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Thursday, 23 July 2015

Check out the sweetest Pidgin Proverbs

It is well known that Africans love speaking in parables and proverbs. Moreso the most widely accepted lingual franca among the masses is the Pidgin. Therefore , we present you with the silliest and wisest proverbs in Pidgin.

Man wey naked no dey put hand for pocket

translation:You can’t do somethings if there are no certain conditions.

Chicken wey run way from borno go Ibadan go still end up inside pot of soup

translation:You Can’t Run Away From Your
Destiny

Today’s newspaper na tomorrow Suya wrap

translation:Keep calm! Nothing last forever

Cow wey dey in a hurry to go America go come
back as corn beef

translation:Just be patient. Let the game
come to you. Don’t rush!

Akara and moin moin get the same parent na
wetin dey pass tru make dem different

translation:How you start doesn’t matter,what matters is how you finish.

Wetin consign agbero with overload or malu
cow with face cap?

translation:Mind your business.

If life dey show you pepper,my guy make pepper soup from am

translation:Mind your business.

If life dey show you pepper,my guy make pepper soup from am

translation:Make something good out of a bad experience

I get am before No be property

translation: stop living in the past and start
living in the present.

If person too tey for party e go follow dem wash plate

translation:Don’t outstay your welcome
Rolling stone,ofcourse na person push am now!

translation:There is always a reason for
something

Craze no hard to form,na the trekking be wahala

translation:Easier said than done

No matter how hot your tempa be,e no fit boil beans.
translation:Calm down,your temper won’t solve the problem

Every mallam with em own kettle,every hausaman
with em own radio.

translation:Every man for himself

You no need cutlery to chop slap

translation:You don’t need my translation
to understand this,lol

Okpolo eye no be open eye
l translation: Having Big eyes doesn’t make
you civilised,lol

Leave matter for Mathias and Sabi for Sabinus.
translation:let d sleeping dog lie

Bring suya, bring suya,…….na cow body dey suffer am.

translation:Every action has a consequence..

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

No Resources to Win Trophies in the Past -Wenger

Arsene Wenger claims it has been "impossible" for Arsenal to win the Premier League in the past because of financial constraints.

The Gunners, who suffered their worst ever start to a season under Wenger last term, have not won the title since 2004 and have seen Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all triumph over the last 11 years.

Wenger has had to contend with the financial impact of moving from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, as well as the sale of numerous key players.

"Of course," he told The Telegraph. "When you lose your best players and see opponents strengthen their squad – and they are already stronger than you – it is impossible."

Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Cesc Fabregas all departed as the Gunners struggled to keep up with their big-spending rivals both on and off the pitch, but Wenger says the club's mentality has now changed.

Mesut Ozil arrived for a club record €60 million in 2013 and he was joined by €50m man Alexis Sanchez last summer, while Petr Cech has been prized from Chelsea ahead of the 2015-16 campaign.

"We have reduced the gap and I believe we are ready to go further," Wenger added. "We now have the stability that gives us strength. Before I was more exposed to ‘Who will go?' and now the question I get more is ‘Who will come?'

"The transfer market is not over. We can still buy but I don't think we will sell. Our potential in the market has changed."

He added: "It's our target [to close the gap] and we have a chance in a very competitive league. We finished third and won the FA Cup so that shows we're not far away. We have a good cohesive group with the ability to do better.

"Will we win the title this season? You cannot guarantee that in the Premier League. I just say we want to. I promise we will fight to win. A manager has to take the best potential out of the team he has.

"For example, the year we lost it at Birmingham [a 2-2 draw when Eduardo broke his leg in February, 2008], we could have. Last year, no, because after six games we were 11 points behind Chelsea. We feel we have a chance this year, all going well."

Universities are allowed to go higher than the 180 Cut off mark- JAMB

Following the rancour at the University of Lagos on Wednesday morning over admission scores, the spokesperson of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, Fabian Benjamin, has said universities are allowed to go above the National admission examination cut off mark.
JAMB had announced 180 as the cut off score for admission into degree programmes and 150 for national certificate in education, national diploma and national innovation diplomas.
But explaining to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Benjamin said a university, depending on its peculiarities , can raise its cut off mark above the national recommendation of 180.
In the early hours of Wednesday, hundreds of Unified Matriculation Examination candidates stormed the University of Lagos to protest the decision of the institution to stop candidates from writing the forthcoming post UTME.
Many candidates with their parents gathered at the university gates as early as 7 a.m. chanting solidarity songs, demanding the removal of the JAMB registrar, Dibu Ojerinde.
Fred Enejo, a candidate, told PREMIUM TIMES that students were prevented from writing the examination to secure admission into the university.
“We were stopped at the gate simply because we got below 250 which they claim is the schools cut-off mark,” he said.
But Mr. Benjamin, explained that the University of Lagos decided that their cut off point should be 250 as a means of getting the best candidates.
“If the University of Lagos has over 25,000 students applying and they have a carrying capacity of less than 7,000 and has over 15,000 candidates that scored over 250, why will they take less than 250. It simply means the university is trying to see how they can get the best,” Mr. Benjamin said.
He said there was nothing wrong with what the universitydid as there will come a time when schools will fix cut off scores at 300.
Mr. Benjamin added that JAMB will not take anything less than what was officially announced as the cut-off score.

Okey Emordi sacked as Kano Pillars coach

Okey Emordi has been fired as Kano Pillars coach after his side played a 3-3 draw against Lobi Stars in Makurdi. The reigning league champions gave up a three-goal lead to let the hosts snatch a point in the keenly contested affair at the Aper Aku Stadium.

The former Enyimba boss replaced Baba Ganaru at the helm of the Pyramid Boys following his exit in January 2014 – and under his care, the team were sent packing in the preliminary stage of the Caf Champions League.

The General Manager of the team has also been shown the exit door with governor Abdullahi Umar appointing Alhaji Kabiru Baitu as new club chairman with the following members: Alhaji Abba Dambazau, Alhaji Naziru Aminu Wapa, Alhaji Garba Mohammed  (Nawamba) and  Alhaji Hassan Abdullahi Garo while Representative of Kano State Sports Council will serve as Secretary.

Pillars are ninth on the Nigeria Professional Football League log with 27 points from 19 games with eight victory and eight defeats.

Iheanacho assists Sterling, hopes to break into Manchester City first team

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Unilag release information on 2015/16 Post Jamb cut off

NOTICE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON
REGISTRATION FOR 2015/2016 SESSION
SCREENING OF JOINT ADMISSIONS AND
MATRICULATION BOARD (JAMB) UNIFIED
TERTIARY MATRICULATION EXAMINATIONS
(UTME) CANDIDATES
The University of Lagos Post-UTME
online registration for the Screening
Exercise for Admission into ALL
COURSES/PROGRAMMES for the
2015/2016 Academic session will
commence on Tuesday, 21st July 2015
and end on Friday 7th August, 2015.
The Computer Based Test (CBT) Screening
Exercise is in Use of English,
Mathematics and General Paper.
ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES: Only candidates
whose details have been forwarded to
the University by Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board (JAMB) and
published on the link provided below are
eligible for the screening.
Candidates, who will not be sixteen (16)
years of age by 31 st October, 2015 are
not eligible and need not apply.
REGISTRATION: Candidates are to pay at
any branch of the following designated
banks: ACCESS BANK, ECOBANK, FIRST
BANK, GTBANK, UBA, UNION BANK,
WEMA BANK AND ZENITH BANK.
DATE OF POST-UTME SCREENING
EXERCISE : The Post UTME screening
exercise will hold on Wednesday, 12 th
August and Thursday 13 th August, 2015.
FEES PAYABLE
Application Fee: N 1,
000.00
Screening fee: N 1, 000.00
Online Practice (Optional): N 2, 000.00
PROCEDURE
Log on UNILAG website
www.unilag.edu.ng
Go to Prospective Students
Click on Full Time Undergraduate
Admission
Click on POST-UTME APPLICATION
ENQUIRIES: Further clarification is
available by e-mail:
admissions@unilag.edu.ng and the
following phone 07046537158,
08182716045, 07046283240,
07046537158 and 07043359831.
Candidates are advised to adhere strictly
to the guidelines and seek clarification if
needed.
Dr. (Mrs.) Taiwo F. Ipaye, MNIM
Registrar and Secretary to Council.

