‘UMEH NEED ROAD’ inaugurates five man project assessment committee in Isoko

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By: Our Reporter, Delta state

 

In its determination to attract more people oriented projects and developments to oil rich Isoko nation of Delta state, South-South Nigeria, ‘UMEH NEED ROAD’  a face book social network forum has constituted a five man project assessment committee.

 

The committee charged with among other obligations is to assess all ongoing state and federal government projects as well as abandoned ones in the land in a bid to making sure that all the projects are well executed according to standard and specifications.

In a press release signed by the secretary general of the forum, Mr. Zino Ugboma and made available to newsmen in Asaba stated that “Sequel to the motion moved by the founder and administrator of the forum, Barrister Duncan Afahokor and supported by all members a project assessment committee was set up.”

 

The statement gave the names of the inaugurated committee to include Mr Dennis Kola Obrogo who shall serve as the Chairman, Mr. Japhet Zino Uzih, Secretary, Mr. Mike Akpodhoma, Mr. Azilo Ogunye and Mr. Vigour Udanya are to serve as members.

 

“The committee is to assess the level of work of all ongoing projects within the two Isoko local government areas and this is based on the Delta state Governor’s commitment in the Forum” adding that the committee shall pay special attention to the following projects in the land which include the ongoing construction of Umeh Road, Isoko Modern school, Iyede-Olomoro Road, ongoing renovation of six schools, the Emore Road Oleh, Faculty of Engineering Complex, Oleh campus, Aviara-Uzere Road, NDC Road Ozoro and the Emede Craft Centre among others.
According to the release, the findings of the committee shall serve as a basis of a report to be compiled and forwarded to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on behalf of the Forum.
The statement, while wishing members of the committee success in their task, the Forum also used the opportunity to thank Barrister Paul Emerhana, Barrister Afor Irogbo, Barrister Solomon Afahokor, Barrister Duncan Afahokor and Mr Endurance Edafewotu for their financial commitments towards the actualisation of committee.

The release urged the chairman of the committee to liaise with the donors to access the funds and swing into action on the expiration of the period of national mourning.

UMEH NEED ROAD which has Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan as a member and over a thousand members is a forum specifically designed to promote infrastructural development in the neighbourhood.

 

It is a medium to enshrine peace in the society. It also promotes brotherly love, social interactions and togetherness. UMEH NEED ROAD which is fondly known as ‘UNR’ is not a political arena for verbal war, blackmail of constituted authority and to mislead the unintelligent populace.

 

What UNR stands to achieve is to allow for the expression of collective misfortune in a most constructive manner with a view to allowing (not coercing) the relevant authorities for assistance. Thus, the frustration of the neglected Umeh road, since ages, was thrown open to the world via UNR forum, and today, the progress of work speaks volume for itself.

FG withdraws DANA Airline’s Operating License

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As a result of last Sunday crash, the Federal Government on Tuesday afternoon withdrew the operating license of Dana Airlines as Senate directed grounding of all planes belonging to DANA Airline until investigations are completed into Sunday’s deadly crash which killed over 160 persons in Lagos. The Senate also ordered the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Harold Demuren, to step aside until the conclusion of investigation into the accident. The lawmakers made this assertion following a motion which was moved by Hope Uzondinma the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation.

 

“We are interested in the nature of the aircraft, the age of the aircraft. Is it supposed to fly in our airspace? We will be very strict on this as the blackbox does not lie. It will tell everything that happened,” a lawmaker said. Meanwhile about 150 bodies have been recovered from the rubbles of the crash.

 

 

Barack Obama ‘ordered Stuxnet cyber attack on Iran’

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President Barack Obama ordered the Stuxnet attack on Iran as part of a wave of   cyber sabotage and espionage against the would-be nuclear power, according   to a new book citing senior Washington sources

The computer virus, aimed at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was   designed to damage centrifuges by making covert adjustments to the machines   controlling them.

