Vice president Yemi Osinbajo formally takes over Aso villa's chapel

  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday formally took over the leadership of the villa chapel located inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The chapel built by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo always have the President or the Vice President (that is a Christian) as the political head while the President’s or Vice President’s chaplain is the spiritual head.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan would have handed over the chapel to Osinbajo penultimate Sunday when he attended service in the worship centre for the last time but for the Vice President’s absence.

Osinbajo attended service in the chapel for the first time on Sunday accompanied by his wife, Dolapo; Bishop Wale Oke of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries; Senior Pastor, Living Waters Unlimited Church, Pastor Ladi Thompson and other clergymen.

The Vice President, who himself is a pastor, delivered a goodwill message to the congregation and did the benediction.

He later proceeded to the children church where he prayed and took photographs with the children.

He was also joined by members of his entourage.

Man Survives Being Struck By Lightning

 A man has survived being struck by a lightning bolt which entered his head and exited out of his back.

Ryan Cross, 34, was riding his bike during a camping trip with friends near Idaho City when a hailstorm swept in and lightning struck.

The father-of-two was taken to hospital where he was treated for bleeding in his brain. According to his wife Heather, he is now alert, eating and has even had the chance to walk.            

   Photos posted by his wife on Facebook show Mr Cross on his hospital bed with what appears to be a red streak down the front of his chest and a red mark on his back from the bolt.

She told newsmen: "They were riding, and it started raining and then all of a sudden it started hailing pretty heavily so they stopped.

"Ryan got off his four-wheeler went under a tree to protect himself from the hail, leaned up against a tree, was looking at a map on his phone, and that is when it all happened."

Two of Mr Cross’ friends were also hit by the lightning bolt.

Asari-Dokubo speaks on why jonathan lost the election

 Former Niger-Delta militant leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, has said the 2015 general elections were the most rigged in Nigeria.He spoke on Sunday in Owerri, where he graced the Biafra Day celebration.He said figures clearly showed differnet levels of manipulation.“The elections were not free and fair. Also, the stage was set to manipulate the elections”, he said.
Dokubo blamed the activities of Boko Haram insurgents on leaders from the Northern section of the country, mostly the Northern Muslims.

He recalled that the elites in the zone vowed to make the polity unstable and ungovernable for ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan.


He, however, blamed Jonathan’s loss on the use of card readers.


“Our brother, Goodluck Jonathan refused to listen to us. To him, the life of any Nigerian was not worth his election or ambition.

“For us, that was an abdication of his duties as President because we were also involved in the elections and we wanted a free and fair elections”, Dokubo said.

He wondered why Jonathan, who could not vote even after four card readers were used, did not stop the election.

“That was the time Dr. Jonathan ought to have taken action and stopped the fraud that INEC called an election.

“He did not do it. It was in the middle of a crucial match that the referee, Professor Attahiru Jega , who is from the same place with Muhammadu Buhari, issued a statement that if card readers cannot confirm your finger prints, then you can go on and vote”

In honour of former president jonathan ex corps member creates sculpture

 An ex corps member, Ezemagu Sunday Nnamdi is honoring the out-going President Goodluck Jonathan by creating a sculpture of him. Nnamdi is said to have donated N10,000 for the cause and started creating the sculpture 2weeks ago in Otuoke in Bayelsa State. He also reportedly donated N2m to Jonathan's presidential campaign. “

jonathan reacts to Buhari inaugural speech

  Former President Goodluck Jonathan has finally shared his thoughts on the May 29 inaugural speech by President Muhammadu Buhari. The ex leader of the nation commented on the speech in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, on May 30, 2015, Saturday....Read what he said after the break:
Jonathan applauded President Buhari for pledging allegiance to all in his inaugural speech, adding that he was gladdened by the posture of the president.“Buhari said that he does not belong to any clique, and I congratulate him for that statement.“It shows that we should all rally around him to work towards the development of the country and make Nigerians happy,” Jonathan said.

