Sunday, March 31, 2013

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday flew to Ikenne, Ogun State to commiserate with the matriarch of the Awolowo Family, Mama Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo on the death of her son Oluwole Awolowo, the publisher of Nigerian Tribune Newspaper.

The President landed in Ikenne in a chopper from where he moved to the home of the Awolowos. The President was joined in his official car by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Segun Adesegun.

President Jonathan, in the condolence register, said he was sad by the death of the late publisher and son of Premier of the Western Region, Obafemi Awolowo.

"Ordinarily, at three scores plus, one will be grateful to God, but still, this death of Chief Oluwole Awolowo is very painful to all of us. May God grant his soul a peaceful rest and let the family have the fortitude to bear the loss," the President wrote in the condolence register.

While speaking to the family of the bereaved, the President said he was short of words to console the Awolowo family.

"It's a period that we lack words, even though as a teacher and politician, in some cases though, I'm generally somebody of very few words. But in some situations, even the very few words disappear. So we really lack words to express our feelings," the President said.

"Ordinarily at that 70, which is why I have said that from Biblical injunction, three scores and ten, is an age you thank God to attain, especially in a country where the average life span is quite below 50. But under the circumstances, his death is painful to all of us.

"To me, I have seen the way the Awolowo family has taken me as their own and I would have loved to be here almost everyday. Gbenga Daniel (former Governor of Ogun State) can attest to that. You have taken me as your own; this is not the period to say it and I have the opportunity to say that and the whole world can know.

"I remain grateful to you for integrating me into the great Awolowo family. That is why I asked the first time I heard about the death that have they informed mama? It was Douglas that told me that they have not informed her and I asked him to go to Lagos and follow this.

"I pay my personal condolence to mama and the entire members of the family and I also condole with the children, especially the younger ones that are still expecting significant parental care.

"I join the Bishop to say God knows everything and He knows the reason for everything. On our part, we will continue to be members of the family and any little thing that God has given us the privilege to do for the children, they are my children and my brothers.

"So mama, it is painful but God knows best and we pray that you don't experience this again and God will see you through. Mama, I'm your son, I will continue to be with you," President Jonathan stated.

Earlier, while welcoming the President, the eldest child of the Awolowos, Tola Oyediran, expressed family's appreciation to the Federal Government.

"On behalf of the family, I want to really appreciate you. You have no doubt identified with us in this journey, even though when we thought it was too big for us to carry, you were there to help us carry the load.
"We did not think at all that you would come and see us. What you have done today, it will remain forever in our hearts and we pray for you and your entire family that you will never know sorrow in Jesus name. Everything you desire in your heart, we pray that the Lord will grant it to you.
"I want to welcome you on behalf of the Awolowo family and mama, and to assure you that your stay here will be peaceful," Mrs. Oyediran said.

Source: Premium Times

Sunday, March 31, 2013

As people were celebrating Easter across the country today, there was war in Kano State.
An early morning raid by operatives of the Joint Task Force at Ryan' Awaki area at Unguwa Uku in Kano State has left fourteen suspected terrorists including one woman and one female child dead.

The Commander of the 3rd Brigade in Kano, Brigadier General Iliyasu Abbah who confirmed the operation to journalists, said one soldier was killed in the onslaught while another one was critically injured.

It was gathered that security operatives also arrested one of the terrorists' top commander during the operation.
According to sources, vehicles found inside the compound were probably for attack during the Easter celebrations today.

A resident of the area disclosed that the compound housing suspected terrorists was invaded by the JTF at about 4am on Sunday.

He added that what followed were heavy sounds of gunshots and explosion which lasted for over four hours.
Although residents were disturbed by the gun duel, they were made to lay down for their safety and no civilian casualty was recorded according to the authority.

"After the gun duel, we saw dead bodies been carried out of the building with different guns," a resident said, adding that improvised explosive devices were also recovered from the building.
The house has been demolished while the corpses have been taken to a morgue.

The area has since been cordoned off by officers of the JTF.

Na wa oo!! On Easter Sunday again???

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Grab your dictionary everyone as I bring to you the Easter message from the Honourable Professor of Grammar, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon.
His message reads thus:

"As we join Christians in the celebration of Easter, may we truly reflect on the quintessential modus vivendi of Master Jesus; The Christ, who peregrinated this incarnation as exempli gratia of self abnegation, puritanical excrescence, spartan discipline, mental magnitude, hierophantic candour and altruistic effusions, qualities which have become a desiderata for national resurgimento."

Na wa for Mr. Patrick ooo!!!!

Sunday, March 31, 2013
A 14-year-old house maid, Otobong Edet John, had her buttocks and parts of her body seared with hot electric iron by her mistress identified as Ekaette.
Narrating her ordeal, Otobong said she was receiving a phone call on her phone when her madam operating a canteen asked her who was on the phone and she said it was one of her friends.
"But madam did not believe me, and started beating me. So I ran and stayed somewhere with my friend," she stated.

According to her, she remained in that place until about 10pm when she went to sleep in a church close to their shop and the next morning "when I was about coming to the shop, a neighbor saw me discussing with a customer who was asking me where I was coming from so early in the morning and went to tell my aunty that I spent the night with the man."

The madam, she said, went to a nearby Police Station at Atimbo Road, Calabar and reported to them that the man had abducted her house maid.

But after the police interrogated the man, they let him go, and this infuriated Ekaette following which she dragged Otobong to the shop, plugged the electric iron and when it was red hot, she used the scorched part to sear the maid's body including her buttocks and right arm. Not done yet, she allegedly put a basin of banana on the girl's head, asking her to go to town to sell even as her arm and buttocks were bleeding.

"It was a customer who wanted to buy banana that saw that my arm was bleeding and asked me what happened, and when I showed him my buttocks, he shouted and took me to the police," she said.

The mistress, while being interrogated by the police at Akim Police Division for causing bodily harm to a minor, justified her action by saying that Otobong was a rude and wayward girl.
"When she told me it was Mary that called her, I called back that number and it was a male voice that answered and she then changed the story that she did not know what the man wanted after she had discussed with the man for over two minutes," Ekaette said.

She said there were several instances where the girl had gone from home to stay with men even as she had repeatedly cautioned her to change her ways. "That girl you are seeing is a very wayward girl, and if I tell you her story, you would marvel," she said.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Cross River State Police Command, DSP John Umoh, said the action of Ekaette was unacceptable as it amounted to child abuse and "after investigations she would be taken to court."

