The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Plot to impeach Bayelsa Speaker thickens

    The plot to impeach Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Tonye Isenah, has thickened following his refusal to step down as directed by Governor Seriake Dickson and leaders Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.

    It was gathered that lawmakers loyal to the governor and the PDP had been mobilised to carry out an impeachment proceeding against Isenah, who had insisted that his resignation would not add any value to the PDP’s quest to win the November 16 election.

    It was also learnt that external forces, powered by the opposition, were planning to protect Isenah to enable him retain his office.

    Some of the lawmakers were also said to be against the move to remove the speaker, whom they described as a good fellow, and had vowed to stand against any motion to actualise the plot.

    Isenah was said to have tried to convene a sitting of the House yesterday to discuss issues and adjourn the House till further notice. But PDP leaders, who got wind of the development, reportedly prevailed on their loyal lawmakers not to attend the sitting, which failed to hold for lack of capacity to form a quorum.

    Read Also: I won’t resign, daring Bayelsa Speaker tells Dickson, others

    The speaker came under intense pressure to relinquish his office in the House of Assembly to enable his party balance political equations ahead of the November 16 election. He was said to have reached an agreement with Dickson and other PDP leaders to vacate his office in the event that Senator Douye Diri, who hails from his Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, becomes the party’s governorship candidate.

    After Diri won the primaries, PDP leaders were said to have asked Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council. But Isenah insisted he would not let go of his position before the poll.

    The speaker, in a statement by his media aide,  Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully and was yet to see how his resignation would help the party in the poll.

    But PDP leaders against Isenah were reportedly determined to force him out of the office to make way for a lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to brighten the party’s chances at the poll.

    But a source said Isenah’s travails were based on his refusal to initiate an impeachment proceeding against the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd).

    “It is not just about an agreement to step down; it is about the deputy governor. The powers that be accused the deputy governor of planning to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as an incumbent deputy governor. They don’t want that to happen.

    “There are insinuations that Jonah wants to join the APC and contest the Bayelsa East senatorial election, which will be vacant if the APC wins the governorship election because the incumbent senator is the running mate to the APC candidate, David Lyon. So, the party leaders want Jonah out of the way but Isenah is refusing to be used to carry out the process,” he said.

    Isenah’s aide on New Media, Dickson Opuene, in his social media posts, also hinted that the speaker was undergoing the travails for refusing PDP leaders’ request to impeach the deputy governor.

  • Dead cows: Epidemic looms in Ondo community

    The Olujare of Ijare in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, Oba Adebamigbe Oluwagbemigun Kokotiri, has attributed the death of 36 cows on Oke-owa to an act of the gods.

    The royal father told reporters that the herders refused to heed warnings to keep off the ‘sacred’ hill.

    Thirty six cows died on top of the dreadful Ijare Mountain after they were allegedly hit by lightning on Saturday.

    Residents claimed that the cows died after desecrating the Oke-Owa Hill, where sacrifice is made every year.

    Oba Oluwagbemigun said it was against the tradition of Ijare for people to turn Oke-Owa to a grazing land.

    Read Also: Thunder kills 36 cows on Ondo sacred hill

    He said: “But what I can say is that Oke-owa is a sacred place and our people know that you can’t just go there the way you like. As the ruler of the town, l go there once in a year and l don’t even go there alone

    “l go there with my chiefs and some people who are revered. There is nothing we can do than to reiterate to people; tell them how sacred the place is. My people they know this. We will keep warning them.

    “To me, it is an act of God, for the thunder storms to strike. To me, what we were telling them has come to past.”

    Also reacting to the incident, the Sapetu of Ijare, Chief Wemimo Olaniran said the natural occurrence, should not be allowed to cause unnecessary crisis in the community.

    Olaniran, who is the prime minister of Ijare, accused the herders of desecrating Oke-Owa.

    The scene of the incident has become a Mecca of sorts for people both within and outside the community.

    Members of the State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture yesterday visited Oke-Owa Hill on a fact-finding mission.

    However, the place is gradually becoming unsafe due to offensive odour oozing out of the dead cows.

    House Speaker Bamidele Oleyelogun, who incidentally hails from Ifedore Local Government Area and some committee members, said drastic steps must be taken to avoid epidemic.

  • Timi Frank lied on alleged N90b cash gift to APC, says FIRS

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Monday debunked an online report that it supported the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with N90 billion through Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    The publication in some online and daily newspapers was credited to APC’s former Deputy National Publicity Secretary Timi Frank.

