About Nigeria

A Ugandan couple from Soroti -walked half a kilometer to church for their wedding. According to multiple online reports, the groom and his bride did this due to their low budget -as they were joined by their family and friends for the event. Now the couple are trending online after their photos went viral -with many online users hailing them.

The immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark in his Christmas message to Nigerians has canvassed for religious tolerance between and among different faithful in the country. According to him, religious tolerance is the only antidote to the occasional conflicts. He urged religious leaders across board to preach the message of peace, unity and good neighbourliness to make the society a better and safer place for all. He counselled Christian faithful to imbibe the teaching of Jesus Christ, chief of which is sacrifice, love, prayer and forgiveness no matter the odds. On the current economic recession, he encouraged Nigerians to maintain the spirit of “I can do it” and never give up even in the face of the daunting economic recession. He maintained that the recession may be a blessing in disguise as it could task the ingenuity and creativity to bring out the best in us to address our challenges headlong”. Mark however tasked the present administration to provide the road

I don't know if I should say this is the deadliest Christmas period I've witnessed...too many deaths. Just hours to the Yuletide, a family of seven have been reportedly killed in a ghastly motor accident at Taraku within Gwer local government area of Benue state. An eyewitness said that the victims were being driven in their Toyota car by their father, identified as Mr. Vangeryina Agbose when the accident occurred. He said, “the occupants of the ill fated vehicle were said to be coming from a family farm when the accident occurred.” He told Vanguard that, “the car which had the man, his wife and five children including a one year old baby were driving from the Taraku Oil Mill road and on reaching the T-Junction he suddenly negotiated into the major highway probably without taking notice of the oncoming Toyota Picnic. “The entire family members were instantly crushed to death, even their mother and the one year old baby who survived the tragedy later died before getting t

Dear Compatriots, I heartily rejoice with all Nigerians, particularly our Christian brothers and sisters, on this year's celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. As we celebrate this year’s Christmas, I believe that it is very appropriate for us to reflect on the love of God aptly espoused in the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ. During his earthly sojourn, Jesus Christ repeatedly reminded his disciples and followers of peace that comes in the midst of trials and tribulations on earth. There is no better time than now in our nation’s history to pray for divine guidance to get over our current challenges. We can have peace in Nigeria if we all learn to tolerate and appreciate one another, respect constituted authority; and be our brothers’ keepers in word and deed. During this period, we should remember to offer special prayers to God for all our heroic citizens who paid the supreme price to restore peace and security in the North East and other flash points in the

Dolores Winstead, 83, and husband Trent Winstead, 88, from Tennessee died in Nashville's Saint Thomas West Hospital - five weeks short of their 64th wedding anniversary. Only days earlier Dolores had been completely healthy when Trent was admitted over his failing kidneys. They had been by each other's side for six decades. With their children Eddie and Sheryl, she watched over him as his condition worsened and he was moved to intensive care. Then on December 7 Dolores suddenly began to complain of a headache and was taken ill. It later transpired she had suffered a severe brain aneurysm - and needed to be connected to a ventilator as - in tandem with her husband - her condition began to deteriorate. Hospital staff worked to get them placed in the same room - and the couple were pictured holding hands next to each other. Dolores died first, with Trent blowing her a kiss when he was told she had passed before then dying himself a few hours later. Sheryl told the Washi

As we reported over the weekend, after her Instagram was hacked, Blac Chyna and Dream Kardashian packed their bags and abandoned Rob Kardashian a week before the holidays. There are even reports the two had a physical altercation days prior. Fast forward to Friday, it looks like the controversial couple have patched things up and are willing to give their relationship one more chance. The Arthur George sock designer shared that Snapchat photo of him lovingly embracing his fiancee Blac Chyna the video vixen. How cute! Additionally, Chyna shared pics and videos of gifts given to them from Kris Jenner and a Kardashian sister:

Ado-Ekiti-The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has admonished state governors in the country to emulate their Ekiti State counterpart, Mr Ayodele Fayose, in standing up for and protecting the interest of their people. He stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday at the palace of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe Aladesanmi 111. The renowned cleric, visited the monarch before attending a crusade at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, described Governor Fayose as a great defender of his people and their cause. Adeboye also commended Fayose for taking great risks to defend and protect the interests of his people. ”Your Excellency, we thank God for your life, courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk so that your people can be protected and I know you know what I am talking about. You can be sure that we are praying for you and you will succeed. I hope other governors will stand for their people like you and defend their people and sa

