Newly Sworn In Senator Andrew Uchendu, receives his officials car from the senate

Newly sworn-in Senator Andrew Uchendu representing Rivers East Senatorial district has been presented with his official car. Uchendu took over office from Senator George Sekibo who was removed from the Senate by the Appeal court in August. He was sworn into office last week. See more photos below

R&B Singer Christopher Williams Arrested For Stealing $99 worth of Headphones

American singer, Christopher Williams was arrested for allegedly stealing a pair of JBL headphones priced at $99.99.

According to TMZ report, the incident went down on Saturday at a Kohl’s in McDonough, Georgia where Chris walked in with a tote bag while wearing a baseball cap. 

He reportedly went to the back of the store and grabbed a pair of JBL headphones priced at $99.99 and threw it into his bag and tried walking out. When security stopped him, Chris said he simply forgot he bagged them.

The singer was arrested and booked for petty theft, a misdemeanor but he was released after a couple hours.

The singer is known for the 1991 hit "I'm Dreamin" from the “New Jack City” movie soundtrack.

Nigeria Journalist , Tijan Ado Ahmad , slumps and die in USA

What Nigeria can learn from P-Square about restructuring - Reno

island of The Seychelles and how Nigerian music, especially P-Square’s music, had conquered that island nation and enthralled her youth. Little did I know when writing that piece titled ‘How Nigeria Conquered The Seychelles’ that I would be devoting another column yet again to the Okoye brothers. But as they say, when it rains, it pours. P-Square  

