Ooni hale and hearty- chiefs

Council of chiefs of Ife, Osun State, on Wednesday debunked media reports about the death of Ooni of Ife,  Oba Okunade Sijuade.
Media reported in the eve of Tuesday that the paramount ruler passed away at 85.
According to the council in a radio broadcast news, Ooni is hale and hearty, and is preparing for his son's wedding which comes up on Sunday.

White House rejects petition to pardon Snowden

The Obama administration has rejected a petition signed by almost 168,000 people calling on it to pardon former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden for leaking US government secrets.

The White House reiterated its tough stance against the exiled fugitive, whom supporters regard as a whistleblower, in response to the petition on its own website.

Lisa Monaco, an adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism, told the AFP news agency that Snowden's "dangerous decision to steal and disclose classified information had severe consequences for the security of our country and the people who work day in and day out to protect it".

She said that Snowden, who has been granted asylum in Russia after he leaked documents on vast US surveillance programmes to journalists, is "running away from the consequences of his actions".

"If he felt his actions were consistent with civil disobedience, then he should do what those who have taken issue with their own government do: challenge it, speak out, engage in a constructive act of protest and importantly accept the consequences of his actions," she wrote.

"He should come home to the United States and be judged by a jury of his peers, not hide behind the cover of an authoritarian regime."

The US administration has branded Snowden a hacker and a traitor who endangered lives by revealing the extent of the National Security Agency spying programme.

But his revelation that the NSA siphons vast quantities of telephone data from private US citizens struck a cord and Congress has begun to amend once secret laws.

Snowden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the second year in a row and has received a string of international awards for free speech and civil liberties.

"Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programmes," it said.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a law which requires the NSA to end bulk data collection. The administration said on Monday the NSA will stop accessing the records on November 29 and would destroy them as soon as possible.

EFCC drills Senate President's wife for six hours

WIFE of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s office in Abuja on Tuesday with a plethora of supporters who are lawmakers.

Mrs. Saraki was invited alongside Zainab Dankingari, the wife of a former governor of Kebbi State and daughter of the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua.

Mrs. Saraki arrived at the EFCC office by 12:36 pm and was taken into the Economic Governance Unit of the commission for interrogation and left the commission’s Idiagbon House headquarters, at Wuse 2, Abuja by 6.15pm.

Mrs. Saraki was accompanied to the EFCC headquarters by some senators, over 20 members of the House of Representatives and members of the Kwara State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Dr. Ali Ahmad.

Some of the senators who visited the EFCC headquarters in solidarity with her are Senators Isah Sani, Dino Melaye, Abdul Abubakar, Binta Goje, Abdulahi Sabi, and Peter Nwaoboshi.

But some of the members of the National Assembly left after waiting for two hours, while others were at the commission until her release by 6:15pm.

She is expected to be at the commission to respond to questions for the second day on Wednesday.

However, the commission could not carry out the planned interrogation of Mrs. Zainab Dakingari.

Although she honoured the commission’s invitation, the operatives had to postpone her interrogation to Wednesday on health grounds.

She arrived at the commission by 3pm and was allowed to go before 4pm.

The commission had invited both women to appear before it on July 22, 2015.

It was stated that while Saraki was invited to respond to questions about contracts executed in Kwara State when her husband, Senator Bukola Saraki, was Governor from 2003 to 2011, Dakingari was needed in relation to how N2bn belonging to Kebbi State was spent.

Meanwhile, Mrs Saraki, has said that she would cooperate with any lawful inquiry in consonance with the ethos of democratic governance and expected the EFCC to carry out its responsibility with observance to the global practices of fairness, impartiality and transparency.

She said that she had ensured adherence to the stipulations of the law and observed international best standards in all her operations.

“As a citizen with the utmost respect for highest standards of transparency and democratic accountability, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki visited the EFCC today as per their invitation. Mrs Saraki made herself available to assist the commission wholeheartedly with any lawful enquiry they may have. Following today’s visit, Mrs. Saraki will continue to cooperate fully with the EFCC, and hopes for a prompt and positive resolution in satisfaction of this enquiry.

“Having placed an emphasis on the importance of accountability, transparency and diligent reporting, Mrs. Saraki maintains that she has always operated within the law and to the highest standards of global compliance in all of her activities,” she said.

Source: THE PUNCH

Ooni of Ife dies at 85

THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, reportedly passed on, on Tuesday, at 85 years and seven months. He was born on January 1, 1930.

Unconfirmed sources said the monarch, who was said to have been flown out of the country since last Friday, died in the United Kingdom.

Most top Ife indigenes and Osun State government officials contacted by The PUNCH late on Tuesday kept sealed lips but some traditional rulers in the state confirmed that Sijuwade had died.

The spokesperson for the Ooni, Chief Funmilola Olorunnisola, told one of our correspondents that, “I don’t have anything to tell you immediately.”

One Osun traditional ruler, who asked not to be quoted, confided in one of our correspondents on the phone last night that the Ife monarch had died.

He said, “The Ooni is dead. It is true. He died about two hours ago in the UK. His two oloris (wives) – Olori Moni and Olori Odun – were with him in the UK.

“He travelled out for treatment anytime he fell ill but he couldn’t make it this time. It is sad but I believe it is God’s time. There was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

“Tokunbo, his eldest child, will probably leave for the UK this evening. There is nothing we can do but we take solace in the fact that he lived well. The proper announcement will be done later,”

The traditional ruler’s account was corroborated by another monarch, who explained that the Ooni was indeed flown out of the country five days ago in an air ambulance after he slumped.

A call to the line of the monarch was not answered.

There had been fears over the health of the first class monarch since 2013 when he was taken out of the country for medical attention for over a month.

Oba Sijuwade ascended the throne in December 1980.

Born on January 1, 1930, Sijuwade became the fiftieth ruler of the ancient kingdom of Ife, popularly referred to as the cradle and source of the Yoruba, in 1980.

Though he took the name Alayeluwa Olubuse II upon his installation, he dropped “Alayeluwa” from his name a few years back, saying that only God is fit to be called “Alayeluwa.”

Alayeluwa means omniscience.

A former commissioner and indigene of Ife, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “It is true. I was with him on Wednesday. Last Thursday when we held the political summit in Ife, he supported us and sent an emissary to the summit. He slumped on Thursday and was rushed to Ibadan airport from where he was flown to Lagos in an air ambulance en route to England for treatment. He became stable by Saturday. It is sad that he relapsed and passed on.”

The flamboyant traditional ruler was crowned king on December 6, 1980 in a colourful ceremony attended by prominent traditional rulers the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and the Olu of Warri as well as the representatives of the Queen of England.

It was gathered that the Ife traditional council and the Osun State traditional council would meet on Wednesday.

A competent source disclosed that emissaries from the two councils would visit the Governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, to officially break the news to the governor.

Sijuwade was born to the Ogboru ruling house. The handsome king was a grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. He studied at the Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife.

He worked for three years in his father’s business and later did a two-year stint with the Nigerian Tribune, before attending the Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study Business Management.

At the young age of 30, he became a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate. In 1963, he became the Sales Director of the state-owned National Motors in Lagos. After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria. This later became the nucleus of his widespread business empire. He also invested in real estate in his home town of Ile-Ife. By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980 he had become a wealthy man, whose fame and connection was global.

