Iniesta becomes first Spaniard to record an assist at three EUROs

<p dir="ltr">Andres Iniesta Lujan is now Spain’s record setter for notching assists at least one in three UEFA European championships.<br> Iniesta made his EURO debut in 2008 in Austria and Switzerland; and although a stomach ailment somewhat hampered his performances in the group stages, he still played an integral part in the midfield.<br> He featured in the first two of Spain’s group-stage matches and proved an important part of the team, providing a particularly notable pass for David Villa’s second goal against Russia. That was his first assist in the European nations’ tournament.<br> In the semi-final against Russia, he played the entire 90 minutes and produced a fantastic cross that Xavi converted to open the scoring.<br> At the 2012 edition of the tournament, Iniesta was awarded man of the match for his performances in three different matches, including the final against Italy, which Spain won 4–0.<br> By winning the award, Iniesta became the only Spanish player to win the award at least once in each of Spain’s three consecutive successful tournaments. Iniesta was also chosen as the UEFA Euro Player of the tournament.<br> On Monday when Spain opened its 2016 account, Iniesta was again the player with the vital assist for Spain to eventually pip Czech Republic by a lone goal as the game edged towards the end.<br> Czech Republic stood firm for 87 minutes but the reigning European champions finally had their breakthrough and it was Gerard Pique with the goal. Iniesta whipped in a floated delivery and the Barcelona defender beat the offside trap to head past Cech.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Mlkhatfg4xW8zGVu-YGSnwchoN_cQfnknH0UcXMBWs_7aIkT1fOIteKZn5g_3SHvoLyX5m7MUMhX3z2D9FH6SOQqMs1MUf29064ZD438adD2XN-2D0T9Ky-3zzyPaeTZChJDlsiqdTbe/s1600/IMG_20160613_225530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Mlkhatfg4xW8zGVu-YGSnwchoN_cQfnknH0UcXMBWs_7aIkT1fOIteKZn5g_3SHvoLyX5m7MUMhX3z2D9FH6SOQqMs1MUf29064ZD438adD2XN-2D0T9Ky-3zzyPaeTZChJDlsiqdTbe/s400/IMG_20160613_225530.jpg"> </a> </div>

Iniesta becomes first Spaniard to record an assist at three EUROs

Andres Iniesta Lujan is now Spain’s record setter for notching assists at least one in three UEFA European championships. Iniesta made his ...

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Group queries Fayose over Ekiti's exclusion from school feeding scheme

<p dir="ltr">The True Face of Ekiti, which says it is a non-partisan movement of Ekiti citizens seeking to protect the interest of the state, has asked Ayodele Fayose, the governor, to explain why the state was excluded from the federal government’s school feeding programme.<br> According to the movement, Ekiti state was the only state excluded from the school feeding programme, recently flagged off by the federal government.<br> “We do not buy the state government excuse that the federal government deliberately shut out the state from this programme for political reasons,” the group said.<br> “Over time, the present administration in Ekiti has proved to have a way of sniffing out information from the federal authority, why was this particular one missed? The Ekiti government owe her citizens some explanations on why the State refused participating in a national programme that was alleged by Senator Babafemi Ojudu to have been in its planning stage since last year September.”<br> In a statement issued by the state on Sunday, Lere Olayinka, the governor’s spokesman said “for a programme that was held on June 9, 2016, mail was sent by one Titilola Adeyemi to the state commissioner for budget and planning, Hon Gbenga Olajide on June 8, 2016 at exactly 3:56pm, asking that list of participants from Ekiti State be sent before the close of business that same day. No prior invitation was received.”<br> “The commissioner sent a mail on June 9 requesting clarification on the mail sent by Titilola Adeyemi but up till now, no response has been received. How could Ekiti State have participated in a programme held on June 9 when invitation was only received on June 8 at 3:56pm?”<br> The True Face of Ekiti says it “can’t but wonder why the state government only concerned itself with clarifying why the state wasn’t represented at the flag-off ceremony but tactically ignored the exclusion of the state in the school feeding program”.<br> “Well-meaning indigenes of Ekiti should be interested in knowing why our state was the only state not listed among the benefitting states and not why our delegates were not sighted in Abuja for the funfair.<br> “We are aware that a process must have led to the eventual flag off of the programme, the big question is, was Ekiti State represented in this build up towards the Launching of the School feeding program in Abuja? If not, why?”<br> The group quoted Ojudu, the political adviser to the vice president, as saying “the program in question has been in plan for nine months, all the States of the federation nominated contact person who have been working hard in conjunction with officials of the federal government.<br> “My findings revealed that all attempt to bring our people aboard either by letters or visitations have been rebuffed. I am sufficiently educated to know the implication of our non-participation in such a program.<br> “No blackmail will therefore stop me from crying out. Let those who are Fayose’s drum major continue to lie, blackmail and insult me, it will never stop me from protecting Ekiti interests wherever I find myself.”<br> The group said it wonders why took Ojodu “nine solid months to realize how important this programme is to the people of Ekiti. Why choose to cry out now that the name of Ekiti was finally omitted from a programme being financed by the Federal Government using our Commonwealth?”<br> “We would have viewed the Senator’s cry as being patrotic if it had come months earlier, when it would have saved us this national embarrassment; why crying when the head is already off? Why wait until again we are in the news for yet another wrong reason?<br> “What was the efforts of the Minister representing Ekiti State in the Federal cabinet towards ensuring that Ekiti pupils are not deprived of their right to this free daily meal? What about other prominent Ekiti Sons and Daughters holding several vantage positions in the federal government, why did they all turned the other way?<br> “We sincerely would have avoided commenting on this particular issue for we do not believe in crying over spilled milk but we couldn’t hold back when we read a statement by Senator Ojudu that all hope isn’t lost after all.<br> “According to him ‘If he sends a team today it is not too late. Let him (the Governor) send his men to meet with those in charge and work out the logistics. We are the only state that is not showing interest’”.<br> The True Face of Ekiti however called on the governor, Kayode Fayemi, minister of solid minerals; Segun Oni, APC deputy national chairman South; Niyi Adebayo, the first civilian governor of the state and other political actors to work together to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme in the state.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6CupDnH9eAlVMXw3W_Mb52ivuU1GEkXX2lI3ZaQxZBGXnWpHwIHEniHVlkeQZOdU-G9DBmQ2IF-gBmNP5yqv8UjitPSNg7ykaclra41U_FcAfX8OK4EYaVQhW6fhc-m2rv85UUYFgvyK/s1600/IMG_20160526_223532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6CupDnH9eAlVMXw3W_Mb52ivuU1GEkXX2lI3ZaQxZBGXnWpHwIHEniHVlkeQZOdU-G9DBmQ2IF-gBmNP5yqv8UjitPSNg7ykaclra41U_FcAfX8OK4EYaVQhW6fhc-m2rv85UUYFgvyK/s400/IMG_20160526_223532.jpg"> </a> </div>

Group queries Fayose over Ekiti's exclusion from school feeding scheme

The True Face of Ekiti, which says it is a non-partisan movement of Ekiti citizens seeking to protect the interest of the state, has asked A...

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Diezani: I leave to God, those maligning me while I'm fighting cancer

<p dir="ltr">Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, is unhappy with the recent reports of allegations of corruption against her in the media.<br> Reacting to a documentary by Al Jazeera, in which it was alleged that her piece of property in Abuja worth $18m and her jewelry worth $2m — being proceeds of alleged corruption — were seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alison-Madueke said that she was “comfortable” before she became a minister, hence she could afford some luxury.<br> She described as cold-hearted, those maligning her in the media while she was battling cancer.<br> THE FULL STATEMENT<br> My attention has been drawn to a report by Al Jazeera, which was released on Monday as a testament to the effectiveness of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its war against corruption.<br> In the video report, which has been widely circulated in the social media, there are claims about me owning a property in Abuja allegedly worth $18 million. The report, which represents everything ridiculous and despicable about professional media practice and global best practices in the war against corruption, is the latest attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. Clips of jewelry allegedly worth over $2 million were also copiously displayed as if to feed the cravings of an audience gratified with the notion that every wealthy Nigerian is corrupt.<br> This will not be the first time calculated attempts have been made to demonise and damage my reputation in the public space. Many times, my detractors have gotten away with these irresponsible smear campaigns because they have become accustomed to my characteristic approach of silence in the face of these callous attacks.<br> The latest in the string of propaganda attacks launched against my person since I left government as Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister is this Al Jazeera report, which without any court conviction anywhere in the world attempts to dress Diezani Alison Madueke in the garb of a common criminal. This, to say the least, is the height of journalistic brigandage and a sheer mockery of Nigeria’s anti-corruption war before the eyes of the world who are watching and asking if the war against corruption is a circus show where suspects are prosecuted and sentenced on the pages of newspapers and video blogs without anything as remotely in the semblance of a trial in the courts of law.<br> When did it become a crime to own a property in Nigeria? When did it become a crime for a woman of my status to have in her possession, jewelry? Jewelry, which women all across the world, including the woman selling tomatoes in Bodija market have in abundance in their closets? In which court of law, anywhere in the world was I prosecuted by the EFCC and found guilty of corruption?<br> With all sense of modesty, I say this only for posterity and for the records. I have strived within my means and the blessings of God to live a decent and accomplished life. I studied architecture in England and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Howard University, United States of America in 1992. When I returned to Nigeria that same year, I joined Shell Petroleum Development Corporation. In 2002, I obtained an MBA at Cambridge University, United Kingdom. In April 2006, I was appointed by Shell as the company’s first female Executive Director in Nigeria. In July 2007, I was appointed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as Minister of Transport. The next year in December 2008 I became Minister of Mines and Steel Development. In April 2010, I was appointed as Minister for Petroleum Resources and served in that capacity till May 2015. During this period as Petroleum Minister, I had the honour of serving Nigeria and representing her in the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) where I was elected first female President. All through my career, I have strived to maintain a record of hard work, integrity and excellence, giving my best to society, because my parents raised me in the consciousness that a man or woman’s greatness is defined not by the amount of wealth they have acquired but the impact of their service to God and humanity.<br> Coming at such a critical time in my life when I am battling cancer, this poorly executed propaganda bares on its face like tribal marks, a clearly malicious attempt to victimize an innocent woman in what appears an exaggerated plot to validate and give credibility to the anti-corruption crusade under Nigeria’s new regime. People who are battling cancer or those who have lost their loved ones to this medical condition understand what I am going through at this time. This is what makes me ponder at the cold-heartedness of those who will go any length to defame and destroy in the name of propaganda. What happened to our shared humanity?<br> I have absolute regard for the law and believe that people who have breached the laws that govern societies should be made to face the wrath of the law. But in a civilized society, a responsible government owes its citizens absolute commitment to the principles of rule of law, equity, fairness and justice. I have been wrongfully and maliciously maligned and those behind this reckless action know it.<br> I leave them to posterity, their conscience and above all the Almighty God who is the final judge of all.<br> Diezani Alison-Madueke<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCz-hO_L4g_ZCZXPud82n611phClQYmqOf1BtCHkpFPPqQac6Qt8dwjfJ20xONDaFmCddNDZnuY6va4kJB9GzzySZnhyuIFrlcgHI9LTDCDAc0IprcP75Qg9kW0RCgCeNplKWW7iTMIat/s1600/IMG_20160613_224123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCz-hO_L4g_ZCZXPud82n611phClQYmqOf1BtCHkpFPPqQac6Qt8dwjfJ20xONDaFmCddNDZnuY6va4kJB9GzzySZnhyuIFrlcgHI9LTDCDAc0IprcP75Qg9kW0RCgCeNplKWW7iTMIat/s400/IMG_20160613_224123.jpg"> </a> </div>

Diezani: I leave to God, those maligning me while I'm fighting cancer

Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, is unhappy with the recent reports of allegations of corruption against her ...

