At least 11 people, including five pupils, were on Tuesday killed by ongoing heavy rains in Tanzanias Eastern Region of Morogoro, a senior police official said.

The Morogoro Regional Commissioner, Wilbroad Mutafungwa, said the five pupils drowned in a flooded river while going home from school.

Mutafungwa told a news conference in the Morogoro municipality, situated 200 kilometres west of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam that four bodies of the pupils had been recovered.

The commissioner said that rescue teams were still searching for the fifth body of a nine-year pupil from the Nyachiro primary school.

He said the other six people were killed by flash floods in different parts of the region.

Earlier, Solomon Mwangamilo, in charge of Tanga Region Traffic Police, said the ongoing heavy rains had so far damaged roads and submerged bridges in some parts of the country.

Mwangamilo added that the highway connecting the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, and upcountry regions to the North, was temporarily closed on Saturday after a bridge was submerged in Coast region.

Tanzania Meteorological Authority said that the country would experience heavy rains that might cause floods leading to disease outbreaks in at least 13 administrative regions.(Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN

Sen. Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West at the Nigerian Senate, has lost his appeal on the tribunal judgment that sacked him as a senator two months ago.

It would be recalled that the Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja, nullified Melaye’s election in August.

Melaye was declared the winner of the Kogi West Senatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the February 2019 general election.

The results declared by INEC showed that Melaye who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 85,395 votes to defeat Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 66,901 votes.

Adeyemi later approached the tribunal to challenge Melaye’s victory and was declared winner on Friday.

A three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Chijioke in a unanimous judgment accepted Adeyemi’s ground and ordered for reelection into the Kogi West senatorial district.

Displeased with the judgment of Justice Chijioke’s led tribunal, Senator Melaye approached the Appeal Court to appeal the ruling.

The Appeal Court eventually upheld the judgment of the tribunal and ordered a fresh election within 90 days.

By Sandra Umeh

As the World marks Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) and Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) on Thursday drew attention to the negative impact of the death penalty on children.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oct.10, is slated as World Day Against the Death Penalty.

It is a day set aside every year to advocate the abolition of the death penalty and raise awareness on the conditions and the circumstances which affect prisoners on death sentence.

The day was first organised by the World Coalition against the Death Penalty in 2003.

To commemorate the day, two Human Rights Organisations, HURILAWS and LEDAP have drawn public consciousness to the effect of the penalty on children in the society.

In a statement jointly signed by Mr Collins Okeke and Mrs Pamela Okoroigwe, representing both organisations, they, among others, called on government to put in place modalities with focus on children.

In its 2018 global report on death sentences and executions, Amnesty International recorded that in Nigeria; at least 19,336 people were on death row.

Many of these people have children connected to them either as daughters, sons, nephews or nieces.

The death penalty does not only affect the person who is sentenced, as family members of the sentenced persons are also collateral victims.

HURILAWS and LEDAP call on the Federal and State legislators and executives in Nigeria to:

Put in place an official moratorium on the imposition of death sentence and the carrying out of executions on the parent of a child.

Conduct a child rights impact evaluation of the actual impact of the implementation of current legislation and policies in their state, related to the death penalty, to assess the impact on children of the parental death penalty, the organisations said.

The organisations said there should be consideration of all aspects of childrens rights in this evaluation, including the right to be free from inhuman treatment and the rights to health, education, and an adequate standard of living.

They suggested engagement in thorough communication with children to facilitate their meaningful participation in this process and to identify their best interests, using child-friendly procedural safeguards.

Develop transparent and objective processes for legislative decisions made concerning the death penalty to ensure full consideration and respect of the human rights of children.

Enact legislation that requires in law the detailed procedural steps for conducting a best interests of the child assessment as set out in the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

General comment on the best interests of the child and include a provision explicitly requiring that such an assessment be conducted before any sentencing decision is made that impacts a child.

Ensure that all the procedural requirements set out in this legislation are disseminated to both prosecutors and judges, they said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has approved 15 new courses for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to give opportunities to Nigerians wishing to study in the institution.

