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Senate approves ministry’s budget
Senate approves ministry’s budget
The Senate on
Wednesday approved the virement of N51.457 billion in the 2010 budget
as requested by the executive on behalf of the Power and the Defence
ministries.
According to the
Senate, the virement is to enable the executive carry out effective
implementation of the 2010 budget in line with the already drawn action
plan for sustainable power supply in Nigeria.
The virement will
ensure the movement of funds around the 2010 appropriation for the
power ministry to the tune of N49.661 billion for a variety of
projects, including the 200 MW Kaduna power plant. Funds will be moved
from projects that are either not likely to be completed this fiscal
year or projects that are not high priority.
The defence
ministry intends to deduct N1.796 billion from some projects to fund
the repairs of damaged army barracks in Jaguza in Kano State, Gombe,
Azare in Bauchi State and Ohafia in Abia State. The virement was passed without delay at the senate.
The Senate had last
year threatened not to approve virement of funds saying they were
illegal and a recipe for laziness in budget planning and implementation.
Appointments
Meanwhile, the
Senate on Wednesday received a letter from President Goodluck Jonathan
seeking their approval for the appointment of 25 ambassadorial nominees.
The president also
forwarded the nomination of Kalu Uko as a member of the National
Assembly Commission. Mr Uko will replace D C Nwachukwu who was
representing the South-East on the board. He was nominated by the
Senate President, David Mark.
The Mr Jonathan also forwarded the nomination of Umaru Ibrahim and
Aghatise Erediauwa as managing director and executive director
(operations) of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
Government appoints vice chancellors for new federal universities
Government appoints vice chancellors for new federal universities
The federal government yesterday announced the
appointment of vice chancellors and registrars for the new nine newly
approved federal universities which will open in September this year.
The former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Oye Ibidapo-Obe
who is now the vice chancellor of Federal University, Ndufu-Alike,
Ebonyi state. Others include Abdulmumini Rafindadi for Federal
University, Lokoja, Kogi state; Ekanem Ikpi Braide for Federal
University, Lafia, Nasarawa state; Mohammed Kabir Farouk for Federal
University, Kashere, Gombe state; and Geoffrey Okogbaa for Federal
University, Wukari, Taraba state. The rest are James Ayatse for Federal
University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina state; Jibrila Dahiru Amin for Federal
University, Dutse, Jigawa state; Chinedu Nebo for Federal University,
Oye Ekiti, Ekiti state; and Bolaji Aluko for Federal University,
Otuoke, Bayelsa state.
While announcing the appointments at a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, Minister of Education
Ruqqayatu Rufai explained that the decision of the
federal government to establish the universities was informed by the
desire to provide the access to university education to a larger number
of qualified candidates who are annually stranded due to lack of
carrying capacity by the existing universities.
The appointments, according to the minister, take
effect immediately even as she directed the Joint Admission and
Matriculation Board (JAMB) to facilitate students’ intake into the nine
universities by September this year.
She noted that the creation of the new universities
was also informed by the principle of equity in the distribution of
federal universities to cover all the states of the federation saying
“there are at present 12 states without federal universities”.
“Federal government has approached the matter
systematically by establishing nine universities in the first instance
while the remaining three states will have federal universities in due
course,” she said.
The minister disclosed that a sum of N1.5 billion,
which would be sourced by the Education Trust Fund (ETF), has been
approved by the federal government for each university.
According to her, the appointment of the vice
chancellors and registrars was done to avoid the localization of the
new universities and to ensure that they take off as national and
international centres of knowledge.
“Care has been taken to ensure that the pioneer vice
chancellors were carefully chosen from the ranks of former vice
chancellors, deputy vice chancellors, provosts of colleges of medicine
as well as distinguished Nigerian professors in the Diaspora,” she
said. “No vice chancellor shall serve in a university within his or her
geo-political zone.”
President Goodluck Jonathan had last year directed that a committee
be set up to work out the modalities for establishing the new
institutions. Kenneth Gbagi, minister of state for education, said that
the report of the committee was good. “It has different segments but
has to do with the creation of six new universities approved by the
federal executive council,” he said.
