The actress yesterday, made sure we knew she was a part of the protest as she took photos from the National Art Theatre in Lagos yesterday.
But a Facebook user, Opeyemi Bamidele Amusa, has called her out saying she came after the whole protest walk. The user shared:
A Lagos court has declared a 45-year old man, Raphael Emmanson wanted, for allegedly conning N450,000 from a lady, Miss Chinedu Chukwu under the false pretence of marrying her and to procuring visa for both to travel abroad as husband and wife, PM Express reports.
The wanted man not only duped Chinedu of the said amount, he also made the victim to lose her fiance and job with a pharmaceutical company and then fled.
It was gathered that Chinedu suffered her fate after she met Emmanson at a park in Abuja where he pretended to be stranded and she decided to assist him.
Emmanson, who is from Okigwe in Imo State, deceived Chinedu by telling her that he came to Abuja to procure visa to travel abroad but was stranded and needed a place to sleep till the next day that he purportedly had an appointment with an embassy.
She took pity on him and drove him to her house after explaining to her fiance what happened. Chinedu said when Emmanson got to her house and she introduced him to her fiancé.
However, they became friends and after a while he ensured that she collapsed her relationship with her fiancé after he promised her marriage and that both will travel abroad.
It was through that deceit that he managed to obtain the money from her to procure visa. After she gave him the money, the suspect bolted away and ran to Lagos.
Asides that the victim lost her fiance to the deceit of Emmanson, she also lost her job because part of the money taken off her was her company’s money.
After searching for him for several months, Emmanson was eventually arrested in his hideout in a hotel at Shasha area by the police.
Upon his arrest, it was discovered that the suspect is married with two children. He was later taken to Ejigbo Magistrate’s court where he was charged with obtaining under false pretence and stealing under the Criminal Code.
He pleaded not guilty. The presiding Magistrate Mr J.O.E. Adeyemi granted him bail and remanded him in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail.
However, when he was released from custody, Emmanson ran away again and has not appeared in court to face trial. Consequently, the court declared him wanted and ordered for his arrest while the matter was adjourned till 27 March 2017.
– PM Express
A secondary school teacher in Kogi state, Mrs Abu Queen Ejura, has touched hearts after she was overpaid by N130,000 and she returned the money back to her employers.
Director General (Media and Publicity) at Governor’s Office, Kogi State Government, Kingsley Fanwo shared the story saying,
Honesty. This is the Kogi spirit. Our civil service is not all about fraud. We have honest and reliable civil servants.
Abu Queen Ejura is a teacher with a secondary school in Idah. She was overpaid to the tune of 130,000 naira. Ejura withdrew what is legitimately hers and wrote to the screening committee to report the overpayment.
Ademola Victor said he was on his way from UNILAG yesterday when he saw a man who had just been involved in a hit-and-run accident.
He said he was able to stop the man’s bleeding and revived his heart rate back to 60 beats per minute before taking him to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
He shared the photo above, writing:
On my way from Unilag today, I saw the man on the road at Fadeyi Bus stop, I had to quickly step in to help.
A vehicle at about 60-80km/hr hit him and he sustained an head injury, had a deep cut on his head, breathing slowly, was unconscious and had lot of blood on the floor. Thank God I stopped his bleeding, brought back his pulse to about 60bpm just in time. Now he’s
stable, thanks to God. And he’s in an ambulance on his way to LASUTH. The doctor said, if I hadn’t stopped his bleeding, he couldn’t have made it.
Someone at the bus stop sent this video to me of the man few seconds after the accident.
#ThankingGodForLife #accident #lagos #nigeria #hazard #hazards
Female NYSC member serving in Kaduna, Vivian Wobo, died on 3rd February, and is set to buried this morning at her father’s compound in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Friends and families held a candle light session in memory of the deceased. Her soul rest in peace. Another photo below:
So Instagram user, Khene, while conversing with a supposed 30 year old lady, told her he is Igbo and she said ‘God forbid‘. According to Khene, she had been pestering him on his age and what he does for a living, looking to see if he’s husband material.
