APC SET FOR TOUGH NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING.

Efforts to resolve the leadership tussle in the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives, failed on Wednesday as a late-hour meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa did not come out with a clear position on the issue.

The PUNCH learnt that though the President had an audience with a group led by a former House Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, the meeting only resolved to push the issue to the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress for resolution.

The APC NEC is scheduled to meet on Friday (today). Analysts said on Thursday that the outcome of the meeting of today would either launch the ruling party on the path of recovery or mar it.

BOKO HARAM KILLS 145 PEOPLE IN BORNO.

The fighters of the dreaded Boko Haram sect laid a siege to some Borno communities between Tuesday and Wednesday night and killed 145 persons and injured several others.

Some of the deceased were killed in some mosques where the villagers had gone to pray after breaking Wednesday’s fast.

The attacks occurred in some villages in Monguno and Kukawa local government areas of the state.

PRESIDENT BUHARI SACKS DG OF SSS "ITA EKPENYONG", APPOINTS "MR. LAWAL DAURA" AS NEW DG.

President Muhamadu Buhari has sacked Ita Ekpenyong as the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) replacing him with Mr. Lawal Musa Daura.

The appointment was conveyed Thursday in a letter by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Barrister Danladi Kifasi.

Daura was born in Daura in Katsina State on the 5th of August, 1953.  He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1977 – 1980.

FRANCE SUSPENDS 2 SOLDIERS OVER ALLEGATION OF SEXUALLY ABUSING 5 YR OLD GIRL IN BURKINA FASO.

France has suspended two of its soldiers over allegations they sexually abused children in Burkina Faso.

One of the alleged victims was a five-year-old girl whose father found a camera containing images of his daughter being sexually abused, report AFP news agency. It comes after another abuse scandal involving French soldiers.

A leaked UN report claimed 16 French peacekeepers abused children in the Central African Republic.

ASTONISHING!!!! NNPC GENERATED N8.1TRN, GAVE NIGERIA N4.3TRN, POCKETED N3.8TRN.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, generated about N8.1trillion between 2012 and May 2015, but paid only N4.3trillion to the federation account, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said Monday, citing new details from the federal economic council meeting.

The balance of the oil money — about N3.8trillion — was withheld and spent by the NNPC unilaterally without approval or National Assembly appropriation, the governor told journalists.

Also, the governor confirmed at the meeting that from November 2014, about $2.1billion was withdrawn from the excess crude account without the approval of the National Economic Council, NEC.

OOU IS STILL MOURNING THE DEATH OF 12 STUDENTS WHO DIED IN A GHASTLY MOTOR ACCIDENT. #OOUMOURNS.

The death of 12 students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in a road accident on Friday, is still a bitter pill to swallow for the monarch of the town, Oba Abdulrasak Adenugba, the people and the university. Read previous post HERE.

Life at No. 8, Oshiyokun Lane, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, was never the same since Omolade Ogunnoiki, a 100 Level History student of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, moved into the boys’ quarters last year.

Tenants said the lively teenager, and three other friends who lived with her, were hard to miss in a crowd. Ogunnoiki was the chatterbox, while one of the other girls, Funmilayo Pampam, could do the laundry all day. The girls also stamped their presence on the wall of their one-room apartment, writing their nicknames with colourful ink.

UNCONFIRMED REPORT - "GOVERNOR NASIR EL RUFAI" DECLARES HIS ASSETS. HE IS WORTH A WHOOPING N90BILLION.

Governor Nasir ElRufai of Kaduna State has declared his asset. He is worth N90 billion. The governor’s assets declaration came as a big shock to most Kaduna residents yesterday as he allegedly declared ownership of 40 mansions, most of which are located in Abuja. Kaduna State Director Code of Conduct Bureau, George David, however, declined to comment when contacted.

He said the law on asset declaration permitted public office holders not to make their asset declaration public. The director however disclosed that asset declaration by El- Rufai and his Deputy were made long before yesterday.

According to him, any further information concerning the amount and assets involved in the declaration form, could only be enquired from Abuja headquarter of the Bureau.

Governor El-Rufai’s Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, confirmed that the governor had declared his assets but promised to get back to journalists with details. As at press time, he never did.

(VIDEO) SMARTEST THIEF OF THE DECADE- WOMAN STEALS PLASMA TV, HIDES IT IN BETWEEN HER LEGS.

A woman stunned shop workers when she walked into their store, picked up a flat screen TV which was still in its packaging, then wedged it between her legs and walked off.

And she did it all in just 13 seconds. 

CCTV footage shows the woman and her accomplice strolling into the shop in the town of Guapiles in Central Costa Rica, before spotting a pile of flat screen TVs. 

After quickly looking around the store the woman is seen picking up the TV, straddling it, straightening her ankle-length dress and then walking off with it wedged between her thighs.

Watch video after the cut....

COURT DISCHARGES AND ACQUITS FEMI FANI KAYODE OF MONEY LAUNDERING.

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has been discharged and acquitted of the money laundering charges by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Recalled that Fani-Kayode, whose trial began in 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed, was arraigned by the EFCC to have laundered about N100 million while he was the Minister of Culture and Tourism and subsequently, Aviation Minister. The allegedly laundered sum was, however, reduced to N2.1million on Nov. 17, 2014 after Ofili-Ajumogobia dismissed 38 out of the 40-count levelled against Fani-Kayode for want of proof.

