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Air Force

Yola, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar has charged the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to redouble its efforts to protect the territory of Nigeria.

Abubakar made the call in NAF Base, Yola on Thursday while addressing officers and men of the Air Component of Operation tagged “Operation Lafiya Dole”.

“We must work hard to justify the investment Federal Government has made and is still making in us.

“We must ensure that no territory of Nigeria is undermined by any individual or group of individuals,” Abubakar said.

The CAS, who was in Yola to celebrate Christmas with the troops, said within the past three and half years, NAF trained 92 pilots and acquired 18 new aircraft.

“We are expecting another 12 from United States. We are equally expecting helicopter gunship from Italy in addition to Russian.

“I think this is the first time for over 30 years that NAF is acquiring such number of aircraft.”

Abubakar said the NAF had undergone restructuring and had been projecting air power not only in Nigeria but within the sub region.

He said that the force would continue to provide opportunities for the upgrading of its personnel skills.

“We, at the headquarters, are working hard to ensure that all you require is provided so that you can put in your best.

“We are also working to ensure that you get training slots all over the world to ensure that you get what you required in terms of skills and knowledge to be able to discharge tasks assigned to you,” Abubakar said.

He also used the occasion to caution them against participating in partisan politics.

Also speaking, Gov. Muhammadu Bindow of Adamawa represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Umar Bindir, lauded the contribution of NAF in restoring security in the state.

The governor assured the state government commitment to continue to partner with it and other security agencies in the state.

Earlier, the Commander of the base, Air Commodore Anthony Ndache, lauded the transformation recorded at the base and reiterated the loyalty of the officers and men to the Commander in Chief.

Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of awards to some deserving officers and airmen that distinguished themselves at the base. (NAN)
YMU/MNA

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu

Support

By Kemi Ajayi (07030633202)

Lagos, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) Samuel Ekeoma, the National Coordinator of Para Badminton on Thursday solicited the assistance of government and corporate bodies for the body ahead of sporting activities for 2019.

Ekeoma told the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) in Lagos that such support would enable the body to enhance its athletes in the coming year.

The coordinator said its athletes represented the country well at international competitions in the outgoing year, adding that getting more support would increase their participation at the international level in 2019.

“This outgoing year is indeed a challenging year for para badminton athletes in the country, but despite all, our athletes were able to rise above the challenge.

“2019 is around the corner and we need more support from the government and private organisations to forge ahead and get our athletes ready for international engagements.

“Para badminton brought glory to the country in 2018 and we want to do more in 2019.

“We thank those that supported us in 2018 and urge them not to relent in their support,” he said.

NAN reports that para badminton athletes won eight gold, eight silver and three bronze medals from two international Para Badminton competitions held in Uganda, this year.

Ekeoma added that efforts would be put in place to attract more physically-challenged persons to the sport by working hand-in-hand with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria.

He said that more grassroot competitions would be organised across the country to aid talent discovery in the sport. (NAN)
KOA/KOLE/PIO
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(Edited by Remi Koleoso/Idonije Obakhedo)

2019: Vote credible candidates, not just party, Maku urges Nigerians

Elections
By Sunday John
Nassarawa-Eggon (Nasarawa State), Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) Mr Labaran Maku, Nasarawa State governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has called on Nigerians to vote for candidates based on their credibility and vision, and not just because of political party.

Maku, the National Secretary of APGA, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, in Wakama, Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Area.

According to him, Nigerians should not make a mistake of voting for candidates on the basis of coming from the same tribe or having same religion.

“2019 is yet another privilege for all Nigerians to choose leaders, and if you make any mistake, you have to live with it for another four years.

“Candidates must prove that they have the capacity, vision and plans to address the challenges confronting the county and make it better than they found it.

“Candidates who only present their political parties and not their vision as the reason they are contesting for election should not be voted for,” Maku said.

He urged those going for elective posts to also have the interest of the electorate at heart.

The candidate said that there are good and bad people in every political party, so the electorate should look beyond political party to vote good people.

He promised to make Nasarawa state a place where good governance and leadership would be pursued, if elected in 2019. (NAN)

SDJ/OOA/SOA
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Edited by Olabisi Akinbode/Oluwole Sogunle

Water
By Blessing Odega,
Jos, Dec.27, 2018 (NAN) Mr Lambert Gomzuk, General Manager, Plateau State Water Board, says residents of Jos-Bukuru have access to only 45 per cent of the 120, 000 cubic litres of water they require daily.

Gomzuk said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos.

He said that scarcity of water in the neighbourhood was due to the failure of the water treatment plants to function optimally.

“Therefore, the board has no other option than to ration water supply to various homes in the area,’’ he said.

