Thursday, February 7, 2019

2019 Polls: We Didn’t Endorse Atiku — ASUU.

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Thursday, disclaims that it has declared its support for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying the union is not in support of any particular political party nor candidate for the forthcoming general elections in the country,.
The union said this in a statement signed by trio of branch chairmen of ASUU, Dr. Joel Okewale, Dr. Olatunji Ettu and Dr. Adebayo Oni, from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-iwoye; Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-ode, and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, respectively.
It said this information became necessary for Nigerians to know and understand how ASUU operates and more importantly to refute an online media report claiming that the union with some other education stakeholders had jointly declared their support for the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to ensure his election in the presidential election slated for next week.
Quoting the title of the report as “#NigeriaDecides: Ogun ASUU, academics pledge support for Atiku,” the trio said there had never been any political gathering anywhere where ASUU or its representatives endorsed any political party nor candidate for elections let alone promised to work, canvass and mobilize for them.
They said apart from that, ASUU as an umbrella body of all lecturers in the public universities in Nigeria does not operate along the state divide and therefore there is nothing like Ogun ASUU as claimed in the report just as there is no ASUU for other states.
According to them, our union has a national charter with branches in universities and therefore the purported “Ogun ASUU” is a fabrication and completely non-existent
While respecting the interest of individual academics and their political leanings, the trio re-emphasised that ASUU had no part in the said meeting nor the purported resolution.

Buhari Greets Ohinoyi Of Ebiraland At 90

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President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Ibrahim on the occasion of his 90th birthday celebration.
According to a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity), President Buhari joined family members, the people of Ebiraland in Kogi State and other well-wishers in thanking the Almighty God for preserving the life of the eminent traditional ruler with good health, courage and passion to lead his subjects and community since he ascended the throne of his ancestors in 1997.
President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Ibrahim on the occasion of his 90th birthday celebration.
According to a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity), President Buhari joined family members, the people of Ebiraland in Kogi State and other well-wishers in thanking the Almighty God for preserving the life of the eminent traditional ruler with good health, courage and passion to lead his subjects and community since he ascended the throne of his ancestors in 1997.

2019 Polls: NCC suspends ban on unsolicited SMS

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the temporary suspension of the Do-Not-Disturb facility on mobile networks.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, the regulatory commission said that it suspended the DND to enable mobile operators to disseminate information on the 2019 General Elections which begins on February 16.
The DND enable subscribers to choose what kind of text messages they can receive from operators or even opt out completely from receiving unsolicited text messages from mobile operators.

The commission explained that the suspension was necessary to enable Mobile Network Operators to disseminate specific information on voter education on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to NCC, in implementing the suspension, MNOs are to be mindful of existing directives regarding the timing and regularity of such messages and the fact that the temporary suspension is only with regards to the specific messages on voters’ education.
The NCC had issued Guidance to all MNOs and Value Added Service Providers to the effect that:
“MNOs should ensure that their facilities are not used to disseminate political or religious contents which are abusive, insulting, intimidating and harassing, and/or which incite violence, hatred or discrimination against any person or group of persons.
“MNOs shall provide service to participants in the political process, only to the extent that their licence and the regulatory process permits.
“MNOs shall maintain the principle of neutrality in all their dealings regarding all the political process
“MNOs shall at all times seek and obtain the approval of the Commission at all times.”
The commission also expressed its readiness to strictly monitor the activities of the MNOs for the duration of the temporary suspension.

Judge threatens to jail Obanikoro on Fayose fraud case.

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The N2.2bn fraud trial of the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, was stalled on Thursday due to the absence of the prosecution’s key witness, Musiliu Obanikoro.

The prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the judge that Obanikoro, who was in court only on Tuesday testifying against Fayose, had been hospitalised.
Jacobs presented to the court a medical report from an Ikoyi hospital, stating that Obanikoro was unwell.
But receiving the report with misgivings, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun said it had better been genuine or the hospital and the doctor that issued it risked the loss of their licences, if the court verified the report and it was not genuine.
While adjourning the case till March 18, Justice Olatoregun said Obanikoro must unfailingly come to court, or risked being committed to prison for three months, “so that he can be coming to court in Black Maria.”
“He must present himself before the court on the next adjourned date or be compelled to do so,” Justice Olatoregun stressed.
Obanikoro is testifying against Fayose, who was his ally in the Peoples Democratic Party before he (Obanikoro) decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Friday, February 1, 2019

EFCC Arrests 19 Suspected Internet Fraudsters With Female ‘Pant’ In Ibadan

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THE Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC), Ibadan zonal office on Friday arrested 19 suspected internet fraudsters at Ologuneru and Akobo areas, of Ibadan, Oyo State, and recovered several items including a female pant and fetish materials.
This was made known in a press statement by the Acting, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Tony Orilade, a copy made available to journalists on Friday.
The arrest, according to Orilade was made possible in a sting operation led by the zonal head, Friday Ebelo, Ibadan zonal head.
Aside from the usual equipment associated with internet fraudsters, the EFCC operatives also recovered one female pant from the suspects arrested in Akobo area, Ibadan.
The Acting, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Orilade said “the suspects who are between the ages of 21 and 35 years were taken by surprise when operatives swept on them at one of their notorious havens in the city. Five of them allegedly claimed to be undergraduates while the other 10 claimed to be self-employed in varied vocations.”
Their names were given as Bamidele Ayodele Samson, Bamidele Philip, Tunji Oladapo Sowale, Bololaji Olalekan and Abdulrauf Abiodun.
Others are: Olaleye Pelumi, Anuokuwapo Olanrewaju, Paul Damilola, Olateye David Tobi, Arewa Adekunle Ibrahim, Oyesanmi Ayomikun Oluwaseun, Olaleye Israel, Adediran Kemisola, Omobolade Alarape and Olowolusi Oluwatomisin.
The four other suspects arrested early hours of Friday, February 1, 2019 at their hideout at Akobo, Ibadan are, Babatunde Afeez, Akorede Ahmed Olalekan, Adeleye Damilola and Moshod Richard.
Orilade further stated that the suspects are “already helping operatives with useful information.”
The statement by Orilade further put it that “the Commission got wind of their activities following series of intelligence report, alleging that they engaged in various fraudulent activities ranging from obtaining money by false pretences through sending of scam emails to unsuspecting victims mostly in the United States of America, while others were engaged in romance scam on several dating sites.
“At the point of arrest, EFCC operatives recovered four different models and brands of exotic cars, five laptops, 20 telephones (10 iPhones) and one small bag containing items suspected to be fetish objects (juju) from them. Several documents, including international passports, and debit cards were recovered from them.”
In a related development, operatives also arrested four other suspects on February 1, 2019, at their hideout at Akobo, Ibadan. The suspected cybercriminals are between 21 and 30 years.
Their arrest followed a series of intelligence alleging that the suspected fraudsters engaged in fraudulent activities of obtaining money by false pretences from unsuspecting victims.
Orilade further mentioned items recovered at the point of their arrest, as “SIM cards, one exotic car, laptops, telephones, female underwear’s and four bags of fetish objects (juju) from them. Several documents containing false pretences were also recovered from the suspects.”
He noted that the suspects will soon be charged to court.

Australia record January as hottest month on record.

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An official speaks with Danielle Collins of the US after the organisers decided to close the court's roof due to the hot weather during her women's singles semi-final match

Image copyrightAFP/GETTY
Image captionTennis matches at the Australian Open were suspended because of the heat
Australia recorded its hottest month ever in January, with average temperatures exceeding 30C (86F) for the first time.
At least five January days were among the 10 warmest on record, with daily national temperature highs of 40C.
The heat has caused wildfire deaths, bushfires and a rise in hospital admissions.
Several wildlife species have also suffered, with reports of mass deaths of wild horses, native bats and fish in drought-affected areas.
The new record surpasses conditions recorded in 2013, previously considered the nation's worst heatwave.

Just how bad did it get?

A large swathe of the state of New South Wales bore the brunt of the fortnight of extreme heat, with temperatures also soaring in parts of Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Media captionMillions of dead fish have been found in New South Wales

How were records broken?

"We saw heatwave conditions affect large parts of the country through most of the month," climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said.
Records were broken for both duration and also individual daily extremes, he said. Rainfall was also below average for most areas.
Australia has increasingly endured hotter summer temperatures. Last year Sydney experienced its hottest day since 1939, with a maximum temperature of 47.3C.
"The warming trend which has seen Australian temperatures increase by more than one degree in the last 100 years also contributed to the unusually warm conditions," Dr Watkins said.

How is climate change affecting Australia?

Officials have confirmed that 2018 and 2017 were Australia's third and fourth-hottest years on record respectively.
Even if global temperatures are contained to the Paris accord limit of a 2C rise above pre-industrial levels, scientists believe the country is facing a dangerous new normal.

We can’t investigate stealing of pants for juju —Police.

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The Nigeria Police Force says it cannot investigate the stealing of pants for spiritual reasons because there is no evidence.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said this during a live television programme on NTA, ‘Good Morning Nigeria’, on Friday.
Mba was responding to questions on ritual practices and ‘get rich quick’ schemes.
He said, “Stealing of underwear for whatsoever reason is a recent phenomenon, before now, we had cases of rituals killings but we can’t investigate things that are not empirically verifiable except when there is convergence of the act like cases of murder or an attempt or related crimes.”
Mba said substance abuse fuels crime. He, therefore, asked youths not to delve into it.
He added, “Drug and substance abuses are strong conscience suppressors that influence our youth into these wicked acts of fetish and ritual killings for get-rich-quick. While we’ll continue to fight the menace of drug abuse head-on, we want our youths to desist or be ready to bear the consequences
“We don’t investigate divinations or morality except related acts that constitute a criminal offence. Apart from factors like unemployment etc what we have on home videos, TV programs and messages being sent out.”

Makinde Explain Why He Was Absent at BBC Debate.

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Peoples Democratic Party PDP Gubernatorial Candidate in Oyo state Engr Seyi Makinde has explained why he was absent at the debate organized for the governorship candidates in the state by the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Yoruba Service.
 The debate which was held at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, UCH Ibadan was attended by Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala of ADP, Oloye Bayo Adelabu of APC, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin of ADC and Mrs Bolanle Aliyu Sarumi of NIP. 
The debate anchor , Dr Olubusola Afolayan said all the invited  candidates were  contacted and they all promised to participate in the exercise.

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 Makinde’s campaign organization in a statement signed by Prince Dotun Oyelade, said he had agreed with the people of Ibadan South East that he would kick off his campaign early enough and he was unwilling to change the sequence that will take him to Oranyan, Orita aperin, Felele, Bere, Odinjo and a host of other important places. 

 He said he observed with interest the various contradictory statements credited to Mr Bayo Adelabu during the programme, that he will provide free education when he and his mentor have been quoted severally saying that funding education cannot be solely handled by government. 

 According to him, “For a man who said that he’s committed to the continuation of the  policies of Ajimobi his mentor, it is difficult to believe him when he said that he will make sure that LAUTECH returns to past glory when it was his mentor that dismantled the Institution in the first place.” 

 Makinde also observed that Adelabu could not distance himself from the health policy of his mentor that saw women in labour forced to bring even lanterns to the delivery rooms in government hospitals.