President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday identified proliferation of small arms as one of the major causes of security challenges facing the country.

He spoke at inauguration of Customs Staff College/World Customs Organization Regional Training Centre in Abuja.

The President therefore directed Nigeria Customs Service to be vigilant and stop importation of such weapons into the country through land borders.

On his part, Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Abdullahi, said the facility inaugurated is a world class college that would produce middle and senior customs managers for NCS and Customs administrations of the region.

He added in addition to Customs officers, other security agents, importers, customs agents and stakeholders would benefit from training program to be organised by the College.
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Education Minister, Ruqayyatu Rufai says about N106billion is required to meet demands of striking Academic Staff Union of Universities, which she said cannot be sourced now.

The Minister said though there was an agreement between government and ASUU in 2009, both parties did not agree on where the fund would be sourced.   

She said the initial agreement was that the money to offset the allowances as demanded by ASUU was supposed to come from Internally Generated Revenue, from all universities across the country.
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Meanwhile, ASUU President, Ukachukwu Awuzie has blamed federal government for the industrial action embarked upon by his union.
Prof Awuzie also said the answer to the recurrent strike actions, is that federal government should source for funds to inject into the education sector and quit calling for meetings with the union.
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However, students of Anglican High School in Olora Area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital yesterday went on rampage to protest the directive that they should repeat a class.
The students were reportedly angered by announcement of their repeat of the SS2 class towards the end of the first term of their SS3 class, thereby seeing it as a demotion.

Eleven of the students were arrested by men of the state police command that were drafted to contain the riot while the school had been shut following the development.
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Senate President David Mark has tasked airport authorities to ensure proper use and maintenance of the facilities worried by perceived poor maintenance culture in airports across the nation.

Senator Mark stated this while flagging off domestic operations at the refurbished Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Also at the event, Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiewonyi, pledged that by 2013, all the nation’s airports would be of international standard.
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Peoples Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives and those in opposition parties yesterday differed over the lack of internal democracy in the nation’s political parties.

The debate was on the growing trend in the polity where political parties impose candidates for elections rather than allow them emerge through keenly contested primaries.
Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam- Tsokwa, who sponsored the motion, said internal democracy is vital for the survival of our democracy.
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Presidential Candidate, Congress for Progressive Change, in the 2011 elections, Muhammadu Buhari, says the party is opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy by Federal Government.

Retired General Buhari challenged Nigerians to rise up and speak with one voice to ensure that the planned removal of fuel subsidy is not actualized.

He also alleged that the menace of Boko Haram presently ravaging the country is caused by bad leadership on the part of the PDP-led administration.
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Unidentified men yesterday night in Lagos stormed the Mile 12 Police Station in Ketu area of Lagos around 8.30pm, burning it down with a device suspected to be a petrol bomb.
It was not known what could have caused the violence.

An eyewitness, who was on his way to the police station to lodge a complaint about an accident that involved his car just before the Mile 12 Bridge, said the suspected arsonists attacked the police station from the Ajelogo end of the bridge.
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Police in Lagos State have arrested six people, suspected to be members of Odua People’s Congress for allegedly forcefully taking over a shipping company in Apapa area of the state.

The police in the state are also on the trail of about 20 members of the group, who escaped, after a team of anti-riot policemen stormed the promises of the company.

Public Relations Officer of the command, Samuel Jinadu, confirmed the arrest saying several live ammunition, machetes and charms were recovered from the suspects.
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FOREIGN NEWS

The full results of the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election have been delayed once more.
The head of the electoral commission said the final outcome would now be known today.

With about 90% of votes counted from last Monday's polls, President Joseph Kabila has 49%, against 33% for his main rival, Etienne Tshisekedi.  Riot police in Kinshasa have again clashed with opposition supporters, who allege the polls are marred by fraud.
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Vatican officials have announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba next year.
It will be the second visit of a Pope to the Communist-run Island, following a trip there by John Paul II in 1998. The Vatican said it would announce the exact dates of his visit on Monday.

A Cuban Church leader said the Pope would meet government officials. The Cuban Church has played an important role in negotiating the release of dozens of political prisoners in recent years. Officials also said Pope Benedict was considering visiting Mexico as part of the same trip.
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BUSINESS

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has announced plans by federal government to shrink the number of its agencies and commissions in its bid to reduce recurrent expenditure, beginning from next year.

She disclosed this in an address at the 3rd Economic Policy and Fiscal Strategy Seminar, organised by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, in Abuja.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy expressed shock that the previous governments had let the level of recurrent spending to spiral against capital budgeting.
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The Federal Government is planning to spend N1.7trillion on workers’ wage bill in the 2012 budget as close to 7,000 projects are abandoned nationwide.

Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Bright Okogu disclosed this while speaking on “Achieving inclusive growth through pro-poor spending” in Abuja.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan will, on Tuesday, present the 2012 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.
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ENTERTAINMENT

The second edition of the Nigerian Broadcasters Awards, holds tomorrow at the Lagoon Restaurant, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Cool FM’s on-air presenter, Freeze and actress, Shan George, will host the event while veteran Broadcaster, Segun Olusola, will be the chief host.

Spokesperson for the organizers, Ferdinand Mmadike, said the choice of Freeze was borne out of his current dominance on the airwaves.
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SPORTS

The International Olympic Committee has disciplined two members after an ethics committee probe into the acceptance of payments from a marketing firm.
Issa Hayatou, the head of African football, was reprimanded, while Lamine Diack, International Association of Athletics Federations president, was given a warning. 

Both men remain full IOC members.    In its judgment, the IOC Ethics Commission said the pair had placed themselves in conflict of interest situations in accepting money from a sports marketing company ISL more than 10 years ago.
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A football finance expert says Manchester United's early Champions League exit could cost the club in the region of £20m. United's loss at Basel on Wednesday saw them fail to progress from the group stage for the first time since 2005-06 and drop into the Europa League.

Andy Green said the cost is between £14m-£18m, just on sale of television rights and some more million pounds on match tickets.  United have now confirmed that season ticket holders will not be obliged to buy tickets for the Europa League.
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TODAY IN HISTORY
December 9, 1980 - A member of the National Assembly, Senator lbrahim Barau, was jailed for one year without an option of fine for smuggling.
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ODD SIDE OF NEWS
Pennsylvania police said they arrested a man accused of breaking into a convenience store and stealing $1,125 worth of sexual-performance enhancement products.

Officers responded to a call about a burglary at a store and discovered a front glass window had been broken and 63 packets of sexual-performance enhancement products had been stolen.
Robert Elmer Kieta, aged 29, was pulled over a short time later while driving. Police said his hand was bleeding and they noticed shards of safety glass and a hammer in the vehicle.