The twin brothers are again in the news, not for their collaboration with each other, but because of their confrontation with each other. From what I gather, Peter wants the group to split up and go their separate ways, while Paul and their brother, Jude have a slightly different agenda. The disagreement culminated with a fight at the offices of the recently coronated Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo. The fight which was ostensibly recorded by Peter, showed the trio (including Jude, their brother/manager), using gutter language that belied their status as international super stars. The whole drama reminds me of a nursery rhyme I learnt as a child:  Two little blackbirds Sitting on the wall, One named Peter, One named Paul.* Fly away Peter, Fly away Paul. Come back Peter, Come back Paul. Why do P-Square remind me of this nursery rhyme? Because this is not the first time they will quarrel and if they do reconcile, it will also not be the first or the second reconciliation. They have flown away before and they have also come back again. That is the reason why I am not so  bothered with their family quarrel. You see, the Okoye brothers are first business men before they are artistes. They are not in the entertainment industry. They are in show business, with particularly reference to the word ‘business’. To them, they are not entertaining their fans. They are providing them with a service that they are willing to pay for. In short, as they say in America, it is all about the Benjamins! I personally believe that when it is explained to the Okoye brothers what they stand to lose, they will adjust their attitudes faster than you can say Bank Alert! What do I mean? Let us learn from history. The Beatles were once in a similar position as P-Square. And just like some suspect with Peter and Paul, it was women, (Yoko Ono for John Lennon and Linda McCartney) that came between them. The women fed their individual man’s ego until he thought he was bigger than the group. Even though the Beatles were making hundreds of millions as the biggest group in the world, they allowed themselves to split over women on April 10, 1970. But the rude awakening was to come when the individuals who made up The Beatles began making much less money as solo artistes than they made together. As the renowned Nigerian award winning international flutist, Tee Mac, has said on this matter, “There is a lot of power in togetherness”! Having said that, I must say that there is a lot Nigeria as a nation can learn from P-Square. I believe that it is not that the Okoye brothers want to split up as it is that they desire a more perfect union. Not a Union where Peter works and Paul chops or one where Paul has oil but it is Peter that has oil blocs. P-Square- wants to restructure from unitary form of partnership to true federalism. You are Peter, I am Paul. Together, we are P-Square. Even if we part, we are still Okoyes. If Peter and Paul cannot live in peace, is it our own little Republics that will automatically lead to peace? Perhaps restructuring is a better option than dismemberment. Perhaps God is using the drama taking place between P-Square to teach us a lesson on the options before Nigeria-division, restructuring or family fight. Already we are seeing that the oil, that has made many in Nigeria insist on the status quo, is soon reaching the end of its shelf life. Maybe no one has told us, but largely due to free oil money, our population has exploded at the fastest rate of increase the world has ever seen. And now we have almost 200 million people that we will not be able to cater for in five to ten years if we do not look for alternative sources of income. If twin brothers like Peter and Paul can fight, let us not deceive ourselves that Nigerians love each other enough not to fight each other. Our present leadership may not have the intellectual capacity to know that the various tensions in Nigeria is not really about religion or ethnicity as it is about an increasing number of people competing for a reducing quantity of resources. As the British political economist, Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, propounded In his 1798 book An Essay on the Principle of Population, Nigeria is caught up in what is known in economics as the “Malthusian trap”. The “Malthusian trap” is a phenomenon where a nation utilizes a sudden abundance for population growth rather than for maintaining a high standard of living, and when that abundance disappears, the population growth remains and becomes a problem to the nation because in the absence of the abundance that led to the population growth, the nation dissolves into conflict, skirmishes, crises and even war which happen naturally for the purpose of reducing that nation’s population to match with its post abundance economic resources. President Muhammadu Buhari may not know it, but what I have described above is what is currently happening in Nigeria. Except the price of oil increases faster than the rise of Nigeria’s population, it is only a matter of when, not if, that there will be an implosion in Nigeria. The only way to stop this coming implosion is if Nigeria restructured itself along the lines of true federalism and becomes a fiscal federation. As long as we are assured of free oil money, we will keep on marrying and giving our daughters away in marriage and popping out babies without a care to how they will feed tomorrow. But if we have to pay taxes to run our federal, state and local governments, we will cut our family size to match our pocket size. Why is this so? Because as Reverend Malthus puts it, “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man”. And Reverend Malthus did not come up with that idea out of thin air. Being a man of the cloth, like I, he got that idea from the Holy Bible. Reverend Malthus was only reechoing the words of King Solomon (Nabi Suleiman in Islam), who said as follows in Ecclesiastes 5:11: “When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?” Flowing from the above should we thus be surprised that the Okoye brothers fight restarted again after Paul announced in July that his wife had given birth to a set of twins? More mouths to feed requires more resources which in itself puts a strain on the one required to provide the resources, whether in a family or in a nation. Reno Omokri is a Christian TV talk show host and founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center and the Helen and Bemigho Sanctuary for orphans. He is the author of the worldwide amazon #1 bestseller (Conspiracy Theory) Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years: Chibok, 2015 and Other Conspiracies and three books, Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God, Why Jesus Wept and Apples of Gold: A Book of Godly Wisdom .

If I were president Bihari, I will start grooming a successor right now- Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, let me say exciting times are here again. You may ask what is so exciting about this period with our myriad of problems? Please, allow me to put it this way. Politicians are like students while the voters are their teachers. Every now and then the chickens come home to roost and politicians are forced to test their popularity and performance. The examiners are the voters who have waited patiently for this time to come so that they can pass or fail their representatives as they deem fit. Sometimes the electorate get things right. Oftentimes they get it wrong, as we’ve seen on many occasions. What is important is that it is payback time, for good or for bad.

There is no time for any long preamble today. The nitty-gritty of this epistle is dictated by two major events that occurred almost simultaneously during the week, signalling the beginning of the 2019 Presidential race. First, was the open and frontal declaration of Ekiti State Governor, Dr Peter Ayodele Fayose, a man of immense courage. Second, was the release of the electoral timetable by the electoral umpire, INEC. Prior speculations about who’s running or not will soon be affirmed or refuted. The time has finally come for the masquerades to come out of the groves and dance in the marketplace.

