See What Redeem Church Did To Jim Obazee

Executive Secretary of the Financial Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, that was sacked yesterday is a Zonal Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a competent source within the church inner circle has revealed.



The source told NAIJ.com that it was evident that Pastor Enoch Adeboye may have made the decision to retire due to internal pressures which may have been battling his continued stay as General Overseer of the church reputed to be one of the largest in Nigeria.




The source said: “Do you know that the man the president sacked is a zonal pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God? So, it is evident that there were already internal pressures on our General Overseer. So he may have taken the decision for peace to reign”.

The source, who expressed happiness at the sack of the FRCN boss for attempting to fight the church of God further said that the battle was fought by God through President Muhammdu Buhari who threw him from office and immediately appointed a replacement.

It was further gathered that following the nasty actions of Jim Obazee, authorities of the church had placed him on four years suspension, consequently the source said: “I just learnt that he is no longer with us. He has been suspended for four years. You can now see the reason behind his action”.

NAIJ.com learnt that for a senior pastor in his category to have been suspended from the church, the church must have interpreted his action as contempt against the authority of the church.

When probed further to say what did Pastor Adeboye do to merit such treatment from Obazee, she said: “Those who persecuted Jesus Christ and apostles of old, did they do them anything? He could as well be an agent of darkness in the church of God”.

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PENSIONERS BEG FG TO DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN PENSION ADMINISTRATION

Pensioners who retired from the federal government agencies and establishments have called for state of emergency in pension administration of the country as many of them are dying of hunger, depression and poor health.

They made this known during a protest held in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital.

Family FM Bose Akintunde reports that the pensioners claimed that they have not received their gratuity and pension for 14 months

The pensioners say many of them have been denied their gratuity and they are dying slowly.

They want the federal government to consider them, especially when economic recession is biting harder in the country.

For those who have served for more than 20 years before the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme, they claimed that they have been shortchanged by the federal government and they want President Buhari to make an adjustment.

The pensioners also called for reimbursement of their contribution to the National Housing Fund (NHF), noting that many of them have not been reimbursed, three years after they have retired from the service.

FORMER GOVERNOR KURE PLAYS POLITICS WITHOUT BITTERNESS –GOV SANI BELLO

Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has described former Governor Abdulkadir Kure as a leader who plays politics without bitterness.

Governor Sani Bello said Late Kure was a peace maker and bridge builder who was concerned about progress and development of the state adding that he instituted good governance and started various developmental projects that were focused on the people.

The Governor stated this during a condolence visit to the deceased residence in Minna on Monday.

The Governor said he had good understanding and cordial relationship with him noting that Late Governor Abulkadir Kure was an example of God –fearing gentleman who understood that there was time for politics and time for governance.

“Governor Abdulkadir Kure is a leader who has always given me wise counsel about how to provide purposeful leadership for the state.

The news of his demise came with a shock because I spoke with him four days ago and he was doing reasonably OK. In fact I was hoping to go and see him soon but it appears that after my phone conversation with him, the situation went out of hand".

"We will surely miss him. Personally I will miss his counselling despite the differences in party. As a former Governor and leader I enjoyed a lot of counseling from him in matters that affect the state. "
He never relate with me as someone from a different political platform.”

He said despite party differences late Abdulkadir Kure has been a leader and statesman by offering him useful advise that would move the state forward.

"Late Governor Kure had on several occasion send or personally visited me to advice me on important issues concerning the state. Of recent he intervened on the labour-government crisis" the governor stated.

Governor Sani Bello who said, late Kure has executed developmental projects across and promised to complete some of the laudable projects started by his administration. He disclosed that government under his watch has completed the water project in Gawu started by Kure's administration adding that work would soon commence in Katcha and Agaie water projects initiated by Kure but abandoned by last administration

The Governor prayed Allah to grant late former governor aljana fidausi and the family and entire people of the state the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

"The passing away of Alhaji Abdullahi Kure, is a tragedy to the State and the Nation at large, his demise at this critical and crucial moment of our country has created a big vacuum. We have lost a rare gem and repository of wisdom.”

Late Abdulkadir Kure was the 12th Governor of the state and 3rd Civilian Governor and first in the current political dispensation. He was governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP from 1999-2007.
He died at a Germany Hospital after a brief illness at age of 61. He is survived by his wife, Senator Zainab Kure and six children.

