FORMER Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo thinks governors have become emperors because state houses of assembly were not strong enough to control them.

Nigerian footballers under the auspices of the Nigerian Footballers Union have called on the Federal government of Nigeria to urgently intervene in the case Al-Merreikh player and former Enyimba FC star, Stephen Worgu who was recently charged with alcoholic consumption in Sudan and has been sentenced to 40 lashes of the cane.

There could not have been a better way for Minister of Works, Housing and Urban Development, Alhaji Hassan Lawal and Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to experience what millions of Nigerians pass through daily than their recent trapping, for hours, in a traffic jam on the Benin-Ore Expressway.

A miffed House of Representatives yesterday described the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Ufot Ekaette as a failure and promptly dismissed as a fraud, his report on contracts paid for, consultancy payments and the percentage of work completed on projects in the Niger Delta region

The board of the Local Organising Committee of the FIFA U-17 World Cup headed by Alhaji Sani Lulu engaged the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission in endless battles over control of projects and funds while the tournament lasted even though the board itself is not mentioned in the relevant aspects of the Public Procurement Act adopted by the committee, a senior official of the LOC told Daily Trust yesterday.

Former Chairman of Gombe Football Association, Ahmed Shuaib Gara Gombe has described the call to sack the head coach of the Super Eagles, Amadu Shuaibu, and recruit a more competent World class coach to lead the team to South Africa as immoral and counterproductive.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was making frantic efforts last night to resolve the supremacy battle between the Senate and the House of Representatives as fears of a prolonged dispute on the passage of the 2010 budget gripped the Presidency.

THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has thrown its weight behind the House of Representatives in its current face-off with the Senate over which chamber should host the President for the 2010 budget presentation.

THE legal action instituted against Bayer CropScience AG by farmers in the United States for allegedly contaminating their farms with Genetically Modified (GM) rice seeds in 2006 is a further confirmation of the validity of tests carried out on rice samples collected by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in Nigeria and other West African countries within the same period which showed contamination.

THE Federal Government has commenced payment of arrears of allowances owed former militants in various camps in the Niger Delta.

Arik Air said yesterday it had concluded plans to commence direct flight from Abuja to London Heathrow with effect from next Thursday.

THE Adekunle Ajasin Foundation, established ten years ago to immortalize the former civilian governor of Ondo State, yesterday, said it was collaborating with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offence Commission (ICPC) to come out with a code of conduct for politicians in the country.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has disclosed that Nigeria and the Republic of Ukraine would cooperate to stem the tide in illegal trading in small arms especially in the West African region.

The National Assembly would soon look into the problem of insecurity for members of the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) serving in all states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory.

Worried by the current state of 'idleness' of agricultural produce warehouses in many states of the federation, the Managing Director, Abuja Security and Commodity Exchange (ASCE), Mr. Yusuf Abdulraheem, yesterday, urged the federal government to involve private sector participation in warehousing management.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has canvasssed for maximum penalty for electoral offenders to avoid the termination of democratic structures in the country.

The largest-ever mass vaccination campaign to protect people from yellow fever disease will begin next week across three West African countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced.

Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Ambassador Hassan Adamu, has said that the recent N620billion bailout for troubled banks by the CBN is not a guarantee against their failure.

The annual World Congress on Disabilities and Expo where discussions on how to eradicate disabilities will be kicking off today (Thursday) at the Prime F. Osborn iii convention center, Jacksonville in Florida between 19th and 20th November, 2009.

Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the review of the constitution to ensure its application during the 2011 elections.