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Addressing reports that Australia will work alongside the US to expand the naval base on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, PNG Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel told Australian journalist Bill Code "there is no definite agreement" and "just discussions at this stage." The decision comes amid rising concerns over China's influence in the region.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has provided reasons it cannot arrest and prosecute former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole now. The anti-graft agency is challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel it to arrest and prosecute Oshiomhole, over allegation that he diverted public funds to his personal use while in office as governor. EFCC admitted that it has received petitions accusing the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman of complicity in acts of corruption, but added that it was not under any obligation to report or give account of its investigations to any individual or under a timeline within which to carry out its functions. The anti-graft agency, therefore, urged the high court to dismiss the suit that is seeking to invoke an order of mandamus to compel it to initiate criminal proceedings against the embattled APC Chairman. The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/628/2018, was filed before the court by Edo State based cleri...

Chairman, Rydal Mews, Mr. Adetola Atekoja (left); Chief Executive Officer, Rydal Mews, Mrs. Modupe Anjous; Deputy Country Head, Deutsche Bank Nigeria, Mrs. Adeola Azeez and Director, Rydal Mews, Mr. Bankole Animashaun, during Rydal Mews 7th Anniversary celebration in Lekki, Lagos Lagos-based real estate management company, Rydal Mews Limited has introduced a new initiative that will offer customers opportunity to own quality and affordable houses in the heart of Lekki with pre-payment plans spread across five years. Known as Promise-To-Own, the scheme unfolded during its 7th Anniversary celebration in Lagos is engineered to make homeownership accessible to Nigerians while preserving the ultra-modern standard of living. Rydal Mews intends to eliminate worries associated with buying a new house, especially with the rising cost of rents in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos. This offers customers maximum satisfaction via structured payments to achieve long-term return on investments. The Chie...

Hardly would any mention be made concerning Nigerian modern art without mentioning names of the likes of Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onabrakpeya, Demas Nwoko, Uche Okeke etc who were students from the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology now known as Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Those were the founding fathers of contemporary art in Nigeria. One unique feature of this crop of artists who were later known as the Zaria Rebels is that most of their works still speak of their relevance to the Nigeria art and beyond while a few simply disappeared from the art terrain. One of such artists whose signature vanished from the art space is Professor Oseloka Osadebe. Born 1934 in Onitsha, Anambra State, Osadebe, an outstanding artist, playwright, theatre director, and teacher who from an early age, distinguished himself as a brilliant draughtsman, became a pioneer member of the famous Zaria Art Society and graduated in 1962 majoring in painting and sculpture. After being away in the United...

Everything you need to live well The week saw moments of sadness as a star who had united people from around the world disappeared from the sky. It also saw the courageous artists venture into politics to make a mark. Here is a rundown of the week: Marvel: Stan Lee Is DeadEverything you need to live well The week saw moments of sadness as a star who had united people from around the world disappeared from the sky. It also saw the courageous artists venture into politics to make a mark. Here is a rundown of the week: Marvel: Stan Lee Is DeadEverything you need to live well The week saw moments of sadness as a star who had united people from around the world disappeared from the sky. It also saw the courageous artists venture into politics to make a mark. Here is a rundown of the week:   Marvel : Stan Lee Is Dead The world especially comic fans were thrown into mourning after the magician behind all Marvel Comic, Stan Lee, was reported dead. According to his daughter, J. C...

JUST when eminent Christians, worried by the intractable crisis in Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,  are  suing for a truce, CAN leadership, last night, described the National Christian Elders Forum, (NCEF) and the Congress of Northern Nigeria Christians (CNNC) as para-Church organisations not recognised by CAN Constitution. In a  statement  signed by Bishop Stephen Adegbite, the Director of National Issues and Mobilization, Christian Association of Nigeria and titled, CAN Has No Supervisory Board, the umbrella body of Christians denounced what it described as frivolous, misleading and unfounded allegations against the leadership of CAN, especially the President. “Both organisations are aliens to the Constitution of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). These people are false-alarmists who are pursuing selfish interests appealing to public sentiment in order to mislead them against a credible leader and organization. We are well aware that angels of...

