Blog

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Migrants
Augusta (Italy), Nov. 7, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) Almost 700 migrants arrived at the Italian port town of Augusta on Monday after being rescued from their perilous boat journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The migrants, rescued by Italian and Spanish ships, crowded on the deck of the vessel as it approached the Sicilian port, where Red Cross personnel waited to assist them.

Italy’s coast guard said on Saturday more than 2,200 migrants were rescued at sea that day as they tried to reach Europe and 10 bodies were recovered.

The International Organisation for Migration said last week that 4,220 migrants had died in the Mediterranean this year. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Damilola Oyewole/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

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Performance

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Abuja, Nov. 7, 2016 (NAN) The Senate on Monday commended the Nigerian Christians Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) for the successful handling of Christian pilgrimage, saying it was an “excellent performance’’.

Sen. Tijani Kaura, Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs, gave the commendation during the committee’s oversight visit to the commission in Abuja.

Kaura promised to ensure adequate legislative support for the commission, adding that the committee was impressed with the performance of the commission’s 2016 budget.

He said that the approval of the commission’s budget for 2017 would be determined by the performance of the current year’s budget.

According to him, the senate is ready to work harmoniously with NCPC in order to assist it to carry out effective pilgrimage operations, deliver its benefits to Nigeria and move the country forward.

“The committee is here to interact with you and to see the level of performance of your 2016 budget.

“The committee will look at the performance of the previous budget to guide us in determining your next budget,” Kaura said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Rev. Tor Ujah, had said that NCPC was committed to delivering the benefits of pilgrimage to the country by focusing on the spiritual aspect of the exercise.

Ujah told the committee that NCPC had put adequate security measures in place to address the issue of absconding pilgrims, adding that all relevant security agencies were involved in the arrangement.

According to him, it is important for all Nigerians to know that absconding in the foreign land is self enslavement because you can never be king in another person’s country.

Ujah called on the senate support the commission to deliver its mandate through adequate budgetary allocation.

He urged all Nigerians to be involved in the spiritual growth of the country, adding that the country had come to a point where its glory must be shown to the world.

He commended the committee for its confidence in the commission and its activities. (NAN)

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Edited by Olisa Ifeajika

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Ebola
Dakar, Nov. 7, 2016, (Reuters/NAN) Thousands of Ebola orphans, teenage mothers and children in Sierra Leone are struggling to feed themselves and their families amid widespread food shortages in the West African nation, a British charity said on Monday.

While most families devastated by Ebola have received humanitarian aid, at least 1,400 children orphaned by the epidemic urgently need support, according to Street Child.

The world’s worst outbreak of the disease now officially over killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it swept through Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea from 2013.

“Teenage orphans have taken on the burden of looking after their young siblings and are struggling to cope.

“Several have dropped out of school, sacrificing their own futures to try and make sure that their brothers and sisters can stay in education.

“Sadly, running a business and a household is proving too tough for many of them,” Street Child’s Chief Executive Officer, Tom Dannatt said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had said that some 3.5 million people more than half of Sierra Leone’s population do not have enough safe and nutritious food to eat.

Food shortages in most of the country are caused by problems that predate the Ebola outbreak, according to the U.N. food agencies.

It said the number of people “severely” affected by a lack of food has increased by 60 per cent since 2010.

The shortages, which have seen the price of a bag of rice more than double since 2014, have hit orphans, teenage mothers and child-headed households the hardest, Street Child said.

The Ebola epidemic left more than 12,000 children orphaned while at least 18,000 teenage girls became pregnant during the outbreak, according to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Damilola Oyewole/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

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Crash

Yaounde, Nov. 7, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) Victims of a rail crash that killed at least 79 people in Cameroon have filed a lawsuit against the train operator, Camrail and its French owner, Bollore Group, on Monday.

Lawyer to the defendants, Guy Moteng, said that they were accused of negligence and involuntary manslaughter.

A packed passenger train derailed last month between the capital Yaounde and the central African country’s port city of Douala. Carriages flipped over, injuring at least 428 people.

