After months of tortuous memories and uncertainty, seven female Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Bama, in Borno State, finally got to smile on Sunday as they married their suitors at an elaborate wedding ceremony in Maiduguri.The event took place at the Government Reserved Area (GRA), residence of Alhaji Aji Kolo, the treasurer of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).Alhaji Kolo was the sponsor of the wedding.Speaking at the ceremony, the APC chieftain explained that he decided to foot the bill of the wedding so as to give a sense of belonging to the IDPs, who he noted…
Author: Wale Adebayo
Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called for the removal of Mrs. Amina Zakari as Acting Chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying her appointment is alien to the 1999 Constitution.The governor, who insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of his “in-law (Zakari)” posed a danger to democracy, added that the Constitution (as amended), which established INEC and other Federal Executive Bodies, did not create room for the appointment of acting chairman.He, therefore, called on all lovers of democracy in the country to rise in defence of the impartiality of INEC, which he described as the only…
A former Governor of Anambra State in the defunct Third Republic, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was not enough to assuage the South-East.The new NNPC boss is from the Igbo-speaking part of Delta State.Reacting to reports that Buhari’s appointment of Kachikwu has corrected the alleged marginalization of the Igbos under the present administration, Ezeife insisted that the appointment did not undo the alleged lopsidedness of the president’s appointments so far.“It is not atonement for the many neglects and insults that…
The senator representing Zamfara-Central, Kabir Marafa, has said his colleagues should be able to bear the prevailing cash crunch affecting the National Assembly and take it as part of their sacrifice and contribution to national development.His remarks came on the heels of reports that senators have not been paid salaries since their inauguration on June 9 even as banks have reportedly rejected some lawmakers’ requests for loans.It was learnt that senators had only been paid N6m housing loan, which many of them said was inadequate to get decent accommodation in Abuja.Addressing his colleagues in a statement on Saturday, Senator Marafa…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the weekend, said it has not abandoned moves to extradite a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain and senator, Prince Buruji Kashamu, to the United States for alleged drug-related offences. The anti-narcotics agency said it is presently appealing the various orders and court injunctions granted the senator, which are preventing his arrest and extradition. The NDLEA and Senator Kashamu have been at daggers drawn over plans to extradite him to the U.S to answer drug-related charges. While Kashamu had maintained his innocence, claiming he is a victim of mistaken identity, the anti-narcotics agency insists…
The Akwa Ibom State Government has denied the Buhari Friends Organisation Network the venue where it planned to use to address its members after a South-South zonal rally against corruption. The National Coordinator of the group, Athanasius Okon, said on Saturday that the organisation decided to begin the programme from the Unity Park in Uyo, the State capital, since it is the group’s South-South zonal headquarters. According to Okon, Akwa Ibom government officials asked the group to write a letter to the permanent secretary in charge of the facility for permission to use the venue, which they did. He noted…
Nigeria’s former permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Alhaji Maitama Sule, has blamed the rising level of crimes in the country on injustice and lack of qualitative leadership.Sule, who spoke in Abuja yesterday as a guest during the 70th birthday celebration of former Transport Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, told the dignitaries that in order for the country to move forward, there was need to ensure that only worthy leaders were elected to hold public offices.The elder statesman also hinted that it was time for the country to produce true leaders and…
A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipreye Sylva, has denied allegations linking him to Friday’s killing of four soldiers and a policeman on the Nembe waterways by suspected sea pirates.The Defence Headquarters had on Saturday confirmed that the Joint Task Force (JTF) base at Nembe came under attack on Friday night and vowed to apprehend those behind the dastardly act.A group, Ijaw Young Professionals in Bayelsa State, through its leader, Seighfa Tonye-Brown, however, claimed that Sylva as well as his party, All Progressives Congress, were behind the attack.Mr. Brown alleged that the attack “was among the plans being hatched…
Rice importers and millers in Nigeria have urged the government to prevail on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to review its policy on 41 items it now regards as not valid for foreign exchange. The Secretary General of Rice Millers, Importers and Distribution Association of Nigeria (RMIDAN), Shaibu Mohammed said last week in Lagos that government should allow members, who had already keyed into backward integration programme, to use their export proceed to import and ship rice into the country. According to Mohammed, many of the rice farmers and millers in the backward integrated programme are also exporters, who…
Chief executive officer of RTC Advisory Services Limited, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s recently unveiled policy on domiciliary account, saying the policy is not sustainable. “Given the structure of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, there is a part of it I do not like; in terms of both the CBN and the banks themselves— Nigerians didn’t force them to come and start the operation of domiciliary account,” Agbaje said in an interview with The Guardian. “The CBN, the banks and the government of Nigeria, under General Ibrahim Babangida, in those days, passed a law to…
