Straight Talk with Chukwudi Obi

Former Vice President of Nigeria and All People Congress APC, chieftain, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has advocated for legislations and incentives to promote girl child education in Nigeria. This is as the Turaki Adamawa called for the abolition of practices which jeopardize the educational interest of the girl child in the country. Atiku, who made these comments on his Facebook page to mark International Day of the Girl Child yesterday, said promotion of equal socioeconomic opportunities will spur the girl child to maximize her full potentials. “Let us talk solutions for improving education access for girls in Nigeria. #DayoftheGirl. 1. Legislation to promote girl child education. Compulsory enrollment is critical. 2. Abolition of practices which jeopardize the educational interests of the girl child and enforcing these laws. 3. Providing incentives for enrollment of girls, to ensure girls are kept in school. 4. Promotion of equal socio economic opportunities to spur girls into maximiz

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) invites entries from Nigerian reporters for the 10th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting from October 4, 2015. The award programme, true to its tradition, will honour works that involve reporting on public and or corporate corruption, human rights abuses or on the failure of regulatory agencies. A statement signed by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Coordinator, Motunrayo Alaka and made available to newsmen recently indicates that the award plans to reward outstanding reporters from print, radio, television, online, photography and editorial cartoon categories. “The submitted stories must have first been published or broadcast in a Nigerian media between 4th October 2014 and 3rd October 2015. In addition to the entry coding system which makes the details of media house and by-line of entrants anonymous to judges introduced in 2012, the WSCIJ now converts entries to electronic format before sendin

WASHINGTON, D.C. : The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has concluded arrangements to host its 2015-2016 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony during the organization's 2016 convention in Washington, D.C. A statement made available to journalists indicates that instead of holding the Hall of Fame ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 16, the event will take place as a luncheon on Friday, August. 5, 2016, within NABJ's joint convention with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, where 44 founding members met and signed the document that created NABJ in 1975. The next class of NABJ Hall of Fame inductees includes: Tony Brown, Charles Gerald Fraser, Dorothy Leavell, Dori Maynard, Gil Noble, Monica Kaufman Pearson, Austin Long-Scott, Stuart Scott, Jacqueline Trescott, Morrie Turner, John H. White and L. Alex Wilson. "Incorporating the Hall of Fame ceremony into the convention enables more NABJ members to attend this h

Atita's corner Guest Columnist Chidiebere Collins Today, marks a watershed in the annals of the history of the National Assembly  under the mantra of fight against or for corruption. Today, the number one law maker will be arraigned before a court of law for allegedly breaching the code of conduct for public officers. There is the additional charge of willful absence from attending court for which there is a bench warrant. These are mere allegations but they are weighty. It is important to underscore that a fundamental principle of law is that every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. Our law is predicated on the principle that he who alleges must prove. Today, Senator Bukola Saraki will go and have that proverbial handshake with the law for which it is a popular aphorism that nobody is above the law. Nobody is indeed above the law. The matter is for all intents and purposes a criminal trial and the accused will be requ

A group has condemned Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki for not appearing before the Code of Conduct Tribunal if he had nothing to hide. This is as the organization accused the number three citizen of ‘applying every trick in the bag’ delay the wheels of justice. In a strong worded statement issued in Abuja, the federal capital of the West African country, yesterday, National Coordinator, Foundation Against Fraud, Indiscipline and Corruption, FAFIC Dr Uche Diala urged the Inspector General of Police, his men and other relevant security agencies to go all out to arrest the senate president. “We view with utmost dismay and totally condemn the failure of distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Abuja. This is after he was duly served with a notice to that effect. We consider this a serious act of indiscipline especially in view of the exalted office that he occupies as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We

 ENVIRONMENT: Roofs at Ladipo market removed : photo credit: Pm news Traders locked outside the market as demolition going on at Ladipo market . Photo credit PM news info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog http://nairapp.com/index.php?rp=823 Buy luxury Swiss grade watches Wishwatch : http://saveouridentity.blogspot.com/2014/08/swiss-watches-for-sale.html

