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Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday ordered the immediate recall of seven out of the 10 traditional rulers the state government suspended from their thrones shortly after 2015 general election. In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Sir George Eche yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the state government stated that the pardoned royal fathers were forgiven because of the apology they tendered to the governor during their suspension. The recalled traditional rulers are: Eze Ben Nwaneri of Owubinubi community in Ikeduru Local Government Area; Eze Clifford Amadi of Amawuihe; Eze Chinedu Osuebi of Azara Obiato community in Mbaitoli local government area; Eze D. O Izim of Umunkwo in Isiala Mbano concil; Eze A. E. A Durueburuo of Okwudo in Njaba council; Eze V. O Ahamefule of Oboro Amurie, and Eze Innocent Ikjiofor of Amandugba in Isu local government area, all in Imo state. However, the traditional rulers of Nguru community in Aboh Mbaise LGA, Ez...

Lawmakers in Anambra State have said that the state capital, Awka, is underdeveloped as a result of dearth of social amenities that qualifies it as a state capital. Some lawmakers, who spoke with journalists on the state of the capital territory at the state assembly complex, Awka, on Wednesday, said that apart from infrastructural underdevelopment currently being witnessed, the mindset of the people also has to be developed. Honourable Lawrence Ezeudu, Chairman House Committee on Environment and member representing Dunukofia state constituency, who calls for mass reorientation of the citizenry so as to develop their mindset, said that Awka cannot be transformed without considering its peculiarities. Although Ezeudu expressed optimism that when the new three arms zone in the state capital becomes operational, it will further develop Awka. Ezeudu further disclosed that there was need for the creation of organised gardens and recreational parks in the city. Though he acknowledged the ef...

It was a great night of music last Saturday, in Calabar at the Municipal Gardens where Star Music The Trek welcomed Sound Sultan, M.I, Burna Boy, Cynthia Morgan, Chidinma and Phyno for exhilarating performances. The concert hosted by comedian LaffUp, kicked off at 7pm with the discovery of new singing talents in an open mic contest. The talents sang their versions of Star Music The Trek 2016 theme song “My City Rocks”. Disc Jockeys Big N and Neptune gave the Calabar crowd a strong feel of the hottest songs raving the airwaves. Dancers dressed in colourful Efik-Ibibio traditional attires presented a choreographed medley of Sunny Nneji’s ‘Idemnobno’, ‘Face me Remix’ and Iyanya’s ‘Kurukere’. It was an amazing way to start performances at the concert. Chidinma popularly called “Miss.Kedike” by her fans opened with a spin on homeboy, Sunny Nneji’s ‘Oruka’ before switching to her song ‘Olulufe’. She was accompanied to the stage by a dreadlock lookalike of ‘Flavour’ and this got the crowd ch...

Popular music superstar, Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo better known as Kcee will be returning to the Legend Real Deal Experience this Sunday in Owerri. The evening which promises to be exciting will see pulsating performances from Kcee himself alongside acrobatic cultural displays by dance troupes, performances by some local hip-hop acts and amazing onstage stunts by other entertainers at the Old Township Stadium. Kcee returns to the tour joining other music superstars like Timaya, Oritsefemi and 9ice who have on the Real Deal Experience tour visited Okokomaiko, Onitsha, Umuahia, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Ikorodu. After shutting down Onitsha and Umuahia with his performance, Kcee has expressed enthusiasm about going to Owerri to once again thrill his ardent fans. Speaking on his expectations for the performance in Owerri, Kcee said, “I’m so happy to be meeting with my core supporters again... It’s always a blast being around them. I’m grateful Legend gives consumers the experienc...

Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has threatened to take legal action against the Federal Government for failing to include the provisions of the National Health Act, NHA, in the 2017 budget. President of the association, Dr Mike Ogirima, hinted at a stakeholders’ advocacy and awareness walk for implementation of provisions of the NHA organised by NMA in Abuja yesterday. Ogirima explained that the main aim of the walk to the Presidential Villa was to drop a letter with President Muhammadu Buhari, calling on the government to immediately implement the act after two years. The NMA president said the Act, which was enacted two years ago, has the potentials to turn around the bastardised health sector. He identified the benefits of the Act to include improving funds to the health sector, increase access to quality and affordable healthcare, availability of emergency services across the country, reduction in out of pocket expenditure by citizens. Others are improved maternal and child car...

Tax defaulters in Kwara State may as from the first week in November bag jail terms. Director, Enforcement, Legal and Monitoring, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service, KWiRS, Dr. Isaac Gbenga, who made this known at a press conference in Ilorin yesterday, said his agency would commence enforcement of relevant tax laws next month. According to him, there would be enforcement of Road Taxes between first week in November and first week in December, Property and Tenement Enforcement and enforcement of taxes on Corporate Organisations, from the first week in November to 30th December, 2016. He said KWIRS had put all necessary machinery in place to enforce the tax policies, warning that “failure to comply will be met with necessary prosecutions.” Shedding light on the development, Executive Chairman of KWIRS, Dr. Murtala Awodun said the agency had earlier done assessment of tax potentials after which it embarked on collection and now moving on to the enforcement stage. He said KWIRS was con...

Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin City yesterday ordered that the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Governor- Elect, Mr. Godwin Obaseki be serve the petition filed by the PDP governorship candidate, Osagie Ize- Iyamu through substituted means . In suit No. EPT/EDS/ GOV/3/2016, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu are challenging the outcome of the September 28 governorship election won by the APC candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Badamasi gave the order after the motion exparte were argued by counsels to the petitioners. “ The application is hereby granted as prayed”, because, “it falls in line with paragraph 47 first schedule of the Electoral Act as amended and Sections 5(6) 5 of the High Court rules”, applicable to the tribunal. Counsels to the petitioners had prayed the court for an order to enable them to serve the APC and Mr. Godwin Obaseki their petition by substituted means , “to wit b...

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Nurudeen Solaja-Saka has called on the Federal Government to ensure more police presence in Ibeshe area of Ikorodu to check the incessant killings of innocent residents by unknown assailants. Solaja-Saka, a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC represents Ikorodu II at the Assembly told newsmen in Lagos that residents were losing their lives to miscreants due to poor policing. The lawmaker, who recounted the gory tale of a recent murder of a whole family in the area as well as injuries suffered by others, said there was no police station in the emerging community. According to him, residents of the area need police presence to mount surveillance on the area to forestall further needless loss of lives to miscreants. “The security threat in Ibeshe is on regular basis, there is hardly any month without innocent people losing their lives and this is as a result of less presence of police. “We need more police presence in Ibeshe ar...

A mild drama played out yesterday at the National Working Committee’s meeting of the Alliance for Democracy AD in Abuja as Police disrupted the proceeding and arrested the National Legal Adviser, Barrister Kehinde Aworele and the National Organizing Secretary, Abdallah Ibrahim. National Chairman of the party, Chief Joseph Avazi had called for an emergency National Working Committee meeting to address party issues. Trouble started when the National Legal Adviser, Aworele raised a motion that the meeting was illegal as the party’s constitutional procedure to call for a National Working Committee was not followed and that no agenda was attached to the invitation. He said some people that were invited to the meeting were not members of the NWC and demanded to know in what capacity they were invited to the emergency meeting. Aworele’s motion was seconded by the National Organizing Secretary, Ibrahim. There was commotion and the National Auditor, Ayodele Ishmail invited the Police on the in...

The Vice- Chancellor of the University of Jos, Professor Sabastine Maimako has called on all its former students who bear the certificate of the institution to look back at their former school with a view of helping their alma mata. Dr. Otsemobor who is currently undergoing a doctorate degree programme at the Faculty of Natural Science has all alone undertaken the renovation of the faculty building at the main campus, Bauchi Road Jos. The VC made the call in a remark during the inauguration of the renovated building. Represented by Professor Lami Lumbin, the VC said, “UniJos can boast of its former students that are doing well in their various fields of endeavour across the world. “While the former graduands are making personal progress using the knowledge acquired from the school, the school itself is lacking in several infrastructural facilities.” He further stressed “So I will used this opportunity to inaugurate a project carried out by an alumni to call on others that graduated f...

As a response to the call by Oyo State government for public-private partnership in the development of schools, the 1985/1991 set of Olivet Baptist High School, OBHS, Oyo, recently handed over the renovated music studio of the foremost school. At the event which was used to mark the 25th graduation anniversary of the set, saw old classmates and friends, most of who are doing well in their various professions, exchanging pleasantries after over two decades of seeing one another last. Commending the efforts of the set, President of OBHS National Old Students’ Association who is now the South-West Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr Adekunle Ogunmola explained that the association contributed immensely in ensuring the teachers and students of the school are morally motivated, adding that it would not stop at anything to give it a facelift. Ogunmola, who was once Provost of the Oyo State College of Education, Oyo, further said that “a lot of knowledge ...

Vice-Chancellor, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Prof. Sola Fajana has stated that Nigeria was far from achieving Education For All (EFA) as one of the UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals to be attained by 2030. Speaking on the topic “Education as a tool in creating political stability and sustainable development in Africa”, at a programme held in the institution recently, he opined that the literacy rate in Nigeria today is just about 36% compared to some other African countries, or like United Arab Emirate that has 93% literacy rate. The astute administrator and Human Resource expert stated that the education sector in Nigeria should have a summit where the role and responsibility of stakeholders, regulatory bodies, the professional bodies, as well as the employers would be spelt out for optimum achievable success. On the use of Information Communication Technology for educational purposes in Africa, Fajana urged the government to invest more on ICT, s...

In the 1960s, thinkers coined the word “Knowledge Economy” to announce a radical shift from traditional economies. It was an extraordinary gift by intellectuals of that era to a world that some people thought had become sluggish, uncreative and desperately in need of ideas. Today, more than 50 years after that intellectual uprising, many countries still drive their economic policies with huge emphasis on the power of knowledge and human imagination. For these countries, there is a strong belief that any system of production and consumption that is not based on intellectual capital will fail. I decided to present this background because Nigeria at present reminds one of the pre-1960s knowledge revolution and the deficit of awareness. Nothing captures our nation’s knowledge paucity of ideas today like the controversial debate on the sale of our nation’s physical assets. But the question is: what exactly are we really selling? Where is the place of fixed and physical assets in today’s ch...

There’s nothing like victory in a local derby to cure the ills of a football club, and Manchester United’s 1-0 EFL Cup win over Manchester City on Wednesday will produce quite the sigh of relief from Jose Mourinho. The United manager was squarely under pressure heading into the clash at Old Trafford following a 4-0 hammering on his return to Chelsea at the weekend and a negative reaction to his tactics which led to the 0-0 draw with Liverpool six days prior. Add in his self-confessed issues with his current living arrangements in Manchester, and a clash between the city’s two giants could hardly have come at a worse time. But United got through the game unscathed, progressing to the quarter-finals thanks to Juan Mata’s 54th-minute winner. The match will not go down in the annals as one of the classic Manchester derbies, but the result might just be remembered as one of the most desperately-needed victories in Mourinho’s managerial career. The Portuguese is far from being on the verge...

The Federal Government has directed the immediate release of N65bn for the take- off of its National Social Investment Programme. The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced this while addressing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. She stated that the N65bn was part of the N150bn approved by the steering committee of the programme. N500bn is earmarked by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the 2016 appropriation bill for the implementation of the social investment programme. The minister, however, announced that already N25bn of the N65bn had been released into the account of the programme while the remaining N40bn would soon be credited into the account. She said, “On the social investment Programme, what we are doing today is to tell Nigerians that the programme is starting. “We have approval from the steering committee in sum of N150bn. “...

There has been mass sack of over 3,000 workers in Nigeria’s oil industry as the country’s economic recession bites harder, two unions have said. The two major unions in the oil and gas sector, NUPENG and PENGASSAN, have thus threatened to go on strike saying over 3,000 of their members were affected. The unions on Wednesday issued a 21-day ultimatum to the federal government calling for a halt to the sack of their members by international oil companies in Nigeria. Oil men The National President of NUPENG, Igwe Achese, who addressed the media at the end of the Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting of the union in Effurun, Delta State, said government must do something urgently to stop the mass retrenchment of its members to avoid grounding the industry. Mr. Achese disclosed that most of the companies – Chevron Nigeria Limited, ExxonMobil, Pan Ocean, Sapiem, and Hercules oil and gas limited, among others – have terminated the appointment of over 3,000 of their workers apparently ...

An axe-wielding protester hacked out the gold lettering and television logo on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday. A man who identified himself to a local news agency as James Lambert Otis said he was the vandal, and had originally intended to remove the entire star from the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard. He said he was going to auction it and donate the proceeds to the women who allege they were groped or sexually mistreated by Trump — charges the real estate tycoon denies — but was unable to lift the slab. “It was very difficult. The stone was like marble — hard to get through,” he said about an hour after the 5:45 am attack on the star. Dressed in construction overalls, Otis said he used a sledgehammer and pick to hack away Trump’s name and the logo indicating the star had been awarded in the category of television — for Trump’s work on his reality show, “The Apprentice.” Otis said he still hoped to sell the pilfere...

The Peoples Democratic Party, has called on Nigerians to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from borrowing $29.960b for the execution of key programmes and infrastructural projects across the country. It also asked the National Assembly not to approve the request by the President. It said it disagreed with the Federal Government on this move, and called on President Buhari to explain to Nigerians what his administration had done with the recovered looted funds. Spokesperson for the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday. Adeyeye Adeyeye said that President Buhari must itemise what he intends to finance with the proposed borrowing of almost $30b instead of lumping it up in a coded term, “and to plunge the nation’s future into burden of debt.” More so, he said that the President’s approach cannot be the preferred solution to the economic quagmire which he said was created by the present government...

A defence witness, Mr. John Gobak, has told an FCT High Court that the continuous trial former Plateau governor, Joshua Dariye, amounts to a political vendetta. Gobak, who made this known when he testified in the trial on Wednesday recalled that Dariye was the target of impeachment during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government. Gobak, a former Commissioner for Special Duties 2002 and Secretary to the State Government 2003, was led in evidence by Mr. Garba Pwul (SAN), counsel to Dariye. The former SSG, who is current Chairman of Plateau State Agricultural Services, Training and Marketing, said “the target was the defendant”. He said, “We felt that the impeachment of 2006 was rather unfortunate because Plateau State House of Assembly has thirty-four members but about four or five of them sat to impeach the governor. “I wondered whether the constitution was suspended to allow such a thing to take place.” He also said that the then deputy governor, Chief Michael Botmang was not ...

Vincent, a Political Science student of Federal Polytechnic, Otuoke presented an artwork to Dame Patience Jonathan on her birthday. The former first lady turned a year older on October 25th.

Manchester United and Manchester City resume hostilities in the League Cup later on Wednesday with rival managers Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola starting to feel the heat. Mourinho is reeling from United’s 4-0 humiliation by his former club, Chelsea, while City manager Guardiola has gone five games without victory for only the second time in his stellar coaching career. Both managers are expected to rotate their squads for the fourth-round meeting beneath the Old Trafford floodlights, but Guardiola says neither side can afford to take the game lightly. “I think everyone can believe this competition is not the big one, but I am going to prepare to win the game,” he said. “For the players who play, we’ll be depending on them to make the best performance possible. It is a final. “I don’t understand my job if I play a game thinking another game is more important. This is the most important. “But at the same time, I have to consider how the condition of the players is. Three...

The Presidency on Wednesday expressed delight at the latest World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 ranking report released on Tuesday which ranked Nigeria 169 out of 189 countries in the overall Ease of Doing Business rank. The Presidency’s position was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande. Akande said the ranking showed that the various reform initiatives put in place by the present administration towards instituting a positive business environment are yielding dividends. He described the  report as an indication that the focus of President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the nation’s business and economic environment is working and on course. He added that while Nigeria’s position remains the same as last year on the index ranking, it is encouraging that the country has recorded some positive outlooks in critical areas of the ranking which included Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permi...

A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu has rejected the transfer of his trial on money laundering charges form the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to the Lagos Division of the court. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on September 27 arraigned the ex-governor and his co-accused before Justice Anwuri Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on amended 34 counts of money laundering. The charges, originally instituted in 2007 but stalled by interlocutory appeals at the instance of the defendants involved in the diversion of a cumulative sum of N3.2bn from the Abia State Government’s treasury, allegedly by the defendants while Kalu was the governor of the state. Those charged alongside Kalu were Jones Udeogo, and the former governor’s company, Slok Nigeria Limited. In an exparte motion, Kalu sought the leave of court to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to remit the case which was transferred to Lagos back to A...

Super Eagles and Watford striker, Odion Ighalo, faces a two-year jail term having been fingered in a bribery scandal while he was playing in Spain with Granada. Spanish publication, Marca, reports that the provincial district attorney’s office of Granada has requested a two-year prison term and a fine of 3,000 Euros for Ighalo, his ex-Granada teammate, Diego Buonanotte, and 93 others for allegedly bribing their way to pass a driving test. According to the provisional writing of the prosecution, in 2012 and 2013 someone was hired to write the exams for Ighalo and the other accused. After the test was written, the errors made on the sheet were deleted. Investigation further revealed that three syndicates of Íllora (Granada), Mengíbar (Jaén) and Ciudad Real who moved to Granada allegedly recruited students to help write exams for clients who wanted to pass the driving license exams, and were charged between 1,500 and 2,500 Euros. Following the incident, the prosecutor found the Super ...

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah says the President Buhari-led administration will surprise Nigerians in 2017 with the level of growth that will be visible in all sectors of the economy. The minister said this at the 8th Session of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment in Abeokuta, Ogun state yesterday. "You will start seeing result at the end of this year and early next year. As far as I am concerned, next year is a year of results. All the work we are doing will start yielding results from this quarter. The level of delivery in 2017 will surprise everybody. People may be saying we are not doing anything but it is impossible for a man to start broadcasting a plan we have not really put together well, he said.