ASUU Strike: Union Rejects Jonathan’s N200bn Offer -

The end to the ongoing strike by

the Academic

Staff Union Of Universities,

ASUU, might not be in view yet,

as the union has rejected the

offer of N200 billion by the

Federal Government. The

government had earlier offered

N130 to the protesting lecturers

in order to resolve the impasse;

the offer was also increased to

N150 billion, all of which ASUU

rejected, insisting that

government must implement the

2009 agreement. The union

asserted that going by the 2009

agreement, government is

supposed to have injected N500

billion

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ASUU Strike: Union Rejects Jonathan’s N200bn Offer -

The end to the ongoing strike by

the Academic

Staff Union Of Universities,

ASUU, might not be in view yet,

as the union has rejected the

offer of N200 billion by the

Federal Government. The

government had earlier offered

N130 to the protesting lecturers

in order to resolve the impasse;

the offer was also increased to

N150 billion, all of which ASUU

rejected, insisting that

government must implement the

2009 agreement. The union

asserted that going by the 2009

agreement, government is

supposed to have injected N500

billion

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CAN Bans Political Campaigns In Churches -

The South-East chapter of the

Christian Association of Nigeria

has banned political campaigns

in churches across the zone.

It said it took the decision to

avoid a repeat of last Saturday

church stampede in Anambra

State, where about 28 persons

reportedly died.

The South-East CAN also asked

the Federal Government to set up

a panel of inquiry to investigate

the remote causes of the

incident.

The organisation said it was

wrong for Governor Peter Obi of

Anambra State to set up such

panel, “as the governor cannot

be a judge in his own case.”

Chairman of the group, Bishop

Emmanuel Chukwuma, made this

known while speaking with

journalists in Enugu, on Monday.

Chukwuma said CAN was

becoming worried on why

politicians should carry their

campaigns to churches.

He sympathised with relatives of

victims of the incident, while

lamenting that political

campaigns in churches had

become a menace.

The cleric described the incident

in Anambra as tragic, and vowed

that CAN would sanction

whatsoever church that violated

the ban on political campaigns.

He said, “It is my own duty as

CAN chairman, South-East zone,

to ban all politicians from

attending our churches with their

political teams for campaigns.

The church should also stay

clear of partisan politics because

there are different kinds of

people in the church that belong

to different political parties.

“So it’s wrong to come into the

church and begin to talk about

manifestos and begin to

campaign. It is not going to be

acceptable anymore because it

causes commotion and

disrespect to one another.”

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Man Punished By Soldiers In Lagos For Crossing An Express Road -

A man was punished this

morning by soldiers on Ikorodu

road for crossing the express

road instead of using the flyover

bridge. The man ought to have

used the bridge instead of

crossing the road. But do you

think what the soldiers did was

right? For me to be candid this

picture is funny. But hate what

they did to this guy. These

soldiers always do things silly to

people.

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Pa Ogungbe Is Dead, Veteran Nollywood Actor !

Veteran Nollywood actor, Pa Ola

Ogungbe, popularly called Papa

Paragon in the Yoruba sector of

Nollywood is dead. Papa

Paragon, the father of top actor,

Segun Ogungbe was a member

of Association of Nigerian

Theatre Arts Practitioners

(ANTP), Abeokuta, Ogun state

chapter during his lifetime. The

aged actor died last night at an

hospital in Abeokuta after

suffering from a brief illness. He

was also a veteran Yoruba

theatre legend. RIP, baba.

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Death Toll In Anambra Church Stampede Rises To 52 -

Death toll in the Anambra

church stampede in Uke,

Idemili Local government has

risen to 52, as fresh facts Fresh

facts indicting Governor Peter

Obi of Anambra state emerge.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives

Congress flag bearer in the

forth-coming governorship

election in the state Senator

Chris Ngige has condoled with

the metropolitan archbishop of

the Onitsha Catholic

Archdiocese Dr Valerie Okeke

as well as the Overseer of the

Holy Ghost Adoration Centre

Uke, Rev. Fr Emmanuel Obima

over the most avoidable

stampede that led to the death

of tens of some worshippers at

the adoration ground in the

early hours of Saturday.

