Monday, June 30, 2014

Davido wins Best African Act at the 2014 BET Awards



If there's any artist who deserves all the awards he's been getting lately, it's Davido. He really puts effort into his craft. He beat Tiwa Savage, South Africa’s Mafikizolo, Ghana’s Sarkodie, Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz and Togo’s Toofan to win the 2014 BET Awards Best African Act

Photo: Politicians and bags of rice...guess it's the new strategy!



Over the weekend, former Zamfara State governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, who is planning to contest again as Governor of the state in 2015, shared bags of rice to his people for Ramadan, making sure to let them know that he's contesting again.

Shinkafi was governor of Zamfara State in 2007 to 2011 and was Aisha Babaginda's second husband.

Boko Haram kills 48, burns churches near Chibok

Boko Haram sect

Insurgents on Sunday launched attacks on three villages near Chibok in Borno State, setting ablaze five churches and killing no fewer than 48.
In the offensive, which was said to have lasted for about four hours, the terrorists attacked churches during Sunday worship, shot at worshippers and set the church buildings ablaze.
A resident said, ‘‘Boko Haram stormed Kautikari, Kwada and Karagau villages early in the morning at about 8.45am.
“The attackers locked worshippers inside the church and rained bullets on them.”
The source said 30 persons were shot dead in Kwada while about nine were killed in Karagau.
According to the source, no fear than nine worshippers were killed inside the Kautikari EYN church.
A youth leader in the area, Mr. Moses Zakwa, who spoke to one of our correspondents, said, “The communities that were attacked are Kwada, Kautikari and Karagau, all in the Chibok Local Government Area. As of now, over 20 persons have been confirmed dead, 10 of which I know personally.
“My cousin and one of my uncles were among those killed. He had three wives and over 20 children and he was killed in cold blood. The attack started around 8.00am and it lasted for over four hours
“The gunmen also opened fire on worshippers in a church service. People have not been sleeping at home. Some have run into the nearby bush to hide because their lives are at risk.”
Zakwa is the president of the Kibaku Youth Association.
Another Chibok indigene, Manasseh Allen, also confirmed the attack in a telephone chat with our correspondent.
“We need divine help,” he said, adding that Kautikari is the second largest town in Chibok council area.
A member of the Borno State House of Assembly, representing Chibok constituency, Mr. Aimu Foni, also toldThe PUNCH, “It’s obvious this was a Boko Haram attack because three days ago, they threatened to attack.”
The attack on Kwada, Karagau and Kautikari villages came exactly 74 days after members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, abducted well over 200 pupils of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14.
The insurgents had two weeks ago written to the council area that they would attack it again.
Indigenes on Sunday listed the churches burnt down in the attacked communities to include a branch of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry, COCIN and EYN.
“They (the insurgents) killed and burnt down houses after they had attacked worshippers in five churches in Kwada, and advanced to Kautikari less than eight kilometres to Chibok town, killing and burning down people’s houses and properties,” another indigene, Malam Yahi, told one of our correspondents on the phone from Chibok.
“As of now we do not know about the efforts of the security agents, whether they are on ground or not but all our people, those who can flee have run into the bush and are being pursued by the murderers,” Yahi added.
A top local government official in Chibok town, who did not want his name published, told journalists on Sunday afternoon that “our people have fled into the bushes and we can only appeal that security men are immediately drafted to the town and environs.”
He complained that on receipt of the threat letter two weeks back, they had gone to the police to seek maximum protection but that the police authorities had told them then that they had logistic problem.
The attacks on the area caused apprehension even in the state capital, Maiduguri, as some of the indigenes of Chibok in the town were said to be making panic phone calls to their relations back home.
Most of the churches in Maiduguri were also said to have embarked on prayer sessions, asking for God’s intervention after receiving the news of ongoing attacks on their home community.
There was no word from security agents on the fresh attack on Chibok as of the time of this report.
In a related development, Sunday worship in Abuja churches were said to have been filled with testimonies by survivors of last Wednesday’s bombing of the EMAB Plaza in Wuse II area of the Federal Capital City.
Twenty one persons were killed in the blast that rocked the shopping mall. One of the dead victims of the blast is the Managing Editor (North) of the New Telegraph, Malam Suleiman Bissala.
One of our correspondents reported instances of long queues of testifiers in many Pentecostal churches in the city, with many of them narrating how they were divinely saved from death.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Sunday beefed up security on Abuja major highways to forestall another blast in the nation capital.
Our correspondent observed that soldiers had set up checkpoints on the airport road and in the central area of the city, checking contents in the boots of vehicles.
The development slowed down traffic in the areas but motorists expressed satisfaction with the stop – and – search arrangement, which they claimed would further curb the activities of the insurgents.
A cab driver, Mr. Ibrahim Bello, noted that apart from the fact that the presence of the soldiers on the road would scare bombers, the action would also minimise speeding, which he said remained the major cause of accidents on the highways

