Iyabo Obasanjo writes father, says: ‘Dear Daddy, you don’t own Nigeria

on December 18, 2013   /   in Headlines 2:04 am   /   Comments

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
LAGOS — In what is turning out to be a season of open letters, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo, has ruled out further communication with her father till death, describing him as a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president.
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo in a letter to her father accused him of having an egoistic craving for power and living a life where only men of low esteem and intellect thrive.

Olusegun Obasanjo and Iyabo Obasanjo

B-R-E-A-K-I-N-G-N-E-W-S Dino Melaye's Wife Files For Divorce

B-R-E-A-K-I-N-G-N-E-W-S Dino Melaye's Wife Files For Divorce After He Puts Gun To Her Head & Almost Pulled Trigger Dino Melaye's 10year old marriage has crash...ed down like a pack of cards and Tokunbo his wife and mother of his three kids has taken to her heels filing for divorce in the process. According to stelladimokokorkus they had a lot of problems. Each time they had an argument his wife would end up in hospital being treated for injuries of all kinds. Aside from allegedly sleeping with his house girl which was one of the major problems there are also confirmed whispers that sometimes when Tokunbo went to work he removed her pix from the house walls and brought in different women in their matrimonial bed telling them his wife had died and even getting the domestic staff to say their madam was resting with the Lord. The insiders continue ''for the past 9yrs Dino has been beating his wife to the point that there are police records stating some reported instances. She was five months pregnant with her second son when the beatings began and it got worse. She was rushed to Zanlin hospital in 2005 at exactly 10pm and was treated for injuries on her head as he hit her with an iron rod. In October 2010,she was rushed to Wuse general hospital by the police themselves after she ran in her bloodied nightgown with deep cuts on her arms. Report says Dino used a plank to flog her aiming for the head but she used her arms to protect herself and ended up with deep deep cuts that needed emergency room attention. On September 25,2013 Tokunbo and Dino had an argument and he pulled a silver pistol to her head and was seconds away from pulling the rigger when his ringing phone distracted him. She took off leaving behind her shoes. She has filed for divorce and wants custody of the kids but she has not been allowed to see them or have any contact with them. Insiders say on that September 25th morning the altercation which led to Dino pulling out his gun had to do with a dressing gown in the wardrobe belonging to Dino. His wife attempted to put it on and the law maker refused telling her that all the dressing gowns and perfumes he had were gifts from his girlfriends and he did not buy them with his money. The wife allegedly retorted by saying she could as well accept gift from male friends and Dino exploded accusing his wife of referring to her ex boyfriend and asking her to leave his house. He pointed a gun to her head and the drama ended with the wife running to the police station to report to the commissioner of police and escorted back to the house with five policemen who came to search for the gun with a warrant of arrest. Dino was invited to the police headquarters and the same warrant of arrest later surface online claiming he had been arrested because of the Stella Oduah corruption case he was previously arrested for. Dino has over 10 cars but if he has small issues with his wife he seizes all the car keys and forces her to either walk or take public transport. If she returns home after 7pm she must sleep outside the gate till he returns home by 1am his usual time and when he gets back just know that there is fire on the mountain''. Different versions on why the marriage crashed has also emerged from the camp of Dino. The first version is that ''he caught her twice with her ex and he warned her the first time but divorced her when he caught her again'' The second whispers is that ''he caught her whispering on the phone with her ex and he asked her why she was talking to him and she shouted at him that she would not only speak with him but would f#*k him as well'' The third version is that ''Tokunbo allegedly collected money from Stella oduah and planted cocaine in the house and then went to report to police to search the house.Some say it was cocaine she planted,others say it was guns'' Concerned friends of both couple are running helper skelter to ensure that they settle well and the kids returned to their mother who is presently living alone. FIDA,an international body for female lawyers has also been brought into the matter to fight for the rights of the estranged Mrs Melaye who in her divorce petition is asking for full custody of the three children who have been seized from her. On the other hand,the Lawyer representing Mr Melaye is asking for custody rights of the children as well. Below is part of the reasons stated on the petition filed by Mrs Tokunbo Melaye (PETITIONER) asking for divorce from Mr Dino Melaye.(RESPONDENT) FACTS GROUNDING THE PETITION 1. The facts relied on by the petitioner as constituting the ground specified above is as follows; a. That in the course of the marriage the Respondent has behaved in such ways that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent, the particulars of such behaviour is as follows; b. That the Respondent is a habitual and instinctive liar who lies to the Petitioner on every available opportunity. Instances and/or particulars of needless lies often told by the Respondent are as stated below; i. On many occasions the Respondent lies that he is travelling for business or political reasons only to be sighted around town in the midst of women of easy virtue. ii. At the very initial stage of the marriage, sometime around 2003, the Respondent lied that he was on a business errand to the United Kingdom and South Africa and abandoned the matrimonial home for weeks only to come back without any exit stamps on his International passport. iii. In the course of the marriage, the Respondent usually introduces himself to other women either as a widower or a divorcee. iv. Any challenge to veracity of cheap lies of the Respondent leads to violent reaction of the Respondent. c. The Respondent abandons the Petitioner and Children of the union in the matrimonial home for days without any explanation about his where about and when he stays around, he keeps late night and when he comes back home early hours of the morning, any complaint by the Petitioner earned her slaps and blows. d. The Respondent is rash and unpredictable. e. The Respondent, a very violent and wicked person, is a serial wife beater. The particulars and/or instances of violence and wickedness by the Respondent against the Petitioner are as stated below; i. During the co-habitation of the parties at DASAB Property in Maitama, Abuja, the Respondent once beat up the Petitioner who was 5 months pregnant for the fact that the Petitioner queried his late night outings. ii. During the co-habitation at Zone 6, Wuse, Abuja, the Respondent broke the nose of the Petitioner by inflicting a vicious blow on the nose of the Petitioner. The extensive damage done to the nose required medical care and plastic/reconstructive surgery to be corrected. iii. Also at the same Zone 6 residence, the Respondent on one occasion beat the Petitioner with metal rod and on another occasion with an Air conditioner connecting wire. On both occasions the brutality led to the hospitalization of the Petitioner. iv. During the co-habitation at Owando Street, Wuse, during the term of the Respondent as a Federal Legislator at the House of Representatives, in 2008, the Respondent used a wooden side stool to deal a violent blow on the knee of the Petitioner. v. In 2009, while the Petitioner was browsing on her laptop after one of the usual domestic quarrels, the Respondent suddenly and without any warning to the Petitioner, snatched the laptop from the Petitioner and smashed same on the Petitioner’s head. vi. On the 23rd December, 2009, the Respondent beat up the Petitioner and in the course of doing so, in a moment of mad rage and recklessness of the Respondent, the Respondent threw the Petitioner against the wall not minding the fact that she was carrying the 1 month old baby Ruth Gbotemi Melaye. The baby hit her head against the wall and sustained injury to head. vii. Despite the fact that the Respondent knew of the injury his reckless act caused to the baby, he abandoned the matrimonial home and was nowhere to be found until the 3rd January, 2010. Viii. On the 1st of October, 2010, sometime between 8pm and 11pm, the Respondent, during a domestic quarrel, smashed a wooden plank on the head and hands of the Petitioner and subsequently chased her out of the matrimonial home. f. The Respondent inflicts mental, psychological and emotional torture on the Petitioner and rains oral abuses on her at will in the course of the marriage, the particulars of which are stated below; i. Upon the slightest irritation or annoyance, the Respondent takes the children of the marriage out of the matrimonial home for days without the consent or knowledge of the Petitioner in order to deprive the Petitioner access to the children whom he knows she loves so much. ii. On the 3rd day of January, 2010, after the quarrel that caused the Respondent to injure Gbotemi, a one month old baby and the disappearance of the Respondent from the matrimonial home, the Respondent resurfaced in the home only to take all the first two children (Isreal Asiwaju and Joshua Kinbati) away to an unknown place for 2 weeks without the consent and/or knowledge of the Petitioner. This was to inflict mental and psychological torture on the Petitioner. iii. The Respondent takes pleasure in abusing the Petitioner in the presence of the children and domestic staff of the family by using expletives like “idiot”, “fool” and gleefully uses other indecent and indecorous language on the Petitioner. iv. The Respondent threatens to send the Petitioner out of the matrimonial home at the slightest opportunity actually sometimes sends her out of the matrimonial home at odd night hours so much so that the Petitioner was living in perpetual fear of being sent out of the matrimonial home. v. The Respondent threatens the Petitioner that he would shoot her to death and nothing would happen. To show that he had ability to carry out this threat, the Respondent once showed the Petitioner his pistol with live ammunitions. vi. The Respondent actually pulled a gun on the Petitioner on the 25th September, 2013, and ordered her out of the matrimonial home at gun point. The Respondent flung all the personal effects of the Petitioner out of the matrimonial home in the presence of the domestic staff and subsequently packed some of the items and dumped them at the Petitioner’s Uncle’s house at Life Camp. vii. The Respondent has cut off all forms of communication between the Petitioner and the children from 25th September, 2013 up to the time of filing this Petition. The Respondent, apart from restraining both physical and telecommunication access to the children, has also warned the authority of the School they attend from allowing the Petitioner access to the Children of the union. g. The Respondent is canterkerous and quarrelsome. h. In the course of the marriage, the respondent has shown unquantifiable degree of temper and intolerance. i. The Respondent has shown a high degree of infidelity and unfaithfulness to the marital vows. j. The newspapers and internet blogs are replete with the escapades of the Respondent and the most recent of such reports of such philandering attitude is the immoral relationship with a Theatre Practitioner recently which reportedly produced a child for the Respondent. k. The Respondent is a very violent person who at will uses objects like bottles, knives, planks, etc as weapons against the Petitioner. l. The Respondent keeps company with women of easy virtue against the wish of the Petitioner. n. The Respondent willfully disrespects the Petitioner. o. INCOMPATIBILITY a. While the Petitioner is a quiet, easy going, honest, peace loving and home loving person, devoted to her calling, the Respondent is boisterous, canterkerous, dishonest, secretive and flirtatious. He is also boastful and threatens the Petitioner with his gun and his ability to make life unbearable for the Petitioner. b. While the Petitioner is a generous person, the Respondent is a very greedy and selfish person. c. While the Petitioner loves children, the Respondent is a very cruel person and practices his cruelty on the Petitioner in the presence of the children and on the children.