In separate letters to the two

clergies, Senator Ngige said

that the incident was most

unfortunate especially when

viewed from the standpoint that

the innocent victims of the

tragedy left their homes hale

and hearty to go and get

spiritual upliftment only for

them to meet their untimely

death. He prayed the almighty

god to receive the souls of the

reposed to eternal rest.

Ngige who is a member of the

Knight of Saint John

International (KSJI) while on a

visit to three hospitals where

the bodies of the deceased from

the disaster have been

confirmed received, has

announced an emergency first

line fund of N500, 000 (Five

Hundred Thousand Naira)

towards the cost of treatment

of those still alive and receiving

treatment in the three

hospitals.

READ: Hold Gov. Peter Obi

Responsible For Uke Deadly

Stampede – APC

READ: 30 Killed As Obi/

Obiano’s Campaign During

Night Vigil Causes Stampede

Ngige, a medical doctor by

profession made an initial cash

deposit to the management of

Crown Hospital yesterday, after

discussing with the medical

director of the hospital in a visit

yesterday. The APC candidate

also seized the moment to talk

at length with one of the

beneficiaries, Miss Chiamaka

Ikeora currently in stable

condition and receiving

treatment.

He took time off to console the

anxious relations of the victims

and other patients when he

visited the injured at the

various hospitals were they are

receiving treatment yesterday.

The Chris Ngige Campaigns

Organisation has warned Gov

Peter Obi to keep Senator

Ngige out of his reckless waste

of 52 lives in Anambra State

and counting, noting that while

the organisation is grieved at

the sad occurrence arising on

the same day the governor paid

an unscheduled and

unannounced campaign visit to

a church in the dead of the

night, with full compliments of

the APGA gubernatorial

campaign machinery, it is not

prepared to play needless

politics with the lives of

innocent Ndi Anambra.

Out of those confirmed dead so

far ‘not less than 28’ according

to the management of Crown

Hospital Nkpor are in their

morgue, 17 are lying in St

Charles Borromeo Hospital

Onitsha and nine in Immaculate

Heart Hospital Nkpor

But in a statement endorsed by

the Director of Media &

Publicity in Chris Ngige

Campaign Organisation (NGIGE

2014), Chief Charles Amilo, the

Organisation warned Obi that

the traditional recourse of

blaming Senator Ngige each

time Gov Obi fails in one

department of leadership or

governance, should be

moribund by now, and would

certainly not work in the very

serious circumstance at hand’

“Senator Dr Chris Ngige, neither

attended the crusade, knew

about it, nor received the report

of the crusade in good time

after the fact’ adding that ‘If Ndi

Anambra who are not

necessarily politicians

spontaneously rejected Gov Obi

and his handpicked stooge in a

vigil in which they had no prior

knowledge that high-profile

guests in APGA uniform will

barge into their worship with

fliers and sirens, and tear gas, it

would not be for Ngige to take

any blame.

“To worsen matters this

audience reportedly, included

Chief Victor Umeh, whose

agreement to feed fat on

Anambra State is wide public

knowledge, and his co-

signatory in the agreement, Mr

Obiano who only hours before

the reported disaster was

involved in debate malpractice

on television and Chief Joe-

Martins Uzodike, Campaign

Manager for Obiano and

Commissioner for Information,

who being from Awka Etiti in

Idemili South has spearheaded

the removal of over 64

billboards of Senator Chris

Ngige standing in Anambra

State.

