Ramadan: FG May Relax Emergency Rule In Adamawa, Yobe

With about two weeks to the Holy Month of Ramadan, a fasting period for Muslims, the Federal Government may have decided to relax the State of Emergency in Adamawa and Yobe States by reviewing the time of curfew in the two states.
This was one of the highlights of the closed door meeting, yesterday, between members of the House of Representatives and service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim at the National Assembly.
The Deputy Chairman of the House committee on media and public affairs, Hon Victor Ogene, disclosed this while briefing the media after what he described as an “interactive session” with the military that he claimed were “on top of the situation” and making progress save for a few challenges.
“Ramadan is approaching. Already from the signals we got, the restrictions will begin to be relaxed in at least Adamawa and Yobe states very soon, before or close to Ramadan. Already in Adamawa, they have two more hours taken off the curfew. If we have all these, that indicates that they (security agencies) are making progress”, he stated.
Rep Ogene further disclosed that the Defence Chief had revealed that 13 insurgents’ camps have been recaptured and adjoining areas were in the firm grip of the military.
On the challenge faced by the military the House spokesman said that the security operatives at the meeting tabled their challenges before the lawmakers, one of which was the problem of discerning non-Nigerians from Nigerian insurgents, since the areas most affected by the insurgency were in close proximity with neighbouring countries that share the same languages.
The National Assembly has proposed an amendment to the funding policy to place security on first line charge so as to eliminate bureaucratic and strengthen efficiency of relevant bodies and their response to emergencies.
Meanwhile, a report presented by the joint committee on Defence, Army, Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence stated that the quantum of destruction of houses, vehicles and motorbikes were exaggerated. “There was manual count of 115 houses burnt as against the figure of 2000 houses given by the Governor ( Kashim Shettima) and 3059 houses by the district head.
Again, the yet-to-be considered report obtained by LEADERSHIP stated that the death toll of 185 was also inflated but there might be more than 37 deaths. The report insisted that there was no documentary evidence from either the natives or the military to ascertain the figures quoted.
“Although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in company of some community youths counted 32 graves seven days after the incidence, yet it is difficult to ascertain the actual number of casualties” Senate President, David Mark said yesterday and added that the report will be debated today at plenary.

2 Brothers Rent Out Room & Parlour For N2m To 100 Tenants

 Two brothers, Idowu Usman, 40, and Rasheed Usman, 38, have been arrested and charged before Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding more than 100 prospective tenants of over N2 million in Idimu, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
The two brothers allegedly used a room and parlour apartment located at 9, Adetayo Street, Idimu, Lagos to defraud prospective tenants under false pretence of renting the apartment to them.
When they were arraigned in court, the suspects admitted obtaining the money under false pretence and pleaded guilty to a 13-count charge.
The police at Area M Command, Idimu arrested the brothers when a fight broke out among their victims when they wanted to take possession of the apartment.
According to some of the victims who were present during the court proceeding, it was after they paid for the accommodation and when they wanted to move in that they discovered that more than 100 prospective tenants had also paid for the same apartment, alleging that all of them paid over N2 million to the brothers for the apartment.
Some of their alleged victims are Uche Eze, David Nwachukwu, Emmanuel Enyia and Michael Job.
Nwachukwu narrated in court that he saw an advert that the room and parlour appartment was for rent and when he contacted the suspects, they lured him to pay for one-year rent in line with the state government tenancy law.
He said he did not suspect foul play until when he went to the house and met more than 10 people who wanted to occupy the same apartment.
Another victim, Job, said he fell for their trick when the suspects asked him to pay N120,000 for one year with an agreement fee, which he did. But it was when he went to clean up the place and saw people fighting over the apartment that he realized that he had been duped by the brothers.
Job said it was during the fracas that the police at Area M Command, Idimu were contacted.
The suspects were subsequently arrested after several complaints by the victims who alleged that they paid the brothers for the same apartment.
The brothers were arraigned before the court on a 25-count charge of obtaining and stealing under the Criminal Code.
They pleaded guilty from count one to 13 of obtaining under false pretence and pleaded not guilty of count 14 to 25 of stealing.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs M. B. Folami granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The matter was adjourned till 1 July, while the suspects were remanded in prison pending when they will fulfill their bail conditions.