Prof. Peter Okebukola, the Chairman, Governing Council, NOUN, said this in Abuja on Thursday while briefing newsmen.

He noted that three of the courses, International Relations, French as well as Development Studies, were approved for undergraduate programmes.

Okebukola explained that 12 of the programmes including Master of Law, Master of International Law and Diplomacy (MILD), Public Health, Economics and Mass Communication were approved for postgraduate programmes.

Others courses approved for postgraduate programmes were Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and Management Information System.

Okebukola said: Council noted that University Senate has approved a whole range of new undergraduate and postgraduate academic programmes in order to provide more opportunities to thousands of Nigerians who would not have been able to study these programmes due to their individual circumstance.

According to him, six of the programmes that have to do with Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and Management Information System will take place at the institutions World Bank funded Africa Centre for Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL).

The NOUN Council Chairman also said that the institution was gradually achieving its target of one million enrolment going by its current enrolment of 550,000 students.

He commended the Managements of National Universities Commission (NUC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for their support and interventions in the university which led to the increase of students enrolment.

Council is happy to report that Government of Belarus has requested the permission of NOUN to hold an education fair in December 2019 due to importance of NOUN as a national nerve centre for educational dissemination and quality assurance.

Council also approved the recommendation of Senate for the appointment of Prof. Uduma Orji Uduma of the Department of Philosophy as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).

We also noted the election of Congregation representatives to Council of Mrs Margaret Merari and Alhaji Isa Shehu for the period specified by law.

It is gratifying to note the increasing number of enrolment of women in NOUN; second semester registration indicated 58 per cent of those taking examination in NOUN are female.

This is commendable as it provides women with an opportunity for gaining world-class education at their place and their pace, Okebukola added.

Source: NAN

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met behind closed doors with former President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former president arrived the State House at about 3.00p.m, and went straight to the presidents office.

NAN reports that the agenda of the meeting between President Buhari and Jonathan was unknown to newsmen as at the time of filling this report.

NAN observed that the former president, whois visiting the Presidential Villa for the fifth time, was last seen in the State House in 2016.(NAN)

Source: NAN

By Uchediunor Augusta

A yet-to-be-identified young lady on Thursday escaped lynching by an irate mob over alleged snatching of manhood of three men in a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus at Onipanu Bus Stop in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who monitored the incident, reports that the young lady escaped death as irate mob and BRT passengers pounced on her over the allegation.

An eye witness and passenger in the bus, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that a man suddenly raised the alarm that his manhood had disappeared immediately the young lady touched him in the bus.

She added that two other men standing close to the first man almost immediately raised the same alarm, after feeling their organs

The eyewitness added that the bus driver had to take all the occupants of the bus to Onipanu Police Station to report the incident

Speaking to NAN at the police station, an unidentified police officer, confirmed the incident and said that the police were on top of the situation.

NAN reports that the three affected men were taken to undisclosed hospital for confirmation of their claims. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said its intervention had assisted to save N4.5 billion monthly, lost to ghost workers on the federal governments payroll.

The monthly savings amounts to N54 billion on a yearly basis.

A statement by EFCC Spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, quoted the commissions Acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, as saying this while delivering a lecture on Thursday at the National Defence College (NDC) in Abuja.

Magu spoke on the topic Corruption and Anti-corruption Strategies in Nigeria: Way Forward, at the Course 28 Study Programme of NDC with the theme: Economic Diversification and National Development.

He reiterated the commitment of the current administration to rid the country of corruption, adding that the involvement of the EFCC had helped in fighting corrupt practices.

Magu also commended the introduction of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) into salary payment, which he said had assisted to save such amount for the government.

The involvement of the EFCC in tackling the scourge of ghost workers in the civil service has led to a redemption of over N4.5 billion naira monthly.

The EFCC has been engaged in eradicating ghost workers from the federal governments payroll which has resulted in saving as much as N4.5 billion naira monthly.

The Bank Verification Number (BVN) has been an effective tool in carrying out investigations effectively, as it has curtailed the opening of fake bank accounts by fraudulent individuals.

