Eagles, who squeaked their way to the World Cup, will play alongside two-time champions, Argentina, 2002 World Cup semi-finalists, Korea Republic and former European champions, Greece in Group B.The Argentinean bogey
The biggest surprise for most Nigerians and perhaps their biggest fear is the presence of Argentina in the group. Parading young and exciting players with newly crowned European Footballer of the Year, Lionel Messi as arrowhead, the South Americans are tough customers any day - the fact that like Nigeria they barely managed to qualify for the World Cup notwithstanding.
In South Africa, Nigeria will be meeting Argentina for the third time at the World Cup. In their two previous meetings, in 1994 and 2002, the South Americans ran away with a 2-1 and 1-0 victory respectively.
The two countries open proceeding in the group on June 12, 2010 at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The outcome of that encounter will determine the trajectory of the tournament for the Super Eagles. Their coach, Amodu Shuaibu, speaking on the match after the draws said he was happy his team will be starting out with the game against the Argentineans.
After the encounter with Argentina, the Eagles face Korea on June 17. Both sides have not meet at the World cup at senior level. The last meeting between both countries was at the U-17 level when Nigeria's Golden Eaglets beat Korea's U-17 3-1 in the quarter-final of the U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria between October and November.
The Eagles will round off their group games on June 22 in an encounter with Greece. It will be Nigeria's second meeting with the former European champions. Their first encounter at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. ended 2-0 in favour of Nigeria courtesy of goals from Finidi George and Daniel Amokachi.
Ivorian hard luck
Nigeria is not the only African side to be handed a tough assignment by the draws. Its West African brothers, Cote d'Ivoire led by Chelsea FC of England striker, Didier Drogba, have been lumped in Group G with five-time winners, Brazil, Euro 2004 finalists, Portugal and Korea Democratic Republic.
To get out of this group, Drogba and his colleagues have to be at their best, particularly against the Brazilians, who have been playing exciting football powered by young and delectable stars like Kaka, Maicon and Robinho to name a few of the Jewels in the Carlos Dunga coached side.
In Group C, Ghana have their job clearly cut out. They will play against Australia, Serbia and three-time champions, Germany. To the uninitiated, Ghana's only obstacle may be the Germans but for those who followed the qualifying campaigns for the 2010, they know that Serbia's impressive performance forced the former champions into a play off with Ireland. The central Europeans not only topped the group but rounded off its qualifying campaign with a 5-0 rout of Romania on October 11 this year.
For Algeria, making a return to the World Cup after 26 years, a difficult job awaits them in Group C where they have been grouped with England, U.S.A. and Slovenia. The last African country and hosts of the tournament, South Africa, will play in Group A alongside Mexico, France and Uruguay.
The groups
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.
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A detective with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Gidado Musa, has related how he got an Indian suspect facing trial for alleged fraud arrested through his Nigerian girlfriend.
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The detective, during his examination-in-chief before the court, said that the Indian, Amit Angirish, accused of defrauding a Nigerian firm, was arrested through a lady identified as Faith Bakare, last year.
Gidado was led in evidence by the counsel for the anti-graft commission, Mr Anselem Ozioko, at the resumed hearing of the matter.
Angirish was accused of a nine-count charge of forgery, stealing and fraudulent conversion of about N63,000 worth of goods belonging to Daudeen Freight, where he worked as a marketer.
It was reported that unknown to the lady that the EFFC were on the trail of the Indian, she had wanted to cash some money from a company on behalf of Angirish.
She, however, led them to the hideout of the Indian in an hotel in Lagos, while some belongings of the suspect were later retrieved in her shop and house.
The EFCC had sought the cooperation of some companies the Indian was dealing with to apprehend him.
According to the detective, the Indian had, through e-mails, claimed to the companies, mostly multinationals, and his employer that he had travelled out of Nigeria.
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Did you think your marriage would last forever on the day of your wedding? Or were you full of dread and trepidation? According to a rather interesting study by USA Today , each year, loads of couples walk down the aisle even when they sense their relationship is doomed !
The paper consulted several sources (marriage counselors, sociologists, academics who study relationships) and found that a surprising number of brides- and grooms-to be are none too thrilled when the wedding bells ring. Author Carl Weisman, whose in-depth interviews with divorced Americans are compiled in a new book, "Serious Doubts: Why People Marry When They Know It Won't Last," surveyed 1,036 people while researching his work and found a common thread: "They all ignored their inner voice," he told USA Today. "They knew it wasn't going to last."
The print edition of the article (not online) included Weisman's top 11 reasons why folks who wound up in failed relationships went through with the nuptials (even when they had serious doubts). We've compiled them below. Let them stand as a fascinating cautionary tale, the worst reasons to get married to anyone, ever.
1. Did not want to be single anymore
2. Thought my partner was the best I could do
3. Thought I could change some aspect of my partner
4. Felt family pressure
5. For financial reasons
6. There was an unplanned pregnancy
7. To escape my family
8. Figured I could make it work
9. Partner pressured me
10. Wanted to have children
11. It seemed like the next logical step
With this nagging doubt, I thee wed
DOes This apply to us as Nigerians ? Please comment as the number of divorces and separations in Naija is increasing !
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Dear Readers,
Many things happen to us in life that is beyond us, or should we call it fate? Our writer today has disappointed her parents and she needs your advice in order to make things right. Read and advise her. Thanks.
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Dear Readers,
Please, help me. I don’t know how to clear this mess I got myself into. I hate to cause my parents pains, but what I have done, or should I say what I did, is causing them more than pains. It has become a serious heartache.
I love my parents dearly, and they love me too, they have done too much for me. I have no option but to be a good child. Please, help me. If I say I am like the proverbial child born and raised with a silver spoon, I would not be wrong.
My parents have just two of us, my senior sister and I, after they had waited on the Lord for the fruit of the womb for 10 years. My sister came at a time my father's family had given up on mummy and they had encouraged him to take another wife.
Instead of taking another wife, daddy stood by his wife and directed all his energy into making his business work; that was why he had enough to give us the best when we came.
My sister and I had the best any child could ask for. When I was born, I learnt, dad was away from the country on a business trip and his best friend, Uncle Macaus, who we all call Unce Mac, came to the hospital to take mummy and I home. In fact, mum told us that during my christening, he stood by her and did not allow her to miss daddy too much.
Uncle Mac and dad are childhood friends, people who really did not know where they were coming from thought they were related and, most of the time, neither of them bordered to correct the impression. Uncle Mac and his wife, Aunty Tina, did not wait on the Lord like our parents did, their kids came faster than we did and they are blessed with two kids too, a boy and a girl. Their children were like our big brother and sister.
Unfortunately, Aunty Tina, who had also become mummy’s good friend, died about seven years ago and Uncle Mac refused to take another wife. Because of the relationship Uncle Mac and dad had, he was always in our house and sometimes, he would take my sister and I out when we were growing up. By then his own children were away in the boarding school and later, they went to high school.
