Mu’azu not asked to resign, PDP NWC not in dispute with Governors - PDP

There were reports in some dailies today that PDP Chairman Adamu Mu-Azu has been asked to resign and that he and other PDP National Working Committee members who attended a meeting yesterday were asked to go out  by some governors before the official end of the meeting. PDP has released a statement denying there was a dispute or that Mu'azu was asked to resign. The statement below...

The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is not in dispute with PDP Governors’ Forum or any other organ of the party.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Thursday said that the “NWC was never asked to resign by the forum of governors or any other organ of the party for that matter”

“For the avoidance of doubt therefore, the NWC states that at no time was the National Chairman of our great party, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu walked out of the meeting of the governors, neither was he in any way ill-treated at that meeting contrary to reports in some section of the media.

“To put the records straight, our National Chairman upon invitation by the governors attended the meeting alongside our Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and National Legal Adviser, Barr. Victor Kwon and left after a brief and fruitful discussion with the governors. He was not at any time asked to resign and nothing close to such was ever insinuated at the meeting.

“For purposes of clarification, the National Working Committee as a duly elected organ of the party has a constitutionally guaranteed tenure which expires in March 2016. It is therefore focused on galvanizing every organ and interests within the PDP with a view to re-engineering it for the task ahead.

“To this end, the NWC is currently working hand in hand with strategic stakeholders including PDP governors towards repositioning our great party and regaining power at the center by 2019.

“In this regard, the National Working Committee in its meeting on Wednesday April 29, 2015 constituted a special committee under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. The committee membership is drawn from all the key stakeholders of the party including members of the forum of governors.

“Furthermore, the NWC states that it holds the PDP Governors’ Forum in very high esteem, especially its Chairman, Governor Godswill Akpabio, who has worked assiduously for the progress of the party.

“Finally, the NWC restates that it enjoys the confidence and respect of all our organs and structures across board, particularly the PDP governors who individually and collectively appreciate that the supremacy of the party is more important than anything else at this point in time.

Signed:

Olisa Metuh

National Publicity Secretary

President Zuma calls GEJ over xenophobic attacks

President Zuma of South Africa has reportedly put a call across to President Jonathan to express his sadness over the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa. He appealed to President Jonathan not to allow the incident affect the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Reports of the phone call is contained in a statement released by the office of the South African president today April 30th. The statement in part below

“The two Presidents reaffirmed the warm and cordial relations between South Africa and Nigeria and pledged that the two countries will continue to work together for the good of their peoples and the continent as a whole. President Jonathan expressed his support for the efforts of South Africa to arrest the attacks on foreign nationals and to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, including foreign nationals and those from the African continent in particular, who bore the brunt of the attacks earlier this month (April).”

Nollywood Actors Honour Late Oronto Douglas

A Night of Tribute was held in honour of president Jonathan’s aide, late Oronto Douglas – The tribute night held last night at Eko Hotel and was attended by a lot of Nollywood stars including Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Noah, Monalisa Chinda, Rita Dominic, Ibinabo Fiberesima and more. See more



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TF is this? Lol

This one na love in Shagamu o...Lol.

Executed Andrew Chan writes haunting letter to children around the world, warning them about the dangers of drugs

Andrew Chan is one of the 8 people executed in Indonesia two days ago. He was known as the Bali 9 ringleader. Before he was executed by a firing squad, Andrew wrote haunting letter to schoolchildren around the world where he revealed how he became addicted to drugs at age 15 and warns teens not to follow his footsteps. The letter was read out Chan himself from inside his Indonesian prison cell, as part of a documentary made available to schools. After introducing himself, the Australian said;

'Now the reason why I'm writing you this letter is to address you guys about the dangers of drugs and the effects it can have on you and also others. To tell you a little bit about my life story, I was once 15, 16 and it wasn't too long ago I was sitting in a class just like you guys.

'I was an average kid and let me tell you that my teachers didn't like me one bit and I was no teacher's pet. But to cut a long story short, I got mixed up with drugs at a pretty young age and by the time I was 15 I was merged into the scene.'

'Ive done things which I am not proud of in my life and I've made some pretty stupid decisions. My life is a perfect example of an absolute waste.

'Now to elaborate the effects of where I am, I've missed weddings, I've missed funerals and the simple presence of my own family.

'The hurt and pain - I don't just put it onto myself, but the pain I put on my family is agonising. A simple touch such as a hug is not possible for a condemned man like me. I have nothing but an iron bar to hug rather than to be embraced by those I love and who I miss.' 

'What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow. If you want to be a thug and a big bad wolf, I'll see you soon inside. But for those that want to do something in life I'd like you guys to see how important it is to put your head down and study hard. 

'I hope these words will penetrate in your minds and in your hearts and I hope that most of you, if not all of you, will achieve more than I ever did.'

Photos: Actress Mide Martins rocks denim bum short

That's a hot body for a mother of two. Another pic after the cut..

