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http://ift.tt/2rV65Eo Rev Yomi Uteh (Group, Manager Operations, TREM addressing beneficiaries at the Peace Campaign free medical prgram at TREM HQ, over the weekend • Thousands benefit from Bishop Peace Okonkwo’s free medicare The Resident Pastor of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Dr. Peace Okonkwo, has said that , at 65 year of age, nothing gives her joy than to put smiles on people’s faces. The celebrator and wife of the church’s Presiding Bishop Mike Okonkwo spoke at the weekend as thousands of Lagosians defied the early downpour last Saturday to benefit from a programme of free medical test and treatment organized as part of activities to mark her birthday. Addressing journalists at the TREM Headquarters in Gbagada, Lagos, where more than 1,000 people were attended to by over 120 medical personnel, under the Peace Campaign Initiative, the celebrant said the idea to give to humanity during her birthday celebration came up when she turned 60. Her words: “Peace C...

http://ift.tt/2rV5pim Osoba (left), Eshilokun, Obanikoro, Smith, Lawal, Akala, and Ashafa at the burial A Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has described his late mother, Alhaja Wosilat Ejide Obanikoro, as a disciplinarian who made great impact on the lives of her children and the people around her. Alhaja, who is fondly called Iya Lati, died in the early hours of Saturday at her residence in Lagos. She was aged 95 and had since been buried according to Islamic rites. The former Nigerian Ambassador to Ghana speaking on the life and times of the deceased said her mother was a firm believer in education as a tool for liberation. “It is saddening but I and my siblings are consoled that it was peaceful, in her own bed and also in the Holy Month of Ramadan.” Those who turned up at the burial included former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith; former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Ad...

http://ift.tt/2sujGPS Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has announced plans to increase exports through the Warri jetty to a gross average level of 30,000 barrel per day.The company, which recorded significant increase in gas revenue to $105.5 million compared to $76.9 million, said it would continue to prioritise expansion of its domestic natural gas business. This provides a revenue stream that is de-linked from the oil price, and underpinned by the strong fundamentals of high demand and increasing pricing Addressing shareholders during the company’s yearly general meeting in Lagos at the weekend, its Chief Executive Officer, Austin Avuru, explained that force majeure at the Forcados Terminal has materially affected its oil production, adding that it has also reflected on the 2016 full year result. According to him, the company has established a longer term alternative export route through the Warri refinery jetty and are nearing completion of upgrade works to the infrastr...

http://ift.tt/2stZOfR Ita-Giwa •Agency disagrees, insists goods delivered •Air Force urges patience over ‘mistaken’ droning report Relief materials sent by the Federal Government for refugees in Ata Ema, Dayspring Island, Bakassi Local Council of Cross River State have allegedly been diverted to private homes in Calabar, the capital. The succour reportedly came to the inmates who may still have been brooding over the inferno that befell their shanties in April this year. Former presidential adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, at a news conference in Calabar, submitted that the items meant for the refugees in her locality were eventually found in the homes of members of the ruling party in the state. Sources also claimed that the materials were distributed at the behest of the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), John Inaku, who reportedly took receipt of the items from the National Refugee Commissioner. Ita-Giwa said they got to know of the di...

http://ift.tt/2rViyb3 Nigeria fought a war, the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, from 1967 to 1970 to keep the nation together, after its sovereignty was threatened by the Biafran secession. Other stakeholders joined the Federal Military Government led by General Yakubu Gowon to defend the unity of the country. In a near-epic test-of-will with the Federal Government, agitators for the realisation of Biafra grounded social and commercial activities in the South-eastern part of Nigeria the other day and succeeded in making a profound statement of their desire as well as its popularity among the majority of the people. Under the aegis of Movement for the Actualisation of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), the agitators vowed to draw ‘attention to the plight of their colleagues who died in the struggle’ and their protest was designed to commemorate 50 years of the ‘declaration of the Republic of Biafra by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.’ That Nigeria is still faced with su...

http://ift.tt/2oxBUR7 Abdu said his suggestion followed last Thursday dumping of a bill at the House of Representatives, to establish a Southeast Development Commission (SEDC).He said such a review of existing commissions would end ethnic tension and pacify the agitators of a sovereign state in the southeast. A member of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Sani Abdu (APC, Bauchi) has asked the National Assembly to review existing regional bodies in the country.The lawmaker, who disclosed this in an interview at the weekend, said it was necessary to bring development in the southeast at par with other zones. Abdu said his suggestion followed last Thursday dumping of a bill at the House of Representatives, to establish a Southeast Development Commission (SEDC).He said such a review of existing commissions would end ethnic tension and pacify the agitators of a sovereign state in the southeast. The lawmaker said the bill’s disposal was not based on malice, but to allow for a more ...

