Monday 30 November 2015

T.B Joshua fails to honor court invite, case adjourned till Dec. 11th


The hearing on the suit against Synagogue Pastor, T.B Joshua and his engineers over the September 2014 church building collapse has been adjourned to December 11th by Justice Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court. The resumed hearing of the case was meant to take place this morning but T.B. Joshua and his engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun failed to appear in court.

Counsel to the Engineers, Oluwaseun Abimbola, told the court that they were absent because they were not served with court papers. Reacting to this position, the Lagos State's Attorney General, Adeniji Kazeem said no valid physical addresses were found for the contractors, which he said was reason that the Ministry of Justice could not locate or serve the court papers.

The presiding judge ordered that proper court notices be served to the engineers within 72 hours, and advised their counsel to inform them to take the court proceedings seriously as their trial is of a criminal case. 117 people, mostly Nigerians and South Africans, died in the Church building collapse.

Adorable-Shakira and sons support Gerad Pique during Barcelona match


The singer brought along sons Milan and Sasha to support their football-playing father, FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué, in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday.

The 38-year-old singer watched the match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad.

So cute..


Fashola, NERC meet with DISCOs on tariff


Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, is meeting with the management of distribution companies, DISCOs, today with a view to acquainting himself with them and also intimate them about his expectations from them on the way forward.

The meeting, which will hold in the minister’s office this afternoon comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between the power industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC and the DISCOs, to discuss the contentious issue of tariff.

This comes as NERC said it has already worked out some benchmarks for DISCOs to meet in order to approve tariff increases for them.

Fashola had earlier met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and later with the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, last week, to discuss development in the nation’s power sector, during which according to sources familiar with the meeting, stressed the need for DISCOs to recapitalise.

The minister had noted that the DISCOs needed to perform better, adding that there were several options open to them including recapitalisation by floating their shares in the capital market to raise the necessary funds to retool and run their operations.

He had also agreed that some deliverables be set for the DISCOs, as funding will no longer be accepted as an excuse for non-performance.

But there were also speculations that the minister may have given approval to NERC to revoke licences of distribution companies who are unable to meet their privatisation obligations.

The speculations may have been given credence by the recent pronouncement by the Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, who warned that the Federal Government would reacquire the stakes of non-performing DISCOs for $1, and float their shares on the stock market.

Some of the DISCOs, who were also allegedly penciled down for such licence revocations, denied knowledge of such a move, and told Vanguard that “If such is to happen, we will be communicated formally in writing.”

But denying this vehemently, Amadi told Vanguard on phone yesterday that Fashola could not have given such approvals, considering that he is yet to have the details of the DISCOs operations, and was still studying developments in his ministry.

According to him, “the minister can’t approve for licences to be revoked when he doesn’t have any details on the operations of the DISCOs. Besides, revocation of licence is a last resort after every other measure may have failed. So it is not a decision that is taken lightly.”

New tariff

He, however, admitted that the Minister, NERC and the DISCOs will be meeting today for a formal introduction to Fashola, while NERC discusses the deliverables upon which tariff increases will be approved for the DISCOs.

Amadi disclosed: “NERC is working on service level agreements with the DISCOs, which will be tied to deliverables that will go with new tariffs, going forward.”

He further said: “The meeting with them (DISCOs) is strictly to talk about tariff. The minister also wants to meet with them to introduce himself to them and urge them to brace up to their responsibilities.”

SHOCKING: Doctor Found Months-old Used Condom Inside A Sick Girl’s Va gina


Hello Admin, i read ur blog and i am a student of Tamale university Ghana, Something terrible happened yesterday and i dont know how it happened.. I dont know what to do and thats why i am writing you this morning. For the past few months, I have been having inconsistent menstrual flows and serious stomache ache. I went for test in 2 different hospitals for ulcer test and hepatitis but they all came back negative. to make matters worse, a greenish slightly smelly discharge keep coming out of my private part….

So i decided to come home few weeks back so that my parents will give me proper medical attention so i dont die of pain someday. I was skeptical about informing them earlier for fear of maybe the issue was an STD but after series of tests, I found out I was STD free so i decidedd to inform my mum and she told daddy and they insisted that i come home asap.

We went to UNTH Enugu on monday and they suggested that we do Ultra sonic scan and Xray. the doctor spotted a mass inside my uterus and announced that i may have an unusual rare type of tumor or fibroid. He suggested that we evacuate my system and see if the mass will come out but if it dosnt then we will opt for surgery so My daddy paid yesterday and the evacuation procedure was fixed for 3pm yesterday.

I was sedated and when i woke up. my mum was sitting by my side and the look on her face showed that all was not well. I was about to ask her why she looked so sad but she ignored me and just asked me to lay back and rest first that we will talk later. I was confused. My mind ran riots. I managed to ask my younger brother what happened when my mum went to urinate and he told me that the doctor removed a used condom with some decomposed bloody content and live maggots from my body. I nearly passed out.

Admin, How it happened I dont know. Thats my predicament now. My father has not come around since yesterday and my mum keeps giving me looks that could kill. I have cast my mind back and cant remember how a condom ended up inside my body without my knowledge. I have always insisted on condoms before se.x but i didnt know how one ended up inside my body or for how long it has been there. I have always made my mum and my younger sister believe i am a vir.gin now God has decided to punish me by disgracing me like this.

I know my father and the fact that he hasnt showed up means that he is bitter and will kill me when i am discharged. I am thinking of running away from here when I am stronger.

Synagogue: Lagos arraigns TB Joshua, others today


The trustees of Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, will today be arraigned before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over the collapse of a six-storey building in the church on September 12, 2014, which led to the death of 116 persons.

Senior Pastor of the church, Prophet T. B. Joshua is one of the trustees.

The trustees will be arraigned before Justice Lawal Akapo alongside the engineers that constructed the collapsed building.

A statement by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Bola Akingbade, confirmed the scheduled arraignment.

Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos had dismissed the fundamental human rights enforcement suits filed by the engineers who constructed the collapsed six-storey building to stop their planned trial.

The engineers— Mr. Oladele Ogundeji and Mr. Akinbela Fatiregun—had filed two separate suits before Justice Buba seeking an order restraining the police from inviting, arresting or prosecuting them over the victims’ death.

The Lagos State Government had set up a Coroner Inquest to unravel what went wrong, and via a verdict delivered on August 7, 2015 by Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, the Coroner had indicted the engineers and recommended them for investigation and prosecution for criminal negligence.

The engineers had filed the suits following the Coroner’s verdict, which attributed the building collapse to structural defect.

The engineers had specifically rejected the Coroner’s verdict, describing it as “unreasonable, one-sided and biased.”

But Justice Buba, in his ruling on the defendants’ preliminary objection, held that the engineers “had not made out a case of infringement on their fundamental rights even on the merit of the application,” and dismissed their applications.

Sunday 29 November 2015

You are afraid of your own shadow!, Sylva fires at Gov Dickson


Says PDP candidate is ‘Bush Man’

Former Governor Timpre Sylva hits Governor Seriake Dickson in the battle for Bayelsa State. The governorship election in the state holds only six days away. Sylva, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the poll, says Dickson, flying the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will fall at the election. The APC candidate spoke in an interview. Excerpts:

There is the question being asked by many, including your opponent, and that is, what did you forget in the Government House since 2011 when the court annulled your tenure?

