Pres. Buhari at dinner hosted by the President of State of Bavaria in Germany

President Muhammadu Buhari who is in Munich, Germany for the G7 Summit, attended a dinner hosted by The President of State of Bavaria today

Aisha Buhari hosts Adamawa women

Former First lady Patience Jonathan also in London

Ben Bruce faults Borno governor going to Germany with Pres. Buhari

Pastor Adeboye,VP Osinbajo, Ambode worship at RCCG Lagos

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife Dolapo joined Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and wife, the General Overseer of RCCG Pastor E.A Adeboye and his wife to worship at the 7th Edition of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Apapa Family, Excel Programme held at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) today June 7th

Stop Frivolous Trips To Cuba & Sell Your Helicopter To Pay Osun Workers, PDP Tells Aregbesola

The Osun State chapter of PDP are actually in a ‘deep war’ with Governor Aregbesola for refusing to pay State workers and also allegedly converting a helicopter which was bought for security surveillance for his personal use. These and many more was stated in a press statement released by the party through its Director, Media and Strategy, Diran Odeyemi. This is not the first time the party will be crying out over his government.


“The PDP is urging the government to sell the helicopter Governor Aregbesola said was procured for the state and he should stop frivolous trips to Cuba.

“What this administration told us was that the helicopter was to be used for surveillance, but we have since discovered that the machine is only serving the traveling needs of Aregbesola and his family.

This remains one draining pipe that must be blocked.

“The governor and his aides should also forthwith stop traveling in chartered aircraft around the world. If President Muhammadu Buhari could be traveling on British Airways, even when aircrafts in Presidential fleet are available, there is need for Governor Aregbesola to borrow a leaf,” the statement read.

The statement also went further to say;

“The people of the state now place their hope on the lawmakers to check the ‘excesses of the governor’ in the interest of the masses.”

“It is also fresh in our minds, the huge amount Ogbeni Aregbesola expended on the last Ekiti governorship poll, Lagos governorship poll, and the presidential project of the All Progressive Congress, APC.

“All these actions and many other wasteful spending led us to where we are now, which if they could be reversed, could bring financial reserves for the state.


“But if Ogbeni Aregbesola will not treat this advise with disdain, and henceforth, begin to act as governor of all, we believe at least, he will be able to pay few months of the backlog of salaries owed workers and retirees.”

Davido Finally In Graduation Gown!

Davido is now a graduate from Babcock University. His family & other celebrities including Don Jazzy turned out to celebrate with him

Another tanker ladened with Petrol falls in Ibeju Lekki

A petrol tanker laden with Petrol fell along the Ibeju-Lekki road in Lagos this afternoon. Some of its content spilled to the ground. The attention of relevant agencies is needed in that area to avert another fire incident

Former president Jonathan spotted at London Airport

Former president Jonathan pictured with some Nigerians at Heathrow Airport this afternoon.

At no point did I steal from Nigeria - Alison-Madueke

In a fresh interview with ThisDay, immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Alison Madueke reacted to all the allegations of corruptions leveled against her while she served as Minister. Alison-Madueke said contrary to reports, she never stole from the Nigerian state. She said she worked for the betterment of Nigeria while she was Minister and sacrificed her time to ensure the petroleum sector was developed.

In the interview, Alison-Madueke acknowledged that she and her team might have made mistakes. Read full interview below

"Did we make mistakes? There would always be mistakes. People would always make mistakes. Everybody make mistakes and there is no question about that. Have we learnt from our mistakes? Of course we have. But please do not say I stole $20 billion or $18.5 billion because I did not at any point in time. And if NNPC misappropriated funds or so, they have the entire explanation and more forensic audit should be done to determine how and why. But people should not make damaging accusations which have nothing to do with an individual. At no point did I steal from the Nigerian state. And if NNPC misappropriated funds or so, they have the entire explanation and more forensic audit should be done to determine how and why. But people should not make damaging accusations which have nothing to do with an individual. At no point did I steal from the Nigerian state.  In fact, the first mantra I had from the time I came in was that I will never touch anything that has to do with the Federation Account and I never did and I will take that to my grave. So I will suggest that this issue of $20 billion or $18 billion be dropped because that is the major problem I had with my job. I was accused of unsavory things, but which were actually accusations against NNPC and the audit was deployed to clarify all these things. So let us deal with the issues. I have never gone around accusing people of doing this or that, I have always stuck with the issues even when I was the most abused minister, I was professional, I stuck to the issues and responded only to the issues.”she said

