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Uniport: thousands of students to repeat one session following new school policy.

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Tension gripped thousands of University of Portharcourt students on Friday as the deadline set by the school administration for the payment of the 2017/2018 academic session school fees elapsed.

The University had upon resumption of academic activities for the session set the deadline with stern warning that those who fail to comply might possibly repeat one academic session.

Some of the students who spoke to TPCN described the school’s policy as anti-student, saying that the school should temper justice with mercy due to economic hardship in the country.

They maintained that the school administration should extend the deadline to allow their parents enough time to provide them with their tuition fees, saying that forcing them to repeat one academic session will destabilize them academically.

A student activist who gave his name as Gabriel told TPCN that it is imperative that the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portharcourt extends the deadline and give the students more time to comply.

He said: “January is very hard and the country is facing general hardship. The Vice-Chancellor should as a matter of fact, extend the deadline so that those who have not paid will pay”

“The reality is that this deadline, since it was announced, has forced some people into many social vices and it is not good, especially considering the fact that those who made such policies passed through the Universities with free education. This is a University and not an army barracks” he added!

However, when contacted by TPCN, a lecturer in the University who did not want his name revealed said that the University had to rely on such measures because it is almost broke financially.

He maintained that the policy did not start this academic session but said in the past, punishment for late payment was a 50 percent sub-charge.

He added that, given the economic downturn and the way the Nigerian University system is structured, school administration supplements salaries of lecturers with whatever the federal government pays and the students have to pay for the school to run efficiently.

He said that as a parent, he feels for the students, saying that their plights is a sad one but argued that the school is left with no other option.

The University’s public relations officer, Mr William Wordi, could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.

Nigeria tie ‘toughest’ for Croatia – Vedran Corluka

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Vedran Corluka has tagged Croatia’s World Cup encounter against Nigeria as their ‘toughest’.

Both sides were drawn alongside Iceland and Argentina in Group D for the quadrennial event. And the Lokomotiv Moscow defender has warned that they must ‘pay attention’ to the three-time African champions if they are to make an impact in Russia.

Zlatko Dalic’s side will face Gernot Rohr’s wards in the group opener in Kaliningrad on June 16.
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“I would like to see our team pay attention to Nigeria because they are the first opponent in Russia, and it will be tough against the tricky team from Africa,” Corluka told Sport.ru.

“Getting past Nigeria will be the toughest, but a win over Nigeria can give us a big boost before other games against Argentina and Iceland.

“Hopefully, Argentina can start well with a win and we can take it from there.

“We [Croatia] have a good and strong team for sure, and there are talents. We always say this before every major tournament, but in fact, it does not always work out, so I hope that we will fulfil the task in Russia,” he concluded.

goal.com

Nigerian LNG cargo to arrive Portugal on January 31.

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A cargo of liquefied natural gas loaded at the Nigerian LNG facility on Bonny Island is currently on its way to Portugal, LNG World News reports.

According to the port of Sines shipping data, the LNG River Niger with the capacity to transport 141,000 cubic meters of LNG is scheduled to arrive at the REN’s Sines LNG terminal on January 31.

The vessel, built by the South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2006 is owned by a Nigeria LNG unit, Bonny Gas Transport (BGT).

Cryptocurrencies taking a hit as Japanese exchange halts withdrawal and trading.

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Japanese exchange Coincheck halts trading of all coins except Bitcoin

Despite that, Bitcoin is also taking it on the chin as well. Prices are down almost 6% on the day near session lows. Ripple is down by more than 12% on the day now.

Coincheck is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan and had earlier halted withdrawals in all currencies. Then, they halted trading in NEM coins – which is the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market value based on CoinMarketCap.

Now, they’re saying that they’re halting trade of all cryptocurrencies except for Bitcoin. Something is amiss here. The exchange is not available for comments at this time, according to Bloomberg.

APC unlikely to participate in Rivers state election.

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There were indications on Friday that the All Progressive congress (APC) may likely not participate in the upcoming local government election in Rivers state as proposed by the Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, an insider has said.

Governor Wike had on January 20th stated during a Rhythm FM political program “Viewpoint” that elections for ward councilors and local government chairmen will hold later this year and advised those who would want to contest in the election to get popular in their respective domains.

But a source knowledgeable of the intrigues, although he would not want to be named because he is not authorize to speak, told TPCN that the party will likely not participate in the proposed election because the PDP did not participate during the 2015 Local government election that was conducted by the Rotimi Amaechi administration.

He recalled that the PDP administration of Nyesom Wike dissolved the election of the 22 local government chairmen elected under the party when he took office and the matter is still in court.

He said that the party is currently concentrating on the grassroots mobilization it had embarked on at the beginning of the year, saying that the party is determined in their quest to bring change to Brick House Portharcourt come 2019 and would not want to lose focus at this critical time.

Only PDP can rescue the Nigerian ship – Secondus.