BANKING: T he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for the registration for Bank Verification Number (BVN) to October 31. The apex bank had earlier pegged the deadline to today June 30 but following the rush and inconveniences experienced by both commercial banks and Nigerians, the apex bank rescinded the decision to end the registartion today. CBN Director, Banking and Payment System Department, Mr Dipo Fatokun, while disclosing this in a statement issued today in Abuja said, “It has come to our notice that the BVN registration has elicited tremendous interest from the Nigerian bank customers who crowded the banking halls in order to beat the deadline. “In view of the foregoing, it has become imperative for the banks to extend the timeline for all customers to have the BVN. “The deadline for the enrollment is hereby extended from June 30 to October 31,’’ Fatokun said. Many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief as the the extension is expected to fast

Ambassador (Dr.) Mohammad Ahmad Wali, a national commissioner of the INEC from Sokoto State, has been named the new chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. This position, it was learnt will be on acting capacity pending when President Muhammad Buhari will appoint an INEC boss. Amb Dr Ahmed Wali . Photo Credit thenationalpilot.com Wali took over from Prof. Attahiru Jega whose tenure expired today. Incidentally, Wali's tenure as commissioner also expires on August 11, 2015; a position he has held since 2010. Prof Jega who was appointed chairman of the commission by former President Goodluck Jonathan on June 30, 2010 conducted two elections – 2011 and 2015 general elections which was adjudged free and fair by observers from across the globe.  Wali is a Muslim, Fulani who hails from Sanyima town in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, in the North-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.  Before his appointment as National Commissioner of

FINANCE: Former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has washed her hands off  allegations of unauthorized spending during the tenure as minister, saying it is a political witch hunt. Recall that allegations of unauthorized withdrawals from the Excess Crude account were leveled against her by FG recently. Okonjo-Iweaka who said this in a statement issued by her Media Adviser, Paul C Nwabuikwu said t5he allegation is "false, malicious and totally without foundation". Former Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala   Photo credit davebrookpr.com  The statement read thus: “We want to state categorically that no unauthorized expenditure from the ECA was made under Okonjo-Iweala’s watch in the Finance Ministry. Decisions on such expenditure were discussed at meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) attended by finance commissioners from the 36 states. “It is curious that in their desper

 FOREIGN:  The governor of California, Jerry Brown has signed a contentious bill to impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country. With the signing of the bill, California has joined  Mississipi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict laws in the United states. The bill, SB 277 was introduced after an outbreak of measles at Disneyland in December infected over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico. Gov Jerry Brown     Photo Credit: Lashoolreport.com According to Associated Press, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement released today said that science clearly shows vaccines dramatically protect children against infectious diseases. The bill strikes California’s personal belief exemption for immunizations, requiring nearly all public schoolchildren to be vaccinated. While medical exemptions would still be granted to children with serious health issues, other unvaccinated children would need to be home-schooled, it was learn

 POLITICS: Former Vice president, Atiku Abubakar has commended out going Chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega for the success Jega recorded during his tenure as INEC boss. This is coming as the former number two man in the country tasked whoever will replace Jega to  push for reforms that might strengthen the Electoral Act and deepen democracy. The tenure of the INEC boss comes to an end today. A statement signed by Mazi Paul Ibe and released by the Atiku Media Office (AMO) in Abuja  noted that  Atiku hailed the successful conduct of the 2015 elections with the introduction of Card Reader and Permanent Voters Card (PVC) observing that the feats tremendously boosted Jega's reputation and earned him the respect of Nigerians and the international community. The former Vice President and APC stalwart said that Jega had disarmed even the worst pessimists that never gave him the slightest chance to produce free and fair elect

