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http://ift.tt/2rHgiUJ The original buyer put the guitar back on auction to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Alabama-based group which wages legal battles against white supremacists and other hate groups. A guitar of Grateful Dead legend Jerry Garcia on Wednesday raised more than $3 million at an auction to support a leading civil rights group. Known as Wolf, the custom-made electric guitar was a constant concert companion of Garcia until the jam rock icon died in 1995. The original buyer put the guitar back on auction to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Alabama-based group which wages legal battles against white supremacists and other hate groups. At a charity concert in New York, Brian Halligan, the CEO and co-founder of marketing firm HubSpot, bought Wolf for $1.932 million including the premium. An anonymous charity matched his pre-premium $1.6 million bid, bringing the total donation for the Southern Poverty Law Center to $3.2 mi...

http://ift.tt/2ok9OID The Commission, would be headed by a chairman, who would be a retired Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General, who would also be appointed by the President for a period of four years. • NASS to raise teachers’ retirement age to 65 The Senate has, in a new law passed yesterday, subjected the appointment of the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to its confirmation. While making it mandatory for the President to appoint the Comptroller General from officers within the Customs Service, it also scrapped the governing board of the Service and replaced it with the NCS Commission. The Commission, would be headed by a chairman, who would be a retired Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General, who would also be appointed by the President for a period of four years. The appointment of the chairman of the commission is also subject to confirmation by the Senate, and the tenure is renewable once. The Senate Bill tagged: “ A Bil...

http://ift.tt/2qKSUC7 Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the assurance yesterday while briefing State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. • 2017 budget may not be signed this week The Federal Government yesterday assured Nigerians that ailing President Muhammadu Buhari is in “very competent hands” in London where he has gone to do a follow-up medical consultation with his doctors. The wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, had on Tuesday left Nigeria for London to join her husband. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the assurance yesterday while briefing State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. The minister who was responding to a question on the status of the president’s health assured that there was no cause for alarm over President Buhari’s health. “The president is in very compete...

http://ift.tt/2sgBhuT The burnt police station Two policemen and a naval rating lost their lives on Tuesday night in Calabar, after some suspected naval officers attacked a police station in the capital city of Cross River State. Trouble started around 5:00p.m. on Tuesday when police traffic controllers attempted to stop some naval officers who flouted the red light at a point near the Calabar Township. While some eyewitnesses said the naval officers not only ignored the policemen but also beat them up, others told newsmen that trouble started when the unidentified naval rating was shot in the left shoulder by policeman over the traffic offence. The situation later degenerated as a section of the Akim Police Station, which is located along the busy IBB Way, was burnt by some naval personnel, while two vehicles were also set ablaze. Two policemen identified as Sergeant Odudu and Corporal Emmanuel Mbang were shot dead at close range while a third policeman...

http://ift.tt/2rxdIR4 Political activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Nnamdi Kanu (L), wearing a Jewish prayer shawl, poses in the garden of his house in Umuahia, southeast Nigeria, on May 26, 2017, before commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the war on May 30.<br />The war was triggered when the Igbo people, the main ethnic group in the southeast, declared an independent breakaway state, the Republic of Biafra. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS *Sit-at-home order’s success shows unity of Ndigbo, says MASSOB Apparenyly buoyed by the success of the sit-at –home exercise called on Tuesday by agitators, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, stormed Enugu yesterday and held closed door meeting with some Southeast leaders under the auspices of the Ala Igbo Development Foundation (ADF). At the over two hours meeting chaired by the president of the ADF, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, were Archbishop Maxwell Aniekwenwa; a former Ohana...

http://ift.tt/2rH5GW2 “The people of Akwa Ibom State see this investment as representing our hopes and dreams and we want to sincerely thank Ovia for his faith and belief in our state and our people.” The plan to set up Quantum Petrochemicals in Akwa Ibom State by Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, has been described as a giant stride that would reduce unemployment and boost the economies of state and the country. Speaking with reporters during the second anniversary of the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration at the Uyo Township Stadium, the Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Integrity Group, Robert Okon, commended the promoters of the company, saying it would enhance the state’s industrialisation policy. Okon lauded Ovia for the $1.5 billion (about 489.6 billion) initiative, which was inaugurated in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, adding it would not only engender the administration’s industrial development plan but also create employment and alleviate poverty in the ...

