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A Qatari appeals court has acquitted a US couple
charged with parental neglect leading to the death of their
adopted eight-year-old daughter.
A judge in the capital Doha on Sunday absolved
Matthew and Grace Huang, who had adopted their
daughter Gloria from an orphanage in Ghana, of any
responsibility for her death.
Late on Sunday, however, the couple released a statement
saying they had been prevented from leaving the Gulf
country and returning to the US despite the ruling, which
they said included permission to go home.
The US embassy confirmed to local website Doha
News that the US ambassador had earlier accompanied
the couple to the airport’s immigration department in an
attempt to help them leave the country.
“We just left the airport after waiting all day for the US
government to help us get out of Qatar,” the statement
said.
“We have been told we cannot leave the country and the
US government has no answers as to why. We now sit
waiting for the Qatar government to make the next
move.”
In a statement, US Secretary of State John Kerry
said he was deeply concerned about the delay to their
departure.
“The 22 long months of court proceedings following their
daughter’s tragic death have compounded the tragedy for
the Huang family, and it is time now, as the Appeals
Court stated, to let the Huangs return home,” he said.
The couple had been subject to a travel ban while the case
was ongoing.
Doha News, citing a legal source, said it was unusual for
such bans to be lifted so soon after a ruling and that the
delay was due to administrative technicalities.
The couple had been found guilty of child endangerment by
Qatari Judge Abdullah al-Emadi in March and
sentenced to jail time by a criminal court.
The appeals court ruled the couple were not guilty and
said they were free to leave Qatar, based on witness
accounts that Gloria was “not neglected in leading a normal
life”.
The witnesses had testified that they saw Gloria eating one
day before her death, according to the presiding judge.
“This negates the charge that she was prevented from
eating, a charge that the court of first instance used as a
base for its initial ruling,” the judge said.
Gloria’s death certificate, issued by Qatar’s Supreme
Council of Health, listed the causes of death as “cachexia
and dehydration”. At the time, she had not eaten during
the four days leading up to her death, according to her
parents.
“Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our
sons,” Matthew Huang said, describing the judicial process
in the Gulf state as “long and emotional”.
“We have been unable to grieve our daughter’s death but
we want to thank the judge for today’s decision,” he told
reporters outside the court.
The US State Department publicly commented on the
case in March, saying it had urged the government of
Qatar to ensure a fair, transparent, and expeditious trial.
“We have been concerned by indications that not all of the
evidence was being weighed by the court and that cultural
misunderstandings may have been leading to an unfair
trial,” Marie Harf, the State Department deputy
spokesperson, said at the time.
Both adoption and multiracial families are rare in
Qatar and the family’s supporters maintain authorities
misunderstood the Huangs’ situation.
The Huangs have two other adopted children, also from
Africa.
It’s been one year since Paul’s
tragic death, but his spirit remains alive
and his big heart is far from forgotten.
Paul’s dad, Paul Walker III, said some
touching words about the late ‘Furious 7′
actor on the anniversary’s of his son’s
death.
On Nov. 30, 2013, Hollywood mourned the loss of
actor Paul Walker , who died in a tragic car accident in
Los Angeles, Calif. Paul’s legacy continues onward and his
good heart is certainly not forgotten. In fact, Paul
remains in the hearts of many, including his father’s, Paul
Walker III , who opened up in a touching interview with E!
News about how Paul is with him every day.
Paul Walker’s Death: Paul Walker’s Father
Gives Touching Interview
“I feel his presence every day,” Paul III said in the
interview according to Us Weekly . “I miss talking to him a
great deal.”
Paul’s dad went on to say how big of a heart and small an
ego Paul had. He said Paul would always make a point
to ask about other people instead of talking about
himself. Paul was also very invested in his charity work
for Reach Out Worldwide, and was actually on a break
at a charity event when the accident happened.
“Paul just radiated love and you can’t fake that. I thought,
‘How did I deserve such a wonderful son?'” Paul III
said.
Paul III will be remembering his son on the anniversary
of his death by visiting his gravesite. He’s planning on
playing a coin game they made up and would play during
Paul’s casting calls. It warms our hearts to know that Paul
III will feel his son’s presence during his sweet tribute.
Paul Walker Remembered By ‘Furious 7′
Paul’s last movie Furious 7 will pay tribute to the late
actor and his character in the film.
A new trailer released on Nov. 1 has a lot of powerful
and emotional scenes featuring Paul, and we know that this
film will mark his legacy as an actor.
Co-star Vin Diesel previously shared photos from the film
and wrote, We all went above and beyond to make
[Paul] proud, but man, I wish he could see what we have
created and just how far we have come.”
Our thoughts remain with Paul’s family and friends on this
difficult day.
Tensions flare as hundreds of protesters storm past police
lines and try to block access to government buildings .
Hundreds of protesters have clashed with police in Hong
Kong , as demonstrators stepped up a street campaign pushing
for free elections and democratic reforms in the Chinese -
controlled city state.
Police officers armed with pepper spray, batons and riot
shields charged at the protesters as they tried to disperse
them , making at least 40 arrests in the scuffles .
Demonstrators stormed past police lines overnight on
Sunday as they tried to surround government headquarters ,
erecting new barricades from metal railings and plastic cable
ties. As a result, the central government offices and the
legislature were forced to temporarily close on Monday
morning.
Right now (05 : 00 GMT), it is relatively peaceful compared
to the violent scenes we saw last night . The police have
retreated and some of the barricades have been removed.
There have been some small outbursts in various areas
where one particular protester was removed from the scene
in a stretcher .
But peace has been restored as we wait for the next move
from either side .
Police have issued a statement condemning the protests ’
organisers who they say are inciting the violence against the
officers .
Protesters and organisers say the level of violence and
tactics used by the police last night were unnecessary and
unfortunate.
As morning approached, police began clearing roads leading
to government offices , scattering protesters and demolishing
their tents following the overnight clashes.
The latest flare - up between police and protesters marks an
escalation in the civil disobedience movement that first started
three months ago . It also underscores the frustration of
protesters at Beijing ' s refusal to budge on electoral reforms
and grant greater democracy to the former British colony .
The protesters are demanding free elections and to be
allowed to choose their candidates for the 2017 elections
without interference from Beijing while China ' s communist
authorities insist candidates for the 2017 vote must be vetted
by a loyalist committee.
Al Jazeera ' s Rob McBride, reporting from Hong Kong ,
said hundreds of police had cleared the area by Monday
morning, pushing protesters back more than 200 metres.
Our correspondent said it was the worst outbreak of
violence since protests began in late September, with police
eager to clear the site before the Monday morning rush -
hour .
Police had earlier warned they would not let the protesters
"illegally occupy " Lung Wo Road , a major thoroughfare
that connects the east and west of Hong Kong .
McBride reported that police lost control of the main protest
site, as several hundred demonstrators spilled over into the
streets.
Student protest leaders told thousands rallying at the main
protest site outside the government headquarters that they
would escalate their campaign .
Protesters said they would occupy the road until Monday
morning to prevent Leung and other government officials
from getting to work.
The protests drew tens of thousands of people at times during
their first weeks , but the number of protesters have dwindled
as the movement' s leaders struggle to keep up momentum .
In a move some legal experts have described
as an abuse of court process, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), through one
Isiaq Abiodun Akinlade in the House of
Representatives, has approached an Abuja
Division of the Federal High Court to sack
Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from his
position and membership of the House of
Representatives
The case, which is expected to come up today
before Justice Evoh Chukwu, fellow Ebonyi
indigene and kinsman of the Secretary of the
Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius
Anyim, is seeking an ex-parte order to remove
Tambuwal from his seat as well as to ask the
Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, to take over
as acting Speaker of the House of representatives.
The decision to award the case to Justice Chukwu
has raised eyebrows in legal quarters especially
considering the fact that he is well known pro-
government judge known for awarding bogus legal
victories to the PDP in the past.
Some lawyers in the know of the issue said it was
curious that Chukwu will even accept to handle the
matter considering the fact that similar issues are
now before a different judge in the same Abuja
Division of the court.
Mr. Tambuwal has already filed a case in court
seeking protection against moves by the PDP to
declare his seat vacant. Already, Justice Ahmed
Ramat Muhammed has ordered that status quo be
maintained until the determination of the lawsuit
filed by Tambuwal. Having been named defendants
in this case, the party has now instigated one of its
members in the House of Representatives to file
another case seeking reliefs Tambuwal sought to
stop his removal.
A lawyer knowledgeable about Justice Chukwu's
antecedents today said: "The issue of Justice
Chukwu giving favourable judgements to PDP is
now a source of concern to many. You are aware
that he gave judgement against Baraje led-New
PDP by saying there was no faction in the party.
This ruling was contradicted by two respected
judges in Sokoto and Ilorin divisions of the
Federal High Court who held that by the facts
before them, there are indeed factions in PDP.
"By his stand on the Baraje issue, his position on
the availability of faction in PDP is already
known. Speaker Tambuwal defected to APC
because he was convinced there was a faction in
Sokoto PDP as per the ruling of the Sokoto
division of the Federal High Court. Do you think
Justice Chukwu is the right person to hear this
application?
