Good news for Facebook lovers! 'Dislike' button coming on Facebook soon

During a question-and-answer session streamed live on Facebook on Tuesday, September 15, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook is currently working on a Dislike button, and it will be tested soon. 

The Chairman and CEO of Facebook, Inc. said

"We’ve finally heard you and we’re working on this and we will deliver something that meets the needs of the larger community. People have asked about the “dislike” button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it."

The 31-year-old entrepreneur said that the company hoped that the button wouldn’t be used to be negative but for people expressing empathy.

"Not every moment is a good moment. If you share something that’s sad like a refugee crisis that touches you or a family member passes away, it may not be comfortable to like that post…I do think it’s important to give people more options than liking it."

Presidency may relocate Villa Chapel, Mosque

It appears from last night that the Presidency has been put under pressure to relocate the Villa Chapel because the location of the Villa Chapel, which was built and inaugurated by President Olusegun Obasanjo, is said to be too close to Buhari’s bedroom and kitchen.

Sources close to the presidency said that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who inherited the Villa chapel from Obasanjo, had assured his predecessor that he would not relocate the location despite its proximity to his residence.

It was revealed that some overzealous aides of President Buhari were uncomfortable with the location of the church and had already made efforts to stop the use of the facility by Christian worshippers on August 30, 2015, thereby causing a national uproar in the process.

A source in the Presidency said that security agents prevented the Villa Chapel choristers from entering the building for their weekly rehearsal on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

According to the source, the plot was to erect canopies and have the church service there but the plan soon leaked and the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, had to intervene by reaching out to President Buhari before the security men gave way for service to be conducted that day.

The Presidency source said: “Osinbajo was uncomfortable with the plan and he had to reach out to the President before service could be held that day in the chapel.”

It was learnt last night as prelude to relocating the Chapel, the Children’s church, which forms part of the Villa Chapel, has been shut and some rooms, converted to shops for storing food items which forced the children to relocate to the office of the Chaplain, Seyi Malomo, for their normal service.

A source at the Presidency said on Tuesday, “As we speak, the children’s church remains shut and everything relating to the church has been removed. We had to beg them to allow us to remove our property. The children’s church has been turned into a store,” the official said.

“As a result of the unforeseen development, we had to collapse some facilities to accommodate the children and keep our worship going.”

That was why the Chaplain said that the church had not been shut but ‘we only had some procedural issues that needed to be sorted out’.

However the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina has denied the closure of the church by the Presidency. Last week, when the issue came up, Adesina, posted pictures of the church service on his Facebook page.

The acting Chaplain of the Aso Villa Chapel, Pastor Joseph Sheyi Malomo also said that the church was not shut but did not make mention of the fact that his office was being used in the place of the shut children’s church.

Vanguard learnt that the Presidency is considering relocating both the Mosque and the Church from their present locations to a more spacious area in the Villa so as to prevent any accusation. 

-Vanguard

What Boko Haram members want in exchange for Chibok girls

According to President Buhari, Boko Haram leaders are asking for the freedom of one of its arrested leaders in exchange for the release of the over 200 kidnapped Chibok girls. Buhari said this while speaking to Nigerians living in Paris yesterday September 15th.

"They wanted us to release one of their leaders who is a strategic person in developing and making Improvised IEDs that is causing a lot of havoc in the country by blowing people in Churches, Mosque, market places, motor parks and other places. But it's very important that if we are going to talk to any body, we have to know how much he is worth. Let them bring all the girls and then, we will be prepared to negotiate, I will allow them to come back to Nigeria or to be absolved in the community. 

We have to be very careful, the concern we have for the Chibok girls, one only imagine if they got a daughter there between 14 and 18 and for more than one and a half year, a lot of the parents who have died would rather see the graves of their daughters rather the condition they imagine they are in. 

This has drawn a lot of sympathy though out the world, that is why this government is getting very hard in negotiating and getting the balance of those who are alive, ” he said

16 Die, 172 Hospitalized As Cholera Hits Maiduguri Idps Camp

Cholera outbreak in three Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps within Maiduguri, Borno State, have left 16 people dead and 172 in critical conditions, with World Health Organization, WHO, and UNICEF battling the epidemic. However, Information Officer of National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mallam Abdulkadir Ibrahim, in a telephone interview, said it was not an outbreak of cholera, but reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting.

