We Will Cooperate With You To Have A Safer Ekiti, Fayose Tells AIG

By Bola Agboola

Ekiti State Governor, Bashorun Peter Ayodele Fayose has assured the Assistant Inspector General of Police , Zone 8, AIG Tanko Lawal of his maximum cooperation to have a safer Ekiti State. The governor said this during a meeting with the police chief in his office on Thursday. Lawal who is on a familiarisation tour of the zone said he is in Ekiti to discuss the policy direction of the police management with his men, the governor and Ekiti people in general described community police partnership as one of the major goals of the police management. The police chief who said he has met with PCRC members as well as Ewi of Ado Ekiti admonished the governor to participate in mobilising the people to take security issue serious by participating in the security of their community added that there is no better place to advocate such appeal than to come to the governor. Mr. Tanko who said the police on their part has encouraged its men to move nearer to the people urged the people to join hands in fighting the current wave of insecurity in various communities, be it kidnapping, cultism by student as well as other heinous crimes. Thanking the governor for granting his team which included the Ekiti State police commissioner, Etop John James and other top officers audience and constantly assisting the police, Lawal urged Fayose to continue to assist them even as he is a living witness to the governor's kind gesture up to the zonal command in Lokoja. Governor Fayose in his reaction described the IGP Solomon Arase as son of the soil and commended him for standing up for Ekiti during her trying time. The governor who said Ekiti now enjoy peace in all ramifications tasked the police to be alive to its responsibility added that the police must separate crime from politics. Explaining that no reliable and responsible governor will run after his opponents but after delivering dividends of democracy, Fayose assured the team that he'd rather work to prove his enemies wrong and leave Ekiti better than he met it.

That Player They Didn't Give A Chance

By Olarewaju Ayodeji

Have you seen a coach who fielded a player the rest of the world called a misfit? Pundits and armchair critics saw failure, they gave the player no chance but the coach put all faith in him despite overwhelming opposition. The coach knew the pain and the shame inherent in putting such trust in the player just like someone putting his egg in one basket. Yes anything could happen, but he held on to the star in his imagination against all odds. Imagine the feeling of the coach when the player no one gave any chance except him scores goals. Imagine the triumphant smile and sigh of vindication. That is what we are feeling now in Ekiti. We are that coach, our star player is the Ayodele Fayose they have demonized so much in the media. We endured insults , Ekiti became a subject of discuss when they wanted to talk about making bad choice. Even that Babatunde Raji Fasola who has Ekiti blood flowing in his veins did not spare the land of his ancestors some insults. He labeled us 'land of stomach infrastructure'. Imagine such a stone from an illegitimate son who used the left hand to indicate his father's domicile. Fayose picked the stone hauled at us by Fasola and polished it until it shines. Stomach infrastructure is no longer an insult ,it is now part of programs designed to alleviate the suffering of the masses. You will be making mistake if you fix your gaze on food alone, this stomach infrastructure is beyond bowel refilling, in Fayose's Ekiti workers welfare is of priority, grants and loans to farmers, artisans, cyclists, traders...etc, when source of livelihood of people are being enhanced, putting foods on the table won't be hard. That is stomach infrastructure. It would have been easy to blend in with the rest and end up like them( like Osun for instance) but we took different route laid with intimidation and insults but we stood our grand and it is working. Now, our star player is scoring, don't question that look of I-told-you-so on our faces, it is the Lord's doing. I thank God I am from a state where people can see calamity before it dawns and averted it. I am proud of Ekiti. Thumps up for the star player - Oshoko of Africa. #ForwardEkiti

World’s First Head Transplant A Success

After Nineteen Hour Operation Johannesburg, South Africa — A 36-year-old man has undergone the world’s first successful head transplant. The ground-breaking operation took a team of surgeons nineteen hours to complete and has allowed the patient to be cancer-free. Paul Horner, who was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, was on the verge of death when he was approved for the controversial and possibly deadly operation. Doctor Tom Downey, who was part of the South African team who carried out the operation, told CNN he is thrilled about the results. “It’s a massive breakthrough,” Downey said. “We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone a brand new body that is just as good, or better, than their previous one. The success of this operation leads to infinite possibilities.” Surgeons at Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital inJohannesburg carried out the operation in February but waited until they could confirm it was successful before they made any public statement. Downey spoke to reporters about the complexity behind the first ever head transplant. “This procedure is another excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centered care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”.. The operation was led by Professor Myron Danus and took place on February 10th of this year. “Our goal is for Horner to be fully functional in two years and so far we are very pleased by his rapid recovery,” said Danus. “Before the operation, Horner’s body was riddled with cancer and he had less than a month to live. We were fortunate enough to find a donor body; a 21-year-old man who has been brain dead from a serious car accident that happened in 2012. The boys body worked just fine, but his brain was not functioning whatsoever, and there was absolutely no chance of recovery.” Danus continued, “We received approval from the young man’s parents to use their sons body to do the operation. They were extremely happy their son could save a life even in the vegetated state that he was in.” Doctors say Horner has made an 85% recovery; walking, talking and doing the normal things a healthy individual does.. . .

