Onyeka Onwenu, Others Thrilled Audience At Wole Oni’s Jazz Night

Award winning Record Producer, multi-instrumentalist and CEO of Instinct Productions, Mr. Wole Oni, Sunday, hosted some of the big names in the Nigerian music and Entertainment industry and Lovers of Jazz music to his first ever Jazz music live performances night, tagged “Wole Oni’s Audacious, Bold & Crispy Premium Jazz” at the Intercontinental Hotels, Lagos.

Wole Oni who is arguably one of Nigeria’s best hands in music production began to produce artistes in the late 80’s and had his first big break after producing the smash hit song “Kosobabire” that rocked the airwaves and earned a KORA award for Gospel songstress Folake Umosen.

 Mr. Oni has produced several artistes including Onyeka Onwenu, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Dele Bamigboye, Kefee, Tosin Martins, Segun Obe, Ara, Pastor Aity Inyang, Lara George, Tim Godfrey and Xtreme Crew, Silver Saddih, Dbanj, Sammie Okposo, Jodie, Chrysolite (South Africa) amongst others.

The premium Jazz night, according to Wole Oni is “one that would set new standards in jazz circles in the country and an evening for mature minds”. The Jazz night which had in attendance the Crème de la Crème of the society had thrilling live music performances from Onyeka Onwenu, Praiz, Tosin Martins, Timi Dakolo, Ara, Gloria Ibru (Mama G), Yinka Davies, Uche Nnaji, Jodie, Ayo-Awe Joseph, Brycee Bassey, Iroko, Olumide Shobowale, Victor Ademofe with comedy spice by Seyi Law.

 While MTN’s project fame host, Joseph Benjamin and Lisa Omorodion were the event hosts.

The Jazz night was basically a celebration of the Wole Oni brand was held in partnership with GLEEHD Foundation and Dream Centre.

Source: vanguardngr

Mr Ibu Shows Off His Soccer Skills As He Hosts Friends To Soccer Match In Enugu

Definitely one of the funniest men in the Nigerian movie industry, John Okafor knows how to draw a crowd anytime, any day.

Nollywood actor, John Okafor aka Mr Ibu seems to have found a new passion for soccer, as he hosted his friends and colleagues to a football match in Enugu.

Friends and Fans spotted at the football match are Chidinma and Chidiebere Aneke, Mr Ibu’s wife and kids, Steve Eboh, Christabel Egbenya, Okoronkwo Solomon.

I can’t Mr Ibu playing soccer, but with the look on his face, I believe he would be a striker.

More photos after the cut...

Obasanjo The Root Of Nigeria’s Troubles – Adams

The national coordinator of the Odu’a Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams has blamed Former President Olusegun Obasanjo for laying the foundation of Nigeria’s current problems.

He said this while addressing newsmen on his fears about the 2015 presidential election. According to him, as things stand, it seems as if no matter who wins the presidential election between President Goodluck Jonathan and General Mohammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), violence will erupt in the country.

Adams explained that if Buhari loses next year’s election, crisis may erupt in the north, while the Niger Delta region may also erupt in violence if President Jonathan loses.

The OPC leader however claimed Obasanjo was responsible for Nigeria’s problems, most of which he said had their roots from the ex-president’s administration.

“The very cabal that Jonathan complained about was created by Obasanjo. All the problems that are existing in Nigeria today, the foundation was laid by Obasanjo,” he said.

Source: Informationng

Anita Hogan Actress Set To Return To Nollywood With TV Soap 'Koko’s Diary'

Nollywood actress, Anita Hogan is set to return to Nollywood. The actress who is married to her Dutch husband, revealed this in an interview with Encomium Weekly .

In the recent Interview, Anita speaks on her upcoming TV soap 'Koko’s Diary', her marriage and the new Nollywood.

According to Anita,  the series 'Koko’s Diary'  is about the diary of a house help . Read excerpts;

When do we see you back on the screen now that you are in Nigeria?

I just finished shooting my soap, it is still in the process of being polished up and presented to television stations for airing. So, very soon, I will be back. I also participated in it.

I also have other talents in entertainment aside acting. There is a book I have been working on that is on the edge of being put out there so that people can have a feel of my personality. Very soon people who love me will start seeing me.

The industry you left five years ago is no more the same, how will you compare the industry you left then to what applies now?