“A Bollore executive said that the train was going at an unusually high speed and travelling with twice the usual number of carriages, with the permission of authorities, to accommodate extra passengers.

“Up to 28 victims have pressed charges for carelessness, injury and involuntary manslaughter.

“We want the blame and the chain of responsibility to be established.”

“Among the complainants are friends and family of three people who took the train and have not been found since, with no trace of them in hospitals or morgues,’’ Moteng said.

Spokesmen for Camrail and Bollore declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying “we are awaiting the results of investigations’’.

The lawsuit was filed in the town of Eseka, where the train derailed. However, Moteng said there was a possibility complaints would be raised in a court in Paris.

Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, created a government committee to look into the causes of the tragedy.

The company has also said it was carrying out an internal investigation.  (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Damilola Oyewole

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Rape

By Edith Nwapi

Abuja, Nov. 7, 2016 (NAN) An FCT High Court on Monday adjourned the alleged rape case a 60-year-old man, Saidu Amadu and Nuhu Umaru, 50, to Nov. 29.

The defendants, both of Dankwa village Bwari, were being tried on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and raping of a 10- year- old girl at Agwa Fulani Zuba, Abuja, on April 11, 2014.

The offences contravened sections 97 and 283 of the Penal Code.

The judge, Justice Salisu Garba, adjourned the matter following an application from the prosecuting counsel, Mrs Onyeka Ohakwe, who was absent.

Garba remanded the defendants in the prison till the next adjourned date of hearing.

At the resumed hearing, Mr Mohamed Tola, counsel for the two defendants told the court that the prosecuting counsel who was in the court earlier told him that she was going for another matter at the Federal High Court.

Tola also told the court that the prosecution witness were not in the court, adding  that the case was for continuation of hearing

He, however, did not object to the application for adjournment. (NAN)

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Edited by Felix Nwadioha

Agency to distribute school uniform, bags, sandals to 5,000 nomadic pupils

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Pupils
Dutse, Nov. 7, 2016 (NAN) The Jigawa Agency for Nomadic Education has concluded arrangement to distribute school uniforms, sandals and bags to over 5,000 nomadic pupils in the state.

Alhaji Ali Manu, the Executive Secretary of the agency, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Monday.

Manu said the items would be distributed to the pupils in all its 3,000 nomadic schools across the state.

“By the grace of God, we will commence the distribution of these items in our 300 nomadic schools in the state, next week.

“And they will be distributed to the nomadic pupils for free,” Manu said.

He explained that the policy is part of government’s efforts to improve pupils’ enrollment, attendance and retention in nomadic schools

The executive secretary, who commended the government for the gesture, stated that the items would be distributed equally among the nomadic pupils.

According to him, it will go a long way in bridging educational gaps between the nomads and non-nomads children in the area.

Manu expressed the hope that the government’s decision would also to boost literacy level of nomadic children at the grassroots.

He, therefore, appealed to parents to complement the government’s effort by ensuring that their children enroll in primary and Islamic schools.

“I want use this opportunity to call on nomads to instead of sending their children to graze animals, send them to schools at an early age in order to help them secure a brighter future,” he pleaded. (NAN)
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Edited by Felix Ajide
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Meeting
By Chukwuemeka Opara
Abakaliki, Nov.7, 2016 (NAN) Political gladiators in Ebonyi, who included Gov. David Umahi and his predecessor, Chief Martin Elechi, met on Monday in Abakaliki to broker peace.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the relationship between the duo had not being cordial since the 2015 general elections when Umahi emerged governor against the wishes of his former boss, Elechi.

Monday’s meeting was the second since Umahi assumed office.

The first meeting, held in June 2015, failed to yield fruits as the feud between the two political heavy weights persisted.

Monday’s meeting which was convened by the Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki, Michael Okoro saw politicians from both camps engaging in peace talks which lasted for four hours.

Present at the meeting, held behind closed doors were:  Umahi, Elechi and Chief Edward Nkwegu, Labour Party candidate during the 2015 elections who Elechi supported.

