Okon should have done better with Falcons – Mabo

Former Nigeria coach, Ismaila Mabo, believes the Nigeria Football Federation made the right decision by not renewing Edwin Okon’s contract as the Super Falcons coach.

The football body said on Monday that Okon’s assistant, Christopher Danjuma, would manage the team in their Olympic qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea on July 18 and August 2, “pending the appointment of a substantive coaching crew”.

Mabo said Okon missed his chance to take the Falcons to greater heights at the World Cup in Canada, insisting that Nigeria had the opportunity to beat USA in their last group game and advance to the next stage of the tournament.

“I think the NFF did the right thing in helping the team ahead of their forthcoming challenge in the Olympic qualifiers. The best thing to do is to put the team under a more focused technical crew that will boost their morale and instil discipline,” Mabo said.

“I don’t wish to criticise the coach but the truth must be told when analysing that game. We should have beaten USA and avenged our loss against them in 1999 when they beat us 7-1 in China.

“It was obvious the USA team were not as strong as we used to know them, and our team had some of the best talents we could ever wish for. We had Asisat Oshoala, Onome Ebi, Ngozi Okobi and a host of others, who were at their best during the competition but he couldn’t harness them properly.

“We missed several scoring chances in the game, but it could still have gone our way had he adopted the right tactics. The tactic we adopted in the first half, which gave us more possession, was what the USA team adopted in the second half and they used it better. It shouldn’t have been so.”

Mabo said he was taken aback when he learnt Okon refused to shake hands with the USA coach, Jill Ellis, after the 1-0 defeat.

“That was unprofessional and against the ethics preached by FIFA. When USA defeated us in 1999 with a wide margin in our first game, I didn’t fret. There was no point in being angry; I had to learn from the defeat. We eventually went on to beat Korea and Denmark in our group,” Mabo said.

“I also fault Okon on his stance not to study Nigeria’s opponents before their games. If he had requested for the videos from the NFF, I’m sure he would have got them. Besides, I have the 1999 videos, and I’m sure Paul Hamilton has some that could have been of help if he had asked.”

Source: Punch

Lagos Court acquits murder suspect for `showing remorse’

An Ijede Magistrates’ Court near Ikorodu, Lagos State on Tuesday discharged a man, Kazeem Ajiga, who allegedly lynched another man for stealing his aluminium roofing sheets. Ajiga was arraigned on Tuesday for taking laws into his hands by executing jungle justice on a suspect, Raheem Omoyele, whom he accused of stealing his property.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Omoyele was on Monday brought before Olagbegi-Adelabu on a charge of stealing 25 aluminium roofing sheets belonging to Ajiga.


The Magistrate, Mrs Jumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu ruled :“Since Ajiga has shown remorse, caution and did not waste this court’s time by pleading guilty, I hereby discharge him and strike out the case. I ordered the arrest and subsequent arraignment of Ajiga and his accomplices still at large for almost blinding a suspect they arrested and for obstructing the police from doing their job. This court is not against citizens arresting criminals in support of the course of justice, but will not tolerate the use of excessive force, beating up and violence on them. Many Nigerians have been killed in such acts which clearly is anti-social, barbaric and against human rights and contrary to being sane in this 21st century. No sane mind should justify transferred aggression on an apprehended petty thief because of a perceived loss or theft. This message I hope will sink into the minds of the Oke-Eletu people and Nigerians that jungle justice, lynching and harm to arrested suspects by them is criminal and unacceptable by law.”

Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Friday Ekunday had apologised on behalf of the accused, Ajiga, on the grounds that he did not know the implications of his action.

“He was the complainant in the case that led to this charge against him and acted out of ignorance for not knowing that a crime was being committed by beating up the person who stole from him. Ajiga has leant his lesson after sleeping at the police cell for the night, and I beg this court to temper justice with mercy,” he said.

He said the accused violated Section 166(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 when he committed the offence on June 26 at Oke-Eletu area of Ikorodu at about 6.30 p.m.

Before the ruling, the accused had pleaded guilty to the charge of breaching public peace by executing jungle justice on Omoyele.

In an interview with NAN, a lawyer, Mr. Victor Nwadike, attributed the lynching of criminals to ignorance and the high rate of illiteracy in the country.

