An Ogun State-based herbalist, Owolabi Mesioye and his friend identified simply as Oloruntoyin have been arrested after they allegedly killed an unnamed man for human sacrifice.

The offence was committed at about 10 pm on March 28, 2019 at Alaako-Ijeun Egboro area of Abeokuta, the state capital.

Vital organs of the victim were removed.


According to sources, Oloruntoyin allegedly lured the unidentified victim to his home near Mesioye’s residence at night, and then beckoned to the herbalist that he had brought the sacrificial man for the propitiation they earlier discussed.

The duo lured the victim to the back of Oloruntoyin’s residence, where they allegedly hit him with a charm that made him unconscious.

Neighbours who saw Oloruntoyin when he brought the undientified man home were said to have become suspicious when they did not see him man again.

The worried neighbours then launched a search for the missing man for two days before they found his mutilated body floating on a fish pond at the back of Oloruntoyin’s house on Thursday March 28, 2019.

The matter was reported at the Ibara Police Division, but men of the station could not visit the scene until the following day.

It was learnt that Mesioye who was to celebrate his annual Ifa festival on March 30 had denied his complicity in the human sacrifice scandal.

He was said to have accused residents of the area of being hostile to him and trying to frame him up for what he knew nothing about.

Residents said they had warned the embattled herbalist several times to desist from placing sacrifices at major junctions in the community to no avail.

‘’The herbalist had been warned several times to desist from placing sacrifices at junctions in the community. He was summoned to a meeting by the community leaders but he did not honour the invitation. Same with Oloruntoyin, who also has not been attending landlords’ meetings,’’ said a source.

Police spokesman, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, where the suspects are currently detained.

Residents of Ijaw communities in Gelegele, Ovia North - East Local Government Area of
Edo State , are now living in fear over the heavy presence of military operatives in the
area .
It was gathered that the military men were from 19 Battalion , Koko and 4 Brigade ,
Benin .
Spokesperson for the community ,
Chief Macaulay Ayiwei , who raised
the alarm on Friday while speaking
with journalists in Benin , the state
capital , said they woke up to see
over 50 soldiers strategically
positioned around the Ijaw
communities .
Ayiwei alleged that the heavy
presence of the military men may
not be unconnected with the land
dispute between the Ijaw and Benin
people of Ughoton and Gelegele
communities .
He further alleged that the crisis had degenerated into an issue between the Ijaw
community and the Benin Palace and strained the relationship between the two groups .
Ayiwei , who said the disputed land was currently before the State High Court , wondered
why the military would take over the whole Ijaw community of Gelegele.
He said , “ The court is billed to sit on this matter on Monday and Tuesday but what are
they ( security operatives ) doing here , taking over the whole community ?
“ If there is no sinister motive behind this , why will a large number of military men from
Delta and Edo states , armed with gunboats , take over a whole community as early as
6 :00 am on Friday ?
“ While we have them around the community , about five truckloads of soldiers are
stationed at Ekenwan Barracks.
“ The whole Gelegele community is in confusion as to what is happening . We are also not
unaware that their presence has something to do with the dispute between the Ijaw
community and the Benin .
“ While we appeal to our people to
remain calm, we are also calling on the
President to caution the army , especially
the 4 Brigade Commandant , who is a
Benin man , not to plunge the state into
crisis. ”
Spokesperson for the 4 Brigade , Nigerian
Army, Capt . Mohammed Maidawa ,
described the presence of the soldiers as
“ a normal routine exercise . ”
He urged the people to go about their
normal businesses , adding that there was
no cause for alarm .

An Ogun State - based steel company , African Foundries Limited , says it has lost three of
its factory workers who were injured when molten metal spilled on them on its
premises .
It said that the incident occurred when the affected workers were taking their bath at
the firm’ s Ogijo plant on Thursday .
In a statement made available to
our correspondent on Friday , the
company explained that the
deceased had closed from work
earlier and were taking their bath
in the open in an unauthorised
location that had been marked
‘ restricted ’ when molten metal from
a furnace in the factory accidently
spilled on them .
According to the statement signed
by the firm ’ s Executive Director ,
Uche Iwuamadi , the workers had
neglected the bathrooms provided
for staff members inside the
complex, choosing to take their bath outside .
They were said to have been immediately rushed to hospital where they later passed on .
The incident was said to have provoked a riot from the local staff members who were
later joined by hoodlums , leading to the destruction and looting of the company ’ s
property and cash .
Foreign nationals and other staff members were also alleged to have been injured in the
riot when the hoodlums attacked them in their residential quarters within the plants .
Our correspondent learned that it took a combined intervention of the police and
military personnel to bring the situation under control .
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State , Abimbola Oyeyemi , confirmed the
incident .
He said that the Commissioner of Police , Bashir Makama , deployed deputy
commissioners and area commanders to the area as soon as he learnt about the riot and
they were able to restore order .
He said that the police went further to
arrange a peace meeting between the
family of the deceased and the company
towards arriving at an amicable
resolution .
According to him , some hoodlums ,
however, returned to the firm with the
intention of looting and destroying
property but were repelled by the police .
Fifteen of them were said to have been
arrested .