NEMA is the sole agency in charge of feeding the IDPs since inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. The affected camps are those housing IDPs from Mafa along Dikwa/Ngala Road. Health officials at the camp told Vanguard that so far, 16 people had died of the outbreak, while 172 were in serious condition as they work with international organization to bring the situation under control. One of the health officials working with UNICEF told Vanguard, yesterday: “The situation at the camps is terrible. It was sudden and already a large number has been affected. “At the last count, we have 16 dead and about 172 affected. We are in an emergency health situation in those camps.”

Damage control

It was also gathered that the affected IDPs were prevented from leaving the camp by security agents in a move to prevent spread of the disease into the metropolis until the situation is brought under control. Also, those affected have been separated from the unaffected, and all the IDPs are being treated with preventive medicine. Another medical official said: “The camps were unkept, unclean and with all sort of waste all over which informed the outbreak and encouraged its wild-fire spread.

I Won’t Enter My Office Till 2016 – Lagos PDP Chairman, Tunji Shelle

The Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Lagos State chapter, Capt. Tunji Shelle (retd.), has said he will not step his foot inside his office at the state secretariat of the party till the end of his tenure in 2016. He allegedly said his office had been “polluted”, alleging that ‘evil men’ had been to the place.

Shelle, in an interview with Punch, said though he still occupied the office of the chairman of the party in the state, he would rather use other offices in the secretariat and not his personal office.

He said, “I have taken over the secretariat. I am in charge till March next year and nothing will change that. What I have decided to do is not to enter the office, which they have already polluted. That place needs sanctification; it needs cleansing because evil people have stepped into that office. There are other offices in the secretariat that I can use. “I have opened up the place but I won’t step inside. Their ghosts will continue to haunt them.”

Incumbent Governor, Wada Wins PDP Primary Election in Kogi

One of the leading governorship aspirants on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Alhaji Jibrin Isa Echocho, monday conceded victory to Governor Idris Wada. Isa, who was previously tipped to get the PDP ticket from the incumbent Governor Wada, moved to the governor and embraced him when votes from 16 out of the 21 local government areas of the state were already counted, to congratulate him before leaving the Lokoja Township Stadium venue of the Kogi State PDP primaries.

The renowned banker turned politician, who contested the PDP primary against the governor, left the VIP section of the stadium at exactly 7: 48p.m. when Wada was recording 432 votes against his own 55 votes, despite the fact that the counting was still on as at press time. While speaking with journalists when leaving the event, Isa, who said he still remains in the PDP, expressed the hope that  Wada has what it takes to deliver the state to the PDP when the general election holds in November. “I think in November when the election comes up, he can win. I still remain in the PDP and I’ll work with him,” he promised

It is however unclear if the politician will make good his promise as some of his prominent supporters left the venue of the primary before it was concluded on the grounds of the delegates list adopted for the election and the fact that the names of each local government areas was written on their ballot boxes.

Though not confirmed yet, rumour making the rounds among Isa’s supporters is that the PDP aspirant had concluded plans with the Accord Party (AP), to pursue his ambition on the platform.

ThisDay

"Ameachi is the only clean and spotless former governor in Nigeria"- APC Rivers state tells Buhari

APC in Rivers state says that if there is any former Governor in Nigeria who is clean and spotless, it will be the former governor of the state, Rtimi Ameachi, In a statement signed by the state party chairman Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya today September 14th, the party advised President Buhari not to give ears and attention to all the false reports that are being said against the former governor in some quarters.

 “We make bold to say that if there is any clean and spotless former governor in Nigeria, that person is Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON. Anybody, who knows Amaechi well enough, will readily testify that he is an honest, sincere, but courageous gentleman, a first-class patriot, who is ever ready to go the extra mile to see that Nigeria becomes a better place for the present and future generations"the statement read

The party accused the current governor of the state, Nyeson Wike of sponsoring defamatory documentaries and other materials geared towards tarnishing the image of Amaechi.

