Photos: Atiku Abubakar bagschieftancy title in Ekiti

Former Vice President and APC Presidential
aspirant, Atiku Abubakar recently conferred
with the title, Aare of Ire-Ekiti land in Ekiti
state. See more photos after the cut...

Photo: Actress Rukky Sanda steps out in distress jeans...

Yay or nay? Would you rock it?

Photos: Atiku Abubakar bags chieftancy title in Ekiti

Former Vice President and APC Presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar recently conferred with the title, Aare of Ire-Ekiti land in Ekiti state. See more photos after the cut...

Posted by EXPDONALOADED

Photos: Actress Stephanie Linus and hubbyfab for ThisDay Style

Stephanie Okereke and her husband Linus
Idahosa looked fab at home for their feature
shoot for Thisday Style. See another photo
after the cut...

Photo: Actress Rukky Sanda steps out indistress jeans...

Yay or nay? Would you rock it?

Photos: Between Charly Boy and his daughter

The striking resemblance between Charly Boy
and one of his daughters, Dewy!

Delta State to host Miss West Africa International pageant 2014

After the just concluded Miss West Africa International 2014 press conference which held in Delta State, it came as a stunning surprise and in an exquisite way, that Delta State, (one enriched with natural resources, full of tourist centres and beyond oil)  has taken lead in hosting the 2014 edition of the Miss West Africa International Beauty Pageant, with the event's Grand Finale schedule below..
Date: 21st Dec, 2014. Venue: Swiss Spirit Hotel and Suites, Asaba, Delta State. Time: 5:00pm-GMT

 

The date which was originally slated for the 12th of October 2014 was interrupted by the dreaded Ebola outbreak that invaded the country few months back. We are proud to announce that with the great effort by the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria the country has been declared Ebola free.
In this vein we have Partnership with the Presidency via the office of The SSA to the President on Youth and Student Matters who are with us in hosting this great event. It is with great joy we welcome all the Beauty Queens from the 16 West Africa Countries and 12 from the diaspora including UK, USA, Canada, Italy, France, Holland, Germany and others to this great event billed to be hosted in Nigeria on the 21st of December 2014. in Delta State at Swiss Spirit Hotel and Suites. Asaba

We are struggling to stay afloat, First Consultant CMD recounts experience since hospital was reopened

The Chief Medical Director of the First Consultant Hospital where the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in Nigeria, says as an organization, they are struggling to float after reopening for business last month. In an interview with Tribune yesterday, Dr Benjamin Ohiaeri said himself, his staff and their families still face firsthand stigmatization even after being certified free of the Ebola virus

"Since re-opening, we have witnessed firsthand what it means to be stigmatized. At a time when you would think we would be appreciated for our professionalism in containing Ebola, we are enduring a significant depletion in patient-turn up. We are down on numbers by a factor of about 90%. But for the generosity of friends and family, Aledo Peterside, Tunde Ayeni, Diamond Bank, etc., this business would have collapsed. Even now, we are struggling to stay afloat. It has been very tough indeed."

"The loss of Dr Adadevoh, Dr Abaniwo, Evelyn Uko and Ejelonu, four key members of our team, the first two of who were the most senior of our medics and members of the Hospital Executive Committee, has been hard. They were colleagues, they were family. We are talking of a lifetime of working as a close team - as confidantes, as family. So, yes it’s been very tough. As well as our fallen heroes, we have many of the survivors here. Medics, who placed their lives on the line to avoid Ebola spreading to the general public; they suffered the trauma of threats to their lives and the horror of rejection, in many cases, simply because they once had Ebola. The families of our people have suffered horrendous victimisation too. Children of the dead hounded out of rented homes just when they needed compassion; the husband of a sufferer thrown out of his job simply because the employer learned of his wife’s condition. The pain, the suffering, the horror goes on and on. Still, our people are back at work, doing what they do best - caring for the ill. For the hospital, we are inching back to life. As you know, the place was shut down for nearly three months while it was decontaminated by the WHO. So, our business was essentially shut in all that time, though our expenses, salaries, among others, continued to run" he said.

Emir of Kano, Sanusi receives seized travel passports from SSS

The SSS yesterday November 8th returned the international travel passports (diplomatic & standard)  of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, which they seized a few months ago after he was removed as the head of the Central Bank.His diplomatic passport was seized at Lagos airport on his return from Niger Republic while his standard passport was seized at the Kano Airport when he tried to travel to France.

The passports was returned to him at his Palace yesterday following his recent reconciliation with president Jonathan.

Photos from actress Chika Ike's birthday party with fans

Yesterday was Chika Ike's birthday. She had breakfast with her family in the morning and ended the day with dinner with five fans from Instagram. See more photos after the cut...

 

Dinner with family below...

“God mandated me to be governor of Delta State in 2015″ – Only Female Aspirant, Ngozi Olejeme

Ngozi Olejeme

A People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant for Delta State, Ngozi Olejeme, has said that her interest in running for the state’s 2015 governorship race is “backed by God’’.

Olejeme, who said this while speaking with newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, said her mandate was to ensure better living standards for the people of the state.

She spoke after submitting her nomination and expression of interest forms to contest the Delta governorship election in 2015.

Olejeme, who is the immediate past Director-General of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), resigned her position recently to contest the election.

“This mission is God’s mission; I didn’t opt to become governor; God mandated me that He wants me to go and do that great job He used me to do in NSITF.

“If God gave me a moribund organisation (NSITF) and within a space of two years, God turned around the organisation to the envy of all, then God will do wonders in Delta through me,’’ she said.

She said that her strength had always been God and would enable her to positively transform the state.

Olejeme, the only female among the 20 aspirants in the governorship race, stressed that she did not join the race for material gains, but: ” to do the will of God’’.

“I would, however, agree that the governorship position had been zoned to Delta North and in that zone, I am the aspirant to beat,’’ she said.

She stated that she was not intimidated by the array of male aspirants in the race, adding that she had what it would take to emerge as Delta’s next governor in 2015

“The men are intimidated by me; in fact they are so jittery and afraid, but I always tell them that they are my brothers and at the end of the day, they will support me.

“But as it stands today in Delta, I am the number one aspirant; the one people will compete to beat.”

Another PDP Delta governorship aspirant, Chukuwma Oyibode, who also claimed to have been inspired by divine intervention, promised to renew the state’s infrastructure if elected.

“It is a divine mandate from heaven; I am a candidate from heaven.

“I did not come into the race because somebody called me or because I want to be popular. I came under the ordinaries of heaven; I believe that I have enough inside me to give to Delta,’’ he said.

He promised to address the issue of bureaucratic bottle necks in the state’s civil service.

“There will be no delay of files in any office and there will be no abandoned project in my administration,’’ he said.

Oyibode promised to renew the state’s infrastructure and create an environment conducive for foreign investors to thrive.

The aspirant added that if elected, his administration would also create cottage industries across the 25 local government areas in the state.

This, he said, was to create income for rural settlers and reduce congestion in the urban centres.

Oyibode also promised to provide free technical education for the people, adding that when the people were  technically equipped, industrialisation would be encouraged.

“From the technical knowledge they acquire, we will encourage them my giving them loans to establish small and medium scale industries,’’ he said.

According to him, this will reduce poverty and unemployment in the state.

Tinubu meets Lagos APC guber aspirants today

A former gover­nor of Lagos state and na­tional leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asi­waju Bola Ahmed Ti­nubu, has scheduled a meeting with all APC governorship aspi­rants in Lagos State today.