Unilag release information on 2015/16 Post Jamb cut off

NOTICE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON
REGISTRATION FOR 2015/2016 SESSION
SCREENING OF JOINT ADMISSIONS AND
MATRICULATION BOARD (JAMB) UNIFIED
TERTIARY MATRICULATION EXAMINATIONS
(UTME) CANDIDATES
The University of Lagos Post-UTME
online registration for the Screening
Exercise for Admission into ALL
COURSES/PROGRAMMES for the
2015/2016 Academic session will
commence on Tuesday, 21st July 2015
and end on Friday 7th August, 2015.
The Computer Based Test (CBT) Screening
Exercise is in Use of English,
Mathematics and General Paper.
ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES: Only candidates
whose details have been forwarded to
the University by Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board (JAMB) and
published on the link provided below are
eligible for the screening.
Candidates, who will not be sixteen (16)
years of age by 31 st October, 2015 are
not eligible and need not apply.
REGISTRATION: Candidates are to pay at
any branch of the following designated
banks: ACCESS BANK, ECOBANK, FIRST
BANK, GTBANK, UBA, UNION BANK,
WEMA BANK AND ZENITH BANK.
DATE OF POST-UTME SCREENING
EXERCISE : The Post UTME screening
exercise will hold on Wednesday, 12 th
August and Thursday 13 th August, 2015.
FEES PAYABLE
Application Fee: N 1,
000.00
Screening fee: N 1, 000.00
Online Practice (Optional): N 2, 000.00
PROCEDURE
Log on UNILAG website
www.unilag.edu.ng
Go to Prospective Students
Click on Full Time Undergraduate
Admission
Click on POST-UTME APPLICATION
ENQUIRIES: Further clarification is
available by e-mail:
admissions@unilag.edu.ng and the
following phone 07046537158,
08182716045, 07046283240,
07046537158 and 07043359831.
Candidates are advised to adhere strictly
to the guidelines and seek clarification if
needed.
Dr. (Mrs.) Taiwo F. Ipaye, MNIM
Registrar and Secretary to Council.

Monday, 20 July 2015

2015/16 Unilag Post utme form is out

The University of Lagos releases their post utme form for candidates who choose the school and score above 200 points in Jamb to apply.

Candidates should click
http://applications.unilag.edu.ng/PostUtme/ to print their payment advice so as to be able to pay the form fees at any bank located inside the school. The form is approximately 5000 naira and bank charges inclusive.

Unilag Postutme website was launched Friday 17th of July ,Sales commence Tuesday. 21st July 2015. Exam start 6th-11th of Aug....Goodluck to  all candidates..inform those u know

Sunday, 19 July 2015

Mrs Ambode counsels mothers over upbringing of children

—Wife of the governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode yesterday called on mothers to raise  their children with the fear of God, irrespective of gender.
She made the call during a visit to a set of triplets delivered by Mrs Abbey Augustine and a set of twins delivered by Mrs Nosiru Onibon, both at the Epe General Hospital, Epe.
Mrs Ambode, who was accompanied by the wife of the Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Mrs Fausat Obasa, said the upbringing of a child goes a long way in determining his or her future, reminding mothers of the  role they play in shaping the future of their children.
According to her, “Children are wonderful gifts from God, therefore, mothers must cherish, nurture and raise them in the fear of God, so that they will grow to become good role models and be useful not just to themselves but their parents and society at large”.
She seized the occasion to present gift items to the mothers of the babies.
Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Mustapha Bamidele who received Mrs. Ambode and her entourage, expressed joy at the visit, saying such was quite unusual.
“It shows kindness and meekness on the part of her Excellency”, Bamidele said.
He expressed appreciation on behalf of the management and staff of the hospital for the visit and presentation of gifts to the newly born, expressing optimism that the hospital will witness such visits in future.
Responding, the elated parents of the newly born expressed joy for the kindness shown to them by Mrs. Ambode just as they prayed for the peace and progress of the Governor’s family and the State at large.
It is worthy to note that Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and his wife, Bolanle, were both delivered at the Epe General Hospital many years back.

Airtel partner Samsung, Singtel for Continental app challenge

Bharti Airtel has introduced an application challenge for start-up developers as it seeks to attract the next big app developers into the Airtel group of companies.

The company is the world’s third largest telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Africa and Asia.

The challenge, a partnership between Bharti Airtel; Singaporean Telecommunications Company, Singtel; and smartphone company, Samsung, seeks to attract developers in Africa and Asia, who will collaborate with the companies to launch applications on the two continents.

Announcing the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Mr. Christian de Faria, said that the challenge was part of the company’s commitment to empowering the youth to realise their potential in various sectors, including Information and Communications Technology.

De Faria said, “This initiative is a great opportunity for developers in Africa to come up with innovative mobile apps that directly touch individual consumer’s needs. We hope to collaborate with like-minded individuals who will come forward and work together with us to come up with apps that will help us deliver the best smartphone experience for customers.

“Under the partnership, Airtel Africa will provide all operational support by running the campaign promotions, while Singtel and Samsung will organise a two-day mentorship programme for the regional winners and the finale in November 2015.

“The five-month app challenge will see participants develop consumer-centric mobile applications that will leverage on mobile network services – mobile, data, carrier billing, location and SMS.”

He added, “The deadline for applications submission is September 5, 2015 after which two African winners will be selected to participate in a start-up mentorship programme in October 2015 in Singapore.

“The overall winners will be announced in November 2015 and expected to commence assignment with Airtel/Singtel group of companies in 2016.”

According to a 2014 Flurry Analytics study, mobile applications command 86 per cent of the time that the average mobile consumer spends on his or her smartphone, while smartphone users spend an average of two hours and 42 minutes on mobile devices with app usage accounting for two hours and 19 minutes of this time.

Falcon drew Equatorial Guinea in 2016 Olympic Qualifier, face tough second leg

Super Falcons’ interim coach Musa Danjuma faces a big task to lead the team to the 2016 Olympic Games after his side drew 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea in Abuja on Saturday.

Halimat Ayinde’s 28th minute opener only proved false hope for the African champions as Nigeria-born Gloria Chinasa Okoro got the equalizer for the visitors in the second half.

The Nigerian girls went into the game without two key players – Asisat Oshoala and Onome Ebi – and were also dealing with the shock death of the team’s media officer Gracious Akujobi on Thursday morning.

It was Danjuma’s first game in charge after the sacking of Edwin Okon, following the team’s poor showing at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Having failed to make the home advantage count against their toughest rivals, Danjuma’s team would head to Malabo in a fortnight with much to play for.

“We are not people that give excuses but when you deal with women emotions is not a thing to be written off,” said Danjuma after the game.

“Like I said I am not making excuses here but sincerely speaking if Asisat Oshoala and Onome Ebi had been here we would have won the game. But since the Olympics qualifiers is not in FIFA’s calendar overseas countries are not forced to release their players unless such clubs are willing to do so.

“But we will work very hard before the return leg and I am very sure with God on our side we will beat Equatorial Guinea to pick the Olympics ticket.”

His opposite number Miguel Angel Pozanco, the Argentine coach of the Equatorial Guinea team, vowed to beat Nigeria in Malabo to qualify for the 2016 Olympics Women Football event.

“Playing the African best team was not easy at all. It was a difficult game. Playing a 1-1 score draw is a very good result for us since we would be playing the return leg at home in the front of our fans,” Pozanco said.

“In Malabo our performance would be better than today’s own. But honestly speaking it won’t be easy playing Nigeria in the return leg because they are a powerful football nation in the continent.”

Osun residents storm Winners Chapel for Oyedepo’s foodstuffs

Hundreds of public servants, retirees and other categories of residents of Osun State trooped to the Winners Chapel, Osogbo, on Sunday to partake of the foodstuffs sent to the state by the Presiding Bishop of the church, Bishop David Oyedepo.

The Osun State Pastor of the church, Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, had on Wednesday announced during a midweek service that truckloads of foodstuffs had arrived for distribution.

He directed members of the church to invite their friends and neighbours, irrespective of their religious affiliations.

Emmanuel said the foodstuffs were sent to assist workers and others cope with the hardship caused by the non-payment of salaries.

The pastor said, “The church has been blessed to be a blessing to others. Irrespective of their religious affiliations, we are blessed to affect the lives of others positively.

“That is the reason the church has been giving to the less privileged ones. We have been distributing food items to members and non-members. The church also distributed foodstuffs last month.

“God does not bless people so that they can be containers, he blesses people so that they can bless others and all of us must be doing that.

“Rather than acquisition of wealth, we should cultivate the habit of giving to those around us, and in return, we would receive more blessings from God.”

Emmanuel announced after the second service that anyone interested in being a partaker of the largesse should wait.

The pastor also announced that there would be free medical treatments for all kinds of ailments next Sunday even as he urged members to invite anyone that needs medical attention to come and benefit from the free services.

Few minutes after the announcement, there was a long queue of intending beneficiaries waiting patiently for the distribution of the foodstuffs.

Those on the queues were given rice, packets of tomato paste and vegetable oil. Some parents and their children queued separately in order to increase their rations.

Some of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the church for the largesse, saying the nation would be a better place if religious organisations, corporate organisations and individuals started considering the less privileged ones.

It will be recalled that the church had on June 14, 2015 doled out foodstuffs and financial aid to workers and others in need.

The Chairman, Osun State chapter, Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, had advised churches in the state to begin to donate foodstuffs to workers to assist them to cope with the hardship caused by the non-payment of their salaries.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Osun State, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, also said in June that labour unions in the state would soon approach wealthy Nigerians to ask them to donate food to their members.