Court declares Obasanjo-led Ogun PDP faction illegal
Court declares Obasanjo-led Ogun PDP faction illegal
A high court
sitting in Abeokuta yesterday declared a faction of the People’s
Democratic Party, the Harmonization Committee, unconstitutional,
illegal, null and void. The Harmonization Committee, a faction of the
party, which enjoys the support of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo,
is the group which produced Tunji Olurin as the governorship candidate
of the party, as indicated in an injunction from the Federal High
Court, Abuja. In his ruling in Abeokuta yesterday, the judge, A.O.
Jibodu said the process by the PDP to remove the Gbenga Daniel-led
group’s factional chairman, Joju Fadairo, and others from office is
null and void.
He said that by
virtue of the provisions of Article 14.1 of the constitution of the
party, the claimants who were duly elected on the February 28, 2008 as
chairman and officers of the Ogun State Executive Committee of the
party were duly elected. In view of this, the judge posited that Mr.
Fadairo and others were entitled to hold the offices into which they
were elected as set out opposite their respective names in the schedule
annexed to the summons for a term of four years commencing from
February 28, 2008.
In the suit
reference number AB/166/2010, the judge also described the action of
the national headquarters of the party as illegal, declaring that the
purported dissolution of the Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP
as contained in a letter dated August 6, 2010 purportedly issued by the
national chairman of the party was unconstitutional, null and void.
The ruling also
restrained the defendants — whether by themselves or their servants,
officers or representatives — from preventing the Joju Fadairo-led
committee from performing the functions of their office or otherwise
interfering in any manner whatsoever with the performance by the
claimants of the functions of their offices in the Ogun State Executive
Committee of the PDP.
The court also
restrained the defendants: the PDP; the former chairman of the PDP.
Okwesilieze Nwodo; Abubakr Kawau Baraje, the national secretary; and
Tajudeen Oladipo, the national vice chairman (PDP, southwest zone) from
giving effect in any manner whatsoever to the purported dissolution of
the Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP.
Reaction
The counsel to the
Olurin group, Ajibola Oluyede, in reacting to the ruling said the
judgment had no binding effect on his client because it had been
overtaken by events.
“The judgment they
claimed to have obtained is not on merit because other parties involved
in the case were not represented,” he said. “Only the state is
affected, and I am also not aware that there was any trial before
judgment was given.”
Similarly, the
campaign organization for Mr. Olurin in its reaction, described the
purported court judgment as a “mere desperate exercise of no
consequence whatsoever”.
“We received, with
great amusement, the news of the purported court judgement obtained by
the Gbenga Daniel/Joju Fadairo group. The so-called judgment is one of
the latest antics of a sinking man, clutching at every straw in sight
in a vain attempt to stay afloat. One wonders how the so-called
judgment from a state high court could resuscitate an exco that does
not exist ab initio,” the statement, signed by Gbenga Adesanya, stated.
“The National
Working Committee (NWC) of the party is yet to reverse its dissolution
of the former Joju Fadairo-led exco. The national leadership of the
party on Tuesday confirmed its position when it gave our candidates
flags to fly the party’s ticket in the April elections.
“The Federal High Court in Lagos has also restrained the dissolved
Joju Fadairo-led exco from parading themselves as officers of the party
and from conducting primaries/congresses. They had told the whole world
that they were leaving our party. Pray, why do they want to cause more
confusion before their exit?”
Celebrating Taiwo Ajai–Lycett at 70
Celebrating Taiwo Ajai–Lycett at 70
One of Nigeria’s
pioneering actresses, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, will be feted by fellow
artists in Lagos next weekend, at a celebration of her 70th birthday.
The event, an Arthouse Forum organised by the Committee for Relevant
Art (CORA) in collaboration with the African Movie Academy Awards
(AMAA), holds on Sunday, February 13 at Tribeca.
