Wendy Williams says Kim & Kanye aregrooming North to follow in Kim's footsteps

Talk-show host Wendy Williams thinks Kim
and Kanye are grooming their daughter, North,
to follow in Kim's footsteps. She said this
during her Hot Topics segment yesterday.
Wendy explains,
“A lot of people are like she’s a mother why is
she still doing stuff like that? I look at it and
say, 'Well North is being groomed to do the
same thing...so to North this is going to be a
big deal in terms of looking up to her mom.'"
"I look at it say, 'Well you're somebody’s wife
now.' But I get it, cause Kanye was probably
in the corner [clapping] talking about Yaaass!
Yaaaas Hunty! Pose Girl!"
Starts from 4.00mark

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Graphic pic: Trader kills man for "under-pricing" his goods

A trader at Alaba International Market Ojo,
Lawrence Ikonne has been arrested for
allegedly killing a buyer, Isa Yaya over the
price of his secondhand air conditioner.
According to reports, the incident happened at
Ikonne’s house at Afromedia Estate,
Okokomaiko, Lagos where Ikonne had invited
Yaya to. When they got to the house, the two
of them went inside a room to bring out the
air conditioner, and then they started haggling
over the price. Yaya allegedly insisted on
buying the air conditioner below N5, 000- a
price which did not go down well with Ikonne.
It resulted into a fight and Ikonne allegedly hit
Yaya with a plank resulting in his death...
During interrogation, the suspect said:
“I had not met the young man before. I met
him that morning at the Alaba market, and
asked him to buy one of my appliances: an
air conditioner. He actually looked like a cart
pusher. When we got home, we both went in
to remove the product, and we brought it
outside for negotiation. As we continued, he
said he would pay less than N5, 000. I
replied that he should assist me to return it
to where we took it from, but he refused. In
the process, we started fighting. He even
asked me to pay him for helping me bring it
out. I was mad, and I hit his belly with a
plank. When I realised he had fainted, I tied
him with a rope and dragged him into a
corner. I also fled the house.”
It was one of Ikonne’s co-tenants who noticed
Yaya’s tied up corpse, raised an alarm, and
reported the case to the Okokomaiko police
station.
Source: Punch

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Oh wow! What kind of tattoo did ChrisBrown just get? (Photo)

Erm...what kind of symbol is that? He shared
the pic (on the right) on his instagram page
today. Left is what is neck used to look like.
See up-close pic after the cut....

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Hunters kill over 75 Boko Haram men,recapture Maiha town in Adamawa

According to reports, about 75 Boko Haram
men were killed this week by local hunters in
Maiha town, which is about 25km from Mubi
town in Adamawa State.
The hunters also recaptured their town which
was captured by the insurgents this past
Monday. The local hunters, armed with rifles,
machetes, bows & arrows, ambushed the
insurgents as they came to fight with the
Nigerian military in their town and killed as
many of them as they could.
Following the attack, many residents of Maiha
fled to Yola over fears of reprisal attacks from
Boko Haram, who are known to re-group and
take revenge when their members are
slaughtered.
But the hunters and other vigilante groups say
they are no longer running, that they have
decided to stay and fight to keep their land
and family safe. Thousands of youths have
since signed up to confront Boko Haram
insurgents in the state.

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Boko Haram: Nasir El-Rufai mocks PresidentJonathan with cartoon

Lol. The former minister mocked the Federal
Government's handling of the Boko Haram
crisis with this cartoon he posted on Twitter...

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Oh my! Man survives being pierced by 15- inch piece of wood (pic)

How did he survive this? The medical staff at
a Polish Emergency ward were surprised when
40 year old Kamil Podwinski calmly walked
into their medical centre with a 15inch piece
of wood stuck right through his head.
According to New York Post, Mr Podwinski
was renovating his home in Konin Poland
when the freak accident happened. He
reportedly told the nurses he was working
when he slipped and fell face first onto a
sharp piece of wood. The wood entered his
face just below his eye socket and came out
through the back of his neck. And he survived.
He actually took himself to the hospital.
At the hospital, the staff had to call the fire
service department because they'd never dealt
with something like that before and were
scared they might cause more injury trying to
remove the piece of wood out of the man. The
fire service arrived the hospital and helped the
medical team remove the wood without
causing further damage.
The incident has since been described as a
miracle as the man who was calm through out
the ordeal, didn't suffer serious injuries and is
recovering in the hospital.

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Man accuses Nigerian soldier of killing his friend & stealing his car

A Nigerian man, Abdullahi Hassan Ali, has
accused an unidentified Nigerian soldier of
allegedly killing and stealing from his friend,
Mohammed (pictured above), who was kind
enough to give the soldier a lift in his car. Ali
claims the soldier killed his friend, threw his
body out of the car and drove away in the car.
Possibly a robber in a military uniform. See
what Abdullahi posted on his Facebook page
after the cut...*graphic pic when you
continue...*
I can vividly remember those days when
Mohammed was in my office as a student on
industrial attachment (IT). He was such a
gentle being will high hopes for the
future.Although he appeared to be a quite
and gentle person,but he is the kind of
person that speaks alot when actualy says
nothing at all.Moreover,i used to like him
because he was a physics student from the
same department i graduated in UNIMAID.It
is so unfortunate that his life was cut short
by a Auto-theft soldier that shot him and got
away with his car.
Mohammed, being a generous and gentle
soul gave the soldier man a lift in his
car,and the soldier man shot him,threw him
out of the car and ran away with it. Some
good samaritans found Mohammed beside
roadway bleeding to death and hurriedly
decided to rush him to the nearest hospital,
but poor Mohammed never made it to the
hospital gate. Mohammed struggled and
managed to narrate the unfortunate incident
to his helpers before he died.The soldier man
was later arrested with the car, and is still
under custody. May almighty Allah forgive all
his mistakes and grant him Aljannah.Ameen.

