Oliseh wants same salary as Keshi

In-coming Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has told officials he is ready to accept the same five million Naira (more than $21,000) a month salary his predecessor, Stephen Keshi, earned. The ex-Eagles captain is due to fly into Abuja on Tuesday evening and later meet with the Nigeria Football Federation technical committee headed by Felix Anyansi-Agwu, africanFootball.com reports. “Oliseh is ready to earn the same pay Keshi was on,” a top official told africanFootball.com “This again shows he is ready to serve his fatherland and money is not what is driving him. “This is another good sign with the decision to give him the job without much fanfare.” The NFF has confirmed Oliseh, 40, will replace Keshi and he will be handed a five-year contract. His backroom staff will include a Dutch assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf as well as Ike Shorunmu, who will remain as goalkeeper trainer. His most immediate task will be a 2017 African Nations Cup qualifier in Tanzania.

Belgian to assist Oliseh

Incoming Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh will be assisted by Belgian, Jean Francois Losciuto. He was assistant to Oliseh, when he managed Belgian lower third division side, Vervietois. He had also had coaching stints in Africa, with Togolese club, Anges de Notse and led the team during their CAF Champions League games against Enyimba earlier in the year, and also ASFA Yennenga of Burkina Faso. He is expected to be announced as Sunday Oliseh’s right hand man when he is officially unveiled. According to the Nigeria Football Federation, he will oversee ‘developmental programmes and will work with clubs’ youth teams and certified academies towards developing the game from the grassroots.

I will deny my husband sex until he pays his debt — wife

A 39-year-old trader, Mrs Modinat Idowu, told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos state on Thursday that she would continue to deny her husband, one Akeem Idowu, sex until he has paid the debt he is owing her. Idowu said this while responding to a suit filed by her 45-year-old husband whom he had been married to for 12 years. “I have been denying my husband sex because he borrowed N690,000 from me and has refused to pay, I will continue to starve him of sex until he pays the money,’’ the mother of two said. “Akeem is in the habit of swearing and cursing me with a charm called `Ishan egungun’: a specially prepared masquerade’s rod and this is affecting my life.’’ She, however, urged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of their marriage, saying that she was still in love with him. The petitioner: Akeem, a businessman, had asked the court to dissolve the 12-year-old marriage over alleged sex denial by his wife. “My wife does not want me to touch her nor make love to her, I am tired of the marriage because I am neither a stick nor a stone,’’ he said. Akeem alleged that his wife loved attending social activities and hardly stayed at home. Whenever she went out, she would not return home until after five days or seven days, he said. “My wife will go from one party to another; spending days and neglecting the family. “I have reported her severally to her father who always calls her to order but there has been no positive change,’’ Akeem told the court. He described Modinat as a liar, not trustworthy and always inconsistent in her words and actions. “Modinat lies a lot. One day, she told me that she was going to Mushin in Lagos state; but some hours later, someone called to tell me that she was in Igbo-Ora in Oyo state. “When I called her and confronted her that she was in Oyo state as against Mushin she claimed she was going to when she left home, she cut her cell phone line. “She took permission on another day that she was going to Oshodi, but someone saw her at Ijebu-Ode in Ogun, I cannot just account for her movement.’’ Akeem said. He pleaded with the court to dissolve the union since he was no longer interested and did not love her any more. The President of the court, Mr Hakeem Oyekan, adjourned the case to July 22 for further hearing. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/i-will-deny-my-husband-sex-until-he-pays-his-debt-wife/#sthash.OjXIdDSO.dpuf

‘49-year-old gynaecologist in Edo committed suicide’

By Simon Ebegbulem BENIN CITY—THE 49 year-old Chief Consultant Gynaecologist and Managing Director of Hope Medical Centre Benin City, Dr John Abode, who was found dead in his wardrobe last Tuesday, may have actually committed suicide, Vanguard gathered. Vanguard learned from a top security source that the deceased who was said to have attempted suicide on several occasions, but was stopped by the widow, injected himself with a yet-to-be disclosed substance before heading to his wardrobe where he hanged himself with his belt. It was learned that the day the sad incident occurred, the wife attended a church service where she later called their 10-year-old son to inform the father that she wanted to speak with him. The source told Vanguard: “It was at that point that the boy searched the house and discovered the deceased body in the wardrobe.” It was learned that the deceased’s wife rushed down to their residence and it was in an attempt to see if she could revive the husband that she moved the body out of the wardrobe. Vanguard was further informed that from investigations, the wife had earlier informed the deceased’s family about the attempted suicide in the past by their son, which made the widow to be deeply involved in church activities to intercede for the husband in prayers. It was further gathered that though the deceased, who also is a staff of the Stella Obasanjo Women and Children Hospital in Benin City, was a successful gynaecologist, his alleged occasional erratic behaviour at home had been a source of great concern to the wife, who had always counselled him against his urge to commit suicide. Though the deceased’s family is suspecting foul play, autopsy results so far indicated that the deceased died as a result of cessation, mostly caused by suicide. However, the family of the deceased called for another autopsy which is being conducted in Lagos. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/49-year-old-gynaecologist-in-edo-committed-suicide/#sthash.R5nDRwCo.dpuf

Alleged $2.3m fraud: How Ohakim secured bail

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA — Former Governor of Imo State, Mr. Ikedi Ohakim, who was on Wednesday, remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after he was arraigned before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over money laundering charge, yesterday, regained his freedom. Trial Justice Ademola Adeniyi granted Ohakim bail to the tune of N270million. Ohakim who was Imo state governor between May 2007 and May 2011 is answering to a three-count criminal charge bordering on money laundering, abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds. He was alleged to have looted the sum of $2.290m from the state treasury and used same to acquire a mansion at the Asokoro District of Abuja. Shortly after he pleaded not guilty to the charge on Wednesday, his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, made an oral application for his release on bail, a prayer that was turned down by the court. Justice Adeniyi directed the accused person to file a formal bail application, even as the matter was adjourned till yesterday. At the resumed sitting on the case yesterday, Ohakim, via a 10-paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by his wife, Chioma, begged the court to allow him to go home, saying he would be available to face his trial. His bail request was not opposed by the prosecuting counsel Mr. Festus Keyamo, who however urged the court to okay accelerated hearing on the matter. Ruling on the application, Justice Adeniyi placed reliance on the decided case laws in Abiola vs FRN, Asari Dokubo vs FRN, as well as that of Uwazuruike vs FRN, and held that the offence against Ohakim is bailable. According to Justice Adeniyi, in granting bail to an accused person, the court must consider the nature of the charge, strength of the evidence, gravity of punishment in event of conviction, previous criminal record of the accused, the possibility of the accused not submitting himself for trial, likelihood that he will interfere with witnesses or evidence as well as the likelihood that he will commit another offence. “This court has perused all the processes and exhibits filed by the parties. The essence of bail is for an accused to attend his trial. Secondly, under section 35 of the constitution, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. “The offences concerned are bailable. I further refer to affidavit of completion of investigation sworn to by the EFCC. “Therefore, this court will exercise its discretion in favour of the accused. Accordingly, the accused is granted bail in the sum of N270million with one surety who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court”. According to the court, the surety must be an owner of a landed property within the jurisdiction of the high court and must tender the title deed of such property to the Deputy Chief Registrar, DCR, of the court for verification. In the alternative, Justice Adeniyi held that such surety could depose to an affidavit of means before the DCR of the court in charge of litigation. More so, Ohakim was ordered to surrender his international passport to the court, pending the hearing and determination of the charge against him. Further hearing on the case was yesterday adjourned till October 20. Specifically, two of the charges against Ohakim read: “That you, Ikedi Ohakim, on or about the month of November, 2008 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court made a cash payment of $2,290,000.00(Two Million, Two Hundred and Ninety Thousand Dollars) which was then an equivalent of about N270,000,000.00(Two Hundred and Seventy Million Naira) for the purchase of the property known and described as Plot No. 1098, Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, also known as NO. 60 Kwame Nkrumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja, which amount exceeded the amount authorised for an individual by section 1 of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act, 2004, and thereby committed an offence contrary to the said section and punishable by section 15(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004. “That you, Ikedi Ohakim, on or about the 26th of January, 2013, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of Federal High Court, while under arrest for an offence under the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, knowingly failed to make a full disclosure of your assets by not declaring your ownership of the property known and described as Plot No. 1098, Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, also known as NO. 60 Kwame Nkrumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 27(3) (c) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 and punishable under the same section.” - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/alleged-2-3m-fraud-how-ohakim-secured-bail/#sthash.46EF8lvQ.dpuf