Oil Discovered In Lagos

crisis, nigeria, PRESIDENT JONATHAN

 

 

Nigeria’s commercial capital, LAGOS, is on the verge of joining the country’s oil-producing states with the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the coastal state.
Yesterday, Afren Plc and its partner, Lekoil Limited, announced significant oil discovery offshore Dahomey Basin in Lagos, according to the London Stock Exchange.
In separate announcements, the partners said they discovered a significant light oil accumulation based on the results of drilling and wire line logs from a high impact Ogo-1 well, located on the Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL 310 offshore Nigeria.
Afren is optimistic that the discovery is likely to be significantly higher than the anticipated 78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), which encourages search to further high potential zones.
The discovery is subject to the authentication of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is expected in two weeks.
If certified and the partners produce the first barrel of oil, Lagos will become the 11th oil producing state in Nigeria, a club Anambra State joined recently. It will also boost the economy of Lagos, which currently generates about N29 billion internally every month.
The other oil producing states are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo, Abia, Imo, Edo and Cross River.
Geological studies indicate that the Dahomey Basin is a combination of inland/coastal/offshore basin that cuts across some West African countries including Lagos, Nigeria as well as Southeastern Ghana, Togo and the Republic of Benin.
The basin is said to be separated from the Niger Delta by a surface basement popularly called the Okitipupa Ridge.
“The Ogo-1 well has been drilled to a total measured depth of 10,518 ft (10,402 ft true vertical depth sub sea), and has encountered a gross hydrocarbon section of 524 ft, with 216 ft of net stacked pay.
“The well was targeting 78 mmboe of gross P50 prospective resources, but based on evidence to date, targeted resources are likely to be significantly in excess of previous estimates,” Afren said in a statement made available to us.
The company added that “further evaluation using wire line log analysis is currently underway prior to extending the well to a total measured depth of 11,800 ft (11,684 ft true vertical depth sub sea) to target further high potential zones.”

Governor Amaechi, Jang, Others Attend President Jonathan’s Dinner

President Goodluck Jonathan

For the first time since the election that caused a division in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, almost all the 36 state governors converged on the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday for a mid-term dinner organised by President Goodluck Jonathan.The two main antagonists in the NGF crisis Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who won the May 24 election of the forum and Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who leads a faction of the group- attended the event.
Although Jang and members of his faction were already seated before the arrival of the President which signalled the commencement of the dinner, Amaechi and his loyalists arrived at the same time shortly after the event had started.
A mild drama however played out when Amaechi, who cancelled a meeting of the NGF earlier scheduled for 8pm on Wednesday, joined the table where Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and others were already seated.
In the process of exchanging pleasantries, Amaechi was heard pointing to Akpabio and saying, “No, you can never be a democrat.”
Some governors in the Amaechi faction were initially seated among journalists at the back of the hall before they were ushered in to the front where seats were reserved for them.
The other governors in attendance were those of Niger, Lagos, Nasarawa, Imo, Edo, Adamawa, Zamfara, Ogun, Kano, Ekiti and Jigawa.
Others were the governors of Sokoto, Cross River, Bauchi, Abia, Plateau, Kogi, Ebonyi , Ondo, Delta, Anambra and Kaduna states.
The acting governor of Taraba State and the deputy governors of Bayelsa, Kwara, Katsina, Benue and Gombe States were also in attendance.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwwal, was however absent at the dinner attended by the President of the Senate, David Mark; and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
The dinner was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.
Before the cancellation of the NGF meeting, some of the Pro-Amaechi governors had converged on the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, where they took the final decision to attend the dinner.
In a brief chat with journalists before they moved to the Villa, Amaechi said “We have shifted the meeting to honour the invitation sent to us for dinner by the President. We would have loved to meet, but we have to honour the President’s invitation.

