Tomeeesin Blog

OHANAEZE Youth Council has condemned what it called molesting of Easterners travelling home for Christmas and new year celebrations at Onitsha Head Bridge, Anambra State allegedly by soldiers from the 302 Battalion of the Nigerian army in Onitsha. Army In a statement by the National President of the Council, Mazi Okechukwu, the council said: “The officers and men of the 302 Battalion of the Nigerian Army at Onitsha appear to have a different agenda in that town. They appear to be there for [alleged] ethnic cleansing. “In the past one month, these raw soldiers have [allegedly] killed more than 20 unarmed Igbo youths. This time around, they waylay Igbos returning home for Christmas and New Year holidays and rough-handle a lot of them. “We can no longer tolerate this brazen act on our own land. We are neither at war nor a conquered people. Mr. President should intervene in this matter before it turns into another thing. We have the right to protect the dignity of our...

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes that the Premier League will be gaining ‘the best coach in the world’ if Pep Guardiola arrives in the summer. The Spaniard has confirmed he will leave Bayern Munich, starting a managerial scramble between some of England’s big boys including Manchester City and Chelsea. And Klopp, who arrived at Liverpool following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, would look forward to going toe-to-toe with Guardiola again but admits it would make the Premier League tougher. He told Bild: ‘If this rumour is as well-tuned as all the other transfer rumours here then Pep will go somewhere else completely. ‘But if it really happens, then in comes perhaps the best coach in the world. That would make it that bit harder for all the other teams.’ The pair had some memorable clashes when Klopp managed Borussia Dortmund, with Guardiola labelling their rivalry as an ‘honour’.

Nigeria Football Federation is boiling up for crisis again, as Chris Giwa is spoiling for action to reclaim the leadership of the nation’s soccer ruling body. But he has been warned by Youth and Sports minister, Solomon Dalung not to foment trouble that could upset the smooth running of football as the country prepares for major tournaments in 2016. *Dalong Giwa, is still insisting that he is the elected president of the NFF and has submitted a petition to the the Sports minister to that effect. “It has come to my knowledge once again, that anarchy is being adopted as a method for addressing grievances in the Nigeria Football Federation. As a peacemaker and also a Minister of Youth and Sports, I will always implore Nigerians to apply dialogue and consensus in resolving crisis. This my posture should not be taken as weakness but as a way of promoting peace among people. I have reiterated this severally that I am not taking sides in the NFF crisis but will always sta...

The Lagos State Police Command’s Rapid Response Squad (RRS) says it has arrested an ex-convict who specialises in breaking into homes in Nigeria and Ghana. The command’s spokesman, DSP Joseph Offor, said in a statement on Wednesday that the 32-year-old suspect, Wasami Dennis, had confessed that Ghana was his major point of operation. According to the statement, the suspect admitted that it is easier for him to operate in Ghana than in Nigeria as Ghanaians are not security conscious like Nigerians. It said the suspect was arrested on Saturday in his hideout in Agbole Orile area of Lagos. The trans-border robbery suspect claimed he was released about a year ago from Kirikiri Maximum Prison after he was convicted for a break-in and run robbery in FESTAC Town, Lagos. The statement noted that he was caught in possession of a stolen laptop from Ghana along with three machetes hidden inside the walls of his hideout. “I used to bring the stolen items to Nigeria to s...

A social right group, Kogi United for Justice said it has uncovered plan by James Faleke and his supporters to throw Kogi State into chaos ahead of the January 27, 2016 swearing-in ceremony in the state. In a statement made available to press men in Lokoja, Sunday, the group called on security agencies in the state to ensure the safety of people in the state, especially in the capital city of Lokoja. According to the release, huge sums of money have been earmarked for the sponsored crisis. “In as much as we have chosen the path of reconciliation and constructive engagement at appeasing aggrieved parties, we cannot afford to keep mum in the face of planned political terrorism against our dear state. “Information at our disposal revealed that after succeeding in foisting crisis on the legislative arm of government, Faleke and his loyalists are planning to cause crisis in the state in the guise of violent protests to make the state look unsafe. “We are of the opinion t...

E kiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described Sunday and Monday’s Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Adamawa states as disheartening and an indictment on the All Progressives Congress, APC, Federal Government, saying that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed must explain to Nigerians how the same Boko Haram he said had been “technically defeated” could carry out such daring and deadly attacks. The governor, who commiserated with the government and people of Borno and Adamawa states, especially those who lost their loved ones, said; “In other countries of the world, the government would have taken responsibility for deceiving and misleading the people and apologised.” In a release issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose asked; “If Boko Haram had indeed been technically defeated as Lai Mohammed made Nigerians to believe, what do we call the Sunday and Monday attacks in Maiduguri, Borno...