http://ift.tt/2stZP3p British boxer Anthony Joshua (L) and Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko (R) face each other during the weigh-in ahead of their world heavyweight title unification bout at Wembley in London on April 28, 2017.British boxer Anthony Joshua bids to add the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt and retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title when he fights Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley on April 29. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS Abel Sanchez, best known for being the head trainer of middleweight king, Gennady Golovkin, is very impressed with rapid rise of IBF, IBO, WBA heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), reports boxingscene.com. Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medal winner, had a career-defining victory back in April.Before a record crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley, Joshua got off the floor in the sixth round to rally down the stretch and stop former champion and division ruler, Wladimir Klitschko in the eleventh. The...

http://ift.tt/2oAM6YC Rugby A candidate for the position of vice president, Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Segun Benson, yesterday called for immediate cancellation of the election into player representative and Technical representative of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, held in Abuja. Speaking with journalists yesterday in Kano, Benson argued that the outcome of the election was unacceptable and emphasizing, arguing that it was marred with irregularities and breach of guideline. He therefore called for a fresh election into the positions, while insisting that Secretary General of the Federation, Nonye Nwose, should not be involved in the election. Benson alleged that Nonye must have compromised her position to manipulate the election result in favour of ‘her camp’ against the Atta/Benson camp. “We notice that instead of the 26 representatives from both clubs and states across the country, the Nonye Nwose camp in a surprise manner manipulated the rules an...

http://ift.tt/2szSPBs Photographer: George Osodi/Bloomberg Chairman of the Plateau Coalition of Private Business Association (PLACOPBA), Chief Simon Tangni, has lamented that the period of crises in Plateau State affected greatly the business community in the state. He added that during the dark years, businesses actually crumbled as most people could not come out of their enclave to transact business. Tangni disclosed that to overcome the economic challenges in the state, PLACOPBA had to go on a rigorous research and came out with over 20 issues that were identified as posing threat to business community in the state. He said that out of the many problems identified, they chose four key issues of which the issue of security was given priority. He said that during the crisis, they, as business partners, would not be able to come out, adding that both sides, the government and the business community incurred huge losses. Vía Nigeria News, Headlines and Opinions – The Guardian Nig...

http://ift.tt/2rBzq5P The Managing Director of Jumia Travel Nigeria, Kushal Dutta Predicts 8 Per Cent Growth In Arrivals West Africa’s tourism industry is fledgling, and only last year began to recover from the Ebola outbreak, but has great potential. According to Justin Francis, Managing Director of Responsible Travel, which runs a number of tours of the region, “While East Africa is known for its wildlife, the appeal in West Africa lies in its culture,” he said. “It’s colourful, deeply rooted in tradition and superstition, vibrant and completely different to the rest of the continent. Many of these countries have not yet been swept up by capitalism, globalisation and westernization,” he noted. The 2017 Jumia Travel hospitality report on the African continent has identified terrorism as the biggest bane of the continent’s travel and tourism sector, and countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Egypt are the biggest victims. Globalization h...

http://ift.tt/2oFB8By For Africa, particularly Nigeria to develop and take its rightful place on the world stage, concerted efforts must be made to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost economy. The Managing Director for DHL Express, Sub Saharan Africa, Hennie Heymans made the remark recently at an interactive session with journalists at the company headquarters in Lagos. Heymans observed that getting the SMEs going is Africa’s best bet to key into the global E-commerce industry and benefit from it immerse opportunities. He stated that the beautiful thing DHL has observed in Nigeria is the resilience of the entrepreneurs in the country noting that the nation could have suffered when the oil price dropped down to $29, but for the amazing resilience of Nigerians. Heymans said: “We have seen the effects of declining commodity prices… We saw SMEs just stepping up their roles. It means lesser reliance on commodities, which is critically important. It also ...

http://ift.tt/2szKayO The Scripture Union (SU), a non-denominational Christian organisation, has urged the Federal Government to reconsider the ban of its (SU) activities in public secondary and primary schools in the country. This, according to the body, would instill Christian virtues in the students and curb moral decadence and reduce criminal activities. † Chairman of the Abeokuta chapter of the union, Pastor Emmanuel Adebayo, speaking yesterday during a press conference organised to mark its 150th year worldwide, lamented the high rate of cultism, examination malpractices, drug abuse, rape, immorality and other social vices, which he attributed to low religious activities in schools. He said it was regrettable that the government stopped the union’s activities in schools, saying this had further led the students away from Christ. Adebayo stressed the need for religious organisations to intensify the spread of the gospel of Christ in schools, so as to curb the ugly trend ...

