Nigerian Eye

I won’t pay striking workers – Fayose

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Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has threatened to apply no-work-no-pay rule for workers who embark on strike in the state without following due process and labour laws. 
 
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He also refuted the allegation that he awarded contracts for the proposed ultra modern Oja Oba market, the Fly over in Fajuyi and the proposed Airstrip to his relatives, business associates and those who financed his election. 
 
The governor clarified that none of his family members, particularly his children, were contractors, saying that “even if they are contractors, I would not have been foolish to the extent of asking them to come to Ekiti to take up contracts. So, all the All Progressives Congress was doing is to discredit me for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari.” 
 
The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday while featuring on the monthly programme ‘Mr Governor Explain.’ 
 
 
 
Fayose, who said he holds the state workers in high esteem, added that his government would no longer tolerate acts of indolence and unnecessary strikes that could further worsen the state’s financial position. 
 
He further urged for understanding from primary school teachers, who just returned to work after a two-day warning strike because of the outstanding September 2014 salary and 2015 leave bonuses. 
 
The governor threatened to “divert the salary of any group of workers who embark on strike to those ready to show concern and understanding about the dwindling economic resources of the state.” 
 
He said, “Since I came back, Ekiti is financially challenged. I have not hidden the financial position of the state from workers, particularly the teachers, because they are the set of people I have shown so much love for. I celebrate them on annual basis. Even during my first term, people called me Teachers’ Governor due to my love for them. 
 
“But the strike they embarked on recently could have been resolved without any crisis if we had dialogued. Repect, they say, begets respect. Every worker in the State knows how much Ekiti takes after FACC in Abuja, because I always lay it bare on the table. 
 
“We should also know that the people who are not salary earners must be taken care of. We can’t be paying salary and neglecting other people from having access to facilities like good roads, good water supply including the market I just inaugurated, ’’ he said. 
 
Meanwhile, Fayose has said President Muhammadu Buhari has no clue about how to run the country’s economy. 
 
He also advised the President to stop making a noise about his fight against corruption. 
 
The governor also accused Buhari of practising what he called “sectional economy” by spending billions of naira to exploit oil in the North. 
 
Speaking on The Osasu Show posted on YouTube on Friday, Fayose said the All Progressives Congress-led government was acting as if it is still in the opposition. 
 
“My first counsel to the Federal Government is that they should stop the noise about corruption. The Federal Government should face the nation’s economy and build it. The government needs to be sincere about the economy than playing to the gallery. 
 
“You want to diversify and you are taking more than N150 billion to explore oil in the North; that shows a leader that is sectional. When we want to diversify we diversify the country’s economy and not an economy that is sectional.” 
 
He said, “Every war against corruption is welcome by me but in the situation whereby it is selective, political, it will be counterproductive. Cases like Halliburton is in the public domain, we cannot shy away from it. 
 
“People believe that if the President (Muhammadu Buhari) wants to fight corruption he must be total. With due respect, President Buhari is a dictator. They are operating as if they are still in opposition because they don’t have a clue to this economy. 
 
“In my prediction I said that Buhari is still in an analogue stage. He does not have a clue about the economy of Nigeria. The President does not understand economy. He can do everything simultaneously without rocking the boat of the whole country. 
 
“Everywhere there is tension. He goes out of the country and tells the world and investors that the country is corrupt. He destroys his own people; who will come and do business with them?” the governor said.

Latest-News I won’t pay striking workers – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has threatened to apply no-work-no-pay rule for workers who embark on strike in the state without fo...

Cult members kill 15 in Rivers community

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About 50 gunmen suspected to be cult members attacked Omoku Town in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State on Friday night, killing 15 persons including a couple and two brothers. 
 
The cult members armed with cutlasses and different rifles, including AK-47 guns, came into the town at about 7pm on Friday and began shooting sporadically, a development that caused confusion in the area. 
 
While some residents of the area ran to nearby bushes and neighbouring villages, others remained indoors more than 12 hours after the attack. 
 
A similar incident occurred in the area (Omoku) in September 2015 when 15 persons were shot dead by suspected cult members. 
 
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It was gathered that some of the unknown gunmen marched from house to house and scared residents with their intermittent and deafening gunshots. 
 
A source informed our correspondent through the telephone that some of the 15 persons that were killed were beheaded by the marauding men. 
 
He disclosed that among those killed were a couple and two brothers from the same parents while half of those killed were beheaded. 
 
