FG Set to Reposition EFCC, As the Agency Opens Office in Ibadan

The federal government is to design a National Anti-Corruption Strategy to ensure institutionalization of results-based systems and structures as well as ensuring appropriate incentives for an increased participation of members of the society in the fight against corruption.

President Muhammadu Buhari gave this indication on Thursday, May 25, 2017 while speaking through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, at the official commissioning of the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan, Oyo State. 

He said there will be a review of the EFCC Act, to strengthen the agency in ridding the country of economic and financial crimes and halt frequent removal of the agency's chairman.

“First and foremost, there will be a review of the EFCC Act, to strengthen the agency. The strategy would also ensure that the frequent removal of the chairman of the agency becomes a thing of the past.

There would also be emphasis on strengthening public education and awareness. Basically, the agency will be repositioned to function at par with its international counterparts in developed countries”, Buhari said. 

He enjoined the public to support the present administration in its fight against corruption, which according to him had eaten deep into the fabrics of the country.

The president, while commending the EFCC for the successes recorded so far said the Commission’s presence in Ibadan would further aid the achievement of the goal of getting the citizenry involved in the fight against corruption.

In his welcome address, Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, EFCC, acknowledged the strategic position of Ibadan in the history of Nigeria's anti-colonial struggle hence the choice to make it the melting point at ensuring that the crusade against corruption is taking to the grassroots and make the Commission accessible to the people.

According to him, the Ibadan zonal office was created to encourage the citizenry involvement in the fight against corruption. He called for support and cooperation of all and sundry towards winning the war against all manners of graft.

“It is part of my vision to take the fight against corruption to the grassroots.  We assure you that we shall not betray the trust and confidence reposed in us, both by the people of Oyo State and Nigerians across the states of the federation”, Magu assured.

Speaking at the event, the governor Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, called on Nigerians to join hands with the EFCC in the fight against corruption saying, “it is the greatest evil bedeviling the society”.

Ajimobi, while commending the initiative of the EFCC over its presence in the State said, it was important to always sensitize members of the society about the inherent danger of corruption.

He commended President Buhari for making the fight against corruption a cardinal focus of his government, and urged every Nigerians to key into the President's mantra of, “if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us”.

The ceremony was attended by top government functionaries, Head of security agencies, civil society groups, traditional leaders, youths, women groups, members of the NYSC as well as stakeholders from diverse sectors.

Cannabis worth €150k found concealed in child's armchair and wicker baskets

Customs officers have seized 7.5KG of cannabis during a routine search of packages at the Portlaoise Mail Centre.

The drugs were found in two separate packages, with some concealed in an child's armchair and others in wickerbaskets. The chair originated in the UK, while the boxes originated in Thailand.

 The packages were consigned to addresses in Dublin City and Galway and investigations are on-going with a view to prosecution.
Members of the public with any information about drug smuggling are urged to contact Revenue’s Confidential Freephone 1800 295 295. -  Independent.ie

Egypt: Coptic Christians killed in Minya bus attack

Credit : Al Jazeera English

Lagos turns 50: half-a-century of urban chaos

It's only when the thick smog of humidity and pollution lifts that the size of Lagos becomes clear: from above, the megacity of some 20 million people seems to stretch out to infinity.

Not even the Atlantic Ocean appears to be able to stop its exponential growth, a tide of multi-storey apartments and shacks stretching into the sea.
The state of Lagos was created just 50 years ago, on May 27, 1967. At that time, the quiet city on the edge of a large green lagoon was Nigeria's capital and home to about one million people.

But Nigeria's population then exploded. The biggest boom happened in Lagos, seen as a place of possibilities where people came from all over the country and west Africa to make their fortune.
Fifty years on, Lagos is the world's 10th largest city with between 17 and 22 million people, although no-one seems to be counting.

With an average of 900 new arrivals a day during the last half-century, the provision of housing, transport, water and electricity has been stretched beyond breaking point.
Yet Lagos drives Nigeria's economy, and with the country set to become the world's third largest by 2050, it is destined to drive African growth.

Mission impossible 

"All African cities are facing the same problems: rapid urbanisation, land management, pollution," said Guillaume Josse, from French research firm Groupe Huit.
"But Lagos is a caricature. Its challenges are so huge that they seem insurmountable," added Josse, who specialises in developing cities.

Ayo Assaf, however, has decided to try the impossible and rethink the historic heart of Lagos.
For nearly seven years, the urban planner who earned his stripes in New York has surveyed the streets of Lagos Island at the request of the state government.

The population density on Lagos Island is up to 1,200 people per hectare (2.47 acres) -- more than 20 times the density in London.
Wearing jeans and a white collared shirt, Assaf calmly picks his way through the crowded alleyways of the former business district, now converted into a giant market.