The Chairman of the Federal Government/Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) 2009 Agreement Renegotiation Committee, Wale Babalakin, has explained areas where his committee disagrees with striking university lecturers. He also said he believes Nigerians deserve quality education. Accoding to him,  this must not be compromised as a result of inadequate funding, which has been the situation in the last 30 years.Babalakin, who was speaking for the renegotiation committee, debunked allegations that his team suggested a fee hike in universities, explaining that the committee’s scope of work had nothing to do with fees payable in schools. Stating that his team believed that no Nigerian should be deprived of university education because of his/her financial circumstance, Mr Babalakin said his team was determined to provide a lasting solution to the problems militating against quality education. He urged ASUU to call off its strike and return to the negotiation table. The lawye...

Since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the sharing of oil revenue has remained a very contentious issue between oil-producing states and the Federal Government. In fact, the agitation for equitable distribution of proceeds from oil and gas has led to clamour for resource control and fiscal federalism, which sometimes threatens national cohesion. In 2001, the politics of revenue allocation between the different tiers of government came to the fore, when the Federal Government, through the Office of then Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, filed a writ of summons at the Supreme Court against the 36 states solely to determine whether natural resources located within the continental shell of the country are not derived from any of these states, as their boundaries end at the low water mark of the land surface of each of such littoral states. In the suit, which the oil-producing states and other littoral states namely: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, E...

On Saturday, four more countries qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which will hold next summer in Cameroon. They are: Nigeria, Uganda, Mali and Morocco. Nigeria drew 1-1 with South Africa in Soweto, Uganda edged Cape Verde 1-0 in Kampala, Mali beat Gabon in Libreville and Morocco went through after rivals, Malawi, lost in the Comoros. Three-time former champions, the Super Eagles, who had failed to qualify for the last two editions, were ahead in South Africa within nine minutes when Buhle Mkhwanazi scored an own goal. Percy Tau set up the equaliser for Lebo Mothiba on 26 minutes, but the hosts were fortunate as several contentious offside decisions went against Nigeria. A total of nine nations have now booked places at the newly-extended 24-team finals, with hosts Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal, Egypt and Tunisia securing berths before this weekend. Source: http://dailypost.ng/2018/11/17/afcon-2019-full-list-countries-qualified/

Bukky Ogunnote is a veteran actress who has put so much in the growth of the Nollywood industry. She has used her talent to solve numerous problems of people out there, through the characters she plays on screen. Bukky is one of the major characters in the new series “Alagbara”,  powered by StarTimes . She plays the part of a stubborn and powerful woman, according to her,  Alagbara is a must-see movie by everyone because there lies the solution to many marital issues. By EKAETE BASSEY Can you tell us about this new series “Alagbara” It is a pleasure working with Salami family. When I was called to come and work on the project I was glad because Oga Bello is a mentor, a father, I believe in him and I totally trust his judgment. The role  I was given is totally different from who I am, so, it was a great challenge and that’s what I’ve always looked forward to doing. He gave me the opportunity and I grabbed it. I can tell you with confiden...

Popular Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson recently shared a new picture on her instagram page. She looks really different and appears to have lost some weight. She took confidently as her fans showered her with sweet comments. Mercy Johnson has been exercising herself rigorously in recent times.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had no plans to extradite Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Ankara of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup attempt. NBC reported this week that the White House was studying the legal ramifications of expelling the cleric, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, as part of an effort to persuade Turkey to ease its pressure on Saudi Arabia over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “It’s not under consideration,” Trump told reporters shortly before departing on a daylong trip to California to meet with officials and victims, as well as firefighters battling the deadly wildfires there. “We are doing very well with Turkey,” Trump said. “I get along very well with the president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan). He’s a friend of mine. He’s a strong man, a tough man and a smart man, so whatever we can do, we’ll do… but at this point? No.” US-Turkish relations have recently...

