ONE WORD

Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), an NGO, on Tuesday urged Sen. Ali Ndume and other senators of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept the supremacy of the party. Ndume, and Oshiomhole President of the NGO, Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, told journalists in Abuja that the political decisions of the party should override those of individual members. Nnam said that allegiance and obedience to party decisions were critical to viable democracy in the country. “Ali Ndume and others, who wish to aspire to leadership positions in the red chamber ought to drop the idea in accordance with loyalty to party supremacy. “None of them got elected as an individual candidate, but on APC platform. Therefore, they must abide by the party’s decision,” Nnam said. According to him, there is a need for a cordial relationship between the legislature and the executive for economic stability. He also advised PDP and other political parties represented in the Senate to support APC...

The election of the next Senate President as obvious is barely 55 days and it still remain vague who President Muhammadu Buhari’s has taken as his choice candidate. The top contenders, Ahmed Lawan and Mohammed Ali Ndume, still claims up till this time t they both have his covet the backing of the president as a result of this silence flaunting their confidence to occupy the nation’s number three position. Lawan’s campaign group argues that the position of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is automatically that of the president. But Ndume’s supporters disagree, saying Buhari gave his blessing to their candidate before and after the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections. But Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima yesterday openly adopted Lawan, urging APC members to demonstrate loyalty and do the same.He told reporters in Abuja: “I hail from the same state with the distinguished Senator Ali Ndume and I appreciate the fact that politics is local, but pol...

Festus Nigerians have tackled Festus Keyamo (SAN) over a statement he made that anyone running as president or governor in Nigeria does not need a WAEC certificate. Keyamo had argued, “Yes. Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution defines ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’ to mean Primary 6 School Leaving Certificate plus the ability to just speak, write, understand and communicate in English language to the satisfaction of INEC. No WAEC certificate is needed.” Meanwhile, the statement has set Twitter agog, as it has so far become a trending topic, with 4,622 tweets as at the time of collating these reactions. See some of the responses: @renoomokri: @OfficialAPCNg took Senator Adeleke to Court, alleging that he had no certificate, now a shameless Festus (Stephanie Otobo) @FKeyamo is arguing that @MBuhari DOES NOT need a WAEC certificate to be President. It’s like saying you need a certificate to be gateman but not to be MD! ‏@chosensomto: When Buhari hires 13 SANS to def...

Some Senators-elect from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have envisaged that the 9th Senate would be an appendage of the executive, if Ahmed Lawan, who was endorsed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), becomes the Senate President. Speaking in separate interviews with select journalists in Abuja, the PDP Senators-elect vowed to give block vote to any APC candidate who will not be seen as a “rubber stamp” of the executive and can protect the independence of the legislature. The PDP Senators-elect believed the endorsement of Lawan by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will easily compromise the Independence of the legislature. The PDP Senators-elect are, however, silent on their preferred candidate for the Senate President seat, even though Senator Danjuma Goje and former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume are in the race. A Senator-elect from the North Central who pleaded anonymity posited: “I have been a member in the House of Rep...

Everything you need to live well Superstar Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Genevieve Nnaji has joined fans around the world to celebrate Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya for winning the UFC middleweight interim belt. Adesanya cruised to victory on the fifth round with each judge scoring the fight 48-46. The pair met with the interim belt on the line as a result of events in February. On his win, Adesanya said after the fight, “I was willing to give it all and leave it all in there. I’m the champion, let’s go.” Also reacting to his victory,  Nnaji tweeted a congratulatory message as she urged Nigerians to always value each other. She wrote, “We the people will always be our nation’s most valuable resource. Let’s value each other, even when our Govt sleeps on us. Congratulations @stylebender. Thank you for yet another proud moment.” Nnaji was recently in the news when she took to Instagram and shared an image which read that the ‘boys will be boys’ claim is a form of objec...

A new research has revealed that children from low-income backgrounds, where parents have a low level of education, have weaker brain activity and are more likely to be distracted. The Lead researcher, Prof John Spencer, from the University of East Anglia’s School of Psychology and his team studied the brain function of children aged between four months and four years in rural India. They compared their results with children from families in Midwest America and found that children from lower-income backgrounds, had weaker brain activity and were more likely to be distracted. “Each year, 250 million children in low and middle income countries fail to reach their developmental potential which shows the growing need to understand the global impact of poverty on early brain and behavioural development.” Spencer added that “Previous work has shown that poverty and early adversities significantly impact brain development, contributing to a vicious cycle of poverty. But few studie...