At Last, Scientists Prove Life After Death

A TEAM of psychologists and medical doctors associated with the Technische Universität of Berlin, announced on Saturday July 4, 2015 morning that they have proven, through clinical experimentation, the existence of some form of life after death. Their discovery, according to the team of scientists led by Dr Berthold Ackermann, was based on the conclusions of a study using a new type of medically supervised near-death experiences, which allow patients to be clinically dead for almost 20 minutes before being brought back to life. This controversial process that was repeated on 944 volunteers over that last four years, necessitates a complex mixture of drugs including epinephrine and dimethyltryptamine, destined to allow the body to survive the state of clinical death and the reanimation process without damage. The body of the subject was then put into a temporary comatic state induced by a mixture of other drugs which had to be filtered by ozone from his blood during the reanimation process 18 minutes later. The extremely long duration of the experience was only recently made possible by the development of a new cardiopulmonary recitation (CPR) machine called the AutoPulse. This type of equipment has already been used over the last few years, to reanimate people who had been dead for somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour. Near-death experiences have been hypothesized in various medical journals in the past, as having the characteristics of hallucinations, but Dr Ackermann and his team, on the contrary, consider them as evidence for the existence of the afterlife and of a form of dualism between mind and body. The team monitored the operations and compiled the testimonies of the subjects. Although there are some slight variations from one individual to another, all of the subjects have some memories of their period of clinical death. and a vast majority of them described some very similar sensations. Most common memories include a feeling of detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of an overwhelming light. The scientists say that they are well aware the many of their conclusions could shock a lot of people, like the fact that the religious beliefs of the various subjects seems to have held no incidence at all, on the sensations and experiences that they described at the end of the experiment. Indeed, the volunteers counted in their ranks some members are a variety of Christian churches, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and atheists. “I know our results could disturb the beliefs of many people” says Ackermann. “But in a way, we have just answered one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind, so I hope these people will be able to forgive us. Yes, there is life after death and it looks like this applies to everyone.”

Meet Four Known Nigerian Transgenders (PHOTOS)

Following the recent trend and folly involving transgenders worldwide, ExpressNG looks inwards and compiles a list of Known Nigerian Transgenders. Amongst them are Ms Sahara, Dapo Adaralegbe and Candy La Mandy. Also on this list is Nigerian Born But US Based woman who transformed to a man, Rizi Xavier Timane Below is the profile we have on them. Ms Sahara The first Nigeria transgender man, Oche Clifford who is now Miss. Sahhara, who was born a male before becoming a model and singer. She spoke of how happier she is that her dream of becoming a woman was achieved., Crying tears of Joy when she saw her transformation. She has been known to stir the hornet with offensive speeches about how she supposedly hates God who created her. The 28 year old Miss Sahara contestant was born a man, Living in Abuja for several years before moving to the UK about 7 years ago where she’s now living as a woman. She’s now a beauty queen, having participated in a few pageants. She (He) was 1st runner up at the 2011 Miss International Queen pageant. Dapo Adaralegbe Dapo Adaralegbe now known as Stephanie Adaralegbe after her transformation was also a man. After his surgery that transformed him to the female sex, he moved to Spain because of fear of rejection Candy La Mandy Though not much is known of Ms. Mandy La Candy, news and pictures of the man turned woman has been making the rounds on social media, with the notification that she is a popular Nigerian transgender based in Canada. She shares her pictures where she calls herself amazing. Rizi Xavier Timane He used to be a woman. Born in Lagos Nigeria. Now living in the US as Rizi Xavier Timane, a man. In an interview with Ebony, he reflects on his journey to living his truth, and the burden that comes with doing it in a country (US) that doesn’t value ‘Black men’. Here what he has to say; I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and I was assigned the female gender at birth. Both of these facts amounted to one thing: I had no power, no respect, and no privilege, nor would I have much of any of these throughout my life. Add in that I came from a less than wealthy family and was, for all intents and purposes, a lesbian, and I became a truly invisible human being; when I wasn’t being ridiculed or abused, I basically did not exist.

Official: Falcao joins Chelsea

Chelsea have agreed terms with Monaco over the season-long loan of striker Radamel Falcao. The Colombia international, who was a £50 million signing for the Ligue 1 side in 2013, will spend the duration of the 2015-16 campaign at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea youngster Mario Pasalic, a 20-year-old Croatian midfielder who spent last season at Elche, will join Monaco on loan as part of the deal. “I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can’t wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe,” Falcao told the club’s official website. Goal revealed last month that Jose Mourinho was driving Chelsea’s interest in Falcao, who he will aim to rehabilitate to top form after a miserable spell at Manchester United. The 29-year-old scored nine goals in 17 games in his first season with Monaco but had his campaign ended by a serious knee injury and missed last summer’s World Cup. Falcao then joined United on loan on deadline day last year but struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford, scoring only four times in 29 games. Prior to his move to Monaco he was recognised as one of the world’s leading strikers, scoring 70 goals in two seasons at Atletico Madrid and netting a hat-trick in the 2012 Super Cup against Chelsea. - See more at: http://nigerianpilot.com/official-falcao-joins-chelsea/#sthash.Gb7AfsJH.dpuf

Men Can You Do This For Your Wife Or Girlfriend? Photo

Some Nigerian men told me they can NEVER do this even at gunpoint. The Nigerian man reading this post, can you?

