Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has debunked reports making rounds that he is aspiring to participate in the 2023 presidential race.

The governor made this known through a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, on Monday.

He stated that his focus at the moment is to deliver good governance to the good people of Benue State.


Ortom expressed his gratitude to the people of Benue for their support on his administration, adding that he still has two and half years to complete his tenure and is committed to doing better within the time left.

He said: “I appreciate my supporters and interest groups who have taken to social media to call on me to join the 2023 Presidential race.

“However, I still have two and half years to complete my mandate as Governor and I am committed to greater service of the State.

“I also thank Benue people for the support given to my administration to succeed,” Ortom added.

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has expressed that she does not hate President Muhammadu Buhari, saying she only detests his style of leadership.

The former presidential candidate made this known in a post on her verified Twitter account on Monday.

Ezekwesili condemned the incumbent leader for taking sides on the matter of insecurity in the country.
She expressed that President Buhari lacked the unifying leadership Nigeria needs at this time, expressing that his actions have “deepened gullies of disagreement and disaffection among people, ethnicities, regions, religions and classes.”

The former Minister also took a swipe at the leadership of the National Assembly, stating that they have shown little power in calling the President to order.

See her full post below:

The most talked-about crossdresser, Bobrisky has shared a note he received from a fashion entrepreneur, Bodun closet that he helped 3 years ago.Taking to Instagram to write a post, Bobrisky shared a snapshot of a chat from one of his beneficiaries who is grateful for the generosity of the male barbie.

In response to the appreciation text, Bob risky wrote;


How I help them, how I was there when nobody was there. Listen to me, you are free to keep insulting me yeah. But I promise d day you meet me in person , you will regret ever insulting me without waiting to know me.”

Controversial crossdresser, James Brown Obialor has penned a message to people, who feel intimidated by him.

Brown posted a video of himself via Instagram and he attached the message.

The crossdresser, who got embroiled in a public row with Bobrisky, fired shots as he advised people to stop feeling threatened because he does not intend on fully transforming into a woman.

In his words;


See the post below:

Billionaire’s daughter, disc jockey and singer, Florence Otedola alias DJ Cuppy has said she would have been a trader if she weren’t into music.
The award winning DJ made this disclosure in a self-exposé video session she shared with her followers on her official Instagram page on Monday, January 25.

According to her, she wanted her fans to get to know her more than they already do, so she provided answers to some questions.

On what she would have been doing if she weren’t a DJ or a singer, Cuppy said “A trader, business owner. I’m really good at business, I like money.”

Providing answers to some other questions she deemed relevant, Cuppy disclosed that “Karma” is her favourite song off her debut album “Original Copy”.

Speaking further, she also disclosed that “haters” were the inspiration behind her latest album. “I would have been doing hip hop songs if not for RnB”, she concluded.

Watch video below…

Governor Nasir El-Rufai Of Kaduna State has approved January 25 as the resumption date for tertiary institutions in the state.

This was made known in a statement on Sunday by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Phoebe Yayi.

Phoebe Yayi stated that the new approval coming after the government had assessed all tertiary institutions in the state to ensure their level of preparedness and plans for reopening.

She disclosed that the COVID-19 assessment team confirmed full compliance with the state’s COVID-19 preventive protocols and for safe learning environment against the pandemic.

The permanent secretary appealed to managements of all the tertiary institutions to ensure strict adherence to all the guidelines and protocols put in place by the state government.

“Resumption by all tertiary institutions will be in phases, as provided by the institutions and according to their academic levels and subject to their compliance with the guidelines in place.

“Unscheduled monitoring visits to schools across the state will be conducted by the task force team to ensure continuous compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines,” she added.

 

Son of grace, Laycon has hit a milestone on the microblogging platform, Twitter with a whooping 900K followers.The reality star from the BBNaija TV show was the first to get a verified badge on Twitter after the show brought him fame plus a huge fanbase on the platform.

Taking to the social media to give credits to his fans – Icons – the reality star wrote;

Ex-BBNaija housemate,Vee who was a finalist on the show’s 5th edition has shared with her fans what fame has taught her.
The Nigerian London-raised musician disclosed this during a question and answer session on her official Instagram page over the weekend.

During the recent interactive session with her teeming followers, a fan had asked her “Has the fame changed your perception [positive & negative] to life or you in general?”

