Rebuttal:

Please note today being 7th of March, 2022; there was never any moment Gov. Sanni claimed/confirmed he is now the Chairman of APC as a party; but rather told the press and the general public that he has been acting for Gov. Buni ever since he travelled.

Events at secretariat were carried out as scheduled (taking of oaths by state chairmen for proper convention this month) and such never constituted overthrowing or sacking anyone.

Rebuttal:

Please note today being 7th of March, 2022; there was never any moment Gov. Sanni claimed/confirmed he is now the Chairman of APC as a party; but rather told the press and the general public that he has been acting for Gov. Buni ever since he travelled.

Events at secretariat were carried out as scheduled (taking of oaths by state chairmen for proper convention this month) and such never constituted overthrowing or sacking anyone.

Rebuttal:

Please note today being 7th of March, 2022; there was never any moment Gov. Sanni claimed/confirmed he is now the Chairman of APC as a party; but rather told the press and the general public that he has been acting for Gov. Buni ever since he travelled.

Events at secretariat were carried out as scheduled (taking of oaths by state chairmen for proper convention this month) and such never constituted overthrowing or sacking anyone.

Even many bank executives and managers have side hustle (though the bank must not get to know as is unethical for you to have a business along side your employment) You need not quite your job, hire a school leaver to manage the POS.
A time is coming when you will realize that work experience count too, aside money.

Singing or marching 'Doremi' is never a cult practice, it's colloquially known as a the “Ameno Dorime” song. It’s a hunting little ditty that features a pitch-altered Gregorian chant over unsettling, sparse electronic music, and is generally reserved for soundtracking the most cursed content on the app found in the dark corners of an area known as “alt TikTok.” It's s meme.

LaLiga has barred Barcelona from registering new players, because of their financial troubles, Goal reports.

Barca have exceeded LaLiga’s strict salary limit and until players leave the Nou Camp, new signings like Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia cannot be officially registered with the league.

Emerson Royal has also arrived this summer as the club chases mainly free transfers.

Captain Lionel Messi is also currently a free agent after his deal expired on June 30.

Although negotiations are ongoing with Messi, Barcelona need to clear salary space to re-register him.

Players are being pushed to leave the club, some by choice and some out of sheer necessity for the urgent salary-cap situation.

Barcelona will be unable to register any of their new signings or re-sign Lionel Messi to a new contract unless they find a way to trim £170m from their wage budget.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said that Barcelona have exceeded their salary cap for the upcoming season, which has kick-started a mass exodus from the club.

Jean-Clair Todibo, Konrad de la Fuente, Junior Firpo and Francisco Trincao have all been sold or loaned and Matheus Fernandes has had his contract terminated, but that is only the start for Barcelona.

The club’s finances are completely short. They’re in debt to the tune of almost £1bn, but the more pressing concern is their wage structure, which has spiralled out of control so badly that, according to Goal, no new players can actually be registered yet.

Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Emerson have all joined the club this summer, but because Barcelona are over their salary cap, they cannot be registered to play and it will stay that way unless they can cut an enormous £170m from their annual wage budget.

As Messi‘s contract has expired, he also classes as a ‘new player’, meaning Barcelona cannot afford to bring him back and register him unless they make some drastic changes.

There are hopes that Barcelona will be able to offload high-earners like Samuel Umtiti, Miralem Pjanic and Philippe Coutinho as well. That would free up around £55m from the budget, but because Barcelona’s wage spending is higher than their income, La Liga rules dictate they can only spend 25% of the money they save on wages for new players. That £55m freed up translates to just under £14m on new wages, which is nowhere near enough.

Because of that, Barcelona are expected to make some tough decisions on a handful of their older players. There have been plenty of rumours suggesting left-back Jordi Alba could be on his way out, and the same goes for midfielder Sergio Busquets, although there are hopes that the latter will agree to slash his salary with a new contract.

According to Mundo Deportivo, there could be at least five more departures from Camp Nou before the club can entertain the idea of re-signing Messi.

On top of Coutinho, Umtiti and Pjanic, Barcelona are likely to sell Neto, Martin Braithwaite and Carles Alena, but there have even been discussions over offloading some of the club’s top earners like Sergi Roberto or even Antoine Griezmann.

Roberto has one year remaining on his contract and has been made available for transfer, although there has been such little interest in him that Barcelona are even considering offering him a new contract.

There is so much work to be done before Barcelona can re-sign Messi. Former president Josep Maria Bartomeu ran the club into the ground with no thought, and new chief Joan Laporta is working tirelessly to try and piece things back together again

https://www.operafootball.com/ng/en/6b4d75d2210706en_ng

Thank you so much.

As regards POF, is not a requirement for CAS in from my school.
Application, they offered me a place with conditions of Employer Reference and Scratch Card to check my WAEC; which I did.
They only awaiting my 50% tuition deposit to send me CAS.

quote author=angelss813 post=101110546]Please, Justwise and those in house advise me on third party tuition deposit:

My brother (different surname) who is in the UK has offered to pay 50% tuition deposit, a condition for CAS from my prospective school for me.
Is this tenable? Do the embassy require deposit payment receipt/teller as part of Visa application?

Thanks.

There's no problems paying for you, after the payment, the university will send you a receipt showing how much you deposited.

Or you can send the Telex that the Bank sent to you including your CAS form, international passport, WAEC, First degree before the university with send your CAS to you.

What about your 28 days POF to get your CAS?

Embassy don't need your receipt but your CAS is what they need and documents listed on the CAS[/quote]

Please, Justwise and those in house advise me on third party tuition deposit:

My brother (different surname) who is in the UK has offered to pay 50% tuition deposit, a condition for CAS from my prospective school for me.
Is this tenable? Do the embassy require deposit payment receipt/teller as part of Visa application?

Thanks.

Yes, dead people voted in this election and Democrats helped make it happen
Many Trump voters believe this election was unfair. They're right.

It's been more than a week since the final votes were cast and many of Donald Trump's 72 million voters still believe this election was fundamentally unfair. They're right about that. Democrats completely changed the way we voted in this election. Our system has never been more disorganized and it's never been more vulnerable to manipulation.

So was there voter fraud last week? We've been working on that quetion ever since Election Night. We've tried to be careful and precise as we report this out. In moments like this, truth matters more than ever. False allegations of fraud can cause as much damage as the fraud itself, and the last thing America needs right now is more damage.

What we're about to tell you is accurate. It's not a theory. It happened, and we can prove it. Other news organizations could prove it, too. They've simply chosen not to. The position of corporate media across the country this week has been very simple: There was no voter fraud. They say it again and again, but what exactly are they talking about? They won't tell you. So we're going to tell you right now.

Fewer than 15,000 votes separate Donald Trump from Joe Biden in the state of Georgia. It's close enough that it's worth getting specific about what happened there. Georgia's secretary of state has now confirmed there will be a hand recount of all votes cast.

Among those votes, auditors will find a ballot cast by a woman called Deborah Jean Christiansen. It'd be hard to find anyone who's got a bad word to say about Deborah Jean Christiansen. She was well known in her community for years as a birdwatcher, an avid gardener, a committed fan of the Georgia Bulldogs. Those who knew her were sad when she died last May. And they might be surprised to learn that even after her death, Deborah Jean Christiansen still managed to register to vote and then cast a ballot, presumably for Joe Biden.

In some ways, it's an inspiring story, the triumph of voting over death. And no one quite embodies that story like James Blalock of Covington, Ga. Mr. Blalock was a mailman for 33 years until he passed away in 2006. Fourteen years later, according to state records, he was still mailing things. James Blalock cast a ballot in last week's election. How did he do that? Maybe he was just one of those extraordinary mail carriers; neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night nor even death itself could keep him from the mail. In his case, maybe voting from the grave wasn't really fraud, it was just commitment.

Then there's Linda Kesler of Nicholson, Ga. Linda Kesler died in 2003. Seventeen years later, she was still voting in presidential elections. Edward Skwiot, of Trenton, Ga., spent his life working construction and teaching school. In his spare time, he loved bluegrass music. According to those who knew him, he played multiple instruments and enjoyed jam sessions. When he died five years ago at the age of 82, it seemed like he was gone from this world for good. But no, last week he voted for president and he wasn't the only one.