My Friend Sold Me To Ritualists For N150,000

Hearing the story of kidnapped people for ritual purposes or for a ransom is disturbing and many just thank God it isn’t them and pray against it. The truth however is that with dangerous elements that carry out these dastardly acts roaming freely amongst us, everyone is at risk. Here is the story of a young man, Timothy Lawani, 25, a trader at Suleja roundabout area, who was kidnapped for ritual purpose but survived the ordeal. Lawani, in an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, said it was God that saved him after he was kidnapped, tied up and was to be sacrificed in Kano. The incident happened at about 4am on January 14, 2015. Lawani went outside his family house at Old Barracks, Suleja to ease himself, when suddenly he heard someone call his name. Walking towards a red Volkswagen Golf parked behind his house, he was surprised to see an old friend, Friday, comfortably seated in the car beckoning on him with two hefty men. Narrating his story, Lawani said, “In my confused state, I greeted them. One of them held me and the other sprayed a powder on my face. That was the last thing I could remember. I later saw myself in a very large hall with other young men who were tied up. The kidnappers kept bringing other people to join us. Sometimes, they even offered us food to eat which we all refused. They then said, whether we ate or not, we would die after all. “After two days, we were made to put on white apparels and join a queue. I noticed that anyone who goes out never comes back; I was so scared. When it was my turn, I went outside, saw a large pool of water like swimming pool and a man standing by the side chanting incantations. He later ordered the guards to take me inside that they were not in need of someone like me.” Continuing, Lawani said, “In my presence, the man called on Friday who came about 40 minutes later. After telling him that I was not acceptable for their rituals, Friday started flogging me mercilessly. He then ordered the men to take me out, but not before the ritualist got angry, and ordered the hefty men to bring Friday for sacrifice in my place. I heard him beg them to give him just 30 minutes to enable him bring another person, but the man said there was no time. “With Friday’s hands and legs tied, the man began chanting incantations again. This time, I saw crocodiles coming out of the water. Friday was then thrown inside, the reptiles feasted on him. I was not myself because of the sight of blood and how such large reptiles ate up a whole human being. The man later ordered the men to throw me out, that I was useless to them. They sprayed a powder on my face again and I became unconscious.’’ On how he got back to his senses, Lawani recalled that he was sheltered by a Hausa man who saw him wandering in Gomoja area of Kano State. After prayers were offered for him for about three days, he regained consciousness but could not speak. It was then he wrote down his father’s phone number which he easily remembered and with which they used to reach his family, that had been searching frantically for him. LEADERSHIP Weekend later learnt from his elder brother, Theophilus Lawani, that his friend sold him to the kidnappers for N150,000. Theophilus further revealed that before the Hausa man called them from Kano, Lawani’s friend sent them several messages, telling them to forgive him for selling his friend. “Even before we got the text from Friday, we reported the case at A division Police Station in Suleja, but the Policemen demanded the sum of N70,000 in order to start investigation. Since we do not have such amount, we resorted to prayers, and God answered us. We have decided to take my brother for further prayers in Kaduna,” Theophilus stated. All efforts by LEADERSHIP Weekend to speak with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of A Division was futile as it was referred to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the headquarters in Minna. Meanwhile, a Police officer who pleaded anonymity, said there have been several incidents of kidnapping within and outside the state, but the police have tried to curtail the rate by investigating and arresting suspects. Giving tips on how people could prevent themselves from being kidnapped, he said, “People need to be wary anywhere they are. An isolated target is easier to pick up. It is better for people to be strengthened by being in groups. Hostage takers would have to work harder to kidnap members of a group than to kidnap an individual. People should also try to promptly report any kidnap case around them to the nearest police station.” According to a security expert, Bashir Wole, people should be very cautious whenever they come in contact with any stranger. “People ought to become more alert and discerning to protect themselves from being kidnapped. Government also needs to do more in terms of detecting, arresting and punishing kidnappers, such that the severity of the punishment would deter others from engaging in such. “There must be enforcement and punishment that can deter people from going into kidnapping. If people are punished, maybe by capital punishment, others would conclude that it is not worth it. The criminal justice system must work. The reason kidnapping is lucrative in Nigeria is impunity; people think they can do it and get away with the crime. The fear of the grievous punishment should be such that will keep people from further committing the crime.” The general public is advised to heed to advice from security experts and the Police by being alert and security conscious to avoid timothy’s experience. We should all learn to be security conscious wherever we goes. http://leadership.ng/features/444649/my-friend-sold-me-to-ritualists-for-n150000-victim

Soft Drinks Kill 184,000 Adults Every Year - Study

The dangers of fizzy, sugary drinks have once again been highlighted as scientists have said they kill 184,000 adults every year. It further said those under 45 consume more artificially sweetened drinks and are more at risk of diabetes and obesity. The worldwide study is the first to estimate deaths and disability from diabetes, heart disease, and cancers caused by the drinks. It added that 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6,450 deaths from cancer were caused by fizzy drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks and sweetened ice teas in 2010. The study did not include pure fruit juices and all drinks had at least 50 kcal per eight US ounces (0.23 litres) serving or just over two thirds of a standard pop can. According to Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston said "many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages" She therefore said it should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet as there are no health benefits from them. The study based its estimates of consumption from 62 dietary surveys including 611,971 individuals conducted between 1980 and 2010 across 51 countries, along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries and other information. Based on meta-analyses of other published evidence on health harms of sugar-sweetened beverages, it calculated the direct impact on diabetes and the obesity-related effects on cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. It found sugar drinks caused more deaths in Mexico with 405 deaths per million adults equal to 24,000 total deaths followed by the US with an estimated 125 deaths per million adults or 25,000 total deaths. Japan also came in with the estimated percentage of deaths less than 1% of over 65 years old, but 30% in Mexican adults under 45. Three quarters of all deaths are linked to developing countries. Younger adults were however more at risk of chronic illnesses than older people. The study which was published in the journal, Circulation, raised concern on the health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young as younger adults form a large sector of the workforce in many countries. http://www.metroparrot.net/2015/07/soft-drinks-kill-184000-adults-every.html

