Man Demands The Arrest Of Jonathan At The National Assembly Over The Arms Deal

This lone protester is currently at the National Assembly wearing a banner calling for the arrest of former President Jonathan, over the ongoing $2.1 billion arms deal scandal. More pics after the cut..

http://www.newseveryhour.com/2016/02/photos-man-storms-national-assembly.html

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MTN Hires Eric Holder To Challenge $3.9b Fine

MTN Group has hired a former United States Attorney –General, Eric Holder, to help challenge a $3.9 billion fine imposed by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for failing to disconnect unregistered users.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Holder pleaded with Nigerian officials last month on behalf of MTN.

Africa’s largest mobile phone company was handed a $5.2 billion penalty in October, prompting weeks of lobbying that led to a 25 percent reduction to $3.9 billion, Reuters reported.

MTN, however, was still not prepared to pay the fine and launched a court challenge in December, saying the NCC had no legal grounds to order the penalty.

A judge in Lagos had last month gave MTN until March 18 to reach a settlement on the fine, which equates to more than twice MTN’s annual average capital spending over the past five years.

MTN spokesman, Chris Maroleng, was not immediately available to comment on latest development, Reuters added.

http://thenationonlineng.net/mtn-hires-ex-u-s-attorney-general-to-challenge-3-9b-fine/

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I miss Shekau

11 January 2016, 15:07 Peregrino Brimah

Shekau told us everything that was wrong with Nigeria. Shekau made us understand the level and implications of looting in Nigeria as well as the level of institutionalized disenfranchisement of the masses. He exposed how evil we are and can be and as well triggered good advocacy and most human, altruistic behavior in some of us. He exposed the hypocrisy and cowardice of our Elite and Religious leaders. Shekau made us know how many who claimed to be crusaders, ready to die in Jihad over ripping of pages of books were mere cowards who cowered away and tucked their heads under their mothers' laps when the true call to rescue our weakest was made.
Shekau made us understand how much of a crime authority stealing was. President Buhari just referred to him when defending his extra-judicial imprisonment of Dasuki. He said, "look at the 2 million displaced people and I should let Dasuki who looted the billions go to London?" This was academic course Shekau 101: the implications of government looting.
Shekau did not lie as all our administrations do, Shekau always told us the truth. Shekau exposed our rot which he took advantage of. In fact during Shekau's time, Shekau was the only institution that worked in Nigeria when all others were thoroughly dysfunctional. Shekau operated his Boko Haram with efficiency, discipline and professionalism, something we lack in all ours till date. None of his members ever divulged company secrets. On the information sector, Shekau's press releases were always relevant and timely, even at times when he was dead. When Jonathan could not procure arms, Shekau did right from the jungles of Sambisa and when the Nigerian army could not fight, he could. Remember how 300 of his men used to defeat 3000 of Alex Badeh's without even shooting a bullet?

Shekau taught Nigerians a lot of sense. He showed us how foolish we are. He ridiculed the north and drilled them on their extremism. Notice, since Shekau came to town you no longer have those insane northern youth running around at the beck and call of the Takfiri fanatic elite, burning Churches and Igbo businesses for beauty pageants "in Indonesia?" Shekau took them to school and gave them a mirror to see their dark souls. Shekau taught Nigerians to live in peace and harmony, well to a degree he did, though it has already worn off in the north and east and within sectors of the demolishing government. He brought us together to vote for change which would have been otherwise largely impossible.
I miss the days and ways he boldly called our bluffs and dismantled our government lies. Today we and our media are not bold enough to stand to authorities and tell them when they lie and declare stuff as technically corrected when it is not, that they are lying. We are not true to ourselves and our existence as Shekau was. Shekau let us and the world know how useless we are/were. He made things vividly clear.
We could never be united as a nation in truth, goodness and justice, but at least, thanks to Shekau, we eventually even if reluctantly got largely united in anger at evil. Like Paul of the Bible, Shekau will be remembered for the mantra "Let us do evil, that good may come."
Without Shekau we return to our lies, our intolerance, sectarianism and self hate.
Today under a pretense of good, may insufferable evil not come.
You can call me a lunatic, but truth be told, I miss Shekau the mirror to our dark souls as I wrote of him sometime back.