“’Mob action and jungle justice are a reflection of the level of education that Nigerians have about basic issues of their rights and about what is legal and permissible. The need for more enlightenment cannot be understated and for an overhaul of our educational system, its philosophy and its approach to transform the people. Even many so-called educated people cannot understand simple legal documents; many cannot interpret our constitution and cannot explain a contractual agreement. Our backwardness even in the administration of justice is largely because of the pervasive ignorance and illiteracy in this nation. We need to ensure every person gets educated up to secondary school and review our curricula at all levels to imbue critical thinking as an essential ingredient of our education system,” he said.

Nwadike urged government at all levels to step up their enlightenment programmes on such issues. (NAN)

CBN extends deadline for BVN registration to October 31st

Central Bank of Nigeria has extended the deadline for the Bank Verification Number, BVN, registration to October 31st. The Apex bank had earlier fixed today June 30th as the deadline for the registration. Hopefully more Nigerians would have completed their registration before the new deadline elapses
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Fresh case of Ebola recorded in Liberia

Liberia has been hit with a fresh case of Ebola. According to the Liberian Deputy Health Minister, Tolbert Nyensuah, a 19 year old man died of the deadly virus. And they are saying it's possible he infected close friends or relatives before he died.

"A new case of Ebola has been reported in Margibi County. The person has died and was confirmed positive before death. He has been buried" Nyensuah said

Family members of the deceased have been quarantined so as to stop the spread of the virus. Liberia was declared Ebola free on May 9th by the World Health Organization. A total of 11,207 people died from Ebola in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in December 2013.

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BVN palaver in Ibara, Abeokuta (photos)

The long queue as seen this morning. Hope CBN extends the deadline. Another photo after the cut...

Prof. Jega bows out of office...Nigerians celebrate him on Twitter

Professor Attahiru Jega officially bowed out of office as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC today June 30th. He was appointed chairman of the electoral body in 2010 and has conducted two elections, the 2011 and 2015 elections. Professor Jega has handed over to Mohammed Wali, a national commissioner of the electoral body from Sokoto state.

Nigerians have taken to twitter to celebrate him. #CelebrateJega is the No.1 trending topic in Nigeria this morning. See some tweets after the cut...

Mohammed Wali...

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Tinubu’s N150 bn libel suit against AIT adjourned to Sept. 30

An Ikeja High Court in Lagos has adjourned the N150billion libel suit filed by Bola Tinubu against Africa Independent Television, AIT, to September 30th. Bola Tinubu had approached the court after AIT aired a documentary about him titled 'Lion of Bourdillon' during the election campaign period. Bola Tinubu says the documentary was created to tarnish his image.

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Naomi Campbell, 45, stuns in new campaign pics & on the runway

Th 45 year old supermodel strutted down the runway at Menswear Fashion Week in Paris on Friday 26 June looking stunning in a pair of thigh-high black boots and a barely-there bikini. More photos after the cut..

Naomi Campbell smoulders in a metallic gold cutaway swimsuit for luxury Italian underwear brand La Perla ..

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Nigerian transgender Stephanie Rose shares new photos of herself

Stephanie Rose who used to be known as Dapo Adaralegbe is a Nigerian transgender who resides in Netherlands. Stephanie Rose was a popular homosexual law student back in the day in Obafemi Awolowo University but was expelled in 2001 because of his identity crisis. He moved to Netherland where he is now living as a woman. She shared these photos of herself on her Facebook page. More when you continue...

President Buhari Finally Appoints Chief of Staff today, June 29, 2015, exactly one month after Buhari took office.

Colonel Hamidu Ali (rtd), former Military Administrator of Kaduna State has been appointed as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ali’s appointment was announced today, June 29, 2015, exactly one month after Buhari took office.

News of the appointment was broken by online news platform, Sahara Reporters via Twitter.

Why Buhari won’t appoint ministers ‘in the next two months’

President Muhammadu Buhari may not appoint ministers “in the next two months”, The Nation learnt at the weekend.

Three factors may account for the delay. They are:
•the President’s plan to clear the “rot” inherited from the Goodluck Jonathan administration;
•the crisis in the National Assembly over the choice of principal officers; and
•the need to reduce ministries and parastatals.