Top on the agenda of the meeting, which a reliable source said is billed for Tinubu’s Bourdillon Ikoyi home, is the need for the former governor to dispel the rumour making the rounds about his alleged backing of any of the aspi­rants for the governorship position.
The build-up to the 2015 governorship election in the state has seen no fewer than six topnotches of the party in the state eyeing the exalted position, a develop­ment that has given rise to speculation that a particular aspirant enjoys the backing of the former governor of the state.
Notable among the as­pirants are the Senator representing Lagos West at the Senate, Ganiyu Olan­rewaju Solomon, Speaker of the State House of As­sembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the Commissioner for Works, Dr. Obafemi Kadiri Hamzat, a retired senior civil servant, Akin Ambode and a former Commis­sioner for Health, Mr. Leke Pitan.

2015: Umeh writes Jega, Mu’azu over multiple candidates

The National Chair­man of the All Pro­gressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh has pe­titioned the Indepen­dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the possibility of the Peoples Democrat­ic Party (PDP) fielding multiple candidates for each electoral posi­tion in the 2015 general elections in Anambra State.

He also urged the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu in a letter to ensure that PDP does not willingly or negligently parade multi­ple candidates for the com­ing elections.
He threatened that APGA would go to court to seek the disqualification of the PDP and its purported multiple candidates for the National Assembly and State Assembly elections in Anambra State in 2015 if that happens.
Umeh in the letter ad­dressed to the INEC Chair­man, Prof. Attahiru Jega stated that, “we write to bring your attention to an­other unfolding ugly situation of the PDP likely going to field multiple candidates for each of the elective po­sition to be contested in the forthcoming 2015 general elections in Anambra State
“Following a published letter which emanated from the Commission on page Viii of the Thisday of 31st October,2014 , a copy of which is hereby attached, our anxiety over this issue has become palpable. You will recall that in 2011, the PDP contested the various elections with multiple can­didates relying on court or­ders with the national lead­ership of the PDP ignoring the court orders and filing separate list of candidates. In the end the PDP paraded more than one candidate for each of the various elec­tions during the campaigns against one candidate spon­sored by APGA for each po­sition” he added.
He said further, “we wish to observe that the court or­der under reference in your said letter was directed at the PDP.
In line with your letter dated 23rd October,2014 and the reported parallel ward congresses of the PDP on Saturday 1st November, 2014.

APC ‘ll form next govt in Abia –Okorocha

The governor of Imo State, Ow­elle Rochas Okorocha has said during a rally in Aba, that the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC) party would form the next govern­ment in Abia state come 2015.

This is even as the po­lice made spirited efforts to stop the rally party faith­ful described as operation sweep out the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) which they said would herald APC take over of power in the state in 2015.
Okorocha, a guest speak­er at the rally lamented the deplorable state of infra­structure in the state which he blamed on the PDP led administration and said APC was going to correct such anomalies in 2015.
“Look at how every­where is, they will tell you there is no money, it was not until I came into government I knew there is much money in govern­ment. Come to Imo State and see how we have been able to transform our cit­ies in three and half years. What the PDP does in the states they control is to share the money.
“They also tell you there is no money to provide quality education to their people, but in Imo state, apart from making educa­tion free at all levels, we equally provide pupils and students with things that make them comfortable. The only thing we don’t give now is underwear and that will be made available by December.”
According to Okorocha, “APC is not only going to be the solution to the prob­lems of Abia State alone in 2015, but to the country at large,” stressing that the worst candidate in APC is better than the best PDP candidate.
On his presidential as­pirations, the presidential hopeful said that he was in the race to represent the interest of the Igbo who ac­cording to him have been relegated behind in the scheme of things in the country.
Okorocha who listed the absence of an Igbo repre­sentative in some of the key sensitive positions in the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration said it was an intentional act by the PDP leadership to sideline the Igbo and make them ir­relevant.
On the insinuations that the party is anti-Igbo, the governor of Imo State said “You should ignore the insinuations that APC is a non Igbo party. If that is the case why do personali­ties like l, Ogbonaya Onu, Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Senator Osita Izu­naso among others are in the party? I was the per­son that gave the party its name. APC is a party for a new Nigeria. It is for the good of the Igbos. PDP has made enough mockery of the Igbo man. All of us are witnesses to how PDP messed Igbo man up to the point that no Igbo is hold­ing any strategic position both in the party and gov­ernment.
“There is no hope for the Igbo man in PDP. Any Igbo man in PDP is there for his personal aggrandizement and not for the interest of our people. PDP govern­ment has nothing to show for in the last eight years. I am going there as a presi­dential aspirant to repre­sent the interest of the Igbo community,” he assured.

DELTA 2015 AND THE ISSUE OF INDIGENESHIP: Mischiefmakers playing politics with Obuh’s origin –Amb. Echegile

AMBASSADOR Godson Onyemaechi Echegile, Ni­geria’s envoy to Sierra Le­one from 2008 to 2011, is a chief­tain of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State.

In this interview, the PDP stalwart faults the insinuation that a frontline governorship aspirant in the state, Sir Tony Obuh, hails from Itsekiri land. He speaks, among other issues, on the 2015 governorship race in Delta. Excerpts:
As a stakeholder, what is the state of Delta poli­tics today?
It is as cordial as it could be. This is the season of primaries and you hear all sorts of comments. The only snag is what I will call not paying attention to real issues. People should tell us what they want to give to the people in terms of dividends of democracy, so that we will have a barometer with which we can measure them at the end of their tenure, rather than trying to run each other down.
There is this growing agitation for power shift. What is your opinion on the controversy?
I think that is more or less a settled matter. The leader of the party in Del­ta State, the governor, has reaffirmed that; the Chairman of the party in the state has reconfirmed that it is time for Delta North to produce the governor. But we need the support of our broth­ers in Delta Central and Delta South, some of whom are also interested in the race, to do it.
Naturally, when former Governor Ibori came from Delta Central, there were contestants from other senatorial districts. When Governor Uduaghan emerged from Delta South, I contested from the North.
So, you will always have people contesting, but the preponderance of the party faithful know that there is zoning and they will move in their vot­ing pattern along that zoning formula. I can bet you, you will see the results.
Still on the zoning con­troversy, some people have argued that the is­sue might heat up the politics of the state, if not well handled?
No. If you remember, eight years ago, it was worse than what we are having now. We had the Equity Group, the G-3 and the rest of them, but at the end of the primaries, we were able to resolve the crisis. It is a question of having a mechanism to manage the post-primary crisis, which I think Delta PDP has to manage.
But was there any writ­ten document or agree­ment on the rotation of the governorship seat among the three senato­rial districts?
The best of agreements are never written. So, there is no written agree­ment but there is that understanding.
Are you not worried that the issue might lead to members of your party de­fecting to another party?
Not at all. We have seen it before. When the present governor emerged as an Itsekiri man, there were all man­ner of threats, but at the end of the day, we all still voted for him. Some people will make comments, but when the chips are down, they will still toe the party line.
But some people say the governor’s continued silence on power shift shows he is not disposed to the idea. What is your take on it?
No. The governor has not been si­lent on power shift; he has spoken at different fora that power should go to Delta North. I am close enough to him to know. He has said it at different fora that power should go to Delta North.
As a stakeholder and PDP chieftain from Delta North, are you throwing up a consensus candidate from the region?
We are not likely going to throw up a consensus candidate for two reasons. Not all Delta northerners are PDP members. Second, the beauty of de­mocracy is for everybody to lay down what he wants to do and the plans he has, then, the people will decide. I don’t think consensus is possible.
It is being speculated that Obuh has been ad­opted as the candidate of the PDP and that he is an Itsekiri man, but this is generating heat in the state. Can you clear the air on this?
Let me take it this way. Sir Tony Obuh is not an Itsekiri man. He is an Ika man from Delta North. The wife is also from Delta North. I have known him for upwards of 30 years. These are propaganda thrown up by opponents, but I want to say that the people should focus their campaign on what they will deliver to the people.
I can authoritatively tell you that Tony Obuh is from Delta North, the parents are from Delta North. This is coming from mischief makers.
Whether the governor has adopted him or not are stories flying all over the place, and coming from gubernatorial aspirants. You see, all the aspirants are looking for the governor’s endorse­ment and they are praying for the gov­ernor’s endorsement.
I am aware that all the aspirants, at different times, have gone to see the governor to plead for his support, but i do not see why they should now say that one person has been adopted.
If they had been adopted, would they turn back and criticise that? I am not aware that the governor has adopted anybody, but the point I am making is that they have all gone to the governor for his blessing and they are still praying for his blessing. So, people should not use that as the basis for campaign.
I don’t think there is anything wrong about a Permanent Secretary running for election. First of all, Permanent Secretary’s position is political. Obuh has been a party man. He has shown his membership card. He has paid his party dues. Those are not the issues.
If people want to raise issues, they should raise issues based on what they will deliver and not trying to attack somebody because they believe he is a front runner, or he has the backing of some of the leaders. I don’t think that is the right way to go.
The gubernatorial issue is said to be causing prob­lem between the Ndokwa and the two other ethnic groups in Delta North. What is the situation re­ally?
Like I said, any of the three ethnic groups, from Delta North, can pro­duce the governor.
I think it was the Anioma Congress that submitted a list. I have not seen the list, but if what I read is anything to go by, they limited their choice to the two ethnic groups of Ika and Anio­cha/Oshimili leaving out the Ndokwa. To me, the Anioma Congress is a very credible organisation, made up of our elders, but I think it was a big omis­sion on their part to leave Ndokwa na­tionality and that is what is causing the protest from the Ndokwa. We cannot marginalize them in that list. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our Ndokwa brothers not to overreact on what the Anioma Congress did.
There are speculations that you are still interest­ed in running for the of­fice of governor. How true is this?
I have grown older. I want to leave it for the younger ones to try their luck in the governorship race.
Critics have flayed the governor’s performance since assumption of of­fice. They say he has not performed to expecta­tions.
That is totally wrong. Today, I can go to Asaba from Lagos in the morn­ing and come back in the afternoon because there is an airport there. You see, we cannot do all these things in one day. Look at his health program; look at the issue of peace and security.
When he came, you could barely go to Delta because there was kidnapping and all kinds of violent crimes, but, to­day, security has improved.
If you go to the model schools, you will agree he has done well and, in terms of infrastructure, I will score him high. We need somebody to build on this and take us to the next phase of our development.
National Honour
I want to thank the President for finding me worthy of that award. It is a call to service to do more for my coun­try. It is a call to be more dedicated to this country.

