Chairman of South-East Governors's Forum and Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi has announced his retirement from active politics.
The Governor, who disclosed this on Sunday, said he would quit active politics at the end of his current tenure in March 2014.
He spoke at the thanksgiving service and award ceremony to mark the end of the 2nd Session of the 15th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Enugu at the St. Bartholomew's Church, Asata, Enugu.
"A very prominent person called me today and asked me, what is your plan concerning politics after your current tenure, I'm telling you now what I told him.
"For me, I have come to the end of it; I want to quit and rest. However, I have been praying to God that for the sake of the good people of Anambra State, please give them somebody like Peter Obi.
"The level of greed in Nigeria is overwhelming, where people can't see the suffering of other people, they are just accumulating wealth, for me, it is time to go.
"I wonder why one person should own a house in Ikoyi, Asokoro, Dubai and he is not using them for anything, people accumulate what they don't need, it is madness, the level of greed in Nigeria is intolerable.
"I want all of us to be praying for Nigeria, so that God will touch the heart of our leaders to use public money for the people. In Anambra State we have never borrowed money despite all the works we are doing".
The Governor, who was quite emotional lamented the level of financial waste in government, stressing "the cost of running a governor's office in Nigeria is too much.
"When I came in as Governor, I discovered that the state had 70 workers in Abuja office, apart from their salary we spend close to 15 million maintaining that office. They have nothing doing there than to come to the airport and welcome me, constituting nuisance, so we re-deployed the workers and closed down the place. Till date, we have not missed them, which means they were really doing nothing there".
"I urge all of us to pray for greedy people in this country; they are accumulating what they don't need, stop accumulating things for your children", he charged politicians, stressing that he had never bought a car for any of his children.
"I have told them to buy cars when they make their money, I have also never celebrated birthday for them. They can do that when they leave my house. We should stop wasting public fund".
Earlier in a homily, the Anglican Bishop of Ijebu South West, Rt. Rev. Dr. Babatunde Ogunbanwo charged Christians to have a right view of Jesus Christ in order to overcome the challenges of life.
Speaking on the theme "overcoming the challenges of the time", at the service presided over by the Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of the Enugu Diocese, Ogunbanwo observed that the society was no longer conscious of good virtues, stressing that lesbianism, homosexuality, nudity, terrorism, suicide bombing, and greed had all become part of life.
"Therefore, you must make deliberate effort to remain focused as a Christian, you must have a right view of the world and your position", he advised.
Highlight of the event was presentation of award to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Prince Engr. Arthur Eze and Unoma Ekaete Akpabio, wife of Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio.
Those guys really committed unforgivable offences.
Read below:
Edo State has offered insights into why Governor Adams Oshiomhole signed the warrants of four criminals on death row.
The warrants, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Edo State, Barrister Henry Idahagbon, stated were signed because death sentence has not been expunged from the nation's criminal code acts.
He spoke yesterday when civil society organisations and students' leaders led by the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Reverend David Ugolor, protested the killing of criminals on death row in the state.
The commissioner called on civil society organisations to take their advocacy campaigns against the killing of convicts on death row to the National Assembly.
It said the groups should lobby the national legislators for death sentence to be expunged from the nation's criminal code acts.
Idahagbon explained that any state governor is under a legal duty to sign execution warrants, stating that governors who fail to sign can be sued.
According to him: "As we speak today in Edo State, there are three offences that carry death penalty.
"The first is murder under section 319, the second is armed robbery and the third is treasonable felony.
"When a person is charged with armed robbery or any of these three offences, the judge has no discretion. He must impose the sentence of death because that is the law!"
He said the execution warrants were signed on the four convicts after they exhausted all their rights known to law up to the Supreme Court.
Expatiating on their crimes, he said:
"Daniel Nsofor entered a motor from Ekpan to Ehor and with two others and a lady called Maria Imariagbe.
"At about 07:15, they disembarked from the vehicle at Ehor and then they got this Maria Imariagbe, they strangulated her, killed her and collected her money.
"ChimaIjiofor was a spare parts dealer in Benin here. He has a relationship with a woman that led to the birth of a baby.
