Benue State House of Assembly on Thursday, May 4, 2017 passed the bill prohibiting open rearing and grazing of animals in any part of the state.
The bill titled, “A bill for a law to prohibit open rearing and grazing of livestock and provide for the establishment, regulation and control and other matters connected therewith, 2017” would now abolish the roaming of cows and the carrying of arms by herders in the state when assented to by the state governor.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Terkimbi Ikyange, presided over the clause by clause deliberation on the bill before its final passage at the floor of the House following unanimous acceptance by the lawmakers.
Also, the Assembly minority leader, Alhaji Sule Audu, in an interview with Daily Trust shortly after the passage of the bill expressed hope that Governor Samuel Ortom would signed the bill into law without any delay.
The agitation for the bill to be passed by people of the state and some non-governmental organisations had in recent times led to several protests which forced the Assembly to expedite action after it held public hearing on the matter in March, 2017 across the three senatorial district of the state.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has explained that the ban it placed on 41 items that are not eligible for foreign exchange is still in place as the policy has not been reversed.
A statement issued on Thursday, May 4, 2017 in Abuja by Central Bank’s spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor indicated that media reports indicating otherwise are false.
“The CBN has not reversed its policy on the 41 items ineligible for forex through the Nigerian forex market,” Dr. Okorafor said.
“The reports appear to be a misinterpretation of our circular titled, ‘Revised Documentation Requirements For Allocation Of Foreign Exchange For Small-Scale Importation’, dated May 03, 2017, to the effect that importers of items classified as ‘ineligible for Forex’ with transactions value of $20,000 and below per quarter shall now qualify for allocation of foreign exchange subject to the completion of form Q.”
The CBN further emphasised that “this provision does not refer to the 41 items that remain ineligible for forex sale in the Nigerian forex market”.
A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using a Johnson & Johnson baby powder caused cancer.
The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Louis Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims.
Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. It has since spread to her liver. She blamed her cancer on her use of the company’s talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
Although she was too ill to attend the trial, an audiotape of her deposition testimony was played. In it, she said, “I trusted Johnson & Johnson. Big mistake.”
About 2,000 women nationwide have filed similar suits over concerns about health damage caused by extended talcum powder use.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs’ allegations.
The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favour in March and that two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn’t reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer, Los Angeles Times reports.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year, and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” the statement said.
The suit also named supplier Imerys Talc, which had also been held accountable in only one other talcum case. Imerys in a statement, said that it is “confident in the consensus of government agencies and professional scientific organisations that have reviewed the safety of talc.”
Talc is a mineral that is mined from deposits around the world, including in the U.S. The softest of minerals, it’s crushed into a white powder. It has been widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture since at least
It has been widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture since at least 1894 when Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder was launched. But it’s mainly used in a variety of other products, including paint and plastics.
Much research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and using baby powder for feminine hygiene, and most major health groups have declared talc harmless. Still, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies the genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has arrested two grandmothers with narcotics at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, on their way to the US and Saudi Arabia.
Mitchell Ofoyeju, NDLEA spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, May 6, 2017.
He said the suspects allegedly ingested 108 wraps of substances that tested positive for heroin and cocaine during outward screening of passengers at the MMIA.
He said that the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba, gave the names of the suspected drug traffickers as Ebunoluwa Adebayo, 60, and Ayisat Amodu, 59.
He said that Adebayo was found to have ingested 83 wraps of heroin weighing 1.105kg on her way to New York, US while Amodu ingested 25 wraps of cocaine weighing 275 grammes on her way to Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Ofoyeju said that the grandmothers blamed their involvement in drug trafficking on financial hardship.
He said preliminary investigation reveals that this is the first time a grandmother of 60 years will ingest a whopping 83 wraps of narcotics and noted that the second suspect was going to Saudi Arabia where drug trafficking attracts capital punishment.
”Adebayo Ebunoluwa Mercy was arrested while boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York while Amodu Ayisat Grace was caught trying to board an Ethiopian airline flight on her way to Medina, Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said that Ebunoluwa, a divorcee sells provisions at Ikorodu, Lagos while Ayisat sells food in Lagos.
“I am a divorcee selling provision for survival. Things became rough and tough for me when I lost my capital due to family problems,” Ebunoluwa said.
“I was happy when they offered to sponsor my trip to Saudi Arabia but I never knew it will end in my detention,” Ayisat said.
He said that the NDLEA chairman, Muhammad Abdallah, assured that the agency would continue to work round the clock to root out drug traffickers in the country.
