Three million Nigerians already registered with my coalition – Obasanjo

A former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday said that three million Nigerians have registered with the Coalition Movement of Nigeria (CMN) formed to effect political change in the nation ahead of 2019.

He called citizens to ensure they have their voter cards ahead of the 2019 elections.

Mr. Obasanjo made the disclosure while speaking atthe 14th Annual Lecture of Women in Management, Business and Public Service, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

He said the coalition in conjunction with other movements is the way out of the nation’s political problems.He said the movement would make an inroad into the grassroots across the country.

He pointed out that he would pull out of CNM when it transforms into a political party and sponsors persons for elective offices in future elections.

Mr. Obasanjo also encouraged women to be active participants in the next political dispensation, addingthey should be ready to support the next phase of the political process.

The former president, who was a guest speaker on the theme, ‘Press for Progress: Women in Politics and Nation Building’, said he was ready to give adequate and full support to women towards playingrelevant roles in the country.

Mr. Obasanjo lamented that no woman has attained the position of an elected governor, senate presidentand some other top positions in the country.

Police to declare Senator Dino Malaye wanted

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Saturday said it would declare Senator Dino Malaye wanted if he fails to appear before a Federal High Court in Lokoja Kogi State on 28th March 2018.

A statement from Police Spokesman ACP Jimoh Moshood said working on intelligence, the Kogi State Police Command personnel and operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad trailed and arrested two  suspects, Kabiru Saidu and Nuhu Salisu after a gun battle with the Police team that lasted for some hours on the 19th January, 2018 at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.

He said  “During investigation, they confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the commissionof several kidnappings and armed robbery, murder and other violent crimes in different parts of Kogi State for which they have been on the wanted list of the Police for more than two years now.”He added that, “the gang leader revealed that he andhis gang have been working as political thugs for one Alh. Mohammed Audu a politician in the State and that Alh. Mohammed Audu invited him to Abuja and introduced him to Senator Dino Melaye and theymet on Airport road, Abuja inside Senator Melaye’s Car in December, 2017.

Moshood said Kabiru Saidu further confessed to the Police investigative team that Senator Dino Melaye handed over a bag containing firearms; one AK47 rifle, two pump action guns and the sum of N430 thousand to share with his boys.

He said, “The Police conducted investigation into thecriminal indictments against Sen. Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu and discovered that the two of them have case to answer.

He said, “The two  suspects namely; Kabiru Saidu and Nuhu Salisu were paraded at the Kogi State Command Headquarters, Lokoja on 19th March, 2018.

– Daily Trust

Why we keep ‘secret accounts’ unknown to our husbands – Women.

Women in the FCT on Wednesday expressed divergent views on why they operate secret bank accounts without the knowledge of theirspouses or partners.

Some of these women told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the reasons for shielding such accounts from their husbands range from mistrust, fear of separation and behaviour change.

However, some said it was to enable them to save money for the `rainy day’ as well as to assist their family members without unnecessary confrontation from their husbands or partners.

Jummai Danladi, a health worker, said that she did not trust her husband and had no confidence that her marriage would stand the test of time.“I do not trust my husband because he cheatson me indiscriminately; his infidelity is affecting our marriage; the marriage may collapse any moment; that is why I am secretly saving for the rainy day.

According to her, the money she is saving without his knowledge is to enable her to takecare of herself and the children when the needarises.Meanwhile, Bunmi Ade, a sales representative, said that her husband is a spendthrift and mismanages the family’s resources.

My husband and I have a joint account but I had to secretly open another one because he squanders the money on frivolities.“However, when an important and urgent need arises we end up borrowing to solve it,” Mrs. Ade said.

According to her, she lends him money from her personal savings and collects interest claiming it is from her office cooperative to dissuade him from spending indiscriminately.Loveth Chukwuma said her husband’s lack of respect and regard for her and her family led to the non-disclosure of her financial status.

My husband has little regard for my family and rarely attends to their needs even when itis urgent.“In order to avoid friction, I operate my account without his knowledge and I use my money to cater for my parents and personal needs without bothering him.