"The baby was two and half months old. He came to visit the baby and the mother at their house.
"He gave money to the mother to go and buy Coca Cola and before she came back, he poured acid into the mouth of the baby and the baby died.
"What was his excuse? He said that as a first child from his state of origin, he is not expected to have a child out of wedlock."
He continued:
"Osarenmwinda Aigbokhian went into the bush and he said he saw a big deer.
"He said he shot at the deer and the deer died. He went there and he started butchering the deer.
"While butchering the deer, the deer turned to a human being. He didn't stop. He cut the human being into small parts and buried them in several parts of the bush.
"When autopsy was done, there was no mark of any bullet. So, there was no shooting. The person was killed with a very sharp object.
"The one remaining, Richard Igagu, was not executed because the sentence of the court is that he should die by firing squad. He went with his gang to a house to rob.
"After robbing the man of his possessions, they raped the wife. And after raping the wife, they took a bottle and inserted the bottle into the private part of the wife until she bled to death."
The implication of this is that the moment a transaction is concluded and money is transferred, it will be captured in the system.
Also, once an account is opened, it will alert the system and it will be appropriately taxed.
Acting Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mashi, disclosed this at the Public Presentation and Review of Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) White Papers Volume 2, in Abuja on Friday.
Mashi, who spoke through the Co-ordinating Director for Modernisation, Mallam Abdullahi Attah, also revealed that by September, the oil and gas industry would be fully automated, adding that registration of all tax-paying adults has almost been concluded.
He, however, sought the support of the National Assembly to make it effective.
According to him, this is part of the reforms in the sector, which were initiated by the immediate past Chairman of the service, Mrs Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru, while observing that the new system would not be devoid of some initial challenges.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, condemned the withdrawal of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), adding that what was returned was clearly different from what the legislators had spent time to debate.
"Nobody is denying the oil-producing communities their benefits. But what kind of benefits?" he asked.
The senator, however, said the Senate has covered some ground in the new bill and will soon pass it.
He warned that the reform process should not be abused and the implementers of the reform should do a thorough job.
The Chief Executive Officer of NLI, Mr Yinka Oyinlola, said Nigeria should refocus on other sources of income such as tax from oil resource because in another 10 years, about 10 to 15 African countries will begin to produce oil, which will lower the demand for Nigeria's oil.
He explained that in about 2045, Nigeria's population is projected to be over 400 million, adding that taxation will be the only alternative resource.
"The time to act is today because what we do today determines our preparation for the future," he said.
Source: Daily Independent
The mid-morning incident, which shattered the peaceful atmosphere, brought activities at the A & E ward and adjoining departments and units to a standstill for several minutes, after an enraged mob stormed the premises, unleashed mayhem on the hospital staff and innocent bystanders, and blocked the entrance into the ward with a wooden a coffin.
Findings revealed that the incident, which was precipitated by a minor disagreement between some hospital staff and relatives of a patient earlier admitted into the ward, quickly snowballed into a heated argument that became a shouting match which almost degenerated into a full scale assault, but for the timely intervention of the Police.
Eyewitnesses said the disagreement started around 9.30 am, shortly after relatives of the unidentified male patient, who allegedly died not too long after being admitted into the A & E Ward, stormed the hospital premises to demand a death certificate and release of the deceased's body.
The mob, which was disorderly and aggressive, attempted to forcefully gain entrance into the accident ward. It threatened to unleash fire and brimstone if it's demand was not granted. In no time, the ever busy ward was quickly shut down and services put on hold while hospital staff went into hiding.
A hospital source disclosed that the deceased, a 35-year-old unidentified man, had been rushed to the LUTH from the National Stadium, about 10 minutes drive away in Surulere, where he collapsed following a bike ride from Orile.
Although the mission of the deceased at the National Stadium could not be immediately ascertained, it was however, gathered that the man was later rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state, but could not be revived till he died early Sunday morning.
"As soon as the man was confirmed dead, the relatives requested to retrieve his body, but they were informed about the requirements by the hospital to carry out postmortem on patients who die within 24 hours of admission," the source noted.