“This move by drug cartels to recruit grandmothers as mules is very disturbing, shocking and shameful,” Abdallah said. “The moral emptiness exhibited by the suspects must be condemned by all. A situation where grandmothers have become a bad influence on their children and grandchildren is highly regrettable.”
More than 36 people were on Saturday, May 6, 2017 feared dead as two passenger buses collided and caught fire at a Quarry site at Km 96, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
According to an eyewitness, the two 18-seater buses had a head-on collision and the buses caught fire immediately.
“All the passengers in the two buses were burnt beyond recognition.
“Only a baby escaped death because the father of the child threw him out through the window of the bus,’’ the witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Contacted, Mr Yusuf Salami, the Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the accident on telephone.
Salami, however, said he had yet to be briefed on the casualty figures, but confirmed that the accident involved two 18-seater buses.
Tanzania was plunged into deep mourning today after 29 pupils, two teachers and a driver died in a bus crash in the northern part of the country.
The accident happened near Karatu.
The pupils of the Lucky Vincent English-Medium School in Arusha city were en route to write an examination in Karatu when their bus skidded off the road and fell into a river, police said.
The children, aged 12 to 13, were standard seven pupils at the Lucky Vincent school in the nearby town of Arusha, according to Charles Mkumbo, the regional police commander.
“We lost 29 students and two of our staff, and the driver died too,” said Innocent Mushi, director of the Lucky Vincent Primary School in Arusha.
The dead included 12 boys and 17 girls, he said.
President John Magufuli has commiserated with the families of the students in a statement describing the accident as a “national tragedy”.
Regional police commander, Mkumbo confirmed the death toll to the media, adding that several children escaped with injuries.
Rescue operations were launched immediately after the accident to recover the bodies that included 12 boys and 17 girls.
The accident was believed to have been caused by rainfall in the hilly area, but the police commander said they are investigating the incident.
Russian hackers are prime suspects in France as nine gigabytes of email belonging to the leading French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron campaign organisation was thrown online, hours to Sunday’s [May 7, 2017] election.
It is not clear yet the extent of the damage the leak may have caused for Macron. But he remains the frontrunner in an election billed as the most important in France in decades.
Opinion polls on Friday showed he has extended his lead over Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the Far Right.
Macron’s campaign email were posted anonymously on a profile called EMLEAKS to Pastebin, a site that allows anonymous document sharing.
In a statement, Macron’s political movement En Marche! (Onwards!) confirmed that it had been hacked.
“The En Marche! Movement has been the victim of a massive and co-ordinated hack this evening which has given rise to the diffusion on social media of various internal information,” the statement said.
An interior ministry official declined to comment, citing French rules that forbid any commentary liable to influence an election, which took effect at midnight on Friday (2200 GMT).
The presidential election commission said in statement that it would hold a meeting later on Saturday after Macron’s campaign informed it about the hack and publishing of the data.
It urged the media to be cautious about publishing details of the emails given that campaigning had ended, and publication could lead to criminal charges.
Comments about the email dump began to appear on Friday evening just hours before the official ban on campaigning began. The ban is due to stay in place until the last polling stations close Sunday at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).
Former economy minister Macron’s campaign has previously complained about attempts to hack its emails, blaming Russian interests in part for the cyber attacks.
On April 26, the team said it had been the target of a attempts to steal email credentials dating back to January, but that the perpetrators had failed to compromise any campaign data.
The Kremlin has denied it was behind any such attacks, even though Macron’s camp renewed complaints against Russian media and a hackers’ group operating in Ukraine.
Vitali Kremez, director of research with New York-based cyber intelligence firm Flashpoint, told Reuters his review indicates that APT 28, a group tied to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence directorate, was behind the leak. He cited similarities with U.S. election hacks that have been previously attributed to that group.
APT28 last month registered decoy internet addresses to mimic the name of En Marche, which it likely used to send tainted emails to hack into the campaign’s computers, Kremez said. Those domains include onedrive-en-marche.fr and mail-en-marche.fr.
“If indeed driven by Moscow, this leak appears to be a significant escalation over the previous Russian operations aimed at the U.S. presidential election, expanding the approach and scope of effort from simple espionage efforts towards more direct attempts to sway the outcome,” Kremez said.
France is the latest nation to see a major election overshadowed by accusations of manipulation through cyber hacking.
On Friday night as the #Macronleaks hashtag buzzed around social media, Florian Philippot, deputy leader of the National Front, tweeted “Will Macronleaks teach us something that investigative journalism has deliberately killed?”
Macron spokesman Sylvain Fort, in a response on Twitter, called Philippot’s tweet “vile”.