The EFCC prosecutor, Keyamo, while urging the court to uphold the remaining two counts and to accordingly convict Fani-Kayode, said the former minister had failed to exonerate himself of the allegations. Keyamo pointed out that the object of the charge was that Fani-Kayode transacted in cash sums above N500,000, which was the threshold stipulated by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

$2.1BN SCANDAL - YOU LIED - OKONJO IWEALA LASHES OUT AT GOV ADAMS OSHIOMOLE.

Immediate past Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy & Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday described as “false and malicious,” the allegation by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, that she spent $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account, ECA, without authorization.

Speaking through her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, in Abuja, the ex-minister said that there was no unauthorized expenditure from the ECA under her watch in the Finance Ministry.

According to her, decisions on withdrawals from the ECA were discussed at monthly meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, attended by Finance Commissioners from the 36 states.

PRESIDENT BUHARI FAULTS JEGA'S HANDOVER, APPOINTS MRS AMINA ZAKARI AS ACTING INEC CHAIRMAN.

It was the end of an era, yesterday, when the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, formally handed over to Amb. Ahmed Wali as  acting chairman of the electoral body.

Following the handover, Jega said the future of the country and the commission were in safe hands.

However, after about eight hours as acting chairman, Wali was replaced as acting chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari who designated another national commissioner, Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari as acting chairman.

Jega, who was appointed five years ago by former President Goodluck Jonathan, bowed out with six national commissioners who were appointed the same day with him.

BUHARI'S DELAYED CABINET.

When former President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the presidential candidates of the two major political parties – the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) respectively, it was taken for granted that the government that would assume office on May 29th 2015 would start work immediately. The reason behind this was simple: both men had occupied the highest office in the land and would not need to learn from the scratch on the job.

SENATE LEADERSHIP SNAFU.

It is no longer news that Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate President under very controversial circumstances. The eerie calm that pervades the membership of the All Progressives Congress- a party that has been in existence for less than two years, unlike the Peoples Democratic Party that has been in government and in power for 16 unbroken years – as they struggle to come to terms with Saraki’s abracadabra, can best be described as the peace of the graveyard.

PRESIDENT BUHARI APPOINTS "MRS. AMINA BALA ZAKARI" AS ACTING INEC CHAIRMAN.

Prof. Attahiru Jega on Tuesday bowed out of office as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Consequently, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, as the acting chairman of INEC.

Zakari, the first female to occupy the position albeit in an acting capacity, was until Tuesday, a National Electoral Commissioner at INEC.

#APCCRISIS - BISI AKANDE'S LETTER ANGERS NORTHERN PARTY LEADERS.

Fresh facts on Tuesday indicated that the national caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress scheduled for Monday was cancelled because of the suspicion within the party.

The PUNCH learnt that the APC leadership called off the meeting because of reported anger of some leaders of the ruling party in the north at insinuations by Chief Bisi Akande that they were behind the crisis in the party.

Akande, a former interim national chairman of the APC, had in a letter made public on Monday alleged, among other things, that, “Most Northern elite, the Nigerian oil subsidy barons and other business cartels, who never liked (President Muhammadu) Buhari’s anti-corruption political stance, are quickly backing up the rebellion against APC with strong support.”

12 FORMER SEX SLAVES WHO WERE FORCED TO SLEEP WITH OVER 50 MEN PER DAY SUE JAPAN FOR £16MILLION.

 The day Lee Ok-seon was snatched off the street is etched into her memory forever.

Terrified, she was just 15 years old when she was grabbed as she walked home from work and taken to work in a military brothel.

For three years she was held as a sex slave for the Japanese army where she was expected to 'comfort' up to 50 troops per day. 

Lee is one of only a few dozen surviving 'comfort women', the name given to up to 200,000 women and girls, mostly from the Korean peninsula, who were forced to work in Japanese frontline brothels between 1932 and 1945. 

BEN AFFLECK & JENNIFER GARNER SPLIT JUST A DAY AFTER 10TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.

 Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have officially split just one day after their 10th wedding anniversary. The couple, who married on June 29, 2005, confirmed they are divorcing. The pair have three children together; Violet, nine, Seraphina, six, and Samuel, three.

In a joint statement, the couple said: 'After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. 

'We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time.

CAITLYN JENNER STUNS IN LACY BLUE DRESS AT BROADWAY SHOW.

 
 She's taken New York by storm after partying at the Gay Pride Festival over the weekend.

And now Caitlyn Jenner is making her debut on Broadway as she was spotted arriving to a performance of An American In Paris on Tuesday night.

The 65-year-old was accompanied by transgender actress Candis Cayne, as she showed off her slim figure in a lacy mini-dress.

STATES OF EMERGENCY.......PART 2.

Speaking in Abuja at the annual Ramadan Lecture of the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria last Sunday, the embattled Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said: “The challenge I face today was not my making, it is a national problem. I borrowed N24 billion to pay salaries, but when the banks say I cannot borrow again, there is nothing I can do in the face of dwindling revenue accruing to the state.”

 After that lamentation, the governor, who has not paid workers in the Osun State Civil Service since November last year, now added rather curiously: “I am still labouring physically and spiritually to pay the workers’ salary.” Whatever the physical and spiritual efforts entail, Aregbesola must quickly address the challenge of Osun workers who, aside the financial ordeal they face, now also contend with all manner of humiliations, including from a senator who thinks he can make entertainment of their tragedy.

CBN EXTENDS BVN EXERCISE TILL OCTOBER 30 2015.

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday extended the deadline for the Bank Verification Number registration by four months  from June 30 to October 31, 2015.

The apex bank disclosed this in a circular issued to all Deposit Money Banks operating in the country.

The circular dated Tuesday, June 30 with reference number BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/02/008 was signed by the Director, Banking and Payment Systems Department, CBN, Mr Dipo Fatokun.