When Sijuwade became the Ooni, he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy between the obas of Yorubaland. In 1967 the crisis had been resolved when the late Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was chosen as the leader of the Yoruba. In 1976, the Governor of Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, had decreed that the Ooni of Ife would be the permanent chairman of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs. Other Obas led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, said the position should rotate. The dispute calmed down when Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991, but still persisted. In January 2009, Sijuwade was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire (the Oyo Empire, which collapsed in 1793). Adeyemi responded by citing “absurdities” in Sijuwade’s statements and saying the Ooni “is not in tune with his own history”.

It will be recalled that Oba Adeyemi, the Permanent Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, was conspicuously absent from a meeting of Yoruba leaders in April 2010.

In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba.

In August 2010 he mediated in the ownership dispute between Oyo and Osun states concerning Ladoke Akintola University, calling a meeting attended by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, governor of Osun State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, governor of Oyo State and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education which resulted in an action plan.

Thousands March in New York against Iran nuclear deal

Protesters have poured into New York's Times Square to denounce the Iran nuclear deal as a threat to Israel and global security, demanding that the US Congress reject the pact.

Speakers at Wednesday's rally, including Republican politicians, called on the US Congress to throw the deal out, whipping up the crowd on that included supporters of right-wing Jewish and evangelical Christian groups.

The protest came as US Secretary of State and other senior officials briefed members of Congress about the deal behind closed doors.

Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington where the talks were held, said that some members of Congress came out from the discussions and told reporters that they were still very sceptical about the deal.

In New York, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, co-organiser of the Stop Iran Rally, claimed that there were 10,000 people in the crowd. Protesters held up US flags and placards denouncing the deal.

Al Jazeera could not confirm the number of people in attendance.

"We're here as Americans to speak with one voice to say stop Iran now, reject this deal," said George Pataki, the former three-term Republican governor of New York.

"This is a God-awful deal, this must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say no to this Iranian deal," he said.

The rally expressed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose criticism of the deal has strained relations with President Barack Obama.

Recent polls have suggested that of the 79 percent of Americans who heard about the deal, 48 percent disapprove.

Organisers played a montage of news reports about bombings around the world carried out by armed groups linked to Iran. 

Jesse, an attendee at the rally, told Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey that it was "very, very obvious why anyone would be against the deal".

"Iran has been our enemy for 36 years. There is really no sensible reason why anyone would believe that Iran should be trusted with weapons of any type," he said.

Source: Al Jazeera

Nigeria spends N1tn to import food annually

Nigeria spends N1tn every year to import rice, sugar, wheat and fish, translating to over N10tn from 2005 till now, the Federal Government has said.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Sonny Echono, stated that Nigeria’s food import was growing at an unsustainable rate of 11 per cent, while the country had continued to rely on expensive foods from the global market.

Echono spoke during the opening of a two-day workshop on the theme: ‘Food crisis prevention and management charter’, held at the headquarters of the FMARD in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said, “Nigeria became a net importer of food and major importer of wheat, rice, sugar and fish. Importation of these four commodities consumes over N1tn in foreign exchange every year since 2005. The Central Bank of Nigeria showed that Nigeria is the world’s largest importer of United States hard red and white winter wheat, with an annual food import of N635bn.

“It is also the second largest importer of rice (N700bn in 2014), sugar (N217bn) and fish (N97bn). Nigeria’s food imports are growing at an unsustainable rate of 11 per cent per annum, while reliance on the import of expensive food in the global markets fuels domestic inflation, and Nigeria is importing what it can produce in abundance. Import dependency is hurting Nigerian farmers, displacing local production and creating rising unemployment.”

Echono, who was represented by the Director of Agriculture, Mr. Damilola Eniayeju, explained that the nation had vast arable land for cultivation, adding that this must be harnessed by stakeholders in order to effectively prevent a food crisis and reduce imports to the barest minimum.

He noted that the country had about 174 million people to feed daily as well as its neighbours, stressing that it was high time the nation started thinking of massive agricultural production for export.

Echono said, “Nigeria has huge agricultural potential, with over 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40 per cent is cultivated; a population of over 167 million, making it Africa’s largest market; and 230 billion cubic metres of water, making it one of the richest sources for agricultural growth in the world.

“Agriculture contributes to rural people’s livelihood by providing them with food and income. In addition, agricultural exports have potential to contribute to the national economy through generating foreign exchange and improving the balance of payments.”

The workshop had representatives from the Economic Community of West African States, United States Agency for International Development, United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and other international agencies.

Source: THE PUNCH

Boko Haram burns down Chief of Army Staff's house

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have burnt down houses, including the family home of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai, in his village in Borno State.

At least, two people were killed and eight injured during the attack on Buratai village on Tuesday, sources told our correspondent in Abuja.

It was learnt that the terrorists killed two auto mechanics and torched some houses during the attack on the community.

“What really happened was that Boko Haram went there. They killed two motorcycle mechanics and torched some houses. It is not a massive attack. It was an isolated opportunistic attack, but the Army is on top of the situation. Troops are on the ground now,” a source stated.

Meanwhile, additional roads have been cleared of landmines by troops for use by commuters in compliance with the directive by the CAS to troops in the 3 and 7 Divisions of the Nigerian Army.

The acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement that the road linking Biu-Sabon Gari to Damboa in Borno State has been cleared of landmines.

“The public are encouraged to use the road as adequate security measures have been put in place for their safety,” Usman said.

Source: THE PUNCH

40 killed in multiple explosions in Gombe

At least 40 persons were killed on Wednesday evening in Gombe State following three-bomb explosions at two bus station in the state.

Eyewitnesses told AFP that the first two explosions occurred at about 7pm at Dadin-Kowa Motor Park, the busiest bus station in the state.

The blasts suspected to be from Improvised Explosive Devices were said to have occurred minutes apart.

The third blast occurred about two hours later at Tashan Dukku Motor Park.

Sources said there was pandemonium as residents went searching in hospitals for their loved ones.

The Police Public Relations in the Gombe State, Fwaje Atajiri, confirmed the attack to The Cable but said the fatality figure had yet to be confirmed.

He added that the police had cordoned off the areas to prevent hoodlums from looting in the areas.

Atajiri “It is true that there were bomb attacks in the motor park but the casualty figure is not yet known. The injured have been taken to the hospital and the area has been cordoned off to prevent hoodlums from taking advantage of the situation to loot people’s property.”

Meanwhile, the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party under the aegis of PDP Governors’ Forum on Wednesday night in Abuja expressed concerns over the current spate of Boko Haram attacks in the North-East and asked the military to wake up.

The governors, after their meeting, expressed concerns that in spite of the security measures by the Armed Forces, the sect seems to be intensifying its attacks.

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said even as they met, the Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo, received a call over another attack in his state.

Emmanuel, while calling on the country’s Armed Forces to step up their operations, also lamented the state of the Internally Displaced Persons.

He said, “We actually call on the Armed Forces to step up their security measures to see how they can stem the tide of this menace.

“It’s really a thing of concern to the PDP government that in spite of all the efforts in the Armed Forces these guys are still proving to be more formidable.”

Source: THE PUNCH

EFCC to question Saraki’s wife, Yar'Adua's daughter over graft

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has invited Toyin Saraki, the wife of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for questioning over alleged shady contracts during her husband’s tenure as the governor of Kwara State.

Also, the daughter of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is also the wife of an ex-Governor of Kebbi State, Mrs. Zaina Dakingari, was said to have been invited by the anti-graft agency.

