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Worried by the intermittent c ommu n a l clashes in Cross River State, the state government has warned border communities to de­sist from aggression that can threaten the peace and unity of the people. The government said it would not hesitate to clamp down on warring communi­ties in the event of any further aggression. The Director General, Cross River State Emer­gency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah, who dropped the warning while delivering relief materi­als to victims of the war-torn Usumutong and Ediba vil­lages at the weekend, said vio­lence and social disturbances in any society were the bane of meaningful development. Aqua said: “Governor Li­yel Imoke as an ardent advo­cate of peace has warned that any further aggression will attract the wrath of govern­ment. Violence in any form was retrogressive and the sus­tenance of peace at all cost was necessary to e

Nigeria World Cup star, Emmanuel Emenike is up in arms with the Enugu State Government over 13 plots of land worth 30 million Naira (about $180,000), which he bought to build a sports academy in Enugu. Soldiers had allegedly invaded the property and pre­vented any work on it, the Fenerbache star exclusively told AfricanFootball.com. A bitter Emenike said he bought the 13 plots of land after the World Cup in Brazil through a top official of Enugu State Government, who had since handed him all the documents. He further narrated: “I worked hard to make my money, I know what I pass through on the pitch before I earn my living and it will be unfair if what am hearing about my land in Enugu State was true. “I visit Enugu whenever I come to Nigeria, my friends stay there, as well as some of my family members. And I am the kind of person who allows for advise. Even before now, I had

•Lamido, Shema absent •Jonathan/Shema poster floods venue Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Northwest geo-political zone yesterday endorsed the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 election. They affirmed their support at a meeting attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo in Kaduna. Party Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, National Organising Secretary Abubakar Mustapha, Zonal Chairman Amb. Adamu Kazaure, Senator Magoro and Sokoto State Deputy Governor Mukhtar Shagari, all attended the meeting. The Northwest comprising seven states Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Jigawa states has the largest population of voters among the six geo-political zones. Yesterday’s meeting is believed to be the zone’s response to the ongoing activities orchestrated around President Jonathan’s undisguised but yet to declared bid for re-election. The PDP through the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Transformation Ambassador of Nigeria (TAN

•PDP appeal panel clears  acting Adamawa governor Ten of the 14 aspirants contesting for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in the Adamawa State governorship by-election have come together against Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and three others. The others are former Lagos State Military Administrator Gen. Buba Marwa, ex-Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Executive Secretary Dr. Ahmed Modibo and former governorship candidate Marcus Gundiri. In the gang-up are Acting Governor Umar Fintiri, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, Awwal Tukur, James Barka, Sen Abubakar Girei, Dr. Idi Hong, Aliyu Kama, Umar Ardo, Jerry Kumdisi and Dr. Andrawus Sawa. Eight of the aspirants stormed the party secretariat in Yola yesterday. Finitiri and Dr. Sawa were absent. Spokesman of the group and former presidential adviser Ahmed Gulak said the 10 of them had resolved to come together in the interest of the party and the people. “We are the only PDP family members; any other pe

Three people – a doctor, a pharmacist and another person – among those who had primary contact with the late Dr. Ikechukwu Sam Enemuo, the first Ebola victim in Rivers State, have been quarantined after showing symptoms of the virus. The results of their tests are, however, still being awaited. The late doctor Emenuo’s widow, who has tested positive to the virus, is receiving treatment in Lagos. Rivers State Commissioner for Health Dr. Sampson Parker broke the news yesterday in an update on the outbreak of Ebola in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s major oil hub and the second city after Lagos to be hit by the virus in Nigeria. The late Dr. Enemuo contracted the virus and died on August 22 in Port Harcourt. He became the sixth Nigerian to die of the virus after secretly treating a Nigerian official of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mr. Oluibukun Koye, in a hotel in Port Harcourt. Koye, who contracted Ebola after having primary contact with the

Godwin Emefiele There is mixed reaction among Nigerians as the N65 charge on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction begins today. The remote-on-us ATM transactions as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on (other banks ATMs) withdrawal, was cancelled in December 2012 by the CBN under the leadership of ex-Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, citing the need to encourage the people to use the ATM. Then, it was N100 per withdrawal. But in the new regime which begins today, a customer will be debited N65 after three withdrawals from other banks ATM. The news charges have attracted criticism, but the apex bank and the Bankers Committee said the decision is in the economic interest of the country. They said the removal of the charges had a negative effect on the cashless policy adding that today’s takeoff of the N65 fee would create competition among banks and lead to improvement of services to customers. “The wear and tear as well as the frequency of servic

Francis Cardinal Arinze is a prince of the Catholic Church. He has served the church diligently, dutifully and faithfully for many years and in many capacities. He was the former Archbishop of Onitsha Archdiocese and has served at the Vatican for over 30 years before he retired about six years ago. The last office he held was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In this interview, he speaks on why he chose to remain in Rome after his retire­ment, his upcoming 50 th episcopacy cel­ebration and other matters, concerning the church and the society, including the 2015 general elections and insecurity in Nigeria and the Ebola disease. Excerpts: W hat office did you hold last before you retired from the Vatican? The office I held last in the Vatican City was Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. That mean