Ooni has forgiven Oba Akiolu, says Ife monarch

  The Laroka of Wanikin-Ife, Oba Kole Ojutalayo, has said the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has forgiven the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, who allegedly snubbed him at a public function in Lagos on Tuesday.

Oba Ojutalayo, who is also the Chairman of ‘40 New Dawn Oba’ in Ile Ife, said Oba Akiolu would be given a warm embrace anytime he visited the Ooni in his palace.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday, Ojutalayo said the Ooni was interested in the success of his unity project than any battle of supremacy, adding that Ogunwusi would not stop respecting Akiolu in spite of the incident.

Bayern Munich wins record 5th Straight Bundesliga Title

   It has been another season of domestic dominance for Bayern Munich, who wrapped up their 27th championship with three games to go following a thumping win over Wolfsburg. They thrashed Wolfsburg 6-0 to clinch the Bundesliga for a record fifth straight season and give manager Carlo Ancelotti a title in a fourth top European league.

Ancelotti’s side have lost just twice in the league all season and were never troubled by out-of-sorts Wolfsburg.

Austrian left-back David Alaba fired Bayern ahead from a free-kick with Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scoring twice before half-time while Arjen Robben added a trademark shot after cutting in from the right.

Manchester United to honour Electrocuted Nigerians at Old Trafford

                                    
Manchester United have confirmed that the electrocuted Nigerian fans who lost their lives while watching an Europa League match between Manchester United and Anderlecht in Calabar will be remembered at the Old Trafford when they host Swansea in a league fixture on Sunday.

They had gathered at a popular viewing center when a transformer nearby exploded twice with a high tension wire dropping on the structure built with zinc.

The club announced that Jose Mourinho’s side will wear black armbands to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy.

“The #MUFC players will wear black armbands on Sunday in memory of the seven fans who lost their lives recently in Calabar, Nigeria,” the club tweeted

Why I didn’t embrace Ooni —Oba Akiolu

 The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, has defended his controversial reaction to the affectionate greeting of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, at a public event, as seen in a viral video last week.

In the 25-second recording, the Ooni of Ife is seen arriving at the venue of the event, which has the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu II, in attendance, seated among an unidentified monarch.

The Ooni walks over to embrace the monarchs, but as soon as he approaches the Oba of Lagos, Oba Akiolu looks away, only acknowledging the Ooni with the wave of a hand.

The visibly embarrassed monarch then quietly returns to his seat.

Ooni’s Palace Says “we will call on the ancestors” over Oba Akiolu’s “Snub” as Lagos Palace Chief Claims Monarch’s Response was Misunderstood

  The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi have been trending on social media after a video clip where Oba Akiolu responded to the Ooni with a somewhat dismissive wave of hand after the later approached him to give him a handshake.

The clip generated outrage on social media as commenters say the Ooni’s throne is the most powerful in Yorubaland.

The Director of Media and Public Affairs in the Ooni’s Palace, Moses Olafare had earlier said that the monarch is not ready to release any official statement on the issue, adding that he still accords his Lagos counterpart the respect he deserves.

Obasanjo: God, Baptist training made me what I am today

  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has attributed his achievements in life to God and the training he received from the Baptist denomination and schools.

He said this in an appreciation and acceptance speech he delivered at the ongoing annual session of the Nigerian Baptist Convention on Wednesday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the former president was honoured for his contributions to Nigeria and world’s peace.

“Permit me to confess publicly, as I did at the programme put together by the three Lagos Baptist Conferences, that whatever I am today have been by the grace of God and the Baptist training that I was privileged to have received early in life through the sunbeam, the Royal Ambassador, Baptist Boys High School Abeokuta, Sunday School and Church Training’,” he said.

Uber claims it will having flying cars in Texas and Dubai by 2020

                    
Jeff Holden, Uber’s chief product officer, hates the phrase “flying cars.”