As of right now, there aren't enough of these votes to alter the outcome. But the point is this: They are dead, but they voted anyway. The question is, how did they do that? How exactly did they cast their ballots? And the short answer is: by mail. Dead people, like any other group, tend to vote more often when you make it easier for them to vote, and this year, we made it much easier for the dead to vote. States sent ballots and registration forms to millions of people, totally unsolicited. The pretext was COVID and a public health emergency. The effect was to encourage fraud.

One 2012 study by Pew found there were close to two million dead people still on voter rolls around this country. The study also found that approximately 24 million voter registrations -- that is, one out of every eight in America -- were either no longer valid or they were significantly incorrect. Close to three million people in America had registrations in more than one state.

So what happens if you start sending ballots and registrations to lists like this? You're guaranteed to increase the amount of fraudulent voting, and that's exactly what Democrats did. Republicans, we should add, let them do it.

Take the state of Nevada, where Joe Biden is currently leading Donald Trump by fewer than 40,000 votes this year. State Democrats and their lawyers made certain that Nevada sent ballots -- not ballot applications, but actual ballots -- to every single registered voter in the state, whether they requested those ballots or not. They did this even though they were perfectly aware that more than 41,000 people who are registered to vote in Nevada haven't voted or updated their registrations in more than ten years. Many of these people are dead or gone, but they got ballots anyway.

One of those people was a former elementary school teacher called Rosemarie Hartle. According to her 2017 obituary, Rosemarie Hartle was "loving, fun, sassy and sarcastic (in a fun way), beautiful, powerful, relentless, and inspiring."

Sadly, even though she's gone, her voter registration remains. She's still on the rolls. Someone received Rosemarie Hartle's ballot in the mail and then cast it. We don't know who did this. We wish we did, because it's fraud. It's a threat to our system, and it's being hidden by a news media totally vested in a Joe Biden presidency.

We have a right to know. We have an obligation to know much more about this. But thanks to the media blackout, it is left to independent conservative sites like The Federalist to report what the rest should be reporting but are not. Thanks to The Federalist, we know that on Oct. 9, a man called Fred Stokes Jr. received an unsolicited ballot in Clark County, Nev. Three weeks later, the county received his ballot back by mail. Voting records indicate that ballot was "completed." Fred Stokes voted for president, but Fred Stokes had been dead for three years. He died in June 2017 at the age of 90.

In Pennsylvania, the state that made Joe Biden the president-elect, there are likely quite a few dead voters. How do we know that? Because the state told us.

According to a report last December from the commonwealth's Department of the Auditor General, nearly 3,000 potentially deceased voters remained on the voter rolls. The Trump campaign says it has found evidence that some of them voted this year.

For example, on Oct. 24, Allegheny County officials mailed a ballot to one Denise Ondish. She had died two days before. Yet somehow, records show that county officials received that ballot back completed on Nov. 2.

Why did this happen? How can we prevent it from happening again? Those are the questions. The first is very simple to answer: Democrats did it. They understand that when you send mail-in ballots to an entire unverified voter roll, you can't really know who's voting. But just to make certain that fraud remained likely, Democrats filed lawsuits in Nevada to eliminate signature verification.

In 2019, well before the coronavirus pandemic, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sponsored the Vote by Mail Act. The Vote by Mail Act demands that every state mail ballots to their entire unverified voter list. Whether you ask for it or not, whether you're alive or not, you get a ballot. There's no other way to interpret this except as Democrats abetting fraud.

This summer, Democrats in the House of Representatives passed something called the HEROES Act. It wouldn't simply have mailed absentee ballots to all voters in America. It also would have prevented states from restricting ballot harvesting in any way. That means that anyone could collect and return bundles of ballots from dead or living voters to polling stations, and there would be no oversight of this at all. That's insane, but expect more of it. Loose voting rules are too useful for the left to pass up.

In January, Democrats could very well gain control of the United States Senate. If that happens, much will change. But one of the things that will happen is that they will pass the HEROES Act into law. Right now, they're claiming universal mail-in balloting is necessary because of coronavirus, but they're lying. They've been pushing for this very thing for years for one reason. It gives them an advantage because it increases the incidence of fraud.

If we care about our democracy, we must demand clean and honest voting regardless of the outcome. The system is what we must protect. Sending ballots to entire unverified voter lists unsolicited gets you dead people voting. And what does that do? It puts us where we are now: Cynical, distrustful, withdrawn. If you want to run a democracy, you need one thing above all: Social trust. If you want people to have social trust, if you want them to believe in the system, it's not enough to yell at them on television and tell them that they must believe. You have to create a system that is worth believing in.

This article was adapted from Tucker Carlson's monologue on the Nov. 11, 2020 edition of "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

Statistically, poll counts are closing in on Democrats as blue states fizzled out already leaving Biden with electoral college of 207 (At most he adds 36) making it a total of 243 overall electoral vote in this election.

On the other hand, Republican with Trump stand at 148 electoral college currently and; however leading in the string states( as you can red shadow red everywhere) with possibility of gaining 142 more electoral college, making a possibility of over 290 electoral college overall election.

From this analysis, congratulations to President Trump for reelection.

Godfrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, says the landlord of the building where the Nigerian embassy in Hungary is located is threatening to evict the embassy.

Onyeama was speaking while defending the ministry’s 2021 budget at the house of representatives in Abuja on Tuesday.

The minister said one of the challenges the ministry is facing is the movement of officers, ambassadors and their families.

He explained that the ministry needs N1.6 billion to move ambassadors and pay officers N3.7 billion, making a total of N5.3 billion for the whole movement.

The minister said there is a need to address the inadequate overhead budgetary provisions to the missions, which is resulting in a lot of debt for electricity and rent.

“Just on Monday, the ambassador in Hungary called to say they are going to throw them out from the chancery building. That the landlord is coming and that they do not have the money to pay,” NAN quoted him to have said.

“And we get that from a lot of missions across the world and that is not a sustainable way of running foreign service.

“Then this exchange rate differential with the CBN is really something we need to address once and for all.

“It is not so easy, all of these things are computed in naira and all the payments abroad are in dollars and once the exchange rate is changed, it never goes the other way, it always goes up, it never comes down vis-a-vis the dollar. This means immediate shortfall for all our missions.”

Onyeama said the federal government is making plans to reduce the number of international organisations Nigeria belongs to because of a scarcity of funds.

“We are owing a lot, and in the federal executive council (FEC), there is a process to rationalise and cut down on the international organisations we belong to,” he said.

“This is because we are just owing monies left and right and it is not even good for the image of the country.

“A lot of our missions are eyesores and it is just a huge embarrassment to the country that we can have missions in such terrible conditions.

“We have been receiving letters from the national assembly forwarding to us various claims and judgement and asking us to pay them.

“We have a big challenge with clothing allowances, as you know, all officers in our missions from grade level 7 and above are entitled to $2,500 clothing allowance per annum.

“In the 2021 budget, about 1,312 officers will be expecting the payment of these allowances and if you take at the CBN official rate, we are looking at N1.2 billion.

“What we have available is N762 million for that, to able to pay the clothing allowances, we still need an additional sum of N500 million.”

In July, Onyeama said the federal government is considering a review of embassy operations across the world.


https://www.thecable.ng/onyeama-landlord-threatening-to-eject-nigerian-embassy-in-hungary-over-owed-rent

British gambler bets $5M on Trump in biggest-ever political wager

The former banker used private bookmakers registered on the Caribbean island Curacao

Mainstay Capital Management CEO David Kudla discusses his outlook for the markets.video
How will the 2020 presidential election impact the market?
Mainstay Capital Management CEO David Kudla discusses his outlook for the markets.

A British gambler has reportedly staked $5 million on President Trump winning Tuesday’s election — a wager believed to be the largest ever political bet.

The former banker used private bookmakers registered on the Caribbean island Curacao for the bet at odds of 37/20 — meaning he could get a $15 million payout, sources told The Sun.