No fewer than three construction workers have been shot dead at a site in the Anthony
area of Lagos by some hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers .
The bandits , who reportedly wore masks, stormed the site on Thursday in two buses and
opened fire on the workers .
City Round learnt that the three
mobile policemen posted to the site
to protect the workers could not
repel the attack .
A reliable source told our
correspondent that two of the
victims died on the spot while the
third person was confirmed dead in
a hospital .
He said the land had been a subject
of litigation and dispute among
three families over the years.
The source said , “ The hoodlums went to the site in two buses that afternoon. They wore
masks and shot indiscriminately . Three mobile policemen were guarding the workers ,
but they could not resist the hoodlums . They killed three of the workers . The land is
under dispute ; it is very big . Three families are fighting over its ownership . ”
The source added that the policemen had been detained at the Pedro Police Station for
lack of diligence .
The state Police Public Relations Officer , DSP Bala Elkana , confirmed the incident , but
said two fatalities were recorded .
He said , “ Two persons were killed . We are still investigating the matter. That place has
been a subject of litigation . The policemen were not detained . When something happens ,
we ask questions . We need to hear the account of what happened from them . It is a
normal procedure and part of the investigation process . ”

At least 10 bank robbers were shot dead Thursday after Brazilian military police busted a gang trying to blow up ATM machines near Sao Paulo , officials said . A manhunt is underway for the rest of the assailants after they fled two banks in Guararema municipality , 80 kilometres ( 50 miles) northeast of Brazil ’s biggest city, the Sao Paulo state government said in a statement. Some of the attackers forced their way into a house where they held the occupant ’s hostage. The hostages were later freed by military police . Around 25 assailants were involved in the early morning raid , according to the statement. During a search of the area, police found seven rifles , four pistols , explosives and bullet-proof vests . Brazilian TV showed one of the banks targeted by the gang was located next to a police station . The other bank was at the end of the same street.

(CNN) — When Skirmantas Strimaitis booked a one-way ticket to northern Italy he never imagined he'd be the
only passenger on board.
But the Lithuanian national, who was flying from Vilnius to Bergamo for a skiing trip on March 16, was in for a
shock when he discovered he had the entire Boeing 737-800 to himself.
His only companions on board the plane, which has a seating capacity of 189, were two pilots and five crew
members.
Strimaitis suspected something was amiss when he went to check in at Lithuania's Vilnius International Airport
and was told the crew were waiting for him.
After asking why, as he was by no means late, Strimaitis was informed that he was the sole passenger on
board.
Tour operator Novaturas confirmed to CNN Travel they chartered a flight from Bergamo to Vilnius for a group
of clients that day.
In order to avoid the aircraft coming back empty, one-way tickets were put on sale for the return trip.
However, Strimaitis was the only person to buy one. Leading to what he describes as a "unique and unreal"
experience.
"The crew seemed quite confused at first," he tells CNN Travel. "Maybe it was a new experience for them as
well.
"I was provided with a personal pre-flight safety demonstration. Then I just enjoyed the flight by taking selfies
and writing. To have silence on a plane was very unusual. I was smiling all day."
He shared a selfie of himself on board the deserted plane during the trip, which lasted around two hours.
Strimaitis says the pilot referred to him as "Mr Passenger" while speaking over the tannoy after the plane landed
at Orio al Serio International Airport in Bergamo.
"The crew said how nice it was to have me on the board," he explains. "I'm sure it was an easy job for them."
Of course, this isn't the first case of a passenger inadvertently getting the private plane experience.
Karon Grieve was the only passenger on board a Jet2 airlines flight from Glasgow to Crete in 2017. The Scottish
author tweeted an image of her experience, saying she "felt like a VIP."
Meanwhile last year, Beth VerSteeg flew from New York to Washington, D.C. on board a more or less empty
aircraft after the unnamed airline apparently mistakenly booked her on a flight intended for staff only.

Latifah Smith- Nabengana , a pregnant 15-year - old teenager from a “very religious family ” has claimed that Jesus Christ is the father of her unborn baby . According to her, an angel , during an encounter in July 2015, ‘divinely impregnated’ her while explaining that she had been chosen to bear a child for Jesus Christ . World News Daily Report quoted her to have said : “she was visited by an Angel of God in July 2015”. That presence told her that she had been chosen to bear Christ ’s son. “He told me that he was a Nephilim , like those described in the Bible , ” Smith- Nabengana explained . “He told me that he had a message from Jesus, He said that I was going to be pregnant, and that I would give birth to a son, Jesus’ son. ” Nephilims are mythical creatures mentioned in Genesis 6 : 4; “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days , and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men , and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old , men of renown . ” The girl’s family being “ very religious ” believe her wholeheartedly and await the birth of her child. Dr. William Franklin Murphy , the dector who has been following the girls’ pregnancy , says he is aware of his patient’s claim , but can’ t confirm or invalidate them right now until the child is born. “ Her claims of Virgin pregnancy are technically true, but that doesn ’ t mean there was a divine intervention . I can tell you that it ’ s a boy , but there is no way for me to determine if it is Jesus’ son until he is born . ”

