Bayelsa Poll: APC has results ready for announcement, PDP says

The Peoples Democratic Party has stated that Saturday’s governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, in Bayelsa state is a mere formality as the All Progressives Congress, in conjunction with the military, police and the Independent National Electoral Commission, have already written the result of the election.

The election is underway in Southern Ijaw to conclude the governorship election held on December 5, 2015, but was declared inconclusive by INEC.

The PDP candidate and incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson, was leading with over 30,000 votes in the seven out of the eight local governments of the state released before the postponement.

Southern Ijaw local government has over 120, 000 voters.‎

Lawmakers: Ambode’s Demolition of Oshodi Market Necessary, Timely

Some lawmakers, yesterday, defended the demolition of Owonifari Market within the notorious loop of Oshodi by the State Government, describing the development as necessary step towards the actualization of Oshodi transformation plan.

The government had relocated traders plying their trade in the market to a newly built ultra-modern Isopakodowo Market in nearby Bolade before the demolition exercise.

A lawmaker representing Agege federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Taofiq Adaranijo, in reaction to the development, said contrary to the criticisms trailing the action, what Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration has done was a wonderful development aimed at bringing sanity to the area.

IS claims Cairo attack on Israeli tourists

The Islamic State group says its members have carried out an attack on Israeli tourists in Cairo in response to a call by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target Jews "everywhere".

The group released a statement on the internet on Friday, saying light arms were used in the attack, which took place on Thursday outside a Cairo hotel.

Egypt's Interior Ministry has said the attack was directed at security forces and was carried out by a member of a group of people who had gathered near the hotel and fired bird shot.

Gunmen ‘lined up non-Muslims for execution’

Survivors of a university massacre in Kenya where Islamist gunmen killed 148 people have recounted scenes of terror at a trial of five men linked to the slaughter.

The deadly attack at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya on April 2, 2015, was claimed by Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebaab insurgents.

It was the East African nation's deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.

Cultists’ Clash: 22 Remanded For Alleged Murder In Ilorin

An Ilorin Magistrates’ Court on Friday remanded 22 suspects in connection with the alleged attacks on residents of Eruda, Gambari, Agaka and Ita-kure all in Ilorin metropolis.

They were also remanded for the alleged death of one Muyideen Ibrahim, who was shot dead in the violence which resulted into the destruction of about 28 vehicles.

The accused were Isiaka Amosa,20; Abiodun Salihu, 36; Muritala Hassan, 21; Mashood Bello, 55; Babatunde Jamiu, 21; Aduke Bello, 40; Shaba Olaiya, 45; Suleiman Isah, Olarewaju shehu, Ibrahim Shaba, Ismail Shaba.

Buhari has ordered DSS to ‘secretly execute’ Kanu – IPOB

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday alleged that Nnamdi Kanu, its leader, is being tortured in detention by the Department of State Services (DSS.

According to the group, the real aim was to “secretly execute” Kanu.

IPOB in a statement published on a website it has interest in, Biafra Herald, also claimed that Kanu was “very ill” and needed urgent medical attention.

“Information getting to us now is that the director of DSS and Buhari are planning to kill some Igbo-Biafrans working for the DSS in other to secretly execute Nnamdi Kanu,” it said.

Jim Nwobodo Dumps PDP For APC, Blasts Former Party

A former Governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo has defected to the All Progressive Congress.

Jim Nwobodo was a former Senator and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, spotted in an APC meeting, convened by Foreign Affairs minister, Dr. Jeffrey Onyeama, in Enugu.

To the surprise of most of the APC members present at the even, Jim Nwobodo declared his membership of APC at the meeting. At the same meeting, a former PDP senator from Enugu State, Chief Fidelis Okoro, also defected to the APC. Fidelis Okoro was in the Senate between 1999 and 2007.

Nigerian Artistes: Top 20 Highest Earners In 2015

Music has been a means to heavy wealth in Nigeria and the year 2015 in retrospect has been a great year for entertainers in the industry, with many talented and creative singers going on international tours, getting international recognitions, making huge record sales, bagging awards and snagging different endorsement deals, it is safe to say 2015 was indeed a success for many Nigerian artistes.

