Fireman dies, 5 injured as fire razes Onitsha market

The Anambra Fire Service on Monday lost one of its staff while fighting the inferno that gutted the Ochanja Market, Onitsha.

The Acting Director of the service, Mr Innocent Mbonu, who confirmed the death of the staff, however, refused to give the name of the deceased.

Mbonu explained that a storey building in the market collapsed on two of his staff in an attempt to stop the fire, adding that one died instantly while the other was receiving treatment at a hospital.

“Eive other persons sustained various degrees of injury while 15 shops, mostly shoe shops, were razed during the inferno,” he said.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Ali Okechukwu, said that the cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

“The governor was there. When government comes out with its report on the cause of the fire, we shall all know but the place is calm now,” Okechukwu said.

Reacting, a member of the market’s vigilance group said that the fire started at about 3 a.m. from a shop line and extended to other areas.

The security guard, who pleaded anonymity, said that efforts by the firemen and others to put out the fire were unsuccessful.

“The fireman met his untimely death when he climbed a storey building to spray water but unfortunately for him, the building collapsed and he was consumed by fire.

“Another official of the fire service broke his leg and was among the five that sustained various degrees of injury,” the source said.

An eyewitness further disclosed that a cash of N1.5 million was recovered in one of the shops and was handed over to the owner of the shop.

Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra, who rushed to the fire scene early in the day, said he would set up an investigative panel to find the immediate and remote causes of the fire outbreak.

Obiano said that he would provide a fire-fighting vehicle and other equipment and urged the traders to be calm.

Social Media Bill: Buhari differs with Senate, restates commitment to free speech.

Buhari

IN what looked like a major public disagreement with the Senate over the controversial Frivolous Petitions and Other Matters Bill, (also known as Social Media Bill) before the Senate, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday reiterated the commitment of his administration to the protection of free speech in keeping with democratic tradition.

The President’s reaction, which was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu came against the background of the public hostility towards the bill now being debated by the Senate.

Shehu noted that the President had sworn to defend the constitution of Nigeria and would not lend his hand to anything that is inconsistent with the constitution, but added that Buhari was not averse to lawful regulation, so long as that is done within the ambit of the constitution which he swore to uphold.

He added, “The President said free speech is central to democratic societies anywhere in the world. The President explained that without free speech, elected representatives won’t be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues.

“As a key component of democratic principles,” the President acknowledged that people in democratic societies “are so emotionally attached to free speech that they would defend it with all their might.”

Shehu explained that Buhari was fully aware of the public reservations about the proposed legislation but assured that there is no cause for alarm, “because the Senate is a democratic senate. The President won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria.”

Buhari again; "Past administrations’ impunity, cause of oil sector corruption"

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has told the international community that the impunity of previous governments is to blame for the corruption in the Nigerian oil sector.

He pointed out that corruption in the oil sector and outright theft of Nigeria’s crude oil had been exacerbated by the culture of impunity which reigned under previous administrations.

The president has, therefore, appealed to the developed world to help the country to tackle the menace by not providing haven for proceeds from such acts of corruption. 

Speaking at a group meeting of Commonwealth leaders on corruption chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, President Buhari maintained that corruption in the sector had also thrived because of the ease of transferring illicit funds abroad and the institutional protection given to corrupt officials in the past.

According to him, “now that we have the political will to stop impunity, we need the cooperation and assistance of the international community. We must all work together to compel multinational oil companies, international financial institutions and international shipping lines to stop aiding and abetting corruption in the oil sector in Nigeria.”
The gathering included the leaders of Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malta, Sri Lanka, Botswana and Trinidad and Tobago.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Cameron said that the Commonwealth and the international community must do more to fight corrupt and promote good governance.

He added: “We care passionately about this issue of fighting corruption. In my view, this issue needs to have a much higher billing on the international agenda, not just because fighting corruption is right in itself, but because all the other things we want to achieve as countries and members of the Commonwealth depend on our success in doing so.

“If we want fair economic growth, we need to reject corruption. If we want to see fair and sustainable development, we need to deal with corruption. I think this is an absolutely vital issue. It is an issue for all of us because so much of the money stolen from developing countries is hidden in developed countries.

Kogi Election: How do you rate Buhari & APC on their first conducted election?

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Kogi election: I’m APC’s gov candidate, Faleke insists

THE deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 21 November, 2015 governorship election in Kogi State, Honourable James Abiodun Faleke has insisted that he is the party’s governorship candidate, following the death of his principal, Prince Abubakar Audu.
This is just as he rejected his nomination as running mate to the governorship candidate picked by his party contest the supplementary election, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Faleke, in a letter dated 27 November, written by  Wole Olanipekun & Co and addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, maintained that the nomination of any other candidate to serve as Faleke’s principal would be strange to law and the constitution, warning the party not to toe that path, which it said would be full of legal land mines.
He had, in a separate letter he personally signed, also rejected the party’s submission of his name as deputy governorship candidate to Bello, noting that he would remain committed to the ticket, which he and the Audu contested on through which they defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This is coming on the heels of the APC’s nomination of the first runner-up in the governorship primary that produced Audu, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as the governorship candidate of the party ahead of the December 5, 2015 supplementary election in 91 polling units across the state.
But Faleke maintained that in the face of the law and the constitution, he is the governorship candidate of the party, saying: “The issue involved is that of constitutional, formal and legal imperatives, rather than political expediency. In the eyes of the Constitution and the law, our client is the governor-elect of Kogi State. There is no gainsaying this fact. It is a truism that cannot be discounted.”
Faleke’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by Sunday Tribune, stated that bringing another governorship candidate to contest election in 91 polling units rather than the deputy governorship candidate to the late Audu, is laden with legal land mines.
 The letter added that Faleke could not be jettisoned by the party or have a fresh governorship candidate imposed on him as his principal, because “law does not recognise this type of supplementary election in 91 polling units, with a total number of eligible votes with PVCs not more than 25,000 or thereabout...Put bluntly, there cannot be any legitimate governor of Kogi State who would emerge from supplementary election outside (our client) with a maximum  of 25,000 votes, assuming all the registered voters with PVCs cast their votes for the anticipatory supplementary candidate.
Faleke’s lawyer cited the example of 

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