WOMEN politicians in the South East geopolitical zone, including those contesting various elective offices in different political parties, have met in Enugu to seek ways of enhancing their chances in the April 2011 general elections.

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has flagged off the first phase of its Agricultural Credit Scheme, expected to touch the lives of 1,660 youths from 166 cooperatives in the Niger Delta region.

FOREIGN firms handling projects for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in the region have been accused of non-performance by the House of Representatives.

CHAIRMAN of the Governor Gbenga Daniel faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, Chief Joju Fadairo, yesterday dumped his followers who had defected to the Peoples Party of Nigeria, PPN, saying he would remain a loyal member of the PDP.

FEDERAL Government has been urged to fine tune its post amnesty programme so that it would make lasting impact on the region. Governor Chibuike Amaechi, who made the call when he played host to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Onyeabo Ihejirika in Government House, Port Harcourt, said the programme should not be built around only the payment of monthly stipend to former militants.

GOVERNORSHIP candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Rivers State, Dr Abiye Sekibo has promised to run a government that will be intolerant to corruption. Sekibo who spoke, yesterday, during the flag off of his campaign, said he will be accountable to the people of the state.

EDO State governor of Edo state, Mr Adams Oshiomhole has explained his fight against godfatherism in the state, saying that the war was aimed at entrenching democratic values in the polity.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, yesterday, reacted to the comments of Governor Muazu Babangida that Lagos was a no-go area for the PDP in the April poll, describing his remarks as “arrant nonsense unbecoming of a top member of the party”.

-Catholic priests in Okigwe Diocese, particularly those serving in Ehime Mbano local council area of Imo State, have reacted angrily to the story making the rounds that Imo State governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, bribed them

The senate yesterday inched closer to the establishment of a Sovereign Trust Fund as stakeholders at a public hearing, including the federal and state governments, as well as the Nigeria Labour Congress, applauded the proposed establishment of Sovereign Investment Wealth Fund Authority, saying it was the answer to efficient management of the nation’s resources, especially for generations yet unborn.