The only gateway to development is through fighting corruption.

If Nigeria breaks away from corrupt practices in government businesses and in the private sector, we will transform into a model state overnight, he said.

The commissions acting chairman disclosed that the commission had secured up to 2,165 convictions over a period of 10 years between 2009 and 2019.

He added that 70 per cent of it was achieved between 2016 and September 2019 under his watch.

The EFCC boss called for more collaboration among security and law enforcement agencies through the National Anti -Corruption Strategy aimed to bring about coherence and synergy among security agencies in the country.

The Commandant of NDC, Rear Adm. Markson Kadiri, emphasised the need for proper utilisation of funds, urging participants to key into the corruption fight.

We all have a role to play to ensure that monies meant to be used for public good will be applied according to what and how they are meant to be utilised, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN

By Ramatu Garba

A Chief Magistrates Court sitting in Kano on Friday ordered that a teenager, Babangida Inusa, who allegedly raped his neighbours 50-year-old mother, be remanded in a correctional centre, pending legal advice.

The police charged Inusa, who resides at Falgore Village, Kabo Local Government Area of Kano, with rape.

Chief Magistrate, Muhammad Idris, who did not take the plea of Inusa, ordered the police to return the case file to the Kano State Directorate of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

Idris adjourned the case until Dec.12, for further mention.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, ASP Badamasi Gawuna, told the court that the complainant, Rabiu Hussain, of the same address reported the case at the Garo Police Division Kano, on Sept.6.

Gawuna alleged that on Sept.4, at about 4 p.m, Inusa attacked and raped the complainants 50-year-old mother on her farmland in Kabo Local Government Area of Kano.

He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 283 of the Penal Code.(NAN)

Source: NAN

The Arndale shopping centre in Manchester on Friday has been evacuated after reports of stabbings.

According to the BBC the UK ambulance service was treating four people after the incident at the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester.

Five people have been stabbed and counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, British police said in a statement.

We are on the scene, we are treating four patients, a spokeswoman at the North West Ambulance Service said.

Manchester Police said on twitter that they were responding to an incident at the shopping mall.

According to media reports, armed police officers are patrolling inside the shopping mall.

UK police said that a man has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault over the incident at the shopping centre.

A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault. He has been taken to custody for questioning.

Footage from outside the shopping centre, shared on social media, shows police vehicles arriving at the scene. (Sputnik/NAN)

Source: NAN

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the former Governor of the State, Akinwunmi Ambode and four others who served under the ex-governor as commissioners.

The decision followed two preliminary reports presented by two different ad-hoc committees set up by the House to investigate the 820 buses purchased by Ambode and to appraise the 2019 mid-year budget.

Presenting the preliminary report of a 9-man ad-hoc committee to probe the 820 buses purchased by the former governor, Chairman of the committee, Fatai Mojeed said that it was discovered that due process was not followed in the purchase of the buses.

The lawmaker said Ambode used the refund of the Paris Club for the purchase of the buses without the approval of the House, saying he did not inform the House before commencing the purchase of the buses.

Over N48 billion was spent on the purchase of the buses and N22 Billion were spent on import duties. 520 of the buses are still at the seaport.

Mojeed stated that the Accountant General of the state told the committee that she depended on the approval of Ambode for the purchase of the buses and that no payment voucher was made available to the committee.

According to Mojeed, they also demanded for the budget instrument used for the purchase, but that there was no budgetary provision for the purchases.

They could not produce any newspaper where the purchase of the buses was advertised. The committee invited 20 stakeholders, 16 of them complied, while four of them refused against the constitutional provision, he added.

On his part, Gbolahan Yishawu, Chairman Adhoc Committee on mid-year budget review, alleged that the above-mentioned commissioners were invited by his committee but refused to appear without giving any excuses for their absence.

Yishawu also claimed that the former governor gave some directives on spending without the approval of the lawmakers.