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Photo: Mikel Obi and girlfriend loved up in newphoto

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It's getting interesting! Speaker Tambuwaljoins presidential race

The Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who recently joined
APC, has joined the 2015 presidential race.
According to reports, he picked up his
presidential nomination and expression of
interest forms this past Monday November
10th.
He joins former Head of State Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari, former VP Atiku
Abubakar, Kano State Governor, Rabiu
Kwankwaso, and the Publisher of Leadership
newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, in the APC
presidential race. Any of them of interest to
you?

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Klint Da Drunk sends lovely shoutout to hiswife on instagram

Klint and Lilien have been married for seven
years and have two kids together. How sweet
he's still mad about her! :-)

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Photos: Fashola meets with SA govtofficials, approves repatriation of deadSouth Africans in Synagogue tragedy

Governor Fashola yesterday met with
representatives of the South African
government who were in Nigeria to facilitate
the repatriation of the bodies of 54 South
Africans who died in the September 12th
Synagogue building collapse.


Addressing the South African delegation led by
South Africa's Minister in the Presidency Mr
Jeffrey Radebe, Governor Fashola said the
DNA test on 70 bodies out of the 116 retrieved
from the scene of the incident have been
concluded and gave the go-ahead for the
release of the 54 South Africans identified by
the DNA test results.
The governor apologized for the delay in the
release of the bodies, stating that the state
government was being careful in releasing the
bodies so as not to hand the body of any
victim to a wrong family.
Briefing the delegation, the state Chief
Medical Examiner, Prof John Obafunwa, said
of the 116 persons that died in the tragic
incident, 70 of them have been positively
tested and identified. Out of the 70, 54 are
South Africans while the remaining were from
Nigeria, Benin republic, Togo and other
countries.

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Photos: Fashola meets with SA govt officials,approves repatriation of dead South Africansin Synagogue tragedy

Governor Fashola yesterday met with
representatives of the South African
government who were in Nigeria to facilitate
the repatriation of the bodies of 54 South
Africans who died in the September 12th
Synagogue building collapse.


Addressing the South African delegation led by
South Africa's Minister in the Presidency Mr
Jeffrey Radebe, Governor Fashola said the
DNA test on 70 bodies out of the 116 retrieved
from the scene of the incident have been
concluded and gave the go-ahead for the
release of the 54 South Africans identified by
the DNA test results.
The governor apologized for the delay in the
release of the bodies, stating that the state
government was being careful in releasing the
bodies so as not to hand the body of any
victim to a wrong family.
Briefing the delegation, the state Chief
Medical Examiner, Prof John Obafunwa, said
of the 116 persons that died in the tragic
incident, 70 of them have been positively
tested and identified. Out of the 70, 54 are
South Africans while the remaining were from
Nigeria, Benin republic, Togo and other
countries.

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2face Idibia celebrates wife Annie as she turns30 today

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2015 elections in Benue will be bloody unlessthe illegal arms in circulation are withdrawn-DSS

The Department of State Security (DSS) in
Benue State has said that the forthcoming
elections in the state would be bloody unless
the illegal arms in circulation are withdrawn.
According to the DSS, the quantity of firearms
in circulation in the state which has had a
number of farmer-herder clashes recently, is
scary and is dangerous to the 2015 elections.
Deputy Director of the Service, Frank Obi, who
spoke during a meeting organized by the
National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Makurdi,
said there is a need to address the issue to
ensure a peaceful election next year.
"Nobody is worried about retrieving them.
The arms are mostly in the possession of
youths and must be totally mopped up in-
order for next year’s elections not to be
turned into a battle field.” he said.

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Boko Haram has declared war on Nigeria'-Senate President, David Mark

...and what is Nigeria going to do about it?
Nigerian Senate President David Mark says
recent attacks by Boko Haram members is a
clear indication that the sect group has
declared war on Nigeria. Mark said this at the
senate's plenary session yesterday.
"Clearly, Boko haram has declared war on
this country and we must fight this war with
all the resources at our disposal. There is no
half measure in it. Its not a matter of state of
emergency anymore, It is a total war and we
must bring all our war resources to bare on
Boko Haram" he said.
In a related development, the Senate
committee on Defence has summoned the
Security Chiefs over the security challenges
being faced in the North. They are expected to
give inventory of weaponry at their disposal
when they appear

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Another fallen hero: Lieutenant MUmar Man

As much as we can celebrate these men
laying their lives for us, we will. Lieutenant M
Umar was killed by Boko Haram members
during an attack on Mubi in Adamawa state
on Tuesday November 11th. May his soul
rest in peace... Amen.

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Court orders Lagos PDP to pay lawyer N10m

A Lagos High Court sitting in Ike­ja has ordered the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pay N10.5 million pro­fessional fees due to a legal practitioner, Mr. Debo Adeleke for services rendered to the party. Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye gave the order yesterday while deliv­ering a summary judgment on a case between Adeleke, the national headquar­ters of PDP and its state chapter.