Anybody that asks that question is ignorant. I left Bayelsa State Government House unwillingly and all Bayelsans know the circumstances under which I left, and, since then, no other opportunity has presented itself for me to re-contest for that office. This is the first opportunity and so I don’t know why anybody will ask me if I forgot anything. Actually, the event of 2012 should be fresh in the mind of every well-meaning Bayelsan. I was disqualified by the powers, that-be from contesting an office I was occupying at that time. Most well-meaning Bayelsans think this is the time for God’s justice and justice being done by bringing me back and that’s why you see this overwhelming support. I didn’t forget anything in Bayelsa State Government House but government, as far as we are concerned, is occupied by a usurper who came and used federal might. Today, when they shout about federal might?. Look at  Yenagoa; do you see army check point? Now, take your mind back to the election in 2012, we had over a hundred check points in Bayelsa, manned by fierce-looking  soldiers. The Government House was  blocked with an armoured personnel carrier, APC, and, of course, military helicopters were flying over Bayelsa. Now, nothing of such is happening and yet they still  scream because they are scared of their own shadows. The   people of Bayelsa would have given me a second tenure if I had been allowed to contest but I was barred from re-contesting that election. Today, those people who barred me from contesting that election are no longer in office; so the Bayelsa people have the opportunity of choosing their rightful leader and that is why I have presented myself.

Your party, the APC, dislodged your brother, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, from the presidency; don’t you think this might affect your chances at the poll?

I don’t think this will have any impact on the election. Every Ijaw man should be fair to me and the APC. The former President set the scene for his exit from office by bringing  war to his home. He started the fire and he didn’t start the fire in any other place, he started it from  home.  After I was removed from office, I went on exile and, when I came back, I was arrested  many times. They never left me alone, they wanted to kill me, they wanted to jail me, they wanted to do everything to me. I was visited by elders from different parts of the country and the question on the lips of all those elders was, ‘do you not have elders in Bayelsa State who can intervene between yourself and the President?’ And I had no answer to give them. Now, I was pushed to the wall, I was pushed out of PDP. I didn’t leave PDP, I was pushed out and they were very joyful about it. Now, I saw an opportunity to find a roof over my head in the APC and  the Lord crowned our effort. Now, the former President is history. If he had brought everybody together, I mean put his own house together, Amaechi (former Rivers governor) wouldn’t have left probably, I would not have left probably. In 2011, we all supported him but, unfortunately, he himself and those who were around him felt we were no longer needed.  Jonathan lost the election and the people of Bayelsa must move on.

So, well-meaning Bayelsans need to look my way and, I think, many Bayelsans know this and that’s why they are already looking my way. And that is why we are definitely going to win the December 5 election.

What informed the choice of your deputy, because people say he is over 70 years. Is it because you want a man who is not  ambitious?

Change means so many things to different people but, to me, there is only one definition of change. Change, to me, means a different way of doing things. Stupidity is defined as doing the same thing and expecting to get a different result. We must begin to do things differently if we expect a different result. What informed my choice of a deputy was the fact that if I carried on with the same ticket as I had before, then it will amount to doing things the same way. I am 51 years old and I thought I need an older person with experience to be a counter balance. That is why I chose this very experienced retired school teacher. He is also a very good Christian.

Your opponent, the incumbent governor, has said that the election is not going to be about him or you, but about the people of Ijaw which cast your candidature as anti-Ijaw interest. How do you react?

In a way, I agree with the governor that the election is not about me or about him, but it is about Bayelsans and about the Ijaw people. But when you take it further, you can see the state of mind of the man we are talking about. He is confused. I had said  that none of APC or PDP is an Ijaw party, they are national parties. What can he do for the Ijaw nation on his own? What can he possibly or what can Bayelsa, on its own, do for the Ijaw nation? Nothing. The person who loves Ijaw people must take Bayelsa to the centre and this is what is going to improve the lot of Bayelsa people. So, if we are talking of Ijaw patriot, I consider myself one and, I think, today, that some well-meaning Ijaw people are quite happy with me because they believe that without me, there would have been no link with the centre, there would have been no bridge-builder. So,   I think that, on the contrary, the APC is the patriotic party and I am the patriotic one. And I think  the Ijaw people should embrace the APC because this is our time to really get to the centre, we have to live in this same country, whether our president lost the election or not. It is not the Ijaw people that lost the election because Ijaw people did not contest  election. I saw the PDP and the PDP presidential candidate, who was an Ijaw son, but he lost and we have to carry on in this state, we have to carry on in this country.

Let us go back to the era when you were governor.  There is the insinuation that you did not perform and left a lot of abandoned projects, including the airport project. What do you say?

That, to me, is the continuation of my opponent’s frustration and paranoid. When I came into government, there were a lot of ongoing projects, and I did not call them abandoned projects. Every government starts a project and if  it doesn’t  finish such project, the incoming government finishes it. Banquet hall was one such project, it was started by Alamieyeseigha. I completed it. The treasury building was another I completed. The judiciary building, the library, I completed them. The way I left office, nobody would have thought I would  have completed all those projects because I left in the middle of my tenure. I wasn’t given time to complete the projects. When Dickson leaves now, he will leave a lot of projects also uncompleted. Does it mean I will consider them abandoned projects because he did not complete them? He has abandoned his own projects now, which is the real meaning of abandoned projects. All the hospitals he has been building  have been abandoned. He has abandoned the Isaac Boro Road; he is the one that is abandoning his own projects. Now if you ask me about the Musa Yar’ Adua Airport, I sited that airport there because I felt it is viable economically in that spot. When I did the feasibility study, we found out that spot was equal distance from Port-Harcourt and to Warri. So we felt  an airport like that will be very useful to  our people  and people outside our state like  Patani, Ughelli and Ahoada, and thus boast economic activities.

Governor Dickson says you are a ‘guy-man’ and that the income of the state does not need a ‘guy-man’; and another thing is the issue of debts from Alamieyeseigha to Jonathan down to you. Can you tell Bayelsans how much did you inherite, how much did you owe, how much did you leave behind  when you left office?

I wonder what Dickson means by a ‘guy man’ but I think I am a typical Bayelsan. Dickson is just a disgrace to himself and I don’t know what he meant by ‘guy man’, but everybody knows  Dickson is a bushman. That is why he doesn’t have that self confidence, that is why he calls me ‘guy man’. He is ‘country-man’ and I am ‘guy man’. You also raised the issue of debt burden. I really wish he could be truthful. Unfortunately people are full of lies.

The figures are there. I inherited debts from Jonathan. Now, what we did was to service those debts. I took 50 billion naira bond because we felt that if we serviced the loans alone to commercial banks, it was costing us a lot. And then we took part of the bond to pay contractors handling Brass Road and the Melford Okilo Hospital. The bond was structured in such a way that it was a long term; so it could be easier for government to pay the interest. We were able to put all the loans that we inherited into that bond.

I will never lie to Bayelsans. I had a commercial loan stock of N20 billion which I was hoping to finish paying by May that year and I would have finish paying it if I, was there by then. Now, the government of Jonathan was owing contractors N111 billion and, by the time I was leaving, debts to contractors were about N207 billion. I inherited a debt of N111 billion and what Dickson inherited from me was N207 billion contractors’ debts. In my first year in government, I received N99 billion from the Federation Account. The first  year Dickson came, he received N191 billion. Second year I received N154 billion, Dickson received N215 billion. The third year I received N106 billion, Dickson received N156 billion. So what is he talking about? Now, he is taxing civil servants which I did not do. He has got more to deploy for development but has he done so? Now, he says he has been paying N20billion commercial loan from 2012 till now? Bayelsans should take note of this, Dickson has borrowed more money than any government. Do you know that those transparency buildings  I built  from the money we received from the EFCC have been given out as collateral to banks to borrow money?