Love him or hate him, Governor Fayose’s declaration is bound to kick-start the electoral jamboree and give impetus to others who have been rather squeamish or “squirmish” about throwing their hats into the ring. Also, I love the fact that the ruling government can no longer afford to be complacent. We now have an aspirant, who for whatever he is worth will definitely keep the APC on its toes. The controversy has already started because Fayose is the quintessential hype-man. If he does not court publicity, propaganda would always trail him. He is a master of the game who understands that a bully only respects a bully. The ruling government may pretend that he is no threat, but they understand the adage that “a leper may not be able to squeeze milk but he definitely knows how to spill it…” Let no one dismiss Fayose. Remember the way some of us swore Donald Trump will never defeat Hillary Clinton in many lifetimes to come.

It would be a big shame if APC fails to see the urgent need to reposition and repackage itself as quickly as possible. My ideas may seem a bit radical and far-fetched but they remain my kobo advise to President Buhari and his team. If I were President Buhari, I will start grooming a successor right now. By the time he finishes his first term in 2019, he would have attained the age of 76, or thereabout. By then, he should be thankful to God for preserving his life after a rigorous battle with some near-fatal ailments. At that age and stage, Nigeria deserves some fresh leader, in body, mind and soul.

The world has moved beyond the type of leadership we are currently saddled with. Buhari was a choice for a special reason and purpose. He has served and fulfilled that righteousness. I believe, with all due respect, that he should set Nigeria on the path to higher glory by getting his succession plan right. Many of his predecessors were too pre-occupied with self-adulation that they forgot the future. By the time the future inevitably arrived, it was too late to turn the hands of the clock backwards.

President Buhari still has over one year to prepare for the epic journey ahead.. It is certain and obvious that he would be tempted like all mortals to cling to power, and as a matter of right anyway, but may God grant him the uncommon wisdom and that spirit of selflessness to be able to resist the allure of office and power. The APC has a lot to gain from his sacrifice and he would have placed himself on a higher pedestal in global reckoning. He has many able disciples who can carry his legacy to a much higher level. The world would remember him as a leader who came at a time of serious crisis and averted the cataclysmic collapse of Nigeria, laid a solid foundation and handed over to competent builders and performers.

In other to avoid an acrimonious transition, the President should invite some interested and influential members of his party and allow its politburo to vote or decide amongst themselves the shape of the new government they wish to form. Their decision is more likely to be binding on the party in general. President Buhari owes it to Nigeria to kill the ethnic and religious tension in our country. He’s always been viewed as a religious bigot and ethnic jingoist but he can redeem himself gracefully by championing new causes, breaking down walls of superstition as well as exterminating those primordial sentiments that have bedevilled our country and sent us several centuries backward. Buhari should help in combing every part of Nigeria and beyond for the best brains and talents that God has kindly endeared and endowed us with. He should realise that nothing could be as fortunate as being handed a second chance on a platter of gold as has happened to him. He has nothing more to gain but plenty to lose.

I would not be shocked or surprised if those currently enjoying the spoils of power dismiss my appeal to our dear beloved President as arrant nonsense. However, the truth is that Nigeria is in crisis and critical mode, deserving the most accomplished surgeons the country has, to excise the cancers and tumours ravaging her. We can no longer continue to wobble and fumble at the present snail speed. Time does not wait for anyone. And it will certainly not wait for Nigeria. APC parades many fantastic leaders but they are not able to blossom and glow in full bloom because of the overpowering aura of President Buhari. That power can be put to better use by helping APC to remain intact without experiencing the type of implosion that sentenced PDP to its shallow grave.

I will like to see APC retain the support and loyalty of Atiku Abubakar (who I believe should act like a true father of the party rather than desperately trying to return to power 12 years after he retired as Vice President) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (who should continue in his now acclaimed role of kingmaker). These two titans of the party should support President Buhari in harnessing the talents and strengths of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Bukola Saraki, Dogara Yakubu, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Nasir El Rufai, Aminu Tambuwal, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Rochas Okorocha, Rotimi Amaechi, Olorunnimbe Mamora, and several others who may be hovering in the wings with the hopes of becoming President or Vice President in the not too distant future. If these great assets are not well-managed and encouraged to sacrifice their personal ambitions and interests for the sake of Nigeria, history might just repeat itself because a house divided against itself will not stand.

