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- Charly Boy Relocates To Imo State from Abuja
- Seyi Edun Deals With A Social Media Troll She Met At A Movie Location
- Moyo Lawal’s Review Of Game Of Thrones
- Yung6ix finally Identifies as Cultist as he joins Black Axe Confraternity for their Annual Event
- Cubana Night Club Begins Construction Of Night Club In Lagos
- Shatta Wale – has always been my wish to complete my university education
- Olamide and Eniola Badmus appointed to support Governor Elect in Ogun State
- Facebook,Dream Factory open computer lab in CapeTown
- Farmcrowdy Group partners Livestock 247 to boost trading In Nigeria
- Google's AI research lab in Ghana to solve real-world problems
- Three policemen, four others sentenced to death for kidnapping
- I’m vindicated about Atiku’s birth place, says Nnamdi Kanu
- Kogi APC stakeholders seek leaders’ intervention
- APC to Wike: leave Amaechi alone
- ‘Why PDP can’t bounce back in Plateau’
- Lagos PDP governorship candidate, party trade words over campaign fund
- Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai Joins Kizz Daniel's #FvckYouChallenge
- Court frees Ozubulu massacre suspects
- Man proposes to his physically challenged girlfriend of 17 years
- El-Rufai and challenges of consolidation
- Bodies of two Benue State University students which drowned in River Benue have been recovered
- Crazy bills era set to end
- FAAN threatens to withdraw services
- Man taught a bitter lesson by his girlfriend after she poured hot water on him
- Notre Dame Cathedral ‘saved from total destruction’
| Charly Boy Relocates To Imo State from Abuja Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:00 AM PDT
The activist also known as 'Area Fada' told reporters in Owerri yesterday that the decision to relocate was to turn his searchlight and support to Imo governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha, before and during his administration. The maverick entertainer disclosed that he purposely relocated from Abuja to his home because he was not allowed to express himself freely in Abuja by prohibitive forces. His words: "I am back to Imo State, my home, to beam my searchlight on Ihedioha's administration. You know Imo people have suffered since the last eight years." Oputa noted that he would ensure the success of Ihedioha when he fully comes on board from May 29. According to him, his group, other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), retirees and other frustrated Imo people would storm Ihedioha's residence during the week to ask him how he intends to ensure that numerous unemployed persons in the state have jobs. He warned the governor-elect to be mindful of the major pitfalls of the Rochas Okorocha administration. Charly Boy, however, expressed reservations on some people in the Transition Technical Committee (TTC) and the Inauguration Committee of the governor-elect. He advised Ihedioha to be careful in order not to make further mistakes. He said he assumed the presidency of Association of Frustrated Nigerians (AFN) because there were too many Nigerians who had been suffering that needed help. In This Story: #CharlyBoy #Relocates #Imo #State #Abuja Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Seyi Edun Deals With A Social Media Troll She Met At A Movie Location Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:30 AM PDT
Turns out Karma visited the troll when Seyi bumped into her at a movie location… she then vent vengeance on her for her past. Seyi Edun is seen in a video she shared, telling an upcoming actress Adewale Kofoworolaa, to kneel down for bullying her on Instagram. She accused the upcoming actress of bullying her on Instagram where she said 'where Seyi Edun won see Belle una Don forget say she be Lord of the ring' in the comment section of her post. Acknowledging the apologies of the lady she met at a movie location, the Nollywood actress wrote; To every bully who hide under the internet to say all sorts of things to celebrities/public figure ,i hope you know you are inheriting curses and also your offence is punishable under the law,desist from such acts before you meet your Waterloo. Kofoworolaa on the other hand wrote; I apologize for what i said to @i_am_shai on Instagram that "where seyi edun won see Belle una Don forget say she be Lord of the ring " please forgive me it won't repeat itself again. In This Story: #SeyiEdun #SocialMedia #Troll #Movie #Location Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Moyo Lawal’s Review Of Game Of Thrones Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:00 AM PDT
 According to the actress, she's quite shocked when she finally watched the series and can't link the source of viewers excitement from the movie.  In This Story: #MoyoLawal #Review #GameOfThrones Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Yung6ix finally Identifies as Cultist as he joins Black Axe Confraternity for their Annual Event Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:30 PM PDT
This shocking update is coming to light two years after Yung6ix denied involvement in cultism. In This Story: #Yung6ix #Identifies #Cultist #BlackAxe #Confraternity #AnnualEvent Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Cubana Night Club Begins Construction Of Night Club In Lagos Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:00 PM PDT
The chairman of Cubana, Obi Iyiegbu and executive director, Cubana_chiefpriest who own a popular nite club in Imo state, are building another in ikeja, Lagos. He made this known on his social media with caption; 40%…. @obi_cubana The Man With Naija Hospitality, Entertainment, Enjoyment N NiteLife Master Plan…Anticipate � Another 1 #CubanaChiefPriest #CelebrityBarMan #MyOwerri.  In This Story: #Cubana #Night #Club #Construction #Night #Club #Lagos Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Shatta Wale – has always been my wish to complete my university education Posted: 16 Apr 2019 10:30 PM PDT
He dropped the emotional post, adding that commonwealth instantly enrolled him and gave him a graduation certificate. He revealed this following the reception he got from Alma Mata, University of Ghana, Legon. He tweeted; It has always been my wish to complete my uni but last night #VANDALS in legon commonwealth instantly enrolled me and gave me a graduation certificate !!! In This Story: #ShattaWale #wish #complete #University #education Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Olamide and Eniola Badmus appointed to support Governor Elect in Ogun State Posted: 16 Apr 2019 10:00 PM PDT
Eniola and Olamide's name appeared among the Commerce and Industry sub-committee by the incoming governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun.  The list was released by the governor-elect who will be taking oath of office in a few weeks time as Ogun state governor. The billionaire businessman released the names of the individuals who'll be working in his economic transition committee as seen on his Instagram page below. In This Story: #Olamide #EniolaBadmus #Appointment #Support #Governor #Elect #OgunState Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Facebook,Dream Factory open computer lab in CapeTown Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:22 AM PDT
Maselle was last year selected as one of three South African fellows of the Facebook Community Leadership Programme, a global initiative that invests in people who are building communities using Facebook's tools and platforms. She received a $50,000 grant from Facebook to be used for her community initiative, 'Salt River High Tutoring'. Maselle says: "I am happy to have this opportunity to give something back to my school. It is wonderful that learners at Salt River High School will have access to tools and resources that will prepare them for the future of science, innovation, digital technology and engineering." Maselle, who is currently in college, tutors 20-plus learners from her school in mathematics, science and computers. She also spearheaded a gardening and recycling project with her school's principal. Her skills in science, math and information technology were self-taught, and she has dedicated her spare time to sharing her knowledge with her peers. The Dream Lab is a creative and inspirational space where the learners will develop their skills and knowledge and achieve their dreams through tools such as coding, robotics, programming, virtual reality, and computer engineering. This is the first time the school has had a fully equipped computer lab. "Supporting communities and empowering local leaders is core to our mission. We are delighted to partner with a community leader with Nadine's level of commitment, enthusiasm and vision for making a difference to her community," says Anna Bofa, Head of Community Partnerships, Global Programs at Facebook. "The energy she shows as she balances her tutoring work with her own studies is truly inspirational." In This Story:#NadineMaselle #SaltRiverHighTutoring #AnnaBofa #FacebookCommunity Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Farmcrowdy Group partners Livestock 247 to boost trading In Nigeria Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:18 AM PDT