The furious guy then took to his page to call her out and rained harsh words at her for insulting his tribe. See below:
“When you know you are a very much old hag looking like a depleted self-con and yet you still want to be sliding into a younger guy’s dm asking his age and what he does just so you will know if he can marry you. WTF?? @princess_kayajibade this is me calling you out. The bitch went on asking my age and what I do and when I told this fair kangaroo I was igbo she opened her stinking gutter of a mouth to say God forbid look at how she looks at 30 and actually feels she still has a chance to be picky. It’s just February and yet this fool is a strong contender for the moron of the year award. With a stupid tattoo on her breast like the writings on the sign board of driving school centre. River goat. The 2017 model of imbecile blocked me I would have posted a full screen shot of the messages. #dontinsultmytribe #goandgetyourselfahusband #Igboandproud #auntywontmarryanytimesoon #leekwaAnuohia”
The singer sent in a tweet to show support to the #IStandWithNigeria protest and a fan came for her over her choice of words.
See below:
Malaysian based Nigerian big boy, Ray Hushpuppi has taken a swipe at Nigerian celebrities for not showing their support to the #IStandWithBuhari protest.
He says if it were in their interest, they’d reach out to their fans for prayers and support but now that their fans are in need of them, they are found wanting.
Read what he shared:
Wow, this is just inhuman mehn! But truth be told, more than two decades ago, this is the faith must school students suffered in the hands of their teachers but we’re way past that era now, or aren’t we?
Facebook user, Utibe Michael shared these photos showing her brother who was allegedly brutalized by his school’s principal for not showing up at school.
She says the man showed no concern even after doing this to him… Continue below:
Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, said the All Progressives Congress, APC, government did not promise to fix Nigeria’s problem within a year and cautioned those lamenting the economic hardship to wait till 2019 for the desired change.
Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, cautioned Nigerians against making statements that could cause religious disharmony, warning that “no nation has ever survived religious war.”
The ministers spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, during a North Central town hall meeting for the people of Kogi, Niger and Kwara states by the Federal Government.
Amaechi, who was the Director General of the Campaign Organisation of President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 elections, said though the Federal Government knows that things are difficult, Nigerians should wait till the end of the four-year mandate given to the administration before they can judge whether the government had performed or not.
According to him,
“we did not promise you that those challenges will be solved in one year or you would have given us a one-year mandate. But you gave us four years mandate, so wait till the end of four years before you can conclude that we have not done well.”
I mean, when did Nigerians say this ?! Seriously?! Are you a Nigerian? Did you say this?! Let us know! Lol!
Certificates obtained outside Nigeria will continue to be more valued and considered over those obtained in the country due to some factors, the United Kingdom-based Metropolitan School of Business and Management, has said.
Among the reasons adduced for the value placed on foreign certificates by the institution include “use of dynamic and relevant practice-based approaches” and the combination of corporate experience with “interactive teaching methodology with live case studies”.
The Assistant Country Director of MSBM (Nigeria), Mosisiye Kayode, stated this in Abuja during the Enterprise 101 workshop organised for business managers, young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs.
She said,
“We have affiliations with schools in the UK but anyone participating in our school in Abuja has worked, studied and lived in the UK at a particular time because you cannot give what you do not have. So anyone who is going to teach in our class is someone who has studied, worked and lived in the UK .
“If you have a certificate from the UK, it is more appreciated because they know that we don’t just give you the teaching, we give you the real life scenario.
“Enterprise 101 has always been a vision of ours; we have actually been looking forward to bringing in people and entrepreneurs in Abuja to come around because most of them have things they will want to share with other young people just for young aspiring entrepreneurs to actually gain from.”
A civil servant and one of the participants, Chukwugozim Melekwe, said that regardless of his exposure to business from an early age and a successful job, the workshop was a platform to further learn and network to broaden his scope in business.
He said,
“Even though I have some sort of safety net by working right now, it has always been a part of me to make things happen. We need knowledge to be successful. As a professional and aspiring business person, there are questions that I need answers for, there are things I need to know.”
Another participant, Yinka Lanre, said that businesses in Abuja were recording turnovers in billions.
He explained that MSBM is a UK institution that had come into Nigeria to bring cutting edge innovations to ensure strategic ideas that could be applied to businesses to attain more profit.
– PUNCH
Canadian rapper, Drake slammed U.S President, Donald Trump during his performance at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday. In between songs, the rapper used his platform to take a swipe at the newly elected President, telling the crowd “it’s on us to keep this s**t together“.
He ranted:
“Every day I wake up, I see all this bulls**t going on in the world. People trying to tear
us apart, people trying to make us turn against each other.
“My proudest moment… if you take a look around in this room, you’ll see people from all races and all places – and all we did tonight was come inside this building, show love, celebrate life, more life, and more music.