Curiously, Akinlade also recently defected from the
APC to the PDP in order to actualize his
ambition of becoming governor of Ogun State on
the platform of the PDP
Source:Saharareporters
The world has finally reached “the beginning of the end” of
the AIDS pandemic that has infected and killed millions
in the past 30 years, according to a leading campaign
group fighting HIV.
The number of people newly infected with HIV over the
last year was lower than the number of HIV-positive
people who joined those getting access to the medicines they
need to take for life to keep AIDS at bay.
But in a report to mark World AIDS Day on
December 1, the ONE campaign, an advocacy group
working to end poverty and preventable disease in African
countries, warned that reaching this milestone did not mean
the end of AIDS was around the corner.
“We’ve passed the tipping point in the AIDS fight at the
global level, but not all countries are there yet, and the
gains made can easily stall or unravel,” Erin Hohlfelder,
ONE’s director of global health policy, said.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes
AIDS is spread via blood, semen and breast milk. There
is no cure for the infection, but AIDS can be kept at bay
for many years with cocktails of antiretroviral drugs.
United Nations data, reported by the Reuters news
agency, showed that in 2013, 35 million people were living
with HIV, 2.1 million people were newly infected with
the virus and some 1.5 million people died of AIDS. By
far the greatest part of the HIV/AIDS burden is in
sub-Saharan Africa.
The AIDS pandemic began more than 30 years ago and
has killed up to 40 million people worldwide.
The United Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS, says
that, by June 2014, some 13.6 million people globally had
access to AIDS drugs, a dramatic improvement on the 5
million who were getting treatment in 2010.
“Despite the good news, we should not take a victory lap
yet,” said Hohlfelder.
She highlighted several threats to current progress,
including a $3 billion shortfall in the funds needed each
year to control HIV around the world.
“We want to see bold new funding from a more
diversified base, including more from African domestic
budgets,” she said.
ONE also noted that HIV is increasingly concentrated
among hard-to-reach populations such as injecting drug
users, gay men and sex workers – groups who are often
stigmatised and have trouble accessing treatment and
prevention services.
There are reports of sporadic gunshots in Damaturu, Yobe
State.
It is not clear what the details of the situation are but
many believe members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect are
making a move to take over the state capital after
overrunning Mubi, another town in the North east state.
According to Jonathan Gopep, a Channels TV
correspondent in Damaturu, the attack started some
minutes before 6am on Monday morning.
He said, “Many people are running helter-skelter. I would
be honest with you; the military are here but they are being
professional… careful not to harm civilians.”
We are yet to get an official confirmation of the said siege.
The call by the Federal Government for an extension of
Emergency Rule in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa has met
with stiff opposition in the National Assembly but
deliberations are still ongoing to find a lasting solution to the
lingering impasse.
Names Of Reps Members Who Signed Jonathan’s
Impeachment
1-Hon. Bethel Amadi
2-Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejiocha
3-Hon Nnenna Ukeje
4-Hon Aliyu Madakin Gini
5-Hon. Ugochukwu Ohajuruka
6-Hon Chinwe Ubani
7-Hon. Chinyere Ike.
8-Hon. Uzo Azubuike.
9-Hon. Udo Ibeji
10-Hon. Arua Arunsi.
11-Hon. Nkem Abonta.
12-Hon. Mulikat Akande
13-Hon. Leo Ogor
14-Hon. Kwaga Ganama
15-Hon. Anthony Madwatte.
16-Hon. Gibson Nathaniel.
17-Hon. Francis Hananniya.
18-Hon. Fons Nwangubi.
19-Hon. Aisha Dahiru.
20-Hon. Emmanuel Ekpenyong
21-Hon. Friday Udoh.
22-Hon. Akpan Umoh.
23-Hon. Robinson Uwak.
24-Hon. Emmanuel Ukoette.
25-Hon. Edet Achibong.
26-Hon. Emmanuel Ekon.
27-Hon. Akpan Effiong.
28-Hon. Ini Udoka.
29-Hon. Bassey Dan-Abia.
30-Hon. Chizor Obidigwe.
31-Hon. Victor Ogene.
32-Hon. Chris Azubogu
33-Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwogbo.
34-Hon. Ben Nwankwo.
35-Hon. Uche Ekwunife.
36-Hon. Chriscato Amete.
37-Hon. Cyril Egwuatu.
38-Hon. I feanyi Dike.
39-Hon. Azodo Eucharia.
40-Hon. Tukur Adamu.
41-Hon. Isa Mohammed.
42-Hon. Auwalu Saleh.
43-Hon.Nuhu Abdulrazak.
44-Hon. Jatau Auwal.
45-Hon. Misau Ahmed.
46-Hon. Umar Sade.
47-Hon. Madaki Gololo.
48-Hon Warman Ogoriba.
49-Hon. Foingha Jephtah.
50Hon. Daniel Ofongo.
51-Hon. Nadu Karibo
52-Hon. Stella Dorgu.
53-Hon. Samson Okwu.
54-Hon. Awulu Adaji.
55-Hon. Hassan Saleh.
56-Hon. Echopu Enthonu.
57-Hon. John Yegh.
58-Hon Emma Jim.
59-Hon. Christina Alaaga.
60-Hon. Hembe Iorwase.
61-Hon. Benjamin Aboho.
62-Hon. Emmanuel Udenbe
63-Hon. Terfa Ityar.
64-Hon. Kaka Gujbawu.
65-Hon. Ibrahim Khadi.
66-Hon. Isa Lawan.
67-Hon. Peter Biyeh.
68-Hon. Rose Okoh.
69-Hon. Daniel Effiong.
70-Hon. Nkoyo Toyo.
71-Hon Francis Busam Addah.
72-Hon. Ewa Bassey Ekoh
73-Hon. Sunday Ettah.
74-Hon. John Enoh.
75-Hon. Essien Ayi.
76-Hon. Ogbaburhon Austin.
77-Hon. Nwokolo Victor.
78-Hon. Emediese Akpodiogaga
79-Hon. Daniel Reyemeju.
80-Hon. Mutu Ebomo.
81-Hon. Ndudi Elumelu.
82-Hon. Evelyn Oboro
83-Hon. Enekorogha Francis.
84-Hon. Ossai Ossai.
85-Hon. Okwuru Tobias.
86-Hon. Linus Okorie.
87-Hon. Omo Isu
88-Hon. Sylvester Ogbaga,
89-Hon. Peter Ali.
90-Hon. Peter Onyemaechi.
91-Hon. Jim Adun.
92-Hon Pally Iriase.
93-Hon. Peter Akpatason.
94-Hon. Nosakhare Osahon.
95-Hon. Abubakar Momoh.
96-Hon. Jones Onyeriri.
97-Hon. Patrick Ikhariale.
98-Hon. Friday Itulah.
99-Hon. Samson Osagie
100-Hon. Oyetunde Ojo.
101-Hon. Michael Bamidele.
102-Hon. Stella Ngwu
103-Hon. Toby Toby.
104-Hon. Oforbuike Chukwuegbo.
105-Hon. Asadu Oziokoja
106-Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi.
107-Hon. Peace Nnaji.
108-Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
109-Hon. Kingsley Ebenyi.
110-Hon. Isa Egah.
111-Hon Jisalo Bitrus.
112-Hon. Khamisu Ahmed.
113-Hon. Yusuf Manu.
114-Hon. Binta Bello.
115-Hon. Usman Kumo.
116-Hon. Shuaibu Galadima.
117-Hon. Umar Ahmed.
118-Hon. Eddie Mbadiwe.
119-Hon. Chudi Uwazuruike.
120-Hon. Jerry Alagbaoso.
121-Hon. Ezenwa Onyewuchi.
122-Hon Gerald Irona.
123-Hon. Bashir Adamu.
124-Hon Yusuf Dunari.
125-Hon. Mustafa Khabeeb.
126-Hon. Sabo Nakudu.
127-Hon. Ibrahim Garba.
128-Hon. Hussein Abdulkadir.
129-Hon. sh*tu Galambi.
130-Hon. Safiyanu Ubale.
131-Hon. Wada Usman.
132-Hon. Tijani Ibrahim.
133-Hon. Adamu Hassan.
134-Hon. Shehu Garba,
135-Hon. Yakubu Barde.
136-Hon. Abbas Tajudeen.
137-Hon. Yusuf Bala.
138-Hon. Jagaba Jagaba.
139-Hon. Ibrahim Lawal.
140-Hon. Simon Arabo.-
141-Hon. Gwani Gideon.
142-Hon. Godfrey Gaiya.
143-Hon. Ibrahim Mustapha.
144-Hon. Isa Ashiru.
145-Hon. Tijjani Abdulkadir Jobe.
146-Hon. Farouk Lawan.
147-Hon. Munir Babba Danagundi.
148-Hon. Bashir Galadanchi.
149-Hon. Abdulsalam Adamu.
150-Hon. Dawaki Bala.
151-Hon. Aminu Sulaiman Goro.
152-Hon.Kawu Sumaila.
