Senator Akpabio Leads Akwa Ibom Delegation To Visit Obasanjo

The Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State  Senator Godswill Akpabio and his successor, Mr. Emmanuel Udom led 12 man delegation  to visit former president Olusegun Obasanjo  at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun.

The duo arrived at Obasanjo’s residence at about 2:48 p.m. in company of a former Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria, Dr Sunday Mbang and some other state officials.
The team immediately proceeded into a closed-door meeting which ended at about 4:05 p.m.
Udom who addressed journalists after the meeting said he was in Abeokuta to pay homage and to thank Obasanjo.
According to him, he consulted with Obasanjo shortly before the general elections and that his advice paid off.
“I have come to show gratitude and respect for someone whom I regard as a father and whose advice I regard as invaluable and which also contributed to my victory at the polls,” he said.
The governor acknowledges that his predecessor had laid a solid foundation upon which he would build and move the state to greater heights.
He said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained the greatest party in Africa and would provide a credible and formidable opposition to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in order to move the nation forward.

DON’T FORGET AMAECHI’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR VICTORY,’ NORTHERNERS TELL BUHARI

The Northern community in the South-South geo-political zone of the country has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to forget the contributions of former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to his victory during the 2015 presidential elections in the country.
They, therefore, appealed to Buhari to ensure that Amaechi, who was the director-general of All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APCPCC), is appointed into a position that reciprocates his contributions and sacrifices towards the emergence of the APC-led federal government.
Chairman of the Northern Community in the South-South zone, Alhaji Muhammadu Ali Kwande, disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, shortly after the meeting of leaders of the community, where the x-rayed political events in the country before, during and after the general elections.
Kwande said, “In the whole of the South-South, it was only former Governor Amaechi that stood with Buhari. He almost lost his life because of Buhari. Amaechi’s own people in the South-South did a lot of evil things to him, yet he stood with Buhari.
“Amaechi’s kinsmen, who are supporters of former President Goodluck Jonathan abused him and said all sort of things about him for not supporting Jonathan, but he stood his ground. He loves Northerners and we also love him.

Unpaid salaries hit N110bn in states

No fewer than 12 of the 36 states of the federation are facing difficult times as the salaries they owe their workers are approximately well over N110bn. This represents the salaries being owed by government of 10 of the states of the federation. They are Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Plateau, Benue, and Bauchi states.

The 36 state governors, who met during the week in Abuja under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for the second time after the May 29 inauguration of the new government, expressed their concern over the issue.

The situation, according to Saturday PUNCH investigation, has been giving some of the governors’ aides serious concern as they are also being owed salaries and allowances.

The governors had resolved to meet with the President to demand the refund of the money spent on executing Federal Government projects in their respective states to enable them to pay their workers.

Rivers State, for example, which has a monthly wage bill of about N7bn, has not paid its workers for three months, putting the total amount of salaries the state owes its workers at N21bn.

It was learnt that while some workers in the state are owed 10 months’ salaries, the core civil servants have not been paid their salaries for the past three months. Drivers, gardeners, cleaners and some office assistants are some of the workers being owed salaries for 10 months. These workers are always paid from government overhead or imprest.

MTN Nigeria gets investors in People Gold Accreditation

Leading ICT company in Nigeria, MTN has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) Gold certification by the governing board of the UK-based organisation. The Investors in People Standard is a UK quality standard introduced in 1991. The Gold certification followed an earlier accreditation of MTN Nigeria as an Investor in People organization in 2013 – the first company in all of West Africa to receive such recognition.
The assessment of MTN Nigeria was carried out by a team of IIP assessors from the United Kingdom; their findings culminated in the award of the Investors In People Gold Level accreditation.
Organisations accredited by the IIP go through a series of precise assessments with particular reference to the company’s people management practices in line with the IIP Framework. The rigorous process involves the administration of structured questionnaires among all categories of employees and contract staff to establish the correlation between the company’s people management practices and business performance.

