Former Bayelsa Governor, Alamieyeseigha Is Dead

Breaking News - Shobizz Bolg

Former Bayelsa Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha died a few hours ago in a private hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, a source in Bayelsa State confirmed to THISDAY.
Alamieyeseigha, who was said to have suffered a cardiac arrest earlier in the week, gave up the ghost today, after having slipped into coma and was consequently placed on life support.
There are insinuations that his death was not unconnected to the rumours of his possible extradition to the UK for an outstanding money-laundering case, which were swiftly denied by the UK High Commission in Nigeria.
The British High Commission in Nigeria, yesterday, debunked as mere rumour, the recent news making the rounds in the media, that the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha is wanted in the UK to answer question bordering on corruption charges.
A senior officer of the Commission, who spoke confidently and on anonymity on telephone in Abuja, said the information is a rumour in its entirety, adding that the Crown Prosecution has not tabled any extradition request on Alamiesyeseigha, to the High Commission.
While responding to whether it is true that that the Crown Prosecution Service of UK, has made any formal request for Alamieyeseigha’s extradition, she said the Crown Prosecution Service more often do not often give or confirm information on such matters.
She however disclosed that there is no renewed move to reopen the case. “As you know, the immediate past High Commissioner, Sir Andrew Pocock, before he left Nigeria, had in an interview averred that the manner in which Alamieyeseigha escaped from UK, made him a wanted a person.
“But as you know and with the new government of President Muhammdadu Buhari, in place, the media is presenting it as if the UK has said that we need this man. There is no such thing as moves for his extradition or of anybody or organisation to recall his extradition to UK,” she said. “Like you know, the media find such issues interesting. They just jumped to and start publishing the way they like, without clarifications from the High Commission.”
In September 2005, Alamieyeseigha (then the Bayelsa State governor) was detained by the London Metropolitan Police on charges of money-laundering
The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, was quoted to have said that the President Buhari-led government is prepared to assent to the request of the British Government as the United Kingdom has every legal right to demand for the extradition of the former Bayelsa State Governor.
Born on November 16, 1952 in Amassoma, Ogboin North Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Alamieyeseigha attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School, Yenagoa before joining the Nigerian Defence Academy as a cadet officer in 1974 and later the Nigerian Air Force, where he served in the department of Logistics and Supply. Here, he held various positions in Enugu, Markurdi, Kaduna and Ikeja before retiring as a Squadron Leader.
He later became the Sole Administrator of Pabod Supplies Port Harcourt and Head of Budget, Planning, Research and Development of the National Fertiliser Company (NAFCON), Onne.
He was impeached as Bayelsa State governor on allegations of corruption on December 9, 2005.

China Restaurant Explosion

At least 17 people were killed on Saturday after an explosion ripped through a restaurant in eastern China, state media said.
A gas cylinder exploded in a restaurant in the city of Wuhu in Anhui province, causing a fire, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Similar explosions happen relatively often in China, where safety regulations are often laxly enforced.
The incident is being investigated, local officials said on social media.
Giant explosions at a chemical storage facility in the northern city of Tianjin killed 165 people in August.

