Communication specialist and media entrepreneur, Fola Folayan has also reacted to the 'ObiDatti Showdown Music Concert' which has been confirmed to be fake.
She distanced Burna Boy from the show and wrote:
To whom it may concern
This is #FakeNews. Burna Boy will not be appearing or performing at this event.
Former singer turned blogger, Tunde Ednut is celebrating his 37th birthday in style across 8 countries. He was born on 20th of January 1986 in Katsina State.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEE!!!
I don’t take pictures often lol… So please manage the ones I can find lol… Thank you all.
No PVC, No Entry”: Psquare Donate Cow, Host Tunde Ednut’s 37th Birthday Party in Lagos
Tunde Ednut announced that P'Square singers, Peter and Paul Okoye are celebrating his birthday with a cow as they host a birthday party on his behalf. But the P'Square brothers included a condition that only those with their Permanent Voters Card could attend the party.
EIGHT POWER TRANSFORMERS OF TCN ARRIVE LAGOS PORT, AWAIT HAULAGE TO PROJECT SITES
Again, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) received eight ( brand new power transformers belonging to the TCN, under its Project Management Unit at the Apapa Port, Lagos.
The transformers comprise six (6) number 150/187.SMVA, 330/132/33kV power transformers and two (2) number 100/125MVA, 132/33kV power transformers are still at the ports as arrangement is being concluded to move the transformers.
The location for the transformers are as follows:
• 2x150/187.5MVA, 330/132/33kV — Bauchi • 1x150/187.5MVA, 330/132/33kV — Mayo Belwa • 1x150/187.5MVA, 330/132kV — Yola • 1x150/187.5MVA, 330/132/33kV —Maiduguri • 1x150/187.5MVA, 330/132/33kV — Damaturu • 2x100/125MVA, 132/33kV — Yola
TCN through the EPC contractor (MBH) will move all the transformers to TCN Substations mentioned above. The project is among the World Bank funded project under NETAP. The transformers are part of the ongoing grid expansion projects under TCN's Project Management Unit.
THE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN yesterday said that it has been begging banks to come and collect the new N200, N500 and N1,000 naira notes.
The apex bank also disclosed it stopped withdrawal to curb abuse and adding that disbursement of the new naira notes has been restricted to ATMs in order to ensure access to all bank customers.
Director of Legal Services Department, CBN, Mr. Kofo Salam-Alada, disclosed this at a sensitisation programme at Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking against the backdrop of scarcity of the new naira notes and continued disbursement of old notes by ATMs of banks, Salam-Alada said that the apex bank will penalize banks for failure to collect the new notes and also for failure to disburse them via their ATMs.
While appealing to the public to go and deposit their old notes, he averred that there is no plan to extend the deadline for the public to deposit the old notes beyond January 31st.
He said: “I can tell you today the CBN on a daily basis gives out the new notes. As we speak now banks are with the CBN taking money.
“I am reliably told that we are actually begging commercial banks to come and take money (the new notes) from the CBN. We have these new naira notes in our vaults and we are waiting for banks to come and collect them.
“To also let you know the seriousness of CBN for these new naira notes to permeate everywhere, we have found out that a lot of things are happening, and we stopped the across-the-counter withdrawal of new naira notes to ensure that you, you, you can have access to it.
“Not a situation where, one chief, who is known to the Manager or everyone will cart away all the new naira notes from a particular branch.
“And that is why we said if you want the new naira notes walk to the ATM where there is no distinction between myself and the hawker over there.
“Part of what we are doing is that we have monitors going around banks. I have been to some ATMs this morning and I have logged reports, I have spoken to management of various banks. When I am in any bank, I speak with the Head Office, I ask them, where are the new naira notes we gave you, and you will start hearing an explanation.
“What you have been experiencing will actually ease off very soon because the banks now know there will be a penalty for failure to come and pick the new naira notes from the CBN and for failure to load the notes into their branches.”
Montana Felix is Miss Universe Nigeria 2022. Her full name is Montana Onose Felix. She hails from Edo state, Nigeria.
Montana Onose Felix is a 22 year old fashion model and actress. She was born in 2001. She was Miss Jnr teen Dallas 2018/19.
She represented Nigeria at the Miss Universe 2022 which was the 71st Miss Universe pageant, held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on January 14, 2023.
R'Bonney Gabriel from the United States was crowned the 71st Miss Universe on Saturday night.
Gabriel, who last year became the first Filipino-American to win Miss USA, took the crown ahead of Amanda Dudamel from Venezuela and Andreína Martínez from the Dominican Republic.
The pageant was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, with 84 women from around the world competing for the crown.
Saturday night was the last day of the competition, with eliminations narrowing down the number of finalists until the last two remained.
When Gabriel entered the Top 5, she was asked, "Miss Universe recently made an inclusive change allowing mothers and married women to compete this year. What's another change you'd like to see and why?"
Gabriel responded that she hoped the contest organizers would increase the candidate age limit.
"For me, I would like to see an age increase because I am 28 years old. And that is the oldest age to compete. And I think it's a beautiful thing. My favorite quote is 'if not now, then when?' Because as a woman, I believe age does not define us. It's not tomorrow, it's not yesterday -- but it's now. The time is now," she said.
