2019: Kwakwaso kicks off presidential campaign in Anambra

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (APC-Kano Central) has kicked off his 2019 presidential campaign with a visit to Anambra on Thursday, February 8, New Telegraph reports.

During his visit to the southeast state, Kwankwaso, who is also a former governor of Kano state, met with the Hausa community in the state and the leadership of his group in the state, the Kwakwaso Movement, which is led by Eddy Ndiche.
Our source also gathered that on arrival in the state, Kwankwaso also paid a courtesy call to the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alex Onyido, who reportedly gave him a royal blessing.

The senator then moved to Ndiche’s house, where he noted that his first hurdle would be to emerge victorious at the primaries of the All Progressive Congress, as he addressed his group. To this end, he asked for support to achieve his goal.

The APC chieftain stated that his decision to contest for the presidency was informed by the economic meltdown and incessant killings in the country.

He said: “I am in this contest because I want to restore the lost glory of the country. I have come to see the people of the state and thank them for their support to me.

“The southeast region is important in this journey because we cannot do without them. I need your support.

“Election is not a do-or-die and my successor, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is opposing my ambition should have a rethink and join me to better the welfare of Nigerians.

“The only hurdle before us is the primary election. I assure you, if I am able to win the primaries, winning the main election will not be difficult because I know I will win."

He called on the federal government to show more concern towards the governed, as he lamented over the recent killings in the country.

The senator also commended the Hausa community for coming out in large numbers to welcome him.

Speaking at the occasion, Ndiche lauded the senator for making time for the visit despite his busy schedule and assured him that Anambra state would support his ambition.

N3.9billion airport fund diversion: A politically inspired libel - Oduah

Senator Stella Oduah has frowned at a recent media report suggesting there was massive funds diversion under her watch as Nigeria's minister of aviation

The report made reference to a N3.9 billion reserved for airport renovation.

In a statement Oduah described the report as the work of her political detractors hell-bent on tarnishing her image as elections approaches.

Senator Oduah says her political detractors are upset about her popularity in Anambra North Senatorial District

The senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District also frowned at the newspaper who published the report for stooping to an unprofessional level by publishing unverified information without recourse to her.

She stressed that the content of the report was completely untrue, adding those behind the report were unhappy with her overwhelming popularity.

Part of the statement read: “My attention has been called to a publication by The Nation in their newspaper of 6th February, 2018 in which it was stated that N3.9 billion of the money meant for installation of security devices at the airports was traced to a firm belonging to me and others.

“It is very unprofessional and indeed shameful for a seemingly reputable newspaper like The Nation to make such wild accusations without verifying the source of their information and without any recourse to me.

“This is purely the handiwork of my political detractors who are uncomfortable with my overwhelming popularity as a Senator representing my zone.

“It is not surprising that those tales are coming at a time when the general election and political parties primaries for the election are at the corner, with my detractors piqued with the staunch resolution of my people to re-elect me as senator.

“What is surprising is how a once respectable newspaper will descend so low to run the errand of political libel.”

Oduah insisted that the statements contained in the publication were completely false and should be disregarded.

“At no time was any money meant for contracts under my watch as the aviation minister diverted to any company belonging to me neither did I pay back any loan from any such funds.

“All contracts awarded by ministry of aviation under me followed due process and as for the contract under reference, the said contract was executed.

“As the minister of aviation, I committed myself to the service of my country to the very best of my ability and as it is widely acknowledged, my record and performance as the Minister of Aviation remain laudable and unbeatable.

“What we did in aviation was so far reaching that it had never been done before, it was so unprecedented.

“If you remember how just Abuja airport used to be: one used to literally find it impossible to use the rest rooms there. To get into the lounge where people sit was impossible, most motor parks were better than what we had at the airport whether it is Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto.

“We took them on and efficiently and in a very timely manner changed every single one of them: and we did not just change that we changed the safety of the Nigerian airspace.

“Before we were having accidents literally every six months but we made sure that the safety of Nigerian passengers was prioritised to ensure that the landing gears, the flight gadgets, every single thing that will make Nigerian airspace the airspace that it is today, recognised by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), it had never been done before.

