₦airaland Forum

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari ensured that the selection process to the various schemes of the National Social Investment Programmes were fair and transparent.

He said this led to a situation where beneficiaries did not need any kind of connection to benefit from the programmes.

The Vice President spoke on Tuesday at a town hall meeting with some beneficiaries of the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) in Yola, Adamawa State, to assess the progress made so far in the implementation of the programme in the state.

Having listened to the various presentations and sessions of testimonials by some beneficiaries of the various segments of the SIPs, he added that, “President Buhari made it clear that the SIP would be a major programme of the administration because he was concerned about poverty and unemployment.”

Osinbajo noted that the programme was designed to benefit all Nigerians irrespective of their background.

The VP assured the beneficiaries that Federal Government will soon scale up the implementation of the SIPs across the country.

He said more N-Power beneficiaries were being added and more micro-credit loans would be made available for beneficiaries, while the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme would be kicking off in the state very soon as cooks have already been selected.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/osinbajo-reveals-buharis-role-in-n.html

Former Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention Committee, Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu, has confirmed that no fewer than 60 persons, have collected form to contest for positions in the party’s forthcoming convention.

Uwajumogu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while handing over to new secretary of the committee, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, at the party’s National Headquarters.

“As at today, more than 60 people have bought forms for the vacant positions, yet the sale of forms is still ongoing.

“However, we are keeping to the timetable released earlier. Everything is still in order and my leaving the position will not affect the process.

“I know very well that with the experiences Sen. Ndoma-Egba has, he will bring more vibes to this convention scheduled for June 23,” he said.

Uwajumogu, who resigned as secretary of the committee recently, said he needed to be away to attend to some personal issues.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/apc-national-convention-60-aspirants.html

Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK) has reacted to the statement made by president Buhari at his investiture as Grand Patron of the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) at the presidential villa in Abuja.

While speaking, president Buhari insinuated that the Nigerian army showed lots of restraints on Biafrans during the civil war

“Earlier in my profession, during the civil war, I know how much sacrifice members of the Nigerian Red Cross and their international counterparts did both in the real front of operations and at the rear, on both sides. I think it is a lot of sacrifices because anything can happen to you in the operational areas.

“The risks they faced were real and I admire their courage and commitment to helping people who were in distress and were virtually in millions. Those photographs of people from the Biafra enclave spoke a lot.

“I remember with nostalgia the performance of the commander-in-chief, General Yakubu Gowon. Every commander was given a copy of the commander-in-chief’s instructions that we were not fighting enemies but that we were fighting our brothers. And thus, people were constrained to show a lot of restraint.

“The international observer teams were allowed to go as far as possible within and outside the front and I think this was generous and very considerate of General Gowon. He is a highly committed Nigerian” he said.

Buhari lied about when he said the Nigeria Army showed restraint on Biafrans - FFK

Reacting to the statement, FFK called the Buhari a liar as he pointed out the massacre that was carried out on innocent civilian Biafrans in Asaba.

FFK shared on Facebook:

”One of the most wicked and despicable lies that President Muhammadu Buhari has ever told is that the Nigerian Army was restrained when fighting the Biafrans during the civil war.

This is a lie from the pit of hell and it is insulting and deeply offensive. We must learn from our history and never repeat its mistakes.

Was the Asaba massacre in which thousands of innocent and defenceless young boys and old men were slaughtered an act of restraint?

Or was the killing of 2 million innocent and defenceless Biafran civilians and the premeditated and contrived starving to death of 1 million innocent Biafran children an act of restraint?

For God sake where is our humanity? Must we lie even about our history and must we always deny the truth and attempt to revise it? No wonder they banned the teaching of history in our schools. Too much to hide!

The truth is that if not for the fact that the same group of people have been calling the shots in our country since 1966 every single commander of the Nigerian Army during the civil war, including Muhammadu Buhari, would have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Court of Justice at the Hague by now for the atrocities they commited against the Igbo race and the Biafran people during the civil war.

I don’t need to be an Igbo to say or admit that. I just need to be an honest and objective historian and a God-fearing citizen of the world.

We must ask God to forgive us for what we did to the civilian population in Biafra and we must NEVER allow such a thing to happen again. Until that is done Nigeria will neither know peace or meaningful progress.