Houston-native Gabriel is a model, fashion designer, and sewing instructor who prioritizes the environment in her work.
Earlier in the pageant, Gabriel donned a red-orange cape inspired by a rising phoenix with the maxim "if not now, then when," which she had dyed herself. The words take inspiration from her father's advice to act on goals, dreams and desires.
In the final question and answer segment of the competition, the Top 3 contenders were asked how they would work to demonstrate Miss Universe as an empowering and progressive organization if they won the title. Gabriel said she would use the platform to be a "transformational leader" and emphasized her passion as a force for good in the fashion industry by cutting down on pollution and using recycled materials in making clothing pieces.
"I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human trafficking and domestic violence. And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference," Gabriel said.
"We all have something special and when we plant those seeds for other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change."
This year's pageant was organized for the first time by JKN Global Group PCL, a Thailand-based media distribution company, after tycoon and transgender rights advocate Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip bought the Miss Universe Organization for $20 million in October.
Jakkaphong has been outspoken about her experiences as a transgender woman, and is also the first woman owner of the pageant. She made an appearance onstage to award the ImpactWayv Challenge winner to Thailand's Anna Sueangam-iam, honoring her commitments for social good.
Miss Thailand had in the preliminary rounds of the pageant made waves in a dress made of soda tabs -- a tribute to her humble beginnings and her parents' work as garbage collectors.
Eleven persons lost their lives on the spot on Sunday in a multiple road accident that happened at NICON Junction on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Express Road, Abuja.
Three salon cars — Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla and a Mazda — were involved in the accident that occurred in the afternoon.
Eye witnesses attributed the accident to reckless driving by one of the drivers.
THISDAY gathered that all the occupants of the vehicles and some bystanders died as a result of the accident.
Large crowd of sympathizers rushed to the scene, while charred human parts and wrecked vehicle parts littered the spot.
Rescue operators from the Federal Road Safety Commissiom (FRSC) were also mobilized to the scene.
They were seen conveying the dead to the mortuary, as well as taking the injured to the hospital.
“I counted eight people on the floor when I came around but I’m sure that about two or three were dead on the spot immediately I got here.
“People were just picking people’s legs and parts of the body. I have never seen such. From what I heard, those guys were high; the guys in that Toyota Corolla were high,” an eye witness said.
The mission, focused on the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system, proved that an asteroid’s orbit can be altered by kinetic impactor technology.
Rocks from space have walloped Earth for eons, and it’s only a matter of time until our planet lands yet again in the crosshairs of a very large asteroid. But unlike other forms of life—here’s looking at you, dinosaurs—humans have a fighting chance of altering our cosmic destiny. At AGU’s Fall Meeting 2022 held in December, researchers presented a slate of new results from NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, the first demonstration of asteroid deflection.
Peering at an Orbit DART’s target, the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system, was first discovered in the mid-1990s. But astronomers back then spotted only its larger member, Didymos, which is roughly 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter. It wasn’t until 2003 that scientists realized that a much smaller body, dubbed Dimorphos, was also present. Dimorphos is about one fifth the size of Didymos, and its orbit takes it in front of and behind Didymos as seen from Earth. That’s serendipitous, because by monitoring how the brightness of the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system varies over time, scientists were able to precisely determine how long it took Dimorphos to complete an orbit: 11 hours and 55 minutes.
“We needed to understand the Didymos-Dimorphos system before we changed it,” said Cristina Thomas, a planetary scientist at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2022.
The primary goals of the DART mission were simple, at least in concept: Hit Dimorphos with the roughly 570-kilogram (half-ton) DART spacecraft to alter the orbital period of Dimorphos around Didymos significantly and measure that change and characterize the physics of the impact. If successful, it would be the first demonstration of deflecting an asteroid using so-called kinetic impactor technology. (In 2005, another NASA mission, Deep Impact, tested kinetic impactor technology with a comet.)
On 23 November 2021, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. By then, the SpaceX-designed rocket had notched more than 100 successful launches, but for members of the DART mission, the event was anything but ordinary: Nestled within the rocket’s nose cone was the spacecraft they’d spent well over a decade designing, building, and testing.
The launch went smoothly, and DART soon entered into orbit around the Sun. For roughly 10 months, the spacecraft largely tracked the orbit of Earth, essentially waiting to catch up to the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system, which orbits the Sun between Earth and Mars. “We stayed close to Earth the entire time and just caught up with the Didymos system at its closest approach to Earth,” said Elena Adams, DART mission systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Approaching the Unknown
It was only around July of 2022 that DART’s onboard camera—the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO)—caught its first glimpse of Didymos. But Dimorphos wouldn’t come into view until much, much later: Just an hour before impact, at a distance of roughly 25,000 kilometers, the tiny moonlet was still a mere two pixels across in DRACO images.
“We didn’t see Dimorphos until late in the game,” said Adams. To prepare for the uncertainties of impacting a body they knew virtually nothing about, DART team members ran thousands of Monte Carlo simulations beforehand in which they varied the moonlet’s size, shape, albedo, and a slew of other parameters.