“I challenge anybody to just do a spreadsheet; How aviation was before, How I made aviation and how aviation is today. In all honesty if the person does not give me 120 per cent it means that they cannot add.

“It is thus natural to expect odious reactions from some elements whose greatest political punches are calumny,” she said.

The former minister therefore cautioned the news medium to refrain from playing into the hands of political detractors who intend to ride on them to score cheap political points.

“Anyone in my position will be constrained to seek redress in a law court against the publisher of such news, but suffice it to pass a word of caution to the authors of that libel at this stage,” she said.

Similarly, Senator Oduah has refuted recent media reports accusing her of evading invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement, Oduah described the reports as mischievous, adding that it was geared towards pitching the EFCC against her.

Reports in some national dailies and online media had indicated that Senator Oduah was evading invitation to the commission to defend a N9.4 billion contract awarded during her time as aviation minister.source naij.com

Jagaba Adams APC.Rep finally joins PDP

Jagaba Adams, (Kagarko/Kachia) who was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has formerly decamped to the House of Representatives on Thursday, February 8, when he identified himself as a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

The lawmaker made this former declaration while contributing to a motion of urgent public importance on the need to add Kaduna and Plateau to a list of states under the siege of herdsmen.

He said: “I'm Hon Jagaba Adams Jagaba and I am of the Peoples Democratic Party.”

This statement triggered jubilation in the PDP camp, prompting the PDP lawmakers to congratulate the minority leader, Leo Ogor.

However, the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, who presided over the plenary, however, said that Jagaba remained a member of the APC until he officially informs the House, Premium Times reports.

Jagaba Adams had in 2018 formally dumped Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Meanwhile Alhaji Shuaibu Iyah of PDP Suleja constituency in Niger state, on Tuesday, February 6, announced his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a letter read on the floor of the House by the speaker, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, the lawmaker said: “He was joining the APC following his resignation from the PDP on whose platform he was elected in February 2016."

The News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports that the announcement of Iyah’s defection was greeted with wild jubilation by other APC lawmakers in the House.

Lagos Sets for 24-hour power supply

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos has signed seven bills into law among which is the one to guarantee 24-hour power supply in line with the vision of his administration to boost the economy and make the state globally competitive.

The bills include the "Lagos state electric power reform law, amended land use charge law, school of nursing law, cooperative college law, cancer research institute law, amended customary court law and the Yoruba language preservation and promotion law," a statement by the Habib Aruna, the governor's media aide, said.

The attorney-general and justice commissioner, Adeniji Kazeem, who spoke on the importance of the laws, said the development was a great day for the state as it signpost the commencement of the journey to further advance the dividends of democracy to the people.

“This is a great day; the governor has just signed these bills into law and this shows that the House of Assembly is working in tandem with the executive.

"It also shows that Lagos is working. These laws are going to benefit the people of Lagos State and this is what the people are looking for in terms of the dividends of democracy," Kazeem said.

Olawale Oluwo, the energy and mineral resources minister, said the power sector reform law would allow the state government to intervene in major areas of the power value chain to the overall benefit of the people.

“One, the law puts the government in a position to be able to extend our guarantee to private sector participants who will come and generate power for us and by this guarantee, we are putting the balance sheet of our State on the table and assuring investors that as they generate power, they will get paid.

“Second, is to help the distribution companies to upgrade their infrastructure because if they generate the power and their infrastructure is still where it is today, clearly they will not have the capacity to carry the incremental power.

"The third area of intervention is that it empowers us to be able to open up the gas market in Lagos so that we can have gas on a consistent basis and that is how we can attain the 24-hour power supply," he said.

Oluwo said the law would also enable the state government to collaborate with the distribution companies to collect tariff from customers efficiently in a way that the said guarantee would not crystallize, while in the area of enforcement, the law will prevent power theft.

“What has happened today is that the first power theft law in Nigeria has been signed today by Governor Ambode and this is the first time any government in Nigeria will institutionalise the power theft law.