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ENTERTAINMENT

 Charlie Boy @ 64, says I don’t smoke, drink nor abuse my body 

Charlie Boy and Wife 

Nigeria’s all time showbiz star, Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, popularly known as Charlie Boy, on Friday, said smoking and drinking were not part of his lifestyle.

Charlie Boy, who is 64 years old on Friday, said this in  interview in Abuja.

The maverick, who spoke on his lifestyle said “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t abuse my body.

“I also engage in regular bodily exercise and this keeps me smart and healthy.

“I know that this may be hard for some persons to believe, but one does not need those things to aspire as an artiste.

“I stopped drinking and smoking so many years ago.

“My father never smoked nor drink and he lived very healthy for well over 90 years, and that is how I planned to live.’’

Serbia make history in New Zealand 2015.

THE DAY REPLAYED - In the end, a tournament full of surprises and late, late drama had a fitting conclusion. Serbia, playing in the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time as an independent nation, will leave as its champions. That is the remarkable outcome after a dramatic and enthralling final day of action that thrilled a sell-out, 25,000-plus crowd at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium. Nemanja Maksimovic's decisive, 118th-minute goal settled the final 2-1 in favour of the delirious Serbians, and left five-time champions Brazil to settle for silver.

DONE DEAL! Liverpool sign young England defender Joe Gomez from Charlton

Liverpool have completed the signing of young Charlton defender Joe Gomez for £3.5m.

The 18-year-old England youth international has signed a five-year contract with the Reds and becomes Brendan Rodgers' fifth capture of the summer following James Milner, Adam Bogdan, Danny Ings and Divock Origi.

A ball-playing defender in the Rio Ferdinand mould

"It's a dream come true. It's a bit surreal and it hasn't really hit me yet. But I'm buzzing and just excited to get started," said Gomez.

"The club has got great history and it's a great club, and one that I've always been following from when I was young.

SPORTS

IUFC STADIUM TO BE READY IN TWO MONTHS

The construction of an 18 thousand  capacity international standard stadium in Nnewi Anambra state by Dr Ifeanyi Uba owner Ifeanyi Uba united football club IUFC, will be completed by August 2015.

The Engineer in charge of the project mr Ebi Ekpei who  is also a FIFA licensed agent said in an interview, "due to the recent suspension on some clubs stadiums  by the LMC because of bad pitch, The Proprietor Dr Ifeanyi Uba wants the stadium to be ready in two months" Mr Ebi who's company has installed over one hundred and fifty synthetic football pitches around  the world also said the pitch of the stadium will be one of the best in the world. 

It will be recalled the League Management Company LMC recently suspended eight football stadiums across the nation, which prompted Ifeanyi Uba united FC to play their week 12, match against Dolphins   which they won by a lone goal at Rojenny stadium Oba

Obiano Promises To Restore Health Tourism Confidence In Making Anambra Next Tourists Destination

The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has reiterated his call on Anambrains worldwide to think home and ensure they institute the headquarters of their businesses in the state.
He assured of the government provision of necessary facilities that will aid the smooth operation of their business including enhance health facilities with the move to making Anambra the next health tourism center after USA, Germany, France even Dubai and other notable improve health friendly countries of the world.
The governor, stated this while speaking with newsmen shortly after inspecting the ultra-modern pharmaceutical company owned by JUHEL Pharmacy Ltd, Awka, promised to improve facilities to encourage investment to thrive in Anambra.
Gov Obiano also promised to provide a 10MV Power supply machine to improve power supply for the factory and its environs and instructed the state commissioner for Health, Dr. Josephat Okabuike to ensure the comapny becomes the net supplier of the state  pharmaceutical  products.

South African Airways Group walks away with an armload of Skytrax awards

 The South African Airways Group this year walked off with no less than three awards confirming the group is on the right strategic path which is showing in customer satisfaction results.