Iheanacho quits Eagles for Man City

December 17, 2013 

Golden Eaglets striker, Kelechi Iheanacho
|

Golden Eaglets forward, Kelechi Iheanacho, is set to join English Premier League side, Manchester City. The player left having been released on Monday from the Super Eagles camp in Abuja by Stephen Keshi. Iheanacho was in camp for the Championship of African Nations billed for South Africa in January.

We shunned campus romance – First class graduates

December 17, 2013 

Imafidion and Olabisi
| credits: File copy

The two best graduating first class degree holders of the Lead City University, Ibadan Oyo State, share with TEMITAYO FAMUTIMI the secret of their academic success

 For recording outstanding academic success, two female students of Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nafisat Olabisi and Izojie Imafidion have again lent credence to the maxim, “What a man can do, a woman can do better.”

We’ve enough grounds to impeach Jonathan –APC Reps

December 17, 2013

Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila

The All Progressives Congress caucus in the House of Representatives on Monday said that it had “enough grounds” to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan but that was not in a hurry to do so.

How Bishop Oyedepo and D’banj Confronted each other in Church

How Bishop Oyedepo and D’banj Confronted each other in Church

The man of Lord at Living Faith Belief Church Worldwide (the Winners Chapel), Bishop D. Oyedepo did not get overly enthusiastic with all the current blings and swags of ex-Mohits star, Dapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D'banj, once they came in contact.

It has been learnt that D'banj was lately approached to perform at a Youth programme in Covenant University where in fact the Bishop was also a particular guest of honour.

