Oke, Akeredolu vs Mimiko: Appeal Court to deliver judgment today

                 
                      

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, will today, July 1, deliver its Judgment on the appeal filed by the Action Congress of Nigeria,ACN, Governorship candidate,Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN, and the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, flagbearer, Olusola Oke against the judgment of the Governorship Election Tribunal.

The lower tribunal headed by Justice Andova Kaka’n upheld the election of Dr Olusegun Mimiko as the winner of the last year’s poll. Counsel to ACN and Akeredolu, Titiloye Charles confirmed to DailyPost the receipt of Judgment notice from the Court of Appeal.

There had been tension in the state over the delay in notifying the contending parties on the judgement date in the last few hours.

Celebrating The Rich Heritage Of Northern Nigeria & Arabian People! Introducing MAKTOUB Lifestyle Magazine

Celebrating the Rich Heritage of Northern Nigeria & Arabian People! Introducing MAKTOUB Lifestyle Magazine, a Monthly Publication of The Best Strategic Public Relations Limited focused on Positivity, Resilience & Impact It is with great delight and pride that we introduce to you MAKTOUB Magazine, a unique monthly business and lifestyle publication set to be one of Nigeria’s finest initiatives towards bringing on a global pedestal the rich and strong heritage.

MAKTOUB celebrates the achievements and beauty of Northern Nigeria and the Arabian culture, with excellent reportage and high-profile interviews of eminent sons and daughters of the region. The Lifestyle Magazine’s maiden edition is set to hit newsstands of mega-cities: Lagos, United Arab Emirates, Abuja and Qatar in the month of July 2013, with subsequent monthly editions.

 MAKTOUB which is Arabic for Destiny is a brain child of The Best Strategic Public Relations Limited. Owned by Mariam Mohammed, The Best Strategic Public Relations Limited is a public relations development agency established with a brief to professionalize the public relation industry in Nigeria.

Keshi defends under-fire Ideye Keshi defends under-fire Ideye

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has backed under-fire forward Brown Ideye to come good once he sheds his anxiety. The forward scored once at the Africa Cup of Nations and only once more since then — a penalty conversion against Mexico in a 2-2 friendly draw. And at the Confederations Cup he was guilty of squandering a host of gilt-edged chances as he failed to find the back of the net.

But his endeavour, hard work, link-up play and ability to rack up assists have found favour with his coach. “It’s true that Brown hasn’t scored goals, but that does not make him a bad player,” Keshi tells KickOffNigeria.com. “Sometimes when the ambition (to score) turns into anxiety, it becomes difficult for a striker to score goals. “So all he needs to do is relax. We have been working on his inner relaxation and inner calm so that when he is in front of goal it will be much easier for him.” Keshi praised Ideye’s other qualities, especially his unselfish graft for the team.

Against Spain he dropped deep to rescue the two fullbacks from sticky situations, and Keshi says that fits into his philosophy of team ahead of individual. “He is a good kid; he has been working his tail off everywhere on the pitch. And that’s what we want — somebody who plays for the team.” At club level, Ideye averages more than a goal every other game, and Keshi predicts that once the forward starts scoring for the Eagles, it will be hard to stop him.

 “It’s just the finishing that’s lacking because that is his number one job, and that is why people are a little bit angry, but I’m very sure it’s going to come – and when it comes, it won’t stop. “We just need to support him, keep believing in him and give him the confidence to continue to express himself without pressure.”

Presidential dinner: Jonathan didn’t meet Amaechi for security reason–Presidency

The Presidency on Thursday defended the prevention of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State from exchanging pleasantries with President Goodluck Jonathan by a security operative during dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday. It said the incident was purely a security issue that should not be politicised,especially by opposition political parties.

The governor, who was sitting two tables away from the President, had risen to greet him but the security operative attached to the President stopped him halfway. In order not to create a scene at the event that had nearly all his colleagues and two heads of government (Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia) in attendance, Amaechi quietly returned to his seat and waited for about five minutes before leaving the venue.

 But as the Action Congress of Nigeria and Congress for Progressive Change berated Jonathan over the incident, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said it was tantamount to a breach of protocol and security if Amaechi was allowed access to his boss who was already seated before the governor arrived. Gulak said, “The President has a good relationship with all state governors and he meets with them regularly.

