Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this at the on-going induction retreat for Resident Electoral Commissioners in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital yesterday.

He said, the dates for the general elections in 2019 have been fixed stating that, from today, there are 433 days left for the Presidential Election and National Assembly Elections adding, it is important to always remind the commission’s personnel of this date and to be appraising their preparations.

According to Him, “All participants at this retreat should be aware that from today, (yesterday) the 2019 general elections to begin with the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on February 16,2019 exactly 434 days away.

“These will be followed by the Governorship, State Assembly and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory on March 2,2019”. The INEC boss also maintained that, about 3,630,529 new voters had been registered, while the exercise will continue until 60 days to the general elections in 2019 lamenting the management and the low rate of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collection.

He disclosed that about 67 political parties were indicating interest to contest in the 2019 general elections, while the commission had received more than 120 applications from political associations seeking registration as political parties.

Earlier, the Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini expressed the hope that, decisions reached at the retreat would act as a road map free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

The Country Director of UNDP, Dr Samuel Bwalya who was represented by the Team Leader, Governance and Peace Building, Mr. Kehinde Bolaji described INEC as a pace-setter in elections management in West African sub region and urged the commission to address the issues of violence, internal democracy, accountability and transparency within the political institutions.

Bwala maintained that, without addressing those challenges the expectation of attaining long lasting democratic governance could be disrupted informing that, UNDP would always support the country’s quest in deepening democracy, peace and sustainable development.

According to CNN, Trump is expected to make the announcement as he signs a waiver to keep the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv for another six months but says his administration will move the diplomatic mission to Jerusalem at some point, a goal long sought by Israel.

Sources believe that Trump will attempt to soften the announcement for Palestinians, possibly, as CNN reported Thursday, by specifying only West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as opposed to the eastern part of the city, which Palestinians want to claim as their own seat of government.

It cautioned that nothing is certain until Trump makes the final decision.

“The President has always said it is a matter of when, not if. The President is still considering options and we have nothing to announce,” said a White House spokesperson.

Another White House source told CNN that no final decision has been made.

The announcement would put the U.S. in singular company among its allies. While Israel claims Jerusalem as its seat of government, no foreign embassies are located there, as the international community sees it as an issue to be settled as part of a broader peace agreement.

Trump made a campaign pledge to move the embassy, a promise previous presidents have made and then backed away from when faced with the complexities of the situation and the strife it could cause.

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 requires the embassy to be moved to Jerusalem or face the financial penalty of losing half the State Department’s appropriated funding for the acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad.

Every six months, however, presidents can sign a waiver to avoid these penalties on national security grounds.

The state commissioner for local government and Chieftancy affairs, Alhaji Jafaru Sani, told journalists at a press conference in Kaduna Monday that the exercise was part of the ongoing restructuring of the local government system for effective service delivery.

According to him, the restructuring was designed to strengthen the local government system to carry out developmental projects and programmes. The commissioner explained that 3,159 of the disengaged staff had put in 10 years and were retired while the remaining 893 had their jobs terminated.

In order to cushion the effects of their sudden disengagement, the commissioner said the disengaged staff would be paid their November salary as well as three months’ salary in lieu of notice while their pension would be worked out by their pension administrators. Sani added that those whose appointments were terminated would equally be paid their November salary, one month salary in lieu of notice and gratuity according to the civil service rule.

“It is a known fact that the LGAs were overburdened by redundant and unproductive staff who are contributing nothing to the development of the councils. “Because of the over-bloated staff, the LGAs are doing nothing other than paying salaries and end up becoming more or less a poverty alleviation centres, where people just go to collect money and go home. “

To ensure development at the local levels therefore, we have to do what is right by downsizing the redundant staff to free some funds that would be injected in developmental projects. “With the disengagement, the supporting members of staff at the 23 LGAs are now 6,732, excluding primary school teachers and primary health care workers. “I am sure, with this development, local government areas will soon start executing capital and development projects to provide social services to the people.

Explaining while the government took the decision, the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Commission, Mr Mahmud Zailani, said the action was in fulfillment of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai’s campaign promise to strengthen public service. “The governor began his public service restructuring at the state level when he reduced the number of the state ministries from over 20 to 13. “A number of permanent secretaries and other staff had to go during the process as part of efforts to provide quality public service.

“I say here that the disengagement was not forced on the LGAs but was carried out with their full support and each LGA was treated according to its peculiarities,’’ Zailani said.

The Department of Health (DOH) announced new changes to rules on blood donation, saying it will maintain the safety of the blood supply and will enable more people to donate.

The lifting of ban followed recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO). New groups of people now able to donate after three months have passed since the last sexual activity include commercial sex workers and men who have had sex with another man.

People, who have had sex with a partner at high risk of having a sexually transmitted infection, will also be able to donate blood. Until now commercial sex workers were permanently excluded from blood donation, and the other groups had to wait until 12 months had passed before they could donate.

