Thursday, March 24, 2016

JAMB probes 15 staff for UTME centres’ crisis

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The Registrar/Chief Executive of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Dibu, Ojerinde, has said 15 employees of the agency are currently under investigation for allegedly compromising standard in the accreditation of examination centres that defrauded JAMB on the availability of adequate infrastructure.
Ojerinde said this during the visit of the House of Representatives Committee to the JAMB head office in Abuja on Wednesday.
The alleged compromise, Ojerinde said, led to technical problems encountered during the conduct of the 2016 UTME.
“A committee has been set up to investigate the role of some of our staff, about 15 of them, who conducted accreditation for some centers and if they are found guilty, they risk jail terms,” he said.
Also, the House of Representatives’ members made a U-turn and certified the computer-based test for the conduct of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination into tertiary institutions across the country.
The decision came barely one week after it said that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board should revert to the paper-pencil test in the conduct of UTME.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, stated this during a fact-finding mission to JAMB Headquarters, where they also supervised the rescheduled examinations in Abuja.
The JAMB employees under probe were said to have refused to conduct proper due diligence about the centres – a development that was responsible for complaints from the centres, including light and computer failure.
According to Mohammed, Nigeria cannot afford to return to PPT. He said that contrary to insinuations, the House of Representative never took a position on the CBT.
He said, “Basically, we need to be educated more. We are in support of the CBT and we cannot go back to paper-pencil; we must be in tandem with the world in the conduct of our examinations.
“The House (of Representatives) did not take any position on CBT, but there were fractions on the floor as to the adoption of both methods and I believe it is the reason why the House Committee on Basic Education was mandated to investigate. Nigeria cannot afford to maintain double standard as we know other African countries such as Uganda have been to our country to replicate our system such as the CBT.”
Source:PUNCH

We make provision for only 400,000 UTME candidates – NUC


The National Universities Commission has said only 400,000 out of the 1.5 million candidates that  sit  the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination yearly  gain admission to Nigerian universities, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie,  said  this when  Edo State Governor  Adams Oshiomhole  visited the commission on Wednesday in Abuja.
Oshiomhole was at NUC to collect the Certificate of Recognition for the new Edo State University, Iyanmo.
Okojie said new universities were needed to boost access to higher education while making sure that quality was not compromised.
He said,  “I am always happy when a new university comes on board; what that means is that we are expanding and we are opening up access.
“We know the number of candidates  that sit for UTME organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board every year.
“However, out of the 1.5 million candidates who take  UTME every year, we are barely able to make provision for only about 400,000 students.
“The new university will, therefore, be accessible not only to candidates  from Edo State but those from Ondo State and other states.”
According to the executive secretary, the Edo State University,  has become the 41st state university and the 142nd university in Nigeria.
Oshiomhole said  for sound university education, there was a need to produce sound secondary school graduates who would be able to face the rigours of university education.
He said, “We have structures that are strong and well designed; we are building more faculties.
“We are building more standard  hostels; students will behave based on the influence of the environment.
“So, it is my hope that we will make the right level of investment and the university will charge fees that will enable it to access revenue for sustained development without depending much on the  state government.”

Source:Punch

Monday, January 14, 2013

Bisi Komolafe’s property tears fiancĂ©, family apart

A week after the remains of Nollywood actress, Bisi Komolafe was laid to rest amid tears in Ibadan, Oyo State, her fiancĂ©, Tunde Ijadola and members of her family are already on war path over the  deceased’s  property.
This development was made public during the week when Tunde  cried out, saying “I don’t think it is a proper thing for family members to be fighting me for Bisi’s property less than 24hours after her death when we should be mourning her.”
Ijadola reacted to the accusations levelled against him that he was not ready to release any of the deceased’s property to them.
*Late Bisi
*Late Bisi
According to him, “You will recall that after Bisi Komolafe’s burial, her family not only claimed that I  was responsible for her death, but also ordered me to vacate her apartment and return her vehicle to them.
Complying with the instruction, Tunde stated that “I am sending the Honda Pilot back to them, sad enough, Bisi’s parents do not have issues with me but her extended family members. Please note I have given them time and place to pick the car.”
“On the accusation that he went back to pack Bisi’s properties, he said, “I came back to Nigeria on October 24, 2012. Bisi and I left the Ikorodu flat on October 26, 2012 and until now, I have never stepped into the Ikorodu apartment which I rented for her. I’m shocked by what I am hearing. Bisi was living in Ajao Estate before I rented the Ikorodu apartment for her.”
Tunde also cleared the air on the accusation that  he had been hiding Bisi from people.
He said “I had to change Bisi’s numbers because she needed rest, when she was ill people kept calling her for work. It is sad that Bisi died the way she did. One of the main issues between me and her family was the fact that when Bisi’s sickness dragged on, I went spiritual  to save her. We were told that her problems were spiritual but her family wouldn’t allow us to take her for spiritual care.”

Friday, January 11, 2013

US FBI Arrest Algerian Hacker In Malaysia

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a 24-year-old computer science graduate, Hamza Bendelladj, for allegedly hacking into banks, after trailing him for three years.

Bendelladj who is from Algeria, is reported to have begun hacking into banks at the age of 20.

He was detained at a Bangkok airport on Sunday after arriving from Malaysia for a connecting flight to Cairo.

US authorities accused him of hacking into private accounts in more than 217 banks and financial companies worldwide, causing millions of dollars in losses.

"When asked what he did with the money, he said he spent it on travelling and a luxurious life, like flying first class and staying in luxury places," immigration police chief, Pharnu Kerdlarpphon told reporters.

