Don’t deceive Lagosians, Fashola advises INEC

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission not to deceive Lagosians ahead of the voter registration which begins on Friday.

The governor said this during a live broadcast on Wednesday, while declaring Friday as a work-free day so as to give civil servants across the state the opportunity to register.

Fashola expressed concern over the disparity between the figures recently released by INEC as the current number of registered voters in the state and the number announced by INEC at the conclusion of voters’ registration exercise before the 2011 elections.

According to the governor, who described the disparity as strange and surprising, the reports emanating from INEC now put the number of registered voters in Lagos at 4,800,000 whereas the same commission announced 6,247,845 as the number of eligible voters in the state in 2011 which represents a shortfall of 1,447,845 registered voters.

He said, “I believe INEC owes the people of Lagos a lot of answers and very quickly too. INEC owes us a duty to explain how 1,447,845 voters disappeared from among 6,247,845 registered voters announced by INEC before 2011 elections which now leaves Lagos with only 4,800,000 registered voters.”

Fashola wondered whether it was the beginning of a plan to disenfranchise Lagosians during the coming elections next year.

He said, “Let me assert very clearly and categorically that our government will vigorously stand on the side of every eligible and previously registered voter to have their names back on the Voters Register compiled in 2011 unless INEC can show legitimate reasons why this should not be so.

EXCLUSIVE - Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden revealed: Rob O'Neill named as SEAL Team Six hero who shot 9/11 mastermind three times in head - and has already inspired series of Hollywood films

The Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden dead in the special force's most famous operation can be named today.

The Navy hero is set to give a full interview to Fox News later this month and waive his anonymity but MailOnline has established that he is Rob O'Neill, a highly-decorated veteran who quit after 16 years service.

In an exclusive interview Rob's father, Tom O'Neill, tells MailOnline, 'People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public. I say I'll paint a big target on my front door and say come and get us.'

Rob O'Neill, 38, is a former member of SEAL Team Six who has been portrayed on screen in Zero Dark Thirty, Captain Phillips and Lone Survivor.

B’ Haram stole dynamites from Ashaka cement –Residents

Residents of Ashaka, the factory site of the popular Ashaka Cement Plc, in Gombe State, revealed that the suspected Boko Haram terrorists group, who carried out a deadly operation on the village on Tuesday, went away with dynamites fully loaded in eight Toyota Hilux Vehicles.

The terrorist group had on Tuesday launched attacks on the border towns of Nafada and Ashaka in Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State as well as Ngalda and Fika towns in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State.

The attacks claimed scores of lives in both Nafada and Fika, in Gombe and Yobe states, respectively.

Some Ashaka residents said that the insurgents after taken control of the company and the town, gathered the residents together and preached their strange brand of Islamic ideology to them.

They also promised the people that they were not in the area to hurt anyone.

“Yes, the group came here without killing anybody but they went away with eight Toyota Hilux belonging to Ashaka Cement Plc which they fully loaded with dynamites taken from the production site of the company after preaching their beliefs to the residents,” a resident said.

He added that the Hilux vehicles were the property of the company.

Also, a security source, who did not want to be mentioned, told journalists on Wednesday that seven travellers along the Gombe-Potiskum highway were killed around Fika town by the insurgents.

Nigeria emerges largest importer of US jet fuel

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude oil producer, continued to import a large volume of jet fuel as it had the highest volume draw from the United States in August, according to the latest data from the U.S Energy Information Administration.

The country imported 1.51 million barrels of US jet fuel in the month, surpassing Canada’s import of 1.23 million barrels.

Nigeria had in November 2013 imported 1.74 million barrels of the fuel, the country’s largest draw so far.

With 5.7 million barrels of the fuel imported from January to August, Nigeria remains the second-largest importer of US jet fuel after Canada. The country had imported 864,000 barrels of US jet fuel in February, rising from 292 barrels in January.

Also, the country imported a total of 809,000 barrels of kerosene from January to August. It brought in its largest kerosene cargo of 292,000 barrels in February.

Industry analysts and stakeholders have continued to stress the need to deregulate the downstream sector of the industry to attract private investment in order to ramp up the country’s refining capacity.

“Not very many persons will want to invest in the real downstream assets in this kind of environment. The environment is heavily regulated. It is not like deregulation will solve all our problems, but it is very critical. The regulatory environment will stifle any investment and so I don’t see anybody investing to build refineries until we address those fundamental issues,” the Chairman, Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), House of Representatives, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, said at a recent conference in Lagos.

Nigeria continues to create a lucrative market for refineries particularly in Europe and the US as it imports more than 80 per cent of its refined petroleum products as a result of inadequate domestic refining capacity.

Chaos on the streets of London: Russell Brand joins thousands of masked Anonymous protesters in dramatic Bonfire Night demonstrations outside Buckingham Palace

Scores of riot police were put on standby amid threats from anti-capitalist campaign group Anonymous that the Bonfire Night demonstration would create chaos throughout London. The protest, which included Russell Brand (top right), was organised in hundreds of cities around the world and prompted scenes of disorder. Barricades were thrown at officers outside the Houses of Parliament (left) while fireworks were let off in Trafalgar Square and graffiti was daubed on police vans. The heightened security measures (bottom right) came as the Metropolitan Police attempted to contact Anonymous, but no one came forward with any details.

Atiku And Buhari Rep APC With Stylish Glasses

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have decided to add style to their politics by debuting branded glasses.

The accessory was rocked by presidential aspirants Gen. Mohammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar and also by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and Senator Bukola Saraki.

The APC chieftains were at the Metropolitan Square for the 2nd term declaration of the Kwara State governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.