Rundown of Winners at 2015 MAMA Night

Song of the year
Mavins: “Dorobucci” (Nigeria) – Winner

Best Collabo
AKA, Burna Boy, Da LES & JR: “All Eyes On Me” (SA/Nigeria) – Winner

Best Male
Davido (Nigeria) – Winner

Video of the year
“Nafukwa” – Riky Rick; Director: Adriaan Louw

Best Female
Yemi Alade (Nigeria) – Winner

Best Hip Hop
Cassper Nyovest (South Africa) – Winner

Evolution Award
Dbanj (Nigeria) – Winner

Best New Act
Patoranking (Nigeria) – Winner

Best Live Act
Diamond (Tanzania) – Winner

Best Group
P-Square (Nigeria) – Winner

Best Pop & Alternative
Jimmy Nevis (South Africa) – Winner

Best Francophone
DJ ARAFAT OFFICIEL (Ivory Coast) -Winner

Best Lusophone
Ary (Angola) – Winner

Personality Of The Year
Trevor Noah – Winner

10 Types Of Boyfriends Kept By Babe’s In Higher Institutions

Here Are The Different Types Of BoyFriends Kept By Babes in higher institutions

1. Academic BoyFriend: This One Takes Them To Night Classes, Help Them Do Assignment And They Always Stay Together During Exams.

2. Financial BoyFriend: This Guy Is Usually In A Different City ( PH, Lagos, Warri etc) He Takes Care Of Their House Rent, School Fees, Text Books, Feeding Allowance..

3. Asst Financial BoyFriend: This One Is Always In Imsu And He Takes Care Of Their Hair, Pedicure, Manicure And Makeup. He Buys Them Yogurt, Jollof Rice, Pop Corn Or Shawama After School.

4. Moral BoyFriend: This One Is The Religious BoyFriend ( Church Mate ) They Come In The Name Of Advice To Tap Current From The Babe. They Give Moral Instructions From The Church Premises To The Girls Bed.

5. NEPA BoyFriend: This One Is Neither Cold Nor Hot, He Is Always called To Come And fix The Bulb And Switch In The Room Then afterwards He His Given A French Kiss Plus 360 Degree Hug.

6. Party BoyFriend: This One Takes Them To Fresher’s Night, Award’s Night, Orange Groove, 40 40 etc.

7. Security BoyFriend: This One Help Them Get Back Their Phone When They Are Being Obtained By Cultist.

8. SwagTutor BoyFriend: This One Tells Them How To Combine Colurs While Dressing For School In The Morning.

9. Hostel BoyFriend: This One They Always HangOut At The Balcony, At Evening Time. Then She Always Sleeps Over In Guys Room And They Consume A lot Of Food From The Girls.

10. Original BoyFriend: This One Is The Boss. The Babe Visits Him Alot During Weekend. Cooks For Him, Do House Chores And They Share Emotional Feelings. Ceteris Paribus This BoyFriend Is Constant…..so guys were do you fall in…? Don’t lie oo

D’Banj Lands Bonang Matheba a Hot Kiss After Winning “The Evolutionary Award”

A lot went down in the MAMA’s one to remember is D’Banj and Bonang Matheba have finally confirmed that they are a couple after denying in several interviews.

D’Banj kissed her after he was announced as the winner of one of the biggest awards of the MTV Africa Music Awards 2015 – “The Evolutionary Award”.

Bonang was definitely not expecting the kiss but yeah it’s Banga Lee you can’t deny. It follows the kiss Cassper Nyovest landed Amanda Du Pont kiss at last year’s edition. The two dated for about three months before calling off their affair. We hope D’Banj and Bonang last longer.

Davido to feature Wizkid on a track next Month

Davido took to twitter some minutes ago after he won the best male act award at the just concluded MTV MAMA AWARDS 2015, he announced the long awaited collaboration with Star Boy, Wizkid.

So many fans have speculated this cannot happen, however the superstars have proven to us that their collaboration can come to reality.

Davido has won the best male act at the MAMAs twice in a row and he also defeated Wizkid this night at the MAMA 2015.

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

UNILAG Lecturer Slaps And Tears Woman’s Cloth At Petrol Station

A lecturer with the University of Lagos, Mr Arthur Avwokeni Joseph, was recently detained at Alade Police Station, Somolu, Lagos State, western Nigeria, after he allegedly fought a lady at petrol station and tore her clothes.

P.M.NEWS gathered that Joseph, 47, who works at the Business Administration Department of the university, went to a filling station along Fola Agoro Road, Somolu to buy fuel when there was an altercation between him and 28-year old Adeparusi Yetunde over who should buy the product first.

Joseph was alleged to have alighted from his car and told Yetunde that if she were one of his students he would have dealt with her.
After the threat and further exchange of words between them, Joseph allegedly slapped Yetunde and in the ensuing scuffle her clothes were also torn.

P.M.NEWS also learnt that Joseph seized Yetunde’s cell phone while Yetunde also seized some of his books.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that after the incident, Joseph went to Alade police station and reported the incident.
When asked of the whereabouts of Yetunde, he said he did not know.

He was then asked to write a statement and while writing the statement, Yetunde’s phone that was with Joseph rang and when the police picked the call and asked if she was the owner, she said yes and she was asked to come to Alade Police station where it was discovered that her clothes were torn.

According to a source at the station, Joseph and Yetunde were both detained after they wrote their statements but were later granted bail.

APC Senators reject equal sharing of panel chairmanship seats among zones

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators on yesterday rejected the principle of sharing the 57 ‎Senate Committees chairmanship positions evenly among the six geo-political zones in the country.

Spokesman for the Unity Forum,  a group of APC Senators opposed to the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the Senate, Senator Kabiru Marafa, told journalists yesterday ‎in Abuja that it was unrealistic to have the committees shared equally among the zones.

Marafa, speaking on behalf of the APC Senators, rejected the new rule which distributes 57 standing committees equally among the six geo-political zones of the country, irrespective of political party affiliation.

He described the new Senate rules that introduced the equal sharing formula as a fraud and illegal because, according to him, the rules were not amended during the life of the Seventh Senate in accordance with the rules as stipulated in the Constitution and the chamber’s Standing Orders.

“The problem is that the Senate was inaugurated using a forged document; who forged that document? We can’t gloss over or sweep that criminality under the carpet; Nigeria is not a banana Republic!

“Remember the standing order is an offshoot of the Constitution; it spelt out clearly in Order 110 (1-5) how it can be amended just like the Constitution spelt out how it can be amended in section 9 (1-4)

“The insertion of Order 3 (2 iv) & 3 (3e i-iiii) in the 2015 edition is a deliberate act perpetrated by fifth columnists operating within the National Assembly to sabotage the government of President Muhammadu Buhari; it’s done to cause friction, disaffection and generate bad blood among Senators from different zones and confusion in the Senate with the sole aim of stagnating government business to give them time to perfect their agenda!,” he said.

Marafa reiterated his call for an investigation of the new Senate Rule Book which he said is unacceptable. “Look at the hypocrisy of inserting Order 3 (2 iv )? For 16 years of PDP leadership, the presiding officers and committee headship was skewed in favour of the zones that produced more PDP Senators, but suddenly, they introduced equality of zones in the distribution of these offices because they lost out; this is unacceptable by APC senators!

“Let me use this medium to call on all well-meaning Nigerians to, as a matter of urgency, call on all the concerned authorities to commence investigation into this illegality before it overwhelm us as a nation!”

In the 2015 Senate Rule Book, each zone is said to be expected to get at least nine committee chairmanship seats out of the total 57 Senate committees.

This new tradition is in compliance with Order 3 (4) of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended. The new Standing Order states that “The appointment of Senators as chairmen and members of committees shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the six geo-political zones of the country and there shall be no predominance of Senators from a few geo-political zones”.

It was not contained in the 2011 version of the Senate Rule which was used by the David Mark-led 7th Senate.

Institute targets three million entrepreneurs in new deal

The Institute of Empowerment and Strategy (IES) is hoping to train and empower about three million Nigerians through various economic activities it hopes to execute within the next two years.

To achieve this target, the Institute said it has undertaken to conduct a National Empowerment Registration in Nigeria, a registration exercise expected to generate reliable statistical data that which would aid economic planning at federal and state levels.

Director-General of the Institute, Dr. Boniface Afiafia-Oru, told newsmen in Abuja that the National Empowerment Registration would be an automated demographic registration process.

His words: “The Institute of Empowerment and Strategy is an international organization established to intervene in the economic development and empowerment of Nigerians.  The Institute is on a rescue mission to complement the efforts of the Federal Government to change the tide of impoverishment to empowerment, joblessness to wealth creation, unequal status to strategic position.

While we hail Nigeria’s emergence as the biggest economy in Africa with the yearly growth rate of 7.6% as well as becoming the 26th largest growing economy in the world, these feats have not brought any significant change in the lives of Nigerians in terms of an increase in the per capital income.

“This is where the Institute wishes to step in to fulfill one of the objects of its establishment as enshrined in the memo and articles of association”.

He added: “The full implementation of these programs will no doubt create over two million direct jobs which will make a significant impact on the growth of the economy, as well as empowering three million Nigerian entrepreneurs in their various economic activities within the next 24 months.”

His words: “The purpose of the project is to obtain and store electronically a comprehensive verifiable date of Nigerians desiring economic empowerment and emancipation in all areas of discipline, especially the unemployed, or underemployed persons an all those involved or wish to be involved in any economic activity whether in the productive sector or in the distributive trade and commence or industrial and social sectors.

“The registration will form the data case for our strategic economic planning and empowerment, a baseline towards achieving our goal of creating 2 million direct jobs and empowerment of three million small businesses in Nigeria. Anybody desiring to receive any form of economic empowerment through our programs must first register in our national empowerment registration, This will give us proper idea of the people we are called to serve in all the states and local governments in Nigeria.”

