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Monday, 22 June 2015

On 00:41 by Nations Connect   No comments


 
 
This is the Official Portrait of the First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari...

Sunday, 21 June 2015

On 06:47 by Nations Connect   No comments









Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle network, EbonyLife TV, hosted young leaders and professionals to an exclusive meeting with Professor AttahiruJega, Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Saturday, June 20, at the Wheatbaker Hotel, in Ikoyi, Lagos.






The venue brimmed over with invited guests drawn from a pool of leading young professionals from various occupational sectors who came to converse with the respected professor about his experience as Nigeria's most powerful electoral official. The master of ceremony wasEbuka Obi-Uchendu, a co-host of the highly rated The Spot on EbonyLife TV and host of Nigeria's most watched youth-oriented television show, Rubbin’ Minds.

Nikki Laoye, recording artiste and project manager at Wahala media entertainment, did a sonorous rendition of the Nigerian national anthem, to set the stage for what, characteristic of EbonyLife TV activations, turned out to be an amazing and rewarding event.

Executive Chairman and CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, gave a powerful opening address on the event. With great introspection, the Queen of Chat welcomed everyone and summarized the 2015 electoral dispensation with passion and magnanimity. YemiAdamolekun of the Enough is Enough fame gave a rousing opening remark as the conference kicked into the reading of Professor AttahiruJega’s highly inspirational citation, followed by a brief comment by Jega.

The televised event, which then burst into an exciting gale of questions and answers between Professor Jega and the guests, reached a crescendo with the presentation of an award to the Professor. The award celebrated Professor Jega as “a Champion of our collective aspirations for free, fair and violence-free elections”.

“It is important for young Nigerians to ask questions; the Nigerian youth were a big part of the last general elections,” said Mo Abudu, Executive Chairman and CEO of EbonyLife TV. “We want Nigeria's future leaders to grasp not only the importance of the elections and its ramifications for the country, but to begin to build upon it by truly understanding the legacy left by Professor Jega,” she concluded.
















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The mother of a newborn baby who was mauled to death by the family dog was at a family event following a bereavement, according a family member.

Three-week old Reggie was rushed to hospital following the attack by the Patterdale terrier – but doctors were unable to save him.


His family have said they are "trying to cope" with the immense tragedy of losing little Reggie, who lived at Falkland Road with his parents Maria Blacklin and Ryan Young, a builder.
The parents are said to be “distraught” after the tragedy which happened at their home at 4.15am yesterday.

A family member who spoke to the Chronicle outside Ryan's family's home nearby said: "We are trying to cope with this the best we can."

Their family dog, called Tricky, is being kept in kennels and is expected to be destroyed.

Northumbria Police said a 30-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the incident.

“We are carrying out enquiries to establish the circumstances.”
 

 
 
A family member, who did not want be identified, said the baby’s mother was not in the house at the time of the attack, and added that she never left her son alone with the dog.

The source said she had been at a family event following a bereavement, and had returned to find the distressing scene.
Neighbours yesterday spoke of their shock at the death of Reggie, who is believed to have four brothers and sisters.
One, who did not wish to be named, said: “I know terriers very well. I think the dog had become jealous of the baby and that is why this has happened.
“It was Ryan’s dog as far as I’m aware. He is a lovely lad, hard-working and an excellent father. He will be devastated.”

Criminal psychologist Paul Tweddle, 50, who lives opposite the family in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said: “They are a caring couple in their 30s and are a lovely family. This is a complete tragedy.
“I see the terrier from time to time. Sometimes I see it clambering at the fence and it gets out so I shout to Ryan and he comes and gets it.

“It is a tiny dog and I cannot say whether or not it is dangerous. Sometimes appearances can be deceptive.
“I am so shocked. It should be such a happy time with a new baby. I have children myself, so you can imagine how I am feeling.”


Another neighbour, Denise Haley, 59, is grandmother to a six-week-old baby called TJ.
She said: “Maria was in the house a few weeks ago with Redgie. She is a lovely girl and I simply do not know how she will cope with this tragedy.

“I am scared of any dog but that dog seemed okay. It is a tiny dog and brown in colour.
“I am in total shock – me and my daughter have been really upset about it. We grabbed TJ straight away and gave him a huge hug.”


 
Source: UK Mirror.
On 06:29 by Nations Connect   No comments

 
The current crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC), got worse on Saturday when senators loyal to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, vowed to resist alleged moves by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and other party chieftains to present Senators Ahmad Lawan and George Akume as the Senate leader and deputy, respectively.
 
Senators Ahmed Sani-Yerima and Danjuma Goje, spoke with journalists in Abuja and specifically declared that the plans by the leadership of the APC to fill the remaining four principal-officer positions with ranking members of the Senate Unity Forum was totally unacceptable.
The Senators Unity Forum consists of loyalists of Lawan, who lost the Senate Presidency bid to Saraki.
 
It was learnt that the APC leadership had allegedly been trying to arrange Lawan as the Senate leader and Senator George Akume as his deputy.
 
The pro-Lawan group, which has the backing of former Gov. Tinubu, was also said to have picked Professor Olusola Adeyeye (Osun) as the Senate Chief Whip, while Senator Abu Ibrahim from Katsina State would be his deputy.
 
But Senator Sani-Yerima, a former Senate Deputy Minority Leader, and Goje, a former governor of Gombe State, insisted that the pro-Saraki Like Minds senators would resist imposition of principal officers on the chamber.
 
Sani-Yerima maintained that the election of the four principal officers was the exclusive right of the zonal caucuses in the Senate.
 