Those people present at the Event claimed that D'banj was presented by MC to step on stage for his performance, D'banj seemed on point in his standard bling-bling setting of dressing and when he was presenting his music, the extremely respectable Bishop Oyedepo stopped him.

According to an eyewitness, the Bishop's gesture took everybody by shock when he told the ‘Fall in Love

'crooner to stop his performance.

It was gathered that the Bishop while trying to keep up the great standard of Christianity, informed D'banj to remove the whole bling on his neck and to be cautious of what he'd state on stage.

While a number of the those who were there said Bishop Oyedepo uttered the caution to D'banj jokingly, nevertheless, not just a few maintained that he meant every term he explained concerning the star artist

 

source: blogger

Fathia Balogun confirms being dragged to court by Saidi Balogun over use of name

Fathia Balogun confirms being dragged to court by Saidi Balogun over use of name

There were reports recently that actor Saidi Balogun had dragged his ex- wife actress Fathia Balogun to court over the use of his surname, Balogun, insisting that she drops it. (Read HERE). Saidi denied the report in a statement he sent to the press (Find that HERE).

Fathia is now accusing him of lying to the press, because according to her, he indeed dragged her to court over the use of the name. Below is a statement released by her publicist, Seun Oloketuyi

More artiste jostle for space as 2013 Lagos countdown begins

More artiste jostle for space as 2013 Lagos countdown begins

Activities marking this year’s Lagos countdown took off effectively last Sunday with a commanding performance  by Terry G (afro hip pop act) at the bar beach, venue of the Lagos countdown.

As at the last count, over fifty artistes have been confirmed to perform at this year’s countdown. Some of them include Tu-Face Idibia, Davido, Omawunmi, Iyanya, Wande Coal, Timaya, J-Martins, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Iceprince,to mention but a few.

We attacked Maiduguri, We’ll hit US -Shekau Boko Haram Leader

 

Abubakar Shekau

Leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has today claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Composite Group Air force Base in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital that occurred on 2nd December.

Supreme Court overturns Bode George’s conviction

December 14, 2013 by Punch

Chief Bode George

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the conviction of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, and five former directors of the Nigerian Ports Authority by a Lagos State High Court in 2009.

The NPA directors are Alhaji Aminu Dabo, Captain Oluwasegun Abidoye, Alhaji Abdulahi Aminu Tafida, Alhaji Zanna Maidaribe and Mr. Sule Aliyu, who were tried and convicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside George over offences bordering on corruption, inflation of contracts and contracts splitting.

George was the chairman of the NPA between 2001 and 2003, when the alleged offences were said to have occurred.

However, delivering judgment on separate appeals filed by George and the others to challenge their conviction, the Supreme Court held that the allegation of contract splitting over which the accused persons were convicted, had not become a criminal offence as at the time the alleged incident took place.

The Supreme Court maintained that, from its findings, the convictions were based on the alleged failure of the then NPA officials to obey the provisions of a circular on the award of contracts.

According to the court, the said failure to obey the provisions of the circular was not a criminal offence as at the time George and the others were charged to court, and subsequently convicted.

The Public Procurement Act, which was to criminalise the offence of contract splitting, for which George and the others were convicted, was enacted in 2007.

The apex court held that George and his co-accused persons were wrongfully convicted and sentenced by the trial court.

Even though they had already served the two years prison sentence imposed on them by the LSHC, George and the others, through their lawyers including Kanu Agabi, SAN, and Joseph Daudu, SAN, had asked the Supreme Court to set aside their conviction and the subsequent punishment.

Before approaching the Supreme Court, they had failed in their bid to overturn their conviction at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the verdict of the LSHC, ruling that they were properly charged and convicted under the relevant laws of Lagos State.

In the appeals they filed before the Supreme Court, George and the others maintained that they were wrongfully convicted and sentenced.

They argued that the Lagos State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to try them.

According to them, they should have been tried by a Federal High Court, instead of the Lagos State High Court.

They also maintained that the prosecution did not prove its claim that they were guilty of contracts splitting and the disobedience of a lawful order by failing to adhere with an administrative circular on award of contracts.

They insisted that such disobedience of a lawful order must first be criminalised by the National Assembly before it could become a criminal offence.

The EFCC, which was the respondent in the appeals, asked the Supreme Court to uphold the convictions.

However, delivering judgment in the appeal filed by George, Justice Afolabi Fabiyi, held that the conviction was wrong.

He said the EFCC failed to prove the case against George.

Giving a summary of the judgment, he said, “It is not in contention that all the counts by which the appellant (George) was tried and convicted was based on an intention to defraud.

“Since intention to defraud was made an element of the charge, the respondent (EFCC) has the onus to prove same but failed to do so.

“It has been established that the case of the respondent rests on a shaky ground.”

The apex court held that the Public Procurement Act, which made contract splitting a criminal offence, was enacted in 2007 and as a result was not in force when George and the others were said to have committed the alleged offences at the NPA

2014 World Cup: Nigeria Draw Argentina Again

By: Salifu Usman on December 7, 2013 - 5:53am

Super Eagles of Nigeria dream to shock the world in the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup has been given additional boost as the final draw conducted yesterday at the luxurious Costa do Sauípe in Salvador, Brazil, handed Coach Stephen Keshi-led squad a fairly easy group.

71-Year Old Man Rapes Minor In Akure

Posted: December 6, 2013 - 05:56

Kayode Ganiyu

By Saharareporters, New York

A 71-year-old hunter, Alhaji Kayode Ganiyu raped a 7-year-old pupil, ‘Taye’ a primary school pupil of Oba Ile in Akure in  Ondo State.
The incident occurred at Ayetoru Street in Oba Ile, a suburb of Akure.

Nigerian Army Declares Serving Officer Missing

By: Agency Report on December 6, 2013 - 12:54pm

The Nigerian Army on Friday declared a serving officer,  Sgt. Adeyemo Abimbola of the Department of Policy

and Plans, Army Headquarters Abuja, missing.

