Chidi Mokeme Mocks Presidency, Releases Timetable For Visiting President Buhari

Chidi took to his IG page this morning to mock the presidency over new photos of President Buhari. Sharing a photo of the six governors who visited the President in London yesterday, Chidi wrote

• #InOtherNews Following the success of the last 2 editions of the presidential lotto, the organizers,#TheKitchenCabinet, based on doctors recommendations, have in their magnanimity, extended the privilege to other sectors thus, *** PRESIDENCY RELEASES TIMETABLE FOR VISIT TO BUHARI IN LONDON *** 1. APC governors: Balcony cabinet (Visited) 
  2. PDP governors: Boys Quater cabinet (Visited- please note Federal Character Compliance) 
  3. UPP, APGA, NDP, HDP, ADPA, SDP, AC AND OTHERS (31st July).
• 4. NIGERIAN STUDENTS (3rd August).
• 4. FARMERS(5th August) 
• 5. MEDICAL DOCTORS (10th August).
• 6. LECTURERS(12th August).
• 7. APC online Zombies (15th August).
• 8. PDP WAILING WAILERS (18th August)
• 9. OTHER WORKERS NOT MENTIONED ABOVE(20th August).
• 10. CRIPPLES AND OTHER DISABLED PEOPLE(23rd August).
• 11. IPOB BIAFRANS (25th August).
• 12. NIGER DELTA MILITANTS (27th August).
• 13. OPC MEMBERS (28th August).
• 14. BOKO HARAM MEMBERS (30th August).
• 15. AYO FAYOSE, WIKE AND FFK (2nd September proposed but still under consideration)

42 Escaped Chibok Schoolgirls Graduate from Plateau, Katsina Schools

Forty-two girls who escaped from Boko Haram terrorists after their abduction from the Government Secondary School, Chibok on April 14, 2014, have graduated from private schools in Plateau and Katsina States.

The girls were sponsored by a non-profit humanitarian organisation, Girl Child Concern (GCC) chaired by Dr. Mairo Mandara, a foremost advocate of girl-child education in Nigeria and in conjunction with the Borno State Government.

Speaking at a ceremony in Abuja to mark the graduation of 73 girls among whom were the 42 Chibok girls and 31 internally displaced girls, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kassim Shertima, said about 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans were left to bear the brunt of the over three years of murderous insurgency in the North-east part of the country.
The governor also said the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram, have left a total of 5,335 buildings from 503 schools destroyed.

According to him, the figures were obtained from the report compiled by the World Bank in partnership with European Union and the presidency.
He said: “A total of 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans were created by the years of insurgency in the North-east.

“These are official figures, probably the unofficial figure may be twice these number. The truth is that we either take care of these orphans or ten to fifteen years from now, they will be the monsters that will drive us out of this land.”
The 42 Chibok girls were among the 56 that escaped from the terrorists after they were kidnapped from their school in 2014.

The girls were assisted by GCC to gain admission to complete their education in Nurul Islam Secondary School, Bukuru, Jos, Ulul Albab Islamic School in Katsina and Bethel International Christian Academy in Jos, Plateau State.

Speaking on the challenges posed by these children from broken families resulting from terrorists activities, Shettima said there was need for leaders to take responsibility and do something to ensure that they become useful to the society, adding that failing to do so may be disastrous.

According to him, some elite and political big wigs were already afraid of visiting the rural areas to meet with the common man for fear of being molested.
He added that there was presently a palpable discontent against the elite glaring on the faces of most common men.
The governor stressed that unless the country’s leadership began to think towards improving the lots of the common man in the society and working for the people, the situation would deteriorate.

“The truth is that we either take care of these orphans or 10 to 15 years from now, they will be the monsters that will drive us out of the land,” he said. The governor said his government was paying special attention to education and that about 30 per cent of the annual state budget is being devoted to the sector.

“Where there is a will, there is always a way, we are right now building twenty mega schools across the state and each of them is going to be a state of the art institution with very conducive study environment and kitted with digital facilities,” he said.
Earlier, the chairperson of GCC, Dr. Mairo Mandara, expressed gratitude to the governor as well as the Malala Fund who she said did a lot to ensure that the Chibok school girls completed their secondary education.