Sunday, March 31, 2013

There are indications that the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has been flown abroad for an undisclosed treatment.
Unconfirmed reports have it that the First Lady's health might have relapsed, thereby necessitating her going abroad to receive another round of treatment.

Dame Patience was absent at the Good Friday church service which took place at the Aso Villa Chapel, in which her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan was in attendance.

Her last public appearance was in France, where she received a Global Women Leader for Peace Award 2013.

The First Lady's spokesperson, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, confirmed that she was not in the country at the moment, but denied reports that Dame Jonathan was abroad for medical attention.
He also intimated that the First Lady is expected back in the country this week.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has arrested two brothers, Henry and Ekene Ezeani for the illegal manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverage, "The Prince Alomo-Bitters."
Operatives of the agency in Lagos impounded N25m worth of the product during the raid.
A statement by NAFDAC spokesperson in the state, Anslem Okonkwo, said the suspects were part of a syndicate that specialised in producing fake brands of beverages, which had been under the agency's surveillance.

"A team of NAFDAC officials led by Mr. Joseph Asikpo apprehended them while they were producing the fake products in their residence at 140, Ojora Royal Compound, Coker Village in Lagos," Okonkwo said.
It was learnt that Ekene had been arrested in 2012 for a similar offence but was released on bail.
Henry was said to have admitted to being the owner of the business.
Okonkwo said, "He said he learnt wine production from a company in South Africa where he had worked before he was deported in 2011.
"His excuse was that he needed money to establish a proper wine producing company of his own."

The Director of Enforcement, NAFDAC, Mr. Garba Macdonald, told journalists that his officers had been on the trail of the suspects since the presence of the fake products was reported in markets across Lagos.
Source: The Punch

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Blackberry device has come to stay in Nigeria. It is a handy tool used to communicate with anybody in any part of the world via the Blackberry Messenger service.
As effective as this device is, it however has it bad uses. Or maybe I should say people misuse it to the detriment of others.
Such is the case of this story I dug up somewhere. The story goes thus:

I am married to my best friend of 17 years (married 6 years now). He is 36 years old. He is a very nice man, apart from his lust for women and his Blackberry..... As far as I know right now, he doesn't have physical contact with any girl there.
But has 1001 of girlfriends in Nigeria via Blackberry. It started with his married ex-girlfriends sending him their naked pictures... Now it has switched to younger girls. I have their pictures in a safe place. I am tempted to post their pictures online... Maybe they will let him rest or he will let them rest. He thinks him being on BB doesn't affect our relationship, but it does.
He stays up all night chatting and hardly have time for sex.. His conversation with the girls is so raw.. But when I try to flirt with him at home and use the "D" word, "F" word or the "P" word, its war. WHAT CAN I DO???

**Well I hand this over to you guys, but personally I think the girl needs to quit that relationship, because its obvious the love is gone**

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The National Security and Civil Defence Corps will conduct a post-mortem examination on the bodies of its two officials allegedly killed by men of the Lagos State Police Command in Ikorodu on Wednesday morning.
Spokesperson for the state command of the NSCDC, Kehinde Dada, told newsmen that there would be a post-mortem on the bodies of Gabriel Ajaji and Innocent Akegbe.

But she said she could not reveal much since the case was being handled by her superiors at the headquarters in Abuja ('Her Oga At The Top').
Ajaji and Akegbe, who were officers in the Anti-Vandalism Squad of the NSCDC, lost their lives after a successful raid and arrest of some suspects at a site of an NNPC installation in Ikorodu.

Ever since that incident occurred, the Lagos State Police Command and the NSCDC have been drawn in a battle of claims and counter-claims.

The Police still claims they have no idea how the two NSCDC officials were killed since their own men were victims in the said incident.

However, a ranking police officer at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, said that a ballistic test, which would be carried out as part of the police investigation, would determine who is speaking the truth.
The officer who preferred not to be named for obvious reasons said,

"This matter is simple. Everybody will continue to blame the police and because the NSCDC needs someone to blame for the death of their men, they too will continue to tell the world the two men were killed by policemen.
"But why continue all the allegations when a simple ballistic test on the bullets recovered from the bodies of the two officials can be tested and see if it belonged to a police gun? Let the NSCDC cooperate with our investigation, and the truth will come out."

Meanwhile the bodies of the slain NSCD operatives have been deposited at the Military Hospital mortuary, Yaba, pending the post-mortem.
The injured officials are also receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
Source: The Punch

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Since Davido's single track, Gobe hit the airwaves, it has topped the music charts, and has received massive air play in almost all the radio stations in the country.
However, it was speculated that Davido bought the song from a new artiste, Password. It was said in some quarters that Password released the Gobe song sometime in 2011 before selling it to Davido in 2013 for N350,000.

The Head Management of HKN, Davido's record label, Kamal Ajiboye said that Password approached them with the song and said he was sure Davido could do something good with it. When Davido heard the song, he modified it to suit his style.
He stressed that they never knew the song had been released before.

Kamal said, "Password is a friend to our producer Shizzle. He told Shizzle he had a song and Shizzle asked him to bring it. Shizzle told Davido to listen to the song and if he liked it, he could turn the song around.
"When Davido heard the song, he liked it. He removed something and added his own stuff to it. The guy never said the song had been released. If he did, we wouldn't have used the song. Maybe the song did not do well, that was why he brought it to us.

"We paid him N350,000 for the song. The beat was done by us; the job Davido did to the song was even more than what he did to the song."

Nice job by Davido though!!

Friday, March 29, 2013

This is the hotel where Tuface Idibia and his wife, Anne, slept after their wedding.
The hotel is called JW Mariott Marquis in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The hotel is a 72-storey twin tower skyscraper, and it is just barely 3 months old. It happens to be the tallest hotel in Dubai.
It is located in the heart of the city on the buzzing Sheikh Zayed Road, Business Bay area, close to Downtown Burj Khalifa.

Mehn boys are 'chopping life' ooo!!

Friday, March 29, 2013

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday announced the cancellation of the N100 monthly card maintenance fee introduced by some banks recently on the use of Automated Teller Machines.

