WELCOME TO OBAYOMI'S BLOG: May 2015

22 May 2015

Again 27 Killed In 2 Plateau Villages

At least 27 persons have again been confirmed killed in two communities of Barkin Ladi council area of Plateau State despite the recent restriction of movement at night in seven council areas of the State.

A former Minister of Finance during the military regime of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Onaolapo Soleye, has called on the President-elect to address the failure of state governments to pay their workers’ salaries.

Abuja housing challenge and Winning Clause Estate example

Only very few cities in the world can match the cost of living in Abuja, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria. Of all Abuja’s mounting needs, as in all new cities, housing remains the most acute. It is so bad that one-room self-contained goes for up to half a million Naira in the city centre, and only slightly less in the adjourning districts.

THE Three-member Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal at its inaugural session urged petitioners, respondents, reporters and members of the public to give the Tribunal the cooperation that would enable it deliver justice as intended by the law

Speaking at the opening session at the Umuahia High Court, the tribunal Chairman, Mr. Justice Usman Bwala, urged lawyers appearing before it to avoid frivolities that could delay hearing of the petitions.

He also stressed the need for the petitions filed before it to be dispensed with within the 180 days timeline, beginning from the date the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the results. Ufomba added that the tribunal would do everything in its powers to reduce tension.

Other members of the tribunal are Justices Ekeret Abieyie and Olusegan Ogunyemi. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Mr. Alex Otti, factional APGA candidate, Mr. Reagan Ufomba, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr. Anyim Nyerere, all filed petitions at the tribunal.

Otti and Nyerere, in their petitions, challenged the declaration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the election, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, as winner of the election.

Ufomba ‘s petition asked the tribunal to award him the benefits that would accrue to Otti if the tribunal verdict declares APGA the winner of the state gubernatorial poll.

Ufomba had told reporters that he was asking for that based on his pending suit at the High Court challenging the candidacy of Otti as the APGA candidate, asserting that he was the authentic APGA candidate, even though INEC recognised Otti as candidate.

8th NASS Leadership And Affirmative Action

JONATHAN NDA- ISAIAH, in this piece, examines the clamour for women to be elected into leadership positions in the 8th National Assembly

For the very first time in the country’s history, an incumbent president was defeated in an election. Of course, it goes without saying that Nigerians have commended the president and commander-in-chief, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, for the display of statesmanship by accepting defeat before the final announcement of the results of the presidential elections of March 28th, 2015.

As residents in most villages in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State still live in fear of attack by gunmen, fresh report has indicated that no fewer than six persons have been killed in renewed raid on four communities in the area.

Go shorty, it's your birthday. Democratic Party like it's your birthday.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just secured a crucial endorsement for her 2016 presidential campaign — rapper 50 Cent.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, has declared that the fair, credible and peaceful conduct of the 2015 general elections has proved doomsday predictors, in some international media organisations, wrong.

A mob set two buildings ablaze after a motorcycle passenger reportedly slapped the rider to death with an object suspected to be charms at Iyana Ira, in Ijanikin area of Lagos State.

12,000 Women Contracted VVF In Nigeria – Dr Sadauki

The project manager of the USAID Fistula care plus project, Dr. Habibu Sadauki, has disclosed that Kano State records over 12,000 cases of fistula every year.

Dr. Sadauki told reporters in Kano on Thursday that over 5,000 cases have been repaired while the fundamental cause of VVF is prolonged child labour, early pregnancy and culture, poverty and illiteracy among the communities and this is prevalent mostly in northern part of the country.

000-Oil--drilling-operation-.jpg - 000-Oil--drilling-operation-.jpg

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku

Stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry have said the grant of operatorship of divested oil blocks to indigenous companies will boost local participation in the sector,
stem corruption and increase the nation’s oil revenue.

Buhari, Osinbajo Present as Oshiomhole Remarries

It was a gathering of Nigeria’s political A-List as Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State exchanged marital vows with his heartthrob, former Miss Iara Fortes, on Friday.

Nigerian restaurant shut down for ‘serving human flesh’

A restaurant in south-eastern Nigeria is shut down for allegedly serving human flesh after bags containing heads were discovered in the kitchen

A Nigerian restaurant has reportedly been shut down after being accused of serving human flesh following the discovery of bags containing human heads in the kitchen.

Bayelsa PDP: Containing trouble

Governor Serikae Dickson is doing everything to keep trouble at bay. However, the effort of the former law enforcer and lawmaker in maintaining party discipline is brewing trouble of its own.

lord-of-Ajasa

lord-of-Ajasa

WHAT should your fans be expecting from Lord of Ajasa at the Coded Tunes Reunion concert?

