72-year old, other 456 Nigerians languishing in Brazilian prisons’

Representatives Committee on Diaspora,  says 457 Nigerians, including a 72-year-old woman, Fausat Abosede are languishing in various prisons in Brazil.
Dabiri-Erewa  in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the committee had visited Brazil and was  touched by the pitiable condition of the inmates.

“We were touched by the psychological traumas that the inmates were going through, despite the cleanliness and orderliness of the prison environment,” she said.
She said the visit was prompted by a hint it got from a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Youth Without Borders, led by two Nigerians, Taiwo and Kehinde Afolabi.
The lawmaker said out of the figure, 14 of the inmates were female, who were been kept at Sao Paulo Women Plenipotentiary Prisons.
She said one of the women had completed her term and was undergoing a rehabilitation training.
Dabiri-Erewa said the delegation was, however, disturbed by the predicament of 72-year old Abosede , who told the delegation that she went to Brazil for medical treatment, through a Nigerian.
She added that the woman decided to return to Nigeria when she realised that the treatment she was promised was not forth coming.
Abosede was, however, arrested at the airport in September 2011, with drugs in a bag she claimed was given to her by an acquaintance, named Patricia, to deliver in Nigeria.
The lawmaker faulted the Brazilian authorities for keeping the old woman in prison, contrary to the laws of the country,which stipulates that a suspect of her age be kept in house arrest pending sentence.
Dabiri-Erewa said the committee had formally presented Abosede’s case and those of other inmates to the Director, Department of Immigrations of Ministry of Justice of Brazil, Dr. Izaura Miranda, who had expressed surprise on the woman’s case.
She said the official had since commenced investigation into the various cases.
The lawmaker urged the Federal Government to sign the Memorandum of Understanding presented to it in 2009, which would facilitate the exchange of prisoners and repatriation of criminals between Nigeria and Brazil.
She said the committee had also worked with the assistance of an NGO in Brazil, the IITA, and the Nigeria Consuler Officer, Jane Okocha.
The committee, she added had provided assistance to the inmates and formally requested that Abosede be put under house arrest pending her trial, in line with the Brazilian law.
The lawmaker said the committee had also interacted with the Nigerian community in Brazil who complained of “total disconnect between them and the Nigerian Embassy”.
She, therefore, called on the Minister of Foreign affairs, Mr Olugbenga Ashiru, to do something about the situation, so that Nigerians living there would enjoy full consular services.
According to her, the committee met with some members of Brazilian Parliament, President, Petrobras Nigeria and the President, National Bank of Social and Economic Development to explore areas of interest between the two countries.
Dabiri-Erewa said the bank had indicated its interest to invest in Africa, especially in Nigeria. (NAN)

Shooting Stars fire Allen

    The manager was given the sack after three straight losses on the road

Following three straight away losses in their Nigeria Premier League games, the management of Shooting Stars Football Club (3Sc)have asked Festus Allen to step down as coach of the Ibadan-based team.
3Sc completed an hat-trick of loses when they fell 1-0 to former League champions Heartland on Sunday. Before that the club lost 2-0 to Kaduna and 3-0 to Kano Pillars in a mid-week feature. The losses mean the "Oluyole Warriors" reside at the 19th position on the League table with just 17 points in 15 matches.
Allen, who took over from Fatai Amoo at the beginning of the 2011/2012 season, will be replaced temporarily by his assistants, Tunde Odubola and Busari Akeem, ahead of Thursday's home game with Kwara United.
Meanwhile, Enyimba FC's striker Gbolahan Salami have said the club owe Amoo an apology for how he was eased out of the club.
Salami, who joined the Peoples Elephant from 3SC at the close of the League last season, said the club was wrong to have fired Amoo after he saved them from relegation last season.
 
