Jungle republic !!! Bakare: I can’t comprehend what Buhari was doing at the Kano wedding with 110 girls missing

Tunde Bakare, the serving overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly (LRA), says he cannot comprehend what President Muhammadu Buhari and 22 state governors were doing at the Kano wedding, while 110 Dapchi schoolgirls are still in captivity.

On Saturday, at least 22 governors convereged on Kano, to celebrate the wedding of Idris Ajimobi and Fatima Ganduje, offsprings of Abiola Ajimobi, and Ibrahim Ganduje, governors of Oyo and Kano states, respectively.

Also in attendance was the president, and high-ranking members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state.

Bakare says the wedding, which came two days after Boko Haram killed some UN aid workers in Rann, and two weeks after the abduction of the Dapchi school girls in Yobe, shows the insensitivity of Nigerian leaders.

“Forgive my ill-mannerism, but I could not comprehend why a governor will celebrate the wedding of his daughter, and another governor of his son, on the front pages of newspapers, flashing it before our eyes, when other peoples’ daughters are in captivity,” Bakare said.

“If any of them had lost a daughter in that captivity, would they celebrate that way? I know the Bible says rejoice with them that rejoice, but I do not know what the president of Nigeria was doing there.

“And somebody came to say, let me explain to you, it is Islamic tradition, before this time, about January, they had agreed, that he (Buhari) will be the one to give the bride away and (Bola) Tinubu will be the one to pay the dowry, and present the son, and they agreed long before now.

“I looked at him and said the president of Nigeria wanted to come to my daughter’s wedding, and I said to him, sir, don’t come. That is beneath your office. Face the work of the state and keep serving.

“And 22 governors showed up to mark register, when 110 daughters of citizens of your nation were captured by Boko Haram that you said you have already technically defeated?

“It just shows how insensitive our leaders are. We have gotten to a stage that our president has become a king and a monarch. That his son who rode his pleasurable bike that almost claimed his life, will be returning from an overseas trip, where he had received special healthcare that Nigerians cannot afford, that it took a whole minister of state to go and welcome him, because he has no job.”

Speaking at the Latter Rain Assembly on Sunday, Bakare said anyone who knows the true state of things in Nigeria will weep for the country.

“If you truly know the truth, you will weep, if you know how much we are owing as a nation, you will weep. For 16 years of PDP they borrowed N6 trillion, for three years of APC, they borrowed N11 trillion.

“And they are not going to pay the debt. You and I, and our children, and our children’s children will pay the debt, unless they write them off again.” - Cable Nigeria

Buhari Congratulates Eagles Coach, Onigbinde at 80

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated former Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Adegboye Onigbinde, on his 80th birthday, slated for March 5.

Buhari’s congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday.

The president felicitated with the highly respected football coach and administrator, his family, friends and teeming fans, on the landmark of turning an octogenarian.

He noted that at 80, football administrator had recorded a retinue of awards, recognition and achievements at national, continental and global levels.

The president said Onigbinde’s feat as a coach would always be cherished and remembered as milestone attainments for the nation.

Buhari said his wealth of experience and the leadership skills he acquired over the years would be most useful in inspiring the national team, upcoming footballers and Nigeria’s local league to greater heights.

He, therefore, prayed that the Almighty God would grant him longer years on earth and more strength and wisdom to keep serving the country.

Onigbinde, born on March 5, 1938 in Modakeke, Osun, led the national team to the FIFA World Cup in 2002.

He also took the country’s football teams to continental tournaments like the African Nations Cup and the African Clubs Champions Cup. - The Nation

Corruption republic !!! Under Jonathan, $15bn defence contracts, N100bn, $293m disappeared – Osinbajo

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has re-echoed Buhari government’s position that the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration swam in corruption.

He lamented that aside the trillions of naira lost in defence contracts, the weeks that preceded the 2015 general election witnessed blind stealing of the nation’s treasury.
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In a c​hat with newsmen in Lagos on Sunday, Osinbajo said: ​”The​ important thing to bear in mind about Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight is that the government has done what it ought to do by focusing on grand corruption.