But he took to a Dallas stage on Tuesday to announce that Uber will offer a flying-car taxi service in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Dubai by 2020 — something he said “fits cleanly into our mission” and Uber’s focus on “big bold bets.”

“It’s natural for Uber to turn its eyes to the air: push a button, get a flight,” he said to an audience of several hundred people gathered for a three-day summit called Uber Elevate. “Urban aviation can replace long-distance commutes.”


Uber is among a bevy of well-funded companies pursuing the sci-fi vision of flying cars. Google co-founder Larry Page has a Mountain View startup called Kitty Hawk led by Sebastian Thrun, who launched Google’s self-driving efforts. French aerospace giant Airbus is working on the idea, as are several smaller players.

Peggy Whitson Breaks Record for Most Total Time Spent by an American Astronaut in Space

Photo Date: 06/24/09

Location: Bldg.8, Photo Studio

Subject: Peggy Whitson Official EMU Portrait

  NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 57 currently living and working aboard the International Space Station, broke the record Monday for cumulative time spent in space by a U.S. astronaut – an occasion that was celebrated with a phone call from President Donald Trump, First Daughter Ivanka Trump, and fellow astronaut Kate Rubins.

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, who arrived April 20 for his first mission aboard the orbiting outpost, also participated in the call alongside Whitson.

“Peggy is a phenomenal role model for young women, and all Americans, who are exploring or participating in STEM education programs and careers,” said President Trump. “As I have said many times before, only by enlisting the full potential of women in our society will we be truly able to make America great again. When I signed the INSPIRE Women Act in February, I did so to ensure more women have access to STEM education and careers, and to ensure America continues to benefit from the contributions of trailblazers like Peggy.”

Social Media & the Right to Dignity of the Person

  Advances in information communication technology and the advent of the social media has brought about the discovery of a number things it can achieve and its capacity to disseminate information which can reach millions of people all over the world at the same time. We are now exposed to so much knowledge and information that it is a wonder that the human brain can consume such amount of knowledge, without exploding.

I have known and participated in social media for a couple of years, although the days of sending and receiving emails in business centers precede that. When I started my sojourn into the world of social media, it was with the excitement and caution of a child learning to walk for the first time. I was not sure of what to expect or what I would stumble upon. Trust me, I stumbled into a lot of stuff: from the good, to the bad and to the ugly.

Sanchez caps Arsenal fightback, sets Chelsea final date

  Arsenal will play Chelsea in the FA Cup final after battling back to beat Manchester City 2-1 after extra-time in Sunday’s semi-final at Wembley.

Despite trailing to Sergio Aguero’s second half opener, Arsene Wenger’s side staged a gritty revival as Nacho Monreal equalised before Alexis Sanchez netted the winner in the additional period.

Arsenal’s record 20th FA Cup final appearance gives them a chance to end a difficult season by lifting the trophy for the third time in the last four years.

Eden Hazard comes off bench to inspire his team to FA Cup final

                          
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea might not have produced the greatest performances of late, but they certainly know how to deliver a great victory when the pressure is on, and they rarely come much more significant than a win over a bitter opponent in an FA Cup semi-final.

This was one of those days when Tottenham Hotspur’s young players showed that they can compete with the very best but whether they can beat them remains a question still unanswered. Against the side they are chasing for the Premier League title, Mauricio Pochettino’s players controlled much of the match and, in Christian Eriksen, had the game’s best player but they simply could not put the game away.

Instead it is Chelsea for whom the league and Cup double is very much on, and yet another FA Cup semi-final defeat for Spurs – their seventh – since the club last won the competition in 1991. They have had another fine season but it threatens once again to end without a trophy and they will regard this semi-final as a match they really should have won.
The Spurs support had seen enough by the end of the game when Eden Hazard, on as a substitute, and then Nemanja Matic, scored the two deciding goals. The seats emptied in the Spurs end and Wembley Way filled up with fans left wondering when their team will be able to win the games that matter against opposition who have made winning trophies a habit.