“The 3SC management need to apologise to Amoo if they need to start getting positive results this season,” he said. "He saved the team from the relegation zone last season and finished with 11th on the table, but where are Shooting Stars this season with the re-organisation they carried out on the team? Amoo is a very good coach and he did nothing wrong when they fired him before the commencement of this season.”

"Personally, Amoo is still the best man for Shooting Stars because he knows how to handle the younger ones and I can tell you if he is given a free hand to work and enough funds to buy players, the sky will be a limit for 3SC.”

Heat wave: Lagos warns against over exposure to sun

LAGOS — Following the prevalence of heat wave in Lagos State and other parts of the country in the past two weeks, the Lagos State Government has urged residents to reduce the time they stay in the sun by staying indoors more.

Pure (sachet) water peddlers in the Sun in Lagos

Environmental experts have also blamed the harsh weather situation on the rapid deforestation and degradation of Nigeria’s rainforest.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, who gave the warning in Lagos, weekend, said continuous exposure to  excessive heat was dangerous and could cause health problems, particularly to young children, the elderly and people with medical problems such as asthma or those on medication for certain conditions.
Precautions
Urging the people to stay indoors, Idris said if any strenuous exercises must be done at all, “it must be done in the early hours of the day when the temperature is coolest.”
He  implored the people to drink enough water and avoid drinks that contain alcohol and caffeine, use protective gadgets such as hat or umbrella, sunglasses and sunscreen, take cold baths  and leave water to dry on the skin, as well as never leave  children and pets inside closed cars.
Idris said: “Lagos is currently experiencing heat wave, which is a prolonged period of excessively and abnormally hot weather with temperature exceeding 32.2oc and it is usually accompanied by humidity that usually lasts for at least one day but could last several days to weeks. Continuous exposure to this excessive heat is dangerous and could cause problems such as heat rash, heat stress, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”
Expert decries deforestation
Similarly, environmental experts, at a three-day workshop in Calabar, Cross River State, weekend, said it was time for Nigeria to embrace global programmes, such as the REDD+ initiative.
Speaking on “Background and Context for REDD+ in Nigeria,” a lecturer with the University of Calabar, Prof. Francis Bisong, said forest and vegetation resources had been dwindling over the years.
He said the current deforestation rate estimated at 3.7 per cent was among the highest globally, placing Nigeria seventh on the list of Greenhouse Gases emitters due to land use change.

PDP Convention:PDP is not a secret society – Olisa Metuh

…says candidates themselves called for consensus
Chief Olisa Metuh, the new national publicity secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP was until his election last Saturday, the national vice-chairman (Southeast) of the party. Following the election, he spoke in a telephone interview on the intrigues that shadowed the convention, the challenges ahead of the party and on the competence of the old men that now call the shots in the party. Excerpts:
HOW do you assess the ninth convention of the PDP?
It is one of the best so far, very transparent, orderly and in line with our constitution. Everything was done including auditor’s report, speeches by the secretary and most of all, all the candidates were free to make their own choice and where people didn’t agree to step down, there was election into those particular offices and the elections were done transparently.
Ballot boxes were transparent, people queued up and voted for candidates of their choice. So, I think the PDP is coming better, we are getting better every day. We are not unmindful of criticism against us, so we try to change and adjust accordingly.
From your perceptive could you point at any flaw during the convention?
For me as a candidate I was more interested in my campaign and what I saw was perfect, excellently done.
Convention committee
I give kudos to the national convention committee and the outgoing national working committee. I can’t point out at any flaw.
Why is your party inclined towards consensus in the election of its officers?
I wish you could ask that to the opposition parties. Every time we do elections, we do contests and we have a lot of people that contest for positions in PDP. People actually contest, people actually campaign for these offices then if there is consensus just before the election, or a day to the election, it is different from the case with opposition parties who never seem to have other candidates, who never seem to have campaigns, who never seem to have anything democratic at all.
All they do is to come and anoint people and appoint people even secretly. So, I think that PDP has shown that we are a lot better, that we are miles ahead of the other parties in Nigeria in terms of how we conduct our primaries and our congresses. We are setting the pace.
The opposition has its flaws but that begs the issue, why does your party prefer consensus to election?
You know there are people that buy forms not necessarily because they will win but they want to be heard, some people want their posters to be seen, some people are praying for God to intervene for them and others are just seeking for the attention of the leaders of the party.

From left, Vice President Namadi Sambo,President Goodluck Jonathan, acting National Chairman, Abubakar Baraje, former President and Chairman of BOT, Olusegun Obasanjo and Speaker of the House of Reps, Hon.Aminu Tambuwal.

Arranging for consensus
But before then, once you see that the leaders of the party and the delegates are headed in one direction…indeed, I am aware that in this election that some candidates were even meeting the leaders to arrange for consensus so that they can see an honourable exit. Once they see the direction that the delegates are going, the people would demand an honourable exit and that was what happened. It is the candidates that appeal for it (consensus).
What would you describe as the major agenda of this new executive of the party?
It is the chairman that would determine. The chairman’s role is to set the agenda with the National Working Committee. Mine is to brief the press and I will not exceed my powers under the constitution. I will continually brief you on the decisions of the National Working Committee and the agenda being set by the leadership and I will make sure that I do it in a very open manner so that you can understand what we are doing. If we are not doing it well, you criticize us and we can adjust accordingly. We will run this party in a very open manner. PDP is not a secret society, PDP belongs to everybody and we owe it as a duty to our people nationwide to educate them on why decisions have been made on their behalf.

Bamanga Tukur casting his vote at the convention, Saturday in Abuja.

Not too long ago, some members of the party described it as a cult. Do you think you have moved far from that description?
No responsible member of the party would describe PDP as a cult. PDP is open, we have divergent views, people from different backgrounds, people with different opinions but at the same time, we are all agreed on one thing, that we belong to the party, we want to work hard for the party, we want to work hard for the country and we want to ensure that democracy stays in Nigeria. Unity in purpose in making sure that we survive as a democratic nation is the propelling thing behind PDP decisions on major issues.
The new national chairman of the party is about 77, the Chairman of the board of trustees is about 76 and the National Youth Leader is 50? Does the party have a position for the youths?
I think it is totally wrong, PDP is a party of experience,  a party of people who are capable and committed. You cannot exclude a man who is best for the job because he is older than the others, you cannot exclude him because he is younger than others. On a personal level, I have always remained one of the youngest in the party hierarchy and nobody has ever highlighted that.
It is a question of competence and how to handle issues, it is not a question of age. We have competent people at the right places. Our national chairman is very competent and he is very fit. Yesterday, (Saturday) I had to walk with him from the stand to the podium and I was practically running to catch up with the national chairman. He is intellectually capable and he has a lot to offer the party. Did you listen to his speech? I was moved. Even me having served this party for 13 years at the highest level, I was moved and actually inspired to work with such a man. I think he will do well as national chairman of PDP and that is what is most important.
Are you insisting that the older men are more competent?
No, sometimes, you find the competent people older and sometimes you find the competent people younger. Our national legal adviser is one of the youngest national legal advisers in the history of our democracy and nobody is saying that. He is a young man from Plateau, but he is competent. He is a sound lawyer. Very articulate, very young man and we did not refuse to vote for him because he is not so old.
Ahead of this convention there were reports of intrigues centering on the President insisting that the national chairman must be Tukur and no one else. Why?
Well, I think I read this in the press like all others. The President reserves the right to support the national chairman of his choice. In supporting that candidate if he decides to sell his candidature to other stakeholders, it is within his democratic rights. As long as he does not interfere with the constitutional right of other candidates.
The president deserves the right to have a candidate of his choice and to promote his candidature among other stakeholders. But when it happens behind the doors people think that it is something that is being manipulated. No. He is a PDP super delegate, he can support someone and others can say no but if they buy his argument, it is very democratic.
Lastly, what mechanism would you bring to bear to polish the image of the party?
There is nothing else you can do other than to be open and transparent. As long as you are open and you connect with the people they will see the truth. I think the perception they have of the PDP is very wrong.
Wrong perception
The perception is totally wrong and mine is to assist the national chairman in correcting that impression because as a party we have done good, as a party we have done well. Let me tell you the truth, people think that party people do not go through pains, they don’t go through sufferings,  that they are not human beings, we are Nigerians, we have families, we have extended families and this propels us in some of the decisions we take.
But because we don’t explain those reasons, because we don’t like to enlighten Nigerians about the processes that are being done they tend to misread it and now give it negative connotations. But I will make sure that I keep on engaging the media and engaging Nigerians in explaining the decisions of the party.

