Vanguard (Nigeria) articles from September 2009

Vanguard (Nigeria) archives from September 2009

We'll Partner World Bank to Revamp Infrastructure - Oshiomhole.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Simon Ebegbulem GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state has expressed his desire to collaborate with the World Bank in revamping decayed infrastructures in the state. The governor said the state was willing to collaborate with the...

MEND Dismisses FG's Amnesty.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Samuel Oyadongha The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) yesterday dismissed the Federal Government's amnesty as lacking integrity, even as it nominated a team of mediators to negotiate with government over the...

Group Condemns INEC On APGA.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Laja Thomas A group, Anambra Democratic Initiative (ADI), has condemned the handing over of INEC nomination forms for the February 6, 2010 Anambra Governorship election to the Chekwas Okorie's faction of the All Progressive Grand...

Ogundeji - Court Orders DPO's Arrest.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Innocent Anaba A Coroner court sitting in Yaba, Lagos, which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the Thisday Newspaper Editorial Board member, Mr. Abayomi Ogundeji, yesterday ordered the immediate arrest of the...

Amaechi's Refusal to Visit Rehab Centres Worries Ex-Militants.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Jimitota Onoyume REFORMED militants from Rivers State that have keyed into the Federal Government's amnesty for militants in the Niger Delta have expressed worry over Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi's refusal to visit their...

Students Protest Over FG/ASUU Face-Off.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Peter Duru Nigerian students have urged the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to peacefully resolve the contending issues that have led to the closure of Nigerian universities in the last three...

500 Massob Members Grace Igbo Day Celebration.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Chidi Nkwopara Over five thousand loyalists of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) stormed Owerri, Imo state capital, in solidarity to this year's Igbo Day celebration organised by Ohaneze...

Multichoice Takes Satellite Technology to Schools in Oyo State.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Olubusuyi Adenipekun Ten public schools within Ibadan metropolis in Oyo State are the latest beneficiaries of the Multichoice Resource Centre project, an educational project which is designed to grant the beneficiary schools access to...

Salem Varsity Broadens Leadership Training for Students.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Olubusuyi Adenipekun Salem University, Lokoja has left no one in doubt of its determination to continually do justice to its total leadership training concept which is meant to make out of its students effective leaders,...

A Failed Political Dream?
September 30, 2009... Byline: Dayo Benson At 49, Nigeria as a nation remains a bundle of contradictions. As Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, once described it, the nation is a contradiction because what some people want negates what other people want and the...

The Army - the Force That Shaped our Destiny.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Ochereome Nnanna The Nigerian Army was not cut out for direct roles in politics. Being an offshoot of the British military system which abides by the liberal democratic traditions of Western Europe and the USA, the Nigerian Army, even...

Transport System Still 19th Century Model.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Adekunle Adekoya The Appropriate take-off point for an assessment of the nation's transport system, 49 years after independence from the British, is the imagery generated by the fact that millions of Nigerian children, including those...

Sports - Scores Too Low for Celebration.
September 30, 2009... Byline: John Egbokhan Putting Nigeria's sports in its proper perspective since independence is one that requires little brainstorming, given that since sports is judged by results, ours is simple and can be summed up as a prolonged failure....

Giant Only Among Minnows.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Jide Ajani Looking ahead signifies an intention to go beyond the immediate, explore possibilities and plan for the future. But how do you go beyond the immediate when the immediate is already ahead of you? How do you explore...

Niger Delta - Chasing Shadows.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Emmanuel Aziken The resolution of the Niger Delta question is prominently etched as one of the seven-point agenda of the Umaru Yar'Adua administration. However, crystallizing a solution to the Niger Delta question remains a myriad...

Economic Diversification and Self-Reliance Still a Mirage.
September 30, 2009... The global economic recession, which started as global financial crisis reveals clearly how underdeveloped and vulnerable is the Nigeria economy even after 49 years of independence. Successive administrations have pursued the objectives of...

In Health, Still a Toddler @ 49.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Sola Ogundipe and Chioma Obinna At 49, Nigeria has nothing significant to celebrate. Unmet health needs are all Nigerians have to show. In the area of health, the nation has remained a toddler, refusing to grow and develop. The...

