Obasanjo warns against handover to military

Abeokuta - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned against any plan to hand over power to the military, reports Punch.

Obasanjo, who spoke in Abeokuta on Tuesday when the wife of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate,Aisha Buhari, led the women wing of the party in the South-West to pay him a visit, said doing so would undermine the integrity of the country.

The former President said he was happy Nigeria has gone beyond the rumour of Interim National Government.

He noted that any form of government brought about other than a democratically elected government would not be acceptable.

He stated that the international community especially the African Union will not accommodate or recognise any government that emerges outside the Nigeria’s constitution.
Read more at Punch.
Read more on: 2015 elections

Cast your vote and leave, IG urges voters

Abuja - The Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, has advised voters to leave the polling units after casting their votes in the upcoming general elections.

Abba gave the advice at a National Stakeholders Summit on the elections organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said it was important for voters to cast their vote and go home in order not to commit any electoral offence.

"This advice that I am giving is resulting from what I observed in the provisions of section 129 of the Electoral Act.

"Nine different types of offences are listed there in and if you stay back, there is likelihood of you committing one of those offences," he said.

The offences, according to him, include canvassing or soliciting for vote, persuading a voter not to vote for a particular candidate or not to vote.

He said that other electoral offences were possession of any weapon, use vehicle or things bearing a colour or symbol of a political party.

The IGP pledged that the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, would provide security for all polling units and 9,000 collation centres across the country.

"In order to also make INEC officials and their materials secure, we have identified almost 900 INEC offices nationwide, mindful of the fact that security of the materials is important," he said.

He added that security agencies were also working to ensure that streets and homes were protected during the elections.

On the deployment of soldiers for the elections, the police boss noted that the military would be deployed to play supportive role as stated in the Constitution.

Abba advised INEC to guard against late commencement of elections and rigging so as to ease security agencies’ effort at maintaining peace on elections days.

"Where election rigging occurs, it may be a threat to conduct of peaceful elections," he said.
He warned politicians against recruitment of thugs and advised them to exercise high sense of reasoning in instructing their followers.

"Whatever is the outcome of the elections should be accepted by you; if rejected, follow the legal procedure," he advised.

He said that in carrying out their duties, security personnel would be mindful of and respect human rights.
On his part, the Chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega, said that the commission had taken measures to improve transparency and credibility of the process of collation of results.

"Hard copies of result sheets from polling units would be scanned, converted to PDF format and put in a database, which would be made available for viewing and download via the INEC website.

"Every voter or stakeholder will be able to confirm the accuracy of results from the polling units, which have been conveyed to the collation centres," Jega explained.

He added that not less than 82 per cent of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) had been distributed nationwide.

- NAN

Ebola patient dated survivor

2015-03-25 10:17
Monrovia - A Liberian official says a woman who tested positive for Ebola last week is dating a survivor of the disease, offering a possible explanation for how she became the first confirmed case in Liberia after a total absence of cases for more than two weeks.

Survivors of Ebola are not generally considered contagious, but the virus lingers in semen. Scientists urge survivors not to have sex for three months after treatment. Sexual transmission of Ebola has not yet been documented, but it may be possible.

Dr Francis Kateh, acting head of Liberia's Ebola Case Management Team, said on Tuesday that samples have been taken from the boyfriend for testing.

Before this new case was confirmed last week, Liberia had been counting down to being declared Ebola-free after weeks without an infection.

- AP

FG to set up 6 referral hospitals in the country – Jonathan

By: Filibus Yatai 2015-03-24 09:01
Bauchi - President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said that the Federal Government would set up a referral hospital in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.
Jonathan, who stated this while inaugurating a 400-bed capacity Specialists’ Hospital in Bauchi, said the effort was to discourage medical tourism abroad.
"As a Federal Government, we have plans to set up referral hospital in each of the six geo-political zones in the country.
"When established, Nigerians will go to these zones for medical attention, instead of going outside the country," he said.
He added that the federal government would also set up a technical team to come up with strategies on how to properly manage hospitals in the country.
"I have gone to quite a number of states and the state governments have built very good hospitals with modern equipment.
"But equipment without proper management cannot help," he said.
He said his administration would discuss with professional practitioners on how Nigeria would manage its health system to meet global standards.

He commended Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi for his initiative in establishing a standard hospital and promised to work with the state to move the health sector forward.
According to him, the specialist hospital is well equipped to provide world class medical care to patients.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to strengthen the health sector in the country for quality healthcare delivery and to also curb incessant strike in the nation’s hospitals.
"As a government, we will do our best to come out with programmes and policies that will make doctors earn commensurate wages so that they will be stable and do the work they are paid to do," the president said.
Earlier, Yuguda had explained that the construction of the hospital was awarded in 2012 at the cost of N2.5 billion, following the transfer of the former Bauchi Specialists’ Hospital to the Fedral Government and upgraded to a Teaching Hospital.
He said that the hospital represented a critical investment in the lives of the people, adding that it was initiated to discourage people traveling abroad medical attention.
"Our goal is to assemble multidisciplinary team in the state, with the hope that all the medical resources in this hospital would be accessible to those who cannot afford them," Yuguda said.
He said that his administration had so far constructed and fully equipped 13 hospitals,  bringing the total number of general hospitals in the state to 25.
He added that the number of primary health care facilities had also been increased from 881 in 2007, to 1,200  currently.

