Aretha Louis Franklin popularly known as the queen of soul music has died. the music mogul died on Thursday August 16 at her home in Detriot at around 9. 50 am.

Here are 8 things to know about the late artists:

1. She was born 25 March 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee.

    2.She began singing shortly after her mother’s dead debuting with the song ‘Jesus be a Fence around me’. When she was fourteen she began touring with her father who is also her manager at his ‘gospel caravan’ tour.

      3.Her first album was ‘songs of faith’ which she was able to release under her first label J.V.B records. From her first album two songs ‘Never grow old and ‘Precious lord, take my hands’ gained radio plays. At the age of 16, Franklin went on tour with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and in 1968 sang at his funeral.

4. Her first secular album ‘Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo’ was released under Columbia in 1961. It had her first single ‘won’t be long’ which entered ‘billboard hot 100’. The song also picked at number 7 in the RnB chart. Her album which was mostly produced by Clyde Otis had various genres in the album like Blues, Jazz, RnB and standards. Rock-a-bye was her first international hit which reached the top forty both in Canada and Australia.

    5. Before her death Franklin was the mother of four sons. Her first child Clearance was born January 28 1955 after she been pregnant at age 12 by Donald Burk, a boy she met at school. At age 14 she had her second son Edward. When Franklin began pursuing her musical career, her kids where taken care of by her sister and grand mother who took turns in raising them.

    6. Franklin was Married twice in her life time. First at age 19 to Theodore White in 1961. They separated in 1968 and later got divorced in 1969. Her second husband Glynn     Turman was married in 1978. They got separated in 1982 1nd got divorced in1984. She was later engaged to long time companion Willie Wilkerson. They got engaged twice in 1988 and .franklin later called off their engagement in 2012.

  7. Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a Michigan “natural resource” in 1985, and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

8. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded her a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, then the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Franklin was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.

Franklin, however become the second woman inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

The music star who died at the age of 76 died of pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type after battling with it for years- Her last performance was in November at Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York.

With the news of her death many celebrities and fans have paid tribute to the legendary singer. Reacting to her death fellow singer Paul McCartney on his twitter page wrote “Let’s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years. She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. Love Paul”

Meanwhile, Hilarry Clinton on twitter wrote “Mourning the loss today of @ArethaFranklin who shared her spirit and talent with the world. She
deserves not only our RESPECT but also our lasting gratitude for opening our
eyes, ears and hearts. Rest in eternal peace, my friend”.

Rapper Missy Elliott wrote “Rest easy ArethaFranklin. I imagine u in heaven performing & still making peoples souls move. This was my aunt favourite record RockSteady. You will always be the queen of soul. You been that before many of us were born! Thank you for giving us Legendary timeless music”.

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Kawu Baraje, a leader of the Reformed All Progressives Congress, R-APC, has defected from the faction to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Baraje on Thursday, made the announcement during a media conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

He lauded the PDP where he had served as Secretary and acting Chairman before defecting to APC.

On why he is defecting, Baraje said: “I belong to any party Senate President Bukola Saraki belongs to – the reason for my defection to PDP.”

His announcement comes about two weeks after Saraki defected from the APC to the opposition PDP.

Baraje, while announcing his defection from the APC, promised to stage a grand defection ceremony in his ward, Baboko, Ilorin soon.

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From lemons to earrings, green beans to necklace, carrots to necklace, peppers to bracelets, Nigerian-American artist Lola Ade is transforming raw fruits and vegetables into wearable accessories in her photo series ‘RAW’.

Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, Pamela Adewoyin lived in Lagos for a few years as a child before moving back to the States. But as African parents often encourage their children to follow more conventional careers, Pamela Adewoyin studied Law despite always being interested in craft making and design.

Lola Ade is an entertainment Lawyer and an unconventional Jewelry designer as she makes jewelry out of food; she is as well the creator behind the Lola Ade shop.

Lola Ade is a jewelry line made for royalty with delicate and bold pieces infused with West African influences in a modern setting; each piece is handcrafted with love in Los Angeles.  The jewelry line offer a series of jewelry made from unconventional materials.

“The cultural pride my family has instilled in me to humbly wear my head held high and display my ‘crown’ is the same type of love and dedication I apply to aspects of my shop: authentic and original with splashes of cultural pride.”  She stated in the write up about her on her website.

Pamela continued: “Living in Lagos, Nigeria, as a child opened my eyes to an abundance of color, textures, and local artisans who could create anything by hand. Now, as an avid traveler, I am constantly in awe of the pops of color I see in different cultures. Since 2010, I have been handcrafting jewelry locally inspired by things I have seen and places I have been. “

I create pieces that can easily be a part of a minimalist or glamorous wardrobe. Everything that you order is handmade with love, using specially curated materials that I can’t wait for you to see!”  She concluded.

