FRESH 4RM GIM

The Federal Government yesterday cancelled the  recruitment test  of the Nigerian Immigration Services held across the country last Saturday in which more than 18 persons died and many others injured. President Goodluck Jonathan devoted the entire session of the Wednesday weekly Cabinet meeting to console the families’ job seekers who died as a result of stampede during the  nationwide recruitment exercise conducted by the Nigeria Immigration service (NIS). Consequently, the President has directed the cancellation of the recruitment exercise and ordered that fresh one be conducted in a civilized manner. However, the Ministry of interior where the embattled Abba Moro, presides will not supervise the exercise. The President has set up a special committee headed by the Chairman of the  Federal Civil Service Commission to conduct a fresh recruitment for the NIS. Also, as a form of compensation to the families of the deceased, each of the family will present three young people,

Senate yesterday commenced public investigation into the deaths of 19 applicants at the weekend recruitment of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). Besides, the chamber observed a minute silence in honour of the dead victims as well condoled with their families and sympathised with those injured in the tragedy. This is even as the  House of Representative  raised its own probe panel. Chairman of the  Senate Committee  on Interior,  Atiku Bagudu, moved a motion, supported by nine other senators. It also emerged that the NIS and consultants mandated to conduct the recruitment, pocketed  N3.8 billion from the exercise. Part of Bagudu’s prayer, which sought to “condemn the poor handling and logistic provisions at centres across the country which resulted in the various accidents”, was not approved by the chamber. Senator Suleiman Adokwe moved against the prayer on the premise that it would be “judgmental” for the chamber to condemn when the  public hearing  on the incident had

No fewer than eight civilians were among those killed in last Friday attack in Maiduguri, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, Chairman of the State Special  Emergency Relief  Committee, Bulama Mali Gubio has disclosed. In an interview with  journalists yesterday in Maiduguri after the distribution of relief materials to victims of the attack at Giwa Barracks of the 21 Armoured Brigade and some communities including Fori, Koreri, Wadia and Gambori villages, Gubio said the committee got the casualty figure from the affected communities.

Tension was high yesterday in Makurdi, the Benue State capital after two persons were killed in a farm by suspected Fulani herdsmen. The incident occurred at the Welfare Quarters area of the metropolis. Daily Sun  gathered from a  police source that a relation of one of the deceased had reported that his brother, who went to farm and did not return was traced to the farm only for them to discover his dead body with matchet cuts. The Police  Public Relations Officer (PPRO),  Daniel Ezeala , who confirmed the report, said police immediately followed the family to the farm and discovered another  corpse  which was burnt beyond recognition by the side of the corpse of the man that was earlier reported. Ezeala said both corpses were removed from the farm by the police and taken to the mortuary in Makurdi.

This morning from the hours of 8 to 10 am, all the Enugu entertainers, comprising of OAPs, Comedians, VJs, DJs and musicians conducted a prayer and fasting session for Akas Baba. Asking God Almighty to touch the heart of his abductors, to release him to his family.

Beyonce has told husband Jay Z and his  best pal , Kanye, that under no circumstances will she be a part of the wedding. Beyonce has told husband Jay Z and his best pal, Kanye, that under no circumstances will she be a part of the wedding. Pop star   Beyonce has reportedly told friends that she doesn’t want to attend Kim Kardashian and   Kanye West ’s much-hyped wedding. The 17-time  Grammy Award -winner thinks it is extremely tacky that the nuptials are going to be filmed for reality TV show ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, reported Radar online. “Beyonce has told husband Jay Z and his best pal, Kanye, that under no circumstances will she be a part of any filming on the  wedding day  if it is for Kim’s reality show,” a source said.

Lady Gaga admits to massive financial troubles and other shocking celebrity admissions Shocking celebrity admissions from Lady Gaga, Sienna Miller and more Lady Gaga was selling out arenas across the globe during 2009's Monsters Ball Tour, but the star has revealed she was flat broke at the time after spending all her savings on her gigs. “I had $3 million dollars in the bank to my name and I threw it all in to make my stage,” the 'Applause' singer said. “So I was bankrupt during the show.”

A  labour union  on Monday staged a protest over a deadly weekend stampede at a recruitment drive and demanded the interior minister's resignation. At least seven job-seekers were killed when a  stampede  broke out on Saturday at the national stadium in the capital Abuja, where tens of thousands turned up for a National Immigration Service  (NIS)  recruitment test . Some  media reports  put the death toll at 20. "We need a commitment that NIS will stop this serial killing of Nigerians," Nigeria Labour Congress deputy chairman Issa Aremu told protesters in front of the NIS offices in the city of Kaduna, north of Abuja.

The  National Association  of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has postponed its  industrial action  scheduled to begin on Monday, its national president Abdulrafiu Adeniji has said. Adeniji, in an interview with the  News Agency  of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the postponement was informed by progress being made in the ongoing discussion between the union and the  Federal Government . "That ultimatum on the commencement of strike cannot be now. So far, there is progress in our discussion with the government.

