Nations Cup: How far can the Eagles fly?

Exactly seven days from today, the 19th edition of the Africa Nations Cup will kick off in South Africa but action for the Super Eagles under the tutelage of Stephen Okechukwu Keshi will actually begin two days later when they confront fellow West Africans, Burkina Faso in their first game.
Last year when the competition was co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Nigeria was conspicuously  absent after Eagles’ immediate past coach, debonair Samson Siasia bungled the country’s chances right on the turf of the Abuja National Stadium when a more determined Syli National of Guinea picked a deserving 2-2 to grab the  lone ticket from their group.

N750m Polynotes cContract Scam: Soludo granted bail

After many hours of interrogation by its operatives, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, admitted the former Central Bank Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, to administrative bail  Thursday night.
But the former Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Anambra State was asked to report back to the anti-graft agency on yesterday morning for further questioning. It was not clear if the renowned economist honoured the invitation after being asked to go home.

Edo guber poll: Oshiomhole floors Airhiavbere at S-Court

There was wild jubilation in different parts of Edo State Friday, as youths, market women throng the streets of Benin City and Auchi, celebrating the judgment of the Supreme Court, which upheld the ruling of  the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal, striking out the issue of the educational qualification of Governor Adams Oshiomhole as a pre-election matter, thus making the matter technically dead.
Youths including Okada riders (commercial motorcyclists) chanted victory songs round the streets of Benin in convoy, appealing to Oshiomhole to go for presidency after his tenure as Governor of Edo state, as according to them, the impact his administration in the state would never be forgotten.

PDP crisis deepens as court sacks Oyinlola

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party deepened on Friday as the Federal High Court, Abuja sacked the National Secretary of  the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

His removal was the outcome of a suit filed by a faction of the party’s Ogun State chapter, led by a businessman, Buruji Kashamu.

Oyinlola’s sacking is the latest in the crises rocking the party, coming on the heels of the threat by some governors elected on its platform to quit the PDP unless its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, resigns.

Buhari Empathises With Alaafin Over Fire Incident

Former head of state and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 election, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari yesterday commiserated with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi over the fire outbreak in a section of his palace.
Buhari in a letter he personally signed, which was made available to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, expressed shock over the sad incident.
He said: “I feel the pain and more, having been told that the unfortunate development touched the Ayabas apartments and historic Ile Ori and Ile Ifa. This is not only a loss to his majesty but to the entire Yoruba people and the nation at large.
“I pray God to give you the fortitude to bear this grievous loss and appeal to all authorities concerned to make all necessary efforts to protect and preserve our entire historic heritage wherever they are located in the country. I also hope the government will facilitate full restoration of this very important historical premise,” he stated.
Source

Renowned Sports Journalist Ayo Ositelu dies at 70

Renowned sports journalist Ayo Ositelu has passed on at the age of 70.

Ositelu, popularly called The Arena, the name of his column in newspapers reportedly passed away on Wednesday night, January 9, 2012 shortly after the Super Eagles friendly against Cape Verde.

Multiple sources quote his wife, Aribike, as saying he was watching the television around 7.30pm before complaining to her that he was suddenly not feeling well. ‘He was not ill prior to that period. But we quickly called the family doctor who was waiting for us at the clinic’, Aribike told The Punch.

Ositelu died 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital. Doctors say his blood pressure was however normal.

The revered sports analyst would have turned 70 on April 6, 2013. He was also a deacon.

Through the 80s, Ositelu presented sports programmes on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

He recently compered the exhibition game between the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club on November 2, 2012.

Pregnant Woman & Her Two-Year-Old Daughter Burnt To Death In Imo State: SAD!

A mysterious fire, which engulfed a house in Ubachima, Awo Omamma, Oru East Local Gouncil Area of Imo State, has consumed a pregnant woman and her two-year-old daughter.

It was not clear how the fire started but two conflicting accounts were peddled by villagers as the cause of the inferno when Vanguard visited the scene of the ugly incident.

The first account had it that the pregnant woman, Mrs. Nkechi Amajuoyi, her husband, Benedict, and their daughter, were cooling off outside the house until it became very chilly for the woman and her little daughter.

UNIBEN Authorities Denounce Professor Isaiah Ibeh’s Alleged Cure to HIV/AIDS!

Prof. Isaiah Ibeh: Disowned over alleged HIV/AIDS cure invention.

Authorities of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), have disowned the Dean of School of Basic Medical Sciences of the University, Prof. Isaiah Ibeh, who claimed to have invented a possible cure for the dreaded HIV/AIDS.

Prof. Ibeh had on Tuesday announced the breakthrough in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Benin, capital of Edo State.

“We are at threshold of making history in the sense that we seem to have with us something that will permanently take care of what overtime seems to have defied all solutions.

“We are talking about the latest discovery of an oral drug made from plant extraction in Nigeria for the possible cure of the pandemic, HIV and AIDS virus,” Prof Ibeh had said in the interview.

But reacting to enquiries from journalists in his office, the Provost, College of Medical Sciences of UNIBEN, Prof. Vincent Iyawe, said the university has not endorsed the claims of Prof. Ibeh for now because the institution was not “carried along” in the research.