African culture normally encourages people to pursue law, medicine and engineering, this will teach and inspire other young people most especially Nigerians to pursue their creativity.

Take a look at some of her unconventional jewelry below:

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An FCT High Court sitting in Bwari has stopped Senate President Bukola Saraki from declaring the seat of former Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, vacant.

Justice Othman Musa also ordered Saraki not to impede Senator Akpabio’s access to the Senate building or take any action aimed at “overreaching his privileges and rights as a Senator pending the determination of the originating Summons of the applicant.”

Justice Musa ordered service of the originating Summons and other processes on Saraki through either the Clerk of the National Assembly, Clerk of the Senate or any other Clerk or reasonable staff of the National Assembly at the Assembly complex.

The orders were made after an ex parte application by Akpabio’s lawyers, Chikaosolu Ojukwu and Ebere Ahanonu, seeking to stop moves to declare his seat vacant following his defection from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The suit has been adjourned to August 29, 2018 for further hearing of the matter.

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Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has attributed the increase in the number of registered voters among other reasons, as to why there was increase in the 2019 general elections budget.

Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this while defending the 2019 general elections budget before the appropriate committees of both chambers of the National Assembly, yesterday.
Professor Yakubu explained that the 2019 general elections budget proposal of about 189 billion naira was broken down into 4 components. He said the first component was the Election Operational Cost which is estimated at 134.4 billion naira

The second component he explained was the Election Technology Cost, estimated at 27.5 billion naira deals with election technology cost, while explaining the third component and fourth components of 22.6 billion naira and 4.6 billion naira are for Election Administrative Cost, and contingency, respectively.

The INEC Chairman provided further explanations as to why there was increase in the 2019 general election budget, saying “budgets are put together putting into consideration the number of registered voters. He stressed that there had been a 17.1 percent increase in the number of registered voters since the last general election.

“As at the 11th of August, the Commission had registered 12.1 million new voters. if you add this to almost 70 million on the register before the 2015 general elections, we have well over 80 million registered voters as we speak, we have a 17.1 percent increase in the voter population over and above the register used it the 2015 general elections”.

Professor Yakubu explained that “the Commission would be conducting elections into 1558 constituencies across the country. We are conducting elections into 1 Presidential Constituency, 109 Senatorial, 360 Federal Constituencies, 991 State Constituencies, 29 State governorship elections, and for the first time the general election is coinciding with the Area Council Elections in the FCT so we are going to conduct 68 elections in the FCT in addition to elections in other constituencies”.

The INEC Chairman also attributed the increase in the Commission’s election budget to the increased number of political parties since the last election and explained that producing ballot papers for 91 political parties as well as monitoring their conventions, Congresses and primaries would cost more.

“We had a little over 40 political parties in 2015 but as at today we have over 91 political parties in Nigeria and we are still considering applications from 140 associations for registration. If half of the political parties field candidates, we are going to process a total of 70,809 nomination forms for the election, if all the 91 political parties present candidates for all the constituencies we will process over 144,000 applications for the election. So it is really a huge task for the Commission”.

Responding, both Chairmen of the of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif Gamawa and the Chairman, House Committee on Electoral and Political Matters, Honourable Aishatu Jibril Dukku assured that the National Assembly would remain focused and will continue to work towards the interest of Nigeria.

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ActionAid Nigeria has strongly condemned the arrest of Premium Times reporter, Samuel Ogundipe who has been under detention by the Nigerian Police.

The social justice agency described the arrest as intimidation and attempt at undermining press freedom and the principles of democracy.
In a press statement, the ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Ene Obi, said, “Ogundipe’s arrest, torture, bank account freeze, secret arraignment without legal representation by the Nigerian police is condemnable; such acts undermine press freedom and Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy.”
Obi noted, “Nigeria is not a police state, so journalists should not be persecuted for executing their responsibility of informing and educating the public.

The Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, allows citizens access to public records and information held by public officials or institutions. It empowers the press to discharge its duty fairly and truthfully and the government has the responsibility of upholding the law and promoting democracy without any form of press bullying, she noted.
If any media organisation has published any information that is not true, relevant authorities should seek civil ways of dealing with such issues, she said.

ActionAid Nigeria is calling on the Nigerian Police and other federal and state security agents to refrain from arresting journalists who are fulfilling their constitutional obligation as enshrined in Section 22 of Nigeria Constitution which makes it obligatory for the media to hold to account public office holders.