The CBN is a circular titled, "Revised guide to bank charges," posted on its website, however, pegged the maintenance fee at N100 annually.
Also affected is the mandatory cost of Short Message Service alert which has been pegged at N4 subject to the Nigerian Communication Commission's directives.
The circular which takes effect from April 1, read,
"In order to reflect current developments in the market and provide clarity on banking terms, the CBN recently conducted a review of the guide in consultation with all the banks and discount houses, Bankers' Committee, financial experts and also considered inputs received from other stakeholders to produce the revised guide to bank charges."

On electronic transfer, the bank said N70 would be charged on transactions below N500,000 while N100 should be charged on transactions between N500,000 and N1m. Transactions above N1m will attract a charge of N500.

It said issuing fee of a debit card should not exceed N1,000, while international withdrawals per transaction on debit cards should be charged at N240 rather than N1,000 being currently charged by almost all the banks.

The CBN pegged the interest on savings deposit accounts at a minimum of 30 percent of the Monetary Policy Rate per annum.

It would be recalled that following the Bankers' Committee meeting in November 2012 which scrapped the N100 interbank charge on the use of ATM cards, some banks went ahead to introduce the N100 monthly maintenance fee on ATM cards.

Friday, March 29, 2013
A civil servant with the Ministry of Education in Ekiti State (name withheld) has stabbed his lover to death during an argument which arose between the duo after sex.
The suspect was said to have taken the 24 year old lady, Miss Tosin Alabi, to a hotel along Ajilosun Road in Ado Ekiti last Saturday to catch some fun.
It was gathered that an argument arose between the two lovers after they had had sex and the man refused to 'settle' Tosin as earlier agreed.
The lady was said to have insisted that her boyfriend must pay her what he promised before having sex with her and this led to a fight.
The man, who was said to have been slightly drunk grabbed a bottle, broke it and stabbed his girlfriend on the neck and the buttocks.

Some of the hotel workers were said to have rushed to lady to a nearby hospital, but there was no doctor to attend to her and she had to be taken to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti where she was confirmed dead.
The boyfriend was said to have escaped and went into hiding since the incident happened and has not been found.
Another source told journalists that a man took the lady to the hotel for clubbing but another man hijacked her and had sex with her. The fight which led to Tosin's death was said to have broken out between her and the man who hijacked her at the hotel.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Victor Babayemi, told correspondents that he was not aware of the incident because he had been away from the state for more than a week.
He promised to send the telephone number of a police officer for reaction to the incident but he was yet to do so as at the time of filing the report.
One of the brothers of the deceased, Mr. Paul Owolabi, told journalists gathered from the hotel that the man who took Tosin to the hotel stabbed her to death as a result of dispute over how much to pay her after having sex with her.
Owolabi accused the police of trying to cover the man who committed the crime but he said that the family would not allow that to happen.

He said. "By now, the police ought to have made some arrests including the owner of the hotel. The police said that the father of Tosin's boyfriend was arrested but later released. We don't know why the police should hurriedly release the man whose son stabbed our sister to death when the killer is still in the hiding.
"We are suspecting a fowl play. The police are not making any effort to get to the root of the matter and we are disappointed. We want the police to do a thorough job, the killer must be apprehended and prosecuted."
Source: The Punch

Friday, March 29, 2013

The 'Easter Sales syndrome' has taken its usual toll as the prices of frozen foods in markets across Lagos has increased slightly.
A market survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Lagos at Abattoir market, Agege, showed that prices of Cow meat have gone up. Mallam Adamu Abubakar, a Cow seller attributed the rise in the price of Cow meat to the increase of the cost of Cows. He told NAN that a Cow that was sold at N70,000 before the Easter period costs about N80,000 now.
"Up till Monday this week, the price of Cow was N70,000, but I was surprised when I got back to the market yesterday and found that a Cow of the same size was selling for N80,000."
Because of this, the retailers increased the price of meat to the detriment of consumers.
The check also revealed that prices of cartons of frozen Chicken haven risen from N7,000 to N7,500 each.
Also, a kilogramme of frozen Chicken that used to sell at N600, now sells at N650. A trader, Mrs. Titilope Adewuyi, attributed the increase to the scarcity of frozen foods in the market.
"Frozen foods are scarce in the market now, and only a few traders that have it in stock increased their prices, so the customers don't have a choice but to buy," she said.
Mrs. Bolanle Bankole, a Fish seller, told NAN that she had sold up to eight cartons of Fish in retails because many people who could not afford meat had turned to Fish.
Mr. Jimoh Haruna, who sells live Chicken, also told NAN that price of a big-sized broiler had increased to N2,500 from N1,500, while a big old layer Chicken which was sold for N1,300 now sold for N1,900.
"We have recorded low patronage due to the hike in the price of Chicken in the market, customers have been complaining and hope that the price would be reduced," he said.

Friday, March 29, 2013

I guess some of you can remember the picture of Davido in bed with a woman that circulated the internet and social media sometime last December.
Well Davido has come open on how the picture came to be.
Davido said: "I was asleep in bed. The girl just sneaked in and (makes gesture of taking photograph) I don't know her.
I used to stay in an apartment back then, movement was kind of free. Maybe I didn't lock the door and she just sneaked in and took the pix. I have however moved to my new home where there is much tighter security," he said.

"I didn't realize what was going on even after the pix was posted online. I traveled to Ghana immediately afterwards and I noticed on the plane people were just staring at me and I wondered why. Since it was a flight, my phone was switched off and so I had no idea what was happening online.
"When I got to Ghana, I still got the same stare from people. I was asked by friends to switch on my phone and that was it. 300 calls from dad, 600 calls from grandma, everyone asking Davido what's going on."
He also claims the unnamed girl called his folks later to apologize for the silly act.

Well one question I have for Davido is that: what happened to the sense of touch??

Friday, March 29, 2013
Operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano State yesterday arrested four terrorists, including an improvised explosives devices (IEDs) specialist during two separate raids in the Kano metropolis.
The JTF operatives also stormed a residence at Gaida Ajawa along Kano western by-pass used as an armoury by the terrorists and uncovered six AK-47 rifles, 15 hand-held IEDs, 189 rounds of ammunition.

According to a statement made available to journalists by the JTF revealed that items recovered included 11 bags of fertilizer, 200 empty containers of assorted beverage drinks, wires and other materials for making IEDs.
The statement signed by the JTF spokesman, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, revealed that other items recovered from the suspects were one FN rifle, one general purpose machine gun (GPMG), one SMG rifle, one pump action rifle, and one PPK pistol magazine, two smoke guns, 43 rounds of 5.56mm SMG ammunition, two containers of liquid chemical substances and eight rounds of 9mm ammunition for PPK pistol.