“It criminalizes power infraction. What we have seen before is that people tamper with and bypass meters and at the end of the day they are arrested and nothing happens but the new law provides for jail terms as well as fines and all sorts of forbearance such that if you tamper with electrical installations, if you import fake electrical materials into this state, you are liable to be prosecuted,” Oluwo explained.

Kehinde Bamigbetan, the information commissioner, also said the signing of the laws aptly confirmed the commitment of Governor Ambode to institutionalize and enshrine good governance.

“Among the bills is the amended customary law which is very important because for a long time the customary court system in the local government has been shut down because of the bill and with this revision, the customary court in local government will spring back to life and that means that many of the activities in the local government which require arbitration and dispute resolution which had been in abeyance so far will now come back in full stream.

“Another one is the Yoruba promotion bill and for the first time it will become normal for you to be admitted into any of our tertiary institutions with a credit in Yoruba language and Yoruba will now become a major requirement for you to engage in normal business communication in Lagos state.

"This is a clear and conscious commitment to the position which Lagos state prides Yoruba language as the cultural vehicle for us to be able to articulate our position and it also shows that Lagos has furthered recognised the importance of language as a vehicle for development,”Bamigbetan said.
In a relatedn story Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday, February 7, assured the Nigerian army of his administration's readiness to support and scale up the operations of the military against kidnapping, smuggling, armed robbery, illegal oil bunkering and other security challenges in the state

Nigerian Air Force announces operational units in 3 states

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has announced plans by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to establish a Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Taraba state to further tackle the incessant herdsmen-farmers clash in the country.

Abubakar disclosed the plans while delivering a lecture to participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 26 in Abuja adding that there were plans to establish a ‘Quick Response Wing’ along the Benue-Nassarawa axis.

Air Marshal Abubakar also spoke on the current and likely threats as well as contingencies from the perspective of air operations.

He then elucidated on his vision for the NAF while also highlighting current efforts at actualizing it.

Some of the initiatives, according to an official statement obtained by NAIJ.com, included the establishment of new commands and some units, improvement in human capacity development, improved aircraft serviceability and logistics support as well as enhanced personnel welfare.

The statement said the CAS spoke about the efforts being made in the area of research and development towards improved self-sufficiency, as a result of which the NAF is currently making great savings in foreign exchange.

He equally examined the challenges and constraints to the NAF’s air power effectiveness discussed the strategies to countering them.

In his remarks, the commandant of NDC, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, declared that “You cannot win any war today without an effective and virile air force.”

He commended the current NAF leadership for taking a lot of laudable and unprecedented steps, especially in the area of technological development, in a bid to reposition the security organisation for greatness.

He particularly cited the recent feats by the NAF in locally designing and producing an operational unmanned aerial vehicle, among many other breakthroughs in the area of research and development.

Fuel queues: NNPC programmes two cargoes per day for February

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has programmed to bring in two cargoes of petrol per day for the rest of February 2018 to boost supply.

The move is in a bid to keep the country wet with petrol and eradicate the fuel queues that have resurfaced in some cities.

The two cargoes is 50 million litres making a total of 100 million litres that will be brought in per day for the rest of February to increase supply and replenish strategic reserves.

Also, to enhance supply, 45 million litres of petrol was discharged from ships into jetties across the country on Tuesday, February 6.

Prior to the fresh 45 million litres discharge, there was 324 million litres of petrol on land and 432 million litres in marine storage making a total of 756 million litres, enough to last for 22 days at 35 million daily consumption rate.

The jetties that received the 45 million litres shipments include Nacj, Apapa; Bop, Apapa; Techo Jetty, Lagos; Dutchess, Oghara; Vine Jetty, Calabar; Chipet Jetty, Lagos; and ECM Jetty, Calabar.

To ensure efficient distribution of the product to depots in the hinterland, the Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company (NPSC), a midstream subsidiary of the NNPC, has been mandated to fix relevant pipelines to facilitate seamless pumping, in addition to massive trucking arrangement that is in place.

The corporation assured Nigerians that with the measures in place, the fuel queues being experienced in some cities would soon be a thing of the past.

Similarly, as part of efforts to sanitize the fuel supply and distribution system to eliminate the queues, the NNPC has stepped up the arrest and prosecution of erring marketers and fuel hawkers across the country.

