Street Gossips!

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has appealed to members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria against allowing themselves to be used by kidnappers to perpetrate evil. Speaking on Thursday during the swearing-in of the new State Executive of the union in Ado Ekiti, the governor, who said he was once a ‘danfo driver’ appealed to the drivers to be orderly and not to be desperate. Fayose He said, “Please, I want to commend you for contributing immensely to the development of the state’s economy, but don’t allow yourselves to be used by evil doers. You can see that some kidnappers were paraded recently. Information from them revealed that they have been using some of your members. “I was once a driver like you. I used the money I got from driving to sponsor myself for HND at Ibadan Polytechnic, but I did not get desperate. All I’m saying is that being a driver you can make it in life. You will become what you want to become in life with hard work. Don’t j...

Microsoft on Thursday sacked 34 (85 per cent) of the 40 employees in the Nigerian office of its phone division. The sacking came 24 hours after the company’s latest Windows 10 was made available in Nigeria and 189 other countries. Although, Windows 10 is now available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 operating systems or with new personal computers and tablets, industry experts said it would leave about 15 million Nigerian payments cards prone to hacking. Employees at the Nigerian office were silent on the matter, but a source said that the downsizing was part of the global decision of Microsoft to streamline its phone division. The source said the sacking was in line with the massive layoff of workers “sweeping through the global offices of Microsoft’s phone division.” The Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft, Satya Nadella, had said in a memo to all Nigerian employees in late June that the company needed to make some “tough choices” in areas that were not working. ...

Former TNA World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle recently did another Q&A with fans on his Facebook page. He stated that he believes he’ll return to in-ring action in September. How are you feeling since your neck surgery? I’m doing ok from my neck surgery. I had complications but I should be ready to go by early September. What is your workout routine like?  Nowadays, I only run 3-4 miles a day, but I run fast. I do hill sprints as well. It works for me, so I never get tired when I wrestle. Who was a tougher opponent according to you, in terms of in-ring skills – Brock Lesnar orStone Cold Steve Austin? That’s a difficult question. Austin was aggressive and physical. He was always pressing me. Lesnar is a beast, an animal, a rare breed. They dominated in different ways. Both are rugged. But who frightens me more? Lesnar.

This is the horrific moment a knife-wielding ultra-Orthodox Jew 'stabbed six people at Jerusalem gay pride march three weeks after he was released from pr ison for identical attack 10 years ago. The man jumped from the crowd at the annual Gay Pride march yesterday and started stabbing people. Six people were injured but fortunately no one died.  Yishai Shlissel spent 10 years in jail for a similar attack in 2005 when three marchers were wounded. He was released from prison just three weeks ago. He was quickly stopped by police and taken away. See the dramatic photos after the cut..

A few weeks ago, there were rumors that Rihanna was getting serious with French footballer, Karim Benzema after they were spotted in public numerous times. Well, somebody should have told Karim's 'girlfriend'. Some lady who claims to be Benzema's GF is calling RiRi 'the other woman'. From  In Touch Weekly  "Karim and I have been together for over a year,” bikini model Analicia Chaves exclusively tells In Touch. “Rihanna is the other woman!” To make matters worse, Karim has kept both his women in the dark. “After photos surfaced of Karim and Rihanna in NYC [in early June], I confronted him,” Analicia tells In Touch. “He denied everything. Karim told me to not believe the gossip when I asked him about Rihanna,” says Analicia. "I was crushed when I recently found out what was really going on."

A 32-year-old man, on Thursday, committed suicide by swallowing a killer insecticide, known as “Sniper”, following the discovery of his wife infidelity with a younger man in Ikolo community of Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. While some of the kinsmen of the deceased husband also vowed to invoke their ancestors to deal with the unfaithful woman and her lover, identified as a suspected cultist and indigene of Ayama community. Our correspondent gathered that the incident provoked anger among indigenes of the Ikolo community.The deceased, identified as Amatari Christmas, was married to Mrs. Tombara Christmas, an indigene of Ayama community in the same local government area. Their marriage was blessed with two kids. A kinsman of the deceased, who identified himself as Francis, said their deceased brother upon receipt of claims of infidelity against his wife, decided to keep close watch over her activities in the community, “On Monday, he went to fetch vegetable leaves ...