For Children Orphaned By Aids, a Bright Hope in the Horizon.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Chioma Obinna When a parent becomes sick and dies, the child is usually affected in several ways that could leave him/her traumatised leading to emotional, physical and mental distress that could undermine that child's overall health...

EFCC Recovers N108 Billion from Debtors.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Emma Ovuakporie The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has recovered a total of N108,484,900,005.83 from debtors owing the five troubled banks in the country. It was gathered yesterday that the anti-graft agency...

300,000 Citizens Have Down Syndrome - Group.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Chioma Obinna and Oluchi Muogbo THE Down Syndrome Association of Nigeria (DSAN) yesterday alleged that the physically challenged in the society were not only relegated and stigmatised but denied their constitutionally guaranteed...

Azinge Canvasses Health Checks On Drivers.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Ise-Oluwa Ige The Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIAL), Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN) yesterday advised the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) against issuing driving licence to applicants without...

Onoh's Son Arraigned for Defamation, Gets Bail.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Tony Edike Mr. Joseph Onoh, last son of the late civilian Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Christian Onoh has been arraigned before an Enugu Magistrate court on a five-count charge of conspiracy and defamation. The 40 year-old...

Kaduna SSG Released.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Emeka Mamah The Secretary to the Kaduna State Government (SSG), Mr. Waje Yayok, who was kidnapped in the state 10 days ago has been re-united with his family and colleagues after the government allegedly paid N20 million ransom to his...

Hausa-Fulani Community Decamp to PDP in Plateau.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Taye Obateru The battle for the soul of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has taken a new dimension as the Hausa-Fulani community who dominate the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) in the state has decided to decamp...

N14.55 Million Scam - Imo to Prosecute LG's Staff.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Chidi Nkwopara Imo State Government has directed that "all local government staff, who connived in pay-rolling 673 non-staff, amounting to N14.55million monthly, should be identified and appropriately sanctioned. Government also...

Yar'Adua Launches New N5, N10, N50 Notes.
September 30, 2009... Byline: Daniel Idonor PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua yesterday launched the redesigned N5, N10 and N50 bank notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with a call on Nigerians to support CBN's "Keep the Naira Clean Campaign," which is aimed at...

Nigeria at 49 - Vulnerable Cyberspace, Wide Development Gap Between Telecom, IT.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Prince Osuagwu Nigeria would tomorrow mark 49 years of independence. It would also provide the country a very good opportunity to look into the past and reflect on many activities that have made her thick or thin depending on which...

CBN Warns MFBs Operators Against False Rendition of Returns.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Amaka Agwuegbo The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Microfinance banks (MFBs) to stop falsifying monthly returns, adding it would henceforth impose sanctions on management of erring MFBs. Director, Other Financial...

FMBN Ultimatum to Bad Debtors No Longer Stands, Says Redan.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Chris Ochayi The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has said the 21-day ultimatum issued to bad debtors by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) would no longer be tenable because a committee has been put in...

Starcomms Donates Solar Chargers to Telecentre Operators.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Ebele Uzokwe In an apparent response to the energy challenges that low scale entrepreneurs contend with all over the country, especially those operating open air telephone centers, Starcomms Plc, said it is giving out free solar...

700 Benefit From Napep's Cope Programme in Enugu.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Tony Edike The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), yesterday flagged off its In Care of the People (COPE) programme in Enugu state, with the disbursement of N84,000 to each of the 700 households selected from 10 local...

Head Anti-Corruption Leader Tried to Sack President, Says Ex-Governor.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Oscarline Onwuemenyi and Martina Okeke The verbal exchange between former Governor of Delta state, Chief James Ibori and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is far from over, as...

Country's Poverty Level Worries Cleric.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Chidi Nkwopara The Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Obinna, has expressed worry that a large percentage of Nigerians are still wallowing in abject poverty in the midst of plenty. Dr....

Security Operatives Seal Off Kaduna NUJ Office.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Emeka Mamah A combined team of policemen and operatives of Operation Yaki in Kaduna, yesterday, sealed off the state secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), claiming that they had information that some people wanted to...