The PDP has continued to accuse you of using the security outfit, Famotangbe, to maim and kill innocent Bayelsans during your tenure.

I have always challenged the Dickson    government, if they make that claim, to show me a name, half a name or two of Bayelsans that were  killed by Famotangbe.

Famotangbe was a security outfit; Dickson himself realizes that there was the need for a specialized outfit. The decision to establish the security outfit  was taken in a security council meeting because we need to set up a specialized outfit to combat the rising wave of crime, especially coming at the time after militancy.

So we decided to set up a security outfit in collaboration with the police.

That outfit was overseen by Pererich, my security adviser, but under the police. If any crime was committed by Famotangbe, Pererich is now working with Governor Dickson and so I challenge him to arrest Pererich if  or probably order for my arrest. Those are just sweeping comments made by a drowning man. As far as Dickson is concerned, it is just the name that is the problem and the name was not my suggestion.

Artistes take us for granted all the time, Nigerian DJs speak


The National Association of Nigeria Disc Jokeys, the umbrella body of Nigerian DJs with sole objective to play and promote music at events and radio stations, met in Osogbo, Osun State, for its 6th National DJs Conference, where the  Osun State Chapter of the association was inaugurated.

The conference was attended by DJs from all the six geo-political zones of the country. The National president of the association, Tade Adeyemi, aka DJ Cool and some of the national officers of the association fielded questions from newsmen. Excerpts

What is the purpose of this conference?

The conference is intended to reactivate members’ understanding of their roles and relevance in the entertainment industry, improve their values and service delivery to their clients with a view to maximising good patronage.

We discovered that in the realm of entertainment industry in Nigeria, DJs are the least recognised and least paid,. Whereas we are the ones that promote their works by playing their music at events and radio stations. So, without DJs, artistes won’t be able to achieve their aims because they can’t get good patronage.   For instance, if a musician spends millions of naira to produce music, without the DJs’ roles,   their music can not easily get to the ears of the public,”

But worryingly, while we complement their efforts to achieve their mission, we don’t get the required recognition and benefits but they   smile to the banks. That is why we decided to form a united stand and organise annual conference where we articulate our relevance and values to ensure that artistes realise our significance and do not just take us for granted and leverage on our talents without the proportionate benefits that we deserve

What are the efforts of the association to put it on a sound footing?

As part of our efforts to add value to the vocation, the association is already working on DJs academy where members can be trained for adequate knowledge and skills for effective service delivery.

The DJs in Nigeria contribute a great deal to the growth and development of the entertainment industry, which also enhances the socio-economic development of the country.

The DJs’ existence in the entertainment firmament in the country had gone a long way in reducing unemployment in the country, with the increasing number of the Nigerian youths embracing the vocation as a means of livelihood, the labour market is seriously being depopulated.

DJs never work alone. A typical professional DJ always has at least one or more boys   that work with him and he trains them in the process.

In other words, many Nigerian youth are into Disc Jockey job.   After the training, they also set up their own studios and also engage more trainees and the chain continues. This is to say that DJ jobs are a potential employment avenue.”

The PRO of the association, Abuja branch, DJ Alex also contributed:

How has your association been able to reduce youth restiveness?

The government has the issue of youth restiveness to contend with. But with the employment opportunities available through DJ vocation, restiveness and other criminal activities have been reduced.

How do you monitor the kind of music you play for the public?

It is unarguable that it is not all music that makes sense. A lot of music do not pass any reasonable message to the listeners. As a result, DJs do not promote any music that comes their way. It is only a good music that can add value to life that we promote. This is one of the reasons we are rebranding ourselves to add value to our profession in order to be able to influence the quality of music that is worth going on air.

Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), the regulatory body, is trying a lot to curtail the trend of vulgar music in the country. In any case,   DJs, too, have a lot of roles to play in this regard. For instance, we can not promote music that promotes violence, insecurity, promiscuity and other societal vices. We care about the messages that every music tries to pass to the people.

There are some music you can not play at certain places or event, especially children party or church or certain gatherings. The DJ is always there as a professional to regulate the quality of songs to be played.

But the bottom line is that whatever music we dish out must add value to the entertainment industry and even the listeners.

Saturday 28 November 2015

Buhari and the Biafrans



Dr. Chu S. P. Okongwu in his 2004 tributes to Ukpabi Asika, took an aside in his eulogies to emphasize the following: “The generation born after the civil war will not know that the former Eastern region, comprising East-Central State, South-Eastern state, and Rivers state, enjoyed a highly developed road network, with probably the highest quality road density in sub-Saharan Africa. These had been damaged or neglected during the war. Ukpabi Asika planned to reconstruct and modernize these.

BiafraAction was also taken to upgrade and transfer to central government responsibility some trunk ‘B’ roads (1, 240 kilometers) and introduce some new federal highways and alignments… .” Dr. Okongwu was East Central State’s Commissioner forEconomic Planning from 1970-1975, and presumably has the data. But that’s besides the point. The real point is that assertion that the East had the “highest quality road density in Sub-sahara Africa” before the damages of war and neglect ruined it all.

The terrible state of roads and interchanges in the old Eastern region, particularly in the current areas now known as the South East zone, remain even now, a sore point; and hard evidence of the neglect of the East by the Federal government since the end of the civil war in 1970. Those who have challenged the current agitation for Biafra, talk of equal opportunity misrule of the federation. But Biafrans present evidence of a specially targeted form of neglect.

There was no reason for agitation for a Biafra from 1970-1983, because in those intermediary years, the East was in recovery mode, and its key intellectual and political leadership, and its highly trained bureaucracy was still intact, and they had the requisite institutional memory to mediate some of the more difficult and challenging obstacles placed on the Eastern states, through both strategic negotiation and initiative. I do recommend Dr. Okongwu’s tributes to Asika to readers of the “Orbit” for a really good context, and a closer understanding of “where the rain began to beat us.” From 1983, a strategic neglect of the East became more pronounced.

Every effort of the past made to rebuild it; including investments in new industry, new skills, and so on, were stripped deliberately, almost as if to stifle the resurgence of its people by Federal authorities. Two marked examples for me includes Dr. Okongwu’s claim that the East Central State’s Data Processing Center, the first of its kind presumably in the continent, long before the current IT craze, was stripped and moved to Kaduna following the 1975 military coup.

Here are Chu Okongwu’s words: “Immediately there was dispatched to East-Central State a mandatory pro-consul in the person of the late Colonel Anthony Aboki Ochefu. His assignment: the dismantling of the East-Central state. Colonel Ochefu dismantled the public service of East Central state.

For good measure he declared that the mainframe computer of the Eastern Data Processing Center was unnecessary madness, beyond the needs and interests of the state. It was summarily dismantled and relocated to the Ahmadu Bello University where it found a necessary sane and needful home. Everybody in East Central state, except Col Ochefu, elements of the army of occupation and their touts, was a thief; the hounding campaign was underway. Cheer leaders and Coryphaei were not wanting in East-Central State.” Buhari was a member of the Supreme Military Council of that regime in 1975.

The same scenario played out following the December 31, 1983 coup at which Buhari was head. A little drama played out in Owerri when, according to close associates of the late Governor Sam Mbakwe, he held out at the Governor’s lodge, Owerri, prepared to call out a mass demonstration starting with street protests from Aba to resist the coup, until he was finally persuaded to give up that move. Buhari appointed his own proconsul, in the person of the then Brigadier Ike Nwachuwku. Again, his assignment: dismantle the gains made in Imo under Mbakwe. Ike Nwachukwu’s first declaration, under what he called the “Imo Formula”  was to dismantle all the 42 industrial installations embarked upon by Sam Mbakwe, which were at various stages of development, and to which financial commitments had been entered.