SSS “Arrests” Junaid Mohammed Over Bloodshed Comments About President Jonathan-PREMIUM TIME

SSS “Arrests” Junaid Mohammed Over Bloodshed Comments About President Jonathan-PREMIUM TIMES

Posted: December 6, 2013 - 17:45 by Shara Reporters

By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik

Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service, on Friday interrogated Junaid Mohammed, a staunch critic of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Federal Government, over inciting comments credited to him.
The politician was reportedly summoned to the SSS headquarters in the Abuja, where he was quizzed for several hours over comments credited to him suggesting there would be violence should President Jonathan stands for reelection.

CONSTURCTION SITE AND CRIMINALITY

Abuja, Dec. 3, 2013 (NAN) An Abuja Grade 2 Area Court in Kado on Tuesday sentenced five workers of Vital Construction Company, Jabi in the FCT to seven months in prison for stealing a drum of diesel, valued at N37,950.

Those sentenced are Gayus Maji,28, Zamani Billy,45; Zakariya Bahago,35; Emmanuel Ajie,40, and Zakari Musa, 50.

President Jonathan Meets PDP Govs, Aliyu Present

Posted by: Channels TV         Posted date: December 02, 2013                        

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday night met with governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
One major highpoint of the meeting was the presence of Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, a former member of the group of seven governors who made up the defunct New PDP.
Before the meeting, the PDP governors had met at the Akwa Ibom Governors Lodge for several hours before moving to the Presidential Villa.
Channels Television State House Correspondent, Chukwuma Onwekwusi reported that the meeting held behind closed doors and that the Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido appeared to also be in attendance.
While the President met with Governors Aliyu and Lamido in the conference room of the First Lady, Vice President Nnamadi Sambo met with others in “House Seven.”
After the meeting which ended at about 9pm, PDP Board of Trustees, Chairman, Tony Annenih, said the meeting was in a bid to restore confidence and trust in the party.
Governor Aliyu said he attended the meeting because he is still a staunch member of the party and disclosed that a series of meetings will hold during the week as well as on Sunda

BOMBSHELL: “Pres. Jonathan Can’t Win In 2015″ – Dokubo Asari

One of the biggest supporters and kinsman of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, has declared that the president has lost the support of his political base, the South-south and the South-East owing to the failure of his government to deliver on its promises.

Here's Governor Amaechi's Warning To President Jonathan

Here's Governor Amaechi's Warning To President Jonathan 

 

Governor Rotimi Amaechi is angry because Rivers State is responsible for the highest crude oil production in the country but President Goodluck Jonathan has done so much to frustrate all his efforts. In his words:

“Show me one new thing to indicate that Rivers people have benefited from the 2.1 million votes given to President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 elections. 

"I was voted into office to defend the interests of Rivers people and I will continue to defend the interests of Rivers people. The Bonny-Bodo federal road has been abandoned... if you compare Lagos international airport, Kano, Benin, Enugu and others, you will understand that ours is backward. But why Rivers State?

"I can see that we don’t have federal support, and that is why I said, we can only defend our interests as Rivers people through our votes... We will embark on house to house campaign to tell our people the need for them to fight for their interests."

The governor emphatically stressed that 2015 will not be like 2011 in Nigeria!

Go and die widow to fight street trading

December 3, 2013 

 

Ifije with her son, Bright and Gov. Oshiomhole
| credits: James Azania

 

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on Monday invited a widow and mother of four, Joy Ifije, whom he scolded penultimate week for blocking the road with her goods, to Government House, Benin.

Sex worker hides N650, 000 chain in private parts

December 2, 2013

 

Emoven
| credits: Eniola Akinkuotu

There was shock at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos, after a commercial sex worker, Thesie Emoven, who was arrested for stealing a gold chain worth N650, 000, brought out the chain from her private parts.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the 26-year-old suspect had spent three days in police custody,  denying that she stole the chain, until she could not endure police interrogation any longer.

The owner of the chain, who identified himself simply as Cosmas, said he had gone to patronise the suspect at an hotel in Ikeja, when she drugged him.

He alleged that after he fell asleep, the suspect stole his chain.

He said, “I am a 26-year-old footballer from Esan, Edo State. I am not married, but have two children. Around 9pm last week Sunday, I went to the hotel to have fun with a prostitute, but while I was on her bed, she gave me some tablets and told me to take it as this would make me last longer. I agreed and gave her N3,000

“However, I fell asleep immediately only to wake up around 1am. The girl was not in, but a few minutes later, she came in. I noticed that the gold chain was missing. I asked her where it was, but she denied taking it.

“I explained to her that the chain belonged to my elder brother, Martins, but she continued to deny  taking it, so I started shouting and this attracted the manager, who called policemen from Ikeja Police Station. After two days at Ikeja Police Station, she continued to deny it and the matter was transferred to SARS.”

Emoven, who spoke to our correspondent, however, described the matter as a domestic, rather than a criminal matter.

She said Cosmas was her lover and she had a good reason for taking the chain

She said, “Although I am a sex worker, Cosmas is my boyfriend and we have been dating for over a year. I even got pregnant for him, but I aborted it. We made love a lot, but he never paid me for my service.

“Last week Sunday, he came to my room and just before we could have sex, he said I should buy him codeine, so I gave him my phone to hold for me. When I returned, he was playing snooker downstairs and when I asked him for my phone, he said he couldn’t find it.

“We went back to my room and he gave me N3, 000 to buy a new phone. We had sex and we went to shower. However, I grabbed his chain and kept it.”

She said Cosmas started shouting and even threatened to stab her with a bottle if she did not return the chain.

She said the manager intervened and involved the police and when the room was searched and the gold was not found, they were taken to the station.

She said, “On our way to the station, I removed the pendant and gave my cousin to keep it for me. When we got to the station, I was told that all our belongings would be collected at the counter so I put the chain in cotton wool and nylon and inserted it in my private part.

“I was searched and nothing was found on me. Two days later, I was taken to SARS. After intense interrogation, I confessed to them and brought it out.”

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, told our correspondent that the suspect would soon be charged.

“The Officer-in-Charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, was able to get the suspect to confess after she denied the crime for three days.

