Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the arrest of the management of MV Nyerere, the ferry that capsized in Lake Victoria, as the death toll climbed to 131 and rescue workers pressed on with the search to find scores more people feared drowned.

The MV Nyerere may have been carrying as many as 200 passengers double the ferrys capacity when it capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday, according to reports on state media.

Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock.

In a speech broadcast on TBC One public television, Magufuli said It appears clear that the ferry was overloaded, adding that negligence has cost us so many lives children, mothers, students, old people.

I ordered the arrest of all those involved in the management of the ferry. The arrests have already begun, he added.

The president declared four days of national mourning while saying at least 131 people had died, updating an earlier death toll of 126.

Magufuli also announced the government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.

Mwanza governor John Mongella had earlier said the number of survivors was 40, but it was unclear whether any new survivors had been found since rescue operations resumed with police and army divers on Friday morning.

Operations are continuing, he said, but hopes are fading that more survivors might still be found.

State television cited witnesses reporting that more than 200 people had boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island, where it was market day when locals said the vessel was usually packed with people and goods.

I have not heard from either my father or my younger brother who were on the ferry. They had gone to the market in Bugolora to buy a school uniform and other supplies for the new school term, said Domina Maua, who was among those seeking information about loved ones.

Davita Ngenda, an elderly woman in Ukara, had already received bad news.

My son is among the bodies recovered, she said, weeping. He had gone with his wife but she has not been found yet. My God, what did I do to deserve this?

Sebastian John, a teacher, said such tragedies had become part of life for those living on the lake.

Since my birth, people have gone to their deaths on this lake, but what are we to do? We did not choose to be born here, we have nowhere to go, he said.

It remains unclear how many people are still missing.

Tanzanias Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency, which is responsible for ferry services, said it was unknown how many passengers were aboard the MV Nyerere.

The ageing ferry, whose hull and propellers were all that remained visible after it overturned, was also carrying cargo, including sacks of maize, bananas and cement, when it capsized around 50 metres (55 yards) from Ukara dock.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but overloading is frequently to blame for such incidents.

The countrys opposition has accused the government of negligence.

Source: NAN

Bianca Jagger once defended the Sandinista revolution of Daniel Ortega. But today, the Nicaraguan rights campaigner wants to see the controversial leader leave office in her homeland.

Jagger, the ex-wife of the legendary Rolling Stones frontman, also wants the United States, Canada and the European Union to sanction key members of Ortegas government and cut off all aid to Managua.

Daniel Ortega is maybe even worse than Somoza, the 73-year-old Jagger told AFP in an interview, referring to the onetime dictator of the troubled Central American country who was ousted in 1979 by Ortegas guerrillas.

Jagger says she feels betrayed by Ortega, who has faced months of upheaval sparked in April when his government, backed by armed paramilitaries, cracked down on relatively small protests against now-scrapped social security reforms.

More than 320 people have been killed in the subsequent unrest, according to rights groups. At least 500 opponents of Ortegas regime have been arrested in connection with the protests, rights watchdog CENIDH says.

Ortega is killing children who are unarmed, Jagger said in the interview, held on Thursday before she delivered a speech at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas in New York.

The dual British-Nicaraguan citizen, president of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, decried the terror brought on by Ortega and the merciless persecution of all those who raise their voices against his government.

Ortega is due in New York next week for the annual United Nations General Assembly debate.

Jagger says the international community needs to think of ways to support the Nicaraguan people and put pressure on Ortega to release all political prisoners.

Before her speech in New York, Jagger was in Washington for talks with senior government officials and lawmakers, lobbying them to pass legislation that would cut off economic aid to Ortega and sanction members of his government.

That draft could come before the US Senate for a vote next week, she says. A similar bill is before the House of Representatives.

For Jagger, the administration of US President Donald Trump is doing a decent job in its handling of the crisis.

There are people (in the US government) who are doing important work in defence of human rights in Nicaragua, she said, singling out Washingtons ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, for praise.

She also met with the State Departments highest-ranking official for Latin America, Francisco Palmieri, the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

Jagger says she does not think a national dialogue of reconciliation will work in Nicaragua but acknowledges that all avenues must be explored.

As to whether Ortega should be tried, or simply pushed to leave office, Jagger replied, It would be very difficult for me to say, Lets ignore the crimes against humanity committed by Daniel Ortega.'

We must find an effective way for Daniel Ortega to leave power and for new elections to be held but not under his direction, Jagger said.

Daniel Ortega is a war criminal.

Source: NAN

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) operatives raided a Lagos warehouse and seized controlled drugs, such as Tramadol, valued at N105.6 million.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

She explained that NAFDAC carried out substantivesurveillance on nefarious activities of a gang involved in illegalimportation of banned and controlled pharmaceutical products.

She said that the operatives at about 1.04 am raideda transit warehouse at Ijora Ororo, Lagos State and discovered 187cartons of assorted Tramadol, with a range of 120mg, 200mg and 225mg doses.

More than 49 cartons of Diazepam (another controlled drug) concealed amongst household items including but not limited to bicycle, used tyres and printers were also seized.

The seized products, valued at N105.65 million have beenevacuated from the transit warehouse for necessary action and furtherinvestigation, she said.

We are advising the general public to be watchful and should not hesitate toreport any suspicious activities within their environment to thenearest NAFDAC office she added.

Source: NAN

The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has said that he did not violate the Constitution by not participating in the compulsory one year National Youth Services Corps (NYSC) Scheme.

The minister stated this while speaking with newsmen on Friday in Abuja, arguing that his case could not be compared to that of the former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

The minister who is one of the All Progressives Congress(APC) governorship aspirants in Oyo State, spoke after being interviewed by the APC screening committee.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the media had been awash with reports that the minister did not participate in the mandatory one year NYSC program after his graduation from the University in 1978. The compulsory NYSC programme began in 1973.

Former minister of finance, Adeosun resigned last week Friday following allegations that she forged the NYSC exemption certificate.

Shittu stressed that whereas the former Minister of Finance submitted a fake NYSC exemption certificate, he didnt obtain any certificate.

He added that he considered his service at the Oyo State Assembly as, a higher service. He said that he had not infringed on any law in the countrys Constitution by skipping NYSC.

Nigerian Tribune even reported that I left University in 1979, but in actual sense , I left in 1978 and left Law School in 1979.

And the Constitution says anyone who qualifies to contest an election or who has gone through an election and wins, he is obligated to move through the House of Assembly which I did for four years.

So it is a form of higher service as far as Im concerned, and even now, I am still in service.

I dont think I have violated the law except someone has a superior argument and can prove it,the minister said.

He stressed that his case was not like that of Adeosun, because according to him, there are differences.

Unfortunately, Kemi had a fake certificate, I didnt present any, I didnt have one.

I simply followed the constitutional requirement that if you are qualified to contest an election, it is compulsory for you to serve the nation in the capacity that you won an election,he said

Source: NAN

Five Governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State on Friday passed a vote of no confidence on the partys State Chairman, Hassan Hyat, for allegedly favouring a particular aspirant ahead of the partys primaries.

The aspirants who addressed a press conference in Kaduna under the aegis of the Forum of PDP Governorship Aspirants, kicked against the alleged imposition of one of the aspirants by some members of the State Working Committee (SWC).

The disgruntled aspirants include Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Sidi, Ramalan Yero, Muhammed Sani-Bello and Dr Shuaibu Idris-Mikati.

Ahmed Maiyaki, head of Media team for Sani-Sidi, who spoke on their behalf said the aspirants have appealed to the partys national leadership to take charge of affairs in the state to avoid crisis during the primary election.

The forum deems it a duty to intimate the national leadership of our great party, teeming party members, supporters and the general public on the following concerns:

Prior to and after losing the 2015 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had never been a more cherished bride with the prospects of winning almost all the elective posts in Kaduna State than now with more people willing to join and participate actively in rescuing our state and the nation at large.

As democrats, the Forum insists that power must truly return to the people through open and transparent process anchored on internal democratic process in our great party.

The forum also observes with dismay the deliberate attempt to subvert the democratic process ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial primaries slated for the 28th of September, 2018.

The Forum condemns strongly the activities of the Kaduna State Chairman of our Party, Hon Felix Hassan Hyet, who has openly attached himself to one of the gubernatorial aspirants, which is against the norm and the principle of fair play.

The forum accused the state chairman of openly working against the aspirations of the other gubernatorial aspirants in favour of his anointed candidate.

The aspirants claimed that the chairman had been promised the position of a running mate to the favoured aspirant.

After the recent congresses in which ad-hoc delegates were elected, the State Chairman threw caution to the wind by tampering with delegate lists of several Local Governments areas sent to the State Party Secretariat to the advantage of his anointed one.

There is great tension in the State as a result of the partiality of the Party Chairman; whereby the bright prospects of bringing back Kaduna State to the PDP is in jeopardy.

Forum further notes, the attempt by the Party Chairman to surreptitiously foist the preferred candidate using a certain group called Southern Kaduna Stakeholders Chairmen Forum.

This act is capable of destabilising the party and its prospect in the 2019 polls and undermining the efforts of the aspirants to find consensus among themselves.

In view of the above, the Forum humbly requests the National leadership of our great party to take full charge of the Partys activities in Kaduna State, in order to rescue the situation and restore the confidence of majority of Party members and loyalists in the state once more.

The Forum also calls on teeming party members, delegates and supporters to resist all attempts to subvert democratic process and vote for aspirants of their choice.

The Forum wishes to reassure all that discussions are ongoing to reach a consensus among the aspirants. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Former US rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight has pleaded no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge over a hit-and-run incident in 2015.

The Death Row Records founder made the plea to avoid charges of murdering one man and attempting to murder a second with his pick-up truck in Los Angeles.

Knight will be formally sentenced to 28 years in prison in October.

His record label helped launch the careers of artists including Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

As part of the agreement, the murder charges against Knight, 53, will be dismissed by prosecutors, along with separate criminal cases charging him with robbery and making criminal threats.

The deal, in which Knight admitted using a "deadly and dangerous weapon" when he ran down two men with his vehicle, calls for him to serve 22 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter with a further six years added because of the US "three-strikes" law relating to repeated violations.

Had Knight been found guilty of murder as originally charged, he would have faced life in prison, prosecutors said.

The 2015 incident happened after an argument over the making of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about rap group NWA.

Under Californian state law, a no contest plea is the legal equivalent of a guilty plea.

Who is Suge Knight?
Knight co-founded Death Row Records with the pioneering producer Dr Dre in the 1990s, but later declared bankruptcy and the company was sold at auction for $24m (£16.7m).

Knight has a history of legal problems. He spent time in jail in 1997 and 2003 for parole violations arising from assault charges. He later pleaded guilty to hitting his girlfriend in an incident in 2008.

While his label was initially very successful, his fortunes began to slide in 1996 when rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in the passenger seat of Knight's car.

In 1997, rival rapper Biggie Smalls was shot and Knight was sued for wrongful death. Smalls' estate claimed that Knight had ordered the killing in revenge for Shakur's death. Knight denied it and the suit was dismissed.

What happened in the hit-and-run?
The charge relates to an incident in January 2015 in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Knight was accused of deliberately running over two men with his pick-up truck outside a hamburger restaurant following an argument on the set of a commercial for Straight Outta Compton.

One of the victims, Terry Carter, died of his injuries while the other, Cle "Bone" Sloan, suffered serious injuries to his feet and head.

Footage of the incident captured by security cameras show Knight's vehicle pulling up to the drive-in shop, with one of the victims approaching the driver's side window. Following what appears to be a brief discussion, a struggle then ensues.

Knight's truck is seen going into reverse, throwing the man to the ground. It then moves forward, driving over his legs and slams into the other victim, who was killed.

Knight turned himself in to authorities a day after the incident. His attorneys had said he was acting in self-defence and was fleeing armed attackers when he ran over Mr Carter and Mr Sloan.

Mr Sloan has denied claims he was carrying a gun during the confrontation.

Amaju Pinnick, the re-elected President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) , on Thursday promised to focus more on youth programmes, adding that football was the winner at the end of the polls in Katsina.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the polls was conducted by the NFF Electoral Committee put in place by the NFF Congress at last years General Assembly in Jos, Plateau on Oct. 19, 2017.

Pinnick swept aside three other contestants, polling 34 votes to second placed Aminu Maigaris 8, with former international Taiwo Ogunjobi getting only 2 votes, while there was none for club owner Chinedu Okoye.

A statement by Ademola Olajire, the NFFs Director of Communication, said Pinnick pledged to focus even harder on youth development programmes in his second tenure.

Pinnick, who is also the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of African Football, was also quoted as saying that there was no victor and no vanquished in the race as football remained the ultimate winner.

In his acceptance speech, Pinnick specifically thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.

Pinnick also thanked the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Chief of Staff to the President, the Director- General, Department of State Services and the Inspector General of Police for their tremendous support for the board.

We respectfully ask for more support as we start a new tenure, during which we aim to consolidate on our vision of building a sustainable football culture for our dear country, and continue the great march toward ensuring financial independence for the NFF.

We owe this country a lot, and we are committed to working hard to give back so much to it.

We intend to set up a reconciliation team in a few days to reach out to aggrieved members of the football family with a view to bringing everyone under one umbrella for the purpose of a united front in the pursuit of the greater good for Nigerian Football, he said.

The NFF supremo also thanked the Governors of Delta and Edo States for their understanding and support, as well as players and officials of the various National Teams for their efforts at doing Nigeria proud at all times.

A festive atmosphere reigned in the Home of Hospitality as the full machinery of government was in motion to watch over the big occasion of the NFF 2018 Elective Congress, alongside the presence of observers from world football governing body, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football.

At the opening ceremony, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State poured encomiums on the NFF administration led by Pinnick for its major strides over the past four years,

He noted trophies won in the FIFA Under 17 World Cup, Women Africa Cup of Nations, the U23 and U20 Africa Cup of Nations, Olympic football bronze and the recent WAFU U17 Cup triumph in Niger Republic.

He praised the aggressive marketing drive of the administration that had galvanized a steady move toward financial independence, while pledging that the Government of Katsina State would continue to invest in football development because of the games virtues of youth empowerment and meaningful engagement.

Governor Masari was accompanied to the event by top officials of the Katsina State Government, including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ahmed El-Marzuq, the Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Abubakar, the Commissioner for Sports, Abu Dankun and the Grand Khadi of the state, Hafiz Bakori.

NAN also reports that Pinnick became the first man since Father Dennis Slattery (of blessed memory) in 1957 to be elected back-to-back to one of the hottest seats in world football.

Second-placed Maigari, the immediate past occupier of the office, warmly embraced Pinnick after the vote, saying: The vote has come and gone, and football is the winner. The focus is football development.

I bear no grudge and I must say that I am indeed delighted by the strides that Amaju Pinnick has taken since taking over from me four years ago. He is like a son and I am proud of him.

Incumbent Seyi Akinwunmi was even more emphatic in retaining his seat, bagging 41 of the votes to challenger Sunday Dele-Ajayis 2, while one vote was deemed invalid.

In other votes, incumbent Ibrahim Musa Gusau retained his seat as Chairman of Chairmen on the Board, polling 42 of 44 votes, following the withdrawal of Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah on the floor of the election.

Ahmed Yusuf Fresh and Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande retained their seats on the board, after a nerve jangling contest that went to three rounds.

Chairman of Kwara State Football Association, Busari Ishola was eliminated in the first round after polling only 10 votes, leaving Yusuf and Fresh to vie in the second.

Fresh edged it 22-21, and Ishola was then re-instated to challenge Yahaya-Kwande for the remaining slot from North Central. In the event, Yahaya-Kwande won by 28 votes to 14.

Emmanuel Ibah defeated Oswald Atuake 28 votes to 15 to win the remaining slot from the South South (following Pinnicks re-election), while Ganiyu Majekodunmi and Sharif Rabiu Inuwa were unopposed for the South -West and North -West slots.

Three candidates slugged it out in the South-East, with Enyimba FC chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu winning the lone slot available (as Chidi Ofo Okenwa still has a seat as Chairman of the Nigeria National League).

Anyansi-Agwu polled 32 votes, to nearest challenger Emmanuel Ochiaghas eight.

Jude Obikwelu and Pastor Emeka Inyama, who withdrew from the contest on the floor of the election, still got two votes and one vote respectfully.

FIFA observers Luca Piazza and Solomon Mudege, and CAF observer Sita Sangare witnessed both the opening ceremony and the entire Elective Congress proper.

Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Barrister Muhammed Sani Katu, afterward swore in the new Board.

Next up for Pinnick is his formal inauguration as the 1st Vice President of CAF, at the bodys Extraordinary General Assembly in Egypt on Sept. 30.

Amaju Pinnick President

Seyi Akinwnumi 1st Vice President

Shehu Dikko 2nd Vice President

Ibrahim Musa Gusau Member

Ahmed Yusuf Fresh Member

Felix Anyansi-Agwu Member

Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande Member

Babagana Kalli Member

Sharif Rabiu Inuwa Member

Chidi Ofo Okenwa Member

Aisha Falode Member

Mohammed Alkali Member

Musa Duhu Member

Ganiyu Majekodunmi Member

Emmanuel Ibah Member

Mohammed Sanusi Secretary.

Source: NAN

Frontline presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has named Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and 58 other persons as members of his presidential nomination council ahead of the PDP presidential primaries.

Members of the council drawn from several states of the country are eminent stakeholders in the PDP and are expected to mobilise support from their respective states for the emergence of Atiku as the PDP presidential candidate. (See list of members attached)

Announcing the membership of the council, the Director General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organization and former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel said that, the work of this council as the name connotes is to mobilize PDP delegates from all the states of the country for Atiku to emerge as the presidential flag-bearer of our great party.

Of course, when by the grace of God our aspirant becomes the candidate of the PDP, membership into this council will be expanded and more people will be drawn into the council.

In his remarks, Atiku noted that the struggle for national renewal is usually a difficult one, but it is one that patriots must engaged in if they hope to improve the lives of their compatriots.

Assembled here today (Thursday) is a diverse group of Nigerians, including experienced political leaders representing all regions and segments of our country. You are all here because you want a better deal for Nigeria and Nigerians. You are here because you are committed to fighting for a better Nigeria, a Nigeria that works.

Nigerians are yearning for jobs, for opportunities, for unity and security. We must work with them to deliver these. We must also restore truth in politics, justice and fairness in governance, and a genuine federal system that helps us address local priorities and run a more effective and efficient government, he said.

Responding on behalf of other members of the council, Chief Iwuanyanwu remarked that we owe the Waziri (Atiku) a huge sense of gratitude for finding us worthy for this national assignment.

I have been in politics for nearly fifty years, and in all those years I have never seen our people this poor and I am sad when I see all of these things. My worry and my concern is how do we reverse this situation?

The Waziri (Atiku) is somebody I know very well. He has enormous strength and he has what it takes to bring PDP back to power and make life more abundant for our people.

Therefore, I urge us all as members of this council to see our nomination as a call to national service to rescue our people from the claws of poverty and bad governance.

*Press Statement

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja met, for the first time, with the newly appointed Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, when Bichi was ushered into the presidents office by protocol officials, he was asked by the president if they had met before.

The new DG, however, `confessed that he was seeing President Buhari face-to-face for the first time in his life.

NAN reports that the meeting of the president and the DSS boss went into a closed door session.

President Buhari on Sept. 13 appointed Bichi, as new Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS).

Bichi, who replaced Lawal Daura, the former DG of the DSS, is a core Secret Service operative, said Malam Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media.

He attended Danbatta Secondary School, the Kano State College of Advanced Studies and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science.

The new Director-General began his career in the security division of the Cabinet Office in Kano, from where he joined the defunct Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO), the precursor of the present DSS.

Bichi had undergone training in intelligence processing analysis, agent handling recruitment and intelligence processing in the UK, as well as strategic training at the National Defence College.

The new DSS boss comes to the job with skills in intelligence gathering, research analysis, conflict management, general investigation, risk and vulnerability operations, counter intelligence and protective operation and human resources management.

In the course of his career, Bichi had worked as the State Director of Security in Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto and Abia States.

He was at various times the Director, National Assembly Liaison, (National War College), Director at National Headquarters in the Directorate of Security Enforcement, Directorate of Operations, Directorate of Intelligence, Directorate of Inspection and Directorate of Administration and Finance.

Bichi also served as Director at State Service Academy

Source: NAN

The Minister of Youths and Sports,Barr. Solomon Dalung in Abuja, inaugurated the National Executive Council of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN).

Dalung inaugurated the 22 member-council elected in Gombe recently to serve as National Executives of the NYCN for a four year period.

While inaugurating the NEC, Dalung expressed delight that the council was being inaugurated especially since the youths council had been enmeshed in leadership crisis for the past seven years.

He said that the crisis in the council had denied youths of all the benefits to the council from local and international organisation, adding that the ministry had to intervene in the crisis.

He recalled that the settlement led to the formation of the National Transition Committee (NTC) with the mandate to conduct election. He noted that although they failed twice, the council was still able to come out of its crisis.

Dalung therefore charged the newly elected executive committee members to serve with humility,dedication and do justice to all.

He urges them to also carry along those who lost the election while also appealing to the losers to accept the results in the spirit of sportsmanship.

Speaking after the inauguration, the newly elected President of the NYCN, Bello Shagari expressed his appreciation to the minister and all staff of the Ministry for their support during and after the Gombe Congress.

He assured the minister that his NEC would neverdisappoint Nigerians.

He also assured the minister that every effort would be made to unite the youths irrespective of tribe,religion or region.

The Deputy President of the council Mr Innocent Nduanya added that the youths must resist the temptation of collecting money to be use for thuggery during the 2019 election.

Nduanya urged the youths to get involved in the revolution going on around the World where youths are taking over the affairs of their countries and the World.

He also urged Nigeria youths to take advantage of the not too young to run law and gradually get involved in leadership through participation.

Source: NAN