No political office holders can steal without the cooperation of the civil servants ~ Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Thursday described the nationwide anti-corruption protests of the organised labour as a mere jamboree. The governor, who said “no political office holders can steal without the cooperation of the civil servants,” urged the labour unions, predominantly civil servants, to purge themselves of corruption. He spoke while receiving the labour leaders, led by the Chairmen of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Raymond Ade-Adesanmi and Trade Union Congress, Ayodeji Ladeji, in his office in Ado Ekiti. Fayose said, “No governor, minister or top political office holders can steal a penny from the treasury without the cooperation of the civil servants. We don’t write papers as politicians, but we only approve whatever the civil servants came up with. “I consider the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari as mere propaganda. If you want to fight corruption, you have to do it by example. President Buhari must start from his party men. He should probe how his campaign was funded because he told Nigerians that he is a poor man. “Whatever I say about Buhari should not be mistaken for hatred, I don’t hate him. But, he has to desist from fighting corruption with political face. I differed seriously to his anti-corruption war because he has been protecting other former heads of state, except President Goodluck Jonathan, who contested against him. “What is happening to Halliburton’s scandal and other corruption cases perpetrated before Jonathan’s government? This is what I expected the labour to do. They should ask questions, rather than mere protests.” Fayose also criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which he accused of also displaying signs of corruption. “The commission has been evading the payment of N10 million it ought to pay me over appeal court judgement when I sued EFCC for harassing my wife. Is this not corruption. “I stand to be corrected, I am the only governor who calls the labour leaders to Joint Allocation Account Committee and Federation Allocation Account Committee to decide how the state allocation should be spent. This is to tell you that I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.” Ade-Adesanmi said the protest was designed to sensitise the public about the danger of corruption to the society. “All funds identified to have been stolen should be recovered and kept in special accounts to create jobs. “Corruption has affected all the sectors; education, civil service, banks, markets, transport, power, manufacturing and other private and public institutions. It has lead to the closure of factories and engendered poverty in the system. “It breeds all kinds of crimes like robbery, vandalism, kidnapping, youth restiveness and insecurity. We promise that the trade unions will continue to support the current leadership in its fight against corruption,” he said.

RIVERS PROBE COMMISSION: Amaechi embezzled N53.930BN from Reserve Fund

Ongoing probe of the administration of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi by the State Judicial Commission of Inquiry has revealed how the sum of N53.930 billion was withdrawn out of the total N55 billion saved in the state reserved fund, originally meant to serve as a bail-out for the state in the case of emergency. A Third Witness in the matter and representative of the First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Limited, which happens to be the trustees of the funds, Mr. Olufemi Okin, yesterday in Port Harcourt, gave evidence regarding the FBN Trustees relationship to the reserved funds. Testifying before the Justice Omereji G.O. Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry at the Chief Justice Ceremonial Court, Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt, the FBN Trustees’ representative stated that his organisation was appointed by the state government, under the former governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi administration to oversee the management of the funds, besides coordinating other activities of the professional parties appointed on the funds. He listed those regarded as professional parties to include Skye Financial Services, as custodian of the Rivers State Reserved Funds, keeping custody of the assets of the funds, Stambic IBTC Assets Management Limited, acting as funds manager in charge of investment activities. Also, the witness listed Assets and Resource Management Limited, as another funds manager. On the benefits which accrued from investment of the funds from its inception till 6 July, 2015, the FBN Trustees’ representative said that the reserve rose from the initial total contribution of N38.5billion to N55 billion. Concerning withdrawals said to have been made by the former governor, Olufemi, who works as a trust officer in the organisation, acknowledged the withdrawals and put the cumulative withdrawal from the funds from February 2014 to January 2015 at N53,930.000.000, explaining: “What is currently left in the Rivers State Reserved Funds is roughly about N1.24 billion.’’ Not satisfied with the word ‘roughly’, counsel to the Commission, Dr. Zacchaeus Adango, demanded to know the accurate figure to which the witness responded: “The reserved funds is continuing because the interest continues to rise. The counsel, who cross-examined the witness, also sought to know if the witness was aware that the funds could only be accessed in situation of emergency, the witness responded that it was the situation before the reserved fund amendment law was made. The witness told the Commission about four different resolutions of the State Assembly, which culminated in the withdrawals made. According to him, the first resolution was made in 13 February, 2014, followed by the second and third resolutions which took place on 25 February, 2014 and 20 October, 2014 while the fourth and last resolution was made on18 May, 2015 prior to the handover of the former governor. Based on the resolutions passed, the witness stated that Amaechi withdrew N30 billion, N19 billion, and N5 billion, apart from the fourth request of N1billion, which he recollected though was granted, but could not be withdrawn by the governor based on the protest by the funds trustees via the e-mail that, no list of expenditure was attached, to know what the projects would be executed for. He said the e-mail was copied to the then state commissioner for finance, Chamberlain Peterside and the chairman, Rivers State Investment Committee, Abinye Amachree, whom he noted replied to the organization in writing. At this point, the Commission demanded the submission of the e-mail message that indicated a protest by the trustees as to why it would not disburse the N1 billion requested by Amaechi. The FBN representative later agreed to send the copy of the protest e-mail vial the commission e-mail by Wednesday to authenticate the claims made by the trustees. The counsel to the Commission had earlier alleged that no items were attached to the expenditure as to justify the actual projects funds collected would be used for. In reaction to this, the witness stated that, part of the reasons given by government included the need to be able to complete ongoing projects then. But the witness caused a stir in the court room where the Commission sat, when he stated that, part of the money requested by the governor was to enable the former governor address the security issue in the office of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, with N4 billion, apart from N2billion said to have gone into the settlement of scholarship and pending arrears. Others included payment of N488 million to contractors in January, 2014, another N488 million in February 2014, while N24 million was said to have been paid to the state environmental sanitation authority and another N1 billion for the dualisation of the Airport /Elele road, among others. When asked if familiar with the overriding objective of the reserved funds, Olufemi, who serves as analyst and trust officer under the FBN trustees, explained that, “it is to accrue funds in the reserved account opened by the custodians on behalf of the state for the purposes stated in state reserved funds law.’’