Ene who described Ogundipe as “courageous” warned that “the continued infringement on freedom of the media is detrimental to our democracy and is a dangerous walk back to the dark days of the 1990s in which security operatives themselves became vulnerable to the most dreadful form of dictatorship.”

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Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural Organisation, Egbe Afenifere and All Progressives Congress, APC, legislators in the Ekiti State House of Assembly have condemned the rising wave of killings in Ekiti State.

They urged security agencies to do everything possible to unmask the killers of the Federal Character Commission board member and a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Bunmi Ojo and others individuals in some parts of the state.

The Ekiti Afenifere in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Elder Yemi Alade and its Publicity Secretary, Chief Bisi Alade, condemned what it called “seeming helplessness of the Police.”

The APC lawmakers who spoke through the Minority Leader, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, during a visit to the family of the deceased, described Ojo’s killing as a “monumental loss to Ekiti State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.”

Aribisogan was accompanied by the other two APC lawmakers in the Ekiti Assembly, Hon. Sunday Akinniyi (Ikere Constituency 2) and Hon. Adeniran Alagbada (Ise/Orun Constituency).

After its emergency meeting in Ado-Ekiti, Afenifere also expressed disappointment that the traditional institution seem as incapacitated like the other security agencies, which ordinarily ought to have brought the gruesomeness of the terrifying situation to a stop.

The group said: “It is the view of Afenifere that the killers are human beings who are supposed to be traceable. They are no spirits hence all efforts should be made by all who are supposed to do the needful.

“We seize this opportunity to commiserate with the APC on the murder of one of its shining stars, Mr Bunmi Ojo, who was until his assassination was the Commissioner representing Ekiti on the Federal Character Commission and who had performed excellently well.

“It was more painful when we heard that his term had even been renewed for another five years. Ekiti Afenifere particularly extends its condolences to the wife, children, family of the deceased as well as one of APC leaders, and former governor, Chief Olusegun Oni, who had a special relationship with late Bunmi Ojo.”

Aribisogan said that the untimely death of Ojo had robbed Ekiti people, particularly the youth, who are benefiting from his humanitarian assistance from the late politician.

According to the Minority Leader, Ojo was an inspiration to his generation and contributed contributed immensely to the upliftment of the youths.

Aribisogan said: “Ojo used his God given positions to assist his fellow men. There is no doubt that Ekiti state has lost a rare gem and an illustrious son.

“The spate of killings and other form of violence in the state have become worrisome adding that everything must be done to stem the drift to anarchy.

“We call on all the security agencies in the state to leave no stone unturned in order to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime.”

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Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Executive Council, FEC, has disclosed that the Enugu road which leads all the way to Anambra State, would gulp the sum of N15 Billion.

FEC’s approval for the completion of the road projects followed a convincing reports on logistics presented by the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

The Minister, after the meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, informed journalists that the project included roads captured as Umana-Ndiagu, Agba, Ebenebe, Amansea, Awka, Anambra, which spurred into Umumba in Enugu State.

“The contract was awarded in 2012 and they were spurs off the Enugu-Onitsha Highway to six different communities, Ebenebe, Agba, Umana-Ndiagu, Nkpodu, Ekeagu and Ugwuoba.

“Because of lack of appropriate budgeting and funding all of these projects could not be completed.

“There were failures in the implementation as we inherited it; there was also the need to provide for erosion control measures and drains.

“That has led to the revision of the existing contract awarded in 2012 from N10.3 billion to 15.734billion,’’ he said.

Fashola said that it was the revision to enable the contract to be completed that was presented and approved by the council.

It would be noted that the FEC meeting was presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.

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AFRICAN top 100 women in tourism will on September 9 and 11 gather at the 14th edition of the Akwaaba African Travel Market in collaboration with ATQ News, Africa’s online travel news portal at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos to discuss issues relating to tourism in Africa.

The event which is an annual travel show and exhibition would this year take a new dimension to award and recognize Africa top 100 tour operators who have contributed immensely to tourism in Africa. Speaking on the event, the founding member of the #TeamAfrica, Mr. Ikechi Uko, who is also the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market expressed his excitement about the awards as he also shed light on the award for the Africa Top 100 Tour Operators. In his words, “Last year we celebrated the awards of the Africa Travel 100 Women at the 13th Akwaaba Travel Market.

“During that event, top of the Class, great and industrious women who have established themselves in and are still driving the growth of travel business from across Africa gathered in Lagos for that memorable Africa Travel 100 Women awards. The resounding reception, feedback and transformation that event set forth in Africa coupled with the massive acceptance we received from every country in Africa and beyond was great.

