Family pressures turned me into drug trafficker, says 53-year-old mother

For five years, dealing in illicit drugs has been the major source of livelihood for Mrs. Sinorobo John.

But the arm of the law caught up with her recently as she was apprehended with 20.9kg of Cannabis sativa, popularly known as Indian Hemp, at Kolokuma in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The suspect, an indigene of Kolokuma, unlike many criminals who would not admit their involvement in the illegal business, readily confessed that she was indeed a drug dealer.

NYSC member commits suicide over girlfriend

The body of a 26-year-old National Youth Service Corp, NYSC, member, identified as Ernest, was, Wednesday, recovered from his one room apartment after he reportedly took a poisonous substance.

Reports indicated that the young man, who was in love with a fellow NYSC member, Chioma Okewuru, went berserk when the girl came back from her village over the weekend with a ring from a man she had promised to marry.

Ernest, who is from Edo State and a graduate of the University of Benin, was posted to Cross River State in October, where he met and fell in love with Chioma, and both were serving in Redemption Secondary School, Ofombogha 1 in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross Rivers State.

Our lives in danger for endorsing Buhari –Christian group

Pastor Aminchi Habu, Chairman of Christian Leaders Eagle Eyes Forum and Gen. Buhari

The Christian Leaders Eagle Eyes Forum that endorsed the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said the lives of its members are now under threat.

The group raised the alarm on Friday that the lives of its leaders are under threat following the endorsement of Buhari.

Addressing journalists in Kaduna, Chairman of the Forum, Pastor Aminchi Habu, simply described the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan as a disappointment.

INEC to engage 34,000 ex-corp members for polls

About 34,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps who recently passed out would be deployed to participate in the forthcoming general elections scheduled for March 28 and April 11, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, has said.

He also stated that the NYSC had put in place a watertight strategy to guarantee the safety of corps members taking part in the elections.

Olawumi spoke on Friday in Abuja during a news conference ahead of President’s NYSC Honours Award ceremony scheduled for Monday, March 2 which has been approved by President Goodluck Jonathan.

78.93% PVCs collected so far – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has put the percentage of Permanent Voter Cards collected at 78.93 per cent. This was contained in the report released by the commission in Abuja on Friday.

The figure was based on the report got by the commission from the field as of Friday.

While it put the number of registered voters at 68,833,476, it added that it had also delivered 67,206, 600 PVCs across the country.

Certificate Saga: Farmer drags Buhari to court

The controversies surrounding the School Leaving Certificate of the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd seem not ending.

Joining the barrage of court cases already filled to stop Buhari from contesting the March 28 presidential election, a farmer from Abia State, Mr. Sergin Onuka Ibe‎ has approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, begging it not to allow the APC standard bearer to contest.

‎The plaintiff, through his lawyer Mr. U.O. Ukairo,‎ prayed the court to invoke its original powers and compel ‎Buhari to not only withdraw from the presidential race, but to equally stop parading himself as a bonafide candidate for the poll.

A 72 year-old man has nothing to offer Nigerians – Patience Jonathan

Patience Jonathan

The First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan yesterday told women to reject Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, “because a 72 year old man has nothing to offer Nigerians.”

Mrs Jonathan made this known during the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Women Campaign Rally held in Makurdi, the state capital.

She stated that her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan deserved the support of women in the country because he had delivered on the promises he made to Nigerian women in 2011.

APC is selling a dummy to the whole world; Tinubu is the real candidate

TEXT OF A PRESS BY THE DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLICITY OF THE PDP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION, CHIEF FEMI FANI-KAYODE, ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015

Tinubu planning to become President when Buhari’s health worsens, says PDP

Buhari, Tinubu

The Presidential Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is plotting to become the President of Nigeria through what it called the back door.

It said the plot by the former governor, who is a stalwart of the main opposition party, the All Progressive Congress, was to take over as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the event that the APC candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), wins the March 28, presidential election.

Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, made this allegation at a press conference in Abuja on Friday.

Jonathan will not sack Jega but if… – FG

The Minister of Culture and Tourism and the Supervising Minister of Information, Chief Edem Duke, has debunked the rumour making rounds that President Jonathan has an agenda to sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, illegally.

