EO Blog

CBN and NNPC logos President Muhammadu Buhari has dissolved the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with immediate effect. The announcement was made in a statement by the Director Communications, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Haruna Imrana, on behalf of the HoS, Mr. Danladi Kifasi. “The directive to that effect was conveyed in a letter signed today (Friday) June 26, 2015 by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi. In it, the President thanked members of the dissolved board for their services to the nation,” he said.

Senator Aliyu Ndume Three out of the four principal officers of the Senate assumed office on Thursday after the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read their nomination letters from their respective zonal caucuses in the red chamber. Saraki at the resumed sitting of the federal lawmakers, read out the letters addressed to him by the APC senate caucuses from the North-East, North-West and South-South. He said the North-East Senate caucus had endorsed and nominated Senator Ali Ndume as the Majority Leader, while the North-West caucus adopted Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah as the Deputy Majority Leader. He added that the South-South caucus members according to their own letter, adopted Senator France Alimikhena as the deputy whip. ADVERTISEMENT Saraki was, however, silent on the Chief Whip because members of the South-West caucus which should produce a representative, did not write any letter. He subsequently asked the Sergeant – at – Arms to lead the three principal officers to their respec...

Naij.com, an online portal, is helping to bring free mobile internet to Nigerians via the MTN network and the Opera software application. MTN users will be able to activate their free day of internet through Opera Mini on the MTN network. Which means you have access to browse for free with N0.00. No subscription or tweak required. What you need is to follow steps below accordingly and you are good to enjoying free Mtn browsing on your Smartphones or PC To Activate Your Free Browsing 1. Visit www.opera.com/mobile/mini to download the latest Opera Mini web browser or get it from Play Store Here     With your Opera Mini visit http://webpa$$.opera.com/ Then you can start enjoying your free browsing. To Make it Power all Apps That one will involve tweak     Download SimpleServer Android version here     Create a new APN settings on your phone as follows.     » Proxy: 127.0.0.1     » Port: 8080     ...

There are many unscriptural activities going on in the church today which Christians pretend not to see. The more we keep silent, the worse things would become. Though we are aware that many happenings in the church today are signs of the end time, it is our duty to put things right and strive to revive the ‘old time religion.’ 1. Charging Consultation Fee- Paying certain amount of money before you can see the man of God has become a common practice in many churches nowadays. So many pastors have commercialized deliverance, salvation and spiritual counselling against the Lord’s wish- Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 2. Selling Some Spiritual Items- I’m more particular about churches selling holy water and anointing oil in plastic containers and bottles where worshippers are disallowed from bringing theirs but compelled to buy from the church. Let them buy from wherever they choose; your role is to e...

The Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has promised to pay workers in the state their salaries before the end of this month. The governor made the promise in a statement issued in Osogbo on Sunday by his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon. Most workers are being owed seven months’ salaries. But the statement was silent on whether the governor would pay the backlog or he would pay part of the salaries. The statement read in part, “Before the end of June, workers would be paid their salaries.” The governor stated that he had a great dream for the state and that was why he was in a hurry to begin many programmes which had earned him applause even outside the country. He added, “The dream has not gone awry and it is a clear vision that Osun must be on its feet, self-reliant and be a reference point in Nigeria. The race to ensure development within the first term of Aregbesola was informed by the fear of what is happening now. “Aregbesola wanted an Osun State that is self-reliant. ...

Keshi Striker Odion Ighalo set up Gbolahan Salami in the second half before converting a penalty kick as the Super Eagles defeated a resilient Chadian side 2-0 in their opening match of Group G in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna State. The victory brought some respite to the country’s football-crazy fans after the Flying Eagles’ elimination from the U-20 World Cup on Thursday and the Super Falcons’ 2-0 defeat to Australia at the Women’s World Cup in Canada on Friday. The Eagles struggled to strike a rhythm in the early stages but they created their first real chance in the eighth minute when Ahmed Musa chested down Gbolahan Salami’s cross inside the box for Madu Kingsley, but the left-back’s effort went wide. Two minutes later, Chad replied but it was a lame effort from Mbaian Narius. The visitors should have taken the lead in the 17th minute but Vincent Enyeama produced a world-class save, parrying for a corner. Musa then saw his free-...