South African Airways (SAA) Acting CEO Nico Bezuidenhout this year received three awards on behalf of the SAA Group.
South African Airways was named Best Airline in Africa for the thirteen consecutive year.
Feedback from SAA’s customers also ensured that SAA walked away with the award for Best Airline Staff in Africa for the fourth time.
The awards for Best Airline Staff are special and coveted accolades, as they represent the combined quality performance of an airline’s front-line staff, across the on-board cabin staff category together with the airline’s airport staff.
Mango, SAA’s low-cost carrier, received the award for Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa.
“Receiving three customer satisfaction awards on behalf of the Group, in front of an audience of peers in the aviation industry at an auspicious event such as the Paris air show, was a most satisfying experience. These awards are dedicated to the people working at SAA and Mango who with hard work and perseverance have shown detractors that the SAA Group is going from strength to strength. Excellent Customer Service is one of the five strategic objectives of the Group’s Long-Term Turnaround Strategy, these awards confirm our efforts are paying off,” said Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA Acting CEO.

President Buhari Never Ordered Sale of Presidential Fleet---Presidency

Contrary to reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the immediate disposal of nine of the 11 VIP transport aircraft in the presidential fleet, the presidency on Friday denied knowledge of any such directive.
Ashiwaju.org newspaper had quoted unnamed sources as saying the president had directed the selling of serviceable and unserviceable aircrafts to cut maintenance costs in line with the government’s policy to drastically reduce its annual expenditure.
Eight of the planes in the fleet, including Boeing 737, two Gulfstream 550 jets, Gulfstream V jet, two Falcon 7X planes, the Hawker Siddeley aircraft and Augusta Westland chopper, the report said, are reserved strictly for the president’s movement.
Other aircrafts, including two Falcon 900 planes, the Dornier, the Cessna Citation, the Beechracft King Air, and two AugustaWestland choppers, are reserved for the airlifting of the Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as visiting African heads of states.

PATHETIC: Three Boys Gang Rape A Female Friend

In an act, which has shocked residents of a neighbourhood in Iju area of Lagos, three friends – Habeeb Adisa (25), Kehinde Aderinoye (25) and Ilyas Ogundimu (27) – have raped one of their female neighbours, a young woman,who is their close friend in the neighbourhood.
The victim, 19-year-old Adenike (not real name), a hair stylist, volunteered to speak with Saturday PUNCH, saying she summoned the courage to speak about her ordeal because she did not want them to go free and do the same to someone else.
Narrating how she was violated by the three men whom she trusted most in their neighbourhood, Adenike told our correspondent that not once did she suspect within the two years she knew them that they had such a heinous plan for her.
Calmly, but with a lot of anger and pain showing in her eyes, Adenike said, “I became friends with them as neighbours two years ago when my mother first rented an apartment in the area.
“Kehinde began to make advances to me. But I told him we were friends and did not want to be in a relationship with him. I have always rejected his advances.
“Later he would tell Habeeb and Ilyas to approach me to appeal on his behalf to accept his proposal, but I made them to understand that I could not go out with him. But we still talked and sat together in the neighbourhood as friends.”
Unknown to Adenike, the gentle disposition of her three friends was just a façade for the plan they had hatched on how to sexually assault her.
On Wednesday, June 17, 2015, an opportunity presented itself for the rapist friends to put their plan to work.

WIKE SETS UP PANEL TO PROBE AMAECHI

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Friday inaugurated a seven-man Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the immediate past administration of Mr. Chibuike Amaechi.
Wike said at the inauguration that the probe was in conformity with section 2 (1) of the Commission of Inquiry Law of Rivers State.
He charged the commission to ascertain the sale of valued assets of Rivers and other related matters with a view to finding out the legality of such transactions.
The panel was also charged to investigate the sale of Omoku 150 MW Gas Turbine; Afam 360 MW Gas Turbine; Trans-Amadi 136 Gas Turbine and Eleme 75 MW gas Turbine.
The panel is also to investigate the withdrawal and expenditure of the accrued N96 billion from the Rivers Reserve Fund without compliance with Rivers State Reserve Fund Law N0. 2 of 2008.
The governor, who restated his administration’s commitment to due process, also asked the panel to investigate the non-execution of some contracts, major part of which had been paid for.
The commission is also to investigate the non-execution of the contract for the construction of Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte Specialist Hospital after the payment of $39,200,000 to the contractor.
Chairman of the commission, Justice George Emereji, promised to ensure that the truth prevailed as they would pursue their terms of reference with firmness and sincerity.

