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POWER SHOW: Reps get ego massaged, caution Fashola 7 hours ago Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has apologised to the National Assembly over how his 2017 budget comments were received, explaining that his comments were not intended to disrespect the legislature or question its powers. Fashola had been quoted as pointing to the lawmakers’ “stark and worrisome knowledge of the budget process”, following the National Assembly’s cutting of the N31 billion proposed for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to N10 billion in the 2017 budget. The minister also accused the lawmakers of reducing budget meant for the Second Niger Bridge from N15 billion to N10 billion. Not happy with the comments, members of the National Assembly had exchanged critical comments with Fashola in a heated back-and-forth. The House of Representatives had subsequently summoned Fashola to come and explain what he meant by his comments. But in his response to the house in Abuj...

10 dead as Nigerian Army frees 10 kidnapped NNPC staff in Borno Nigerian Army on Wednesday disclosed that it has rescued the 10 Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) staff abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Borno. It however said that nine soldiers and a civilian died in the confrontation that ensued between the soldiers and the abductors in the efforts to rescue the NNPC staff. A statement released by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, on Wednesday, said the event happened on Tuesday. According to him, the bodies of an officer, eight soldiers and a civilian, who were killed during the process had been recovered and evacuated to 7 Division Medical Services and Hospital. A group of assailants suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists had ambushed the escort and team of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) returning from oil exploration at Barno Yasu, Magumeri Local Government Area...

Did the Nigerian military lie? Boko Haram releases video of abducted NNPC staff Indications have emerged that the Nigerian military may not have provided the accurate facts on what actually transpired in the Lake Chad Basin when Boko Haram terrorists were said to have attacked NNPC staff and their support team engaged in oil exploration work. The military had on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s attack, claimed through its Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, that 10 NNPC workers were abducted but that they had all been rescued. It also stated that nine officers and a civilian lost their lives. But these claims were dismissed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Abubakar Njodi, who confirmed that staff of the university who were providing technical support to the NNPC in the Lake Chad Basin had been involved in the incident. He stated that contrary to earlier claims by the Nigeria Army that all workers involved in the incident h...

FG suspends crude oil exploration in Lake Chad Basin after deadly attacks 2 days ago The federal government on Thursday announced that it is suspending crude oil exploration work in the Lake Chad Basin until such a time when security is determined to have improved sufficiently for work to continue. This information was conveyed to the press by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu. Kachikwu said the federal government will need to get security clearance after due assessment before work will resume in the future. He went ahead to confirm the reported attack on NNPC workers and support team on Tuesday, commiserating with the families of those who were killed and assuring of government’s support. However, Kachikwu said he could not confirm the information released by the military that the kidnapped staff had all been rescued, or the actual number of casualties as he was yet to be briefed. He added that vital data on the incident was st...

OYEGUN: Fayose an unserious character who has lost sense of decency The All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has tagged Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose as a man who has lost decency and cultural upbringing. He was responding to wild attacks and rumours allegedly staged against President Muhammadu Buhari by the Ekiti State governor. Fayose had allegedly claimed that Buhari had been on life-support since June 6, apparently tagging Acting President Yemi Osinbajo a liar for claiming that Osinbajo Buhari was in stable condition after returning from London. The Ekiti State governor had gone as far as threatening to make public pictures that will prove Buhari is on life support should the Federal Government fail to tell Nigerians the truth about his health situation. However, Oyegun who led a delegation of APC governors responding on the issue said, “When people have taken leave of common sense and all decency, when people have thro...

premiumtimes Premium Times Like Comment 45 likes premiumtimes From left: Governors Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; David Umahi of Ebonyi State; Kashim Shettima of Borno State; Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State; President Muhammadu Buhari; Governors Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; and Samuel Ortom of Benue State, during a visit of Nigeria's Governor's Forum delegation to the President in Abuja House, London on Wednesday (26/7/17). 8 hours ago

RESTRUCTURING: Middle Belt coalition rejects El-Rufai’s choice as chair of APC panel A coalition of over 52 ethnic nationalities in 14 states in the Middle Belt region of the country under the aegis of the Middle Belt Patriotic Front (MB-PF) has rejected the choice of Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai as the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) committee on the restructuring of Nigeria. The coalition noted that El-Rufai was not qualified to discuss restructuring because he had never supported the idea, adding that he had never shown any remorse about his previous positions against restructuring and other burning national issues. Spokesperson for MB-PF, Yusuf Hamman, who read the position of the coalition at a press conference held on Sunday night in Jos, said the region would not join the North should Nigeria disintegrate. The text of the press conference was signed by the 52 ethnic national...

