The Parable Of Lion, By Tolu Ogunlesi

Editor’s note: A recent occurrence in which a lion escaped from the Jos wildlife park and was subsequently shot dead had mildly entertained Nigerians. Tolu Ogunlesi turns the case into an allegory.
Once upon a time, in a wildlife park in the mountain-belt of WondaWondaLand, lived a Lion. A big, old, statesmanly Lion. One day, bored stiff of living in captivity, it decided to step out and see the outside world. It was the biggest mistake of its life. And the final one.
The Ogas-At-The-Top whose job it was to ensure that the Lion spent its allotted days in its allotted space, put out a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” notice upon the Lion’s head.
It didn’t take too long. The Lion, unfamiliar with freedom, was swiftly cornered. The Lion temporarily forgot that this was WondaWondaLand, where escapee lions are rounded up, not with tranquilizer guns but with rusting Kalashnikovs.
The bullets dropped like oversized full-stops on the opened page of the Lion’s life. The end. The rumour mills of WondaWondaLand – the only factories in the land that do not require electricity to function at full capacity – creaked into life. Someone suggested that there was indeed a tranquilizer gun, but it was locked up in the “not-on-seat” Park Director’s Office. Some people swore that no sooner had the Lion fallen than wild-eyed locals descended upon the carcass, determined to turn a fearsome beast into an awesome feast.
Some people had photos to back up this theory, but at the time of going to press no one had confirmed that the photo was not swiped off Google Images’ cache of “20 Weirdest Photos You’ve Never Seen!” Still, other people insisted the Lion had been in captivity since the 1970s, even though experience teaches that Lions like him do not live past fifteen.
It’s sad enough that we might never know the real truth about the Lion. But there’s even sadder stuff. Not once, in all of the news that travelled the land, was the Lion credited with an actual, proper name. Everyone referred to him as “the lion” or “the Jos lion”. Or – shudder! – “the escaped lion”. Sigh. Even in Zimbabwe, the lions have got names.
There are those who say it was the Lion’s fault. Why did he succumb to the temptation of leaving the park? Why did it leave the absolute safety of captivity for the absolute lawlessness of freedom? Perhaps they are right. But let’s remember what happened to the WondaWondaLand Lion who stayed put. It happened in the Wild Wild Western city of Ibadan, many years ago. That Lion stayed put. Behaved sensibly and responsibly. Waited for its food to come to it, day in day out, entertained the guests who strolled past.
And then the Prophet decided to show up. The Prophet was not exactly the most normal of persons. His was one book short of a complete Bible; one vision short of a comprehensible Revelation.
The Prophet entered the Lion’s den, perhaps fancying himself a modern-day Daniel. Perhaps he heard voices. Whatever it was, he climbed the wire-fence and dropped into the den. The perplexed Lion rubbed his eyes to be sure it wasn’t the contact lens messing with him. Long story short, in the scene that followed, Preacher Man lay dead in the dust. He was no Daniel, it turned out. But at least the Lion had helped hasten his reuniting with the original Dan.
It would turn out to be the Lion’s final act. For taking the life of a man who offered it to him, his own was demanded, and taken, even though he had not offered it. The Lion died.
There was a third Lion. Maybe not. We really don’t know. One May Day in 2014, the rumour mills again threw up something about an escaped Lion. This time in the south-eastern WondaWondaLand city of Owerri. Not any ordinary Lion, but a “hungry” one. The town went berserk: offices and shops closed hurriedly, parents fell over one another to whisk their kids out of school. The police swung into action. When they emerged, they had in their dreaded custody someone they called an “alarmist” – the man alleged to have started the rumour.
We don’t know if there was really a Lion, or if it had indeed contemplated fleeing the Zoo (the story doesn’t say). What we do know is that an entire town came to believe that a Hungry Lion had ruined their entire day. You can bet that only a handful of people ever heard the rest of the story – that this was a case of an innocent Lion falsely accused.
Moral of the story: a tragic fate awaits WondaWondaLand’s lions, in or out of captivity. Stay put and you’re damned, get out and you’re still damned. And that’s only half the story. Somewhere in WondaWondaLand it occurred to someone with a philosophical bent that those lions were the perfect metaphor for the lives of WondaWondaLandas.
You see, life, for these harassed masses, is no different than for the hapless manes. Stay put and you’re damned, escape abroad (to Poundland or Trumpland or the Zumalopolis, or anywhere else), and you’re still damned, a second-class exile in the first world, homesick for a country that can’t tell the difference between AK-47s and tranquilizer guns.

Six-year-old girl beats the odds after being born with her heart outside her chest

Virsaviya Borun, a native of Russia who moved to South Florida with her mother, suffered from a rare condition - called Pantalogy of Cantrell- that caused her heart and intestines to form outside of her body. Her heart is protected only by a thin layer of skin.

“When I was pregnant, the doctor said she will not survive, that she is going to die,” Dari Borun, the girl’s mother, said.

The remarkable girl defied the odds set against her and lives, for the most part, like any other girl.
"I like to draw Jesus, ponies and angels,” Virsaviya said. “I don't go to the school and I don't go to the ballet but I want to do it at home.
Borun said she found a surgeon in Boston able to treat her daughter, but the cost prevents her from pursuing it.

“It's gonna be expensive for sure and I tried to work with social worker and she said we don't have opportunity to apply for insurance,” she said. 

An NBC 6 story on Borun and her inspiring little girl was shared millions of times following its intial airing, prompting many throughout their community to reach out and help.
An anonymous donor even reached out to the station and offered to cover the remainder of Virsaviya’s fundraising goal.

“I don't have a family here. It's just me and Virsaviya, but now I feel like I have a family because a lot of people just caring about us. They love us. They want to help,” Borun said. 

Though funds are being raised to help the girl receive treatment, she is currently unable to undergo surgery.

“She can't get it because of her high blood pressure and pulmonary arteries. So if it goes down, if she will feel better, they're going to check her in two years,” Borun explained.

At the moment, the mother is concerned with covering basic treatment as well as living expenses for herself and her daughter.
Despite the challenges, Virsaviya said it’s the heart that keeps her and her mother going.
“My mom always told me that she loves my heart and I really like it,” she said.

Oil thieves jailed for 84 yrs

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday convicted seven men to 84 years imprisonment for illegal and unlawful dealing in 1,459 metric tonnes of petrol. The court sentenced each of the convicts to a jail term of 12 years each starting Friday after they were all found guilty of the five count charge preferred against them.
The convicts are; Adedamola Ogungbayi; Olaniran Olabode; Suraju Gasali; Moses Emmanuel; Wilson Bonsi; Okaraodi Uche and Onyeogo Happy. Apart from the jail term, Justice Abang also  ordered the forfeiture of the vessel, ‘MT Good Success’, used by the convicts in stealing the said petroleum product, as well as the recovered petroleum product to the Federal Government.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the sums of N66.6m and $975,000 which belonged to the convicts’ company, Hepa Global Energy Limited, domiciled with the First City Monument Bank to the Federal Government.
The convicts, were arraigned alongside their vessel and company on August 28, 2014 on five counts alongside one Padoun Jacob, who was discharged and acquitted by the court. The judge, in setting Jacob free on all the five counts, described him as a desperate job seeker, who became a victim of circumstances.


Vanguard

BABA JANG DN KILL PWAJOK OOOOOOOH....................RIP SIR

Senator Gyang Nyam Pwajok, the Plateau State PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last election has died. He died this morning in India after a battle with kidney disease.

Pwajok fought a close battle in the April governorship election, losing to the eventual winner and now governor, Simon Lalong. Olisa Metuh has confirmed his passing! May his soul rest in peace.

Win N1million in 15 seconds competition ends in 5 days...

They say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Play Entertainment Network is here to inspire a young entrepreneur by providing him / her means to take that ‘first step’ in starting and growing a successful business.

We are aware that raising start-up funds is one of the most challenging aspects of starting a new business. We are here to strengthen your motivation and desire to succeed by offering 1,000,000 naira business grant to a young entrepreneur with the best business idea. 

All you need to do is pitch it to a team of judges in 15 seconds. Yes 15 seconds. 

You must not necessarily have a grand proposal with an intricate business plan; a small lucrative idea that addresses a real and demonstrated public need is what we are looking for. We all hustle to get to the next level. Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.”

 HOW TO CONTEST;

1.      Follow @playnetworknigeria on instagram

2.      Make a 15seconds instagram video summarizing your business plan

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5.      If your video (business summary) makes the top 5 videos with 1) Valuable Content 2) reasonable number of likes (not "paid or driven" likes), 3) positive comments, you will be invited to Abuja to meet with the judges

6.      If you’re invited to Abuja you will be giving the opportunity to explain in detail your business plan, and if yours is the best you’re taking the 1,000,000 naira home.

‎PS: If you do not live in Abuja and you are short listed Transport and accommodation will be provided for you.

Buhari addresses the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit, takes group photo with other leaders

President Buhari today addressed the audience at the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit at the Indra Gandhi Stadium Complex, New Delhi, India. He and other #IAFS leaders also took a group photo at the Complex. See more pictures after the cut...

Read more »

 

Little girl suffers severe burns after transformer explodes at Lagos bus-stop (graphic)

12 year old Adetayo Adefarasin, a student of Government Junior College, Epe, suffered severe burns to her face, chest, arm and legs after a faulty transformer exploded along Broad street, Lagos as she was trying to board a bus while returning from church on September 20th.

She was rushed to General Hospital, Lagos where she's still receiving treatment for her severe injury. The faulty transformer was repaired two days after this incident but according to girl's family who reached out to LIB, PHCN have not made any attempt to help the girl who is still in hospital. Friends say she is a brilliant student and was looking forward to a great future. The family want to sue PHCN over the incident I hear but haven't done so yet. The carelessness of these people is worrisome. They don't do anything until someone gets killed or injured

MTN secures exclusive caller tune rights of Adele's upcoming single

MTN, in collaboration with content aggregator, “Content Connect Africa”and Just Music has clinched a landmark deal that gives it the exclusive rights to Adele’s much-anticipated single entitled “Hello” which wasreleased on October23, as a caller ring back tone.

During the advertisement break of the popular reality television series “British X Factor”,which was aired on Sunday the 18th of October, Adele teased fans with snippets of the much-awaited album.

 

This is the first time ever that Adele has sanctioned the use of hermusic through this format.“Hello” is the single taken from Adele’s highly anticipated new album etitled ‘25’ set for worldwide release on the 20^th November this year. ‘Hello” launches as an exlusive Caller Tune on MTN on Friday 23^rd October in South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda andwill be exclusively available to MTN subscribers for downloading on MTN’s music platforms, customers will be able to download it by dialling *123*53# at 50c per week.

Larry Annetts, Sales and Marketing Executive for MTN South Africa, says
“MTN is pleased with the securing of these rights, in collaboration with Content Connect Africa, as it gives expression to MTN’s ongoing commitment to promoting music as an art form. MTN has a proud track record of promoting the development of music on the continent, and our collaboration with renowned artists such as Mafikizolo, Mi Casa, Nigeria’s Praiz, Tiwa Savage, Davido and Don Jazzy, amongst others,is indicative of our quest to use our expansive footprint to give our customers the best musical experience.

We have done a lot of work in promoting music in the digital space, with Music+ being one of our key offering that has givenmany artists across the continent a bigger platform to market their music. We are humbled and pleased that our efforts in the music space are being acknowledged and recognised, and we are looking forward to similar partnerships of this nature going forward,” says Annetts.

Adele is the first woman in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three simultaneous top 10 singles as a lead artist, and the first female artist to simultaneously have two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100.

“This exclusive right we have secured with Adele’s recording labelJust Music will set us apart from the competition and reaffirm our commitment to delight millions of our customers and provide them with a distinct customer experience, and this was accomplished through our collaboration with Content Connect Africa” Annetts concludes.

Court of Appeal dismisses Saraki's appeal

The Abuja division of the court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal filed by senate president, Bukola Saraki challenging his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The appeal court dismissed all 5 issues raised by Saraki in the appeal. Two of the three panel of judges ruled that his appeal lacks merit. This implies that the Code of Conduct will still go ahead with Saraki's trial.

Saraki is being tried on a 13 count charge of false asset declaration when he was Kwara state governor. He is expected to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on November 5th.

Photos: Drivers driving on one-way arrested by Governor Ambode's convoy

The governor's convoy arrested the vehicles along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway last night.

This quiz for women is going around on Facebook and it's to determine if you are a freak or not. Answer the questions below and tell us your score

5 Point Questions :
1. Have You Ever Engaged In Anal Sex?
2. Have You Ever Participated In A Threesome?
3. Have You Ever Eaten Man Butt?
4. Have You Ever Peed On Somebody?
5. Have You Ever Received Oral Sex During Your Period?


6. Have You Ever Sucked A Guy’s Toes?
7. Have You Ever Had Sex In A Club, Bar Or Lounge?
8. Have You Ever Had Sex In Front Of Somebody Else?
9. Have you ever been paid money for sex?
10. Have any of your sexual encounters ever made it onto MediaTakeOut.com?

2 Point Questions
11. Have You Ever Made A Sex Tape?
12. Have You Ever Had Sex On Your Period?
13. Have You Ever Had Sex With Somebody You Met Off Social Media?
14. Have You Ever Had First Date Sex?
15. Have You Ever Had A One Night Stand?
16. Have You Ever Used Food Products In The Bedroom?
17. Have You Ever Had Somebody Spit Inside Your Mouth?
18. Have You Ever Had Casual Sex With A Celebrity Or Professional Athlete?
19. Have You Ever Let Guy Cum On Your Face?
20. Have You Ever Had A Finger Inside Your Booty During Sex
21. Have You Ever Had Sex With Somebody Over 10 Years Older Than You?
22. Have You Ever Let A Female Give You Oral?
23. Have You Ever Let A Female Use A Sex Toy On You?
24. Have You Ever Had Casual Sex During A Vacation?
25. Have You Ever Had A Orgasm On The Phone Or FaceTime?

Answers
100-90 - You Basically A PornStar …
88-78 - You Lust Goddess Status
76-66 - You Filthy McNASTY
64-54 - You A Regular Freak
52-42 - Step Your Freak Levels Up
40-0 - You are WAAAY to pure and serene

Graphic pics: ISIS executes man by running him over with armoured tank

My goodness! Everyday these terrorists look for more barbaric ways to kill people. But why not run, why stand there and wait for an armoured tank to crush you? The worst they will do is shoot you dead if you keep running...and is that not better than this? The photos are horrific.

looooooooooooooools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 ewwoooooo???

so happy 4 you sweet heart

Buhari sends delegation to Adamawa and Borno over yesterday's bomb attacks

Press statement from the presidency

President Buhari has sent a powerful delegation to two states, Adamawa and Borno States to condole with their governments and people over the increased bombing activity by Boko Haram terrorists, with a strong appeal to local populations to share in the responsibility for security in their surroundings.

The President, who spoke through the leader of the delegation, Engineer Babachir David Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,SGF directed all communities in the country to revert to old practices by which new arrivals in their neighborhoods were taken note of by local chiefs and security agencies.

Going down the memory lane, the President recalled that these were practices that worked well in past in securing neighborhoods and local communities." The ward head, the village head and the local police knew every new entrant into the community. They kept tabs on them and detected traits of criminality before evil-doers get the chance to act against common interest. We must go back to those rudimentary acts of local policing," the President reiterated, adding that the job of securing our life and property is too important to be left to security officials alone. "We must help them to do their job.The responsibility of detecting criminals lies with all of us.

In this new phase of the war, all of us are generals, all of us are foot soldiers, all of us are intelligence officers." In commiserating with families who lost dear ones and the inpatients in the hospitals visited by the delegation on his behalf, President Buhari assured of the full support of the government and the determination of his administration to end the menace of the Boko Haram terrorists by the year's end. In his message at hospitals, emirs' palaces and Government Houses in the two states as read by the SGF, the President said that "the security situation in the North East remains a great source of concern for me. Although there are clear indications that the military is recording great successes in the theatre of operations, the enemy has been able to carry out his murderous campaign by attacking soft targets using Improvised Explosive Devices.

His intention is to create widespread fear amongst the civilian population since he cannot subdue our armed forces. The sporadic tactics used by these criminals is a sign that they are under intense pressure in the forests and in the countryside where they previously enjoyed a lot of freedom of action. "The sheer tenacity displayed by our troops in the last three months has resulted in degrading the capacity of the enemy significantly. I am confident that the ability of the enemy to attack and seize towns and villages has been virtually neutralized. "Having said that, our people cannot continue to be the victims of a senseless war, living in perpetual fear and denied the right to pursue their legitimate undertakings in peace.

As a leader, I want to assure our citizens in every part of Nigeria that the government is doing everything humanly possible to bring to a swift end, the suffering and losses occasioned by this insurgency. I deeply sympathize with the families who have lost loved ones. "As I said a few times in the past, desperate actions such as the detonation of IEDs will take a longer time to eradicate even as our optimism continues to grow that Boko Haram as a fighting force will be crushed by the year’s end. After that, we hope all displaced communities will be returned to their towns and villages. But even when this is about to happen, there will still remain vital tests and challenges. We must work hard to eradicate all forms of extremism. Citizens must join hands with security forces in the effort to detect unrepentant terrorists embedded in our neighbourhoods.

We must all be watchful over any suspicious activity and report same to law enforcement agents for their prompt action," the President stressed. The members of the government delegation that accompanied the SGF included the Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Mala Mai Buni, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Munguno, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, a Permanent Secretary in the office of the SGF Bukar Maina a leading figure in the APC Alhaji Modi Aliyu Mahmood. Governors of Adamawa and Borno, Senator Jibrilla Bindow and Bukar Shettima as well as their leading Chiefs who received the delegations in their abodes thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for sending the delegation as well as his dogged efforts to end Boko Haram terrorism and securing the country.

In his particular remarks, Governor Shettima commended the President for his interest. He said "before he assumed the leadership of the country, the state was In a very, very sorry state. The Boko Haram terrorists had 20 councils under them. Now, all but three have been liberated. Of the over three million citizens in IDP camps, 85% of them are in Borno State. We were left to cater for the IDPs. Now we have NEMA taking care of the camps.

We thank the President for the delegation. We are not used to this. We were left to our own fate for four years under the previous administration. We are absolutely settled that the President is behind us. We are absolutely settled in the belief he will help us rebuild our communities. By May 29th next year, every son and daughter of Borno will be back in their villages. We will continue to ensure community involvement in securing the environment," the Governor concluded by way of assurance.

Garba Shehu, SSA to the President, Media and Publicity.

Photos: Iraqi Shiite men cut their scalps with machetes during religious ritual

Iraqi Shiite men cut their scalps with machetes during the Ashura religious ritual in Najaf.

Man kills undergraduate 2 months to his wedding because he didnt want to repay a loan

A Business  administration student of  Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo, identified as Kunbi reportedly received a phone call from a private security guard, identified simply as Aliu, who lives on same street with him, to come collect the  N32,000 he owed him.

Kunbi who owned a provision store and was also preparing for his wedding in December had sold his motorcycle to Aliu, in order to raise money to pay his school fees, about a month ago.

The leader of Al-Qaeda in Syria has been killed during fighting in the city of Aleppo.
Graphic images of Sheikh Abu Sulaiman Al Masri's body, with a bloody head wound, have been shared online.
His death has apparently been confirmed by Sunni Islamic jihadist militants the al-Nusra Front - his wing of Al-Qaeda within Syria.

It is not yet clear how exactly he died, although it is believed he was killed by Syrian and Russian armed forces.
Al-Masri's death will be considered a huge blow to the terror group, which is considered the second largest jihadist organisation in the country next to Islamic State.
But for Russian president Vladimir Putin, it will be seen as justification for his decision to launch air strikes on the war-torn country in support of embattled Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and his forces.

Photos from Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant 2015

The 2015 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant held in Calabar yesterday Saturday Oct. 24th. Miss Anambra, Anyadike Unoaku beat other contestants to emerge winner.see more pics after cut

See what white student was spotted holding during a protest in SA

A white student was spotted carrying a 'Don't tell my mum, I think she's racist' card the Feesmustfall demonstrations in South Africa recently! Well, your mum now knows what you think of her!

Dakuku Peterside, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, has described the Election Petition Tribunal’s decision to sack Nyesom Wike as governor as victory for democracy, justice and the rule of law.

 Shortly after the announcement of the tribunal’s ruling, Peterside issued a statement, in which he assured people of Rivers state that elections would never again be decided on the might of violence.
He also congratulated the people of Rivers who according to him suffered under the Peoples Democratic Party.
“This judgment is resounding because at last, we are vindicated. The journey no doubt was tortuous but the suffering was worthwhile. It also shows that perseverance pays. This judgment no doubt also shows that we must continue to have faith in our judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
“I congratulate the good and long-suffering people of Rivers State for standing up to impunity, Executive rascality and intimidation of the highest order. As we look forward to a fair contest, I urge our people to be calm and to continue to pray for our dear state.
“Under the last administration, our people suffered all forms of indignities because of their political leaning. Democracy is essentially about freedom and we must never, under any circumstance lose our freedom again.
“This verdict has put a nail on the coffin of electoral rascality, electoral violence, election fraud and impunity. It has restored the faith of the resilient people of Rivers State in the electoral process as a fair means of choosing leaders. I particularly thank the people of Rivers State for their resilience throughout this period,” the statement read in part.
Peterside also called on Nigerians to support the Buhari-led government as it tackles impunity, incompetence, unemployment.
Meanwhile, the APC has also made a statement reacting to the news about Wike’s election annulment.
According to the party, the judgement of the tribunal has shown that the era of impunity and hooliganism is over, and that the only way for elections to have legitimacy is for them to be free, fair and credible.

University Of Jos Shut Down Indefinitely

The University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau state has been shut down indefinitely.
The Nation reports that the lecturers of the institution commenced the industrial action to press home their demands for improved working conditions.
In a statement signed by Prof F. C. Piwuna, the Chairman of the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Friday in Jos, the union’s national body is in the know of their actions.The statement read: “the NEC of ASUU has approved our request for total, indefinte and comprehensive strike starting immediately.
“It means that all activities — teaching, supervision, examination as well as statutory and ad hoc committee meetings — have been suspended.”
In a brief chat with Naij.com on Friday afternoon, the national treasurer of the union, Dr Ademola Aremu informed that the school management deserves the action meted out by the lecturers, because they had continued to renege on the promises they made to their academic staff.
He noted with disappointment also, that “there are so many welfare issues concerning the academic staff and the management has not listened to all of them.
“There is the issue of house allowances, among other issues. The lecturers have met the administration and they (institution) agreed that they defaulted.
“For about one and a half years, these issues have been ongoing and there has not been anything the institution has done about it. They have been promising but have not done anything about it ever since.”
Dr Aremu therefore informed that the strike action, as he had earlier stated, will go on for as long as the school management keeps giving excuses to the academic staff.

Petrol Price to be reduced VP Osibanjo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says that the government is working to reduce the price of petroleum products by encouraging and working with private refineries and reducing importation. Osinbajo, who is in the UK to sign the Nigeria-UK solar energy agreement, told Bloomberg in an interview...

"We are going to be unbundling the NNPC so that its various components are effective core centres and are able to do their business well. We are going to have private refineries at the site of the old refineries, so they can benefit from the available infrastructure. So, we think that in the medium term, we would be able to get cheaper pump price, pump price of oil would be cheaper because we would be importing far less refined petroleum. A lot of that will be produced locally.

“Now, we have well over 30 modular refineries licences, so we think a lot of modular refineries would come. Many of them, their major concern is feed stock, are we going to be guaranteed feed stock? We are working on that. Once we are able to deal with that, we feel we would substantially be able to reduce pump price and get the whole business of importation of refined petroleum and the NNPC just getting directly involved in business; we are going to reduce that. The objective is to make the NNPC play more regulatory function.

“They are options that are always there. But we think that there are ways we can raise our own potion of contribution to the Joint Ventures. It will only be a last resort and we have not come anywhere near that.” Osinbajo said

Four female suicide bombers die after a failed attempt to attack Maiduguri today

Four Female suicide bombers lost their lives in a failed attempt to bomb Dala Yazaram community in Maiduguri today. This comes barely 24 hours after 55 people were killed in separate suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri in Borno state and Yola in Adamawa state.

Eyewitnesses say four female suicide bombers made an attempt to attack the area but one of them was arrested before she detonated the bomb on her. She later died. “Three people have been killed and many injured. One of the terrorists was arrested before she could detonate,” resident Shuaibu Umara, a security guard at a nearby NNPC petrol station, told AFP

Rivers, Akwa-Ibom Tribunal Judgments Cannot Stand - PDP

PDP has described as unacceptable and bizarre the election tribunal verdicts in both Rivers and Akwa Ibom state. The Akwa Ibom state election petition tribunal few days ago had nullified the state governorship election in 18 Local governments and ordered a rerun. PDP's reaction is contained in a statement released this afternoon by its National Publicity secretary Olisa Metuh. Read after the cut..

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) declares the verdict of the River state governorship election tribunal sitting in Abuja, which showed clear bias against Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP, as completely bizarre, unacceptable and part of the script by the APC to manipulate the will of the people.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Saturday said indications to this spurious judgment had months ago been hinted to the PDP, which in turn, alerted the nation and the international community of the heinous plot by the APC government, to use the judiciary and various security agencies to reverse the victory of the PDP in Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Taraba and Abia states.

“We invite Nigerians and the international community to recall various reprehensible steps taken by the APC government that culminated in this ruling as well as the ridiculous Wednesday’s verdict of the Akwa-Ibom state governorship election tribunal, also sitting in Abuja.

1. The curious and controversial relocation of the elections tribunals from their states to Abuja without any justification.
2. The constant juggling of judicial officers and members of governorship elections tribunal in PDP states, especially, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.
3. Constant harassment of judicial and electoral officers involved in the governorship election cases in these state, using agencies of government, particularly, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) under the direct command of a known APC member, Alhaji Lawal Daura.
4. Constant threats, intimidation and coercing of witnesses against the PDP in the tribunals.
5. The recent mass transfer of security operatives, especially the DSS and police personnel that actually participated in the conduct of the elections in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom, ostensibly to frustrate the course of genuine evidences in the process.

“The bias in the judgment against the PDP in Rivers as well as Akwa-Ibom is evidenced in the contradictions inherent in the trial process of the two cases and the verdicts therein, whereby the tribunals clearly disregarded standing legal norm that a petitioner must establish prove of claims.

“Also curious is the fact that after both the petitioner and respondent agreed before the tribunal that both card reader and manual accreditations were used for the election, the tribunal still went ahead to base its decision on issues of card reader.

While it is convenient to them to use legal technicalities to deny PDP victory in Imo, Lagos, Ogun and Yobe states, the same rules are misapplied to wickedly favour APC petitioners in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.

“It is therefore evinced that these contradictions are direct fall-out of compromises as well as boasts by the APC of being in direct and remote control of the tribunals. If not, how can one explain the fact that while governorship elections are being upturned in PDP states, in APC states, where similar claims and facts are in contention, elections are being upheld.

“Further proof of bias by the Rivers tribunal is the fact that less than 24 hours after various counsels submitted nine written addresses and documents, the tribunal rushed its notice of judgment, an action ostensibly aimed at ambushing the pending Supreme Court action on the issue of jurisdiction regarding the relocation of the tribunal outside River state, which was due to be delivered on Tuesday.

“This is not withstanding the fact that the tribunal has up to seven days after of receipt of addresses, to deliver its judgment, but chose instead, to rush to deliver this spurious verdict even on a Saturday, a development eliciting suspicion that the judgment may have since been predetermined and written even before the commencement of the case.

“The PDP calls on all Nigerians and the international community to note this growing manipulation of the judiciary by the APC government, a factor which portends great danger to our democracy and the stability of our country.

“Nigerians would want to recall that under the PDP-led government with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to the tenets of democracy as encapsulated in the safeguard of ‘one man one vote’ and the independence of the judiciary, the PDP conceded electoral defeat in Edo, Anambra, and Imo states without attempting to collect victory through executive manipulation of the judicial process.

“The PDP restates unequivocally that this judgments must not stand in view of the prevailing inherent chttp://www.arewaspeak.blogspot.com/2015/10/rivers-akwa-ibom-tribunal-judgments.html#moreontradictions, in addition to the huge threat they portend to our democracy and national stability.

“Finally, the PDP charges all lovers of democracy, particularly our members in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom state not to be daunted, as these judgments will not stand the test of the law and the will of the people. We therefore reassure that the PDP will do all within the ambit of the law to resist this criminal attempt by the APC to steal and thwart the will of the people.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary

Attachments area

Death Toils over Yola Bomb blast

The death toll in the bomb blast that happened at a mosque in Jambutu, Yola in Adamawa state this afternoon has risen to 27. 73 others, most of whom are in critical condition, are receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Center in Adamawa state.http://www.arewaspeakblog.com/2015/10/photos-death-toll-in-yola-bomb-blast.html#more