Nedu Echianu's Blog

The Controller-General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, has disclosed that six out of the 13 prisoners that escaped from the Koton-Karfe prison in Kogi State have been recaptured. He said that the six pre-trial trial detainees were recaptured with the assistance of other security agencies and local vigilante groups, noting that they had been returned to the prison.

For the umpteenth time, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Sunday reinstated his innocence over the charges of forgery of the Senate Standing Rules brought against him by the federal government, stressing that his only offence is his emergence as the Deputy President of the Senate against the wishes of the "powers that be". Speaking when members of Enugu State Economic Advisory Committee paid a solidarity visit to him at his residence in Enugu, the Deputy Senate President said that is hands were clean. 

A former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Sunday released what he said were pictures of one of Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s guest houses, as the budget padding scandal rocking Nigeria’s House of Representatives worsens. Mr. Jibrin sent the pictures to Premium Times Saturday night, saying they depicted Mr. Dogara’s guest house located at Vistula Close, along Panama Crescent, in the exquisite Maitama neighbourhood in Abuja.

A small basket of tomato, which sold for N25,000 in May, is now going for N800 in Kaduna. And, no, it is not a joke. It had been all anger and pain for households as the price of tomatoes hit the roof across the country as a result of scarcity caused by tuta absoluta, also known as ‘tomato ebola’. This affected the crop in most parts of the north-west, notably Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Kano states.

Tana Aiyejina takes a look at the man, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, his contribution to the development of football in Nigeria and the shambolic treatment meted on him in death by a country he served so well.

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, says some ministers are currently squatting in Abuja, adding that they are living like most Nigerians. Speaking to Osasu Igbinedion, on The Osasu Show, Amaechi, who recently launched the Abuja-Kaduna railway line alongside President Muhammadu Buhari, said the rail line would make housing cheaper in Abuja.

Generally speaking, the objective of relationship advice is to minimize friction between romantic partners. We all want our relationships to run smoothly, and most couples would agree that it’s not great to drive each other nuts. There’s no doubt that the ability to manage conflict—even low-level conflict—is an essential relationship skill. But I’d argue that there are times when it’s fine—even good!—for partners to annoy each other. In other words, is it ever wise to welcome a little frustration in your relationship? I’d say yes.

Thirteen inmates escaped in fresh jailbreak recorded at Koton Karfe prison in Kogi state in the early hours of Saturday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the incident happened at about 7am when the inmates forcefully brought down the wall of the prison. The all male prison facility which was inaugurated in 2014 has the capacity to accommodate 180 inmates.

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has condemned the shooting of workers by the police stationed at the gate of Nasarawa State Government House during a joint visit of the leadership of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura on Friday. The shooting left a worker dead and injured two others.

Chairman, Bioresource Development Group (BDG) Prof Maurice Iwu answers the question on Bitter Kola Benefits Bitter Kola, Garcinia kola, used extensively in West Africa as a social beverage and offered to guests as ‘Kola’ in many of Nigeria’s cultural settings, is valued also for its medicinal properties. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of Laryngitis, general inflammation, bronchitis, viral infections and diabetes as well as a rejuvenating agent, adaptogen and general antidote. Scientists at our laboratories have performed extensive research and written many books on this wonder plant called ‘Garcinia’. Researchers have identified bitter kola as a potential antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and a potential detoxifying agent. Bitter kola is a food supplement and anti-infective agent in the management of cold, bronchitis, and it reduces congestion of the upper respiratory tract. Because some people do not like to chew Bitter kola, yet want to exp

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, committed themselves to peace in the oil rich state on Tuesday, same day rerun elections in the state were postponed for fear of violence. The Independent National Electoral Commission, in statement by its secretary, Augusta Ogakwu, announced the suspension of the National Assembly and State Assembly rerun elections earlier slated for July 30, after risk assessments and consultations with security agencies and relevant bodies. “The reports of these assessments have been almost unanimous in concluding that the prevailing security situation in most parts of the state where elections are to hold are not conducive for peaceful elections,” INEC said. “In the Commission’s view, the rhetorics of some of the political actors, the incidence of violence in a number of local government areas where these elections are scheduled and the atmosphere of fear and intimidation created present danger in proceeding with elec

Embattled former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has struck again, this time with new revelations about how Speaker Yakubu Dogara allegedly perpetrated a massive shakedown of administrators of government agencies and multinational firms operating in the country. Mr. Jibrin raised the allegations in an email to online news medium, Premium Times on Monday evening, as tension intensified in the House of Representatives over the unfolding budget padding scandal.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has again postponed the conduct of the rerun legislative elections in Rivers state. In a letter signed by the Commission secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, INEC stated that political players in Rivers and their supporters were yet to refrain from partaking in violence, which it noted informed the earlier postponement of the election.