MistadeRegal:
Same as Agbara-Atan Road. It's heart-rending driving along that road. When you take bike to save the stress also, before you get to Atan from Agbara or to Agbara from Atan, only your family will recognize you from the natural pancake talcum powder the road give out for free from head to toes.
That's still better; what the daily crash of heavy trucks especially during raining season.
The government is just not available.

what about lusada-Igbesa road that's the worst road I have ever come across

Former Super Eagles player and Tanzania coach, Emmanuel Amunike has been rewarded with a plot of land alongside his team, by the Tanzanian President Josep Magifuli. Amunike had led the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in the just concluded 2019 AFCON qualifier, to their 1st Nations Cup in 39 years, BSNSports reports. The president of Eastern African country hosted the team at the state house on Monday where the reward was announced. Tanzania finished second with eight points behind Uganda who topped the group L with 13 points. The team will know their group opponents for the tournament finals on April 12 when the draw will be made.

The golden lancehead viper is one of the world's most venomous animals This is the so-called 'Snake Island' where thousands of serpents filled with flesh-melting venom roam free. Located off the southeastern coast of Brazil near Sao Paulo, Ilha da Queimada Grande - or Snake Island as it is affectionately known - is home to around 4,000 slithering reptiles. These are no harmless grass snakes, however. The island its known for its large population of golden lanceheads, a critically endangered species considered one of the world's most deadly. With venom potent enough to kill large birds and the ability to pluck them straight out of the air, the golden lanceheads are formidable predators. Fortunately, the snakes only live in an area uninhabited by humans, meaning there has never been an official report of anyone being bitten. Authorities allow only a small handful of scientists to visit each year, but 9 News reporter Tara Brown was given unprecedented access for 60 Minutes and was accompanied by a medical team on the island. Speaking to news.com.au she said: "When we're speaking to local fisherman, they told us, 'That's not a good idea, you don't want to go there'. "There are legends about a whole family being killed there, and of pirates burying treasure on the island and the snakes being put there to protect the treasure. "The fishermen said they never went there, or they would die." The snakes are five times more deadly than their mainland cousins. One bite from them can kill a human in an hour, with effects including swelling, vomiting, blood blisters, bruising, intestinal bleeding, kidney failure and hemorrhage in the brain. The lanceheads have hemotoxic venom, which eats away at the flesh and tissue of prey so they are easier to eat. Brown explained: "They're different to their mainland cousins in that they're five times more venomous and they are among the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world. "They hunt and eat birds. Not the local birds, who have become too smart for them, but larger migratory birds, boobies, who come by on their migration. "And the snakes' venom has become more potent because their prey is bigger. "It's an incredibly interesting evolutionary experiment for scientists to observe. This is a laboratory in the wild, if you like. You see evolution at play."

