Here is a bride and her very unique wedding gown

Two people who love themselves will do whatever it takes for them to be wed to each other...😃

The Niger Delta Crusaders, The Muslim Pilgrims and The United States of Nigeria (Part 1) By Femi Fani Kayode

"If Boko Haram kills Christians and burns down churches, we will slay Muslims and raze down mosques. We want to warn them that we, the Niger Delta youths, in this 21st century will not accept the killing of innocent Christians or the burning of churches. That if they try it in the north or any part of Nigeria, we the Niger Delta youths will not see any Muslim or mosque in the Niger Delta”- NIGER DELTA REVOLUTIONARY CRUSADERS, VANGUARD NEWSPAPER, 5th AUGUST, 2016.
It is no longer news that the new leader of Boko Haram, Mr. Abu Musa Al Barnawi, who apparantly has the backing of ISIS, has said that he will target only Christians and burn down all the Churches in the country.

He has also said that Muslims and mosques will no longer be targetted and that Mr. Abubakar Shekau, the erstwhile leader and principal voice of the terror group, is no longer the leader.

Mr. Shekau has responded by saying that he will continue to slaughter whoever he pleases and that he remains the authentic leader. There appears to be a very serious rift in the ranks of Boko Haram which is good news.

As far as I am concerned the two factions can do us all a favour by destroying one another and burning in hell.

Anyone that targets Christians and Churches, or indeed any innocent civilians for slaughter, is not worthy of life. They are nothing but vermin and, like the cockroaches that they are,  they must be crushed.

Mr. Shekau is evil but Mr. Al Barnawi is even worse: he is the devil incarnate. He represents ISIS and we all know what that means.

Whichever way we look at it and whatever is going on within the ranks of Boko Haram we must not loose sight of the bigger picture. And that bigger picture points to one thing: Nigeria is in a mess.

Quite apart from the poverty and hardship that has afflicted the land coupled with the total destruction of the economy and quite apart from the shattering of peoples dreams and the drastic reduction in their standard of living by the ineffectual and barren fiscal and economic policies of an inept and incompetent government, our President did not stop there.

He also went as far as to appoint as his Minister of Sports a man who is clearly (to use Donald Trump's words about Hilary Clinton) "unbalanced and unhinged".

This is a man that can barely speak english and who, during the week of the Olympics, publicly referred to our country as "the United States Of Nigeria" whilst reprimanding our Olympic football team for getting stuck in America and  arriving late in Brazil.

Someone should tell Honorable Minister Solomon Dalung that it was HIS job to get our boys to Rio De Janeiro on time and that it was something of a scandal and a national embarrasment that it took the last minute intervention and assistance of Delta Air, a private American airline, to get them there in time for their match with Japan.

Whilst our boys did us proud by going on to defeat Japan and later Sweden, the video of the Minister disparaging them and spouting nonsense about some fictitious and imaginary country called 'the United States of Nigeria' whilst wearing his ridiculous red beret went viral on the internet. A fool goes by no other name.

In normal climes the Minister would have been forced to resign the following day and he would have been compelled to apologise to the nation that he is purportedly serving for forgetting its name. Sadly though there is nothing that is "normal" about Nigeria or the Buhari administration.

Equally abysmal was the recent outing of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, President Buhari's "super Minister" of Power, Works and Housing, on BBC TV's Hardtalk.

Before millions of viewers from all over the world, the Minister told his host Mr. Stephen Sackhur a shameless and pernicious lie by claiming that he never promised Nigerians an increase in power generation and supply.

It is his inability to be forthright, to appreciate the virtues of telling the truth and to keep his election promises that has earned my aburo Tunde Fashola the nickname of Minister of Darkness.

Since he was appointed 'super Minister' the power generation in our country has dropped from 5000 megawatts at the time when President Jonathan left office just over a year ago to under 2000 megawatts today. Worst still he has not managed to construct or complete the refurbishment of a single road.

Yet it is not the crippled economy, the erring and dim-witted Minister of Sports, the intellectually dishonest and lying Minister of Power, Works and Housing or any of the other numerous foibles of the Buhari administration that gives us the most concern today.

It is rather the gradual and systematic  generation and invocation of a frightful and cataclysmic atmosphere of war and the looming threat and increasing likelihood of a great and violent ethnic and religious conflict, the likes of which Africa has never seen before.

If it is not Boko Haram that is slaughtering our people it is the Fulani herdsmen. Worse still they are doing these despicable things with the active connivance and support of a few people that are in the corridors of power today whose objective is to islamise our nation, plunge us into a fiery abyss and create chaos.

The bible says 'there is no fellowship between light and darkness'. We have said it before and we will say it again: we must restructure Nigeria before it is too late. If we fail to do so we will have no choice but to reconsider our so-called unity.

If things don't change quickly we must consider the possibility of dividing our country and renegotiating our union.

We cannnot afford to wait any longer because we are playing with fire and we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. We must attempt to do whatever needs to be done peacefully and we  must not allow the butchers and those that kill in the name of their god to provoke us into another civil war.

Nothing represents the danger of the war that is looming more than the response of the Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders (an affliate of the Niger Delta Avengers) to Al Barnawi's threat.

They responded by saying that if Christians and Churches are targetted by Boko Haram they will kill all the Muslims in the Niger Delta area and they will burn down all the mosques. It is a simple case of "action" and "reaction" and I sincerely hope that those that are used to killing others and not being killed themselves take them seriously.

Clearly we are living in dangerous times and I sincerely hope that those that brought religion into our politics in 2015 and that used Islam and the Boko Haram offensive as a political tool against a southern Christian President are seeing the fruits of their labour.

When you invoke the proverbial genie and let it out of the kettle you must be prepared to live with the consequences and whatever follows.

Yet the folly does not stop there. As if our sensibilities were not already sufficiently provoked President Buhari took the religious dance to yet another level last week by directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to sell foreign exchange to Muslim pilgrims that were on their way to Saudi Arabia for hajj at 197 naira to 1 USD.

This whilst everyone else, including students, manufacturers, businessmen, Christian pilgrims, the ailing and holiday-makers, must continue to buy at 400 naira to 1 USD. When the math is done this amounts to a whooping N7.9 billion naira concession for Muslim pilgrims.

And all this in a country that is not only impoverished and whose people are suffering from the worst economic hardship and poverty crunch since independence but also one that is meant to be a secular state.

Such is the national outrage that President Buhari's forex concession to his Muslim brothers and sisters has provoked that a well-known political commentator and activist Mr. Paul Achalla wrote the following on his Facebook wall on August 5th:

"N410 to $1  for business, education, entrepreneurship, food processing, manufacturing, etc. and N197 to $1 for pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia? Bluntly put, Boko Haram ideology won Nigeria's 2015 general election!!!"

Paul Achalla is right. How can this sort of nonsense be justified in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious secular state? Is Buhari's Nigeria crafted only for the Muslim north?  Is Saudi Arabia now the spiritual headquarters of our nation?

