Last Friday, October 2, was a black Friday for family members, friends and even fans of Taiwo Oshadipe as the news of her sudden death hit the Nigerian music industry. Taiwo was half of the singing duo, the Oshadipe Twins. At the time news of her death broke, the cause of her death was not certain, but her manager, Olu Akinsanya, has finally opened up. In an interview with The Nation, Olu Akinsanya, who initially declined to comment on the incident due to shock, said the actress and singer might have died of complications arising from chest-related pains. ‘Taiwo was admitted at the Lagos State…
Author: Wale Adebayo
It seems like every female celebrity in America is trying to get herself a husband as quick as possible. Jordin Sparks and Boyfriend, Jason Durelo broke up due to marriage pressure now Selena Gomez is wanting a ring too. Selena Gomez reportedly wanted Justin Bieber to propose during their trip to Paris last week but was left disappointed when he failed to pop the question. 22-year-old Selena reportedly got into a blazing row with her on/off boyfriend Justin Bieber, whom she first started dating in 2010, after he failed to pop the question during their romantic getaway to France for…
Davido disappointed some of his fans who had planned to see the HKN lead act, perform at the Warri Again concert held in Warri, Delta State on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. His fans were left in shock to learn that the king of Pop music in Africa wasn’t present. Although the 21-year-old hasn’t given a reason for his absence, a Vanguard Newspaper report has it that it was because the self styled Omo Baba Olowo missed his flight to Warri on the day of the concert. Davido and his crew left the country for South Africa the following day where he has had…
The Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the state Governor and chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to stop denigrating the office and person of President Goodluck Jonathan or be prepared to face the ‘grave’ consequences of his unguarded utterances. The party, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, described recent comments by Amaechi against the Jonathan-led federal government as childish and unwarranted, adding that the governor’s outburst was shameful. A statement signed by Jerry Needam, media aide to the state PDP chairman, Bro. Felix Obuh, read in part: “Rivers State Chapter of…
Ahead of the October 11 governorship by-election in Adamawa state, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government to ensure credible election in the state. The Deputy Director of the APC’s gubernatorial candidate, Senator Bindow Jibrilla Campaign Organization, Abdulrahman Jimeta, in a campaign rally in Fufore Local Government of the state yesterday, said “INEC must take necessary measures to ensure election materials arrived on time”. He said that “if INEC delays for one minute, the APC will protest for one hour”. “We are not going to tolerate excuses such as absence of register, short supply…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State has dismissed reports of a rift in the party over the endorsement of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as its consensus candidate for 2015 gubernatorial elections. The party said this on Tuesday in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Okey Eze, adding that the process that led to Mr. Ugwuanyi’s emergence was democratic. “The PDP in Enugu is as strong and united as it has been since the inception of the Sullivan Chime administration,” he said. “The party is even stronger and more united now that we have a consensus gubernatorial candidate who was…
The Peoples Democratic Party elders’ caucus in Benue South West Senatorial zone has excluded former Niger Delta minster Sam Odeh and Mr Harris Ogbole from contesting the governorship primaries of the party. The meeting which was held in Otukpo on Monday also urged the remaining aspirants in the race to harmonise their positions and present a formidable candidate who would challenge aspirants from the other zones of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Odeh and Ogbole, a lawyer, were excluded from the contest following the unanimous endorsement of Senate President David Mark for another term in the…
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has announced plans to establish private refineries. IPMAN National President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, told newsmen in Lagos that the association acquired more than 1,000 hectares in Kogi and Bayelsa for the proposed $3 billion (N495 billion) refineries. IPMAN had earlier in July concluded a business deal with some international investors to build two refineries worth about $3 billion at Itobe, Kogi, and Abbe in Bayelsa State. The foreign investors conducted feasibility studies on the project in August. Okoronkwo said the federal government had through the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke,…
The South-South and South-East Chairman of Northern Forum, Alhaji Musa Saidu, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the Army authorities to, in the spirit of Sallah, grant pardon to the 12 soldiers, who were recently condemned to death by a military General Court Martial in Abuja for acts of mutiny, among others. Alhaji Musa, who spoke to Daily Trust in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday, said Sallah is a period to show love and forgiveness and called on the federal government to imbibe the spirit of love and forgiveness. “I want to use the festival to call on President Jonathan…
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Stephen Oru, in Abuja on Tuesday reiterated the ministry’s commitment to empower youths in the Niger Delta region. Oru spoke in an interview with The News Agency of Nigeria, explaining that the training of the youth was a continuous exercise designed to create employment for non-militant young persons. He said that the ministry had evolved a system, called iTrens, to fully empower youths. Oru said, “iTrens involves five steps, namely Identify, Train and Engage Scheme, Agricultural Youth Empowerment Programme. “Others are: Training of Seafarers in South Africa (International Component), Training in Watch keep and…