“She discharged the chain from her private parts. She will be charged for stealing,” Braide  said.

 

source: the punch

Why we are still in the PDP –Senator

December 3, 2013

 

Senator Danladi Sankara

In this interview with JOHN ALECHENU, Senator Danladi Sankara explains why he and his colleagues from Jigawa State are staying in the Peoples Democratic Party despite pledging their allegiance to the Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the ruling party.

Sir, you were a vocal member of the now defunct New PDP. The leadership of that splinter group and majority of the governors announced on Tuesday, November 26, that they had joined the opposition APC. What is your position on this development?

B’Haram hits military bases in Maiduguri

December 3, 2013 

Scenes of the Maiduguri attacks
| credits: AFP

Scores of  civilians and  security operatives were killed  on Monday morning by  suspected Boko Haram terrorists, who  unleashed mayhem  on  military facilities and areas inhabited by  civilians in Maiduguri, Borno State.

WHY OGIDOMHE, JONATHAN'S AIDE DID NOT ATTEND AKHIGBE'S BURIAL

Why Ogiadohme, Jonathan’s aide, did not attend Akhigbe’s burial

on december 01, 2013 at 12:30 am in periscope
By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City
Fugar, the home town of the former Chief of General Staff (CGS), the late Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe, aka NNS FEARLESS, stood still penultimate weekend, when the community hosted eminent Nigerians who attended the burial ceremony of their son. It was tears throughout the burial; the reason for the love which the people exhibited is not far-fetched.
In 1996, while Akhigbe was the CGS, equivalent to the Vice President, he created Etsako Central local government from the old Etsako East. He built roads and provided electricity among other infrastructures for the community. So, in Fugar, he was held in high esteem and his people always showed appreciation each time he called on them. That is why even though he was a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he instructed his people  to vote for Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the ACN in 2007 when he faulted the way the leadership of the PDP imposed candidates for elections.
Akhigbe’s burial attracted dignitaries such as the Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark,  Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and his wife, Oshiomhole, Governor Olusegun Mimiko  of Ondo State, Chief Tony Anenih and Minister of Works, Arch.Mike, Onolemenmen, among others. St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Fugar, venue of the funeral Mass was filled to the brim. Elder brother of the deceased, Chief Alemo Akhigbe, who spoke at the service, appealed to the Federal Government to immortalize the late  admiral due to his contributions to the nation’s democracy. Oshiomhole, Mark and others poured encomium on  him.

*Mrs. Josephine Akhigbe and Comrade Oshiomhole after the occasion at the Government House.
But to the surprise of many of the guests that came, particularly from Abuja, the Chief of Staff (COS)  to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadohme, was conspicuously absent at the burial even though he was said to be in Fugar because of the burial. Sunday Vanguard was informed by family sources that the COS was barred from attending the burial by the Akhigbe family following the instructions left behind by the latter that Oghiadohme should not be welcomed at his burial. Sambo, Mark and Oshiomhole reportedly visited Ogiadohme at his country home after the church service at St Theresa.
The COS allegedly adhered to the instruction left behind by his former boss by sitting in his house quietly to entertain his own guests. As far back as 1998, Akhigbe was said to have been instrumental to the election of Oghiadohme into the House of Representatives.  Before the  election, Oghiadohme was said to be Personal Assistant to the late admiral. Akhigbe then allegedly facilitated the election of  Oghiadohme  as  deputy governor of Edo State under Governor Lucky Igbinedion.
That was after the Abdulsalami Abubakar led government decided to relinquish power to civilians. But their relationship went sour, Sunday Vanguard gathered, when Akhigbe lamented that even as deputy governor, Oghiadohme could not attract development projects to Fugar apart from the ones he Akhigbe put in place while he was CGS.
Apart from that, after Oghiadohme became COS to the President, a section of the PDP in Edo North senatorial district, where both of them  hail from, anointed Oghiadohme as the leader of Edo North people, an action Akhigbe saw as an attempt to undermine the late admiral by his former PA. Sunday Vanguard learnt that it was during this period that Oghiadohme made some  claim against his former boss. The claim , it was gathered, did not go down well with Akhigbe and he decided to stay away from Oghiadohme for several years.
However, a family source said that while the former CGS was sick in London, the COS visited him at his hospital bed and asked for forgiveness. The late admiral was said to have assured that he had forgiven him but admonished him to go to the village and retract the claim he made against him.  Oghiadohme reportedly came back to Nigeria.  It was not clear whether the COS carried out the former CGS  instruction.
After the death of the admiral, Oghiadohme allegedly  visited the family in Fugar and gave some money to them to use to entertain visitors before the burial. But when Akhigbe’s immediate family heard of it, they reportedly informed the head of the Akhigbe family to return the money, and that was when they disclosed that their father left instruction that Oghiadohme should not attend the burial because he failed to do what the late admiral advised him  to do in London.
According to a family source, “That was why even though the COS was in Fugar, he could not attend the burial notwithstanding that  he was supposed to be the chief host. Nobody from the community would have welcomed him there because, as far as the community was concerned, he had become a persona non grata.
There was a time the Fugar Progressive Union tried to intervene in the matter but it was difficult. We knew we have a problem but solving it was another problem because this was not the kind of thing you start explaining. It is because of this issue that you noticed that Oghiadohme can never win any election in his booth in Fugar because Fugar people are angry with him”.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

 

MY GOD! HOW DID WE ELECT A DRUNKARD AS OUR PRESIDENT?

MY GOD! HOW DID WE ELECT A DRUNKARD AS OUR PRESIDENT?

I envy people who drink – at least they know what to blame everything on

Oscar Levant

Fejiro Oliver

If anyone in Nigeria still thinks we have a performing President, such a person had better visit a psychologist and if it persists, visit a psychiatrist. For the 3 years that President Goodluck Jonathan has piloted the affairs of this country, he has displayed governance orchestrated by drunkenness and if he deems it fit to go to court over this statement, he is very free. But let him be reminded that no right thinking person will appear before the courts in Nigeria; not me.