War is one thing but the targetting of innocent and defenceless civilians, including women and childen, for ethnic cleansing, genocide and mass murder is quite another!”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/buhari-lied-about-when-he-said-nigeria.html

Aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State under the umbrella of Unity Forum on Monday declared that they have approached the court of law to challenge the inauguration of Chief Akin Oke as the state chairman of the party.

It was learnt that Akin Oke was on Monday inaugurated into office by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, national chairman of the party in Abuja.

But secretary of the group, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, in a statement obtained by DAILY POST, said that the forum have no other option but to reject the purported inauguration by taking their grievances to the the court to challenge the swearing-in.

Olatunbosun said, “We wish to state our rejection of the swearing-in of Chief Oke. In the wee hours of yesterday (Sunday), the men of Governor Abiola Ajimobi had gone to town claiming that a top official in the Presidency from the South West had instructed the national leadership of the party to change its report on the congresses in Oyo State and swear in Chief Oke as the Chairman.

“We assure our teeming members and supporters that this act of injustice and ungodliness by men that were supposedly men of God will not stand.

“We have approached the courts to adjudicate on the matter. We restate our contention that the supporters of Governor Ajimobi did not pay for nor collected nomination forms for the ward congress of the party.”

The Unity Forum maintained that, “Everything built on the ward congress that never took place cannot stand.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/oyo-apc-faction-rejects-inauguration-of.html

Read the statement from the police on how arrested suspects linked Senate President Bukola Saraki and Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, in Offa bank robbery and murder of over 30 persons.

Read below;

The investigation into the Offa Bank Robbery and gruesome killings of more than THIRTY THREE (33) Innocent persons in Offa, Kwara State on the 5th April, 2018 directed by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni, has made significant progress, successes and more revelations have been recorded. The Gang Leaders and some of the principal suspects arrested for their active participation in the robbery and the killing of innocent persons have made confessional statements admitting to the various criminal roles they and their sponsors played in this dastard and heinous crime.

2. The Five (5) gang leaders namely; Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran and some of the other Seventeen (17) suspects arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the Offa Bank Robbery and the gruesome killing of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons which includes (some pregnant women and nine (9) Police personnel) admitted, confessed and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

3. The arrests of the above mentioned Five (5) Gang Leaders and seventeen (17) others were made possible after the arrest of two principal suspects (Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35yrs and Michael Adikwu an Ex-Convict) whose pictures captured by CCTV in one of the Banks during the Banks robbery were circulated to the media and the public. The two (2) principal suspects confessed to be among the suspects led by the five (5) gang leaders listed in paragraph 2 above to carry out the Offa Banks Robbery, the attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters, Offa and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons on the 5th of April, 2018.

4. During interrogation, the five (5) gang leaders mentioned in paragraph 2 further confessed and volunteered statements that they carried out the Bank Robberies, the attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Offa and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons during the robbery of the following six (6) banks (i) First Bank Offa (ii) Guarantee Trust Bank Offa (iii) ECO Bank Offa (iv) Zenith Bank Offa (v) Union Bank Offa (vi) Ibolo Micro Finance Bank Offa and (vii) the Divisional Police Headquarters, Offa on 5th April, 2018.

5. Millions of Naira from the Banks and Twenty One (21) AK47 Rifles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force in the Armoury of the Police Divisional Headquarters, Offa were admitted to have been carted away by the Five (5) gang leaders and the other Seventeen (17) principal suspects during the Banks robbery.

6. The Five (5) gang leaders confessed and volunteered statements to the Police investigators, giving a clear account of how they planned and carried out the Banks robbery operation in Offa, the attack on the Police Division in Offa and how they killed the THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons during the robbery.

7 The Five (5) gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name Youth Liberation Movement a.k.a “Good Boys” admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

8. In the course of discreet investigation into the confessions of these five (5) gang leaders and the other seventeen (17) principal suspects, a Lexus jeep GX-300 (Ash Colour) with a sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” used by the gang leader (Ayoade Akinnibosun ‘M’ 37Yrs) during the bank robbery and the killing of the THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons was taken to Government House, Ilorin on 16th May, 2018 where the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” was removed before another plate number (Reg. No. Kwara, KMA 143 RM) registered in the name of Ayoade AKinnibosun the Overall Commander of the Offa Bank Robbery was then attached to the vehicle to cover up the identity of the said vehicle. The exhibit vehicle was subsequently recovered from the premises of the Min. of Environmental and Forestry in Ilorin, Kwara State. While the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” removed from the vehicle was recovered from one Adeola Omiyale who drove the said Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin immediately after the Bank Robbery.

