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By Edward Jaleyemi Organizers of Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, AMVCAs, M-net in association with MultiChoice Africa have just named Kenya’s leading film maker and script writer, Njoki Muhoho as the head judge for the 2016 edition of the prestigious award. Names of other judges are being expected. Regional Director for M-Net (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Njoki addressing the press in Kenya Speaking at a press conference that is currently going on, at the ball room of Sarova Stanley hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, Regional Director for M-Net (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said, Muhoho was chosen to head the panel of judges because of her vast experience in film making and as a respected practitioner who has been on the panel before as a regular judge. She was Kenya ‘s National winner in the MNET New Directions Africa talent search in 1999. Throwing more light on the AMVCA 2016, Uzoukwu said, the organizers have added new categories this year such as regional category to boost the e

By Edward Jaleyemi Recently, the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator Bukola Saraki officially inaugurated Senator Babajide Omoworare representing Osun East Senatorial District at the Upper Chambers of the National Assembly as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, one of the most powerful committees of the legislature as its responsibilities being the ‘engine room’ or ‘power house’ of the Senate involves the scheduling of the day to day order of motions, bills and other matters of/for legislative deliberations and debate on the floor. Without any doubt, this as well as other committee appointments made by the Senate President since his assumption of office seem to be a case of precisely round pegs in round holes. Visibly, the choice of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as head of the Committee on Ethics and Privileges and Senator Ibrahim Gobir as chairman of the Committee on Senate Services are pointers. They are indeed without the least pol

By Edward Jaleyemi The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin has urged Nigerians to be security conscious towards averting suicide bombing on soft target by Boko Haram terrorists. The CDS gave the advice even as he challenged the research departments of the armed forces and other security agencies in the country to come up with viable and up to date technology in terms of equipment and platforms to help curtail insurgency and other crimes in the country. Speaking at the 2015‎ Nigerian Navy Research and development seminar, with the theme; ‘Innovation and Research and Development (R&D): Turning Bright Ideas to Operational Solutions’ in Abuja, Olonisakin attributed the high rate of soft target bombings by the Boko Haram insurgents being witnessed in the past couple of months, to the increase pressure on the insurgents in the North-eastern part of the country. According to him: “The issue of suicide bombings that we have been witnessing is as a result of the p

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has charged troops in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation to brace up their efforts to defeat terrorism in line with the presidential directive. This is contained in a statement issued by the acting Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. The statement said the coming days would be crucial to the operation aimed at eliminating insurgency from parts of the country. “The next few days will be crucial to `Operation Lafiya Dole’ and it is also crucial to our country Nigeria. “Our sovereignty as a nation is threatened, the Nigerian Army and indeed the military as the symbol of our nationhood is being challenged. “Our ability to stand and defeat the Boko Haram terrorists in the next few weeks will determine the future of our country,’’ it said. The statement said the military could not afford to lose the fight against insurgency as it was better trained and

I have tried delaying the writing of this piece in the honest expectation that someone probably misquoted Chief E.K. Clark, when he reportedly publicly disowned former President Goodluck Jonathan. I had hoped that our dear father, E.K. Clark, would issue a counter statement and say the usual things politicians say: “they quoted me out of context!” “Jonathan is my son”. That has not happened; rather, some other Ijaw voices, including one Joseph Evah, have come to the defence of the old man, to join hands in rubbishing a man they once defended to the hilt and used as a bargaining chip for the Ijaw interest in the larger Nigerian geo-politics. File Photo, L-R: Former PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Former President Goodluck Jonathan GCFR,(center) Chief Edwin Clark, and his Wife during the formal Launch of the Edwin Kiagbodo Clark Foundation and University of Technology, in Abuja. If President Jonathan had returned to power on May 29, 2015, these same persons would have remain

BY Edward Jaleyemi ABUJA – The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Ekpo Nta, yesterday, categorically noted that the country could only develop evenly, if the local government council as a third tier of government is accorded its place in governance and officials are thoroughly equipped with sound managerial acumen. Nta said that local government in Nigeria had the least developed institutional processes in the country. To this end, he said the commission had taken it upon itself to still integrity in the process of governance by educating local government officials on the corruption-prone processes, to improve good governance at the local level. Nta was speaking at the Anti-Corruption, Ethics and Integrity Training in Local Government Administration for Chairmen, Auditor-Generals and Secretaries Local Government Service Commissions in 36 States and the FCT, organized by Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), in Ab