The former Minister addressed allegations made against her by Emir of Kano and former CBN governor, Sanusi Muhammad 1st, that she disobeyed the directive of former President Umar Yar'Adua to stop the subsidy plan on Kerosine.

"Let me just make this very clear to Nigeria as a whole because this is an area of great pain for me. That Sanusi should say I sustained the subsidy is not true, when very clearly in 2009, the late President Yar’Adua gave a written directive to the late Minister of Petroleum Resources Alhaji Rilwan Lukman that he should remove the subsidy on DPK. This subsidy on DPK was never removed by the late Minister of Petroleum Resources, whom I considered to be somebody that I regarded almost as a mentor. For reasons best known to late Alhaji Rilwan Lukman and the then economic team, the Finance Minister and others, they never implemented the directive to remove the subsidy. By law and the Petroleum Act, you must gazette such a removal for it to become law and of course it has to be published so that Nigerians would know that there has been a change in the price of the petroleum product. It is illegal to do it or to say you have done it, if you have not gazetted it. Even before that, former President Goodluck Jonathan who was the vice-president at that time, had also clarified, even in a public media broadcast and in person as well, that the subsidy was never removed. So I sought clarification from him and he also made the clarification clear in a public media broadcast about a year and a half ago, that the subsidy was never removed. So at no time did I go against a president’s directive. It is not possible that I would have come in as a Minister of Petroleum in 2010 and found that kerosene subsidy no longer existed and that it had been gazetted and I would have suddenly upturned it. Government is a continuum and so it was not possible that I could have done that. So I feel very pained that Sanusi would make it sound like I was the one who went against late President Yar’Adua’s directive. I think this should clarify this issue once and for all.    It’s high time Nigerians got some insight into your personality, because there were lots of complaints that you are aloof, inaccessible and some even alleged that you were an absentee minister who spent more time at home than in the office"she said.

The former Minister also addressed the allegation of renting a N10 million jet for personal use as Minister

"Well, I don’t know whether that issue is still in court. But the reason I went to court was simple. First of all, nobody can lease a jet for N10 billion over a period. You can buy three jets for N10 billion. So that was obviously a nonsensical argument and I did not lease any jet. The NNPC leases jets and NNPC leased those jets to the best of my knowledge because at that point in time, they had no official planes. As an oil and gas ministry, we have purview over everything and it was actually very wrong that we had to borrow planes from these multinationals whom we were supposed to oversight. So over the years, I am talking about over the last 15 or 20 years, NNPC had either owned, leased or borrowed, both jets and helicopters. That was the case when I came in.
Yes, we had a very old jet which nobody was going to touch and another jet had just been bought by late Alhaji Lukman just before he left, a Hawker. Unfortunately, the moment it came, because it had been sitting unused for over a year it became a problem. In fact, NNPC was advised to sell it because it was a problematic model and had sat unused for a long period. They were advised to sell it, but they didn’t sell it. Then after a year of its purchase, it crash-landed in Nsubi and we had to actually give it out for spare parts to the National Security Adviser’s office at the end of the day. It was during this period that they leased the private jets for executive movement and operations in general, which we also used, as had always been the case. In that respect, the reason for the leasing and the amount involved are all available and I am sure the NNPC would be willing to give that information to whoever wants to look at them for public records. So again, it was a fabrication that came out from nowhere and was thrown at us as if suddenly out of the blues and for the first time in history, the NNPC was leasing jets or helicopters".