The DART spacecraft successfully impacted Dimorphos on 26 September 2022. The event was recorded by a cadre of Earth-based telescopes and also the Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube), a briefcase-sized spacecraft carrying two cameras that launched with DART and was released from the spacecraft 15 days prior to impact.
A Serendipitous Boost
Researchers had calculated that the impact, which occurred roughly head-on, would shorten Dimorphos’s orbital period by just under 10 minutes. That was assuming the simplest case of no ejecta being produced, said Andy Cheng, DART investigation team lead at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, at a press conference.
“The amount of momentum that you put in the target is exactly equal to the momentum that the spacecraft came in with.” But if ejecta flies off the asteroid after impact, physics dictates that the asteroid can get an extra boost, said Cheng. “You end up with a bigger deflection.”
That’s good news when it comes to pushing a potentially harmful space rock out of the way, said Cheng. “If you’re trying to save the Earth, that makes a big difference.”
And ejecta there was, in spades—on the basis of detailed follow-up observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system, scientists discovered that Dimorphos is now traveling around Didymos once every 11 hours and 22 minutes. That’s a full 33 minutes shorter than its original orbital period, a finding that implied that a substantial amount of ejecta was produced. Imagery obtained from ground- and space-based telescopes has borne that out—a plume of debris tens of thousands of kilometers long currently stretches out from Dimorphos. Researchers have estimated that at least a million kilograms (1,100 U.S. tons) of material were blasted off the asteroid by the impact. That’s enough debris to fill several rail cars, said Andy Rivkin, DART investigation team lead at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, at a press conference at the Fall Meeting.
Follow the Debris
Interestingly, the ejecta shed by Dimorphos has remained in distinctly more plumelike configurations than the debris shed by comet 9P/Tempel 1 when NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft intentionally crashed into it in 2005. “The Dimorphos ejecta has a lot of morphological features,” said Jian-Yang Li, a planetary scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Fairfax County, Virginia, and a member of the DART team, at the Fall Meeting.
The reason is probably the different compositions and surface features of the two bodies, he said. Tempel 1 is rich in volatiles and fine-grained dust; Dimorphos’s surface, on the other hand, is littered with boulders. Scientists plan to continue to monitor Dimorphos’s debris plume through at least March.
The DART mission has also enabled scientists to investigate a fundamental question about the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system: Do the two asteroids have the same composition? It’s a common assumption when it comes to binary asteroids, but it’s never been confirmed. Thomas, leader of the DART Observations Working Group, presented new results on the subject at a press conference at the Fall Meeting. She shared near-infrared spectra of the binary asteroid system that astronomers had collected both before and after impact using a NASA telescope in Hawaii.
Observations obtained prior to impact (when the overwhelming majority of the sunlight reflected off the asteroid system came from Didymos) and after impact (when the debris shed by Dimorphos was responsible for more than two thirds of the reflected light) revealed very similar spectra, with characteristic dips at wavelengths of 1 and 2 micrometers in both cases. That’s strong evidence that the two asteroids have similar compositions, said Thomas.
Scientists aren’t yet finished with Didymos and Dimorphos: In 2024, researchers involved in the European Space Agency’s Hera mission plan to launch a spacecraft to the system to further characterize the asteroids—including accurately measuring the mass of Dimorphos—and to study the crater created by the DART impact.
Nigerian activist, Dele Farotimi, has a piece of advice for obidients.
Dear Obidients,
If u are in Lagos and u are finding it difficult to collect your PVC, pls wear Tinubu's T-shirt or Cap to INEC collection centers for easy collection of your PVC.
That was my very thought from day one . I told one agbero to help me with Asiwaju cap, I didn’t use it eventually because the process in Amuwo was easy . I collected without wasting time.
Attention! There is a hot new couple you need to know about - Lori Harvey and Damson Idris have seemingly confirmed their relationship in a new Instagram post.
Earlier today (13th January) 31-year-old British actor Damson shared a picture of himself with Lori on his Instagram story to celebrate her 26th birthday.
In the picture Damson is seen kissing her on the cheek and captioned it "Happy Birthday Nunu ❤️." He already has a nickname for her? We're obsessed.
And it appears the internet is too, as many fans on Twitter were shocked but super happy for the new couple, with many tweeting their reactions.
One person joked that they "Just fell to my knees at Southwark station" upon seeing the picture of Lori and Damson.
Another said: "Almost passed out on the way to pilates class. I need Lori’s rizz like yesterday."
One person echoed what we were all feeling when they said: "In my next life I wanna be Lori Harvey" and another simply said: "I wanna cry, Damson & Lori so CUTE."
Lori was previously in a year long relationship with Michael B. Jordan, before the pair broke up in June last year.
Damson's very cute Instagram post comes after he and Lori were spotted together on a dinner date in Los Angeles in December last year.
They were later seen that evening attending a friend's birthday party and walking out of the party at the same time.
Following their date, Damson shared Lori's recent Essence magazine cover on his Instagram story with a number of � emojis. This lead many fans to think something was going on between the two. And it appears they were right.