Reacting to the matter, some members of the House suggested that since the ex-governor and those officials who worked with him had been invited by the two committees and refused to show up, warrant of arrest should be issued on them.

Bisi Yusuf, the member representing Alimosho Constituency 1, told his colleagues that the House is empowered by the constitution to issue a warrant of arrest on the concerned individuals for their refusal to appear before the committees.

While expressing a contrary view, member representing Badagry Constituency 1, Ibrahim Layode urged his colleagues to tread with caution.

He advised that the concerned individuals should be invited through newspaper advertisements, stating that the ex-officials were likely to come across the publications.

According to the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, I want to observe that if they have been invited and refused to show up, we should summon them and if they still refuse, then a warrant of arrest can be issued. Now, theyve been invited, we should summon them by using the dailies before going to the extent of issuing an arrest warrant.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, noted that the issue was beyond arrest warrant, because when this house invite people and they refused to show up, its like setting a bad precedence for others coming behind.

The clerk should write them, including the ex-governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and if they refused, we will do newspaper publications and after that, we will issue a warrant of arrest, Obasa stated.

Source: NAN

By Uchenna Ugwu

The Ebonyi State Emergency Management Agency on Friday, said that flood had displaced no fewer than 30,000 people, including children in six local government areas of the state.

The agencys Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Chibueze Iteshi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki that the flood submerged farmlands, livestock and houses.

About 30,000 persons are currently displaced by flood across the state. It affected infants, children from one to 12 years old, adults from 18 to 49, 50 years old and above at the camps.

When the disaster occurred, about 95 per cent of the children stopped going to school because the school structures might have also been affected.

There were fears that the roofs of the school buildings might have been blown off by storm. .

The schools appeared no longer accessible to the children, he said.

According to him, the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) predict the heavy rains.

Iteshi said that the children were in different nursery, primary and secondary schools in the affected local government areas.

He appealed to UNICEF to come to the aid of the children, adding that they were finding it difficult to cope with the displacement.

According to him, the agency has commenced has commenced inventory of the affected persons and communities.

He also disclosed that the agency had inaugurated 13 Local Emergency Committees (LEC) across the state to mitigate the effect of flooding in communities.

He said that the committees had the responsibility of promoting community enlightenment and prompt response activities for the reduction of flood in communities.

Iteshi commended the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on its commitments toward disaster management measures.

He also commended the state government for providing logistics for strengthening flood management and sensitisation campaigns across the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN

In a first-century collaboration (we mean the A.D. era, people), a Brooklyn-based company created $1,425 customized Nike sneakers called “Jesus Shoes” — that sold out in one minute.

The sneakers, a pair of Nike Air Max 97s injected with holy water derived from the Jordan River in the Middle East and adorned with a steel crucifix, are by creative label MSCHF. Head of commerce Daniel Greenberg, 22, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that an August brainstorm meeting on brand partnerships, including one between Adidas-Arizona, produced the winning idea.

“I said, ‘What would a collab look like with Jesus Christ?” Greenberg tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “You could say Jesus is the most influential person of all time.”

The premium price may not faze true sneaker fans — Bergdorf Goodman sells Jimmy Choo “Diamond Crystal-Embellished Metallic Sneakers” for $3,995, and Dior is selling high-top sneakers for $1,100.

MSCHF employees pitched different shoe concepts — sneakers with a holy nail and fake blood and a modern upgrade on the classic “Jandal” (Jesus sandal) trend. But the idea of “walking on water” won out. “We weren’t making a religious statement, but more saying, ‘Hey, collab culture is getting out of hand,’” says Greenberg.

The team decided to use Air Max 97s, Greenberg’s daily shoe (although the product has no association with Nike), and inject holy water into the midsole, the cushioned part of a sneaker. But engineering required innovation. Fortunately, Greenberg has a friend living in Israel, who agreed to retrieve one gallon of water from the Jordan River — where, per Christian tradition, Jesus was baptized — and ship it to New York.

Walk on water while blessing your kick game with the exclusive all white Nike Air Max 97 MSCHF x INRI Jesus Shoes.