Following allegations of corruption and calls by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the national leader of the , All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, director-general of the Buhari campaign organisation, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and others alleged to have funded President Muhammadu’s campaign at the last general elections, the party has said only concrete evidence will allow for such. The PDP had been accusing the EFCC of bias against its members in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign and therefore, challenged the commission to also beam its searchlight on…
A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, yesterday, in Benin City, declared that the zoning arrangement of the party, jettisoned after the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, led to the defeat of the party in the last presidential election. While delivering a lecture entitled: “Nigeria’s 16 Years of Democratic Experiment-Which Way Forward?, organized by Edo State New Dawn, a group under the PDP in the state, Babatope noted that “the PDP did not resolve the agitation by northern leaders that the presidency should be ceded to the area due to the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday initiated a meeting that would lead to the revival of the country’s comatose textile industry. Speaking during a meeting with cotton, textile and garment industry stakeholders in Lagos, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said the central bank would provide single-digit interest rate and long-tenored loans to operators in the industry. “Mr. President is committed to the rejuvenation and revival of this sector and he is desirous of bringing this industry back to life,” he said. According to Emefiele, it was disheartening that an industry that literally touched the fabric of the entire…
The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) on Saturday said about 800,000 women suffered from Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) annually in Nigeria.The Country Representative of the fund in Nigeria, Ratidzai Ndhlovu, disclosed this at the graduation of 100 rehabilitated women living with obstetric Fistula in Sokoto.Ndhlovu, represented by Dr Audu Alayande, Assistant Country Representative, Reproductive Health, said one in every 10 women suffered from this condition following childbirth.Ndhlovu, who donated assorted empowerment materials worth N2.3 million to the graduands, said most women who developed fistula had probably given birth at home with no assistance from skilled birth attendant.“For this…
Over-sabi writer, Etcetera is back with another one of his articles. The failed singer turned critic has now said that ‘We are The World’ by African stars is the worst combination of voices in human history. Here’s why: – Well, I think I’m finally safe to write this article, since I’ve set up my e-mail software to automatically filter out any messages containing swear words.Sincerely, I don’t know if there’s any song that made me change the TV station faster than this one. If I didn’t, I’d have been doomed to have a group of adults with hideous and unsync…
Did anyone apart from me miss this side of Tonto Dikeh?? I love it when she’s fiesty. The controversial Nollywood star and singer, Tonto Dikeh, went on her IG page to blast her ex boyfriend, Malivelihood. Tonto called Malivelihood a cheat, whore and scammer. Read her rants below: – Catch flights don’t catch feelings?So tell me,what is your reason for being? The purpose of your existence? The same reasons why many of us are here in the first place…I don’t mean to kill the BOSS attitudes,but I work with bosses all the time. The people who prioritised work over relationships aren’t…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday paid a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at his official residence in the presidential villa, Abuja.The two leaders reportedly met away from public glare and when the president had retired to his residence.PREMIUM TIMES reports that the visit was to commend President Buhari for “doing well so far” and to also offer words of encouragement.“Baba was surely at the Villa to give encouragement to the president to make sure that the new experiment does not fail”, a source close to the former Nigerian leader told the online newspaper.Friday’s visit was Mr. Obasanjo’s first to…
The National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said, yesterday that he is the target of some elements within and outside the party because of his readiness to lead a strong opposition against the All Progressives Congress, APC, led federal government. The PDP spokesman, who described the accusation by some staff of the party under the aegis of PDP Staff Welfare Association that he worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan as laughable, vowed that no amount of campaign against him and attack on his person would make him bow out of statutory function…
Earlier today, the blogosphere was rife with reports that former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), in 2014, spent the sum of 78 million naira for the upgrade of his website (www.tundefashola.com). According to a budget report on the website of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, the contract was awarded to Info Access Plus Limited. Following this revelation, not a few Nigerians expressed their disappointment and rage that the former governor could approve of such an outrageous amount for an upgrade of the website. However, the man in the eye of the storm has responded to the backlash, saying…
Some members of the Boko Haram terror group in Mussa town of Askira-Uba local government area of Borno State have reportedly denounced their membership of the group. Chairman of youth vigilante group in the town, Apagu Istifanus disclosed this to journalists in Maiduguri the state capital. According to him, the eight members of the notorious group claimed they were tired of killing innocent souls. “We arrested eight Boko Haram in Mussa around 4pm on Thursday and when we interrogating them they said they were tired, they don’t want to wage Jihad again and we handed them over to the military…