So far Lori hasn't shared any images with Damson on her Instagram account, but hopefully we'll get another cute pic soon. Fingers crossed.
"One thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, 'that's my mom'"
Naomi Osaka announces she is pregnant and will be back on the tennis court for the Australian Open in 2024
Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023.
The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that its the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun.
These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I've dedicated my life to. I realize that life is so short and I don't take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, "that's my mom", haha. 2023 will be a year that'll be full of lessons for me and I hope I'll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I'll be at Aus 2024. Love you all infinitely
Sidenote: I don't think there's a perfectly correct path to take in life but I always felt that if you move forward with good intentions you'll find your way eventually.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s advances to the federal government rose 2900 per cent in the last seven years to N23.8 trillion, an unprecedented rise that violated the law, stoked inflation and worsened the country’s debt burden.
Central banks sometimes help governments to fund budget deficits, but such loans, called Ways and Means Advances, are tightly controlled as they can fuel inflation and distort monetary policy.
In May 2015 when the Buhari administration came to office, the CBN’s loans to the federal government stood at N789.7 billion cumulatively. Since then, the government has drawn central bank loans each year at an unprecedented level.
Between January and October 2022 alone, the government drew N5.6 trillion. By comparison, between December 2012 (the earliest date the CBN has released data for) and May 2015, a period of two and half years, ways and means advances rose by N654.9 billion.
As his administration winds down, President Muhammadu Buhari made an attempt on Wednesday to obtain a delayed approval for the loan that had already been spent, causing an uproar in the Senate. Lawmakers rejected the request and accused the president of violating the constitution. They also demanded details of how the money was spent.
The CBN Act says the CBN may grant temporary advances to the federal government in respect of temporary deficit of budget revenue at such rate as the bank may determine. It however warns that the total amount of such advances outstanding “shall not at any time exceed five (5) percent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.”
In addition, it stipulates that, “All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.”
Analysts say all requirements of that legislation have been breached by the CBN under Godwin Emefiele and Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed.
If the regulation had been followed, the ways and means to the government for the entire 2022 should not exceed N219 billion (5 per cent of the government’s revenue in 2021).
Yearly Advances
The bank’s loan as of December 2015 stood at N856 billion; it rose to N2.2 trillion in December 2016, and reached N3.3 trillion in December 2017.
By December 2018, the figure rose to N5.4 trillion and reached N8.7 trillion in December 2019. The amount was N13.1 trillion by December 2020 and N17.4 trillion by December 2021. It is now N23.8 trillion.
In October, the government said it was converting the CBN loans to bonds with a maturity of 40 years and an interest rate of nine per cent, effectively transferring the bill to the next generation.
Wife of DG SSS orders arrest of Kano NNPP guber candidate, directs personnel to kill his aide at Kano airport
Aisha Bichi, the wife of the director-general of the State Security Service, SSS, Yusuf Bichi, has ordered the arrest of the Kano governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Abba Yusuf, and barred him from boarding a Max Air flight from Kano to Abuja on Sunday night.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the crisis began at the gate of the VIP lounge of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano when the motorcade of the politician caused traffic holdup, briefly delaying Mrs Bichi’s convoy from gaining swift passage into the controlled area.
Sources said the situation angered Mrs Bichi as her security guards started beating up people and hitting vehicles for “disrespecting Madam”.
Witnesses said as the dust began to settle, the NNPP candidate went into the lounge to meet her, being his wife’s friend, and complain about the personel’s untoward behaviour.
“No sooner had Abba approached her than she began raining insults on him. Although the state director of service attempted to calm her down, she continued pouring the expletives, saying she would not allow him to be a governor,” an eyewitness told this newspaper.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the situation worsened when she sighted a member of the politician’s entourage, Garba Kilo, filming the altercation with his phone. “As she saw Kilo taking a video, she immediately ordered the personnel to kill him, saying ‘kill him, and nothing will happen’.
“She further vowed that she would not allow Abba to board same flight with her tonight. As she continued shouting, the state director of DSS pleaded with Abba to cancel his trip and go back home.
“As Abba insisted on boarding the flight, a reinforcement of DSS personnel shortly arrived at the airport and cordoned off the lounge building. Some hefty-looking operatives then stormed into the lounge and told Abba that he was under arrest,” said the source.
Sources further told DAILY NIGERIAN that the police DPO in charge of the airport later arrived in company of his subordinates to investigate the incident and take statements from the parties involved in the clash.
“After Abba gave a statement, the DPO went to the left wing of the lounge to take her statement, but she declined, asking ‘do you know who I am? Who are you to even confront me to write a statement?
“The DPO later left without taking her statement,” said the source.
DAILY NIGERIAN learnt that the SSS operatives later released Mr Yusuf after the flight took off with the DG’s wife.
Spokesman for the SSS, Peter Afunanya, did not respond to DAILY NIGERIAN inquiry on the matter at the time of filing this report, just as spokesman for the NNPP candidate, Sanusi Dawakintofa, could not be reached for comment on the matter.
Mrs Bichi, believed by insiders to be meddling with the service affairs, had recently ordered SSS operatives to beat up her tailor in Abuja for failure to sew her cloths on time.
