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.

MY PHONE NO LONGER RINGS - REUBEN ABATI.

As spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, my phones rang endlessly and became more than personal navigators within the social space. They defined my entire life; dusk to dawn, all year-round. The phones buzzed non-stop, my email was permanently active; my twitter account received tons of messages per second.   The worst moments were those days when there was a Boko Haram attack virtually every Sunday.

LATE UNIBEN STUDENT KILLED BY JTF VEHICLE BURIED IN DELTA AMIDST TEARS.

LATE RITA AWELE

A 20-year-old Philosophy student of the University of Benin, Edo State, Rita Awele,who died on Sunday as a result of injuries sustained in a motor accident on the Lagos-Benin expressway has been buried.

According to the Students Union Government, she was buried on Wednesday, in an emotional service at her hometown in Delta State,

Awele was confirmed dead at the hospital after she and her classmate, Efe Esther, were knocked down by a JTF ‘Operation Pulo Shield’ vehicle driven by a soldier.

MY MARRIAGE PROBLEMS ARE PRIVATE - TOKE MAKINWA.

Some weeks ago, reports claimed that, Maje Ayida, the husband of popular on-air-personality, Toke Makinwa, impregnated a long time lover and flew her out of the country to be delivered of the baby.

Ever since the news broke both parties especially, Ayida, kept mum on the issue and their silence fuelled so many speculations. Out of the blues, the fitness trainer who has kept a low profile since the news of him reportedly impregnating his longtime girlfriend, Anita Solomon broke, publicly apologized to his wife via his instagram page.

PRESIDENT BUHARI SET TO SPLIT NNPC INTO TWO.

President Muhammadu Buhari has finally revealed what will be the fate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, saying the national oil company will be divided into two successor entities under his administration.

The President, who stated this in an interview with journalists in Washington DC during a four-day visit to the United States, an extract of which was made available to Saturday PUNCH, explained that the decision would form one of the key steps of his reform of the country’s oil and gas sector.

The NNPC is considered a cesspool of corruption and fraud signposted by the non-remission of revenues from oil sale to the Federation Account. Hence, one of the first reform moves by All Progressives Congress –led administration is expected to start at the NNPC.

HULK HOGAN IN RACISM MESS.

WWE has terminated its contract with Hulk Hogan after an audio tape emerged of him launching a racist tirade littered with the n-word complaining about his daughter's sex life.

The 61-year-old pro wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, made the comments in a recording which recently emerged as part of a legal battle. It features him repeating the phrase 'f**king n*****s' several times.

The recording, the contents of which were reported by Radar Online, features Hogan making a string of racist jibes to Heather Clem, a friend's wife whom he was filmed having sex with in 2012.

FORMER DG OF SEC, "MS ARUNMA OTEH" APPOINTED WORLD BANK VICE-PRESIDENT/TREASURER.

The immediate past Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, has been appointed  Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank. Announcing the appointment in a press release yesterday, World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, said, “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Arunma Oteh as VP and Treasurer of the World Bank.  Ms. Oteh was selected for this position through an international competitive search. Her appointment is effective from September 28, 2015.”

“Arunma, a Nigerian national, was most recently the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria. Appointed to a five-year term by the President of Nigeria in 2010, she led the transformation of the country’s capital markets industry into a major global presence. She was a member of the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Chairperson of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee of IOSCO.

HOW DAVID MARK DOUBLED NASS BUDGET AND ENTHRONED SECRECY.

By the time the curtain fell on the 7th session of Nigeria’s National Assembly in June, one of the most prominent characters of that era, who retreated backstage as a member of the 8th session (after his party became a minority), is former Senate President, David Mark.

Mr. Mark, a retired army general, would be remembered for his ignoble role in deepening and institutionalising the culture of secrecy at Nigeria’s federal legislative body.

EFCC SUMMONS JONATHAN'S SPECIAL ADVISER ON AMNESTY KINGSLEY KUKU OVER EMBEZZLEMENT.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has summoned Kingsley Kuku, a former special adviser on Niger Delta Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, for questioning.

A reliable source in the commission said that Mr. Kuku and two others are wanted by the EFCC over allegation of embezzlement and fraudulent diversion of funds running into hundreds of millions of Naira.

Details of the allegations against the former presidential aide are not immediately available, but there have been concerns that the amnesty programme of the last administration was fraught with massive corruption.

PRESIDENT BUHARI MUST NOT ABANDON AMNESTY BENEFICIARIES.

There was widespread anxiety about the fate of the Amnesty programme for former militants of the Niger Delta when Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the President of Nigeria. Given the dynamics of the election, and the fact that the programme was established by the former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) federal government under late President Umar Musa Yar’ Adua and sustained by the regime of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, people were not sure what Buhari would do with it.

Happily, the new president made an undertaking that put the fears of stakeholders to rest during his inaugural speech, when he declared that though the Amnesty Programme would end in December this year, his government would “invest heavily in the projects and programmes currently in place”.

PATIENCE JONATHAN PREVENTED FROM VIP LOUNGE OF PORT HACOURT AIRPORT.

Wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, was stopped from using the VIP lounge of the Port Harcourt International Airport, barely two months after her husband left office.

The former first lady, who was in Port Harcourt for the burial of her late Chief Security Officer (CSO), Tamuno Jacob Igbomie, who was said to have been shot dead on Airport Road, Abuja, penultimate Friday, was said to have been denied access to the VIP lounge, commonly used by dignitaries.

Staff members at the airport were said to have denied her access to the lounge on “orders from above.”

TAME FUEL SUBSIDY OR IT WILL TAME NIGERIA. - BEN MURRAY BRUCE.

If the whole idea of fuel subsidy is to pass on benefits to the poor, then we must all agree that it is not working. The benefits are going to importers of fuel, oil majors and upper and middle class Nigerians who can afford to live in the most urbanised areas of Nigeria which are the only places where fuel is still sold at the official rate.

Our people in the North-east and the Niger Delta have been buying petrol at black market prices for decades. Of what use is fuel subsidy to them? Is this not part of the reason why they sometimes feel alienated from Nigeria?

In the most recent data released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Democratic Republic of Congo is rated the poorest nation in the world with a per capita income of less than $400. But the truth is that if you isolate the North-east of Nigeria from the rest of Nigeria and you compare their per capita income to that of the Congo DRC, it will be clear that the North-east of Nigeria is the poorest part of planet earth.