HAS JAMB COME TO A TREMENDOUS END?

    The long-awaited examination known as the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Board has finally come to an end, for some a tremendous end and for others God knows....
    This exam held on 27th of April 2013, starting at various times between 9 and 11am. To all those who sat for this exam, i am wishing you all success

EFCC probes Chime's N13.6b secreteriat project in Enugu

    Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has begun a full-scale
investigation into the ongoing
N13.6bn Enugu State secretariat
project.
The anti-graft agency's zonal office
in Enugu in November 2012 had
carried out preliminary
investigation into the secretariat
project, following a petition by the
Coordinator of Congress for
Progressives Change in Enugu
State, Mr. Osita Okechukwu.
The state government had
approved N13.6bn for the project
while Arab Contractors Limited
won the contract.
During the preliminary
investigation, which took place
while Governor Sullivan Chime was
away on prolonged medical
vacation, the then Accountant-
General, Eunice Ugwu, reportedly
told EFCC investigators that the
project would cost N8bn and not
N13.6bn as claimed by the
petitioner.
She also allegedly told the
investigators that government only
released money for the feasibility
studies and demolition of old state
secretariat, which were provided
for in the 2012 budget.
However, immediately the
governor returned to the country
on February 8, Ugwu was
redeployed to the Civil Service
Commission as a Permanent
Secretary.
Our correspondent gathered that
based on findings made from the
preliminary investigations, the anti-
graft agency's office in Abuja has
re-opened the case file for another
round of inquiry.
Our correspondent on Sunday
obtained a copy of the EFCC
invitation extended to Okechukwu
through his lawyers, T.M. Eke and
Associates of Magnolia Chambers,
Enugu, to appear at the
commission's Abuja office on
Wednesday, April 18.
The letter read, "Investigation
Activities Re-Petition against the
Accountant General of Enugu State. You may recall that you wrote a petition dated September 18, 2012 on behalf of your client, Congress for Progressives Change against the Accountant-General of Enugu State.
"In view of the above, you are
kindly requested to inform your
client to report for an interview
with the undersigned through Mr.
Chris Owobu on April 18, 2013 at
No 5, Block C, Fomella Street, Off
Adetokumbo Ademole Crescent,
Wuse II, Abuja, by 1000hrs. Your
cooperation in this regard is highly
solicited please."
The Head, Economic Governance,
EFCC, Olufunke Adetayo, signed the invitation letter. When contacted on telephone,
Okechukwu confirmed that he
received an invitation through his
lawyer to appear at the EFCC Abuja
office on Wednesday for an
interview.

BB and its new OS

    Over the past years, the BlackBerry
smartphone has lost its market
share as individuals and companies
resort to iPhones and Android
devices.
To remain competitive, the company
re-invented itself with a new
platform, along with corresponding
devices. The new BB10 OS and
BlackBerry Z10 smartphone are a
big bet for BlackBerry company.
The messaging service and the
security aspects have always been a
selling point for BlackBerry. In fact,
unlike Apple, Nokia and Android
devices — which use open standards
— the BlackBerry uses highly
secured propriety data transmission
protocols.
The data that is send from a
BlackBerry is encrypted and can only
be decrypted in the data centre in
Canada, thus avoiding any
interceptions along the way in the
wireless networks or Internet.
Some time back, the security set-up
was misconstrued as a bane. UAE,
India and a few other countries
banned the devices with reasons
bordering national security and anti-
terrorism.
Appeal to users
However, the secure BlackBerry
network remains a feature
cherished by many in the business
world, as well as other sectors of the
economy.
The new BlackBerry 10 software will
still spot the unrivalled security.
Now that Blackberry company has
done enough work on clearing the
air surrounding its security
measures, the focus is turned on
how the software will appeal to
users.
Recently, the company announced
that it had sold six million
smartphones in the quarter ended
March 2, 2013.
The figure includes one million
devices powered by the new
BlackBerry 10 software. This means
that the company has sold one
million BlackBerry Z10 smartphones
over a two-week period.
Incidentally, it is a small figure
when compared with sales from
rivals. Apple’s iPhone 5 sales were
more than five million during the
first week after launch in September
last year. For a flagship device
running on the new BlackBerry 10
platform, the bare fact is that the
competition is stiff.
BlackBerry 10 platform now has
100,000 apps. The growing apps
store, in addition to availability of
third party apps, will appeal to users
as the new software slowly
infiltrates the market. However, for
the sake of boosting the chances of
the new operating system, more
needs to be done on the apps store.
Unlike other platforms like Android,
which have experienced incremental
up-grades, the new OS for
BlackBerry is a complete overhaul.
The company has built it from
scratch with little resemblance to BB
OS7 that runs on other BlackBerry
smart devices.
The operating system has its own
unique features when compared
with either Android or iOS. One
clear outstanding observation about
the software is that it has merged
the home screens, apps, widgets and
an inbox into a slick interface that is
easy to navigate.
The smooth user interface and
features like the messaging Hub are
a boost to user experience.
Exploring the OS on BlackBerry Z10
phone has an almost similar
approach to that of navigating on a
Windows 8 phone. The main
BlackBerry 10 home screen is made
up of “Active Frames” which
resemble “Active Tiles” in Windows
8.

