₦airaland Forum

River states have stood still as Nollywood actress and Actors Guild of Nigeria's President, Ibinabo Fiberesima finally takes the traditional oat of marriage yesterday.

She dazzles in her traditional attire, while surrounded by young and beautiful bride's maid.

She will officially marry the UK based boo Uche Egbuka in a white wedding today.

Some of her colleagues including Toyin Aimakhu, Lilian Bach and musician Timi Dakolo are already in Port Harcourt celebrating with the latest bride in Nollywood.

However, more celebrities are expected to arrive for the white wedding today, Friday, December 19.

Checkout pictures of the traditional wedding yesterday..

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Entertainers, including D'banj, P Square, Sir Shina Peters and others, will tomorrow storm Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for the maiden concert of the newly refurbished Agodi Resort and Conferences.

The Chairman of JD capital, a private firm in charge of the
park, John Darlington, said yesterday in Ibadan.

"We will host a mind blowing concert tomorrow. The concert will feature several artistes, namely D'banj, Yemi Alade, Sir Shina Peters, P Square, among others. It will be hosted by Bimbo Akintola and Gbenga Adeyinka.

"To wrap up the year and usher in the new year, we have a
special event tagged: "Sharing 31st" with Governor Abiola
Ajimobi," he added.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has deployed the use of major social networking sites, to worm his way into the hearts of the electorate.

Checks by iPUNCH on Facebook on Thursday showed that the retired general had begun keeping up with the use of the social service with a view to attracting the support of the younger generation.

Although many online analysts might argue that Buhari registered his presence on social media late, his followership has begun growing in leaps and bounds.

Since he emerged the flag bearer of the opposition party, rarely a day goes by without a fresh update on his Facebook page. He now boasts a following of over 149,000 people who subscribe to his online posts.

However, Buhari's online standing is a far cry from the influence President Goodluck Jonathan wields there. Jonathan, who signed up for Facebook in 2010, has a flowing of over 1.7m people.

But in his latest post following the emergence of his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari stated that he had begun settling down to strategise with the APC vice-presidential candidate in the build-up to the election.

The former head-of-state noted that he would create time to read through the comments and observations of his fans via his Facebook page, as he moves to dislodge Jonathan from Aso Rock in 2015.

"I take note of every comment, suggestion and feedback you give me. Please keep them coming. Thank you for your support," Buhari wrote on Facebook.

The APC presidential candidate promised his Facebook fans that he would work with all Nigerians irrespective of religious or ethnic backgrounds to "help make our societies more compassionate, more just, and more equitable."

Some federal and state workers face bleak Christmas as they are being owed October and November salaries.

The possibility of many state government workers receiving their December salaries before Christmas is also grim.

Our correspondents on Thursday learnt that federal and state agencies that managed to pay salaries of their workers were still owing pensioners.

Findings revealed on Thursday that the latest drop in oil revenue has taken a further toll on the nation’s economy. Nigeria   witnessed a decline of N36.6bn in gross revenue from N536.69bn received in the month of October to N500.07bn in November.

The figures were contained in a communiqué issued on Tuesday shortly after the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting which was presided over by the Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.

The communiqué attributed the decline in revenue to drastic drop of 33 per cent in export volume between September and October 2014 and a further drop in crude oil price from $87.78 in October.

Figures obtained from the website of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday put the price of crude oil at $57.92 per barrel.

Findings by The PUNCH showed that the delay in paying salaries might not be unconnected with the shortfall in government oil revenue.

Following the failure of the Federal Government to pay some of its workers, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, said it would ask its members to embark on a nationwide strike if the Federal Government failed to pay the October and November salary arrears.

While calling on government to use the N9.2bn earmarked to buy stoves for “rural women” to offset the October and November salaries as well as that of December, the ASCSN urged the government to pay the affected workers before Christmas or “face the wrath of Nigerian workers.”

The Secretary-General of ASSCN, Mr. Alade Lawal, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, expressed sadness that the Federal Government had not been able to pay thousands of civil servants for almost three months.

He said, “As we write, information reaching us from informed quarters indicate that about 30 Ministries, Departments and Agencies will not pay December 2014 salaries to their employees.

“It is very unfortunate that since October 2014, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Works, Labour and Productivity as well as a host of other MDAs have not paid salaries to their workers.”

The ASCSN lamented that the reality on the ground was that “thousands of civil servants and their dependants would celebrate the Christmas and New Year in sorrow.”

The   union therefore called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the matter and ensure that civil servants were paid three-month salaries before the Yuletide so as to put smile on their faces.

“We cannot understand how N9.2bn would be spent on stoves while workers who toil daily to keep the wheels of government functioning cannot be paid their meagre salaries”, the ASCSN stated.

The founder of LEADERSHIP Group, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, will resume at the company as its group chairman tomorrow.

Nda-Isaiah was until last week a presidential aspirant of the
All Progressives Congress (APC). Before entering partisan politics, he had stepped down as chairman of the newspaper, and although there is no statutory obligation for him to do so, he stepped down voluntarily in accordance with best governance practices.

His return will give LEADERSHIP and the entire group the opportunity to leverage fresh ideas to take the businesses to a new level.

Nda-Isaiah said his involvement in politics was a hugely revealing and insightful undertaking, adding that he has learnt of some strange traits from very unlikely quarters which he intends to discuss in due course.

He said he has been touched by the number of calls he has been receiving during and after the presidential primary election, especially from young people inspired by his big ideas.

Nda-Isaiah said he remains a member of the APC and is committed to realising its promise of change.

.***In other news, I heard the Man didn't pay his staffs 8month salary so as to raise money for the nomination form. Am sure he's coming to pay now? *winks*