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has threatened to fight any peacekeepers sent by the African Union to halt political and ethnic violence that has claimed hundreds of lives in his country. He said on Wednesday in Bujumbura that the AU resolution of sending 5,000 peacekeepers to Burundi would not work. Nkurunziza said AU must respect Burundi’s independence and borders. “If they break this convention, they will be attacking the country and every citizen will stand up to fight them. “The country will be attacked and we will defend ourselves,” he said. The president also criticized peace talks between the government and the opposition launched by Ugandan mediators in Entebbe on Monday. Nkurunziza said government was against the Entebbe dialogue and called it “a wrong beginning” because the participants had included plotters of a coup that failed in May. Nkurunziza’s announcement in April that he would seek a third term in office and his election vi...

A Nigerian businessman is set to unveil what he says is Africa’s largest statue of Jesus, describing it as a symbol of peace in a country wracked by Islamist insurgency. Obinna Onuoha commissioned the 8.53 metre (28 foot) tall “Jesus de Greatest” statue in 2013, hiring a Chinese company to carve it out of white marble. Standing barefoot with arms outstretched, the 40 ton statue will tower over St. Aloysius Catholic Church in the mainly Christian village of Abajah in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Imo. “It’s going to be the biggest statue of Jesus on the continent,” said Onuoha, the 43-year-old chief executive officer of an oil and gas distribution company. “Definitely pilgrims will come.” Around 1,000 people are expected to attend the statue’s unveiling on New Year’s Day. Onuoha said he has contacted the police just to be sure that it is not attacked or vandalised. Nigeria, Africa’s largest country with 170 million people, is split between ...

DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has described recent fire incident that claimed eight lives and destroyed valuable property in Nnewi, Anambra State, as a major setback to the economic development of the South East. Ekweremadu Following the development, he has commiserated with Chicason Group of Companies and the people of Nnewi. Ekweremadu spoke during a sympathy visit to the Chairman of Chicason Group, Dr. A. C. Okafor, at the company’s office in Nnewi, after touring the scene of the incident, where he expressed deep sorrows over the fire disaster, especially the eight lives lost to the inferno. In a statement by Mr Uche Anichukwu, his Special Adviser, Media, he said, “We are here to sympathise with you, to sympathise with the people of Nnewi, the people of Anambra, Nnewi business community, and all the families affected by this disaster. “For me, this is also a major setback for the business development, not only in Nnewi, but the South East and the n...

T HIS information will interest people living with diabetes. The next time you are served a plate of rice, it is advisable to eat the fish or meat before the rice. Japanese researchers say they have established that eating fish and meat before rice can help control blood sugar in people with diabetes because it slows down the stomach. On a plate of rice, experts say you should eat the fish or meat first. Now whether or not you agree with this finding, researchers at the Kansai Electric Power Medical Research Institute are convinced that dietary therapy focusing on the sequence of food intakes may lead to diabetes prevention and treatment. In a three-day research project involving 12 patients with type 2 diabetes and 10 healthy people, the group monitored changes in blood sugar levels four hours after the subjects had meals in which rice was consumed either first or last. When boiled mackerel and grilled beef were eaten 15 minutes before rice, their sugar levels we...

THE national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday took a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government, saying with government’s proposed N1.84 trillion borrowing as contained in the 2016 budget, Nigeria as a country was going the way of Greece. Olisa Metuh Speaking with journalists, yesterday,  in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, noted that a breakdown of the N1.84 trillion shows that Nigeria would be borrowing N5 billion a day for the next 365 days, starting from January I, 2016, without what he termed, a corresponding provision for economic production and a clear repayment plan, adding that the scenario would  spell doom for the future of the nation. According to PDP, President Buhari must explain to Nigerians why the N6.08 trillion 2016 federal budget would not be considered a huge fraud, designed to mortgage the future of the country, just as it challenged the...

ABIA State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu said that he will not reduce the N18,000 minimum wage for civil servants in the state. Governor Ikpeazu also denied rumour of plans to reduce the state’s workforce, saying that despite the adverse economic situation, Abia has not entered the “relegation zone.” Ikpeazu According to the governor, though the federal allocation to the state in the last six months has been between N2.2 and N2.4 billion, which he said was “hardly sufficient for the overhead,” he has no intention to slash salary or sack workers. Ikpeazu tasked the state’s workforce to work hard and join hands with the government in the effort to raise the internally generated revenue [IGR], which he has set a target of N1.5 billion monthly. The governor who spoke with journalists in Umuahia, explained that it was only an improved IGR that will keep the state afloat and urged the civil servants to work hard to achieve the target. “For now, we are not contemplati...