Tagged ‘State of
the Stage: Conversation With and Around Taiwo Ajai–Lycett’, the forum
presents an opportunity for the arts community to look back on the
achievements of the veteran actress, who turned 70 earlier this month.
There will be a cross-dialogue between generations of thespians, as the
forum also promises a conversation between Ajai-Lycett with two of her
fellow actresses, Tina Mba and Kate Henshaw-Nuttal. There will also be
an interactive session, with a Question and Answer segment between
Ajai-Lycett and the audience. The event will be moderated by playwright
Wole Oguntokun, the director of the popular Theatre @ Terra.
Born on February 3,
1941, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett relocated to England in 1960, and worked in the
British Civil Service until 1970. She trained for an acting career at
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the City Literary Institute
and the Dance Centre in Covent Garden – all in London. In a long
career, she has featured in many UK theatre productions, at venues
including The Royal Court Theatre and the Royal Opera House. She
performed as recently at 2007 in the play, ‘Critical Mass’ at the
Almeida Theatre in London.
Ajai-Lycett’s many
television appearances include one of the popular British sitcoms of
the 1970s, ‘For Better For Worse’. In the Hollywood film, ‘A Warm
December’, she appeared alongside the iconic African American actor,
Sidney Poitier. Her appearance with Michael Crawford (who played Frank
Spencer) in the classic British TV comedy, ‘Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em’
is a popular video on YouTube, and has introduced her to a legion of
younger Nigerian fans.
Since initially
returning to Nigeria in 1976, the actress has filled many memorable
roles in Nigerian theatre productions and on television. She performed
in J.P. Clark’s ‘Song of a Goat’, Soyinka’s ‘Death and the King’s
Horseman’ and ‘The Lion and the Jewel’; as well as ‘Wale Ogunyemi’s
‘The Divorce’. She has also worked with younger dramatists like Wole
Oguntokun, who directed her in his play, ‘The Inheritors’.
Arthouse Forum for Taiwo Ajai-Lycett holds from 2p.m. on Sunday,
February 13 at Tribeca, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island,
Lagos.
Bilingual language packs for Osun schools
Bilingual language packs for Osun schools
Nigerian Evagrin
Rhymes, a teaching aid in the Yoruba and English languages in VCD and
book formats, is set to go into use in Osun State schools. Osun State
governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the innovative and compact
teaching aid, for use by Public Primary and Secondary schools in the
state.
Mr. Aregbesola made
the announcement at the opening ceremony of the Osun State Education
Summit, held in the state capital, Osogbo, on February 7. He said that
the decision to approve the new educational programme is in line with
the vision of his administration to embrace innovative ideas aimed at
adopting mother tongues.
The move is one of
many intended initiatives to boost Osun’s investment in education and
to adopt a new road-map policy for the sector, modeled after the
defunct Western Region education policy of the late Obafemi Awolowo.
In a statement,
Hakeem Adenekan, Group Project Coordinator of Evagrin Konsepts,
commended Mr. Aregbesola’s decision for aligning his administration’s
vision with the global standard. This, he noted, is with the intention
to merge education with mother tongues by adopting and promising to
distribute Nigerian Evagrin Rhymes in books and audio-visual format
across all schools in Osun State.
“At Evagrin, what
we have done is to bring Nigerian languages back from the brink of
total extinction by documenting them in VCD and book format in three
key Nigerian Languages – Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa – while other languages
are in advanced stage of production,” Adenekan explained.
He added that, “in the last 51 years, this is the first time any
Nigerian group or individuals will be documenting Nigerian rhymes in
Audio-Visual form both in VCD and DVD with its replica in book format.
“In the 50s and after Nigeria’s independence, these rhymes were just
oral songs almost forgotten. With the collapse of the public school
system, they all disappeared.” He added that the Evagrin Rhymes
compendium is one of several projects undertaken by Evagrin Konsepts
aimed at achieving the following: educational intervention, language
resuscitation, sustenance of cultural heritage and fostering of
national consciousness and integration, especially in children.