Nwachukwu’s “achievement” was to consolidate the Imo state university under a single campus at Uturu, near his ancestral home, from the five-campus design which had been envisioned on a model of the State of New York University system, by Mbakwe and his team, to evolve into beautifully designed network of university campuses to stimulate strategic development, and carter to a wider range of students and skills development in the long run.

The effect of these was to stultify development in the East and drive a growing population of highly educated and skilled youth out of the East, into the wilderness. Kids who grew up in Government Reserved Areas in the East, for instance, suddenly found themselves living with rats in the ghettoes of Lagos because all the systems created to afford them the opportunity of living productive lives in the East on equal terms with their peers elsewhere in the world were strategically dismantled.

It is called diminution. Divestments, and lack of investments in both industry and infrastructure in the East, especially by the federal government has led to this moment. What these examples suggest is that Nigeria’s postwar domestic policies have, it has always seemed obvious to Easterners, especially the Igbo, been directed towards subduing, rather than reconstructing the East. Even now, Buhari is talking about billions of naira to be earmarked for the “reconstruction of the North-East.”

What about the East that has suffered from a devastating civil war levied against it, and from the mindless exploitation of oil that has rendered what was the entire Eastern region, one of the world’s great ecological disasters, with incidents of new cancers, the result of massive pollution, possibly the highest currently in the world? Easterners consider themselves victims of state-terror. There must be both reconstruction of the East and reparation for the years of discrimination.

These facts will continue to drive the agitation for Biafra. And this is the point that Ohaneze and the South East governors meeting last week in Enugu failed to acknowledge, and which continues to make them irrelevant to the solutions for these agitations.

The governors in the East and Ohaneze may make ex-cathedra claims, but they do not yet speak for these young people, who have clearly defied them in staging their protests. Again, whoever is advising this president must be plain in telling him that this generation considers him a great part of the Igbo problem, because under his watch as military head, progress in the East was stifled; and the East was isolated in his administration from 1983-85; and as a member of the SMC in 1975, the first postwar moves to “dismantle” the East was set in motion. The onus is on him to show good faith, and dissuade the agitators, or he could show further proof, as some have suggested, that Buhari is rigid and does not listen.

Source: Vanguard

KOGI ELECTION IMPASSE: Protests over Audu’s replacement

Abubakar Audu
Protests rocked Kogi State, yesterday, following a report that a candidate had been picked by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Saturday’s governorship supplementary election outside Kogi East, dominated by Igala people where the Prince Abubakar Audu, the late candidate of the party, hailed from.

The report had said, yesterday, that the APC leadership had picked Audu’s closest rival in the party’s primary ahead of the Kogi governorship election, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to replace the deceased in the supplementary election.

Separately, the APC leadership denied that the party had given the governorship ticket to Bello.

Bello is Ebira, from Kogi Central, while the Igala people are rooting for one of their own and Audu’s son, Mohammed, to pick the APC ticket.

Protesting youths of Igala extraction, yesterday, blocked River Benue Bridge, to drive home their demand that Igala should get the APC ticket.

They threatened to destroy the bridge at a location called Itobe.

There were similar protests in Ochadamu in Dekina Local Government Area and Idah.

Meanwhile, youths of Kogi West, under the aegis of Okun Youths Forum, cautioned against throwing the state into crisis on the grounds of a non-Igala emerging as the APC candidate for the supplementary election.

At press time, police were said to be battling to disperse the protesters who took over River Benue Bridge as they grew in number.

The protest caused traffic gridlock on both sides of the bridge as motorists could not proceed.

One of the leaders of the protesters said any attempt by the Ebira to take power through the backdoor would be vehemently rejected.

“We voted for the late Prince Abubakar Audu, an Igalaman. We didn’t vote for Yahaya Bello. Bringing in an Ebira man to replace an Igala will lead to chaos. The Okun and Ebira will need to wait for their time. APC should retrace its steps”, he said apparently referring to the purported nomination of Bello as the APC candidate.

Bonfires

At Ochadamu Junction leading to  Anyigba, the nerve centre of Igala commerce, bonfires were seen on the road.

Some youths were also sighed protesting on the streets of Anyigba, Ajaka, Abejukolo, Ankpa and Ogbonicha, the home town of  Audu.

The protest assumed riotous dimension at Idah where the youths were heard chanting, “No Mohammed Audu, no supplementary poll,” in their local dialect.

Also, the homes of those they claimed were trying to trade Igala interest were targeted by the protesters.

A leader of the youths told Sunday Vanguard  they will make Kogi ungovernable if Mohammed did not replace his late father as the APC governorship candidate.

Okun back Ebira

However, the Okun Youths Forum, warned against throwing the state into crisis just because a non-Igala was going to be governor for the first time in the history of Kogi, saying   the choice of  Bello was constitutional.

The group called on the Igala to wait till 2019 when they would have another democratic window to be governor.

Speaking to Sunday Vanguard in Lokoja, the spokesman for the group, Adebayo Aaron, said Kogi is a collective enterprise belonging to three senatorial districts. He said the three districts are equal partners.


Alleged conspiracy

Also, yesterday, a chieftain of APC, Dr. Ohikere, warned the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, against  any act capable of setting the state on fire.

Ohikere, who was the Head of Media, Audu/Faleke Campaign, during a press conference  in Lokoja,  accused President Muhammadu Buhari of injecting what he described as a northern agenda  into the Kogi election.

Ohikere said the Presidency and APC leadership were fully aware of the law, that a running mate to a deceased candidate in an election should step in as the party’s flag bearer. “But it has been a grand conspiracy between the party leadership and the Presidency to ensure that a Muslim is used as a replacement to  the late Prince Abubakar Audu, who died on the 22 of November,” he said.

“The state will not only catch fire, but also the late Prince Audu will rise from the grave and unleash terror on anyone involved in this conspiracy.”

The APC rebuttal

In a related development, the APC leadership said, yesterday, it had not settled for Bello as replacement for Audu in the supplementary election, saying a decision will be taken tomorrow (Monday).

The Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank, told Sunday Vanguard the APC was yet to decide on Audu’s replacement.

“We are still consulting on the issue. We would take a final stand on the issue of Audu’s replacement on Monday and we are definitely going to issue a statement on the issue”, he said.

Vardy breaks Premier League goalscoring record

Vardy

IF you’re wearing golden boots, the expectation is that you will deliver. Jamie Vardy took that questionable sartorial decision yesterday evening. However, he also did the necessary deed and extraordinary tale gathered yet another chapter.

He already shared the Premier League record of scoring in ten successive games with Ruud van Nistelrooy.

So, it was fitting that it was against Manchester United, with their travelling support singing the old songs in praise of their legendary Dutch striker, that the Sheffield Wednesday reject and alumnus of Stocksbridge Park Steels, who was still playing non-league football three years ago, chose to go one better.

The new record is now eleven successive games and Vardy has actually scored 13 in that run. Yesterday it felt as though he were trampling all over the established order, not just van Nistelrooy. Whilst Vardy was all energy and action, Wayne Rooney looked a much older man than his 30 years at the other end.

There were a few snapped shots wide, a desperate dive on 35 minutes and an attepot to fling himself at a rebound. But, bruised and seemingly hobbling with a dead leg, he was substituted on 67 minutes. It may not be the case come the summer, but yesterday evening the comparison with his Leicester counterpart and England team-mate was unkind for Rooney.

The Vardy goal when it came was a classis of its kind from Leicester this season. Kasper Schmeichel bowled the ball to Christian Fuchs who advanced upfield to play a raking pass behind United’s extremely shaky back three for Vardy to run onto.

