lanrefadele

Why Nigerians are currently experiencing power shortage – Fashola                                The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has disclosed that lack of finance to pay for the supply of gas to power stations was responsible for the drop in the electricity supply across the country. Fashola made the disclosure while addressing State House Correspondents, shortly after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Wednesday. He said the fire incident at Afam flow station and the destruction of pipeline and other key infrastructures by hoodlums has further escalated the current drop in electricity supply being experienced by Nigerians. According to Fashola, “We heard there was liquidity problems, gas suppliers hav...

           Buhari hale and hearty – FG                           The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said there is no truth in the messages being circulated on the health of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mohammed said the President is hale and hearty. The minister therefore urged Nigerians to disregard the subversive messages being circulated via text messaging and the social media about the President’s health. In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Mohammed said the fabricated messages are being orchestrated by those who feel threatened by the emerging order. He said there is no iota of truth in the messages being circulated on the health of the President, who is hale and hearty, and the purported emergency meetings of state governors in Abuja or anywhere. He said t...

EFCC Re-Arraigns Ex-Air Force Chief Umar Over N9.7b Fraud   According to the EFCC, Mr. Umar, who served as Chief of Air Staff from September 2010 to October 2012, allegedly withdrew N700 million from the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) account to purchase a house at No. 14 Vistula Close, off Panama Street in Maitama, Abuja.   The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned former Chief of Air Staff Mohammed Dikko Umar on Wednesday before Justice Nnamdi Dimga at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja on a 7-count charge of money laundering and procurement fraud amounting to N9.7 billion. According to the EFCC, Mr. Umar, who served as Chief of Air Staff from September 2010 to October 2012, allegedly withdrew N700 million from the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) account to purchase a house at No. 14 Vistula Close, off Panama Street in Maitama, Abuja. He also reportedly stole N500 million from the NAF account to buy a four-bedroom duplex at Road 3B Street 2 ...

Adama Barrow To Return To The Gambia Thursday Gambian President Adama Barrow will return to Banjul on Thursday by 4.00pm A tweet by Halifa Sallah, his aide, says that the new Gambian President is expected in Banjul by 4pm. The tweet appears to have settled questions on when the real-estate baron turned politician will assume state functions, after the departure of his predecessor, the long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh. Barrow, now in Dakar, Senegal, was sworn into office on 20 January, at the Gambian embassy, a day after the tenure of Yahya Jammeh expired. Barrow himself in a tweet had said he would return home on Tuesday. The tweet has been deleted, with only the announcement on the appointment of 68-year-old Fatoumata Tambajang  as Vice President retained on the handle, which now has 24,000 followers. Jammeh left on Sunday in the wake of military threats by a 7000-strong ECOWAS force, strung together to ensure that he respected the wishes expressed by Gambians in ...

Usain Bolt stripped of 2008 Olympic relay gold medal              The fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt alongside Jamaican 4×100 meters relay team have been formally stripped of their Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medal after the disqualification of Nesta Carter for doping. The decision, announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today, means that sprinting supremo Bolt loses the “triple triple” of gold medals won across the Beijing, London and Rio Games. Re-analysis of frozen samples submitted by Carter resulted in a positive test for banned stimulant methylhexaneamine: a substance that was indirectly but not specifically on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited list at the time. Trinidad and Tobago will now be promoted to the gold medal position. Japan will take the silver medal and Brazil the bronze. “The Jamaican team is disqualified from the men’s 4x100m relay eve...

I’m proud of winning AFCON record – Enyeama                Former Nigeria international goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has said he is immensely proud of his record at the AFCON, where he has won a medal in all editions he played. Enyeama won AFCON bronze medal thrice, in 2004, 2006 and 2010, before he led Nigeria to win gold in 2013. The ex-Super Eagles captain also admitted that playing at the AFCON is difficult and different ball game. “Thanking God. So lucky to have gotten a medal in each of the AFCON tournament that I played in. AFCON no easy,” the highly-rated Lille goalkeeper tweeted. Nigeria have failed to qualify for the last two AFCONS, in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Adamawa judiciary removes two Magistrates,demotes one        The Adamawa Judicial Service Commission has announced the removal of two magistrates and the demotion of another judge. The government announced the disciplinary action in a statement issued by the Secretary of the commission, Susana Elam, on Wednesday in Yola. Elam said the action takes immediate effect. The scribe explained that the measures were adopted at commission’s 167th meeting held on Tuesday. She confirmed that during the meeting one staff of the commission was equally demoted. “The Commission during its special meeting also approved the appointments of 15 Senior Magistrates Grade II,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Elam as saying in the statement. She gave the names of the affected officers as Messrs Abdurrazak Abdullahi and Yohanna Kake. Mr. Hussaini Musa was demoted. However, she did not reveal the reasons for the disciplinary action or the offenses committed by th...