If it is not the Sultan of Sokoto declaring public holidays, it is the President giving subsidised rates of foreign exchange and preferential treatment to members of his own religious faith.

If it is not that he is leading our country into a sinister and dangerous military coalition of Sunni Muslim nations it is that he is holding conferences in Abuja with foreign Muslim clerics whose stated objective is to "spread sharia throughout Nigeria" and islamise our country.

Worst still virtually all his Service Chiefs and principal commanders in his Armed Forces together with his National Security Advisor, his Minister of Defence, his Minister of Internal Affairs, his Inspector General of Police, his Chief of Defence Intelligence, his Director General of State Security, his Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, his Commander of the National Civil Defence Corps, his Comptroller General of Customs, his Comptroller General of Immigration, his Comptroller General of Prisons and ALL his other security, para-security and intelligence agencies, bar one, are northern Muslims.

Can there be any greater form of corruption, abuse of power, injustice and betrayal of trust than this? Does this not prove the fact that our country is in dire need of restructuring? (TO BE CONTNUED)

Lagos state Governor Emerges one among the 4 Nigeria's Top Performing Governors..to be honored in New York

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode has emerged the winner in a keenly contested online poll conducted by the African Leadership Magazine UK. Mr. Ambode polled 37.2% of the total votes cast to emerge Nigeria's best performing Governor.

Mr. Ambode is closely trailed by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike with 29%; while Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state secured 18% of total vote casts to maintain a spot in the third place.

In the fourth place is Delta State Governor, Patrick Okowa with 13%; and Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state sits in the fifth position with 5% of vote casts. The Good Governance Poll, which ended on Wednesday 3rd, 2016, by 2:pm, Nigerian time, was initiated by the African Leadership Magazine UK, in line with the magazine’s objective of providing credible information and support to leaders in Nigeria and Africa at large.

The Poll is part of the group's strategic engagement tool designed to monitor performance, gauge the mood of the electorates, promote good governance, as well as engender peer review mechanisms amongst leaders in Nigeria and Africa at large. The Good Governance Poll is particularly important in Nigeria, following the country's prevailing realities; while some Governors in the country have been unable to meet their obligation to the electorates, others have been ingenious in managing state resources and also making concerted efforts towards shoring up their IGR. These States Chief Executives deserve to be celebrated.

The Publisher, Dr. ken Giami , in announcing the winners of the Good Governance Poll, stated that "African Leadership Magazine leverages its robust offline and online engagements - with about 2.2 Million daily online post reaches and over 400,000 Monthly magazine circulation to promote purposeful leadership and actively engage leaders for the greater good of the citizenry."

He also maintained that "Mr. Ambode's emergence as the winner of the polls is a clear indication, that more Nigerians are increasingly becoming aware of his strides in Lagos State, which is quite commendable.” One of those polled noted that “Akinwunmi Ambode came to power with his blue-print for the greater development of Lagos State which he has since then pursued with precision. His pursuit of 24-hour economic mechanism, when attained, would propel revenue generation for Lagos State in ways unmatchable by any other state in Africa.”

The online poll which commenced on the 5th of July 2016 attracted Nigerians from all works of life voting to select the country's top 5 Best Performing Governors in the country. The Winners of the Poll will be formally decorated with the prestigious African Leadership Excellence Award as Best Performing Governor, during the International Forum on African Leadership, billed to hold at the Waldorf Astoria, New York on the 22 September 20016, by 11.00am-3.00pm.

The winners would also be presented with endorsement from various US State's and non-state actors, and hosted to Investment & Partnership discussions on the side-lines of the event. This is no doubt a further validation and commendation for the good work they have been doing in Nigeria and the continent and the hope they represent for the future of Nigeria - in spite of the monumental challenges being faced by the country today.

Cute dog who has 79,000 followers on Instagram

It might look like a fluffy, comfy cushion but it's got teeth, in fact, it's a dog. Tori is a Bichon Frise, a specie of dog popular for their cuteness, Tori however is super cute thanks to her full hair. The mutt, who lives in Daegu, South Korea, has garnered more than 79,000 followers on her Instagram account and her owners make sure to keep her teeming admirers updated on her latest looks. Weighing only 5–10 kg and measuring about 23–30 cm tall, the Bichon Frise is a small dog breed. More photos after the cut.

Assisted suicide is false compassion says Pope Francis

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2016 / 02:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Physician-assisted suicide is part of a “throwaway culture” that offers a “false compassion” and treats a human person as a problem, Pope Francis told medical leaders on Thursday.

“True compassion does not marginalize anyone, nor does it humiliate and exclude – much less considers the disappearance of a person as a good thing,” the Pope said. He criticized “those who hide behind an alleged compassion to justify and approve the death of a patient.”

“You are well aware of the meaning of the triumph of selfishness, of this ‘throwaway culture’ that rejects and dismisses those who do not comply with certain canons of health, beauty and utility,” he said.

The Pope addressed the managers of the Medical Orders of Spain and Latin America in the Apostolic Palace on June 9.

According to Vatican Radio’s translation, he described compassion as “the just response to the immense value of the sick person.” This response is composed of respect, understanding and tenderness “so that the sacred value of the life of the patient does not disappear or become obscured, but instead shines with greater splendor precisely in suffering and helplessness.”

Compassion is a necessary part of the medical profession, Pope Francis stressed.

“The doctor’s identity and commitment depends not only on scientific knowledge and technical competence, but principally on the attitude of compassion and mercy towards those who suffer in body and spirit. Compassion does not mean pity, it means ‘suffering with’,” he said.

Technological and individualistic culture does not always consider compassion well, he said. It even disdains it and regards it as humiliation.

“Frailty, pain and infirmity are a difficult trial for everyone, including medical staff. They call for patience, for ‘suffering-with.’ Therefore, we must not give in to the functionalist temptation to apply rapid and drastic solutions, moved by false compassion or by mere criteria of efficiency or cost-effectiveness,” he added.

“The dignity of human life is at stake. The dignity of the medical vocation is at stake.”

“Nothing must prevent you from ‘putting more heart into your hands’,” the pontiff told the medical leaders, citing St. Camillo de Lellis.

Pope Francis reflected on the theological aspects of health and medicine. In the biblical tradition, there is a close link between health and salvation.

“The Fathers of the Church used to refer to Christ and His work of salvation with the title ‘Christus Medicus’ (Christ the Doctor),” the Pope explained. “He is the Good Shepherd who cares for the wounded sheep and comforts the sick. He is the Good Samaritan who does not pass by the injured person at the roadside, but rather, moved by compassion, cures and attends to him.”

The Pope added he likes to bless doctors’ hands as a sign to recognize “this compassion that becomes the caress of health.”