I wouldn’t lie, the industry has seriously been upgraded. You can now see new faces, the industry is becoming an actual business, people are now taking acting serious. Before you could be an actress and still engage in other part time jobs. People who act now, do it as their major source of living.

Tell us about your soap, Koko’s Diary.

It’s about going through the diary of a house help. I looked at the society through the eyes of a house help. The help knows a lot of things, they are always available at home, they know all the children’s character, they know what oga is up to and so on. We have shot, we have done all the necessary things, it is now time to put it on air.

Source : Encomium Weekly

Kidnappers Kill Monarch’s Wife After Collecting Ransom

The wife of Oba Ayelomi, the traditional ruler of Lumure Ayeka-Okitipupa in Ondo State, Dupe, who was kidnapped from her residence more than a week ago, has been found dead despite payment of N2 million ransom for her release.

Mrs Dupe Ayelomi was abducted from her Erinje Road residence at Okitipupa area of Ondo State by unidentified gunmen, according to Daily Trust.

Sources close to the family said the abductors demanded a ransom of N30 million for her release but the family was able to pay N2 million after negotiations.

After the payment, the queen’s corpse was found at a roadside on Christmas Eve, the spot the abductors promised to drop her alive after collecting  the  ransom. She was in captivity for 10 days.

Taye, one of her children, described the incident as devastating.

“We did not expect our aged mother to suffer any agony or die the way she did. This is really terrible,” he said, adding that “they have done their own, we leave everything to God.”

The Divisional Police Officer, Okitipupa Division, Ifeanyi Ohuruzor, said the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy at Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Okitipupa.

He said no suspect had been identified but police investigations into the incident would continue, promising that the perpetrators would soon  be arrested and made to face the law.

Source: 247nigerianewsupdateA

TB Joshua To Host Relatives Of Building Collapse Victims

Nigerian pastor TB Joshua will host a New Year’s memorial service for the South African relatives of those killed in a building collapse at his Lagos megachurch. A spokesman at Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) said 44 South Africans have flown to Lagos to attend the ceremony following the September disaster which killed 116 people, including 81 South Africans. Joshua, a self-proclaimed prophet, “is going to lead the service to commiserate and offer spiritual support,”


 said SCOAN spokesman Patrick Iwelumor. “As the chief mourner, there is a need for (Joshua) to connect with these people,” he added.

 Joshua is one Nigeria’s most influential and wealthiest pastors whose followers include prominent politicians and business leaders from across Africa and around the world.

 The Lagos state coroner is carrying out an inquest into the causes of the collapse at a guesthouse within the church’s compound. Expert witnesses have said the structure was unsound and lacked proper permits, but Joshua’s vocal followers have insisted the building came down as a result of foul play and was a bid to destroy the powerful religious leader.

 Among the theories advanced by Joshua loyalists is that a plane flying in the area at the time of the collapse dropped an explosive device on the building. One weapons expert called by SCOAN lawyers, Beidomu Iguniwei, has testified that the collapse could have been caused by an “infrasonic weapon,” although there appears to be no credible evidence to support that claim.

 Testimony at the inquest has dismissed sabotage as a cause, including evidence from aviation officials who said that the air force plane in question was on a routine training mission and had in fact landed before the building collapsed.

 Joshua has refused to honour a series of summons demanding his appearance at the inquest. Some of his supporters have suggested it would be inappropriate for a so-called “Man of God” to be subjected to questioning.

 Wednesday’s candle light ceremony will begin at sundown and last through midnight, Iwelumor said.

 The victim’s relatives arrived in Nigeria on Christmas Day and Joshua is said to have paid for their travel. When the trip was announced earlier this month, some South Africans took to social media to condemn Joshua’s move as a bribe aimed at discouraging relatives from filing a lawsuit over the deaths. But SCOAN’s South Africa based spokesman, Kirsten Nematandani, has said the trip and New Year’s memorial service are about “the spirit of caring”. - See more at:


Source: 247nigerianewsupdate

First Gay Weddings In Scotland Held At Midnight

The first gay wedding ceremonies in Scotland took place on Wednesday just after the stroke of midnight, as two couples tied the knot in Glasgow.

Dressed in kilts, Joe Schofield and Malcolm Brown, both 42, entered the Trades Hall to the sound of bagpipes at 11:30 pm on Tuesday, and after the clock chimed midnight, the formalities got under way.

They exchanged rings and embraced before signing the marriage register. Then Liz Lochead, Scotland’s national poet, read a specially-composed sonnet.