Shop the sneakers on StockX: https://t.co/ulGquMQIPm pic.twitter.com/npejhQ3Lrs

— StockX Sneakers (@StockXSneakers) October 8, 2019

Greenberg and his colleagues also called a priest to the office to bless the water. “He didn’t have any issue with it, but sort of laughed at our weird request,” he says. The water was mixed with blue dye for realism and red soles to reflect the shoe color worn by the Pope. The inserts are also scented with the resin frankincense, one of three gifts presented to baby Jesus.

And the ungodly price? It’s a play on Matthew 14:25, which describes Jesus walking on water. (The shoes are also available on retail site Stock X for around $3,000).

The completed product was sent to a handful of Instagram influencers and rapper A$AP Rocky, but Greenberg believes they went viral due to “sneaker heads” obsessively following the product tease online. The shoes went on sale at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and all two dozen pairs were sold out by 11:01 a.m.

Greenberg, who dropped out of college after his freshmen year and is now studying two days a week at New York University while working full-time at MSCHF, tells Yahoo Lifestyle while rushing to class, “We’re not a shoe company and we did not believe many would buy these or pay freaking $1,425.”

Now MSCHF, which Greenberg says is “the anti, anti company,” plans to introduce new concepts on every second and fourth Tuesday. When pressed for details, he teased, “an app, a weird exponential thing about streaming wars, and weed paraphernalia.”

64-year-old man, Bassey Archibong, of No. 10 Kunle Dipo Street, Majidun, Owutu, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, has been arraigned for having carnal knowledge of his four daughters aged between 12 and 20.

It was learnt that Archibong had been having incestuous sexual relationship with the girls since 2016.

Archibong was arraigned on three counts of continuous sexual relationship with his daughters, failure to get their consent and involvement in an amoral relationship with the victims before the Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court 1, Lagos.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, John Iberedem, said Archibong used food as bait to get the girls to consent to his amorous desire.

Iberedem said whenever the children objected, he would refer to Lot in the Bible, who had sex with his daughters and was not punished by God.

The prosecutor also stated that the offences were punishable under Section 265 (2) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2019.

He said, “The defendant beat the children and starved them whenever they confronted him on why he was sleeping with them.

“He would tell them that intercourse between fathers and daughters were normal and approved by God.

“He told the children that God did not punish Lot, who had sexual intercourse with his children, meaning that He approves of the act.”

The charges read in part, “That you, Bassey Archibong, between the years 2016 and 2019 at No. 10 Kunle Dipo Street, Majidun, Owutu, Ikorodu, Lagos State, in the Ikorodu Magisterial District, did engage your four daughters between the ages of 12 and 20 in sexual activities by having carnal knowledge of them continuously without their consent, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 265 (2) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

“That you, Bassey Archibong, on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned magisterial district, did have unlawful carnal knowledge of your 20-year-old daughter without her consent even when you knew that it was morally wrong, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 260 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.”

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs F. A. Azeez, remanded the accused person in a correctional facility pending advice by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She adjourned the matter till October 30, 2019.

Chiniki Guard, a Nigerian Information Communication Technology (ICT) startup application has won the best prize of 10,000 USD in the Artificial Intelligence category competition at the ongoing Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX).

GITEX is a global annual and biggest technology gathering in the Middle East,North Africa and South Asia with theme “Synergising the Mind and Technology Economy.”aqq

Chiniki Guard is an Artificial Intelligence security solution for retail stores,supermarkets to monitor,detect and alert shop owners of shoplifting as well as suspicious behaviour in real time.

Chiniki Guard is among the 34 startups in the category of the Supanova finalists at the GITEX Futurestars competition.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)Mr Abdulhakim Bashir,the Founder of Chiniki Guard, said the opportunities at GITEX had accorded him the win and would enable him widen the scope of his business.

Bashir said he woud launch the application after GITEX and move to the cloud for storing data to accommodate the number of requests from shop owners.

According to him,Nigerians have potential that can transform the economy but the private sector needs to be involved.