“And I just want you to understand if you ever thought for a second that any one man is going to tear this world apart you’re out of your motherfucking mind. It’s on us to keep this s**t together. F**k that man.”
Watch below:
https://twitter.com/iDailyRapFacts/status/828706178762842112
A 40 year old man was left with no choice than to flee his wedding ceremony to his 18-year old bride, after his pregnant 17-year-old girlfriend stormed the church and caused a stir.
Rosa Esperanza Reyes, 17, showed up at a church to stop her 40-year-old lover from marrying his fiancee. She was carrying their one-year-old child and claimed to be pregnant again.
But despite the fuss, two-timing Jose Sabino Davila still married 18-year-old Rita Elena Lopez at the church in Masaya, Nicaragua.
Authorities are now urging the young woman to report her boyfriend, as she is under the legal age for consent in the country.
Holding her baby, Rosa Esperanza Reyes told authorities Davila was the father of the child in her arms and the unborn one inside her, and that he had even stayed with her the night before the wedding. She said:
“I am his wife, I have his son and I am pregnant. I am only 17 years old. I am here to stop the wedding, do you know why?
“Because I am pregnant and I want to avoid the wedding so that neither I nor the bride will be with this man.”
According to local media, Rosa Esperanza has had a relationship with Davila for three years and is currently six months pregnant.
Although too late to stop the ceremony going ahead, a video shows that Rosa Esperanza did manage to cause a scene outside the church, with police even being called.
The video shows Davila and his new bride leaving in a taxi, together with a lady who looks likely to be Davila’s new mother-in-law and a young female relative.
Edwin Roman, the priest who married the couple, said:
“Apparently, the bride already knew that her boyfriend had another girlfriend so she was not surprised over the scandal outside the church.”
The incident has caused outrage in Nicaragua, where the age of sexual consent is 18. Lawyer Manuel de Jesus Chavez said Davila could face two to four years in prison if found guilty of sex with a minor aged 14 to 18.
Prosecutors say they are waiting for Rosa Esperanza to report the case officially so that they can charge the groom.
Elia Palacios, president of Women Against Violence, said:
“This is a crime. It has to be seen as a crime and the first thing we should do is to find the man, arrest him and judge him for the crime of raping a minor.”
A self-proclaimed prophet who says he is also the ‘untouchable almighty god,’ miraculously escaped lynching in Uganda, for allegedly spreading falsehood and brainwashing locals.
According to Uganda Monitor, Mr Severino Lukoya, leader of the New Jerusalem Tabernacle Church, had travelled with his disciples to Kalongo for door-to-door prayer sessions, claiming he was sent by God Himself to deliver a special message and also cleanse the area of evil spirits.
Mr Lukoya had told Sunday Monitor in an interview that God had called him out to walk on foot and do a door-to-door preaching until he covers the entire country.
Unknown to the ‘prophet’, who is known to preach in a mixture of Acholi traditional religion, Islam and Christianity, the locals at Kalongo had had enough of him.
It’s reported that before Mr Lukoya could embark on ‘redeeming’ prayer sessions, hundreds of angry residents descended on him without mercy:
He is not true prophet. He preaches falsehood and false prophesies to us and we are tired of him,” the angry locals murmured as they gathered, ready to unleash terror and fire on the man of God.
Fortunately, Agago District police quickly came to the rescue of the prophet, whisking him away to safety in the immediate neighbourhood, several kilometres away.
Mr Albert Onyango, the Agago District police commander said:
“Residents hate him because of the past rebellion his daughter led. They also believe Lukoya is a cult leader whose presence brings bad omen. I think it is time Lukoya realised that he is not wanted in the district.
This is the fourth time in less than two years that people are attempting to kill him,” Mr Onyango said.
A husband from Zambia found a pair of used condoms in his wife’s handbag and decided to punish his unfaithful wife by rubbing hot chilli on his wife’s underwear.
Narrating her ordeal in a fully-packed court, Nellie Simambo, 30, of Matero Township in Lusaka tearfully recounted how the incident resulted in the swelling of her private parts.
She said her husband was always suspecting her of having extramarital affairs which led him to rubbing chilli into her underwear.
She added that her husband was also a violent man who beat her regularly for no apparent reason.
Nellie who has sued her husband for divorce explained that her husband recently tried to kill her in her sleep,leaving her with a swollen neck.
She said her husband also slept with a knife in his pocket and always threatened to kill her.