The court also ordered the party to pay a N50, 000 cost in favour of the claimant.
Adeleke had dragged both the national headquarters and Lagos State branch of the PDP to court over their failure to pay him his outstanding legal fees.
The lawyer had sued the PDP for failing to pay the balance of his legal fees after he had made 180 representations for the party.
The matter, which commenced in Febru­ary, saw only the national leadership of the party being represented by a counsel, Mr. Chukwuma Nmesirionye.
In an application dated October 6, 2014, counsel to Adeleke, Mr. Benson Akeredolu, had drawn the attention of the court to the continuous absence of Lagos PDP or its representative from the court proceed­ings, saying the state chapter of the party had been served with all the processes but chose not to respond. He, therefore, urged the court to enter into a summary judgment against the state PDP.
In her ruling, the judge held that the sec­ond defendant (Lagos PDP) breached the provisions of Order 11 Rule 4 of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure Rules.
She stated that the proof of service before the court showed that the party was served with the court processes but refused to file its response to the claimant’s affidavit.
Ipaye said the non-compliance with the court rules had shown that the party was not interested in defending the suit.
She said the court was more than satisfied with the totality of the unchallenged facts of the claimant and therefore entered judgment in Adeleke’s favour.
Justice Ipaye ordered the Lagos PDP to pay the sum of N10, 550, 000 to Adeleke as outstanding legal fees at an annual interest rate of 10 per cent.
Adeleke’s counsel stated that his client had handled seven cases for the PDP at the Lagos State Local Government Elections Petitions Tribunal between November 2011 and August 2012.

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Journalists scheme to take over from Akpabio

Two brother jour­nalists from Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Pe­ter Esuh and Mr. Chris Abasi Eyo, have perfected plans to take over power from the state Governor, Godswill Ak­pabio, in 2015.

Esuh, with a doctorate degree in mass communica­tions from the University of Uyo, and until recently, a senior lecturer in the same department, and Eyo, a for­mer broadcaster with the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation and former com­missioner for information in Obong Victor Attah’s ad­ministration, had concluded necessary documentations as gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ironically, the duo, though from different local govern­ment areas are from Oron Federal Constituency in Eket Senatorial District, assumed to have been zoned the 2015 gubernatorial slot.
Esuh told Daily Sun on Tuesday that for fairness and equity in the zoning of governorship to Eket Sena­torial District, Oron should take the governorship in line with previous arrangement of targeting the majority ethnic group in each senatorial dis­trict.
He said the issue of zoning had been laid to rest in 2006 when the former governor of the state, Obong Victor Attah addressed the leaders of the state that power should shift to Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District with particular refer­ence to Annang, afterward, it should shift to Eket Senato­rial District, with particular reference to Oron.
He said though he was not coming out to represent Oron interest, as his aspiration was for the benefit of the entire state, it would amount to im­morality to scheme Oron out of the governorship by zon­ing it to other ethnic groups in the senatorial district.
“We need to make one capital state like Lagos. We don’t need to come to Uyo to feel governance. We need the kind of leadership that would harness the resources. The concept of where you come has been one of the problems we have in this state,” he said.

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Obiano not colluding with Amaechi against Jonathan, says APGA youth

The youth wing of the All Progres­sives Grand Alli­ance (APGA) has expressed disgust over a report that Governors Wil­lie Obiano and Chibuike Amaechi of Anambra and Rivers states have been meeting with a view to un­dermining the government and aspirations of President Goodluck Jonathan, saying it was complete false.

Under the aegis of APGA Greater Tomorrow for Good Governance (AGTGG), the youth group, which addressed journalists in Awka stated also, “no member of APGA at any level is or has been meeting with or working closely with Governor Amaechi or even his proxies.”
Reading out a three-page document, copies of which were distributed to journalists, spokesman of the group, Mr. Emenike Sunday, stated, “nei­ther Mr. Dozie Nwankwo nor Governor Obiano as individu­als or in concert with each oth­er has ever been with Amaechi in same political party at any time at all.
“When Amaechi was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Nwankwo was in Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and now that Nwankwo has since moved on to APGA, Amaechi is in All Progressives Congress (APC). That they all have their minds fixed on par­ticular ideological goals for their constituents,” he said.
Emenike blamed, “political prostitutes who have been shut­tling from one political party to the other for all the confusion and sponsorship of the smear article.”
He said: “Amaechi’s wife has no political involvement outside Rivers State. Also, he pointed out that in Kwara State, the Saraki political dynasty has different colourations.” He not­ed that Senator Bukola Saraki, a two-time governor of the state, belonged to the APC whereas his sister, Gbemisola Saraki is of the PDP.
AGTGG, according to Eme­nike, was set up to foster posi­tive leadership attitude among members and mobilise popular support for APGA candidates. They fingered some senatorial and House of Representatives aspirants in the PDP who they said were very jittery “that the revolutionary popularity” of Dozie Nwankwo, Chief Victor Umeh and Obiano would defeat them, as the brains behind the campaign of calumny.
He described as “infantile stunt the false accusations and misleading publications being circulated against Nwankwo, Umeh and Obiano,” stressing that the PDP aspirants know they stand no chance in the 2015 general elections in the state. So, they now resorted to cheap blackmail against APGA and her very outstanding candidates.
Umeh, according to the group, has stated it repeatedly that the APGA revolution in the country was now going beyond the Anambra political space.
“We are going to present the best candidates in each state of the federation, whose image and political stature would win election landslide anywhere,” he pledged.
The group accused a state deputy governor and his al­leged puppet (names withheld) as well as a House of Repre­sentatives member urging all to eschew trouble-making but to play by the rules, in the spirit of President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

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Arrest Okwu for impersonating APGA national chairman -Umeh’s aide

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) crisis has taken a worrisome dimension as the Senior Special Assistant to the party’s National Chair­man, Mr. Stan Okeke called on the security op­eratives to arrest Chief Maxi Okwu for allegedly impersonating the nation­al chairman of the party.