The Former Minister stated that the jet was never for personal use "No it was not for my personal use, it was for executive movement, which is has always been the case. I am saying just like the $20 billion, you find something, you throw it on the person to feel smart or to make it look as if the person is junketing all over the place or as if nobody had done that before in the annals of the NNPC. Of course we were not junketing all over the place. To be very honest, if they had never done that contract to lease the jet, we would have been hiring at a higher cost and which probably would have caused less of an issue. But to be frank, the lease that was put in place, to the best of my knowledge, was done with a company which even Shell and others have been using. So there was a known company with a very good track record and was being used in the industry by other multinationals.
But the other issue that you raised in terms of the National Assembly was not even because of the plane. The reason the plane was used in the legal brief was because that was the topical issue at the time. It was because in that year, the Minister of Petroleum had been summoned to the National Assembly, according to my officers, almost 200 times. And at this point, it became apparent that we were not going to be able to work or to perform our duties as a government agency anymore. So it was now becoming a situation whereby every week, they summoned the Minister of Petroleum, one of the parastatals or NNPC, and it was now becoming virtually impossible to actually perform our duties as an MDA. As such, at that point, our lawyers just felt we needed to stop it because it was becoming extremely disruptive. That was the basis on which the legal action that was taken, just to allow us some space to continue working" she said

Diezani Alison-Madueke undergoing breast cancer treatment

Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is undergoing a new round of treatment for breast cancer, according to a family source knowledgeable about her condition.

The source disclosed that Mrs. Alison-Madueke is currently in a hospital in London where she started a fresh round of therapy on Friday. The treatment was described as a daily therapy that will last for one week, said the source. Mrs. Alison-Madueke left Nigeria on May 23 and has not returned to Nigeria since that trip.

SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS

APC member Yakubu Dogara, objects to Gbajabiamila's emergence as speakership candidate in mock poll

Aggrieved APC member, Yakubu Dogara who is also a strong contender of the House of Reps speakership seat, has released a statement objecting to Hon Gbajabiamila's emergence as APC's mock poll House of Representative speakership candidate. His statement below ...

    We in the 8th Assembly Consolidation Group of Hon. Yakubu Dogara wish to state our position on the event of  Saturday 6th June 2015 as follows: That we got invitation for a meeting summoned by the APC leadership That we went to the meeting with the expectation the party wanted to give us last word ahead of Tuesday’s inauguration of the House. However, we began to notice some moves in the hall where members supporting Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila started campaigning and soon we saw ballot papers being moved in the hall.
    The National Chairman of the party Chief John Oyegun informed us that they were going to conduct a mock, straw or primary election. The 8th Assembly Consolidation Group mandated Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin to speak on our behalf. First, we read out the statement issued by our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari on the election of National Assembly leadership when he said: “It doesn’t matter who the person is, where he or she comes from. There is due process for selection of leaders of National Assembly and I WILL NOT INTERFERE IN THAT PROCESS. Nigeria has indeed entered a new dispensation. My administration does not intend to repeat the same mistakes made by previous governments.” We then told Chief Oyegun that it is either he is disagreeing with the President, undermining his stance, or does not agree that the president is the leader of the party. Secondly, we informed the party that the remaining two aspirants in the race for the Speaker are of the APC since no PDP member is contesting for the position.

    We should therefore be allowed to sort it out among ourselves on Tuesday. Thirdly, if we were coming for election we ought to have been notified well ahead. We therefore view this as an ambush, manipulative and indicative of the fact that the party leadership came with a predetermined position which was skewed to favour Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. Fourthly, we also informed the APC leadership that the process they were about doing was contrary to the provisions of the party’s constitution which did not prescribe that a primary election be conducted for the Speakership, contrary to the provisions of the House Standing Orders and above all, contrary to the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


    The next Speaker of the House should be allowed to be elected in tandem with the constitution. Consequently, we demanded that the process be delayed with atleast 24 hours to enable us to prepare and mobilise our members. After raising these objections, the national chairman Chief Oyegun did not respond to any of the points raised. Initially, the chairman agreed to halt the process but one hour later the National Vice Chairman North Senator Lawal Shuaibu came up and said the process must go on whether we like it or not. At this stage we had no option than to walkout of the hall and address the press. The election of the House Speaker is not an exclusivity of the APC but include all members from all political parties. Our position is that we are not a party to what they did and we maintain that the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives cannot be conducted outside the chamber of the House and we are ready to participate in that process on Tuesday 9th June, 2015.