Similarly, Gift Emmanuel, a food vendor, said she hid her money from her husband becauseit was his responsibility to carter to the needs of the family.“Him money, na our money: it is his responsibility to provide everything that will be needed in the house.

After all, he promised to do that when I married him.“It is an irresponsible man that would expect his wife to take care of financial obligation of the family, especially when he is working,’’ Mrs. Emmanuel said.

Gunmen invade military base, ‘kill 12 Nigeriansoldiers’

At least 12 soldiers were killed after some gunmen raided a military base in Kampanin Doka in Birnin Gwari local government area ofKaduna state.

A source who disclosed this to TheCable said the incident occurred on Tuesday night.

The soldiers were said to be among a  detachment of troops deployed to the village to ensure security for expatriates and others working on a new road linking Zamfara and Kaduna states through Dansadau-Dangulbi and Birnin Gwari.

The expatriates reportedly fled the town after one of them was kidnapped last year.They were said to have returned after soldierswere deployed in the town.

A source at the emirate council told The Cable that the attackers killed three soldiers in a hole and nine others elsewhere within the camp.

We gathered that the soldiers had caught a thief in a village called Maganda in the area and were taking him back to their camp when some personnel of the Nigerian Police Force asked them to hand over the thief to them which the soldiers refused,” he said.

The same police followed the soldiers to their camp in Kampanin Doka and again asked them to hand over the thief to them, but the soldiers still refused.

Around 8pm on Tuesday, bandits attacked the soldier’s camp and killed three soldiers in a hole and nine others in a tent in the camp.”The source called on the state government to find a means of tackling the activities of suspected bandits in the area.

The government has not deemed it fit to declare the bandits as terrorists and are still describing the attacks as farmer/herdsmen conflict,” he said.“This is not the case, in fact, now there are no cows in the area because of banditry.

When contacted, Mohammed Dole, spokesman of the 1 division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, said a statement would soon be issued.“We are preparing a press release which will be released to the media as soon as possible, please give me some time” he said.

- The Cable

Those who voted Buhari in 2015 should ask God for forgiveness'' - Fayose

Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, who is a strong critic of the Buhari administration, said this when he spoke to representatives of teachers, local government workers and private sector operators who paid him a courtesy visit in the state house in Ado-Ekiti, under the Oshoko Mass Movement(OMM), a political group.“Those who voted Muhammadu Buhari as the president of our country must seek for forgiveness. His leadership has brought unimaginable hardship and misery on the people.

The killing is too much and if he continues in office the hardship will be intolerable. They said he would come and make the difference and make things better but the reverse is the case. Unemployment is second to none and he has killed the economy and made the people poorer. The level of nepotism is also unprecedented.

Even their so-called fight against corruption is laced with favouritism and is one-sided,”he saidFayose during his speech, lamblasted the former governor of the state now Minister of Mines and Steel, Kayode Fayemi, for allegedly not using his office for the benefit of the state.

There are natural deposits across Ekiti, President Muhammadu Buhari spent N40 billion searching for crude oil in the north, what is Fayemi doing to unearth the minerals that abound here?” he asked.Fayose thanked Ekiti teachers and parents for making it possible for the state to take a big leap in the secondary education sector.

He applauded them for endorsing his deputy,  Kolapo Olusola, as his successor.

Corruption no longer threat to economy, says APC National Chairman

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, says corruption no longer poses a threat to the national economy because of the war being waged against it by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Chief Odigie-Oyegun said this yesterday in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat, when he received the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi and the management team on a courtesy visit and official notification of his nomination for a fellowship award and invitation to the 15th combined convocation ceremony ofthe institution scheduled for Wednesday, March 28, 2018.“On corruption, we all know that corruption is fighting back.

But it is not a problem, you fight with a flick of a switch, because corruption is very rich, corruption is very wealthy, corruption is very elitist; they are bound to fight back and theyare fighting back. But thank God we have a president who is single-minded about taming that scourge and tame it with will.

