Tomeeesin Blog

Abuja – The British Government, weekend expressed readiness to collaborate with the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s to urgently fast tract the development of the Niger Delta Region. British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Paul Arkwright gave the assurance when he visited the minister of Niger Delta Affairs Pastor Usani Usani in Abuja, Arkwright said his government is more than ready to join hands with the Federal Government and other development partners with a view to placing the region on the global map of massive development. The High Commissioner, who is barely two months in the country disclosed further that he was at the ministry to enquire about key priority in the region, adding, his country was gratified with recent successful and credible elections as well as the smooth transition of power in Nigeria. The British Government he said on that note decided to partner with it in every possible areas of collaboration to actu...

EKPOMA—Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FEDSARS, have arrested four notorious cultists terrorizing Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Delta State University Abraka and its environs. Vanguard gathered that the suspects, identified as Enahoro Benedict Lucky, 21; a.k.a Freshboy, Ekinedo Odion, 29, aka overdose, Emmanuel Iluore, 24; aka Gayo, 24; and Dennis Isehomen, 28, were arrested, following the directives of the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, over the restiveness in the state and cultism related activities which led to the murder of two students on September 18, 2015, by rival cult gang at Supreme hotel, Ekpoma. Consequently, a team of detectives, led by Inspector Bamijoko Oluwemimo, swung into action after they received intelligence reports about the nefarious activities of the gang in the state, which has claimed the lives of innocent persons. The discrete investigation led to the arrest of a 400 level engineering student of Ambr...

AFTER months of procrastination, the Senate and the House of Representatives have finally constituted their committees. The setting up of the committees is the signal of the readiness of the National Assembly to settle down for business. This is because the committee system is the engine room of the legislature – the platform upon which the business of lawmaking and legislative oversight are accomplished. Senate President Bukola Saraki, who announced the constitution of the Senate committees penultimate Wednesday named 65 committees, nine more than the 56 committees of the preceding Senate. Speaker Yakubu Dogara had earlier announced chairmen and deputy chairmen for 96 committees with one, the Committee on Niger Delta still being awaited. The 97 committees in the House are seven above the 90 committees that were constituted in the immediate past House of Representatives. The proliferation of committees is in remarkable contrast to the ongoing shrinking of the Minist...

THE Federal government has banned the importation of a very common brand of generators locally called “I better pass my neighbour”. The Controller, Federation Operations Unit Zone A, Lagos of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Madugu Sanni Jubrin, who disclosed this, yesterday, said, “the smaller generators have been banned by the Federal Government because it is causing air pollution and destruction of our lungs and breathing system. “That is why they have banned it but people are still interested in smuggling them in, that is why we intercepted them. If you go to the market, you still see them because people have imported them before the ban. So it is the leftover they had before the ban that they are selling because the law did not backdate the ban and it is not an absolute prohibition. It is prohibition by trade which means you cannot bring it in large quantity and sell to the public. That is the type of prohibition we have on this but if you buy one piece, Customs wi...

O WERRI —Imo State Police  Command has arrested a three-man gang that gruesomely murdered 24-year-old final year civil engineering student of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, Innocent Ndukwe. Speaking after parading the suspects before journalists yesterday in Owerri, the Commissioner of Police, CP, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, disclosed that soon after slaughtering their hapless victim, the hoodlums stole his Pathfinder Sports Utility Vehicle with registration number, Lagos KRD 109 BP, two plasma television sets, one home theatre and assorted personal effects. “Soon after getting credible information about the heinous act, the police control room quickly alerted operations of the command and they immediately searched the entire state. ‘’As a result, the assailants, who tried to escape the eagle-eyed operatives, were subsequently apprehended along West End-Old Nekede Road, Owerri, ”the CP said. According to Mr. Lakanu, the late Ndukwe was found in a pool of his own...

THE generally peaceful conduct of the March 28, 2015 Nigerian presidential election and the gracious acceptance of defeat by the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) strongly signaled that Nigeria may have turned a new page, politically. Other indicators of a new turn for Africa’s largest democratic country and economy are the following firsts in the country’s annals: the widespread innovative use of technology for the process—the use of card readers; the overthrow of the ruling  PDP by the General Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) through the ballot box after 16 years of dominance; the election of four none indigenes of a state (Lagos State) as members of the Federal House of Representatives; and the above-average performance of the National Electoral Commission in ways that suggest considerable independence of the electoral umpire. Although news reports suggested a poor turn-out for the second-tier of the...