Samsung engineering academy graduates 53 technicians


Samsung Engineering Academy, a public private partnership initiative involving Samsung Electronics and the Lagos State government through the World Bank-supported Lagos Eko Secondary School Education Project has graduated no fewer than 53 technicians

Speaking at the ceremony, Head, Lagos State Eko Secondary School Project, Mrs Folasade Fasehun, while addressing the graduands during graduation ceremony held in Lagos over the weekend said that, “It is heart-warming to see the graduation of the set of students from the academy.

These graduates have been equipped with the world-class skills to build a better future for themselves and to play an integral part in driving the economy of the state forward. The partnership between Lagos Eko Secondary School Education Project and Samsung Electronics is one of

She observed that more qualified technicians are critical to the country’s development noting that Nigeria is faced with an urgent need to fill the supply and demand gap that has emerged in the industry for technical skills and the number of students that enter the job market each year possessing these skills.

The Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Brovo Kim said: “As Samsung expand into Africa we are striving to not only act ethically, but to positively impact the communities where our consumers live. We believe we will have the greatest impact by connecting our CSR initiatives to our history and core business.

Skilled graduates are key to helping us reach our business goals, providing us with a workforce of technicians and exclusive service experts needed to differentiate Samsung as a quality service-oriented company. With the goal to grow our business on the continent, we also know that we have to sustain our level of innovation.

This can only be achieved if we invest in education to facilitate thought-leadership in Africa.”

The new graduates are well poised to work in the electronics industry either as employees in repair centres, assembly lines or as independent entrepreneurs.

Samsung Engineering Academy is a part of the global Samsung Hope for Children Outreach programme, a one-year free training course, which is aimed at improving the quality of technical education in public secondary schools as part of its goal to train10,000 electronics engineers across Africa by 2015.

The pilot phase of Samsung Engineering Academy programmes, which had started in South Africa in 2011 is also running in Ethiopia and Kenya with plans to extend the initiative to more African countries by 2015.

The graduating students drawn from Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, have successfully completed one year specialized training at the academy.

Accordingly, the students were trained to repair and service modern digital electronic devices such as LCD TV’s, Smartphones, refrigerators, air conditioners and laptops among other appliances.

Obasanjo: Yar'adua was the only uncorrupted successor

FOrmer President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Wednesday that he chose the late former President Umaru Yar’ Adua as his successor because the others who wanted the post were corrupt.

Obasanjo said one of the people who wanted to succeed him in 2007 was “stinkingly corrupt” and that the only way he (Obasanjo) could justify himself before man and God was to go for Yar’Adua, who, he said, was the only one among the contenders then who was not corrupt.

The former President, who spoke in an interview with a private television station, Channels Television, in Abeokuta, did not mention the ‘corrupt’ Yar’Adua rivals.

Among the prominent presidential hopefuls in the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 were Obasanjo’s deputy, Abubakar Atiku; and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.

Atiku later abandoned the PDP to contest the presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress while Odili’s ambition fizzled out with the nomination of Yar’Adua.

The AC later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria, which later merged with the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the now ruling All Progressives Congress.

Obasanjo’s choice of successor died on May 5, 2010 from heart-related ailments. Many condemned Obasanjo for choosing a man who was manifestly sick to lead the country.

But in the Channels interview, Obasanjo said he only acted based on the information made available to him.

He said, “Even if you take your son as your successor, you are not sure of what he will do when he gets there. Don’t ever kid yourself.

“What do I know about any successor? What he presents. When he gets there, he presents it differently.

“We did our best, but if you say our best is not good enough, I will say, when it comes to your turn, do better.

“With all the people that are available for successor, what we came up with was about the best that we could think of at that time.

“One of those who wanted to do the job came to me and said, ‘Sir, I like your job, but I cannot do it the way you are doing it.’ Now, if he had told me that, should I then come and say, ‘okay, come, let me give you the job?’ He had told me that, ‘I like your job, but look, the way you are doing it, I haven’t got the stamina to do it that way.’ Then, what do you expect me to do?

“Or the one that I know that, oh!, this one, before he gets the job, he’s stinkingly corrupt. Now will I be able to defend myself before God and man if with what I know I give this job or I encourage the man to have this job?”

Fuel prices up by N25 — NBS

Average price of fuel across the country in June was N112.13 per litre, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, PMS Watch has shown.
This is about N25 or about 30 percent higher than the official pump price of N87 per litre.
However, NBS did not state which segment of the market it measured as most parts of the country witnessed price surges in the black market (street hawkers) at between N300 and N500 per litre for some weeks in May, a development which may have resulted in marking the month as the average peak price since 2014, when the market research began.
The report released yesterday also indicates that though there was a 5.3 percent drop against previous month’s record high of N118.4, fuel prices have been on high pitch since this year, yielding an overall year-on-year increase of 7.3 percent above 2014 average.
Surprisingly, the state with the highest price was Bayelsa, a major oil producing state, at retail price of N155 per litre, up from N115 recorded in the previous month.
Measured against the national figure and trend, Bayelsa also presents a surprising position as it records fuel price far above national average and also moving up negatively against the price decline in the national average.
Some other states, which recorded highest average prices are Niger at N138.3; Kogi, N128.3 and Adamawa, N122.5.
The three states also show declines in the prices between May and June.

Gunmen kill OAU lecturer

Gunmen suspected to be assassins on Tuesday night stormed the residence of a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Dr. Deji Adejobi.

Our correspondent gathered that Adejobi was shot by his assailants who invaded  his residence close to the Tollgate area of Ile Ife.

Residents of the area said the gunmen, who stormed the residence around 10pm, shot into the air to scare away residents before firing their target.

The deceased was said to be the older brother of the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi.
One of the children of the late don, Oyin, narrated amidst tears how the gunmen killed her father and threw the family into a mournful mood.

She said, “We finished our evening prayer at 10:05pm when dad drove into the compound. Then I overheard an argument between the gateman and some  people. I quickly looked from the window and I saw another black car that entered our compound together with dad’s  car.
“Our gateman was quizzing  the occupants of the other car but they hit him and ordered him to lie down.

“The men in the black car stepped out of their car before dad could alight from his and one of them shot into the air. Two of them moved  into dad’s  car while others came inside the house.”

Oyin  added that their grandma begged the gunmen, who went inside the house, but they heard gunshot from outside  twice.

She said further that the gunmen took away the lecture’s car around 10:20pm and she heard her late dad begging them not to whisk him away.

“We thought they took him away and we were praying for his safety without knowing that he had been killed,” she said.
According to her, the police team found Adejobi’s body where it was.

Efforts to know if the police were aware of the case were unsuccessful as the Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, dropped the call while our correspondent was asking him about the case.

But the Public Relations Officer of the OAU, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, who confirmed the incident, said the university community was shocked to hear the news of the killing of the don.

He said, “We were shocked to hear that he was killed. We just pray God will give the family the fortitude to bear the loss. It is terrible.”

Hotel staffed entirely by robots unveiled in Japan


A businessman in Japan has unveiled a hotel run by robots, insisting the move is not a gimmick but a serious attempt at reducing costs.

Henn na Hotel, as it is called in Japanese, was shown to reporters on Wednesday, complete with robot demonstrations, ahead of its opening to the public on Friday.

Hideo Sawada, who runs the hotel as part of an amusement park, said the move to use robots was aimed at utilising technology and achieving efficiency.

The ‘staff’ include a dinosaur-shaped receptionist robot that speaks in English, and the one that speaks Japanese, shaped like a woman with blinking lashes.

The visitor still has to punch a button on the desk, and type in information on a touch panel screen.

Another feature of the hotel is the use of facial recognition technology, instead of the standard electronic keys, by registering the digital image of the guest’s face during check-in.

Staying at Henn na Hotel starts at $80, a low price in Japan, where a stay in one of the nicer hotels can easily cost twice or three times that much.

In the hotel’s rooms, a lamp-size robot in the shape of a fat pink tulip called Tuly answers simple questions like, “What time is it?” and “What is the weather tomorrow?”

You can also tell it to turn the room lights on or off. There are no switches on the walls.

The hotel still relies on humans for security.