The mystery gambler confidently went all-in after consulting with “Trump camp insiders,” according to the report.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SETS BETTING RECORDS WITH $1B IN WAGERS POSSIBLE

“Word of this bet has done the rounds and we think it’s the biggest ever made on politics,” one betting industry source told the UK paper.

While illegal in the US, betting on politics is popular in the UK and many other countries — and the 2020 election is shaping up to be the biggest betting event of all time.

President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Kenosha Regional Airport, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump beat the odds in 2016, and gamblers appear keen on a repeat performance this time.

“Donald Trump will likely wake up with a spring in his step as more and more people think he could stay for another term,” the gambling comparison site OddsChecker said Tuesday.

In the last four hours, 71% of money wagered on the 2020 US election was on Trump, the site said — which the site’s head of marketing, Sam Eaton, called a “remarkable” swing.

“The 2020 election is following a very similar betting pattern to the one we witnessed back in 2016. The closer we got to election day, the more money came for Donald Trump,” Eaton said.

“A lot of part-time gamblers will opt to wager on the election today, and naturally given the bigger returns on Trump, they will likely side with the current President.”

One bookmaker, Paddy Power, told The Sun that 93% of wagers had been on Trump over the previous 24 hours.

Jessica O’Reilly of Ladbrokes said that “even at the eleventh-hour, punters are continuing to back Trump at the odds on offer.”


https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/british-gambler-bets-5-million-on-trump-in-biggest-ever-political-wager

#EndSars protests: How Anthony Unuode gave his life for a better Nigeria By BBC

More than 6ft (183cm) tall and well-built, Anthony Unuode, 28, dreamed of serving in the Nigerian army, but was killed by thugs breaking up protests against police brutality in the capital Abuja, writes the BBC's Nduka Orjinmo after attending his memorial.

As hundreds of candles burned into the night, friends, family and strangers spoke about Anthony and his selflessness, while some shuffled their feet in grief, heavy with the burden of his death.

"Have we betrayed the dead?" asked one man, who said he did not know Anthony personally but, like many others, felt a kinship had developed between them during the protests against police brutality that rocked Nigeria last month.

The protests were held under the #EndSars banner, a reference to demands for the disbandment of the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad, whose officers were repeatedly accused of criminal activity ranging from extortion to extra-judicial killings.

"He died fighting for the same thing we are fighting for," said another speaker, who followed Anthony on Twitter.

Protesters said that Anthony was brave. When thugs suspected to be hired by politicians to crush protests attacked them on 11 October at the Berger roundabout in Abuja, he stepped forward and shielded those he could, escaping with a minor injury on his arm.

Three days later, the thugs launched another attack with machetes, daggers and wooden sticks to disrupt a march along Abuja's Kubwa expressway.

It is unclear whether Anthony was among the marchers or just happened to be walking in the area, but, his friends say, he suffered deep machete wounds to his head.

'These were the things he fought against'
With blood gushing from his head, he removed his shirt, wrapped it over his wounds and ran for miles seeking help, finally collapsing in front of his friend Muazu Suleiman.

"I put him in the car and drove as fast as I could to the national hospital, but when we got there, there were no hand gloves, no cotton wools, no drugs. I had to go and buy these things from outside," said Muazu.

"When they wanted to do surgery they were using their phone lights, some of the tools they needed were locked behind glass," he added.

Hospital spokesman Tayo Hastrup denied the allegation, describing it as a "lie".

But Anthony's elder brother, Austin Unuode, also complained about the hospital, saying medics "couldn't run some of the tests because there was no electricity".

"These were the things he fought against, he believed that things needed to change in Nigeria," he added.

Eze Divine, who attended the candlelight memorial held at Anthony's home, called for justice.

"It's bad that those that killed him may never get arrested because these are state-sponsored thugs.

"If we are asking for an end to police brutality and they are sending thugs, it says a lot about the government. It could have been me, it could have been anybody," he said.

The police told the BBC that they were investigating Anthony's murder, and no arrests had yet been made.

A graduate in education at the Nasarawa state university close to Abuja, Anthony was a reflection of young Nigerians in many ways.

In a country where millions of graduates are unemployed and get little support from the state, most young people create their ways of earning a living.

At the time of his death Anthony was running three online betting shops.

He was also a small-time estate agent and "did anything that would bring legitimate money", said his brother Austin.

"It's a big loss, because since my father died, he has been the breadwinner of the family.

"My mother is not even around to see his last remains lowered as she travelled abroad," he added.

It was not only armed thugs who had been deployed to crush the protests, but also soldiers who - two days after Anthony's death - shot protesters at the Lekki toll gate in the commercial hub of Lagos.

Although the military has denied that troops opened fire, Amnesty International and multiple eyewitnesses are adamant that they killed at least 10 protesters there.

Ironically, Anthony, before his death, had applied to join the army, believing it was his patriotic duty to help in the fight against militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has been waging a brutal insurgency in the north of the country for more than a decade.

"He always talked about joining the army to fight Boko Haram.

"He was passionate about Nigeria and Africa and always wanted to give his quota," said Anthony's brother.

The powers that be are truly against us and are doing everything in their power to stop this movement. It will get worse, but please let us never back down."

Unlike many protesters, Anthony had never been a victim of police brutality himself but he joined the demonstrations because he wanted a better Nigeria.

"When he saw the youths coming together, he called me and said this was a turning point," said his close friend Shedrack.

The day after Anthony was buried, the leaders of the protest movement and thousands of others held an online session for more than four hours to map a way forward following the end of the mass protests that saw Nigeria's massive young population demonstrate its power.

"What next? Where do we go from here?" asked moderator Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as he opened the Zoom session after a minute's silence in honour of the dead.

In his response musician and lawyer Folarin Falana, better known as Falz, said: "I dare say things will never be the same in Nigeria again.

"The work now lies in citizen education, letting people know about their rights and the laws."

Falz was among celebrities who joined the demonstrations
Other speakers urged the youth to get involved in politics, and use their numbers to elect capable representatives.

"What we have seen is that we can gather and we can organise," said Feyikemi Abudu of the Feminist Coalition, one of the main protest groups.

She is referred to as "the president" by her thousands of followers online for her exceptional organisational skills that made the demonstrations a success.

"Things that we didn't think could be done in months or years were achieved in weeks and it is that energy that we need to keep," she said.

Anthony's friends agree, pointing out that he had written on his private Instagram account almost prophetic words before his death.

"To my generation of Nigerians. I love you and you have earned my maximum and genuine respect.

"The powers that be are truly against us and are doing everything in their power to stop this movement. It will get worse, but please let us never back down," Anthony had written.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54747916

Kayleigh McEnany says SEALs' rescue of American hostage is 'story of' Trump presidency: 'We don't stop'
Under Trump, 55 hostages in 24 countries have been rescued, Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser says.

Kayleigh McEnany on Trump 2020 presidency: 'We don't stop'
Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser gives hostage rescue update on 'Fox & amp; Friends Weekend.'

The American hostage rescued in West Africa by SEAL Team 6 in a daring raid is part of President Trump's exceptional accomplishments, Kayleigh McEnany said Saturday.

"It was a successful operation to rescue an American hostage. We are so glad to see it. Under this president, we've rescued 55 hostages in 24 countries," McEnany told "Fox & Friends Weekend."

The Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser pointed out the president has been doing more than just campaigning, noting that a few days ago, Trump met with U.S. Special Forces troops involved in last year's raid to kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi.

"In the waning days of a presidency before a massive reelection, you typically don't get a lot done, but this president is the exception," she said. "That's the story of this presidency. We don't stop. We go to 14 states, we rescue hostages, we secure Middle East peace, we do it in record time, and we do it three days before an election."

The elite SEAL Team 6 staged a daring raid in the West African country of Nigeria, rescuing Philip Walton, 27, who had been taken hostage, officials told Fox News.

President Trump tweeted out a show of support, calling the operation a "big win" for the elite force, and promised further details.

McEnany, discussing what goes on behind the scenes for a military operation, said she spoke to some soldiers who said "we're so proud we have a president that trusts us and gives us the green light" to "take out [...] horrid murderers who have killed far too many of our American men and women in battle."

