RCCG Pastor Commits Suicide After Pregnant Choir Member Refused to Abort Pregnancy

A pastor allegedly committed suicide in Warri,Delta State following the refusal of his choir member lover to abort her pregnancy.
The circumstances surrounding his death wasn’t known at that time.

But today, we uncover  the mystery surrounding his death.

The Pastor was a  RCCG Pastor in a parish in Enerhen, Warri, Delta State Nigeria
Pastor Celestine Obaleme killed himself in order to escape shame inflicted on him by his illicit affair with one of his church’s choir member.

Pastor Celestine Obaleme who is in charge of a Redeemed Christian Church Of God Parish in Enerhen, Warri Delta State reportedly impregnated a choir member identified as Rose.

We learnt he later pleaded with Rose to terminate the pregnancy which she refused blatantly.

Rose claimed she doesn’t want to lose her life to the proposed abortion.

He went to extent of giving rose 2 Million Naira, which she refused , even after explaining to her that her refusal to abort the pregnancy may lead to the fall of the parish.

After all efforts to force Rose to terminate the pregnancy failed, he was reported to have drove himself to Udu Bridge, a popular bridge in Warri.

He then poured petrol on himself, lit himself and was burnt to death.

Late Pastor Celestine was a married man with an 8-weeks old baby.

May the Lord have mercy on his soul!

Unbelievable; Bankers Committee endorses N5000 note

The bankers committee on Tuesday endorsed the plan by the central bank to introduce N5000 note and the coining of lower denominations.

Addressing journalists after the committees meeting in Abuja, the Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa, Philip Oduoza said that the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will not in any way affect the nation’s economy as currently speculated.

“If it will take you 100 pieces to fit into an ATM for a N100, it will take far lesser than that if you are feeding the N5000 notes into the machine. If you are moving cash as banks normally do between various locations, you’ll find out that you’ll do less number of runs,” Mr Oduoza said.

The bank boss said that all the cost saved from handling more cash will be passed on to the end users, who are the customers of the banks.

Mr Oduoza assured Nigerians that lending rate will drop as charges for the printing of higher denominations reduces.

“One of the things that leads to high interest rate is the cost of operations, so as that goes down, you’ll find out that the benefit will also goes to the customers of the bank,” he said.

On her part, the Managing Director of the Standard Chartered Bank, Bola Adesola said that the N5, 000 note will not be imposed on any customer who wants to be paid in lower denominations.

“It is important for the banking public to also know that the Central Bank or any bank is not going to impose the N5000 note on its customers. It will be based on demand,” she said.

She said the customers will have the choice as to what denomination they would like to receive their cash.

Helen Anyamelune, Former Miss Nigeria Dead At Age 75

Anyamelune who reigned as Miss Nigeria in 1958, died in her village, Ugbodu in Aniocha Local Government area  of Delta State after a protracted illness.

Her first son Obiora Nwoka confirmed the death of the beauty queen, saying that she died on 28 July, 2012.

Nwoka told P.M.NEWS that the former beauty queen will be buried in October 2012, but before the burial, a service of song will be held for her in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.  “But the family is yet to decide the exact burial date,” he added.

Helen Anyamelune from the then Mid Western region was the second Miss Nigeria to be crowned after Grace Oyelude from the Western Region.

The deceased is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Air Nigeria Passengers Abandoned In UK-PM News, Lagos

Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim's airline, Air Nigeria, has allegedly abandoned many Nigerian passengers in the United Kingdom, those abandoned told P.M.NEWS Tuesday.
The abandoned passengers, now struggling to raise air fares in the UK to return home, had purchased return tickets beyond 10 September, before Jimoh Ibrahim summarily sacked about 800 workers and grounded his airline Monday.
Among those abandoned is Mr. Funsho Arogundade, a correspondent with TheNews magazine and P.MNEWS who travelled on 25 August and was booked to return to Nigeria on 16 September but the airline stopped operating flights yesterday, 10 September.
He spent N165,000 for a round trip via Air Nigeria but the airline officials have vanished from the airport and have also stopped picking calls.
Arogundade said close to a thousand people might be affected by the sudden decision of Air Nigeria to stop flying.
He said many passengers had booked return flight tickets directly from Air Nigeria and were scheduled to return in weeks or months but had not heard from Air Nigeria since it announced that it would stop flying.
Arogundade said that many Nigerians who approached the Nigerian High Commission in London were told that there was no help for them there as officials were not aware of the details.
He said: I was booked to return to Lagos on 16 September but when I heard that Air Nigeria will stop flying from 10 September, I rushed to Gatwick Airport which is far away from Essex where I am now stranded.
On getting to the airport, I could not easily locate the Air Nigeria desk since they have no office at the airport. When I and other passengers eventually located the Air Nigeria stand, the only person there said he had no information for us and gave us two numbers (02074404800 and 02076286578) to call.
“We called the two numbers all through that day, and it was busy. The following day, one of the numbers went through and it turned out to be one of Air Nigeria's agents in London.
“After explaining my situation to the agent who sounded like an Indian, he told me that the airline had gone bankrupt and there was nothing they could do.
“He gave me another number (02074488400). Ever since, I had been calling the number but there is no response from the other end.
“I didn't return to Gatwick until Friday 7 September. While there, there was no Air Nigeria official around and snooping around, I heard that another plane will come the following day (Saturday) and seeing the huge crowd of other Air Nigeria passengers that were waiting to be airlifted on that day alone with no concrete assurance that a plane will come, I opted to source for alternative from my friends around.
 Already, the trip from the part of London where I stay to Gatwick through train and bus which cost me about £40 each for two different days that I went to the airport.
 Thus, I have resigned to fate and look for alternative. Already, I had to buy another Arik Air one-way ticket to Lagos for £410.†Arogundade said that those who have no money to buy tickets have been abandoned with no option to come back home and no information from Air Nigeria.

'I Was Loyal To Square Records To A Fault'--May D Openly Tells

Since his surprised sack from Square Records, Akinmayokun Awodimula popularly known as May D has remain silent on the matter. Different views have been made known by fans of both parties with each taking sides of their favourite.

Just over the weekend, news went round that May D was set to drag his former music label to court over breach of agreement. In some quarters, it was said that there was no formal contract signed by both parties while others claimed Jude Okoye, who heads Squares Records, couldn't have taken risk; signing an artiste without the necessary paperworks.

Few moments ago, a fan asked May D on twitter why he has been silent on the whole issue. He was asked, "MayD, you have been quiet all this while, what's going on? Talk to me." The 'Ile ijo' singer then answered, "they say silence is golden! And I've always been guided by the word that says: 'be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger."

When he was later asked "MayD, how would you describe your relationship with Square Records before now" by the same person, May D replied, "very cordial. Infact, I would say I was loyal to a fault."

Many have still wondered what went wrong May D and Square Records. He was the first artiste signed by the label after much criticism from fans that P-Square were being 'selfish' by not involving outsiders in the prosperous music business.

NDLEA intercepts N294 million worth of heroin in carpets

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have aborted an attempt by suspected drug syndicate to smuggle 24.5kg of heroin concealed inside carpets into Nigeria.

The consignment described in the airway bill as Pakistani hand-knotted new woollen carpets originated from Lahore, Pakistan. It left Karachi airport in an Emirate flight as unaccompanied cargo and taken to Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Shed, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

The estimated value of the drug is N294 million. It is the first discovery of drug inside carpets in the country.

The NDLEA airport Commander, Hamza Umar said the consignment was examined by the Agency when it was abandoned by the importers.