Of course Nigerian musicians are known for their flamboyant lifestyles, especially with some flaunting their wealth publicly, but not all of them are as wealthy as they appear. The question is who really acquired the wealth this year among these guys?

Most Nigerians have been made to believe a very non-sensible list rendered by other popular Nigerian websites where a Nigerian artiste will be rating as much as $200M. We can boldly say most of these ratings are false as no Nigerian artiste has been recorded to reveal or declare his/her assets.

Former lawmaker, sacked from Senate, defects to APC before fresh poll

A former member of the House of Representatives, Uche Ekwunife, who later represented Anambra Central ​at the Senate, before her election was annulled by the appeal court, has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The Appeal Court in Enugu had on December 6 ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election in the zone within 90 days.

Ms. Ekwunife, who had begun preparation for the repeat poll, on Friday confirmed her defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to journalists in Awka.

An exhausted man granted divorce because his wife wanted too much sex

An exhausted husband begged a judge to grant him a divorce based on the fact he could no longer keep up with his wife's 'excessive and insatiable' desire for sex. 

The man told the family court in Mumbai that his wife had harassed him for sex non-stop since they married in April 2012. 

According to the Times of India, the husband alleged that his sex-crazy spouse would force him into having unnatural sex. 

Cameroon 'to boost oil refinery production'

Cameroon's state oil refinery says it will complete this year the first phase of a project to extend and upgrade its facilities, Reuters news agency reports.

"The project constitutes a priority, the outcome of which will allow the company to increase its production [and] be more competitive," Sonara said in a statement.

The central African nation has sought to revamp its Sonara refinery for years.

Lassa fever 'kills 26' in Nigeria

About 26 people are suspected to have died of Lassa fever in seven states across Nigeria.

More than 150 others are feared to have been infected, the head of Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control Abdussalam Nasidi said.

Health officials were still carrying out tests to confirm the numbers.

Nigeria army displays seized weapons

The Nigerian army says it has recovered weapons and ammunition from robbers, cattle rustlers and other criminal elements in the north-western part of the country.

The weapons were displayed at a press conference in northern Kaduna city.

5 Things every parent of young kids should know in case of an emergency

1. Know where to go

In the midst of an emergency, you don’t have time to waste on logistics and details. Be proactive and do your research ahead of time when things are calm and normal. If (God forbid) an emergency strikes, you will be happy to have a plan in place.

For those of you with a medical aid, contact your insurer to find an urgent care close to you that is covered under your plan. You don’t want to end up scrambling to find the closest location out of desperation, then paying for it later (literally and figuratively) when you learn it’s not covered.

Drinking any amount of alcohol raises your risk of cancer. Doctor

Drinking any amount of alcohol regularly raises your risk of cancer, the country’s top doctor says in a shake-up of guidelines. 

Weekly limits on booze have been cut for men to 14 units – the same as for women, whose limit stays the same. 

That is the equivalent of seven pints of average strength lager (4°) or seven 175ml glasses of wine (12°). Drinkers should have several booze-free days a week and not “save up” the 14 units for one or two days because this raises the risk of dying from long-term illness, accidents and injuries. 

Unless water start running with clean water, no vote, say thirsty Senekal residents

Unless the taps start running with clean water soon, some Senekal residents have vowed not to vote in the local government elections this year.

Waiting in line to collect water, with no reprieve from the scorching sun in the Free State town, people recounted how they had experienced the full might of the drought since December.

"They want us to vote for them, but when we need help they don’t want to assist at all. We are not voting this year," a number of residents said.

New Tanzania PM Threatens to Sack Doctors for Illegal Abortions

Dar es Salaam — Tanzania's newly appointed prime minister has warned doctors who perform illegal abortions that they will face the sack and possible imprisonment in a crackdown on such operations which are believed to be happening widely across the country.