His mantra of transformation agenda has turned to ‘traumatization’ agenda. This is a man who rode on the goodwill of Nigerians, not minding that we hated and still bitterly hate the PDP, we gave him our votes willingly like a virgin who has been brainwashed by the deceptive words of his lover and after the painful first time experience left to clean up the blood alone. President Jonathan has raped our collective intelligence and treasury, enjoying the ride and ecstasy alone while we never moaned or screamed as his lovers. Yes, he rode us like a beast while massaging us with sweeter words and promises. Finally he has dumped us!

We have turned to the masturbation of our brains to pleasure selves in order to forget the pains inflicted on us; consoling ourselves that if he doesn’t treat us well as we deserve, we will give ourselves treat, which we have continuously done. We agree that it is all deceit of our individual selves.

Walking like a frail man who knows no evil, with words so sweet to deceive even the strongest of minds, he bamboozled us with ‘I had no shoes” and we fell for it; unknown to us he had over 400 piece of shoes as a deputy governor. We forgot that he was held other positions that had empowered him, but yet we followed him blindly like a lamb led to the slaughter and he has truly slaughtered us.

The realization is not too late that we voted for a drunk who presides after taking shots of whisky or any brand that gets to the table first. If he is not a drunk, how do we explain his actions so far by becoming a terrorist to Journalists, taking them to court for exposing his memo to clamp down on opposition parties? While the case is still in court, he issues more threat of suing another media for daring to publish that he took shots of ‘ogogoro’ during his birthday celebration.

No one gives credit to Obasanjo and former leaders for all the evils they committed against Nigerian, neither have we told them, ‘well done for looting our national treasury”, thus using them to judge President Jonathan’s performance is foolery on anyone’s part. This is what makes some ethnic bigots to threaten fire and hell should GEJ not win 2015 election, simply because he comes from a region that is regarded as the ‘golden geese that lays the golden egg’, as if any of them planted or stored the oil in the land. Our carelessness as a people has given guts to ethnic morons to always scream blue murder when Jonathan is accused of corruption, ranting that he be left alone, ‘after all OBJ did worse. So what! Has OBJ become a standard for retrogression or has IBB become a yardstick to measuring who takes the plaque for Nigeria most corrupt leader. Is Nigeria a country that every ethnic leader who gets to the throne must rape silly?

Only drunk presidents are intimidated by his ministers, fearful of getting them sacked despite mountains of corruption leveled against them by the press and civil society, simply because they funded the rigged election that brought him to power. Only leaders who are always drunk allow ministers like Onyebuchi Chukwu to still remain in the saddle as health minister when it is glaring that he’s not fit for such a job. One would have thought that after the sack of Ruqayat as minister of education as a result of our calls, and replacing her with his buddy who is a thug, Nyesom Wike, the lingering ASUU crisis would have been resolved, but hell no; it gets worse. Here is a leader who has never owned up to his failure; always putting the blame on people and past leaders, which is a hallmark of drunkards. If you cannot stand the heat of the kitchen, get out.

Our drunken President has now mandated his puppet Vice Chancellors to force our erudite professors and lecturers to resume academic lectures or lose their positions. What arrant decree from a civilian president who has successfully metamorphosed into an emperor with title as Emperor Goodluck Jonathan Bulldozer. Does he think we live in the time of the military that his drafting of soldiers to the campuses will cause the lecturers to be frightened and resume? The military regime did worse than this in the popular ‘Ali must go’ and Ali did go. Jonathan should stop beating the war drum that will consume him and set the nation ablaze, for when it begins; not even the safety of Aso Rock can secure him. Only drunken Presidents dare the academia in their country for that begins the downfall of their regime, hence most leaders avoid them like plagues, giving them their dues with less confrontation.

Do we attach President’s Jonathan’s behavior to his study of zoology, haven mingled with animals that are lesser beings with shallow brains? I really don’t know where to place him. For the first time in the history of any country, opposition parties are always coming third in elections, in a new rigging style that the Goodluck administration have invented. For the first time in a country, opposition party leaders take to the street to protest the charade called election in Anambra States, and the President deploys all security forces to stop them. This is a protest where a former head of state and retired army general partook in! Hasn’t the president taken enough shots of ‘ogogoro’ for him to have the boldness to stop such constitutional process, using the apparatus of the state, which are funded by the generality of Nigerians?

For the very first time in our country, a President loses grip of his political structure in broad day light, prompting them to move to the opposition party, thereby making the President a minority leader; such a record he must be happy to have broken, as the world’s first president to come from a minority party. For crying out loud, how did we degenerate to this level of shame that we have a Rehoboam as a President; a drunk who never thinks before he acts; a leader who takes all his most sensitive decisions from corrupt imperialist women? Only drunks makes certificate forgers board members of a university and foremost corrupt ex governor board chairman of Pension commission, giving him access to loot the money of pensioners, which will be used in funding the president’s 2015 election.

Sometimes one wonders the army of deceivers who surrounds this once innocent president, telling him tales of Nigerians supporting his regime. One truly cannot tell where he gets the statement that Nigerians are asking him to contest for second tenure. Mr. President, please wake up from your slumber; no Nigerian has asked you to contest and if any has asked you, they are your ethnic group from South South, few South West people and minimum of South East voters and you can hear this straight; your support base is not up to two million voters.

Run for what? That we may continue in this hell that you and your PDP Governor’s forum Chairman, Godswill Akpabio has inflicted on us? Nigerians has not given up completely on you, for the race is still on. Most people are not good starters in a race and you are obviously one of such, hence the benefit of doubt that you may just end up well and become the most loved president in Nigeria’s history as you have always wished; that is if wishes were horses. Take less of alcohol and listen less to your corrupt henchmen, for in them lies your albatross.

We have given you a fresh start; solve all the lingering issues in the health and education sectors, do your best to alleviate the poverty level of Nigerians, read and listen to critical reports about you for that is where you will get the true pictures of happenings in Nigeria, not from your 419 aides. We hope to see you at the top.