“Grand corruption is the type we experienced years before when, for example, $15 billion was lost in defence contract.

​”​Two, three weeks to election, N100 billion in cash was taken out, and again $293 million in cash, two weeks, three weeks to election. That’s the kind of impunity.

“And of course you are also familiar with the scam that went on in the NNPC at the time; the so called statutory contracts, that’s grand corruption. That is the corruption that crippled the economy of the country.” - Daily Post

PL : Conte defends shot-shy Chelsea's tactics in Man City defeat

Antonio Conte did not feel his tactics were to blame for Chelsea failing to register a shot on target in Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud started on the bench as Eden Hazard was deployed as a false nine, with Willian and Pedro operating on the wings at the Etihad Stadium.

Chelsea did not manage a single shot in the first half and fell behind to Bernardo Silva's effort just 33 seconds after the restart, but Conte did not feel his approach was the reason for their struggles.

"My tactics were not to concede space between the lines, not to concede space to Manchester City because if you do that you risk losing by many goals," the Italian told Sky Sports.

"They have a fantastic mentality without the ball, they want to run, they want to press. They are a really strong team, a really good team with a great mentality and great quality.

"If you give City space behind us the game can finish not 1-0.

"It's not good enough [the lack of shots on target] but this is the truth. I don't think it was because of the tactics but the game was like this and we tried to do our best

"It's not simple in this moment to play against Manchester City. You have to play with great intensity in every moment. We tried to do this, we tried to defend well, but we conceded a goal after 30 seconds of the second half and it was very difficult to come back."

Chelsea were without N'Golo Kante due to illness and the France international's absence played a big role in the defeat, according to Conte.

"Don't forget today we missed N'Golo Kante and he's a crucial player for us and our balance," said Conte.

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"The effort was an important effort but this is the reality now. We have to try to continue to work, to try to get three points." - Goal

Mourinho is a special manager - Nemanja Matic

 Matic has hailed manager Jose Mourinho and insisted that he is still a special manager.

The midfielder stated that his record speaks for itself and he believes more success will come his way at United.

Mourinho has been slated for the past few seasons for his seemingly defensive style of play and his poor record against the other top clubs in England. Many United fans have grown frustrated with Mourinho’s approach against particular teams this season and believe this is a large reason for the team being so far behind Manchester City.

The United boss, though, responded in brilliant fashion when Chelsea visited Old Trafford, with a superb tactical performance and win. Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard handed United a 2-1 victory.

Mourinho won three trophies in his debut season at United and remains in contention for the Champions League and FA Cup this season. Should he be successful in even one of these competitions, it would answer a lot of critics.

Matic, as quoted by Sky Sports, admitted his boss can be very demanding at times but believes this is why he has had the career that he has.

“He always wants the best. He always wants to win. Of course, him as a coach, if you play good he always thinks that you can play better. This is good. He always asks you to do more.”

“I am happy that we work with him and he’s a coach who won many, many trophies in his career and for sure we can learn a lot of things from him. He won many things. The coach is good if he won the trophies. He won in every country he has been, he has won a lot and that’s why they call him special.”

Manchester United are all but out of the Premier League title race, however, they have enjoyed a decent season and it is due to City’s incredibly consistent form that United find themselves trailing behind.

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The aim now is to finish in 2nd place, which would be a huge improvement on last season. United head into the run-in against Crystal Palace tomorrow night as they look to start consolidating their place as runners-up. - Read Sport

Lawyer in court for ‘slapping policewoman’

An Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, Friday resumed the trial of a lawyer, Dayo Abudu, who was accused of slapping a police Sergeant, Serifat Tiamiyu, at the Area N Police Command, Ijede, Ikorodu.

Dayo, 40, was arraigned on February 2 before Mr R. O. Davies on a four-count charge of assault, obstruction, breach of peace and threat to life.