9. The Personal Assistant (Political) to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Alabi Olalekan, who is privy to information that the Police is looking for the lexus Jeep as an exhibit used in the Offa Bank Robbery and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons directed one Adeola Omiyale to relocate the Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin. The PA (Political) is currently in Police custody and has made useful statement assisting the Police in further investigation into the case. A revolver pistol and pump action gun were recovered by the Police Investigation Team from the Personal Assistant (Political) to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Alabi Olalekan’s Farm where he directed his brother to hide them after his arrest by the Police.

10. In order to conceal evidence, the Chief of Staff to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Yusuf Abdulwahab who has been arrested and taken into Police custody, arranged the removal of the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” from the exhibit vehicle and also registered the exhibit Lexus Jeep used in the Offa Bank Robbery and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons in the name of Ayoade AKinnibosun, the overall Gang Commander of the Offa Bank Robbery while the Ayoade AKinnibosun was already in Police custody for more than six (6) days before the registration of the vehicle.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/read-police-statement-detailing-how.html

Singer Eddy Remedy has shed more light on how his failed marriage to Kenny Saint brown ruined his music career.

Speaking with Sunday Scoop, Eddy said;

“I don’t have any low point apart from my failed marriage. Things were going fine for me until I started having problems with my marriage. It was possible I could have saved it if I had put in more effort but I am also human. Right now, I have grown and I know we all make mistakes as humans. I made my mistakes and she (Kenny Saint Best) must have made hers too. Do you think anyone is perfect?”

He continued;

“For years, I did not put out songs. You would remember that my marriage was in trouble and I broke down emotionally. My doctor didn’t want me to get back to work because of my state of health and mind.

“I lost my marriage and my kids were not with me as well. I had to take a break for my health and my children because different stories were written about me and I didn’t want my kids to grow up with that tension. Even though my music suffered, it was very important for me to take a break at that time.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/popular-nigerian-artiste-reveals-how.html

No fewer than 10 persons have been killed and several persons injured in a war that erupted between cult groups in Otukpo, Benue State.

DAILY POST gathered that some of the victims were killed at a popular drug joint known as Banana Island.

One of the victims was a barber, who was shot outside his saloon at Akpa Street, while another victim was killed along Uloko lane all in Otukpo local government area.

At the moment, the community is in disarray as residents are scampering for safety.

More to come…

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/10-killed-as-cult-groups-clash-in.html

Serena Williams has set up a heavyweight fourth-round showdown with her old foe, Maria Sharapova on Monday, after she took only 75 minutes to knock out German 11th seed Julia Goerges 6-3 6-4 at the French Open.

Just seven matches into her comeback following a maternity break, Williams ranked 451st impressed all those watching on the 10,000-seater Suzanne Lenglen Court — including former boxing champion Mike Tyson — by pulverizing her opponent.

After she broke for a 3-1 lead with a blazing crosscourt winner, tremors were felt all around the arena as Williams smashed the ball away with all her might to wrap up the opening set.

Goerges broke the 23-times Grand Slam champion in the fourth game of the second set to get back on level terms at 2-2 but her moment in the spotlight was fleeting as she dropped serve in the very next game and Williams roared on to an easy victory.

After reaching the last 16 of a major for the first time as a mother, Williams was all smiles.

“It’s really special to be here again. This time last year I was pregnant and I was having a tough time and then I had a tough birth so every match at this stage of my return is a bonus,” Williams, who suffered multiple complications following the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia, said courtside.

Two days ago Williams, the owner of three Roland Garros trophies, had to come from a set and break down to defeat 17th seed Ashleigh Barty.

If that topsy-turvy performance had given Goerges hope that she could finish off a job that Barty could not — it did not take long for reality to sink in.

The woman who the rankings state is only the 451st best player in the world showed what she is made of as she rolled into the Paris fourth round for the 12th time.

Both Williams and Sharapova had met 21 times, since 2004 at the Miami Masters. Williams won, but Sharapova went on to beat Williams at Wimbledon and WTA championship of the same year. Since then, Williams had not lost any match to the Russian.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/serena-williams-sets-up-4th-round.html

A Lagos trader who has been accused of killing his own wife, has made some revelations about how the woman died in their home.

