3)Switzerland
This uneven nation in central Europe, at only 16,000 square miles in size (3 times the size of the Los Angeles metro area), is home to the third happiest individuals on the planet. Upheld by grand mountain sees, rich European society, and an economy bolstered by a great degree financial sector makes for an incredibly glad and prosperous populace.
The troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested a man said to be a supplier of fuel and food to members of the Boko Haram sect at Daban Shata, a suburb of Baga, Borno State.
Director of Defence Information, Maj. gen. Chris Olukolade, said the military intelligence had been on the trail of the man until he was picked up in the early hours of Sunday.
The Defence spokesman stated that the soldiers also rescued an additional 260 women and children near Chalawa Village in Adamawa State.
The troops had rescued 293 women and girls on Tuesday and another 160 women and children on Wednesday last week.
According to him, the women and children, who were prevented from escaping from their Boko Haram captors, were rescued and taken back to their communities in Madagali Local Government Area after being profiled.
He added that some of the rescued women said they had to escape from their homes when the Madagali area came under attack from the insurgents while others said they were abducted and taken to the area.
He said, “A man, who specialises in supplying fuel and food to terrorists, was this morning nabbed in Daban Shata in the suburbs of Baga, Borno State.
“The military intelligence had been trailing him till he was eventually trapped in the early hours of Sunday. He is presently undergoing interrogation.
“In another development, troops on patrol yesterday(Saturday) located 260 women and children in the outskirts of Chalawa village in Adamawa State, where they had been held up while trying to escape from the terrorists.
“They have now been conveyed back to their various communities in Madagali after undergoing the normal security profiling.
“Some of them disclosed that they had to abandon their homes to escape from the terrorists when Madagali came under attack, while others were actually abducted and taken there. The terrorists were sacked from the Madagali recently.”
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, has constituted a post-election assessment committee to review and evaluate the party’s performance in the just concluded general elections.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Olisa Metuh, the PDP National Publicity Secretary on Sunday in Abuja.
The statement said that the committee, which would be formally inaugurated on May 5 at the party`s national headquarters, would make recommendations on how to reposition the party.
It listed the membership of the committee to include: Sen. Ike Ekweremadu (Chairman), Governors Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Theodore Orji of Abia and Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe state.
Other members are: Mr Nyeson Wike, Rivers Governor-elect, Malam. Ibrahim Shekarau, Minister of Education, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure, Mr Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker, House of Rrepresentatives, Mr Abba Moro, Minister of Internal Affairs and Alhaji Adamu Waziri.
The statement also named Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, Mr Pegba Otemolu, Mrs Funmi Ayoola as members while Sen. Walid Jibril would serve as secretary of the committee.
1) Norway
Though the people here are not smiling that much like Nigerians but the Country is doing well.
The death toll in the clashes between some villagers and soldiers in three villages of Kadarko, Kurmi and Wadata in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State has risen to 39 as nine more bodies have been uncovered.
Soldiers, said to be on reprisal in over 40 trucks, were said to have stormed the villages on Saturday following reports of an alleged killing of four soldiers at Angwan Nanmi, Karin Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The traditional ruler of Kadarko, Ponzhi Kadarko, Chief Lot Nde, told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that the death toll could still rise as soldiers, with armoured tanks, had pursued some villagers right inside the bush where many of them were shot and killed.
He said the entire villages had been razed.
The PUNCH had reported that about 30 people were killed, but Nde said 28 people were killed in Kadarko while 11 villagers lost their lives in Wadata.
The traditional ruler said the entire villages had been deserted, adding that he had fled since, according to him, he was target of the attack.
He explained that some women in his area told him that when the soldiers arrived at his house, they told them that they were told to kill the traditional ruler first.
He said his house was completely razed while all the economic trees in his compound were cut down, adding that he had taken refuge in the neighbouring Langtang.
The monarch said, “As I am talking to you now, all the villages have been deserted and I am taking refuge somewhere in Langtang.”
Spokesman for the Special Task Force, Capt Ikedichi Iweha, disputed the claim in some reports that more than 400 people had been killed.
He said it would be erroneous to believe that soldiers would turn round and start killing civilians.
Iweha said following frequent attacks on communities around the Plateau-Taraba border by some militiamen, the STF and soldiers from the 3 Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army had been carrying out operations to flush out the gunmen in the area.
He said in the process, there was a clash between some locals and some of the militiamen, stressing that mop up operation was still ongoing.
Iweha added that the number of casualties could not be determined until the operation was over.
The Federal Government on Sunday called on oil marketers to be patriotic in their decisions by considering the interest of Nigerians who always bear the brunt of their actions, noting that they should not by their actions hold the country to ransom.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, while speaking with journalists in Abuja said contrary to claims by the marketers that they were being owed about N200bn after being paid N156bn last week, what is being owed them is about N131bn.
The marketers had claimed that the government’s indebtedness to them for oil subsidy was about N354,4bn.
Confirming the figure, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, had said, “The government had paid N154.2bn out of N354.4bn and we are left with a balance of N200.2bn.
“What happens to the N200.2bn? That is why we requested that the government invites us so that we can be told how it intends to liquidate the remaining N200.2bn.”
But the minister said this figure could not be correct, noting that the balance that is left based on Petroleum Pricing Products Regulatory Agency’s template is about N131bn.
