Ado-Ekiti—The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State has expressed support for the nomination of Mr. Femi Falana as a Minister in the federal cabinet.

ORGANISED Labour has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Solomon Arase, over alleged increasing illegal activities by officers and men of Nigerian Police Force, NPF, in Akwa Ibom State.

ABEOKUTA—The eldest daughter of first Premier of Western Region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mrs. Omotola Oyediran yesterday disclosed that the Awolowo family wishes that one of its own becomes President of Nigeria.

Diddy is said to be working on a long-awaited album but, even without his music, he was the top-earning rapper of the past year.

LAGOS—Two persons were rescued alive, while others were trapped yesterday as a two-storey building collapsed at Lekki area of Lagos.

Robert Lewandowski admitted he had little idea how fast his goals flew in after scoring five times in nine minutes to write Bundesliga history in Bayern Munich’s 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg.

Piqued by frequent bail-out requests from private airline operators on the Federal Government,Chairman,Peace Mass Transit, PMT,Dr. Samuel Maduka Onyishi, yesterday,lampooned airline operators,urging government to repair roads rather than plunge tax payers money into private businesses.

The African personal computer (PC) market sank to new lows in the second quarter of this year amid a slowdown in GDP growth, the global IT intelligence analyst International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed. The report said this development triggered an increase in unemployment rate, and strengthened the dollar against many of the continent’s currencies.

I WISH to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for his choice of the leadership of the NNPC, Dr.Ibe Kachikwu, a gentleman of impeccable pedigree and his crack team of Executive Directors that includes Dr. Maikanti Baru, Group Executive Director, Exploration & Production; Mr. Isiaka Abdulrazaq, Group Executive Director, Finance & Services; Engr. Dennis Nnamdi Ajulu, Group Executive Director, Refining & Technology; and Dr. Babatunde Victor Adeniran, Group Executive Director, Commercial & Investment.

THE formal filing of charges against Senator Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, not to speak of the issuance of a bench warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court to take his plea, leaves him with only one honourable course of action: resignation in order to clear his name

BENIN—INSPECTOR- General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has directed Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. James Ezike, to investigate the alleged defilement of a 6-year-old girl (names withheld), by three students of School of Nursing, Benin-City.

Despite his inability to lead the senior women national team, the Super Falcons to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as not winning any medal at the just concluded All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo, acting head coach of the team, Christopher Danjuma insists he is the most qualified man to handle the team.

Lagos—New incidences of bird flu have been recorded in Lagos state, with an estimated 60,000 birds already affected, the News Agency of Nigeria reports amid mounting fears and panic.

EPILEPSY in Nigeria is one of the
neglected disorders and the misconception about the disorder has not helped sufferers. Even when the attack occurs only a few people know what to do and how the disease can be managed and treated.
Experts say proper diagnosis and right drugs as well as treatment will improve quality of life of patients. Epilepsy, also known as seizure disorder, is a general term that refers to a tendency to have recurrent seizures. A seizure is a temporary disturbance in brain function in which groups of nerve cells in the brain signal abnormally and excessively.
According to a Senior Consultant Neurologist, Institute of Neuro-sciences, Apollo Hospital, Delhi, India, Prof. Pushpendra Renjen, cases of epilepsy are growing in Nigeria due to absence of proper diagnosis and the belief that the disorder is more of a spiritual attack than a medical disorder. “If you pick up the right treatment epilepsy is controlled in 70 to 75 percent (3 in 4) of uncontrolled epileptic patients,” he said. Many epileptic patients in Nigeria today do not get treatment due to the myths and misconceptions surrounding the disorder.

Deep Brain Stimulation
Renjen said although there is no permanent cure for epilepsy, but with the right diagnosis and right drugs patients symptoms will improve their quality of life. Unfortunately, these drugs are not available in Nigeria and many people do not know where to get help for epilepsy.
Epilepsy affects the brain and causes problems with the wiring. It is not contagious; the saliva and the foaming from the mouth cannot transmit epilepsy. He said people with uncontrolled epilepsy can be treated with surgery.
“For instance, a Deep Brain Stimulation, DBS, can be used to treat patients. DBS is a surgery technique which involves implanting electrodes inside the deep nuclei of the brain called subthalamus under local anesthesia. With the progress of the disease the parameters of stimulation are changed over a period of time so that patients can remain symptom free for a long period.
Renjen who said Apollo hospital has carried out 100DBS said 20 out of the patients were from Nigeria. “Rechargeable pacemakers are now available that can be recharged at home. The life of these pace makers are 15-20 years. It cannot be cured but controlled in 75 percent of patients. If your diagnosis is right and the drug is right, 75 percent will go into long term remission and they will not have attack for the rest of their lives.

There appears to be fresh breath of hope for the June 20, 2017 deadline for Nigeria to complete the digital switchover and achieve analogue switch off. It would be recalled that Nigeria could not meet the June 17, 2015 deadline of transiting to digital terrestrial broadcasting set by the International Telecommunications Union as a result of poor funding.