Such a similar situation was mismanaged by former President Goodluck Jonathan who inadvertently lost the election the day he allowed some key members of PDP, to saunter away to join a new coalition called APC. With the benefit of hindsight, I am sure Jonathan would have eaten humble pie and stopped those aggrieved party members, by fire by force. Unfortunately, he was goaded and egged on by sycophants who probably boasted that Atiku, Saraki, Amaechi, and company were easily dispensable. They were dead wrong. Their exit led to the tsunami that swept away the Jonathan government.

My prediction is that if Buhari decides to stubbornly pursue his own personal ambition and agenda by not making the necessary sacrifice at this crucial moment, he may be swamped and consumed by the lava of the volcanic eruption that would definitely hit his party in a most devastating manner. Truth be told, Buhari would not have even picked the ticket of APC in the last primary election but for the herculean task and audacious effort of Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki and others who performed the miracle of turning water into wine.

Believe me, nobody wins election in Nigeria based on sainthood or clean records. Elections require the ability to raise cash, tonnes and tonnes of it. In case he is oblivious to what transpired in the last election, the President should ask his campaign team what it cost to oil that blistering operation that catapulted the “invincible” Jonathan out of power. Who donated what and how were APC agents funded nationwide? It is not going to be that simple this time around. Most of those who fell for the change mantra have since changed from billionaires and millionaires to paupers. Many supported Buhari hoping they would not be hounded but permitted to henceforth do business the proper way. They were unprepared for the fury unleashed against them which has ensured they’ve not been able to do business, clean or dirty. They are just licking their wounds with equanimity and hoping that this nightmare shall soon pass away. Undoubtedly the Nigerian economy has suffered as a result.  The main beneficiaries have been shady multinationals who continue to steal us blind whilst claiming to support a failing corruption crusade.

Therefore, APC has to urgently re-strategize by picking one of its trusted and tested younger personages, hoping that he may reignite the much-needed passion in Nigerian youths, the business community and all those who feel short-changed and brutalised by the Buhari government. If APC lacks the courage to rejig its modus operandi, it may be forced to swallow its own phlegm sooner than later…

I will soon offer an analysis on what PDP needs to do to bounce back and beat the APC. My advice to all those who think PDP is dead and buried is that they should perish the thought because Lazarus may still rise. As a matter of fact, PDP is not dead. It is merely a sleeping and snoring giant. We may yet be in for a rude awakening on all counts!

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHIEF MOSHOOD ABIOLA

On July 7, 2018, it would be exactly 20 years since Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola suddenly died in solitary confinement. No one has been able to give a comprehensive account of the June 12, 1993, saga till this day. Nigerians, and the world at large remain in total darkness about why Nigeria’s best election was annulled, those with noble or dastardly roles, why the winner ended up in detention instead of Aso Rock, and how finally, only his lifeless body was brought back home.

Ovation Books, a new arm of Ovation Communications, is poised to offer a special publication on what remains another dark chapter in the chequered existence of our country. We need your help to make this dream a reality. All we need is access to hitherto never revealed information. We shall also be knocking on doors to seek definite answers to pertinent questions.

Did you know Abiola one on one, or do you have credible information that can help recapture the period of campaign, election, annulment, incarceration and disappearance from public glare from 1994-98? Were you a personnel at some of the detention centres he was kept? You may wish to write to us, even anonymously, about your experience. You may send text messages to us via +2348055069220, +233233751111. We promise prompt responses and where necessary will get one of our researchers to meet with you.

At Ovation Books, we plan to reduce the dearth of information on very distinguished Nigerians, by publishing biographies of great men and women. We are counting on your kind prayers as always.  The Abiola and June 12 debacle is just a tantalising beginning!