She said, “As you know, we paid N156bn recently, N100bn of the principle payment that we owe them and then we paid N56bn interest rate and some remaining exchange rate differentials.
“Prior to that, we have just paid N31bn exchange rate differentials. So at the time we paid that last week, what we had outstanding is N98bn.”
According to her, every week, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency sends data and that is what government only subscribe and certified as what is due to marketers.
“As at now, since we made the announcement last week, it has now risen from N98bn to N131bn outstanding in principle payment.
“And they are now making a demand of N200bn and I asked them what is the balance for,” she added.
She likened the oil marketers to a small cartel that are into a no risk business based on template negotiated with PPPRA long time ago which factored in exchange rate differential, and profit margin guarantee.
This situation, she said, leaves them with absolutely no risk.
She said. “It has become a situation where we have a cartel that can ground the nation to a halt at will. I strongly suggest that the nation has to do something about it.
Maiduguri recorded its first rain for the year on Sunday, making occupants to express delight following a long time of serious warmth, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The downpour, which began at around 5.30pm and went on for about 30 minutes, conveyed help to the city, which had encountered temperature of more than 47 degree Celsius.
Malam Alpha Ibrahim, an occupant of the town told NAN that he was content with the advancement.
Ali Goni, onother occupant, said the warmth recorded in the region before the downpours was insufferable.
“Nobody thought it will rain today; we just saw a heavy dust without any cloud,” he said.
NAN reviews that comparable phenomemnon was recorded in Abuja on Saturday when occupants likewise saw a moderate precipitation that achieved moderate cool climate.
Social activist and Coordinator of Walkagainstrape, Esther Ijewere recounts a tragic story of how two sisters wound up with the same man and how he supposedly murdered one of them.
See more tweets bellow.
Singer Harrison Tare Okiri, famously known as Harrysong reconciled with his step mum, Mrs. Tonye Okiri at his father’s burial in Warri Delta state yesterday, May 2.
The burial, which turned out a carnival, also served as an opportunity for Harrysong and his step mother to bury their long hatchet. Before the burial commenced proper, elders of the Okiri family called a family meeting with Harrysong and his step mom in attendance where they were both advised to sheath their swords.
The reconciliation didn’t end there as the singer further made it public during his performance, where he sang a special rendition of his song, ‘Story’ to the delight of his kinsmen and the crowd in attendance.
Recall that a few months ago Harrysong released a song titled Story, where he told the story of his life as well as the harsh treatment he received from his step mom. The whole story was yesterday re-written, when he performed another version of the song and said his step mother, showed him love.
Analyzing why he sang the song, Harry said,
“I sang the earlier version of this song out of anger, but today, I have assumed the position of a father and a husband since my father is no more and I have realized that my step mom actually used those extreme correctional measures because she loves me and because I have released my mistake, I’m doing this version of the song to tell the world how much she loves me.
His step mom who was full of tears all through the performance at the family meeting, also apologized to Harrysong for treating him badly then.
Harrysong lightened his hometown, Ogbe Ijoh with an electrifying performance alongside his record label boss, Kcee, who didn’t disappoint the massive crowed cheering , singing along and danced with him.
In a press release, the Senator-Elect for Lagos West Senatorial District and Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Hon.
Solomon Adeola has called on the incoming Federal Government and relevant financial and auditing regulatory bodies to appropriately sanction the auditing firm, PriceWater House Coopers (PWC) for misleading and deceiving Nigerians on the issue of the missing $20billion NNPC fund as alleged by the former CBN governor and present Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Speaking to journalists against the backdrop of revelations from the ‘Forensic’ Audit Report of the Missing NNPC $20billion and the disclosure by PWC that it did not really audit NNPC accounts contrary to impression created, Hon. Adeola said his Committee that addressed the Press on the need to make the report public as there appears many shortcomings in the procedure for engaging PWC and its subsequent work has been vindicated on its alarm that an unprofessional work might have been done to deceive Nigerians on the weighty allegation of missing billions of dollars.
“From the disclosures by PWC on its work, there is no audit report on the missing money much less a ‘forensic’ audit report. From what was done by PWC, only a review and compilation of some figures was done resulting in different figures from $1.4billion to $4.3billion being bandied for refund by NNPC to the coffers of the Federation Accounts” he stated adding that PWC not only misled and possibly defrauded Nigerians by purporting to have undertaking a forensic audit report and collecting fees for same but may have abetted a criminal cover up of fraud in its role in the investigation.
The senator-Elect called on the incoming Federal Government to investigate the PWC for it role in the shady saga that has now unfolded and report them to such bodies as International Federation of Accounts (IFAC) and ICAN to face disciplinary actions adding that the accounting firm should be suspended and prevented from further participation in similar exercise undertaken by the Federal Government.
“For such a highly rated auditing firm to release such a report is dangerous and unethical. Indeed all other reports by PWC for the Federal Government should be investigated as they were also involved in the Fuel Subsidy Investigation and they should be made to refund money for work not done or done appropriately” Hon. Adeola stated.
The Lagos West Senator-Elect commended the incoming administration for its promised to revisit the issue of missing NNPC fund as a step in the right direction adding that the deceptive cover up role of PWC in this investigation must not be overlooked as it strikes at the heart of our constitutional provisions and the development of Nigeria.
“We are talking about $20billion and not millions. This is almost the budget of Nigeria for about two years” Hon Adeola stated.