When I finished my secondary school, just like my sister, I went to the US for my university education, where I read Economics. My sister finished before me and came back to Nigeria for her youth service and started working. It wasn’t a strange thing for my uncle to stop over and check on me whenever he came to the US and he happened to be close to me.
Aunty Taiwo, I don’t know, how or when or what brought it up, but I discovered that Uncle Mac and I became attracted to each other. Initially, I felt it was a childhood fantasy, of course, I was no longer a child, I was in my late teens, but how else can I describe what I felt for the man who could more or less be called my father?
I tried all I could to fight this feeling, but all the while I was trying, I never knew Uncle Mac felt the same way. As I stated earlier, I really cannot remember who made the first move or how we started, but I started to date my father’s best friend or should I say my father’s brother.
In fact, he deflowered me, and because of this singular action, he loved me very much. Having an affair with him when I was in the US was very easy, because my parents were not there and everyone who saw us together never gave it much thought, as no one would think being with my uncle all the time was a big deal.
Just like mummy asked me a few weeks ago, “why did you do this to us, what can Mac give you that we can’t give you, even more?” I did not go into the relationship with Uncle Mac for financial gains or whatever he would give me. My parents are comfortable enough to give me the best of every thing, but something, call it fate, call it anything, brings us to do things for which others or rather people will look us you and think we have actually gone crazy.
When our affair started, Uncle Mac became a frequent visitor to the US. The first person who guessed that there was more to our relationship was my sister, when she came over for holiday. We stayed together in dad’s house. She asked me some questions but I lied to her.
I really did not know why I lied to her, because we were so close and we did tell each other everything; but I kept this to myself. Maybe, if I had told her, she would have opened up to me, she would have told me Uncle Mac had made a pass at her too, but she refused to fall for him.
That is another angle to my tale of woe. I finished my course and came back to the country for my youth service. Initially, I didn’t want to come home but daddy insisted. I wanted to stay back and start my Masters Degree immediately, but dad refused to bend the rules. When I came home, I was not lucky in Port Harcourt, and I am not so sure that my parents did not have a hand in that.
Well, after orientation, I started my NYSC and seeing Uncle Mac became a little difficult. Guess you know what it is like when you love someone with your whole heart, but you have to keep your feelings to yourself as your little secret. Uncle Mac and I started travelling out of town to see each other. Sometimes, I would leave work to meet him out of town.
I could remember a particular day that I almost missed my flight back to Port Harcourt when I came to Lagos with Uncle Mac. I did not tell my parents I was travelling, I wondered what would have happened if I had missed my flight that day.
Do not let me bore you with these little details, but I loved Uncle Mac. I really do not know how my parents got to know, but on a day after I returned from the office, mum called me and spoke with me about this issue. I denied, of course, I couldn’t have admitted or confided in her.
She told me in strong language that she and dad would be very disappointed in me if they discovered it was true. Mum went further to tell me that Uncle Mac was a womanizser and that young girls were his speciality, but to my ears, she sounded funny because I had never met any other lady with Uncle Mac, I felt she said this to paint him black before me.
I honestly do not know who fed my parents with stories of my movement with Uncle Mac; the second time they spoke with me about him, dad even told me the name of the hotel where I went to with him, but, of course, I denied that, too.
My parents were to travel to Lagos for a cousin’s wedding. Infact, we were supposed to travel together, but I told them I would stay back. Uncle Mac had travelled to Abuja on a business trip and I knew he would come to town that week-end.
As soon as my parents left, Uncle Mac and I spoke on phone and he told me he had made arrangement for hotel accommodation for us for the two days my parents would be away. I checked into the hotel without delay.
He came straight to meet me. The unthinkable happened that night when a knock at the door ushered my parents into the hotel room. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Uncle Mac was as shocked as I was. How did my parents know I was there with Uncle Mac? Were they not supposed to be in Lagos? What happened? Daddy has not said a word to me since three weeks ago. The only thing he said to Uncle Mac was:
Why, Mac? Why did you do this to me? You know I loved you like a brother and I would not have done this to you? His words to Uncle Mac almost broke my heart. Dad was almost sheding tears.
I would have made a case for myself, before him and everybody if I had not later learnt that Uncle Mac had asked my sister out once and that he had actually slept with and even impregnated our house maid, Aunt, Julie.
I was not too young when it happened. Auntie Julie had an abortion which almost claimed her life. I thought he loved me. He had even asked me several times to be his wife. When I raised the issue of age difference, he would always tell me it didn’t matter as love is no respecter of age.
Uncle Mac has disillusioned me, I am really hurt about his deceit. I would have been dwelling on that now, if I did not have to contend with my daddy. Although mum is equally angry with me, she let out her anger by giving me a piece of her mind.
But dad’s silence is killing me. I really think he is dissappointed in me, I have always been his favourite. Please, advise me on what to do.
Maryan.
originally written by Monica Taiwo and culled from the The TribuneRead more…
Posted by 9jabook.com on December 2, 2009 at 7:41pm
Yar’Adua’s family divided over resignation bid - He must resign - Mum - No, he’s fit to continue - Turai - Resign now, el-Rufai, Nnamani, Masari, Falae, 50 others tell Yar’Adua - Security tightened at Aso Rock - Ogbulafor meets Jonathan - Senate rejects motion on president’s health - VP summons Bayelsa gov, deputy
From Taiwo Adisa, Adewale Ajayi, Donald Ojogo, Okey Muogbo and Ayodele Adesanmi
THE family of President Umaru Yar’Adua is said to be divided over the bid by some forces to have the President resign his position on the basis of his ill health.
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Sources on Tuesday said there was a sharp division between the president’s wife, Hajia Turai and his mother, Hajia Dada Habib, over the next step to take by the president.
While the mother was said to be advocating that the president should resign so that he could take care of his health, Hajia Turai was said to be insisting that he would soon get over his health challenges.
A source said the matriarch of the Yar’Adua family was insisting that her son should be brought back to the country alive, while he should resign from the office to face his health situation.
It was gathered that the matriarch also insisted in her calls to Hajia Turai that she did not want to lose Umaru like she lost his elder brother, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
It was gathered that Turai had to attend this year’s hajj and she was sighted at Mina, Saudi Arabia. This, a source said, she had to do, though it was not originally on the travel agenda.
It was gathered that the first lady had insisted that her prayers and those of millions of Nigerians would surely work and her husband would soon recover.
Calls for the president to resign had started gaining grounds on Tuesday, following indications that his condition relapsed at the weekend.
Though there were plans to receive the president early this week, this did not materialise, as his condition was said to have relapsed late on Saturday.
Reports from the governors and other government functionaries who visited Saudi Arabia also indicated that none of them was able to see the president as he had been kept in intensive care from Sunday.
It was gathered that the presidency had beefed up security at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while the Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was said to have cancelled all late night appointments.
Sources said the vice-president had taken the precaution since Thursday, so as not to give the wrong impression that he was holding nocturnal meetings.