Saraki’s wife is billed to appear before EFCC interrogators on July 28, a day after Yar’Adua’s daughter would have been questioned.

Mrs Dakingari, The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday, would answer questions on the alleged misappropriation of N2bn state funds.

Toyin Saraki was said to be under probe in relation to several contracts executed by companies said to be linked to her while her husband held sway as the Kwara governor.

A source at the EFCC, who confided in our correspondent in Abuja, said, “The commission has invited the wives of two former state governors, Mrs. Toyin Saraki and Mrs. Zaiba Dakingari.

“Mrs. Dakingari was supposed to have appeared before the commission on Wednesday (yesterday) but she sent a message that she was outside the country and would honour the invitation on July 27, 2015.

“She is to provide an explanation in relation to N2bn state funds.

“The commission is expecting Saraki on July 28, 2015. The exact amount of money involved in her matter is not stated for now but she is to be quizzed in relation to various contracts executed in Kwara State when her husband was governor of the state.”

The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to our correspondent that the commission had sent out invitations to some wives of former governors though he said he did not know their identities.

Meanwhile, the EFCC operators on Wednesday grilled ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant on Schools and Agricultural Programmes, Baraka Sani.

Sani was reportedly interrogated by operatives of the commission at its headquarters for eight hours before she was allowed to go.

The former President’s aide, The PUNCH learnt, was said to have been directed to report again at the commission in the early hours of Thursday (today) to answer further questions from her interrogators.

The PUNCH had reported exclusively on Tuesday that the EFCC had concluded plans to embark on a probe of officials of the Jonathan administration.

The former public officers said to be the target of the EFCC are former ministers, special advisers, senior special assistants, heads of parastatals and agencies in the previous administration.

Sani was the first aide of the former President to be quizzed by the EFCC.

It was gathered that the EFCC grilled her in relation to funds voted for schools agricultural programmes.

The commission is said to be working on the allegation that funds voted for schools agricultural programmes were diverted.

A source at the EFCC said, “Operatives of the commission today interrogated the Senior Special Assistant to the former President on Schools and Agricultural Programmes in relation to funds voted for the programmes.

“She is being quizzed for diversion of funds meant for the schools’ agricultural programmes.

“She came in the morning and spent eight hours before she was allowed to go. The interrogation has not ended because those in charge of the investigation asked her to return tomorrow (Thursday). So we are still expecting her.

Uwujaren confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone that Sani was at the commission’s headquarters on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that she was at the commission’s headquarters to answer questions for alleged financial impropriety,” the EFCC spokesman said.

No terrorism link in US shooting- FBI

US federal investigators say a gunman who killed four marines in a shooting spree in Tennessee had no known links to international terrorism.

Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, was shot dead by police after he attacked a military recruitment centre and a naval reserve centre in Chattanooga.

Local prosecutors are investigating the attacks - in which three people were also injured - as "domestic terrorism".

However, the FBI says Abdulazeez's motive is unclear.

A police officer and a marine corps recruiter were wounded, along with a female sailor who remains in a serious condition in hospital.

President Barack Obama said the attacks were "heartbreaking".

Analysis: By Gary O'Donoghue, BBC News, Tennessee

The investigation is still at an early stage, but it appears that Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was acting alone. What made him do what he did will be the subject of intensive inquiries that will delve deep into his past and that of his friends and family, and into his state of mind.

But lone wolves, as such men are often described, are the hardest to stop.

Both the president and the head of the FBI have recently underlined this problem and called on local communities to be vigilant for the signs of any radicalisation.

It is also hard for the authorities to protect all potential targets. The first location at which Abdulazeez began firing was an army recruitment office, in the middle of a strip mall, flanked by a mobile phone shop and an Italian restaurant - in other words, firmly within the local community. Many will not want the military to retreat completely behind barbed wire and concrete barriers.

Gunman: 'Life is short and bitter'

The attacks unfolded at 10:45 local time (14:45 GMT) on Thursday.

The suspected was seen pulling up in a rented Ford Mustang convertible outside a shopping centre and opening fire, spraying the offices of a military recruiting centre with bullets.

April Grimmett was working at a nearby hair salon, and said she had looked out of a window and saw a man ducking in between cars.

"Shortly after that, we heard the (shots). It was very loud and very fast," she was quoted by CNN as saying. "I could not believe how many bullet holes were in that door. It was insane."

Army spokeswoman Kelli Bland said four Army recruiters had been in the building at the time of the shooting, but no one was injured.

Sugar intake should be halved- experts

A committee of scientific experts is calling on the government to halve the recommended daily intake of sugar.

Advisers on nutrition say no more than 5% of daily calories should come from added sugar - about seven level teaspoons.

The guidelines are in line with new World Health Organization proposals.

According to existing research, all age groups in the UK consume at least twice this limit.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition(SACN), which advises Public Health England and other government agencies on nutrition, wants the recommended daily intake of sugar to be halved to reduce obesity risk and improve dental health.

Prof Ian Macdonald, chair of the working group of the committee, said: "The evidence is stark - too much sugar is harmful to health and we all need to cut back.

"The clear and consistent link between a high-sugar diet and conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes is the wake-up call we need to rethink our diet.

"Cut down on sugars, increase fibre and we'll all have a better chance of living longer, healthier lives."

The government said it was accepting the recommendations and will be using them to develop its national strategy on childhood obesity, which is due out later this year.

The main sources of sugar in the diet are sweetened drinks and cereal, confectionery, fruit juice, and sugar added at the table.

A single can of fizzy drink contains about nine teaspoons of sugar.

Prof Judith Buttriss of the British Nutrition Foundation said the type of sugar targeted was known as free sugar - all the different types of sugar that we have in our diet, excluding the sugars that are found in fruit and milk.

"What the recommendations are saying is we've all got to cut down so we're getting no more than 5% of our total from these free sugars," she told the BBC Today Programme.

Analysis: Adam Brimelow, health correspondent

It is one thing setting out what people should aspire to eat, quite another making it happen.

Achieving the expected threshold for added sugar - no more than 5% of calories consumed - will be a challenge for government, industry and the public.

At the moment, the average intake in all age groups is at least twice this limit.

The health arguments are compelling, but will people want to change their eating patterns, and will they be able to afford it?

The food industry says it is already working to cut added sugars.

Some health campaigners say clearer labelling will be needed so people can see at a glance how many teaspoons of sugar have gone into each portion.

The British Dental Association (BDA) has called on the government to take heed of the latest advice.

Tooth decay is the biggest cause of hospital admissions among young children.

Mick Armstrong, chairman of the BDA, said: "The government now has the evidence and a clear duty to send the strongest possible signal to the food industry that while added sugar might be helping their sales, it is hurting their customers."

The food industry has said calories in household foods and drinks have been gradually lowered in recent years, including sugar reductions and changes to portion sizes.

The Food and Drink Federation described the goals set out in the report as "stretching".

Director general Ian Wright said: "The most thorough scientific review of carbohydrates and health carried out in recent years should leave people in no doubt that sugars can be enjoyed safely as part of a varied and balanced diet."

He added: "Demonising any one ingredient in the obesity debate isn't helpful."

Meal planners

According to health experts, 5% of daily energy intake is the equivalent of 19g or five sugar cubes for children aged four to six, 24g or six sugar cubes for children aged seven to 10, or seven sugar cubes for those aged 11 and over, based on average diets.

Many health campaigners want to see a tax on sugar, with doctors' leaders joining the call this week.