Saraki on why he boycotted APC Primary election yesterday

Senator Bukola Saraki in a statement signed by Dino Melaye and Ahmed Sani, explained why he boycotted the mock primary organised by the APC yesterday to elect a Senate President. Press statement from Senators-Elect of Like Minds below...

    We the Senators-Elect of Like Minds today 6TH of June 2015, on the invitation of our party, attended an interactive meeting with selected 5 members from each group, the Unity Forum and the Like Minds Group.

    Regrettably, the Unity Forum insisted on open ballot voting which we discovered is different from the electoral process used to conduct the earlier election with the House of Representatives members elect. To us, this open ballot voting is primitive; undemocratic and against universal electoral norms and practice.


In the light of the above, we the Senators elect of Like Minds hereby insist on our position of Open Secret voting process which we believe is in consonance with the provisions of the electoral act, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the universal electoral values.

As responsible citizens of Federal Republic of Nigeria, and leaders in our own right, we have resolved and hereby state that we shall not be part of a process that promotes undemocratic electoral process that may resort to rancorous and uncivil situations which inhibits the rights of individuals to vote for the candidate of their choice, as this process will further divide us than unite members of our party.

In conclusion we the Senators-Elect of Like Minds wish to state categorically that we will participate only in the constitutional election scheduled for Tuesday, the 9th of June 2015 in line with the rules of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

We by this press release invite the media to a joint press conference by the 65 Senators-Elect of Like Minds drawn from across party lines on Monday morning, the 8thof June 2015

SIGNED,
Senator-Elect Dino Melaye Senator-Elect Ahmed Rufai Sani
ON BEHALF OF SENATORS-ELECTS OF LIKE MINDS

President Buhari Leaves For Germany This Morning To Attend G7 Summit As A Guest

According to a statement released yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, the President will this morning leave for Germany to enable him attend the G7 Summit which would take place in Bavaria, Germany from June 7 to 8.

In the statement Shehu said, “The invitation is a clear indication of the international community’s willingness to cooperate with the new government of Nigeria.”

He mentioned that the President will however not be participating in the main meetings, since Nigeria is not a member of the G7 group. But he is in a group of seven other Heads of State who were called in as guests.

Ambode To Meet With Tanker Drivers Over Numerous Accidents

The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday visited the scene of a tanker explosion in Idimu which occurred earlier that morning and razed down over 36 houses, cars and destroyed numerous goods, saying it is time to meet with Petroleum tanker drivers and other stakeholders in the sector to be able to put an end to this man made accidents. Akinwunmi who visited with his deputy sympathized with the victims of the fire and assured them his government will do something about it as a matter of urgency. Below is what he said;


“Today, we have witnessed another unfortunate incident involving a tanker such that we have had to come out here for the second time within one week. It is unfortunate for both the government and residents of this neighbourhood. We sympathise with you because we know that there is nothing that we can do to replace all that you have lost. Moreover, we thank God that no life was lost in the process.

“I assure you that, with the utmost sense of urgency, we will do everything we can to help you. The agencies will ensure that those that have lost their homes and clothes as a result of this tragic incident are catered for. I appeal to those who are devastated by this occurrence that we will see to the quick reconstruction of affected buildings once a report has been done. It is our duty.


“I have directed that the union of the tanker drivers and other agencies will meet (with me) on Monday morning and we must make pronouncements relating to the usage of our roads. We will embark on an immediate relief effort to see how we can address this issue so that things are back to normal as soon as possible.”

