A pretty young South African lady, Míllíćént O’Nókuthúlà Mśizá, who shouldn't be above 17 in age took to facebook to proudly flaunt her bare tits, closing just the nipples and areola, for all interested to see and admire her beauty.
This has now gone viral on all social media.
In keeping with the commitment of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration to the welfare of the workers, the Enugu State Executive Council (EXCO), today approved a 13th month salary for civil servants of the state as an added boost to celebrate the forthcoming Christmas.
The approval was the outcome of the meeting between the leadership of the Organized Labour in the state and the Council, held at the Government House, Enugu.
Reacting to the development, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Virginus Nwobodo stated that the gesture was unprecedented in the history of the state, considering the nation’s economic downturn that has made it impossible for many states to pay workers’ salaries.
Comrade Nwobodo commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for the offer, which he said was a surprise package borne out of his magnanimity and an incentive to the workers to motivate them to discharge their duties efficiently.
The Labour leader urged the state workers to reciprocate the gesture by putting in their best to increase productivity.
Also speaking, the state Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe, who equally appreciated the state government’s gesture, noted that the beauty of the offer is that the workers never asked or agitated for it, saying: “It was freely given to us and because of that, it is another milestone in this administration of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. and Comrade Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who is always passionate about workers’ welfare”
Comrade Igbokwe, who stated that the workers are part of the Enugu project, maintained that the leadership of the union and the workers will continue to appreciate the gesture and reciprocate by discharging their responsibilities for the growth and development of the state.
“We use this opportunity to commend His Excellency for his kind gesture and to continue to say that as Oliver Twist, good things will continue to come. Our prayer is that the state will continue to improve and increase its revenue so that more things will come the way of the workers”, Comrade Igbokwe said.
Senator Ayo Arise
A former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ayo Arise, was on Sunday kidnapped by gunmen.
He was kidnapped alongside his driver on the Okene-Abuja highway while travelling back to Abuja from his country home in Oye-Ekiti.
He was said to be travelling in his Mercedez Jeep as of the time of the incident.
A family source said the abductors had contacted his family and demanded N80m ransom from them.
The All Progressives Congress’ chieftain was said to have attended a ceremony at Ikere-Ekiti on Saturday, where a chieftaincy title was conferred on a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said, “Yes, he visited Ekiti State on Saturday before returning to Abuja.
“When we wanted to establish contact with him, we could not. The last time I called him was around 6pm, so the kidnap must have taken place around 7 pm.
“They have contacted us and demanded a sum of N80m ransom. We are worried because we don’t know his situation.
“The family is working hard to secure his release and we have contacted all the relevant agencies, including the Police, to come to our aid,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, Alberto Adeyemi, a Superintendent of Police, said he could not speak on the matter since the reported kidnap took place in Kogi State, which is outside his jurisdiction.
Arise was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation between 2007 and 2011 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He defected to the APC in 2015, having been denied the senatorial ticket of the PDP.
This is just as it said 720,000 Nigerians are on United States PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment with approximately four million Nigerians having received HIV counseling and testing services in 2017 alone.
The acting Public Affairs Officer of the United States Consulate, Kevin Krapf, made this disclosure during the commemoration of the 2017 World AIDS day held in Lagos.
The commemoration was organised by the consulate in collaboration with the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) led by the Provost, Professor Babatunde Solagberu.
With the programmed theme: ‘Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability and Partnerships’, Krapf said it reflects the US government longstanding leadership in addressing global HIV/AIDS, increasing our impact to move epidemics from crisis toward control.
He said: “It also highlights the historic opportunity to accelerate progress toward controlling, and ultimately ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a public health threat in countries around the world.
“Finally, it emphasises the critical role of transparency, accountability, and partnerships in reaching these goals.
“According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and has one of the highest new infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Many people living with HIV in Nigeria are unaware of their status due to insufficient recommended number of HIV testing and counselling centres.
“Low access of antiretroviral treatment remains an issue for people living with HIV in Nigeria, and I welcome the new commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria to use domestic funds to provide antiretroviral drugs to an additional 50,000 people living with HIV each year.
“The US government, through PEPFAR, has helped not only to save and improve millions of lives, but also transformed the global HIV/AIDS response.