Senate Leader Expresses Fear Over Electoral Reform.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Inalegwu Shaibu The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muktar is to brief the Senate on the thrust and projections of the 2010 budget of the Federal Government, the Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin said yesterday. At a press...

Kano Residents Petition Senate President Over Sharia Law.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Charles Kumolu Leaders of Ethnic Communities Resident in Kano (LECRK), have petitioned Senate President, Senator David Mark to prevail on the Kano State governor to stop the agency it set up to implement Sharia, under the name Hisbah...

Anambra 2010 - Who is Afraid of Soludo.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Bonaventure Melah Many people across the world saw Wednesday September 9, 2009 as a special day because it was the ninth day of the ninth month in the year 2009 otherwise written as 9/9/9. But to others, especially some desperate...

We Won't Be Distracted by Cynics, Says Bayelsa Govt.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Samuel Oyadongha Special Adviser to Bayelsa State governor on Security, Richard Kpodoh, has said that the administration of Timipre Sylva would not be distracted by the antics of cynics who do not see anything good in its efforts at...

FRCN Plans Upgrade of Training School to Varsity.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Tony Edike The Board of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) says plans have reached advanced stage to upgrade the Corporation's Training School to a degree awarding institution in order to provide opportunities for...

DPR Shuts 16 Illegal Fuel Stations in Benue.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Peter Duru The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Makurdi has shut down 16 illegal filling stations in parts of Benue State just as a Makurdi court has summarily convicted three persons caught operating illegal filling...

NLC Condemns Spate of Kidnapping.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Peter Duru The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned what it described as incessant kidnapping of people in the country. The NLC said kidnapping which was a South-South phenomenon had now enveloped...

Insurers Need More Retail Agents - Naicom.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Patience Saghana The insurance industry needs more retail agents to effectively enforce compliance to the compulsory insurnace products and achieve bout 80 per cent insurance culture in the country.Consultant to National Insurance...

Pinnacle Point Launches $676m Lagos Keys Project.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Peter Egwuatu In the midst of the financial and economic crisis, a South African based Property and Leisure company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to commence construction activity on a N105bn (US$676m or R5.13bn)...

Nem Insurance to Raise N20bn Capital.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Patience Saghana NEM Insurance has commenced moves to raise N20 billion fresh capital from the investing community. Shareholders at the 39th Annual General Meeting of the campany held in Lagos recently passed a resolution authorising...

Naicom Moves Against CEOs Operating Brokerage Firms.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Patience Saghana The National Insurance Commission, NAICOM is set to move against chief executive officers of insurance companies that operate broking or loss adjusting firms while still in office NAICOM Director, (Inspectorate), Mr....

MTN wins SERA CSR Award.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Prince Osuagwu MTN, Nigeria, last week, heightened its corporate socially responsible status in Nigeria as it clinched six of the top awards at the third edition of the annual Social Enterprise Reports Awards (SERA) held in Lagos...

Profit-Taking Drags Down Share Value By N33 Billion.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Michael Eboh Provoked by profit taking activities of investors in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the value of listed equities dropped, Monday, by N32.85 billion. Specifically, the value of listed equities, represented by the...

Intel Unveils World's Fastest Processor.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Emmanuel Elebeke In apparent move to enhance the use of technology by end users, Intel Corporation last week unveiled the fastest processor and Chipsets i n the world technology market. The revolutionary products, Intel Core i7...

2010 - FIFA ends Stadia Inspection.
September 29, 2009... World's football governing body, FIFA is expected to round off its inspection tour of all the five newly-built 2010 World Cup stadia and the upgraded Soccer City Stadium which South Africa has put in place for the soccer fiesta today. The...

Anambra - PDP Congress Fiasco, Foretaste of 2011 Election - AC.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Olasunkanmi Akoni The Action Congress (AC), has described the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) Anambra ward congress as posing a grave danger to the forthcoming 2011 general election and danger to Nigeria's democracy. AC's National...

Best Ogedengbe is Dead.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Tony Ubani ERSTWHILE Green Eagles goalkeeper, Best Ogedegbe succumbed to the cold hands of death Monday night after battling in vain to come out from coma after an eye surgery at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Technical...