Mr. & Mrs Chukwu

He was looking forlorn but with a discernible sober demeanour. In fact, at a glance, one needs no further introduction to the seriousness of the case that brought the once robust but now, malnourished suspect into the confines of the dreaded cell at the Lagos State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba. It was somehow herculean getting to talk to a suspected killer of his dashingly beautiful wife but the chance meet beside the cell did the trick.

Regrettably, Tochukwu Chukwu, 35, a diploma graduate of Petrochemical Engineering from Imo state University, IMSU, is being drilled by crack detectives over the circumstances that led to the untimely death of his precious wife, Joy, 32, whose body was seen with a deep gush at the shoulder, neatly packaged inside a mini plastic drum, penultimate Wednesday, at their residence in Oshodi, Lagos. The trader in motor spare parts at the popular Ladipo market, Lagos was initially reticent over his plight but later, he opened up exclusively to Crime Guard. His startling narration of the events that led to the ugly incident and the aftermath is as puzzling as it is heartrending.

His story: “My name is Tochukwu Chukwu. I am 35 years old from Isokara village, Ezza local government area of Ebonyi state. I grew up in Ihiala , Anambra state with my mother but my father resides in our village. He was an army captain but retired in 1992. When I finished my primary and secondary school at Ihiala, I came to Lagos in the year 1998 , where I started trading in motor parts in Ladipo main market. That was how I started my life in Lagos. I met my wife, Joy, in Lagos.”

How we met.

“I met my wife, Joy in Ladipo too, where she was serving food in January 2014. I came across her because I was the assistant chairman of Alhaji Omotayo traders Union Association, unit 6. I came across Joy when she used to serve food and some boys refused to pay money, so I used to intervene in her case. That was how I developed interest in her.

I told her I wanted her and she agreed. Later, we went to her village, Nkahala in Nkalagu, Ohaukwu lolcal government area of Ebonyi state. Then, her mother and father were alive. She is the first daughter in their family after the death of her other siblings. Her parents were very happy with me because I made her to stop serving food and get involved in my lucrative business of selling motor spare parts.

That’s how we got engaged as husband and wife and she moved into my house at number 32, Balogun Street, Oshodi . “Subsequently, early in 2016, as Igbo tradition demands, I did the traditional marriage. Unfortunately, her father died that year and she was so frustrated but I consoled her. We were planning our white wedding for January 2019 but along the line, I found out that she had a boyfriend.

I confronted her and she said the boy was just a casual friend. I was not comfortable with her explanation and I reminded her that whatever she would do now would tarnish my image because she had become my wife. She promised to change but I did not see any change. Honestly, I saw that as a challenge and vowed that I would do everything to satisfy her so that she would not have male friends. I made sure she came to my shop with my younger ones as a way of keeping her busy. In fact, if you ask my colleagues at the market, they were always taunting me for being the only person allowing his wife to freely stay in my shop.

Suspicion galore

“Along the line, I noticed that she was still answering her calls secretly and I suspected her behaviour. I confronted her again and she opened up and told me that the boy’s name is Olowu and hey met one day when the motorcycle I bought for her had a problem and he assisted her. I then advised her to be very careful.

I did not take serious action because of the love I had for her. However, early this year, she answered a call while in the shop and when I asked her the caller, she said i t was the same boy she referred to as a casual boyfriend. She told me he wanted her to see him at Maza-Maza. After noticing that she was very eager to go, I then allowed her but instructed that she must not stay more than three hours.

Night out with a lover

“Shockingly she did not come back that day. The next day, she came back in the evening and when I confronted her, she knelt down, pleading that I should forgive her. I now asked her if she loved the man and she said it was fake love; that I was her real lover. She said she slept over in a hotel with the man because it rained.

When I persistently asked her if they made love, she reluctantly agreed. That was what aroused my anger and I asked her if she would like to marry the man but she said no. I then told her that I would not marry her again.She started begging me that I should not let members of her family, especially her widowed mother to hear what she did. May be, I made a mistake by allowing her to go but it was all because of the love I had for her.When she continued begging me, I assured her that I would not tell her mother. So, I did not let anybody know about it.

Facebook and Whatasaap chats

“After this, I noticed that she was still at it. I noticed that she was always in the habit of hiding her phones whenever calls came and she was constantly busy on facebook and whatsaap. To me, I don’t engage in all these social media, all I do is to make call and send text messages. So, every night, I was trying to caution my wife again about the male friends she keeps but the calls from that Olowu kept coming. She would be on phone for over one hour.

