Yola blast: Hospital urges public to donate blood

The Federal Medical Centre Yola, has called on members of the public to donate blood to victims of Thursday’s bomb blast that occurred at Yola MARKET.
The spokesperson of the centre, Mohammed Dodo, made the call Friday in Yola in an interview.
Mr. Dodo said the hospital blood bank and other facilities such as drugs had been overstretched as a result of the incident.
“As I am speaking to you, we have 31 dead and 22 people seriously injured,” Mr. Dodo said.
The chief medical director of Yola Specialist Hospital, Bala Saidu, said 44 people were admitted to the hospital with various degrees of injury, out of which 25 have been treated and discharged.
“We only have 19 people now on admission,” Mr. Saidu said.
He said all bodies from the incident had been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre.
Meanwhile, the Lamido of Adamawa, Barkindo Mustapha and Adamawa Deputy Governor, Martins Babale, have visited the scene and victims of the incident.
They condemned the blast and urged the public to be more vigilant.
The Thursday night blast, which is the first in Yola town according to the spokesperson of the Adamawa Police Command, Othman Abubakar, was carried out by two suicide bombers who are among the dead.
(NAN)

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Fugitive Senator-elect, Kashamu, hid in toilet for 6 days during NDLEA raid — Lawyer

A Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, wanted by the United States government for alleged drug offences, hid in his apartment’s toilet in Lagos for six days as Nigerian anti-narcotic agents raided his home and placed him under house arrest two weeks ago, his lawyer said Thursday.

The lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, told a federal court in Lagos that Mr. Kashamu remained in hiding while 20 masked operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency took over his bedroom.

Mr. Oluyede said despite an earlier ruling of the court that the NDLEA lift its siege on Mr. Kashamu’s home, the agency only withdrew its personnel after he was compelled to sign an undertaking.

‘’The only reason they left was because I signed an undertaking,” Mr. Oluyede said. “My client was in a toilet for six days with 20 masked armed men in his bedroom. So, I signed the undertaking before they left. They should not claim to have obeyed the order of the court.”

Mr. Kashamu’s lawyer urged the court to nullify any warrant of arrest that might have been obtained by the NDLEA from any source in an attempt to extradite his client.

The judge, Ibrahim Bubba, ‎ordered the Attorney General of Nigeria, the NDLEA not to take any further action to extradite Mr. Kashamu to the United States, until the proceedings before him are determined.

Repeating his earlier orders, Justice Buba said ‘’at the expense of being repetitive, the defendants who are alleged contemnor are once again ordered not to do anything that will undermine the suit before the court. It is the duty of all parties to obey the order of court’’.

‘’Therefore, counsel should note that the motion to set aside the orders of court and the main application has not been argued. So the court has to adjourn this matter in order for parties to be served appropriately so that justice can be done,” he stated.

He said the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction subsists until they are set aside.

He said whether the orders were made rightly or wrongly, parties are bound by that order of the court no matter how perverse the order may seem to be.

‎

Justice Buba therefore adjourned the suit to June 19 for hearing of contempt proceedings against the former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, and the NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade.

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Obasanjo appointed co-Chair of InterAction Council

The InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government has appointed former President Olusegun Obasanjo co-chair of the Council at the 32nd Annual Plenary Meeting in Newport, United Kingdom Friday.

Mr. Obasanjo was a founding member of the InterAction Council, taking a leave for the years when he resumed office as President in 1999. He is the first African member to assume the chairmanship.

×Ads by Lights Cinema 1.5beta“I am humbled to have been elected as Co-Chair of the InterAction Council, a position that has been held by some of my great friends who were also my mentors over the years – Helmut Schmidt of Germany and the late Malcolm Fraser of Australia – and also to serve alongside my longtime friend Jean Chrétien, the former Prime Minister of Canada,” said President Obasanjo.

“We will continue the Council’s important work, but also look at some issues that are of particular concern to me, like youth engagement and EMPLOYMENT. Africa has many problems but also great opportunities, and the IAC will look at both,” he said.

