Oluwafisayomi's Blog ...

Despite the current economic challenges in the country, the decision of the House of Representatives to buy exotic cars for its 360 members was on Thursday defended by Mr. Jonathan Gaza, the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs.  He said the lawmakers must have a means of mobility while carrying out oversight duties over Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.  It has been gathered that the House will spend at least N3.6bn across 24 months to complete payment for the luxury vehicles supplied by the Kaduna-based Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited.  The PUNCH had reported exclusively on Monday that the firm had already delivered 28 units of Peugeot 508 series to members in the first batch of 50 cars.  A total of 360 units of the exotic automobile would have been delivered by January 2017.  He argued that in a recession, both the executive and legislative arms of government were expected to ...

European Union Top officials at the European Union have invited  Donald Trump  to Europe for an urgent US-EU summit In a joint letter, Donald Tusk, president of the European council and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, congratulated Trump and urged him to come to Europe for talks “at your earliest convenience”. Tusk and Juncker are seeking reassurance on key issues on which Trump’s remarks on the campaign trial have rattled European leaders, including migration, climate change and Russia’s threat to Ukraine. The letter said: “It is more important than ever to strengthen transatlantic relations. Only by cooperating closely can the EU and the US continue to make a difference when dealing with unprecedented challenges such as Da’esh [Isis], the threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, climate change and migration.” It added: “We would take this opportunity to invite you to visit Europe for an EU – US summit at your ea...

Owerri – A young university graduate, Mr Wilson Ekeledirichukwu, who set up a fufu processing plant valued at N75,000, at Ihiagwa, near Owerri, said he established the outfit in order to be self-employed and also create jobs. Ekeledirichukwu, a graduate of animal science from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Owerri.  NAN reports that fufu is a local delicacy, made from fermented cassava and is popularly eaten by many Nigerians, especially people from the Southern and North-Central Nigeria. “As an undergraduate, I resolved that I will be among Nigerians to create jobs and not those looking for jobs that are not easily available in this country now. ‘’After my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Oyo State between 2014 and 2015, I first ventured into paint production but discovered that the project required much capital,’’ he said. Ekeledirichukwu said that he finally settle...

A close aide to Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai the Chief of Army Staff has spoken to LeadersNG about the briefing of President Muhammadu Buhari by the COAS about 83 missing Nigerian soldiers and a commanding officer after Boko Haram Islamic extremists attacked a remote base in northeastern Nigeria. The Chief of Army Staff briefed a furious president Buhari on how Boko Haram over-powered soldiers because of the element of surprise. The president was so angry that he has given the COAS 1 week to get all the missing soldiers back. LeadersNG gathered from soldiers in MAIDUGURI that personnel were unable to fight back because they were poorly equipped. Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said last week that some soldiers were missing but did not give figures and 13 were wounded when the insurgents on Oct. 17 attacked their base in Gashigar village, on the border with Niger. Usman till now has not responded to requests for comment about the actual number. You will recal...

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has indicted the Federal Government for not condemning the threat issued by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria against the state. MACBAN, the umbrella body of herdsmen in Nigeria, had on Saturday threatened to wage war against the state for enacting grazing law restricting movement of cattle in the state. MACBAN also alleged that four cattle belonging to its member were killed by the newly inaugurated Ekiti Grazing Enforcement Marshal. But Fayose at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday said five cattle that were arrested last week were being kept in the government ranch and their owners could take them back as soon as the necessary fines were paid. The governor, who cautioned that the federal government’s silence must have emboldened the herdsmen, warned that his government would not sit back and watch while the lives of his people were in danger. He urged his people to be prepared to defend their land against the he...

1.It is my pleasure and a great honour to be in the hallowed chambers of the Oxford University, one of the world’s most prestigious universities, not just to speak, but to exchange ideas and answer questions from you, some of the world’s most brilliant youths and future leaders.  2. It is instructive to note that since 1823, the Oxford Union has consistently presented this platform for scholarly and social congregation of the student population, the interchange of ideas, propagation of views in the enhancement of knowledge, and for the overall good of mankind.  3. This is highly commendable. 4. This discussion is topical for our global search for development and security. The issue of youth entrepreneurship in Africa is very critical, as Africa is the only continent in which we will witness a population boom in our lifetime.  5. Studies reveal the symbiotic relationship between youth unemployment and youth restiveness. ...

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress on Monday protested against alleged lopsidedness in the appointments so far made by President Muhammadu Buhari, especially the ambassadorial nominees who were named last week. This was one of the issues raised by the governors at a meeting they had with Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalung, confirmed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting. Lalung said the President had asked that state governors who have complaints should put them in writing while promising to look into them. “Part of the issue we also raised was on some of the appointments that were made. So all the states that had complaints are going to put it in writing and the President promised he is going to look into it,” he said. Specifically on the ambassadorial nominee from his state, Paulen Tallen, who has rejected her nomination, Lalung said the rejection wa...

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently holding a secret meeting with governor-members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The meeting is said to be going on behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Governors in attendance include Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and his counterparts from Adamawa, Plateau, Kogi, Kaduna, Edo, Ogun, Kano, Kebbi and Benue States.

The house where Adolf Hitler was born is to be torn down to stop it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine after years of bitter legal wrangling, Austria’s interior minister said Monday.  more

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) has promised to look into the agitations of some traditional rulers in the state, regarding poor grading. Some Grade D royal fathers known as Olu or Baale have written series of petitions, calling for a review of their status. But Jegede on Thursday gave an assurance that justice would be metted out over the discontent, calling on the traditional rulers to sensitise their people on the need to vote for continuity, come November 26. He spoke at Igunsin, a community in Akure North Local Government area of Ondo State during the official inauguration of a modern borehole in the community. Jegede, who was represented by a group of PDP leaders, led by Hon. Adedayo Omolafe, popularly known as ‘Expensive’,    also told the people of Igunsin not to have any doubt concerning the construction of roads leading to the town and adjourning communities. Earlier, the Olu of Igunsi...

BY KAYODE FASUA Casting a furtive look at the kind of didactic forum of teachers in their thousands, this politician with the trademark cap of All Progressives Congress, APC, was crest-fallen. He was particularly awed by the overwhelming reception that teachers in Owo, Ondo State, had given Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), the governorship candidate of the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Markedly, Owo is the hometown of the APC governorship contestant, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), a gladiator who is still to pull a quarter of crowd witnessed on the day the Owo teachers honoured Jegede. When given a close call, this distraught, lonely politician was heard jabbering at first, before he eventually managed to utter the words, “So this is the way things are going…I guess I will soon cross over to this Jegede party o!” Why is the inexplicable public affection for Jegede this pervasive? Why is it even crazier in Owo, the hometown of Akeredolu? Or why are markets virtuall...