Investigations revealed that the relatives did not take kindly to all explanations by hospital staff about the mandatory post- mortem. They flatly refused to give consent to the post- mortem, but kept up the demand for issuance of a death certificate.
There was heavy Police presence when Crime Guard arrived the hospital premises later on in the day. Although calm had been restored, fierce-looking men of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad, RRS, were observed at the main gate controlling movement in and around the premises. Detachments of policemen from Area F and the command headquarters, Ikeja, were also seen at strategic positions within the premises.
Confirming the incident, LUTH's Spokesperson, Mrs. Hope Nwawolo, said repeated attempts to explain the requirements of a Coroner case to many deceased's' relatives were often rebuffed. "When a patient dies unexpectedly within 24 hours of being admitted into the hospital, the rule is that it must be a Coroner case.
A mandatory post- mortem must be performed to determine the cause of death that is to be written on the death certificate." Nwawolo noted that it had become commonplace for relatives of deceased patients to be apathetic to giving consent to postmortems in the rush to claim bodies of their loved ones for burial, even when the deceased obviously died of unknown causes.
"When relatives opt for postmortem, consent is required, it is mandatory under the Coroner Law as an investigation, an inquiry to determine certain facts about the identity of the deceased and the events leading to death.
When relatives decline, the hospital gives the option of collecting the bodies but would not issue a death certificate. Such relatives would however have to sign our book that they opted to collect the body without the official death certificate against hospital advice to carry out a post -mortem.
"In this case, the people suddenly stormed the hospital, disrupted normal services, harassed medical staff and demanded that the body of their dead relative must be released at all cost. They even brought a coffin with which they blocked the entrance into the Accident & Emergency Ward.
They would not consent to the post -mortem, yet wanted to be issued the death certificate even after they had been well informed of its importance. When matters were getting out of hand, we had no option than to call in the Police in order to maintain the peace and also protect lives and properties. The Police responded promptly. They have always come to our aid whenever we call on them," Nwawolo remarked
Crime Guard gathered that eventually, it took the intervention of the Police, and more composed members of the deceased's family to convince the others to accede to the requirement of the postmortem. The consent was given, the postmortem was carried out, the death certificate was issued and the body was released.
The controversial Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh, risks a minimum of 15 years in jail for encouraging the consumption of hemp.
Dikeh had on Friday posted photographs of a wrap of hemp and grains of the weed formed into the letters, 'Happy birthday POKO.'
She also posted a photograph of herself and added the inscription, 'Mi smoke ganja mi smoke weed while my hatez smoke ma gossip.'
Her picture is a close-up of her face that seemed to depict her in a high state.
When the NDLEA was contacted for comments, its spokesman, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the matter would be investigated.
He said the matter had been referred to the appropriate department of the agency.
Ofoyeju said, "Our attention has been drawn to the post quite frankly and I can tell you that action will be taken on it. The law is clear and NDLEA has been very clear on the issue. No one is permitted to sell, use, cultivate or encourage the use of Indian hemp in Nigeria. The weed is one of the banned narcotics in the country.
"NDLEA Act Section 14 (b) states that any person who conspires with, aids, abets, counsels, attempts to commit or is an accessory to any act or offence referred to in this act shall be guilty of an offence under this act and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not less than 15 years and not exceeding 25 years.
"Investigation has not started as of now but definitely, a step has to be taken on the matter. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse; so, it is obvious that the actress stands the risk of 15 years jail term. The appropriate department is meeting on the issue for necessary action."
The NDLEA spokesman, however, declined to give any hint on particular steps the agency would take in its investigation, citing reasons bearing on ethics.
Dikeh's post has expectedly drawn mixed reactions from readers, with many of them voicing concern for the way she is living her life.
Few weeks back, she fell on a stage during the album presentation of Nyanya's album in London in what very reliable sources said was an excess use of Marijuana.
IVF is a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body. The process involves monitoring a woman's ovulatory process, removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium in a laboratory.