She added: "This president makes the courageous and bold decision and his record stands and shows that."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-hostage-rescue-africa-election-2020-kayleigh-mcenany

I beg to feed despite risking my life for Nigeria, working under Buhari, Obasanjo, Gowon –Retired Capt. Monye

Capt. Amos Iyari Monye (retd.) tells MATTHEW OCHEI how despite risking his life in the Nigerian Civil War, being shot and working with three senior officers who later became Heads of State/Presidents, he lives in poverty and begs to feed

 What was your service number in the army?

I am Capt. Amos Iyari Monye (retd.), with number NA/1239. I was born in 1944 to the family of the late Pa Okoh Monye of Aligwe Quarters, Owa Alero, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State.

What schools did you attend?

I started primary education in 1952 and finished in 1958. I started secondary education in 1959 at C.M.S. Modern School, Agbor, Delta State and completed it in 1961. Thereafter, I was employed as a teacher at C.M.S. Primary School, Alihiagu in 1962. In April 1963, some of my colleagues and I were laid off because we were not Grade 2 teachers.

When were you enlisted into Nigeria army?

On September 27, 1963, I joined the Nigeria Army in Ibadan, Oyo State and was sent to the Nigerian Army Depot for recruitment training where I underwent a six-month recruitment course. I passed out in April 1964 and was posted to 2nd Battalion, Abeokuta. In August of the same year, the whole battalion was moved to Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos State.

I served under three senior officers who later became Military Heads of State and presidents of this country, one of whom is Nigeria’s incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari.

What was your experience in the army?

In January 1966, while still at Ikeja Cantonment, I was given 19 days off to take the London General Certificate of Education examination. On January 15, 1966, the coup led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu took place. On September 15 of the same year, there was a counter-coup led by some Hausa soldiers but spearheaded by Gen. Murtala Mohammed. There at the barracks, the Hausa soldiers began to shoot and kill Igbo people. And because many of them thought I was an Igbo man, I was shot in the hand and taken to a guard room. There were many of us in the ‘guardroom’ (common term for small cell). Igbo, Yoruba and soldiers from other ethnic groups were tortured and brutalised.

How did you escape?

On the 10th day of our incarceration, while we were waiting to be executed, Ahmadu Finger came and assured me that nothing was going to happen to me. He convinced other soldiers that I was not Igbo but a Mid-Westerner. That was how I escaped being killed. Shortly after Ahmadu Finger left, Lieutenant Mohammed Nasarawa came and called out names of those to be released and I was among them.

After we were released, Maj. Gen. Yakubu Gowon visited the 10 of us and told us not to run away but stay and work with other soldiers. The next day, nine out of the 10 of us that were released ran away. They could not trust them due to the inhuman treatment meted out to us. But I decided to stay back because of my love and zeal to work for my fatherland.

Some months later, some other soldiers and I were taken to Kaduna but I was not comfortable being alone in the midst of people who wanted me dead. So, I went to plead with the then commander, the late Capt. Isah Buka, who was later executed during the coup led by Buka Suka Dimka, to give me an official posting to Benin but I was denied with a stern warning never to make such a request again or risk being treated as an Igbo man.

We were still in Kaduna when Gen. Gowon created 12 states to replace the regions in 1967 by a military decree. In the same period, Chukemeka Ojukwu declared Biafra. I fell ill and was taken to a military hospital where Nigerian Army and Air force doctors attended to me but I never got better, so I was then taken to one Dr. Oshodi, who diagnosed my condition to be psychological and recommended in a letter to the commander that I should be posted to a more convenient place. The commander called me to commend my courage and assured me that he would write to the record officer at Apapa, Lagos to repost me officially to Benin.

While waiting for my posting, it was announced that my battalion was moving to the boundary. I was expecting to be among the ‘Rear Party Men’ (aged and sick soldiers who normally guarded the barracks when the soldiers were out to fight) but unfortunately, when the list of Rear Party Men came out, I did not make the list. I felt so bad because I needed to take care of my health.

What did you do?

I approached Muhammadu Buhari, who was the adjutant then (an adjutant is a military officer who acts as an administrative assistant to a senior officer) and told him that I was sick and was waiting for my posting letter. Buhari told me it was too late. So, I had no choice but to move with the battalion to the boundary between North and South and settled in Adikpo village located in the present Benue State.

Buhari later became the Head of State and is currently the President. Did you work with anyone else who became the Head of State?

I worked with Gen. Gowon (former Head of State), Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, a former Head of State and later President. But Buhari was the closest to me of them all. He knew almost, if not everything about my war expeditions.

When were you commissioned as Lieutenant?

After I passed the examination in Enugu, I was taken to Lagos for the final one, which was organised by Olusegun Obasanjo and I also came out with flying colours. With this result, I was admitted into the NDA in 1968 to begin the Officers’ Course. I passed out in August 1969 and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant. Thereafter, I was posted to 3 Marine Commando in Port Harcourt, where I met Obasanjo as my General Officer Commanding. Obasanjo was a Colonel then.

When did you retire from the army?

I was unjustly dismissed. While I was a captain, there was an allegation of embezzlement of funds meant for the soldiers levelled against the brigade major of the battalion, a captain, who was our superior via a written petition by some soldiers, claiming that he embezzled the money given to him to share to the soldiers.

Unjustly, three officers from the South-South who had nothing to do with the said embezzlement, including me (Delta State) and two other colleagues were dismissed from the army unceremoniously in 1975.

We were sacked on the insinuation that we might have instigated the soldiers to petition our boss for embezzling the money meant to be shared to soldiers. The money in question was supposed to be shared to us who were officers under him and the soldiers. Surprisingly, the person who was accused to have embezzled the money was exonerated and we who were supposed to be given the money were dismissed.

What are your regrets?

This is one of the greatest injustices I have received in my life from a country I risked my life to serve. Every effort made to prove our innocence regarding the allegations failed as they didn’t listen to us. We had no godfather to support our appeal. We had no other choice but to return to our various homes without compensations or support of any kind.

What have you been doing since you left the service?

Battered by war expeditions, injustice and denial, I have been at my native home, Owa Alero. I feel neglected, dejected and depressed. I have been begging to eat despite fighting in the Nigerian Army and attaining the rank of a captain and becoming a battalion commander.

I engaged in the business of buying and selling but it has not be easy until I started having eyes problems some years ago.

What efforts have you made to see the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to revisit your matter?

When Buhari was the Head of State between 1983 and 1985, I made efforts to see him as my former boss but before I could raise funds to visit him, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s coup had got him out of office.

I later visited Buhari in Kaduna where we discussed at length in his living room. During that visit, Buhari who knew my labour, efforts, the risks I took to keep Nigeria as one and the truth about my unjust dismissal from the army, urged me to keep the communication channel open by visiting him regularly as he would love to work with me in the future as if he knew he would pilot the affairs of this nation later. Since then, I have not been able to visit him for lack of funds and connection.

How about your wife and children?

I got married on October 1, 1971, to my beloved wife, Elizbeth Chinedu Monye, who is from Ngwa, Abia State. Unfortunately she died in October 2019. I had six children – three males and three females but I lost all my three sons because of lack of funds to provide them the necessary healthcare. Also, I lost my first daughter to high blood pressure. So, I’ve lost four children.

How have you been coping now?

It has been very difficult. We have no house of our own and cannot rent a place because of lack of funds. I live in a one-bedroomed apartment given to me to stay by one of the persons whom I was good to while I was in service. There is no bed, so I sleep on a couch, which is the only piece of furniture I have.

Where are your two surviving children presently?

They are with me, still struggling to survive. They have degrees in engineering and computer science but they are jobless.

What do you want the government to do for you?

I am appealing to the three generals I served under – retired General Gowon, retired General Obasanjo and President Buhari to come to my aid. I thank God that they are still alive and strong. They knew all I went through at the front to keep Nigeria one.

I’m also appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to come to my aid and not to allow to me die in this condition. I desire to have a house of my own and a means of livelihood.