No space is wasted: a jewellery vendor uses the railings outside a mosque as a display stand for her necklaces; an old library has been transformed into a wedding dress shop.
The pavements are overrun with photocopiers and mechanics, or converted into kitchens selling take-away Nigerian food.

"There is such energy, the trading generates millions of naira. You cannot wipe this out, you have to use what's there and enhance it due to safety and hygiene concerns," said Assaf.
Assaf dreams of a more sophisticated Lagos, where better infrastructure makes it easier to do business, and more people have access to housing and basic services.

"There, I imagine a large street with small shops, it will be our Champs Elysees," he says with a grin.

Assaf also wants to introduce a public transportation hub, as there is no bus station on Lagos Island.

Instead, hundreds of danfos -- the city's battered yellow minibuses -- clog the streets, spilling out their passengers in the middle of the road in a constant stream.

Assaf delivered his report to then-Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola in 2015.
But since then the administration has changed and few of his ideas have been implemented.

 Ingenuity of necessity 
Administrators have always promised big things for Lagos over the years.
But political rivalries between successive governments and spats with the federal government -- now based in Abuja -- often annihilate the ambitious plans.

As a result, Lagosians have shown ingenuity in overcoming hardship despite the failures of the state, which was totally absent during decades of military rule to 1999.
To address a housing crisis, both rich and poor have started reclaiming land.

The richest are constructing Eko Atlantic, a new coastal city described as the "Dubai of Africa" being built from the coastline of Victoria Island, an affluent Lagos suburb.

The poorest fill in the surrounding lagoons with garbage and sand to create plots of their own.
The entire neighbourhood of Ilaje-Bariga, which can be seen off the Third Mainland bridge that snakes its way over the lagoon, was built this way over the last 50 years.
New streets are thrown up at random to cater for new arrivals.

 Eviction notice 

The tens of thousands of inhabitants of Ilaje-Bariga face a battle for survival.
Recently, they were told they had eight days to leave on the order of the Lagos state government.
The police have already come to destroy fishing boats and sand mining operations, which provide the main source of income in the neighbourhood, worsening already high crime rates.

The aim, clearly, is to get them to leave.
"But where do they want us to go?" said one resident, Oladipupo Aiveomiye, as an old man tried to recover scrap metal from the rubble and a woman struggled to remove planks from a destroyed boat.

Josse, who has studied the area, said he was surprised by the "basic" demands of the Lagosians, who "ultimately complain little," he said.

"All they wanted was to get out of the water. But the day they lose their incredible resilience, there will be a real risk of riots." - AFP

Woman jumps onto the hood of moving car to prevent carjacking at petrol station

Credit : CNN

Sowore: Melaye’s N50k book is ‘cut and paste’ of newspaper articles

Omoyele  Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, says Dino Melaye’s N50,000 is cut and paste of newspaper article.

Speaking at the launch of Sahara Reporters’ civic media lab in Lagos on Thursday, Sowore said this launch is unlike the red ribbon tape being paraded in Abuja, making specific reference to Melaye, senator representing Kogi west at the national assembly.

“What prof briefly mentioned about the launching in Abuja was the book launch of Dino Melaye, that has been very gut-wrenching for a lot of us,” Sowore said.
“We have been looking for that book in bookstores in Abuja, it has not been made available because we can’t afford it. It is N50,000 — just to buy cut and paste of newspaper articles.”

Speaking later on at the launch, Sowore  said he started Sahara Reporters by accident, emphasising that he did not start the platform the day he started using the internet.

“When I got to the US, we were using dial-up on AOL; you will dial into a telephone number and if you are lucky, you will hook onto the internet after several attempts.

“I had no idea that you can get to a point where you can actually put a device in your pocket and use it to reach the whole of the world; communicate and also receive communication.

“The way my head always works was that I was that I will think about Nigeria, even though I was in the US, I was living Nigeria. Even though I was living in the US, I  will wake up Nigerian time, I was upset the Nigerian way, I was unhappy the Nigerian way, I was also happy sometimes, the Nigerian way.

“As most people know, I was also an agitator the Nigerian way.I was inspired also by the decadence coming from the Nigerian media. I wanted to read Nigerian news all the time, and I discovered that Nigerian newspapers that I used to love were just not reporting issues as they were happening.

“Of course the reason was that the money bags, the politicians, had bought over the newspaper. As you know there was a time James Ibori owned and he still  does own a newspaper today.

“One of the most popular newspapers in Lagos is owned by a politician known as Jagaban. You know  what that means. The most powerful TV station in Lagos is also owned by him. So they have hijacked the media space.

“So I was seeing media, but I was not seeing mass in it. It was the reason why I kept pushing like the man of the legend that became the man who invented tyre. He was boiling rubber, he slept, overslept and when he woke up, rubber had become tyre.