We spent N20m to hack into JAMB registration portal –Suspects

   Some suspects who were allegedly caught while perpetrating certain irregularities in the ongoing registration for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations have reportedly confessed to spending over N20m to construct a radio platform with which they hacked into JAMB’s registration portal.

Saturday PUNCH had reported that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps arrested no less than five individuals who had deployed fake biometric capturing machines to register applicants.

The Spokesperson of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, said, “These registration thieves deployed fake biometric capturing mechanisms and super-imposed registration slips just to satisfy the curiosity of innocent candidates that their registration was successful.

Are you Ready for Asa Live in Lagos Encore? It’s 7 Days Away!

  On the 29th of April at the Eko Hotel, in Victoria Island, Lagos, Asa Live in Lagos Encore will showcase the breathtaking live musical concert of Asa as she performs live with her Band and 30-piece Orchestra.

The concert promises to be a world-class performance, marking the 10-year milestone since the release of her self-titled multi-platinum selling debut album ‘Asa’.

Bringing all the elements of sounds, light, emotions, and lyrics, she intends to share her musical journey with her friends and fans through her songs that have made up her life and ours these past 10 years!

Ayo Al: What is the Guarantee of Good Pay?

  So I was at a conference where a speaker had come to talk to youths about the increasing rate of unemployment rate. He discussed issues like interviews, appearance, code of conduct and the likes. His audience was fascinated. They were stuck on his words. Yes! He was that good an orator. They wanted more.

I looked around and saw people jotting furiously. I am sure a lot of them wondered if they had been refused that job because at the interview, they had smiled too much or did not shake hands the proper way.

And then, I heard him say “When you go for interviews and you are asked how much you think you deserve to be paid, do not start with a high figure. First, tell them that any amount the organization allots you will be fine.”

Manchester United reaches Europa League Semi Finals after extra-time Victory against Anderlecht

Photo credit: Twitter- @ManUtd

  Marcus Rashford‘s extra-time goal sent Manchester United into the Europa League semi-final at the expense of Anderlecht on a night of tension at Old Trafford.

With the victory, the Red devils are now unbeaten in last 26 games in all competition. The victory is crucial as the competition offers United a potential route into the UEFA Champions League next season, in case they fail to finish in the top four of the English Premier League.

United took the lead on the night through Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 10th minute but Anderlecht equalised when Sofiane Hanni scored in the 32nd minute.

Mourinho‘s side missed chances after chances and saw defender Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic pick up injuries.

United were facing the prospect of a penalty shootout but Rashford, a scorer against Chelsea at the weekend, made the decisive contribution after 107 minutes with a brilliant turn and finish from Marouane Fellaini‘s knockdown.

How to Connect With Investors, Influencers & Mentors

  Networking is very powerful in business. According to a networking specialist, Heather White, hundreds of networkers say that up to 90% of their new business comes from word-of-mouth recommendation, referrals, and direct networking. If you are connected with the right people in your industry, you’ll have an edge over anyone else. Your established relationship with key industry players will set you apart from the rest.
Here are some tips to get you started:

Attend business events
If you want to connect with investors, top industry influencers, and mentors that will bolster your success, you must attend business events. Although it’s more convenient to stay connected with investors, in today’s digital world, the interaction is also less personal.
You’re more likely to get an investor to fund your startup if you pitch them your idea in person, rather than when you send them a 3-minute video via their e-mail.
Attend at least 1-3 business conferences a month. The more you visit business events, the more you stand the chance to meet with the right angel investor, influencer, or mentor that will take your business to the next level.

UCL: Barcelona fire blanks as brilliant Juventus progress to the Semi Finals

  Spanish giant and 5-time winners of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona were knocked out of the competition as Italian champions Juventus held out for an away 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou to reach the semi-finals on a 3-0 aggregate win.