http://ift.tt/2rihCsS The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru PHOTO: TWITTER/NNPC * ‘Buhari misled on award of OML to NPDC’ The termination of the construction of a modular refinery in Akwa Ibom state by Hi Rev Exploration and Production Company is sending conflicting signals to the oil and gas sector. It concerns the position of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to frustrate the building of modular refineries in the Niger Delta to compete with its existing three refineries. Curiously, the memo which was written by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, dated 20th December 2016, was read, approved and signed personally by President Muhammadu Buhari same day. Additionally, a letter conveying the President’s approval of the NNPC request was also written by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari on the same 20th December 2016. The letter had reference number: PRES/158/NNPC/38. Abba Kyari is a member of the NNPC Board. ...

http://ift.tt/2ppOsaG National Assembly Complex Abuja. Civil society groups and experts have called for the probe of N1.15 trillion received by the National Assembly between 2005 and 2014, with the view to making it public. They also expressed concerns that since 2010, NASS has spent about $3.3 billion (N1.01 trillion at subsisting official exchange rate) without recourse to transparency and public information. This is coming just as failed attempts to enthrone accountability and transparency in the use of public funds over the years, is creating doubts on their commitments and claims over the anti-corruption war. A coalition of individuals and organisations, Enough Is Enough Nigeria (EiENigeria) and BudgIT, while lamenting the long years of opaque budget system in the country, said the latest increase in the budget of the National Assembly from the proposed N115 billion to N125 billion is worrisome. Nigerians who responded to the “#OpenNASS Datathon” study have proposed t...

http://ift.tt/2skIhG1 Gas flaring has remained a major economic and environmental challenge since the discovery of oil in the 50s. Successive governments had only mouthed their disgust but failed serially to decisively tackle the issue. • Dealers threaten to cut supplies over N200b debt The Senate yesterday declared that Nigeria is losing $2.5 billion yearly to gas flaring. This is just as it began moves to enact a legislation to outlaw gas flaring in the country. At a public hearing on the Gas Flaring (Prohibition) Bill in the National Assembly, the Senate Committee on Gas Resources also lamented that gas flaring is creating so much health hazard. Gas flaring has remained a major economic and environmental challenge since the discovery of oil in the 50s. Successive governments had only mouthed their disgust but failed serially to decisively tackle the issue. If the new initiative by the Senate is able to stop the practice, it will mark a paradigm shift in oil exploration and ex...

http://ift.tt/2rmyiAH Gambari said that there was need for good governance, human rights, justice, access to education and individuals’ fulfillment. These, he said, could only be enhanced if each individual has the opportunity to fulfill his or her potentials.<br /> Army reiterates ban on commercial fishing in Lake Chad region Former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations (UN), Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, says that most global conflicts cannot be resolved by the deployment of military force alone. Gambari, who is regarded as the doyen of diplomacy in Nigeria, also believes that justice is imperative for peace to thrive anywhere in the world. In his keynote address with the theme, “Peace and Security in Promoting Global Partnership in Africa,” at the maiden edition of diplomatic and executive night organised by Diplomatic Vista Magazine, publishers of Nigerian Link and African Women in Leadership magazine, Gambari said that apart from justice, peace buil...

http://ift.tt/2rH1PbA Apparently unable to pay the bills amidst other critical obligations that include maintenance, fuel and personnel, the airlines are more in financial distress with the attendant debt burden cumulatively estimated at N15 billion. • Carriers list 37 levies, taxes • Charges are statutory, says NCAA Local airlines in the country have very slim chances of survival under the alleged current regime of multiple taxes. According to the airlines, sundry charges, under the guise of taxes and levies at airports nationwide, account for at least 65 per cent of revenue accruing to them. Apparently unable to pay the bills amidst other critical obligations that include maintenance, fuel and personnel, the airlines are more in financial distress with the attendant debt burden cumulatively estimated at N15 billion. The eight surviving local airlines are at the risk of collapsing if the situation is not checked and made to align with the ‘ ease of doing business’ mantra of th...