The stormy petrel had also ordered the removal of the service director at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for allegedly refusing to welcome her last year.
“In the absence of the cash, there must be the lash.”Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895, Black American Nationalist.
It is always sad when what would have been a great career ends in petty politics.
It is a matter of cash. The attempt to arrest the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN by the Department of State Service, DSS, using ex-parte Court motion is not about law or justice. It is basically a manifestation of the struggle to control the CBN in the dying days of the Buhari administration.
As any regular reader of my articles on the CBN and Emefiele would agree, I have not always supported his role in this tragedy called Buhari administration. He got too involved in making fiscal policy; and was trapped into opening the purse of the CBN to allow a wasteful government to borrow from the bank more than was constitutionally permitted.
His latest measures, aimed at saving the economy from collapse, caught the cabal, in the absence of a real President, by surprise. The ton-loads of cash which had been draining into their private pockets are about to stop.
In addition, they still have monumental problems concerning what to do with all the trillions of cash stashed away in secret places now that new bills had been introduced. Emefiele, like the former comrade who turned against his former allies must be eliminated – one way or another.
PARALLEL HISTORY – SOLUDO AND EMEFIELE
“In a sick country, every step to health is an affront to those who live on the sickness.” Bernard Malamud, 1914-1986, in THE FIXER.
Every Nigeria leader, in an important position, should engage an archivist who would find out for them what happened if the measure contemplated had been undertaken before. Emefiele is not the first Governor to get into deep trouble on account of currency change proposal. In 2009 Soludo was on his way to a second term as Governor when he embarked on re-decimalisation of our currencies, to bring down inflation. Re-decimalisation meant that the N1000, N500, N200 and N100 bills would by N100, 50, 20 and 10 bills. The rest would be in coins.
The announcement was made at the CBN Auditorium, where Soludo also announced plans, under FSS-2020, to make Nigeria, African financial hub by 2020. He was also on record for believing the nonsense called VISION 2020. All those dreams have turned out to be delusions of the worst kind. But, the only measure which sealed Soludo’s fate was re-decimalisation. Sitting directly behind me in the auditorium was a publisher of a National Newspaper, who immediately pronounced the proposal “Dead on arrival”.
I immediately got in my car and drove to Kano; knowing that some of the power-brokers would have received the news. A meeting was on. Having lived and worked in Kano for years; and a member of Kano Club, I had easy access to the meeting. What was most disturbing to the movers and shakers of Kano was the idea that those of them who had become billionaires would revert back to just millionaires; and millionaires to “thousand nairas” (a term coined by them).
The meeting concluded, around midnight that “Soludo must go”. Two people were assigned to call on President YarÁdua and tell him their decision. I knew that night that Soludo had committed a blunder. He should have waited until he got the second term sealed and delivered.
Soludo’s sack by the cabal then illustrates one of the sad ironies of Nigerian governance. Banking Consolidation, which he introduced hastily in 2006,had predictably collapsed by 2008. Shares bought at N20, 30, 40 and even 50 each, had crumbled to less than N10. Trillions of Nigerian wealth was wiped out; the banks were in distress and AMCON was getting ready to buy N5-6 trillion toxic loans from people who won BANKER OF THE YEAR awards. Millions of Nigerian investors never recovered. Those were grave enough reasons to sack Soludo. Instead, he got sacked for changing the currency; which, incidentally was a good decision to curb inflation.
DIVERGENCE OF INTERESTS
“There is no fight like a fight between the closest of comrades over notions of betrayal.” David W Blight.
Emefiele’s currency change struck deeper into the subversive interests of the cabal than he realised. The five months left for Buhari to vacate office represented their last chance to clean up; and leave Nigeria a basket case economically. They expected Emefiele to allow business as usual to continue till the end.
Future historians will certainly be asking themselves how, with a National Assembly, NASS, full of Professors, lawyers, graduates from good universities, Ministers including Professors and SANs as well as millions of well-educated Nigerians, the President was allowed to accumulate N23.7 trillion ways and means debt from the CBN without the two being kicked out. Every conspiracy unravels the minute there is divergence of interests- as now.
WAYS AND MEANS – THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
“Storm in Senate over Buhari’s N23.7trn ‘ways and means’.”
Most Nigerians might not realise it, the main reason why the cabal wants Emefiele out of the way (dead if possible because terrorism is a capital crime) is because of the management of Ways and Means. Several sections of the constitution were violated since 2015. But, the real cause of the problem is Section 38 of the CBN Act, as amended, which states as follows:
“Any money collected by the federal government as loan or emergency fund in the form of Ways and Means Advances must be refunded before collection of another one.”
Buhari’s government, since inception, has repeatedly collected funds under Ways and Means without paying back the previous loan. That is why the amount outstanding is now N23.7 trillion. Realising that the FG cannot possibly repay N23.7 trillion before May, the government has proposed a restructuring plan unknown to law which the Senate would have approved if Loyal Lawan has his way. It was only the stout opposition of patriotic Senators which saved the day.