The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus (womb) after three to five days of being in the incubator, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
In a chat with Saturday Vanguard in Lagos, the elated woman, who pleaded anonymity, probably for cultural reasons, described it as "20 years of tensed waiting for her marriage to produce fruits."
The jubilant nursing mother and her husband said they were not after publicity but decided to speak to the press in order to encourage couples who are presently facing similar challenges in their marriage not to give up, adding that it is never too late for anyone.
She admitted that she has almost given up when it was obvious that menopause had set in but continued to exercise her religious faith, until according to her, God directed her to St Ives Centre, even when she was not having the required money to carry out the IVF circle.
" If one is in a marriage for two – three years, and has no child to show for it, as an African, there will be pressure, so mine was not exceptional. Though my people respected my person, there were pressures both from within and outside. But l held on to God because I'm a strong Christian and l know He never fails. I serve a living God who is faithful despite our unfaithfulness.
"I heard about St Ives just by chance. That was in September last year. Coincidentally, l did my Masters programme at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), very close to the hospital, and l never knew this place existed. It was divine and all things work together for those that love God.
"My advice to every woman wanting fruit of the womb is that they should hold on to God and l pray for them that their joy should come into manifestation soon. There is nothing impossible for God, it could be difficult with man but certainly not with God. If He can do mine at 53, it shows no case is concluded.
"For me, l see it as a reward for my past shame. God has given me double glory, my two boys. It is more than a miracle. And for the management of St Ives, l keep praying for them because they are not after one's money, if they were, l couldn't have registered.
"People used to call me Big Mummy, but God has given me a new and better name, 'mummy twins'. l am now a fulfilled woman," she narrated.
Her husband, who claimed to be four months older than his wife, said he knew his wife at age 12 when they were in secondary school but time and space set them apart for separate marriages where the man was fortunate to have children unlike the woman.
Fate however reunited them to become a happy family today having known each other for over 40 years.
He said the joy that the twins brought to the family had overridden their past apprehension; trauma and agony all through the years of his wife's infertility, adding that she might have wept secretly on countless occasions.
"Today, all we are saying is thank you God. My wife had fasted and prayed and l believed that is why you see her looking like under sixteen now. I must confess that everybody is happy," he said.
Reacting on the feat, Chief Medical Director of St Ives Hospital, Babatunde Okewale said the hospital's Fertility Unit adopts a success-oriented approach towards infertility, focusing on solution for infertile couples at an affordable cost rather than doing endless investigation and tests.
The cost of IVF in most Nigerian hospitals, he said, was relatively between N650, 000 and 1 million per circle and that was largely dependent on an individual patient. He noted that it was never a cheap process globally as it costs about 10, 000 dollars and above 5, 000 pounds in the United States of America and United Kingdom respectively.
Okewale pointed out that there were other procedures in medicine that were more expensive than IVF, giving kidney transplant and hip replacement that cost over N1 million as examples. He maintained that the procedure was affordable by most Nigerians.
He revealed that through IVF, about 550 babies have been delivered at his hospital which was established five years ago. He said St Ives does a half price promo once a year, in collaboration with some Non-Governmental Organisations.
Okewale further stated that the hospital is highly specialised in treating repeated IVF failure, provides treatment for men diagnosed with sperm problems and in elderly patients with a success of about 30 percent, including the conception and delivery by a 57-year-old woman.
As infertility continues on the rise worldwide, he enumerated some of the causes as urbanization, pollution, stress, chemical exposure, career orientation, late settlement in life, non-properly treated infections, obesity and abuse of antibiotics. Urging Nigerian women to start bearing children earlier, he also noted that the success of IVF was determined by age. and the earlier the better.
The victim, who is in SS 1, Abigail Chidinma Enyenwa, passed out after she was allegedly whipped by the teacher for insubordination.
The incident, P.M NEWS reliably gathered, happened on Tuesday during school hours.
Sebastine was subsequently arrested at the school premises the following day by policemen from Iponri Police Station for interrogation over the matter.
It was gathered that Abigail incurred the wrath of her teacher when she allegedly behaved rudely and acted contrary to his instructions during class session on the fateful day.