I'm ready to step on toes for the good of Abians

The newly sworn-in Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, on Saturday said that his government was ready to step on toes to change the status of the state for good.

Ikpeazu said this during a thanksgiving service held in his honour at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Eastern Union Conference Headquarters in Aba.

He, however, enjoined persons whose “legs are on the way to remove them before his arrival, in other not to have their toes stepped on”.

“I want God to make Abians to understand that if you want to eat an omelette, you must be ready to crack eggs.

“I thank God that I am courageous enough to take these decisions. God being with me, I will serve Abia and the people of Nigeria with the fear of God.


“I will also take decisions that may not be very palatable but will let the guiding principle be, “Is it in the best interest of the greater majority of our people?’’

The governor noted that it was time to turn things in the state around, adding that it would no longer be business as usual.

“We have travelled so long on the wrong path, probably by events not caused by governments but caused by our people.

“This is the time to turn around because this is not going to be business as usual.

“We must change the way we think, the way we do things, the way we build our houses, we must have respect for our neighbours; in doing so, we will be more responsible,’’ he said.

Ikpeazu said that he came to the thanksgiving service to present his plans and programmes before God, so that He could touch Abians to take necessary steps to turn the state around.

He said he would report for duty in Aba on Monday and visit Umuahia on Tuesday, adding that he would take time to inspect roads in both places and in Arochukwu.

Dr Bassey Udoh, the President, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Eastern Nigerian Union Conference (ENUC), had earlier charged the governor to watch what he did in order not to displease God.

Udoh, in his sermon titled “When God was Ready’’, urged the governor to be wise, saying that he needed great wisdom to be safe in all he did.

“If God has given you money and you do not have the wisdom to manage it, you will soon die.

“If God has given you beauty and you do not have the wisdom to manage it, you will soon die.

“If God has given you a position and you do not have the wisdom to manage it, you will soon die, so be careful what you do,” he said.

Udoh added that God’s choice of an individual did not preclude such from mistakes, adding that the tendency to make mistakes should make God’s chosen ones to seek wisdom earnestly.

The cleric took his reading from 1 Corinthians 1 : 25 – 29 and said that God’s choices were always different from man’s, adding that God’s foolishness beats man’s wisdom.

He urged the governor not to fear because God was with him and would fight his battles for him, with no one being able to overcome him.

Bishop Nathan Kanu, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Aba, Ngwa-North, urged the governor to change the things that did not suit his plans for Abians.

He called on all Abia people to join hands to make the governor successful, adding that God, who had called him, would sustain and help him.

While delivering his goodwill message, a notable Abia statesman, Elder Emmanuel Adaelu, noted that the task before the governor was onerous and urged all Abians should ensure that he succeeded.t

Another bomb blast rocks Maiduguri

Barely 24 hours after a suicide bomber killed 26 people in a mosque near Maiduguri’s main market, a bomb has exploded in another market within the city, witnesses and a security source said. The sources said four persons were injured from Sunday’s explosion Sunday’s blast occurred at Gamboru market near Nigeria Customs Service House in Maiduguri. Witnesses said the bomb that exploded was buried in a heap of sacks at a spot where charcoal merchants have their stalls. “The explosion did not kill any one but injured four persons among whom one has his arm completely ripped off by the blast”, said Jafar Aminu, a trader. An official of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Maiduguri, Abbas Gava, also confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES as he said “the explosive that went off may have been concealed in some of the piled up sacks of charcoal. But thank God the damage did not claim any life except four persons that got injured with one losing the whole of his hand”.Barely 24 hours after a suicide bomber killed 26 people in a mosque near Maiduguri’s main market, a bomb has exploded in another market within the city, witnesses and a security source said. The sources said four persons were injured from Sunday’s explosion Sunday’s blast occurred at Gamboru market near Nigeria Customs Service House in Maiduguri. Witnesses said the bomb that exploded was buried in a heap of sacks at a spot where charcoal merchants have their stalls. “The explosion did not kill any one but injured four persons among whom one has his arm completely ripped off by the blast”, said Jafar Aminu, a trader. An official of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Maiduguri, Abbas Gava, also confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES as he said “the explosive that went off may have been concealed in some of the piled up sacks of charcoal. But thank God the damage did not claim any life except four persons that got injured with one losing the whole of his hand”.