This call came on the heels of a media report that the Maxi Okwu-led APGA had started selling the ex­pression of interest forms to aspirants ahead of 2015 general elections and also planning for congress of the APGA faction.
Okeke described Chief Okwu’s action as the big­gest joke of the year. He insisted that the Indepen­dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) knew the APGA it is dealing with and that the Supreme Court had already decided on the true leadership of the party. He noted that Okwu was dissipating his energy on mere propaganda, which he said would lead him to nowhere.
“If it is true that Okwu is selling forms for ex­pression of interest, on what platform will those who buy the form con­test. I know that the man is only seeking attention. Pertinently, where is Mazi Okwu selling the forms? Is the media covering it? You can clearly see it is one of the gimmicks Okwu is known for.

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Oil’s Tumble Continues to Hurt Nigeria

Nigeria, which is dependent on oil and natural gas for 96% of export revenues and 80% of government revenues, has been slammed hard by a slump prices over the last weeks and on Thursday hit yet another all-time low against the dollar – a veritable kick in the teeth for the central bank after it just last week intervened by selling dollars and buying the Naira after the dollar soared above 172 naira.

The intervention initially triggered some respite, but today the dollar climbed above the previous peak, to above 173, traders said.
The Naira’s drop puts Nigeria among the worst hit of the word’s oil producers, but the ruble, Norwegian krone and Canadian dollar have all taken hits. It’s economy is also cited as one of the most promising growth stories in Africa, based in no small part on its massive oil reserves, but also its burgeoning middle class.
Year-to-date, the currency has now lost 8% against the dollar and more than 4% since the start of November, and in the short term at least, traders say they see no relief. The ICE Brent Crude Index was down 0.6% at $79.90 per barrel according to Factset Thursday, taking its year-to-date loss to over 27% and Deutsche Bank economists wrote in a note that at least in the near term, they see risk to the downside.
“Although a seasonal pickup in crude oil demand will be triggered by refinery turnarounds concluding in November, we expect renewed weakness in 2015 owing to the medium-term trend of non-OPEC supply growth expanding at a faster rate than total demand growth, even at current oil prices,” they wrote.
The central bank is attempting to curtail its currency’s fall against the dollar, barring imports of goods paid for in dollars and limiting deposits in its Standing Deposit Facility to 7.5 billion naira, or about $45 million to boosy the amount of naira in circulation to pay for goods and services.
But its foreign currency reserves recently stood at $39.5 billion, much smaller than Russia’s $454 billion as of the end of September for example, limiting Nigeria’s ability to hold back the decline with interventions.
Nigeria’s All-Share Index on Thursday recouped some of losses recorded in previous sessions, rising 0.8% in early European trade, but is still down almost 18% so far this year and almost 10% since the start of November alone.
Amid all the concerns surrounding the currency and other oil-dependent assets Nigeria’s Debt Management Office said on Thursday that it had issued 55 billion naira ($325 million) worth of sovereign bonds at a regular auction on Wednesday, with maturities of three, 10 and 20 years respectively. All bonds were heavily oversubscribed according to the DMO but one banking source said that the amounts issued were slightly smaller than what the government would have done under usual conditions, and the yields moderately higher, showing the “proactive stance of the government” against an adverse backdrop.

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There’s room for improvement in N’Assembly, says Raji, Fashola’s aide

Lateef Raji, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the Special Adviser on Infor­mation and Strategy to Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN). Raji, who wants to represent Oshodi/ Isolo Federal Constituency 1 at the National Assembly, spoke with NKIRU ODIN­KEMELU on his aspiration and other matters of general importance. Excerpts:

What is your reaction to the position of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) that the loan collected by the Lagos State government has been converted for personal and party use?
That is a position that is not sup­ported by any shred of reasoning or evidence. Lagosians cannot be taken on such a cheap ride. What the loans were taken for are evident everywhere you turn to in Lagos.
Lagosians applaud the Lagos State Government efforts in these areas: We have the reconstruction of Lagos- Badagry dual carriageway, construction of Ijegun-Isheri-Oshun-Isolo (Jakande Estate) road works in Alimosho. We also have ongoing, the reconstruction of Ishasi road, Ojo LGA, reconstruc­tion of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Project, Reconstruction of Mushin- Isolo Road, Mushin LGA, Upgrading of Roads within Apapa LGA, Marina Road, Bombay Crescent, Randle Road, Ibikunle Akintoye, Commercial Road and Burma Road, Shoreline Protection Works – Goshen Estate to Alpha Beach, Eti-osa LGA. It will also interest you to know that the acquisition of Asset/ Liability of the LCC is essentially an infrastructure development of 47km Lekki-Epe Expressway road, Blue Line Rail Project, Okokomaiko – Marina, Adiyan Water Project II 70 Millenium Development Goals (MGD), comple­tion of Ayinke House, General Hospital Ikeja – Equipment. I can go on and on but the loan is meant to develop Lagos State.
But was there a need for the loan in the first place?
When you consider the volume of the essay on the infrastructure deficit in the state, you would agree that there is need to approach the financial market for funds to bridge the gap. I know saying this alone would not satisfy you, but let me put it this way. Out there, the impression is that Lagos State makes so much money from its Internally Gener­ated Revenue (IGR) and does not need any external loan to fund its programs.
But, let us put things into perspective. Assuming Lagos realizes N30billion monthly with over 21million people to cater for, divide that figure and let’s find out the share per head. Taking the result, would the ratio accruable to each resident be sufficient for each one of us to provide security, water, bridges, healthcare services, schools, roads, traf­fic light, dispose refuse?
By and large, the essence of bor­rowing is to address infrastructure deficit and the way to go about it is to approach institutions that have enough money in their pool. What Lagos has done is to look for the best alternative that offers a low pay back rate. The loan collectively matures at different times.
The opposition also accused the APC-led government of inflating cost of projects. How true is this?
Again, that is another wild allegation that cannot be substantiated. Ordinarily, we would not respond to this, but since they have continued to exhibit this high level ignorance, we would not stop edu­cating them on acceptable best practices which have been the hallmark of this administration. No two projects with the same design at two different states would ever attract the same price.
You cannot expect the construction of 1km of a road in the Niger Delta area to be the same price with what obtains in some parts of Northern Nigeria. Sim­ply because the terrain and topography are different. Lagos is one meter below sea level, and to construct; it requires more pilings than other states who are on higher grounds. And, come to think of it, all governments in Nigeria, includ­ing the federal government use a pool of the same contractor for their project execution. That argument is only fit for the beer parlour.
Governor Fashola’s tenure will come to an end in a couple of months, do you think your party is capable of recording victory at the polls, especially with the bickering within your party over his successor?
The APC still remains the party of choice for Lagosians. The reason for this is simple. We set the pace of gov­ernance for the remaining 35 states and the FG. Our financial stability was rated higher than the national.
Under our party, Lagos is the first and best in all indices. We contribute more to the GDP than any other state; we brought pride and dignity to the way Nigerians are seen in the wider world. Lagosians are very proud of this status, and would not exchange this for the failure these critiques in the PDP are known for.
We are united around the broom which is the symbol of our party.
You are aspiring to go to the House of Representatives, what informed this?
You will recollect that I contested for this position in 2011 but was advised to step down for the incumbent to run a second term.
The idea of a representative is one that is hinged on personal efforts and disposition to issues. I want to use my representation to address problems in my constituency, promote the general welfare, and ensure the development of the people and residents of Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency 1.
Would you say the House of Reps has lived up to the expecta­tions of Nigerians?
Well, there is always room for im­provement. Whatever, gains or deficits that have been recorded, I believe there is still room for improvement. For me, I believe there are some issues that have national implications that were not properly handled by the House of Representatives. Equally, there are some things the House has done that are beneficial to the people. There is room for improvement.

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Kalu commiserates with govt, people of Yobe

Eminent businessman and former gover­nor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has sympathised with the fami­lies of the students who were killed in Monday bomb at­tack at the Government Sci­ence Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe State.

Kalu, in a statement signed by his aide, Mr. Sam Amster­dam, said: “It is with a heavy heart that I send my condolenc­es, my thoughts and prayers, to the victims of Potiskum and their families, those whose lives are forever altered, following the devastating attack of yester­day (Monday). We need to be ever-vigilant over the depraved tactics of this militant cabal.
“While I implore our citizen­ry to have faith in the diligent efforts and words of our gov­ernment, we must continue to support our security operatives with timely information on the perpetrators of this ugly act that has already affected the daily lives of Nigerians on the whole.
In the interim, our hearts again go out to those lost so far before their time in Yobe.”

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‘Jonathan deserves 2nd term’

in this interview with AKEEB ALARAPE, the National Coordinator, G15 Victory Platform, Mr. Igbasan Emmanuel, ex­plains why President Good­luck Jonathan deserves a second term in office.