2015: Battle for presidential running mates

As the countdown to the Febru­ary 14, 2015 presidential polls begins, the two leading politi­cal parties, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, may have stepped up strategic maneuvers to stay ahead of the other.

Part of the strategic imperatives is the choice of the running mates to their presumed standard bearers. On the chart-value, President Goodluck Jonathan who has been rail-roaded into a consensus platform by all the critical organs of his party, PDP, and has slated Novem­ber 11, for formal declaration, is only waiting for “coronation” at his party’s convention. In the APC, all parameters considered, former military head of state and perennial presidential con­tender, General Muhammadu Buhari, retd, is set on the cruise- lane to the presidential ticket. The unfolding de­velopment has effectively implanted a climate of Jonathan/Buhari contest.


With this calculation, the ‘war’ planners have moved down to the base for run­ning mates. In an ethno-religious society, a balancing act in the choice of presiden­tial running mates remains a key issue, and expectedly, has become a ‘catch 22’ situation, with everything thrown into it. It has been real war by other means. Al­though, the Nigerian constitution allows the vice-president to operate at the plea­sure of the president, nothing is being left to chance by the two parties. Entrapping the highly studied, and ferocious nature of the selection process employed, a leader of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, and former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof Ango Abdul­lahi, describes it as a “measured system of national stability, unity and pragma­tism”. He says the dispersal of powers to relevant centers, or groups has the po­tential edge of diffusing tension, reducing pristine acrimonies and dousing perceived differences.
Jonathan and his “sparring partner”
In boxing parlance, ring gladiators for the purpose of training are often de­scribed as sparring partners. They train in mutual vision, strength, and span. Shortly after Jonathan became acting president in 2010, the choice of an acceptable deputy became a hard nut to crack. The dilemma arose mainly because of the preceding testy duel former president Olusegun Obasanjo had with his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, a development that raised hairs and tested the soul of the nation. Being a Christian from a small ethnic Ijaw group, a small kitchen committee he set up, fo­cused mainly on loose considerations of character malleability, and a moder­ate Muslim background. Of course, the searchlight beamed on the governors, who in this dispensation have seized the upper-stage of power levers. The lot fell on the then Kaduna State governor, Na­madi Sambo. The duo went on to win the 2011 presidential elections, and have so far enjoyed a robust relationship. At­tempts by some people in the past to drive a wedge in their relationship had been met with utmost resistance. Fending off accu­sations of duplicity and low political turpi­tude against Sambo recently, the president insisted he is at “home with me”; perhaps, a didactic aphorism suggesting he is satis­fied with his entire contributions to their presidency. Reading the president’s lips and body language in itself, defines the di­rection and choice of his running mate. He has often said he is not a ‘lion’, and func­tions best with politicians with moderate disposition. To his credit, no altercation or tiff has been reported against him with any of his subordinates. Supporters of Sambo draw a lot of strength from this to cali­brate their optimism. However, within the president’s camp are layers of anti-Sambo structures. A good many of them are wor­ried that the vice-president has not dem­onstrated enough clout, and influence in the North to contain the ever growing anti Jonathan sentiments, which are threaten­ing their re-election bid. Those pushing for his ouster predicate it on the changing political times, and the need to draft in a more tested politician that will add more value, and pep to the campaign especially in the North, where Buhari is seen largely as a “cult hero.”
Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, and an arch-critic of Jonathan, Dr Junaid Mohammed, would not be drawn into the debate, as he sees PDP and Jonathan having an outside chance of victory in the 2015 elections.
But former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife sees it from providential eyes.
“There are two questions here. Is God behind Jonathan? Is Jonathan popular and acceptable? If God is behind him, and he is also popular, then a running mate issue is not too critical.”
He says that if Sambo is his choice, and he is getting along well with him, he should be allowed to run with him again. Concluding, he argues that “you don’t change a winning team”. But while Sambo is contending with his foes, a recent poll rating conducted by NoI Poll Ltd, situ­ated him as having “the lowest favorability rating while being popular”. He is said to have a net favorability rating of -34. “This very negative rating for the vice-president needs to improve to complement the pres­ident’s net positive favorability rating.”
Some groups within the PDP have picked their National Chairman, Adamu Muazu as a suitable replacement of Sam­bo. The former Bauchi State governor has in the aftermath of his emergence as na­tional chairman earlier in the year, raised stakes in his public perception and popu­larity through a massive turn around in the fortunes of his party. Before he became national chairman, the party was at the crossroads brought about by a swirling disenchantment, unrestrained decamp­ing, and threatened implosion. Through a whirlwind peace and reconciliation pro­cess, he has not only wooed back defec­tors, but has poached from the opposing sides, and entrenched a budding confi­dence and peace in the party. Howbeit the buck stops on Jonathan’s table.
Road to vice-presidential slot in APC
By far, APC has a more ingrained mi­graine in picking a presidential running mate. Having settled for a presidential candidate of Northern extraction, the general perception among pundits is that the party was conceived and built on a North/South west polar axis. This per­ception, therefore, easily lends itself to a South-west running mate for any of the three presidential gladiators – Buhari, Ati­ku Abubakar, and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Apart from the North, the South-west domiciles the largest array of leaders in the APC, and the party enjoys a top- of – the- range acceptance and popularity in the zone. But like shifting sands, the game is changing, with other hot calculations in the fray. Some leaders of the party from the zone, who are mainly queuing behind Buhari are rooting for either the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, or the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Their argument for these two men centre on their perceived popularity rating index, activism, and the overriding need to use them to make an inroad into the South-south and South-east geo-politi­cal regions for the party. The calculation is that with the massive support for the party in the entire North, and the South-west, the battle ground should ordinarily move to these two zones, in order to garner 25% voters score across the entire Nigerian landscape. A subsidiary issue of funds has also been raised. Indeed, a chieftain of the party from Ogun State who is a former senator, told Sunday Sun, that, “the im­perative of Okorocha or Amaechi as presi­dential running mate will give the party the brightest chance of victory in the presiden­tial elections. We don’t need to campaign too much here in the South west to secure victory. We need to break the strangle­hold of the PDP in the South-south and South-east. Again, these two men have the funds to support the party and oil our cam­paigns. When you battle an incumbent, you need all the resources you can mus­ter.” The chieftain cautioned the party not to pick a presidential running mate from the South-west, whether a Christian or Muslim, as “it will be self serving”. He told Sunday Sun that he has done a memo on the subject which he was sending to the national leadership of the party in Abuja. But while the ex-senator is leading the search outside the South-west enclave, perennial considerations favour candi­dates from the zone. Sunday Sun checks indicate that the party is built around the personalities of Buhari, and former Lagos State governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The duo have led the party since inception, dic­tating the pace, tempo and structure. They almost single handedly set up the National Executive committee, NEC of the party. Although, the highly influential governors forum has struggled to diffuse their pow­ers, the struggle has been a little too late and puny. Again, the ascendancy of Buhari as the leading aspirant in recent times, conforms to earlier forecasts of a Muslim – Muslim ticket starring Buhari and Tinubu.