“That was what I was doing. I was just trying my luck, I wanted to be reaching maybe 200 people  in a day, and then one day I started and we were reaching 5,000 and then the next month, on and on. To the extent that by the 2015 election, we reached four million people in one day.”

He said these also became frustration for him because the young people who he thought would have taken the opportunity of the ideas online to a liberating level have become paralysed by them
“Forget about the noise on twitter, it has no depth; it is very shallow. I don’t think Twitter can take us to promise land,” Sowore said.

“I don’t see it happening, because I see the people they call  social media influencers in this country, they are not the kind of people who are thinking progressively about how a nation should be built.” - The CableNG

Klopp can attract top players to Liverpool, says Gerrard

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is the type of manager that top players will want to play for, says club icon Steven Gerrard.

Klopp secured a return to the Champions League in his first full season at the helm at Anfield and is keen to bolster his squad for their additional duties.

While the chance to compete at European football's top table will help attract new players, Gerrard believes their German manager will be just as influential in bringing in big names.
"If I'm a top player around Europe and Jurgen picks the phone up and I get offered the chance to play for this club, which is moving forward in every single department and has a world class manager leading it, I'd be jumping at that opportunity," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
"I want to play for him and I am 37 next week! For me, it's such an exciting project. Not just because we qualified for the Champions League but the whole project.

"The next three, four, five, six years, whatever it turns out to be, are going to be very exciting and players will want to be a part of what Jurgen is doing."
Gerrard will take charge of Liverpool's Under-18s next season but was back on the pitch for the Reds in a friendly against Sydney FC on Wednesday.
Gaining an experience of playing under Klopp made him wonder if he could have achieved greater success at Liverpool with the German at the helm.

"I was looking around and it was a strange feeling out there," he said. "I was thinking if Jurgen Klopp had been at the club a bit earlier what might have been.
"There's no doubt about it, if he had been here three or four years [ago] I believe I would have been part of him delivering big trophies for this club.

"It's his aura and the way he is with you – how he makes you feel.
"I went out there to play in a friendly and I felt like it was the World Cup final. That's what he gives players.

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"We're blessed to have him and hopefully we can go from strength to strength over the summer. Everyone is excited." - Goal.com

Katie Hopkins To Leave LBC Radio 'Immediately'

Controversial broadcaster Katie Hopkins and LBC “have agreed” that she will leave the radio station “immediately”, LBC said.

An LBC spokesperson said: “LBC and Katie Hopkins have agreed that Katie will leave LBC effective immediately.”
It comes just days after the MailOnline columnist tweeted remarks in the wake of the Manchester bombing that some interpreted as calls for ethnic cleansing.

The MailOnline columnist wrote: “22 dead – number rising. Schofield. Don’t you even dare. Do not be part of the problem. We need a final solution. #Machester.”
Hopkins hastily deleted the tweet, changing “final” to “true” and corrected the spelling of Manchester – but not before it had been noticed and screen-grabbed by several sources.

The original comment has been interpreted by some to refer to the Wansee Conference held in January 1942, attended by high-level Nazi party and German governmental officials where the decision was taken for a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’.

What followed were mass killings at death camps in Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor. Hopkins responded to queries about the revision, claiming: “I stand by my tweet. I find the typo disrespectful to the survivors of Manchester.”

But commentators were quick to brand the mother-of-three a “Nazi” and accused her of calling for a mass genocide. Political activist and commentator Owen Jones called for a boycott of LBC until Hopkins was removed from air.

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Following the announcement on Friday, Jones tweeted: “We stood against hatred, and, this time, we won.” - Huffington Post UK

Couple Tries for 17 Years to Have a Baby, Ends Up With Sextuplets

They're going to need their own bus.
After trying for nearly two decades to have a baby, a Virginia couple now has six of them — three girls and three boys, the first sextuplets ever delivered at Children's Hospital of Richmond.

Aideboye and Ajibola Taiwo welcomed their half dozen offspring on May 11, attended by a 40-person medical team. The babies were delivered by Cesarean section at 30 weeks.

They range in weight from one pound, 10 ounces to two pounds, 15 ounces.
All are doing well in the medical center’s neonatal intensive care unit.

The couple, who hail from Nigeria, heard four heartbeats at their first ultra sound in November. But when the mother began receiving health care at the children’s hospital in January, the parents-to-be were told there were actually six heartbeats.
“I was excited,” the new father said. “For the first very first time, we were expecting."

And there was a lot to expect. Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff ran practice drills for the spontaneous arrival of six premature babies.
“We’re going through this extraordinary journey together with the family,” said Dr. Ronald Ramus, the hospital’s director of maternal and fetal medicine. "It’s not every day that parents bring home sextuplets. Mrs. Taiwo was eating, sleeping and breathing for seven.”