“The suspicious cargo was monitored by undercover operatives for a week after it arrived. We decided to conduct the search when nobody came to claim it. In all, there were twelve pieces of carpets but only six contained heroin. The heroin was prepared into tiny bits inside plastic hollow treads and weaved in a way that makes it difficult to detect unless it is unfastened” Mr Hamza said.

He added that the information on the airway bill was found to be incorrect by investigators.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade who described the seizure as breath-taking promised to unveil the importers.

“The drug syndicate did their best concealing the drug but it was not good enough to go undetected. If drug barons will not lack concealment methods, we also will not be tired in detecting narcotics. This seizure is unique because it is the least place anyone will go to in search for narcotics. We shall continue with investigation until those behind the illegal shipment are brought to book” Mr Giade said.

SERAP asks FG to repatriate Alamieyeseigha’s loot from the US

A Non-Governmental Organization, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke, urging him to “urgently seek from the US government repatriation of forfeiture order on USD 401,931 in assets belonging to Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, the former Governor of Baylelsa State in Nigeria, who has been convicted in Nigeria of money laundering and unjust enrichment while in political office.”

In the letter dated 11 September 2012, and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni the group said that, “On June 28 2012, the US Department of Justice obtained the first forfeiture judgment ever issued under the new Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative against Mr Alamieyeseigha. The initiative is designed to “target and recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption that have been laundered into or through the United States.”

The group also said that, “the Nigerian government has not yet made a request for the repatriation of the stolen wealth. The failure to repatriate the recovered assets illustrates the government’s attitude to recovery of stolen assets.

“Yet, being a state party to the UN Convention against Corruption Nigeria has a legal obligation to make a request for mutual legal assistance to the US for the return of the assets. The Convention describes asset recovery as its “fundamental principle” and requires state parties to “afford one another the widest measure of cooperation and assistance in this regard,” the group added.

“SERAP’s US Volunteer Counsel, Professor Alexander W. Sierck, is in high level discussion with US officials on the matter but without the Nigerian government taking the initiative the process will not go far,” the group also stated.

According to the group, “Repatriating the stolen assets would contribute to the fight against impunity of perpetrators as would-be corrupt suspects will know that they will never be allowed to keep and enjoy their ill-gotten wealth. The repatriation of the assets and other stolen wealth will also enhance the ability of the government to provide basic necessities of life such as healthcare, water, and electricity to millions of Nigerians who continue to face extreme poverty and misery.”

The group also urged the government to “use the repatriated assets to set up a trust fund for the benefit of the millions of vulnerable and disadvantaged Nigerians who are the victims of high level corruption. Any allocation and spending from such fund must be subject to anti-corruption safeguards so that recovered assets can be spent on public health or education projects, or to provide other basic necessities of life to millions of Nigerians living in poverty.”

“Setting up a trust fund for victims of corruption is entirely consistent with Nigeria’s international human rights obligations and commitments. In fact, Article 79 of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court provides for the establishment of separate trust funds into which criminal penalties and asset forfeiture proceeds are paid. These trust funds should benefit the victims of the crimes committed by the accused. They should serve as a model for the Nigerian government in the efforts to achieve a transparent and accountable spending of recovered stolen assets,” the group also argued.

The group asked Mr Adoke to “use your position to prevail on the President Goodluck Jonathan government to develop a national strategy on asset recovery and spending that will aim to ensure that all stolen assets are promptly recovered and spent for the benefit of Nigerians. This should be done with the full participation and involvement of the anti-corruptions commissions and agencies and civil society organizations.”

Nike Oshinowo Denies Romance With Prince Sijuade

I am not a big fan of former beauty queen Nike Oshinowo,and am not going to make any pretence about it.What stares back at me anytime I see her at any social function is a home wrecker whom women should hide their husbands away from,especially if they are very rich and old.
I am not saying this with any iota of envy or jealousy because she snubbed me when we shared a lift inside Eko hotel 12 years ago.
Nike has apparently dumped her husband of four years,Doctor Sholeye after four years of marriage.And has upgraded to a younger version in the son of Ooni of Ife,Prince Tokunbo Sijuade.Who its been alleged she was snogging the face off at Senator Daisy Danjuma's 60th birthday.
The ageing beauty queen has since come out to deny this rumour,I don't know who to believe but there's no smoke without fire.
Finally,a word of advice to Doctor Sholeye,go back to your first wife.
And to Nike Oshinowo,please go away your time has passed,jog on.

Another female student shot dead: RIP Chioma Obikel

23 year old Chioma Obikel Nwosu was a 400l medical student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra State. She was shot by unknown gunmen who stopped the car she was traveling in on Friday August 31st. Chioma was trying to escape when she was shot. She later died in the hospital.

Chioma will be buried this Thursday September 13th in her hometown. May her soul rest in peace...amen!

Beyonce To Kim Kardashian: “Stop Trying To Steal The Limelight From My Husband”

Just as Beyonce and Kim Kardashian were finally getting close, (okay so they weren’t out shopping and getting mani/pedis’s), but Beyonce did let Kim into her circle. And now that friendship may be a thing of the past.
Last weekend while attending the “Made in America” concert in Philly, limelight loving Kimmy tried to weasel her way into a documentary Ron Howard was shooting about Jay-Z, and thought “hmmm this could be a way to “audition” for that walk on role that could one day make my dream come true of getting my own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
Beyonce pulled the brakes on those dreams and brought her back to reality when she pulled her aside and told her to quit it.
According to radaronline:
She kept saying she was a huge fan of Ron Howard and would do anything to be cast in one of his films, so Kim was using this as an opportunity to impress the movie maverick.
“However, Beyonce wasn’t amused that Kim was using her husband’s documentary to audition for Ron.
“So, she took Kim to one side and told her that the day wasn’t about her, it was about Jay-Z, his work in organizing the event and there were other celebrities and musicians there that needed coverage too.
Jay-Z told Bey to play nice.
“Step forward Jay-Z, as gracious as he is, to act as peacemaker. He said to Beyonce that she needs to play nice with Kim because he is pals with Kanye.
Then Kimmy cried to her mommy about it.
“But the damage was done. Later that night, Kim phoned her mom Kris to complain about the harsh treatment she thought she got at the festival.
Kim, just be glad that Beyonce is letting you play in the sandbox! We get it, you’re used to getting what you want, but please stay in your lane and have a seat!

Police apprehend pipeline vandals in Kogi state

The Nigeria Police Force in its continued determination to ensure the protection of oil installations, especially NNPC pipelines across the country, on 8th and 9th September, 2012, at Agayin, Ajaokuta LGA of Kogi State, smashed a syndicate of NNPC pipeline vandals. A statement from the force deputy public relations officer, Frank Mba said.

This feat was recorded by the newly constituted IGP’s Special Taskforce on Anti Pipeline Vandalization headed by ACP F.T Ibadin, who working on information received on 7th September, 2012 from a good-spirited Nigerian, stormed Adogo village with officers and men of the Taskforce on 8th September, 2012 and dislodged the vandals.

The vandals, over-powered by the Police, took to their heels, abandoning Seventeen (17) trucks, majority of them already loaded with stolen petroleum products.  A Honda car, a Volkswagen Golf car, some offensive weapons and other equipment used by the suspects to siphon petroleum products from vandalized NNPC pipelines were also recovered. The Special Taskforce also arrested one Stephen Amana of Adogo village who confirmed to own one of the trucks.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, commended members of the Taskforce for their timely response which led to the recovery of the items and the arrest of the suspect.  He further stated that the Force will leave no stone unturned in forestalling further vandalisation of pipelines by hoodlums.