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Adesina's 'fertilizer reforms' win him FARA award for leadership in Africa

<p dir="ltr">Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has been awarded the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) award for leadership and innovation on the continent.<br> Adesina, who dedicated the award to African farmers, received the award at the seventh Africa agriculture science week in Kigali, Rwanda, on Monday.<br> The award was presented by Anastase Murekezi, Rwandan prime minister.<br> “Our collective targets in agriculture cannot be achieved without using science, technology and innovation,” Murekezi said.<br> “We must go beyond simply importing existing technology, and rather focus on developing our own, which is adapted to our local context, linking closely agriculture research to the users’ needs through agricultural extension system.”<br> Speaking before the award, Adesina said Nigeria must do its best to feed itself and drive its young population into sustainable agriculture.<br> Adesina is a distinguished development economist and agricultural development expert with 25 years of international experience, serving as the eigtht elected President of AfDB.<br> Prior to his appointment to lead the bank in September 2015, he served as Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and rural development from 2011 to 2015, during which time he implemented what FARA refers to as a “bold policy reforms in the fertilizer sector and pursued innovative agricultural investment programs to expand opportunities for the private sector”.<br> He was previously vice-president (Policy and Partnerships) of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and associate director (Food Security) at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, where he worked for a decade (1998-2008).<br> He was principal economist and social science research coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). From 2008 to 2010, he was president of the African Association of Agricultural Economists.<br> He earned a first-class honours bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1981, and in 1988 he completed a PhD in agricultural economics at Purdue University in the US.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rPMKOPy3BgpDJPxEfrln4E-ba7Au5U5XX-6g80Lr7l0VqDhOqtB8DLO6Z6PLUv1_512wacuvzDLm3RRvhEG_rwiP8L3vABGTrUptkM5SgM70L2UtbDw9dZAJui9SDFDVuAFSDb10xCbw/s1600/IMG_20160613_192047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rPMKOPy3BgpDJPxEfrln4E-ba7Au5U5XX-6g80Lr7l0VqDhOqtB8DLO6Z6PLUv1_512wacuvzDLm3RRvhEG_rwiP8L3vABGTrUptkM5SgM70L2UtbDw9dZAJui9SDFDVuAFSDb10xCbw/s400/IMG_20160613_192047.jpg"> </a> </div>

Adesina's 'fertilizer reforms' win him FARA award for leadership in Africa

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has been awarded the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) aw...

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FG’s Jobs Portal Records 400,000 Registrations

<p dir="ltr"><u>O</u>ver 400,000 Nigerian youths have been registered on the federal government’s “N-Power” jobs portal , according to the Job Creation Unit.<br> “N-Power” is an initiative aimed at providing young Nigerians with employment opportunities and skills needed to excel in today’s competitive job market. It is one of the five initiatives of the federal government’s Social Investment Program.<br> “It will provide employment opportunities for 500,000 graduates as teachers, agriculture extension advisers, healthcare assistants, and civic and adult education instructors in communities across Nigeria,” according to a press release issued by the Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant of Media & Publicity.<br> “There will also be a pool of 100,000 software developers, hardware service professionals, animators, graphic artists, building services professionals, artisans and others.”<br> President Muhammadu Buhari hailed the program as “by far the most ambitious social protection program in our history” while giving his Democracy Day speech. The program was allocated N500b in the 2016 budget.<br> Applications for the program began on Sunday. After a yet to be determined date, a screening and shortlisting phase will be carried out. The Buhari administration has assured Nigerians that the selection process will be fair and transparent, adding that it would be based on “objective criteria.”<br> Applicants will be selected on a State-by-State basis, according to the press statement.<br> “We have been very impressed by the enthusiastic response to the call for applications. As of noon on Monday, June 13, only 36 hours after the launch of the portal, 403,528 applicants had successfully registered on the site and were in the middle of completing the application process,” said Afolabi Imoukhede, Senior Special Assistant the President on Job Creation.<br> The site has received 35 million hits since its inception. This traffic caused the site to crash , but at the time of publication, it is up and running.<br> Credit: saharareporters </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV0jhaNXWaq7_8Kz0yT2E9JrLShkzJPArB07Jv8kJm_K0NiUyC8BdSjcbuTEc_zrKhp_CIf_-Jl9CH3WtpgdKrpiZDk9oXUNDZ8vkJEIq8xHerga8QiAALEVUYnJ7XrB6ueXlmjZA-pUi/s1600/IMG_20160613_154822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV0jhaNXWaq7_8Kz0yT2E9JrLShkzJPArB07Jv8kJm_K0NiUyC8BdSjcbuTEc_zrKhp_CIf_-Jl9CH3WtpgdKrpiZDk9oXUNDZ8vkJEIq8xHerga8QiAALEVUYnJ7XrB6ueXlmjZA-pUi/s400/IMG_20160613_154822.jpg"> </a> </div>

FG’s Jobs Portal Records 400,000 Registrations

O ver 400,000 Nigerian youths have been registered on the federal government’s “N-Power” jobs portal , according to the Job Creation Unit. ...

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Why men like fair-skinned ladies?

<p dir="ltr">In many parts of Nigeria, across all social strata, fair-complexion women are head turners. If you haven’t noticed it, please look out for men’s reaction to them, even in public.<br> A popular Yoruba oldie may have passed just as a good entertaining song, but now it looks like the truth. “Omo pupa o, omo pupa la wa n fe; omo pupa o ju wo mo feran re o.” It literally means “light-skinned girl, you are the one we want, light- skinned girl, please I love you.”<br> World speed star, Usian Bolt, drew unusual attention to the syndrome, when after deserved getting his country women stand behind him in the spectacular London Olympics victories, he was found to be dating on Oyinbo, as he had always done.<br> Rather than his own folk, black Bolt, (so black even the blind will see his skin colour), hit town with a white lady, 28-year-old Miss Slovak. For fashion designer Lubica , it was special opportunity to show her love, so what did it matter with Bolt’s arm around her waist all over the place.<br> But, “oooch”, Bolt’s fellow black Jamaicans shouted painfully. Should they? It happens in Nigeria too o. Men tend to prefer light-skinned babes to black, (no, it should be dark-skinned) babes.<br> I find this very touching: ‘These superstars will always disappoint when we depend on them to raise our racial identity.’<br> Racial identity! Hmmmmmmmm!<br> A friend of mine said people identify with race when they are poor. Money comes in and it is “love knows no colour.”<br> That is serious talk.<br> This other respondent in the Bolt story sounds funny, but sends a clear message: ‘I hope when he’s ready to settle down he chooses a beautiful Jamaican black woman … In the meantime have fun “responsibly”, cause some “pretty girls” just a wait fi “lock u down” for the wrong reasons.’<br> Proponents of the fairer-the-better Complex readily cite other cases like Tiger Woods, whose career came tumbling down with his marriage. In fact, the angry Jamaicans called Bolt ‘the next Tiger Woods’, referring to his £60million divorce settlement with Swedish former model Elin Nordegren.<br> The Brother, Tiger, has a new woman in his life. Again she is white. But the coincidence of the new entrant and the resurgence of The Brother’s career is suggestive of an issue worth investigating.<br> Although, I followed Tiger’s story carefully, and as a body language reader, and I have been observing the reaction of men to light-complexion women, it was the suicide of Mr. Soul Train that made it register in my head as a complex.<br> Don Cornelius, who was found dead in his Sherman Oaks, California home, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was taken a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 75 years.<br> I got myself thinking when I read that Don and his wife ended a bitter divorce battle before death. According to the reports, Don and Viktoria had a troubled marriage. Viktoria, a former adult film star, Russian model and former Miss Ukraine, became Don’s second wife after the exit of his African-American wife. Six years on, Viktoria filed for divorce in 2007.<br> In 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Mulholland Drive home on suspicion of domestic violence. According to the police report, she pepper sprayed him multiple times.<br> That year, he appeared in court, charged with spousal abuse. He pleaded not guilty before later pleading no contest the following year. He was placed on 36-month probation. He was also ordered to complete a 52-week domestic battery violence treatment, 300 hours of community service and stay 100 yards away from where the attack took place.<br> The couple became legally divorced in 2009. During final divorce proceedings that year, Cornelius complained about the emotional toll the relationship had taken on his life as well as his declining health. He told an L.A. judge he was suffering from “significant health issues” and wanted to “finalize this divorce before I die,” according to TMZ, which also reported that he suffered a stroke later and had brain surgery.<br> He shot himself three years later. The perspectives change a little situating the complex at home, but here too light-skinned women seem to catch attention and/or lust of men faster. I have observed it; some surveys have confirmed it. The point is that all things being equal, most men will be more attracted to the light-skinned lady who walks pass them than the dark-skinned lady of similar shape.<br> Women know this all too well, and it has become the endorsement or positive reinforcement for bleaching their skins, despite the health hazards. City People reported last month celebrity women’s craze for chemical skin peel to bleach and look good. Bleach and look good!<br> Among the surveys on the subject is one by my friend, Chima Ekenyerengozi. Light skin came up tops among the five features respondents used to pick babes.<br> There is additional evidence from Kenya. Very Interesting! According to the study, some borrowers may have a built-in advantage in getting our attention—specifically the ones who are prettier, lighter-skinned females. The study, which was led by Walter Theseira of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, focused on Kiva.org and used one month of lending data from their site. Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.<br> Researchers worked with the info provided on each borrower and coded the photos used in their profiles to indicate their attractiveness and skin color (which was based on an established skin color scale). What they found was that people who were lighter-skinned got loans more quickly than people who were darker-skinned. Women did better than men, and attractiveness also influenced how quickly people got their loans funded.<br> Wikipedia also treats this subject. It says the preference for lighter-skinned women has remained prevalent over time, even in cultures without European contact, though exceptions have been found. Anthropologist Peter Frost stated that since higher-ranking men were allowed to marry the perceived more attractive women, who tended to have fair skin, the upper classes of a society generally tended to develop a lighter complexion than the lower classes by sexual selection. Exceptions have been found to this observation in Cameroon, where in the Bikosso tribe, they found no preference for attractiveness of females based on lighter skin color.<br> However, today, skin bleaching is not uncommon in parts of the world such as Africa, and a preference for lighter-skinned women generally holds true for African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asians.<br> In the US, the complex looks easier to understand. Julius, my Africa-American brother there has had a go at it. He said: “It goes back to slavery. It was taboo or death for a black man to be with a white woman: same throughout the dark segregation. For some men, therefore, it gives a feeling of conquest or superiority to have a white woman. This is coupled with the media obsession with blondes and blue eyes being the epitome of beauty. And lastly feelings among many that white women are easier to handle and offer less resistance or back talk.”<br> I am yet to find a convincing scientific reason of universal application for this behaviour among men, especially in Nigeria. I am still searching. Meanwhile I tend to agree with Anthropologist Peter Frost when he said: “When an individual is faced with potential mates of equal value, he will tend to select the one that stands out from the crowd.”<br> Source: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsL1OUQiT_HmthgMJ2QTabWqKij9Fn-kvF0SQe-soa0CQKXYYrAFXkALMCjAIypWF6rBmdcm7q0MnGImdpK1pIzpttIYjUFu-n4gXNEFgMMrInk5ipwFeNWSCkSoETAcY61msS2Z-7m7lC/s1600/IMG_20160613_164830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsL1OUQiT_HmthgMJ2QTabWqKij9Fn-kvF0SQe-soa0CQKXYYrAFXkALMCjAIypWF6rBmdcm7q0MnGImdpK1pIzpttIYjUFu-n4gXNEFgMMrInk5ipwFeNWSCkSoETAcY61msS2Z-7m7lC/s400/IMG_20160613_164830.jpg"> </a> </div>