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Reconstruction To Cost N160.7bn

Minister Of Works Mike Onolememen

 

The reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will cost the Federal Government N160.7bn.This figure was disclosed to our correspondent by the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in an exclusive interview in Abuja on Tuesday.
Okupe said the road would consist of three lanes on either side from Lagos up to the Sagamu interchange, and two lanes from there up to Ibadan.
He also said that there would be a flyover and inter-change at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to solve the traffic gridlock on that portion of the road.
Okupe said, “The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was awarded on Monday at a total cost of N160.7bn.
“The multi-lane road project, which will be handled by Julius Berger Construction Company and the RCC, will consist of three lanes on either side up to Sagamu junction, and two lanes up to Ibadan as well as a flyover and inter-change at the Redemption Camp to solve the perennial traffic gridlock on that portion of the road.”
He promised that the Federal Government would pay attention to the road, which he described as major.
Okupe also said the contractors had started mobilising to the site, adding that the government was determined to solve the crises on the road once and for all.
“Government is serious on infrastructure. You can see that major roads like the Kano-Maiduguri, Benin-Ore, Abuja-Lokoja, Owerri-Onitsha, Katsina-Daura and East-West roads and many others are being rehabilitated or reconstructed. The second Niger Bridge has been given out on concession and work is in steady progress,” the presidential aid said.
It will be recalled that the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, told journalists on Monday that the contract for the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway had been awarded to Julius Berger and RCC.
He, however, did not disclose the cost of the project.
Like the minister, Okupe also did not disclose the duration of the project.

Mum, Dad... stop it! Chelsea target Cavani hits out at his parents for stirring Real Madrid transfer rumours

Napoli striker Edinson Cavani has asked his parents 'a thousand times' to stop discussing his future in public. The 26-year-old Uruguay star had already been linked with a move to Manchester City before his mother claimed he had held productive talks with both City and Spanish giants Real Madrid. Comments from his father then suggested Cavani had agreed to join Real, with the club apparently haggling over the striker's €63million (£54million) release clause. But Cavani, who scored 29 league goals for Napoli last season, has called time on what he considers harmful interfering from his parents. Quoted in La Repubblica, he told reporters: 'My father has talked about Real? I want to point out that these words are not coming from me. 'I've asked my parents a thousand times not to say any more. They can only hurt me. 'I belong to Napoli as it stands and that depends on the club. If another option presents itself, we will evaluate it.' Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has reportedly asked his club's talisman to make a final decision on his future by July 20, following his return from Confederations Cup duty with Uruguay. And when asked if Real Madrid - now managed by former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti - would be his preferred destination, Cavani remained cagey. He added: 'I will make myself clear on this point too - I've always said they're one of the best clubs in the world. 'We've all dreamed of playing for them, as we have with Barcelona but now I'm at Napoli and very proud of the fact. 'If I leave the blue shirt behind one day, I will only do so to join a big club. Obviously there would be some fans who would understand and others who wouldn't. 'But I don't want to slip out of a back door, I want to walk out of the front door, on the day that finally happens.' 

Nigerian League Is To Blame For Super Eagles Woes - Sunday Oliseh

Ex-super Eagle's superstar Sunday Oliseh believes the local league is not producing enough world class players to make the Super Eagles squad competitive on the international stage Oliseh said this to answer to critics who questioned his comments on the eve of Nigeria's defeat to spain, He said inexperience was the cause of the loss to both Spain and Uruguay despite being the superior side "Our league is not solid enough to produce players to beat the world right now. Even the South African league with it's high level organisation is still not doing enough to produce world beaters." Oliseh told supersport.com. He said the kind of technical quality and tactical orientation that the domestic league players are exposed to are way behind what obtained in the 1990s. "What was the state of our league in 1990, 1991 or 1992? Our league was solid, games were jam-packed with fans and it was easy for a player to leave the Nigerian league and within three weeks play in the first team for top European clubs. That is not happening today," he said. "I was unhappy with the kind of wholesale changes we made with the team. This tournament offered us an opportunity to strengthen the team we had at the Africa Cup of Nations. "The preparations and turbulence with money issues, arriving late, jet-leg (all contributed to their failure). We blew hot and cold. We had opportunity of beating Tahiti 10-0 or 11-1. "We dominated Uruguay but not in critical spaces. Uruguay were comfortable to sit back and absorb the pressure, choosing to counter attack. "There are positives to take out of their performance; one player who stood out was Mikel Obi. He did better than even his AFCON display. Maybe it's time to find another reliable defensive midfielder to allow him (Mikel) the freedom to become our Xavi type of player who dominates play. He can't be a number 10 but can be the anchor. "If we had (Emmanuel) Emenike in this tournament, we would have advanced to the next round. "When people complain about foreign-based players and commitment, we should also look at the reasons why (someone like) Emenike was unhappy after complaining about being neglected following injuries he sustained while playing for Nigeria at the Nations Cup. Next year, if you invite this player and he does not respond, you might term him unpatriotic."