The IGP expressed his gratitude to the Governor and people of Kogi State for their cooperation and support before, during and after the operations. He stated that their information to the Police assisted in no small measure in the success of the Special Taskforce.

The IGP, while assuring Nigerians of the Police readiness to fulfill its constitutional mandate, appealed for a more cordial relationship between the Police and the public.

Robbers attack Bureau de Change, cart away N50m in Lagos

Armed robbers on Sunday attacked the operators of Lagos bureau de change and made away with N50M.

It was reported that the robbers shot dead three policemen and a commercial bus driver after they had successfully robbed the bureau de change at Oke Koto.

Alhaji Muktaru Muhammadu said the robbers went away with N25 million in local currency and 153,000 Pound Sterling,adding that they stormed his office at about 10.30am.

According to him, “I saw the robbers in two SUVs. They shot into the air several times. They grabbed me, pulled me inside, and demanded for money. They had sophisticated weapons on them. They pointed their guns at me. Two of them also with guns ransacked my shop. They saw two ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags where we keep the monies and carted them into their waiting SUVs”.

They moved to the next shop where they shot Muktaru Jubrila and Abdullahi Gaddo in the legs’’ he said.

Lagos police command confirmed the attack, saying the deceased policeman was going on his own when he was shot by the fleeing gunmen. The command also said the robbers had earlier operated at Gbagada area and that effort was on to apprehend them.

Woman cuts off husband’s Penis over infidelity in Benue state

Otukpo, one of the busiest towns in Benue state, and the home town of the Senate President, David Mark was the centre of attention yesterday when a woman allegedly chopped off her husband’s manhood, while protesting against his (the man’s) infidelity.

Mr. Ajene, who resides at Ojira in the ancient town of Idoma land, was on Monday morning accused by his wife, Rosaline for not keeping to their marital vows which they took two months ago.

According to eyewitness account, trouble started when the 24 year old wife confronted her husband for having an affair with a young lady (name withheld) somewhere in Sabon Geri of the same town. The husband who was enraged at the manner with which he was confronted gave the wife the most horrible beating of her life as the entire residents of the area came out to separate the fight.

“After the fight had ended, we all thought trouble was over and that the couple would settle at last, only for us to wake up this morning to have discovered that Mr. Ajene was rushed to the hospital first thing this morning with a deep cut on his manhood. We were told by the nanny that the wife who went to bed with the husband last night after the fight had bitten off the husband’s manhood in the night and had since escaped to an unknown location” the witness said.

Tonto Dikeh, Funke Akindele Others Make BON Award Nominees' List

The organisers of the prestigious Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards have released nominees' list for this year's edition. The awards ceremony, according to the executive producer of the awards, Seun Oloketuyi, is billed to hold at a date in the last quarter of 2012.
Nonso Diobi and Mercy Aigbe will host the event and the race to win the coveted awards has begun. Below are the nominees.


Best Actor (English) In A Leading Role
Wale  Ojo  (Phone Swap)
Van Vicker (The Search)
Joseph Benjamin (Married But Living Single)
Nwachuckwu Uti (In The Cupboard)
Best Actress (English) In A Leading Role
Funke Akindele (Married But Living Single)
Nse  Etim (Phone Swap)
Tonto Dikeh (My Life My Damage)
Ini Edo (I'll Take My Chance)
Shaffy Bello Akinrimisi (The Score)
Best Actor (Yoruba) In A Leading Role
Femi Adebayo (Aiyekooto)
Odunlade Adekola (Irano Meji)
Femi Adebayo (Sonto Alapata)
Muyiwa Ademola (Eyinju Eledumare)
Best Actress (Yoruba) In A Leading Role
Bisi Komolafe (Aiyekooto)
Fathia Balogun (Sunmisola Otelemuye)
Liz Anjorin (Kofo Tinubu)
Ayo Adesanya (Amope Alasela)
Bimbo Akintola (Eyinju Eledumare)

Best Actor (Hausa) In A Leading Role
Ali Nuhu (Madubin Dubawa)
Adam A Zango (Adamsy)
Adam A Zango (Ahlul Kital)
Best Actress (Yoruba) In A Supporting Role
Iyabo Ojo (Ijo Olomo)
Kehinde Bankole (Ojukoju)
Ireti Osayemi Adeoye (Jejere)
Eniola Badmus (Ijewuru)
Best Actor (English) In Supporting Role
Yemi Blaq (The Search)
Hafeez Oyetoro (Phone Swap)
Jide Kosoko (Last Flight To Abuja)
Alex Ekubo (In The Cupboard)
Best Actress (English) In A Supporting Role
Nse Etim (The Search)
Tonto Dikeh (Broken Silence)
Nadia Buari (Holding Hope)
Mary Uranta (Misress)
Best Actress ((Hausa) In A Supporting Role
Rahama Hassan (Madubin Dubawa)
Ladidi Fagge (Adamsy)
Zainab Abdullahi (Ahlal Kilab)
Most Promising Act (Male)
Bryan Okwara (I'll Take My Chances)
Tony Monjero (Last Flight To Abuja)
Alex Ekubo (In The Cupboard)
Ifeanyi Kalu (Udeme)
Most Promising Act (Female)
Arike Akinyanju (Eyinju Eledumare)
Belinda Effiah (Kokoma)
Iyobosa  Olaye (Adesua)
Moyo Lawal (Holding Hope)
Yewande Adekoya (Omo Elemosho)
Child Actor Of The Year
Wale Akinwunmi (Amope Alasela)
Mac Donald Okorowu (Wanderer)
Child Actress Of The Year
Toyin Adebiyi (Jejere)
Priscilla Ojo (Jejeloye)
Sharon (Last Flight To Abuja)
Deola Faseyi (Married But Living Single)
Gbemisola Obadeyi (Amope Alasela)
Director Of The Year
Desmond Elliot (In The Cupboard)
Bayo Tijani (Aiyekooto)
Kunle Afolayan (Phone Swap)
Obi Emenloye (Last Flight To Abuja)
Tunde Laoye (Married But Living Single)
Movie Of The Year
In The Cupboard
Aiyekooto
Phoneswap
Adesuwa
Married But Living Single
Comedy Movie Of The Year
Ijewuru
Okon Lagos 2
Amope Alasela
Best Movie With A Social Message
My Life My Damage
Kofo Tinubu
Last Flight To Abuja
Jejere
Victims Of Life
Screenplay Of The Year
Aiyekooto
In The Cupboard
The Search
Phone Swap
Amope Alasela
Cinematography Of The Year
Adesuwa
Igba N Bajo
Phone Swap
In The Cupboard
Aiyekooto

