Thursday 10 March 2016

NNPC workers suspend strike action

NNPC workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, have suspended their strike action. The oil workers called for a strike following the restructuring of NNPC by the Federal government.
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A Spanish judge has been accused of offensive questioning after she asked a rape survivor if she had tried closing her legs when she was being sexually assaulted.
The comments were made as the alleged victim appeared in court in Vitoria, northern Spain, to make an initial rape allegation to the magistrate. The unnamed woman had told the court how a man had repeatedly violently abused her sexually and physically
 
Judge Maria del Carmen Molina Mansilla, in the Basque Country responded to the claim by asking the woman: "Did you close your legs and your other female organs?"
After a shocked silence, the woman, who is four months pregnant, responded with a simple "yes"
The offensive comment has sparked protests in a country where a shocking one in five women have been victims of assault.

The Clara Camoamor Association, a campaign group for victims of gender crime, asked the General Council of the Judiciary, which reviews the independence of judges in Spain, to suspend Judge Mansilla for her insensitive questioning.
A spokesperson for the campaign association, Blanca Estrella Ruiz said the remarks showed a clear prejudice towards disbelieving the rape victim and even blame her for the ordeal.
"The judge showed obvious disbelief of the testimony of the victim, questioned her without allowing her to answer and asked leading and offensive question. A clear example of this attitude is the judge's repeated questions to the victim on whether she made any attempt to resist aggression including asking her 'did she close her legs firmly?' and 'did she close all of her other female organs?' Such questions are not only unnecessary to the investigation but are completely offensive and violate the dignity of the victim."
Ms Ruiz explained that the incident was not the first time that the judge had appeared to make light of a victim's allegations.
"Unfortunately this is not an isolated act but such behavior by this judge. It is habitual and continuous. Other women have lodged complaints about the re-victimization they experienced in this court. Women are scared as to what might happen to them as a victim in this court and it is disincentivizing them to report such crimes." Mz Ruiz added.
The campaign group's psychologist added: "Here we are talking about institutional ill treatment. That is to say she was abused in her home and went on to search for help and has now also been abused by the judicial institution."
Spain's judicial authorities have since confirmed they are investigating the complaint. Officials at the Juzgado de Violencia sobre la Mujer Vittoria (Court of Violence against Women ) said the judge will not be commenting on the matter as the investigation continues.
Source: Daily Beast
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Power generation drops to 1,580 MW

Power generation in the country has dropped to 1, 580 MW in the last three days resulting in blackout presently being experienced in some parts of the country. Senior officials at Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, attribute the decrease in power generation to a partial system collapse at the Shiroro dam in Niger state and the activities of gas pipeline vandals in the Niger Delta region.
Residents of Lagos state have also been thrown into darkness in that last 4 days following a strike action by members of staff of the Ikeja Electricity distribution company who are protesting the disengagement of 400 of their colleagues who failed a competence test carried out by their management.
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A Nigerian man named Chakoli, who was abducted 7 days ago in Rawalpind, Charsadda, Pakistan was safely found by the police and three of his alleged kidnappers arrested.
Chakoli was found after a police action in Tungi’s area of Thekedar Anu Kali, Charsadda on Tuesday, March 8. The kidnappers (pictured) were also arrested during the action.
According to Tangi SHO Gul Shahid, police raided a house at Tekadar Korona area in Chakori. He added that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom money of Rs 10 million for the release of Chakoli from his friends and colleagues.
Chakoli was running a business in Rawalpindi and was abducted a week ago. He was handed over to Punjab police station after his release.
Source: Pakistan Observer
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FG probes 11,000 ghost workers

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun yesterday revealed that 11,000 potential ghost workers have been identified in the payroll of the Federal government and are now being investigated. Adeosun made the disclosure while speaking to state house correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
According to Adeosun, this disclosure was made possible by the routine audit of all ministries, agencies and parastatals ordered by President Buhari.
This discovery comes after 23,000 ghost workers were discovered in February, saving the Federal government N2.29 Billion in salary
"On the issue of the ghost workers, of the 23,000 that we have removed from our payroll, we are now investigating another potential 11,000. Again we are using computer techniques to identify those who we need to investigate, so we are now looking at the second batch and as we resolve those cases we would inform you of the amount saved and the number of people removed “she said