Arsenal play Everton Saturday, win Singapore Select XI 4-0 in Asia Trophy

Teenager Chuba Akpom netted a hat-trick as Arsenal reached the final of the invitational Asia Trophy against Everton with a 4-0 win over a Singapore Select XI at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech (L) and English defender Gary Cahill (C) defend a shot on goal from Arsenal’s Polish-born German striker Lukas Podolski (R) during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London on October 5, 2014. Chelsea won the game 2-0. AFP PHOTO
The England under-20 international fired home a close range effort on the half-hour, converted a 76th minute penalty and then completed his treble four minutes later to give the FA Cup holders an emphatic win in the first match of their pre-season.
Jack Wilshere also converted a penalty for the Gunners as they set up a meeting on Saturday against Everton, who beat Stoke City in a penalty shootout earlier in the day following a goalless draw between the two Premier League sides.
Arsenal broke the deadlock after catching the home side on the counter-attack on the half-hour mark. Alex Iwobi’s pass picked out Wilshere on the right of the Singapore box and although Baihakki Khaizan made a fine tackle to halt the England international, Akpom picked up the loose ball and blasted past goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud from close range.
Akpom went close to adding a second in the 35th minute when Iwobi sent him clear but Izwan was quickly off his line to smother the youngster’s effort.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain managed to slide the ball past Izwan on a one-on-one early in the second half but saw his effort cleared off the line by Madhu Mohana.
However, the visiting side’s pressure eventually told when they won a penalty in the 61st minute after Mathieu Debuchy went down under challenge by Sirina Camara and Wilshere made no mistake from the spot as he sent Izwan the wrong way.
With the home side tiring, Arsenal won another penalty in the 76th minute after Izwan brought down Jon Toral and Akpom fired home to make it 3-0.
The 19-year-old rounded off his excellent evening by netting his third goal and Arsenal’s fourth with 10 minutes left after rising unmarked to head home a Hector Bellerin cross.
Earlier on Wednesday, Tim Howard made a crucial save to deny Marco Van Ginkel in a shootout after a 0-0 stalemate between Everton and Stoke.
The American goalkeeper got a strong hand to turn away the Dutch midfielder’s effort in the second round of spot kicks before Phil Jagielka found the top right corner with Everton’s final attempt to seal a 5-4 victory for the Toffees.

At least 30 dead in triple Islamist attack in Borno

At least 30 people were killed in three attacks by Islamists in northeastern Nigeria, local officials and inhabitants said Wednesday, days ahead of a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Barack Obama.
The three assaults were carried out simultaneously Tuesday in Borno state, the epicentre of Boko Haram’s insurgency, and are part of a surge in Islamist violence since Buhari came to power on May 29.
Boko Haram has killed more than 660 people in a month and a half.
In the deadliest attack on Tuesday afternoon, more than 20 people were killed outside the town of Ngamdu, local legislator Mohammed Sando told AFP.
“Boko Haram gunmen… yesterday set up a barricade on the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway just outside Ngamdu, and attacked motorists. They killed over 20,” Sando said.

10 things you must know about Sunday Oliseh

Nigeria on Wednesday appointed Sunday Oliseh as coach on a three-year contract. Vanguard Online presents ten things you need to know about the Super Eagles gaffer.
1: Sunday Ogorchukwu Oliseh was born 14 September 1974 in Abavo, Delta State.

2: Oliseh played 54 international matches and scored two goals for Nigeria

3: He played at the Football World Cups of 1994 and 1998

4: Oliseh also participated in the Olympic gold medal winning team of 1996.

5: He is mostly remembered for scoring the winning goal in the group stage match against Spain in the 1998 World Cup, as 6:Nigeria prevailed 3–2. A throw-in deep in the Spanish half was headed clear by a defender – Oliseh ran and fired an explosive shot from 25 yards and took Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta completely by surprise

7:Despite captaining Nigeria during the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Oliseh was omitted from the World Cup squad later that year for disciplinary reasons

8: Oliseh retired from international football in June 2002

9:In March 2004, Oliseh was sacked by Borussia Dortmund after punching team-mate Vahid Hashemian while on loan at VfL Bochum

10 :In January 2006, at the age of 31, Oliseh retired from professional football after playing a half season for Belgian top club K.R.C. Genk

50-year-old Man bags 9 years imprisonment for defiling 11-year old girl

An Oredo Magistrates’ Court in Benin on Wednesday sentenced one Nosa Edebiri, 50, to nine years imprisonment for defiling an-11-year minor.
The Magistrate, Mrs Caroliine Oghuma, sentenced Edebiri after he pleaded guilty to a one-count charge.
Oghuma, in her judgment, held that Edebiri deserved no mercy despite being a first offender.
“You do not deserve any mercy even though it is the first time you are appearing in court.
“I consider the offence condemnable since you took advantage of the vulnerable minor
“I, hereby, sentence you to nine years imprisonment without option of fine, to serve as deterrent to others,” Oghuma held.
The Prosecutor, Sgt. Kehinde Adebiyi, had told the court that the minor and her parents reported the incident to the police on June 2.
Adebiyi said that complainant reported the matter on the same day the convict defiled the minor at his home close to the minor house at Aghimen Street, off Saint Saviour, Benin.
He said that “on the faithful day, the convict went to buy fish worth N250 at No 4, Aghimen Street, off Saint Saviour, Benin where the minor was assisting her mother to sell fish.
“After the convict has taken the fish, he asked the minor to follow him home to collect the money of the fish.
“When minor got to his room, he locked her up, took advantage of her and forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her,’’ the prosecutor said.
He said that the convict threatened to kill the victim if she disclosed what transpired between them.
“Unfortunately, the minor’s parent observed that she was not comfortable as she was feeling pains in her abdomen, it was then that she told her parents what happened to her.
“Immediately, the minor parent came to the police station to report, she was examined and test was carried out on the same day at Central Hospital where it was confirmed that the minor lost her virginity,’’ Adebiyi said.
He said that the convict confessed to the crime, which contravened Section 218 of the Criminal Code.

DSS arrests three pastors, woman for child trafficking

The Department of State Service, Bayelsa Command, has arrested three pastors and a woman for allegedly trafficking 36 children.

The three pastors are said to belong to the Assemblies of God Church and a woman, who runs a private school in Yenagoa.

The four suspects were paraded at the DSS office in Yenagoa on Wednesday.

The pastors’ names were given as Dauda Nurugada, 32, from Kebbi State; Anthony Anthony Onwebeyi, 53, from Anambra State, Rev. Benaalim Isa-Garba, 43, from Kaduna State, and Mrs Tombra Alazigha, 38, school proprietress.

The 36 children, whose ages range between five and 14 years,  rescued from homes, where they had been used as maids were brought to the parade.

Addressing journalists at the state headquarters of the DSS, the Assistant State Director of Security, Mr. Friday Onuche, said the children were rescued from homes in Yenagoa and Kaiama in Bayelsa state, Enugu-Agidi in Anambra state and Port Harcourt in Rivers State after investigations.

He said the kingpins operated under the guise of missionaries and non-governmental organisations.

He said they targeted vulnerable children largely from the Northern part     of the country.

He said among the places targeted by the suspected traffickers are Zuru ethnic group in Kebbi and Zamfara states and Zaria in Kaduna State.

He said the suspects usually approached the poor parents to allow the innocent children under the guise of assisting to send them to school and getting good education.

Onuche said the children rather than go to school as promised always ended up as househelps or hawkers on the streets.

Onuche said, “There is the need therefore for members of the public to be sensitised on the need to be circumspect in the way they give their children or take in children from such unsuspecting modern slave traders.”

Speaking on the allegation, Pastor Anthony Onwebeyi, who confirmed that he had been arrested for the same offence by police but released after investigations by the Anambra state Police Command, said he was not a trafficker.

He said he is a missionary, whose mission was to help children get back to school.

He said he only collected some small amount of money as transport fares from those who eventually got custody of the kids.

Alazigha, said she runs both a private school and an NGO that  takes care of vulnerable children.

She said she had six of the children in her custody and they were all brought to her by the pastors.

She however denied using them as housemaids, saying they attend her school together with her other six children from her meagre earnings being a civil servant and a school proprietress.

Sunday Oliseh is new Nigeria coach

Sunday Oliseh has been unveiled by the Nigeria Football Federation, replacing sacked Stephen Keshi, as coach of the Super Eagles.

The 40-year-old was the overwhelming favourite to be handed the role after the ‘Big Boss’ was shown the exit door by the NFF two weeks ago.

And on Wednesday, Oliseh finally signed a contract with the NFF which ties him to the Super Eagles until 2020, becoming the fifth player in the 1994 class to handle the senior national team after Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi and Keshi.

"It's a great honour to be coach of this great nation,” said Oliseh at the unveiling ceremony in Abuja.

"I'm not coming as a messiah. I'm coming as a man who wants to serve his country and give 150%.

"Gone are the days when we had individual players who can win games on their own. But we have potential," he said.

He also laid down the law to players of Nigerian origin on his requirements before they can feature for his team.

"No player outside of first division in Nigeria or elsewhere will play for the Super Eagles. We will work together with the technical committee because if we fail, they fail,” he concluded.

The ex-Nigeria international will now hope to inspire an immediate improvement in the Eagles’ fortunes, starting with a win against Tanzania in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in September.

Bola Tinubu Says He Has Not Placed Any Demand On Pres. Buhari

National leader of APC, Bola Tinubu says contrary to popular opinion, he has not placed any demand on President Buhari since he assumed office.

Tinubu said this while speaking to state house correspondents after breaking the Ramadan fast with President Buhari at the state house yesterday evening

“I have no demands. If you understand what party politics and leadership is all about, it is about loyalty and commitment to the values which the leadership believes in.

I believe in what the president believes in, I respect him and I stand firmly loyal to his cause.

So you can go to any length of speculation that you might want, I have not responded to all of that because I understand the president and the president understands me clearly.” he said

He also spoke on the crisis rocking the National Assembly. He said he is backing what President Buhari has said on the matter

“That is an area where I am very cautious of my position and my utterances.

I still want to keep my side of the interpretation or analysis to be able to achieve a resolution of the matter as quickly as possible.

I am backing what the president has carefully enumerated and articulated to the party.

The party is supreme. The party must have disciplined leadership and followers. The party’s process must be respected because that is the confidence and the trust of the people.