Today many Countries have set up Women in Tourism organisations and we are proud to have helped set it off. “Our vision is to stimulate Intra Africa Tourism. We need to get at least 10 percent of Africans to travel within Africa. This can only work with the support of Tour Operators. We are going a step further this year to recognize and celebrate the core professional outbound Tour Operators who are at the fore of attracting and moving Africans outside their own countries to explore the abundance of the beauties of our Africa.

“Africa remains a great goldmine whose tourism potentials remain unmatched and untapped. So you can nominate your Top 5 of such operators. Nominations should be only for tour operators who do outbound tours to other African countries. According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, “Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region where Travel and Tourism competitiveness is the least developed. Although regional performance has increased, it has improved less compared to other parts of the world. Southern Africa remains the strongest sub-region, followed by Eastern Africa and then Western Africa. Yet, on average, Eastern Africa is the most improved region, while Southern Africa has experienced a slight decline. And that considering the size and the rich cultural and natural resources, the 63 million tourists visiting the continent in 2017 remain low”.

“It is against this background that the Africa Top 100 Tour Operators were chosen. Only Destination Marketing Companies (DMCs) that market mainly Regional Destinations were selected. “Africa is a continent of Over 1 billion people but receives only 6percent of the global tourist Arrivals. As the middle class and number of travelers increase there is a need to organize the Tourism and Travel landscape by growing scale. Some organizations have grown continent wide operations but most operators are still small and limited to their countries. There is a need to organize the Tour Operators on a larger scale across countries “To this end Akwaaba African Travel market is pulling together all major outbound tour operators in Africa to a Summit in Lagos on the 10th of September. This Summit will enable players from Different countries to build partnership and explore new opportunities to grow.

“The 14th Akwaaba African Travel Market will also host Africa Tour Operators Conference. During the session, the theme, “The Role of DMCs and DMOs in Sustainable Destination Marketing in Africa will be discussed with sub – topics including What are the Challenges? 2. Should it be Competition or Corporation? 3. What are the Effective Models? 4. Who is Responsible? “Another event slated for the 14th Akwaaba African Travel Market is the Africa Youth in Tourism Summit.

Tourism is the largest employer of labour in the world and is known to mop up large numbers of employable youth in most countries. With a large youth population in Nigeria who need to be gainfully employed, there is a need to broaden the scope of opportunities available for the Nigerian and by extension the African youth in the Tourism Sector. “In Nigeria, Domestic tourism promotions is controlled by the youth. This year, we have extended invitations to more than 200 tourism youth tour operators across the country”, he explained.

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THE multimillion dollar floating Dockyard owned by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) which arrived the country recently will save the Country millions of dollars in capital flight once operational noting that efforts are being made to create enabling environment for the growth of indigenous participation in shipping.

The Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who made this known during an interactive session with Journalists in Lagos said that the facility which would be operated on a Public Private Partnership model will be located at a facility of the Nigerian Navy.

The NIMASA DG said that the Floating Dockyard would commence operations immediately after the commissioning by President Muhammadu Buhari. He added that when fully operational, Nigerian Shipowners and their foreign counterparts would no longer need to take their vessels outside the country for dry docking.

According to him, “Nigeria looses up to $100m annually simply because when our shipowners need to dry dock their vessels, they mostly take them to neighboring countries like Ghana and Cameroun thus spending avoidable forex. When this facility is fully operational it has the capacity to drydock any vessel incountry and save the much needed foreign exchange”.

Speaking further Dr. Peterside noted that the facility would be operated in conjunction with the builders as technical partners. He also assured that it will create thousands of jobs for teeming Nigerian youths as well as provide training opportunities for seafarers, adding that the NIMASA floating dockyard would also be available as a training facility for the students of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko and other maritime institutions in the Country.

“we are planning to ensure that the permanent location of this facility would benefit our students for training and we have also engaged the builders to manage the facility for a one year period at a Naval facility” while further arrangements are being worked out”, he said.

Speaking on other issues, Dr. Peterside said that the Agency is working on a special foreign exchange intervention for vessel parts acquisition and loan repayment processes to enable indigenous operators compete favourably with their foreign counterparts. He added that there is a team working with the Central Bank of Nigeria on how best this policy can be implemented. He said this is aside working towards the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) which will give room for a full-fledged Cabotage regime with more job opportunities created.

Commenting on the Agency’s Survey, Inspection & Certification Transformation Programme, Dr Dakuku Peterside disclosed  that 3,752 Certificates of Competency (CoC) were issued in 2017 to successful Seafarers. Representing a 149 % increase from the CoCs issued in 2016.

