Jonathan’s aide confirms President, Senate budget row

Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emordi, on Thursday confirmed that there had been disagreements between the Presidency and the National Assembly over the 2013 budget recently passed by the Senate.

However, Emordi was confident that the rift would be resolved in such a way that it would not adversely affect implementation of the budget.

The presidential aide spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

She said, “You know that even husband and wife do have disagreements. There is no way that you can expect the two arms of government not to disagree, but the most important thing is how they deal with the issues at the end of the day.

And you can see that in most of the issues, even after the disagreements, they always resort to dialogue and come to one position that will be acceptable to all in the interests of the nation.”

On the lawmakers’ complaint that Jonathan treats National Assembly resolutions with disdain, Emordi said it was not true.

She said, “There must be issues, but the most important thing is that they are working for the common interest of Nigerians. On the resolutions, yes, there might be issues but at the end of the day those issues were also resolved or are in the process of being resolved.”

She assured Nigerians that the President would sign the 2013 budget “very soon”.

Source 

INEC plans special salary for workers

Independent National Electoral Commission is planning a special salary scale for its workers.

National Commissioner of INEC in charge of South-West, Prof. Lai Olurode, said this in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Thursday.

According to him, the commission is seeking special pay for its workers to motivate them and to discourage them from engaging in electoral malpractice.

Olurode said, “The commission is working to make sure that the staff begin to enjoy a special salary scale. What the commission is doing is a special assignment and we know that the workers are open to great temptations, especially from politicians.

“The work is very risky and the workers who do their work as expected at times risk being killed. We hope that this would be granted before the 2015 election. We have started engaging the relevant authorities to make sure that the this is done.”

He said INEC would do everything to make the workers happy in order to get the best from them.

The INEC chief said almost a million persons applied for 1,500 jobs which INEC recently advertised.

He said the commission had decided that no children of the national commissioners of the INEC would be employed.

According to him, the decision was taken to ensure that children of commissioners were not favoured.

He said, “No matter how brilliant their children may be, they will not be employed in this recruitment. We are against corruption and we want charity to start at home. But there would be other opportunities when their children who are qualified could be employed.”

Akunyili denies governorship bid

Former Minister of Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has debunked rumours of her plan to contest the Anambra State governorship election in November, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Akunyili said at a media conference in Awka on Thursday that the rumours was “a big distraction”.

She said, “Must I run for every election? It is an unnecessary distraction”.

However, the ex-National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Director-General said she might re-contest the senatorial position “when the time is ripe’’.

She added, “When the time comes, I will run for it and safeguard my vote.”

She warned rumour mongers to desist from their action.

NAN

Ribadu report White Paper may be ready Monday

The White Paper of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Taskforce’s report may be ready on Monday, two months behind schedule.

Findings by our correspondent showed that the document may be ratified by members of the drafting committee when they meet on Monday in Abuja.

Upon ratification, the White Paper, it was learnt, would then be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan for the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

Jonathan inaugurated the committee led by the Minister of Labour, Mr. Emeka Wogu, last November 15, after Ribadu presented the report to him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The committee was given two weeks to submit its report.

Fire guts another building in Lagos

Barely 48 hours after two buildings were razed in Ebute Meta area of Lagos, a storey building was on Thursday gutted by fire on Igando Road, Ikotun area of the state.

It was learnt that the fire which torched the building on 64, Igando Road, Unity Bus Stop, Ikotun, was caused by an electrical fault on the first floor.

Our correspondent who visited the scene observed that the fire destroyed over half of the first floor which has four-room self-contained apartments.

It was gathered that the inferno which started some minutes after 10am spread quickly as a set of cushion chairs on the corridor where the electrical fault occurred caught fire.

Eyewitnesses said two children whose parents were not around when the fire started were trapped in the building but were evacuated by neighbours with a ladder through the window of their apartment.

One of the victims, Anthony Bamidele, said the quick intervention of firefighters of the Lagos State Fire Service prevented the whole building from being consumed by the ravaging fire.

Anthony said, “As soon as I heard the spark, I went outside to see what was happening and surprisingly, I saw that there was fire already. Before, I came back from where I went to get a bowl of water to quench it the whole place had gone up in flames.

“I immediately dashed to my apartment to save my two-month-old baby and my other two children. They were evacuated through the entrance of the backyard.”

