From left: Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of Fountain of Life Church, Lagos and Chairman of the occasion, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Guest Lecturer, and Dr. Segun Johnson, Chairman of the Foundation, applauding the former after delivering a brilliant lecture. 

For the country to make any meaningful progress there is a need for Nigerians to elect quality leaders. This call was made by Pastor Ituah Ighodalo at the Annual Public Lecture organized by the Bishop Kola Onaolapo Memorial Foundation, held at the Institute of International Affairs, Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently, under the distinguished Chairmanship of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of the Fountain of Life Church, Lagos.

Speaking on the theme of the lecture, “The Role of the Church in Enhancing Good Governance in Nigeria”, Pastor Ighodalo maintained that good governance is salient for making decisions which are effective, inclusive and transparent. He went further to state that commitment to best practices of governance and the effective deployment of available resources targeted at resolving the current challenges, are the only options for the country to move forward.  He stressed that good governance is attainable only through the electoral process where the populace exercise their civic rights and vote in credible, capable leaders.

He urged Nigerians to ensure that they, at all times, pray for the nation and our leaders as well as those in positions of authority. Ighodalo drew from the biblical injunction in which the Israelites of old were commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. He also called for national repentance and an insistence on righteousness/holiness, particularly amongst those saddled with the onerous task of running the affairs of the country. He cited these as part of the major roles the church must play in ensuring and enhancing good governance in Nigeria.​ 

From left: Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Rev Dr. (Mrs) Jane Onaolapo, wife of Bishop Kola Onaolapo and General Overseer of Abundant Life Gospel Churches, and Prof. Josiah Onaolapo, sharing a joke at the event.

In his words, “The state of a Nation is determined by the quality of its leaders in government. Leaders or people in position of authority can do or undo. One of our leaders is quoted as once saying 'After God, it is government'."

Citing the role of education in nation building, the popular Lagos preacher bemoaned the poor state of the country’s education sector, and stated that Nigeria’s literacy rate is estimated at 61% with a large number of out-of-school children (over 10 million). Between year 2010 and 2015, 70-80% of students failed the SSCE. Universities can only accommodate 148,000 of the 1.5 million that attempt entry annually. There are academic staff shortages in all areas particularly in the critical areas of science and technology.

He further questioned why a nation such as Singapore, though not a Christian nation, applied biblical principles for governance and transformed their nation, while Nigeria, with a large population of Christians cannot follow suit. According to him, in Singapore, education, rule of law, sacrifice and delayed gratification forms the bedrock of their national outlook.

"How did other developed and thriving nations get to where they are? What were their tipping points?” he queried. “Despite having some of the best resources and greatest intellectual minds available, Nigeria continues to face challenges in good leadership.”

He underscored that good governance can only be achieved through the strict adherence to ethics, morality, equality and fairness, rule of law, discipline, hard work and sacrifice; these, he stressed, are all biblical principles. 

A cross section of the audience.

Pastor Ighodalo referred to "non-Christian nations like Japan, China, UAE (Dubai), Singapore, Malaysia that have thrived largely on these principles. In his conclusion he maintained that the prosperity and progress of a nation is fundamentally dependent on following laid down spiritual biblical principles or laws which the church must spearhead. On his part, the Chairman of the occasion, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya insisted that for the Church to perform a useful role in good governance Christians must learn to conquer fear and aspire to the highest positions in the land.

The biennial Annual Public Lecture was instituted to immortalize the memory of late Bishop Kola Onaolapo, Founder of Abundant Life Gospel Churches, who in his life time, devoted time, energy and resources to youth talent and skills development, missionary aid and leadership capacity building. Promoting Good governance and improved living standards for all Nigerian were central to his numerous sermons and teachings.

The event had in attendance several dignitaries including top government officials, senior Church ministers and pastors cutting across the 36 states of Nigeria.

When news break of an 18-year-old teenager wedding a 17-year-old girlfriend of his at a lavish ceremony last weekend, not a few tongues wagged as to why both were in a hurry to tie the nuptial knots.

It was even suggested in some quarters that the girl may have got pregnant in order for her parents (very religious) to save the family name and face, they had hurriedly arranged the wedding.