247Medic, a health ICT application that connects doctors with patients across Nigeria within a maximum waiting time of 10 minutes and provides auxiliary services, including lab testing,door step delivery of drugs,also made it to the finals.

Other Nigerian start-ups at the exhibition include: Blue Circle of Notitia,a health application that digitise patients’ medical history, Zowasel,an agritech application to improve value chain.

Naira Packet also among the startups is a solution mechanism that reduces the cost of micro transactions and Sublime Square, an online platform, designed to ensure efficiency in waste evacuation and management.

NAN reports that Nigeria’s participation at GITEX is spearheaded by NITDA.

Nigeria Postal Service, Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Exchange Commission, Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board are some agencies representing the country at GITEX.

The start-ups were mentored and supervised by the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), a subsidiary of NITDA.

(Reuters/NAN) Ugandas Joshua Cheptegei triumphed after a close battle in the 10,000 meters on Sunday, winning his first world title and bringing his country their second medal of the championships.

Cheptegei remained near the front of the pack for most of the race and surged in the final kilometer to pass leader Rhonex Kipruto.

He held off the challenge of Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia to finish in a world leading time of 26 minutes 48.36 seconds.

Kejelcha finished just under one second behind Cheptegei, clinching silver with a personal best time of 26:49.34.

Kenyas Kipruto had to settle for bronze after having led for most of the race, crossing the finish line in 26:50.32.

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

Two Presidents on Monday emerged at separate elective congresses in Port Harcourt, Rivers and Abuja, to pilot the affairs of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while the Port Harcourt 2019 Triennial Delegates Congress returned Honour Sirawoo as National President for a 2nd term in office through a voice vote, a parallel group in Abuja, elected former Edo SWAN chairman, Ahmed Aigbona, as its president.

Aigbona was removed as Edo SWAN chairman on July 6, 2016 after he was elected a board member of the Edo State Football Association (FA) as he cannot hold two elective offices.

Also elected in the Port Harcourt were Vice Presidents Bonny Nyong, South South; Dan Musa Mohammed, North Central; Jiboh Zakari, North East, and Chigozie Chukwuleta, South East.

Jude Opara, a member of the FCT was elected as Secretary-General, while Bello Farouk emerged as the Treasurer, and Orji Samson Nwabebe, became the Financial Secretary.

Isaiah Benjamin, Chairman, SWAN Electoral Committee (SWANECO), said the positions of Deputy President, Vice President, North West and Deputy Secretary General were not occupied.

Benjamin who is the SWAN Chairman, Kaduna State said the vacant positions would be filled in due course as some of those who purchased the forms were absent at the congress, thereby contravening the SWAN statutes.

The SWANECO chairman also said Kwara, Bauchi, Zamfara, Cross River and Gombe States where absent at the event in Port Harcourt, while Lagos came with five observers.

Delegates from Ogun were attacked on their way and as such couldnt make it to Port Harcourt, he stated.

Thirty states attended the congress in Port Harcourt, while the Abuja event was graced by aggrieved members of SWAN who vowed vehemently opposed the return of Sirawo for a second term.

In a similarly development, Mike Oboh another member of the FCT SWAN emerged as Secretary-General of the Abuja faction.

The immediate-past Vice-President North West, Ado Salisu emerged Deputy President, while Femi Amusan from Oyo State became Vice-President South West.

Emmanuel Uja from Benue emerged as Vice-President, North Central; Loveday Herbert from Bayelsa became Vice-President South South, and Ismaila Mohammed from Jigawa was elected as Vice-President North West.

Ikem Asika from Anambra is the groups Vice-President South East, while Monica Iheajam of The Sun Newspapers in Lagos was elected the Financial Secretary.

Meanwhile, Mike Oboh, factional Secretary-General of SWAN, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the re-elected SWAN president Sirawoo, has been suspended.

He explained that Sirawoo was suspended for acts inimical to the well-being of the body.

The Port Harcourt and Abuja congress held contrary to the directive by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), that both events be suspended pending when issues surrounding the conduct of the elections were resolved.