We don’t know where Chibok girls are – US

The United States said on Friday it had decreased its surveillance flights in the search for the about 219 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, but added that the overall effort was unchanged due to more flights by other countries.
It stated that it had no idea of the location of the girls, noting however that there is no letup in the efforts to locate and rescue them.
“We don’t have any better idea today than we did before about where these girls are, but there’s been no letup of the effort itself,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters, according to Reuters.
Kirby said the same level of effort was being sustained now through international involvement.
A US defence official speaking on condition of anonymity said American flights had been reduced only after a body of intelligence had been gathered and that the cuts had been offset by the British and the French support.
Kirby denied a suggestion that US flights over Nigeria had been reduced to accommodate increased US surveillance over Iraq, where Washington is flying unmanned and manned aircraft to gather intelligence about Sunni insurgents.
He said some of the resources that were being used in Nigeria had been diverted from other missions in Africa and could now be used elsewhere on the continent.
Officials declined to say how long heightened U.S. surveillance over Nigeria had lasted.
Asked whether it was just a week or two, the defence official said, “No. We were building this baseline for a good period of time.”
US surveillance flights over Nigeria were now intermittent, the source said.
US military personnel are in Abuja helping to coordinate the effort, and some 80 others were sent to Chad in May to support the surveillance operation.
Chad is northeast of Nigeria and borders the area in which Boko Haram is known to operate.
In the last month, US officials had played down expectations about a swift rescue of the girls and stressed the limitations of intelligence from surveillance flights.
One US official voiced concerns that Boko Haram might have booby-trapped areas where the girls could be held, and there had been reports that they might have been split up into groups that were not being held in one place.
The defence official said surveillance alone would not lead to a resolution. “It will take the Nigerian piece of the equation with their own sources and human intelligence coupled with the other forms to really understand the picture,” he noted.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan said his government and security services had “spared no resources, have not stopped and will not stop until the girls are returned home.”

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Okorocha’s raw deal from Charly Boy at mass for dad

Rochas Okorocha: raw deal from Charles Oputa, aka Charly BoyCharly Boy: was he rude to Okorocha?

The first son of Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Charles Oputa, a.k.a Charly Boy, threw decorum to the winds as he stopped Governor Rochas Okorocha from paying tribute to his father.
It was at the requiem mass on Friday organised for the late Supreme Court Justice at his country home in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.
It was conducted by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rt Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Oguta.
Newspaper reports said the mass had gone on smoothly until Okorocha was called upon by Bishop Kukah to pay his tribute to the departed judge.
According to Vanguard Online, Chief Okorocha was already speaking when Charley Boy walked angrily to the altar and snatched the micro-phone from the governor.
Guests, who included Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Governors Willie Obiano (Anambra), Theodore Orji (Abia); the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha and former governors of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige and Mr Peter Obi were said to be bewildered by Charley Boy’s action.
And it was the first time a sitting governor would be given such public treatment in any part of Nigeria.
The intervention of Bishop Kukah could not assuage Charly Boy’s anger as he insisted that no politician would take advantage of his father’s burial to score “cheap political” goals. He insisted that the Governor should not speak at the event.
Governor Okorocha stormed out of the venue moments after.
Reports said Okorocha’s government announcement that it had donated N20million to the Oputa family for the burial of their patriarch, whereas no such money was donated, made Charly Boy behaved in such a boyish way.
The government in a statement later deplored the incident, as “ugly and regrettable.”
“It is highly regrettable that the son of the late Justice, Mr Charles Emeka Oputa, aka, Charly Boy, threw caution to the wind and turned the church service into a political theatre that saw him acting or playing out the script he drafted in Abuja with some Imo politicians, who have remained cowed by the overwhelming popularity of Governor Rochas Okorocha, ” said Senior Special Assistant, SSA, Media, to Governor Okorocha, Mr Sam Onwuemodo.
Onwuemeodo insisted that the state government made “substantial financial input and also organized a special day of tributes for the late Justice Oputa at the expense of state government with Charly Boy also present with other members of the family.

Nigerian Military Bars 278 Muslim Pilgrims, Senator Ndume From Flying Out Of Maiduguri



There was tension twice yesterday at the Maiduguri airport in Borno State as the Nigerian military barred 278 Islamic pilgrims headed for the Umrah pilgrimage from boarding a flight. In a separate development, the military also stopped Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume from taking a flight out of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
Our correspondent gathered that the military prohibited the senator and other pilgrims from boarding the chartered aircraft and forced both flights to take off from the Maiduguri airport with empty seats.                                                             
One of the frustrated pilgrims told our correspondent that he and the others intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah. Another source disclosed that Governor Kashim Shettima had intervened to enable the pilgrims to fly, but his efforts yielded no results.
“There was raised tension at the airport,” one of the sources said.
Skynet International Limited, a hajj and Umrah operator, had chartered an airline to convey the pilgrims to their destination. But as the 278 pilgrims, who had undergone security checks, waited to board the plane, the military issued what one source described as “a strange orders” directing the plane to take off empty. The military then directed the pilgrims to travel five hours by road to the Kano airport through the often-unsafe Maiduguri-Damaturu-Potiskum Road.  
Military officials at the airport cited orders from the chief of air staff to immediately close the Maiduguri airport to commercial aircraft. The military said the action was for security reasons. Its officials ignored explanations by officials of Borno State Government, including Governor Shettima, that it was risky for the pilgrims to travel by road to Kano, especially given past instances of attacks along the route.
The military also waved off explanations by the management of Skynet, which chartered the airline, that it had written to Nigeria’s aviation officials as well as military and other security authorities about its flight arrangements, and had received proper authorization. The firm also reportedly reminded the military officials that the firm’s previous operations went hitch-free, even in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri was intense. “In past years, our flights landed and took off to Saudi Arabia hitch-free,” a company representative told our correspondent.
As tension rose, Governor Shettima sent the secretary to the state government, Baba Ahmed Jidda, to address the pilgrims and calm them down. Afterwards, the pilgrims left in numerous buses driving through the night in order not to miss the inaugural from Kano to Saudi Arabia.
A Borno State government official said he was perturbed that the military might be playing a script to frustrate the Borno pilgrims because the opposition APC controls the state.
The dust had hardly settled down when the military also barred Senator Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District, from boarding an aircraft chartered by the Borno State government. The 8-seater aircraft had arrived in Maiduguri with some state government officials from Abuja.‎ It was supposed to take off to Abuja with eight passengers, including the senator and a member of the House of Representatives. “The military ordered the plane to take off empty, leaving behind all eight persons, including the two lawmakers who were scheduled ‎to board the flight to Abuja.
A few months ago, the ‎Maiduguri airport was reopened by the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency after the airport’s temporary closure following an attack by insurgents on an air force base near the airport. Following an appeal by NAMA, the Borno State government had donated a high-powered electricity generator as well as other equipment that were installed in January to make the resumption of flights possible.
Since January, flights have been landing and taking off from the Maiduguri airport without any incident, leading a source to question the military’s actions yesterday. 

Angry Mother Rips Off Her Son’s Scrotum & Then "Superglue" It Back



According to the criminal complaint affidavit, Jennifer Marie Vargas's husband returned home on September 27th to find bloody paper towels stuffed down his crying son's underwear.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the child's scrotum had been partially severed, resulting in a 4 centimeter-long tear and significant bruising.

He was rushed to the hospital where surgeons were able to repair the damage.

The affidavit says Vargas, 34, admitted to inflicting the injury out of anger with the child.

She told agents she attempted to treat the wound with alcohol, and then "applied superglue to the (boy's) scrotum until the bleeding stopped."

After lining his underwear with paper towels, Vargas "then told him to go to bed."

Vargas was arrested this past Wednesday and charged with assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction resulting in serious bodily injury.

If convicted, she faces up to 10 years behind bars.

Boko Haram restricts my movement –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan with the Chief Medical Director, Maitama District Hospital, Dr. Adetoun Adetimehin, (l) and victims of the Emab Plaza bomb blast (r) during the President’s visit to the hospital in Abuja... on Friday

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday admitted that the activities of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, have curtailed his movement and prevented him from going to wherever he loves.
The President hurriedly returned to the country on Thursday evening from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, because of the bomb blast at Emab Plaza in Abuja.
The blast at Emab Plaza in Abuja, occurred on Wednesday shortly after the President left Nigeria for the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union’s Summit of Heads of State and Government.
According to his itinerary released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President was initially scheduled to return to the country on Friday after the summit.
But, the President, who visited EMAB Plaza on Friday, urged Nigerians to bear the pains and restrictions that could be imposed on them as security agencies work hard to end insurgency in the country.
He said even as the President of the country, he had been having his fair share of the pains associated with containing the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents as he could not go to everywhere he would have loved to visit.
“We all bear some pains, from the highest to the least because as a President, I may not go to everywhere I would have loved to go, these are some of the challenges I have to face,” he said.
Jonathan had in May, 2014 called off a visit to Chibok, the town where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram members on April 14, 2014.
He was scheduled to stop over in Chibok on his way to a conference in France.
Jonathan, while speaking at the Abuja bomb blast scene, described the insurgency as one of the darkest phases of the country’s history.
The President, who arrived at the scene at about 11:10am, was briefed at the spot where the bomb went off by an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba.
He was accompanied by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; his Chief of Staff, Brig.-Gen. Jones Arogbofa; and other senior government officials.
Jonathan spent about five minutes before moving under tight security to the Maitama District Hospital where those who sustained various degrees of injuries in the explosion are being treated.
After he was conducted round the wards where the injured victims are being attended to by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Adetoun Adetimehin, the President spoke with journalists.
He said it was regrettable that while some Nigerians were busy engaging in nation-building, others were busy killing their compatriots.
Jonathan assured that the perpetrators of the act and their sponsors would be arrested and brought to justice.
He assured Nigerians that insurgency would end.
Jonathan said, “It is quite regrettable and extremely painful that when some Nigerians are struggling, thinking about how to contribute to the nation’s development, they are working very hard to take care of their families, train their children, others are busy planning to kill people, intimidate people, destroy peoples’ property. It is regrettable.
“It is one of the darkest phases in the history of our nation, but surely we will get over it. Some other countries have passed through such cloud before and they were able to overcome it and sail through.
“We share the pains of the people who have been directly affected, the pains of their families, but we will surely pass through this ugly phase of our history. The perpetrators of this, those who are directly involved and those who sponsor them will surely be brought to book.
“I will use this opportunity to continue to plead with our citizens that under such situation, security operatives will come up with different options that sometimes will create some inconvenience for us, instead of condemning them, let us bear.
“Even for our citizens, under such condition, we have reached some level of restrictions and some pains, instead of shouting and insulting security operatives, let us give them maximum cooperation, give them relevant information.
“All countries that face terror suffer the same thing, citizens give maximum cooperation to the security operatives and help to contain and control, surely we will get over this.
“We are all mourning. I remember that very day we had a football match to play and all Nigerians were celebrating the Eagles hoping they were going to win, then this act came up, I was airborne then, it was when I got down in Malabo that I got the information. Surely, we will get through this.”
A mild drama, however, played out inside one of the hospital wards where one of the male victims of the blast requested for assistance from the President to start a business.
The patient, whose left leg was heavily bandaged, told the President that he was selling recharge cards in the plaza when the bomb went off.
“Na recharge card I dey sell for Banex plaza. I don’t have a job. See what I dey go through. Since yesterday, I can’t sleep. I finish school since, no job. I can’t go and steal, na recharge card I dey sell, sir. If people can help me to start better business to start my life again,” he told the President in pidgin English. But Jonathan kept urging the man to first thank God for his life and every other thing would follow.
“We are happy you are alive. Thank God you are alive,” he told the patient.
The President’s visits to the two places came barely 24 hours after Vice-President Namadi Sambo made similar visits.
Abati, in his Twitter handle, had said the President decided to return to the country on Thursday in response to the bomb blast.