Civil Defence parades fake NYSC members

Eighty-seven persons believed to be fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members were, on Wednesday, paraded in Abuja by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Ade Abolurin, the NSCDC Commandant General, said the suspects were arrested by members of the agency in Nasarawa following a tip-off.
The fake corps members will be arraigned before a court as soon as investigations are completed, the commandant general said

Couple Found Dead Inside Car in Kano

A man and a woman, both in their twenties, were found dead inside a Peugeot 406 car today at Kundila quarters in Kano. The young man has been identified as Abubakar Abba by his brother Ahmad Lawan Maduwa who owns the car with the registration number AW 576 KMC while the young lady has also been identified as Ummul khair Muhammad. The cause of their deaths has not been ascertained.

PIC: The couple lying lifeless in the car earlier today.
Passers-by mill around the car while military personnel stand guard.

Maduwa who spoke to Daily Trust said he gave his brother the car on Tuesday around 9pm and asked him to take it to a mechanic the following day (today).

He said he was woken up by a phone call from one of his friends, who told him that he had spotted his car and that soldiers and police men had the car surrounded and a crowd had also gathered.

It was gathered that the late Abubakr was a student of Saadatu Rimi college of education while the lady was said to be living with her mother in Kano.

Police spokesman Magaji Musa Majiya confirmed the incident and said the two corpses had indeed been identified. He also said an investigation had commenced to ascertain the cause of their deaths as no visible injuries were seen on them or any sign of torture. DAILYTRUST

FEMALE CONDOM SAVES IGBINEDION FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE

 

Tongues are wagging in Edo State especially Benin-City,over how a 300 level female student of the College of Social Sciences of the Igbinedion University,Okada,narrowly escaped death after a steamy sex session with her super rich Sugar daddy,who is an Alhaji.

The female student who hails from Asaba,the Delta State Capital was a regular bed mate of the super rich Alhaji,who constantly and regularly takes care of her needs and spoilt her silly with money and other material things.

It was learnt that on the fateful day,the Alhaji,who is said to shuttle between Abuja,Lagos and Benin called her up to book an hotel around her campus,pretending that he wanted her to be closer to school.

She did as the Alhaji instructed and subsequently packed her bag ready for the weekend for the arrival of the Alhaji.

At the hotel, the fun started as usual and everything was going on well.

It was learnt that usually,the Alhaji use condom any time he wants to sleep with her,but on this day,he insisted that they should be comfortable in each other’s company since they are no more strangers to each other.

She refused initially,but when she realized the Alhaji was getting angry,she remembered that she had a female condom in her bag,so she went to the toilet and inserted the female condom after which she agreed to have sex with him.Immediately after the show Alhaji’s phone beeped.

His mood changed and he got dressed and started hurrying to leave her saying that he got an urgent call to be in Abuja.

She went into the toilet to remove the condom and was shocked to find tiny black ants attempting to crawl out.

The territory sight made the lady scream aloud from the hotel room when she had lodged with the Alhaji thereby attracting the attention of the hotel workers and management,who subsequently killed the crawling black ants.