Turkey’s deadliest attackS

At least 86 people were killed Saturday in the Turkish capital Ankara when twin blasts ripped through groups of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists gathering for an anti-government peace rally, the deadliest attack in the history of modern Turkey.
The attack, near Ankara’s main train station, ratcheted up tensions ahead of Turkey’s November 1 snap elections which were already soaring amid the government’s offensive on Kurdish militants.
Bodies of the slain activists were seen strewn across the ground after the blasts, with the banners they had been holding lying next to them for the “Work, Peace and Democracy” rally.
Sixty-two people died at the scene of the blasts and 24 more then succumbed to their wounds in hospital, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu told reporters in Ankara. He said another 186 people had been injured in the attack, 28 of them seriously.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the “heinous attack”, saying it was aimed at “our unity and our country’s peace.”
A Turkish government official told AFP that the authorities “suspect that there is a terrorist connection,” without giving further details. Reports said the authorities were investigating if a suicide bomber was involved.
Interior Minister Selami Altinok said he would not resign, denying there was a “security vacuum” in policing at the rally.
There were scenes of chaos after the blasts, as ambulances raced to get to the wounded and police cordoned off the area around the train station.
“We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station,” said Ahmet Onen, 52.
“A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don’t understand this,” he said, sobbing.
Turkish police fired in the air to disperse demonstrators angered by the deaths of their fellow activists from the scene, an AFP correspondent reported.
– ‘Barbaric attack’ –
Amateur footage broadcast by NTV television showed smiling activists holding hands and dancing and then suddenly falling to the ground as a huge explosion went off behind them.
Reports said that hundreds of people in Ankara had rushed to hospital to donate blood for the victims.
The blast was the deadliest in the history of the modern Turkish Republic, surpassing the May 2013 twin bombings in Reyhanli on the Syrian border that killed over 50 people.
With international concern growing over instability in the key NATO member, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged Turkey to “stand united against terrorists.”
French President Francois Hollande condemned the “odious terrorist attack” while Russian President Vladimir Putin passed his condolences to Erdogan.
US ambassador John Bass said he was “appalled by the terrorist attack.”
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was hosting a meeting of top officials, including powerful spy chief Hakan Fidan, in the early afternoon to discuss the attack.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was to have been one of several groups that was to have taken part in the pro-peace rally.
“We are faced with a huge massacre. A barbaric attack has been committed,” said the HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas.
He blamed a “mafia state” and a “state mentality which acts like a serial killer” for the attack.
– PKK suspends activities –

Turkey’s deadliest attack - Shobizz Blog

The attack comes with Turkey on edge ahead of November 1 polls and a wave of unrest over the past few months.
An attack in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc on July 20 targeting pro-HDP activists and blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists killed 32 people and wounded a hundred others.
The militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) accused Ankara of collaborating with IS and resumed attacks on the Turkish security forces after observing a two-year ceasefire.
Over 140 members of the security forces have since been killed while Ankara claims to have killed over 1,700 Kurdish militants in weeks of bombardments of PKK targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.
With conspicuous timing, the PKK Saturday announced it would suspend all attacks — except in self defence — ahead of the polls.
“Heeding calls from Turkey and abroad, our movement has decided on a state of inactivity by our guerillas, unless our people and our guerilla forces are attacked,” Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella movement that includes the PKK, said in a statement.
The HDP performed strongly in the last election on June 7, winning 80 seats in parliament to deprive Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of an outright majority for the first time since it came to power in 2002.
The AKP then failed to form a coalition in months of talks, prompting Erdogan — who had been hoping for a large majority to push through reforms to boost his powers — to call another election on November 1.
The office of Davutoglu said that he had cancelled election campaigning for the next three days.

Oliseh "Enyeama lied, I never insulted his mother"

Olise & Enyeama - Shobizz Blog

Oliseh, Super Eagles
coach

Vincent Enyeama ditched the Super Eagles in Belgium; calling time on his international career, but not without some controversy. He alleged the head coach Sunday Oliseh insulted his late mother, had security throw him out of the camp and stripped him. In an exclusive interview with www.footballlive.ng Sunday Oliseh debunked the claims insisting the 33-year-old defamed.
The full excerpt of the interview:
I am deeply saddened, troubled and profoundly hurt by the assassination of my person as Vincent Enyeama has done over the past two days on social about me insulting his mother, these allegations are unheard of.

Enyeama

When I was appointed the chief coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, I drove to Lille to see Vincent, took him to lunch and discussed how we wanted to move forward with him as my captain. I shared my philosophy with him and he made a statement I didn’t like, he said he was going to retire in a year or two and I told him I wouldn’t hear of it as he was the captain of the team because we were thinking of taking the team to the 2017 AFCON and 2018 World Cup; but we can’t build a team with you as captain if you are retiring in 2017.
2 weeks ago before the camp started he told us about his mother’s burial but I couldn’t go and there was an arrangement with the President who assured me he’d be there on behalf of the NFF and team. But he started talking about retirement so at that moment I felt we needed someone else as captain; it had nothing to do with hurting anybody.
I don’t know Vincent personally, I’ve only been named coach and in fact we’ve seen only once. He’s served Nigeria very well and as Captain, I was also captain and I know how difficult that job is.
We started camp on Monday, to my greatest surprise Mikel Obi and Ighalo camp in on Sunday night. We had invited 4 goalkeepers and he told us he had to bury his mother. So, Obviously he couldn’t report to camp early until Tuesday, just about the time we were rounding up; he drove into training ground.
Prior to his coming in, we had the Nigeria ambassador to Belgium come in to talk with the team because our delegation had not been given visas to come in, 6 players were stuck in Nigeria over the hitch; 2 of them were goalies. And somebody had to act in the absence of the Captain which Musa had been doing well prior to the Tanzania and Niger games. And I remember, when the Ambassador wrapped up I told Musa; as the captain, to introduce the team as a way to appreciate the support.