A New Nigeria is Possible Beginning Today ; Bola Tinubu

Democracy Day statement by National leader Bola Tinubu…

May 29, 2015, shall be recorded in our history as the moment when democracy finally was allowed to participate in Democracy Day. The reason for this is the legion of average Nigerians who voted to make this happen. Should any of you wish to see a true hero of democracy, don’t fret. Just look in the nearest mirror.

The celebrations prior to this were false showings; they were the commemoration of wrong.

The path we have taken to come to this august moment has not been one of easy victory or swift progress.

Instead, it has been a path hewed by the triumph of resilience over broken promises and fraudulent avowals of representative governance. Reaching this fine moment has been a story told in the cadence of the victory of common good over arrogant power.

The voice of the solitary poor man, no one hears. But the votes of the poor became a potent army capable of toppling the very citadel of high privilege in order to bring forth national awakening no less historic and important than the very birth of this nation.

On this day, we shall witness the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari, a great, honorable and dedicated public servant as our president. This is indeed an inspiring moment, a turning point in our national direction, and the reclamation of our best destiny.

We shall celebrate this achievement but not in mindless, care-free fashion. The road ahead is still choked with the debris of problems left too long unattended.

We are well aware of the challenges pitted against our wellbeing. Insecurity, economic decline and corruption, we must fight and fight as if we are going to war not a carnival.

Most of all, we must fight the temptation of hopelessness, the sense that little good will come out of even the greatest efforts.

This is where I want to thank and commend all those who voted in the past election.

It is you who turned this day into the true celebration of true democracy it was intended to be.

With no guarantee save your faith and armed solely with the hope and promise of a better tomorrow through better governance, you fought the mounting tide of power and money. That tide tried to induce you to sell your democratic rights and your chance for a greater future on the cheap.

In the eyes of those who were self-exalted, you had been debased and brought low by visible circumstance of poverty and lack.  You seemed to them ripe for purchase. Yet, inside, you retained a greatness of character and a loyalty to the democratic ideal incomprehensible to those who believed that everything can be purchased.

You showed them that your self-definition as human beings and as Nigerians was not for sale or tender. As a result, he who had been given so much, so easily by so many was humbled. You who have been ridiculed, reduced and written off were lifted up. The will of the people hath reclaimed its sovereignty.

This has been a blossoming of justice and the illumination of the power of human decency.  So often, Nigeria has been portrayed negatively before the world. Not this time.

The world is proud of what you have done and how you have advanced the cause of fairness and right.

What you have done has lent solace to those still struggling to establish democracy and responsive governance in their homelands.

They now see Nigeria as an inspiring example. They seek to be like you, to travel the road you just trod.

Today, the old Nigeria is no longer in chains as we move into a new era and take hold of our new selves. From President Buhari to the state governors inaugurated this day, I wish them well and pray they govern in an open, democratic way that assures your optimal wellbeing.

I ask that you, the people, maintain your diligence and help guide those you have just elected.

The issues that confront us are deep and complex. They are not susceptible to facile solution or inattention.  Wise and sound policy is within our capacity. But, we must have the will to accomplish it. If both the governed and government work in league, there is nothing our beloved nation cannot overcome.

Let it be said that on this day, the nation consecrate itself to the ideal that governance is the sacred instrument of the people and never again shall it be the exclusive recreation of a select few. No longer shall Democracy day be a shallow ritual. Henceforth, it is a living truthf