    In a statement by FIRS’s Director of Communication & Servicom, Wahab Gbadamosi, said among others things:

    • That the entire allegation being spread by one Timi  Frank that the  Federal lnland Revenue Service spent N90 billion to fund the last election is mendacious, wicked, malicious and a calculated attempt to smear the image of the Service and that of his Excellency, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
    • This campaign of calumny and villifying false claims are entirely, libellous, unfounded in fact, irresponsible and a brazen assault on the integrity of the Service as a responsible and accountable organisation and clearly demonstrates an abysmal ignorance of the budgetary and expenditure process of the FIRS.

    Read Also: Clampdown on ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ politicians, Frank tells EFCC

    • That in the last four years since Mr. Tunde Fowler has supervised operations at the FIRS, the agency had not received up to N90 billion, per annum, as Cost of Collection from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). Mr. Frank and his band of liars might wish to cross-check this from FAAC, a public institution, whose records are open to the public.
    • That it is from the remittances from FAAC — which had never grossed up to N100 billion, per annum, that FIRS pays the salary and emoluments and trains it’s over 8000 staff, runs over 150 offices and provides for other needs of the Service.
    • That given the above, it is not plausible nor does it make any sense that FIRS will commit its resources to a phantom campaign of N90 billion as suggested by Mr. Timi Frank and FIRS does not fund political associations.”

    Urging members of the public to disregard the report as a tissue of lie, Gbadamosi said: “The FIRS is a public trust, which the agency operates on behalf of Nigerians. Taxpayers money – including the operational funds of the Service – are sacred and we exercise, extra care and diligence in expenditures, even after such funds must have been appropriated by the National Assembly.”

  • Lionel Messi crowned FIFA best player for 2019

    Lionel Messi has been crowned ‘The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2019’ beating UEFA’s best player Virgil van Dijk and his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Barcelona striker Lionel Messi won the award on Monday for a record sixth time.

    In the ceremony at Teatro all Scala in Milan, Italy, Jurgen Van Klopp was also named men’s best coach, while Jill Ellis got the trophy as women’s coach.

  • #BBNaija: Tacha, Mike, three others up for eviction

    Tacha, Mike, Ike, Elozonam and Cindy have been nominated for possible eviction.

    Strategically, Frodd, Omashola, Diane, Mercy, Seyi are already in the final phase of the 2019 Big Brother Naija.

    Ultimate Veto Power holder Frodd had the privilege of nominating five housemates for possible eviction.

    He nominated Tacha, Mike, Ike, Elozonam and Cindy.

    Meanwhile, Mercy got saved from this week eviction, because of her immunity power

    While Seyi emerged as the Head of House after a fiercely contested challenge.

    This is the third time Seyi will be serving as the Head of House.

    He got 250 Bet9ja coins, bonus coins for his Team and the Head of House Bedroom privileges which he refused to share with anyone.

    Read Also: #BBNaija: Khafi Kareem the ‘controversial’ constable and self-acclaimed ‘celibate’

    With his emergence as the Head of house, Seyi also secured a spot in the final week and stands a chance of being the last housemate standing.

    However, during the live nomination show on Monday Biggie called all housemates to nominate two housemates for eviction.

    Here is how housemates nominated:

    Mercy – Tacha and Omashola

    Elozonam – Tacha and Frodd

    Ike – Cindy and Elozonam

    Tacha – Cindy and Elozonam

    Frodd – Mercy and Mike

    Cindy – Diane and Ike

    Omashola – Elozonam and Mercy

    Mike – Frodd and Tacha

    Diane – Mike and Tacha

    Seyi – Ike and Mercy

    After the nominations, Biggie told the housemates that the Veto power holder nullifies all housemates’ decisions.

    He, therefore, told Frodd to put up five housemates of his choice up for eviction.

    This means other housemates are unaware that their nominations are invalid.

  • Plot to impeach Bayelsa Speaker thickens

    The plot to impeach the Speaker of the Bayelsa Assembly, Tonye Emmanuel Isenah, has thickened following his refusal to step down against the directive of Governor Seriake Dickson and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.

    It was gathered that lawmakers loyal to the governor and the PDP had been mobilised to carry out an impeachment proceeding against Isenah, who had insisted that his resignation would not add any value to the PDP’s quest to win the November 16th gubernatorial election.