I risked my life for this country. I took bullets so that my country could be saved from disintegration. The reward I got was unjust dismissal. I feel dejected and abandoned. Currently, my eyesight is bad and I cannot even cross the road without being aided.

I need to have an eye surgery which the doctor said will cost me N800,000 but I can’t afford it. I don’t even have money to buy eyeglasses. I beg to survive. I don’t even have a bed to lay my head. I’m old but I sleep on the chair every day. I do not know where my next meal will come from. Please, I am begging in the name of God, help me and rescue me from this suffering.

President Buhari assured me when I visited him many years ago that he would help me. I know that if I have the opportunity to see Buhari today, things will change. My problem now is how to get the connection and money to needed to get to him. I pray that President Buhari will read this interview.

Today, many people who took vows to die for their fatherland are ravaged by poverty and there is no help from the government. The fourth and fifth lines of our National Anthem say: “The labour of our heroes past, shall never be in vain…’’ but my own labour seems to be vain.

https://punchng.com/i-beg-to-feed-despite-risking-my-life-for-nigeria-working-under-buhari-obasanjo-gowon-retired-capt-monye/

Barely few hours into the inauguration of panels of enquiry across the states of the federation, a 12-point demand notice is trending on the social media, calling on every youth to handstag it for the Nigeria government, politicians and the world at large to know the demands of the Nigerian youths.

The demand notice which has no signatures nor attach names is below:

"NIGERIAN YOUTHS DEMAND 12 POINT AGENDA #ENDSARSNOW

1a. The President Should Come Out To Address The Youths Publicly, Not On Television
1b. Every State Must Get 10 Youth Delegates That Will Go To Abuja For The Deliberation Of Our Problems Which Will Come As Conference

2. The President Must Sign The Electoral Act Amendment Bill Into Law. This Must Be Done Within 30 Days.

3. The President Must Remove All Service Chiefs And Appoint New Ones Cutting Across The 6 Geopolitical Zones.

4. Remove The Inspector General Of Police And Honourable Minister Of Police Affairs Immediately.

5. The President Must Dissolve His Cabinet Immediately And New Ones Appointed.

6. The Senate President And Speaker House Of Representative Must Address The Country Promising To Do All These Within 48 Hours.

7a. Reduce The Salaries And Allowances Of Members Of NASS
7b. Pass A Bill To Adopt Recommendations Of 2014 CONFAB.
7c. Pass A Bill For Every State Government Agency To Publish Their Monthly Income And Expenditure.
7d. Pass A Bill For Each State To Generate Its Own Electricity.

8. The President To Announce Immediate Reduction Of Petrol Pump Price.

9. The President To Announce Immediate Reduction Of Electricity Tariff.

10. The President To Apologize To Nigerian Youths For Failed Government.

11a. The Families Of The Victims Of Peaceful Protest Should Be Compensated With A Minimum Of One Hundred Million Naira (#100,000,000) Each.
11b. The Families Of Victims Of SARS And Police Brutality To Be Compensated As 11a Above And The Officers Tried Publicly.

12. If The President Cannot Do All These, Let Him Resign.

Signed: Concerned Nigerian Youths.
Please Make It Go Viral. Don't Keep Without Sharing Please. They Must Hear Our Voice"


While this demand notice has a presence in every social media platforms, the authenticity has however not been confirm either from the leaders of the youths nor the government.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, says footage has shown that the Nigerian Army is responsible for the shooting that occurred at Lekki toll gate in Lagos.

On Tuesday, armed men in army uniform stormed the toll gate where #EndSARS protesters had gathered for 13 days and dispersed them with live bullets.

The incident triggered an outrage, even in the international community.

The army had denied being responsible while the federal government said it would investigate the tragic incident.

Speaking with CNN on Monday, Sanwo-Olu said the CCTV footage would be available to the state judicial panel probing brutality of security operatives.

“We will be committed to a full investigation of what happened and people would be held accountable. They certainly would be held accountable. We would do everything possible to ensure that they are held accountable,” he said.

“People have claimed that their friends and family members have been killed. So, this Judicial Panel of Enquiry is meant to bring all of these stories to accountability; where we can make restitutions, where families can prove and identify officers that were responsible for this.

“I am not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; I am Governor of a State. The report would be out and we would channel the report to all the relevant authorities in the state to ensure that every one that is found culpable is accountable for the act.”

He also said it is untrue that pressure from the international community made President Muhammadu Buhari to speak about the incident.

Buhari had refused to address the nation when the protests began and when he finally did, he refused to comment on the Lekki killings.

The governor said he believes that the #EndSARS campaign yielded positive results.

“There is no international pressures whatsoever. These are genuine protesters that we all believe and we all have knowledge about,” he said.

“I was the first governor among governors with due respect to all my other colleagues who came out to meet with them, who started from the front. I carried the EndSARS flags with them. I met with them twice and we all had the rally together and walked together.

“I genuinely believe there would be change for two reasons. One, what has happened, especially in Lagos is extremely unimaginable. Number two is that it was a clarion call for all of us in government, especially understanding and realising what the youths truly want us to be doing. So, it hit all of us like a thunderbolt and it was just a wake-up call.”


https://www.thecable.ng/sanwo-olu-army-responsible-for-lekki-shooting

How Soldiers Killed Artisan in Auchi
By
Godwin Ifijeh

The heart-rending killing in cold blood of a 25-year old orphan and automobile electrical apprentice, Godwin Iraoya Junior in Auchi, Edo State on Monday, October 19, 2020, by two gun-wielding soldiers during a peaceful #Endsars protest in the town instantly invoked provocation across the land. The incident moved many to uncontrollable tears, including the Palace of the Otaru of Auchi, which reacted no less.

The last of his parents’ five children, Iraoya, who turned 25 on October 3, 2020, having been born on October 3, 1995, was allegedly killed by soldiers attached to Setraco (Nig) Ltd Life Camp, a staff housing estate of the construction firm located a few metres away from Jattu junction in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

According to eyewitness accounts, Godwin Iraoya Junior’s killing arose from an unprovoked assault on the protesters by the two soldiers, who were insistent on getting off the barricades placed on the road by them notwithstanding that their movement was not hindered in any way.

His killing was said to have particularly elicited provocation in the neighbourhood because the young man was not in any way connected with the protest but just walking through on his way to the workshop, where he was an apprentice when he encountered the peaceful protesters and got shot by the soldiers.

In an effort to scare away the protesters and get the road cleared, the soldiers were said to have fired indiscriminately and in the process hit Godwin Iraoya Junior, who fell to the ground in his pool of blood, reeling in pain until he was picked up by some good Samaritans and rushed to a nearby hospital, Jey M Jey Clinic, a popular private medical facility in the town, where they gave him the initial first aid in an effort to stabilise him. However, he was said not to have immediately gotten any good treatment as there was no doctor on ground until a while after. When that eventually showed up, he was said to have directed that the patient was taken to the Irua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), a directive that was not too pleasing to those who took him there, scared that he could die from the delayed treatment and perhaps before he gets to Irrua from Auchi.

His conveyors eventually settled to take him to the ISTH, Irrua but like they feared, he gave up the ghost on the way and his family members led by his Uncle, Mr. Titus Oisamoje Iraoya, and other sympathisers, who went with him, returned with the corpse to Auchi and went straight with it to the palace of the Otaru of Auchi, where they staged some protests before taking it for deposit in a morgue in Jattu.

His elder brother, Mark Iraoya, had described Godwin as quiet and easy-going, stating that they were from Otuo in Owan East Local Government Area LGA) of Edo State.

According to him, Godwin Iraoya Junior and the rest of the children had been struggling, trying on their own to survive since they became orphans after the death of their father, Abel Oisadiaye Iraoya in 1997, and their mother, Mrs. Gladys Iraoyah Nee Peru’s, a year later from prolonged grieving over her husband’s death, stressing that Godwin, who completed his secondary education at Azama College, Otuo, was born in Sapele, their late mother, being from the family of Late Chief Peru of Okpe Clan, Awolowo Road Extension, Sapele, Delta State.

He appealed to the Federal and Edo State Governments to ensure that the chilling murder of Godwin Iraoya Junior was investigated and justice served as his life was unjustifiably cut short, stating that he was neither a protester nor a violent person.