Such is his confidence at present, few inside the King Power Stadium can have doubted the conclusion once the man of the moment began that run.

He simply sprinted across a startled Darmian, took one touch and crashed it past David De Gea.. The stadium fairly erupted as Vardy raced off to celebrate, dashing briefly past the United fans, pointing at his chest and shouting something, presumably along the lines of: ‘I’m the man now.’

And he was but it was not just him. Leicester may have to share top spot with Manchester City after this draw, but their resilience as we approach December is remarkable. They aren’t going away and were magnificent in that first half, when United reverted to their stuttering shapeless alter ego, a parody of their finest sides. And when United improved, as they were almost bound too, Leicester proved equal to their defensive task.

Yet it was first half onslaught which truly exhilarated the King Power Stadium. Vardy and Marc Albrighton has already served warning on Darmian on 11 minutes, hounding him into losing the ball and being unfortunate to concede a free kick. Darmian and Paddy McNair in particular will not remember their first-half performances fondly.

But all over the pitch Leicester were embarrassing United, none more so than Riyad Mahrez, whom Ashley Young had to pull back as he raced away on yet another counter attack and thus earned a yellow card. United’s 3-5-2 formation, simply looked ragged. And when Mahrez broke through on 31 minutes it needed the steadfastness of De Gea to block his smart shot with his knees.

Ladies, Don;t Allow Your Boyfriend To Open This Se xy Photo If You Are Not Hot And Se xy As Hell [PHOTO]


The Kenyan socialite and self-acclaimed Made Boss Queen, Vera Sidika, puts her juicy body and a peek at her new ‘milk factory’ in new photos she shared on Instagram. Se xy or juicy or hot or trashy? Lol

Girls Wearing Hundreds Of Condoms In Public (See Photo)

Girls Wearing Hundreds Of Condoms

What are we going to call this one , just take a closer look at the dress they are wearing and see what i mean.

Photos of Girls Wearing Con dom in Public Below.

girls-wearing-condoms-public-1

Social Media is Buzzing about these New Photos of the Obama Daughters

Obama Daughters

President Barack Obama symbolically pardoned two turkeys named Honest and Abe yesterday, a White House tradition on the eve of the US Thanksgiving holiday when Americans will feast on the poultry.

Social media is buzzing over the event. And it's not about the birds, but about how grownup Sasha and Malia Obama are now! Here's a photo of the Obama daughters with their dad at the turkey pardoning in 2009.

Now, check out these photos of them yesterday at the event.

obama-and-kids2
obama-and-kids4
 obama-and-kids3

"It is hard to believe this is my seventh year pardoning a turkey," said President Obama. "Time flies, even though turkeys don't"

I am going to publicly thank Malia and Sasha for once again standing here with me during the turkey pardon, They do this solely because it makes me feel good. Not because they actually think that this is something I should be doing. And, you know, as you get older, you appreciate when your kids just indulge you like this.”
The origin of the pardoning tradition is unclear — some say it was John F. Kennedy who was the first to spare a turkey in November 1963. However, it wasn’t until the days of George H.W. Bush in 1989, that pardoning became an annual part of White House turkey presentations.

Thanksgiving is celebrated each year in the US on the last Thursday of November. More stunning photos of the Obama daughters below:

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 obama-and-kids8

Messi, Neymar, Suarez strike to keep Barca rolling


Barcelona stretched their advantage at the top of La Liga to seven points on Saturday thanks to another clinical display from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to down Real Sociedad 4-0.

Messi was making his first league start in two months as he continues his comeback from knee ligament damage.

But the Argentine was initially outshone by his strike partners as they each swept home from two Dani Alves crosses to put Barca in command at the break.

Neymar then added his second shortly after the half-time before teeing up Messi for his first league goal since September in stoppage time.

Atletico Madrid can close the gap at the top to four points when they host Espanyol later on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are now nine points adrift ahead of their trip to Eibar on Sunday.

Barca boss Luis Enrique made four changes from the side that destroyed Roma 6-1 in the Champions League in midweek, but with Messi, Suarez and Neymar deployed once more in attack, the Catalans didn’t miss a beat.

Suarez should have opened the scoring after just two minutes when he was brilliantly played in by Neymar, but Geronimo Rulli rushed from his line to bravely smother the Uruguayan’s effort just inside his area.

The Argentine goalkeeper did well once more to deny Neymar at a narrow angle from Messi’s wonderful through ball eight minutes later.

Even when Rulli was beaten, the woodwork saved Sociedad when Andres Iniesta headed Suarez’s perfectly measured cross against the post.

The visitors’ luck eventually ran out on 22 minutes, though, when Messi released Alves down the right and Neymar was quickest to meet his low cross and drive the ball into the top corner.

Alves was the creator once more for Barca’s second just before the break as his floated cross picked out Suarez to acrobatically volley into the far corner.

Barca had to wait just eight minutes after the break for a third with the full-backs proving Sociedad’s downfall again as this time Jeremy Mathieu squared for Neymar to apply a simple finish.

That strike took Neymar and Suarez’s tally in La Liga this season to 26 — the same as the entire Real Madrid squad.

However, both then turned their hand to trying to set up Messi.

The four-time World Player of the Year fired into the side-netting and then straight at Rulli from two Neymar crosses before pulling a free-kick inches wide of the far post.

It looked like being a forlorn afternoon for Messi when his brilliant curling effort came back off the crossbar four minutes from time.

However, a final piece of magic between Neymar and Suarez allowed the Brazilian to roll the ball invitingly across goal for Messi to slot into an empty net and seal a fantastic week for Barca which has seen them take a strangle hold of La Liga and clinch their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

American Diva, Chante Moore Arrives Lagos for ‘Light Up’ 2015

Chante Moore


Award winning American Diva, Chante Moore, will arrive Lagos this Saturday, November 27, 2015, in preparation for the hosting of the second edition of “Light Up” Music & Art Concert.

Chief Executive Officer of the Red Ribbon Limited, organisers of the event, Mr Tunde Shofowora, while confirming her arrival, noted that the news of her arrival is already generating lots of excitement among her numerous fans as this is the first time the R&B & Jazz singer, songwriter & actress will be visiting the country.

Chante Moore is performing alongside other international renowned gospel singers such as Frank Edward (Nigeria’s best gospel artist), Buchi (Super Star Gospel Reggae maestro), Mike Aremu (Nigeria’s leading saxophonist) and multi-talented rapper & singer, TB1.

The event which holds on November 29, 2015 at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, will also be bringing back on stage, Nigeria’s diva and elegant stallion, Lady Onyeka Onwenu.

Some of the highlights of this year’s edition also include a special art exhibition by some leading Nigerian contemporary art exhibitors such as Dr. Tony Marinho; grand cocktail/classical quartet and a Red Carpet to be anchored this year by International Award winning ace photo specialist Kelechi Amadi Obi: We will also be having the pleasure of the wives of the Executive Governors of Lagos and Ogun States to officially handle the “Light Up Moment” during the event.

According to Tunde Shofowora, lovers of art and music all over the country will have a great opportunity to see, appreciate and make purchases of some of the new works done by Dr. Tony Marinho and good music by these international renowned gospel singers.

Light Up concert has been created by Red Ribbon Limited to help deliver value and provide memorable experiences that connect brands to the emotions of their consumers.

It’s a special night of Songs, Dance-Drama, Orchestra, Choreography and light Comedy, featuring some renowned African and international inspirational singers, and artistes. Being the first Christmas themed concert in the year and specially packaged to entertain the business minded, Light Up has been branded as a Night of Glamour, Exquisite Wines, Gourmet Cuisine and Aficionados.