Ghana’s Black Queens emulate Super Falcons protest for bonuses Ghana’s Black Queens say they will march on the presidency if their outstanding bonuses are not settled by close of day on Friday as promised by the Minister of Youth and Sports. The Queens staged a Super Falcons -like public protest on Thursday to scale up the pressure on the ministry on what they say are bonuses amounting up to $25,000. Twenty-one members of the team that reached the semi-final of the Africa Women Championship gathered at the offices of the Ghana Football Association before marching on parliament, where they were denied access. Carrying placards with inscriptions like ‘Honour Your Heroines’, ‘Don’t Discriminate’ and ‘Pay Us Our Money’, they then converged at the offices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for an audience with sector minister Nii Lantei Vanderpujye. The women stated the minister has promised to settle all the outstanding bonuses by Friday. “They say they would pay us before the ho

There are still a number of countries in this world where Christians are forbidden from celebrating the day associated with the birth of Jesus. Check them out below: 1. England Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and oversaw the execution of King Charles I during the English Civil War, but for many the fiery Puritan leader is better known for banning mince pies. Christmas and the celebration of saints' days was discouraged – if not prohibited – in England between 1647 and 1660 as the country was ruled by a puritanical movement that considered the feast day 'giving liberty to carnal and sensual delights'. They mandated that shops had to remain open and cracked down on celebrations, leading to violent clashes on the streets of London and other cities. Life returned to normal after Cromwell's death in 1658 and the Restoration two years later. 2. Brunei Brunei banned public celebrations of Christmas and imposed fines and jail terms for those caught celebrating

In this report, KUNLE FALAYI sheds light on the plight of Nigerians who are arrested in Libya after paying a lot of money to make the treacherous desert-to-Mediterranean journey to Europe but end up dying or wishing they are dead in one of Libya’s detention facilities Every day for the last eight months, when 31-year-old Osas Ekhaguere woke up in the dingy cell he shared with about 125 other inmates, mostly Nigerians, he believed it was going to be his last. In the world in which the former computer operator lived in as a prisoner in one of the detention facilities for migrants in Tripoli, Libya, hope is a luxury he could not afford. “How do you begin to have hope when you see death almost on a daily basis? Surely, it was going to be your turn sometime. I believed I would die a nobody, not even buried in an unmarked grave but thrown in the desert like all my friends, who died in that prison,” Ekhaguere said. Full of hopes of a golden life in Europe, a place he knew nothing about

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has threatened that the law makers elected on the platform of its party will match into the Rivers State House of Assembly to participate in the deliberations of the House. Disclosing this to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the Senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District, said the option has become expedient following the insistence of Gov. Nyesom Wike that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly would not swear them in. “If the Speaker will not swear them in, they will match into the House of Assembly and take their place because they have been returned”. Senator Abe condemned the decision of the governor of Rivers State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to swear in the duly elected APC members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, describing it as rascality and impunity. “This kind of rascality and impunity that we are experiencing in Rivers State will not be allowed and t

Nigerian Senator Peter Nwaoboshi who traveled from Nigeria to meet with ex-convict former governor of Delta State James Ibori made startling revelations about the political power Mr. Ibori wielded behind bars while a 13-year prison term convicted of money laundering in the UK. Apparently, inebriated Mr. Nwaoboshi bragged about how Ibori made him Senator, made his daughter a state house of assembly member, annointed two governors in the state and subsequently revealed how he was giving political assistance to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Mr. Nwaoboshi spoke for several minutes bragging about how Ibori introduced him to flying first class before breaking into Christian songs at Mr. Ibori's half-way home apartment in London after his release from the Huntcombe medium security prison in London today. Mr. Ibori was released from prison following an order of a Royal Majesty Court. Mr. Ibori will remain in the UK until his deportation to Nigeria is fully

Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, has denied James Ibori's alleged role in his election in the house. Reacting to the claim of Peter Nwabaoshi, a senator, that the former governor influenced his emergence, Dogara said he does not have any personal relationship with Ibori; “Our attention has been drawn to statement credited to Senator Peter Nwabaoshi, who was quoted as saying that former Delta state governor James Ibori supported the emergence of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the house of representatives,” the statement read. “We have watched the video clip and noticed that there is no where the distinguish senator mentioned Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara by name. “However, reports published in both online and print media insinuated that senator Peter Nwabaoshi referred to Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara. “For the records, we want to state that the Rt. Hon. Speaker was elected by the votes of members of the house of representatives. There may well be

Shehu Barau Ningi, Bauchi state Commissioner of Budget and planning has resigned his position. His resignation is coming a few days after Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar presented the 2017 budget to the state House of Assembly. Addressing journalist over his decision to resign his appointment, Ningi alleged that he was not given an enabling environment to function effectively as commissioner. He further alleged that there is also an unjustified deliberate marginalisation of himself and his supporters who had contributed to the governor’s victory at the polls that brought him to power.

Despite the ongoing recession and his inability to pay state workers, Governor Rochas Okorocha has presented 25 Prado Jeeps and 2 Land cruisers to the Speaker and members of the Imo State House of Assembly.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has given embattled EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu 48 hours to respond to the DSS allegations that got him rejected by the Senate. According to The Nation, the letter asking Magu to respond to the allegation, dated December 19 2016 was delivered to him last Tuesday. Magu was directed to respond to the allegations in order to give him “fair hearing” before President Muhammadu Buhari decides on the next step. The DSS had alleged that Magu’s accommodation in Abuja was paid for by a “corrupt businessman” and that he flew first class to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj, contrary to federal government’s directive to its officials not to travel in the elite cabin.

Grace Oghene Edegware, a graduate of Accountancy from Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, who was deployed by NYSC to Lagos State has been kidnapped. PUNCH reports that she was kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen alongside 2 other women in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. They were said to be travelling on God is Good Motors on Wednesday when they were robbed at gun point and thereafter marched into the bush. The kidnappers have demanded N5m ransom from family of the two other girls kidnapped alongside Grace and are demanding N10m from the family of Grace. The Head of Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FCT Police Command), Yemi Ola, confirmed the kidnap, saying his office has received a report of the case.

Some political bigwigs in Nigeria, including senators, governors and political associates of the just-released-from-prison former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, might be rooting for the return of the ex-convict to political office if feelers from a serving senator are anything to go by. In a video that had gone viral on the social media, the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, who was a political adviser to the former governor was seen discussing with Ibori and some of his associates, talking about the political prowess of the man who made him a senator and how he wielded so much influence even while he was behind bars. Apparently referring to the political future of Ibori without being specific, Nwaoboshi said: “Why we have come today, my brother, my leader, is that, first, we are proud of you and we thank God for sparing your life. “And we want to open this dream, we are waiting for you, and Nigerian

The naira is seen depreciating further and may hit the 500 mark to the United States dollar at the parallel market next week as the greenback scarcity persists and the Central Bank of Nigeria cuts supply to foreign exchange operators. The local currency was trading around N495 to the dollar on the black market on Thursday, compared to 485 per dollar last week due to dollar shortages, traders said. The naira was quoted at 310.5 to the dollar on the official interbank window on Thursday by commercial lenders. “There is an acute shortage of dollars in the market because of supply being slashed by half to Bureau de Change operators from international money transfer agents, pushing the naira down,” one trader said. The BDC operators are now getting $8,000 each per week from Travelex against the usual $15,000 each per week. The naira had tumbled against the dollar to 490 on Monday from 487 last Friday, as acute shortage of the greenback continued to batter the economy and the countr

Former Delta State Governor, James Ibori may have spent some time in a UK Prison but that did nothing to diminish his political strength. According to Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Ibori pulled off major political moves from prison. Some of the things Ibori did from prison include: 1. Supporting a Senate President 2. Installing the speaker of the house of representatives 3. Making his daughter a lawmaker 4. He made Senators 5. Ibori made a governor

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh will be forcefully removed by a Senegal led military intervention if he refuses to leave office after his tenure expires on January 19,2017. BBC reports that "Stand-by forces" are on alert and would be deployed "to restore the people's wish" if mediators, led by Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, failed to persuade Mr Jammeh to give up power, said Marcel Alain de Souza, the chairman of the Ecowas commission. Jammeh initially conceded victory to property developer Adama Barrow in the 1 December election, but he later called for the election to be annulled, alleging that it was marred by irregularities.

The Nigeria Police force has released a statement concerning the training program for the successful 2016 recruits. TRAINING PROGRAMME OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES OF THE 2016 RECRUITMENT EXERCISE INTO THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni has approved beginning from Saturday December 31, 2016 the training programmed for various cadres of applicants who were adjudged successful at the recently concluded 2016 recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Police Force at designated Training Schools nationwide. 2. The recruitment exercise was jointly conducted by the Police Service Commission (PSC), the Federal Character Commission (FCC) and the Nigeria Police Force in compliance with presidential directives. 3. Sixteen (16) Police Training Institutions across the country have been set aside for the training exercise. Cadet Assistant Superintendents of Police are to report at the Police Staff College Jos, while Cadet Inspectors will train at t

A Libyan plane carrying 118 passengers has been hijacked. Aljazeera reports that the plane was hijacked and diverted to Malta. One of the hijackers told the crew he was "pro-Gaddafi" and he was willing to let all 111 passengers leave the Airbus A320, but not its seven crew, if his demands were met, the Times of Malta reported. After the hijacked plane landed at the Malta International Airport, the hijackers let women and children disembark.m

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has donned his prophet garbs again. This time, Prophet Fayose has 22 prophecies for Nigerians for 2017. They are: 1. 2017 will be a defining year for Nigeria as there will be major revolution and uprising against the Federal Government because of economic hardship. 2. More judges perceived not to be doing the bidding of the Federal Government will be arrested and humiliated. 3. Efforts will be made to prevent Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen from being made the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). 4. Dollar will go as high as N600 to $1. 5. APC-led Federal Government will still not have solution to the economic problems of the country as the economy will move from recession to depression. 6. About four ministers will be removed. 7. There will be more pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele. 8. Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) will absolve Senate President Bukola Sa

Russian President Vladimir Putin, again took out time to hail US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday. At his annual end-of-year press conference, the confident Kremlin strongman praised Trump for tapping into the public mood in the US to claim his surprise win in November; AFP reports. "He went to the end, though nobody believed that he would win except us," Putin said

Ibadan – As the Governor Abiola Ajimobi led administration in Oyo State begins distribution of sack letters to some 662 workers for alleged forgery of results of their West African School Certificates, palpable fear has enveloped the entire public and civil service in the state with the affected workers describing the letters as bad Christmas gifts. The most affected are workers from the Polytechnic, Ibadan, and its satellite campus at Saki, The Polytechnic, Eruwa, and other tertiary institutions under the state government. Also some civil servants in the Ministries of Education; Information and Culture; Agriculture and Natural Resources; Lands, Science and Technology, Finance, Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Health and Water Resources are not at peace knowing that the distribution of the letters is still on-going and the declaration by the government that names of other 2,021 workers have been expunged from payroll. Already, the

Tragedy hit the Umuachi-Ogo community of Ndokwa-East Local Government Area, Delta State, on Wednesday, when the traditional ruler of the community, HRM Onotuku Joseph Onyemali, committed suicide. Our correspondent gathered that the monarch was found dead after consuming a substance suspected to be poisonous after an allegation of witchcraft was levelled against him by some of his subjects. Sources told our correspondent on Thursday that the corpse of the monarch was discovered at 8am on Wednesday. The sources said investigation revealed that the late traditional was found lifeless in his palace after taking some herbicide, whose container was found near his body. A source told our correspondent, “While others were celebrating the release of ex-governor James Ibori, it was all tears here as our monarch was found dead in his room in a case we suspect is a suicide. The monarch was said to have been accused of witchcraft by subjects. “It was not clear who those subjects are but the

Just three days to Christmas celebration, workers in Ondo State, Thursday forcefully dragged the Account-General (AG), Mr. Felix Ajibokun to bank to begin the process of payment of workers’ salaries. The aggrieved workers, who earlier picketed the A-G office at Alagbaka Akure, the state capital, were being owed six months salaries. They were led by their Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Chairman, Mr. Sunday Adeleye and the State Chairman, Mrs. Bosede Daramola and other union leaders. They are begging the government for one month salary to enable them celebrate the Christmas. The state governor, Olusegun Mimiko was said to have directed the AG to pay the workers. But, Ajibokun, who is expected to retire from service tomorrow, had allegedly refused to commence the payment. Adeleye, while speaking with reporters, said the union leaders recently met Governor Olusegun Mimiko and they both resolved that the workers should be paid a month for them to have money to celebrate the Christ

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday approved additional N71.8 billion to augment shortfall in the 2016 budgetary allocation for payment of delayed workers salaries, Daily Trust gathered. This will enable the government pay thousands of workers who are owed November and December salaries. The amount is part of the N213 billion virement assented to by Buhari yesterday, Daily Trust has learnt. Sources had initially told Daily Trust that the president had withheld assent because the National Assembly increased the budget by N33billion, but he was persuaded to sign the virement to enable some agencies pay workers salaries before Christmas. The Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun had explained inability of some government agencies to pay November salaries saying the shortfall is to be augmented through the virement. She told State House reporters after cabinet meeting on Wednesday that “What we did in the virement we sent to the National Assembly, which the National Assembly approved, w

‘Pana’ singer Tekno has been disqualified from this year’s headies awards billed to hold today. His disqualification came as a result of his failure to turn up for photo-sessions, interviews and other activities in the run-up to the awards ceremony proper. The singer who was nominated in the ‘next rated’ category had criticised the awards organisers when the nominations were released saying “Next rated after how many years! Let’s be honest pls” in an instagram post. His disqualification leaves Aramide, Humblesmith, Mr Eazi and Ycee as contenders in that category. The “next rated” was the only category Tekno was nominated for.

Three musical demigods, Dj Neptune , Falz Dah Bhad Guy and YCee , collabo on a new tune titled “ Bumpa “. Both audio and visuals are to drop sometime in January next year although BN Music have decided to release B-T-S (Behind The Scene) shots to the Adasa Cookey directed video, which is being shot in Lagos. See photos below;