Critics slam Kim Kardashian after performance in Tyler Perry's 'Temptation'

Critics slam Kim Kardashian in the latest Tyler Perry movie, a movie receiving universal poor reviews. According to the Daily Mail on March 29, Kardashian has been lambasted by critics across America.
This should come as no surprise because Kris Jenner, Kim's own mother, felt she should not try a career in acting because she felt that there were too many things holding her back, including her voice. However, her baby daddy Kanye West told Kim to do whatever makes her happy.
That might not be acting after this weekend's reviews of Tyler Perry's "Temptation."
The Critics slam Kim Kardashian as The Wrap called her performance "nasal and awful" while Roger Ebert said Kim was not the "worst thing in the film" but he was surprised that "someone so famous for her curves could deliver her lines so flatly." Ebert then gave the movie one star.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Tyler Perry's "Temptation" is sitting at 17-percent rotten while the critics slam Kim Kardashian as one of the worst parts, playing a marriage counselor, ironic after her recent marriage was one of the shortest in celebrity history. One has to wonder if her career as an actress is as short.
examiner.com

The 10 Biggest Reasons Men Resent Their Wives

Despite the picture-perfect impressions we get from upbeat Facebook posts or boastful holiday letters, even the healthiest marriages aren't 100% free of conflict. At some point, virtually everyone feels wronged by a romantic partner. Bob Navarra, PsyD, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), says that those feelings aren't what throw a marriage off course-it's how couples handle them. "While it may be frustrating that the toothpaste cap was left off, happy couples talk about these small things," he says. But when those emotions are swept under the rug, a more toxic variety of negativity begins to fester: resentment. Here, marriage experts share some of the most common reasons husbands resent their wives and

1. Not fighting fair.
Happy couples don't necessarily fight less, Dr. Navarra says; they just fight better, by "describing their own feelings and needs rather than labeling their partner as faulty." And the ball is probably in your court for that. Research shows that wives are more likely to bring up problems for discussion, while husbands are more likely to withdraw at the first sign of an argument. When this keeps happening, women tend to start conversations on a negative note, which only makes things worse. Instead of resorting to personal attacks-"You're such a slob!" "We're going to be late because of you!"-which lead to defensiveness, Dr. Navarra recommends sticking to "I-statements," such as "When (this happens), I feel (frustrated, angry). What I needed was..."
2. Treating him like a child.
"A big issue I see in couples is a man resenting his partner because he feels she talks down to him," says Mary Kelleher, LMFT. This can leave him feeling "less-than," and nothing triggers resentment faster than inadequacy. So avoid threatening his independence-the way pressuring him to go for a promotion so he'll bring home more money may be perceived-suggests couples therapist Vagdevi Meunier, PsyD. "No one wants to feel 'managed' by a spouse," Dr. Meunier says

3. Involving other people in your marriage.
What you might think of as harmless complaining to friends and family can actually break your husband's trust. It threatens the safety of the "couple bubble" you've created together. "Men find this humiliating and hurtful," says Norene Gonsiewski, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a couples' therapist at the Portland Relationship Center in Oregon. If you really need to vent, consider talking to a doctor or therapist to keep things confidential.
4. Not showing appreciation for thing he does right.
"Men will never ask for it," Gonsiewski says, but regular doses of praise are important. "They need to hear that their wives are proud of them." Scott Haltzman, MD, author of The Secrets of Happily Married Women, notes that men tend to be more action-oriented than women, which means they show affection in different ways. "He may empty the dishwasher as a way of saying he cares about you." Haltzman's suggestion: "Pay attention to what he does, and let him know you notice."

5. Withholding sex as punishment.
While women generally need emotional intimacy to make love, men express emotional intimacy through sex, says Marla Taviano, author of Is that All He Thinks About? When a wife turns down sex, in her husband's mind, "she's turning him down as a person," explains Taviano. Using sex as a bargaining chip to get your needs meet isn't negotiating-it's emotional blackmail, which can alienate him. "Withholding sex may make your partner feel less love from you and give you less love in return," says Dr. Haltzman.
6. Trying to change him.
"Every person can change, but it's better to focus on our own changes, rather than our spouse's behaviors," says Anne Ziff, LMFT, author of Marrying Well. And yet, some women see marriage as a starting point for a "husband makeover." This isn't all bad-studies show that married men tend to eat healthier and have fewer problems with drugs and alcohol than single guys-but avoid creating a relationship in which your husband can't be himself. "When a man feels his home is not his castle, and he can't just be a guy-whether it's walking around in his boxers or letting out a burp-he'll feel like he's been put in a box where he has to act prim and proper all the time," Dr. Meunier says. Sometimes, it's smarter to let the little things slide.

7. Making important decisions without his input.
Research shows that money is a top source of disagreements among married couples, even those with bigger budgets. In a lot of ways, money equals power, and balancing power is important to harmonious relationships, Meunier says. Whether you're considering booking a vacation or buying a dishwasher, your partner deserves a say. The same goes for decisions that affect how you and your husband spend your time, such as inviting company over for dinner or signing up your kids for soccer. Although it may seem simpler to beg for forgiveness instead of getting him on board, unilateral decision making can drive you two apart.

8. Not giving him the chance to be the kind of dad he wants to be.
Mothers often parent differently than fathers, but not necessarily better. For instance, some studies show that parenting styles more common with dads, such as rough-and-tumble play, offer children unique developmental benefits. "Men's resentment grows as their children develop with gaps in their competency and independence, two attributes men rate highly," Gonsiewski says. "When a woman doesn't trust her husband to parent she sends a message that he's wrong and only she's right." Instead, "reinforce your husband for the positive contributions he makes to your children's lives," Dr. Haltzman recommends.

9. Acting jealous when he looks at other women.
Men are visual creatures, Dr. Meunier says, so it's not surprising that a typical heterosexual man would notice a good-looking woman. "Women who understand this and don't take it personally minimize unproductive fights about jealousy." When a wife overreacts to a situation, her husband will likely feel defensive, and eventually, resentful. Dr. Meunier's advice? "Chill out." Responding to a visual cue isn't cause for worry, she says-curious comments or behaviors, like dropping your hand to head across the room to talk to another woman, could signify a lack of commitment to you.

10. Expecting immediate forgiveness after you apologize.
Studies show that seeking and granting forgiveness greatly contributes to marital satisfaction and longevity. But beware of empty words. While apologizing manages conflict, Dr. Navarra says a simple "I'm sorry" often isn't enough. To truly earn her husband's forgiveness, a wife needs to show that she understands why her husband is upset. Dr. Haltzman recommends being specific about what you're apologizing for, accepting responsibility for what you did, acknowledging that you what you did was harmful and lastly, asking what you can do to make it up to him. "If you've gotten to the first three steps cleanly, most men will say 'forget about it' to the last question," Dr. Haltzman says.
shine.yahoo.com

Child’s Death In Neighbour’s House Causes Furore In Kaduna

The mysterious death of four-year-old Johnson Michael has caused confusion in Kakuri, Kaduna South local government. According to report, his lifeless body was found in a covered water container inside the room of a neighbour of the victim’s family.
His death was confirmed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Aminu Lawan, who said the accused persons Jamilu, Manga Muhammed and Manga’s wife were in their custody over the incident.
The father of the deceased, Mr Michael Agada, a security officer with a company, said when he returned home on Wednesday, he met many people in his residence and knew that something had gone wrong when he saw his brother weeping.
According to him, his brother claimed that a neighbour killed his son and when he asked about the where-about of the man, he was told the man had gone out after which he said he went to the police station to report in order to effect the arrest of the alleged killers.
“My daughter said my neighbourssent her to buy recharge card, but when she returned,the deceased was nowhere to be found.
They were running up and down looking for Johnson when the same man came again and sent her to buy engine oil but she told him that she had not seen her brother after the first errand.
She however, agreed and went on the second message but before she returned, the man had locked his door and left.
“After about an hour of looking for him, the man came back and sent my daughter on another errand but by the time she came back, the wife of the man showed her where the body of my son was kept.
The man (Manga Mohammed) took my dead son and put him on my bed”, he narrated to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY.
The corpse has deposited at St Gerald Catholic Hospital Kaduna awaiting autopsy.