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But the boys did not train well that afternoon, the ball playing was good but our objectiveness on the ball was not up to my liking so later at dinner I called the team and told them I was not happy and demanded more from them. Only for Vincent to stand up insisting on saying somethings but I told him to see me about it later. He refused and as side talks persisted I called him to order, he started raising his voice, I told him we couldn’t have two coaches in the team and that he had to retire to his room. His colleagues got up and escorted him out of the hall. Two of his colleagues came in later to see me; the Captain Ahmed Musa and Mikel Obi, pleaded on his behalf and we left it there. Only for issues to start popping up on social media alleging we insulted him and his late mother.
Most people are not aware of this but I’ll tell you now that when we went to play in Tanzania I personally asked for the team to wear the black band in honor of his mother and for us to observe a minute’s silence , we asked and we went through the channel of Dayo Enebi, but they said we should have made the demand earlier, does this sound like a man who wants to humiliate his captain?
What happened after wards, was alarming. We had only two goalkeepers, 15 players and we were playing a friendly game so we had to call in players who did not need visas to come into Belgium as quick as possible to make up numbers. We now had to call in Alampasu because we had only 2 goalkeepers; we were already making a case with Alloy to get ready if anything happened. We called Efe Ambrose and Madu in, working like we were a fire brigade.
I did not even have time to reply social media chats because we had to work.
However on the match day, Vincent did not come to lunch, I was confused because I thought we’d put all of the previous night’s issues behind us. I called him and asked why he wasn’t in for lunch and he said he was returning to his club. He said because I invited Alampasu he was leaving. Alloy Agu is my witness, God is my witness.

2Face "No politician is worth losing your blood for"

2face Idibia

Popular musician, Innocent Idibia aka 2Face, has advised youths in Kogi not to engage in violence before, during and after the Nov. 21 governorship election.
He gave the advice on Thursday in Lokoja during the
official launch of “Vote Not Fight; Election No Be War” Campaign. The campaign was organised by 2Face Foundation, Youth Emancipation for the Society and the Centre for Human Rights and Conflicts Resolution.
Idibia urged the youths to see the forthcoming election as sport where one candidate must win and another would lose and urged them to cultivate the spirit of sportsmanship toward the poll.
“No politician is worth losing your blood for.
“Don’t be used as instrument of destruction; there should be no killing of people nor should there be destruction of property in any community,“ Idiba pleaded.
He appealed to prospective voters present at campaign rallies to carry the message to all the nooks and crannies of the state.
He explained that the vote not fight; election no be war campaign, launched in Nov. 2014, was instrumental to the peace that reigned after the conduct of the last general elections.
“The idea is to transform Nigerian youths into peacemakers and ambassadors in their communities for the promotion of a conflict-free environment during the electoral process,” he said.
Mr Machill Maxwell, an official of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) commended 2Face Foundation and other partners for initiating the campaign.
He noted that the campaign had helped to promote peaceful conduct of elections in the country.
“It is therefore imperative that Kogi youths should embrace the spirit of peaceful participation and promote a conflict-free environment during the governorship election and stand up against violence before, during and after the poll’’ he said.

