Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Tuesday, said the fuel crisis in the country has nothing to do with payment of outstanding subsidy claims to marketers. The minister said this following speculations that marketers had held back supplies of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) due to outstanding payment issues. Speaking with journalists in her office, Okonjo-Iweala noted that contrary to some unfounded speculations, the queues are not related to payment issues. “As Nigerians can attest, the Petroleum Ministry and NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) have worked very hard to reduce them (queues) to the barest…
Author: Wale Adebayo
He’s the name behind some of the biggest names in Nigerian music today, but ironically, he isn’t as well known as his former disciples. Veteran music star, video director and producer, JJC Skillz was recently featured on ‘Afrohits’, a radio show on London’s Bang FM 103.6. In his chat with MC Timmy, JJC Skillz talks about the music industry, producing for the likes of Ginuwine, featuring D’Banj and Don Jazzy as well as his relationship with video director Moe Musa. He also played the ‘Afrohits 5’ question game deciding on who to Ignore, Kiss or marry out of the following…
If there was ever any doubt that North West was the legitimate daughter of Kanye West, this clears all and every doubt. Being the daughter of a reality TV star and a rapper, a time comes when you get tired of the paparazzi – even if you are not yet 2 years old. This photo of baby Nori, scowling at the camera has gone viral with it being compared to a picture of Kanye West pulling an almost identical face Do you think this is an expression of her feelings for the cameras always flashing in her face? See photo…
He’s definitely one of the hottest young acts in the music industry and the ladies all love him. Talented young Mavin Records artist, Korede Bello has won the heart of many with his hit singles ‘Cold Outside’ and ‘God Win’. In an interview with Nation Newspaper, Korede Bello talks about his rise to fame, signing with Mavin Records, support from his parents and much more. Read excerpts from his interview below: – On being in the music industry: No, I have never thought of that. And funny enough, I have always wanted to be a footballer or an accountant. I…
This is some serious interesting controversy the teenager has started. In an interesting new interview, young singer and actor Jaden Smith has revealed that he is a prophet and that God inspired his new fashion line named ‘666’. The promo photo for the clothing has caused a lot of controversy as it shows Jaden Smith with the letters 666 imprinted on his forehead. The News Nerd reports that in an interview with Rolling Stone, Jaden spoke about his fashion line saying “God exists in all things that surround the fire that burns in the sky. She is responsible for all spontaneous…
She’s currently under fire from a couple of women in the entertainment industry, but Stella Damasus doesn’t care. The veteran Nollywood Actress Stella Damasus is currently in L.A. for the training sessions at her “Stella Damasus Art Foundation (SDAF) – Themed invasion Program. She took out time to share photos of herself and her husband after one of their numerous training sessions. She seems very happy, hope this one lasts!!!
The House of Representatives, Tuesday, said it would drag any person or organisation that attempts to oust the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega to litigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) or a suitable Nigerian court. Speaker of the House, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCS-SR) also rejected any attempt to remove Jega as unconstitutional and counter-productive to the survival of democracy in the country, when he received members of the NCS-SR who paid him a courtesy call in his office. According to Tambuwal, those plotting Jega’s removal are…
Director, Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is set to sue the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the party over alleged defamatory publication. Fani-Kayode, in a three-page letter by his lawyers, Ahmed Raji and Company, dated March 3, 2015, described the alleged statements by Lai Mohammed published in The Nation Newspapers as libelous. He therefore demanded for a retraction of the said statement as well as an apology to him within seven days of the receipt of his letter by Lai Mohammed. The…
Senator representing Edo North senatorial district, Senator Domingo Obende and his senior legislative aide, Hon. Hassan Enakhele have left the All Progressive Congress (APC), joined by thousands of followers. They defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) over the weekend. The ceremony which took place in south – Ibie Kingdom in Etsako West LGA was witnessed by SDP leaders across Edo North led by the BOT Chairman, Chief Alhaji Usman Shagady, Hon. Abubakar Momoh, Etsako reps at the National Assembly who is also the SDP Senatorial candidate. Speaking after receiving the SDP membership card, Enakhele, a former House of Assembly…
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has cleared President Goodluck Jonathan to seek for re-election on March 28. A 5-man panel of Justices of the court, in a unanimous judgment, Monday, held that Jonathan is legally qualified to run for a second term in office. According to the court panel, the raging contention that under section 135(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, President Jonathan is not eligible to partake in the forthcoming presidential election having already taken the oath of office and oath of allegiance for the office of the presidency twice, was not founded in law. The…
