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  • Enjoy rest in marriage

    Dear Reader,  this is a glorious day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. It will be a day of rest, laughter, rejoicing and fulfillment for you. I am so excited today about what God is expounding to His people. He says there is a place of rest in Him. He says, you have been battered and wounded enough, come around and obtain rest for your soul. In your family life, career and businesses, children and finances, there is rest for you.

    You have run around enough. You have carried that burden for too long and you keep running helter-skelter just to survive. God says for the remaining part this year, He has prepared a place of rest for you and your family. I pray that you will see it and enter into it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

    Today, I shall be examining the place of rest. Where is this place of rest? How do you get there? What does it take to get there? These are the things God wants to expound to us today. I pray that your eyes of understanding will be enlightened, and every unrest in your life and family will be destroyed.

    What is rest? How can you say you are restful? A state of rest is to be at peace or at ease; a state of tranquillity. Jesus said: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

    Rest is obtainable, but only in Christ. You have been battered by the happenings all around you. Jesus invites you to come unto Him, if you desire rest. I don’t know what has been responsible for your unrest; you can be free today. No matter the mountain, no matter how big the burden has been, Jesus, the burden-bearer, invites you to come. The Bible says: Whatsoever the Lord doeth shall be forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). When Jesus carries your burden for you, you can be rest assured that the case is settled for ever. All He requires of you is to come to Him. Come with the faith that He can do it; come with hope and He can never fail. That thing that causes you heartache, makes you sigh and shed secret tears, see Jesus walking by your side and lifting those burdens off you and giving you liberty. He says He will do it, not he may or he will try.. It is His absolute desire to give you rest in life.

    He said: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).It is the thief (devil) that is giving you unrest. His ministry is to kill, to steal and to destroy. Jesus, the author of life says, if you now come to Him, He will give you what the devil cannot access.

    Maybe, as a student, you have been writing a particular exam several times, and the result is always the same. It has become a yoke in your life and a burden to you. Maybe, yours is in the area of finances, you wake up every morning, no breakfast, lunch not in view, not because you are fasting, but because there is nothing to eat. See Jesus take off this yoke from you and be free. All it takes is to come to him. See what the Bible says: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isaiah 55:1-2).Stop running helter-skelter, come to Jesus. Who is Jesus? He is The Word of God made flesh.

    The Word of God is the water of life. Take refuge in the Word against all odds of life and every form of unrest. Is it a spouse’s ungodly behaviour or action? Is it a child’s unruly behaviour bothering you? Is it in the area of your finances? All you have to do is to turn to the Word. There is no rest in any other place; true and absolute rest can only be found in the Word of God. God has declared this year as your own year of turning point. A genuine turning point only comes from a restful soul. God cannot lie; it is your duty to allow His Word to produce in your own life. As many families as will care to find rest in God’s Word this year, they shall have cause to turn all-round.

    For instance, every night, when you go to bed, you look through the window more than ten times you do more work when you sleep than when you are awake. Every bit of noise you hear wakes you up. This is not rest. Your protection is not in your looking out, neither is it in your jumping out, rather, sure protection comes from the Word of God. The Word says when you sleep, your sleep shall be sweet and nothing shall make you afraid. God cannot lie.

    Maybe you are the type that each time you are on the road travelling, all kinds of picture come to your mind and you begin to picture every kind of accident. Then your heart begins to pant and skip a beat; this ought not to be so. Jesus says, “Come unto me.” It is in coming that you will have total rest either on the road, in the air or on the sea. Come to Him today. Dedicate your family to Him. Hand over all your children to Him. When your children travel to school, your mind is not at rest again. You begin to imagine all sorts of evil, accident, kidnap, immoralities, etc. When you and your family members come to Jesus on the basis of His Word, you all have a sure covering in his blood! You can be rest assured that your children, your business, all that belongs to you would not suffer what the people of the world suffer.

    How do you come to Jesus? The Bible Says: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10). It doesn’t take more than this to have perfect rest all around you. Make a wise decision today. Accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Lord and Saviour. Make Him the Lord of your entire household and be at rest.

    The Scripture above says you should confess with your mouth, and then believe what you have said in your heart. If you are not yet born again and you desire to do so right now, please pray this prayer with faith in your heart: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

    With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • Residents thrown into panic as Igbo traders, youths clash

    Residents of Ekpan community, Uvwie council area of Delta state have been thrown into panic, following a clash between Igbo traders and suspected youths of the area over payment of development levy, popularly known as “deve”.

    The incident reportedly occurred around the Udumoto area of Ekpan along the NNPC Housing Complex road.

    The Nation learnt that trouble started when the Igbo traders declined to pay the youths a certain sum of money they had demanded from truck drivers who were offloading goods owned by the traders.

