The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Simon Lalong as the governor of Plateau State.
The court gave the judgement on Monday in Abuja, 10 months after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returned Governor Lalong as the winner of the March 9 poll.

Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed an appeal at the apex court to challenge the victory of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.

His appeal was, however, struck out in a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Justice Adamu Galinje.
The court held that the appellant failed to prove the allegation of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
It held that the concurrent findings of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal were correct.
The apex court also said the appellant failed to show how the various names of Simon Lalong enhanced his chances at the March 9 election.

https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/supreme-court-upholds-simon-lalongs.html

A three-storey building under construction has collapsed in the Ago Palace Way axis of Lagos State.
The Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this on Friday in a situation report forwarded to Channels Television.
He revealed that a man whose identity has yet to be ascertained was trapped under the rubble.
Oke-Osanyintolu, however, noted that emergency officials were already at the scene and making efforts to rescue the trapped person.
He said the impact of the collapse has affected some adjacent buildings around the scene of the incident.
The LASEMA boss gave an assurance that once the recovery operation was completed, the remaining parts of the collapsed building would undergo a controlled demolition exercise.

More Photos: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/man-trapped-under-rubble-as-building.html

Pep Guardiola said Sergio Aguero’s legendary status had grown again after becoming the Premier League’s top scoring foreign player with a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 6-1 on Sunday.
It may be too late to salvage City’s defence of the Premier League title as they remain 14 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand, but led by Aguero the champions moved ahead of Leicester into second to show they will not give up the chase.
Aguero eclipsed Thierry Henry’s record as the top scoring non-English player in the Premier League by taking his tally to 177 goals and also surpassed Alan Shearer’s league record for hat-tricks with his 12th since joining City from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
“He was a legend and the legend rises tonight,” said Guardiola. “He is one of the most incredible players I’ve seen in this league.
“To score this amount of goals and hat-tricks means you have done for many, many years a lot of good things.
“You have to be consistent for many years so it’s an incredible compliment to him.”
Guardiola could afford the luxury of recalling Aguero among six changes to the side that also outclassed Manchester United in midweek to put one foot in the League Cup final.
Villa could be their opponents at Wembley on March 1 as they held Leicester 1-1 in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, but on this evidence they would be powerless to stop City lifting the trophy for a third straight season.
The injury-hit hosts were without a recognised striker and first-choice goalkeeper after Wesley and Tom Heaton were ruled out for the rest of the season.
Former Spanish international ‘keeper Pepe Reina was in the stands ahead of his loan move from AC Milan being completed and will be needed if Villa are to beat the drop after conceding 13 goals in their last four home games.
“It was a chastening experience,” said Smith. “We are embarrassed by some of the goals we conceded today.
“We’ve come up against a top class team with a top class manager and got found out.”
– MAHREZ ON THE MARK –
Orjan Nyland was beaten at his near post as Riyad Mahrez was allowed to cut onto his favoured left foot to open the floodgates on 18 minutes.
The Algerian’s old Leicester teammate Danny Drinkwater was making his Villa debut after troubled spells at Chelsea and Burnley since leaving the Foxes.
His lack of match practice was exposed for City’s second as Drinkwater was caught in possession inside his own box by Gabriel Jesus and the ball broke kindly for Mahrez to drill home his ninth goal of the season.
Aguero then thumped home a third, although Nyland could have got a stronger hand to the Argentine’s effort.
All that was missing from a complete City performance was a moment of inspiration from Kevin De Bruyne and the Belgian duly delivered with a wonderful curling cross to set the fourth on a plate for Jesus in first-half stoppage time.
City did not let up after the break and could have made it many more than six as David Silva picked out Aguero to calmly slot home his record-breaking goal.
The Argentine’s hat-trick arrived eight minutes from time as he demonstrated his array of finishes by this time blasting his past the helpless Nyland.
“I’m so happy for the record. It is thanks to my teammates, they help me in these nine years,” said Aguero.
“When I scored the second, I thought one more (and) I break the hat-trick record. I want to keep scoring more goals.”
Anwar El Ghazi scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time, but it was little consolation for Villa, who dropped into the relegation zone after Watford’s win at Bournemouth earlier in the day.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/man-city-defeated-villa-6-1-move-to.html

Senegalese striker and Liverpool star Sadio Mane has been crowned as the 2019 African Player of the Year.
The 27-year old Senegalese striker claimed the top prize for the first time on Tuesday at the 2019 CAF Awards ceremony held in Egypt.
Mane beat his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah of Egypt who won the award the last two years, as well as Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).
However, neither Salah nor Mahrez attended the event.
Giving his acceptance speech, Mane said, “I am really happy and at the same time I am really proud to win this award. It’s a big day for me.”
According to CAF statistics, the Senegalese scored 34 goals and made 12 assists in 61 appearances last year.
News, Nigerian News, Opera News, Google News,
The Pride Of Nigeria
In the female category, Super Falcons’ Captain Asisat Oshoala was named as the 2019 African Women’s Player of the Year.
Oshoala, who plays for Spanish side Barcelona, beat Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, who was crowned in Senegal last year to claim the title.
It is the fourth time the 25-year-old is being crowned the best African female footballer.
She won the award in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and was also among the final three in 2018 but lost to her South African rival Kgatlana.
Shortly after she was announced as the winner, Oshoala took to Twitter to thank her family and friends, as well as her fans and colleagues locally and internationally for their support.
Other male awards were claimed by Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi, Algerian Youcef Belaili for African Interclubs Player of the Year and Algeria’s national team.
The female awardees were South African coach Desiree Ellis, and Cameroon’s women national team.
The award for the youth category was given to Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi of Borussia Dortmund.
The Egyptian Football Association won the Federation of the Year award.

https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/sadio-mane-crowned-african-player-of.html

Super Falcons’ Captain Asisat Oshoala has been crowned as the 2019 African Women’s Player of the Year.
The Nigerian forward was announced as the best African female footballer of the year on Tuesday at the 2019 CAF Awards ceremony in Egypt.
Oshoala, who plays for Spanish side Barcelona, beat Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, who was crowned in Senegal last year to claim the title.
It is the fourth time the 25-year-old is being crowned the best African female footballer.
She won the award in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and was also among the final three in 2018 but lost to her South African rival Kgatlana.
Shortly after she was announced as the winner, Oshoala took to Twitter to thank her family and friends, as well as her fans and colleagues locally and internationally for their support.