- NAN

First Lady urges electorate to guard votes

Nigeria's First Lady Patience Jonathan waves as she leaves a plane upon arrival to Abuja. ~ WOLE EMMANUEL

Enugu - The First Lady, Patience Jonathan, has appealed to Nigerians to guard against manipulations by opposition parties during forthcoming elections.
Jonathan made the appeal at the PDP Women Presidential Campaign in Enugu on Monday.
She said that guarding the votes would eliminate all forms of rigging and make the elections credible.
The first lady urged the electorate to vote massively for President Jonathan for the continuation of his transformation agenda.
"After voting on March 28, make sure you follow your votes till the end. Do not leave the arena until the counting ends. Vote wisely, you must vote according to your conscience.
"The People's Democratic Party (PDP) is a peaceful party. You cannot change what God has ordained.
"Jonathan’s government has encouraged exportation of food produce and eliminated corruption in the distribution of fertilizers.
"Nigeria is the largest in cassava production and PDP will make it to remain so. Jonathan has equipped our health care facilities and he has promised to do more," she said.
Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State promised that the state would score highest in the votes for President Jonathan.

Chime, represented by his deputy, Reverend Ralph Nwoye, said the party had delivered dividends of democracy to citizens of the state.
The Deputy President of Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, commended the first lady for campaigning for the party in the states.
"We thank you for going round to campaign for the PDP as a whole and not only for the president," he said.
The National Woman Leader of the PDP, Ambassador Kema Chikwe, urged the women of the state to come out en masse and vote for President Goodluck Jonathan.
"Jonathan has given us and now is the time for us to give him back. He gave us the opportunity for our voices to be heard," she said.
Others who spoke at the rally included the gubernatorial candidate in the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his Deputy, Cecilia Ezeilo, the Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo and the Special Adviser to President Jonathan on NEPAD, Fidelia Njeze.
The event was attended by National Assembly members from the state, executive council members, and women groups from the state.

- NAN

PDP debunks APC bribery allegations

Abuja - The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation has debunked an allegation made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that President Gooodluck Jonathan doled out monies to traditional rulers across the country to ensure his re-election.
Femi Fani-Kayode, the organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, dismissed the allegation on Monday in Abuja at a news conference.
He also described as 'baseless and untrue' the allegation by the APC that the PDP doled out huge sums of monies to bribe some religious leaders across the country ahead of the elections.
He said that no religious leader worth his salt would fall for such antics, saying "this is another example of the lies the APC is dishing out every day".
He restated the commitment of the PDP to the development of democracy in Nigeria, adding that the party would resist attempts by the opposition to bring about any form of unconstitutional government.
 "We will resist it with the last drop of our blood and we will protect the mandate that will be given to us by the Nigerian people to the last man," he said.

Fani-Kayode appealed to Nigerians to stand firm and come out enmass to cast their votes for President Goodluck Jonathan on March 28, regardless of threats and intimidation.
He said that the PDP was fighting for the soul of the nation as well as the survival and destiny of future generation of Nigerians.
He said: "those of us who fear God and are true believers in God, should understand that we are fighting for the very soul of our nation.
"We must not allow the enemies of God and the enemies’ of Nigeria to prevail.
"We must not allow any political party that is being covertly funded and supported by shady foreign interests to take power in this country."
He said that attempts to incite people to violence before, during and after the elections, must be resisted by Nigerians.

- NAN

Men who exercise more have better sexual function

2015-03-24 10:04
Up and at 'em, guys. Exercise might boost your sex life, a new study suggests.
Nearly 300 men provided information about their physical activity levels and their ability to have erections and orgasms, the quality and frequency of erections, and their overall sexual function.
Men who exercised the most - as measured by what's known as metabolic equivalents (METS) - had higher sexual function scores, regardless of race, according to the findings published in the March issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Specifically, better sex was reported by those who engaged in the equivalent of two hours of strenuous exercise, 3.5 hours of moderate exercise, or six hours of light exercise a week, the researchers said.
Men who exercised less had lower sexual function scores. Other factors associated with lower sexual function included diabetes, older age, past or current smoking, and heart disease, the investigators found.
"When it comes to exercise, there is no one-size-fits-all approach," said study co-author Dr. Stephen Freedland, director of the Cedars-Sinai Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle in Los Angeles.
"However, we are confident that even some degree of exercise, even if less intense, is better than no exercise at all," Freedland said in a journal news release.
While previous studies have identified a link between exercise and erectile function, that research tended to focus on white men, the study authors said.
"This study is the first to link the benefits of exercise in relation to improved erectile and sexual function in a racially diverse group of patients," said study senior author Adriana Vidal, an investigator in the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute.

- Health24