Will Earth experience 15 days of total darkness in November?

You probably must have read this type of story before about the Earth plunging into total darkness for 15 days and so on. Now, according to a website, the US space agency NASA has confirmed that the Earth will experience 15 days of total darkness in November this year. On 14 July 2015, the web site Newswatch33, a fake news site, published an article titled “NASA confirms Earth will experience 15 days of complete darkness in November 2015.” It is said that the event, according to NASA, hasn't occured in over 1 million years. Astronomers from NASA have indicated that the world will remain in complete darkness starting on Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 3 a.m. and will end on Monday, November 30, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. According to officials, the event, known as “November Black Out”, will be caused by another astronomical event between Venus and Jupiter. The whole phenomenon has been explained in a highly scientific way. The article also stated that Charles Bolden, who was appointed to head of NASA by President Obama, issued a 1000 page document explaining the event to the White House. While Charles Bolden is a real NASA official, the website, Newswatch33, is not a legitimate news outlet. Newswatch33 has hoaxed social media users a number of times, such as a girl was electrocuted by her iPhone's earbuds, Jay Z and Beyonce has purchased all rights of Confederate Flag and that the federal government had impregnated inexpensive cigars with listening devices.

Nigerian Army vows to defeat Boko Haram in 3 months

The Nigerian Army has vowed to defeat Boko Haram sect within 3 months. This was stated in a statement released by the acting spokesperson of the Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman. Part of the statement reads "I have no iota of doubt in my mind that our troops will wipe out the insurgents in the shortest possible time and we are committed to this target. You are aware that our troops recaptured Gamboru Ngala last Tuesday and are now consolidating, mopping up and preparing for the next offensive against the terrorists. It is gratifying to note that most of the terrorist group leadership, has been decimated, while foot soldiers are abandoning their masters, burying their weapons in the forest and seeking solace. It is the achievements from harmonized efforts that have confirmed our stand that the insurgency would be ended as soon as possible. We would like to reassure @MBuhari Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and indeed the good people. of our great nation that we would definitely meet up with the 3-month deadline and do the nation proud.” the statement said.

DSS dismisses Marilyn Ogar

Former DSS spokesperson Marilyn OgarThe Department of State Services (DSS) has sacked its former spokesperson, Ms Marilyn Ogar. . According to the national daily, the secret service former spokesperson’s fate may not be unconnected with her role in the last administration and the run-up to the 2015 election. Ogar had been accused of alleged partisanship in the build-up to the general elections. Severally, she addressed press conferences, which seemingly gave her away as the “defacto” spokesperson of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A source told the newspaper that the development was largely responsible for her demotion from the rank of Assistant Director. She was also said to have been pushed out following the weighty allegation that she was awarded multimillion naira contract to lift kerosene.