Why men like fair-skinned ladies?

In many parts of Nigeria, across all social strata, fair-complexion women are head turners. If you haven’t noticed it, please look out for m...

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I want the Nigerian promise fulfilled before I die, says Fashola

<p dir="ltr">Babatunde Fashola, minister of works, power and housing, says he wants to witness the fulfillment of the Nigerian promise before he dies, and this thought keeps him awake.<br> Fashola lamented that Nigeria is currently bedevilled by a number of challenges, but he vowed to do his best in tackling them.<br> “I’m a thinking person and I’m always looking for solutions to solutions. When I’ve found one solution, I’m not always convinced that it’s the best solution, so even when I’m implementing it, I’m looking for ways to make it better,” he told Channels Television in an interview aired on Monday.<br> “Generally, the promise of this country keeps me awake. I know that it is a country of so much promise; I want to see some of those promises before I die. I want to see sustainable, reliable electricity; I want to see more people get access to electricity.<br> “I want to see more people pay mortgages for their own homes. I want to see roads in this country smoother… to be more efficient so that people have more pleasant journey time. Nigeria is a very beautiful place.”<br> He traced that the challenges in the power sector to 1950 when the first electricity ordinance was passed.<br> “We’ve been trying to generate sustainable energy for 66 years and I’ve spent 6.5, 7 months. I have learnt a lot to convince me that the problems can be solved,” Fashola added.<br> “I haven’t visited all the power plants but I intend to. I intend to visit all the power facilities so that I understand what I’m expected to manage. If I wanted to do that in a whole month, it wouldn’t be enough.<br> “One whole year perhaps wouldn’t be enough. But every power plant I go to, every transmission facility I see, every substation that I visit… I visited a nuclear manufacturing plant privately set up a few weeks ago, everything that I saw convinced me that it can be done. The more I see, the more I believe we can solve it.”<br> AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR CIVIL SERVANTS<br> Speaking on his housing plans, he said: “There are many people who need accommodation. There are people to build; they just want land, some people want duplexes, some want semi-detached house, some want a flat, one bedroom, or two bedrooms.<br> “Those are the people that are most at risk and those are the people that should first concern us. So I think what we should first create is to connect between what is available and what is affordable.<br> “In America, for working people, affordability means the person must not spend more than 20-25 percent of his monthly income on his accommodation and must not spend more than 40 or 50 percent of his total income on utilities. So affordability is not necessarily the unit cost but the payment mode.<br> “Affordability, we are looking at the civil servant as our guide. Civil servants around level nine to about level 14/15; that income bracket is not extrapolated to the private sector who are the people who earn this kind of money also I the private sector; taxi drivers, food vendors but what is called a benchmark for the kind of people who fall within the cadre that we would be really concerned about in the short term.”<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxklwyULmGF_XOPeuXpzUMqcKEjlttNaH0Kcdnh7wg9ms3ErVuXfcsVoIOeAd3DkVVkqo1uXeaEv0q7OiQ2718BatO_7KXVBtD6AaNuNn7UpGl_8cs57X3seHEtspmOUtvNPJVRMAyrOnb/s1600/IMG_20160613_163909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxklwyULmGF_XOPeuXpzUMqcKEjlttNaH0Kcdnh7wg9ms3ErVuXfcsVoIOeAd3DkVVkqo1uXeaEv0q7OiQ2718BatO_7KXVBtD6AaNuNn7UpGl_8cs57X3seHEtspmOUtvNPJVRMAyrOnb/s400/IMG_20160613_163909.jpg"> </a> </div>

I want the Nigerian promise fulfilled before I die, says Fashola

Babatunde Fashola, minister of works, power and housing, says he wants to witness the fulfillment of the Nigerian promise before he dies, an...

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500,000 Teachers’ Recruitment Portal Crashes On Day One

<p dir="ltr">The recruitment of 500,000 teachers by the Federal Government might have run into a hitch as the website for the exercise crashed on Sunday following what was suspected to be massive applications by prospective candidates.<br> The Federal Government had, last week, announced that the recruitment of the teachers would commence on Sunday, directing interested Nigerians to apply through http://portal.npower.gov.ng.<br> But attempts by one of our correspondents to register on the portal around 6.48pm on Sunday failed<br> as the website was not available.<br> Checks indicated that the portal might have crashed due to heavy traffic.<br> The website carries a message, “An error occurred. Sorry, the page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Please, try again later. If you are the system administrator of this resource, then you should check the error log for details. Faithfully yours, nginx.”<br> When contacted for the number of applications through the website so far, the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education, Anthony Akuneme, said it was too early to know the number.<br> He said, “The recruitment process is on. The website has been publicised in the media. It is too early to get the response and number of applicants since it just began.”<br> President Muhammadu Buhari had, in his Democracy Day speech, said the recruitment of the teachers would commence on June 12.<br> The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, also stated that the recruitment would be done online.<br> Akande, in a statement last Wednesday, said the 500,000 Teacher Corps, nicknamed N-Power Teach on the portal, was one of the three direct job creation and training schemes established by the current administration.<br> Others, according to him, are N-Power Knowledge, which will train 25,000 Nigerians in technology, and N-Power Build, which will train another 75,000 in building services, construction, utilities, hospitality and catering, automotive vocation, aluminium and gas services.<br> He explained that all trainees would be paid for the duration of their training.<br> Akande added, “The N-Power Teacher Corps initiative, which will engage and train 500,000 young unemployed graduates, is a paid volunteer programme of two-year duration.”<br> Source: <u>Punch</u></p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdj-kc96bTIm1Ac7wPQmi9GcAeB0T2LQys4u24H4D0nLV9XmDupcaHCmJYqgClVjJjZ7t2p6pKmWKUzogIWjQ3k5YUakLCBb5jBPoEV-JUqS-d5Aa-Oy3E_j07l-GqkGPUyKTkKxQXC11R/s1600/IMG_20160613_154822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdj-kc96bTIm1Ac7wPQmi9GcAeB0T2LQys4u24H4D0nLV9XmDupcaHCmJYqgClVjJjZ7t2p6pKmWKUzogIWjQ3k5YUakLCBb5jBPoEV-JUqS-d5Aa-Oy3E_j07l-GqkGPUyKTkKxQXC11R/s400/IMG_20160613_154822.jpg"> </a> </div>

500,000 Teachers’ Recruitment Portal Crashes On Day One

The recruitment of 500,000 teachers by the Federal Government might have run into a hitch as the website for the exercise crashed on Sunday ...

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Taiwo, Egwuekwe Hit Targets For Clubs In Finland

<p dir="ltr">The duo of Taye Taiwo and Azubuike Egwuekwe scored for their clubs, HJK Helsinki and Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in the Finnish Veikkausliiga matches decided on Sunday.<br> Taiwo opened scoring from the penalty spot for HJK 50 minutes into the game, before another Nigeria-born American midfielder, William Oluremi John equalized for Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS) in the 75th minute, as the match ended 1-1 between both clubs.<br> Also, Azubuike Egwuekwe inspired KuPS to a 1-1 draw against PK-35 VANTAA in the away encounter. The former Warri Wolves defender scored his fourth goal of the season in the 54th minute; but Kim Raimi equalized for the hosts in the 66th minute.<br> The quartet of Egwuekwe, Gbolahan Salami, Paul Onobi and Abubakar Aliyu were in full time action for KuPS in the tie, the duo of Taye Taiwo and Nnamdi Oduamadi were also in full time action for HJK. Both Azubuike and Salami are tied on four goals each, Taiwo has registered five league goals in 14 games appearance.<br> Credit: saharareporters </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzlyt8lUZMBbpjF9ZRrpLuHaVcfEJICzsDeERQxpcvlkJYFVAithyphenhyphenWd0osKJeyqZu-i5JvCuILzyQTwOj3zTljb8ZvlG0q5OJkR_GuJD-GwnfUsdQdh4G9c3anFvke5I303X3XUxiymZ3/s1600/IMG_20160613_153659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzlyt8lUZMBbpjF9ZRrpLuHaVcfEJICzsDeERQxpcvlkJYFVAithyphenhyphenWd0osKJeyqZu-i5JvCuILzyQTwOj3zTljb8ZvlG0q5OJkR_GuJD-GwnfUsdQdh4G9c3anFvke5I303X3XUxiymZ3/s400/IMG_20160613_153659.jpg"> </a> </div>

Taiwo, Egwuekwe Hit Targets For Clubs In Finland

The duo of Taye Taiwo and Azubuike Egwuekwe scored for their clubs, HJK Helsinki and Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in the Finnish Veikkausliiga ...

