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He said that several unethical practices had been perpetrated by some people masquerading as journalists on social media in the name of journalism. Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) lacks the enabling legislation to prosecute fake journalists in the country Mr Abdulwaheed Odusile, the union’s President, has said.Odusile made this known in Lokoja on Thursday while speaking at the Kogi NUJ 2018 Press Week with the theme; “The Media and News Reporting in an Election Year”.He said that several unethical practices had been perpetrated by some people masquerading as journalists on social media in the name of journalism.He commended the state chairman of the NUJ for carefully choosing the topic as the election year in which journalists have a big role to play, was fast approaching.“Posting on social media does not make you a journalist. As professional journalists, we must process information before releasing it to the public for consumption.“On our part as leadership, we have approached the National Assembly for a law to be enacted on that. National Press Council Act that is being amended will also take care of many of these anomalies,” Odusile said.He urged the council to ensure that each chapel has a copy of the revised Code of Ethics for Journalism in Election Coverage, stressing that every member should read the document.“The bottom line is that as journalists, we must strictly adhere to the ethics of our profession.”In his remarks, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, who was represented by the state House of Assembly Speaker, Rt Hon. Matthew Kolawole, urged journalists to ensure proper investigation in whatever they report.‘Let us join hand together and build a better Kogi because we have no place to run to.”The governor gave the approval for the release of the bus he had promised in 2016 and the renovation of the building in the premises of the state NUJ.Earlier, the state NUJ Chairman, Mr Adeiza Jimoh, said: “in spite of its imperfection, Nigeria’s Democratic Governance is in its 19 unbroken years and the role of media cannot be overemphasized.”Jimoh commended the governor for enhancing the work of journalists in the state, while appealing to him to fulfill the promises he made in 2016, to donate a bus to the council and the reconstruction of the NUJ colonial building.NAN reports that Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the Guest Speakers at the occasion.

Assistant Commmisoner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle, head of the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) poses during an interview on the public’s demand for the recall of the Special Anti Robbery Squid (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja, Nigeria December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
A forty-year-old married woman Monsurat Idowu has been confirmed dead after marathon sex with a twenty-eight-year-old lover in Ogun state.
Husband of the forty-year-old woman said she was at home hale and hearty when he left for work on 15th August this year.
It was, however, discovered that she died after marathon sex with one Kelvin Micheal.
The police said it has started a homicide investigation to determine the cause of her death.
“Police in Ogun State have launched a homicide investigation following the death of 40yr-woman, Monsurat Idowu shortly after “marathon sex” with 28yr-man, Kelvin Micheal in Sango-Ota on 15.08.2018,” police spokesperson Abayomi Shogunle tweeted.
“Husband of deceased said his wife was hale and hearty as he left her at home for work,” Shogunle said.

The monarch in a letter dated Aug. 9, conveyed the decision of the Daura Emirate Council to honour Kalu, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Dr Orji Kalu, former governor of Abia, is to be conferred with the traditional title of Dan Baiwan (gifted child), by the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar.The monarch in a letter dated Aug. 9, conveyed the decision of the Daura Emirate Council to honour Kalu, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC).A statement endorsed by Mr Kunle Oyewumi, Kalu’s Special Adviser, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Friday in Abuja stated that the event would take place during the Eid-el Kabir  periodKalu in his acceptance letter dated Aug. 16, said that the honour would encourage him to sustain his good works.The former governor stressed that the emir has demonstrated his passion and commitment to a united and indivisible Nigeria.He said: “I received with so much excitement, a letter of conferment of traditional title of Dan Baiwan Hausa on me by the Daura Emirate Council headed by Emir of Daura, Alhaji (Dr) Umar Farouk Umar.“The honour is timely and encouraging.“I am a detribalised Nigerian. This is a good compensation for continually spreading the message of peace and unity across the nation.“We must continue to build friendship and relationships beyond our communities.“I was born in Aba, I had my university education in Maiduguri, and Lagos is my business base. I have workers from different ethnic groups and religions. Nigerians should see themselves as one.” I am appreciative of the recognition of my contributions to nation building and I pledge my continued loyalty to Daura Emirate Council, Katsina State and Nigeria at large.