http://ift.tt/2nXtSNy House of Representatives Urge police to rescue kidnapped Lagos students Members of the House of Representatives have condemned Tuesday’s abduction of their colleague, Garba Durbunde. The lawmaker, representing Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency of Kano State, was abducted around 5:00p.m yesterday while driving from Abuja to Kano. Segun Odebunmi (PDP, Oyo) disclosed that the Kano caucus of the House was monitoring the activities surrounding the abduction. The House also urged the police to rescue the six students of Lagos Model College, Igbonla, Epe who were kidnapped last week. This followed a motion by Tasir Olawale Raji, who urged the lawmakers to commend the Lagos State Police Command for its role in rescuing four students of the school who were kidnapped, but later released in October last year. While condemning the spate of kidnapping in the country, the lawmakers charged security agencies to deploy their personnel to flush out the kidnappers who...

http://ift.tt/2rmKba6 Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN)/Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) Forum held in Abuja, Chairman of PMG-MAN, Okey Akpa, said policy flip-flops had, at many times, threatened to shut down over 120 pharma companies in the industry. With about N20 billion invested in upgrading their factories in the last five years, pharmaceutical manufacturers and companies in the country are seeking the Federal Government’s buy-in in a proposed backward integration plan expected to revamp the industry. Specifically, the operators want clarity and consistency in government’s policies as regards the sector as well as a new strategy for drug importation to enable them stay afloat and increase created jobs to one million direct and indirect staff. Speaking at Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN)/Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) Forum held in Abu...

http://ift.tt/2rAi1v0 Arsenal's French manager Arsene Wenger lifts the FA Cup trophy after their win over Chelsea in the English FA Cup final football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley stadium in London on May 27, 2017.<br />Aaron Ramsey scored a 79th-minute header to earn Arsenal a stunning 2-1 win over Double-chasing Chelsea on Saturday and deliver embattled manager Arsene Wenger a record seventh FA Cup. / AFP PHOTO / Ian KINGTON / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has defended the club’s decision to stand by Arsene Wenger, declaring: “You don’t fire world-class people”. Wenger’s new two-year contract at the Emirates was announced yesterday to bring to an end months of uncertainty, after a turbulent campaign. For the first time in his 21 years at the club, Wenger failed to guide the Gunners into the Premier League’s top four, missing out on the Champions League despite winning nine of thei...

http://ift.tt/2p2Npjl Godwin Obaseki has inaugurated a 300 KVA transformer substation valued at over N40 million in Ogbekpen Community of Ikpoba Okha Local Council of Edo State. Governor Godwin Obaseki has inaugurated a 300 KVA transformer substation valued at over N40 million in Ogbekpen Community of Ikpoba Okha Local Council of Edo State. Donated by PRESCO Plc, the project is in tune with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) mission of bettering the lot of residents of its host communities. The governor commended the gesture, harping on partnership between the private sector and rural communities for the development of the state. He also lauded members of the community for their cooperation, urging them to guard the facility against vandalism. He said: “As government is bringing the needed infrastructure, communities should also provide a peaceful atmosphere for companies to do business and employ the people. Ogbekpen is now a priority community for us beca...

http://ift.tt/2quYMTv As the world marks World Tobacco Day, the Federal Government has announced plans to begin the immediate enforcement of key sections of the 2015 National Tobacco Control Act (NTC). • To ban sale of cigarettes to persons under 18 years • WHO, NHF seek tougher measures against use As the world marks World Tobacco Day, the Federal Government has announced plans to begin the immediate enforcement of key sections of the 2015 National Tobacco Control Act (NTC). The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing to mark the day. He explained that evidence from World Health Organisation (WHO) has shown that tobacco use costs national economies immensely, through increased health-care and decreased productivity. He added that tobacco has also worsened health inequalities and increase poverty, making the poorest people to spend less on essential goods such as food, education and health care. Adewole said government...

http://ift.tt/2rrkKGl The 24-year-old rapper last November was sentenced to a year in prison in the case after he pleaded guilty to assaulting fellow artist and former child star Chris Massey in 2014 at an apartment in Los Angeles. Lil Twist, the rapper best known as the sidekick of Justin Bieber, was ordered by a judge on Wednesday to pay $1.5 million to an actor he assaulted several years ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalin announced the award following a brief non-jury trial that the singer did not attend. The 24-year-old rapper last November was sentenced to a year in prison in the case after he pleaded guilty to assaulting fellow artist and former child star Chris Massey in 2014 at an apartment in Los Angeles. He was released from prison in March. According to court records, Lil Twist, whose real name is Christopher Moore, beat up Massey after the latter asked him to leave a party. The Texas-born singer returned an hour later with four friends and pumm...