However in every environment, we should have conflict, that is politics and conflict resolution mechanism would be applied to resolve all the problems so we are there.

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Cosby admits sedating women for sex

Court documents just released revealed that the U.S. comedian and actor, Bill Cosby, admitted in testimony that he sedated young women that he wanted to have sex with.
Mr. Cosby made the admissions in a 2005 deposition related to a civil case brought by Temple University sports staffer, Andrea Constand, who told police that Mr. Cosby had drugged and raped her in Pennsylvania.
According to court documents released on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Mr. Cosby testified that he obtained seven prescriptions for Quaaludes, a central nervous system depressant, and confirmed that he gave them to other people.
Dolores Troiani, Constand’s lawyer, asked: “When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with.
The lawyer said “Yes,” Mr. Cosby responded.
“He gave the Quaaludes,” Patrick O’Connor, Cosby’s lawyer, was quoted as saying. “If it was illegal, the courts will determine that.”
Mr. Cosby settled out of court with Constand in 2006.
The sealed documents were made public following requests issued by the Associated Press in 2005 and 2014.
In a Pennsylvania district court memo defending the release, Judge Eduardo C Robreno Jr said Mr. Cosby’s decision to enter the public sphere as an entertainer and social commentator meant he “voluntarily narrowed the zone of privacy that he was entitled to claim”.
Multiple women have made on-the-record claims of sexual assault against Mr. Cosby, including former model Janice Dickinson and former actress Barbara Bowman.
Mr. Cosby’s career as an actor and comedian has spanned five decades, and he remains a household name in the U.S. for his starring roles in the Fat Albert cartoon series and The Cosby Show, US television’s biggest hit in the 1980s.

Femi Falana urges Ikonjo-Iweala to apologise to Nigerians

Lawyer and rights activist, Femi Falana, has urged the immediate past Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians over her role in the unauthorised withdrawal of $2bn from the Excess Crude Revenue Account.

Mr. Falana made the call in a statement Monday, following Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s claim that the withdrawal was authorised by former President Goodluck Jonathan, reversing from her earlier statement that it was approved by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.

The former minister reactions followed an allegation by the governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, that she unilaterally withdrew $2 from the Excess Crude Account.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala initially said the claim was “totally without foundation” as the decision to spend the money was discussed with states’ finance commissioners.
After the commissioners denied giving such approval, the former minister said the spending was done on the instruction of Mr. Jonathan.

On Monday, Mr. Oshiomhole accused Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala of using the money to fund Mr. Jonathan’s re-election bid.
Mr. Falana queried the legality of unilaterally withdrawing money from the account, even where it was approved by Mr. Jonathan.
“Assuming without conceding that the release of the whopping sum $2 bn was approved by the president, is Mrs Okonjo-Iweala saying that funds belonging to the three tiers of Government could be unilaterally withdrawn from the ECA by the Federal Government?”

“As the Coordinating Minister of the Economy did she draw the attention of President Jonathan to the illegality of withdrawing funds from the ECA without the approval of the states and the local governments, the co-owners of the fund?”

In spite of the alleged payment of $2 bn for fuel subsidy in December 2014, fuel marketers have continued to embark on strikes over the alleged non-payment of N200 billion subsidy money.

Therefore , Falana concluded that since the deed has be done and no revocation whatsoever can be done,she should just act mature and apologise to Nigerians for betraying their trust

Russia FA have agreed to terminate head coach


Fabio Capello's contract by mutual consent, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has announced.
A statement on the RFU website read: "The Russian Football union and the Russian national team head coach Fabio Capello have reached an agreement to terminate the employment contract by mutual consent.
"The RFU sincerely thanks Fabio Capello for his work as head coach and wishes him success in his future career.
"Fabio Capello, in turn, thanks the RFU for the help and support he has felt throughout the years. He is also grateful to the players for working together and to the fans for their sincere support for the team."

Monday, 13 July 2015

Buhari names new service chiefs, NSA 18 minutes from now

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointments of new service chiefs and National Security Adviser for the country.

Their appointments, which was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, followed Buhari’s sacking of the former occupants of the offices earlier in the day. 

The new appointments, according to the statement are:

1. Maj.-Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin – Chief of Defence Staff

2. Maj.-Gen. T.Y. Buratai – Chief of Army Staff

3. Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas – Chief of Naval Staff

4. Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar – Chief of Air Staff

5. Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku  Morgan – Chief of Defence Intelligence

6. Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) – National Security Adviser

The new Chief of Defence Staff,  Olonishakin (N/6901) hails from Ekiti State.

Until his new appointment, he was the Head of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, Niger State.

The new Chief of Army Staff, Buratai hails from Borno State. 

He was, until his new appointment, the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force which has its headquarters in Ndjamena. 

He has previously served as Commander of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Brigade in Port Harcourt and Commander of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State.

The new Chief of Naval Staff, Ibas (NN/0746) hails from Cross River State. 

He enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as  a member of the 26th Regular Course in 1979 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1983.  

His previous appointments include Naval Provost Marshal, Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters, Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command and Chief of Logistics, Naval Headquarters. Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Navy Holdings Limited.

The new Chief of Air Staff, Abubakar (NAF/1433) hails from Bauchi State.  

His previous appointments include Chief of Standards and Evaluation, NAF Headquarters; Chief of Defence Communications and Air Officer Commanding, NAF Training Command. Until his new appointment today as Chief of Air Staff, he was the Chief of Administration, NAF Headquarters.

Adesina said the new service chiefs will hold their appointments in an acting capacity until confirmed by the Senate.

He quoted the President as  thanking the outgoing Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser for their services to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Sunday, 12 July 2015

LASTMA official dies on Duty

An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who slumped while controlling traffic on Ishaga Road in the Idi-Araba, Mushin area on Saturday, has died.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the official, Kazeem Lawal, was brought in dead to the Randle Hospital, Surulere, where his colleagues had rushed him.

Sunday PUNCH had reported that the official, who was among LASTMA officials on duty for an event at the Chapel of the Healing Cross, collapsed at about 1.30pm.

It was also reported that Lawal, who was gasping for breath, was rushed to a hospital after he did not respond to preliminary treatment.

Our correspondent gathered that Lawal, who was attached to LASTMA Zone 3, Iponri, died on the way to the hospital.

The matter was said to have been reported at the Alakara Police Division.

One of the colleagues of the deceased, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “He was initially taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, but he could not be attended to because of the ongoing strike action. He was then rushed to the Randle Hospital where he gave up his ghost.

Nigeria’s active telecoms subscribers now 146m — NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, yesterday, said the active lines in the nation’s telecommunications industry stood at 146,561,744 in the month of May.
The commission made this known in its Monthly Subscriber Data.
”Active lines in Nigeria were 145,476,326 for the month of April. The figure increased by 1,085,418 in May”, the NCC said.
According to the data, 144,386,841 of the 146,561,744 active numbers subscribe to the Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM, network services.
The GSM operators increased their active customers by 1,329,607 as against the 143,057,234 subscribers they recorded in April.
The Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, operators had 1,993,278 active users in May, indicating a decline of 241,024 from the 2,234,302 customers they had in April.
Also, the monthly subscriber data showed that the Fixed Wired/Wireless networks’ consumers reduced to 181,625 in May, after losing the 3,165 customers they recorded from the 184,790 data for April.

Oshoala helps Liverpool Ladies secure first away win

Nigeria international Asisat Oshoala was on target in Liverpool Ladies’ 3-1 win at Arsenal Ladies in the Women’s Super League encounter played at the Meadow Park. Her beautiful finish not only guaranteed them the maximum points, but also ended Arsenal Ladies unbeaten run in the season.

Fara Williams opened the scoring with a stunning strike from 25-yards out before 41-year-old full-back Becky Easton bundled in a second for Liverpool.

While Natalia's delicate chip pulled one back for the hosts, who were backed by a crowd of 2,061.

But Asisat Oshoala's lobbed finish secured the points for the Reds

The result gave the defending champions their first away points of the season and they are now only three points behind the second-placed Gunners, with a game in hand.

Arsenal are now five points behind leaders Chelsea after the Blues won 4-1 at home to Bristol Academy.

Oshoala has played six time for Matt Beard's team since her move from Rivers Angels.

Wimbledon 2015: Djokovic humbles Federer in Classic Final

Defending champion Novak Djokovic saw off seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets to win his third Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam title.

The Serb, 28, won 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (10-12) 6-4 6-3 to overtake the likes of Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl in the all-time list of major winners.

Federer, 33, had hoped to become the first man to win Wimbledon eight times.

The Swiss won a thrilling second set tie-break but Djokovic came through to win in two hours and 56 minutes.

"I have to say it's a big challenge playing against Roger," he said. "A lot of players of my generation have looked up to him and followed his lead.

Saturday, 11 July 2015

United buy Bastian, Darmian From Bayern Munich and Torino

Manchester United have added Bayern Munich Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Torino Right full back Matteo Darmian to their squad.
United have offered the 30-year-old a three-year deal and wages of £180,000-a-week, a salary in line with his current earnings at Bayern, as well as a £4m signing-on fee.