Movie With Best Sound
Adesuwa
Igba N Bajo
Sonto Alapata
Phone Swap
Eyinju Eledumare
Best Edited Movie
Phone Swap
I'll Take My Chances
In The Cupboard
Aiyekooto
Igba N Bajo
Best Production Set
Sonto Alapata
Phone Swap
Eyinju Eledumare
Aiyekooto
Adesuwa
Best Actor Hausa
Ali Nuhu (Madubin Dubawa)
Adam A Zango (Adamsy)
Adam A Zango (Ahlul Kitab)
Supporting Actor Hausa
Saddik Sani Saddik (Adamsy)
Al'Amin Buhari (Ahlul Kitab)
Best Actress Hausa
Napisa Abdullahi (Madubin Dabawa)
Fati Ladan (Adamsy)
Napisa Abdullahi (Ahlul Kitab)
Supporting Actress Hausa
Rahama Hassan (Madubi Dubawa)
Ladidi Fagge (Adamsy)
Zainab Abdullahi (Ahlul Kitab)
Best Actor (Yoruba) In A Supporting Role
Ibrahim Chitta (Aiyekooto)
Kayode Akinbayo (Igban)
Ricardo Agbor (Ojukoju)
Gabriel Afolayan (Tangiri)
Onga Best Use Of Nigerian Food In A Nollywood Film
Ijewuru
Udeme
In The Cupboard
Aiyekooto
Eyinju
Best Short Film
Nkin
Silver Lining
Best Use Of Costume
Jejere
Sotonto Alapata
I'll Take My Chance
Igba N Bajo
Adesuwa
Best Kiss In A Nigeria Movie
Uti & Tonto (Broken Silence)
9ice & Laide Bakare (Jejere)
Nse & Bola (Search)
Tonto & Thomas Aitman (My Life My Damage)
Desmond Elliot & Nse Ikpe (Spellbound)
Best Print Media Journalist
Victor Akande
Biodun Kupoluyi
Sam Olatunji
Hazeez Balogun

Evil World; Father sells three children for N1m in Delta State

According to Sunday Express, a middle-aged man, identified as Patrick Obazi, was paraded for allegedly selling his three children to a group of ritualists for a price of one million Naira.
The report says, since the ugly story was made public a couple of weeks ago, the question on the lips of many: is what on earth would make a father sell his own children?

Fuji Musician Bayo Akanni Ojuyobo Is DEAD!

         

Top Fuji musician, Bayo Akanni aka Ojuyobo has passed on. He died yesterday, Sunday September 9, 2012 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja after a protracted illness. But according to the information reaching us, the Fuji musician is said to have died of a heart related disease. Anyways he will be buried today at his residence in Mowe. This was confirmed by his manager, Mr Rafiu.

May His Soul Rest In Peace!

"Telema" Damilola Adegbite leaves Tinsel

After four years of playing Telema Duke in the hit M-Net TV soap, Tinsel, Damilola Adegbite's management today announced her exit from the TV series. They didn't say why she was leaving other than 'it was a professional career decision that had to be made' and they also didn't say if she would be replaced on Tinsel.

Despite leaving Tinsel, Damilola still plans to pursue her acting career...probably join Nollywood full time.

China's missing VP fuels online rumour frenzy

Social media ablaze with rumours as to why Vice-President Xi Jinping has gone unseen for over a week.
Chinese micro-bloggers and overseas websites are agog with all kinds of speculation as to why Xi Jinping, the current vice-president and president-in-waiting, has gone unseen for more than a week.

During that span, Xi cancelled meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. On Monday, it was the Danish prime minister's turn.

A scheduled photo session with visiting Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, which the media were asked to cover, was taken off the programme.

Thorning-Schmidt is also due to meet with Vice-Premier Wang Qishan on Monday and Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday.
The foreign ministry claimed the Xi-Thorning-Schmidt meeting was never intended to take place.

"As I said last week, China's state councillors will meet the Danish prime minister," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. When asked about the rumours of an injury, Hong said "we have told everybody everything," and refused to elaborate.

Rumours about Xi were churned further by Russian President Vladimir Putin's cryptic remark over the weekend that the start of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum leaders' meeting in Vladivostok had been delayed because Hu needed to attend to an important but unspecified domestic issue.

Xi's whereabouts during this sudden absence from the spotlight may never be known. One thing, however, is certain: China may now be a linchpin of the global economy and a force in international diplomacy, but the lives of its leaders remain an utter mystery to its 1.3 billion people, its politics an unfathomable black hole.

"There is a longstanding practice of not reporting on illnesses or troubles within the elites," said Scott Kennedy, director of Indiana University's Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business in Beijing. "The sense is that giving out such information would only fuel further speculation."

Wang Xiangwei, editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post and a longtime state media insider, wrote on Monday in his newspaper that Chinese leaders' meetings are planned well in advance and cancelations are extremely rare.

"Baring Xi himself offering a very unlikely explanation today about his cancelled meetings last week, the outside world may never know the exact reason, and the rumours are unlikely to fade away," Wang wrote.

Though absent in person, Xi did pop up Monday on the front page of the party academy's official newspaper Study Times alongside a transcript of the speech he delivered nine days earlier.

In the text, he enjoins newly enrolled cadres to use their time on the leafy campus in the northern Beijing suburbs to think critically about major national issues and not spend it "expanding personal contacts and inviting guests to dinner."

Many intrigues

This year, China has seen an unusual amount of political intrigue, with the spectacular downfall of Politburo member Bo exposing divisions within the leadership and prompting rumours of nefarious activity ranging from the wiretapping of top leaders to an attempted coup.

The sudden transfer of a key secretary to President Hu Jintao earlier this month also spawned conjecture about a Ferrari crash involving the aide's son and an ensuing attempted cover-up.

The tension and uncertainty are heightened by the timing ahead of a generational shift to a new leadership that is to be headed by Xi. Still, in keeping with the China government's proclivity for secrecy, the logistics of the transition remain unknown.

Xi is expected to first assume Hu's mantle as Communist leader at a party congress held once every five years. Yet the dates for the meeting, expected in the second half of October, have yet to be announced, prompting talks that at least some of the seats on the nine-member Standing Committee remain up for grabs.

Most online speculation about the portly 59-year-old Xi has centred on a back problem, possibly incurred when he took a dip last week in the swimming pool inside the Zhongnanhai leadership compound. Another rumour has the back being hurt in a soccer game. It was not clear what the sources of the information were.

UPDATE: NNPC Unable to Account for 65,000 Barrels of Crude Daily

State run oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday was unable to account for 65,000 barrels of crude oil out of an official allocation of 445,000 barrels per day.

At a public hearing held by the Senate Committe investigating the management of fuel subsidy funds by the federal government, NNPC officials revealed that a whopping 20% of the cost of imported fuel represented the component associated with importation, the Vanguard reported.

With Nigeria’s crude selling at $97.89, that translates to a daily $6,362,850 (N939 million daily) that is unaccounted for.

Managing director of the NNPC group, Mr. Austin Oniwon led senior oficials of the corporation before the Senate committee hearing which was chaired by Senator Magnus Abe, head of the Senate Committee on Petroleum, Downstream.

The corporation attempted to give a breakdown of how the 445,000 barrels of oil allocated to it for use by local refineries is utilized. Mr. Oniwon, in so doing, disclosed that the NNPC sells 65,000 barrels of the allocation to a foreign oil company, another 65,000 barrels is sent to an Ivory Coast refinery Societe Ivoirienne De Refinnage.

The mother of all shockers, however, is the fact that the NNPC could not account for 65,000 barrels sold daily, to the tune of N939 million.

It was also revealed that off the oil barrels allocated to the NNPC on a daily basis, only 170,000 barrels were refined locally.

He said, “Warri refines 80,000 barrels; Port Harcourt, 90,000 barrels, while Kaduna refinery is shut down due to the problems with the pipelines.”

The Vanguard further reported that the NNPC swapped 60,000 barrels daily for refined products with United Kingdom based company Trafigura, while another 90,000 barrels per day was swapped for product with Duke oil, a subsidiary of the NNPC.

On the retail price of crude, he told the committee that the corporation before 2003 was buying crude oil locally at a reduced price, paying between $9.50 and $22 per barrel between 1999 and 2003, but a change of policy has led the NNPC to buy crude at the international oil market price.

Mr. Oniwon also revealed to the committee that subsidy has been abused at all levels saying, “Whether at the crude level or at the product level, subsidy was subject to abuse, phasing it out completely was the way forward.”