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History is catching up to the Saudi regime: US analyst

It seems the Saudi Arabian regime is trying to provoke a clash with Iran, desperately hoping that the United States will come to their rescue, an American political analyst says.
Steven D Kelley, a former NSA/CIA contractor, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on reports that the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia are deteriorating.
“Saudi Arabia is definitely showing some interesting parallels to what’s going on in Turkey. Both these countries seem to have grandiose delusions about their place in history and their futures, and it seems to be both very much involved in the formation of ISIS, which apparently had a lot to do with their future plans,” Kelley said.
“And now that Russia has become involved and it seems to be shutting that down. We’re seeing desperate maneuvers and desperate actions, rumors of collapse and coup in both these countries,” he added.
“Saudi Arabia certainly is a major oil producer. The very fact that they’re no longer the world’s largest oil producer and have been replaced by American domestic shale oil production is actually an incredible thing that nobody saw from a long-term plan,” the analyst noted.  
“And even though Saudi Arabia now knew that their future was dependent on coming up with some alternatives to oil, that future came to them much sooner, and their gamble in Syria and with the creation of Daesh certainly seems to have backfired and becoming quite a problem as with the war in Yemen,” he pointed out.
Kelley said “it’s almost like they [Saudis] are trying to antagonize some sort of a response from Iran, and from the rest of people… and perhaps – again -- like Turkey they think that somehow the United States is going to come to their rescue.  So they may not be able to depend on that. I think this is certainly going to be something that is going to cause much, much trouble in the future.”
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated last week after Riyadh executed 47 people in one day, including prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, which set off worldwide protests.
Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with Iran following protests at the Saudi embassy in Tehran over Nimr’s execution.
Meanwhile, experts say the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has become progressively worse amid Riyadh’s growing international isolation and increasing domestic instability.
For years, oil was the bedrock of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, two nations that share few common values.

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‘US Arms Industry Benefits from Chaos’

President Barack Obama’s administration has been finalizing new measures for weeks in response to a series of recent mass shootings, such as the massacre of 14 people in San Bernardino, California in

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Russia, Iran to ditch dollar for ruble, rial

Russia said on Saturday that it is preparing to switch to national currencies in mutual trade with Iran.
Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said the currency switch policy comes as trade between the two countries is expected to see a significant surge.
"Among other things, we do not rule out the possibility of settlements in rubles and rials, pres
that our trade volumes will be growing," Manturov has been quoted as saying in an interview with the local TV channel Rossiya 1.   
"Respectively, Iranian banks will acquire rubles that they will be able to use to pay for our products," he said.
Manturov had held negotiations on using the national currencies in bilateral trade during his visit to Tehran earlier this week, Interfax reported.
Last Tuesday, Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), was quoted by the media as saying that Tehran has completed the preparations for establishing a joint bank account with Russia to facilitate trade between the two countries in their own currencies.
Seif had reportedly told a visiting Russian delegation that both Tehran and Moscow need to create a mechanism to connect their banking sectors, stressing that this is necessary for bolstering trade ties between the two countries.
The idea to set up a joint bank account between Iran and Russia to handle trade in rials and rubles was first revealed by Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei earlier this year.
Later, Assadollah Asgaroladi, a veteran Iranian merchant and the chairman of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, said the bank could break the domination of Western currencies over bilateral exchanges and that it would eventually open a new chapter in trade relations between Tehran and Moscow.
In March, Iran and Russia signed a basic agreement to create a joint regulation body to oversee interbank financial transactions between the two countries.
The agreement - that was signed between the Iranian and Russian central banks – took both countries one step closer toward the establishment of the promised joint bank - which is believed to have been specifically designed to help dodge the effects of US-led sanctions on the two countries.

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Boko Haram Sponsors' Names Must Be Revealed!!!