The party urged Nigerians to be vigilant and prevent Saraki from using the legislative arm for his own personal interests. The All Progressives’ Congress (APC) has once again condemned Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for his refusal to heed the ruling party’s calls to reconvene the National Assembly to consider the budget for the 2019 general elections.The national assembly adjourned legislative sittings till September 25 during plenary on July 24, amid a controversial clampdown by security operatives on Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in what has been described as a witch-hunt orchestrated by the executive.The alleged witch-hunt raised even more concerns when operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) invaded the national assembly complex on Tuesday, August 7, 2018.The APC has been putting public pressure on Saraki to reconvene the National Assembly, describing his actions of ‘shutting down’ parliament as bordering on high treason.In a statement signed by the party’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, on Friday, August 17, the APC once again demanded that the National Assembly should be reconvened to consider the budget sent by President Muhammadu Buhari last month.The party accused Saraki of using the legislative arm to serve his own personal interests as well as the ‘sinister ends’ of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).The statement read, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempt to hide under the yet-to-be assented Electoral Act Amendment bill is an attempt to draw attention away from the treasonable actions of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki who has refused to convene the National Assembly to consider at plenary the crucial 2019 Election Budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”The Electoral Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly is alive and awaiting assent. However, assent to Bills in all democratic governments reflects the prudence and discretion of the president in balancing the powers of key constitutional bodies and understanding the concerns of the executive. “While we strongly condemn the abuse of office by the Senate President backed by his PDP cohorts in sabotaging the executive, specifically INEC, all well-meaning Nigerians have a duty to speak up and ensure that the National Assembly performs its constitutional role and not serve an individual’s personal interest and sinister ends of the opposition PDP.”We call on all Nigerians, civil society and indeed the international community to resist the ongoing travesty and legislative rascality being perpetuated by the Senate President and the PDP. The sanctity of our electoral system is being threatened by this orchestrated sabotage and deliberate attempt to weaken INEC as we prepare for General Elections in 2019.”The National Assembly must be convened immediately.”Meanwhile, the PDP has realised that the 2019 elections has been won and lost. If the election is held today, it is clear that the APC will win by a landslide, judging by visible and landmark achievements recorded by the President Buhari administration. “This is an apparent fact that gives the PDP sleepless nights, hence its daily lies and propaganda in its desperate, failed and early campaign to attract non- existent votes.”Why National Assembly won’t reconvene soon – Saraki, DogaraIn a statement jointly issued by Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday, August 14, they noted that recalling members of the National Assembly at the moment would be ‘irresponsible’ as joint Senate and House Committees don’t yet have reports on the budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the 2019 general elections.The APC has relentlessly called for Saraki’s impeachment since he dumped the party for the PDP last month and both sides have made several public allegations of evil plots by the other party.This was reiterated in Tuesday’s statement when the party called on him to resign from his position as leader of the “APC majority Senate” or be dishonourably impeached.

Three-storey building collapses, killing one in Jabi, Abuja One person has been reportedly killed at the collapse of a three-story building in the Jabi area of Abuja.The building, a shopping complex, reportedly collapsed at about 1:30pm on Friday, August 17, 2018.Twelve other persons were said to have been trapped while the site engineer reportedly had his leg broken, according to TheCable.At the time of filing this report, rescue operations were ongoing. ALSO READ: Building collapse claims 3, 7 others injuredOfficials of Federal Capital Territory Fire Service and National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) are currently at the scene.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) (right); Federal Controller, Works, Lagos, Adedamola Kuti and General Manager, Arab Contractors Nigeria Limited, Wael Salem, during the kick-off of rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Sagamu Road in Lagos… yesterday.
Nigeria’s minister for power, works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, on Friday said electricity distribution companies are responsible for poor power supply in the country.
The minister who spoke during an interactive session with members of the public held in Lagos said power generation in the country has increased from 4000 mega watts to 7000 mega watts.
Fashola, a former Lagos state governor explained that government on its part has done all required in ensuring regular power supply across the country.
“Power generation has moved from 4,000mw to 7,000mw. The responsibility of now bringing power to your homes lies now with the Distribution Companies,” Fashola said.
“Let us be clear, all the powers that Government had, as far as the Power value chain, were already decided upon. The privatization was already completed and the only control Government had was as a transporter, in Transmission,”
On other plans of increasing the megawatts, Fashola said power plants across the country are being engineered to increase power generation.
“Azura will give us 459mw, while Kaduna is bringing 215mw, 2 turbines are already being tested. There’s 240mw in Afam and ready to go. If we add these 3, that’s roughly 1,000mw new power generation to the grid,” Fashola said.