The couple also drank whisky from a quaich, a two-handled vessel often referred to as “the loving cup”, as per the Scottish tradition.

“We’ll go about our lives as normal, except I can confidently and happily say — at last — ‘this is my husband’. That’s great!” Brown told BBC television.

Across the city, Susan Douglas-Scott, 54, and Gerrie Douglas-Scott, 59, also tied the knot, with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as a witness.

“This a momentous day for equality in Scotland, one where same sex couples have the right to marry the person that they love,” Sturgeon said.

“This will send a powerful message to people about the kind of country we are.”

The Douglas-Scotts, who have five grown-up children, have been together for 18 years and entered a civil partnership in 2006.

Some 17 same-sex weddings were due to take place on the last day of the year, known as Hogmanay in Scotland.

Wednesday was the first day that wedding ceremonies could take place after a 15-day notice period from the law coming into effect on December 16.

More than 250 gay couples have already converted their civil partnerships into marriage this month.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom but some of its laws are different to the rest of the country.

Same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales in March. Northern Ireland has no plans to introduce gay marriage.

Source: vanguardngr.com

Tiwa Salvage Finally Reveals Her Cute Son (See Photos)

See her tweets and the pics after the cut...lol

BREAKING: Car Bomb Explosion kills 6 In Yobe

An explosion has rocked Fika, a major town in Yobe state, the police in the state have told PREMIUM TIMES.

Six people are reported dead in the explosion which occurred close to a security checkpoint in the town.

The Yobe State Police Commissioner, Marcus Danladi, told PREMIUM TIMES the explosive device that went off was being conveyed in a car to an unknown location when it suddenly exploded.

The car exploded shortly after it drove past a checkpoint, Mr. Danladi said.

“The people carrying the bomb inside a vehicle were the people who died,” the police commissioner said. “They came from one of the villages where the insurgents are  hiding and the same people carrying the bomb were the same people who died.

“Yobe is calm. There is no problem.”

The incident occurred less than a month after Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, came under heavy attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists who,  according to residents, surrounded the town and killed many.

The terrorists had earlier on November 13 attacked the Yobe capital with explosions and gunshots in an attempt  to take over the Government House.

An earlier bomb attack on Government Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, also in Yobe, on November 10, killed 47 students and injured 79 others, the police said.

The Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum is one of the densely populated boarding schools for boys, located very close to the Potiskum General Hospital in the heart of town.

Potiskum is the largest town outside Damaturu, the Yobe state capital. It is the headquarters of the Fika Emirate.

The attack on the high school came six days after a similar bombing was targeted at members of the Shiite group, Islamic Brotherhood of Nigeria, also in Potiskum.

That bombing took place at Faydia Islamic school, ran by the Shiite. It is located near the old market in Potiskum.

Bishop Slams Obasanjo Over Constant Criticism Of Jonathan

The Anglican Bishop of Okigwe, Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward Osuegbu, has described as shocking, the continuous attack on President Goodluck  Jonathan by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He accused Obasanjo of having done “similar or worse things while in office”.

“Some of us who have been watching for many years now, know that it is the kettle calling the pot black. Obasanjo did similar things he is accusing the incumbent of and even worse”, Osuegbu told Vanguard.

According to him, Obasanjo is now taking pleasure in criticizing and calling Jonathan names. “That is most unfair,” the cleric said.

Osuegbu noted that such criticisms had never come from any past President of the United States of America, saying real statesmen only advise the incumbents and nobody hears about it.

“They do not make noise if their advice is not taken by the incumbent. It is also noteworthy that no former President of the USA has ever castigated President Barrack Obama. This does not mean that Obama is infallible,” the Bishop said.

While past presidents of America respected the office of the President of USA as if their lives depended on it, “in our own case, a former president is at the fore front of criticizing, castigating and attacking an incumbent President with a view to destroying the system,” the Anglican cleric lamented.

Source: Premiumtimesng

Singer Jodie Speaks On Keeping Her Goodies For Wedding Night

Nigerian Singer, Jodie in a recent interview with Saturday Sun revealed her position on sex and virginity. Not only is she a virgin but has stated that she plans on keeping it that way until her wedding night. She said ‘The question of sex and virginity is a private one…Now – to the crux, there are many people out there who don’t know who they are or where they are going. 