Police kill 3 suspected kidnappers in Nnewi

OWERRI—Three suspected kidnappers have been killed at Nnewi, Anambra State, by a crack team of anti-kidnapping squad from Imo State police command, which had been trailing the hoodlums for a while.

German commits life savings to building medical centre in Ondo

THE people of Oka-Akoko in Akoko South West council area of Ondo State, recently trooped out in their hundreds in appreciation to a German-American Catholic faithful, Mrs. Johannah Schleichelt who donated her life savings to build a modern medical centre for them to meet their health challenges.

Fuel crisis ends in days, DPR, NNPC, PPMC assure

ABUJA — The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and its downstream subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, yesterday assured Nigerians that the ongoing fuel scarcity will thin out in the next couple of days.

Man attacked by 7 dogs gets N30,000

LAGOS—The 45-year-old commercial driver, Saturday Akpomose, who was attacked by seven dogs at Ajah area of Lagos State, has received N30,000 and a job offer from the owner of the dogs.

NDLEA official, one other docked over drugs importation

An official of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Adeogun Olajide, and a civilian,

55% of Lagos commercial drivers hooked on hard drugs —LASG

Lagos State government has disclosed that of 801 commercial drivers screened for hard drugs through urinary test, 442 representing, 55 per cent, tested positive.

Cecil Rhodes: Colonising African minds

THE attacks against African migrants in South Africa drowned a salutary step taken by that country against a major symbol of racism in the continent.

UI students protest colleague’s death; mob, rob journalists

IBADAN—STUDENTS of the University of Ibadan, UI, threw civility to the wind, yesterday, as they trooped out of their campus and attacked some journalists who were there to cover their protest over the death of one of their colleagues at the institution’s health centre.

Great white shark strikes stunning pose for cameraman off Australia

Every now and then a close encounter with a great white shark produces an image that stands out among most of the rest–portraying the essence of the world’s most fearsome-looking predator in a stunning and revealing manner.

US appeals court: NSA phone record collection is excessive

NEW YORK (AP) -- The bulk collection of Americans' phone records by the government exceeds what Congress has allowed, a federal appeals court said Thursday as it asked Congress to step in and decide how best to protect national security and privacy interests.

One of the sexiest stars in Nollywood, Moyo Lawal, has finally decided to bounce back to social media after her self-imposed ‘prison’.

Last Updated: Monday, May 4, 2015

An actor in the Nigeria movie industry, Chris Bassey and his family members are still in shock over the demise of the patriarch of the house,

Nigeria remains in a tight spot as low oil prices force officials to burn through borrowing reserves to pay salaries.

Over 70 per cent of the workers in the Federal Ministry of Finance, including top officials, have high blood pressure as a result of excessive stress at work.

Call for action with Ireland to be fattest country in Europe by 2030

WHO figures suggest Europe is heading for an unprecedented explosion in rates of obesity

An expert on obesity has said the Healthy Ireland framework needs to be aggressively rolled out to address the obesity crisis in Ireland.

Nepal: Presidential residence, some ministries declared unsafe after earthquake

After a safety assessment, technicians from the Department of Urban Development and Building put red stickers in the rear section. It will now have to be demolished and rebuilt.

23 organs harvested from five brain-dead donors in a day at Chennai hospital

Chennai: In a rare operation, the Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals has harvested 23 different organs from five brain-dead donors to give a new lease of life to needy patients, an official said on Wednesday.

Vikas Gowda, Seema Punia recommended for Khel Ratna

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold medallist discus thrower Vikas Gowda has been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the second time along with his female counterpart and CWG silver winner Seema Punia for the coveted award this year.

Delhi High Court pulls up municipal bodies, says Nepal-like earthquake will lead to death of lakhs

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rapped the city's municipal corporations for "dereliction of duty" and allowing buildings to come up without complying with regulations saying it may result in death of lakhs of people if an earthquake, like that in Nepal, occurs here.

Coalition conundrums of British politics as United Kingdom goes to polls

London: This year marks the 750 years of the first sitting of British parliament and 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. Over the years, many countries have referred to and borrowed from the Westminster Model of representative democracy while drafting their constitutions; adapting to the needs and requirements of their respective demographics.

UK Royal Baby's Father Lists Occupation as 'Prince of United Kingdom'

Britain's Prince William looks towards his wife Kate as they show their newly-born daughter to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in London. (AFP)

Governor Abiola Ajimobi
Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state has warned that his administration would not tolerate any form of violence from Senator Rasheed Ladoja, the Accord Party governorship candidate who lost to him in last election, stressing that, the full weight of law would be used to deal with him if he misbehaves.