The case in point is a pure security issue and it should be treated as a security issue that should not be politicised. “The question the ACN and others who may want to politicise this issue need to ask is whether the President arrived at the venue of the dinner and was already seated before the governor arrived.

 “Usual practice across the world is that once the President arrives a place, nobody whether a governor or not, is allowed entrance. That is the protocol. Even(Barack) Obama of the United States cannot be on his seat and a governor will be allowed to come in.

Despite earthquake risk, drillers sink more boreholes

AGAINST the backdrop of experts’ warning that boreholes could induce landslide and pollution of underground water, borehole contractors who are ignorant of the danger still engage in the practice, especially in Lagos suburbs and border towns between Lagos and Ogun State. Recently, the government, in a move to discourage the practice, issued a directive that any person contemplating sinking a borehole must obtain approval from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

The directive was issued by the minister in charge of the ministry, Sarah Ochekpe. But The Guardian’s investigation revealed that house owners in emerging suburbs in Lagos and border towns between Lagos and Ogun State still sink boreholes in their compounds. Both the diggers and those who engaged them claimed ignorance of the inherent dangers in the practice. Those interviewed at Ojodu, Magboro, Ikorodu, Okokomaiko, Igando and other areas where more boreholes are being dug, said they were not aware that it can trigger earthquake or lead to contamination of underground water. Osondu Simon, one of the contractors, said: “I am not aware that boreholes can lead to contamination of underground water or trigger earthquake.” Another driller, who gave his name, simply as Fola, also said he was not aware that it could lead to earthquake. “I am just hearing that for the first time that borehole can cause earthquake. I started this work (borehole drilling) five years ago, I am not aware and nobody has told me that it can cause earthquake. I have sunk boreholes for people at Lekki, Magodo Housing Estate, Ikeja and other places, none of it had caused earthquake, how come it is now the thing will trigger earthquake? he asked. “I am sure some people must have come up with this unconfirmed claim probably to drive those of us who do this job at cheap price out of the trade,” he added. Asked how much it cost to sink a borehole, Fola replied that he charges between N100,000 and N120,000. Mrs. Kemi Dauda, a landlady in whose house a borehole was being drilled at Ikorodu suburb, said people indulge in drilling boreholes because of shortage of potable water from the public water works.

 “Many of us (Lagosians) resorted to sinking boreholes as alternative sources of pure water supply because there is no pipe borne water in most emerging residential areas,” she said adding that “borehole is a major source of drinkable water as supply from the water corporation is grossly inadequate.” “If it is true that too many of it will trigger earthquake, then Lagos will soon begin to experience frequent earthquake as there are over one million boreholes in Lagos metropolis,” Mrs. Dauda conjectured. In a recent report, pipe borne water is said to be a near luxury in Lagos with an estimated population of about 20 million.

 According to the report, factors inhibiting efficient water supply to even areas, which have pipe borne water in the state include irregular power supply, water plants operating below capacity, leakage from burst pipes, illegal connections and lack of storage facilities.

 A large portion of the population, which has no access to pipe-borne water resorts to buying from water vendors who get their supplies from boreholes or wells. To address the problem of water shortage in Lagos, Governor Babatunde Fashola said recently that his administration had embarked on the construction of various water works and rehabilitation of the existing ones to ensure that pipe-borne water is available to every home and company.  Read more

PDP postpones convention

CITING Ramadan fast, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed its special convention earlier fixed for July 20, 2013. Also shifted is the Zonal Congress for the South-West earlier scheduled for July 11, 2013.

Although no new dates have been officially fixed for the two events, it was learnt that the party’s leadership has scheduled the convention and the South-West Zonal Congress to hold in August 2013.

The statement, titled: “Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-West Zonal Congresses and Special National Convention Rescheduled” and signed by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Tony Caeser Okeke, reads: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hereby announces that the South-West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention of the party have been rescheduled in view of the Muslim Ramadan fast. New dates for the South-West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention of the party will be announced.”

 Also yesterday, former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, faulted the declaration by the party that the position of its national secretary was vacant, stating that it was a gross violation of the party’s constitution.