Sadio Mane Shines

Meanwhile, Senegalese striker and Liverpool star Sadio Mane won his first Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year honour.
The 27-year old beat his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah of Egypt who won the award the last two years, as well as Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).
Celebrating his success at the event, he said, “I am really happy and at the same time I am really proud to win this award. It’s a big day for me.”
Mane scored 34 goals and produced 12 assists in 61 appearances in 2019, according to CAF statistics.
In the youth category, Morocco and Borussia Dortmund defender, Achraf Hakimi, was crowned the African Youth Player Of The Year.
The 21-year-old beat Nigerian duo of Victor Osimhen (Lille) and Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal) to claim the prize.
The Egyptian Football Association won the Federation of the Year award.

https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/nigerias-asisat-oshoala-wins-african.html

What's next?

The Department of State Service (DSS), Friday, paraded one Kabiru Mohammed over the fabrication and dissemination of a fake wedding video between President Mohammadu Buhari and two female members of his cabinet. .

The spokesman of the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, recalled that between August and October 2019, the fake video was widely circulated on the internet and on social media. .
He said the purported video showed the wedding of President Buhari; the minister of finance Zainab Ahmed and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq respectively. .

The DSS said on 11th October it received a petition and a formal complaint from the minister of finance Zainab Ahmed who asked for an investigation on the video and the info-graphic, with a view to identifying the person or group involved in the circulation of such materials. .

Afunanya said the Service succeeded in arresting Kabiru who has confessed to having initiated the creation and circulation of the defamatory video. .
He said the investigation is on-going to determine the actual reasons and intent in creating and disseminating the false video, even though the suspect had confessed that he belongs to a political group in Kano State. .

He also warned Nigerians against the spread of false news on the social media, because victims of such fake news experience untold pains. .

The suspect, while fielding questions from journalists, confessed that he created and circulated the video.

Although he was unable to explain why he created the video, whilst begging forgiveness from the authorities, said he is of the Kwankwasiya political movement in Kano, on which social media platform the video was first disseminated. .
He also said he is a supporter the President Mohammad Buhari’s APC at the Federal level and the Kwankwasiya movement at the State level in Kano.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/dss-nabs-mastermind-of-buharis-fake.html

GHANAIAN SOCIALITE, QUEEN FARCADI, HAS REVEALED LAZINESS MADE HER GO INTO PROSTITUTION.

SHE APPEARED ON THE DELAY SHOW AND DENYING THE PRESENTER’S OPINION THAT SOMEONE INFLUENCED HER TO BE TRADING SEX, QUEEN FARCADI SAID “IT’S MY DECISION, IT’S LIKE YOU ARE LAZY AND DON’T WANT TO WORK SO YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR BODY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT … I AM A LAZY GIRL”

THE HOOKER ADDED THAT SHE HAS NEVER TRIED WORKING BEFORE BUT SHE HAS REALIZED THAT SHE ISN’T CUT FOR THAT FOR SHE IS VERY LAZY. .

FURTHER CONVINCING DELAY AS TO WHY SHE TRADES SEX, FARCADI SAID FROM EXPERIENCE, SHE HAS REALIZED THAT MEN ONLY USE WOMEN SO SHE HAS HAS DECIDED TO MAKE MONEY OUT OF THEM TOO.

SHE RECENTLY MADE HEADLINES WHEN SHE DISCLOSED THAT SHE HAS SLEPT WITH COUNTLESS MEN FROM ALL THE CONTINENTS IN THE WORLD.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/i-started-selling-my-body-because-im.html

Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has sworn in nine judges recommended for appointment by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The judicial officers were sworn in at an event held on Friday at the Sam Mbakwe Expanded Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Owerri, the state capital.
They comprise seven judges of the State High Court while the two others are for the Customary Court of Appeal.
In his remarks at the event, Governor Ihedioha noted that the three arms of government must collaborate for good governance to thrive.
He gave an assurance that his administration would uphold the independence of the judiciary and abide by the rule of law.
“To ensure good governance, the three arms of government must coexist as separate organs of government independently, but collaboratively”, the governor was quoted as saying in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Chibuike Onyeukwu.
He said his administration has maintained a symbiotic relationship with other arms of government.

The governor also informed the gathering that plans were in top gear to enhance the status of the judicial system in the state.
Governor Ihedioha added, “We have reconstituted the Judicial Service Commission; renovation of Judges’ Quarters has begun.
“We have also ensured payment of salaries of judges as at when due and provided official guards for them. This administration achieved these feats within a short period of time, despite our financial constraints.”
The governor recalled that his administration took certain steps to boost the state judiciary, saying these led to the appointment of magistrates, inspectors of court, bailiffs and other judicial staff.

He explained that such measures were taken to ensure an effective justice delivery system in the state.
Governor Ihedioha advised the new judges to discharge their duties fairly and ensure they do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour.
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Imo State, Justice Paschal Nnadi, said the present administration has revitalised the judiciary in the state.
He thanked the governor for rejuvenating the judiciary and assured him that the arm of government would continue to serve justice to all.
Speaking on behalf of the newly inaugurated judges, Justice Ihuoma Chukwunyere assured the governor that they would uphold the law at all times.