“I am tired of this man and I am afraid if I continue staying with him he will kill me because he moves with a knife in his pocket,” she said.
Times of Zambia reports that in defence Smart Simambo told the court that his wife was having extra-marital affairs which were the source of the couple’s martial disputes.
He said when he found two used condoms in her handbag, he confronted her to explain how the condoms got into her bag. Smart accused his wife of being disrespectful, insulting him in the presence of their children and sexually denying him.
“My wife has also denied me sex for the past five months and yet she has the audacity to come home with used condoms in her bag,” he said.
Magistrate Pauline Newa granted the couple divorce and ordered Smart to compensate Nellie with K8,000. Custody of the children was given to Nellie while Smart was ordered to provide K500 per month for their support.
A husband and wife, who have been identified as Mr and Mrs Henry Eloke Nwogo, tragically lost their lives yesterday after they got involved in a ghastly motor accident in Ossissa, Delta state.
The couple were burnt in the car accident. Photos of their charred remains are seen below. Their soul rest in peace.
Nollywood filmmaker, Seun Egbeegbe, suspected scammer accused of attempting to swindle $9,000 and £3,000 from two bureau de change operators on Thursday, February 2, 2017, is still in custody of Lagos Police Command.
The music and movie promoter along with his accomplice (Ayodele Oyekan) spent the weekend in detention. And now, according to Encomium.ng, their remand order was extended on Monday, February 6 by the courts.
Encomium reports that when they contacted the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, she confirmed that the suspects are still detained. She said:
“He’s still in custody. The Command got the consent of the court for his continued detention so as to allow extensive investigation since he’s an habitual suspect.”
Set for court on Wednesday, February 8, in the theft of nine iPhone handsets case of November 22, 2016, Egbeegbe is becoming a serial suspect.
Rapper, Kanye West has deleted all his tweets about U.S President, Donald Trump. The husband father of two did so because he’s ‘unhappy with what Donald’s done during his first two weeks in office.
According to TMZ, the 39-year-old rapper is especially distraught over his travel ban.
Kanye had tweeted about Trump in a positive light after the election. In December, the day he met with Trump in NYC, he wrote, “I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.”
Kanye also wrote about issues on which he felt he could influence Trump, writing, “These issues include bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.”
Our sources say Kanye’s decision to remove the tweets were all his. The “Muslim ban” and other actions have turned him against the prez.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has stated plans are afoot to remove yellow buses popularly known as Danfo from Lagos roads for a world class mass transportation system that would facilitate ease of movement within the city.
Speaking at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) held at Muson Centre in Onikan with the theme: “Living Well Together, Tomorrow: The Challenge Of Africa’s Future Cities,” Governor Ambode admitted that the present connectivity mode in Lagos was not acceptable and befitting for a mega city, and as such a well-structured transportation mode would soon be put in place to address the challenge.
“When I wake up in the morning and see all these yellow buses and see Okada and all kinds of tricycles and then we claim we are a mega city, that is not true and we must first acknowledge that that is a faulty connectivity that we are running.
“Having accepted that, we have to look for the solution and that is why we want to banish yellow buses this year. We must address the issue of connectivity that makes people to move around with ease and that is where we are going.
“For instance, people going from Ikorodu to CMS have started leaving their cars at home because the buses are very convenient and so why can’t we do that for other places? Yes, we don’t have the money to do that but we can go to the capital market and then improve on the technology of collection of fares and that will encourage investors and then the city will change,” Governor Ambode said.
Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has said he was not under any kind of pressure to resign, saying he ran for his office on the same electoral ticket with President Muhammadu Buhari and that Buhari is hale, hearty.
He also said that the President was hale and hearty contrary to speculations that he was critical ill or even dead.
Osinbajo spoke with State House correspondents shortly after a closed door meeting with the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Oyegun, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters in Vice President’s Office, Sen. Babafemi Ojudu and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters, Hon. Abike Dabire at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday.
VP Osinbajo Osinbajo said that the idea of asking him to resign his office was uncalled for and unfounded as the people of Nigeria who voted for him hadn’t asked him to resign.
Revealing that he had a long telephone conversation with the President who is currently on a medical leave in London, United Kingdom, Monday afternoon, Osinbajo stated that the President was well and alive. He added that he briefed the president on the state of the nation including the on-going mass protests in the country.
Asked to speak on the nature of President’s illness, the Acting President said that the information was only at the discretion of the President to disclose. He said:
“I am not under no pressure to resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation, myself and Mr President and so the people of this nation have not asked us to resign.
