Rumours

The power play over who succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 may have created a wedge in the relationship between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his mentor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Daily Independent has gathered. Though he is yet to confirm or deny reports that he is nursing a presidential ambition in 2023, many loyalists of Tinubu, who played a significant role in President Buhari’s election in 2015 and 2019, have confirmed that he is passionate about becoming the number one citizen in the next political dispensation. It was gathered that Tinubu had decided to lie low in respect of his ambition for now so as not to upset Nigerians and President Buhari, who is just six months into his second term. It would be recalled that Tinubu’s rumoured plan was to serve as running mate to President Buhari during the 2015 presidential election but some stakeholders such as Bukola Saraki,

Investigation by our reporter has revealed that the major textile and rice markets in Cotonou, Benin Republic, have seen a massive decline in patronage following the complete closure of the land borders and increased clampdown on smuggling. A 24-hour observation at the Seme border post revealed a complete compliance with the FG’s directive on the closure of borders to both imports and exports as only passenger movement is aloud. In August, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the closure of Nigeria’s land border with Benin, hence preventing the import of goods. This recent move is part of an effort to tackle smuggling and associated corruption and also to spur domestic agricultural industry. On October 14, 2019, Nigeria ordered the closure of its border with Benin, as well as those with other countries, for the same reason. According to the Nigerian maritime site Ships and Ports, in 2014 Benin lowered its tariffs on rice imports from 35 to seven per cent, while Cameroon erased it

Female bank Chairman and business woman, Ibukun Awosika has shared some critical decisions she had to make at 25 that has helped her become successful. Ibukun Awosika who is also an author and motivational speaker revealed that at the age of 25 when she was starting her first business, she made a decision never to sleep with a man for an opportunity or pay bribe and even when people thought she was just an idealist young woman, she kept the principles. She said; As a young woman of 25 when i was starting my first business, i made up my mind that two things were going to be critical to me. I'm from Nigeria and there are many things that my country is struggling with in many ways but we're a great country of a great people. I made up my mind two things, i was never going to pay bribe in order to succeed in my business nor was i ever going to sleep with a man in order to take an opportunity Everyone thought i was an idealistic young woman that wasn't going to go too fa

French oil major, Total is seeking to sell its 12.5 per cent stake in the giant Bonga deepwater oilfield off the coast of Nigeria, in an effort to adjust the energy company’s Africa portfolio amid a broad expansion. Reuters quoted banking and industry sources as saying that the stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118, which is located some 120 kilometres (75 miles) off the Niger Delta, is valued at up to $750 million. Investment bank, Rothschild, is said to be running the sale process for the oil major. Rothschild and a spokeswoman for Total declined to comment. OML 118 is operated by Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a 55 per cent interest. Exxon Mobil holds a 20 per cent stake in the block, while Italy’s Eni and Total each hold 12.5 per cent. The sale process is part of Total’s plan to sell $5 billion of assets around the world by 2020, the sources said. The block includes the Bonga field, Nigeria’s first deepwater project which started in 2005 and produced around 225,000 barrel

Former speaker of the House of Representative, Yakubu Dogara, has been appointed as Chancellor of the Achievers University, Owo. The lawmaker made this known via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, 6th November. Also, he is expected to be conferred with a doctorate degree from the same institution on Saturday, 9th. He wrote: "I am honoured to be appointed as the Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State". https://twitter.com/YakubDogara/status/1191975647910006784

There were wild jubilation as the Appeal Court, Owerri division on Thursday, November 7, dismissed the suit challenging the victory of, Orji Uzor Kalu, as the senator for Abia North Senatorial District, Igbere TV reports. Igbere TV reported earlier that The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, has nullified the victory of a former governor of the state, Orji Uzor Kalu, at the 2019 general election. However, the court of appeal dismissed the case of irregularities brought before it by Senator Ohuabunwa. The Court delivered a judgement affirming the election of Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu as the duly elected representative for Abia North senatorial district.

