GEJ writes letter to key Northern citizens (read)

Sponsored post: President Jonathan has written a letter to prominent northern citizens across the 19 states in the region and the FCT. The 2-paged letter (personally signed by the President) is in both English and Hausa versions.
Continue to read the letters...

Hausa version

Timaya Shows Off His Mansion, Shares Some Words Of Inspiration

While most of his contemporaries are sharing their throwback pictures, Timaya decided to show off his splendid home share some words of inspiration with his fans.

See Quote below

Why I Owe Osun Workers 5 Months Salary – Aregbesola

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Wednesday opened up on his inability to pay the salaries of workers in the state for five months, blaming it on “declining federal allocation.”

The governor made the open confession at the 7th Bola Tinubu Colloquium organised to mark Tinubu’s 63rd birthday in Lagos.

He said he was deeply pained and unhappy that he had not been able to pay workers salaries.

“I have found it hard to pay the wage bills owing to the declining federal allocation to the state.“Federal allocation to the state has reduced by 40 per cent since 2013, making it difficult for government to meet up its responsibilities,” he said.

Aregbesola said the situation became so bad at a time that he resorted to the state’s reserves and exhausted it on payment of salaries.

The governor added that the government went ahead to accumulate debt of N12 billion in its bid to ensure that salaries were paid.

He said that he would not mind to borrow more “just to ensure that workers were paid but the “banks would not grant more loans.”He said: “Osun is next to Lagos in the sheer size of its civil service.

“In fact, the state inherited 50 per cent of all the workers in the old western state and more than 75 per cent in the old Oyo State.

“I was meeting my wage bill of over N3.6 billion with N4.6 billion federal allocation until July,2013 when the Federal Government announced a decline of about 40 per cent allocation to states.

“This reduced the state’s allocation from N4.6 billion with which I was meeting my bills to N2.6 billion.

“Since then, Osun has had to augment salaries by sometimes N1 billion, sometimes N1.6 billion.

“Before the last time I paid salaries in November,2014, I have had to either spent the state’s reserves on salaries or borrow money.

“Today, I have a loan of N12 billion that we
spent on salaries and I could not go to the banks anymore.”

The governor said that his administration
remained pro-workers in spite of the tight corner it had found itself, pledging to pay the salary arrears as soon as the means was available.

He reiterated the commitment of his
administration to the welfare of the people,
adding that he had demonstrated the commitment with the implementation of a
number of programmes.

He described Tinubu as “an icon through whom many great leaders had risen”

Source: PunchNg

N230Million Bauchi PDP Campaign Funds Missing

The Director General of Governor Yuguda Campaign Organisation in Bauchi state, Alhaji Mai’auduga has revealed that over N230 million from the presidency meant to support Bauchi PDP campaign for President Jonathan in the state has gone missing.

Alhaji Mai’auduga revealed this while speaking to newsmen in Bauchi yesterday March 25th “The State Campaign Council had already setup a committee headed by Governor Isa Yuguda to find the missing funds and whoever is guilty of the dubious act of diverting the missing funds will
face the disciplinary action by the Party.

The money was released to the State campaign council in two batches, one N80 million and N150million .

They were diverted by prominent persons in the party and we requested the Governor to investigate and find the missing funds” he said

Khloe Kardashian steps out again in see-through leggins

As she was seen yesterday morning going to a gym in LA..

$20trn Stolen From Nigeria’s Treasury By Leaders – EFCC

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said about $20 trillion had been stolen from the treasury by leaders who had access to the nation’s money between 1960 and 2005.

The commission further said that as at year 2000,the record showed that $100 billion had been stolen with an external debt of $33 billion suggesting that paying off the nation’s external debt would have required only a fraction of the money stolen by the country’s leadership.

While quoting an earlier presentation by the Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of the commission, the Director, Internal Affairs EFCC Mr. Wakili Mohammed who represented the Executive Chairman of the commission, Mr.Ibrahim Lamorde added that as the country would elect new leaders in the 2015 elections,women should be vigilant and disallow people with shady backgrounds from getting into public
office.

The anti-corruption agency said this yesterday in Ibadan at a one day sensitization workshop for Women Civil Society Groups.

The commission organised the programme in collaboration with the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL).

The workshop was hinged on “How women’s organisations can aid the fight against corruption,economic and financial crimes”.

Wakili noted that power to liberate our nation from deep-rooted corruption lies in the hands of women knowing fully well that corruption remains the bane of the nation’s development which results in lower levels of spending on education,healthcare and other social services that affect women and children.