I am absolutely not under any pressure whatsoever. The truth is that there has been no pressure from any source asking me to resign “The President is hale and hearty. I spoke to the President just this afternoon and we had a long conversation.
He was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we have gone and the meeting today with the private sector and the economic recovery growth plan and I informed him about the protest march and feedback about what people are saying about the economy. He is in good shape.
Just like he said in his letter to the National Assembly, he needs to go for a cycle of tests and once he sees the test results and gets medical advice, we expect him very soon. “I think that the health status of Mr President is an issue that only Mr President would discuss at the appropriate time.
Again he is running test and all of that, before you will be able to determine your health status, you must be able to say this is my health status, do the test my doctors have advised me to do and will wait for the outcome of the tests and know my status.”
Shortly after the interview with Journalists, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal was seen walking into the Office of the Acting President.
His mission was not known as at press time.
It will be recalled that President Buhari left the shores of Nigeria on January 19, 2017 for London on a medical vacation. He was due to return to his duty post on Monday, February 6 but failed to do so, citing more medical laboratory tests as reasons for his continued stay abroad.
A press statement by his Media Aide, Mr. Femi Adesina on Sunday that announced the extension did not however give any specific date of his return, a development which many Nigerians feel was unconstitutional and unbecoming of a President of a country.
– Vanguard
Veteran Nollywood actor, Saidi Balogun turned 50 on Sunday, February 5, a day he shares with his estranged wife, Faithia Balogun. While his estranged wife was turnt up for her Jubilee gig in Lagos, the actor decided to celebrate his lowkey, as he embarked on a trip to the holy city of Mecca.
He shared the photo below from the holy land and wrote,
“I thank almighty Allah, celebrating my birth in the holy land is my own special way of saying thank you to baba God.”
Monday was another nomination day in the Big Brother Nigeria house and housemates, Gifty, Cocoice, Debbie Rise, Bisola and Bassey have been put up for possible eviction.
Choreographer, Thin Tall Tony was initially among the nominated housemates, but Efe being the Igwe and having the power, swapped him for Gifty.
See how the housemates nominated below:
Bisola nominated Debbie rise and Cocoice
Marvis nominated Cocoice and Debbie rise
Thin Tall Tony nominated Debbie rise and Gifty
Efe nominated Tboss and Cocoice
Gifty nominated Bassey and Cocoice
Uriel nominated Cocoice and Thin Tall Tony
Tboss nominated Marvis and Bassey
Cocoice nominated Thin Tall Tony and Bassey
Kemen nominated Bisola and Thin Tall Tony
Debbie rise nominated Marvis and Bisola
Bally nominated Bisola and Thin Tall Tony
The #IStandWithNigeria protesters have given the Federal government an ultimatum, May 29 2017 to meet its demands otherwise “the agitations will be louder and more intense.”
In a statement released by Enough is Enough Nigeria Group and signed by “Nigerian Citizens,” on Monday, protesters called on the government to address its demands: Transparency, Security, Cost of Government, Social Justice and Corruption, and Power.
Read the statement below:
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN
Acting President & Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Presidential Villa
Abuja
Nigerians Speak in One Voice That This Administration Has Failed to Deliver on Its Promises
Your Excellency,
In the words of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s First Prime Minister, ‘the future of this vast country must depend, in the main, on the efforts of ourselves to help ourselves.’
Since the idea of a protest was muted a few weeks ago and a call to action was given for Nigerians to share their challenges and concerns via social media and SMS, we have received hundreds of text messages, Whatsapp messages; thousands of comments via various social media platforms and millions of engagements through various hashtags.
The messages paint a clear picture of hardship across the country. Nigerians are facing difficult economic challenges and do not see any end in sight. Our standards of living
have worsened and we are also disappointed in the lack of transparency and an ineffective fight against corruption in a government that made a fight against corruption a key pillar of its campaign. In summary, the change that Nigerians were promised has not been delivered and a road map to the desired destination is yet to be communicated.
This is not about ad-hoc programs or sound-bites, but a sincerity in the government, from the Presidency to its various ministries and agencies, that this government that means what it says and says what it means. The various spokespersons for the administration are dismissive of Nigerians’ concerns, repeating that Nigeria is working when it is clear, even to the blind, that it is not!