Military withdrawn from N’Delta communities - FG

By Isidi Monica

For several hours on Tuesday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo met with governors of oil producing states and service chiefs in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Governors who attended the meeting were Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Okezie Ikpeazu (Imo), Dickson Seriake (Bayelsa), Odom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo). The service chiefs in attendance were General Gabriel Olonishaki (Chief of Defence Staff), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai (Chief of Army Staff ) and Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas (Chief of Naval Staff). The meeting was believed to be in connection to the threats by the new militant group, Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) to bomb the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the Defence headquarters, National Assembly among other strategic government facilities especially in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna. Prior to the emergence of the new group last week, the Niger Delta Avengers had been engaged in serial bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, reducing oil production per day to less than 1.5 million barrels as against the 2.2 million estimated in the 2016 budget. The meeting was also believed to have discussed the way forward in resolving the knotty issue of the current agitation by militant groups in the oil rich region. President Muhammadu Buhari had threatened in his Democracy Day nationwide broadcast last week that the militant groups whose activities were disrupting oil production would be brought to book. But the Federal Government recanted on Monday when Osinbajo announced a cease fire to allow for meaningful engagement with leaders of the oil producing communities. Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa said, however, that the meeting resolved to have the ongoing military operations in the region distilled, while the communities would be engaged. “We have also agreed that there is a need to distill military operations directly in communities, but the military needs to actually remain on our waterways to ensure that we adequately man the waterways itself while we engage the communities and that engagement process is starting any moment from now.” Okowa also disclosed that the security chiefs briefed them on the situation in the region while the governors also shared their perspective and they agreed on intelligence sharing on the situation, going forward.

“We governors of the oil producing states, security chiefs and ministers who are concerned met with the Vice President and I believe we had a very fruitful meeting. “One thing we identified which is the synergy between the Federal Government and the States which is very important and this meeting has raised a lot of issues and we believe that the collaboration will help us to tackle the issues in the Niger Delta.

“Of course, we were briefed by the service chiefs and the governors also have their own perspectives along with the minister of state petroleum. “We have taken a lot of decisions which will help us mitigate what is going on currently in the states particularly Bayelsa and Delta. We believe we are going to find solution to it.

“One of such is that there is a need for us to share intelligence which is very important and for us to be proactive, working together with the various stakeholders in the states to achieve a better result going forward,” the governor narrated. Also speaking after the meeting, Oshiomhole emphasized the need for government to sustain the amnesty programme so that skills acquired in the training could be effectively utilized. He also cautioned that Nigerians should strive to resolve any differences amicably rather than sing war songs. He said: “Nigeria is not at war and we cannot be at war with ourselves. “If we have conflicts, we will talk through those conflicts.

There are laws that have to be enforced. “I think that in all of these the whole idea is to find peace that is functional, that creates environment for very decent Nigerians to live their lives.” Meanwhile, the Embassy of the United States in Nigeria on Tuesday expressed concern over reports of attacks and other incidents in the Niger Delta. This was contained in a statement issued by the Embassy’s Public Affairs Unit in Abuja.

The Embassy stated that the U.S. mission to Nigeria was monitoring reports of attacks and other incidents in the Niger Delta and it shares the concerns of all Nigerians about these attacks. “The U.S. remains supportive of efforts, including the promotion of dialogue, to address grievances in the Niger Delta,” it stated. It appealed to all parties to resolve their disputes through peaceful means and emphasize that human rights of all Nigerians must be protected. It called on all Nigerians to persevere in efforts to achieve common goals.

It stressed on the need to end violence and curb the activities of criminal elements. It called for the establishment of conditions and mechanisms for profound, positive, and lasting changes in the region. According to statement, there is the need for the provision of economic opportunity and the needed services for residents of the Niger Delta.

Source: dailytimes.ng

Ex- Super Eagles coach Is Dead

One of the most iconic captains of the Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles, and former coach of the team, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, is dead.

According to reports, the death of the former international was confirmed by his relatives and close associates.

Mr. Keshi had lost his wife of 33 years, Kate, to cancer last year.

“He was not ill at all, never showed any signs of illness, but we suspect he never got over the death of his wife,” TheCable quoted one of his friends, whose name was not given, as saying.

Mr Keshi, popularly called the Big Boss, is the only Nigerian coach to have won the Africa Cup of Nations.

He also became the second person in history to win the competition as a player and as a coach after Mahmoud El-Gohary of Egypt when he led the Super Eagles to win the tournament in 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He rose to national prominence when debuted for the Super Eagles in 1981 at age 20. The late Central Defender withdrew from the national team in 1994. He had 64 caps and scored nine goals.

As coach, he qualified an unlikely Togolese national team for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but was sacked and replaced with German Otto Pfister, just before the tournament.

He however, achieved his dream to manage a team at the World Cup when he coached the Super Eagles side to the tournament in 2014.

He is the fifth member of the glorious 1994 Super Eagles team to die, after Uche Okafor, Thompson Oliha, Rashidi Yekini and Wilfred Agbonavbare.

He is survived by four children and his

 mother.

Source: national mirror.com

Don't Love Concepts – Love People, Pope Francis tells Aid Workers Istanbul, Turkey.

May 24, 2016 / 04:44 pm.
Addressing a global summit on humanitarian aid, Pope Francis offered encouragement and a reminder – don’t ever forget that each suffering person you encounter has a name. “(T)here must be no family without a home, no refugee without a welcome, no person without dignity, no young man or woman without a future, no elderly person without a dignified old age,” the Pope said. “‘Leaving no one behind’ and ‘doing one’s very best’ demands that we do not give up and that we take responsibility for our decisions and actions regarding the victims themselves,” he said to the World Humanitarian Summit meeting May 23 in Istanbul. “No one loves a concept, no one loves an idea. We love persons. Self-sacrifice, true self-giving, flows from love towards men and women, the children and elderly, peoples and communities… faces, those faces and names which fill our hearts,” he said. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, read the Pope’s message to U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and summit attendees. The first-of-its-kind summit gathered together leaders or delegates from 175 countries to craft non-binding commitments on humanitarian aid. At least 130 million people are in need of humanitarian aid around the world, while about 60 million people are displaced by conflict each year, the U.N. estimates. There is also a $15 billion shortfall between aid pledged and aid that is actually delivered. Representatives of various humanitarian groups spoke during the summit. Sean Callahan, chief operating officer of Catholic Relief Services, emphasized the importance of disaster risk reduction. “Our collective unwillingness to prevent or prepare adequately for disasters is a systemic moral failure,” he said. “It is the time to reform the global humanitarian system.” Callahan said CRS, the U.S. branch of Caritas Internationalis, is working to cooperate with local partners and promote peace, while cultivating the ability to “transition quickly between disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and development.” “Our comprehensive approach provides urgent lifesaving assistance with a focus on full recovery – respecting people’s inherent dignity, helping them get back on their feet, and strengthening their long-term resilience,” he said. “We call on all stakeholders to contribute to systemic reforms that both ends need and improves global humanitarian action.” Cardinal Parolin addressed the summit in several sessions. His remarks in the leader’s session said heavy reliance on military intervention and “selfish” economic policies is “shortsighted, counterproductive and never the right solution for these challenges.” He urged better education to encourage respect for the human person and to help prevent genocide. “The Holy See is doing its part to build a real and concrete fraternity, among peoples and nations,” he said. During a leadership roundtable to prevent and end conflicts, Cardinal Parolin said the Holy See is “firmly convinced of the fundamentally inhumane nature of war and of the urgent necessity to prevent and to end armed conflicts and violence among peoples and States.” At a summit roundtable focused on helping displaced persons, the cardinal noted Catholic institutions’ efforts to help relieve displaced persons’ physical sufferings and address their material and physical needs. “The Holy See is committed to advocating for the protection and proper assistance to forced migrants, internally displaced peoples and victims of trafficking, and to working to find durable solutions and reconcile communities,” he said. In his message to the summit, Pope Francis voiced hope that the gathering would make real contributions to lessen the sufferings of millions of people. He called for “a true and profound respect” for those who suffer due to violence, persecution, natural disasters and other calamities. He especially noted the victims who are most vulnerable and live “in conditions of misery and exploitation.” He asked the summit: “Let us hear the cry of the victims and those suffering. Let us allow them to teach us a lesson in humanity. Let us change our ways of life, politics, economic choices, behaviors and attitudes of cultural superiority.” “Learning from victims and those who suffer, we will be able to build a more humane world,” he continued. The Pope also noted the obstacles to peace. “We cannot deny that many interests today prevent solutions to conflicts, and that military, economic and geopolitical strategies displace persons and peoples and impose the god of money, the god of power,” he said. “At the same time, humanitarian efforts are frequently conditioned by commercial and ideological constraints.” He called for a renewed commitment to “protect each person in their daily life and to protect their dignity and human rights, their security and their comprehensive needs.” The Pope also recognized relief workers who “serve their neighbor and contribute to consoling the sufferings of the victims of war and calamity, of the displaced and refugees, and who care for society, particularly through courageous choices in favor of peace, respect, healing and forgiveness.” “This is the way in which human lives are saved,” he said.