A statement captioned: “The Virtue of Democracy” issued yesterday in Abuja and signed by Femi Adelegan, the principal secretary to the former PDP national secretary, declared that all the principles and values to which the party lays claim as the foremost and biggest democratic party in Africa were being subjected to mockery.

Report rates Nigeria highest in children with new HIV infection

POOR implementation of Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) has been blamed for Nigeria recording the largest number of children acquiring new infections with about 60,000 in 2012.

 Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, made the observation in his reaction to a new report on the global plan towards elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive released on Tuesday by the United Nations health bodies, including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). He said: “The report highlights the seven countries that have made tremendous progress, which is very commendable. PMTCT of HIV remains one of the biggest challenges in our response to HIV in Nigeria. We have acknowledged this and the country is addressing this challenge at all levels.

 “I am happy that the report also notes Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe to have doubled the numbers of children accessing treatment from 2009 to 2012.” Despite recording that new HIV infections among children have been reduced by 50 per cent or more in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the report had this on Nigeria: “New infections among children in Nigeria, which have the largest number of children acquiring HIV (nearly 60,000 new HIV infections among children in 2012), remained largely unchanged since 2009.

 Without urgent action in Nigeria, the global target for 2015 may not be reached.” Idoko, however, said on the directive of Mr. President, NACA, working with partners, has recently developed the Presidential Emergency Response Plan (PERP), which aims to increase PMTCT delivery points by 500, test two million pregnant women annually for the next two years, provide antiretroviral drugs for 80,000 women for the next two years, and provide Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) services to 80,000 newborns of HIV positive mothers.

The Global Plan Towards Elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive is an initiative spearheaded by the UNAIDS and the PEPFAR, which was unveiled in June 2011, at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS. It has two main targets for 2015: a 90 per cent reduction in the number of children newly infected with HIV and a 50 per cent reduction in the number of AIDS-related maternal deaths. The Plan focuses on the 22 countries, including Nigeria, which account for 90 per cent of new HIV infections among children.

Latest PlayStation 3 Update Causing Big Problems

After riding so high last week at E3, Sony was bound to stumble eventually. That happened Tuesday night, when some gamers who installed the latest firmware update (version 4.45) for their PlayStation 3s got a nasty surprise — a bricked system. The problems didn’t affect everyone who downloaded the update, and Sony, it should be noted, has since pulled the firmware from its servers.

 But soon after the update went live, complaints started to pour in from users that their systems were not booting up properly. The update was meant to give users the ability to toggle in-game notifications when they earn a trophy as well as – ironically enough — improve overall system stability. Exactly how many people were affected by the issue is unknown, according to Sony. While there are some reports that owners of a PS3 with a big hard drive (500 GB or higher) were most susceptible, there are also reports of people with smaller drives being affected.

 “We are aware of reports that the recent PlayStation 3 system software update (version 4.45) has caused the XMB to not display on a small number of PS3 systems,” said Sony in a statement on the forums. “We have temporarily taken 4.45 offline and are investigating the cause of the problem. We will announce when the system update is available for download as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Fortunately, if you haven’t yet updated the firmware, you’re not at risk. But if you did download the patch and your system was affected, you’re not completely hosed. Sony has yet to issue a patch to fix those systems that are malfunctioning because of the update, but likely will soon. To install that, you’ll need to boot your PS3 into safe mode. 

Here’s how: - Hold the power button on the front until it turns red. Keep pressing it until you hear three beeps. (There will be delays between each beep.) The system will then power off. - Let go and hold that power button on the front down again for two beeps (again, with a delay between them). When you hear a quick double beat after those, let go… that will put you in safe mode. You’ll know you’re there when you see a message on screen reading “Connect the controller using a USB cable and then press the PS button.”

Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, aka Mama G gets a hero's welcome in South Africa

Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, aka Mama G, met with some fans at Kempton Park on Thursday as she toured the city to launch iRokotv's new dvd business. See photos after the cut...         

Nollywood Sweetheart Genevieve Nnaji Runs Marathon for Cancer Awareness

Today, 15th June 2013, Genevieve Nnaji was involved in a breast cancer awareness charity project spearheaded by Mrs. Onari Duke. Part of the project involved them running five miles for around Lagos. The charity event saw the likes of P-Square‘s Peter Okoye, Nollywood Actor Paul Obazele and MUD cosmetics’ Onyinye Igwe and more.