Buhari okays appointment of 30 new federal high court judges


President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of 30 new Judges for the Federal High Court.

The National Judicial Council, NJC, recommended the appointment of the new judges.

The new Judges, according to a statement that was issued by the Council yesterday, are: Hon. Justice Yellin S. Bogoro (Bauchi State), Rosemary O. Dugbo Oghoghorie (Delta State), Taiwo Obayomi Taiwo (Ogun State), Ibrahim Watila (Borno State), Mallong Peter Hoommuk (Plateau State), Isa Hamma Adama Dashen (Adamawa State), Hassan Dikko (Kebbi State), Jude Kanyioh Dagat (Kaduna State), Olayinka Olusegun Tokode (Osun State), Simon Akpah Amobeda (Kogi State), Jane Egienanwan Inyang (Cross River State), Daniel Emeka Osiagor (Rivers State), Prof. Chuka Austine Obiozor (Anambra State),

Others ar, Iniekenimi Nicholas Oweib (Bayelsa State), Hassan Muslim Sule (Zamfara State), Hadiza Rabiu Shagari (Sokoto State), Saleh Kogo Idrissa (Yobe State), Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik (Edo State), Hillary Ide Osho Oshomah (Edo State), Fadima Murtala Aminu (Adamawa State), Toyin Bolaji Adegoke (Kwara State), James Kolawole Omotosho (Ogun State), Nehizena Idemudia Ekunwe (Edo State), Stephen Daylop Pam (Plateau State), Akintayo Aluko (Ekiti State), Dr. Nnamdi O. Dimgba (Abia State), Emeka Nwite (Ebonyi State), Abdulazeez M.Z. Anka (Zamfara State), Abdu Dogo (FCT), and Adamu Turaki Muhammed (Jigawa State).

The statement which was signed by the Acting Director of Information at the NJC, Mr. Soji Oye,further disclosed that the new judges will be sworn -in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, on December 2.

Kogi polls: It’s Audu’s son or nobody, lawmakers tell APC


•Say, we will impeach anyone outside Mohammed Audu 
•Kogi West/Central APC Exco roots for Faleke
•There should be fresh polls – Ben Nwabueze

The constitutional crisis trailing the Kogi State governorship election took a new twist, yesterday, with All Progressives Congress, APC members of the Kogi State House of Assembly insisting that Mohammed Audu, the first son of the deceased APC Candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, should replace his father in the December 5 supplementary governorship polls.

If the party fielded anyone other than Mohammed Audu, the legislators threatened to impeach the person, if elected. This was the message the lawmakers took to the National Working Committee, NWC, of the APC at its national secretariat in Abuja, yesterday.

This came as supporters of late Audu’s running mate, Hon. James Falake stormed the party’s office in protest, demanding that the party should make Faleke step into the shoes of his principal, arguing that both of them ran the first election on a joint ticket.

Why we want Mohammed Audu – lawmakers

Speaking to Journalists, Spokesman of the legislators, Alfa Momoh Rabiu (Ankpa 2) said their message to the APC national leadership was a unanimous decision of the APC members in Kogi state. He, however, said that it was not a threat but a demand that should be given utmost consideration because the  late Audu made sacrifices to popularize APC in Kogi state.

Hinting that the decision had the backing of the members of the national and state executives of the party, Rabiu also stated that the group resolved that Falake having run on the same ticket with Audu should also remain as running mate his son. He said: “Based on our discussion, we have taken a decision and taken our resolution to the national chairman. We are overwhelmed by the response from them but we are still waiting for a safe landing so that Kogi will not be doomed.

“We told the national chairman that on no account should anybody be smuggled in to occupy that position, which we worked for in conjunction with the late Audu without who, there will be no APC in Kogi state. We present to the national leadership, Prince Mohammed Audu to replace his late father. It is not because he is the first son, but try him, he is very intelligent and equal to the task. With him, we will have the Kogi of our dream.

“We also resolved and we will appreciate if the leadership will understand that we came to complain to them with pains and tell them our position because of the commitment of our leader and we don’t want Kogi to be left in the hands of the PDP any longer. We are the legislators and have told the national chairman our position that in any case, if anybody is smuggled in contrary to what we present to them, we know the best way to remove him

“It is not a threat, but we told them that we have no intention of washing our dirty linen in public. Removing somebody is just a two minutes job for us as lawmakers in the state. We want the change we worked for and we want Kogi to be part of the moving train… Prince Audu was the man who went through primary before nominating Faleke as his deputy.

“We are not asking Faleke to stay away from the ticket. We equally worked with him during the campaigns. What we are saying is that it should be Mohammed Audu/Faleke ticket. The two of them, must work together”.

Why Faleke is the right man – Kogi  West/Central APC exco

However, supporters of Faleke in their numbers besieged the national secretariat, asking the party to nominate him as the governorship candidate of the party. In a letter to the National Working Committee on behalf of APC from Kogi West and signed by former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Clarence Olafemi, they said the idea was justiceable in the interest of peace, equity and fairness.

The letter read in parts: “It is on record and it is common knowledge that about 95 percent of the process had been completed and the party has substantially complied with the electoral law before the election was declared inconclusive. “Also very well known is the fact that the APC governorship mandate is jointly held by the late Prince Abubakar Audu and Hon. Abiodun James Faleke and the more than 240,000 votes given by the good people of Kogi state are for the two of them. Hon. Biodun Faleke is still alive…

“We are drawing the attention of the National Working Committee to the need to avoid the mistake of compensating those who worked against the party and who would want to take advantage of the new primary being organised by the party and reap where they did not sow”. Indeed, the State Executive Committee  of APC in Kogi West/Central Senatorial Districts also called on the national secretariat of the APC to guide the joint ticket of Audu/Faleke ‘jealously’.

The committee, which spoke in Lokoja, yesterday, urged the party to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, through legal means to declare the party as the winner of the November 21 election. In a statement by the Deputy Chairman of APC in the State, Shuaibu Osune, they said the INEC erred in declaring the November 21 polls as inconclusive.

“We are drumming support for Abiodun Faleke to step in as the governorship candidate and Mohammed Audu as his running mate; this is in line with submission of majority of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SANs). “The National Executive Council of our party should, for the sake of peaceful co-existence and unity of our beloved state take this resolution as the final decision.”

Meanwhile, for four consecutive days since Tuesday, the party had failed to assemble its stakeholders for a meeting to nominate a replacement of the vacuum created by the demise of Audu. National chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun on Tuesday told Journalists that the party was going to conduct fresh primary elections to pick a substitute, but was not sure of the modalities for the primaries.

Pressed to comment on the issue by newsmen at the national secretariat in Abuja, Oyegun stated that the process was still ongoing, stressing that he would only speak after the process had been completed. “I don’t want to say anything now until the process is complete”, he said.

There should fresh polls – Ben Nwabueze

Meanwhile, Elder statesman and Chairman of The Patriots, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN), has criticised the decision of the INEC to conduct supplementary polls saying the best legal option is to conduct fresh governorship election. His words: ‘In Kogi there was an election and the man, who was leading died. As far as I am concerned, whatever votes he scored in the election died with him. We cannot ask votes to survive a dead man. Now that he is dead, there should be fresh elections in Kogi.’’

Photos: Timaya's Baby Mama Puts Her Se xy Body On Display


Some people call it Big, Bold and Beautiful!

Pictured is Timaya's se xy baby mama, the mother of his two beautiful daughters.