Human rights activist and renowned lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN) has threatened legal action against publisher of Linda Ikeji blog, Linda Ikeji for publishing what he described as false and malicious story about seasoned journalist, John Abayomi. Abayomi, through his lawyer, Falana and Falana’s Chambers, claimed that the publication with the headline, ‘LIB Exclusive: Meet the owner of Instablog9ja-John Abayomi’ has put his life and that of his family members in grave danger. In the letter delivered to the blogger on Friday, a copy of which was sighted by our reporter, Linda was asked to tender an unreserved apology within forty-eight hours or risk legal action. Linda, in the said publication, claimed that ‘the owner of instablog9ja is John Abayomi, a former online editor of Vanguard news and current online editor of Punch’. However, Falana said that the statement is untrue and unfounded and calculated to lower Abayomi’s esteem and damage his reputatio...

The super Eagles of Nigeria, Saturday qualified for the Africa cup of Nations after playing a one-one (1) goal draw with Bafana Bafana of South Africa. However, South Africa will also qualify if they record a draw or win against Libya away in March 2019. The draw 1-1 sees Nigeria book their place in the 2019 Afcon finals which will be hosted by Cameroon.

The wreckage of an Argentine navy submarine that exploded and disappeared one year ago with 44 crew on board was located in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, the navy said. There has been “positive identification of the ARA San Juan,” at a depth of 800 meters (2,600 feet), a statement on Twitter from the navy said. The Seabed Constructor — a vessel owned by US search firm Ocean Infinity, which set out in September on the latest attempt to find the San Juan — found the missing sub. The Ocean Infinity ship “decided to do a new search and, thanks to God, it was able to find the zone,” navy spokesman Rodolfo Ramallo told Todo Noticias TV. “Now another chapter opens. From the analysis of the state in which the submarine has been found, we will see how to proceed,” he said. The navy lost contact with the submarine on November 15 last year, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) from the Argentine coast. It was on its way back to base from Ushuaia at the s...

A bomb killed at least two people and wounded eight others in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi Friday, police and hospital officials said. The blast reportedly damaged buildings and triggered panic in the densely populated Malir district. “A timed device planted underneath a pushcart exploded with a big bang, killing two people and wounding eight others,” senior police official Irfan Ali Bahadur told AFP. Nobody has so far claimed responsibility but Karachi, the country’s economic and commercial hub, has long been in the grip of militant, sectarian and ethic violence. Police cordoned off the area after the explosion and bomb disposal officials were called to the scene. Seemi Jamali, a senior doctor at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre where the dead and wounded were brought, confirmed the toll and said two of the injured were in a critical condition. Violence in Pakistan has declined dramatically in recent years following a series of military operations along th...

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said on Thursday the person who had ordered the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the head of the negotiating team sent to repatriate him. The prosecutor, Shaalan al-Shaalan, also said that the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body remained unknown. The prosecutor told reporters in Riyadh that investigations were still ongoing to locate the remains of the slain journalist. The public prosecutor had earlier said he was seeking the death penalty for five out of 11 suspects charged with the murder of Khashoggi. He said 11 out of 21 suspects had been indicted and that their cases would be referred to court, while the investigation with the remaining suspects would continue in order to determine their role in the crime. Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, was killed in the country’s Istanbul consulate on October 2. He was killed after a struggle by a lethal injection dose and his body was dismembered and taken out of the buildin...

Kano, The Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, has begun the collection of N1.2 million from prospective pilgrims as initial deposit for the 2019 hajj fare. The Executive Secretary of the board, Alhaji Muhammad Abba-Danbatta, made this disclosure while briefing newsmen in Kano on Thursday. He said even though, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), had directed the state pilgrims welfare boards to collect N1.5 million as initial deposit, but based on experience, the board decided to collect N1.2 million. According to him, it is expected that any intending pilgrim, who paid N1.2m will not find it difficult to offset the balance when the final fare is announced. “Based on experience, last year’s hajj fare was a little over N1.4m, so anybody, who pays N1.2m will find it easy to pay the balance after the final fare is announced,” he said. The Executive Secretary said as soon as intending pilgrims paid the initial deposit, the board would register them for the commencement of t...