Mandara recounted some of the challenges faced by the Chibok girl after being rescued, adding that they faced stigmatisation in their quest to secure a new school to complete their studies.

According to her, in some of the schools, the parents even threatened to withdraw their children if the Chibok girls were admitted.
Speaking on the near incommunicado which the girls were kept years after escaping from captivity, Mandara said: “Today is a special day for GCC because a group of our graduating girls were kept out of the lime light for the last three years. It was difficult getting them schools at the time we got custody of these girls. Schools refused to accept them out of fears of consequences that could befall them if it is discovered that they were in the school.”.

Some of the girls who spoke to THISDAY said apart from studying for their school certificate examination, they were also taught several skills that can make them survive economically.
They however refused to be drawn into revealing their experiences while in captivity, describing it as heinous and agonising to remember.

Lalong and Nigerian Governor Award

 

Nigerians are one of the simplest people to please in governance than anywhere in the world. Majority of us do not angle to be listed on the exclusive club of millionaires and billionaires in the country.

What we demand at all times from those whom are entrusted with the mandate of leadership is just creating the enabling environment for us to survive, thrive in business or the work place and empowered enough to pick up basic family bills.

Any executive office occupier who fixes his eyes on these simplicities is infinitely appreciated by the people. Without sycophantic flavor, he is celebrated as a hero by his people. He does not require intensive campaigns while seeking re-election because his good works speak for him. He does not need to hire thugs to rig elections or bribe anybody to acquire votes; hence his popularity soars on account of his performance.

In Plateau state, we are happy the wind of change which blew across Nigeria in 2015, affected us positively, with the election of a seasoned politician and doyen of transparency, accountability and epitome of performance, Simon Lalong as governor of the state. In the last two years, we have observed that Lalong has bestridden on the Plateau like a colossus, depositing unsurpassable development signposts in various sectors.

Governor Lalong has reinvented governance in the state in a manner that has astounded even his arch opponents who have buried their pride and idiosyncrasies’ to applaud him. Having witnessed the bad and the ugly in Plateau, I noticed the sharp and unforgettable difference Governor Lalong has impinged on governance of the state, which is remarkably different from his predecessors.

I was therefore not surprised when I read in the pleasant advertorial news in one of our national newspaper that Nigerians voted Governor Simon Lalong as the The Nigerian news portal, a flourishing London-based news site, as the best Governor in Nigeria, and qualifies for its 2017 Governor of the Year award. The ceremony is slated to hold next month, (August 2017) in London.

To say, Governor Lalong deserves this prestigious award and much more would be tantamount to stating the obvious. Those of us on the Plateau who feel and touch the impact of his administration, known in very certain terms that Nigerians, including Plateau people who voted him first among equals, only confirmed what we have already known and documented.

It confirms to me the notion that a good leader is noticed anywhere, even if he shields himself in the darkest of labyrinths. Voices would echo his name and feet would grope to locate his shadows.

On the Plateau, it is a unanimous consensus among the people, having benefitted immensely from his two years in office so far and still counting. Before this positively eloquent testimony by Nigerians on our Governor, we had already resolved that the only way we can appreciate Governor Lalong is to reward his exemplary leadership qualities with tenure in 2019. We owe a debt of gratitude to The Nigerian, a credible news platform for its research methodology, which exposed our dear leader to stardom, with the irrefutable decision on Governor Lalong.

A perusal into Governor Lalong’s compendium of achievements, displays a fascinating level of commitment to development and unbeatable concern for the welfare of the masses. It becomes more exciting, the realization that the focus of his administration is hinged on populist projects, mainly targeting the mass of the people of Plateau.

In Plateau state, much like in many other states in the country, the propensity of Governors to abandon uncompleted projects of predecessors is very high. Every governor does not see wisdom in completing the projects he inherited. And through this unhealthy practice, scarce public funds are wasted, with no results beneficial to the people to justify the funds such projects have gulped.

We were troubled by crises of all dimensions on the Plateau, which raged for upward of a decade. We lamented and wailed at the devastation and social dislocation it caused us. We knew no peace, as violence and killings irreverently replaced the sacredness of peace and prosperity. Our leaders knew the path to peace, but ignored its enforcement because of inordinate influences and the non-challant attitude to the protection of lives and property.