The rules are now consistent for all groups that are deferred due to sexual behaviours. A spokesman for the DOH said: The new rules will allow more people to donate blood, without affecting the safety of the blood supply. Dr Gail Miflin, Medical and Research Director at NHS Blood and Transplant said:

“The SaBTO review took into account the latest available medical and scientific evidence. This included more information about the risk of acquiring infections that can be passed on in blood, more evidence on how well donors comply with our guidelines and also more evidence that supports the reliability of the blood screening tests we use. “We have one of the safest blood supplies in the world.

“Anyone may require a blood transfusion in the future and so it’s in all our interests to ensure that we work hard to keep blood safe for patients.” Before every donation, all donors must complete a donor health check and have a private health screening where they may be asked confidential questions.

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Bamidele had sought for the dissolution of the marriage on the ground that Yinka neither respected him nor obeyed his instructions as a husband.

In his testimony before the court, the plaintiff said that all efforts made to correct her wrongdoings always proved abortive. “Therefore, I can no longer live with her so as to avoid her disrespectful way of life. “Moreover, she is very stubborn, troublesome and in the habit of cursing neighbours whenever they have any little misunderstanding,‘’ he said.

Yinka, in her defence, blamed her husband for disrespecting him, saying that the plaintiff had never proved to be a responsible husband.

According to her, payment of school fees, clothing, feeding and other finances of the three children of the marriage were her sole responsibility. She urged the court to do the wish of her husband by dissolving the marriage.

The President of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, upheld the prayer of the plaintiff and dissolved the marriage. Balogun gave custody of the first child of the marriage to the plaintiff and ordered that the remaining two kids should remain with the defendant. He also directed the plaintiff to pay N7,000 as monthly feeding allowance for the two kids.

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Fayose also urged Maina to answer the corruption allegations against him as well as his fraudulent reinstatement.

Governor Fayose described the Maina’s interview shown on Channels Television yesterday, as explosive, saying he was sure that President Buhari will look the other way just as he did on the allegation of award of $25 billion contracts without following due process made by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu against the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Dr. Maikanti Baru.

In a statement on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said he had again been vindicated on his position that the kind of corruption being perpetrated in President Buhari’s government was unprecedented and mind-boggling.

He said; “The Maina’s challenge is another opportunity for President Buhari to prove to Nigerians that he is actually fighting corruption. But I am sure that since it, again, bothers on his closest men, he won’t do anything.”

Governor Fayose said it was important for Maina to wash himself clean of the N2.1 Billion pension fraud that made him escape from the country and earned him dismissal from the civil service. The governor, who challenged Maina to “name those in Buhari’s government that are thieves,” also noted that “There is no need waiting for the President to conduct public inquiry on the pension scam.

Maina should just go ahead and tell Nigerians who the thieves among Buhari’s men are. “Even after naming them, Maina should not expect any action from the President. Rather, he should be contented with satisfying his conscience and putting those Buhari’s men that he said are pretending to be saints in the court of public opinion.”

While maintaining his position on the self-appointed human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), over the allegation by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), linking the lawyer to a N1 billion property on Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja, Governor Fayose said it was sad that Falana and his collaborators have turned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to their source of huge income.

“EFCC has become Falana’s daily meal. Falana and his collaborators live on EFCC. They have turned themselves to brokers of bail and suppliers of lawyers to accused persons while at the same time buying seized properties at ridiculous amounts. “Even the likes of Madaki, who have retired from service, have been brought back into the system so that he can continue to help them to perpetrate fraud,” he said.

The GMC, in an email message, signed by Sarah Orr, its Media Relations Officer, was responding to SaharaReporters’ enquiry about Mr. Saraki’s status as a medical doctor.

According to the GMC, all licensed doctors working in the United Kingdom have to undergo a revalidation process to ensure that their skills are up to date and they are fit to practice. Majority of doctors, said the GMC, revalidate every five years, a condition that disqualifies Mr. Saraki from practicing in the United Kingdom, as he has no licence.

The Senate President has, as its GMC registration number, 3196713. His name on the register is Olubukola Adebisi Olabowale  (wrongly spelled as ‘Alabuwale’) Saraki. He was provisionally registered on January 7, 1988, and became fully registered exactly a year later. He is neither on the specialist register nor the General Practitioners’ register and therefore not eligible for validation. His registration/licensing history, according to the GMC, shows that he was registered on November 16, 2009, without a  licence.

Saraki arrived Nigeria in the early 1990s to engage in NYSC and served in his father’s now-defunct bank Societe General Bank of Nigeria, in 1992, the Nigeria police arrested and charged him for stealing N500,000 from customers. According to Saraki’s entry on INEC former, he served at SGBN from 1990-2000. Saraki and other executives of the bank looted SGBN leading the bank to collapse completely.