The Academic Staff Union of Universities called off their strike over pay and conditions ,
a few days to February 16 , 2019 general elections . The strike commenced on November
4 , 2018 and had threatened to run through the elections , creating an own goal for the
All Progressives Congress and the re - election of President Muhammadu Buhari into a
second term in office .
The terms of the “ memorandum of
action ” , which ASUU and the
Federal Government agreed to , was
not exactly clear to the public. It
was thus not easy to say with
certainty whether it would turn out
to be another stop- gap measure
designed to buy off a dangerous
adversary at a sensitive time in the
middle of elections , or whether , at
last , a lasting solution had been
found to this intractable problem of
strikes and disruptions in Nigeria ’ s
university education system . The
main victims of the strike ; the
hapless students , will now have to
put up with a forced elongation of their duration in school as is the case when such
strikes happen .
In Nigeria , it is commonplace for a student on a four year degree programme to find
himself still enrolled on the same course , two or three additional years later than
scheduled , due to enforced disruptions of the kind just witnessed . The problem we are
talking about affects only public ( taxpayer- funded ) institutions, of course . Private
institutions are not affected since ASUU has no licence to operate in them. This column ’ s
best guess is that incessant ASUU strikes in public universities is a major disincentive to
enrolling in them and an incentive to opt for private universities instead , where one ’ s
commencement and graduation days are almost set in stone .
There is no denying the fact that public universities in this country used to rank
alongside any standard university anywhere in the world . There was massive
investment in them, coupled with the dedication and commitment of the academics
working in the institutions . The condition of service and studying used to be so
congenial that once recruited , an academic would chart a career path for himself until
retirement without thinking too much about taking on other odd jobs to supplement his
income . We are talking of the giddy heights of public investments in education in the
1960 s , 1970 s , and early 1980 s . During this period , you could walk into any of the first
generation campuses and see the array of academics and researchers from across the
world , milling around and pursuing their varied interests in science, medicine , social
science and humanities . Such were the glorious days .
Nowadays , the same institutions are now shells of their former selves . No one takes
pride in them anymore , not least, the political class, some of whom have gone on to
build rival private universities to deplete interest and erode confidence in the public
ones even further . Those who can afford it amongst them send their children to schools
in Western countries, namely ; UK , USA , Canada , Australia , etc . Others opt for private
universities in the country. As a result , public universities in Nigeria have become
production factories for half - baked graduates and illiterates unable to justify the
qualifications bestowed on them.
You would be forgiven for thinking that it is a little bit unpatriotic to be saying these
things out loud this way. It is washing one ’ s dirty linen in public as it were, except to
point out that this is an open secret . Education establishments around the world , who
once had huge respect for certificates from Nigeria ’ s universities now look down on
them. We would even argue that not airing this problem in a public forum like this is
both unpatriotic and a dereliction of duty . On that note , we do not need to scratch our
heads too much to understand the puzzle in the title of this piece . In its robust defence
of the strike action , ASUU went on social media and other outlets to alert people to the
plight of university employees and institutions in this country. It set out a litany of
calamities that have befallen the public institutions in this country over many years , due
to official neglect. A little excerpts from their dossier underline, indeed , affirm the choice
of title for this week ’ s column .
According to ASUU’ s detailed research into the state of public universities in this
country, justifying why ASUU went on strike : “ Internet services are non - existent , or
epileptic and slow in 99 per cent of Nigerian universities ” , “ Nigerian universities library
resources are outdated and manually operated . Book shelves are homes to rats /
cockroaches ” , “ 76 per cent of Nigerian universities use well as source of water , 45 per
cent use pit latrine, 67 per cent of students use bush as toilet” , “ 77 per cent of Nigerian
universities can be classified as glorified primary schools . Laboratories are non-
existent ” , “ 80 per cent of Nigerian universities are grossly under - staffed ” , “ 78 per cent
of Nigerian universities rely heavily on part - time and visiting lecturers ” , “ 88 per cent of
Nigerian universities have under - qualified academics” , “ 90 per cent of Nigerian
universities are bottom - heavy , with junior lecturers forming large chunk of the
workforce ?”, “ only 21 per cent of Nigerian universities attract expatriate lecturers , over
80 per cent of Ghanaian universities attract same ” , “ 89 per cent of Nigerian universities
employ their own (local ethnic) staff ” , “ Nigerian university medical students train in the
most dangerous environment, some only see medical tools in books ” , “ 80 per cent of
published journals by Nigerian academics have no visibility in the international
knowledge community ” , “ laundries and common rooms in many universities have been
converted into rooms where students live in open prison style” , “ over 1000 students
being packed in lecture halls designed for less than 150 students ” .
The above highlights are by no means exhaustive , the tale of woes documented by ASUU
is much longer; it is stupefying in essence . If you add the nonchalant attitude of the
students to their study environment; fiddling attendance, falsifying records and
assignments , open and blatant plagiarism , paying for lecturer’ s notes ( and marks in
many cases ), indulgence in illicit affairs with lecturers in exchange for marks, one can
see how worthless the certificates handed to the students at the end of their endeavours
really is . Many graduates from the universities are embarrassing for their ignorance of
the most elementary stuff like : who is the current President of Nigeria ? Or , how many
states comprise the Nigerian federation ? Some have been known to confuse Tafawa
Balewa ( the first Prime Minister of Nigeria ) for a folk singer from the north . And
Awolowo ( the first Premier of the old Western Nigeria) for a traditional ruler from some
ancient village in the Western part of Nigeria . Yes, these are products of Nigerian
universities !
What is even more embarrassing is that these illiterate products of the universities go
on to find very good , high - paying government jobs on a fast track to senior management
positions . Many also find similarly high rewarding jobs in the private sector as well . In
no time , many even find themselves in political office , wielding power and influence.
One only has to pay a little attention to the utterances of some of the elected
representatives in State and National Assemblies to make one think and wonder in
bewilderment .
There is apparently no penalty for failure
in school under our system , as who you
know counts more in life than what you
actually know . The title of your college
degree matters more than its substance .
Your ability to drop names to gain access
is more important than your ability to
read and write . Under the circumstances ,
where is the incentive for hard work?
More importantly , where is the incentive
to acquire knowledge ? None , it seems . It
may be time to privatise all Nigerian
universities . What do you think?

Hello there..please am in need of a room and parlor self contain for rent..the location should be between IJOKO, SANGO, OJUORE, WINNERS, IJU.. Ogun state..My budget is between 80000-100000 naira...if you have call me on 07030062702 or email: smog4u2c@gmail.com

Got it too..I think they are GNLD that's their mode of sending out mails

A Police Sergeant, Idoko Sunday, was Sunday night shot dead  by some political thugs who attempted to snatch  election results that were being conveyed to Ilaro,  in Ogun State.
Late Sergeant Sunday, attached  to the Police Special Protection Unit, SPU was escorting officials of the Independent National Electoral  Commission , INEC from Ipokia to Ilaro,  when they were ambushed.

The armed thugs opened fire on the vehicle conveying the team, in an apparent attempt to hijack the vehicle conveying election results.