Former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode, some months ago stormed out of the party to the PDP, alleging a well oiled conspiracy to foist a Buhari/Tinubu candidature on the party, which he feared would promote religious tension and dis­harmony. “The greatest disservice to this party is the plot to foist a Muslim-Muslim candidature”, he said in a statement on the crest of his departure. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo who has more than a passing interest in the affairs of the party has also thrown jibes at the plot, which is gaining grounds by the day. To further up the ante, Buhari, the man in the storm, has done nothing to deflate the alleged plot. In a recent interview, he said he has nothing against a Muslim/Muslim ticket, while ad­ducing far reaching reasons to anchor his position. He said “it is not a matter of reli­gion, but a matter of Nigeria”.
Continuing, he rationalized that “this new phenomena of religion is another blackmail political confusionists in Nigeria are bringing to the fore. Religion cannot be an issue because of the religious background of APC lead­ers in the South-west. The wives of Tinu­bu, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Lagos State Governor Fashola, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and former national chairman of the party, Bisi Akan­de are all Christians.” Apparently, this un­derscores the resolve of the party to throw aboard religious sentiments in breaking the ice. For the unwary, a Muslim/Muslim ticket, perhaps in Buhari and Tinubu is sealed, and about to be delivered.
Restive members and chieftains of the party are, however, not giving up. Groups and individuals are intensely mobilizing against the contraption, and for their pre­ferred aspirants. In the last fortnight, fol­lowing extensive meetings and consulta­tions, several names have popped up. The nominations may excite the atmosphere, but the nominators obviously lack the bite and wherewithal to alter the alleged plot.
The No1 Polls on the issue sums it up. “if former head of state, General Muham­madu Buhari eventually becomes the party’s presidential candidate, Tinubu will automatically pair with him, because of their experiences and exposure as former rulers.” If Atiku, or Kwankwaso picks it, Fashola, Oshiomhole, Amaechi, Okorocha and Niyi Adebayo can be nominated for the vice- presidential slot.”
Other gladiators and their chances
A coalition of APC leaders in the North, known as the “change collectives” prefers a Buhari/Fashola presidential pair. The group’s National Coordinator, Abubakar Isham, who spoke to Sunday Sun on tele­phone, said the duo complement each oth­er. He said, “Buhari is disciplined, popular and has integrity. Besides, he has a strong will power to drive the change process. The same goes for Fashola. They have at­tributes that will sell them to their people and win votes for the party.”
He said the South-west people are not sensitive to religion as people are trying to make out, adding that unlike other zones, they always vote for a good leader, irre­spective of his religious beliefs. He cited the August 20, Osun State governorship election where despite the efforts of some people to raise the notion of religion, the people emphatically voted for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. He further said; “if Bu­hari wins in the three geo-political zones of the North, and Fashola wins the votes in the South west for our party, what is left for the PDP? We will go to the South-east and South-south and divide their votes. The party is also gaining ground there, with charismatic Governors Amaechi and Okorocha”.
However, the No1 Polls presents Fasho­la or Okorocha running as vice presiden­tial candidate based on some enunciated parameters. The poll explained that “the candidate viability of each potential can­didate was measured by cross analyzing their familiarity with their net perception, positives opinions, minus negative opin­ions.”
“Furthermore, governor Fashola of La­gos State currently has the best candidate viability among potential APC candidates for the 2015 presidential elections due to his high familiarity score -94 percent and positive net familiarity +8.
“The only other candidate that falls in the right upper quadrant with the two aforementioned is Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, and similarly of the APC with a familiarity score of 88 per­cent and net favourability of 0.
Other APC members with slightly nega­tive favourability in spite of their high familiarity include Governor Adams Os­hiomhole of Edo State (-5) and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State (-7). “Their slightly negative rating simply im­plies that a slightly larger proportion of Ni­gerians have a negative impression about these candidates compared to those that have a positive impression.”
The man in the hay
In the APC, all the vice-presidential glad­iators are either serving governors or ex-governors. A surprise entrant into the race is the former Lagos State attorney general and commissioner for justice, Prof Yemi Osibajo. The name of the legal icon, who is also a pastor in the Redeemed Chris­tian Church of God is being pushed as a compromise candidate by some chieftains of the party from Lagos State, who prefer the slot retained by the state. The strategy is that should the Tinubu or Fashola aspi­ration fail to pull through, Osibajo, who many within the Tinubu/Fashola dynasty consider as the pillar and prime mover of the rule of law order in the state should be drafted in their stead to continue their leg­acies”. The bug is yet to catch on with the mainstream movement of the party in the state, nay zone. A concerned enthusiast of this scenario, Mr. Remi Adelaja likens Osibajo to the biblical David, a man after God’s heart. He further describes him as a “man without blemish, an intellectual gi­ant, and a moral colossus.”
But despite his towering perception in the minds of those pushing his aspiration, the dream is situated within the realm of a narcissistic search of a pin in a haystack.
As the jostling intensifies, and the ‘D’ day approaches, nothing can be more im­manent than the time tested aphorism that a day could make a world of a lifetime dif­ference in politics.

BN Health & Fitness: Working On Your Abs with AdaAri

Every time I ask my gym members what part of the body they really want to work out, the abdominals is a no-brainer. Around the world, many people are drawn to core exercises, but mostly for vanity reasons.
We all see fitness models with 6-pack abs, and gravitate towards that visual. A good-looking mid section is a perfectly justifiable reason to focus on working out the abs, but did you know that there are many more benefits to having a strong core?
Aside from flattening and strengthening your tummy, great ab workouts target your body’s core, and help to improve everyday functions. Common benefits include:
– Strengthening the lower back, and reducing lower back pain
– Improving certain brain functions that target coordination and balance
– Reducing stress and tension which allow for greater flexibility
– Allowing for better breathing
– Increasing athletic ability and overall strength
With such an important role to play in our everyday lives, it is important that we keep our ab workouts interesting and fun. Check out these great workout routines that you can enjoy while jamming to your favorite
songs.

Kick out bad leaders with your PVC, Oshiomole tells voters

Edo State Gover­nor, Comrade Ad­ams Oshiomhole has called on voters in the country to use their Permanent Vot­er’s Card to punish in­competent leaders and the party that fielded them, saying that the card was the horse­whip they required to punish elected office holders that failed to perform.