But the reduction or merger of ministries or parastatals will, however, not lead to retrenchment of workers.
A Presidency source, who had a confidential briefing with some journalists in Abuja, said the mess Buhari inherited was “sickening”.
The source said: “You cannot even begin to imagine the situation we have met on the ground.
”Almost everything is in a state of decay. There is absolutely no way the new government can hope to achieve anything long-lasting without first building a new foundation.”
The source said President Buhari’s plan of action could be compared to that of “a doctor who first has to break a poorly set bone afresh, before resetting it to allow for smooth and proper growth”.
On the National Assembly crisis, the source said it was “yet one more excuse why forming a cabinet will be impossible until further notice”.

He added: “Look at how they are fighting among themselves.
“The Senate has now adjourned till July 21. That means no one to scrutinize or approve any ministerial list until the end of July.”
When told that the National Assembly said it was ready to cut short its break to consider any request from the President, the source asked the reporters to await the President’s “long-awaited” intervention in the crisis between the party and the National Assembly.
”The President wants to walk his talk on stable politics and being a leader for all. He has a plan for the National Assembly.”
The source debunked the insinuations that the delay in appointing ministers had stalled the government.

He said  civil servants had been “supervising the day-to-day running of ministries and that permanent secretaries of the various ministries have access to the President”.
He added: “All these reports and agitations are being fuelled by politicians who want to put pressure on the President.

“They have tried doing it other ways and those haven’t worked. Now, they are trying to use the media. They only want their cronies appointed to ministerial posts anyhow and they are fuelling the agitation through newspapers.”
He advised the media not to fall for the “old tricks and shenanigans” of politicians.
Buhari is set to reduce or merge some ministries and parastatals to make the size of the civil service manageable for efficiency.

The exercise will, however, not lead to retrenchment of workers.
The source added: “The President plans to cut down the number of ministries and parastatals.
“He wants to cut down the cost of running government. He wants to make sure that all the loopholes that enable corruption to thrive are blocked. All these are procedures that require time and careful planning. You cannot do it in a rush.

“Remember that he has to make sure that all this is done without any job losses or mass retrenchments. All this is not a day’s or one-month job.”

He added that President Buhari could not realistically have begun this process without first receiving the full report of the transition committee and ascertaining exactly the situation his government faced.
The spokesmen of the President, Mr. Femi Adesina (Special Adviser on Media and Publicity) and Mallam Garba Shehu (the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity) said this narrative as the “nearest to the truth than all that are being peddled by many others.”

The President has been criticised in the past few weeks for allegedly being slow in constituting his cabinet.

Some critics accused Buhari of not planning enough to hit the ground running since his election on March 28.

The Nation

Buhari: Ekweremadu as Saraki’s deputy unacceptable

•APC governors, state chairmen want Saraki, Dogara to accept party’s list on principal officers
•Ogbeh may head disciplinary committee

For President Muhammadu Buhari, the emergence of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member as deputy Senate President in the current dispensation is nothing short of a setback for his administration.

He is irked that some members of his own party, All Progressives Congress (APC), conceded the position to Ike Ekweremadu when the PDP never gave that much all through its 16 years in power between 1999 and last May.

But he is optimistic that the APC will overcome the setback.
President Buhari made his feelings known at a meeting with a delegation of the   Unity Forum at the Aso Rock Villa on Friday night.

The forum is the group of senators backing Dr. Ahmed Lawan, the APC anointed candidate for the Senate Presidency.

Buhari, at the meeting, reportedly pleaded for the understanding of APC Senators as the party explores reconciliation options.

However, the majority of the APC governors and state chairmen of the party are insisting that Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Reps Speaker Yakubu Dogara comply with the party’s directive on the choice of principal officers of the National Assembly.
The APC governors and state chairmen are encouraging the leadership of the party to enforce discipline to prevent it from collapsing.

Some party leaders, it was gathered, have proposed a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, as chairman of the APC Disciplinary Committee to look into allegations of anti-party activities against some members.
President Buhari at the Friday meeting was said to have said there was no reason for the party to be divided over who heads the National Assembly.