It formed part of a “wave” of digital attacks on Iran codenamed “Olympic   Games” and was created with the assistance of a secret Israeli   intelligence unit, The New York Times said in a   report based on a book chronicling secret wars under the Obama   administration

The report confirms the suspicions   of computer security experts who detected and forensically examined   Stuxnet in 2010. They reasoned that the technical expertise and human   intelligence sources needed to create and deliver what was described as the “world’s   first cyberweapon” pointed to a joint operation by American and Israeli   agencies.

Such third parties reportedly discovered Stuxnet as the result of a “programming   error” that meant it spread beyond the computer network at Natanz.   According to the account, President Obama asked his national security   advisers whether the attack should be halted at a White House Situation Room   meeting convened days after the virus “escaped”, but decided to   intensify it instead.

It’s estimated that Stuxnet crippled around 1,000 of 5,000 Natanz centrifuges   by spinning them at damagingly high speeds.

“This is the first attack of a major nature in which a cyberattack was used to   effect physical destruction,” said Michael Hayden a former director of the   CIA and NSA, who did not reveal his own knowledge of “Olympic Games”.

Commentators suggested that confirmation of American involvement in Stuxnet   had been released by others to neutralise any Republican election claims   that President Obama has been soft on Iran.

“Obama wanted to get credit for Stuxnet, as that makes him look tough   against Iran,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure,   one of the security firms that have investigated Stuxnet.

The first stage of the attack, a “beacon” designed to report back   details of systems at Natanz to the National Security Agency, America’s   electronic intelligence agency, was however mounted speculatively under the   Bush administration, according to unnamed officials.

Confirmation of American involvement in Stuxnet comes as computer security   experts begin to unpick an even more complicated virus, Flame, which was   detected last month and also appears to target Iran. It is written for   espionage rather than sabotage, but like Stuxnet is passed from computer to   computer by USB thumb drives, a design feature apparently meant to limit its   spread and so reduce its risk of detection.

Getting Stuxnet into Natanz therefore required a worker at the plant to carry   it in on a USB thumb drive.

“That was our holy grail,” one of the architects of the plan told   David E Sanger, the author of the new book, Confront and Conceal: Obama’s   Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power.

“It turns out there is always an idiot around who doesn’t think much   about the thumb drive in their hand.”

The same officials declined to say whether the United States was involved in   the Flame attack, which appears to have begun five years ago, although they   did say it was not part of the “Olympic Games” programme.

Air Nigeria Pilots begins Indefinite industrial action

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Just yesterday when 247ureports.com reported about the former Executive Director Finance of Air Nigeria  who issued a public petition on how decay the  Air Nigeria is,  another issue has come up with flight activities at Air Nigeria been shut down indefinitely following a face-off between the airline management and its pilots and engineers over lingering welfare crisis. As a result, all the airline’s domestic flights have been grounded since Monday.

The decision was taken by the two strong professional bodies under the aegis of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Air Nigeria branch, to commence an indefinite as a result of the inability of the management to meet the demands raised by the workers.

According to a notice issued by NAAPE, which was duly signed by its chairman, R.M Ahmed and Secretary-General J.U Iyieugbuniwe, dated May 31, 2012 and forwarded to the airline Chief Executive Officer.

The notice titled ‘Notice of Down Tool’, stated that following the failure of the Air Nigeria management to comply with the agreement reached at a meeting held by the two parties on March 31, 2012, in the presence of the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who represented the Minister of Aviation, they had no alternative but to down tool.

The notice stated that : “The Minister of Aviation was duly represented by the D.G, NCAA, and matters bordering on the welfare of NAAPE members were discussed and impending down tool was suspended pending the resolution of grievances. NAAPE is saddened to inform all parties that as of today May 31, 2012, the issues are yet to be resolved.

“Issues raised on March 31 are listed as follows: delayed salaries of both local and foreign staff; pension deduction not remitted for over seven (7) months; tax refund and tax clearance issues; co-operative deductions not yet remitted; staff travel unresolved and engineering tier system still pending.”