Tiwa loses cool at airport

Tiwa Savage

Delectable artiste and rave of the moment, Tiwa Savage is a no-nonsense lady who doesn’t seem to spare anybody who angers her.
At the Murtala Mohammed International Airport last Monday, Saturday Beats watched how Tiwa descended on a member of staff of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company who she said was “rude” to her.
The Eminado crooner, looking chic in her black and white ensemble, was seen arguing and quarrelling with the NAHCO staff and her action drew a little crowd.
The NAHCO lady was unfazed by Tiwa’s fame and didn’t allow her to intimidate her as she told the people around that she wasn’t rude to Tiwa.
“I was not rude to her. I only told her to go and board since she had checked in her luggage. I wonder how that could mean that I was rude to her,” Saturday Beats overheard the NAHCO staff saying.
Not giving the lady another look, Tiwa eventually entered the boarding gate alongside her colleagues.
Tiwa and some other Nigerian artistes, Saturday Beats gathered, were on their way to Mauritius on board an Emirate flight.
Recall that it was reported few months ago that the singer had an encounter with a policeman and she allegedly removed his beret from his head.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Confab backs state police

President Goodluck Jonathan

THE National Conference on Thursday voted for the establishment of state police in the country.
The conference, which also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop pardoning corrupt leaders, however said only states that had the financial capacity to fund state police should create it.
Apart from this, the conference adopted the recommendation by the Committee on National Security, that state laws should be used as a guide for community policing.
But there were a lot of disagreements among the delegates on the mode of transfer of federal policemen to states.
While some insisted that police officers should be allowed to serve only in their states for effective policing, others disagreed, saying such a gesture could be misused by politicians.
After a long argument, the delegates adopted the recommendation that at least, 70 per cent of federal police officers from the rank of Deputy Superintendent to Constable, should be allowed to serve in their states of origin.
Before the state police proposal was adopted, there were debates by delegates on what the mode of operation of the state police should be and whether there would not be any superiority battle between the federal and state police.
Some delegates were of the opinion that there would be conflict of command and operations between the federal and state police. They argued that there was no way both could work together without rancour.
They raised concern 0ver the possibility of harmonious coexistence of both federal and state police in states, considering the fact that their duties might overlap.
One of the delegates, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said that   state police should be autonomous and should operate as a coordinate with the federal police.
On his part, Mr. Femi Falana(SAN), said, “The state police will police and maintain state laws while the federal police will maintain federal laws.”
Some delegates also raised concern over the appropriate title for commissioners of police in charge of state and federal police as well as modalities for posting commissioners of police under the federal system to states.
A voice vote was later taken and delegates voted against seeking the consent of a state governor before the posting of a commissioner of police under the federal system to and out of his state.
They also voted against state governors being involved in the running of police commands in their states.
Also, a compulsory life insurance for all armed security personnel, including the police by government was accepted.
The conference however voted against the merging of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the National Security and Defence Corps with the NPF.
It equally rejected the call for the suspension of recruitment of constables for a given period of time within which police training institutions would be upgraded and brought to international standard.
The conference further turned down the proposal for the police to be brought under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The proposals for the establishment of a police complaint authority and call for women to be given 50 per cent participation in all the security forces were also turned down.
But the conference adopted the recommendation that the number of vehicles on government convoys and the speed limit be set by the Federal Road Safety Corps.
It however rejected the recommendation to stop the Nigerian Army from being drafted for electoral duties as well as the recommendation that the NSCDC, the Nigerian Immigration Service, the NDLEA and the Customs Service be members of the state security council.
The conference adopted the recommendation to reorganise the Defence Industry Company of Nigeria and the creation of a military industrial complex.
The delegates agreed that the 1999 Constitution must be amended to accommodate the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff as the Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff.
They also said that government should compensate Odi, Zaki Biam and other places affected by military operations in the past.
A former Chairman of PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, later moved for the adoption of the report of the Committee on National Security. He was supported by Mr. Atedo Peterside.
The agitation for the creation of state police had intensified few years ago when the security situation in the country worsened due to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North and kidnapping and armed robbery in the South.
The proponents of state police argued that it remained the only way to resolve insecurity in the country. But those opposed to it said it would be abused by state governors.
The proposal for state police was part of the governors’ recommendations to the Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly.
Last month, some Yoruba groups had advocated the creation of state police as part of the position of the South-West.
The groups produced a document titled   ‘Regional autonomy or nothing.’
The   conference   also on Thursday called on   Jonathan to stop pardoning convicted corrupt Nigerians.
This was one of the recommendations adopted by the delegates during their debate on the report of the conference’s Committee on Politics and Governance in Abuja on Thursday.
It will be recalled that the President recently pardoned a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, who had been convicted for corruption.
The former governor is a member of the National Conference.
The report of the committee, which was headed by a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, and a former Minister of Finance, Chief Olu Falae, said, “All those convicted of corruption should not enjoy pardon.
“We should also establish courts to handle corruption cases in the light of undue prolongation in the trials and persecution of corruption cases in the regular courts and enact a non-conviction based assets forfeiture law, with board provisions to deal with all issues of proceeds of crimes by the anti-graft agencies and the courts.”
It also said that all heads of all arms of government should lead by example by setting examples to discourage Nigerians’ penchant for flamboyance and conspicuous consumption.
In this regard, it added that they should reduce the size of bureacracy associated with their offices, especially the number of their special assistants, senior special advisers and so on, as well as the size of their convoys and observe speed limit.
The conference also said that Nigeria should adopt a true federal structure with the states operating as the federating units and that the creation of local government councils should be done by states as they deem necessary.
It was also agreed that the states by law provide for the establishment of structure, composition, finance and functions of local governments councils in the country.

