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Chief Okoi Obono-Obla who is the special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecution has insisted that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) remains a terrorist organisation, that US or EU’s meddling in Nigeria’s affair could erode the country’s sovereignty and with the proscription of the group by a court, its activities remained illegal. The Punch reports that the presidential aide was reacting to the United States and the European Union’s position that the group was not a terrorist organisation. Obono-Obla in a statement released on Sunday, September 24, said IPOB remained as a terrorist group as defined by the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013. He said that IPOB harassed or intimidated“those who do not subscribe it to its separatists ideology and ethnic bigotry before its proscription”. “So it is a terrorist organisation! This is also an organisation that was hounding and killing Nigerians in Rivers and Abia States before the military intervention!...

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday, September 18, announced a conditional suspension of its strike action, The vanguard reports. ASUU President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, announced this in Abuja late on Monday night, after concluding the final meeting with the federal government delegation. The delegation was led by the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige. According to Vanguard, ASUU said it was suspending the strike till October for the federal government to fulfill its pledges, ASUU also ordered lecturers to resume duty from Tuesday, September 19. A memorandum of understanding was signed with the federal government delegation at the meeting.

His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu who is the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star has said that God has not approved the Biafra agitation and that it will not succeed. According to report, he says “His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star has for the umpteenth time spoken against the ongoing agitation for the sovereignty of Biafra, insisting that it will not succeed since God has not approved of it,” the spiritual leader said. He said “should disappear because it is not in the agenda of God.” Eyo Charles in a statement said Olumba Olumba was going to use his programme to challenge youths against laziness and social vices. He said: "The 10,000 strong BAYA will stage a mammoth public solemn procession across several major streets in Owerri, singing and praying for peace in Ibo land and Nigeria as a whole. “Few weeks ago, a pan Igbo organisation, Igbo World Congress, headed by former Biafran war lord, Col Joe Achuzia (rtd) wh...

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, on Thursday briefed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the outbreak of violence in some parts of Abia. After the briefing, Idris told State House Correspondents that the police was adopting a three-pronged approach to resolve the crisis. “The strategy we are using is to ensure that we deploy policemen throughout the country. “Secondly, we are in touch with the government. “We are trying to mobilise the political leadership to be able to intervene where necessary in how to reduce the tension that is already taking place in the South East.” While reacting to the Oct. 1 quit notice given to some Nigerians to leave some parts of the country, the I-G said there was no cause for alarm. “I don’t think there is tension in the country; there is no tension here,” he said. Meanwhile Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said the soldiers forcefully gained entrance into his client's house after shooting for about 40 minutes then breakdo...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with members of the National Council of traditional rulers and decried the way the Paris Club Refund was spent by some state governors. The Federal government had on May 4 released details of the second tranche of Paris Club refund to States totaling N243.795 billion. The president frowned at the inability of the affected state governments to pay the retirement benefits and outstanding salaries of workers with the payment of the refund. He said: “We have to digress this much because I would like to convince you that I’m living with the problems of this country day-by-day, and mostly those of the ordinary people. “There are Nigerians that haven’t been paid for six months; there are Nigerians that have not been paid their retirement benefits for years. “I’m appealing to the governors, (that was why we voted money, we borrowed money), please make sure anybody under you, pay them because most of them depend on that salary to pay rent, scho...

In the letter, Fani-Kayode noted that the alleged invasion of Kanu’s home was to provoke agitators He urged Kanu to stand firm, to stay strong, to remain peaceful in his agitation and not be discourage in spite of efforts to intimidate him. In his letter to Kanu A WORD TO NNAMDI To the Lion of the East, my friend and brother Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, I have the following to say. They attacked your home and raided your community with their soldiers. They sought to crush your body, spirit and soul, to break you and to kill the gallant and fighting spirit of your people. They forgot that the application and unleashing of fire cannot put out fire: it only adds to the rage of the inferno and causes it to spread and develop into a massive and uncontrollable conflagration which will ultimately consumme the entire nation. Despite the provocation and the brazen attempt to intimidate you and yours I urge you to be encouraged, to remain true to your noble convictions, to stand firm, to st...