The babies’ father said, “We are far from home but the medical team is our family. That is what got us this far.”

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The parents are now visiting their brood in the NICU, holding them in skin-to-skin chest embraces that remind them of being in the womb and bonding them with their mom and dad.

Liverpool head chase for €50 million star Naby Keita

Liverpool remain in a strong position to sign RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita this summer, and are willing to smash the club’s record transfer fee in the process, but are wary of the heightened interest in the midfielder. 

Jurgen Klopp believes the Guinea international is an elite player - among the best in the world in the centre of the park - and as such, an asking price in the region of £50 million would not deter the Reds.

Reds boss wants transfers done quickly
Nor would they flinch at meeting the 22-year-old’s personal demands given his status as a priority target, which Goal first revealed.

Talks between Liverpool and Keita’s camp have been very positive, but the Merseysiders are aware several other weighty enquiries have been fielded for the dynamic, versatile star.

There is cautious optimism over convincing the No.6, who is equally adept at operating in a box-to-role role or as a playmaker, to choose Anfield as his preferred destination, with Sadio Mane’s dazzling debut season under Klopp a helpful element. 

Keita shares the same agency as the Senegal international, who has thrived on the pitch for Liverpool and has been helped by the club off it. 
The Reds assisted their Player of the Season in hiring a personal chef when he made the £30m switch from Southampton last summer and arranged a special prayer room for him at Melwood. 
Those small personal details complement the ambitious vision Klopp has for Liverpool, which Keita would become a core part of if he made the move.

RB Leipzig, however, have understandably adopted an obstructive stance. They do not want to sell him and believe their securing of Champions League football can ensure he remains at the Red Bull Arena for another season at the very least.

Sporting director Ralf Rangnick, as well as chief executive officer Oliver Mintzlaff, have stated the Bundesliga side are not open to losing any element of their spine and expect Keita to report on July 3 for fitness tests ahead of the start of their pre-season on July 5.

Juve chief taunts Man Utd over €110m Pogba deal

Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has revealed the Serie A champions felt €60 million was a good figure for Paul Pogba a few years ago and is pleased they never inserted a buy-out clause in the current Manchester United star's contract.

The Bianconeri would eventually sell Pogba to United for an initial fee of €105 million which could potentially rise to €110m depending on clauses in the transfer.

With Juventus getting an unexpected windfall - and potentially more to come - Marotta feels the France international's transfer is the perfect example why release clauses are a bad idea.
"The value of a player is determined when you sell him," Marotta told Tuttosport.

"Had we put a clause in Pogba's contract three years before we sold him, €60 million would have been a good number. But we now sold him for €110m.
"Buyout clauses are madness. I will never insert one in a player's contract. A high clause is not an advantage. It puts you in a vulnerable position instead.

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"I don't know if Napoli would have sold Gonzalo Higuain for €90 million without the clause."

No woman should go through these much pain in the name of marriage-Mercy Aigbe says as she visits surgeon in the UK

Yoruba popular actress, Mercy Aigbe is in the UK where she is seeing a surgeon following injuries inflicted on her by her estranged husband, Lanre Gentry..She wrote

In the UK 🇬🇧 to see an Oral and Maxilloficial Surgeon.....
No woman should go through these much pain, anguish and trauma all in the name of marriage.......
#saynotodomesticviolence  #onlyweakmenhittheirwives #sharingmyexperience #pleaseleaveanabusivemarriage #yourlifematters #speakout#conqueror

Another batch of 165 Nigerians return from Libya

No fewer than 165 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya on Thursday aboard a chartered Nouvelair aircraft with registration number TS-INA.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aircraft landed at 5.01 p.m at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The returnees were made up of 97 males, 54 females, 11 children and three infants.

They were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.

The returnees were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Addressing newsmen, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, the Director-General of NEMA, said the agency in collaboration with IOM was working to ensure that Nigerians stranded in Libya were brought back home.

“We are here to ensure that they are well received. We feed and give them money to enable them get back to their respective destinations,” Maihaja said.

The director-general, represented by Mr Suleiman Yakubu, the Zonal Coordinator, South West, NEMA, however advised Nigerian youths to develop the mentality of staying back home and helping to build the country.

“Those of them who have gone and come back will testify that it is better here, especially now that we are in the era of the change mantra.

“A lot of initiatives have been put in place by the present administration to ensure that life is better in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Maihaja added that various state governments, particularly Edo State had initiated skills acquisition schemes to help rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees into the society.

According to him, a similar scheme which is being put in place by the IOM will take off in July, as the organisation has already informed other stakeholders about the development.