According to reports by the United Nations
Development Fund for Women,UNIFEM, “women are more vulnerable to the impact of corruption than men. Women constitute larger percentage of the poor as they take primary resposibility for child care which makes them more reliant on public services and this makes corruption in public service delivery have huge impact on women”, he said.

The Head Enlightenment and Reorientation
Unit,EFCC, Hajia Aisha Larai Musa emphasized that the Commission works in conjunction with the SSS, Nigerian army,Civil defence and Nigerian Immigration as crime can not be handled alone that all parastatals needed to be involved including organisations and schools.

Aisha stated that women anti-corruption
initiatitive programme aimed at engaging women in the fight against corruption,financial and economic crimes, as women their is need to counsel our children.

In her own presentation, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Wale-Olaitan said, “corruption is not all about men but women inclusive” stating that sometimes women are forced to pay bribes,even more than money to get what they want.

She said women are also involved in corruption especially behind the scene,as women are getting involved in decision processes they should also be involved in combating crime According to Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the bad image of Nigeria abroad gave birth to EFCC and the most effective way to reduce crime was
to increase people’s perceptions that the cost of offence would exceed its reward adding that no individual was a biological or sociological criminal but “people deliberately commit crime and we can be responsible for the desired change as parents”.

Mrs. Osigwe Oyeronke a teacher who was a
participant at the workshop advocated that
women are the nation builders, agents of change and should be able to educate the populace on the need for integrity and transparency.

Source: Vanguard

Captures of Nigerian Soldiers sighted in different parts of Lagos this morning

Platoons of soldiers were sighted this morning patrolling the Victoria Island/Lekki axis of Lagos and Fola Agoro in Surulere. Probably in preparation for Saturday's general elections. More pics below

Mimiko’s deputy governor dumps PDP, moves to APC less than 48 hours to election

Ondo state Deputy Governor, Ali Olanusi has defected from PDP to APC just two days to the general elcetions. He announced his defection this morning March 26th in Akure,the state capital.

Breaking! Germanwing co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane

According to breaking news report, the co pilot of the doomed Germanwing flight deliberately crashed the plane on March 24th, this is according the chief investigator. He said the Chief pilot asked the co-pilot to take over the controls of the plane so he could go ease himself.
While alone, the co-pilot manipulated the aircraft's descent. He used a button to cause the plane to crash. The co-pilot has been identified as 28 year old Andreas Lubitz.

Murdered STV staff Aishat Mustapha buried

The remains of Aishat Noble-Mustapha, a staff of Silverbird group who was murdered close to her Ogudu residence by yet to be identified person/s on Saturday March 14th was buried yesterday March 25th.
Family and friends gathered at the Atan cemetery in Yaba,Lagos to bid her farewell.

Meanwhile the autopsy conducted on her corpse showed that she was not pregnant
as at the time of her death and that she died from internal bleeding. The police say despite her burial, investigations into her death will still continue.

Protesters storm INEC office in Ogun over PVCs

Scores of protesters from three local government areas in Ogun State on Wednesday stormed the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abeokuta over their inability to get Permanent Voter Cards.

The protesters who marched from the NNPC Junction in Abiola Way to INEC office, which is about 300 kilometres, came from the Yewa North, Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North local government areas.

Leading the protesters, a medical doctor and a three-time former commissioner in the state, Mr. Isiak Salako, said over 60,000 registered voters from the three local government areas might be disefranchised if they did not get their PVCs before the election on Saturday.

He said many of them registered in 2011, while some did in 2014, adding that they only had their Temporary Voter Cards, which did not qualify them to vote on Saturday and April 11.

He said, “I have come here with my people from the Yewa North and Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South local government areas.

“Over 60,000 of us have been denied our constitutional rights to vote for the candidate of our choice in the forthcoming elections by not having our Permanent Voter Cards.

“INEC has insisted that anybody who does not have a Permanent Voter Card will not be allowed to vote. This is my own Temporary Voter Card collected in 2011. Up till today (Wednesday) we have not seen our PVCs.”

Salako said the last resort for them, if eventually they did not get their PVCs before Saturday, was to go to court.

“We are not going to prevent anybody from doing his duty. But if any organisation is preventing us from performing our responsibilities, then we also have the responsibility to go to court.”

Another politician, Lanre Jaji, from the Abeokuta North Local Government, said INEC “must do something about the isue urgently.”

However, the head of General Administration and Procurement, INEC, Ogun State, Mr. Olatoye Olufemi, said the commission was working to ensure that all registered voters get their PVCs.

He said a member of staff was still in Abuja waiting for remaining consignment for the state.