Nigeria: Lagos to curb violence against women

    Hundreds of women have in Lagos
gathered to reflect on the significant
of the International Women's Day in
the context of the prevailing
challenges of poverty of the Nigerian
woman. The event was organized by
the Community Peoples Initiative
Against AIDS (COPEAIDS) in
collaboration with the Office of the
Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde
Raji Fashola.
The theme of this year's celebration
by the United Nations was tagged,
"A promise is a promise, time for
action to end violence against
women is now'. However the Lagos
audience focused on 'HIV,
Environmental Protection and
Sustainable Livelihood in Lagos'.
Dr Joe Okei Odumakin, the leader of
Campaign for Democracy, (CD) and
coordinator of Women Arise, said it
was time for Nigerian women to
press for fundamental changes that
would uplift them from a state of
economic and political depression.
Odumakin was represented at the
occasion by Mr Gbenga Ganzalo.
Speaking at the event which drew
women from across the country, the
Executive Director of the Community
Peoples Initiative Against, AIDS
(COPEAIDS), Mrs Feyisike Adeoye
'who spoke on the 'Environmental
Livelihood, and the Challenges of
Women in a Developing Economy",
said the forms of violence against
women in Nigeria have seen
correspondent rise in the spread of
HIV and AIDS in Nigeria. She said law
enforcement authorities are
responding to the issue of violence
against women but not with the
speed anticipated the victims of
injustice.
"It delights our hearts to see that
there is the increasing
understanding that environmental
sustainability is liked with the fight
against deadly diseases including
the HIV and AIDs scourge. We need
to rise with greater strength against
high fatality rate among women, the
problems of social dislocation, the
challenges of taboos and how they
affect women and the generation
social and political policies that tend
to push women to lowest path of
the ladder", she told the
representatives drawn from labour,
civil society, women groups and the
media.
The representative of the Lagos State
Government, Dr (Mrs) Lateefat
Adeleye, said the state government
has improved in the fight against
violence saying that authorities in
the state are meeting local and
global expectations in the campaign
against HIV and AIDS and the
violence that target women.

Top Gossip: Nollywood actor's wedding disrupted by his second wife....

    The Overcomers Church World
Outreach in Surulere, Lagos, has
issued an apology for the
disruption of the wedding
between Nollywood actor,
Solomon Akiyesi, and Uloma
Agwu on Saturday.
Pandemonium broke out after
the groom’s wife from his first
marriage stormed the church as
the marital union had gotten
underway, forcing the church to
cancel the ceremony.
“We regret the ugly series of
events that followed this brash
display. At the Overcomers
Church, we do our due diligence
to ensure a couple set to wed is
right in the eyes of the law and
in the eyes of God,” said the
church in a statement signed by
Chika Moses, the Media
Representative.
“To the best of our knowledge,
Mr. Akiyesi was unmarried. The
Overcomers Church World
Outreach regrets that the
woman who disrupted the
wedding chose such a time to
do so.
“There is no ideal situation here,
but it would have been right
that she bring the case before
church officials in a manner
befitting a house of worship,”
the church added.
Mr. Akiyesi’s wife, Lilian,
pregnant and accompanied by
friends, walked into the marriage
ceremony immediately after the
praise and worship session, as
the minister was about to begin
officiating.
It took the efforts of police
officers to restore order within
the church’s premises.
The church, in its statement,
said that the intending couple
would not be “legally joined
together” until the matter is
properly settled by lawful
authorities.
N.E Moses, the church’s General
Overseer, addressed the
congregation after the incident,
according to the statement.
“Bishop Moses prayed for the
couple, Mr. Akiyesi and Ms.
Agwu, but did not legally wed
them – no documents were
signed so as not to disobey the
law…
“Our Bishop has urged us to
take a lesson from this and be
careful of the decisions we make
in life, so the consequences
don’t hurt us in the future.”
Mr. Akiyesi, a graduate of the
University of Ibadan, has
appeared in movies such as the
God of Shiloh, an unofficial
biography of David Oyedepo, the
General Overseer of Living Faith
Church Worldwide.
He has also starred in such
Nollywood movies as Dumebi
The Dirty Girl, alongside Mercy
Johnson and Kenneth Okonkwo;
Wave of Glory, alongside Ini Edo;
and Mystery Beads with Jackie
Appiah, amongst others.
In his facebook post after the
incident, Mr. Akiyesi said that his
earlier marriage to Lilian, which
unconfirmed sources say has
lasted for seven years, was
“limiting and retrogressing him.”
“Every man has a right to take
away that which will truncate his
life. My marriage was one of the
many things limiting and
retrogressing me. If I find a
better alternative I doubt why I
won’t take it. So people should
leave me alone (sic) pls.”

