IN efforts to sustain the ongoing reforms in Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, the Federal Government has turned down the application for extension of service by the current head of the agency, Abdullahi Dikko. . It was gathered that the Comptroller General, CG, of Customs had been making frantic efforts to keep his job, but the Presidency resisted the move. . After months of speculations, it had now been confirmed that government is now in search of a replacement for the Customs Comptroller General. . Sources at the Ministry of Finance told Vanguard last week that the minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo…
Author: David F.
FEDERAL government has set up a technical committee to review the quality of cement produced in the country. This is with a view to redefining the appropriate standard of cement to be produced in the country. . Reacting to criticism that Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON has relaxed its earlier standard of 42.5 as minimum grade for cement used in the country to 32.5, Director General of SON Mr Joseph Odumodu said that a committee was already at work to review the current standard and weigh the implication and impact of the removal of the 32.5 on the economy and…
Tragedy struck in Lagos, yesterday, when a passenger hanging on a train coach had his hand chopped off by the moving train. . According to eye witnesses, the incident occurred at Oshodi around 9 a.m. when the victim, who was simply identified as Ernest, allegedly fell from the moving train which had a hitch in movement. . An eye witness, Mr Olu Atoyebi, said Ernest fell from the moving train while his hand was stuck in between the coaches resulting to the hand being chopped off. . His shout for help was said to have attracted sympathisers who rushed to…
An Osogbo magistrate’s court has ordered a 27-year-old man, Akeeb Ibrahim, to be remanded in Ilesa prison for allegedly raping a two- year-old girl. . Ibrahim was alleged to have raped the girl (name withheld) in his room at his house located at Isale‑Afo area of Ikirun, headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun state. . According to the charge sheet read in court, the accused person lured the girl into his room at about 1.00 p.m. when her parents had left for their shops. . The Police prosecutor, Abiodun Fagboyinbo, an inspector, told the court that the accused…
Leader of the fledging Northern Elders Council, NEC, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has dismissed insinuations that the group is being bankrolled by the Presidency to be able to curry the support of the north ahead of the 2015 elections. . Yakassai, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard in Abuja, claimed that the NEC were working for the interest of Nigeria and not that of any individual or group. . The former National Assembly Adviser to President Shegu Shagari made it clear that he was too big to be used by anybody to advance their selfish political interest and described those making the…
A Fulani leader, Alhaju Abdulkadir Salihu, has appealed to the Federal Government to create more grazing reserves across the country to curb the incessant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen. . Salihu made this known on Monday when he received members of the 2014 Press Week Committee of the Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). . The Fulani leader, who is also the National President, Jamu Nati Fulbe Association of Nigeria, said the perceived neglect of Fulani pastoralists had widened the gap between them. . Salihu said that the appeal was necessitated by the need to reduce…
A 32-year-old woman, Bilikisu Okanlawon, was yesterday arraigned at a Tinubu magistrate’s court, Lagos, for allegedly biting off the ear of her neighbour. . Okanlawon, who resides at Ajegunle St., Lakowe, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, was alleged to have bitten off the left ear of one Christy Edo during a brawl between them. . The police prosecutor, Austin Orji, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 4 pm on February 7, 2013, at their Ajegunle St., Ibeju-Lekki residence. . Orji said the fight between both women was sequel to a disagreement over N500, adding that Edo was rushed…
That former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has gone back to grin alongside some of the same politicians who roundly chastised him into leaving the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria with his tail between his legs is amusing to say the least. It is even more amusing how he has been trying to convince Nigerians that his new adventure with the All Progressives Congress (APC) is about achieving “change” and not about him taking another shot at winning the presidency for himself. At this juncture, it is only natural to wonder what sort of “change” Atiku—a founding member of the Peoples…
The 11 senators who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are today set for a showdown with the Senate leadership with their resolve to cross carpet irrespective of the refusal of the Senate President to read their letter of defection. . In practical demonstration of their rejection of the PDP, the 11 senators, Vanguard learnt yesterday would take their ‘Plan B’ by vacating their allocated seats among PDP senators and cross the carpet to sit with All Progressives Congress, APC senators on the other side of the Senate chamber. . Meanwhile, it was learnt yesterday that the President of…
The police on Monday in Abuja arraigned a 22-year- old student, Ibrahim Salisu, in a Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court for beating up a policeman. . Salisu, who lives at 4, Olumo Rock, Amasco Plantation Estate, Galadimawa in Abuja, is charged with joint criminal force and assaulting a public servant. . The prosecutor, Cpl. Anigbo Paul, told the court that Cpl. Chijioke Jacob of the Lugbe Police Station had lodged a report against the accused at the station. . He said the report was lodged on Feb. 9 at about 9 p.m. . Paul told the court that, on…