Human Rights activist and Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has said that some indigenes of Ekiti State are planning to go on self-exile as soon as the governor-elect of the state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, is sworn-in next week. Fayose, who won the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will take over from Dr. Kayode Fayemi next week Thursday. Falana, who hails from the state, said, “It is clear that the people have been taken back to the era of state-sponsored terrorism. Already, rival drivers’ unions and urchins are unleashing mayhem…
Strong indications emerged yesterday that the Nigerian Military have crushed the Boko Haram sect and liberated Michika and Gulak in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa State from the insurgents’ stranglehold. The two towns had been under the control of the insurgents since early last month. It was learnt that the security forces over ran the insurgents and took control of the towns following intense battle. According to a source, “I can confirm to you authoritatively that the military are advancing towards Madagali after taking over Michika and Gulak”. The source, who spoke from Michika, on Monday, noted that despite the…
President Goodluck Jonathan will today depart Abuja for Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic, on a one-day official visit to participate in an extraordinary summit of heads of states and governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, Jonathan and other participating heads of states and governments are expected to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint actions to curb terrorism and insurgency within and across their national boundaries. Abati recalled that the president and the heads of states and governments of the…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Monday appealed to the Federal Government to take necessary steps to make governance at the centre less attractive to politicians. He spoke in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital when he inaugurated the Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe General Hospital built by the outgoing administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to mark his fourth year in office. Atiku advised that the federal government could reduce the clamor for power at the centre by devolving some of its powers which he described as too enormous. He further advised the federal government to limit itself with issues relating to defence and…
Former Governor of Kwara State and Senator representing Kwara Central, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) will emerge stronger from its December 2 presidential primary. The Senate Committee Chairman on Ecology and Environment was responding to insinuations that the ambition of APC presidential aspirants would tear the party apart at the primary. Speaking with reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Saraki said: “This is propaganda from the opposition. I assure Nigerians that the primary would not disintegrate the party, but unify it. After the primaries of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), the party…
The acting governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar, has raised the alarm that his boss, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, has gone ‘missing’. Umar, who stated this yesterday in Jalingo, the state capital during a media chat with journalists, said that he had not set his eyes on Governor Suntai, since he was smuggled into the country by a certain cabal last month. “Few of my aides and I were already at the domestic wing of the airport to receive my boss but, unknowingly to me, the cabal was already waiting at the international wing of the airpot where the…
No fewer than eight people were on Monday killed in Amchide, Cameroon after a rocket attack allegedly fired by Boko Haram militants from the Nigerian town of Banki, security officials said. “The rocket landed in Amchide, killing eight civilians and injuring many more. We fear that the number of dead will rise,” a policeman, who asked not to be named told AFP. According to a Cameroonian security agent, the rocket landed on a road where many people were shopping. Islamist sect, Boko Haram had several weeks ago taken control of Banki, with the militants trying ever since to make incursions…
Boko Haram continues its campaign of terror in Nigeria’s northeast, with the latest being a revenge attack where seven people were beheaded on Monday, according to residents. When people of Ngamdu, the town targeted by the overnight raid woke up, they discovered “seven people had been brutally killed”, said resident Musa Abor. According to him, the gunmen “slit their (victims) throats just the way people slaughter goats”. A Borno state official, who craved anonymity also said that the bodies of the seven victims had been decapitated. Boko Haram insurgents have in recent months focused on carrying out reprisal attacks against…
The National Association of Trailer and Tanker Builders of Nigeria wants the Federal Government to ban importation of tankers into the country. “What we manufacture here is most suitable for our roads, because we have over the years understood what was appropriate in terms of materials to use in manufacturing such products and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) had examined and certified our products good for our roads,” the association said in a press release issued to congratulate one of its members, Dr Muritala Odesola on his 50th birthday. According to the association, most accidents on Nigerian roads are…
Following the successful introduction of the electronic identity card, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is canvassing the use of the new National e-ID Card, as a valid travel document for certain types of travel. The commission said the new ID card is a bonafide Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD), which is recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and hence can serve as an alternative to the international passport. “The National Identity Card is also a travel document and conforms to the same standards (ICAO 9303 Rev 2) as International Passports and National Identity Cards of other nations…