Forget the media hype and paparazzi: if people would truthfully bare their inner thoughts, no one wants to stay with someone who is ‘the national cake,’. Jodie also added: ‘Forget all that ‘new age’ or ‘modern’ talk on sex and virginity. It may look ‘cool’ to be a sexually loose person on Television or magazines, but in real life, people actually respect those who have self control. If the whole world says virginity is archaic, would you want your daughter/son to ‘go with the flow?’ Its great to know that at this day and age where sex is put on such a high pedestal that there are people who still hold tight to their morals.

Army Explains Delay In Recapturing Towns Seized By Boko Haram

The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that the need to reduce collateral damage had delayed the recapture of some towns and villages seized by insurgents in Borno.

Brig.-Gen. Olajide Laleye, the Director, Army Public Relations, gave the explanation while fielding questions at news conference in Abuja.

“We are not interested in collateral damage.

“The Nigeria Army is very careful about collateral damage, to that extent our operations are carefully planned to make sure that collateral damage is reduced to the barest minimum.

“If certain areas have not been recaptured it is because the Nigerian army is giving such areas very careful plans, the plans are ongoing.
“At the right time you will see the outcome; we will not tell you, of course, before hand, of what we intend to do; but you will see the outcome,’’ Laleye said.

According to him, Nigerians will be pleased at the end of such operations that collateral damage is reduced to the barest minimum.
He assured that law abiding Nigerians in those areas would be rescued from the insurgents, while those towns and villages completely freed from terrorism and insurgency.

Earlier, he said Gombi, Hong, Uba, Makera, Holma and Vimtim, all in Adamawa, had been recaptured, adding that the current military offensive would be sustained until the enemy was “completely defeated’’.
Laleye said new strategies had been introduced in the ongoing war after formations and units involved were evaluated, adding that this had impacted positively on the counter-insurgency operations in the North East.

He said that all officers and men involved in the operations in the region would undergo counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency training before being deployed in theatre of operation.
The army spokesman explained that this followed the directive of the Chief of Army Staff that all Divisional Headquarters should set up schools to step up counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and Special Operations training.

“The Nigerian Army wishes to restate its determination to bring this counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations to a speedy and decisive end.
“Equally, the Nigerian Army seizes this opportunity to reassure Nigerians of its preparedness to support relevant agencies in the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections,’’ he said.

On the ongoing Court Martial of some officers, Laleye explained that it was necessary to enforce discipline in the armed forces and achieve success in the war against insurgency.
He said success achieved so far would not have been possible if the army do not undertake steps to remain a formidable fighting force through time tested procedures and enforcement of regulations.

“The judicial process that led to the convictions and acquittals (of some officers) followed international best practices in the military law and also conforms to relevant Nigerian laws.

“Let me state categorically that a General Court Martial has the status of the High Court and is back by extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The General Court Martial is not a final authority. Its processes are not only subject to confirmation by the appropriate superior authority but also subject to appeal,’’ he said.

Source: 247nigerianewsupdate

Nigerian Govt Plotting To Arrest APC Leaders, Party Says

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has raised the alarm over the plan by the Federal Government to use the security agencies, especially the State Security Service, SSS and the Police, to harass and intimidate the opposition with a view to decapitating it ahead of the 2015 elections.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the torrent of threats being issued recently by the Minister of Police Affairs and the DSS, over alleged inflammatory statements by opposition leaders, is nothing but a thinly-veiled attempt at cowing the opposition and destabilizing its ranks.

It said the strategy includes the “invitation” of key opposition figures for questioning by the DSS, starting with the APC National Publicity Secretary, to be followed by arrests and detention of such figures.

APC said the impending clampdown is the PDP-led Federal Government’s answer to the soaring profile of the opposition ahead of the polls, and called on local and international observers of the elections to keep a close eye on the unsavoury developments, which constitute a clear and present danger to the success of the elections.

“The Minister of Police Affairs said publicly that he has already directed the Inspector-General of Police as well as the DSS to arrest anyone who makes inflammatory statements ahead of the 2015 elections, and then went ahead to castigate the APC, thus exposing the real reason for his directive.

“The Minister had barely issued his orders when the DSS, which has unabashedly become a megaphone of the ruling PDP, fired its own warning, directed pointedly at ”a serving governor calling on men of the armed forces to rise up in protest against constituted authority,” when nothing of such happened.