“Currently, more than 720,000 Nigerians are on PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment and approximately four million Nigerians have received HIV counselling and testing services in 2017.
“Also, approximately 50,000 pregnant women have received antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.” Krapf added: “We are at an unprecedented moment in the global HIV/AIDS response. For the first time in modern history, we have the opportunity to change the very course of a pandemic by controlling it without a vaccine or a cure.
“Controlling the pandemic will lay the groundwork for eliminating or eradicating HIV which we hope will be possible through the future scientific breakthroughs which will lead to an effective HIV vaccine and cure.
“The US government continues to lead the way in the global HIV/AIDS response. But no one country or entity alone can end the AIDS pandemic.
“We are proud to partner governments, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, multilateral institutions, academic institutions, civil society and faith-based organisations, people living with HIV and many others in this project.
“Through this collective effort, we also expect to reduce the future costs required to sustain the HIV/AIDS response.”
It further said: “To accelerate progress toward HIV/AIDS epidemic control, PEPFAR continues to leverage the capabilities, assets, and technological know-how of the private sector, creating innovative solutions to complex problems.”
While thanking the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency for conducting a state-wide aggressive campaign, counselling and HIV/AIDS testing through its mobile clinic initiative, Krapf said theirdetermination to ensure a zero prevalence of HIV in the state aligns with the strategic plan of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
He also commended the Society for Family Health for providing quality health services to Nigerians, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
Following the perceived dominance of governors who owe workers’ salaries representing Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, in the 30-man committee inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari to fashion out a new national minimum wage, there are fears that the road to a fresh wage regime may not be easy.
In fact, organised labour has advised workers to prepare for war to make the new minimum wage a reality, warning that there could be a stalemate and protracted negotiations.
While the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, had, since two years ago, demanded for a N56,000 new minimum wage, United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, on its part, demanded for N90,000.
Meanwhile, the NLC has given indication that it will ask for more than N56,000, whereas the ULC is saying even N100,000 minimum wage will not be enough considering the indices and socio-economic realities on the ground.
The leaders of organised labour, represented by NLC and ULC, yesterday, took a suspicious look at the representatives of the NGF on the national minimum wage committed raised by the President, last week.
The governors in the committee are Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State; Hassan Dankwambo, Gombe State; Simeon Lalong of Plateau State and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State
The committee headed by a former Head of Service of the Federation, Ama Pepple, has membership drawn from the government, the private sector and the Organised Labour.
Speaking to Sunday Vanguard on the issue, the President of the ULC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said: “The presence of these governors in the committee, the fact that some of those representing the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, are mainly those who are not paying salaries and pensions speaks volume. In fact, we fear a stalemate because these governors represent anti-salary payment. They may be coming to justify why there should not be increment in salary.
These are governors who have not been able to pay the N18,000 minimum wage. They may be coming to tell you that the governors cannot bear the extra burden of salary increment.
“Surely, they have no moral justification to be in the committee unless it was by design by the NGF for these governors to represent the group. If that is the case, then the governors have an agenda to frustrate the emergence of a new national minimum wage. Therefore, we foresee protracted negotiations . As Organised Labour, we have to prepare for war; a long time battle to confront these governors because they do not want to pay even anything. However they come, we will engage them and ensure that the yearning of workers for a living wage, not just a minimum wage, is met. We have all the indices to justify our demand for even N100,000 minimum wage because the socio-economic condition, the inflation, the cost of living, the depreciation of the Naira and so on, are there for every body to see.”
Similarly, speaking through its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC said it was not unmindful of the dominance of governors that are owing salaries and pensions representing the NGF.
“We noticed the dominance of these governors in the representation of the NGF. The principle of tripartitism is that each party is free to choose its representative. So, the Governors’ Forum has chosen its representatives, there is nothing we can do about that. Yes, we noticed that most of those representing the governors are those owing salaries and pension.
But we still have the governor of Plateau State, who inherited a backlog of salaries on assumption of office, has not only cleared all the arrears, he is paying as and when due. We advise other governors to learn from him. So, his presence in the committee is a plus. Nevertheless, we will engage the committee with facts and figures, we will engage the committee and address issues as they come. We are prepared, Ozo-Eson said.