The  federal government  on Thursday in Abuja announced major reforms and fees in all the categories of Nigerian e-passports. The  reforms  are contained in a statement signed by the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service , Mr David Parradang. The statement stated that the approval was conveyed to the service in a letter dated 5 February 2014, from the Ministry of Interior.

The  federal government  on Tuesday said it was not contemplating any increase in the price of petrol in the foreseeable future. This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by Mr Lanre Oladele, the spokesman for the  Petroleum Products  Pricing and  Regulatory Agency  (PPPRA). It said that there was no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds that government wanted to increase the pump price of fuel.

The Kaduna State  Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Tuesday said it had registered 2,000 persons displaced by the attacks on three villages in Kaura Local Government Area. The  executive secretary  of the agency, Mr Dogo Makama told newsmen in Kaduna that the agency had assessed the needs of those affected and would soon offer assistance to them. He said during the assessment 240 houses were discovered burnt, 119 people killed, and 22  persons  injured and hospitalised.

Super Eagles  coach , Stephen Keshi, may have been forced to go into exile by the duo of Osaze Odemwingie and Ike Uche ahead of the Brazil 2014 World Cup. Daily Sunsports scooped  exclusively  that the Eagles manager who has been away in the United  States of America  would ordinarily have wanted to return home, but for the Osaze, Ike Uche saga. While many Nigerians  are clamouring for the inclusion of the duo in the Eagles World Cup party, Keshi appears not too disposed to recalling them to the team. A very close confidant of the Eagles manager revealed to Daily Sunsports that he had decided to stay back in the US to avoid being stampeded into taking one or two players he wouldn’t want in his final squad for the World Cup. He pointed out that Keshi had made up his mind not to  return home  as that would reduce the pressure on him.

Having secured a relatively comfortable three points with the 2-1 victory over China on Sunday,  Nigeria’s Flamingoes are aiming to cruise their way into the quarter final placement in Costa Rica U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup. With the intense opening match against China firmly consigned to the past,  the Nigerian side  is rearing to compound the woes of the Colombians that went down 0-4 to Mexico in their tournament opener. This second Group  D match between Nigeria  and  Colombia’s “ Las Cafeteras”  today, can be aptly described as a familiar affair and will certainly  whip up sweet and sour memories  for both countries. Both teams are familiar foes, having traded tackles at the same FIFA U- 17 Women’s World two years ago in Azerbaijan where Halimatu Ayinde’s  brace sent Flamingoes through to the quarterfinal and thus ended Colombia’s  fairy tale  run in the championship.

The leadership of the Nigerian Union of Pensoners (NUP) rose from a zonal meeting in Abeoukuta, the Ogun State capital with an appeal to the federal and state governments to pay their monthly  pensions on regular basis. National President of the NUP, Dr. Abel Afolayan, who addressed journalists, frowned at what he described as national negligence of the retirees, some of whom he said had died while struggling for their rights. His words: “It is a sad commentary in Nigeria that the aged, who had worked for Nigeria are being neglected by the federal and state governments. I must tell you that we are not happy with this development which has led to the death of many of our members.”

Igbo living in Ghana has pledged their support for the new administration in Anambra State.In a statement, the Eze Ndi Igbo of Ghana, Eze Geofrey Mokwugo, promised that Diaspora assistance would be made available to Governor Willy Obiano. He noted that Diaspora efforts have become a major catalyst for development in major  third world countries  and their component states. This, he said, should not be different from Nigeria. He noted that Igbos and other Nigerian citizens are contributing to the development and growth of Ghana, stressing that they also eager to contribute their quota to the development and growth of their respective home states and Nigeria at large. He promised that the efforts of Ndigbos would be mobilized into a common pool for the benefit of Anambra State.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday told defecting members of the Peoples  Democratic Party  (PDP) in Kwara State that they cannot run away with the party’s mandate, saying their positions will be reclaimed come 2015. He stated emphatically that the party will not only win at the centre, but the state and local levels in the 2015 general elections. Jonathan stated this when he hosted a delegation of leaders from Kwara State, led by oil magnate, Bola Shagaya and Lazeez Jimoh, who were on a solidarity visit to the State House, Abuja. Senator Bukola Saraki and Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), recently following disagreements in the PDP.

POLICE in the Maldives are probing reports that islanders in the tourism paradise saw a "low-flying jumbo jet " on the day the missing Malaysia Airlines plane vanished. In a statement released late Tuesday, police said they were investigating a report on the Haveeru news website  that local residents had spotted a large plane flying over the remote southern island of Kuda Huvadhoo on March 8. "The police are looking into the reports in the media saying that a low- flying airplane  was sighted above Kuda Huvadhoo," the statement said. Several alleged sightings of the Boeing 777, which vanished  en route  from  Kuala Lumpur  with 239 people on board, have proved to be false alarms and reports of debris at sea have also turned up nothing. Haveeru said witnesses on Kuda Huvadhoo had seen a white aircraft with red stripes flying towards the southern tip of the Maldives.