 
The Owerri Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned what it described as poor academic conditions at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State.
The union highlighted the lack of infrastructure, poor funding and inadequate provision of welfare for staff and students.
Led by the Zonal Coordinator, ASUU Owerri zone, Comrade Uzo Onyebinama, the union, therefore, called on the Oyo and Osun state governments, the joint owners of the institution, to immediately fund the university and address all welfare issues concerning the staff and students.
According to them, they chose not to remain silent on the issues, noting that “an injury to one, is an injury to all”.
The post ASUU Owerri Decries Poor Academic Conditions Of LAUTECH appeared first on Channels Television.

Speaking yesterday in Yola during the commissioning of 12 waterproof tent-classrooms in the Education Must Continue (EMC) IDP school located in Sangere, Gerei local government, the executive Director of VSF, Sunday Ochoche, said that his organization has spent over N1.5billion Naira to enable victims of insurgency return to school. / AFP PHOTO / FLORIAN PLAUCHEUR
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Friday it was providing emergency help after 33 children died in a camp housing people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria.
MSF said that the children died between August 2-15 in Bama, once the second-largest town in the ravaged state of Borno but now a humanitarian hub.
“They are dying due to malnutrition,” said Lisa Veran, MSF spokesperson in Paris.
Children are arriving to the camp in “critical condition” and their health is worsening in the absence of proper medical care, MSF said in a press statement.
Thousands of people are being sent back to Bama by the Nigerian government, which claims that Boko Haram Islamists are no longer a potent threat.
Since April, more than 10,000 people have returned, putting pressure on a facility that hit maximum capacity of 25,000 at the end of July, MSF said.
The “assistance provided is not keeping up with the number of IDPs (internally displaced people),” it warned.
In June, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking re-election next year, said that Nigeria’s remote northeast is in a “post-conflict stabilisation phase”.
But a recent surge in attacks has highlighted the deteriorating security situation there. Soldiers have started protesting following a series of bloody Boko Haram attacks on military bases in recent months.

Paramedics and volunteers evacuate the body of a suicide bomber on June 21, 2018 in Maiduguri.Fifteen people were injured when two female suicide bombers targeted the edge of a military barracks in northeast Nigeria, police said on June 21, 2018. Soldiers shot dead one woman as she tried to get into the informal market at the base of 333 Artillery Nigerian Army in Maiduguri on June 20 evening. / AFP PHOTO / AUDU MARTE
The United Nation (UN), Friday, demands the immediate release of three aid workers abducted while providing humanitarian support at Rann, Kalabalge Local Government Area of Borno.
Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, made the call during a courtesy call on Gov. Kashim Shettima in Maiduguri.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Rann, a village of about 150km West of Maiduguri, camping Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), came under attack in March this year by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
The insurgents reportedly killed some security personnel and abducted some aid workers.
Kallon, who made the condemnation to mark the World Humanitarian Day, said the aid workers were abducted while providing medical outreach to persons displaced by Boko Haram.
“A member of NEMA was killed in Damasak last week. These fatalities are a stark reminder of this dangerous reality for all humanitarians,’’ the UN envoy said.
Kallon urged parties to the conflict to enable the work of humanitarian workers to facilitate their access to people in need, in line with the international humanitarian law.

Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, has been granted bail and released from Police detention. Four days after his arrest, Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, had been released from Police detention.Ogundipe was released on Friday, August 17, 2018, after he was granted bail by magistrate Abdulwahab Mohammed of the Kubwa Grade 1 Magistrate Court in Kubwa, Abuja.The judge had first heard the case on Wednesday after Ogundipe was secretly arraigned without being allowed legal representation. On that day, Mohammed granted a request by the police that the journalist be detained for five days until August 20, 2018.However on Friday morning, it was learnt that Ogundipe was to be taken to the same court. The company’s lawyer was thus present at the court.At the court, the lawyer argued for the bail of Ogundipe, a request that was not opposed by the police counsel.Mohammed granted the bail in the sum of N500,000 and a surety who must be resident withing the court’s jurisdiction.The bail conditions were met and Ogundipe was released.’Ogundipe stole classified documents’The Police in a statement by its spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, had accused Ogundipe of being in possession of classified documents.Moshood alleged that Ogundipe’s action was capable of causing a breach of national security and a breakdown of law and order.But, Premium Times through its lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, said Moshood’s statement was “misleading and prejudicial.

The military training exercise will return to the region after its controversial run last year. The Nigerian Army has announced that Operation Python Dance will return to the South-East region for its third run.This was disclosed by the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 82 Division Nigeria Army, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Kabuk, during a familiarisation visit to the 302 Artillery Regiment, (General Support) Onitsha, Anambra State.Maj. Gen. Kabuk said the annual training programme, tagged “Operation Python Dance III” (also known as Exercise Egwu Eke III), will return to South East States formations and units under 82 Division of the Nigerian Army.He said, “Exercise Egwu Eke III, is a training exercise for troops of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and during the training, if there are criminal activities like armed robbery, kidnapping and other criminal activities that distort peace and tranquility of the citizenry along the line, the Army will not close its eyes and watch those criminals activities to thrive.”Maj. Gen. Kabuk clarified that the exercise is merely a training programme for troops and not a sinister programme to target anyone.He said, “The Army trains on daily basis and at times, as a group annually, so Exercise Egwu Eke, from the beginning was Python Dance I. We changed it to Egwu Eke  to align with the environment which is the South East, still referring to it as Python Dance II and so, we are now saying that Exercise Egwueke III is going to hold. It is still going to be a training exercise. “Whenever Exercise Egwueke is mentioned, people always think the Army has come to do some dangerous things in the South East. It is a wrong impression, it is a training exercise, but I must tell you that the people that get afraid are criminal elements who are looking for cover in their crimes.”We want to let Nigerians know that if we are training, we are training to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria. So, the pro Biafra activists and killer herdsmen are also Nigerians who are misguided. “We should not allow misguided elements to disturb our peace. What we want is for law abiding citizens to live in peace. If you are not law abiding, the law will take its course.That is all we are saying.”He concluded that the only people afraid of the exercise are criminal elements who don’t want to face the consequences of their criminal actions.ALSO READ: Nnamdi Kanu’s mysterious disappearance poses troubling questionsOperation Python Dance II was controversialThe exercise attracted a lot of controversy last year as many regarded it as a military campaign targeted against separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.Soon after the commencement of the exercise in 2017, soldiers publicly clashed with IPOB members with the group alleging that dozens of its members were killed in a crackdown that lasted over a week and ended in the disappearance of Kanu and his parents.The group was also designated as a terrorist organisation and had its activities proscibed soon after by the federal government.