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, Former Bayelsa Governor Timpreye Sylva Appears

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Former Bayelsa Governor, Timpreye Sylva today turned himself to the EFCC and docked on Tuesday before a Federal High Court Chief Judge, Justice Adamu Bello of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. He was charged on a six count charge.

The former governor pleaded not guilty to the six count charge, while his lead counsel lawyer, Chief Lateef Fagbemi moved for his bail which was vehemently opposed by Mr. Festus Keyamo who represented the anti graft agency in the matter. The former governor was remanded in EFCC custody till Thursday, 7 June, to deliver ruling on the bail application.

No sooner had the court concluded with proceedings in the matter and was about to call up the next case on the list, operatives of the anti graft agency swooped into the court and pounced on Silva to effect his arrest. The court berated the operatives over their conduct and directed the EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo to call them to order. He subsequently ordered the operatives out of his court as he was yet to sign the order for the custody of the former governor which must be done before the anti graft agency can take him into custody.

Press Release From Office of the First Lady: Politicizing The Dana Crash Calamity

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Our attention has been drawn to the orchestrated plan to politicize the Sunday Dana Air crash in Lagos in which many people lost their lives, through rumours about the possible cause of the accident citing VIP movement involving the wife of the President.

We consider it callous, inhuman and devilish for anyone to have thought of wrapping such national calamity in political garb by insinuating that the plane crashed because the airspace was closed for the First Lady’s movement in Lagos.

For the avoidance of doubt, the First Lady arrived Lagos at about 2pm on Saturday, 2nd June, 2012 for a private engagement and was billed to leave for Abuja on Monday, 4th June, 2012.

In compliance with her itinerary, the First Lady arrived Lagos on Saturday. She was at a public event on Sunday when the accident occurred and promptly abandoned the ceremony as a mark of respect for the victims and retired to the State House, Marina. She left Lagos at exactly 13.15hrs on Monday, 4th June, 2012, according to schedule.

It is therefore surprising that some mischievous persons will see this moment of National mourning as an opportunity to blackmail and impugn the First Lady’s integrity.

This is the time for all Nigerians to be sober and pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and not a time to subordinate the interests of our nation to narrow self-serving interests.

Let us all put the interest of the Nation first in whatever we do.

Mrs. Jonathan had no intention to travel on Sunday and never did. Like all Nigerians, she has been mourning the dead.

 

Signed

Ayo Osinlu

Special Assistant to the President

Office of the First Lady

5th June, 2012

EFCC Docks Timipre Sylva Over N2bn Salary Scam

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Timipre Sylva

 

…………As Court Remands Him In EFCC Custody.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, June 5th , 2012 arraigned a former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva before Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on a six count charge of fraud, criminal conversion, and conspiracy to commit crime to the tune of over N2billion when he held sway as governor of the state.

Prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo had sought the leave of the court for the six count charges to be read to the accused person and his plea was granted. Sylva ,however, pleaded not guilty to all the count charges.

Lead defense counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, leading another senior advocate of Nigeria along with 12 other lawyers, then moved a bail application on behalf of Sylva. He told the court that the defense team had filed a bail application dated May 22nd , 2012, supported by a twelve- paragraph affidavit, a written address and a reply to the counter affidavit filed by prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo opposing the bail application.

Fagbemi informed the court that the offenses for which Sylva is standing trial are ordinarily bailable, and that the main purpose of bail is to ensure that an accused person faces trial . Citing authority of the Supreme Court in Saidu VS State (1982), the defense counsel urged the court to discharge its discretion for bail on lenient terms while taking judicial notice of the fact that the accused person came to court on his own volition to answer his charges.

