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.

Jonathan,Buhari's transition committees clash

A disagreement has broken out between the transition committees of President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari as the president accused the Buhari team of acting like a parallel government and trying to stampede the Jonathan administration out of office.

Vanguard reports that , the Minister of National Planning who is also a member of the Jonathan Transition Committee, Abubakar Suleiman told state House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting Wednesday,that the Buhari transition team was making impossible demands from the government.

Although he did not name those demands, he however warned that the president’s magnanimity should not be construed as cowardice.

Beyonce hires bodyguard to spy on Jay Z?

There are serious reports that Beyonce has hired a bodyguard for Jay Z whose real job is to spy on him and report back to her...lol.

From The Mirror

According to Grazia, Beyonce has hired a private detective to keep their eyes on her hubby. Despite putting on a united front for recent outings together, sources tell the mag there is trouble in paradise.

"There are whispers Beyonce has hired a bodyguard to watch over Jay Z and report back to her," a source told Grazia."He's there to take care of Jay, but part of his unofficial remit is to fill Beyonce in when she's not there.

Photos: Buhari inaugurates 19-member Transition Committee

The President-elect, Gen. Buhari, today Wednesday April 29th in Abuja inaugurated a 19-member Transition Committee to liaise with its Federal Government counterpart to ensure a smooth transition. See the photos and names of the transition committee members after the cut...

A statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Committee (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the terms of reference of the committee include to develop a clear framework for liaison with the out-going Administration for purposes of a smooth hand-over/take-over and to receive hand-over documents from Ministries, Departments and Agencies and itemise the most important or most urgent issues confronting the in-coming government

It said the committee is also saddled with reviewing and making preliminary assessment of the balance sheet of government with particular emphasis on the status of assets and liabilities of government; cash flow position of the government; quantum of public domestic and external debt of government and their deployment; government’s out-standing contractual obligations and its ability to meet such obligations and the status of implementation of capital projects.

The committee is also expected to undertake a preliminary assessment of the security challenges facing the country and the counter-insurgency measures taken by the government thus far; the counter policy measures being implemented in the Niger Delta to deal with unrest and major economic crimes in the area. In particular, the status of the Amnesty Programme, the readiness of the Police and other national security and intelligence agencies in addressing threats to law and order and provide a brief over-view of CBN, NNPC, NCC, Customs and FIRS.

Other terms of reference of the committee include to suggest “quick fixes” which will result in tangible, visible and practical measures so that CHANGE will be seen after 30 days, after 100 days, after 6 months of the Administration taking office, and to make any other observations which in view of the Committee would be helpful to the transition and take-off of the new Administration. The committee has two weeks to conclude its work

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Wednesday, the President-elect charged the committee to ”assess the information provided to you and advise me on its quality and accuracy. It is a simple matter that you must have the right information if you are to shape appropriate policy decisions.

”Needless to repeat, that your Committee – and indeed our Government – are not on a witch-hunt or engaged in fault-finding. We want the facts and nothing but the facts. What has been done can not be undone. Our job is to learn from the mistakes of the past and attempt to avoid similar.”

Gen. Buhari hailed the calibre of the committee’s membership, saying they represent some of the best Nigeria can offer. He described the committee chairman, Malam Ahmed Joda, as one of the few surviving links between First Republic civil service to the present day, a man whose versatility includes farming, industry and 21st Century IT and one of Nigerian’s precious assets.

Full list of Transition Committee members:

1. Mal. Ahmed Joda – Chairman

2. Dr Doyin Salami – Vice-Chairman

3. Mr Boss Mustapha

4. Mal. Muhammad Hayatuddin

5. Alh. Abubakar Malami SAN

6. Brig. Gen. Lawal Jafaru Isa

7. Sen. Hadi Sirika

8. Sen. Audu Ogbeh

9. Barrister Dalong

10. Mrs Bola Adesola

11. Mr Wale Edun

12. Mrs Nike Aboderin

13. Dr Ogbonnaya Onu

14. Mr Festus Odimegwu

15. Chief John Oyegun

16. Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

17. Dr. Tam David West

18. Alh. Lai Mohammed

19 Mal. Adamu Adamu – Secretary

Alhaji Lai Mohammed

National Publicity Secretary

All Progressives Congress (APC)

Abuja, April 29th 2015

Stop acting like a parallel government - FG tells Gen. Buhari

The presidential transition committee has accused Gen. Buhari's transition committee of acting like a parallel government, trying to stampede the Jonathan administration out of office.

Addressing state House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting today April 29th, the Minister of National Planning, Abubakar Suleiman who is also a member of the Jonathan Transition Committee, accused General Buhari's transition committee members of making impossible demands from the government. Although he did not name those demands, he however warned that the president’s magnanimity should not be construed as cowardice.

Nothing somebody will not see on social media - see what Iggy Azalea's boyfriend posted online

It's not everything you post online na bikonu...lol. Iggy Azalea's boyfriend, NBA player Nick Young won a bet with the rapper. The young couple bet a blowjob and when he won the bet, he took to instagram to let the world know she owes him 'head'...lol. He soon deleted it when fans told him it was too much info. *sigh*

Buhari meets with Turkish Amb., presented with Ottoman Empire pilot

President-elect Gen Buhari met withe Turkish Ambassador, Amb. Mustafa Pulat in Abuja today April 29th where he was presented with Ali Ahmed, one of the first 20 pilots of Ottoman Empire who is of Nigerian descent. See more photos after the cut...

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