POLITICS: Barring any last minute changes, the 27 members of the Imo state House of Assembly will be inaugurated this morning. In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo and made available to newsmen, the time for the inauguration is put at 10 am while the venue is the Imo state Assembly complex. “The inauguration will take place following the earlier proclamation by His Excellency for the event on Thursday in line with the letters of section 105 sub-section 31 of the Constitution which empowers the governor as the Chief Executive of the sate to perform such constitutional functions”, Onwuemeodo said. According to the CPS, before the inauguration, Governor Okorocha will commission the Assembly complex “that has been made the best and indeed the largest legislative edifice in the South-east and one of the best in the country”. He said: “It has always been the dream and desire of the governor to see and ensure that all the arm

CLIMATE: According to a recent report, by 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan will create nearly 100,000 according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank. The new report found that the job impacts of the Clean Power Plan, which limits carbon emissions from power plants, would not last, and would become “almost completely insignificant by 2030.” Recall that recently, G7 leaders agreed to reduce global temperatures by two degrees Celsius ahead of their Climate summit in Paris in December, a move many climate change activists commended. According to the report, coal mining and coal-fired power plants will face the biggest job losses if the Clean Power Plan is implemented, because coal-fired power plants are responsible for 39 percent of the United States’ electricity generation and three-quarters of the sector’s carbon emissions. But other sectors, including renewable energy, scientific res

ICT: Nigeria has been listed among top ten global markets for Smartphone along side South Africa and Egypt according to a latest Ericsson Mobility Report. As at April 2015, Nigeria’s telecom regulator Nigeria Communications Commission put the mobile subscriber database at 196,941,125. The report predicts that in 2020, Smartphone subscription will hit 6.1 billion with 80 per cent of the number coming from Asia Middle East and Africa (MEA) According to the report, the total African mobile subscription for the first quarter of 2015 stands at 910 million with 21 million new subscriptions added in the quarter. The report asserted that in markets such as Africa, there were rampant cases of multiple ownership of mobile numbers, thus increasing the total number of subscriptions. “The number of subscriptions exceeds the population in many countries. This is largely due to inactive subscriptions and multiple device ownership, for example - for business and private use,

URBAN DEVELOPMENT: This is the state at which one of the roads governor Ikpeazu contracted to be reconstructed by a local construction company. The road is located at Low Cost Housing Estate. Residents are worried if the roa d has been brushed or graded and abandoned. Many are of the view that with the heavy downpours, chances are high that the roads will be worse than it was before it was touched. Many are of the view that a speedy completion of the road will give the them respite. info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog http://nairapp.com/index.php?rp=823 Buy luxury Swiss grade watches Wishwatch : http://saveouridentity.blogspot.com/2014/08/swiss-wat

HEALTH: Located at Adelabu street is a huge refuse dump situated directly opposite a primary health care centre in Umuahia, the Abia state Capital. Added to the fact that refuse is littered around the receptacle is the stench oozing out of the dump. The worst part of it is that each week many nursing mothers bring their babies, some just a few weeks old for their routine immunization. This receptacle has been at this location for a long time. info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog http://nairapp.com/index.php?rp=823 Buy luxury Swiss grade watches Wishwatch : http://saveouridentity.blogspot.com/2014/08/swiss-watches-for-sale.html

Prodded by German Chancellor, Angel Merkel, world leaders at the G7 summit yesterday, agreed to limit the increase in global temperatures. Merkel stated that it was necessary for wealthy country to present a common front at the Climate Summit in Paris in December. While stressing that there was urgent need for concrete action geared towards climate change, Merkel extracted agreement from the world leaders to limit increase  in global temperatures to a maximum of two degrees celsius above pre industrial levels. Working closely with US president and French president, Merkel overcame resistance from their counterparts from Japan and Canada. Though many Climate change activists commended the moves many were of the view that more needs to be done while more countries need to do more to reduce the effects of climate change.