Some cocaine dealers have been sent parking

    To assert the Federal Government’s
commitment to fighting smuggling in the
country, the Federal Operations Unit of the
Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’ Owerri has
impounded various contraband good items
with duty paid value of N226, 496,810.
While taking journalist round the impounded
items at their warehouse at the Federal
Operations Unit Zone ‘C’ headquarters in Owerri
the Imo State Capital, the Customs Area
Controller Mr Victor Dimka disclosed that the
seizures were intercepted at various locations
within the area of coverage of the zone which
spans the entire South-South and South-East
states making it 11 states in total.
He added that most of the seizures were made
on Eleme-Aba road.
According to Mr Dimka, he said their action is in
line with the desire of the present leadership of
the Nigeria Customs service whose main
objective is to work tirelessly in fighting the ugly
menace of smuggling and to make sure that if
not totally eradicated, it should be completely
reduced to its barest minimal.
And the mandate of the zone is to personally
lead onslaught against smuggling before it ruins
the economy of the nation.
He added that 9 of the smugglers have been
arrested and are in detention.
If found guilty in court, they will be remanded in
prison. He appealed to the members of the
general public to support the Customs service by
giving information about the smugglers and their
activities.

Some cocaine dealers have been sent parking

    To assert the Federal Government’s
commitment to fighting smuggling in the
country, the Federal Operations Unit of the
Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’ Owerri has
impounded various contraband good items
with duty paid value of N226, 496,810.
While taking journalist round the impounded
items at their warehouse at the Federal
Operations Unit Zone ‘C’ headquarters in Owerri
the Imo State Capital, the Customs Area
Controller Mr Victor Dimka disclosed that the
seizures were intercepted at various locations
within the area of coverage of the zone which
spans the entire South-South and South-East
states making it 11 states in total.
He added that most of the seizures were made
on Eleme-Aba road.
According to Mr Dimka, he said their action is in
line with the desire of the present leadership of
the Nigeria Customs service whose main
objective is to work tirelessly in fighting the ugly
menace of smuggling and to make sure that if
not totally eradicated, it should be completely
reduced to its barest minimal.
And the mandate of the zone is to personally
lead onslaught against smuggling before it ruins
the economy of the nation.
He added that 9 of the smugglers have been
arrested and are in detention.
If found guilty in court, they will be remanded in
prison. He appealed to the members of the
general public to support the Customs service by
giving information about the smugglers and their
activities.