Gov. Ahmed Directs Release of N2b To LGs as KWSG Receives N3.7b Paris Club Refund

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has directed the immediate release of N2billion to the sixteen local government councils in the State.
This follows the receipt of N3.773billion on Monday evening from the Federal Government,being balance of the 25 per cent of the State’s claim as its share of the London-Paris club.
The State Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu, who disclosed this in Ilorin, noted that the State government’s account was credited around 5pm today.
Alhaji Banu explained that following the receipt of the money, Governor Ahmed, who personally coordinated efforts to secure the outstanding balance, directed the immediate release of additional N2billion out of the money to the 16 LGs to enable them pay part of salary and pension arrears.
He further disclosed that this brings to N3.4billion the total amount of money the State government has released to the LGs as their share of the London-Paris Club refund.
Alhaji Banu expressed optimism that the release of the N2b to the local councils will bring some succor to their workers, who are owed backlog of arrears.
It will be recalled that the State Government on Saturday announced that it was in the process of getting the Federal Ministry of Finance to process and release the balance of N3.7b this week.

YESGrant: Heritage Bank empowers 35 entrepreneurs with N50m

As part of its culture of providing timely and affordable credit to assist youth in implementing their business ideas, Heritage Bank Plc under the Young Entrepreneurs & Students Grant Scheme (YESGrant) has provided N50million in Grants to 35 entrepreneurs.
In partnership with the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), the Grant was awarded to about 35 young entrepreneurs from agricultural business, creative industry and the information & communication technology (ICT) sector after a rigorous and transparent review process conducted by an independent body, out of the tens of thousands who applied for the grant.
Speaking at the YESGrant award ceremony held at Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Lagos, the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, who hinted that the nation’s economy has experienced severe down spiral, affirmed that the 35 successful entrepreneurs will be provided with the required guidance on fund management as individual beneficiaries would get at most N2million each.
Sekibo, who was represented by the Divisional Head, Retail/SME, Mrs. Ori Ogba, stated that the bank supported this initiative because of its belief in Nigerian youth, who make up about 80 percent of the country’s population.
She further explained that Heritage Bank was impressed with the nature in which talents were sought out, the rigorous selection process and the integrity with which the overall scheme was delivered.
Ogba expressed her satisfaction in the long term sustainability of the initiative, stating, “We will not support something that will not stand the test of time.”
In his remarks, Mr. Moses Siasia, the Chairman/Founder of the NYPF said the idea of the Grant was born out of the desperation of young Nigerians to build businesses in an economy fraught with a seemingly endless onslaught of challenges.
He explained that the society does not encourage young talents and innovations, while stating that the country is yet to tap up to 5 percent of its youthful resource. He called on all stakeholders to see youth growth as a priority for National development.
Siasia commended Heritage Bank for its unflinching support for SME growth in Nigeria. According to him, Heritage Bank remains the only bank that had entered into partnership with NYPF on this scheme, after being turned down by other potential sponsors and appealed to all young people in the country to see the bank as their wealth partner.
NYPF’s YESGrant Brand Ambassador Mrs. Stephanie Okereke-Linus congratulated the winners of the Grants and praised Heritage Bank for its commitment to young people. She advised other banks to emulate Heritage Bank, while seeking beneficiaries to put the money received to good use.
30-year-old Paul Okoroafor owner of Santa Paulo Delakusa - one of the beneficiaries that received the sum of N2 million - said the fund will be used for full oil palm production. He expressed gratitude to the NYPF and Heritage Bank for giving hope to them.

Police Parade Kidnappers of Amb Bagudu Hirse and Others

PRESS BRIEFING PARADE OF KIDNAP FOR RANSOM SUSPECTS
AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES- Gang Responsible For The Kidnap Of Ambassador Bagudu Hirse And Other High Profile Personalities

One of the cardinal objectives of the crime reduction strategy of the current Police management is to ensure that no criminal enterprise flourishes undetected and perpetrators apprehended. The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni, concerned with spate of kidnappings and other related violent crimes throughout the country reorganized, refocused and equipped the IGP’s Intelligence Response Team, (IRT) and other Special Tactical Squads for optimum performance in achieving targeted objectives.