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$56m Chinese Investment Coming To Kwara – Gov. Ahmed

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="Ahmed1" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="250" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Ahmed1.jpg" width="412" /> </div> <div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> </div> The Kwara Government says it has secured a $56million investment from China for the establishment of a textile industrial park in the state.<br /> Dr Muideen Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Communication to the Governor, said this on Sunday in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.<br /> The statement said Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed concluded the investment deal during his current investment trip to East China.<br /> It also said the agreement for the establishment of Kwara Chitex Industrial Park was signed by Ahmed and Mr Shi Zengchao, the Managing Director of Ningbo Jinsheng Star Import and Export Co Ltd.<br /> The statement said the event took place at the 18th China Zheijand Investment and Trade Symposium held in Ningbo, East China.<br /> It said the initiative involved $3.7 billion worth of investments in 31 projects out of which $1.4billion was for outbound investments.<br /> Kwara Chitex Industrial Park, it said, was the only one Nigeria- bound.<br /> The statement quoted the governor as expressing delight over the multimillion dollar project which was expected to commence soon.<br /> The park, according to the governor, would create 3,000 jobs for the people of the state.<br /> “We are looking for investors, especially in the area of manufacturing.<br /> “ We have a very youthful population which shows there is a strong workforce that can support industrialisation.<br /> “There are opportunities in textiles, agriculture, mining and other areas, the potentials are huge,’’ the statement quoted Ahmed as saying.<br /> It also quoted Ahmed’s Chief Economic Assistant, Mr Abayomi Ogunsola, as saying government would provide about N1billion in counterpart funding and 400 hectares of land as well as infrastructure support.<br /> The statement also said the governor held preliminary talks with potential investors in agribusiness and agro allied industries during the visit to China.<br /> Ahmed, it said, offered prospective investors incentives such as tax relief and accelerated land acquisition process.<br /> <br /> (NAN)

$56m Chinese Investment Coming To Kwara – Gov. Ahmed

  The Kwara Government says it has secured a $56million investment from China for the establishment of a textile industrial park in th...

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Blogger Murders Step Father Who Abused Her, Then Stabs Mom 30 Times

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="murder (1)" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/murder-1.jpg" width="500" /> </div> <div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> </div> Ashlee A. Martinson, a teenage horror blogger who went by the nickname ‘Vampchick’ online was sentenced to 23 years in prison plus 17 years on extended supervision for the murder of her mom and stepfather Friday.<br /> The 18 year old committed the murders in March 2015 before locking her sisters in a room with food and juice and fleeing the state of Wisconsin with her boyfriend.<br /> Sentencing her Friday, the judge said he appreciated that she had been abused by her stepfather, but<br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>that she should have found ‘the internal strength’ not to turn to murder.<br /> On March 8, 2015, Martinson shot her stepfather Thomas Ayers, 37, twice with a shotgun and stabbed her mother, 40-year-old Jennifer Ayers, 30 times with a knife.<br /> <center> <br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1695950446238277" data-ad-slot="6603857954" data-adsbygoogle-status="done"><ins id="aswift_2_expand"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor"></ins></ins></ins></center> <br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br /> Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek wanted the Rhinelander girl to be given the maximum sentence of 40 years; her lawyers wanted eight. She ultimately took a plea deal. Speaking at the end of a day-long hearing, Oneida County Circuit Judge Michael Bloom said that although Martinson had received abuse from multiple people, including her stepfather, she made the decision to kill him and her mother.<br /> He said he didn’t believe that she was in danger of death when the murders occurred, and that despite a lack of support from those around her, she should have found the ‘inner strength’ not to kill.<br /> credit: omojuwa

Blogger Murders Step Father Who Abused Her, Then Stabs Mom 30 Times

  Ashlee A. Martinson, a teenage horror blogger who went by the nickname ‘Vampchick’ online was sentenced to 23 years in prison plus 1...

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Ooni Of Ife Presented With The Key To The City Of Newark New Jersey

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="OBB" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="400" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/OBB.png" width="320" /> </div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II who is presently in the US, was presented with the key to the city of Newark, the second largest city in the New York metropolitan area. More photos below…<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhBGsS0JJuVWGPfeovuLCRs2l8ZHt0nYhLks_EY3tvvnVqNmqQotmcrQnaiYiZyzNROHp4mqOkfCMK4Ft4XMOTQib-yj1tAwElPXGaCH7w0rZ8prQdB6QYW1OWu_GuKP1PHGoD-713h9k/s400/1a1.png" width="311" /></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qaCB1IObzvYEdFaNMhC-9d2J-wPBHyF2LB8bVE6sGPquqRGePsLrmzH_qg5vn9mRhjBqtJ11q5FiDYMAhyphenhyphenuSlfyfOzd12h9yNBSglaqSxbvzySjX0vAt9zGO4qkWlRXdC_hyFX_0Z8pj/s400/1a4.png" width="398" /></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUKmjoXEjlnEaGMCDu8M91Ou6XrZSgYSiRKD2lf_SDWiVKnnWnLeIlg6jYeV7ocAEZs7sMYmV8mJkMQ5Z0gfkhM5W1s4M7i5EAtxlGqT_cir34xqUeFU41t0Y7tUnzDnK6Cnvd7Y237id/s400/1a7.%3Ccenter%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cscript%20async=" /> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1695950446238277" data-ad-slot="6603857954" data-adsbygoogle-status="done"><ins id="aswift_2_expand"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor"></ins></ins></ins>png” width=”400″><br /> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Za3_yKXUeBsFgOJfeZSH-kqAQxJovQiYdhj6F_5piCM3NvS1iZZZBfVWrnthdPwwIFHRn4him5hBt04mNNKz2AjHr7SLiKJq-wu1aXzdOE8DkLwkpBZw68oYO-npdROxwz1cUDihIpck/s400/1a2.png" width="400" /></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFLIrG7oyDQih_uDWVM2jSpBW4hlBahgJURExR-k0ZbvUZD3-qnUZMw-zXFi5SG_xOHrgNCCGGN3TSqp5hGrLBoPU6q1G0LTgbmxFEdHK_AvbmRG-w8vzlymVZ3jQpQ_kPpB-EsVzxayL/s400/1a5.png" width="400" /></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP65CdiB_Rx5ZNVnqsPSHn6AeJV-s14qH1UwQ4f-cYHH_VLUK41mxpIgMSe3UW3jG8snNcaKADmmcLtrgr7Fvd-88tLslS67D6WXLbQeyxFQV-puQKhaPXrUJypUooLraJv90gM8qPJ4Pq/s400/1a8.png" width="400" /></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jPEARC70hswL5wop4MBFycnJMuVk1BOBcwXsGmH7RRKfs-n01ZmCC8eK8bCphWbKga8vajRbXc7AKkn0nbaGrTQN5cLDTcPCw_kTh-Fy5HGdvIJNRLZwviUScDoG-ia87O251NzDYKVp/s400/1a3.png" width="400" /></div> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhupWnlXVJDg2yIka3jeoxJJKc9tcWtYbTdV0OvshyphenhyphengfYdIIdvXPO6lwdF6gje12eXGFkHfgsPKgIJoY1TU_BEIRdxWaFqjAj7NcpxU05QvvzoSGRKWYIaVcZXkC1YUbIQsEAHLR_aG4l/s400/1a6.png" width="400" />

Ooni Of Ife Presented With The Key To The City Of Newark New Jersey

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II who is presently in the US, was presented with the key to ...

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My Plan Was To Make Cars Run On Natural Gas–Obasanjo

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="Obasanjo" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="256" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Obasanjo.jpg" width="320" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Former president Olusegun Obasanjo said he had conceived the idea of vehicles in Nigeria running on natural gas during his time as Nigeria’s leader.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Obasanjo said his intention was to develop the nation’s natural gas for vehicles and reduce dependence on imported petrol. He added that he issued out licences to companies in a bid to achieve this objective.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Had the plan been adhered to by successive administrations, Obasanjo said, 50 per cent of the vehicles in the country would have been running on gas by now.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> According to Punch newspaper, the former President stated this during a courtesy visit by the management of Nipco Plc to him at his Presidential Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Per <a href="http://www.punchng.com/planned-make-vehicles-run-gas-obasanjo/" target="_blank">Punch</a>:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>In 2006, the Obasanjo administration gave out licences to three companies, Nipco Plc, Contact Global and Global Steel, for the development of Compressed Natural Gas for vehicles.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>But it was gathered that only Nipco, which later went into a partnership with the Nigeria Gas Company to form Green Gas Limited, had invested significantly in the project since then.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>While reacting to comments by the Managing Director, Nipco, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy, Obasanjo said, “When I gave the licence in my time, the idea was to use what we had and by now, we could have put half of all the vehicles on gas.”</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>Venkatapathy had earlier said the replacement of petrol by the CNG would save Nigeria the much-needed foreign exchange on importation of petrol.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>He said, “The CNG is a superior auto fuel alternative to liquid fuels mainly petrol and diesel, specifically for countries like Nigeria, which is blessed with abundant (over 186 trillion cubic feet) availability of natural gas that remains untapped.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>“To replace 20 per cent of the current petrol consumption of Nigeria, natural gas required is less than five per cent of the total domestic gas consumed currently and less than one per cent of the current gas production. Foreign exchange saved will be close to $2bn.”</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>According to him, in Benin City, Edo State, over 4,000 vehicles run on the CNG which resulted in replacing 20 million litres of petrol from 2012 to 2015 and forex savings of over $9m.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i> He said Green Gas had developed nine operational CNG stations, with three stations under completion and five under construction.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>A former Special Assistant on Petroleum Resources to President Obasanjo, Dr. Muhammed Ibrahim, who was on the Nipco team, said, “I was one of the team members when President Obasanjo was in office in 2006 that initiated the full concept of development of gas for vehicles and other applications in the country. It was during his regime that President Obasanjo awarded three licences to three companies to invest in the promotion and diffusion of Compressed Natural Gas for vehicular application in the country.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>“But because of the capital-intensive and high-tech nature of the project, only one company today after 10 years has invested millions of dollars in the project such that the entire Benin City is encircled with a network of gas pipelines with about seven CNG gas stations providing the CNG to more than 4,000 vehicles.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>He said the company had constructed the largest CNG station on the African continent in Ibafo, Ogun State.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>credit: omojuwa </i></div>

My Plan Was To Make Cars Run On Natural Gas–Obasanjo

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo said he had conceived the idea of vehicles in Nigeria running on natural g...