Ekiti Gubernatorial Election: INEC Presents Certificate Of Return To Fayose



Ekiti State Governor-Elect, Ayodele Peter Fayose, has received a Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The National Commissioner-in-Charge of Southwest, Prof. Layi Olurode, presented the Certificate to the Governor-Elect on behalf of the Commission in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.
Fayose was accompanied by his Deputy-Elect, Olusola Eleka, to the premises of the INEC to receive, and sign the Certificate, as the returned elected governor of the state.
Addressing journalists shortly after he was presented with the certificate, Fayose said the “voice of the people spoke for him” through their votes, in Saturday’s election last week.
He said that an inclusive government where people will come-up with ideas and policies that will better the lots of the state, will be put in place.
The Peoples Democratic Party-Governor Elect added that, his intention is to “rapidly develop” Ekiti State, as well as make a difference in the act of governance.
He assured that the public that he will not disappoint the people with promises to make life worth living for a common Ekiti residence, and not follow through.
Fayose also said he is ready to deliver better democracy to the people of the state as a way of paying them back for voting him in as the Governor.
The Governor-elect noted that his tenure will give out state contracts to Ekiti state based Contractors for the good development of the state, stressing that “his policies will be equal gender, and ethnic free.”
The Independent National Electoral Commissions (INEC), National Commissioner-in-Charge of the Southwest, Prof. Layi Olurode, appreciated what he called, the many Nigerians who showered their praises on the Commission for their “successful conduct” of the Ekiti State Elections.
Olurode said, the election wouldn't have been successful “if not for the better cooperation of all stakeholders involved,” and the people of the state.
He added, the commission would not be carried away with praises, but instead, will look inward, on how to conduct the best subsequent elections in the country, especially in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Osun State.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Nigeria's Super Eagles Advances To The The World Cup Round Of 16 For The First Time Since 1998



Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi and Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner.
Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced despite the loss, becoming the first African team in the round of 16 in Brazil.
Messi opened the scoring in the third minute, slamming in the rebound after Angel Di Maria's shot bounced off the post. Nigeria replied within a minute as Musa cut in from the left and beat Sergio Romero with a curling shot toward the far post.
Messi's perfectly hooked free kick restored the lead for Argentina just before halftime. The Argentina captain has scored in each of the team's three matches, and now has a total of four goals.
The second half started at the same furious pace as the first, with two goals within the first five minutes. First Musa took advantage of confusion in the Argentine defense to score his second. Then Rojo made it 3-2 as he got his right knee on a corner kick three minutes.
Both teams continued to chase more goals but the intensity dropped off somewhat as Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella substituted Messi after the hour-mark.
Tens of thousands of Argentine fans had traveled to Porto Alegre for the match, taunting Brazilian spectators by singing ''Maradona is greater than Pele'' at the 44,000-capacity Beira-Rio Stadium.
The Brazilians booed and held up five fingers to remind the Argentines of how many World Cups they've won. Argentina has two.