There are strong indications that two power blocs within the All Progressives Congress are now engaged in a fierce battle for the soul of the party. Saturday PUNCH’s investigations on Friday revealed that the battle between the two power blocs to control the party: one led by Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and the other led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, played out during Tuesday’s National Assembly leadership elections. The ruling party’s preferred candidates in both the Senate and the House of Representatives were defeated by party members who contested the elections against the wishes of the party. The battle for supremacy between the two power blocs led to the emergence of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Ike Ekweremadu, as the Deputy Senate President. ADVERTISEMENT Saturday PUNCH learnt that both Atiku and Tinubu were desperate to have maximum control over the party structure so that party decisions could favour them at all times. It was learnt that the two bl...

Members of the Senate Unity Forum, on Wednesday threatened to take a legal action against the election of Senator Bukola Saraki, which, according to them, did not follow due constitutional procedure. The leader of the group, Senator Barnabas Gemade, stated this while addressing journalists at the National Assembly Complex, after he led members of the group to stage a walkout in the chambers. Gemade said 51 senators were not allowed to take part in the election of the Senate president because they were waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari, who invited them to a meeting at the International Conference Centre. He said his group would, very soon, challenge the alleged illegality in court, “since it takes two-third of members to impeach the Senate president, two third of the members should also have been in attendance before he was elected on Tuesday.” He said, “Our right to participate in the election of the Senate president is a constitutional right which cannot be taken away by any p...

Timaya told Punch that he wanted more than what he was offered by the telecommunication company. According to Timaya, “I have always wanted to become an ambassador to a telecommunications company and I was approached by both Globacom and MTN. I chose MTN. I am a businessman and I feel I should have a better deal this year.” Timaya also said “If the deal is not good enough for me, then it is not right because I worked very hard to get to the stage I am. It could be right for other people but I think I should do better this year. There are some artistes that are brand ambassadors and they do not have any hit song. They are just there based on pity. “Every year, I release a hit song and I feel if we are to renew a contract, we have to revisit the terms and conditions. Not that we would do the same thing as the last time or do it out of pity. Being a brand ambassador makes you limited in some certain areas and I expect to be paid for such limitations. I want more. They are good people an...

Facebook on Thursday released a ‘Lite’ version of its application that was tailored for people using Android smartphones in places where wireless data bandwidth is scarce. Facebook Lite was built to use less data and work well despite potentially constrained telecommunications network conditions in developing countries, according to the California-based online social network. Facebook began rolling Lite out in Asia and said that the application will be available in part of Europe, Africa, and Latin America in coming weeks. “In many areas, networks can be slow and not able to support all the functionality found in Facebook for Android,” the leading social network said in an online post. “Facebook Lite was built for these situations, giving people a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum.”

Senator Ahmed Lawan The All Progressives Congress on Saturday announced Senator Ahmed Lawan and Senator George Akume as sole candidates for the position of President and Deputy Senate President of the 8th Senate respectively. This followed a primary election conducted by the National Working Committee of the APC at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. National Secretary of the Party, Mala Buni, who served as returning officer announced that 33 Senators were accredited to vote after which Lawan got 32 votes and one vote was declared invalid. Buni said, “By the powers conferred on me by the NWC of the APC as the Chief Returning Officer of this election after having certified that Dr. Ahmed Lawan has fulfilled all the requirements of the party, he is hereby nominated as the sole candidate of the party for the position of Senate President of the 8th Senate. A similar procedure was adopted in the election of Akume. Akume got 32 out of the 33 votes. In his acceptance speech, Lawan...

