Obama Warns Africa's 'Tyrant' Leaders

Cape Town — US President Barack Obama warned Sunday that Africa could only fulfil its rising potential with leaders who serve their people, not tyrants who enrich themselves.

In a strident call for democratic change and good governance, Obama used the political legacy of ailing Nelson Mandela and South Africa's emergence from grim years of apartheid as proof that freedom will ultimately prevail. "In too many countries, the actions of thugs and warlords and human traffickers hold back the promise of Africa," Obama said at a speech at Cape Town University.
"America cannot put a stop to these tragedies alone, and you don't expect us to. That is a job for Africans. But we can help you and we will help you," he said, announcing major new US programs to boost electricity and health care.
"History shows us that progress is only possible where governments exist to serve their people and not the other way around," said Obama, in a line that drew loud and prolonged cheers from his audience of more than 1,000 people.
The speech was delivered from the same spot where American political icon Robert Kennedy delivered his famous "ripple of hope" speech in 1966, which called on students to decry the "racial inequality of apartheid".

Death of Senator Ewerhido Attributed to “Spiritual Attacks” over 2015 Elections?

The death of Senator Pius Ewherido of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) representing Delta Central Senatorial district in the National Assembly today has received various explanations, including "spiritual attacks", allegedly linked to 2015 elections.
According to Sahara Reporters' sources, Senator Ewherido slumped three days ago while answering the phone and had blood gushing out of his mouth and nose before he was rushed to the National Hospital in Abuja, where the preparations to fly senator to a German hospital had began before he passed away.
Another source close to the senator disclosed to Sahara Reporters that Ewherido has already been designated as the Delta state governorship candidate of the yet to be registered All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2015 elections and all plans to that effect were already sealed awaiting the registration and full fledge take off of the party.
However, a medical source at the National Hospital told Sahara Reporters that the senator died of heart attack after he had a stroke some 48 hours ago.
Senator Ewerhido was recently expelled from the Democratic People's Party (DPP), accused of attending the meetings of the APC without authorization.
Insisting that the senator was "killed" by his enemies, Sahara Reporters' source also revealed that the spiritual attacks have several angles to it. The sourse added that they suspect an unnamed politician serving in governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s government who had a running battle with Ewherido during the PDP primaries for the senatorial district before the senator cross carpeted to the DPP and defeated him in the 2011 elections. He reportedly boasted severally that he is still a senator in waiting. Sahara Reporters' source also disclosed that "spiritual attacks" on politicians happened before but the victim survived through divine intervention.
"My brother, the death of Senator Pius Ewherido is not ordinary. Delta state has lost a gem, our only hope for 2015 election. The most painful aspect of it all is that he has already gotten the ticket to fly the APC governorship flag in the state and now look at what has befallen us. Delta state politics has turned into something else. Those behind the death of Chief (Barr) Pius Akpor Ewherido, our distinguished Senator, alias "Gogorogo" shall never go unpunished" he said before hanging up the phone.
Several political associates of the senator who did not want to be quoted mourned the sudden passing of Ewherido describing him as their best hope for a shot at the governorship of Delta state in 2015. They said he was a good man and a keen politician who has helped his people.
In the past two months social media platforms as well as political groups have been buzzing with the plans by Ewherido to contest the governorship seat come 2015.
It would be recalled that the Delta state chapter of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) on May Ist, 2013 suspended Senator Pius Ewherido, the acting national deputy chairman, Olisemeka Akamukale, the vice chairman of Delta central senatorial district, Henry Olori as well as a leader in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, Cyril Ogodor from the party.

Dana Crash: Why the Anyenes Reject Compensation, Urge Reform

The Anyenes, which lost almost a whole family, six members and three in-laws, on June 3, 2012 in Dane plane crash, met again on Saturday and resolved not to negotiate for any financial compensation from the airline for their loss.
The family members came to Lagos to hold first year memorial lecture and service of songs in honour of victims from the family.
Spokesperson of the family, Christian Anyene, who is a New York medical doctor, said the family’s interest was beyond financial compensation.
Anyene said, “Keeping the family together within the last one year was tough, but as children of a catechist in the Catholic Church, we were determined to move on. It was rough but we were resolute in our decision.
“The Anyene family wishes not to deal with Dana Air to negotiate any compensation. We lost a whole family and money will not bring them back.”
Christian claimed the family would rather appeal to the Federal Government to show interest in the life of air passengers.
“We will prefer that the government erects functional air safety measures so that no family will suffer such a painful loss again in Nigeria. To honour more than 150 victims of the crash, government should show more interest in the safety of those who choose to fly.”
Onyeka’s mother had to be taken away from the event as she broke down in tears a few minutes after entering the venue. Hovewer, Christian insisted that the family members were putting the grief behind them.
He stated, “I’m quite glad that we are at this stage. A year ago, we were depressed, we cried and grieved for months.
“Today, We have out sad event behind us. We remember the successful life that my brother, Onyeka, his wife, Maimuna and their four children lived. They used their God-given gift to help many others and that is what we remember them for a year after their demise.
“When he was leaving Connecticut, US for Nigeria, I went to the house and picked the whole family and our in-laws to the airport, I never knew that I was seeing them for the last time. A week later, they were all gone.
“When Onyeka was born as twins, the civil war had just started in Nigeria and I helped in taking care of him and the twin sister because our father was posted away from where we lived. He was an active boy in his youth and his brilliance earned him success in the short life he lived.”
Onyeka’s aunt, wife of the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alex Ekweme, Beatrice, said it was important to recognise the positives in the lives of the victims.
Beatrice said, “I was in Onyeka’s house when I heard the news. We were waiting for his arrival but instead of welcoming him, we heard of the tragic news of his death and that of other members of the family. It’s a day we wish to put behind us.”

ALERT: How to Avoid Tricky Facebook Scams

From snake-oil salesmen and pool-hall hustlers to Nigerian princes and Spanish prisoners, scams were happening long before the Internet. Unfortunately, the Internet has only made things worse. Modern scammers can reach billions of potential victims with a single message. And their scams are getting better every day. If you aren't paying attention, you could fall for a scam and not ever realize it.
One of the easiest places to encounter online scams is Facebook. Facebook encourages sharing, which means certain scams can travel far and wide. These aren't harmless scams either. Some of them can install viruses that take over your account or steal your money!

NUPENG Begins 3-day Strike Today

All depots in the country from today till wednessday will cease to load petroleum products in accordance with the three day warning strike ordered by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
NUPENG Also gave directives to its acting members in all branches in the country to join the strike raising fear of fuel scarcity. NUPENG is, among others, protesting unfair labour practices of multinational oil companies like Chevron, Shell and Agip.
NUPENG’s General Secretary Comrade Isaac Aberare in a statement yesterday said the strike is also to protest the refusal of National Association of Road Transport Owners to implement an agreement with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers as well as the sorry state of Nigerian roads.
He said: “The oil workers have no choice than to embark on the warning strike as NARTO refuses to implement the signed collective bargaining agreement with the petroleum tanker drivers and the sorry state of our roads across the nation.
“The union calls on the Nigerian public for understanding, as all efforts by the Federal Ministry of Labour intervention three weeks ago has failed,” he added.
“The union has exhausted all efforts for a stakeholders’ meeting in the oil and gas sector to address the situation; the oil multinationals have failed to implement the agreement reached for a truce in the meeting brokered by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu.”

Why Nigeria Is Not Working - Sultan

After a critical review of the state of the nation, the Sultan of Sokoto and president-general of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday said that so many things are not working in the country because the leaders refuse to allow them to work.

The Sultan said this at a national conference on peace, unity and security organised by JNI in Kaduna said “So many things have gone wrong in this country and things are still going wrong.
“As leaders, we are committed in ensuring justice in whatever we do; we are committed in ensuring that those leaders whom Allah placed on us to lead us do what is right. And we must continue to tell them when they do wrong. No leader is ever right.”
The Sultan added that “the reason of our coming together today is to unite our senior brothers and sisters in Islam, especially the Ulama”.
“If there is unity amongst Muslims there will be peace; if there is peace amongst Muslims of this great country of ours, there will be total security in Nigeria. If there is security, definitely there will be development.
“What we have been experiencing in the northern part of the country -- in particular the unfortunate incident which has been forced on us for so many reasons.
“I believe it’s high time that all of us come together and discuss those things that have been festering in our lives as Muslims in this country,” he said.
He noted that “our coming together and sitting together under one roof shows that we are ready to be united. Sitting down to discuss the main issue facing us is a plus for all of us.”
To the Muslim community, the Sultan said: “We are very aware of the challenges facing us as Muslims and i believe with constant prayers we shall overcome the challenges and move to the greater heights.
“We must put aside personal interest to put Islam above all. We will not allow anybody to stop us from being Muslim, because that is what we choose to be.
“We will not allow anybody to turn our lives upside down. We will not allow anybody to ascribe any form of violence to Islam. We must come together and solve our problem together.
“I remember in this very hall when President Goodluck Jonathan was campaigning; it was in this very hall we listened to what he wanted to see us for. And we the Muslim leaders gave him our agenda -- what we wanted from him.
“But whether he has done what we told him or not is a different thing altogether. We have not sat down to articulate it because of the so many insecurity problems that came up.”

