You can’t distract us with corruption allegations – Reps reply Obasanjo

 

 

The House of Representatives has reacted to the allegation of financial impropriety levelled against the National Assembly by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas reacting to the allegation described it as an attempt by the former President to distract the 8th Assembly adding that the House has chosen to ignore him.

Namdas added that the former president must have been speaking about the high rate of corruption in the parliament under his own government of the 4th and 5th Session of the parliament.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a letter dated January 13, accused the National Assembly leadership of financial recklessness and insensitivity to the declining state of the country’s economy.

Namdas in his reaction on behalf of the lower parliament stated that the law makers have tremendous respect for the former President but that th etter by the former President may not have been meant for the 8th Assembly but rather the 4th or 5th Assemblies.

“We have tremendous respect for the former President. We don’t want to be distracted by letters.
“Probably the letter is not meant for the 8th Assembly because we have cued in with President Muhammadu Buhari, I think the letter is meant for the 4th or 5th Assembly. It was misdirected,” he said.

However, the House has also suspended plenary session for two weeks to resume next month.
The move according to Namdas, was to enable the lawmakers have enough time to look at the 2016 budget proposal sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the House upon resumption from the working recess is expected to be in tandem with its Senate counterpart regarding legislative inputs on the budget.

“By February 25th, we are hoping to join our Senate counterpart to pass the budget. It is our duty to appropriate what the executive has proposed. Wherever we see that funds have been unnecessarily allocated, we reserve the powers to move such funds to the areas where they are most needed.

“However, I can’t sit here and begin to tell you where and where we will move funds from, to where and how much, because that’s what we have taken the recess to do. Until we get there, we can’t say much at this point”, he said.

Namdas also reacted to an alleged gaffe by one of his colleagues, Mohammed Abubakar (APC, Kaduna) who alleged that members were given N50million and 150 motorcycles each for distribution to their constituents.

He said: “The truth is that we don’t know where the member got his information from or whether he is a beneficiary or not. This is one of the campaigns of calumny that we suffer. We don’t know if he said that just to tarnish the image of the House, but we will not let it lie low which is why an investigation has been called into it”, Namdas said.

Boko Haram: Army apprehends suspected member on wanted list in Delta

 

A middle-aged man suspected to be a member of the Boko Haram sect has been apprehended in Sapele, Delta State by officers of the 19 Battalion of Nigerian Army.

The suspect, Bukar Abacha, was arrested shortly after he arrived the popular Hausa quarters in Sapele.
A senior army officer who did not want his name mentioned, said on Thursday that a member of the Arewa community gave the information to “Operation Pulo Shield”.

The Borno State born suspect was, thereafter, handed over to the Army Headquarters in Abuja for further interrogation, the senior officer said.

The officer said the suspect was on the wanted list of the army
He said a sensitisation exercise tagged: “Show of force confidence building patrol,” had been inaugurated.
The officer said: “The exercise is aimed at disarming all acts of criminalities such as kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, illegal oil bunkering and killing of innocent citizens in the area.

“Before the arrest, community leaders informed us that the suspect was looking strange, psychologically imbalance and uncomfortable in their midst.

“That called for his doubt as one of them.”
The officer urged the people to give the army the necessary intelligent information that would assist to effectively stamp out crime in the society.
He urged residents to report people with questionable character or strange movement of persons in their domains.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the army pasted lists of names, containing 100 wanted Boko Haram suspects, in some strategic places in Sapele metropolis.

Rivers Election: Peterside Congratulates Governor Wike

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2015 general election, Dakuku Peterside, has expressed readiness to offer support to the Governor Nyesom Wike-led Rivers state government.

He made the pledge in his reaction to the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the election of  Barr. N. Wike.

The APC candidate in the statement he personally signed said him and his party will not fail to criticize Wike whenever government initiates policies perceived to be against the interest of the people of the state.
On the Supreme court judgment, the statement wondered the yardstick for the Judges resolution.

 

“The learned Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria yesterday January 27, 2016 upheld the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that Chief Ezenwo Nyesom Wike won the April 11, 2015Governorship election in Rivers State. The decision was a departure from the earlier findings of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which had both agreed with us that the conduct of the April 11, 2015 elections failed to comply substantially with the requirements of the Electoral Act.

“This decision marks the culmination of a legal battle we instituted not merely because we want power for its sake; but against the virus of electoral violence that often thwarts the will of the people.
“My associates and I are grateful to God for directing us to pursue justice in the courts rather than resort to self-help. We magnify our God for giving us the will and the support of Rivers people to maintain the legal battle.

