Social Reporters News Service, published by IOE Publishers - CAC/BN/3400383

Alexander Okere, Benin A polling agent for the All Progressives Congress, on Monday, told the Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party “rejoiced” and “congratulated” him after the APC won the September 28 election in his polling unit. This was against the allegations of non-accreditation of voters and over-voting by the petitioners’ witnesses. The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, are, in their substantive petitions, challenging the declaration of Godwin Obaseki as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The petitioners had listed the INEC, APC and Obaseki as the first to third respondents, respectively. Okononi Pius, a businessman, who was called in by counsel for the second respondent, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), explained, under cross-examination, that he had seen the PDP agent, identified as one Osaro, during the election in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Gove

As sitting continued in the ongoing Edo Elections  tribunal sitting in Benin city, the second respondent Mr Godwin Obaskei today called in more witnesses who indicted INEC for not training them on proper accreditation procedure during elections. The witnesses called by Obaseki in his defence respectively took the witness stand, after his lawyer got the nod to correct what he called an error on a witness deposition. It was the fifth day out of the ten allowed him in the petition filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate in the 2016 Edo governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu challenging INEC role in the process where he was Obaseki was granted victory. After Mr. Obaseki’s counsel, Ken Mozia, SAN, got the tribunal to allow him correct an error detected error in a witness’ deposition in terms of local government identity, from Oredo local government area to Egor LG before the first witness, Hon. Eddy Igbinogun from Egor stepped into the witness box. He told the court tha

The True Story  Having observed with stoic silence the plethora of opinions, comments and claims flying around over the above issue, I feel obliged, for national interest and sanitization of the association to present to NEC the facts of the matter and try to put the record straight, even though NEC members are aware.  The inability of the association to forward names essentially follows non-submission of valid applications as requested by the AIPS and clearly published by SWAN.  As a background to the plot that has been playing out, it is imperative to understand the Constitution of NUJ, Statutes of AIPS and SWAN.  Article 3 (1a) of the NUJ Constitution says, “A person shall not be a member of the Union, except if registered by the National Secretariat of the Union on the recommendation of the state council.”  Article 3(2a) says, “In addition to the provision in Article 3(1), a person to be so qualified shall also possess a minimum of Diploma and cognate experience in Journalism

The Ekiti state governor Ayodele Fayose has cautioned the Igbo people not to rely on the words of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In an interview with Sun News, Fayose said the defection of political bigwigs from the Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress is a show of lack of principles. Obasanjo had said that the Igbo people can vie for presidency in 2019. However, Fayose said: “Do you ever take Obasanjo seriously? I don’t take him seriously. By his nature, Obasanjo wants relevance at all times. We have worked with him and used to be his foot soldiers. I know him more than anybody in this country.” “ He just talks, so that he would remain relevant. Do you see any other former President in the country running his mouth like his? If it is not the fact that he has a voice as a former head of state, where is Obasanjo’s constituency? Who are his followers? How many votes can Obasanjo win in his ward? We must say the truth and we must face the truth. Let’s give it to

One irony of life is that people do all they could to look older while growing in order to command respect, but after a certain stage in life, these same people try their possible best to look younger than their real ages. There are a number of factors responsible for making people look older. Below are a list of five factors: 1. Worrying It may be true that one may not be able to shake off the incessant thoughts about life and its dealings, struggling to make ends meet seems to be the predominant thoughts for most people. Doing this overtime makes most people become worked up. In the process, depression and other things may set in. People who worry constantly tend to lose their youthful look overtime and add a score to their ages in the process. 2. Strenuous Work While hard work may be linked to success, it does not translate to success. Engaging in strenuous work could make you look twenty years older than your real age. This could be proved by running into your old school mates