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National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus yesterday said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has become a lame duck after former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari asking him not to seek reelection, according to breaking times.

Secondus, who spoke when he and members of the party National Working Committee (NWC) met with former Ministers under the platform of PDP in Abuja, pointed out that APC has failed woefully to lead the country.

He urged PDP politicians, who are interested in contesting for 2019 elections to do, as the party has opened its door for all, adding that PDP will ensure it conduct transparent primaries guided by the constitution of the party.

The National Chairman charged the former ministers to mobilize their constituents ahead of the 2019 elections, adding that this is an opportunity for PDP to get back to power.

He said: “The NWC is also putting all the necessary strategies together, and we assure that come 2019, that Nigerians will vote for PDP. APC has failed woefully. Our nation is in a situation where PDP must save this nation from total collapse, the government of APC has become lame duck after the former President Obasanjo has released a political tsunami and verdict on the government.

He charged the former ministers to have confidence in the leadership of PDP as the party is ready to interact at any level.

He said: “Those of you who are interested to vie for one office or the other, we want to assure you that our doors are very open.

“The best way to go from where we found ourselves today is to make sure that we conduct very transparent elections, be it the congresses or the primaries. I want to assure that the old system of imposition or any other thing that will go contrary to our Constitution will be far off from the NWC members, we will not go that way.

“We will go strictly and abide by our Constitution and our rules. That is the promise of the NWC. Our laws must be obeyed, our rules must be obeyed, we must follow them precepts by precepts in order to restore confidence to our people.”

Secondus disclosed that the party intend to devolve power, because over the years, so much powers have been concentrated at the center.

“And we discovered that the only way to do it is to devolve power to the grassroot. And our slogan explained it all, power to the people. So the people can decide not the people in Abuja or NWC.

“Let the people at the various constituents and states decide who will represent them, it will make the election easy for us,” he said.

The Chairman said that the NWC is also putting all the necessary strategies together, and “will we assure that come 2019, that Nigerians will vote for PDP. APC has failed woefully. Our nation is in a situation where PDP must save this nation from total collapse, the government of APC has become lame duck after the former President Obasanjo has released a political tsunami and verdict on the government.”

He said that it is time for the PDP to brace up and work together, adding that “the former ministers are factors, men and women of integrity who have worked for this nation. So we charge you to move to your constituencies and reignite the party and assure them that power belong to the people, it is at the grassroot.

“We shall be engaging most of you even at emergency level. As we move, it will be so dynamic in nature. This party belongs to all of us. We have opened the party up, no one single party owns this party. No one single individual can direct, it must be collective leadership. That is what is going to give us victory.”

Responding, the Chairman of former Ministers Forum, Kabiru Turaki said that with the kind of leaders the party has, “the war to bring back what rightly belongs to us has started.

“We said it that there are only two political parties, PDP and the rest. Even the ones that people thought were political parties, people have realised that they are mere associations and clubs that have come together, wreaking havoc on our democracy. Nigerians have seen them for what they are.

“I want to call on you to open your doors very wide, because all those that are real politicians, all those that are democrats will come back home and we are ready for them.

“As you begin your crusade of saving democracy in Nigeria, crusade of saving Nigeria from hunger, from poverty, from insecurity, from hopelessness and joblessness, it should be at the back of your mind that the colossal knowledge, experience and technical know how at the disposal of the former ministers is there for you to tap.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman, National Reconciliation Committee of the PDP and governor of Bayelsa state, Henry Seriake Dickson has called for more understanding and solidarity amongst all aspirants of the party.

Dickson, who made the call on Thursday at the party’s Secretariat in a meeting with some of the aspirants in the last convention, recalled the good times enjoyed by members of the party, including those who have defected to the opposition and compared them to the ills that befell Nigerians today.

He charged the aspirants to be steadfast beyond their tales of grievances and seek for ways to proffer solutions on which the party can move forward.

He further appealed to members to halt their moves from defecting to other opposition parties, but should concentrate more on promoting PDP ahead of the coming elections.

He pointed out that PDP is the most gender-sensitive party from inception that take cognisance of women in nation building

Hospital fire kills 39.

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A fire spread flames and smoke through a South Korean hospital Friday morning, killing at least 39 people, mainly from suffocation, and injuring more than 100 others in one of the country’s deadliest blazes in years.

The fire started in Sejong Hospital’s emergency room and had engulfed the first floor when firefighters arrived. They approached the second floor through the windows to rescue trapped patients, said Choi Man-wu, a fire official in the southeastern city of Miryang.

He said smoke could have spread quickly through the building’s staircase at the center, but the flames were extinguished before reaching the third floor. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. The hospital’s operations were suspended after the fire.

All the dead were from the hospital’s general ward, while all 94 people being cared for in a nursing ward for the elderly were safely evacuated after the fire, some carried on the backs of firefighters, Choi said.