“The President gave us audience and admitted that the development in the Senate was a setback but he expressed confidence that APC will overcome it,” a source at the meeting said.
“He said there was no basis for the split among APC Senators which led to the concession of the Office of Deputy President of the Senate to the PDP. He said PDP did not give the opposition such an opportunity in its 16 years in power.

“Buhari told Lawan and others not to take the law into their hands as the leaders of the party explore reconciliation options. He said peace and the survival of the nation’s democracy should be paramount more than any other thing.”

Asked to assess the President’s mood at the session, the source added: “He was not happy about the development in the Senate but he was hopeful that the situation is redeemable if some leaders can sacrifice their ambitions for the survival of APC and his administration.”
Another source said: “The session was cordial and reassuring. The President interacted with us individually and even had time to crack jokes with us before we receded into the business of the day.
“As for the Lawan group, it was Senator Barnabas Gemade who spoke on behalf of the 51 aggrieved Senators.

“Gemade said the Unity Forum is after justice since its members have demonstrated their faith in APC leadership and having been loyal to the party to a fault.
“Gemade restated the six demands of the group and the need to prevail on Saraki and Dogara to abide by the directive of the party on the nominees for principal offices in the Senate and House of Representatives.”

The source quoted Gemade as saying: “When the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo called a meeting to address the looming challenge, it was only our group that responded; we were the only group which participated in the party’s straw poll and even on June 9, we deferred to the party’s invitation to a meeting at the International Conference Centre.

“Before anybody knew it, the Like Minds went for the inauguration of the Senate and elected Saraki.
“We have proved our unflinching loyalty to the party. This is the time for the party to assert itself and enforce discipline or else members will continue to take the leadership of the party for granted.”
Ahead of the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the APC on Tuesday, there were indications last night that the governors elected on the platform of the party and state chairmen are pushing for Dr. Saraki and Hon. Dogara to comply with the party’s directive on the choice of principal officers of the National Assembly.
They said they will no longer tolerate the defiance of the party by the two leaders.
A member of the NWC said: “We are expecting a stormy session on Tuesday. Saraki and Dogara will have to choose between loyalty to the party or self-serving agenda.

“The only condition for moving forward is for these leaders to accept the list sent to them by the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
Those  recommended by the APC for Senate positions are Sen. Ahmed  Lawan(Majority Leader)—North-East; Prof. Sola Adeyeye( Chief Whip)—South-West; Sen. George Akume( Deputy Majority Leader)—North-Central; and Sen. Abu Ibrahim(Deputy Chief Whip)—North-West.
The party’s list for the 8th House of Representatives  is as follows:  Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila( House Leader)——South-West; Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa( Deputy House Leader)—North-West; Hon. M. T. Monguno( Chief Whip)—North-East; and Hon. Pally Iriase( Deputy Chief Whip)—South-South.

It was gathered that if Saraki and Dogara refused to respect the party’s list, APC may resort to sanctions.

It was learnt that some forces in the party are pushing for the appointment of a former National Chairman of PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh as the head of the party’s Disciplinary Committee.
A top member of the party said: “There is no doubt that Ogbeh is well grounded in party politics and he is a disciplinarian.  We are thinking of him to assist in unraveling the anti-party activities in the Senate and the House.”

The Nation

President Buhari Orders Arrest Of Wife’s Younger Brother Over Alleged Extortion

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered Nigeria’s security agents to arrest his brother-in-law for allegedly extorting money from an unnamed businessman, a close confidante of the Nigerian leader told SaharaReporters. He said the suspect, named Musa Yola, was the immediate younger brother of Mr. Buhari’s wife.

Our source disclosed that the suspect, also addressed as “Alhaji Yola,” reportedly received N300 million from a businessman after promising to provide his dupe with political access to secure an oil block from the Buhari administration. According to our source, Mr. Buhari personally ordered last Monday night that Mr. Yola be produced before him in handcuffs in the company of the businessman he duped.

After telling the businessman that he was stupid to part with such significant cash when he should know that he, Mr. Buhari, would not participate in fraud, the president ordered agents of the State Security Services (SSS) attached to Aso Rock Villa to thoroughly investigate the scam. He also ordered the SSS operatives to ensure that the businessman recovered his money from his brother-in-law.