Siasia asks players to defend Super Eagles jersey
Siasia asks players to defend Super Eagles jersey
Super
Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has called on his players to live up to the
national team’s Super Eagles name as he starts rebuilding the team,
beginning with today’s friendly against Sierra Leone.
In what was his
first official meeting with the team on Tuesday morning at the Eko
Hotel and Suites, Lagos the former Super Eagles striker made it clear
that there would be no ‘big man’ in the side, and that everyone was
equal in the team beginning from Joseph Yobo right down to the players
from the Nigerian league.
“Yobo is our captain, but there are no big players here. Any big player must show the bigness on the pitch,” said Siasia.
“This is a new Super Eagles, and you must fly high.
“Nigerians want to
see a new team, with a new and positive attitude and we have our work
cut out trying to meet the high expectations of a people who have
tremendous passion for the game.”
The golden era
In recent years,
the Super Eagles have become a shadow of the all-conquering side of the
1990’s which won the African Cup of Nations in 1994, including two
successive second round appearances at the FIFA World Cup.
Siasia played a key
role in most of the national team’s success stories of that period and,
in the light of the team’s poor showings, especially at last year’s
World Cup in South Africa, he has charged the players to go all out and
return the Super Eagles to the top of the game in Africa beginning with
the game against the Leone Stars.
“We must respect
one another in this set-up,” he continued. “We also have to work hard.
It is important that we get some good results as we start in order that
our people will forget the disappointment of the FIFA World Cup finals
in South Africa.
“You may think the
Sierra Leone match is a friendly and a small game, but Nigerians will
begin to judge us from this first game, and it is very, very important
that we show great spirit. We must fight for the ball and play for one
another.
“This match will
prepare us for the African Nations Cup qualifying match against
Ethiopia coming up next month. And we all know we must win all our
remaining matches in the qualifying series.
“What I know and what I can tell you for sure is that Nigerians are
good people. If you show the spirit and you fight for the ball, they
will support you all the way,” he added.
Heavyweight matches in view
Heavyweight matches in view
The
French national football team, under Laurent Blanc, are still in the
process of re-building their name after a dismal showing in South
Africa in 2010. When they line out to face Brazil today, Blanc and his
players will know that further progress will be marked by a positive
result. France beat Brazil to win the one and only World Cup trophy in
1998 and also won by a Thierry Henry goal in the 2006 World Cup quarter
finals, so it will be a psychological boost for the French to triumph
once again.
Karim Benzema and
Matthieu Valbuena scored the two goals at Wembley that secured a
morale-boosting 2-1 win over England last November.
Coach Laurent
Blanc, has been playing up this match by saying his players will give
their all to win today’s match. “As a player, you don’t have many
opportunities to face Brazil in your career,” Blanc told reporters in
France.
“They are one of
the two best teams in the world. It’s going to be difficult. Brazil
have a multitude of good players. To measure oneself against the best
is the best way to make progress. It will be a good gauge,” he
continued.
The team will be
made up of young players like Yoann Gourcuff, Alou Diarra and Loic
Remy. Though these three players have underperformed in the Ligue 1,
Blanc said they cannot be discarded. “I know these players very well. I
know what they are capable of, even if they haven’t shown it in a while.
Brazil’s goalkeeper
Julio Cesar will be back in between the sticks after a largely
disappointing World Cup. Also restructuring under new coach, Mano
Menezes, he said Brazil will always be happy to call up a world class
goalkeeper like Cesar. “This was already part of our plans and it’s
with happiness that I call up Julio Cesar for the first time”, coach
Mano Menezes said. Kaka though did not get a recall after making his
return to Real Madrid last month, as he was not deemed fully fit.
Probable teams
France: Hugo
Lloris; Eric Abidal, Adil Rami, Philippe Mexes, Bacary Sagna; Yann
M’Vila, Alou Diarra, Yoann Gourcuff, Florent Malouda; Kevin Gameiro,
Karim Benzema
Brazil: Julio Cesar; Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Ramires, Lucas, Elias; Hernanes, Robinho, Alexandre Pato
Battle of the best
Barcelona’s Lionel
Messi will confront Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo but on the
international leval as Portugal tries to add Argentina’s scalp to
Spain’s. Portugal, led by Ronaldo walloped Spain 4-1 in a November
match and will hope to keep the momentum under new coach, Paulo Bento.