“If the Minister and indeed the security agencies were carrying out their duties as an official/agents of state rather than partisans, they would have realized that no one is more guilty of making inflammatory and even treasonable statements than the supporters of the President and members of the PDP.

“Yet, not once has the Minister, and the security agencies under his control, called these people to order. There is no better indication of the mindset of these threats-issuing Minister and the security agencies under his control than their glaring double-standard and vexatious partisanship. This is not how to run the affairs of state,” the party said.

It recalled that a series of inflammatory, insulting and downright treasonable comments by supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan and officials of the PDP all went without as much as a whimper from those who are now howling at the opposition for statements that are neither inflammatory nor treasonable.

“A a die-hard supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan once threatened that there will be blood on the streets if the President is not re-elected, without anyone calling him to order. He recently said the President has already won the yet-to-be conducted Feb. 14 presidential election, suggesting that the election will be a mere formality. No one called him to order.

“d poison President Jonathan just to take power. The Minister of Police Affairs and the securitAnother supporter of the President, Chief Edwin Clark, said if the opposition had its way, it wouly agencies under his control snored the comment away.

“PDP National Secretary Wale Oladipo called the presidential candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, a ‘semi-literate jackboot’, PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh heaped abuses on APC leaders in an ill-tempered statement arising from a disoriented PDP in the aftermath of the hugely-successful APC national convention while a spokesman for the President called Gen. Buhari names for being a ‘poor’ man, yet this Minister and his agencies did not see anything inflammatory in all these statements, all because they came from members and supporters of the ruling party.

“We know that Nigerians as well as the international community are watching closely and documenting these developments. It is important to do so if they are to make informed comments on the outcome of the forthcoming polls.

“On our part, we will continue to document the developments while maintaining a responsible and purposeful public discourse, highlighted by issues and devoid of the kind of inflammatory and treasonable comments that PDP and Presidency officials have been spewing out,” APC said.

Source: Informationng

Two Germans Killed In Nigeria – Foreign Ministry

Two German men have been killed in Nigeria, the foreign ministry in Berlin said Wednesday, as media reported they were engineers shot dead while on a motorcycle trip.

“Unfortunately we can confirm that two German nationals were killed in Nigeria last weekend,” a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.

“The German embassy in Abuja is seeking clarification and is in close contact with Nigerian authorities.”

The ministry did not release further details, either on the victims or the suspected killers.

Regional German newspaper Ostseezeitung said the men, one aged 34 and the other in his mid-50s, were engineers working for German construction company Julius Berger.

Originally from the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, they had lived in Nigeria for years and were on a private trip when they were killed last Saturday, the newspaper said.

Source: vanguardngr

This World? Nkiru Sylvanus Set To Marry Oge Okoye’s Ex-Husband

Actress, Nkiru Sylvanus has rekindled her love life with her ex-man, Stanley Duru. During their relationship, Stanley met her industry colleague, Oge Okoye… They dated as well and eventually got married. During their marriage, which was done only traditionally, Oge Okoye got pregnant and gave birth twice… To 2 kids.

Stanley Duru

So now, Nkiru and Stanley are back in each other’s arms and are set to married. The wedding is supposed to take place this month but it has been shifted to next year.

Words are that Nkiru Sylvanus will release a press statement to address the drama while Oge Okoye remains furious about the whole synario because she sees it as embarrassing.

Hope For Football Game: Fashola & Friends Battle Eagles All Stars

                                  

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State and his friends in All Stars International Football Club will be on the field of play on Saturday as the Football For Hope makes its historic debut at Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos Island.

The event, which is put together by the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Football Matters headed by Mr.  Anthony Adeyinka Adeboye, is to bring together Nigerian footballers who are currently playing and the former players back to their community in a friendly and social environment.

Adeboye said at a press briefing to unveil programme for Saturday’s event at Onikan Stadium early today that the Hope for Football, which is planned to be an annual event, is aimed at bringing these footballers to the community where they grew up for them to interact with the less privileged.

According to him dignitaries that include the All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial candidate in Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, members of the Lagos State Executive Council, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, Lagos White Caps Chiefs, bigwigs of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF and a host of others.

P.M.NEWS Sport gathered that sports loving Governor Fashola will captain the BRF Team who will take on Super Eagles All Stars in the second match of the day, while the first match which starts by 3p.m will involve Team SWAN versus The Managers.