"This insidious plot by Wike include commissioning a team made up of persons within and outside the state to ‘initiate, formulate and contrive false damaging reports bordering on alleged corrupt practices of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and circulate same to individuals and institutions within Nigeria and abroad with a view to damaging the incorruptible character and rising profile of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in order to blackmail and put pressure on President Buhari not to appoint the former governor into his government. These cooked reports will be sent to the US Embassy, UK High Commission, EU Commission, and several international organisations such as Transparency International, amongst others. The forged reports will also be sent to local and foreign media houses such as the BBC [Hausa Service], Dutch Radio, VOA [Hausa Service], amongst others’ for repeated publication and airing. It is not surprising that the medium for airing the documentary is the same AIT that angered decent Nigerians with documentaries that disparaged the present President of Nigeria and his family members in a failed bid to make Nigerians not to vote for him. The anti-Amaechi documentary is simply aimed at driving a wedge between the President and the former governor in the hope that President Buhari would be blackmailed into leaving Amaechi out of his government.”the party stated.

Cable News

Pres. Buhari condoles families of Nigerian victims of crane collapse in Mecca

Read the press statement from the president below:

President Buhari extends heartfelt condolences to the families, relations and friends of the Nigerian victims of the crane accident in Mecca on Friday which claimed so many lives. 

President Buhari similarly commiserates with the Governments and people of Kaduna, Katsina and Gombe States from where pilgrims who lost their lives hailed.

The President urges all Nigerians to join him in praying for the quick and full recovery of their compatriots who were injured in the unfortunate incident. He also prays that Almighty Allah will accept the souls of the departed Nigerians who died a glorious death in the service of God.

Lacasera Company Shuts Down Operations; Sacks All Staff

Scores of angry workers of La Casera Company Plc staged a protest, on Monday, in Lagos after about 700 workers received their sack letters. The workers said they are protesting because the company’s management responded to their efforts at unionism by firing all of them.

The company, however, described the protest as an invasion of its premises by ‘hoodlums.’

Aggrieved workers

The crisis began after the workers arrived at the company premises in Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate, Mile 2, Lagos, and found the gate locked against them and a notice of disengagement pasted at the entrance. The notice, dated September 14 and addressed to all members of staff, stated that “as a result of the unwarranted breaking-in and invasion of our business premises on September 11, we cannot guarantee the well-being of our employees from hired hoodlums and their collaborators. “As a result of this unprovoked act of vandalism, we are unable to continue operations under this circumstance. Unfortunately, we regret to inform all our staff of their immediate disengagement.” The workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), condemned the act, noting that some of them had worked for between five and 15 years.

Mr Mike Olarenwaju, Head of Education Department in NUFBTE, who spoke for the workers, said that for 12 years, the company denied workers the right to be unionised. Olarenwaju said that when an in-house union was about to be inaugurated, the management of the company sacked the chairman, which made the NUFBTE officials to visit the company on Friday, September 11 to address the workers. “We were surprised today that the company locked the gate and sacked the workers. Meanwhile, the case between the workers and the company over unionisation is currently at the National Industrial Court,” he said. Olanrewaju urged the government to intervene in issues of unfair labour practices being perpetrated by foreign companies.

He said that until the workers were re-absorbed, the union would continue to picket the company.

Mr Idowu Adelakun, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the act of calling labour officials hoodlums was wrong and vowed that labour would not allow the company to function until the matter was resolved. Lacasera is a beverage company owned by Indians which started operations in Nigeria in 2000.

When contacted, the Human Resources Manager of the company, identified as Chief Otemewo, told NAN on phone that he was not aware of the crisis and promised to call back when he obtained details of the sack. 

Vanguard 

Buhari Visits France Today

President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja for Paris on Monday to begin a three-day official visit to France. The presidential visit was at the instance of President Francois Hollande of France, during which they will discuss security and economic issues, among other things.

President Buhari will be accompanied on the visit by the National Security Adviser, Maj.Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.); the Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Defence, Finance, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment as well as the Chief Executives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council. A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, on Sunday stated that Buhari’s talks with Hollande and other senior French government officials will focus on the further strengthening and consolidation of ongoing bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in the areas of defence, security, trade and investments. Apart from his scheduled meeting with the French President at the Elysee Palace on Monday evening, Buhari and his team would also confer with the French Minister of Defence, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian; the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, Mr. Michel Sapin; the French Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr. Emmanuel Macron; and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Mr. Laurent Fabius. “The President will visit the headquarters of MEDEF, France’s largest federation of investors and employers, where he will participate in a France/Nigeria investment forum with leading Nigerian and French entrepreneurs,” the statement added.