Source:catholicnewsagency.com

Zika crisis on the increase by 'massive' failures on mosquito control, says WHO chief

By Monica Isidi     

(FILES) This file photo taken on May 07, 2016 shows a mosquito in Mexico City.
The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has for the first time been found in Africa, the World Health Organization said on May 20, 2016. The UN health agency announced that the Zika virus strain circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas.
/ AFP PHOTO / YURI CORTEZ

The spiralling crisis surrounding the Zika virus is the result of decades of policy failures on mosquito control and poor access to family planning services, the World Health Organization said Monday.

“The spread of Zika… (is) the price being paid for a massive policy failure that dropped the ball on mosquito control in the 1970s,” WHO chief Margaret Chan told the opening of the UN health agency’s annual assembly.

Those failures have allowed the mosquito-borne virus to spread rapidly and create “a significant threat to global health,” Chan said.

Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in Latin America in cases of the birth defect microcephaly — babies born with abnormally small heads and brains — after their mothers were infected with the virus.

The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact.

“Zika shows an extreme consequence of the failure to provide universal access to sexual and family planning services,” Chan said, pointing out that Latin America and the Caribbean, hit hard by the outbreak, “have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies anywhere in the world.”

That is a problem when a single mosquito bite during pregnancy can cause severe brain abnormalities in newborns, she said, hinting at a feeling of impotence faced with the virus now present in 60 countries worldwide.

In Brazil, the hardest-hit country, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, and nearly 1,400 cases of microcephaly have been registered since the outbreak began last year.

“With no vaccines and no reliable and widely available diagnostic tests, to protect women of childbearing age, all we can offer is advice,” Chan said.

“Avoid mosquito bites, delay pregnancy, do not travel to areas with ongoing transmission.”

Source: m.guardian.ng

Photos: Edo pensioners protest non-payment

Edo State pensioners, protest the non-payment of their pension arrears in Benin, the state capital on Monday.

See some pictures of the  protest.

Ekiti - Fayose Makes History, Bans Cattle Grazing

PRESS RELEASE

By Press Release

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has banned grazing and rearing of cattle in the state, saying those interested in cattle farming should get their own private cattle ranch.

The governor, who became the first ever state executive to take such a drastic measure in the country, also said a bill to make the movement of cattle from one location to another criminal in the state would soon be sent to the State House of Assembly.

Governor Fayose, who made this known when he visited Oke-Ako in Ikole local government area of the State that was invaded last Friday by Fulani herdsmen that killed two residents of the town and injured others, warned that government would henceforth confiscate any cattle seen anywhere in the State apart from ranch created for them by their owners.

He described the Fulani herdsmen that attacked Oke-Ako and other communities in the country as "agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly."

The governor said, "We will not leave our lands for Fulani herdsmen and in a system where the leadership of the country looks the other way while our people are being killed, we will have no option than to defend ourselves by whatever means."

I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. "I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise.

"I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch.

"No more movement of cattle from one location to another in the State and any cattle seen anywhere in Ekiti State apart from the ranch created for them by their owners will be confiscated by the government and their owners will be prosecuted.

"A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location the other in the State.

"If President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the patron of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has refused to call the herdsmen to order, we in Ekiti will no longer harbour herdsmen who go about killing our people, destroying our farmlands and raping our women.

"If the same President Buhari that was so concerned about the killing of Fulani herdsmen in in Saki, Oke Ogun Area of Oyo State such that he, as a private citizen led Arewa to Ibadan on October 13, 2000, to confront the then Governor of Oyo State, late Alhaji Lam Adesina is now keeping silent when the same herdsmen are killing our people, we must rise and defend ourselves."

"It is our duty to protect our people and we are going to do that without fear or favour.

The governor said the activities of Fulani herdsmen was inimical to the revival of agriculture in the country saying, "one wonders how Nigerians can go back to farming when those already in the farms are losing billions of naira worth of crops to destruction of their farmlands by the Fulani Herdsmen and the Federal Government is not doing anything about it."

Source: anallafrica.com

Labour Suspends Strike.

By Monica Isidi

The Ayuba Wabba led-faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held a meeting on Sunday in Abuja on the on-going protest action against the increase in pump price of petroleum products and hike in electricity tariff.

A communique Wabba co-signed with Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC general secretary, said NEC reviewed the protest action and its impact across the nation, noting the sacrifices of its members, response of the generality of Nigerians, government’s attitude and the brutality of the police in some states.

It stated that NEC took special notice of the Ebonyi State Police Command “where our members were intimidated, harassed, arrested and detained unjustly.”

It reads: “After an exhaustive deliberation, NEC noted its protest action was informed by the twin issues of the unjustified and illegal hike in electricity tariff and increase in the pump price of petroleum products. NEC adjudged the protest action to be a success in spite of both internal and external challenges.

“NEC reiterated the correctness of its position on the twin-issues of electricity tariff hike and astronomical increase in the pump price of PMS and the hardship they portend for Nigerian masses.

“NEC also acknowledged that the temptation to compare the strike action with that of 2012 could be compelling but that the scenario had changed as both the actors and the terrain were different.