SPOTTED: Footballer, Joseph Yobo hanging out with the ‘Kukere master’, Iyanya

Singer, Iyanya was spotted with Super Eagles Captain, Joseph Yobo a few days ago.
Iyanya uploaded the picture to Instagram before announcing he’d signed another deal.

Heartbreaking: “Right now, my two kidneys are gone” – Ailing producer, OJB Jezreel speaks out

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Popular producer, OJB Jezreel recently granted an interview to the Encomium, a soft sell magazine revealing that he has about eight weeks left to get his operation done.
OJB, who is suffering from a kidney condition is soliciting for money to enable him travel out of the country for a kidney transplant which is expected to save his life.
Read excerpts from the Encomium magazine interview below:

“When early diagnosis was done, it was just a case of renal failure. Right now, my two kidneys are gone. We are running dialysis at the moment. It started two years ago, but gradually depreciated. Most people tend to attribute kidney problem to drinking and smoking. I was told it doesn’t have anything to do with that, because as much as I drink and smoke then, it was casual drinking. Maybe they offer you a bottle of drink and all that but not like I drink 15 bottles a day. I have a friend who has gone through this and he never drank or smoked.

“The whole process of the treatment from pre-process, transplanting process and post-transplanting will cost about $100, 000. In two years I have spent up to N5million which I have been trying to maintain myself. That is why it has been kept secret.”

“God willing, I have like eight to ten weeks more to get the transplant done. It’s strange, I still walk around a little. I can’t eat much though. I trust God and Nigerians for their financial support”

I Have Plans To Go Back To School -Tuface

Innocent Idibia popularly known as Tuface Idibia in an interview talks about his music, kids and plans for his education.
 
Is Tuface A Player?

If I were a player, they wouldn’t have caught me like that.

On His Role Has A Father
Tuface who has six kids from different women said its not being easy, sometimes his work entails him travelling a lot and as such does not see his kids as he wants to.
According to him he had a different plan of just having one wife and kids but since things turned out this way he has accepted, no shaking.

On His Children Following His Footsteps
Tuface said he won't discourage any of his children if they decide to follow his footsteps musically. As a matter of fact he'll make be a good adviser.

On His Plans To Go Back To School
He definitely still has plans to go back to school to study law but he's not certain when.

On Why He Took So Long To Settle
I don’t really have an answer to that question, because I don’t know. I can’t explain why I don’t have an answer to that, but somehow, by the grace of God, we are still together.

On His Choice Of Name
He said it was a way of letting his fans know the real him different from the one they see in the public, TV, papers, radio.
Meaning Tuface is an artiste – the public figure, and Tuface, the actual me.
 
On His Fame

It takes away your privacy and freedom to do some kind of simple, basic things. Like I can’t go to Iya Christopher to sit down and eat amala, the way I dey do before.

On how much Tuface is worth today
I never gather, but I dey try.
Tuface attributed his journey so far to hardwork, his fans and of course the grace of God.

Chris Brown hit & run case could lead him to prison [DETAILS]

The RnB star Chris Brown has been charged with a hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence.
Lawyers for the district attorney’s office in Los Angeles say the singer gave false insurance information and refused to hand over his licence after his car hit a Mercedes last month.
Both offences together carry a maximum of one year in jail.

Brown is currently on five years’ probation for attacking his ex-girlfriend, the singer Rihanna.
If a judge rules the charges violate his probation, reports suggest he could face up to four years in jail.

Brown assaulted his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend in 2009 and accepted a plea deal of community service, five years’ formal probation and domestic violence counselling.

Six months ago, it was claimed he was involved in another fight, this time with singer Frank Ocean, over a car parking space outside a Hollywood recording studio.

Police said Brown was under suspicion for punching the victim but the case was dropped after Ocean decided not to press charges.