Released Sudanese Christian woman faces 2 new charge

Watch this video

A Sudanese Christian woman who was sentenced to die for refusing to renounce her faith -- and then released -- has been charged on two criminal counts after trying to leave the African country for the United States, her legal team said Wednesday.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, who was detained with her American husband, Daniel Wani, and their two children at an airport in Khartoum on Tuesday, is accused of traveling with falsified documents and giving false information, according to her legal team.
The family is currently being held in a Khartoum police station and has been refused bail.
Ibrahim's legal team told CNN that Daniel Wani is being held as an accessory.
The family was stopped at the airport after what Ibrahim's lawyers described Tuesday as an alleged "irregularity with her documentation."
Ibrahim has a U.S. visa and was headed to the United States with her family, her legal team said.
The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that Ibrahim and her family had been "temporarily detained at the airport" for questioning over issues relating to their travel and documentation.
"They have not been arrested. The government has assured us of their safety," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said then.
Harf said that the U.S. Embassy "has been and will remain highly involved in working with the family and the government," saying "we are engaging directly with Sudanese officials to secure their safe and swift departure from Sudan."
Sudanese authorities said Ibrahim had been detained because of the documents she submitted.
Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services said that she had South Sudanese travel documents, despite not being a citizen of South Sudan, and she was heading to the United States, which is not her native country.
"This was considered illegal by the Sudanese authorities, who have summoned both the U.S. and South Sudanese ambassadors," the agency said in a message posted on its media Facebook page early Wednesday.
The airport detention came a day after Ibrahim's legal team announced the 27-year-old woman had been released from prison after weeks of international controversy over her conviction on apostasy and adultery charges.
According to her lawyer, the case began when one of Ibrahim's relatives, a Muslim, filed a criminal complaint saying her family was shocked to find out she had married Wani, a Christian, after she was missing for several years.
The Sudanese court considered Ibrahim a Muslim because her father was Muslim, but she said she was a Christian and never practiced Islam. She was charged with adultery, because a Muslim woman's marriage to a Christian man is illegal in Sudan, and with apostasy, accused of illegally renouncing what was alleged to be her original faith.

'Game of Thrones:' Now Queen Elizabeth eyes up hot seat

Watch this videoLook out Lannisters ... Windsor is coming.
Queen Elizabeth came face to face with royalty of a very different kind when she met the cunning Cersei -- otherwise known as actress Lena Headey -- on a visit to the "Game of Thrones" set in Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
The monarch and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, were touring Belfast when they called in at the sound stage where the hit show -- famed for its violent scenes and frequent nudity -- is filmed.
"Game of Thrones" showrunner David Benioff and writer and producer Daniel Weiss guided the royal party around the Paint Hall studio in the city's Titanic Quarter.
During the visit, the Queen met the show's prop and costume makers and set designers, as well as actors Kit Harrington (Jon Snow), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Conleth Hill (Lord Varys) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark).

The Queen was spotted looking with interest at the Iron Throne, supposedly forged from the swords of defeated warriors -- but chose not to sit down and put her feet up.
Instead, she was offered a small model of the saga's famous seat as a souvenir.
It is not clear if Queen Elizabeth or any of the royal family are fans of the award-winning HBO show, which is screened around the world.
"Game of Thrones" has been filmed in Northern Ireland since 2009, contributing millions of dollars to the local economy during the past five years, providing thousands of jobs, and encouraging tourism to a region once bitterly divided by sectarian violence.
Season four of the critically-acclaimed fantasy drama recentlyconcluded in typically gory fashion; fifth and sixth seasons are planned.