The statement revealed that: "Earlier this afternoon, the IED's manufacturing specialist for the terrorists network in Kano was also arrested at a farm centre.
"You may have observed that there has been a rise in recent times of activities of terrorists in the state.
"This may not be unconnected to the influx of terrorists fleeing from Maiduguri, Damaturu, Potiskum and other havens of terrorists as a result of pressure being mounted on them by the JTF operatives in these areas."
The JTF also decried the fact that the terrorists secured accommodation easily in Panshekara, Ja'en, Mariri, Farawa, Hotoro, Sharada, and other outskirts areas in the state capital despite appeals to property owners to desist from renting their properties to terrorists.

"JTF in Kano will not allow the state to be a haven for terrorists. These having fallen on deaf ears, we would go a step further in not only destroying any property which is found to accommodate terrorists but will also arrest the owners of such properties treating them as accomplices, even if they do not reside in the said properties," the statement added.

The JTF further warned terrorists that it would unleash its full weight and might on any terror network anywhere they are traced within Kano and its environs, assuring them that they will not rest in ensuring the safety of the good people of the state.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is 61 today. He was born 29th of March 1952.
He was elected Senator for the Lagos West Constituency in Lagos State in 1993.
After return to democracy, he was elected Governor of Lagos State, holding office from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.
He is the National Leader of the Action Congress party.
Happy Birthday Sir!!!

Friday, March 29, 2013

It was a very emotional sight to behold as Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 detainees in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday service.
Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 young detainees to replicate the Bible's account of Jesus Christ's gesture of humility towards his 12 Apostles on the night before he was crucified.
The 12 prisoners included two girls, one Italian Catholic and one of Serbian Muslim origin, local prison Ombudsman, Angiolo Marroni said ahead of the ceremony.
Some of the prisoners volunteered to have their feet washed, while others were given an invitation to help them overcome their embarrassment, the Catholic News Agency quoted the prison Chaplain as saying.
The newly elected Pope has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican.
He has broken with tradition for the feet-washing ceremony, which is normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.
It would be recalled that former Pope Benedict XVI visited the centre in 2007, but not for the Holy Thursday Mass. Only for the first two years of his Pontificate did he perform the feet-washing himself, after which the task was delegated to the priests.
Easter is the most important festival in the calendar of the Catholic Church.

I must say this is humility at its peak. The type of love am talking about.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Here is what music producer, OJB Jezreel had to say about Tonto Dikeh's songs:
"The problem is that she wasn't listening to the key thing. People didn't download the songs out of love, but out of surprise. If she wants to go into music professionally, she needs to take out her time and learn how to sing.
Its a lot easier to cross into acting from singing, but a lot harder to cross into singing from acting. If after her first single, she got better people to coach and produce her songs, she might not have complained so much, but there was no improvement.
As far as I am concerned, Tonto Dikeh's delving into the music industry is a bad idea right now.
Her wanting to sing is not bad, but her thinking on that on the platform of the fact that she is a movie star, so she can sing, is a very bad idea."

I don't like the sound of this, so I better dodge my head when Tonto fires back.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Today, 29th of March is Good Friday or Holy Friday or Easter Friday as so many people may decide to call it, a day celebrated by Christians worldwide to remember the crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
It may be a religious holiday, but we need to take our time and our minds of the foods and drinks and the merry for a while, and reflect on the true significance of the day.
We need to reflect on what today actually means. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to die for our sins, yes He did, it was part of the plan God wanted to happen.
But the events preceding the crucifixion needs to be analysed, as it is a great lesson to take to our everyday lives.
It would be recalled that Jesus Christ made a triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, and He was heralded by a lot of people. He then made a declaration to His Disciples that the time has come for Him to be captured, but His Disciples vowed that they will fight with whoever tried to capture Jesus, whereas certain of His Disciples had another thing in mind.
Jesus knew all along, He knew He had enemies amongst His Disciples, but God's Will had to be done.
A certain Judas Iscariot collected a bribe of 30 pieces of silver from the guards and told them that whoever he kissed should be the one they arrest.
Jesus knew all along, and He played along with the enemies. Several of His Disciples who vowed to fight who ever tried to capture Jesus, all backed down when the going went tough for Jesus.
Peter was a very good example, he denied ever knowing who Jesus Christ was. This was someone who Jesus had already told to his face that before the Cock crowed three times, Peter would deny Him.
And Our Lord Jesus Christ was beaten mercilessly, He was stripped, He was made to carry a very 'Heavy Cross'. That 'Heavy Cross' signified our problems and our burden.
He was mocked that if truly He were the son of God, that He should save Himself from the situation. But God's Will had to be done.
He was nailed to the Cross He carried, and was made to die in full glare of the public.
He was treated like a common thief. He was insulted, He was embarrassed.
The lessons I want us to take out of this story are that; in our modern day life, most of the people we call friends, are there because we have something to gain from them or vice-versa.
We call it friends with benefits.
Has anyone ever thought of having a friend without benefit?
When the going was getting tough for Jesus Christ, all His Disciples who vowed 'heaven on earth' deserted Him at the very end. The Yoruba tribe has a famous saying that 'we only lick a friends hand if it is rubbed with oil, but we can never lick that same friends' hand, if it is stained with blood.' I would implore us to erase that notion, and be by a friend in time of need.
Life can never be a bed of roses, we must have our ups and downs, we must have our high moments, and our low moments. We need to stay strong for who ever our friend is in times of need, in times of pain, in times of discomfort.
Another lesson we must take out of the story of Jesus is that we must learn to love one another. Love conquers everything. In a world where violence is the order of the day, bombings everywhere, kidnappings, murder, rape, war, we have to learn to show love in the midst of all these. We don't necessarily have to know someone before we decide to show love. We should learn to show love just because Jesus Christ showed us love by painfully and excruciatingly dying for our sins.
Another lesson we must take from this touching story is that we must never betray anyone. I am tempted to say, how dare Judas betray Jesus Christ for a meagre 30 pieces of silver? That great Love Jesus Christ showed to us can never be quantified monetarily.
But what do we get nowadays, we have betrayal, bribery, corruption, greed. Everyone seems to be fighting for a personal interest. Money can only guarantee a befitting burial ceremony, but it can never guarantee a place in Heaven.
Betrayals, backstabbing are very dangerous to us as christians. We should endeavour to put personal interests aside and look after our fellow neighbor.
Lastly, we should endeavour as christians to stay off sin. It makes no sense, how Jesus Christ would die for our sins, and yet we would still go back to those sins He had died for.
Though it seems very difficult because the devil is constantly on the prowl to look for whom to devour. We should always pray to God for direction so that we would not be led into temptation.
We should endeavour to go to church, and we should try and stay off things of the world that would lead us to sin.
God bless you all, and Happy Holidays!!