The British Medical Association said a 20% levy on sugary drinks would be a step towards the long-term goal of taxing a wide range of products in the fight against obesity.

The government has said it will not be introducing a sugar tax.

On Friday, the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, said the price of sugary drinks should be increased to pay for the living wage.

Mr Stevens said it would benefit parents, children and low-paid workers.

Mr Stevens stopped short of recommending a tax on sugar, but said if progress cutting sugar from diets did not happen a "regulatory backstop" would be needed.

Gunman kills 4 Marines at US military base

A gunman has killed four United States Marines after opening fire at two military facilities in Chattanooga, in the US state of Tennessee, officials said.

The suspect was identified by the FBI as 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, a naturalised American born in Kuwait who was also killed in the incident on Thursday. Two others, a soldier and a police officer, were wounded, an official said.

The FBI said there was "no indication" that anyone else was involved in the shooting as law enforcement authorities investigated the motive for the attack.

The Department of Homeland Security was stepping up security at certain federal facilities "out of an abundance of caution" and supporting the FBI investigation, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement.

Chattanooga is a city of about 173,000 people along the Tennessee River in the southeast of the state.

The US Navy confirmed in a tweet early on Thursday afternoon that a shooting had taken place at a recruitment centre on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga. Shortly after, the Chattanooga Police Department said the situation had ended.

"Lives have been lost from some faithful people who have been serving our country, and I think I join all Tennesseans in being both sickened and saddened by this," Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said.

Witnesses and local media reports said the gunman, driving an open-top Ford Mustang, fired at two locations including a military recruiting centre and a US Navy Reserve centre about 10km apart. Witnesses said they heard scores of shots.

US President Barack Obama said early investigations indicated that Abdulazeez was acting alone, but promised a "thorough and prompt" inquiry.

"It is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served our country with great valour to be killed in this fashion," he said in a statement from the Oval Office.

Deadly clashes in Egypt after Eid prayers

Six people have been killed in clashes between anti-coup protesters and Egyptian police in a city adjacent to Cairo, the health ministry said.

Supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi had held small marches in Giza after the Friday morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

State news agency MENA quoted an interior ministry source as saying security forces intervened and arrested 15 armed Muslim Brotherhood members.

Anadolu News Agency reported several protests in the Giza neighbourhoods of al-Haram, Nahra and al-Omraniya following the prayers, adding that security forces responded by firing live bullets.

In the city of Alexandria, in the country’s north, security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters, sources there told Al Jazeera.

Protests by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood have largely faded under a tough security crackdown, but smaller rallies are held regularly by Egyptians protesting against the coup that removed Morsi from power in 2013.

Source: Al Jazeera

Scores killed in twin bomb blasts in Gombe

At least 50 people have died and many others injured when two bombs went off in Gombe central market, where customers were making last-minute Ramadan shopping on Thursday evening.

An eyewitness, Mallam Ibrahim Mohammed, who sells oranges in the market, told newsmen that the first bomb went off at exactly 5:20pm with the second exploding a few metres away from where the first went off.

Narrating his experience amid tears, the distraught young man said he saw about 50 dead bodies.

A member of the Nigeria Red Cross Society, who pleaded anonymity, said he counted about 48 dead bodies and that the corpses were deposited at the mortuary of the Specialist Hospital and Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.

Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kudu Nma, confirmed the incident.

He said, “There was a bomb blast. The (bomber) was either on a suicide mission or (may be) the bombs were kept somewhere with the view to causing panic and apprehension to people.”

According to him, the bomb exploded at the Sabon Layi footwear market.

“People were busy shopping in preparation for the Sallah festival. The casualties are yet to be ascertained. As you can see, people are busy working, trying to save lives; for now we cannot tell you the number of casualties,” the police commissioner said.

He said the police had condoned off the place to avoid looting, adding that relative calm had returned to the area.

Nma called on the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to security agents.

Source: THE PUNCH

Bombs explode near prayer ground in Yobe

Twin bomb blasts hit Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, Thursday morning.

Residents of the state said the twin blasts occurred very close to prayer ground just when Muslim faithful were gathering for the congregational prayer to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

At least ten persons were killed at one of the sites that was attacked, an aid worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent on the telephone.

He said, “We have evacuated ten corpses from Phase I area opposite the SSS office which was attacked by the bomb blast this morning.

“The bomb was targeted at the prayer ground in the area and several persons that were injured were taken to General Hospital.”

One of the residents, Musa Yusuf, who also spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said “there is apprehension in Damaturu as I am talking to you, we are celebrating Sallah in fear with these explosions this morning.”

Yusuf said, “It is hard to ascertain the number of casualties now but the military and policemen are everywhere keeping watch on the town.”

Source: THE PUNCH

Govt vows to shut down Radio Biafra

Nigeria's government has vowed to shut down an illegal radio station operated by people sympathetic to the breakaway state of Biafra.

The ministry of information said it has "successfully jammed the signals" of the station.

However, the BBC's Abdussalam Ahmed in Enugu says Radio Biafara is still broadcasting.

It is not clear where it is based but it mainly broadcasts to the Igbo-speaking south-east of the country.

The first republic of Biafra declared its independence from Nigeria in May 1967, but was eventually defeated after a three-year civil war that cost more than one million lives.

Our correspondent says the station hosts phone-in programmes with listeners calling to talk about issues affecting their region and their desire to break away from Nigeria.

It also attacks and ridicules President Muhammadu Buhari and other government officials.

Although the Biafra uprising was quelled by the military, a group called the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) has attracted the support many young people in the region.

They feel they have been discriminated against by those in power in Abuja and demand independence.

Several of their leaders and sympathisers have been detained by authorities and accused of treason.

Mother stabs 7-yead-old boy who raped his sister

A mother has stabbed her seven-year-old boy with broken bottles for allegedly defiling his two-year-old step-sister and another daughter of a neighbour.

The incident happened on Monday on Tunde Olusola Street, in the Ijaiye-Ojokoro area of Lagos.

The mother, Blessing Fred, was said to have gone out with her daughter on Sunday, leaving the boy behind.

It was gathered that while the mother was away, the boy who was identified as Promise,  went to visit five-year-old Yemi (pseudonym) ─ the neighbour’s daughter ─ at her parents’ apartment. He was said to have met Yemi alone and took her to his mother’s room.

On getting to the room, he reportedly told her to remove her clothes and lie down. It was said that he slept on top of the girl and fiddled with her private parts.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Yemi’s mother had left her with her sister, who was said to have left home when the incident happened.

Our correspondent gathered that Yemi narrated what transpired between her and Promise to her mother when she came back.

Residents approached by PUNCH Metro on Wednesday declined to speak, but a neighbour, who did not want her name in print because of the sensitivity of the matter, told our correspondent that Yemi’s mother invited Promise to her apartment and verified the story in the presence of her daughter.

She said, “Initially, he denied. But when the woman assured him that she would not tell his mother, he opened up and said it was true. He said he had been doing it with his step-sister too. The woman later reported Promise to his mother and he confessed to her as well.”

“She first beat him with a stick on Monday for the offence. But all of a sudden, she smashed a bottle and stabbed him in the back.”

A resident, Bose Komolafe, said Fred had been arrested by the police from the Ijaiye-Ojokoro Police Division, while Promise had been admitted to a hospital in the area.

She said, “Some neighbours rushed to rescue the child from her. He is on admission at a hospital. Whatever the child might have done wrong, such a move was too harsh.”

