ONE WORD

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state, has presented the staff of office to the four new Emirs. The exercise follows the recent split of the Kano Emirate into five. The Governor proceeded to present the staff against the orders of a court, restraining him from implementing the breakup of the Emirate. In a statement by his chief secretary, Abba Anwar, said the governor presented the instrument to Aminu Ado-Bayero, the eldest son of the late emir of Kano, as the emir of Bichi. He also presented to Ibrahim Abubakar II, emir of Karaye; Tafida Abubakar-Ila, emir of Rano, and Ibrahim Abdulkadir, emir of Gaya. “This Staff of Office represents dedication and commitment to serve your subjects in the areas of security, health care delivery system, education and environment among others,” said the governor while congratulating the new first class traditional rulers. “We, as a government, are always ready to work with you hand in hand for the growth and development of our state i...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met separately behind closed doors with Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Samuel Ortom, Benue, and Nasir El-Rufa’I of Kaduna, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Details of the meetings are still being awaited, but Ambode told State House correspondents that he was in the villa to thank the president for his visit to Lagos State in April where he inaugurated several projects. On his part, Ortom disclosed that he updated the president on the current security situation in Benue. Buhari also met with Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where he was quoted as congratulating him over his re-appointment for another five-year term.

K ehinde Bamigbetan , the  Lagos State commissioner for information , was earlier today involved in a car accident. The accident occurred on way from Ile-Ife. Thankfully, he survived the accident though he sustained some neck injury.

Ag. IGP Adamu By Carl Umegboro Road trips along the Kaduna-Abuja highway is cataclysmically becoming more than nightmares. Simply put; a no-go area. The rate of armed banditry, kidnapping and sundry heinous crimes taking place in the environs worrisomely demand a state of emergency by the governments. Figures of casualties are abysmally, rapidly rising on daily basis. From Abuja to Kaduna is approximately 188.7 Kilometers; roughly three hours drive. By implications, Kaduna shares proximity with the seat of power and possibly habours some oblique characters that find it difficult to operate within the federal capital territory owing to heavy presences of all the security agencies with their headquarters. Recently, the acting-Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Adamu at a Northern Traditional Rulers Council meeting in Kaduna unequivocally, pointedly attested that crime rate in the country has alarmingly recorded 1,071 persons killed, 685 abducted in the first quarter of 2019 ...

Senator Ike Ekweremadu has said he will not be seeking re-election into the Senate come 2023. This is according to a press statement made by the lawmaker on Sunday, May 12 in celebration of his 57th birthday. In his communique, Ekweremadu appreciated God and his constituents for his re-election and triumphs, noting that he was raised to address enormous challenges faced by his people. The parliamentarian said 2023 will be time to call it quits, adding, however, that as the 9th Assembly gets underway, he will ensure that all ongoing projects within his constituency are finished. He said he will continue to collaborate with others within the Senate and outside, to ensure that the nation begins to enjoy peace, justice, and unity on a different pedestal. “I will work with other patriotic Nigerians within and outside the National Assembly and across party, ethnic, and religious lines to address issues of disunity, insecurity, and poverty currently threatening our nation. I beli...

The recently balkanized Kano Emirate was created during the time of Shehu Uthman dan Fodio. It is currently presided over by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji  Lamido Sanusi II. It is generally believed that the breakup of the old Kano Emirate was done to victimize the current Emir of Kano for his outspokenness. In the course of the whole controversy, some damaging information was circulated to discredit the Emir of Kano. Kano state has been the focus of most socio-political discussions in Nigeria. These discussions have been centred around the recent balkanization of the famous Kano Emirate. It is no longer news that the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, last week signed into law and created 5 new Emirates from the old Kano emirate. In some of the posts in circulation, several damaging accusations were made against the Emir. Some of them reportedly accused the Emir of demonstrating a needlessly opulent lifestyle that involved the acquisition of 2 Rolls Royces. ...

Umar Ardo, cousin to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Sultan of Sokoto, and Muslims in Kano State to resist the creation of four new emirates by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. Speaking with The Interview, a political magazine, he accused the royal house of aiding and abetting the governor. He said Sanusi had done nothing wrong but was only being victimised for his outspokenness. ‘’The Sultan, all members of the caliphate, the Muslim ummah and the Fulbe people should not only condemn it but should stand up against it. The emirates have already been created from the time of Shehu Uthman dan Fodio. And, if you now start balkanising them, you are just reducing the prestige and effectiveness of the emirate system. It is the caliphate establishment that is the loser,” he said. The scholar said Ganduje was exploiting divisions in the royal house between Muhammadu Sanusi II, the emir of Kano, and his cousins, to undermine the emirate and its heritage. “Some of ...