WHY I VISITED OBASANJO – BUKOLA SARAKI

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Friday said his visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo was to receive his blessing and consult him on how to assist him in moving the Senate and the nation forward.
Mr. Saraki made this known to journalists during an interview after his over two hours closed-door meeting with Mr. Obasanjo at his Hilltop home in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
The senate president said he and members of his delegation also came to tap from Mr. Obasanjo’s wisdom and knowledge.
“I’m here with some of my colleagues,” Mr. Saraki said. “Since I’ve been the Senate President, as one of our fathers, the former president, we are here to pay our homage to him, to seek his advice, to get his blessing and also to consult.

NSCDC Parades Woman For Adulterating GOYA Anointing Oil

In the bid to stem the tide of criminal activities and call for restrain in crime wave in Anambra state, the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps has arrested a suspect who deals on adulterated Olive Oil.

The state commandant, Assistant Commandant General Ben Dikoro, disclosed this while parading the suspect at the command headquarters Awka, noted the corps resolve to step up their ante to ensure criminals are chased out of the state.

He advised residents to ensure they report unsuspecting individual engaging in sharp practices that could pose threat to the life of the community.

ACG Dukoro, who spoke through the Command Public Relation Officer, Superintended Rajunor Egbe warned that the Civil Defence Corps Anambra Command was ready in collaboration with other agencies to stamp out criminals activities from the state.

Ashiwaju.org learnt that the suspect, who was apprehended  at Npkor, Idemili Local Government of the state, declined comment after much persuasion to relay her involvement in the allegation on the product.

Ben Bruce to Osun govt: I will not respond to your attack during Ramadan

THE lawmaker representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, has said that in the spirit of the month of Ramadan observed by Muslim faithfuls, he will not respond to critics over his decision to donate half of his wardrobe allowance to the unpaid workers in Osun state.
“I’ll take whatever attacks come my way but nothing & nobody can dissuade me from doing what my conscience directs in helping my fellow man.
The month of Ramadan is here. Many unpaid workers will fast. With what will they break their fast? I thought of that and it moved me to act.
I may not be a Muslim, but I respect Islam and I believe that it is wrong for me to respond to any attack during the Holy month of Ramadan.

Aftermath 2015 General Election: Bishop Ezeokafor Urges Religious Leaders To Shun Hate Prophesy In Future Elections

 BY ABUCHI IFESINACHI, AWKA

In the scripture, we had prophesy. But what we have in the world today are fake. I don’t believe in hate prophesy.Nobody can reveal tomorrow except God. If people can reveal the future, life wouldn’t have been as it is now. They speculate, they guess, and sometimes God allow such to happen, and they claim to have earlier predicted it. It is a lie. 

These are words of the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor who was reacting on what he tagged fake prophesies from religious leaders during the  build-up to  the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.

The Catholic Prelate who stated this at St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral, Awka,  said 'If indeed those pastors and prophets knew the actual winners, people would not have campaigned. The winners won because they actually campaigned, while the losers lost for not campaigning well.  

According to the Bishop, 'Religion mould people’s conscience. I strongly believe that thought remains the conscience of people. What inform individual’s conscience empower them to take rightful decision.

In case of election, the bible, sermon, commandments and doctrines add in making good politicians, who are Christians  to be good Christians.

MIMIKO EMERGES NEW CHAIRMAN PDP GOVERNORS’ FORUM

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has been elected the chairman the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ forum.
Mr. Mimiko was elected at a meeting of the PDP governors in Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The Ondo governor was deputy to the former chairman of the forum, Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, said: "the forum of PDP governors unanimously elected Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State as the chairman of the PDP Governors' Forum" but did not give reasons for the absence of five of their colleagues.