Following submissions made by the legal team of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Election Tribunal that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is not a Nigerian by birth following the plebiscite conducted in 1961 for the people of the present day Adamawa State, questions have been raised as to the relevance or otherwise of the issue to the matter before the tribunal considering that this is an issue that calls the nationality of some and the patriotism of others to the Nigerian nation. Let me start by saying that there is no way a non-Nigerian could have been our vice president, the second highest office of the land, from 1999 – 2007. Subscribing to Buhari’s argument as it relates to Adamawa would mean that Nigeria was recolonised by no more a country than Cameroon. As a Nigerian, this is one fallacy I cannot subscribe to, and it is one fallacy Nigerians must not subscribe to no...

Four suspected cultists were killed during a clash between two rival cult groups of Aiye and Eiye in Ajah area of Lagos State on Sunday. A very reliable source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that two suspects were arrested by operatives from Police Area “J” Command, Ajah over the killings. Sources told NAN that the cult groups had been at logger heads over supremacy in the Sangotedo area of Ajah in recent times. The suspected cultists used machetes and other dangerous weapons in the fight and inflicted fatal wounds on themselves. “The police recovered four dead bodies and deposited them at the public mortuary. Three cutlesses were also recovered from the suspects. “Security has been beefed-up in the area with more patrol policemen deployed. The area is calm now,” the source told NAN. Policemen are also combing bushes on the road between Ogonbo community and Abraham Adesanya Estate in the Ajah area for more victims. Source:https://samueljackson12.blogsp...

People take part in an anti-government demonstration called by the yellow vest “Gilets Jaunes” movement, on April 13, 2019, in Laval, western France. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron was to set out a series of major policy announcements Monday in response to five months of nationwide “yellow vest” protests, in what has been billed as a make-or-break moment for his presidency. Yet the task of trying to satisfy the many, sometimes competing demands coiled up in the protests will be a tricky one for the 41-year-old leader, who was elected two years ago on promises of sweeping changes. His reform drive was abruptly knocked off course by the yellow vests, whose movement erupted in November against social inequality. Macron responded by embarking on a major voter-listening exercise between January and March called the “Great National Debate”, in which grievances were aired during thousands of town hall-style meetings. “We have decided to tran...

Everything you need to live well The end of the last Star Wars trilogy has been dubbed ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ and now the official trailer has given fans a first look into what the next movie has in store. “We’ve passed on all we know,” Luke Skywalker says in ominous, wise voice-over in the trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. “A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight.” From the trailer we can see that after a time jump of an unknown length, we’re back with Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, and the rest of the crew. New cast members include a little droid named D-0, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell. At the end of the trailer, there’s a menacing laugh which most fans have attributed to Emperor Palpatine and could herald his return. Watch the Star Wars ‘Rise of Skywalker’ trailer via YouTube below; Source: https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/04/watch-first-official-trailer-for-star.html ...

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the Federal Government has approved commencement of work on the Nigeria-Seme-Benin Republic road project. Mr Hakeem Bello, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Communication, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Fashola was quoted as disclosing this at the 12th Ministerial Steering Committee and Experts Meeting for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme in Lome. The minister, who is also the chairman of the committee, said that the project would be executed in a flexible manner to improve commuter servic. He said that work on the project would be done in a manner that would make it adaptable to the results of the feasibility and technical studies. Fashola expressed delight that, while the personnel of Presidents and Ministers who launched the initiative had changed, commitment to the project has remained unchanged. He said that the committee had put in place, a system w...

Magodo area, Lagos Plans by the Lagos State New Towns Development Authority (NTDA) to review Magodo 1 and 11 schemes and introduce a mixed-use development have been resisted by the residents. The Guardian learnt that the state has through its consultant; Messrs MOLAJ concluded review of the master plan for the exclusive residential estate done between 1960 and the early 70s. In the draft copy sighted by The Guardian, the new land use for the estate will cover 2018 till 2028 . From the draft plan, some of the areas are delineated to accommodate up to three floors, where others will accommodate four floors. There was also provisions for the dredging of the canal and wet lands slated for further development, while more access roads are proposed for the otherwise gated estate. Already, the state on April 1, staged a stakeholders meeting, where the plan was to be presented for final acceptance with approved order and number of plots already allotted. But the executive member...