As it is, Buhari cannot legally request for loan under Ways and Means until the end of his tenure in May. Consequently, the FG will almost crawl to a stop before March this year. But, for the political and social upheaval that will ensue, that will be the fitting requiem for the worst government Nigeria has ever known.
The most important thing is this. Emefiele needs the support of patriotic and serious Nigerians. He should not resign and hand CBN to the cabal.
A Naval rating has been arrested for his alleged complicity in the death of a 16-year-old girl, Miss Nengi Enenimiete, whose corpse was found in the wardrobe of a hotel in Twon Brass, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
It was gathered that the Navy Police in conjunction with the operatives of the Police and the community youths’ leadership identified and arrested the unnamed Rating.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said the arrested Naval personnel was in the custody of the Nigerian Navy at Egweama in Brass and would likely be handed over to the Police for prosecution after the preliminary orderly room trial.
The corpse of the girl, Miss Nengi Enenimiete, was discovered at the Blevera Hotel in Brass in November by the manager.
The deceased’s corpse, however, showed no signs of physical injuries, mutilation and strangulation.
Indigenes of the Twon-Brass community are, however, demanding an autopsy and arrest of the ‘mystery’ male guest with the deceased on the day of the incident.
Spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident.
He said: “On 21 November, 2022, the Manager of a hotel in Twon Brass at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Brass, said he perceived an offensive odour from one of the rooms in the hotel.
“Upon a search, he discovered a lifeless female corpse hidden inside a wardrobe.
“The deceased was later identified as Nengi Enenimiete, female, aged 16. Investigation is ongoing to identify the suspects who lodged in the hotel room on the night of the incident.
“The corpse has been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy. Investigation is ongoing.”
Members of the Taliban are "worried about Andrew Tate" and are "asking us if he's free yet," according to Sameera Khan, a former Miss New Jersey turned "anti-woke" journalist.
Khan said she took part in a "Twitter space with the Afghan Taliban" to "discuss the detainment of Andrew Tate", an American-British influencer who was arrested in Romania on December 29, along with his brother and two Romanian nationals, and charged with human trafficking.
Romanian prosecutors allege the Tate brothers coerced six women into producing pornography, with the alleged victims facing "acts of physical violence and mental coercion." One of those arrested was also charged with rape, though their identify has not been disclosed.
On Saturday, Khan tweeted: "We are hosting a Twitter space with the Afghan Taliban to discuss the detainment of Andrew Tate.
"They are worried about Andrew Tate and they are asking us if he's free yet.
"They say westerners need Andrew Tate because we are oppressed by feminists."
In a separate tweet, she added "#FREETOPG," calling for Tate to be released, with 'TopG' being a nickname used for the influencer by some of his supporters.
British journalist Otto English tweeted a screenshot from the Twitter space, showing some of the attendees, adding: "This actually happened."
The Twitter space was called "heart emoji Andrew Tate heart emoji, followed by "w/ Taliban."
Grammy Award winner, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has apologised to his fans for arriving late for his Lagos concert.
Recall that the singer laid curses on his haters after he came in late during his concert themed, ‘Love Damini Concert’ while noting how he still performed in the country despite the several rumours against him.
However, fans have taken to social media to vent their anger about his lateness to the event.
Reacting to the outburst, Burna Boy took to his Instagram handle on Monday to apologize to his fans while blaming the organisers for the reason behind his late performance at the event.
He said, “Lagos, I love you but I can’t do this again. The organisational structure and infrastructure are not there for the complexities of my audio and production needs.
“Let’s be clear. I wasn’t late, my band wasn’t late. We pride ourselves on being highly professional, especially with our stagecraft. There were three options available to me; wait for the audio to be fixed and delay the show, come out at 11 pm as planned with no sound or call a breach of contract and pull the plug.
Going forward, Burna Boy said he is working with some investors and stakeholders who are forestalling future occurrences because he wants to continue to give his fans top-notch performances.
“I know I can’t go all over the world and neglect my own people so I’m taking matters into my own hands! I’m gathering the troops to work on building world-class infrastructure in the Nigerian entertainment business.”
To be a disabled Nigerian is a lonely, scary and isolated place. I have often struggled to articulate my Nigerian experience in a way people could understand.
There’s never a place for you. Not in the infrastructure, not in social settings and increasingly not in society. It’s a feeling of constantly being made to act grateful for the being included as an afterthought.
Everything in my life requires pre-thought and planning. If I get to Maison Fahrenheit and the lift isn’t working. Where do I go? If I get to The House/Danfo Bistro and I get met with endless steps. What do I do? If I buy a table at a concert and can’t get in, what do I do?
How do I let my friends know that it’s cool, we’d catch up another time. How quickly can I mask my disappointment and sadness with “omo it’s cool”? Can I handle my driver telling me that Gods time is best and not to be so downcast as we drive back home?
I cannot count how many times I’ve been made to feel less human at Murtala Mohammed Airport. To feel like a ‘thing’ to be handed off to the next person down the line. Like a suitcase.
“Put him there” “park am for there” “can he talk” “sign this for him”. It’s endless and incessant. Your voice is constantly being stripped away. Your presence eroded. You know the ironic thing?