Oil Search in Northern Nigeria

    Recently, the Northern Economic Summit (NES) announced that the Federal Government provided the
sum of $100 million in 2013 for the hydrocarbon exploration in the Lake Chad basin and other Northern hydrocarbon basins. The group, which comprised of all the 19.northern states and the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja also said that government had provided a total sum of $140 million for 2011 and 2012 respectively, for the same purpose.
    NES also said that in 2011, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had, through its technical consultants, concluded the search, evaluation and identification of capable Airborne Geophysical Survey companies for hydrocarbon
exploration of the inland basin of
the country.
    We are encouraged by this
development. The provision of
substantial funds to facilitate the
exploration activities for oil and gas in the Chad basin, Benue trough, Bida basin, Sokoto-Rima basin, among others, when completed will give the nation's economy a quantum leap. The would-be oil-producing states will also enjoy the statutory right of 13 percent derivation from the Federation Accounts.
    The chieftains of NES should be
selfless in this onerous task it has
given itself. They would write their
names in gold if they achieve this
singular goal for the North. We,
however, want to sound a note of
warning; that their being the front
men does not confer on them the
right to front companies which they have interests to corner the
contracts which they may not be
able to execute. They should, rather, insist on tracking the funds and ensuring that the contractors meet the deadlines. We implore NES to raise the alarm whenever they notice
lapses in the execution of these
projects.
    The economy of Northern Nigeria is in dire straits and the result is the current socio-economic upheavals. The exploration of oil from the
North will definitely open a flood
gate of opportunities to the millions of unemployed in the region. Obviously, it will abridge the inequality between the North and South.
    While the oil search project is on-going, the NES is also challenged to keep an eye on the speedy implementation of the Zungeru and the Mambilla hydro power projects. When completed, these two power projects will not only boost the economy of the region, but will serve as a catalyst to the benefits that will accrue from oil.
    The challenge before the Northern elite, irrespective of their political
leanings, is to avoid the mistakes oil communities of the South made. First, there must be a blueprint of operational manual for the would-be oil companies. Second, compensation modus for the host communities, including employment quota etc, should be well thought out. This is to ensure that the people who are the real owners of the resources are not willfully short-changed by the oil exploring companies.

Weather Forecast For Lagos

   Tomorow, sunday 7th of April,is going to be sunny while we'll have a partly cloudy day on monday, tuesday and wednesday(please take note of the dates). Thursday and friday is going to be sunny....
    Hope you'll find forecast useful fellow lagosians....

Over 4,000 May Lose Jobs in NECO

    Over 4,000 people will be rendered
jobless if the National Examination
Council (NECO) is scrapped as
recommended by the Oronsaye
panel, the Non Academic Staff Union
(NASU) has warned.
The Chairman of NASU, NECO
chapter, Comrade Abdulrasheed
Rabana, gave the warning yesterday
while reacting to media report that
government was contemplating
scrapping the only indigenous
examination body, saying most of
these staff are skilled and technical
senior officers.
He said any attempt to scrap NECO
and make WAEC to take over all its
structures could be viewed as
subjugation of Nigerian sovereignty
and national pride to the regional
examination body, adding that
should anything happen to WAEC
tomorrow, what will be the fate of
Nigerian students.
Rabana said many countries that are
only having one examination body
were aspiring to have more to cater
for explosion in schools enrolment,
adding that ironically in Nigeria
government was contemplating to
scrap the only examination body in
the country that took several years
to build.
"Having more than one examination
body is seen globally as a mark of
national achievement rather than a
burden. This the more reason why
countries that still manage with one
institution aspire to have more in
tandem with the global explosion in
school enrolments and by
implication examination
candidates," he said.
He further argued that unknown to
the Oronsaye committee, any
attempt to interrupt the progress
made in NECO by scrapping the
examination council would be
viewed as a setback in national drive
toward self reliance in education.
Similarly, the Governing Board and
Management of NECO had
reassured candidates and schools
that had registered for the various
examinations that the time table for
such examinations remained
unchanged, saying National
Common Entrance Examination
(NCEE), Basic Education Certificate
Examination (BECE) and Senior
School Certificate Examination
(SSCE) will hold as scheduled on
April 13, 2013, May 9th -23rd, 2013
and 1st June - 12th July, 2013
respectively.