“We have equally said it publicly that, at the time we presented our demand for N56,000 new minimum wage, we did so with the indices on ground two years ago. Today, those indices are different based on the socio-economic reality on ground.
Today, a lot of things have taken place. There is high inflation, there is depreciation of the Naira, there is general high cost of living and there is the exchange rate factor. We expect the committee to look at these issues and aggregate things. We hope this committee will function like the last one. The last one even commissioned sub-committees to look at the socio-economic indices on the ground before arriving at the present minimum wage.”
Textile workers demand speedy negotiation
In a related development, workers in the textile industry have pleaded with the minimum wage committee to fast-track negotiations for a new wage, to recover lost time, saying workers will not have patience for unnecessary delays.
Speaking through the General Secretary of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, and a member of the National Executive Council, NEC, of NLC, Issa Aremu, the workers commended the inauguration of the minimum wage review committee.
“The five year cycle of the current Minimum Wage Act legally backing the subsisting negotiated minimum wage of N18000 signed by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 was due for negotiation in 2015, two years ago. The historic inauguration once again demonstrates the globally acknowledged concern of President Muhammadu Buhari to the welfare of the workers and citizens in general as contained in 1999 constitution.
History will record it that at a time some state governors unacceptably defaulted in paying workers as and when due, the President commendably wondered aloud to ask how these governors go to bed while for whatever reasons their workforce are not paid. President Buhari also went further to work his fatherly concern through serial bail outs of the defaulting states”, Aremu said.
Also speaking, yesterday, the National President of Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigerian (MHWUN), Comrade Biobelemoye Josiah, said Labour had a trusted leadership that will not allow government to use the minimum wage issue as a means of scoring political point.
“We are certain that should government try to employ delay tactics for any selfish gain, our leadership will pull out”, he said.
Josiah, who was fielding questions from journalists in Abuja at a reception ceremony organised by the Association of Medical Laboratory Technicians and Assistants of Nigeria (AMELTAN) in his honour said the NLC had made its demand known and was not likely going to change the position.
- The Vanguard
Report by the PUNCH on Sunday has it that not less than twenty (20) more exotic cars imported for members of the House of Representatives have arrived at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
Findings showed that the additional 20 units brought the total number of cars delivered to 260.
It implies that 100 units are still being awaited to make the vehicles go round all 360 members of the House.
Otherwise known as ‘utility’ or ‘committee’ vehicles, the House is buying 360 units of Peugeot 508 for legislative services.
Each unit is supplied at the price tag of N17m. This leaves the total cost of the 360 units at N6.1bn.
Investigations indicated that the 20 units started arriving at the legislative building early last week and as of Friday, all had been delivered.
The cars were neatly parked at a filling station adjoining the National Assembly Annex I and II premises. The filling station and the premises are separated by a barbed wire fence.
One National Assembly official said, “These additions came after so much pressure was mounted on the Chairman, Committee on House Services, Mr. Nasiru Baballe-Ila, by members.
“You will recall that the delayed supply of the utility cars since 2015 has been a source of friction in the House.
“Many members are disappointed in Baballe-Ila that in almost three years, his committee and the bureaucracy of the National Assembly are unable to supply utility vehicles to members.
“You will recall that as recently as October, about 120 members still did not have cars. With the additional 20, it means that 100 more lawmakers will wait into the New Year (2018) to get cars.”
The PUNCH gathered on Sunday that Baballe-Ila had convinced the leadership of House in 2015 to opt for Peugeot 508 cars with an initial understanding with Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited to supply the units in phases.
However, PAN reportedly later became uncomfortable with the deal, while the committee opened the gates for several sub-contractors to assume the supply of the vehicles.
With the development, The PUNCH learnt that most of the units were not supplied by PAN, but by other contractors, who resorted to importing the units from outside Nigeria, especially Dubai in the United Arab Emirate.
PAN’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Haroun Malami, told The PUNCH that his firm was no longer deeply involved in the supplies.
He stated, “The choice of Peugeot 508 against all other brands was based on overall value offered by the vehicle in terms of price, performance and residual value; the sub-contracting arrangement by the National Assembly was based on financial ease of transaction to the legislative arm.