153-Hon. Danlami Garba.
154-Hon. Sani Auwalu.
155-Hon. Garba Gulma.
156-Hon. Ibrahim Kamba.
157-Hon. Kalgo Muhammed.
158-Hon. Aminu Musa.
159-Hon. Abdullahi Dan-Alkalli.
160-Hon. Garba Uba.
161-Hon. Halilu Aliero.
162-Hon. Bello Kaoje.
163-Hon. Tom Zakari.
164-Hon. Muhammed Idris.
165-Hon. Ayo Yusuf.
166-Hon.Sunday Karim.
167-Hon. Ahmed Tijjani.
168-Hon. Isma’il Hussain.
169-Hon. Abdulrahman Badamasi.
170-Hon. Umar Jibril.
171-Hon. Sadiq Muhammed
Source:GistMania
A body found near the
campus of Ohio State University was
confirmed to be that of football player Kosta
Karageorge, police said at a press conference
Sunday.
Karageorge's body was found inside a
dumpster Sunday afternoon and he
apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot
wound, police said. A handgun was also
found, police said.
Police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said police
received a call around 2:30 p.m. from
someone reporting a body found in the trash
bin. Weiner said a woman and her son
apparently were looking for items in the
dumpster when they found the body.
"At this time we are able to confirm through
tattoos here at the scene that it is the body of
Kosta Karageorge," Weiner said.
It was not immediately clear if Karageorge
may have shot himself before climbing into
the dumpster, police said.
Police found the body near the campus after a
search began when Karageorge went missing
Wednesday. The senior defensive tackle had
last been seen at his apartment in Columbus,
when his roommates said he left to go on a
walk.
The body was found within a couple hundred
yards of Karageorge's home and about a half
block from High Street, the main artery of the
campus. Sunday evening, no one answered
when an Associated Press reporter knocked on
the metal door of Karageorge's apartment.
The player from Columbus was last seen at
his apartment at around 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Team spokesman Jerry Emig said Karageorge
missed practice Wednesday and Thursday,
which his family says was uncharacteristic.
A police report says Karageorge's mother told
authorities he has had concussions and spells
of confusion . She said he texted a message
Wednesday citing the concussions and saying
he was sorry if he was "an embarrassment."
The Buckeyes defeated Michigan on Saturday,
42-28. Defensive lineman Michael Bennett said
afterward that Karageorge had missed
practices and that teammates started getting
nervous Thursday.
"For him to drop off the radar is very unlike
him," said Jeremiah Webber, who coached
Karageorge in wrestling for three years.
University athletic officials said they were
grieved to learn of Karageorge's death.
"It's hit the team hard," team spokesman
Emig said.
Ohio State tweeted a message expressing the
university's sadness over Karageorge's death
Sunday evening.
Karageorge's parents filed a missing-person's
report Wednesday night.
The player's sister, Sophia Karageorge, told
The Columbus Dispatch that he apparently
was upset, and roommates said he went for a
walk, dressed in black from his hat to his
boots.
"We're very concerned that he's not himself
and that he maybe doesn't know what's going
on," she told the newspaper.
The former Buckeyes wrestler joined the
football team as a walk-on this season.
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said in
a text message when asked about any plans
to honor the player or logistics for the team
to attend the funeral that it was too soon to
answer those questions.
The Buckeyes will play Wisconsin in the Big
Ten championship game Saturday at Lucas Oil
Stadium in Indianapolis.
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said that the
continued attacks on Nigerians by members of the Boko
Haram sect can destroy the country.
The governor, in a statement in Osogbo on Sunday
condemned Friday’s terrorist attack on the Kano Central
Mosque.
Aregbesola was quoted to have spoken in Osogbo at a
prayer session of the Nasrullahi -il Fathi Society of
Nigeria, Osogbo branch, where he joined other adherents
to pray for Nigeria and Osun State.
The governor said, “Last Friday’s bombing of the central
mosque in Kano has proved beyond reasonable doubt that
the nation is in the throes of life-threatening crisis.
Nigerians should be alerted to the serious danger that lurks
around with the ceaseless spate of bombings in some parts
of the country.
“The bombing of Emir’s palace’s mosque has proved
ultimately and beyond any doubt that this country faces
daunting challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgents.
“Condemnable as the act is, yet it baffles one that a lot of
us still deceive ourselves by reading religious colouration to
this whole violence.
“I do not believe that a Muslim, who is a true Muslim,
can do this to a Christian let alone a fellow Muslim.”
Access Bank Plc said it had sold some London properties
of a former Managing Director of the defunct
Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola, in a bid to
recover a debt of N164bn from him.
According to the bank, a sum of £11m has so far been
recovered by selling Akingbola’s properties known as Flats
17, 18, 19 and 20, Embassy Court London, NW 8.
The bank stated that its move was pursuant to a judgement
given in its favour against Akingbola in July 2012 by a
London High Court.
It added that upon discovering another of Akingbola’s
properties in Cayman Island, it filed an application to
convert the London judgment to a Cayman Island
judgment. And on September 4, 2014 Justice Andrew
Jones, of the Grand Court of Cayman Islands, ordered
Akingbola to pay the bank the sums of N238, 471,484,162
and £1,800,000.
Access Bank acquired Intercontinental Bank in 2012. The
bank had filed a debt recovery action in the London High
Court, in respect of the sum said to have been converted
and allegedly misappropriated by Akingbola.
In a copy of the said judgement, which was obtained by
our correspondent on Sunday, the trial judge, Jones said
all the issues raised were decided in favour of the bank
since the defendant failed to enter any defence.
The judge held, “Upon reading the affidavit of service
Taiwo Abiodun dated August 15, 2014, exhibited to the
affidavit of Jane Helle-Smith sworn on September 4,
2014 and no notice of intention to defend having been filed
by the defendant prior to the plaintiff’s said application, it
is ordered that judgment be entered against the defendant in
the amount of N238, 471,484,162 and £1,800,000.
“Interest shall accrue at the rate of two per cent per
annum pursuant to Section 34 of the Judicature Law (2013
Revision) on the £1,800,000 sum due above from April 1
until payment.”
The court also put the cost of instituting the action on
Akingbola.
It directed that, if conveyed by courier, the order of court
shall be properly served on Akingbola at his residence in
Ikoyi, Lagos or through his lawyer, Chief Wole
Olanipekun (SAN) in Nigeria, in accordance with the
substituted service order of the court dated July 22, 2014.
The Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District,
Gbenga Ashafa, has expressed support for the impeachment
of President Goodluck Jonathan by members of the
Federal House of Representatives.
Ashafa stated his support while speaking on Friday at the
closing ceremony of a two-day pre-election retreat,
organised for his constituency staff in the Jibowu area of
Lagos.
The House of Representatives members, along with some
senators, had been making moves to impeach President
Jonathan.
They said the move was for the good of the country,
adding that over 50 impeachable offences had been
identified against the President.
The lawmakers intended to commence the impeachment
process when they reconvene on Wednesday.
Backing the move, Ashafa said, “As a senator, I
represent one of the vibrant and patriotic people that know
that Nigeria will remain one. I am one of those who
believe it will be better. If members of the House of
Representatives believe that their action in that process will
make Nigeria better, so be it.”
Ashafa said he believed the impeachment move had nothing
to do with party affiliation, saying it was a move for the
people.
The senator explained that the retreat was aimed at re-
orientating and appraising the achievement of his
constituency in order to be well positioned towards
ensuring victory at the party’s primaries and the 2015
general elections.
He said, “ The retreat is to help us sit down and have a
rethink, access what we have been able to do and get
ourselves prepared for the events that we are going to
encounter in the 2015 general elections.
“We want to be able to interact with one another and
serve as example to other political gladiators so that All
Progressives Congress will be able to sweep resounding
votes all over Nigeria. We have done well and we have
to do more.”
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has
expressed optimism that he would be declared the governor
of the state by the Election Petitions Tribunal hearing his
petition against Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Omisore said this in an interview with journalists after the
proceedings at the tribunal in Osogbo on Friday.
Omisore had earlier in the day said the same thing at the
summit organised by some Yoruba elders at the Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile Ife, that he would emerge
victorious very soon.
Asked if he had confidence in the tribunal, the PDP
candidate said that he would not have approached the
panel if there were no evidence that the August 9
governorship poll was rigged by the All Progressives
Congress.
He said, “I am very hopeful that justice will be done. I
want to urge our people not to lose hope. We have a
good case and that was why we came to the tribunal. We
are a law abiding people. We refused to be provoked
when they kept attacking our people even after the election.
“Very soon, we will retrieve our stolen mandate from the
thieves who robbed us. Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos will
come back to the PDP fold in 2015 and then the South-
West will experience speedy development.”
But the Director of Publicity of the APC in Osun
State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, when contacted, advised
Omisore to stop deluding himself.
The APC’s spokesperson said that Aregbesola won the
election convincingly despite the PDP’s tricks and the
attempts to rig the poll.
He said, the election was used by the people of the state to
pay back Aregbesola for his numerous achievements in his
first term despite the meagre resources available.