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JUST IN: Modu Sheriff 'invades' PDP secretariat

<p dir="ltr"><b>Ali Modu Sheriff, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has  “invaded” the party’s secretariat to take over its leadership.</b></p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking with journalists outside the party’s headquarters, Sheriff said that his mission at the complex was to “resume officially and takeover”.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, he was stopped from entering the complex by security agents stationed at the gate.</p> <p dir="ltr">The current leadership crisis in the PDP started at the party’s May convention in Port Harcourt, where Sheriff announced the cancellation of the exercise.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite his announcement,  some leaders of the party went ahead with the exercise, setting up a caretaker committee led by Ahmed Makarfi.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both parties later went to court to get orders against each other’s quest.</p> <p dir="ltr">Last week, the committee took over the leadership of the party, assigning portfolios to its members.</p> <p dir="ltr">But Sheriff has maintained that he is still the chairman of the PDP, a stance he demonstrated on Monday by storming the headquarters of the party with a handful of supporters.</p> <p dir="ltr">Credit:thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLSIsob50Gvvz9eAdL_-y4OQu_WxmqNdWxhTqN1iyX40EXyZ2G3AsISa1JY3DvaPRoOCj7d2uj9VuX0kqVvxQ4wf-MpZqAa7XdnPm8kmITeIvzWCOPYe7wAwZqTwPolEqvvmwBZ1XWfTR/s1600/IMG_20160613_104134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLSIsob50Gvvz9eAdL_-y4OQu_WxmqNdWxhTqN1iyX40EXyZ2G3AsISa1JY3DvaPRoOCj7d2uj9VuX0kqVvxQ4wf-MpZqAa7XdnPm8kmITeIvzWCOPYe7wAwZqTwPolEqvvmwBZ1XWfTR/s400/IMG_20160613_104134.jpg"> </a> </div>

JUST IN: Modu Sheriff 'invades' PDP secretariat

Ali Modu Sheriff, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has  “invaded” the party’s secretariat to take over its le...

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Father of 3 Boko Haram ‘commanders’ arrested in Borno

<p dir="ltr">The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Sunday announced the arrest of a man who confessed that three of his children are “arrow heads” of the Boko Haram sect.<br> Ibrahim Abdullahi, commandant of the NSCDC in Borno, disclosed this to NAN in an interview, saying the man who is also a kingpin of the sect was apprehended in Askira Uba local government area of Borno state on Tuesday.<br> “Our men have made remarkable progress by arresting a Boko Haram kingpin,” Abdullahi said.<br> “The notorious kingpin was said to be a recruiter as well as supplier of arms and IEDs to Boko Haram terrorists.<br> “He confessed that his three children were also arrow heads of the Boko Haram sect.”<br> The commandant said the suspect had been handed over to the army for further investigation.<br> Security agencies have to a large extent succeeded in bringing insurgency under control.<br> Credit:thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHmBDhVtDmCuc5fynK4LFK9rRfwk7TPaxw-v4Its5Asm6TQY0fK9yel_Cccrmc9oM4w3dCUtIRujMRyqxEkelUOm1p1E72WFAIU4gjYi1NZclPZuBHf3NiC_AxXe4deagq80XaYodBRHa/s1600/IMG_20160612_140533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHmBDhVtDmCuc5fynK4LFK9rRfwk7TPaxw-v4Its5Asm6TQY0fK9yel_Cccrmc9oM4w3dCUtIRujMRyqxEkelUOm1p1E72WFAIU4gjYi1NZclPZuBHf3NiC_AxXe4deagq80XaYodBRHa/s400/IMG_20160612_140533.jpg"> </a> </div>

Father of 3 Boko Haram ‘commanders’ arrested in Borno

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Sunday announced the arrest of a man who confessed that three of his children are “a...

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Tears as Shaibu Amodu is buried

<p dir="ltr">The remains of the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) and former Super Eagles coach, Shaibu Amodu, have been interred in his hometown of Okpella in Edo state.<br> Amodu died in his sleep after complaining of chest pain on Friday.<br> Teras flowed freely as the hearse which conveyed his corpse from Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin, arrived his residence on Shaibu Amodu street, off Okeiwo road, Okpella residence, around 1pm.<br> Shortly after the arrival, an Islamic prayer led by Momodu Musa, chief Imam of Okpella, was conducted, and the remains of the sports master was lowered.<br> Mohammed Sanusi, NFF general secretary, led the federation’s delegation to the burial. Abdulrafiu Yusuf, NFF’s assistant technical director and Robinson Okosun, head of psychology, also attended the occasion.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcebzTB6wJm_FDNDkdLGcp2uD1J3wAusGPX4KmZumEO13wuk5OzT5CQEurbwJtyJ1w9HhTO64aw4Orhpvrz5cv5iDKTAo2aRmt3QEdibpJ2mesB4Ql0-eEJD3kJDr2WiXh-BFwbx2hyaL/s1600/IMG_20160611_212635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcebzTB6wJm_FDNDkdLGcp2uD1J3wAusGPX4KmZumEO13wuk5OzT5CQEurbwJtyJ1w9HhTO64aw4Orhpvrz5cv5iDKTAo2aRmt3QEdibpJ2mesB4Ql0-eEJD3kJDr2WiXh-BFwbx2hyaL/s400/IMG_20160611_212635.jpg"> </a> </div>

Tears as Shaibu Amodu is buried

The remains of the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) and former Super Eagles coach, Shaibu Amodu, have been interre...

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Looking for job? FG begins recruitment of 500,000 teachers

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Looking for job? FG begins recruitment of 500,000 teachers" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FEC-653x365.png" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>The All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has begun the process of fulfilling its campaign promise of recruiting 500,000 teachers across the country.</strong><br /> Laolu Akande, spokesman of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.<br /> The statement said those interested in the 500,000 Teacher Corps, nicknamed N-Power Teach, can apply through an internet portal named npower.gov.ng.<br /> Akande said while the portal would be live on Saturday June 11, applications are expected to start coming in on June 12.<br /> The statement said the portal is one of the three direct job creation and training schemes of the government, giving the remaining two as N-Power Knowledge, which will train 25,000 Nigerians in technology, and N-Power Build, which will train another 75,000 in building services, construction, utilities, hospitality and catering, automotive vocations, aluminium and gas services.<br /> “The N-Power Teacher Corps initiative which will engage and train 500,000 young unemployed graduates, is a paid volunteer programme of a 2-year duration,” the statement read.<br /> “Unemployed Nigerians selected and trained will play teaching, instructional, and advisory roles in primary, and secondary schools, agricultural extension systems across the country, public health and community education-covering civic and adult education.<br /> “Besides their monthly take home pay estimated at about N23,000, the selected 500,000 graduates will also get computer devices that will contain information necessary for their specific engagement, as well as information for their continuous training and development.<br /> “They get to keep the devices even after exiting from the programme.”<br /> credit: thecableng

Looking for job? FG begins recruitment of 500,000 teachers

The All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has begun the process of fulfilling its campaign promise of recruitin...

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Cleric warns Muslims against sexual activity during Ramadan

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Cleric warns Muslims against sexual activity during Ramadan" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ramadan_boko-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>Yahya Al-Yolawi, chief imam of Area 10, Abuja, Juma’ah Mosque, has warned Muslims against any act that could provoke sexual activity during the Ramadan fast.</strong><br /> Al-Yolawi gave the warning on Friday while delivering his Juma’ah sermon titled, ‘The Etiquettes of Ramadan fast’.<br /> The cleric said the focus of the sermon was to call the attention of Muslims to how they could achieve maximum benefit by attracting divine reward during Ramadan.<br /> He advised husbands not to kiss or embrace their wives with sexual desire, while observing Ramadan fast, to avoid temptation which could affect their fasting.<br /> The cleric added that Muslims should avoid watching phonographic movies and indulging in any behavior that could lead to sexual arousal.<br /> He said Prophet Muhammad admonished against speaking falsehood during Ramadan.<br /> “Whoever does not stop speaking falsehood and acting in accordance with it, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink,” the cleric quoted Prophet Mohammed to have said.<br /> “Among the things that can reduce one’s good deed and bring sins is to allow ourselves to be distracted by watching movies, sports, attending social gatherings and hanging around on the streets with evil people.<br /> “Some people even greet the month with feelings of annoyance, thinking only of the pleasures that they will miss out for close to 30 days.”<br /> He said any person fasting should avoid all kinds of unlawful actions, such as backbiting, obscenity and lies, otherwise his reward might be lost.<br /> source: thecableng

Cleric warns Muslims against sexual activity during Ramadan

Yahya Al-Yolawi, chief imam of Area 10, Abuja, Juma’ah Mosque, has warned Muslims against any act that could provoke sexual acti...

