Eight new ministers were sworn in today by president Jonathan at the presidential villa. See photos from the ceremony after the cut...
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Dear Married Women,
Abeg, go and sit down, it is also a common expression of bewilderment like when we know a man of God is a flirt outside church (Lord have mercy), go and sit down because Mr. john is begging Rita to have a baby for him and send her abroad, go and sit down because we are fatigued by speechless seeing that when we say the Lord’s prayer for ourselves, we should replace temptations with evil married men (your husband), hence on these counts, I greet you too.
The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the main report of the 2014 National Conference at a meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The PUNCH had reported exclusively that the council will receive and debate a report of a committee set up by Jonathan to draw up the implementation strategy for the conference chaired by Justice Idris Kutigi.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim and the Minster of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, briefed State House correspondents of the meeting’s outcome.
Anyim described the council’s approval as the first leg of concrete steps aimed at implementing the conference report.
He recalled that apart from the report, the national conference recommended to government on how to implement those recommendations and resolutions.
He explained that what FEC did at the Wednesday meeting was to approve that those modalities be adopted in implementing the report.
Anyim said recommendations and resolutions that require constitution amendment and enactment of new laws would be forwarded to the National Assembly for promulgation into law.
He said the Attorney-General of the Federation, Muhammed Adoke (SAN), has been asked to compile, vet and make such recommendations available to the President for onward transmission to the National Assembly for enactment into law.
He added that agencies’ policy matters in the report shall be referred to the affected agencies and the tier of government concerned, whether federal, states or local governments, for action.
The SGF said, “On other matters that require legal issues, for instance, where it concerns constitutional amendment, it is not really the responsibility of the National Assembly alone.
“They have to work with the state assemblies in bringing effect to this.
“So, today, we are taking steps towards implementing the resolutions of the national conference and we believe that the vision of Mr. President in setting up the conference and the wonderful work done by eminent Nigerians who attended the conference in producing the report, the resolutions and recommendations, would be given consideration.
“We also believe our country will benefit immensely from the work of this conference.”
Anyim said while the process leading to the implementation of the report might not end during the life time of the present administration, a bold step forward had been taken with the approval.
Jonathan had in September 2014, shortly after the end of the conference, approved the composition of a Presidential Committee to study and draw up the implementation strategy.
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As the nation battles to improve power supply to Nigerians, the 110MW Thermal Power Plant of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant has commenced operations after months of rehabilitation by the company engineers.
The power plant commenced rehabilitation in July 2014 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs 3D Hitech Systems Ltd and has now been hooked to the National Power Grid System.
Sole Administrator, Engr. Isah Joseph Onobere said, this is one of the greatest moments of his life as efforts of workers have paid off.
“I congratulate the entire workers of this great national asset for their wonderful effort. The power plant is coming at a time when the country is in dire need of efficient power supply”, he said.
The Sole Administrator also thanked the Management and leadership of Messrs 3D Hitech Systems for their abiding faith in the Nigerian and the Ajaokuta Steel dream, promising better days for the steel plant.
“Let me once again use this medium to thank the Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Muhammed Sada, the Minister of Power, Professor Nebo, for their dogged efforts in seeing that the efforts of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, whose commitment to seeing Ajaokuta Steel Plant come back to life was unprecedented” he stressed.
Engr Joseph said the Power Plant which was synchronized to the National Grid System at exactly 9.43pm Sunday 15th March 2015 will now commence delivery of electricity to give effect to the Power Purchase Agreement signed in May 2014 with Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
"Our client is the publisher of the Daily Times, Weekend Times, Sunday Times and Business Times amongst other newspapers and special publication. In Nigeria, the word ‘Times’ when associated with any newspaper publication has come to have a secondary meaning as denoting our client’s publication by the reading public, and that is the extent of the goodwill our client enjoys in the word ‘Times’ as a matter of trade name. Your publication, ‘PREMIUM TIMES’ has a tendency of appropriating our client’s extant goodwill as already explained above and constitute actionable passing off. We, therefore, demand that you forthwith cease and desist from using the ‘TIMES’ in your future publications.”.