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has accused the South African government and security agencies of plotting the attacks on Nigerians and other Africans, so as to take their properties. According to Punch, the President of the TUC, Mr. Bala Kaigama also asked the Federal Government to recall the Nigerians High Commissioner to South Africa. The Union also called on the Federal Government to put plans in place to start evacuating Nigerians from South Africa. He said “From all indications, it appears there is a grand conspiracy by the government cum state security apparatus to continue to mindlessly waste lives and take over properties of innocent and harmless fellow Africans. “We are calling on the Federal Government to put modalities in place to evacuate Nigerians in South Africa and recall the High Commissioner immediately to save the situation as further killing may lead to a major crisis. “They own several multi-billion dollar investments on our soils; yet, we co-exist despite all

Okra belongs to the same plant family as hibiscus and cotton. The term “okra” most commonly refers to the edible seedpods of the plant. Okra contains potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C, folic acid, and calcium. It’s low in calories and has high dietary fiber content. Incidences of diabetes diagnoses are only increasing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The verdict is out on whether okra can be used successfully as a direct diabetes treatment. However, the okra plant does have many proven health benefits. Read on to see if okra could be a viable part of your diabetes treatment plan. Medical research on okra for diabetes management is still in early stages according to sources. We do know that according to one study, okra water improved the blood sugar levels of pregnant rats that had gestational diabetes. Roasted okra seeds, which have long been used in Turkey to treat diabetes, have also been studied and proven to have a positive effect on lowering blood suga

Samuel Nwaekwu  INDUSTRY NEWS  Against general believe that doing printing business in Nigeria has so much proliferated and no longer rewarding as it ought to be, Mr. Izzat Debs, Managing Director of Skysat Technologies said the present stage of printing business practice in the country is best described as “just scratching the surface”. To him, the depth of doing printing business for profitability has not been approached since its foray into the country over 160 years now. Accordingly, “industry practitioners have been trying to unearth the potentials of the sector; to say the least, they (the professionals and practitioners) have the idea of how productive and profitable it is to do this business (printing), but quite unfortunate that their activities have been limited by quite a number of factors that has poor or total lack of electricity atop”, said Izzat. Izzat who spoke with PRINTERS DIGEST team of Editor Samuel Nwaekwu and Reporter Emmanuel Osere in an interview in his La

By John Mayaki Yesterday, what should ordinarily have been a regular video received more recognition than it deserved on twitter. This was because gossip.naij.com , a website that prides itself in vending and soft-wittedly disseminating gossip, rumour and indelicately amative stories, published an untruthful story headlined thus, “See the 10 G-Wagons that allegedly belongs to the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki (photos, video)”. The video was initially posted by the All Progressives Congress handle of London and was purportedly shot by a self-styled whistle blower insinuating that a fleet of 10 G-Wagon jeeps belongs to the governor of Edo State, Mr Governor Godwin Obaseki. A thorough critique of this defaming and libellous publication will swiftly send the gossiping website responsible for publishing it to go the way of all flesh. It is not only a travesty of the otherwise noble whistle blowing policy of the Buhari-led administration which has yielded fruits, but as well a ref

Media Mogul, Oprah Winfrey says she has no regrets for not having children with her partner of thirty years Stedman Graham, because she doesn’t have the ‘patience’ to be a parent. The 63-year-old philanthropist said she always saw herself as mother of the world’s children despite pressure from people to get children. She noted that it does not matter if a child comes from your womb but all that matters is love shown to all children. “When people were pressuring me to get married and have children, I knew I was not going to be a person that ever regretted not having them, because I feel like I am a mother to the world’s children. “Love knows no boundaries. It doesn’t matter if a child came from your womb or if you found that person at age two, 10 or 20. “If the love is real, the caring is pure and it comes from a good space, it works. “For me it was perfect, because I didn’t want babies. “I wouldn’t have been a good mom for babies. I don’t have the patience. “I have the patience

By Isaac Eranga, Benin The Executive Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Chief Oseni Elamah yesterday disclosed that the tax system that will be introduced in the state will be reorganized to suit the needs and yearnings of the people. Chief Elamah made the disclosure when development partners of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Benin City. Elamah said the state government is poised to generate revenue that will meet the yearnings and aspirations of her people and deepening its drive for inclusiveness in governance. He further disclosed that the government decided to scrap the uncoordinated tax system in the state, grant tax amnesty so as to re-organize the tax system which would be favourable to the people. “The Edo State government knows human factors play a big role in the formulation of our policies. And since the soul of governance is the ability of government to generate the resourc