2. Against this background, the IRT and the STS recorded remarkable achievements in tackling crimes across the Country. In a coordinated operation based on intelligence gathered and painstaking surveillance of notorious kidnap for ransom criminal gangs in Kaduna and other contiguous States, the IRT, in a single swoop cracked a criminal gang of vicious kidnappers and arrested all the members of the gang, who are now in Police custody and
undergoing investigation to ensure that they are brought to justice.

3. CASE I: ARREST OF KIDNAPPERS, RECOVERY OF FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, MILITARY AND POLICE UNIFORMS AND TWO OPERATIONAL VEHICLES OF THE KIDNAPPERS

SUSPECTS:
i. Dominic Nwakpa aka Alhaji – Gang leader
ii. Ifeanyi Chukwu ‘M’ – 2nd in command of the gang
iii. Balat Paul ‘M’ 30 years – Driver of the gang – principal suspect.
iv. Ibrahim Samuel aka IB ‘M’ 27 years – principal suspect.
v. Jatau Peter ‘M’ 29 years ( a dismissed Police man)
vi. Afini Paul ‘F’ Younger sister to the driver of the gang and also owner of the house where kidnapped victims are kept.
vii. Clinton Abere – a principal suspect
EXHIBITS:
i. Two (2) English made Pump Action Guns
ii. One hundred and thirty one (131) rounds of AK 47 ammunition
iii. Police Camouflage uniform and two Military face caps
iv. Two (2) Operational vehicles
v. One Hand set phone – used for negotiation and collection of ransom.
vi. A red face mask
vii. Anti Car tracking device
viii. One (1) black criminal charm jacket

On the 1st January, 2017 at about 1130hrs operatives attached to the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) after a sustained surveillance, smashed the vicious and very notorious kidnap for ransom gang that have been terrorizing Kaduna and neighbouring States, responsible for the kidnap of several important personalities in the recent past. The gang was smashed with the arrest of DOMINIC NWAKPA A.K.A ALHAJI, who is the gang leader, in Lagos state, while four other principal suspects and members of the gang, namely Balat Paul, driver of the gang, Ibrahim Samuel aka “IB” and Jatau Peter – a dismissed Policeman were arrested on the 1st January, 2017 in their hideouts at Dan Hassan Road Ungwa Boro Kaduna, while Afini Paul, a female member who cooks for the gang and the victims, rented the house at Yusuf Patrick close, Mararaba Rido, Kaduna where victims are kept before ransom money is collected, was arrested at their hideout in Kaduna. Ifeanyi Chukwu the 2nd in command of the gang was arrested in a Hotel in Agbor Hill, area of Abia State. He confessed to be the second in command of the gang that kidnapped the Ambassador and so many other kidnappings within and outside Kaduna, Abia, Imo, Rivers, and Delta States.

2. The suspects upon interrogation volunteered confessional statements admitting that they are the criminal gang that kidnapped the former Minister of State for foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse on 20th November, 2016 in GRA, Kaduna and collected ransom before he was released. The same gang confessed to the kidnap of Dr. Abdulmalik Durunguwa and his wife in their residence at different intervals in Kaduna. Ransom was also collected by the gang from the family of the victims before they were released. A Member of Kaduna State House of Assembly Hon. Ibrahim Samaila was also kidnapped by the gang on 26/8/2016 at Abakpa area of Kaduna State and an undisclosedd ransom money was collected by the gang before his release.

On the 6th of January, 2017 the last suspect Clinton Abere was trailed and arrested in a Hotel in Lagos after jumping out of the window of his hotel room on sighting the operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response team (IRT). He is currently receiving treatment at Police Hospital from injury he sustained in the process of attempting to escape arrest.

3. All the seven (7) suspects while undergoing interrogation confessed and admitted to the various criminal roles they played in the commission of the crimes. They will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.

4. CASE II: CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY, ARMED ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION

SUSPECTS:
i. Maisamari Dan Katsina ‘M’ gang leader
ii. Ex.Sgt Bulus Jatau ‘M’ ( a Dismissed Police man)

EXHIBITS:
i. ONE (1) Pump Action gun no. 40311
ii. Berretta Pistol No. AO7184Z
iii. Four (4) English Revolver pistols No. 72634, 25727, 9D09270 and G191X194
iv. Fifty (50) rounds of 9mm live ammunition and one (1) expended
v. Thirty one (31) live cartridges
vi. One (1) fake firearm license
vii. One (1) Golf car
viii. One (1) Prado Jeep
ix. One (1) Toyota cricket In Police custody in Kaduna State.
x. One (1) Toyota corolla
xi. One (1) set of camouflage Police uniform