He said, “At the moment, we have sent our official to Abuja to collect outstanding PVCs. But let me tell you that at this moment, the commission in Ogun State has been able to distribute over 70 per cent of the total number of PVCs received from Abuja, but we are still expecting more.”

Olufemi said the commission was still distributing PVCs in all the local government areas of the state.

Meanwhile, as of 5.07pm on Wednesday the state was still expecting the balance of 153,185 PVCs from Abuja.

The total registered voters in Ogun State are 1,795,794, while the total number received from Abuja so far is 1,642,607.

The total number distributed is 1,136,003, and the number that remained uncollected is 506,604.

Pilot locked out of cockpit before Germanwings plane crash

Investigators trying to determine what caused the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 have made a startling discovery in an audio recording, according to a New York Times report: One of the plane’s pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the crash.

“You can hear he is trying to smash the door down,” a senior military official involved in the investigation told the newspaper, describing audio from the cockpit voice recorder, one of the plane’s black boxes.

“We don’t know yet the reason why one of the guys went out,” the official said, according to the Times’ report. “But what is sure is that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door.”

Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, said it was looking into the report.

“We have no information from the bodies investigating the incident that would corroborate the report in the New York Times,” spokesman Boris Ogursky said. “We will not participate in speculation, but we will follow up on the matter.”

The Times’ report is a “terribly shocking revelation,” CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz said. But he and other experts cautioned that it’s still unclear what could have been going on inside the cockpit.

Possibilities range from a medical emergency to something more nefarious, like a suicide mission, CNN aviation analysts said.

Officials previously said that hadn’t ruled out terrorism, but it seems unlikely.

French authorities revealed earlier Wednesday that they’d been able to access audio from the recorder, even though its external casing was damaged.

But they disclosed few details about what the recording actually contained, saying only that there was one audio channel with voices on it that went all the way up to the time of the crash.

“It is too early to draw conclusions to what happened,” said Remi Jouty, head of the BEA, the French aviation investigative arm leading the probe. “There is going to be detailed work performed on that audio file to understand and interpret the sounds and the voices that can be heard.”

Finding the plane’s second black box will also be critical to understanding the mystery of what went on inside the jet.

That box, the flight data recorder, hasn’t been found yet, but Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Wednesday that there’s a high probability it will be.

World’s healthiest foods

According to several sources and surveys in North America and Western Europe, the following 10 foods are considered overall to be the healthiest.

Apples: Apples are an excellent source of antioxidants, which combat free radicals. Free radicals are damaging substances generated in the body that cause undesirable changes and are involved in the ageing process and some diseases.

Some animal studies have found that an antioxidant found in apples (polyphenols) might extend lifespans. Tests on fruit flies found that polyphenols also help them to preserve their ability to walk, climb and move about. Another study found that adult females who regularly ate apples had a 13 per cent to 22 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease.

Sweet potatoes: They are rich in dietary fibre, beta carotene, complex carbohydrates, vitamin C, vitamin B6, as well as carotene (the pink, yellow ones). The Center for Science in the Public Interest, USA, compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. The sweet potato ranked number one, when vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, protein and complex carbohydrates were considered.

Eggs: Egg yolks are home to tons of essential but hard-to-get nutrients, including choline, which is linked to lower rates of breast cancer (one yolk supplies 25 per cent of your daily need) and antioxidants that may help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts. Though many of us have shunned whole eggs because of their link to heart disease risk, there’s actually substantial evidence that for most of us, eggs are not harmful but healthy. People with heart disease should limit egg yolks to two a week, but the rest of us can have one whole egg daily; research shows it won’t raise your risk of heart attack or stroke. Make omelets with one whole egg and two whites, and watch cholesterol at other meals.

Jonathan, Buhari meet again, sign peace accord

Update:

The two leading candidates have signed another peace accord.

They signed the document under the supervision of Abdusalami shortly after emerging from a closed door meeting.

—————————————-

President Goodluck Jonathan is currently meeting behind closed doors with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The meeting brokered by the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections, led by Gen. Abdusalami Abdusalami (retd.), is meant to extract commitment from the leading candidates that the forthcoming elections will be violence-free.

The two candidates may sign another peace accord at the end of the meeting.

They were accompanied to the meeting by the national chairmen of their parties

Chibok girls are in Gwoza, freed captive says

More than 200 girls who were abducted by Boko Haram from government secondary school, Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 are in Gwoza, The Cable, an online medium, on Wednesday quoted Mbutu Papka, a woman who was recently freed after eight months in the sect’s captivity, to have said.