Prince Harry and Gf Meghan Markle display some PDA at the closing of invictus ceremony

Prince Harry and his girlfriend, actress Meghan Markle looked very much in love as they watched the closing of the games in Toronto on Saturday night. Several times during the games, Prince Harry was seen kissing and intimately hugging his gf Meghan, as they sat in their private box to view the closing ceremony of his Invictus Games Saturday night.

Prince Harry was pictured in the box with his Meghan, some of Meghan's friends- her best friend, Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney, her closest male friend, Markus Anderson, who introduced her to Harry last year and her mother Doria Ragland, who had flown in from the US..

Her mother, Doria Ragland,is a therapist and yoga teacher from LA.

The fact that her mother had flown in from the US to spend time with her daughter and Harry shows the seriousness of the romance between the couple. More photos below:

Independence day : Presidency list 57 achievements of the Buhari- led administration

Personal Assistant to President Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, listed 57 achievements of the Buhari-led administration to commemorate the 57th independence day celebration. Read the list below...

1. Release of 106 Chibok girls, as well as over 16,000 persons in Boko Haram captivity.

2. Tackling insurgency, decimation of Boko Haram in the North East.

3. Recovering 14 local governments and territories previously under Boko Haram control in the North East, rebuilding lives of citizens there; about one million displaced persons in the NE have returned to their communities in two years of this administration.

4. Curbing the incidence of kidnap across the country. (Arrest of kidnap kingpins and dismantling of kidnap cells across the country)

5. Restoring morale of the Nigerian military; re-organizing and better equipping the Nigerian Armed Forces.

6. Purchase of 12 Super-Tucano aircrafts worth $600 million to aid the Nigerian military’s current operations in the North East.

7. Ensuring continued peace in the Niger Delta through consistent funding of the FG amnesty programme for ex-militants.

8. Introduction of an improved mechanism for distribution of aid to IDPs in the North East through the establishment of the Special Intervention Programme of the Federal Government. (Door-to-door strategy)

ECONOMY

9. Implementing the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to aid economic recovery, taking the country out of her worst recession in 29 years, despite fall in oil prices.

10. N1.2 trillion expended on capital/infrastructure projects nationwide, a milestone in the nation’s history.

11. Effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account, and increasing government revenue by over N3 trillion as well as entrenching transparency and accountability.

12. Implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), thus tackling corruption by plugging loopholes for siphoning of public fund and tracking of illicit funds through multiple accounts

13. Ease of doing business: the Federal Government signed into law two bills from the National Assembly (Acts are the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, 2017 (otherwise known as Collateral Registry Act) and the Credit Reporting Act, 2017) which has facilitated access to more affordable credit for Nigerians, fast tracked budget submissions and promotes Made-in-Nigeriaproducts.

14. Establishment of the Presidential Quarterly Business Forum to enhance interaction and private sector participation in the development of the economy.

15. Institutionalizing E-governance setting the foundation for the creation of a truly digital economy.

16. Creation of opportunities for youths to leverage innovation in technology through the introduction of the Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD) through which over N700 million has been disbursed to young entrepreneurs.

17. The revitalization of the Made-in-Nigeria campaign. (Emphasis on consumption of local products gain grounds)

18. Implementing reforms in the civil service which has led to the elimination of over 30,000 ghost workers, thereby saving the country billions of naira monthly.

19. Massive investments in agriculture, e.g, Anchors Borrowers Programme to improve local produce, improving fertiliser distribution and access across states through the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.

20. Reduction in rice imports as a result of government’s policies that has encouraged massive rice production across Nigeria.

21. Improving transport infrastructure (rail and road); construction work ongoing on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, renovation of Abuja International Airport runway, completion of Abuja – Kaduna Railway among others.

22. Social Investment Programmes (SIP): N-Power Volunteer Scheme creating jobs for over 200,000 (and still counting) unemployed graduates in all the 36 states and the FCT.

23. SIP: Ongoing Government Enterprise and Empowerment (GEEP) Scheme; commenced in November 2016 in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, where soft loans ranging from N10, 000 to N100, 000 have been given to over 189,000 market women and traders across different states.