Ebenezer Obey Renowned musician, Chief Ebenezer Obey, speaks on the his early life. Juju maestro and evangelist, Ebenezer Obey, has said that, at 73, he still composes songs inside toilets. Part of the revelations he made three years ago during his 70th birthday celebration was that he found toilets to be conducive for his muse. In an interview with journalists in his Ikeja, Lagos home on Friday, Obey said that although he could compose anywhere, toilets still remain one of the most productive environments for him. He said, “The reason is that I always have busy schedules. When I am in the house, there will be a lot of things and people – especially visitors – to attend to. So, people will naturally disturb me when I want to compose songs. But the toilet is the only place where no one can disturb me. At times when I am there, I stay longer because I compose songs there.” Obey, however, stressed that God is the source of his inspiration and that was why many of his songs are evergre...

Barcelona have won their fifth European Cup in 23 years, their fourth Champions League in nine years. They have joined Liverpool and Bayern Munich in the quintuple stakes. They deserved it but Juventus had them rocking and played very well, particularly in midfield. Goals from Rakitic, Neymar, and Suarez sealed the victory for Barcelona. It ended Barcelona 3, Juventus 1.

Add caption Craftsmen at Aba, Abia State as well as traders at Onitsha, Anambra State should get prepared to receive new apprentices from Ekiti State. This is being promoted as a bid by the Ekiti State government to ensure that Ekiti youths are trained to be self-reliant and look beyond government patronage, and to also prove that, aside education, developing unskilled Ekiti youths does not warrant only sending them overseas for training. The idea was floated by Hon. (Dr.) STB Omotoso, Ekiti State House of Assembly Member-elect (Oye 1 Constituency, PDP) during a courtesy visit by Ekiti State Assembly Members-elect to the corporate head office of Vanguard Media Ltd, Kirikiri, Apapa, Lagos, on Wednesday last week. Hon. Omotosho, while condemning critics of Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State for their criticisms of what has come to be termed “stomach infrastructure”, said such criticisms give the concept a narrow definition as it goes beyond giving gifts of bags of rice and other foo...

R-L; Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Dahiru Musdaher, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Abdulrhman Dambazu; Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdullaziz Yari Abubakar; President Muhammadu Buhari and his personal aide, Abba Sarki during a prayer in remembrance of Late Emir of Kano Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero shortly after the Jumaat prayers at the National Mosque in Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/buharis-anti-corruption-war-takes-off/#sthash.K3SZUZRn.dpuf President Muham-madu Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade appears to have taken off in earnest barely a week after assuming office with a stern warning to ministers not to dabble into approving payments for contractors. The government came boldly yesterday with a clear policy directive asking only the heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs not to abdicate their core functions to ministers who are political appointees but to do their jobs in stric...

The club president says an "excellent" season will become a "fantastic" one if they can see off Juventus and claim a fifth European title Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says a Champions League final victory over Juventus would cap a wonderful season for the club under Luis Enrique. The former Roma coach has already led the Catalans to a league-and-cup double in his first season on the bench at Camp Nou and will match Pep Guardiola’s feat of claiming a famous treble in 2009 if they can get the better of the Bianconeri in Berlin on Satuday. "The season is already excellent and it would be fantastic if we win the Champions League also,” Bartomeu said. “The double has already been achieved and we value that very highly. “The players and coaches have worked very hard this season and to be in Berlin is the fruit of their labours. It’s no surprise that they have reached the final. The fans are euphoric, but that’s normal because the team is playing so w...

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi & ohn Obi Mikel The Super Eagles handler has explained why he exempted the duo from his team to face Les Sao in next week's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Kaduna Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has cleared the air on why he dropped Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel and goalkeeper Austin Ejide from the squad to face Chad in June 13’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier billed for Kaduna The ‘big boss’ in a parley with media said claims that he is having a strained relationship with the former Flying Eagles star is untrue, insisting he had talked about [his exclusion] with him. "I decided not to bring him (Mikel) because right now I don't need him for this game. Mikel and I spoke. We talked about it and he said no problem,” Keshi told media. "I told him we will talk for the September game. “For Ejide, we are playing only a game now which is against Chad. So bringing in two foreign based goalkeepers is [uncalled for], I think I would rath...