Thursday, March 28, 2013
News reaching me has it that the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Jude Agbaso has been impeached by the Imo state House of Assembly.
Twenty five out of the twenty six lawmakers in the Assembly voted in favour of the impeachment.
The Assembly had served Mr. Agbaso, a notice of impeachment over the allegation that he demanded and collected N458 million bribe from J-PROS Limited, a construction firm handling the rehabilitation of Sam Mbakwe Road in Owerri, the state capital.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Award winning rapper, Naetochukwu Chikwe (Naeto-C) welcomed the birth of his son on social networking site Instagram.
Naeto-C, whose wife, Nicole gave birth last week, wrote these on his Instagram page: "Thanks to everyone for all the messages. Words aren't honestly enough to express this moment. Its ironic for someone like myself who is used to putting words together. Maybe later. But right now I'm just thanking God with my family and enjoying my son's company! I wish you all similar moments at some point(s) in your lives."
Naeto-C and his family are currently in the U.S, and he is expected to continue his North American tour in Winnipeg, Canada.

Congratulations to 'Super-C'!!!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Former South African President, Nelson Mandela has been re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection.
The statement from the South African Presidency said Mr. Mandela, 94, had been admitted just before midnight on Wednesday.
Mr. Mandela spent 18 days in hospital in December 2012, undergoing treatment for a lung infection and gallstones.
He is widely regarded the father of the nation for leading the struggle against apartheid.
Mr. Mandela served as South Africa's first black president from 1994 to 1999.
A Presidential spokesman told the BBC that Mr. Mandela was conscious and was receiving the best possible medical treatment.
"I think we need to be clear that the doctors are attending to Madiba (Mr. Mandela) on a continuous basis," spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
"They prefer to act on the side of caution, and the moment they felt there was a recurrence of the lung infection, they felt it warranted immediate hospitalisation given his age and given his history.

Thursday, March 28, 2013
Another unsavory story of the "show of power" by our security operatives.
This time in Bauchi State, a police Corporal, Abbas Haladu was said to have met the soldiers who barricaded the entrance leading to the Emir's palace near the Roundabout at about 7am on Wednesday when they descended on him, beating him mercilessly.
The attack left the corporal with a broken hand.
According to sources, the soldiers had barricaded the road at 8pm on Tuesday as a security measure to forestall the breakdown of law and order. It was learnt that Corporal Haladu who was in mufti, was stopped from going to the Emir's palace where he was posted to commence duty for the day.
Trouble started for the corporal when he was asked by the soldiers to identify himself which he did, but the soldiers on duty who were already reportedly angry insisted that he would not pass through the barricade to the Emir's palace.

Am wondering what is going on with our security men and their unnecessary battle of wits.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Well I have my personal reservation about this subject, but the news here is that celebrity singer, Beyonce Knowles posted a picture which she inscribed some words on a red piece of paper, in which she seemed to voice her support for same-sex marriage.
She posted the picture on her Instagram page on Tuesday. The picture was liked by about 220,000 people in just less than 24 hours.
Well I will let you be the judge of this.

Thursday, March 28, 2013
Well I have my personal reservation about this subject, but the news here is that celebrity singer, Beyonce Knowles posted a picture which she inscribed some words on a red piece of paper, in which she seemed to voice her support for same-sex marriage.
She posted the picture on her Instagram page on Tuesday. The picture was liked by about 220,000 people in just less than 24 hours.
Well I would let you be the judge of this.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Lagos State Police Command has come out to deny that its officials attacked officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
In a press statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, the police said that the Civil Defence officers disarmed police officers responding to a distress call over alleged petroleum pipeline vandalism at Mosimi.
"The Lagos State Police Command wishes to use this medium to put the record straight at what actually transpired at Isawo-Ikorodu at the early hours of Wednesday 27/03/2013 between the NSCDC and the Police," said the statement.
"At about 0145hrs, there was a distress call from DM security PPMC, Mosimi that they were experiencing drop in pressure on the pipeline. The Unit Commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men on Konu axis under Inspector Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene."
Ms. Braide said that as the police were approaching the scene, they heard sounds of 'serious gun firing' near the pipeline area; and Mr Gabriel instructed his men to head towards the direction."
"Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corps members coming out of the direction where the shooting was earlier heard," Ms. Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said.
"The NSCDC officers challenged the policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area; saying that it was their sole responsibility to guide and protect pipelines," she added.
An argument ensued thereafter, according to the police statement, and the most senior NSCDC official, DSC Olufemi, ordered his men, numbering 14, to disarm, arrest, and handcuff the police team leader and three other members of his team.
"The NSCDC succeeded in disarming the police team leader, Inspector Sunday Gabriel, handcuffed him, collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie, and police I.D card," the statement continued.
"As they were about dragging him into one of their standby Hilux vehicles, a phone call was put to the Police Unit Commander reporting the situation. The three other officers resisted the arrest and this infuriated the Civil Defence officials who started shooting sporadically to intimidate and subdue the police officers.
"Before the Police Commander could arrive at the scene, the NSCDC officials had taken to their heels abandoning the handcuffed Police Inspector with one NSCDC personnel."
Ms. Braide further said that afterwards, the Police Commander at Mosimi received a 'shocking' call from the NSCDC commander that two of his men had been killed.
"Up till now, the pistol of Inspector Sunday Gabriel, who was badly beaten and stabbed by the NSCDC officials, and his other properties are still with the NSCDC," said Ms. Braide.
The Police account of the incident differs entirely with that of the NSCDC. The NSCDC's account also said that the arrested vandals made calls to the Police and escaped after the police attack.
The police spokesman said that the incident led to NSCDC officers at Alausa, Ikeja assaulting three police officers- Sergeant Charles Igiebor, Corporal Ekun Julius, and Corporal Okoro Charles- who went for National I.D Card registration exercise, on wednesday morning.
"They also started attacking policemen on sight in other parts of the state," she said.
Ms. Braide advised residents of Lagos to remain calm as "investigation into the matter has commenced."