Dead Man Withdraws N4.3M From Union Bank In Kaduna

Wonders, they say, shall nev­er end. Or, how else does one describe a situation where a young medical doctor who died in a motor accident on the way to his wedding on October 10, 2013 withdrew about N4.3m from his own account in Union Bank in Kaduna few weeks after his death? Information from the bank indicated that the dead man used the ATM card to make the withdrawals. New twist A new twist emerged when the dead man applied for an ATM card from his bank and used it to clear his account. A family source said: “When Chidiebere died, we discovered that his mobile telephone num­ber had been blocked. We were surprised because no member of our family told the GSM service provider that Chidiebere had died. So, we took up the matter and it took some time before the line was reactivated. “We got the shock of our lives after re­activating the line. As soon as we switched on the phone, we began to receive alerts of withdrawals from his account. All the withdrawals were made after he had died and had been buried. During his life time, he did not use ATM cards but in death, he applied for ATM card from the bank in Kaduna and started withdrawing all the money in his account. Worse still, Chidie­bere was not the owner of all the money in the account. One of his brothers who went abroad in search of greener pastures was sending money to Chidiebere to keep for him. Now, the brother is back and Chidie­bere’s corpse had withdrawn all the money as the bank wants us to believe.” It was learnt that the family has con­tacted the bank on the strange withdrawals but it has been prevaricating over the issue. Saturday Sun had, on November 16, 2013, published the pathetic story of Dr Chidiebere Emmanuel Nwanja, who died on the way to Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State to con­tract marriage with his sweet heart, Miss Celina Uzor. According to the report “Their tradi­tional marriage rite otherwise called Ig­bankwu was fixed for Monday, October 14, 2013 while the white wedding was billed for Tuesday, October 15 at the Pres­byterian Church, Okposi Okwu. “On October 10, Chidiebere left Kadu­na where he was practising for his home­town for the marriage ceremony. He was in company with his younger brother, Kel­echi Nwanja and Mr Ifeanyi, an indigene of Onicha Igboeze, who was supposed to play the role of best man. While they jour­neyed, the bride and groom kept in touch via telephone. In fact, Celina and about seven of her friends, the asebi girls, were already in town putting finishing touches to the arrangement. “The journey was smooth until they got to Udi in Enugu. There, the unexpected happened. They had a fatal accident in which the groom and his best man died on the spot. Only Kelechi survived but he sus­tained serious injuries. “Narrating the tragedy that befell the family, Chidiebere’s elder brother, Mr Ndubuisi Nwanja, in an emotion laden voice, said: ‘When I got the information that my brother was involved in an acci­dent, I rushed to the place but before I got there, the police had already been there. They took Kelechi to Annunciation Hos­pital, a Catholic hospital, in Emene, Enugu and deposited the corpses of Chidiebere and Ifeanyi at a mortuary in Udi because the accident happened in Udi, at the bypass before Four – Corner. The following day we went to the hospital to see the corpses.’ “He added that the family committed the resources already earmarked for the marriage to the burial of the young medi­cal doctor. ‘The family met and decided to bury him immediately; we did not want to keep the corpse in the mortuary. So, we went to the mortuary, took the corpse and buried. The wake keep held on October 14 while the burial took place on October 15. His traditional marriage was supposed to hold on October 14 while the church wed­ding would take place on October 15, the day he was eventually buried. We decided to use the things he bought for the tradi­tional marriage and Church wedding for his burial. He had already bought drinks and hired chairs, tables, canopies and mu­sical groups and we decided to use these things he had paid for to bury him.’ The report disclosed that the tale as­sumed a new dimension on October 18 when the family went to the accident site to retrieve the car or what was left of it and personal effects. A family source said in the report: ‘We tried to bring the car out of the place it fell into but we could not. So, we decided to axe the car into pieces there. While we were at it, a commercial bus driver from Udi who operates between Enugu and Port Harcourt saw us and parked his ve­hicle. He asked us if we were the relation of the doctor and we told him everything. He said that he was the person that helped the police to bring the doctor out of the car but, unfortunately, he was already dead. He said that he was the one that removed his clothes and while removing the clothes he saw a huge sum of money that he was coming back with and he handed every­thing over to the police. But the police did not even make mention of the money, let alone release it to us. They only gave us the luggage he was coming back with. They didn’t tell us that there was any mon­ey involved.’ The report added that the family had gone to the police station at Udi with a view to recovering the money to no avail, as policemen there claimed to be unaware of the money.

Most Of Nigeria Problem Starts With Letter "P" See Below

Have you noticed that most of Nigeria’s problems begin with the letter ‘P’…? Police PHCN Politics Potholes Pension Thieves Power failure Pipeline vandals Petroleum Subsidy scam Prostitutes Pirates Propaganda Palaver President Power Supply P…………? Fill in the gap and add yours

APC crisis: Osinbajo, Tinubu, Akande boycott NEC meeting

The end of the crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, may still not be in sight as former governor of Lagos state and a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu stayed away from the National Executive Committee, NEC at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja. Also conspicuously meeting was the former interim national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande. Though it was speculated before now whether Tinubu is a member of the NEC, but other party leaders like Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Dr Niyi Adebayo, and Dr Chris Ngige were all admitted into the meeting, which lays to rest whether Tinubu should be in the meeting. Akande being a former national chairman of the party, is automatically a member of NEC. The Vice President also stayed away from the meeting though, the national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun recognised his contributions to the success of the party. - See more at: http://nigerianpilot.com/apc-crisis-osinbajo-tinubu-akande-boycott-nec-meeting/#sthash.YwO2z02G.dpuf

EX-GOV ARRESTED IN LONDON FOR WIFE BEATING

Immediate past governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, was recently arrested by the Metropolitan Police in Britain and charged with battery after he allegedly beat up his wife, Yemisi in their luxury London home. The governor was however quick to deny on social media that he was at peace with his wife as no such incident occurred. But according to reports, the Metropolitan Police Domestic Violence Office booked Governor Suswam into its London detention center for several hours last week and a judge set a £5,000 bail bound for him before he was released. Police arrested the embattled Governor Suswam in his luxury London home after they received a distress 999 call from his wife Yemisi, the former first lady of Benue State. Mrs Suswam was said to have told a dispatcher over the phone that she feared for her life after being physically assaulted by her husband over a heated argument relating to Suswam’s mistress (names withheld.) One family source told the police that Suswam hit Yemisi severally and inflicted injuries on her. Apparently, Mrs. Suswam was unhappy with mistress’s alleged increasing influence on her husband and matters eventually came to a head. Battery is an offence in the UK under the Persons Act of 1861 and Suswam faces a prison term not exceeding six months if found guilty. One close family source revealed that the British Police are prevailing on Mrs Suswam to press charges against her husband who is in the habit of abusing her regularly. If Mrs. Suswam decides to press criminal charges against her husband, the former governor risks going to jail under the UK Criminal Justice Act of 1988. However, in a swift reaction via his official Facebook account, the former governor called on the general public to disregard the rumour, saying that there’s no iota of truth in the story. “Dear friends, my attention has been drawn to news making rounds on social media that I was arrested in London last week. That report is full of mischief and aimed at slandering me and my dear wife. Disregard any news about a squabble between me and my dear wife. We’re fine, enjoy your day. Thank you. GTS,” he wrote. - See more at: http://nigerianpilot.com/ex-gov-arrested-in-london-for-wife-beating/#sthash.ola40Zgh.dpuf