Saidi Balogun Saidi Balogun and his ex wife, Fathia Balogun, went their separate ways a long time ago. Their marriage broke up years back over allegations and counter allegations of infidelity and sundry issues. Eventually though, it was reported late last week that the break-up had become official as a Lagos court eventually legally dissolved the marriage. But it seems the thespians are not ready to sing aloud this latest development as both of them have chosen not to talk about the divorce. Even as it was alleged that Saidi had moved on long before now and is even set to wed a Lagos Island big babe, the actor refused to talk about the latest development. When Saturday Beats reached out to Saidi on the phone, he said he wasn’t ready to talk. “Punch again? No way. I don’t have any comment on it; I am not saying anything about this at all. You just have to understand,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT His ex wife, Fathia, equally did not pick her calls; neither did she respond to the text mes...

There are strong indications that in fulfilment of his campaign promise to reduce the cost of governance, President Muhammadu Buhari may have concluded plans to slash his salary and reduce his personal emoluments. It was learnt that the President expected the Vice-President and other political appointees to take a similar decision. Saturday PUNCH gathered in Abuja on Friday that the President would have made his decision public but chose to consult with his close associates on how best to approach the issue without being seen as dictatorial. According to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, President Buhari will earn a monthly salary of N3, 514, 705. He is also entitled to a regular hardship allowance and 50 per cent of the basic salary, which is N1,757,350.50. There is however no information yet as to what percentage of Buhari’s salary and emoluments will be slashed. But it was reliably learnt that the President would also reduce State House budget. Other areas b...

The inauguration of the Ekiti State House of Assembly has kicked off and several dignitaries and residents of the state are presently at the occasion. Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State was welcomed into the hallowed chamber amidst loud roar of cheers from the audience. He will be performing the inauguration of the state Assembly today, Friday, June 5, 2015. This is expected to bring an end to his woes with the former Assembly, which was dissolved not too long ago. The last Assembly, especially the majority, comprising 19 members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, had tried to impeach him without any success.      

As part of efforts to reduce the effect of challenges encountered on rampant power supply on daily business and personal activities, Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management has launched an innovative solution called APC by Schneider Electric Mobile Power Packs to provide mobile charging for any device which can be charged using a USB cable including smartphones and tablet. The device comes at a time when Nigerians need genuine, long lasting mobile power solutions to stay connected digitally, while using the different mobile applications available for business and other personal activities. The Mobile Power Packs comes in M5BK and M10BK. The M5BK is powerful enough to provide two full charges to most smartphones, while the M10BK can support a single full charge to a tablet or four full charges to a smartphone. ADVERTISING Speaking at the official launch in Lagos over the weekend, Vice President, IT Business, Schneider Electric, Ayo Adegboye, said the new product is ...

Former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa FOURTEEN opposition parties under the aegis of Credible Alternative Alliance on Thursday in Abuja said it was “too early” for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to be relying on foreign countries for support and direction on certain policy issues pertaining to governance. The CAA, which also includes 13 civil society organisations, restated their resolve to provide a credible opposition to the All Progressives Congress. Congregrating under the CAA are the Social Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Fresh Democratic Party, Nigeria Advance Party, People’s Salvation Party, Change Advocacy Party, United National Party for Development, Peoples Progressive Party and the Action Party of Nigeria. ADVERTISEMENT A former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa; elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braitwaite and former Minister of Finance, Chief Olu Falae, who spoke at a press briefing by the National Coordinator of CAA...

The Naira and dollar The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday made a slight adjustment to its naira-dollar exchange rate peg, data on its website showed. The bank adjusted the rate at which it sold the United States dollar from N197 to N196.95, Reuters reported. Prior to Thursday’s action, the rate had been oscillating between N197 and N199 for a few months. Economic and financial analysts said the action might indicate that the CBN was beginning to think about how to loosen its currency regime. They noted that the change was too small to be called a revaluation, particularly in the face of dwindling foreign reserves. The naira had traded on thin volumes at 198.95 to the dollar on the interbank market on Thursday, before two large sales totalling $36.4m were done at N196.95 towards the close of the forex market, foreign exchange dealers said. The dealers attributed the sale to the central bank. The naira is trading between 215 and 218 against the dollar at the parallel market. One e...