Death penalty for corruption

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Waba recently suggested the death penalty for corrupt public officers to curb corruption in Nigeria.
If capital punishment is introduced and worked elsewhere to eliminate corruption, then we are for it,’’ he said at a rally to support the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, Professor of Criminology, Femi Odekunle, observed that death penalty could not be enough measure to curb corruption.
According to him, someone who is dead does not know anything and will not feel the pulse of the punishment.
He said that the death penalty for corruption would only relieve those who are to face the punishment of their guilt.
Let them serve 30 years in prison with hard labour to serve as the consequence of their offence; this is the only way corrupt people will bear the burden of their corruption and not through death sentence,’’ he said.
In his view, Mr Peter Ameh, the National Chairman of Progressive People’s Alliance, noted that although corruption had become endemic in Nigeria, the death penalty might not be the only solution to stop it.
Death penalty cannot prevent people from stealing or from being corrupt, to curb corruption in the country, everybody will have to work to create a society where people’s rights will be protected,’’ he said.
He urged Nigerians to have a change of attitude, insisting that nothing could be done to address the issue of corruption without attitudinal change.
Nigerian Bar Association President Augustine Alegeh, in his view, observed that while other countries were moving away from capital punishment, Nigeria should not be drifting towards such outdated law.
He noted that government should evolve pragmatic measures to prevent people from looting the treasury.
The Treasury Single Account is a good measure in the right direction that will curb the menace of corruption.
The international trend is that every country is moving away from capital punishment. So, where the world is moving away from, why are we going there?
In corruption cases, the focus is on recovering the money. Let us recover that money and use it to develop our country and not to kill the man.
Because, if you kill the man and his family members have the money, have we made any progress? So, let us go for what is right,’’ he said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Wahab Shittu, a Lagos-based lawyer, said fighting corruption effectively would involve sentencing corrupt public officers to long-term imprisonment.
I don’t agree that the consequences of looting should be death penalty, but there should rather be long prison terms for corruption, at least a period of not less than 25 years, plus the forfeiture of the proceeds of corruption.
The punishment should not be such that a corrupt person is now deprived the right of existence.
Once someone dies, he’s gone and would not even be alive to witness the consequences of his action,’’ he said.
In the same vein, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a non-governmental organisation, noted that although corruption was a serious crime, recovery of loot rather than death penalty should be emphasised.
He stressed that the death penalty would not help to stem the tide of corruption in the country, adding that he had remained an advocate of the abolition of death penalty for all kinds of offences.
Mumuni, however, suggested that the government should concentrate on loot recovery and ensure that anyone found guilty of any corruption cases should forfeit all his ill-gotten wealth.
Similarly, Mr Olabode Towoju, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Party, said that death penalty for corrupt officials was no longer popular globally.
According to him, Nigeria has not developed to the level where it can use the death penalty as punishment for corruption as most public officers are still involved in the politics of bitterness.
Anyone found to be corrupt should be compelled to forfeit his or her assets and should not be allowed to hold public office again,’’ he said.
Towoju called for the strengthening of the relevant anti-corruption agencies in the country and laws that would prohibit any corrupt practices.
He said that no amount of offence would worth sending someone to death because such person can come out to be useful to the country after rehabilitation and reorientation.
No one can make or create life except God, so killing anyone because of corruption which can be tackled by relevant law is amounting to usurping the power of God,’’ he observed.
By and large, concerned citizens observe that although death penalty may dissuade potential corrupt officials from engaging in corrupt practices, it may not be adequate to end corruption.
They, therefore, urge that the government to provide basic infrastructure, good welfare package, good salary for its workers and make living meaningful for Nigerians, among others, to effectively tackle corruption.

Facebook says no to ‘dislike’ button but tests ‘sad’ and ‘angry’ buttons

Facebook will begin testing a new feature allowing users to express a range of emotions on posts in Ireland and Spain from Friday — but there will be no “dislike” button, the social network said.
“We are testing Reactions, an extension of the ‘like’ button, to give you more ways to share your reaction to a Facebook post in a quick and easy way,” Facebook said in a statement.
Users have for years pressed the world’s largest social network to introduce a “dislike” button to complement the existing thumbs up button, which allows users to express their “like” for a post.
Last month Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said users wanted “the ability to express empathy” because “not every moment is a good moment”.
On Friday a trial will begin in Ireland and Spain where users can select six emotions as well as the like button on posts.