In his response, prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo informed the court that he had filed a sixteen- paragraph counter- affidavit accompanied with a written address in opposition to the bail being sought for the accused person. Keyamo told the court to take judicial notice of the several applications filed by prosecution for substituted service of Sylva who evaded service and even ran out of the country and deny him bail. He further urged the court to note that an accused person who had shown a propensity to bolt away should not be trusted to be around during his trial , if granted bail.

Furthermore, Keyamo asked the court to also note that there was a judicial pronouncement in a sister matter before Justice Okorowa with the same charge “that there is a very strong prima-facie case against the accused” but only that at that time, he enjoyed immunity as a sitting governor. Keyamo then prayed that the court in the exercise of its discretion of bail, should note the weighty evidence against the accused person and deny him bail while remanding him in prison custody.

Justice Adamu Bello reserved ruling on the bail application of the accused person till Thursday, June 7th , 2012 and directed that the accused person be remanded in EFCC custody.

Some of the charges against Sylva are:

COUNT 1:

That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October, 2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) belonging to Bayelsa State Government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004 and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 2:

That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 22nd of January, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N380,000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 3:

That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

Wilson Uwujaren

Ag. Head, Media & Publicity

5th June, 2012.

Jonathan weeps at crash site, promises probe

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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday shed tears during his visit to the site where a Dana plane crashed on Sunday evening, killing everyone on board in Lagos.

The president promised a thorough investigation into the incidence that led to the crash

“We have been working very hard to improve aviation in this country,” Mr Jonathan said.

“This particular incident is a major setback for us … I will make sure that this will not repeat itself in the country.”

More than 153 people were killed when the domestic passenger plane travelling from Abuja, crashed into a heavily populated area, Iju Agege, Lagos around 3:45pm on Sunday.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that 70 bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far and that at least two people were killed on the ground while several others are receiving treatment for burns.

According to the Nigerian Red Cross, a search and recovery operation was still underway.

The operation was initially hampered by the presence of a large crowd at the site. Some onlookers climbed onto the wreckage of the McDonnell Douglas 83 plane and were dispersed by riot police who fired tear gas, the Nigerian Red Cross said.

Many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. Relatives of the victims flocked to an information centre set up by Dana Airlines, which has been operating in Nigeria for four years.

Government officials said earlier they did not expect to find any passengers alive. “We don’t believe there are survivors,” the Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Harold Demuren said.

Four flight attendants and a captain, co-pilot and flight engineer were among those killed when the plane came down. According to the airline’s Abuja manager, “the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineers (were) all foreigners.”

Local media reported that several high-ranking military and government officials and central bank bureaucrats were on board the plane for the journey of about 50 minutes.

Also among the passengers was a group of wedding guests, including children.

Six Chinese citizens were among the dead, Beijing’s embassy in Nigeria said. A German development worker is believed to have been on the flight.

The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola was reported to have taken in three children who were sent on an errand by their parents shortly before the crash, and on their return found their home engulfed in flames, the Vanguard reported.

At least two people listed on the aircraft’s manifest missed the flight.

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“(My brother) was delayed by heavy traffic around the airport,” Mark Pam said. “He was very sad when he missed the flight, but by the glory of God, he is alive today.”

The Military headquarters on Monday also confirmed that General Tahir Umar whose name was on the manifest could not travel on the flight and so he’s alive and well.

The Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Odua said the pilot had sent a distress signal minutes before the accident and that the plane had apparently suffered engine troubles.

Rescue workers battled the fires for hours despite water outages in the area. At some points they resorted to using buckets of water to quell the flames. Witnesses said the scenes around the crash site were chaotic.

Following the accident, President Jonathan declared three days mourning period for the country. Flags were to be flown at half-mast in Abuja and in Lagos on Monday and will continue so till Wednesday.

Nigeria has an abysmal record of air safety, with more than 40 fatal crashes in the last 50 years. However, there has been a marked improvement in the last seven years, after a Boeing 737 belonging to the now defunct Bellview Airlines crashed into a village, killing 117 people.