More News: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2020/01/gov-ihedioha-swears-in-nine-judges-in.html

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday joined other African leaders for the 56th Ordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of state and Government.
The President arrived at 11:08am for the Banquet Hall venue of the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
In his welcoming address, the President said the greatest challenge facing the Ecowas region is terrorism, citing the recent killing of about 70 military personnel in Niger Republic.
He however restated the Nigerian government’s commitment towards devising new strategies and initiatives for inclusive economic growth among the people of the region.
Participants at the session included the President of the ECOWAS commission, Jean-claude Kassi Brou, the Chairman of the Authority and President of Niger Republic Issoufou Mahamadou.
Others were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, President of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina as well as the Representative of the United Nations’ Secretary General, Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

From: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/president-buhari-joins-other-african.html

The sum of N3.5million on Tuesday went missing after some burglars attacked Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa the state capital.
The money was carted away by the burglars who broke into the office of Mrs Ebizi Ndiomu-Brown, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the governor.
Ndiomu-Brown told Channels Television in a phone conversation that her office was indeed burgled and the sum of N3.5million was carted away not the sum of N40 million as reported by some media.
Responding to the question on if she suspects anyone, says she has no ready suspect in mind, as it could be anyone and she waits the outcome of the Police investigation.
Ndiomu-Brown is currently on an official assignment outside Bayelsa State.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Asinim Butswat, said the office was indeed burgled and the sum of N3.5million stolen.
He said the main entrance door to her office was broken and the safe inside the office, destroyed.
The police spokesman said three policemen and four personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and one maintenance staff on duty at the Governor’s Office, were initially arrested and interrogated at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation department in connection to the attack.
He added that they have all been released based on their statements and the four NSCDC officials have resumed duty at the Government House.
He said investigation is still ongoing.
The State Commandant of the NSCDC, Christiana Abiakama-Omanu said the officers were only questioned and released.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/burglars-cart-away-n35million-from.html

As the 2010s winds to a close streaming titan Spotify announced Tuesday that poppy rap sensation Drake is the most globally streamed artist of the decade with more than 28 billion streams.
British crooner Ed Sheeran, hip hop warbler Post Malone, pop royalty Ariana Grande and rap iconoclast Eminem rounded out the top five most-streamed artists between 2010 and 2019, Spotify said.
Global hit machine Sheeran’s “Shape of You” won the top spot for the most streamed track of the decade with more than 2.3 billion streams, according to the data on more than 248 million worldwide users’ listening habits.
Post Malone was 2019’s most-streamed artist with more than 6.5 billion, followed by Billie Eilish, whose haunting pop sound saw her win more than 6 billion streams.

Grande, Sheeran, and Latin trap innovator Bad Bunny formed the rest of the most-streamed class of artists of 2019.
“Senorita,” the sultry pop duet from real-life couple Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, was 2019’s most-streamed song, with more than one billion streams, closely trailed by Eilish’s smash “bad guy” that got more than 990 million streams.
Created in 2006, Spotify by 2010 was but a young start-up with less than a
million paying subscribers — contrary to today’s 113 million.
The company’s rise to power — today counting 248 million monthly users, including paying and non-paying members — largely came on streaming’s growing dominance in the industry.

Fellow streaming giant YouTube has not published its top streamed videos of the decade — its top-viewed video remains the lilting Latin juggernaut “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, with over 6.5 billion.

News always: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/spotify-declares-drake-most-streamed.html

A 56-year-old Pastor Benjamin Akinsanya of the Life House Ministry, Ojo, Lagos, has been arrested and arraigned before the Igbosere Chief Magistrate`s Court, with two others, for allegedly sponsoring a six-man suspected assassins in an attempt to kill a female pastor, Janet Ogunsola over alleged spiritual popularity tussle. .
.
Other suspects charged with the pastor are Darlington Orji, 25, and Liberty Elvis, 29. Police said that Akinsanya allegedly paid the suspects N500, 000 to terminate the life of the female pastor in charge of Glorious Chapel Ministry, located at 1, Adeleye Street, Ojo, Lagos, to stop her soaring spiritual popularity over him. .
.
Trouble started in October, 2019 when the suspects invaded the residence of the complainant, armed with guns and attempted to kill her. .
.
When the suspects did not find her at home, they allegedly shot sporadically into her residence and left. Following the ugly development, Mrs Ogunsola sent a save our soul petition to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu.

Investigations led to the arrest of the pastor who led the operatives to arrest two of the suspects while others managed to escape. The arrested suspects allegedly confessed to the crime and said that pastor Akinsanya paid them N500, 000 to kill the complainant.

The pastor and others were charged before the Igbosere Chief Magistrates Court on a five-count charge bothering on attempted murder and belonging to an unlawful society called Aiye Cult Confraternity. .
.
The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty and Magistrate, A.A Famobiwo granted them N100, 000 bail each. He adjourned the case till 12 December, 2019 and ordered that the defendants be kept at the Ikoyi Correctional Facility till they perfect their bail conditions.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/pastor-hires-assassins-to-kill-female.html

Mairo Abdulahi Bashir, a business manager with United Bank for Africa, UBA, and first prosecution witness, (PW1), in the ongoing trial of Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman, Pension Reform Task Team before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, November 29, 2019 disclosed that Maina used his sister’s name to open a secret bank account with the UBA, through which funds were transferred. According to the witness, Maina passed off the account as belonging to his sister, while he actually operated it.

The witness under cross- examination by defense counsel, Esther Uzoma denied harbouring any ulterior motive in her testimonies. Uzoma had accused the witness of nursing an ulterior motive by not revealing to the UBA authorities, Maina’s huge monetary transactions, including documents containing the alleged deposits and withdrawals in local and foreign currencies by Common Input and Properties Ltd, (allegedly belonging to the defendant).

The witness denied any ulterior motives in her testimonies, revealing further that Maina presented a certificate of incorporation for Common Input and Properties Ltd, with his sister's photograph and her personal details but endorsed the document with his own signature.

Justice Abang adjourned the case until December 9, 10, and 11 for continuation of trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Maina on a 12-count charge, bordering on operating fictitious bank accounts, corruption fraud and money laundering to the tune of over N2billion.