On 1st January, 2017 at about 0245hrs, working on actionable intelligence at the disposal of the Nigeria Police Force indicating that a notorious kidnap for ransom gang and armed robbers who have been on the wanted list of the Police for several kidnappings, armed robberies and other violent crimes within Kaduna and its neighbouring States were in the process of unleashing terror on innocent residents of Kujama village in Kajuru LGA in Kaduna state, the Operatives of IGP’s Special Tactical Squad swung into action and arrested the mentioned suspects. On the spot search was conducted at their criminal hide out and the above listed exhibits were recovered in their possession. The suspects have volunteered confessional statements to Police admitting to the various roles they played in the commission of several kidnappings and armed robbery attacks in Kaduna and other neighbouring states. Effort is being intensified to arrest the remaining members of this notorious gang at large. They will be charged to court on completion of investigation.

5. The IGP is hereby assuring all Nigerians of adequate security and commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to work assiduously to further reduce the rate of crime and criminality across the Country, especially kidnap for ransom and other violent crimes. He urges Nigerians to always be law abiding, volunteer useful information to the Police in their localities and see themselves as stakeholders with the Force in making the country safer.
Thank you and God bless

DCP DON N. AWUNAH,fsi
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA

CLERIC CALLS FOR NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY…..as Ex-Gov. Daniel Holds New Year Service

Pastor (Dr.) Femi Emmanuel, the Presiding Pastor of Livingspring Chapel International has called on the Federal Government to set aside a day for thanksgiving nationwide as a way of praising and glorifying Almighty God for His Mercies and divine intervention despite numerous challenges facing the country.

He made this call at the Annual at the 12th Annual Thanksgiving and Fifth Memorial Anniversary Service of Most Rev. Abraham Adebola Daniel, JP held at the Abraham’s Tabernacle, Sagamu on Sunday.

Pastor Emmanuel drew the example of some developed countries of the world like the United States of America that have set aside a special day as a national day of thanksgiving and praise to the beneficent Father and giving thanks for His blessings over the years.

In his sermon which dwelt on the powers of praise, he pointed out seven fundamentals of the wonders and exploits of giving praise always as we were all created by God to give thanks to Him and use praise as spiritual weapon of warfare that opens doors, provides healing and increment in our daily activities and national life.

Pastor Emmanuel also extolled the virtues of the former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba (Engr.) Gbenga Daniel as a God-fearing Christian who has made it a duty to give thanks to God annually and even built a Church in memory of his father, His Grace, Most Rev. Abraham Adebola Daniel as a way of exalting the Almighty God. He described Otunba Daniel as a man of great ideas who has an insatiable passion for the overall development of Ogun State and Nigeria in general.

“I have read your book; The Land of My Dreams and can only conclude that you are a blessing to Remoland, Ogun State and Nigeria in general. The foundation you laid for a greater Ogun State are still there for all to see and I can only congratulate you on this achievements and making yourself available to serve the people as Governor between 2003 and 2011”, he said.

In his remarks, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on behalf of his family, expressed his sincere appreciation to the men of God, Church leaders, foremost traditional rulers other eminent personalities who graced the occasion for their love and support towards the success of the 2017 New Year Prayer Day.

He also used the occasion to thank God for the feat recorded by his physically challenged son, Adebola Irede Daniel, who became paraplegic at age five but went to study Mechanical Engineering and recently emerged the best student in his class with a Distinction in his master’s degree at the University College of London.

Win N5,000 Per Hour In Footgame Online Reward For Football Lovers

A new web base game known as Foot-game has recently been launched for Nigerian football lovers and followers across the country.

Foot-game which officially launched on Sunday, 1st of January 2017 is a web game put together to enrich the lives of Nigerian youths by testing their general knowledge of the game of football for a N5,000 prized reward every clock hour per day.

For a chance to win the hourly star prize, participants in the online quiz game are expected to register for the game on Footgame.com.ng and purchase access code for as little as N100 per game. The 20 fastest strikers to correctly answer the question that pops up every hour claims the winning prize of N5,000.

Speaking to reporters in a press briefing, the C.E.O of Footgame.com.ng; Miss Victoria Ottun said “It’s been fun and excitement since we launched on the 1st of January, 2017.