However, the young man's elder sister has come out to debunk such an insinuation. According to her, there was no truth in the rumours making the rounds. She disclosed that there was nothing wrong for young teenagers to get married in their early years if their parents have consented to it just as it was in this case. She debunked the pregnancy claim as the probable reason for the wedding, claiming nothing of the kind happened. 

"Since both of them are in love and have revealed their intention to spend their lives together, parents of the couple gave their consent, and that was all that was required. And they are both happy together. 

Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.

In a bid to lay to rest the ongoing allegation from the Nigerian Christian community, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over the plan by the Federal Government to Islamize the country through its issuance of the Sukuk bond, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun,has faulted the claims.  

Mrs. Adeosun, while speaking on the issue, assured that there were no underground plans to Islamise the country with the recent issuance of its N100bn Sukuk bond. She made this disclosure at an investor conference organised by Stanbic IBTC Bank in Lagos Monday.

The Christian Association of Nigeria had last week kicked against the floating of the SUKUK Islamic bond by the Federal Government.

It alleged that the move has further confirmed its fears that the government was planning to Islamise the country through the back door.

Reacting, however, Adeosun stated that several countries of the world, including South Africa had issued sukuk bonds in the past, and Nigeria’s plan to issue the sukuk bond started about six years ago, long before the current administration came into power.

Adeosun said, “Sukuk is part of our programme to deepen the financial market. Interestingly, it predated us. The committee started work in 2011. So, they have been working on it for six years, to structure products that would be compliant. Really, the Sukuk is about two things -one is about raising money and deepening the financial market. We need to include many people in the market to raise the money that is needed for infrastructure. We have already introduced the savings bond which is for small investors. They were saying that the process of getting into government securities was too complex.

“So, we made the product for them. And this is another product. We have other products that we are coming up with. So, there is no religious driver behind it. It is really a financial product to meet financial needs.”

She added, “This particular one of N100bn is going to be used for road projects. We have identified the road projects that it is going to be tied to and there is no religious attachment to it. South Africa even did a sovereign Sukuk before Nigeria. So, there is no Islamisation agenda at all.”

The minister said not every investor wanted to put their money into regular bonds and Treasury bills and, as such, there was the need to get everyone on board.

On concerns that the funds raised from Sukuk must be used for Sharia-compliant activities strictly, the minister said, “That is part of what is called the ethical investment. A lot of people for example, don’t want their funds invested in particular items such as breweries, among others. Funny, a lot of investors that we have been marketing the bond to are just looking at the yield. So, it is really just another product which we hope would deepen the market and bring more people in. Not everybody wants to do bond or treasury bills. And we are still going to bring out many more products.”

Rev Musa Asake, CAN Secretary General.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has strongly kicked against the floating of the Sukuk Islamic bond by the Federal Government.

It alleged that the move has further confirmed its fears that the government was planning to Islamise the country through the back door.

CAN, in a statement on Tuesday, last week in Abuja by its General Secretary, Rev. Musa Asake, demanded the abrogation of the laws and framework behind the bond and threatened to seek legal redress if that was not done.

According to CAN, Nigeria was a secular state and the government was expected to be neutral on issues involving religion.

“The Christian Association of Nigeria has been protesting against this aberration since the Osun State Government, under Governor Rafiu Aregbesola, embarked on this violation of the Constitution. Rather than stand in the defence of the Constitution, it is disappointing to note that the Federal Government is pursuing what is an outright confirmation of an Islamisation agenda.

“The recent floating of Sukkuk Bond by the government is not only sectional but illegal and a violation of the Constitution. Every law that has been promulgated to back the Sukuk issuance and promote an Islamic banking system in Nigeria is ultra vires, illegal, null and void. Therefore, the manipulations and scheming to smuggle the country into a full blown Islamic state should stop; these manipulations became apparent with the smuggling of Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Conference in 1986 by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta,” Asake said.

“The FG must dismantle all legal and institutional framework established to promote Islamic financing in Nigeria. We affirm that the territorial integrity of Nigeria is undermined through the issuance of Sukuk in the country. We hope that the government shall desist from its policies of unbridled religious sectionalism,” CAN had further said.