Oko Polytechnic Management Denies Allocation Marks to Deceased Student

The Management, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra has described as malicious, misleading and inciting ‘’rumours” that a certain deceased student was awarded marks by the management, saying that it was a deliberate ploy to tarnish the image of the institution and further discredit the innovation of the Computer Based Test, CBT, by those whose nefarious activities were stopped through the exercise.
The Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Obini Onuchukwu, who spoke on the issue, told South East Voice that those making the alleged malicious allegations that a deceased student was awarded marks due to the irregularities in the CBT were mischievous.
Obini, who spoke on behalf of the Management, explained that after an investigation into the matter, it was discovered that a student of Science Laboratory Technology, late Uche Henry, participated in all academic work, including examinations in August 2014 but died at about 9p.m. on Sept 17.
He said that the deceased student having passed all his course work had his results released along with those of his mates, but unfortunately some staff cashed on the situation with some few students in the department to blackmail the institution.

NASS ELECTION: SARAKI’S AMBITION HAS RESURRECTED PDP — SEN KWANKWASO

Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso immediate past governor of Kano State in this interview with newsmen in Abuja gives his views on the crisis arising from the National Assembly leadership contest. Excerpts:
You were one of the senators at the ICC when the leadership contest started in the National Assembly?
Honestly speaking, it was on the morning of that day that I saw a text message that we should go to the ICC, unfortunately for me I had so many people who came from Kano, so I was trying to receive them when I got a call that members and senators were waiting at the ICC. As I was moving out of Hilton Hotel, somebody called again that they were at the National Assembly and were just about to start election. So I diverted the driver, instead of going to the ICC I thought now that election was taking place, I said instead of going to ICC, it was more important for me to go the National Assembly and in any case I was sure that those who were at the ICC will not want to stay there when election was taking place. So I drove straight to the National Assembly, moved straight to the chamber. It was when I entered that I saw Bukola being sworn in as Senate President. So I wasn’t at the ICC, I was at the National Assembly but I arrived after the election and I was there calling them to come unfortunately they didn’t come so I had to follow them to ICC and other places. That was what happened that day.
Did the president summon that meeting?

Anambra Revenue Officers Kill Motorist In Onitsha

Police in Anambra State have arrested two revenue agents for allegedly killing a driver attached to the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Mission in the process of demanding for the driver’s vehicle emblem in Onitsha, yesterday.
A source told Ashiwaju.org that the deceased, whose name was given as Okechukwu Onwuamaegbum, was driving the church bus along Owerri Road, when the revenue agents attached to Anambra State Ministry of Transport in-charge of sale of vehicle emblems, confronted him.
The source said trouble started for the driver when he was flagged down along Onitsha/Enugu expressway, Upper Iweka axis in Onitsha by the ad hoc staff, numbering about 20.
Claiming to be on enforcement operation for the sale of the emblems, the officials allegedly demanded to see the emblem the driver had procured for his bus.
A heated argument was said to have ensued, which resulted in a fight and the driver was reportedly beaten to a pulp and collapsed thereafter.

TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK: AMBODE ORDERS RELOCATION OF BUS TERMINALS …

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, on Thursday ordered the relocation of bus terminals in congested areas in order to tackle the persistent traffic gridlock witnessed in the state.
The governor gave the directive during an inspection of some traffic flash points at 3rd Mainland Bridge, Oworonshoki, Ketu, Abule-egba, Alimosho and Mile 12 area of the state.
He said government is greatly concern about situation, adding that all hands will be on deck to address it.
Ambode said, “What we have done in the last three hours is to show that we are greatly concerned about the traffic gridlock that we have been experiencing in the last few months. It’s not enough for us to stay in the office and believe that we can create solutions to the traffic challenge that we have in the state.
“So we decided that we are going to go round ourselves and see how we can improve the traffic situation. That’s not the end of the story. We’re still going to Apapa and Mile 2. The truth is that we must start to have solutions to our traffic challenges in the state and that’s what we are doing.”
The governor also hinted that he has given approval for the construction of Pedestrian Bridge at Berger, adding that this is needed to allow free vehicular movement.
“We have seen that Berger needs a foot bridge and immediately the engineers are going to work and make sure that we put something there. We don’t want any traffic on that highway,” he stated.