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Muslim body rejects NYSC orientation during Ramadan

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Muslim body rejects NYSC orientation during Ramadan" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/NYSC-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for fixing its orientation camp during the month of Ramadan.</strong><br /> Prospective corps members of batch A stream II are expected to report to camps across the nation on Monday.<br /> But MURIC described the decision to open the camp at this period as unconstitutional, calling on the authorities to postpone the programme.<br /> Accusing the NYSC of discrimination, MURIC said religious crisis is common in Nigeria due to the “overzealousness and insensitivity of some government officials”.<br /> “We reject this date because Muslim corpers will still be fasting at that time. It is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional for NYSC to hold camp at a time when its Muslim members will be deprived of their freedom of worship and the liberty to practice their creed without fear. This planned camp is exclusive, discriminatory and parochial,” MURIC said in a statement signed by Ishaq Akintola, its director.<br /> “Official policies in this country often fail to take our cultural and religious plurality into consideration.<br /> “Any Nigerian institution dealing with schedules and programmes particularly the NYSC whose programmes are of such magnitude is expected to consider the dates and periods of important festivals, rituals and religious practices. This should form the core of its logistics. It is our humble opinion that NYSC headquarters has failed in its strategic planning by allowing its next camp to clash with the Ramadan period.”<br /> MURIC said allowing the camp to go on as planned would leave Muslim corps members at a disadvantage, explaining that those observing Ramadan will find it very difficult to adapt to the rigours in camp.<br /> The body wondered why the NYSC did not stick to the initial date scheduled for the exercise.<br /> “What happened to 21st May, 2016 which was the date earlier picked for the orientation? We do not want to believe that the shift was deliberately planned to coincide with the Ramadan season with a view to excluding prospective Muslim corpers,” the statement read.<br /> “MURIC is not trying to indulge Muslim youths. Fasting is no joke and it certainly cannot be combined with the physical challenges which characterize the NYSC camp. Eligible Muslim graduates will definitely want to be part of the service but the obstacles standing in their way are gargantuan.<br /> “Unlike the Islamophobic climate expected in an NYSC camp organized in Ramadan, what happens during Ramadan in Muslim-friendly environments is that both primary and secondary schools close for the day around 2 pm. Lectures in tertiary institutions stop from 3 pm while civil servants also leave their offices by 2 pm. If Muslims are not asking the Nigerian government to do this, its agencies should not become blatant tools of oppression.<br /> “The clear message we are sending to NYSC officials here is that the camp planned to begin constitutes a serious impediment to the religious observation of Muslims. It is exclusive, sectional and parochial. The planned camp should be put in abeyance for now in the interest of peace. A stitch in time saves nine.<br /> “Muslim youths throughout the country are bitter and furious at the thought of being disallowed to fast in the month of Ramadan. The best which NYSC headquarters can do for Nigeria now is to postpone the camp till the end of Ramadan. This country needs peace and stability to develop. We have had enough religious crises. NYSC should not stoke another.”<br /> source: thecableng

Muslim body rejects NYSC orientation during Ramadan

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for fixing its orientation camp during the...

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REVEALED: Keshi was hypertensive and broken-hearted

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="REVEALED: Keshi was hypertensive and broken-hearted" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Stephen-Keshi-and-wife-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>Stephen Keshi died with a broken heart, family sources have told TheCable.</strong><br /> “Since the death of his wife, Kate, in December 2015, his life had changed dramatically,” a family member said on Wednesday morning hours after the football icon passed on.<br /> He said Keshi, 54, had become hypertensive “but was managing it very well… always taking his medications and checking his blood pressure very regularly”.<br /> Another family member told TheCable that since the former Super Eagles’ coach lost his wife, he had become so lonely that he was practically soliciting phone calls from friends.<br /> “After the burial of his wife, people practically left him to himself. The calls and visits became fewer, and he felt the pain the more. They were married for 35 years and he watched the love of his life battle bravely with cancer for three years. He was inconsolable,” he said.<br /> TheCable understands that Keshi, who was due to travel to the US later in the day, started complaining of excruciating pains in his legs a few minutes to midnight.<br /> He was rushed to the hospital when the pains would not subside, but TheCable couldn’t confirm if he died on the way or on arrival.<br /> In a statement issued by his family, the preliminary cause of death was given as “cardiac arrest”.<br /> Respected sports journalist, Kayode Tijani, who was very close to Keshi, told TheCable that he spoke with the former international last weekend.<br /> “He asked about me from a mutual friend, so I immediately called him. He was so appreciative. You would think I gave him something he did not have. He kept thanking me profusely for calling him,” Tijani said.<br /> When his wife died, Keshi had said: “She was ill for a while now and I’m still in shock of this great loss.<br /> “She is more like a sister to me and was the rock behind me and everything I do. My love for her was at first sight.”<br /> They had four children.<br /> source: thecableng

REVEALED: Keshi was hypertensive and broken-hearted

Stephen Keshi died with a broken heart, family sources have told TheCable. “Since the death of his wife, Kate, in December 2015,...

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In all, death has snatched 3 wives from Jide Kosoko

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="In all, death has snatched 3 wives from Jide Kosoko" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Kosoko-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>The tragic incident which befell Jide Kosoko on Monday morning is the third to have happened to him in his lifetime.</strong><br /> Too much for this bunch of talent to bear in his 62 years on earth.<br /> Kosoko had earlier lost two wives under similar circumstances within a period of 11 months.<br /> Between October 1992 and November 1993, his first wife, who is the mother of Sola, his actress daughter, and his second wife, died as a result of complications arising from childbirth.<br /> He moved on by marrying Henrietta, who departed the world very early on Monday, and later Kareemat, his fourth and now only wife.<br /> A few years ago, Sola expressed displeasure over her father’s decision to marry more than a wife, but the celebrity defended his action, saying he never set out to practise polygamy, but that God willed his life that way.<br /> His first two marriages produced seven children, and the number grew after he picked Kareemat in addition to the deceased.<br /> source: thecableng

In all, death has snatched 3 wives from Jide Kosoko

The tragic incident which befell Jide Kosoko on Monday morning is the third to have happened to him in his lifetime. Too much for...

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Fayose: I love you but I don’t have money to pay you

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Fayose to Ekiti workers: I love you but I don’t have money" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ayodele-Fayose-2-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <strong>Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has expressed his love for workers in the state, appealing to them to shelve their two-weeks-old strike.</strong><br /> Fayose, who insisted that he had been transparent about the financial status of the state, has also made a u-turn on his strike action.<br /> He said he was only joking when he declared that he had joined the industrial action in solidarity with the workers.<br /> According to Lere Olayinka, the governor’s spokesman, Fayose said this during a statewide broadcast.<br /> “I want to thank you for your patience, endurance so far in the face of this strike and our financial challenges,” he said.<br /> “It is rather unfortunate that we are in this kind of situation, I want you to remember that I have always made you proud, I have always paid wages, salaries on the 22nd /23rd of every month. I have always done that which you can always remember, the effort put in place by my administration during the first tenure.<br /> “I love you, it’s not my joy; it’s not my pleasure that you should continue on strike. It is not going to be in my interest for you to ask me for fish and I will give you stone, what I don’t have, I can’t give. I plead with you to see reasons and come back.<br /> “Some people said Fayose claims he is on strike, yes, I said so jocularly and you know it because you made me a comrade and it is in the character of comrades to strike and jokingly I said to you to identify with you that I am equally on strike.<br /> “Don’t make a political statement out if it, what is important is the issue, the problem and we must deal with it, it is a different ball game if I have the money and I am not giving you. I plead with you to come back, I am still the same man you know. I will never sit on this seat and make you suffer.”<br /> He accused Kayode Fayemi, his predecessor, of ruining the state, saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) should “bury its face in shame”.<br /> Fayose said the strike was political, wondering why workers in Osun and Oyo states have not down tools despite being owed salaries.<br /> The governor called for prayers, saying that the situation in the country could get worse in the next three months.<br /> “The APC should close their face in shame, how can you rule for four years and you destroy a state, you destroy the whole economy of that state for 20 years?” he said.<br /> “I am not one governor that will come and lie to you, as it is the state is in financial mess. It is not easy for this government financially and I have always said this, I did not hide it from you. I went round the local government with the labour leaders in July and we all agreed that we should use two allocations to pay one salary. If you are using two months to pay one starting from September/October, we used September/October to pay September, we used November/December to pay October, we used January/February to pay November, we used March/April to pay December.<br /> “The issue now is that as we were going on that journey, when we got to February the allocation dipped further, it was now ending in using three months allocation to pay one month salary, that made it impossible for us to pay certain levels of deductions in December. The question to ask the labour leaders is why did you wait till now to talk about these issues if you were not part of it.<br /> “We need certain level of integrity to show that we are leaders of the people than to back out when we actually know we are part of it. What are the issues? What are the problems in Ekiti? They are two. The first problem is the dwindling economy, the money coming from Abuja is no longer coming, Ekiti earns about the least in Nigeria and secondly the debt profile of Ekiti as a result of mal-administration by the last administration where almost N1.2 billion is deducted from source.<br /> “Parents are generally emotional, passionate about their children particularly their female wards but sometimes you are helpless as a father. Your daughter will be at home, she cannot go to school but you are helpless and I still want you to continue praying for Nigeria because in the next three months it may get tougher.<br /> “It’s not about the governor, it’s about all of us, it is a selective solution we must look for. I am prepared to serve you, I am prepared to give my best, let us not be beclouded by our pains not to see the actual facts surrounding this state. Don’t let anybody come in in the name of APC to deceive you. They have plunged this state into trouble, why should they take money beyond their administration?<br /> “The internally generated revenue of Ekiti is collected from various areas by 13 banks and on the 1st and 2nd of every new month, they sweep it into one bank and this is done electronically. The governor cannot say help me remove this, help me remove that. No responsible governor or government will say bank, help me manipulate, because of how much? The size of the state determines your IGR, can you take water out of a dry toilet roll?<br /> “Can you push the people beyond what they can do? I don’t want to be here fooling Ekiti people, telling them the IGR is 600 million/700 million for reasons of arrogance and pride. No! These things are done electronically, there is freedom of information, you can Google it.<br /> “You can go to accountant-general’s office, if she does not avail you with the documents you want please call on me, let me know. I will get her to give you those documents, she is a civil servant, I don’t want anybody to deceive you. I never diverted your money, what will I do with it?<br /> “I want a name, I don’t want money, money is momentary, money has got wings, it can fly.”<br /> credit: thecableng

Fayose: I love you but I don’t have money to pay you

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has expressed his love for workers in the state, appealing to them to shelve their two-...