What is the agenda of G15?
The purpose is for us to promote and project the good policies of this administration and position our people to benefit; as it is now, there is a disconnect between what is happening in Abuja and the common people. For example, my mother doesn’t know what the Minister of Agri­culture, Dr. Akinwumi is doing in the agricultural sector. My uncle doesn’t know how to benefit from the N220billion lying fallow in the Bank of Agriculture. We try to organize our people to know that there is something good in this administration.
Nonetheless, in the South-West, there is a disconnect between the leadership and the masses. That is the gap we want to bridge.
What is your take on GEJ’s endorsement?
Well, the endorsement of Mr. President is a confirmation that nobody, no group throws away a winning team. Every nation has its own brand of democracy depend­ing on the peculiarity of the situa­tion. The kind of the situation we have in Nigeria today demands that we have our own homegrown democracy that will help democ­racy and consolidate on the gains of the past. I see Mr. President as a foundation builder, who is laying a solid foundation for the greatness of this nation. And if you are going to build a tower, the structure doesn’t come out until the foundation is well entrenched underneath. And the foundation is usually not seen. So, we need some time for us to consolidate on the laudable achievements of this Goodluck administration. So, his endorsement gave credence to our clamour that this man must continue and consolidate some of the gains of this transformation agenda and policies until they begin to materialize. Then, others that are coming after him can now build on it. So, we have been vindicated and it is our own brand of democracy, which is good for the country.
Why the move to gather 4 million votes for Mr. Presi­dent.
We have it all mapped out in the eight states that we cover, where we have our state directors and we have given our people target. For example, the last meet­ing I held with my directors in Ondo State, we have 1.4million registered voters in the state and we have asked them to target to mobilize 400, 000 voters across the 3, 231units.
Our structure is such that at the state level, we have the state direc­tors, at local government level, we have local coordinators, at the ward levels, we have the supervi­sors; at unit level, we have the leaders. So, what we do is just to mandate the lead­ers to get so and so numbers of people.
For example, in Ondo State, we just need to mobilize 125 people; not party members, that is what differ­entiates us from other groups; but voters with voters’ cards and registration numbers.
So, we have given our group target. When we sum it up, Ondo State is to mobilize 400,000; Ekiti State is to mobilize 600, 000 of 1.7million voters; Oyo State is to mobilize 800,000 out of 2.4mil­lion voters, and so on. We have our statistics ready and we have structure in place to actually deliver.
Why South-west people must vote Jonathan
One of the closest officers to Mr. President today, in person of the Chief of Staff, who organizes everything, is from South West. Though a domestic staff, he is also a powerful mobiliser. He may not have a ministry or budget but he organizes things around the President. He’s a highly influential officer from the South West in the present administration.
The grudges of the past is borne out of the selfish interest of some powerful individuals, whose political interest is entrenched but now in jeopardy in South West; who connived with others to deny the people the rights that belong to us for their own selfish gain. We all know that the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives ordinarily should be for the South West. And we all know how this position was shifted away from us thereby denying us the No. 4 position. So, the problem of South West was not orchestrated by Mr. President but homegrown by us.
That is what we stand to correct by coming out to say we deserve a better treatment; we deserve to educate our people that it doesn’t pay anybody to be in the opposi­tion; it doesn’t pay anybody to be selfish for their selfish interest and deny millions of people their rights. In the second dispensation, I expect South West to be treated fairly.
How do you feel about the PDP in South West and its crises?
Yes, while we are using this medium to urge our leaders to speak with one voice. We know that in politics, it is all about self interest.
Is pecuniary interest among members of the party the cause of the crisis?
I have heard that severally. But our people have a timid way of condemning what is not achiev­able or inconceivable by them. In politics, everybody is involved because you are involved. So, one way or the other, you must be in­volved in a process that will make somebody embark on policies that will affect one and his generation. You have a right to the emergence of such person.
So, nobody is being driven by pecuniary reason. It is either they are afraid to go into the murky water they call politics or they are afraid to voice out their opinion. And in any situation, there are always actors, there are commen­tators and there are watchers. So, theirs is the work of commenta­tors. They are free to comment.
But we know why our group has come out. This is because there is a disconnect between peo­ple in government and the masses. The masses do not truly know the importance of the far-reaching decisions President Jonathan has made upon their lives and upon their children. So, this is why we say let us educate our people; let them see something good with Jonathan.
Do you think President Jonathan is overwhelmed by the challenges facing him?
Many people are ignorant of the enormity of problems confronting Nigeria. Our people have an adage that if trees fell over themselves, a sensible person will first of all cut the one that is on top. I have taken my time to study and examine our President and I think we have one of the most intelligent Presidents that we ever had in Nigeria. He is not a Mr. Quick-Fix but surely a Mr. Sure-Fix. At any point in time, I will not subscribe to it that the President is overwhelmed. Many of those criticising him cannot even manage their own home not to talk of managing a volatile country such as Nigeria.
He is handling the issue if security; he is handling the issue of unemployment; he is handling the issue of power. Look at how he dealt with the issue of power. In the next four, five years, power will never be a problem with Nigeria because some past admin­istration spent billions of dollars with nothing to show for it. Within four years, we have marginally moved from 2, 000 megawatts to 4, 500 megawatts but we’re targeting 5, 000 megawatts before the end of the year which is achievable going by the structure on ground.

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CAF touts Angola, Gabon, Nigeria as new hosts

Previous hosts Ango­la, Gabon and Nige­ria are now widely speculated to stage next year’s AFCON following Morocco’s disqualifica­tion by CAF on Tuesday.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said it will soon name the new hosts of AFCON 2015 after Morocco insisted the tournament be staged on a later date on account of their concerns over the Ebola Vi­rus Disease. On Tuesday, CAF executives disqualified Morocco from the competi­tion and also stated they had by November 10 received some applications to host the tournament from Janu­ary 7 to February 8, 2015, as originally scheduled.
“These applications are currently under review, and the Executive Committee will finalize the selection of the successful National As­sociation shortly and con­firm the place and date of the draw of the final tourna­ment at the same time,” said CAF on Tuesday. This state­ment means that a proposal of four countries hosting the competition at the same time because of the short notice will now not see the light of day. South Africa and Ghana have announced they will not be hosting next year’s competition, but speculations have been rife about likely new hosts with Angola, Gabon and Nigeria widely mentioned.
Angola hosted the 2010 edition of the tournament and still have most of their facilities intact, so too Ga­bon, who co-hosted the biennial competition two years ago.

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EVD may force AFCON 2015 out of Africa

Tuesday’s disqualifi­cation of Morocco from the AFCON 2015 finals for failing to host the championship in January as scheduled by the Confederation of African Football over fears of the Ebola virus, has taken a new twist as the soccer ruling body is contemplating tak­ing the event outside of Africa if all other ar­rangements currently on fail to yet any positive outcome.

This new line of action according to French press reports states that the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been ap­proached by CAF to host the championship as a shift in the date already set will alter the plans for other continental championship lined up for 2015. If the plans of CAF goes ahead, it would mean that Qatar are the surprise candidate to host the Africa Cup of Nations starting in Janu­ary, according to French press reports. Though, Nigeria and Egypt are candidates to replace Mo­rocco who pulled out of staging the event in Janu­ary because of the Ebola outbreak, L’Equipe and Le Parisien reported Wednes­day that Qatar has been approached by the Confed­eration of African Football to see if it would be willing to step in.
However, the Gulf State of Qatar last night refuted reports it offered to host the AFCON 2015.
“It is illogical,” said Saud al-muhannadi, vice president of the Qatar Football Association, re­ferring to the report.

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Keshi: Win or lose in Congo, I dey kampe

Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, has declared that his future with the team does not depend on the outcome of this weekend’s game against Congo.