A source said most of those who had late night appointments on Friday were reached to either come earlier in the day, or reschedule such appointments for another day.
Also in Abuja, on Tuesday, sources informed that some Northern political power brokers had started thinking of options left in the wake of the president’s ailing health.
It was gathered that some groups were already thinking of supporting the bid to ask the president to resign from office so as to pave the way for a strong personality to emerge as vice-president to Jonathan.
It was, however, gathered that underneath such plans was the plot that would ensure that the vice presidential candidate would engineer the removal of Jonathan through impeachment after a short stay in office, such that power could effectively return to the North.
But some concerned Nigerians were already alerting the international community to the unfolding situation in the country. Former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, visited the British Embassy in Abuja, where he discussed the issues of Nigeria’s electoral reform and the president’s health with the high commissioner.
Tinubu had earlier visited the German and the United States embassies before the Tuesday call at the British embassy. He specifically raised the issue of electoral reform during his earlier visits to the embassies.
Sources said Tinubu spoke the minds of opposition figures during the visit to the British embassy, where he was said to have told the high commissioner that Nigeria would abide by constitutional order, no matter what happenned to the president.
Sources close to some groups in the North, however, said the only option open to the region now was to quickly pick a strong candidate as vice-president, while allowing Jonathan to take over as president.
Meanwhile, former Senate President Mr. Ken Nnamami; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Masari; General Alani Akinrinade, Chief Olu Falae and 50 other eminent Nigerians have demanded for the resignation of President Yar’Adua, arguing that his deteriorating health had made it difficult for him to perform his functions as the president of the country.
The concerned Nigerians, which included members of the civil society groups, Dr. Joe Okei–Odumakin and Mrs Ayo Obe, said it was known to every discerning observer that President Yar’Adua’s physical condition had had a negative impact on his ability to discharge the functions of the highest office in the nation.
According to them, “within the last few months, he has been unable to attend to crucial affairs of the state at home and abroad and whenever he has found time to do so, his judgment appears impaired by his ill-health.“
They noted that his health condition had necessitated several medical trips abroad but he had not transmitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he was proceeding on vacation or that he was, otherwise, unable to discharge the functions of his office as required by Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
They observed that President Yar’Adua, though was invited to attend the United Nations General Assembly for which a private meeting had been arranged between him and President Barack Obama for high level discussions of issues mutually beneficial to Nigeria and the United States, he went to Saudi Arabia to “open a university” which was a dummy sold to cover up his treatment.
The concerned Nigerians said it was also common knowledge that the incapacity of the president had affected the implementation of the nation’s budget because he had been unable to coordinate the management of the national economy and to preside over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a diligent manner.
They noted that in the circumstance, ministers had routinely flouted the orders of the president and engaged in in-fighting as a direct result in the vacuum of leadership.
“As responsible and concerned individuals from every part of Nigeria, we call on President Yar’Adua to immediately choose the honourable option of either resigning his office immediately, or, if he is confident of his true physical condition, request the FEC to pass a resolution pursuant to Section 144 (1) of the Constitution to the effect that the president appears incapable of discharging the functions of his office. This honourable step will enable the Senate President to appoint a medical panel to confirm the fitness or otherwise of the president to continue in office,” they said.
The group of Nigerians said they sympathised with the president over his health, but the country needed effective governance.
“We sympathise with him and believe that his health should be given priority attention. At the same time, the need to provide effective governance for this nation of over 150 million people cannot be compromised,” they said.
Those that signed the document included Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief John Oyegun, Dr. Tunji Braith-waite, Colonel Abubakar Umar (rtd).
Others were Professor Itse Sagay, Alhaji Buba Galadima, Honourable Olawale Oshun, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Mr. Femi Falana, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Alhaji Sadiq Yar’Adua, Honourable Adamu Farouk Aliyu, Chief Jos Ayomike.
Also included were Hajia Naja’atu Muha-mmeed, Ms. Annkio Briggs, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, Chief Supo Shonibare, Mr. Odia Ofeimun, Honourable Lawal Garuba, Mr. Biodun Sowunmi and Dr. Ishaq Kurufi, among others.
Meanwhile, suspense and uncertainty still remain the words, as the nation prays for the quick recovery of President Yar’Adua who is currently undergoing medical attention in Saudi Arabia.
The suspense heightened as security around the President Villa, Abuja, has been tighetened.
Vice-President Jonathan, who, the Nigerian Tribune learnt, gave the directive, had also barred visitors who did not have any official responsiblity.
This development is coming amid political power permutations and debates over a perceived succession battle between the South and North.
The nation has contended with media reports that the number two man, from the South-South, has been under intense pressure from Northern power players to resign in anticipation of a vacuum arising from the inability of President Yar’Adua to continue in office.
Both the office of the vice-president and the ruling PDP had denied that there were such pressures on Jonathan.
But, according to the source, the vice-president, on Monday evening, subtly restricted all visitors to the villa.
“From Monday evening, oga has directed that all visitors who do not have any official thing to do should be stopped by the security agents. This will remain in force until the arrival of the president anytime from now.
“For now, there are no more courtesy calls because such calls are usually unpatriotic and mischievous in their motives and intentions. The man has told those who wanted to pay a courtesy visit to him to wait until after this period of prayers for the president. Most importantly, those who want to offer prayers for the president or support the vice-president in prayer should remain in their homes. Most of such moves are indirect lobbying for a non-existing position because by the grace of God, the president will join us soon,” the source said.
However, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, was sighted at the office of the vice-president on Tuesday afternoon.
The purpose of the visit was not known as State House reporters could not have an interview with him before he left.
He came at the time the vice-president was meeting with a team of businessmen from South Korea and went upstairs.
Ogbulafor was quoted in one national daily on Tuesday to have declared that the office of the president of Nigeria was not vacant, an apparent reference to those calling for constitutional action over the long period the president had been away for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the office of President Yar’Adua remained quiet on Tuesday as government activities shifted to the office of vice- president.
But Vice-President Jonathan, it was learnt, has summoned the Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva and his deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi, to Abuja, over the current political turmoil pervading the state in the wake of the local government primary of the party.
Violence was reported to have marred the exercise, even as protests rocked the state in the last four days, with each trading accusations.
The invitation to Abuja, it was learnt, was not unconnected to the reported explosion which occurred beside a filling station reportedly owned by the deputy governor, who had raised the alarm that his life was being threatened by agents alleged to be the governor’s loyalists.
The Senate, at the plenary session on Tuesday, refused to have a special debate on the state of the health of President Yar’Adua, who was currently undergoing medical treatment in a Saudi Arabian hospital.
It, however, urged all Nigerians, no matter their religious beliefs, to fervently pray for quick recovery of the president.
The Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, after Order 42 and 52 of Senate Standing Rule, asked the Senate to allow him to present a motion on the state of health of the president.