Speaking on Friday, shortly after collecting his Permanent Voter’s Card, the governor said without the PVC, it would be im­possible to change an in­competent government.
“In a democracy, it is ex­pected that when you elect people in good faith, you elect them in trust. When you have voted for some­one and for one reason you are not satisfied, then you need the card to be able to fire the person, par­ticularly when the person makes himself available in the next election, and if the person is not contesting and you feel strongly about the issue, you can decide to use your card to punish the political party that fielded the person.
“So if you do not have this card, you are not in a position to punish those who have not performed. So if anybody says, be­cause this man did not per­form well, therefore I will not collect the voter’s card, that is a mistake.
“This card is a horse­whip to punish anyone who you elected that did not perform and to punish the political party that produc­es that person unless you are convinced that it was not the fault of the party. The permanent voter’s card is not only an instrument of reward but one for punish­ment,” he said.

LG congress: Thugs hold PDP committee hostage in Ebonyi

Suspected thugs yester­day held the Congress Ad-hoc committee sent by the National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Ebonyi state to conduct Local government congresses hostage.

The committee members who came to the state party sec­retariat to conduct the delegate election were locked in an ar­guement with the party leader­ship in the state over the authen­ticity of the three-man list which made the team from Abuja. The team made attempt to leave the place without the conduct of the election but were blocked along the Enugu-Abakaliki express­way and were taken back to the entrance of the party office, where they were held for about an hour. The thugs chanting soli­darity songs in support of one of the governorship aspirants and Deputy Governor of the State, Engr Dave Umahi were led by a member of the South East zonal committee, Ali Odefa who hails from the State.
The zonal officer also had in his entourage scores of police officers allegedly imported into the state.
The state chairman of the party Chief Ben Akpa said that the committee members ar­rived the state late and had de­cided to cancel the congresses due to disagreements with the state working committee on the list of returning officers to use for the election. According to him, “The team from Abuja came into the state and were received by the governor and commissioner of police, and later came to the party secre­tariat where we also received them. We also outlined what had to be done in keeping with the constitution and guidelines for conducting the congresses as approved by the national work­ing committee”.
“But to our dismay, we found out that the committee mem­bers were already issued with a list of returning officers signed by the Deputy Chairman of Ebonyi State PDP chief Joseph Onwe without the knowledge of the chairman and the working committee of the state chapter of the PDP”
“They also came with a list of the three man delegates elected during last week’s state ward congress. They were informed that those elected last week were not supposed to vote. In fact the guidelines were read to them and they saw that those elected last week were not the ones to vote this Saturday”.
“But they insisted that they wanted to use the list of return­ing officers signed by the Depu­ty Chairman instead of the one submitted by the state working committee and the substantive chairman which is myself. So, we argued it up and down, and they insisted that unless they were allowed to use the Deputy Chairman’s list, the elections won’t hold”.
“He also said he got a call that unless he uses the list from Abuja he was not to conduct the election. After saying that, he got up and left. He said he was going to see the Governor and Commissioner of Police and Di­rector of SSS to notify them that election will not hold today”.
But when they drove out of the PDP Secretariat, they turned right towards Enugu instead of left towards Abakaliki. After we appealed to them vehemently that they should report to the governor and the CP and SSS director, they agreed to return to government house. The vehicles were turned around, but when they got to the front of the party secretariat, Honourable Ali Odefa led a team of young men and also with full police escort blocked the team from going to government house”.
“They (the crowd) said they wanted them(the committee) to come to the party secretariat and to start distribution of elec­tion materials using the list from Abuja.” The blockade in front of the PDP secretariat led to traffic logjam for about an hour on the Abakaliki-Enugu expressway. As this was happening, Gover­nor Martin Elechi arrived the scene with his security aides.
Seeing the approaching gov­ernor’s convoy, the PDP zonal officer, Ali Odefa mounted the Toyota Jeep and started ad­dressing the people”.
“We are here to put an end to the rape of our democracy. We will not allow this denial of our democratic rights to continue. We are ready to die to defend our rights to free and fair elec­tion. If they want they should kill us all. We will not surren­der”, he said to the loud cheer of the youths.

Our own stomach infrastructure, by Ajimobi

Let me state that I am very happy to be at this oc­casion. My happiness is borne out of the fact that, grad­ually, the seeds of our toils of the past three and half years or thereabout are becoming man­ifest in the eyes of the whole world.

When we came into office in 2011, we communicated to our people the vision of making Oyo State the pre­ferred destination of investors. In a society that is driven by understand­able pessimism and disbelief of prom­ises of government, very few people could take a bet on our vision. Our detractors and traditional cynics even mocked and jeered at us. Many of them, as usual, played politics with our noble objectives and vision.
As you all know, we met an Oyo State that did not inspire confidence in investors. We were reputed to be the second dirtiest city in Nigeria. Group violence and political murders stalked the land like a pestilence. Many inves­tors left our state in droves and devel­opment agencies wrote Oyo State off as a state that had fled from the radar of development.
Inexplicably, providence brought our administration into office at this chaotic period of time. We drew a pyramid of development that had at its foundation an institution of peace and security into an otherwise turbulent Oyo State. For a state that was almost used to bloodshed and political vio­lence, this was unique. We followed it up with a massive urban renewal ex­ercise that had never been witnessed in the history of our state. Even our political adversaries were surprised at our resilience and shocked at the over­whelming result of the exercise.
Encomiums poured in droves from all over the world. Many wondered how we were able to transform the hitherto dirty state into an adorable metropolis. Our response is that our people are the heroes of the transfor­mation.
While the transformation contin­ues, the gospel of our urban renewal effort was predicated on that famous statement by Eleanor, wife of an American President, General Eisen­hower, which says that while a leader will take a people to where they want to be, a good leader will take them to where they ought to be.
In our urban renewal and transfor­mation efforts, we have had to engage our people trading on the streets, par­ticularly in flood-prone areas and un­der high-tension wires/electric cables on the need to ensure their safety and have an environmentally-friendly state. The recent fire disaster at Mo­lete area and the several unfortunate incidents in the state which claimed the lives of our people trading by the roadsides lend credence to our noble stance. Commendably, our people have been patriotic and have shown considerable understanding and co­operation whilst professional cynics went to town to politicize our vision of a better tomorrow for our people. Thank God, that tomorrow has come with our presence here today.
Our vision was based on removing our state from the unpleasant profile of a backward, violent state that drives away investors.
Today, I am one of the happiest persons on earth. The fruits of the dis­comfort we might have gone through in the process of breaking eggs while making our omelet are apparently ripe for harvest.
Shortly after we banished violence from Oyo State and began our aggres­sive urban renewal effort, the Finan­cial Times of London ranked our state as one of the ten investment destina­tions in the whole of Africa. We had hardly finished savouring this pleas­ant rating when investors indeed be­gan to troop into Oyo State.
Not long after, a report on capi­tal importation recently released by a federal institution, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) became another testament to the vote of confidence passed on the Nigerian market by international investors. As revealed in the report, total capi­tal imported into the country stood at $5.8 billion as at the end of the second quarter of 2014, relative to the $3.9 billion recorded in the pre­ceding quarter. Of these, Southwest Nigeria was at the top destination for capital importation in the first half of 2014, with about 98% of total capi­tal imported resident in the Region. This impressive performance locat­ed capital importation into Oyo State as having increased by 697%, ap­proximating $3.49 million, up from $500,000 between the first and sec­ond quarter in the year. Happily, our uninformed and mischievous cynics have again been proved wrong in their assertions that there is capital flight in Oyo State.
Investors who have been troop­ing here have shown that these sta­tistics are no mere fluke. Right now, Oyo State boasts of the presence of a leading soya milk manufactur­ing company in Nigeria, the largest bread-making factory West Africa, the Number One day-old chicks ag­ricultural company in Nigeria, the biggest support service provider for the telecoms industry in Nigeria, among others. If you add the largest Shoprite outlet in West Africa that has been recently sited in our state, you will understand how a secure and peaceful atmosphere, as well as an environmentally conducive state, are essential for employment generation and indeed the economic development of the people. Add all these to the rebirth of night life in the capital city, as manifest in the many hospitality industries that have sprung up in the nooks and crannies of Oyo State, you will realize why development experts say that peace and security are the foundation of any society.
The latest icing on our cake of harvest of a peaceful and environ­mentally friendly state is the event we have come to witness today. The establishment of Rom Oil, an ultra-modern edible oil refinery and margarine plant here in Oyo State, is another testimony to our leadership and investors-baiting policies. This international company, a subsidiary of Flour Mills Plc, is a 400 metric tons per day universal refinery.
Distinguished ladies and gentle­men, the management of this compa­ny would never have invested their billions of naira in a violent-prone and dirty Oyo State of the past.
Permit me to state here that thou­sands of our sons and daughters would be employed by this compa­ny. This will have multiplier effects on over a million of their depen­dants. This indeed is our idea of the so-called stomach infrastructure. We thank the management of the com­pany for their implicit trust and con­fidence in our state. You have indeed vindicated our stance.
Distinguished ladies and gentle­men, the cumulative effects of our developmental drive and consequent influx of investors into our state will result in employment generation and empowerment of our people. This will positively impact millions of our people. It is the best and most dignifying stomach infrastructure ever.
We want to assure you all that we will not rest on our oars in provid­ing quality leadership for our state. We will continue to do all within our powers to make sure that our state continues to be the preferred desti­nation of investors in Nigeria. This will definitely result in the economic development and progress of our people. For our administration, it is a task that must be done.