Video footage of his shooting by the soldiers recorded by POPORI TV has since gone viral to validate the incident.






http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/10/24/how-soldiers-killed-artisan-in-auchi/

Watch how this white guy publisized the ENDSARS campaign. He termed it "Project Night Fall"

https://www.facebook.com/500689923461310/posts/1462612687269024/

God bless Nigeria.

I do not know how true is this, but is trending on social media. Please read and let appropriate authority do something before is too late.

FOREWARDED

"Please be careful, advice our youth and teens to delete any End SARS pictures on their phone and they should not wear any shirt or paraphernalia that suggest End SARS. All will be well.
***
Just as I left the hospital.

Before I got to the intersection.

They pulled before us in a black Toyota Sienna.

Blocking us from moving further.

These men.

In black and blue jeans.

And black tight t-shirts.

Heavily armed.

Sunglasses as usual.

Climbed out of the vehicle.

My driver exhaled heavily.

"These people again."

Eight men.

Two moved toward the Taxify.

Gun raised.

Cocking their rifles as though they had caught some criminals.

I sat calmly.

If you are a young man who frequents Taxify or Uber in Lagos, you'd probably get used to that embarrassment.

I had nothing with me just my phone.

And the medication I had gotten from the hospital.

I was so weak.

Massive headache.

While they approached I asked my driver.

"Who are those guys?"

"Haaa. Bros, na SARS o."

I said.

"I thought they have banned these guys?"

He looked at me.

"For wia. Na today?"

I sighed.

The two approached one on each side of the car. I kept my hands in plain sight and made no sudden moves.

One of the men shouted at my driver.

"You no go wind down? Abi you want us to beg you?"

The Taxify driver quickly hit the window button as he screamed forcing a smile.

"Aaah officer of the law no vex, sir! I throw way salute."

The one who had shouted approached my window.

I was looking away.

He shouted.

"Oga, you no dey greet person abi you no see us?"

I slowly turned my head and looked at him.

"Officer, good afternoon, sir."

"Afternoon. Who are you?"

I was about to answer.

He shouted.

"Oga, come down?!"

One of his folks standing a few steps away shouted.

"Who be dis person wey no dey hear us? Na one of those protesters? Devil go welcome am for hell now if he be one of those protesters."

He cocked his gun and approached my Taxify.

It was a lonely road.

No onlookers.

A few cars passed by the other side of the lane.

I gently got down from the car.

I greeted again.

Both of them.

"Officers, good afternoon, sir."

My driver came out and said.

"Na my passenger! I pick am from that hospital down the road."

The one who had asked me who I am shouted at him.

"Shut up! Did we ask you anything? You dey mad? Your moda!"

Then he turned to me.

"Oga, who are you?"

"My name is Kyrian Chiemelie, sir."

"What do you do? Wetin dey your pocket?"

"I am a writer, sir."

"Journalist?"

"No, sir. Author, scriptwriter, filmmaker, sir."

"Oga, wetin dey your pocket?"

"My phone, sir."

"Bring it out."

I dug out my phone.

"Unlock it."

"Why?"

The other one shouted attracting the rest, pointing his gun at him.

"You are asking us questions? Are you stupid?"

I said.

"No, sir. But none of you has the right to search my phone. I didn't do anything wrong."

One shouted, running toward us.

"Who dey yarn that rubbish? Na one of the protesters? Shoot the modafuvker!"

The other one said.

"We never know na when we search him phone we go know."

The Taxify driver said to me.

"Please, unlock your phone. You know what is going on already."

The one pointing rifle at me shouted.

Eyes widened.

Dark lips.

Unsmiling face.

"Oga, unlock your phone for the last time!"

As I used my fingerprint he snatched my phone from me immediately.

Handed it to the last folk who approached us.

He seemed to be the leader.

He started to go through my phone as he said.

"What did you say you do again?"

"I am a filmmaker, sir."

"Actor?"

I shook my head.

"Basically writing."

He looked at me.

"You look tired."

I said.

"I just dey come back from the hospital. The one down there."

"Wetin dey do you? COVID-19?"

"No, sir. Na stress and little sickness. My doctor has given me some tablets, I will be fine in a couple of days."

As he scrolled through my phone the others watched.

Gun pointed up, down. A few at me.

I remained chilled.

He asked.

"And you are not one of the end SARS protesters."

I remained silent.

One of them moved toward me as though he wanted to hit me his rifle.

I dodged.

"Oga, dey ask you, you dey ignore am."

The man said.

"Leave am. Make I see end SARS pictures on his phone first and he is gone with the gun."

I was still silent.

A few minutes later.

One said to the one with my phone.

"Oga, did you see any pictures of end SARS on his phone?"

"I never see one."

I said.

"Sir, can I go, please? There is nothing on my phone."

He looked at me.

"Are you teaching us our job?"

"Not at all, sir. But there is nothing on my phone. My doctor said I should not stand too long."

Two laughed.

"You dey tell us na. We wey no get doctor make we die. We wey dey use chamist cure our infection and malaria."

I didn't say a word.

One of them approached me and showed me some images on his phone.

Dead bodies.

Fresh corpses of youth, both male and female.

Lying by the bush.

Blood gushing from bullet wounds.

I looked at him, in fear.

He said.

"Shey dem dey shout end SARS we no dey catch anybody again o. But na make we see pictures of end SARS for person phone the person is gone. Dis ones wey you dey see so na some of the protesters o. Shey dey don die like dis? Dey will keep dying."

One shouted at him.

"Why you dey tell am this thing? Why you dey leak our secret? Do you know who he is?"

"Shey he talk say na filmmaker? He won't do anything."

Goosebumps rushed over me.

In actuality of how these guys are killing in reckless abandon.

The one with my phone said.

"I no see anything for him phone. He is free to go."

He handed my phone back to me.

Then said.

I took my phone and said.

"Thank you."

As I headed back to the Taxify, a Lexus Jeep was approaching behind us.

They rushed immediately and flew it to stop.

The Taxify driver got in and we started to drive off.

While I looked behind, watching as they dragged five guys out of the car.

About three wore t-shirts.

Boldly written 'EndSARS'.

The Taxify turned right at the intersection and I couldn't see anymore.

He shouted.

"Ah. These people are in trouble."

But I heard it barely ten seconds later.

It was loud from a distance.

Pooo!

Pooo!!

Pooo!!!

Three gunshots.

.

Ikeja

By Kyrian Chiemelie Offor"

Earning a Second Class Lower (2.2) should not stop your dream. The only problem here is the choice of postgraduate course and school.
Some universities/faculties admit 2.2 for M.Sc (both state and federal). E.g Great University of Benin. All you need do is to browse courses and requirements and once you are serious with such a programme by earning a Ph.D grade (70%) of the units, you qualifies for a Doctorate (PhD) course of becoming a great lecturer anywhere in the world.
Should you earn less just like this your B.Sc programme, you have to under go an M.Phil (a repeat of earlier M.Sc units) in order to qualify for a Doctorate(PhD).

Such is the journey of becoming a great scholar and academic.

As news continued to spread on the purported marriage between the Nigerian Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Baba Abubakar and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Faruk, VOA Hausa has quoted a close friend of the Air boss describing the report as false.

It was reported that Sadique and Sadiya got married in a mosque located in the Maitama high brow area of Abuja on the 18th of September, 2020.

However, the VOA Hausa reported that when contacted on the matter, senior Air Force officers in Abuja said they were not aware of the marriage.

“Even an intimate friend of the Air boss, who was in charge of his affairs, said he had inquired from his friend the Chief of Air Staff, and he told him the story was a fallacy. ”

A public commentator, Mohammed Usman, told the VOA that it won’t be a surprise if the duo decided to marry secretly.

“They are adults, they may decide to marry secretly in this period of pandemic to observe the protocol again, they are not children, they are senior citizens.

“But where the proverbial spider spins its cobweb, was that the Sadique has denied this marriage with the minister.

“So we should be careful, rumours shouldn’t be peddled, especially by media outlets that the public relied upon with confidence,” he said.

