MINISTERIAL LIST: PARTY CHIEFS REJECT TECHNOCRATS

President Muhammadu Buhari is in a dilemma on how to constitute his cabinet without hurting his conscience or offending chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), some of whom were instrumental to his victory in the presidential election. New Telegraph learnt at the weekend that the delay in releasing the list of prospective ministers was due to Buhari’s insistence on constituting a cabinet comprising competent and tested technocrats as opposed to the pressure from prominent members of the APC that key ministerial positions must be reserved for them and their associates.
A source told New Telegraph that the ministerial list was being delayed because the party chiefs had rejected most of those chosen by Buhari to be part of the cabinet, irrespective of the fact that the eighth session of the National Assembly will be inaugurated tomorrow. The party chieftains, it was learnt, rejected the draft ministerial list of the president because most of the persons on the list were neither politician nor did they play any critical role during the party’s struggle to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to the source, the president believes that the only way he can bring credibility to his administration and be able to fight corruption without feeling guilty is by using competent technocrats as ministers.

WHAT I WENT THROUGH FOR BELIEVING WE COULD DEFEAT PDP – TINUBU

National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has noted how he and other party officials were mocked at and derided when they conceived the idea of forcing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from power two years ago.
Speaking at the African Young Entrepreneurs Empowerment Nigeria, AYEEN 2015 programme in Lagos, weekend, the party leader thus urged youths not to ever give up on their ideas “even if no one believes in you.”
The APC leader who was represented by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, said that the youths should learn from APC’s story, as they strive to achieve their dreams.
The former governor of Lagos State, who stressed that the journey of the party’s merger started in the minds of a select few said: “If I didn’t believe in the bold initiative, I wouldn’t have lent myself to the unprecedented merger of the political parties that became the APC. We wouldn’t have challenged the incumbent party controlling the central government, People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

Photos: Davido graduates from Babcock University, Ogun State

Davido is now a graduate from Babcock University. His family & other celebrities including Don Jazzy turned out to support him as he achieved this major milestone today. Another pic after the cut...

PETROL TANKER EXPLOSION ROCKS LAGOS AGAIN, RAZES 34 HOUSES, 70 SHOPS

Another petrol tanker went aflame on Saturday in Idimu, Lagos, destroying many houses and gutting investments worth of several millions, although there was no loss of life in the incident, which was the third of its kind in the last one week.
The tanker explosion, which occurred at about 12:05 a.m., left scores of residents disorganised and devastated in Idimu, Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and completely tore the entire community apart.
Consequently, the incident razed down 34 houses and 70 shops unlike the Iyana - Ipaja incident that utterly gutted five houses, 44 shops, 21 vehicles of different makes and six tricycles to the ashes. A similar tanker fire had occurred on Tuesday at Iyana-Ipaja area of the state which left several shops and vehicles destroyed.
Also, the Asaba Motor Park, located along Onitsha-Enugu road, was the scene of a petrol tanker accident where 69 people were burnt to death and 50 persons sustained injuries on May 31.
However, the Anambra Government has expressed its intention to shut down the Asaba Motor Park at Upper Iweka and turn it to what it called a garden park.
However, the damage could have been graver than the loss already incurred, although officials of Lagos State Fire Services, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) saved the situation.

A YEAR WITHOUT ADORABLE DORA!

Exactly a year today, Prof Dora Akunyili passed-on after a two-year battle with cancer
Fondly known as “Adorable Dora”, the internationally renowned pharmacist, pharmacologist, erudite scholar, administrator, and visionary leader, is best remembered as the no-nonsense Director General of the National Agency for Foods, Drugs and Administration and Control, NAFDAC.

As Director General of NAFDAC, Akunyili distinguished herself as a diligent, dedicated and dogged public servant, restored sanity into the system and set a new standard in food and drug administration and control, such that has been difficult for her successors to surpass

She was an Amazon of excellence whose public service record was as exemplary as it was inspiring in that she epitomized the rare values of integrity, diligence, dedication, courage and selflessness in the various capacities that she served the nation.

DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE UNDERGOING BREAST CANCER TREATMENT?

That's what Sahara Reporters is reporting. Read below..

Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is undergoing a new round of treatment for breast cancer, according to a family source knowledgeable about her condition.
The source disclosed that Mrs. Alison-Madueke is currently in a hospital in London where she started a fresh round of therapy on Friday. The treatment was described as a daily therapy that will last for one week, said the source. Mrs. Alison-Madueke left Nigeria on May 23 and has not returned to Nigeria since that trip.

SaharaReporters source also disclosed that Mrs. Alison-Madueke, underwent surgery last year to remove tumors from her breast.

APC PICKS LAWAN AS SOLE CANDIDATE FOR SENATE PRESIDENCY

The governing All Progressives Congress,APC, has nominated Senators Ahmed Lawan from Yobe and George Akume from Benue State to run as the party’s candidates for the office of Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively in Tuesday’s election at the National Assembly.
In an election held at the International Conference Centre Abuja Saturday night, Mr. Lawan scored 32 votes, while Akume got 31 to emerge as Deputy Senate president.
Two votes were declared invalid.
The APC has 59 Senators in the 109- member Senate.
Announcing the result, the returning officer of the election, Mala Buni, who is the APC’s national secretary, said by the result, Messrs Lawan and Akume are now the recognised candidates of the APC for the office of Senate president and Deputy respectively.
Senators loyal to another candidate, Bukola Saraki, boycotted the election.

Jonathan does not deserve hero’s status – Sylva

Former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva weekend declared that the decision by former President Goodluck Jonathan to concede defeat to President Mohammadu Buhari during the last presidential election does not make him a hero.
He insisted that Jonathan’s attempts to scuttle the election disqualified him from benefiting from such heroic status.
Sylva, whose ambition of contesting for second term was scuttled by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP due to pressure from the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, said though the decision to concede  defeat was inevitable and would have been suicidal for the former President, the heroic status is a clear show of lack of value and indication of how cheap a man could earn such status in Nigeria.
The former governor, who spoke in an interview in Yenagoa said the decision by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to concede defeat should not be considered an achievement but an inevitable act from a defeated President.

Bacelona Defeat Juventus 3-1

Barcelona won its fifth European Cup with a 3-1 defeat of Juventus, giving the Spanish side three major trophies this season.
Goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar gave Barcelona the Champions League title. Juventus had come back to tie the game early in the second half of European soccer’s biggest club competition.
Barcelona becomes the first European team to win the Champions League, its domestic league and cup competitions in the same season two times. Barcelona also won La Liga and the Copa del Rey this year, while two-time European champion Juventus won Italy’s top league and the Coppa Italia.
Rakitic opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Every Barcelona player but the goalkeeper touched the ball before the goal, which came after 16 passes.

APC PICKS GBAJABIAMILA FOR HOUSE OF REPS SPEAKERSHIP

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has selected the member representing Surulere Federal Constituency, Lagos, in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to run for the office of Speaker of the House.
Mr. Gbajabiamila was elected at a primary election for APC members organised by the leadership of the party on Saturday in Abuja.
Mr. Gbajabiamila scored 154 votes, while his challenger, Yakubu Dogara, who stormed out of the venue of the election before voting commenced, scored 3 votes.
Four votes were declared invalid by the returning officer, the national vice chairman, north east Babachir Lawan.
The House of Reps is expected to elect a new Speaker on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dogara has rejected the election.