Delta State Governorship Election re-run petition tribunal sitting in Asaba, yesterday upheld the victory of Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, in the January 6 governorship re-run election in the state.

Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd), has solicited the assistance of the Ministry of Defence in the training of Police officers in the area of counter-terrorism and other acts of containing violence to enable them deal with exploits of the Boko Haram sect.

President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that there would be no “sacred cows” in the crusade to rid the nation’s procurement process of all forms of corruption.

There is growing discontent at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over what is perceived as meddlesomeness by the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minster of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, in efforts by the Commission to prosecute some high profile cases of corruption.

Chairman of Ofa Local Government, Alhaji Salahudeen Popoola, has called on the Federal Government to increase monthly allocations to the 774 local governments nationwide by 200 per cent to enable civil servants at the councils also benefit from the N18,000 minimum wage.

National Orientation Agency, NOA, yesterday called for a ban on non-biodegradable plastics and bags, popularly known as polythene bags, as a packaging material in the country, in view of its adverse effect on the environment.

Sixteen members of the Senate led by Rev. George Akume, yesterday, appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of Lagos State by releasing ecological fund to the state immediately.

Veteran soccer coach, Godwin Izilien, has been laughing since last Friday.
On that day Jarret Tenebe was asked to read the communique drafted after the meeting new sports minister Yusuf Suleiman held with the Nigeria Football Federation leadership and a group who tried to set up a parallel football administration body, taking the name Nigeria Football Association, NFA.

AHEAD of the arrival of Minister of Finance and Coordinator, National Economic Management Team, NEMT, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, from the World Bank to resume duties in Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday swore in two special advisers to beef up the proposed NEMT.

VANGUARD of July 20, 2011 ex pounded on its front page headline: “Reps afraid to discuss Boko Haram” as follows:”The fear of a possible reprisal attack against them or members of their families has kept members of the House of Representatives from discussing the growing menace of the Boko Haram sect which has been engaged in violent confrontations with security forces in Borno and other Northern states of the federation, Vanguard investigations have revealed”.

THERE was pandemonium in parts of Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, yesterday, as policemen engaged a gang of armed robbers in a shoot-out.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State, Senator Lekan Balogun at the Commission of Enquiry investigating the bloody clashes between two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, yesterday, alleged that the immediate past administration of Adebayo Alao-Akala supplied ammunition and money to a faction of the union.

IN August 2010, Ambassador John Campbell published the following views about Nigeria: “Nigeria is in trouble. National elections scheduled for 2011 has the potential to undermine the country’s current precarious stability by exacerbating its serious internal ethnic, regional and religious divisions. Since 1999, national presidential elections have adhered to an informal power sharing arrangement between the Muslim North and the Christian South, thereby avoiding regional and religious conflict.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, struck out the name of the former Permanent Secretary in the Enugu State Civil Service, Mrs Sylvia Onwuebemeli, from the fraud charge against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

NATIONAL Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday, backed calls for a review of the revenue sharing formula to make states stronger and ensure true federalism.