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Militants declare ceasefire, demand immediate release of Dasuki

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"></span></div> <div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"></span></div> <div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Militants declare ceasefire, demand immediate release of Dasuki" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Militants-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> </div> </div> <b>The joint revolutionary council of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which claims to be the highest organ of “all the freedom fighting body” in the Niger Delta, has declared ceasefire.</b><br /> The group had earlier <a href="https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-militants-give-soldiers-72-hour-ultimatum-leave-niger-delta" target="_blank"><b>threatened to launch six missiles in the region</b></a> and to also shut Nigeria’s airspace, but it said it decided to do otherwise after the federal government offered to dialogue.<br /> However, JNDLF said government would have to comply with its demand if it wants the momentary peace to be sustained.<br /> Some of the group’s demands are the immediate release of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), reversal of the order to freeze the bank accounts of Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo, establishment of Matitime University in Okerenkoko, Delta state, among others.<br /> The group said Niger Delta governors are its representatives and threatened “to go after them if they betray the region”.<br /> “We shall continue to engage in dialogue if our demands are met. Our representatives for the dialogue, especially the governors and others will not betray our demands with the federal government. Any betrayal on their own part shall be viewed as betrayal of the entire region and we shall go after them immediately as they know our mode of operation in which they will not escape from us,” JNDLF said in a statement.<br /> “There is no gainsaying that we made our earlier promise to launch six missiles simultaneously against some targeted areas. But this was waved aside as a result of appeals made to us through email by the federal government and some international nations to open talks with Buhari.<br /> “We saw some genuine aspiration on the part of Buhari, who made several contacts to us to see reason with them over the issue of under-development of the region. And since he (Buhari) had set the ball rolling for a clear negotiation with us, there is no problem without solution. We have therefore declared ceasefire in order to negotiate with the government if it is a true reflection of what they have in mind to develop the Niger Delta region.”<br /> The group said it was more interested in negotiating with the government on the basis of developing the Niger Delta rather than giving out monetary compensation.<br /> It also demanded the implementation of the report of the 2014 national conference, and the removal of Paul Boroh, coordinator of the presidential amnesty programme.<br /> “We are not ready to negotiate with the federal government for the sake of monetary benefit to us but how genuinely the government will develop the region is at the centre of our discussion and anything less than that we will continue our struggle without further warning to the federal government,” the statement read.<br /> “We demand the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 national conference report, failure of which Nigeria will forcefully break-up. Oil-polluted lands in the Niger Delta must be cleaned up, while compensation should be paid to all oil-producing communities, e.g. Chevron fire outbreak of gas explosion in Koluama, Bayelsa state and Bonga Oil Spill in 2011;<br /> “We also demand the immediate release of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and Dr. Nnamdi Kanu.<br /> “We also want the removal of Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd.) as  Amnesty Coordinator. He does not understand the programmes and policies of the Amnesty and does not know us to the grassroots. “Hence he should be replaced with Dr. Felix Tuodolo who has been in the struggle of non-violence since 1980 and he was the designer of the amnesty programme.<br /> “We carried out all these attacks on oil and gas pipelines in the region because of the statement made by President Buhari that he will develop those areas that gave him 95% votes during his presidential election last year. We, the Niger Delta people only gave him 5% hence we vowed that our oil money will not be used for the development of any other region.”<br /> Despite the declaration of the JNDLF, the Niger Delta Avengers, the group which has led the attacks on oil installations since the resurgence of militancy, blew up pipelines in Bayelsa state on Friday.<br /> credit: thecableng

Militants declare ceasefire, demand immediate release of Dasuki

The joint revolutionary council of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which claims to be the highest organ of “al...

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MDAs To Benefit From Properties Seized From Looters

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="Kemi-Adeosun" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="400" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Kemi-Adeosun.jpg" width="600" /> </div> <div class="image-container" itemprop="image">  </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said the Federal Government plans to relocate some of its Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDA) into some recovered looted properties.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Adeosun said this on Friday in Abuja while briefing newsmen after the Steering Committee of the Efficiency Unit meeting.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers had been advocating for adequate utilisation of confiscated properties.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Adeosun said that the move to relocate the agencies was to reduce waste since these properties were empty and thereby save government from paying rent.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The issuance of price guidelines and initiatives for reducing expenditure on rent on office and residential buildings will be the primary focus areas of the efficiency unit in coming months.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> You may want to know that the average annual expenditure on rent for a three year period of 2012 to 2014 was N3.55 billion.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> And to achieve that, we are already looking at using properties that were forfeited from recoveries and moving some of our agencies to occupy those properties rather than paying rent,’’ she said.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Adeosun said that the Efficiency unit had already recorded success in cutting government overhead cost in areas such as travels, welfare, honorarium, sitting allowance, training, adverts and publicity as well as refreshments.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Major savings are expected when on-going engagement with the Bureau of Public Procurement on the pooling of MDAs demands for standard products such as vehicles, computers, diesel and others.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> We plan to secure large discounts from suppliers and the issuance of Price Guidelines are developed and implemented.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Price Guidelines will ensure uniformity in the price at which MDAs purchase items, as well as transparency and value for money in the procurement process.’’</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Adeosun said she was working with the states to ensure that they all established Efficiency Unit since 47.32 per cent of revenue that accrued to the federation goes to the states and local governments.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> She enjoined relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the unit to ensure it achievd its mandate of cutting cost and improving the efficiency of government.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Credit: Guardian</div>

MDAs To Benefit From Properties Seized From Looters

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said the Federal Government plans to relocate some of its Ministries, Agencies...

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Nigerian Army Replies Amnesty International On Pro-Biafra Killings

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="army logo" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/army-logo.jpg" width="480" /> </div> <div class="image-container" itemprop="image">  </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Nigerian Army has rejected a report by Amnesty International on Friday accusing Nigerian troops of killing at least 17 unarmed pro-Biafra supporters in south eastern states.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Amnesty International said it conducted extensive research on the attacks and could confirm 17 killings, but said the number could be as high as 50.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In a statement following the report, H.A. Gambo, a colonel and deputy director, Army Public Relations, accused Amnesty International of not verifying its claims and seeking to discredit the Nigerian Army.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “The attention of 82 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to insinuations of misdeed being leveled by Amnesty International against security forces during the MASSOB/IPOB violent protests in Onitsha and environs on 31 May 2016. Accordingly, it is deemed imperative for the wrong and misleading impressions with which the public is being fed to be corrected once and for all,” the statement said.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “The synopsis of occurrence on that fateful day is that elements of MASSOB/IPOB engaged in violent protests which were featured with outright disregard for law and order. In the scenario of anarchy that ensued, the pro-Biafran protesters who had chosen the day to mark the 50th Anniversary of Biafra perpetrated a number of unimaginable atrocities to unhinge the reign of peace, security and stability in several parts of Anambra State.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “A number of persons from the settler communities that hailed from other parts of the country were selected for attack, killed and burnt. 2 personnel of the Nigeria Police were killed, several soldiers were wounded, a Nigeria Police vehicle was completely burnt down while another of the Nigerian Army was vandalized.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “The strategic Niger Bridge at Onitsha was at the verge of being captured particularly with the coordinated reinforcement of the violent protesters from the Asaba end of the Bridge. In addition, wanton destruction of lives and properties were brazenly carried out by the protesters who employed firearms, crude weapons as well as other volatile cocktails such as acid and dynamites. In consequence, law, order and security were grossly threatened across the State and beyond.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “The Nigerian Army in synergy with other security agencies under its constitutional mandates for Military Aid to Civil Authority (MACA) and Military Aid to Civil Power (MACP) acted responsively in order to de-escalate the deteriorating security scenario in-situ. Instructively, the military and other security agencies exercised maximum restraints against the odds of provocative and inexplicable violence that were employed against them by the pro-Biafran protesters.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “The military and of course the other security agencies acted professionally within the extant Rules of Engagement to successful de-escalate the budding anarchy in-situ. It is rather inconceivable for any individual or group to have decided to inundate the general public with an anecdote of unverified narratives in order to discredit the Nigerian Army in the course of carrying out its constitutional duties despite the inexplicable premeditated and unprovoked attacks in the hands of the violent pro-Biafran mob.”</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Credit: PremiumTimes</div>

Nigerian Army Replies Amnesty International On Pro-Biafra Killings

    The Nigerian Army has rejected a report by Amnesty International on Friday accusing Nigerian troops of killing at least ...

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MTN Agrees To Pay Nigerian $1.7 Billion Fine

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="mtn-450x268" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="268" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/mtn-450x268.jpg" width="450" /> </div> <div class="image-container" itemprop="image">  </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and final settlement” over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The company said in a statement that “MTN Nigeria has agreed to pay a total cash amount of Naira 330 billion over three years.”</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Africa’s biggest wireless operator was fined $3.9 billion last year and has since been in negotiations with the government over the payout.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> AFP</div>

MTN Agrees To Pay Nigerian $1.7 Billion Fine

    South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and ...

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Another Former Super Eagles Coach Dead!

<p dir="ltr">Nigerian football and the entire sports community in the country has lost another big figure. A former manager of the Nigerian Super Eagles and Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Coach Amodu Shuaibu has passed on at the age 58.<br> Coach Shuaibu managed the Super Eagles team thrice in his career: April 2001 to February 2002, April 2008 to February 2010 and finally October 2014 to July 2015, taking over from the Late Coach Stephen Keshi.<br> Amodu’s death was announced via the The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official twitter page.<br> Amodu’s death comes three days after the death of another former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi.<br> The three–time coach of the Super Eagles was said to have complained of chest pains on Friday night, June 10 and died shortly afterwards in his sleep.</p> <p dir="ltr">Amodu died in Benin, three days after the death of former Super Eagles Captain and Coach, Stephen Keshi, who also died in Benin.<br> The late Amodu had contributed greatly to the development of football in Nigeria, leading the nation’s national team to third place at the African Cup of nations tournament twice – in 2002 and again in 2010.<br> Coach Amodu Shuaibu Passes On<br> Shuaibu Amodu led the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but Amodu was sacked despite the team’s third-place finish at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola that year.<br> Amodu Shuaibu was fired twice in his career preceding a World Cup tournament – first was in 2002 ahead of the Japan and South Korea co-hosted edition after Nigeria finished third at the 2002 Nations Cup in Mali and again in 2010 after a third place win at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.<br> Amodu Shuaibu will be remembered for his contribution towards the development of the beautiful game in Nigeria. Details of his burial arrangements will be made public in the days ahead.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0JuIAxO9jEmroykgLJpL_T8V2qPtK-feeJMGdfYwPn-BNEXPyYiFXzzP8S87-LgYw1099hbuU1nwRtBLmAMoyWfsFO27Lu1WsC4yw5WNxkA-vsNXD3FU2GpaIJuonC6mMl5HtpRhZIXi/s1600/IMG_20160611_095528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0JuIAxO9jEmroykgLJpL_T8V2qPtK-feeJMGdfYwPn-BNEXPyYiFXzzP8S87-LgYw1099hbuU1nwRtBLmAMoyWfsFO27Lu1WsC4yw5WNxkA-vsNXD3FU2GpaIJuonC6mMl5HtpRhZIXi/s400/IMG_20160611_095528.jpg"> </a> </div>

Another Former Super Eagles Coach Dead!