    It was learnt that external forces powered by the opposition were planning to provide protection to Isenah to enable him retain his office.

    Some of the lawmakers were also said to be against the move to remove the speaker, whom they described as a good jolly fellow and had vowed to stand against any motion in the House to actualise the plot.

    Isenah was said to have tried to convene a sitting of the House on Monday with a plan to discuss some issues and adjourn the House for a recess till further notice.

    Read Also: I won’t resign, Bayelsa Speaker dares Dickson, others

    But PDP leaders, who got wind of the development, reportedly prevailed on their loyal lawmakers not to attend the sitting, which failed to hold for lack of capacity to form a quorum.

    Isenah came under intense pressure to relinquish his office in the House of Assembly to enable his party balance political equations ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

    The Speaker was said to have reached an agreement with Dickson and other PDP leaders to vacate his office in the event that Senator Douye Diri, who hails from his Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, emerged the candidate of the PDP for the election.

    Following the emergence of Diri, PDP leaders were said to have asked Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council.

    But Isenah was said to have insisted that he would not let go of his position before the governorship poll.

    The speaker in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully and had yet to see how his resignation would help the party in the forthcoming poll.

    But PDP leaders against Isenah were reportedly determined to force him out of the office to make way for a lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to brighten brighten the Patsy’s chances at the poll.

    But a source, who spoke in confidence, said Isenah’s travails were based on his refusal to initiate an impeachment proceeding against the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd).

    “It is not just about an agreement to step down. It is about the deputy governor. The powers that be accused the deputy governor of planning to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as an incumbent deputy governor. They don’t want that to happen.

    “There are insinuations that Jonah wants to join the APC and contest the Bayelsa East senatorial election, which will be vacant if the APC wins the governorship election because the incumbent senator is the running mate to the APC candidate, David Lyon. So, the party leaders want Jonah out of the way but Isenah is refusing to be used to carry out the process”, he said.

    Isenah’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Mr. Dickson Didi Opuene, hinted that the speaker was undergoing the travails for refusing PDP leaders’ request to impeach the deputy governor.

    Opuene in the post that went viral wrote: ““First they asked him to impeach the deputy governor for no just reason and he refused, now they want him to resign just to perfect their aim and plan. No way, he will not resign, they should come and impeach him and lets see.

    “Rt. Hon. Tonye Emmanuel Isenah remains the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and he has not resigned or will ever contemplate of doing so, please disregard any rumour of his resignation”.

    However, the speaker in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Aotendeike Boloigha, denied the insinuations that Dickson was after him because he failed to carry out the governor’s request to initiate an impeachment proceeding against his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd).

    Isenah described the posts as generated and authored by over ambitious politicians taking advantage of the present situation in the assembly saying the claims were not only untrue but misleading and aimed at heating up the system.

    He said at no time had the governor imagined anything relating to impeachment of his deputy, whom he constantly described as a dependable ally adding that Dickson had never given such directive to the assembly.

  • How Toyin Abraham, Lizzy Anjorin fell apart

    The feud between Nollywood actresses, Toyin Abraham and Lizzy Anjorin, appears not to be ending soon.

    The hot exchange in the last couple of days came to a full glare with the actresses going back and forth with allegation(s) and counter-response(s).

    Controversially, this appears to be a tough time for their fans and perhaps sort of entertainment to neutral observers and bloggers.

    Anjorin, who has made more ‘unsavoury claims’ about Toyin with unpleasant jabs seem not to be ready to let the dust settle.

    In this piece by The Nation, Alao Abiodun x-rays the most burning drama of the moment in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

    The Genesis

    Lizzy Anjorin allegedly accused Toyin Abraham of running the blog “Gistlover.com” alongside multiple Instagram accounts to troll her and other colleagues in the movie industry.

    Lizzy claimed that Toyin leaked damaging reports about her to blogs.

    The fight however came to a full glare with a post by a popular actress alleging that when Toyin Abraham put to bed, she didn’t send her a congratulatory message.

    This sparked a debate on her page. While her fans hurled insults on Anjorin, others said Toyin kept mute as this was going on.

    However, the issue was later watered down when Toyin went on to apologise that she saw her message.

    After this scenario, Nigerians woke up to see that the social media has been frenzied since Anjorin claimed the actress was living a fake life and didn’t even have a car or a house of her own.