Eagles’ $2m demand shocks Senate President

President of the Senate, David Mark

Senate President, David Mark, got a taste of the national team camp when he held a meeting with the Super Eagles in Campinas just before their opening match against Iran in Group F of the 2014 World Cup on Monday.
Mark led the Federal Government delegation to the World Cup in Brazil.
Our correspondent learnt that Mark had demanded to hear the players’ grievances with the aim of settling the rift between them and the Nigeria Football Federation over their bonus. The players allegedly asked Mark to pay them $2m immediately from the $8m the NFF was expecting from FIFA for the first round matches since he was the third in authority in Nigeria and representing the President. The players maintained that they should get 25 per cent of the money.
The players insisted that they must receive their money before their match against Iran, which eventually ended 0-0 in Curitiba.
When it became obvious that the players were not moved by his presence, the Senate President allegedly became angry. It was learnt that after the players had spoken that their coach, Stephen Keshi, who apologised to the FG delegation and the NFF members at the meeting.
Our correspondent learnt that Keshi’s apology was received half-heartedly by Mark and the NFF officials led by Aminu Maigari as they had expected him to step in much earlier.
“Keshi did apologise but that was met with subdued hisses from those at the meeting,” an official, who pleaded anonymity, said.
The FIFA money fight is a carryover from their USA camp as they had put the NFF on notice over the money before agreeing to board the flight to Brazil.
Fight over money is not new to this set of Eagles. Last year they arrived in Brazil late for the FIFA Confederations Cup after embarking on a strike in Namibia over match bonus

Bomb Explosion Hits Adamawa Market



A bomb explosion has occurred at the Kasuwan Kuturu market, in the Mubi area of Adamawa State late Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria quotes the Adamawa Commissioner of Police, John Abakasanga, as saying the explosion targeted a police patrol team.
He said there were no reported casualties from the blast.
Adamawa is one of the three states under emergency rule due to the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.
Move details to follow as police and military officials investigate the bombing site.

Explosion reported at popular Emab Plaza in Abuja, at least 6 killed

EFCC Press Release: Fake GLO Ambassador Bags 2 Years Jail Term



Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Gombe today sentenced one Khalil Ahmed Bappa, 29, who claims to be a GLO Ambassador, to 24 months imprisonment for fraudulently extorting goods and money worth N267, 000 from a female student of Bayero University, Kano, Yusra Ali Babakusa, with assurances of making her a Glo Ambassador.
Khalil who has been standing trial on charges bordering on obtaining by false pretences surprisingly changed his plea midway by pleading guilty to the 2-count charge.
Troubles for Khalil  started sometime in 2012 when he presented himself as a GLO agent and promised to help Yusra become a GLO Ambassador through his contacts at the  Communication’s company. The convict had forwarded a code number to Yusra with assurances that she would soon be called up as one of the eventual winners and ambassador. Subsequently, Khalil instructed her to send some money to him to facilitate the process. The accused person further told her to prepare for an interview trip to GLO head office in Lagos as her name had been selected; a journey Khalil said had been paid for by GLO (accommodation and return flight ticket).
On the expected day of the journey, Khalil prompted her to wait for him, but stopped answering her calls after a while and eventually switched off his phone. It was when she made numerous attempts to reach him but failed, that she realized she had been conned.
Justice Umar sentenced the convict to 12 months imprisonment without an option of fine on each of the counts. The sentence would however run concurrently from the date of arrest.
The court also ordered the convict to restitute his victim before the completion of his jail term and release from prison detention.  

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

#WorldCup 2014: Goodluck Jonathan celebrates Super Eagles victory [PHOTO]

How Goodluck Jonathan watched the Nigeria-Bosnia match [PHOTO]-6How Goodluck Jonathan watched the Nigeria-Bosnia match [PHOTO]-1How Goodluck Jonathan watched the Nigeria-Bosnia match [PHOTO]-4How Goodluck Jonathan watched the Nigeria-Bosnia match [PHOTO]-8How Goodluck Jonathan watched the Nigeria-Bosnia match [PHOTO]-10Goodluck Jonathan

The Super Eagles last night (June 21, 2014) defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina with a lone strike from Osaze Odemwingie. As expected, Nigerians were more than thrilled (and relieved) to see Stephan Keshi‘s boys bag their first three points. 

The number citizen of the country can only join in the celebration – President Goodluck Jonathan was pictured along with some of his aides watching the late night match in the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja. 

The photos were posted by Presidential Spokesman, Reuben Abati,...