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I Have Been Betrayed! - Amaechi

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has described the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, as “too small and insignificant to discuss.”
Wike, who is Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff, has been involved in a long drawn political battle with the governor.
Amaechi said this while  speaking on Saturday during a church service to mark the 60th birthday of the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief O.C.J. Okocha, at the Emmanuel Anglican Church in Port Harcourt.
The governor, who was reacting to the questions directed at him by the officiating priest, the Bishop of Anglican Communion, Niger Delta Diocese, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, expressed regret that most of those that had betrayed him were from his Ikwerre ethnic group.
The governor said, “This will be the first time I will be talking about my former Chief of Staff in public. My former Chief of Staff is too small for me to talk about. I don’t want to discuss him and I have never done that before. Today will be my first and last day.
“There are men with character and there are men without character.  I don’t believe that money can solve all problems and I don’t worship money.
“My greatest fear is that where am I going after here on earth? Let me also tell you that I have been betrayed several times in politics and majority of those who betrayed me are from my Ikwerre ethnic group.
“Before I became a Speaker, can we look back at Ikwerre history? We were crying; we wanted governor, we wanted this and that and the last ministerial appointment was Chief Emmanuel Aguma, a long time ago, and that was the last Ikwerre ministerial appointment.”
The governor, however, maintained that Opara betrayed him when it was time for the former deputy speaker to support him.
“Again, you can ask Mr. President, I submitted his name (Nyesom Wike) as minister. Where is he now? I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, submitted his name as minister to President Jonathan. But where is he now? You must have character, you must be known for something,” Amaechi insisted.

Tinubu Under Attack!

National leadership of  Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, described the national leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,  as a despot for imposing his daughter, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, as President-General of the Association of Nigerian Market Women and Men.
The party said Folashade Tinubu-Ojo was not a full-time trader and cannot on that note succeed Tinubu’s mother, late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji.
In a statement, yesterday, by PDP’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, the party also lampooned the leadership of ACN for asking President Goodluck Jonathan to probe reports that security operatives prevented Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi, from personally exchanging pleasantries with him at a dinner at the Presidential villa last Wednesday.
Okeke described the demand by the ACN as “irresponsible, meddlesomeness and foolish scandal-mongering.”
He said ACN and its co-traveller, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, were merely embittered by the reconciliations in the PDP and were, as such, crying wolf where there was none.
Stating that such protocol issues were understood by all, PDP said ACN and CPC had, over time, showed that they were quarrelsome parties which derived pleasure in causing disaffection among Nigerians.
He said: “The ACN and the CPC are merely embittered by the reconciliations so far achieved in the PDP and seek to use all means to undermine it. That is why they are crying wolf where there is none. Protocol issues are understood all over the world. Therefore the demand by the ACN smacks of irresponsible meddlesomeness and foolish scandal-mongering aimed at causing disaffection among our leaders and party members.”
The party said President Goodluck Jonathan had a good relationship with all state governors, including that of Rivers State, and commended him for the reconciliations so far achieved in the PDP.
On Tinubu, the PDP said the ACN leader, “who parades himself as a democrat” has clearly shown his despotic tendencies, with the installation of his daughter as the leader of traders without recourse to democratic processes. Nigerians have clearly seen that the so-called democrats and self-styled messiahs in the ACN are, indeed, wolves in sheep’s skins.”

"Boko Haram Gives Me Sleepless Nights" - Says Ihejirika

Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika has revealed that he has had sleepless nights since 2010 when he was appointed COAS because of activities of the Boko Haram sect.
The Chief of Army Staff admitted that the military has done a great job in battling against the violence in the northern part of the country, although he did say there is still a long way to go to achieve piece.
Speaking yesterday at an interdenominational church service to mark 150 years of existence of Nigerian Army, he reassures Nigerians that the capacity of all the units and those of the officers and men of the force had greatly improved, adding that the situation was what gave him the confidence that the operation would succeed.
He said: “The occasional setback suffered in the operation is made possible by the fact that the insurgents disguise as civilians and as such some of the soldiers may not be on their best guard.
“Overall, we have made tremendous achievements but a lot still have to be done. In terms of welfare, it is encompassing and talking about logistics, we are talking about transport which is the vital part of logistics.
“We are aware of the current security challenges which I identified way back in 2010 on appointment as the Chief of Army Staff.
“It was in recognition of this challenge and strategy for dealing with it that made me evolve the vision to transform the Nigerian Army into a force better able to deal with contemporary challenges.”

JTF Kills 50 Terrorists In Borno

It has been reported that the Joint Task Force in Borno has killed 50 suspected terrorists in Zabarmari Ward of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, Maiduguri metropolis.
Concerning the killings, a security source said

“Over the weekend, we received an intelligence report that several Boko Haram terrorists have regrouped and were residing or hiding in Zabarmari Ward. We then mobilized our troops to the area, and on reaching the place, the suspected terrorists upon noticing our presence, began to shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is Great) and started shooting at the JTF troops. We had no option than to repel the attacks while we succeeded in killing about 10 of the suspects.
“We decided not to take away any of their corpses as we left them in the area, but the following day when we mobilized our men to the area, we found out that hundreds of the terrorists were at one of the grave yards burying their dead members, and when we approached, some of them started shooting at our troops which led to the exchange of gun fire. We succeeded in killing over 40 of them.
“As I am talking to you now, our men are still in Zabarmari hunting for any suspected terrorists who might have escaped the deadly encounter”.

Reasons Why Ex- Gov, Gbenga Daniel May Be Expelled From PDP

There are strong indications that the suspended former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, may eventually be expelled from the party.

It was learnt that the Ogun State executive of the PDP is planning to hold a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Jubril Martins-Kuye and party financier, Buruji Kashamu, to determine the fate of Daniel in the party.
The state PDP Chairman, Adebayo Dayo, in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, said the leaders would meet to determine if Daniel would remain in the party or not.
The Chairman, Ogun-East Senatorial District, PDP, Doyin Fakoya, had on Thursday announced Daniel’s suspension along with 12 others over alleged anti-party activities.
Daniel was suspended for defecting with his loyalists to the Peoples Party of Nigeria prior to the 2011 elections and for his alleged romance with the Labour Party in the state.
Fakoya had said, “As of today, I am the chairman of the PDP in Ogun East Senatorial District. I have a copy of the letter that Daniel has been suspended. He was suspended by Ward 12, Sagamu Constituency 2.”
Dayo, however, chided Fakoya for publicising Daniel’s suspension without the knowledge of the party leadership.
“Before we publicise something of that nature, the leadership of the party must be aware of it,” he stated.
While he said he agreed with the suspension, Dayo said Daniel became the first victim of the party’s disciplinary action because he was a leader of the party.
He added that the punishment became necessary at a time when the party was consolidating its efforts to win back the state from the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria.
“I am not saying that I am aware of what happened, as I’ve been out of Ogun State for four days and I am not aware of the publication (of the suspension). I only saw it in the papers.
“When I get back home, I’m going to call the leaders of the party because we, as the officials of the party, still have some leaders ahead of us. I’m going to call all the leaders, starting from former president Obasanjo, Martins-Kuye, Kashamu and all the prominent leaders.
“I will visit them to schedule a meeting where this issue will be discussed at length. If it is the decision of all elders in Ogun State that Daniel should leave the party, so be it. There’s nothing we can do.
“We cannot involve somebody whose interest is divided in our plan for the coming elections. That is the problem we have. The leadership of the party will sit and decide.”
The party chairman noted that while the PDP wanted more members, particularly from opposition parties, it would not condone acts of indiscipline among its members.
“That does not mean that somebody who had been a very active member and leader of our party can be fraternising with various political parties. He was in PPN and recently we heard that he intended to go LP, and he’s romancing the United Party of Nigeria as well. How can a leader of our party be doing all these? You cannot be in PDP and PPN at the same time.”
He said disciplinary measures would soon be extended to other parts of the state

Another Wizard: Nigerian Student Graduates With 5.0 CGPA In Russian University

A Nigerian student Victor Olalusi has emerged the best graduating student with a grade point of 5.0 in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences at the Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow.

According to his friends, Olalusi previously had the best WAEC result in 2004. JAMB Best Science Student (JAMB score 322) – 2006. Cowbell Prize Award – 2006. Medicine First Merit list (OAU) – 2006, Highest OAU Post UME (score – 325)  - 2006, Federal Government Scholarship (Medicine and Surgery) – 2006,

Nigeria Won’t Drop Death Penalty –FG

Federal Government has sealed the fate of homosexuals and those clamouring for the abolition of the death penalty in the Criminal Code.