He said, “Omisore has no mandate anywhere. Ask him if
he ever won election in his adult life. The senatorial seat
was once awarded him from the prison.
“In 2011, he thought he had enough to win back the seat, he
could not even win his ward.
“In 2014, he overrated himself; he lost woefully, even with
all the federal support – the military, hooded operatives of
the Department of State Service, the police and the
scandalous money.
“He should know by now that the reality in the state of
Osun is the All Progressives Congress.”
Omisore’s counsel, Mr. Nathaniel Oke (SAN), had
applied to Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led tribunal to
adjourn the sitting of the panel to Monday (today) for the
continuation of the hearing of the petition.
The counsel premised the application on the alleged refusal
of the Independent National Electoral Commission to
make ballot papers used for the election available for the
use of the petitioner.
Oke said that Omisore needed the materials to further
prove his case before the panel but INEC said the
documents would be made available on Monday.
Mr. Charles Edosomwan, who is the counsel for the first
respondent (Aregbesola) and the APC’s counsel, Mr.
Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), raised objections to the application
for adjournment.
Outgoing Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin,
Prof. Osayuki Oshodin, on Sunday said that he had
adversaries who opposed his style of administration as head
of the institution.
Oshodin, who spoke shortly after a thanksgiving service
held in his honour in Benin, said that his resolve to do
things differently, which he said contributed to the success
of his administration, did not go down well with his rivals,
who he said were interested in their personal interest.
He said there were an assassination attempt on his life as
well as an attempt to poison him but that his vision and
determination to improve the university had been a source
of motivation.
Oshodin said, “It has been really interesting; I believe I
have done my best, I had a mission and a vision and I
had a strategic plan only known to me and I am happy
that I implemented all these strategic plans.
“I met resistance from the devils and I stood my ground
and they tried to eliminate me several times but they didn’t
succeed. If you have God on your side, they will not
succeed.
“People did not know why people were fighting me; they
were fighting me because I blocked their ways of
embezzling allocations sent to the University of Benin.”
The professor of health education, who assumed office on
November 30, 2009, also attributed his success to the
proper utilisation of intervention funds like the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund and the establishment of a
mutually-transparent relationship with the unions in the
university.
“I have established over 27 programmes; there was no
veterinary medicine in the whole of the South-South, I
have established one there, which is good omen for those of
us here and so many others; they are all in my terminal
report,” he said.
SEVERAL persons were killed on Saturday night in a
fresh attack by Boko Haram on Shani, another town in
Borno State.
Both the police and fleeing residents confirmed the attack
and they said scores were killed.
Some of those who fled from the town during the attack
told journalists that over 30 armed Boko Haram
insurgents on motorcycles stormed Shani in the southern
part of the troubled state on Saturday night.
Shani is about 260 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital, and the town shares borders with some
communities in Adamawa State.
Borno and Adamawa, both in the north-eastern zone,
have been under state of emergency for more than 18
months as a result of the activities of the violent Islamic
sect.
One of the fleeing residents, Solomon Shani, told
journalists on phone from Biu on Sunday morning that
“the terrorists came at about 8pm and started shooting
everywhere. The gunshots were becoming unbearable and
I just had to run away into the bush with my children.”
He said all attempts to speak with some members of his
wife and children since he fled Shanihad been futile as
their phones were no more going through.
Shani narrated that the insurgents set houses on fire to
force residents out.
On the casualty figure, he said, “I can’t say for now,
many people were killed; 40, 50, 60, I can’t say.”
A military source in Biu confirmed the attack, saying the
insurgents burnt down a police station and other public
buildings in the community.
The Borno State police commissioner, Clement Adoda,
who confirmed the attack on the town to journalists in
Maiduguri, said several properties were destroyed.
Adoda could not say the number of persons killed in the
attack as of the time of this report.
Shani had been under Boko Haram attack in the past.
The Saturday invasion was the third since 2012.
The town with a council headquarters came under attacks
shortly before the 2011 general elections as suspected Boko
Haram insurgents raided the local office of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, killed some
ad-hoc staff of the electoral body and destroyed electoral
materials.
The Shani Divisional Police Station was also attacked
mid-June 2014 with no fewer than five policemen killed.
Iraq has uncovered the existence of 50,000 “ghost
soldiers”, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said,
promising a crackdown on corruption.
“The prime minister revealed the existence of 50,000
fictitious names” in the military, said a statement from
Abadi’s office on Sunday after a session of parliament.
A parliament statement said the premier scrapped the
50,000 jobs, equivalent to almost four full army divisions.
Abadi’s spokesperson Rafid Jaboori said that the
investigation started with a thorough headcount during the
latest salary payment process.
“There are two kinds of ‘fadhaiyin’,” one experienced
officer in the security forces said, using a word which,
literally translated, means “space men”, and refers to the
fictitious soldiers crowding the payroll.
“The first kind: each officer is allowed, for example, five
guards. He’ll keep two, send three home and pocket their
salary or an agreed percentage,” he told AFP.
“Then the second and bigger group is at the brigade level.
A brigade commander usually has 30, 40 or more soldiers
who stay at home or don’t exist,” the officer said.
“The problem is that he too, to keep his job as a brigade
commander, has to bribe his own hierarchical superiors
with huge amounts of money,” he said.
The officer explained that, for those reasons, the thousands
of soldiers who defected or were killed this year across
Iraq were rarely declared as such.
The US, which occupied the country for eight years, has
spent billions of dollars training and equipping Iraq’s
military.
Since taking office in September, Abadi has sacked or
retired several top military commanders, and Sunday’s
announcement suggests he wants to tackle the graft and
patronage that prevailed under his predecessor Nouri al-
Maliki.
Last Saturday’s primaries to select House of
Assembly candidates for the Peoples
Democracy Party (PDP) in Delta State
turned bloody at Aviara, Isoko south local
government area of the state, when one S.K Hezekiah, an aide and relative of the deputy
Majority Leader in the state legislature, Johnson
Erijo, allegedly shot a female constituent.
Some party members accused Mr. Erijo of stocking
eight pump action guns in the trunk of one of his
vehicles in anticipation of protests over the way the
primaries were conducted in the legislator’s
hometown of Aviara. “No opposition was allowed
at all,” according to one source, adding that Mr.
Erijo, who is also the house committee chairman on
information, was determined to kill in order to have
his way.
The source and two other eyewitnesses said Mr.
Erijo’s relative brought out a pump action gun and
started shooting sporadically. “In the process, a
female constituent was hit several times,” said one
source.
“It was a terrible situation at Aviara. So many
people would have lost their lives all because of
power,” said another source. He said the injured
woman was an indigene of Olomoro.
“If in ordinary primaries we have started shooting
people what will happen during the main elections
in 2015?” another source wondered. He added that
the victim of the shooting was in critical condition
and had been rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Confirming the incident, a top PDP executive
member from Isoko South local government area,
who sought anonymity, insisted that the shooting
injury was not intentional, arguing that nobody was
targeted.
“The incident happened at the residence of the
lawmaker during a jubilation party after the
primaries, but it was not intentional. I was there
live.” He added, however, that he and others were
alarmed that dangerous weapons were being
shipped into Isoko south for the 2015 election.
Calls and messages sent to Mr. Erijo’s mobile phone
number were not answered.
Meanwhile, numerous protests trailed the primaries
conducted throughout the state, with many
protesters alleging that candidates were imposed and
result sheets hijacked.
An aggrieved executive member of the state PDP
accused Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of
hijacking result sheets throughout the state to ensure
that the candidates he favored were declared
winners. He claimed that Mr. Uduaghan gave
N100 million to members of the panel sent by the
national headquarters of the party to monitor the
assembly primaries.
At Ethiope East Constituency, four aspirants
vying to represent the area in the State House of
Assembly boycotted the primaries owing to the non-
availability of result sheets. The party chairman for
the council, Kings Okpako, and the “electoral
officer” for the election, Alofe Dike who arrived at
the venue about 5:30 p.m., stated that all electoral
officers for the elections were not given result
sheets, only ballot papers. This information angered
one of the aspirants, Blessing Enamuotor.
Visibly angry, Mr. Enamuotor said he had sent a
vehicle that accompanied the entourage of the
electoral officers from Asaba to Isiokolo, alleging
that the electoral officer and his team had branched
off to the Abraka residence of the immediate past
Ethiope East council chairman, Mr.
Oniorode Sunday, where they spent about 20
minutes having delivered the result sheets to the
former council boss.
At Uvwie local government area, the town hall
slated for the primaries was under lock and key
when our correspondent. Our correspondent later
learned that the delegates were assembled at the
local government council headquarters at Effurrun.
The chairman of the council, Henry Baro, told
reporters that the venue was changed to forestall
any form of violence and that the owners of the
town hall had said they did not want any political
event to hold there for fear of violence erupting.
In Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South local
government council, protests erupted following what
the people described as the fraudulent means used to
award the party ticket to a female aspirant
perceived to be the state governor’s candidate.