NUJ had earlier threatened to sanction any group that would violate the directive. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Oct. 7, 2019 (NAN) In line with global requirements of communications, Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications, said Nigeria was ready to deploy 5G network across the country to ease network flow.

Pantami said this on Monday at the ongoing 39th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) holding in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

GITEX is a global technology exhibition that brings together over 200,000 trade visitors, investors, innovators, IT experts, countries, Information Communication Technology startups from over 145 countries of the world, to share trends of ICT and ways of advancing technology innovations.

Nigerias participation in GITEX, which is spearheaded by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is a week long programme holding from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10.

5G mobile network is the next-generation standard for wireless communication, set to start taking over the mobile network environment in 2019. 5G delivers vastly increased capacity, lower latency and faster speed.

The minster said Nigeria is ready for 5G network but preparation is key. We are ready but need deployment and before that we need pre-deployment and post-deployment.

We are working to handle the challenges of pre-deployment but the approval has been given for the trial.

Nigeria is not yet into the 5G network deliberately. Some of the telecom operators are ready to deploy the 5G network but the proposal was put on hold, so we can be productive and proactive.

There could be potential challenges that could obstruct 5G network, which include regulations. You cannot just rush into it without preparing your ground, he said.

He said that the Federal Government is engaging some security agencies like the National Intelligence Agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police, among others to ensure a seamless process, while establishing regulations on deploying the 5G network.

The minister also said that 5G network cannot be deployed across the country yet due to some gaps in citizens being unable to access 2G, 3G and 4G networks.

At the pace we are moving, some places do not even have 2G, there are over 200 cluster areas in the country and with this you cannot say we can move to 5G when some people are yet to access 2G, 3G.

The gaps are already there, it is not a new one but you cannot delay advancement because other people are not benefiting, what we should do is to bridge the gap.

He added that Nigeria was not doing badly in technology, however, patriotism and confidence in indigenous products and services was lacking.

Pantami recalled that a Nigerian in the UK was the first person globally to develop, build and design first real time 5G network dedicated to self-organised networks in the UK , using general purpose processors.

According to him, we usually fail to deploy what we produce, we are so much addicted to foreign products and whenever we hear anything local it appears to us as inferior.

That perception of undermining our effort is what we need to change.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria Postal Service, Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Exchange Commission, Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board are some agencies representing the country at GITEX. (NAN)

Source: NAN

As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider being off limits.

I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (Ive done before!) Trump posted on Twitter, referring to sanctions of 2018.

Trump stressed that Turkey and European nations would be responsible for a prison camp in north-east Syria where thousands of Islamic State fighters and families are held.

It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory.

The president is facing pushback in Congress over his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the border area.

The White House had announced that Turkey would move ahead with its long-planned operation in Syria and that the U.S. would not be involved.

Similarly, the U.S. Senate will seek to sanction Turkey and even suspend the country from NATO if it invades north-eastern Syria and attacks Kurdish forces, Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Monday, as he lambasted Trump.

We will introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria and will call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces, who assisted the U.S. in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate, Graham, a Republican, said on Twitter.

Graham, a hawk who is often a vocal supporter of Trump, said he was working with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen on the bill and was hoping for a veto-proof majority in the upper chamber.

Congress must make it clear that Turkey will pay a heavy price if they attack the Syrian Kurds, Van Hollen said, denouncing Trumps decision to betray the Kurds.

Members of both parties have blasted the president over his decision to allow Turkey to enter northern Syria and attack the Kurdish-led forces who have been the main partner for Washington in the fight against Islamic State.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney warned the decision would be seen as a betrayal of the Kurds and set up the U.S. as an unreliable ally.

Chris Murphy, a Democrat, called Trumps move positively sinister, noting that just this month the U.S. convinced the Kurds to remove military fortifications against Turkey, under an apparent promise to continue to defend them.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a left-wing progressive running in the 2020 Democratic presidential race, slammed Trumps abrupt announcement, saying the U.S. must responsibly end our military interventions in the Middle East. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN