Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Femi Fani-Kayode changes name to Femi Olukayode following his victory at the Federal High Court

Read the press statement below...

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted, humbled and relieved by this verdict. In the last seven years, I have been subjected to the most malicious, vicious, sinister, well-orchestrated, insidious and devastating form of political persecution and wickedness.

The whole process almost destroyed my life, my family, my reputation, my health and my career. I thank God for his goodness, his mercy and for the fact that today, the whole nightmare has finally come to an end.

Photo: Acting INEC Chairman Mrs Amina Zakari assumes office

Mrs Amina Zakari who was appointed acting chairman of INEC by President Buhari yesterday June 30th is pictured above receiving notes from Ambassador Ahmad Wali who Professor Jega handed over to yesterday June 30th. She will stay in office until a new chairman is appointed!

Pics: FFK hosts friends & family to lunch to celebrate his acquittal

He hosted a few friends and associates to lunch after he was discharged and acquitted by a court in Lagos today on charges of money laundering

Indonesian search-and-rescue teams work at the site of an Indonesian military C-130 Hercules aircraft crash in Medan...on Tuesday

No fewer than 113 people died on Tuesday after an Indonesian air force C-130 plane crashed into a building in city of Medan, on the northern island of Sumatra.

Twelve crew members and 101 passengers, comprising military personnel and their relatives, were reportedly on board of the aircraft. No sooner than the plane took off from an air force base in neighbourhood when it lost control, crashed on the buildings and went up in flames.

The plane was said to be heading for Tanjung Pinang in Sumatra.

The military spokesman, Fuad Basya, told Al Jazeera that the plane took off at around midday local time from an air force base carrying military equipment and crashed in the city about two minutes later, about 5 kilometres from the base.

Police chief of Medan city, Mardiaz Dwihananto, said several bodies had been recovered from the wreckage, noting that the evacuation was still on.

“The bodies were in [the] debris of the plane and buildings… We are taking the bodies one by one by ambulance to Adam Malik hospital. We haven’t managed to evacuate all of the bodies,” he said.

Local radio station, El Shinta, said earlier that the aircraft had hit homes, but it was not immediately clear if anyone inside had been killed or injured.

“This was a C-130 military aircraft on a routine trip, carrying soldiers and their families,” she said.

“The pilot radioed in, saying there was an issue with the plane…he tried to turn back and then the plane went down over Medan. The plane went down in a populated area, hitting two empty buildings. That number could have been much higher,” Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker reported.

The Indonesian military has now opened an official investigation to try and figure out what went wrong.

It is the second time in 10 years that a plane has crashed into a Medan neighbourhood.

In September 2005, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Medan’s Polonia airport, into a crowded residential community, killing 143 people including 30 on the ground.

Medan, with about 3.4 million people, is the third most populous city in Indonesia after the capital Jakarta and Surabaya.

Jega out, Buhari names Zakari as acting INEC boss

Prof. Attahiru Jega

Prof. Attahiru Jega on Tuesday bowed out of office as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Consequently, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, as the acting chairman of INEC.

Zakari, the first female to occupy the position albeit in an acting capacity, was until Tuesday, a National Electoral Commissioner at INEC.

A statement issued by the Director Communications in the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Haruna Imrana, on behalf of the HoS, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, confirmed the appointment.

Kifasi said Zakari’s appointment was with immediate effect and would subsist from June 30, 2015 until the appointment of a substantive chairman.

Jega was appointed the chairman of the commission by former President Goodluck Jonathan on June 30, 2010.

He conducted two elections in 2011 and 2015.

Speaking briefly at the end of the closed-door handing over ceremony at the commission in Abuja, Jega said the future of the country and commission was bright.

He said he was grateful to God and the country for the opportunity to serve.

He said, “We feel great; we thank God Almighty for the opportunity to serve the country. The future is bright for the commission and the country.”

Jega said, “In whatever we have achieved, we should keep it up and do more”, adding that there was still a lot to be done.

Jega left the commission with six national commissioners whose tenure also expired on Tuesday.

The other six national commissioners who left with him on Tuesday were Col. M.K. Hammanga (retd.), Adamawa State, (North-East); Dr. Ishmael Igbani, Rivers State, (South-South); Prof. Lai Olurode, Osun State, (South-West); Dame Gladys Nwafor, Abia State, (South-East); Mrs. Thelma Amata Iremiren, Delta State, (South-South); and Dr. Nuru Yakubu, Yobe State, (North-East).

Four other national commissioners would leave the commission in July and August this year. These include Dr. Abdulkadir Oniyangi, Kwara State (North-Central) whose tenure will expire on July 21; Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, Jigawa State (North-West) whose tenure will also expire on July 21; Dr. Chris Iyimoga, Nasarawa State (North-Central); whose tenure will expire on August 11; and Wali, Sokoto State (North-West) whose tenure will also expire on August 11, 2015.

Robberies in traffic on Lagos roads - woman tells her story (photos)

This is also an appeal to the appropriate agencies in Lagos and other states. Curb the menace of traffic robbery now before these robbers start killing people. Talent manager Isioma Osaje shares her experience below.

'I want to give my testimony. At 11:30pm two sets of people attempted to rob me in traffic. I had just gotten off the phone with my mum to say I was in standstill traffic. When the first set of two guys yelled at me from outside my window to wind down. Unknown to me she immediately said a prayer for my safe return. I remember hearing that your best escape was to honk your horn repeatedly. I put my hand on the horn and didn't let go. And I called God in my mind to help me. Immediately I saw an opening in the next lane and swerved in, still pressing my horn. They fled.

5 minutes later three guys came to the drivers side window. Pointing torches into my car. Same instructions. Wind down give us something. Next thing I see something swing and my window shatters. At that very minute another space opens on the next lane and I swerve in while honking. They fled.

Many would say I was almost robbed, I say I was saved. Thank you God for your mercies.

Sexy new photos of former Nigerian model, Faith Morey

Hot new pictures of mother of one, Faith Morey, flaunting her incredibly sculptured body.