These little things matter…

Fejiro Oliver, a Journalist can be reached on secretsreporters@gmail.com and +2348026797588 (sms only please). Follow on twitter  @fejirooliver86 and Facebook  fejirooliver86. Like our Facebook page - secretsreporters

EXCLUSIVE: TB Joshua On President Jonathan, God's Talking To Him, Private Jets, Going To Restroom ... And Many More!

EXCLUSIVE: TB Joshua On President Jonathan, God's Talking To Him, Private Jets, Going To Restroom ... And Many More!

Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of the Synagogue Church of all Nations opens up on multiple controversies surrounding him and his ministry:

On being humble:  If you have passed through what I have passed through, you will even be more humble than I am.
I have good health, and God shows me what I would have been in terms of sickness and death; it humbles me, and I want to use my good health for him. At times, God shows me how people are suffering and the thought that it could have been me keeps me humble. For instance, if I did anything wrong during this interview, when you may have left, God will caution me. If I am not humble, I will be out of track. If I was not in the house of God, I would be one of the touts in the motor parks.

On his ministry being seemingly more popular outside Nigeria than in Nigeria: I want to offer the same prayer for you: that God should make you more popular outside your country than in your country.
Let other countries introduce you to your country. I think that is better. As it is written in the Bible, a prophet
has no honour in his country. I am not an evangelist or a pastor, I am a prophet. It is the word prophet that was used in that scriptural passage, not evangelist or so. If my people had understood the work from the beginning, it could have affected the glory of God in my life today. If people understand your vision from the beginning, you may not go far. It is better they don’t, they will understand later, and by then, you would have been very strong and God would have strengthened your desire. Praises and adoration can make you a local champion.
Where are the people that Nigerians praised from the beginning? I can mention some – even men of God, who are no longer living today, so many founders – CAC, Cherubim and Seraphim, Church of the Lord and so on. We should get this understanding that those who were local champions in the past did not reach international recognition.
Look beyond the ministry job to the secular world, was it Nigeria that introduced Prof. Wole Soyinka to the world? But when he became a Nobel Laureate, he became more powerful; when he talks, everyone wants to listen. Whereas there were some other local champions that even when they were dying, nobody took their news to CNN. They don’t know them.
God has a way of raising people by throwing the image to the international community. Even the footballers that are notable became acceptable to Nigerians when they belong to international clubs. I may not be accepted by some people in Nigeria but my acceptance in the world has been announcing me to my world. When you look at the people working with me, you see that the ratio of Nigerians working with me are not more than 10 per cent.

On special attraction that brings heads of government to synagogue: You have said it all, where there is demand, there is supply, and in that place, there would be enough anointing to do the work. God will not allow people to go to a place where there is no supply. It is not possible. I observe that if three chairs are added to this church today, you suddenly find people filling it and if four are removed, it is just the number of people that will fill the chairs that will come.
I have studied that from the beginning. Sometimes, when I see some ministries printing handbills, using signboards to advertise the church, I say those things are not necessary. God is the one inviting people, if you allow him to do it, the solution to their problems will be waiting for them. But if you take it upon yourself to do the advertisement, people that God is not expecting will come along with them and there will be crisis and trouble.
You just continue doing your work and leave the advert for God, then those that God didn’t invite will not come and there will be peace and tranquillity. You should not go out to start saying ‘I can heal, I can deliver.’ At synagogue, our critics are our advertisement. They are people that don’t want to hear about us. They tell other people that ‘that church is devilish;’ unknowingly, some of the people they tell get inquisitive and they will want to come here and see what a devil looks like since they haven’t seen one before.
God has been using this as advertisement for us. Ninety per cent of people who come here do so in the bid to come and verify what they had heard about this church. When some of them get here, they will sit at the back, fearing that they could be hurt. Some put on dark glasses or disguise in a way that will not allow people that know them to recognise them. But before the service is over, some of them will pick up their bags and move to the front seats. They eventually become my prayer warriors.
Let me tell you something that amazes me and that I always thank God for – those who are with me are more than those that are against me. They keep supporting me all over the world. I have more, more, more people around the world. Whenever I say this, tears flow from my eyes (sobs for a while). These are tears of joy. I get so sad when I hear people’s confession when their eyes become open to what God is doing here. Some say, "I wish I had known this, my mum would not have died. She asked me to bring her here but because of what I was hearing about this place, I refused until she died. I hope that she will forgive me."

On President Goodluck Jonathan's involvement: When it comes to relationship, I think he would be in the best position to answer that question. Since what we are doing is creating impact around the world, you should expect Nigeria’s president to also be part of it. We are praying for the nation and being a Christian acknowledges it.
If Jonathan had been here, it would have been shown on our Emmanuel Television network. No president has ever visited this place in secret. The Bible says that if you confess me before men, I will confess you before my father in heaven. I am not a witch doctor; we have nothing to hide. If you have not read in the newspapers that your president came here, then that is that.
Anytime presidents of other countries come here, Jonathan is usually aware. If he doesn’t believe in what we are doing, he would have told them that we constitute security risks.

On "instructing" the nation: I say it on the television and all over the world. I accept that is not enough; it is better to see him one on one.
But what is the essence of a President's visit if he won't follow what I will tell him? This kind of trend keeps staining my name. I will not mention anybody, when they leave here; they do not obey the instructions.

What are presidents looking for in the church: The reason why people visit a man of God is to receive instructions, his opinion about them or their country. But if they don’t follow it, yet the whole world knows that they are close to TB Joshua, it has no benefit.

It is no big deal. Except they obey the counsel given to them, it has no benefit. It is not something to be proud of. At least, seven presidents have visited this place since inception. But each time presidents come to this place, I get query from God. When they come around, you won’t have time to attend to other people. They will block the road with their security and at the end of the day, they won’t do what you advise them to do.