Senator Shehu Sani says close confidants of Buhari make up the cabal and also reacted to a statement credit to former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, that the national assembly is full of 'unarmed robbers'. Sani, described cabals in Buhari's government by saying: "They are close confidants of the President; the president’s men who exploit that confidence and truth they have with Mr. President to manipulate the government and conduct the affairs of the government not in the interest of the person who they are serving but their personal interests. "Those are the people who constitute a cabal and these are the ones I tagged wolves and hyenas and jackals." Sani said: "Sometimes, it is easier for people to criticise the National Assembly than to criticise the Presidency because if you want to criticise the government, you are targeting Buhari, but if you are attacking the National Assembly, you are giving relief to some people. "I kno...

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state has warned those who are desperate to become president in Nigeria saying history has shown that they don’t Favour them. Daily Trust reports that the governor spoke on Sunday, September 10 from Mecca where he is coordinating the return of Borno pilgrims after serving as this year’s Amirul Hajj. He said: “Like I have repeatedly said in previous interviews since 2015, it is someone that has no regard for history that loses sleep over becoming Nigeria’s President because history doesn’t favour anybody with desperate aspiration to become Nigeria’s President. I am a student of history. As I have cited before now in published interviews, from 1979 to date, nobody with desperate aspiration for the presidency has ever succeeded in getting to that seat. President Shagari never aspired to be President; he was invited to contest without aspiration in 1979. President Obasanjo was even in prison when he was invited to contest without aspiration in 1999. In...

Former Minister of Aviation Chief Fami Fani-Kayode said that without restructuring, Nigeria will break. Fani-Kayode speaking in this video said that if Nigeria is not restructured, we should prepare for Oduduwa republic. “It is a call for separation and call to exercise the right to leave the federation. We have been telling people to give Nigeria a chance but without restructuring, this country will break. That is why those that really want the unity of this country will want this. Let’s have a true federation and let’s treat every Nigerian equally," he said. “If we don’t have restructuring, we will break off and I will advocate the breaking off of this country. My fear is that if we do not take the restructuring thing seriously and do something about it, it may be the end of this country," “The situation that we are second-class citizens of this country is unacceptable to me and unacceptable to the majority of the Yoruba people. Nobody can silence the voice of the...

Senator Shehu Sani has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to be careful about his associate a always declare for his re-election against his ministers warning  against seeking re-election in 2019. Sani spoke in a post on social media on Saturday, September 9, after Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state had claimed he warned Buhari against appointing Aisha Alhassan as minister with the argument that she never campaigned or voted for the president. Sani warned president in his parable which he illustrated with snakes, Buhari to be mindful that those who spat venom before him and those who did behind him are all snakes. He went further to state that the former are even of lesser evil than the latter. “The Disloyal cobra who spat venom before you and the friendly viper who sprayed venom behind you are all snakes. In comparison, the former is of lesser evil than the later,” he said. The senator did not however mention any particular name, but it is believed that he was spea...

The Nigerian Naira on Tuesday, September 5, appreciated against the American Dollar and Euro at the parallel market but crashed against Pound Sterling. The local currency maintained the rate against the greenback to close the day at N365/$1. It also  430/1Euro It also end at 470/GB pound Meanwhile in a statement by Garba Shehu on Tuesday, September 5, the president was quoted as saying he was very happy with the new development. He also took to his Facebook page to express satisfaction over the news of the country getting out of recession promising to continue to do more. He wrote: "I am pleased by the news of our emergence from the recession, and looking forward to ensuring that the ordinary Nigerian feels the impact. "Until coming out of recession translates into meaningful improvement in people's lives, our work cannot be said to be done. "While I'm glad we're starting to see the fruit of our work, there's still a lot to be done; and we w...