It said that Buhari would also confer with the chief executive officers of leading French multinational companies, such as Total and Lafarge, on their current and future investments in Nigeria. The President’s other scheduled engagements in Paris include a meeting with African ambassadors to France and an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community. He will conclude his visit to France on Wednesday and return to Abuja the same day.

-Punch

Osun Lecturers Protest Unpaid Salaries

Lecturers under the aegis of Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions stormed the Osun State House of Assembly to protest nonpayment of their salaries for the past eight months. The lecturers, who had been on strike for the past three months were led by leaders of the body including Chairman, Lasisi Jimoh; Secretary Olusegun Lana and Public Relations Officer, Dotun Omisore. The lecturers, who were armed with placards with various inscriptions, were chanting, ‘Save our Souls’, ‘Enough is Enough’, ‘Pay our Salaries’ and ‘We Reject Half Salaries’, sang anti-government songs. They also rejected the plan of the state government to pay half salaries while saying they would not submit themselves to fresh screening directed by the government.

The irate lecturers said the plan of the state government to pay workers half salaries was shocking because the state had received its share of the bailout fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The letter was signed by the CASUOSTI Chairman, Lasisi Jimoh; secerayry, Olusegun Lana; Chairman Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, Iree, Dotun Omisore; ASUP chairman, Esa Oke, Adesola Akande; COEASU Ila-Orangun Chairman, Segun Onifade and COEASU Ilesa Chairman, Oladele Ojo.

The Chief Whip of the House of Assembly, Mr. Folorunsho Bamisayemi, while addressing the protesters appealed to them to exercise patience, saying efforts were underway to ensure their demands were met. However, the Speaker, Mr. Najeem Salam, after after spending some minutes with the protesters walked out on them.

The Secretary of the council, who spoke with our correspondent, said lecturers had been on strike for the past months without government seeking to negotiate with them. Lana said, “We came to the House of Assembly to submit Save Our Souls letter. The protest went well until the Speaker walked out on us.

” The state government has not been remitting pension deductions from our salaries to our Pension Fund Administrators, this is against the law. The deductions are supposed to be remitted seven days after salaries are paid but this is not happening.” Lana also stated that the institutions were understaffed and the few lecturers were overburdened despite not being paid for many months.

-Punch

I Left N287bn Abacha Loot in Treasury - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he left in the national treasury over N287bn, made up of $2bn, £100m and N10bn in cash and property, being the loot recovered from the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha. Obasanjo left office as President in 2007 after serving two terms of eight years and handed over to the now late former President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The N287bn figure was arrived at using an average exchange rate of N125.88 to a dollar in 2007 and an average exchange rate of N247.99 to a pound in the same year. The former President said the funds were paid into the treasury through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Obasanjo’s revelation was contained in the Vol. II of his memoir, My Watch. His take on the Abacha loot is slotted under the sub-heading “Recovery of looted funds” on pages 494 and 495.

He said:

 “In total, by the time I left government in May 2007, over $2bn and £100m had been recovered from the Abacha family abroad, and well over N10bn in cash and properties locally. All were paid to the public treasury through the Central Bank. 

“Enrico (Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer) told me by the time I left government that if he continued to get support for his work, there was still about $1bn he believed he could still recover from the Abacha family and cronies.” The former President said that there was a time he got a report that £3m cash was seized from an agent of the late military dictator by customs officials at an airport in UK and that the British authorities asked the Nigerian government to prove ownership of the money. He said the British government however refused to release the money to Nigeria despite showing details that it was taken from the CBN.

“I went to London to have a meeting on another important issue with (former British Prime Minister) Tony Blair and I took the opportunity to raise the issue of the £3m, using the Yoruba anecdote of the thief who stole palm oil from the ceiling cupboard by getting somebody to help him so as not to spill the red palm oil on himself or the floor. The man who assisted became an accomplice. Tony got the message and the £3m was released to Nigeria the following day,” Obasanjo stated. A former finance minister in the Obasanjo administration, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told The Punch last year through her Special Adviser on Communication, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that contrary to reports that the sum of $2bn was recovered from the Abacha’s loot, only $500m was recovered under her as Obasanjo’s finance minister.