Two of the returnees who simply gave their names as Owen and Ehis, told NAN that they spent more than seven months in detention in Libya after they were sold into slavery by militias.

They thanked the Federal Government for facilitating their return to Nigeria and pleaded with the government to assist them in getting their lives back.

NAN reports that the returnees who were given a stipend of N17, 100 each were later transported to the Jibowu Park to find their way to their respective destinations.

NAN recalls that two batches of 258 Nigerians voluntarily returned from the North African country on May 11 and May 16 respectively.

Day care worker arrested for torturing baby to death

Authorities have arrested and charged with murder, a Maryland day care worker who was captured on video “torturing” an 8-month-old girl who later died.

Leah Walden, 23, is charged with murder, assault, child abuse and reckless endangerment in the death of Reese Bowman at Rocket Tiers Learning Center on Tuesday, Baltimore Police said in a statement.

“Reese Bowman, in my opinion, was tortured,” said Col. Stanley Brandford, the chief of the police department’s criminal investigations division.

Brandford told Baltimore Sun that the video shows Walden using “excessive blankets, which fully covered the child’s head, violently snatching the child out of the crib with one arm, swinging at the baby as if she was slapping her, and placing pillows over the baby’s face.” Walden also walked out camera range several times while holding the baby.

Police took Walden into custody early Thursday. Court records for her case were not yet available online to show whether she had obtained an attorney.

Police said officers were called to the day care Tuesday afternoon for a report of a baby not breathing. Medics performed CPR on the infant, who was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later. Brandford said there were no obvious signs of trauma, but detectives started a routine investigation.

Brandford said Walden told them she fed the baby, wrapped her in a blanket and put her down for a nap. The management of Rocket Tiers alerted police to the video, which told a different story, Brandford said.

Reese was awake at the time; another baby in the same room with Walden and Reese was not hurt.

Reese’s family released a statement saying they were suffering “tremendous pain” and asking for privacy, news outlets reported.

“Our hearts are broken. No family should ever have to experience the loss of a child under any circumstances,” the statement said.

Nigeria Has Been Unfair To Igbos- Reno Omokri

A Nigerian man very happy after being deported

The man in the picture above was deported from Libya Thursday. He went on his knees on the tarmac to express his gratitude to God immediately he arrived Nigeria. He must have gone through a lot while in Libya.

Ambode Sacks Chaplain For Disrespecting His Wife

Anointing service drama: Ambode sacks chaplain 24 hours after Sunday service …priest, family thrown out of residence for ‘disrespecting’ gov’s wife.

There is anger at the Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Lagos State, after the Presiding Chaplain, Venerable Femi Taiwo, was sacked by the Governing Council allegedly on the order of the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Taiwo got the sack on Monday, May 15, without any query or official reason stated in the sack letter.

He was said to have been ordered out of his official quarters where he lived with his wife and two children within 24 hours of receiving the letter.

Despite pleadings from church leaders and other reputable elders in the church, the government was said to have insisted that the cleric must leave the church.

Some church members reportedly contributed money to buy gas cooker, and other household items for the family as they vacated the vicarage.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that Taiwo had angered the Governor’s wife, Bolanle Ambode, who had visited the chapel on Sunday, May 14, when the church held an anointing service.

The church is under the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs, while the Office of the Lagos State First Lady supervises church.

Church members were said to have filed out to receive anointing oil during the May 14 service without any preference given to Bolanle, who waited endlessly with her entourage.

She was said to have later moved to be anointed and moments later, stormed out of the church, as some of the women leaders ran after her.

Bolanle, who was reported to be visibly angry, allegedly shunned entreaties from the women, which included the wife of the presiding chaplain.

The cleric got the sack the following day.

The directive was issued in a letter dated, May 15, 2017, and signed by the Chairman, Governing Council of CCTL, Mr. Olugbenga Solomon. The letter also ordered the Assistant Chaplain, Very Rev. Ayo Oyadotun, to take over with immediate effect.

A church member, who witnessed the drama and begged not to be identified, said , “The church had declared seven-day fasting after we lost two prominent members.

“The Sunday service, which was declared as anointing service, was supposed to end the fasting.

“The First Lady, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, was present with her entourage. She comes to the church once in a while.

“When it was time to be anointed, the cleric asked people to come forward, adding that it was optional. Three people stood at the stage to anoint people. They included the chaplain, the presiding chaplain and one other person.

“People started stepping out one after another. The governor’s wife, after some time, also stepped out and was anointed.”

The source said within a few minutes of taking the oil, Bolanle, who felt disrespected, stepped out with her entourage.

Another member of the church said, “As she stepped out, it was obvious that she was angry.

“The president of the women’s fellowship and the pastor’s wife ran after her. She shunned them, entered her car and zoomed off.