Yemi’s mother’s apartment was locked when our correspondent checked for comments on the incident.

Our correspondent inquired about the matter from a police woman at the complaint desk of the police station, but she said she did not have the details.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He said, “Fred stabbed her son on the back for allegedly touching the vagina of his two-year-old sister. She has been apprehended. The victim is currently receiving treatment at a hospital. The neighbour’s daughter case was not reported to us.”

Pension funds rose to N4.9tn in May

The total funds under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to N4.9tn in May,  statistics obtained from the National Pension Commission have shown.

According to the commission, N568.9bn (11.58 per cent) and N72.97bn (1.49 per cent), of the funds have been invested in domestic ordinary shares and foreign ordinary shares, respectively, while N2.48tn and N601.65bn were invested in Federal Government of Nigeria’s bonds and Treasury Bills, making 50.64 per cent and 12.25 per cent of the funds in that order.

PenCom stated that N166.2bn (3.38 per cent) and N140.06bn (2.8 per cent) were invested in state government securities and corporate debt securities, respectively.

The Pension Fund Operators invested N12.69bn (0.26 per cent) and N580.09bn (11.8 per cent) in supra-national bonds and local money market securities, respectively.

According to the PenCom report, N5.005bn (0.10 per cent) and N21.5bn (0.44 per cent) of the funds were invested in foreign money market securities and open/closed-ends fund; while N209.12bn (4.26 per cent) and N12.07bn (0.25 per cent) were invested in real estate properties and private equity funds, respectively.

The operators also invested N568.7m (0.01 per cent) in infrastructure funds, while N34.2bn (0.7 per cent) of the funds was invested in cash and other assets.

Funds under the CPS had risen from N4.54tn and N4.71tn in January and February to N4.74tn and N4.86tn in March and April, respectively.

The total assets rose from N4.05tn at the end of 2013 to N4.6tn at the end of the 2014 financial period.

According to PenCom, pension funds will only be invested in the bonds of states that are compliant with the CPS.

At the end of the 2014 financial year, it noted that about 24 states had adopted the CPS, while 12 others were at various stages of implementing the scheme, with one state yet to commence the process.

The Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said the Pension Reform Act, 2014 re-enacted the fundamental provisions of the repealed PRA 2004, which included the establishment of the CPS, uniform standards for pension administration as well as approving the commission as the sole regulator and supervisor of pension matters in Nigeria.

She added that there were new developments introduced by the PRA 2014 such as the upward review of the minimum rate of pension contributions and the sanctions/penalties for infractions of the provisions of the Act.

Prior to the enactment of the PRA 2014, she said several states of the federation had adopted the CPS and were at various stages of implementing it.

Recent developments with regard to inadequate finances of most states of the federation are a pointer to the urgent need for the states to adopt the CPS, she said.

Anohu-Amazu added, “In our quest to assist the states in guided implementation, PenCom has established functional offices in the six geo-political zones, including Awka for the South-East.

“These offices have been equipped to provide the required technical assistance to states and local governments in their efforts to adopt and implement the CPS.”

Source: THE PUNCH

Madrid top world most valuable sports club

Real Madrid retained top spot on a list of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, according to a Forbes poll that was made up mostly of National Football League franchises.

The 10 most valuable teams ($ bn)

1. Real Madrid - $3.26

2. Dallas Cowboys - $3.2

3.  NY Yankees - $3.2

4. FC Barcelona - $3.16

5. Man United - $3.1

6. LA Lakers - $2.6

7. New England Patriots - $2.6

8. NY Knicks - $2.5

9. LA Dodgers - $2.4

10.Washington Redskins - $2.4

The value of the 10-time European champions fell five percent from last year to $3.26bn due to a drop in the euro versus the US dollar, but revenue of $746m, the highest of any team, kept them top, Forbes said in a statement.

The NFL's Dallas Cowboys, up three spots from last year, and Major League Baseball's New York Yankees, up from fourth place in 2014, were tied for second with a value of $3.20bn.

Global football powers Barcelona ($3.16bn) and Manchester United ($3.10bn) rounded out the top five.

The NFL led all sports with 20 franchises in the top-50, followed by MLB (12), the National Basketball Association (10) and football (7).

Formula One's Ferrari ($1.35bn) were ranked 32nd while the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.3bn), tied at 37th, were the only National Hockey League team on the list.

According to Forbes, which began valuing sports franchises in 1998, the world's 50 most valuable teams are worth an average $1.75bn, up 31 percent from 2014.

Forbes also said the minimum valuation to make the cut rose to $1.15bn, up from $856m a year ago, due largely to the soaring worth of NBA and MLB teams.

Source: Reuters

Scores of ISIL child soldiers killed in Syria in 2015

More than 50 child soldiers recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria have been killed since the beginning of this year, a monitoring group reported. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday it had documented the deaths of 52 child soldiers, all under the age of 16, who had been part of ISIL's "Cubs of the Caliphate" programme.

The programme provides intense military and religious training to children throughout ISIL's areas of control in Syria, the Britain-based Observatory said.

As many as 31 were killed in July alone, in explosions, clashes, and air strikes by Syria's regime and the US-led coalition.

The child soldiers are used to man checkpoints or gather intelligence from areas outside ISIL control, but ISIL has been increasingly using them to execute prisoners or conduct suicide attacks.

So far this year, ISIL has used eight children as suicide bombers, most recently in its fight against Kurdish militia in northeastern Syria.

"This shows that Daesh is exploiting the suffering of the Syrian people," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

"When a child reaches the point of becoming a suicide bomber, this means that he's been completely brainwashed," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The Observatory said it had received information on dozens more children killed, but that it could not confirm their deaths.

Since the beginning of 2015, ISIL has recruited more than 1,100 children.

Also on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch criticised the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which is fighting IS in Syria, of failing to meet a commitment to stop using children in combat.

It said the YPG had demobilised some children since June 2014, but that it was still using both boys and girls under 18 as fighters.

"The YPG promised to stop sending children to war and it should carry out its promise," said Fred Abrahams, HRW special adviser.

"Of course the Kurdish forces are fighting groups like ISIL that flout the laws of war, but that's no excuse to tolerate abuses by its own forces."

HRW said many armed groups in Syria were using child soldiers, but that it hoped the YPG would "do more to stop the practice."

Syria's conflict began in 2011 with anti-government protests, which degenerated into a civil war that has killed more than 230,000 people and forced millions to flee.

Former President Bush (Snr) in hospital after fall

Former President George H.W. Bush fell Wednesday while at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, breaking a vertebrae in his neck, but "it was not life threatening," his spokesman Jim McGrath told CNN.

Bush was taken to a hospital in nearby Portland where he is "very stable," McGrath said.

The former president was never disoriented.

"We are not expecting a long stay," McGrath said, though he added Bush would be treated with a neck brace.

Bush last month just turned 91. He revealed several years ago he suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease.

He was hospitalized in 2014 after suffering a shortness of breath. In 2012, he was in the hospital for several months after he contracted bronchitis.

Bush and his wife last week appeared at several events in Maine with hundreds of his son Jeb's top donors to his presidential campaign.

Bush spokesman McGrath tweeted on Wednesday evening, "41 fell at home in Maine today and broke a bone in his neck. His condition is stable -- he is fine -- but he'll be in a neck brace."

I chose Yar'Adua because others were corrupt, says Obasanjo

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo Wednesday that he chose the late former President Umaru Yar’ Adua as his successor because others who wanted the post were corrupt.