The minister made the clarification amid differing figures on the actual amount recovered.

For example, the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had in November 2006, in London, said Abacha looted over $6bn from Nigeria and that $2bn of the loot had been recovered. He mentioned same figure in the same month during the 12th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Guatemela and later in Dakar, Senegal, at the 2nd Annual High Level Dialogue on Governance and Democracy in Africa.

Punch

Traffic Law: Lagos Lists Vehicles That Can Operate From 6am-9pm

The Lagos State Government on Sunday clarified the section of the Road Traffic Law 2012, which restricted trailers and articulated vehicles from plying the metropolis between 6 a.m and 9 p.m. This is contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu.

The statement said that while Section 2 of the Traffic Law ‎restricted movement of trailers and articulated vehicles, only petrol tankers and long vehicles used in conveying passengers were allowed to travel within the metropolis between the stipulated time. It said that vehicles with more than one rear axle or six tyres were hereby restricted between 6 a.m and 9 p.m, with the exemption of some vehicles in accordance with sections 2 and 38 of the Road Traffic Law 2012. “These exemptions are tour buses or passenger buses, fire service trucks, rescue and recovery trucks, patrol trucks, perishable farm products trucks, refuse collection trucks, cement mixer trucks, tractors and refrigerated trucks. ”

The statement said the clarification became necessary following the controversy generated due to the enforcement of the law, ‎after a fatal accident in the state.

It added that the accident involved a container-laden trailer, which claimed three lives on September .2 at Ojuelegba.

According to the statement, the state government remains committed to the protection of life and property of residents irrespective of social, cultural or economic classification. It therefore, solicited the compliance, cooperation, support and understanding of all regarding the renewed enforcement of the law.

-Vanguard

You Didn’t Truly Campaign For Buhari, APC Tells Okorocha

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-East on Sunday asked Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state to fully accept responsibility for the fate of Ndigbo, especially their inability to secure any appoint so far in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The party accused Okorocha of neither truly campaigning for President Buhari nor the APC in the build up to the March 28 Presidential/National Assembly elections, insisting that has the governor effectively mobilised the people to support the party, the story would have been totally different.

The party in a statement issued by its spokesman in the South-East, Osita Okechukwu abd made available to newsmen in Enugu therefore dismissed the statement by Imo State governor that Ndigbo were responsible for their exclusion in appointments made by President Buhari. Okechukwu was reacting to an interview granted to a national daily by Okorocha, published on Sunday.

In the interview, Okorocha said he shared the sentiments of the Igbo that none of them made the list of appointees. Accoring to the governor in the said interview, "some of the appointments we lost was of the doings of our people,” just as he recalled that when he was crying like a lonely voice in the wilderness "that look at where Nigeria was going, Ndigbo chose to put all their eggs in one basket".

But, in a statement on Sunday, Okechukwu said Okorocha should take responsibility for Igbo exclusion in the appointments, rather than passing the buck to Ndigbo. The statement was titled, ‘Governor Rochas Okorocha neither truly campaigned for President Buhari nor APC’. Okechukwu stated: “I am sorry to comment on the blame game being played by His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; for his interview can be classified as Okorocha Recue Mission from the less than five percent score in the 2015 presidential election from the entire South East. “All one can say is that to the best of knowledge, he neither truly campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari nor the All Progressives Congress. “Methinks that while we blame Ndigbo for putting all our eggs in one basket, we should blame our leaders who genuinely didn't campaign for President Buhari nor APC candidates in their domain. “I challenge Governor Okorocha to tell the world how far he assisted Senator Osita Izunaso for his bid for Orlu senatorial district, his own constituency and that of Hons Uche Onyeguocha and Uwajimogu of Owerri and Okigwe districts respectively” Okechukwu stated.

-ThisDay

School Building Collapses In Jos, Several Pupils Feared Dead

A school, Abu Naima Primary and Secondary School, located in the Bukuru area of Jos, the Plateau state capital, collapsed on Sunday evening, killing a yet unknown number of pupils. A witness, Awal Ahmed, said at least seven bodies have been removed from the rubble of the building.

The incident, Mr. Ahmed said, occurred at about 6:30 pm local time just as the school, said to be a private Islamic institution, was holding its evening classes. The witness said several other pupils were badly injured. “So far, seven dead bodies have been evacuated from the building, but several others are believed to still be in the rubble,” he said. Most of the affected pupils are believed to be between the ages of six and seven.