This partnership is following the recent launch of the commodity aggregator platform by Farmcrowdy Group an umbrella company established to build agritech solutions that will enable the achievement of food security, sustainability and the growth of Agriculture in Africa. The partnership between Livestock247.com, Farmgate Africa and the Farmcrowdy Group as a whole will deepen the offerings in the agricultural space in terms of proper organization and profitable deployment of funds to key areas of production and trading. On the production end, Farmcrowdy has partnered with Livestock247.com in piloting its first ever cattle feedlot in Adamawa State. The first phases have been quite successful and this sees the businesses scaling production to over 24,000 bulls with about 1,200 feedlot clusters in the North East, North West and Southern parts of Nigeria operating through feedlot systems. On the trading end, Farmgate Africa has anchored the relationship that sees Livestock247.com trading in excess of 20,000 bulls in over 10 abattoirs in Lagos for FY2019 alone. According to Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu, Co-Founder and CEO of Livestock247.com, Lagos slaughters over 6000 cows a day, being the largest consuming livestock market in sub-Saharan Africa. in production, our target is to produce in excess of 24,000 bulls through 1,200 feedlot clusters in the next one year. Livestock247.com provides a platform for buyers of livestock to purchase traceable and fit for slaughter livestock from anywhere and at any time without inconveniences The platform also gives sellers of livestock a borderless reach and access to market 24/7. In addition, it gives Veterinary professionals access to livestock owners for disease surveillance and epidemiology and provides financial service providers with an opportunity to fund investments in the livestock sector. Speaking about how the partnership will strengthen Farmgate Africa's plans to grow the market-access for farmers and buyers, Kenneth Obiajulu, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Farmgate Africa said, "Our goal has always been to collaborate with relevant partners in the agribusiness space to deliver value for both smallholder farmers and major processors/buyers. With our livestock portfolio, we have received substantial orders from notable key accounts that require bulls which meets with specific criteria. Our vision is a shared one with Livestock247.com, and this sees us developing the marketing together both from a production and marketing point". Ibrahim also says that the Livestock247.com vision is to mitigate the spread of animal to human disease transmission by ensuring that only traceable and Fit-for-Slaughter Livestock is traded, exchanged, processed and consumed by all. "The outcome of the partnership with Farmgate Africa and the Farmcrowdy Group as well, will afford potential customers the ability to buy quality, traceable and fit for slaughter livestock, empower livestock farmers through the feedlot programme, respond to the call by the Federal Government to key into the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) through intensification of livestock production, change the narrative by providing an alternative to nomadic pastoralism which has been a source of conflicts around Nigeria, create more job opportunities and provide veterinary professionals, haulage companies, ruminant feed producers with more activities." The Group CEO of Farmcrowdy Group (FCG), Onyeka Akumah expressed his delight at the partnership while stating that Farmgate Africa is already creating huge strides in the Cattle business with an exclusive partner like Livestock247. In Onyeka's words, "we can't build an entire ecosystem for Agriculture in Nigeria alone. We have our strengths when we are building solutions with technology, but to build an ecosystem requires strong partnerships with stakeholders who are experts in their domain. So, this is the reason why a partnership with Livestock 247 is exciting for the entire Farmcrowdy Group and specifically for Farmgate Africa – our Aggregator Platform for Agro-commodities". Livestock247.com has covered production operations across 8 states in Nigeria including; Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Osun, and Abuja and will commence trading in Abuja, Rivers and Enugu state respectively. Farmgate Africa will allow everyday Nigerians to fund the process of buying and selling what farmers are producing. This will give every farmer that has produced high-quality bulls, the opportunity to sell to major buyers through Livestock247.com or Farmgate Africa Platforms. In This Story:#OnyekaAkumah #FarmCrowdyGroup #IbrahimMaigariAhmadu #KennethObiajulu Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Google's AI research lab in Ghana to solve real-world problems Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:13 AM PDT  Google has opened an Artifical Intelligence research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, the first of its kind in Africa. The new lab will use AI to develop solutions in healthcare, education and agriculture such as helping to diagnose certain types of crop disease. The centre will also focus on enhancing Google Translate's ability to capture African languages more precisely. While hosting engineers and researchers together to work on AI-dedicated projects. Google says it will partner with local universities and institutions as well as policy-makers to develop AI in Africa. In a statement, Google said, "AI has great potential to positively impact the world, and more so if the world is well represented in the development of new AI technologies. So it makes sense to us that the world should be well represented in the development of AI." "We're excited to combine our research interests in AI and machine learning and our experience in Africa to push the boundaries of AI while solving challenges in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, and education," the company said. Google first announced plans to open the AI research in Accra in 2018. The Google AI Accra forms part of its structured efforts to explore and integrate more diverse experiences and learnings beyond present-day centres of innovation. The company opened similar research centres in cities around the world including Tokyo, Zurich, New York and Paris. In This Story:#Google #AIDevelopedSolutions #AccraForms Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Three policemen, four others sentenced to death for kidnapping Posted: 16 Apr 2019 10:57 AM PDT
The other 4 convicts include a woman hired by the gang for N50, 000 to cook for the victim – Deaconess Ime Anietie Ekanem, while they negotiated for her ransom. The state instituted Suit No HU/13c/2012 against 8 members of the gang in 2012. They are: CPL Emmanuel Charlie, Ekaette Edet Moses, Fidelis Emmanson Jeremiah, Cpl Bassey Sunday (377812), PC Mfon Bassey (478463), Ndu Okon Johnny, Unyime Edem Etukakpan, and Itohowo Godwin Akpakwa. They were convicted on all 3 count charges of Conspiracy to commit felony, Kidnapping, and Counseling, aiding and Sponsoring kidnapping. According to the confessional statement of the 8th accused, Mrs Itohowo Akpakwa, which was admitted as exhibit, she confessed to visiting her friend in a Bar at Idakeyop Aka where she gave the 7th accused – Unyime Edem Etukakpan money to buy medicine for his ill health. Though Akpakwa denied knowledge of the plot to kidnap her friend and neighbour, no fewer than 3 other members of the gang told the court that they did not know her name at the time she visited the final meeting at Aka. They insisted that she was the one who identified her friend and gave direction to her house in Obio Etoi village, Uyo. It was learnt that the victim was dragged out of the Toyota Sienna Car driven by the husband, in front of the family house at about 6.30 p.m and whisked away in a Volvo Wagon Car to Afaha Udoeyop in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA where she was kept, under armed guards, in an isolated building pending agreement and payment of Ransom. The anti-kidnapping unit of the state CID swung into action as telephone negotiations between the kidnappers and the victim's husband brought down the initial demand from more than twenty million naira (N20m) to about N1.8 million to be paid on 2 instalments. Plain clothed operatives of the State CID were shocked to discover that the first 2persons who approached the Afaha Ibesikpo Market square venue for the ransom delivery were their colleagues at the state CID. Shortly after the encounter, the change in venue for the delivery of the ransom was relayed to the husband of the victim by phone. The police investigation report indicated that after changing venue thrice, the first instalment of N800, 000 was delivered at Itam, in another LGA. From the totality of the evidence before the Court, it was observed that the gang might have gotten away with the crime had the proceed been equitably shared. It was also revealed that serious disagreement in the sharing formula led to friction. Consequently, a member of the gang, who at the time of sharing, was in the Uyo Prison on a different criminal matter, returned home to discover that he was