That was when I decided to report her conduct to her mother and I travelled home for that. While at home, the mother pleaded that I should forgive her because I was all they had I have helped the family a lot especially after the death of their father. I built a house for them in the village and I am taking care of her mother and siblings in the village. After the mother pleaded with me that night, I called her only for a man to pick my call.

I now remembered that there was this rumour in our vicinity that whenever I travelled, a man came to sleep over in my house. In fact, I heard that one Yoruba woman even quarrelled with her over that. That was why I secretly decoded her secret code and what I saw baffled me. When I picked Olowu, her boyfriend’s number, what I saw were romantic messages like; ‘my lover, my mummy,’ the unclothedness of my wife and the Olowu doing some whaatsaap chatting.I also found out that there were many lovers on the phone. I showed all these to her mother who pleaded that I should exercise patience.

Confrontation in Lagos

“Then, I came back to Lagos and confronted her again. Instead of explaining to me or being apologetic as usual, she flared up. She was so confrontational that I would have beaten her silly but in my family; we do not raise our hands on women. If you do that, you must offer a goat in sacrifice At that stage, she locked the door against me when I wanted to leave the house. She knew that I could not engage her because I had an accident on my left eye and leg and I could not use them well. So, she was trying to overpower me and we were struggling at the door. She kept on uttering and shouting on top of her voice that I should beat her I insisted that she should allow me to go. At that stage, she went for one of the kitchen knives we had in our two-room apartment and was threatening that I must not leave.

The final kill

“While we were both struggling, she was holding me in the waist and I was trying to push her out and open the door, she fell on the floor and started shouting. I stopped to see why she was shouting and I found out that the knife has passed through her back and she was bleeding heavily. I couldn’t shout , I couldn’t leave her at that spot to run out , I tried to stop the bleeding but all of a sudden, she became weak and slumped on the floor.

When it happened, I didn’t know what to do. I rushed downstairs , brought a big bucket . Because it was then I noticed that she had died, I didn’t know how to tell people that she had died, that she was the one that killed herself. I put her body inside a mini drum. I was confused; I just went to take alcohol to think of what had just happened. I left her in the mini drum. I just dropped her like that and closed it. I went into the market at Ladipo. It happened about 1pm or 2pm. I went there because I didn’t know what to do or who to tell, I was there until it was late. I came back and did not know what to do; should I just bring her out and start shouting that see what happened. Later that night, I brought her inside the mini drum to where they sell water and started shouting. I didn’t know how to say it, I just said that I came in to bath and I saw my wife this way.

Mob action

“To my surprise, the people who came were those I had problems with before , that did one or two things with my wife , they stay close to the house where they would smoke and drink. They started shouting that they would kill me today , not even allowing me to say anything. That I killed my beautiful wife. In the process, they broke my hands and knees, they took me to the police station, and then Panti.

Reminiscences

“Lest I forget, since we got married in 2016, we were expected to have had children but anytime we wanted to make love, she insisted on using condom. I told her that since we were married, we were supposed to have a child. We have been together, since 2016. I paid her bride price. Later, I found out that she was taking contraceptive and I confronted her with that but she denied.

Regrets

“I loved my wife so much in spite of the fact that she was cheating on me. I know that wherever she is now, she knows that I loved her so much and did everything for her and her family. I have the heart to forgive her and everything that she did because not every man would have the heart to forgive her. If I see her again, I will tell her to forgive me. Though I did not kill her, it was a mistake and this is the handiwork of the evil one. ‘What somebody does not know shouldn’t kill him.’ It is spiritual.

Honestly, I regret her death. To think that I cannot see her again will taunt me for life. I will miss her greatly. I plead with government to allow me to go and bury my wife. While I was in the cell, she came to me in a dream and we were talking about how we met and I was asking her a lot of questions. When I woke up, I started crying.