Anthony’s wife, Jennifer, said the incident was a big loss to her especially because it came at the dawn of the New Year.

“I thank God that none of us sustained any form of injury or died as a result of the inferno,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Fire and Safety Service has said it quenched no fewer than 33 fires across the state between Tuesday and Thursday.

Punch

Police rearrest pastor for raping 12-year-old

The Lagos State Police Command has rearrested a 40-year-old pastor, Alasco Sobowale, for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in Epe area of the state.

Police authorities said the suspect, who is a pastor at Okiki Imole Church, Epe, was rearrested on Thursday at his home located at 10, Togodo Street, Temu Town.

The police had arrested Sobowale on December 21, 2012, for allegedly raping the minor but was later released on bail because courts were not in session.

However, after PUNCH Metro published the story on Thursday, the policemen attached to Epe Division stormed his home and rearrested him.

A police source, who craved anonymity, said, “The pastor should never have been released in the first place and the police high command is very much interested. If Sobowale was released because courts were not in session, why were all other suspects in police custody not granted bail as well?

“Rape is a very serious offence and we will make sure that he is prosecuted. After the publication, many members of the community, including elders, rose against the pastor and promised to make sure that the case was pursued to a logical conclusion.”

When contacted on the telephone, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the rearrest of the pastor, adding that he had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.

“The suspect has been transferred to the SCID for further investigation and he will be charged with rape and sodomy,” she said.

PUNCH Metro

I’m fit for Nations Cup — Mikel

Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi has declared that he is fit for the Africa Nations Cup holding in South Africa after a slight knee complaint.

Mikel was pulled off late in the second half of an EPL game against Norwich City after he suffered a knock on his knee.

But on Thursday he told MTNFootball.com that he was now as fit as fiddle and ready for action to douse speculations regarding his availability for this month’s continental tournament.

“I am going to be at the Nations Cup as there is nothing to worry about concerning the injury, it is over,” Mikel said.

“I am okay and fit for action. I am already looking forward to play in the FA Cup game against Southampton. I was advised by the doctor to rest it for the QPR game; otherwise I was ready to play.”

Obasanjo - "I would have been a dead person.”

Last week Wednesday, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian Army general and former President of Nigeria said providence saved him from the fire which recently burnt a part of his Hilltop Mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

In his words:

 “The fire, which occurred in the office of my private secretary, resulted in thick smoke which pervaded my bedroom. If it had happened at night, I would have been a dead person.”

“I want to thank you all who called me on the telephone, both within and outside the country. Let us appreciate the mercy and kindness of God. There were many of us who started last year, but are no more today. We are not mocking them but extolling God.

“In fact, that I am able to stand erect is God’s blessings. Many in my age group cannot stand well anymore. I am not mocking them, but I am thanking God. My hope and prayer are that this year will be a glorious year.”

Saidi Balogun Speaks On Bisi Komolafe's Death!

In the wake of the sudden death of Yoruba movie starlet, Bisi Komolafe, who passed away on the New Year’s eve at the University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, fellow actor, Saheed Balogun, has disclaimed the stories making the rounds that Komolafe’s death was as a result of fetish practices and husband snatching scandals.

Saidi With Another Nigerian Actor, Bovi James On The Set Of "You or I" In CAPE TOWN

Balogun, who is currently putting finishing touches to his latest movie, ‘You or I’, says, “I find it very absurd that anyone would attribute the death or illness of any Yoruba actor to juju. Many people die every day as a result of various ailments but the reason behind the hullabaloo over the death of a star is just because we are popular. It has nothing to do with jazz (evil forces) and no one knows the day he/she will die besides God. It is just sad that she died at a time when she was about to blow in the industry and fans looked forward to more works from her.”

Kogi Speaker’s Convoy In Fatal Auto Crash

The convoy of the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mommoh Jimoh Lawal was involved in a fatal car crash on New Year Day along Okene-Lokoja Road. A police Constable, Akeem Lamidi, who was riding a Toyota truck alongside other policemen attached to the Speaker, died on the scene.

The Speaker was said to be travelling to his Okene home town when a heavy duty truck ran into his escort van. Just last week, the governor of the state, Idris Wada, was involved in a car crash that claimed the lives of his ADC.