Dr. Peterside said that the impact of this is the confidence of stakeholders who now willingly verify certificates without prompting. He further informed that a total of 1,880 certificates were authenticated for stakeholders in 2017 alone, a significant rise when compared to the 1013 CoCs verified in 2016.

The NIMASA DG further informed that the number of Nigerian Seafarers placed onboard vessels from January to June this year  is 2,337 representing 58.9% increase in the number of seafarers employed stating that this move has led to job and wealth creation in line with the Federal Government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP.

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AREWA leaders have condemned the on-going face off between the executive and legislature, saying that it is capable of truncating democracy in the country.

The northern leaders, under the umbrella of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, issued a communiqué, at the end of the meeting, condemning the political squabbles in the nation’s polity.

In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mohammad Ibrahim Biu, the group described the excesses of the Directorate of the Security Service, DSS, in the country as great threat to the democracy.

It also condemned last week’s siege “on the citadel of democracy, the National Assembly, by the men of the Department of State Security, DSS.

Biu said, “The meeting said the actions of the DSS run contrary to democratic tenets and reeks of intolerance. NEC therefore applauded the actions taken by the FG and urged the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate the immediate and remote causes of the NASS invasion by the DSS personnel in order to unveil the truth and to sanction all those found culpable, no matter their status both within and without the service”.

“And because punitive measure was never taken against those involved in similar episodes in the past, it has encouraged the DSS to do what it recently did to the NASS. ACF therefore commends the actions taken so far by the Presidency against the DSS as deterrent to future occurrences.”

Besides, Alhaji Biu remarked that the ACF meeting “also expressed serious concern on the lingering crisis between the Executive and the National Assembly on issues of good governance which is not only avoidable but also very embarrassing”, pointing out that “the situation has not only affected governance but also the polity and growth of our nascent democracy”.

“Both the Executive and the NASS members are in place in order to deliver on the promise of democracy and not to engage in unnecessary flexing of muscles that have nothing to do with real issues of real concern to real ordinary Nigerians.”

ACF therefore appealed to both the Presidency and the National Assembly leadership “to sheath their swords and put the interests of Nigeria above all other pecuniary considerations”.

Meanwhile, Biu has further stressed that the National Executive Council (NEC) of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, at the quarterly meeting presided over by the Acting Chairman, Alhaji Musa Liman Kwande, was attended by NEC members from the 19 Northern States and FCT.

“The meeting paid glowing tributes to the late Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie, GCON, Sardaunan Katsina, who died on the 19th July,2018, in Katsina. His career in the Nigerian Police Force from Cadet Officer to the top as Inspector General of Police for 36years was eventful and fulfilling”.

“NEC urged Nigerians to emulate his legacy of service to humanity, hard work and due diligence and love for traditional values most northerners cherish.”

Equally eulogized by NEC, Biu said “were our elder statesman Mallam Adamu Ciroma whose contributions to the development of the North and of the country in general are common place, and ACF National Financial Secretary Alhaji Ahmed Bawa and others who also died recently.”

The ACF meeting also received in audience the leadership of the Youth Assembly at the United Nations, YAUN, led by Amb. Dawan Gabriel Kudangbena, President of the Youth Assembly, North Central zone of Nigeria.

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National Economic Council presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has commenced the process of decentralizing of the operations of the Nigerian Police Force as one of the ways to tackle insecurity in the county.

Briefing State House correspondents after the Council meeting on Thursday, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, said the council would set up a committee to achieve its goals of decentralising the police.

He said the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, would head the committee that will have representatives from the six geopolitical zones of the country as members.

“The council, NEC, decided that a committee would be set up with representation from each of the geo-political zone to be chaired the IGP so that we find ways of decentralising police operations so that there will be greater access to information and handling this (security) situation will be easier rather than a centralised and cumbersome approach,” he said.

He said the decision to set up the committee was reached after he, on behalf of the nation’s security agencies, briefed council members on the general overview of the security situation in the country.

He noted that with the increasingly asymmetric nature of the nation’s security threats, he stressed the need to deal with the problems collectively.

Monguno admitted that the nation’s security challenges cannot be completely tackled within a short period.

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…As UN counters FG on release of Dapchi Girls

…Says ‘huge ransom’ was paid to Boko Haram

…It’s not true; no ransom was paid for their release – Lai

…Insists 106 Dapchi girls were released unconditionally

Five months after the release of abducted Dapchi school girls, the United Nations Security Council has countered the claims of the Nigerian government that no payment was made for the release of the girls by Boko Haram.

Following the release of the Dapchi School girls in March after about one month in captivity, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed told journalists in Maiduguri that they were released through back-door channel negotiations and no money was paid to secure their freedom.

Alhaji Mohammed said all the 106 persons were freed unconditionally, contrary to reports in a section of the media that ransom was paid and that some high profile insurgents were swapped for the freed school girls.

”It is not true that we paid ransom for the release of the Dapchi girls; neither was there a prisoner swap to secure their release.

”What happened was that the abduction itself was a breach of the ceasefire talks between the insurgents and the government; hence it became a moral burden on the abductors. Any report that we paid ransom or engaged in prisoner swap is false,” he said.

However, the claims of the Nigerian government were countered by UN Security Council 22nd Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated individuals and entities.

The report was submitted to the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.

It was signed by Edmund Fitton-Brown, Coordinator, Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, who said the report was “comprehensive and independent”, and Kairat Umarov, Chair, Security Council Committee.

The report said: “The predominance in the region of the cash economy, without controls, is conducive to terrorist groups funded by extortion, charitable donations, smuggling, remittances and kidnapping.

“In Nigeria, 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi were kidnapped on 18 February 2018 and released by ISWAP on 21 March 2018 in exchange for a large ransom payment,” the report stated.

It said the number of doctrinally based non-governmental organisations sending funds to local terrorist groups was growing, and Member States were concerned that radicalisation was increasing the threat level in the Sahel.

The report said: “Meanwhile, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have had a similar impact in their areas of control, including the Lake Chad basin.

The now confirmed Dapchi girl’s ransom would not be the first by the Nigerian government to free victims held by Boko Haram. Huge ransom was also said to have been paid by the Buhari administration to free many of the released Chibok girls kidnapped in 2014.

Although the move is largely welcomed by many Nigerians as it ensures freedom for the victims, experts fear it has helped fuel the insurgency by ensuring the Boko Haram sect has access to funds to buy more weapons and sustain themselves; a concern raised in the UN report.

It is recalled also that the UN Security Council committee on al Qaeda sanctions blacklisted and imposed sanctions on the Boko Haram sect in 2014 after the insurgents kidnapped more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls.

The UN Security Council had last week said it remained concerned over the security and humanitarian situation caused by the Boko Haram terrorists and other armed groups in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

In a presidential statement, the 15-member body regretted that Central African countries were beset by terrorist activity, instability and the effects of climate change, and asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to review the work of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), and recommend areas for improvement.

“The Security Council strongly condemns all terrorist attacks carried out in the region including those perpetrated by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Daesh).

“These attacks have caused large-scale and devastating losses, have had a devastating humanitarian impact including through the displacement of a large number of civilians in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and represent a threat to the stability and peace of West and Central Africa.

“The Council notes with particular concern the continuing use by Boko Haram of women and girls as suicide bombers, which has created an atmosphere of suspicion towards them and made them targets of harassment and stigmatisation in affected communities, and of arbitrary arrests by security forces” the statement added.

“The Council emphasises the need for affected States to counter-terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, in accordance with obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law”.

The Security Council welcomed the support provided by UNOCA and the UN Office for West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS) for the development of a joint regional strategy to address the root causes of the Lake Chad Basin crisis through regular contact with regional leaders.

It also encouraged partners to increase security assistance to Lake Chad Basin Commission countries, and humanitarian and development support across the region for those affected by Boko Haram activities.

“The Security Council remains deeply concerned at the grave security situation and related violations and abuses of human rights in parts of Central Africa, in particular, the continuing terrorist activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin,” it said.

“The Security Council expresses its ongoing concern at continued tensions linked to disputed electoral processes, social and economic difficulties, and conflicts between farmers and herders,” the statement added.

It further noted that UNOCA’s priorities would include working closely with UNOWAS to address trans-regional issues such as maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, conflict between farmers and herders, and combating Boko Haram.

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Former leader of the Reformed All Progressive Congress, Kawu Baraje, who decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday, has revealed why the Senate President, Bukola Saraki cannot be impeached.

Baraje, said while addressing journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

He revealed that it is only two-thirds of the entire 109 senators that can impeach Saraki and not two third of the Senators that are present on the day of any planned impeachment.

According to Baraje, “I am not a senator, but I am a party leader and a politician. As a politician, you don’t just sit down without educating yourself. I have read the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Whenever there is any controversy about any issue, I read the constitution.

“I have gone through the relevant section,s particularly on the issue of impeachment. The constitution makes me understand that only senators can elect their president and also only senators can impeach their President. The constitution also stipulates the offences he must have committed to be impeached. Having seen the offences committed, they will go into votes.

“Two third of the entire 109 senators not two third of the senators that are present on the day of the impeachment. It is because of the background of some us that we do not talk too much. Because we believe that we should listen more rather than talking more.

“There is a lot of respect in listening more. The fact that we listen more does not mean we do not know our rights. There are so many things being said on this issue of impeachment that is insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians particularly those of us that can read and right.

“It is most unfortunate that somebody will just come up to talk of impeachment as if we are in a banana republic. Some of us have experiences of leading political parties and  if issues like these come up we know how to handle them. It needs a lot of patience, exposure, a lot of education and cool-headedness.

“It is not by Gestapo approach. In any case, the senators are making Nigerians realise through their body language that as far as they are concerned they are not ready to impeach their president.

“Any sensible leader should have understood that language that the senators are not going the way some people want to go; which is the way of causing confusion between the executive and the legislature.

“The present situation exists between the executive and the legislature was caused by some people who do not want the two arms to work together because they will never gain out of it.”

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Former American President, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton on Friday reacted to the death of American soul singe Aretha Franklin.

Nigerian Pilot however reported that the legendary singer, aged 76, died on Thursday in Detroit after a prolonged battle with unknown ailment.

Barack Obama on Thursday in a statement praised ‘Queen of Soul’ for her “unmatched musicianship” which he said “helped define the American experience.”

“Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine.

“In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human.

“And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance,” Obama said.

Also United State President Donald Trump payed tribute to the music icon, on his Twitter page, wrote: “Aretha Franklin a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice.”

“She will be missed!”

Likewise, Bill and Hillary Clinton also wrote: “Hillary and I mourn the loss of our friend Aretha Franklin, one of America’s greatest national treasures.

“For more than 50 years, she stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry,” the former US president in a joint statement with his wife said.”

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Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Former Vice President has slammed Buhari, says his government is filled with lies.

The Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  stated this on Thursday.

Atiku said while addressing gathering at the party secretariat in Enugu, “This government is a government of liars.

“They promised three million jobs per annum but Nigeria has been losing three million jobs every year. This job loss has brought the worst form of insecurity in the country.”

Meanwhile, support groups had in the morning taken over roads leading to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu and practically congested traffic from Emene to GRA state office of the PDP where Atiku addressed party members.

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The Minister of National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma,  National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu,  has appeared before the Senate, to defend the 2019 elections’ budget.

According to our correspondent, the duo went into the Joint Committee meeting between the Senate and the House of Representatives Committees on INEC, at the Senate building, around 12:15pm, on Friday.

Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, in his opening remarks, reiterated the committee’s commitment to ensure that INEC got what it deserves to ensure a hitch-free 2019 general elections.

However he said, ” We are not playing politics with the budget for the 2019 elections. We just want some clarifications.”

More Details later…

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Tonto Dikeh took to instagram 5 hours ago to celebrate son at 30 months. The actress and mother of one posted a beautiful photo of her son when he was just a baby and he sure looks juicy as she fondly calls him “juicy man”.

“HAPPY 30TH MONTH JUICYMAN..
I LOVE YOU TODAY AS MUCH AS EVERY OTHER DAYS TO COME..
YOU HAVE BECOME MY STRENGTH AND MU GREATEST INSPIRATION…
LOVING YOU IS WISDOM AND HAS BEEN A BLESSING..
I COULDNT HAVE ASKED FOR ANYTHING OTHER BABY BUT YOU..
YOUR INFECTIOUS HAPPINESS AND JOY IS MY COMFORT ZONE..” The Proud mom captioned.

Tonto continues: “YOU MEAN MORE THAN THE WORLD TO ME AND WITH MY LAST BREATHE I WILL FIGHT FOR YOU..
MY ENDLESS LOVE FOR YOU CAN NEVER BE COMPARED..
GROW IN GODS DIVINE PURPOSE AND GRACE, JUST LIKE YOUR NAME, KING.. SON YOU SHALL RULE, LION KING….
I CELEBRATE YOU BABY
I ADORE YOU MY BEAUTIFUL ANGEL..
WHAT BLOWS MY MIND IS WE NOW HAVE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION, OOOO”

“#KINGY THANKS FOR GROWING UP..
YOU ARE THE TRUE DEFINITION OF A BLESSING….
MY GOD WILL KEEP YOU FOR ME,MY GOD WILL PROTECT YOU FOR ME,MY GOD WILL PROSPER YOU FOR ME..YOU WILL BE A SUCCESS AND A LIGHT TO THIS NATION
#KINGANDRE #JUICYMAN #MYWORLD” The actress and humanitarian concluded.