Mr. Obasanjo has governed Nigeria as both the head of a military administration (1975-1979) and then again as a democratically elected civilian president (1999-2007).

He was thrust into power in Nigeria following the assassination of military ruler General Murtala Muhammed in 1976.

As deputy, he took over as head of state but committed to the restoration of civilian government in Nigeria.

His administration set up the Constitution Drafting Committee and the Constituent Assembly, introduced the N20 CURRENCY and established “Operation Feed the Nation,” which evolved into the “Green Revolution.”

In 1979, under President Obasanjo, the military stepped aside and handed power to a democratically elected president, returning Nigeria to civilian rule. He was the first head of state and government on the African continent to ever relinquish power to a democratically elected government, peacefully and voluntarily.

President Obasanjo returned to power in Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 after winning two civilian elections – 20 years after he relinquished power to civilian rule.

President Obasanjo is the author of several works, many of which were inspired by his brief false imprisonment for his alleged role in a military coup in 1995. These including Guide to Effective Prayer, The Animal Called Man (1999) and Exemplary Youth in a Difficult World (2001). In 2000, he also published his memoirs, Sermons from Prison.

President Obasanjo assumes the position of Co-Chair of the InterAction Council from Franz Vranitzky, former Chancellor of Austria (1986-1997), who served as Co-Chair from 1 July 2010 until now.

×Ads by Lights Cinema 1.5betaEstablished in 1983, the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government is an international organization whose objective is to address political, economic and social problems confronting humankind. The Council’s membership is comprised of more than thirty former heads of state who jointly develop proposals for action and submit them directly to national and international decision-makers.

In its 32-year history, the InterAction Council has been at the forefront of many prominent issues, most notably the 1997 drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, a document that counterbalances the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the 2010 Hiroshima Declaration, a powerful plea for the abolishment of nuclear weapons; and the 2012 REPORT, The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue.

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Nigerian Civil Society launch “Buharimeter” to track Buhari’s campaign vows delivery

A civic group has launched an online application to track the delivery of pre-election promises made by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari.
The web-app, announced on Monday, holds data on all promises made by both the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and Mr. Buhari while campaigning for the 2015 general elections.
It is part of the digital governance revolution in Nigeria, helping the use of online tools to deepen the country’s democracy and make government accountable and transparent, its creators said.
The app was built by the Centre for Democracy and Development with support from Open Society Foundation West Africa and a leading budget data analytics, Budgit.
Buharimeter measures the implementation of Mr. Buhari’s campaign promises and displays a visual report. It documents promises made by the current government in different sectors for easy tracking.
The performance of the government will be measured using three related methods.
First, it will crowdsource Nigerians’ contributions to discussions, comments on policy pronouncements of the government in achieving its set targets and surveys.
Second, it will carry out policy and media monitoring exercise.
“Policy statements will be acquired, analysed and used as basis for gauging the performance of the government,” Idaya Hassan, director of the centre said.
The third approach is physical checks on projects.
At its launch on Monday, three days after the president was sworn in, the website showed that no project had been achieved, and none declared “not achieved” either.
Its “On-going” bar had a slight fill of green, attributed to the president’s secret declaration of his assets. The president had promised to declare his assets publicly.
He is yet to do so.

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Reus: I have no regrets over Borussia Dortmund renewal

Marco Reus has insisted that he has no regrets over his decision to sign a new contract with Borussia Dortmund earlier this season.

The 26-year-old was heavily linked with a transfer at the end of the 2014-15 campaign before he agreed a new deal until June 2019 back in February to end speculation about his future.

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Pogba can achieve whatever he wants, says Buffon

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes Paul Pogba can go as far as we wants in football.

The Frenchman is widely regarded as one of the most exciting players around in the game and has attracted attention from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

On Saturday, the 22-year-old can add to the Serie A titles and Coppa Italia he has already claimed in his career with the Champions League, if Juve beat Barca in the final.