Jonathan’s Sole Candidacy Plot Will Destroy PDP – Kaita

An elder statesman and former governor of defunct Kaduna State, Alhaji Lawal Muhammadu Kaita, has declared that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would disintegrate if the party amends its constitution to make provision for President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole candidate in 2015.
In an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday in Katsina, Alhaji Kaita, who is a founding member of the PDP, believes that the emergence of a new president in 2015 can lead to the end of the current insurgency in the north.
He said it would not be an easy task for the advocates of the amendment of the PDP’s constitution to make President Jonathan its sole candidate.
Kaita asked: “How are they going to amend the constitution? Is it at the convention or where? The moment they do that, PDP will disintegrate,” insisting that a free and fair contest was central to the success of the party.
“The PDP is founded on justice and fair play. If you want to win, you must contest to test your popularity and that is what is done all over the world.
Amending the constitution to give way for Jonathan as sole candidate will mark the end of the party,” he asserted.
On the current crisis rocking the ruling party, Alhaji Kaita said it was the outcome of a failed leadership, as according to him, the national chairman of the party had failed to deliver quality leadership.
He insisted that “the current crisis if not repelled, portend grave danger for the PDP.”
Kaita, who is also a frontline member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) stressed that the current insurgency in the country, particularly in the north, would end with the coming of a new president in 2015, insisting that “the leadership in the country has gone so rotten and so people are taking the law into their hands.”
Commenting on the alarming rate of poverty in the north, Kaita said, “the whole thing is because of lack of good leadership.
Leadership ought to have solved this problem 20 years ago but we did not address the issue seriously.”
He said that the north was the architect of its problems, noting that “our allocation is given to us, we got the land and before the discovery of oil, we were the richest people; we have been exporting cotton and groundnut but now we don’t export anything.”
Leadership

How airport staff aided drug suspect — NDLEA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Adetunji Joseph, and some airport employees, who aided him to avoid security checks at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

According to a statement by NDLEA’s Head, Public Affairs, Ofoyeju Mitchell, the suspect, who ingested 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.350kg, wore an official tarmac reflective jacket posing as an airport employee and was illegally taken to the boarding gates at the airport by a female cleaner.

A driver with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Olatubosun Olatunji, was said to be the mastermind, a female cleaner, Mrs. Uzoma David, and one Mr. Ekene Uchenna were alleged to be part of the drug racket.

The NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport Mr. Hamza Umar said the incident took place on February 7, 2013 but the main culprits were arrested on Saturday.

Umar said preliminary investigation showed that Uchenna, who is currently at large, gave his reflective jacket and on-duty tag to the suspect.

2015: North rejects Jonathan as sole PDP aspirant

The North has opposed to the plan by the leadership of the People Democratic Party to choose President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole aspirant for its presidential primaries.

The Arewa Consultative Forum and the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, described the move as undemocratic, stating that it could lead to chaos and collapse of the party.

The spokesman of the ACF, Anthony Sani, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the North was opposed to the move because it would limit the choice of Nigerians during the election.

 He however, added that PDP does not have the final say as to who becomes president in 2015.

He said, “I am not aware of this kind of move by the ruling PDP. But I want to say such practices, if allowed, would limit the democratic space by reducing the choice of candidate. As a result, members of the ruling party’s right to participate in the choice of their presidential candidate will be short changed. Nigerians’ choice will also be limited.

 “It is to be noted that even in America, when candidacy is conceded to the incumbent, it is not forced but brought about by consensus by members of the ruling party. And that was why Senator Kennedy was not barred from contesting the primaries with President Jimmy Carter in the early 80s. The practices of limiting candidacy to incumbency cannot promote democracy that is premised on triple foundation of liberty, justice and common decency.

“When you talk about effect of such development on the aspiration of the North to vie for the presidency in 2015, you at once convey an impression that the primaries in PDP is final. Nigerians can still make judicious use of their democratic rights and vote candidates in some other parties, more so in a clime where most of the political parties are mere clones of one another in terms of their approach to solving the myriad of problems of Nigeria.”

Sani advised Nigerians not to let such action by the PDP result to chaos in the country.

“Nigerians should not allow the actions of a few or of a party to determine how they think, what they say and what they do. Nigerians should shape events, and not allow events to shape us. There is no need for chaos, since voters have the final say. Instead of causing any chaos, voters should make judicious use of their democratic rights and vote leaders of their choice,” he added.

Sani added that it was too early to determine if the North will look in the direction of the All Progressives Congress to actualise it’s aspiration for presidency in 2015.

On the one-term agreement northern governors allegedly signed with Jonathan, Sani said, “I have said agreements (whether signed or not) and court cases do not produce presidents in a democracy. Only Nigerian voters can produce the president. Somehow, I believe that  both the controversy about agreement and court cases have been brought into the open for a higher cause. Nigerians deserve leaders they can rely upon to deliver on their promises.

“Though northerners aspire to be president in 2015, they would do so democratically, and not undemocratically. So the question of forcing northerners into one political party does not arise. They do not have to be in one party in order to make their votes count.”

On his part, the convener of CNPAPB, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said imposing Jonathan as the sole aspirant in PDP would tear the country apart.

“Let them try it. If they try it, let us see what will happen. The second term governors are not the only ones aspiring to be president. Let PDP become an automatic consensus candidate party, and let’s see how the party survives. That will lead to a collapse of PDP and that is the best possible outcome for the country.

“If they do that, there will be reaction and the reaction will not be only from the rest of the country, but also from the international community. This because the  international community will not want to pay the price of Nigeria breaking down, because they will not want to bring their marines here to stop us from tearing ourselves apart,” he stated.

Punch

We won’t extradite Alamieyeseigha –FG

The Federal Government on Friday told SUNDAY PUNCH that it would  not extradite a former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to the United Kingdom to face money laundering charges.

 While reacting to a statement by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, the FG accused the envoy of challenging the sovereignty of the country.

The President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration stated that it was not willing to extradite Alamieyeseigha because the British government did not go through ‘appropriate channels.’

An highly-placed government official who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said, “The UK cannot dictate to us. The government is not willing to extradite the former governor because of what they (UK) are saying on the pages of newspapers.”

Also, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the UK request to extradite Alamieyeseigha predated President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Pocock was reported on Thursday to have said Alamieyeseigha, who recently got state pardon for his criminal conviction in Nigeria, still has an outstanding case of money laundering to answer to in the UK.

He said the UK government would not give up until Alamieyeseigha was brought to justice.

According to the envoy,  the UK had asked the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for Alamieyeseigha’s extradition and was still awaiting his position on the issue when Jonathan announced the state pardon.

He had said, “The former governor skipped bail in the UK on a charge of money laundering and returned to Nigeria. So, he has an outstanding charge in the UK, which is there for him to answer.

“We have already discussed it and the Nigerian government knows our views. But we would like to see him return and answer charge in the UK.

“I am very sure we asked in the past. But I am not sure we got a formal response. So, we are still waiting for a formal response from the Nigerian government.”

But a government spokesperson, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the request which Pocock talked about was an old one that was made shortly after the former governor returned to Nigeria.