According to Prosecuting Inspector Aminu Isaac, the defendant committed the alleged offence on January 20, on a piece of land at Gberigbe Area of Ikorodu.

Isaac alleged that Abudu assaulted and slapped Tiamiyu while she was performing her lawful duties.

He said: “The police stopped his clients, Oladipupo Ahmed and Taiwo Adetu from working on a piece of land whose ownership is being investigated by the police.

“The defendant instead went to the police station to harass the police officers on duty and did not allow his arrested clients to write a statement, thereby causing obstructions.

“He also sent a text message to one Inspector Yetunde Fasuba, threatening her life if she continues investigations on the matter.”

The offence contravened Section 174,117(1)(2),168(d)and 57(b) of the Lagos State Criminal Code Laws, 2015.

Abudu pleaded not guilty.

His counsel, Ladega Adetayo, protested Abudu’s innocence, saying his client was wrongly charged.

Magistrate Davies granted Abudu bail on self-recognissance

At the resumption of proceedings on friday, the magistrate urged both parties to “allow peace to reign.”

He said: “Laws allow encouraging settlement in this kind of case. If care is not taken, there might be a battle between the Commissioner of Police and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).”

The prosecutor agreed with the magistrate but warned that if the defendant refuses to opt for settlement, the matter would be tried.

 Magistrate Davies adjourned till April 6, for substitution of the charge “without prejudice to settlement.”

On January 20, Abudu told The Nation that it was the police that assaulted him.

Abudu said: “Sergeant Serifat held and tore my clothes while the other officers were beating me and dragging me to the Area Commander’s office.

“Sergeant Moroof Omo-Ikuaye threatened to kill me with charms and he went back into their office, brought out a concealed handkerchief and used same to wipe my face and quickly returned it to his office.

“I was seriously intimidated, harassed, molested and treated like an armed robber. My Infinix phone was broken, while the screen guard of my Tecno phone was also broken.

“I was asked to write statement about what happened and a file was opened for that,” Abudu said - The Nation

Shocking !!! Woman rakes in thousands selling her breast milk to men

A mother-of-two, Rafaela Lamprou is raking in thousands by selling her overflowing breast milk to men across the globe.

The married woman gave birth to her son, Anjelo seven months ago, and has since then been producing excess milk which she had no room to store.

Metro reports that she has ever since handed out over 502 litres of breast milk to strangers who pay thousands for it.

That means she has made an impressive $6,000 from her sales to men – and she plans to keep going.

The hotel worker – who also has a four-year-old daughter, Hailey – started by donating her milk to women who were struggling to produce breast milk for their babies. She began sending it to the UK and within her home country of Cyprus and still donates her milk to women.

But the 24-year-old soon found that men were approaching her for the milk – either as part of their health regime or for fetish reasons. Now Rafaela, who lives with her husband Alex, 33, and their two kids, sends her milk out to the men for cash on a regular basis.

She said: “I gave birth to my son seven months ago. I had a lot of milk and I thought I needed to do something with it, so I started storing it.

“But it was too much – it was taking up all the chest freezer. It was full. I didn’t know what to do with it.

“So, I asked a couple of mums who were having trouble breast-feeding if they wanted it. I started giving it away.”

Rafaela continued: “I was producing over two litres of milk a day and giving it to women locally. Then I started shipping it to the UK.

“I liked seeing the new mums’ faces when I was able to help them. I then started to get some enquiries from men.

“It started with men who were interested in body building. They say it is good for building muscle mass.

“But then, I started to get enquiries from men with fetishes. Now I breastfeed on demand. I have no idea what they do with it, but they tell me they consume it.”

Rafaela said that at first, it was a ‘bit strange’ giving her breast milk to guys with fetishes – however, she’s okay with it as long as it doesn’t go any further in terms of asking her to show any part of her body, explaining that she’s “open minded.”

“I am not sure how much longer I will carry on for,” she continued. “I had no idea with my first baby that you could do this kind of thing. But now it is quite addictive.

“My husband is so supportive of me. He is really cool about it. He is happy as long as I am.”