“We are uniquely placed and committed to meet national and customers’ demand who are committed in meeting their financial obligation.”
Last October, some members had returned their cars to Baballe-Ila after they developed faults under 90 days of being delivered to them.
When he was contacted for comments on Sunday, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, informed The PUNCH that the arrival of the additional units merely confirmed the promise of the House to deliver the vehicles to members in batches.
“The cars will come in batches until all the members have their utility vehicles,” he stated.
Efforts by The PUNCH to get Baballe-Ila’s comments failed on Sunday.
The All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kano State also did not respond to a text message our correspondent sent to him.
Churchill OkonkwoChurchill Okonkwo
IPOB crumbled like cookies because it was anchored on deceit.
BY CHURCHILL OKONKWO Nov 28, 2017
This is the confessions of a dangerous mind that lied, to tell the truth. Even though it is very dark where I am held against my wish, I saw IPOB shake and tremble, and then fall to pieces like a house of cards. By using IPOB to promote the divisive rhetoric of seductive but destructive whisper that is pushing Ndigbo to the false comfort zone of isolationism, I erred.
I scratched the itching eye with the piece of wood meant for scratching an itching ear. In my arrogance, I never imagined that should the Nigerian security operatives make a determined effort to extinguish me, the human rocks I had piled as a barrier around my father’s house would come tumbling down. The invasion of my father’s house by murderous Nigerian security operatives and the subsequent killing of many of my unarmed followers was an “aha” moment for me. I feel sadness over the death of Umu Igbo in the quest for Biafra that should never have occurred. I am confessing that IPOB’s foolhardiness led to their death.
In the words of wisdom from a great mind Albert Einstein, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” I am confessing that IPOB’s absurdity has no limit.
We are like lepers whose hand Ndigbo shook and we overcome with excessive affection. Because Igbos honored the Biafran spirit and heroes and stayed home when we threatened them, we arrogated that honor to ourselves and got carried away.
After I recently disappeared into thin air, my comrades in IPOB, rather than change gear and save our fast depleting gunpowder, exhausted them in the false hope that they will stop the November 18th governorship election in Anambra State. The call for a boycott of that election finally exposed our dirty ass. The residual energies after my dramatic disappearance could not coalesce around the elusive goal of forcing Ndi Anambra to boycott the governorship election.
Suddenly, the almighty IPOB has crumbled like a cookie. Now, I have not only killed my obsession with breathless pursuit of an elusive Biafran goal, I have also left the beautiful mess IPOB, directionless. I guess that’s what happens when a headless ram like IPOB initiates a head fight with the bull, Nigerian military operatives.
Even in this present state of damped optimism, I don’t want any of the pro-Biafran independence agitators to lose their outrage over the state of affairs in Nigeria and Igbo land because, in outrage, there is hope. However, having observed the collapse of the move for independence even after a referendum by the Catalonians and Kurds in Spain and Iraq, respectively, I have concluded that one of the first steps to real liberation is not to build on lies and deceit.
IPOB crumbled like a cookie because it was anchored on deceit. Fiction is a deceit. IPOB’s promise of an independent state of Biafra is a fiction. My promise to Igbos who do not understand the political realities of Nigeria that Biafra is about to be actualized “now” was a deceit. Biafra that contemplates actualization through the derogation of every ethnicity in Nigeria in the 21st century is a deceit.
Yet, fooled with this incoherent rhetoric and false hope, my Igbo brothers favored this deceit. I was absolutely wrong about this deceit and I apologize to IPOB members, followers and supporters. I erred by using the same rhetoric as that of the 1990s that led to civil war in Burundi and Rwanda, fueling passions that are always very difficult to extinguish.
IPOB fell like a pack of cards because I used a basket to collect water. Now, I have realized that mobilizing others requires that those doing the mobilization have their acts together, including, a sound strategy, and the right people in place. Despite the massive support garnered by IPOB in its quest for the actualization of the independent state of Biafra, the movement failed primarily because the mobilization was around elusive goals. Most importantly, IPOB failed because my leadership style can at best be characterized as braggadocio.