When asked why the present administration refused to take action on an old request, he said, “The request is an old one. It was not made under this administration, you can check the date. The request predates this administration.

“I am sure the request must have been made in 2005/2006 when the events happened. That surely was before the inception of this administration.

“In any case, it is inappropriate for the envoy to be addressing issues such as this on the pages of newspapers. There are established diplomatic channels to address such issues because diplomacy has its own rules.

“What is expected of a foreign diplomat in another country is to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if he has such an observation to make.

“A diplomat is not expected to behave in a manner suggesting that he is interfering in the internal affairs of his host country. Diplomacy on the pages of newspapers is odd, it is almost like joining a protest movement.

“He is expected to go through the proper diplomatic channels. Reacting on the pages of newspapers amount to challenging the sovereignty of the country and meddlesomeness in the affairs of the country.

“The action also amounts to carrying placards and joining protest against the host country.”

When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Ambrose Momoh, said he was not aware of the UK request.

Momoh also said the minister, Mohammed Adoke, was not in town, and as a result, he could not immediately reach the AGF to get his (AGF’s) official position on the matter.

Similarly, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ogbole Ahmedu-Ode, said he was not aware of the request.

“All I can tell you is that normally, such request is routed through the foreign affairs ministry.

“All communication between foreign missions accredited to the country is through the ministry. For example, if an ambassador wants to visit the president or any minister, he writes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for clearance. The same thing applies to correspondence.

 “Anything short of this is a breach of diplomatic procedure,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed, has warned the Federal Government against endangering its ties with other countries. He said Nigeria might be ostracised in the comity of nations if government did so.

Mohammed said, “We live in a global world and there’s inter-relationship between countries. Without commenting on the rightness or wrongness of the recent pardon of Alamieyeseigha, we warn the government not to jeopardise the interest of Nigerians because of any man.

“There is supposed to be cooperation among various countries on issues such as terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, etc. To that extent, the government is not correct to say that the UK demand is an attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of the country.”

Also, the National Publicity Secretary, Congress for Progressive Change, Rotimi Fashakin, said Jonathan would be playing with fire, if he attempted to shield Alamieyeseigha.

He argued that Alamieyeseigha committed an offence in Britain and jumped bail to avoid prosecution.

He said, “It is within international law; Nigeria is a signatory to an international treaty. It is not about Britain meddling in Nigeria’s internal affairs, no. The UK has the right under a known international law to request that Nigeria extradites him. The judicial process of his trial has not been concluded.”

Similarly, the Executive Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Debo Adeniran, said the Nigerian government shields corrupt leaders.

He said, “President Jonathan had declared that Alamieyeseigha is his benefactor. So, he has to protect him by all means.

“Nigeria has not been respecting the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty it signed with the UK. That is why it could not give enough evidence against James Ibori, when the UK requested Nigeria to confirm that he was  wanted for criminal activities. The Nigerian government is practically and openly protecting corrupt leaders.”

Alamieyeseigha, then a serving governor, escaped from the custody of the British authorities when he fled back to Nigeria in September, 2005.

The pardon granted Alamieyeseigha by Jonathan had also led to a diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United States with the latter threatening to sanction Nigeria for Jonathan’s action.

Punch

Patience Jonathan flown abroad for treatment — Report

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs. Patience Jonathan

There are indications that the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has been flown abroad for medical treatment in an undisclosed German hospital.

Unconfirmed reports had it that the First Lady’s health might have relapsed, thereby necessitating her going abroad to receive fresh medical attention.

Mrs. Jonathan was conspicuously absent at a Good Friday service held at the Aso Villa Chapel on Friday although her husband attended with his mother, Eunice.

The President is currently in Lagos for the Easter break without his wife.

Her last public appearance was in France where she received a Global Women Leader for Peace Award 2013.

Our correspondent learnt that she returned to the country briefly after the event before embarking on a fresh trip.

But unlike the trip to France, a presidency source who pleaded anonymity, said Mrs. Jonathan did not embark on the current trip with her full entourage.

When contacted on the telephone, Mrs. Jonathan’s spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, confirmed that the First Lady was not in the country.

Osinlu however denied reports that Mrs. Jonathan is abroad for medical attention.

He said she was abroad attending to her foster mother who is sick. However, he did not disclose the country where the First Lady is attending to the ailing woman.

But investigations by our correspondent showed that Mrs. Jonathan may be in Germany.

It was further learnt that she is expected back in the country this week.

The source however could not say exactly when she will be back.

An online news medium, SaharaReporters, had reported on Saturday that Mrs. Jonathan  was sick again and was shuttling between Spain and Germany in search of treatment.

The report quoted a source as saying the First Lady was also contemplating receiving medical treatment from a United States hospital.

Mrs. Jonathan disappeared from the country for several weeks last year to attend to her failing health.

During the period, both the Presidency and Osinlu denied that the First Lady was receiving treatment abroad for an undisclosed ailment.

Specifically, Osinlu said Mrs. Jonathan was vacating abroad after the rigour of hosting a conference of African First Ladies.

But during a special thanksgiving service held in her honour recently at the Aso Villa Chapel, the First Lady admitted that she was sick and “died” for a week.

Punch

BOKO HARAM: Niger govt compensates families with N2m

The Niger State Government, through its Commissioner of  Police, Mrs. Desire Diseye Nsirim,   on Saturday doled out the sum of  N2 million to  the immediate families of the three Policemen who were fallen while on duty by suspected members of Boko Haram sect at Minna, the state capital last year.

Among the deceased Policemen was an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Alexander Akor , a Sergeant, Mohammed Usman and an Officer, Abubakar Mohammed.
Making the donations  to the immediate families of the fallen officers at the Police officers Mess, Minna, the  CP, Mrs. Nsirim, said the compensations  to the three families by the state government was in appreciation of their contributions to  the security of lives and property in the state until they were killed by the gunmen.
The Police Boss , who also expressed her gratitude to the state governor , Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu  on behalf of the Inspector General Of Police, disclosed that the sum of N1million was  given to the next of kin of the late Mr. Akor, led by one of his children, Miss Patience Akor, while the relations of the late sergeant Mohammed  Usman led by his son, master Samuel Usman and that of Abubakar  Mohammed , led  by  his  younger brother, Mr. Nafiu Mohammed collected  a cheque of N500,000 each on behalf of their two families.
Nsirim expressed delight that the state has witnessed relative peace and tranquility  since the arrest and recovery of the impoverished explosive devices at the Bomb factories of the suspected Boko Haram sect members, while assuring that the Command was battle ready to perform its statutory duties of guaranteeing security of lives and property in the state.

