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.