Looking back at my missteps in the past couple of years, I have realized that the mobilization by IPOB has been built on false hope, hence the inevitable failure. The truth is that propaganda on social media alone will not result in any lasting political gains. The more the incoherence of IPOB, MOSOB, BIM, Biafran Zionist, filters through, people get used to it and Igbo generations will waste their time on jamboree rather than constructive political engagement.
Thus the crux of this confession is to say that, what matters, in the end, is what is made out of the existing grievance and not the grievance itself. I have realized that if one shoots a lizard along his path as he climbs a zigzag tree, his supply of gunpowder will be exhausted. Please let us mobilize Ndigbo around a realistic goal rather than waste our gunpowder on social media.
Presently, there is a lull, except the familiar, though, damped misinformation by my IPOB Internet Soldiers. This is because there is still a vacuum, a big vacuum begging to be filled with reference to the mobilization of Igbo people around a vision that is in our best interest in Nigeria.
I am happy this time out in an unknown location has made me realize that at IPOB, we have our politics backward. Rather than overwhelming its adversaries, IPOB has been run aground by its own missteps. Our politics based on suspicion of other ethnic groups offered no answers to the cosmopolitan Nigeria with millions of Igbos in every corner working hard and earning a living.
From my unknown location and with my head cooling off now, it is so evident to me that nothing less than a fundamental rethinking of our modus operandi is required. At this moment that IPOB have demonstrated its incapacity of sound strategy and reasoning, a new politics should arise in its place. It is my hope that this new politics will not be a complaint-based like IPOB, but rather, a Renaissance similar to Martin Luther King’s positive vision as articulated in “I have a dream” speech. Let this new Renaissance replace IPOB’s doomsday discourse with aspirational and future-oriented one.
Please use this confession going forward to affect the much needed new path to Igbo Renaissance. Our collective path forward as Ndigbo in these very troubled times depend on what we do next.
Merry Christmas in advance. I love you all
(This unendorsed, yet classic confession of Nnamdi Kanu was coded and transmitted from his unknown location but decrypted by my Biafran Spirit).
You can email Churchill at churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @churchillnnobi.
- SAHARA REPORTERS
The former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has spoken out on the allegations of corruption levelled against him.
He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow him prove his innocence in the cases he is currently enmeshed in.
Maina made the call in an exclusive interview with Channels Television broadcast on Monday during its News At 10 programme.
He said, “Thank God our President stands for the truth, the unfortunate thing is that some people around him whom he has given trust are lying to him; this one I can attest to and I can give you instances, I can give you documentary evidence,” Maina said.
“I’m appealing to you Mr President, there are so many things people are not telling you; when I get to that public hearing I will tell you some things that nobody ever told you Mr President because I never had the opportunity to sit down with you.”
Trouble started for Maina in 2015 when he was accused of being involved in a pensions fund fraud and later declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. His reinstatement in 2017 sparked criticism.
However, Maina who denied any involvement in the pension fraud claimed that his team, instead, recovered about N282billion for the government and that his life was in danger.
He said he was ready to prove to the President that he was innocent of the allegations against him by recovering N1trillion in three months if given the opportunity.
“I recovered money for the last administration and I recovered money for this administration. Most people may not understand this but let me explain this to Nigerians because I want the truth to be told and I want Nigerians to understand the truth and know what is going on in Nigeria.
“Listen, I am not afraid of anybody, I am saying the truth. People portray themselves as if they are saints around the President; it’s a lie, they are not. We recovered as a team, N282billion cash. Aside from the N282bn, we were able to bring information and caught 43 pension suspects.
“They have threatened me, they have threatened my lawyer, they have threatened my brother, sister; they have threatened us all that I will be killed.
“Mr President, I will give you information and documents that will fetch you over N3trillion now in Nigeria, give me nine months. Within the first three months, I will show you N1trillion just like I showed you N1trillion in this 2017,” he said.
The Old Rugged Cross - By Brad Paisley -Lyrics
On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross
The emblem of suff'ring and shame
And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Oh, that old rugged Cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
In the old rugged Cross, stain'd with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above
To pardon and sanctify me
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
To the old rugged Cross, I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away
Where his glory forever I'll share
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Songwriters: T Brown
The Old Rugged Cross lyrics