Senate members expressed concerns that the products covered by subsidies were left in the hands of the beneficiaries. They said as much to Mr. Reginald Elijah, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), however, he said it was not within the purview of the agency to provide security at the tank farms where imported products were stored even after paying subsidies.

According to the Vanguard, Mr. Elijah, while listing the components of the subsidy, noted that there were various charges, as well as the actual price of crude in the international market.

He said the price of crude accounted for 80 percent of what becomes the pump price of PMS, adding that the other 20 percent presented charges from storage, finance, administration, freight and distribution elements.

Contrary to wide spread belief that refining petroleum product in the country will bring about cheaper products, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Reginal Elijah has revealed that locally refined petrol in Nigeria will only save N11.87k per liter.

He said the discount will come off the N140.78K landing price of imported products. Mr. Reginald Stanley told Senators today, at the oil subsidy hearing that because the NNPC buys crude oil at the internation flat rate, the difference in cost of subsidy between locally produced and imported products is marginal.

Senator Abe, chairman of the committee concluded that the subsidy on diesel and kerosene amounted to a sham by oil companies.

He said, “I do not understand what talk about deregulation because what we have in this country is for oil companies to come together and connive to import AGO and sell to the public. Clearly what is happening in the market is not deregulation it is price fixing.”

Flood Alert: NEMA orders immediate evacuation of communities along River Niger

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Monday ordered an immediate evacuation of citizens living along the River Niger plains.

In a press statement issued by the agency’s head of relations, Yushau Shuaib, NEMA said the order “comes because the dams have attained their highest water levels in 29 years which is unprecedented in the history of Jebba and Kainji hydroelectric power dams.”

Mr Shuaib said the threat has created a high risk of imminent flooding in the downstream of the river.

NEMA asked the residents of the communities along the river plain to move to higher grounds for safety.

The states at risk of the flood are Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Anambra and Delta.

The statement reads: “Already the agency has notified the affected states to take the necessary precautionary measures by relocating people from the flood prone areas and activated the National Contingency Plan as well as alerted all stakeholders to take necessary actions in line with their various mandates.

“The states are to ensure compliance with the threat in order to avert imminent loss of lives and properties that would certainly arise in the event of flooding.

“Furthermore, information available indicates that the gauge for monitoring the flow of water in the river has already exceeded the maximum height by over one meter.

“A rapid assessment team comprising officers of NEMA and the stakeholders has left for Jebba and Kainji to further inspect the situation.”

'Shocked' Williams wins U.S. Open final thriller

Serena Williams battled back from the
brink of defeat to claim her 15th grand
slam title and win the U.S. Open for the
fourth time with a 6-2 2-6 7-5 victory
over world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on
Sunday.
The American added to her 2012
Wimbledon and Olympic crowns after
being pushed to the limit by the
Australian Open champion, who forced
the 30-year-old to drop her first set of
the tournament.
"I honestly can't believe I won. I was
preparing my runner-up speech
because she was playing so well,"
Williams said courtside after the match,
which lasted two hours 18 minutes.
"I'm so shocked. It's remarkable."
It was the first time in 17 years that the
women's final went the distance in New
York, and it ended Azarenka's run of 12
successive victories in matches lasting
three sets.
"Serena deserves to win. She showed
how true a champion she is," Azarenka
said. "I definitely gave it all today.
Stepping off this court I will have no
regrets."
Williams won the hard-court tournament
for the first time as a 17-year-old in
1999, but has not enjoyed much
success since her third win in 2008.
She lost in an ill-tempered final last year
and was also fined in 2009 after being
involved in another incident during her
semifinal defeat.
The former world No. 1 won the opening
set in just 34 minutes as she
threatened to steamroller Azarenka as
she has all opponents since bouncing
back from her first-round defeat at the
French Open.
However, unlike in their Wimbledon
semifinal clash in July, her 23-year-old
opponent picked herself up and
dominated the second set with some
power play of her own.
Azarenka broke to lead 2-1 in the
deciding set but was immediately
pegged back by the fourth seed.
A break to love in the seventh game put
her in the position of serving for the title
at 5-4, but Williams rallied to win the
next three games and leave Azarenka in
tears after missing a golden chance to
win her second grand slam title.
Williams took her record in grand slam
finals to 15-4, becoming the first 30-
something to win a major since Martina
Navratilova at the 1987 U.S. Open as
she claimed the $1.9 million first prize.
It was the first time since 2002 that a
woman has won Wimbledon and the
U.S. Open in the same year, when
Williams also won the French Open.
She joined her older sister Venus and
Steffi Graf as the only women to win
Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S.
Open in the same year.
It has capped a remarkable comeback
for Williams, who spent almost a year
out of the game following her 2010
Wimbledon triumph.
She needed surgery after cutting her
foot in a freak accident at a restaurant,
and then suffered life-threatening
complications when blood clots formed
on her lungs.

Man Stabs Girlfriend To Death For Lying About Her HIV Status

A man confessed to stabbing his girlfriend to death because she did not tell him she was HIV positive before they had sex. ‘She killed me, so I killed her’, Larry Dunn Jr, 36, told officers in Dallas, Texas, after the body of Cicely Bolden, 28, was found by her two young children returning home from school.

The 28-year-old was lying unclad from the waist down on her bedroom floor bleeding from two stab wounds in her neck. Ms Bolden and 36-year-old Dunn had recently started dating. He later told police that when she confessed to having the virus she then told him it was ‘not that bad’. He became upset and walked to the kitchen to get a knife which he used to kill her with, according to police.

Neighbor Latoya Arnett, who called 911, told Kens5: ’All I know is, she didn’t deserve it and her kids didn’t deserve to see her like that.
‘She was a good mom. Loved her kids to death. I can’t imagine my kids seeing me like that. I know it hurt them.’

During a recorded interview he admitted the crime and revealed he burned his clothes afterwards and dumped the knife in the garbage at a waffle house.
Police later recovered the weapon.

The father of Cicely’s son, Jeff Busby, told Fox that Bolden had contracted HIV within the last couple of years. He is currently looking after her son and daughter.

Speaking about Dunn, who is being held on $50,000 bond, he said: ‘I hope he rots in prison. She did not deserve this.’ Ms Arnett said she went inside the apartment and found Cicely lying on the bedroom floor.

Earlier that day, she claimed, she had seen Dunn arriving at the apartment. Stuffed teddy bear toys have been laid outside what’s now a boarded-up apartment in Highland Village Drive with candles lit in memory of Ms Bolden.

The President’s performance contract – Eze Onyekpere

In late August, President Goodluck Jonathan was reported to have signed performance contracts with his ministers. The underlying philosophy according to the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamshudeen Usman, is that the performance contract system focuses on three parameters: “what gets measured gets done, if you cannot measure success you cannot reward it, if you cannot measure failure, you cannot correct it”. The President said that the performance contract system are aimed at improving the quality and accelerated delivery of services to the citizenry through enhanced productivity and accountability. The idea is for the President to hold ministers to account for responsibilities assigned to them through bi-annual reports on the performance of the ministers and to gauge their performance against the background of established Key Performance Indicators. The Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to develop detailed documentation to guide the implementation of the KPIs. Undoubtedly, this is a good practice which has been deployed in many countries successfully to improve governmental performance.

However, there is a challenge in the approach adopted by the President and the ministers. The posers that quickly come to mind are; where is the public in this performance measurement initiative? How is this initiative related to the Service Delivery Initiative of the previous regime? How do we link this up to Vision 2020 and its first National Implementation Plan or even the purported Transformation Agenda of the President? What penalties will be meted out to ministers who fail to meet the cut-off point of the evaluation criteria?  It may be difficult to hazard answers to these posers because there is scanty information available to the public from official sources beyond the fanfare of the signing ceremonies covered by the media. The discourse below will focus on suggestions that will make the performance contracts effective and deliver value for money to Nigerians.