The Minister spoke during his maiden meeting with information correspondents at Radio House, Abuja, adding however, that ‘’this is not to say that, if it is time for INEC chairman to naturally exit his office, then the natural course of public service rule will not take place when he has reached age of retirement or exhausted his tenure.”

Fayose’s blackmail can’t stop Buhari –APC

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has said Governor Ayodele Fayose’s alleged blackmail of its candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) cannot stop him from winning the presidential election.

It said the governor’s criticism of Buhari, was driven by self-preservation over the governor’s past misdeeds and not in the national interest.

According to the party, the governor is fighting the battle of his life that runs contrary to the general mood of the nation.

Chatham House’s Visit: Buhari chasing shadows – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has described the appearance of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari at the Chatham House, UK on Thursday as ‘theatrical appearance that was well-produced orchestra.

The PDP said the event was “a script well written, a script well-acted, all a truthful lie; the messenger belies the message.”

South Korea declares adultery non criminal offence

South Korea President Park Geun Hye

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday struck down a controversial adultery law which for more than 60 years had criminalised extra-marital sex and jailed violators for up to two years.

The nine-member bench ruled by seven to two that the 1953 statute aimed at protecting traditional family values was unconstitutional.

“Even if adultery should be condemned as immoral, state power should not intervene in individuals’ private lives,” said presiding justice Park Han-Chul.

Ghana President promises bold action on electricity crisis, as protests persist

A Ghanaian protester 

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday promised decisive action to fix the country’s worsening electricity crisis, which has wreaked havoc in the once bourgeoning economy.

“The effects and frustrations posed by the power deficit are clearly felt in our work places, our homes, schools and hospitals,” Mahama said in a state of the nation address to lawmakers in the West African country.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama

“Big businesses and industries are also suffering and threatening to lay off workers…

“I do not intend to manage the situation as has been done in the past,” he said. “I intend to fix it!”

Mahama’s pledge came after the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) organised a rally in the capital Accra on February 18, calling on the president to resign if he proved unable to boost electricity supply.

President Jonathan pays surprise visit to soldiers in Mubi, Vimtim

Aftermath of the successes recorded by troops of the Nigerian military in the battle to dislodge hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists from swaths of Adamawa State communities, President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday paid a surprise visit to Mubi and Vimtim with a view to boosting the moral of the troops and assuring them that the federal government was fully behind appreciative of their gallantry.

Security sources hinted that on sighting the president, morale of the troops went high especially when he told them that the prestige of the Nigerian military which was never in doubt particularly regarding the fight against insurgency is now receiving praise all over.

Buhari vows to ‘lead from the front’ battle against Boko Haram

Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday vowed to “lead from the front” in the fight against Boko Haram if elected in the country’s forthcoming election. The former military ruler, who rejected descriptions of him as a “dictator”, also argued against further delays to the election and said a free, fair and peaceful vote would boost democracy in Africa.

The 72-year-old Flag bearer of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) has been seen as neck-and-neck with President Goodluck Jonathan in the closely fought election campaign. 

Some have predicted that Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could lose power for the first time since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.

“I did not rent crowd to boo Buhari in London,” says Fani-Kayode

The Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied allegation that he rented a crowd to boo the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (Rted) during his presentation at the Chatham House, London, on Thursday.

Fani-Kayode denied the allegation on his twitter handle @realFFK saying, “My attention has been drawn to a story that I am renting a crowd to embarrass Gen. Buhari at Chatham House later today. It is a lie.”

Suicide bomber blows up Biu bus station

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded bus station in Biu, northeast Nigeria, on Thursday, while a second bomber was shot dead before he could detonate his explosives, witnesses told AFP.

Babagana Kyari, a civilian vigilante, said “at least 18 people, including three women, died… and several others were injured” although there was no immediate corroboration of that death toll.

The attack happened after two men arrived the Tashar Gandu motor park on the edge of the town in Borno state, where one detonated his explosives among passengers and vendors, onlookers said.