It has rejected the recommendation by the United Nations Human Rights Council on the protection of same sex marriage and abolition of the death penalty.
This is contained in the draft report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on resolution 16/20 discussed at a Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on the second cycle of Nigeria’s Universal Periodic Review in Abuja on Friday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, said same sex marriage was against the tradition and customs of Nigeria, so it could not be imposed on the country by external forces.
Addressing the representatives of Nigeria, Ashiru, who wondered why gay rights had generated interest from the United Nations, queried the negative campaign against polygamy, which, according to him, was allowed in African tradition.
He said, “You should not shy away from defending what you believe is right. Whatever is in our constitution, you must defend it. We must stand by our constitution. We must stand by our customs and tradition.
“If you want to have gay right in your constitution; fine, but we have our own constitution. The same human rights they want to protect for gay people; how about people that want to go into polygamy if they so desire and women are willing to marry them. Polygamy is human rights in our tradition.”
On the abolition of death penalty, the minister said Nigeria should not be blamed because the Criminal Code in use was enacted by the colonial masters, saying, “If anything is wrong about it, why are they blaming us?”
Ashiru also denied allegations of extra-judicial killings by the military against the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, where emergency rule had been proclaimed by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Challenging those with credible evidence to come forward, Ashiru maintained that the record of Nigeria’s military in peace keeping mission was unassailable.
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, said Nigeria had done creditably well in Human Rights.
Although he noted that the country had some obligations to the United Nations, he said no country could dictate to another because as a sovereign nation, Nigeria has the right to protect the interests of its citizens.

I Will Die A Happy Man — Chief Tony Anenih

Chairman Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, on Saturday urged parents to give proper education to their children, no matter what it costs.

Speaking at the convocation ceremony of 300 students of the Pace Setters Schools, Abuja, Anenih said he would die a happy man having struggled to give his children good education.
The school is owned by former Edo PDP governorship aspirant, Kenneth Imasuagbon.
Anenih said, “The best thing you can leave for your son and daughter is good education. It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. You may be a cleaner, a wine tapper but please give your children good education.
“If I die tomorrow, I will go happily because I struggled to educate my children.”
Also at the event, the publisher of Ovation Magazine and former Presidential Candidate of the National Conscience Party, Dele Momodu, said the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was dangerous for the country.
He said, “It is not good to annul elections. We annulled an election in 1993, 20 years after we are annulling an election that took place between 35 people in one small room. It tells us that there are dangers ahead.”
Momodu, who noted that education liberates the mind, said he would continue to struggle for the liberation of the country from the hands of the few milking it.
He said, “Nigeria can do a lot better. We can’t abandon politics in the hands of a few and then complain. I have not been in power yet, but we will continue to do it and encourage others to join hands to liberate the country from all the socio-political problems confronting the country.”

NDLEA Probes Drug Barons For Boko Haram Links

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has begun investigating the finances of drug barons for possible links with the Boko Haram sect and other terror groups operating in northern Nigeria.

NDLEA’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said that the agency was aware of the possibility of terrorist activities in the North being funded through drug deals, hence the ongoing investigation.
He said, “There is usually a link between drug money and terrorism. But for now in Nigeria, we have not had any case of drug money being channelled into terrorism. That is not to say that there is no possibility. There is the possibility and we are trying to track illicit funds that can be diverted into acts of terrorism.
“We are not necessarily investigating the drug trade that the terrorists might be engaged in, we are investigating the illicit movement of finances. When we get a breakthrough, the public will be properly informed. It is definitely one of our areas of interest in the investigation.”
Apart from terrorism being funded with the drug money, indications have also emerged that Boko Haram members, who have killed thousands of Nigerians, act under the influence of illicit drugs.
On Wednesday, while commemorating the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, said recent discoveries had shown that members of the Boko Haram sect act under the influence of hard drugs, adding that there was the need to cut off their drug supply.
Corroborating Shettima, the NDLEA spokesman said the possibility of the terrorists acting under the influence could not be ruled out, noting that the major illicit drug in the North-East was cannabis (Indian hemp), which is produced locally.
Ofoyeju said insurgency and the consequent emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states had made it even more difficult for the NDLEA to track down drug traffickers in the region.
He however noted that last year, 37.5kg of illicit drugs were seized and 35 people arrested in Borno; 175.7kg drugs seized and 36 people arrested in Yobe while 2529kg drugs were seized in Adamawa and 168 people were arrested.
A report published by the Director, Inter-University Centre for Terrorism Studies, USA, Yonah Alexander, in February, stated that Boko Haram and Ansaru, were being funded by drug cartels in Latin America.
The report entitled, “Terrorism in Northern Africa and the Sahel in 2012: Global Reach and Implications,” said the Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb, had aligned with many other groups, including Boko Haram and Ansaru, in order to expand its sources of funding.
It stated that, “Primary sources of financing of their activities include kidnapping (in some cases, kidnapping is outsourced to criminals), piracy and illicit trafficking of drugs, human, vehicles and other contraband goods.
“Intelligence reports and arrests have confirmed that AQIM has established links with Latin cartels for ‘drugs-for-arms’ smuggling into Europe through terrorist-trafficking networks in the Sahel.”

I'm No Longer Exposing My Breasts -Actress, Mercy Johnson

Beautiful and talented actress, mercy Johnson in a recent interview talks about her career, motherhood and her future plans.

You were at OJB’s house to see him and donate money, now you are here to donate to the Boys Reform Home in Lagos. What’s the idea?
No idea, we are just promoting the ideals of Mercy Johnson Foundation. The idea is to identify the needs, evaluate and help in our own little way. All fingers are not equal; those in position to help should do so without hesitation. You will be hearing a lot about Mercy Johnson Foundation from now on. We have put our house in order and now ready to help those we can.
I strongly believe that as stars we should live beyond the euphoria of stardom and the moment. We will not always be here, what happens if you look back and realise you could do a lot to make the world better when you had the spotlight and you didn’t? I want to live beyond the moment.

Why the reform homes in Lagos?
I know I’m not glamorous to a lot of people, but we must know that if we do charitable things for publicity alone, we defeat the purpose. We need to find ways to reform young boys and girls otherwise they will make life uncomfortable for the children of the privileged. At this point, I must commend the government of Lagos State for making efforts at reforming the kids. We are looking at what we can do with the state to help make the future of these children better.

Photos: Toolz' Pre-Birthday Surprise Dinner

On Air Personality, Toolz's birthday is on July 6th but her friends decided to surprise her a week early with a pre-birthday dinner.

Her boyfriend Captain Tunde Demuren, Banky W, Tiwa Savage and fiance Teebillz, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and a few other friends were at the surprise dinner.
Toolz said it's her first pre-birthday surprise dinner ever.

EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Violates Nigerian Laws, Corners N3Billion

The Federal Government does not build general hospitals but President Goodluck Jonathan has waived two vital rules to establish a princely N2.8 billion new general hospital for his hometown, Otuoke, effectively placing the coastal community as an exclusive beneficiary of a strange largesse not known to federal laws, according to Premium Times.