“When we came to the church on Tuesday, we heard that Venerable Taiwo had been sacked. We were told that he was sacked because the the governor’s wife didn’t get the anointing oil first and she felt disrespected.

“The man that signed the letter is also a civil servant,” the source said.

The governing council is said to be made up of members of the church and some appointees of the government.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Taiwo still had two years to spend as the presiding chaplain when he was fired.

The source said some church members quickly bought household items for his family as they vacated the church premises on Thursday.

He said, “The children went to school on Thursday without knowing that they would not be staying in the vicarage that evening. Church members bought bed and other household items for them because they did not have their own property.

“The members said their pastor did not offend them, and protested the sacking. The governing council members, however, said they should forget it because whatever came from Alausa was final. Most of the church members are civil servants who can’t talk too much.”

Our correspondent reached out to leaders of the church, including Oyadotun, who refused to comment.

However, one of those that confirmed the incident, begged not to be named.

He said the reason Taiwo got the sack was not stated in the letter, adding that the action was not unconnected from the visit of the wife of the governor.

He said, “Let me be straight with you, in the letter there was no reason for the sack. Whatever you are hearing are what members of the church believed could have happened. And there was indeed a protest by the church and the governing council assuaged them on the sacking.

“There was nothing official in that sacking. No investigation, no query, nothing. We had an anointing service on that Sunday. The following day, the venerable was served the sack letter.”

When PUNCH Metro reached out to Taiwo, he said he did not want to comment.

He said, “If you have any enquiry, direct it to the church. But one thing I can say is that I have tried as a pastor to live above board. It will not be right engaging the church or the government on the pages of a newspaper.”

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, said, “The former chaplain had been queried a number of times in the past for conducts unbecoming of his office. The culmination of various indiscretions led to the Governing Council of the church issuing yet another query that led to his being relieved of his post.

“This has got nothing to do with the First Lady. The Chaplain is looking for an excuse to cover his insouciance. It’s nothing but cheap blackmail.” - Punch

Graf told Agassi to coach Novak

Andre Agassi has admitted his wife Steffi Graf urged him to take up the chance of becoming Novak Djokovic's new coach.

The 47-year-old American said he initially rejected the Serbian's offer to work with the 12-time Grand Slam champion, before tentatively agreeing to assist him at the forthcoming French Open.

Earlier this month, Djokovic dispensed of his coaching team as he began the process of trying to rediscover his best form.

And when the reigning French Open champion came calling, Agassi's wife Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles between 1987 and 1999, said he should test the water in Paris.
He said: "Novak called me about three weeks ago and I said 'no' at the start.

"But my wife said 'you should go, you will love it'. We had organised a family trip during Roland Garros anyway which was planned for a long time.
"So I hope to see one or two of Novak's matches and try to bring to him what I can because even a small remark can do a lot.

"What I know, with certainty, is that he can be even better than yesterday. I think he can only improve, because he understands how strong he is."
Agassi and Djokovic practised for the first time at Roland Garros on Thursday but the former insisted that he was not in the market for a full-time job.

He added: "The only agreement we have is for Paris, and given our discussions, it's not a full-time job for me." - Sky Sport

Paris Jackson mistaken for a vagrant on set

So far, 2017 is shaping up to be Paris Jackson's year, but not everyone seems to know her face just yet.
On May 25, she was even mistaken for a vagrant!
She wrote about the strange encounter on Twitter shortly after it occurred.

"One of the first people on set, sitting in the parking lot and this dude comes up to me and says homeless people aren't allowed in this area," she said.

The 19-year-old shared a photo of her outfit, which is seemingly what caused the man to assume she's homeless. The photo showed her in oversized baggy pants and a blue crop top. She also donned a backpack. Paris, appeared to be barefoot and was sitting on concrete, leaning up against a wall.

 "I said oh sorry I'm waiting for hair and makeup should I wait elsewhere also why do you assume i'm homeless," she tweeted.
She also didn't share what the man's reaction was to her question. Additionally, Michael Jackson's daughter didn't indicate if she was on set for a movie, TV show or magazine spread.

Shop worker gran, 70, handed £300 fine by litter police 'for failing to dispose of sandwich wrapper correctly'

As she finished her chicken sandwich for lunch, little did Lynn Brown know she was being watched by the 'litter police'.

The 70-year-old was helping out pal Debbie Barwick who owns a vintage clothing store called Revivals Canterbury, Kent.
Most days this would probably have been a low-key task.

But on May 9, Lynn found herself suddenly confronted by two stern-looking council officers wearing mirrored sunglasses and stab vests.
After being recited a police caution, she was quizzed about whether the shop had a 'commercial waste disposal licence'.

Lynn said: "I said I didn't know and would check with the owner Debbie, but then one of them pointed to my sandwich wrapper and said 'What are you going to do with that?'