APC senators raise alarm over fresh plot to sack Jega

Members of the All Progressives Congress in the senate, on Thursday raised the alarm of a fresh plot by the Federal Government to allegedly prevent the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, from superintending over the forthcoming general elections.

The senators led by the Leader of the opposition in the upper chamber, Senator George Akume, while addressing a news conference in Abuja said they heard from a reliable source that the Head of Service would direct Jega to proceed on his pre-retirement leave next week.

FOR THE RECORD: Muhammadu Buhari's Speech at Chatham House

General Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate 

Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition

Permit me to start by thanking Chatham House for the invitation to talk about this important topic at this crucial time. When speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally prefer to be my country’s public relations and marketing officer, extolling her virtues and hoping to attract investments and tourists. But as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with many challenges, and if I refer to them, I do so only to impress on our friends in the United Kingdom that we are quite aware of our shortcomings and are doing our best to address them.

The 2015 general election in Nigeria is generating a lot of interests within and outside the country. This is understandable. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, is at a defining moment, a moment that has great implications beyond the democratic project and beyond the borders of my dear country.

Amidst wide reception, Buhari finally appears at Chatham House ‘Hospital’

See pictures of General Muhammadu Buhari at Chatham House Thursday

Contrary to the widespread speculations by Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who travelled to the United Kingdom for a supposed working visit, is in a London hospital, the APC candidate proved him wrong when he stormed Chatham House ‘Hospital’ London to a wide reception.

Obasanjo’s torn party card was an expired one – PDP

Obasanjo's PDP card is publicly displayed before it was torn by Alhaji Surajudeen Oladunjoye, PDP Ward 11 Chairman in Ogun State

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, on Tuesday said former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s party membership card which was torn on his instruction was an expired one.

He made this known in Abuja while receiving some student union leaders under the aegis of Student Mobilisation Network Group (SMNG).

Soyinka wants Ekiti rigging tape investigated

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has called for a proper investigation and probe of the alleged Ekiti rigging tape that was leaked by a Nigerian army officer, Captain Sagir Koli.

In a statement issued by Soyinka, he asserted that for Nigeria’s democracy sake INEC and the international community should investigate the leaked tape. “In the absence of a constitutional court or its equivalent, one is left with no other course than to call on INEC to also take formal charge of the recorded incident of this alleged conspiracy to pervert the course of democracy,” he said.

We are already winning war against Boko Haram, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said the military was gaining the upper hand against Boko Haram, despite two bombings in the country’s north that killed at least 27.

“The President assures all Nigerians, and the people of the northeastern states in particular, that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram,” his office said in an emailed statement.

Obasanjo never commissioned Olorunsogo II – NDPHC

Obasanjo commissioning Olorunsogo Power Plant in 2007

The management of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd (NDPHC) says the newly-commissioned 750MW National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) Olorunsogo II Power Plants were never commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The NDPHC assertion was contained in a statement issued by company’s General Manager, Communication and Public Relations, Mr Yakubu Lawal, on Tuesday in Lagos.

Day my boobs embarrassed me – Sarraphina

Sexy and voluptuous actress, Sarraphina Onyekachi Amaechi, a public administration graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, has come a long way in the movie industry. 

The busty, ebony beauty is respected and appreciated for her talent. Her rise to prominence did not come because of her taking the elevator- she took the stairs, savouring every bit of pain and gain along the way.

Money laundering: Court orders EFCC to release Fani-Kayode’s passport

‪ A Federal High Court, Judge has ordered the Economic and Finance Crime Commission, EFCC, to release the international travelling passport of Femi Fani-Kayode, the former minister of Aviation and the Chief Media Officer of the Presidential Organisation.

No bird flu in Obasanjo Farms— FG

The Federal Government has denounced media reports that bird flu attacked Obasanjo’s farm in Otta, Ogun State.  

In a press statement made available to Mega StarNews, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture described the publication in a national daily, as false noting that the write-up, captioned “Bird flu hits Obasanjo’s Otta farm,” has since been found to be a false alarm, misleading assertion and an attempt to exaggerate the bird flu outbreaks within the nation to set off undue panic.