N2bn Fraud: Maina Used Sister's Name to Run Secret Bank Account- Witness

Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/n2bn-fraud-maina-used-sisters-name-to.html

The EFCC, Makurdi Zonal Office on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, secured the conviction of 22 year old Damilola Adeyemo. He was prosecuted before Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi, Benue State.

Adeyemo was arraigned on a two count charge for identity fraud and for fraud in the sum of N230,000 (Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira) only which part of the proceed was used in the acquisition of an iPhone 7.

More News: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/efcc-man-bags-two-year-jail-term-for.html

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has disclosed that the state government is set to
commence the construction and rehabilitation of 16 Kilometres of roads within the Ugbowo area of Benin City, to ease movement of students and staff of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

The governor said this during a courtesy visit by the management of the university led by the new Vice Chancellor, Professor Lilian Salami at Government House in Benin City.

The governor said the construction of ‘19 Street’ is designed to divert vehicular traffic from the UNIBEN to Siloku Road of the metropolis.

He reiterated his administration’s resolve to partner with the university to provide constant power supply and fast internet facility in the institution.
He added, “You have a population of over 60,000 people. That is a city on its own. If we cooperate and collaborate with you to get 24/7 electricity supply in your campus with fast internet and an improved governance within your campus, you will be amazed at the economy that will be created.

“We are already trying to get power from Edo-Azura power plant into the campus as well as the Benin Technical College. The hope is to attract a lot of knowledge-based businesses in that direction.”

Obaseki congratulated Prof Salami, as the second woman to hold the exalted position of the Vice Chancellor of the university, noting, “We have no doubt that women in academia particularly those from this part of the world display a lot of courage, strength and energy. We wish you a successful tenure.”..

Earlier, the new Vice Chancellor, Professor Lilian Salami, solicited for the governor to assist th

e university in building a barricade in front of the main gate of the university which will encourage students to use the pedestrian bridge.
She called for further collaboration to address the encroachment on the university's land as well as deal with other environmental concerns.

Prof. Salami was accompanied by the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Professor Friday Orunwense and other top management staff of the institution.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/12/obaseki-assures-on-construction-of-16km.html

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday to participate in the 5th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
He noted that apart from the Nigerian leader, the one-day meeting would be attended by leaders of major gas-producing nations of the world.
They include Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Bolivia, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and Norway, which account for 70 per cent and 80 per cent of global gas reserves and production respectively.
“The idea of the GECF was first mooted in 2001 when the First Ministerial Meeting held in Tehran, Iran, while the First GECF otherwise called Gas Summit, took place in Doha, Qatar in 2011 with Nigeria represented at the highest level.
“Indeed, President Buhari had attended the Third Gas Summit in Tehran in November 2015. This Fifth Gas Summit in Malabo is the first time the biennial meeting will be hosted in Africa,” the statement read.
It added, “Recall that on November 19, 2019, President Buhari had received Mr Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, the Special Envoy of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who brought a special invitation to the Nigerian leader to attend the 5th Gas Summit as well as thanking Nigeria for her support towards the hosting.”
During the visit, the President had noted that Nigeria was more of a gas-producing rather than oil-producing country.
According to him, that fact had long been established and if the nation had followed the plans laid out in the 1970s for the gas sector, it ought to have had 12 trains by early 1980s instead of being on just six trains of exporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Shehu said the Nigerian delegation would also use the opportunity to discuss current trends in the global gas market, potential policies for the energy sector, and opportunities for collaboration.
At the end of the 5th Gas Summit, the Malabo Declaration is expected to be adopted.
President Buhari would be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.
After the summit, the President would head for Daura in Katsina State on a five-day official visit.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/buhari-to-embark-on-malabo-trip-five.html

Abuja – Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, embattled national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was a disappointed man on Monday when he stormed Jos, Plateau State, venue of the Progressives Governors’ Forum meeting, apparently to forestall alleged plot by the governors to oust him as national chairman of the party.

Recall that some state APC chairmen had called for his resignation shortly after the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja, having failed on Friday to move a motion for his sack at the NEC.

The battle ground, we gathered, was to shift to Jos where most of the APC governors were expected to meet to push through the agenda.

Not to be intimidated, the former Edo State governor reliably moved his war ar
senal to Jos but was met with disappointment as majority of the APC governors stayed away from the meeting.

The APC national chairman, who was seen at a dinner organised by the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, to welcome the progressive governors, was not on the list of invitees to the meeting.

Sources close to the organisers disclosed that the APC boss was not officially invited for the event, but that he showed up anyway, apparently to lobby some of the governors.

“Maybe the NWC members were in Jos to lobby the governors over the crisis in the party,” the source said, adding that the poor turnout at the meeting may have disappointed the APC national chairman.

In a statement announcing the Federal Government/governors parley in Jos, and signed by the director-general of PGF, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, the APC national chairman was not listed as a participant.

The statement had read: “President Muhammadu Buhari will be the special guest of honour.

“Participants expected at the parley include the 19 progressive governors; principal officers of the National Assembly and APC legislators; Ministers of Internal Affairs, Transport, Education, Humanitarian Affairs, and Minister of State for Health.

“Other participants are the EFCC chairman; director, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit; executive secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBE); executive secretary, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), and many other government functionaries invited from the 19 APC-controlled states.”

Among the 19 APC governors, only six and three deputy governors were in attendance at the parley of the PGF and FG.

The governors who were in attendance were the host governor, Simon Lalong; Kaduna governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; Jigawa governor, Abubakar Badaru; Kebbi governor, Atiku Bagudu; Edo governor, Godwin Obaseki, and Niger governor, Sani Bello.

The deputy governors who were in attendance were those of Kogi, Gombe, and Kano states.

A source close to one of the governors said the governors may have deliberately stayed away from the Jos parley to avoid being lobbied by Oshiomhole.

“Some of the governors got hint of Oshiomhole’s presence in Plateau State and they decided to stay away. The essence was for them (the governors) not to form a quorum and agree on anything with Oshiomhole,” he disclosed.

