Finally, Jonathan Speaks On Niger Delta Militancy

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday counselled aggrieved Niger Delta youths to embrace peace, saying it was the only means to usher in the needed development in the region.

Jonathan spoke when he visited the troubled Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, the hotbed of renewed militants’ activities in the Niger Delta.

The ex-President, whose visit was greeted with jubilation and excitement, also assured Nigerians that the problems facing the country, especially the dwindling economy, would soon be a thing of the past.

Jonathan was in Oporoza the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu kingdom for the official presentation of the staff of office to the Pere of Gbaramatu, His Royal Majesty, Oboro Gbaraun II.

The immediate past President appealed to all stakeholders in the region to embrace peace, noting that there could never be development in an atmosphere of crisis. Jonathan said, “At this period, there are challenges in the country; there are challenges in the Niger Delta; there are challenges in the kingdom, but all these are temporary.

Surely, the society will get over it. I believe Nigeria is still a great country and will continue to move on. The kingdom will succeed, the Niger Delta will succeed and Nigeria will succeed.

“The governor has given his charge, I don’t want to add more, but I always say there cannot be development without peace and the duty of every traditional ruler is to ensure that there is peace in his kingdom and you should be able to mobilise your sons and daughters for the social and economic development of the people and especially for Gbaramatu kingdom, where a lot of oil industry activities are going on, where you have people from all over the world coming to do one thing or the other.”

Also, the state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, appealed for peace, lamenting that the continued destruction of pipelines had affected revenue generation in the country.

The governor, while presenting the staff of office to the 26th Gbaramatu monarch, said “I’m happy the Ijaw could put themselves together for an occasion like this. I look forward to a greater community of love, peace and development.

“It’s time to heal the wounds for the state to move forward. You have reasons to feel bad, but it’s also possible to carry out agitations through dialogue and non-violent manner. It’s time to embrace peace; forgive those who need to be forgiven. We need to partner others to move forward. I’ve come to plead with you to embrace peace. It’s time to think back and reconcile.”

However, in his welcome address, the spokesman for Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, lamented the unnecessary and incessant invasion of Gbaramtu communities by military operatives urging the Federal Government to accord the monarch the needed respect.

Gbenekama said, “Countless men, women, and children have lost their lives to these invasions. As chief security officer of the state, we plead with you to help reduce the presence of the military and stop the raids forthwith. We don’t deserve to die because oil was found in our land.”

Credit:http://dailytimes.ng/jonathan-speaks-niger-delta-militancy/

Nicki Minaj Speaks On Police Brutality, Says “Black Women Go Unnoticed”

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Nicki Minaj recently covered Marie Claire’s October/November 2016 edition where she also spoke on police brutality as well as the double-standard women receive in the media.

Nicki says that when all is said and done, the black women are the ones who go unnoticed the most.

“We tend to not remember the black women who are mourning these men and who are thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what am I going to tell my child now about where his father is,’ and the struggle it is for black women to then move on after they lose their husband or their boyfriend. The strong women in these inner cities often go unnoticed … no one really ever puts a hand out to them,” she says.

Nicki makes a really good point!

Let’s talk about black women’s double-standard issue in the media! We know y’all caught on to the pattern of the public praising the Kim K’s of the game when they appear on Instagram, magazine spreads, or anywhere else for that matter, almost naked. Have y’all also caught on to what happens when the Nicki Minaj’s of the game try the same thing? A contradiction of opinion is what tends to happen and Nicki is not here for it!

“When Kim Kardashian’s naked picture came out, [Sharon Osbourne] praised it, and my fans attacked her for being such a hypocrite,” noted the 33-year-old rapper. “So it wasn’t trashy and raunchy when a white woman did it, but it was when a black woman did it? It’s quite pathetic and sad, but that is my reality, and I’ve gotten accustomed to just shutting it down.”

Nicki Minaj Speaks On Police Brutality: “Black Women Go Unnoticed”

Trump Regrets Offending People With How He Speaks

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Donald Trump made a rare act of contrition Thursday, saying he regretted offending people with his harsh way of speaking.

The Republican nominee made the gesture at his first rally since ordering a shakeup in his campaign to save his struggling White House bid.

“Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing,” Trump told a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it,” he said, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd. “I do regret it. Particularly, where it may have caused personal pain.”