Though Sergeant Sunday and another Police escort, as gathered, attempted to prevent the move  by engaging them in a gun battle, Sunday was shot in the chest and ribcage.

Vanguard gathered that  teams of Military and Police personnel  who were alerted on the attack, repelled the hoodlums, forcing them to abandon their mission and  escaped, when it became obvious that they had been overpowered.

Some INEC ad hoc staff in the vehicle sustained varying degrees of injury in the ensuing stampede.

When contacted, spokesman for the Ogun State Police  Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident, said the command was still on the trail of the hoodlums.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Illyasu had directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, SCIID to take over the investigation with a view to arresting perpetrators the thugs.

Five persons are feared to have lost their lives following a clash between supporters of
the All Progressives Congress and those of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kofa Village
of the Bebeji Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.
The PDP supporters who were said to be loyalists of a former governor of the state ,
Rabiu Kwankwaso took on their APC counterparts said to be loyalists of a former
chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations , Abdulmumin
Jibril, in the bloody clash which also left many injured and some houses burnt .
There were two separate accounts of what happened . One account said Jibril’ s supporters , who are
members of the ruling APC , were holding a prayer session for the peaceful conduct of Saturday ’ s presidential and National Assembly elections when the PDP supporters who were on their way from a rally attacked them. Jibril is a native of Kofa village .
Another account said supporters of the APC blocked the road where the PDP campaign train was passing
through and this resulted in a clash .
In the fight which ensued, five persons were said to have lost their lives while several
others were left with injuries .
An eyewitness , who spoke on condition of anonimity , said , “ The fight was bloody ,
several houses and vehicles were burnt . At least five dead bodies were taken away by
the police . ”
The Kano State Government said members of the PDP , specifically the Kwankwasiyya
group , should be held responsible for the clash .
A statement by the state Commissioner of Information , Youth and Culture , Mallam
Mohammed Garba , said , “ The Kwankwassiyya group has continued to brazenly attack
members and supporters of the All Progressive Congress .
“ The latest just happened on Thursday when they attacked our members during a
special prayer session for the peaceful conduct of the general elections , leaving some
party members dead and others with injuries . ”
However , the state Chairman of the PDP , Alhaji Rabiu Bichi , said , “ We went for a scheduled campaign but we were attacked by thugs . As we speak, we don ’ t know the whereabouts of one of our female members , Binta, whose vehicle was also burnt . ”
When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police , Mr Wakili Mohammed said , “ I have not been briefed. For now , I cannot tell you what I don ’ t know . ”

Popular Malaysian pastor, Dr Jonathan David, has revealed winner of the 2019 presidential election.


The cleric, who made the revelation in a viral video, prophesied victory for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, God told him that Nigeria is on the path of righteousness and will not return to corruption.


Pastor David also predicted that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will serve for four or five more terms, by which time, Nigeria would have been a force to reckon with globally.

He said, “With what God is doing in Nigeria, it will become the food basket to provide resources, it is going to replenish the land and their money will change nations, their money will rebuild cities, with the resources that they have and the people that they have, God will begin to use them as a model nation,” he said in a YouTube video.

“Moving them out of corruption into righteousness, moving them from a place of poverty to a place of wealth, moving them back on the ladders of promotion because righteousness will strike at the heart of every corruption and the world of the enemy is going to cease. I see Nigeria rising, this is a new day in Nigeria, this is a new day and new hour, no more turning back.


“It is not just one term, God is going to extend the term, he is going to push it again and again and again. Righteousness will be the order of the day, the one coming after General Buhari is taking his Presidency to the next level and the next one coming and the next one coming in, God says there are four or five terms.

“God is going to give for or five terms into Nigeria, so that Nigeria will completely turn around. Not just for this general alone, not for this present President alone, there will be another four or five more, they will continue to bring reformation across the earth, they will continue to bring transformation, so that Nigeria will not just rise for a short moment and become like a shooting star and then disappear out of context, God is saying I’m going to build an enduring house in Nigeria.

“He is going to remove the powers of death, corruption and corrupt men are no longer going to work on the soil. God touched the soil and he says it’s fertile, he touched the soil and he says it is holy because he is coming down by the power of the spirit.


“He is going to bring about new change because he is going to give hope back to Nigeria. He is going to give hope to Africa, if Nigeria can change, the whole of Africa can change. God is saying this is the message I am going to send to the whole of Africa and turn things around in a powerful way.”