Personally, I think there is still a lot to be uncovered in this story. I rest my case for now.

Thursday, March 28, 2013
Policemen in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State have been accused of killing two officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
It was learnt that five other officials of the NSCDC sustained gun shot wounds during the attack which occurred early Wednesday morning.
Sources at the NSCDC told newsmen that the slain officers, Gabriel Adaji and Innocent Akegbe, were on duty with their colleagues when they had an altercation with the police.
According to an eye witness, it was gathered that the NSCDC officials had gone on a raid, and arrested some vandals along with their exhibit, and were returning when the incident happened.
It was learnt that the vandals made calls to their police collaborators for support as they could not overwhelm the anti-vandals team of the Corps. Immediately the police got wind of the information, they laid siege for the Corps and opened fire on the NSCDC officials killing two while others scampered for safety with gunshot wounds as the vandals were immediately released by the police.
On seeing that it was the police, the men of the Corps refused to fire a single shot from their rifles but could only expressed shock at a sister security agency who ordinarily should assist in fighting crime and criminality, are the ones aiding them, while vandals continue to flourish in crime.

Thursday, March 28, 2013
Senators and the Service Chiefs in the country had a six hour meeting in Abuja on Wednesday to discuss the threat of the Islamic group Boko Haram to Lagos.
The meeting which started at about 10.56am took place in the Senate Chamber, and was a closed door one, as no member of the press was allowed in.
Present at the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sa'id Ola Ibrahim; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubike Ihejirika; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh.
Also in attendance were the Director-General of the Directorate of State Services, Ita Ekpeyong; the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, represented by Deputy Inspector-General (Administration), Suleiman Fataki.
While the security chiefs were billed to brief the senators on their operations concerning curtailing the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic group, and insecurity generally in the country. However the security chiefs were reluctant to give details of their operations.
A Senator at the meeting who pleaded for anonymity confided in one member of the press said: "You know these are security men and they are fully aware that they are speaking to politicians. They chose their words carefully so that they will not play into the hands of the people they are dealing with.
"You are aware that two of our colleagues in the Senate are facing investigation or trial for links with the Boko Haram group.
"After the briefing, we asked general questions about the seriousness of the threat we are facing and whether the strategy would get the job done.
"One of us asked what their position was on the calls for dialogue with the sect, and the unanimous answer they gave was that they were in support of whatever decision the President takes."
When asked specifically about the recent threat to Lagos, the Senator said, "You know I cannot give you details. Everyone was concerned because attacking our commercial capital will have dire consequences. We all agreed we must do everything to nip it in the bud. On the whole, all options are open. That is all I can tell you."
At the end of the meeting, the President of the Senate said, "At plenary, the Senate was briefed by the Service Chiefs and afterwards, they took questions on the same subject matter.
At a press briefing shortly afterwards, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Eyinnaya Abaribe, told the reporters that the Senate was satisfied with the briefing it received.
He said, "The Senate devoted the entire plenary to an interaction with the service chiefs and heads of security agencies in Nigeria with a view to finding out problems and work with the different security agencies in Nigeria.
"We are satisfied with the level of interaction and efforts aimed at making Nigeria a safe place, we are calling on Nigerians to cooperate with our security agencies to resolve these issues."
Abaribe added, "All options on how to operate and fight terrorism for which we also signed several protocols, I'm sure that these kind of interaction that our security agencies are having with their counterparts in terms of security means that the fight against terrorism is a collective one."
Source: The Punch

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The National Assembly wants the National Library to be named in honour of the late literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe.
Achebe passed on last week in Boston, USA at the age of 82.
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Charles Odedo moved the motion entitled: "Tribute to Professor Chinua Achebe," which was adopted in Abuja when put to vote by Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal.
Odeto said the late Achebe brought honour to Nigeria with his literary works that included his novel, "Things Fall Apart."
Odedo said the late Achebe in 1992 was represented in Everyman's Library Collection.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Hassan Saleh, said the late Achebe was one of the greatest human beings to have emerged from Nigeria.
He also said that Achebe had done so much in his literary works for "past generation and other generations to come."
In his tribute to the late Achebe, Hon. Toby Ikechukwu said the writer was a poet and a novelist, adding that his works represented various stages of Nigeria's democracy.
Hon. Ali Madaki said Nigerians do not celebrate their heroes until their death. He said, "We should learn to identify our heroes when they are alive, and not wait until they are dead."
The legislators urged members to support the motion so that future generations would draw lessons from the late literary icon.
As the motion was not opposed, the Speaker thereafter referred it to the Committee on Governmental Affairs for further legislative inputs.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Emerging reports have it that former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah has been jailed for 24 years by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
"Effectively, the accused is therefore sentenced to 24 years imprisonment," Judge Neels Claassen said as he handed down the sentence.
On 21st January, Okah was found guilty on 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing, and detonating an explosive device.
The charges related to two car bombs in Abuja on Independence Day, October 1, 2010, in which 12 people were killed and 36 injured.
The second bombing took place in Warri, Delta State on 15 March 2010 at a post amnesty dialogue meeting. One person was killed, while 11 were seriously injured in the attack.
Judge Claassen sentenced Okah to 12 years for each of the bombings and 13 years for the threats made to the South African government after his arrest in October 2012.
The 13 years would run concurrently with the 24 years.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Lagos State Government is continuing to make concerted efforts to improve tourism in the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Intergovernmental Relations, Ashamu Fadipe, on Monday said that the government had mapped out strategies to upgrade tourism sites in Lekki and Badagry.
Fadipe made this known in an interview in Ikeja, Lagos. He said: "Those strategies, include the development of Lekki axis as resort centres and Badagry axis as the former slave routes and its other cultural and tourism potentials."
Fadipe said the decision of the state government to develop the two areas was due to their great tourism potentials.
"The essence of doing this is to harness the potential of the area. The potentials are enormous. If you want to talk of what we have in Lekki axis, there are Island culture, lakes, lagoons, rivers leading to the Atlantic Ocean and the cultural aspect of people living within that locality.
"On the other side of Badagry, we have the first storey building, the slave market and so many other things that have to do with history. These are what the international tourists want to see and these are what adventure visitors want to see. In doing this, it is a way of making the locality known; making the state known and making Nigeria known as well," he said.
The Permanent Secretary added that many people would benefit economically from a visitor that stayed in a locality for at least one week.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Federal Government has declared Friday, 29th of March, 2013 and Monday, 1st of April, 2013 as public holidays to celebrate the Easter celebrations.
Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, announced this on behalf of the Federal Government. He congratulated all christians on the occasion, and enjoined them to remain committed to the exemplary attributes of love, tolerance and peaceful co-existence which Jesus Christ exhibited during his time on earth.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Chelsea of England and Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder, John Mikel Obi has come out to deny reports that he is about to wed Delta Soap model, Sandra Okagbue.
Mikel told KickOff sports reporter, Colin Udoh, that he and Sandra are just friends.
"I don't understand where this is coming from. I know her, we are friends, but we haven't spoken in a long time and definitely not about marriage."