15 Mistakes You Shouldn't Make On The First Date

I know some people dont respect the dating world. They believe it's a waste of time and currency and girls dont deserve it. I mean why should I waste my money on lunch (I might offer to pay you never can tell) if I can use that to get a quickie at the corner of every club. My brother, you cant continue living like this cause nothing good comes from the corner of every club. Well, this article is for you decent gentlemen. Im here to help you out, make it easy a little for you. Im not promising you anything superb at the end but to save you from getting red wine all over your outfit or having a nagging frowning lady opposite you, these are fifteen first date mistakes you dont wanna make; 1. Do not bring your friend without her consent. You dont know how rude it looks when she walks up to the car and realises she has to move to the back seat. Worse of all she didnt know...Sigh** well it's wrong if common sense doesn't tell you it is. 2.Dont waste her time. Dont stand her up. If it isn't okay for you give a time that is. 'How about we make it by 4' not that you'll be all okay and then waste her time. Dont stand her up 3.Dont go all dirty and talk vulgar. I mean dude im eating. But seriously no dirty talk if she didnt initiate it. Dont start asking questions about her favorite position or asking her to demonstrate how she gives a head...Bro, really 4. Dont hold a pity party and talk about all your exes. We really don't wanna date an attachment Barbie who cries at love films. Besides we really dont care 5. It is not okay to chill at your place after. Take her home don't ask. 6. Your football club is playing and you decide to have the date. Then you cant keep your phone away and you are glued to goals.com or your eyes is on the tv screen. You're even talking about the match and the whole date is about the silly football. My point? Dont have it when your club is playing 7. Dont order for her. Or try to be impulsive. Dont try to make her have more drinks or more food. Let her have what's okay for her 8. Dont talk about your marriage plans, how many kids you wanna have. I mean it's nice to know you think of getting there but no. Dont talk about it today. Not the first time we are going out 9.If she says I dont want to talk about it, dont push. Don't go all come on, dont make it a big deal, didn't I just tell you about my own, dont try to play therapist. She doesn't wanna talk about it. 10. Do you have a car, are you using the commercial means of transportation, are you letting cab? let her know how your movement is gonna be. We might just decide it's convenient for us to meet you there instead 11. Dont talk too much. Talk, make jokes but not dry jokes and please dont be a chatterbox. You'd probably lie because you are talking too much or make yourself look like a complete . Dont chatter away. 12. Go for what's convenient for you. If you are not used to a fork and knife, finger foods are also available. Dont make a mess of yourself, please. 13. Reduce the volume of your phone, keep it in your pocket and concentrate on her. It goes a long way 14. Do not try checking other girls out. You may not know but its rude to have a beautiful lady opposite you and still look onwards when a girl passes or worst of all turn your head. Really.....seriously..... 15. Compliment her, tell her what a nice time you had. If you have her smiling. I think you were pretty impressive. Compiled by nneka

Our pastor is not dead; he will resurrect

Our pastor is not dead; he will resurrect on June 27, 2015 / in Crime Guard, News 12:48 am / Comments By Evelyn Usman Commercial activities were, Monday, disrupted for the better part of the day along Oba Kayode Way, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, following sporadic gunshots from three heavily-armed men operating on a motorcycle. The gunshots sent fear-stricken motorists and passers-by scampering for safety. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/our-pastor-is-not-dead-he-will-resurrect/#sthash.xpYVh9Mm.dpuf

In their desperate bid to leave the scene, motorists increased their speed limit while companies, including transport operators around the axis, hurriedly shut their entrance gates, depriving those who attempted to take cover in their premises, from entering. By the time the dust settled, some vehicles were reportedly discovered to have sunk into the numerous potholes covered by flood, with the drivers abandoning them at the mercy of the gunmen. Death at noon Shockingly, the driver of one of the vehicles was seen lying helplessly inside his bus in a pool of his blood. He was the victim of volleys of bullets released by the gunmen. By the time curious on-lookers checked, the man was found stone dead while reclining on his seat with head facing downwards. On closer observation, he was discovered to be wearing a lemon-coloured reflective jacket of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, whose headquarters is located in Ijesha, not too far away from the scene of the tragedy. The bus he drove was also discovered to be owned by the church. Visit to bank The victim was later identified as Pastor Chukwuemeka Augustine Okpokpo, the Lagos State Coordinator of the church. Information at Crime Guard’s disposal has it that he left the church that fateful day, informing some of his members that were with him that he was going to the bank to withdraw some money. But shortly after he left the bank his assailants came calling. Eyewitness accounts Eyewitnesses told Crime Guard that it was obvious that Okpokpo was the target of the gunmen. This is because they focused their attention on him while shooting. They were said to have apparently trailed him right from the bank before releasing some shots. An eyewitness who simply gave his name as Ndubuisi said: “I had gone to the bank to deposit some money and was on my way back to Okota when the bandits started shooting. I hurriedly parked my vehicle on reaching the bad spot and ran into the bush by the median, where I laid flat, praying to God to spare my life. “From there, I saw a Lord’s Chosen bus slow down on reaching the bad spot and immediately the robbers got to the bus, they shot at the tyres. A man on the steering was about to come out and escape, only for one of the robbers to move close to him and shot him at close range. Thereafter, he (the gunman) opened the door and brought out a nylon containing some money. He came back to where his victim was, looked at him for some seconds and nodded his head before joining his two other colleagues on the motorbike. They made a U-turn and disappeared the same way the came.” Controversy trails killing However, controversy has begun to trail the death of late Okpokpo, as many are of the view that the gunmen were assassins. Those close to him, however, did not rule out the fact that his killers could be close associates from the same vineyard whom they alleged may be envious of him. Pastor Okpokpo, as gathered, reportedly incurred the envy of some of his church members, owing to his uprightness in executing projects entrusted to him. His killing, as gathered, might not be unconnected with his position as the Ministry’s Lagos State Coordinator and one of the right-hand men of the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Lazarus Mouka. A member of the church in the ministerial cycle who did not want his name in print told Crime Guard that there was more to Okpokpo’s death than mere armed robbery operation, hinting that the deceased attained the position of the church’s state coordinator, owing to his stand against corruption and unnecessary inflation of projects. According to him: “Pastor Chukwuemeka,” as they all called him, “was one of the trusted hands in the church. In fact, he wormed his way into the G.O.’s heart through honesty, hard work, dedication and commitment to the well being of the church. The first time he was given a building project of N1.2 billion to execute, he rendered account accurately and even brought the balance of money, an act that had never been done by those who handled such projects in the past. Others would not render account and would, rather, demand for more money. Since then, our G.O. entrusted key projects to him. This created an open rivalry as most people saw him as a stumbling block to their financial uplift. He usually queried inflated projects which put those involved in a bad light.” Another area which generated controversy was the fact that the bus with plate number EPE 101 BE that was driven by him, reportedly had no stain on it. Relatives of the deceased who saw the bus told Crime Guard that there was no sign that someone who was shot in the stomach was brought out of the bus. Premonition Crime Guard gathered that Pastor Okpokpo could have had premonition of the tragedy that befell him, as he reportedly complained of tiredness and boredom before leaving his 41 Adisa Cooker abode in Iju area of the state, where he lived in a one room sublet of a three-bedroom flat. The deceased, as gathered, only returned from a crusade from one of the South-Western states last Saturday, and was actively involved in the preparation of a forthcoming crusade billed for July 4 and 5, 2015 at the church’s headquarters in Ijesha, Lagos, with the theme ‘It is God’s time’. He was said to have coordinated the posting of bills and tying of banners for the crusade in every nook and cranny of Iju as well as other areas and complained of exhaustion. But little did he understand the message being passed through his instincts. With a declaration of faith, he stepped out of his house and drove the missionary bus assigned to him, without the slightest inclination that he would never live to witness the success of the crusade he had put so much energy. Journey to Europe Crime Guard gathered that before branching into ministry, the late Okpokpo who was from a humble background, had like others, travelled to Europe in search of greener pastures. He reportedly lived in Greece and Italy for several years, before returning to Nigeria in 2003, to attend one of his cousin’s wedding but could not return to Europe since then. It was in the process that he was introduced to the church by his eldest sister who passed on six months ago. Pastor Chukwuemeka is not dead Efforts to speak with the church’s spokesperson, Mr Chidi Louis, failed as he was said to be in the church when this reporter visited, Thursday. He affirmed that in a text sent to his mobile line with a reply saying: “In the service, please.” Attempt to get the reactions of some members of the church was greeted by expression of surprise on their faces as they claimed that their Pastor was alive. In fact, one of them, a woman with the lemon-coloured reflective jacket gazed at this reporter, saying: “Who told you he is dead? That is how you journalists will be talking anyhow. Pastor Chukwuemeka is not dead. He has performed miracles that were beyond human comprehension through the power of God and such a person cannot go down the grave like that. God’s power is still at work and will do the miraculous in his life.” It was gathered that after he was shot dead, the body of Pastor Okpokpo was taken to the church clinic where it was discovered that he was shot in the stomach and the bullet pierced out from the back. Undaunted by the bodily damage, as they put it, members of the church prayer warriors reportedly went into warfare prayer from 12.30pm to 8pm, believing firmly that he would resurrect. Although the body has been taken to the home town of the deceased in Amizi, Ikwuano Local Government Area, Umuahia, Abia State, where it was deposited in a morgue, church members are still hopeful that he would resurrect from the morgue. When his twin sister, Evangelist Augustina Chibueze was contacted, she asserted authoritatively that her twin brother was not dead. According to her: “He cannot die because it is not yet time for him to die. Our Pastor (Pastor Mouka) has said that nobody is permitted to die a day before God’s pre-destined time. The God of Chosen whom I serve will resurrect Chukwuemeka. That grave that rejected Jesus will also reject Chukwuemeka. He is not dead. We are still praying. No matter how long he stays in the morgue, he will resurrect and come to testify because God of Chosen will bring him back to life,” she stated with all sense of conviction. Mouka rains curses on killers On his part, Pastor Mouka was said to be too devastated to speak when he met with some family members of the deceased in the church . Trying hard not to betray his emotion, Mouka was quoted as saying that he was overwhelmed by the tragedy because the deceased was close to him. Crime Guard gathered that he later held a meeting with all Pastors where news of the death of Pastor Okpokpo was officially announced. A visibly angry Mouka was said to have placed curses on whoever had a hand in the death of Okpokpo. He was quoted as saying: “Anyone who has a hand in Pastor Chukwuemeka’s death will never see good.” The Police on their part said, investigation had begun. Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Kenneth Nwosu said: “We have begun investigation to unravel the killers and bring them to book.” - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/our-pastor-is-not-dead-he-will-resurrect/#sthash.xpYVh9Mm.dpuf