Among players scheduled to play are Obafemi Martins, Taye Taiwo, Babatunde Michael, Austin Okocha, Fatai Amoo, Friday Ekpo, Taribo West, Teslim Fatusi, Gbenga Okunowo, Asisat Oshoala and others.

“It is going to be a fun filled day as we host the maiden Hope for Football in Lagos. We invite football loving Lagosians to come out and see their superstars with their Governor in action,” said Adeboye

Source: 247nigerianewsupdate

“A Glorious New Dawn Beckons For Nigeria” – Full Text Of Tinubu’s New Year Message

As we enter a New Year today, it is all too easy to give in to despair and despondency at the current state of Nigeria. The gap between our tremendous potentials as a country and our actual attainments is depressing and disheartening. For a country as endowed with human, material and natural resources as Nigeria, the level of poverty in which the vast majority of our people live is appalling and unacceptable. The voodoo statistics of illusory growth and progress peddled by those currently in charge of Nigeria’s affairs do not reflect the dire material circumstances of millions of Nigerians.

The ever widening inequality between the wealthy minority and the impoverished majority is fueled largely by a scale of corruption and outright theft of public funds that have reached unprecedented heights in today’s Nigeria. All of these are responsible for the large scale manifestation of sundry forms of violence and insecurity across the country that undermines the very foundations of the Nigerian state. Yet, the growing impunity of an arrogant, imperious and complacent presidency weaken the rule of law and prevent the purposeful and responsible governance necessary to tackle Nigeria’s severe challenges.
But then, despair is a luxury we can ill afford as a country and a people at this time. Despair breeds depression and a sense of hopelessness. This can only result in a paralysis of the popular will that will benefit those who want to lull us into collective inaction, so they can perpetuate their misrule of our much abused country. 2015 will be one of the critical and momentous years in the history of Nigeria. It must be a time to renew our hope in the possibilities of our country. Hope enables us to generate the strength to take the positive action as citizens to achieve the positive change Nigeria so badly needs today.

Another Nigeria is possible. A Nigeria where focused, visionary and competent governance vigorously tackles corruption, insecurity, poverty and promotes peace, progress and prosperity for all is attainable. After the current darkness, a glorious, new dawn for Nigeria is possible. But this needed change will not occur by chance. It can only be the result of deliberate and purposeful action on the part of our people to utilise democracy and popular power to achieve national liberation and transformation.

If not urgently addressed, the stratospheric level of hunger, deprivation and inequality in the land will inevitably provoke a violent revolution in the land. Indeed, we already have a situation difficult to distinguish from bloody revolution on our hand. It manifests in the armed robbery, kidnapping, communal conflicts, religious extremism, terrorism and ritual killings rampant in Nigeria today. We have no choice but to be active participants in the common sense democratic revolution needed to salvage our country. It is a common sense revolution that must insist that legitimate power flows from the will people duly expressed in free and fair elections. Governments must assume and remain in power only at the pleasure of the people. That is the only way that democracy can promote development by ensuring that government is responsible and accountable to the people.
My message to our fellow country men and women is thus simple: this year must be one of eternal vigilance on the part of us all. This is the price we must pay for our democratic rights and liberties as citizens. Let us make no mistake about it. The traumatic experience of the over 200 Chibok girls who have remained in captivity for over six months shows that plaintive cries to an impotent government to ‘bring back our girls’ have become insufficient. Rather, we must utilise the power of our vote to ‘take back our country’ from the predators and scavengers in the corridors and bedrooms of power that currently hold her hostage. This calls for eternal vigilance to exercise our vote and protect out sacred mandate at the polls.

As the careless, reckless, irresponsible and highly suspicious handling of the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shown, every effort will be made to disempower voters by a sinking and desperate administration. Millions of voters across the country have been disenfranchised in the flawed process. This subtle coup against the very foundation of democracy, voters’ power, must be challenged and resisted. Flaws in the process must be corrected. All eligible citizens must be enabled to exercise their inalienable right to vote for a government of their choice. This can only be achieved through eternal vigilance and persistence by the populace in insisting that the entire electoral process must be free, fair, transparent and credible.

Nigerians face a critical choice at the polls this year. We must vote for either continuity of the present decadent order or change. Yes, many state governments across the country have performed creditably in diverse sectors despite the meager resources at their disposal compared to the Federal Government. However, the PDP-controlled Federal Government, which controls the bulk of the country’s resources, has been an abysmal failure. It has failed to provide the necessary leadership for accelerated national development commensurate with its immense resources and its phenomenal powers under the present corruption. The Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Presidency in particular has been a catastrophic disaster.