It is imperative to state that this initiative should have commenced at the swearing-in of ministers immediately after the 2011 elections. The consolation is in the adage that it is better late than not taking the step at all. For an initiative of this nature to succeed, ministers must not only be given tasks and marching orders to deliver on the assignments, they must also be provided with commensurate resources in terms of human, material, technological and financial resources. A very important part of the human resource is the political will of the President to fight corruption in high places and entrenched interests. This will provide the enabling environment for the success of the assignments given to the ministers. The President must frontally lead the fight against corruption if the ministers are to meet their targets.

Linked to the foregoing is that the performance contracts should be anchored on clear policies that Nigerians can relate with. For instance, it is expected that national targets in Vision 2020 and its First National Implementation Plan should drive the KPIs. These KPIs must find resonance in the medium term financial plans in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Medium Term Sector Strategies and be properly reflected in the annual budget.

The second issue is that there must be sanctions incorporated into the performance contracts. If there are no sanctions, then the basis of the evaluation is defeated from the beginning. The normal human system rewards good performance and sanctions poor results. This is the law of nature and anything to the contrary will be a cruel joke on the people. Poor performance should lead to removal from office. The management of the evaluation by the President must remove extraneous considerations such as ethnic, religious and political sentiments, including loyalty to the party as the deciding factors in who gets sanctioned or acclaimed.
In trying to locate the Nigerian citizen in this new scheme, it is imperative that performance targets set for ministers are made known to Nigerians. We can all recall that the Obasanjo administration set a target of delivering 10,000 megawatts of electricity by 2007 under the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy. The administration failed to deliver same and every Nigerian was in a position to evaluate whether success had been achieved. There must be targets for the short, medium and long term – timeline divisions based on the time left between now and the terminal date of the administration which is 2015. The indicators of success and performance must be realistic and time-bound and could be as simple as how many kilometres of new roads we expect from the Ministry of Works in 2013 and beyond.

Since the signing of these contracts, one had expected to see copies of these contracts in the media or through any reasonable means. The contracts as they stand today are simply the President’s contract with his ministers and not popular documents that Nigerians can buy into. Indeed, it could possibly be seen as part of the family affair of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, on whose platform, the President was elected. The administration should engage the media to disseminate information on the details of the KPIs and the general evaluation criteria.

Apparently, the President distrusts the media, judging by his statement that; “ You will not depend on what the newspapers will want to write because the media today is highly politicised. Before, the media used to be the voice of the ordinary people but now, the media is the voice of those who own the media houses and those who own the media have private jets and those who have private jets are not ordinary people. So, the media is now the voice of the powerful people. So, we have to have a way of assessing ourselves.” Despite its misgivings, the administration cannot reach out to Nigerians except it engages the media. Nigerians are entitled to be in a position to evaluate the President while he is evaluating his ministers. His sense of judgement in taking decisions based on the performance contracts will definitely influence public perception of the success of his administration.

For this initiative to succeed, the administration must take budget planning, implementation, reporting and evaluation more seriously. The New Year budget must be ready for implementation on or before January 1 of every year and capital budget releases should no longer be at the discretion of any minister or authority. The administration must also fast-track reforms that have been recommended by a rash of committees it has set up and stop foot-dragging on white papers that demand urgent implementation. On the part of non-state actors, we must help the government to succeed by holding it accountable to the myriad of promises it has made. We must come to the realisation that impunity and governmental performance are not and cannot be twins. We must begin to demand ceaselessly for the removal of ministers who have failed in the tasks assigned to them. We must revisit and insist on the prosecution of all economic saboteurs. We must also insist on due process in all its ramifications in every facet of public life.

- Eze Onyekpere, a lawyer,  is the Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja. He wrote in via censoj@gmail.com

Behold, Nigeria`s True National Heroes and Heroines | List of 2012 Olympic Champions – Eno Hanson

The Olympic and Paralympic games
have come and gone; below is the list
of our heroes and heroines who, made
our country proud:
Yakubu Adesokan (WR) – Gold,
Esther Oyema (WR) – Gold,
Joy Onaolapo (WR) – Gold,
Folashade Oluwafemiayo (WR) – Silver,
Grace Anozie – Gold, Ivory Nwokorie –
Gold,
Loveline Obiji – Gold, Ifeanyi Nnajiofor –
Silver,
Ikechukwu Obichukwu – Silver,
Anthony Ulonnam – Silver,
Lucy Ejike – Silver,
Eucharia Iyiazi – Bronze and
Victoria Nneji – Bronze.
Our Paralympics team set 4 new World
Records; won 6 Gold, 5 Silver and 2
Bronze medals. 13 medals in total.
I humbly call on all corporate
organizations in Nigeria; the MTNs,
Glos, Airtels, Etisalats, Guiness,
Dangote, Banks et al to celebrate these
heroes and heroines, the same way
they have celebrated our stars like P-
Squared, Genevieve, Davido; and
legends like Kanu Nwankwo.
I also plead with celebrities, politicians,
bloggers, friends and aides to top
executives in the corporate world, to
assist us, through endorsements and
sponsorship, to celebrate our heroes,
for they have shown us that we can
excel irrespective of our physical,
mental or emotional challenges.
To these heroes and heroines, I HAIL
THEE and pray that the God of my
fathers give you the honor, respect and
recognition you deserve. God bless

South Korean film Pieta wins at Venice Film Festival

South Korean film Pieta, about a brutal debt collector, has won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.

The best actor award was split between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix for The Master.

Inspired by Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, the film also picked up the Silver Lion prize for best director.

Directed by Paul Thomas Andersen, The Master tells the story of a sect leader who takes a war veteran under his wing.

Hoffman, who also collected Phoenix's award, said: "Joaquin Phoenix is a life force in this film ... and I kind of rode that life force and that was my performance.

"It was really riding his life force because it was something that was untameable and my job was to try to and it was almost impossible, which is kind of the movie."

He also praised Anderson, who was not at the ceremony, calling him: "Friend first, collaborator second. And he happens to be one of the great film-makers."


Philip Seymour Hoffman collected all the awards on behalf of the film
Pieta, directed by Kim Ki-duk, centres on a debt collector who is forced to examine his life when a woman turns up claiming to be his mother.

On accepting his award, Ki-duk sang a song to the audience while thanking the jury.

Speaking after, he said: "This is a song that we Koreans sing when we are sad, when we feel alone, when we feel desperate, but also when we're happy."

The Venice jury, which was headed by US director Michael Mann, picked Hadas Yaron for best actress for Fill the Void, a film delving into the life of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

President Jonathan's "Attack Dog", Okupe To Embark On Jamboree Tour Of Nigeria...Sahara Reporters

The Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, is to embark on a visit to the six regions of Nigeria.
 
He is likely to start with the Southwest, and also tour the Southeast, South-South, North-West, North-East and North-Central.
 
Okupe, who has received as office a rented apartment at 70 Kwame Nkrumah Crescent, Asokoro, is happy with his new status.  He has also taken delivery of a brand new BWM as his official car.
 
While touring the country, the former spokesperson for former President Olusegun Obasanjo will be armed with copies of a book, titled “Sure & Steady Transformation”, which is said to be a propaganda on the ‘achievements’ of his boss, President Jonathan.
 