Aba leather workers to produce military wears

Security agencies in the country may no longer rely on importation of wears for their personnel as Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has said that plans were underway by Aba shoe and leather workers to produce shoes and belts for the Nigerian Army, Navy and other security personnel in the country. Gov. Ikpeazu disclosed this at the Government House, Umuahia when he met with shoe, bag, belt and trunk bus manufacturers association of Abia state who paid him a courtesy visit. He stated his administration’s willingness to encourage and empower Aba shoe makers, bag and leather manufacturers to excel in their trade. According to him,Abia is blessed in commerce with a lot of craftsmen and promised to give the association priority in his government’s scheme of things. He said that the government was working on plans to ensure that there exists an industrial cluster for shoe and allied products manufacturers in Aba. Governor Ikpeazu was of the view that it was only when the association was in a cluster that the members could enjoy economy of scale and directed the permanent secretary, ministry of commerce to ascertain why the Umukalika industrial cluster has not taken off. He promised that the government would take some of the local shoe and leather manufactures on a foreign trip to see how things are done over there and urged members of the association to support and cooperate with his administration. Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr. Rowland Anyanwu appreciated the governor for having their interest at heart and for undertaking the repair of some roads in Aba especially the Old Express where their members do business. In his remark, the secretary of the association, Mr. Nnabugwu Osondu who regretted that the leather industry had been neglected said that the industry could help drive the nation’s diversification quest and called on government to help them with an industrial park as well as machinery and tools as their members were scattered in Aba. He called on the state government to provide them with the enabling environment as the leather industry is the highest employer of labour in the state as well as to sponsor them to international trade fairs. - See more at: http://nigerianpilot.com/aba-leather-workers-to-produce-military-wears/#sthash.gAk1yqMZ.dpuf

Buhari fires Ekpenyong, appoints 62-yr-old kinsman DSS DG

President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director-General of Department of State Service, DSS, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong, and replaced him with his 62-year-old kinsman, Lawal Musa Daura. The appointment of Daura was conveyed to him yesterday in a letter by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, HoS, Danladi Kifasi. According to a statement made public by HoS’ Director of Communications, Haruna R. Imrana, Daura’s appointment is with immediate effect. Daura was born in Daura, Katsina on August 15, 1953. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1977-1980. He started his carrier in the State Security Service, SSS, in 1982 and rose to the rank of director. He was at one time the Deputy Director Presidential Communication, Command and Control Centre at the Presidential Villa, Abuja between 2003 and 2007. Daura also served as the State Director of SSS at various times in Kano, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, Osun and Imo states. The sack of Ekpenyong, who has been heading the secret police since September 2010, did not come as a surprise to many watchers of security matters since Buhari was sworn-in as President on May 29. Nigerian Pilot learnt that Buhari is dissatisfied with the operation of the DSS as he (Buhari) has hinted that the secret police had become more political in their operations than its professional duties, and consequently caused a committee to look into the activities of the agency and report back to him before end of June. Besides, the body language of Buhari had shown that he was not pleased with Ekpenyong hence his sack yesterday. Sources said that the President was angered by the fact that the DSS flouted his (Buhari’s) orders when he issued a directive to the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy and the DSS to furnish the Presidency with the list of personnel who would constitute the presidential security detail. The sources said this was to give the Presidency enough time to screen the officers before they arrived at the Villa. “All the service chiefs immediately complied, except Mr. Ita Ekpenyong. Instead of complying with the presidential directive, the DG posted 253 of his selected henchmen to the Presidency on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 without approval. The reason for his non-compliance is best known to him.” It was further learnt that the President lost confidence in the DSS and that was why he replaced its operatives with the military in the Presidential Villa. The Strike Force, which is a special security outfit saddled with the responsibility of protecting the President and the seat of power, currently comprises only officials of the Department of State Services. The source said a Lieutenant who will be leading 21 other military officers had been transferred to the Strike Force to take over from the DSS officials. With the development, military personnel will take over from them henceforth. “We are aware that the situation is causing tension as there is a possibility of a showdown. But we are working hard to ensure that the situation did not degenerate,” one of the sources said. Nigerian Pilot further gathered that Ekpenyong recommended some personnel of the service for promotions to former President Goodluck Jonathan before he (Jonathan) left office. Another source said: “Before former President Goodluck Jonathan left office, the DG recommended senior officers from the rank of deputy directors for promotion and many are not happy with the development. Those in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states where there is restiveness caused by Boko Haram, had not benefitted from this promotion. Our investigations revealed that the recent promotion is against the backdrop of the fact that the new administration may force some officers of the Service on compulsory retirement.