David Mark President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, among others, yesterday paid glowing tribute to the immediate past President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, for his meritorious services as the latter exits from the Senate after 20 years. In their separate goodwill messages to Mark at a thanksgiving mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church, Otukpo, Benue State, they described him as an icon and patriotic leader in the contemporary Nigeria. Specifically, Saraki noted that his predecessor has set a record as the longest serving Senator since 1999, the longest serving President of the Senate and referred to him as an officer and a gentleman. He said: “Senator Mark was our own equivalent of the US Senators Robert C. Byrd (51 years, five months, 26 days), Daniel K. Inouye (49 years, 11 months and 15 days) Strom Thurmond (47 years, five months, eight days), Ted Kennedy (46years, nine months, 19 days and Pa...

Arsenal forward nets twice on the final day as three players share the award for the first time since 1998/99 Three players have shared the Golden Boot award after Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalled Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as the top scorers in the 2018/19 Premier League, on 22 goals each. It is the first time three players have shared the award since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Michael Owen and Dwight Yorke in 1998/99. Salah led the race going into the final day, but he could not add to his 22 goals. Mane struck twice in the second-placed Reds' 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to tie with his Liverpool team-mate. Arsenal's Aubameyang also netted twice, in a 3-1 win at Burnley, and he was the man who threatened to take the award on his own as he missed a late chance to claim a hat-trick. Mane and Aubameyang have won the award for the first time, while Salah has claimed the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons, after scoring 3...

Manchester City captain reflects on his side's incredible Premier League title triumph Vincent Kompany labelled his team's Premier League title on Sunday as his most satisfying title success. The Manchester City captain lifted the Premier League Trophy for a fourth time as his side edged out Liverpool by a point in a thrilling race for the title. After scoring the decisive goal in their previous match against Leicester City, Kompany played 86 minutes of City's 4-1 final-day win over Brighton & Hove Albion, which sealed a memorable season. "It was the hardest and most satisfying Premier League title win ever," Kompany told City's official website. "Liverpool were exceptional this year and I don't mean to rub it in - it is what it is - they didn't deserve to be second this year, but it only makes me that much more happy that we've been up against such a good team and when our backs were against the wall we kept finding the resul...

The African Action Congress on Monday announced the suspension of its presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, Omoyele Sowore; and eight others, including its Deputy National Chairman (South West), Ogunlana Rotimi Jacob, for a period of six months over alleged anti-party activities. Consequently, Dr. Leonard Ezenwa has been appointed acting National Chairman, while Abayomi Francis Olufemi has been named Deputy National Chairman. A member of the AAC National Executive Committee, Mazi Okwy, who read the resolution of the party to journalists in Abuja, premised the party’s decision against Sowore, Publisher of Saharareporters; and his executive, on alleged anti-party activities. He said the allegation bordered “particularly on inflow of illegal foreign funds into the party and personally retaining same in contravention of Section 225 (3)(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), together with eight others.” The committee also announced that the suspension of Sowore ...

Johnson Babalola Mr Johnson Babalola, a Nigerian but Canada-based lawyer, on 8 May 2019, delivered a paper, entitled “Irregular Migration: Our Failures and Beyond the Tears” in Abuja. That was at a joint conference organized by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Catholic Diocese of Abuja.  NAPTIP is a law enforcement agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, founded in 2003 in order to combat human trafficking and other similar human rights violations. NAPTIP is one of the agencies under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Justice. Babalola’s paper focused on the rise in illegal migration from Nigeria, the reasons for it and recommendations to curb it. In his paper, he acknowledged that some Nigerian youths want to be successful ‘sharp sharp’ (as they put it). However, Babalola focused on the fundamental reasons that a number of the country’s youths and adults are leaving Nigeria irregularly despite the known risks. ...

Popular Nollywood Actress, Nse Ikpe-Etim, has removed her Uterus (womb) in order to live a normal life, she said. The actress said she was diagnosed three years ago with Adenomyosis, a condition whereby the inner lining of the uterus breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus. Ikpe-Etim said she had to remove her uterus in accordance with the advice of the doctor. She said: “I was told I couldn’t have kids,” she said to the now sombre audience. “And so, I had to have a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) to make me have a life again and to stop going through what I was going through. And I’m literarily telling women and men, it really doesn’t matter if you can’t bear children. What really matters is what you would do for the world, for the universe.” Ikpe-Etim recalled the moment the doctor told her she would have to remove her uterus to live a normal life, noting that: “Tears dropped and then my husband squeezed my hand. It was reassuring there was someone there and i...