Antecedents

“You know what? I am an Anglican but she did not go to church with me. If you go to where I trade, they will tell you that I am a disciplined man. People were jealous of me because I married a very beautiful woman. I am not the party type but she liked going out a lot. Each time she clamoured for us to go to parties, I refused. I even advised that we should rather drink and merry at home but she always looked forward to going out. I heard people saying that I cut her body parts into pieces, it is not true. I kept her body intact inside the mini drum and the police still have everything intact in the mortuary.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/lagos-trader-accused-of-killing-his-own.html

A day after her private traditional wedding to Prince Olateru-Olagbegi, sensational singer, Mo’Cheddah has stepped out in style.
The newlywed who has not shared any photo from her wedding yet, has shared photos of herself in an all-white outfit today.
Modupe-Oreoluwa Oyeyemi Ola, known by her stage name Mo’Cheddah, is a Nigerian rapper and singer. She is just 27 and she is signed to Knighthouse Entertainment. She released her debut studio album, Franchise Celebrity.
See photos below:

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/newlywed-mocheddah-comes-out-of-hiding.html

President and Chairman of Dangote Group and the Dangote Foundation Alhaji Aliko Dangote have revealed that he does not only want to be known as an African richest man as its biggest philanthropist.

He vowed that he will continue to use his resources to help shape a better Nigeria and Africa in general.

Dangote stated this Wednesday in Lafia during the launching/disbursement of N130 million donation to 13,000 vulnerable women in Nasarawa by the Aliko Dangote Foundation micro-grant program.

“I do not only want to be known as an African richest man but the biggest philanthropist in Africa. I will continue to use my resources to help shape a better Nigeria and Africa as a whole, said the billionaire.

The Aliko Dangote Foundation, he said, was established in 1993 with the belief that supporting social and economic change through strategic investments and interventions that improves the lives of the less fortunate is what will make a positive difference in the nation.

Dangote said that the four major goals of the Foundation are health and nutrition, education, economic empowerment, and disaster relief

“The micro-grant program is one of the components of economic empowerment scheme of the foundation; it provides the advantage of the vulnerable women with an unconditional N10,000 cash transfer to boost their household, income generation.

“This, we believe, will help reduce their vulnerability and meet their livelihood needs. The program was launched a few years ago, is being systematically rolled out nationwide, targeting minimum of 1000 vulnerable women in each of the 774 local government areas in the country

“It is estimated that we will spend about N10 billion, some few states with the large population will get a little above more. Apart from this, we also have a program of which we lend money through Bank of Industry at zero interest, and this will be given to people in the media industries

“The program is equally aimed at complimenting the effort of the state government in the economic empowerment and poverty reduction drive. For the first time in the history of the program, we have partnered with Access Bank to open accounts for all the 13,000 beneficiaries in Nasarawa state.

“We will issue them with customised debit cards which we are unveiling today. The essence of this, in addition to the program, is that we are introducing banking to their doorsteps in their local communities

“They no longer need to travel the long distance to the local government headquarters for banking services as they can do their banking transactions communities going forward,” he said.

He explained that the accounts have all been credited with the grants and an adequate number of the bank’s agents, trained and mobilised to provide the beneficiaries with basic banking activities.

He said the Foundation and the Access Bank team will be going to each local government across the states to distribute the cards to the selected beneficiaries.

“We at Aliko Dangote are happy to continue to provide support to most vulnerable members of the society across the states,” he said

Also speaking, Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura said the program will complement government efforts in its determination to provide and secure the necessities of life for citizens.

He said the benevolence is in consonance with his administration’s initiative on women empowerment.

“We distributed funds to 10 women each from all the 147 electoral wards in the state. They included widows, the indigent and physically challenged, among others.

“I assure you that arrangements have been concluded to commence another batch of such endeavour, particularly to the aged women, aimed at sustaining our efforts in this direction,” the governor said.

He revealed that government will soon commence a robust recruitment of Nasarawa state indigenes into the services of the government of the state.

“Accordingly, N1.2 billion has been earmarked for the purpose,” he said.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/i-do-not-only-want-to-be-known-as.html

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has reacted to the defection of Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye from the All Progressives Congress, APC.

DAILY POST reports that the embattled lawmaker had on Wednesday decamped from the APC to the PDP on the floor of the senate.

Melaye, who appeared with clutches and neck support at Wednesday’s plenary, said he was no longer comfortable sitting on his seat at the wing of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He requested to cross over to the wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

However, reacting, Saraki said Dino Melaye was still a member of the APC.

He said ”As far as I’m concerned, Dino Melaye is still a member of the APC.”

Saraki who was laughing after Dino announced his defection, added that “Melaye will be allowed to temporarily seat among the opposition for now.”