Several INEC insiders told TheCable over the weekend that based on the experience from elections organised by the commission, the signs were already there that something was going wrong. But many of the commissioners were not comparing notes or even talking to each other, thereby compounding a situation that would lead to the embarrassing postponement of the elections. The prevailing atmosphere of in-fighting, inexperience of the logistics committee and poor preparations was further compounded by poor co-ordination by the leadership of INEC, insiders told TheCable. “Typically,” a senior member of management told TheCable, “we take delivery of sensitive electoral materials, including ballot papers, two weeks to any given election. We then warehouse them with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). One week to the election, we send the materials to state offices of INEC. Basically, seven days to any election, all the sensitive materials are already at the states.” At this stage, the official said, the resident electoral commissioners and electoral officers at the state level hold a pre-election conference with party agents and all who will be involved in the elections just to brief them and lay out the procedures. “We also inform them about the state of preparations, that the materials have arrived and that they are ready to be distributed. This is routine. We take questions and observations and roll out the rules and regulations. It is like a normal stakeholders meeting,” the official told TheCable. The official said the materials are then moved from the CBN zonal or state offices to various INEC offices in the state on the Tuesday preceding the elections, sometimes on Wednesdays — depending on how big the state is. “By Friday, the materials are usually already at the ward levels, and then they are distributed to the polling units by Saturday morning. That is how things run on a good day,” the official said. WARNING SIGNALS Another INEC commissioner told TheCable that he sensed there was going to be trouble when the materials were yet to get to the states. “Some of us, including INEC staff, knew things were not going to run smoothly when as at Wednesday, the materials were still at the airports in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja and Kano. These are materials that should have been at the states in some cases and even local governments by then. It is incredible that we did not take a decision to reschedule until four hours to the commencement of the voting processes,” he said. “Many of us were also amazed that the media did not pick up the warning signals. Even the observers, both local and international, did not ask INEC these questions. Why were the materials still stuck at the airports one day to voting? How on earth were we going to reach all the 119,000 polling units across 774 local government areas and 36 states in less than 24 hours? That was practically impossible, but the media and observers appeared to be focusing on trivial issues.” INEXPERIENCE AND INFIGHTING A member of INEC staff, who spoke at length on the logistical nightmare, said there is an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and distrust among national commissioners and this played a major role in disrupting the elections. “Amina Zakari used to be in charge of logistics. Because of the controversy over her relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, the chairman moved her to another department. That is not supposed to be a problem if she was replaced with someone else who can do the job well,” he said. Although the INEC commissioner in charge of electoral operations and logistics is Okechukwu Ibeanu, he was only heading the standing committee. For the election proper, Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, inaugurated the ad hoc committee for logistics on January 3, 2019. The 17- person committee was specifically for the general election. The chairman is Ahmed Tijjani Mu’azu, a retired air vice marshal. Other members are: Abubakar Nahuche, Mohammed Haruna (both INEC national commissioners), representatives from CBN, customs service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Federal Road Safety Corps, immigration service, police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, DSS, army, navy and air force. Other are the INEC directors of electoral operations department, estate works and transport, procurement, and stores. THINGS FALL APART Mu’azu was new on the position and did not have any experience to fall upon when it comes to INEC electoral operations, according to insiders. “Most of the commissioners were kept in the dark when things were going wrong, and because of the polluted atmosphere, people decided to keep quiet so as not to be accused of trying to usurp other people’s jobs. However, the INEC chairman is also conducting a general election for the first time, so he probably trusted the Mu’azu committee to deliver. Yakubu did not have the benefit of institutional memory which helped his predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega,” the insider told TheCable. “Normally, Mu’azu should be giving regular updates to the INEC management on the situation on ground. He did not. The job of the committee was basically to clear and move materials within timelines. Going by the way things worked for us in the past, we should all know that if materials were not at the states by the preceding Saturday, there was going to be a major crisis. But a day to the election, the materials were still at the airports. “Some states got materials. Katsina and Adamawa, for instance, were not affected. But states in the south-east were affected. Imagine if elections had gone ahead without the south-east. We all know how the narrative would have been shaped by now.” Mu’azu used to help INEC with movement of materials before he retired form the air force and it was thought by the INEC leadership that he would do a good job if he was saddled with the task for the general election, an insider said. “But that was a big mistake. Being put in charge of organising logistics for over 100,000 polling units is not the same thing as helping get some air force aircraft to help INEC transport materials. AVM Mu’azu was permanently at the airports as the crisis worsened, but what could he do?” the insider asked. SLOW DECISION-MAKING When it became glaring that elections could not take place all over the federation at the same time, INEC was also too slow in taking a firm decision and communicating it to Nigerians. The senior member of management who spoke to TheCable said there was no need to wait till close to 3am on Saturday to announce the postponement. “As soon as the emergency meeting of national commissioners started, it was clear that we needed to take a decision quickly and communicate this to Nigerians. We knew before the meeting was called that elections would not hold. For some weird reasons, the meeting kept dragging and dragging till past 2am,” he said. Yakubu, addressing stakeholders on Saturday over the postponement, blamed it on sabotage and poor weather which he said disrupted flights on the eve of the elections. However, Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, has debunked Yakubu’s claim that weather affected flights. The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) also said there were no disruptions caused by poor weather. “The agency in line with the directive of the Honourable Minister of State (Aviation), Sen. Hadi Sirika, had earlier ensured a 24-hour operation at all Nigerian airports on Friday 15th February 2019 to facilitate the transportation of INEC materials nationwide,” NAMA said in a statement issued on Sunday. WILL ELECTIONS HOLD ON FEBRUARY 23? Now that the elections have been rescheduled for February 23 — amidst anger expressed by Nigerians — there are still fears that the polls might be postponed again. However, the INEC chairman has assured Nigerians that the fiasco will not repeat itself. INEC insiders also told TheCable that they expected things to run better since materials would be at the locations on time. “Initially, we were pushing for Monday or Tuesday to be picked as the new date, but the tech guys said they would need to re-programme the card readers and they would need six days to do that. Except the tech guys fail us, we are good to go now,” the senior member of management told TheCable.

Nigerian carriers, Aero Contractors and Arik Air, have introduced promo fares to help Nigerians who wish to travel to go and vote during the presidential election. The airlines made the announcement in separate statements released on Monday in Lagos. Chika Ubendu, the spokesperson for Aero Contractors, said the airline has decided to slash its fares by 50% to encourage the citizens to travel to where they can cast their votes. According to Ubendu, the promo will be effective from February 18 for travels between February 21 and February 25 on all her routes. Similarly, Adebanji Ola, Arik Air’s spokesperson, said the N16,000 Fly to Vote promotion was to encourage Nigerians to travel to their respective wards to cast their votes during the elections. “The N16, 000 promotional fare is the one-way ticket cost to any domestic destination on Arik Air’s network and customers must present a valid Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) at the point of purchase and at check-in to be eligible to fly,” he said. “The Fly to Vote promotion is available for sale from February 18 till March 11 for travel between February 21 and February 26 as well as March 7 till March 12. “We have put this promotional fare in place to ameliorate the effect of the postponement on the travelling public and encourage voter participation.”

There are indications that some foreign original equipment manufacturers of mobile phones have abandoned their plans to establish factories in Nigeria citing entry barriers into the market as the problem. Despite experiencing market acceptability for their products and having growth prospects in Africa ’s largest market for mobile devices , some of them have developed cold feet towards the establishment of the production centres in the country . Makers of major mobile phone brands like Tecno , Samsung , Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry had in the past indicated interest in establishing production plants and had promised to create millions of jobs . But findings by our correspondent showed that siting manufacturing facilities in Nigeria was no longer on the table for the OEMs. Findings also revealed that the market shares of some of the OEMs had been eroded by the emergence of cheaper phone brands. Statistics from Euromonitor showed that mobile phone brands owned by Transsion Holdings , maker of Tecno , Itel and Infinix, have the highest market share in the country. The 2018 report indicated that Tecno had 41 per cent market share , Itel had 25.8 per cent market share while Infinix ranks fourth with 8 .5 per cent market share . According to the data , Nokia ranks third in the Nigerian market with 8.7 per cent market share while Samsung devices are the fifth fast -selling brand with 7 .6 per cent market share . Contrary to the market reality of the past when OEMs tinkered with the idea of setting up phone manufacturing plants in Nigeria , the possibility appeared to have become very slim if not obliterated. For instance , the Chief Executive Officer , Samsung Electronics Africa , Mr Sung Yoon , during a visit to Lagos last year , stated that the company would not establish a factory in Nigeria due to its low market share , infrastructural deficit and grey market in the country .He said the company had manufacturing plants in Vietnam , China, South Africa and Korea, adding that producing mobile devices required over 400 components that had to be imported . James Rutherfoord , who was the vice - president /managing director , Nokia West and Central Africa at the time , had in 2013 reportedly said the idea of establishing a phone factory in the country did not make any economic sense , though Nigeria was its strategic market on the continent . “At this point in time , it is a difficult one because most of our component suppliers, all the people that make chips , batteries and all the other components of the devices are not around here. They are all in the Far East. So it’s very difficult to create a factory very far away from them . “It goes beyond Nokia just waking up and deciding to open a factory in Nigeria. We need the whole ecosystem of people producing the components to be very close, otherwise , we will have products that cost higher .” While Transsion Holdings had yet to respond to media enquiries as of press time on Sunday , it was gathered from reliable sources that the company still had plans to set up a factory but the unfavourable business environment was delaying its plans. Speaking on the barriers to entry into the Nigerian market, the President , Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Mr Olusola Teniola , identified some barriers to market entry as import duties , stamp duties , taxes and levies that were imposed on imported components of mobile phones . According to him , the removal of the barriers will encourage investment by phone manufacturers in the country . Teniola explained that the infiltration of counterfeit mobile devices that offered lower prices through the porous borders of the country was creating unfavourable competition for manufacturers that had to bear a lot of costs to produce phones. He said , “The issue of fake phones , which represents 10 per cent of the phones that are readily available in the market, also acts as a barrier and a dissuader for manufacturers to come in . “When you have smugglers bringing in substandard products , they can now under - price those that have actually had to take on the costs of running their businesses in Nigeria plus the cost of manufacturing in Nigeria . “You cannot go below a certain price because it will be below your cost. So , smugglers of fake phones come in and go below your cost because they are not registered; they do not pay taxes in Nigeria and they don’t pay import duties because they smuggle their phones into the country . So , their prices are way below . That is a threat . “This will kill the manufacturing industry, especially when the government is trying to encourage OEMs to come into the country . The government needs to remove and give incentives because there’ s literally a high cost to OEMs. We need the government to assist by giving the concessions for a period of time. We need the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Nigeria Customs Service to collaborate to fight the menace of fake phones that are smuggled across the borders of Nigeria .” The Head, Corporate Communications , Zinox Technologies, Mr Gideon Ayogu, acknowledged that Nigeria had a difficult business environment compounded by infrastructural and institutional gaps . According to him , local players are facing the same challenges as foreign operators in the industry. He lamented inadequate government support , lack of incentives, delay at the ports as some of the challenges they faced regularly. He said , “Interestingly , the Information and Communications Technology sector reflects a microcosm of the challenges in the wider Nigerian business climate . Despite the increasingly global relevance of technology – a development that has further been brought into stark reality with the identity of the top five most valuable companies in the world, all of which are technology companies – the ICT sector in Nigeria suffers from a glaring lack of government ’s support . “Crippling bottlenecks and costly delays encountered with the importation of essential hardware and components, the huge cost of doing business , the near -absence of enabling regulations and other incentives such as tax breaks, all make it difficult for OEMs to thrive .” He advised phone manufacturers to acquire the knowledge of the Nigerian business environment in order to navigate the peculiarities of the country ’s corporate environment and the cultural nuances of the citizens to survive . The National Information Technology Development Agency had on several occasions wooed investors at international conferences , telling them of the advantages that made doing business in Nigeria attractive . “We are interested in investors willing to establish world -class Original Design Manufacturing factories in Nigeria to guarantee quality components for local assembly ,” the Director- General, NITDA , Dr Isa Patanmi, said while addressing investors at the 2018 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition in Dubai .