 Eman Abdul Atti did not leave the house for 25 years before being taken to hospital (Pictures: Indranil Mukherjee/Getty Images)

A 37-year-old once described as the ‘world’s fattest woman’ has died in hospital, officials have said.

 Eman Abdul Atti died as a result of heart disease and kidney dysfunction according to a statement from Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

A statement from Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi said that Eman Abdul Atti died at 4.35am this Monday. The hospital said: ‘Our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to her family.’ At one point, Atti reportedly weighed around 1,100lbs. Doctors blamed her weight on a thyroid condition.

Atti arrived in the UAE in May, receiving care from a team of 20 doctors at Burjeel Hospital. She earlier received medical treatment in India and underwent surgery that saw her lose some 600lbs.

She had planned to drop her weight to 15 stone, her sister, Saimaa Selim said in July. Eman had said that she was grateful for all the help she had received from the hospital since May, adding that her journey of weight loss was to continue.

She originally had a gastric band fitted in India, but doctors refused to continue caring for her after the procedure.

Her family took her to Abu Dhabi’s largest private hospital as they feared she would fall back into her old ways without medical support. The hospital said she had planned to speak at schools when her treatment was complete. Sadly she could not live to fulfill the promise. 

Eating human shit gives our tongues the power to command our victim to do our bidding.

Recently, a young man of Delta State origin, Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region, was apprehended in Benin City, Edo State, by angry youths when he was sighted eating human poo!

Curious over what a sane looking young man could be doing with human’s shit, he was manhandled, after which he quickly confessed to his captors why he was feasting on human shit.   

According to him, it is a current trend among the “Yahoo Yahoo boys” (a sobriquet for internet scammers), to eat human shit as a way of empowering their tongues.

Speaking in Pidgin English, he confessed, “Once we eat human shit, whatever we command is usually obeyed. For instance, if I am scamming anyone and I ask the person to send me a certain amount of money in dollars, the victims through hypnotism must obey and the money would be wired.”

He further confessed how he has done that for quite a while with friends of his (also Yahoo boys) who have since relocated to Ghana where they now carry out their nefarious activities, each them riding Toyota Venza cars as part of the proceeds of their scam.

“What type of car do you  drive?” he was asked.

“I had EOD (Honda Accord) before, but not anymore, which is why I am carrying out this operation to raise the money to buy another car,” he responded.

On who much he was planning to ask his current victim, he confessed it was $55,000 (about N30 million equivalents).

Asked what happened to the person whose faeces they eat, he said, no harm comes their way.

Watch video for more details...

President Muhammadu Buhari (r) has expressed confidence in his Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (l).

As the permutations, alignments and strategies for 2019 presidential elections hot up, indication have emerged that the ubiquitous Aso Rock Cabal, a small clique but powerful individuals have taken out their anger against the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

On the list of the angry Cabal members are highly placed political appointees of President Muhammadu Buhari, including a cousin of his and member of his kitchen cabinet, a Minister of a highly visible Ministry and his father, a very close ally of the President as well as a couple other President’s close confidants, all of northern extraction. 

Trouble was said to have started during the President’s medical sojourn to the UK where he spent no fewer than 104 days before he hurriedly returned to the country when opposition to his absence from governance for that length of time reached fever high.

According to Presidency sources, members of the Cabal were said to have felt sidelined by the actions of Vice President Osinbajo, who was then the Acting President. They were said to have been particularly miffed by the fact that rather than consult them before taking any major decisions, he would rather consult the President, thereby rendering their existence ineffective and grossly irrelevant.

“They were not very happy that the then Acting President was taking his files to the President in the UK and not even considering their own input first before taking major state decisions, as against the usual norm the cabal members have been accustomed to since the inception of the Buhari administration,” a source hinted. “This did not go down well with them as they saw it as a sign of personal ambition on the part of VP Osinbajo and a calculated attempt by him to cleverly demystify their relevance,” the source added.

It was learnt that the President’s growing admiration for and confidence in his Vice, has also formed part of their worry. “They failed to see why the President has become so reliant on VP Osinbajo,” the source continued. “You know, an Osinbajo that is well acknowledged by a vast majority of Nigerians would certainly affect the power equation of the North as everyone looks towards 2019. His growing popularity, particularly the deft ways he was able to reach out to the Niger Delta militant to extract a promise from them to cease fire and the resultant increase in the activities of crude oil production in the region has left them dazed. Rather than being applauded, they see it as a wrong move against northern interests in the coming days,” the source further disclosed.