“NGIGE 2014 through Amilo

therefore invited Gov Peter Obi

to rise to the responsibility of

Governance in the remaining

part of his tenure by promptly

explaining to Ndi Anambra

what his security details were

reported to have done to create

a stampede in an unsuspecting

place of worship, as further

obfuscation of facts from his

government may build

avoidable tension’

“ NGIGE 2014 noted that ‘rather

than throw feeble punches

around when leadership,

responsibility, caution and

circumspection call, the

governor who is directly and

vicariously liable, in this

disaster as all pieces of

evidence so far suggest, should

make way for an independent

autopsy, to form part of an

independent investigation on

the matter in which 52 are

dead and three are missing,

hundreds are injured and the

count in on. This is one more

Ezu River must not go away

unexplained”, the statement

added.

Read More

Man Allegedly Shot Dead By Policeman In Lagos -

There was

pandemonium yesterday in

Oshodi area of Lagos, after a

35-year-old man, Azeez

Omotoso, was shot dead by a

Police corporal.

Vanguard gathered that the

victim who was also a youth

leader in the area met his

untimely death when some

Policemen from Shogunle

Police Station, responding to a

fight that started in a party

held in front of the victim’s

house shot at him.

Eyewitnesses told Vanguard

that the victim who did not

attend the party, was coming

home with his wife and three

children when a yet-to-be

identified man arrested by

Police during the fracas called

him for assistance.

The eyewitness told Vanguard

that when the victim responded

to the call, a police corporal

identified as ‘Awilo,’ got

infuriated over his presence and

challenged the victim for

interfering in a matter that did

not concern him. He was said

to have shot the victim, leaving

him in a pool of his blood.

Meanwhile residents of Aina

Street and other adjoining

streets protested in front of the

victim’s family house at No. 28

Aina Street, Oshodi, calling on

Police authorities to ensure the

trigger-happy policeman is

brought to justice.

But news of the killing and

subsequent protest in the area

swiftly spread as a wide fire

causing panic in the area.

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Falana Gives EFCC 13 Grounds To Start Stella's Prosecution

Nigeria's most consistent human

right activist alive, Mr Femi

Falana (SAN), has given the

EFCC 13 grounds to prosecute

the Minister of Aviation, Stella

Oduah, and “her agents” for

gross misconduct in the

purchase of two armoured cars

at a "staggering" N255m.

In a letter dated November 2,

2013, to EFCC chairman, Ibrahim

Lamorde, Falana gave the

commission up till November 8

to make available the

investigation report on the

matter.

He said facts and

circumstances of the “illegal

transaction” had

established, among others,

that “there was no

appropriation for the sum of

N255m for the acquisition

of armoured cars in the

Appropriation Act, 2013.”

elying on the Court of Appeal’s

decision in the case of Dogogo

v EFCC (2013), the lawyer

threatened to sue the EFCC if it

failed to carry out its “statutory

duty”.

He accused the House of Reps

committee before whom Oduah

appeared on October 31, of

deliberately not asking her the

relevant questions on the

“criminal enterprise”.

He also said the minister

“exceeded her approval limit as

only the Federal Executive

Council can approve any

transaction of N100m and

above; and the transaction did

not comply with any of the

provisions of the Public

Procurement Act.”

Other grounds canvassed by

Falana include, “The prices of the

two cars were inflated by the

auto company in connivance

with the aviation minister and

the management of the NCAA.

“The loan of N643 million

sourced from the First Bank Plc

for the purchase of operational

vehicles for the NCAA was not

approved by the National

Assembly.

“The repayment of the loan in 36

months by the NCAA is

tantamount to contract splitting

in contravention of the Financial

Guidelines of the Federal

Government.

“That the Aviation Minister

admitted her involvement in the

extra budgetary purchase of the

cars when she gave illegal

approval before directing the

NCAA officials to “do the

needful”!

“The Media Assistant to the

Aviation Minister who claimed

that the armoured cars were

purchased for the “safety” of his

boss has not denied the official

statement.

“The Ministry of Aviation

conspired with the auto

company to evade the payment

of appropriate duties on the

armoured cars to the coffers of

the Federal Governmen as they

obtained duty waiver by false

pretences from the Federal

Ministry of Finance.