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

One time member of the defunct music group, Plantashun Boiz, Blackface seems not to be on good terms with his former group member, Tuface.
Blackface has gone underground ever since the group split.
Tuface has gone on to blosom in his music career, while the other member Faze also made a name for himself in his music career.
But Blackface wasn't quite as successful as the other two members, as his solo album didn't make it.
The news here is that Blackface and Tuface are not on good terms, as he wasn't invited to Tuface's wedding ceremony in Dubai last weekend.
Above is the cut of the conversation Blackface had with one of a fan on Twitter.

Monday, March 25, 2013 1

As part of efforts to curb the level of crime being perpetrated by aliens, the Nigerian Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, has said it is set to deport about 100 Chadians, Nigeriens, and Malians from the county.
The development came less than a week after a Chadian was arrested in Ijora on suspicion of terrorism.
The spokesman for the command, Muyiwa Odunnubi said the foreigners would be deported on Tuesday.
It was learnt that after the arrest of the terror suspects in Lagos, the state police command embarked on a raid on Friday and arrested over a hundred people suspected to be illegal aliens.
Odunnubi said apart from the state police command, the Lagos State Taskforce on the Environment and Special Offences had also embarked on raids.
"The taskforce will deliver 69 suspected illegal aliens to our custody while the state police command will transfer 38 to us. They will be screened and then those who are illegal will be conveyed to their respective countries by bus," he said.
Source: The Punch

Monday, March 25, 2013

Sad reports have it once again that the city of Kano has been hit with another unfortunate occurrence.
This time, two fuel laden tankers collided with each other as they exploded and burst into flames. The accident was caused by a break failure when the vehicles were flagged down at a military checkpoint by soldiers.
Two persons were engulfed in the inferno from the explosion with both drivers believed to have died. A kid was also knocked down by a vehicle that lost its brake due to the explosion.
The National Emergency Management Agency and security services are currently on ground helping victims of the explosion.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Emerging reports have it that Chelsea FC and Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi is about to wed long time lover, Sandra Okagbue, a model for Delta soap.
The pair had been dating for 3 years now, and have finally decided to seal the relationship.
The introduction ceremony I hear is going to take place on Sunday 31st March, 2013 at Sandra's family home in Onitsha.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Today, 24th of March 2013 is Palm Sunday. A day where christians celebrate the triumphant entry of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday is usually marked with the use of palm fronds shaped into a cross.
In the days of old, people removed their garments and clothes, and laid it on the floor for Jesus to ride a Donkey on it.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of a significant week in the lives of every christian, because it was from Jerusalem Jesus was taken captive. Hence it marks the beginning of a holy week.
Happy Palm Sunday to everyone out there.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Nigeria, the African Champions kicked off their post-AFCON campaign in Calabar with a disappointing World Cup qualifying draw with Kenya.
Despite the early confidence on the pitch and in the stands, the home side failed to spark. Nigeria was left stunned as Francis Kahata gave the Kenyans the early lead with a sweetly struck free kick in the 37th minute.
Elderson Echiejile brought down his man leading to the dangerous free kick that resulted in the shock opener for Kenya.
Kenya preserved their lead into the half time break, despite Nigeria being offered a glorious chance.
Nigeria went in at half time deflated, a far cry from their performance in South Africa. As the game wore on, it was looking like Nigeria's 13 match unbeaten run was going to come to an end.
The pressure put on the Harambee Stars by the Eagles finally paid off in the 93rd when Nnamadi Oduamadi profiting from a 6-yard scramble to spare Nigeria's blushes.
The Super Eagle have to improve in upcoming games.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Popular artiste Innocent Idibia A.K.A Tuface will finally tie the knot with his long time girlfriend, Anne Macaulay.
It would be recalled that Tuface and Anne had their wedding engagement last week in Anne's hometown in Akwa Ibom State. The white wedding is slated for today in Dubai.
Information reaching me say the wedding ceremony will take place at the prestigious Jumeirah Beach Hotel, a five start resort centre.
Only about 250 guests made up of family, friends and business associates will attend the wedding, which preparation is said to have gulped millions of Naira.
Tuface, Anne and their daughter, Isabella left Nigeria on monday alongside his father, his brother, Hyacinth and his Personal Assistant aboard Emirates Airline. The wedding planner got to Dubai on Tuesday to set things in motion as well.
Tuface groom's men would be his close friends such as Larry Gaga, Faze, Sound Sultan, Hyacinth Idibia, D'banj and Tony Tetuila.
The popular singer has received support from his millionaire friend, Ayiri Emami and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio.
Colleagues in the Nigerian entertainment industry were seen around the Muritala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, yesterday, looking to board the Emirates Airline, which I hear is the official airline to convey guests to Dubai for the grand wedding.
We wish 'Tubaba' and Anne a blissful marriage.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Leading telecommunications service provider MTN Nigeria, is to pay a sum of N90million for poor quality of service for the period of July to December 2012, the Nigerian Communications Commission said.
Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, said this in Abuja on Friday while announcing the postponement of planned takeoff of mobile portability by three weeks.
Number portability is an application that will enable subscribers to migrate from one service provider to another without losing their telephone number.
The service is expected to put network operators on their toes in offering good quality of service at very competitive tariffs.
Consequently, Ojobo added that it had been communicated to the operator that it had till April 3 to pay the fine of N90m for the poor quality of service on its network.
Source: The Punch

Friday, March 22, 2013

Reports reaching me has it that nobel writer, Professor Albert Chinualumogu Achebe has passed on.
Achebe passed on in his USA base this morning. He was 82 years of age.
Achebe is best known for his classic novel Things Fall Apart. His last book, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, is still making waves.
May his soul rest in peace!!