“NEC said before it had embarked on the action, it had anticipated a probable outcome and therefore was not surprised by government’s negative response. Nonetheless, it felt fulfilled by having the presence of mind and courage to identify its mission and fulfilling it, stressing that if a similar situation arises again, it will still rise and stand with the people. 

46 Killed and Catholic Church Burned down in Nigeria - Please PRAY

— Hell was let loose last Monday in Ukpabi-Nimbo, in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, when dare-devil herdsmen, numbering over 500, unleashed terror on hapless natives, killing 46 and burning the Christ Holy Catholic Church, Odozi-Obodo. 11 houses were razed while 14 victims are lying critically ill at Hospitals.
APRIL 23: HOW IT STARTED The herdsmen were believed to have hatched the plot to attack Ukpabi-Nimbo, last weekend,and notified the natives. The development triggered tension in the community. The herdsmen, it was learnt, were bent on taking over portions of the vast fertile land in the community for cattle grazing, a stance the community opposed. The herdsmen allegedly told the natives that their kinsman, Muhammadu Buhari, is the President and so, they takeover land wherever they wanted to graze their cattle at the expense of the host community. The herdsmen, it was learnt, assembled about 500 other herdsmen to launch the attack. It was gathered that the herdsmen in a neighbouring town had imported the 500 others from Nasarawa State to help them invade Ukpabi-Nimbo on the grounds that some of their cattle were missing.
 The herdsmen were alleged to have consistently raped,maimed and killed victims from the communities situated on the Nsukka-Adani-Umulokpa expressroad in the council area. Those kidnapped allegedly paid ransoms ranging from N500,000 to about N5 million before they regained their freedom.
APRIL 25: BLACK MONDAY At about 5.15 am, the assailants struck,casualty figure immediately stood at 40,while six more bodies were recovered the following day. The affected villages of Nimbo Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ekwuru, Ebor, Enugu Nimbo, Umuome and Ugwuachara became deserted as blood littered everywhere. Christ Holy Catholic Church, Odozi-Obodo, at Onu-Eke, Nimbo and 11 houses were razed even as 14 victims are lying in critical conditions at Royal Cross Hospital, Nsukka, Nsukka District General Hospital and Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka.

 A member, Board of Governors, Civil Liberty Organization, CLO, told Sunday Vanguard that the killings are targeted at the South-East, the South-West, and the South-South geopolitical zones to reduce the Christian population. It is a grand plan to Islamize Nigeria. The pertinent question is that since when have herdsmen begun to rear cattle with guns? Who bought the guns for them and taught them how to use the guns. Why has Buhari not condemned or commiserated with Benue and Enugu State people over the killings?"

The traditional ruler of Ukpabi-Nimbo, Igwe John Akor, who said: 

"The killing,raping,kidnapping of my subjects have come to a head. There is no week that passes that we do not experience kidnapping and killing by herdsmen. It has got out of hand. It was a black Monday. We have been doing our best to have peace with the herdsmen but to no avail. We have called several meetings with those of them from Kogi State,Adani and Enugu. We are appealing to the federal, state and local with governments to come to our aid by giving us adequate security presence. Again,our vast fertile land is what they take advantage of. They harass our people and kill insisting that they own the land and their cattle must graze there. They hold our men at gun point in their farmland and rape their wives,destroy the farms and livestock. Our people have not be going to farm for the past eight months because they are scared not to fall victim to the herdsmen's siege. 

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, expressed outrage over the Ukpabi-Nimbo attack. The CAN leader maintained that it would be wrong "for our people to fold their hands and watch helplessly while our women are being raped, our men are being killed and our ancestral land is being taken away." While calling for investigation of security agencies in the state, he announced one-day of mourning to commiserate with all those who lost their lives in the attack. "In honour of those whose lives were snuffed away by these herdsmen, CAN declares one-day of mourning. 

Within this period, we ask our people to pray fervently and ask God to take control", he added.

..IStandWithBuhari people spotted buying black market (photo)

Double- faced Nigerians lol...abeg no be pretender they dey call this kain people...!

The staunch Buhari supporters were seen buying black market in their marked car in Abuja recently. This is what they call suffering and smiling. 

One year of Buharinomics: Businesses count losses

One year of Buharinomics: Businesses count losses

May 29, 2016 would mark a year after the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration took over the reins of power, but with no clear direction of where the economy is headed, businesses have continued to pine under the yoke of stifling regulatory headwinds.

Many businesses are literally fighting the battle of their lives as their corporate existence is being threatened, no thanks to the rather hostile operating business environment.

Although most of the businesses had anticipated the new government would take a while for it to gather steam, they had hoped that life would be back on an even keel in no time at all. But after almost one year, that hope has remained forlorn.

 

Crux of the matter

A number of policies have had rippled effects on businesses across the board, chief among which is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy restricting the use of Naira cards abroad.

This is the second time the CBN is putting restrictions on the use of naira cards outside the country — one of many other policies put in place by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Speculators had warned at the time that if the authorities in charge are not careful, there may be another devaluation of the national currency very soon. Thus many entrepreneurs have been forced to wait for the economy to stabilise before they can continue carrying out their business.

Last month, the CBN Governor said that the bank will not devalue the Naira again despite calls for the devaluation of the currency in times of economic turmoil. According to Mr Emefiele, the Naira is ‘appropriately priced’.

Growing concerns from stakeholders

Speaking at separate fora recently, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria MAN, Mr. Frank Jacobs and Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, described as stifling the prevailing operating business environment.

The MAN President noted that many operators in the nation’s real sector closed shop in 2015 due to harsh operating environment characterised by poor infrastructure, low consumer demand and unfair competition from low quality products smuggled into the country, warning that many more firms would close down due to the foreign exchange policy.

While calling on the Federal Government to have a rethink on the policy by making foreign exchange available for real sector operators that need to import raw materials, he warned that if not reversed, the policy will lead to the closure of more companies.

According to Yusuf, the forex restriction policy has had great danger for the Nigerian economy, especially in the first quarter of 2016.

Expatiating, he said: “We believe that lifting the restriction on foreign exchange and adjusting the exchange rate of the naira will make substantial impact on the nation’s economic recovery.”

Read also: Nigeria’s Promise Turns to Peril as Investors Head for the Exits

Millions of jobs threatened

The lull in business activities occasioned by the stifling operating environment is already taking its toll on businesses with millions of jobs threatened across the sectors.

Leaders of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, FOBTOB, have raised the alarm that the nation may lose three million jobs in the sector if government does not urgently review its foreign exchange (forex) policy.

According to the union, leading companies in the sector have invited labour for discussion on retrenchment of workers.

These companies, FOBTOB said include Nigerian Flour Mills, Nigerian Breweries Limited, Guinness Plc, Nigerian Bottling Company, 7-UP Bottling Company Plc, Friesland Campina Wamco Plc.

While calling on government to intervene to save the industry and millions of jobs, FOBTOB alleged that not less than 1,500 workers had been sacked in the last three months over the forex crisis.