NEWS: Controversy has trailed the recent commencement of payment of backlog of salaries of some workers in Abia state. Our correspondent gathered that though the state government has started paying the outstanding salaries, there are discrepancies in the payment format. According to a staff in one of the parastatals, while some were paid salary for March, others recieved payment for the month of February. "I dont understand what is going on in government right now. Though we have recieved payment of one month salary, for some the salary is for March while for others, it is for February", she said. Recall that the incoming governor Dr. Okezie info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog

MEDIA: The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria, has expressed serious concern over the renewed wave of attacks on journalists in different parts of the country.   This is even as the Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade has advised all the affected journalists and their organizations to seek redress in the law court should the police authorities fail to apprehend the culprits and charge them to court within the next 48 hours. In a statement signed by IPC program Officer, Stella Nwofia, and made available to journalists, Mr. Lanre Arogundade condemned attacks on journalists in Nigeria observing that not less than three journalists had been assaulted in the course of their legitimate duties recently.  “The assault on the three journalists was so violent that they had to be hospitalized following the injuries they suffered”, Mr Arogundade said adding that the incidents should be condemned by all lovers of freedom of expression and democracy. According t

ENERGY: Worried by the incessant power outage within Umuahia and environs added to the unavailability of pre paid meters,electricity consumers lamented their plight to this reporter. In a bid to find out the true situation of things from the distribution company supplying Umuahia with electricity this reporter sent a question to them. Using their twitter handle @enugudisco, this reporter complained to the company of inadequate pre paid meters insisting that when consumers visit their Umuahia office, some members of staff there inform them that they are yet to receive any from Enugu. 24 hours later, the company replied stating that actions were underway to give smart meters to consumers. Below is the chat: #ChangeNigeria ‏@sonsnid741 @enugudisco pls in many parts of Umuahia consumers are asking for pre paid meters but the Umuahia office directs us to Enugu. Wats your take 0 retweets 0 favorites Reply Retweet Favorite More enugudisco ‏@enugudisco @sonsnid741 Dear, actions

BOOK REVIEW: Title of book : ENURESIS : A PSYCHO-COUNSELLING APPROACH Author: Obi Osorochi Patricia Phd. No. Of Pages :132 Enuresis simply means bedwetting. It is a a widespread childhood disorder. Bedwetting is the most common chronic childhood conditions affecting millions of children globally. Many parents whose children bed wet express social and economic distress, exhibit apparent helplessness over their children's inability to stop bedwetting after the anticipated time of stoppage. Schools with boarding facilities also feel helpless about what to do to the students who bed wet . But beyond these concerns by parents and school pwrsonnel, lie emotional, social, academic and psychological problems for children who bed wet. They are faced with a host of complex issues marked by incomprehension, avoidance of social activities, a sense of difference from others, victimization and loss of self esteem. In the words of Prof. C. Ekennia of the department of Psychological

SOCIETY: Abia State governor's home stead in Ibeku, Umuahia before assuming office, a one storey walk up and eight years after, a two storey building is nearing completion. The old house The new house  info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog http://nairapp.com/index.php?rp=823 Buy luxury Swiss grade watches Wishwatch : http://saveouridentity.blogspot.com/2014/08/swiss-watches-for-sale.html

SPORTS: Photo credit: Wikipaedia.  Senator John McCain, thursday proposed a military action to “dismantle and destroy FIFA once and for all" adding that “These are people who only understand one thing: force". In a report published by The New Yorker, Senator McCain who was speaking on the floor of the United States Senate argued that "We must make FIFA taste the vengeful might and fury of the United States military.” McCain said that he was “completely unimpressed” by the Department of Justice’s arrests of several top FIFA lieutenants this week, calling the action “the kind of Band-Aid solution that this Administration, sadly, has become famous for.” “Rounding up a few flunkies in a hotel is meaningless when the leader of FIFA remains at large,” he said. “I will follow Sepp Blatter to the gates of Hell.” McCain requested a four-billion-dollar aid package for moderate elements within global soccer, and said that the United States should be