Responding to her question, Vee said the major thing she has realized is that not all that glitters is gold. In her own words, “I think the major thing I’ve realized is ‘not all that glitters is gold”.

West Bromwich Albion manager, Sam Allardyce, has sensationally revealed why he’s showing interest in the former Leicester City striker, Ahmed Musa.

The Nigerian captain is a free agent, as he has left Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Daily Mail, Baggies boss Sam Allardyce may turn to veteran Musa as he needs a cut-price forward to help his team score enough goals to avoid relegation.


Musa is interested in the move, as he wants to show he has the quality to succeed in the Premier League, as he had a mediocre spell with Leicester.

West Brom have reportedly applied for a visa for the 28-year-old, and he may even travel to the country on Wednesday.

Nigerian Songstress, Yemi Alade, will not be emotionally blackmailed into giving out money to online trolls who go to her page to beg or demand.

The ‘Johnny’ crooner had taken to her Twitter page to motivate her followers.

”Keep going, don’t let nothing stop you.”

A follower then went under the post to order her to stop sharing motivational quotes and share money instead.

”Your motivational talk too much! Give us money! these talks no dey work!”

The self-proclaimed Mama Africa replied to him thus:

”Go bank or go hustle ……”
Another follower who found her response condescending berated her by tweeting that she was rude for telling the other follower to go and hustle without trying to hear what he might have been through in life.

She didn’t let the reply slide as she asked him to read the way the troll also constructed the tweet sent to her.

Another follower called her greedy for refusing to give out money. She replied:

”So are you”

See the full exchange below:

Nigerian Music Act, Banky W, is set to release a new song titled ‘Final Say’ in February. The award-winning RnB singer and songwriter cum actor and politician took to his Twitter page to share the news.

He also shared that his new album is on the way, adding that ‘Final Say’ – produced by Cobhams Asuquo – will also have a music video.

In his words:

”I just want to check something… any one ready for this? New song and video now loading, new album in the oven. #FinalSay #TheBankStatementsAlbum #newmusic #newmusicvideo”
Banky W has also joined other Nigerians to criticize the NIN registration at NIMC centres during the period of COVID-19.

See his post below:

Self-styled Nigerian Investigative Journalist, Kemi Olunloyo has said it is an insult for anyone to write “Mrs” beside her name.
The controversial social media personality made this known in a recent tweet she posted via her verified Twitter page over the weekend.

While emphasizing on how much she’s irritated by people attaching Mrs. to her name, the news personality revealed that she had once slapped someone for that.

In her words, “Did you know that it’s an insult to write ‘Mrs’ beside my name? I once slapped someone in real life who did.

“Some of you women think it’s a trophy title. It’s not”, the controversial investigative journalist wrote on Twitter while schooling her followers.

Popular Nigerian singer, Oluwatosin Ajibade professionally known as Mr. Eazi, has made his girlfriend, Temi Otedola blush after he told her she’s all he’s got.
Both love birds had gone on a date yesterday as evident on Mr. Eazi’s Instagram page, and during their “me and you” moment, the singer told the billionaire’s daughter that even though he has no money, he’s happy he has her.

Temi Otedola who found what Eazi told her very romantic could be heard blushing in the background and later took to her Instagram page to share the lovely moment.

Watch video below;

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on the federal government to caution Dangote Company over incessant killings of Nigerians by its heavy duty trucks in every part of the country.

Specifically, the students’ body condemned the owner of the company, Alhaji Aliko Dangote over recurring nonchalant attitude to the crushing of students by his company’s vehicles, the recent was the death of their Colleagues at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), on Saturday, January 22,2021.

On that day, a cement-laden Dangote truck had rammed into a shop in the town and killed about ten persons, including some students of AAUA.

The NANS National President, Com Sunday Asefon, said the gory incident, which occurred at Akungba Akoko, Akoko Southwest Local Government area of Ondo State, was regrettable and saddening to the students’ community.

In a statement made available to journalists, on Sunday, Asefon, declared three days of mourning on the death of the students.

Asefon added that Dangote remains the greatest beneficiary of the Nigerian wealth with his company indebted to the to the tune of N3 trillion as unpaid taxes, saying the country’s education, health and road infrastructure would wear a radical facelift, if such humongous sum is spent on these pivotal areas.