Lagos Pay N32 Million to Buy Seats for Under-17.
September 29, 2009... LOC officials for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup say the Lagos state government have paid N32 million to buy seats at the stadium for the tournament. The Teslim Balogun Stadium will host matches up until the semifinal of the championships and...

Delta House Confirms 12 New Commissioners.
September 29, 2009... MEMBERS of Delta State House of Assembly Tuesday confirmed the list of twelve commissioner nominees sent to it by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan last week. The nominees successfully scaled through the screening exercise conducted during...

Accidents - Lagos Embarks on Construction of Emergency Centres.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowopejo THE Lagos State Government has disclosed that the Trauma/Accident and Emergency Centre at the old Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be commissioned within the next one month. ...

Mike Anyasodo is MTN Project Fame II Winner.
September 29, 2009... Mike Anyasodo has emerged the winner of the popular musical reality TV show, MTN Project Fame West Africa II. The talented Nigerian singer won the show during the grand finale, which took place on Sunday, at the Ultima Studio Limited, by...

Police Kill Robbery Suspect.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Nnenna Nwezi & Chioma Nwafor A Two-man robbery gang that operates on a motorcycle, has met its waterloo, after one of its suspected members was shot dead yesterday, during a gun battle with a team of policemen attached to Trade...

Lecturers Protest FG's Refusal to Sign Agreement with ASUU.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Kolade Larewaju and Gbenga Olarinoye STRIKING lecturers of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (UNAAB) Ogun State, took to the streets of Abeokuta, the state capital yesterday protesting government continued refusal to sign an...

Ogun, Ondo to Explore Economic Benefit.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Dayo Johnson GOVERNORS of Ondo and Ogun states, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and Gbenga Daniel met yesterday in Akure, the Ondo State capital on how to explore economic benefits of the two states, especially in the implementation of the Olokola...

PZ Staff Escape Assassination.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Albert Akpor FOUR days after the factory manager of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Mr. Lucky Egba, was shot dead along the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway, another senior staff of the company whose identity could not be immediately ascertained,...

Reps Rule Out Public Hearing on Handover of GAT.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Kenneth Ehigiator The House of Representatives is not favourably disposed to organising a public hearing on government's handover of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited. This was the fallout...

Best Ogedegbe, Former National Goal Keeper Passes On.
September 29, 2009... Former Nigeria goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe tragically passed away on Monday night after being in a coma for a week following an eye operation at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. "It is very sad but Ogedegbe is no longer with us. I...

Lawmaker Commends Constituents for Peaceful Polls.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Festus Ahon THE member representing Ughelli South local government constituency in Delta State House of Assembly, Olorogun Taleb Tebite, has commended the people of the area for their peaceful conduct during the local government...

Hopeworldwide, MTN Give Succour to OVCS.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Chioma Obinna And Oluchi Muogbo Concerned citizens and Stakeholders into the care of orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) have expressed fear over the impact of global financial meltdown on the number of orphans and vulnerable...

CRH Takes HIV Awareness Drive to Shomolu.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Chioma Obinna As the world basks in the euphoria of the latest HIV vaccine, the Center for the Right to Health (CRH) kicked- off an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in Shomolu Local Government area of Lagos aimed at creating, strengthening...

Aikhomu Tasks Luth Management On Accreditation.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Chioma Obinna Following the formal commissioning of the Barrister Wuraola Adedoyin Research Library at the Lagos University Hospital (LUTH), the Chairman of the Board of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Mrs. Rebecca Aikhomu...

Merck, Qiagen Bring Cervical Cancer Screening Closer to the Grassroots.
September 29, 2009... JUST as Nigeria is stepping up its awareness drive on the control and management of cervical cancer, Merck & Co., Inc. and Qiagen N.V. - two globally respected names in the arena of cervical cancer intervention - are initiating a $600...

Stiffer Punishment Awaits Drug Offenders - Aondoakaa.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Sola Ogundipe IF there is one belief the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa shares with the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control...

