Nedu Echianu's Blog

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has commended the Federal Government, and some states for giving serious consideration to his suggestion for the extension of the whistle-blower policy to the proliferation of illicit arms in the country.   He gave the commendation while responding to question by reporters on the move by the government to implement his suggestion and how to address connected concerns such as human rights infringement, misuse of whistle blowing for political witch-hunt, and contemplation of compensation for whistle-blowers on illicit arms.

...As Queens College Old Girls' Petition Senate Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has called for an urgent roundtable discussion involving all stakeholders, the government and international development agencies on how to halt the dwindling fortunes of education in the country.  Saraki spoke yesterday when the Advocacy Group of the  Queens Collage Old Girls' Association led by its National President, Dr. Frances Funmi Ajose, submitted a petition concerning the sordid state of affairs in their alma mater to him at the National Assembly.

A former President Goodluck Jonathan has reopened issues about Nigeria’s historic 2015 presidential election which he and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.

President Muhammadu Buhari is again absent at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council currently holding inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. In his stead, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is presiding over the meeting. Penultimate Wednesday, Buhari was absent at the same meeting but the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it was nothing to worry about.

In a bizarre and audacious post, a policeman from Biu LGA in Borno state,  Inusa Saidu Biu  has threatened to kill at least 200 people if anything happens to President Muhammadu Buhari.  According to the armed officer, Buhari was poisoned but still survived. Now they're trying to force him to resign so that corruption will continue in the government.

Two senior army officers escaped harm as their convoy encountered and cleared four Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) buried by suspected elements of Boko Haram terrorists along their way from Bama to Gwoza on Saturday. Brig.- Gen. Sani Usman, the Director Army Public Relations stated this in a statement in Maiduguri.

The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has reacted to the death of two-term serving Senator, Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, a development he described as a sad personal loss. Saraki, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, described Adeleke — the first elected Governor of Osun State — as an important figure in the Eighth Senate.

A member of the Nigerian Senate, Isiaka Adeleke has died. The three-term Senator currently representing Osun West Senatorial district having won the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in 2015. Reports on Sahara Reporters said Mr. Adeleke died today at Bikets Hospital in Oshogbo the Osun state capital after suffering a heart attack according to family sources. He was 62 years.

The Presidential committee to investigate corruption allegations against the two suspended officials of the Buhari administration says it will conduct its work in camera.   A statement by the Vice President’s Spokesman, Mr Laolu Akande, on Saturday in Abuja said that the camera sitting of the committee would enable all parties in the matter to make full disclosures.

The suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke, has met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, where he admitted that his agency received the sum of $289,202,382 on the orders of former President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, ordered the suspension of Oke over the role of the NIA in the ownership of $43m (about N13bn) and other currencies uncovered in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Former England defender of Nigerian descent Ugo Ehiogu is dead.   The death of the 44-year-old ex-Aston Villa centre-back was announced by Tottenham Hotspur on their official website on Friday, a day after he collapsed and was taken to hospital. 

To avert the inconveniences experienced during the reconstruction of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Abuja) runway,  Aviation experts and other stakeholders in the sector  have called on the contractors, Julius Berger Nigeria not to move its equipment from the site and to ensure that it commences work on the second runway immediately.

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has expressed grief over the demise of the Chairman of Chanchangi Airlines and foremost businessman, Alhaji Ahmadu Chanchangi, who he described as an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist. Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the late Chanchangi would be missed for his philanthropy, diligence, management finesse and humble lifestyle. 

The naira has appreciated by N12 against the US dollar in the parallel market. This is coming due to $62 million dollar supply to Bureaux de Change segment by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The CBN yesterday sold $20,000 to 3,170 BDCs, amounting to $62 million supply into the segment.

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Lawal; and the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayo Oke. Their suspension orders were contained in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.

Why the cover-up? What is Aso Rock hiding from Nigerians? Who is the Buhari administration seeking to protect? And why is this Presidency exhibiting the traits of a confused administration that has a scandal on its hands but is looking for a way to cover up its shame and embarrassment? I’m talking about the $43m, £27,000 and N23 million discovered and recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the luxurious 16 Osborne Road, Ikoyi building on April 12 and the very disappointing manner the federal government has handled the matter so far.

The Nigerian Christian pilgrim Commission (NCPC) has commenced its 2017 bid opening for Air Carriers and Ground Handlers for the 2017 pilgrimage exercise to Israel, Rome and Greece. The event which took place at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja attracted prospective Air Carriers, Ground Handlers and observers.

Parents in Zimbabwe who cannot afford school fees can offer livestock such as goats or sheep as payment, a government minister has said. The country's education minister Lazarus Dokora told the pro-government Sunday Mail newspaper that schools will have to show flexibility when it comes to demanding tuition fees from parents, and that they should accept not only livestock, but also services and skills. "If there is a builder in the community, he/she must be given that opportunity to work as a form of payment of tuition fees," the paper quoted him as saying.

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport scheduled to be reopened tomorrow 19th April has officially reopened by the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirka on Tuesday for operation. Reports say an Ethiopan Airline landed in Abuja as the airport reopens. 

While Ayodele Oke, the Director-General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) has claimed that the $43 million, N23.2 million and £27,800 (N13billion)  cash found in an apartment in Lagos last week belongs to his agency, online newspaper, SaharaReporters is reporting that the woman seen hauling the money into the apartment in Ghana-Must-Go bags may have been Folashade Oke, his wife.

The Senate has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for responding to the motion moved during a plenary session by Senator Kabiru Marafa, chairman, Committee on Petroleum Downstream Sector, on the theft of petroleum products kept in the farm tanks of two oil companies and urged the corporation to take more radical measures to avoid recurrence.

The Managing Director Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma weekend declared that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway will today be ready for inspection by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and if certified okay by the regulatory authority, will be reopen for flight operations. This is two clear days before the reopening date of 19th  April of the runway for air traffic. 

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, said, weekend, that its actions towards the restoration of Biafra were legal within the ambits of the Nigerian law.

Senator Dino Melaye escaped death by the whiskers as gunmen invaded his house in the early hours of Saturday at Ayetoro-Gbede in Kogi State. The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the gunmen numbering about 10 arrived the house at about midnight through the bush and opened fire on the house from different directions. The house was riddled with bullets while two of the vehicles parked in the estate were damaged by the hoodlums.

As Christians celebrate Easter, Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has called for mutual respect among adherents of various faiths in the country, as this is the only guarantee for peaceful coexistence among different religions in the country. In his Easter message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki urged all Nigerians to unite in confronting the development challenges facing the nation and urged Nigerians to rededicate themselves to the service of God, the nation and humanity.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has urged Nigerians to use the occasion of the Easter celebration to rededicate themselves to the virtues of justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation, which he said were the essences of the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. Ekweremadu said no nation would make progress unless the people were willing to forgive the past, reconcile their differences, and enthrone justice for all, irrespective of their religious, ethnic, and political backgrounds. He stated this in his goodwill message to the Christian faithful at Easter.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has discovered another large sum of money in a house in Ikoyi, Lagos. According to the EFCC, operatives from its Lagos Zone found the cash during a sting operation. Specifically, it said the operatives uncovered about $38m, N23m and £27,000 from the apartment.

The self acclaimed street boy and winner of Big Brother Naija 2017, Efe has reportedly unfollowed thousands of Instagram friends after attaining "celebrity" status. Efe was allegedly following thousands of people on Instagram before the end of the reality TV show, but on Wednesday morning, some eagle-eyed Nigerians noticed that the handler of the page unfollowed a lot of people.  He's currently only following four celebrities and one of them is the sponsor of the show. 

Preamble- Africa and the poverty and misery dilemma Africa is still battling the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and de-industrialisation. These challenges combined to stifle her development. Nevertheless, rather than lament, African trade unions have elected to be focused and determined on seeking alternatives to defeat hardship and miseries and contribute to the continent’s structural transformation, especially work to secure resource mobilisation possibilities.

T he Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has constituted a panel of inquiry to investigate the fire incident that occurred at its headquarters in Lagos. The Managing Director of the Authority, Engr Saleh Dunoma made the disclosure, while addressing a press conference after he inspected affected areas alongside his management team.

The allegations that former President Goodluck Jonathan received $200 million as proceeds from the Malabu Oil deal which were published on a gossip news site, Buzzfeed, and republished by a few other newspapers, is false in its entirety, and is one more in the series of fake news sponsored by those threatened by Dr. Jonathan's continuously rising profile in the international community.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has charged the Federal Government to extend its whistle-blower policy in the anti-corruption war to the efforts to arrest the proliferation of arms and consequent incessant killings in various parts of the country.    Ekweremadu, who maintained that the right to life remained the single most important human right, said unless such illicit arms were mopped up, the mass killings and destruction would continue.  

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has said that the Senate will not make laws that interfere with the religious creeds of Nigerians.  Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, disclosed this when the Council of Ulama (Muslim clerics) in Nigeria visited him in Abuja. "I say that again, whatever laws we pass here, will be respectful to the religious beliefs of our people. We will not do anything that will in anyway go against that. 

Bisola Aiyeola, 1st runner up of the Big Brother Naija reality TV show said on Monday that she does not need to talk to former housemate Tony ‘ThinTallTony’ Offiong over his marital status. The newly appointed Ambassador of ONECampaign for the Girl-Child education said this during a news conference along with winner, Efe Ejeba at The Wheatbaker, Lagos. 

PRESS RRLEASE April 11, 2017 FIRE INCIDENT AT FAAN HEADQUARTERS There was a fire incident at the headquarters in Lagos today April 11, 2017. The incident, which affected some offices, is being investigated right now to find out the cause of the outbreak. The fire department, in collaboration with the Lagos State Fire Department and other security agencies   however responded swiftly by curtailing the spread of the fire, as normalcy is being restored already. The Authority will like to assure travelers, airport users and the general public that the incident did not affect operations at any airport in any way as normal operations continue unhindered. Henrietta Yakubu (Mrs.) Ag General Manager, Corporate Affairs.    

The All Progressives Congress (APC) youth under the auspices of League of Patriotic and Progressive Youths have commended the President of the Senate Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, over the recent passage of amendment to the Electoral Act, 2010 by the Senate.

For 11 weeks, Nigerians watched and talked about the second edition of the Big Brother Nigeria reality TV show. While it lasted, fans rallied around their favourite housemates. One by one, the housemates were evicted, based on the votes cast for them by the audience throughout Nigeria, other parts of Africa and beyond.

Brexit (Britain’s vote to exit the European Union) happened and the world suspected that something was amiss given the celebrated achievements of the bloc, and that the UK wouldlose out once it left the European Union. And then Donald Trump won the United States’ Presidency, a feat he achieved on a dose of racism, nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-establishment, anti-globalisation promises. Now there are real fears that the global world order is in for a serious and rude [re]awakening that might torpedo a lot of events, including posing serious threats to migrants, migration and development.  

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Thursday called for increased global attention for HIV/AIDS funding in Nigeria. In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, on the occasion of World Health Day 2017, Saraki, who is a medical doctor by training, stated that with the decision by major foreign donors to suspend funding for Nigeria’s HIV/AIDs programs, the fate of over 3.4million Nigerians living with the infection would remain uncertain.

The People's Democratic Party  (PDP) Senate Caucus  on Thursday  declared that there is no crack in its fold. The announcement is against the backdrop of insinuations that there is a growing rift within the opposition fold in the upper chamber, necessitating conflicting statements last weekend. However, in a statement in Abuja by its spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, he said contrary to such rumours the PDP caucus is united as ever and have rather reaffirmed its determination not to shy away from carrying out the constitutionally guarrantteed role as a coordinated and responsible opposition on the floor of the Senate.

Liberia was a settlers’ colony established by the America Colonisation Society (ACS) through series of processes from 1821 that came to a ‘successful’ end in 1847 as a response to the opposition to the demands for the abolition of slavery [1] in America. By 2017, Liberia will be 170 years old as a nation-state. But the formation of the first trade union was in 1959, precisely after 112 years of the founding of Liberia, with the creation of the Mechanic Workers’ Unions of Liberia.

Rising from their late night meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, the People's  Democratic Party (PDP) Senate Caucus endorsed political solution option as an enduring way of resolving the lingering leadership crisis besetting the party. However, the caucus which also unanimously appointed Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe as its spokesman, said in a statement that resorting to political option is without prejudice to the ongoing litigation at the Supreme court. 

British DJ “Dax J” has gotten over 200 death threats for using a sample of the Muslim call to prayer in a song that he played at a music festival in Tunisia The music, which was reportedly played at the Orbit Festival in the coastal city of Hammamet on Friday, caused scores of people to complain online about the musician. However the DJ Tuesday also apologised for using the Muslim call to prayer in the song at the music festival in Tunisia. 

When you feel excessively full and uncomfortable – you are bloated. Medical doctors will describe it as getting air trapped in your abdomen. Depending on the instance, it can be severe or mild. Most people experience bloating on a regular basis and it can lead to a distended or bulging stomach in some cases. If you have ever wondered why you feel bloated, even when you have not had a large meal, here are seven possible causes.

Ten people have been killed in an explosion between two underground stations in St Petersburg. The head of Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the blast hit a train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations.

The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has assured the Ministry of Health of the Senate’s commitment to supporting all efforts to put an end to the outbreak of meningitis in the country. The outbreak has reportedly claimed the lives of up to 328 people.

Love was clearly in the air at WrestleMania 33. WWE stars John Cena and Nikki Bella, who have been dating since 2012, got engaged in the middle of the ring in front of tens of thousands of fans at the WWE’s biggest event of the year. Following their match against The Miz and Maryse, Cena stopped the crowd and dropped to one knee before asking Bella to marry him.

Following Bally's exit from the show, we've got just 5 housemates remaining and also competing for N25Million and an SUV. As we're close to the grand finale next Sunday, here's all you need to know about the top 5 housemates.