The government warning follows reports that doctors in public and private hospitals in the east African nation are routinely accepting payments to perform abortions, and studies that show high rates of complications from illegal abortions.

Abortion is illegal in Tanzania except when performed to save a woman's life and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

APC Thugs Accused Of Bombing Speakers House

With less than 48 hours to the supplementary elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been accused of bombing the house of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Konbowei Benson, in Korkosei community of Southern Ijaw council area.

The speaker confirmed that masked men invaded his riverside home at about 4 a.m. yesterday. The house was empty when the invaders arrived in as the speaker’s family had all been relocated to Yenagoa before the December election. Citing the kidnapping of his aged mother few months ago, and the fear of election violence, Benson had relocated every member of his family from Korokorosei as the area is a hotbed of violence.

“I was asleep in my house in Yenagoa, and around 4a.m., my wife’s phone rang and a message was sent to us that my house had been attacked with explosives”.

Ex-PDP Chairman Haliru Bello, Son get N600m bail

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Haliru Bello and his son, Abba, to the tune of N600m.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered the duo to pay N300million each, as well as produce two sureties each, in like sum.

Whereas the court maintained that one of the persons to stand surety for Bello must be a Director under the employment of the federal government or any of its agencies, the son was asked to produce someone not below grade level 12 to stand surety for him.

Kenyan teacher jailed for enlisting pupils into al Shabaab

A Kenyan primary school teacher who recruited pupils into the Islamist militant group al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a court on Thursday.

The judge ruled the teacher, Samuel Wanjala Wabwile alias Salim Mohamed Wabwile, had taken advantage of poverty in the coastal county of Kilifi where school children walk in tattered uniforms without shoes to bait them using incentives like food.

The East African nation has suffered a string of deadly attacks by al Shabaab in recent years, which scared away tourists and damaged economic growth.

Sex worker jailed for letting clients rape, abuse daughters

A sex worker who allowed her clients to rape and indecently assault her daughters in “almost Victorian” conditions has been jailed for five years.

The mother – who cannot be named for legal reasons – beat her children with bamboo sticks and belts and kept them locked in a bedroom for days at a time.

Plymouth Crown Court heard the three girls were living in conditions described as “almost Victorian in their bleakness” and were sometimes forced to eat cat food and drink their own urine.

Kenya terror suspects ‘disappear’

Nairobi - Kenyan police on Tuesday released names and pictures of two wanted terror suspects who are on the run after slipping through a police dragnet in the coastal city of Mombasa Monday evening.

Security officers in Mombasa are said to be in panic following the disappearance of the suspects who were identified as Mahmoud Salim Mohamed, and his accomplice Hussein Omar Said.

Police spokesman George Kinoti said the security officers carried out the raid on Mohamed’s house on Monday, but the terror suspect was not there.

UN peacekeepers in CAR are facing fresh hit with sexual abuse allegations

UN peacekeepers are facing fresh allegations that they sexually abused four young girls in the Central African Republic, the latest in a wave of child rape cases to hit the mission.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had informed three countries of the claims and asked them to investigate their soldiers serving in the MINUSCA mission in Bangui.

A UN spokesperson declined to name the countries and to specify how many troops were involved, but sources said the accused soldiers are from Gabon, Egypt and Morocco.

FAAN targets 30m passengers on completion of Airport terminal — Official

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it is targeting to handle 30 million passengers traffic after completion of the ongoing terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs Yakubu Dati made this known when he spoke with aviation correspondents in Lagos on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FAAN presently handles 15 million passengers, but has projected an additional traffic of 15 million before the end of 2016.

The embattled erstwhile chairman of DAAR communication Chief Raymond Dokpesi send greeting cards to President and VP

The embattled erstwhile Chairman of DAAR Communication, owners of African Independent Television and Ray Power FM, Chief Raymond Dopkesi, on Tuesday sent season’s greeting cards to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Dokpesi is standing trial at a federal high court in Abuja on charges of money laundering and corruption pressed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

But in an apparent way of seeking respite, a team from his establishment sent a gigantic Eid el Maulud, Christmas and New Year cards to president Buhari and his vice.

