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TOP NEWS IN NIGERIA TODAY(MORNING EDITION)
CHECKOUT OUT TODAY'S TOP NEWS:
=> Supreme Court Upholds Udom And Ikpeazu's Elections -ChannelsTV
In the ruling on Wednesday, the court said Governor Emmanuel won the lawfully cast votes, setting aside the earlier ruling of the two lower courts.
The Court also upheld Governor Emmanuel’s Appeal challenging the cancellation of the results of the elections held in 13 local governments.
In the ruling, the appeal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, challenging the cancellation of election results in some local government areas, was also upheld.
Reasons for verdict are to be given on February 15.
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TOP NEWS IN NIGERIA TODAY(MORNING EDITION)
CHECKOUT OUT TODAY'S TOP NEWS:
=> Supreme Court Upholds Udom And Ikpeazu's Elections -ChannelsTV
In the ruling on Wednesday, the court said Governor Emmanuel won the lawfully cast votes, setting aside the earlier ruling of the two lower courts.
The Court also upheld Governor Emmanuel’s Appeal challenging the cancellation of the results of the elections held in 13 local governments.
In the ruling, the appeal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, challenging the cancellation of election results in some local government areas, was also upheld.
Reasons for verdict are to be given on February 15.
=> FG Recovers $14million From Jide Omokore's Firm - Premium Times
Nigerian govt. recovers over $14million in unpaid oil royalty from Jide Omokore’s firm
February 3, 2016 Nicholas Ibekwe
The Nigerian government has succeeded in compelling the Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, Jide Omokore to cough out over $14m, being crude oil royalty which his company failed to remit to the federal treasury, administration insiders have told PREMIUM TIMES.
High ranking federal officials familiar with the development told this newspaper that the funds were supposed to have been paid between 2011 and 2012 by Atlantic Energy which was, in controversial circumstances, awarded oil assets by the Goodluck Jonathan government shortly after it was incorporated in 2010.
Our sources said the money was finally paid into the Federal Government’s account with JP Morgan Chase on January 29, after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission waded into the matter of recovering taxes due to the Federal Government.
“The investigation of tax defaulters in the dollar-soaked oil industry is continuing,” a source at the EFCC said Wednesday. “Those who failed to willingly pay up stand the risk of arrest and prosecution for tax fraud.”
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=> Crude Oil Price Rise After Russia Agrees To OPEC Talk-PMnews
Crude oil rose on Wednesday, paring earlier losses, after fresh comments from Russia about its openness to talk with OPEC over output cuts helped revive hope of higher prices.SOURCE
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members to meet, “then we will meet”.
This helped push the price of oil, which had been set for a third day of declines after data on Tuesday showed another big build in United States inventories, off the day’s lows.
Brent for April delivery rose 40 cents to $33.12 a barrel, pulling away from a session low of $32.30.
US crude futures rose 46 cents to $30.34, off a session low of $29.40.
“Is there going to be a meeting between Russia and OPEC? That is a supportive factor in this rally that we’ve seen in the last one hour,” PVM Oil Associates analyst, Tamas Varga said.
» Court Orders Arrest Of Ex-Ekiti PDP Secretary Aluko For Perjury- Ekiti247
A Chief Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital has ordered the State Commissioner of Police to arrest of former State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Temitope Aluko over alleged perjury.
Chief Magistrate Adesoji Adegboye gave this order today, upon a Motion Ex-parte number MAD/10cm/2016, filed by the Ekiti State Government against Mr Aluko and the State Commissioner of Police, pursuant to Section 117 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C16, law of Ekiti State 2012, Section 79 of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2014 and Section 23 (D) of the Magistrates’ Courts Law 2014.
In the Motion, which was filed and moved by the State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr Gbemiga Adaramola, an order of the court was sought to issue warrant of arrest against Mr Aluko to be executed by the State Commissioner of Police for the purpose of committing him (Aluko) for trial for the offence of perjury. Chief Magistrate Adegboye said the order was granted as a means for the first defendant (Aluko) to attend the court for defence.
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=>Corruption Will Fight Buhari; APC Will Break; Mass Sack In NNPC, Banks – Primate - Dailypost
Primate Elijah Ayodele, Founder and Spiritual Head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has given more predictions for 2016.
The cleric yesterday gave revelations on the incumbent government, war against corruption, public office holders, royal gathers, religion, security, among others.
Below are some of his prophesies:
“I see that Ebola is still very much around Africa Nations. And Nigeria health sector must be weary of this, we must not take another strange disease in the land lightly. We must pray against more unexpected diseases, outbreak of diseases and Cholera. Let’s pray against bird flu.
“Pope Francis should pray for good health. He will escape assassination. I see changes in African Union leadership. AU will face challenges over funds and security. There will be crisis in CAF. Issa Hayatou should pray for good health and not to lose any one in CAF.
“Buhari is very sincere about his war against corruption. But I see him shooting himself in the leg because he is going to take on some powerful people in this war and they are going to fight back big time. I see more people being exposed for corruption that will shock Nigeria.
“I see death of a popular Islamic scholar and a top pastor. I foresee bombing of mosques. I foresee crisis in religious sector. I see crisis in Anglican Church and Methodist churches. Churches have to go into prayers because I see serious crisis.
“There will be problems in the Senate and House of Reps. The Senate President will face challenges despite his efforts. Allegations against him will be politicized and at the end of the day, there will be call for his removal. The Speaker should pray to succeed; he will face setbacks. Money will cause problems in the green chamber.”
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=>$2.1bn scandal: ThisDay publisher, Obaigbena, returns N350m- Punch
There were indications that the Publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, has returned the sum of N350m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
A top operative of the commission, who confided in our correspondent on Wednesday, said Obaigbena returned the money to the commission on Tuesday.
The operative said Obaigbena was expected to pay an outstanding N200m next week.
The Special Task Force of the EFCC, investigating the issue of arms procurement under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, had quizzed Obaigbena on January 29, 2016 for allegedly receiving N670m from the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
The commission released him after 24 hours after he had agreed to sign an undertaking to make a refund of the money in two weeks.
The 14-day period of grace, given to the ThisDay Publisher to repay the money he collected from Dasuki’s office expires on Tuesday next week.
“The Publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, has returned N350m out of the N670m he received from the ONSA,” the source in the anti-graft agency told one of our correspondents on Wednesday.
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=>EFCC traces huge cash to military chiefs’ wives, kids - The Nation
Some of the $2.1billion phoney arms contracts cash have been traced to the accounts of wives and children of some former and serving military chiefs, The Nation has learnt.
The Economic and Finanacial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is probing how the money was spent, may restrict access to all the identified accounts “this week”, a source said yesterday.
Also yesterday, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, reported to the EFCC.
But his invitation was rescheduled for Monday ”because of operational reasons”.
It was learnt that the EFCC may interrogate Air Chief Marshal Badeh alongside some military officers who have also been invited.
A source close to the investigation said some of the former and serving officers under investigation acquired properties in the names of their wives, children and relations “to hide their loot”.
The source said: “Our investigators have uncovered that some of these military officers under probe stashed their shares of the $2.1billion arms cash in the accounts of their relations, especially wives and children.
READ FULL NEWS....=>Boko Haram war: Buhari assures EU of human rights protection - The Nation
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Strasbourg, France, assured the European Union (EU) that his administration will protect the fundamental human rights of persons during military operations against Boko Haram.
Addressing a special session of the parliament, the President said his government shared the EU’s commitment to peace and security, respect for human rights, democracy and good governance, equality and tolerance, as ways of developing prosperous and strong societies.
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said: “For our part, we have updated our rules of engagement in fighting terrorism and pay close attention during operations to the treatment of captured terrorists, civilians caught up in the conflict and in general, safeguarding property.
“Our aim is to use minimum force in our fight against terrorists.”
=> Shocking! Nigeria’s debt rise to N1.31tn in one year -Naij.com
Nigeria’s debt rose from N11.24tn as of December 31, 2014 to N12.6tn at the end of 2015
-The debt rose with a difference of N1.31tn, increasing by 12.1 per cent
– External debts of both tiers of government rose from $9.71bn as of December 31, 2014 to $10.71bn as of December 31, 2015Despite the growing economic hardship in the country, Nigeria’s debt rose by N1.31tn in one year, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has revealed.
According to the statistics released by DMO, the country’s total debt rose from N11.24tn as of December 31, 2014 to N12.6tn at the end of 2015 with a difference of N1.31tn, increasing by 12.1 per cent.
According to the report by Punch newspaper, the total debt is made up of the external debt of the federal and state governments, the domestic debts of the Federal Government as well as the domestic debts of the states.
External debts of both tiers of government rose from $9.71bn as of December 31, 2014 to $10.71bn as of December 31, 2015. This shows a rise of $1bn or growth rate of 10.37 per cent within the period.
The domestic debt of the Federal Government, which is the biggest component of the debt burden, rose from N7.9tn as of December 31, 2014 to N8.84tn in the 12-month period.
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ENTERTAINMENT
=> Singer Sound Sultan Buys Phantom Rolls Royce
The MTN ambassador and naija ninja boss posted this picture of his new ride on instagram and he captioned it: Thank you God for my new .......................................watch .lol
And fans have started a debate if its the watch or the car or both that he's thanking God for
SOURCE
=>American star Ciara expected to perform at Dare's concert this february
Nigerian R&B sensation Darey Art-Alade has disclosed plans for his highly anticipated Love Like a Movie (LLAM) concert which is billed to hold on Sunday, February 28, 2016.
This year’s edition of the concert will feature American music star, Ciara, as international guest artiste.
With plans in place for the Grammy award-winning singer to come to Nigeria, it makes it the third of its kind that Darey is bring in an American star for his LLAM concert.
Previous editions in 2013 and 2014 saw reality TV star Kim Kardashian and American music star Kelly Rowland as featured celebrities.
This year’s edition is expected to hold at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victorial Island, Lagos.
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=>Three Veteran actors star in one movie
Popular filmmaker and comedy entrepreneur Opa Williams is set to release another hilarious movie called The Three Wise Men.
The three wise men
The movie, funded by the Bank of Industry (BOI), is directed by Patience Oghre Imobhio.
The Three Wise Men is a dramatic comedy that humorously presents the follies of three aged men. The comedy satirizes the actions and intents of three elderly men in their mid/late 60’s who struggle to re-live their lost youth.
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=> Linda Ikeji clears the air the air on rumored engagement
On Tuesday, January 2, it was reported that celebrity gossip blogger Linda Ikeji is set to walk down the aisle before the end of the year and has been making various plans in order to make that day a memorable one.
As the news got far and wide through the social media platform, Linda Ikeji took to her twitter account to clear the air on her rumored marriage plans. The celebrity blogger tweeted saying: “Lol. All these stories that I am engaged and getting married. Thanks for wishing me well. Unfortunately, I’m still single and searching.”
SOURCE
=> Wizkid makes list of 12 innovative humans with coolest sounds
US magazine FADER has just published a list of 12 innovative singers who have what they described as ‘the coolest’ sounds, and Nigeria’s star boy Wizkid made the fifth position.
Excerpts :
“The summer of 2015 was unusually full of collaborations between African stars and big-name U.S. rappers—the Ghanaian rapper Sakordie teamed up with Ace Hood, and the Nigerian Afro-pop singer Davido with Meek Mill—but no song has been as wide-reaching as “Ojuelegba.” Even before Drake came near it, six months after its initial release it was simmering toward anthem status across Africa. The original is arguably even better than the remix, which omits the Dr Dre “Nuthin’but a ‘G’Thang” sample—just one highlight of the production by Wizkid’s longtime collaborators Legendary Beatz. “I knew it was a good song,” Wizkid says, “but I didn’t expect it to blow up the way that it did.”
“Wizkid is already famous in his native Nigeria, but thanks to a couple clutch co-signs and Ojuelegba —his 2015-defining smash, named for a heaving Lagos suburb—he’s getting a global embrace,” the magazine said in its statement.”
SOURCE
=> Nigerian actor Olumide Bakare cries out for help on hospital bed (Photos)
One of Nigeria’s gifted and talented actors Olumide Bakare is crying out for help.
The veteran actor has been critically sick for a while now and reported to be in the intensive care unit of (UCH) Ibadan since Saturday, January 2.But his health condition is worsening and the medical situation has prompted him to call on good-spirited Nigerians to come to his aid financially.
Bakare is said to be suffering from lungs and heart related ailment and his bill has accrued that he cannot foot it again. He lamented that the debilitating ailment has inflicted a huge strain on his finance as he has spent over a million naira on his worsening health.
Bakare presently needs about thirty thousand naira daily for dialysis and he is asking Nigerians to come to his aid both financially and spiritually.
He cried out: “This is beyond me; I can no longer handle this on my own. I need financial assistance. Help me to beg Nigerians to help me so that I will not die. I need their prayers to survive this.”
Bakare has also asked Nigerians to assist him. Good spirited Nigerians willing to help him are to send their widow’s mite to his ECOBANK account, account number A/C No. 3872003592, account name is Olumide Bakare.
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