And Who is After Aondoakaa?
September 29, 2009... Byline: Rotimi Fasan His short, truculent neck and thick set features are a cross between the looks of a buffalo and a rhinoceros. At close range (as I had during his visit to the High Court in Igbosere during the funeral rites for Gani), he...

Gas Flare - Shell Urges Proper Structure for IJVS.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Yemie Adeoye IN order to end gas flare in the country and meet up with the domestic gas requirement Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has urged the federal government to consider proper structuring of the Independent Joint...

Police Arrest Edo CRPP Chairman.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Simon Ebegbulem Edo State chairman of the Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP), Dr. Samson Isibor, was yesterday arrested by operatives of the state police command over alleged defamatory statements against Governor Adams...

PEF Moves to Reduce Fuel Price in Riverine Areas.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Daniel Afred THE Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) has announced that machineries are in motion to bring about reduced prices of petroleum products in the riverine areas of the Niger Delta. According to the Agency's spokesman...

Deregulation - LPFO, Diesel Prices Jumped in September.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Yemie Adeoye IN an apparent move to deregulate the oil sector by allowing prices of petroleum products to be controlled by prevailing market realities, the Product and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC) appears to have announced new...

FG, Marketers Hold Crucial Talks On Deregulation.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Omoh Gabriel THE Federal Government held a consultative meeting, yesterday, with major stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of the economy preparatory to the removal of petroleum subsidy later in the year. The meeting, Vanguard...

Coup Against Bauchi State ANPP (3).
September 29, 2009... Byline: John Moyibi Aomoda The governor elected as the ANPP governor and the 17 ANPP codefectors have not conducted themselves as representatives of the ANPP faction of the Bauchi electorate, neither have the 9 PDP legislators conducted...

Oshiomhole Doles Out N6.5 Million to Offset Indigent Patients' Bills.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Simon Ebegbulem WORRIED by the plight of indigent patients at the Accident and Emergency units of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Governor Adams Oshiomhole, weekend paid the sum of N6.5million to offset their...

Supporters in Fisticuff Over Anambra PDP Ward Congress.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Vincent Ujumadu Supporters of some of the governorship aspirants engaged their opponents in physical combat over allegation that money was changing hands while they were waiting for officials of the congress committee to arrive at the...

Violence Mars Anambra PDP Ward Congress.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Vincent Ujumadu INTRIGUES and violence almost marred the ward congress of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), in Anambra State yesterday, with some of the party members calling for the cancellation of the exercise. Though there...

CBN Foresees Death of Nine Banks.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Peter Egwuatu The nation's 24 banks may be pruned to 15 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), gets set to release the auditing of banks not affected in the earlier exercise last month. CBN's Deputy Governor, (Operations), Mr. Tunde...

FG, ASUU Resume Negotiation Today.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Victor Ahiuma-Young, Abdulwahab Abdulah And Tosin Adejuwon THE Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will today resume negotiations in an efforts to find solution to the lingering face-off between both...

Kidnapping Now Serious Business, Laments Kwara Deputy Governor.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Demola Akinyemi Kwara State Deputy Governor, Chief Joel Ogundeji, has lamented that kidnapping has now become serious business in some parts of the country and urged church leaders in particular to rescue the nation from the hands of...

APGA - Our Faction, Legally Acceptable, Says Okorie.
September 29, 2009... Byline: Emmanuel Aziken Chief Chekwas Okorie, one of two factional Chairmen of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), yesterday claimed victory over his opponent, saying the last National Convention he conducted was now legally acceptable,...

How Official Corruption Frustrates Insurance Business.
September 28, 2009... Byline: Patience Saghana The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) last month wielded the big stick against UTIB Insurance Brokers. The broker was suspended for six months over what regulatory body described as unethical practices involving...

Rumblings in CBN Over Pension.
September 28, 2009... Byline: Babjide Komolafe THE new Contributory Pensions Scheme which the National Pensions Commission ordered the Central Bank to start implementing is already causing some anxiety among the staff of the apex bank. The CBN, like the...

Mortgage Association Affirms Solidity of Industry.
September 28, 2009... The Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), the umbrella body for all Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) in Nigeria, has declared that the mortgage banking industry in the country is stable and sound, in an apparent move to boost...