Serving senators, members of the House of Representatives, members of the state House of Assembly, Commissioners, among others in Gov. Umahi’s camp attended the meeting.

Past political office holders, founding fathers of the state and other prominent politicians in Elechi’s camp also attended the meeting held at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Abakaliki.

At the end of the meeting, the feuding parties were seen exchanging pleasantries.

When approached by newsmen, the participants refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting.

When pressed for his comments, Gov. Umahi said, “there is no problem, we have made peace.”

However an aide to former Gov. Elechi, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that talks were still in process to broker lasting peace deal. (NAN)

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Edited by Archibong Asuquo

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Warning
Shuaibu Tatu
Brinin Kebbi, Nov. 7, 2016 (NAN) The General Manager of Kebbi State Environmental Protection Agency (KESEPA), Alhaji Musa Umar, has warned farmers in the state to desist from the habit of bush burning.

Umar gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Brinin Kebbi on Monday.

He said bush burning had negative impact on soil condition, especially the loss of ability to absorb and retain water.

”Bush burning results in the soil lacking in nitrogen that contributes to the growth of crops.

“It causes air pollution, reduces quality of the soil, destroys vegetation, livestock and economic trees,” he said.

The general manager said the agency would sensitise farmers against bush burning as part of efforts to reduce deforestation.(NAN)
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Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

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Automation
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Nov. 7, 2016 (NAN) The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has solicited the cooperation of data originators and other stakeholders to ensure smooth take-off of  the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) Automation project.

NAMA stated this  in the Weekly Publication of its Public Affairs Department obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

The agency stated that its partners should also help to  enhance the AIS sustainability.

NAMA stated that  the project,  in 11 locations, was expected to be completed and launched in December 2017.

Mr Emma Anasi, Acting Managing Director of the Agency, called on key agencies to enhance their data collation, origination, processing, storage and exchange system to meet the requirement of the project.

The key agencies, according to Anasi , include Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).

Others are the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Air Force.

He said the facility would link Nigeria to a centralised aeronautical database that would be connected to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) AFI Region Centralized Aeronautical Information Database (AFI-CAT).

Anasi said that the 26 VSAT facilities in various airports nationwide under the AIS Automation project, would provide a structure for the exchange and management of flight operations, aerodrome, safety, and meteorological, financial as well as administrative information.

“This network of information flow from service providers or data originators to airlines or airspace users would create the required environment for airport collaborative decision making.

“Other deliverables will include the enhancement of e-NOTAM, e-Flight Planning, e-AIP, e-TOD, e-Charts, e-Flight briefing and also boost capacity for voice and data communication for both air-to-ground and ground-to-ground communication,’’ Anasi said. (NAN)
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Edited by David Onilede/Nkechi Okoronkwo

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FBI

Washington, Nov. 7, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) Democrat Hillary Clinton heads into the final day of a tight White House race against Republican Donald Trump on Monday.

She took this step with new momentum after the FBI said no criminal charges were forthcoming in an investigation of her email practices.

Both Clinton and Trump will spend the day racing across a handful of battleground states that could swing Tuesday’s election, which polls show is close but tilting toward Clinton.

FBI Director James Comey again sent shockwaves through the race by telling Congress on Sunday that investigators had worked round the clock to complete a review of newly discovered emails.

He said that they found no reason to change their July finding that Clinton was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing in her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

It was uncertain whether the announcement came in time to change voters’ minds or undo any damage from days of Republican attacks on Clinton as corrupt.

Tens of millions of Americans had cast early votes in the 10 days since Comey first told Congress of the newly discovered emails.

“Nothing’s going to change between today and tomorrow to help Clinton win back” undecided voters,” Trump Campaign Manager, Kellyanne Conway said.

Trump, who has not said whether he will respect the results of Tuesday’s election, questioned the thoroughness of the FBI review and said the issue would not go away.

Clinton did not mention the FBI finding during her last two campaign events.

“That’s behind us now,” Campaign Manager Robby Mook said.  (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Damilola Oyewole/Morayo Omolade