Former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says Goodluck Jonathan’s inability to effectively tackle corruption, left her very frustrated. President Goodluck Jonathan’s body language and mixed signals when it came to tackling corruption, left his Finance Minister drained and frustrated, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has shared in her new book: ‘Fighting corruption is dangerous; the story behind the headlines’.Okonjo-Iweala served as Jonathan’s finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy from 2011 to 2015.She writes that even though there was sufficient evidence of corruption in government circles and operations under Jonathan, not much was done by the president to bring perpetrators to book.“I spent my time confronting corruption in my work and in all its faces in government. But at times, I felt that the pace at which I wanted to act was slowed by those who presented alternative narratives to the president”, Okonjo-Iweala writes.“Both the implementation of the forensic audit in the oil sector and the sharing of the report were delayed and thereby muted the positive impact of the audit.“I also felt a great deal of frustration that few high level perpetrators were convicted or jailed for any acts of corruption during the Goodluck Jonathan administration”, she adds.’Weak president’Okonjo-Iweala cites instances when it became clear that fighting corruption was never going to be one of Jonathan’s strongest suits.“While pension fraud perpetrators were convicted and some were jailed, fraudulent oil marketers were not. Some were picked up by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) but were later released.”The masterminds behind my mother’s kidnapping have never been identified, much less investigated, even though it was clear from the sequence of events that it was not planned by low-level kidnappers.”Okonjo-Iweala says Jonathan allowed himself to be called a weak president. “But some critics saw the president as weak. This led to a feeling of impunity on the part of vested interests who felt they could get away with corrupt acts.”Okonjo-Iweala says there were moments she felt like tendering her resignation because of the corruption in government and the brick wall presented by vested interests. “There were moments when I wanted to throw in the towel”, she writes. She adds that for a nation to win the war against corruption, “support from the top—in this case, the president–is vital…it is a necessary, not a sufficient, condition to fight corruption. You still need the coalitions and the teams. In countries with weak institutions, if the president is against action, then little or nothing can be done within the framework of government because even the production and analysis of objective evidence can be blocked”.According to the former finance minister, Jonathan’s reputation for condoning corruption blotted whatever good his administration achieved elsewhere.ALSO READ: Okonjo-Iweala: ‘How Gov Aregbesola assaulted me’“There were instances where we were slowed down (such as the forensic audit of the “missing $20billion”), but we were never stopped. President Goodluck Jonathan supported the anti-corruption work and in some instances brought questionable situations to my attention for action.“Yet the president and the administration earned a reputation for corruption because corrupt people were not brought to account and communication was poor about positive anticorruption actions.“The president’s approach to governance was low key, and the government’s stance against corruption delivered mixed messages in the sense that in some areas the fight was being waged successfully, while in others, unprincipled politicians and government officials continued with corrupt practices and few people were apprehended or jailed”. Jonathan lost the 2015 election thanks in large part to a reputation that bordered on being weak on corruption, and not wielding the big stick on persons who had been caught dipping their hands in the nation’s cookie jar. The succeeding Buhari administration has been prosecuting past government officials accused of corruption, even though the fight has been tagged a witch-hunt in certain quarters.

Samuel Ogundipe PHOTO: PREMIUM TIMES
Premium Times reporter, Samuel Ogundipe arrested by Nigerian Police force on Tuesday has been released.
Ogundipe was freed on Friday after he was granted bail by magistrate Abdulwahab Mohammed of the Kubwa Grade 1 Magistrate Court in Kubwa, Abuja.
Premium Times said Ogundipe was held for publishing a report sent to acting president Yemi Osinbajo by the inspector general of police, Ibrahim Idris, on events that took place at the National Assembly on August 7.
Masked armed operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) blocked access to the Senate and House of Representatives, preventing lawmakers from entering workers, journalists and other visitors from entering.
No official reason was given for the siege but independent sources speculate it was heavy-handed political manoeuvering ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next February.
The Nigerian Union of Journalists, local and international rights bodies have called for Ogundipe’s immediate release.
Journalists are frequently threatened in Nigeria, a country that was under military rule for decades before becoming a democracy almost 20 years ago.
Jones Abiri, another Nigerian journalist, was detained for two years without trial over allegations he was linked to militants in the oil-rich Niger delta.
After a public outcry he was finally arraigned in an Abuja court this week.
Abiri, the publisher of Weekly Source magazine, is due to appear in an Abuja court on Friday for a hearing.