24. SIP: Home Grown School Feeding Programme, where almost three million schoolchildren have been fed, while tens of thousands of cooks have been engaged in their respective states.

25. SIP: Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme, under which about 25,000 less privileged Nigerians so far are now being funded with the monthly N5,000 stipend in 9 pilot States (Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo). More beneficiaries are expected to be added in more states.

26. The establishment of MSMEs Clinics, a small Business support programme to support entrepreneurs and small businesses in different states.

27. Establishment of One-Stop-Shops to support policies on Ease of Doing Business.

28. The take-off of the 2nd Niger Bridge.

29. Phasing out subsidy for petroleum products, elimination of fuel scarcity and queues in petrol stations.

30. Implementation of the FG Niger Delta new vision, a comprehensive road map to improve livelihood and social infrastructure.

31. Improved power generation nationwide adding $500million to Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund and about $87million to its excess crude account.

32. The creation of the N30billion Solid Minerals Development Fund.

33. Encouraging the patronage of local contents and increasing export in agriculture.

34. Signing of Executive Order 001 which is the promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment - to ensure that public servants offer prompt service in a predictable and transparent manner, and sanction undue delays.

35. Signing of Executive Order 002 which is on prompt submission of annual budgetary estimates by all statutory and non-statutory agencies of the Federal Government including incorporated companies wholly owned by FG.

36. Bailout of cash crunch states; about N689 billion to 27 states of the federation to pay salaries in 2015.

37. Complete refund of Paris loan deductions to states (unprecedented).

38. Implementing the 2011 UNEP report for the ongoing Ogoni clean-up process after decades of oil spills and pollution.

39. Modification of the tax system so that it is more efficient.

40. Reforms in the airports (reconstruction of the Abuja airport runway and ongoing work at the Lagos airport).

41. Reforms at the nation’s seaports (Issues with cargo clearance at the ports addressed)

42. Improved duration (under 48 hours) for visa approval especially for investors.

43. Resuscitation of the nation’s refineries which are now working at 50 percent capacity for the first time in over a decade.

44. Eleven of the dead 33 fertilizer plants have been resuscitated while four others are to be revived shortly and this has profound impact on the ongoing revolution in the agricultural sector.

45. For the first time in more than 45 years, the Mambila Power Plant is set to take off with the allocation of $5.6billion for its realization and an expected 3,050 MW output upon completion.

46. Increasing external reserves to a 13 month high of $33 billion from $29.13 billion which has surpassed the ERGPs target of $30.56 billion despite global low oil prices and production challenges.

47. Cancellation of the Joint Venture cash calls with oil multinational companies operating in Nigeria (For the first time in the history of the industry) which has led to savings of billions of dollars lost to fictitious contract payments.

48. Release of N2 billion take off grant for the Maritime University as part of measures to address agitations in the Niger Delta region.

49. The new development bank of Nigeria (DBN) is finally taking off with initial funding of $1.3billion (provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank, African Development Bank, Agence Francaise De Development) to provide medium and long term loans to MSMEs.

ANTI – GRAFT WAR.

50. Improving Nigeria’s international image and regional cooperation with neighbouring countries in fighting insurgency.

51. Anti-corruption war: Prosecuting alleged corrupt public officers and recovering billions of naira of stolen public funds; the successful establishment of the whistle-blower policy.

52. Signing of Executive Order 004 – Voluntary Income Asset Declaration Scheme (VAIDS). This aims to increase tax awareness and compliance, and reduce incidence of tax evasion.

53. Signing of agreements with a number of nations to provide Automatic Exchange of Information.

54. Signing of the Extradition Treaty between Nigeria and United Arab Emirates (UAE) toward strengthening Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign.

55. Establishment of PACAC – a think-tank that has provided leadership, direction and also built capacity of personnel in the fight against corruption.

OTHERS

56. Eradication of polio disease in the country.

57. The introduction of the One Primary Health Centre per ward programme of the Federal Government.

Happy Independence Day Nigeria