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Friday 4 March 2016

Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomole, has asked for an unreserved apology from Senator Dino Melaye over his recent comments about him not marrying a Made in Nigeria woman. During the senate debate on promoting Made in Nigeria goods on Wednesday March 2nd, Dino said that Nigerian men do not like patronizing Made in Nigeria Girls and cited Oshiomole who is married to Iara from Cape Verde as an example. Oshiomole reacted to the comment via a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Peter Okhiria. The statement reads
“Our attention has been drawn to the unprovoked verbal assault launched by one Senator Dino Melaye on the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, while making a contribution on the floor of the Senate on the need to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods. As a “nephew” of the Governor and members of the same party, we expected Senator Melaye to tender an unreserved public apology to the Comrade Governor, to no avail. It is an open secret that Senator Melaye cannot maintain a decent matrimonial home hence he could descend to this pedestrian level of using the hallowed chambers to “cargorise” women as if they were pieces of items for purchase. Any responsible individual that is truly worth to be called a Senator, a position that convokes respect, decorum and decent public conduct, should know the limits of his verbal diarrhea. The liberty of free speech guaranteed in the hallowed chambers does not impose lunacy on anyone to disparage other Nigerians, let alone pry into their matrimony in a very derisive manner. We had intended to ignore this uncomplimentary comment as one of the several empty displays of the Senator, but the fact that it tends to reduce women to pieces of tissue calls for this response. As we probed into Dino Melaye’s humanity, we were reminded that he is a man known for his vainglorious rodomontade and the childish display of his ostentatious lifestyle complements his love for foreign items. Many of such euro-centric mentality he has persistently displayed on social media, to underscore his materialistic eccentricity, hence his dialectical opposition to made-in-Nigeria goods. But an attempt at making women wear the garb of goods to be picked off the shelves was to take the issue to a ridiculous and irresponsible level. By delving into the private affair and marriage of the Comrade Governor, Senator Melaye has exposed himself as a simpleton and a court jester whose words and tactlessness cannot be taken seriously by matured people. We advise that Melaye should mend his ways with his ex-wife and concubines before coming to the village square to display his crass ignorance and emptiness to the Nigerian people. If he has anything to offer, Dino Melaye should concentrate on making good laws for the people of Nigeria rather than descend to a ridiculous level, thus displaying to the whole world his unworthiness to sit in the hallowed chambers of the Nigerian Senate".

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Wednesday 2 March 2016

The Nigeria Football Federation say they are ready to meet Sunday Oliseh in court after the ex-Super Eagles coach said he is meeting with his lawyers to discuss a legal move after claiming he is being owed salaries by the football body.
Sunday Oliseh resigned from his post on Social media on Friday and the NFF said they had paid him backlog of salaries totaling N20m on the 23rd of February through a Sterling Bank account before he resigned
But Oliseh's lawyers gave the NFF 48 hours beginning from Monday to retract their comments or they would take them to court.
'The NFF is not bothered by such threats. He can go to court. Oliseh is not the only one who has lawyers. The NFF has a legal department and it is ready.'' Ademola Olajire, Head of Comunication  Department of the NFF said.

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The US singer who was in Nigeria over the weekend for Darey's show, danced bare foot to Iyanya's Kukere and Tekno's Duro, at Dolphin Estate. See more photos.
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As shared by DJ Khaled...
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Kris Jenner says she doesn't understand why her ex-husband Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner has decided to date men after being with only women all his life. Speaking as a guest on the EllenDegeneres Show this week, the popular TV host reminded Kris that the last time she was at the show she was with Bruce Jenner on Valentine's day and asked if she was surprised at his recent decision to start dating men.