On Thursday night, gunmen attacked Godspower
Etih, an aspirant for the House of Assembly seat in
Warri Constituency II. His supporters accused a
fellow aspirant of masterminding the armed attack
that happened about 9 p.m. when Mr. Etih visited
his family house off Lower Erejuwa Road in
Warri. Mr. Etih was still critically ill in a private
hospital as the primaries got underway on
Saturday.
At Oleh in Isoko south local government area, Mr.
Obi Eneruvie, supporters of the former House of
Assembly member, Benjamin Efekodo, manhandled
the chairman of the PDP in the local government
area. The intervention of security agents stopped the
situation from turning tragic, according to
eyewitnesses. A former commissioner for special
infrastructures in the state, Ms. Orezi Esievor,
was declared the winner of the primary.
Meanwhile, three of the four aspirants in Ethiope
East have warned against the announcement of any
result, insisting that there were no PDP
primaries in the council area. In a petition titled
“Abortion of House of Assembly Primaries
Election in Ethiope East of Delta State for Lack
of Availability of Result Sheets,” addressed to
Bernard Ochepa, the chairman of the House of
Assembly Primaries Committee, the candidates
called for a new date for the primaries election.
The petitions was signed by the incumbent
lawmaker representing the constituency, Joseph
Oshevire, Blessing Enamuotor, and Godwin
Demide, on behalf of themselves and all delegates.
The petition claimed that the primaries had been
hijacked.
“This is to draw your attention to the abortion of
the primaries election in Ethiope East State
Constituency of Delta State. This is as a result of
the admission by the Returning Officer that he did
not come with original of result sheet, which
angered the delegates calling for the postponement of
the primary election upon production of a result
sheet for the election.
“We call on you to fix another date for the
primary election to be supervised by credible
personnel with complete materials including an
original result sheet in order for Ethiope East
PDP members to elect a candidate of their choice.
Take note that should this honest request be ignored,
Ethiope East will again fall into the hands of
opposition, a repeat of what happened in 2011
primary election that resulted to mass exodus of
PDP members from the party to give victory to
the opposition party.”
The petition was copied to the national chairman of
the PDP, the national secretary of the PDP, the
national organizing secretary, Governor Uduaghan,
the state’s deputy governor, the speaker of the state
legislature, the member representing the constituency
in the House of Representatives, the state chairman
of the PDP, and the chairman of Ethiope East
local government.
Nigerian public officers are in the habit of
exposing the country to international
embarrassment. The country has of late been
in the news for obvious wrong reasons.
With
the latest development being our avaricious public
servants and politicians' insatiability with
misappropriation of local resources and funds which
has plunged our richly blessed country into
underdevelopment and internationally acclaimed
reputation for corruption.
According to Civil Society Network Against
Corruption (CSNAC) in a petition dated
November 19, 2014 and signed by its Chairman,
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization
(GAVI) a ‘public-private’ global health
organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland
launched in 2000, recently granted funds to
Nigerian Government for the procurement of
vaccines and the development of the health sector,
specifically for Nigerian children. The organisation
assists developing countries by providing them with
vaccines and cash support to help protect children.
In a petition addressed to the EFCC Chairman
by CSNAC, the network stated that consequent
upon the grant disbursement, GAVI through its
Cash Program Audit (C.P.A), investigated how
disbursed funds given to Nigeria was spent. Having
investigated cash grants allocated to Nigeria
between 2011-2013, C.P.A came up with an
indicting report of fraud and mismanagement of
funds by the Nigerian government through Federal
Ministry of Health and National Primary Health
Care Development Agency, under the former
Minister.
In response to this discovery, as contained the
CSNAC petition, "the Nigerian government
admitted her culpability through a letter titled
‘Letter of Understanding on the Principles
Regarding the GAVI Cash Program Audit
2011-2013’, dated October 17, 2014 and signed by the
former Health Minister, Professor C.O.
Onyebuchi Chukwu. In a bizarre manner, the
Ministry agreed to return the amount of misused
fund as requested by GAVI. The amount being a
sum of $2.2million. Due to this mismanagement of
funds, GAVI has stop further disbursement of
funds to Nigeria, pending when concrete and
convincing steps are taken to checks ominous
corruption in our health sector."
Nigeria has been receiving support from GAVI
since 2002 and the implication of the organisation's
latest action is that the lives of many Nigerian
children would be endangered by their exposure to
deadly diseases. GAVI is said to have expressed
concerns over possible non remittance of taxes paid
by it to F.I.R.S. It therefore demanded EFCC
investigate the rot in the Nigerian health system.
CSNAC, a network of over 150 groups was by the
petition "requesting an immediate and thorough
investigation into this self-admitted fraud and
mismanagement of fund in the Federal Ministry of
Health; with a view to bringing to justice all those
involved in the exposure of the country to this
international opprobrium and also, ensure the
retrieval of the fund concerned from the purse of
individuals who misappropriated. The network
demands the refund to GAVI should be from
retrieved misappropriated fund and not the
country's coffer.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has postponed
its House of Assembly primary election earlier
scheduled to hold nationwide on Monday, 1
December, 2014.
According to a statement issued on Sunday, the
opposition party said that the election would now hold
nationwide on Tuesday, 2 December, 2014.
The statement, signed by the APC National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was made available
to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
It was disclosed that the postponement was to show
respect for those killed or injured in Friday’s terrorist
attack in a mosque in Kano.
The statement however, informed that ‘all the dates for
other primaries remain unchanged’.
On the bomb blasts that rocked the ancient city of Kano
on Friday, the party described the attack as a tragedy,
adding that it was a condemnable and totally
incomprehensible attack on defenceless citizens in a
hallowed place such as a mosque.
The opposition party urged all Nigerians to demonstrate
the “Nigerian spirit of compassion and strength of
character’’ by providing succour and support for one
another.
Sergio Busquets scrambled an injury-time winner as
Barcelona scraped past Valencia 1-0 to keep the pressure on
Primera Division leaders Real Madrid.
Valencia had been well worth a point at the Mestalla, more
than matching an off-colour Barca until the closing seconds of
the game.
Lionel Messi was far from his best all night but finally
produced a moment of quality as he found a wonderful ball for
Neymar, whose header was saved only to be rammed home by
Busquets.
It was his first goal of the season but a highly important one
that keeps the Catalan side within two points of their rivals.
The match ended on a sour note, though, with Messi hit on the
head by a bottle thrown from the stands as Barca players
celebrated the winner.
Atletico Madrid clinched an eighth win in nine matches as they
beat Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 thanks to goals from Saul and
Arda Turan. But this was a day when violent scenes on the
Madrid riverside before the game cast a dark shadow over
football.
Running battles between rival supporters began at breakfast
time and the Spanish league authorities made moves to
postpone the match that began at midday local time.
One man died following the clashes, with the players and staff
in the ground unaware of what had happened until after the
final whistle.
Elsewhere, Sevilla scored four times in the final 25 minutes to
record a morale-boosting 5-1 win over Andalusian rivals
Granada at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Sevilla, who had taken just one point from their previous three
league games, went ahead through Carlos Bacca's 24th-minute
strike but Granada were level by the break thanks to Youssef
El Arabi's penalty.
That is the way the game stayed until the 66th minute, when
Sevilla got their noses back in front through Ever Banega and
then further goals from Bacca, Stephane Mbia and Kevin
Gameiro completed a one-sided scoreline.
Villarreal move up to sixth place after producing a
commanding performance to win 2-0 at bottom-side Cordoba.
Luciano Vietto hit his eighth goal of the season in all
competitions to put the visitors in charge after 24 minutes and
substitute Ikechukwu Uche put the game out of Cordoba's
reach with 20 minutes to go with a simple finish from a corner.
Marcelino's side are starting to look like the side that finished
in the top six last season again, while things are looking bleaker
and bleaker for Miroslav Djukic's men, who are still without
a win since returning to the top flight.
Latest reports informed that thousands of residents
trooped to hospitals in Kano, northern Nigeria to
donate blood for victims of the bomb blasts that
happened at the Kano central mosque on Friday.
No fewer than 120 people were killed and 270 others
wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up
and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers at the
mosque on Friday.
According to finding carried out by Vanguard
newspaper, voluntary donors were seen patiently
waiting to donate blood at the Aminu Kano Teaching
hospital, National Orthopedic and Murtala Muhammed
hospitals on Sunday.
While confirming the development, the Chief Medical
director of Aminu Kano Teaching hospita,l Prof.
Zakari Muhammed stated that the hospital recorded
large turn out of voluntary donors who were eager to
assist the victims.
He said: “The large turn out of people here this
morning is quite impressive and we are very happy to
have them and on our part, we have deployed our staff
to ensure that the exercise went smoothly.”
The All Progressives Congress, APC, North-West
zone chapter on Sunday screened the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal in
Kaduna.
According to Punch newspaper report, Governor
Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State was also among the
15 governorship aspirants screened by the APC.
Addressing journalists after he was issued a certificate of
clearance, Tambuwal stated that he was opposed to the
postponement of the 2015 general elections over fears of
insecurity in some parts of the country.
Tambuwal stated that despite the level of insecurity in
Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, the embattled countries
still held elections, wondering why the reverse would be
the case with Nigeria.