The meeting between
Messi’s Argentina and Ronaldo’s Portugal in Switzerland – a very
neutral venue will afford football fans the chance to compare these two
great players on the same pitch.
But Bento said,
“For me, it is not just about Ronaldo against Messi, but above all
about Portugal against Argentina – individual duels are for the fans.”
Argentina’s new coach Sergio Batista, who took over from Diego Maradona
the 2010 South Africa World cup said the game will be used to test new
players. This will be in preparation for the Copa America that will be
hosted by Argentina in July. “This is a good moment to try out some
youngsters,” Batista said.
Meanwhile Germany, with a lot of very young players being blooded by
Coach Joachin Low, will meet an Italian side that is also beginning to
look the way of young players.
Cavs set all-time record losing streak
Cavs set all-time record losing streak
The
Cleveland Cavaliers hit rock bottom by losing an NBA-record 25th
straight game in a 99-96 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday,
topping the previous mark they set over two seasons in 1982.
The Cavaliers, who
set the record for consecutive losses in one season at 24 when they
fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, had a chance to tie the
game against Dallas in the final seconds but Anthony Parker missed a
three-pointer.
“When it hit the front of the rim, I still thought it was going to hit the backboard and trickle in,” Parker told reporters.
“It is disappointing to come up short again. We just have to keep at it.”
Cleveland (8-44),
whose last win came on December 18 over the New York Knicks, play their
next eight games at home, where they have recorded five of their wins
this season.
J.J. Hickson put up
26 points and 12 rebounds while Ramon Sessions added 19 points and 13
assists to help Cleveland put up a good fight against Dallas.
The Cavaliers fell
behind by 15 points during the second quarter but clawed back to tie
things early in the fourth and take the game down to the wire.
Dallas reserve Jason Terry finished with 23 points to rally the Mavericks (36-15).
The Cavaliers posted the NBA’s best record last season, but things
took a downturn when two-times reigning NBA MVP LeBron James signed
with the Miami Heat during the offseason sending the franchise into a
freefall.
Islanders confident after first win
Islanders confident after first win
The
64-49 points victory recorded by Lagos Islanders on Monday over newly
promoted Chariots Basketball Club has renewed the former league
champion’s hopes of posting a good showing in this season’s DSTV
Premier Basketball League.
One of the team’s
handlers Lateef Erinfolami told NEXTSports that the team will do all it
can to sustain the tempo as they prepare for their next opponents,
age-long rivals Ebun Comets.
“Our major problem
is that the players always lose concentration while playing and that
cost us a lot. Even this victory will not have been possible if they
did not get their acts together on time,” said the former national team
star.
Concentration
Erinfolami said
with maximum concentration from his lads, they look good enough to
challenge for one of the four playoff tickets up for grabs in the
Atlantic Conference; as they hope to bring back the old times when
Islanders used to rule the basketball scene in Nigeria.
“It’s good we got our first victory now and I can say we lost our first match to Dodan Warriors due to inexperience.”
In the other week
two game played at the Indoor Sports Halll of the National Stadium,
Lagos, Dodan Warriors edged out Police Baton by 68-62 points in a game
involving two Lagos-based sides.
Baton looked as if
they were going to run away with victory when they took the lead with
less than two minutes left on the clock but a spirited fight back from
the Warriors side did the magic as they eventually subdued the Police
side to record a second successive win in the league.
Dodan Warriors now have a 2-0 record, looking good for a Final-8 playoff ticket, while Baton have lost both games played so far.
Warriors will be seeking to maintain their fine start to the season when they take on Delta Force in their next game.
Baton, for their part, will face Chariots who are yet to settle down to life in the Nigerian top flight division.