The Chemistry teacher was said to have asked all students whose parents were not present during the school's open-day to stand on their feet, an instruction which Abigail allegedly ignored.
She reportedly disregarded, the teacher's instruction and sat down while others stood up.
This infuriated the teacher and he called her out, gave her some strokes of the cane for her action.
It was reliably gathered from our source that Abigail passed-out in the process and commotion ensued afterwards.
She regained consciousness minutes later when some packs of sachet water were poured on her by her classmates and her frightened teacher who initially thought she was pretending.
The matter was said to have been reported at Iponri Police Station by the girl's parents while Sebastine was arrested the following day.
Our correspondent further gathered that the school Principal, Mrs Anyah prevented the police from taking the teacher away when they arrived at the school to effect his arrest.
When P.M NEWS visited the school on Wednesday and Thursday, to get the teacher's side of the story, he was not available for comments on the two occasions.
During our correspondent's visit on Wednesday, the school principal was said to have gone for a meeting outside the school premises while the reporter was referred to the Vice Principal for comments.
She denied knowledge of the incident and referred our reporter back to the Principal's office to wait for her.
On Thursday, the principal was around but denied that the incident happened in the school. "Well, as a civil servant, am not obliged to speak to the media. Besides, I don't understand what you are talking about. No teacher beats a student to stupor here," Mrs. Anyah said.
A student who does not want his name mentioned and who claimed to be Abigail's friend, said,"I'm not in her class and wasn't in school when it happened. But I heard the story. I asked her and she told me what happened.
"She said she stood up when the teacher asked them to do so but was putting her hands around her waist. She told me that she did not answer him when he asked why she's not standing properly and the teacher in anger descended on her," he told P.M.NEWS.
Another student who is Abigail's classmate and was in class when the incident happened, said: "she behaved rudely to the teacher. She was behaving as if Mr Sebastine was her boyfriend while he was talking to her. He only gave her four strokes of the cane and she passed out.
"Initially he thought she was pretending but when she didn't stand up, he became frightened and asked us to go and buy some packs of pure water which we poured on her. I guess she wasn't feeling alright that day or something was wrong with her.
"Mr Sebastine cannot beat somebody to stupor. He's not that wicked. Besides, we do receive more than six strokes of the cane from him and we never fainted for once," he said.
When asked if it was true that the teacher has been suspended, he said: "he was in school on Wednesday before the police came to arrest him. They came with an arrest warrant but the principal prevented them from taking him away.
"I have not seen him afterwards but I guess he's among the teachers who are currently undergoing training. I think that was why he was not in school today(Thursday)," he said.
Source: PM News
This follows a petition to the President of the Senate, David Mark, by a non-governmental organisation, Transform Nigeria Movement, praying the Senate to conduct an investigation and make its findings known to the public.
The petition, which was signed by Mr. Daniel Elombah, stated that between 2004 and 2007, the Nigerian Embassy sold four prime properties of the Federal Government located in Washington DC and Maryland.
The petitioner alleged that the embassy also commenced the sale of other properties in San Francisco, California within the period.
Elombah stated in the petition, "Out of those sales, Nigeria realised the sum of approximately $27m. All funds realised from these sales, except those set aside as fees, were remitted to the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC.
"As of June 2007, when the law firm that advised the embassy on the sale of the properties met with embassy officials at the embassy premises in Washington, all these funds and transactions were duly confirmed."
The petitioner also alleged that it was confirmed that the embassy placed the funds in a special account with the M & T Bank in Washington DC and remained in that position after Ambassador George Obiozor had returned to Nigeria after completing his service in Washington.
TNM further alleged, "Surprisingly, the Embassy of Nigeria left the money in Washington partly because it yielded substantial monthly interests, which the embassy officials would never have to account for.
"Those funds remained in those accounts throughout the tenure of Ambassador Oluwole Rotimi; then arrived Ambassador Adebowale Adefuye in Washington. When Adefuye got to Washington, those funds were still lodged in the M & T Bank account intact.