shortchanged. He then gave details of the plot and how it was carried out to the police, and later became the star witness for the State. The 8th and only accused who escaped the capital punishment, Mrs Itohowo Akpakwa- a staff of the University of Uyo, was earlier granted bail. Samuel Ikpo Esq of counsel to Mrs Akpakwa had insisted that there was no reason his client should languish in prison when there is no direct evidence linking her to the commission of the alleged crime. Her bail was secured when Ikpo successfully argued that in the absence of a prima facie evidence against his client, it became baseless and punitive to curtail her freedom. Inspite of persistent argument to the contrary by Eyo Asuquo Esq for the state, insisting that Mrs Akpakwa is the 'woman' mentioned by other suspects, the court was not persuaded, and therefore had no grounds to deny her bail. Reviewing arguments on both sides, the court noted that evidence of most suspects was that the woman who attended their meeting at Aka before the kidnap operation was the one who identified the victim and also supplied information about her residence and movement. It noted that 2 state witnesses (policemen) also confirmed to the court that they heard from suspects that the 8th accused supplied information and also identified the victim. Justice (Mrs.) Joy Unwana echoed the position of Samuel Ikpo who pointed out that hearsay evidence by state witnesses must not only be discountenanced but that of other suspects who did not mention the name of his client. Furthermore, the court was convinced by his position that in the failure of police to conduct Identification Parade to give other suspects the opportunity to identify the 'woman' they allegedly saw, his client cannot be declared as the 'woman' in question. The court was of the view that there was no grounds to convict Mrs Akpakwa, and accordingly discharged and acquited her. On the other hand, convinced that the state has successfully proven beyond reasonable doubt, the 3 count charges, the other 7 were convicted. In This Story:#SamuelIkpo #UnyimeEdemEtukakpan #JoyUnwana #ItohowoGodwinAkpakwa. Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| I’m vindicated about Atiku’s birth place, says Nnamdi Kanu Posted: 16 Apr 2019 10:28 AM PDT
Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has said the claim by All Progressives Congress (APC) to the effect that presidential candidate of People's Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is not a Nigerian but a Cameroonian has vindicated him. Addressing his members through his broadcast on Radio Biafra, Kanu said: "The headline 'Atiku Is Not a Nigerian, APC Tells Tribunal' is vindication that everything I say on Radio Biafra is the truth. It may appear outlandish and unbelievable at first, but eventually, history always vindicates me. "As everyone can see very clearly, it is unambiguously stated that for you to become the president of Nigeria, you must be born a Nigerian. Simply put, your birth certificate or any official notation must say clearly that you are a Nigerian. As at the time Atiku was born, his citizenship on his birth certificate read Cameroonian". He described the 1999 Constitution as amended as clearly defective because those who crafted it were neither philosophers, social scientists, thinkers nor constitutional experts. According to Kanu, the argument by some people that if Atiku was a Cameroonian, he could have been the Comptroller of Customs and Vice President will not hold water as Section 131(a) of the Constitution was clear on who should be the president of the country. He said that "The incontrovertible truth is that His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar the former Vice President of Nigeria for eight years, became a Nigerian by virtue of the referendum of the 11th of February 1961. "He was not born a Nigerian and as such, he became a Nigerian as a result of the British organised plebiscite held in British Cameroons to give the people of Adamawa, where Atiku comes from, the opportunity to choose where they would like to belong. "When I first raised this issue, which incidentally has been ignored by all arms of government including INEC whose duty it is to ensure that candidates meet all stipulated constitutional requirements, it was not to insinuate or imply that Atiku is not a Nigerian, but rather to highlight the very constitutionally critical point at the heart of IPOB agitation for Biafra independence; which is that asking for a referendum is never a crime in any law known to man. "Therefore if Adamawa people can be allowed to freely choose where they wish to belong, then justice and equity dictate that we the people of Biafra must be allowed to do the same. This point that is lost on Justice Binta Nyako and numerous other semi-literate judges handling IPOB cases today in Nigerian courts. While lambasting Atiku's defence team over what he described as their weak and porous argument that if Atiku was not a Nigerian he wouldn't have become Nigeria's vice-president, lived, invested and paid tax in the country for years as a citizen, the IPOB leader said by virtue of relevant section of Nigeria, anybody born in Adamawa between 1946 when Atiku was born to 1960, was not qualified to contest election as president of Nigeria. "This is a wholly unnecessary digression that failed to address the constitutional question of the place of birth as a key qualification for anybody seeking to become the president of Nigeria. That Atiku was the Vice President is not the issue at hand but rather his suitability as defined by the constitution of Nigeria. "With this ridiculous born in Nigeria requirement, nobody born in present-day Adamawa before 1961 or those of us born in Biafra from 1967 to 1970 can ever vie for the office of the president of Nigeria. "Atiku Abubakar was born on November 25, 1946, in Jada, now Adamawa State, then in Northern Cameroon, was a citizen of Cameroon but now a Nigerian by plebiscite. This information has always been in the public domain. What I did was just to flag it. "The only part that can be said that I pioneered is that "Atiku became a Nigerian citizen by the sheer force of Referendum which is what I want for Biafra. I wanted to prove to some ignorant Nigerians and their quack judges that asking for a referendum is not a treasonable felony," the IPOB leader said. In This Story:#AtikuAbubakar #INEC #BintaNyako #IPOB #NnamdiKanu #BiafraLeader Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Kogi APC stakeholders seek leaders’ intervention Posted: 16 Apr 2019 08:56 AM PDT
The stakeholders, under the auspices of Kogi Rescue Group, on the heels of last week's announcement by the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) of November 2 date for the governorship election in the Confluence State. In a statement by Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed Idah, they cautioned against using the results of the recently conducted general elections to rate the APC in the state, adding that only the presidential election, which was won by President Muhammadu Buhari, truly reflected the ruling party's status in the state. The statement reads: "The question is what the status of APC in Kogi State today? During the general elections, it won seven House of Representatives out of nine in the state. "It lost West senatorial and two seats of the House in the National Assembly Elections, while the ADC and the PDP won the two seats in the House of Representatives in Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopa Amuro and Kabba Bunu/Ijumu Federal constituencies. APC, however, won in Lokoja/Koto Fedral Constitueny. President Muhammadu Buhari also won the election in the state. "In the State Assembly election, the APC won all the 25 seats available. The State Assembly Elections were allegedly marred by serious violence and there were guns everywhere. Fake army in SARS uniform were used by thugs to intimidate voters. "Money was also allegedly used to buy the unwilling voters. We are sure if the elections were free and fair, the results would have been different from what we have now. "In the elections, only the national elections were said to be free and determined on the basis of who was the candidate and not the party. The people voted for individuals that they know have doe well within the communities and cared less about the party platform they contested on." The stakeholders described as unfortunate that Governor Yahaya Bello has frustrated every effort made to genuinely reconcile aggrieved members of the party since he took the saddle as beneficiary of the Audu/Faleke election declared inconclusive by the INEC. Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC was leading the then incumbent Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with over 41,000 votes and the areas where elections were cancelled/or not conducted had 22,000 voters that had the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). The group described as strange that the electoral umpire declared the poll as inconclusive and ordered a makeup election when a clear winner had emerged on the first ballot. "As at that time, if all outstanding votes were given to the PDP free of charge, Audu/Faleke ought to have still been declared winner. But the powers that be denied democracy to prevail. This was the beginning of inconclusive elections by the INEC", they said. The elders said that rather than incorporate members of the Audu/Faleke team that ensured victory for the APC, "Governor Yahaya Bello, who is the beneficiary, appointed council chairmen, commissioners, SSG, SA and SSA all from PDP, who worked against the success of the APC. "Remember that about three reconciliatory committees were set up and all the three met with Faleke and his team but GYB (Governor Yahaya Bello) rebuffed the committees and nothing came out of the reports. "The NWC on its part must as a matter of urgency call the old warring factions of Hon James Faleke-led group and that of GYB to a roundtable and agree on the way forward for the party in the state. "This is the major consideration to bring to the table if the APC must win the forthcoming governorship election and subsequent elections." They warned the party against relying on intimidation of the electorate to retain the state as the voters had been politically educated to cast their ballot for individuals and no longer parties. According to them, the National Assembly Election in the Kogi West Senatorial District, which the APC lost attested to this fact. They said: "A very good exception of the above was that of the West Senatorial election, where the government of Yahaya Bello had turned Senator Dino Melaye to a household name with all the court cases and lack of good governance at home. "He made the people to have sympathy for Melaye and at the same time show anger against his government. Melaye was not particularly loved due to his role inthe annulment of the election that would have seen his kinsman become the first Okun man to be governor which the senator never wanted to happen. "Thus his victory at the senatorial election was because there was no alternative candidate that was credible to face Senator Smart Adeyemi and Yahaya Bello. The people thus opted for the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend adage' so the people voted against GYB not for Melaye, who was just the beneficiary of the protest vote. "The winning formula for the APC in the next governorship is if true, purposeful and satisfactory reconciliation is done before the party primaries. "The party must call Hon James Faleke, who inherited the Audu political structure and sustained it over the years, prevail on him and his team." The Kogi Rescue Group said it has become important for genuine reconciliation to take place. "Remove Hon James Faleke from the equation and APC will be served the Adamawa and Bauchi dishes," the group said. In This Story:#YahayaBello #DinoMelaye #INEC #JamesFaleke #MuhammaduBuhari #AbubakarAudu #IdrisWada Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| APC to Wike: leave Amaechi alone Posted: 16 Apr 2019 08:44 AM PDT
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Chukwuemeka, has told Governor Nyesom Wike to leave Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi alone. Wike, after last week's Supreme Court judgments, pleaded with Amaechi and other APC chieftains to join him to develop the state. He promised that court cases against APC members would be discontinued. But Eze, in a statement yesterday, said: "Wike's broadcast, among other deficiencies, failed to address the critical issues bedevilling the state, especially insecurity and loss of value for human lives. The starting point for the governor ought to have been an unreserved apology to the people because he engineered the insecurity which has destroyed many communities. "Contrary to the erroneous impression contained in Wike's broadcast, Amaechi has no case that Wike's Attorney-General has to withdraw or recommend to be discontinued, as it is hypocritical to sit on a seat of the governor unjustly and look for who to hold peace parley with. "Neither the Transportation Minister nor the APC is the cause of the current bad governance in Rivers State. Wike, through his lack of vision and ineptitude, has turned the once economically bubbling, secure and peaceful state into a hotbed of cultism, killings, kidnapping and an unsafe haven. Persons who are responsible for the criminal activities are those who the governor and PDP are backing and protecting." Chukwuemeka added that rather than waste time on empty broadcast, Wike should be preparing his defence at the tribunal "because the manipulated and massively-rigged elections would not stand". He added: "It is sad that instead of Wike to address challenging issues confronting the people, he is dwelling so much on the crisis he ignited in Rivers APC, to his benefit. "While Wike was holding his state broadcast, medical doctors were protesting their unpaid seven-month salaries. Pensioners and civil servants are at a loss on who to present their plight of unpaid pensions and salaries months to." The chieftain restated that pursuance of peace without social justice, mapping of strategies on job creation and elimination of hunger, amelioration of the plights of the civil servants, pensioners and most importantly strategies on restoration of security in Rivers State, would not bring about the desired results. In This Story:#NyesomWike #RotimiAmaechi #EzeChukwuemeka #APC Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| ‘Why PDP can’t bounce back in Plateau’ Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:54 AM PDT
It was a two-man contest between Governor Simon Lalong of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Jeremiah Useni of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Why was it so? It was simply because the two parties are the ones that have elected representatives at various levels; I mean both of them have members in the state House of Assembly, they have members at the Senate and the House of Representatives. So, the two parties are the major contenders in the contest. Remember before the advent of the APC, the PDP was the only party known in this state. So, it was like a battle between the party that was in power, lost the power and is battling to return to power versus the APC that is in power at the moment. While the PDP was trying to come back to power in the state, the APC wanted to consolidate. At the end of the battle, the people decided to give power to the person they preferred, which is Governor Lalong of the APC. There are other governorship candidates representing other political parties, but their parties are not as popular as the APC and the PDP. Again, it might be the preference of the voters to reduce their choice for governorship to two, hence they had the APC and the PDP candidates to chose from and between the two, the people has demonstrated their preference for the APC. This boils down to the people's choice; that is the beauty of democracy, the people's choice must prevail. In other parts of the country, voters don't even look at the parties, they looked at the personalities and so you see people making their choice of candidate outside the APC and the PDP. At the end of the day, it's people choice. In Plateau State Lalong was the people's choice. What do you think are Governor Lalong's attributes that endeared him to voters? In the first place, Governor Lalong is humane, humble and he is a God-fearing man. His kind of humility is unparalleled, his nature is such that does not want to hurt a fly, not to talk of a human being. He came with a mindset to be fair to all residents of the state, irrespective of political leaning, ethnic, political or religious background. He is at home with everyone and that personal attributes reflected positively in his style of administration in the last four years. The administration that ruled the state before him was the type that did a lot to elevate one tribe above others in their policies and programmes and such ethnic politics caused major divisions among the multi-ethnic population of the state. But, when Lalong took over, he made it a deliberate policy to eradicate ethnic divisions and tried to bring the people together as equals. He made everyone equal stakeholder in the state and that alone endeared him to the people. Secondly, Governor Lalong has kept his electioneering promises to the people. As soon as he took over the mantle of leadership in 2015, he made wide consultations with the people to find out their areas of priorities and at the end he came up with what we called the "5-Pillar Policy" of the administration. It is a kind of developmental blueprint that guides the government in addition to the promises he made to the people. That was why, if you take the issue of welfare of the people, for example, Lalong is second to none. He did not only make salary payments regular, he also made sure that he cleared backlog of salary arrears. In fact, he came into office when workers were on strike and he promptly promised that he was going to pay the backlog and he has not disappointed them. The payment of salaries alone made the entire state happy because even those that are not civil servants were happy because those who collect salaries patronise them and money is always in circulation. You can imagine a