The Office of the Deputy President of the Senate has reacted to the statement credited to the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, wherein he claimed that the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, relocated to Imo State during the inconclusive Imo North Senatorial District re-run election, in a bid to influence the outcome in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has said Ike Ekweremadu should be warming up to lose his seat as the Deputy Senate President. Okorocha said a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Benjamine Uwajumogu, who contested in the last Saturday re-run senatorial election in Imo State would displace Ekweremadu as soon as he joins the Senate.

The embattled former chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, yesterday, gave a startling revelation on how 10 standing committees allegedly inserted constituency projects worth N284 billion into the 2016 budget without the knowledge of their members. He also alleged that the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, secretly persuaded him to smuggle N20 billion into the budget through Service Wide Vote.

Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has again made shocking revelations about his time as the coach of the team. He gave detail account on Sunday via his Twitter handle with a link to his blog, SundayOliseh.tv. Oliseh resigned in February after only seven months on the job. The former Eagles captain who left abruptly cited unpaid salaries and poor working conditions as reasons for leaving the job.

The Institute of Medicine suggests women drink about nine cups (or 72 oz.) of water a day, which may leave you wondering whether that's actually worth all the trips to the bathroom. We went straight to the studies to show you yes, it is.

A member of a gang that specialised in raping women and minors in Ibese, Ikorodu area of Lagos state, south west Nigeria has been caught, beaten mercilessly and burnt to death after he was caught by an angry mob. The alleged rapist, who was said to be an accomplice of a gang of four rapists terrorizing residents of the community, was apprehended around 3pm on Saturday. The gang leader, popularly called Badoo, had allegedly earlier been arrested by the police.

Pokemon Go, what is it really? After seeing many display pictures and ravings about this name, I had no choice but to pay attention to what it really was. The first notion before my discovery was – it is the name of someone somewhere that had done something mischievous again! But surprisingly, Pokemon Go is actually a motion sensitive game that allows you to catch some monsters – referred to as Pokemons, short for Pocket Monsters. Players follow GPS maps to designated Pokestops, often landmarks such as murals or historical buildings, where they collect Pokeballs used to trap the creatures (Pokemons).

Once Africa’s number one ranked football country, Nigeria has plummeted to an all-time low, no thanks to an ineffective Nigeria Football Federation led by Amaju Pinnick, writes ’TANA AIYEJINA After being ranked number five — Africa’s best position ever — in the world in 1994 by FIFA, a reversal of fortunes 22 years later, has seen Nigerian football slide to a catastrophic 70th position in the latest FIFA rankings, the worst placing ever by the country. The present board of the Nigeria Football Federation, led by its president, Amaju Pinnick, was elected into office in September 2014 and ever since, the game has steadily declined due to gross incompetence and display of inability to run football affairs by his board.

Eunice Olawale’s burial earlier today was attended by her husband, seven children, and numerous members of her family as well as a long line of dignitaries. It will be recalled that Mrs. Olawale, a female preacher, was murdered by Islamic fanatics and has captured the attention of the Nigerian public. Many of those in attendance were dressed in immaculate light blue and gathered at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

The Department of State Services has arrested one Jones Abari, aka Gen. Akotebe Darikoro, for the alleged mastermind of a hoaxed plan to overthrow President Muhammad Buhari by the military. A statement issued by an official of the service, Mr Tony Opuiyo, in Abuja on Saturday said Abari was arrested in Yenagoa on July 21.

Premium Times is reporting that a former Senator and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, was on Friday night released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after he agreed to refund the over N1.3billion he allegedly received from the office of the National Security Adviser. The EFCC arrested Mr. Omisore in Abuja on July 3 for allegedly collecting the huge funds from a former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

2016 Olympic hopeful, Regina George, set up a GoFundMe Campaign in order to raise funds to get herself to the Olympic Games at Rio, Brazil. Ms. George, the Nigerian-Venezuelan track star, who mentioned that she has faced financial difficulty, reached out to family, friends and fans for support. “I just been told that we will have to pay our own way to the Olympics this year. Sadly this is such short notice for me to come up with the money.” Her fundraising goal is 4000 US Dollars.

A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday returned to the All Progressives Congress. Mr. Ribadu said in a statement he posted on his Facebook page that he rejoined the party online on Friday, and then hosted officials of the party from his Bako Ward in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Then on Friday, he visited the Yola South secretariat of the APC to present himself to the party. He had left the party for the Peoples Democratic Party in 2014.

German police are engaged in a huge anti-terror manhunt in the city of Munich after nine people died in a shopping mall shooting. Police confirmed nine deaths at the Olympia mall and several wounded. The attackers are still on the run. Witnesses said they had seen three with guns. Police urged people to avoid public places.

Hunted ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, said Friday, that his family and associates were under siege by security agents, who allegedly treated roughly his 84-year-old father, in Kurutie community, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government, resulting in the amputation of his lower limbs, two weeks ago. Tompolo, in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, which he indicated might be his last, said the continuous harassment and intimidation was getting out of hand, and he does not deserve it.

Former Bolton Wanderers coach Sam Allardyce has been named as the new manager of the Three Lions of England. The 61-year-old beat Steve Bruce and Jurgen Klinsmann to the top job, in replacing Roy Hodgson who resigned after Euro 2016.The former Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United manager has left Sunderland, who he guided to Premier League survival last season, after nine months in charge. Allardyce has expressed his delight at being appointed manager, and admits that it is “time to deliver”. 

Imo State Government yesterday, summarily “suspended indefinitely”, 10 traditional rulers in the state. Gov Rochas Okorocha Government’s position was made public via a press statement endorsed by the Secretary to the Government of Imo State, Sir George Eche, and repeatedly aired on the channels of government owned electronic media oufit, Imo Broadcasting Corporation, IBC.

Former U-17 and U-20 striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, was one of the big misses as Nigeria Olympic team coach, Samson Siasia, named his final list of players for the forthcoming Rio Olympic Games. The Liverpool striker was only able to make the cut as one of the standby players as he failed to make the final 18-man squad list that has now been submitted. Chelsea midfielder and Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, was selected as one of only two over-aged players, with the other being Chippa United of South Africa goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi. Akpeyi is expected to be the number one goalkeeper ahead of Emmanuel Daniel.

The Niger Delta Avengers on Friday denied claims by President Muhammadu Buhari that his administration was holding talks with the militants for possible compromise. The militants had claimed responsibilities for series of attacks on oil facilities across the region in recent times.  A statement issued by the group’s spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, said the group was not aware of any ongoing peace talks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyema has said that there was no evidence to substantiate allegation of sexual misconduct by three members of the House of Representatives in the United States. Outgoing United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, had in a correspondence to Speaker Yakubu Dogara, alleged that the three lawmakers: Mohammed Gololo, Samuel Ikon and Mark Gbillah, committed offences ranging from soliciting sex through hotel car park attendants and assaulting a hotel housekeeper in an attempt to rape her during the International Visitor Leadership Programme in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. held between April 7 and April 13.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday confirmed that his administration is currently engaging Niger Delta militants in talks in order to end the spate of violence being experienced in the region. He said the talks are being done through oil companies and law-enforcement agencies and are meant a to find a lasting solution to insecurity in the region. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while granting farewell audience to the outgoing Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Zinner, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari also told his guest that the Federal Government is studying the instruments of the Amnesty Programme inherited from the previous administration with a view to carrying out commitments made that were undelivered.

The former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has spoken of what he claimed were the real reasons for his removal on Wednesday. Mr. Jibrin, a former ally of the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, had said that he chose to step down for personal reasons. In a statement he released late Thursday, Mr. Jibrin raised a humongous allegation of fraud against Mr. Dogara.

The centre of excellence and metropolitan city of Lagos is one place virtually every Nigerian wishes to live in. But the cost of living – especially renting a home, can make you back off and decide to live elsewhere as they are doubled compared to other places in Nigeria. It’s no news that places on the Island like Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki are the most sought after places in Lagos because they are fine, highly developed and hold some of the best hotels in Lagos . But then one must ‘cut a coat according to size’. So below I am going to be telling you some great but yet affordable places you can live in Lagos.

Many in Nigeria are affected by the present economy. The prices of commodities are climbing yet salaries and wages remain stagnant. It is important for Nigerians to develop some habits discussed in this article so they can cope with the current situation till things get better.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, has reshuffled the leaderships of the Senate’s committees. Saraki’s most outspoken critic, Kabiru Marafa, was appointed chairman of the Petroleum (downstream) Committee. He was chairman of the Committee on National identity and Population. Also, Oluremi Tinubu, a key member of the anti-Saraki Unity Forum, was named chairperson of the Committee on Environment.

Senate President Bukola Saraki has reiterated his commitment and dedication to the ideals of the All Progressives Congress APC thereby debunking rumours that he has left the party. A message sent to this blog from the Special Assistant New Media to the Senate President, Bamikole Omishore said: "The attention of the Senate President's Media Team has been drawn to a false publication that is making the rounds on social media that Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki has defected from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). This fabrication is entirely untrue as the Senate President stands committed to the APC; a party that he helped midwife and worked for its victory in the 2015 elections.

Sam Allardyce will be named as the new manager of England, with confirmation expected on Thursday. He will leave Sunderland after nine months at the Premier League club. Allardyce replaces Roy Hodgson, who quit in June after the surprise defeat by Iceland in the last 16 of Euro 2016.

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday nominated Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba as the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). This was contained in a letter to the Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday. The president also forwarded Mr. Nsima Ekere as the managing director of the commission to take over from Mrs Ibim Semenitari who is currently acting as MD of the commission.

Manchester United have agreed a world record deal to sign Paul Pogba for €110 million. Officials from the Premier League club met with their Juventus counterparts earlier on Wednesday to discuss a deal to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford. It is now understood that United have settled on a fee of €110m for Pogba, which eclipses the previous record set when Real Madrid paid €100m for Gareth Bale in 2013.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has today announced the sack of the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin. Jibrin has been enmeshed in controversy following revelations that he allocated projects worth over N4 billion to his Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State in the 2016 budget. He was replaced with Mustapha Bala Dawaki who was until now the chairman of the Committee on Housing.

The Nigerian Navy said it had arrested a suspected member of the Niger Delta Avengers. This is contained in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, and made available to newsmen in Abuja. According to Ezekobe, the suspect who was picked up on July 11 at about 11am, is believed to be a major logistics supplier to the group which had claimed responsibility for attacks on NNPC and Chevron pipelines in the region.

Tens of female protesters have stormed the gate of the National Assembly demanding the immediate prosecution of Senator Dino Melaye who they say is a threat to womanhood. More Pictures after the cut...

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP BoT, has condemned the ongoing trial of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, over alleged forgery of Senate Rules, saying it was a deliberate plot to tarnish the personality and Office of the Deputy President of the Senate. Speaking on Tuesday, when it paid a solidarity visit to the PDP Senate Caucus at the National Assembly Complex, leader of the delegation and Chairman of the PDP BoT, Senator Walid Jibril, noted that as fathers and conscience of the party, the BOT could not sit and watch the framing-up of the Deputy President of the Senate on trumped-up charge of forgery, apparentlyy for political reasons.

The General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army’s 1st Division, Adeniyi Oyebade, a major general, authorized last December’s military operation that massacred at least 347 members of the Shi’a Muslim group in Zaria, and should be prosecuted, a judicial commission of inquiry into the killings, has said in its final report. Premium Times reports that the commission of inquiry, set up by the Kaduna State government, indicted Mr. Oyebade and other senior army officers for the attack.

Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution provides 10 clear but tortuous steps on how a senator or House of Representatives member can be recalled. The steps are: 1 More than half of the registered voters in the Senator’s senatorial district write, sign and send a petition to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC alleging their loss of confidence in the senator.

Frenchman Paul Le Guen has reportedly rejected the Nigeria Football Federation’s offer to lead the Super Eagles as Technical Adviser. According to reports, the 52-year-old rejected the offer because the Glass House failed to meet his terms and conditions. Herve Penot, a reporter at L’ Euipe, wrote via his handle @hpenot_lequipe: “Paul Le Guen rejects Nigeria. Frenchman insists the country’s FA (NFF) yet to meet terms & conditions to be coach.”

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