"Between the time Adefuye became the ambassador until March of 2012, the millions in the accounts mysteriously disappeared. This became clear when M&T Bank was forced to close the accounts of the Nigerian Embassy and to terminate all banking relations with the embassy at the beginning of 2012."
The petition had a cover note by the Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate, Anthony Manzo, urging the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to treat it.
Upon the receipt of the petition, the committee summoned Obiozor; Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Joy Ogwu; and Adefuye.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Matthew Nwagwu, while addressing the ambassadors on the purpose of the investigation, said it was to unravel the mystery surrounding the management of the funds.
He said, "We have invited you because of an allegation of embezzlement in our mission in Washington, particularly the sale of property in the US. It was alleged that the proceeds of the sales have been squandered by certain officials.
"Our job here is to give you a chance to address the committee and tell us what you know about the property sale, management and administration of the accounts, while you were in office. The committee has got a petition and we are not taking it on its face value; we want to give the ambassadors opportunities to explain their own roles.
"We are not a court of law, we are not going on a trial, we are doing this for posterity and to keep the records straight, and I am sure most of you will be happy that we have invited you to have the opportunity to clarify the matter."
The committee decided that it would conduct the investigative hearing behind closed doors, taking the ambassadors separately and promised to brief the press on its findings after the hearing.
*Nigeria at it again..*
The NCC said on Thursday there was no going back on its decision to end the exercise on Sunday, June 30, 2013.
Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone, the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said, "We are not extending the deadline. This exercise has been on for two years now."
Owing to the fact that the exercise will be ending on Sunday, which is a non-working day, Ojobo said telecoms service providers had their arrangements to make in that regard, as the NCC could not give them direction on how to carry out registration on that day.
"The NCC is not a service provider. NCC itself has stopped SIM registration," he said, while referring to the agency's initial direct role in the registration process, adding, "If the service providers register on Sunday, good."
Due to the various problems affecting the registration of SIM cards in the country, NATCOMS had on Wednesday called for a three-month extension of the exercise.
The association said that in the last two to three weeks, reports reaching it showed that some 'umbrella' SIM registration agents were not collecting the full details of subscribers because of their rush to register as many subscribers as possible so as to get paid big.
The National President, NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said, "Some agents, during the active registration period, and even now, are asking subscribers to pay N100 before registration. A situation that discourages subscribers.
"Some agents, even when they are agents of a particular network operator, collect other operators' SIM cards for registration in order to shore up the number of SIM cards they register daily, while some agents copy their daily registered subscribers and give to their colleagues in business as some form of help."
NATCOMS said in view of these challenges, a lot of subscribers would be locked out of the networks due to no fault of theirs because they had previously registered their SIM cards.
The NCC had on Tuesday insisted that the June 30 deadline for SIM registration in the country would not be extended.
The commission reiterated that there would be no excuse for anyone whose SIM was unregistered by that date as all unregistered SIMs would be disconnected.
It, however, advised subscribers to make efforts to know what their registration status was if they had any doubts about it.
"Subscribers can send 'REG' to 746 to confirm if their SIMs have been registered or not," Ojobo had said.
Source: The Punch
Associated Press reports that the company made a preview of Windows 8.1 available for free as a download on Wednesday.
At an event Wednesday in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that the company pushed hard to get people to adopt a new tile-based user interface. Microsoft is now back-pedaling, making it easier to reach and use the older "desktop" interface.
Windows 8.1 will allow people to start in the desktop mode automatically. In that mode, the company is restoring a button that resembles the old Start button. The button will now take people back to the Windows 8 start screen, rather than the old Start menu, but the re-introduction of the familiar button may make it easier for longtime Windows users to get accustomed to the changes.
Other new features of Windows 8.1 include more options to use multiple apps. People will be able to determine how much of the screen each app takes while showing up to four different programs, rather than just two. The update will also offer more integrated search results, showing users previews of websites, apps and documents that are on the device, all at once.