But Governor Lalong who is also a victim of the conflagrations on the Plateau in countless ways elected upon himself to end the menace of violence. He wholeheartedly attuned his administration to fully support the sustenance of the peace efforts upon assumption of office. His no nonsense and uncompromising posture on security of lives and property has changed the horrible narrative on insecurity in the state.

He has re-engineered a relieving pace of peace and tranquil on the Plateau not known to the people for more than 10 years. We are not just a happy people now, but proud that the famed and accustomed peace on the Plateau has regained its soul. Governor Lalong’s peace initiatives and collaboration with the security agencies have enabled this hitherto impossible reality.

And the ethnic agitations which appeared insurmountable in Plateau state as a result of discriminations foisted on the people by the past administrations have vanished. The Governor deployed a simple strategy of according every ethnic nationality in the state a sense of belonging. He halted discriminations and extended equal and fair treatment to all and sundry. To him, ethnicity is an ass and political affiliation, a chain of servitude. What has mattered must to him is the collective interest of people and how the state can attain unbridled and unequalled development on all fronts.

The Governor considerably doused the tension in the land, mostly manifest in youth restlessness. Aside erasing all forms of injustices, which tethered or people to bondage and provoked constant anger, his policies on youth empowerment and poverty alleviation are devoid of sectionalism or godfatherism. His ultimate conviction is that every Plateaun deserves a good life and to live in peace. And these are no rhetoric as the people bear loud testimonies of his vision and actions on streets, offices and other public places. I believe this is an enviable mark of good leadership anywhere in the world, worthy of emulation.

In Nigeria this day, the plague of workers salary debt has hit a lot of states in the federation. But on the Plateau, we are lucky, as payment of workers’ salaries is Governor Lalong’s topmost priority. He does not owe salaries of public servants and through prudent management of resources the state also meets its monetary contractual obligations to contractors handling various developmental projects, some of which have been commissioned.

It explains why Governor Lalong’s style of leadership spots him tall among his colleagues at the national level. It is why we are massively backing and supporting his administration to continue with the onerous task of liberating and developing the state.

The Nigerian’s 2017 Best Governor Award to Governor Lalong is what has gladdened the heart of every Plateau indigene. It is in African culture to fete our people who excel. And we owe Governor Lalong this token of appreciation.

APC won't exist beyond 2019 - Rt.Hon. Daika

Rt. Hon. George Daika, chieftain of the opposition PDP and former Speaker of the Plateau State parliament represented Qua’an-Pan, Mikang and Shendam Constituency in the House of Representatives. He speaks with Correspondent AGABUS PWANAGBA on the victory of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP at the apex court, the future of the party, the 2019 general elections and sundry issues. Excerpts:
How did you receive the Supreme Court’s verdict granting victory to the Ma­karfi-led faction of the PDP leadership?

The judgment didn’t come to me as a surprise, because I had confidence in the mem­bers of the jury particularly the judges. It was presided over by the Chief Justice of the Federation, somebody that has integrity. I had every confidence owing to the fact that even the initial judgment at the Court of Appeal contra­dicted the issues. You can see that the judgment in favour of Makarfi did not take us by surprise. You see, the national convention, the highest organ of the party that could decide even on that day to dissolve the party. If the convention at that time decided that the PDP stood dissolved, it would have been dissolved. The de­cision of the convention stood based on the party’s constitu­tion.

What is the future of the PDP on the Plateau, consid­ering the victory of Makarfi?

Well, the victory is a vic­tory for democracy, victory for the entire Nigerians be­cause it has clearly shown that our judiciary is now up to the task of delivering the right judgment for the people at the right time. That has built our confidence and the entire Nigerians are happy too. You could see all over the country that people jubilated on the streets, including the mem­bers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the civil servants. That shows that they were truly aware that what Sheriff and the likes of Abang were trying to do was to de­stroy democracy in Nigeria, which is against the wishes of the people who were not happy about it. Also, they knew that without any strong opposition, Nigeria will be a one-party state, which will be at the detriment of the larger society.