    The Igbo traders who had earlier agreed to pay the illegal fee later refused to pay after the youths increased the fee and turned down the amount offered by the traders. This according to both parties.

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    The traders, it was gathered, challenged the youths, pursuing them with cutlasses and other objects. But the youths had promised a reprisal attack by mobilizing back to the area.

    Sources stated that the traders had also brought in other members from Warri and Uvwie to the scenario.

    Although it was not clear how many sustained injuries, witnesses alleged that both parties had their share of wounds during the fracas.

    However, men of the Nigeria Police have been deployed to the area to prevent further conflict between the groups.

  • UNDP releases $30m to Nigeria for humanitarian crisis in North East

    The UN Development Programme (UNDP), has released 30 million U.S. dollars to Nigeria from the regional stabilisation facility for the humanitarian crisis in the North East.

    UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mr Mohamed Yahyadisclosed this on Friday in Abuja at the first inaugural meeting convened by UNDP on the way forward in actualising the ‘Nigeria window’ of the Regional Stabilisation Facility.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Regional Stabilisation Facility was launched in July in Niamey, Niger at the second Governors Forum to contribute support to the affected regions of Nigeria,

    NAN also reports that the project was expected to be implemented between Sept. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2021.

    Governors from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and regional stakeholders attended the meeting in Niamey under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

    Those who pledged to deploy funds in Niamey to support the project, which will be monitored by the UNDP and the African Union (AU), include the governments of Sweden and Germany and the regional governors from Borno, Adamawa, Yobe (Nigeria), Lak, Hajder-Lamis (Chad), Diffa (Niger) and Far North and North regions in Cameroon.

    Read Also: UNDP begins reconstruction of northeast, seeks Buratai’s support

    NAN reports that the UNDP is expected to provide seed funds to run the facility yearly.

    He said the regional stabilisation facility is aimed at providing rapid response to support immediate stabilisation in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe affected by insurgency.

    He also said that the ‘Nigerian window’ was expected to receive over 30 million USD which would facilitate recovery and stabilisation interventions including; livelihood support for communities, massive civil engineering works and strengthening of local security structures.

    Yahya, said that the board had two years to provide work of stabilisation in the affected states.

    He said that the entire facility might not work if there was no local authorities such as the military and the police, adding that more work needed to be done in terms of coordination.

    Also speaking, Minister of Finance,Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed said that the government of Nigeria was optimistic that the facility would support in addressing the immediate stabilisation needs in the newly liberated areas.

    She said this would also sustain development in the region and allow the return of Internally Displaced Persons to their various permanent place abode.

    According to her, the facility will in no doubt assist the government to demonstrate its value to the citizens in providing resilience and stabilisation for the population affected by Boko Haram insurgency in the north east.

    She said that the Ministry would collaborate with UNDP, the three affected states and all relevant stakeholders to ensure accountable utilisation of the stabilisation facility fund.

    Similarly, the Executive Secretary, Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Amb. Mamman Nuhu expressed the Commission’s readiness to provide strategic regional guidance for the implementation of the regional stabilisation strategy at the national and state level through the facility.

    He said the commission would provide enabling environment by mobilising regional support to ensure coordinated approach yo the challenge.

    “Our transboundary mandate provide us the requisite platform to mobilise the political and strategic spaces available across the region for the success of the regional stabilisation strategy.

    ” Our objective is to ensure local, national and regional ownership in the implementation of the regional stabilisation strategy through the regional stabilisation facility.

    ” We urge all national partners to ensure consistent coordination with the Lake Chad Basin Commission through the Secretariat of the regional stabilisation strategy” Nuhu said.

    According to him, Nigeria is the worst hit country, with the biggest humanitarian and development needs of all the four affected countries.

    “It is therefore expected that Nigeria should demonstrate not only in the fight against boko Haram but also in ensuring that the thousands of people affected across the three front line states are supported to live a life of dignity” he said.

    The Governors expressed their readiness to ensure effective implementation of the regional stabilisation facility.

    (NAN)

  • CBN backs FG’s plan to increase VAT, says Nigeria has lowest

    Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from five per cent to 7.5 per cent is in the right direction to raise country’s revenue.

    Emefiele stated this while fielding questions from journalists after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held in Abuja.

    He said the government had responsibility to fend for every citizenry by providing basic infrastructure like roads, electricity and hospitals among others.

    He explained that the government had only two ways to fund such projects, which are by raising revenue and through loan collection.

    Read Also: VAT: What you need to know about ‘proposed increase’ from 5% – 7.5%

    According to him, the present government has been criticised by some people for high rate of debt incurred.

    “Government unfortunately has no option, if it does not borrow, it must raise revenue and you all agree with me that it has obligations to meet up with.

    ” The increase of VAT to 7.5 per cent is low compare to other countries, in fact, with this increase, Nigeria has the lowest in the world.

    “If the government can meet its obligation through this increment, it should be supported,” he said.

    He appealed to Nigerians to show understanding and support government’s policies.

     (NAN)

  • Tanker truck laden with diesel fell off Otedola bridge

    A tanker truck laden with 33,000 litres of automated gas oil (diesel) fell off while driving toward Berger shortly after the Otedola bridge and caused a lot of traffic jam around Lagos metropolis.

    The Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

    According to him, the immediate cause of the accident was due to mechanical error (brake failure), but no casualties and no damage of vehicles was recorded.

    Read Also: Video: Tanker falls, spills fuel on Otedola bridge

    “The truck fell off at about few minutes to 5 p.m while its content was still spilling due to the impact of the accident.

    “Physical assessment is being conducted in order to avert the occurrence and fire incident.

    “All emergency responders have been activated,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

    He said that presently, the trans loading of content was on going to prevent the truck from exploding.

    Oke-Osanyintolu, however, said that the tanker truck would be removed from the road to ensure free flow of traffic.

    (NAN)

  • SGF, FCT Minister, ex-Governor Bindow, Ribadu, 35 others to reconcile Adamawa APC

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, are to co-chair a 39 -member Central Steering Committee to reposition the Adamawa state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and rebuild it into a winning party.

    The immediate past governor of the state, Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow will also sit on the committee which has one of his major opponents in the last governorship election and former EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as member, alongside former Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Dahiru Bobbo, Sen. Jonathan Silas Zwingina, Sen. Ahmed Hassan Barata, among many others.

    Alhaji Abdulrahman Adamu is to serve as the main Chairman of the Committee expected to work hand in hand with the National Working Committee of the party in addressing the grievances within the party that saw it losing the governorship election in the state to the PDP.

    The APC in Adamawa state was divided into several camps during the last general election with groups loyal to the Wife of the President and her brother and those loyal to the former SGF, Babachir Lawal and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu working against former Governor Bindow.

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    According to a document to newsmen in Abuja, the committee is charged with the responsibility of reconciling all aggrieved aspirants /candidates that vied for positions during the 2019 general election.

    The committee is also charged with the task of developing programme of action to reposition and strengthen APC in Adamawa, as well as propose modalities that ensure free and fair primaries ahead of the coming local government election and future elections in the state.

    The committee is also expected “to propose ways and means of raising funds for running the affairs of the party in Adamawa state, to develop an effective media and public enlightenment programme for repositioning the party to its winning ways in the state.

    “To co-ordinate and support the various election petitions by the party at various tribunals and courts and carry out any other functions as may be directed by the National Work Committee of the APC.”

  • Kanye West becomes richest rap artiste 2019 – Forbes

    American rapper and fashion designer, Kanye West has been named the highest-paid hip-hop act in the world, earning 150 million dollars in a year.

    According to Forbes, Kanye West top the 2019 list, edging out JAY-Z who earned 81 million dollars and Drake who made 71 million dollars, to stand at second and third positions respectively on the list of top 20.

    JAY-Z has always been one of the top earners in hip-hop, but for the first time ever he has lost out to Kanye West,his former protégé.

    The top ten consists entirely of male hip-hop artists, as Eminem, DJ Khaled, Kendrick Lamar, Migos, and Childish Gambino round out the rest of the list.

    The only female artists to make it into the top 20 are Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, who come in at the number 12 and 13 slots respectively.

    Nicki Minaj made 29 million dollars earnings, and Cardi B, the youngest to make the list at 26, raked in 28 million dollars in earnings.

    In 2018, Kanye West stood at number 10 on the list with 27.5 million dollars, while Jay came in at number one with 76.5 million.

    It’s a huge surge for Kanye, as his partnership with Adidas is expected to pull in over 1.5 billion in sales in 2019.

    Read Also; Kim Kardashian, Kanye West welcome fourth child

    Check out the top 20 list below:

    1. Kanye West – $ 150 million

    2. Jay-Z – $ 81 million

    3. Drake – $ 75 million

    4. Diddy – $ 70 million

    5. Travis Scott – $ 58 million

    6. Eminem – $ 50 million

    7. DJ Khaled – $ 40 million

    8. Kendrick Lamar – $ 38.5 million

    9. Migos – $ 36 million

    10. Childish Gambino – $ 35 million

    11. J. Cole – $ 31 million

    12. Nicki Minaj – $ 29 million

    13. Cardi B – $ 28 million

    14. Swizz Beatz – $ 23 million

    15. Meek Mill – $ 21 million

    16. Birdman – $ 20 million

    17. Future – $ 19.5 million

    18. Nas – $ 19 million

    19. Wiz Khalifa – $ 18.5 million

    20. Pitbull – $ 18 million

    (NAN)

  • Tribunal validates re-election of Ikpeazu, dismisses Otti’s petition

    The Governorship and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Friday affirmed the reelection Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    It threw away the petition brought before the tribunal by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, challenging the declaration of Ikpeazu as the winner of the 2019 polls in the state.