Tribune

Boko Haram faceless because of arrest —ACF

THE chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Aliko Muhmmad, has lamented the current security situation in the country, saying Boko Haram has remained faceless largely because “governments have not put any mechanism on ground to assure the sects that they would not be arrested and dealt with by security agencies.”
Alhaji Muhammad made the assertion on Friday, when members of the ACF paid a courtesy visit to the Kano State governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
He stressed that the position of the ACF and many other Nigerians in favour of dialogue with the sect, “does not vitiate the standard campaigns against terrorism.”
ACF’s position, he reiterated, was informed by the fact of history that no hard power or military has ever succeeded in bringing terrorism under control anywhere in the world.
 Meanwhile, Governor Kwankwaso has contended that the current federal budget is tilted in favour of a particular section of the country, cautioning that this would not augur well for peace and steady national development.
He argued that a lot of the challenges currently facing the country today had to do with resources that are not evenly distributed among all sections of the country, lamenting that even appointments and political patronage were not as balanced as they should be.
The governor’s position was contained in a statement signed by his Director of Press, Alhaji Halilu Dantiye, a copy of which was made available to Sunday Tribune on Friday.
His words: “A situation whereby the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is working for a particular region, a ministry entirely dedicated to serve a particular region and so many resources invested in the SURE-P project and directed towards a particular part of the country is not in the best interest of all Nigerians.”
The governor asserted that he has consistently raised his voice on the onshore-offshore debate, and lately, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), so that justice would be done by making sure that those parts of the country that have enough are not given priority over the deprived ones.
He advised federal legislators from Northern Nigeria to strive to ensure that justice and fairness prevailed in the polity in respect of the PIB, which is currently before the House of Representatives, as well as other issues, in order to overcome the challenges facing the country.
The Federal Government, he added, must also work assiduously to ensure impartiality among all sections of the country.
On the security problem in parts of Northern Nigeria, Governor Kwankwaso blamed poverty and collapse in family/societal values among others, pointing out that governments and other stakeholders in the region have to do more collectively to address the crisis, so that peace and progress do not continue to elude the region.
Tribune

Yorubaland, a no-go area •OPC, Afenifere leaders warn Boko Haram

Leader of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Faseun, on Friday, dismissed insinuations that the Boko Haram sect will attack Yorubaland, assuring that such fear should not be of serious concern.
Faseun’s assertion  was also buttressed by the publicity secretary of  the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Mr Yinka Odumakin, who wondered why the sect would make an attempt to overrun a race that never had territorial ambition, but had always been willing to accommodate people of every race.
Dr Faseun declared that his group was ready in case Boko Haram attacked Yorubaland, saying: “I know Boko Haram will not overrun Yorubaland, that is nothing of serious concern.
The OPC leader, who said security was the concern of every group and individual in the land, urged Yoruba to assist the organisation with their support.
According to him, the feat the OPC recorded so far came about with little or no financial support from the people, declaring that the body was capable of safeguarding and protecting the race at any time with the backing of God.
Speaking on the issue, Odumakin expressed worries that the fear of possible Boko Haram attack had been imminent for more than a year and had almost become a psychological warfare until the recent discovery at abandoned Bayelsa Government Lodge in Lagos.
He insisted that proper investigation should be conducted into the matter ascertain the involvement of the group behind it, “because lately, every group is masquerading as Boko Haram.”
Tribune

Woman who thought she was suffering from stomach cramps goes to hospital... and GIVES BIRTH seven hours later

A woman who went to hospital with stomach pains was stunned to discover she was 35 weeks pregnant and in labour.

Hannah Froud, 22, gave birth to her daughter Jessica just seven hours after doctors said her stomach cramps were actually labour pains.

The financial administrator from Chaddesden, Derbyshire, first started complaining of stomach ache on February 8 but the pain continued through the weekend.

On Monday, her work colleagues convinced her to visit the London Road Community Hospital in Derby.

She arrived at 10am and went through a series of checks and tests before eventually being given a pregnancy test.

To her utter shock, doctors told her she was in labour.

A nurse called Ms Froud’s boyfriend, 26-year-old Chris Bennett, to tell him to come to the centre to see her.

Mr Bennett, who works as a joiner, went to the hospital and transported Ms Froud to the Royal Derby Hospital, where she gave birth at 5pm.

Ms Froud said: ‘I wasn't bothered about taking the pregnancy test. They said it was routine for women complaining of stomach ache so I just went along with it.

Baby Jessica was born at 5pm, just seven hours after her mother learned she was pregnant

‘Not long after that, they told me I was pregnant. I was completely speechless.

‘The nurse didn't tell Chris the news over the phone, but he was just as shocked as me when he did find out. I remember him having to have a sit down.

‘It was so strange - everything just happened. One minute I had stomach ache, the next I was being told I was having a baby.'
So unprepared were Jessica's parents for her arrival, the hospital had to give the couple some baby clothes for her.
And despite the drama of a surprise birth, baby Jessica is perfectly healthy, according to Ms Froud.

The hospital had to give the new parents some clothes for Jessica as they were unprepared for her arrival

She said: ‘She's a lovely little girl. Her sleeping is not a problem because she only wakes up once a night and we will certainly settle for that.

‘Things don't seem to have changed that much. I just no longer have to go work and I have a baby to bring up.

‘We can't wait for her to grow up and start playing with toys. At the moment all she seems to do is sleep.’

dailymail.co.uk

Insatiable Casanova: Teaching assistant, 47, calls in the police after Italian waiter lover harasses her to have sex 'morning, noon and night'

A teaching assistant had to get police to restrain her ‘insatiable’ lover after she dumped him for being too demanding in the bedroom.
The 47-year-old mother of three, who was looking for love after the death of her husband, began a whirlwind romance with Italian waiter Giuseppe Morello, 43.
But she broke off their passionate affair because she grew tired of the pressure  to have sex with him ‘morning, noon  and night’.
Morello was devastated by the split and tried to win her back. He bombarded her with as many as 20 texts a day, telling her: ‘My life is over without you.’
He also turned up at the school where she worked and tried to woo her in front of the staff and pupils. Eventually police had to step in to stop his Casanova campaign.
Morello struck up a relationship with the unnamed woman last  September, after he served her at the Ciao Baby Italian restaurant in Egerton, near Bolton.
After the first few weeks of the relationship they even rented a house together.  However, she soon noticed that he was ‘possessive and clingy’.
Neil White, prosecuting, told Blackburn magistrates’ court: ‘It turned into a situation when he was extremely possessive, jealous and arguments occurred.
She felt pressured by him to have sexual intercourse every night, and then in the mornings, and afternoons as well. She felt she couldn’t meet his sexual demands.
‘She ended the relationship after six weeks because of the constant pressure to go to bed with him.
‘He began to text and phone and pester her, telling her how much he loved her.
‘He continued to be controlling and possessive, and there were constant demands for sex, with him sulking whenever she refused.’
The police were called in last November after the couple had a blazing row.
They removed Morello from the house and warned him not to come back or contact her again.
He also received a caution for assault. ‘After that she received in excess of 20 text messages a day and countless phone calls,’ said  Mr White.
‘She ignored these but he also turned up outside her home. And, on a couple of occasions, he was outside the school where  she works as a teaching assistant and tried to engage her in conversation.’

Police decided to arrest Morello in February when he turned up at the woman’s house – while officers were there taking her statement.
Yesterday Morello admitted  harassment, and was told not to contact his former lover under the terms of a restraining order.

He will also have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, as well as paying £145 in costs and a victim surcharge.
In mitigation his lawyer, Damian Pickup, said: ‘He accepts that he bombarded her with text messages and phone calls, but these were not threatening. All he wanted to do was tell her how much he loved her and ask if there was a way back for them. He was simply declaring his undying love and seeking answers to what was going on between them.
‘He says it was the language of love and nothing more.’
But district judge Peter Ward told him: ‘Bombarding someone with text messages, even saying “I love you” is harassment.
‘It takes two people to be in a relationship.
‘I’m prepared to accept that the text messages were not particularly threatening. Nevertheless, it is harassment because she didn’t want this relationship to continue.’

dailymail.co.uk

Still Jenny From The Block? J-Lo dropped from performing in front of 60million people in India over diva demands for private plane and hotel rooms for huge entourage

Jennifer Lopez was dropped from performing in front of tens of millions of viewers at the Indian Premier League opening ceremony after her camp demanded she have her own plane.
Her manager Benny Medina reportedly asked organisers to make a private plane available to the superstar and pay for hotel rooms for her extensive entourage, including stylists and a personal chef.
Sources told NY Post that the Pepsi IPL booked rapper Pitbull after refusing to meet her diva-like demands.
It quoted a source who said the list of demands was 'outrageous'.
The source told NY Post: 'She effectively priced herself out of the event. It was an idiotic move because the audience for this event is huge. It’s like the Super Bowl halftime show.'
Last year Katy Perry, dressed in a Bollywood-inspired costume, performed at the extravagant opening ceremony watched by 56million people. 
A J-Lo representative denied she was dropped by IPL organisers and said she is not performing at the ceremony on Tuesday because she is too busy.
The aide told the NY Post: 'An offer was made to perform; the date conflicted with Jennifer’s current music-recording schedule for an album due this summer.'
The singer and actress has repeatedly been forced to deny she is a diva.

Last year she said: 'I think people love to look at them (riders) and go, “Oh my God she wants M&M'S ... she's crazy!

'I think everyone has their list of things that make you feel comfortable ... like a certain kind of potato chip or water. I think the crazy ones are made up.’
In 2010, Lopez was rumoured to putting her American Idol deal in jeopardy because of her 'unreasonable demands'.
U.S. media reported that she asked for more than $20million a year, plus a personal hair, make-up and styling team and her own 'dressing room compound'.

The 'Jenny From The Block' singer was also forced to admit that an advert showing her driving around the gritty streets of The Bronx, where she grew up, was in fact shot in Los Angeles.
Instead of travelling to her old neighbourhood to shoot the driving scenes, for the 'My World' Fiat adverts, the songstress used a body double.
In the advert, Lopez tells prospective Fiat buyers, 'This is my world.
'This place inspires me to be tougher, to stay sharper, to think faster.
She then adds, 'They may be just streets to you, but to me, they’re a playground.'
Lopez also reportedly asked for nine dressing rooms for her 90-strong entourage ahead of an interview with the BBC.
The NY Post reported that before filming a video for African AIDS victims, the asked for a 45ft trailer, white lilies, yellow roses with a red trim and apple pie.  
Dailymail.co.uk

Trailer Crushes 4 Beggars In Jos

Four cripple beggars were yesterday killed by a truck at the front of the Jos Central Mosque.
Eyewitnesses told LEADERSHIP Weekend that incident occurred at 4.30pm yesterday, as the truck lost control and rammed into the beggars, killing them instantly.
Publicity secretary, Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI), Mallam Umar Faruk Musa, said the truck was coming from the Maternity area of the city to Nassarawa Gwom Jos but lost control on approaching a transformer near Matani Hospital and crashed into the Central Mosque.
According to him, the truck damaged part of the mosque while two people were seriously injured. They are now receiving treatment at Matani Hospital.
Musa stressed that the incident it was a purely a case of accident and not an attack.
In Ogun State, no fewer than four persons were confirmed dead and 10 others seriously injured in two separate accidents which occurred along the Lagos -Abeokuta Expressway yesterday.
While the first accident occurred near Sona Breweries in Ijako area of Sango Ota, the second mishap took place on the same route at Wasinmi area in Ewekoro local government area.
Four persons were burnt beyond recognition while three others were seriously injured in the first accident which occurred at 7: 20am.
The Sango Ota Unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Richard Olutiriko, who confirmed the first accident, said that it involved a Volkswagen bus with registration number (LAGOS) XM 587 EKY.
Olutiriko, who attributed the cause of the accident to speed limit violation by the driver, explained that the Abeokuta-bound bus rammed into the road divider in front of the Sona Breweries, somersaulted three times before it went up in flame.
In the Wasinmi accident, Itori Unit commander of the FRSC, Fatai Bakare, confirmed that seven persons were injured in the accident, which involved a blue-colour Ford bus with registration number AA 384 TAK and a white MAC truck with registration number (Lagos) KJA 113 XB.
Similarly, a road accident involving a petroleum tanker and a car at Oloru village in Moro local government area of Kwara State, yesterday claimed three lives.
Head of operations of the Kwara State command of FRSC, Mr. Adekanye Olufemi, confirmed this to LEADERSHIP Weekend last night. He said the accident occurred at 4.30pm when the two vehicles collided.
Olufemi said three of the six occupants of the car died on the spot while the petrol tanker caught fire.
 Leadership

Armed robbers serve Lagos residents notice

Residents of Ronke Street and the environ, in Ijeshatedo area of Lagos State have raised the alarm over a letter purportedly written to them by armed robbers alerting them (residents) of their intention to raid the area. Copies of the letter, Saturday Sun learnt, were conspicuously pasted on the wall of some of the buildings. In the letter, the robbers said: “We will pay you people a visit soon. Be prepared for us.”
 Following the development, residents of the area have made arrangements to secure their houses.
While they have collectively engaged the services of vigilance groups, most of them have erected iron doors in their rooms. Some, however, have fled their homes. A resident, who spoke with Saturday Sun, said they woke up recently to discover the letter pasted on their gates and walls. “Initially, we thought the letter was from either PHCN or one of those bills from local government. We got the shock of our lives when we read and it was from robbers who said they would visit us any moment.
As you can observe, everyone is panicky. I have hired the services of a welder to fortify my door,” he stated. Another resident begged the police to come to their rescue, as the vigilance group they contracted seems not to be up to the task on hand. “It is not a joke, because like the letters said, they will surely come. We have vigilantes and we are made to pay N100 per month for security. The only way out is for the police to secure us. If they don’t, we will just keep money at home because I know that they will surely come,” he said. Another resident said she was yet to recover from the shock of a previous experience, revealing: “Late last year, they visited my house heavily-armed.
They took every valuable thing in the house and left. They were about eight of them. The next day, the same group of people came to the next compound and robbed the residents. When we called the police, all they did was to arrest the ladder the robbers used to climb and promised to investigate the matter. Till date, nothing has happened.” On why they are yet to draw the attention of the police to the purported letter, one of the the residents said: “Nobody knows if they have informants within the police.
If you report to the police and those bad boys get to know, you can imagine what our fate would be when they finally come. And besides, those robbers would wait for the police to get tired of patrolling the area and then strike. It is rather unfortunate.” When contacted on phone, Lagos State police spokesperson, DSP Ngozi Braide, called on the residents not to panic, as the police would ensure that the bad boys were flushed out from Ijeshatedo and its environs. She advised residents to make use of the police hotlines, which are written conspicuously in every police station and public places.
The Sun

NSCDC to conduct autopsy on slain officials

Director General, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Ade Abolurin

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps will conduct a post-mortem examination on the bodies of its two men allegedly killed by policemen in a confrontation at Ikorodu, Lagos on Wednesday, Saturday PUNCH has learnt.

Spokesperson for the state command of the NSCDC, Kehinde Dada, told our correspondent simply that there would be a post-mortem on the bodies of Gabriel Ajaji and Innocent Akegbe.

But she said she could not reveal much since the case was being handled by her superiors at the headquarters in Abuja.

Ajaji and Akegbe, who were officers in the Anti-Vandalism Squad of the NSCDC, lost their lives after a successful raid and arrest of some suspects at a site of an NNPC installation in Ikorodu.

The convoy of the NSCDC officials had an encounter with policemen at a checkpoint around Isawo, Ikorodu between 12 midnight and 3 am.

The result was the death of the two civil defence officials and the gunshot injuries of five others.

The aftermath of the violent attack has been claims and counter-claims from both the NSCDC and the Lagos State Police Command.

According to a statement by the NSCDC headquarters in Abuja, the police ambushed and opened fire on the two operatives while they were returning from a successful anti-vandal operation.

The statement claimed that the vandals arrested by NSCDC officials during the operation “made calls to their police collaborators for support.”