Please Make Sure you Read to the bottom, to get the full detail, and don't forget to share please, because the change starts with you!!!...

It is common knowledge that one of the reasons why Boko Haram has not yet been completely defeated despite all the effort put by the Nigerian army, is that it enjoys huge financial contributions both from the Nigerian and foreign sponsors.

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Muslims Helps Christian Inmates To Celebrate Xmas Better in Togetherness

Some group of Muslim women took to the prisons to feed more than 500 Christian inmates in Kaduna prison to strengthen peace, unity and religious tolerance on Friday, December 25. The women explained their actions by desire to join Christians in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and

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Another X-mas Tragedy as Bus Accident Leaves 24 Dead In Afghanistan

The scene of the accident in Afghanistan.

Reports from Afghanistan have it that about 24 people were killed when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine after a head-on collision with a truck. According to officials in northern Afghanistan on Friday, December 25, 2015, women and children were among those killed in the accident

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Why Should you Kiss your Daughter on the Lips? Femi Adebayo Slammed!!!

Nollywood actor Femi Adebayo has been severely criticized for posting online a picture in which he was kissing his daughter on the lips.

On Wednesday, December 23 the entertainer shared the picture on his instagram account and many frowned at the act.  A lot of criticisms of the picture were based on the fact that it was not ideal for him to kiss the little girl, and then go as far as posting the image on the internet.  Femi Adebayo kissing daughter on the lips, the picture that started the controversy online.

Responding to the criticisms, the actor deleted the image by the left and shared another which had him and his daughter in a decent pose by the right. He captioned it: “1st love, #wcw, I’m not a fan of negativity, 2 my die hard fans thank you.”  Femi Adebayo and daughter, the new image he posted after he deleted the previous one seen as controversial.

The 42-year-old actor is also a lawyer and movie producer. He made his acting debut in 1995 in Owo Blow, a movie by Tade Ogidan. He also featured in the critically-acclaimed movie October 1 which was released in 2014.

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PDP's Akpabio & Others Drums Support For Buhari

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio has drummed support for President Muhammadu Buhari over his anti-terrorism and anti-corruption battle. According to PM News, Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom and some stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom North West local government area, passed the vote of confidence on the president after a

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GEJ's Okupe Defends Buhari’s Spokesman (Femi Adesina)

Femi Adesina, the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, today congratulated Nigerians with Christmas via his Twitter account. After some moments after Adesina tweeted he's innocent message with a garnish of humor. Negative minded individuals sparked fury and negative reactions

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Turkey sheltering Daesh militants: Iraqi cmdr.

A high-ranking Iraqi military commander has accused Turkey of providing members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, who are wreaking havoc in neighboring Iraq, with shelter.
Spokesman for Badr Organization Karim al-Nouri said on Thursday, “Turks are clearly helping Daesh,” adding that the process is “obvious” and “does not require additional evidence.”

“The problem of Daesh has not appeared out of nothing. It did not arise from the ground or fell from the sky. Someone lets them (Daesh militants) travel through different countries. They use the airports, hospitals. Where are the leaders of Daesh treated? They are treated in the hospitals of Turkey,” Nouri said.

He added that Deash extremists from Uzbekistan, Chechnya and other regions sneak into Iraq and Syria via Turkey.
“Turkey recruits and sends them to Iraq and Syria. It is clear as daylight and needs no proof. It is always hard to explain the obvious things.
"We have a lot of documents that prove that the greatest logistical support and supply routes are provided by Turks. The militants even return to their countries through Turkey,” Nouri said.

This file photo shows Takfiri Daesh militants in an unidentified location in Iraq.

The senior Iraqi military figure said Daesh militants, who murdered between 560 and 770 captured Iraqi soldiers at Camp Speicher near the oil-rich northern city of Tikrit back in June, went to Turkey after the massacre.
“I have documents proving the connection of one person to the events in the Speicher. He was arrested because he participated in events in the Speicher. After the Speicher carnage, he went to Turkey and then came back again. This problem is obvious. It is known to everyone and does not require additional evidence,” Nouri said.
This is not the first time Ankara is being implicated in support for Daesh, whose militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others, in Iraq and Syria.
Apart from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar also stand accused of contributing to the violence that has gripped the neighboring Arab states for the past two years.