government that releases at least N2.5 billion into the state every month through salary payments. Definitely, it will impact on the economy of the state and petty traders, artisans, farmers usually feel the impact of the money in circulation. If you realise the economic impact of one month salary no government can afford to delay salary payments because that salary touches on every aspect of the economy. The local economy has picked up and everybody is pleased with the government. Thirdly, Governor Lalong recalled all civil servants that were sacked by the previous administration and those placed on indefinite suspension. He reinstated them and they were paid their arrears. The unemployed youths also like Governor Lalong, because they have also benefited from the administration through entrepreneurship training. As I'm talking to you, more than 100,000 Plateau youths benefited from the entrepreneurship programme organised by the Plateau State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (PLASMEDA), an agency created by the governor himself. The beneficiaries of this entrepreneurship programme cut across all the 17 local governments. It was another means of job creation because most of these trained youths were equipped with relevant tools for them to start their own businesses. Most of them did well and thereby also employed others on their businesses. So, everywhere in the state, the youths are just singing praises of Lalong. His achievements in the areas of peace and security have also endeared the governor to the people. I can say Governor Lalong brought peace to people. You can only appreciate Lalong's peace initiatives when you think of a period that the state was completely polarised along ethnic and religious lines. Then, there were no-go areas in Jos; where you go depends on your religion or the ethnic group you belong to. But Lalong did well to eradicate that within the first year of his administration. Why will people not like him? More so, he run an all-inclusive government. So, all these and many more really endeared him to the people and eventually made him the number one choice of the people during the election. But, there was gang up against his re-election bid. What do you have to say about that? Yes, there was that gang up against Lalong in the election; the gang up was made up of some elites who felt he did well to deny them access to public funds, as it used to be in previous PDP administrations. You know in the past, these elites lived big on state resources and they don't care if civil servants are paid salaries or not. Such elites never cared if there are provisions of social infrastructure for the benefit of the entire populace. In This Story:#SimeonLalong #YakubuDati #PLASMEDA #PDP Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Lagos PDP governorship candidate, party trade words over campaign fund Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:30 AM PDT  THE leadership of Lagos State People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the party's candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, are embroiled in a war of words over the management of the campaign funds released by the party's presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to the state chapter. The PDP leadership is demanding an apology from Agbaje for sidelining them in the disbursement of campaign funds and logistics for the presidential and governorship elections PDP chieftains said Agbaje's conduct was responsible for the party's abysmal performance. The party spokesman, Mr. Taofik Gani, yesterday alleged that Agbaje sat over the campaign funds and alienated strong members and leaders of the party from the final disbursement for logistics. This action, he said, consequently reflected in the performance of the state PDP during the elections. Agbaje polled 206, 141 votes during the governorship election won by the All Progressives Congress (APC ) governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who scored 739,445 votes. Gani, who visited The Nation office in Lagos yesterday, said: "As the image-maker of the party, I'm still struggling to defend the issues surrounding the disbursement of the election logistics because the action is such that can undermine loyalty, commitment and selflessness to the party. "I will advise Agbaje to accept that he made a big blunder to have unilaterally disbursed logistics provided by the presidential candidate to the extent that not even the state chairman, Dr. Adegbola Dominic or the party leader, Chief Bode George, knew anything about the manner of disbursement. I am also aware that other leaders like Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Mrs. Aduke Maina and Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele were in the dark." But, Agbaje's spokesperson, Mrs. Modupe Ogunbayo, dismissed the allegations made against her principal. According to Mrs. Ogunbayo, "Agbaje sourced for funds and disbursed them to all that were involved in the election process. All the people that participated in the election including party agents and councillors were fully mobilised and funded during the elections. As I speak, many of them are still collecting funds. So, what are they still talking about after the election that has come and gone?" She said: "Agbaje is a noble party man, who will never embark on a road that is inimical to the development of PDP. He is a true democrat, who took part in the party primary and won. He had always abided by the party's rules and regulations. It will not be fair to denigrate him for selfish reasons. We should move beyond this level." She explained that there used to be campaign meetings at Agaje's office at least once in a week, which was always attended by the party's spokesman, Mr. Taofik Gani. According to her, a campaign council headed by Senator Ogunlewe was set up. She listed other members of the council as including Mrs. Maina, Mrs. Adesola Benson, PDP Deputy Chairman Waliu Hassan and the deputy governorship candidate, Mrs. Oluwayemisi Busari, among others. "Apart from that, there is a forum of larger PDP members that meet every Tuesday at Ikeja, where my principal interfaced with stakeholders. They included House of Representatives members and party chieftains. So, anybody who says Agbaje monopolised the party or never carried the leadership along is far from telling the truth. However, Gani said: "The money in question was not near what we knew the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent in Lagos, but that sum was enough to compliment the ready-made votes for PDP in Lagos. The manner of disbursement by Agbaje leaves a lot of doubts." On the implication of Agbaje's unilateral action, Gani said: "The post-governorship election in Lagos PDP is such that the national headquarters of PDP must act swiftly to forestall any complete disaffection for the party. Lagosians were disappointed. Efforts must be made to re-boost the love and confidence of Lagosians in PDP. "I will reiterate that Agbaje should find a forum to publicly apologise to the party for the manner he influenced the last actions on the presidential election. But for the fact that Agbaje was the governorship candidate, one would have hastily declared him as a saboteur in Lagos PDP. I really must commend Alhaji Atiku and hope that he would find solace in many other areas. In This Story:#Taofik #AdesolaBenson #OluwayemisiBusari #AdukeMaina #JimiAgbaje #ModupeOgunbayo #PDP #AtikuAbubakar Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai Joins Kizz Daniel's #FvckYouChallenge Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:30 AM PDT
The governor, who was in the company of a traditional ruler, and other dignitaries, jumped on the Young Jon beat to the delight of many at the event.   The master of ceremony initiated the move by rapping to the the viral beat, before handing over the microphone to el-Rufai. The former minister of FCT was quick to jump on the beat with lyrics from the Nigerian national anthem. The governor, definitely, did not say 'fvck you' at any point in the lyrical stunt. Below is a video of our national anthem on the 'fvck you' beat: In This Story: #KadunaState #Governor #NasirElRufai #KizzDaniel #FvckYouChallenge Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Court frees Ozubulu massacre suspects Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:15 AM PDT