GOVERNORS SHOVE BAILOUT, WANT FG TO PAY DEBTS OWED STATES

After the botched election that split the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) two years ago, a reunited forum of governors of the 36 states of the federation rose from a meeting in Abuja wednesday, resolving to meet President Muhammadu Buhari on the financial crisis crippling the states and has impeded their ability to pay workers’ salaries and meet other obligations.
Also, the governors congratulated the newly elected Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, pledging cooperation with the National Assembly.
According to the Chairman of the NGF, Abdulazeez Yari, who was also confirmed at the meeting as the leader of the forum, the governors viewed the financial crisis crippling the states as a national issue, noting that there are federal government agencies that also owe salaries of workers for seven to eight months.
Yari said: “We decided not to talk of the bailout directly, though the problem we observe is not only a state matter; it is a national matter. Workers of some of the federal agencies are being owed for seven months and above.

TOP 10 NIGERIAN STATES WITH HIGHEST INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE [IGR]

1-Lagos -- N276.1
2-Rivers -- N89.1
3-Delta -- N42.8

4-Enugu -- N19.2
5-Ogun -- N17.4
6-Oyo -- N16.3
7-Akwa Ibom -- N15.9

8-Kaduna -- N12.7
9-Bayelsa -- N10.9
10-Anambra -- N10.4

The National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released a snapshot of the Internally Generated Revenue profile of 23 states of the federation for the year 2014, which generated N586.6bn in total in the fiscal period.
The IGR, according to the NBS report, was earned from four major sources. They are Pay-As-You-Earn, direct assessment, road taxes and other revenues.
The bureau stated in the report, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, that Lagos State recorded the highest IGR of N276.1bn in the period under review.
The N276.1bn generated by Lagos last year was N108.1bn or 28.1 per cent lower than the N384.2bn, which the state earned as IGR in the 2013 fiscal period.
Further analysis revealed that the amount that Lagos earned in 2014 was also 47 per cent of what all the other 22 states collected as IGR in the same period.
The report stated that while the figures for the other 13 states were still being expected, Rivers State, with a total IGR of N89.1bn, followed on the revenue chart.
The N89.1bn earned by Rivers State represented an increase of N1.19bn when compared to the N87.91bn for 2013.

Nigeria spends N4.62 trillion on National Security in 5 years, yet widespread insecurity remains

Amidst claims by Nigerian security agencies that they are being underfunded, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today that a total N4.62trillion has been allocated to the federal security sector in the past five years.
How this huge sum was spent however remains unclear as there is no reliable performance report by the security agencies.
Year after year, the security sector continues to gulp the highest chunk of the country’s expenditures.
In the 2015 budget for instance, N934billion was allocated for the security sector, the highest for the year.
The figures for 2011 and 2012 were N920billion and N924billion respectively while N923billion each was thrown at the sector in 2013 and 2014.
Yet, Nigeria continues to face attacks from the extremist Boko Haram group, whose activities have claimed over 11,000 lives in last five years.
Kidnappings, crude oil theft, armed robbery and other sundry crimes are also widespread across the country.
The heads of the country’s security agencies have repeatedly claimed allocations to the sector were insufficient to equip the armed forces and make them operationally efficient to deliver on their mandates.