The NSCDC stated, “Immediately the police got wind of the information, they laid siege to the NSCDC officers and opened fire on the patrol vehicles, killing two officers.

“Others scampered to safety with gunshot wounds as the vandals were released immediately by the police.

“When the patrol team of the corps noticed that it was the police that were firing, they did not return fire.”

In their defence, the police maintained they had no idea of how any NSCDC official was killed since their men were the victims in the said encounter.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesperson for the police command in the state, Ngozi Braide, said, “At about 1.45 am, there was a distress call from DM security PPMC, Mosimi that they were experiencing a drop in the pressure on the pipeline.

“The unit commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men under Inspector Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene.

“As they were approaching, they heard sounds of heavy gunfire in their area of pipeline coverage and the team leader instructed his men to proceed to that direction as it could be the activities of vandals. “Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corp members coming out from the direction where the shooting was earlier heard. The NSCDC men challenged the policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area, saying ‘it was their sole responsibility (Civil Defence) to guide and protect pipelines.’

“At this juncture, there was an argument between the NSCDC and the police and the most senior NSCDC officer, DSC Olufemi, ordered his men, who were about 14 in number, to disarm, arrest and handcuff the police team leader and the other members of his team.

“The NSCDC succeeded in disarming and handcuffing Inspector Gabriel and collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie and I.D. card. As they were about dragging him into one of their standby Hilux vehicles, a phone call was put to the police Unit Commander reporting the incident.

“The NSCDC still has in its custody Gabriel’s pistol and his identity card showing his force number, 120622.”

The statement indicated that investigation into the matter had commenced.

A ranking police officer at the state Criminal Investigation Department said a ballistic test, which would be carried out as part of the police investigation, would determine who is speaking the truth.

The officer, who preferred not to be named, told Saturday PUNCH, “This matter is simple. Everybody will continue to blame the police and because the NSCDC needs someone to blame for the death of their men, they too will continue to tell the world the two men were killed by policemen.

“But why continue all the allegations when a simple ballistic test on the bullets recovered from the bodies of the two officials can be tested and see if it belonged to a police gun? Let the NSCDC cooperate with our investigation and the truth will come out.”

Braide did not pick calls placed to her mobile phone in order to confirm where and when the ballistic test would be carried out.

Our correspondent also learnt that the ballistic test is high on the agenda of the NSCDC. This will be conducted after the post-mortem, a source with the corps told our correspondent.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the slain NSCD operatives have been deposited at the Military Hospital mortuary, Yaba, pending the post-mortem.

The injured officials are also receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

Punch

Police fortify Ogun community after letter from robbers

The Ogun State Police Command says it has taken steps to fortify Lambe community, after residents of the area received a letter from armed robbers informing them they were coming soon.
The residents woke up on Tuesday to find the short letter written in Yoruba language pasted on walls on Akin Akindele Street, Community Road and Jelili Popoola Street.
The letter, translated, reads, “You residents of this community, we greet you on your preparation. You will soon receive us your friends. If you like, inform the police or the vigilance group or OPC (members of the Oodua People’s Congress). You will only waste your lives.
“The most important thing is for you to cooperate with us by preparing to entertain us when we come. We are your friends, robbers.”
Our correspondent visited the area on Thursday and some of the residents, who vehemently refused to give their names, said they believed the suspected robbers and writers of the letters were individuals who knew the area well.
A landlord said he had ensured that he got the phone numbers of all security agents in the area on speed dial in anticipation of the attack.
A landlord, who said he would prefer to give a name by which nobody knew him in the area, Sikiru, told Saturday PUNCH that the robbers deliberately wanted to create panic first.
Spokesman for the state police command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said one of the residents of the community had contacted him on the matter.
Adejobi said, “But I told them to go and report to the divisional police officer at Ajuwon. The DPO there will take all the necessary steps.
“The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, is also aware of the situation and had instructed that the DPO should do all that is necessary to protect the residents.”

Punch

Fans angry at Tuface, Annie’s Dubai wedding

Tuface and Annie Idibia’s fairy-tale Dubai wedding has come and gone but obviously, some of his fans are not happy that the artiste and his wife chose a foreign land as venue for their nuptials.

In a broadcast message that has been going round on Blackberry smartphones and on Facebook and Twitter, the bitter fans expressed their displeasure that though they had supported the artiste’s musical career over the years by buying his CDs in Nigeria, he took his wedding ceremony to a place that was accessible to only invited guests and family members.

The message reads, “We bought your compact discs then you went to get married in Dubai where we can’t eat your rice. How many Arabs have brought their weddings down to Nigeria? Well, if you sing your next song, get ready to go and sell it in Dubai – Angry Lagosians. ”

More angry fans wrote, “I never knew or comprehended that Mr. 2face Innocent Idibia had this spirit of wickedness in him. We have been encouraging him even when he was nothing till now that he felt that he has arrived. 2Face, we all bought every CD you have ever played, paid for all the shows your attended, devoted our time to listen to all your songs. Even when the songs may not meet our expectations, as an encouragement, we continued to listen to them. Yet you didn’t show us appreciation. 2Face, let’s ask you a question. How many Arabs have bought your CDs or listened to any of your songs? Annie Macaulay’s parents are not Arabs to say your chose Arab-land because of proximity to her parents. With your spirit of wickedness, you carry your wedding to Dubai so that Nigerian fans will not eat rice or cake or drink your mineral (non-alcoholic drinks) or even our local beer. You know for sure that most of your fans can’t afford tickets to Dubai. You denied your fans who bought and paid for your CDs and shows the generational opportunity to see a glimpse of your wedding, because you are sure that we fans are not important. Nigeria is not good enough to host a celebrity wedding. Tomorrow, your friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry who are natural copy-cats will join the trend of wasting our foreign exchange in countries that see Nigerians as nobodies. Well, let’s tell you, get ready to sell your next album in Dubai, perform all your new shows in Arab, with new found Arab fans. As for us, we will not buy or patronise your music ever, again.”

Punch

Kim K denies calling Nigerian women apes

There was an outrage on twitter over an alleged twitted said to have been originated from Kim Kardashian. In the said tweet, the reality television star insulted Nigeria and compared Nigerian women to apes.

The tweet reads, “Nigeria is such a disgusting country. I couldn’t wait to leave. Lol, Scott said their women look like apes and I agree.”

It should be remembered that the American came to Nigeria for Darey Art-Alade’s Love Like a Movie concert and did not spend up to two hours before she left the country.

While some Nigerians believed the tweet was fake, those who didn’t did not hesitate to dish out insults to Kim K.

The American television host took to her twitter account stating that she did not post such tweets and that is not her opinion about Nigeria.

Kim K wrote, “I see there’s a photo shopped tweet floating around, supposedly something I said about Nigeria. That was NOT me, or my feelings. That fake tweet is very disturbing & I would NEVER EVER tweet something like that.”

Oga at the top movie debuts

Call it the director’s creativity or mischief, the movie, Oga at the top, is out. Quite similar to the viral ‘Oga at the top’ quote, the movie features popular Nollywood actor, Nkem Owoh, also known as Osuofia. Although the viral quote stopped trending on Twitter after a week of dominance, Nigerians put their creativity to test as they made T-shirts, mugs, songs and jokes about the error made by the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Obafaiye Shem, during an interview on Channels Televison.

Efforts to reach Osuofia proved futile as his mobile phone was switched off when Saturday Beats tried to reach him. He did not also reply to a text message sent to his phone.

Punch

PDP primaries: Jonathan, govs to run as sole aspirants

The Peoples Democratic Party is discreetly planning a consensus arrangement that is likely to see President Goodluck Jonathan emerging as its sole aspirant in the presidential primaries for the 2015 election.