18 Children Escape Unhurt As Truck Falls On School Bus

But for divine providence, the families of many pupils of a nursery and primary school in Okota area of Lagos State could have been thrown into mourning by now. A truck plying the pothole-riddled Ago Palace Way, Okota, lost control and hit a school bus that was conveying pupils to school. The incident happened on Tuesday. An eyewitness told Daily Sun that the truck was trying to avoid some other tankers that were parked along the road, thereby narrowing it to a single lane. In the process, the truck hit the school bus that was filled with children on their way to school. According to him, as a result of the accident, all the doors of the bus became forcefully locked, leaving the terrified children screaming and weeping uncontrollably. They had to be rescued through the window. Speaking with Daily Sun at the scene of the accident, Prince Nixon Okwara, Chairman of Ago Phase Two United Forum, the umbrella organisatrion of all the estates in the area, on Ago-Okota Road, said that was not the first time such was happening on the road. Prince Okwara, who is also the Chairman, Green Field Estate Community Development Association, recalled that sometime ago, a container fell on the car of a young couple driving on the road and crushed the duo to death while they were going to church for a wedding ceremony. He said the situation was worse at night when trucks and tankers were usually parked on both sides of the road, thereby reducing the road to one lane and causing accidents and serious traffic problem. According to him, residents in the area had on several occasions, written to the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, to help them stop the trucks from parking on the Ago Palace Way. He said that they had also sent a save-our-soul message to the new governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to come to their aid. “We want to thank God that the 18 nursery and primary school pupils escaped unhurt. Just imagine what would have happened if those children, most of them under the age of 10, had died. We have written several letters to the government of Lagos State to notify them about the dangers the trucks that are parking on this road are causing .We have also made a lot of peaceful protests to draw the attention of government to the plight of the people living in this area, all to no avail. It seems government is waiting for something like this to happen before they can swing into action. I want to once again use this opportunity to draw their attention so that they will come to assist in clearing this road of the menace of articulated vehicles. The recklessness and manner of these trucks and trailers are causing untold hardship to the other users of the road. Another resident of the area, Moses Onwughalu, said since the end of the tenure of former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, the contractors handling the Ago Palace Way have withdrawn their services probably because they were not sure if his successor would want to continue with the road project. According to him, this had worsened the state of the road as the graded parts had turned into craters. He called on Governor Ambode to bring the contractors back, adding that the road was very important to residents of the area and the state in general. He also appealed to the governor to exercise his powers in clearing the road of the menace of tanker drivers. “We have been on this matter for more than eight years. There is nothing under the law that we have not done to draw the attention of government to the menace of these truck drivers. The worst of all is that they used to tell us to our faces that there is nothing we can do, that their owners are highly connected in Abuja and other places. So, we are appealing to Governor Ambode to try and save us from the dangers on this road. The innocent school children were lucky to have escaped. But last year, a couple going to church for a wedding ceremony was crushed to death when a container fell on their car at AP Bus Stop. The story on this road has been that of horror. Even hoodlums hide in some of these trucks at night to rob helpless citizens who are going home after a hard day’s toil,” Onwughalu said.

Okonjo-Iweala ‘must state how $2b oil cash was spent’

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole insists former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala must explain how the Excess Crude Account crashed to $2billion. She ran the economy aground, said the governor, who accused the former minister of toying with figures and being economical with the truth on the state of the economy inherited by President Muhammadu Buhari. Oshiomhole insists the Federal Government is broke and would have been in a worse shape than the states if it had not resorted to borrowing to pay wages. He accused Dr. Okonjo-Iweala of granting multi-billion naira waivers to various organisations. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, the Governor said: “With all due respect to the former Minister, Okonjo-Iweala, she knows how to play around with statistics. I have made the point; she keeps opening part of the pages and not the entire book. The logic of transparency is that every minister must publish in full what is accruing to the federation account month-to-month and what is distributed to them. What she has been publishing is that this is what went to the Federal Government, this is what went to the state government and this is what goes to the local government. “What she never published simultaneously is what accrued during the period out of which this was distributed. So we can now know what was collected to what was distributed so we can know what is left in the excess crude account. You can see her changing the goal post. On the authority to spend, Okonjo-Iweala was a member of the National Economic Council, I was a member and I am on record of asking her, ‘don’t give us verbal reports on matters of federation account, give us written report’ and the power to spend is not vested on Commissioners. “Look at the constitution and tell me which section gives the Commissioner for Finance the power, all of them, they are unknown to ballot, they are not elected but the membership of NEC is clear - governors chaired by the Vice President representing the President, the CBN and other relevant ministries. How will she avoid this level of accountability? “The decision to take money from the Excess Crude Account, that power is vested in the National Economic Council. The NEC is an institution created in the constitution. What she is referring to is her own administrative arrangement. The $2 billion is her last sum because in her last report, she said we had $4.1 billion, she said so orally, but it was captured in the minutes, only for her to come around again at the last minute to say “X” figure is left. We asked her, what did you pay for?” On states which owe workers’ salary arrears, Oshiomhole said: “Every employer of labour has an obligation, a contractual obligation to pay those who work. The Bible says a labourer is entitled to his wages. Once you have laboured, it has to be paid for and you don’t pay wages because you are rich and you are able to afford it, you pay wages because the people have worked for it. It is not a gift from a kind-hearted employer; it is an obligation, it is a consequence for work. “I think what has happened is that at the peak of the oil boom, prices were high, people made projections about their expected expenditure and budget on the basis of those numbers. Along the line, there was a sharp drop and this sharp drop that people talk about is not just about a drop in terms of price of crude oil because prices have dropped below this level before. “What is new is the level of so-called crude oil theft. A situation in which certain persons, powerful in the system, pretend not to know what was going on and simply excuse the huge lapses in terms of crude oil theft. So you have a double squeeze of drop in price and escalation in the volume of alleged theft of crude. The combined effect of these is that the total inflow into the federation account dropped sharply. “This is also compounded by the fact that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the two of them working together, simply refused to transfer to the federation account a lot of the money that ought to have accrued. For example, over the past four to five years, the NLNG had every year made huge payment between $1.5 to $2 billion which ought to go to the federation account. This money was never transferred to the federation account, it was unilaterally expended by the Federal Government. “We were not even informed of the fact that these money was paid and each time we asked the then Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy what was happening with the proceeds from the NLNG, no explanation was ever offered whether in black and white or in oral and there are several other federal agencies that made huge sums of money, which were illegally and unilaterally spent by the Federal Government, without being allowed to flow into the federation account. “So when you draw up a budget on the basis of anticipated revenue and there is such a sharp drop in revenue arising from diversion and there is also drop in price; obviously, something will have to give. “The federal finances are even worst-hit. Over the past nine months under the past government, Federal Government could not and have not been able to pay salaries from her legitimate income. What she has been doing, which states could not do, was to borrow, use the CBN through various instruments termed security, etc and basically draw down the pension funds because they are the ones who have liquidity to patronise the bond market. “So if we were to be able to stop the Federal Government from borrowing to pay salaries, Federal Government would have defaulted in payment of salaries much earlier than states and the number of months the federal government would have been owing would be worse than the worst state in the federation. “Just look at the budget of the Federal Government over the past four years and you will see the level of deficit finances that was built into the budget. So, in trying to understand the financial crisis, you shouldn’t limit yourself to those who can pay. Even those who purport to pay, look at their source of funding the payment. If you do, you will find out that whereas the Federal Government frees itself to borrow quite recklessly, reckless in the sense that no serious manager goes month after month to borrow for the payment of salaries. “I speak on my honor that the Federal Government is just as broke and that they are borrowing, using CBN instruments in trillions of naira to pay salaries. “Now part of the problem is talking about taxes and this can be proved in black and white. The Federal Government illegally granted waivers to various organisations, running into hundreds of billions of naira that ought to flow to the federation account. “Now those are taxes. When the Minister grants waivers for you to bring cement into the country; grants waiver for you to bring vegetable oil into the country; grants waiver for you to bring vehicles into the country and when you look at the total sum, sometimes, even VAT, are illegally waived. So how do you get taxes? “There are two kinds of taxes: direct and Indirect tax. Personal Income Tax, which is deducted from your pay before your net gets to you, and indirect tax which is VAT, royalties, import tax where you spend quality of time looking at your tariff policies designed to protect your local industries and discourage importation. All of these are sources of funding of government. “We must understand that in other climes, government does not live on rents from oil money. Governments worldwide are run on taxes. Now this last government is the worst in terms of granting unexplained huge source of money in the name of waivers. Can you believe that even oil companies were granted so-called pioneer status? They will set up a small vehicle in the oil sector, give them certain transactions, give them so-called pioneer status so that they are excused from paying taxes.” On the strike embarked on by members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in the state, the Governor said: “This is what I call power struggle. I had a meeting with JUSUN executives along with the members of the NBA and they said that we were up-to-date with the payment of salaries and allowances and that they are on strike because the national body asked them to go on strike that the Judiciary should enjoy what they call ’First-Line Charge’. “If you ask the Chief Judge of Edo State, he will tell you that Edo State has never defaulted and we will not default and today, as we speak, if they work, they will get their pay. “What I have refused to do is to pay them for the number of months that they have been on strike. For what? You stay at home, talking politics, you didn’t work and you want me to pay you. Because they are judicial workers, they are bound by law. They must be seen to respect the various trade dispute laws which say if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. They say they have a court judgment, which says money should be transferred to the head of court. Is it the business of trade unions to fight for their employers? ‘No unauthorised expenditure was made’ Former Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has responded to the allegation that she spent $2 billion from the ECA without authorisation. She said on Tuesday: “No unauthorised expenditure from the ECA was made under Okonjo-Iweala’s watch in the Finance Ministry. Decisions on such expenditure were discussed at meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) attended by Finance commissioners from the 36 states.” The ex-minister, in a May 25 the advertorial: “The figures show that they (states) received N966.6 billion in 2011, N816.3 billion in 2012, N859.4 billion in 2013 and N282.8 in 2014. The low figure for 2014 reflects the steep decline in revenues due to the impact of the crash in global oil prices which began in the middle of the year. “The summary of the inflows and outflows from the Account shows that the opening balance was $4.56billion in 2011 and reached a peak the following year at $8.7 billion before declining to $2.3billion in 2013. The balance as at May 2015 is $2.07 billion. “Subsidy and SURE-P payments are also made from the Excess Crude Account. “FG’s share from the ECA during the period was N3.29 trillion.”