The Federal Government, yesterday, stated that effective January 1, 2016, Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, would be sold at N86 per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Retail stations, while other oil marketers would sell at N86.50 per litre. The Nigerian Labour Congress said, however, that it would resist with all its might, any attempt to remove fuel subsidy. Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, also announced the first quarter 2016 PMS import allocation of three million metric tonnes to the NNPC and other oil marketers. On the review of the price of petrol, Ahmed said the reduction in the price of the commodity was due to an implementation of the revised components of the Petroleum Products Pricing Template for PMS and household kerosene. According him, the revised template, which would be reviewed on quarterly basis and which would soo...

President Muhammadu Buhari will host his first Presidential Media Chat tomorrow (Wednesday, December 30, 2015). President Muhammadu Buhari In the course of the programme, which will be broadcast live on the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), President Buhari will answer questions from a panel of journalists on a broad range of current national issues. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Mr. Femi Adesina, said the Presidential Media Chat will begin at 7.00pm. The statement said other television and radio stations in the country may hook-up to NTA and FRCN to relay the programme to their viewers and listeners.

Diehard Real Madrid fan Sergi Guardiola’s decision to write offensive tweets aimed at Barcelona came back to haunt him Monday when he was hired and fired by the Spanish giants on the same day. The 24-year-old striker penned a deal with Barca’s B team but was sacked just a few hours later when angry fans of the Catalan club made officials aware of Guardiola’s Twitter tirade from 2013, www.lequipe.fr reported. His tweets had included “Allez Madrid” and “Fuck Catalans”. “FC Barcelona has decided to terminate the contract signed with Sergi Guardiola, after finding that he had published offensive tweets about the club and Catalonia,” said a Barcelona statement.

Contrary to the projections of the World Bank that pegged the Gross Domestic Product growth rate at 3.7 per cent, the Federal Government economic agenda as contained in the 2016 budget breakdown insisted on GDP growth rate of 4.37 per cent thus making it ambitious. Earlier this year IMF cut its growth forecasts for the global economy on the back of a slowdown in China, looming recession in Russia and continuing weakness in the eurozone. The Washington-based fund, while warning of a significant declines in growth rates across global economies especially among emerging markets including Nigeria’s against the backdrop of crash in oil prices, cut its 2016 forecasts from 4.0 per cent to 3.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s 2016 budget envisioned an expansionary fiscal measures expected to galvanize the economy to a growth momentum for the forecast GDP rate significantly above 4.0 per cent. GDP is derived from the value of all goods and services available for f...

Gambian lawmakers have passed a bill criminalising female circumcision and introducing prison terms of up to three years for anyone flouting the ban. The National Assembly voted by a large majority to write the ban into the criminal code late Monday, a month after President Yahya Jammeh branded the practice outdated and ordered its immediate cessation. Female-genital-mutilation Vice-President Isatou Njie Saidy told legislators the new law would “enforce the constitutional rights of women and girls not to be subjected to practices that are harmful to their health and well-being”. Female genital mutilation, or FGM, remains highly common in the Gambia, along with a number of other African countries and parts of the Middle East. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 125 million women worldwide have undergone the practice, which involves cutting off the labia and clitoris, often when girls are young. It can lead to serious health problems,...

Acting Managing Director/Accountable Manager, Aero Contractors Airline, Captain Russell Lee Foon has said that the airline was forced to use a ladder to disembark its passengers on flight 5N-BLG, a Boeing 737-500 from Abuja to Bauchi because the Bauchi Airport manager failed to provide the air stairs needed to disembark and board passengers. The airline explained that due to the absence of ground handling companies at the Bauchi airport, who were supposed to provide gangway equipment to disembark the passengers, it had to improvise. Foon said this against the backdrop investigation into the use of unauthorized equipment by Aero Contractors Airlines charter flight to Bauchi Airport last weekend. The Aero Contractors official told newsmen that; “On Thursday 17th November 2015, a charter was booked and confirmed from Abuja to Bauchi on a Boeing 737 -500 series aircraft. The charter was booked by a group of young people, part of a wedding party, attending this import...