The judgment itself serves as a quit notice to the APC, asking them to get prepared that by 2019, they should start packing at both the state and the national levels. So, it’s a quit notice asking them to get set to pack because the PDP is back and stronger than ever. What we need to do now is to talk about reconciliation, particularly with those that are aggrieved. And I think this is the right time for us to start thinking of genuine rec­onciliation. I think as much as possible we should avoid anything that has to do with imposition of candidates. We should allow the free will of the people to prevail. And let’s start to think of how to win in 2019. I know the entire Nigerians are with us, because APC is already a goner. By 2019, I assure you there will be no APC in place.

In 2015, when the PDP had no rancour, it was defeated by the APC. Now that it’s trying to rebuild, do you think the party will be strong enough to defeat the APC come 2019?

It is not an issue that the PDP will be strong before 2019, because it is already strong and stronger than ever. Even after the challenges we had we didn’t lose to the APC. We were rigged out. Actually we didn’t lose the election, we were rigged out. Thank God for the kind of leader we had in the person of President Goodluck Jonathan, who said he wouldn’t want any blood to be shed because of his elec­tion. And he wouldn’t want anything to spoil our relation­ship with the people abroad. For that, he conceded defeat even before the announce­ment of the results. But you could see that even what hap­pened on the Plateau, did the APC win the Southern Zone? What was the difference be­tween the APC and the PDP? It wasn’t wide.
The people decided to do what they did because they were aggrieved and looking for a change because they wanted the governorship to go down to the South­ern Zone. The problem was that even from the Southern Zone, because we could not present a candidate as a zone that gave an advantage to the only aspirant who came from the Northern Zone, who was late Senator GNS Pwajok. And that was how he won the PDP gubernatorial primaries with a landslide victory. If the Southern Zone was really co­ordinated, and had worked together as a family, and had decided on a particular can­didate, I think GNS Pwajok wouldn’t have had the oppor­tunity of winning the election. I don’t want to really believe that GNS Pwajok was actually imposed on the people. We actually defeated ourselves in the Southern Zone. And for some of us who felt there was no unity of purpose, we decided to do otherwise to vote for the candidate that we felt was credible, that had the pedigree and believe he could deliver, and that was late Sen­ator GNS. And we gave him 100 percent from Mikang during the primaries.

Are you saying your party (PDP) has the confidence of returning to power in 2019?

Well talking about con­fidence, I want to assure you that there is no APC on ground on the Plateau. I don’t believe in the existence of APC on the Plateau. You can see clearly for yourself that if you go to the APC secre­tariat, you will find out, aside the Igbo traders, car dealers, welders and rug carpet sellers; you don’t see the sign of any human being there. There is no activity taking place there. But go to the PDP secretariat, you will see a lot of activities taking place, because people believe in the party. They believe in the leadership of the party. They believe in the caliber of the people that we have at the state and national assemblies. That has actu­ally been our strength and our profile.

As far as I am concerned, our status remains the same. So we do not doubt winning the 17 local government elec­tions if they are held. That’s why I think the APC is scared of conducting the local gov­ernment elections because it knows, from the reports it is receiving, that it will not make any impact, even in Shendam where the governor comes from. PDP will still win. We are fully prepared and even if they say today the local gov­ernment elections will hold, we will win overwhelmingly. People actually did what they did out of protest, out of an­noyance, and some out of mere sentiments.

The APC said the party does not encourage people to leave their jobs to come and stay at the party secretariat to beg for money, which it al­leged the PDP is doing. What is your take?

What has the APC been doing as a government, not to talk of a party? Some of us know how the APC structure was formed. It only exists on paper. Even as a party in gov­ernment, they still don’t have structures. So what activities will happen at the party sec­retariat when they have a one-man-squad EXCO and sec­ondly when there is nothing forthcoming from the APC?

Even within the govern­ment, if you go to the Gov­ernment House, the minis­tries, you don’t find people there. Jang was entertaining and meeting people at odd hours, unlike the present gov­ernment that you hardly see people around the Govern­ment House.

You hardly see people around the commissioners and political appointees. If you see any of the appointees interacting with people, they are doing it for their selfish interests. That political ap­pointee is having an ambition to contest for an election or so. He wasn’t working for the interest of his principal.

Don Jazzy Asks If God Will Forgive Deziani Allison Madueke If She Pleads For Forgiveness

Mavin boss, Don Jazzy took to his Twitter page to ask if God will forgive Deziani if she pleads for forgiveness and also suggested that they should be different levels of sins. Read his tweets below..