Keshi who spoke after yesterday’s workout in Abuja ahead of the team’s departure today for Pointe Noire said he is not banking on getting a result in Congo to keep his job.
Hear him: “I totally disagree with you that the out­come of the game against Congo has something to do with my future as Eagles manager. I am not depending on the match to be given a new contract and it is wrong to think that I will die without Nigeria’s job. Yes, I want to work for Nigeria as my country but I am not so des­perate about it. It is wrong for anybody to think that I cannot exist without Super Eagles job. Don’t forget that I came from somewhere.”
Keshi who spoke on the absence of Victor Moses said he decided not to call up the England based player because he is not fully fit: “We decided not to invite Victor Moses because he is not fully fit. More over, we are going to play on artificial turf which wont suit him.”
Meanwhile, returnee striker, Ikechukwu Uche, says he is not under any pressure to deliver, even as he pledged to do his best for the country.
Uche pointed out that the round leather game is a team event and not an individual game.
“It will be wrong to assume that I am going to do the job alone.”

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AFCON 2015: Postponing tourney deadlier than Ebola –Hayatou

CAF president Issa Hayatou has de­clared that post­poning the AFCON 2015 Nations Cup initially billed for Morocco would be deadlier for the Af­rican soccer governing body than the Ebola dis­ease that is raving parts of West Africa.

Hayatou who spoke to a France-based TV outfit- France 24 said shifting the tournament which is Af­rica’s biggest soccer com­petition would amount to CAF signing its death war­rant.
His words: “We cannot sign our death warrant, be­cause if we postpone this event, it will be very dead­ly for African football. For 57-years, we have patiently built this house, which to­day is the pride of all Afri­cans. We have this festival every two-years and we are not about to leave the opportunity to anyone to destroy the work we have patiently developed over the years.”
Hayatou stressed that CAF would be hurting her sponsors if she goes ahead to shift the 57-year old tournament adding that that would also amount to set­ting a very dangerous pre­cedence.
“A shift in date is impos­sible for reasons you know. We will hurt our sponsors and partners and once you postpone this event, it will open the door for every­body to ask for a delay of any competition and we will no longer be credible and cannot organize any­thing. Everyone will say we are not ready and finally it is CAF that will pay the piper. That is what I told the Moroccans,” Hayatou said.
The ageing CAF boss ex­pressed confidence that the competition billed for early next year will go ahead as planned despite the ebola induced setback. He dis­closed that some soccer federations have indicated interest in taking over from Morocco and that the new hosts will be announced in a matter of days.
CAF has since disquali­fied Morocco from the competition billed to run from January 17 to Febru­ary 8, 2015.

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Ebola death toll tops 5,000; Mali quarantines 90

The death of a nurse in Mali from Ebola prompted on Wednesday the quarantine of more than 90 people in the West African country’s capital, as the World Health Organization said the disease had now claimed at least 5,160 lives.

The worst outbreak of the virus on record has ravaged the impoverished West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and led to a global watch for cases outside the region.
Mali must now trace other people who had contact with the 25-year-old nurse and three others infected, just as an initial group of people linked to its first case completed their 21-day quarantine on Tuesday. Ebola’s maximum incubation period is 21 days.
The more than 90 quarantined in Bamako included about 20 United Nations peacekeepers being treated at the capital’s Pasteur Clinic, where the nurse worked, officials said. Police locked down the clinic on Tuesday night.
In Sierra Leone, more than 400 health workers at one of its few Ebola treatment centres went on strike over unpaid risk allowances, officials said. Some returned later in the day.
Echoing that walkout were protests and strikes by nurses across the United States over what they characterized as insufficient protection for health workers dealing with potential Ebola patients. Two nurses, who treated a Liberian man who died of the disease at a Dallas hospital in October, contracted the virus but recovered.
California-based National Nurses United had expected about 100,000 nurses nationwide to participate in the protest, but officials from the union could not say how many people participated.
In Washington, the Obama administration tried to assure sceptical U.S. senators that its efforts to combat Ebola were making progress and urged lawmakers to approve $6.2 billion in new emergency funds to contain the virus.
“We believe we have the right strategy in place, both at home and abroad,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Separately, the general leading the Ebola fight said the U.S. military force being sent to Liberia to build treatment facilities was expected to top out at about 3,000 troops in December, 1,000 less than initially approved.
Ebola has killed at least 5,160 people out of at least 14,098 infected since March, predominantly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the WHO said in its latest status report from Geneva.
However, in a rare piece of good news, the WHO said there were signs that the incidence of new cases was declining in Guinea and Liberia, although it reported steep increases in Sierra Leone.
In Bamako, the nurse died after treating a Guinea man who died with Ebola-like symptoms that were not initially recognised, the government said.
The man, a Muslim imam from the border town of Kouremale, was never tested for the virus. In a series of rites that may have exposed many mourners to infection, his highly contagious body was washed in a Bamako mosque and returned to Guinea for burial without precautions.
The WHO said there were now four confirmed and probable Ebola deaths in Mali, adding that one was a friend who had visited the imam in the hospital. The group did not immediately give details on the fourth case.
A doctor at the Pasteur Clinic, one of Bamako’s leading medical centres and the default clinic for expatriates, was also suspected of having Ebola and was being monitored.
The U.N. peacekeepers, who were at the clinic for injuries sustained while serving in Mali’s turbulent north, were quarantined as a precaution, the U.N. mission said, without specifying their nationalities.
The government said the nurse was confirmed with Ebola on Tuesday and died later that evening. All necessary steps to identify people who had contact with the nurse were taken, it said.
Liberia, hardest hit of all with 2,836 deaths out of 6,822 cases, was another focal point on Wednesday in the battle against Ebola.
U.S. Army General Gary Volesky, who is heading up the U.S. military Ebola effort in Liberia, told a Pentagon telephone briefing that fewer U.S. troops were needed there than initially expected because the military had discovered greater-than-anticipated local capacity for building treatment centres.
In the capital, Monrovia, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on a tour of that country, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Blair said $2 billion would be needed over the next few years to build more resilient public services, provide basic infrastructure and create jobs in Liberia, according to a statement from Sirleaf’s office.
Despite the epidemic, the United Nations is not seeing signs of deteriorating security in Liberia, and some public authorities are even showing strength after years of post-civil war rebuilding, U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said.
“There is some good news in the midst of this serious crisis,” Ladsous told the Security Council in New York.