The students’ leader stated that it was a great injustice and sin against God and humanity, for Dangote to reward Nigerians with these murderous actions, after his business rose meteorically due to governments and citizens’ patronages to become the richest man in Africa and 95th in the world with a cumulative wealth of $15 billion.

Asefon said some of the carnages on the Nigerian roads could have been avoided, if the federal and state governments could work assiduously to improve the deplorable situations of the Nigerian roads.

“It is sad and gloomy to see students who resumed back to schools two weeks ago after a long stay at home to get gruesomely killed by a reckless truck driver.

“Apart from the fact that some of the truck drivers are drug abusers and cared less about the safety of lives, our roads had also become death traps to commuters and passers-by. Putting it succinctly, no one is safe on our roads.

“I appeal to our governments to really work hard and improve the conditions of our roads through massive renovation and reconstruction of some of these highly deplorable roads.

“To complement this, the Federal Road Safety Corps must also increase patrol on roads and ensure that drug abusers and reckless individuals among the drivers are made to face the full weight of the law.

“We sympathise with the families of these students at this time of grief and pray that the good Lord shall console them in his infinite mercy”.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Federal Government to publish details of proposed payments of N729bn to 24.3 million poor Nigerians for six months.

According to SERAP, this would include the mechanisms and logistics for the payments, list of beneficiaries, and how they have been selected, projected payments per state, and whether the payments will be made in cash or through Bank Verification Numbers or other means.

Recall that Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Sadia Umar-Farouk, last week disclosed that the Federal Government would pay about 24.3 million poor Nigerians N5,000 each for a period of six months to “provide help to those impoverished by the COVID-19 pandemic.”


Reacting to this development, SERAP urged her to “explain the rationale for paying N5,000 to 24.3 million poor Nigerians, which translates to five-percent of the country’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021, and to clarify if this proposed spending is part of the N5.6 trillion budget deficit.”

The group stated that the amount translates to five-per cent of the country’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021.

It also wants to know if the proposed spending is part of the N5.6 trillion budget deficit.

The group stated that it is giving the government seven days from the receipt or publication of its FoI request to grant it.

“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request,” the NGO said in a statement by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, on Sunday

Following the tragic accident that left many dead in Akungba on Saturday, the management of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, has postponed indefinitely, the examinations scheduled to commence on Monday, January 24.

This was contained in a statement by the Acting Registrar of the university, OpeOluwa Akinfenwa.

Some students of the university lost their lives in the tragic accident that occurred in the town on Saturday evening.


The management commiserated with the affected families, the university community, and the Akungba community in general on the sad incident.

“As a mark of respect for our departed students, the examinations scheduled to start on Monday, 24th January 2021, are hereby postponed till further notice,” the statement read.

“We appeal to our students to remain calm, as the University mourns those that lost their lives in this unfortunate incident.”

“The University and the Ondo State Government are working round the clock to institute permanent solutions to the problem of incessant road accidents along Ikare-Akungba road,” it added.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara, Dr Rex Olawoye, on Sunday said he warned Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of an imminent crisis in the state chapter of the party.

Olawoye, a pharmacist, told newsmen in Ilorin that he had often offered his advice to the governor whenever it was sought and had warned him ahead of the current crisis in the party.

The intra-party crisis in the state chapter of the APC came to a head with the purported removal of Bashir Bolarinwa as Chairman of the party in the state and his replacement with his deputy, Abdullahi Samari.

According to Olawoye, he had warned AbdulRazaq as far back as 2019 about the antics of a group called AA said to be loyal to the governor and creating tension in the party.

“I had seen him before this crisis and I had been giving him my advice and I will not give him anything extra other than that.

“I warned him that he should not attempt to put up another political structure other than the APC structure we have on the ground.

“I told him that he has all the weapons to use in that APC structure to get all he wants.

“I said that you are the only person God has given all the weapons to lead Kwara State, to fuse us together and if you fuse us together, I can not see any force stronger than that.

” The Lord God is there. We spoke together and I told him this.

“I said this AA thing I am hearing, why sir? He said he was not the one that established them, but that he found out that the people involved said they were working for him.

“I warned him that this AA thing that he embarked on, he may not be able to finish it, that I hope that the project will not consume us.

“The second time I met him, I warned him that this AA project is making life more difficult for us to roll into his second tenure.

“I even told him that we are getting to a point that this AA of a thing is getting embarrassing.