The preview version of Windows 8.1 is meant for Microsoft's partners and other technology developers, but anyone can download it. The release comes exactly eight months after desktops, laptops and tablets with Windows 8 went on sale. The version of the Windows 8.1 update meant for the general public will come later in the year, though the company hasn't announced a specific date.
Many of the new features have been shown off already. A three-day Build conference, which started Wednesday in San Francisco, gives Microsoft developers a chance to learn more about the new system and try it out. It also will give the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning behind the update and sell developers on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance lost to Apple's iPad and various devices running Google's Android software.
Windows 8, released Oct. 26, was meant to be Microsoft's answer to changing customer behaviors and the rise of tablet computers. The operating system emphasises touch controls over the mouse and the keyboard, which had been the main way people have interacted with their personal computers since the 1980s.
Microsoft and PC makers had been looking to Windows 8 to revive sales of personal computers, but some people have been put off by the radical makeover. Research firm IDC said the operating system actually slowed down the market. Although Microsoft says it has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses so far, IDC said worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 14 per cent in the first three months of this year, the worst since tracking began in 1994.
The suspect, Babajide Bashorun, was also alleged to have taken nude shots of his victim (names withheld) and pasted them on the internet with her real name, school, department and age.
But the suspect in an interview with Vanguard claimed that the lady was his girlfriend. He admitted to have taken her nude pictures and gave them to his friends whose identities he gave as Aje Mayowa and Babajide Ademuyiwa, both final year students of Architecture also of UNILAG.
The incident, as gathered, occurred two months ago at 1, Ajose Street, Enu-Owa area of Lagos Island. But the female undergraduate was silent over the matter until her relations abroad who stumbled on the nude pictures on the internet contacted her mother in Nigeria, last week.
How it started
Narrating how the incident occurred, the female undergraduate said: "Babajide came to our house to treat our dog. In the process, he requested for my phone number and I reluctantly gave him. He started calling me and told me he would like to go out with me.
"But I told him I already had a boyfriend whom I loved. Yet, he kept calling me, saying he was not interested in just going out with me but wanted to marry me. Aside that, he kept monitoring my movements and at a point, I deleted his contact on my phone.
"I was returning home for a weekend in April , a car stopped by my side at Idumota bus-stop. Jide was sitting beside a driver who was unknown to me.
"On sighting him, I walked past. But the next thing he did was to hold me by the hand, dragged me into the car and drove to his house.
"When he got home, he started beating me and tore my clothes, asking what I wanted that he could not give me. He instructed me to unlock my phone and when he discovered that I used my boyfriend's name as password, he resumed the beating.
"At a point, he gave me his phone to speak with some of his friends who told me I was in for trouble, for turning down a member of their unnamed cult, threatening that they would kill me for treating him shabbily.
"Thereafter, he raped me and when he was done, his friend took his turn despite my plea. When he saw I was bleeding, he stopped and started begging me. At that point, he brought out his phone and started taking my nude pictures. I made attempt to cover my face but he hit me on the head with a bottle and continued taking the shots.
How I escaped
"I begged him to allow me call my mother to give him some money for my release but he refused. I also appealed to him to delete my pictures when he started begging me.
"I stayed in that room all night till the next day when he went out to get me some drugs. Immediately he stepped out, I tried the door and discovered it was not locked from outside. I quickly changed into one of my dirty clothes in my bag and escaped.
"But I could not tell anyone at home. When my elder brother asked what the problem was on seeing the blood stained clothes, I told him I was involved in an accident and when my mother insisted on knowing what the problem was, I told her I fought with a course mate. She insisted on going to school with me on seeing the magnitude of the injury but I prevented her.
"Barely had I settled down than Babjide called, threatening to kill me if I disclosed what happened to anyone. As if that was not enough, his friends also called and threatened me as well."
She is my girlfriend — Suspect
However, on his part, Babjide claimed that the undergraduate was his girlfriend, adding that they only had a fight on that fateful day.
Expressing shock over his arrest, he said: "She is my girlfriend. We only fought in April and have resolved the matter.
"What led to the fight was her request for money to buy an IPad which cost over N100,000. Because of my love for her, I managed to raise N70,000. She visited me on that day and I advised her to change her way of living which included going to club .