 

Need for action plan at the ministry

The President, National Association of Nigeria Traders, NANTS, Ken Ukoaha has lamented that there does not seem to be any policy direction for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Ukoaha who made this observation during a media capacity building workshop in Abuja at the weekend, said inasmuch as he supports the present government, the previous government did a good work in giving Nigerians beautiful policies, though marred by corruption.

He however, impressed on the present government, the need to borrow a leaf from the past policies as they can serve useful purpose.

“We are calling on the new administration to give us a template to work with, an economic blueprint, so that after four years we can come to say this is the criteria for the benchmark given, this is where you passed and failed.”

While noting that the transition agenda has elapsed in 2015, it will be one year in May 29th 2016, with nothing to show for it, he urged the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelama to be alive to his responsibilities.

Photos: Cat caught with dozens of men's underwears and socks by its owner 

A kleptomaniac cat known as Brigit, has been caught stealing men's underpants and socks by her owner, Sarah Nathan. The 6-year-old Tonkinese cat has stolen 11 pairs of boxers and more than 50 pairs of socks since January. It even prefers matching socks.

Nathan has been attempting to return her neighbors' clothing by placing notes in mailboxes, to no avail. Due to her cat's increasing burglary behavior, she has taken to Reddit to notify owners so they can collect their underwears.

Nathan says that in a previous home, the cat wouldn't be particular in what she stole. Most Tonkinese cats are nocturnal hunters — but she has developed a curious taste of late.

"She was much less discerning, now she’s decided menswear is the thing, and it’s a very specific kind of underpants that she likes," Nathan said. 

"One will be at the front door and one will be at the back door - so she's obviously gone back to get the matching sock,"

Source: Mashable

Christians prepare for Palm Sunday

Christians all over the world will on Sunday, March 20, mark the feast of the Palm Sunday to celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Director of Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Msgr. Gabriel Osu.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem days before he was crucified.

Jesus had sat on an unbroken young donkey and slowly made his humble entrance into Jerusalem.


The people greeted him enthusiastically, waving palm branches and covering his path with palm branches.

Palm branches are widely recognised as symbol of peace and victory; the use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic as it represented the humble arrival of someone in peace.

Osu said, “Palm Sunday is one of the major feasts of our Lord and it is the day Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem as a King, riding on a foal.

“A large crowd of people in the city spread out palm and olive branches on the ground before him as a sign of his kingship; they joyfully chanted `Hosanna, Son of David.’

“On this day also, in commemoration, we will receive and worship Christ in this same manner acknowledging him as our King and Lord.”

Osu said that as the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday heralds the week in which Christians celebrated the mystery of their salvation through Christ’s death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

“The Holy Week starts from Sunday and will run till Good Friday, March 25, 2016.

“A major hallmark of the feast is the celebration of the Holy Mass followed by a procession of the faithful carrying palm branches, representing the Jews who celebrated Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem.

“Here in the Archdiocese of Lagos, the Archbishop, His Grace Alfred Adewale Martins is expected to lead the faithful in a Palm Sunday procession through the streets of Lagos Island and environs’’, he said.

Source: punchng.com

FG offers automatic employment, scholarship to late Ocholi’s children

By Isidi Monica

Federal Government yesterday announced it would offer automatic employment at the Federal Ministry of Justice to the eldest son of the late Minister of State for Labour, Mr. James Ocholi (SAN), Aaron. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who made the revelation yesterday while addressing Ocholi’s family when he paid a sympathy visit to his Kado Estate residence to convey President Muhammadu Buhari’s condolence message to the family, also said the late minister’s other children would get automatic scholarship.

“I am here to convey Mr President’s condolence message and he has asked me to personally inform you that you have been given automatic employment in the Federal Ministry of Justice. The employment letter is in process and you can resume work after now. Your father was a very hardworking and conscientious member of the Federal Executive Council who was very passionate and worked hard for the realisation of the change agenda of this government. Indeed, it is a sad moment for all of us and the vacuum which his death has created is not only for the family, but the leadership as well. He was a great pillar in the struggle which brought this administration to power. He played a major role in the merger process,”.

Source: nationalmirroronline.net

Catholic Priest still not found after Yemen attack that killed 4 Nuns

Despite a lack of news and the prospect of difficult negotiations ahead, the Salesians remain hopeful that their priest kidnapped in Yemen last week will be freed.
Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil was kidnapped March 4 during an attack on a convent and nursing home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Yemen.
The attack resulted in the deaths of four Missionaries of Charity, two staff members, eight nursing home residents and a guard, according to reports.
Fr. Tom – a Salesian from Kerala, India – was praying in the chapel of the convent at the time of the attack, and was then kidnapped by the attackers.

New Delhi’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that Fr. Tom was taken to an unknown location, along with one of the Indian sisters in the community. Reports later indicated that the sister had been located and was safe.
Fr. Francesco Cereda, Vicar of the Rector Major for the Salesians, said that “it is difficult to see why they took Fr. Tom as prisoner” rather than killing him along with the others. 
He suggested that nationality could play a role in the kidnapping, as both Fr. Tom and the sister originally reported as kidnapped were both Indian.
Fr. Cereda stressed that “we trust there is every chance for the release” of Fr. Tom. He said that “the Central Government of India through its Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is involved in trying to ascertain the whereabouts” of the priest.
In addition, “the Chief Minister of the federal state of Kerala, the home state of Fr. Tom, has also taken personal interest in the matter and is in touch with the MEA in New Delhi.” Even “the Vatican, as well as the Catholic Bishops Conference of India are also involved” in tracing the priest’s location.
“Prayers are being offered throughout the Salesian world for his speedy release. We believe that these efforts will not be in vain,” Fr. Cereda said.

The Salesians have had a mission in Yemen since 1997. Initially, it was part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden, established by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.
Salesians are the only Catholic priests working in the country. They provide their services in four cities: the capital of Sana’a, Aden, Holeida and Taiz.
“Salesians were present there catering to the spiritual and sacramental requirements of the large number of Catholic migrants from India, the Philippines and everywhere else.” Fr. Cereda explained.
He added that “the presence of Salesians was also a great support to the Missionaries of Charity.”
Following the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, the already tenuous situation in Yemen became even worse. And the tension grew further when civil war broke out in 2015, with two factions both claiming to constitute the Yemeni government. The presence of terrorist groups including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS only added to the chaos.
But despite the ever more fragile conditions in the country, the Salesians chose to remain in Yemen.
“The Salesians were fully aware that the situation was worsening day by day,” Fr. Cedera said. “The Government of India had asked its nationals to leave the country after it had shut its embassy in Yemen and had brought back thousands of Indian nationals in 2014.”
Fr. Cereda said that Archbishop Paul Hinder, the Apostolic Vicar to Saudi Arabia, spoke in January 2015 with the Salesian province of Bangalore, India, to which the Mission of Yemen is entrusted.
“It was felt that pulling out of the mission all together would deprive it of the sole organized Catholic presence in the country,” Fr. Cereda recounted.

However, “since it was felt that no one could compel anyone to remain in the given situation, the choice was left to the individual confreres in question.”  
“Out of five members, three returned to India and two stayed, with the hope of being of assistance especially to the Missionaries of Charity who had decided to stay on, as well as the few Catholics still working with them in their centers.”
Fr. Tom was one of those who chose to stay, recognizing that his work was particularly risky, as he had to move from one community to another.
Beyond all the ‘diplomatic’ efforts underway to free Fr. Tom, prayers are being offered throughout the Salesian world for his speedy release.


Source: catholicnewsagency.com

South African pastor performs 'miracle' by pouring boiling water on congregation

South African pastor has claimed he performed a miracle after allegedly pouring hot water on members of his church.
Pastor Thamsanqa Sambulo, who is just 23-years-old, is the founder and apostle at Thy Word Kingdom Harvest Ministries...Accoring to a post on the Church's facebook page,

The apostle then told someone to go boil water in a kettle at the kitchen. One young man went there and did so... He came back with boiling water. The Son of God took the kettle and put it on himself (on his chest, he hugged it). The congregation was in shock, as they shouted: "NO!"

Some couldn't even look. He then asked; "who has faith here?"One by one, people came and did what the apostle did, and were not hurt. He re-boiled the water... as he did; ...one young woman came to him and said; "Papa I have faith, pour it on my hand as hot as it is." The Son of God first poured on Himself, then poured unto this lady. The rest of the congregation, one by one followed, as they also wanted to test their faith.

See Pics...!

Source: misspetitenaijablog.com 

by Isidi Monica











The immediate past Theater Commander Operation LAFIYA DOLE, North East, Major General Yusha'u Mahood Abubakar on Tuesday died in a ghastly auto crash along Maiduguri/ Damaturu.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 division of the Nigerian Army, Jos, Brigadier General Muhammed Aliyu, was also involved in the auto-crash but survived with serious injuries

The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. Both the GOC and his driver including late Yushau Mahmood were brought to the Emergency ward of the General Sani Abacha Specialist hospital Damaturu under heavy military security guard before they were conveyed back to Maiduguri to be flown to Abuja for proper medical attention.

Reports reveal that Mahmood was going to Damaturu from Abuja for the graduation of a special military force currently being trained in the troubled Buni Yadi area of Yobe State in northeast Nigeria. On his arrival, according to the report,  Mahmood was received at the Maiduguri International Airport by Aliyu, from where they embarked on the ill-fated journey.


The Deputy Governor of Yobe State, Abubakar Aliyu, in company of the Secretary to the State Government, Baba Wali, the State Police Commissioner, Zanna Ibrahim, the Head of Service of Yobe State, Dauda Yahaya, and other sympathisers have visited the Damaturu Specialist Hospital.

Source: channelstv.com

Senate charges Buhari to intensify efforts to rescue Chibok girls

by Isidi Monica

The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to step up efforts to ensure the freedom of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents 690 days ago.

The Senate said the Federal Government should also come up with micro-economic policies that will encourage women to participate in small scale businesses.
These resolutions were sequel to a motion on International Women’s Day by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC, Lagos Central.

In her presentation, Senator Tinubu, who lamented the growing gender inequality in the country, in spite of several gender friendly laws, said Nigerian women had suffered several forms of discrimination, ranging from abduction, rape to male dominance on inheritance.
She said: “I am concerned that rape is on the increase in the country and this is with little prosecution. There is, therefore, a need for re-orientation on gender equality, women’s rights and adequate allocation of resources.”
On his part, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, also expressed worries that in spite of the growing level of democracy in the country, the representation of women in all arms of government was dwindling.
He said that if not promptly addressed, the trend would lead to non-representation of women in governance, adding that such would be detrimental to the development of the country.

Making her own contribution, Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujinmi, PDP, Ekiti South, called for solution to child marriage and other practices that had been detrimental to the survival of the girl-child in the society. He noted that all the issues plaguing women should be placed in their proper perspectives, if Nigeria as a country must reap the benefits of having the girl-child.
She said, “Mr. President, today is our day, the International Women’s Day. I want to congratulate the chairman of the women affairs committee, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who brought up this motion.
“We want the whole world to put on the front burner the issues of gender equality, the issues of our children, the issues of rape, the issues of abduction and the issues of child marriage. we have to put all of them on the proper perspective for the country to be able to reap from the benefits.
‘’Whichever way you want to see it, we are the salt of the earth. We make everything fine and where ever we are as women, there is always sanity, probity and there is always accountability.”
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, noted that the 8th Senate would ensure that amendment of all relevant laws were carried out to involve more women in government.

Source: dailypost.ng

Unions Shut down NNPC Offices Nationwide

by Isidi Monica














Oil workers have shut down the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) nationwide.

The decision followed Tuesday’s unbundling of the corporation.

The Cable reports that members of staff and management of the corporation arrived their various offices on Wednesday morning only to discover that they could not gain entrance following the total strike.
The immediate impact of the strike will be nationwide fuel scarcity as products will not be lifted by NUPENG. It is not expected to affect the crude oil export yet except the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) joins in solidarity.
It was gathered that at the end of the meeting, Group Executive Councils, GEC, sent this message to all members:
“The GEC of NUPENG & PENGASSAN at its meeting of 8th March 2016, which started at 10:00pm has extensively discussed the pronouncement of the GMD on NNPC UNBUNDLING. We observed that the GMD/HMSP totally disregarded due process and failed to engage STAKEHOLDERS. Hence, from midnight today, ALL NNPC LOCATIONS will be SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY until further notice. Further directives will be communicated accordingly.”

Source: dailypost.ng

The story behind the new saint- Elizabeth of the Trinity

Elizabeth of the Trinity

Vatican City, Mar 8, 2016 / 03:03 am - Pope Francis acknowledged a miracle worked through the intercession of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite nun of the 20th century, paving the way for her canonization likely later this year.

“The Lord has chosen to answer her prayers for us…before she died, when she was suffering with Addison's disease, she wrote that it would increase her joy in heaven if people ask for her help,” said Dr. Anthony Lilles, academic dean of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo.
Lilles earned his doctorate in spiritual theology at Rome's Angelicum writing a dissertation on Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity.
“If her friends ask for her help it would increase her joy in heaven: so it increases Elizabeth's joy when you ask her to pray for your needs,” he said. "That's the first reason (to have devotion to her): the Church has recognized the power of her intercession."
Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity was born in France in 1880, and grew up in Dijon close to the city's Carmelite monastery. Lilles recounted that when one time when Bl. Elizabeth visited the monastery when she was 17, “the mother superior there said, 'I just received this circular letter about the death of Therese of Lisieux, and I want you to read it.' That circular letter would later become the Story of a Soul; in fact, what she was given was really the first edition of Story of a Soul.”

...it was a lightning moment in her life, where everything kind of crystallized and she understood how to respond to what God was doing in her heart.