The national president of  Atiku political crusaders Hon. Sanco Ese Darlington has described the statement credited to  Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos state  on His Excellency former Vice President of Nigeria Alh. Atiku Abubakar as highly misleading and unexpected of a royal father and an elder statesman. Speaking at a press conference  made immediately  after it's National expanded executive meeting at Abuja, Hon Sanco Ese cautioned that if the Oba has any personal grievances against his Excellency, Atiku Abubakar as regard his ouster from the Nigerian police force there are more civilised ways of seeking redress than resorting to character assassination and blackmail. Speaking further Hon ESE Sanco made it clear that though the Vice President during his tenure was the chairman of the privatization process and has since made it clear that he never use his influence as the chairman to acquire any government  owned company or convert same to himself and has even charge those peddling

A law backing the activities of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) passed through its second and third reading at the Zamfara House of Assembly on Thursday. Contributing to the motion, the member representing Bungudu, Alhaji Mansur Musa, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, said that the TBAs were giving immense contribution to women and children especially in rural areas of the state. He said if the law is promulgated, it would ensure proper training and handling of delivery cases by the traditional attendants. The law makers who took turn to support the motion observed that it would improve safe births, reduce maternal and child mortality, and protect mother and child. The Speaker, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, then directed the House Committees on Education and Health to understudy the operations of similar laws in Sokoto, Katsina and Kwara states. Rikiji said the outcome of the study tour would enable Zamfara ensure the effective implementation of the law protec

From, Osemwengie Ben ogbemudia Benin The life and time of Michael Faraday, accomplished scientist and multiple inventor may have played a deciding role in the naming of the young F.F. Orumwense. And if names are grains of future desires sown at child naming ceremonies, which they have often proven to be, Professor F.F.O. Orumwense, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin has shown associated greateness as the father of electromagnetism after whom the unit of electrical capacitance, the farad is named. They both share a tedious tutelage and an avowed commitment to success through natural convictions and deep belief in the positive rewards of acute optimism. In the nature of their character, Orumwense shares the tradition of taciturnity of great scientific achievers and a committed pursuit of rigorous academics. It is therefore not surprising that Professor Orumwense’s major concern is with the academic elevation of the University as Michael Faraday did with the Bri

Edo State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Dan Orbih has said that the affirmation of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the party has nothing to do with Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the PDP in the last governorship election in Edo State. Orbih was responding to speculations in some quarters that since Ali Modu Sheriff is the authentic chairman, Hon. Mathew Iduoriyekemwen may be recognized as the PDP candidate not the Pastor. Orbih told Social Reporters that even though the court order has no negative effect on the party state governorship candidate, it will exhaust all existing judicial avenue to seek final pronouncement. He said “It has nothing to do with his case. His candidacy has not been challenged either as a pre-election matter or at the election tribunal.  Those calling an end to litigation because decision this time around is in favour of Sheriff should not forget there were series of other decision earlier gi

The Independent National Electoral Commission has closed its defence in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize -Iyamu, at the Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal , without calling any witness. The petitioners are challenging INEC’ s declaration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, as winner of the September 28 poll and had listed them in the substantive petition as the first to third respondents , respectively . At the resumption of hearing on Monday , counsel to INEC , Onyinye Anumonye, however , tendered no fewer than 200 copies of the ward results ( Form EC 8B ) for the remaining 17 local government areas , all of which were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits. Anumonye also sought to tender a supplement to the 2015 guidelines and regulation for the conduct of the election . Counsel to the petitioners , Roland Otaru, objected to the admissibility of the document , which he said