Daily Trust Online has exclusively obtained names and portfolios of some of the aides of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who were sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari. The crisis rocking the presidency yesterday worsened as Buhari sacked 35 aides of Osinbajo, Daily Trust reports. Prominent on the list of the affected aides is Ajibola Ajayi, the daughter of former governor of Oyo state, Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi. She was appointed Special Assistant, Legal to the President (VP’s office) in August 2019. She was a former SA to the President on Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE (VP’s office) from October 2015 to May 2019. Also on the list are Lanre Osinbona, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on ICT; Imeh Okon, SSA on Infrastructure; Jide Awolowo, SA, Oil & Gas; Gambo Manzo, SA Political and Edobor Iyamu, SSA, Niger Delta. But the presidency also yesterday insisted that there was no rift between the president and his embattled deputy. Multiple presidency sources confirmed the sack

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has banned the operations of Dana Air by suspending its operating licens. NCAA’s spokesperson, Sam Adurogboye, announced the suspension in a statement Wednesday. Mr. Adurogboye explained that the suspension order commenced on Wednesday. According to him, the suspension was carried out to pave way for an investigation on the airline. He explained that Dana Air had already complied with the order. DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the suspension is coming on the heels of an earlier resolution of the Senate’s directive to the NCAA to ban the airline from flying in the Nigerian airspace. A Dana Air aircraft carrying 153 people crashed in Lagos on June 3, 2012, killing everybody aboard and 6 on ground.

The statement that roads in the country are not as bad as they are portrayed, attributed to Babatunde Fashola, Minister for Works and Housing, has earned him a response from a member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salam. Mr Salam (PDP–Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo federal constituency) challenged Mr. Fashola and other relevant stakeholders to boycott air travels for road ones for the next 90 days in order to estimate the ratio of good to bad roads in the country. Mr Fashola had on Wednesday while addressing state house correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said: “The roads (in the country) are not as bad as they are often portrayed. I know that this is going to be your headline, but the roads are not that bad.” The gauntlet But Mr Salam, while speaking with journalists Thursday, chided the minister. “I found this statement, which had been repeated by the Hon Minister at least on two previous occasions as a clear indication that som

 Recently Cristiano Ronaldo said he would like to go for dinner with Messi. The Barcelona superstar gives his answer. Messi: "Yes, I don’t have any problem with that. I’ve always said that I don’t have any issue with him. We might not be friends because we’ve never shared a dressing room together but I always see him at award shows and there’s no problem. We actually spoke with each other for quite a long time at the most recent show. " "I don’t know if there will be a dinner because I don’t know if our paths will cross for obvious reasons, each one of us has our own life and our own commitments. But obviously I would accept the invitation."

Moet Abebe went Unclad in new photos shared online to her over 180K followers. The media personality had only shimmery body paint protecting her modesty and she blurred her nipples to keep them from showing. She shared the photos to announce the launch of her website. See more pictures source : https://www.instagram.com/p/B2TxI-6B98e/?igshid=te1ip34femg7

The Federal Government has given approval for the construction of the $5.3bn Ibadan to Kano standard gauge rail line project. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this on Thursday at the third Maritime Stakeholders Interactive Forum. “Just yesterday, we got approval to complete the $5.3bn Ibadan to Kano rail project. We have also applied for funding to commence coastal rail for the Port Harcourt to Warri segment,” Amaechi said. According to a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in Abuja, the minister also revealed that the Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, would be in charge of all maritime agencies, while he (Amaechi) would focus on the railway sector. He said, “In my first term as minister, I completely abandoned the maritime sector to the heads of agencies. This time, that won’t be happening again. “I have instructed that the Minister of State for Transportation should personally supervise the maritime

The 32nd Edition of the African Cup of Nations is arguably one of the biggest masterpieces in African sports. The Biennial continental football tournament was scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon, but was stripped of these rights due to insecurity and Anglophone crises the hosting rights was transferred to Egypt. In this year’s Edition for the first time we had 24 teams vying for one of the most celebrated trophies in the African Continent. The tournament was filled with intrigues and breath taking moments, upsets and comebacks, unbelievable misses and clinical finishes. It was in short a delightful viewing experience. The super Eagles of Nigeria finished as third best team winning bronze medal at the expense of Tunisia who gave Senegal a tough time in their semi-final round. Eventual champions Algeria were not favorite’s but Mahrez’s antics was enough to ginger the team to victory. No doubt they had a formidable team and were impressive all through the tournament. The su

"If it is Fulani today, yesterday it was the Igbos"- Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. I have immense respect for Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah but to compare the situation of the Fulani in the south today to the situation of the Igbo in the north in 1966 is disingenious and intellectually dishonest. The Igbo did not slaughter the Fulani in the 1966 northern pogroms but rather it was the Fulani that slaughtered the Igbo. In 1966 alone no less than 100,000 innocent and defenceless Igbos were butchered by the Fulani and other northerners in the north. Today it is again the Fulani that are slaughtering thousands of Igbo, Yoruba and other southerners all over the south. They are also killing Middle Belters. The south and the Middle Belt do not have a tradition of killing the innocent and the defenceless but the Fulani do. If they do not want to be stigmatised and regarded as butchers and terrorists they must stop their herdsmen, militias and cells from slaug

 Here are strong indications that the economy may slide back into another round of recession, given the apparent stagnation of government activities and the uncertainties surrounding its policy direction and priorities. It could be recalled that the 2019 presidential election was held on February 23 and the incumbent, President, Muhammadu Buhari, was declared the winner within a couple of days after the election. On May 29, he was formally sworn in as President for his second four-year tenure. However, there are apprehensions that the economy is currently at a standstill following the prolonged absence of ministers to drive government’s policies and programmes. In 2015 when President Buhari was first elected into office, he spent six months before appointing a cabinet, a situation that was largely responsible for plunging Nigeria into a recession the following year. Experts fear that the nation may be headed on a similar path as the President does not seem to be in a hur

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has said President Muhammadu Buhari and his government would be held responsible should any northerner fall victim of the consequences of the concerns they raised about the safety of Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of the country. Buhari had told Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of the country to ignore northern elders' statement urging them to leave southern Nigeria. However, not convinced by the assurance of safety from the presidency, CNG's spokesperson, Abdul-Aziz Suleiman, said in a statement made available in Abuja that while they welcomed the assurance by the president, they were not oblivious of the fact that the lives of their kinsmen were not secure in the southern part of the country. “CNG wholeheartedly welcomes the assurance given by Mr. President and his government to protect and guarantee the safety of all Nigerians anywhere they are, including the threatened herdsmen in the South. “We, however, wish t

The immediate-past Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, on Friday, stirred many, including some Senior Advocates of Nigeria into laughter at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja. Ngige, who attended the proceedings of the tribunal for the second time caused the laughter while trying to make a joke out of an alleged server of the Independent National Electoral Commission said to be containing the authentic results of the February 23, 2019, presidential election as claimed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in their petition. Shortly after, the Justice Mohammed Garba-led tribunal of five judges went on break on Friday, Ngige walked up to a group of SANs having a chat within the courtroom. They were joined by the PDP’s Vice- Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who had succeeded Ngige as the governor of Anambra State. After the exchange of greetings, Ngige held Obi by his hands and walked him u

A recent study has revealed that kissing could be a possible reason behind gonorrhoea – the most antibiotic-resistant of all the sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This is the findings of a new study published in the journal ‘The Lancet’. Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus. It used to be known as “the clap”. The bacteria are mainly found in discharge from the joystick and in vaginal fluid. Gonorrhoea is easily passed between people through: unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex. The new study indicated that a significant and previously unrecognised route of transmission of the bacterial infection was kissing. In a report issued on June 6, 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said more than one million people catch a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or STI, every day across the globe, with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis of greatest concern. “On average, approx

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis called his hometown of Chicago the "Mecca of basketball" on Friday. Tony Gill of 670 The Score provided Davis' complete comments on the city's love of the sport: Although fans in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia would probably be willing to debate the six-time NBA All-Star about his stance, not to mention fanbases of the top college basketball programs, Chicago is definitely in the conversation. The unmatched success of Michael Jordan, who led the Bulls to six championships during the 1990s, is obviously the driving force in the city's interest in recent decades. Along with Davis, Chicago has produced several other NBA stars from the current generation, led by Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose. The Lakers star probably isn't the city's favorite son during football season, though. "I know a lot of Bears fans, and the Chicago guys are going to get mad at me, but this is when

Petitioners’ Witness 62, Osita Chidoka, who served as the Peoples Democratic Party’s collation agent at the National Collation Centre for the February 23, 2019 presidential election, told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Friday that he had never seen the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission. But Chidoka said INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, consistently told them about the server and also acknowledged its existence during the collation of the presidential election. The witness who also said he served as the head of the PDP’s situation room in Abuja where he was during the election receiving reports from the party’s agent, spoke under cross-examination by INEC’s lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN). He said, “I have not seen the server but INEC consistently told us of the server and the INEC Chairman at the national collation of results of the election acknowledged the existence of the server.” When asked, he said, “I was there when the results were col

FaceApp, the chart-topping Russian-made which allows users to see how they will look as they age, found itself in the eye of a political storm in the U.S. on Wednesday, with one senator urging an FBI investigation into its “national security and privacy risks”. In a report by AFP has it that a celebrity favourite, the app deploys artificial intelligence to modify users’ photos, adding wrinkles or subtracting years from their faces. But, on Wednesday, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sounded the alarm over FaceApp’s Russian developer, calling for the FBI and the consumer protection agency FTC to “look into the national security and privacy risks” connected to the application. “FaceApp’s location in Russia raises questions regarding how and when the company provides access to the data of U.S. citizens to third parties, including potentially foreign governments,” the New York senator said in a letter to the FBI. “It would be deeply troubling if the sensitive person

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, on Friday attacked his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, describing it as a party dominated by ungrateful and sadistic elements. The former minister said also that the PDP is a party that kills the spirit of loyalty, love and commitment of members, who dedicate themselves to its cause. Orubebe, who is well remembered for openly confronting INEC’s declaration of Buhari as winner of the 2015 over Goodluck Jonathan, said that the PDP was doing sadistic things at the local government, state and national levels and that the behaviour of the party was hurting. Orubebe, who made the damning remarks in a chat with Vanguard, said he would soon expose those behind the ominous acts in the party. According to the former minister, the behaviour of some of the party bigwigs is also laughable and funny to him. The former minister said: The Peoples Democratic Party is a party of so many ungrateful and sadistic people,

Ten years after Nigeria last hosted a FIFA World Cup event, the country is set for another chance as the world football governing body seems ready to award the country the hosting right of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup for 2020. The breakthrough came following months of pressure on FIFA by the Nigerian Football Federation whose president is said to be working hard to bring as many FIFA and CAF competitions to the country. Sources close to FIFA has revealed to PREMIUM TIMES that officials from the world body are already planning an inspection exercise to Nigeria to ascertain if the country would be fit to host the second biggest women football event on the FIFA calendar. “Officials from Zurich are expected in August for a four-day inspection tour and some of what they would be looking out for during the planned visit is what Nigeria can offer in terms of infrastructure/operations, security, medical and the likes,” a source in the know of happenings in FIFA It was also

Although FaceApp has been around since 2014 , it had its minute of glory in 2017 thanks to a function that allowed users to apply filters to emulate different ethnic groups. FaceApp lets users turn moody faces to merry ones , see what they would look like grey haired and grizzled , and turn back the hands of time , among other things. It is an app built only to please those who really want a new way to play roulette with their own face . However, since its launch, FaceApp hasn ’t been without controversy and we list the prominent ones below so that they can guide you in your use of the app . Privacy A major concern of yours should be the access you grant the app to your data. Like many other apps on your phone , it is not clear what happens to all the data you give it and it is believed that the company’ s privacy policy leaves a fair amount of wriggle room . FaceApp’s privacy policy. reads : “ When you use our Service, our servers automatically record certain log fi

'Jesus drank wine, there is nothing like non-alcoholic wine. If it does not have alcohol, it is not wine. It is grape juice', these were the words of Reno Omokri as he explained that drinking alchohol is not 'ungodly'. He went on to explain that, 'I am a follower of Christ and I don't drink. It is a personal decision. However, drinking alcohol is NOT a sin, nor is it unGodly'. Not only did Jesus drink wine, He also turned water to wine, ALCOHOLIC WINE, and in Matthew 26:29, He told us we would drink wine in God's Kingdom, also known as HEAVEN. Furthermore, the ceremonial consumption of wine is part of Jewish religious rites. So don't let any Pentecostal or evangelical church or pastor put a burden on you that God has not put. DRINK, but don't get DRUNK

I woke up this morning to find out that the agents of the Buhari administration have changed their story. They initially lied that I received grants from foreign agencies and NGOs. When I publicly challenged them to provide evidence or at least name even one of these agencies, they changed their story and now claim that I visit churches to preach and collect money for #FreeLeahSharibu This new lie is as easily dismissed as their first lie. I have NOT preached in ANY church in the last 3 years, nor sold books at ANY church. I have NEVER collected even a penny from ANY church for #FreeLeahSharibu or ANY other activity, and I challenge these liars to show evidence that I did. I have close to a million followers on Twitter alone and hundreds of thousands more on Facebook and Instagram and I have advertised on those media for ANY church that has given me even one penny to please speak up. I am still waiting. Perhaps their imagined churches or NGOs are in Mars. I was informed by