"I told him I'd take it home and he said that I could be fined for illegally transporting commercial waste."

To her astonishment, Lynn was then handed a fixed penalty fine of £300 for illegally disposing waste.

The council officers even revealed they had her actions on camera.

The great-grandma said: "I truly thought it was one big joke - I was waiting for the pair of them to start stripping off their uniforms, but they didn't, they just handed me the penalty notice."
She added: "I was like something out of George Orwell's 1984 - it was completely and utterly bonkers."

When owner Debbie Barwick heard about the fine she contacted Canterbury City Council and told them she did have a commercial waste disposal licence, but recycled all her rubbish or donated old stock to charity.

A spokesman for Canterbury City Council apologised for any distress caused and have scrapped the £300 fixed penalty notice.
The spokesman said: “Our enforcement officers visited the premises recently as part of this investigation.

But Debbie has been left angry by the confrontation.
She said: "Lynn is a great friend of mine and helps out in the shop when I can't be there.
"I was in hospital the day she opened up for me and she had to deal with this nonsense.
"What's worse is that they videoed her the whole time they were in the shop - all for a sandwich wrapper which was sitting on the counter."

She said that she had been running the shop for 28 years and this was the first time she had come across such 'bullyboy tactics' - saying she had a commercial waste disposal licence and that the council should have been 'fully aware'.- Mirror

Teachers to earn higher salaries than other workers -FG

The Federal Government Thursday said it is working on plans to ensure that teachers are paid salaries higher than other workers in Nigeria.

The government said increase in the salaries of teachers would help to attract the best to the teaching profession.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this at the inauguration of Governing Councils of 21 Federal Colleges of Education.

Adamu said government has under studied Malaysia and came to realisation that the country got it right by first taking a critical look at teaching and teacher education.

He said: “What did they do? They brought the whole system down and ask what do you want us to do in education. Their planning was geared towards the development of human resources. In Malaysia, top percent of those who scored the highest in their equivalent of JAMB compete to be teachers.
“If you are a teacher in Malaysia, you are to ranked than any other worker in the country. This is why you will find people with PhDs teaching in primary schools. Teachers are paid higher than any other person in Malaysia and we have made that recommendation and we are going to do that in Nigeria,” he said. - The Nation

Why Rivers is yet to recover $43m found in Ikoyi – Wike

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has explained why the state is yet to recover the $43m recently discovered by the anti graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from a building in Ikoyi, ‎Lagos.

Wike said he was currently working with some lawyers to make sure the money was recovered.

The governor had alleged that the forty three million dollars was part of loot stashed by former Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

According to him, the amount was what was left of the over three hundred dollars sale of some assets belonging to the Rivers State Government by Amaechi, who is now a Minister in the Federal government.

“The issue is who kept the money at the Ikoyi residence. The money was kept there by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi”, he alleged.

Amaechi in his reaction, however, denied Wike’s claim, describing him as a man who has gone insane.

Speaking on Sun Rise Daily, a programme monitored by our reporter Friday morning on Channels TV, Wike insisted that the money belonged to Rivers and that no amount of threats would stop them from recovering it.

Asked why the FG has not released the money to him, Wike said, “You and I know these people will never agree that the money belongs to Rivers, even when they know the bitter truth.

“They want it in a hard way and we are ready to use every means to recover that money.

“Is it not embarrassing that the EFCC has not come out to tell us who owns the money? Everybody knows the money belongs to Rivers but they don’t want to release it.

“No amount of intimidation will stop us from recovering that money that Amaechi and co stole. We have all the evidence and we will present them at the right time.”

See the Christ Embassy Pastor Over 4 Abortions Mess, the victim narrates her ordeal

The police at Area M Idimu Command have finally arrested the serving minister at Believers World Ministry popularly known as Christ Embassy church, Rev. Sunday Olisa in connection with the alleged sexual molestation of his house maid which resulted in four pregnancies and abortions.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the arrest followed a pain-staking tracking of Olisa by the police team led by the Area Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Austines Akika on Wednesday.

Our correspondent gathered that following report by P.M.EXPRESS, Akika mobilized and led the operation and Olisa was eventually arrested in a hideout in Isolo, Lagos.

Olisa was said to have sneaked into the Hospital where the victim was receiving treatment and wanted to pay the bill and take the victim away before he was arrested on a tip off.

P.M.EXPRESS reported that the 16-year old orphan (name withheld) was lying critically ill with heavy bleeding coming from her private after she was induced with uncompleted abortion by his benefactor who is a minister at Christ Embassy Church Egbe branch in, Lagos.