The arrangement will also favour first term governors, who are likely to run unopposed in the party’s primaries.

Investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed that because of the sensitivity of the issue, the party is keeping details of its plans secret. The full details will, however, be made public in the middle of 2014.

The plan, it was learnt, might see the party amending its constitution to pave way for consensus candidacy for its members who are the sitting President and governors.

At the moment, it was learnt that the party is at a crossroads over whether to drop the plan completely or go-ahead with it.

It was further gathered that much as the party wants to satisfy the President, it is under no illusion about its potential threat to the cohesion of the party.

Some even fear that such a plan could lead to the disintegration of the party which prides itself as the largest in Africa.

The stakes are even higher in the North as prominent members have made subtle threats to leave the party in their numbers should the plan scale through.

Our correspondents gathered that the plan, which was leaked to some state governors and PDP leaders, had fuelled the lingering crisis in the party.

The strong opposition from governors and PDP leaders, it was learnt, forced proponents of Jonathan’s sole candidacy to refrain from announcing the plan to amend the party constitution to favour Jonathan.

Some governors, including Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, have voiced their opposition to the President’s second term ambition on the grounds that there was an existing agreement for him to run for a single term of four years.

Aliyu had insisted that Jonathan signed an agreement with governors in 2011 to spend only one term in office.

Also, a former vice-president,    Atiku Abubakar, was last week reported to have vowed to oppose any attempt to amend the party’s constitution in favour of Jonathan’s sole candidacy.

Atiku was defeated by Jonathan during the party’s presidential primaries in 2011.

He said, “My position is that, as far as PDP constitution is concerned, any attempt to change the rule to favour President Jonathan as a sole candidate in the event of his willingness to contest is unconstitutional.”

As part of moves to save the party from disintegration, its National Chairman, Dr. Bamangar Tukur, and his counterpart in the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, have embarked on separate tours of the PDP states.

The issue of Jonathan’s sole candidacy is said to have featured prominently during their tours.

During his visit to Kano and Jigawa last week, Anenih held separate closed-door meetings with Governors Rabiu Kwankanso and Sule Lamido respectively.

It was learnt that Kwankwaso told Anenih in clear terms that the North would dump the PDP, if it amended its constitution to favour Jonathan’s sole candidacy.

It was also gathered the President’s sole candidacy formed part of discussions during the North-West zonal meeting of the party.

The consensus of the zonal leaders was that they should not allow the party to impose the President as the only aspirant at the presidential primaries.

Investigations showed that Anenih’s speech during his visit to Minna, Niger State, on Wednesday was part of the strategies to ease tension within the party.

He was reported to have said that the PDP was not in a haste to pick a presidential candidate for the 2015 elections.

He added that the issue was strategic and above discussions on the pages of newspapers.

The Niger State governor had earlier told the PDP leaders not to push governors out of the party.

He had said, “Unless the party decides to push some members out, no PDP governor is planning to dump the party.”

It was gathered at their closed door meeting, Aliyu pointedly told Anenih that the issue of Jonathan’s sole candidacy was capable of leading to a mass exodus of governors from the party.

It was also learnt that the party was not disposed to jettisoning Jonathan’s sole candidacy issue in spite of opposition by some governors.

As such, to pacify second term governors, particularly those of them from the North, the party is expected to give them automatic senatorial tickets.

One ready argument from proponents of Jonathan’s sole candidacy is that it is not different from what is being done by political parties in the United States when picking their candidates for the presidential election.

A member of the PDP National Working Committee, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the development to our correspondent on Thursday.

He said, “It is true that Jonathan may be the sole candidate of our party, if we succeed in amending our constitution.

“But there are concerns that if the issue is not well handled, it will lead to the disintegration of the PDP as some of our ambitious members may dump our party. What we plan to do is to take care of vociferous governors and other members.

“After doing that, we can now begin to discuss the issue. Second term governors may get senatorial tickets, while the sole candidacy may be extended to governors in their first term.

“Another argument is that in those who are discreetly pushing for Jonathan’s candidacy are saying that in the US where we copied the presidential system from, if an incumbent want to re-contest, he is adopted as the party’s candidate.”

It was gathered that those pushing for a consensus arrangement for the President and governors were of the view that the arrangement would enhance the party’s chances at the 2015 polls.

The PDP leadership is of the view that the consensus method will not negate the concept of internal democracy identified to be a bane of the nation’s democracy, a source said.

It was, however, learnt that some politicians with presidential ambition and some of the governors who are in their second term are up in arms against the move, which is believed to have implications on their political ambitions.

Leading members of the party like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others are opposed to any such plan and have set in motion a plot to counter it.

When contacted, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, accused opponents of the party of trying to unnecessarily heat up the polity.

According to him, the party is at the moment more concerned about settling its internal crisis than the issue of its candidates in 2015.

He said, “The fact that we are having challenges in the party now is more important to us than the issue of candidate or no candidate. We have some challenges and resolving these challenges is our main concern at the moment. The tour of members of the BOT is part of our efforts to address these challenges.”

As to whether there are plans for Jonathan run as the sole aspirant in the party’s primaries, as is done in the US, the party spokesman replied, “I can only answer based on our constitution right now. There are no plans to amend the constitution and going by the provisions of the constitution of our party, we cannot adopt the US model.

“The United States does things according to their culture and constitution. In Nigeria, we do things according to our culture and constitution. In our constitution, there are primaries and there must be primaries. The issue of whether we are galvanising support for the President or not does not arise.

“The President has not even indicated that he is going to run. If at the end he says he is going to run, who will blame him? Nobody can say he is creating tension; it is other people that are creating tension because there is no way the President can come out to say he is running or he is not running two years or three years before his tenure is up.

“If he says he is not running, he becomes a lame duck President. So, why don’t we wait until he says whether he is running? But ultimately, the decision on who will be the candidate of the party rests on the people, it rests on the party members. Members of the party will decide who is going to be the candidate of the party and Nigerians will decide who will be the President.”

Punch

Insecurity: Jonathan stresses need for dialogue

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has said that dialogue has an important role to play in the resolution of the security challenges currently dogging the nation.
He stated this on Friday in Sokoto while declaring open a two-day international conference on ‘Islam and the Fundamentals of Peaceful Coexistence in Nigeria’, jointly organised by the Sokoto State government and the Muslim World League (MWL) with headquarters in Mecca, Saudi-Arabia.
The event took place at the auditorium of the Sultan Muhammadu Maccido Institute for Qur’an and General Studies, Sokoto.
Jonathan urged the conveners of the conference to use their collective voice to teach the young ones that religion and harmony go hand in hand.
Represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the president said the participants must emphasise dialogue as a means of resolving all forms of crisis and misunderstanding. He also stressed that in order for the nation to achieve religious harmony, Nigerians must shun individuals who use faith to cause violence.
He made a case for a committee to monitor the activities of preachers with a view to rectifying deviation by clerics, so as to avert the negative consequences of their actions. He said that on its part, the Federal Government had continued to work with the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) by taking seriously the advice of its members to the government.
 Also Governor Mu’Azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has said that greed, ignorance and social inequalities are behind the security challenges bedevilling the country.
He warned that unless urgent measures are taken to tackle the problems, they may degenerate into what other neighbouring Islamic nations of the world have been grappling with in recent times.
Aliyu made the comments in Minna on Friday at a three-day workshop of Chief Imams of North-Central zone in Minna.
He noted that the spate of insecurity in Nigeria was fast becoming like what obtains in other Muslim majority nations like Algeria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Mali and Pakistan.
 “We must arrest the situation before the problem engulfs the whole country. We must also not allow a situation where foreign countries and interests get entrenched in what is happening in our domestic (affairs). In the religion of Islam, Sallam means ‘peace’, ‘moderation’. There cannot be extremism of killing people in the name of that religion.
Tribune

Posers over 9-yr-old boy’s alleged suicide

THE mysterious death of a nine-year-old boy, who allegedly committed suicide, has thrown residents of Tundun-Wada, in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, into confusion while law enforcement agents are still battling to unravel the circumstances behind the incident.