Meanwhile, more facts have emerged on why the President failed to release a statement that had been drafted on the condition of his wife, Patience.  Presidential sources said that the President had a meeting with members of his media team last Monday, where he was convinced that a statement must be released on the issue.
 
At that meeting, which was held inside the Presidential Villa, were Okupe, Dr. Reuben Abati, Patience’s spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, and a few other aides.
 
After the drafting of the statement, which had categorized the ailment and how the First Lady travelled outside the country, the aides left, waiting for the President to give the final approval.
 
In anticipation of that, our source said, Osinlu started calling reporters, alerting them to the forthcoming statement on the health situation of her boss.
 
“But suddenly, the President changed his mind when he met with some of his tribesmen, who advised him against it,” the source said. 
 
However, Mr. Jonathan is said to have regretted his decision, as he is said to have realized that he was misadvised.
 
“Now, he now feels that Nigerians don’t see a difference between him and the family of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who hid his ailment from him and Nigerians when he was ill,” a presidential source said on Sunday.

Cynthia’s death stirs doctors, pharmacists rift over drug prescription...The Guardian

THE death of Cynthia Udoka
Osokogu has pitted doctors against
pharmacists over the sale of
prescription drugs , as the National
Agency for Food, Drug Administration
and Control (NAFDAC) plans an official
enquiry into the matter.
Osokogu was recently killed by two
young men, after they had given her
a prescription-drug-only obtained
from a qualified pharmacist and
registered pharmacy without a
doctor’s prescription.
The Guardian investigation revealed
that there is no uniform or
customized prescription form in the
country, which is supposed to be
issued annually to medical doctors by
the Medical and Dental Council of
Nigeria (MDCN) upon renewal of their
licences. The Guardian found that in
the absence of uniform prescription
forms, individual doctors and their
hospitals produce their own
prescription forms.
It was also learnt that prescription
drugs could easily be obtained from
most pharmacies and patent
medicine vendors without doctors’
prescription in Lagos but at a higher
cost.
However, the two regulatory bodies
that are supposed to enforce the
prescribing and dispensing of
prescription drugs in the country, that
is the MDCN and the Pharmacy
Council of Nigeria (PCN) declined to
speak with The Guardian on the
issue.
The Acting Registrar of the PCN, Gloria
Abumere, and the Acting Registrar of
the MDCN, Dr. Udugbai Ilevbare
declined comment when contacted.
But President the Nigerian Medical
Association (NMA), Dr. Osahaon
Enabulele, in a telephone interview
with The Guardian said the breach of
the prescription drug rule by
pharmacists was responsible for the
death of Osokogu.
He said: “It is clear there is need for
the whole issue to be enforced to
ensure that pharmacists can only sell
prescription drugs on presentation of
prescription papers from a qualified
medical doctor by a prospective buyer
or patient. The constant breach of this
procedure by most pharmacists is
responsible for the death of Cynthia
and others who might have fallen
victim.
“This is a signal and a call to action
for stakeholders to come together and
regularize the issue of prescription of
drugs, to stop this indiscriminate
dispensing of drugs by pharmacists.”

Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist Chioma Ajunwa Gives Birth to Triplets

After a long wait for the friut of the womb, Nigeria’s first ever Olympic gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa (MON) has put to bed a set of triplets. The 41 years old police officer was delivered of the bundles of joy, last week.

The triplets, two boys and a girl, are in a good state of health and so is Chioma.

Here is saying a hearty congratulations to the accomplished athlete and police woman who happens to be a Divisional Police Officer and her husband, Howell Chidera.

PHOTO:Timaya Flaunts 3-Month-Old Daughter

Timaya has posted a picture of his three months old daughter. The former lover of Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah posted the picture of his daughter on popular micro-blogging website, Twitter some hours ago.

Timaya tweeted, "My daughter is growing so fast. Love her too much." in May 2012, Timaya announced on Twitter the arrival of his first child (daughter). He was reported to have disclosed that marriage was not in his agenda.

Adenuga, Odili, Igbinedion,146 others to get National Honours

Mike Adenuga, multi-billionaire businessman and 148 other Nigerians are to be conferred with the National Honours Award on Sept. 17.
This is contained in a statement signed by Henry Akpan, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The statement said that only Mr.  Adenuga, the Chairman of Globacom Nigeria Ltd, would be conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
It said that 11 Nigerians are to be honoured in the category of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).
They include Hon. Justice Mary Odili, Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and the first Governor of Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (Rtd).
Similarly, 25 Nigerians will be honoured in the category of the Commander of the Niger (CON).
They include Govs. Gabriel  Suswam of Benue, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi, Danbaba Suntai of Taraba  and seven senators.
The statement listed Mr Oluwole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr Alex Izinyon (SAN), among 24 Nigerians who are to be honoured with the award of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).
It said that 38 people including Mrs Esther Gonda, the Permanent Secretary, Special Services office in the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, are to be honoured with the Order of the Niger (OON).
Salisu Maikasuwa, the Clerk of the National Assembly and Mohammed Ahmed, the Director General of PENCOM are also among those to be honoured in that category.
In the category of the Member of the Federal Republic (MFR), 38 people will be honoured with the award, including nine traditional rulers and three religious leaders, while 12 recipients will be conferred with the Member of the Niger.
The statement said that President Goodluck Jonathan would confer the awards on these deserving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Sept. 17.
It added that the Special Duties Office was working assiduously to ensure a hitch free ceremony.

FRSC Impounds Seyi Law’s Vehicle for Using Peace Ambassador Number

The Federal Road Safety  Corps today Saturday 8th September 2012 impounded the vehicle of celebrated comedian Seyi Law for using the customized banned PEACE AMBASSADOR  plate number on his vehicle. The comedian who was on his way to anchor an event in Ogun State was intercepted by men of the corps at Sagamu end of the express and his vehicle was moved to their office where it was impounded and a paper given to him to go and regulate his papers. A highly dejected Seyi Law couldn’t believe his eyes.
 
The comedian said the number was given to him last year and he didn't know it was banned. After all his efforts to use his contacts to get the car released failed, he ended up taking  a cab to go back to Lagos and his vehicle is presently resting in the office of the FRSC in Sagamu....


 
It will be recalled that CKN Nigeria some weeks back warned celebrities who used the number to desist from such since it has been declared illegal by the FRSC.
Some individuals used the number to defraud celebrities their hard earned money under the pretense of making them PEACE AMBASSADORS. 
 
The Head Of Media and PR of FRSC Jonas Agwu acknowledged that the numbers have banned and anyone seen using it will have his or her vehicle impounded....