Louis van Gaal, who coached Schweinsteiger during a successful spell managing the Bundesliga giants, is understood to be the driving force behind the deal as he intensifies his efforts to strengthen a squad that needs bolstering in order to cope with the demands of domestic and European football next season.
Manchester united have also signed Matteo Darmian from Torino on a four-year deal with the option to extend his stay for a further season.

Darmian, 25, flew to Manchester on Friday and both United and Torino have now confirmed that the transfer has been finalised.

“It is a dream come true to be joining Manchester United," Darmian said. "I have loved the time that I have spent at Torino and I would like to thank the club and the fans for everything they have done for me.

"I am sure they can understand when the opportunity to join the biggest club in world came along it was something I had to do.  To work with Louis van Gaal, a manager that has achieved so much in football is such an exciting prospect.”

Westerhof: Why the unteested Oliseh?

Former Nigeria technical adviser Clemens Westerhof thinks the Nigeria Football Federation is making a huge mistake by handing untested Sunday Oliseh the job of the national team manager.

Oliseh, 40, was handed his Super Eagles debut by Westerhof in 1993 and the Dutchman feels that his former protégé has not gotten the requisite experience to handle such a difficult side with lots of egotistic players.

The former Borussia Dortmund and Ajax midfielder has only ever managed a third division Belgian side Vervietois as well as worked as TV pundit and a member of the Fifa Technical Study Group for the 2014 World Cup.

“No, no, no, no that cannot be, he can’t be Super Eagles coach. Oliseh cannot do it, no, he can’t,” Westerhof was animated as he told Complete Sports.

“If the Nigeria Football Federation is bringing Oliseh to handle the Super Eagles, then that is too bad because it is not right. It is not proper, he is not the right man for the job.”

The 75-year-old, who led the Super Eagles to their second African title in 1994, then reeled off the work experience he and recently sacked Stephen Keshi earned before being handed the Nigeria top job.

“Before I took over the Super Eagles in 1989, I was head coach of Feyenoord and we were champions after many years. I coached other top teams in the first division, Vitesse, MVV and came back to Vitesse again.

“Keshi was a top quality player in Belgium with Lokeren, Anderlecht, RC Strasbourg in France, Sacramento Scorpions and all that. He coached several other teams including Togo and Mali.

“Where did Oliseh coach? What is his coaching experience? Do you want to start learning how to coach with the senior national team,” he asked.

Westerhof also detailed the kind of problems likely to be faced by the new coach in the face of player egos.

“Coaching amateur teams is not enough to get experience of handling top teams like the Super Eagles. Players cannot respect him, you know, he cannot command their respect and influence as they loved and respected me, as they also respected and loved Keshi,” he said.

“What the players of the Super Eagles need is a coach who the players will love to respect, who has positive influence on the players and I don’t think Oliseh has these qualities,” Westerhof said.

Oliseh is expected to be unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja with a five-year contract that would see him set about bringing a blueprint for the development of Nigerian football.

Buhari,Osinbajo take pay cut by 50%

The presidency announced today that President Buhari and VP Osinbajo have decided to take a pay cut. They will now only receive 50% of what GEJ and Sambo received during their administration.

“I write to forward the completed IPPIS registration form of Mr. President and to draw your kind attention to Mr. President’s directive that only 50% of his salary be paid to him,” the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Nebolisa Emodi wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation yesterday

Osinbajo also agreed to take a pay cut. Buhari will now receive 50% of his annual N14, 058,820.00.

Iyabo says I will die in Office - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that his eldest daughter, Iyabo, told him he was going to die in office. The former President also said his daughter said if that should happen, she would not weep for him.

The former President said he, nevertheless, replied his daughter that such would not mean anything to him since he would not be there to appreciate it.

Obasanjo, who said this in his controversial book, My Watch, said that was Iyabo’s submission when he informed her and three of his other children about his desire to contest the 1999 Presidential election.

The meeting with the four children, which he said came after he had consulted almost all those that mattered before joining the presidential race, was held in New York.

He said it was ironic that Iyabo became a senator during his tenure.

Meanwhile, before being elected a senator, Iyabo was appointed a commissioner by Otunba Gbenga Daniel, while he was serving as governor of Ogun State.

Obasanjo said, “My mind was almost made up (to vie for the position of President) but I had to consult with my children. I got four of them together in New York.

“I told them I was going to decide whether to go into politics or not. Iyabo was the most antagonistic.

“She burst out loudly, ‘I know you will join and you will die there and if you die, I will not weep.’

“I told her ‘if I die and you weep, it is for yourself and others, not for me as I will not know you are weeping.’

“It is ironic that within 10 years, Iyabo became a Senator and I completed two terms of eight years without a scratch.”

The former President added that out of the four children in attendance when he spoke with them, it was only Segun who he said, had a few words of encouragement.

The son, according to Obasanjo, said, “Daddy, you have always said that we must serve God and humanity and if this is the way you have chosen to serve God and humanity, I will pray for you.”

With those words from his son coupled with the words of encouragement he said he got from those he had spoken with earlier, the Owu-born retired general said “the die was almost cast.”

In the book, Obasanjo also mentioned the names of his 21 children. He was however silent on the number of his wives or the mothers of the children.

Five of the children are holders of PhD in different fields.

The children are Iyabo (PhD), who is the eldest; Busola, Segun(PhD), Gbenga(PhD), Deboye, Muyiwa, Funke, Bola (PhD) and Seun (PhD).

Also listed were Dare, Kofo, Dayo, Biyi, Bisoye, Damilola, Jonwo, Bunmi, Funso, Dayo, Toyosi and Bukola.

The listing and mentioning of the names of his children was the first time the two-time President of Nigeria, would publicly talk about his children.

Friday, 10 July 2015

Video: 7 Premier league wonder goals

These following 7 Goals in Premier League History Require an Insane Amount of Skill for them to be possible.
The Premier league has been tagged the most richest of all league because of the present Television deal.

Maybe the tenacity and incredulity of display make it so.
Enjoy mind blowing technique by clicking on this link.

http://www.90min.com/posts/2344883-7-goals-in-premier-league-history-that-required-an-insane-amount-of-skill?old_domain=ftbpro.com/&utm_source=app&utm_medium=share

INEC releases Kogi,Bayelsa Governorship timetable

The Independent National Electoral Commission has released timetable for governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States
.
Both elections will hold in 2015, INEC said in a statement, Friday, by the Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Chris Eyimoga.

The election in Kogi is scheduled for Saturday, November 21, while that of Bayelsa will hold on Saturday, December 5.

According to the statement, “campains by political parties shall commence on 24th July, 2015 and end on 19th November, 2015 in Kogi and 6th September, 2015 terminating on 3rd December, 2015 in Bayelsa”.

Further, for Kogi State, conduct of primary elections to nominate candidates by political parties for the November 21 election is scheduled for between August 25 and September 15; and between September 7 and 30 for Bayelsa State.
Deadline for submission of list of candidates, CF002, and personal details, CF001, for the positions of Governor and Deputy Governor shall be November 14 and October 7 for Kogi and Bayelsa States respectively, the electoral body said.

However, INEC said formal notices of the elections would be issued not later than August 23, for Kogi State; and September 5, for Bayelsa States, in accordance with the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
The tenures of of Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State, and Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa expires on January 27 and February 14, 2016, respectively.

Like in Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Osun States, governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States did not hold during the last general elections, following the nullification of previous polls by the Court and conduct of fresh ones in the states.

Unilag Counselling Unit educates Students on Relationship

The Counselling Unit of University of Lagos in Collaboration with the Students Affair Division of the school organised a Relationship seminar which is yearly staged. The event which was  titled Love, Life and Sex took place on the 9th of July 2015 at the Main Auditorium of the University.

The compere of the event was Lamu of Radio Unilag. The event starts with Mrs Olufunso Owasanoye of Human Development initiative giving speech on the theme of the event.

She advised students to run away from unfriendly friends and choose their intimate friend wisely. She added that the loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.

After her speech ,the panel of discussant consist of the Dean of students Affairs -Prof. Babatunde Babawale, Mrs Stella Blaize, Dr David representing the Director of UNILAG medical centre and others.

Slot Nigeria through its Unilag branch gave out Droipad 7 from the stable of Techno Mobile to winner of the Question and answer session among students and this was won by Miss Boluwatife ,who is a student of the Department of Mass Communication.

Thursday, 9 July 2015

Bayelsa Government hires Italian Hacking Team for almost 100m

The Bayelsa state government paid close to one hundred million naira to an Italian firm, Hacking Team, to hack computers and phones in Nigeria, new information emerging from the firm’s leaked internal data has shown.
Hacking Team, notorious for equipping governments with tools to hack citizens’ computers and phones, was itself hacked Sunday night and 415 gigabyte of internal data leaked to the public.
Researchers have been pouring through the leaked documents since it was first leaked Sunday night, throwing up many shocking details of the firm’s secret dealings with Bayelsa state and other repressive governments, including Sudan, Russia, and Bahrain.
Documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES show that the Bayelsa government, a small state in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta, paid Hacking Team N98 million to carry out internet attacks, in what appears to be the most ambitious hacking project by a Nigerian state government.
The contract was signed in late 2013, Hacking Team’s internal documents, leaked after the Sunday night hack attack on the company, show.
Details of the extent of the attacks Hacking Team carried out on behalf of the state is not clear at the moment.
The contract with the Bayelsa government is classified as “intelligence ” – the same class with contracts the firm unlawfully held with Russia and Sudan.