Buhari congratulates Shagari at 90, says he’s Grand Old Man of Nigerian Politics

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated former President Shehu Shagari on his 90th birthday anniversary.

Describing Shagari as the “Grand Old Man of Nigerian politics”, Buhari stated Shagari’s contributions to national development since the colonial days have been enormous.

Produce original Shekau, Fayose tells APC

 Not yet done with his unrelenting fierce attacks against the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has accused the leadership of the opposition party of knowing those behind the Boko Haram insurgency.

Rather than wiping out sentiment, Fayose urged APC to produce Ibrahim Shekau, the original leader of the Boko Haram sect.

Polytechnics lecturers suspend planned strike

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP has shelved its planned strike, billed to begin on Wednesday.

The decision to suspend the strike action was reached today (Tuesday) after meeting with the education minister, Ibrahim Shekarau.

EXPOSED: Jonathan, FG to create fake Shekau, name Buhari Boko Haram sponsor

The APC Presidential Campaign Organization (APCPCO) has raised the alarm about reports of a fake Abubakar Shekau (Boko Haram leader) that will be presented before Nigerians by the federal government in order to claim glory for winning the war on terrorism.

In a statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APCOPC signed by Malam Garba Shehu, APC campaign organisation wondered where the ‘new Shekau’ will come from after government at several times in the past, announced that they had killed the insurgent leader.

Ambode support group woos Okada riders with ‘Okada Allowed’ stickers

      All Progressives Congress Governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, his deputy, Dr. (Mrs) Oluranti Adebule and Chairman, Support Group for Ambode 2015, Chief Demola Seriki launching the OKADALLOWED sticker campaign in Ikeja, Lagos on Monday

Wizkid, Skales fight dirty on twitter over song writing

Former EME act who is now signed to Baseline Music, Skales has launched an attack on his former EME label mate Wizkid.

In this twitter brawl, Skales claims he wrote songs for Wizkid, and that the Star Boy does not support him.

“@wizkidayo no bad blood bro we family but show support to ur own for real it’s not by tweeting or bare words…..” he tweeted.

Alleged fraud: Court discharges Babalakin, four others

A Lagos High Court on Monday discharged chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited, Chief Olawale Babalakin, from the N4.7 billion fraud allegation filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo also discharged four others charged along with him for similar offences.

The four other defendants are – Babalakin’s companies, Stabilini Vision Limited, Bi-Courtney Limited and Alex Okoh and his company, Renix Nigeria Limited.

APC VP candidate,Osinbajo gets pastors’ support

Nigerian pastors praying for Osinbajo

The All Progressives Congress Vice Presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo might be enjoying the backing of most Nigerian pastors.

At a recent visit to Soul Winning Chapel, the pastors unanimously gathered to pray for the successes of the APC in the forthcoming presidential election scheduled for March 28.

Why Fayose wants Buhari dead – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has said the fear of the unknown is the motivating factor behind Governor Ayo Fayose death-wish for the party’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The party said Fayose has been gripped with fear that a Buhari Presidency would mark the end of impunity and fraud through which he (Fayose) allegedly emerged as governor.

The APC said Fayose knows that he can’t survive the revelations contained in the audio tape that caught him, senior members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and military officers allegedly plotting rigging strategies ahead of the June 21, 2014 governorship poll in the state.

Buhari’s London pictures phoney, hoax, forgery, says Fayose, ...storms Transcorp Hilton Hotel to prove point

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State Monday described pictures of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd as phoney, designed to deceive Nigerians, just as he vowed to defend the contents in the video on Ekiti election.

Addressing Journalists Monday in Abuja, Governor Fayose who dismissed the current picture of a purported interview in London of Buhari, stressed that it was not only a hoax, but a fabrication on the part of the APC.

I had meeting with Buhari on Saturday — Tony Blair

Former Prime Minister and UK envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, has confirmed he held a private meeting with the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari(retd) in London, weekend.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State had claimed Gen Buhari was not in any meeting with Tony Blair, but that the former head of state had checked into a London hospital. He claimed the APC photoshoped a photo showing Tony Blair, Buhari, Governor Amosun of Ogun State and former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki.