WHY I FOLLOWED TOYIN SARAKI TO THE EFCC OFFICE - SEN. DINO MELAYE SPEAKS.

Senator Dino Melaye,Friday, explained that he followed Toyin, wife of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, last Tuesday because he wanted to know the level of culpability in the allegation against her by her petitioners.

Melaye, who is the Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Publicity, said he only went to the anti-graft office in his capacity as an independent investigator.

The lawmaker, who represents Kogi West Senatorial zone in the Senate, said in a press statement, in Abuja, that his explanation became necessary, following the barrage of attacks and criticisms he had so far received from his “brothers, sisters and fellow citizens” since Tuesday, when he was sighted accompanying Mrs Saraki to the headquarters of the commission in Abuja.

DINO MELAYE'S ELECTION MUST BE RE-TRIED - APPEAL COURT DECLARES.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday set aside the decision of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Kogi which struck out the petition of Sen. Smart Adeyemi.

Adeyemi of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had challenged the election of Sen. Dino Melaye of All Progressives Congress (APC), alleging electoral irregularities and malpractices.

Justice Muhammed Adume held that the tribunal was wrong in striking out Adeyemi’s petition on the grounds of technicalities, instead of substantial justice.

MAN REMANDED IN PRISON FOR DEFILING 11 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. #SAYNOTORAPE.

A middle-aged man (names withheld) has been arrested and arraigned before a Makurdi Court for allegedly having sexual intercourse with his 11-year-old daughter. 

Vanguard learned that the accused was arrested a few days ago after allegedly engaging the girl in days of repeated sexual abuse whenever his wife was away from home.

He was, however, caught in the act by a neighbour, who heard the cry of the girl, while she was allegedly being sexually abused, in one of his escapades.

WHICH WAY FOR BIAFRA?

Since the pogrom against Ndigbo of 1966, that led to the the declaration of the Republic of Biafra among the South Easterners of Nigeria , and the subsequent civil war, from 1967 to 1970, in which Biafrans were defeated,  many do not know what to do with the name Biafra, which was drawn from the Bight of Biafra at the South of the Atlantic Ocean.

Most war veterans from the Nigeria side, especially the leaders treat everything about Biafra with ignominy, disdain, and repulsion. Out of pride and arrogance, they wish the name was crushed out of existence.

The #ATMscandal everyone must learn from........

A twitter user shared this pathetic story of a youth corp member who got into trouble after assisting a stranger at the ATM terminal.

Read and learn...........

THEO WALCOTT SIGNS NEW 4 YR DEAL WORTH £140,000 A WEEK AT ARSENAL.

Theo Walcott has signed a new four-year contract at Arsenal which places him among the club’s top earners.

The England forward’s new deal sees him earn in the region of £140,000 a week alongside the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.

Walcott, who is Arsenal's longest-serving player, suffered an injury-ravaged campaign last season but has been on form this summer, netting the winner against Wolfsburg in last weekend’s Emirates Cup.

GOVERNORS WERE WARNED TO SAVE FOR RAINY DAYS - PETER OBI.

The former governor of Anambra state and president of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Peter Obi, has revealed that governors were warned about saving for the rainy day by the Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance. 

According to Post Nigeria, Obi further revealed that the governors were advised to eschew fiscal irresponsibility which was a bane to economic development.

In a recent interview with journalists, Obi explained the the recent bail out approved for states from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company, dividends by President Muhammadu Buhari and the rationale behind the creation of the Excess Crude Account, as well as the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

EFCC ARREST SACKED NIMASA BOSS.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency [NIMASA], Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi, two weeks after he was fired from his post.

A source in NIMASA said Mr. Akpobolokemi was arrested in Lagos Thursday morning and was detained at the Lagos office of the EFCC in the Ikoyi area of the city.

“He was taken in this morning around 10 a.m.,” the NIMASA insider said. “Some of our other officials have also been summoned while EFCC operatives have been conducting discreet investigation here. There is tension everywhere.

BOMB EXPLOSION ROCKS MAIDUGURI BUS STATION.

A bomb explosion has rocked a crowded motor park in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, residents and security operatives have said.

The incident occurred at a busy location where tricycles pick passengers, and may have killed dozens and injured even many more. 

The thunderous blast, which sounded at about 6:30am, resonated all over Maiduguri, residents say.

SENATE COMMENCES PROBE INTO JONATHAN'S CONTROVERSIAL IMPORT WAIVERS.

The Senate on Thursday commenced the probe of alleged abuse of the waiver regime under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The upper federal legislative chamber has set up a committee to investigate alleged abuse of import waivers by the Jonathan administration. The ad hoc committee, headed by Senator Adamu Aliero, will probe import waivers from 2011 to 2014.

The President Muhammadu Buhari government had a few weeks ago said it would probe the Jonathan administration.

POWER TRANSMISSION HITS 4662MW.

The Federal Government said, Wednesday that power transmission from the national grid has increased to 4662 megawatts.

Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, which disclosed this in a state signed by the General Manager, Public Affairs, Seun Olagunju, noted the new peak was attained at 08.00pm on Tuesday, 28th July, 2015.

It would be recalled that TCN Management had announced the attainment of the previous peak transmission of 4656MW on Wednesday, 15th July, 2015.

#NASS: DOGARA'S DEAL, GBAJABIAMILA'S GAIN.

Signs of unity pervaded the atmosphere in the early hours of yesterday morning as members of the All Progressives Congress, APC for the first time sat down as a team to pronounce peace between the one time warring factions. 

“There are no more factions in the House what we have today is a group of lawmakers loyal to the House leadership and our great party,” Speaker Dogara said following his gesture of conciliation towards his one-time rival, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila who he conceded the office of House Leader to.

His words were echoed by Gbajabiamila, the minority leader in the immediate past House who has now been transformed into the majority leader.

CRISIS ROCKS PDP AS WORKERS ACCUSE NWC OF SQUANDERING N11BN PARTY FUNDS.

Angry workers of the Peoples Democratic Party have accused the members of the National Working Committee of the party of squandering N12bn in nine months.

Out of the total sum, the workers said N11bn was realised from the sale of nomination forms while N1bn was got from the sale of delegates forms.

They alleged that the money was squandered shortly after the sale of the forms commenced on October 27, 2014 till date.

TRAITORS IN THE ARMED FORCES SABOTAGED THE WAR AGAINST BOKO HARAM - ALEX BADEH

This is the full text of Valedictory Speech of Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh CFR at his Pulling-Out Ceremony from Nigerian Armed Forces on July 30, 2015.

PDP IS BROKE, SACKS & SLASHES SALARY OF WORKERS BY 50%.

Barely two months into its new status as the opposition political party, having governed the country for sixteen years, the Peoples Democratic Party, has started struggling with the challenge of being an opposition, as it yesterday announced that the party will reduce allowances, staff strength by 50%. 

The party has also said it would reduce the salaries and allowances of its staff by 50%, even as the allowances of members of the National Working Committee, NWC would be slashed down by 50%.

In a letter signed by PDP National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo and addressed to all director and administrative staff of PDP, the leadership of the Party would also reduce the number of its security by 50%.

AGONIZING LAST MOMENTS OF AFRICA'S LION KING & HOW ONE MAN'S VANITY LED TO ITS TROPHY KILLING.

LION KING "CECIL" WITH A LIONESS

Death did not come quickly for Cecil, an alpha male lion and leader of his pride in a protected sanctuary inside one of Africa’s great national parks.

With a distinctive black mane, this magnificent creature was, at the age of 13, known for his imperious attitude towards tourists on game drives — he would sometimes charge their vehicles to let them know who was boss.

He was named Cecil after Cecil Rhodes, the British mining magnate, having first been spotted in 2008 at a place called White Man’s Watering Hole inside Zimbabwe’s famous Hwange National Park, and subsequently given a collar to track his movements for an Oxford University project.

But he was tricked earlier this month into leaving his sanctuary. Pieces of meat had been left just outside the boundary of Cecil’s territory, where no hunting is allowed and anti-poaching patrols operate.

PORT HARCOURT & WARRI REFINERIES BEGIN CRUDE PRODUCTION.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has announced the successful re-streaming of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries after nine months of phased rehabilitation conducted by its in-house engineers and technicians.

The national oil company made the announcement on Wednesday through a statement.

It said the plants had commenced preliminary production of petroleum products after successful test-runs, noting that while the Port Harcourt Refining Company was ramping up capacity to about 60 per cent of the 210,000 barrels per day of crude capacity, production from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company had been projected to hit 80 per cent of its installed capacity 125,000 bpd.