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Falana Calls For Buratai's Arrest

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prosecute the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, alongside other soldiers involved in the violent attack that led to the killing of scores of Shi’ite members in Zaria, Kaduna State. Falana, in a statement titled, ‘Armed soldiers who attacked Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaki should be prosecuted,’on Wednesday also enjoined the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to allow all detainees arrested in connection with the clash access to their families, doctors and lawyers. The human rights activist reminded the Police and the Army authorities that in the 1996 case between the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and the late Gen. Sani Abacha, the Court of Appeal had ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police and the operatives of the Department of State Services to allow the late Fawehinmi’s wife and personal physicians to have access to him in prison “at all reasonable times.” He said, “It is pertinent to remind the army and police authorities that even under a repressive military junta, the right of access to detainees was fought and won in Nigeria. Thus, in Chief Gani Fawehinmi vs General Sani Abacha (1996) 5 NWLR (PT 447) 198 at 202, the Court of Appeal ordered the Attorney-General of Federation, Inspector-General of Police and the operatives of the State Security Services to allow the wife and personal physicians of the appellant, a political detainee, to have access to him in prison custody ‘at all reasonable times.’ “In requesting the Inspector-General of Police to allow access to the detainees, his attention ought to be drawn to Section 14(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which provides as follows: “A person who has the custody of an arrested suspect shall give the suspect reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, access to communication for taking steps to furnish bail, and otherwise making arrangements for his defence or release. “In the light of the foregoing, we urge the police boss to allow the detainees access to their family members, personal physicians and legal practitioners at all reasonable times. Having undertaken to end impunity in the country, President Buhari should ensure that the Chief of Army Staff and all the soldiers who took part in the violent attack and arson in Zaria are brought to book without any further delay.”

You forgot who is the Commander n Chief Why is Falana beating around the bush? Buhari is to be held responsible Buhari is the one who should be made to answer for the barbarity of his soldiers who he alone has supreme authority over.

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President Buhari Made More Emphasis on 2016 Budget Allocation

The allocation of the intervention funds is expected to boost job creation in the country and help stabilize the economy. The sum of N200 billion has been set aside for the intervention project as contained in the 2016 budget proposal presented on Tuesday, December 22, 2015. 

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Governor Shettima Donates 30 Vehicles to Crush (BKH) Insurgents: Photos

Mansur Muhammad Dan-Ali, the Nigerian defence minister, has disclosed that some civilians who have been fighting together with the Joint Task Force against the Boko Haram sect will soon be integrated into the armed forces.

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Nigerian Police Spreads Love By Helping Out Drivers

The patrol team at Lagos-Ibadan expressway can be truly named “angels on the roads” as they provide help to drivers in difficult situations. Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, the executive director of Spaces

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Buhari's Message to Christmas Celebrants

President Muhammadu Buhari sent his felicitations to Christian faithfuls across the country as they

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Bishop Kukah Blast Business Ventures Churches

Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto diocese has sent a strong message to churches in the country that are being run with billions of Naira.

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Shiite Group Threatened by Nigerian Army

The Shiite group otherwise known as the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has brought allegations against the Nigerian army that it is using all methods to prevent

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Bukola Saraki Xmas Message: Preaches Spirit Of Love And Peace

Senator Bukola Saraki, Nigeria’s Senate president has advised the citizens to endeavour they behave in a way of love and peace. He also preached that the spirit of one Nigeria is needed in order to foster the growth and development of the nation.

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Buhari – Boko Haram Technically Defeated!!!

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Governmnt has “technically won the war” against the Islamist Boko Haram militants.

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Pope Francis, Queen Elizabeth, Tinubu Preach Christmas Message Of Hope

As Christians all over the world celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ today, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC),

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Jonathan Preaches Peace and Unity In Christmas Message

As Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus, former president, Goodluck Jonathan took to his official Facebook page to send a Christmas message to Nigerians and also

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2015 Prophecies by Men of God That Never Come To Pass

At the beginning of every year, men of God (Christians and Muslims) come up with prophetic utterances which they expect to shape the people’s mindset for the year.