He added “I don’t think at any time in his contribution the issue of change of allegiance or party ever came up. It’s not an issue that has come up today at all. He talked about his state of mind and comfort.

”None of us has been through what he has been through neither do I think the rules have ever foresaw this kind of situation. As part of our spirit of giving support, we will accommodate his request and make sure that seat is comfortable so that you can come back.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/saraki-reacts-to-dino-melayes-defection.html

An FCT High Court has awarded the sum of N3 million in damages against the Nigeria Police over the prolonged detention of Nigeria-born former United States police officer, Maisule Kurugu.

Justice M. A. Nasir held that the detention of Kurugu for six days, without recourse to a court of law, violated sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42 and 46 of the 1999 Constitution.

He ruled that only the wrong done to the applicant, which included arresting him in the presence of his family and friends and preventing him from travelling from the airport could be remedied by the award of damages.

In the judgment delivered on May 24, Justice Nasir refused to award exemplary damages, upheld the submission of the police lawyer that there was reasonable ground for the police to make the arrest in line with sections 214 and 215 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 4 of the Police Act CAP P.19 LFN, 2004 following allegations against the applicant and his business partner, Adamu Mohammed.

Kurugu, who retired from the Texas State Police, demanded the sum of N500m against ex-IGP Abubakar, serving IGP Ibrahim Idris, Mrs Augusta Osagie, a business woman; Ibrahim Bello Sada, a DSS official; C.S.P. Onuoha Emeka, a Chief Superintendent of Police and DPO of Airport Police Station; Inspector Vincent Agyo, and the Nigeria Police.

In the fundamental rights enforcement application by his lawyer, Francis Mgbo, the chairman of Global Security and Equipment Ltd, also sought an order compelling the police to issue a public apology in three national newspapers over the arrest and detention.

The application followed the arrest and detention of Kurugu for six days at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on January 11, 2017 and the alleged seizure of his international passport and luggage.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/police-to-pay-ex-american-cop-n3m-over.html

Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu has declared that contrary to the assertion of the opposition, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has taken Nigeria to higher heights in the last three years.Okechukwu who spoke yesterday in Abuja said Nigerians should use today’s celebration of democracy to appreciate Buhari and the APC for pulling the country back from the brink that the last administration had dragged it.

He said, “Contrary to the lies being peddled around, I don’t think that democracy under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is derailing. Rather, what one would say is that Nigeria’s democracy is getting to the peak to the extent that any candidate can go to any political party and make his way.

“Because of the partisan nature of our politics, we can say that our democracy had matured in the sense that the opposition had won election both at the parliamentary, governorship and at the presidential levels. If you recall, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose even boasted that for the two times he became governor, he defeated two incumbent governors and that he would ensure the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) repeat the feat again in the Ekiti governorship poll that is around the corner. So this then means our democracy has matured.

“Recall that President Buhari defeated an incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential poll, which on its own shows the maturity of the system. And the incumbent conceded defeat without even heading to court. Today there is freedom of expression. I don’t know of any journalist today that is under lock and key in spite of all that is being skewed against the administration in different newspapers, radio stations and other media outfits in the country.

“It is mere propaganda that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security outfits have been unleashed to crack down on the opposition in the country. Propaganda in the sense that pre-2015, you could not probe Maikanti Baru as GMD NNPC. You can only probe those who were there during the glorious years of the oil sales. You cannot try Osita Okechukwu for pre-2015 Voice of Nigeria (VON). But today if there is a new government and you have to investigate VON, you have to bring me into it. “When Mr. President talked about the $16 million spent on power, he was making the reference because it was what was allegedly spent on the watch of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“If you want to investigate the Green Field Refinery that was announced in May 2010 by the President Jonathan regime, it is the President Jonathan regime that you are going to investigate. The party that lost power at the centre on May 29, 2015 was in power for 16 years. They headed almost all the ministries, departments and agencies. So it is a natural flow in the course of event. There is not anything selective about the anti-graft campaign of the Buhari government.

“On the issue of whether insecurity constitutes a threat to the country’s democracy, we must acknowledge that government is not resting on its oars to tackle the problem. The problem is not peculiar to the country. As we speak, they kill more number of people in Chicago in a month far more than what we have here in Nigeria in a month. This is aside from what happens in New York and Texas. There are fault lines from one country to the other on insecurity. Insecurity is not an adjunct to democracy per se.