President Jonathan watches as Kobani signs in as Min.of State, Industry, Trade & Investment, after his swearing in |
New Ministers: MofState (Health), Nwankwo, MofState (Defence) Akobundu, MoS 1 F/Affairs, Adah, MoInfo, Akwashiki. |
New Ministers: MoS 2 F/Affairs Obanikoro, Labour Minister Ikenya, MoS Trade&Inv. Kobani, MoS N/Delta, Hauwa Lawan |
Federal Civil Service Commissioner Jonah Madugu & Commissioner, NPC Abimbola Hundeyin taking oath of office |
President Jonathan with Commissioners Abimbola Hundeyin (NPC) & Jonah Madugu (FCSC) after their swearing-in |
Presidential handshake for Mrs Patricia Akwashiki after her swearing-in as Minister of Information |
"I've done everything so perfect to try and get pregnant. There's a list of things you shouldn't be doing and I was perfect for eight to 10 months and now I don't understand.
"I'm going to do everything that I want to do and that includes going platinum. Hopefully I will get pregnant doing all the wrong things. I'm totally changing my tactics. I'm over it. I'm over trying, overthinking it, hence why I dyed my hair blonde.'
Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent national electoral commission (INEC), says there are still a few security concerns hovering over the 2015 general election.
Jega, who refused to speak to the press after meeting the president and service chiefs on Tuesday, finally spoke at a situation room dialogue session at Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja on Wednesday, where he revealed the outcome of the Aso Rock meeting.
“Yesterday, I had an opportunity to brief security agencies and we received assurances that they were doing everything to provide security,” he said.
“There are still a few concerns and challenges which will be addressed with security agencies. There has been progress with the security agencies in getting rid of insurgents and there are three local government areas (LGAs) left to rid insurgents.
“We are working together with security agencies to get rid of thugs identified in states. We have emphasised the protection of ad-hoc officials with security agencies and they have assured us progress has been made.”
He went on to assure Nigerians that internally displaced persons (IDPs) would vote in the coming elections, adding that the commission has deployed necessary materials for the election.
“We have plans on the ground for IDP voting. We have designated secure places for IDPs to vote,” he said.
“We have procured and deployed sensitive and non-sensitive materials. We have completed outstanding distribution of PVCs to Ogun state and distribution has started in Jos.
“We have secured the International Conference Centre as a better facility for collating results and meeting election observers.
On card readers, Jega said: “The card reader does not stop working at 1pm (the scheduled time to end accreditation); it stops when every voter on the queue has been accredited.”
About 82 percent of registered voters have have already collected their voter cards.
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"I am absolutely in support of elections holding in local government areas after all, I was elected with popular mandate in 2011 with elections taking place across in all local governments of the state and having to win more than two-third of the 27 local government areas of Borno State. One who has won elections and has kept fate with his people and is doing his best to meet his obligations has no reason to fear elections.
The voters are the same whether they vote in local government areas or anywhere else. However, I think it will be irresponsible on our part as a government to hurry our citizens back to liberated communities now mainly to go and vote because that will be very callous. We have pockets of insurgents in some villages, we have had attacks that are very recent on some routes, we all know that these liberated communities are still not fully safe and habitable.
The military has recaptured lost territories but we have one or two to go. Then, some insurgents fled to villages and they are still posing problems, how safe will our people be if we force them back today? How safe will it be to send people to Gamboru, Baga, Monguno, Malamfatori, Kala-Balge, Mafa and other places. What about the issue of landmines possibly planted there that everyone knows the military has been contending with? All those politicians that stay in Abuja and cause all manner of confusion for Borno, if they are so certain that liberated communities are now safe, let them go and live in Gamboru like ordinary people.
Why have they moved their entire families including their cats out of Maiduguri that is relatively safe not to talk of the local government areas? Why do they want our citizens to go to liberated communities and put their lives at risk knowing fully well that there is so much to be done. Apart from the issue of safety, there are decomposed bodies, we need to do so much fumigation and environmental cleansing, we need to rebuild homes destroyed, markets, schools, hospitals, many have been destroyed, we need to fix things because our citizens are human beings and they deserve to be treated as such.
Why should we push our citizens to live where we can’t send our wives and children to live? We are concerned about our people, we cannot allow them take unnecessary risks. We are confident all will be well eventually insha Allah but we need some careful planning. We want to set up a Task Force on Evaluation, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of the insurgency and the task force will have representatives of all stakeholders.
It will be a multi-faith and multi-ethnic based so that every segment of the affected population is covered be it citizens, associations, government or institutions from security to all others. We have a serious work before us, it is not child’s play that some people are advocating for mainly for their selfish and dehumanizing interests. We must learn to put politics aside where the existence of our citizens are involved. Power should not be our only concern at all points. There is more to life than desperation to access power.”