63 senators sign to impeach Jonathan

Just after the house of assembly gathered 160 signatures to impeach president Goodluck Jonathan,SIXTY-three senators as have signed up to the plan to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan in the upper legislative chamber.

However, eight Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)senators were among the signatories to the planned impeachment notice.

There are 109 members in the Senate. An All Progressives Congress senator from the North-West zone,who refused to disclose their names,told us that the lawmakers’ major grouse was the President’s handling of the economy and political affairs of the country.

The senator cited poor implementation of the national budget since 2011, alleged high level of corruption and“gross disregard” of the legislature at both the federal and state levels as topping the list of lawmakers’ anger against Jonathan.

“ We know and we are prepared to show the President that we have responsibility to the people and the nation in general. “We are prepared to lay the impeachment notice anytime from next week. Meetings are already being held.”Senator Ibrahim Musa (APC Niger North) has confirmed that there were moves by some members of the Senate to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President but failed to give details.

“I think there is something like that but I don’t have the details, it is still coming as a rumour,” Musa said.

We further learnt that the impeachment move against the President had really gained momentum with the APC senators mobilising themselves to carry out the exercise anytime starting from next week.

Iniesta returns to field of play after missing 5 La Liga matches

Barcelona and Spanish midfielder Andres lujan Iniesta has recovered from a calf strain and is available for Sunday's La Liga clash at Valencia.We will be careful not to rush him back, coach Luis Enrique said on Saturday.

Iniesta, who has been ruled out since sustaining a calf strain injury in the La Liga 'Clasico' at Real Madrid at the end of October, was "in good shape", Luis Enrique told a news conference.

However, he cautioned that it was important to be "careful"with the Spain playmaker, suggesting Iniesta is unlikely to be included in the starting line-up at Valencia's Mestalla stadium.

"He has clearly improved and he is back in training with his teammates the past few days," Luis Enrique said.

Iniesta has missed five matches for Barcelona and two games with Spain's national team while recovering.

Barcelona, trailing league leader Madrid in second place,faces a tough visit to Valencia on Sunday.

Jonathan promises to hunt those behind 'disastrous' mosque blast in Kano

President Goodluck Jonathan vowed Saturday to hunt down those behind "disastrous" bomblast which left at least 120 dead at the Central Mosque in Kano.
Although 270 others were also wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during the Jumma'at prayers on Friday at the Grand Mosque in Kano,Kano state which is obviously the biggest city in the north with 90% Muslims.
President Jonathan who had "directed the security agencies to commence investigation and to leave no bird unstoned until all agents of terror are traced and brought to Justice," said a statement from his office on Saturday.
The central mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II,Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric, who last week made a call at the same mosque,urging northern civilians to take up arms against Islamist extremists and should not be killed like chickens by the Boko Haram.The Emir was out of the country during the attacks.
The attack was widely seen as revenge for the call.
"It was deathly and bloody all over. People lay dead and others shrieked in horror and pain," a survivor, Muhammad Inuwa Balarabe, spoke to the media from his hospital bed on Saturday.
"I was inside the premises of the mosque. As soon as the prayer started, a bomb went off. They just started shooting people," said the 32-year-old tailor, who received serious burns to his thighs.
President Jonathan further urged Nigerians "not to despair in this moment of great trial in our nation's history but to remain united to confront the common enemy.