It was gathered that more than 30 pupils do attend the Sunday classes to learn how to read the Quran, and that several of them were present when the incident occurred.

The North-central Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mohammed Abudulsalam, confirmed the incident.

Mr. Abdulsalam said a rescue team from the agency had arrived the scene of the incident, recovering seven bodies, and rescuing five other “badly injured” victims alive. He said the injured persons were rushed to Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos.

The NEMA official however declined to provide the exact number of casualties in the incident, saying rescue work was still ongoing.

-Premium Times

Ministerial list: Pat Utomi. Falana, Odiemegkwe, Oyinlola Screened

A former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Limited, Mr. Festus Odimegwu and a former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, are among the ministerial nominees that have been screened by the Department of State Service, The PUNCH learnt authoritatively on Sunday. Those already said to have been screened as nominees for President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet also include a former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a Lagos-lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN). Also on the list are a former Chief of Army, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazu (retd.); an ex-chief executive of the Federal Inland Revenue, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru; a former finance commissioner in Lagos State, Mr. Wale Edun; and a former National Legal Adviser to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

According to Punch, it was learnt that the screening of the nominees had been concluded on Friday. Buhari had last week at a press briefing in Accra, Ghana, that he would name members of his cabinet this month. Punch correspondents gathered that some of the nominees had appeared before the DSS. None of the names on the list however confirmed that they had been screened when our correspondents contacted them on Sunday.

It was gathered that they had been instructed not to leak details of their screening to the media. ‘‘What was done was not physical screening but mainly background checking,” one of the already-screened nominees told one of our correspondents late on Sunday.

Multiple sources within the All Progressives Congress told The Punch on Sunday that Falana was favoured by a camp in the party to emerge as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation. A top APC chieftain said the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had convinced Buhari to appoint Falana. Tinubu and Osinbajo were said to have told Buhari that appointing Falana, who he jailed over 30 years ago, would boost his image as a ‘converted democrat.’

It was, however, learnt that Malami was being favoured by the President.

A source within the party added power blocs within Falana’s home state, Ekiti, might not be disposed to the choice of the human rights lawyer because he is not a member of the APC.

The APC has three former governors in Ekiti State: Niyi Adebayo, Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi.

An APC top official said, “Falana has already been screened by the DSS. However, Buhari is closer to Malami who is from the North.”

9/11 Anniversary: America remembers lives lost on one of its darkest days

14 years ago today, nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11 attacks.Bells will toll and tears will flow as the nation marks a dark day in sorrowful yet hopeful ceremonies.

Fourteen years ago today, terrorists hijacked passenger planes and rammed two into New York City's World Trade Center, and a third one into the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth jetliner crash-landed on an empty field in Pennsylvania. By the time the carnage was over, terrorists had killed 2,977 people in one of the deadliest attacks on American soil. People, buildings and planes fell from the sky. Terrified strangers became friends as Americans united on a day that changed the world forever.

Today, like every other anniversary after it happened , a resilient nation will look forward to the future, but remember the past. R.I.P to the departed souls

-CNN

Electrocution: UNILAG Medical Centre Refused to Treat Oluchi- Sister

Nkem Anekwe, the elder sister of Oluchi Anekwe, the first-class student of the University of Lagos, who was on Tuesday electrocuted by a high-tension wire, says the negligence of the UNILAG Medical Center caused the death of her younger sister. She also said the high-tension wire, which caused the death of Oluchi also fell on her younger sister, Uju Anekwe, but she survived the encounter.

This is just as the National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West zone, said it would sue the electricity distribution company for the death. Nkem told Punch correspondent that Uju, a student of the College of Medicine, Idi Araba, was injured by the cable and was also hospitalised. She added that the young lady had been discharged and was recuperating at home.

When Punch Metro visited the Anekwes’ on Thursday, Nkem, a lawyer, stated that both ladies were initially rushed alive to the medical centre, adding that Oluchi could have survived if she was promptly attended to.