Take a look at the post…

HAPPY 30TH MONTH JUICYMAN.. I LOVE YOU TODAY AS MUCH AS EVERY OTHER DAYS TO COME.. YOU HAVE BECOME MY STRENGTH AND MU GREATEST INSPIRATION… LOVING YOU IS WISDOM AND HAS BEEN A BLESSING.. I COULDNT HAVE ASKED FOR ANYTHING OTHER BABY BUT YOU.. YOUR INFECTIOUS HAPPINESS AND JOY IS MY COMFORT ZONE.. YOU MEAN MORE THAN THE WORLD TO ME AND WITH MY LAST BREATHE I WILL FIGHT FOR YOU.. MY ENDLESS LOVE FOR YOU CAN NEVER BE COMPARED.. GROW IN GODS DIVINE PURPOSE AND GRACE, JUST LIKE YOUR NAME, KING.. SON YOU SHALL RULE, LION KING…. I CELEBRATE YOU BABY I ADORE YOU MY BEAUTIFUL ANGEL.. WHAT BLOWS MY MIND IS WE NOW HAVE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION, OOOO #KINGY THANKS FOR GROWING UP.. YOU ARE THE TRUE DEFINITION OF A BLESSING…. MY GOD WILL KEEP YOU FOR ME,MY GOD WILL PROTECT YOU FOR ME,MY GOD WILL PROSPER YOU FOR ME..YOU WILL BE A SUCCESS AND A LIGHT TO THIS NATION #KINGANDRE #JUICYMAN #MYWORLD

A post shared by KING-Tonto Dikeh (@tontolet) on Aug 17, 2018 at 1:03am PDT

Tonto Dikeh’s son is surely everything to her and it’s obvious!

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Commissioner of Budget and Planning Kaduna state Muhammed Sani Abdullahi has said that governance in the country today require people with vision of quality developmental projects and governance. He made this known in Abuja yesterday during the launch of the 67 million youth initiatives group in Abuja. According to him, “we want people who can improve the quality of governance.

We will announce the full data base of those who are rubbing and actively campaign for them. As we go into the 2019 election we look at people that share the same vision particularly young people that would run for offices. From my state we have about 15 people, three in Anambra and six also in Lagos state.”

Speaking at the occasion, Cross Rivers state Commissioner for Finance Asquo Ekpenyong said that there is disconnect between leadership and the expectation from the Nigerian population and the only way to bridge it is finding a way to challenge the abnormality through youth involvement. “We believe that if the youths can come together we can form formidable forces that make a difference going forward by placing youths in position of leadership and governance. We have youths across party line across the six geo political zones in the nation.”

He said that the Nigerian youths is defined between the ages of 18 and 45, the last demography puts youths at about 67 million people. He explained that looking at this bracket you discover that in the last general election about seven million youths participated, which can place youths in leadership position.

According to him, “We have the large number, we have the maximum and voting block which when utilized to put youths in position of leadership and governance would provide answer to many issues about the country.”

We are ypuths of likr minds that came together to give birth to governance documents that can bring about delivery in governance.”

“We are not concerned about the presidency in 2019 but we are more interested in other positions such as House of Assembly in the states and National Assembly.”

A member of the group Ferida Yaya said that the priority of the group is to bring the youths on board and give them focus, “the first thing is getting the youths together to form block; we have youths in different political parties and across the federation and second thing is taking Nigeria first and how do we move the country forward.”

However, immediate president National Association College of Education Students Ismaila Adesina, admonished the initiators of 67 million Initiatives to use the group and end poverty among youth.

“My concern is that in the past there are many ideas like this has been conceived and went to abyss without any positive result. This is as a result of poverty. The major problem is poverty. The initiative must find a way of creating job for the youths.”

“If we don’t want Nigerian youths to be corrupt we must provide jobs for them by making them to be self-reliant. Let look at way of training youth from different region of the country.” He said.

“But what am saying is that let the youths be provided with job or train the youths to be productive and self-reliant so that they would not be exposed to the vagaries of the whims and of politicians and all what not.”

“In order words when poverty is biting hard among the youths, politicians will believe that the way to divide the youths is just by paying them stipends and little change.

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A four-storey building which collapsed around 1.30pm in the Jabi area of Abuja, has trapped 18 persons, killed one and severely injured six others.

Our correspondent who is at the scene reported that the building which was under construction when it collapsed had over 18 people inside.

Meanwhile Rescue officials were said to have rescued about six persons while a corpse has been evacuated.

However, the heavy rain has also hampered rescue operations.

More Details Shortly…

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