For example, a lot of work has gone into attempts to scuttle the peaceful gatherings in Lagos and Abuja, when the citizens right to free speech is inalienable. Furthermore, the implied attempt by some elements in security agencies to stifle the inalienable rights of Nigerians to freedom of speech and assembly cannot be allowed. We are in a democracy and citizens must be able to express their displeasure with their elected representatives in a lawful manner. If as much attention was paid to good governance, our circumstances would be much better.
We all suffer from the country’s dysfunction and we are saying – Enough is Enough! Nigeria must come first! Not personal interests, not sectional interests; not business interests. From the impact of perennial power shortage to the lack of decent health care facilities and a good education for our children, we all pay the price, one way or another, for bad governance. The police who are here with us today, the teachers, hawkers in the street, traders in the market, labourers, all of us suffer when Nigeria doesn’t work. The hardship we are going through, is why we are gathered here today. Thousands of jobs have been lost over the last one year, factories have closed, people are struggling not just to keep their kids in school but provide the most basic of things – food. We have watched the price of some of our staple foods double, even triple in some cases. Yet the response to our decision to protest, a freedom and a right guaranteed by our constitution, was multiple attempts to intimidate us and discredit us. May we remind you that repressing angry and frustrated citizenry never bodes well for those in power?
Perhaps it isn’t surprising that political office holders have no idea how bad things have become after all their office, the political power they wield, their jumbo pay & allowance, means that their reality is very much removed from that of regular Nigerians, the people they promised, nay, swore to serve.
Well, most Nigerians are now fed up so we are gathered today, here and now to tell you that things are bad; really, really bad. It is also important to state, that while this message is addressed to you as the President of this great nation, the frustrations are not only towards the Federal Government. We are also speaking to the National Assembly whose job it is to represent Nigerians at the Federal level and their responsibilities include law-making; appropriating monies and ensuring they are spent judiciously. However, they have so far spent the last two years in office fighting for spoils, buying expensive cars, spending time on corruption allegations against several members and unanswered questions around the budgeting process and allegations of budget manipulation. At the State level, several states owe salaries and have refused to be accountable and transparent in the spending of resources, including the bailout funds they received from the Federal Government. This is simply unacceptable.
Our call for this protest had 10 key areas of concern – security, education, health, power, unemployment, high cost of living, social justice, transparency, cost of government & patriotism – we are making demands of 5 of these issues as follows:
Transparency in all tiers of government
We want to know how much states received as bailout funds and how the funds were spent, especially as salaries are unpaid and social services are under-funded and some cases even none existent.
That the Federal Government puts in place a clear mechanism for making public new hires into government agencies to ensure that these jobs are filled based on merit, not nepotism. Allegations of illegal hires into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Prisons Service are yet to be answered adequately. Freedom of Information requests to these agencies have met with silence on the substance of the request.
Allegations of ‘sex for food’ and food stealing in IDP camps must be investigated those found guilty punished swiftly. The suffering of Nigerians that are already victims of the Boko Haram onslaught cannot and should not be compounded by the actions of unscrupulous people.
How much has been recovered from the government’s anti-corruption fight? How much has been spent and what was it spent on?
Security
ALL Nigerian lives MUST matter and we need to see government – at the State & Federal level – act in a way that proves this is indeed the case.
Insecurity is at an all-time low in Nigeria, from Benue State to the Niger Delta, from Southern Kaduna to the Northeast, scores are being killed and it seems the perpetrators are mostly getting away with it. The Federal Government and States must put proactive peace and security measures in place to ensure an equitable resolution of these current crisis and this road map must be made public so citizens are aware that their rights are being protected.
Cost of Government
The cost of running our government structure is too high and needs to be reduced to reflect the reality of our dwindling economic fortunes.
National Assembly: The size is no longer affordable as it operates today. The structure that supports 469 individuals cost us N115bilion a year of which they provide no record of how the money is spent. There should be a referendum on a unicameral Assembly.
There have been several reports on eliminating duplicate agencies. They need to be implemented to reduce cost and increase efficiency.
Our budget process is poor and allows for fraud. We have not learnt from last year’s debacle. We propose open contracting data standard so that the budget and procurement data are linked in a way that allows citizens see clearly what has been funded. We also propose citizen consultation so that citizens have a direct say in the budget process.
Social Justice & Corruption
At a time of increasing suffering for many Nigerians, the government should be humane and put a pause on actions to drive government revenue that increase hardship. The demolitions of living areas and markets; increase in taxes and the introduction of new taxes.