By Idemudia Oviosun (PhD)  From virtually every indication, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State has made quite an impression on the people of the state – myself inclusive as he clocked 100 days in office today - 20th February 2017. I was not an enthusiast of his while he was campaigning for the election, but then, I was neither enthusiastic about Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. While his clergyman act was and continues to be fascinating, it did not particularly have any effect on me. Mr Obaseki’s quietness also made me doubt, like every other concerned son of Igodomigodo, whether his regime would really be his and whether he even had any plan for what path his government would take. In a hundred days, he has corrected that notion and even made me blush like an errant analyst for harbouring such a notion in the first place. His January 1 speech this year was the first sign I perceived of a man of steel.  Without batting an eyelid, he ‘upped and done away’ with manual tax collection i

A married woman has told the story of how she, in a bid to secure a better life, ended up having an extra-marital affair. The woman took to break_or_makeup to tell her interesting story. According to her, she cheated on her husband for the very first time last week and it was with an old friend. She revealed that she had sex with the other man because he is connected and can hook her up for better offers at work. According to her, after she had sex with the man, she got a new job the next day where she is being weighed more than what she earned in her previous job. However, now she is feeling very guilty about what she has done. what is your advise to her? Please send your advise to peoplesperiscope@gmail. com

By Maina Maina on February 20, 2017 @dailypost Boko Haram gunmen had on Sunday afternoon invaded Yaza-Kumaza village in southern part of Borno state, killing at least three persons and displacing many others, local security sources in the area told DAILY POST. According to a local vigilante official in the area, Michael Emmanuel, the attackers stormed the village at about 4pm. He said many of the villagers who ran into nearby bushes amid shooting by the Boko Haram attackers, have not returned to their homes as at 10pm when he spoke with the press. “A Boko Haram group entered Yaza-Kumaza which is very close to Lassa town and killed three people,” he said “Many people have escaped into the bush and up till now it is only few people that have returned to the attacked village after the gunmen had left.” Mr. Emmanuel said most of the houses in the village were looted. Boko Haram fighters have in recent weeks continued to attack villages in that part of southern Borno despite military

Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, has said if the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP remained in power after 2015, the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist sect would have taken over Aso Rock. Shehu reinstated that President Muhammadu Buhari has done a lot with regards national security as he has curbed the activities of the insurgents. The spokesperson made this known on Saturday while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja. Shehu said, “There are many people who believe that if not for president Muhammadu Buhari, PDP had continued in this country in 2015 they would have taken over Aso Rock by now. “We have achieved so much in terms of security. Look at all of the way the efforts that has been put in rolling back Boko Haram.” The spokesman further noted that policy of whistle-blowing was an opportunity for Nigerians to make money. According to him, “If you see stolen money going anywhere, you will not only be honoured for pointing it out for discovery but you can earn a commission. “

An Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court sitting in Isabo on Friday remanded eight “Eiye Confraternity” members for alleged stabbing and forcing neighbors to join the proscribed group. The eight suspected cultists are Rasak Qudus , 18; Kayode Afolafin , 21; Seun Mathew , 21; Adebanjo Oladimeji, 27; Adeleye Ayoola , 27; Ahmed Gbadamosi, 25; Azeez Okeleye , 31, and Oriyomi Olugbenga , 34. The accused were arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy, belonging to secret cult, assault and forcing their neighbors to join an unlawful group. The Prosecutor, Insp. Sunday Eigbegiale, told the court that the accused and others still at large were notorious secret cult members. Eigbegiale said the accused persons were caught on Dec. 30, 2016, at Sokori, Abeokuta. He added that the eight cultists and others still at large conspired to breach the peace of the society by possessing unlawful and offensive weapon used in stabbing people. “The eight accused persons unlawfully belong to a secret cult kn

By Isaac Eranga During the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, chieftains of the APC were unleashing destructive criticisms on Goodluck, saying his misrule was responsible for the high rate of unemployment, corruption and mass killings in the country and that it was better for him to resign than to continue in misruling the nation. But the reality on ground today in Nigeria is reminiscent and even worse than the Jonathan's administration. Like the ragae maestro put "if you live in a glass house, don't throw stone". This was what the APC chieftains forgot when they were throwing stones. Take a look below at some of their statements during during Jonathan's rule: "A serious government will fix power problem in 6 months." - Babatunde Raji Fashola ( November 12, 2014) "Stone us (APC) if we do not perform after 2 years." - Tony Momoh ( April 3, 2016, The Guardian) "The only way to have stable electricity is to vote out PDP."