The host, Barcelona who had overcome a 4-0 first leg deficit against French champion Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 with a dramatic 6-1 win back on home soil and was hoping for a similar performance last night. The Italians, however, gained revenge for their defeat in the 2015 Champions league final and showed the world why they boast the best defensive record in the competition as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were blunted.

“Never give up on your dreams” – Tania Omotayo’s Testimony about starting her own Clothing Line will Inspire You!

  When starting a new business, there are so many risk factors involved but the most important thing is to never give up on your dreams. That’s an important lesson that budding fashion entrepreneur Tania Omotayo learned recently.

She shared an inspiring piece on Instagram recently about the success of hosting her second pop up event after starting her clothing line just four months ago.

She wrote:

Testimony Time… I started Ziva 4 months ago, had my first pop up in December it was super successful and I sold out. I was so happy legit thought I had made it then the negative people started that oh it was just luck etc. So I was so nervous about the pop up yesterday, because it was going to determine if I was lucky or actually successful. I

Cristiano Ronaldo Hat-Trick Puts Real Madrid in 7th Straight UCL Semi-Final

  Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to become the first man to reach 100 Champions League goals as Real Madrid overcame 10-man Bayern Munich 4-2 after extra time in Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg to advance 6-3 on aggregate.

The holders will be in Friday’s semi-final draw for a record seventh consecutive year.

But they were pushed all the way by Bayern, who overcame a 2-1 first-leg deficit to send the tie into extra time thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s penalty and an own goal from Sergio Ramos.

However, after Arturo Vidal was sent off, Ronaldo hit the century mark in Europe’s top club competition on 105 minutes before then completing his hat-trick.

Recovered funds: Baptist Convention flays EFCC

  The Nigerian Baptist Convention has faulted the inability of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to apprehend the persons behind N49m found at the Kaduna Airport and $43m (N13bn) found in a building in Ikoyi, Lagos State, describing the failure as laughable.

The NBC argued that the controversy followed the Ikoyi recovery was because the EFCC rushed to make public pronouncement before concluding its investigation.

The President, FCT Baptist Conference of the NBC, Israel Akanji, made the observations during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday ahead of its 104th annual convention.

Abuja airport runway, terminal building ready today —FAAN

                          
 The runway and terminal building of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will be ready today (Monday), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has said.

According to FAAN, the airport will be ready two days before the April 19 scheduled date announced by the Federal Government for the reopening of the terminal to air traffic.

The Abuja airport was shut on March 8 for six weeks in order to allow Julius Berger to reconstruct its runway and taxiways. During the period of its closure, the contractor carried out rehabilitation work on its terminals.

EPL: Revenge for Mourinho as Man Utd stun Chelsea

  Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho masterminded a brilliant and unexpected 2-0 home victory over former club Chelsea on Sunday to breathe new life into the Premier League title race.

Mourinho gambled by resting Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera’s goals gave United a win that leaves Chelsea just four points above Tottenham Hotspur with six games to play.

Victory also lifted United to within four points of fourth-place Manchester City, on whom they have a game in hand, ahead of the derby at the Etihad Stadium on April 27.

Twinning! Meet the Cute Japanese Couple who Always Wear Matching Outfits

  Aren’t they just the cutest!

This Japanese couple has been married for 37 years and since December 2016, they’ve posted photos of themselves in matching outfits on their co-owned Instagram page. Both over 60, the duo have almost half a million followers with about 433k followers waiting for them to post their next look!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Amen! Enjoy your Easter everyone!

Four Nigerian Students awarded Merit Scholarships in Turkey

L-R: Ayo, Solomon, Kendra and Maxwell

  Four exceptional Nigerian students have been awarded merit scholarships in Turkey by the Middle East Technical University, Ankara. They were awarded for their excellence in Aerospace Engineering, having attained excellent CPGAs.

The students; Ayo Bankole had 4.7, Solomon Tawari had 4.78, Kendra Chioma had 4.98 and Maxwell Adoyele had 4.7 out of 5. They were all awarded with an amount of 10,000 Turkish lira, which is equivalent to $3,000, for 5 months.

Congratulations to them!

Toyin Lawani’s Son Oluwatenola becomes Payporte’s Youngest Ambassador

  E-commerce company Payporte just signed their youngest brand ambassador and it seems entrepreneur Toyin Lawani of Tiannah’s Place Empire’s son Oluwatenola aka Tenor Jermaine is the perfect young man for the job.

The little fashionista was at Payporte’s office yesterday where they entertained the top 5 housemates of the just concluded Big Brother Naija.

Doing what he knows how to do best, he was taken some nice shots in a monochrome top and pants with matching sandals.

Being the cutest, he entertains the ladies from the #bbnaija house in a few shots he definitely owned.

Sloppy Man United pay the price for poor play in 1-1 draw at Anderlecht

  Paul Pogba duelled with Youri Tielemans throughout Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Anderlecht on Thursday

BRUSSELS -- Three quick thoughts from Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Anderlecht on Thursday in a Europa League quarterfinal first leg.

1. Sloppy Man United pay the price against Anderlecht

Manchester United might be strong favourites to win the Europa League, but they will not do so if they continue to perform as they did while drawing with Anderlecht in Brussels' Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.

Leander Dendoncker's 86th-minute header cancelled out Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first-half opener for United to seal a 1-1 draw and give the Belgians hope of an upset in next Thursday's quarterfinal second leg at Old Trafford.

NNPC Officially Retires Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, 2 Others over Missing 130m Litres of Fuel

  The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday confirmed the disengagement of officials linked with missing 130 million litres of petrol.

In a statement, the NNPC said it disengaged the staff in line with its ongoing reforms, while also announcing the deployment of others.

The retired staff are: Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, Managing Director, NNPC Retail Ltd; Alpha P. Mamza, Executive Director, Operations, NNPC Retail Ltd; and Oluwa Kayode Erinoso, Manager, Distribution, NNPC Retail Ltd.

Adeyemi Adetunji, is the new Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd; Engr. Lawal Bello, Executive Director, Operations, NNPC Retail Ltd; Affiong Akpasubi, Executive Director, Services, NNPC Retail Ltd; and Agwandas A. Andrawus, Manager, Distribution, NNPC Retail Ltd.

Alicia Keys Accepts Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2017

  Grammy Award winner, Alicia Keys gets an accolade for saving the world in her spare time.

For a long time, Alicia has championed the fight against HIV/Aids in children across the globe through the organization she co-founded called “Keep a Child Alive.”

The Girl on Fire singer accepted Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2017, calling the honour “one of the most proud moments of my life.”

5 Tips For Generating New Ideas for a Startup

  Companies are born out of ideas. From wild dreams, entrepreneurs think of epic solutions to problems. Slowly, they put their ideas into perspective by documenting them.  They then mold the ideas into a product; the product is packaged, promoted, and delivered to the customer.  After some time, the entrepreneur reinvents the product again and the cycle never stops. When it does stop, Neil deGrasse says, “We’ll commit ourselves to live in the stagnant world, devoid of curiosity, empty of dreams.”  We need newer ideas for startups to make our world a better place.

Here’s how to keep generating business ideas for startups.

Try solving your problem
One of the most creative ways entrepreneurs use to birth new startup ideas is by attempting to solve problems they encounter. Drew Houston, the founder and CEO of Dropbox, came up with the Dropbox idea when he was frustrated. The coder was on a bus, heading to New York from Boston. With his laptop in his hands, Houston planned to use the four-hour ride to code but realized that he forgot his USB stick back home. Out of disappointment he started building codes that would allow him to sync files over the Internet. Thus Dropbox – now valued at $10 billion was born.

Apple might have a secret team working on glucose sensor technology for diabetes

   Apple has hired a group of biomedical researchers to work on a secret project to monitor diabetic patients using sensors, according to a CNBC report.