“I warned him against all these one on one. The governor has been very respectful to me and I have no reason whatsoever to deceive him, but to tell him what I think would make him to succeed.

“I cannot do otherwise to anybody,” Olawoye said.

The APC chieftain also said some of the AA members had started usurping the functions of constitutionally elected officials at the ward level.

“I told the governor that some of the people that call themselves AA are going to each ward to remove constitutionally elected party officials and put themselves there.

“They now said if there is any money for the ward, it is now the man from AA that will pick the money and not the elected ward chairman. I said that is not the way to go.

“I told him that there is nobody in a position of authority that doesn’t have his own value,” he said.

Olawoye added that he advised the governor to call the leaders of both AA and APC together and tell AA members to stop interfering in the affairs of the APC.

“I advised him to direct people in AA to function only as his vanguard and let APC officials perform their functions,” he said.

Olawoye, who described the governor as a quiet person, also said that he has his own style and personal vision for the state.

“If there had not been some people behind him, he would have been able to see reason with other people’s views.

“There is no way a single individual can carry the burden of this state, there is no way he can make it.

“Bolarinwa did not say he cannot work with the governor, it is the governor that said he cannot work with Bolarinwa.

“When I see that the end result will not be good, sometimes I intervene. I will tell the governor I want to see him and he will give me the opportunity and I will tell him my views,” Olawoye said.

He, however, called on all members of the APC to embrace dialogue in order to resolve the crisis.

Olawoye added that it was not too late for the governor to resolve the crisis.

Ex Big Brother Naija housemate, Erica has lamented about how celebrities are not given the chance to freely express their feelings.

The reality TV star cum actress had taken to her Twitter page to share her feelings.

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the actress mentioned that she is the most hated celebrity but she is the most genuine person one would ever meet.

In her words;

“They keep saying we should not talk about our sadness because we’re celebrities, how will we inspire others to stop bottling emotions and ask for help?

“I’m the most hated person, yet I’m the most genuine person you will ever meet, I will never smile at you and stab you behind your back. I can’t let it get to me because I can’t afford to be defeated but it doesn’t mean it I don’t feel sad sometimes.”


See the tweets below:

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has said that the dissolution of the State Executive Council does not affect the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Uche Ihediwa, Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, and the Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Osuji.

Recall that Ikpeazu had approved the immediate dissolution of the State Executive Council on a Saturday.

He had also ordered all those affected by the dissolution to hand over all government property in their possession as well their handover notes to their respective permanent secretaries.


The Governor also approved the recall from suspension of his Chief of Staff, Dr. Anthony Agbazuere.

However, another statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr Chris Ezem said the earlier announced dissolution of the State Executive Council, exempts the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Uche Ihediwa, Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, and the Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Osuji.

He said, “They are to continue performing the duties of their offices along with the Secretary to the State Government, Barr Chris Ezem.”

A popular southern king in Nigeria Eze Dr Bernard Enweremadu has passed on at the age of 77 years.

Announcing the death of the foremost traditional ruler in Ngwa Ukwu in Isialangwa North LGA, the eldest son of the traditional ruler and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Christopher Enweremadu said his father died on the 17th of January at the age of 77.

Recall that late Eze Bernard Enweremadu became a traditional ruler at the age of 33, he reportedly also left legacies.

His son, Prince Christopher Enweremadu, thanked the State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu for his support to the family and assured of the commitment of the family in sustaining the good legacy left by the renowned traditional ruler and embodiments of culture and tradition of Ngwa land.

Gistmania gathered that traditional rulers have started visiting the palace of the late Eze Ukwu of Ngwa land.

Meanwhile, the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Chairman, Eze Joseph Nwabekee, has described the late Eze Ukwu of Ngwa Ukwu, Eze Enweremadu as a great iroko who left an indelible footprint in the traditional institution.

The Council of Traditional Rulers described the demise of the late Monarch as a great loss to the Ukwa Ngwa nation, Abia, and Nigeria in general.

On his part, the Chairman, Ukwa-La-Ngwa Traditional Rulers Council, Eze Nwabiarije Eneogwe, pointed out that the death of Eze Benard Enweremadu came as a shock and a colossal loss to Ukwa/ Ngwa people, describing the deceased as a good man who fought for the development of the Ukwa-La-Ngwa nation.