North Korea today detonated a hydrogen bomb sparking a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake amid an 'escalating' nuclear crisis. The terrifying tremor was detected in the northeast of the country where the Punggye-ri test site is located - but was so strong that it shook buildings in China and Russia. State television claimed the country's sixth nuclear test - 10 times more powerful than its fifth - was a 'perfect success' and could pave the way for a frightening new range of missiles loaded with hydrogen bombs. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the nuclear weapon test and said 'all options are on the table' when pressed on military action. US president Donald Trump slammed North Korea as a "rogue nation" which is a "great threat and embarrassment to China" Trump said on Twitter: 'North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States. ...

The senator representing Kaduna central, Sen. Shehu Sani, Sunday, urged the federal government should move into action, fish out and nail the engineers of these acts rather remaining mute in what he termed ‘sitting on the fence, sleeping on the fence and issuing statements on the fence’. Sen. Sani made the statement in regard to what he called ‘phenomenal increase’ of political violence, insecurity and hardship in the country. In his words via his facebook handle, “The phenomenal increase in cases of thuggery and political violence in the country is sad, unfortunate and condemnable. “ It’s time for the Federal Government to act on perpetrators and their sponsors. Sitting on the fence, sleeping on the fence or issuing statements on the fence is not a good strategy for the Government. “Anyone involved whether politicians, security personnels or their foot soldiers must be brought to book”, he finally wrote.the

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has said that Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than President Muhammadu Buhari, saying ”…Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari. He is a real lion." Fani-Kayode on his twitter handle also wrote that he had learnt that soldiers and police men have been deployed to the South east in preparation for the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu "I learnt that more soldiers and police have been deployed to the SE and SS to prepare for the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu. For the final time" "I urge the FG to be restrained. You cannot fight 2 wars on 2 fronts all at once. Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari.He is a real lion." "Nothing reflects the cruelty and insensitivity of Buhari more than his weak and pathetic response to the Benue flood where many have died."

Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar said the Northern youth should attack him and leave the Igbo people to continue living in the northern part of the country without attack. The respected monarch said this when the world Igbo union leader, Dr. Mishack Nnanta, accompanied by resident Igbo chiefs, paid sallah homage to him at his palace, Vanguard reports. “If anybody or group of persons plans negative attack on Igbo, he or they should attack me first because I am against the so-called ultimatum issued by the Arewa youths that Igbo should leave the north,” he said. The monarch observed that “restructuring” does not mean dividing Nigeria, but making “adjustments here and there for equal accommodation of all and sundry in Nigeria for equity and fair play religiously, socially and economically.” He said agitation by some people for disintegration “cannot solve any of the problems facing the country” and that “dividing it into many parts is not the solution for the married of problems b...

Former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on electronic media, Pastor Reno Omokri, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, party are ignorant of Presidential etiquette and comfortable with failure. Recall that Buhari had, on the 28th August 2017, received almost a two-hour briefing and declared later that he was pleased with the progress being made on different fronts in the economic sector. But Omokri disagreed with him According to him, “And it is quite evident that President Buhari has no shame because only a shameless leader would have declared that he is ‘satisfied with the state of the Nigerian economy’! “We are experiencing a third quarter of negative growth and are World renowned to be in a recession and the man who should lead us out of it declares to the nation that he is SATISFIED with the state of our economy! “That’s just like bringing a report card of failure back home to your dad and he tells you that he is satisfi...

Nigeria have received clearance from FIFA for Chelsea defender Ola Aina to make his international debut in the World Cup qualifier against Cameroon in Yaounde on Monday. Aina, who is on a season-long loan at English Championship side Hull City, was scouted by the Super Eagles to fill a gap in the full-back positions. He was born in London to Nigerian parents. Although he has a Nigerian passport, he has represented England at various junior levels and so needed to apply to change his international allegiance. Rohr had hoped to use Aina in the first clash against Cameroon but the FIFA clearance did not arrive in time. The player was ineligible to feature for Nigeria in Friday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Cameroon which ended 4-0 in favour of the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio stadium, in Uyo because the NFF was still awaiting official greenlight from FIFA . Now the 20 year old will be eligible for selection in the reverse fixture in Yaounde on Monday. It’s a do...