Nigerian football and the entire sports community in the country has lost another big figure. A former manager of the Nigerian Super Eagles ...

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#Pendulum: Before They Mislead President Buhari

<div dir="ltr"> By Dele Momodu <br /> Fellow Nigerians, let me say categorically and emphatically that our dear beloved country is dangerously haemorrhaging again and this perfidious drift must be halted urgently before we all end up in perdition. Anyone telling President Muhammadu Buhari that all is well or that his government is moving in the right direction is either lying or pretending like a rattlesnake. And there are many scorpions around ready to mislead every government and move on effortlessly when things fall apart. For sure President Buhari possesses the ability to move this country in the right direction and lead us to where we want to be but right now it is not happening and the soul of the people palpitates! I’ve been on several television and radio interviews in the past one week and the commonest question is on the performance of our President. The general perception is that the change mantra seems not to be working and the world is worried because of the importance of Nigeria in the comity of nations.</div> <div dir="ltr"> I hope our President will get to see this piece, read it and ruminate on the points I will raise. The Buhari government has lost a substantial equity in just one year as I will try to explain in the next few paragraphs. It must be noted that Nigerians were happy with the election that ushered in President Buhari. Even those who did not vote for him accepted him with unusual equanimity. Those we expected to fight and throw tantrums simply vamoosed into their bunkers. The expectations were high then but I doubt if enough effort was put into seizing the momentum and translating it into a mass movement that would have stood the test of time. It is not too late to reclaim the moment.</div> <div dir="ltr"> The faith Nigerians had in the abilities and incorruptibility of Buhari is mighty enough to move mountains. But unfortunately, I think the government took many things for granted once it took over the reins of power. The government mistakenly believed that the support of the people was like several blank cheques which it could cash at any point in time. The general impatience of Nigerians and their desire for progressive action were never put into consideration. I remember writing two memos to our President in quick successions, when I realised that Nigerians were getting restless and restive, one of which was the desperate memo that earned me an invitation to the Presidential Villa for which I am so honoured and proud.</div> <div dir="ltr"> Still the government did not respond appropriately to the yearnings of the populace. The major problem is that the priorities of Buhari were never palpable to the general public as everything seemed to operate in utmost secrecy. This is probably a relic of the military days when surprise and spontaneity achieved more.  However, democracy is an open book and it has become even more so since the internet turned the world into a global information minefield. I’m sure it was assumed that the people would never doubt or query the sincerity of a messiah. So there was no need to provide any real information about the activities of government. That was the first fallacy.</div> <div dir="ltr"> The second fallacy is that people would give the President plenty of time to unfold his change agenda. One year on, it is obvious that this has not been the case. President Buhari should have moved faster once the people started grumbling about the apparent sluggishness of his administration. The selection of his cabinet was annoyingly slow and by the time it eventually came it had evaporated into a deja vu. There was no element of surprise to elicit major excitement. In fact, most people wondered why it took so long to assemble his present team most of whom he could have picked in two weeks or even before he was sworn in. The demystification of Buhari became manifest from that moment not because the team he picked is not worthy or creditable but because the interminable delay in making the choices cost the nation dearly.</div> <div dir="ltr"> The next problem was that the President should have moved to unite and unify the country immediately. It was clear that the previous administrations had riven great division into the Nigerian polity. A new beginning seeking to heal the ulcerous, cancerous wounds of religious and ethnic disunity and disaffection was required. However, starting with a war of attrition, it was obvious our President would soon have his hands full. Not that some of the wars were unnecessary but the timing and methodology should have been meticulously weighed and analysed before launching into the requisite offensive. There was a lot to learn from our nascent democracy. It would have been easier to embark on some of these wars as a military ruler that the President formerly was but not as a civilian leader which the President now is. That realisation appears to have been missed by some of our President Buhari’s advisers.</div> <div dir="ltr"> For example, while the war against corruption was desperately urgent, it ought to have been known that it was intricately and delicately tied to the economy. The need to recover the looted funds as quickly as possible and use them to reinvigorate the economy needed to be balanced by the need to do so expeditiously and tactfully so that the main objective would be fulfilled. My humble opinion and advice would have been to use the carrot and stick method rather than the kill and go style that has now exposed our economy to grave danger and imminent collapse. The angry mob of Nigerians goading on our President has blatantly refused to assimilate the magnitude of the resultant repercussions. But it should be noted that those who feel frustrated about a rotten system can never be bothered if the entire structure collapses. It is such acute disillusionment that gave rise to the ascendancy of a Donald Trump in America. It is the duty and responsibility of leadership to wear its thinking cap well and rise above the giddiness of the baying crowd who have nothing to lose and only wish to see the spectacle of blood flowing without any degree of humanity or compassion for the impoverished masses that they claim to represent. The same people who hailed Buhari yesterday are the ones denigrating him today.</div> <div dir="ltr"> Once it was impossible to generalise the war against corruption to engulf all politicians tainted with corruption no matter their affiliation the government should have requested for a blanket return of government booty via negotiation with all public office holders. Those who failed to take up this generous offer of recovery could then be visited with the might and power of retributive justice. An example of when this great opportunity was missed was when government unreasonably told Nigerians they could no longer pay foreign currencies in cash into their accounts. Perhaps government in its naivety did not remember that politicians had prosecuted the last election through the almighty dollar because it reduced the bulkiness of gratifications. Government should have patiently waited for the dollars to come in, whether in cash or not, before pouncing on the owners. Once that opportunity was missed, the next was to discreetly stretch its tentacles across the world in search of thieves and money launderers. Assets at home and abroad should have been quietly traced for possible confiscation. This could have been done without all the present grandstanding and hullabaloo. When you hear the elephant stomping the ground behind you in a one directional manner, you know it is time to run and hide. In this period when we are celebrating the life and times of Mohammed Ali perhaps it is poignant to say that you do not telegraph your punches rather you “rope a dope”!</div> <div dir="ltr"> Also, the moment our President chose a military style of operation he should have known that corruption would fight back with ferocity and velocity. For example, once it seemed the former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan had been marked for humiliation even demolition, I knew our President was playing with the tiger’s tail and I sounded my note of warning. Before we could say Jack Robinson, the Niger Delta avengers returned with a vengeance and brought us back to our knees. Today our oil production has plunged to an all-time low even when we had been grappling with the nightmare of low crude oil prices. The Niger Delta Avengers army seems ready to make Boko Haram look like child’s play as they strangulate the economy, degrade the environment and decimate the local population that they claim to be fighting for. Is this what we need to add to our plethora of problems at this time? The answer is a big NO.</div> <div dir="ltr"> The militarisation of Nigeria has become very suffocating. Shiites are being killed in droves in the North West. Mass graves have been identified and uncovered. The Biafra agitators are being massacred in broad-day light and its leaders detained indefinitely. Boko Haram remains a monumental menace to society despite the extra-ordinary efforts of our military and Intelligence agencies. The Fulani and or Libyan herdsmen have added to the conundrum out of the blues. Different militant groups are now armed to the teeth. Trust me these guys don’t look like they are joking.  Nobody fights on as many fronts as this government now seems to be fighting without risking it all.</div> <div dir="ltr"> Many have argued that Nigeria should be restructured. It is believed that its present configuration is too artificial. Most of the States are no longer viable while some fringe or full-blown eccentrics are asking for more. It is interesting that in the build up to independence our leaders from the North, Southwest and East were saying the same thing in different words.  Nigeria is peopled by diverse nationalities and any nation must recognise this diversity and give it voice and room to flourish.  A continuous denial of this fact can only lead to self-destruction. One of our erstwhile leaders in his wisdom foisted unitary system on us when we had successfully thrived under true federalism. That was a mark of courage notwithstanding that it was a totally flawed decision. Our President must find a similar kind of courage to find and examine all the previous recommendations made during different and various constitutional conferences and implement the universal clamour for true federalism. There is nothing new under the sun, as they say, our President already has a rich reservoir of knowledge deposited in some government archives to reach the best decision and modality that will achieve this end.  My simple solution, Nigeria must return to and embrace and practise true Federalism. Not doing so is like pushing our luck too far and postponing doomsday.</div> <div dir="ltr"> What is of utmost importance in calling for a political configuration that will meet the yearnings of our people is the state of the economy. My submission is that the economy will never recover in an atmosphere of tension, uncertainty and panic. The Federal Government needs to tone down the negative rhetoric about our country. That unfortunate moniker of a corrupt nation that has been hung round our necks is dragging us down and denying Nigeria the investment in its future that it requires. Our President must make it clear that he is not the only saint in Nigeria but that the majority of Nigerians are saints and he is the leader who epitomises that. This is why he was chosen by the majority of good and well-meaning Nigerians who want someone that would demonstrate to the world that the generality of Nigerians are decent, hardworking and honest and that it is a small minority of Nigerians that are crooks. We must begin to walk away from our ugly past and work assiduously for a beautiful future.</div> <div dir="ltr"> Every nation has lived through its terrible moments but none ever cuddled the past forever as we now seem to be doing. Nigeria is richly blessed with human and natural resources. There is always a new dawn tomorrow and we must get ready for it, embrace it and by so doing seize the initiative. There would always be criminals in every society but we must never allow them to steal our future or still dominate our narrative when we have so many great men and women we can be proud of. Fortunately, we have a President that stands head and shoulders above all else and he clearly leads the way.  He must now show it by moving at the fast pace that his country desires, nay demands!</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSS7EdRtcgY-0mz5lPatISZRxmyRvIJOpc_-qAo3nJs4ZBtuUHTy28ejya1VKtJ3e9uUzr-WwhMxKMNQwTA1s7qcxJJmCmfDIMx5LlJxPHHuAe3ELmZqrjx49HkXL0q7wPt_2qYgeDin-N/s1600/IMG_20160603_135317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSS7EdRtcgY-0mz5lPatISZRxmyRvIJOpc_-qAo3nJs4ZBtuUHTy28ejya1VKtJ3e9uUzr-WwhMxKMNQwTA1s7qcxJJmCmfDIMx5LlJxPHHuAe3ELmZqrjx49HkXL0q7wPt_2qYgeDin-N/s400/IMG_20160603_135317.jpg" /> </a> </div>

#Pendulum: Before They Mislead President Buhari

By Dele Momodu Fellow Nigerians, let me say categorically and emphatically that our dear beloved country is dangerously haemorrhaging agai...

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