Anambra Central: dismisses petition against Umeh

The Anambra Central Senatorial Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka has struck out a petition challenging the victory of Sen. Victor Umeh in the Jan. 13 Anambra senatorial rerun election.

The Tribunal made up of Justices H. A. Olusiyi, chairman; A. O. Ayoola, member 1 and A. U. Birnin Kudu, member 2 dismissed the five reliefs sought by the petitioner as lacking merit and his inability to proof his case.
The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were joined in the petition as second and third respondents.

PTAD recovers N16bn legacy pension funds, assets

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate has recovered N16bn of legacy pension funds and assets in the last one year.
The Executive Secretary, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, made the disclosure at the 2017 stakeholders’ forum of pensioners in Abuja on Friday.
The legacy fund includes the liabilities and assets of pension funds of erstwhile pension offices and treasury funded pensions of parastatal agencies, universities and colleges of education.
She said the legacy funds and assets recovered were mainly from NICON insurance and that efforts were on to recover additional assets and funds held by insurance underwriters.

Pensioners lay siege to Osun secretariat over unpaid entitlements

Members of the Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioner on Thursday continued with their protest over the alleged non-payment of their gratuities and pensions by the state government.
Hundreds of aged pensioners marched from the Ola Iya Junction to the State Civil Service Secretariat which is almost five kilometres away.

Some protesters with walking sticks were not deterred by the distance as they booed and jeered at the occupants of  campaign vehicles of the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the coming election in the state.

Why young actors struggle in Yoruba movie industry – Olushola Michaels

Emerging actor and producer, Olushola Michaels, has admitted that indigenous actors are not appreciated as much as their English-speaking colleagues in Nigeria.

Insisting he has all it takes to make an impact in the movie industry, the Ogun State indigene disclosed that the English-speaking actors get most of the big endorsement deals and accolades.

FG okays 10-year validity period for passports

The Federal Government has approved a 10-year validity period for Nigerian passports.
This followed a presidential approval to change the face of the e-passport 10 years after it was introduced in the country.
Currently, the passports have a five-year validity period.
The Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, who said this in a report monitored on Channels Tv on Thursday, added that the extended validity period would reduce the stress Nigerians went through every five years to renew their passports.

“One of the reforms he (President Buhari) has approved is that we would improve the quality, security of our passport booklets.

I’ve had to refund money for shows that clashed with my studies – Osupa

Ace fuji musician, Saheed Osupa, has given an update on his academic pursuit at the University of Ibadan.
The artiste shocked many of his fans about three years ago when he enrolled for Political Science at the premier university.
In an interview with our correspondent, Osupa revealed how his family took the decision, saying they thought he was joking.

He said, “They thought it was a joke. Even my first born who just finished studying at the University of Ilorin called me on my matriculation day, which, coincidentally, was also his convocation day. He jokingly said, “Remember the son of whom you are’, which was what I told him when he first gained admission.”
Osupa added that his priority was with his education as he had even cancelled some shows because they clashed with his classes.

Killers of Benue Catholic priest sentenced to death

The two surviving kidnappers of a Catholic priest, Fr. John Adeyi, have been sentenced to death by hanging by a Makurdi High Court.

Adeyi, the Vicar-General of Catholic Diocese of Otukpo and Parish Priest of Catholic Church, Okpoga, was kidnapped by gunmen in 2016.
The cleric was later killed and his body dumped in a farm near Otukpo.

However, four kidnappers were arrested by the Intelligence Response Team led by ACP Abba Kyari few months after, but two of them later died in custody in unexplained circumstances.

In a verdict on Wednesday, the court found the two surviving suspects guilty and handed them the death sentence.

Reacting to the development, Kyari in a Facebook post noted that justice had been served.

“Glory be to God Almighty, the kidnappers and killers of Rev. Fr. John Adeyi of Otukpo Diocese Benue State, whom we arrested in 2016 after a serious manhunt in Bauchi, Benue and Enugu states have been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by the High Court in Makurdi, Benue State. Justice has been delivered to the kidnappers and killers of the innocent man.

“My unit, IRT has recorded her first death conviction since inception in 2015,” he posted.

The family of the late cleric applauded the judgment in a statement, but noted that the development reminded them of the sad loss of their son. It is gratifying, however, to know that the culprits did not go unpunished. May the soul of Fr Adeyi continue to rest in perfect peace with his creator,” the family stated.

700 separated children still in US custody after deadline

The US government said Thursday that hundreds of families it broke up at the border with Mexico have not been reunited as a court-ordered deadline to return all children to their parents elapsed.

A federal judge in California had ordered that all eligible migrant families be brought back together by 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) and officials said in a court filing that 1,442 children aged five and older had been reunited with their families.

 

“The reunification plan outlined to the court… is proceeding, and is expected to result in the reunification of all class members found eligible for reunification at this time by the court’s July 26, 2018 deadline,” the government said.

Suspend recess, approve 2019 polls budget, Presidency begs National Assembly

The Presidency has urged the National Assembly to suspend the ongoing recess and attend to requests by President Muhammadu Buhari pending before the legislature.
The National Assembly was billed to proceed on holiday on Thursday but the lawmakers went on recess on Tuesday in protest against the alleged clampdown on President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
One of such requests is the one asking the lawmakers to vire funds in the 2018 Appropriation Act to fund the supplementary budgets of the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

Burnley keeper, Nick Pope, suffers shoulder injury

Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope faces an anxious wait to learn how long he might be on the sidelines after suffering what manager Sean Dyche fears is a “serious” shoulder injury in the Europa League match with Aberdeen.

The 26-year-old — part of England’s World Cup squad and who made his international debut against Costa Rica earlier this year —  had to go off after a collision with Aberdeen striker Sam Cosgrove.

“Nick has gone to hospital and it certainly looks more serious than not serious at this stage,” said Dyche.