I’m a rich, powerful Nigerian. Someone that my mere surname commands respect. I am the privileged few. I am the disabled Nigerian that they should respect. The one they recognise. The one they must treat well.
If my voice and my very being can be marginalised, what then of the voice of the average disabled Nigerian out there? What then of the Nigerian who doesn’t have the power to walk into a location with an army of armed escorts?
I have been to hospitals that have flights of stairs to get into. I have been to banks without ways to get in. Residential buildings are inaccessible. Pavements cannot be wheeled upon independently. As a fiercely independent person, I can’t live a life in Nigeria without help.
This lack of inclusion, the lack of access and the systemic exclusion from society has been simmering inside me for years. It’s strange that what has tipped me over the edge was reading about the events that occurred at that concert last night.
I saw clips and read tweets from the safety of my couch and was horrified at how much planning I would have had to undertake to attend that concert yet still end up unprepared for that.
How would I have gotten in? How would I have gotten out? Where could I go pee? If it’s true that they were shooting tear gas and there was a stampede, what would I have done?
Then I realised that I’m going to the same artiste’s concert in London in a few months and I have zero of those worries. I am privileged. I can just attend in London.
But don’t I owe it to the average disabled Nigerian to say that with the global visibility Afrobeats is getting, maybe, just maybe someone will remember that disabled Nigerians exist?
That we have a right to be included in the planning and execution of the vision of Nigeria. Not just at an accessible level but at all levels?
I would like to one day see accessibility and inclusion made a priority not just as an afterthought. I deserve to see myself as part of Nigeria.
To see myself being included in planning and infrastructure. To see myself positively in Nigerian stories not just as the cripple that Patience Ozokwor poisoned on Nollywood. I am more that a stereotype. I am human. And it’ll be nice if you saw that too.
A Nigerian man, Dr Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi wrote to the University of Alberta, Canada asking them to remove Nigeria from the list of countries whose students must present IELTS & other English tests before admission.
The school has granted the request. Not all heroes wear capes.
Although the school listed some schools in Nigeria that their graduates do not need English tests for admission, Dr Igbalajobi requested that it be updated to include all since English is Nigeria's official language.
University of Alberta, Hi, my name is Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi. I work with the University of British Columbia as a postdoctoral research fellow. My first degree was in Microbiology from the University of Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State University), Nigeria.
I write to call your attention to a list on your graduate school page exempting applicants with credentials from 'SELECTIVE' universities in Nigeria from the English Language Requirement at the University of Alberta.
1. The official language in Nigeria is English which automatically translates to the fact all institutions from elementary to tertiary education are taught in English
2. The list captured only 35 universities out of about 160 accredited universities in Nigeria. I do not understand the yardstick for this. I want to believe that this is an oversight.
3. While your graduate school page does not reflect the entire universities in Nigeria, some of the names listed have also been changed over time. For instance, the University of Ado-Ekiti is now known as Ekiti State University.
4. I affirmatively believe that the University of Alberta attracts applicants from different backgrounds and inclusion is germane to her. It will be greatly appreciated if the current list is updated or reworded to reflect all universities in Nigeria, similar to that of UnIiversity of Calgary, University of Manitoba, University of Toronto and other universities in Canada.
NMA Condemns Murder of Medical Doctor, Demands Justice
The Nigerian Medical Association has condemned the gruesome murder of one of its members, Dr Uyi Iluobe, who was said to have been killed by the relatives of his patient at a hospital in Oghara, Delta State.
The NMA also called on the Delta State government and the Inspector-General of Police to bring the perpetrators of the murder to book.
The PUNCH gathered that Dr Iluobe was murdered on December 31, 2022.
The NMA, in a press statement signed by its President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, and made available to our correspondent on Monday urged the National Assembly to criminalise violence against healthcare workers in the country.
“The Nigerian Medical Association received with shock and sadness the news of the murder on December 31st, 2022 of Dr Iluobe by the relatives of his patient at Oghara where his practice was based.
“The above scenario being the response of the patient relatives to the loss of a patient from suspected gunshot injuries can never be justifiable and has taken violence against doctors and other healthcare workers from injuries to murder.
“It is unbelievable that in the face of a debilitating medical brain drain, the few doctors that patriotically decided to stay back and take care of our fellow citizens are being murdered by the same Nigerians.
“While we sympathise with the family of the patient that was lost, we strongly condemn this murder and call on the Government of Delta State and the Inspector-General of Police to as a matter of urgency bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book so as to assuage the pain we feel. A man should not be murdered for the selfless act of being on duty on a New Year’s Eve.
“The Nigerian Medical Association uses this medium to call on the National Assembly to make a law criminalising violence against healthcare workers. Please save our souls from wanton attacks by fellow Nigerians.
“We are closely monitoring the handling of the case of Dr Uyi Iluobe’s murder and shall respond as the need arises. Enough is enough,” the statement read.
You gotta be kidding me! When I said that doctors should go on strike whenever a member is assaulted, some idiots came to tell me strike is too much. Lol just look at!