He added: “Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues, but one thing, I can promise you this, I will always tell you the truth.”

The New York billionaire’s multiple self-inflicted wounds of late have left him trailing in virtually every battleground state. One of the biggest missteps was clashing repeatedly with the parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq.

Critics accused him last week of inciting violence against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in a remark about the right to bear arms, and media reports have swirled about a campaign in crisis and a candidate apparently incapable of reeling in crass remarks.

http://guardian.ng/news/trump-regrets-offending-people-with-how-he-speaks/

Presidency Responds To Gov. Fayose’s Claim On Aisha Buhari

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Staff Reporter

The Presidency has dismissed as laughable the desperate attempt by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State to link President Buhari’s wife, Aisha, to US Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal for which the American lawmaker was convicted in 2009.

Reacting to Mr. Fayose’s allegations in a press statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said ordinarily the presidency would have ignored Fayose because he was a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.”

Mr. Garba explained however that the presidency chose to respond on this occasion for the sake of innocent Nigerians who might be misled by Mr. Fayose’s shameless and blatant distortion of facts.

He said ignoring Mr. Fayose carried the risk of giving traction and credibility to outright and brazen falsehoods inconsistent with the status of anybody that calls himself a Governor or leader.

According to Mr. Shehu, Aisha had no direct, indirect or the remotest connection with William Jefferson’s corruption scandal in the United States.

He challenged Mr. Fayose to tell Nigerians if the so-called Aisha whose pictures he proudly, but ignorantly shared, was the same Aisha married to President Muhammadu Buhari, or if the Aisha of his idle imagination had any relationship by blood or any relationship in whatever form with President Buhari’s wife.

Mr. Shehu also challenged Mr. Fayose to produce evidence from the records of investigation and subsequent trial of Jefferson to prove that Mr. Buhari’s wife Aisha was in anyway linked to that scandal. He explained that common names alone were not enough to automatically link innocent people to crimes or scandals, especially in an era of identity thieves.

He further challenged Mr. Fayose to show proof when and where Aisha Buhari was invited for interrogation in connection with Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal, let alone indicted for a crime locally or abroad.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Blac Chyna Speaks On Tyga/ Molly O’Malia Scandal

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Tyga’s former girlfriend Blac Chyna responded to reports that the rapper allegedly sent “uncomfortable” messages through Instagram to 14-year-old model Molly O’Malia, according to Hollywood Life. Chyna was not surprised by Tyga’s action but was shocked that his girlfriend Kylie Jenner was putting up with it.

“Blac’s completely not surprised that Tyga’s on the loose again, direct messaging young girls on social media. That phone of his will be the death of him. He simply can’t give it up and he’s a sucker for younger women,” a source told Hollywood Life. “Kylie’s a better woman than Blac, because there would be no way in hell Blac would let him get away with this much blatant disrespect.”

Chyna also expressed concern about King Cairo saying that Tyga’s actions may affect their 3-year-old son’s future.

“Tyga’s got some serious issues and Blac hopes he figures his s— out before King becomes a teenager. She jokingly told a few of her friends she doesn’t want her son to compete with his father for women,” the source reportedly said. “The last thing she wants is for Tyga to be at King’s high school graduation, trying to hit on all the women in the graduating class.”

Credit: IBT

Dokpesi’s Lawyer Speaks On EFCC Probe, N2.1bn Arms Money Scandal

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Mike Ozekhome, the lawyer to Raymond Dokpesi, founder of Daar Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, has said he was not aware his client received money from the office of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki.

Mr. Ozekhome also said reports that Mr. Dokpesi was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ,EFCC, over the alleged payment, were not correct because Mr. Dokpesi went on his own to the anti-graft agency after receiving a call from its chairman.

“I am not aware the chief collected any money,” he said, referring to Mr. Dokpesi.

“The chief called me earlier in the afternoon to say he received a call from the chairman of the EFCC wanting to see him and I sent one of my lawyers to accompany him. He was not arrested by any group of operatives,” he said.

Mr. Ozekhome said prior to Tuesday’s invitation of Mr. Dokpesi, there was no formal communication from the EFCC to him.

“What I know is that the EFCC wrote to Daar Holdings asking for a list of directors and whether it has done any business or contract with the office of the NSA in the past and how much was involved.

“We wrote them a reply to say Daar did not do any contract with the office of the NSA and we are ready to give them all the information they need,” he said.

The EFCC has arrested a number of individuals indicted by a presidential investigations committee into arms procurement by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Falae Speaks About His Release, Abductors

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Olu Falae, on Monday, admitted that his family paid ransom to his abductors before he was freed on Thursday.

This is even as former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade, on Monday, described Fale’s abduction as a big insult to the Yoruba nation and called the Federal Government to find a solution to the incessant activities of kidnappers which are gradually using the South west as an abode.

The former SGF made the disclosure when the former Chief of Defence Staff visited him at his Oba Ile residence, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

He said the kidnappers only freed him after they received payment, adding that he trekked for 15 kilometres before he was picked up by the police in Owo, several kilometres from Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Falae, who was kidnapped and released last week, provided shocking details of his ordeal at the hands of his abductors, narrating how he was deprived of food and made to trek several kilometres to freedom.

The Afenifere chieftain said he was kidnapped by six Fulani herdsmen last Monday at his Ilado farm in Akure.

Falae, who spoke to journalists in his home in Akure, said the armed hoodlums threatened to kill him every 30 minutes until they received information that money had been given to them as demanded.

He said: “There were six of them with three or four guns and every half an hour or so they will say, ‘Baba we are going to kill you, if you don’t give us money, we are going to kill you.

“On Wednesday, one of them came and said ‘look we are going to leave here on Thursday morning. Since we cannot leave you here alone, if we don’t get what we want, we are going to kill you.”

“And they said they gave me until 3pm and if at 3pm they don’t get the money, they would execute me. I thank God that at 21 minutes to 3pm, one of them came and said, ‘the money don complete’.”

Giving details on how he was kidnapped, he said: “When the hoodlums came, they slashed me with their cutlasses, they said I was not cooperating. And they dragged me barefooted into the bush.

“After dragging me around for about two hours, they stopped somewhere for us to rest and there they asked me to phone my wife and tell her that I have been kidnapped and taken out of Ondo State by car which was a lie.

“It was about 2.30pm on Monday. We started walking with very few stops until 2am the following morning. I suspect that I must have covered a minimum of 15km. That morning I did not take anything. So all day I had no food, no water and I walked close to 15km. How I survived I cannot really remember. I had no food in my stomach, I had no shoes, and my clothes were torn to shreds.

“At some point, one of them gave me a rubber slippers. We walked until about 2am. At some point they called for an Okada. At about 2.30am, the Okada man took me way down I had no clue where we were going. Finally, they dumped me somewhere, where I was until I was released on Thursday.

“In that place, we all slept on the floor on leaves, unfortunately the rain came in the night and I was thoroughly drenched where I was lying down. One of them brought a small umbrella to cover my head, my head was covered, but the rest of my body was not covered.

“They offered me bread, but I told them I could not eat it. I demanded for a bottle of coke, which was what I drank every day to have the requisite strength to survive and to continue on the march, because they were permanently moving.

“They were changing locations at two to three times a day. I suspect because they did not want the police to succeed in tracing them”.

He noted that although the confirmation of the payment of ransom was made on Wednesday afternoon, he was not allowed to go until Thursday morning.

“So the following morning, they said I should go. One of them took ropes to stitch my buba which was already in tatters, so that it could at least stay on me and I wound not look like a lunatic while leaving that place,” he explained.

“So when I came out of the bush, I was able to find an Okada, a man riding bike, who gave me a lift to Owo.

“The place was about 10km from Owo town. The place was between Owo and Ifon. And I walked most of the distances between my farm to that place and as the farrow flies, that is about 25km that we had to trek.

“As I said miraculously I was not tired, I was not hungry and I was not afraid of them at all. Each time they said, ‘Baba we will kill you,’ I will tell them, ‘no, insha Allah, you will not kill me’.

“I did not break down, but I want to tell you that when I got back home, I became completely exhausted. But I am now 80 per cent fit and I know in the next few days I will be up again.”

Read More: dailytimes

UK Authority Speaks On Saraki’s British Passport

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A scanned copy of a British passport purportedly belonging to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was forged, UK authorities have stated.

The authorities however admitted that Mr. Saraki holds a valid British passport.

The controversial passport, with the name Olybukola Saraki, and number 306077175 was published by a news website as evidence of Mr. Saraki’s dual citizenship and subsequent ineligibility to hold public office in Nigeria.

Though Mr. Saraki confessed that he has a UK passport obtained by virtue of his being born in the country, he said the passport published by the website was not his and may have been forged.

In a statement released by his special assistant on new media, Bamikole Omishore, the senate president said he instructed his attorney to contact the UK Passport Office to investigate what he termed an “act of criminality.”

Mr. Saraki further explained that only those who voluntarily obtained the citizenship of another country are disqualified from holding public office.

“It is important to state that the requirement to forfeit Nigerian nationality/citizenship upon acquisition of the nationality/citizenship of another country does not apply to persons who are Nigerians by birth within the definition of Section 25 of the Constitution. This section also acknowledges and protects the right to hold citizenship by birth of another country.

“Citizens of a country by birth do not need to swear to an oath of allegiance to that country. It is only a citizenship acquired through naturalization and registration that has the requirement to take an oath of allegiance,” he said on Facebook.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Sun DMD Speaks On How Kidnappers Abducted His Wife & Ransom Required

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The deputy managing director (DMD) cum editor-in-chief of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr Steve Nwosu, yesterday told a pathetic story of how armed robbers attacked him and his wife, Toyin, before kidnapping her from their residence in Amuwo-Odofin local government area of Lagos State.

Nwosu explained that the robbers came at about 1.50am and after smashing the glass window and breaking the burglary proof of the house at Bale Street, Bashorun Ogundairo Estate, jumped inside the sitting room.

Nwosu said he heard a loud sound and when he went to the parlour, the robbers pointed guns at him.

The DMD said one of them pointed a pistol while the other pointed an AK-47 rifle at him. He said there was nothing he could do because he could not fight people with guns.

He said they slapped him and kicked him several times before ordering him to lie down on the floor.

He said they were stepping on his body as they demanded for money but unfortunately, he had no money in the house.

Nwosu further said the miscreants held his wife and took her to several rooms in search of cash but when they found out that there was no money in the house, they were enraged and decided to blindfold him.

He said they pushed him outside and later brought him back to the room and abducted his wife, adding that they flogged him with horsewhip.

He said as they were leaving, they asked if he could remember his phone number by heart and he said yes. They told him to call it, after which they said he would hear from them.

He said they took away two phones, laptop and other things but the third phone was covered by some items which prevented them from seeing it.

“The robbers were making funny demand of N100 million. We are still negotiating. They said they will call back , so I’m still waiting for them to call back. The robbers escaped in a speedboat through the waterway”, he said.

Read More: leadership

Ciara Speaks About Her “Future” With Russell Wilson & Being Celibate

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Ciara is candidly sharing about her relationship with boyfriend and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Their relationship attracted attention last month when the NFL star revealed during a Q&A session at San Diego’s Rock Church that he and Ciara, who have been dating for over half a year, were trying to be celibate.

“It was one of those things where it was an organic conversation he was having. I don’t think he expected to talk about it either, but I guess he’s just speaking the reality of what is going on,” Ciara said. “It was at church, and I think the cool thing is just that being able to share our journey with other people like us.”

While they are Christians and believe in God, Ciara said their decision was also driven by the desire to get to know and love each other based on a “solid foundation.”

“It’s a great challenge, I can definitely say that, but it’s awesome because we get to learn, we get to really challenge ourselves,” Ciara said.

Ciara also opened up about her ex-fiancé, rapper Future, amid rumors that he’s upset she’s introduced their 1-year-old son to her new beau.

“I feel like in a sense, it’s a bit of a double standard because at one point in time when we were together, I took care of his kids as well at a very young time in our relationship,” Ciara said

Read More: cbsnews

Oshiomhole’s Daughter Speaks About Her Father’s Wedding

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Winifred Oshiomhole is Governor Oshimhole’s daughter and she’s older than the bride so when she was noticeable absent at her father’s wedding, tongues began to wag. But explaining why she was absent, Winifred said;

“The information for the day was not properly circulated, I would say I was busy taking care of my life, work and my family and I must have missed out on the plan, I cannot say for the rest of my sisters but I am sure we were not properly informed. I wish the couple a great married life and I am sure she will make my father happy..”

Credit: nigeriaentertainment

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