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Boko Haram Insurgency: Tribal Hunters Kill Dozens of Islamic Militants

Dozens of Boko Haram militants have been killed by local hunters of Maiha Government area, Adamawa State.

The hunters ambushed and killed the militants following months of violence which claimed thousands of lives in Adamawa, one of the three states that mostly bears the brunt of Boko Haram’s violent insurgence.
“The hunters mobilised and gave the insurgents hot chase during which many Boko Haram sect members were killed,” Bello Ya’u, a resident of Maiha, told local newspaper Premium Times.
”We commend them for the gallant fight.”
A local hunter said: “We had to wake up and fight the bastards that keep plaguing our societies killing innocents souls.
“People should brace up and start fighting them, we killed many of them. We are not afraid of being killed,” he added.
Following the attack, some residents of Maiha now fear reprisal attacks and are moving in droves to the capital of Adamawa, Yola.
The insurgents have taken over many towns and villages in Adamawa State, including Madagali, Michika, Mubi North and South.
The news of the killing came as Boko Haram has intensified its attacks across northern and central Nigeria.
On Wednesday (12 November) a female suicide bomber killed at least 10 students after she detonated a bomb in a college in Kontagora, in Nigeria’s central Niger State.
Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, it is believed that it might have been carried out by Boko Haram.
Just days before this, a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber disguised in school uniform detonated a blast in the middle of a school assembly in the north-east Nigerian town of Potiskum, killing 48 students and wounding 79 people.
The militants earned global attention after they kidnapped some 220 girls in Chibok, Borno State, last April. Weeks after the mass abduction, reports alleged that the girls were being used by the militants to carry out suicide attacks.
In November, Boko Haram carried out another suicide bomb attack in Potiskum, supposedly targeting Shia Muslims celebrating Ashura, killing at least 32 people.
The group’s fresh attacks came weeks after the Nigerian government announced it had reached a ceasefire with the terror group.
Critics cast doubts over the ceasefire, as Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau did not release any official statement regarding the truce.

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Nigeria Now Seeking Russian Arms After US Embarg

After the recent embargo placed by the United States on Nigeria from buying arms, reports are stating that Nigeria is now looking to Russia.

According to a TheNation report, Nigeria has turned her eyes towards Russia to supply her with better weapons to fight off the terrorist organization called Boko Haram.
Russia is yet to agree to Nigeria’s request as the military has opted for more aerial bombardments of insurgents than infantry encounters.
The aerial strikes have been helpful in taking out insurgents who are said to be good in ambush and guerrilla warfare.
A delegation has already been flown to Russia to negotiate a deal for the equipments and machines.
A source said that Nigeria aims to order for war planes, helicopters plus other equipment.
The source said: “The US has refused to sell arms and lethal equipment to Nigeria to prosecute the war against Boko Haram.
“The US, instead, prefers to concentrate on assistance to Nigeria to consolidate its democracy.
“We have had pilots trained in the US. We train our military pilots in the US. They come to Nigeria for conversion.
The Federal Government has no choice than to look elsewhere for war planes, helicopters and lethal equipment against Boko Haram insurgents.
“We have opened up negotiation with Russia for arms bailout. We want to buy military hardwares from them.”
Nigeria has been battling Boko Haram since 2009.
Boko Haram has killed over 5000 innocent civilians in the country alone since 2009.

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Female suicide bomber hits Niger school, kills one

A female suicide bomber and one student of the Federal Col­lege of Education (FCE), Kontagora, Niger State lost their lives in a bomb attack that would have claimed the lives of over 200 students of the college writing their examina­tions at the college’ audi­torium.

Eyewitness account re­vealed that the female bomber was on her way to the audito­rium where the students were already gathered, waiting for the commencement of their examinations when the bomb went off, killing the carrier and one student close to the scene.
The incident happened at about 12:45 p.m. The exami­nation was billed to start at 1p.m. Police Public Relations Officer in Niger State com­mand, DSP Ibrahim Gambari told Daily Sun that only the female bomber lost her life in the incident while four per­sons sustained injuries.
According to Gambari, one ‘Okada’ rider and three students were injured. The ‘Okada’ rider, he said had been treated and discharged while the three students were still in the hospital receiving treatment.
“The incident happened. I can confirm that to you, but it is not true that many peo­ple died. God did it in such a way that only the carrier lost her life and four people were injured. She could not reach her target before the bomb detonated. I think she was tar­geting the library or the audi­torium.
“We have been there, even my commissioner was there and our bomb experts as well as the Area Commander in Kontagora.”
Policemen and other secu­rity operatives cordoned off the scene of the incident while students ran out of the school.
Sadly, the incident coin­cided with the 59th birthday of the state Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. The governor was at the Jus­tice Idris Legbo Kutigi Inter­national Conference Centre, Minna as guest of honour at the fourth Muazu Babangida Aliyu Colloquium when the news of the bomb blast fil­tered into the hall.

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