President Muhammadu Buhari congratulate Nigeria Super Eagles after their impressive 4 - 0 win over the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Uyo. Goals from Odion Ighalo, John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and Kelechi Iheanacho gave Nigeria the win. A statement released by the presidency reads: "The President joins millions of football-loving Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora in applauding the senior men’s football team for their disciplined, skillful and entertaining display against the defending African champions. "President Buhari, while noting that with the exhilarating victory, Nigeria is on the verge of qualification for the World Cup in Russia 2018, urges the players to sustain the momentum as they approach the crucial second leg of the tie in Yaounde, on Monday. "The President enjoins Nigerians who always see football as a unifying platform, to continue to pray and support the team to guarantee victory next week and make qualification doubly sure. "He als...

FG-ASUU NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE UNDER LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR AND EDUCATION MINISTER News reports that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, is now leading Federal government negotiations with Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU are inaccurate. Media report seems to have misrepresented what labor and Employment minister, Dr Chris Ngige meant when he spoke with reporter about the negotiations after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday. The Vice President had a discussion after FEC with both the Labour Minister and the Education Ministry Malam Adamu Adamu around the issue, but has not taken over the negotiations as widely reported. Both Ministers will continue to lead the ASUU talks. The Federal Government continue to diligently pursue a prompt resolution of this dispute and is confident the matters would be resolved Signed Laolu Akande Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President 1st September 2017

Minister of state for petroleum resources Ibe Kachikwu has assured Nigerians that the price of oil will drop down in coming months. The Nation reports that Kachiwu made the prediction while presenting his scorecard on his two years in office to reporters in Abuja. Kachikwu said: “…Once Nigerians throw their trading skill in it, once competition thrives, the prices will continue to tumble. “My guess is that you will see the prices tumble in the next four, five to six months. The market will be more stable and definitely the prices will be lower than what we see today.” “We expect to put in investment to put them to 90 per cent capacity,” he said. He added: “It has been one massive problem after the other for the sector to stabilise in term of product supply. "The time has come to take on the problem bullishly and that is what we are trying to do. “So, we believe the ire will be money for infrastructural development in the downstream sector. “We believe that a lot of...

THE Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta codenamed Operation Delta Safe have confirmed Monday night attack on its operatives by suspected militants near Letugbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State saying it lost a soldier and a civilian staff attached to a military houseboat. Coordinator, Joint Media Campaign Centre of the taskforce, Major Ibrahim Abdulahi who said this in a statement issued Friday in Yenagoa. The statement reads “This is to put to rest exaggerated speculations on an incident involving our own troops and suspected militants on Monday 28th August, 2017 around 2000hrs (8 pm) near Letugbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. During the firefight, one gallant soldier and a civilian staff attached to the military houseboat paid the supreme price for defending fatherland as against reports of four (4) soldiers killed. A rescue team supported by gunboats was immediately dispatched to the area and they were able to locat...

Muslim faithful in Nigeria have joined their counterparts in other parts of the world to celebrate Eid El Kabir 2017, PDP Rescue Group, on Friday, in its message for the festivity reiterated that nothing too much to sacrifice for Nigeria’s unity and peace. This was said in a statement signed by former Minister of Environment, Chief John Odey, also maintained that unity in diversity remains strength of the nation. The statement reads in parts, “The leadership of the PDP Rescue Group, a political Pressure Group, warmly congratulates Nigerians, especially our Muslim brothers and sisters on the occasion of Eid El Kabir, the celebration of the feast of sacrifice. “Eid El Kabir is the second most important Muslim holiday which is celebrated worldwide to mark the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismaeel (Isaac), as an act of obedience to Allah’s (God) command. “As we celebrate this occasion, we urge all Nigerians and indeed our Muslim brothers and sisters to refle...