The options for the trial are: love, yay, wow, haha, sad, and angry, and are similar to emojis used in text messaging.
Chris Toss, Facebook product manager, said Reactions would give users greater ways of engaging with stories and content.
“It’s a much broader range of human emotions you can express,” he told the Irish national broadcaster RTE.
A spokesman had no information on the length of the trial or when it might be extended to Facebook’s users outside Ireland and Spain.
Toss also said the social network decided a “dislike” button would not “add value” to the site.
“We felt by giving you a bunch of different ways of expressing yourself and saying ‘This is how I feel about content’ as opposed to just something that’s positive or something that’s negative,” he said, speaking from California.
“Liking” something on Facebook also plays a key role in the social network’s algorithm, allowing users to see content they regularly engage with it, and also allowing for targeted advertising.
The new range of empathy buttons could eventually be used for similar purposes, but not during the trial.
“If you’re coming for humorous content and you’re saying ‘haha’ to lots of funny cat videos, down the road we might use that to show you more cat videos, but as of the initial test you won’t see any of that,” Toss said.

Policeman shoots driver to death in Ogun

A police corporal in Ogun State, whose identity has not been revealed by the state police  command, on Tuesday, shot dead a commercial vehicle driver identified as Likinyo Olumide at the Sagamu Tollgate area along the Lagos-Benin Expressway.
The driver was conveying seven passengers and their goods from Lagos to Okitipupa in Ondo State, when the tragic occurrence happened.
One of the seven passengers, who witnessed the killing, Folake  Egbeuwalo, said some policemen, who were around the tollgate area, had stopped the vehicle and the driver promptly parked by the road side.
For reasons which the passengers claimed not to have known, the corporal shot the driver where he was standing beside his vehicle, killing him on the spot.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the corporal had been arrested.
Our correspondent gathered that the 42-year-old driver was survived by six children and a pregnant wife.
Egbeuwalo, who spoke with journalists at the Police Headquarters,  Eleweran, Abeokuta, on  Wednesday, said the incident occured at 9.45pm on Tuesday, as they were coming from Lagos, where they went to buy some goods and  heading back for Okitipupa in Ondo  State.
She said, “The late driver  was our permanent driver, he used to carry us from Okitipupa to Lagos. So, the man carried us from Idumagbo on Lagos Island. As we were coming,  we met many policemen and soldiers on the road,  we stopped and settled them.
“When we got to Sagamu Tollgate, we did not know that there were policemen on the road; they asked the driver to park and immediately he parked.
“As the driver came down from the vehicle, he stood beside the vehicle and the policeman moved to the other side of the road and shot him dead.”
Egbeuwalo added that the policeman and his colleagues, realising what had happened, fled the area immediately, but came back a few minutes later and took away the corpse in one of the Hilux vans with number plate NPF 104 OD.
She, however, lamented that all the passengers were abandoned and slept on the highway as none of them could  drive the car after the death of the driver.
A younger brother of the late driver, Likinyo Solomon, lamented the death of his deceased,  who he said was survived by six children and a pregnant wife.
He said, “I demand  to see the person that killed my brother and to know what actually happened before he was killed.”
During his visit to Ogun State on Wednesday,  the Assistant Inspector- General of Police, Zone 2 , Balade Hassan,   said the policeman would face the wrath  of the  law.
He said, “The regulation is clear and the constitution is clear about the right to life of all Nigerians. So, if anybody takes the life of anybody, be it a policeman or civilian, not as provided by the constitution, that person will face the full wrath of the law.
“You know the present Inspector-General of Police and previous IGs do  not take things lightly when things like that go wrong.
“You would recall that something like this happened in Lagos, the policeman was arrested, tried, dismissed from the force and arraigned in less than 24 hours after the incident.
“The police is trying to say anyone who flouts the rules and regulation, will get his case in court as the case may be.
“This case is not an exception from other cases. The person would be tried as prescribed by the law, after finding him guilty, he would be dismissed and charged to court.”
Adejobi, on his own part, said the command had arrested the killer cop

US general "Hospital never a legitimate target"

The US commander in Afghanistan said Thursday that his forces would never intentionally target a hospital and that all requests from Afghan troops for air support are thoroughly vetted.
General John Campbell was testifying to US lawmakers five days after a US air strike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the disputed Afghan city of Kunduz that killed at least 22 staff and patients.
President Barack Obama has apologized to the medical aid agency but three investigations — by the US military, by NATO and by Afghan officials — are underway and the general would not be drawn on their progress.