It is not clear how and when the federal government first conceived the hospital project, as it was not listed in federal budgets between 2009 and 2011, and even after.
But the Federal Executive Council meeting of August 17, 2011, presided over by Mr. Jonathan, gave approval for the project, and a N2.8billion contract was hurriedly awarded to Messrs Avandale Limited. The job was projected to last only 12 months; and indeed, unlike the usual delay government projects face, it was delivered on time.
As the administration became aware that PREMIUM TIMES  was making extensive enquiry about the hospital, President Jonathan hurried to Otuoke on Saturday to purportedly inaugurate the 40-bed hospital, which has now been named Otuoke Comprehensive Cottage Hospital.
At the ceremony, Mr. Jonathan claimed the project began as an initiative of the Bayelsa state government in 2006 before it was taken over by the presidency.
He did not say why he mandated the MDG office, which he personally supervises, to spearhead the project. Mr. Jonathan also did not tell his audience that an estimated N2.8billion federal money was pumped into the project, although a report say the project was eventually completed at a cost of N3.5billion.
Apart from the fact that it was never budgeted for (a violation of the appropriation law), the project breached a longstanding government policy requiring that the federal government provides only tertiary (teaching hospital, federal medical centers, and specialist hospitals); while the states build secondary facilities (general hospitals). Local governments provide primary facilities (health centers).
An exception to that rule, lately, has been the federal government’s direct intervention in local health care, in a spirited campaign against maternal and infant mortality, ahead of the 2015 target date for the actualisation of the Millennium Development Goals.
Otuoke hospital is a general hospital, strictly a secondary health facility, which should have come under the responsibility of the Bayelsa state government. But in 2011, few months after securing his official first term, President Jonathan sidelined that requirement, authorized through the Federal Executive Council, the construction of the N2.8billion hospital in his hometown, and personally supervised its speedy completion within 12 months.
The hospital stands clearly as the only known general hospital nationwide deliberately constructed with federal money by the president since taking office in 2010, a review of government projects, budgets and implementation records show.
Federal health officials also confirmed, in interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, the anomaly of the Otuoke project.
“The federal government is only concerned about tertiary health institutions, anything more than that, we don’t know,” a top official of the ministry of health headquarters said. Many of the officials who spoke insisted on anonymity, for fear they might be victimized.
“We don’t have any responsibility with general hospitals,” the official said.
Mr. Jonathan approved the erection of the hospital in Otuoke even when a Federal Medical Centre, FMC, had already been established in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital. Federal Medical Centres were established nationwide in states that do not have Federal University Teaching Hospitals present, for the purpose of providing tertiary level health care, which is within the purview of the Federal Government in the concurrent nature of health care delivery system in Nigeria, explains a government policy document seen by this paper.
Covering up illegality through the MDG
Mr. Jonathan himself knows he has broken the law by taking over the responsibility of the Bayelsa State government to establish a general hospital for his community. Perhaps to address that concern, the Otuoke hospital project was approved and executed not as a ministry of health project, but as part of intervention projects by the Millennium Development Goals office.
Even at that, the project breached the MDG plan. Where it appears minimally in line, its scale far outweighs similar allocations in other states, showing the imbalance that often characterize federal projects; and how the beneficiaries of such indiscretions are always the constituencies of powerful public officials. President Jonathan’s action also underlines the nepotism that usually characterise the siting of federal projects across the country.

Photo: Gunmen Break Into Prison, Set Inmates Free

Unidentified gunmen numbering 50 broke into the medium security Olokuta prison along Ondo road in Akure, Ondo state.

The gunmen set 175 inmates free in a daring attack that took place around 12:00 midnight.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen freely used Improvised Explosive Devices to carryout out the jailbreak. It has not been confirmed if anyone was killed during the attack.

Prostitutes Beat Up Security Men In Akure

Security personnel attached to the Ondo State Task Force on Environment during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Akure, the state capital were beaten up by some prostitutes.
The cause of the beating was as a result of the men enforcing environmental laws where their brothel was located thereby getting their uniforms were torn into shreds while they sustained  injuries due to the beating they received from the prostitutes.
The Commissioner for Environment, Chief Sola Ebiseeni, led the task force across the Akure metropolis to ensure compliance with the  environmental exercise.
During the exercise, which also took the task force to some towns and villages, some people violating  environmental laws were arrested.
However, when the team of the task force  personnel got to the hotel, located  at Oke Padre, off Lao Street,  Akure, they met the prostitutes with their clients drinking alcohol and dancing.
Efforts of the security personnel to make them observe the  environment exercise were rebuffed.
The prostitutes prevented their clients from being arrested.
The prostitutes and clients thereafter descended on the Civil Defence and security officials attached to the task force and beat them mercilessly while they resisted arrest.

Gunmen Kidnap Three NYSC Members

The Rivers Police Command on Saturday in Port Harcourt confirmed the abduction of three members of the NYSC serving with Abua/Odual local government council of the state.
Mrs Angela Agabe, the command’s Public Relations Officer, told reporters that two male and one female youth corps members were abducted.
She said they were seized by armed men in the early hours of Saturday.
Agabe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the motive behind the kidnapping was however still unknown.
The police PRO said the command’s anti-kidnapping unit, had since commenced a search for the missing corps members.
“Reports received by the command indicate that the corps members went to Ogomokon jetty, near the council headquarters, where three armed men abducted them early today (Saturday).
“So far, no group has claimed responsibility and no ransom has been demanded. The police have commenced investigation into the incident.
“As we speak, our anti-kidnapping unit is on top of the situation. The unit has already commenced work to free the corps members,’’ she said.

Reasons Why Ex- Gov, Gbenga Daniel May Be Expelled From PDP

There are strong indications that the suspended former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, may eventually be expelled from the party.

It was learnt that the Ogun State executive of the PDP is planning to hold a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Jubril Martins-Kuye and party financier, Buruji Kashamu, to determine the fate of Daniel in the party.
The state PDP Chairman, Adebayo Dayo, in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, said the leaders would meet to determine if Daniel would remain in the party or not.
The Chairman, Ogun-East Senatorial District, PDP, Doyin Fakoya, had on Thursday announced Daniel’s suspension along with 12 others over alleged anti-party activities.
Daniel was suspended for defecting with his loyalists to the Peoples Party of Nigeria prior to the 2011 elections and for his alleged romance with the Labour Party in the state.
Fakoya had said, “As of today, I am the chairman of the PDP in Ogun East Senatorial District. I have a copy of the letter that Daniel has been suspended. He was suspended by Ward 12, Sagamu Constituency 2.”
Dayo, however, chided Fakoya for publicising Daniel’s suspension without the knowledge of the party leadership.
“Before we publicise something of that nature, the leadership of the party must be aware of it,” he stated.
While he said he agreed with the suspension, Dayo said Daniel became the first victim of the party’s disciplinary action because he was a leader of the party.
He added that the punishment became necessary at a time when the party was consolidating its efforts to win back the state from the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria.
“I am not saying that I am aware of what happened, as I’ve been out of Ogun State for four days and I am not aware of the publication (of the suspension). I only saw it in the papers.
“When I get back home, I’m going to call the leaders of the party because we, as the officials of the party, still have some leaders ahead of us. I’m going to call all the leaders, starting from former president Obasanjo, Martins-Kuye, Kashamu and all the prominent leaders.
“I will visit them to schedule a meeting where this issue will be discussed at length. If it is the decision of all elders in Ogun State that Daniel should leave the party, so be it. There’s nothing we can do.
“We cannot involve somebody whose interest is divided in our plan for the coming elections. That is the problem we have. The leadership of the party will sit and decide.”
The party chairman noted that while the PDP wanted more members, particularly from opposition parties, it would not condone acts of indiscipline among its members.
“That does not mean that somebody who had been a very active member and leader of our party can be fraternising with various political parties. He was in PPN and recently we heard that he intended to go LP, and he’s romancing the United Party of Nigeria as well. How can a leader of our party be doing all these? You cannot be in PDP and PPN at the same time.”
He said disciplinary measures would soon be extended to other parts of the state.

Mandela’s Ex-Wife, Winnie Blasts President Zuma Over ‘Insensitive’ Visit

Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife strongly criticised on Sunday a visit paid by South African President Jacob Zuma in April to the ailing anti-apartheid icon, who is again critically ill in hospital.
Zuma and the ruling ANC party had come under fire at home and abroad for the visit in April to the former president, who was recuperating at home following a 10-day hospital stay.
“I honestly cannot put in words how hurt the family was. It was one of the most insensitive things for anyone to have done,” Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told Britain’s ITV News television.
In excerpts published on the ITV website, she added: “It was insensitive, it compromised the family, compromised his dignity and it should have never been done.”
Zuma said at the time Mandela was “up and about”, a description that was clearly at odds with televised footage that showed the revered ex-leader frail and dazed, sitting frozen in an armchair.
Mandela, 94, is said to remain in a critical but stable condition after more than three weeks in a Pretoria hospital suffering from a recurrent lung infection.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/mandelas-ex-wife-winnie-blasts-zuma-over-insensitive-visit

Well Done ‘Civilian JTF,’ But...

The murderous three year old insurgency unleashed on this country by Boko Haram sect has come full circle with the recent rise in the Borno State capital, Maiduguri of a phenomenon known as ‘civilian JTF’.

In recent weeks, a youth vigilante group was formed spontaneously in all parts of Maiduguri; its youthful members took it upon themselves to help the authorities to uproot the murderous sect from its unofficial capital by going round city wards, identifying run away sect members, apprehending them and handing them over to the military-led Joint Task Force [JTF].
This important turn of events stemmed directly from the state of emergency that was declared in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe by President Goodluck Jonathan two months ago. Unlike the state of emergency that the president declared in 15 local governments in four states in December 2011, this one was well thought out and was backed up with ample firepower and efficient intelligence. Soldiers poured into all three states within hours of the emergency declaration.
Within a fairly short period of time they chased the insurgents out of the Sambisa forest and all their other redoubts in Marte and other parts of northern Borno State. Scores of insurgents died when the Special Forces bombed their camps and then moved in on the ground. Dozens of Boko Haram fighters as well as many of their top commanders were captured. The surviving insurgents then scattered in various directions and some tried to re-enter Maiduguri and hide in their family homes.
Enter the civilian JTF. Young men fed up with the devastating socio-economic and other effects of Boko Haram’s war which has crippled most economic and social life in Borno and neighbouring states rose up in unison and joined the soldiers and policemen in the hunt for fleeing insurgents. With their knowledge of people and the terrain, these youths went from house to house fishing out insurgents, in many cases beating them up and then handing them over to JTF.
So pleased was JTF with the doings of the youths that it soon put them in charge of stop and search operations at check points. President Jonathan too described them as “new national heroes” which indeed they are, putting themselves in the line of fire in order to help end the most murderous phenomenon that ever visited this country since independence.