Anyways, for doctors still practising in Nigeria, y'all be safe ��❤️
‘This is insane’: Netizens knock Empress Njamah’s ex-fiance over leaked nude video
George Wade, the estranged fiance of Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah has come under fire on social media for allegedly sharing the nude video of the actress.
According to reports, Wade created a WhatsApp group where he added multiple people and began posting naked videos he took of the actress in her house, including innocent videos of her taking her bath.
Recall that the duo had separated in 2022 with Njamah accusing her ‘ex-fiance’ of physically assaulting her, in a Livestream via her business Instagram.
The video has since not sat well with Nigerians on social media with many calling out Wade for what they described as an insane and evil move.
@Fswglory wrote: This man created a WhatsApp group, added over 100 people plus bloggers and started sharing Empress Njamah’s nudes and he plans to continue everyday.
This isn’t normal This is insane This is wickedness No matter what transpired between them, this is insane
@Nck_Obi: Empress needs to involve the police. Lock up that mf. You got jilted and the first thing that popped up in your tiny brains is to create a WhatsApp group and leak nudes? What kind of pea-brained men are these bikonu??
@Toniatuslim: Where Empress Njamah see this mad man in the first place? Mad men roaming the streets y’all be safe out there.
@Bullsies: On Empress Njamah’s so-called leaked nudes all I have to say to her is Ntoor ! The guy should be jailed maximum term. Old things who ought to be almost grandparents are busy taking nudes & storing them for what reason exactly? After all, Tiwa is proud of hers. F00lish things.
@Ebyfyn: God abeg deliver us from wicked partners, Empress Njamah ex is so evil…
The message from the FHQ on Bolanles' death is clear that such has been condemned, the men must face the music as urgent as possible. CP Lagos has taken necessary action while we remain pained on the bad incident. We are all human beings, and we feel so sad.
A soul of a Nigeria is so precious to us, and we value that. Efforts are on to sanitise the system, and the right thing will be done to actualise our goals on having that decent and professional police institution in Nigeria.
Ajayi Oluwatobi, Founder/Chairman/CEO Nord Automobiles and Forbes 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa 2018, launches Naerospace.
I am pleased to inform you that we have started a new company @flynaerospace that produces unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which we popularly call drones.
The auto pilot software was designed and developed by us here in Nigeria by brilliant Nigerians, wholly owned by us.
I am pleased to inform you that we have started a new company @flynaerospace that produces unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which we popularly call drones.
The auto pilot software was designed and developed by us here in Nigeria by brilliant Nigerians, wholly owned by us. pic.twitter.com/UrwWxNIWIN
NIN tokenization helps to protect an individual’s data privacy via the use of an encrypted, coded representation (“disguised”) version of the NIN rather than actual NIN itself in day-to-day transactions.
User IDs, QR codes and even verification log details on the MWS Mobile ID app are all types of NIN tokenization in that they all hide the NIN of the user.
The Virtual NIN NIMC’s MWS Mobile ID app comes with a feature which provides the user with a Virtual NIN.
This Virtual NIN is also a tokenized version of the person’s actual NIN which another party verifying the number cannot retain and use in a way that puts the individual’s data privacy at risk.
It consists of a 16-digit set of alphanumeric characters. The Virtual NIN itself (not the NIN record it represents) expires 72 hours after being generated.
You can use the Virtual NIN when digitally verifying your identity with a verifying agent or enterprise who needs to confirm your identity before offering you a service (banks, airports, shopping delivery and so on).
How It Works via USSD To generate a Virtual NIN via USSD, dial *346*3*Your NIN*AgentCode#
An SMS message will be sent back to you containing the Virtual NIN generated for you.
How It Works on the MWS Mobile App
Launch the MWS Mobile ID app installed on your device (Android or iOS). Make sure you have the current version of the app installed or updated on your mobile device.
Enter your PIN on the lock screen to continue. Select the “GET VIRTUAL NIN” button on the “Home” screen.
Read through the “Enhanced Data Privacy” text.
Then click on the button with the “+” sign on the bottom right corner of the screen to start the process of generating a Virtual NIN for the verifying Enterprise you are dealing with. Tap on any of the available options to either scan the Enterprise’s QR code or type in the Enterprise’s ID.
A Virtual NIN is generated for you to use specifically with that verifying Enterprise alone. Present the Virtual NIN to the Enterprise for verification.
Receive a notification once verification is completed by the Enterprise.
Benefits
Data privacy protection – access to an individual’s NIN by others is further restricted. Generated token is encrypted and totally opaque with no correlation to the NIN. The NIN holder is the only exclusive issuer. Generated tokens expire after a set period of time.
Virtual NIN tokens generated are merchant-specific, a token generated for company A cannot be used or verified by company B.
All payment requests for Tokenization credit units by authorised verifying agents or enterprises should be made via their Enterprise portal accounts and not using NIMC’s general REMITA account.
Celebrities › Burna Boy Will Not Be At "OBIDATTI Music Concert". It's Fake - Fola Folayan by nlfpmod(mod): 7:16pm On Jan 20, 2023
brand new power transformers belonging to the TCN, under its Project Management Unit at the Apapa Port, Lagos.