Aregbesola blasts Ben Bruce for donating own wardrobe allowance to Osun workers

The Osun state government has lambasted the senator representing Bayelsa central senatorial district, Ben Murray-Bruce, for offering to donate his wardrobe allowance to Osun state workers who are owed 7 months salaries.
Mr. Bruce stated this in a series of tweets on Wednesday evening.
But in a response to the comment later on Wednesday evening, the Osun state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, accused the Senator of mocking Nigerian workers.
In a state through his spokesperson, Semiu Okanlawon, Mr. Aregbesola accused the lawmaker of playing to the gallery  and engaging in self-serving philanthropy.
“Of all the states in the federation who are battling to pay salaries as a result of the precarious economic situation his party the PDP threw Nigeria into why is it that it is Osun he wants to take his pay to?” the governor asked.
“This is certainly playing to the gallery and nothing but a mockery in the faces of Nigerian workers and not only of Osun extraction.

GANG BEHEADS MAN, PLAYS FOOTBALL WITH HIS HEAD IN MUSHIN

Residents of some parts of Mushin area in Lagos have cried out over incessant killings in the area by suspected hoodlums.

Speaking during a protest to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Abiodun Leshi, who led the residents, revealed how suspected hoodlums severed the head of a resident of the area and used it to play football on the streets.

He stated that the menace is being experienced in areas such as Taniolodo, Lawani, Ojelawe and others, adding that the people of the areas have been having sleepless nights over the issue.

“We have been facing incessant killings of our people. One Tunde was beheaded and they used his head to play football. Another resident, Sodiq was killed last Friday after Jumat service.

“One Adeolu was also killed recently, we have always been living in fear in the area and we cannot sleep with our two eyes closed, but we felt we should see you to seek a permanent solution to the problem,” he said.

INVESTIGATION: VP Osinbajo was never excluded from national security meetings

More details are now emerging about the purported exclusion of the Vice President from some National Security Council meetings held so far, days after the presidency formally denied the false speculations describing them as “the creation of someone who just wanted to write something”.
Informed presidency sources said the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo was actually informed and invited to the meeting by the President himself, and that due to other pressing engagements and commitments of the presidency, the VP had to be present at other events, including a foreign trip to Sudan.
According to sources, “there was no way the Vice President would be excluded from a meeting for which it was the President himself that told him about it and requested him to attend in line with the law of the land, but as things turn out there were other events requiring the attention of at least the President or the Vice President at the same time.”
Some of the media outlets that reported and republished the false story includes naij.com, dailypost.ng and a foreign paper, International Business Times.
No major Nigerian or international media organization published the story
Sources close to Mr. Osinbajo said they believe some outgoing political appointees of the PDP administration still in the presidency were responsible for planting the falsehood in the media in order to cause disaffection among the Nigerian people, hoping to spur an early crisis for the new Buhari presidency.

UPDATE: Buhari TERMINATES N9.3b pipeline security contracts with ASARI-DOKUBO, Gani Adams N9.3b pipeline security contracts

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has terminated the N9.3 billion surveillance contracts offered to some former Niger Delta militants and self-determination groups.

Info reaching us at Ashiwaju.org have it that President Muhammadu Buhari stopped the renewal of the multimillion dollars pipeline surveillance contracts which expired yesterday. In March, the Federal Government under  President Goodluck Jonathan through the NNPC had handed over the job of protecting the nation’s oil and gas pipelines and waterways to former militants and self-determination groups.

Among the beneficiaries of the contracts are Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo and Chief Bipobiri Ajube (aka Gen. Shoot-At-Sight) alongside Fasehun and Gani Adams of OPC.

I AM READY TO BUY ARSENAL AT ‘WHATEVER PRICE’

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote insists that soon he will have ‘enough time and enough resources’ to buy Arsenal football club, whatever the price.
Dangote, 58, is Africa’s richest man having amassed a fortune in the region of $18.4 billion (£12.2 billion). He is currently the 67th richest man in the world.
He first spoke of his interest in purchasing the Gunners last month when he admitted that ‘one day’ he hoped to buy the club, adding that he ‘already knew’ his strategy to take them forward.
That day may arrive sooner than first expected, with Dangote telling the BBC Tuesday that completion of his proposed oil refinery in Nigeria will provide the funds necessary to launch a takeover of the club.
“When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for,” he told BBC Hausa.