The Speaker argued that all that was needed was for
the Federal Government to squarely address the issue
of insecurity before the February 2015 elections in the
country.
According to the Speaker, there was no reason for
anybody to cancel the forthcoming elections, adding that
those charged with the reponsibilities of protecting lives
and property of Nigerians should be up and doing.
Tambuwal also urged Nigerians to rise and pray so
that the the menace of terrorism would not go beyond
February 2015 when the elections were expected to hold
nationwide.
“What we should hope and pray for is that before
February elections, insurgency should be addressed by
the government.
“There are people, who has that responsibility it is,
either as number one citizen in the country or Chief of
Army of Staff or the National Security Adviser or
those charged with the responsibility of guaranteeing
safety and security of the citizens as established by the
constitution.
“They should do their work and ensure that we are all
secure and safe; and then, let us hope and pray that by
February, we should be able to come out en masse to
cast our votes.
“We should pray that insecurity should not go beyond
February. What we should do is that we should be
positive,” the Speaker said.
Tambuwal added, “The government should work hard
towards addressing insecurity. I am opposed to the
postponement of the elections. Elections are being held in
Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and several countries where
there are security challenges.
“What we should do is to address and make up our
minds on the fact that there should be elections come
February, 2015.”
Commenting on why he decided to contest the Sokoto
State governorship election, Tambuwal said it was as a
result of the clarion calls from the people of the state
that he should offer himself to serve them.
“It’s a response to the clarion calls by the people of
Sokoto State for me to offer myself to serve in the
capacity as governor of Sokoto State,” he said.
It would be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan
had said in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Friday that one of
his regrets is the emergence of Alhaji Aminu Tamuwal
as speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011.
When Scott checks out of rehab,
he immediately goes looking for Kim! He
is Eeincredibly upset because he believes
she called a bunch of people when he was
raced to the hospital for alcohol
poisoning.
Scott Disick is furious with Kim Kardashian on the Nov.
30 episode of Kourtney & Khloe Take The Hamptons.
After checking into rehab for five days , Scott decides it’s
not for him so he leaves early. When he gets out, his phone
is flooded with calls from people who are asking him why
he would try to kill himself and he is shocked when he
discovers that Kim is the one that is exaggerating what
really happened and divulging his personal details.
KKTH: Scott Disick Accuses Kim
Kardashian Of Saying He Tried To Kill
Himself
When Scott gets out of his short stint in rehab, he gets a
call from his good buddy, Scott Sartiano . Scott is a big
time club owner, he owns 1Oak, one of the Kardashian’s
favorite night clubs. He tells Scott that Kim told him that
he tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills. Scott
immediately freaks out and calls Khloe Kardashian and tells
her that he never wants to speak to Kim again.
Scott says that he wasn’t trying to kill himself and now
Kim is blabbing to the entire world and he doesn’t want
people looking at him like a “psychopath.” We can
understand why he’s upset but he should be talking to Kim
not to Khloe about it.
Khloe is so upset over this that she confronts Kim and
immediately Kim acts like it’s not her fault. When Scott
finally gets back to their Hamptons estate he sees Kim
sitting on the couch and he ignores her. Kim tries to use
Mason as a buffer but it doesn’t work. Scott tells Kim that
if she wasn’t family, he’d probably not speak to her for
awhile. Kim tells him that she’s really sorry and that Scott
was the only person she texted … yea right.
But the biggest issue in the episode had to be that
Scott ends up leaving rehab after just five days. That’s less
than one week people! Scott said that he was tired of
everyone “watching him,” which is weird since he’s famous
and should be used to it. He then does what any entitled
person would do, he hops in his Bentley and drives back to
film his reality show.
Then the craziest part is that he goes and hosts a club
appearance! Even though he abstains from alcohol, it’s still
ridiculous that he would even put himself in that situation.
Source:Hollywoodlife.com
So far it has been an amazing year for super star Davido
but he lost out at the Channel O music awards which held
last night in South Africa.
He has won several awards this year but he failed to take
home any award last night despite being nominated for five
different categories.
He however put up his spirit of sportsmanship and
congratulated the winners at the event via instagram.
He wrote “ BIG UPS TO EVERYONE THAT VOTED .. U
LOSE SOME U WIN SOME!! GOD BLESS EVERYONE THAT
WON TONITE ” posted Davido on his Instagram page. ”
He further put up a picture which read “Keep In Mind
That Someone Else Is Happy With A Lot Less Than What
You Have .”
As for me 'Aye' by Davido is one of the best tracks of 2014 . Just saying ma own sha, he deserved one of those awards.
Experts say the termination of United States
importation of Nigerian oil, which has
serviced the relationship between both
countries for decades, has already imposed
significant difficulties on Nigeria, with worse
to come.
According to an article just published on
nbcnews.com , only 4.5 million barrels of Nigeria’s
prized oil arrived at U.S. ports in April, although
40 million barrels had been imported seven years
earlier. By July, just three months later, Nigerian
importation had been completely replaced by local
US production.
“The big fat zero was a milestone not only on the
United States' journey toward energy
independence, but a signpost pointing to a new
world,” wrote Robert Windrem, an investigative
reporter/producer with NBC News.
He described the milestone as making Nigeria “the
first formerly flush oil producer to essentially lose
its entire share of the U.S. market, leaving it
scrambling for new customers, less able to fund its
internal war on terror and less important to the
U.S.”
Also commenting on the matter, John Campbell, a
former US ambassador to Nigeria, said: "The
collapse of the price of oil brought on by the rise in
American production is fundamentally changing the
world. This energy shift is akin to the collapse of
the Soviet Union in its foreign policy
implications."
Campbell observed that Nigeria could descend into
chaos if the price of oil falls beyond its current $78-
a-barrel price, because the country’s finances
already have been pushed to the breaking point by oil
"bunkering" (theft by Nigerian officials.)
"That oil finances the patronage, clientage
network," Windrem quoted him as saying. "It is
all illegal (but) it's the grease to the system, and as
the value falls … the grease dries up and the system
doesn't work."
Similarly, Carl Levan, a professor at American
University and author of "Dictators and
Democracy in African Development," said that
turmoil in Nigeria could quickly spread through
West Africa, noting that the region is already beset
by long-running civil wars, an Ebola epidemic and
political crises.
Thousands of Egyptians are staging protests
across universities in Cairo to display their
anger at a court’s decision to dismiss criminal
charges against Former President Hosni
Mubarak for the deaths of protesters in the
2011 Egypt uprising, according to a Reuters
report.
On Saturday, an Egyptian court dismissed a case
against Mubarak for the deaths of about 900
protesters at the hands of police and army personnel
who sought to bring an end to nationwide protests
that eventually led to the resignation of former
President Hosni Mubarak.
Charges of complicity in protesters’ deaths were also
dropped against Mubarak’s two sons and several
other senior members of Mubarak’s administration at
the time of the 2011 uprising.
Mubarak’s acquittal over the deaths of protesters has
reinforced concerns in the country that the 2011
uprising was in vain as the country is still being led
by a military officer, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who
has imposed harsh limitations on press freedom and
political expression in the country.
Despite Saturday’s court ruling, Former
President Mubarak is expected to remain
incarcerated in a military hospital while he serves
the remainder of a 3 year sentence for corruption.
A former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari
(retd), has promised to fight insurgency and other forms of
insecurity in the country if elected President under the
platform of All Progressives Congress in the 2015 general
elections.
The pledge is coming amidst rising insurgency by the Boko
Haram Islamic sect in the North East and recent attack
on Kano Central Mosque
He also denied sharing money during his recent visit to
IMO State during his nationwide tour to meet APC
delegates.
The Head (Media, Publicity and ICT) in Buhari
Support Organization, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe stated
these in his weekly brief on “GMB meet the party
delegates nationwide tour” read to journalists on Friday
in Abuja.
“At no time all did GMB, all through this meet the
delegates tour, share money or lobby any delegate with
money. As we all know a leopard can never change its
spot. Friends and sympathizers may have privately
encouraged their colleague to attend the delegates meeting,
certainly not GMB directing or approving any monetary
exchange as being faultily being reported by some online
media”, he stated.
In his nationwide tour to meet delegates, Buhari had
visited Abia, Bayelsa, IMO, Delta, Cross River and
Rivers State where Governor Rotimi Amaechi described
him as a committed and focused leader whose watch word
is integrity which remains a strong ingredient of his
character make up that will never change.
Maduekwe said, “The summary of all the response and
the welcoming remarks by GMB at various state capitals
can be summarized. He made it clear that this country
must first be secured and efficiently and effectively
managed if our nation is to bounce back to normalcy for
our people to prosper. Leadership integrity must be the
focus watch word if we must salvage Nigeria once again.
“We recall that we fought a ferrous civil war without
borrowing a kobo but now despite budgeting well over 25
per cent of national annual budget to defence recently we
are borrowing $1 billion to prosecute insurgency, yet all
we keep hearing is the low morale of our fighting forces as
they melt before the ravaging ill trained insurgents.
“A situation were about 20 LGAs of this country are
under an alien flag can no longer be tolerated. APC is
ready to turn the tide to bring Nigeria back into the fold of
proud and respectable community of African nations. Our
watch word is: securing our nation, prospering our
people.
“One is worried to read about Nigerian soldiers giving
interview to foreign media on how under equipped they
are as they face the insurgency. Effort by the National
Assembly to conduct hearing on such sad development is
hushed down. Same as the NASS hearing on the subsidy
scam which till this date has remained a mystery to our
general public.”
Maduwke quoted Buhari as informing the delegates that
he has come to seek their consent and support to vote for
him at the forthcoming presidential primaries.
He also told them that “if as a party we fail to act
strongly to win the 2015 elections then PDP will not only
destroy Nigeria but the people living in it.”
The embattled Speaker of Ekiti State House of
Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, has warned Governor
Ayodele Fayose to stop churning out lies against the 19
All Progressives Congress lawmakers.
He was reacting to allegations by Fayose on state radio
and television that he and other APC lawmakers
demanded N365 million bribe to clear the commissioner-
nominees and 10 percent of the N2bn MDGs funds.
Omirin in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media,
Wole Olujobi, said the Assembly under his leadership had
a record of integrity by passing 75 bills into law under the
administration of the immediate past Governor, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, without demanding for money.
Omirin said instead of blaming the seven Peoples
Democratic Party members for demanding 10 percent of
the N2bn MDGS fund, the governor had turned a full
circle to accuse the APC lawmakers.
He said, “I have never seen this kind of incorrigible
attitude all my life. He told us to our face that he would
lie against us to set Ekiti people against us. I thought it
was a joke.
“In actual fact, it was the PDP members that suggested
that we should demand for 10 percent cut in the N2 billion
MDGs fund and all APC lawmakers said no.
“We even called the attention of the governor to this
attempted fraud. How the governor has now turned full
circle to accuse APC lawmakers of demanding for bribe is
baffling. One good thing though is that Ekiti people know
the kind of governor they have.
“The alleged N1.3billion poultry fraud case is still in
court. There were many things coated in sugar that he told
Ekiti people about the poultry project.
“Evidence of that lie and allegation of fraud on the people
can be found in Justice Adamu Hobon’s court at the
Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti where details of how
the governor allegedly defrauded Ekiti people are being
examined for judicial interpretaion. Here we are again on
MDG N2bn fund.”
Omirin urged the Ekiti people to beware of the antics of
the Governor “who have turned statecraft in Ekiti Sate
to the theatre of the absurd, where stunts and propaganda
have taken the place of reason and candour in the
mobilization of people and resources for the growth of the
state.”
He assured that the APC lawmakers would continue to
tread the path of integrity to save the people from dishonest
people who want to set Ekiti people against the lawmakers
through lies and deceit to achieve sinister motives.
Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, has
solicited the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria for
the establishment of FCT Security Trust Fund to boost
crime-fighting in the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking when the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin
Emefiele, paid him a courtesy visit in his office on
Friday, Mohammed said that the apex bank could assist
the FCT Administration to work out a good financial
framework for the operation of the trust fund.
He stated that the CBN could assist the FCTA through
the window of its corporate social responsibilities, noting
that the Administration is already taking measures towards
establishing its own Internal Revenue Board.
According to him, when operational, the board would
enable FCT to float bonds as part of measures to
strengthen it to operate the security trust fund, adding that
his administration was doing its utmost to meet the
expectation of Nigerians.
He said, “I know the CBN has been the front-runner in
terms of giving corporate social assistance so that people
will sleep with their eyes closed. We are doing so well
and we want to make sure we establish an institution that
will access funds from security services.
“With the trust fund, the FCT Administration will be in
proper stead to lend its support to security organizations so
that they can provide effective surveillance, monitoring and
closed circuit television networking.”
The minister added that this would ensure that corporate
institutions and individuals comply with the security
protocol.
Mohammed stated that the FCT Administration would
approach the CBN for the needed support once the
security protocol is approved “and we will establish a trust
fund that you will be part and parcel of.”
The Minister called on the CBN Governor to lend more
support to the FCT in the area of financial services so
that the paltry sum the Administration was getting as
Federal allocation could be augmented by its internally
generated revenue and other legitimate sources.
The planned FCT Revenue Board, he said, was
conceived as a mechanism for more effective revenue
collection.
A non-governmental organisation, the Women in Peace
and Security Network has expressed dissatisfaction over
the increasing level of violence against women and girls in
the country. The group, which linked the kidnap of over
200 Chibok girls to gender-based violence against women,
urged Nigerians to join the fight against such anti-social
behavior. The NGO made its position known on
Saturday during a press conference it organized in
conjunction with the Rivers State Ministry of Women
Affairs to mark the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.
Director of Women Affairs in the ministry, Mrs.
Blessing Dienye, who spoke on behalf of the group, stated
that the NGO and the ministry had begun a 16-day
activism against gender-based violence from November 25
to December 10, 2014. Dienye, who is part of the
network’s activities, pointed out that the ministry and the
group would be campaigning against domestic violence,
child sexual abuse, sexual violence against women and girls
during and after conflicts, proliferation of small arms in
cases of intimate partner violence among others. With the
theme as ‘From peace in the home to peace in the world;
let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women
and girls,’ Dienye described violence as an anti-social
behavior that should be abhorred.
Roberto Soldado scored the winning goal as Tottenham
Hotspur came from behind to beat Everton at White Hart
Lane.
Kevin Mirallas' wonderful strike had put the visitors ahead,
but Christian Eriksen levelled on 21 minutes before Soldado
struck the winner in the dying moments of the first half.
Jude 'Engees' Okoye, the older brother and manager of
P-Square has welcomed a baby girl with his wife, Ify.
Ify gave birth at 7.29pm at Northside Hospital Atlanta,
Georgia, yesterday Saturday Nov. 29th. Mother and
daughter are doing great.
The little angel has been named Princess Emma Adanna
Okoye and also, mother and daughter are in good
condition.A big congrats to them!
Yaya Toure and Frank Lampard's strikes took Manchester
City up to second in the Premier League table and handed
Southampton an ominous start to a daunting run of festive
fixtures coming up.
Toure and Lampard provided the crucial calm finishes before
Gael Clichy blasted home his first City goal in a 3-0 win at
St Mary's that lifted the defending champions above Saints in
the league standings.
The assured visitors even shrugged off referee Mike Jones
denying Sergio Aguero a clear penalty in the first half, and
also Jones' decision to show a red card to defender Eliaquim
Mangala.
Referee Jones booked Aguero for diving despite the
Argentina forward being clearly up-ended by Saints defender
Jose Fonte.
City made light of that decision and Mangala's dismissal for a
second booking to inflict Saints' first home defeat of the league
campaign.
Southampton face a season-defining December, up against
Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea amid seven games in
25 days.
Ronald Koeman's men battled hard against City but in the
event Manuel Pellegrini's men possessed more than enough nous
to prevail.
Hacked down by Fonte in the game's first significant act,
Aguero scrambled to his knees expecting a penalty and the
chance to add to his midweek Champions League hat-trick
against Bayern Munich.
Referee Jones had other ideas, however, booking the
Argentina striker for diving.
The decision shocked City to the point of whipping out the rug
on their early momentum.
Victor Wanyama's harsh booking for hauling down Toure in
full flight may just have played on official Jones' mind when he
made the call on Fonte's challenge on Aguero.
Fonte was fortunate in the extreme to avoid any kind of
censure, and on another day may well have been sent off.
Toure teed himself up for a trademark pitching-wedge chip as
City continued to press, only to loft the ball too feebly and
straight at Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Suitably aware just how far their luck had been stretched in a
nervy first 15 minutes, Saints suddenly settled.
Wanyama fired a raking crossfield ball to Ryan Bertrand,
and in a flash the game changed.
Graziano Pelle failed to connect with Dusan Tadic's cross,
but Steven Davis collected the loose ball and blasted
goalwards.
Joe Hart parried desperately into the box, but despite the
danger City still managed to clear.
Referee Jones' muddled afternoon continued unabated when
Mangala's harem-scarem rampage was halted with play
brought back instead for a free kick, with Saints ruled offside.
England man Nathaniel Clyne's bad defensive read then gifted
City the chance of the half.
The Saints full-back raced out of the line only to realise far
too late that Jesus Navas was hot favourite for the loose ball.
The Spaniard hustled onwards and sent Stevan Jovetic racing
in on goal. The Montenegro striker then had the half's sole
gilt-edged chance, but could only fire straight at Forster.
In the ensuing scramble Saints cleared the ball off the line,
further frustrating City's efforts.
Sadio Mane's fine through-ball to Pelle indicated Saints'
continued attacking intent, before Hart was forced into two
weak punches that ultimately went unpunished.
Saints opened the second half with two long-range efforts, but
neither could test Hart.
The hosts' ambition eventually caught them cold when a loose
pass allowed Fernandinho to pick Clyne's pocket.
The astute Brazil midfielder continued to hustle, dispossessed
Wanyama on the edge of Saints' area and teed up Toure.