Obasanjo said one of the people who wanted to succeed him in 2007 was “stinkingly corrupt” and that the only way he (Obasanjo) could justify himself before man and God was to go for Yar’Adua, who, he said, was the only one among the contenders then who was not corrupt.

The former President, who spoke in an interview with a private television station, Channels Television, in Abeokuta, did not mention the ‘corrupt’ Yar’Adua rivals.

Among the prominent presidential hopefuls in the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 were Obasanjo’s deputy, Abubakar Atiku; and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.

Atiku later abandoned the PDP to contest the presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress while Odili’s ambition fizzled out with the nomination of Yar’Adua.

The AC later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria, which later merged with the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the now ruling All Progressives Congress.

Obasanjo’s choice of successor died on May 5, 2010 from heart-related ailments. Many condemned Obasanjo for choosing a man who was manifestly sick to lead the country.

But in the Channels interview, Obasanjo said he only acted based on the information made available to him.

He said, “Even if you take your son as your successor, you are not sure of what he will do when he gets there. Don’t ever kid yourself.

“What do I know about any successor? What he presents. When he gets there, he presents it differently.

“We did our best, but if you say our best is not good enough, I will say, when it comes to your turn, do better.

“With all the people that are available for successor, what we came up with was about the best that we could think of at that time.

“One of those who wanted to do the job came to me and said, ‘Sir, I like your job, but I cannot do it the way you are doing it.’ Now, if he had told me that, should I then come and say, ‘okay, come, let me give you the job?’ He had told me that, ‘I like your job, but look, the way you are doing it, I haven’t got the stamina to do it that way.’ Then, what do you expect me to do?

“Or the one that I know that, oh!, this one, before he gets the job, he’s stinkingly corrupt. Now will I be able to defend myself before God and man if with what I know I give this job or I encourage the man to have this job?”

Historical Development Of Magazine In The World With Special Focus On Nigeria

All 200 level students are expected to post their appointment as a comment here. Good luck.

4 killed in crash on Lagos-Ibadan highway

Four persons have died in an accident on the Ogun State end of the Sagamu-Benin Expressway.

Eyewitnesses say a diesel-laden tanker on its way to Lagos, crashed and spilled its content on the highway Monday night.

Five vehicles, which were said to be on their way towards the Sagamu area, reportedly lost control when they ran over the spilled diesel.

The vehicles included a vehicle of cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement, which skidded off the slippery road and crashed into a ditch.

Another truck, carrying tyres, also fell, spilling its contents on the road.

This led to a gridlock on the expressway as all the vehicles on the highway were diverted to a single lane.

Okonjo-Iweala released $1bn for Jonathan’s re-election – Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of tampering with $1bn from the Federation Account, which he claimed was used “for election purposes.”

Oshiomhole, who disclosed this on Monday at a seminar organised by the state government for permanent secretaries, directors and deputy directors on enhancing internally generated revenue in the state, challenged the former minister to tell Nigerians how the Excess Crude Account was drawn down to $4.1bn from the peak of $10bn, when no approval was given by the National Economic Council for any withdrawals.

He also called for a forensic audit to determine the true amount which he said was illegally spent from the Federation Account under her watch as a minister.

The governor said, “The truth is, many things went wrong even at the federal level. As you might have read in the papers while the Federal Government, under Goodluck Jonathan, with the then Coordinating Minister of the Economy liked to blame ‘governors’ for wasteful spending; for not saving for the rainy day; for not investing properly, the truth is the real weakness in the Nigerian federal chain has been the Federal Government.

“Our hope is that with the new President, given his pedigree, we will break from the past. As I am sure you will soon begin to hear when all the numbers are published. Last week, I complained aloud that Edo State lost about N10bn over a four-year period from only one source – the NLNG remittance to the Federation Account.

“How did I arrive at the figure? I used my Four-Figure Table and I asked myself at $2.1bn remitted by NLNG, as taxes, and Shell. And by the way, Shell is not the only oil operative; we have Chevron and several others. They shared the $2.1bn based on the revenue allocation formula, Edo State got about N2.27bn. So I said, thank God this money came after the departure of Okonjo-Iweala and President Jonathan. If the PDP were still in charge in Abuja, this money would have been taken.

“That is not the only money Edo State Government has lost. You have heard of the last instalment of $4.1bn that was in the Excess Crude Account as of November, 2014, and from that time till today, we have not, when I say we– federal, states and local governments have not touched that money. We have not agreed to take anything out of it, and yet it has been drawn down to about $2bn, which means $2.1bn disappeared.

“But if you talk to those oil marketers, they will tell you that within that period, they were paid $1bn, not $2.1b. So in truth, about $1bn was taken for election purposes and Edo State’s share of that should have been about N4.6bn from that $2.1bn that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Minister of Finance illegally took from Excess Crude account.

Oshiomhole added, “Governments have lost a lot of money and the $2.1bn, that is Edo State’s share of that, because that would have included derivation, we would have made about N2.6bn. That, we have lost now to Okonjo-Iweala. Now that she claimed she used it, between herself and the last President, they agreed to take the money to pay oil marketers.”

Meanwhile, Okonjo-Iweala on Monday night denied withdrawing the sum of $1bn from the Excess Crude Account to finance the campaign of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a statement issued by her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the former finance minister described the allegation by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State that she spent $1bn out of the ECA to fund the re-election bid of former President Jonathan as a “ludicrously false statement that has unfortunately become a trademark of the Governor in his public campaign of falsehood.”

The statement said the comment by the governor was “just another example of the numerical diarrhea that seems to have afflicted His Excellency in recent times in his effort to damage the reputation of the former Minister.”

It read in part, “He has, within the last few months, asked Okonjo-Iweala to explain all kinds of totally wild and unsubstantiated figures, ranging from $30bn, $20bn, $2.1bn, N720bn and now $1bn.

“To say the obvious, the accusations are totally lacking in credibility. Governor Oshiomhole’s published comments also contain other falsehoods.”

Man City pay £49m for Sterling

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Manchester City over the £49m transfer of Raheem Sterling.

The transfer of the 20-year-old England winger is subject to contract negotiations and a medical.

Sterling had asked to leave Anfield and was the subject of two bids from City in June, which were rejected.

The forward, who will become the most expensive English player ever, is under contract until 2017, but turned down a new £100,000-a-week deal at Liverpool.

Sterling was signed by Liverpool as a 15-year-old from QPR in February 2010 and the Loftus Road club will receive 20% of any fee the Reds get for the forward.

On Saturday, Sterling was named on a 30-man list for the tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia, but was then withdrawn.

Most expensive British players£85.3m - Gareth Bale (Tottenham to Real Madrid, 2013)
£49m* - Raheem Sterling (Liverpool to Manchester City, 2015) *subject to deal going through
£35m - Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool, 2011)
£30m - Rio Ferdinand (Leeds to Manchester United, 2002)
£27m - Luke Shaw (Southampton to Manchester United, 2015)
£27m - Wayne Rooney (Everton to Manchester United, 2004)
£26m - James Milner (Aston Villa to Manchester City, 2010)

Several former Liverpool players have criticised the player since he told manager Brendan Rodgers and chief executive Ian Ayre he wanted to leave the club this summer.

Former captain Steven Gerrard said he was"disappointed" in the England international.