According to him, “Mr. President, the subject matter of my motion which I discussed with you yesterday and this morning is the state of health of our dear president, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“Under Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Rule, the matter for discussion shall, if possible, be referred to the President of the Senate before commencement of the day’s sitting and the President of the Senate shall refuse to allow the claim unless he is satisfied that the matter is definite and urgent.
“Notice shall not be dispensed with in the case of a motion or in respect of any other proceeding for which notice is required except with the consent of the president of the Senate and general assent of the senators present.”
Consequently, in a reply to Ndoma-Egba, the Senate President, David Mark, said “distinguished colleagues, Senator Ndoma-Egba discussed a motion which he intends to raise this morning with me. I have no problem with the motion. Basically, it is just to ask us and the nation to continue to pray for the improvement and for the quick recovery of the president.
“That is the summary of the motion. I have no problem with it, but as is required by Order 42, I have to seek the consent of the Senate and if we are up to one-fifth in support of his moving the motion, then we allow him to raise the motion. It is a very short motion.”
However, when the Senate President put it to the whole house, the response was negative.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Media and Publicity, Senator Ayogu Eze, told newsmen that the Senate President had earlier called for prayer for the president and it would be a mere waste of time to start debating it.
Eze, who briefed National Assembly correspondents, said, “the reason we did not take that motion is that as a serious chamber, we don’t indulge in surplusage. The Senate President is the chief spokesman for the Senate and chief spokesman for the National Assembly and he has just issued a statement on the same matter, asking Nigerians to pray for our president.
THE CHARM OF WHITEThe colour white is synonymous with a whole lot of meanings and fashion sense especially to fashionistas. However whether white or black, it all depends on who is wearing what, when, and where.
Sporting white can make a big statement. Wearing white is no longer seen as boring. Rather, it is sexy, modest, or sophisticated depending on the where and how. You can personalize an outfit of white to give it a personality that will stick out in anyone’s memory.
If you decide to wear something with volume, try to pair it with a slimmer item to avoid the totally sloppy look. After all, once you get the attention that you are craving, you want to be able to maintain it.
In choosing a handbag, a slightly oversized bag makes more sense than a large satchel that’s big enough to hold half a dinner set of dishes. If it’s easy to clean, so much the better. White accessories, while blending in, can add a sparkle and shimmer that can liven up an outfit. Embellishments from beads and tassels to ribbons and lace can add an exciting dimension to the already perfect outfit.
We all know the task of maintaining a white colour, instead of worrying about white becoming dirty quickly, purchase something that’s easy to clean such as cotton or stretch cotton. Or simply be bold and wear your whites with zest and the confidence that at the moment, the outfit looks fabulous. After all, we love to add to our wardrobe constantly, and chances are, you will only have to replace part of an ensemble if the worst does happen.
Wearing white promotes a look that captivates the sightseer of fashion. It almost mesmerizes to the point of distraction. The fact, that many celebrities now choose to wear white all year long, adds to the glamour of the colour. Here in Nigeria, there are also exclusive white parties for celebrities where every invited guest is mandated to be totally dressed in white. Occasions like weddings, burial ceremony, graduation and even chorography performances are all avenues were people wear white.
For your lingerie steer away from the typical hot colours of red and black for your lingerie. The colour white can inspire your mate and give you an almost untouchable look that will send him burning with desire straight into your arms.
The crisp and clean look of white can give an appearance of newness, of innocence, of simplicity. Soft, sheer, and frilly can add a touch of romance. Puffy sleeves, bits of ribbon, and trimmings of lace can lend themselves to the feminine side of your nature.
Also, fitted jackets and blouses add a sense of professionalism. Whatever you wear, make it white, and make it yours with every boldness and confidence you can garner.
By: Yetunde Omosa
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ISIOMA Irene Keyamo, wife of popular Lagos based human rights lawyer, Festus Adeniyi Keyamo, has asked for a court order mandating her husband to pay the sum of N20 million as alimony at the Probate and Family division, of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on Monday.
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The money is expected to be a compensation for the psychological trauma, financial losses, sense of disappointment and her failure at the Nigerian Law School, as a result of the breach of contract of marriage between them.
She had earlier asked the court for an extension of time, to file her answer to the petition, filed by her husband for the dissolution of their marriage.
She is also seeking an order deeming the already filed and served, answer and cross petition marked as Exhibit A as properly filed and served.
Isioma made the request through her counsel, Mr. Jonathan Ogunsanya, from the office of the public defender, who told the court that he had a motion on notice dated November 11, 2009, which he wanted to move and the court allowed him since there was no objection on the part of the applicant.
Justice Elfreda Williams-Dawodu granted the order, but asked counsel for both parties if there were no outstanding issues, between the couple before a trial date was fixed as demanded by Gloria Oahajaguan, counsel for Festus Keyamo.
Justice Williams-Dawodu, however, informed the parties that before a trial date for dissolution of marriage would be fixed, all outstanding issues between the couple must be resolved.
She consequently ordered for a compulsory conference between the parties to settle the issue of cost of maintenance, among other such issues, before commencement of trial.
She subsequently adjourned the case till January 27, 2010
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Time to go, prominent Nigerians tell Yar'Adua
While the nation continues to be in the dark on the true status of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health conditions, pressure is mounting on him to resign and hand over power to the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan.
A group of 56 prominent Nigerians from diverse backgrounds, but mostly politicians and civil society activists, said in a strongly worded statement released to the media in Lagos and Abuja yesterday that Mr. Yar’Adua’s failing health has created a dangerous situation whereby no one is in charge of the affairs of the state.
Northern voices weigh in
Nineteen notable voices, representing each of the northern states, also weighed in through an advertised statement yesterday, saying “in the event that the president is unable to continue in office, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan should immediately be sworn in as president as provided by Section 144 of the constitution.”
The statement that has a past national chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Audu Ogbe, as a signatory said the leaders were reacting to claims that subtle pressures are being mounted around the vice president that he should also resign.
“Conventions and devices as rotation are strictly non-constitutional and any attempt to becloud issues by mixing political party administrative devices would be unhelpful in the situation we find ourselves,” the nineteen northern leaders said.
The situation in Jeddah
From Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the president remains in intensive care, authoritative sources told NEXT that no one has been allowed to see Mr. Yar’Adua, except his wife, since Saturday. He is also believed to be unconscious, though the source could not say whether it is classified as a coma. Curiously, no administration official is willing to speak on the situation but NEXT gathered that under the best scenario, Mr. Yar’Adua will still require about a month of recuperation before traveling.
The prolonged absence of the president, without a constitutional hand-over to his vice president, has been the subject of debate among concerned political leaders across the parties, who believe this has left a dangerous vacuum in the leadership of the country.
Group of 56
Listing a series of important national and international assignments he has failed to attend, the Group of 56 said this has caused what they called “several loopholes in his presidential service delivery”. Among the assignments are: “the United Nations General Assembly for which a private audience had been arranged between him and President Obama for high level discussions of issues mutually beneficial to Nigeria and the United States because he was in Saudi Arabia to ‘open a university’ which was a dummy sold to cover up his treatments.”
NEXT sources claimed that members of the president’s family and some of his aides have suggested that he should be brought back to Nigeria, along with the medical staff treating him. But doctors are said to have counselled against it.
Contrary views
However, speaking strongly against the move for the president to resign, Itse Sagay, a professor of law, who is also cited as a signatory to the statement of the Group of 56, told NEXT that the basis for securing his support had nothing to do with the president’s health but on the alleged threat and pressure on the vice-president to resign.
According to him, “any other thing here is fraudulently including my name and I am strongly against the view that he be forced to resign because the constitution has a clear view to tackle that part of the agreement.
“I am certainly not of the view that he should resign. He is the best judge of his own health and that is insensitive at this point.” Mr. Sagay said.
Two civil society activists, Sam Amadi and Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, who were listed on the Group of 56, also reacted sharply in a statement, saying “as a matter of our personal ethics” they are not privy to the call for Yar’Adua’s resignation.
“We are seeing this statement for the first time here. No one has previously or at all consulted (with) either or both of us on any of the aspects of this statement including but not limited to its context, content, tone, positions, or timing. While we are not afraid to take positions, we are also unable to sign up to positions – such as this – that purport to or actively take our views for granted.”
The case against the president
The Group of 56, which parades a list of heavyweight politicians, including the former Senate president, Ken Nnamani; former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Masari; and former presidential candidate, Olu Falae; insists that the president has breached constitutional procedures in the way “his health condition has necessitated several medical trips abroad (and for which) he has not transmitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he was proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office as required by Section 145 of the Constitution.”
Incapacity to continue in office
The group also asked President Yar’Adua, “to immediately choose the honourable option of either: resigning his office immediately, or if he is confident of his true physical condition, request the Federal Executive Council to pass a resolution pursuant to Section 144 (1) of the Constitution to the effect that the President appears incapable of discharging the functions of his office.”
It, however, faulted how the president’s incapacity has affected the full implementation of the 2009 budget because he has been unable to coordinate the management of the national economy and to preside over the Federal Executive Council in a diligent manner.
“In the circumstance, Ministers have routinely flouted the orders of the President and engaged in infighting as a direct result of the vacuum in leadership. This was recently embarrassingly exposed to the world with the series of conflicting public statements credited to the Attorney General and the Chairperson of the EFCC. This was also exposed further when the president disavowed knowledge of a memo to all foreign missions purportedly on his instructions. Furthermore, till date, ministers continue to flout the public instruction of the president that ministers who presented memos at the FEC should stay behind to brief the media,” the group states.
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China sentences 6 to death - For shipping fake drugs to Nigeria
For shipping fake anti-malaria drugs to Nigeria, the Peoples Republic of China, has sentenced six of its nationals to death, the Director-General of the National Agency For Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, has said.
The NAFDAC boss, therefore, canvassed for a life sentence for all drug peddlers in Nigeria, as was the case in China and other countries in Asia, adding that the agency was tightening the noose round drug traffickers as part of efforts to reposition the agency for more efficiency.
Dr. Orhii spoke at a five-day strategic planning retreat for NAFDAC staff in Kaduna, saying that while other countries like India and China were in the vanguard of waging war against drug traffickers, Nigeria, which had assumed the toga of a “dumping ground” for manufacturers of fake drugs was fighting the war with levity, due to weak legislation.
According to him, it is so paradoxical that Nigeria which is at the receiving end of fake drugs is so lenient in terms of law, adding that NAFDAC was planning to review the existing law in its quest to fight the war against drug trafficking in the country.
Already, he added, NAFDAC was in contact with some legal luminaries and human rights activists in order to review the law establishing the agency.
He said the law which had the blessing of the National Assembly once passed, would make drug trafficking a non-bailable offence, just as an offender risked going to jail for life.
“We are going to implement severe punishment like in India and China,” he said, adding that apart from the jail term, offenders, when caught would have their assets confiscated and proceeds from the sale of the assets would go to victims.”
“Those people in China are facing death penalty. The India parliament also passed a law for manufacturing of counterfeit drugs. It will be difficult for Nigerian drug traffickers to go to India. In China, it is even worst the counterfeiter will be facing death penalty,” he said.
“For the first time, we have achieved tremendous progress in our campaign against fake and counterfeit drugs and today, most of the culprits are being brought to justice.
Today, six people are facing cases on death penalty, while those people traced to India will also risk life jail sentence”.
Orhii further argued that it was time the government strengthened its own laws against the importation of counterfeit drugs, stressing that “it is paradoxical that Nigeria which is at the receiving end is lenient in terms of laws against fake and counterfeit drugs.”
He said NAFDAC would collaborate with India and China in the fight against drug trafficking in such a way that going into these countries to manufacture fake drugs or to import it into Nigeria would be very difficult.
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A divorced father of three stabbed his mother 21 times after becoming convinced that she was a witch and had put a curse on him, a court in Britain heard on Friday.
Kayode Kuye reportedly tortured and killed Christina Kuye, 69, because he believed she had ruined his life with a black magic spell, the Old Bailey was told. Unemployed Kuye, 50, of Edmonton, north London, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The judge, Christopher Moss, ordered him locked up indefinitely under mental health laws and described it as a “brutal” killing.
Kuye reportedly attacked his mother after letting himself into her home in Finchley, north London, with a key in May last year, the court heard.
After a lengthy argument, he stabbed her 21 times to the upper body, also slashing her arms and hands as she tried to defend herself.
He was later arrested covered in blood at Finchley Central station, laughing as he said: “I have had an argument with my mother.”
Policemen forced their way into her home where they found her body in her bedroom.
Kuye later told psychiatrists that his purpose was “to torture his mother to try to prevent her from continuing what he perceived to be black magic upon him,” said Alan Kent, prosecuting officer.
Mr. Kent said: “The motivation behind his attack was his paranoid and deluded belief that his mother had cursed him through witchcraft and had ruined his life.”
Mrs. Kuye came to Britain from Nigeria in 1961 with her husband, who died in 1984. She had eight children, including the defendant, and 20 grandchildren.
She herself believed in witchcraft and her son became increasingly interested in the subject during the four years before he killed her.
His mother helped him get in touch with a witch doctor she knew in Nigeria and he would send him money “for advice and medicine,” the court heard.
Two years before the killing, he began to blame her for all his problems, saying she had “sacrificed him as a child and had put a curse on him.”
He believed that “he was a king and should be rich, but the curse prevented this from happening.”
For about a year before his mother’s death, he had been saying he was going to kill her, as well as other family members.
On the day of the stabbing, he had been “ranting and raving” at his former wife and told her that “he had to go and do what he had to do,” the court heard.
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Nigeria records 46.7 per cent drop in new HIV cases !
By Chukwuma Muanya and Collins Olayinka
AS the country joins the rest of the world to mark the 2009 World AIDS Day today, the country has recorded a 46.7 per cent drop in Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) infection in seven years.
Also, a new data in the 2009 AIDS epidemic update released at the weekend by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), showed that globally, new HIV infections have been reduced by 17 per cent in the past eight years.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have also called for proactive steps to stem discrimination against workers living with HIV.
The report indicated that since 2001, when the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed, the number of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 15 per cent lower, which is about 400,000 fewer infections in 2008.
Director-General, National Agency on the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, told The Guardian: "Going by the sero-prevalence and the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBSS), the HIV epidemic is dropping. For example, the prevalence among young people aged between 15 and 24, which reflects new infections has dropped from six per cent in 2001 to 3.2 per cent in 2008."
According to UNAIDS, Nigeria has the third largest number of HIV infections in the world, with roughly four million men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS.
The World AIDS Day, celebrated on December 1, draws together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is one of the most visible opportunities for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high-prevalence countries and around the world.
According to 2008 figures released by WHO, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV. An estimated 2.7 million were newly infected with the virus and two million died of AIDS the same year. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most heavily affected by HIV. In 2008, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 67 per cent of HIV infections worldwide, 68 per cent of new HIV infections among adults and 91 per cent of new HIV infections among children. The region also accounted for 72 per cent of the world's AIDS-related deaths in 2008.
According to the new UNAIDS report, HIV incidence has declined by nearly 25 per cent in East Asia and in South and South East Asia by 10 per cent in the same time period. In Eastern Europe, after a dramatic increase in new infections among injecting drug users, the epidemic has levelled off considerably. However, in some countries, there are signs that HIV incidence is rising again.
Meanwhile, the ILO and the ITUC have called for proactive steps to stem discrimination against workers that are HIV-positive.
In his message yesterday to mark the occasion, the Director- General of ILO, Mr. Juan Somavia, said the slogan: "I am living my rights. Stop AIDS, keep the promise" is a collective responsibility to respond to this call of World AIDS Day 2009.
He noted that out of over 33 million people that are living with HIV/AIDS, more than 90 per cent are adults in their productive and reproductive prime.
According to him: "Keeping the promise means enabling HIV-positive workers to remain on the job. Eliminating HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in the world of work upholds the dignity of work and of workers. Policies and strategies for prevention and treatment sustain the workforce: They must reach all workers, wherever they work, including in the informal and rural economy. And in sustaining the workforce, we sustain families, communities, societies and economies."
He cautioned that the world must not be carried away by the availability of drugs, saying: "Yet, let us not forget that for every two persons who obtain treatment, there are five new infections and one of every two new infections is among 15 to 24-year old. Too many of these young people are unlikely to realise their potential."
Somavia stressed that the world cannot relent on prevention and that prevention must be multi-dimensional and approached with long-term commitment, creativity and diversity.
He revealed that in June 2010, the International Labour Conference (ILC) will consider adopting a new labour standard in the form of a recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work to reinforce its work.
On its part, the ITUC blamed the massive human suffering caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the failure to date to check and reverse its growth on lack of political will of governments.
It stated that the ITUC remains committed to action to combat HIV/AIDS discrimination in the workplace, to ensure a rights-oriented approach to the interventions, to advocate for strong privacy and confidentiality safeguards and to ensure equitable access to HIV/AIDS treatment.
It also expressed its concerns at the impact of the financial crisis on development and thus on combating HIV-AIDS.
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NYSC forces pregnancy tests on members
One of the things that Lawal Taiwo (not real name) had to do when she reported at the camp for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos State was to go for a pregnancy test. Ms. Taiwo, said the exercise, which is mandatory for female youth corps members, was characterised by coercion and neglect, especially as the test was process was conducted in the open.
"They (male corps members) had the opportunity to easily take a peep at all us undressing as the registration process was taking place in a hall right in front of the make-shift shed and all young ladies were forced to squat and urinate into small bottles," she said.
"Before being allowed to start the registration process, all females were requested to line up behind the lecture hall (in which the registration process was going on). I started queuing at about 8am but was unable to urinate due to the unhygienic and inadequate sanitary conditions. What awaited all females were three holes dug into the ground, merely covered up from one side by dirty mattresses." The National Youth Service Corps scheme, which was established in 1971 to unify Nigeria after the civil war, has run into several controversies. One of the more recent ones is the rule for conducting pregnancy test for female participants.
Anyone who refuse to go for the compulsory test or is found pregnant in the course of the test is summarily sent out of the camp.
Another female participant at the Lagos State camp, who spoke under anonymity, said the experience was the first time she had a pregnancy test.
"I have never taken a pregnancy test in my life and the memory of it will stay stuck in my mind forever," she said. "The test was conducted in such a disgusting condition. When a woman takes a pregnancy test, she should be able to do it in the privacy of her home,or in a decent clinic. Not in a field behind a campsite."
The tests were conducted all day.
They started the pregnancy tests early in the morning and would end each evening once registration was closed for the day. We would line up in the sun, just for the test," another lady who just passed out of the camp, Joyce Nweze said.
Joyce Madaki, the spokesperson for the Lagos State NYSC confirmed the test, but said she could not speak on it except with the directive of the state coordinator of the scheme.
"I will have to talk to the state director and if he asked me to grant an interview, then I will and if he said I shouldn't I will let you know, but just note I am not permitted to talk to the press on my own," she said.
Policy against women?
But women activists are not amused at this practice. The Executive Director of Project Alert, a group promoting rights of women, Joshepine Chukwuma said any test that is gender based is wrong.
"If pregnancy tests are conducted for women, then what would they now conduct for men? Such test were supposed to be conducted at one's will and not be forced and not under an unconducive environment." Anns Ajayi, a secondary school principal and self-proclaimed gender rights activist in Osun State said that, "It is all trash. Tell me what women have done again? I think the present NYSC director General should cover his face in shame and just resign. This has never been mentioned in the scheme and it was not part of the law that established it." Ms Taiwo, whose test came out negative, said she would not have participated in the process if not for the need to serve her fatherland.
"Though I understand pregnant women and especially nursing mothers not being allowed to serve during this period, I do not find it appropriate to force all prospective female corps members to be treated like animals, to have to pee on command and be harassed by NYSC officials," she said.
Missunderstood requirement
Going by Decree 24 of 1993, the requirement for participating in the scheme do not include any special gender test but a general medical test that was expected to be carried out by the participants's school or a military hospital.
A Millenium Development Goals instructor at one of the orientation camps, Felix Akinmejiwa said the tests were introduced for good reasons.
"The tests are necessary, not just the pregnancy test, but it matters the way it is conducted. I find it hard to believe that Lagos camp could have conducted theirs in such a dirty environment, I think there should be an investigation into this," he said.
"The truth still remains that some corps members lied about their status, and what they don't know is that it is all for their good. How would someone be pregnant and still be climbing ropes? I mean all their Para-military training? It is for their good."
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Posted by SULE BELLO on November 29, 2009 at 10:15pm
Six die at police check-point in DeltaBy Sola Adebayo, Warri, Published: Friday, 27 Nov 2009Tragedy struck in Delta State on Thursday as six persons were crushed to death at a police check point in Ebrumede community, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.The deceased, all women, were conveying palm oil to a market in Effurun, the headquarters of Uvwie LGA, before they were crushed to death by an oil trailer at the road block mounted by policemen attached to Ebrumede Police Station.It was learnt that the driver conveying the deceased on the ill-fated trip was engaging the policemen in a hot argument over a bribe demand before the trailer rammed into the bus.Consequently, the oil tanker with registration number XA 399 GNA smashed the bus with registration number AA 49 FST and killed all its occupants. The policemen fled the scene as the women groaned under the heavy impact of the accident.It took officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission and sympathisers over two hours to secure a pay loader to remove the oil tanker, which rested on the bus. Sympathisers cried uncontrollably as the mutilated remains of the deceased were eventually recovered and taken to the morgue of a government-owned hospital in Effurun.However, the driver of the bus, his lieutenant and another woman, who had seized the opportunity to ease herself in company with her baby, survived the tragic event.Blood, palm oil and the wreckage of the bus littered the scene as the rescue operation led to the closure of a portion of the East/West Road (Warri/Port Harcourt highway) by the FRSC.But the whereabouts of the driver of the oil tanker could not be ascertained on Thursday afternoon.In reaction, angry members of the public sacked the police station, a few minutes after the remains of the deceased were evacuated from the scene.It was, however, learnt that the police station was deserted before the protesters attacked it. The police station was eventually torched by the protesters.The authorities of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Restore Hope, later deployed soldiers and policemen in the area. Two Armoured Personnel Carriers attached to the JTF were also moved to the sacked police station.It was learnt that the Sector 1 Commander of JTF, Colonel Jamil Sarham, authorised the deployment of the troops and the APCs.The Sector Commander of FRSC in Delta State, Mr. Luka Ikpi, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with our correspondent.“A tanker fell on a bus; and from information available to us (FRSC), the six people in the bus died. All the six people are women. Three persons, made up of two men and one woman, were injured,” Ikpi said.The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, Mr. Yakubu Alhikali, declined to comment on the incident. He claimed to be in a meeting on the four occasions our correspondent contacted him on the phone.
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Furious reactions have trailed the reported pressure on the Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to sign an undated resignation letter in the event of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s inability to continue in office as a result of his health condition.
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Jonathan is reportedly under intense from some hawks in the Presidency said to have the backing of some key Northern politicians.
The plot was said to have been hatched to forestall a situation where the Presidency would return to the South just two years after another Southerner, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, left the office.
The Presidency has, however, described the alleged plot reported in a national newspaper yesterday as not only false, but also meant to cause panic and tension in the country.
Sunday Sun learnt yesterday that already tension is mounting in the Niger Delta, where Jonathan hails from, with the Ijaw nation warning that they would not “take lightly” any threat or pressure on Jonathan.
Coordinator of the Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG), Comrade Joseph Evah, who spoke to Sunday Sun yesterday evening on the telephone, said the Ijaw nation is on the alert over the alleged plot.
Said Evah: “We (Ijaw nation) will not take lightly any threat to undermine Jonathan or his office. We have heard of the plot and we are watching the situation.
“We are particularly worried that the President’s aide presented the 2010 budget to the National Assembly while the Vice President is said to be in charge. We believe that is part of the plot and the Niger Delta is alert. There is a clique working against the Vice President and let us see how those plotting such evil will undermine the Constitution.
“We are not saying that Jonathan should take over, after all the President is not dead. Indeed, we are praying for Yar’Adua and the Ijaw nation and the whole of Niger Delta people do not wish him dead.
“But we are disturbed that this is happening again now that the President is ill. The other time the President traveled to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, a group, Northern Liberation Front, vowed to resist any move for Jonathan to assume the presidency. It even threatened to give him the (MKO) Abiola treatment.
“Also, a PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) chieftain from the North, Godwin Daboh, had said the North would not accept Jonathan if anything happened to Yar’Adua. What did the SSS (State Security Service) do when these national security threats were issued? We believe they are agents of a clique trying to foment trouble in Nigeria, and this time around we will not take it lightly.
“Those around Jonathan, I mean his advisers and aides, must realize that he is not representing his family. He represents a region just like the President is representing the North. So his office is important to the Niger Delta and we will do everything to protect it otherwise our children in generations to come would ask us what we did when a Niger Deltan for the first time in the history of Nigeria occupied that office.”
Another group, United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), equally warned that the Niger Delta might secede over the plot against Jonathan.
UNDEDSS’ Secretary General, Mr Tony Uranta, in a terse statement issued yesterday via SMS, called on Nigerians to remain law abiding but warned against any action that would undermine the 1999 Constitution.
The statement read: “UNDEDSS is calling all Nigerians to remain law abiding as citizens under the 1999 Constitution. Should any section of the nation decide to overthrow due process, every other section should immediately withdraw from the nationhood space. God is just and rights must never be trifle with.”
The Presidency has however moved to douse the tension, saying there is no truth whatsoever in the report that Jonathan is under pressure to resign following the hospitalization of President Yar’Adua for acute pericarditis.
The Presidency described the report as not only false in its entirety, but also sheer mischief designed to create unnecessary panic and tension in the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Mr Ima Niboro, said in a statement made available to State House correspondents in Abuja yesterday that it was an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians, including the Vice President for anyone to come up with such a suggestion.
“The newspaper failed to state clearly who or what body was bringing this pressure to bear, but went ahead to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians, including the vice president himself by suggesting that Dr Jonathan is to be made to sign an undated letter of resignation... “which can become binding in the event that the president is unable to continue in office””, he further stated.
The vice president’s aide urged the public to discountenance the story, which, according to him, “dwells entirely in the imagination of its authors, their sponsors and co-travellers” and continue to support the Yar’Adua administration in its effort to reposition the country.
Niboro’s statement reads: “We have read with considerable dismay the story of The Punch published today, November 28, and wish to point out straightaway that it is false in its entirety, and designed to create unnecessary panic and tension in the country. This story, we must add, is sheer mischief, and dwells entirely in the imagination of its authors, their sponsors and co-travellers.
“For the benefit of those who did not read (the story), the newspaper in its lead story claimed that as a fallout of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s slight indisposition, which by the way has been blown out of all proportions in the media, Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is under pressure to resign.
“The newspaper failed to state clearly who or what body was bringing this pressure to bear, but went ahead to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians, including the vice president himself, by suggesting that Dr Jonathan is to be made to sign an undated letter of resignation... “which can become binding in the event that the president is unable to continue in office.”
“…We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to continue to give support to the President Yar’Adua administration. As the vice president noted yesterday, and was widely reported in th
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By Victoria Osteen
Not long ago I was talking to a young lady who recently gave her heart to the Lord. She told me that her family wasn't sure about her new life of faith, and she was a little nervous about her trip to go visit them for the holidays. She was intimidated and didn't want to get into debates or arguments, and she just didn't know what to do or what to expect. I simply told her, "You don't have to be nervous to go see your family. You don't have to preach to them, just be the blessing God has called you to be.quot; I began to explain to her the principle that God's purpose for blessing us is so that we can be a blessing to others.
John 10:10 says that God wants you to have an abundant life. "Abundantquot; simply means "amply supplied.quot; God wants you to be amply supplied with everything you need so that you can reach out and be a blessing to others. That's His purpose in blessing us—so that we can be an example of His goodness to the people around us.
Remember, people respond differently when they know you have their best interest at heart. You'll have greater opportunity to speak into their lives when you encourage and lift them up. It's God's kindness that draws people to Him, not philosophical debates or arguments. As believers, our job is to show His kindness. So look for ways to be a blessing, and be an example of His amazing love!
Joel and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season. Remember that you are God's hands and feet in the earth. So take time for the people in your life and look for ways to reach out and be a blessing wherever you go!
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The #1 single in the country got a royal introduction Sunday night (November 22) at the American Music Awards. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez had the honor of telling the audience that Jay-Z and Alicia Keys were taking the stage."It's been a great year for New York," A-Rod said. "We took the World Series ..."Some people in the audience started to boo — after all, the awards are taking place in Los Angeles, Dodger and Angel territory, and the Bronx Bombers defeated the Angels on their way to their World Series championship."I'm proud to present one of New York's finest, my friend Jay-Z and Alicia Keys."After the intro, Keys was on the main stage, accompanying herself on the piano while she sang "New York, New York," the classic made world-famous by Frank Sinatra.Meanwhile, the man who says he's the the modern-day version of Ol' Blue Eyes leaned on the piano, wearing a white tux jacket, black pants, a bow tie and sunglasses.After a few moments, the beat for "Empire State of Mind" kicked in and most of the audience rose to their feet. Mary J. Blige, Perez Hilton, Whitney Houston and many others were seen dancing in the audience. "Concrete jungle where dreams are made ..."Meanwhile, Jay remained as cool as family of polar bears, rapping most of the song with the mic in his right hand and his left in his pocket. "If Jeezy is paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade."The words "New York" scrolled across screens on the stage, while a battery of men and women dressed in elegant finery played grand pianos. As the song came to an end, Alicia joined Jay at the front of the stage. She wore an all-black ensemble that revealed most of her back. As Keys hit the song's last notes, she threw up the "I love you" sign while Jay stood with both arms outstretched.
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Jay-Z Becomes A Broadway Producer For 'Fela!'The rapper found the musical about the Nigerian Afrobeat legend 'fascinating.'NEW YORK — After having Los Angeles singing about their "Empire State of Mind" at the American Music Awards on Sunday, Jay-Z returned home on Monday evening to share in a different kind of celebration. Along with celebs like Ben Stiller, Harry Belafonte and Gayle King, Jay attended the Broadway opening of "Fela!," a musical celebrating the work of another great man, the late Nigerian superstar Fela Anikulapo Kuti.Jay said that he jumped onboard the project as a producer for its Broadway (along with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) run because he was inspired by the power of Kuti's music and life story."It's an inspiration, about the power of music. Here's a guy that's on the other side of the world who was influenced by James Brown, who takes this thing and makes his own sort of genre of music," Hov told MTV News. "I just think it's fascinating.""Fela!" focuses on the life and music of the Afrobeat pioneer and political activist, who first broke out on the international scene in the 1970s. It was written by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones, who also choreographed the musical, and features Kuti's music, arranged and performed by members of the Brooklyn Afrobeat orchestra Antibalas.Jones, a world-renowned dancer and choreographer, said that musical wouldn't have been possible without another producer, Stephen Hendel."This was one man's dream, Stephen Hendel — a very sweet man who loved Fela's music and was determined it would be on Broadway," Jones said. "It was because of that one man's dream and love, something that I really appreciate and love and something that I know Fela stands for." Jones said that the music translates so well onto the stage because of its genius and uncontrollable energy."Fela's music is unwieldy, but it is brilliant and it is music that really wants groups of people to come together and enjoy."Jay-Z At The Opening Of 'Fela!'Jay-Z was one of those people who enjoyed Kuti's music. He became involved the play after seeing it during its Off-Broadway run. That might never have happened, however, without the prompting of another hip-hop heavyweight, ?uestlove of the Roots. ?uestlove attended a very early show and sent an e-mail blast declaring "Fela!" to be the best musical ever. Once he saw the play, he said he was instantly moved."Moved to the point that I blogged about it for hours, and then when the producers read my blog, they so graciously asked me to go out and bat for them and grab any of my friends that make over nine to 10 figures a year to come and lend their 'muscle,' " ?uestlove told us.For eight weeks, he begged people, bought tickets and even the balcony out, so that the message would get out there. Pointing to Jay, the drummer added, "As you can see, the right man finally came."
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Do we call Fred and Ibinabo the Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie of nollywood? Well,i dont know about this name but i am loving their beautiful daughter.Her daddy Fred is currently one of the dancers on nigeria's CELEBRITY TAKES2 dance competition and i pray he shuffles those Isoko feet very well so that he can win and take this little darling shopping for some beautiful christmas dresses,right? lol.i forgot to add that IB looks great!
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Posted by 9jabook.com on November 27, 2009 at 9:06pm
World number one golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car accident on Friday, a Florida newspaper reported.
The Orlando Sentinel, citing the Florida Highway Patrol, said Woods' car struck a fire hydrant and a tree in Florida's Isleworth community, near Orlando.
Woods, 33, was transported to a hospital in Ocoee in serious condition, the newspaper said, citing the FHP.
Woods is one of the world's richest athletes, a leading force in sports marketing and the biggest draw on the PGA tour.
Woods made a triumphant comeback on the tour this year after sitting out much of the 2008 season following reconstructive knee surgery. He was operated on shortly after clinching his 14th major title, the 2008 U.S. Open.
He did not win a major title this year but had a successful year capped by winning the season-long FedEx Cup
More Reports coming in
We're now told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up. We're told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV -- but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club.
Tiger Woods did not suffer facial lacerations from a car accident. They were inflicted by his wife, Elin Nordegren -- according to a conversation Woods had Friday after the accident.
Tiger has yet to be formally interviewed by the Florida Highway Patrol -- that should happen this afternoon. But we're told Tiger had a conversation Friday -- with a non-law enforcement type -- detailing what went down before his Escalade hit a fire hydrant.
We're told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up. We're told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV -- but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club.
We're told Woods became "distracted," thought the vehicle was stopped, and looked to see what had happened. At that point the SUV hit the fire hydrant and then hit a tree.
We're also told Woods had said during the conversation Friday he had been taking prescription pain medication for an injury, which could explain why he seemed somewhat out of it at the scene.
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