In a ruling that lasted for over three hours, Justice Fidelis Aniukwu ruled that the prosecution counsel was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations leveled against the defendants, Chinedu Akpunonu and Onyebuchi Mbanefo. Unknown gunmen had on August 6, 2017, invaded St Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo local government area of the state and killed no fewer than thirteen persons. The Judge had in December 2018 discharged two out of the four persons arraigned before a high court in November 2017 following the church attack. Justice Aniukwu argued that the prosecution witnesses could not provide any evidence linking the defendants with the murder as alleged. Reacting to the judgement, the defence counsel, Mr. Festus Kayemo SAN, described it as a landmark in view of the accelerated hearing granted by the presiding Judge. Kayemo, represented in court by another counsel, Mr Samuel Echeakputa, however, said he would not be surprised if the judgement would be appealed. "It's the prosecution's right to appeal the judgement. But from what I witnessed in the court today, it will be very difficult for the appeal court to upturn the judgement," he said. One of the defendants, Mr Chinedu Akpunonu, was full of gratitude to God for vindicating him from what he described as an attempt by some persons to smear his reputation. He, however, said he had forgiven his accusers, urging them to join hands to ensure peace reined in the community. He said, "From the beginning, I told my people that I was not involved in the killing. But the Lord gave me victory as a proof that I'm very innocent. "I didn't know I was very important to my people until I saw the excitement in the faces of the crowd that came to court. I've already forgiven all that put hands to put me in prison. "I thank those that stood by me throughout my travail. I also thank my lawyer and the Judge for delivering a fair and sound judgement." Meanwhile, the prosecution counsel, Mr Jay Jay Ezeuko SAN, said he would determine the next step after receiving a copy of the judgement. In This Story:#ChineduAkpunonu #OnyebuchiMbafeno #FestusKayemo #SamuelEcheakputa #FidelisAniukwu Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Man proposes to his physically challenged girlfriend of 17 years Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:00 AM PDT
The man proposed to his physically challenged girlfriend of 17 years with 17 balloons and 17 roses. The excited bride-to-be who shared photos of their engagement on social media, recounted how much they had to fight for their love. She wrote;  "After losing my legs I wasn't sure if we would still be together. I was wondering could you be with me without the legs? Well God well showed me that a true king will love all of my flaws. He said imma make you my Queen. I love you more than I did before, he said you won't ever be able to run out my life. Baby I realized that we were so great for each other he needed me and I needed him and we couldn't give up on each other. We fought hard for our love 17 years of fighting. No matter that after all we had endured the lost of love ones the lost of limbs but he didn't refused to lose anymore time and he decided to never spend another day apart! Baby you surprised me with 17 balloons and 17 roses and I thought that was enough but then you got on your knee, and popped the question! Call me Mrs.Seldon because I said YES !!!!!!" Something about when you placed this ring brought out a different type of security in me this ring doesn't define my love well 17 you obviously been loved by me but thank you for saying with this ring will you be my Queen I want to give you that security and ask you to be the wife to me @john_166_s    In This Story: #Man #proposes #physically #challenged #girlfriend #17 #Years Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| El-Rufai and challenges of consolidation Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:50 AM PDT
What will Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai do differently in his second term? Correspondent ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE examines the challenges that will confront his administration. THE challenges before Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State are as enormous. The challenges are unique, more daunting and they require a lot of deliberate policy actions to tackle them. Aside the burden of delivering the dividends of democracy, like roads, hospitals, potable water, housing and education, El-Rufai has a peculiar burden of security challenges ranging from banditry, kidnapping, ethno-religious crisis and farmer/herder clashes to contend with. But, as daunting as the challenges seems, they are not as tasking as the division that exists among the people of Kaduna State along ethno-religious lines. This is one big challenge that often ignite crisis in the state. Security The government of El-Rufai since inception in 2015 inherited killings in the southern part of the state, occasioned by clashes between farmers and herdsmen. The challenge has since then been a difficult one to address. What stands farmer/herder clashes out in the south, unlike the northern axis is the difference in religion of the actors. The challenge of farmer/herder clash is an age-long one, which had its resolution rested on the shoulders of the community leaders. However, in Southern Kaduna, the crisis assumed a level of monumental destruction of lives and property, because the community leaders could no longer apply the traditional dispute resolution instruments. What makes the dispute resolution between farmers and herders difficult in Jema'a, Kachia, Kajuru and Sanga local government areas, unlike in Zaria, Igabi and Kudan, is because the predominant farmers are the indigenous Christians of southern Kaduna, while herders are predominantly Fulani. Therefore, every clash that claims lives of farmers is seen as an attempt to exterminate the southern Kaduna Christians. It is usually interpreted as a continuation of the Usman Danfodio Jihad of 1804. One factor that may have worsened the situation is the 2011 post-election violence. The crisis, caught some trans-border Fulani herdsmen who were on transit to other African countries in southern Kaduna, where many of them were killed. This led to reprisal attacks several months after. The situation continued until the coming of the current governor in 2015. El-Rufai has though made several efforts to address the situation, ranging from attracting the presence of more security agencies. For instance, a Nigerian Army operations based and a Mobile Police Squadron unit are now located around Kafanchan and Kachia. But, efforts of the governor were interpreted as taking sides with the herdsmen, because El-Rufai himself is incidentally of Fulani extraction. However, while the security approach has worked to a large extent, pockets of such clashes reoccur intermittently during harvest periods. Therefore, the governor has the task of complimenting the security approach with a standing farmer/herder conflict resolution committee under his founded Kaduna Peace Commission. Another disturbing security threat that Governor El-Rufai has to address during his second term in office is the armed banditry and cattle rustling in Birnin-Gwari Local Government. The situation has equally claimed many lives, but unlike, the farmer/herder clashes in southern Kaduna, the Birnin-Gwari situation seems to have defied security approach. In fact, 11 soldiers were killed during a single attack in 2018. The Kamuku Forest of Birnin-Gwari, which connects Niger, Kano, Katsina and Zamfara State has for years comfortably housed the criminals who terrorise all the neighbouring states. At inception, Governor El-Rufai and his colleagues from other states foresaw the danger posed by the forest, a situation which made the Kaduna State governor to raise alarm that it may become another Sambisa, if they fail to pull resources together to root out the criminals. The governors responded and got the Federal Government to deploy the military to the area. But the military effort has apparently not yielded the desired results, as depicted by the recent killings in Zamfara and the unabated cases of kidnapping, killings, robbery and cattle rustling in Birnin-Gwari Local Government of Kaduna State. Governor El-Rufai therefore needs to go back to the drawing board with the security agencies, to device a new means of tackling the menace. There is also the need to fix the the Birnin-Gwari/Kaduna road. The governor needs to do a serious follow up on his recent disclosure that the Federal Government and the Dangote Group have signed a pact to fix the road. Commercial motorists say the present bad condition of the road allows the bandits to have a field-day, by picking travellers for ransom on the road. Just like the Kaduna/Birnin Gwari road, Kaduna/Abuja road has also in the past few years become notorious for kidnapping. Initially, passengers use to dread travelling on the road in the morning hours and in the evening between 6 and 7pm. The situation has worsened, as kidnappers now operate anytime of the day, despite security presence at every U-turn. Report has it that the kidnappers operated everyday in the afternoon last week, until Governor El-Rufai's convoy ran into them during an operation on Wednesday. As wielding the big stick has not really yielded the desired results on Kaduna/Abuja road, the need to adopt the new tactics suggested by one-time Commandant of the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA), General Paul Tarfa, is becoming inevitable. Tarfa had recently suggested that the best way to root out the kidnappers from Kaduna/Abuja highway is by taking the fight to the criminals in the bush. He said: "Since it has been identified that the criminals attack and go into the forest to hibernate, the best thing to do to root them out is take the fight to them in the forest. The forest must be combed; otherwise they will keep on coming back to the road." Unity