“The school would like to take credit for a breakthrough, but the school cannot align with the breakthrough because the college was not consulted, the university was not consulted, he did not carry anybody along.

“There are protocols and procedures.  Going from stage to stage, we give it clinical trials which will take it to the Federal Ministry of Health to do clinical trial and many other things involved. We will equally have to take it to NAFDAC, and many other things have to be done before you come out with your claims, and even take it to the World Health Organization,” Prof. Iyawe said.

According to the College Provost, all the university was doing was to protect Prof. Ibeh and the integrity of UNIBEN.

When asked for comment on his next line of action, the inventor of the alleged HIV/AIDS cure, Prof. Ibeh declined, adding, “I will naturally maintain a studied silence.”

Source 

Press statement from Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah

The Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah posted this message on her Facebook page.... 

We have uncovered an advanced plot by a well-known hireling to blackmail, smear and tarnish the image and reputation of the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah with the sole aim of distracting her from consolidating the gains already recorded in the transformation of the Aviation sector in line with the Transformation Agenda of the Federal government.

Our very reliable sources indicate that the hireling, who has been paid huge sums of money running into several millions of naira to execute the hatchet job will employ a very familiar strategy of calling a Press Conference to carry out his mischief and peddle his falsehood.

Sunny Okosun's son released from jail over his alleged involvement in Nkiru Sylvanus' kidnap

One of the sons of late music icon Sunny Okosun has been released from jail after being arrested over his alleged involvement in the kidnap of Nkiru Sylvanus and Kenneth Okolie.

Jerry Okosun, who also works for the Imo State government as Director General of Student Affairs, was released January 5th after spending 11 days in police cell in Owerri with other suspected kidnappers.

Jerry was arrested on Christmas Day because for some weird reason, the kidnappers contacted him to negotiate the release of Nkiru Sylvanus. Jerry acted as a middle man for Nkiru's family, the Imo State government and the kidnappers. He was the one that negotiated the N8 million ransom that was eventually paid to secure Nkiru Sylvanus and Kenneth Okolie's release.

After their release, the Imo State Government Chief of Staff ordered Jerry's arrest because they claimed to have found some incriminating text messages on his phone connecting him to the crime...and also because Jerry had been insisting on the government paying N15million as ransom. Jerry says he's innocent. 

Forbes ranks Nigeria as the 20th saddest nation in the world

Forbes has ranked Nigeria as the 20th saddest place to live in the whole world. Nigeria ranks 123rd overall on the Legatum Prosperity Index. Decades of corruption have squandered great oil and gas wealth, while new concerns involve sectarian violence, Forbes wrote

See the top 20 saddest countries on earth
1. Central African Republic
2. Republic of Congo
3. Afghanistan
 4. Chad
5. Haiti
6. Burundi
7. Togo
8. Zimbabwe
9. Yemen
10. Ethopia

See Wizkid's new home

 His new Lekki home has a swimming pool in it! Hardwork pays, mehn! Big congrats to him!

Peter Okoye shares holiday photos

6month Nigerian baby kidnapped in South Africa

Six month old Nigerian baby, Revelation Jones, was on Tuesday January 8th abducted by his parents neighbours, a couple believed to be Pakistanis. The couple, who have three children of their own,  allegedly attacked Revelation's nanny, leaving her for dead and also locked up a six year old girl in the house, as they took the baby.

The father of the abducted baby, Ifeanyi Jones, said for several hours he and his wife Khanyisile had been phoning the nanny and the house, and no one had picked up the phone. The Nanny’s husband, Daniel Kanda, said his wife had told him the attack had taken place early in the morning. She was carrying the baby when the couple attacked her. “They wrestled as the couple was trying to pull the baby from her; until she fell to the ground, and (the couple) started attacking her. They were attacking her with shoes. The man tied a rope around her neck, that is when she collapsed,” he said.

Oshiomhole wants DIG sacked over Oyerinde’s death probe

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Thursday in Abuja called for the dismissal of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Peter Gana,  who supervised the investigation into the murder of his private secretary, Olaitan Oyerinde.

Oshiomhole alleged that the DIG was shielding  the real killers and urged  President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the matter.

He said the State Security Service apprehended Oyerinde’s suspected killers while the police arrested and detained an innocent civil rights activist, Rev. David Ugolor, for two months without trial in disobedience of a court order.

The governor, who canvassed for the scraping of the Police Affairs ministry on the grounds that it politicises the Force, noted that with a functional Police Service Commission, the country would not need a ministry in charge of police affairs.

NAFDAC probes AIDS cure claim by UNIBEN don

National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control has  begun a probe into Prof. Isaiah Ibeh’s claim on Tuesday  that he had discovered a herbal drug capable of curing AIDS.

Reports quoted the Dean of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin  as saying  the drug had undergone “a series of successful tests”.

 The Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, who addressed a media conference  in Abuja  on Thursday, said the agency had invited Ibeh to prove his claim. He warned members of the public  against  buying  the drug  because it had  not been subjected to standard scientific protocols.

He said the don was wrong going public, saying it was  the duty of the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, to make the announcement   after  tests by NAFDAC.