Photo: Nigerian wins 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Nigerian Lesley Nneka Arimah (above left) is winner of the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize (African region) for her short story 'Light'. Congrats to her.

Charly Boy Too Wants to Trek???

The spate of people trekking from one part of Nigeria, to another in the name of going to congratulate President-Elect General Muhammadu Buhari, or thank a particular people for voting him – Well, Charly Boy aka Area fada has also promised he too would ride a bike from Nigeria to China…


Where will you trek to???

Pics: Teju Babyface's wife mugged on Eko Bridge, her car windows smashed

Comedian, Talk Show host and TV producer Teju Babyface's wife, Tobi Oyelakin, was on her way to the mainland at about 8pm last night when her car was attacked by hoodlums on Eko Bridge. She was in the car with her driver and 3 other girls in the back seat and were approaching the National Theater area of the Eko bridge when they encountered some traffic.

They had barely come to a stop when 4 boys leaped out of the shadows and knocked on the windows with torch lights and asked them to roll down the windows. They were still trying to come to terms with rising levels of panic when the hoodlums shattered the rear windows on both sides of the car and proceeded to rough-handle the ladies in the back seat and collect all valuables. Continue...

 

The hoodlums proceeded with impunity to open all the bags and pour the contents into nylon bags they brought along. This was in the presence of all other motorists on the bridge. The robbery went on for well over 2minutes from start to finish.

When they had finished and disappeared into the shadows and the occupants of the car were able to drive away, they saw policemen further down the bridge on patrol and reported t‎o them that they had been robbed, whereupon the policemen empathized (or sympathized) with them simply by saying 'ah, those boys have started again'. 

 

Luckily no one sustained grave injuries in the attack and Teju's wife is fine but very shook up. 

 

Speaking about the incident, Teju said;

"One realizes that this is becoming almost commonplace and acceptable in Lagos as reports reaching us indicate that it happens daily. That may very well be an axiom but I share this with you to bring attention to what threatens to become endemic. A great contretemps I must confess."

Michael Igbinedion and accomplice convicted of N25billion scam

A Federal high court sitting in Benin city, Edo state convicted Michael Igbinedion, the younger brother of former Edo state governor, Lucky Igbinedion and one Charles Eboigbodin over a N25bn money laundering scam yesterday April 29th.

The duo and their firms: Gava Corporation Limited; Romrig Nigeria Limited; PML Securities Company Limited and PML Nigeria Limited, were dragged before the court by EFCC over an 81-count charge of alleged money laundering, misappropriation of funds and abuse of office.



The presiding judge, Justice Liman while delivering his judgement said the two accused persons were guilty as charged on some of the counts. The judge convicted Eboigbodin for money laundering on counts 50-59, while Igbinedion was adjudged guilty as charged on counts 79-81. Justice Liman however deferred the sentencing of the convicts till today April 30th.

The convicts had earlier pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned, setting the stage for a full trial. In the course of trial, the prosecution called several witnesses to prove its case.

293 rescued females undergo HIV and pregnancy test

The Nigerian military has moved the 293 females they rescued two days ago from Sambisa Forest to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where they are to undergo series of test including HIV and pregnancy test. According to a military source who spoke to Punch, 7 of the girls rescued had gunshot wounds and are being treated at the hospital. The 200 girls rescued are of between ages 13 and 18 years.

South African women narrate discrimination they face for marrying Nigerian men

South African women married to Nigerian men have narrated the discrimination they face for marrying men outside their country. Seeing the disaffection their kinsmen show them after finding love in the hands of Nigerian men, the women decided to form an association, the United Nigerian Wives in South Africa (UNWISA) club about two years ago where they give support and succor to each other.

42 year old Lindwela Uche who serves as the chairwoman of the group told AFP that they saw the xenophobic attacks coming and alerted their husbands but they did not take their warning seriously "We saw this thing coming and that’s why we formed this association. If only they (the authorities) had listened to us… they would have known that there’s a fire burning slowly and they would have seen how to tackle it.”she said

One of the members of the association,“Lufunu Orji who is married to a Nigerian resource consultant, Ogbonnaya Orji, says being married to a foreigner is very challenging

"Being married to a foreigner is very challenging. You often spend your time defending yourself and then you defend your foreign husband for being himself. Just before I got wed to my husband, I lost two very best friends of mine. They thought I was out of my mind" she said

Another member of the group who gave her name as Uche, said her 13-year-old daughter returned from school a while ago, complaining that her teacher had told her “not to bring that Nigerian mentality here” after she and classmates were noisy in class.

“We need to be protected, we need our children to be protected… and our husbands to be treated with dignity,” Uche said

37 year old Thelma Okoro, says the attitude towards them “are negative everywhere we go,”. According to her, wearing traditional Nigerian dress on the street can attract bad comments. She spoke of how her eight-year-old daughter gets mocked by schoolmates over her name “Ngozi” which means “blessing” in Igbo but literally translates to “danger” in Zulu.