Repair work commences at Abuja airport (Read full details)

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Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja

The rehabilitation work has commenced at the closed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A NAN correspondent who visited the airport reports that the contractor, Julius Berger Plc, has commenced the work at the site. The report said that the airport runway was cleared of unwanted equipment and aircraft while Julius Berger vehicles were seen moving construction equipment to the site on Thursday.

Mrs Hajara Musa, the Manager, International Terminal, told NAN that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had handed over the runway to the contractor.

Musa disclosed that the company had already done the marking to clearly indicate the runway had been closed to landing. According to her, FAAN management has handed over the airport runway rehabilitation to Julius Berger Plc, which is on the ground carrying materials from one place to the other.

On the movement of passengers to Kaduna, Musa said that the management was alive to its responsibility by putting measures in place to achieve the desired result.

She said that FAAN had been able to identify some of its shortcomings and had started working to improve on them.

“No matter the plan that is being put in place you have to practicalise before you know its shortcomings and we are just starting and gradually there will be more improvement.

“We have made arrangement for the signage that will direct the passengers to the entry points where they should be.

“We have more than 10 buses as five have left for Kaduna, these will convey passengers back to Abuja if they so wish.

“We have successfully loaded four buses as at 10 a.m today and as more passengers are coming, they will be screened and subsequently transported to Kaduna,’’ she said.

Also, Mrs Ladi Salami, the Manager, General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and Protocol Lounge, said that all chartered flight passengers would also enjoy the free bus ride to Kaduna.

Salami said that there was a synergy between the GAT, the domestic and international terminals on the arrangement for the transportation of passengers to Kaduna airport. She said that the GAT was purely for chartered flights which had an average of 50 to 60 flights per day.

According to her, all the airlines operating chartered flight here have equally moved to Kaduna and that is why the apron is empty now.

A Benin-bound passenger, Mr Johnson Erijo, and a member of the Delta House of Assembly, commended the Federal Government for the arrangement it had put in place to transport passengers to Kaduna. Erijo told NAN that he did not pay any additional fee other than the money he paid for his ticket.

“The arrangement, for now, is perfect though I don’t know what it will become later, but what I’m experiencing the operation is seamless and working fine,’’ he said.

Prof. Ladipo Dolapo, said the screening of passengers in Abuja airport was necessary for the purpose of safety of passengers, adding that there might be no need for another screening at Kaduna.

Dolapo stated that even though the journey to Kaduna before taking a flight to Ibadan could be stressful, he still preferred to travel by air because of bad road.

According to him, “the screening of passengers is also okay by me as that is for our safety because we need to be conscious of safety procedures’’.

“However, I hope the journey from here to Kaduna goes well as I’m told that the buses are equipped with security personnel for safety of passengers.

“The journey looks stressful because this morning I thought of taking a cab to Ibadan from Abuja, which takes about nine hours.

“Now I’m at the airport at 9 o’clock and my flight is 4 p.m, and I may get to Ibadan at 4 o clock, so it comes to the same thing.

“The roads are indeed bad, it is my prayer that government improves these roads because the roads are bad, but nevertheless we take as it comes,’’ the don said.

NAN recalls that the Federal Government on Wednesday closed down the airport temporarily for six weeks to allow a seamless repair of the runways after more than 20 years of construction.

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These Educative, Entertaining And Inspirational Pictures Will Blow Your Mind – 96

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These are just pictures but they tell stories that will either Educate, Entertain or Motivate you…

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At least 19 dead in Argentina bus accident…Read full details

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A view of the bus that overturned, leaving at least 19 of the 40 passengers dead and more than 20 injured, near the town of Uspallata in the western Argentine province of Mendoza on its way to Chile, early in the morning of February 18, 2017.<br />STRINGER / AFP

A bus overturned in Argentina on Saturday near Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia, killing at least 19 people and leaving 20 injured, officials said.

Operated by the Chilean company Turbus, the bus was traveling from the province of Mendoza toward Chile with 40 people on board when the accident occurred in the Andes region, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Buenos Aires.

“Sixteen people died on the scene and another three in the hospital,” Oscar Sagas, health undersecretary for the province, told the local news network Siete de Mendoza.

The province’s attorney general, Alejandro Gulle, said that the two Chilean bus drivers, who survived the crash, were held for questioning in the town of Uspallata, a tourist spot near Aconcagua, which at 6,960 meters (22,835 feet) is the tallest peak outside the Himalayas.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred in the afternoon under good weather conditions and on a well-maintained major road between Argentina and Chile.

According to Turbus, the 40 passengers included 32 Argentinians — three of them children — four Chileans, one Colombian and a Haitian.

The accident happened on Route 7 near Los Horcones, in a spot called the Curva de Yeso, between the Aconcagua Provincial Park close to the border with Chile.

“It’s a curve that is fairly complicated because of a climb and then a drop,” Sagas said. Citing witnesses, he said the driver lost control of the bus, which then veered off the road.

One of the children remains in serious condition, and two adults underwent amputations of their left arms due to severe spinal injuries, a medical person at Hospital Central told channel Siete.

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Inland waterways key to unlocking mining, agric sectors, says Dogara (Read full details)

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Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara PHOTO: TWITTER/DOGARA

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Yakubu Dogara, has urged the Federal Government to complete the dredging of Nigeria’s inland waterways to unlock the country’s mining and agricultural potential.

A statement issued by Dogara’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, said that the speaker made the call in Lagos on Friday.

Dogara said this when he declare open a two-day retreat “The Maritime Sector and the Nigerian Economy”, organised by the House Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways and the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

According to him, the transport sector is key to the diversification and growth of the Nigeria’s economy.

Dogara commended the efforts of the Federal Government in the rehabilitation and revitalisation of the rail infrastructure as disclosed by oversight reports.

“The scheduled train operation between Abuja and Kaduna is particularly gladdening,” he added.

The Speaker opined that the Nigerian Ports and the Maritime industry have the potential to sustain the economy of the country and that the present administration was doing a lot to reposition the sector.

According to him, more efforts should be made in unlocking the huge and untapped potential in our coastal and inland waterways.

“The Nigerian Inland Waterways have potential of providing 28 out of our 36 states and the FCT with cheap, secure and affordable means of moving bulk cargo and personnel from one end of the country to another.

“Operationalizing and maximising the inland waterways transportation and associated trades is inevitable if our mining and agricultural sectors are to reach the heights we all desire as alternative revenue sources for the nation.

“The multi modal dream we all share for our transport industry requires that our waterways, airways and our beleaguered roads must develop at the same pace and complement our rail network,” Dogara said.

The speaker promised that the parliament would expedite action on all important Transport Sector Reform Bills pending before the National Assembly.

“This include the Port and Harbour, Nigerian Railways Corporation Act amendment, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders, Act Amendment and the National Transport Commission.

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NYSC, CBN, other banks to give loans to corps members (Read full details)

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Members of the National Youth Service Corps PHOTO: NAN

The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), says it will partner the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other commercial banks to provide soft loans to corps members across the country.

The Sokoto State Coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, disclosed this on Saturday at the permanent orientation camp in Wamakko, headquarters of Wamakko Local Government.

Abubakar spoke during the NYSC cultural carnival and exhibition of wares produced by the corps members under the 2016, batch ”B” stream.

He said that the other collaborating banks are the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and Heritage Bank.

Abubakar said that the corps members had gone through two weeks training on various skills, saying the training would continue throughout their service year.

”They have been trained on various skills like ICT, film making, photography, fashion design, tie and dye, cosmetology, brick making, interlocking and food processing, as well as preservation among others.

”Each of the beneficiaries may get between N3m and N10m to enable them establish their own small scale businesses.

”This will reduce unemployment, poverty and the post service trauma of searching for white collar jobs,” he said.

Abubakar said that the loans would be advanced to the corps members through the scheme’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Department of the scheme.

According to him, with the loans, corps members would be transformed into self employed citizens, while others may become employers of labour.

On the carnival, Abubakar stated that it replaced the defunct endurance trek due to some emerging security challenges in the country.

”The carnival is aimed at boosting unity, cultural and ethno-religious integration.
”It also helps to bring out the hidden talents of the corps members, as well as explore their business potential,” Abubakar said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the ceremony was an exhibition of the various products produced by the corps members.

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Trump under fire for saying he respects ‘killer’ Putin

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US President Donald Trump / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM

President Donald Trump drew fire from Republicans and Democrats alike Sunday, after he defended a softer stance on Russia, playing down political assassinations and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trump — now two weeks into his four-year term — showed no signs of yielding to demands from within his own Republican Party to distance himself from President Vladimir Putin, plunging himself into a fresh political firestorm.

“I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get along with them,” Trump said in an excerpt of a Super Bowl interview with Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly that will air in full on Sunday.

When pressed in relation to Putin’s alleged links to the extrajudicial killing of journalists and dissidents, Trump said, “There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers.”

“You think our country is so innocent?” Trump asked rhetorically.

Trump’s fellow Republicans, including Senate leader Mitch McConnell, were quick to criticize the president’s remarks.

“I don’t think there is any equivalency with the way the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does,” McConnell said.

“He is a former KGB agent, a thug, not elected in a way that most people consider a credible election,” he told CNN.

That criticism was echoed by Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Russia and advisor to former president Barack Obama, described Trump’s comments as “disgusting.”

“This moral equivalency that Trumps continues to draw between the USA and Russia is disgusting (and inaccurate),” he said on Twitter.

– ‘Major fight’ against IS –

Mainstream Republicans have repeatedly called on Trump to distance himself from Putin, with little impact.

Throughout the election campaign, Trump refused to criticize the Russian leader, saying better relations with the Kremlin would be in the US national interest.

The new president has advocated working with Russia to combat the Islamic State group in Syria.

“If Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS, which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all around the world, major fight. That’s a good thing,” Trump told Fox.

Moscow has deployed aircraft, naval assets and troops to Syria, but has so far trained its fire on rebels with the aim of propping up Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In December, US intelligence agencies went public with their view that Russia conducted a hack-and-release campaign aimed at swinging the US election in Trump’s favor.

Trump’s repeated criticism of NATO — a common target for Putin — has only fueled suspicions that Trump is ready to side with Moscow over allies in Europe.

Across Europe, there are growing concerns that the continent might be wedged between a hostile Russia and a hostile United States.

Trump’s stance on Ukraine has also raised eyebrows. After a call with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Saturday, the White House said the pair addressed “Ukraine’s long-running conflict with Russia.”

Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March 2014 and has supported separatists in the east of the country.

Former national security advisor Susan Rice publicly criticized Trump’s framing of the situation.

“This distortion of even recent history is deeply troubling,” she tweeted.

– ‘We’re watching’ –

Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence tried to explain the administration’s approach to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which had flared after Trump and Putin spoke by telephone a week ago.

“We’re watching, and (we’re) very troubled by the increased hostilities over the past week in eastern Ukraine,” Pence told ABC’s “This Week” news program.

During the Trump-Putin call, the Kremlin said the two men had discussed improving economic relations, a potential signal of Trump’s willingness to lift sanctions on Russia.

Asked whether the administration would be willing to ease sanctions while Russia is violating ceasefire agreements, Pence demurred.

“I think that’s a question that will be answered in the months ahead. And it just simply all depends,” he said.

“If we have opportunities to work together, I think the president is looking for an opportunity to begin that relationship anew.

“But make no mistake about it — those decisions will await action. And they’ll be very dependent on how the Russians respond in the days ahead.”

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Kente withdraws case against Governor Ishaku

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Darius Dickson Ishaku

Chief David Kente, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the 2015 governorship election in Taraba, has withdrawn the suit he instituted against Gov. Darius Ishaku.

In the suit, Kente, who had contested the PDP ticket with Ishaku, challenged his (Ishaku)’s emergence as the PDP candidate in the primary elections. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that after losing the PDP ticket, Kente defected to the SDP, where he eventually lost the secondary election to Ishaku.

“I have ordered my lawyers to withdraw the suit I instituted against Gov. Darius Ishaku,” Kente told NAN in an interview. Kente disclosed that his decision to withdraw the case was in the “overall interest of Taraba State”.

“I decided to challenge the PDP governorship primaries because I was not fairly treated when I aspired for the party’s ticket,” he said. Kente said that he was miffed by allegations that he was “settled” by a retired army general to step down for Ishaku after the primary elections, which he alleged were not fair.

“It was to prove that I was not “settled” to step down that I defected to the SDP to contest the governorship election, and further proceeded to challenge the primaries in the court.

“I want to tell you today that after pursuing my case to the Supreme Court, I have decided to withdraw it in the interest of Taraba State,” he said.
He regretted that some people had fed fat on the case “at the expense of Taraba tax payers”, and alleged that the case was being used as a conduit pipe to siphon government resources.

Kente said that he voluntarily withdrew the case on his own volution. “No one has pressurised me to withdraw the case. I took the decision on my own,” he explained.

The Supreme Court had fixed April 7, 2017 to rule on the case in which Kente had led statutory delegates of the PDP to challenge the primaries that took place in November 2014.

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FG slams fresh N7.5 bn fraud charge against ex-governor (Read full details)

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The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned indefinitely, a fresh six-count charge bothering on N7.5 billion, filed against former Governor of Benue Gabriel Suswam by the office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

The former governor was alleged to have conspired with Omadaki Oklobia, a former Commissioner of Finance during his tenure and one Janet Aluga to launder the money.

The Prosecuting counsel, Mr David Igbodo, informed the court that the office of the Inspector-General of Police was collaborating with the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on the case.

According to him, the collaboration is due to the quantum of the charge against the accused.

He prayed the court to adjourn the case indefinitely to enable both offices to carry out a thorough investigation.

“There is a recent development that made the IGP request that the file is sent to the AGF because of the quantum of evidence involved,” he said.

He also said that the defendants were not in court as a result of the new development, adding that they were on police bail and not in custody.

The Defence counsel, Mr Abbas Ochogwu, did not oppose the request for the indefinite adjournment in the case.
The Judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawale, granted Igbodo’s prayer.

Suswam and Oklobia are already standing trial before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the same division of the court for allegedly diverting about N3.1 billion, belonging to the Benue government.

FG slams fresh N7.5 bn fraud charge against ex-governor

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