Also worrisome to them is the fact that the wife of the President appears to be working against northern interest, in their reckoning. They are said to have faulted the way she had thrown her tacit support for Osinbajo throughout her husband’s absence, refusing to interface with them but rather with the Vice President and his wife Dolapo, whom they have accused her of turning to her inseparable twin sister.

Recall that sometime in July (2017), when the wife of the President returned from a visit to her ailing husband in the UK, she had disclosed to newsmen, “President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed confidence in the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo despite insinuations from some northern elements that the Acting President is purportedly plotting to undermine the President to succeed him in 2019.” This followed the suppressed grumblings in some quarters for a number of weeks to that effect, fuelling speculations that the President was rather listening to the Cabal than to Osinbajo.

“I am sure you would recall the delay in the signing of the 2017 Appropriation as well as the delay in swearing in the three Ministers that had earlier been cleared by the Senate. It was insinuated that Osinbajo was gagged and prevented from carrying out those functions because the President needed to hear from the cabal first before giving the Acting President the required go-ahead for him to do so. These are some of the speculations the President’s wife had come out to put to rest,” the source informed. 

Members of the Cabal were said to have reached out to some top retired military officers of northern origin to curry their support on how to curb the growing popularity of VP Osinbajo as 2019 inches closer. It is not yet clear if they have got the support of these personalities as at yet.

However, late last week, a group championing a campaign for Osinbajo emerged ahead of 2019. The group, known as Volunteers 4 Osinbajo has begun strategizing on how to drum up support for the candidacy of the Vice President as a credible candidate to step into the shoes of President Buhari.

But in a swift move to counter this as a response to an earlier story allegedly linking the Vice President to the 2019 Presidential Election and the likely damage this might do to his image, Laolu Akande, his spokesperson said the group has a sinister motive to destroy the image of the Vice President. Osinbajo urged Nigerians to disregard the campaign which was launched by the group. According to Akande, those behind the Volunteer 4 Osinbajo remain faceless and target to destroy the image of the Vice President.

“Please, disregard this website created by faceless people for mischievous purposes. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Vice President. The Buhari-Osinbajo connection and the mutual trust they share is an inspiration to this nation,” Laolu Akande said.

In a similar development, the Adamawa Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has come out to condemn the growing speculation of plans by Abubakar Atiku to take a shot at the Presidency in the 2019 general elections.

According to the party, "Prof Osinbajo remains a credible alternative for 2019 presidential election.” Adding that, “Even if Buhari decides not to contest, we already have a credible alternative in Vice President Prof. Osinbajo. So the Villa is not vacant come 2019. If Buhari is not going to contest, Osinbajo is there. If indeed we are talking about one Nigeria, then we have to display it in 2019. Forget about this man coming from the North and this other man coming from the South. The important thing to ask is who will better serve Nigerians. Buhari has already laid a very good foundation for Nigerians with his anti-corruption war. If Buhari says he can no longer continue, we already have somebody with the same mind, the same thinking like Baba Buhari. The future of Nigeria is what we should be thinking about, not to bring somebody who will only think of himself, his wives and his family,” a statement by the State party said.

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's former Vice President .

In response to the various speculations making the rounds regarding the number of companies owned by the a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, he has come out to lay to rest as to the exact number of companies to his credit.

Atiku, as he is popularly called, took to his twitter handle earlier in the week, boasting that he remains the largest private employer of labour in Nigeria. He disclosed this while speaking on the need to prioritise employment generation in the country.

According to him, “As an individual, I believe my record in employing young Nigerians is unrivalled by any single private investor in Nigeria. Tell me who has investments in that cuts across the media, shipping, education, and other sectors of the Nigerian economy?” he queried, adding that he currently employs over 50,000 staff in various capacities across his companies.

Recently, Atiku had been accused of being the financier behind MIKANO, an alternative power generation company, involved in the production of electricity generators, which has been alleged in some quarters as being one of such companies responsible for the epileptic power supply in the country on account of its vast interests in the power sector, an allegation no one has been able to substantiate yet.