'The last time you were here on the show, you were here with Bruce on Valentine’s Day,' the host recalled. 'And now she is Caitlyn. It's confusing because for a while she was not saying whether she was going to date women or men, and now apparently she has said that she's going to date men.' Ellen said
Kris replied
"I saw that, too. I think that I really want her to be happy and be really comfortable in all the things where she says she wasn’t her true authentic self for most of her life. [She] knew when she was 4 that she felt like that. So you don’t want somebody to be miserable or in pain or any of that. I think for me, just getting used to that - you know I am human and I have my feelings and I try and it's baby steps - and it's like the mourning of somebody that you feel you are never going to really see or be with again."
When Ellen brought up Caitlyn's new sexuality orientation again, Kris said:
'That part of it I don't understand. I said to her, when this first happened, "you're so excited, you have to wait for the rest of us to catch up,"'
On a trailer for the new season of I Am Cait, Caitlyn, 66, is seen telling a friend: 'To be honest with you, I don’t see myself dating women in the future. I’ve been there, done that, got three ex-wives,'
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Saraki's CCT trial to resume March 11th



The trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, will resume on March 11th, a day after the initial date of resumption which was March 10th. According to a statement released by the spokesperson of the Tribunal, the shift in date came after Saraki's lead counsel, Kanu Agabi SAN, asked that the date be shifted due to his engagement in other courts on March 10th.‎  Saraki is being tried on a 13-count charge for alleged corruption and false declaration of assets while he was governor of Kwara state.
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The Texas couple Chudy and Sandra Nsobundu, 56 and 50, accused of holding a Nigerian woman captive in their home for more than two years and without pay has been indicted.
A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against them and they have both been charged with forced labor, withholding documents, visa fraud, conspiracy to harbor and harboring an illegal alien.
The couple also have to forfeit their home in Katy, Texas.. Both Chudy Nsobundu and Sandra Nsobundu were accused of mentally and physically abusing the unpaid nanny who is also a Nigerian who lived in their home and was allowed to only eat leftovers, not wash her hair and work about 20 hours a day with no pay.
The woman was rescued on Oct. 10, 2015, following a tip to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.
If convicted of the conspiracy or forced labor, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison. For withholding documents, they face another five years, while the visa fraud and harboring illegal aliens carries a possible 10-year sentence. All of the charges could also result in a $250,000 maximum fine.

Source: Click2Houston
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Ese Oruru, the 14 year old girl "abducted" by one Yinusa and taken to Kano where he converted her to a Muslim and married her was at the police headquarters in Abuja yesterday. Ese is still insisting that she was never abducted and that she and Yinusa have been "friends" long before she followed him to Kano. She also insist that she is 17 and not 14 as her parents are claiming. Meanwhile she will be handed over to her parents today at a press conference which will have the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, in attendance.
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The Nigerian Coaches Association has blasted NFF President Amaju Pinnick over what the association sees as lack of trust and belittling of indigenous coaches. The president of the Nigerian Coaches Association Bitrus Bewarang said the NFF boss was unfair to Nigerian coaches when he said that the era of indigenous coaches handling the senior national team ended with Sunday Oliseh.
Bewarang who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja, said that
“The attention of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association has been drawn to a statement credited to the NFF President Amaju Pinnick that enough is enough for Nigerian Coaches in the Super Eagles. We want to say as an Association that that statement from the NFF President was the most unfortunate in the present dispensation. This statement is coming at time when the present administration is struggling to conserve the little foreign currencies that it is available, that is when the NFF leadership is thinking of embarking on a jamboree of employing a foreign coach who may not be competent as those that are based here at home.
Moreover, it has become very evident that the NFF finds it very difficult to fulfill all their contractual agreement with indigenous coaches whenever they are engaged, a situation they would not be the same when they employ a foreigner. We became more worried over this statement because the Football Federation has just drafted some indigenous coaches to go on a rescue mission to qualify the country for next edition of the African Cup of Nations, after which a foreigner would be appointed to take the team to the competition proper and probably the World Cup. This antics is unacceptable by our Association, as it has become a normal trend in country to use the indigenous coaches to achieve a target, only to dump them for foreigners at the end of the day. We reject this antics to the totality and implore the NFF to always give the indigenous coaches equal respect as they do to foreigners,” he said

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