“The First Bank Plc entered into

an illegal loan agreement with

the NCAA to finance the illegal

transaction from the internally

generated revenue of the NCAA.

Under the law loans can only be

approved by the legislative arm

of government fo fund capital

projects and not for the

purchase of cars.

He therefore asked the anti-graft

agency to hasten to try the

minister and her agents “for

gross economic and financial

crimes as they wilfully violated

the relevant provisions of the

Constitution, the Public

Procurement Act as well as the

relevant Circulars and Financial

Guidelines of the Federal

Government.”

He threatened to apply for an

order of mandamus to compel

EFCC “to carry out your statutory

duty” if it failed to acceded to

his request.

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Update On Anambra Church Stampede: What Really Happened

Some survivors in last

Saturday's stampede in which

over 20 worshippers died at a

church in Anambra State have

relived their life-and-death

experience. The death toll now

stand at 25 as three of those

presumed dead were said to

have later regained

consciousness.

Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha

Diocese, Most Rev. Valerian

Okeke, attributed the stampede

at Holy Ghost Adoration Centre,

Uke, Idemili South Local Council

Area of Anambra State, to "false

alarm".

Rev. Okeke told a news

conference that the stampede

was not caused by sabotage and

that the church was not

suspecting any sabotage. “It is

an unfortunate incident," he said.

Represented by Rev. Fr. Uche

Ukor, the Director of Social

Communications, Rev. Okeke

denied reports that the stampede

was caused by a snake.

“In the early hours of Saturday,

November 2, there was a

stampede moments after prayers

at Holy Ghost Adoration Centre,

Uke, in Idemili South Local

Government Area of Anambra

State.

“The stampede, which occurred

while people were going home,

resulted in the loss of some

lives. Some are still injured and

receiving treatment in some

hospitals.

“The stampede was reportedly

caused by a false alarm raised

by somebody in the crowd along

one of the narrow roads out of

the town. The crowd was so

huge that people wanting to

leave all at the same time, made

it very difficult for people to find

enough space to move.

“Vigil was usually held at the

centre on every first Friday of

the month. The crowd was

unprecedented on this first

Friday of November, probably

because it was the Solemnity of

All Saints – a holy day of

obligation for Catholic faithful.”

“Save for the unprecedented

crowd, the vigil started and

ended normally," he said, and

expressed sadness over the ugly

incident.

“My heart goes out to the

families and friends of those

who lost their lives in the

incident."

On whether the incident had a

political connotation, Rev. Okeke

said the church would not delve

into politics or speak for any

politician. He, however,

confirmed that Sen. Chris Ngige,

APC's candidate in November 16

election, did not attend the

programme.

Chris Ngige, who visited the

recuperating victims in the

hospitals, donated N500,000.00

to take care of their hospital

bills.

Read More

Jonathan Is Angry Over Amaechi's Meeting With APC Leaders

Information reaching

Obascotec indicates that

President Goodluck Jonathan

and his loyalists are very mad at

the Monday meeting between

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of

Rivers State and APC leadership

led by Gen Muhammadu Buhari

and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Port

Harcourt.

President Jonathan had thought

that after his "my brother"

meeting with Gov Amaechi last

week he would just ignore APC

and its leaders but Amaechi has

decided to be remain a man of

his own.

Also, the supervising Minister of

Education, Nyeson Wike, who

had thought he would enter the

chopper that conveyed Jonathan

to Okrika, but was shocked that

it was Amaechi who entered with

the President, has now launched

a fresh political attack against

the governor.

Nyesom Wike has abandoned his

responsibility in Abuja as a

Minister of Education, and is said

to be going on with a campaign

of calumny against Amaechi and

the APC leaders prior to their

Monday meeting.

A source in Amaechi's camp

said he is not moved by their

antics. He told OluFamous.Com

that Amaechi will not just dump

his struggle and support

President Jonathan after all the

insults on his person and office

Read More