Ten of the injured are in critical condition, local medical official Cheon Jae-kyung said in the same televised briefing, suggesting the toll is feared to increase. Fire officials said 131 were injured, 18 of them in serious condition.

Most of the dead had been hospitalized for respiratory diseases in an intensive-care unit on the second floor. Two doctors and nine nurses were working in the emergency room at the time of fire, but their fates weren’t immediately known.

Most of the 39 deaths appeared to be due to suffocation, with only one suffering burns, said an official at the National Fire Agency who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to media. The identification of the dead was underway, he said.

President Moon Jae-in expressed regret over the blaze at an emergency meeting convened with his senior advisers. He ordered officials to provide necessary medical supports to those rescued, find the exact cause of the fire and work out measures to prevent future fires, according to his spokesman Park Su-hyun.

South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who need long-term doctors’ care.

Several recent fires in South Korea have been deadly.

In late December, 29 people were killed in a building fire in central Seoul, which was the country’s deadliest blaze over the past decade before the hospital fire. Last weekend, a fire at a Seoul motel killed six people, and police arrested a man who allegedly set it ablaze in anger because he had been denied a room for being heavily drunk.

In 2014, a fire set by an 81-year-old dementia patient killed 21 at another hospital for the elderly.

Times report.

New documentary exposes the devastating environmental degradation on Bodo City caused by Shell oil pipeline burst.

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A new documentary has exposed the damage done on Bodo City by the 2008 Shell oil pipeline burst.

The documentary shot by Al Jazeera was released on Monday in partnership with Amnesty International and focuses on the story of Lessi Phillips who was only 16 when a Shell oil pipeline burst near her village, in 2008.

In the 77 days that followed, vast quantities of oil seeped into mangrove swamps near Bodo City, devastating the diverse ecosystem and destroying once-vibrant local fisheries and farms.

There was no report of the number of barrels that might have been spilled during the burst.

Al Jazeera’s virtual reality unit, caught up with Phillips as she explored how the environmental disaster impacted her community, and the ways in which local youth are bringing hope back to the area.

“We wanted to find a new way to retell this important story,” said Zahra Rasool, director of the 360° documentary.

“We immersed audiences deeper in the story so they could powerfully experience the scale of devastation in the community.”

In 2015, Shell announced a payout of $83.2m to compensate residents for the oil spill. Anyone affected could receive about 600,000 naira ($3,000) each.

But a promised clean-up effort was slow to get underway.

The documentary includes live-action footage of how the oil spill damaged the swamp, as well as animations showcasing how Lessi remembers her village looking before the disaster.

“For decades, Shell and other multinational corporations have directly contributed to the devastation of the land and livelihoods of the people who live in the Niger Delta,” said Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

“Oil in Our Creeks allows viewers to grasp the havoc wrought by oil spills on Niger Delta communities. I urge the companies’ executives to watch this film to better understand the community’s plight.”

Obuah gives sanitation guidelines.

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The Rivers State waste management authority (RIWAMA) has said that this year’s monthly sanitation exercise will start on Saturday, the 27th day of January across the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State from 7am – 10am.

This was contained in a statement by the Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency, Bro Felix Obuah, who announced the sanitation exercise guidelines on Thursday in Port Harcourt.

According to the statement, there will be restriction of human and vehicular movements during the period of the exercise.

The RIWAMA administrator also appealed to all Rivers people and those living and doing business in the State to participate fully in the sanitation exercise.

Mr Obuah equally urged owners of trucks (individuals and cooperate organizations) to make available their trucks for the evacuation of waste that would be generated during the period of the sanitation exercise.

He also urged the people of the State to support the vision of a clean and safe environment that will return Portharcourt to its garden city status and enjoined Caretaker Committee Chairmen in the 23 Local Government Councils of the state to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines.

Mourinho inks new deal at Old Trafford.

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Jose Mourinho has signed a new contract with Manchester United to keep him at the club until 2020, with the option of a further year.

Mourinho won the EFL Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford and, this season, has United second in the Premier League and through to the Champions League last-16, where they will face Sevilla.

“I am really honoured and proud to be Manchester United manager. I would like to say a big thank you to the owners and to Mr Woodward for the recognition of my hard work and dedication,” Mourinho said.

“I am delighted they feel and trust that I am the right manager for this great club for the foreseeable future. We have set very high standards – winning three trophies in one season – but those are the standards I expect my teams to aim for”

“We are creating the conditions for a brilliant and successful future for Manchester United.”

Jose Mourinho admits Cristiano Ronaldo is a player every manager wants but expects the player to stay at Real Madrid.

Ed Woodward, who has been in talks with Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes since last October, said: “Jose has already achieved a great deal as Manchester United manager and I am delighted that he has agreed to extend his commitment until at least 2020.

“His work rate and professionalism are exceptional and he has embraced the club’s desire to promote top quality young players to the first team.

“He has brought an energy and a sense of purpose to everything that he does and I am sure that will continue to bring results for the fans and the club.”

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