Friday, March 22, 2013
Fear gripped many residents on Thursday when news filtered that troops numbering about 100 stormed terror suspects' hideout in Ijora, a densely populated part of the city.
The soldiers were arrested by men of the State Security Service, who were believed to have acted on a tip-off. They were said to have stormed the area at around 7am today in search of the suspects said to be members of an Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram.
It was learnt that their search yielded fruits when two persons were arrested at 24 Aromire Street and three others at a location in an adjacent street.
The soldiers ransacked the building at Aromire Street where one of the arrested persons, Ibrahim Musa, occupied five rooms. A bomb kept in a cooler and hidden inside the ceiling of one of the rooms in Musa's apartment was recovered by the soldiers.
Musa, who a security source described as an illegal alien from Chad, was said to be the leader of the suspects.
Other items found were AK-47 rifles, cartridges and daggers.
The security source who craved anonymity, added that the raid was as a result of an investigation which began a month ago.
He said, "Security agents got information a month ago that there was a terrorist hideout in the Seven Up area of Ijora. Although we were not sure if they were Boko Haram members or not, we did not want to take any chances, so we decided to go and raid the place.
"It was discovered that the place was being run by a Chadian and arms were recovered during the raid, including AK-47 rifles. Investigations are on going, and those not found culpable will be released."
Musa's neighbor who craved anonymity, said that they did not suspect he was a member of Boko Haram.
He said the suspect moved into the house less than three months ago.
"Musa rented his apartment about three months ago. However, since he moved in with his wife, who recently had a baby and a brother, none of them had any known form of livelihood. Musa and his brother, were particularly going about with their laptops and expensive phones.
"Though he (Musa) was not working, he was usually the first to pay for anything in the house. It was when the soldiers came that we got to know what they truly are. It was in the course of beating him that he told the soldiers where he hid the bombs and guns.
When the soldiers were going, they warned the residents to remain vigilant, saying Boko Haram members had infiltrated the area, particularly the Hausa settlement.
The Ojora of Ijora, Oba Fatai Adeyinka expressed shock that Boko Haram members had infiltrated the area.
The spokesman for the Army 81 Division, Colonel Kingsley Umoh, confirmed the raid but said the army had been carrying out constant raids across the state in response to the rising level of insecurity in the country.
Umoh said over 36 people had been arrested recently. He however said he had yet to receive the details of Thursday's operation.

Friday, March 22, 2013
The National Economic Planning on Thursday approved the sharing of between $1billion and $2billion from the Excess Crude Account among the three tiers of government.
The decision to share the money was taken at the 49th meeting of the council presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo less than two months after the governments shared $1billion from the same amount.
Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, at the end of the meeting said that the money would be shared within the next two weeks.
Akpabio said the balance in the account currently stood at $7.82billion.
He said, "An update on the status of the Excess Crude Account was presented by Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Yerima Ngama, who showed that $7.82billion was left in the account after the sharing of $1billion by the three tiers of government earlier in the year and payment of fuel subsidy commitments.
"The council was also briefed on the plan to share $1billion and $2billion within the next two weeks to facilitate various development projects being executed by the different tiers of government in the country."

Friday, March 22, 2013

No fewer than 18 pupils were apprehended by the men of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ogun State for alleged cultism and breach of peace in the schools in the state.
The students were arrested during the initiation process separately conducted by pupils from both schools.
NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Kareem Olanrewaju, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta on Thursday. Olanrewaju said that seven of the students were arrested at Nazareth High School, Imeko in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of the state while 11 others were arrested at Lisabi High School, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.
The Civil Defence spokesman said that the seven secondary school students arrested in Imeko were caught during the process of initiation being conducted on Tuesday in the area, while the other eleven students from Lisabi High School were caught on Thursday while performing the same initiation process.

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has ordered his men to arrest and bring to book, motorists using tinted glasses, as well as unregistered vehicles.
Abubakar expressed worry over what he called "the negative security implications associated with the unrestrained infringement on relevant laws on the use of tinted glasses and unregistered vehicles despite repeated warnings by the police authority."
In a statement by the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, on Thursday, the IG reminded politicians, military personnel and security personnel that the ban on unlawful use of tinted glasses and legislations, forbidding the plying of unregistered vehicles on the highways, were still in force.
According to him, use of tinted glasses can heighten criminal activities, and place unnecessary pressure on security agencies and law-abiding citizens.
He said, "In view of the danger posed by the use of tinted glasses and unregistered vehicles, corroborated by recent security reports that criminal elements, including suspected terrorists, now hide under the cover of the use unregistered vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles to execute their nefarious trade; the IG wishes to remind Nigerians, including politicians, military and security personnel, that the ban on indiscriminate use of tinted glasses and the legislations forbidding the plying of unregistered vehicles on our highways are very much in force."
The IG stated that the police would no longer tolerate the abuse of tinted glasses and unregistered vehicles, which he said complicated the challenge of policing the country.
He advised owners of vehicles with tinted glasses to remove them immediately, and also urged drivers of unregistered vehicles to register them immediately.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Nigeria Football Federation says the Harambee Stars of Kenya are responsible for their own travel woes in Nigeria.
The Kenyan football team are in Nigeria to take on the Super Eagles in a World Cup Qualifying match on Saturday in Calabar. They arrived the country on Wednesday, and pictures have emerged showing the Harambee Stars training on a grass-less ground at a Primary school in Oshodi, Lagos.
The Kenya Football Federation have since expressed their disappointment on the shabby arrangement which the NFF made for their team.
But NFF official Bola Oyeyode, who is the coordinator for the game, told KickOffNigeria.com that the Kenyans had no one but themselves to blame.
"To start with they were playing hide and seek with their travel arrangements," Oyeyode began.
"They refused to communicate their arrival date to us despite numerous letters from us to them. When information came, it was limited," according to Oyeyode.
Regarding the training ground, Oyeyode said that the Kenyans chose the substandard ground on advise of one of their 'consultants'.
"We went out of our way to book the training pitch of the National Stadium in Surulere for them at a very short notice. "But they refused to go there, and they chose that primary school to train."
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