Rafaela has started her own Facebook group to sell her breast milk, where people can approach her.

She is also on a website where men can approach her for the milk. - Daily Post

Evil nation !!! Ekiti broadcaster escapes death over ‘offensive’ phone calls

Popular independent broadcaster in Ekiti State, Dele Alagbon, has escaped death after attacks by unknown individuals who considered his programmes ‘offensive.’

Alagbon,  who is also known as ‘Omo Olope’  in entertainment circles, was waylaid and attacked by a three-man gang on a motorcycle on his way home along Igirigiri road,  Odo Ado, Ado-Ekiti last Wednesday night.

The embattled presenter hosts programmes on radio and television stations within and outside Ekiti State.

The broadcaster said he abandoned his black colour Mercedes Benz C-Class car marked YEE 66 AE and fled the scene to escape.

Narrating his ordeals to our correspondent, Alagbon disclosed that the incident happened at about 10.30 pm not far from Ado Local Government secretariat.

According to him, he had earlier in the day hosted a programme, ‘Isejoba rere’ on Radio Nigeria Progress 100.5 FM between 11am and 12 noon during which many listeners called in to condemn the state government’s alleged failure to pay workers’ salaries.

Alagbon said other callers slammed the government for what they called “massive hunger ravaging Ekiti without any solution in sight.”

The broadcaster also disclosed that the same scenario played out during another programme “Ekiti O Ni Baje,” on a private radio station Voice 89.9 FM, Ado-Ekiti on Saturday February 24 from 9.30 pm to 10.30 pm.

Alagbon said the public outrage on the two radio shows might have been responsible for the attacks on him.

The broadcaster said: “I am not an enemy to anybody. I am a professional broadcaster contributing my quota to Ekiti development.

“I had concluded my programme on Progress FM that fateful day and went to my office to do some editing and attend to speak people after which I headed home at close of work.

“I noticed that three men on Okada were trailing me from Ijigbo roundabout and they caught up with me along a bad portion of road near the local government secretariat in Odo Ado.

“They double crossed me as I stopped to know who they were and they started hitting my car with machetes in their hands.

“They said I am too vocal on my programmes and that I allow people to criticise Governor Ayo Fayose during the phone-in segments.

“As they moved to the back of the car to continue hitting it with machetes in their hands,  I suddenly opened the door and ran as fast as my legs could take me.

“I had to abandon the car and ran for my dear life and in the course of escaping from the scene, I lost my phones and I only recovered the lines this morning.”

Alagbon disclosed that the incident has been reported at Odo Ado Police Station along Poly Road and the Police have launched investigation into the attack.

He explained that the incident caused anxiety in his hometown, Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Areas,  where he was summoned by elders of the community who were fully briefed on the incident.

When asked whether he would back down on the perceived threat to his life,  Alagbon said he remained committed to his numerous listeners and viewers.

He said: “My security is in the hands of God and he will continue to protect me. I will continue to be loyal to my listeners and viewers of my programmes as those shows give them opportunities to be heard.

“I will continue to present those programmes despite my predicament. In fact, I am preparing to host another edition of ‘Ekiti O Ni Baje’ tonight. - The Nation

Failed Nation !!! REVEALED: Fuel subsidy now gulps N774m daily

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Sunday it was subsidising the supply of petrol to the tune of N774 million every day, given the landing cost of the imported fuel and the regulated pump price in the domestic market.

This disclosure is coming a few days after the corporation turned down a freedom of information request by Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, on how much the government was spending on subsidy.

The benefit of this costly subsidy to the national treasury, according to the NNPC, is being enjoyed by only a few as well as in neighbouring countries on the account of the continued smuggling of the fuel across the borders.

Maikanti Baru, NNPC group managing director, has made a passionate plea to the comptroller general of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali, a retired colonel, to help check the proliferation of fuel stations in communities with international land and coastal borders across the country.

He said it had energised unprecedented cross-border smuggling of petrol to neighboring countries, making it difficult to sanitise the fuel supply and distribution matrix in the country.