Policemen treat us like their ATMs – Lagos se x workers


Lagos se x workers in Mushin,have cried out over fees being paid to Policemen. Some of the ladies in the illicit profession told a Punch correspondent who visited the area earlier in the week that much of what they earn these days go to policemen who come in weekly to collect compulsory ‘settlements’.

According to a handful that interacted with our correspondent after they were assured their identities won’t be revealed, each lady pays between N7000 and N8000 every week to the leader of the hotel where they ‘hustle’. The fee, they revealed, covers rent for the week and ‘tax’ for the police among other such bills. The pressure of meeting up with such weekly obligation is taking its toll on many of the prostitutes who prospect for clients in Empire.One of the ladies whom our correspondent chatted up at ‘White House’,said

“Whether you work in a week or not, you must pay the regular dues to the head of the hotel,” . “Each of us who ‘hustle’ here pays N8000 every week to our boss who then ‘settles’ the police from it after removing money for rent and other levies. We are over 15 ‘hustling’ here and if you calculate what the police is making from each of us every week, then you’ll see that they are the ones benefiting from our ‘hard work’. If we fail to ‘settle’ them, they’ll come in to harass and intimidate us.



“For the eight months that I have worked here, I have seen a lot of things. It is just as if we have become ATMs for the police; we are like a source of income or a money pot for them. Just to meet up with their demand and avoid harassment, most of us now have to work more than we should. It has not been easy in recent times,” she said.

At ‘Cool Corner’, another hotel in the community where ladies of different ages and sizes flaunt their ‘assets’ in wait for prospective customers, one commercial sex worker who told our correspondent that she was 24 years old and had been servicing ‘clients’ who visit the place since 2012, revealed that the constant demand by police officers has become a big source of worry for many of them.

 According to her, at least each lady ‘hustling’ at the hotel pays around N5000 as ‘settlement’ to law enforcement officers every week aside from what they churn out for rent. She told Saturday PUNCH that the situation makes them feel like cash cows to the police.

“It is not as if those of us doing this job are proud of it, no. Many of us are doing it because we don’t have other means of survival. But to now imagine that most of what we manage to make these days go into ‘settling’ the police, is really annoying. They don’t come to us directly, they deal with our boss but then we are the ones suffering the whole thing. The money these people make from us every week is just too much,” she said.

At the other hotels in the area our correspondent visited, the feeling was the same. Many of the prostitutes at three other active spots, ‘Number Six’, ‘Lido Hotel’ and ‘Seventeen Bar’, told Saturday PUNCH that the situation has piled pressure on a lot of them and eaten deep into the little funds they usually make at the end of each week.

Managers of two of the hotels who our correspondent came across in the course of the findings refused to speak on the issue as a result of fear. They also refused to disclose which station the policemen they pay the weekly ‘royalty’ to come from even though a bar man in one of the hotels pointed that the officers came from all nearby police stations. Empire is in between Mushin and Jibowu in Yaba.

But apart from the dilemma now faced by commercial sex workers in this Lagos neighbourhood, the spate of crime in the area in recent times has reduced life to a living nightmare for many of its residents, especially parents with young boys and girls. Some, for fear of the morals of their children, put them in boarding schools and also give them out to live with relatives and friends in other parts of the state and country.Mrs. Fatima Ahmed, a petty trader, told Saturday PUNCH.

“I don’t have money to move out of this area yet but I cannot afford to have my children grow up here and have their lives destroyed,”

  She has lived in Empire for 10 years, witnessing a lot of crimes and moral decadence in the period.

“If you see what some of the youths in the area do with drugs, alcohol and dangerous weapons, then you won’t want your children to grow up in such environment if you are a good parent. My children are in the boarding house and when they vacate they go to my cousin’s place at Ifako to stay. They only come here to visit me and their father once in a while,” she said.

A commercial motorcyclist, Stephen Okoli, who lives with his three daughters and wife on Oguntokun Street, told Saturday PUNCH that his girls only return to the area at weekends from his sister’s place in Ojota where they live and go to school at weekdays. He revealed that this was the best way he could protect them from being infected with the immoralities in Empire at the moment.

“My wife and I decided to let them live with my sister at Ojota just to protect them,” Okoli said. “They are little girls still growing up and we don’t want them to be corrupted by what people are doing here. Our fear is that there is no way they would grow up here and won’t be influenced one way or the other by the lifestyle here. Many of the ladies are prostitutes while the young men are into drugs and other crimes. I don’t want such for my children. We want them to have a better life than ours,” he stated.

Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Joe Offor, debunked allegations of extortion and summary raids in Empire as claimed by many of the commercial se x workers. Offor told Saturday PUNCH that the allegation was a ploy to blackmail officers who were carrying out their lawful duties in the area.

“How much is a se x worker there making that police will go and demand royalty from them every week? In the first place, is police entitled to royalty? Some stories are too fantastic to believe and sometimes you don’t even need to guess too far before dismissing such.

“Allegations like this, as funny as they sound, are not new to the police. The brothels are seen in most cases as criminal hideouts and if there is any suspicion of harbouring any criminal in such places; the police have a right to raid such places regardless of whether prostitutes operate there or not. In the process of such raids, the prostitutes themselves could be arrested if they have been found to be working with the wanted criminals.

“Most times when they make this type of allegation, it’s to blackmail the police to stop doing their good work. There is no issue of extortion; it is just a case of blackmail especially since the Command embarked on a massive onslaught on criminals in Lagos. Criminal hideouts and black spots are being raided daily to sanitise the state. Our officers are committed to protecting the safety of lives and property and shall continue to give their best in the discharge of their duties,” he said.

So Sad: Borno Buries 81 Boko Haram Victims


The corpses of eighty-one Boko Haram victims has been retrieved and buried by the Bama local government area of Borno state.

The bodies were dumped by the insurgents in the Yadzaram river after the terrorists captured Bama town on Monday, September 1, 2014.

Alhaji Ali Gujja, the chairman of Bama LGA, said the remains which were mainly skeletons, were buried on by the council officials on Thursday, November 26.

While speaking with journalists on Thursday, Gujja added that the skeletons were exhumed along the river beds by volunteers and some members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).

The LG chairman explained that the corpses could not be retrieved from the flowing river immediately after the killings because of insecurity in Bama.

He said the corpses were floating on the river for so long while some laid on the river beds for over a year.

The LG chairman stated that some volunteers and members of CJTF exhumed the remains of the 81 victims.

He lamented that the insurgents dumped several bodies of residents in two cement wells in three wards of Bama.

Gujja said following the killings, the affected wells had been sealed up and their environs fumigated to prevent further outbreak of air and water-borne diseases in the town.

Meanwhile, newly liberated towns of Borno state are to get new supplies of relief materials.

Alhaji Mohammed Kanar, the Northeast zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), made this know on Wednesday, November 25.

The Punch reports that this was the second time the agency would be distributing relief items to people of Dikwa.

According to Kanar, the agency will be moving into Bama, Gwoza, Askira-Uba, Marte and Baga local government areas to distribute relief materials.

Kanar, noted in an address to the internally displaced persons, rehabilitation of structures destroyed in the fray will commence as soon as the agency gets final clearance from the military.

Still regarding the issue of insurgency within Borno state, the government has revealed shocking details of how much territory the jihadists still had under their control.

How suicide bomber killed 21 in Kano Muslims’ procession


The Kano commander of Shia movement in Nigeria, Muhammad Mahmud Turi, Friday, said 21 members of the sect lost their lives while 45 others were injured when a suicide bomber struck the procession at Dakasoye village near Kano.