“As a people who believe in the law, we fought a good fight; we won some of the legal battles along the way. For this we thank our legal team for the diligence with which they conducted the case.

“Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has differed from our position. Still, we thank God for giving us the stoicism to accept the verdict. Indeed, our God deserves praise for reminding us that as His children we should respect and honour even our earthly authorities. It is a further reminder that His will is best in all things for His glory and the greater good of humanity.

“We thank Nigerians, especially Rivers people who have stood by us during this legal odyssey spanning approximately 10 months. We urge all our supporters to take a cue from us in accepting this verdict, without more. We invoke in you the spirit of stoicism and compassion. Even if you are taunted by people who do not understand the ways of God, keep calm and be motivated by the greater good in all your actions.

“Our decision to serve Rivers State was borne out of a passion to uplift our people; to clothe them with dignity on the twin planks of social and economic prosperity. We anchored this promise on the platform of unity. Consequently, we never ceased to remind ourselves that we are GREATER TOGETHER. A Supreme Court verdict that goes against our prayer is a veritable opportunity to demonstrate how dearly we hold the greater together creed.

“Consequently, we shall do our best to work for the peace and development of Rivers State and all who reside in it. We shall creatively offer our help to Governor Nyesom Wike. We will provide a virile opposition, serving as a mirror for the conscience of government, in the interest of Rivers people. 

When encouragement is needed towards a just and proper course of dealings, we will offer our commendation to the government.

“Conversely, we will constructively express objection to policies and actions we consider inimical to the overall interest of Rivers people. It is our hope that Governor Wike and his team will appreciate the suggestions and proposals that would be made in the interest of Rivers people. If we sometimes sound strident, he should pay heed to the message of passionate and zealous Rivers people rather than dismiss the messenger.

“Although we have accepted the Supreme Court verdict, it would be remiss of me not to point out that this is also an opportunity for our people to engage in deep introspection on the electoral process.

“Beyond party affiliation, must we continue to allow the electoral process to be subject to the whims and caprices of anti-democratic elements, especially those who deploy personal militia to molest and even kill voters; those who hold the electoral umpire captive or compromised; and thus generally prevent electoral outcomes reflective of the will of the voters, as envisaged by law? It is understandable that an attitude of cynical expediency in some politicians may inevitably conclude that “the end justifies the means”.

“However, those who are governed by such a cynical mentality need to be reminded that a huge moral burden would perpetually sour such temporary “victories”. Like the myth of Sisyphus, it is surely a backward slide in our political evolution. Let us think deeply please.

“Finally, I thank everyone who has supported us during this long and arduous journey in the political evolution of Rivers State. May God satisfy you with blessings from the depth of His unfathomable love, so that you will eternally remain true to all that is noble and just. Remember, we are ultimately greater together!”

Zika Virus hits Brazilian Children with Microcephaly

 

A doctor examines an infant born with microcephaly.

Angela Rocha, a pediatrician in northeastern Brazil, measures the head of a child born with microcephaly, a tragic neurological complication linked to Zika, the mosquito-borne virus sparking a health scare across the Americas.

Outside the room, seven mothers cradling infants with abnormally small heads line up for hours for tests. More than 1,000 cases of microcephaly have been reported in just a few months in Pernambuco state, the epicenter of the Zika outbreak.

“We were taken by surprise,” says Rocha, a veteran infectious disease specialist at the Oswaldo Cruz University in the state capital of Recife, where doctors are struggling to care for 300 babies born with the condition.

For a country that for years has battled the Aedes aegypti mosquito - responsible for previous epidemics of dengue, yellow fever and other tropical diseases - the outbreak of Zika has caught the government, public health administrators and doctors entirely off guard.

A tropical climate, dense cities, poor sanitation and slipshod construction provided ideal conditions for mosquito breeding grounds and the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil’s northeast, across the country and to more than 20 others throughout the Americas.

“We just didn’t have the conditions or resources necessary to stop the mosquito or the virus,” says Maria da Gloria Teixeira, an epidemiologist in the neighboring state of Bahia and a director of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health, a grouping of public health professionals.

Amid warnings from governments and multilateral health agencies, pregnant women in Brazil and beyond are now seeking to avoid exposure to the mosquito, at least until contagion is contained or scientists develop a vaccine, which could still take years.

Brazilian health officials this week said they plan to reach an agreement with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to work on a vaccine. Some Latin American countries have advised women to delay getting pregnant.