British grandmother on death row loses appeal

Image:Linda Carty is one of more than 50 women on death row across the US.

A British grandmother who has spent more than 15 years on death row in Texas has lost an appeal to the state's highest criminal court.

Linda Carty was sentenced to death after being convicted of the murder of her neighbour in Houston in May 2001.

Prosecutors alleged that Carty, now 59, had hired three men to kidnap Joana Rodridguez and her newborn son.

She planned to keep the child and pass it off as her own, they said.

But Carty has always maintained her innocence and her lawyers say she was convicted largely on the word of her co-accused.

She was granted a new hearing by the appeals court in 2016 to present what she claimed was new evidence proving her innocence.

Carty argued prosecutors had coerced witnesses and withheld evidence.

Image:Carty's case has received celebrity backing and the support of Bianca Jagger

But a judge dismissed that appeal, saying there was overwhelming evidence of her guilt, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has now confirmed his decision.

Carty was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts when it was still subject to British rule and she retains a UK passport.

The Foreign Office has supported her cause and expressed concern about the prospect of her facing execution.

In an interview with Sky News on death row at Huntsville Prison in 2012, Carty protested her innocence and pleaded for more assistance from the UK.She said: "I am 110% innocent.

"We are British. I can't wash off my nationality with soap and water. I am going to always be British.

"I won't get up and ask the British Government to go out in the public and lobby for me had I known that I am guilty because then it would be an embarrassment not only to myself and my family but also the country that I love.

Image:An employee of legal action charity Reprieve

"So for me when I say I am innocent and that I didn't commit this crime I mean that."

Her case has received celebrity backing and the support of campaigners at the human rights organisation Reprieve.

But the US Supreme Court refused to take up her case in 2010 and her legal options have continued to narrow.

She is one of more than 50 women on death rows across the United States, six of them in Texas.

The state has carried out more than a third of all of the executions since the US restored the death penalty in 1976.

But the number of executions being carried out has continued to decline across the country. Texas, which saw 40 executions in 2000, carried out seven last year..Skynews.

2019: INEC may use satellite to transmit results electronically

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the results of the 2019 general elections will be transmitted electronically, via the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).

According to a reliable source the development was made public by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, during a working visit to the NIGCOMSAT headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Wednesday, February 7.

Our source gathers that immediately after counting at polling units, INEC plans to use the NIGCOMSAT Sat 1-R satellite to transmit the results electronically.

The INEC boss stated that the commission was committed to deepening the deployment of technology in elections; and expressed satisfaction with what he saw at the satellite communication agency.

According to Yakubu, the results of elections of each of the 119, 973 polling units across the country and the scanned image of result sheets would be electronically transmitted on the spot and in real time.

He also implored NIGCOMSAT to use electronic message display to aid with voter education as the elections draw near.

He stated: “It is for this reason that we wish to leverage on the capacity of NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services.

“In particular, your broadband service offers a tremendous flexible bandwidth capacity that can be deployed almost anywhere and in a short period of time, including hard-to-reach and temporary locations.

Already the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would announce the 2019 election results electronically in addition to issuing physical copies of results to party agents.

The electoral body, therefore, called on telecoms service providers to assist the commission.

Prof Mahmood Yakubu said this when he visited the executive vice-chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, in Abuja.

Eyube urges Nigerians not to react negatively to the letters from Obj.IBB.

A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state, Kennedy Eyube, has reportedly said the 2019 re-election moves of President Muhammadu Buhari have been boosted by the separate open letters from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida. 

Eyube saying in a statement in Warri, Delta state, that Nigerians should avoid criticizing Obasanjo and Babangida or react negatively as the letters should be seen as a major boost for the president’s re-election bid.

“Both Chief Obasanjo and General Babangida ruled this country for eight years each or more. Their governments were not entirely perfect.

“Nigerians still have records of how they ruled this country, so, they should allow President Buhari to do his eight years after which Nigerians can also pass judgment on Buhari’s tenure.