Senate to debate subsidy probe report next week

The Senate has said it will commence debate on the report of the probe panel on fuel subsidy when it resumes from its recess next week.

It also said it would prioritise the consideration of the budget of 43 federal agencies of government and the Petroleum Industry Bill after the break.

Briefing journalists on Thursday in Abuja on the activities of the upper legislative chamber between September and December 2012, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Business and Rules, Senator Ita Enang, said the budget of the agencies were annexure of the 2013 budget submitted to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to him, the budgets of some of the agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission, Nigerian Communication Commission as well as the Federal Capital Territory Administration were submitted to the National Assembly separately.

“It is expected that the Constitution review process having progressed from senatorial districts and state level hearings to zonal public hearings, we will receive the reports and analyse them and progress to findings and conclusions on sections for amendment and submission to the floor for consideration,” Enang said.

PUNCH

EFCC arrests Soludo over currency contract scam

A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles  Soludo, was on Thursday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes  Commission over his role in the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam which occurred between 2006 and 2008 when he was in office.

The PUNCH was informed by sources in the commission that Soludo arrived the EFCC  Headquarters about 2pm from his Abuja residence and  immediately faced a team of operatives who quizzed him for several hours to ascertain his level of complicity in the scandal.

It was learnt that the decision to look into the polymer deal was followed  a petition by  Human and Environmental Development Agenda.

According to the chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the group’s petition had demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of those involved in the alleged contract scam.

The petition had demanded that both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission  pursue the investigation and prosecution as provided by laws establishing both anti-graft agencies.

Sources also indicated that other top management staff of CBN, who had worked with Soludo, were also picked and currently being held alongside other ex-staff of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company.

However, all efforts to get the identities of other  detained suspects  proved abortive, as no one was ready to volunteer information.

PUNCH

Yero appoints SSG, aides

Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Yero, on Thursday announced the appointment of a new Secretary to the State Government and four personal aides.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Saidu Adamu, said the new positions were the Director-General, Media and Publicity  to the Governor; Chief of Staff; Principal Private Secretary; and  Special Adviser on Political Affairs.

A former Chairman of Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Ishaq Dan’ Mahawayi replaces Samaila Yakawada from the same zone as Secretary to Kaduna State Government.

Two-time Chairman of Zaria LGA  from the Northern part of the state and former News Editor of the defunct, The Reporter, Yahaya Abdullahi, takes over from Mr. Yayaha Galadima, from Jema’a LGA in the Southern Kaduna as the Chief of Staff.

Aliyu Samaila is now Principal Private Secretary  to the Governor. He hails from Zaria LGA and  was a career civil servant. He takes over from Yohana Allah Magani from Zangon Kataf LGA in the Southern part of the state.

Also, Mr. Rueben Buhari, from Kachai LGA in the Southern Kaduna is expected to handover to Ahmed Maiyaki from Zaria LGA who has been appointed the Director-General (Media and Publicity).

Mayaki, holds a Master Degree in Mass Communication from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was until his new appointment, a correspondent with Radio France International.

PUNCH

Governors to Jonathan: Tukur must go

THE internal strife within the Peoples Democratic Party deepened on Thursday with President Goodluck Jonathan’s intervention failing to pacify the PDP governors who are adamant in their resolve to remove their party’s National Chairman, Bamangar Tukur.

Jonathan’s three-hour meeting with the governors at the Villa on Thursday, sources confirmed to The PUNCH, failed to extract a commitment from the states’ chief executives to sheathe their swords in the battle against Tukur.

Myriads of assurances from party chieftains to the contrary notwithstanding, the governors were said to be bent on removing Tukur over his alleged meddling in the Adamawa PDP politics and unilateral dissolution of the executive council in the state chapter of the party.

Many members of the NWC, led by the Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Sam Jaja, had denounced and rescinded the dissolution of the Adamawa exco. 

At the end of their meeting in the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday evening, the governors had called for the immediate convening of the National Executive Committee meeting of the party as well as endorsed the decision of the NWC rescinding the dissolution of the PDP Adamawa State Executive.

Sources close to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum confided in our correspondents that the state chief executives were tired of Tukur, a second republic governor of old Gongola State, and that he must go.

Sensing that the governors, who are said to have influence on majority of members of the party’s NEC, could eventually have their way in sacking him, Tukur was said to have vowed that almost all the members of the NWC would go with him.

Tukur is seen as an appointee of the President, who foisted him on the party at its National Convention in Abuja in March, 2012.

Source 

Eagles’ performance bad for African football –Onigbinde

Former Super Eagles’ Head Coach Adegboye Onigbinde has said that the Super Eagles’ performance against Cape Verde, tells a bad story about African football. Onigbinde told the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview on Thursday that there was a need for the technical crew to improve on the team. The former Eagles coach was reacting to the team’s 0-0 draw against Nations Cup debutant, Cape Verde, in a friendly match on Wednesday.

In their first friendly match on Jan. 3 in Spain, the Eagles held the stars Catalonian side to a 1-1 draw. The two matches were part of the team’s build up for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to hold in South Africa from Jan. 19 to Feb.