Apapa: Killing the goose that lays the golden egg

Here lies Apapa, a once bubbling town. Today, all it has are tales and indeed they are pathetic ones. Once, it held out opportunities for the many dreams that came to her. But today, she lays desolate, eating up the very ones that once held onto her breasts.

The town has become a cemetery not just for the many businesses that once graced her garden, but for even the ones that seek to sprout in her. Once upon a time, she enjoyed the attention from her many lovers. It then was a city that never sleeps. The town killed sleep for fun. And large indeed was her company.
Apapa’s ailment is one for which many people have tried hard to diagnose, but to no avail. But one crime that the town has committed and for which the people have refused to forgive her is playing host to one of the largest ports in the whole of Africa. Even though close to half of the nation’s yearly budget is made from this small town, nobody seems to notice that the life is gradually ebbing out of Apapa! No, it is already gasping for breath!
Last week, one of Nigeria’s finest professors and a re­nowned poet slept on the long bridge that leads to his home in the Apapa GRA. He could not get home because of the un­ending traffic that has become Apapa’s second name. He is 90 years old.
“Imagine a 90-year old man stuck in traffic till 2:00am. It happens everyday. The other day, somebody called me by 5:00am and said he slept in traffic the previous day. He said he was robbed of his laptop and everything. It is happening over and over again here. The traffic situation in Apapa affects every resident here directly,” says Paul Odey, the General Manager, Apapa GRA Residents Association (AGRA).
“A lot of residents are moving out of the estate. There is this resident I called the other day, he told me he had moved out of the estate. When I asked why, he said his daughter was robbed twice on that bridge and he was not going to wait until she was killed. So he had moved out. He said if I can get someone that will buy the house, that he was willing to sell it. He is one out of so many.”
Selling this resident’s house is one of the most difficult things you can do in Apapa right now because according to Odey: “there are over 60 vacant houses, and nobody is willing to rent or buy them. What is the essence of buying a house that you cannot access? You are going out and you can’t come back.”
Even school children are not spared the calamity that has befallen this once bub­bling town. “We have residents whose children school on the Island. Imagine school children staying in traffic till 11:00pm! When they close, they cannot get home. They are stuck in traf­fic for hours. Then the following day, they are going to repeat the same cycle because the bridge is blocked.
“Residents can’t go for appointments because of the fear of getting caught up in this traffic. We have businesses here that clients are supposed to come into Apapa, but when you tell them that you are in Apapa, they will not come. Even the governor of Lagos State cannot come. He came only on Sundays to do the inspec­tion. During working days, he cannot come. They will come when nothing is happening. How will they be able to know what we are talking about? The traffic cannot give way for the governor if he comes. There is no place to give way to because everywhere is blocked.”
During the visits to Apapa by our reporter, what was seen was a ghost town. At whatever time of the day you made to get into Apapa, you will find the long bridge connecting it from Ijora almost always clogged. Whichever turn you take, you will find desperate road users struggling against traffic. And that they do every day and years now unending.
Sunday Sun also gathered that one of the major reasons for the hapless state of the town is the reckless siting of tank farms within the town. Current­ly, there are so many tank farms in Apapa that the prayer on the lips of every resident is that there should be no incidence of fire.
“God is still keeping us in Apapa,” continues Odey. “We pray not to have a fire incident especially the one that has to do with PMS. It is just a small community with too many tank farms. And it is like Apapa is surrounded by tank farms. We don’t pray for any fire outbreak, if not, Apapa will be incinerated in a matter of minutes.”
Talking about the tank farms and how they got into Apapa, Odey said they were sited with­out recourse to the residents. “They have got their environ­mental impact assessment. How did they get it? They are supposed to seek the opinion of the community. They will come and ask us: what do you think about this project? Is it going to be harmful to you? Will it ben­efit you? They did not do that. Somebody must have signed that assessment form for them because without it they are not supposed to start anything within Apapa here.
During the visits by our reporter, it was discovered that most businesses on the once prosperous Creek Road were dead and buried while the ones that have managed to survive were in critical condition. The reason, of course, is not far-fetched.
“If you walk down Creek Road and see any business there; it is one of two things that is keeping them there. It is either they are into oil and gas or shipping. If they are not into either of these, then they don’t have money to relocate. Even the banks have all closed down. It is affecting business very badly.
True to Odey’s words, all the banks on this road have either moved or died a natural death. Our reporter counted not less than five nonfunctional banks on this road. Two banks had just recently moved, with the “we have moved” notice still hanging on the gates of their premises.
This road has one part blocked off by trailers and tankers. There was virtually no movement at all on that portion of the road which led into Wharf Road. Sunday Sun noticed that even the Maritime Complex which seemed to be the busiest premises on Creek Road, close to half of its occu­pants have moved. You can see the empty apartments through their glass doors often bound with chains and padlocks.
On the adjoining street, Commercial Road, the story is practically the same. Sun­day Sun counted about three banks whose services had been moved. In fact, in front of what used to be a new generation bank was a makeshift canteen on that same road.
Some of the failed business­es in Apapa included, but not limited to Diz Pharm, Dizzen­gorf, John Holt, Chigo, UTC, Cowbell, GM Motors, Mr. Biggs, GAC Shipping, Toropharm and Logistics Ltd, Japaul oil and gas, Cupid Inn, many bank branches and guest houses. Everywhere you go in Apapa, you cannot miss the fact that most build­ings are wearing the tiring look; with paints peeling off their walls and roofs falling off.
Odey wondered if a vendetta was being visited on Apapa be­cause he could not understand why the federal government has turned a deaf ear to the outcry from the once bubbling town; and from which it gets a large chunk of its national cake.
He concluded with pain of heart: “The government doesn’t really care. They are too far away. It is a pitiable situation. Apapa used to be a city that doesn’t sleep. But now, Apapa is dead.”
Siman Joshua has been an es­tate agent working within Apa­pa for about 16 years. He knows the area as he does the back of his palm. Property within the town used to be highly prized, he recalled. He has however watched helplessly as the prices for the property from which he made his living crumbled before his very face.
“The value has been dropping from the Nigerians who reside in Apapa GRA, the majority of the residents here are Indians. And you know they are mostly traders. If they go to work and they cannot get to their homes, what is the essence of the house?” Joshua wondered. since 2009 and has not recovered. Apart
To what extent has the value dropped? He answers: “A standard three-bedroom luxury flat here should be in the range of N4.5m to N5m. But now, it is N3m or even less. Apapa GRA should compare with Ikeja GRA or Ikoyi, but in terms of value, they are not comparable. In these other estates, that same flat will go for between N5m and N7m.
“There is a flat on Azare Crescent here in the GRA Apapa. If that property was in Ikoyi, it will go for nothing less than N12m. but the owner is still strug­gling with N4m and he has not even got it. People are running away from Apapa because they don’t want to be caught up in traffic, not to talk of the risk of being robbed and mobbed on the road.
“There are properties on Marine Road, Fokados, and Pathos that have been vacant for at least three years. In fact, there is a property on Hall Lane that has been vacant for seven years, but just got taken. The value right now is N2.5m, but it was N1.8m that the own­er collected because he cannot suffer anymore,” Joshua explained.
While he is putting finishing touches to his plans to diversify, Joshua espe­cially understands the pain of property owners. “So, you can imagine the pain of property owners whose only source of livelihood is the proceed from the rent they collect. And their houses have not been let for years. It is as good as saying they should just die.”
Then he added rather impulsively, “You are talking about the property owners, how about the real estate prac­titioners?”
On his part, the local government chairman of Apapa Local Government Council, Ayodeji Joseph expressed regret over Apapa’s condition; saying that it was certainly not the Apapa of his dream. Despite all the efforts to alleviate the pain, the council was handicapped in a number of ways. “We set up a committee consisting of Apapa local council, the business community and the residents association. What we tried to do was to get fund and mobilize people –police, LASTMA, Navy, etc. Well, traffic control is very key there though the roads are also bad. The fed­eral roads in Apapa have been neglected despite the huge amount that federal government makes from Apapa.
“Before now, we have traffic officers that we employed and were paying. But they said we need to get approval from the state government before we can do that. Some of them were actually arrested. So, for now, we are off the road. The state said it was not legal; that before we can do that we need to go for training in LASTMA. But the Apapa traffic committee would have really solved some of these problems, but finance is also part of the problem,” Joseph explained.
Asked how he feels about the state of the town, the council boss said thus: “Apapa is in a very sorry state and it is not the Apapa of my dream. The three tiers of government have heavy presence there. You have the federal government controlling like 60 to 70 per cent of activities there. So, there is a limit to which you can operate in such environment. You want to do something and they will say that it is not the re­sponsibility of the local government. We cannot even apprehend traffic offend­ers; they said we don’t have the right. So, the power of a local government is very small. I don’t have a regret being council chairman, but I feel bad because I am not able to do what I feel is the proper thing.”