I’ll deal with Senator Ladoja if he misbehaves – Angry Gov. Ajimobi talks tough

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state has warned that his administration would not tolerate any form of violence from Senator Rasheed Ladoja,

A vineyard in the Barossa Valley near Adelaide, Australia

Exploited workers are allegedly being used across Australia to pick fruit and vegetables

An Australian government inquiry is to investigate labour exploitation following revelations of widespread abuse of foreign workers.

Bill Clinton Defends His Foundation's Foreign Money

Bill Clinton says he has no regrets about taking millions in foreign cash for his foundation — even though the donations have caused a political headache for Hillary Clinton as she tries to follow him into the Oval Office.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh

PDP has warned 'ambitious' aides and associates of President Jonathan against attempting to cause crisis in the party that can give room for more defection.

Fani-Kayode stated further that he would work with other PDP members to ensure that the party returned to power in 2019.

Tornado in north Germany

One man was killed and more than 30 people injured when a tornado and violent storms hit northern Germany, ripping tiles off roofs, downing trees and overturning cars, emergency services said Wednesday.

Along a Lagos road

SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is partnering the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and state governments in the country to reduce road accidents, the company’s Manager, Government Relations, Mr. Edesiri Akpomudjere, has said.

Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima

The Borno Government on Sunday commended the Nigerian military for its efforts in rescuing about 500 children and women abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Sambisa forest

Gov. Shettima

Boko Haram impregnate girls, women to sustain successors in North East, says Shettima

BORNO State Governor, Kashim Shettima, has said that Boko Haram insurgents deliberately rape girls and women with the intention of getting them pregnant, so they would give birth to future insurgents as successors of their violent struggles in the North East of Nigeria.

Philip Lyle Hansen

A New Zealand man with a fetish for “fat gummy ladies” who yanked women’s teeth out with pliers during sex was found guilty Wednesday of assault and indecent assault.

Mallam Hassan Umar

An indigene of Borno, who is on an historic walk from Lagos to Maiduguri, has arrived Ilorin, the Kwara capital.

Four Afghan men were sentenced to death Wednesday for the savage lynching of a woman falsely accused of blasphemy, a landmark judgment in a nation where female victims often have little legal recourse.

For the first time since the March/ April general elections, the Governors-elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have met with the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigeria’s democracy cannot grow if the practitioners are not willing to be democrats.

A Legal Practitioner, Wahab Shittu, said this on Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, during a conversation on the impeachment brouhaha in Enugu State.

With themes addressing issues of societal relevance and subjects of symbolic influence on the Nigerian historic and contemporary socio-political, the iconoclastic representations of Tochukwu’s works speak in bold terms, Tochukwu bars no holds.

WHEN ENTERTAINERS Converged on Lagos

Vanessa Obioha reports Nigerian artistes may not be about outward show only, and that some of them should be reckoned with in their brainpower

Alot of in-betweens happened at the recently held Nigeria Entertainment Conference (NEC).

Okonjo_iweala

Focus of the Spring Meetings
The spring meetings focused on two set of critical issues; the first is weak recovery in the global economy, particularly in Europe and Japan and the rest of the world, with the US showing more robust recovery but not out of the woods per se yet, and the impact of this weak global recovery for the rest of the world.

Suspected Fulani gunmen kill six soldiers, three others missing in Taraba

THE dream of putting an end to the ill-activities of suspected Fulani gunmen in Taraba State has no doubt hit the rock, as no fewer than six soldiers have reportedly been killed and three others missing.

ALLEGATIONS of last-minute looting of the nation’s resources, hurried recruitment into the public service and rushed privatisation/sale of key financial institutions and assets were levelled against each other at the weekend by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it was too late for President Goodluck Jonathan to convince Nigerians to vote for him and his party in the polls starting on the 28th of this month.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration of plotting to sabotage a smooth handover of power to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, 2015.

THE Federal High Court sitting in Benin City yesterday afternoon sentenced the younger brother to the former governor of Edo State, Michael Igbinedion and Patrick Eboigbodin, who were both personal aides to former governor, Lucky Igbinedion, to six years and 20 years imprisonment respectively, over money laundering charges amounting to N25 billion brought against them and three others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

THE Labour Party (LP) yesterday expressed concern over membership of the transition committee inaugurated by President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that the composition of the committee has also raised doubts over the capability of Buhari to fight corruption as he promised during his campaigns.

REP-elect for Yewa North/Imeko Afon Federal Constituency, and former Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kayode Oladele, has described the decision by the Federal Government to drag the National Assembly to the Supreme Court over constitution amendment as ill-conceived and violates the doctrine of separation of powers and legislative supremacy.

THE group of seven most developed nations, including Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy, guard their fortunes jealously.

22 May 2015

18 May 2015

8 May 2015

7 May 2015

Moyo Lawal Returns From ‘Prison’

Nollywood Actor, Chris Bassey Loses Father

6 May 2015

3 May 2015

1 May 2015