President BUHARI May Appoint 12 Senior MINISTERS FROM NORTH

After accepting the Ahmed Joda-led Transition Committee recommendations of a “small government” which entails pruning the number of ministers from 42 to 19, President Muhammadu Buhari may appoint 12 senior ministers from the North.
Ashiwaju,org  gathered that most of the service chiefs and some other top security chiefs will also come from the North.
The President is expected to implement key recommendations of the report, especially those proposing lean cabinet structure as a way of cutting recurrent expenditure and freeing up funds for capital projects.
According to a source, the committee recommended only 19 senior ministers and 17 (junior) ministers of state totaling 36 in line with constitutional provision of one minister per state.
Top on the list of the ministries to be manned by Northern politicians and technocrats include education, defence, FCT, finance, Justice, police affairs, foreign affairs and the newly-created ministry of energy amongst others.

DANMARAYA JOS DIES AT 69

Iconic Musician popularly known among the Hausa speaking tribe of Nigeria, west Africa, Dr. Adamu Wayya, best known as Danmaraya Jos, is dead, his friend and close associate, Ladan Salihu, has announced.
He was 69.
“Inaa Lillaahi Wa Innaa ilaiHir raaji’un. One of Nigeria’s foremost Northern musicians, poet, philosopher and philanthropist, Dr Adamu Danmaraya Jos has answered Allah’s call about an hour ago,” Mr. Salihu, a zonal director at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, announced at about 4 p.m Saturday on his Facebook page.
Mr. Salihu continued, “He died in Jos after a protracted illness. When I visited him two weeks ago, he spoke passionately about the Unity of the North and of one Nigeria. I remember when he insisted that my late father gave out his (Danmaraya’s) adopted daughter’s hand in marriage some 15 years ago.
“We shared many moments. He was to me a brother and a friend. I am devastated. But I am proud he lived a very useful life, transforming society through music and silently through Islamic endeavors.
May Allah grant him Aljannatul Firdaws. Amin. For the record he was a recipient of the National Honours of MON, OON and United Nations Peace Medal.”

ASARI-DOKUBO Urges FG To Pau Up EX-MILITANTS Pipeline Contract Arrears

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has called on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to pay contractors of the oil pipeline surveillance project in the country.
Asari-Dokubo, who is one of the former Niger Delta agitators awarded pipeline surveillance contract by the Federal Government, told Ashiwaju.org that the three-month deal elapsed on June 15.
He said that the ex-minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, did not sign for the payment of the pipeline surveillance contract before she left office.
The pipeline protection project, which cut across Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States, was executed from March 15, 2015 to June 15.
Asari-Dokubo urged President Buhari to pay the contractors their money if he was truly committed to the rule of law.

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.