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But, asked about unconfirmed allegations that Afghan troops had called in the US strike because wounded Taliban fighters were being treated in the hospital, Campbell said that would not be a justification.
“A hospital is a protected facility. We would not target a hospital,” he told the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee in Washington.
“When the Afghans call for fire, that’s not an automatic response. Every day the Afghans ask me for close air support and we just don’t go fire some place,” he said.
“We go through a rigorous procedure to put aerial fires on the ground — A US process, under the US authorities.
“So we’ve got to figure out what happened in that case but I don’t want people to think that just because the Afghans call fire that there’s automatic fire anywhere they want it, that’s just not the case.”
Asked whether the presence of Taliban fighters in a hospital could justify a strike, Campbell said simply: “No.”
On Thursday, Doctors Without Borders said nine patients and 24 staff are still missing after the bombing of the hospital, bringing the potential total toll to more than 50 people.

Nigerians spend N35bn on POS terminals monthly

Nigerians spent a total of N35.84bn on transactions using Point of Sale terminals in the month of August, investigation has shown.

The money was spent in 2.7 million successful transactions that were carried out across the country using POS as the payment option in the month of August.

Head of Corporate Communications at the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System Limited, Lilian Phido, confirmed this in an electronic mail response to an enquiry by our correspondent.

NIBBS, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers’ Committee have been in the vanguard of a national campaign to promote less use of the cash in the economy.

The CBN had in 2012 introduced a new policy on cash-based transactions which stipulates a cash handling charge on daily cash withdrawals that exceed N500,000 for Individuals and N3,000,000 for corporate bodies.

Poly Ibadan ND Cut off mark

Poly Ibadan - Shobizz Blog

CUT-OFF MARKS FOR ADMISSION INTO THE NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES FOR THE 2015/2016 ACADEMIC SESSION.

S/N	FACULTY	COURSE	CUT-OFF MARKS
1.	FBCS	Business Administration	30.0
		Mass Communication	50.25
		Music	30.13
		Office Technology & Mgmt.	37.63
		Local Government &Dev. Studies	37.13
		Public Administration	53.0
2.	FENG	Civil Engineering	45.75
		Mechanical Engineering	44.38
		Electrical Engineering	44.75
		Computer Engineering	40.38
		Mechatronics Engineering	31.38
3.	FES	Surveying & Geoinformatics	30.88
		Architecture	43.75
		Estate Management	30.25
		Urban & Regional Planning	30.13
		Building Technology	32.13
		Quantity Surveying	31.5
		Arts & Design	31.0

4.	FFMS	Accountancy	50.5
		Banking & Finance	47.75
		Insurance	39.88
5.	FSC	Computer Science	44.25
		Geology	30.88
		Science Laboratory Technology	48.0
		Statistics	30.13

Buhari’s meeting with N’Assembly leadership

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, described the closed-door meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly  held on Wednesday night as a welcome development.
Saraki,  according to a post on his social media page on Thursday, explained that the meeting signifies a good working relationship between executive and legislative arms of the country.
He described such interactions as “a necessity for National development. Additionally, the meeting demonstrates that the nation is working.”
Buhari  met with the leadership of the National Assembly, which included, Saraki; the Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Yakubu Dogara; and other principal officers of both chambers.
Also in attendance  was, Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. The meeting lasted for about two hours.

Issa Hayatou named FIFA Acting President

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African football leader, Issa Hayatou has been named to take charge of FIFA after former president, Blatter was suspended and “stripped of all duties.”
African football leader Issa Hayatou on Thursday took temporary charge of FIFA after Sepp Blatter was “relieved of his duties” because of his 90-day suspension, the world body said.
Hayatou, 69, is president of the Confederation of African Football, and takes over as senior vice president of FIFA. He has in the past been reprimanded for misconduct by the International Olympic Committee.
“Joseph S. Blatter was relieved of all his duties as FIFA president” after the move by the FIFA ethics committee to suspend him for 90 days because he is under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors, FIFA said.