The incident happened at 6 Dolamo street in Agodo Egbe in Ikotun area where the pastor, Sunday Olisa reside with the victim and family.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the police at Area M Idimu Command have started manhunt for the cleric after he reportedly escaped mob action from the residents over the incident.

The victim who was in a hospital bed narrated how ordeal to P.M.EXPRESS how he started living with Olisa through her uncle, George Aguba.

She said her Mother was from Mali and married her father who was from Kwale in Delta State and had three Children.

She narrated that her parents died when she was 10 and their uncle planned to take them back to Kwale before Olisa offered to assist and took her to his house.

She said ” when i was 10, Olisa will call me inside his bedroom where nobody was around and drugged me and raped me severally and after the drug clear and I wake up, I will discover that my private was wet”.

She said that had continued and when he attempted to report to the leaders of the church, they shut her up and told her to endure and do not complain because Olisa was sponsoring her education.

He said Olisa have taken her to different hospitals whenever he impregnated her and it has been like for the past six years.

She said she was frustrated and her movement regimented and was not allowed to meet her relations including her uncle, George.

On why he was in the hospital, the helpless victim, said Olisa impregnated her and wanted to cover it up and took her to a doctor where they carried out an abortion and brought her home.

She said after the abortion which was the 4th, she started having heavy bleed and she became afraid and came out from and street and raised alarm before he collapsed and taken to a Hospital where the doctors have been battling to save her life.

She said the doctor said the abortion was not completed which caused the heavy bleeding coming from her private.

She said she does not know how fate if she survive and discharged from the Hospital because he has no contact again with his uncle who did not know what she was passing through.

When our reporter went to the resident where Olisa lives, the residents confirmed the incident and rained curses on Olisa.

At the area M. Command who is handling the matter, the Area Commander, ACP Austines Akika was not around to comment on the matter.

However, Police sources confirmed the incident and told P.M.EXPRESS that the matter is being investigated by a team of Police led by Female DSP Agatha.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that there is no officials response from the Church but some of the members expressed shock over the matter and was helping the police investigation. - PM Express

Cillessen to 'fight' for Barcelona No.1 spot but could consider January exit

Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen will consider leaving Barcelona next January if he has still not broken into the first team.

Cillessen only played once in LaLiga and once in the Champions League this season, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen preferred in goal by Luis Enrique.

The Netherlands international, who joined from Ajax last year, has had to make do with seven appearances in the Copa del Rey, a competition where Barca face Alaves in the final on Saturday.
And while Cillessen is in no rush to leave Camp Nou, he will look at his situation again midway through 2017-18 if he has been unable to unseat Ter Stegen as the starter.

"I have not thought about listening to offers, I'm fine here," the 28-year-old told Sport.
"If I play very little, we will see in the winter transfer window, but for the moment I am not thinking about anything.
"I'm not happy if I don't play. When I arrived I knew that I would have to adapt myself to many new things."

Cillessen is optimistic that he does have what it takes to win a battle for selection with Ter Stegen.
He continued: "Next season without a doubt I will fight to be the number one goalkeeper at Barcelona. Of course I feel capable. If I wasn't, Barcelona wouldn't have signed me.
"They signed me because they think I have the potential necessary to play here, not to be on the bench."

David Luiz 'took a risk and a pay cut' to return to Chelsea

David Luiz has revealed he took a pay cut to leave Paris Saint-Germain and return to Chelsea for a second spell at the club.

Eyebrows were raised when Antonio Conte brought the Brazilian defender back to Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day in August 2016.
But the 30-year-old thrived in the Italian's new look back three system, playing a key role as Chelsea romped to the Premier League title.

Luiz could claim the double in Saturday's FA Cup final against Arsenal, but the centre-back accepts it was a "risk" to go back to Chelsea after a period of domestic dominance in Ligue 1 with PSG.
"I don't always like the easy life," Luiz said. "That's why I took a risk and I'm very happy. It was the right decision."

"I love the risk. In your life if you don't take a risk you're not going to taste something new. Not just in your professional life, I think it's every day.
"I cut my salary to come back here. But it's OK. God has given me a lot so I'm very happy with this."

The trust Conte has placed in Luiz has been richly rewarded and the defender is keen to repay the faith of his manager.
"Conte is a great person, a great character and he's passionate - he loves football," Luiz added. "The day I arrived here we talked together and he tried to explain his philosophy to play football.

"He said to me: 'You are the player I want in my team and to improve my team.' And then I said to him: 'I'm going to work hard for you and for the team.' And that's it.

"I've been working hard a lot since the beginning of my career and to play 10 years consecutively in big clubs is not easy, and I try to give my best every season.

"Last season was not a good season for Chelsea but this season, we have done great since the beginning – and not just because of me. Because of everybody. Because of the commitment, the desire, the mentality we put on the pitch every day. That's why we deserve it."