Gomzuk said that the Yakubu Gowon Treatment Plant and the Laminga Treatment Plant had the capacity to pump out 90, 000 cubic meters and 30, 000 cubic meters of water respectively every day if they were functioning well.

He, however, said that board had accessed a World Bank loan to enable it to tackle the technical hitches currently facing the treatment plants by 2019.

He also said that the board had started applying the powdered chlorine, instead of the gaseous chlorine, in treating its water, so as to forestall the recurrence of the gaseous chlorine leakage that killed several people in 2015. (NAN)
UBO/OSA/OOK
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Edited by Shittu Obassa and Dayo Komolafe

No Vacancy in Villa till 2023, Marwa tells Atiku, others

Marwa

By Muhammad Auwal

Yola, Dec. 27, 2018 ( NAN) The former Military Governor of Lagos State, rtd. Gen. Buba Marwa said that all those eyeing to occupy Aso Presidential Villa should wait till 2023, as President Muhammadu Buhari would be returned to power in 2019.

Marwa made the declaration while fielding questions from Journalists on Thursday in Yola.

Marwa, who is the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Drugs, said he was confident that President Buhari would defeat other presidential candidates in the 2019 election.

“Buba Marwa Organization is the first to organise rally in support of President Buhari in 2016, because Buhari have done very well in three areas of economy, security and fight against corruption.

“He will return for the second time by the grace of God, and for that, I have no doubt all those vying for Aso Villa should wait till 2023,” Marwa said.

On the recent security situation in the country, he said the Army and other security agencies had done excellently well and need more support and encouragement from the general public.

On illicit drugs, Marwa said the committee he was chairing had made several contacts and efforts to control the importation, consumption and dealing in such drugs and the trafficker. (NAN)
AMA/MZA

Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

Guest allegedly beats up woman for son’s refusal to greet

Beating
By Deborah Akpede
Ikeja, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) A 43-year-old guest, Donnie Egbuzie, on Thursday, appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly inflicting injuries on a woman, for her son’s refusal to greet him.

Egbuzie, a resident of Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos, is being tried on one-count charge of assault.

The prosecutor, Insp Akeem Raji, said the accused committed the offence on Dec. 11, at Ipaja area of Lagos.

He said that the accused assaulted Mrs Jennifer Chibueze by beating her up and inflicting injuries on her.

Raji said that the accused, who came to visit one of Chibueze’s neighbours, called her son a bastard, for failing to greet him.

“The eight-year-old boy cried to her mother and told her that the accused called him a bastard.

“Chibueze, the complainant, followed him to where the accused was, to know why he called him a bastard.

“The accused told her that he called her son a bastard because he lacked respect by not greeting him.

“When the complainant warned him never to call her son a bastard, he descended on her by beating to the extent of dragging her on the ground,” Raji submitted.

The prosecutor said that the accused was arrested following a report by the complainant.

The assault contravenes Section 173 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised), which prescribes three years’ imprisonment on conviction.

Egbuzie, however, pleaded not guilty, and the magistrate, Mrs Jadesola Ajayi, granted him N50, 000 bail with two sureties in like sum.

Ajayi said that the sureties should be gainfully employed and show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

She adjourned further hearing in the matter until Feb. 6. (NAN)

DOA/FLP/IGO/YEMI
Edited by Folorunso Poroye/Ijeoma Popoola/Yemi Idris-Aduloju

Accused
By Teniola Ibitola

Lagos, Dec. 27, 2018(NAN) The police on Thursday arraigned a 23-year-old suspected cultist, Babatunde Ogundipe, in an  Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly robbing and raping innocent pedestrians.

The accused, is charged with two counts of conspiracy and engaging in unlawful activities.

The prosecutor, Oladele Adebayo, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Christmas Eve at  about 3.30 a.m., at Okobaba St., Ebute Meta.

Insp  Adebayo alleged that the accused also snatched women’s handbags.

He said that the police also arrested the accused with dangerous weapons with which he uses in intimidating and rapping innocent passers-by.

The offence, Adebayo said, violated the provisions of sections 42 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr O.O. Olatunji, admitted the accused to a bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties each in like sum who must have proof of evidence of tax payment for  three years.

He fixed Jan. 30, 2019 for further hearing.(NAN)

OAT/SH

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edited by Sadiya Hamza

Marathon
By Igbaugba Ehigimetor
Benin, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) Mr Christopher Ojo, the initiator of the Owan Marathon, says the competition was initiated to check the dominance of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes in the long distance race.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Owan Marathon made its debut in 2017, producing Gabriel Adewale and Odion Idekho as winners in the male and female categories respectively.

Ojo spoke with  NAN on the phone on Thursday while unfolding the plans for the second edition of the race.