''Why Are You Saying RIP? Let Him Come And Sleep With People's Wives Again. Foolish Man!'' Nigerian Facebook User Blasts Dead Man

Facebook user, Zaki Felix Grm posted photos from the burial of one late Mr. Isaac Adze Tingir (JP) the Deputy Treasurer, Finance Department Logo LGA, who died 14th July, 2017 and was laid to rest in Anyiin, Logo Local Government Area, Benue State on Thursday.
 

People left comments praying for the repose of the deceased soul, however, a particular Facebook user Godwin Vereto wrote:

"Why are saying rest in peace? Let him come and sleep with peoples wife's again. Foolish man"

Photos: Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike Receives Acting President Yemi Osinbajo In Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike today received Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Port Harcourt International Airport. The Acting President is in Rivers State to commission the state Government Projects and a Fertiliser Plant in Eleme. Continue to see more photos

Yemi Alade finally unveils her “Mama Afrique” EP + “Nakupenda” (Swahili) feat. Nyashinski

Effyzzie Music Group drops Yemi Alade‘s extended play titled “Mama Afrique“, an extension of her acclaimed sophomore LP.

The extended play is her third body of work following two successful studio albums; “King of Queens” and “Mama Africa: The Diary of an African Woman“.  The set features Kenyan music star Nyashinski on the Swahili version of her soaring love ballad “Nakupenda“, a Ricii Lompeurs remix of her afro-house smash “Want You“, alongside new and revamped multilingual versions of numbers originally housed on the “Mama Africa” album.

Get “Mama Afrique” here

Listen to “Nakupenda” feat. Nyashinski below:

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Teenager sells his father's N7.5m SUV for N350k to buy drugs in Abia

The Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Abia state, Akingbade Bamidele, says the command recently counseled a teenage boy who sold two of his father’s Sports Utility Vehicles valued at N7.5 million for N350, 000 in Umuahia, Abia, in order to buy hard drugs.


Bamidele made the disclosure when he spoke at a workshop on substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking for senior secondary school students, organized by the National Committee on Narcotics and Substance Abuse in Abia yesterday. 

“There’s a boy at Umuahia that his father brought to us for counseling. He sold two vehicles – a Lexus and a Forerunner worth N7.5m for N350,000. Do you know why? The reason is because he was involved in drug abuse and has gotten to dependent stage where there’s absolutely nothing he cannot sell, just to buy drugs. It was a situation of keep this vehicles for me and just be giving me drugs. You notice when things began to miss at home, that something is wrong.”

Speaking further, Bamidele said

“The cult boys that cut the heads of other students at Uturu and used them for goal post, when they were arrested, we went and tested them and it was clear that they were high on drugs and that gave them such mind to severe another persons’ head for goal post. You have to be very careful. The young man you saw on the screen was sent to deliver a parcel of which he doesn’t know much about and today, he’s in trouble. Ignorance is not an excuse in law. The rich will use the children of the poor to do their illicit drug trafficking".

Photos from Lionel Messi's wedding to his childhood sweetheart, Antonella Roccuzzo

A host of star names attended Lionel Messi's hometown inn Rosario Argentina, for his wedding to his childhood sweetheart, Antonella Roccuzzo. However, while team-mates Luis Suarez, Neymar and Gerard Pique were among the 260 guests in attendance at the intimate ceremony, there was no invite for former bosses Pep Guardiola, most of the Argentina squad or legend Diego Maradona. 
According to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, Messi, invited only four of his international team-mates - Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria.

The couple, who have known each other for about 25 years, banned mobile phones at the ceremony. Staff were also sworn to secrecy and 450 police officers were on hand for the big day.

The couple, who now live in Barcelona, have two sons together.

Lionel and Antonella

Photos:Japanese men find true love with silicone sex dolls

In the bid to end heartbreaks, loneliness, and the frustration to get loyal spouses, some Japanese men have now found true love and peace with silicone sex dolls. Photos below show how these men spend time indoor and outdoor with their companion (sex dolls).

According to reports, around 2,000 of the life-like dolls which are sold in Japan cost around £4,600. It comes with adjustable fingers, removable head, and life-like genitals.