“Elizabeth read it and she was inclined towards contemplative prayer; she was a very pious person who worked with troubled youth and catechized them, but when she read Story of a Soul she knew she needed to become a Carmelite: it was a lightning moment in her life, where everything kind of crystallized and she understood how to respond to what God was doing in her heart.”
Elizabeth then told her mother she wanted to enter the Carmel, but she replied that she couldn't enter until she was 21, “which was good for the local Church,” Lilles explained, “because Elizabeth continued to work with troubled youth throughout that time, and do a lot of other good work in the city of Dijon before she entered.”
She entered the Carmel in Dijon in 1901, and died there in 1906 – at the age of 26 – from Addison's disease.
Elizabeth wrote several works while there, the best-known of which is her prayer “O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore.” Also particularly notable are her “Heaven in Faith,” a retreat she wrote three months before her death for her sister Guite; and the “Last Retreat,” her spiritual insights from the last annual retreat she was able to make.
Cardinal Albert Decourtray, who was Bishop of Dijon from 1974 to 1981, was cured of cancer through Bl. Elizabeth's intercession – a miracle that allowed her beatification in 1984.
The healing acknowledged by Pope Francis March 4 was that of Marie-Paul Stevens, a Belgian woman who had Sjögren's syndrome, a glandular disease.
In 2002 Stevens “had asked Bl. Elizabeth to help her manage the extreme discomforts of the pathology she had, and in thanksgiving, because she felt like she had received graces … she travelled to the Carmelite monastery just outside Dijon,” Lilles said. “And when she got to the monastery, she was completely healed.”

Lilles added that a second reason to have devotion to Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity is because she died “believing that she had a spiritual mission to help lead souls to a deeper encounter with Christ Jesus.”
“You could call it contemplative prayer, or even mystical prayer. She said her mission was to lead souls out of themselves and into a great silence, where God could imprint himself in them, on their souls, so that they became more God-like.”
In prayer, he said, “we make space for (God) to transform us more fully into the image and likeness he intended us to become, but which sin has marred. Contemplative prayer is a means towards this transformation and Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity believed before she died that her spiritual mission would be to help souls enter into that kind of transformative contemplative prayer, where they could become saints.”

She understood that the way she loved souls all the way was to help them find and encounter the Lord.

During her time in the Carmel of Dijon, Bl. Elizabeth found encouragement from the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux, particularly her “Offering to Merciful Love,” a prayer found in Story of a Soul, Lilles said: “You find references to the Offering to Merciful Love throughout the writings of Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, it was probably something she herself prayed often.”
“The second way that Elizabeth of the Trinity was influenced by Therese of Lisieux was a poem that St. Therese wrote called 'Living by Love'; in this poem Therese celebrates how the love of Jesus is the heartbeat, the deepest reality of her life, and because he lived to lay down his life for her, she wants to live to lay down her live for human love, which as the poem goes on, means loving all whom he sends her way, without reserve and all the way, giving people the generous love that we have received from Christ, sharing it with others.”
“That idea deeply, deeply influenced Elizabeth of the Trinity and in fact inspired her own way of life and her own spiritual mission to help lead souls into mystical prayer,” Lilles reflected. “She understood that the way she loved souls all the way was to help them find and encounter the Lord.”
“So, the spiritual missions of Therese of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity coincide: great theologians like Hans Urs von Balthasar recognized that. And these spiritual missions have both greatly influenced the Church in the 20th and early 21st centuries in very powerful ways.”
“I'm so glad that Elizabeth has been recognized for her part in building up the Church in the 20th century.”

Source: catholicnewsagency.com

Lagos Assembly orders relocation of Mile 12, Owode markets

by Isidi Monica

Resulting from the last week crisis in the Mile 12 market area of Lagos, the State House of Assembly yesterday told the state government to begin arrangements for the relocation of the popular foodstuff market.

The market, which is due to be moved to Parafa, in Ikorodu, according to the House, has overstayed its welcome in the area and should no longer be tolerated in the heart of the city.
Also penciled for relocation is the Owode Market on Ikorodu road and others of such market that have expanded to the highway.
Presenting the issue at Matters of Urgent Public Importance, during Monday’s plenary, member of the House, Jude Idimogu, drew attention of his colleagues to the last week mayhem in which 12 people were killed, scores of persons maimed and raped and over 15 houses razed.
Idimogu noted that such violence and tribal clashes had become one too many in the market with security agencies also fingered for taking sides with one tribe against the other.
While he commended the state government for rising to the occasion to quell the crisis, the lawmaker said that it was high time the government had relocated the market to a better site and away from residential community.
Idimogu’s colleague, representing Epe II Constituency, Abiodun Tobun, recalled that the Mile 12 market dated back several decades, was established when the area was not as developed as it is today.
Tobun said: “Not only has the area developed, the market too has enlarged with many trailers now parked on the road side to enter the market creating traffic on that corridor. Government is doing much to keep street traders off the road, but the market itself deserves to be relocated.”
Lawmaker representing Ikorodu I Constituency, Sanai Agunbiade, observed that the traffic around that corridor was due to the market that has overstayed its welcome.
Agunbiade recalled that the last administration had in fact designed a large expanse of land for regional food market in Parafa, where Mile 12 was proposed to be relocated.
But the lawmaker representing the area (Kosofe II Constituency), Tunde Buraimoh, pleaded with the House to exercise caution on such move, citing that the disagreement between trading Hausas and the Yoruba host community would be resolved and peace would soon returned.
Several of his colleagues, however, disagreed, urging the state government to put sentiments aside and use its political will to relocate “the nuisance of a market”.
Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, in his ruling, said it was high time the government had done the needful on Mile 12 and set all machineries in motion to relocate both Mile 12 and Owode market, assuring that the House would support with the needed budget for such exercise.

Source: guardian.ng

Nigeria's 'bad bank' AMCON seeks to sell Keystone Bank

Nigeria's state-backed "bad bank" AMCON said on Monday it was seeking prospective investors to buy Keystone Bank, the last of the nationalized banks yet to be sold.

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said in a public notice it had decided to divest its 100 percent interest in the bank and ask prospective buyers to submit their bids by March 4.

AMCON appointed Citibank's local unit and FBN Capital as financial advisers to manage the process, asking prospective investors to submit bids, showing evidence of credibility and eligibility for the transaction.

Nigeria nationalised three lenders, Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB in 2011, while AMCON then recapitalised them and changed their names to Mainstreet Bank, Enterprise Bank and Keystone Bank. Two of the banks have since been sold.

Based on audited account as of June last year, Keystone bank has total assets of about 317.6 billion naira ($1.60 billion), equity of 18.9 billion naira and a loan portfolio of about 98.2 billion naira.

By Dec. 31, the Bank had 156 branches across the country with four subsidiaries, of which two are international, AMCON said in the notice.

Nigeria's Sterling Bank told Reuters on Friday it was aiming to buy one or two mid-sized commercial lenders as sharp falls in the value of the naira and increased regulatory pressure are forcing banks to recapitalise.

AMCON was set up in 2010 to absorb non-performing loans in exchange for government bonds, after the central bank injected $4 billion to rescue nine lenders from collapse seven years ago. ($1 = 198 naira) (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa, editing by David Evans)

Source: af.reuters.com