This was confirmed by a National Working Committee (NWC) member who said, “Yes, we were there to see the coup plotters. The coup plotters have failed till March next year when the party would hold another NEC.”

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/apc-govs-disappoint-oshiomhole-shun-jos_28.html

Out level of maturity has nothing to do with out post - Tonto Dikeh

Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/out-level-of-maturity-has-nothing-to-do.html

Actress yvonne nelsongh rocks Dubai expensive hotel (Photos)

See more photos: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/actress-yvonne-nelsongh-rocks-dubai.html

Police recover 23 stolen ATM cards in woman’s private parts .
.
The Police have recovered 23 ATM cards from a middle-aged woman suspected to have stolen them from clients in Tanzania. .
.
ZimEye reports that Halima Juma was arrested at CRDB bank ATM in Mbagala after a teller at the financial institution suspected she was up to something fishy. .
.
The suspect was arrested in possession of 23 stolen ATM cards. The teller claimed he grew suspicious when Halima used different cards of the same bank to withdraw money from one ATM machine. .
.
After being busted, the suspect tried to escape, but was cornered by the bank’s security guards, who handed her over to police. Upon search at the police station, ATM cards belonging to nine different backs were retrieved from her private parts.
.
.
The police disclosed that there were several cases she had been reported to have gone into ATM rooms pretending to help the elderly to withdraw their money from the machines. .
.
Instead of helping them to withdraw money, Halima is said to have been exchanging the cards and handing over clients a different one that they cannot use. �: k24tv

Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/police-recover-23-stolen-atm-cards-in.html

Celebrity Life in Nigeria is somehow.
I don’t have a life anymore. I want my old life back - Mercy Eke cries out

https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/verified-i-dont-have-life-anymore-i.html

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5XIYZMHm1M/

Lagos police have rescued a man macheted on the head by his own brother during a fight over a pot of soup.

In a statement, the police said: “Last night at about 11:00pm our officers on patrol along Ipaja assisted a man who got machetted from the head to the cheek by his brother over a pot of soup.

They assisted him before handing the case to over to Ipaja Police Division for investigation. Efforts are in progress to apprehend the brother who is at large.”

Read more: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/man-machetes-his-brother-over-pot-of.html

Las las them draw the match

Pope Francis delivers his homily during the mass to mark the World Day of the Poor, on November 17, 2019 at Saint Peter’s basilica in Vatican. Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

Pope Francis, who years ago hoped to be a missionary in Japan, travels to the sites of the world’s only atomic attacks this week seeking a ban on nuclear weapons.
The Argentine pontiff, 82, flies to Asia on Tuesday, where he will first visit Thailand and then Japan, including the two cities destroyed by devastating US nuclear attacks during the Second World War.
Despite both countries having less than 0.6 percent Catholic populations, Francis is thirsty for interreligious dialogue with them.
He will arrive in Thailand on Wednesday before flying on to Japan on Saturday, where he will stay until November 26.
Sunday is set to be a marathon day with visits to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, where at least 74,000 people and 140,000 people respectively were killed by the atomic bombs attacks.
The August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and of Nagasaki three days later contributed to Japan’s surrender and the end of the Second World War on August 15, months after Nazi Germany capitulated.
Father Yoshio Kajiyama, director of the Jesuit social centre in Tokyo, was born in Hiroshima shortly after the war and is eagerly awaiting the pope’s anti-nuclear speech.
“My grandfather died the day of the bomb in Hiroshima, I never knew him. Four days later my aunt died when she was 15 years old,” said the 64-year-old.
“If you grow up in Hiroshima, you can’t forget the bomb.”
NO NUKES MESSAGE
The pope will make “as vigorous an appeal as possible in favour of concerted measures to completely eliminate nuclear weapons,” Vatican number two Cardinal Pietro Parolin told the United Nations in September.
“Using atomic energy to wage war is immoral,” the head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics told Japanese television in September.
A previous member of Japan’s diplomatic mission to the Vatican, Shigeru Tokuyasu, said he hopes the visit will pull the world back from “the globalisation of indifference” over nuclear weapons.
But, said Tokuyasu, the pope should avoid discussing the politically sensitive issue of nuclear energy.
Francis is als to meet victims of the devastating 2011 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan and the subsequent tsunami that between them killed 18,500 people and sparked the nuclear power catastrophe at Fukushima.
FEAR OF NUCLEAR WAR
Francis is used to railing against countries that make money from weapons and has already voiced his fear of a nuclear war.
In January last year, he printed cards with a photo of a Nagasaki bomb victim, inscribing the words “the fruit of war” above his signature.
The 1945 photo, captured by American photographer Joe O’Donnell, showed a small boy standing ramrod straight carrying his dead younger brother on his back while waiting for his turn at a cremation site.
The late pope John Paul II visited Japan in 1981, where at Hiroshima’s peace monument he pointed to war as “the work of man”.
In August, the city of Hiroshima called on Japan to sign the UN treaty calling for a ban on nuclear weapons, something that all the world’s nuclear powers have refused to do.
Japan, with its pacifist post-war constitution, adhered in 1967 to the principle of “not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory,” despite counting on the US nuclear umbrella for protection.
MULTIETHNIC THAILAND
Before arriving in Thailand on Wednesday, the pope praised the “multiethnic nation” which “has worked to promote harmony and peaceful coexistence, not only among its habitants but throughout Southeast Asia.”
In a video message to the Thai people, the pope said he hoped to “strengthen ties of friendship” with Buddhists.
Since Francis’ election six years ago, he has made two trips to Asia, visiting the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2014, followed by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017.
On Thursday in Bangkok, the pontiff is to pay a visit to supreme patriarch Somdej Phra Maha Muneewong at a Buddhist temple.

News Credit : https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/nuclear-weapons-pope-francis-to-visit.html

Actress Kemi Afolabi furious at a man who bashed her car at Magodo phase 2, Lagos

https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/actress-kemi-afolabi-furious-at-man-who.html

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BQ6ByHLkN/

The US Flag. California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States.