Ahmed Lawan Clinches APC Ticket For Senate President

Senator Ahmed Lawan and George Akume late Saturday night emerged the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the office of Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively in  the upcoming Tuesday’s election at the National Assembly.

Mr. Lawan from Yobe State scored 32 votes, while Akume from Benue State got 31 votes.

The party chairman, John Oyegun pleaded with party members to accept the outcome saying the process was transparent. His opponent, Senator Bukola Saraki and his supporters were however absent at the election.

Over a decade of people escape death as Aero aircraft develops fault mid-air

Over 120 passengers, including the Director, Muslim Rights Concern, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Friday evening escaped death as an Aero Contractors Airline Flight 180 from Lagos to Kaduna developed technical fault mid-air.

The aircraft was said to have suddenly lost altitude, 20 minutes after it departed the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, forcing the aircraft to wobble in the air for over one hour before it was eventually diverted to Abuja.

Akintola, who broke the news,said the flight took off from Lagos at exactly 6.30pm.

He said 20 minutes into the flight, the aircraft lost altitude and the passengers had to make use of the oxygen masks as the plane continued to wobble, while dropping steadily.

Akintola said, “The plane lost altitude 20 minutes after takeoff. We had to make use of the oxygen masks. We saw smoke outside the plane, probably coming from the engine compartment.

“At this time, the whole plane was thrown into commotion. Many passengers screamed and some fainted. Prayers upon prayers were offered. Some shouted Allah, others Jesus.”

Akintola said it was in the midst of the commotion that the crew, whom he commended for their professionalism and unusual calmness, announced that the plane would be diverted to Abuja.

He said, “While the pilot was making the announcement of the flight diversion, I noticed that his voice was trembling. He told us that Abuja was 120 miles away and that we would land in 25 minutes. But we were not sure we would make it.

“In fact, I quickly recited the Kalimah (the Quranic invocation of the oneness of Allah), believing that the end had come,” Akintola added in messages to New Mail.

He said that the plane finally touched down in Abuja at about 9.00pm and upon landing in Abuja, the officials of the airline told the devastated passengers that the fault would be hurriedly repaired and that the plane would proceed to take them to Kaduna, their original destination.

As of the time he spoke with New Mail at about 9.30pm, he said he was already in a taxi taking him from Abuja to Kaduna as he could not risk being “flown in the same aircraft that was divinely saved from crashing.”

Akintola said, “As I am talking to you, I am now in a taxi taking me to Kaduna. They said they wanted to repair the plane and that we should wait so it takes us to Kaduna. Allah forbids. They asked how many of us wanted to disembark and almost everybody came out.”

When Saturday PUNCH called Akintola at about 11pm, he confirmed the incident and said he was about entering Kaduna.

He said, “When the aircraft wanted to land in Abuja, the tyres failed to come out on time and that again caused more commotion among passengers. At last, we landed at about 7.35, about 50 minute of trauma mid-air.”

A statement by the airline read, “Aero confirms that there was depressurisation in the aircraft cabin leading to the dropping of oxygen mask. And since Aero has a maintenance facility in Abuja, the flight to Kaduna was diverted to Abuja this evening to fix the problem.”

The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, said he is yet to be briefed on the matter.

Davido set to graduate from Babcock University

Governor Ambode visits Idimu Fire scene

Photos: Atiku delivers Thank You letter on behalf of Pres. Buhari to Jacob Zuma

Former VP Atiku Abubakar delivered a Thank You Letter on behalf of Nigeria's President, Buhari to South African President, Jacob Zuma. The letter is for Zuma's role and support in ensuring that Akinwunmi Adesina won the AFDB presidency position

Fire Outbreak In Idimu This Morning Razed Down 36 Houses

This morning, slightly past 12am a diesel-laden truck ran into a house at Idimu bus stop where it crashed and exploded leaving at least 36 houses burnt and so many cars destroyed as well.