Unity is, without doubt, the biggest challenge before El-Rufai. This, just like the security challenge, predated the emergence of his government, but the problem has become worse even in the face of effort to address it. The people of Kaduna State are divided, with the River Kaduna separating the state into two main camps: the Christians' south and the Muslim's north. The predominant Christian people of southern Kaduna have no iota of trust in their Hausa Fulani brothers in the northern and central part; the former even accuse the latter of domination. Analysts say the division and mutual suspicion among the people of different faiths became apparent in Kaduna, shortly after the return of civilian rule in 1999. The situation worsened after the shari'a crisis of year 2000 and the Miss World crisis of 2002, when Christians living in the northern part of Kaduna metropolis started relocating to the south and vice versa. Though, El-Rufai has plans to address the wrong settlement pattern of the state capital, the governor needs to do more than that to enjoy the confidence of all, especially now that he and his Deputy-Governor elect, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, are Muslims. Those who know El-Rufai very well say he cares less about ethno-religious background in his appointments. Rather, he pays more attention to the appointee's capacity to deliver on the assigned duty. He confirmed this when justifying the choice of Dr. Balarabe prior to the election. He said: "Government House is neither a church nor mosque. So, we are not coming here to preach, but to work for the people of Kaduna State." He went further to explain that Dr. Hadiza Balarabe's rich credentials stood her out among 32 candidates earlier penciled down for the job. The governor's argument on the choice of Dr. Balarabe has however not changed anything, as far as the people of southern Kaduna are concerned. Though the deputy governor-elect is from Sanga Local Government, which is part of southern Kaduna, but because she is a Muslim they do not see her as one of them. The governor needs to walk his talk by being fair to all, irrespective of their political, religious and ethnic background and ensure equitable distribution of developmental projects and state resources. This is most likely to change the perception of those who openly accuse him of religious bigotry and hatred for the Southern Kaduna Christians. Education No doubt, the administration of Governor El-Rufai has initiated and implemented a lot of reforms in the education sector. It has identified and dealt with the rot in the primary education which, he said, was the faulty foundation responsible for the inherited failure of students at WAEC level. This reform led to the sack of over 21,000 unqualified teachers and the recruitment of about 25,000 qualified ones. Also in the area of school infrastructures, 413 schools have so far been renovated. A set of two-storey primary school buildings, the first of its kind in the state, have been completed at various locations where there was huge population of pupils beyond the existing schools' carrying capacity. These strides and other reforms notwithstanding, the burden before Governor El-Rufai is the need to get hundreds of thousands almajiri children off the streets and return them to the classroom. The government at its inception in 2015 came up with the idea of banning streets begging, but the ban was not properly enforced. Now is the time to enforce the ban, especially on school-age children. If the almajiri children are taken back to the classrooms, it will prevent them from being ready tools in the hands of criminals. Health For the health sector, there is a big challenge for the administration in its second term. The challenge is however not insurmountable, especially now that there is high hope that the government will be able to secure the $350million loan it was granted by the World Bank last year. The loan could not be accessed by the state because the three senators from Kaduna State opposed it on the floor of the Senate. But now, El-Rufai's men have defeated two of the senators in the last election and have reiterated their commitment to securing the loan for the state. The problem with the health sector in Kaduna State is lack of adequate functional Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs). This challenge has for years affected the health of vulnerable groups, such as women of child-bearing age and children under the age of five. El-Rufai himself while presenting the 2016 budgets in December 2015 expressed concern that the state records over 103,000 maternal deaths annually and also loses 95 babies out of every 1000 births. He attributed the situation to lack of ante-natal care, medical facilities and inadequate medical personnel. The governor also warned that if drastic interventions are not put in place to save the lives of pregnant women and children, the maternal and infant mortality rate will go higher. It was in an effort to reverse the trend that his government and General Electric (GE) signed a pact to equip 278 health care facilities in the state. In This Story:#NasirEl-Rufai #WAEC #HadizaBalarabe #PaulTarfa #NigerianArmy #KamukuForest Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Bodies of two Benue State University students which drowned in River Benue have been recovered Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:30 AM PDT The bodies of two students of Benue State University (BSU), which drowned in River Benue on Friday have been found by a search and rescue team. The two students are Adakole Christopher a 100- level Math and Computer science student and Miss Emmanuellla Mson, a 100- level MBBS student   The second body of the female student identified as Emmanuella Mson was discovered around Orlam rice farm Nassarawa river rout, barely 24 hours after the body of Adakole Christopher was discovered and deposited at the morgue. According to reports, Emmanuellla's lifeless body was found and brought back to the bank of river Benue and has since been taken by the school ambulance to the Benue State University teaching hospital.   The Vice Chancellor of Benue State University (BSU) Professor Msugh Kembe, who confirmed the unfortunate incident, described it as unfortunate and sad. Kembe said: "For we practising Catholics, it's really a sad and regrettable incident, which is coming during the Holy week of Easter." He added the university has set up a committee to probe the remote and immediate cause that led to the drowning of the two students in River Benue. He also added that students have been severally warned not to go swimming in River Benue without guide or life jackets during orientation. He commended the Marine Police and President of the Student Union Government of BSU, Comrade Kizito Joseph, who immediately mobilised search- and- rescue team of students with other spirited individuals to found the bodies In This Story: #Bodies #BenueState #University #students #drowned #RiverBenue #Recovered Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:22 AM PDT
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) plans to cap the estimated billing system by fast-tracking metering of all customers. NERC's General Manager, Finance & Management Services, Abdulkadir Shettima, dropped the hint in a chat with The Nation on the sidelines of the launch of bank consumer and retail financing scheme of Meter Asset Provider (MAP) meter acquisition summit in Lagos yesterday. Shettima noted that the capping of estimated bills will compel MAP operators to meet targets on the metering policy. The summit, organised by Mojec Meter Asset Management Company, one of the MAP operators, brought together power sector regulator, banks, MAP operators and some Managing Directors of Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to find solutions to some issues in the MAP metering project. On why the Commission opted to cap estimated billing when customers look forward to expedited metering when the MAP scheme takes-off next month, Shettima said all customers will not be metered at same time. Besides, he said that the NERC would not want customers that are not metered early enough to get outrageous bills. His words: "We are very serious in ensuring all customers are metered at a maximum of within three years and the metering starts from May this year. Because we don't want the MAPs or the distribution companies to relax and take this project as any other rule or regulation that they will try to circumvent, we came up with several ways to make sure they comply. "One of the ways is that they post a cash-backed performance bond that can be called upon and they will lose money if they don't meet their target, the monthly metering requirement. "The second one is this capping of estimated bills. Currently, customers that don't have meters are given estimated bills that are 'crazy' in some respects. We want to stop that practice. "There will be a cap; if a distribution company feels that cap is too low and it is losing money, it is incentivised to go and meter that customer. Assuming the cap is N4,000 and the DisCo feels if that customer is metered it can collect N10,000, let it quickly