An estimated 371 million people have the disease worldwide and in the last few years, several tech companies have been trying to come up with better solutions to help those afflicted. Virta is a newly launched startup tackling type 2 diabetes that promises to completely cure patients by remotely monitoring behaviors. Livongo Health is another startup in the Bay Area that just raised $52.5 million to launch its blood sugar monitoring product.

Normally, patients monitor their glucose by pricking themselves to get a blood sample so not having to do that any more would be a real game-changer. One person told CNBC Apple is developing optical sensors that shine a light through the skin to measure glucose.

However, others have tried to come up with technology to bypass pricking before and it’s proven tough to do. Alphabet’s life science company Verily has also tried to take on the disease with a smart contact lens that measures blood glucose levels through the eye but some reports suggest the now three-year-old project isn’t going well.

“There are many investments that have been triggered with our money taken outside” – Ali Baba speaks on the Trend of Embezzlement in the Country

                            
 Veteran comedian, writer and motivational speaker, Ali Baba took to his Instagram page last night to bare his mind concerning the ugly trend of embezzlement that has plagued Nigeria in recent years. He reiterated that it would have been slightly better if the money stolen was invested into the Nigerian economy, rather the money will be taken outside into an economy that is already in good standing. In his words:

Africa Needs to Tell Her Own Story

  I met a Jamaican who knew so much about the Biafran war. She was so excited to learn that I was Ibo and she could identify that as the Eastern part of Nigeria. She also asked me about the difference between ‘igbo’ and ‘Ibo’. This was rather surprising for me because only a foreigner with depth of knowledge can guess that Igbo is the language and Ibo is the tribe. She told the story of the war as though she had experienced it.

We spoke over cold coffee, not bothered about what other plans we had for the day. We spoke about how many of my people are still hurting, and concluded that Nigeria as a whole has not fully recovered from the war.

My father grew up in the heat of the war; he told me that one day they were cooking a pot of soup and upon the sound of an explosion, they put the boiling pot of soup in the boot of the car and drove off to the nearest safe place.

4 Things to Note Before You File Those Immigration Documents for Your Nigerian Bae

   Exhibit 1:
Phillip meets Irene at a wedding; he gets the information that she is a doctor from the US visiting for Christmas and he immediately imagines how fabulous life would be with her resources and connections abroad.
Although a retired Yahoo boy, old habits die hard. He knows he is handsome and has the swag. Luckily, he isn’t doing too badly financially either. His job does not pay much, but the title is quite fancy and he has enough cash on the side to play the game.

He introduces himself to Irene and they exchange numbers. Irene is in her early 30s. Her friends are all married. There are very few single Nigerian men in the US, and she had never gotten attention from anyone as handsome as Phillip. Although her family warns her against this man and she has her suspicions too, she kicks off a relationship with him. He couldn’t be out to scam her. She is Nigerian like him, only she is also a citizen of the US.

Easter: Federal Government Declares April 14th & 17th Public Holidays

Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau

   The Federal Government has declared Friday, April 14 and Monday, April 17, as Public Holidays to mark the Good Friday and Easter celebrations.

The Minister of Interior retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau made the announcement on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.

Dambazau‎ enjoined Christians and other Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of Jesus Christ and extend spiritual benefits of Easter such as love, peace, justice, sacrifice and kindness in all their interaction during the holidays.

He also urged Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for unity and peaceful co-existence in the country.

Peculiar Okafor: Why So Angry Though?

                                                      
Growing up, we were told that ‘if we had nothing nice to say, we should keep quiet’. We were also told that ‘there was a way we would say sorry and earn a slap’. Diplomacy, tact and a serene aura were virtues to admire. Being a veeeerry noisy and playful teenager with a sharp tongue, I had a hard time. My mother actually made me take a Bible concordance and write down every verse where tongue, mouth and lips were written in the Bible; I was to read and memorise them. I grew from the sharp mouthed teenager to someone who will find the best way to air my opinion- if it was necessary at all. All things are lawful but not all things are necessary, besides some things are better left unsaid.