“If Obasanjo and IBB couldn’t permanently solve the problems of Nigeria when they had the opportunity to do so while in power, the right thing for Obasanjo and IBB to do now is to support Buhari to repair this country and correct some of the mistakes made and things they left undone years ago,”he said.

He further argued that another term for Buhari would create a better road-map and foundation for the progress of Nigeria.

Earlier a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger state, Jonathan Vatsa, reportedly warned President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately listen to calls by well-meaning Nigerians and sack the alleged cabal surrounding him.

Vatsa, a former information and culture commissioner in the state, said this must be done urgently before it becomes late.

My letter to the president was to advise him- Obasanjo

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the forward for the country was for youths and women to be put in positions were they can contribute to national development.

The Nation reports that the former president spoke at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Ogun state when a youth group from Delta State led a governorship aspirant, Frank Ufuoma Esanubi, to pay him a courtesy visit.

Obasanjo said he is focused on Nigeria’s future but clarified that he does not have a preferred candidate for 2019.

He said his Coalition for Nigeria Movement is geared towards galvanising a paradigm shift noting that people at the grassroot have been ignored by the government.

Obasanjo said his letter to President Muhammadu Buhari was not to belittle the positon or embarrass him but to offer advice.

He said: “In the year 2015, I said I would no longer participate in partisan politics. And I still stand by my decision. Everybody, irrespective of his or her political affiliation is free to come here for advice, I will gladly do that. I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result.

“If you study our transitions since the colonial era, they have all taken place without taking the people of the grassroots into consideration. So, CNM is about the people at the grassroots. It is a socio-economic movement where youth and women, especially, will be given opportunity to appreciate their interests and power. Unlike before, I believe we must put the horse before the cart.

“If the system and the platform sync, I believe Nigeria will get there. And like I said, the moment the Coalition gets involved in candidate sponsoring or participates in partisan politics, I will opt out of it.”

43-year-old Nigerian woman stuck in UK with N251m hospital bill after delivering quadruplets

According to DailymailUK, Priscilla gave birth to quadruplets prematurely in Britain and she has a bill of £500,000 ( N251.5m ) in one of the largest hospitals. According to her, even if she's working everyday, she won't be able to pay up the debts singlehandedly.

The 43-year-old healthcare worker had planned to give birth to her babies in Chicago, in the US, where she has a family. But she was turned away by border officials on arrival, saying although she had a visa, she did not have required documents from a hospital stating that she can pay for birth charges.

Priscilla, pictured, said she 'would never earn' enough to pay the bill for her treatment ked every day in her life'

She was on her way back to Nigeria when she started having contractions. She went into labour three months early shortly after landing at Heathrow airport in November. She was rushed to the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in west London, part of Imperial College Hospital, where she delivered the four babies.

One of the babies died immediately after birth while another, a girl named Deborah, passed away on Saturday. The other two, Elijah and Esther, are still being treated on the hospital’s neonatal intensive care ward.

Talking about her bill on the documentary, Priscilla, pictured, said 'It's only money. Money can't buy life'

Staff estimate that the total bill for the highly complex birth and the care of the babies is already more than £500,000. The cost of treating one baby in neonatal intensive care is £20,000 a week. Priscilla is currently staying at a hostel run by a charity and is unable to afford the bill.

Priscilla's husband is in Nigeria. He is not planning to travel to meet her because he does not have money for a visa or the flight. Priscilla underwent IVF treatment, which has a high risk of multiple births, as she was struggling to conceive naturally due to her age.

She was told by her doctor to fly to the US to have her babies, as Nigerian hospitals do not have the ‘facilities to cater for the children’. Her case was revealed on BBC 2 documentary Hospital, which exposes the pressures of health tourism on the trust.

When Priscilla was first warned of the high cost of treatment by overseas visitor manager Terry Facey, she said:

‘I didn’t plan to come here. ‘It’s only money. Money can’t buy life. The last bill I had was £331,000 but even if I worked every day I would never earn that much money. My kids are priceless.’

Fuels scarcity: Dogara suggests permanent solution

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that refining crude oil locally would be a permanent solution to ending fuel scarcity in Nigeria.