The country today has degenerated to unprecedented levels of global obloquy as a result of the prevalent repellent levels of corruption, impunity, insecurity and leadership mediocrity. The greatest need of the hour is a drastic change of direction at the national level. It is the emergence of a visionary, responsible, patriotic, purposeful and competent Federal Government that will diligently pursue the path of transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law, true federalism and justice without which there can be no national transformation. As I wish the good people of Nigeria a happy new year, I urge us to rededicate ourselves to the realization of the positive change on which the very survival of the country depends. Eternal vigilance must be our watchword this year.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Source: 247nigerianewsupdate

Army Trains 142 NSCDC Personnel On Weapons Handling, Counter-Terrorism

At least 142 men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been trained on counterterrorism and weapons handling by the Nigeria Army.

The Commandant of the 31 Artillery Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Abba Dikko, who made the disclosure yesterday at the Batch C passing out ceremony in Minna, the Niger State capital, said the training involved practical and theories for 129 workers of the NSCDC state command and 13 from the zonal command on weapon handling.

According to the Army Commandant, the lessons on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency were added to the curriculum to get the participants better equipped for contemporary security challenges.

“The training commenced with a directive from the army headquarters to train NSCDC personnel nationwide on the same subject.

“The participants exhibited sustained interest and good character, which enhance the smooth conduct of the course”, Brig.-Gen. Dikko said.

The Course Officer, Cpt. Labiwa Madugu, said the participants were trained on various kinds of weapons, adding that the practical aspect was conducted at the cantonment’s firing range.

Madugu said physical fitness, obstacle crossing, route march, 3.2-kilometre race and beam work were also included in the curriculum.

“They were also trained on special counter-terrorism raid operations, cordon and search, bodyguard duties and VIP protection.

“The training cut across practicals and theories and the general performance score of the training was put at 60 per cent”, he added.

The NSCDC Zonal Commander, Alhaji Saidu Rabe, who was represented by the Niger Commander, Mr. Micheal Ochugwo, called on the trainees to put to use what they learnt to improve the services.

Source: Informationng

How Jonathan Campaigns For Buhari – South East APC

The South East chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said the party’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has greater chances of winning the February election because of the alleged poor performance of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The spokesperson of the chapter, Osita Okechukwu, who stated this while addressing members in Enugu on Friday, said the president is the ‘de facto campaign manager” of his APC counterpart since he has nothing to show to Nigeria what he did for them in the last four years.

Mr. O kechukwu explained that the election of Mr. Buhari, who he said had 60 per cent chance in the poll,had become imperative because Mr. Jonathan specifically failed woefully to provide welfare and security to Nigerian citizens, in spite of the unprecedented resources at his disposal.

“President Jonathan lacks neither the political will to stem corruption or to fight Boko Haram; that’s the GMB Appeal, even from unlikely quarters like South-South and South East,” Mr. Okechukwu said.

“Nigerians want positive change. Can a president who failed to utilise good oil revenue regime, succeed under oil glut regime? No! No! No!’

“It is my candid view that our dear president wasted golden opportunity by failing woefully to fulfil the promises he made four years ago.”

The spokesperson recounted that on May 13, 2010, Mr. Jonathan awarded $23 billion contract for the construction of three Greenfield Refineries in Bayelsa, Lagos and Kogi States, but that five years after the “money had grown wings and the refineries dead on arrival.”

He listed the implications of the failure to install the refineries to include the squandering of over N2 trillion annually in the importation of refined petroleum products; devaluation of the naira and economic downturn; gross unemployment; the return of the country to debt trap; unprecedented oil theft; and posting of phantom economic growth in the midst of widespread poverty.

He said, “My brothers and sisters, you must agree with that if Mr. President, a young man with Ph D had performed; automatically Nigerians from all shades of opinion will not today be clamouring to vote for an old GMB for president, that’s why President Jonathan is his Campaign Chief.”

Mr. Okechukwu thanked supporters from the South East for being the highest donors to the Buhari Support Fund, which has so far garnered over N54 million.

“I commend my people for being a critical chain in the Buhari-Bandwagon-Vehicle for Salvation, so that tomorrow nobody can marginalize Ndigbo,” he said.

Source: Premiumtimesng