She said, “It was not only Oluchi that the wire fell on; it also injured Uju. I got to know about the incident at about 8pm. I quickly rushed to the university’s medical centre. When I got there, Uju told me that she and Oluchi had held each other’s hands as they walked to the hostel. “The wire fell on Oluchi’s left arm, and the two of them were electrocuted. Oluchi lost consciousness immediately, while Uju managed to call out to passersby to help them. “Both of them were rushed to the medical centre. The officials on duty requested their identity cards and said they would not do anything until the cards were brought. When I got to the centre, Oluchi was alive, as her eyes were open and her body was warm and normal, but only her left arm was stiff. I asked the medical personnel if any first-aid was given to her, but they did not reply me.”

Oluchi’s father, Chief Basil Anekwe, said Oluchi’s death was a great loss to the family. He added that the university’s authorities should ensure that his daughter’s autopsy was done, and a death certificate issued promptly. He said, “On Sunday, when I saw Oluchi, she said I should send her some money for upkeep. On Tuesday, I was planning to send about N30,000 to her, when I learnt about the incident. I was initially told it was a mere accident.

“I am only glad that my daughter did not die returning from a party or an offensive place; she died returning from the presence of God. The university delegation this morning brought a letter to me from the VC.” The mother, who was distraught, was said to be unavailable for comment 

We gathered that Oluchi’s remains would be taken to the Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State on Friday (today) for burial.

Meanwhile, the NANS, in a statement by the Public Relations Officer, South-West Zone, Jeremiah Olatinwo, said it would sue the electricity distribution company that owned the faulty wire to ensure compensation for the family.

The statement read in part:

The NANS shall be taking up this case alongside the University of Lagos Students Union to see to it that Oluchi’s family is compensated for the damages caused by the electricity distribution company. The unfortunate injury to Oluchi is an injury to all Nigerian students and we will not keep quiet in the face of the threat to our fundamental rights to life. We call on the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Senate Committee on Power to sanction the electricity distribution company for its non-compliance to safety and health guidelines in its distribution and transmission. The Public Relations Officer, UNILAG, Mr. Olagoke Oke, however, said the workers were on the ground to attend to the injured ladies.

He said, “It is not true that the negligence of officials caused the lady’s death. The UNILAG workers were on ground, and they were with her till the very end.”

-Punch

Breaking News: Bomb Explosion Rocks Yola IDP Camp

An explosion has hit an Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camp located at a Warehouse in Molkohi, Yola Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Confirming the bomb attack on the IDPs, a top source in the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said Boko Haram insurgents are suspected to be behind the attack, adding that the casualty figure is yet to be ascertained as they are trying to establish contact get more details on the incident.

More details to come…

-DailyPost

A day in the life of... Lagos' only rape support centre

Read and be inspired.....

Dami is just nine years old. A neighbour is currently being held in prison, accused of raping her. 

The Mirabel Centre is not easy to find. It is on the premises of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, beside the mosque, I am told. But when I ask a few people for directions, they seem as baffled as to its whereabouts. Eventually, a young doctor escorts me there. And it is nothing like I imagined.

In my mind, I had conjured an image of a semi-detached patch of serenity; the sort of place that might offer at least the little comfort to be found in bricks and mortar. In reality, Lagos' only rape centre is a long, dimly lit corridor lined with tiny rooms. With arms outstretched, you can almost touch each side. And the overall sense is of one of the walls closing in. But if the place itself seems less than welcoming, the same cannot be said for the staff. Joy, a counsellor with long yarn braids and glossy lips, and Juliet, the manager of the centre, both greet me with a hug.

Joy is one of the counsellors at the centre. 

Juliet shows me around. She wears a fitted white dress with orange lace panels and a near permanent grin. They own just two rooms and a small cubicle that is used as a waiting area, she explains.There are clients there now, so she sections the area off with a brown wooden divider. It is important to protect the identities of the people they see, she explains, because they share parts of the space with the hospital, including the examination room that doubles as a theatre for minor surgical procedures. On the doors and the divider are stickers intended to send a clear message about just who is at fault for rape. One declares: "It doesn't matter what she was wearing or what she was doing, no doesn't mean yes."

Mercy's story

Our attention is taken by a young girl rushing down the corridor. She bangs forcefully on the door of the toilet. I recognise her as Mercy, a 15-year-old I met at a survivor's forum a few months ago. She didn't talk much then, but today she comes and sits by me in one of the consulting rooms that belong to the hospital. Mercy was raped by a cousin when she was six years old. She now suffers from fistula. She is wearing a bright red dress and a glow in the dark rosary. We hug and exchange pleasantries. She left school when she was 11 and is learning fashion, she tells me. She seems happier than the last time I saw her. 