Kudirat's Murder: Plot To Free Al Mustapha Revealed, Two Prominent Judges Step In

Two critical characters from the hallways and byways of injustice in Nigeria have quietly stepped into the case of convicted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the once powerful Chief Security Officer to late dictator General Sanni Abacha.

Observers say their task is to set Mustapha free and frustrate the course of justice for slain democracy heroine, Kudirat Abiola.
Last May, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the lead judge of the Court of Appeal in Lagos withdrew from the appeal instituted by Al Mustapha citing personal reasons, but sources said he was miffed by  a high level of interference in the case.
The judge withdrew before the court registrar could announce that  a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Joseph B Daudu (SAN) was becoming the lead counsel. Sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Daudu had quietly taken over the lucrative deal of representing Mustapha.  Next, Appeal Court judge Amina Augie, stepped in as the lead judge in the case on June 10, she took the briefing of Mr. Daudu and reserved her ruling on the matter indefinitely.
Observers told SaharaReporters the deadly combination of Justice Augie and JB Daudu seems targeted at saving Mustapha's case and possibly freeing him of culpability for the killing of several pro -democracy activists with the aid of killer squads that were assembled and funded through his office during the Abacha years.
Daudu is no stranger to such jobs: he was the prosecutor handpicked by late General Abacha who served his government in the kangaroo trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 Ogoni activists, leading to the hanging of the activists on November 10, 1995.

SHOCKING: Something Worse Than Boko Haram Is Coming- Prophet Olabayo

Primate Theophilus Olabayo, 67, founder of Evangelical Church of Yahweh with headquarters in Mende, Maryland, Lagos, had remained one of Nigeria’s respected prophets whose prophesies had shaken the high and mighty in the country.

In this interview, the cleric says there would be a spiritual revolution that will rock the nation to its foundation and at the end of it, a new nation will emerge.
Excerpts:
What really happened that you went off  the radar for several years?
I have been talking. A prophet doesn’t just say things. It’s when God asks me to speak that I speak. Many atimes, I warn our leaders but they don’t have listening ears. I was the only one who said President Umaru Yar’Adua had a terminal disease and when the condition got worse, the wife called some of us to Abuja to ask of the chances of her husband. I said the husband would die and Jonathan would become president.
I warned President Goodluck Jonathan that people would make the country ungovernable for him, but people said I was a prophet of doom. Is it not happening now? Let me quickly say this here that worse than Boko Haram is about to happen.
It’s no secret that you had some health challenges which may have been responsible for your absence for some time. What is the nature of your ailment?
I did not lay off. Elijah was sick and he was still doing God’s work. I had an attack. A spiritual attack but I am still hale and hearty. Spirit cannot die. The spirit of God cannot die in you. The body may be weak, it doesn’t matter. But the spirit cannot die. God will continue to speak through you.
Is it true that you had stroke, Sir?
It’s not a big deal that someone has stroke but I am okay. While on a trip to Kaduna, God had revealed to me that I would have stroke and would be away for some time. So I looked for someone who knew about stroke; one of my pastors.
How did it happen and what was your first reaction?
I was going for a revival in Kaduna and God told me to go with somebody who knows about stroke. The man had to follow me to Kaduna. When I got to Kaduna, they told me one of my townsmen was sick and when I got to his place, God said I should not do anything though he was suffering. I got a room for him, paid his bills and left after praying for him. As I was returning to the church in Kaduna, I had the attack.
And did you have any medical treatment?
Definitely!

Jonathan Not A Weak President —Allison-Madueke

External factors and local impediments tried to scuttle President Goodluck Jonathan’s ambition of repositioning the country in the first two years of his administration, a book edited by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke has stated.
In the book titled, “Goodluck Ebele Jonathan: Champion of Women,” the minister also said Jonathan was neither a weak nor indecisive president.
It said the psyche of Nigerians who held that view had been affected by long years of military rule that made them believe that leaders must be aggressive.
It added that with his consuming passion for the progress of the country, there was no doubt that the President was leading Nigeria to a good place.
The book was presented on Wednesday at a mid-term presidential dinner held as part of activities marking the second anniversary of Jonathan’s administration.
Although the book did not identify the “external factors” that compounded the administration’s woes, it listed the activities of members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in the North and kidnappers in the South as some of the local impediments.
It added that it was impossible for the Federal Government to separate the external factors from local impediments.
According to the book, technological advancements including the use of mobile phones contributed to the problems.
It stated that the first two years of Jonathan in the saddle of affairs were full of threatening challenges capable of making the President lose focus.
The book said however, the challenges made the President more inspired to steer the ship of the nation to a safe haven.
The book read, “The first two years of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration were met with tough, even threatening challenges.
“The Boko Haram insurgence in the North and the spate of callous kidnappings in the South could quite easily have shifted all focus away from the President’s clearly outlined transformation agenda.
“Ironically, however, the President seems even more inspired to steer the ship of the state to a safe point where the dignity of every Nigerian is preserved; a point where our right to contribute to productive decision-making is assured, where our balance of payment is no longer in deficit, where we do not consume more than we produce, where every Nigerian can boast a healthy standard of living, where our women take centre stage in the whole process of social and economic transformation.
“While the local impediments to the President’s ambitions are unrelenting, external factors have compounded the matter further, making it impossible to separate one from the other.
“We now live in a world where a click of your mobile phone takes you to the global marketplace. This may seem adventurous and exciting to some, but the impact on the local market is incalculable.”
While reeling out some of the achievements of the administration in two years, the book stated that Jonathan was determined to fulfil all his electoral promises in the lifespan of his administration.
It described the President as an honourable man who had always been reluctant to say in public what he did not plan to put into practice.
According to the book, Jonathan is already on course to deliver in excess of his commitments across all sectors of the economy.

2015: Northern Governors May Form New Party

Northern governors, and other senior politicians in the region, may form a new political party, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
A source who is part of the move to ensure that the region recaptures power in the 2015 general elections disclosed this to one of our correspondents in Abuja, on Friday.
The source said the formation of a new political party was one of the three options being considered by northern political leaders as politicking for the next general election gathers steam.
The source added that the region would not allow itself to be used and dumped in the manner “Nuhu Ribadu was dumped by the Action Congress of Nigeria during the 2011 elections.”
Ribadu, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was the presidential candidate of the ACN in the 2011 election.
However, he lost the states controlled by the party, except Osun State, and is believed to have been a victim of a deal between his party’s power brokers and those of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said, “The reality of our current political isolation is not lost on us here in the North.
“I believe also we have learnt a thing or two from the brand of politics which led to the set up of Nuhu Ribadu by the ACN during the 2011 elections.
“If by any chance we allow that kind of thing to happen again, then we are doomed. There are three options before us and we are considering them seriously.
“One: remain in the Peoples Democratic Party where we are almost certain that President Goodluck Jonathan will impose himself on the party; for those who may have forgotten, this was done in the last Nigeria Governors’ Forum election. Don’t forget that some of the northern governors are facing expulsion threats from PDP.
“Two: join the All Progressives Congress to defeat the PDP or three: float a fresh political platform altogether. For those who think the third option is a long shot, I suggest they should think again because the Congress for Progressive Change would have been the party to beat today but for some tactical blunders.
“Politics is a game of numbers; we have the numbers as well as the political sagacity to build bridges across ethnic and religious divides, we have done it before, we can do it again.”
Speaking to one of our correspondents, the Convener of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, in a telephone interview, confirmed the plan, adding that a new party could be the best option for the North.
He said, “I believe that if they are determined to do it, they will get public support.If you have that support and it is seen that you are being victimised by government, it will bounce back on your accusers. We are strategising but it’s not what I would want to go into in details.”
Junaid also spoke about speculations that General T.Y. Danjuma is being considered as a possible consensus presidential candidate by the North.
He said, “I know General Danjuma and we speak a lot. I do not believe General Danjuma takes this seriously.
“If he had wanted to be President he could have been one, especially before the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed. After the assassination, he was the de facto leader of the junta and he was also in effective control of the armed forces but he didn’t want it.”
Meanwhile, northern leaders and groups have been holding meetings towards picking a candidate for the 2015 elections.