The Committee will be inaugurated on Monday 27th November, 2017 at the Council Chambers, Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Sate House, Abuja.  By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of persons from the public sector, (Federal and State Governments) and the private sector made up of the largest private employer group and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

Other members include the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME). A statement signed by Samuel Olowookere, Deputy Director, Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment stated that a former Minister of Lands and Housing, Ama Pepple,is to serve as Chairman of the Tripartite National Other members include the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who is to serve as Deputy Chairman, Chief Richard Egbule, (Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission) will serve as Secretary. Also as members are the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Udo Udo Udoma, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred E. Oyo – Ita and Dr. Roy Ugo Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Members from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) are Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State (South West), Governor Rochas Okorocha, Imo State (Souh East) Governor Hassan Dankwambo, Gombe State (South East), Governor Nyesom Wike, Rivers State (South South) Governor Simon Lalong, Plateau State (North Central), Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi State (North West)and A. B. Okauru,  DG, NG who is an Observer. From the labour are the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, Comrade Kiri Mohammed, Comrade Amechi Asugwuni, and Comrade Peter Ozo-Eson. From the Trade Union Congress are Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama who is the President,  TUC, Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salake, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawa, Comrade Igwe Achese, President, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

From the Employers’ side are Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, Director General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Mr. Timothy Olawale, Mr. Chuma Nwankwo, Mrs. Olubunmi Adekoje, Director General, Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI)  Alhaji Ahmed Ladan Gobi, Chairman, Kaduna East Branch, Manufacturers’ Association (MAN), Otunba Francis Oluwagbenre, Hajia Muheeba Dankaka, President, Kano Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Prince Degun Agboade, President, Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME)

Adekunle’s company, Reach Robotics struck the deal with Apple recently.

The product with a price tag of $299.95 went on sale from 16 November in the shops and online. The robots can be operated with an iPhone and other smartphones. Reach Robotics, an augmented reality gaming company creates robots for both fun and STEM education. Adekunle, who was born in Nigeria moved to the UK when he was 11 years old.

He is an engineer who graduated with First Class Honours from the University of the West of England in Bristol, with a Bachelor of Science in robotics technology. He previously worked at GE Aviation and Infineon.

“We’ve created an entirely new video gaming platform,” said Adekunle in a press release, published by Black Enterprise. “MekaMon straddles both the real and virtual worlds while taking the gaming experience beyond a player’s screen and turning their sitting room into a limitless robotic battle zone.

MekaMon represents a quantum leap forward in the leveraging of augmented reality. Players can whip out their iPhone to battle their multi-functional, connected battlebots in the physical and virtual worlds at the same time.”

MekaMons are four-legged robots that players can control via a smartphone using a companion app for augemented reality gameplay.

Multiple players can have their MekaMons battle each another. Each robot weighs a little over two pounds with dimensions of 11.8 by 11.8 by 5.9 inches. MekaMons can connect to each other via infrared signals and Bluetooth, allowing for co-op gaming.

The robots are powered by a rechargeable battery that provides up to an hour of gameplay. They are compatible with the iPhone, using the smartphone’s camera and infrared tracking capability for precise navigation.

Adekunle’s company, founded in 2013 is based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) Technology Incubator.

His colleagues include Chris Beck who had been working as a roboticist in the BRL. The company, according to southwestbusiness.co.uk has experienced fast growth in the past few months and the firm is moving out of its offices at Future Space in Bristol. The company, which has taken space for its 29 members of staff at Bristol Business Park, has secured $9.5m (£7.1m) of investment funding from organisations which, says Adekunle, could “see the potential for what we were developing”.

Adekunle said: “When I was a student at UWE Bristol I spent some time going into schools to help inspire young people and it struck me that there was a huge untapped market for a consumer robot with a difference. “We used to go in and explain simple robotics to try to inspire the young roboticists and engineers of the future and this experience set me off thinking about designing gaming robots.”

Reach Robotics is anticipating fast future growth and is looking to target the UK and US market in the lead up to Christmas. Adekunle added: “This is an exciting time for our company as now after years of development work we are finally able to bring Mekamon to customers across the UK and US and with plans to go global. “UWE Bristol has given us an amazing start and we are so grateful for their support.”

The operative, Sergeant Agunbiade Adebayo was shot on the stomach and was receiving medical attention at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, Oghara where he had undergone surgery.

Adebayo was reported to have been recuperating after he was operated upon at about 3:00a.m last Thursday and was said to have received four pints of blood. Sources at the hospital told Sunday Vanguard that another of his colleague, Sergeant Sanusi Lanre who also sustained gunshot wound on his hand as a result of the gun battle is still recuperating. Confirming his death when contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Andrew Aniamaka described it as unfortunate saying, “he died at about 11a.m on Friday.”