He said the move by the APC leadership was illegal, adding that “there can never be imposition of candidates on the chamber by the party leadership”
He said,
“As far as I’m concerned, the party cannot impose leadership on us. It is unconstitutional and against the rules of the Senate.
“The Senate Majority Leader; Deputy Majority Leader; Senate Chief Whip; Deputy Chief Whip were elected by their zonal caucuses in the Seventh Senate and the case of the Eighth Senate cannot be different.
“The best thing the party can do, given the circumstances, is to give us directives. Any attempt to impose will be resisted and this will further divide the party.”
He also, said that the party must follow due process, stressing that the Senate Presidency of Senator Bukola Saraki was committed to protecting the interests of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said,
“We should follow due process. Allowing the party to impose a leadership on the Senate President is to make him to fail because he cannot be forced to work with his rivals.
“We are committed to giving President Buhari protection in the Senate. What we are doing is definitely not against the President.”
On his part, Goje warned the party against imposition of candidates, adding that such a move would likely further polarise the party.
He said,
“By trying to impose another set of leaders on the National Assembly is to cause further crisis in the party. It will complicate matters and generate further crisis in the National Assembly.”
Spokesperson for the pro-Lawan senators, Kabir Marafa, described the argument of the pro-Saraki senators as incorrect and argued that the choice of other principal officers who are not elected on the floor of the Senate remained the sole business of the party leadership.
 
He said,
“It is not possible for the executive of the party at the zonal levels to determine who will be made the Senate Leader, the Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip, and the Deputy Chief Whip. It has never happened and it won’t happen this time around.
“The party executive must determine all the occupants of the four principal offices. The party will write the Senate President. That is the tradition. It cannot be done at the zonal level. We must follow due process.”

Source: Punch.


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Popular Yoruba actress and ex-wife of Saidi Balogun, Fathia Williams Balogun says she has no plans of ever getting married again. The mother of two said she's more interested in making money and taking care of her children
"I won't re-marry. That's not even something I am thinking about. My only interest now is making money and taking care of my children. I want to concentrate on work. I want to make movies. I want to be like Kunle Afolayan and of course continue acting. Acting is what I will do for the rest of my life. I want to be like Joke Silva and Bukky Ajayi and even surpass them" She told HipTV in a TV interview

Saturday, 20 June 2015

On 17:02 by Nations Connect   No comments















He said his ordeal bagan on March 3 while he was out of Lagos on a business trip. He said EFCC operatives called him and invited him and his friend, Antia, who he claimed is currently in a critical condition as a result of the injuries he sustained during the series of torture they received while in the custody of EFCC operatives.

He said:

“I honoured the invitation by going to EFCC with Mr. Antia in company with my lawyers. On arrival, I was shown the petition. In the petition, the petitioner alleged that he gave me N120 million to source for dollars for him and that I have not given him the dollars,” Yerima explained.
He said he told the operatives that he had made the payments and had documented evidence to prove it. He said despite his attempt to explain and show evidence of transactions, he was detained along with Mr. Antia.
“While in detention, we were denied bail by Iliyasu Kwarbai, the Director of Operations of EFCC in Lagos. EFCC hurriedly rushed to a magistrate court in Lagos on March 12 and obtained a detention warrant for 30 days. This was nine days after our initial detention without any charges filed against us. Later, Mr. Antia was handcuffed and taken to their torture chambers. Antia later told me they blindfolded him and hung him from 11pm till the early hours of the morning.
“My life is in danger and these people are out to kill me. I want the whole world to know that. The president should set up a panel of enquiry and if I am found guilty, I am ready to go to jail. But this injustice must stop. EFCC officials are busy making money for themselves. They are more corrupt than the corrupt politicians. They are rotten. They give you bail conditions you cannot meet and then ask you to negotiate,” he alleged.
However, the EFCC, denied Yerima’s claims. The spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said the claims were unfounded and should therefore be disregarded by the public.

He said:


“Alhaji Suleiman Yerima and Mr. Uwen Antia were on March 6, 2015 arrested by operatives of the EFCC for allegedly stealing the sum of $2,250,000 (two million, two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars) from two bankers. Their arrest followed a petition by Aginwa Gladys and Ale Dennis on February 17, 2015
The suspects allegedly approached the bankers: Gladys Aginwa and Ale Dennis in February, 2015, offering to sell foreign exchange to the tune of $10,000,000 USD to them.
“After agreeing on the exchange rate, a sum of N672, 750, 000 was transferred from BlueBeam Capital Investment Limited and Capital Field Investment and Trust Limited into the account of one of the bankers: Smiles and Light Limited. It was from the banker’s account that the entire sum was moved into Antia’s account: Kafisto Oil and Gas Limited.
“Findings showed that the entire sum of N672, 750,000 actually hit Antia’s account. A Bureau de Change operator who changed the money into its dollar equivalent, told EFCC’s investigators that he went with Antia to his bank along Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, where the transaction was confirmed. The Bureau de Change operator further said that, Antia subsequently transferred the sum of N666, 250,000 into his own account. He said he worked out the dollar equivalent of the money, which was $3,127,000 (three million, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars). He said he could only give $3,124,000 to Antia, leaving a balance of $3,000 which he promised to give him the next day.
“Immediately Antia collected the foreign exchange, he reportedly headed for No. 17A, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, where the two bankers and his accomplice, Suleiman were waiting for him. However, rather than hand over the entire foreign exchange to the bankers, he only gave them $1,000,000 (one million dollars), claiming that he could not source the entire amount. He allegedly promised to give them a balance of $2,250,000 (two million, two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars) the next day. This balance would be the dollar equivalent of the entire sum of the transaction (N672, 750,000).
“The bankers said that since the day Antia and Suleiman gave them the initial $1,000,000, all efforts to reach them had proved abortive. ‘Their cell phones were turned off,’ they said. However, they lodged a complaint with the EFCC and operatives of the commission eventually arrested the two fraudsters.”

Source: The Daily Sun