Sheik Turi told reporters that the incident occured by 2.00pm shortly after a suicide bomber was caught by its vigilante group in the procession who confirmed that another bomber was in the midst of the procession.

Turi explained that the loose suicide bomber detonated his bomb at the point of been captured alive by the search team.

The revered religious figure said that the tragic incident would not deterred the group from carry on with the journey to Zaria, adding that ‘you don’t display cowardice or cowed by death threat when carrying out religious obligations.”

“Today Friday, 21 members have been elevated to matrydom and they would be accepted by Allah to the bliss of Janatul Firdausi”.

Turi revealed that the captured suicide bomber said that he was from Mubi and was abducted by the Boko Haram sect and taken to Sambisa forest where he was exposed to the training on the art of suicide bombing.

The religious leader said that the suicide bomber further revealed that he was ferried to Kano alongside other and quartered at Gwamaja area of Kano metropolis before they were deployed to the carryout the heinous act.

But, the Kano police Commissioner, Muhammad Musa Katsina who stormed the scene with his men had a running battle with the sect that bluntly refused to hands off the suspected bomber.

The sect through one of their local leader told the Commissioner that they would only play game if there supreme leader El Zakky Zakky directed otherwise.

Speaking further on the tragic incident, a local Journalist, Ali Kakaki who was at the scene of the blast told Vanguard that women, children and a number of youngsters were affected by the blast.

Check Out What Ghanaians Are Planning For Tonto Dikeh’s Husband


Ghanaians are planning something big for Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh’s husband, Oladunni Churchill.

While many in Nigeria are in doubt of what Tonto Dikeh’s husband is into, Ghanaians are celebrating the him.

Churchill will be honoured for his contribution to Ghana entertainment industry come December 3, 2015.

Churchill is the CEO of Big Church Entertainment outfit in Ghana, a subsidiary of the Big Church Group. The group currently operates in over 10 industries across 3 different countries worldwide. With a vision to be the most successful African Holding Company Leading in every sector they operate in, the Group has seen amazing growth and expansion under the astute and competent leadership of Chairman of the Group.

Other branches in the group are: Big Churchill Haven Limited, Big Church Entertainment. They also manage Business Communications, Total; provide Security Solutions, into Real Estate, Printing & Publishing, ICT (Software / Hardware) and Programming.

Churchill will be receiving an award on the 3rd of December 2015, in recognition to his dedication and passion to what he loves best.

Meanwhile, Tonto Dikeh’s baby bump has been growing and fan are happy for her.

Friday 27 November 2015

PHOTOS: Container Falls Off Truck And Lands On Okada In Lagos

Container Falls Off Truck

Lagosians at the popular Rainbow bus stop on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway today witnessed a forty feet container fall off a truck and landed on a motorcycle, popularly called ‘Okada’.

According to popular blogger, Linda Ikeji, the truck was trying to over take another truck, when it tripped on the pedestrian path and fell, injuring the Okada rider.

The scene of the incident was filled with many on-lookers who trooped out to catch a glimpse of what had happened.

The incident is coming two months after the Lagos state government reiterated its determination to ensure strict enforcement of the Lagos state Road Traffic Law 2012, which restricts trailers and other long vehicles from plying the metropolis between the hours of 6am to 9pm.

The state government had vowed to go tough on any trailer and long vehicle that contravenes the law as such vehicle will be impounded and made to pay the stipulated fine accordingly.

Recall that on Wednesday, September 2, a heavy duty container skidded off the Ojuelegba bridge in Lagos and landed on two private cars, crushing the occupants of the vehicles.

Two days after the incident, another articulated truck skidded off along Ikorodu-Shagamu expressway causing serious vehicular obstruction in the axis.

On Friday, October 30, a similar accident occurred around the busy Bonny Camp bus stop in Victoria Island, Lagos.

See photos from the accident scene below:

Container Falls Off Truck And Lands On Okada In Lagos 4
Container Falls Off Truck And Lands On Okada In Lagos3
Container Falls Off Truck And Lands On Okada In Lagos2
 Container Falls Off Truck And Lands On Okada In Lagos

AMAZING! This Is Exactly What Ojukwu’s Spirit Is Doing To Biafra’s Protests


The spirit of Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, is reportedly at work in the recent pro-Biafran agitations.

This much was revealed by Chief Chris Uche, a chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Owerri on Thursday, November 26, 2015 at the third memorial anniversary of Ojukwu, who also stated that Biafra would be declared a sovereign state without the shedding of blood.


 According to The Punch, Uche, who is a former commissioner of housing in Imo state, stated that those who died for the Biafran cause would never be forgotten.

“Ojukwu gave us a template. He is still alive in our minds. Chief Uwazuruike’s yearly remembrance ceremony in his honour is bringing the time closer for the realisation of Biafra. We shall keep the flag flying and we shall achieve it without shooting of gun,” he said.

Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State Of Biafra (MASSOB), who also spoke during the event, stated that the essence of the Ojukwu’s anniversary was to rekindle the consciousness of Biafra among the people.

According to him, MASSOB was a non-violent group but the Indigenous People of Biafra, which recently emerged, is beginning to go against the rules of MASSOB.

“They (IPOB) believe that since MASSOB has not achieved Biafra through non-violent methods for 16 years, they will achieve it through violence. They threatened fire and castigated some Igbo leaders,” Uwazuruike said, while also demanding the release of Radio Biafra director, Nnamdi Kanu.

Recently, Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca, urged Nigerians to always project the good image of Nigeria and also key into the tourism industry as it had the ability to increase the country’s revenue.

Amazing! Nigerian School That Produced 5 Presidents, Over 20 Governors, More


Quite a lot of Nigeria’s military and democratic presidents and top politicians have something in common.

A number of them attended the same secondary school – Barewa College in Zaria, Kaduna State. The school was founded in 1921 by British governor-general, Hugh Clifford and was formerly called Katsina College. The name was changed to Kaduna College in 1938 and then Government College, Zaria in 1949 before its current name Barewa College.



The school has produced about 5 presidents, 20 governors, ministers and more. Here are the list of former Nigerian presidents, ministers, governors who attended the prestigious college:

– Alh. Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria from 1954 to 1966
– Alh. Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, Prime Minister of Nigeria from 1960 to 1961
– Gen. Murtala Mohammed, Military President from 1975 to 1976
– Gen. Yakubu Gowon(retd.), Military President from 1966 to 1975
– Alh. Shehu Shagari, President of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983
– Alh. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010
– Mallam Adamu Ciroma , 3-time Minister (Industries; Agriculture; and Finance)
– Prof. Jubril Aminu – 2-time Minister (Education; Petroleum and Mineral Resources)
– Alh. Umaru Dikko – Minister of Transportation
– Alh. Ibrahim Mahmud Alfa, Ex-Governor of Kaduna State
– Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State
– Dr. Orji Uzor-Kalu, Ex-Governor of Abia State
– Alhaji Mohammed Bello – (current) Minister of FCT
– Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau(retd.) – (current) Minister of Interior
– Air Commodore Ibrahim Alkali(retd.) – Ex-Military Governor of Kwara State
– Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi – Ex-Minister of Education
– Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi – Former Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN)
– Hon. Justice Uwais – Former Chief Justice of Nigeria
– Hon. Justice Mohammed Bello, Former Chief Justice of Nigeria

Memorable names of the school’s dormitories include: Bello Kagara House, Luggard House, Clifford House, Dan Hausa House, Mallam Smith House, Nagwamatse House, Bienemann House, Mort House, and later Jafaru House and Suleiman Barau House, which were previously called New House A and New House B during their construction. These dormitories housed up to a thousand pupils at any one time, within the vast landscape east of Tudun Wadda.