AMBODE FIRES FASHOLA’S LOYALISTS + FASHOLA’S SISTER AND OTHERS ON DAY 1

The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, may not have started his official assignment on a very friendly note with the immediate past governor of the State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) as many of the loyalists of the former governor have just been relieved of their various positions.

 Our source has it that, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode sacked many of them on his first day at work and he is prepared to relief othersof their jobs. This development has prompted many to wonder if the new governor is using this to settle a score with former Gov. Fashola. Governor Ambode revealed this sad news to the affected people in a meeting he had with all directors of Lagos State Agencies.

One of those unlucky people that have fallen victims of this action of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode is Ms. Ronke Azeez. Ronke Azeez was the coordinator of ‘Lagos Eko Project’. ‘Lagos Eko Project’ is a World Bank Assisted Project on Education in Lagos State. Ronke is adjudged by many, particularly by her employer, Babatunde Raji Fashola, very brilliant and innovative. Our source revealed that Gov. Ambode just asked the lady to handover to the next person to her without giving any reason.

On a similar note, another person that has also been relieved of her position by Gov. Ambode is Adenike Adekanbi. Adenike Adekanbi is another innovative woman who has been the one in charge of Lagos State Facility Management Agency. We gathered that it was Deji Williams, Personal Assistant to Gov. Ambode, that had actually written the proposal that led to the birth of the agency during the administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Furthermore, it was revealed that Mr. Fashola saw the proposal has resorceful, and handed it over to a commissioner (name withheld) for execution. It was this commissioner, due to his extra-marital affair with Adenike Adekanbi, who brought her (Adenike Adekanbi) into the picture. Unfortunately for her, the new governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode was quoted to have said to her “I know everything that has been going on, handover to the next person to you.”

Mr. Gbenga Akintola, Chairman of Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) is another loyalist of Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola that Gov. Ambode has decided to send packing from LSPWC. Gbenga Akintola was actually residing in the United States before. Our source revealed that his emergence as the Chairman of LSPWC was facilitated by his closeness to Prof. Wole Soyinka and Demola Azeez (Raji Fashola’s best friend). Indeed, we reliably gathered that after Gov. Ambode has asked Gbenga Akintola to handover to the next person to him at LSPWC, he eventually walked him out of the meeting.
The last but not the least of those vital positions occupied by the loyalists of the former Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola, and which Gov. Ambode has decided change their leadership is Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA). This time, the victim is not just the loyalist of Raji Fashola, it is his younger sister, Ms. Yinka Fashola. Our reliable source revealed that Gov. Ambode has relieved the younger sister of Babatunde Fashola of her position as the General Manager of LASRRA. He instructed her to handover everything in her care as General Manager to the next person to her in the agency.
Without doubt, many would begin to wonder why Gov. Ambode actually went after loyalists of his predecessor in his first week in office, knowing full well that Babatunde Raji Fashola was one of those few people who have aided the victory of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode in the last Lagos State Gubernatorial election.

Prince Harry spotted getting cosy with actress at Polo event

Prince Harry of England was spotted getting cozy and flirting with 29 year old Doctor Who actress, Jenna Coleman after playing in a charity match last Saturday May 30th. The pics of the two chatting intimately and the 30 year old Prince putting his hand on Jenna's knee, only emerged today. Jenna, who has a boyfriend, looked happy getting all that attention from England's most eligible bachelor. Eye witnesses said Harry led the actress by the hand out of the star-studded after-party to chat on a sofa outside.

One of the parents of missing Chibok girls dies

Rapper Ludacris and wife Eudoxiee welcome baby girl

Rapper Ludacris and his wife Eudoxiee welcomed their first child together on June 4th. Eudoxie shared the news via  instagram, She also revealed the baby's name is Cadence Gaëlle Bridges and she weighed 7lbs 4oz. This is Eudoxie's first daughter and Ludacris' third.

Buhari denies an Ambassador entry into villa for coming 15mins late to meeting

N3m carted away as robbers attack Lagos Govt Secretariat Alausa

N3million was reportedly carted away by armed robbers after they stormed the Ministry of Justice in Lagos state government secretariat, Alausa, Lagos in the early hours of today June 5th.