Then Mercy begins to recount her story.

She was six years old when it happened and living in Benue state, in the north central region of the country. One day she returned from school with three friends. A 17-year-old male cousin had been harassing her, and that night he brought four other men to the house. For Mercy, everything from the moment he began to rape her is a blur. Her next memory is of waking up in the hospital the following day, and being told what had happened. All of the girls were raped, possibly multiple times by more than one of the attackers, but Mercy does not know for sure because she blacked out. One of her friends did not survive; another died last year as a result of the injuries she sustained on that night. Mercy and one other girl are now the only survivors. She had to leave school because of the fistula that developed resulting from the attack. Doctors had told her that she was too young to undergo the restorative surgery known as VVF. And, unable to afford adult diapers, she must rely on cloth to soak up the waste that leaks from her. "The thing [the fistula] always disgraces me," she says.

Nike's story

Nike has sickle cell disease and a bad hip. She was on her way to a job interview in March when she asked a man for directions. She was clearly in pain and limping, and the man urged Nike to let him drive her to where she was going. He explained that there was barely any public transportation in the neighbourhood and that he could see she was having difficulty walking. Then he drove her to a secluded area. "He started threatening me and beating me," she says. The man raped her in his car and then dropped her in front of a church. From there she found her way to where she was due to be interviewed. But, once inside, she broke down. The owner of the company brought her to the centre.

Nike has pressed charges but her attacker, who it emerged was a serial rapist, has gone missing. She says the police must have given his parents her contact details as they turned up at her home, begging her to drop the charges and offering her financial compensation for doing so - although no particular sum was mentioned. Now she feels unsafe where she lives and wants to move.

Suffocating

The intensity of the centre is stifling. I step outside for a breather and see Juliet, Joy and Valentina giggling as they break open the shells of boiled peanuts. I wonder how they do it; how they stay so happy. Just three interviews in and I already feel claustrophobic in every sense of the word. The stories are suffocating; the strain of trying to hold back my tears makes my face ache; the space is cramped; and a loud drilling noise from the construction work next door provides a constant soundtrack. I ask Juliet how she manages to detach herself from the stories she hears and she laughs, almost mockingly, at the question. It simply is not possible, she tells me. "Our mandate is to provide clinical and psycho-social support," she continues. "But because of the way we present ourselves and go about our duties, these clients have come to trust us [so much] that whatever they need they come back to us. Your life revolves around it. We find ways to joke and make ourselves happy so that we don't experience secondary trauma."

Visit :

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/my-nigeria/2015/09/nigeria-lagos-rape-support-centre-150906092402721.html. for more information

Sent in by Gbemisola

I Love President Buhari- Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, took to his twitter page clear the air on people's misconception of his hatred for PMB. See his tweet and Nigerians reaction below:

1. Peter Ayodele Fayose ‏@GovAyoFayose  7m7 minutes ago

   ...one thing I want you all to realise today is this... I love PMB, people think I hate him but I don't Democracy is founded on opposition..

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   9:51 AM - 11 Sep 2015 · Details
   Tweet text

   Reply to @GovAyoFayose 
2. OYEKAN OLUWADAMILOJU ‏@OgbeniEstimate  5m5 minutes ago

   @GovAyoFayose : I love PMB.... democracy is found in opposition

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3. wale azeez ‏@walezza  4m4 minutes ago

   @GovAyoFayose personal attack is not part of democracy ogbeni

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4. I know who I am ‏@lonilson2  3m3 minutes ago

   @GovAyoFayose yet u wish him death... oga we no be mumu

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5. 1. I know who I am ‏@lonilson2  8m8 minutes ago

      @GovAyoFayose yet u wish him death... oga we no be mumu

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   2. #BrightMind ‏@ikpeteboghaWG  5m5 minutes ago

      @GovAyoFayose I support you Sir

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   3. wale azeez ‏@walezza  5m5 minutes ago

      @GovAyoFayose who cares if you hated Buhari do you know that millions of Nigerians loves Buhari.Tell us how many Ekitis love you.

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