Oshiomhole threatens to sack striking teachers

 

 

 

 

Any of the striking teachers of Edo State who fails to report to work by Friday would have his or her post declared vacant, the Edo State government announced on Wednesday.

Edo State chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) had ordered its members to proceed on indefinite strike following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum given to the state government to protest the non-inclusion of teachers in the newly approved minimum wage bill.

PHCN has debt burden of over N319b

The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has a debt burden of over N319 billion.

Sam Agbogun, managing director of Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Wednesday.

Mr Agbogun, whose company is saddled with the responsibility of managing the debts, said that the company owed N72.6 billion in unpaid power purchase agreements with many private power generating outfits.

He said a further breakdown of the debts showed that PHCN owed local financial institutions N48 billion, while its foreign counterparts owed N2 billion. The PHCN owed N37 billion in legacy debts.

Corruption: NJC panel gives CJN, Salami soft-landing

The probe panel set up by the National Judicial Council, NJC, to investigate allegations of corruption against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, may have given the two senior jurists a soft landing to save the judiciary from further embarrassment.


Investigations by Vanguard showed that the report, which was presented to the council, yesterday, was distributed to members for consideration.

Salami and other justices of the Court of Appeal were  reportedly cleared by the panel on allegations that  members of the governorship appeal panels in Osun and Ekiti states were financially-induced to give judgment in favour of the Action Congress of Nigeria.

Eagles avoid Cameroun, I’Coast, Ghana, Egypt

The seeding for Africa’s 2014 World Cup first and second qualifying rounds have been announced.  This comes after football’s world governing body Fifa unveiled its latest monthly rankings on Wednesday.
The 2014 World Cup qualifying draw will be held on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.  Brazil will host the competition from June-July 2014.  A total of five Afican nations will qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND
Pot 5 (countries ranked 29-40): Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Liberia, Tanzania, Congo, Kenya,
Rwanda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Burundi, Madagascar Pot 6 (ranked 41-52): Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Swaziland, Comoros Islands, Lesotho, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sao Tome e Principe

N787m UBEC scam: EFCC accuses suspects of plot to scuttle trial

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, accused four directors of Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, of perfecting a subterranean plot to scuttle criminal action it initiated against them before a Federal High Court in Abuja.


The directors are facing a 63-count charge of alleged complicity in an illegal diversion of monies meant for supply of learning facilities to all secondary schools across the federation, through the UBEC scheme.
The anti-graft agency alleged that they used bogus companies to defraud the government to the tune of about N787 million.

Tambuwal’s resignation: Buhari, Atiku, David-west, Sagay, Reps flays Obasanjo.

Former Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, and former Petroleum Minister, Professor Tam David-West, yesterday joined members of the House of Representatives in dismissing with a wave of the hand, the call by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal and his Deputy, Emeka Ihedioha to resign from office after two years to allow for the rectification of the zoning policy of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.


Ex-President Obasanjo had told party leaders in Abuja Tuesday that the violation of the zoning principle through the election of the duo was a fundamental breach that should be revisited.

4 Mobile Policemen nabbed over alleged bank robbery

LAGOS  – Four mobile policemen have been arrested in connection with a bank robbery at the Owutu, Ikorodu branch of a new generation bank in January this year.

Investigation by detectives at the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, of Lagos State Command, revealed, yesterday, that the mobile policemen were on their way back from another successful operation, when they were arrested, Monday.

It was gathered that on reaching Iyana-Ipaja, they were accosted by policemen on stop-and-search and that they introduced themselves as policemen to their colleagues on duty. They also displayed their identification cards.
however, one of the policemen was said to have spotted a mask kept carelessly on the driver’s seat, consequent upon which he called the attention of the leader of the team, who summoned the mobile policemen for questioning.

Islamic banking: PFN urges Jonathan to sack Sanusi

OWERRI-Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, yesterday, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Lamido Sanusi, over the controversial Islamic banking system.

PFN Vice-President, South-West zone, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, said  that Sanusi had lost the capacity to regulate the nation’s banking industry.

 He said: “Having become a promoter of a sensitive and volatile issue as the Islamic banking project, we have lost confidence in the CBN boss.”

Jonathan sets up panel to probe NDDC

By OKEY NDIRIBE, ABUJA


President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday,  set up an eight-man committee to audit  contracts awarded by  the  Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. The Committee  would also examine other transactions and activities that hindered the activities  of the NDDC.

In a statement  by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator Anyim Pius Anyim said; “The Committee which will be headed by Mr. Steve Oronsaye is expected to look into the problems that have hindered the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NNDC,  and generated several concerns among stakeholders. ”

$12.4bn oil windfall: Court gives judgment today

A Federal High Court in Abuja will today deliver judgment in a suit seeking to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, to disclose how $12.4 billion oil windfall money that accrued to the Federal Government between 1988 and 1994, was spent.
The suit was filed before the High Court by six civil society groups, led by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP.

Specifically, the plaintiffs asked the court for “an order of mandamus compelling the respondents, individually and/or collectively, to publish statement of account relating to spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall between 1988 and 1994, and to publish in major national newspapers a copy of the statement of account”.
It would be recalled that in 1994, the Federal Government constituted the Pius Okigbo Panel which investigated activities of CBN and recommend measures for re-organisation of the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the Okigbo Panel reportedly discovered that $12.4 billion reserved in‘Dedicated and Special Accounts’, was depleted to $200 million by June 1994.

Rape protest leads to closure of Tai Solarin University

The action of some suspected student gangsters at Tai Solarin University of Education {TASUED}, Ijebu-Ode, yesterday resulted in bloodbath and the one week closure of the university by its management.

Students said that the gangsters focibly raped some female students at gunpoint and posted the resultant video clips to the popular social network, facebook, and YouTube, a development which a parent of one of the victims took up legally and reported to the police.

When the police moved into campus to fish out the suspected criminals, some of the gang members engaged the police in gun battle. Tragically, an innocent 200 level of History and Diplomatic Studies, Olawale Lasisi, was hit in the crossfire and died of his wounds.

Police parade accused female leader of Abuja car robbery syndicate

    

 

A middle-aged woman accused of being the leader of a car theft syndicate in the Federal Capital Territory, Uju Ibeh, has been arrested by the police in Abuja.

Parading the suspect before journalists in Abuja, the Force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, said her arrest followed investigation into the theft of a Toyota Matrix on July 17, 2011.

The car was snatched from the owner at gun point at about 11pm around Garki District and was reported to the police. Information provided by the victim, Mr Moshood said, led the police to the gang’s hideout. He said the hoodlums, on sighting the officers, opened fire on the patrol team leading to an exchange of gun fire between the gang and the police. He explained that two suspects, Chiweke Ugwu and Ushie Kenechukwu sustained multiple gunshot injuries and died on the way to the hospital. The investigation of the suspects led to the arrest of Ms Ibeh, who was found to be leader of the gang, he said.