    She also alleged that contrary to the rumour that she gave birth to her child abroad, she actually was delivered of the baby at a local “agbo” seller’s house.

    She also alleged Toyin had to borrow costumes for her photo shoots.

    Interestingly, the nursing mother with the help of her publicist, Big Sam of Broadway TV, released a video showing her after she welcomed her son in a hospital in Lekki, Lagos.

    On why she had her baby in Nigeria at the Vedic lifecare hospital in Lekki, Toyin Abraham said: “I got to know this place when I came to visit Princess Shyngle, that actress when I came to visit her when she had issues and I loved how nice everyone, the doctors and nurses were.

    “Since I had just moved into Lekki with my husband then, I decided to make this my family hospital.

    “It has been a great experience, trust me. I am so happy and that is why I decided to have my baby in Nigeria because I trust the people here. I actually traveled out but I came back to Nigeria because I wanted him here at Vedic hospital with trusted hands.”

    Now that things seems to have fallen apart between the duo. let’s watch as more drama unfolds.

    Taking the legal route

    Toyin Abraham’s letter

    Toyin Abraham has sent a legal warning of ‘cease and desist’ notice letter to the Lizzy Anjorin through her lawyers requesting her to forward a letter of apology via their office, and on her Instagram page.

    Her lawyer said she issued the last warning to Liz Anjorin and if she failed to reply within 24 hours, they would be forced to file a N500m damages legal action against her.

    However, in her usual controversial style, Toyin Abraham further called Liz Anjorin a ‘pig’ in the caption of the post.

    “Silence is not golden. Rather than wrestle with a pig, it might be ideal to let the pig know that it belongs in the pen. I’m no longer speaking on this, my management team and attorneys are taking this up. Cc @bbbmedia @officialsamolatunj1,” she posted.

    Lizzy Anjorin’s letter

    Anjorin replied that she has written a petition to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) to investigate them as she has been accused by Toyin of dealing in drugs.

    Meanwhile, Lizzy is of the opinion that Toyin has always being a cocaine user from the post she made on Instagram.

    Reactions

    Veteran Yoruba actors, Yinka Quadri and Bolaji Amusan (Mr Latin) speaking on the issue in a video

    Some of the veterans in the movie industry have intervened in the messy fight between the actresses.

    Mr. Latin, who is the president of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), lamented the uncouth attitude of the actresses and expressed his disappointment over the ongoing controversy.

    Veteran Yoruba actors, Yinka Quadri and Bolaji Amusan (Mr Latin) said they would not accept ”any act of indiscipline” from feuding actresses.

    Toyin’s husband, Kolawole Ajeyemi, waded into the war of words by reiterating the need for the actresses to stop misbehaving on social media.

    In the post, he wrote: “We ought to have use social media for more useful and impactful things and not this misbehaviour.

    “We are called celebrities because many people look up to us and want to be like us. Why are we misleading these people, we are meant to be good teachers and not a bad influence on society. Please and please let’s have a change of mindset to do good, if not for anything for the fact that people are looking up to us in so many ways of life God bless you all.”

    Sadly, these ‘social media feuds’ is not new to the movie industry scene. It has become very common among Yoruba actresses.

  • Report: 43% of Nigerians buy smartphone based on social media campaigns

    A new study by the Research and Intelligence Unit of the omni-media group, RED | For Africa, indicates that about 43 per cent of Nigerians with active social media accounts have been influenced to buy smartphones based on brand focused online marketing campaigns.

    The research study was undertaken by RED | For Africa to analyze and give insight into the impact and effectiveness of social media marketing campaigns in influencing consumer choices and driving sales of phone devices in Nigeria.

    Speaking on the study, Head of Research and Intelligence, Isime Esene, said, “People do not buy things by chance, and even for technology brands that provide both functional and social value, consumers need products that will not disappoint, fail, or crash when they are needed.

    “As a rapidly growing sector in Nigeria, marketing technology devices and properties on social media is an important business activity for all major brands in the industry. But if it is to be done effectively, it is important to understand what exactly drives the choices and decisions for targeted consumers,” he added.

    Mr. Esene explained that the research data is designed to help smartphone brands position themselves to understand their customers better, and also improve their bottom-line. More research reports are expected to be released, covering contemporary issues and topics in media and communication, church culture, politics, and governance.

    Read Also: Five ways to increase your social media followership

    The research report is built on an extensive survey conducted with 1,007 respondents between ages 18 – 60 years across Nigeria, and further supported by three focus group discussions to assess buying decisions and major interests of smartphone product consumers.

