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As the battle for the recall of the representative of Kogi - West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye , rages , prominent Okun indigenes have thrown their weight behind the embattled senator. A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Chief Bayo Ojo ( SAN ); a former Minister of Health, Prof Eyitayo Lambo; and a former Minister of Police Affairs , Maj .-Gen . David Jemibewon ( retd. ) , have declared their support for Melaye. A statement issued by the Okun Development Initiative, on Monday , in Lokoja , said it had become imperative for the group to come out with a position on the ongoing recall process after the Independent National Electoral Commission acknowledged receiving more than the required numbers of signatures for the exercise. The statement signed by the group ’ s chairman, Lambo, said the purported recall had , once again, brought the dilemma of Okun to the fore . It said , “The Okun Development Initiative, a prominent socio - cultural a...

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has said that it has not released the names of its candidates for the July 22 , 2017 local government council election . A statement by the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the party , Abiodun Salami , on Monday , said the list would be released after the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission would have concluded the screening of the aspirants. It explained that the screening would be concluded by July 6 , 2017. The statement said , “We shall release the authentic list of our candidates in the 20 local government areas and the 37 local council development areas after the release of LASIEC’s screening results, in conformity with the electoral guidelines. Salami debunked a newspaper publication ( not The PUNCH ) , which said the party had released the names of its candidates for the election .

The Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ) is reported to have just issued some guidelines that include compelling road traffic offenders to be subjected to what they term “psychiatric examination ”. The offences that would lead to this mandatory examination include the use of phones while driving , route violation , traffic light violation , dangerous driving and overloading. The persons apprehended for any of these offences will be taken to what the FRSC describes as “ recognised public medical facilities ” and they would be made to “bear the cost of the examination ”. It is clear, even to the designers of these guidelines, that the purpose of this compulsory psychiatric examination is not to identify any psychiatric disorder but to use psychiatric consultation to shame the culprits . That is , what the FRSC hopes to achieve is not the identification and treatment of illness , which are the reasons why hospitals exist , but to use the threat of medical psychiatric consultation to co...

A retired Supreme Court justice , Francis Tabai , has said true implementation of the various provisions of the constitution is the answer to the growing ethnic agitations across the country . According to Tabai, the country ’ s constitution was beautifully designed to accommodate every section and ethnic nationality but successive governments had failed to implement its provisions for true governance that would ensure that every part was carried along. The retired jurist made the remark while speaking at a birthday lecture/ luncheon organised for a Niger Delta activist , Chief Mike Loyibo , in Warri, Delta State. He noted that ongoing clamours for restructuring would not have arisen if successive governments had implemented the constitution accordingly . Tabai said , “The Nigerian constitution contains provisions that accommodated the various national issues presently agitating ethnic nationalities across the country but the problems we have had is in its implementation as leade...

A former Legal Adviser of Daily Sketch Newspaper and First Bank Nigeria Plc , Afolabi Olasope, has urged the Federal Government to seek political and diplomatic solutions with the Cameroonian government on the ceding of Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross Rivers State. The International Court of Justice, The Hague , which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations , ceded Bakassi to Cameroon on October 10 , 2002. Media reports said the Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade , recently broke down in tears while relating the plight of the displaced Nigerians to the National Commissioner , Commission for Refugees , Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons , Hajia Sadiya Faruk. Ayade lamented that no human being deserved to live under the kind of poor condition in which the displaced people of Bakassi were living . In an interview with journalists in Ado Ekiti, Olasope appealed to the Federal Government to engage with the Cameroonian government for both political ...

Graduates from Egbema and Gbaramatu Kingdoms , the hometown of ex - militant leader , Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo , in Delta State, have threatened to shut down the operations of Chevron Nigeria Limited in the area if it fails to convert its graduate operator /maintenance trainees into permanent workers within 48 hours. The graduates, under the aegis of KOMBOT - Egbema and Gbaramatu Graduates Association , said they took the decision following the failure of Chevron to convert them into full members of staff after completing their 18 - month graduate training programme with the oil giant. In a statement signed by their President and Secretary , Mr. Yabrade Moses and Asoki Victor Warebi respectively , on Monday , the graduates lamented that after the completion of their programme they were still being retained as trainees when they ought to have been converted into permanent workers in line with the terms of the programme . The statement read in part , “ We, the under...