Fast rising actress bola majid casual swag

The fast rising actress bola majid looking sweet in her casual swag.

The post the picture on her Instagram page with the caption below...

''The same boiling water that soften potatoes hardens eggs. its all about what u are made of not your circumstances.....#wcw #selfloveisthebestlove!!!!!!''

$2.1bn arms cash: I never received N1.7bn from Dasuki- Fani-Kayode

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has denied media reports alleging that he received N1.7billion of the controversial arms deal fund from the office of the ex-National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (reted).

Fani-Kayode, who was Director of Media and Publicity, Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, during the last Presidential election which Jonathan lost to President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement said he read with amusement the allegation made in the media report.

He said: “I read with amusement the allegation that was made in the media report that I was given 1.7 billion naira cash by President Goodluck Jonathan. This is false. A few hours later they changed their story and said that I received 1.7 billion naira from the office of the former NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki. This is also false.

Kenya soon to lift ban on production of genetically modified cotton, maize

Kenya will soon start cultivation of genetically modified cotton and maize, making it the first East African country and fourth in Africa after South Africa, Burkina Faso and Sudan to grow GM crops in open fields.

The Cabinet is expected to lift a ban the government imposed on importation of GM food in 2012. This comes after announcement that the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) is in the final stages of approving the environmental release of two GM crops — BT cotton and BT maize — for commercial cultivation.

The two crops are among the six that have been under confined field trials at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

World's safest airlines

Australian airline Qantas is the world's safest airlines by AirlineRatings.com after a survey by the agency.

Qantas Airways is the flag carrier airline of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations.

A woman in the US escaped drink-driving charge after Auto-Brewery syndrome

A woman in the United States has escaped a drink-driving charge because she suffers from a rare condition known as auto-brewery syndrome.

The drink-driving charges were dismissed based on an unusual defence: her body is a brewery.

The woman was arrested while driving with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit in New York state. She then discovered she had a rare condition called "auto-brewery syndrome", in which her digestive system converts ordinary food into alcohol, according to her lawyer, Joseph Marusak.

A town judge in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg dismissed the drink-drive charges this month, after Mr Marusak presented medical research showing the woman had a previously undiagnosed condition in which yeast in her intestines fermented carbohydrate into alcohol.

6 African elections to watch closely in 2016

Some important elections took place in Africa in 2015. Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Burkina Faso (despite some stops and starts) all saw democratic transitions of power. No wonder, then, that more than half of the continent believe that they live in democracies.

Yet, elsewhere things weren’t quite so straight forward. In Burundi, a controversial amendment of the constitution paved the way for the incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza to seek and win a controversial third term that has embroiled the country in a crisis ever since. Meanwhile in Ethiopia the prime minister managed to return to power with a remarkable 100% of the vote.

So despite some movement towards electoral democracy, challenges still remain. And in 2016, there will be more elections to measure the continent’s progress in its pursuit towards a more democratic future.

Tragic! NFF Official Killed By Armed Robbers

Tragedy struck at the Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday morning when one of their officials was shot dead by armed robbers.

The NFF announced on their Twitter handle that they lost their Head of Protocol Ibrahim Abubakar to gunmen earlier on Wednesday.

"NFF's Head of Protocol Ibrahim Abubakar was shot dead by armed robbers in his house in Abuja in the early hours of today," the NFF tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Meet-the-couple-married-for-17-years-who-enjoy-making-love-to-strangers

At first glance, Debbie Dowsett and her partner Tony Williams look like a normal, middle aged couple. 

The loved-up pair, who met at a residents’ meeting 17 years ago, enjoy long walks in the countryside or snuggling up on the sofa in front of a film - a seemingly conventional relationship. 

But the neighbours on their quiet, terraced street would be stunned to learn of their very unconventional arrangement which allows the couple to have affairs. 

The unassuming pair have an open relationship , meaning they’re free to sleep with as many other people as they like.