We know now that corruption is not as brazen as it was.“We don’t just now take money from the public till and distribute to politicians and the rest of it, that no longer happens... nobody is saying corruption has been wiped out, there is no country in the world where corruption has been wiped out; but it is being tackled in Nigeria to the point where it can no longer be a threat to the national economy, where it does not become an acceptable way of life, of doing business,” He said.

EFCC, ONSA Arrest Boroh, $9m Cash Recovered

Operatives of EFCC and ONSA, have discovered $9 million cash at the residence of the sacked Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired Brig.-Gen. Paul Tarelah Boroh.

Boroh, who was Special Adviser on Niger Delta to President Muhammadu Buhari has also been arrested according to Vanguard.

The discovery of the cash was made a few hours after his arrest by a combined team of EFCC and operatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujiaren, confirmed the arrest and cash recovery in response to enquiries.A senior security agent said Boroh was picked up from his home in Gwarinpa, Abuja, on Monday.He was reported to have been taken back to his residence at about 3 a.m.

Tuesday by the security operatives who raided his house for hours and made the cash discovery of $9 million at his homeHe remains in the custody of the EFCC.Vanguard

FG Confirms 76 Dapchi School Girls Were Freed... Girls Receiving Treatment...

The Federal Government have also confirmed the release of 76 abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

The government said the girls were released unconditionally following the intervention of “some friends of Nigeria.

A statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the 76 girls were those that had been documented so far.

A residents also confirmed to The Nation that the girls are currently receiving treatment at the GeneralHospital in Dapchi."The girls are looking terrible.

Most of them are on drip because they very exhausted and underfed, ” a medical personnel  at the hospital said.At least 110 students were abducted from their hostels by Boko Haram militants on February 19.

We are happy some are back, may God let others bereturned safely too, Amen.

Celine Dion Celebrates Mom’s 91st Birthday..

To celebrate her dear mother’s 91st birthday, CelineDion posted a heartwarming photo that shows the powerful love the duo shares between them!

The singer marked the occasion by sharing a photo of a meaningful mother-daughter moment on her Instagram account.

The sweet picture showed the mother and daughter singing together with the caption:

“Happy Birthday, Mom!” the 49-year-old wrote in the caption. “You are an infinite source of comfort and inspiration.

I love you.”Dion’s mother has supported her daughter’s music career from the very beginning. When Dion was just12 years old, she wrote her first song with the help of her mom and her brother Jacques.

And, the singer’s sweet message to her mom came just two and a half weeks after she shared a similar post to celebrate her late father.

In that post, she shared a picture of her father and wrote: “Papa, you would have been 95 years old today,” she wrote. “I think ofyou and I love you.”Dion’s father, Adhemar-Charles Dion, died back in 2003. Dion’s parents are both musicians themselves and were married for 48 years.

Dion is the youngest of their 14 children.

Student, 20, Remanded In Prison For Impersonating Emir Of Kano

A 20-year-old student, Sultan Bello, was on Wednesday remanded in prison custody by a Kano Senior Magistrates’ Court, for impersonating the Emir of Kano,Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II.

The accused who resides at Ja’oji New Court Road Quarters, Kano, is facing a three-count charge of impersonation, cheating and defamation of character.

The Senior Magistrate, Hassan Ahmad, ordered the remand of the accused and adjourned the case untilMarch 26, for summary trial.

The accused had pleaded guilty to the charge. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Haziel Ledapwa, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Feb. 27.

Ledapwa said that the defendant operated an Instagram page and dubiously posted himself as the Emir of Kano“The accused also demanded N1.4 million from one Barka Sani, N150,000 from Sadiq Saflan, N50,000 from Sadiq Sani, N50,000 from Aisha Ahmad, N50,000 from Surajo Zakari and N150,000 from Yahaya, totaling N1.85 million.

He also told the court that the accused demanded the money on the pretext that one Hausa film actress, Zubaida Mu’azu, sang a song for him as the Emir of Kano.

“The accused requested the complainants to pay the said amount into the actress’ First Bank account number 3049986447,” he said.According to the prosecutor, the offences contravene Sections 132, 322 and 392 of the penal code.

NAN