Dogara said local refining of crude will make fuel easily accessible to all Nigerians.

Speaking while receiving members of the petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at the National Assembly on Tuesday, February 6, Dogara said a high-powered consultation is ongoing on the part of leadership at different level.

He said Nigeria will continue getting temporary result until local refining of crude is commenced.

He also called for capacity building for workers to discharge the responsibility to yield optimal results.

Dogara said: "Unless we are able to refine crude locally, we will never be in a position as a nation to say bye to fuel scarcity and that is the truth. Anyone who thinks we can depend on importation and still solve this problem is deceiving himself.

"You see, when you import, you are depending on so many variables. These variables are not within your control and anything can happen along the line that may result in this. The solution is to refine crude locally and end this shame once and for all.

"The final solution will be to refine this crude, put it in the filing station and say bye to fuel scarcity," Dogara said.

He also commended the leadership of PENGASSAN for taking the right path by engaging with legislators on areas of concern on developments in the petroleum sector.

He promised that the National Assembly is working on the remaining components of the Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure that their passage are expedited.

Also speaking, the president of PENGASSAN, Francis Johnson, commended the House for its effort in ensuring accountability and transparency in the oil and gas industry.

Johnson while commending the National Assembly for passing the PIGB said the fuel scarcity Nigerians are experiencing is embarrassing.

He urged the House to collaborate with PENGASSAN on finding a sustainable way to end the crisis and prevent a resurgence by revamping and rehabilitating the nation's refineries with timelines and strategies that will lead to adequate and sustainable crude supply.

2019: Senate, Reps finally adopt reordered sequence of election

The National Assembly conference committee on electoral act (amendment) bill on Tuesday, February 6, adopted the reordered sequence of the 2019 general elections, making presidential election last.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the House of Representatives had few weeks ago, began process to amend the electoral act 2010 with the inclusion of section 25(1) in the law.

Our source gathered that this was to reorder the sequence of the elections, to commence with National Assembly, followed by governorship and state House of assembly, and presidential as last.

This is against the sequence rolled out by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) late 2017, which put presidential and National Assembly elections first and governorship and state assembly to follow.

The chairman of Senate committee on INEC, Suleiman Nazif, said that the bill did not in any way violate any provisions of Section 76 of the 1999 Constitution which empowered INEC to fix dates and conduct elections.

He said the words “empowering INEC’’ to that effect were duplicated in the bill just as powers conferred on the National assembly by section 4 (2) of the Constitution were exercised in relation to rescheduling of elections.

Nazif said that inclusion of section 25(1) which changed the sequence of election different from the one earlier released by INEC had not violated any provisions of the laws governing the operations of the electoral body.

In his contribution, chairman, House of Representatives committee on INEC, Edward Pwajok, said that what the House concurred with the Senate as was very necessary in giving credibility to the electoral process.

“The sequence of election provision in the bill is not targeted at anybody but aimed at giving credibility to the electoral process.

“This is by giving the electorate the opportunity to vote based on qualities of candidates vying for National Assembly seat,” he said.

Pwajok added that if the bill was given assent by the president, the lawmakers, who based on national interest, adopted it, would invoke constitutional provisions at their disposal to make it see the light of the day.

“Whether it would be assented to or not by the President, as far as we are concerned, remains in the realm of conjuncture for now but if such eventually happens, we will know how to cross the bridge,” he said.

A member of the committee, Dino Melaye (APC-Kogi), said that while date for election was the prerogative of INEC, extant laws gave schedules for such elections as sole responsibility of the National Assembly.

“So contrary to reports and comments by some Nigerians on the reordered sequence of election, National Assembly has not overlapped its boundaries,” he said. (NAN)

 Previously  opposition parties numbering over 30 under the auspices of coalition for a New Nigeria on Wednesday, January 31, after a leadership meeting in Abuja called for a review of the 2019 general elections time table.

SpaceX successfully launches Falcon Heavy rocket

Image:The rocket blasted off from Florida's Cape CanaveralThe world's most powerful rocket has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, sending a car into an orbit that could last a billion years.