Hacking Team’s clients.
The cost of Bayelsa government’s contract with the firm is equivalent to what the Russian government recently paid the firm for maintenance of its Remote Control System. And worth more than what Turkey, Columbia and Bahrain paid to the firm.
Hacking Team, now learning how it feels to have one’s privacy breached, is notorious for developing intrusive softwares for state clients who use them to hack citizen’s computers and smartphones. Hacking Team’s twitter account was hacked and used to announce the hack.
The firm claims its intrusion softwares – Remote Control Systems – are the most invasive and ruthless, with ability to compromise most operating systems, except iOS – but including jail-broken iOS.
In one video commercial, it boasted that its software could hack offline and encrypted computers and smartphones, even if the target was outside the government’s “monitoring domain”.
Hacking Team’s Remote Control Systems are more dangerous and intrusive than the WISE technology the Nigerian government bought from Israeli company, Elbit in 2013.
While WISE depended on transmitted data such as voice calls, social media postings, and number plates, Hacking Team specialized in software that had full capabilities to hack, compromise your gadget and silently steal stored data like SMS, Whatsapp messages, call records, and photos.
Galileo, one of the company’s most evil softwares, is also able to secretly take snapshots and record conversations of its victims.
Hacking Team is loathed by digital activists and freedom of expression advocates all over the world for helping oppressive regimes abuses citizens’ right to privacy and freedom of speech.
Reporters Without Borders listed the firm on its Enemies of the Internet index due to its primary surveillance tool, Da Vinci.

Power generation rises to 3,874.96MW

Nigeria’s power generation has recorded a new milestone by increasing from 3,655.12 MEGAWATTS HOUR/HOUR (MWH/H) it recorded last week to 3,874.98 MWH/H as at yesterday.

The Presidential Taskforce on Power, which made this disclosure yesterday in its generation report, showed that power distribution has increased from 3,565.09 MWH/H to 3,773.90 MWH/H, which is far less than the country’s peak demand forecast of 12,800MW. Power supply has in the last few weeks increased significantly.

For instance, Egbin Power Plc, alone is for the first time in eight years generating above 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

The Chairman, Egbin Power Plc, Kola Adesina, attributed the achievement partly to the direct intervention of the Federal Government in its determination to resolve the power crisis, which had resulted in recent improvements in gas supply.

Serena,Sharapova for Wimbledon's semi

Whenever Williams finds her best game, she becomes unbeatable. And for her past 26 Grand Slam matches she is, indeed, unbeaten. Erasing an early deficit at Centre Court, Williams got past Azarenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday with the help of 17 aces and a remarkable ratio of 46 winners to 12 unforced errors.

She is closing in on a fourth consecutive major title for a self-styled Serena Slam, which she already accomplished in 2002-03. Pull that off, and Williams also will have the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam and go to the U.S. Open with a chance to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four major trophies in one season.

In today’s semifinals, number one, Williams, faces number four, Maria Sharapova, who beat unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2.

Williams is 17-2 against Sharapova, including 16 straight victories. But one of Sharapova’s wins came at Wimbledon, in the 2004 final, when at age 17 she stunned Williams for the first of her five Grand Slam titles.

“Definitely no secrets between each other’s games,” Sharapova said.

Williams, whose major trophy count is at 20, said of the matchup: “I look forward to it.”

Here was the scouting report from Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou: “If she plays like today, I don’t think anyone can compete.”

The other semifinal is number 13, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, against number 20, Garbine Muguruza of Spain.

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

USA Army plans cut in Troops size

The Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers from its ranks over the next two years, a reduction that will affect all its domestic and foreign posts, USA TODAY learned Tuesday.

An additional 17,000 Army civilian employees would also be laid off under the plan officials intend to announce this week.

Under the plan, the Army would have 450,000 soldiers by the end of the 2017 budget year. The reduction in troops and civilians is due to budget constraints, the Army asserts in a document obtained by USA TODAY.

Some of the cuts were expected. During the peak of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army swelled to about 570,000 soldiers to ensure that deployments could be limited to one year. After most troops came home from those wars, the Army planned to shrink.

The Army declined to comment on the proposed reductions in its forces.

If the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, set to begin in October, take place, the Army would have to slash another 30,000 soldiers, according to the document. At that level, the Army would not be able to meet its current deployments and responding to demands for troops in other regions.

Sunday, 5 July 2015

Book Review: Myth And Ideology, Creating History In The Bible

A highly detailed textual analysis of the Old Testament.

In his extremely impressive debut work, West draws on a vast array of scriptural, literary, historical and archaeological sources in an attempt to determine the exact nature and composition of the traditional five books of Moses.

West, raised an Orthodox Jew in England, came to doubt the fundamentalist Jewish view that the Torah, as it was presented to Moses, was divinely inspired by God.

While studying law in London as an undergraduate, West was exposed to the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis, otherwise known as the Documentary Hypothesis, a 19th-century scholarly challenge to the fundamentalist view. T

he challenge holds that the various texts of the Torah were as amenable to study as any other ancient literature. This readable book is a stunningly comprehensive example of that challenge in action.

West characterizes his work as “a personal appraisal” of the sources of the Hebrew Bible, but the scholarship and wide reading on display are worthy of comparison to the works of Everett Fox and Robert Alter.

West takes his readers through a long list of contested biblical subjects, from the historicity of such legendary Torah figures as Abraham, Joseph and Moses to the story of the Exodus and the foundation of the Israelites as a nation.

T.B Joshua returns Elderly Woman's big tithe

T.B. Joshua, perhaps Nigeria’s most unconventional cleric, posted a heart-warming story on his official Facebook Page about an elderly lady who came to his church with an unusual gift.

A retired teacher named Caroline Orugude had come to The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria to share a curious testimony.

After retiring from her job in June, 2012, Caroline was forced to wait almost two years for the gratuity that she was supposed to receive.

“There was nothing much we could do except pray because the pension system is so unreliable,” she narrated to the congregation.

After visiting various churches for prayer without any visible change, she was introduced to Emmanuel TV, the popular Christian television station broadcasting the activities at The SCOAN, and began praying along with T.B. Joshua.

Within two weeks, she received a call from the treasury, asking her to go to Abuja to collect her pension money.

“I decided that when I got the money, I would come to The SCOAN to appreciate the Lord,” she joyfully said. “I am here with the small sum of 500,000 naira, to give to the man of God and The SCOAN, as my tithe.”

It was an unexpected declaration but the response of Joshua was equally surprising as he insisted he could not collect the gift.

“Yes, it is written in the Bible that we should pay tithe but how can we collect tithe from widows and the aged who are supposed to be under our care,” he questioned the congregation.

“Remember, she has stopped working. She needs our care for the rest of her life. These are the women we should be feeding and taking care of. She is our mother; she is my mother too.”

The cleric, who is well known for his philanthropic gestures, then announced that instead of taking Mrs. Orugude’s tithe, he would support her with an additional 500,000 naira.

“When God calls a man or woman, what they will eat, what they will use and everything they need for their journey will be provided abundantly by God,” T.B. Joshua then explained, noting the attributes of genuine ministers of God.

“When a minister begins to depend on tithes, you know he is not a minister of God,” he added. “This is a message to ministers of God all over the world.

When we collect tithes, we should know those whom we collect them from. Don’t force anybody – it is between them and God. Let us worship the Giver of money, not money,” he concluded.

The post on Joshua’s Facebook page, followed by 1.5 million people, ended with a poignant question. “Where are your elderly? Care for them and you shall reach old age.”

A video recently surfaced of Joshua refusing a $1,000 offering from a Swiss lady who received healing during his crusade in Colombia.

Several weeks ago, he spoke scathingly of ‘money-hungry’ pastors, insisting that ministers of God should not force members to give offerings or tithes as it was a thing of the heart.

Toro: Keshi is the architect of his misfortune on july 06, 2015 at 1:2

Former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Alhaji Sani Ahmed Toro has slammed sacked coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi describing him as the architect of his own misfortune.
while reacting yesterday to the termination of the appointment of the former Super Eagles Coach, the former Bauchi State Commissioner of Sports  blamed Keshi for  not heeding to his (Toro) advise to resign during the heat of his failure to qualify Nigeria for the last Afcon 2015.
“I knew he was going to be messed up. He had the opportunity to resign, but failed to do so. He sought my advise when he couldn’t qualify for the Afcon 2015 and I advised him as somebody that worked under me ‘that if I were him, I will address the press and write to my employers thanking them for the opportunity they gave me  to serve the nation and copy to the Presidency that I am done with the job and leave”.
“I knew Keshi when he was a player that he was very erratic  and would cause his own problem. I didn’t expect him to do well when he was first given the Eagles’ job , but somehow, he was able to win the Nations Cup for us which is a credit to him. But when he could not qualify us, the honourable thing was for him to have resigned. That’s the price you pay when you are given a target and you don’t get it, you  leave”,  he said.
Alhaji Toro however advised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to get a substantive coach immediately to take charge of the Eagles remaining next Afcon qualification, saying that it would be disastrous for Nigeria not to qualify the second time for the African Cup of Nations.