Senator Dino Melaye has said the reason Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of change promised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is because of the civil servants who according to him, are responsible for major corruption in the country and have refused to repent and internalize the change mantra within their hearts. Melaye, who stated this during a chat with the media in Abuja, noted that change mantra was not about the APC as a political party but about the way Nigerians conduct themselves and operate government agencies and activities. He urged civil servants, politicians and those in positions of authority to become born-again and begin to act positively towards ameliorating the mistakes of the past so that the impact of the change mantra can be felt by the people. The senator also said that people who abuse processes and the laws of the land must be questioned by Nigerians, pointing-out that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, ou

The Nigeria police on Monday again invited the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, to a meeting on Thursday with the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigations Department(SCID) in Lagos. The invitation, which came in the form of a text message, did not disclose the purpose of the meeting. It merely invited Mr. Sowore and his colleagues to meet with the police authorities for an interview at 10a.m at the SCID headquarters in the Yaba area of Lagos. Mr. Sowore was on January 9 physically assaulted in Lagos by one Lekan Fatodu over a report by SaharaReporters detailing how Mr. Fatodu was allegedly used as a front by former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode to corner public funds through the office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. When Mr. Sowore was brought before Fatai Owoseni, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, the police claimed a petition alleging criminal libel had been submitted by Mr. Fatodu against Mr. Sowore. The f

By Ifreke Inyang @dailypostngr @journalistisaac Arik Air has suspended flights to London and Johannesburg. This was confirmed by Jude Nwauzor, the spokesperson of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), in a statement released on Tuesday. AMCON had taken over the airline (http://dailypost.ng/2017/02/09/fg-offers-bail-arik-current-distress/) last week, following its huge indebtedness to the company and other creditors. Nwauzor explained that the suspension will help them find lasting solution to Arik’s problems, after carrying out a thorough assessment. He said: “The strategic business decision is meant to realign our operations and refocus on satisfying our domestic and West Africa and other international passengers. “It will also present Arik with excellent opportunity to engage and discuss with creditors who have become restive since the intervention and have also understandably exhausted their patience due to non-payment of accumulated debt and non-performance on se

By Richard Akinjide, QC, SAN Presented by M.M.Mbanaja. Lagos - I Was in the first cabinet that was overthrown by the military in this country. I entered parliament on December 12, 1959. And I remained in Parliament until January 15, 1966, when the Government was overthrown. I was the Federal Minister of Education in that cabinet. I woke up in the morning in my official house in Ikoyi to discover that my telephone was not working. I had never experienced coup before nor did I know that it was a coup, thinking it was just a telephone fault; until a colleague of mine in the cabinet Chief Abiodun Akerele, came in and told me there had been a military coup. So I had the fortune or the misfortune of being a victim of the first coup ever in this country. Many people may not know that I spent 18 months in detention in prisons across the country. I've spent the time in Kirikiri prison, Ilesha prison, Ibadan prison and the Abeokuta prison Two of us who were in Balewa's government eme

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, is current having a meeting with former military president, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in his home in Niger State. The meeting is holding at IBB’s Hilltop mansion in Minna, the state capital. Rumours have been rife that Atiku, who served as Vice President under the Obasanjo administration, intends to run in the 2019 presidential election under the newly registered mega party.

By Isaac Eranga Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki has called on Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW) who are on a seven day medical mission in the state to join hands with his administration for improved and better health care for the people of the state. He made the call while receiving members of the group who are on a courtesy visit and medical mission to the state at government house on Monday in Benin City. Obaseki said the group who are medical practitioners in the Diaspora should join hands with his administration to improve on the health care system adding that his administration will fix the naughty issues challenging the sector. He said one area he wants the group to assist his government is in the area of nursing care. “We don’t have nursing school any more, our concern is how to get our people back home to come train us here on how to get the best nursing care like it is obtainable oversee. I don’t believe that the doctors over there are better than the ones w