This will be a physical event. More details will be made available in due course.

FG’s Special Works Programme To Uplift 13000 Indigent Persons In Ebonyi – Committee

The Federal Government’s Special Public Works Programme in Ebonyi says it will empower 13,000 indigent persons chosen from the 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs), of the state.


Chief Edward Nkwegu, the Committee’s Chairman, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Friday in Abakaliki after he led members of the committee to distribute the volunteers recruitment forms to selected special centres in the state.


Nkwegu said that the indigent persons chosen from the 13 LGAs would serve in different sectors of public works.
The special centres visited by the team include: Mile Four Leprosy Centre, Abakaliki; St Vincent De Paul Old People and Destitute Home, Abakaliki; Itinerant workers cluster, opposite St Theresa Catholic Church, Abakaliki among others.

“This programme was introduced by the Federal Government to lift active poor Nigerians from poverty.
“The objective of this exercise is to recruit 13,000 itinerant and poor workers from the rural heartlands across the 13 councils in Ebonyi; we are still at the recruitment stage of the exercise,” Nkwegu said.

He explained that the committee embarked on the action to ensure that the programme was extended to the active poor members of the society who were targeted by the initiative.


He dismissed insinuations that the programme was politically motivated, saying that the works programme aimed at providing jobs to itinerant, poor and vulnerable persons across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
“The programme has nothing to do with political inclination; I run a Non-Governmental Organisation that is committed to empowering the poor.
“Since 2005, Regina Pacis Foundation has been empowering the poor and needy by providing them with skills acquisition.

It is by special coincidence that FG appointed me to head this programme in Ebonyi.
“We are about rounding off the selection process so that we can forward list of recruited volunteers; we are doing this to ensure that no segment of our population is left out,” Nkwegu explained.


The chairman said that the committee was partnering Gov. Dave Umahi, Senators and members of House of Representatives in the selection of the beneficiaries in all the 13 LGAs of Ebonyi.


Nkwegu expressed confidence that the initiative, introduced to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic hardship would be a huge success in the state. (NAN)

3 Burnt To Death In Lagos -Ibadan Expressway Accident

Three persons were on Friday burnt to death in an accident involving a pick up van around Danco filling station on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway.Mr Ahmed Umar, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun confirmed the incident to journalists in Abeokuta.

According to Umar, the crash occurred around 4:37pm and was caused by excessive speeding and loss of control by the pickup van driver.

He said that the pickup van with no registration number was on top speed, when it lost control, hit a truck in its front and immediately burst into flame.

The sector commander explained that five persons, all males were involved in the accident, with one person sustaining injuries and three others burnt to death.

“One vehicle was involved; a pick-up van with no registration number on it.”The suspected cause of the lone crash is excessive speeding which led to loss of control and the van hit a truck in his front and immediately went into flame,” he said.

The FRSC boss added that the injured victim had been taken to Idera Hospital in Sagamu for medical attention while the corpses were deposited at hospital mortuary. (NAN)

AFCON Trophy Stolen From CAF Headquarters

The Africa Cup of Nations trophy has been stolen from the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo.

The Egyptian Football Federation confirmed to Goal that the trophy won by the Pharaohs three times in a row had been lost.

According to local reports, the former Egyptian Football Association, Vice President, who is also the current ONTime Sports broadcaster, Ahmed Shobir, the trophy was discovered missing during preparations to build a museum to house all the silverware won by the North African nation.

He said they were informed by an employee inside the association that it was last held by former Egypt captain, Ahmed Hassan, who refuted the claim.

“Officials of the committee which meets every five years and currently manages the Football Association were surprised that the trophy was not available, in light of their desire to create a museum at the federation headquarters, which would feature the trophy and the national team’s kits.

“However, (they) were surprised to find that the Afcon trophy was lost, and decided to open an investigation.

“The committee searched for the trophy, but then an employee told them that Ahmed Hassan, the former captain of the Egyptian national team, who won the cup three times in a row, has kept it,” Shobir said.

After learning of the trophy’s disappearance, Hassan took to social media to express his dismay at the loss.

“I wish I had kept the cup in my house instead of it being lost and I am surprised that I’m being questioned about the cup after nine years, despite the presence of two FA boards, and the five-year committee for a year and two months…but they’re only now looking for the cup,” he posted on his Twitter handle.

“The EFA started looking for some trophies with the aim of putting them in a notable museum inside the EFA.

“However, the EFA was surprised to find that the AFCON trophy was lost and decided to open an investigation.

“They were informed by an employee inside the association that it was last held by former Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan.