The source said some of the areas in Omoku which the gunmen attacked were Sabo Road, Odieti, Usoniri and Obakata Quarters. 
 
“Gunmen last night took over Omoku, killing not less than 15 persons. Among those killed were husband and wife as well as two brothers from the same parents. Half of those killed were beheaded by their attackers. 
 
“The attack started around 7pm on Friday when we heard the sound of gunshots. We were told that about 50 gunmen came into Omoku Town and began to shoot indiscriminately. 
 
“Those outside ran for their lives and we that were inside have been indoors in order not to be hit by the gunmen’s bullet. It was a terrible situation,” the source said. 
 
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, confirmed the incident, but said only six people, who were members of a cult group, were killed. 
 
Mohammad explained that the incident was a battle for supremacy between rival cult groups in the town, adding that the situation had been brought under control by the police. 
 
He said, “The incident is reasonably believed to be a battle of supremacy between rival cult groups in the town. As it is now, the situation is under control as anti-riot policemen were drafted to reinforce the existing security in the town. As for casualties, six dead bodies of the suspected cultists were recovered.”

Latest-News Cult members kill 15 in Rivers community

About 50 gunmen suspected to be cult members attacked Omoku Town in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State on Friday nig...

I was third on Dimka’s death list – TY Danjuma

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Lt. Gen Theophilus Danjuma on Saturday said he was the third person on the list of those marked for assassination during the failed 13 February, 1976 coup d’état that claimed the life of the then Head-of-State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed, and many others. 
 
He said this at the Murtala Muhammed 40th Memorial Lecture held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja where President Muhammadu Buhari and Danjuma, a former Minister of Defence, were among several dignitaries who applauded the virtues and leadership qualities of the late Gen. Muhammed. 
 
President Buhari described the late military ruler as a man with extra-ordinary passion who was in a hurry to make Nigeria better. 
 
He noted that although his late boss had a not-too-easy relationship with some of his colleagues in the Army, his loyalty and dedication to his fatherland was never in doubt. 
 
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The President said, “His life, short though it proved to be, was marked by an extraordinary passion, energy and determination to do better, and to make Nigeria better. These are values that young and old alike should all remember – and celebrate.” 
 
While extolling the leadership qualities of the late Head-of State, Buhari noted that by the time Murtala was given Command during the Civil War, the Federal side was on the defensive. 
 
According to him, the rebels had overrun the then Mid-West, and reached as far as Ore, just 100 miles from Lagos. 
 
He said, “By dint of sheer bravery, improvisation and resourcefulness, he mustered a rag-tag group of soldiers, integrated them into an entirely new division, knocked them into fighting shape, recovered Mid-West and ventured across the Niger. Alas, there were terrible casualties on both sides. 
 
“But Murtala’s motto was to get the job done as quickly as possible; sacrifice and loss were part of the risks of war. 
 
“Relations between Murtala and some other senior officers were not always easy. But no one could doubt his inspirational qualities or call into question his love and dedication in the service of Nigeria.” 
 
Buhari further explained that Murtala Muhammed’s death robbed the nation of a leader who was determined to deal with the menace of corruption and indiscipline with an uncommon zeal. 
 
Recalling the events of February 13, 1976, Buhari said he was at his duty post as Military Governor of the defunct North Eastern State when he received a call from General TY Danjuma. 
 
According to him, the following conversation ensued: 
 
“Gen. Danjuma called me and said: ‘Mohammed, where are you? 
 
“I said, in the office sir. 
 
“He said, ‘do you know what is happening?’ 
 
“I said ‘where?’ He said in Lagos. He said the Head of State had left his house and was driving his car to the office then around the secretariat, there was shooting. 
 
“I said they must have murdered him. And he said, ‘do something.”’ 
 
The President went on to explain how he rallied troops in Maiduguri and Yola to avoid a breakdown of law and order adding that since it was a Friday, he had to go to the Mosque, a decision he said, helped to douse the tension that had built up over happenings in Lagos. 
 
Buhari said within the six months of Gen. Muhammed’s rule, he was able to articulate a clear vision of the legacies he was bequeathing to Nigeria. 
 
He noted that the late general was instrumental to the creation of additional states and laying the foundation for moving the Federal Capital from Lagos to Abuja. 
 
President Buhari enjoined all present to see the occasion as one of celebration and not of mourning because the late icon lived a life worthy of emulation. 
 