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Merry Christmas to all Stream Lovers and Happy Holidays!!!

The Merry times of the year is here again! Merry Christmas Stream lovers. May this Christmas bring you divine love, favour, long life, good health, prosperity, success & peace of mind. Wishing you all the most amazing Christmas celebration ever!!!

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Two Gay Men Set to Undergo Spiritual Cleansing In Delta-State

Two relatives, Mr. Monday Ehikwe and Godwin Chukwueku Okwuoseh, were reportedly caught panted-down by the vigilante group in one of the buildings in the area. They were detained and

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Bauchi and Bakassi LGA Crowned Winners At Calabar Festival

After defeating five states, Bauchi state has been crowned as the 2015 best cultural troupe at the ongoing Calabar Festival. Bauchi state’s cultural troupe carted home a star prize of ₦5 million after leading five other states of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Oyo, Kogi, and Kaduna.

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Black X-max as more than 100 scores Burnt To Death In Anambra Gas Explosion (Viewer Discretion)

This year’s Christmas will certainly remain the saddest for officials of Chikason Group of Industries and residents of the Nnewi Industrial town of Anambra State, following a gas explosion that claimed

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Are Igbos Angry with Buhari over Ministerial Portfolios?

Some say that Nigerians are known with the act of:

            'Employing a Jobberman and teaching him how to do he's Job'

           'if the job didn't turn out well, its the jobber-mans fault, because he's incompetent'

What was he voted for again? Is He to revamp Nigeria for the benefits of all or to dance to the tune of those who believe they deserve better than others?

      He that strokes last, they say strokes wise, but why not let the minister to fail first with he's own strategies. Everybody have the right to air there views especially when they feel cheated!!!, that's why the questions are here for you to meditate upon.

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First same-sex union certificate issued in Japan

 

 Source: CNN
"I'm so happy," Higashi says. "When they gave us the certificate, I cried. Our friends cried."

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OAU Gives Hope to Prospective Students Who Can’t Get Admission

In 2014, the OAU eLearning Programme admitted 317 students who are well on their way to bagging an NUC Accredited Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Economics and Bachelor of Nursing Science. Online/Distance Learning will also not be stated on their certificates.
Do you know someone who will be happy to hear this? Are you that someone?

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Suspected Boko Haram terrorist apprehended on Aero flight in Abuja

A Press statement from the Nigerian Army Reads:

The declaration of 100 suspected Boko Haram terrorists has started to pay the desired dividend as one of them was arrested as he attempted to flee. Today  being (Yesterday November 8th) at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, a man suspected to be one of the declared wanted Boko Haram terrorists, Chindo Bello was apprehended by Aviation Security as he was boarding Aero Contractors’ Airline flight to Lagos.

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PDP : Mr. President's Statements is De-marketing Nigeria

PDP Press statement:

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) draws the attention of Nigerians to the harmful consequences of the unabated negative statements from the very father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari, on the economy and the general image of the country.

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Do you Receive Scam Alerts Like This Often in your Emails?

 

An anonymous Stream Reader sent this to me, asking if i could share to enlighten others who have met their selves in such crossed roads. And also to serve as warning to those, it would soon befall. 

He expressed his bitterness on how he has been receiving fraudulent and defrauding messages in his emails. 

 He said:  

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Sisters Sentenced to be Raped: Indians Denies it

In its most sensational claim, the court filing said Meenakshi Kumari, 23, and her 15-year-old sister fled their home after being told they would be stripped naked and paraded with their faces blackened before being raped to atone for their brother's transgression.

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2 Nigerians Busted in Australia over 40kg drugs concealed in DVD players

Two Nigerians, Chibuike Anyasor, 33, and Joe Iwuchukwu Odemegwo, 51, were arrested on September 3rd by the Australian police for allegedly importing more than 40 kilograms of methamphetamine which they concealed inside bar fridges and Jackie Chan-branded DVD players.