The towering Ivorian picked his spot and slotted the ball past
the helpless Forster, via a small deflection.
City emptied their bench in a bid to cement control, and Navas
should have doubled the lead when dragging a shot wide of the
target.
Mangala was then dismissed for a second yellow card, after
taking out Shane Long when the Saints striker was about to
edge through on goal.
Former Chelsea midfielder Lampard killed the clash with 10
minutes to play however, coolly driving home after sloppy
Saints play invited City to counter.
Refusing to allow the game to meander to a close, Clichy
capped another fine City raid, blasting high into Forster's net
to rub salt into Saints' open wounds.
So sweet! Taylor Swift and Matt
Healy continue to stir up the idea that a
relationship is brewing. The pair
wore tokens of support with Taylor
donning his band’s The 1975 t-shirt, and
Matt flaunting her ‘1989’ album shirt!
This looks like something a couple would do! Taylor Swift,
24, and Matt Healy , 25, have sparked dating rumors and
their adorable matching messages sure do give evidence to
that idea! Matt recently donned a shirt supporting Taylor’s
latest album 1989 at one of his concerts, and Taylor
returned the favor by wearing his band’s t-shirt. She wore
The 1975 shirt just one day after his Nov. 21 concert!
Matt Healy & Taylor Swift’s Matching
Shirts — Supporting Each Other
Taylor and Matt are each other’s #1 fans! The pair,
who’ve been romantically linked recently, took things to the
next level by supporting their music!
They met back in October 2014 and exchanged numbers.
Since then, they’ve certainly started down the path of a
full-fledged romance ! Matt donned Taylor’s 1989 t-shirt
earlier this month.
One day after his Nov. 21 concert that Taylor attended,
Taylor sported a The 1975 concert tank to support Matt.
She must have picked it up the night before and couldn’t
wait to wear it!
Do Android phones and tablets slow down over time?
Many people seem to think so. We’ll look at the reasons
why devices slow down and how to battle slow downs.
This problem isn’t necessarily unique to Android — try
using an iPad 3 with iOS 7 and feel how slow it’s
become — but it does seem to be reported by many
Android users.
Operating System Updates and Heavier Apps
Your Android phone doesn’t have the same software it
had a year ago. If you’ve received Android operating
system updates, they may not be as nicely optimized for
your device and may have slowed it down. Or, your
carrier or manufacturer may have added additional
bloatware apps in an update, which run in the background
and slow things down.
Even if you haven’t seen a single update, the apps running
on your device are newer. Whether you’re using newer
apps or updated versions of the same apps you were using
a year ago, apps seem to become heavier over time. As
developers gain access to faster smartphone hardware,
games and other apps may be optimized for this faster
hardware and perform worse on older devices. This
seems to happen on every platform. As the years go by,
websites become heavier, desktop applications want more
RAM, and PC games become more demanding.
How to Fix It: There’s not much you can do here. If your
operating system seems slow, you may want to install a
custom ROM like CyanogenMod that doesn’t have the
bloatware and slow manufacturer skins many devices
include. If your apps seem slow, try hunting for more
lightweight apps.
Background Processes
You’ve probably installed more apps as you continue to use
your device. Some apps open at startup and run in the
background, consuming CPU resources and taking up
your device’s memory. If you’ve installed a lot of apps
that run in the background, they can slow down your
device. Android offers real multitasking, so apps can run
in the background.
If you’re using an animated live wallpaper and have a
large amount of widgets on your home screen, these will
take up CPU, graphics, and memory resources. Slim
your home screen down and you’ll see an improvement.
Apps running in the background can also consume
resources. To check what apps are using background
processes, visit the Apps screen in the Settings app and
swipe over to the Running category. If you don’t use an
app that’s running in the background, uninstall it. If you
can’t uninstall it because it came with your device, disable
it . Don’t just end the service — it will automatically
restart.
How to Fix It: Disable live wallpapers, remove widgets,
and uninstall or disable heavy apps you don’t use. In fact,
you may want to uninstall all the apps you never use.
A Nearly Full File System
Solid-state drives slow down as you fill them up , so
writing to the file system may be very slow if it’s almost
full. This will cause Android and apps to appear to be
much slower. The Storage screen in the Settings app will
show you how full your device’s storage is and what’s
using the space.
Cache files can consume quite a bit of storage space if
allowed to grow unchecked, so clearing cache files can
free up disk space and make your file system perform
better. To clear cached data for all installed apps at once,
open the Settings app, tap Storage, scroll down, tap
Cached data, and tap OK.
How to Fix It: Uninstall apps you don’t use, delete files
you don’t need, and clear app caches to free up space. You
can also just perform a factory reset and only install the
apps you need to end up with a like-new device.
If your device is still slow you can factory reset your phone and install light weight apps you will actually use. It may seem m fun having a lot of apps but it won't be so funny when you have to wait for almost a minute before an app actually opens. Use your device right and keep enough Ram and Internal Storage space free for your device to run properly.
And Always Remember
"Google Is Your Friend"
Premier League leaders Chelsea were unable to continue their
fine form as they were held by a resilient Sunderland to a
0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.
The Blues failed to win for only the third time in the league,
and the draw sees Chelsea seven points clear at the top of the
table ahead of Southampton, who play third-placed
Manchester City on Sunday.
Willian struck the foot of the post and Santiago Vergini
clipped the crossbar in a tight first half, but apart from those
occasions, neither Costel Pantilimon nor Thibaut Courtois was
overextended, with the Romanian's block from Branislav
Ivanovic the only troublesome save either had to make.
It was a spirited performance by Sunderland, who came close
to snatching victory late on only for Adam Johnson to waste
the chance.
Liverpool battled to a 1-0 victory over Stoke City to claim
their first victory since beating Swansea in the Capital One
Cup on Oct. 28.
Liverpool went into the match needing a victory to avoid their
worst-ever start to a Premier League season, having lost
their past three in succession, and with boss Brendan Rodgers
acknowledging he is now the favourite to get the sack.
After a first half that did not see a single shot on target, both
sides came close in the second half, with Bojan Krkic hitting
the post and Mame Biram Diouf seeing a shot cleared off the
line for Stoke, while Joe Allen missed a good chance for the
hosts.
Glen Johnson eventually made the breakthrough, though,
heading home after Rickie Lambert had seen an effort come
back off the crossbar to ease the pressure on the manager.
Manchester United claimed their third consecutive victory in
the Premier League with a routine win at home to Hull.
The match began in frustrating fashion for the hosts when
Angel Di Maria had to be withdrawn due to an apparent
hamstring injury, but United took the lead when Chris
Smalling's shot from close range just found its way past Allan
McGregor, with referee Anthony Taylor having to rely on
goal-line technology before awarding the goal.
Wayne Rooney then put them 2-0 up just before the break,
curling home from 25 yards for his fifth goal of the season
before Robin van Persie fired in a third from distance.
Danny Welbeck bagged a crucial winner for Arsenal as the
Gunners clinched a comfortable 1-0 win at West Brom.
In front of watching England boss Roy Hodgson, the striker
nodded in to condemn the Baggies to a third straight defeat as
the Gunners hit back from last week's defeat to Manchester
United. The hosts rarely threatened, although Saido
Berahino headed against the bar late on, and they have now
failed to score in their past three matches.
West Ham ended Newcastle's winning streak with a 1-0
victory at Upton Park, where the visitors had midfielder
Moussa Sissoko sent off late on.
The Irons, who had not won since beating Manchester City
before the international break, edged a match of few chances
with a neat finish from defender Aaron Cresswell, his first
goal for the club, after 56 minutes.
Newcastle, who had surged into the top five following six
successive Barclays Premier League wins, never really got
going, and any hope of a comeback went with 15 minutes left
when Sissoko received two careless yellow cards in quick
succession.
Queens Park Rangers saw off Leicester City 3-2 at Loftus
Road thanks to Charlie Austin's winner.
Things started badly for the hosts as Esteban Cambiasso slotted
Leicester in front early on -- the first goal the Foxes had
scored following a fallow run of 56 days, or 504 minutes of
football, without a goal.
QPR recovered to dominate the remainder of the first half
and led at the break through a Wes Morgan own goal and a
first club goal for Leroy Fer.
Nigel Pearson's side hit back in the second half as Jeffrey
Schlupp drew them level, only for Austin to hit his fifth goal in
as many games with 17 minutes remaining to settle the contest.
Burnley's decent form continued with a 1-1 draw at home to
Aston Villa but the Clarets were grateful to an 87th-minute
penalty from Danny Ings after Lukas Jutkiewicz had been
fouled.
Villa had gone ahead in the 39th minute thanks to Joe Cole,
who marked his first Premier League start since December
2013 with the opening goal.
Swansea City and Crystal Palace shared the spoils as
Wilfried Bony's sixth goal of season saw the Swans take the
lead, but Neil Warnock's visitors battled back to secure a 1-1
draw.
Palace's Australian skipper, Mile Jedinak, scored from the
spot for his fifth goal in eight matches after Jonjo Shelvey had
been penalised for fouling Marouane Chamakh.
Information from the Press Association was used in this
report.
Source:Espn