Diezani "EFCC quizzes Omokore, Atlantic Energy boss"

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has quizzed the Chairman of Atlantic Energy, Mr. Jide Omokore, over the ongoing investigations into the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Investigations revealed that the Subsidy Unit of the EFCC, which is entrusted with the responsibility of probing the NNPC oil scandal, on Monday invited Omokore to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja to answer questions in relation to the investigations.

Omokore was said to have honoured the invitation and was quizzed and later released.

It was gathered that his invitation was in connection with the ongoing probe of the NNPC and a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Investigation revealed that Omokore was not detained by the operatives of the commission, who are working with their counterparts from the United Kingdom, to uncover alleged oil deals that were executed to the detriment of the nation’s economy.

A source, who confided in our correspondent, said, “The Atlantic Energy Chairman was at the commission’s headquarters to answer questions in relation to the ongoing probe.

“I don’t think it would be right to say that he was arrested as he came to the office on his own and was interrogated. He was later released to go on administrative bail.”

The granting of administrative bail by the EFCC means that the suspect will make himself available whenever he is needed by the commission.

Investigation further revealed that some key officials of the NNPC, who worked with the former minister and other key players in the oil sector, had been interrogated by the EFCC and had also been released on administrative bail.

It was learnt that a Managing Director of one of the NNPC subsidiaries, three former Executive Directors and some senior members of staff were being made to visit the EFCC periodically.

The former minister, the NNPC officials and three companies which featured prominently in the nation’s oil business are being probed in relation with billions of naira worth of crude oil that were allegedly lifted without being paid for.

It was further gathered that a four-man team of crack detectives constituted under the Subsidy Unit of the EFCC extracted information from the NNPC workers who said they allowed the lifting of the crude in obedience to directives from the leadership of the nation’s oil industry under Diezani.

Our correspondent made repeated efforts to get the comment of the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, without success as calls to his mobile telephone did not connect.

Nigeria at 55

The icy relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki appears to be thawing, as both leaders engaged in a tête-à-tête and laughed heartily during a private moment at the low-key celebration held to mark the nation’s 55th independence anniversary in Abuja on Thursday.

Since his emergence as the Senate president three months ago against the wishes of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), there has been no love lost between Buhari and Saraki.

Although Buhari had immediately after the leadership contest in the Senate said he would respect the outcome of the election, he never hid his displeasure over Saraki’s emergence and that of his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki with the support of the opposition PDP senators trounced the favoured choice of the APC and Buhari, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who alongside other APC senators was at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, waiting to meet with the president when the election in the Senate took place.

Ever since, the president has studiously avoided meeting with the Senate president and on Tuesday in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly, said that his confidence in Saraki would depend on the outcome of the latter’s trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), where he is facing charges of false assets declaration.

Despite the cold war, Buhari and Saraki, who sat next to each other during yesterday’s ceremony, were all smiles and engaged in light banter.

Saraki also led Dogara and other leaders of the legislature to present a card to Buhari congratulating him on Nigeria’s 55th independence anniversary.

The event, which was held in the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, witnessed a special presidential change of guard to mark the event and lasted for about two hours.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, had earlier indicated that this year’s anniversary would be low-keyed due to the state of the country’s finances.

The event started with the arrival of Buhari, who appeared in his trademark traditional attire with a white cap to match.

The president inspected the quarter guards before marching to the Presidential Villa forecourt to receive the national salute which was followed by a rendition of the National Anthem.

Prayers were offered by the Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, and the Deputy Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Kabir, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The event witnessed the the 21-gun salute, inspection of new quarter guards, silent drills, posting of sentries and colour, while weapons and uniforms were inspected to ensure conformity with military standards by the Commander, Brigade of Guards, Brigadier-General Musa Yusuf.

Shortly after the ceremony, Buhari signed the anniversary register and released pigeons from cage.

The president, assisted by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Saraki, Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, and other top dignitaries, cut the anniversary cake.

Speaking in separate interviews after the ceremonial change of guards, Saraki, Justice Mohammed and the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun expressed confidence in Nigeria’s ability to overcome its present challenges.