On allegations that his generosity is what woos people to the church: How much will I give to the president of a nation to come here? Even when they come, I don’t get any financial gain but I incur cost because I want to ensure that they are well cared for. That is all; I even prefer to spend my time with the poor than to be with the presidents.
If a president visits this place today, the whole of the day will be devoted to that visit, I would have lesser time for the poor people, who need my attention. God has been warning me over this trend so much that when some presidents said that they wanted to visit me, I said no. I said it would be better for me to visit them in their countries. Each time they visit this place, I receive query from God because of my time that should have been used to attend to the poor and the needy that are waiting for me.
One soul is not superior to the other, why should I continue to receive query? Really out of three presidents that may visit, there will hardly be one that will show good example of the counsel that they received from me. If the needy are more receptive to God, it is better to give them more of my time.

Why he still asks people to display the items given to them live on camera: We do so to encourage other people to do likewise. Some of them are physically-challenged or indigent people who do not even have bank accounts, so we have to give them cash. We don’t want them to be duped, but we don’t do that often anymore.
It is not a deliberate advertising.
Every man of God has his own habit. Habit is a gift from God. Like Daniel, whenever he wants to pray, he will open his window, that is his habit. The disciples of Jesus prayed six times a day; that is their habit. It is not that we are showing off. When people see what we are doing, they learn how to be good givers.
If you do everything privately, what will people write about? Jesus fed the 5,000 people in the open, not in secret. That is why it could be written. When the tax collectors came to him, he did not hide to say, ‘I don’t want them to see that they want to collect money from me.’ Even when he healed a man and they asked him how he did it, he asked them to go and ask the healed man.

On how God speaks to him: Faith must first be in the heart before there could be an accepted confession. That means faith must first be in the heart before there could be an acceptance of prayer, request, talk from God. Faith is of man’s heart, which is spirit. Heart literarily means a different thing from the spirit. You use your faith to put a demand.
I use my faith to place a demand. You don’t understand what I am saying. Let me put it this way, faith is a channel through which the anointing flows. That means you use your faith to put a demand and ask for whatever you want. If there is faith in your heart, you can close your eyes and make a demand that you want to know what is happening around the world and before you know it, you will see the vision.
There is what you call a measure of faith – deep, deeper, deepest faith. I don’t know which level you belong. Faith grows as we hear the word and obey it. We are not all at the same level, but all things are possible to him that believes. What is possible for you may not be possible for me.

On people believing he is not a follower of Jesus Christ, but a member of some other sect: We don’t get power, it is faith we have. The power in our life is released by faith through our mouth. The issue of getting power is wrong. We don’t talk about getting power here. If you don’t have faith, power will remain dormant. In Mark, Jesus said this kind won’t be possible but by prayer and fasting. The disciples had power but lacked faith to release it.
Nigerians cannot tell me who I am. The percentage of my people around the world is more than those in Nigeria. I am celebrated around the world. Go on the internet, Emmanuel TV is the most watched. Forget about anybody, I don’t need to promote myself. Even Jesus could not win everybody’s soul.
The word Christian is a title. How do you know that those people talking believe in Jesus Christ when Christianity is a matter of the heart?
That is what I am correcting you about; that someone said he is a Christian doesn’t mean he is. If somebody says he belongs to this or that fellowship, only God knows. It is not about confessing that I am a prophet, a pastor, only God knows who is serving him. A mango tree cannot bear coconut. What you believe radiates around you. I’m more than that kind of confession. If anyone doesn’t believe me, they would when the time comes.
Christianity is not an association. Let us talk about Christianity. I don’t celebrate religion. I am a follower of Jesus; I am a Christian, that is all I know. I will invite you to come and worship here this Sunday. I am known by my love, not by my association, so whether Pentecostal, Catholic, Charismatic, Methodist, who is serving God? I don’t judge people but people can judge me. All I know is that my persecution has been a blessing; I have been tamed by it. It has strengthened me. I am a Charismatic.
I have told you about faith. You know that Elijah anointed Elisha, but can you tell me who anointed Elijah? So you see God can choose to do it the way He wants. Because I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t know which circle you belong to, maybe your own pastor was anointed by a man.

On Jim Iyke: Oh please, don’t drag me into that. All I can say is that if a person needs to see a doctor, he should be free to do so. I like the young man. He has been defending himself on the internet. Is he not enjoying a better life now? Are things not working for him?

On his family members: I don’t expose my family. I hear people saying that I don’t have a wife and that I have no child. That is the news everywhere. You have seen my wife, and this is a photograph of my daughter.
My wife is a very wonderful woman. She believes in receiving her own call. She does not just want to hold microphone because her husband is a pastor.
Men of God need to take care of their children. My daughter studied Law she is doing her PhD in Harvard and she is coming back home to preach the gospel. She loves to preach.

On his looks and if his wife is responsible: I love to look good, too; it is 50-50 anyway. She has been a great woman to me. She has been a great source of encouragement in the midst of my challenges. She is different in the sense that she said I was the one God called, so she is waiting until she is called by God to be a pastor. That is unlike what most men of God do, they believe that once they are called, their wives must be pastors too.

On when he is going to buy his own private jet: When one is at the airport to catch a flight, you see that many have become like Molue. They could disappoint you by saying the flight has been cancelled. Even when you eventually get on board, people keep thronging you for one reason or the other. The person serving you the meal may be someone that needs deliverance, by giving you food, she will deliver you.
There was an experience I had when travelling by air for a trip of about nine hours. I was pressed but couldn’t go and ease myself because I had to queue like other people before I could use the restroom. Besides, I thought that some of those people could go to the toilet immediately after I had used it in expression of faith, so I remained glued to my seat all through the journey. That would not have been if I was flying a private jet.
Or if you are a man of God that snores and they see the pastor sleeping and snoring, they will think he shouldn’t snore. Meanwhile, he is human. So a man of God should have a private jet if the situation demands it.
If the use is for the church, the church should buy it, own it and manage it. It should not be bought in the pastor’s name. When he is no longer there, the jet remains the church’s.

On what inspired him to owning a football club: It is the desire to help people realise their dreams. There are other social platforms that we use to help people.

Is God not too busy to talk to him about that? The same God speaks about everything. God is aware of everything. It is all about the faith that you have; it manifests even in small things. We need to know how much we need God.