However, to support his claim as being the largest employer of labour in Nigeria, the former VP has come out with a list of the companies he owned as listed below:

1. Intels Intels Nigeria Limited: provides integrated logistics services for the Nigerian oil and gas industry. It offers agency services; cargo services; port management and support services in shore bases; and manages client operations, including pipe racks, stacking areas, warehousing, enclosed areas, jetties, offices, water tanks, fuel storage, generators, compressors, and various other services and facilities.

2. Prodeco Prodeco—operates in Nigeria with two companies: Prodeco (Property Development Company) operating within the main territory of Nigeria and Prodeco International, operating in Oil & Gas Free Zones. The first company was incorporated in March 1996 as a property development company. Over the years, PRODECO has engaged in building, marine, and infrastructural construction for various clients in the oil and gas industry.

3. Atiku Abubakar Farms: He also has a farm in Adamawa State. In 1981 he moved into agriculture, acquiring 2,500 hectares of land near Yola to start a maize and cotton farm. The business fell on hard times and closed in 1986.

"My first foray into agriculture, in the 1980s, ended in failure," he was quoted to have sometimes in 2014. But in recent years, the farm has expanded and progressed sgnificantly.

4. ABTI Schools: The major part of this is the American University of Nigeria (AUN). It is located in the city of Yola, the Capital of Adamawa, Northwestern zone of Nigeria. The campus, which occupies nearly 1000 hectares, is a serene mixture of desert and farmland. 

President Muhammadu Buhari (l), Nigeria's current President and (r) Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Nigeria’s ex-President has been accused of attempting to cause a disunity among the northerners as strategies for the 2019 general elections hot up.

A close confidant and political associate of Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s ex-Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),  Alhaji Abdullahi Sugar, has revealed how the ex-President has begun scheming to change the northern political game-plan respecting the choice of a northern presidential candidate for 2019.

He disclosed that Chief Obasanjo has concluded plans to ensure that President Buhari does not get re-elected in 2019, and has thus penciled down either Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the current governor of Kaduna State or Rabiu Kwakwanso, former two-time governor of Kano State, who’s currently at daggers-drawn with his successor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as they battle to control the party machinery in the state. Incidentally, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, and Rabiu Kwakwanso, are both chieftains of the ruling APC.

Alhaji Sugar wondered why the former President would take it as his right to dabble into the affairs of the north as to want to dictate to the region who would be their choice when the right to so do belongs to the people.

"Obasabjo should allow the will of the people to prevail. Why would he pick El-Rufai or Kwakwanso, when there were other more qualified politicians as a replacement for Buhari in 2019?" He queried. “Despite the wishes of Obasanjo that his former VP would never become President, he must know that it’s God that gives power to whom he wishes. I declare my support for Atiku,” he added.

He therefore warned his fellow northerners to be weary of the antics of the former President and be vigilant against his moves to replace President Muhammadu Buhari with one of his boys.

Reports have it that Alhaji Sugar is worried over the clandestine moves by Obasanjo as he plans vigorously to foist Governor Nasir El-Rufai or Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso on north. He thus urged the northerners not allow Obasanjo to pull the wool over their faces once again as he had done in the past.

“The north must be weary of the antics of the former President. It has happened before and we should not allow it to happen again. Obasanjo should allow the people’s will to prevail. Why is he plotting for Kwankwaso and El-Rufai when better politicians abound in the north? The people’s will and not his, should be allowed to prevail. Tell him that Nigerians are now more enlightened politically than in 2007,” he said.

He insisted that for him, Atiku Abubakar remained his choice. “Obasanjo had on many occasions said Atiku will not in his lifetime be Nigeria's President. We are praying for him (Obasanjo) to live long so that he can witness the emergence of Atiku as President. Atiku is not looking for the Presidency from Obasanjo, but from Allah, who gives power to anybody he wishes without the endorsement of people like Obasanjo,” he concluded.

Ben Ayade, Cross River State Gov.

The Cross River Command of National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on at the weekend said it has arrested six drug suspects including a in separate operations in the state.

The state Commander of the NDLEA, Mrs. Antonia Edeh, disclosed this in Calabar during a chat with journalists.

Edeh said that two suspects, Christian Joseph and Edet Bassey, were arrested for spicing meat pie, egg roll, doughnut and other snacks with cannabis sativa.

She said, “The command also made an arrest of 128.8 grams of crack cocaine transiting from Lagos to Calabar in the form of courier consignment. The receiver, Diyaolu Dare was arrested when he came to collect the consignment.

“A follow up operation led to the arrest of David James from Ugep in Yakurr Local Government Area. He was arrested with 1774 pinches of substance suspected to be cocaine and 625 pinches of substance suspected to be Heroine.”

Edeh added that a cripple, Gabriel Aniefiok was found in possession of dried weed weighing 9.89kg suspected to be cannabis sativa at Big Iwuru in Biase LGA.

“Also a 45 years old blind man, Offiong Ekeng from Akpabuyo LGA was arrested with dried weed suspected to be cannabis sativa.

“Another suspect, a 70-year-old man named Joseph was also arrested in Ikot Ansa in Calabar Municipal LGA for being in possession of 1.83kg of weed suspected to cannabis sativa,” she stated.

Edeh expressed worry over the choice of using the physically challenged to perpetuate such nefarious activities, and advised parents to be vigilant and not to allow their wards fall prey to illicit peddlers.

She enjoined the public to always avail the agency with useful information that would help in arresting suspects.

According to her, the suspects are undergoing investigation and will be charged to court when investigations are completed.

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.

Following Sunday’s announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that its sustained strategic intervention in the efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products has led to a significant fall in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, across the country,
oil marketers under the aegis of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association has come out to refute NNPC’s claims on the crash of the PMS price, arguing that the corporation might have reduced petrol price at its stations because of its relative ease of assessing foreign exchange.

But NNPC has dismissed this maintaining that the intervention had also warranted a significant drop in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, nationwide.

The corporation said a national survey by its oil and gas forum indicated that in the last few weeks, the price of petrol had fallen steadily from N145 per litre to between N143 and N142 per litre in some stations across the country.

NNPC said one of the respondents in the survey and a manager at an independent fuel retail station in Abuja, Mohammed Abdullahi, confirmed that his station was selling petrol at N142 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation in order to sustain the turnover of the business and attract more motorists to its outlet.

It quoted another independent marketer in Mosimi, Emeka Kechukwu, as saying that the ex-depot prices of petrol had dropped from N138 per litre in most depots to N133.28 in the NNPC depots and between N130 and N131 per litre in private depots.

It, however, noted that the situation was slightly different in Aba and Umuahia in Abia State, and Calabar in Cross River State, where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers sold the product at N145 per litre.

“The study showed that the NNPC mega and affiliate stations across the country are selling the product for N143 per litre, while the pump price range from N142 to N145 per litre in some major and independent marketers in Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Enugu, Delta and other major cities,” the national oil firm said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu.

The survey, it said, showed a similar trend of drop in the prices of cooking gas with the average cost of refilling a 5kg cylinder at N2,215.96, in contrast to the former price of N2,500.

-

The study further revealed that states with the lowest average price for the 5kg LPG refill were Kaduna and Niger, at N2,000; Kogi at N2,005.00; and Oyo at N2,033.33.

It stated that at the NNPC mega and retail stations nationwide, a 12.5kg of cooking gas that was sold for N4,500 a few months ago had dropped to N3,800, while other retail outlets were selling the same quantity at N4,000.

“The NNPC has sustained its interventions through improvement in the supply of the products and remodelling of distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country,” the corporation said.

It added that it had stepped up the resuscitation of some of its critical pipelines and depots such as the Atlas Cove-Mosimi Depot Pipeline, Port Harcourt Refinery-Aba Depot Pipeline, Kaduna-Kano Pipeline and the Kano Depot, adding that the facilities had enhanced efficiency in products distribution.

“Efforts are also ongoing by the NNPC to revamp other critical pipelines and depots across the country to further push down the prices of petroleum products for the benefit of consumers,” the oil firm said.

But the Executive Secretary, DAPPMA, Olufemi Adewole, told newsmen that members of the group were still selling petrol at N145 per litre, adding that he was not aware that the price of the product had crashed.