“NNPC is concerned that continued cross-border smuggling of petrol will deny Nigerians the benefit of the Federal Government’s benevolence of keeping a fix retail price of N145 per litre despite the increase in PMS open market price above N171 per litre,’’ an NNPC statement quoted Baru saying during a visit at the weekend to the customs chief.

“Based on the heightened petrol consumption rate of 50 million litre per day, the corporation was incurring an under-recovery of N774 million every day.”

According to Baru, because of the obvious differential in petrol price between Nigeria and other neighboring countries, it had become lucrative for the smugglers to use the frontier stations as a veritable conduit for the smuggling of products across the border.

He added that this had resulted in a thriving market for Nigerian petrol in all the neighouring countries of Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Chad and Togo and even Ghana which has no direct borders with Nigeria.

The activities of the smugglers, he said, led to recent observed abnormal surge in the evacuation of petrol from less than 35 million litres per day to 60 million litres per day and even to as high as 80 million litres per day as at December last year. 

Nigeria imports around one million metric tonnes per annum of petrol due to the poor performance of the four oil refineries managed by the NNPC. 

NNPC is the only entity currently involved in the fuel importation after private companies pulled out due to their inability to recoup their investment in their venture. - Cable Nigeria

SAD ! Man kills father, stabs mother in Anambra

A young man identified as Ifeanyi Oguejiofor has reportedly killed his father with a knife and stabbed his mother in Abatete community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident occurred on Saturday, barely one week after a man killed his four children, including his 18-year-old maid in Awada Obosi community of the local government.

He was arrested by the Abatete vigilante group in the area and handed over to the police.

However, his mother simply identified as Josephine, who survived the attack narrated that suspect killed his father after demanding money from them.

She explained that their inability to give him the money he requested for resulted in the sad event that claimed her husband’s life.

Anambra police command has apprehended Ogueofor, 27, who is a commercial motorcyclist and begun an investigation into the matter.

When DAILY POST contacted the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra state police command, Mrs Nkeiruka Nwode for confirmation of incident, her mobile number was unreachable. - Daily Post

SAD ! Fiorentina captain Davide Astori dies aged 31

Fiorentina have confirmed that club captain Davide Astori passed away suddenly on the eve of his side's trip to face Udinese in Serie A.

The 31-year-old centre-back had been capped 14 times by Italy and had enjoyed a professional career spanning 12 years.

“Fiorentina are profoundly shaken and forced to announce that their captain Davide Astori has died,” a statement posted on the clubs official website reads.

“For this terrible and delicate situation, and above all out of respect for his family, we appeal to the sensitivity of the media.”

He started out at AC Milan, where he never played a Serie A match, before moving to Cagliari, the club where he made his big breakthrough. He turned out 174 times for the Sardinians in a six-year spell, during which he made his national team debut.

In 2014, he was sent on loan to Roma than a year later made a similar transfer to Fiorentina, but with an obligation to buy at the end of the season. Astori had established himself as a vital member of the squad and had turned out 27 times for the side ranked 10th in the Serie A standings this term.

Udinese have confirmed that the fixture they were scheduled to play against Fiorentina on Sunday has been postponed as a consequence.

"Following the tragic news this morning that struck the ACF Fiorentina and the whole world of football, the match between Udinese and Fiorentina has postponed to date to be arranged," they confirmed. - Goal

Lekki-Epe Expressway Acquisition: Group Writes Ambode, Demands Update On Concession

Transparency-focused organization, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has asked the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to provide updated information on the state government's actions towards the acquisition of the Lekki-Epe Expressway from Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
The demand was made in a letter written to the governor by HEDA.

Dated 23 February and signed by HEDA's Chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the letter said Lagos State taxpayers deserves more than toll increment and opaque Public-Private-Partnership.

HEDA also stated that Lagos residents should be informed why there has been a delay in the acquisition of the Lekki-Epe Road as well as about the terms and agreements of the contract entered into by the Lagos State and the LCC.