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‘Empire’ Creator Pitches Diana Ross For New Season

Cookie better watch her back ... "Empire" creator Lee Daniels has got another diva in mind for the hit series – Diana Ross.

Daniels chatted up our photog outside Craig’s in West Hollywood, and while Taraji P. Henson got a 10 for her rump shaking gone viral … talk of Ross for the new season got Daniels so flustered he forgot to pay for parking.

True endless love is at work here, folks. Nothing says "Music. Family. Power." like a true O.G. diva.

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50 Cent I'm Ballin’ ... In My New Undies!

50 Cent doesn’t wear just any underwear… he wears FRIGO -- his own high-end line …. and he’s bulging out there for the world to see.

We got pics from the rapper’s FRIGO RevolutionWear underwear campaign and he's jacked ... very big.

Fiddy partnered with Carmelo Anthony, Derek Jeter and Timbaland for the upscale line, but we’re told he’s the only one stripping down for billboards.

The undies don’t come cheap – the exclusives cost $100 a pop ... 'cause, you know, Fifty is always gettin' rich or gonna die tryin'.

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I renew my pledge to crush Boko Haram – Buhari

 President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, in Niger Republic renewed his vow to crush the Boko Haram Islamic sect, saying “five years of the presence of this evil sect is enough.”

Speaking at a news conference in Niger during his first visit outside the country since inauguration, Buhari expressed confidence in the ability of the Nigerian military to overcome and eradicate Boko Haram.

At the news conference with Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou, he also said that Nigeria will soon take over from Nigerien soldiers who occupy towns liberated from the Islamist militant group. He noted that the Nigerian Army which has earned a good reputation worldwide remains a virile fighting force.

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Juventus defender Chiellini ruled out of Champions League final

Juventus have received a big blow ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Barcelona after confirming that Giorgio Chiellini will miss the game due to injury.

The influential defender pulled up in training on Wednesday with a calf problem and underwent a scan on Thursday.

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Caitlyn Jenner Five Times More Valuable than Bruce

Caitlyn Jenner is a hotter commodity than Bruce Jenner ever was ... especially on the speaking circuit.

Sources who worked for years on booking speaking gigs for Bruce tell TMZ, Caitlyn is worth 5 times what Bruce commanded. Our sources say Bruce used to get $25,000 a pop for motivational speaking ... and they say Caitlyn can pull well over $100k.

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Life of every Nigerian matters, says VP Osinbajo

Vice President Professor Yomi Osinbajo said yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State that the life of every Nigerian citizen matters to the Federal Government no matter his status or where he resides.

He spoke after visiting the scene of the incident where about 70 people died following an inferno caused by a tanker loaded with fuel.Osinbajo who was accompanied by his host, Chief Willie Obiano and the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district, Dr. Chris Ngige said that President Muhammadu was very concerned and pained by the fuel tanker tragedy that he felt it was not enough to send a condolence message and so had asked him to come and commiserate with the people of Anambra state.

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NBA's Chandler Parsons Dating Leo DiCaprio's Ex ... Smokin' Hot Model

Major props to Dallas Mavericks star Chandler Parsons ... who seems to be on a PDA level with his apparent new girlfriend Toni Garrn -- a super hot model who once dated Leo Dicaprio. 

the couple was spotted out in NYC on Wednesday -- holding hands and kissing as they walked along the street.

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Benitez: I'm back home & I want trophies

New Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez broke down in tears after sealing a return to his "home".

The former Napoli and Liverpool boss began his coaching career with Madrid's youth sides, before coaching a variety of teams in Spain and around Europe.

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Neymar: Dani Alves would have a new deal if I was Barcelona president

Neymar has claimed he would have given Dani Alves a new contract by now if he was Barcelona's president.

The right-back, 32, and the Catalans are engaged in what Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent Blanc has called “a game” as the player awaits a proposal he likes from his current club.

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