go and meter that customer if it believes the customer's consumption is up to that. "The reason we came up with this measure is to ensure compliance with this current metering scheme and to fast-track the level of metering so customers pay for what they consume. "There is a committee that is working on the capping because a lot of analysis has to be done and also a lot of consultation with all the stakeholders, including the DisCos, MAPs and customer groups to arrive at what is fair, so the cap has to be a cap that is realistic, not too high and not too low." According to Shettima, the number of unmetered customers has risen from 4.7 million in December 2017 to five million now. According to him, MAP operators will pay 2.5 per cent of the total cost of the entire meters' performance bond. Shettima said: "For instance, if the meters are N100 billion, they will post 2.5 per cent of the N100 billion performance guarantee and it will be backed by cash. "It is as a result of this measure that the MAP operators said they will not ask customers to pay unless they have the meters ready and they will meet the 10-day installation deadline from the date the customer pays for meter. So, there will be financial sanctions when an operator defaults in a contractual agreement. In This Story:#NERC #AbdulkadirShettima #MAP #Disco Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| FAAN threatens to withdraw services Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:03 AM PDT  The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it has concluded plans to withdraw security and aerodrome rescue as well as fire fighting services to some state/private airports over huge debts owed it. In the absence of aviation security and aerodrome rescue and fire fighting services, no flights can either take off or land in any airport in line with standards and recommended practices of global industry regulator, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). FAAN is the government agency saddled with statutory responsibilities of providing such services. FAAN and some private/state airports have been having a running battle for some years on either how to reconcile or recover the billions of naira owed it by operators of the facilities. To be affected by the withdrawal of services include Osubi Airport near Warri, Delta State and Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2 ), which are the two private airport terminals in the country. Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State; Delta State Airport, Asaba, Bayelsa International Cargo Airport, in Ammassona; Gombe State Airport, in Gombe; Jigawa State Airport, Dutse; Kebbi State Airport, Birnin Kebbi and Taraba State Airport, Jalingo are among the state airports to be affected. To make good its plan, FAAN on Monday issued a notice of intention to sanction the affected private/state airports over their indebtedness. In This Story:#FAAN #VictorAttah #ICAO #MMA2 Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Man taught a bitter lesson by his girlfriend after she poured hot water on him Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:00 AM PDT
The incident took place last week. It was gathered that the woman identified as Uluma poured her boyfriend hot water after she discovered that he was cheating on her with another girl.  Uluma had wanted to have Atago all to her self alone and never wanted to see him around another woman, according to Onyeka Simeon who broke the news on social media. Read what Simeone wrote and photos below. "An event occurred in upatabo, were this handsome boy called Atago Endurance was pour with a well boied,hot water by this girl called Uluma, his girlfriend.because she told the boyfriend not to go out with his boyfriend. And one funing thing she never want any girl outside to take over the boy because she filled that no handsome boy like Atago Endurance in her life"  In This Story: #Bitter #lesson #Ggirlfriend #Hot #water Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Notre Dame Cathedral ‘saved from total destruction’ Posted: 16 Apr 2019 05:51 AM PDT
Residents living close to the historical monument were evacuated in case the building would collapse, said Paris Mayor Anne Hildago. One fireman was "seriously injured," according to the official. Firefighters at the scene said all efforts were being directed towards saving the artwork stored at the back of the cathedral, which had been undergoing renovations and preventing the collapse of its northern tower. Flames that began at 5.50pm burst rapidly through the roof of the 850-year-old cathedral and engulfed the spire, which collapsed, quickly followed by the entire roof. A huge plume of smoke wafted across the city and ash fell over a large area. Parisians watching from the other side of the River Seine gasped as the spire folded over onto itself and fell into the inferno. President Emmanuel Macron said the whole nation was moved. "Like all our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this part of all of us burn," he tweeted. At around 1930 GMT, nearly three hours after the fire started, a Fire Department spokesman said the next 90 minutes would be crucial in seeing if the blaze could be contained. "Basically the whole rooftop is gone. I see no hope for the building," said witness Jacek Poltorak, watching the fire from a fifth-floor balcony two blocks from the southern facade of the cathedral, one of France's most visited sites. As of yesterday, the spire of the cathedral had fallen, and the fire had spread to one of its iconic rectangular towers. A French Interior Ministry official had previously said firefighters may not be able to save the cathedral. The Paris prosecutor's office said it had launched an inquiry into the fire. France 2 television reported that police were treating it as an accident. "Everything is collapsing," a police officer near the scene said as the cathedral continued to burn. Macron, who cancelled an address to the nation that he had been due to give yesterday evening, went to the scene of the blaze and talked to officials trying to contain it. The French Civil Security service, possibly responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that firefighters "act quickly" and employ flying water tankers, said that was not an option as it might destroy the entire building. "Helicopter or plane, the weight of the water and the intensity of dropping it at low altitude could weaken the structure of Notre-Dame and cause collateral damage to surrounding buildings," it tweeted. World leaders sent messages of support yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May said their thoughts were with the French people. Merkel called the cathedral a "symbol of France and our European culture". The Vatican said the blaze had caused "shock and sadness" and said it was praying for the firefighters. The cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, features in Victor Hugo's classic novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame". It is a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts millions of tourists every year. It is a focal point for French Roman Catholics who like Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week, marking the death and resurrection of Jesus. The archbishop of Paris called on all priests in Paris to ring church bells as a gesture of solidarity for Notre-Dame. "I have a lot of friends who live abroad and every time they come I tell them to go to Notre-Dame," said witness Samantha Silva, with tears in her eyes. "I've visited it so many times, but it will never be the same. It's a real symbol of Paris." The cathedral was in the midst of renovations, with some sections under scaffolding, and bronze statues were removed last week for works. Built over a century starting in 1163, Notre-Dame is considered to be among the finest examples of French Gothic cathedral architecture. It is renowned for its rib vaulting, flying buttresses and stunning stained glass windows, as well as its many carved stone gargoyles. Its 100-metre-long (330-foot) roof, of which a large section was consumed in the first hour of the blaze, was one of the oldest such structures in Paris, according to the cathedral's website. "There are a lot of art works inside … it's a real tragedy," Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told reporters at the scene. A centre of Roman Catholic faith, over the centuries Notre-Dame has also been a target of political upheaval. It was ransacked by rioting Protestant Huguenots in the 16th century, pillaged again during the French Revolution of the 1790s and left in a state of semi-neglect. Hugo's 1831 work led to revived interest in the cathedral and a major – partly botched – restoration that began in 1844. The wood-and-lead spire was built during that restoration, according to the cathedral's website. UNESCO said in a tweet it was "closely monitoring the situation and is standing by France's side to safeguard and restore this invaluable heritage". In This Story:#UNESCO #MayorAnneHidalgo #DonaldTrump #AngelaMerkel #EmmanuelMacron #SamanthaSilva Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  |
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