We can’t have one set of rules for the rich, and another for the poor. Allegations of corruption by political office holders should be investigated and innocence proven beyond reasonable doubt. The Presidency’s defence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on an offense to which he himself admitted guilt is unacceptable.
The government needs to follow the rule of law it espouses and obey court orders. Why has El Zakzaky not been released as ordered by the courts? A democratic government that tramples on the constitution is playing with fire as it undermines the foundation of its legitimacy.
Power
The lack of power in Nigeria continues to be a major hindrance to not just business but to people getting themselves out of poverty as many studies have shown. We demand that the government rolls out a 6-month emergency power plan that focuses on:
Metering all customers to stop estimated billing.
Appoint a NERC substantive Chairman and enforce the EPSR Act on Customer Complains Resolutions
Amend the ESPR Act to relax regulation to allow small-scale power generation. We believe this will in a very short time improve our power situation.
It is important to reiterate that we are gathered here to protest because our political leaders have failed, our elected leaders have failed. They are not keeping their pre-elections promises, they are not delivering on their manifestos and programs. Worse, their actions and inactions have combined to create more hardship for millions of Nigerians.
We are here to demand for proper leadership, for accountability, for love of nation before self, for selfless service to country.
We are here because we are tired of those we have elected to ‘serve’ us taking advantage of us.
We are here to say Enough is Enough!
We are giving the government till its 2nd anniversary – May 29, 2017 to show substantive results on the issues we have raised. If not, the agitations will be louder and more intense.
Thank you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed
Nigerian Citizens
A lot of disappointing and hate notes have been directed to the music mogul ever since he “bailed” on the national protest which he pioneered some weeks back.
There have been mixed reactions over his action as many are speculating the cost he could have paid had he continued with the protest, while others are calling him two faced and inconsistent, like this Facebook user who Wrote an open letter to him few hours ago.
Engr Olu Osibanjo says the music mogul may never reach the heights of Abami Eda with his inconsistency and cowardice. He wrote:
OPEN LETTER TO MR. TUFACE
In the wake of your cancellation of the much awaited March protest, I was as shocked as every other disappointed Nigerian. The question I still ask myself is “must you be two-faced simply because your nickname says it”? You have once again proven to Nigerians that a music legend is not necessarily a National hero. You may never reach the heights of Fela and the likes with your inconsistency and cowardice. What make a hero are fearlessness, tenacity, integrity, patriotism and unwavering love for the masses. You promised so much but offered nothing. It is disheartening that you did not just give us false expectations but you also successfully deleted your names from the list of the men of integrity. We thought we had a man of the masses few days ago. Your act is a national disgrace. Nigerians eagerly await another Messiah who would not be subjected to intimidations and threats. Nigeria needs a youth like you to give hope to the next generation. Nigeria Shall Rise Again. LONG LIVE NIGERIA.
signed….
Engr Olu Osibanjo
When the economy is so bad, it hits the spirit land… the spirits gotta survive mehn!
These photos that are said to be UK based Nigerians at the Nigeria High Commission UK, demanding to see president Buhari went viral earlier today.
But the tweet below says the photos are from the #OccupyNigeria 2012 protest. See:
Other people are protesting about the rising standard of living in the country and this dude right here is not missing out!! People’s concerns are different… Hehe…
Acting president, Yemi Osinbajo has assured the ‘I stand with Nigeria’ protesters that their voices have been heard, and that the government is working “night and day to make life easier“.
He said this via his official Twitter handle as he tweeted:
“To those who are protesting, WE HEAR YOU loud and clear.
To those who are on the streets protesting the economic situation & those who are not, but feel the pain of economic hardship, we hear you.
You deserve a decent life and and we are working night and day to make life easier.”
The songstress took to her Instagram page to show her alliance with the #IStandWithNigeria Nationwide protest.
She wrote:
“#istandwithnigeria
The price of Attachment for braids have increased from #500 to #1500 per pack!
#50 agege bread is now #100
What about kereosene price!!
Okada no dey collect #50 again sef!
#istandwithnigeria
#increaseInPrices #reductionInquality
#Kidnap&armrobbery are on the increase!
WE JUST WANT ANSWERS FROM THE GOVERNMENT WE PUT IN POWER TO REP ,PROTECT AND GUIDE US .
PROPER COMMUNICATION IS WHAT WE WANT… #WeWantConstant&continuousCommunication
#weNeedToPrepareTheYouthsToBeLeaders”