Bloody Sunday: Robbers Kill 2 Cops, 7 Others In Lagos-PM News

Armed robbers went on the rampage this afternoon in Lagos and killed several people including two policemen inside their patrol vehicle.
According to an eyewitness who gave his name as Tayo Adeyeri, the robbers, who drove in two SUVs, a Toyota Prado and Armada, stormed several parts of Lagos, including a bureau de change at Agege, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, where they shot some currency changers and carted away two bags containing local and foreign currencies running into millions.
Adeyeri said he saw four people who were shot dead and that the robbers also shot two currency changers who resisted their attack.
Those that were shot but survived were taken to Mayfair Hospital at Oke-Koto but they were rejected and were taken to Motolani Medical Centre at Alfa Nla, Oke-Koto, Agege for treatment.
Our reporter was not allowed into the hospital to speak with the victims.
A stray bullet shot by the robbers also hit a six-year old girl in the eye and her grandmother on the forehead while they were watching TV in their home at 15, Alfa-Nla, Agege.
A stray bullet also hit a parked Volvo ambulance with registratyion number HL 355 AAA belonging to Motolani Medical Centre, and shattered the back winshield.
The robbers numbering eight, including two women who were driving the the SUVs, started their operation at about 10:35 a.m. from Ifako-Gbagada, Oshodi, Mile 2 and Agege.
P.M.NEWS gathered that while they were escaping in their SUV, a team of Rapid Response Squad, RRS, chased them with their patrol vehicle with registration number 5251.
The police team caught up with the robbers at Guinness bus stop along Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja and the robbers opened fire on the cops.
In the ensuing gun duel, the police patrol team driver and another policeman were killed on the spot and the robbers escaped with their loot.
When P.M.NEWS got to the scene a few minutes after the gun battle, the two dead policemen soaked in their blood were still lying in their Toyota patrol vehicle marked 525 on both sides of the vehicle.
The identities of the two policemen could not be ascertained as the RRS Commander, CSP Kayode Odumosu, declined to pick his call when our reporters contatcted him on pnoe this afternoon.
Two LASTMA officials had earlier been shot at Oshodi and a police officer was also shot at Ifako Gbagada, according to eyewitnesses.
The state Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, also did not speak on the incident when our reporter put a call across to her this afternoon.
There has been no official reaction at the time of this report.

PHOTO OF THE DAY:Uche Jombo With Hubby, Kenny Rodriguez On Vacation In US

Since her secret wedding to her handsome husband, Kenny Rodriguez that was held over three months ago, Uche Jombo made her first public appearance with her hubby last weekend in New York where she went for Nigeria Entertainment Awards (NEA).

Thereafter, she has made another appearance, this time, at one of the beaches in God's own country, USA.

We heard that Uche would stay in the US for some time with her husband, Kenny before coming back to Nigeria to resume work. For now, Uche might do her honeymoon proper with Kenny as they would spend enough time together in the US and other places.

N78m trip scandal: Bayelsa Speaker refunds N19.5m

The Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Kombowei Benson, has refunded N19.5m to the state treasury out of N78m the House collected from the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to sponsor members to the 43rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in South Africa.

The Speaker also admitted that the Anti-Fraud Unit of the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were on his neck over the N78m South African trip scandal rocking the state House of Assembly.

Benson spoke in Yenagoa on Friday through his spokesman, Mr. Piriye Jonathan, during a two-day Capacity Training for Journalists organised by the Federated Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists. He said the police stormed the House and grilled the lawmakers on the alleged fraud. But the speaker said he refunded part of the money on August 3, about one month after the programme.

Our correspondent gathered that the speaker took the option of returning part of the money after the matter leaked to members of the public.

The speaker and 23 other members of the House have been battling with an allegation that they frittered N78m belonging to the state on the pretence that they attended a conference in South Africa.

The allegation was first made public through a petition addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, by a civil society group, Transparency and Good Governance Coalition.

Benson and other lawmakers were said to have written to the governor demanding N78m to enable them attend the 43rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in South Africa which was held from June 29 to July 8.

Having received the request dated May 7, Dickson was said to have approved the money on June 28 on condition that it must be used for the conference.

But Benson who admitted that the police had commenced probe on the matter was silent over the allegations that he failed to honour the invitation of the EFCC.

Our correspondent found that EFCC through a letter dated August 6 invited the speaker to its office in Abuja for questioning.

The letter which was signed by the commission’s Head, Economic Governance, Olufunke Adetayo, requested the speaker to be at EFCC’s office on August 13. A copy of the letter was obtained by our correspondent in Yenagoa.

EFCC in the letter which was addressed to the Speaker said, “This Commission is investigating a case of conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds in which the need to obtain clarification from you becomes imperative.

“In view of the above, you are kindly requested for interview by the undersigned through Mr. Obioha Okorie on 13th August, 2012 at Block C, No 5 Fomella Street, Off Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja by 10 am prompt.

“This request is in pursuant to section 38 Sub 1 and 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004″.

But our correspondent learnt that Benson had been playing hide and seek with the commission, refusing to honour the invitation.

It was learnt that after receiving the letter, Benson wrote to the commission begging that the date should be shifted to August 20. The speaker was said to have reneged in his promise to appearing before the commission on August 20.

Benson, however, said he was willing to be investigated, adding that the allegation that members diverted the money earmarked for the conference was untrue.

“We attended the conference,” he said but admitted that the lawmakers only met the closing ceremony of the conference owing to visa problems.

Fashola rejects Oba’s chieftaincy title

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on Saturday politely rejected the honour of a chieftaincy title from a royal father, Oniru of Iru land, Lagos, Oba Abidun Idowu Oniru.

He said, “Kabiyesi and his chiefs can continue to lead us, let them deal with all those traditional and chieftaincy issues. At the appropriate time, we will come and join them, but for now, leave us in our suits, booths, overalls and helmets, because this agbada is not good for clearing refuse and tarring the roads.”

He, however, received the award of excellence conferred on him by the monarch who was celebrating his 75th birthday and 18th coronation anniversary. While expressing his appreciation to Oba Oniru for honouring him, Fashola said the task of governance required absolute focus and would want the chieftaincy title to wait for now.

On the award for excellence, Fashola said it was not for him; rather he dedicated it to all the civil servants in the state who he said were responsible for the giant strides of his administration.

While acknowledging the mornach’s exemplary leadership and support for his administration and his predecessors, the governor expressed his gratitude to the Oniru on behalf of members of the state executive council.

He confessed that when the state Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, Prince Segun Oniru, informed him of the event, and told him that the Kabiyesi wanted to present him with something, he had made it clear that he would not attend the event if what the Kabiyesi wanted to present to him was going to be a chieftaincy title, but that Oniru had assured him that that would not be the case.

Former Lagos State governor and national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu was also conferred with an award of excellence.

But Tinubu was not present as he had travelled to the United States.

Other dignitaries at the occasion included the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Oba Abdulfatai Aromire Ojora, Oba Tijani Akinloye, Chief GOK Ajayi, (SAN), former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Adewusi, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, as well as all the white cap chiefs.

Air Nigeria passengers stranded for hours in London, asked to contribute for fuel...Channels Television.

Over 190 Air Nigeria passengers who arrived the Gatwick Airport 8:30 on Friday morning to fly back home were allegedly stranded at the airport for about eight hours.

Local media report that the delay was due to the lack of fuel to fly the aircraft to Lagos, thus the passengers were asked to contribute extra £40 each for purchase of ‘Aviation Fuel.

The plane eventually left Gatwick airport at 4:30 pm and arrived Nigeria at about 12:30 today.

However, the passengers were asked come back for their luggage. There are reports that the passengers are planning to sue the airline company and it’s chairman, Jimoh Ibrahim for the delay and their yet-to-be released luggage.

Also,  Air Nigeria will no longer fly from tomorrow, September 10, will no longer fly for at least a year.

Fuel scarcity hits Ibadan (Oyo State)...Channels Tv News

Fuel scarcity has hit some communities in Oyo State as many filling stations were shut in the state on Saturday.

Unusual long queues were noticed in most filling stations in Ibadan and other major towns on Friday.

A tour round Ibadan metropolis on Saturday revealed that most filling stations were shut.

Petrol attendants and station managers, said the closure was due to unavailability of the product.

Some of them said that they were instructed by the owners not to sell due to shortage in supply from the depot.

Checks on Oyo town, Ogbomoso and some parts of Oke Ogun showed that the situation was the same.

Local media report that in few places where the product was sold, a litre of the Premium Motor Spirit otherwise called petrol was sold for between N150 and N200.

Attempts made to speak to the Directorate of Petroleum Resources in Ibadan proved abortive.