Vanguard reports that the robbers gained access into the office where the money was kept, through the ceiling. The stolen money was withdrawn late Thursday June 4th and was meant to be used to settle payments of mediation officers of the ministry. 20 of the ministry's staff have been detained as investigation is currently ongoing.

Mariah Carey’s Brother Says Mariah Might Die Like Whitney

Mariah Carey and her brother Morgan (right) in 1991
Mariah Carey's brother fears Mariah’s drinking will kill her and claims he has never seen her sober. Mariah’s sibling Morgan, who hasn't directly spoken to the singer in two years, fears the star is unable to care for her four-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe because he believes she is trying to numb her problems with wine and champagne.

Alleging she has been a heavy drinker since suffering from mental health problems in 2001, Morgan told the National Enquirer magazine: 'Mariah was drinking through her pregnancy - even while she was nursing.

'I can't say that I have ever been around her when she was sober, and that's very scary.'

Morgan also claimed his 45-year-old sister takes a daily cocktail of medications including Zyprexa, Ativan and Depakote, and fears she will 'die like Whitney Houston'.

He added: 'She does not have a support system, and she is not mentally capable.'

Morgan is concerned the singer has 'pushed away the only people who've been trustworthy' and will blame her entourage if anything does happen to her.

He said: 'If my sister turns up dead ... I'm not going to look the other way!
 Anyone who's filling her glass is jeopardizing her life!'

 He also spoke about his sister’s estranged husband, Nick Cannon too.

According to him, her estranged husband Nick Cannon is a 'crock of s**t' who wasn't good for his sister and was only interested in money.

'Nick listened to people who said, "Get with Mariah, she thinks you're cute, have kids and ride it to the bank." Nick was there for the cash from day one. He doesn't give a damn about Mariah.

'Nick took tremendous advantage of her and continues to do so0, he said.

DailyMail.com has contacted reps for both Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon regarding the claims, but both parties have refused to comment on the matter.

Workers Shut Down AIT, Radio Station Over 17 Months Unpaid Salaries

Workers of Daar Communications Plc, operators of African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower FM Radio, yesterday shut down all broadcasting activities at the Benin studio in protest over unpaid  17 months salaries.

The scores of protesting workers were said to have blocked the main entrance to the station located along the Benin/Lagos bypass.

It was gathered that the protesting workers put at about fifty workers, were owed salaries spanning between 12 and 17 months.

According to Pm News, one of workers who claimed anonymity said that newly employed staff of AIT were being owed 12 months while old staff were yet to be paid salaries between 13 months and staff of the Raypower FM, the Radio arm of the broadcast outfit were owed 17 months.

“The stations generate millions of naira on a daily basis, so there is no reason why we should not be paid our salaries. They have no excuse not to pay us our money. It is share wickedness and man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. We have families to care for and children to pay their school fees. Many of our children have stopped going to school. But their own attend schools abroad.

Look at where our station is located, in another village so far away from Benin City. You have to chatter a taxi cab for not less than N500.00 to get there if you miss the staff bus. And not even every cab driver will agree to go there because of the wrong location of the station, yet, they expect us to be there everyday, whether you have anything to do or not,” he said.

House of Rep pass Petroleum Industry Bill

House of Reps members today passed the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill. The House members had on Tuesday June 2nd suspended its deliberation on the bill due to some unresolved clauses and a committee was set up with the view of settling all the issues in the bill.

The members on resumption today chorused "Ayee" as the Deputy House Speaker Emeka Ihedioha called for a vote on the bill. The Petroleum Industry bill will among other things help create a more conducive business environment for petroleum operations and enhance exploration of petroleum resources in Nigeria.