You don't have to throw in illness, or refuse to go on tour," LA Galaxy midfielder Gerrard added. "The fans have shown him great support, they want him to stay and I believe that he should too."

However, it is understood the Reds decided to leave him out of the tour after the player reported for duty.

A recent study ranked Sterling as the most valuable young player in Europe, ahead of Paris St-Germain defender Marquinhos and Manchester United's recently acquired Dutch striker Memphis Depay.

Woods believes in 15th major win at St Andrews

Former world number one Tiger Woods says he can win his 15th major at this week's Open, claiming his game is "heading in the right direction".

Woods, 39, has not won a major since the 2008 US Open and has struggled with form and injury in recent years.

But, in an interview with BBC Sport, world number 241 Woods said he now felt more consistent.

The American also said that golf was "in good hands" with current world top two Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

In addition, Woods revealed that he now spends less time playing golf and more time with his two children.

Woods on his game

Woods has been hampered by a back problem, for which he had surgery in 2014, and has been trying to alter his swing.

He has struggled for form throughout 2015 and has recorded three scores in the 80s in his last six tournaments. Last month, he shot the worst round of his professional career - a 13-over-par 85 at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio - and missed the cut in the US Open at Chambers Bay with his worst score in the event.

However, he carded his best round of the year - a four-under-par 66 - on the first day of the Greenbrier Classic on 2 July.

"My body's finally good. I'm just not as wiry and as whippy as I used to be. And being 39 versus 19 is totally different.

"If you're making changes you have to take a couple of steps backwards before you make the giant leap forward - if you look throughout my career when I've made swing changes I've gone through that suffering period and I've come out pretty good on the other side.

"I wouldn't say I've found the solution - it's a process, an evolution, making subtle shifts, fine tuning and getting the overall pattern different, and that takes time.

"I'm starting to feel like I'm getting more consistent - the last round at Greenbrier was probably the best I've hit in a couple of years.

"I know I'm heading in the right direction. It's going take a tremendous amount of work and a lot of patience but I'll get there eventually."

Woods off the course

GM ignition switch responsible for 124 deaths in US

A compensation fund set up for victims of faulty ignition switches in General Motors vehicles has concluded that the defect was responsible for 124 deaths and 266 injuries. 

The fund, run by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, has finished processing the 4,342 claims it received by the Jan. 31 deadline. Of those, 91 percent were deemed ineligible or deficient. Claimants could not appeal Feinberg's decision.

Victims' families are being offered compensation of at least $1m each, according to the Associated Press news agency.

GM recalled More than 8 million Chevrolets and other small cars last year but acknowledged it knew about the ignition switch problems for more than a decade.

As of March 31, GM had paid $200 million to settle claims filed with Feinberg. The company has said it expects to pay up to $600 million.

Any claimants who accept compensation will waive the right to sue GM.

Criminal charges

In June 2014 the company said it had sacked 15 employees over their role in the scandal and announced it would set up the fund for victims.

An internal investigation blamed the debacle on engineering ignorance and bureaucratic dithering, and denied a deliberate cover-up.

GM paid a record $35m fine for failing to promptly report the bad ignition switches to US federal highway safety regulators.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that US federal prosecutors were considering bringing criminal charges against the company.

Source: Al Jazeera And AP

Mexico, US up search for drug lord Guzman after escape from prison

Mexican and US authorities are scrambling to find Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after his stunning escape from a maximum-security prison west of Mexico City on Saturday night.

Guzman is Mexico' most notorious drug lord now has one more nefarious title: serial prison escapee.

The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel stepped into a shower, crawled through a hole and vanished through a mile-long tunnel apparently built just for him.

Mexico's President is livid. So are U.S. officials. And if Guzman gets caught, he could be sent to the United States.

Guzman is the boss of one of the world's deadliest drug trafficking operations.

Official says he escaped through a ventilated, lighted tunnel about a mile long.
Mexican authorities are questioning 18 prison worker

How he did it

Guzman, whose nickname means "Shorty," has pulled off an elaborate escape from a maximum-security prison before. In 2001, he managed to break free while reportedly hiding in a laundry cart. It took authorities 13 years to catch him -- sleeping at a Mexican beach resort.
This time, during his escape from Altiplano federal prison in Almoloya de Juárez, officials believe he took a much more sophisticated route: a tunnel complete with lighting, ventilation and even a modified motorcycle on tracks "that was likely used to remove dirt during the excavation and transport the tools for the dig," Mexican National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said.

The tunnel began with a 50-by-50-centimeter (20-by-20-inch) opening inside the shower of Guzman's cell, Rubido said.

That opening connected to a vertical passageway going more than 10 meters (33 feet) underground. The passageway, outfitted with a ladder, led to a tunnel that was about 1.7 meters (5.6 feet) tall and more than 70 centimeters (28 inches) wide.

The tunnel stretched for about a mile and ended inside a half-built house. From there, Guzman's whereabouts are anyone's guess.

"This represents, without a doubt, an affront to the Mexican state," Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said. "But also I am confident that the institutions of the Mexican state, particularly those in charge of public safety, are at the level ... to recapture this criminal."

Mexican authorities said they have brought 18 prison workers to Mexico City for questioning, but it's unclear how many may have played a role in the escape.

Buhari must kill NNPC, El-Rufai says

Governor of Kaduna State,  Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to kill the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

"If you don't kill Nigeria,  it will kill Nigeria, " he said.

Worried by the corruption in the NNPC,  El-Rufai, while speaking on Monday at the 7th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series, lambasted the national oil firm, stressing that he was hopeful that the current administration of  Buhari would kill the corporation.

He called for the setting up of another national oil firm as he argued that the present NNPC would kill Nigeria if it is allowed to continue running as the country’s oil firm.

Buhari appoints new service chiefs

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointments of new service chiefs and National Security Adviser (NSA) Nigeria.

Their appointments, contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, followed Buhari’s sacking of the former occupants of the offices earlier in the day. 

The new appointments, according to the statement are:

1. Maj.-Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin – Chief of Defence Staff

2. Maj.-Gen. T.Y. Buratai – Chief of Army Staff

3. Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas – Chief of Naval Staff

4. Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar – Chief of Air Staff

5. Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku  Morgan – Chief of Defence Intelligence

6. Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) – National Security Adviser

The new Chief of Defence Staff,  Olonishakin (N/6901) hails from Ekiti State.

Until his new appointment, he was the Head of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, Niger State.

The new Chief of Army Staff, Buratai hails from Borno State. 

He was, until his new appointment, the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force which has its headquarters in Ndjamena. 

He has previously served as Commander of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Brigade in Port Harcourt and Commander of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State.

The new Chief of Naval Staff, Ibas (NN/0746) hails from Cross River State. 

He enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as  a member of the 26th Regular Course in 1979 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1983.  

His previous appointments include Naval Provost Marshal, Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters, Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command and Chief of Logistics, Naval Headquarters. Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Navy Holdings Limited.

The new Chief of Air Staff, Abubakar (NAF/1433) hails from Bauchi State.  

His previous appointments include Chief of Standards and Evaluation, NAF Headquarters; Chief of Defence Communications and Air Officer Commanding, NAF Training Command. Until his new appointment today as Chief of Air Staff, he was the Chief of Administration, NAF Headquarters.

The new Chief of Defence Intelligence, Morgan, hails from Benue State.

He was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a Pilot Officer in June, 1982. His previous appointments include Air Officer Commanding, NAF Logistics Command.

The new National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Monguno (rtd.) was a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 21st Regular Course.

