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THE need to be extra vigilant while trying to obtain crucial and relevant documents in Nigeria came to the fore recently when a man who ignorantly obtained a vaccination certificate popularly referred to as yellow card was nabbed at the Idiroko border, Ogun State by Federal Ministry of Health officials. His arrest however led to the apprehension of two members of a syndicate which specialised in issuing such fake yellow cards by the Ogun State Police Command. Yellow cards are issued to intending travellers to indicate that they had been vaccinated against yellow fever and other communicable diseases as listed and requested by some countries. Vaccination is recommended for persons over nine months of age travelling to or living in endemic areas. The vaccine affords long-term protection. Such countries require a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. The vaccination is expected to be administered at least 10 days before travelling and no longer than 10 years before, under

The story of 47-year-old Pastor Julius Adepoju who stabbed his pastor colleague to death in Gbongan, Osun State on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 over an allegation that he was using his glory elicited different reactions from Nigerians. Due to its human interest nature and the need to hear the murder suspect’s side of the story about what transpired between him and his friend that led to such a brutal end of Pastor Oguntoye, OLUWATOYIN MALIK held an interview with Pastor Adepoju at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Osogbo. The interview was revealing, as there were indications something must have gone wrong somewhere. Readers are left to make deductions from the interview below. “I am a father of five children. I was a pastor at The Apostolic Church, Gbongan but retired at Ikire before I started a prayer mountain service at Ode-Omu. I had to leave Ikire because of problems from my in-laws. My wife is from Orile-Owu but I was a pastor at Araromi which is under Orile-Owu.

FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has abandoned Nigerians, the very people who gave it life and many electoral victories. The former presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress (AC) also said he had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because PDP had derailed from the vision and mission of its founding fathers. This came as he urged his supporters, friends and political associates nationwide to join APC and register with the party once its registration of membership commenced. The development was contained in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday. Atiku said his resignation letter as a member of PDP would be delivered to the party formally today, ahead of his formal declaration for APC in Yola, Adamawa State, also scheduled for today.

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan A northern group, Arewa Peoples Patriotic Front, in Kaduna on Sunday asked critics of President Goodluck Jonathan in the region to stop overheating the polity and allow the court to decide whether the President is eligible to contest the 2015 election or not. The group, while reacting to a statement credited to Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso on the eligibility of the President to contest the 2015 election, said the governor was not competent to determine the eligibility of Jonathan. The group however noted that the President was qualified to contest in the 2015 presidential election In a statement by its Chairman and Secretary,  Mordecai  Ibrahim and Sam Otitolaye respectively,  the APPF asked  Kwankwaso and other critics of Jonathan in the north not to distract the President from carrying out his official duties. The statement read, “On whether President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2015 election, since Kwankwaso is

The policeman | credits: YouTube Like a recurring decimal, another policeman has been caught on video demanding American dollars after apprehending a Nigerian-American and two other Nigerians for alleged traffic offence(s). A three-minute, 45-second footage secretly filmed by one of the passengers detailing the encounter of the trio, in the hands of the policeman, has become a sensation on YouTube and other social networking sites. One of the three, who later spoke in Yoruba, was heard explaining to the policeman that one of them was actually celebrating his birthday and that they were hurrying to catch up with a friend. The incident, according to the description given on YouTube, was said to have happened in the Egbeda area of Lagos. “Arrange dollars. Give us dollars,” the AK-47-wielding policeman, who was alone while the encounter lasted, declared to a well-built passenger who had been making efforts to pacify him. The cop who was comfortably sitting at the back seat o

Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi | credits: File copy The Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, on Saturday praised his players for being able to interpret his instructions on the field of play. Keshi made the remark during the post-match news conference in Cape Town Stadium after the Super Eagles’ 1-0 win over the Warriors of Zimbabwe to place third in the 2014 African Nations Championship, the  News Agency of Nigeria  reports. He said, “I am so happy with the boys over these three weeks. I will call it so, they have grown in stature, and they are beginning to understand what I want and the mentality to express the game the way I want. “I am happy for that in spite of the fact that they wanted to play in the final and did not get there but they still showed their mental strength against the Zimbabweans. “The major goal for me in this tournament was to expose these players and see if I can draft a couple of them into my World Cup squad in five months time.”

THE House of Representatives Committee on Finance, at the weekend, said its historical 50 questions on the state of the economy of the nation to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was not answered correctly and subsequently asked her to reappear before it on February 20 for proper questioning. Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Honourable Abdulmumini Jibrin, in a statement issued in Abuja, at the weekend, noted that “some questions were either not answered, partially answered, ignored or completely misunderstood.”

The former toast of movie buffs denies rumoured comeback bid even with a nomination for the AMVCAs. DESPITE her role in ‘Living Funeral’ earning her a Best Supporting Actress in a Drama nomination for the  2014 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), veteran actress, Liz Benson-Ameye, has said that she does not view playing in  the movie as a comeback. It will be recalled that the actress who was very popular at the inception of Nollywood, hasn’t appeared in movies for years, with some tale bearers saying she had quit acting.