“Hassan however, denied the claims stating that he kept the trophy at home after winning the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2010 but returned it back to the Egyptian Football Association in 2011.

“As it stands nobody knows where the trophy is at the time being,” he said.

(SaharaReporters)
Orientdailynews

Hanan Buhari: Man Attempts Suicide For Inability To Marry PMB's Daughter In Kano


Kano State Police Command on Friday, averted a purported plan by one Abba Ahmed, from committing suicide over his Social Media “love” for Hanan Buhari, daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abba Ahmed (22), a final-year student of​ Accounting at Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano says his message has gone viral on his Facebook and Instagram handles, where he vowed to commit suicide if he failed to marry Hanan.
A reliable source who preferred anonymity disclosed that On getting wind of​ Abba’s post,​ the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, signalled Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr Habu Sani, for the immediate invitation of Abba who resides in Kano.
It was also added that Frank Mba spoke with Abba on phone for about seven minutes, advising him on the need to face better goals in future, than to commit suicide over a phantom marriage, borne out of infatuation, triggered by Social Media blues.
After been counselled by Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, Abba then regretted his actions, and also expressed his intention to join the police and serve his country, patriotically.

Speaking to our correspondent after denouncing his actions, Comrade Abba said he was moved to join the Nigeria Police Force, following the way he was counselled by Mr Frank Mba and Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr Habu Sani.

According to him, “I am impressed with the way Mr Frank Mba spoke to me. I also became very sober when the Commissioner of Police, Mr Habu Sani counselled me and urged me to desist from such thinking. The Chief Imam of the Police Command also admonished me.

“I have denounced my earlier intention. I will no longer commit suicide. I will respect myself and wait for a woman I can call my own wife. I love my life now, and I want to live and fulfil my life ambition.”

When asked what attracted him to Hanan Buhari, Abba said, “I loved Hanan because of her beautiful face. I admired her because of the integrity of her father (President Buhari). I also loved her because of the level of her education.”

Abba said he actually made efforts to contact Hanan and her parents through Social Media, where he severally expressed his intention towards Hanan, “but I don’t think she knew I loved her. I tried to inform her, I do not think the message reached her. I also tried sending messages to President Buhari through the Social Media, I do not think he actually got the message.”

Abba who also deals on fabrics and textile materials at the popular Kantin Kwari Textile Market said he is now ready to begin a new life with a woman she can call his own.

He wished Hanan Buhari and her newly wedded husband a happy married life while urging Nigerian youths to invest their time on better things, rather than surfing the Social Media for reasons that are irresponsible.

Tribuneonline

Ex-Abia Finance Commissioner, Oriaku 'Dancing Naked In Market Square',

There is a popular saying that, "Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad". This can be said to be the case of Mr. Obinna Oriaku, a former commissioner for Finance in Abia State, who has been 'dancing naked in the market square' lately.

Of a truth, the comments credited to Mr. Oriaku making the rounds, where he made some unfounded and illogical allegations against the State and its treasury which he presided over for years, is disappointing and sad for a supposed “honourable”, to say the least.

Oriaku told the world how he was supposedly collecting N1.6 million to attend the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursement monthly for 4 years; how Abia State House of Assembly was purportedly being run with the sum of N140 million as against what he termed ‘the standard elsewhere’; how each member of the House bagged and pocketed monthly the whooping sum of N9 to 10 million and other sundry such claims.

All these cash disbursements were sanctioned by Obinna Oriaku as Commissioner of Finance from 2015 to 2019 from what we know. This leaves us with the question which is: If Obinna Oriaku is or was financially prudent and disciplined a cause he now champions, why did he wait till he saw and sat out his tenure as Commissioner before coming up with his unfounded claims?

Ever since he was removed as the Commissioner for Finance, Obinna Oriaku has been behaving like a bull let loose in a Chinese shop. It is understandable because he thought he was going to stay in the office forever. Forgetting that every position, including life itself, is transient, Oriaku has allowed his sulking to snowball into anger and frustration such that he has used every opportunity to attack the very system that brought him out of obscurity and poverty. Just like the nwanza (bird) which challenged its chi to a duel after over feeding itself, Obinna Oriaku thinks he has made money and therefore can brazenly challenge Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and the system.

His recent ranting on a programme called “UNCENSORED” has exposed him as a greedy, melo-dramatic and egoistic opportunist who is not ashamed of his past. If he had any sense of shame, he would have been more circumspect in the self-indicting allegations he threw against the State government. It is a pity that a man who served as a Commissioner for Finance could not brandish any iota of achievement apart from stopping some people from receiving their salaries in cash!