PDP lambasts Lai, brands Buhari, APC masters of hate speeches The Peoples Democratic Party has described the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as a hypocrite for accusing opposition parties of hate speeches. The party said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari, instead, are the ones who are champions of hate speeches. PDP frowned that APC and Buhari, who employed all forms of campaign of calumny in desperation to oust former President Goodluck Jonathan, could now turn to accuse others of what they themselves are masters of. The party was reacting to a statement made by Mohammed, wherein he alleged that there was a multi-billion naira project targeted at running down Buhari’s government. The information minister then alleged that the current hate speeches, disinformation and fake news, were part of the plot to destabilise the government by...

I only fought Saraki because APC said I should fight him – Marafa Senator Kabiru Marafa on Sunday said that he only mounted firece opposition to Senator Bukola Saraki’s Senate presidential position because his All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted him removed. The Zamfara Central representative at the Senate and chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream, explained that he did not fight Saraki for any personal reasons. Marafa further said that since his opposition to Saraki was based on the position of the party, that as soon as the party wanted him to stop the fight he obediently did so. The senator’s explanations on the matter was sequel to an allegation by a coalition of northern youths. The youths had claimed that Marafa had transmuted from a protagonist to Saraki’s leadership of the Senate to a shareholder after he was appointed chairman of the committee on Petroleum Resourc...

Lai backtracks, denies saying ‘music, film we consume must be made in Nigeria’   Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, has done a turnaround on his statement that there will be  no more shooting of movies/music videos outside Nigeria.   During a visit to the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) on Saturday, the minister was quoted by NAN as saying, “government has agreed that henceforth, whatever we consume in Nigeria in terms of music and films, must be made in Nigeria”. But speaking on the matter on Tuesday at the Creative Industry Financing Conference, Mohammed denied making such claims. “At that meeting, I said that I will work to amend the NBC code to ensure that if a product is designated a Nigerian product; it must be produced in Nigeria,” he said. “I didn’t say that henceforth, all music and films will be produced in Nigeria. “All I said was that if a programme is designated as a Nigerian content programme, we ...

Ruggedman to FG: If you want us to stop shooting music videos abroad, lead by example Ruggedman, Nigerian rapper and music producer, has joined the league of celebrities taking a stand against the federal government’s plan to ban shooting of music videos abroad. The CEO of Twentieth September Wears, in an open letter to Lai Mohammed, minister of culture and tourism, condemned the proposed plan. “It is wrong to try to bully your way into the Nigerian entertainment industry you did nothing to help build. It is absurd to say you will ban entertainers from shooting music videos or movies abroad. Your reason being that we go there to enrich their economy with Nigeria’s money,” the rapper wrote in an open letter to the minister. “If you want entertainers to stop going abroad to shoot music videos and movies, then government officials should stop going abroad for hospitals, vacations and schools. We can use all those billions spent in funding foreign eco...

In new twist, APC drags INEC to court over planned recall of Dino Melaye The All Progressives Congress, APC, has joined the fray in the continuing drama over the recall of Dino Melaye, by dragging  the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, challenging the commission’s planned recall of the senator representing Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly. Other listed plaintiffs in the case are Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, Shaibu Osune, S.T. Adejo, Yahaya Ismail, Isah Daniel, Chief Gbenga Asagun, Ahovi Ibrahim, Ghali Usman, Isa Abubakar, I.Molemodile, Abubakar Adamu and Daniel Sekpe, chairman and principal officers of APC in Kogi State. The plaintiffs are praying the court to determine: “Whether upon a proper interpretation of the provisions of Sections 65 (2) (b), 68 (1) (g) and 69 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the first plaintiff’s sponsored member, Senator Melaye, to the Senate is not entitle...