But on social media and in the world today, people see being rude, harsh, abrasive and uncouth as ‘being ourselves‘, ‘speaking our minds‘, ‘being real‘

FG denies monitoring Nigerians’ telephone calls

                        
The Federal Government has denied monitoring or recording calls made by Nigerians.

It described as false the information being circulated on the social media that via a regulation by the Ministry of Interior, all phone calls and social media posts by Nigerians were being monitored and recorded.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the denial on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement he issued in Abuja on Monday.

He described the reported phone monitoring as another example of disinformation that had permeated the media space, especially the social media.

9 Undeniable Facts About Working in a Nigerian Office

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How the African Millennial Can Bridge the Skills Gap

  “I hustled for 4 years after graduating from university. It was a stroke of luck landing my first job at 26.”

This scenario is commonplace in Africa. We are living in an age where unemployment and underemployment are normal. African millennials are coming to the realization that it’s becoming harder and harder to find meaningful work after formal education.

Higher institutions of learning are not preparing young people for the real life by conferring the much needed practical skills. As a result, the skills gap has widened. What young people learn in school is rarely what they do in the real world. As a young person, how do you bridge this gap? How do you transfer the skills you learnt in college to the real world?

How Efe won #BBNaija

  Housemate, Efe secured 57.61 per cent of votes to emerge winner of the 2017 Big Brother Naija ‘See Goobe’ reality TV show on Sunday.

The Warri-born up and coming rap artist beat Bisola, who became the 1st runner up with 18.54 per cent of the vote at the grand finale.

Tboss scored 13.60 per cent to emerge the 2nd runner up; Debie-Rise 8.78 per cent, 3rd runner up while Marvis scored 1.47 per cent.

Efe was given a brand new Kia Sorento SUV and N25 million naira cash prize.

Efe who had never failed to stress that he was real was nominated for eviction in January and March but survived.

Chelsea passed title test with Bournemouth win — Hazard

  Eden Hazard says Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth proved the Premier League leaders won’t crack under the stress of the title race.

Antonio Conte’s side kicked off at Dean Court with their lead at the top cut to four points following Tottenham’s 4-0 thrashing of Watford earlier on Saturday.

But, with the pressure mounting in the closing weeks of the season, Chelsea showed nerves of steel as Adam Smith’s own goal and strikes from Hazard and Marcos Alonso wrapped up a vital win.

Obasanjo hits Nigerian churches, pastors

  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused some church leaders in the country of not only encouraging corruption but also celebrating people with questionable sources of wealth.

He said this in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Saturday at the 2017 Convention Lecture of Victory Life Bible Church International, while speaking on the theme, ‘The role of the church in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.’

He stated that the fight against corruption must start within the church.

The former president called for a spiritual approach in tackling corruption, tasking the church to rescue the nation from its grip.

Griezmann halts Real Madrid's title charge | Sports , Football The Daily Star - 1 hour ago

  Antoine Griezmann’s classy finish five minutes from time dealt Real Madrid’s La Liga title chances a huge blow as Atletico Madrid rescued a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Pepe’s towering header early in the second half looked to have Madrid heading five points clear at the top.

However, Barcelona now have a third straight title back in their own hands after Griezmann rounded Keylor Navas to slot home at the near post.

Real lead Barcelona by three points with eight games left, but the two face each other at the Bernabeu on April 23.

Barca can move top later on Saturday with victory at Malaga.

Leicester City Manager Craig Shakespeare says Ahmed Musa will Still Play for the Team

   Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare has said that Super Eagles forward Ahmed Musa is still in his plans despite the his limited playing time.

Musa has made only 13 starts for Leicester all season, just seven of which have come in the Premier League.