An SSS source told SaharaReporters, “Alhaji Yola has refunded the money to the affected businessman.” He added: “Alhaji Yola has been released on bail.”

Femi Fani Kayode's reaction to US Legalizing same sex marriage

Some states are planning to appeal though

Via LIB

30 days in office: PDP urges prayers for Buhari to deliver, says It’s been all motion, no movement

Press statement from PDP below...

After a careful evaluation of the first 30 days of President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressives Congress (APC)'s administration, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) notes that it has become obvious that Nigerians need to join hands in prayers to save the government from further inaction and dithering. The party said the call for prayers has become necessary given the fact that the administration is finding it difficult to locate its bearing and even take off and face the challenges of governance at the center resulting in 30 days of all motion and no movement, a scenario that does not augur well for the polity

 PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement on Sunday said that the enormity of the confusion surrounding the government and party in the last one month makes it imperative for Nigerians to join hands in prayers as the success or failure of the Buhari administration will not only affect the President and his party but also the entire nation.

“We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC because with what we have seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very difficult to get its bearings right while showing no inclination towards implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the center.

“We are deeply worried that the President who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), a Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy. “This is more so as the delay has brought government business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in tatters while the system drifts.

This situation also creates loopholes through which overzealous persons around that President can connive with unscrupulous elements in the bureaucracy to syphon public resources in addition to possibly misleading the President to violate due process by spending beyond and outside his statutory limits. “The situation is taking its toll on the economy sector, which has in the 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments including activities in the money and capital market sectors. Under President Buhari, the stock market has lost over N238 billion while the All-Share Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at June 19.

“In security, apart from the directive to relocate the counter terrorism command center to Borno state and seeking assistance from foreigners, no other concrete step has been taken in the fight against insurgency which the President in his April 22, 2015 CNN interview promised to end within his two months in office. “Instead, the anti-terrorism effort has completely lost steam in the last 30 days, with insurgents, who had already been pushed to the verge of surrender in the Sambisa forest by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, now surging back and spreading into the country.

“In this regard, we urge the President to confront insurgency and issues of national security with all the vigour they deserve while calling for restrain from actions capable of destroying the fabrics of security intelligence. We also urge for adequate respect for all organs of internal security such as the Directorate of State Security (DSS), which is answerable to the Nigerian state and as such should not be publicly ridiculed by an aide of the President. “In the same vein, we are disturbed by the ominous signals emanating from the atrocious attempt by the APC to undermine and appropriate the federal legislature resulting in the disruption of lawful proceedings and forced closure of the National Assembly, the symbol of our collective national identity as a democratic state.

In this direction, we urge the Presidency and the APC to imbibe democratic tenets and respect the independence of that arm of government. “Finally, while we remind the President and the APC that their campaign promises are bonds which must be fulfilled, we urge him to use the next ten days to set up his government by naming his ministers, the SGF and advisers in critical sectors as Nigerians did not vote for a sole administrator but for a democratic government”.

Signed: Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary

Sahara Reporters claim Bukola Saraki isn't even a Nigerian citizen

Interesting days ahead...lol. Change has come indeed! Make we just dey sidon look... 

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Photos: Nigeria LGBT community represented in the New York City Pride

Hmmm. Here are pictures of the Nigerian Community being represented at the just concluded New York City's annual Gay Pride Parade. More photos after the cut...

Photo Credit: @trentofsky

Via LIB

Missing ex-FUTA VC found dead, killed by his driver and security guard

A former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Akure FUTA, Prof Albert Ilemobade, who was declared missing last Monday June 22nd has been found dead. His decomposed body was found inside a store at his residence in the Ijapo area of Akure,the Ondo state capital.

The driver and security guard of the academician were last week arrested in Ogun state while trying to sell off his car. The suspects confessed during interrogation that the SUV belonged to their boss and that they had murdered him. The remains of the ex Vice University has been deposited in a mortuary. The suspects have however not stated the reason why they killed their boss. 

They are now coming for Saraki. See what the owner of Sahara Reporters shared on Facebook

I find this amusing because I remember having a conversation with a friend the other day, and I told him some people might come for Saraki using the media...and I can see it's already happening. This is something Omoyele Sowore, the owner of Sahara Reporters posted on his Facebook page...see the rest after the cut...