The latest Zika Virus is spreading explosively

The World Health Organization has convened an emergency committee to discuss the wide spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Latin America.

According to the Director General of WHO, the virus is “spreading explosively” and “the level of alarm is extremely high.” She made it known that the relationship between Zika and birth defects has not yet been fully established but is “strongly suspected.”

“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions,” she said Thursday.

A post on the WHO website reveals that the emergency committee will meet to determine if the outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

WHO plans to prioritize the development of vaccines and new tools to control mosquito populations, as well as improving diagnostic test and will convene experts to address critical gaps in scientific knowledge about the virus and its potential effects on fetuses, children and adults. 

For most people, the Zika virus causes only a brief, mild flu-like illness. But in pregnant women it has been linked to an alarming increase in the rate of the birth defect known as microcephaly — a debilitatingly small head and brain size.

Microcephaly may cause mental retardation, as well as delays in speech, movement, and growth, according to the Mayo Clinic.

$2.1bn Arms Deal: My Voice Will Be Heard At The Appropriate Time- Goodluck Jonathan

$2.1bn Arms Deal: My Voice Will Be Heard At The Appropriate Time- Goodluck Jonathan

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, said it is not yet time for him to speak on the current $2.1bn arms probe scandal allegedly involving his National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, and some top politicians in the country because the matter is in court.

He made this known in a series of tweets on his official Twitter handle and added that in due time, he would tell his own side of the story.

He said, “My voice will certainly be heard at the appropriate time regarding the alleged arms funds mismanagement.

“I would not want to interfere with the proceedings by the judicial system that my administration worked tirelessly to strengthen.”
See tweets below:

Goodluck E. Jonathan Verified account ‏@GEJonathan

I would not want to interfere with the proceeding by the judicial system that my administration worked tirelessly to strengthen.

Goodluck E. Jonathan Verified account ‏@GEJonathan

My voice will certainly be heard at the appropriate time regarding the alleged arms funds mismanagement

 

Throwback photo of Uche Jombo and her baby bump

Throwback photo of Uche Jombo and her baby bump

 

 

The actress and film maker took to social media to post a throwback photo from her pregnancy shoot with WOW magazine. 

 

She looked amazing as she cradled her baby bump. With the caption: "#‎TBT‬ April 2015 ‪#‎37weekspregnant‬ ‪#‎pregnancyshoot‬ ‪#‎PhotoCredit‬: WOWmagazine ....FYI if pregnant belly makes you uncomfortable you need Jesus"

Tyga Says He's serious about marrying Kylie Jenner

 

Things got interesting on Wednesday's Kocktails With Khloe when Scott Disick and Tyga sat down for a spirited conversation with Khloe Kardashian.

One hot topic that came up was Tyga's relationship with Khloe's sister, Kylie Jenner, when the 26-year-old rapper slipped in that he "would marry her."

When no one followed up on Tyga's bombshell, Khloe's guest (and best friend) Malika Haqq put him on the spot, asking, "You might have thought you slipped this by us a second ago but I kind of noticed. Do you really want to marry Kylie?"

"Yeah, for sure," Tyga responded. "Y'all know that."

"I mean, I know. I just wanted to hear you say it out loud," Malika shot back, a hint that Tyga may have privately discussed marriage plans in the past.

Khloe also had her guests play a revealing game of "F***, Marry, Kill" and presented the hypothetical question to Tyga, but she wasn't going to let him off easy by having Kylie as one of his options.

Instead, she gave him the options of Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and herself.

"I'd probably marry Khloe, f**k Kim [and] probably kill Kourtney," Tyga said, given those choices.

Disick -- who split from Kourtney, the mother of his three children, in July after dating for 10 years -- had a totally different perspective when it was his turn to tackle the hypothetical question.

"If I really had to [I'd] bang you, kill Kim for sure, and marry my girl," Disick said, sounding like he had given the scenario a lot of thought.

Later in the episode, Tyga got the chance to turn the tables on Khloe, asking the 31-year-old host a personal question.

"Do you see yourself having kids in the next two years?" Tyga asked. "Because I feel like everybody wants you to have a kid. Like, I feel like you would be a great mother."

"Do I want kids in two years? Yeah, but I want the family. I don't just want to the kid. I want a husband, I want my whole family," Khloe answered candidly. "I don't think all of that is going to happen in two years, you know, but you never know. I did get married once in 30 days so you never know."