Papka, who made the revelation to the international centre for investigative reporting, said she was transferred from a poor condition in Mdita to a fairly tolerable facility in Gwoza where the abducted girls were being held.

She said, “In the camp at Gwoza, there were clear demarcations between where people were kept. The Chibok girls, other captives and Boko Haram members and their family members all had their separate areas secured, though the security in the area where the girls are kept is visibly different and much tighter.

“When we got to Gwoza, things changed because there were facilities there and the place was 10 times better than Mdita.

“We had a normal life in Gwoza, except the trauma of living in captivity. Whatever we wanted to eat, they were provided. They would bring water, firewood, etc., and leave them outside. They even provided perfume for anyone who requested for it.”

The 56-year-old woman added that no one was allowed anywhere near the specific location of the abducted girls, which was being guarded round the clock.

Papka was reportedly seized alongside many others when Boko Haram attacked Gwoza on July 4, 2014 and taken to Mdita, a remote village near the notorious Sambisa Forest, bordering Askira Uba and Damboa. She and many others, including children were kept in Mdita for five months before they were taken to Gwoza, where she was held for another three months before being released on March 15.

The woman said the facilities provided for them in Mdita were so poor that some captives died of ill health.

“There was a Redeemed Christian Church of God pastor who was killed during the attack on our village, and his wife was abducted with us. She died at Mdita due to the condition of the place and the death of her husband,” she said.

The pastor’s wife was said to have had diabetes and had been on a special diet, which could not be provided by the insurgents.

Though she said she could not speak for the abducted girls, Papka said she and the other women abducted were neither raped nor assaulted, saying the insurgents lived with their wives and children in the Gwoza camp.

When she was to be released by the sect on March 15, Papka was given a sick two-year-old boy who had been crying uncontrollably. She was driven home on a motorcycle and asked to pay N8, 000, which her family did.

PUNCH

Adorable photos of Naeto C's son looks just like him

Naeto C's son, Marobi, turned a year older today and his proud dad shared new photos of him. He's so cute

Syria rebels seize ancient town of Bosra al-Sham

Syrian rebels on Wednesday seized full control of the southern town of Bosra al-Sham, pushing pro-regime forces out after four days of heavy fighting, a monitor said.

“Rebels and Islamist fighters pushed out National Defence Forces and Popular Defence Committee militias who were defending Shiite districts of the town,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Around 50 percent of the town’s residents belong to Syria’s Shiite minority, according to the Observatory.

Bosra, which was once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1980, and placed on the agency’s World Heritage in Danger list in 2013.

Abdel Rahman said there had been fighting near the town’s archeological zone, but it was unclear whether ruins had been damaged.

Bosra is in Syria’s southern Daraa province, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

The mixed Sunni-Shiite town lies on the main road between Daraa’s provincial capital and the city of Sweida, both of which are under regime control.

More than 215,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began, and more than half of the country’s population has been displaced.

Buhari urges supporters to shun violence during election

Presidential candidate of the APC,  Muhammadu Buhari, has called on his party’s supporters to shun violence during and after the elections.

Buhari made the call on Tuesday in Bauchi at the North East Zonal Presidential Campaign Rally.

“I call on all the APC supporters in the zone to make sure that they remain peaceful on election day and refuse any intimidation to cause violence.

“You should make sure you have your permanent voter cards and vote for those you want to be your leaders,” he added.

The presidential candidate said he made the call because some people did not want the election to hold and were looking for any reason to stop it.

Also speaking at the rally, Gov Kashim Shettima of Borno urged the supporters to remain united and peaceful and vote massively for APC candidates in all the states within the zone.

Other speakers that included Gov Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe and governorship candidates from all the states within the zone.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the rally  attracted many party stalwarts from the zone including former Vice President  Atiku Abubakar.

He  promised that he would work towards the success of the party in all elections.

(UPDATE): Buhari’s eligibility suit suffers setback, adjourned to April 22

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned all the suits challenging the eligibility of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari,‎ to contest in the poll slated for Saturday, till April 22 and 23.

It implies that no judicial pronouncement can be made in the suits before the conduct of the poll on Saturday.

Justice‎ Adeniyi Ademola after fixing the new dates for the suits, explained that his decision was informed by the court’s impending Easter holiday and judges’ conference that would follow.

The judge fixed the new dates without entertaining suggestions from lawyers to the parties.

The plaintiffs in all the three suits want the court to declare Buahari ineligible to contest in the election on the basis of his alleged failure to submit his certificate of academic qualifications along with his Form CF001 to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The plaintiffs claim that Buhari’s failure to submit his certificate of academic qualifications contravened provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.