He has scored four goals in all competitions for Leicester this season; two in the league and two in the FA Cup, scoring a brace in a 2-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park.

Ahead of Sunday’s trip away to Everton in the Premier League, Shakespeare played down recent reports of Musa’s domestic row with his wife.

“I have spoken to him and he assured me there wasn’t a lot in it. It was a police matter that has been cleared up,” Shakespeare said on the club’s website on Saturday.

Nigerian Teen Gains Admission Into All 8 Ivy League Schools

  Jude Okonkwo, a Chaminade High School senior has been accepted into all 8 Ivy League schools – Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, The University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University.

Okonkwo who is the son of Nigerian immigrants, is the President of the school’s newspaper and plays the piano and clarinet, says he wants to pursue a degree in medicine.

“It’s a tremendous honor to gain acceptance to all eight Ivy League schools. It’s something I never could have imagined. Tragedies occur in everyday life, and I want to be someone who can help a person and their family heal in their times of need,” he said.

EFCC recovers N449m in abandoned Lagos shop

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered N449, 000, 860 hidden in an abandoned shop in Lagos.

An official of the EFCC who was actively involved in the investigation told our correspondent that the commission received a tip off from a whistleblower that a huge sum of money was hidden in a shop located in the Nigerian Air Force complex, Legico, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The detective told our correspondent that on getting to the shop, operatives were surprised to see such a volume of cash.

He said investigation revealed that the shop belonged to a Bureau De change operator but the owner had yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

Naira slides to 405/$ amid tight dollar supply

  The naira slid to 405 against the United States dollar on the parallel market on Friday amid tight supply of the greenback.

This was despite a series of currency forwards sold by the Central Bank of Nigeria this week aimed at clearing demand for the US currency on the official market, traders said.

The local unit had dropped to 397/dollar on Thursday, after hovering between 390 and 395 earlier in the week.

Following series of CBN interventions in the interbank market and fresh dollar injections for invisible transactions, the naira had appreciated to 375/dollar.

JAMB suspends 2017 UTME registration for 52 hours

  The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja on Friday announced the suspension of registration for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for 52 hours.

The decision was aimed at preventing any disruption during the conduct of the UTME mock examinations scheduled for Saturday.

The examination body, which put the suspension hour between 8:00pm on April 7 (Friday) and 12:00am on April 10 (Monday), said one million candidates have registered for the exam so far.

The Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja, however said candidates could also go to banks, NIPOST, Interswitch or Remita to procure PINs for registration on Monday.

With N429,000 gone, MMM investors drag promoters to court

  Two middle-aged persons, Debora Fojo and Musa Garba, on Friday appeared before a Malumfashi Chief Magistrates’ Court in Katsina State for alleged breach of trust and cheating.

The two were accused of collecting N429,000 to invest in an online business called MMM.

МММ was a Russian company that perpetrated one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes of all time, in the 1990s. By different estimates, from five to 40 million people, Nigerians inclusive, lost up to $10bn.

Fojo and Garba are residents of Government Girls Secondary School Malumfashi Quarters and Unguwar Danyawa village in Kafur local government areas respectively.

Drama as court releases arrested UNILAG students

   Thirteen students of the University of Lagos who were remanded at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison by a Special Offences Mobile Court on Saturday have been released.

The students, who were slapped with  two counts  of unlawful invasion and disruption of activities on  the premises of Television Continental in Lagos, were released after a hearing on their bail application on Thursday.

As early as 8am on Thursday, student  protesters had besieged the Lagos State Task Force building in Oshodi, seeking the release of the students.

Bearing different placards such as, ‘Why are corrupt politicians free while students are behind bars’, ‘Drop all charges, release them now’ and ‘For improved welfare conditions for students’, the protesters chanted solidarity songs.

Speaking after they were released, the Vice-President of the  Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani,  said the court lacked jurisdiction on the matter, adding that the court could only intervene in matters relating to environmental and traffic offences.