En Marche! said the documents only showed the normal functioning of a presidential campaign, but that authentic documents had been mixed on social media with fake ones to sow “doubt and misinformation”.
Ben Nimmo, a UK-based security researcher with the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council think tank, said initial analysis indicated that a group of U.S. far-right online activists were behind early efforts to spread the documents via social media. They were later picked up and promoted by core social media supporters of Le Pen in France, Nimmo said.
The hashtag #MacronLeaks was first spread by Jack Posobiec, a pro-Trump activist whose Twitter profile identifies him as Washington D.C. bureau chief of the far-right activist site Rebel TV, according to Nimmo and other analysts tracking the election.
Posobiec could not immediately be reached to comment by Reuters.
“You have a hashtag drive that started with the alt-right in the United States that has been picked up by some of Le Pen’s most dedicated and aggressive followers online,” Nimmo told Reuters.
Alt-right refers to a loose-knit group of far-right activists known for their advocacy of extremist ideas, rejection of mainstream conservatism and disruptive social media tactics.
Former Enugu state governor, Sullivan Chime has finally left the Peoples Democratic Party and defected to All Progressives Congress, APC.
At a ceremony in Udi local council of the state on Saturday, May 6, 2017, Chime said he was crossing with thousands of his supporters to the ruling party.
National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun received Chime into the APC fold.
On Wednesday, Chime had said his decision to join the APC was to provide direction for upcoming politicians in the State.
Chime had on March 16 this year, announced that he had left the PDP on whose platform he served as governor for eight years. He said the party was “dead and cremated”.
“I have now made my consultations with all ward, local government and state chairmen of the APC and the entire state executive of the party, including the national leadership.
“They have assured us that we can come in and I am excited about the prospect of joining the party.”
Chime described the APC as the only viable party with national outlook in the country.
“This is the only party that can take any politician to their destination and I pray that what happened to the PDP does not happen to APC.”
“I am moving to the APC because a lot of people are looking up to me for direction. I ended my journey in 2015 but I still have my supporters looking for guidance.”
Chime said that he was neither joining the APC to fight anybody nor seeking for any elective position as there was none at the moment.
He said that the APC had come to stay in Enugu State, noting that if things continued the way they were “I can assure you that the APC will win the state in 2019.”
“Change has come to Enugu and it is like a movement.”
He said it was regrettable that his decision to exercise his constitutional right by joining any political party of his choice had elicited spates of violence, sponsored by his detractors in the PDP.
“Since I announced my exit from the PDP, I have been branded a total failure.
“Some people think I am nursing the ambition to go to the senate and the best thing to do is to run me down.”
The former governor said that his supporters at various Local Government Areas in the state had been consistently chastised for their decision to join him to the APC.
He cited an instance where a Local Government chairman in the state invaded and incited violence at a venue where APC chieftains were having a meeting.
“It will be unfortunate if people re-introduce violence in the politics of the state after we worked hard to stem it.
“You cannot stop people from meeting simply because you are a local government chairman and they do not belong to your party,” said Chime
At least six Nigerian soldiers have been killed in new military campaign against militants in the country’s restive Niger Delta oil hub, security officials said on Friday, May 5, 2017.
The southern swampland has been largely quiet since the start of the year because militants halted attacks against oil pipelines to give the government a chance to conduct peace talks.
But in a new confrontation, army and security forces moved last Sunday into the Ajakpa community in Ondo state, a region west of the Niger Delta, to hunt down militants involved in oil theft and kidnapping.
At least six soldiers were killed, as was the leader of a gang that had used the area as base to stage operations inside the Delta, military officials told a news conference in the oil town of Yenagoa. The operation has not yet finished.
“Following that successful operation, our troops carried out a raid operation to clear remnants of miscreants, militant camps, shrines and hideouts,” a military statement said.
But the Ijaw Youth Council, representing the biggest ethnic group in the region, said the army had laid siege to the community and harmed civilians.
“No one is allowed to come in or go out from the community as the water ways have been blocked by the military,” it said in a statement. “Women and children are dying on the hour of starvation and diseases; women are being raped and sexually harassed.”
The military rejected the allegations as propaganda.
A similar operation in a different area had fueled an insurgency before the government managed to calm down tensions by promising more development for the impoverished region, a key demand from residents.
Villagers, complaining of poverty, often give militants shelter in the Niger Delta’s hard-to-access creeks.
The damage from attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry has exacerbated a downturn in Nigeria’s economy, which slipped into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years, largely due to low oil prices.
An 85-year-old man from Nepal died Saturday while attempting to scale Mount Everest to regain his title as the oldest person to climb the world’s highest peak, officials said.
According to Fox News, Min Bahadur Sherchan died at the Everest base camp on Saturday evening [May 6, 2017] but the cause of death was not immediately clear, said Dinesh Bhattarai, chief of Nepal’s Tourism Department.
Mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha, who is at the base camp, said the cause was likely cardiac arrest but he could not elaborate due to a poor telephone connection.
In this Tuesday, April 11, 2017 photo, Nepalese climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, points to a picture to describe the trail to Mount Everest, as he talks to Associated Press at his residence in Kathmandu, Nepal. | AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha
Sherchan, a grandfather of 17 and great-grandfather to six, first scaled Everest in May 2008 when he was 76 — at the time becoming the oldest climber to reach the top.
His record was broken in 2013 by 80-year-old Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura.
Before leaving for the mountain last month, Sherchan told The Associated Press that once he had completed the climb and became famous, he intended to travel to conflict areas to spread a message of peace.
He had trained for months before the attempt, saying that he did not suffer from any respiratory problems and his blood pressure was normal.
In this photograph taken on February 10, 2017, Nepalese mountaineer Min Bahadur Sherchan shows off his 2008 Guinness World Record certificate for being the oldest person to summit Mount Everest — a record that was later broken in 2013 — during an interview with AFP in Kathmandu. An 85-year-old former Gurkha is making a bid to reclaim his title as the world’s oldest person to summit Mount Everest. A Guinness World Record certificate hangs proudly in Min Bahadur Sherchan’s Kathmandu home and by the end of this year’s spring climbing season he hopes to have a second one hanging next to it. / AFP / Prakash MATHEMA (Photo credit should read PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images)
Being born in the mountains, he said he had did not have any problems with high altitude or the low levels of oxygen there.
Sherchan’s love of mountaineering began in 1960 when he was assigned by the Nepalese government to be a liaison officer for the Swiss team climbing Mount Dhaulagiri.
He later became an apple farmer and constructed roads and dams before settling down to run hotels in Kathmandu.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, lost N6.87 billion within the first 78 minutes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first appearance in 14 days on Friday, May 5, 2017.
At the close of business on Thursday, the market capitalisation stood at N9,045,302,101,604.97.
When the market opened on Friday, the stock exchange gained N30.66 billion, rallying at N9,075,965,863,135.82 when the news of the president’s first public appearance in weeks, broke.
Within the next 78 minutes from about 2:12pm to 3:30pm, the market shed N6,871,064,372.41 to close at N9,069,094,798,763.41.
Net capital flight has been on the decline of late as the market capitalisation of the Nigerian bourse has remained around the N9 trillion mark, as against N8 trillion in the opening weeks of 2016.
In fact, through the first eight trading days of 2016, the market lost 1.2 trillion to become the worst performing exchange in Africa.
At the time, the Nigerian bourse was only better than China and Saudi Arabia in the entire world.
Last year, Oscar Onyema, chairman of the NSE, had warned the lack of clarity in government will hinder investors from moving into the economy as they ought to.
“Giving much clarity around the various policies that are coming out, people will have more data point for making investment decision,” he had said.
Late Saturday, May 6, 2017, the world was greeted with the news of the return of 82 Chibok schoolgirls where kidnapped from their school domintory in April 2014 were freed by the Islamist terrorist group.
According to a statement from the Nigerian presidency, the freedom of the schoolgirls was secured through a prisoner swap with Boko Haram and the process was personally overseen by the country’s ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the #ChibokGirls have yielded results,” Garba Shehu, a spokesperson for President Buhari, revealed on Facebook on Saturday.
“Today, 82 more #ChibokGirls were released. After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities.
“The president has received detailed briefings from the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) at every stage of the negotiations/operation.”
Shehu also revealed that the released schoolgirls would be received by Buhari in Abuja on Sunday, May 7, 2017.
“President Muhammadu Buhari expresses his deep gratitude to all who played a part in ensuring the success of this operation, as follows: Security agencies, the military, the Government of Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs,” the statement said.
This news comes as the nation is fixated on the failing health of President Muhammadu Buhari who disclosed weeks ago that he was “personally in touch with Boko Haram” to secure the release of the Chibok schoolgirls.
The first batch of 21 were freed last October in a cash swap that officials continue to deny. Two other girls walked into freedom on their own, making grand total of 105 girls freed from the clutches of Boko Haram.
Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State, on Friday, May 5, 2017 met with the representatives of the governments of Britain, Australian and Algeria and some multilateral agencies and donor organizations on how to tap into investment opportunities that abound in the nook and crannies of his state.
The discussion was focused on issues such as the reactivation of Olokola Free Trade Zone, refortification of Owena Oil and Gas Limited and Owena Energy Ltd. Resuscitation of moribund companies such as Oluwa Glass, Igbokoda; Ifon Ceramics, Ifon; Bolorunduro Timbers; Bolorunduro; Okitipupa Oil Palm Mills; Okitipupa; Cocoa Processing Company, Ile-Oluji; Arigidi-Akoko Tomatoe factory, Arigidi etc.
Other issues focused on were refurbishment and re-privatization of Idanre Hills Resort and Idanre Golf Course, Bitumen exploration in the state as well as the establishment of a Deep Sea Port in the southern senatorial district of the state. The Atlantic Ocean which passes through the state is ranked as the deepest in West Africa sub-region.
Aside that, mention was also made of improving health facilities in the state such as the Mother and Child Hospital, Ondo State Kidney Care Centre and Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Services Centre, Ondo and all the General Hospitals in the state and a possible establishment of College of Medicine.
In his opening remarks, chairman of the local organizing committee (LOC), Temitope Runsewe, said the essence of the diplomatic dinner was to expose the diplomats and other investors present to the investment opportunities in the state. He said the dinner was the first of the its kind in the history of the 40-year old state.
Akeredolu, in his speech, took his time to highlight why Ondo State must be prioritized by foreign missions, investors and other multi-lateral donor organizations in the country for investments.
In his words, the governor said: “Ondo State is the largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria, responsible for 40% of all production. Okitipupa Oil Palm Plantation is the largest in Nigeria. In Ondo State, we cultivate high varieties of arable and fruit crops such as cassava, rice, maize, sugarcane, mangoes and tomatoes
“I want to say unequivocally that Ondo State contributes 12% of the entire oil production and has one of the largest gas reserves in Nigeria. Let me also inform this gathering that the Bitumen deposit in our state is the largest in Africa with over 42billion reserves and probably of the highest quality.
“Furthermore, the glass sand was the source of raw materials for the Oluwa Glass Industry which is presently moribund. I can assure you that new set of enterprise will be created through technical support which will produce different types of glass wares.
The governor appealed to the diplomatic corps to take advantage of the resources in his state.
“We need people that will assist us, we are in recession but we are gradually getting out of it, in the country and I’m sure we will get out of it soon,” he said.
“But at this period there is no way we can do everything ourselves, that is why we have come, you can see that my cap in on my head, not cap in hand. No doubt we need to work together.
“In Ondo state today when it comes to the issue of tax, also availability of land, we want a climate that all of us will see as economically friendly. That is the essence of it. That is why we are here. Those investors you can invite from your countries can assist us to access resources – we will create the enabling environment.
“One key component in economic development for us is the creation of this enabling environment. We are prepared to do that and you can take our words to the bank. We have a lot of things we want to do, we cannot do it at the same time and alone. We want you to give us your shoulders to rest on.”
Akeredolu hammered on the fact that the government cannot manage business hence his resolve to bring in foreign investors to tap into the vast opportunities in the state with a promise to creating enabling environment to make things function optimally.
Speaking further, the former two-term president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said: “I want to hand over the Ondo State Public Service Training Institute at Ilaramokin to private sector to manage. We want to turn it to a profit-making institution where the central government and all state governments, even the corporate organizations will bring their staff to train for efficient service delivery.”
“I also want to announce that I am presently setting up machineries in motion to establish N25bn Employment Trust Fund to be managed by trusted and experienced hands. The essence of the trust fund is to stimulate small and medium enterprises (SMES) and drive innovations.’’
Notable High Commissions and Embassies that attended the event include those of Britain, China, Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa and others.
Some multilateral agencies present were the World Bank, United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), Africa Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), African Development Bank (AfDB) and many more.
Also present at the event was the Professor Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s minister of health.
The event which took place at Dunes Centre, Maitama, witnessed several side-attractions such as jokes from popular comedian, CD and cultural exposition by the Ondo State Cultural Group which saw the Governor take to the floor to dance to the Odudun dance from Owo, his hometown. Also, Tunde, a member of the Style Plus Musical group was also on ground to entertain the members of the Diplomatic Community present with his Olufunmi’s hit track.
Following the exchange of dangerous Boko Haram terrorist for 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls announced on Saturday, May 6, 2017, the girls have arrived a government facility in Abuja on Sunday, May 7, 2017.
Photos shared by the federal ministry of information show some young women boarding a military chopper.
82 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram freed | Min of Info Photo
Late Saturday, May 6, 2017, the world was greeted with the news of the return of 82 Chibok schoolgirls where kidnapped from their school domintory in April 2014 were freed by the Islamist terrorist group.
According to a statement from the Nigerian presidency, the freedom of the schoolgirls was secured through a prisoner swap with Boko Haram and the process was personally overseen by the country’s ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.
Some of the batch of 82 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram in 2014 | Min of Information Photo82 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram freed | Min of Info Photo
“President Muhammadu Buhari is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the #ChibokGirls have yielded results,” Garba Shehu, a spokesperson for President Buhari, revealed on Facebook on Saturday.
“Today, 82 more #ChibokGirls were released. After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities.
“The president has received detailed briefings from the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) at every stage of the negotiations/operation.”
Shehu also revealed that the released schoolgirls would be received by Buhari in Abuja on Sunday, May 7, 2017.
“President Muhammadu Buhari expresses his deep gratitude to all who played a part in ensuring the success of this operation, as follows: Security agencies, the military, the Government of Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs,” the statement said.
This news comes as the nation is fixated on the failing health of President Muhammadu Buhari who disclosed weeks ago that he was “personally in touch with Boko Haram” to secure the release of the Chibok schoolgirls.
The first batch of 21 were freed last October in a cash swap that officials continue to deny. Two other girls walked into freedom on their own, making grand total of 105 girls freed from the clutches of Boko Haram.
Omega Fire Ministries says it has received with bewilderment the purported claim by one Miss Stephanie Otobo that she has become born again and accordingly forgiven Apostle Johnson Suleman, with whom she previously accused of having an amorous relationship.
The church, in a statement issued on Sunday, May 7, 2017 signed by the communications manager, Phrank Shaibu, also expressed doubts about Stephanie’s new claim of being born again, coming on the heels of the fresh suit instituted by her against Apostle Suleman in Canada, the smear campaign and threat to unveil nude pictures confirming her tryst with the senior pastor.
Mr Shaibu particularly pointed out the several lacuna in the statement announcing Miss Otobo’s new status as a born again Christian noting that the Canada based stripper must provide answers to some salient questions before she could be believed.
Stephanie Otobo aka Kimora
Part of the statement read thus: “After besmirching the reputation of a man that she has never physically met, Stephanie Otobo, who filed a suit for $5 million against Apostle Johnson Suleiman in a Canadian court in abuse of court process now claims she is born again and wants to put the whole saga behind her and forget the matter and withdraw the case?”
“Not so fast. Where are the explosive incontrovertible evidence she, Festus Keyamo and their team of jeer leaders promised Nigerians? Where are the travel documents she promised to reveal? Where are the nude pictures she claimed to have?
“The 33 year old officially 23 year old girl girl who made history by being the only woman to miscarry a baby from her backside rather than her front side (as she claimed) now wants to forgive and forget?”
“Her father called her a liar, her mother called her a liar, her best friend said she was a blackmailer and when given the chance to prove them all wrong she suddenly becomes born again?
“No! We refuse to accept that. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. He who comes to the Lord must come with contrition.
“Psalm 51:17 says “a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Contrition requires remorse and confession. If Stephanie Otobo is indeed born again, we welcome it, but we need to see proof of that and the proof is her confession that she lied or her provision of proof that she did not.
“This girl, who has undermined the faith of many through her Lies wants to get acceptance without doing penance for an act of wickedness motivated by finance!
“A girl who lied that she had her marriage introduction in the apostles office should be honest enough to do her damage control in the office of the court where she filed her suit by providing supporting proof rather than this suspicious handing it over to the Lord when the time came for her to have her day in court.”
“Apostle Johnson Suleman has refused to be blackmailed and his refusal has frustrated his accuser and her sponsors who now hope that this issue will die a natural death but you cannot play with The Lord’s servant and now go to Him without first confessing”.
It is against the foregoing that the spokesman asked Nigerians and Christian community worldwide to be weary of the new claim of Stephanie Otobo, warning that the ex-stripper may be up to mischief and seeking new victims to blackmail.
Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of state for defence and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, has refuted reports that he has decamped to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In an exclusive chat with Signal, an online newspaper, on Sunday, May 7, 2017, Senator Obanikoro said he has not decamped anywhere.
Asked why he was not reacting to news reports claiming his exit from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said; “Why should I react to speculations? At no point did I confirm to anyone that I was decamping or have decamped from PDP.”
Describing reactions to his alleged exit from the PDP as premature, he wondered why some of those reacting did not make any efforts to clarify with him before running to town to react to the news.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister and also a chieftain of the PDP, said on Sunday he is saddened by Obanikoro’s decision to join the APC.
In a statement, Fani-Kayode said; “My brother Musiliu Obanikoro’s decision to join the APC irks and saddens me. I say this because I have always loved him and I care.