With three of the suits earlier struck on Tuesday, there are now three pending suits challenging Buhari’s eligibility to contest in the Saturday’s poll now pending before the court.

The judge fixed the new dates for the cases after he dismissed separate applications by two persons seeking to be joined as defendants in one of the suits.

The court in his ruling described the intending parties as “busy bodies an‎d meddlesome interlopers”.

‎The parties seeking to be joined and whose applications were dismissed on Wednesday were Chukwuma Ochu and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa.

The particular suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/01/15, in which the court ruled on Wednesday was filed by Chukwunweike Okafor.

But Justice Ademola added that the ruling on both the intending parties’ applications to join the suit and adjournment woul‎d bind other pending suits challenging Buhari’s eligibility that are still pending in his court.

Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission are the defendants in the suit and the other pending ones.

‎Okafor was represented by his lead counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), while Chief Akin Olujnmi (SAN) represented Buhari, Mr. Sikiru Adewoye represented the APC and Mr. Hassan Liman represented the INEC.

The court had on Tuesday struck out three of such suits, one of which was  filed separately by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15); and the two others filed by Friday Ojelaro (FHC/ABJ/CS/20/15 and FHC/ABJ/CS/3/2015).

The three suits were struck out because they were mere replica of one another and the remaining pending suits.

The pending suits which have now been adjourned till April 22 includes  the ones filed by Okafor. The others were filed by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15) and Max Ozoaka (FHC/ABJ/CS/14/15).

Justice Ademola ruled on Wednesday  that he would hear the main suits together with the preliminary applications filed by the defendants on the next adjourned date.

Source: PUNCH

Photos From Damasak Where Boko Haram Unleashed Terror

Attached are pictures from Damasak where boko haram recently kidnapped over 400 villagers.

Rivers state PDP, APC & LP governorship candidates laugh & hold hands

Rivers state governorship candidates of PDP - Nyesom Wike, APC - Dakuku Peterside and Labor Party's Tonye Princewill photographed holding hands, talking and
laughing during the state's election debate on Monday

Love in the air photo of 22yr old Dominican marries a 72 year old American woman

He puts his lips on hers, closes his eyes and says to himself, you can do this, you can do this. Just a few more months...:-). Lol. Ole. Wishing her long life!

See what a billion naira worth wristwatch look like

This watch you are looking at cost a staggering $18million.Yes, you read it right. When you convert that to Naira, that's
about N3.6billion That's the billionaire tourbillon watch from Jacob and Co.

Nigeria Shuts All Borders Ahead Of Presidential Election

The Ministry of Interior Affairs has announced the closure of all land and sea borders ahead of Saturday’s presidential elections.

According to a statement released and signed by the Ministry’s permanent secretary, Abubakar Magaji, the closure takes effective from midnight today Wednesday March 25,to midnight Saturday, March 28.
The statement says the closure is “to allow for the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming national election”.

A directive has been given to the Immigration service to ensure that non Nigerians do not participate in the elections

Cech ready to leave Chelsea

Petr Cech says he will leave Chelsea at the end of the season rather than spend another year as Thibaut Courtois’ understudy, Sky Sports reports.

The 32-year-old Czech Republic international has started only four Premier League games this season after losing his place to the young Belgian and has been used primarily in domestic cup comptitions.

Cech, who moved to Stamford Bridge in 2004 and has won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the Champions League and three League Cups, has accepted Jose Mourinho’s decision to go with Courtois, but says the situation cannot go on indefinitely.

“I don’t know what the club’s idea will be. It looks like it works well with me and Thibaut as a duo,” he told the Idnes newspaper.

“But that can work for one season only. I don’t want another one like this.”

But Cech, who is currently with his national side ahead of a European qualifier against Latvia on Saturday, says he will put thoughts about his future to one side until the end of the season.

Simeone renews contract

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has agreed to extend his contract with the Spanish champions by three years to 2020.

The deal, announced on the Twitter feed of the champions, was widely expected although there was plenty of speculation a European rival could try to lure Simeone away from the club.

The former Argentina captain has transformed Atletico since taking over at the end of 2011, leading them to their first domestic league title in 18 years last term and putting them back among Europe’s elite.

Atletico won the Europa League at the end of Simeone’s debut season in charge and reached the final of the Champions League in 2013-14 where they lost 4-1 to Real Madrid after extra time.

They thrashed Chelsea 4-1 to claim the 2012 European Super Cup, won the King’s Cup a year later by beating Real in the final and defeated their neighbours over two legs to secure the Spanish Super Cup in August.