In his warped tantrums, he had equally alleged that each member of the Abia Assembly receives N3 million for the passage of annual budgets while their take home pay is purportedly N10m as against N1m paid to their Ebonyi counterparts. He also alleged that the House receives an overhead of N140 million (annually or monthly) as against Enugu’s N36 million.

Assuming, but not conceding, that he is right, why did he not raise the alarm while he was the Commissioner? What is his motive of inciting people against an Assembly that is hailed by the people of Abia State as the most vibrant and dynamic in recent times? Again, what does the law say about their constitutional entitlement? If indeed, he participated in bribing the Assembly, it presumes that he has proof and that he is also guilty of a crime.

When Obinna submitted that he, alongside the Accountant General and the Auditor General were collecting between 1.4 and 1.6 million monthly to attend FAAC meetings, what did he want us to do with the ‘information’? Did he for once refuse the money? Has he paid back the more than N60 million he collected for the 48 months? What kind of hypocrisy is that? If he considers that payment to be unlawful, why did he not complain officially?

In any case, is it not shameful that as Commissioner for Finance, he wasted millions of naira paying consultants to pay civil servants salaries. Can he be honest and tell Abians how much he paid LOIDANT CONSULTANT for their services and how the money was shared between him and the company. Is it also not curious that as a Commissioner, his job was only to disburse funds while he made no effort to present Exco Memo on how to increase the IGR of the State? Yet he alleged that IGR was diverted to private pockets.

Be that as it may, can Obinna Oriaku tell us why parastatals and pensioners were owed for two years whereas the Commissioner before him ensured that they were paid? Who is to be blamed if gratuities had not been paid for several years? What efforts did he make to change the narrative? What policy initiative did he bring to the table to assist the government of the day to serve the people better?
Is it not funny that somebody who claimed to have served as Commissioner does not know that recurrent expenditure is often higher than capital expenditure in budgets even at the Federal level? That goes to confirm the fears that Obinna Oriaku was a misfit in that office. Again where is the Exco Memo he sent to the governor concerning the issues?

Well, apart from the frustration of losing his job and the attendant hunger, Obinna Oriaku might just be jealous that his successor in Office is doing better than him in less than one year after his appointment. Parastatals are now getting their subventions monthly. Pensioners are now being paid promptly. And the state is saving millions of naira because no consultant is being used to pay salaries. And more than that, the Commissioner for Finance, Dr Aham Uko is not only disbursing funds, he is also formulating policies on ways of increasing the state’s IGR and enhancing the financial status of the state generally.

It is unfortunate that Obinna Oriaku did not tell us the one man whom he accused of running the whole affairs of the state and dictate what happens. That man can only be the Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. He was elected by the people of Abia State. Any official serves at his pleasure. He reserves the right to relive anybody of his appointment just as he did to Obinna Oriaku. That power is not shared. That Oriaku was powerful as a commissioner did not mean he could share power with the governor. He abused the privilege extended to him by a benevolent man. And when his excesses became unbearable, he was shown the gate. That is the reality Obinna Oriaku. Live with it.

We are convinced without any reasonable doubt that Oriaku’s sudden outbursts and attack on his former allies and the State reveals his personal conviction that they will not endorse him in his gubernatorial ambition after discovering how he looted the state dry as Commissioner in charge of the state finances, revenues, and commonwealth.

Abians are wiser and cannot be fooled by a man who came in as Commissioner of Finance empty-handed and left the office a billionaire. We sympathise with Oriaku who is disillusioned, disgruntled and depressed because he was relieved of his duties when his incompetence and inadequacies became so glaring and unbearable.

Godfrey Baguma “Ugliest Man” in Uganda Marries Third Wife In Grand Style -Photos


Ugandan comedian, Godfrey Baguma aka Ssebabi who has been dubbed as the world’s ugliest man, recently got married to his third wife in a grand style.

According to Updating9JA , The bride and groom were joined in holy matrimony and they look so happy in the pictures going viral on social media.

Godfrey Baguma, 47, who is believed to suffer from a rare, unknown medical condition, and his second wife Kate Namanda, 30, welcomed a baby girl some years ago.

Baguma won the less-than-favourable title in 2002, after he entered the competition to make money for family.

Before his marriage to Kate, Godfrey had two children with his first wife, but their marriage came to an end when he caught her cheating.

Ssebabi’, is a father of seven. He earned his nick name ‘Ssebabi’ after winning in the ugliest man contest. He lives in Kyazanga, Lwengo district, and is married to Kate Namande, 28, with whom he has five children and newly married to his third wife.