The merger of three key ministries of Power, Works and Housing into one, is a disservice to the nation. This view was canvassed by Lagos-based estate surveyors and valuers who also faulted the non-appointment of one of their own as the Minister of Housing in view of the fact that they are best qualified and positioned to man the ministry. President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Works, Power & Housing, Babatunde Fashola The Chairman of the Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers NIESV, Mr. Samuel Ukpong who spoke on behalf of the realtors at a together to round off the year, posited that the land professionals are more competent and knowledgeable to be entrusted with the Ministry of Housing than a career politician. Ukpong who noted that many Nigerians have given kudos to the Federal Government on the ministerial appointments declared: “We want to join in giving kudos but with a caveat. The President has not done very wel...

THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  in Ondo State yesterday said that the two chieftains who defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, were propelled by personal interest,dictated by their individual ambitions. It was reacting to the defection of the Former Director- General  Technical Aids Corps, Dr Pius Osunyikanmi and Senator Ayo Akinyelure to the APC The Director General of the party Ayo Fadaka said in a statement in Akure that the two party members have by their actions began a journey to political irrelevance. Meanwhile, the APC in the state  has welcomed the two chieftains of the ruling party to their midst. It’s Director, Media and publicity, Steve Otaloro, commended their courage to align with the Change agenda. “They have just began a journey into political irrelevance, and as such are bereft of any capability to injure the spread and influence of our Party in this State. Fadaka said that; “We take very serious view of the ...

The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would neither be cowed nor threatened by MTN’s court action against the N1.4trn fine which was later reduced to N780 billion, insisting that the telecommunications company risks another fine if it fails to pay on deadline. Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, made the statement yesterday in reaction to the suit instituted by the telecom operator at a Lagos High Court, weekend. The minister, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, however, admitted that MTN had the right to seek court’s interpretation if it feels unsatisfied with the action of the regulator but made it clear that nothing would stop the government from imposing additional fine on the operator, at the expiration of the deadline. According to the minister, “it is the right of MTN to approach the court but there was an infraction, which MTN admitted to have committed before it pleaded for leniency that led to the re...

Seven-year-old boy, Okiki Alabede and three others suffered severe burns after a gas exploded at  a restaurant in Ogba, Ojodu Local Council Development Area, LCDA, damaging property worth millions. Other victims were: Abiodun Salami, 27, Mustapha, 30 and a woman identified as Iya Elijah. Tomeeesin learned that the gas exploded at about 1p.m. at the restaurant popularly called Rab Amala Shonola, located at No. 2A Shonola Street, Aguda Ogba  causing pandemonium in the community. General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Mr. Michael Akindele and the Director of State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe confirmed the incident. They said that the leaked cylinder fell and exploded leading to fire outbreak in the area. Akindele noted that five rooms within the building where the incident occurred were affected, adding that three of the affected victims with various degrees of burns were initially taken to Ifako Ijaye General Hospital but were la...

Founder of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike has warned expelled members of the organization to stop using MASSOB to collect money from politicians. Uwazurike, who stated this through MASSOB’s National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor, vowed never to compromise his leadership of the organization and the Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, adding that the two organizations have been repositioned to actualize the  independent state of Biafra. According to him: “They should stop using MASSOB to collect money from politicians and the Federal Government. They should stop giving a bad name to MASSOB by working for politicians. This is not the time to collect money and continue deceiving Ndigbo . “We are freedom fighters; expelled members like Uchenna Madu and other pretenders should stop commercializing the Biafra struggle. I will never compromise my leadership or work with politicians. We have restr...

Thatcher’s radical policies, successfully adapted across the US, Europe and large parts of Asia, sparked off a new world order and confirmed the evolution of global economic powerhouses. For a uniquely placed country like Nigeria, blessed with resources but hexed with endemic problems, these events hold tremendous relevance and opportunity. They are also crucial to Nigeria making progress towards the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals of eradicating hunger and poverty and improving environmental sustainability, among others. The first lesson for Nigeria of course is the need for fundamental changes in outlook and practices with regards to promoting entrepreneurship as a means to permanently overcoming poverty and achieving grassroots development. Of equivalent importance is upgrading infrastructure and improving access to social services, especially health and education. The World Bank outlines a three-pronged strategy for Nigeria to meet this challenge, which in...