раскрутка сайто THE 12 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate two weeks ago by President Goodluck Jonathan are almost certain of meeting a hostile Senate during the screening process, as indications from the chamber has confirmed a strong gang-up among senators. The nominees were Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos); Aminu Wali and Mrs Jemila Salik (Kano); Mrs Laurentia Laraba Mallam (Kaduna); Mrs Eyakenyi Akon (Akwa Ibom); Honourable Mohammed Wakil (Borno); Abdul Jelili Oyewale Adesiyan (Osun); and Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers). Others were General Aliyu Gusau, retd (Zamfara); ex-governor of Adamawa State, Mr Boni Haruna; Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto) and Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger). Sources in the Senate confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the lawmakers were insisting on the resuscitation of the convention, which mandated a nominee to secure the backing of, at least, two senators from his/her state before he or she could be confirmed.

CHAIRMAN, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, in London, United Kingdom, at the weekend, stoutly defended the timetable for the 2015 general election recently released by the commission. Professor Jega said the timetable was informed by rational and logical considerations and not sentimental or ulterior motivations as being speculated in some quarters. This was contained in a statement signed by the chief press secretary to the chairman of the commission, Mr Kayode Idowu, copies of which were made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday.

THERE are strong indications that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) may become sole importer of refined petroleum products in Nigeria. Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the NNPC, through its subsidiary, Pipeline Product Marketing Company (PPMC), imported about 60 per cent of total refined petroleum products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK). Failure of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to approve the list of marketers, who are supposed to import for the first quarter of 2013, has also raised suspicions on the part of the NNPC, the greatest beneficiary of subsidy claim provision for all imported refined products.

WAEC The West African Examinations Council has announced the introduction of 39 new subjects in its examinations.  The Council’s Acting Head, Test Development Division, Mrs. Olayinka Ajibade, who announced this, said the new subjects would commence in this year’s May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Ajibade said this while delivering a paper titled “The New Senior Secondary Education Curriculum in Nigeria: Implications for Assessment” at the council’s monthly seminar in Lagos on Friday. The fresh initiative, she said, was in accordance with the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council’s new secondary school curriculum. The NERDC is the body responsible for reviewing primary and secondary schools’ curricula in the country. She said, “The implementation of the new SSCE curricula began in September 2011, meaning that the maiden public examinations based on the new/ revised curricula are expected to be held in May/ June 2014.

Toyin | credits: Facebook GUNMEN in two Sport Utility Vehicles shot an assistant editor with  Saturday Newswatch  newspaper, Mr. Toyin Obadina, on Friday in Ikorodu, a suburb in Lagos State. We  learnt that although the 50-year-old indigene of Ogun State did not die on the spot, he died on Sunday after a surgery to remove the bullets lodged in his stomach. The wife of the deceased, Biola, told our correspondent during an interview at her brother-in-law’s house in Ajuwon, Ogun State on Sunday that her husband did nothing to warrant the attack. Biola, who spoke while fighting back tears, said, “Around 11.30pm on Friday, my husband was on his way back home. As a newspaper editor, he had informed me that he was finishing production late. He told me that on getting to Parafa end of Imota Road, opposite Aico company, two jeeps driving towards him on the other end of the road crossed his vehicle. “He said when he realised that they were bandits, he immediately alighted from the

* Tambuwal, JNI mourn, condemn act GUNMEN continued their orgy of blood-letting in Kaduna State at the weekend with the murder of a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammed Auwal Albany, his wife and son, Abdallah, in Zaria.   The incident that occurred on Saturday night threw the entire community into panic, as people scrambled for safety. The dead were buried in Zaria Sunday morning according to Islamic rites.   Reacting to the incident, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, condemned the assassination of Sheikh Albany and two members of his family, describing the killing as dastardly, despicable and barbaric.

AN alleged plot by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, to invade Lagos in vehicles painted with military colours has been uncovered by security operatives.   At the weekend from military authorities that   the group planned to attack Lagos with weapons in vehicles used by senior military officers painted with the colours of the Army, Navy or Air Force.   This intelligence has made military authorities to order soldiers and naval ratings to thoroughly search vehicles painted with military colours, including those belonging to generals.   A source said: “No officer’s car painted with military colours is left out in this regard.”

Lagos, 30 January 2014 – Transcorp Ughelli Power Ltd (TUPL), the power subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), and General Electric (GE) have signed an agreement to expand the capacity of TUPL’s Ughelli power plant by1000MW over the next 3 to 5 years.

Mrs Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, one of the wives of late Chief MKO Abiola, on Saturday declared that she would contest the 2015 governorship election in the state on the ticket of ACCORD Party. Onitiri-Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, made her intention public in a statement issued by her in Lagos.