He said, “I’m not aware the price of petrol has crashed. My people are still selling at N145 per litre. So if the NNPC has crashed its price, it doesn’t have the overhead that we have; it is not repaying loans to banks like we are paying and government is not owing the NNPC like it owns us.

“So, we are operating in the same market but different conditions. Maybe they (NNPC) crashed the PMS price in their own petrol stations. Government owes marketers foreign exchange and interest on loan repayment for the past two years. Is it these marketers that will now sell at a price that they cannot get the product?”

Adewole added, “My own people in DAPPMA are selling at N145 per litre and that is the official market price. If the NNPC is selling at a lower price, you should know that the NNPC is not being owed by government; it is not going to banks to borrow money that it has to pay interest on when repaying. Also, the NNPC is not buying foreign exchange to import products.”

Princess Mako decided to abdicate her royal status to marry Kei Komuro, her long time hearthrob. 

Britain and Japan's monarchy couldn't be more opposite. Where Kate Middleton, a commoner, became royalty after marrying Prince William, Japan's Princess Mako will have to surrender her royal status for marrying a commoner!

The eldest granddaughter of Japanese Emperor Akihito, Princess Mako, will wed a former classmate, the Imperial Household said today, confirming a marriage that will further deplete the royal family since she must become a commoner.

Mako is one of only four royal grandchildren. The other three are her younger sister, Kako, her brother, Hisahito, and Crown Prince Naruhito's daughter, Aiko. The shrinking royal population, which mirrors the broader aging of Japanese society, has raised concerns that the prince may also be the last.

Ten-year-old Hisahito is one of four heirs to the throne behind Akihito's two middle-aged sons, whose wives are in their early 50s, and Akihito's octogenarian brother, Masahito.

The engagement to Kei Komuro, who works in a Tokyo law office, comes after Japanese lawmakers in June approved a bill to allow Akihito to step down, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch since 1817.

A year ago, the first emperor not to be considered divine said in a rare public appearance that he feared age would make it hard to fulfill his duties. The 83-year-old has had heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer.

But the legislation, which only applies to Akihito and not future emperors, makes no reference to the controversial topics of whether to revise a males-only succession law or to allow women to stay in the imperial family after marriage.

Conservatives fear doing so would be a first step to letting females inherit the throne.

Mako and Komuro graduated from International Christian University. She has a master's degree from the University of Leicester and has been working as a researcher at a museum. Her fiance once served as a "Prince of the Sea" to promote tourism near Tokyo, according to media reports.

Indian marriage ceremony.

The dream of a man, who wanted to marry two women at one go on the same day, and invited several people to witness it, was dashed, thanks to social media.

After his bizarre invitation card went viral, officials were forced to act, of course. Ramamoorthy, 31, of M Vellaiapuram near Thiruchuzhi in Virudhunagar district, a goatherd, was staying with his sister Kalaiselvi, who had decided to marry off her daughter Renukadevi, 21, a commerce graduate, with her brother. But that was not enough for Ramamoorthy as he wanted to marry two women, that too at the same time. Strangely, his sister's family agreed and it was decided that Ramamoorthy could also marry Gayathiri, 20, the daughter of Amudhavalli, another of his sisters.

The family soon printed the invitation cards informing that Ramamoorthy would marry both A Renukadevi and C Gayathiri, on September 4, 2017. The wedding was supposed to take place at the bridegroom's home in Vellaiapu ram. This bizarre invitation soon went viral on social media and was circulated in many WhatsApp groups.

"There are people who are unable to find a single bride, even when they have good jobs and this guy is marrying two women,'' said C Kumar of Madurai, who says he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the photograph of the scanned invitation. After getting information, Virudhunagar district social welfare officer P Rajam summoned the parents of the two women.

The parents explained to the officer that they had taken the decision as they desperately wanted to marry off their daughters. They said that they had consulted an astrologer who had said Ramamoorthy would have two wives.

However, Gayathiri did not agree and said it would amount to bigamy and it could put Ramamoorthy behind bars. After that it was decided that only Renukadevi would be married to him.

Officials along with police will monitor the wedding when it takes place on Monday, September 4, 2017.

Originally published in The Times of India