 Wizkid’s babymama, Sola Ogudugu decided to relive her experience of getting pregnant for Wizkid at the age of 19 in 2011. From her words, Wizkid might have deflowered her as she said she got pregnant when she just started having sex. “I remember the day I found out I was preggers! After 5monthsss… Damn! I Swear I died and rose again! Lol.. Can’t believe I’m laughing now. I cried for the remaining 4 months… I just kept saying to myself everyday ‘God why me’ Ahhhhhh mahn… ThoseWereTryingTimesYo!It was like film trick…” “To think I just started having sex at the time… I was just frustrated… Like who sent me it’s funny now.. wasn’t funny then oo. Imagine seeing your monthly period unknown to you that there’s a baby growing in you! MAHNNNNNN!!!! God is great!!” “That was the greatest challenge ever! Was in my finals.. I still struggled and finished Uni with Good grades.. And guess what? My son is 4! I’m still overwhelmed but I Thank God for how far he’s brought me...

AT a church event, a then serving president said that he honoured the church’s invitation because the pastor of the church routinely prayed for him and e-mailed  him the transcript of the prayers. To pray for your president is magnificent, but to email him the text of the prayer was expedient:  a self-serving act (most likely) aimed at getting the attention, and currying the favour, of the president. Pastors, especially, of new generation, Pentecostal, mega churches in Nigeria desperately desire to hobnob with presidents, governors and other members of the power elite. The power elite appreciate the ingratiation of these pastors, and though rarely prophets, pastors or preachers, they relish being thrust before church audience to pray, preach and exhort. There is a symbiotic alliance between the Nigerian power elite and religious elite. They need each other in their determined exploitation of the Nigerian masses. Over the years, the Nigerian power elite re...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the revocation of registration of 84 capital market operators (CMOs) that failed to render statutory returns to the commission and their failure to comply with the new minimum capital requirement. Consequently, the commission advised all the stakeholders in the market, including Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, all Capital Market Trade Groups and the investing public to sever all relationships with the affected CMOs. The commission said it was empowered under section 30 (1) and (2) of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 to revoke the operational licence of capital market operators that are inactive. An operator in the capital market is adjudged to be inactive if it has not executed any transaction in the market for a period of six months. Also, operators in the market are required to render quarterly returns...

THE lawmaker representing Egor constituency in Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Crosby Eribo, says Governor Adams Oshiomhole will be making himself another godfather in the state if the rumoured endorsement of Mr Godwin Obaseki as candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2016 governorship election in the state by the governor was true. Eribo, who addressed newsmen at his birthday celebration, weekend, in Benin City, stressed that APC members, and not a particular leader, would endorse a governorship candidate for the party in the state, warning that any attempt to impose a particular candidate was capable of creating crisis in the party, “which I am sure the governor will not want, as the leader of the party in the state. “I have heard people saying that the governor told them that Obaseki is the candidate. For me, that is not true because as the lawmaker representing Egor, the governor should have told me but he has not and that is why I don’t believe tha...

T he Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu, has said he does not have any plans  to decamp to the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying, his  support for the Federal government’s anti-corruption stance is not borne out of my personal interest but the interest of the masses who are in the majority and the love for the  country. ‘’Our people have suffered for too long because of a greedy few who amass our commonwealth for themselves and their families,” he said. He also said  corruption must die for Nigeria to live, adding that all Nigerians must support President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war. In a statement, the senator, who said he was not supporting the war because he planned to switch from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, added that; “Corruption by whatever colouration is bad and inimical to our growth as a nation”. He said successive governments had made feeble and largely showmanship attempts to contain c...

Suspected kidnappers of the two Catholic Priests kidnapped in Delta state have reportedly established contact with the Issele-Uku Diocese demanding a ransom of N100 million. Rev. Fr. Franklyn Odiaka and Rev. Fr. Moses Nwanochei were last Friday kidnapped around Obior, Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state on their way from a ceremony in honour of their Bishop, Most Rev. Michael  Elue. A source within the Diocese, who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the abductors contacted  some of their priests in the diocese. While noting that the church has begun  praying for the release of the priests, the source said that the kidnappers insisted on getting the N100 million ransom before they will release their victims. The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, who had earlier confirmed the kidnap of the priests, said the church had not lodged a formal complaint to the Police. Kalu in a text message said: “Up till...

Many Nigerians do not seem to understand the role of the CBN in an economy. Some believe that the CBN is an authority in itself and does not take instruction from government. Yes, it is true that the CBN enjoys some autonomy; that is as far as its management is concerned. The CBN is the banker to the Federal Government and its economic and financial adviser. It is in the final analysis responsible to the president. CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele There have been several uninformed comments as to why the CBN paid out so much to those who made official request to it to move money from their deposit or their budgetary allocation from the federal government in the last administration in particular. A little bit of history of the evolution of central banking may help put things in the right perspective. Economic history has it that what can be regarded as an early central bank was the Sveriges Riksbank, established in 1668, although it was short-lived In Engla...