NDLEA ARREST CHINA BOUND MAN WITH "1.185KG" OF COCAINE.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 44-year-old man, Chide Chibude, for attempting to smuggle 1.185kg of cocaine to China.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mitchell Ofoyeju, Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mr. Ofoyeju said Mr. Chibude was arrested by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

CRUDE OIL WORTH $13.7BN WAS STOLEN UNDER NNPC'S WATCH BETWEN 2009 - 2012.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna-Ahmed, on Wednesday said between 2009 and 2012, about 160 million barrels of oil valued at $13.7bn was stolen under the watch of the national oil giant, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

She also said that subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 indicated that $11.63bn had been paid to the NNPC but that “there is no evidence of the money being remitted to the federation account.”

The NEITI boss, who called on the Federal Government to privatize the refineries, stated this during a courtesy call on Governor Nasir el-Rufai, at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, on Wednesday.

NIGERIANS COMES AFTER GAY ACTIVIST BISI ALIMI.

A gay rights activist, Bisi Alimi, caused a stir on Wednesday as he mocked Nigeria on the Facebook.

Alimi, the first Nigerian to declare publicly his support for same sex union, noted that the country “will go down soon unless it stopped praying to God and started acting”.

He wrote from the United Kingdom where he is on a self-imposed exile.

WAR ON CORRUPTION: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GOES AFTER SUPER RICH CIVIL SERVANTS.

Federal Government’s anti-corruption operatives have been sent after ‘super rich’ public officers who have multiple properties and other assets suspected to have been the rewards of graft.

For now, the searchlight of the anti-corruption agents was on civil servants that possess many properties in the Federal Capital Territory.

Our correspondents learnt in Abuja on Wednesday that operatives in the Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management Unit of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission had been asked to haul in suspects for interrogation and recovery of ill-gotten assets in their possession.

MAJOR SHAKE-UP!!!!!!!!!! ARMY REDEPLOYS 334 TOP OFFICERS.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has approved the redeployment and appointment of 334 officers to various units across Nigeria.

The officers appointed include some Principal Staff Officers at Defence and Army Headquarters, Corps Commanders and General Officers Commanding as well as other commanders, army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said.

Some of the senior officers appointed include 37 Major Generals, 57 Brigadier Generals, 128 Colonels and several Lieutenants Colonels among many others.

PRESIDENT BUHARI HAILS REV. MBAKA AS HE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF PRIESTLY ORDINATION.

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended fiery Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka, for his patriotism in the run-up to the 2015 general elections, saying his courage has earned him a mark in the sands of time.

In a statement Thursday to congratulate the leader of the Adoration Ministries Enugu, Nigeria, on the occasion of his 20th priestly ordination, the President said history would favour Mr. Mbaka for courageously speaking truth to power, even at great risks.

In the statement signed by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Buhari said Mr. Mbaka chose the part of honesty, despite realising that it could attract hostility from those he described as “leaders detached from reality”.

NIGERIAN MAN JAILED FOR EIGHT & HALF YEARS FOR THE VIOLENT RAPE OF A STRANGER IN LONDON. #SAYNOTORAPE

A Nigerian has been jailed for eight and a half years for a violent stranger rape in north west London last year.

Olaoluwa Ibrahim (15.3.77 - 38 yrs), a Nigerian national of Relf Road SE15 appeared at the Central Criminal Court today, Tuesday 28 July, where he was sentenced for rape and theft.

The victim had been on an evening out with friends in central London and was travelling home by bus in the early hours of 24 June 2014. At around 02.30hrs she got off the bus in the Maida Vale area to walk the short distance home.

WOMAN JAILED FOR 4 MONTHS FOR KILLING HER DOG AS PROTESTERS CALLS FOR STIFFER PUNISHMENT.

 A woman has been jailed after she killed her dog by wrapping duct tape around its muzzle then brutally strangling her with a collar and lead.

Hayley Cowan, 22, then buried Staffordshire Bull Terrier Beau in a shallow grave in the back garden of her home in Tyldesley, near Wigan.

SLAVES RAPED & HELD IN CAPTIVITY TO PRODUCE FUTURE SOLDIERS FREED AFTER DECADES IN PERU.

Children were among the 39 slaves rescued from a 'troop-making' Shining Path rebel camp in Peruvian jungle where women were raped and gave birth to future soldiers.

Authorities rescued 26 children, plus women and elderly Peruvians - some of whom were kidnapped many decades ago - from the camp.

While women were impregnated in captivity, the children were forced to grow coca, from which cocaine can be made, until they were old enough for active duty.

WHY PRESIDENT BUHARI MUST PROBE JONATHAN'S CORRUPT GOVERNMENT - GOV ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has said there was massive looting of the commonwealth during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The governor said while he was in no position to determine if the former President was personally guilty, or if he acquiesced to the looting, Mr. Jonathan must take responsibility for what happened under his watch.

In an interview with Sahara Reporters TV in Washington DC, Governor Oshiomhole also said although he had raised many questions on the tenure of the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, he had nothing personal against her.

UN CONDEMNS BURUNDI PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

According to the United Nations Electoral Observation Mission (MENUB), Burundi's national environment is not conducive to hold a credible election process.

MENUB observed all of the electoral process of Burundi during the July 2015 election. Though the election was peaceful even after two postponements, the results—incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza winning a controversial third term—exposed the tension between opposing political parties, as well as Burundi's instability.

The statement MENUB released today explained, "The Constitutional Court's ruling on the admissibility of the President's candidature for a third mandate did not solve the wider political problem of presidential term limits in Burundi, but rather exacerbated further controversy, protests and tensions."

PRESIDENT OBAMA CONDEMNS SIT TIGHT AFRICAN LEADERS IN HISTORIC AU SPEECH.

On Tuesday, President became the first United States President to address the African Union (AU) at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during his official visit to Africa. Embedded within his address were words of support for the growth of Africa’s economy and position in the international realm, but also condemnation for African public officers who refuse to hand over their power and position.

“Africa’s democratic progress is also at risk when leaders refuse to step aside when their terms end,” Obama said. “Now, let me be honest with you -- I do not understand this. I am in my second term.  It has been an extraordinary privilege for me to serve as President of the United States. I love my work. But under our Constitution, I cannot run again.”

HOW PRESIDENT BUHARI ENSURED FEMI GBAJABIAMILA BECAME MAJORITY LEADER IN THE HOUSE OF REPS.

A last minute intervention by the presidency led to the emergence of Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila as House Leader, bringing to an end the leadership crisis that has shadowed the House of Representatives. 

The emergence of Gbajabiamila was at the expense of the South-East, which became the only zone not to be represented in the complement of principal officers of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the House.

I HAVE LEARNT MY LESSONS - EX GOV DIEPREYE ALAMIEYESEIGHA.

Former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who is the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Elders Committee in his native Bayelsa State in this interview, reviews contemporary political developments in the state and affirms that the alliance between the North and Southwest will never benefit his Ijaw people. He also narrates how late President Umaru Yar’Adua saved his (Alamieyeseigha’s) life among other issues. 

US GAVE PRESIDENT BUHARI NAMES OF OIL THIEVES.

A report by Punch newspaper suggest that while in the US, president Buhari was given names of people who stole Nigeria's crude oil during Jonathan's tenure.

Read the report after the cut.

OONI OF IFE, OBA SIJUWADE IS DEAD.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, has died at the age of 85. Oba Sijuwade, one of the country’s most revered royal fathers and custodian of Yoruba culture, died in a London hospital yesterday after a brief illness.

Although, there has been no official statement concerning his death, the online free encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, surmised that he was dead.

“Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, or Sijuade (born 1 January 1930 – died 28 July, 2015)”, Wikipedia posted on its site late yesterday.

EX-GOVERNORS WHO MAY BE JAILED WITH THEIR CHILDREN FOR STEALING PUBLIC FUNDS.

Barring the lack of diligence in the prosecution of cases by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission some former governors and their children will go to jail.

While in office and protected by constitutional immunity, many former governors and their children were found to have helped themselves to billions of naira of funds belonging to their states.

The blatant rape of the states’ resources went unabated as unemployment, poverty and hunger ravaged citizens.

ONE OF JONATHAN'S MINISTER STOLE $6BN. - GOV ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE ALLEGES.

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, said the Peoples Democratic Party government of former President Goodluck Jonathan had destroyed the country.

Oshiomhole, who was on the entourage of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States, said Nigeria had in Buhari a President who talked with confidence unlike “a President that is blabbing and is not sure of what the issues are.”

The governor spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

HOW ASIWAJU TINUBU LURED FIVE GOVERNORS OUT OF PDP - TONY MOMOH.

Former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh in this interview speaks among others on the import of President Mohammadu Buhari’s visit to the United States of America and the deals high-wire politicking that landed the All Progressives Congress at the presidency. 

TIME TO RETHINK SUBSIDY.

President Muhammadu Buhari has hinted that his government may not remove the petroleum subsidy, saying that the reasons so far canvassed for its removal did not sound plausible.

He added that it will have adverse effect on the poor and jobless Nigerians. Speaking after receiving a briefing from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector, President Buhari said he would review all the submissions he had received before making a final decision.

While the President needs to carry every segment of the society along, he must reflect deeply on the cost and benefit of retaining subsidy. It is a known fact that petrol price increase has far-reaching effects on  food items, transport fares and other areas that affect the ordinary Nigerian.

MNET CANCELS "BIG BROTHER AFRICA 2015" DUE TO LACK OF SPONSORSHIP.

This is not good news for African viewers as the biggest reality TV show in Africa, Big Brother Africa (BBA) may not take place this year as expected.

This is due to lack of sponsorship. The organizers of the show, Africa Magic and Endemol were unable to get sponsorship for this year’s edition of the show.

The Manager of Multichoice Ghana, Anne Sackey confirmed to peganews that they at Multichoice Ghana have received notice from MNET that this year’s edition of Big Brother Africa will not hold.

She explained that MNET did not give them any reasons as to why they will not be doing the Big Brother this year, but then, she personally thinks it’s due to sponsorship constraints.

PRESIDENT BUHARI SUMMONS CRUCIAL MEETING WITH APC REPS MEMBERS

President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to engage all members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in a crucial meeting on Monday.

The meeting which is coming a day ahead of the resumption of the two chambers of the National Assembly is meant to formally put an end to the leadership crisis rocking the House.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed the meeting to State House correspondents on Sunday.

SEA PIRATES KILL NAVAL BOSS IN FAILED ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP EXPATRIATES.

Suspected sea robbers on Friday killed a naval officer, Lt. Cmdr Femi Fakiyesi, along the Calabar waterways after a failed attempt to kidnap some expatriates working for Addax Petroleum.

The incident, which happened along the waterways in the Parrot Island at about 9.15am, threw the Eastern Naval Command of the Nigeria Navy into mourning.

Southern City News learnt on Saturday that the navy boat was escorting the Addax Petroleum stick boat marked, MV Well-Manned, when the incident happened.

POLICE ARREST 3 MEN FOR DIVERTING N40M WORTH USAID DRUGS.

The police in Lagos State have arrested three suspected thieves, who allegedly diverted a container loaded with pharmaceutical drugs, valued at N40m, to the Igando area of the state.

It was gathered that the suspects ─ Emmanuel Onyike, 51; Alabi Daudu, 68; and Paul Aina, 58, were apprehended by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad attached to Zone 2, on Saturday, July 18.

According to the police, the container, which belonged to the United States Agency for International Development, was heading for a warehouse of the Society for Family Health in Sango Ota, Ogun State.

PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA IS A BETTER ANALYST IN WINE MATTERS THAN POLITICAL ISSUES - OBASANJO INSIST.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he maintains his view, as expressed in his three-volume autobiography, My Watch, that Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has better expertise in wine matters than in political analysis.

In the book, Obasanjo wrote, “For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him. His friends and loved ones will always be right and correct, no matter what they do or fail to do. He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful aparo (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic.”

However, last year December, shortly after the book went public, Soyinka had, in a piece titled, ‘Watch and Pray, Watch and Prey’, vehemently protested such a description (of him), calling Obasanjo ‘’an expert liar, who lies to boost his ego.’’

REUBEN ABATI'S COLD RECEPTION ON HIS RETURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA.

Just when one thought the erstwhile Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, had escaped the online ‘harassment’ he endured for four years, he suffered yet another backlash on Sunday.

While Abati’s name was not on the daily social media trending list for some weeks – at least, since the beginning of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure – a commentary that he posted on his blog on Saturday landed him in trouble with his critics.