Five   All Progressives Congress [APC] Senators, Abu Ibrahim, Kabiru Marafa, Ajayi Boroffice, Gbenga Ashafa, and Suleiman Othman Hunyuki, have approached a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to challenge the election of the SenatePresident, Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu. In an originating summons filed by their legal team headed by Mamman Mike Osuman and Dele Adesina, both SANs, the aggrieved Senators urged the court to declare their election a nullity as it violates section 60 of the 1999 Constitution [as amended]and rule 110 of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 [as amended]. They argued that the Senate Standing Orders 2015 upon which Saraki and Ikweremadu were elected, is a product of invalid, illegal, unconstitutional and want them to be set aside. Justice Gabriel Kolawole has fixed August 5, for hearing.

Boko   Haram militants slit the throats of 10 fishermen in villages near Baga on the shores of the Lake Chad in northeastern Nigeria, a leading fisherman and a resident said yesterday. “On Monday around 4 pm (1500 GMT), Boko Haram attacked three villages on the shores of Lake Chad where they slaughtered 10 people, all of them fishermen,” Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fishermen’s union in Borno State, told AFP. The account was confirmed by a local fisherman, Buhari Dan-Malam, who lives in Doron Baga. “The Boko Haram gunmen came around 4:00 pm and they attacked three villages that are five kilometres/three miles from Doron Baga. They slit the throats of 10 people,” he said. The villages attacked on Monday were Bundaram, where they killed four people, Fishdam, where they killed two people, and Kwatar Mali, where they killed four people,” Gamandi said. “Boko Haram decided not to use guns so as not to attract the attention of soldiers from Baga. This is why they used knives to...

No fewer than 78 houses, a filling station and a mosque have been destroyed, while hundreds of people have been rendered homeless, following heavy flood in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, yesterday promptly visited the scene to sympathise with the victims. “I have seen the level of damage. It is quite sad. We will ensure that relief  materials get to the victims as soon as possible.Abubakar directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to quickly move to the affected area to assess the level of damage and ensure that adequate care was promptly given to the victims. “We will quickly ensure that contractors will start working on construction before paper work is carried out to avert future occurrence,” the governor said. The Permanent Secretary of SEMA, Mohammed Garba, while giving an account of what happened, told newsmen in his office yesterday that the flood occurred as a result of heavy downpour. Garba wh...

Power cuts in north-western Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, have affected production at mines run by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold, an industry body said on Tuesday. Zambian power utility Zesco Ltd is limiting power it supplies to customers, including mining companies, after water levels at its hydro-electric plants dropped due to drought. “Power was reduced to both First Quantum Minerals and Lumwana over the weekend,” Jackson Sikamo, President of the Zambian Chamber of Mines said. Lumwana is Barrick’s open-pit copper mine. First Quantum said it was unable to provide estimates on how long the power supply reduction would last or its impact on production.First Quantum said in a statement its Kansanshi mine, smelter and its greenfield Sentinel project were running at reduced capacities. “Various options to alleviate the effect on production are being evaluated,” the company said in a statement released on Monday. First Quantum’s Zambian smelter...

Ng Lai-ying was convicted for using her breast to push against the officer at a chaotic protest in March. The 30-year-old had earlier accused the cop of groping her – yelling the phrase “indecent assault” when she felt his arm on her chest. He said: “If I do not hand down a deterring sentence, the public might mistakenly think it is a trivial matter to assault police officers during protests.”But magistrate Michael Chan claimed she tried to use her “female identity” to harm the cop’s reputation. A video from the protest – in Hong Kong on March 1 – shows Lai-ying being dragged away from the crows with a bleeding nose. It has gone viral, picking up over 500,00 views on Facebook. Ng Lai-ying was sentenced to three and a half months behind bars but has been bailed pending an appeal. 