    Otti had approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Ikpeazu as the winner of the poll, but the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye said that the petitioner failed to prove the alleged non compliance to the Electoral Guidelines in the said 15 LGAs.

    Ogunmoye further stated that the petitioner failed to prove the case of over-voting and alleged irregularities.

    According to Justice Ogunmoye all the reliefs sought by Otti and APGA were dismissed and described the application as unmeritorious.

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    Counsel to the respondent, Chief Paul Ananaba (SAN) appreciated the Tribunal for delivering what he described as unbiased and sound judgment. But Otti’s lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) said “the judgment has moved the law forward. The position of the tribunal is that the decision of the Supreme Court in the case regarding card reader is no longer the law.

    “The law has been amended as was decided in Wike and others and the tribunal actually agreed that the law has changed. There is an amendment now.

    “However they believe that the infraction which has been done to the election, in this case, is not substantial enough to nullify the election.”

    Reacting to the judgment, Ikpeazu who spoke at the Governor’s lodge, Umuahia invited Otti to join hands with him in the development of the state.

    Ikpeazu said the “APGA candidate should sheath his sword and respect the will of the people and join hands to build Abia,” adding, “there is a space for everybody.”

  • Kidnapping: ASUU wants FG to close gap between rich, poor

    The President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, wants the Federal Government to close the gap between the rich and the poor to reduce the high rate of insecurity.

    Ogunyemi described as worrisome the continued kidnapping of its members,saying the situation is causing apprehension on the campuses.

    “It has led to a general feeling of insecurity on many campuses; recently, we had one of our colleagues abducted and eventually killed; that was a professor of Mathematics from Ondo State University of Science and Technology,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    “ASUU believes that you cannot get the problem resolved until and unless we address the socioeconomic problems in the country.

    “Our belief is that the gap between the rich and the poor has continued to expand and it’s almost coming to a point whereby the rich will not be able to sleep, when the poor are hungry, because they say a hungry man is an angry man.

    “We have seen people travelling on commercial vehicles and they were waylaid. That is to say that if that happens, it could be anybody.”

    Read Also: We were framed up, dismissed ASUU-LASU members say

    Ogunyemi urged all tiers of government to take a comprehensive look at the general social-economic problems bedeviling the country.

    He said the union had called for a socialist democracy where resources would be distributed.

    According to him, there is a need for a new model of development that is people-oriented which also ensures social economic justice.

    His words:“What we have in the country today is chronic capitalism and in which case, you can have everything while others have nothing, and that doesn’t work for any society.

    “What we have in this country now is injustice in all spheres of life, education, health, housing and transportation have been priced out of the reach of the poor and can hardly be afforded.

    “Until we are prepared to drop this model of development that does not allow for popular participation in the ownership and control of the means and production of wealth distribution, we cannot have lasting peace.”

  • Unidentified woman ‘steals’ two-month-old baby in Ekiti

    A yet-to-be-identified woman has reportedly stolen a two-month-old baby boy from his mother in Ado Ekiti

    The incident occurred on Friday around 1 pm at the State Secretariat in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state capital.

    A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the woman tricked the baby’s mother, Funmilayo Sunday to follow her to the State Secretariat under the guise to help collect some relief materials being given by government to flood victims.

    “On getting there, she sent the mother to help her to procure recharge card but ran away with the baby before the arrival of the woman, a source said.

    Narrating her ordeal, Funmilayo who was drenched in tears explained that the abductor whom she suspected to be from the Eastern part of the country, had been patronizing her consistently at the Oja-Oba market, where she sells soup ingredients.

    She said the woman informed her on Wednesday that she would take her to the State Secretariat where her husband works and that the husband would facilitate the relief materials for her.

    The woman, who preferred to be anonymous, explained that the woman came to her shop with a list of possible beneficiaries and included her name making her believe that she was being favoured.

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    According to her, “the woman who had become a regular customer had this morning invited me to the Secretariat and pretended to be waiting for someone, having entered one or two offices under the pretence of making some arrangements.

    “She later took my baby and sent from me and asked me to go and buy recharge cards and before I came back, she had fled with my baby”, she stated.

    The poor woman, who claimed she had lost a child recently before the delivery of the stolen boy, said the suspect collected her phone to prevent her from contacting the police for her immediate arrest after perpetrating the crime.

    When contacted to confirm the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, could not be reached with his mobile phone line switched off as at the time of filing this report.