… says legislators more interested in boreholes than building highways •‘No concession agreements on Lagos -Ibadan road, Niger bridge’ Okechukwu Nnodim , Abuja the Minister of Power , Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola , on Monday hit back at members of the National Assembly , as he argued that the lawmakers had “stark and worrisome knowledge ” about the budget of his ministry before altering several of its allocations in the 2017 Appropriation Act. Fashola , who expressed deep concern over the recourse of the National Assembly ’s spokespersons to name -calling regarding his observations on the 2017 budget, also stated that there was no concession agreement for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge , as well as other road projects across the country . In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, the minister said he was worried that the National Assembly failed to address the fundamental points about development-hindering cuts in the allo...

Crystal Palace Football Club have appointed Frank de Boer as the club’s new Manager on a three year contract. De Boer managerial stints at Ajax and Inter Milan, and his managerial honours include four consecutive Eredivisie titles. De Boer was unveiled as the new manager at the club’s training ground today in front of the world’s media, on what is an historic day for the club as it also revealed its new main sponsor, ManBetX, in a record deal for the club. Chairman Steve Parish said: “We have undertaken a thorough interview process to ensure we are in a position to appoint a manager of the calibre and experience that Frank brings with him. I am pleased to welcome him to Crystal Palace and I know he cannot wait to get started and prepare for our record breaking fifth season in the top flight.” De Boer pictured with the club’s new home shirt, is excited to be taking charge at a Premier League club for the first time. He said: “I am thrilled to be appointed as manager of Crystal Pal...

An uncompleted two - storey building suspected to be a hideout of kidnappers and ritualists was on Monday discovered in Alagbaka area of Akure, the Ondo State capital. The building is located a few meters away from the Ondo State House of Assembly and it is behind the popular government - owned events centre, the Gani Fawehinmi Arcade, said to be owned by a retired civil servant in the state. The abandoned uncompleted building was discovered by the residents of the area who suspected that some men were always inside the building performing numerous secret activities on a daily basis. A resident of the area, on condition of anonymity , told our correspondent that the building has been abandoned for a long time and many residents of the area did not know the owner. He explained that a security operative attached to one of the buildings in the area shot a bird that had perched on a tree beside the suspected ritualists’ den. On hearing the gunshot, the suspected hoodlums reportedly ...

The Chile midfielder has hit out at the Real Madrid star as he prepares to go head-to-head with the Portugal captain at the Confederations Cup Arturo Vidal has hit out at Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Chile's Confederations Cup semi-final against Portugal, labelling the Real Madrid star "a smart ass". Chile secured a place in the last four with a draw against Australia on Sunday as they finished second in Group B behind world champions Germany. They will now face Euro 2016 winners Portugal in Kazan on Wednesday, with Ronaldo having enjoyed a good tournament to date. Despite speculation over his future and a tax case in Spain overshadowing the Manchester United man leading into the tournament, he has led by example for his country by scoring two goals and providing one assist. Vidal, though, does not to have been too impressed by the four-time Ballon d'Or winner, and has hit out at his attitude ahead of their face-off. "Cristiano is a smart ass!" he told...

Eight Chadian soldiers were killed in fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents at the weekend on islands on Lake Chad, the army said Monday. “Our forces attacked Boko Haram elements on five islands near Nigeria on June 24 and 25,” said Chad army spokesman Colonel Azem, indicating eight soldiers had died and another 18 were wounded. He also claimed troops had killed 162 jihadists from the Nigeria-based group, and destroyed six vehicles along with many of the motorcycles often favoured by Boko Haram fighters in their raids. Chad is part of a five-nation regional force — also comprising Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Benin — fighting Boko Haram, which is blamed for killing at least 20,000 people and leaving another 2.6 million homeless. Chad’s President Idriss Deby threatened on Sunday to pull the country’s troops out of peacekeeping operations in Africa because of a lack of foreign financial support. Chad has contributed the third-largest contingent to MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping...

The embattled leader of pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu has blasted the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, describing his regim as evil. Nnamdi Kanu in an exclusive interview granted to Daily Sun described the forme presidennt as the harbinger of Nigeria’s problems. Speaking during the interview, Nnamdi Kanu noted that the former president wa weak and incompetent adding that he does not hate the north as against speculations. Kanu further noted that Goodluck Jonathan did nothing for the South East during his regime, even though the region claimed him as one of their own. Noting that Dame Patience Jonathan, the former First lady would have been a better president than her husband, Nnamdi Kanu said: “Jonathan is my uncle yes. I was one of those who said Jonathan’s tenure was more or less an Igbo presidency; it’s on record I said that “But, he knew I never liked his regime because he was weak and incompetent. I don’t support evil; if you do good, I will...

Leaders of Sardauna local government council say soldiers have been deployed in their community to wipe out the natives. On June 17, a clash between two groups – herdsmen and local farmers – in the Mambila area of the council resulted in the death of a number of people. To stop further bloodshed, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo ordered the deployment of troops in the area. But in a statement signed by Mohammed Tersi, D M Ismaila and Marcus Bovoa, who described themselves as “Sardauna stakeholders”, the group said the government never responded in such a swift manner to attacks carried out by the Fulani who allegedly sacked villages of the locals in the state. They claimed that the Fulani planned to scuttle the task of the judicial panel of inquiry which was set up to investigate a dispute over land in the area. “These two incidents shattered the peaceful atmosphere in the area and created much alarm among the people thereby sparking off the unrest that immediately ensued,” they s...

The versatility of the Brazilian will be a boon to the Stamford Bridge side, but it is the quality of the Juve man that will really improve the Blues COMMENT Antonio Conte asked for a wing-back, a player who could help them to immediately compete in the Champions League, and Chelsea appear to have got him one. Alex Sandro is one of the top three left-sided defenders in the world and has improved his game so much at Juventus that he now ranks amongst Real Madrid's Marcelo and Bayern Munich's David Alaba as the best in his role. Chelsea to sign Alex Sandro for £60m Chelsea spotted that Sandro could be tempted into a £60 million move to west London after noticing his relatively low wage at the Turin giants. Conte will be able to work with a fast, attacking wing-back who will be ideal in his 3-4-3 approach. Sandro will help add quality in attack as Conte's formation is designed to overload their opponents as the wing-backs join the front three in a five-man attack. San...

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has denied claims that she insulted Igbos by saying she is happy they are becoming more irrelevant in Nigeria’s financial system. She made the denial while reacting to an alleged tweet in her name saying, “I am happy that Igbos are gradually becoming insignificant in Nigeria financial system and before the end of 2023 Igbos will be insignificant in South east and Nigeria in general.” Dismissing the claim, the Minister said she never tweeted anything of the sort, adding that the tweet was photoshopped onto her Twitter handle by some people looking to cause trouble for her. Adeosun maintained that every part of country is important to Nigeria’s financial system. In a terse statement on her Facebook wall, Adeosun wrote: “It has come to my attention that there’s a fake Twitter post circulating in my name, suggesting that I said something derogatory about Igbos. Kindly disregard it. “It’s nothing but a shoddy attempt to photoshop a hateful state...

The RIVERS State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike , has said the dissolution of his cabinet does not mean that there is a crack in his government . Wike explained that the dissolution of the State Executive Council was done in consultation with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state. Speaking during the Election Thanksgiving Service in honour of the Majority Whip, of the Rivers State House of Assembly , Evans Bipi , at Saint Martin ’s Anglican Church , Ogu on Sunday, Wike said the dissolution was done to rejig the machinery of government in order to move the state forward . He said , “ This is when you know those who are loyal and those who are not loyal . There is no crack in government . We are working together . The dissolution was done in consultation with the leadership of the PDP in the state . “You must work with those who are loyal . Those who are not loyal will be shown the way out. Those who are loyal will come back . When you are going into another disp...