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Fayose Condemns Invasion of Akwa Ibom Govt House By DSS Men

Favours have ran-out for the corrupt mighty, now even the high, mighty and the untouchable Cabal groups/persons now cry-out. They always seem to be finding issues in every steps made this time around, plus very composed in doing it because ........ i know you're smart to figure that out for your selves... 

But yet Below...

Are statements made by Lere Olayinka, special assistant on Public Communications and media yesterday on behalf of the governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose.

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Meet African Boy That Built A Land-Rover And a Laptop From Wood

A young boy from Mubende Uganda has invented something, its a dream come true, a land-rover and a laptop from wood. The young boy shocked his community and country at large with the historic invention
The boy’s brain needs to be exploited Africans are intellectually awesome and creative..
- See more at: http://www.vibenigeria.com/meet-african-boy-that-built-a-land-rover-laptop-from-wood-photo/#sthash.dlIA2Cs9.dpuf

A young boy from Mubende Uganda has invented something, its a dream come true, a land-rover and a laptop from wood. The young boy shocked his community and country at large with the historic invention
The boy’s brain needs to be exploited Africans are intellectually awesome and creative..
- See more at: http://www.vibenigeria.com/meet-african-boy-that-built-a-land-rover-laptop-from-wood-photo/#sthash.dlIA2Cs9.dpuf

A young boy from Mubende Uganda invented this from mere wood. its his dream come true he would say, a land-rover and a laptop from wood. The young boy shocked his community and country at large with his creativity depicted in his invention The boy’s brain needs to be exploited. Africans are intellectually awesome and creative.. But too poor and lack resources that would make them go BOOM!!!. How amazing...

A young boy from Mubende Uganda has invented something, its a dream come true, a land-rover and a laptop from wood. The young boy shocked his community and country at large with the historic invention
The boy’s brain needs to be exploited Africans are intellectually awesome and creative..
- See more at: http://www.vibenigeria.com/meet-african-boy-that-built-a-land-rover-laptop-from-wood-photo/#sthash.dlIA2Cs9.dpuf

A young boy from Mubende Uganda has invented something, its a dream come true, a land-rover and a laptop from wood. The young boy shocked his community and country at large with the historic invention
The boy’s brain needs to be exploited Africans are intellectually awesome and creative..
- See more at: http://www.vibenigeria.com/meet-african-boy-that-built-a-land-rover-laptop-from-wood-photo/#sthash.dlIA2Cs9.dpuf

Read more »...

Miley Cyrus Vs. Nicki Minaj & More: Their 8 Wildest Celeb Feuds

 

Nicki Minaj, 32, and Miley Cyrus, 22, aren’t known for holding back, and it’s gotten them into some pretty nasty spats right in the public eye. We’ve rounded up a list of the biggest names both singers have feuded with…aside from each other, of course! Click inside to check ’em out!

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inspire me mobile: Get Inspired!!!

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Dangote gains N15.6bn in 24 hours, now worth N3tn

While some of the world’s richest people lost a sum of $182bn (N35.85tn) over the past week, Nigerian billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and 10 others made money amid deepening global market rout. Dangote, who is President of Dangote Group, posted a $79.2m (N15.6bn) gain from Thursday to Friday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He was one of six billionaires who saw their fortunes increase in 24 hours to Friday.

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If Tinubu Supports the Right Person, I’ll support the wrong person — Adams

The National Coordinator of the Oo’dua Peoples Congress, Mr. Gani Adams, on Saturday, berated the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for antagonizing him politically, saying he would never support any candidate supported by the former Lagos State governor. Adams stated that his disagreement with Tinubu was beyond politics.

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Ex-Heads of State will protect Jonathan from persecution —Kukah

How would you rate former President Goodluck Jonathan’s performance in office?