Fate of ‘critically wounded’ ISIS chief unclear

The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was “critically wounded” when a U.S.-led air strike targeted the western Iraqi border town of al-Qaim, tribal sources told Al Arabiya News Channel on Saturday.

U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement that U.S.-led air strikes targeted ISIS leaders near their northern Iraqi hub of Mosul late Friday, without confirming whether Baghdadi was killed, AFP reported.
“This strike demonstrates the pressure we continue to place on the ISIL [ISIS] terrorist network and the group’s increasingly limited freedom to maneuver, communicate and command,” U.S. Central Command said.
Anbar province MP Mohammad al-Karbuli told Al Arabiya News Channel that coalition aircraft had targeted a gathering of ISIS leaders in al-Qaim that led to the killing of tens of people and wounded many more.
Karbuli said chaos ensued the air raid with ISIS members scrambling to transport their wounded to al-Qaim hospital which was overwhelmed with the number of patients.
Reuters news agency quoted two witnesses as saying an air strike targeted a house where senior ISIS officers were meeting, near al-Qaim.
The witnesses said ISIS fighters had cleared a hospital so that their wounded could be treated. ISIS fighters used loudspeakers to urge residents to donate blood, the witnesses said.
The agency also quoted residents as saying there were unconfirmed reports that ISIS’ local leader in the western Iraqi province of Anbar and his deputy were killed.

Boko Haram Can Be Defeated In 2 Months If… – Okorocha

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, has said that the menace of the dreaded Boko Haram sect could be stopped in two months, only if visionary and efficient leadership is encouraged at the highest level of power in Nigeria.

Okorocha, stated this on Friday, during a dinner he organised for media executives and nominees from across the country, who were in Owerri for the Nigeria Media Merit Award 2014, noted that the problem had remained intractable because some people were benefiting from fighting the insurgents.However, he said no president of Nigeria had plans to fail in governance, noting that leaders of the country since independence never had bad intentions.

Chief Rochas blamed the mrnace on leaders’ inappropriate usage of both the human and material resources, which he said also, contributed to government’s inability to tackle insurgencies in the country. “No nation is poor in terms of human and material resources, the problem has always been about leadership,” he said.

Okorocha advocated a bottom-up approach to power, stating that this is what will reduce excessive power of the president which hinders power distribution among the federating units.“The president is too powerful while the masses continue to suffer. We need leaders who can give jobs to the people. Vision is very important to surmount most of the challenges facing the country, this is why my administration placed great premium on education by making it free from primary to university levels.”

He, however, said that decentralisation of power was germane to solving the challenges facing the country.

The Imo governor, also challenged journalists to rise up to the challenges of their profession, admonished them to ask political leaders about their activities in government, noting that “the media profession has lost the culture of investigative journalism.”

“I’ve always waited for an opportunity to confront journalists on their role in the leadership question and the need for the fourth estate of the realm to engender good governance by tasking would-be leaders on plans they have for Nigeria,” Okorocha said.

Reconciliation: Nine Months After, Jonathan Orders SSS To Return Sanusi’s Passports

Barely a week after the meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Department of State Security (DSS) has returned the international passports it seized from the former in February this year.

The return of the passports is coming nine months after the DSS seized them, following his suspension as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by Jonathan. The State Director, State Security Services, (SSS), Bassey Etang, handed over the two travelling passports to the emir at his palace Saturday.
The release of the passports may not be unconnected with the recent visit of the emir and his senior counsellors to President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Emir Sanusi’s diplomatic travelling passport was seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos when he returned from Niger Republic while the ordinary international passport was collected from him at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport when he was about boarding Turkish Airline to France.
Confirming the handover of the passports, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso on Chieftaincy and Emirate Council Affairs, Alhaji Tijjani Mailafiya, disclosed that the emir got back his travelling documents yesterday morning.
In the letter, where Sanusi alleged that the NNPC failed to remit more than two-thirds of the oil money earned by the country between January 2012 and July 2013, the former governor insisted that out of the sum of $67 billion, only about $18 billion had so far been accounted for, while the sum of $49.8 billion was unaccounted for.
He however reviewed the alleged missing fund downward to $12 billion and later $10.8 billion upon reconciliation with the ministry of finance. He thereafter brought it up to $20 billion.

U.K Jails Pregnant Idahosa, Omoruyi For Trafficking Women Into Prostitution

A woman has been found guilty of people trafficking after she forced two Nigerian women into prostitution by making them eat snakes in an African black magic ceremony.