In the article titled ‘The phones no longer ring’, the former presidential aide reflected on the daunting challenges that he faced at the State House. Published two months after he had put his social media ‘life’ on hold, the article also gave an insight into the operation of the presidential media team.

BOBBI KRISTINA, DAUGHTER OF LATE WHITNEY HOUSTON IS DEAD. #BOBBIKRISTINA.

Bobbi Kristina Brown daughter of late music legend Whitney Houston  has died aged 22 - six months after she was found unconscious in a bathtub.

The aspiring singer was rushed to hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma on January 31 after she was discovered face-down in the water-filled tub at her townhouse in Roswell, Georgia.

She was later transferred to Peachtree Christian Hospice, where her distraught family and loved ones maintained a bedside vigil and eventually said their goodbyes as her condition deteriorated.

TENSION IN NASS AS GBAJABIAMILA'S LOYALIST ACCEPTS DOGARA'S OFFER.

Some ex-loyalists of former Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila and members of the All Progressives Congress Loyalists Group, on Saturday declared support for the House of Representatives Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.

The lawmakers claimed that they had realised it was better to place the interest of the country ahead of all other considerations to accept the positions of the principal officers of the House as proposed by Dogara.

Gbajabiamila who is believed to have the backing of the Loyalists Group, had for long insisted that the office of Majority Leader must be zoned to the South-West and be held by him.

WHO STEALS NIGERIA'S CRUDE OIL???

“You can fool some of the people all the time; you can fool all the people some of the time; but, you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

“Jonathan’s Ministers behind oil theft.”- Buhari.

Front page of a national daily last week.

The story continued on the next page with the following disclosure. “Buhari said the documents at his disposal indicted some former Ministers and other top government officials of massive fraud including oil theft.”..“Some former Ministers were selling about one million barrels per day..”

NIGERIA IS BETTER OFF WITH IGBOS - GOWON.

Nigeria’s wartime leader, Gen Yakubu Gowon, says “Nigeria is better off with Igbos.” He spoke while delivering an oration at the burial service for Chief (Mrs.) Chinyere Asika, wife of the former Sole Administrator of East Central State; just as the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, described the deceased as a woman who exemplified the virtue of patience, charity and humility. The service took place  at the All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State.

HEADS MAY ROLL AS POLICE CONCLUDES & CONFIRMS CASE OF FORGERY IN THE SENATE.

The Nigeria Police have concluded their probe into the forgery of the Senate Standing Order and given a copy of the report to President Muhammadu Buhari

The President received a copy of the report last week, a highly reliable source in the presidency told one of our correspondents on Saturday.

The Police report confirmed that the Standing Rules used to inaugurate the 8th Assembly were forged, our source said.

BUHARI - FROM WASHINGTON WITH DIGNITY - FEMI ADESINA.

It was an official visit that attracted not only national, but also international attention. President Muhammadu Buhari was going to visit the United States of America for four days, on the invitation of President Barack Obama. Was this going to be just another jamboree, or truly an event that would reset the buttons in the relationship between the two countries?

Sure, there had been some cooling of passion between the two erstwhile allies during the dying days of the Jonathan administration, and American experts sent here to train our military had even been asked to leave. She had also refused to sell us Cobra helicopters and other armaments, which could have made a lot of difference in our fight against insurgents in the North-east of the country. America had cited some reasons, including alleged human rights violations. The then President   Jonathan was thus forced to look towards South Africa for arms.

No doubt, the kiln of passion needed to be kindled anew between Nigeria and America, and the invitation extended to Buhari during the G7 Summit in Germany, in June, was a much needed elixir. The Nigerian leader accepted the offer, and so was in Washington between Sunday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 22.

TIMAYA DENIES ALLEGATION OF RAPE BY US-BASED LADY, SAYS THEY HAD CONSENSUAL SEX.

TIMAYA

A US–based lady on Instagram has accused popular musician and self-styled Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Enetimi Odon otherwise called Timaya, of rape. The lady's instagram handle is @Officialshella_b while the post about the rape was sent under the identity @ExposingtherealTimaya.

The allegation was made on Thursday in a series of posts on Instagram.

The posts consisted of screenshots and audio recordings from previous conversations between the duo, and continued till Saturday.