Elephants’ job latest: Ivorien FA exposes Keshi

BY GEORGE ALUO Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi may still have fresh hurdles to cross over his link with the Elephants of Coted’Ivoire job saga if the latest information coming out of the Glass House is anything to go by. A reliable NFF source revealed exclusively to Daily Sunsports last night that the man sent to Abdi­jan to investigate Keshi’s link with the job by the NFF had returned home with vital documents. According to our source, the Ivorien FA gave the NFF all the info needed, even as they con­firmed that an agent made an application for the El­ephant job on behalf of Keshi. The same agent, we further gathered, later applied in writing with­drawing the Keshi appli­cation. “The NFF now have all the details of how Keshi got linked to the Ivorien job. The man sent to Ab­dijan had returned with all the details. From his findings, Keshi was al­leged to have applied for the job through an agent and the same agent wrote the Ivorien FF withdraw­ing the application. The NFF “envoy” will in the next couple of days pres­ent his report to the exec­utive board of NFF who will now decide on what to do based on the facts before them,” our source said. It would be noted that the NFF Disciplinary Committee summoned Keshi last week over the job saga. Keshi was re­ported to have told the Barrister Chris Green committee that he didn’t apply for the job. The Ivorien FA early this week released a short list of five coaches now to be interviewed, with Keshi not making the list. Keshi had on his part said he was happy with the Eagles job and was ready to see out his two year contract.

Naira falls to 230, dollar supply dries up

These are definitely not interesting times for the nation’s economy, particularly the national currency, the naira, no thanks to the depleting reserves and the subsequent banning of importers of 41 items from the foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Barely 10 days after the CBN stopped forex sale to importers of rice, textile and 39 other items, the naira on Wednesday crashed to 230 against the United States dollar at the parallel market, down from 218 recorded on June 23 when the new forex rule was introduced. The policy, which has pushed huge forex demand from the interbank (official) market to the parallel (black) market and the Bureau de Change retail segment, has led to artificial scarcity of dollar and other major foreign currencies as operators now hoard them in anticipation of higher prices. ADVERTISEMENT The naira had fallen to 220, 223, 226.5 and 228 against the dollar in the past one week. Black market and BDC operators, however, told our correspondent that serious dollar liquidity squeeze was already hitting the market and operators were no longer in possession of huge stock of forex to meet rising demands, especially from the importers of the banned items. Using the CBN figures, analysts had estimated that about $5.7bn quarterly forex demand was being transferred from the official interbank market to the black market. “The situation is getting critical now. There is serious dollar liquidity squeeze in the market now. The demand is overwhelming and both the black market and the BDC segment can no longer meet the demand,” a black market operator told our correspondent on Wednesday. “The market is very volatile now as a result of the restrictions placed on about 41 items by the central bank. Most importers are now patronising the parallel market to source their dollars,” the head of a BDC, Mr. Harrison Owoh, told Reuters on Wednesday,.Meanwhile, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators has written to the CBN asking it to intervene in the dollar scarcity in the parallel market and the BDC segment to save the naira from crashing further. In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, the association expressed its readiness to work with the CBN to stabilise the market. The letter, signed by association’s President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, and Executive Secretary, Uduma Cletus, advised the CBN to increase its weekly forex sale to the BDCs from $30,000 to $50,000. The body also asked the central bank to reintroduce the autonomous market where it could sell about $100,000 to the operators. Gwadabe told our correspondent that it was expedient for the CBN to increase its forex sale to the BDCs in order to stabilise the naira. Some analysts believe the naira may hit 240 against the dollar in the coming days. However, the naira traded at 198.95 to the dollar at the interbank market on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The central bank had lowered its exchange rate peg to N196.95 to the dollar on Tuesday from N196.90 last week Also, a trade of $735.74m went through on Nigeria’s interbank currency market at N198.45 on Wednesday, Thomson Reuters data showed. Market sources said a foreign client had sold dollars to a bank in Nigeria. Total interbank market volumes stood at $1.12bn on Wednesday, far higher than typical trading sessions since the central bank introduced a naira peg in February. Meanwhile, the CBN has reminded dealers and banks that their dollar cash sale for six items, including schools fees, insurance premium, basic travel allowance and monthly mortgage should not exceed $5,000. In a new circular dated July 1, 2015, the CBN also warned banks not to sell forex to the importers of the 41 items that were banned from the forex market last week.