Family members and other people who live in the same house with the deceased are still wondering why Henry Goodnews, a Primary 1 pupil, would decide to take his own life.
Saturday Tribune gathered that the incident occurred at about 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday when the deceased’s parents had both gone out. His body was said to have been found dangling from a rope within the premises by one of the occupants.
The incident created a lot of hysteria in the area, with people wondering how the young boy was able to take his own life successfully without anybody seeing him. The position they found the boy was also a source of concern to those who thronged the house to catch a glimpse of the body.
Saturday Tribune gathered that the body of the boy was found with a belt wound around his neck. The belt itself was tied to a rope usually used for drying clothes after washing. A bucket of water was also said to have been found beside him, which suggests that perhaps he was about to take his bath before the incident.
The mother of the deceased, Madam Hanatu Goodnews, who is yet to recover from the shock occasioned by the death of her first son, said the incident was still like a dream to her.
She told Saturday Tribune that the boy was hale and hearty when she left home that day.
She said: “I left home that morning to take his younger brother to the hospital. Before I left, I told him to stay at home and do some domestic work that he could handle. I had no premonition that anything would happen to him because he was doing well that particular morning.
“At about 12 noon, I was called by my husband that my boy had died. He did not explain the circumstance of his death to me. I therefore abandoned what I was doing and rushed home. On getting home, I saw a lot of people in front of our house. As I approached, they stopped me from entering but I forced myself in, only to discover the boy with a rope around his neck.
“My major concern now is how the boy could take his own life by himself and the people in the house did not know. In this house, there has never been a time that people would not be around. There will be at least up to six people at home. How come the boy took his own life and nobody was aware?”
A relation of the husband, identified as Bala Goodnews, also asked a similar question. He told Saturday Tribune that they suspected foul play in the whole thing, saying that the way the boy hanged from a rope that, according to him, could not sustain any object, was suspicious. He maintained that there was no way the boy would hang himself in such a manner, considering his strength and age.
Bala Goodnews urged the police to probe the incident, saying the way it happened called for thorough investigation. He urged the police to spread their dragnet to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act were brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.
Saturday Tribune gathered that residents of the area where the incident occurred are currently living in fear of arrest by the police. A source close to the house disclosed that all the tenants in the house where the incident occurred, including the landlord of the house who does not even reside there, were interrogated on Wednesday at the ‘A’ Division of the Nigeria Police command, Jos. Some people in the neighborhood are also said to have gone into hiding to avoid arrest.
When contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Salawu Adigun, who confirmed the incident, said the police had commenced full investigations, but said he would not make further comments on the issue until investigations were completed.
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Police warn S/West churches over Boko Haram •‘Don’t allow phone-charging inside church buildings’

FOLLOWING the discovery of bombs in a building in Lagos State and reports of likely invasion of the South-West region by suspected Boko Haram members, the police have deployed crack teams of policemen to patrol worship centres during and after the Easter service in the region.
Indeed, police commands in all the states in the zone have stepped up surveillance around worship centres while churches and communities have been asked to be vigilant.
Specifically, worshippers were advised not to allow anyone to charge phones or any electronic device in churches during church service.
In Ogun State, a team of heavily armed policemen was sighted at the Christ Anglican Church, Ogere Remo, during the Good Friday service. The officers told the sexton as well as some youths of the church to be on the lookout for strangers who might disguise as worshippers to execute terrorist attacks on their church.
The policemen exchanged phone numbers with the youth and told them to call their hotlines if they suspected any strange occurrence, adding that the current security situation in the country calls for increased vigilance on the part of all.
“In case you see anybody who is not a member of your church, kindly query such person. Also, if anybody says he or she wants to come and charge his or her phone and you know very well that the person is not your member, politely turn the person back. Don’t allow anyone plug any unfamiliar device in your church,” one of the policemen told them.
The same policemen were also later sighted at the Ogere Central Mosque, close to the former tollgate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where they combed the vicinity during the Friday prayer service.
In a chat, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogere divisional headquarters, John Oluwole told Saturday Tribune that the patrol was as a result of the directive from the Force Headquarters, communicated to the divisions and police formations through the state command.
He added that his men had also begun the patrol of churches during vigils – all in efforts to avoid being caught unawares by suicide bombers and unscrupulous individuals.
Ogun State Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, who would not confirm the police warning to churches, however, said “the Ogun State Police Command has adopted a security method to ensure that peace reigns supreme in this state. We are working with all sectors to ensure that there is peace in this state.”
Also, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Dorothy Gimba, said the state command had stepped up surveillance and deployed more policemen to ensure effective security of life and property during the Easter period.
Speaking with Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview, the commissioner said no stone would be left unturned to guarantee a hitch-free Easter celebration in the state.
Mrs. Gimba said the state command would intensify its mobile patrol throughout the state, and work round the clock to ensure peace and tranquillity in the state.
“As usual, we will increase our surveillance, through patrols and explore intelligence reports to nip in the bud any act of criminality, while we will also deploy more men to strengthen the security in Osogbo, the state capital, and other communities.
“As expected, there will be more influx of eminent personalities into the state from Abuja, Lagos and other cities, and as such, we are ready as always to make sure that the security here is not breached. I can assure you that we are up to the task to discharge our duties and responsibilities efficiently, as far as the security of the state is concerned.”
In Lagos State, since police recovered bombs and AK-47 rifles in Ijora area of the state, the state command has continued to conduct raids on hideouts suspected to be operational bases of terrorists in the state; but it has insisted that such actions were just routine exercises.
Ninety two people from Chad, Mali, Republic of Niger and the northern part of Nigeria were arrested, while many of them have been deported by the Lagos State command of the Nigeria Immigration Service
Saturday Tribune gathered that the state police command has directed all area commanders and DPOs to properly monitor all religious institutions and public places.
“Policemen have been directed to ensure surveillance and routine patrol around places like churches, shopping malls and market places during the Easter celebrations,” a police source told Saturday Tribune.
In Oyo State, the police on Friday went round the state capital, Ibadan, and other towns with heavily armed anti-crime operatives and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) on a ‘show of force,’ as a way of sending warning signals to criminals.
When the Saturday Tribune called the Deputy Commissioner in charge of administration, Mr Clement Adoda, he confirmed the development, saying that it was to show that the police were prepared repel any criminal acts.
He added that all DPOs had been instructed to remain at their duty posts and to make their offices their homes for the Easter period.
“We are trying to replicate what we did during the Christmas and New Year festivities,” he disclosed further.
On measures being taken against terrorism, Mr Adoda said the fight against terrorism is an intelligence war and not the type fought on the pages of newspapers.
“We have put in place measures but we cannot disclose them. We will go by intelligence gathering and community policing, working hand-in-hand with other security agencies and different strata of the society.
“We have heard what happened in Lagos; we have studied it and we have drafted our own strategies to suit our purpose in the state,” the deputy commissioner stated further.
He revealed that the command’s strategy paid off on Thursday with the interception of a vehicle that was snatched within the capital, in less than 30 minutes after the robbery.
Adoda added that another vehicle which was snatched in another state and was being taken across Oyo State was also recovered at the Ibadan end tollgate, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, while two suspects were arrested.
Tribune