‘How Oyedepo, Onaiyekan, Others Tried To Save Yar’Adua’

The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may not have died had the family heeded the advice to evacuate him from Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja three weeks before he died.
National Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Pastor Emmanuel Nuhu Kure, one of the four pastors who visited the Villa to pray for Yar’Adua at the height of his sickness in 2010, disclosed this at the weekend. The three other pastors were Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith World Outreach, aka Winners Chapel; Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Bishop of Abuja; and erstwhile Aso Rock Chaplain, Prof. Yusuf Obaje.
The pastors visited the seat of power for the prayer session after Yar’Adua was flown back from Saudi Arabia where he had been taken for treatment for an undisclosed illness.
The PFN National Secretary said he told the Yar’Adua family at the meeting that there was the need to take the president out of Aso Rock within three weeks to keep him alive. According to him, however, they shunned the advice as they were afraid that President Goodluck Jonathan, then vice president, would take over (power) if they took him out of the Villa immediately. “Of course, I was not obeyed and exactly three weeks after that visit, he died”, Kure, based in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, but spoke to Sunday Vanguard in Lagos, last week, said.

27million Lines At Risk As NCC Disconnects Unregistered SIMs Today

If you are reading this and you have not registered your phone line(s), it may just be almost late. In fact, you need not wonder why you may neither receive nor complete any calls from today.
This is because the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says the collation, harmonisation and authentication of the subscriber’s identification modules, SIMs card registration it embarked upon in conjunction with all the telecom operators in Nigeria, since 2011, ends today, and those whose numbers were not captured will be disconnected.
For the past two years, the industry regulator (NCC) has embarked on a massive campaign, sensitizing telephone subscribers on the need to register their phones to enable a proper record of subscribers in the country, effective monitoring of telecommunications activities and cut down on phone-related crimes.
The regulator also made it clear that after a six-month period which expires on September 2011, those who did not register their lines stood the risk of losing them by deactivation. However, following the panic, tension and anxiety as the exercise came to an end, the Commission allowed a grace period by asking people who had not registered to go to their operators to do so while it was collating, harmonising and authenticating the data already gathered.
The harmonisation and authentication exercise have taken over one year and the NCC, a few months back, declared that on June 30, 2013, all unregistered lines would be deactivated. Tension in the industry is at its height. This also reflects the growing nature of Nigerian telecom industry and the intrigues which heralded the exercise, March 2011 when it was flagged off.
As at Thursday, about 27 million SIMs out of the 164 million connected lines and 119 million active were said to be still unregistered. MTN Nigeria, according to figures from the NCC has 52 million subscribers; Globacom, 24.3 million; Airtel, 24.1 million; and Etisalat, 15.1 million. How it all beganIn the wake of unending security challenges facing the country, it became expedient that measures needed to be taken.
In 2009, the then Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Engr Ernest Ndukwe, opted for SIM registration as one of the measures. SIM registration is a standard practice in almost all economies of the world for its ability to check phone crimes and, in Nigeria, such crimes, including death threats via text messages and kidnappings, were becoming common.
A meeting between the regulator, operators and other stakeholders were held where government mandated the operators to start registering subscribers. However, it was learnt that the operators expressed inability to do a good job in less than three years, prompting the agreement that they should register new entrants while the regulator finds way of registering existing subscribers. The operators later went on registration of both the new and old subscribers.
The action infuriated the regulator. Then the regulator under the current EVC, Dr Eugene Juwah, presented a budget of N6.1 billion for the exercise. The budget caused some stir at the National Assembly and the telecom sector and created different camps that engaged in claims of whether the bill was justified or not. Eventually, on February 14, 2011, the exercise began.
Campaign Subscribers initially were reluctant to adapt to the new directive and it became clear that something needed to lure them into the exercise. The operators introduced different packages.
Globacom for instance offered reward packages including a guaranteed 30 minutes free airtime (10) minutes per month for 3 months, all expense-paid trip to Manchester or Dubai to 60 registered customers (20 per month for 3 months) and N20,000 airtime to 300 lucky winners(100 per month for 3 months). Meanwhile the company has made over 17 millionaires in the N1m category of the promo.
NCC boss, Juwah Etisalat Nigeria introduced 9ja Free Credit Promo, designed to reward new and existing subscribers who register or have registered their SIM cards. The promo gives a 30 per cent bonus credit to call any network. With consistent text messages ardio jingles and TV commercials, Airtel lured subscribers to register their SIM cards and win a gift. Other operators like Visafone opted for the direct marketing strategy including road shows.

2015 Guber Race: Maku, Rufa’i, Shagari, Others Warm Up

Governorship aspirants for the 2015 elections are already mobilising their followers and resources to clinch the tickets of their political parties at the primaries. Their behind-the-scenes activities are expected to peak at the end of the year or the first quarter of next year.
Prominent among politicians alleged to have shown strong interest in the governorship race are the minister of information, Mr Labaran Maku (Nasarawa State), the deputy governor of Sokoto State, Muktari Shehu Shagari, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senator Bala Mohammed, (Bauchi), minister of education Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I (Jigawa), former speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, retired Col. Abdulazeez Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina), retired Col.
Aminu Kontagora, Alhaji Abu Bello, Senator Ibrahim Musa (Niger), Senator Magnus Angei Abe, Hon. Dakuku Adolphus Peterside, and Dr Abiye Precious Samuel Sekibo (Rivers).
There are also Sen. Sati Gogwim, Prof. Nenfort Gomwalk (Plateau), senators Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, Oluremi Tinubu, Bareehu Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos), Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN), former director-general of the Suswam/Lawani campaign organisation Chief Terhemba Shija, and managing director of Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority Engr. Mrs Ada Chenge (Benue).
Party leaders, some of the aspirants and their associates, who spoke with our correspondents in 10 states where campaign activities have started on a quiet note confirmed that the would-be-governors are mobilising their supporters for the race. Some of the aspirants are allegedly frequenting the homes and offices of their political godfathers, mostly incumbent governors on their second term, and top party leaders to get their backing.
Among the credentials being flaunted by the aspirants are experience, educational qualification, large followership, loyalty to their parties and godfathers, and ability to provide the chunk of campaign funds. Others are banking on the zoning of political offices’ arrangement in their parties.
One of the governorship aspirants, a serving minister in President Goodluck Jonathan administration, according to one of his associates, has been approached by his people to join the contest because of his “performance in office”.
In Sokoto State, a PDP source hinted that 10 aspirants are strategising to govern the state in 2015. He said four of them come from Sokoto South Senatorial District and included speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, commissioner for local government and community development, Alhaji Faruku Mallami Yabo, the deputy governor, Muktari Shehu Shagari, and Alhaji Dambaba Dambuwa.
The source said Yabo “seems to be the preferred aspirant for now because Tambuwal is believed to be interested in a higher national office”.
It was also learnt that the private residential house of Muktari Shagari within the metropolis has been turned to a Mecca of sorts by youths, women and the aged who are urging him to go for the office.
In Nasarawa State, minister of information, Mr Labaran Maku, is allegedly favoured by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the presidency and his kinsmen (the Eggons), who form the largest ethnic group in the state. The Eggons, who are allegedly angry with the incumbent governor Tanko Al-Makura of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), who they supported in 2011 over alleged neglect of their area, want to present their son (Maku) for the office in 2015.
A notable Eggon leader told LEADERSHIP Weekend that Senator Solomon Ewuga, who is also interested in the office, will be pressured to remain in the Senate to enable Maku secure the PDP ticket. He further said that Ewuga would be advised to play a fatherly role in 2015 by supporting the candidacy of Maku, adding that because of the senator’s “political prostitution” he might not secure the PDP ticket even if he returns to the party. The Eggon leader further explained that in the event of Governor Tanko Al-Makura seeking re-election, it would be difficult for Ewuga to secure the CPC slot.
He said it was against this backdrop that the Eggons opted for Maku, who is widely seen as President Goodluck Jonathan’s “boy” and also accepted by the PDP at both the state and national levels.
Minister of the FCT Bala Mohammed is listed among those seeking to succeed Governor Isa Yuguda in the next dispensation. PDP leaders in the state said his actions had shown that he is eyeing the office. “He has carried out many projects as part of the preparation for his aspiration which include construction and renovation of multi-million-naira mosques and awards of hajj seats to his constituents.”
Other aspirants are Senator Babayo Gamawa, who was the speaker of the House of Assembly in 2009, deputy governor from 2009 to 2011 and now a senator representing Bauchi North constituency, and Senator Nazif Suleiman Gamawa, who was a member of the House of Representatives and senator from 1999 to 2007. He is in the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC)

Gov. Akpabio Fires Domestic Aides As N40 million Cash Disappears From Own Bedroom

