President Goodluck Jonathan has intervened in the public feud between two of his predecessors, Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, asking them to bury the hatchet.

Both former heads of government, General Obasanjo and General Babangida, last week exchange words, calling each other fools.

A source in the Presidency said President Jonathan in separate telephone calls to the 2 retired generals, urged them not to make further comments on the issue and encouraged them to settle it between themselves.

Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana says President Goodluck Jonathan can not act on the recommendation of the National Judicial council which wants the President of Appeal Court, Ayo Salami dismissed from service.

Citing the recent case of Dino Melaye against the House of representatives, Mr Falana said parties are enjoined to stay action once a case has been filed in court, and this is a position which NJC always rightly maintained.
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Federal Government has assured workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria of additional incentives to boost their morale.
Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, gave the assurance during a two-day facility tour of the South-West.

The minister said Egbin power station which produced 25 per cent of the nation’s power, must be adequately supported as part of the overall objective of achieving greater power supply.

Chief Executive Officer of Egbin Power Station, Mike Uzoigwe, said about
N1.5 billion was required to resuscitate the faulty unit six of the power generating plant.
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Federal Government has warned Nigerians to beware of the importation of contaminated items from Asian countries.

The warning was contained in a statement from the Consumer Protection Council.

It said the items, which could be contaminated radioactive goods, might be sent in form of support or assistance to faith-based institutions and non-governmental organisations.
The statement warned NGOs to always ascertain the quality of such materials from technically equipped government agencies before putting them into use.
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A financial analyst, Boason Omofaiye has said the economic management team set up by President Goodluck Jonathan is too large to achieve the desired result.

Mr. Omofaiye said the inclusion of state governors and ministers would make impossible for the team to function  effectively.

He told correspondent Clementine Okonye that what is needed are technocrats, and wondered why the Director General of the Securities and Exchange commission was not included in the team.
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Managing Director of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Oke Osanyintolu, has said no death was recorded in a building, which collapsed at Orosanye Street, Lagos Island on Saturday.

Speaking at the site of the building, Dr. Osanyintolu said no one was trapped under the building, and four persons rescued from the three-storey building were taken to the hospital for medical care.

Eye witness account said Association of Real Estate Developers of Lagos State had earlier served notice to people living in the building to vacate since July 19 but all efforts to get them leave failed.

Meanwhile, as a result of the continued collapse of buildings on Lagos Island, Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning, Oluwatoyin Ayinde, has said his ministry has sealed off 80 buildings under probe. Mr. Ayinde said after investigation, it was concluded that the affected building should be demolished.
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Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has denied being afflicted by cancer.
Governor Aregbesola, who is currently on lesser pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, spoke through the Director, Bureau of Communications and Information, Semiu Okanlawon, in an electronic mail yesterday.

The statement condemned the cancer story in its entirety even as it called on journalists to embrace fairness, truth, balance and objectivity in news reporting.
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Reports say the incessant attacks by unknown persons on Plateau North communities have made it impossible to farm and there are fears that famine will hit the area this year.

A Senator representing the area, Gyang Dantong said many people have been killed right on their farms, so people are afraid to go the farms.
Sen. Dantong on his visit to the Heipang community, near Jos to commiserate with them over recent attacks, said as it is, there will be no food for the communities this year.
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The ECOWAS Council of Ministers has directed the ECOWAS Commission to urgently address the issue of piracy in member states.

The directive was given in a statement at the just-concluded 66th session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Abuja.

The council urged the commission to convene an urgent meeting of the regional Chiefs of Defence Staff to holistically address the problem.
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FOREIGN STORIES

A convoy of Libyan rebels has rolled into central Tripoli past celebrating crowds after a day of heavy fighting in and around the capital.

Crowds on Green Square cheered them, waving flags and firing salutes.
President Obama said the Gaddafi regime had reached a tipping point. UK said the end was near for the Libyan leader, and urged him to go.

The rebels reportedly captured Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, as the Colonel himself vowed to fight on.
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The Dominican Republic has issued a hurricane alert as a tropical storm closes in on its southern coast.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said tropical storm Irene could turn into a hurricane before making landfall.

They expect it to pass near Puerto Rico and make landfall in the Dominican Republic today.
Haiti, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in tents after last year's earthquake, could also be hit.
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BUSINESS

A report by the Central Bank of Nigeria says the total currency in circulation increased by 25 per cent to N1.34tn in July, 2011 compared to N1.07tn reported in July 2010.
The bank reserves also increased by 42 per cent to N825bn in July 2011 compared to N581bn reported in July 2010.

According to figures on the CBN website, Broad Money (M2) rose by 13 per cent to N12tn from N10tn reported in July 2010, while private-sector credit increased by 0.6 per cent in July from a year earlier.
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ENTERTAINMENT

British pop star, Jessie J broke her hiatus from music at the weekend, to perform a homecoming show at V Festival in her native Essex, England.

The singer scrapped a number of concerts this summer after breaking her foot, but she refused to let the injury stop her performing at the British music festival, which takes place over two legs in Stafford, north England and Chelmsford in Essex.
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SPORTS

The Nigeria Football Federation has assured football fans of Super Eagles’ qualification for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals.

NFF President, Aminu Maigari, who gave the assurance, said the federation had started work on some strategies with coach Samson Siasia that would ensure the Eagles qualification.
Eagles are in group two with seven points alongside Guinea, which lead with 10 points, Ethiopia, four points and Madagascar, one point.
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TENNIS

Andy Murray won a seventh Masters title as world number one Novak Djokovic retired from the Cincinnati final with a shoulder injury at 6-4 3-0 down.
It was only the second loss of the year for the Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, who has won 57 times in 2011.

Djokovic recovered an early break to pull level in the opening set, but surrendered his serve straight after.
He received treatment between sets, but conceded defeat to hand Murray the title after netting a limp smash.


TODAY IN HISTORY

AUGUST 22ND, 1979:  Justice Atanda Fatai Williams of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was appointed the Chief Justice of the Federation to succeed Justice Sir Darnley Alexander.

AUGUST 22ND, 1864:  The International Red Cross was formed in Geneva, Switzerland

ODD NEWS

Police in Dallas, America, are hoping to catch a man who robbed a convenience store while wearing pants on his head.

A video of the man - who was also wearing a floral dress - bursting into the Exxon Tigermart store in Dallas, Texas, and demanding the cashier to give him money from the till has been released by the local authority.

The robber - who asked a customer for more cash before fleeing - was using the underwear to protect his face from the CCTV cameras.
The police think he may have been armed because he looked to be holding an object underneath his dress.