“People have said the APC is not living up to their expectations going by the outcome of the ward, local government and state congresses. As far as I am concerned, there is no crisis in the APC. In 2011, I led the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) as governorship candidate in Enugu State because the market was very small. We were looking for people at the time but they didn’t come. But under the APC, there is now a large market and everybody wants to deliver his ward to produce the councilor, his local government to produce the chairman or House member and at the state level to have a say on who becomes governor.

“But when we were in CPC we were calling people but they didn’t come. So the larger the market, the more the noise. Those that are complaining are aware there is an APC constitution. Under Section 20 of that constitution, it is expressly stated that the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party will design the framework, rules and regulations for congresses and primaries and that is exactly what they did.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/with-buhari-democracy-is-on-course-says.html

Nigerian singer, 2face Idibia has joined activists across the country are marking today, May 28 as a national day of mourning over the widespread and incessant killings in Nigeria. Several states including Benue, Taraba and Zamfara have been hit by persistent violence caused by Fulani herdsmen and others caused by armed bandits.

Tired of the federal government’s seeming inability to curb the violence, activists took to the streets of Lagos and Abuja to draw attention to the state of affairs in Nigeria, with the hope that more urgent and effective action will be taken.

Other notable Nigerians supporting this campaign include Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Mathew Hassan Kukah and Co-founder of BudgIT, Oluseun Onigbinde.

Below are pictures from the ongoing protest.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/2face-joins-activist-in-protest-against.html

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it is getting increasingly baffled by the penchant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to spew falsehood in the name of opposition rhetoric and politics.

The ruling party said this against the backdrop of recent statement by a spokesperson of the PDP in which the APC was accused of corruption, sectionalism and clampdown on the opposition in the build-up to the 2019 elections.

The APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said: “While it is a widely-known fact that suppressing the opposition was the stock in trade of the PDP during its defunct 16-year rule, the APC has definitely not inherited this undemocratic practice in its governance style both in its internal politics and the country’s administration, under President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Abdullahi urged Nigerians to recall how past PDP administrations allegedly abused state apparatus in harassing opposition figures as seen in the attack on the APC data centre, blockade of the air and road routes to prevent movement of then opposition leaders in the lead-up to the 2015 elections, among other clampdowns that are too numerous to list.

“The PDP is quick to forget the divisive, insensitive and sectional politics it played during the 2015 electioneering campaign when its women’s wing led by a former first lady denigrated the country’s north as parasitic and unwilling to educate and cater for its young populace. In fact, the PDP-led administration at the time pointedly regarded the Boko Haram insurgency as a northern affair,” he added.

The ruling party also said the PDP without an iota of proof accused the APC-led administration of ‘barefaced’ looting, saying “Elections are around the corner and Nigerians are not gullible. They see through the PDP’s diversionary antics aimed at deflecting attention from the wanton culture of impunity and corruption it instituted when it held sway.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/your-penchant-for-falsehood-baffling.html

A former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, has reacted to the comment by President Muhammadu Buhari that $16 billion was spent on the power sector by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

She pointed out that the issue was too important to be joked with, adding that a serious leadership would have taken the necessary action on the matter.

The former Minister on her twitter handle, @obyezeks, noted that it was not enough to bring up the issue whenever there is a political debate.

Ezekwesili tweeted, “The ‘$16Billion Power Sector expenditure allegation’ has a way of always surfacing for public debate whenever there are squabbles within the political circle.

“I wish to assert that it is time for Citizens to demand independent and exhaustive expert investigation of that matter.

“The Power Sector is too important a determinant of the level of Productivity and Competitiveness of each Nigerian, Business and Country as a whole to be mired in unresolved controversy among the Political Class.


“Let’s have an independent expert panel inaugurated to investigate.”

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/obasanjo-vs-buhari-oby-ezekwesili.html

Nina in a recent interview has defended her actions of cutting ties with former boyfriend, Collins following the reports that she dumped him after her rendezvous with the reality TV show’s winner, Miracle.

According to Nina who confirmed that she has talked with Collins on the phone and not a live conversation, all that they said is between herself and him – she revealed though that he has already moved on.

She also disclosed that she has moved on from him and now focused on building a brand.

Watch the below video;


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmqyarRZf2M


http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/05/bbnaija-collins-has-moved-on-and-im.html