Buruji Kashamu: Court orders NDLEA to suspend actions on extradition

    
A Federal High Court in Lagos has asked the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to suspend all actions on the move to extradite the Ogun East Senator-elect, Prince Buruji Kashamu, to the United States to face trial on alleged drug-trafficking offences. The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, while adjourning hearing in all pending applications on the subject matter till June 19, said on Thursday that status quo must be maintained till all the applications were decided one way or the other.

Pending before Buba is the committal suit filed by Kashamu against the Attorney General of the Federation and the Chairman of NDLEA, citing them for contempt of court. In response, the NDLEA has filed preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter. Besides, the anti-narcotic agency is seeking the reversal of the court order of May 26 which directed it to withdraw more than 50 of his operatives which had laid siege to Kashamu’s house.

At the resumed proceedings on Thursday where the AGF, NDLEA Chairman and Kashamu himself were expected before the court, the NDLEA lawyer, A. M. Sunday, said the agency had yet to be served with the originating processes in Kashamu’s committal suit. Sunday said all that the agency received was the court’s order of May 26 directing it to withdraw its armed operatives from Kashamu’s Lagos residence. The lawyer, however, said the NDLEA had filed a motion seeking to set aside the court order, adding that the jurisdiction of the court was also being challenged.

However, Kashamu’s lawyer, Mr. R.A. Oluyede, in opposition to NDLEA, said the agency’s motion had no relevance, saying it had been overtaken by events. Oluyede urged the judge to make additional orders to prevent NDLEA from overreaching the court. He urged the court to nullify any warrant of arrest that might have been obtained through any source in an attempt to extradite Kashamu.

He urged the court to declare the fresh move by the respondents to commence extradition proceedings against him in the face of the existing judgment of the court restraining them from doing so. He also sought a court order directing the Inspector General of Police to provide security for Kashamu to prevent the respondents from making any attempt on his life. But Buba, in a bench ruling, declined granting any of the newly sought orders but ordered all the parties not to take any action capable of undermining the processes before the court.

The judge said he would have to adjourn further hearing to allow the service of court papers on all the parties. He held, “The matter before the court is that of committal and challenge to jurisdiction. I shall adjourn for the hearing of the applications on its merits.” The matter was adjourned till June 19, for the hearing of all pending applications.

7th Senate Assembly holds valedictory session, passed 123 out of 591 bills brought before it since 2011

The Senate today held its valedictory session to mark the end of the 7th Senate Assembly. At the session which was well attended by past Senate Presidents and Senators, the Majority leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba said out of the 591 bills brought before them in the last 4 years, only 123 bills were passed. The 46 passed in less than 10 minutes yesterday is included in the 123 bills passed in the 4 year period of the assembly.

In his remark, the Senate President, Senator David Mark said he takes full responsibility for all the commissions and omissions recorded in the 7th Senate Assembly where he served as a leader.

In his speech, Senator Mark said the abduction of the Chibok girls remains a scar on our national psyche.

    “I take full responsibility for all the commissions and omissions in the past four years. The last four years have been defining for our country in many respects,” he said. “The country was battered on all sides by security challenges that threatened the very existence of our society. The rise in insurgency and the ruthless mayhem unleashed on Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect resulted in the highest number of lives and property, which our nation has lost in our recent history. What was most horrifying was not only their wanton destruction but their disregard for human lives particularly those of women and children. The abduction of the Chibok school girls still remains a scar on our national psyche. There is no doubt that the Boko Haram crisis exposed serious cracks in our security system, challenged our unity, threatened our future and seriously dented our international image. We considered and approved emergency rule when we thought it was needed and declined request for extension when we thought that such an extension could not stem the tide of terrorism and insurgency in the affected states. Happily, the Nigerian armed forces have made significant gains in the fight against insurgency. The security challenges we faced in the last four years were not restricted to terrorism but included political violence, extremism, communal conflicts, militancy in the Niger Delta, maritime insecurity and transnational crimes. In all these, we gave maximum support to the government. We passed the bill for an act to amend the Terrorism (prevention) Act 2012, and we approved a loan of U.S.$1 billion for the government to procure arms and equipment needed to tackle security challenges in the country."he said