By Edward Jaleyemi O SOGBO —The Ooni of Ife’s  second-in-command and the leader of Ile-Ife traditional kingmakers, the Obalufe (Orunto)  of Iremo quarters, Oba Solomon Omisakin is dead, aged 85. His death may have compounded the  uncertainty surrounding the selection process of the new Ooni of Ife which has resulted in litigations. However informed sources told  Vanguard  yesterday that; ‘’He had concluded the process of selection of the new Ooni before he died.’’ Oba Omisakin’s death is coming barely three months after the death of Oba Okunade Sijuwade in a London hospital. The Obalufe is also the prime minister of Ife and oversees affairs in the town in the absence of an Ooni. Vanguard  gathered that Oba Omisakin’s death occurred at about 10 am yesterday   at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital OAUTH, Ile Ife. Though the circumstance surrounding the death of the 85-year-old Obalufe was still sketchy at the time of filing this report, a close family source said

By  Edward Jaleyemi J os —A middle aged man, Bravo Kunde, said to be a junior staff in a branch of an old generation bank in Jos, in the early hours of yesterday, allegedly murdered his 80-year-old mother in cold blood. The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed the incident which occurred at Jenta Mangoro community of Jos North local government area. The deceased, identified as Mama Yakubu, was said to have sustained head injuries as a results of machete cuts inflicted on her by her son. A relative of the deceased, Baba Nati, said:  “Neighbours heard shouts in the house at about  6am  as the old woman was crying for help but before they could get there, the old woman was already lying in the pool of her blood.” It was gathered that relatives and neighbours beat the suspect, who was into excessive drinking and smoking, to coma. DSP Abuh said the suspect was picked up by the police in a state of coma and taken to hospital, adding that  investigati

By Edward Jaleyemi A KURE  — Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, who was kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen on his 77th birthday and released after paying N5m ransom four days after, has identified his abductors who were paraded before him by the police.  Falae on Tuesday, identified three of the suspects as those who kidnapped him and threatened to kill him if he failed to pay the ransom. Chief Falae, according to a police source, also identified one of the kidnappers who was kind to him. This came as the Police, Wednesday evening, recovered N137m from robbers who raided a new generation bank on Trans-Amadi Road in Port Harcourt. Suspected kidnappers of Chief Falae with their leader Abubakar Auta holding N823,900 of the ransom in Akure Falae’s abductors Five of Falae’s kidnappers were arraigned, yesterday, before an Akure High Court, Ondo and Chief Falae will be a star witness when the trial commences November 10. The suspects, who were dock

By Edward Jaleyemi ABUJA – THE Senate,yesterday, summoned the Controller General of Nigeria Customs Service,Col. Hameed Ali,to appear before it to explain why he did not only ordered the removal of rice from import restriction list but also approved its importation through land borders. The Senate said Ali would appear before its Ad- hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, on a yet to be determined date, to explain reasons behind his action, which it noted to be beyond him since the order restricting rice importation through land borders was a presidential one , issued in 2011. The action of the Red Chamber was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero,APC,Kebbi Central,and supported by 28 other senators, which was debated upon during plenary. In the motion titled: “The Danger Posed by the Removal of Rice from Import Restriction List and the Re- Introduction of Import Duty Payment at Land Borders”, Senator Aliero said lifting the ban place on rice import thro

Keybone, who is a Nigerian hip-hop recording artiste and songwriter, releases another video for the second single ”Let Me Go” off the album, Going Pro, Vol. 1. Let Me Go was produced by two certified hitmakers, Kimzbeatz and Vugar M beats and the second visuals by Keybone is a lyric video. Let Me Go by Keybone is available for download and streaming on iTunes, Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, SoundCloud, Deezer, GooglePlay and all other music streaming services. Listen to Let Me Go by Keybone on SoundCloud. https://soundcloud.com/officialkeybone/let-me-go-prod-by-kimzbeatz Watch Let Me Go (Lyric Video) by Keybone www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxxKkqZ3y34 Download the album, Going Pro, Vol. 1 by Keybone on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/going-pro-vol.-1/id1037778469 CONNECT WITH KEYBONE www.twitter.com/@Officialkeybone www.facebook.com/@Officialkeybone www.instagram.com/@Officialkeybone