Saraki said he was hopeful and confident that the future was very bright. “In next few years, things will be even better,” he said.

The Senate president said that in the legislature it would not be business as usual, stating: “We will ensure that the National Assembly will be people-oriented and will make laws that will make impact on Nigerians.”

The CJN said: “We will make it by the grace of God. We are on the right path,” while Oyegun said at 55, Nigeria has finally discovered that it was on the wrong road.

“We have finally moved to the road that leads to progress, hope, employment, prosperity and that will lead to Nigeria finally attaining that greatness that God destined it for. We are on the way,” the APC cheiftain added.

Those who attended the ceremony were former Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Chief Ernest Shonekan, and former Senate Presidents Ken Nnamani and Joseph Wayas.

Others were the service chiefs, the current and former Inspectors-General of Police, former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd), other top government functionaries and members of the diplomatic corps.

Dija "Why I always add my Lebanese, Hausa, to my music:

The singer who is of mixed parentage, in an exclusive chat with Showtime said, ‘I usually wear my traditional garments to perform, and I constantly put my language in everything  I do.

Mavin Records singer, Dija, has said that she will do everything within her power to always infuse her Hausa, Lebanese and Sierra-Leone culture into her music.

Don’t forget that Yaro, the title of one of my songs, is an Hausa word as well. I’m not only Hausa, I’m also partly Lebanese and Sierra-Leonean as well, so I try my best to bring my cultures from my father and mother’s sides to bear on my craft as much as I can. For me, the more I can talk to, and relate to my fans, the happier I am.’

Akinwunmi Ambode to improve Judcial Sector

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has said his administration will continue to improve on the achievements in the judicial sector and ensure that judges, magistrates and the courts in the state work in a conducive atmosphere.The governor, who spoke on Friday at the 2015/2016 Legal Year Dinner at the Nigeria Law School, Lagos, reiterated the important role the judiciary plays as the last hope of the common man. He said the Lagos State Judiciary had been the pioneer of judicial sector reforms in the country from 1999, when Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of the state. He said his predecessor in office, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, also followed suit by initiating and implementing far reaching reforms which went a long way to improve on the justice delivery system.Ambode added, “It was these reforms that gave birth to the Office of Public Defender, Citizens Mediation Centre, Public Advisory Centre, the Multi-Door Court House System, which offers an alternative and effective dispute resolution mechanism; the construction of more courts as well as the appointment of more magistrates and judges. ADVERTISEMENT “These initiatives have expanded the frontier of justice delivery, which has deepened its relevance as the last hope of the common man.“I am committed to ensuring that this administration continues with these reforms. We will work with the judiciary to move our justice sector to a higher level. The reform process is not a finished business, it is a work in progress.”He alluded to the fact that a recent World Bank ranking of countries on the basis of ease of doing business, rated Nigeria low, noting that one of the parameters considered was the ease with which disputes arising from business transactions were resolved.Ambode explained that the report was an indication that the nation’s desire to build a globally competitive economy that would attract foreign investors, could not be achieved without a vibrant judiciary.“It is therefore imperative that as we address the issue of infrastructural deficiency to ease the process and reduce cost of doing business, the issues of rule of law and timely dispensation of justice must also be given priority,” he said.Responding to an appeal made by the Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Funmilayo Atilade, in her welcome address, the governor promised to address the issues raised accordingly.Justice Atilade expressed concerns that the Lagos State Judiciary was still financially subservient to the Ministry of Justice, saying it was most undesirable as the arrangement clearly negates relevant laws and constitutional provisions.She appealed to the governor to assist in effecting the return of Judiciary Capital Vote as required by Law and in the spirit of separation of powers as applied to the other arms of government.“To a very large extent, as we demonstrate our implicit confidence in our able governor to right the wrongs of the past, help reposition and propel the State Judiciary to desired heights, we must sincerely express our gratitude to His Excellency for all the support and kind understanding.“Truly, he has within the short period of his administration demonstrated strong interest and concern in the growth of the Judiciary and in the welfare of judicial officers, magistrates and all personnel the of the Lagos State Judiciary,” she added.