CNN fires back at Trump on inauguration ratings winner       CNN late Wednesday fired back late Tuesday at President Trump, who said more people tuned in to watch his inauguration on Fox News than "FAKE NEWS" CNN.  “According to Nielsen cumulative numbers, 34 million people watched CNN’s inauguration day coverage on television. 34 million watched Fox News,” read the message tweeted from CNN Communications. “There were an additional 16.9 million live video starts on CNN Digital platforms. Those are the facts.”Earlier this week, Trump's press secretary defended his claim that Trump had the largest inauguration audience ever. Sean Spicer argued that Trump had “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” “It's unquestionable,” Spicer said, doubling down on his initial claim, though not providing specific numbers. “And I don't see any numbers that dispute that when you add up attendance, vie...

                BIAFRA: 45 arraigned, remanded in prison on treason charges over Trump rally 45 pro-Biafra agitators, arrested on Friday during a rally in support of the new United States (US) President, Donald Trump, have been arraigned and ordered to be remanded in prison custody. They were arraigned before two Magistrate Courts in Port Harcourt on Monday on treason charges leveled against them by the Rivers State Police Command. The accused who are members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had organised a solidarity rally to commemorate the swearing in of Mr Trump when they were arrested by security operatives who claimed they did not obtain permit before commencing the peaceful protest. Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Odesanya charged the arrested persons to court on two co...

                                Two years after, Soundcity, P Square settle beef 24 months after Sound City and the pair of P Square got enmeshed in a face-off which saw the music channel placing a ban on playing the songs or videos of the pair, both parties have now settled whatever differences harbored in the past. Confirming the development, Olamide Adedeji, the channel manager of Sound City revealed in an interview that both parties have decided to let go of whatever grouse they both may have concealed as everything has been settled. “It was just some sort of miscommunication, which was rather unfortunate at that time. Thankfully, all of this has been resolved and we are doing well now. We needed a talent to do something for us at that time, there was some sort of miscommunication along the line and...

                         ‘Magu must go’ suit fixed for Feb 13 The suit questioning the continuing stay of Ibrahim Magu as the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been slated for hearing on February 13 by the Lagos Federal High Court. A Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, had in a suit he filed on January 16, asked that the court should without delay stop Magu from presenting himself as acting chairman of the commission. He further requested that the Senate should not for any reason entertain any demand for the confirmation of Magu as EFCC chairman. Named as defendants in the suit are the Nigerian Senate, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the EFCC and Magu. On Monday when the case was mentioned in court, the Lagos lawyer announced appea...

                   Magu, SGF not corrupt, FG tells Senate President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the senate exonerating Acting Chairman of the Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal from allegations of corruption levelled against them. The president’s letter was read at plenary on Tuesday by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in which Buhari also urged the legislative arm to reconsider Magu for confirmation as substantial chairman of the anti-graft agency. The letter stated that both men were cleared of any corrupt wrongdoing after an investigation by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, based on a directive from the President.

Gambia's Adama Barrow names Fatoumata Tambajang as VP New deputy leader had previously vowed to prosecute ex-ruler Yahya Jammeh for alleged crimes committed by his regime. It remains unclear when Barrow will return to Gambia from Senegal The Gambia's president, Adama Barrow, has named senior politician Fatoumata Tambajang as deputy leader, as regional troops continued security sweeps to prepare for his return to the country from neighboring Senegal. The announcement of Tambajang's appointment will be followed by the unveiling of the rest of Barrow's cabinet later on Tuesday, according to presidential spokesperson Halifa Sallah. Tambajang, a former minister and United Nations Development Program staffer, was the architect of an opposition coalition that helped Barrow defeat longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh in a December 1 presidential election. She made headlines last month when she  told The Guardian newspaper that Jammeh, ...

Russia, Turkey, Iran agree plan to support Syria truce The three nations also said they supported the willingness of the armed opposition to participate in UN-led talks.   Talks between key Syria war players in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, have ended with Russia, Turkey and Iran agreeing on a mechanism to support a delicate ceasefire.  The meeting, organized by Russia and Turkey and attended by the government and the armed opposition, was aimed at strengthening a nationwide ceasefire that has largely held despite pockets of violence, and at paving the way towards United Nations-led political negotiations in Geneva on February 8. It was not immediately clear whether the opposition or the government backed the communique. The three nations also said they supported the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the Geneva talks and that they were committed to "minimizing violence, building confidenc...