PHOTOS: Bende road near T.A Orji's house  Bende road by Adelabu blocked School road by Azikiwe blocked to motorists Orji's uncompleted house Digital Library overtaken by snakes and insects Overflowing refuse dump in one of the estates  Orpet junction blocked info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741, 5564abf3 Join Club080 and get enormous discount and offers on breast enhancers, mobile phones, air-times, free ATM etc www.club080.com/makemoni Make money tweeting. Do you have website or blog/ make more money from your blog http://nairapp.com/index.php?rp=823 Buy luxury Swiss grade watches Wishwatch : http://saveouridentity.blogspot.com/2014/08/swiss-watches-for-sale.html

Photo Credit: CNN  FOREIGN:               No fewer than 550 women from Western countries have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Accordibg to a report by CNN, researchers at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London, curious at the "unprecedented surge in female recruits" to ISIS, are tracking more than 100 of the women through online platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and blogs. According to the reporr, ISD's database provides a unique lens through which to see the daily lives of the women of ISIS. "They hope that by examining the way women are used by terrorist groups, analysts will better understand how the organizations work, and how to combat them, " the report said. ISD's senior researcher Erin Saltman in an interview said the ages of the women under surveillance range from 13 to 40, with a range of education and professions and families. According to the CNN, the report paints a picture of a diverse group o

SECURITY: Minutes after he was sworn in as Nigeria's elected president, President Muhammed Buhari has hit the ground running. In his inaugral speech, President Buhari who acknowleged the progress the past administration made in winning the war against insurgency, observed that the war cannot be won with the Command Centre in Abuja. President Buhari who that Cameroun, Niger Republic and Chad for their support in fighting insurgecy in the North Eastern region of the country, ordered that tje Command Centre be relocated to Borno State. He further stated that his administration will do all it can to rescue the abducted Chiboj girls alive. "The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory can not be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we can not claim to have defeated

MEDIA: President Muhammed Buhari  There are strong indications that very soon bloggers and other activists on social media will be regulated. In his inaugral speech as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Buhari praised the press, calling it the most vibrant in Africa. But he had some words of appeal to members of the fourth estate of the realm. "The Nigerian press is the most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media today – and this includes the social media – is to exercise its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism" There are feelers that the president will press for a proper regulation of social media usage. "I dont believe those words should not be taken lightly. Truth is that in the long, President Buhari will press relevant ageencies to do their work. Though the social media in Nigeria is very vibrant, caution must be applied in dealing with them" Stephen Ohuche, a media consultant said. info@sucoconsult

Inaugural speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari following his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29th May, 2015 I am immensely grateful to God Who Has preserved us to witness this day and this occasion. Today marks a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion to celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. Nigerians have shown their commitment to democracy and are determined to entrench its culture. Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a truly democratically elected government in place. I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in the land we

SPORTS Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, the umbrella body of all Human Rights Writers and journalists have congratulated Nigeria's Assisat Oshoala for winning this year's edition of BBC Women’s Player of the Year. The Super Falcons’ forward have a long list of awards and teophies to her name. This many sports journalists say will be an icing on the cake.

Barely two days to President elect, Mr Muhammed Buhari being sworn in as Commander in Chief, a pressure group, War Against Indiscipline and Corruption Squad has devised strategies to put an end to corruption in the country. The group through its convener, Dr Uche Diala reiterated their committment to joining forces with the president elect to fight the twin ills of corruption and indiscipline in the society. Lamenting the negative effect of corruption and indiscipline in the country, Dr Diala argued that a moral reorientation added to networking with relevant government Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs will go a long in reducing the two ills. "We are all aware of how pervasive indiscipline and corruption have become and the need to change hearts, minds and orientation. We have designed a deliberate strategy that will ensure that we touch the foundations of society representated by the family, schools and religious institutions bringing about the required change. T

A man answering the call of nature by the roadside...#kickagainstindiscipline #stoproadsideurination #ChangeNigeria info@sucoconsulting.com, chukwudiobi74@gmail.com 08030902410, www.facebook.com/chukwudi obi.33, @sonsnid741,  5564abf3