France prepared to fall silent at noon Monday to mourn victims of the Paris attacks after its warplanes pounded the Syrian stronghold of Islamic State, the jihadist group that has claimed responsibility for the slaughter. With a manhunt under way for suspects across Europe, French police released a photograph of a “dangerous” suspect also wanted in Belgium, where Friday’s bloodbath may have been planned. France was to observe a minute’s silence at midday (1100 GMT), which the European Union has called on all member states to respect. In the United States, the Stars and Stripes will fly at half-mast at the White House until sunset Thursday. President Francois Hollande will observe the silence at the Sorbonne University, in recognition of the large toll of young people among the 129 dead. Another 352 were injured, scores of them seriously. The worst terror attack in French history has stunned the capital, less than 11 months after jihadists struck satirical magazine ...

One of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks had links to a Belgian Islamic State militant believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in January, a report said on Monday. The name of Paris attacker Brahim Abdeslam appears in several police files alongside leading militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud relating to criminal cases in 2010 and 2011, Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard reported. “Investigators see a link with Verviers,” it said, referring to an eastern Belgian town where police shot dead two militants in January and broke up a cell aiming to kill Belgian police officers in the streets days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. Belgian prosecutors were not immediately available for comment. Abaaoud — a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent who allegedly led the group and had fought with the Islamic State group in Syria — remains at large. He has claimed in the IS English-language magazine Dabiq to have rejoined the group in Syria. Both...

South African telecoms giant MTN has won a respite on the payment of a massive $5.2 billion fine imposed on the company in Nigeria to allow for negotiations, the mobile phone operator said Monday. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) slapped the penalty on Africa’s largest telecoms firm for failing to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards, sending its share price plummeting and leading to the resignation of chief executive Sifiso Dabengwa. The deadline for the fine to be paid was November 16, but the company announced that the NCC had agreed that it will not be payable until the end of negotiations entered into by acting executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, who has taken on Dabengwa’s role for six months. “Shareholders are advised that the executive chairman of the company, Mr Phuthuma Nhleko, has personally met with the Nigerian authorities to continue the ongoing discussions with them regarding the fine,” the statement said. “These discussions includ...

P opular rapper and son of legal luminary, Femi Falana, Folarin aka Falz the Bahd Guy, is set to release his sophomore album titled, ‘Stories that Touch.’ In a chat with Showtime, he shed some light on the project, ‘This is my second official album, and it will be released on November 16, 2015. With this album, I’m trying to do something different; I’m trying to showcase my artistic side and the musicality in me. Generally speaking, there is an impression that I’m a crazy, hilarious and an unserious person. The brand definitely reflects that, but I’m trying to get people to focus on my music and see the content in it. That’s why I don’t really have skits on the album because I want people to pay attention to the serious messages in it. Falz the Bahd Guy is an all-encompassing brand, and the funny part is still in there. As much as I’m trying to show my artistic side, I can’t neglect the funny guy and the element of ‘razzness’ that’s always in my music. As much as you...

South African mobile phone firm MTN Group,Sunday, debunked as rumour that it has asked the Nigerian authorities to be allowed to pay by instalments the $5.2 billion fine due on Monday. A report which quoted an MTN spokesman from South Africa, denied the request allegedly made by MTN Group. The MTN’s spokesman, Chris Maroleng in the report said: “MTN refutes claims that we have arrived at any agreement of staggered payment of the fine. We caution against information from any source outside the company.” Recall that a source at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had earlier said that MTN had asked to be allowed to stagger the payment. The NCC had last month imposed the fine of $5.2 (N1.04trn) on MTN for its failure to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered SIM cards being used on its Nigerian network. Nigeria has been pushing telecommunication operators to verify the identity of subscribers due to concerns that unregistered SIM cards are being used for crimina...

SENATE President Bukola Saraki, said yesterday that the 8th Senate will break down the budget of the upper Chamber by ensuring that every expenditure and receipt will be broken down into relevant budget heads for easy tracking. Saraki however reiterated his commitment to ensuring that financial dealings of the National Assembly become more open and accessible to the general public. In a statement yesterday by his Special Assistant, New Media, Bamikole Omishore, Senate President Saraki stressed that the days of on line budgets for the National Assembly were long gone. In recent times, Nigerians home and abroad have been canvassing for more accountability and transparency in government, Different youth groups who make up a large population of the country have been pushing for the National Assembly to explain how it spends its now reduced budget of N120bn. According to Omisore, Saraki’s explanations “have put to rest the agitation, with the National Assembly Chairman s...

One of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks had links to a Belgian Islamic State militant believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in January, a report said on Monday. The name of Paris attacker Brahim Abdeslam appears in several police files alongside leading militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud relating to criminal cases in 2010 and 2011, Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard reported. “Investigators see a link with Verviers,” it said, referring to an eastern Belgian town where police shot dead two militants in January and broke up a cell aiming to kill Belgian police officers in the streets days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. Belgian prosecutors were not immediately available for comment. Abaaoud — a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent who allegedly led the group and had fought with the Islamic State group in Syria — remains at large. He has claimed in the IS English-language magazine Dabiq to have rejoined the group in Syria. Both...

Former Governor of Ogun State,  Aremo Olusegun Osoba, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s allocation of key ministerial portfolios  to Yoruba extraction as a big challenge, insisting that highest level of performance is expected from them.                            Olusegun Osoba Osoba, in an interview   i n Lagos, said President Buhari was a leader known for delegating duties on trust, and contended that the performance of the Yoruba ministers in the Buhari’s regime would be used to measure the future of South-West and Yoruba race in the politics of Nigeria. The veteran journalist was optimistic that the President’s concentration of three major ministries central to infrastructural development and economic growth in the hands of former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola indicated that Nigeria was now serious about rea...

E NUGU— A faction of the  Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra,MASSOB, weekend, lashed out at Enugu Catholic Priest,Rev.Fr. Ejike Mbaka, describing his comment on the struggle for Biafra as insensitive and unguided. This is coming as MASSOB, yesterday, said that a Biafran Republic will be declared very soon without bloodbath. Fr. Mbaka had during last Saturday’s sermon at his Adoration Ministry,  condemned the recent agitation and protests for Biafra nation, describing the action as ‘evil.’ This came as the All Progressives Congress, APC, South-East geopolitical zone, yesterday, appealed to MASSOB and similar groups to end the  drum-beat of war, as it could scuttle the quest for Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023. Apparently infuriated at the fiery clergyman’s comment, Director of Information, Factional MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu described Fr. Mbaka’s condemnation of Biafra struggle as,”selfish and shameful. “How can a ...

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State and his Oyo State counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi, are leading  citizens of their states to the final burial events for Mrs Hannah Idowu Dideolu, HID, Awolowo as the final burial rights commence. She died on September 19, and the rights which started with lying-in-state at her Park Lane residence in Apapa, yesterday, is expected to climax with the interment scheduled for November 25 when she would have been 100 years old. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday, joined scores of residents at the lying-in-state of late HID Awolowo at the family’s residence in Park Lane, Apapa Speaking  shortly after the rites, Ambode said Mama Awolowo’s demise was a great loss to Lagos as she was a major force in the development of trade and commerce in the state. He said: “For the fact that the final burial rites of Mama is commencing in Lagos State signifies that this is a loss to the whole of Lagosians and the mere fact that we are remember...

SOME  days ago, I woke up  to find  that someone, or group had decided to change my country. It was there on Facebook; a supposed map of a new country called Biafra. I was neither consulted nor my opinion sought. I am not also aware that the Ijaws, who are my parents, our neigbours the Isokos, Itsekiris, Urhobos, Efiks, Ibibios, Orons etcetera, were consulted. Some fellow Nigerians  in demonstrating their right  to  self-determination, decided that I do not have the  right to be consulted. If I were to reincarnate and have power of choice, I would ordinarily, not decide to be a Nigerian. I would prefer to be an African, in that united continent Kwame Nkrumah prophesied, with a single government, currency, economy and citizenship.  I will not trade a continent for another small enclave, while industrialised Europe has almost evolved into one entity. That will not be strategic thinking, it will be collective backwardness. The Ind...

 THE resumed probe of the former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, by the Senate, is expected tomorrow. Lamorde will appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions tomorrow, to answer questions on the petition against him by Dr. George Uboh on allegations of diversion of funds. Chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who confirmed this, yesterday, said the committee’s schedule requires the former anti-graft agency boss to appear before it tomorrow. Lamorde was to appear before the committee last week, Tuesday, but the committee suspended it without explanation to its action. During the first meeting of the committee on the matter on August 26, when the petitioner, Dr. Uboh, made submissions on his petition, officials of the EFCC, led by the Director of Legal Services, Mr. Chile Okoroma, were asked to leave the hearing venue at the National Assembly, sequel to Lamorde’s reques...

THE Nigerian Navy in Warri, yesterday, handed over to the police two armed robbery suspects allegedly caught among a gang terrorising night shoppers and staff at the Shoprite mall in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State. The suspects, George Apollos and Ibeni Obruche, both 21, were writhing in pains and bleeding from gunshots injuries, when Navy Commander Aliyu Umoru of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Delta , handed them over to APC Mohammed M’uazu, Warri Area Police Commander. Umoru said: “Staff and customers at the Delta Mall have been suffering repeated attacks by hoodlums, particularly at night. “At about 9p.m. on Tuesday, our men, who have initiated patrol of the area, caught these two men shortly after robbing staff of Shoprite. Our men found a gun on them and we are here to hand them over to the police.” Meanwhile, in two separate operations, men of NNS Delta , yesterday, carried out dawn raids on crude oil thieves and illegal refineries in their area of...

Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung has called on stakeholders to purge themselves of corruption and wrangling, if the country’s sports were to make meaningful achievements. Dalung, who was speaking yesterday in Abuja noted that Nigeria can be great in sports if there was cooperation and dedication by all practitioners. *Dalong “We should collectively reject corruption, purge ourselves, re-dedicate ourselves and work towards making this country very great. “We will make progress if we stop quarrelling, because quarrelling cannot bring progress. We will be giants of Africa’s sports and we will even dominate world sports for a very long time. “We have everything it takes to do so if, and only if, we tolerate each other, co-operate with each other and support each other to build this industry.” “There is wealth in this industry, but we continue to remain poor because we continue to engage in disputes, rather than in ways to ensure economic growth. “In this industry,...

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, was said to have slammed a fine of N1 billion administrative charges on Guinness Nigeria Plc for its failure to adhere to the recommended good manufacturing practice procedures. A source from the Enforcement Department of the agency, who pleaded anonymity, told Vanguard that the agency had conducted a routine check on the company’s factory in Ikeja, Lagos on November 5, 2015 where shocking revelations were made. According to the source, the NAFDAC team came back with unsatisfactory appraisals about how some of the materials used in the production processes were being handled. Further findings revealed that the team that visited Guinness was worried about the manner the raw materials used in the factory were stored. “The unhygienic storage condition of the raw materials was a major source of worry for the agency,” the source said. They reportedly found that the raw materials used in their factor...

LAGOS — Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, yesterday joined the league of hospitals that offers kidney transplant services following a successful kidney transplant on a 56-year- old man in Lagos. The life-saving procedure which took two and half hours was the first of its kind in the tertiary institution. Speaking on the feat, the elated Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Wale Oke, said the successful kidney transplant was part of the state government’s promises to deliver excellent healthcare services to the people of Lagos State. Oke revealed that prior to the surgery, several consultations were made to ensure that the patients were well selected to avoid complications after the exercise. “But thank God today, both the donor and recipient are in sound health,” he said. The Chief medical Director who assured Lagosians that the hospital would continue to bring such services in-country. Speaking, leader of the transplant team, a Consultant Neph...

Home News Business Tech Politics Sports Entertainment Style Viewpoint Editorial Forum Jobs Columns PROPERTY You are here : Home » News » We’ll capture Sambisa before Dec deadline – Theatre Commander Major-General Yushau Abubakar,  Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, says the military will capture Sambisa forest, den of the Boko Haram terrorists, before the December presidential deadline. Army Abubakar said this in an interview with newsmen shortly after a routine visit to troops in Betta, near Sambisa forest. He said the military had recorded lots of successes in its anti terrorism campaign, adding: “We have achieved a lot and we are still doing much, but you know that the job is still there until we finish it. We are very close to Sambisa, we must enter and capture the forest before the Presidential deadline.” He said the main target was to end terrorism and terrorists activities in ...

The role of technical and vocational education  in national development cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, however, technical and vocational education was relegated to the background and so the artisan class is fast disappearing and no young hands are understudying them to take over. Rev. Ugorji As a result, industries lack the requisite manpower as products of conventional schools are not well equipped to fill the gap. Compare this to Germany, famous for its machine tool industry populated by artisans. German’s Federal Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle once said; “Our resources do not lie underneath our feet but between our ears,” referring to education and research. This is what Nigeria’s education sector should aim at. In this chat with Rev. Chris Ugorji, Director/Principal, Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Yaba, Lagos, he speaks on various issues that had militated against vocational and technical education in Nigeria and proffers solutions...