Three stewards working at the Akwa Ibom state governor’s lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, were on Friday summarily dismissed by the governor, Godswill Akpabio, over missing bundles of mint-fresh dollars valued at over $250,000 (N40 million) kept in the governor’s bedroom, news website Saharareporters, is reporting.
The governor, who reportedly ordered the sack of the aides (described as political appointees) personally detected on Wednesday, during his visit to Abuja, that bundles of the foreign currency he left in his bedroom had been stolen while he attended a dinner with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso Rock Villa.
According to the website, the missing dollars, kept in drawers in the governor’s bedroom, were leftovers from a trough of hard currency stashed away in a private security safe in the apartment. Governor Akpabio, the report says, expressed surprise that despite the near impregnable security in the lodge, coupled with the fact that the locks to that section of the lodge, including the governor’s bedroom, were routinely changed each time such heavy cash is brought in, the money still disappeared in the manner it did.
While it was yet to be ascertained that the dismissed steward actually stole the funds, they are being punished for “apparent negligence in allowing the real culprits to gain access to the otherwise restricted area of the lodge”, the report says. Saharareporters quoted a source close to the governor’s lodge as saying more heads might roll as investigations continue to find the identities of the other culprits involved in the theft of Mr. Akpabio’s cash.
The source reportedly claimed accusing fingers were being pointed at another staff member at the lodge described as one of those in charge of the overall management of the apartment.
Pilfering of huge cash in the lodge has become a recurring event, the report adds. “In one instance, it was learnt that after bundles of cash disappeared under similar circumstances, the burglary proof and window protectors around the governor’s apartment were changed sometime last year after the perpetrators broke through the ceiling to gain access to the room where cash was stacked in ‘Ghana must go’ bags,” the website writes.
It recalls that a few years ago, the governor redeployed all the civil servants at the lodge and replaced them with political appointees and other private consultants he thought could be trusted. The website says Governor Akpabio is scrambling to keep this latest incidence of theft in his bedroom under wraps.
The governor’s spokesperson could not be reached for comments Saturday night. Well known for his profligacy, Mr. Akpabio is reputed for moving around with huge cash, in violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless economy policy. In March this year, the governor openly donated N1million “lunch money” to party chairmen from the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone who had converged on Port Harcourt for a party reconciliation session.
In March 2012, three staff of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo) attached to Arik Airlines were accused of stealing N1.5million from the luggage of the governor’s protocol attachee, Ebakabasi Etuk, at Ibom International Airport. The suspects were said to have stolen the money from the bundles of cash reportedly carried by the Akwa Ibom State government team on their way back from Lagos where Governor Akpabio was awarded the ‘Sun Newspapers Man of the Year’.

JTF Smashes Boko Haram Gang, Recovers Arms

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Yobe State said yesterday that it had smashed a Boko haram gang in Fune, recovering two vehicles, arms, ammunitions and other materials.
Lt. Lazarus Eli, JTF spokesman said this in Damaturu while displaying the items to newsmen.
He explained that the terrorists attacked a JTF checkpoint in Fune on Friday and took away a police vehicle conveying police items to Borno.
“The JTF pursued and engaged them in a gunfight and they were overpowered, thereby recovering the stolen vehicle as well as a similar one used by the group. Other items recovered include one Ak47 rifle, three Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG) bombs, three RPG chargers, one riot gun and 485 rounds of ammunition.”
Lazarus also said 42 police jackets, 44 police helmets, six AK47 rifle magazines, 80 fragmentation blades and illicit drugs were recovered.
He said some of the suspects fled with gunshots and appealed to the public to report anyone found with gun wounds to security operatives.
Meanwhile, the people of the state have appealed to the federal authorities to lift the suspension of telephone services, to enable them to provide security operatives with useful and timely information.
Damaturu residents claimed that the attack on a college two weeks ago would have been averted, if there was telephone service.
“People noticed suspicious movements on that fateful day just about the commencement of the curfew, but one could not move out.

Breaking: Former Super Eagles star, Thompson Oliha, Is dead

Former Super Eagles midfielder, Thompson Oliha, is dead. Oliha who was born in October 1968 in Benin City, Nigeria, died in the early hours of Sunday.
Until his death, Oliha was one of the coaches at the Kwara State Football Academy in Ilorin. Sam Elijah, former teammate and colleague at Kwara Academy, confirmed Oliha’s death to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone chat.
A retired Nigerian midfielder, Oliha played for clubs in Africa and Europe during a career marred by injury. He played for Bendel Insurance (1985-1987), Iwuanyanwu Nationale (1988-1991), Africa Sports (1992-1993), Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. (1993-1994) and Antalyaspor (1994-1995).
As a player, he was known for his powerful shots and abilities in the air. Oliha retired at the age of 27, as a result of a serious knee injury.
One of the wishes of Oliha before his death was for the federal government to fulfil the promise of a house General Sani Abacha promised the Super Eagles for winning the Tunisia 1994 Nations Cup.
Sadly, he did not see that come true in his life time. Oliha becomes the third player to die among the much celebrated Nigeria 1994 squad, joining Uche Okafor and Rashidi Yekini in the great beyond.

Amaechi Threatens To Dump PDP

Hours after embracing President Goodluck Jonathan at Port Harcourt Airport, Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi yesterday evening raised the stakes in the crisis rocking the state branch of the party by threatening to dump the ruling People’s Democratic Party(PDP).
He vowed to leave for any other party if PDP insists on the reversal of the suspension of Obio/Akpor local council executives as pre-condition for him to remain in the party. Amaechi said this while reacting to questions by the Bishop of the Anglican Communion, Niger Delta Diocese, Rev. Ignatius C. Kattey, at the 60th birthday thanksgiving service of the former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), O.C.J. Okocha (SAN) in Port Harcourt.
He said the PDP should not give him conditions over Obio/Akpor, saying that it was only the lawmakers who suspended them, or the court that could lift the suspension. The governor explained to the crowd at the service that the law that empowered the lawmakers to suspend council officials also empowered him to dissolve the executive, but said he has not done that. “If they reverse it tomorrow, there is one more option left to me, I can dissolve the entire executive.
The police can remain there as much as they want, it is Obio/Akpor people’s problem; the money is going nowhere. “But we have saved you too, because the reason they suspended the executives is because they said, ‘let us investigate the place because there was corruption.’ If they investigate and the chairman and the councillors are not corrupt, they will call them back.
But if they go to court to try to stop them, they will do their function. “I want to hear the court say they have no right to do their function. Whatever the court says is what the Rivers State Government will do.
We will obey the court, but outside that, nobody, not PDP, can give me condition. Is there only one party in Nigeria? Why would they give me condition? They will not give me condition. “I lead the people of Rivers State and I will lead you. If they suffocate us in PDP and we need to move, we move! “We will continue to struggle for our rights, and that includes our oil wells. You will hear the truth of this fight in December, January. I will address the state and I will tell you the truth of the fight.
“Not between me and these people here, they are not a problem to me. But when election comes, the Rivers people will be given the chance to choose who they want,” he said The Bishop had at the beginning of his sermon at the church service sought to confirm if Amaechi had been given the re-instatement of the suspended executives of Obio/Akpor council as condition to end the crisis, and what he Ameachi was doing about it.
Kattey also asked the embattled Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairman if there was really an election that returned him as the chairman of the forum, and urged him to tell the truth. Responding, Amaechi said: “I don’t lie. If I will go to hell, lie wouldn’t be one of the reasons for my going to hell. Take it from me, those who lie don’t have courage, I have them in quantum; my children have excess of courage. “Your Grace, there was an election, your Grace, they are not denying that there was no election.
They said before the election some people have signed documents for them, and they were 19, but in contesting the election, those 19 changed their minds and voted for me, and when the battle was on it was clear that it was between the ‘Villa’ and me, and I won. “There was an election and they were properly defeated and they saw the consequences of defeat.
It is a Governors’ Forum I have led for two years. Even the 16 told me ‘you were wonderful as the chairman, but you know where the pressure is coming from and we can’t avoid the pressure, I won and won well, tomorrow morning (today), I will win again.” Twenty-seven members of the Rivers State House of Assembly in April suspended the Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Timothy Nsirim and his councillors for alleged financial recklessness.
Efforts by the Felix Obuah-led state PDP to force the lawmakers to re-instate the council executives failed. The national body of PDP then suspended Amaechi shortly after his victory of the NGF election – hinging the action on his refusal to recall the council executive.

Bad Governance to Blame for Boko Haram - Obama (VIDEO). UPDATED

Answering questions from journalists and young Africans in Soweto, President Barak Obama pointed to the importance of education for the prosperity of countries, as well as blamed bad governance for Boko Haram.

Mr Obama said “in terms of human capital and young people, I think the greatest investment any country can make, not just an African country, is educating it’s youth and providing them with the skill to compete in a highly technological, advanced world economy”.
“Countries that do not do that well will not succeed”, he added.