According to VOA, associates of the minister who were contacted said they will not comment because they were not aware if such marriage took place.

In a related development, an Islamic scholar, Sheikh, told our correspondent, that the religion of Islam does not encouraged secret marriage.

“Marriage should be publicised, celebrated. That is why even light beating of drum, the doff, is allowed during marriage”, he said.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/09/marriage-between-air-chief-and-sadiya-umar-faruk-false-voa-hausa/

Jihadist fighters linked to the Islamic State group on Friday killed 15 security personnel in an ambush on the convoy of a governor in restive northeast Nigeria, three security said.

Sources told AFP that eight policemen, three soldiers, and four members of a government-backed militia were killed in the attack on vehicles carrying Borno governor Babagana Umara Zulum near the town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad.

The insurgents opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as the convoy was passing through a village close to the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force, a military coalition of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

“The governor escaped unhurt but 15 security men on the convoy were killed in a fierce battle with the terrorists”, one source said.

Zulum was on an assessment tour of Baga in preparation for the return of thousands of residents displaced from the town by the jihadists in 2014, the sources said.

The governor flew on a helicopter into the garrison town of Monguno, 60 kilometres (40 miles) away, and headed to Baga in a convoy under tight security, one of the sources said.
All three sources were talking on condition of anonyonimity.

The IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group maintains most of its camps on islands in Lake Chad and the region is known as a bastion for the jihadists.

The militant group has recently intensified attacks on military and civilian targets in the region.

In July Zulum’s convoy came under gun attack from ISWAP outside Baga, forcing him to cancel his trip to the town.

Last week the group killed a Nigerian army commander along with three soldiers in an ambush near the town of Damboa.

Civilians plying highway linking Monguno and the regional capital Maiduguri said the jihadists set up daily checkpoints, robbing, killing and abducting passengers.

The decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed 36,000 people and forced over 2 million from their homes.

Most of the displaced have been housed into squalid camps where they depend on food handouts from international charities.

Local authorities have been encouraging the displaced to go back to the homes despite concern from aid agencies of the security risks to which the returnees would be exposed.

Last week Zulum said feeding the displaced was not financially sustainable, insisting the only option was for them to return and rebuild their homes and live a “dignified” life.

ISWAP splintered from the main Boko Haram group in 2016 and has gone on to be the dominant insurgent force in the region.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/09/shocker-terrorists-kill-3-soldiers-8-policemen-4-others-on-zulums-convoy/

A friend once asked me this question, and I had wanted to scream the answer in his ears, but we were in a Catholic church, and the Reverend Father was shooting occasional glances at my general direction. So I had to bend slightly over and whisper it to him, then I had given him the expression that conveyed the words “Are you kidding me?”

Oh, in case you’re wondering what I said to him, it was ‘ABSOLUTELY’. A couple’s sex life almost always reflects the exact state of their relationship!

Let us – for just one moment - drop the pretense and the lies, let us push aside the modest sentiment and the bias that the mass media, religious organizations and cultural influences have impressed in our minds, and let us be brutally honest with ourselves - the ultimate end of every marriage is great sex.

Yes, I know how that sounds. This is stuff no preachers preach, (talking about sex is not so ‘sexy’ – Get it?) but in the deepest, innermost recesses of your heart, you know that it’s true. If you feel a little guilty for nodding in agreement, you shouldn’t!

So you have found your soul mate. You are excited about getting married. Good. I am extremely glad that you’re taking the next step - it takes a lot of courage and will. But before you swear before man and God to spend the rest of your life with him/her, let us talk about sex!

Tell me: Have you ever given it some thoughts? When the wedding ceremony is over and you’re finally alone, how do you proceed? Who does what? How do you keep the spark in your relationship?

Why should you worry about any of this?

Research shows that a healthy sex life is an extremely strong predictor of marital wellbeing, a strong predictor of mental and physical health. (You probably didn’t know this, but sex greatly also boosts immunity, is extremely good for the heart, reduces stress, boosts confidence and generally increases longevity.)

On the contrary, an unhealthy sexual life - usually marked by a general loss of desire - can have a negative impact on marriage and on individual wellbeing. Unhealthy sex life is the number one problem discussed in relationship forums, and it also ranks really high among reasons why couples get a divorce!

Like every journey in life, the first (sexual) step together can set the tone for the rest of your marriage, and by implication, for the rest of your lives. You don’t want to get your wedding off to a terrible start! Things can get really awkward really fast in your marriage, (especially if you’re one of those ‘lucky’ couples who have zero experience when it comes to the subject of sex).

What should you do?

Now that you understand the importance of sex in a marriage and the fact that it might get boring, monotonous and eventually ruin your marriage, what should you do?

Understand that a sexless marriage is a grave issue, and be ready to put in some work.
Embrace spontaneity; abandon routine and safety. If you have a sex calendar, tear it up. Be impulsive, go on fancy dates, plan a weekend adventure, and explore new sexual experience.
Do things, just because. Everyone loves a nice surprise – ‘little thoughtful gestures that shows you still care’.
You and your partner must be open to options, and learn new ways to put some spark in your relationship, so that the whole thing does not get real boring real fast.
A sexless marriage is dull, frustrating, and can be an indicator of emotional disconnect. It is like a plant without water. It might be alive, but ‘it is droopy and lethargic, it’s sad, and it has lost its vibrancy.’

Italians have voted to reduce one-third of the country’s lawmakers in order to save cost.

Almost 70 percent of the citizens voted in favour of the move in a referendum which followed an earlier decision by the parliament.

The move will see the number of parliamentarians downsized from about 945 to 600; the senators will be reduced from 311 to 200, while the members of parliament in the lower house will drop to 400 from 634.

With each MP and senator said to be earning €230,000 and €249,600 annually, the cut is expected to save Italy about €82 million every year.

Five Star Movement, the main party in Italy’s governing coalition, had said the measure will save an estimated €1 billion over 10 years.
Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s foreign minister, reportedly described the outcome of the referendum as “historic.”

“The one achieved today is a historic result. Let’s go back to having a normal parliament, with 345 seats and fewer privileges,” he was quoted to have said, adding: “It is politics that gives citizens a signal.”

The vote comes comes amid the clamour for Nigeria’s federal lawmakers to introduce cost-saving measures either by reducing their pay or number.

Despite being the country with the highest rate of extreme poverty globally, a senator reportedly earns as much as N13.5 million as running cost monthly, while a member of the house of representatives is said to earn N12 million monthly.

Among those calling for such cost-cutting measures is Rochas Okorocha, senator representing Imo west, who once argued that Nigeria does not need 109 senators and 360 members of the house of representatives.

“What are three senators doing that one senator cannot do?” Okorocha had asked.

“Here, we have three senators per state. Over there (house of representatives), over there, we have 360 eligible human beings. This country must begin to make sacrifices and cut down the cost of governance.”

TheCable had reported how over N70 billion spent as running cost for senators in the eighth assembly could transform the lives of Nigerians.


https://www.thecable.ng/to-save-cost-italy-votes-to-remove-one-in-three-lawmakers

Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the benefits of the fuel subsidy regime were enjoyed by members of a cabal rather than the masses that it was targeted at.

Speaking during a Hausa programme on Liberty FM, Kaduna on Sunday, Kyari said subsidy was removed because it was characterised by fraudulent activities.

He explained that fuel subsidy was not beneficial to the masses who are the original target beneficiaries, therefore the federal government removed it with a plan to reinvest on projects that will have a direct impact on the masses.

“The crude oil is a global commodity and its price is not hidden, everyone can calculate and know how much is the cost of every final product from the crude at the international market. But, since the inception of oil importation, the government has been paying subsidy on petrol to make it cheaper for Nigerians to buy below the cost price,” Kyari said.

“This subsidy is designed to assist Nigerians, that is the intention. But in reality, the masses are not the beneficiaries. First, the masses are not the owners of the exotic cars, buying fuel, owning the filling stations, and doing the oil business.

“This subsidy that the government has been paying over the years is the root of all the atrocities and fraud committed in this country.