“You cannot fight evil by joining it. You cannot bring light by entering the darkness. You cannot find joy by partaking in the bread of sorrows,” he maintained.
The Nation reported that the former high commissioner to Ghana may have made up his mind to dump the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and pitch his political tent with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Emmanuel Macron was elected president of France on Sunday, May 7, 2017 with a business-friendly vision of European integration, resoundingly defeating Marine Le Pen, the far-right nationalist who threatened to pull out of the European Union.
The centrist’s emphatic victory, which also smashed the dominance of France’s mainstream parties, will bring huge relief to European allies who feared another populist upheaval to follow Britain’s vote to quit the EU and Donald Trump’s election as US president.
Macron – the 39-year-old former investment banker, who served for two years as economy minister but has never previously held elected office – will now become France’s youngest leader since Napoleon with a promise to transcend outdated left-right divisions.
Three projections, issued within minutes of polling stations closing at 8pm (1800GMT), showed Macron beating Le Pen by about 65 percent to 35 – a gap wider than the 20 or so percentage points that pre-election surveys had pointed to.
Even so, it was a record performance for Le Pen’s National Front, a party whose anti-immigrant policies until recently made it a pariah in French politics, and underlined the scale of divisions that he must try to heal.
Le Pen called to congratulate Macron shortly after news broke of her defeat, telling her supporters and members of the press she wished the new president “success faced with huge challenges”.
The far-right candidate’s high-spending, anti-globalisation “France-first” policies may have unnerved financial markets, but they appealed to many poorer members of society against a background of high unemployment, social tensions, and security concerns.
The 48-year-old’s share of the vote was set to be almost twice that won by her father Jean-Marie, the last National Front candidate to qualify for a presidential runoff, who was trounced by Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Macron’s immediate challenge will be to secure a majority in next month’s parliamentary election for En Marche! (Onwards!), his political movement that is barely a year old, in order to implement his political programme.
However, at least one opinion poll published in the run-up to the second round has indicated this could be within reach.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has on Sunday, May 7, 2017 been flown out of the country to London on yet another indefinite medical leave.
This information was confirmed by Femi Adesina, a spokesperson to the president, on Facebook, a few minutes ago.
“President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London tonight for follow-up medical consultation with his doctors,” Adesina wrote.
“He had planned to leave Sunday afternoon, but decided to tarry a bit, due to the arrival of 82 Chibok girls who arrived Abuja earlier in the day.
“The president wishes to assure all Nigerians that there is no cause for worry. He is very grateful for the prayers and good wishes of the people, and hopes they would continue to pray for the peace and unity of the nation.
“The length of the president’s stay in London will be determined by the doctors. Government will continue to function normally under the able leadership of the Vice President.
“President Buhari has transmitted letters about the trip to the Senate and the House of Representatives, in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution,” the statement ended.
This means that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo resumes his role as acting president, once again.
Brigitte Trogneux – not actually Madame Macron, the wife of new president-elect Emmanuel Macron, used to be his drama teacher. Here’s a closer look at France’s next first lady.
So who is Brigitte Trogneux?
In short, she is the 64-year-old wife of Emmanuel Macron. They’ve been married since 2007.
She was once his high school teacher and she is 25 years his senior.
Founder and president of the political movement “En Marche !”, and former French Economy Minister, Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Trogneux leave the Saint-Sulpice church after attending a serice for the funeral of French businessman Henry Hermand, on November 10, 2016 in Paris. | AFP/Martin Bureau
Hang on, they met at high school?
Yep. She used to be a French teacher at his private high school in Amiens, northern France. She also ran the theatre club where he was a budding actor. The picture above shows Macron’s first “kiss” with Trogneux at the end of a theatre production.
It seems like it was love at first sight – it’s understood the pair used to have long discussions together – and she would read his writing out to the class.
Brigitte Trogneux, wife of Emmanuel Macron, the president elect of France | Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images
“She used to recite his work all the time. She was totally captivated by his writing skills,” a former classmate told Le Parisien newspaper.
A whole new level of “teacher’s pet”.
When he moved to Paris at the age of 18, she jumped ship from her own family soon after and followed him down.
She told Paris Match magazine: “At the age of 17, Emmanuel said to me, ‘Whatever you do, I will marry you!'”
As for the age difference – a French study from September said that it’s a trend right now for French women to take younger lovers, so who cares?
FILE: Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Trogneux arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, to attend a dinner in honour of Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia on 2 June 2016 | Philippe Wojazer/Reuters
Is she still teaching?
No. She put her teaching career on hold to help Macron in his push to become president, and Macron counts her as a trusted adviser, at least according to Paris Match.
“She spends all her time beside him, she reads and listens to everything that is said about him. He asks her questions and takes her advice,” the magazine wrote.
FILE – In this June 2, 2015 file photo, then France’s Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Trogneux pose for photographers as they arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris. | AP/Jacques Brinon
So what about her life before Macron?
In her LBM (Life Before Macron), Trogneux was married with three children, who are now all grown up and work as an engineer, a cardiologist, and a lawyer. She even has six grandchildren.
Her parents were part of a renowned family of chocolatiers in Amiens, which has been in the family for five generations and has turned over as much as €4 million per year.
It’s said that they have some of the best macarons going around.
The French have been quick to point out that they’ve had the macarons d’Amiens for generations – and now they have the Macron d’Amiens.
Brigitte Trogneux, wife of Emmanuel Macron, the president elect of France
Trogneux and Macron are no strangers to the press. They first stepped out together for the cameras in the summer of 2015 for a dinner with the King of Spain and his wife (see below).
This was back when Macron was the economy minister.
Since then, they’ve never been far from the pages of gossip magazines like Closer and Paris Match, perhaps most famously during a shoot last year where they were photobombed by a nudist on a beach.
She isn’t really one to give interviews, but she has revealed a quick wit and a sharp tongue at times.
While being hounded by a reported in this interview, she was asked why her husband was “so good at politics”.
Her response: “He is good at everything. Not just politics, you’re being quite restrictive.”
She then added: “I’m yet to find an area where he isn’t good”, much to the smirks of the team at Le Petit Journal.
Brigitte Trogneux, wife of Emmanuel Macron, the president elect of France
In general though, she is quite private and doesn’t reveal too much about the couple’s private lives.
We do know, however, that they own a place in Touquet in northern France where they got married in 2007. French media reports that the couple often escapes to their country home when not on duty in Paris.
Will she actually be the ‘First Lady of France’?
There’s never been an official First Lady of France, but Macron has appeared to like the idea of getting his wife involved, and now he can.
“If I’m elected — no, sorry, when we are elected — she will be there, with a role and place,” Macron told supporters in April.
So what could she bring to the table as First Lady?
Well, obviously as a teacher, she has some leadership skills.
“As a teacher I know young people well. And I think it’s essential to keep them in mind,” she said in an interview with Paris Match.
“I will fight for their education (…) If we just leave them by the wayside then it will all implode.”
And we can assume that she would be the staunchest of Macron’s supporters. After all, she has been his biggest supporter since he was a teenager.
Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State,has appealed to the N-Power governing body to consider giving 10,000 extra slots to Borno State in light of the huge needs for the Book Haram-hit state to recover from the devastating effects of various acts of terrorism carried out in the state over the years. He also appealed that Yobe and Adamawa would get special consideration.
Praising the visiting N-Power implementation and monitoring team for “standing the test of time despite misgivings and mischief makings”, Governor Shettima explained to the team that while some other states are now jostling to be recognized as the ‘worst hit state by Boko Haram”, statistics by the World Bank and other agencies have shown that Borno accounts for $5.6 billion of the total $9.5 billion lost to the drawn out battle against terrorism in Nigeria.
L-R: Personal Assistant to the Vice President on Political Affairs, Gambo Manzo; Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhwuede; Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Mohammed Brimah;Technical Assistant to the SSAP Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Roland Akalugwa; and the Borno State Focal Person of the Social Investment Programmes, Babazanna Abdulkarim when a delegation of the N-Power Programme on Friday paid a courtesy visit to the Borno Government House, Maiduguri.
Citing examples of Chibok, Bama and Gwoza, where the Emir and some of his children were killed, the governor said ” If you want to assist us or add value, cover every part of the state because no part hasn’t been unaffected… We need your support and we would continue to partner with you.”
Governor Shettima added that his state is open to any idea or initiative that advances the welfare of Borno citizens without discrimination for ethnic group or religion. This he said reflects in the appointment of people in his team. “What we emphasize is equity, justice and fair play…any Nigerian resident in Borno has every right to call himself a son of Borno…
” It doesn’t matter where you’re from. What matters is your capacity, passion and aggression to add value”.
The Governor further pleaded for everyone, without recourse to ethnic or religious prejudice, to focus on reviving Nigeria, the ‘sleeping giant of Africa’, to take its pivotal role in global affairs.
“We are wearing white, but most of us, our hearts are black and religion has become a body of ritual devoid of any capital value. More harm has been done in the name of God than in any other name…
“The worst is over and we are ready for development. We are one nation with a common destiny”, he said.