He said the second edition would ensure the emergence of top competitors in marathon races on the continent.

Ojo said the event which had been scheduled for Jan. 26, 2019, would harness raw talents from Edo and across the country in preparation for global competitions.

“Our plan is not just to put Owan on the global map, but also discover talents that abound in the area, Edo state and by extension, the country.

“Upon discovery, our plan is to mould these athletes into global competitors with the ultimate aim of stopping the dominance of the East Africans—Kenyans and Ethiopians– in marathon races in the continent.

“We will place these discoveries into a strict training programme and prepare them for marathon races within and outside the country as part of a plan to launch them into global recognition.

“It may interest you to know that our discovery in the first edition, Gabriel Adewale and Odion Idekho, are already doing well.

“After we discover them, they both have competitors in Lagos marathon race, Warri and Okpekpe road race.

“In the 2018 edition of the Lagos marathon which was their very first major competition, just three months after they were discovered, Adewale and Idekho placed seventh with a time of 36 minutes and ninth respectively in the male and female 10 km category of the Lagos race,’’ he said.

Ojo noted that the athletes were discovered with raw talents and they took part in a marathon race for the very first time and practically on barefoot.

“I am greatly impressed and encouraged by their performance thus far;  it goes to show that with more of the proper mentoring and training they have been receiving, they will go places,” he stated.

He said the second edition of the Owan marathon race would be better planned and organised, taking into consideration the short-comings noticed in the first edition. (NAN)
ESI/OSA/OJO
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(Edited by Shittu Obassa/Mufutau Ojo)

Bail
By Deborah Akpede
Ikeja, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN)An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, admitted a 40-year-old man, Frederick Akinboboye, for failing to produce his 15-year-old son to face trial for alleged rape of a minor, to bail in the sum of N500,000.

Magistrate Mrs B.O Osunsanmi, ordered Akinboboye to produce two sureties as part of the bail condition.

Osunsanmi ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and show evidences of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government,

The case was adjourned until Jan. 8, 2019 for hearing

Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP Ezekiel Ayorinde, told the court that the accused committed the offence in November at Ojokoro Police Station, Lagos.

Ayorinde said the accused conspired with his 15-year-old son to obstruct and pervert the course of justice .

“The accused stood as a surety for his son, who was arrested for allegedly defiling a minor and impregnating her.

“His son was then released to the accused, who promised to produce him on Nov. 26 and other subsequent dates till the case is finally disposed off.

“But the accused failed to produce his son to the police on Nov. 26 as promised,” the prosecutor said.

The offence, he added, contravened the provisions of section 97 (1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Akinboboye, who resides at Ojokoro, Lagos, entered a `not-guilty’ plea to the conspiracy and perversion of justice charges levelled against him.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 97 (1) provides seven years imprisonment for perversion of justice while section 411 attracts two years for conspiracy. (NAN)
DOA/SH

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edited by Sadiya Hamza

Expert alerts states, LGAs on use of detergents by fruit vendors

Fruits

By Chidinma Agu (08034102013)

Lagos, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) A vegetable and fruit expert, Dr Ikechi Agbugba, on Thursday urged states and local governments to check traders and food vendors using detergents to wash fruits, vegetables, root tubers and nuts.

Agbugba, a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Port Harcourt, gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos.

According to him, the membranes (cover) of fruits, vegetables, root tubers and nuts are porous and when soaked in water or liquids, absorb easily and the use of detergents to wash them is hazardous.

“This habit has been going on for long and needs to be stopped. It is common sight today at street corners and road side markets, fruit vendors scrubbing fruits inside soapy containers as if they are washing jean trousers.

“’When you confront them, they will tell you it was the only way to wash off the soil dirt from the fruits.

“Using Clean water and local sponge is okay and enough to remove the dirt and any residue from the soil,’’ he said.

Agbugba said that when soaked in soapy water, the fruits absorbed the chemicals through the porous membrane making them unfit for consumption.

He said that fruit sellers were feeding unsuspecting consumers with chemical poison in the name of cleanliness.

According to him, some of these vendors are ignorant of the danger their action is posing to human health and need to be educated.

He said such information could be effectively disseminated through the associations and unions of fruit vendors.

Agbugba said that the market town criers could also be used, adding that the market officials would be able to enlighten retailers on the risks of washing fruits and vegetables with detergents.

He also advised the local governments to visit road side food retailers and illegal markets on a daily basis to check these practices.

He said that when fruits on display were extraordinary clean, it was likely that they had been washed with detergent.

The vegetable expert said that those with high sense of smell would also be able to perceive the scent of detergent on such fruits. (NAN)

ACA/KOLE/DOR
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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Nyisom Dore