This should be the subject of many books. I think too many of us have gotten carried away by the political propaganda and wars by both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, in which both Jonathan and (President Muhammadu) Buhari were subjected to different characterizations. But we must get past all that. Jonathan’s presidency was not perfect and there will never be one. We all believe that he could have done a lot of things differently, but I believe he did his best. It was, in our eyes, far from what we expected. But we must move away from the narratives of propaganda to the realities now. History will judge Jonathan and I worry that we are allowing talks about probes and so on to becloud our judgment of what he did right. If we cannot identity the good things, how can we identify the bad things?

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"Abacha almost killed me", says Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday, stated that there was no alternative to democracy, as he almost lost his life to a dictator under a military rule. He said this on Friday at his Presidential Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, when officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students and some students union leaders from various institutions paid him a visit.

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Italy Rescues Thousands of Refugees Stranded off Libya

Italy’s coastguard says authorities have rescued about 4,400 refugees who were stranded in overcrowded and rickety vessels in the Mediterranean after receiving distress calls from 20 boats drifting in waters off the Libyan coast. One of the biggest single-day rescue operations to date in the Mediterranean Sea reportedly occurred on Saturday, the Italian navy said. The rescued refugees included a group of 311, including a new-born baby, who were picked up by a boat belonging to the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders. The boat is expected to dock on Monday in Vibo Valentia in Calabria, according to port authorities.

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China blast death toll rises to 123

The death toll from a series of explosions earlier this month that rocked the northern port city of Tianjin rose to 123, state media reported Sunday. Fifty people are still missing and 624 are still in hospital a little more than a week after the blasts, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local officials.

The explosions at a hazardous goods storage facility on August 12 triggered a giant fireball and new fires broke out as recently as Friday. China’s powerful State Council, or cabinet, has vowed to conduct a “rigorous” investigation into the cause of the explosions, Xinhua said Saturday.

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Radio Biafra Back on Air

The Controversial pirate channel, Radio Biafra, has again resumed transmission, despite the Federal Government’s claim that it had jammed the station’s signals.

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"APC will rule Imo for 24 years"

The Imo State Government has told members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state not to see it as an overstatement, with the claim by Governor Rochas Okorocha that the All Progressives Congress would rule the state for 24. Okorocha had said the APC would not only become stronger in the South-East but would govern the state for 24 years, as against the former PDP’s National Chairman, Dr. Vincent Ogbulafor’s claim that his party would rule Nigeria for 60 years.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Imo State Governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, reads in full:

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The Key to Nigerian Change is the Media

Some 8 years ago, this writer was in New Delhi to deliver a key note address to the meeting of the Commonwealth Broadcasters Association in India. Throughout his3-day stay, he said "I saw nothing about politics, the media there was bothered only about governance weathering on-going development projects as well other public policies whose execution could easily be faulted. By so doing, government I gathered was being compelled to redress lapses and improve the lot of the people. Our Indian media colleagues told us that at the end of an election, in their country, further politicisation of public affairs is not allowed because it amounts to distraction. This is a far cry from the trend in Nigeria in which the media quite often leaves substance for cosmetics and substitutes the serious business of national development for comedy, and shows of politics. Nothing reflects this allegation better than the recent selection of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. As soon as President Buhari was inaugurated, the Nigerian media directed attention to the selection of Heads of the legislature as if it was next in the order of public concern. No one remembered that the rest of us have no say in who heads that arm of government. So politicking consumed the public space because the media allowed it. Unknown to our colleagues in the media they merely ceded to politicians their own power to set the national agenda. So, the nation was diverted to the coverage of intrigues to the extent that we got told about how Tinubu's wife refused to shake Saraki! It probably did not occur to some media practitioners that nothing would add to or subtract from any public gain in the two senators shaking 20 times. The implication of this is that our media that called for change is itself not changing. But it has to because it has an obligation to contribute to the nations' development. The media is exceedingly powerful as it reserves the right to determine what news item to cover and which to emphasize or downplay. By so doing, the media serves as the agenda setter of a nation but where all media organs decide to project what the politicians relish in doing to the detriment of people-oriented events, it stands to reason that they all colluded to abdicate from their constitutional obligation.

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