He was arrested during a stopover at Thailand's international airport while travelling from Malaysia, where he said he and his family had been on holidays.

Police said they had confiscated two laptops, a tablet computer, a satellite phone and a number of external hard drives from him.
He will be extradited to the US state of Georgia, where a district court has issued an arrest warrant.

EFCC arrests Soludo over currency contract scam

A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles  Soludo, was on Thursday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes  Commission over his role in the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam which occurred between 2006 and 2008 when he was in office.
The PUNCH was informed by sources in the commission that Soludo arrived the EFCC  Headquarters about 2pm from his Abuja residence and  immediately faced a team of operatives who quizzed him for several hours to ascertain his level of complicity in the scandal.
It was learnt that the decision to look into the polymer deal was followed  a petition by  Human and Environmental Development Agenda.
According to the chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the group’s petition had demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of those involved in the alleged contract scam.
The petition had demanded that both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission  pursue the investigation and prosecution as provided by laws establishing both anti-graft agencies.
Sources also indicated that other top management staff of CBN, who had worked with Soludo, were also picked and currently being held alongside other ex-staff of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company.
However, all efforts to get the identities of other  detained suspects  proved abortive, as no one was ready to volunteer information.
It was not clear whether the ex-CBN governor would be remanded at the EFCC detention  as he was still being held as at 8pm on Thursday.
Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest, but could not be categorical on whether the embattled former 2010 Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Anambra State would be detained or not.
He said, “We have Soludo in our custody and it is part of an ongoing investigation over his involvement in the award of contract and printing of polymer banknotes when he was the Governor of the CBN.”

Thursday, January 10, 2013

NAFDAC probes UNIBEN professor’s HIV/AIDS cure claims

Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, yesterday, warned Nigerians not to patronize the drugs announced by Professor Isaiah Ibeh of University of Benin, UNIBEN, as cure for HIV/AIDS.



He said the drug was not subjected to standard scientific protocols before announcement, and needed to be sanctioned.

Disassociating NAFDAC from the announcement, he said the product was never brought to his agency for vetting and neither was it subjected to any known institutional scrutiny.


Dr Paul Orhii, DG, NAFDAC
He said: “We have started with disassociating ourselves from the so called cure. We will decide the appropriate sanction. We have invited him for further investigation.

“If our laws don’t have appropriate punishment for such persons who don’t follow scientific protocols in making such pronouncement, we will review the law and ensure that such do not occur again.

“The agency wishes to state that this herbal drug which is claimed to have undergone a series of successful tests has never been presented to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for evaluation of efficacy and safety.

”This bogus claim of efficacy without following the appropriate procedure for drug evaluation is capable of misleading the public, especially those that have HIV/AIDs infection as there is no known official or scientifically proven cure for HIV/AIDS infection to date.”

“You may recall that Nigeria had been inundated with similar spurious claims in the past, when individuals announced cure for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and Diabetes which later turned out to be false after thorough investigation.

“This is usually at the expense of innocent citizens who have risked their lives, wasted their time and money in search of the elusive cure for their ailments. Nigerians deserve better than to be used as Guinea pigs no matter how noble the intention of the researcher.

“Also recall that in September 2011, NAFDAC arrested the Managing Director of Winners Medical Diagnostics and Research Institute, Dr. Jacob Abdullahi for dealing in expired medicines claimed to be cure for HIV.

“Similarly, in November 2011, one Dr. (Amb) P.S.A. Bondima Young of Bondima Hepatoviral Centre, Jos was apprehended by NAFDAC for administering unregistered drugs on patients for the treatment of Hepatitis.

“I wish to caution other persons who might want to follow the footsteps of Prof. Isaiah Ibeh in making public claims for products whose safety and efficiency have not been scientifically proven to desist from such acts .

“There is a laid down protocol for determining efficacy and safety of new medicines and this must be strictly adhered to by all.”

President Jonathan May Spend 7 Years In Prison After Tenure

‘Four members of the House of Representatives will die this year and there will be two major air disasters in the months of May and June 2013!’



These are some of the predictions of Prophet Marcus Tibetan, the Parish Head of Celestial Church of Christ, Elisha Parish, for the year 2013. Respected for the accuracy of his predictions, Prophet Marcus Tibetan who is widely referred to as the Nostradamus of our time predicts that ten Ministers in the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan would be dropped this year for being ineffective and incompetent. President Goodluck Jonathan, says the prophet, should pray against losing loved ones in this year 2013.

The President should pray very hard against a situation that would arise and make him spend at least seven years in jail after his tenure as President of Nigeria.

He further predicts that the Senate President, David Mark, should begin to wind up and prepare for his exit from politics as disgrace is imminent.

The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, should forget any ambition of being the Vice President of Nigeria again after this first term. Bamanga Tukur may be the last PDP Chairman as the party would suffer a lot of crises and setbacks in 2013.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo needs to do more for the Yoruba race in particular and Nigeria in general. He should perform the assignment of putting the Yoruba race in the forefront with zeal as this could be his last assignment.

Prophet Marcus Tibetan’s earth shaking predictions for the year 2013 are presently being compiled into a book which will be in circulation within the first quarter of the year. The Prophet who is loved and respected in his native town of Ode-Aye has visited more than eighty countries.

His mastery of the Bible can be seen in his in exhaustive quotations from the Holy book.

The man of God is able to cure chronic diseases and ailments such as sickle cell anaemia and diabetes, amongst others.