"On August 19, 2013, the former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola wrote a letter of proposal to the Lagos State House of Assembly, through the Speaker, requesting additional fund to buy back the interest of LCC in the Lekki-Epe Road.

"Paragraph 3 of the letter says: 'the proposal for further amendment was predicated on the need to fund the acquisition of existing concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the LCC. 
"This will effectively accelerate the transfer of ownership of the road to the state, leaving the state with wider policy options with regards to that important road infrastructure in order to address this issu

"These will entail an increase in the overall budget size by N7.5bn. This is against a background of a projected shortfall of N22.5bn in budgeted internally generated revenues (IGR) which now needs to be covered by additional borrowings,” read HEDA's letter to the governor.

It also recalled that later, at a special plenary section, the Lagos State House of Assembly approved N7.5 billion supplementary budget to speed up the transfer of ownership of the road to the state.

HEDA added that some of the major reasons given by the state government for its decision to buy out the private parties in the concession included the request by the LCC to raise the tolling rate on the first toll plaza by 20% from minimum of N120 to N166 for a car and the insistence that toll must be commenced at the second toll plaza, about 10kilometres from the first.

This LCC had claim that its requests were to enable it raise fund for further construction.

"It is quite unfortunate that the Lagos State government has not been forthcoming in providing clear and detailed information about the project since inception and on latest decision to increase toll on the road. It, therefore, leaves the public with conjectures and rumours of misappropriation of the approved extra-budget for the proposed buy-back.

"There exists no official information on the Lekki-Epe concession project in public domain. Both the Lagos State government and the LCC have refused to make available such information," stated HEDA.

To banish the opacity around the project, HEDA requested an update on the concession and why there has a been a delay in its acquisition. 
"The taxpayers of Lagos State deserve more than passing toll increment and Public-Private-Partnership shrouded in secrecy, opacity and conjectures," HEDA said. - Sahara reporters

Customs seizes vehicles, goods worth over N1b

Officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja,  Lagos, have seized different types of expensive vehicles and contraband goods worth over one billion naira in Lagos.

Arrested in connection with the seized items were 17 suspected smugglers.  Customs, it was learnt, accosted some of the smugglers along Ijebu-Ode Expressway. Among the suspects is a Chinese National Mr. KO Sing Ying.

Addressing reporters in Lagos, the Area Controller Mohammed Uba, said 18 assorted vehicles and 4,201 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice were parts of the items seized from the smugglers.

The vehicles, according to the controller, include one Escalade, one Rolls Royce, one Chrysler, one Audi Q7, one Land Rover HSE, one Toyota Venza, one Ford Taurus, one Honda Cross Tour, four Mercedes Benz and three Kia Rio, among others.

The vehicles range from 2008 to 2015 model.

Uba said his men seized about seven trailer loads of bags of smuggled parboiled rice, with a duty paid value (DPV) of over N51million.

Other seized items  include 2619 cartons of frozen poultry products, 1,105 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 2,637 pieces of used tyres, 1,333 bales of used clothing, 2,001 kg of Pangolin and 343 kg of Elephant Turks  among others.

It was gathered that the value of the Pangolin shells is over N408million, while the Elephant Turks valued over N85million and the two items have been handed over to the officials of the Nigeria Environment Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

Findings revealed that the Warehouse Operation Team led by Assistant Comptroller Mutalib Sule raided an apartment at No 38, Ogundana Street, off Allen Avenue, busted the house where the suspected smugglers kept the Pangolin shells and the Elephant Turks.

It was also, gathered that some of the dealers in Lekki used the Lagos sea port stickers and used number plates on some of the vehicles as a decoy to beat Customs’ checks. But unknown to them, Customs officials had been monitoring their movement for days before swooping on them.

Uba vowed that the unit is determined to make all the smugglers in their area of jurisdiction bankrupt if they continue with their illicit business.

The value of the contraband seized by the unit in the month of February, according to him, is N1,035,232,046.13. - The Nation