    A sizeable number of the participants (83 percent) are resident in Lagos, with others covering Oyo, Kano, FCT Abuja, Enugu and Osun state. Also, the age division between participants is 18-25 years (61.07 percent); 26-35 years (26.42 percent); 36–40 years (8.15 percent); 41-50 years (2.78 percent) and 51-60 years (2.68 percent).

    Results from the research study indicate that while 78.57 per cent of respondents between ages 26 to 35 years have been exposed to communication materials from social media mobile phone campaigns, more than half (60.38 percent) of respondents, say they have never been influenced to buy a phone by a social media campaign.

    Likewise, only 42.7 percent of those aged 18–25 years have previously bought a mobile because they were convinced of its value by a social media campaign.

    The report said top three priorities for those looking to buy a smartphone are Features & Specifications, Price, and Brand Reputation. Although the price consideration is really high among those who earn less than N100,000 monthly.

    Also, about 52 per cent of the respondents say they “probably would” be influenced to buy a phone due to a social media campaign, 13.7 per cent say they “definitely would not”.

    “Social media campaigns appear to be effective for increasing awareness, but cannot be fully dependable in driving action for those who want to buy phones. This assertion was further supported by brand managers in surveyed phone wholesale stores. To drive action, messaging for phone campaigns on social media should focus more on the phone features and price indication, depending on the target customers and selected platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others),” the report added.

  • Tight security as military interrogates suspected killers of Cdr. Ogundana

    Security has been tightened around the Jaji Military Cantonment, as the military authorities commenced interrogation of the suspected killers of Commander Olowayemisi Ogundana.

    Ogundana was the Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Secondary School until she was gruesomely murdered and her dismembered body dumped in a shallow well at Ungwan Loya, close to the cantonment.

    A source close to the military cantonment told The Nation that, hers was the second case of murder at the college in the last two months.

    Though, Kaduna State Police Command and AFCSC, where Commander worked have kept information on the incident away from the media, The Nation gathered authoritatively that the suspects held in connection to the murder were under serious interrogation.

    Read Also: Senior Naval Officer murdered in Kaduna military cantonment

    The serious handling of the interrogation and the tight security of the barracks, The Nation learnt was due to the fact that, Commander Ogundana’s murder was the second in the series.

    A source in the cantonment told our correspondent that the authorities were quizzing the suspected killers of Ogundana, one Simon Bernard who happened to be a staff of the college and his accomplice, as to whether they equally have hands in the murder of the other Officer too.

    According the source: “About two months ago, a Major who was on Senior Course at the AFCSC was also found dead in his room.

    “The Major was suspected to have been murdered the day they were supposed to proceed on a foreign study tour.

    “That is why they are interrogating them thoroughly to get to the root of the matter.

    “Presently, Simon Bernard who happened to be a staff of the college where Commander Ogundana was the Commandant has confessed killing her.”

    The suspect was said to have confessed that he killed the Commandant and took the body to Ungwan Loya village in Jaji at about 1:00am on 15 September 2019.

  • Look inwards, Obi advises Nigerian universities

    The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Peter Obi, has advised Nigerian universities to look inwards for the development of their various schools. Obi said this during a visit to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

    Sharing managerial experiences with some principal officers of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Charles Igwe, and that of Awka, led by Prof Charles Esimone, Obi emphasised the need to work with dedicated men who understand that leadership is about service and embracing values that would encourage scholarship.

    Speaking further, Obi, by way of advice, challenged the leadership of institutions like the universities to study other successful universities worldwide, such as Harvard in the USA and Oxford in the UK, for factors that made for their successes and apply the same to their various institutions.

    Read Also: No nation can grow with election rigging – Peter Obi

    He said universities in Nigeria should seek alternative means of increasing their finances. “Alumni support and research are examples,” Obi said while quoting statistics to show that some universities in America and Europe, through effective alumni networking have billions in investment. “Frontline schools like Nsukka and Lagos can actually pioneer such efforts by diligently studying how the West does it”, Obi submitted.

    Obi contended that such effective use of alumni associations would stem what he called the “uninspiring dependence on moneybags to build structures and be given honorary degrees as if it has cash value.”

    Responding both vice chancellors thanked Obi for the visit and for his priceless advice which stemmed from his practical experiential pedigree.