Earlier, General TY Danjuma who served under the late Head-of-State said, he was alive only by the grace of God because Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka and his gang of conspirators had condemned him to death. 
 
He said, “February 13, 1976 was a Friday. In English mythology -I don’t know how it started, but the combination of Friday and the number 13, represent bad luck. 
 
“When I remember that day; it leaves me with varied emotions because I too had been condemned to die by Dimka and his associates. 
 
“In fact, on the list that he brought to General Iliya Bissalla, our then Commissioner of Defence, to seek his approval, I was number three on the death list. 
 
“Bissalla promoted me to number two. That I am still alive today is by the grace of God.” 
 
He enjoined the Murtala Mohammed Foundation to ensure a proper documentation of its activities for posterity. He promised to finance a documentary of the foundation’s activities on television. 
 
Danjuma stressed the importance of accurate record of events to avoid distortions by those who know nothing about what happened. 
 
In his key note address, General David Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom, said Nigeria deserved more accolades for its human and material sacrifice in resolving the conflict in Sierra-Leone than it had gotten. 
 
Richards who spoke on “Regional Security and State Building: Portents and Prospects”, noted that the tendency to recommend the same template for tackling crisis in each state had proved a sad lesson re-lent across continents over the years. 
 
He also noted that contemporary insurgency required a new strategy to tackle because the force of arms alone could not resolve issues therein. 
 
The retired Army General noted that the growth of social media, rivalries among states and on-line real time news adds to the complications experienced in trying to manage conflict. 
 
Richards said, “The loss of the control of the agenda is the greatest threat to the World Order” adding that, states must now do more to gain and retain public confidence through the provision of quality leadership. 
 
An adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on West African Affairs, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, recalled that he was a university student studying in Ghana when Gen. Murtala Muhammed was assassinated. 
 
He stated that students all over Africa protested because they knew the contributions Nigeria under the late General’s leadership was making towards liberating the rest of Africa.

Latest-News I was third on Dimka’s death list – TY Danjuma

Lt. Gen Theophilus Danjuma on Saturday said he was the third person on the list of those marked for assassination during the failed 13 Fe...

Men face higher risk of cancers linked to oral sex

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Men are twice as likely as women to get cancer of the mouth and throat linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, researchers say. 
 
Love For men, the risk of HPV-driven cancers of the head and neck rise along with the number of oral sex partners, researchers said Friday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in the US capital. 
 
 
<a id="more" name="more"></a> Nearly two out of three of these oral cancers in the United States and most western nations are caused by infection with the HPV 16 strain of the virus, and incidence of cancer is on the rise in recent years, said Gypsyamber D’Souza, who teaches epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Middle aged white men are at particularly high risk compared to other races. She said her research shows that youths are engaging in oral sex at increasingly young ages, compared to past generations. “Our research shows that for men, the number of oral sex partners — as that number increases, the risk of an oral HPV infection increases,” she told reporters. But with women, the number of sexual partners does not appear to raise the risk. “Comparing men and women with the same number of sexual partners, a man is much more likely to become infected with oral HPV than a woman.” Furthermore, women who have a greater number of vaginal sex partners appear to face a lower risk of oral HPV infection, she said. The reason may be that when women are first exposed to HPV vaginally, they mount an immune response that prevents them from getting an oral HPV infection, she said. But men do not seem to have equally robust immune responses. “Men are not only more likely to be infected with oral HPV infection than women, but our research shows that once you become infected, men are less likely to clear this infection than women, further contributing for the cancer risk.” HPV infection is quite common, and most people clear the virus within a year or two, she said. In some cases, however, HPV does not go away and can lead to cellular changes in the mouth and throat, which eventually become cancerous. Oral sex may raise the risk of head and neck cancer by 22 percent, according to a study published January in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). This type of cancer has risen 225 percent in the last two decades. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges HPV vaccination for all pre-teen boys and girls so they can be protected against the infection before they become sexually active.

Latest-News Men face higher risk of cancers linked to oral sex

Men are twice as likely as women to get cancer of the mouth and throat linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, one of the most comm...

Russia decries ‘new Cold War’ as East-West tensions cloud talks

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The world has plunged into a “new Cold War”, the Russian premier said Saturday, as East-West tensions over Syria and Ukraine dominated a gathering of world leaders in Germany. US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Munich Security Conference that Russia must stop targeting moderate rebels in Syria and pull its troops out of Ukraine. 
 
 
<a id="more" name="more"></a>“To date, the vast majority of Russia’s attacks (in Syria) have been against legitimate opposition groups,” Kerry told the audience. 
 
“To adhere to the agreement it made, Russia’s targeting must change,” he said, referring to the international deal forged on Friday, in which foreign ministers agreed to seek a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria within a week. “This is the moment. This is a hinge point. Decisions made in the coming days and weeks, and a few months could end the war in Syria 
 
 –- or could define a very difficult set of choices for the future.” He spoke shortly after Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the world had “slid into a new period of Cold War.” “Almost every day we are accused of making new horrible threats either against NATO as a whole, against Europe or against the US or other countries,” Medvedev said. 
 
– ‘This is your aggression’ – 
 
A panel of eastern European leaders were eager to add to the criticism of Russia’s assertive foreign policy. “Every single day, Russian troops, Russian weapons, Russian ammunition penetrate into my country,” said Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko. He addressed Russia’s president, who was not present, saying: “Mr (Vladimir) Putin, this is not a civil war in Ukraine, this is your aggression. 
 
This is not a civil war in Crimea, this is your soldiers who occupied my country.” Kerry emphasised that sanctions on Russia would remain in place until it implements all aspects of the Ukraine peace agreement reached in Belarus’ capital Minsk last year. 
 
“Russia has a simple choice: fully implement Minsk or continue to face economically damaging sanctions,” he said. An emotional Poroshenko also warned that “pro-Russian parties” were undermining Europe from within with an alternative set of values. “Isolationism, intolerance, disrespect of human rights, religious fanatics, homophobia 
 
 — this alternative Europe has a leader. His name is Mr Putin.” By contrast, Medvedev had earlier criticised the expansion of NATO and EU influence deep into formerly Soviet-ruled eastern Europe, which Russia still sees as its sphere of influence. “European politicians thought that creating a so-called belt of friends at Europe’s side, on the outskirts of the EU, could be a guarantee of security, and what’s the result?” he said. “Not a belt of friends but a belt of exclusion.” But he also struck a more positive note, saying: 
 
 “Our positions differ, but they do not differ as much as 40 years ago when a wall was standing in Europe.” 
 
 – ‘Coercion and intimidation’ – 
 
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg also addressed the forum, vowing to combine a firm stance against Russia with more dialogue. “We have seen a more assertive Russia, a Russia which is destabilising the European security order,” he said. “NATO does not seek confrontation and we don’t want a new Cold War. At the same time our response has to be firm.” NATO is “undertaking the biggest reinforcement to our collective defence in decades, to send a powerful signal to deter any aggression or intimidation,” Stoltenberg added. 
 
“Not to wage war, but to prevent war.” Earlier this week, Stoltenberg announced that plans had been approved for an increased NATO presence in eastern Europe — which sources said would involve between 3,000 and 6,000 troops rotating through the region. “Russia’s rhetoric, posture and exercises of its nuclear forces are aimed at intimidating its neighbours, undermining trust and stability in Europe,” Stoltenberg said in Munich. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hit back, criticising the “fashion for Russophobia in some capitals” and the “failure of NATO and the EU to fully cooperate with Russia”

Latest-News Russia decries ‘new Cold War’ as East-West tensions cloud talks

The world has plunged into a “new Cold War”, the Russian premier said Saturday, as East-West tensions over Syria and Ukraine dominated a ...

Bayelsa, Police disagree on allegation of baby selling

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The Ministry of Health, Bayelsa State, and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Saturday, said it was not true that a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Sawyer Wisdom, sold a baby girl delivered in the Survival Hospital located at Igbogene, Yenagoa, at N200,000. 
 
The ministry and FIDA said contrary to the claims of the police that the baby was nowhere to be found, the newborn was being catered for at the Gloryland Children Home, a motherless babies’ facility owned by the state government. 
 
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The police earlier said they arrested a doctor and a nurse at Survival Hospital, over an alleged plot to sell a newborn baby to a willing buyer at N200,000. 
 
Speaking in a press conference in Yenagoa, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ayibatonye Owei, said it became important for all the stakeholders in the baby-selling saga to clarify the issues to avoid dragging the ministry in the mud. 
 
Owei said there was no arrangement ab initio between the mother of the baby, Nwachukwu Nnenna and Sawyer, who is the owner of the hospital, to sell the baby. 
 
 
 
He explained that Nwachukwu came to the hospital demanding to terminate her seven-month-old pregnancy citing financial constraints. 
 
He said Sawyer discouraged her from carrying out the abortion, but opted to cater for and manage her condition until March 2 when she was delivered of a life baby girl. 
 
Owei explained that upon delivery, the mother and her baby were fed by the hospital and was later handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development because Nwachukwu said she could not take care of her. 
 
He said all the documentation for the transfer of the baby was properly done with the consent of the woman and that the newborn was later sent by the ministry to the government-owned motherless babies’ home. 
 
He said the police and other stakeholders went to the child care home to see the baby adding that the reports in the public domain about the matter were not correct. 
 
“It is disheartening that the police created an impression that the baby was missing. It is also wrong to say that a doctor, who is a permanent secretary in our ministry connived to sell the baby. 
 
“The baby is not missing. The baby is in the motherless baby home and there was no attempt whatsoever from the beginning to sell her,” he said. 
 
Also absolving himself of wrongdoing, Sawyer, said before he contacted the ministry to take the baby, the woman signed an undertaking to that effect. 
 
“The patient signed an undertaking to transfer the baby to the government since she could not care for the baby,” he said. 
 
Speaking on the matter, the Chairman of FIDA, Dise Ogbise-Erhisere and the Permanent Secretary, Women Affairs, Mrs. Ebiere Igodoh-Adeh corroborated the position of the ministry and Sawyer. 
 
They said the baby was not sold but was being properly cared for by the government at the motherless babies’ home. 
 
FIDA boss thanked the ministries of health and women affairs for opting to care for the helpless child.

Latest-News Bayelsa, Police disagree on allegation of baby selling

The Ministry of Health, Bayelsa State, and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Saturday, said it was not true that a Per...

Medical doctor remanded in prison over N32m fraud

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An Ogwashi-Uku Magistrate Court in Delta State on Thursday remanded a 47-year-old medical doctor (name withheld) and another in prison custody for allegedly defrauding the Hospital Management Board Corporative Society the sum of N32m. 
 
The presiding magistrate of the court, Mrs. Ann Okonkwo Okanume, who remanded the accused persons in Ogwashi-Uku prisons, said that the two suspects had been facing a three-count of conspiracy, fraud, aiding and abetting, even though they pleaded not guilty to the charges. 
 
Okanume ordered that the two suspects be remanded in Ogwashi-Uku prisons considering the overwhelming evidence against them while their case file be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice. 
 
Mrs. Okanume therefore adjourned the case till Friday 26th, 2016, for mention. 
 
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It was gathered that the two suspects were brought to court for allegedly collecting the sum of N32m from the HMB Corporative Society on false pretence of securing 10 acres of land in Issele-Azagba, Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state for members of the cooperative society. 
 
The accused medical doctor attached to Warri Central Hospital, sources said, allegedly hoodwinked members of the society that the 10 acres of land were ready, whereas while it was being inspected and shared to members, they were chased away by the real owners of the land. 
 
It was further gathered that all efforts to retrieve the N32 million from the suspects proved abortive, even as the intervention of the Management of HMB did not move the suspects to refund the money. 
 
The senior management employee on the board, who did not want his name in the print, confirmed that the suspects were taken to court by members of the cooperative society after exhausting all avenues for settlement. 
 
Meanwhile, rats and mosquitoes have allegedly sacked patients at the Delta State owned Bomadi General Hospital. 
 
While the workers and patients have continued to raise the alarm over the poor health care facilities, the hospital has been infested with mosquitoes and deadly rats that might pose the danger of the spread of Lassa fever-carrier pests. 
 
A human right activist, Mr. Edward Opukiri, said, “My wife was admitted into the hospital due to ill health. When I visited her, my experiences for the two days l spent with her were pathetic. 
 
“There was no light, no water around the hospital premises. When the rechargeable lamp goes off, rats come in large numbers and spread everywhere. There are so many rats in the hospital, including mosquitoes. These might cause Lassa fever if not prevented.” 
 
Investigation revealed that the hospital morgue is an eyesore while deceased persons were dried in the sun outside the mortuary. 
 
In most cases, those who visit the hospital, according to sources, perceive offensive odour everywhere in the premises. 
 
However, efforts to speak with the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Azinge, proved abortive as he retorted, “How did you get my number? Who gave you my number? I cannot speak with you now because I don’t know who gave you my number in the first place.” 
 
Sources said that the state government had expressed its determination to renovate the hospital to a modern standard.