The FRSC in Osun on Monday said 213 deaths were recorded from road traffic crashes in the state between January and December 2013. . The figure was disclosed by the state Sector Commander, Mr Muhammed Husaini, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo. . According to Husaini, 288 crashes occurred in the state within the period under review while 1,341 persons were involved. . He attributed the crashes to over speeding and the poor condition of roads, adding that the state government was redressing the situation through road construction and rehabilitation. . The FRSC boss,…
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, on Monday expressed the determination of the air force to restore stability in the North-East before the 2015 general elections. . Amosu made the pledge at the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu I, during a courtesy call on the monarch in Lagos. . “I have been involved in operations in the North East, so now that I have taken over, we will expedite action in ensuring that stability returns to the region. . “We promise that peace will be restored to the region so that elections can…
Henry Okah, sentenced in South Africa to 24 years on terrorism charges, has been caught in a failed jail break attempt, prison authorities said Monday. . “I can confirm that Okah is one of the five inmates that attempted to escape and whose efforts were foiled,” Manelisi Wolela, spokesman for South Africa’s department of correctional services, told AFP. . He did not give details of the attempted escape from Leeukop prison in northern Johannesburg that is said to have taken place in January. . Okah was convicted last year and sentenced on 13 counts of terrorism, including twin bombings that…
The shoddy handling of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s trip to Sokoto, weekend, where he received former Governor of the State, Attahiru Bafarawa into the Peoples Democratic Party may have been final straw that broke the camel’s back for the former Chief of Staff to President Jonathan, Mike Oghiadohme. . But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati who confirmed Oghiadohme’s resignation said it was to enable him seek higher political office within the Peoples Democratic Party. . He also debunked an online media report that the former Chief of Staff was sacked because of…
Former Head of State, Retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct 2015 general elections on the same day. . Buhari gave the advice in Daura, Katsina State, while answering questions from newsmen after he obtained APC membership card. . He said that conducting the elections in one day would help in reducing election malpractice and save cost. . He added that the litigations that trailed the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections would be avoided if the elections were held on the same day. . “If all the elections are conducted on…
President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Sunday urged Nigerians not to relent but to continue to pray for the peace, stability and unity of Nigeria. . Jonathan made the call at the enthronement of the Most Rev. Oche Job, as the Methodist Archbishop of Abuja Diocese. . Job succeeded Most Rev. Chimaroke Iweha, who retired in November 2013. . Represented by Prof. Chinedu Nebo, the Minister of Power, Jonathan noted that the situation in the country would have gone worse were it not for payers. . “We should continue to serve God in our nation. We need to continue to…
Twenty policemen in three escort gunboats escaped death on Saturday when unidentified youths engaged them in a shoot-out on the creeks of Bayelsa. . The policemen were said to be escorting an ex- militant leader, Mr Eris Paul, to Peremabiri in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. . Paul, popularly called Ogunboss, said the attack was carried out by community youths involved in oil theft and illegal oil bunkering. . “These are boys that I included their names in my amnesty list and prevailed not to go back to crime. . “My continual attempt to stop them from the noticeable acts…
Nigerian Business mogul and Africa’s richest man, Mr. Aliko Dangote, has called for the realisation of a healthy Nigerian society to enable the country advance forward as a developed sovereign nation. . Dangote, who spoke weekend at the Summit of the Private Sector Health Alliance while inaugurating the Nigeria Health Innovation Market, NHIM, Steering Committee, called for viable partnerships between the Nigerian private sector and Federal government to enable the country attain targets of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. . “There is no way we can progress without a healthy society even when you look at it from the business…
A bricklayer, Mr Adewale Omole, has abandoned his wife in the hospital after he heard that she was expecting triplets. He did not even wait for the woman to give birth before he vanished. . Narrating her story, the wife, Mrs Abosede Omole, who already had two children, said her husband abandoned her and the babies. She said her husband started behaving strange after she went for a scan in Lagos where she was told that she was expecting triplets. . Abosede, delivered the triplets, weekend, at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, EKSUTH. . She said: “My husband abandoned me…
The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, NPAN, has condemned the alleged move by the Federal government to empower security agents to intercept and record electronic communications between individuals and track data use from internet service providers and mobile networks. . In a communiqué issued by the body at the end of its executive council meeting held in Abuja, it described the move as a violation of the constitutional guarantee of free speech and an invitation to arbitrariness. . It urged the Federal Government to withdraw the bill in line with its constitutional obligation to protect the rights and liberties of…