Yaya Toure has ended speculation linking him with a move away from Manchester City, saying he wants to the stay at the club and help the team win major titles. The Ivorian was strongly linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium following the 2014/15 season, with Italian club Internazionale seen as a likely destination. However, Toure’s agent last week claimed the reigning African Player of the Year would be remaining with City and the 32-year-old has now broken his silence on the matter, telling the Manchester Evening News: “I will definitely stay. The fans don’t have to be worried. “My target this year is to try to do everything possible to make this team improve well and I am sure with my experience, maybe I hope, with the players coming in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, definitely it is going to be a strong City next year.” Toure wants to see the Citizens reclaim their Premier League title from Chelsea, as well as challenge for the UEFA Champions League. “It i...

The Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus tomorrow in Berlin will see the controversial Luis Suarez come up against two old enemies. The Barcelona and Uruguay striker will be in direct opposition to Giorgio Chiellini and Patrice Evra in the Juve defence as the clubs battle it out to win the greatest prize in European club football. Suarez was banned from football for four months after biting Italy’s Chiellini during the World Cup in Brazil last year, meaning he was unable to make his debut for Barcelona until the end of October following his summer move from Liverpool. His controversial spell with Liverpool included being found guilty by an FA panel of racially abusing Evra during a match at Anfield in 2011 when the French defender was at Manchester United. Suarez was later handed an eight-match ban and fined £40,000 but then refused to shake hands with Evra when they met again at Old Trafford later that season. However, Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini has i...

After the just concluded JAMB 2015 CBT exam since March 21st, 2015, questions have re-surfaced about the UNILORIN’S Post-UTME form, when it will be out, how it will be, etc. Here is a compilation of what I think is necessary for you to know at the moment: 1) To qualify for UNILORIN putme exam, you must have sat for any of the O’ Level exam either with the result released or awaiting and already meet up with the school’s minimum cut-off mark for your course in JAMB. 2) UNILORIN post utme exam is a CBT exam, so be ready to face the computer once more. 3) The question is going to be 50 in number which will last for only 25 minutes/30 minutes. 4) the questions can be categorized into 5 parts which are: Eng Lang., mathematics, Biology, General Question(with Geography having higher priority) and Current Affairs. 5) Generally, UNILORIN doesn’t have proportion in which the questions are supplied to candidates which means a candidate may have the afore-listed subjects in the prop...

The Deputy National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Uche Secondus, has taken over as the acting National Chairman of the party./National-Chairman-Peoples-Democratic-Party-Alhaji-Adamu-Muazu-360x225.jpg the resignation of the party Chairman, Adamu Muazu, who threw in the towel on Wednesday on health grounds. The PDP Natihttp://punch.cdn.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/National-Chairman-Peoples-Democratic-Party-Alhaji-Adamu-Muazu-360x225.jpgonal Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, who confirmed this to journalists at the Wadata Plaza secretariat of the party, commended Muazu for his services to the PDP and love for the nation. He said, “I can confirm that we have received the resignation of the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. I can confirm that the chairman, who had health challenges, stayed on for the primaries, for the campaigns and the elections and after consultations with his family, and in his personal interest, he had decided to resign. “This party commends him fo...

At some point in your blogging career, you might realize that without a little networking and collaboration, your ability to gain new readers is limited. It’s a huge misconception that other bloggers in your niche are your competition. The opposite is in fact, true. There are countless testimonials of bloggers who were launched into the limelight by a neighboring blog writing on the same topic. Today’s post is a collaborative effort between me, Susan Maccarelli from Pecked to Death by Chickens, and countless other bloggers willing to weigh in — how to get your writing on sites with much larger audiences. The majority of tips presented in this post will work for any sort of online submission, but the resources provided are geared towards women and lifestyle bloggers who focus on parenting, humor, family, women’s issues, pop-culture, organization, etc. How Not to Pitch This might be obvious, but it stands to be said again– do not pitch without including your bio, your headshot, or you...