Some of the rescued people...yesterday Skinny men and women. Frail old people and ailing young boys and girls. They were all excited to be free — thanks to troops who subdued two Boko Haram camps in Chuogori and Shantumari, Borno State. The seizure of the camps was spearheaded by troops from 21 Brigade and Nigerian Army Engineers. In Kashingeri, Wale, Kushingari and other camps, 151 Task Force Battalion troops rescued 71 civilians from the terrorists’ camps. Amid the success, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, yesterday listed why the war had been tough. He said: the military’s equipment was not enough; some fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies were leaking operational plans to the insurgents; and when the insurgency broke out in the Northeast, the military had been overstretched. The Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, said troops dislodged insurgents from two camps yester...

Buhari and Obama Another prominent citizen has spoken of the “mind-boggling” fraud in the oil sector. Queen Zainab Duke-Abiola, the Akasoba of Kalabari land in the Niger Delta, said she had evidence from the White House that a former Petroleum Minister stole $9.3 billion. In an exclusive interview with  The Nation , Mrs. Duke-Abiola, one of the late Chief Moshood Abiola’s wives, said: “According to the information available to us, the minister stole more than $9 billion; not Australian dollars, but US dollars.” “And what I am saying is that the money should be used to develop the Niger Delta. Use this to help the impoverished Niger Deltans,” she added. When asked how she could prove this allegation, the queen said she was in Washington DC during President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit, and that she met with White House officials who revealed the information to her. “My relationship with White House is over 30 years. Americans are very eager to make sure that the money get...

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon has called on all countries of the world to fight money laundering, sign and ratify the UN Conventions against corruption and transnational organised crime and  human trafficking. He stated that criminal trafficking networks thrive in countries where the rule of law is weak and international cooperation is difficult. In a message to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Ki-moon charged every nation to also provide meaningful assistance to those in need, including the protection and access to justice and remedies. He said: “I applaud the donors who have enabled the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons Fund to assist thousands of people. At the same time, I urge greater contributions to help the many million other victims of this crime move forward with their lives. “Every country must join together to overcome this transnational threat by supporting and protecting victims wh...

Weeks after the release of Sebee remix, featuring two of Nigeria’s pop singers, there are indications that Olamide and Oritsefemi are currently engaged in silent feud following a collaboration with fast-rising Afro-pop singer, Sossi. Sossi who is signed to Bugatti records label featured Oritsefemi and Olamide in the remix of his popular single, “Sebee”, a track that has made him toast of many. It was learnt during the week that problem started weeks after Sossi dropped the remix. Sossi and his management were said to have paid Olamide N1.5 million for him to feature in the remix while Oritsefemi was allegedly paid N500,000. This disparity in the fee, according to our source, have angered Oritsefemi when he got to know about it. “He’s believed to be angry with Sossi and his management over their decision to pay him less fee as against Olamide, who he perceived to be his junior in the music industry,” said a source who is close to the record label. Confirming the developme...

Newly appointed Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh has warned his countrymen and women not to expect miracles from him, even as he assured that the country can qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Oliseh admitted that he was embarking on a difficult path. “We are practically starting from scratch, so that is why I am saying that people should not expect miracles from us.” Oliseh On the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, the former Nigeria international said he was confident the Eagles will take the first hurdle but that the road to Russia would be tough. “It is going to be very, very difficult, but I believe we can qualify. All we have to do is look at ourselves, try to improve our game and hopefully we will qualify.” Oliseh has had little previous coaching experience, being in charge of a Belgian third division club. “I don’t think that is a drawback though,” he states. “Time will tell, but I took the job to be successful.” And he says that he is confident his players can benef...

INDICATIONS emerged yesterday that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, might beam a search light on the finances and expenses of Ondo State government, following a petition over alleged financial misappropriation. The petition, it was gathered, was filed by a former senior government official in Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s government. Vanguard gathered that the ex-government official had filed about 16 petitions to the anti-graft agency last month, detailing evidence of alleged misappropriation of public funds. The petition, according to sources, alleged awards of contracts to unqualified persons, inflation of cost of contracts, and shady deals in some ministries by government officials. A source at the anti-graft agency said: “We began investigation immediately we got the petition and it is still ongoing but we cannot make any arrest now until investigation is concluded. This is to enable us get facts first before making arrests. ”Not too long from now, we will ...