Four people were shot dead and six others wounded while watching a football game in the backyard of a central California home on Sunday, police said.

Police were called to the scene after at least one person opened fire into a crowd of about 35 people gathered outside the house in Fresno, around 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

“Three people died on scene,” Fresno deputy police chief Michael Reed told reporters, adding that a fourth was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and succumbed to his injuries there.

All four of the dead and the six treated for “non life-threatening” gunshot wounds were men aged between 25 and 35, Reed said.

“Our heart goes out to the families of the victims… this is senseless violence, he added.

“We are doing everything we can to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Reed said it was unclear how many perpetrators had been involved in the shooting and that there was “no indication” the incident was gang-related.

Police spokesman Bill Dooley said officers were looking for surveillance footage and witnesses to track the suspects.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/four-shot-dead-in-california-while.html

The Independent National Electoral Commission says 30 of its staff are missing after the election in Kogi State.

The ad hoc staff were posted to Olamaboro Local Government Area.

They were declared missing around 1 am on Sunday during the final collation of results in the local government.

The missing INEC staff include presiding officers (POs) and assistant presiding officers (APOs) of polling units in Imane ward 1 and 2 of Olamaboro LGA of Kogi State.

Many of the staff used by INEC were corps members of the National Youth Service Corps.

Announcing the development, the LGA election officer in charge of collation and announcement of results, Garba Mahmood, said the staff were reported missing after voting ended at 2 pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, INEC has released the names of the missing persons.

Full List Of Missing INEC Of Staff

Olamaboro III
Unit 002- (1) Oladipo Victor

(2) Achimi Samson P-08136653704

(3) Umar Faruk Sani-08032745663

(4) Adama Ibrahim

Unit 006- (1) Abayomi Roseline E.

(2) Onuche Abel E

(3) Onojah Emmanuel

(4) Umoru Mariam-

Unit 013- (1) Effiong Akwaowo-Ukpe

(2) Mattew Agada

(3) Samuel Ibrahim

(4) Sado Bello

Imane 1
Unit 006- (1) Nzeofia Kingsley- Presiding Officer (PO)

(2) Hassan Musa- Assistant Presiding Officer 1 (APO 1)

(3) Ekele Michael – Assistant Presiding Officer 2(APO 2)

(4) Ahmed Mattew – Assistant Presiding Officer 3(APO 3 )

Unit 012 -(1) Ovioawho Omonefe B.- Presiding Officer (PO)

(2) Baba Eric -Assistant Presiding Officer 1 (APO 1)

(3) Gabriel Samuel Assistant Presiding Officer 2 (APO 2)

Unit 015-(1) Nwafor Emmanuel- Presiding Officer (PO)

(2) Agada Ochegeugwa- Assistant Presiding Officer 1(APO 1)

(3) Ojih Martina- Assistant Presiding Officer 2(APO 2)

Unit 016 (1) Ezugwu Stanley- Presiding Officer (PO)

(2) Mohammed Abdullahi- Assistant Presiding Officer 1(APO 1)

(3) Mohammed Ibrahim- Assistant Presiding Officer 2(APO 2)

(4) Adejoh Joy- Assistant Presiding Officer 3(APO 3)

Unit 022 (1) Adebisi Comfort – Presiding Officer (PO)

(2) Yusuf Sofiat- Assistant Presiding Officer 1(APO 1)

(3) Onoja Alice- Assistant Presiding Officer 2(APO 2)

(4) Onuche Vincent- Assistant Presiding Officer 3(APO 3)
Culled from Premium Times.

News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/kogi-elections-30-staff-missing-after.html

Actress Etinosa receives a Benz gift after replying a DM. [Photos]

More photos: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/actress-etinosa-receives-benz-gift.html

An encounter with Taiwo Ajai-Lycett offers a pilgrimage into her rousing present and the bleakness that marred her past. The details are grisly: she was a teen mom at 15, a dropout at 16, widowed at 52, and raped at 65. But she learned to deal with grief by simply ‘moving on.’ Such wisdom of the ancients defines the trained entrepreneur, life coach, actress and Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), whose losses and triumphs inspire her fans, at home and abroad, to trust in the soul of a woman who had been through the furnace and the fire, and emerged fortified, writes OLATUNJI OLOLADE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR.

Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, 79, is a “student of the universe.” She is used to its workings and gifts of misery. Sitting under a canopy in her Ilupeju home, Lagos, on a Wednesday evening, fragments of pain shimmered in her eyes like broken glass. It’s hurtful shards whiffed through her yarn and stabbed at the air with a shattering peal.

The effect was harrowing; her nostalgic drift unmasked pain’s route across her face and curvaceous frame.

“I have been through the fire, I have been through the furnace, I emerged fortified,” she said, reiterating her knowledge of the universe. “I have learnt a lot from the universe. Where you have to go, you would go. The universe pushes you in the direction of your thoughts. It helps you actualise what you are thinking in the inner recesses of your mind,” she said.

So far, the universe has seen her through spells of betrayal and misery as a starry-eyed girl and teenage mother.

“I was 15 years old when I had a child. I became a teenage mother. By 16, I was on my own,” she said.

That had to be scary. It was. But despite her situation, she was passionate about learning. “I knew I was going to get a good education. I was going to be a lawyer. But I knew that I was on my own. My family disowned me. They thought I gave them a bad name because I got pregnant. It was a big deal back then,” she recalled.

Was she forgiven?

“It’s complicated. It’s not that they forgave me, I didn’t go away,” she whispered and added that, “This feisty spirit of mine saw me through. My father wanted me to abort the pregnancy at first. But my mother thought I was a young girl. I was a baby. So, she had to spirit me away. I had the baby somewhere in Yaba. But after delivery, my father got attached to the baby. The child became his playmate.”

Becoming a teen mom inflicted upon her, the challenges of stigmatisation and a cold shoulder from her family.

She said, “I was ignored. I went to Methodist Girls High School from where I had to drop out. I know where my problem stemmed from; I always dealt with people older than me. Many were intrigued by my ability to engage them in conversation. So, I was exploited. That is why I am always protective of the girl-child today.”

According to the actress, most of her critics didn’t know what she was going through and how it all happened. “They felt I was a bad girl, a promiscuous girl. And such notions about me helped me develop a high sense of discipline and morality.

“Bad things happen but if you learn from them, they would shape your life positively.

I studied the nature of sex. The nature of love. I don’t go into relationships for sex because love is paramount to me. There is nothing more riveting than sexual love, together. Real genuine sexual love,” she enthused.

Her father insisted that the man who got her pregnant, Adebanji Adefolaju, must marry her and he agreed. But he (Adefolaju) perished in the Lalupon train disaster on September 29, 1957. He was among the 66 people who died out of 370 travellers in the rail accident.

“My child, Adebowale Adefolaju, was one-year-old at the period. He is now 63 years old and father of Atinuke, 33, and Bolaji, 26. I have a son and two granddaughters,” she said.

A maid in her father’s house

Ajai-Lycett wanted to go back to school. She needed to find employment too because she was been ignored at home.

She said, “All my siblings were in school but there I was, I was a maid in my father’s house. Everybody just ignored me. It’s a fascinating world. I think its a wonderful life.

“I was the one doing all the cooking and house work. I kept my head down but I enrolled in evening school. There was no way anyone could stop me from learning.”

Subsequently, she secured a job as an assistant teacher at St. Paul’s Catholic School at Costain. “Back then, you couldn’t work as a teacher without a Grade II qualification, I wrote the qualification exam and passed but my father refused to pay. He said he couldn’t foot the bills only for me to go and get pregnant again. Nobody trusted me,” she said.

Then out of the blues, a letter came from the United Kingdom (UK) from a mutual friend she had with the father of her child, who was married and had resettled in the UK.

“We used to meet in his house. Then I got a letter from one David Akinduro in 1959, who told me that he was a friend to that friend of my husband. He said our mutual friend told him what happened to me and that if I didn’t mind, I could come to England and marry him.

“I dissected my situation noting that my father didn’t wish to educate me, and I stood the risk of getting pregnant for someone else, again, which was what everyone expected of me.

“I went to my mother and showed her the letter. She went to my father and showed him the letter and my father refused. I told them I wasn’t going to stay back and serve as a maid in my father’s house. I wrote back to my suitor that I would marry him and live with him in England. So, I processed my passport and travelled to meet him in the UK,” she said.

Life in the UK

At her arrival in the UK, the wedding plans had been perfected. She said, “I arrived at night and the following morning, we were married. I found a job as a waitress in a tea shop and I started going to evening school.”

Ajai-Lycett purchased a typewriter and applied to the British civil service’s post office department. She was employed by the department and sent to a training school, periodically.

Despite her passion for learning, her husband, Akinduro, nursed a different idea about what she should do with her life. She said, “I was working and he was schooling, and I was supporting him, financially. That was the whole idea. A lot of Nigerians were doing it back then. At the completion of their studies and on arrival back in Nigeria, they dumped their wives at the airport. Note that, in the UK, the wives worked to support the husbands and raise the children they had together, so they never had the chance to develop themselves. They were used. Their husbands simply used them and dumped them.

“But in my own case, it was different. We used to have these big fights. He would beat me up and try to prevent me from visiting the library but he failed to stop me. He said he was studying for both of us. That didn’t cut it with me. After work, I developed a routine of going to the library to study.”

Ajai-Lycett supported Akinduro, till he completed his studies and qualified as an Accountant, then she called it quits with the marriage.

“I got my own apartment, packed my bags, dropped him a note and left his home. I was going to focus on my education. The final straw was when he accused me of giving him a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD). He tried to put the blame on me. I felt mortally wounded. There was no love, no compassion, no affection, no loyalty.

“At the period, a cousin of mine, a pathologist had just arrived from Nigeria. He advised me to go to the clinic and check myself, and luckily, I was declared unaffected. He hadn’t infected me with the disease. So, it was clear that the fault was with him. He didn’t respect me enough to apologise to me. So, I sued for divorce and I got it. The court tried to award me alimony from him but I declined. I felt he didn’t owe me anything. I just moved on,” she said.

Life after divorce

Ajai-Lycett’s life took an interesting turn afterwards. She met Thomas Lycett, who was with Shell, a petroleum company.

“I met Lycett long after I divorced my first husband. By the time I met him, I was a big name in acting and business. By that time, I was studying to get a Law degree and my acting career was in full swing.

“I was looking for an apartment and at the one I got, some people living in a big apartment, like a condominium, gave me a welcome party because I was a big name. They were all artistes too. For the party, they invited Lycett, who lived across the road and we got talking. We talked about books. He was a bibliophile like me,” she said.

They kept talking after the party, even while he was away on a trip. She said, “He told me he wasn’t interested in a casual affair. He said he wanted marry me. He was very quiet, very clever, very perceptive, very deep…I was studying to be an Accountant then. I was doing this and that. I was obsessed about studying.”

In London, Ajai-Lycett took courses at Christine Shaw School of Beauty Science in London, where she received a certificate in cosmetology. She also attended Hendon College of Technology, where she obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Studies in 1969.

She made her acting debut three years earlier, in December 1966, in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel, a two-act comedy directed by William Gaskill at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Subsequently, she enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

In 1972, she left her corporate career and joined the Traverse Theatre Group for the Edinburgh Festival. She was later in a string of television and stage shows. In 1973, she was in Amadu Maddy’s play ‘Life Everlasting’ at the Africa Centre, London, and later in the year, she was in Peter Nichols’ ‘The National Health’ during the Festival of British Theatre. In 1976, she played the lead role in Yemi Ajibade’s ‘Parcel Post’ at the Royal Court Theatre. While in England, she also featured in British sitcom, ‘Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.’

She said, “Eventually I married Thomas Lycett in between a stage production. We had a blissful marriage. He died when I was 52-years-old. I remember him everyday. He was the one that told me that I was better off being an actor. He advised me to return to Nigeria, to teach people and share my acting gift.

“I was married to an incredible man for 25 years. In 1971, the idea of coming back home was born. I came to rebuild, because I believe in the industry and how it should be structured. By the time I came back to Nigeria, I had become notable. I was known in the acting world and business,” she said.

Ajai-Lycett has since, featured in several notable Nigerian film and theatre productions including Oloibiri, Tinsel, Dazzling Mirage, The Inheritors and Hear Word, among others.

Despite her acclaim, Ajai-Lycett despises the title of ‘celebrity’ dismissing it as a sobriquet for ‘glamour girls.’

According to her, talent and artistry should be wary of the pitfalls of ego. “First of all, as an actor, you are a member of a team. The team contributes to your success. It doesn’t matter how well you dress your delivery, without the writer, director, producer, camera man, costumier, make-up artiste and even the woman who brings you coffee on set or location, your work as an actor would never be seen as marvellous.

“But when these folk contribute to their success and get to be stars or divas, they think that they have arrived and start to play all kinds of nonsense. They think that they are the cat’s whiskers. They think that they are celebrities,” she said.

Robbed and raped in Egbe

In 2006, Ajai-Lycett was robbed and raped in her house in Egbe. The same compound hosted TAL House, her private school. Then 65, she said, “I ran TAL House, a private school I meant to do good with it but my staff orchestrated an attack on me. I was tied. I was beaten. I was brutalised. My health was ruined. I was blindfolded and raped. The man who raped me complained that he couldn’t gain easy entry into me because I wasn’t wet. I told him ‘widows don’t get wet.’ I kept talking to them and asked them repeatedly, ‘Are you doing this to your mother?’ Angrily, they taped my mouth but I remained fearless and prayed all through the attack.”

After the incident, she shut down the school and left Egbe. “That was a hard decision because TAL House was doing so well. The business was flourishing but I was not in it for money. The police came. They expected me to pursue the case. I knew the masterminds. I could have gotten them incarcerated but I simply moved on.

Explaining the reason for the attack, she said, “They felt I was too strict. They were stealing from me and became openly hostile to me. They tried to take over my business. It felt like I didn’t own the place. When the robbery happened, I shut TAL House.

“Look at me today, I am over it. See, the mind is a beautiful thing. When you hold on to past hurt, you tie yourself down to grief. You get infected with its poison. Rather than wallow in grief and self-pity, I picked myself up and sought medical help, ensuring that they hadn’t infected me with any STD. Then I moved on. That same year, the Olusegun Obasanjo government got me the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) national honour.”

Few years after the sad incident, “One of them came to prostrate before me, pleading for my forgiveness. I told him to seek forgiveness from God. I told him that I had moved on,” she said.

Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thenationonlineng.net/i-was-a-mother-at-15-a-dropout-at-16-widowed-at-52-raped-at-65/amp/

Obaseki, Ero count gains of NAFEST, as Edo relishes economic boost from cultural

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the state recorded a boost in economic activities during the last National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST), noting that residents in the state were exposed to a new vista of opportunities at the cultural fiesta.

The governor said the state recorded influx of visitors from 30 states in Nigeria, who came to relish the cultural assets of the state, which provided an opportunity for the Edo and its citizens to flaunt their robust, extensive and deep-rooted heritage to other Nigerians.

He explained that the state government was committed to hosting a successful culture fiesta through various reforms, including the opening of the business space for private investors, rapid urban renewal with the construction and reconstruction of roads across the state and provision of adequate security to ensure a hitch-free event.

According to him, “We hosted a successful NAFEST because we had laid the groundwork for a lot of economic activities to take place. For instance, before the festival, Aero Contractors, a private airline commenced operations to the Benin Airport on the back of the reforms we initiated to provide facilities for night landing at the airport and also enhance visibility during bad weather. This is one among a longlist of things we have done to attract investors to the state.”

Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Osaze Osewengie-Ero said that the boost in economic activities led to trading which preliminary report show amounted to almost N3 billion.

According to him, “We hosted contingents from 30 states in Nigeria as well as visitors from different parts of the world during the event. Preliminary reports showed that at least 300,000 people were at the event and they are estimated to have spent an average of N10,000 each during the event. This shows that not less than N3billion worth of trade and commerce took place during the fiesta. This is one of the ways we are promoting trade and tourism in the state and we are glad to have recorded such a milestone.”

Edo State News Source: https://www.iszzyblog.com/2019/11/obaseki-ero-count-gains-of-nafest-as.html

The Senate on Thursday swore-in Biodun Olujimi as the Senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District at the National Assembly.

Olujimi, according to a statement signed on Thursday by Ezrel Tabiowo, spokesperson to the Senate President, was sworn-in by the upper chamber, following an oath administered by the Clerk of Senate, Nelson Ayewoh, at exactly 10:40 immediately after the commencement of plenary.

The lawmaker, who was the Minority Leader in the Eighth Senate, was last week declared winner of the 2019 Senatorial election by the Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal.

The Court which nullified the election of Spokesman of the Senate, Dayo Adeyeye, upheld the tribunal judgment which declared Olujimi and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as winner at the 2019 National Assembly elections to represent Ekiti South.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, after the lawmaker was sworn-in, called for unity among all members of the upper chamber.

He added that Olujimi’s victory brings the number of Female Senators to eight in the upper chamber.

“Let me congratulate the Minority leader in the eighth Senate. With this, we now have eight very solid female Senators.

“We pray that this addition will bring additional productivity and stability to the Senate.

“I call for unity and of course, we should remain focus and do those things that will make our country great”, Lawan said.

SOURCE: https://www.preshwap.xyz/2019/11/breaking-senate-swears-in-olujimi-after.html