The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1, Tambari Y. Muhammad, yesterday said that the police was making a headway in the investigation into the killing of Professor Ahmad Mustapha Falaki, the Director, Institute of Agricultural Research at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. This followed an earlier report by the police in Bauchi that they arrested three persons in connection with the late don’s murder. AIG Muhammad, who spoke in Kano on Monday, said that one of the nine persons fingered in the killing had been arrested. “We have arrested one person and the names of…
President Goodluck Jonathan said Tuesday in Abuja that utmost care was being taken by the Federal Government to avoid collateral damage to the lives and properties of civilians as the military intensifies its ongoing offensive against Boko Haram. Speaking at an audience with the new South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Noh Kyu-Duk, President Jonathan said everything possible was also being done by the military to avoid human rights violations in the theatre of operations in the North Eastern states. “We are sticking to international best practices in prosecuting the war against terrorism and doing our best to ensure that we…
The All Progressive Congress, APC, has asked the Peoples Democratic Party and its Presidential Campaign’s Director of Media and Publicity, Femi Fani-Kayode, to produce evidence on his claims of oath-taking and resignation of Vice presidential candidate, Yemi Osinbajo, for national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, in the event that APC’s Muhammadu Buhari wins the March 28 presidential election. The APC Presidential Campaign Organisation in a statement in Abuja on Monday warned the PDP and Mr. Fani-Kayode to either show evidence of the oath-taking or retract the libellous claims within 72 hours or be ready to be charged to a court…
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has expressed outrage at the current fuel shortage that has lingered nearly a week, criticising President Goodluck Jonathan and former Nigerian leaders, for failing to fix the refineries. In his first response to the resurgence of long queues in filling stations occasioned by scarcity of petroleum products, Mr. Buhari, who is a former head of state, said past governments, and Mr. Jonathan’s, left Nigeria at the mercy of fuel imports by failing to fix the refineries. He recalled that two of the four refineries in the country…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the real causes of the debilitating fuel scarcity across the country is the looting of the $12 billion domestic gas fund under President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch, as well as the Administration’s failure to pay fuel subsidy and the cost of interests on bank loans to oil marketers. The APC said the marketers are, therefore, finding it impossible for them to begin another round of importation of refined petroleum products. In a statement issued in Dubai on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the PDP and the Jonathan Administration…
The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) yesterday blamed the sudden fuel scarcity witnessed in many parts of the country to sabotage by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which has infiltrated the ranks of the fuel marketers. Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Femi Fani-Kayode, in a statement issued in Abuja, said that the fuel marketers have taken a sub-contract from the opposition to frustrate supplies of the product to fuel stations as part of a grand plan to create tension in the polity. According to Mr. Fani-Kayode, “We know who the fuel marketers are. We…
A National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has threatened to sue owners of private television station, African Independent Television, AIT, for airing a documentary he deemed defamatory “in all respects”. In a letter dated March 2, 2015, to the management of Daar Communications Limited, owners of AIT, the APC leader gave the station 24 hours to apologize and retract the publication. “We are surprised that your media house – and we hold you responsible for the documentary – lacks simple ability to know what is justifiable for publication or understand that freedom of expression does not…
The Plateau State coordinator for Persons Living with Disability in Nigeria, Bulus Shanding, has directed members of the group not to cast their votes for any of the People’s Democratic Party’s candidates seeking political office in the country. According to Mr. Shanding, members of the group have suffered untold hardship in the outgoing administration led by PDP both at the national and state levels. The leader of the group said “we the physically-challenged constitute a large portion of the country’s population, 24 million of us but people want to keep us at the base of the ladder. We are the…
The Judiciary Staff Union in Ebonyi on Monday in Abakaliki announced the calling off of its two- month-old industrial action. The Chairman of the union, Jude Ukason, who announced it, directed its members to return immediately to work. He said the strike was called off due to the agreement reached and signed between the union and the Ebonyi government. According to him, government has agreed to “irrevocably’’ commit itself to the implementation of the terms of the resolution. Mr. Ukason said that the agreement was toward the full implementation of Section 121 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as…
Lagos State House of Assembly has commended the Nigerian Military for its efforts towards reclaiming the nation’s territorial space in the North-eastern part of the country and ending the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents. This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the House and chairman of the House Committee on Information and Security, Hon Segun Olulade over the weekend. The Assembly maintained that the efforts of the Nigerian Military at Gwoza and other recaptured territories were commendable strides in the fight against the insurgents. It also restated the confidence of Nigerians in the efforts of…