Fourth death in China due to deadly bird flu, cases rise to 11

    Beijing: One more person on
Thursday died in China due to the
deadly H7N9 bird flu, taking the
death toll to four, even as the total
number of cases of the new strain of
avian influenza in the country rose
to eleven. A 48-year-old man died of
H7N9 bird flu in east China's
Shanghai Municipality on Thursday,
the third in the municipality and the
fourth in the country, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
The man, surnamed Chu and a
native of Rugao in Jiangsu Province,
was a poultry transporter and
developed symptoms of coughing
on March 28. He went to a private
clinic following a fever on Monday
and then sought help in the Tongji
Hospital in Shanghai in the early
hours on Wednesday after his
condition worsened but died three
hours after being admitted. He was
confirmed to have been infected
with the H7N9 virus on Thursday.
Eight persons who had close contact
with him have shown no abnormal
symptoms, the report said.
The number of persons infected
with the virulent disease in China
totalled 11, according to Xinhua,
amid rising public concerns as the
new strain, discovered in the country
in the past few weeks, has no
medicine or vaccine to cure it. A 64-
year-old man from Huzhou City in
east China's Zhejiang Province was
diagnosed to have contracted the
H7N9 bird flu strain after he tested
positive following a March 29 illness,
the provincial centre for disease
control and prevention said on
Thursday.
Meanwhile, a man in central China's
Hunan Province died from an H1N1
flu strain. The 50-year old, surnamed
Zhang, died on Monday after
emergency treatment for more than
a week failed in Yueyang, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
Zhang was admitted to the No. 2
People's Hospital in Yueyang on
March 26 with symptoms of fever
and cough. He was later transferred
to an intensive care unit after
suffering from breathing difficulties.
A test by the city's centre for disease
control and prevention found Zhang
was positive on March 27 for a new
strain of the H1N1 flu that has
similar symptoms as the H1N1 flu
and can spread among humans. He
died on April 1.
Medical staff involved in the
emergency treatment did not
contract the H1N1 virus and family
members of the deceased are still
under medical observation in
quarantine. With spread of the
deadly H7N9 flu, China's health
authorities have promised
transparency and cooperation to the
World Health Organization, Xinhua
reported. The National Health and
Family Planning Commission briefed
officials from the WHO China office
on the latest developments in H7N9
avian influenza infections and the
country's countermeasures, an
official statement said on Thursday.
"China will maintain open and
transparent exchanges with the
WHO and other countries and
regions, step up monitoring and
adopt proper measures," the
statement said.

Source: IBN Live

The latest ouya console......is this gonna be the rival of the play station console???

    The Ouya games console, which
stormed through its Kickstarter target and will let you run the Android mobile operating system to play games on your television, is already shipping to investors, meaning that some people should start listening for knocks on their doors this week.
    "Today begins an exclusive preview period as we gear up to launch in june. We'll continue to add features, refine the user interface, and keep building the software as we head toward our retail launch - now announced for June 4." It has been confirmed that Game and Amazon will
be selling the Ouya games console .
    Ouya advised punters to expect a software update when they first start playing and to have their credit or debit card details at hand. Games are free to try, but they need your details on hand
if you want to buy one. Out of the box around 180 games are playable, including Final Fantasy III.
    The developers thanked those who invested in the blog post, telling them that without their investment none of this would be possible. "Just last summer, we shared an idea for a simple, beautiful, powerful game
console that lets any developer publish a game for the TV," they added.
    "We were driven by our love for couch gaming. And when you (and the rest of our early supporters) rallied around
us, you inspired us. We got here together."

Oga at the top: NSCDC finally removes Shem Obafaiye as Lagos Commandant

    The man who postulated the “My Oga at the top” mantra, Mr. Obafaiye Shem has finally been removed as the Commandant of the Lagos state branch of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC. He has been replaced by Mr. Adesuyi Clement from Oyo State Command.
    The Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr. Olu Abolurin, who was in Lagos over the weekend in respect of the alleged killing of two of his officers by some policemen, introduced the new commandant to journalists.
     The Commandant General however did not give reasons for Shem’s removal but sources hinted that Adesuyi took over from the former Commandant Obafaiye on Tuesday, March 29.
     The source believed that it may not be unconnected with his recent interview on Channels Television live programme.
      It would be recalled that
trouble started for Mr. Shem
when he appeared as a guest on
Channels Television morning
programme ‘Sunrise’ and goofed
when asked of the commission
website, he said; “Hmmm, the website is, excuse me, it can only be made known by my Oga at the top ”. He again, cleared his throat and said, “I cannot categorically tell you one now, as my Oga at the top is working on the website and I don’t have them”.
    When the presenters insisted that he gives a functioning website address of the para-military outfit, he dropped
the bombshell: “ww.nscdc, that’s all”.
    Almost immediately, the interview went viral. Authorities of NSCDC had before now
refuted claims of taking any
disciplinary action against Mr. Shem over the said interview
    Their reaction followed the rumour that Shem had been sacked on the orders of the Minister of Interior, who supervises the NSCDC.