I also accused her of flirting with other men. Along the line, we started fighting and I used a mop stick to hit her and in the process , took shots of her and sent the pictures to my friends. But I did not tell them to paste the pictures on the internet."
Police sources hinted that efforts were on to arrest Mayowa and Ademuyiwa alleged to have pasted the victim's nude pictures on the internet, while Babajide had been charged to court for kidnapping, rape, conspiracy, attempt to commit murder, indecent assault, and assault occasioning harm.
Source: Vanguard
"We are just waiting for the approval from presidency and the Federal Executive Council (FEC), to take off, so give or take, the new national carrier will take off before the end of the third quarter." Besides, the final approval from presidency and FEC, she added that every other thing was there, including the legal framework establishing the national carrier. "We are awaiting the final approval from FEC and the presidency to roll out the carrier," Oduah stated.
The minister who spoke exclusively with THISDAY on phone in Abuja through her Special Adviser on Communication and Media, Mr. Joe Obi, made the disclosure, while reacting to the pessimism expressed by the Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, in an interview published in THISDAY, The Sunday Newspaper, that the proposed national carrier would not work, adding that Yuguda's fear or pessimism about the national carrier was misplaced. While expressing confidence on the success of the proposed carrier, Oduah averred: "Yes the governor like many Nigerians are yet to understand that we are talking about a national carrier that would have an entirely different architecture to the one that we used to know before, here we are talking about a new national carrier with a different architecture from everything that we knew before.
"In fact, we are doing all that we can to encourage those kind of partnership and alliances that Yuguda talked about. "This national carrier that we are talking about is supposed to be private sector driven, government is only providing the legal and other framework, and the enabling environment for the carrier to take off." According to her, there is going to be a core investor who will be a private entity and then other shares of the company will be thrown to Nigerians, "you and I, including the governor and every other person will buy in, assuring that the carrier will also be professionally managed. Oduah said the former national carrier failed due to bad management.
"This one will be private sector-driven, will be managed by professionals who managed other carriers elsewhere in the world, and don't forget that since it is going to be private sector-driven with private sector funds, there is no private sector corporate entity that will put in so much money in setting up a capital intensive business like aero plane business and will now leave it to mediocres to manage. "When he, Yuguda, was Minister of Aviation, I think if he felt there was a better way of taking this carrier and domestic carriers in the country to form the kind of mergers he is talking about, at least he should have achieved that, but the fact that he didn't achieve it doesn't mean others cannot do," she said.
The minister was optimistic that the roll out in September would be a success like the entire remodelling projects at the various airports, adding: "When we started, there were a lot of skeptics who said we were not going to accomplish it that we were biting more than we can chew, but today all 22 federally owned airports have taken a new shape, 11 airports in the first phase and another in the second phase that is still ongoing, some skeptics like the governor who believe that we were not going to be able to do it simply because others failed in the past, that others failed in the past including himself is not a recipe for others to fail at least the leadership in the aviation ministry today has shown that with the commitment and right leadership, goals and objective can be achieved in the aviation sector." While allaying the governor's fears, Oduah said: "Those fears for now are misplaced because everything that we are doing is different from what was done before so his fears are misplaced.
This national carrier will succeed. I think that himself and us will all be living witnesses to see that the present national carrier will be an embodiment of the wishes and dreams and aspirations of the Nigerian government and people.
" The minister however admitted that the aviation industry required high technology and capital intensive to function saying the fact that Nigeria has attained the category 1 status of the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), means that she has come of age. "like he said and the point that we are playing at the highest level of the industry; Nigeria is a category 1 country and that there are just about 5 or so in the whole of the continent, the fact that we have the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S for the category 1 certified country and just one of the few in Africa means that we are playing at the highest level," she said.
According to her, there cannot be anything higher than that, as there are some other European, South American countries and Asian countries that are yet to attain the category 1 certified status as Nigeria. "So there is nothing to suggest practically that we are not playing the high tech policies and business of aviation," Oduah stated.