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Source: Channel TV

Canada withdraws from UN group over Mugabe tourism pick

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Canada has chosen to formally remove itself from The United Nation World Tourism Body (UNWTO) over the body’s latest choice of ambassadors. With a lineup of questionable ambassadors ranging from Drew Barrymore to David Beckham, it seems that the latest pick has pushed Canada over the edge.

The Guardian reported last week, that Robert Mugabe, 88, “he has been honored as a “leader for tourism” by the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, along with his political ally, Zambian president Michael Sata, 75. The pair signed an agreement with UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai at their shared border at Victoria Falls on Tuesday.”

Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe since 1987, is leader to a country with its economy in the tank, and millions starving. Over his 25 year presidential term, Mugabe has been accused of election rigging, controlling the media, terrorizing opposition, engineering hunger and ethnic cleansing.

Today, Mugabe is banned from traveling throughout the EU and the United States. This decision has left many wondering how a man, who can’t travel to some countries, can be the ambassador for tourism for all countries.

The Tourism Review reported “The Canadian foreign minister, John Baird said that the UN tourism office correspondence in which the body’s secretary general on Tuesday reportedly praised President Sata of Zambia and President Mugabe for their role in tourism at Victoria Falls was the ‘last straw’ in Canadian participation at the UN body.

Although the position holds no real power, many believe that the symbolism of giving Mugabe a role in the international organization raises questions about the UN’s credibility.

British MP Kate Hoey, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Zimbabwe, said: “For a man who has destroyed his country’s infrastructure and cynically engineered hunger to be an ‘ambassador’ for tourism is disgraceful – particularly as he has been personally responsible for the downward spiral of the economy and destroyed the hotel, travel and tourism industry in the process.”

U.S. unleashed Stuxnet worm on Iran: leak

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Exposing a dark underbelly of the U.S.’ two-track strategy to contain Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, a major leak to media outlets here revealed that President Barack Obama had, in parallel, authorised waves of crippling cyber-attacks aimed at destabilising the operation of Iran’s key nuclear centrifuges.

While the Obama administration has repeatedly assured the international community that it would press Iran with only a combination of economic sanctions and an open window for diplomatic negotiations, news that the White House had teamed up with Israeli experts to unleash the so-called “Stuxnet” programme on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility, for example, hinted at a more aggressive U.S. tack.

The leak hinted at the magnitude and impact of the U.S.-driven cyber-attacks suggesting that one specific series of attacks that occurred weeks after Stuxnet was detected around the world “temporarily took out nearly 1,000 of the 5,000 centrifuges Iran had spinning at the time.”

According to officials speaking to The New York Times, The Washington Post and others, the cyber-attacks authorised by Mr. Obama since his early days in office and codenamed “Olympic Games,” suffered their biggest exposure when Stuxnet became public in mid-2010 after a programming error resulted in it escaping Iranian systems and spreading around the world on the Internet.

News of the lethal worm’s escape into cyberspace led to a “tense meeting in the White House Situation Room within days” during which Mr. Obama was said to have asked Vice-President Joseph Biden and erstwhile Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta, “Should we shut this thing down?”

The risk to the wider Internet posed by Stuxnet may not have led to greater restraint by the White House, however. Only last week it was disclosed that Iranian computer systems had also been felled by a new super-virus named Flame, reportedly 20 to 40 times larger than Stuxnet.

While Stuxnet was designed for outright sabotage, Flame is described as an espionage virus, possibly intended to give its creators a detailed blueprint of Natanz’s industrial computer control designs. Similar to its drone programme, the U.S. has never admitted using cyber weapons against other nations, although it is said to have recently acknowledged developing them.

The alleged use of Stuxnet against Iran may, however, give pause to countries such as India, which have in recent months felt the heat of U.S. and Israeli pressure to cut down on Iranian oil imports and fall in line with bilateral sanctions. This pressure has been predicated on the presumed two-track approach which, in reality, would be a three-pronged approach if the cyber-attacks were confirmed as true.

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