Lizzy Idahosa, 24, and her husband Jackson Omoruyi, 41, made more than £70,000 out of the women, who were terrified with voodoo and made see a witchdoctor for a sinister ‘juju’ ceremony.
Both are now facing jail after Idahosa was convicted of trafficking the women, inciting them to become prostitutes and transferring criminal property, while Omoruyi was found guilty of money laundering. During the couple’s trial at Cardiff Crown Court, the jury was told that the two victims, aged 23 and 29, had their pubic hair shaved and forced to eat live snakes and snails as part of the ritual, and then flown to Britain in the belief that they were going to find a better life.
However, when they arrived in the UK they were put to work as prostitutes, working in brothels at massage parlours across England and Wales
They were told they had to give all the money they earned to Idahosa, and believed the black magic curses would make them go insane or die if they refused.
‘The couple were involved in the exploitation of two women brought into the UK from Nigeria to work as prostitutes,’ said Caroline Rees, prosecuting, during the trial.
‘They were bound to this by something called a juju ritual. It was a ceremonial ritual used to full effect to terrify both women into doing what was demanded of them.
‘It was used to ensure compliance, secrecy, and they believed if they broke the bond dire consequences would follow: illness, madness, infertility or death. They genuinely believed the powers would work.’
The offences came to light after police arrested a 23-year-old Nigerian woman at the Ambassador Suite brothel in Cardiff, in June 2013.
She told officers she had been living rough in Nigeria after her mother died and had wanted to travel to the UK to find her father.
She had then met a woman, claiming to be Idahosa’s sister, who promised to make arrangements for her to travel to London, and as part of the agreement had to take part in the ceremony.
‘She did not know what was expected of her,’ said Ms Rees, who said the woman had been able to pass through immigration at Heathrow.
‘She was taken to a premises full of women dressed in their underwear. There was no explanation as to what was going on but it soon became clear.’
The woman started to work as a prostitute and was forced to have sexual intercourse with seven or eight men every day, working in brothels across the UK, including in Cardiff and Swansea.
When interviewed, she claimed she had given Idahosa £45,000. The second victim told the court she had paid the defendants £31,400 over two years after working in brothels in Cardiff, Swansea, Barking and East Croydon, and said she had worked in South Wales for a year and eight months.
The woman, who like her fellow victim cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had stopped working and changed her sim card so Idahosa could not contact her.
However, within a month she received a phone call from her mother in Nigeria. ‘I had a call from my mum who told me Lizzy’s people had been to her house and threatened her,’ the victim told the jury.
‘Lizzy said if I did not pay her she would kill my mum and make me go mad.’ Idahosa and Omoruyi, who were arrested at their home in London, denied any wrong doing.
But police checked their bank accounts and found a series of transfers with Omoruyi acting as a ‘financial middle man’. Idahosa had denied forcing the women to take part in a black magic ceremony, but claimed that she herself had been trafficked into the UK and forced to work as a prostitute.
She told the jury she did not know the two women had been trafficked. ‘It was only when I told them I was trafficked into the country that I found out they were trafficked,’ she said.
Idahosa, who is heavily pregnant, said she made an oath with her trafficker before leaving Nigeria and was forced to eat the roast heart of a cockerel.
She said: ‘I wouldn’t do the things they say I did because I’ve been through it.’ The jury was told that cash payments of several hundred pounds a time had been deposited into Omoruyi’s account from locations all over the country, including Glasgow, Sheffield and Southampton.
He had claimed that money came from his friend. ‘I am the kind of person who likes clothes and shoes and I’m known for that – I like to find bargains,’ he said.
‘It is not that it is any fraud money or anything. My account has not been used for anything like that.’
During an interview with police, he said: ‘I am here to say I do not even know the people you are talking about – I have never seen them.
‘I have never involved myself in that kind of activity in this country, even before this country. I have not and I would not,’ he had claimed.
Idahosa was convicted of a total of eight counts including trafficking two women into and around the UK, inciting them to become prostitutes and transferring criminal property.
Omoruyi was convicted of two offences of money laundering.
These two defendants were involved in an elaborate deception, taking advantage of cultural and financial issues in order to gain a devastating hold over their vulnerable victims.
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court took just five hours to find them guilty. Both were remanded in custody today to be sentenced next month, but judge Tom Crowther QC warned them they will face lengthy custodial sentences.
Speaking after the verdicts had been given, Ms Rees said: ‘This was a despicable and callous crime.
‘These two defendants were involved in an elaborate deception, taking advantage of cultural and financial issues in order to gain a devastating hold over their vulnerable victims.
‘Once the victims had entered the UK, they were exploited and abused in the most brutal manner. Human trafficking is totally unacceptable in our society.
‘I hope today’s convictions will send a clear message that those who seek to degrade and demean others for their own personal gain can expect to be pursued and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
‘It took an immense amount of courage for the victims to come forward and seek to break free from their ordeal. I hope that their courage will act as an inspiration for others who may find themselves in a similar position.
‘Whilst we cannot undo what has already happened to these victims, we can hope that today’s convictions will help them as they try to move on from their ordeal.’
A spokesman for the Home Office, which led the investigation, said: ‘Trafficking is an appalling crime that has no place in today’s society but, as this case has shown, it is taking place here.
‘That is why we are taking action on a number of fronts.
‘We are working with law enforcement overseas, the law is being strengthened and the Modern Slavery Bill, one of the first of its kind in the world, will make it easier to prosecute the criminals behind trafficking and improve the protection of victims.

PDP LG Congress: OGD, Kashamu, Abiola’s daughter, others emerge national delegates

Former Ogun state governor Otumba Gbenga Daniel, the Chairman of the Organization and Mobilization Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in the South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu, and the first daughter of the late winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Lola Abiola-Edewor yesterday emerged as national delegates from Ogun State in the local government congresses held in the 20 council areas of the state.

Daniel, Kashamu and Abiola-Edewor were elected to represent their local government areas at the December 6 national convention of the party where President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to be elected as the party’s presidential standard bearer for the 2015 election.
While Daniel emerged from Sagamu Local Government Area, Kashamu and Abiola- Edewor won as national delegates to the convention  in ijebu North, and Abeokuta North, respectively.
Also elected as national delegates were the two former deputy governors of the state, Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye, and Alhaja Salimot Badru to represent Ijebu East and Ipokia Local Government Areas.
Two former state chairmen of the party in Ogun, Chief Joju Fadairo, and Bashorun Dayo Shoremi also emerged as national delegates from Ifo and Odeda Local Government Areas, respectively.
Others party leaders who also emerged as national delegates include retired General Kehinde Fasasi (Remo North); Otunba Tunde Olowu (Ijebu North East); Dr. Femi Majekodunmi (Abeokuta South); Babatunde Osholake (Obafemi Owode) and Mary Ogunjobi (Imeko Afon).
The state Chairman of the party, Chief Bayo Dayo expressed delight that Daniel and others who just made a return to the party after so many years outside its fold have been fully accommodated and integrated by this development.
Dayo said that with the new-found unity within the PDP in Ogun State, the party was set to upstage the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC, in next year’s elections.
He said: “Today’s exercise is just a formality because we have some
elders who have been representing at the national level as our national delegates, and since they are still very much there, they are still going to represent us. You see, the result of this one does not mean they would be paid any salary. No. it’s a one-day affair. They are going to the national convention to possibly vote for Mr.
President and amend some other things that needed amendment in our constitution. It does not need any campaign, and we know the people are going there to represent us well and they are all showing interest.
“Some new people that have just joined the party like our leader, Otunba Gbenga Daniel who left the party long ago is now back and whether we like it or not, the very day an elephant gives birth to a younger one, that day the little elephant will be bigger than any ram around. So, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is going back to his position as a leader and he’s going to represent us in Sagamu. So also are other leaders in the other local government areas. They will be representing us. They have all got waivers from the national secretariat and they will all be going back. They are free to do whatever they like just as any other member of the party. So, we are happy that we are in good mood and we are working together for the success of our party and come February 2015, we are going to not only defeat Ibikunle Amosun, we are going to have nothing less than 80 per cent in Ogun State.”
The Chairman of the five-man Local Government Electoral Committee that conducted the national delegates’ election in the 20 local government areas of Ogun State, Mr. Christian Nnaka said that the exercise which held under a peaceful atmosphere in all the council areas recorded great success.

Photos from actress Chika Ike's birthday party with fans

Yesterday was Chika Ike's birthday. She had
breakfast with her family in the morning and
ended the day with dinner with five fans from
Instagram. See more photos after the cut...