“For example, if you look at it from 2006 till 2020, we have spent over N10 trillion on fuel subsidy. Apart from that, there is also subsidy on foreign currencies, everybody knows how much is dollar in the market, but the government is also subsidising it. So, this and the fuel subsidy, within this period, have gulped between N14 trillion and N15 trillion.

“It was not the masses of Nigeria that were enjoying this subsidy, except some members of a cabal, who are rich and powerful. They were enriching themselves with the subsidy money at the detriment of the masses who were the primary target.”

Kyari explained that the money from subsidy payments can be channelled to other areas of development.

“From this money, Nigeria has been able to pay workers’ salaries without retrenching despite the effects of the COVID-19 on the global economy,” he said.

“In the whole of West Africa, it is only Nigeria that didn’t retrench workers as a result of the pandemic. Apart from that, part of the money will be used to support farmers and other business owners.”

The federal executive council approved that the NNPC should no longer absorb the differential between the landing cost of the petrol and the approved retail price.

https://www.thecable.ng/kyari-members-of-a-cabal-were-enriching-themselves-with-susbidy-payments

It was a keenly contested race, considering the two major contenders who had been on opposing sides in 2016. This time, however, the stakes were seemingly higher. Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, who had enjoyed the support of Adams Oshiomhole, his predecessor, had been disqualified from contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while his major opponent, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who had flown the flag of PDP in 2016, became the APC governorship candidate. With the actors in play, anything was possible in the build-up to the September 19 election.

Although 14 political parties participated in the election, it was clear that it was a contest between the PDP and APC. Four years ago, APC had coasted to victory by a margin of more than 60,000 votes, and in 2020, it was clear to those who understood the stakes that Obaseki had a battle of sorts to win if he was to retain his seat as the number one man in the state. Interestingly, from Oshiomhole’s dramatic campaign, to the Edo versus Lagos godfather theatrics, and the “operation show your result”, going by the music in the air in the days before the election, among other factors, six individuals whose influence may have had significant impact in deciding the winner of the poll, served Obaseki well to grant Ize-Iyamu a loss that may have probably been avoidable.

OSHIOMHOLE — HE CALLED IZE-IYAMU ‘THIEF’ IN 2016

In another life, Oshiomhole may have been a successful marketer. His unique way with words is one for the history books. However, his “gift” contributed in no small feat to Ize-Iyamu’s loss considering what had played out in 2016. If anyone could be said to have made the most significant level of difference in how the election would eventually go, that person would be Oshiomhole, suspended chairman of the APC. He, however, turned out to be Ize-Iyamu’s albatross.

In the buildup to the 2016 governorship election in Edo, Oshiomhole didn’t mince words in expressing his disgust with Ize-Iyamu, at the expense of promoting Obaseki at the time.

“Do you know why he wants to be a governor – Ize-Iyamu wants to be a governor to get immunity to protect him from prosecution. Do you want to hand over Edo treasury to a thief? I’m a proud Kukuruku man, not the son of a cook, but we don’t take money for police, money meant for soldiers, money meant for defence to secure Christians in churches. Pastors are collecting it and sharing it to their party members,” Oshiomhole had said about Ize-Iyamu in July 2016.

As it is always said, in politics, there is no permanent friend or enemy. But the weight of the campaign of calumny traded by Oshiomhole against his now favourite (Ize-Iyamu) may not have been easily forgotten by most Edo voters as his sudden U-turn could not erase the scar he painted on the minds of the people. Therefore, Ize-Iyamu may have been fighting a lost battle.

BOLA TINUBU, THE DEMOCRAT

Bola Tinubu, national leader of the APC and former governor of Lagos state, may have thought he was sending a strong message to Edo people to shun the reelection of Obaseki, when he made a short video a few days to the election, saying Obaseki “does not deserve any democratic ballot paper”.

However, contrary to the expected outcome by APC, the video was trailed by large-scale criticism on and off social media, with many wondering why the APC leader seemed vested in the election outcome in Edo. And so did the #EdoNoBeLagos mantra gain more ground. The video may have been targeted at discrediting Obaseki, but it appeared to have only strengthened the resolve of Edo people on voting their choice candidate.

DESMOND ELLIOT, THE GODFATHER BENEFICIARY

Politics of godfatherism has featured prominently in the Nigerian political space. However, it appears Desmond Elliot, Nollywood actor and lawmaker representing Surulere at the Lagos state house of assembly, went too far in his attempt to sell an idea that there was nothing wrong in godfatherism.

Desmond Elliot had told Edo people there was nothing wrong in godfatherism
In his excitement to campaign for Ize-Iyamu, while trying to discredit the #EdoNoBeLagos slogan, he had said there was nothing wrong in godfatherism. And he didn’t stop there. He drank water from a bottle, got more comfortable in the red jacket he was wearing while being interviewed and pointed his hand to his chest, saying “I’m a product of godfatherism.” The statement served to only make the APC campaign even more questionable, as it seemed the party was indeed promoting the concept of godfatherism.

GANI AUDU, THE ‘UNKNOWN’ DEPUTY

Nigerian politics is one that favours popularity. The popularity of Gani Audu, the APC deputy governorship candidate, may have added little impact to his principal’s election compared to Philip Shaibu, Obaseki’s second-in-command. Although Audu and Shaibu are both from Etsako west local government area, and had both served in various capacities as government officials, serving as a deputy governor for four years was significant enough for Shaibu to sell key achievements of the administration to the people of Edo.

Gani Audu, Ize-Iyamu’s deputy, whose influence appeared to have little impact when compared to that of Philip Shaibu

Besides, Shaibu learnt well from Oshiomhole, with whom he was once very close. After all, there are only a few people in Nigeria who can pull off the NLC “khaki” aside from Oshiomhole and Shaibu. On the flip side, for Gani Audu, he seemed to just be a convenient way to balance the Christian-Muslim ticket for APC, as Desmond Elliot repeatedly pointed out when he kept saying “you have a pastor and an imam” as his way to campaign to the Edo people.

HOSA OKUNBOR

Hosa Okunbor, business mogul and philanthropist, is one of the many influential figures in Edo politics, and when he openly threw his weight behind Ize-Iyamu, it looked like Obaseki had another major threat to contend with.

Okunbor, in an interview, had boasted: “I would support Ize-Iyamu with my hard-earned money and people that know me know that when I believe in something, I can spend my last kobo to achieve it.”

“He (Ize-Iyamu) is lucky to have someone like me. When God wants to work, he will bring all together to work for your good.”

Okunbor, a former supporter of Obaseki, later fell out with the governor, accusing him of mismanaging the economy. But, as the results eventually proved, Okunbor’s money did little to secure victory for Ize-Iyamu.

TONY KABAKA — AND THE ‘LIONS AND TIGERS’

Tony Adun, better known as Tony Kabaka, former revenue collector for the state and strong supporter of Oshiomhole, didn’t give up on his derogatory campaign against Obaseki.

The feud was intensified after his multi-million naira hotel, T. Latifah Hotel and Suites, was demolished by the state government and an N18 million suit was slammed against him for logistics cost in bringing down the property.

Kabaka, who accused Obaseki of “forgetting himself”, may have believed that without his support and that of his principal (Oshiomhole), Obaseki would not have much in terms of influence that could swing the votes in his favour.

He pitched tent with Ize-Iyamu, his “awaiting excellency”, and was seen in a video introducing himself and the “lions and tigers from different local governments” who would work for the APC candidate in the election. In the same “lions and tigers video”, Ize-Iyamu had addressed the gathering, saying “your influence goes beyond one polling unit. You will do your units; you will move to other units….this election will be ‘operation show your result’, and that operation, I tell you, na many of una e go favour’.”

Ize-Iyamu’s posture in that video seemed to encourage flouting the code of conduct for peaceful elections, as he was encouraging his supporters to ignore the rules on restriction of movement. However, it appears the Edo people proved Kabaka and his cohorts otherwise, to show that even in the jungle, there is need for some sense of order in the interest of preserving the peace.


https://www.thecable.ng/desmond-elliot-okunbor-kabaka-those-who-unintentionally-ruined-ize-iyamus-chances