At least one person was wounded and five vehicles destroyed by a mob, weekend, in Abakaliki during the re-run of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Representatives’ primaries for Afikpo North West and Afikpo South East constituency seats of Ebonyi State.

AS the 2011 political activities gather momentum, the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major General Sarkin Yakin Bello, has advised officers and soldiers under his command to be apolitical and ensure that law and order reigned in their areas of operation.

Federal Government has banned the importation of rice through land borders with immediate effect as a means of reducing the increasing smuggling of the product in a bid to short change government of accruable revenue from such imports.

TODAY, the first day of February, marks the golden jubilee birthday of Siyan Oyeweso, Professor of History, Provost College of Humanities and Culture and Chairman Committee of Provosts, Deans and Directors of Osun State University, Osogbo.

MINISTER of State for Education Mr. Kenneth Gbagi’s advice to heads of higher institutions to grant their students leave at weekends to register at their homes for the April elections is introducing further dislocation to the dissonance that government has introduced in education since the beginning of the year.

GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, yesterday, reactivated the Joint Task Force, code named “Operation Thunderstorm” and urged operatives attached to it, to save the people of the state from the menace of kidnapping and other violent crime.

In a bid to prevent future occurrence of last Thursday’s crisis, which claimed many lives in Tafawa Balewa area of Bauchi State, Governor Isa Yuguda yesterday, threatened to demolish Tafawa Balewa town with the exception of government institutions like hospitals and schools.

BOTH Achebe and Soyinka are critical of the pretensions of the post-colonial leaders. Oba S.K Adetona as a participant observer of the process of British colonization addressed the colonial question in class struggle terms, a struggle between pre-colonial rulers and the colonizing power.

AHEAD of Friday expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to Belbop/Conoil over alleged refusal to honour a 2008 agreement, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has directed members to get ready to shut down operations of the firms across the country.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, ordered the Sport Minister, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja and the Nigeria Premier League Board, NPL, to maintain status quo on the League Sponsorship deal pending the determination of the suit by a firm, Total Promotions Limited.

THE Chief Chris Uba-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra State has expelled the South East zonal chairman of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, over what the party described as his administrative incompetence and default in payment of his dues at his Nnewi Ward 1 for the past 13 months.

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, a member of the Dangote Group has announced a turnover of N65.22 billion for the third quarter ended
September 30, 2010. According to the unaudited results presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), last week , turnover rose by 9.71 per cent over 59.43 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2009.

LEADERS of the 63 political parties were literarily in a rat-race, yesterday, to beat the January 31 deadline of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the submission of list of their candidates for the April polls.

SOME of the registration officers recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, are sleeping in churches because no accommodation was provided for them and also being starved of food.

Worried by the spate of incessant crises in some parts of the country, especially the northern region, former Military Governor of old Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd) has called on religious, traditional and political leaders, to focus more attention and energy on resolving the crises and restoring lasting peace in the nation.