Edo guber: I Can't Stand On The Fence Over The Choice Of My Successor – Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State

Daily Post, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has explained that there is no way he can stand on the fence over the choice of his successor in the 2016 governorship election in the state. He, however, assured that the All Progressives Congress, APC, would create a level playground for all aspirants at the forthcoming party’s primaries.

The Governor may have spoken in response to widespread rumour that he is fully in support of the candidacy of Godwin Obaseki as his successor and arm-twisting party members to support his preferred aspirant ahead of the primaries.

He, however, denied the insinuation that he is going to impose the chairman of Edo State Economic Team, Mr Obaseki, on the party but added that he is entitled to exercise his fundamental human right like every other member of the party.

Oshiomhole spoke yesterday at an enlarged meeting with the APC leaders from the three senatorial districts of the state where he noted that politicking is all about contestation and negotiation.

His words, “The governorship candidate of this party will be produced through primaries. The last elections in Edo State we had primaries in each of the election. They were state in part of this Country (South/South) were candidate were imposed and heaven didn’t fall.”

DasukiGate: Arrest of Metuh: We are not apologetic – APC chairman

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has said the party is not apologetic for the way the Presidency is handling the corruption war.

According to him, it doesn’t matter whose ox is gored, the nation has to be cleansed and this was not a witch-hunt of the opposition party.

Oyegun spoke with journalists late Monday after a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) with President Muhammadu Buhari at the first lady’s wing of the Presidential Villa.

The APC chairman, who was speaking in apparent reference to the incarceration of the spokesperson for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as well as the former National Security Adviser, who was rearrested after being granted bail, said the APC had no intention of creating a one-party system in the nation.

“The APC is not in any way apologetic. We promised change and there is a lot of rot in the system. This must be cleansed anyway, no matter whose ox is being gored, wherever the tree is going to fall, so, let it be. We must get used to the fact that in the process of cleansing this nation there is going to be a lot of bullets to bite.

“The APC has not been in office at the national level in the last 10 – 16 years. So, the issue of whether somebody is PDP or not PDP does not arise. We have a nation to cleanse. The President has committed himself to that and we should take it whatever way it comes. We are not being apologetic about that at all.

“It has nothing to do with witch hunting. It just happened that the dramatist personae of the period all happened to be on one side of the political divide. We have absolutely no intention to pressurise any group or any nation towards a one party state. It is not in our interest so to do, because we need a vibrant opposition.

“We need an opposition that will contribute constructively to national discourse, that will make us sit up and deliver to the people what we promised. But the task is enormous and if anybody is ready to help to discharge these responsibilities he is most welcomed,” he said.

The council, he said, was also briefed on the state of the nation and the President’s ongoing anti-corruption crusade, adding that “we are going away fulfilled, happy that government has substantially blocked the leakages in the system. There is still a lot to be done and we are looking forward to the early passage of the budget so that full implementation will begin.”

He said the council at the interactive meeting briefed the President on the state of the party, the challenges being faced and the upcoming elections arising from court actions.

On the Bayelsa election, he said the party had deep regrets that there was so much blood unnecessarily shed in the process, but “we have a lot of reservation, some of which our candidate had very eloquently expressed. We are going to examine what has come out very, very carefully and decide the next line of action.”

Queen's wants to throw-up a street party for her 90th birthday and tickets to cost £150

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The Queen celebrates two birthdays - her actual birthday in April and her official birthday in June

Tickets for a street party to mark the Queen's 90th birthday in London's The Mall will cost £150 each, her grandson has announced.

Peter Phillips said the Patron's Lunch on 12 June was a not-for-profit event and would have a "carnival atmosphere".

Most of the 10,000 guests will be from organisations associated with the Queen, with 1,000 tickets to be released in a public ballot next month.

The party will be the culmination of a weekend of national celebrations.

The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday on a Saturday in June.

'Up to something'

The Patron's Lunch will honour the Queen's lifetime dedication to service and mark her patronage of more than 600 charities and organisations.

The street party at The Mall will take place in June

Mr Phillips, who is helping to organise the event in his role as director of Sports and Entertainment Ltd (SEL), said the Queen had heard about his plans before he had a chance to tell her.

He recalled that upon approaching her with the idea she said: "I've heard you're up to something."

He added: "There's a huge amount of pride, the fact that I'm able to celebrate, to put something on, to put a celebration on which ultimately she appreciates, she enjoys and she thinks is a great idea."

Mr Phillips said the party's guests would be given hampers of food at tables set up along The Mall.

The event will also feature a carnival parade before and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh take to a stage to listen to speeches marking the occasion.

The majority of the tickets for the event, which is also being attended by Prince William and Prince Harry, have been allocated to the hundreds of organisations and charities associated with the Queen.

In February a ballot will open to the public for a minimum of 1,000 tickets, with winners able to buy them from the event's website.

Remarking on the cost of the tickets, Mr Phillips said the event's corporate partners had "provided the funding for the majority of the costs".

He said: "This is a not-for-profit event. SEL is being paid a set fee basically to take this from sign-off from the palace through to delivery of the event."

A spokeswoman for the Patron's Lunch said support from the event's partners did not cover its costs fully and tickets offered "genuine value".

The organisers also hope communities around the country will be inspired to stage Patron's Lunches in their own areas and raise money for local projects.

Other events taking place over the Queen's official birthday weekend will include a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral and the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony, also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade, at Horse Guards Parade.

Any surplus money from the Patron's Lunch will be allocated to a newly created Patron's Fund, which will be used to support specific initiatives and projects run by the Queen's charities.

With BBC News

school girl who shared her inhaler with classmate suspended, could get month in alternative school

Garland, Texas, seventh-grader Indiyah Rush, 12, was suspended from her middle school for sharing her inhaler with another girl, according to reports

A Dallas-area middle schooler was suspended for sharing her inhaler with a classmate she thought could be having an asthma attack Tuesday, according to reports.

Seventh-grade honors student Indiyah Rush, 12, also faces up to 30 days in a Garland, Texas, alternative school, KDFW-TV reported. She handed the other girl her inhaler after she noticed the girl wheezing and then breathing heavily during gym class at Vernon Schrade Middle School, Indiyah told the TV station.

“I was just trying to save her life,” she said. “I didn’t know I was doing anything bad.”

Now both Indiyah and the as-yet-unidentified girl she helped will appear at hearings to find out how many days they’ll have to spend at alternative school. A school incident report obtained by the TV station identified Indiyah as the “perpetrator” who had a “controlled substance/marijuana.”

Her mom Monique Rush said she’s worried Indiyah will get mixed in with true drug offenders at alternative school and “I don’t want any of that to rub off on her.”

“I mean, they punished her twice. They suspended her on top of sending her to alternative school,” Rush said. “How could you do a kid like that?”

A representative for Garland Independent School District didn’t immediately respond Thursday night to a request for more information on the health condition of Indiyah’s classmate and the possible punishment. Garland ISD spokesman Chris Moore defended the disciplinary measures in an interview with KDFW.

“It’s a prescription, and one student’s severity with asthma may not mirror that of the girl who let the other girl borrow hers,” Moore said. “And that could have resulted in some pretty significant issues.”

Moore noted Indiyah may receive no days at the district alternative school because the offense carries a penalty of zero to 30 days. Indiyah’s hearing is scheduled for Friday.


With DailyNews

Ebola virus: New case emerges in Sierra Leone

                                                                                           AFP

Health officials in Sierra Leone have confirmed a death from Ebola, hours after the World Health Organization declared the West Africa outbreak over.

The country was declared free of the virus on 7 November, and the region as a whole was cleared when Liberia was pronounced Ebola-free on Thursday.

But two tests conducted on a person who died in northern Sierra Leone proved positive for the virus, an Ebola test centre spokesman said.

The death occurred earlier this week.

Ebola test centre spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis said that the patient had died in the Tonkolili district. He had travelled there from Kambia, close to the border with Guinea.

The tests were conducted by British health experts. A reporter in the capital Freetown said health officials were now urgently seeking those who had come into contact with the victim.

Close to 4,000 people have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone, and 11,000 people across the region, since December 2013.

In declaring West Africa clear after the recent outbreak on Thursday, the WHO warned that the area was susceptible to small flare-ups of the virus.

Liberia was the last country to see the end of active transmission of Ebola. But it had been declared clear twice before, only for the infection to re-emerge.

A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.

With BBC News