Before his retirement from the Army, he held several command and staff appointments including Commander, Guards Brigade, Deputy Commandant, National Defence College, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Chief of Defence Logistics and Commander, Training and Doctrine Command.

Adesina said the new service chiefs will hold their appointments in an acting capacity until confirmed by the Senate.

He quoted the President as  thanking the outgoing Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser for their services to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Graft: Court grants temporary release to Nigerian ex-head of service, others

A Federal High Court in Abuja Monday granted a former Head of Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye, and his co-accused, release from custody pending the hearing of their bail application.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole made the order shortly after the accused were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 24 counts of ‎money laundering and fraud charges.

Justice Kolawole, who adjourned the hearing of the bail applications till July 21, ruled that the release granted to the accused persons would only take effect upon filing of written undertakings by defence lawyers assuring that they would produce their clients in court at the next hearing date.

The judge hinged his decision to release the accused persons in the interim on the grounds that the EFCC had not indicated that the accused persons, particularly Oronsaye, had the tendency of absconding from trial.

He had also overruled the request by the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Aliyu Yussuf, for the remand of the accused persons in prison.

The judge held that he could not force the accused on the EFCC whose counsel contended that there was no space to accommodate them in its custody, ‎but under the principle of “interim judicial reprieve,” the court lacked the power to release the accused persons pending the hearing of the bail applications.

The court fixed October 28, 29; November 3, 5 as well as December 5 for trial.

Buhari sacks service chiefs

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked all the service chiefs of their appointments.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said this while speaking to State House correspondents on Monday.

Adesina, who did not give more details, added that the Presidency was preparing a statement on the sacking, which would be made available to newsmen.

Their replacements had neither been named as of the time of writing this report.

There has been an escalation in terror attacks by Boko Haram militants in the country in recent times, leading to the killing of more than 500 people in less than four weeks.

Multiple bomb blasts rock Jos ECWA church

A couple of powerful bombs have exploded at the parish of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Tudun Wada,  Jos North Local Government, Plateau State.
Residents said that the blasts occurred during the Sunday service of the church.
It is feared that there will be high casualties involving members of the church.
The bombs must have been detonated by Boko Haram, an eyewitness said.
More details to follow.

Bomb rocks ECWA Jos parish

Thousands of worshipers escaped death by the whiskers as four powerful blasts rocked Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Tudun Wada area of Jos North Local Government of Plateau State.

The blasts were said to have gone off in quick succession at about 8am Sunday morning.

No death was however recorded.

ISIS releases video with Boko Haram

There are strong indications that the Islamic sect Boko Haram has forged a strong operational alliance with the ruthless Islamic State as the two bodies have released a joint video for the first time on Saturday.

This is the first video recording since Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State last year.

The video showed the picture of a suspected Nigerian soldier in a kneeling position surrounded by three terrorists with AK47 assault rifles. Later in the video, the body of the soldier was shown without the head.

The location of the action was not specified in the latest video.

Also, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, did not speak in the video.

Mail Online reported that the audio message, which was entitled ‘kill and be killed,’ was read by an unidentified spokesman for ISIS.

The audio message released through the militants’ vast social media channels was read by an ISIS spokesperson who also threatened further violence against Christian and Jewish communities.

The video carried a West African insignia of the ISIS which indicated that the group has set up media wing in Nigeria.

The horrific pictures displayed in the video bore a striking similarity with the horrendous acts and scenes in ISIS videos.

The video also showed the insurgents in a battle against security forces who were not visible and did not return the fire of the enemy.

Our correspondent could not get the Director, Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade to comment on the video.

However, Olukolade, who is believed to be outside the country, responded to a text message on the issue and referred our correspondent to the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. SK Usman.

SUNDAY PUNCH could not raech Usman to get his view on the video as calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect.

Also, Usman had not responded to a text message on the issue as of the time of filing this report on Saturday night.

However, a security operative in the mission said there had been no recent incident of Boko Haram attack and sacking of military formations in the North-East.

NASS crisis: Buhari refuses to meet Saraki

President Muhammadu Buhari has resisted fresh moves by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to formally meet with him, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

An official in the Presidency who confided in one of our correspondents on Saturday said the President and the Senate President had only met once since the latter’s emergence as the leader of the senate.

The official said all efforts by Saraki to have another meeting with the president, after the party’s National Executive Council meeting penultimate Friday, were rebuffed by Buhari.

The reliable source said the president of the Senate had at different times reached out to people to help him persuade Buhari to grant him audience.

Saraki had defied the All Progressives Congress to contest for the position of the senate president on June and emerged victorious after a controversial election that excluded a sizeable number of senators. The APC had endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan as its candidate for the senate presidency.

The government official who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCHsaid, “The truth is that the President is still displeased with what transpired in the National Assembly, especially the Senate.

“Their encounter during the APC National Executive Council meeting, when they shook hands, was the first meeting between President Buhari and Saraki since he emerged as the President of the Senate.

“We are aware that Saraki has been going about begging people to assist him to plead with the President to meet with him. That was one of the reasons why he visited former President Obasanjo.

“I can tell you that the President is very pained by what happened. He felt that since he had been transparent with the party, everybody should play that way. But since Saraki took that path, the President was and he is still pained. Let us just hope that at the end of it all, they will be able to put the matter behind them.”

Also speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, a highly placed party official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told one of our correspondents that the handshake between the President and Saraki during the recent NEC meeting of the APC “was for journalists.”

He stated, “President Buhari is still upset because of what happened. If you read in-between the line his speech during our last NEC meeting, he reminded people who joined the party after it was formed not to rubbish the sacrifices made by party leaders.

“It was not for the fun of it that the President took time to go down the memory lane to trace the genesis of the APC.

“Although the President said he was prepared to work with anybody who emerged as leader in the National Assembly, he did not envisage a scenario where Saraki would emerge as the Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu, a member of the PDP, would emerge as the deputy president of the Senate.”

Asked whether or not the President might change his mind anytime soon, the source said, “Not until the governors, who were mandated by the NEC to resolve the matter in the National Assembly, bring the matter under control.”

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said there was no cause for alarm. During a telephone interview on Saturday, Olaniyonu said Buhari had repeatedly told Nigerians that he believed in the independence of the parliament.

He explained that Buhari had had cause to formally communicate with on “state issues” and that they exchanged warm pleasantries at the APC NEC meeting held in Abuja.

He said, “The president of a nation can have private discussions with the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives anytime he likes.

“At the moment, President Buhari, probably wants the issue around the National Assembly leadership positions formally resolved before calling for such meetings. He has said that he would not involve himself in the affairs of the legislature and we should respect his views.”

Olaniyonu explained that Saraki and Buhari had been having regular official communication and that such would continue because the Senate would have to approve all appointments made by the President.

Asked why the President had met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, without meeting with Saraki up till now, Olaniyonu answered that he was not aware of the Buhari-Dogara meeting.

He said, “I am not aware of that meeting you talked about. If the meeting had held, the picture taken afterwards would have been published in the dailies. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think there was anything like that. “

Also, the spokesperson for the pro-Saraki Senators of Like Minds, Dino Melaye, told one of our correspondents on Saturday that Saraki and Buhari met and had fruitful deliberation at the NEC meeting of the APC.

“The President and the Senate President met at the NEC meeting. We are all awaiting the outcome of the peace moves initiated at the meeting. For now, there is no cause for concern,” he said.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina declined comments