He noted that countries with limited skill will have “problems” in drawing international businesses. “This is a problem in the United State and not just a problem in Africa.”
President Obama also stated that the U.S. is willing to collaborate with Nigeria to train teachers and incorporate technology in the education system. “Across board we are having a rethink in education and work force training. And one of the things we want to do is to partner with a country like Nigeria and identify ways that we can provide direct value added, whether it is in helping to train teachers or helping to incorporate technology into the education process”
Mr Obama said they have plans to work with all African countries to empower the youths depending on the plan of the countries. “There are some excellent plans that sometimes we are doing country by country depending on the country plan. But this is a scenario where I would like to get input from young people in terms of what they think will work”.
Addressing Global Terrorist Cells,  Barak Obama commended US government for making a considerable effort in tackling insecurity and curbing terror with the death of Osama Bin Laden but was quick to recognize the existence of Boko Haram in Nigeria.
“There is no doubt in the progress we have made in dealing with some extremist groups, for example core Al Qaida and Bin Laden” stressing that “they have been greatly diminished”. "What is also true is that in some ways the problem has also metastasized, we have more regional terrorist organisations like Boko Haram in Nigeria espousing an extremist ideology, showing no regard for human life”, he added.
Mr Obama admitted that in absence of a transnational capacity like the other organisations “they are doing great harm in Africa and in the Middle East and in South Asia”.
He also blamed the upsurge of terrorist groups on the fact that “countries are not delivering for their people and where there sources of conflict and underlining frustrations that have not been adequately dealt with”
President Obama said that to hold back such uprisings, “we have to build institutions a lot of what we talked about in terms of responsiveness, governance and democracy. Those things become defence mechanisms against terrorism, they are the most important defence against terrorism” he said.
He however ruled out military solutions in tackling terrorism but advocated that governments “give people opportunity, education and resolve conflicts through regular democratic processes, the less likely they are to take root”
Barak Obama charged the African Union to send peace keeping missions to countries that are likely to have such terrorist cells come up and nip them in the bud before they cause harm, adding that “we can provide advice, training and in some cases equipment”.
He alsp noted that America will like to stand back and sell iPads and planes than remain as a global police, he however warned that America will not “stand by and watch while our embassies are being attacked our people are in vulnerable situations”.

“June 12 Should Be Democracy Day” – Dele Momodu Blasts Jonathan, Obasanjo, Others

In a recent interview, publisher of Ovation magazine and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, spoke extensively about President Jonathan, MKO Abiola and a lot of political issues.

Excerpts:
It’s been 20 years since June 12, 1993. For someone who was a player back then, how do you begin to process that?
It has been 20 years of agony, anguish, pain, waste because 20years ago, miraculously, Nigerians came together and decided to vote for change. We had our own Obama before America in Chief MKO Abiola. That election was not an accident, the man prepared for it. Abiola took that spirit of planning and organising to a different level in Africa. It was obvious that it was only a matter of time. Waking up to realise that that beautiful election was killed just by a handful of people and since then, we have not known peace is of the greatest regret.
This year President Jonathan remarked that June 12 1993 marked a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democracy and it would seem that his administration is making some effort to recognise the date and the struggle. Is he doing enough?
We have not done anything. We haven’t even started. You see it is very easy to speak about something and another thing to act on it. What this government has been doing is to stylishly politicize it, stylishly claim to support it but they are yet to take concrete steps towards redressing it.
What are the steps they should be taking?
I don’t like to criticize without saying what I would have done differently so for example if I were the president, I would have changed that May 29 democracy day back to June 12 because May 29 was an Obasanjo concoction. Obasanjo concocted it to suit his own purposes. Everybody knows he was totally against June 12 for whatever reasons. He has not come out to tell us what Abiola did to offend him and really I don’t care any longer. If Abiola was a mad man, Nigerians voted for him and that is the meaning of democracy. In Kenya, the new president has a case on his neck bordering on human rights abuses yet the people voted for him. America dislikes the president of Iran with a passion yet he flies to New York to represent his country at the UN, that is democracy. You cannot stop a man on our behalf even if we were all stupid while voting for him. It is not even by naming streets or buildings after the man, the most important thing for us, for the generations unborn is to ask in the future; ‘’why do we have a public holiday on June 12?’’ That is what is done in America; for people like Martin Luther King, their days are marked. We should stop hiding behind one finger like Abiola himself would have put it. If truly you believe in June 12, don’t play politics with it. Be realistic. Change May 29 because nothing happened on that day except for the fact that Obasanjo was sworn in. How does that become democracy day? And it is unfortunate because he was the greatest beneficiary of June 12. He was brought back because Abiola died in prison. The man spent 8years in office and did nothing so Jonathan should do something serious. He must find the courage. I know he must be afraid because the people around him are those who killed June 12 and he is looking for a second term. Which is sad because it is only God that brought him there and it is only God that can remove him. So he should not be afraid because as long as he acts in the way of God, he will always find fulfilment. I tell people, this man did not fight to get to power, why is he fighting to retain it? This is Jonathan’s chance to be a statesman like Mandela.  If I were president I would bring everybody together; the Abachas, Babangidas and I would tell them to offer public apology, acknowledge that what you did was wrong. We should learn to own up to mistakes.
This year, only a handful of South-west states announced a public holiday  on June 12, do you fear that it has been sectionalised the same way only the Igbos seem to remember Biafra and the Ogonis, Ken Saro Wiwa?
June 12 isn’t about celebration but about imbibing the spirit of transparent elections, true democracy, tolerance, unity where nobody cared about ethnicity, religion or family background. Abiola had his own issues but people looked beyond all that. That is the spirit we must inculcate in the new generations. It is not about declaring holidays or leaving it to a particular tribe but the spirit. PDP that seems to be an offshoot of the oppressive military regime has a lot to learn from the June 12 spirit.

PHOTOS: Breaking News: Jonathan And Amaechi Settle Conflict?

A few days after bodyguards of Mr. Jonathan prevented Rivers State governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi from shaking hands with him at a presidential dinner last week in Abuja.
Amaechi met President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the Port Harcourt International airport today and both embraced each other in the presence of a faction of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) led by a junior minister of Education, Nyeson Wike at the airport.
Mr. Jonathan was on his way to Abuja from Bayelsa state where he commissioned a hospital and visited the federal university at his Otueke village.

Confederations Cup 2013: Brazil win will bring World Cup belief

By Ben Smith BBC Sport

Fifa Confederations Cup final

• Venue & date: Estadio Maracana, Rio; Sunday, 30 June

Coverage: Live coverage on BBC One and BBC Sport website from 22:25 BST

Luiz Felipe Scolari believes victory over world champions Spain in the Confederations Cup final in Rio de Janiero on Sunday will show the world that Brazil are ready to win the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Brazil have not lost a competitive match on home soil since a defeat to Peru in 1975. Brazil coach Scolari said that record and the belief and support of the fans meant Spain are not automatic favourites at the Estadio Maracana.
"Victory will send a message that Brazil are on the right road to win the World Cup," he said. "Even if we don't win but play well and show we are in good shape, it will also send a message.
"I do not consider Spain strong favourites. In the past six years, they have won two European Championships and a World Cup.

Brazil's record against Spain

• 1934 World Cup first round: Lost 3-1
• 1950 World Cup final round: Won 6-1
• 1962 World Cup group stage: Won 2-1
• 1978 World Cup: Drew 0-0
• Friendly, 1981: Won 1-0
• 1986 World Cup: Won 1-0
• Friendly, 1990: Lost 3-0
• Friendly, 1999: Drew 0-0

"Spain are spectacular - but like any team they have their faults.

"They have played with a settled team and that is an advantage. But with strength and spirit we can match them and even go beyond them."
Scolari spoke of the need for his team to win over any remaining doubters in Brazil, having been at the centre of so much criticism in the weeks before the Confederations Cup.
"Victory will challenge those in Brazil that doubt us," he said. "My players are very motivated, we want to make ourselves respected at home.
"The fans have been fantastic from the (2-2) match against England at the Maracana. They have given us a huge confidence boost."
Much has been made of Brazil's move away from flair and fluency towards a more functional approach, but Scolari said history only remembered results, not how you got them.
"Brazil played pretty [at] a World Cup (1982) and did not win," added Scolari. "We sacrificed the result by the spectacle. The Spain team has been playing well and winning. Everybody wants that, but sometimes it is not possible. The result is the story, not the beautiful game."
Scolari said he would not restructure his side to cope with the threat of Spain, after Italy frustrated them by playing three central defenders. Instead, Brazil are expected to name the same side that overcame Uruguay 2-1 in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday.
Spain counterpart Vicente del Bosque is relishing the prospect of Sunday's final.
"I am highly satisfied, and for all of us this is something very beautiful. We are playing Brazil, the kings of football who have lived through marvellous moments in their football history, and to play in Maracana is something very special.
"I am delighted we are playing the final here and perhaps we can come back and play the World Cup final here as well in 2014."