http://ift.tt/2rjiWQp Ndigbo The Ala-Igbo Development Foundation (ADF) yesterday lamented what they described as ‘massive militarization and occupation of Igboland by armed security agencies” and called on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to order the demilitarization of the zone without further delay. They also condemned the lopsided federal appointments, which they said have been skewed against the Igbo, stressing that for equity, justice and fairness, the appointments should be reversed. Rising from their two-day meeting in Enugu, the leaders urged that the next population census should capture the internationally accepted standard data for enumeration and development planning, which includes the state of origin, religion, housing, ethnicity and educational status of citizens. In a communiqué released after the meeting signed by its President, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala and Secretary, Prof. Nathaniel Aniekwu, the group noted that inaccurate census figures was the basis upon whic...

http://ift.tt/2rjP866 Monye The maiden edition of the CCM Concourse was recently held in partnership with V8 Africa in Lagos. The event, which took place at Business Day premises, would remain in the memories of the participants and facilitators. The courses at the concourse included entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation with objectives such as: “Learning key business concepts and understanding how they impact businesses; learning key leadership concepts and how to motivate employees and learning how to be innovative in a tough environment.” The facilitator and host, Chukwuka C. Monye said he has been receiving positive feedback from participants from all walks of life. “The well thought-out agenda lined-up the segments to give participants a proper build-up,” he said, adding that some of the highlights were the introduction and breakout sessions that gave participants the opportunity to deliberate on business case studies and come up with strategies that served as l...

http://ift.tt/2rT0R94 Kelechi Iheanacho (second right), Alex Iwobi (right) and other Eagles in ecstasy after Iheanacho score a goal. Super Eagles players are doing everything possible to convince their coaches that they deserve starting shirts in tomorrow’s international friendly against Corsica, even as the number of players in camp has swelled to 16 as at yesterday evening. Tomorrow’s match against Corsica is part of the preparation for the Cameroun 2019 African Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa slated to hold in Uyo next month. Speaking to The Guardian from France yesterday, Eagles Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye disclosed that 12 players had their first training session in the morning with Coach Gernot Rohr leading the exercise, while four others, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Abdullahi Shehu and Mikel Agu, among others, were being expected yesterday. He noted that Rohr would pick only the best players for the matches against Corsica and Togo, adding tha...

http://ift.tt/2olsNQy For stabbing his partner to death with a knife, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, yesterday sentenced an oil marketer, Abubakar Samaila, to 21 years imprisonment. He was guilty of stabbing 33-year-old Sanni Mohammed to death. Samaila, 23, was arraigned on a one-count charge of murder by the state government. The prosecutor, Mrs. Bukola Akani, said the convict committed the offence on May 31, 2013 around 5:00p.m. along Ibira Street, Idi-Araba area of Mushin, Lagos. Akani said the convict and the deceased were partners in the same black oil business and had gone to sell the product to a doctor (name withheld). She said the doctor rejected the oil because it was mixed with water. According to her, the deceased later gave the oil to another person who sold it back to the doctor. The prosecutor said: “When the convict confronted the deceased on the sale of the oil, an argument ensued that led to a fight. “The convict took out a knife an...

http://ift.tt/2rSMEZD pepper fruit *Ameliorate liver, kidney damage caused by multiple exposures to toxic substances Researchers have identified and validated pepper fruit, pawpaw, West African Black pepper and cowhage (velvet bean) for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. Botanically called Dennettia tripetala, pepper fruit belongs to the plant family Annonaceae. It is called Ako in Edo, Nkarika in Ibibio, Mmimi in Igbo, and Ata igbere in Yoruba. Piper guineense is commonly called West African Black Pepper or Ashanti pepper (Uziza in Igbo and Ata iyere in Yoruba). Velvet bean or Cowhage is botanically called Mucuna pruriens, Werepe in Yoruba and Agbala in Ibo. Pawpaw is botanically called Carica papaya. Besides its novel use in prevention and treatment of glaucoma, osteoarthritis, food poisoning, indigestion, and heartburn, among many other disease indications, a recent report from the University of Illinois at Chicago, United States (US), showed that pepper fruit ...