Space X's Falcon Heavy rocket fired up its 27 engines and three boosters and lifted off to raucous cheers and applause at 3.45pm local time.

Its five million pounds of thrust, equal to the power of 18 jumbo jets, appeared to work without a hitch as the rocket sped into the Florida sky on its first test mission.

The big moment was delayed for several hours due to high winds and the success of the mission was far from assured.

Video:SpaceX Falcon Heavy blast-off

Even SpaceX boss Elon Musk admitted it might all end in a ball of flames as the company embarked on its most ambitious launch to date.

The billonaire, who also owns Tesla, used his own car as the test payload - with David Bowie's Space Oddity playing on lift off and a mannequin spaceman in the driver's seat.

:: The Falcon Heavy is a space race game-chanIf it survives the harsh space environment, SpaceX hopes it will enter an Earth-Mars orbit around the sun. The company says the journey could last a billion years.

The impressive sight of the rocket's side boosters peeling away and landing upright and in unison back at Cape Canaveral came soon after launch.But the return to earth of the central booster was less successful. Mr Musk said that it had crashed into the Atlantic at 300mph, missing the floating landing platform.

He said it hit the water with such force that shrapnel flew onto the droneship's deck and took out two engines

Saturn V, which took astronauts to the moon, could handle more payload, as could the Soviet-era Energia.

Never-the-less, the successful test looks set to pave the way for far bigger commercial satellites being put into orbit.

Image:The rocket's thrust is equal to 18 jumbo jets

The SpaceX rocket has already been booked to launch several large communications satellites and a test payload for US Air Force.

But Elon Musk plans to go further - by the end of the year he wants to send two paying passengers around the moon.

He is not the only billionaire with space ambitions though.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos also has a spaceflight company, Blue Origin, and is testing out a resuable rocket to fly space tourists to the edge of space.

A larger orbital rocket, New Glenn, is also in the works that will compete against the likes of SpaceX to put satellites into orbit.

Fake doctor in India 'infects dozens with HIV using contaminated needles'

Image:Rajendra Kumar is allegedly to have used the same syringes as those he had previously used to treat flu and fever. File pictures.

Thirty-three people have been infected with HIV after a fake doctor allegedly injected them with contaminated needles and syringes.

All of those testing positive are from the north Indian town of Bangarmau, where the unlicensed practitioner was working.

The suspect, Rajendra Kumar, is alleged to have used the same syringes as those he had previously used to treat flu, fever and body ache.

Dr Sushil Choudhary, the district's chief medical officer, told Sky News: "The quack was operating in this rural area and only charged 10 rupees (11p) for an injection.

"He used the same syringe and many poor people went to him for cheaper treatment.

"We have screened 566 persons so far and 38 have been reactive, of these 33 are HIV positive. They have all been sent to the Kanpur Medical Hospital where they are under anti-retroviral therapy and drugs are being administered to stop any progression."

The incident came to light when a government-run health camp was held in the town in November, finding a high number of HIV cases.

India's health department then launched an investigation and set up three screening camps for the town's residents.

Image:India marks World AIDS Day every December, with the country home to 2.1 million people who live with HIV

According to locals, the fake doctor is a resident of a neighbouring village and was claiming to cure people of common illnesses. Because he charged less money, the villagers went to him instead of the government clinic.Dr Choudhary continued: "We have lodged a police case against the quack and have started a crackdown on illegal practitioners who are playing with the lives of people."

Health minister Sidharth Nath Singh added: "Action will be taken against culprits and those who practice without a licence.

"Since it's a transit point, HIV carriers are likely to come there. So we're mapping truck drivers who come there and offer treatment to them."

According to 2017 UNAIDS data, India has 2.1 million people living with HIV, which is about 0.26% of its population. Of those, 9,100 were children under the age of 15.

New HIV infections in the country have decreased by 46% since 2010 and the number of AIDS-related deaths has come down by 22% in the same period

India spends only about 1% of its GDP on public health, leaving millions of citizens no choice but to pursue expensive private treatment.

A disease with expensive treatment costs could easily push a family into poverty, making cheaper cures all the more attractive to the country's most vulnerable.