News

Catholics all over the world will on Feb. 13, mark this year’s Ash Wednesday, signifying the commencement of the 40-day Lenten season.

Msgr. Gabriel Osu, spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to him “Ash Wednesday ushers in the Lenten Season.

``A forty-day period of penance, reflection and fasting prepares us for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.

``It is a period of conversion, self- denial, renewal, reconciliation, change and growth; it is about denying self for the life of others.”

He said that the hall mark of Ash Wednesday was the marking of the forehead of Catholic faithful with ashes, making the “sign of the cross” as a reminder of their sinful nature.

Osu said that in the Archdiocese of Lagos, the Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins, would be expected to lead other clergies to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and administer ashes on the foreheads of the faithful.

``Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the church and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.

``The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year; christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense.

``The ashes symbolise penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts,” he said.

Osu urged Christians to take advantage of the season to draw nearer to God and seek His mercy and forgiveness.

``Christians are obliged to fast, pray and abstain from heavy meals and other bad habits as well as give alms,'' he said. (NAN)

The Super Eagles’ victory at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa is a confirmation that Nigeria has entered a new era of possibilities, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said.

This is contained in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by Mr Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of the party.

The statement said the victory was an indication that the nation would surmount its challenges under the current dispensation.

It said the fact that the team won the trophy, which has eluded the country for many years, ``shows that nothing is impossible for the country''.

The statement added that the victory had opened the doors for the nation to achieve other goals.

``It is an indication that there is nothing impossible and that collectively we will overcome all the challenges we are facing as a nation," Metuh said.

The Super Eagles on Sunday beat the Stallions of Bukina Faso 1-0 to win the trophy for the third time.

Nigeria won the cup for the first time in 1980. It last won it in 1994. (NAN)

Urging him to join the 2015 presidential contest, Youth Alliance for Good Governance and National Unity, a pro-democracy group, has called for more supports for the Governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido.    The group in a press stateme...

Youth Alliance for Good Governance and National Unity, a pro-democracy group with its branch in the United States, has urged the National Assembly to enact a law that will prevent political office holders from undergoing treatments in foreign countries...

The executive and the presidency may be heading for another showdown as opposition members have vowed to resist any move by the presidency to alter the 2013 budget to remove constituency projects. This is just as members of the Peoples Democratic Party...

Ahead of the forthcoming 2015 general election in the country, the Bauchi based political organisation, Bauchi Awareness Action Group,  has endorsed the state governor Isa Yuguda to contest for  president. In a press release signed by  t...

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has clarified the situation under which the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was included in the membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC). It said that it was an act of good faith based on available in...

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says it will install biometrics equipment across all the borders posts in the country, to check the influx of immigrants.

The NIS Acting Comptroller-General, Mr Rilwan Musa, made this know to newsmen in Lagos on Sunday after he visited the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Musa said that the country's borders were porous and needed to be fortified through the introduction of biometrics.

He said that some of the biometrics equipment would be placed at the airports, adding that it would give accurate data of individuals for the next 40 years because all information would be in the data bank.

The comptroller-general said that the immigration counters at the airports would be increased to accelerate passengers’ clearance.

He said that Immigration officers would be sent on observation trips outside the country to observe passengers clearing in other airports, saying that there would be changes as soon as that was done.

``We are trying to put biometrics equipment in place. The passengers are expected to be given speedy clearance on arrival after over eight hours flight.

``Our intention is to have these officers on observation trips so that by the time they come back, I believe they will improve on what they are doing,” he said.

On the difficulties associated with issuance of passport to Nigerians, he blamed it on desperate Nigerians who want to travel by all means without obtaining genuine travelling documents.

He, however, stressed that the organisation was working with embassies in the country to fish out criminals with fake documents.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, assured the Immigration chief of the organisation's support toward ensuring ``seamless clearance of passengers''.

Uriesi said that FAAN and the NIS had been working tirelessly to provide a conducive travelling environment for passengers.

A Member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Garba Datti, has advised state governors not to prevent local government Areas from becoming autonomous.

Datti (CPC-Kaduna) gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

He said if local governments were autonomous, the funds allocated to the councils would no longer be diverted by some governors.

"Some of the state governors used local government funds to embark on personal projects.

"The activities of some governors necessitated the need for the House of Representatives to amend the constitution in such a way as to grant local government councils the autonomy they deserve," he said.

Datti alleged that on some occasions, governors were in the habit of releasing money to the councils for personnel and overhead cost only while the remaining funds were used for political purposes.

"The joint account between the state and the local governments is a big joke as it has been bastardised by the state governors.

``If the joint account is meaningful to the local governments, majority of the governors will not be rejecting the proposed autonomy for local councils. There is something fishy," he said.

Datti, however, advised state assemblies not to be rubber stamps in the hands of their governors.

He urged them to desist from taking directives that would not lead to the development of their councils.

He said that majority of the state assemblies lacked the political will to amend the constitution in such a way that would lead to the economic development of their states.

He said the assemblies only voted for those things that would serve the ``whims and caprices'' of their governors.

Datti advised the governors not to work against the amendment of the constitution that would grant local government autonomy by being clogs in the wheel of progress of the societies.

On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the legislator said he was not in support of the provision of fund for the host community in the bill.

He said that the 13 per cent derivation given to state governments should be given to the host communities.

"I am not totally against the host communities fund.

``But the experience we have had in the past with the 13 per cent derivation given to the state governments was not palatable.

``The fund should instead be given to the host communities,'' he said.