A 10 acres of land to be sold out...This land has C of O available and it is located along Agbara -Lusada road
Ogun state.. It is located in a developed area and close to the express road.. Very close to Nestle Nigeria PLC
and Unilever plc
An acre goes for 6.5 million naira..
Please you can come for sighting and evaluation
Call/ sms 07030062702 09062216411
email: smog4u2c@gmail.com

A 10 acres of land to be sold out...This land has C of O available and it is located along Agbara -Lusada road
Ogun state.. It is located in a developed area and close to the express road.. Very close to Nestle Nigeria PLC
and Unilever plc
An acre goes for 6.5 million naira..
Please you can come for sighting and evaluation
Call/ sms 07030062702 09062216411
email: smog4u2c@gmail.com

A 10 acres of land to be sold out...This land has C of O available and it is located along Agbara -Lusada road
Ogun state.. It is located in a developed area and close to the express road.. Very close to Nestle Nigeria PLC
and Unilever plc
An acre goes for 6.5 million naira..
Please you can come for sighting and evaluation
Call/ sms 07030062702 09062216411
email: smog4u2c@gmail.com

President Muhammadu Buhari received the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun FCA, CON, today at the Presidential Villa in company of the Ogun State gubernatorial candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Hon Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade. President Buhari commend the APM guber candidate (Hon Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade), express his full support for him and the APM. He as well reinstate his dauntless support and love for Senator Ibikunle Amosun and vow that no one can come between them. PMB describe Amosun as his son he whom his well pleased. Photos - 11:00am, Sun 6, January 2019

Nice and informative

sKeetz:
Burna boy was right after all. I can't believe I share the same country with apes who think money can be conjured from thin air via a females panties.

She might have still been alive if she had rushed to the hospital but she chose to listen to a fraudster in the guise of pastor.

Guy you dey mad

A middle-aged Nigerian man has died during a sex competition after endeavouring to finish the seventh
round.The deceased identified only as Davy reportedly died on his sex contender also identified as Loveth.

According to reports, he took her to a hotel in Ikotun and they had a debate on who would emerge victorious in
a sex marathon. With N50,000 on the line, both parties attempted but Davy could not survive the seventh round
as he died and collapsed on Loveth

Great work

LIST OF MINIMUM WAGES BY COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD.
1. Nigeria - $38 (N18,000).
2. Algeria - $175 (N83,000).
3. Belgium - $1,738 (N810,000).
4. Cameroon - 36, 270CFA ($75) N38,000.
5. Chad - $120 (N60,000).
6. Denmark - $1,820 (N900,000).
7. Libya - $430 (N190,000).
8. Japan - $1000 (N450,000).
9. Cote D'ivoire -36,607CFA $72.
10. New Zealand -$3,187 (N1.4m).
11. Luxemburg - $2,500 (N1.1m).
12. Spain - $760. (N300,000).
13. Switzerland - $5,620 - N2.5m.
14. USA - $11 per hour.
Ironically, Nigeria politicians earn the highest salaries the whole world.
In Luxemburg where minimum wage is $2,500, their lawmakers are paid $7,400. In Libya where minimum wage
is $430, lawmakers earn $3000.
In Nigeria where minimum wage is $38 (N18,000), lawmakers earn $65,000 (N29m).
How long will this continue

The dude above me is right