“The Nigerian online football community has bombarded our website in no small measure and despite our hectic schedule, the fun and excitements has been limitless as football fans continued to win prizes every hour.

“Foot-game has nothing to do with forecasting match result. It’s a quiz!The questions are simple and straight forward and its basically a game of the fastest 20 fingers to answer the questions correctly.

“We have continuously credited customer’s account through bank transfer almost on hourly basis and these has kept customers coming back repeatedly.

“We hope to welcome more customers in the next coming days as the game’s popularity continues to soar online among many soccer lovers”, she concluded.

Interested gamers canfollow Foot-game on its social media accounts via twitter @footgameng, Facebook fan page at Facebook.com/footgameng or visit its website at footgame.com.ng for more information and to register.

Nigerian Army Strongly Refutes Allegation of Killing of Igbo Youths

REJOINDER TO THE CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY’S ALLEGATION OF THE KILLING OF 2000 IGBO YOUTHS BY THE NIGERIAN ARMY

The attention of Headquarters 82 Division Nigerian Army has again been drawn to an unjustified, invidious and over flogged accusation, this time, by the Campaign for Democracy (CD) of “Mass killings of Igbo Youths by the Nigerian Army”. This allegation is contained in a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary, CD in Onitsha, Anambra State.

In the statement, the CD claimed that “No fewer than 2000 Igbo Youths had been killed by the Nigerian Army under the guise of Rules of Engagement”.

Similarly there was also report claiming that Amnesty International indicted Nigerian Security Forces in the “killing of No Fewer Than 150 Peaceful Pro Biafra Protesters” in the South Eastern part of Nigeria with different captions in the media. These story lines are referring to the encounter between the Nigerian Army and MASSOB/IPOB protesters between August 2015 and August 2016. All these have been severally thoroughly refuted in many media platforms by the Nigerian Army and it is the same position that this rejoinder has soundly adopted.

For emphasis and clarity, the Nigerian Army as an accountable, morally and professionally sound organization had variously through its Human Rights Desk at the Army Headquarters, painstakingly investigated allegations of rights violations and the results indicated specifically that this claim is false, malicious and should therefore be ignored for the sake of Nigeria.

Instructively, the Nigerian Army under its constitutional authorization to aid Civil Authority and Military Aid to Civil Power must continue to act in the best interest of the nation (in collaboration with other security agencies) to de-escalate violence and checkmate security threats across the nation. This task must be done, despite the sordid propaganda and possible politicization of the issue by ill meaning Nigerians.

Finally, looking at the recurrent posture of this allegation, the 82 Division Nigerian Army wishes to state that relevant authority/ies in the South East are at liberty to set up an inquiry in to this accusation with the view to getting to the roots and end of this obnoxious and unfounded claim.

Paris Club: We Didn’t Receive N9b-KWSG

Kwara State Government has described as outright falsehood media reports that it received N9b as its share of the London-Paris Loan Club refund from the federal government.

Reacting on behalf of the government, the State Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu explained that the state government has only received and declared N5billion so far from the federal government but was yet to receive the balance of about N3.7billion.

He emphasized however that the state government is in the process of getting the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja to process and release the balance.

Providing further explanation, Banu emphasized that all states were supposed to receive 25 per cent of their claim, which in the case of Kwara State, amounted to about N9b, pending final reconciliation. He said that only N5b of the claim was released to the state as announced earlier. He said that having made a strong case for the balance of the 25 per cent, the state government was expecting the release of approximately N3.7b from the federal government anytime from next week. Banu said that additional installments of the remaining seventy-five per cent was also being expected by the state once the figures are verified.

Providing further clarification, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, revealed that the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed was personally coordinating efforts to secure the outstanding and had travelled to Abuja on different occasions to meet with federal officials to ensure timely reconciliation and release.

Akorede assured that once the money is received, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed will approve the release of local governments’ share of the fund to pay the proportion of staff and pension arrears the fund can cover. He said there was no way the government will announce funds which it had not received from the Federal Government or any other source.

He recalled that from N5billion earlier received by the state government from Federal Government for the London-Paris Club loan over-deductions in November 2016, Governor Ahmed had directed the release of N1.4b to local governments to augment their allocation for the payment of November and December 2016 salaries, while another N892m was released to clear salary arrears at tertiary institutions in the state.